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Ray Jennings has said that Royal Challengers Bangalore are missing the experience and skill of Zaheer Khan, especially in pressure situations, over the last few weeks

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Apr-2013

Batting worries nag Royal Challengers

Royal Challengers opener Mayank Agarwal is likely to miss the rest of the IPL campaign after he broke his finger while fielding in the match against Super Kings. Attempting to save a four from Ravindra Jadeja in the 16th over, Agarwal threw himself full stretch to his right to save two runs, but in the process dug his little finger on the right hand into the ground. Jennings confirmed Agarwal’s broken finger, which was operated on Sunday, and has been advised at least four weeks rest.
According to Jennings, the franchise was keenly awaiting the return of Indian top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who has missed the first two weeks of the IPL, recovering from a finger injury he picked up during the final Test of the Australia series in Delhi last month. Pujara’s fitness will be assessed on Monday and a call will be taken by the team management soon.

Ray Jennings, the coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, feels that the continuing absence of Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan with a side strain has affected the team, especially during pressure situations like the last-ball defeat against Chennai Super Kings last Saturday. Zaheer, he said, suffered a strain on the left side during the team’s first training session in the week leading into the IPL and hasn’t bowled since.”You are always going to miss any guy with that amount of experience because he has done it so often and he can actually handle the pressure,” Jennings said. “So, of course, you do miss players like that, any team would.” Zaheer was the second-highest wicket-taker for Royal Challengers last season. Zaheer’s presence was missed on last Saturday’s encounter against Chennai Super Kings, where RP Singh bowled an underwhelming over to hand Super Kings a last-ball victory. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, another misfiring last over from Royal Challengers pushed the game into a Super Over, with Sunrisers’ Cameron White stealing the show from there.Zaheer has been struggling with injuries in the last few months and had come to the IPL fresh off a calf injury that forced him to miss the knockout matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, and subsequently the Irani Trophy. Not only was his fitness an issue but a loss of form was a big factor behind the Indian selectors losing confidence in him.Zaheer last played for India during the third Test of the home series in England. He was ignored for the ODI leg of the England series and then dropped from the four-Test Australia series. He did not feature in the 30-strong Indian probables shortlisted for the Champions Trophy, which is to be held in England in June.However, Jennings maintained that the franchise had enough faith in the left-arm seamer who, he said, was working hard to regain complete fitness. “Zak (Zaheer) has a lot to offer, and is always around the players helping them as well. He has worked every day in the gym, and has the trainer on his case to make sure he is 100% fit, and [that] the recovery from the injury happens soon.”This is Zaheer’s second stint at the Royal Challengers. His first came in 2008; he was traded to Mumbai Indians for the 2009 season and was bought at the 2011 auction by the Royal Challengers. In his 42 matches, he has picked up 44 wickets at an economy rate of 7.85 and is the third-best bowler for the franchise in the IPL.Asked if there was a possibility of Zaheer’s returning soon, Jennings felt the second half of the tournament was a fair bet. “There is no doubt. [The] back nine will be the business end of the tournament where we would need his experience, and hopefully he will be ready. At this stage we want him getting into the act of doing some bowling and that is why the fitness aspect is important, because if you let that go then he is not going to be strong enough to bowl. Once the injury is rectified, it is going to take one or two nets sessions to make sure he is bowling fit,” Jennings said.At the auction this year, Royal Challengers picked seven new players, out of which four were specialist fast bowlers, swelling the quick bowling numbers in the squad to ten. Asked to explain the reason behind having so many fast bowlers in the squad, Jennings said the plan was really to have multiple options.”My feeling in the IPL is to have a limited amount of batsmen because of the lesser opportunities available to them, so you need to settle the guys down. As far as the bowlers go, Virat, the boss (Vijay Mallya) and myself felt that having a larger group is beneficial as bowlers tend to have injuries.” Citing an example, Jennings used left-arm Indian fast bowler RP Singh, who was coming into the tournament having recuperated from a long injury lay-off which had kept him out of the domestic season after the IPL last year, and the franchise did not want to take a chance in case RP was injured early on. “We just felt that if we were going have an extra player, then we should have one in the bowling department.”

A round-up of Friday’s matches in the MiWAY T20 Challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2012Some manic, late hitting from Chris Morris almost gave Lions a remarkable comeback win, but Cape Cobras hung on to win by just one run at Newlands. The contest seemed over when Lions were left needing 44 runs off three overs, with four wickets in hand, to overhaul Cobras’ 180. Morris hit two fours, and Thami Tsolekile one, to take 17 runs off Justin Kemp in the 18th over, but only seven came off the next, bowled by Brad Hogg, leaving Lions 20 to win off the last. Morris hit Charl Langeveldt’s second ball over backward point, his fourth through midwicket and fifth over extra cover, all for fours, and Lions needed four off the last ball. Morris could only manage to drive the ball to long-on and Lions fell one run short.It should never have got that close for Cobras, who put up an impressive total and then took quick wickets to peg Lions back after Jonathan Vandiar’s 59 off 38 balls had got the chase off to a brisk start.Cobras reached 180 thanks to Owais Shah’s 79 not out off 44 balls. Shah came in after Cobras had lost their openers early and was watchful initially, before breaking free with two leg-side boundaries in the eighth over. He worked the ones and twos in the middle overs, and then exploded in the end. He smashed Dirk Nannes for three consecutive fours in the 16th over, hit two fours and a six in the next one, bowled by Morris, and collected two more boundaries off Sohail Tanvir in the 20th. Shah was assisted by Dane Vilas, who scored 49 not out off 31 balls, including three big sixes.

Jandre Coetzee’s remarkable bowling performance helped Knights win a low-scoring match against Warriors, in Port Elizabeth, by 13 runs, and move to second in the table. Coetzee, the left-arm medium-pacer, took three wickets and conceded just seven runs in his four overs, which included a maiden, as Knights defended 127. Coetzee struck with the first ball of the second innings, getting rid of the dangerous JJ Smuts. He was taken out of the attack after just one over, and Warriors got their chase on track through Colin Ingram’s boundary-filled 53. Two wickets fell in the tenth over, bowled by offspinner Werner Coetsee – Ingram was run out and Johan Botha out caught – but Warriors were still favourites at 84 for 4 in 12 oversCoetzee then came back and took two wickets in three balls to derail the chase. He was held back again, and when he came on to bowl the 17th over, delivered a maiden, which causes the required-rate to rise from 7.00 to 9.33. His next over, the 19th, went for just four runs, and sealed the win.Knights had started off briskly in their innings but the boundaries become harder to find in the middle overs and then completely disappeared in the last five. Obus Pienaar’s 39 off 34 balls had given Knights a solid base, but their middle and lower order could not build on it, and only 26 runs came off the last five overs to keep the total to 127. They needed a good bowling performance to win, and they got one.

Titans and Dolphins shared the points after their match at SuperSport Park was abandoned after 10.3 overs. The match was delayed after 2.2 overs due to lightning. The players came back out but could only play a few more overs before the rain came and washed the game out.

Paul Sheldon has announced that he is stepping down as Surrey chief executive at the end of March after 15 years in the position

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2011Paul Sheldon has announced that he is stepping down as Surrey chief executive at the end of March after 15 years in the position. During that time he has overseen the club’s rise to become the most financially successful county, although that has coincided with a long-term slump in form on the field.Surrey’s strong financial footing has come from a number of schemes which included selling the naming rights to the ground and the construction of the OCS stand at the Vauxhall End of the ground. The club also benefits from a long-term staging agreement with the ECB and in 2005 and 2009 hosted deciding Ashes Tests.It has allowed the county to spend large sums on attracting big-name players to The Oval including Steven Davies and Chris Tremlett. However, there has been no swift upturn in results with the club still stuck in the second division of the County Championship but Sheldon has many positive memories.”I have stood down because I believe I have taken the club as far as I can, and that now is the right time to hand over the reins,” Sheldon said. “I am very proud of what we have achieved at the club over the last fifteen years. Most especially, I remember the winning era of the great Adam Hollioake side; the building of the iconic OCS Stand and the historic Ashes winning years of 2005 and 2009.”It has been a privilege to have served as chief executive of one of the greatest cricket clubs in the world and to have worked with so many talented people both inside and outside the club. Many of them have become good friends along the way.”Richard Thompson, the Surrey chairman, said: “Paul’s service to the Club, from running our 150th celebrations in 1995, to then becoming our chief executive shortly afterwards has been outstanding. Both on and off the field, Paul leaves a tremendous legacy and many enduring friendships. Paul will always be part of the Surrey family.”

Chris Swan and Luke Feldman demolished South Australia in one session to give Queensland a big lead at the close of a day on which 20 wickets fell at the Gabba

Cricinfo staff04-Mar-2010Queensland 160 (Putland 4-55, George 3-32) and 2 for 132 (Townsend 74*) lead South Australia 72 (Swan 5-26, Feldman 4-14) by 220 runs

ScorecardChris Swan starred with 5 for 26•Getty Images

Chris Swan and Luke Feldman demolished South Australia in one session to give Queensland a big lead at the close of a day on which 20 wickets fell at the Gabba. The Redbacks capitulated for 72 in reply to Queensland’s 160 and then watched as the Bulls top order reached 2 for 132 in the second innings to extend the lead to an imposing 220.Swan and Feldman, the tailenders who batted the Bulls to victory against Victoria recently, did the job with the ball as the Redbacks collapsed in 30.3 overs. Swan picked up a career-best 5 for 26 and Feldman grabbed 4 for 14 as the swinging ball proved a major weapon against a South Australian line-up in which only two men reached double figures.Tim Ludeman top scored with 20 after Michael Klinger had reached 11 and the failure of the South Australian tail to wag was the big difference from Queensland’s first innings. The Bulls had been in big trouble at 9 for 93 when Feldman (31 not out) and Nathan Rimmington (32) fought back with the biggest partnership of the innings.Their 67-run stand proved vital after Gary Putland tore through the top order and finished with 4 for 55. Despite rain washing out almost the entire first day’s play, the pitch held up well and that was shown by Ryan Broad and Wade Townsend, who put on 127 for the opening wicket when Queensland batted for the second time.Broad was caught off the bowling of Peter George for 49 and Lee Carseldine fell in the same over for a duck but the Bulls were well and truly on top already. At stumps, Townsend was unbeaten on 74 and the teenage debutant Chris Lynn was on 4.

Deafeat in a T20I they should have won in New Zealand was a “fire-starter” for England, captain says

Valkerie Baynes16-Jul-2024The seed was planted in Nelson back in March, when a bungled run-chase saw England squander the chance to go 3-0 up in a T20I series against New Zealand.England ended up winning 4-1 and, while the White Ferns threw on some fertiliser with a consolation win in the last of three ODIs, England captain Heather Knight believes the root of her team’s domination of the return tour can be traced back to that third T20I.Now, England are on the cusp of securing an undefeated home summer at Lord’s in the fifth and final T20I after sweeping the ODIs against New Zealand 3-0 and beating Pakistan 3-0 and 2-0 in T20I and ODI series respectively.Related

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“That T20 that we lost in New Zealand, Amy Jones actually spoke brilliantly after that and talked about her fears in T20 chases, and actually made a conscious effort to address that mentally and how she wants to go about chasing,” Knight said at Lord’s on Wednesday.”She spoke really well in front of the group around that, and I think that was quite infectious really, and was a bit of a fire-starter for us wanting to be a bit more ruthless and really nail teams when we are on top. That’s something that’s going to be so important in tournament cricket.”I think our skill level has continued to improve as well. That New Zealand loss in the T20 series where we didn’t chase down a score that we should have was a bit of a catalyst for us to ultimately not let that happen again, and when we’re really on top, to really nail teams.”Against Pakistan, the ‘nailing teams’ objective remained beneath the surface with England winning but without the ruthless streak that has blossomed while hosting New Zealand.England went unbeaten against Pakistan and can do the same against New Zealand•Getty Images

“A lot of people have said to me, ‘New Zealand haven’t been great’. But I think we’ve been awesome,” Knight said. “I think the way we’ve kept their key players quiet probably needs a little bit more credit, to be honest.”The way we’ve played and put them under pressure, and been relentless when we’ve been on top and trying to keep them quiet has been great. We are desperate to finish this summer unbeaten. It’s not something we’ve done very often. It’s our last game of the summer and we want to continue what we’ve done.”The White Ferns’ batting has let them down against England’s top-class bowling attack, led by spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean. That has coincided with the hosts showing off the depth of their line-up, with several batters finding form. It has also left England with some difficult selection decisions ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October.Maia Bouchier appears to have secured an opening berth alongside Danni Wyatt, with both having rested at various stages of the T20I series to give Sophia Dunkley a chance to show her improvement after losing her place following the tour of New Zealand and rediscovering her touch in regional cricket.In both matches she has played, Dunkley has made solid starts with 35 and 26 and her versatility in being able to bat up and down the order could earn her a place in the squad as the spare batter.”She’s looked completely at home again,” Knight said. “She’s got us off to some brilliant starts in the two games that she’s played and that is something that Sophia does give us when she’s at her best. For me, it looks like she’s back towards her best. That decision is pretty tricky around the players that we have and that’s a really good place to be.”Sophia Dunkley has won her place in the squad back•ECB via Getty Images

Mahika Gaur, England’s teenage left-arm seamer, has thrown up another conundrum after missing the early part of the summer to complete her high school exams, then picking up a side strain which has kept her out and prompted her to withdraw from the Hundred to continue her rehabilitation.”It’s tricky,” Knight said. “She hasn’t played a huge amount for England because of her exams and then injury. We were hoping she could get a few games in this series, but that side issue has obviously come back and I think the thing with young players, you have to be really careful – particularly young, fast bowlers – with how you manage them and not push them too far.”She’s not completely out of our plans, but it does make it harder for us to pick her now obviously with those seamers that we’ve got performing really well.”England look set to take a spin-heavy attack to Bangladesh. Lauren Filer offers raw pace to offset her relative inexperience at international level, fellow seamer Lauren Bell is starting to see the benefits of changing her action and Nat Sciver-Brunt is increasing her bowling load after a knee problem. Freya Kemp, who has added to England’s batting depth, is also returning to her allrounder role after a back injury.If Pakistan and New Zealand’s performances have made putting England’s into context difficult, it’s worth looking back to their tour of India late last year, where they lost the Test but won the T20I series 2-1, and last year’s Ashes, where England won both white-ball series in a drawn campaign after Australia won the Test.”I guess we’ve proved in the last 12 months that we can beat anyone on our day,” Knight said. “The Ashes series last summer showed that, particularly in the white-ball series, how we played, winning those series 2-1.”But ultimately we’re just trying to keep improving as well. That’s been a really pleasing thing: [not just] the way we’ve played, but also the fact that as individuals, we’re still trying to get better, we’re still trying to work on things.”We know other teams around the world are going to be doing that. We can only look after ourselves as a team and try and keep moving the game forward and playing how we want to. Bangladesh will be a tough test to see if we can do that in a big tournament as well.”

Opener’s 80 not out has visitors ahead by 155 after rain-affected third day

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2023Lancashire 207 and 167 for 4 (Jennings 80*, Bell 30*) lead Essex 219 (Critchley 78, Anderson 4-70) by 155 runsKeaton Jennings held together Lancashire’s second innings with a patient half-century on a truncated day’s cricket at Chelmsford.The Lancashire captain batted throughout the 36 overs possible before rain returned at tea leading to a premature end to the day. By that time Jennings, the leading LV= Insurance County Championship run-scorer last season, had racked up 80 runs from 170 balls.Lancashire lost three quick wickets before 20-year-old wicketkeeper George Bell joined Jennings for an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 56 in 23 overs.When play was finally called off at 4.45pm, Lancashire were 167 for 4 with a lead of 155 going into the final day. Bell was unbeaten on 30 from 78 balls.Heavy overnight rain had left puddles in the outfield and the umpires required two morning inspections before deciding play could resume after an early lunch.There was an immediate surprise as Jamie Porter and Sam Cook switched from their more familiar bowling ends. Porter quickly acquainted himself with the River End and with the fourth ball of the day had Josh Bohannon playing down the wrong line and losing his off-stump.The change did not inconvenience Cook either and in his third over he found the edge of Steven Croft’s bat with Dan Lawrence taking a smart diving catch to his right at third slip.Dane Vilas showed attacking intent with a straight drive, a flick off the legs and a hook for boundaries before he miscued a massive heave and skied Doug Bracewell to mid-on.The sun made a welcome appearance during the afternoon to turn it into a one-sweater day; even Simon Harmer had dispensed with the snood he had worn for the first two days.After losing three wickets inside six overs, Jennings and Bell bedded down into a preservation-mode partnership that was enlivened by a perfectly-timed straight drive off Porter by Jennings and a rare boundary off Harmer through the covers from Bell.Essex had an injury scare when Cook limped off mid-over as a precaution after landing awkwardly. They were already reduced to fielding Michael Pepper as replacement wicketkeeper after Adam Rossington damaged his hand.Anthony McGrath, the Essex head coach, said it was too early to know the extent of Cook’s problem but described his exit from the field as “precautionary”.”Sam Cook was forced off because he’s just felt his hamstring a little bit,” McGrath said. “The ground is really heavy and it’s been tough for everyone, particularly the bowlers. At this stage of the season, we didn’t want to take any risks with him but we’ll know more about the injury after the game.”

Australia coach is prepared to wait for discussions with CA on his contract after winning the T20 World Cup and the Ashes in a four-month stretch

Alex Malcolm19-Jan-2022Australia coach Justin Langer says he is not nervous about his upcoming contract discussions with Cricket Australia despite the ongoing speculation about his future as coach of Australia’s men’s team.Langer’s current contract runs out mid-year and there has been no move to renew it as yet with both CA and Langer committing to holding off discussions until after the completion of the Ashes. He is yet to formally speak to CA despite Australia wrapping up the Ashes 4-0 on Sunday night.Australia won both the T20 World Cup and the Ashes in a stellar four months of cricket after doubts were raised about Langer’s position following rumblings of player discontent at the end of two poor limited-overs tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh in August 2021.Langer was asked to change his coaching style following individual meetings with up to 30 players who had been involved in the men’s program across all three forms. He heeded the advice during the World Cup and the Ashes and the results have been self-evident.Speaking on SEN on Wednesday Langer said he was content with the team’s performance over the last four months and was not worried about the upcoming discussions on his future.”No never edgy, whatever happens,” Langer said. “Before the World Cup and before these Ashes, we’ve never ever been better prepared. It’s not a coincidence we’ve had the success we’ve had.”Whatever happens from now we can all be incredibly proud of this little period. We had two missions to win the World Cup and to win the Ashes, to do that in such a short period is a monumental effort and we’re all really satisfied with that, we’re all really happy with that, we’re all really proud of that. I sit here at the moment feeling really content with the last two series.”Australia captain Pat Cummins said during the fifth Test in Hobart that the team was eager for clarity on Langer’s future, while former Australia greats Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Shane Warne have questioned the delay in contract discussions in various media outlets and have all urged CA to resign him immediately.Adam Gilchrist joined the chorus on Twitter on Wednesday following Langer’s interview with SEN.Former Australian coach Darren Lehmann has been the only dissenting voice telling Fox Sports that he has told Langer privately to go out on a high as four years in the job is long enough.Langer, who has made it clear he wants to continue, said he is committed to CA’s timeline and will wait for discussions to begin over the coming weeks.”The absolute truth and people don’t seem to believe this, but the absolute truth is before the World Cup and the Ashes we all committed to, at the end of the Ashes, sit down and have some conversations,” he said. “It’s been four really big years. It’s an all-encompassing job, and it’s a tough gig. That’s just the truth. We all just said we’d sit down after the Ashes. In the next little bit, I’m sure those conversations will start to be had. There’s plenty to be spoken about.”Related

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Meanwhile, Australia’s three-match ODI series with New Zealand has been officially postponed due to uncertainty over quarantine. That means Australia’s next assignment is five home T20Is against Sri Lanka. Australia’s Test team will then head to Pakistan in late February for three Tests while a T20 squad is scheduled to head to New Zealand for a three-match T20I series at the same time, however that series is also in doubt due to New Zealand’s quarantine rules. Australia’s limited-overs specialists will then head to Pakistan for three ODIs and one T20I in late March-early April.Langer is intent on taking the Test side to Pakistan as he believes Australia’s next frontier is winning away from home.”It’s the next challenge,” Langer said. “We’ve done some extraordinary things the last few months. But we haven’t played much Test cricket over the last couple of years because of the Covid situation. Our next big challenge is to start winning overseas now. We’re all aware of that, we’ve got a really good team. So many guys have stepped up this summer and it’s so exciting to watch, it’s been an incredible brand of cricket. We’re excited about our next big challenge of winning Test matches overseas.”Complicating matters further for Langer is he can’t get back home to Perth for a rest to see his family. The entire Australian squad has left Hobart with six Test players set to play in the BBL while others have headed home for a rest.Western Australia’s hard border due to Covid means that Langer can’t get back home until February 5. He has instead remained in Hobart on his own and will catch up with former Australia captain Tim Paine on Thursday.”The hardest thing is I just can’t get back to Perth,” Langer said. “All the boys have gone home. I can’t get home until at least the fifth of February. Having not seen my family since September, I’m counting the days to get home.”

Broadcasters are pushing for a discount in their belief the value of cricket has diminished due to Covid-19

Daniel Brettig18-Sep-2020Fears that advertisers will soon be beating down doors at Seven and Foxtel, requesting discounts in line with any reduction in rights from Cricket Australia, have helped send a very public broadcast dispute into a more private setting – at least for now.CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley and the New South Wales-based board director Richard Freudenstein met with Seven’s chief executive James Warburton in Sydney on Thursday, and Hockley with Foxtel’s chief executive Patrick Delaney on Friday, in an effort to find a resolution after weeks of public mud being slung at the governing body in pursuit of a rights discount.This pertains particularly to the BBL, which virtually all parties other than CA are adamant needs to be reduced in size from the 14-game-per-team structure of the past two seasons, regardless of the effects that the Covid-19 pandemic will have on the looming season.Plenty of other issues have been raised, from a perceived “lack of quality” in terms of players to the flipping of the international season to have India playing white-ball games – behind Foxtel’s paywall – before Seven air a Test match.ALSO READ: Cricket Australia v Channel Seven: Gold Coast glow forgotten in broadcast battleWhile CA and the broadcasters remain at odds over whether or not their shares of a A$1.18 billion, six-year rights deal should be reduced given that very little content has been cut from the schedule – none at all as yet in Seven’s case – there is at least now consensus that the public sparring needs to come to an end.All parties share concern that the already significant damage to cricket will allow advertisers to push the broadcasters themselves for further discount to rates for airing commercials during the summer, or in Foxtel’s case scare off potential subscribers.More dangerous still is the prospect of a cascade effect from Seven and Foxtel’s decision not to pay their full contracted instalments (A$33 million from Foxtel, A$25 million from Seven) to CA on Tuesday, whereby sponsors and advertisers choose to take similarly provocative action.Seven, a A$1.3 billion annual revenue business that is 41% owned by the multibillionaire Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, has been eager to propagate the fanciful idea that full payment of its A$82 million annual rights fee (A$75 million in cash, A$7 million in free advertising with the network) to CA had the potential to wreck the company. In late August, Seven poached rights to high-rating talent show from its rival network Nine.The noise of the dispute, largely driven by Warburton’s incendiary words but widely broadcast by News Corp, owner of Foxtel, has run in the face of green shoots in terms of advertising spend across the media industry, which bottomed out in June and has been slowly regathering itself since.CA and Seven now have until September 25 before the network’s request for a dispute resolution mechanism to be activated, in which the value of the rights are independently assessed. This clause is part of a long-form agreement between the governing body and the network that was only completed quite recently, underlining the instability that has existed in the A$450 million relationship between Seven and CA almost from the beginning of their deal in April 2018.While Foxtel have maintained a more dignified front in their own negotiations with CA, a highly concentrated media environment has helped contribute to pressure on the governing body that aids the pay TV provider in its request for a rights reduction and/or a greater level of exclusivity should Seven follow through on its threats to walk away from the CA deal.News Corp’s global chief executive, Robert Thompson, said that there was benefit for Foxtel in negotiating cheaper and more fit-for-purpose sports rights deals in the current environment, as sports battle with the enormous growth of their cost bases.”There needed to be a reset in sports rights cost. In Australia there has been a reset and that reset is still in motion and there is no doubt as to the benefit of Foxtel,” Thomson told an investment conference. “There’s a realism in Australia about sports rights. The sports themselves have generally become conscious of the value of media partnerships and are aware of the danger of not having those partnerships. It’s an existential moment for some of the sports given their own cost base.”These things are not just about the quantity of matches, they are about the quality of the experience for our customers. We all know which teams are the big drawers and the importance of exclusivity. And that for us is a big factor. Not just how much we spend, but the quality of the relationship we have with the sport and how the sport understands our needs.”Seven is due to broadcast the opening international matches of the season, a limited -overs series between the Australian and New Zealand women’s teams in Brisbane, starting with three T20Is on September 26, 27 and 30, before an ODI series on October 3, 5 and 7. The WBBL is scheduled to commence on October 25 and be played entirely in Sydney.

Curran unbeaten on 48 as rain disrupts play from lunch onwards

ECB Reporters Network04-Jun-2019Glamorgan’s push for a second win in this season’s Specsavers County Championship was held up by bad weather on the third afternoon at Wantage Road, preventing any play after lunch with Northamptonshire closing on 68 without loss, trailing by 270 runs.Having taken a first-innings lead of 338 after finally being bowled out for 547, Glamorgan only had time for 18 overs in Northants’ second innings until lunch.The rain was a big help to Northants’ chances of saving the match. They began their second innings with 186 overs remaining in the game but with two sessions lost, 72 of those were scratched. They are still left, for the second game in succession, with the final day to bat out to salvage a draw having been well behind the game.Ben Curran gave their hopes a boost in making a fluent 48 before the weather closed in. Playing the ball late, he flicked Dan Douthwaite for four before cutting the same bowler for another boundary. Ricardo Vasconcelos was scratchy at the other end and survived two large lbw appeals but also got through, 18 not out.The weight of scoreboard pressure was made heavier by a 46-minute blast by Glamorgan’s No. 10 and 11, Tim van der Gugten and Michael Hogan at the start of the day. They flogged 95 runs in 69 balls to boost the visitors’ overnight 452 for 9.Hogan began the fun by clearing his front leg to heave Ben Sanderson into the trees behind deep square and struck another maximum over deep cover to the short side of the ground. He reached just his third first-class fifty in 44 balls before finally holing out to long-off for 54.Van der Gugten also enjoyed himself, uppercutting Nathan Buck for six over third man and driving a boundary wide of long-off in making 30 from 26 balls.

Left-arm seamer has become the latest English player to concentrate on a future in limited-overs cricket

George Dobell27-Feb-2018
Reece Topley has become the latest English player to concentrate on a future in limited-overs cricket.Topley, who was 24 last week and has played 10 ODIs and six T20Is for England, has signed a new contract with Hampshire which will see him play white-ball cricket only in 2018.Topley’s decision follows those of Alex Hales and Adil Rashid to concentrate on limited-overs cricket. Unlike them, however, Topley’s decision was largely made for him by persistent injury troubles that have threatened to curtail his career in its infancy.In particular, he has been plagued by a succession of stress fractures that have limited him to five first-class games since the start of the 2015 season. He has claimed just two first-class wickets since joining Hampshire ahead of the 2016 season.While Topley retains Test ambitions – he has always said he wanted to be the first left-arm seamer to claim 100 Test wickets for England – he has accepted that, for now at least, his body is unable to withstand the demands of first-class cricket. And, with a World Cup round the corner, he will hope that a spell of sustained fitness could result in an England recall.His last international appearance came in March 2016 during the World T20, but he hopes that, if he is able to build up the number of overs he can bowl without the demands of red-ball cricket, he might eventually be able to return to the first-class game.”It has been a frustrating time for me as a young bowler,” Topley said. “It is hoped that this proposal will assist me by preventing further injury as my body matures. Going forward, I do hope to return to red-ball cricket and still harbour ambitions of being the first left-arm fast bowler to take 100 Test wickets for England but that remains a long-term goal.””The short-term goal is simply to return to performing for Hampshire and only then perhaps to try and resurrect playing for England where I am still ambitious to add to my 16 caps. I would like to thank Hampshire for their understanding and continued support and cannot wait for the coming season.”Topley is unlikely to be the last of the current crop of players to make such a choice. Increasingly the risk-reward ratio is pushing seam bowlers, in particular, into specialising in limited-overs cricket.Another left-arm fast bowler – Tymal Mills – has already gone down the same path due to persistent injury problems and, while the likes of Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett (both of whom are currently sidelined by injury) have always insisted they want to play Test cricket, the temptation for them to reduce their overs and, as a consequence their exposure to risk, remains.While the England management will be disappointed for Topley and would dearly like to find a left-arm seamer to add variation to their Test attack, they have long-since been persuaded by the benefits of players specialising in formats. Indeed, it is thought the England medical team were fully supportive of this decision.”Reece’s attitude to his rehab and recovery has been outstanding and he deserves for things to go his way this year,” said Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White.”Reece’s intentions for red-ball cricket are clear, and the longer-form of the game is still something that is important to him in the future – this move is something that ourselves, Reece and the ECB feel is the best route to take this season, for him to be able to achieve his long-term goals at both domestic and international level.”