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Colin Munro made 41 from 28 before rain finally brought an end to proceedings

ECB Reporters' Network05-Aug-2021The men’s Hundred clash between Manchester Originals and Southern Brave ended in a no result as rain limited play to only 71 balls at Emirates Old Trafford.The inclement weather arrived towards the end of the women’s game earlier in the evening and delayed a scheduled 7pm start by 45 minutes. Play was reduced to 90 balls per side, with Brave winning the toss and electing to bowl first.Originals reached 36 for 2 before a 10-minute delay from 8pm reduced the game further to 85 balls per side. They later reached 98 for 3 from 71. Unfortunately, there was no play beyond 8.50pm.This was Originals second no result, and they have moved into a three-way tie on six points at the top of the table alongside Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets, with Rockets having only played four. For Brave, they have moved to five points courtesy of their first no result added to two wins and two defeats.New Zealand batsman Colin Munro pulled Chris Jordan for six over midwicket in an unbeaten 41 off 28 balls, while there were wickets for Tymal Mills, Jordan and the left-arm wristspin of Jake Lintott.Jordan’s first three balls had all gone for four from the blade of Sussex team-mate Phil Salt, but he had him caught behind next ball to leave the score at 36 for 2 after 24.Earlier, Mills had bowled Joe Clarke with his first ball and Liam Dawson suffered a suspected dislocated finger on his right hand having been struck in his follow through by a fierce Salt drive. Lintott’s wicket was that of Colin Ackermann caught at long-on.Munro was moving the Originals towards a competitive total before rain ruled.

David Payne, Lance Morris and Peter Hatzoglou took three wickets apiece in a thrashing

Tristan Lavalette20-Jan-2023League leaders Perth Scorchers routed Adelaide Strikers to strengthen their BBL title favouritism with a seven-wicket thrashing.After electing to bat at Adelaide Oval, Strikers’ formidable batting order eyed a strong total but were thwarted by a typically disciplined Scorchers attack.David Payne, Lance Morris and Peter Hatzoglou snared three wickets apiece to underline Scorchers’ reservoir of bowling options as Strikers were dismissed within 17 overs.Related

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Scorchers mowed down the small victory target in the 12th over to claim the Jason Gillespie Trophy.They can wrap up top spot with a victory over Melbourne Renegades in their regular season finale at home on Sunday, while Strikers are in a logjam for a playoff spot.

Payne underlines Scorchers’ pace riches

Scorchers rested veteran left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff but they boast a decent replacement in Englishman Payne, who claimed the vital wickets of openers Matt Short and Travis Head to finish with 3 for 20 from three overs.Left-armer Payne, who last year made his England debut in an ODI against Netherlands, bowled in-form Short with a gem of a delivery through the gate to start Strikers’ rot.After being hit for two boundaries by a dismissive Head, who used his feet supremely, Payne hit back and had him caught at deep forward square leg.Having impressed against Thunder and Sixers in his BBL debut season, Payne swung the ball menacingly and returned in the backend to dismiss Adam Hose who was the only Strikers batter to offer resistance.His emergence has added to Scorchers’ embarrassment of pace riches with star quick Jhye Richardson set to return from a hamstring injury in time for the playoffs.David Payne made key early inroads•Getty Images

Strikers’ plan backfired

Strikers’ well-worn plan fell apart in a reckless batting display. They had beefed up their batting with the inclusion of Harry Nielsen and hoped several strategies would disrupt Scorchers’ all-conquering attack.Having lost Short in the opening over, Strikers used middle-order batter Thomas Kelly at No.3 – as they had planned if a wicket fell in the first two overs.They hoped Kelly could be something of a pinch-hitter while allowing Alex Carey – an excellent player against spin – to drop down the order in a bid to curb Scorchers’ spinners Hatzoglou and Ashton Agar, who generally bowl in tandem after the powerplay.But Kelly’s promotion didn’t work as he failed to collar Agar in the second over before falling to Morris having made just nine off 13 balls.Coming to the crease earlier than expected, Carey fell to Hatzoglou for just one as Strikers slumped to 4 for 22 and they never recovered.

Hardie’s confidence is soaring

Scorchers players have been ribbing Nick Hobson about not being needed to bat. He might be the butt of more jokes after not batting for the fifth time in their last six matches.Hobson started the season at No. 3 but has fallen down the order and mostly not been required recently with his replacement Aaron Hardie relishing his promotion.Emerging allrounder Hardie has become something of an expert in chasing highlighted by a career best 90 not out against Hobart Hurricanes last start.After Scorchers lost a couple of early wickets, Hardie ensured there would be no nerves for them with another display of power hitting to club 43 off 30 balls. He fell with victory in sight but moved just three runs behind Short as the BBL’s leading run scorer.

“Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he’s shown all of that,” coach says before Kohli’s 500th international game

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-20234:32

Dravid on Kohli: Great to see him put effort and work hard when nobody’s watching

The year 2023 may hold a lot of importance for Virat Kohli. It will mark 15 years of international cricket for him next month. There’s an ODI World Cup coming up which will provide Kohli a rare second chance to lift the trophy at home. It will bring up his 500th international appearance when Kohli takes the field on Thursday in the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad. Even though he doesn’t seem to be part of India’s T20I plans going ahead, he continues to be the driving force of the 50-overs and the Test teams.Asked where he saw Kohli in the overall scheme of things currently, coach Rahul Dravid was nothing but complimentary of his senior batter’s work ethic and drive even after 110 Tests and 15 years of international cricket.”He’s a real inspiration to so many players within this team without a doubt, to so many boys and girls in India,” Dravid said. “His numbers and stats speak for itself, his performances – it’s all there in the book. But I think for me what’s great to see first hand is the effort and work he puts behind the scenes when no one’s watching. That’s reflecting in the fact that he’s going to be playing 500 games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“He’s still very strong, very fit, the energy and enthusiasm despite playing 500 games and being around here for 12-13 years now, it’s truly fantastic. That’s not come easy, that’s come because of a lot of hard work behind the scenes, lot of sacrifices that he has made through his career and he’s willing to continue to make. That’s something that is great for a coach, you can see a lot of young players will look to that and be inspired by that.”You don’t have to say anything, just by the way you conduct yourself, the way you carry yourself, the way you go about practice and about your fitness, it’s an inspiration to a lot of players coming through the system. Hopefully they follow that and they are inspired like Virat to play so many games. Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he’s shown all of that. Long may it continue.”Related

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Dravid first played with Kohli in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. Then they became ODI colleagues a year later. On the tour of the Caribbean in 2011, they became Test colleagues when Kohli had a tough initiation into the longest format. The game where Kohli brought up his maiden Test century – in Adelaide in January 2012 – incidentally, would be Dravid’s last.”It’s nice to see Virat’s journey,” Dravid said. “When I was playing, he was a youngster coming through. And then I was not involved in the team as such, I watched it from the outside with a lot of admiration for what he’s done and what he’s continued to achieve.”And now to get to know him a bit over the last 18 months [since taking over as coach], interact with him, get to know him personally as well, it’s been good fun. I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve learnt a lot from him. So in a lot of ways, I’ve really enjoyed it and hope he has as well.”

Fire fight back late with the ball but pay price for timid powerplay and costly early no-ball

ECB Media24-Aug-2025
Joe Root delivered a batting masterclass at Sophia Gardens, hitting his second successive half-century as Trent Rockets snuck past Welsh Fire with a ball to spare to confirm their qualification for the knockout phase.In a frenetic match, David Payne thought he had dismissed Root for a duck, only for the umpire to signal a no-ball after replays showed the bowler had over-stepped. The England run-machine promptly hit the subsequent free-hit for six over long-on and eventually finished unbeaten on 64 from 41 to secure a three-wicket win, keeping his composure in a chaotic finale.Set 151 for victory, the Rockets appeared to be cruising after a 66-run opening stand between Root and Tom Banton (32 from 20) but when Rehan Ahmed fell to Saif Zaib and Max Holden holed out to deep cover off Chris Green, the nerves began to show.Tom Moores went for a big shot and was caught at mid-on to give Green his second and then three wickets fell in the space of seven deliveries as the Fire set alarm bells ringing.The Rockets were left needing 14 from the final set, bowled by Green, but Root, entirely unruffled, belted the spinner’s first delivery for six and then found a boundary through mid-wicket from the second. A single brought Sam Hain on strike, and he crunched the ball through the covers to seize a thrilling victory.The Fire have had a tough season, winning just two of their seven matches, but they had given themselves a fighting chance after Steve Eskinazi’s first half-century of the campaign headlined a competitive total of 150-6.Runs were hard to come by early on as the Rockets seamers bowled tightly, conceding just 47 from the first 45 deliveries. Steve Smith gloved behind for 8 off Sam Cook (2 for 17), who then dismissed Jonny Bairstow, caught at backward-square by Lockie Ferguson for an uncharacteristically scratchy 13-ball 8.Eskinazi (53 from 42) and skipper Tom Abell (48 from 29) picked up the pace in the second half of the innings before falling to consecutive deliveries in the penultimate set – the former run out after a mix up and the latter caught behind off David Willey – and a breezy four-ball 11 from Green took the hosts to 150, but it wasn’t enough to lift them from the bottom of the table.The Rockets, meanwhile, have secured a top-three finish with a game to spare as they aim to repeat their title triumph of 2022. Victory in their home fixture against Birmingham Phoenix on Wednesday could yet see them top the table and progress straight to the Lord’s final if other results go their way.”Way too tense for my liking,” said Joe Root, the Meerkat Match Hero. “They pulled it back, this format is difficult to gauge. The majority of the game, the wicket played fine.”Green’s over, I thought I’ve got to hit a six here. We needed a boundary in the first two balls, I had a good idea of what he was trying to do to protect that long side, and I put a couple away. “

Ayub took a career-best 5 for 24 and then scored 33 to help Panthers chase down 138

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2024Mohammad Hasnain and Saim Ayub put in strong performances to take Panthers into the final of the Champions Cup with a seven-wicket win over Markhors. It was also the first win for the chasing team in the tournament.Batting first after winning the toss, Markhors had a poor start as Ali Raza dismissed Haseebullah Khan in the second over of the game. The real damage, though, was done by Hasnain, who sent back Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan to leave Markhors on 25 for 4 in the seventh over.Salman Agha and Iftikhar Ahmed staged a mini-recovery, adding 77 for the fifth wicket but once Iftikhar was run out, Markhors collapsed again, to be all out for 137 in 36 overs. Their unlikely tormentor was Ayub, who picked up 5 for 24 with his part-time legbreaks. It was the first time he took more than two wickets in any form of senior cricket.Panthers lost Azan Awais early in the chase but Ayub kept them on track with 33 off 36 balls. And even though Ayub and Umar Siddiq fell in quick succession, Usman Khan smashed 54 not out off just 26 balls to take the side home in the 24th over.Markhors will now face the winner of the first eliminator, between Stallions and Lions, on Friday.

Among ODI bowlers, Ngidi returned to the top 20 and in the T20I bowlers’ rankings Holder reached a career-best 26th

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2022South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has jumped up four places in the ICC ODI rankings for batters to move to fifth place and Rassie van der Dussen has gone up 10 spots to reach a career-best 10th position. de Kock re-entered the top five for the first time since the 2019 World Cup after he topped the run charts with a total of 229 runs (124, 78 and 27) in the three ODIs against India as South Africa blanked them 3-0, while van der Dussen was second on the list with 218 runs.Captain Temba Bavuma went up 21 places to reach a career-best 59th position, with the help of a century against India. Opener Shikhar Dhawan – India’s top-scorer in the series with 169 runs in three innings – moved up one place to 15th position. Rishabh Pant went up five spots to 82nd position.Among bowlers, Lungi Ngidi returned to the top 20 with his five wickets in the series – joint-second most with Jasprit Bumrah – to be placed on 20th, Keshav Maharaj moved to a career-best 33rd, and Andile Phehlukwayo, the top wicket-taker of the series, went up seven places to 52nd.Afghanistan batter Rahmat Shah also made gains, moving up seven places to joint 36th position with an aggregate of 153 runs against Netherlands recently. For Netherlands, Scott Edwards’ series-leading tally of 208 runs saw him go up 97 places to 100th spot. From Sri Lanka, Charith Asalanka went up from 52nd place to a career-best 46th spot.In the T20I rankings, Jason Roy’s knock of 45 in the second T20I against West Indies took him up one place to 15th while Brandon King went up 28 places to 88th spot after his unbeaten 52 in the series opener.Among T20I bowlers, Jason Holder moved to a career-best 26th spot with his Player-of-the-Match performance of 4 for 7 in the opening game, and Akeal Hosein gained 40 places to reach 33rd with economical figures of 1 for 15 and 1 for 6 over seven overs in the two games.

Stirling, Balbirnie, Dockrell and Adair kept Ireland in the game before Malik closed it out for the visitors

Karthik Krishnaswamy28-Jun-2022Deepak Hooda scored his maiden T20I hundred. Sanju Samson gave international cricket its first real glimpse of his sumptuous gifts. Paul Stirling reminded the IPL that he exists. Andy Balbirnie slogged and connected often enough to make up for the times he slogged and missed. Then Harry Tector, George Dockrell and Mark Adair showed that Ireland have hitting talent all the way down their line-up.It came down to one ball and six to get, in a chase of 226.Umran Malik had kept Ireland to 11 off the first five balls of this final over, and four of those runs had come off an edge. He had endured a difficult debut, delivering just the one over in a rain-shortened game, and had conceded 31 in his first three overs today. Not bad at all considering the scoring rate of this match, but it would all now boil down to this one last ball.Malik bowled it wide of off stump and Adair slashed through cover-point, but he couldn’t find the elevation he needed to turn this rip-roaring chase into a party like Bengaluru or Nelson or Southampton. India wrapped up the series 2-0, but this was the sort of game that should have wider implications in terms of cricket’s scheduling and economic flows. Will it? Who knows. But what a game.Malahide has been one of the freest-scoring grounds in world cricket of late. Before today, its average run rate of 9.12 had put it sixth among the 69 grounds that have hosted at least five T20Is since the start of 2018. By the end of Sunday’s surreal slugfest, Malahide had moved up to third place on that list, leapfrogging Hamilton, Centurion and Mount Maunganui.Samson and Hooda show off India’s bench strength

Hooda was on the bench throughout the last T20I series India played, and Samson wasn’t even in the squad. This was despite India resting a number of their regular top-order batters. Hooda got his chance in this series because Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer were unavailable, and Samson came into the side for this game because Ruturaj Gaikwad was out with a calf niggle.Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda added 176 for the second wicket•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Neither looked anything like a fringe player today during a partnership of 176 in just 87 balls – the highest for the second wicket in all T20Is and India’s highest for any wicket. It was only more evidence of India’s sheer depth of resources.And what watchable evidence it was. You need to be a special player experiencing a special day to not just outscore Samson but also better him for eye-catching strokeplay, and Hooda did both. The forays down the pitch to use his long levers to hit long and straight were awe-inspiring, but even better was his ruthless pulling and hooking of anything short. His maiden T20I fifty came up off 27 balls, and his hundred off 55.Samson followed in Hooda’s slipstream for most of the partnership, every now and again making spectators sit up with a moment of effortless timing – a full-face drive straight of mid-off, off Craig Young, was one notable instance. But he surged after reaching his fifty – hitting three sixes in the space of five balls before he was bowled by an Adair yorker – just as Hooda slowed down in his 90s, taking ten balls to go from 91 to 100. As a result, Samson ended up with a marginally better strike rate of the pair.Ireland hit back after they ended the Hooda-Samson stand, with Young and Adair conceding just 13 off the last two overs while taking three wickets. As it turned out, this mini-comeback, and Hooda’s slowdown, would nearly go on to have a result-changing impact.Ireland give India serious fright

Stirling’s T20I record against top oppositions – he had passed 20 only once in 17 innings against the traditional top eight teams – is one possible reason behind his never having featured in the IPL, but when he gets going, even the best can find him hard to stop. Bhuvneshwar Kumar found this out as Stirling pulled, slapped and whipped him for 6, 4, 4, 4 off the last four balls of his first over. Ireland’s chase was up and running.Paul Stirling gave Ireland a flying start•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Or was it? At the other end, Balbirnie tried to hit the leather off every ball he faced, but he was struggling to connect, and hadn’t yet got off the mark after seven balls. But a shuffling sweep for six off Bhuvneshwar got his innings going, and while he continued to play and miss, he also kept clearing the ropes. With Stirling finding the boundary regularly, Ireland remained in touch with their required rate. They ended their powerplay 73 for 1, after Ravi Bishnoi bowled Stirling with a googly. India were 54 for 1 at the same stage.At the ten-over mark, Ireland were still in the game at 107 for 2. Balbirnie began the second half of their innings ominously, with a four and a paddled six off Harshal Patel. But Harshal – who endured a difficult day when his slower ball kept slipping out and ending up as full tosses – struck off the next ball, Balbirnie slapping a short ball straight to the off-side sweeper.The next nine balls brought no boundaries, and Ireland suddenly needed 102 off the last 48 balls. Tector, their half-centurion in the first T20I, was in the middle, but would the rest of their batting be able to keep this pursuit going?They would. Dockrell hit the first ball he faced for an inside-out six over the covers, and that began a phase when Ireland hit three sixes and four fours in the space of 16 balls to bring the equation down to 38 off 18. Bhuvneshwar dismissed Tector in the 18th over, but that didn’t stop Ireland either, as Adair kept their boundary blitz going.It came down, in the end, to one ball, and one hit. On another day, Adair may have connected more sweetly. On this one, Malik and India prevailed.

Having been promoted to No.4, Shadab stepped up with the bat to dominate NZ’s attack

Danyal Rasool08-Oct-2022
On a day where everything clicked into place for Pakistan, they swept aside New Zealand to cruise to a six-wicket win. A day after Bangladesh had been given short shrift, another near-flawless bowling performance against a rusty, stilted New Zealand batting-line-up saw the hosts restricted to 147 with Haris Rauf yet again the star. In response, Babar Azam steered Pakistan’s chase with an effortless, unbeaten 53-ball 79. Quickfire cameos from Shdab Khan and Haider Ali helped Pakistan seal the win with 10 balls to spare.New Zealand struggled to get going early on, with Devon Conway and Kane Williamson struggling for fluency during their 61-run partnership off 52 balls. The pacers cramped New Zealand for room during the fielding restrictions, while Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz kept things tight during the middle. A one-over blip, during which Mark Chapman hammered Nawaz for 22, threatened to see New Zealand claw back some ground they had lost, only for the visitors to hit back and ensure there would be no further shift in momentum. The last three overs saw 17 runs scored with five wickets lost, by which stage New Zealand were hobbling.Mohammad Rizwan couldn’t find the fluency that has been characteristic of his game for the past two years and was trapped in front by Tim Southee, before Blair Tickner sent Shan Masood back for a duck. Shadab was the wrecking ball through the middle order, complementing his captain especially well in a fluent, destructive partnership that also yielded 61 – though they took just 42 balls to get there. By then the required rate was effectively around a run-a-ball, where it stayed for the next few overs. Haider Ali and Babar smashed Tickner for 21 in the 18th over, and sealed a second successive win.Shadab’s promotion
The clamour to have Shadab bat higher up the order has occupied much social-media real estate in Pakistan, and its immediate vindication upon its deployment could potentially have ramifications for Pakistan through the next five weeks. It is in the top four that Shadab has boasted the highest average and strike rate for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, and Pakistan’s tendency to slow down in the post-powerplay overs had led to baying calls to promote Shadab reaching a crescendo.On Saturday, Shadab showed why. Everything seemed to fall into place after Rizwan and Masood both fell towards the end of the powerplay. It prompted the allrounder’s first-ever promotion to No.4 with Pakistan, and in the absence of the high pace of Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne, it was a very fruitful match-up. Tickner was slashed through point first ball he faced, before Ish Sodhi’s first ball was hammered over cow corner and out of the stadium.In just six balls Sodhi bowled to Shadab, Shadab would plunder 19. In all, Shadab scored 34 off 22 balls to easy any pressure in a fairly small chase, allowing his team-mates to cruise along at a much more sedate pace. The option he gives Pakistan would appear to add another dimension to their batting, though how frequently they deem fit to ustilise it is very much an open question.Haris Rauf dented New Zealand at the death•Getty Images

Williamson and Conway struggle

Conway is New Zealand’s highest-ranked batter, and Williamson perhaps the most reliable, but in their first home game of the season, both looked off-colour. Williamson acknowledged his side’s performance had been “scrappy”, and the 61-run second-wicket stand between the two exemplified that. Pakistan in top form with the ball aren’t an ideal opponent for your first home game of the season, and perhaps that showed.Conway was able to find the odd four or six, but the dot balls interspersed between those boundaries only continued to add the pressure. It was perhaps telling that only after they fell did New Zealand enjoy their best passage of play with the bat, thanks to Chapman who briefly raised hopes of New Zealand posting a total in excess of 160.It contrasted heavily with the Babar-Shadab stand, which also saw 61 runs scored. But the ten fewer balls it took made all the difference – that was exactly the number of deliveries Pakistan had to spare when the target was chased down.An all-round bowling performance
Really, though, this game was about Pakistan with the ball. The old adage around bowlers winning tournaments bodes particularly well for Pakistan in this tri-series as two superb bowling performances see them sitting pretty at the top of the table. Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani and Mohammad Wasim each kept the hosts on a leash during the powerplay, and backed up by the spinners later on, there wasn’t a weak link to go after.Aside from that 22-run over, not once did New Zealand score 12 runs or more in any over, making it difficult to catch up to what the par score might have been. Rauf, Dahani, Wasim and Shadab’s 15 combined overs went for just 91, while even the one over Iftikhar bowled cost Pakistan only five. There was simply no place to hide.

Pakistan team director was particularly unhappy with Rizwan’s dismissal, saying “there was no conclusive kind of evidence” for the umpire’s initial not-out decision to be changed

Alex Malcolm29-Dec-2023Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez believes “inconsistent umpiring” and the “curse” of the decision review technology cost Pakistan a famous Test victory over Australia at the MCG.Chasing 317 for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan needed 98 runs with five wickets in hand when Mohammad Rizwan was adjudged caught behind off the wristband of his glove via a DRS review from Pat Cummins having initially been given not out on field by umpire Michael Gough.Third umpire Richard Illingworth decided there was conclusive evidence via both Hotspot and Real-Time Snicko that the ball had come off the wristband of the right glove and not off his forearm as Rizwan had protested to the on-field umpires.Related

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That decision sparked a massive collapse as Pakistan lost 5 for 18 to lose the game inside four days and lose the series 2-0 with one Test remaining. Hafeez blamed the umpiring and the use of the DRS technology for the result.”We made some mistakes as a team, we will take that, we will address those things, but at the same time I believe inconsistent umpiring and technology curse [has] really given us the result which should have been different,” Hafeez said in the post-match press conference.”I feel like these are the areas that need to be addressed. I spoke to [Rizwan] and he’s a very honest person. He said he did not even feel that it touched anywhere near the gloves. And what we saw, there should be conclusive evidence to reverse the decision of the umpire. That’s what I know. The umpire gave it not out and there was no conclusive kind of evidence where the decision has to be turned over.”Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel spoke on Channel Seven’s broadcast in Australia in the aftermath of the Rizwan decision and believed that the third umpire had made the right call.”For me, conclusive evidence was the ball on top of that wristband attached to the glove, with the spike [on Snicko],” Taufel said. “Very comfortable from where I’m sitting that Richard Illingworth the third umpire had conclusive evidence to overturn that decision.”Cummins, who claimed the wicket of Rizwan and finished with five wickets in the innings and 10 for the match, also felt the evidence was conclusive.”I thought it was worth review and then [it was] clearly off the gloves strap,” Cummins said.Hafeez was also aggrieved about the umpire’s call aspect of the DRS in reference to the lbws in the game. He did not specifically mention which decisions he was unhappy about but Pakistan were left frustrated on day three when both Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith had survived tight lbw calls via umpire’s call during their match-winning 154-run stand.Marsh shouldered arms to a ball that nipped back from Hasan Ali on 26 and was given not out by Gough who deemed it wasn’t hitting off stump. Pakistan reviewed with ball-tracking showing it was clipping off stump but not enough to overturn the decision. He went on to make 96. Smith was later hit on the pad by Aamer Jamal on 45 and was also given not out by Gough, who deemed it was missing leg. Ball-tracking showed it was clipping leg but it was umpire’s call and the decision remained. Smith only made five more runs.In the fourth innings, Imam-ul-Haq was given out lbw to Cummins by Gough on field. Ball-tracking said it was umpire’s call on hitting the middle and leg bail and Imam remained out.Earlier in the second innings of the match, Shaheen Shah Afridi was given out lbw to Nathan Lyon by Gough and it remained out on umpire’s call.Hafeez felt that the technology was inconsistent and unacceptable.”Technology, I’m in favor of that, but [only] if it’s giving you benefit,” Hafeez said. “But if it’s bringing some doubts and bringing some curse into the game, it should not be accepted by anyone.”Sometimes the technology brings some decisions which obviously, as a human we don’t understand.”The ball hitting the stump is always out. Why is it umpire’s call? I never understand that. So I think there are a lot of areas that need to be addressed for the betterment of cricket in general. I think technology is something that is taking away from the instinct of the game.”Cummins was the victim of a DRS decision himself while batting in the third innings. He was given out caught behind off Jamal by Gough. He reviewed it convinced he had not hit it. There was no evidence on Hotspot of the ball making contact with the bat, but there was a tiny murmur on Snicko as the ball passed the bat and that was enough for the third umpire to uphold Gough’s decision.”I didn’t think I hit it,” Cummins said.”I thought I missed it by a bit. So obviously something showed up on Snicko. Again, one of those ones that can go either way. Kind of got to accept this decision.Cummins believed the technology is as good as it can be and tends to even itself out across the course of a game or a series.”I don’t know what the alternative is,” Cummins said. “I think it’s pretty good. Umpire’s call is obviously 50-50. But I think it does even itself out. I think it’s as good as it can be. So I think it’s good for the game. There’s always going to be moments that you kind of rue or you wish were looked at a little bit differently or maybe technology picked up a little bit differently, but I think it’s pretty good.”The two sides had one umpire’s call each go against them in the first Test in Perth. Hafeez said he would not raise the issue with the umpires or the match referee as he didn’t think it would make a difference despite maintaining his view that it had affected the result.”Personally it won’t bring any difference because at the end of the day we all watch the game and we will notice some of the areas obviously as a cricketer we don’t understand,” Hafeez said. “And we play this game for the fans and the fans will never understand why this technology is inconsistent. And the result of the game basically comes up differently.”

Sussex captain will be without Jofra Archer due to England’s T20Is against Australia

Matt Roller05-Sep-2024Tymal Mills’ delight at leading Sussex to Finals Day in his first season as their T20 captain was tempered by his frustration that Jofra Archer will be unavailable, due to a scheduling clash that he described as “pretty stupid” and “a real shame”.Blast Finals Day – which sees the two semi-finals and the final played back-to-back-to-back at Edgbaston – will be staged on September 14, with England playing the second and third T20Is of their series against Australia on September 13 and 15. The ECB is working through scenarios but players will only be released if they are not required for the final two T20Is.”As far as I’m aware, no England players will be available – which is pretty stupid, to be honest,” Mills said after captaining Sussex to an eight-wicket win over Lancashire in Wednesday night’s quarter-final at Hove, in which Archer took 2 for 20. “Obviously no England players will be there from any side, but it is a real shame for us to lose a player like Jof. Whoever comes in for him will have big boots to fill.”Surrey, who beat Durham at The Oval on Tuesday, will be worst affected, with Jamie Overton called up by England as injury cover on Thursday and joining Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Reece Topley in the T20I squad. They are waiting for confirmation of the availability of their four Test players: Gus Atkinson, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith.Dan Mousley and Jacob Bethell, the uncapped allrounders, are also in England’s T20I squad. “I know Warwickshire will be without Mousley and Bethell – two of their better players – if they beat Gloucestershire on Friday,” Mills said. “It’s disappointing. This is a big day of the year and you’d like your best players there.”For us, it hurts us a lot, because you take Jofra Archer out of your team and it is a huge loss. Other counties – Surrey, for example – can maybe cover their losses a bit better than what we can, but it is what it is. The XI that’s taking the field on the 14th will have to step up. But I’m sure you won’t find many people that will agree with the schedule and say, ‘Yeah, it’s great.'”Surrey will be without Sam Curran on T20 Finals Day•Harry Trump/Getty Images

The Blast’s quarter-finals took place more than six weeks after the end of the group stage, which Kent captain Sam Billings branded “ridiculous” earlier this year. But many counties prefer a long gap as it allows them a bigger window to sell tickets, with a record quarter-final crowd at The Oval on Tuesday and a sellout at Hove on Wednesday.Sussex have thrived under Mills’ leadership this year. They missed out on the quarter-finals under Ravi Bopara’s captaincy in 2023, but have won 10 out of 15 games this season. Daniel Hughes, their Australian overseas player, is the Blast’s leading run-scorer, Mills himself is the third-highest wicket-taker and James Coles has enjoyed a fine all-round season.”I love the club,” Mills said. “This is my 10th year now, and I don’t just want to waste my last few years ticking over and then ride off into the sunset without anything to show for it. I put myself forward for the captaincy when Ravi left… I could have gone elsewhere at some point over the last few years and gone to a bigger club but I live here and this is where I want to be.”I’ve never even captained in a club game before, but I’ve really loved it. I’ve always been a senior player and I like to think about the game a lot: I don’t just stand at fine leg, look at the sky and twiddle my thumbs… One thing I’ve learned is just to trust your gut. There were a couple of times when I’ve got a little bit defensive with fields or bowling changes, and it comes back to haunt you.Related

• Chris Jordan backs Surrey to switch mindsets for Somerset Blast challenge

• Robinson shows Sussex he's still got it, as England turn the page

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• Phil Salt to captain England in Australia T20Is with injured Jos Buttler out

“I take T20 cricket very seriously, because it’s all I do, whereas I felt maybe as a club, there were players that maybe didn’t quite take it as seriously – which is hard, when guys are playing all formats. I’m 32 now. I’m not going to be playing forever. I want to win as many games as I can and nothing would mean more to me than winning [the Blast] for Sussex.”Mills has been particularly pleased at Sussex’s aggression with the bat, having reached 200 in five out of seven innings while batting first. “We’re playing positive, entertaining cricket,” he said. “We were poor here [at Hove] for the last few years, and our record here has really improved. I’m really proud of everything that the coaching staff and the players have done to get this far.”First of all, you want to get out of the group. We did that, and to win a knockout game against a very experienced and talented Lancashire side was obviously really pleasing as well. We’ll wait to see who we will play at Edgbaston next Saturday, but we’ll turn up expecting to win. That’s the attitude now that the team have.”