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Seamer’s 4 for 16 closes out tense win over Originals, set up by Capsey-van Niekerk partnership

Matt Roller09-Aug-2023Ryana MacDonald-Gay gave Oval Invincibles, the two-time defending champions, their first win of the season, taking 4 for 16 to close out a tense five-run win over Manchester Originals on a balmy afternoon in South London.Originals needed 16 to win off 14 balls after Deandra Dottin hit the third six of her innings at The Kia Oval, taking her to 41 off 19. But she played out four consecutive dot balls to give Invincibles a cushion heading into the final 10.MacDonald-Gay, the 19-year-old seamer, backed her slower balls at the death and, after gathering Alice Capsey’s throw to run Fi Morris out, she had Dottin caught at short third and Kathryn Bryce mistiming to midwicket. That left 13 required off the final set of five balls, and Eva Gray closed out Invincibles’ win.The result was set up by Capsey and Dane van Niekerk, whose third-wicket partnership of 61 in 37 balls enabled Invincibles to post 128 for 7 – a much-improved showing on the 80 all out they managed in the first completed innings of their title defence in a three-wicket defeat to Welsh Fire on Sunday night.But it was MacDonald-Gay who clinched the points. She was an ever-present for Invincibles last season but was used sparingly with the ball in the latter half of the tournament and did not bowl in their last three games, including the final. This was the first time in her Hundred career she had bowled all of her permitted 20 deliveries.She struck with her third ball, hitting Laura Wolvaardt on the pad and having her lbw on review for 27, just as she was starting to move through the gears, and in her second set of five she had Ami Campbell caught at point, skying a slower ball to Marizanne Kapp.Dottin thumped her down the ground for four in her third set, but her last cost only three runs as she backed her variations to finish with the fourth-best bowling figures of the competition so far.”She’s been brilliant for us at South East Stars, coming in at the back end and bowling her slower balls,” Capsey said of her team-mate. “She bowls them brilliantly and that’s one of her strengths and one of the reasons she’s so valued in our team. Whenever she comes on, she impacts the game.”She was bowling at Deandra Dottin, one of the world’s best players. That shows her character, and what a great bowler she is. She really held her nerve and backed her strengths. That’s all you can ask for from a bowler. She kept us in the game.”Invincibles started slowly with the bat, with Mahika Gaur striking early. Gaur, the towering teenage left-arm seamer, bowled 15 of the first 20 balls and had Lauren Winfield-Hill lbw, with figures of 1 for 7 from her first three sets.Sophie Ecclestone had delayed her own entry before striking in her first set, having Suzie Bates stumped, and Capsey struggled for timing early on. She was dropped on 28 by Morris, then given out lbw one ball later only to successfully review the on-field decision.She largely played second fiddle to van Niekerk but powered Ecclestone back over her head for a straight six, and was stumped immediately after reaching a 40-ball half-century, her first in a competitive game since the end of May.Van Niekerk scored quickly against Originals’ spinners, who were held back until the end of the innings, crashing a six and a four off successive balls from Amanda-Jade Wellington as Invincibles eyed a late surge towards 140.Instead, they slid to 128 for 7 as van Niekerk’s dismissal – caught at long-on off Wellington – preceded a flurry of three run-outs in the final six balls. Much to Invincibles’ relief, the mini-collapse did not prove costly.

Ponting says Langer ‘wants to coach again’; suggests Tim Paine could also be involved in a coaching role

Alex Malcolm09-Jun-2022Ricky Ponting believes former Australia coach Justin Langer wants to coach again and is one of the top names on a long list of candidates he would like to hire as Hobart Hurricanes coach after taking on a formal role as head of strategy for the BBL franchise.Hurricanes announced on Thursday that Ponting had signed a three-year deal with his former club to take on a newly created head of strategy role. Ponting will fulfil the role alongside his commentary commitments with Channel Seven and his IPL coaching commitments with Delhi Capitals. But the role has been designed for him to take charge of the recruitment of a new senior coach, assistant coaches, list management, team strategy, and culture as Hurricanes continue to chase their maiden title after 11 years of trying.Langer has been linked to the Hurricanes job in recent months, even prior to Ponting’s appointment. Hurricanes are still searching for a new coach after Adam Griffith stepped down at the end of last season. Langer has spoken publicly in recent weeks about the toll of the exit from the Australia coaching job and has been adamant he is still undecided on his next career move.Speaking at a press conference in Hobart on Thursday, Ponting confirmed he speaks to Langer regularly about the role, amongst informal discussions as longtime friends and confidants, but no formal decisions had been made either way.Related

• Langer looks at 'other opportunities' despite Ponting's pursuit for Hurricanes job

• Ponting appointed head of strategy at Hobart Hurricanes

• Justin Langer lifts the lid on messy exit as Australia coach

• Tim Paine's career appears over after not getting Tasmania contract

“He definitely wants to coach again,” Ponting said. “I think he’s got a bit more thinking to do as far as a commitment like this is concerned through the summer, but every chat I’ve had with him so far, he wants to coach again.”He’s probably the one that I’ve spoken to the most about it so far. We’ve been having a bit of dialogue through the last probably six or seven months to be honest.”Nothing’s finalised with Justin yet. But I’ll stay on him because I’ve got a pretty good understanding and feeling of what we need down here at the Hurricanes as far as that head coaching position is concerned.”Just listening to some of the feedback from players and other people around the setup the last couple of years, it sounds like things could have been a little bit better. Not so much the on-field playing stuff. But some of the other stuff that might happen around a dressing room and around a team. And I know JL would do a great job if he was the one.”But look, I’ve got a list. I’ve got pages and pages of names of guys that I think would do a great job. I haven’t necessarily put them in order yet. And I’ll pick them off along the way over the next few weeks.”The prospect of working alongside Ponting would be enticing for Langer. He is also close with newly appointed Tasmania head coach Jeff Vaughan and former Australian captain Tim Paine, who still holds close ties to the Hurricanes. Ponting suggested Paine could also be involved in a coaching capacity if he was keen to be.Tim Paine chats with Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer•Getty Images

“I’ll talk to a few of the other people around about what I’d like to be able to achieve with the Hurricanes, [and that] is to bring as many great Tasmanian people back around the franchise as possible, and I think Tim Paine fits perfectly into that mould,” Ponting said. “So whenever and if he’s ever ready to walk back and put another purple shirt on, I’m sure lots of Tasmanians, would like to see him involved.”Paine was not offered a contract with Tasmania for the upcoming season having not played since taking indefinite leave from cricket just weeks after he resigned from the Australian Test captaincy. Paine has not made any public statements regarding his own playing or coaching future.Appointing the coach is Ponting’s top priority in his new role. The new coach will need to be involved in list management decisions that could arise later this month with the BBL finalising details of an overseas draft for the coming season in the coming weeks.Ponting believes Hurricanes have a core nucleus of a great side with Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Tim David, Nathan Ellis and Riley Meredith all locked in for next season, and said that recruiting overseas players for the right roles was more important than getting big names.Ponting all but ruled out Chris Lynn as a possible recruit to the Hurricanes after Brisbane Heat opted not to renew his contract for the upcoming BBL.”I’m sure his name will come up,” Ponting said. “But if I look at Wade, McDermott, Short, David, I’m not sure that I’m picking Chris Lynn ahead of any of those guys and what we’ve got here.”They’re all established Hurricanes players that have been here for awhile. Tim David has just had the one season here. But I’d like to stick with what we’ve got, and get the best out of the guys we’ve got there rather than adding too much from players that have been left out of other BBL franchises.”I’m not going to make those decisions here and now and by myself. They’re decisions that we’re going to make once the coaching group is together and we can all sit down as a group and actually start making decisions with what we want as far as the list is concerned.”Ponting also reiterated that he was fully committed to the role despite his Channel Seven commentary commitments, and living full-time in Melbourne, but he had yet to work out whether he would commentate on Hurricanes games or not for Channel Seven.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Marnus Labuschagne and Kyle Jamieson moved up the tables

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2021Kane Williamson, who hit 238 in the Christchurch Test, consolidated his position at the top of the ICC rankings for Test batsmen by reaching 919 rating points – the highest ever by a New Zealand player. There was a switch just below him, with Steven Smith replacing Virat Kohli in the second position following the Sydney Test where he was the Player of the Match.Williamson’s previous best points tally was 915, which he had reached in December 2018, already taking him past Richard Hadlee, the only other New Zealand cricketer to have crossed the 900-point mark (909 in December 1985).Meanwhile, Smith’s scores of 131 and 81 at the SCG took him past Kohli, who went back home from Australia after the first Test for the birth of his first child.Related

• NZ become No. 1 Test team after sweep against Pakistan

• Australia's batting ills continue despite Smith ton

In other changes after the thrilling draw in Sydney, Marnus Labuschagne achieved a career-best 866 points to stay at No. 4 – he hit 91 and 73 in the game – and among bowlers, Josh Hazlewood gained three places to reach No. 5 after picking up four wickets in the game.For India, Cheteshwar Pujara’s twin half-centuries pushed him up to No. 8 from the tenth spot, while Rishabh Pant’s aggressive 97 in the second innings helped him jump 19 spots to No. 26. Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin also made gains after playing crucial innings in helping India salvage the draw.Kyle Jamieson ran through the Pakistan line-up in Christchurch•Getty Images

Following the conclusion of the Christchurch Test between New Zealand and Pakistan, Henry Nicholls’ 157 brought him inside the top ten for batsmen after he gained three places to become No. 9. Kyle Jamieson – who bagged a career-best match haul of 11 for 117 at Hagley Oval – was another big mover: he climbed seven spots to reach No. 21 among bowlers, and also became the fifth-ranked allrounder after just six Tests.Also, Pakistan – despite losing the series 0-2 – had reason to cheer after Azhar Ali’s 93 and 37 helped him advance seven places to No. 18 and Mohammad Rizwan’s 61 took him to No. 37 following a gain of ten places.In the other update following the Johannesburg Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka, opener Dean Elgar reached No. 13 after innings of 127 and 31* in a ten-wicket for the hosts. His team-mates Anrich Nortje, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi and Lutho Sipamla also rose in the bowlers’ chart to be No. 38, No. 45, No. 47 and No. 49, respectively.Sri Lanka too had their share of gains – captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s second-innings 103 took him to No. 15, while Kusal Perera, the visitors’ highest run-getter in the series, moved up four spots to No. 56.

Broad warns there will be no respite in England’s attempt to discomfort Smith on his return

George Dobell in Manchester02-Sep-2019Stuart Broad is excited to see the resumption of the “awesome” competition between Steve Smith and Jofra Archer when the Ashes resumes in Manchester on Wednesday.While Broad welcomed the return of Smith after the worrying injury he sustained at Lord’s, he warned that Test cricket was a “brutal sport” and there would be no respite in England’s attempt to discomfort him.Smith was obliged to miss the Leeds Test after sustaining a delayed concussion injury when hit on the neck by an Archer bouncer at Lord’s. While Smith resumed his innings after a short period off the pitch, he appeared somewhat skittish and soon fell leg before having left a straight ball. Underlining his confused state, he called for a review of the decision but then walked off before it was confirmed.Also read: ‘We felt a bit like we got the Ashes stolen’ – LangerBut while some have suggested he may be somewhat nervous when facing Archer, Smith has pointed out that the bowler has not actually dismissed him in the series. All of which has left Broad looking forward to another gripping passage of play between the pair.”Firstly, it’s great that Steve is ok and coming back into Test cricket,” Broad said. “No one wants to see anyone miss cricket through a head injury. It was a nasty hit. It’s great to have him back.”But Test cricket is a brutal sport. Sides go hell for leather against each other. So I’m sure that, when Steve comes in, Jofra will be in Joe Root’s ear wanting the ball. And I’ll be excited when he does.”It was a really tasty bit of cricket at Lord’s. Smith was on 70 or 80 and playing beautifully, but suddenly Jofra went from bowling 84mph to bowling 95mph. He was really charging in. That’s the intensity – the theatre – Test cricket brings.”That sort of cricket is awesome to watch on the telly or from the stands but when you’re stood at mid-on it’s pretty special. Hopefully we can have a battle like that again.”The dream is someone nicks him off first ball and Jofra doesn’t get to bowl at him. But Smith does average 60-something. So there will probably be a period in this game where those two come together again and, touch wood, I’m on the pitch to view it.”Jofra Archer bowls during a net session at Old Trafford•PA Images via Getty Images

Broad has had his own experience of trouble against the short ball. He was memorably struck in the eye while batting against India at Old Trafford, the scene of this week’s Test, in 2014. Top-edging his attempted pull off Varun Aaron, he sustained a badly broken nose and admitted he suffered nightmares as a consequence. He used psychologists to help recover but, before the injury, he averaged 23.95 with the bat in Test cricket with one century and 10 half-centuries. Since then, he has averaged 13.18 with just two half-centuries.While he believes Smith is unlikely to suffer such extreme consequences, it has left Broad grateful for the improved protection offered by modern helmets.”Smith has a bit more skill than me with the bat so it probably won’t affect him,” Broad said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played in a series where so many people have even hit in the head. I can’t even describe why. Obviously both sets of fast bowlers are bowling well and looking in good rhythm. The pitches have maybe played slightly untrue and a bit two-paced: one will skid through and one will slow down. It feels like the doctors are running out every 10 overs.”But it’s part of Test cricket. You bowl a bouncer not to hit someone in the head, you bowl a bouncer to maneuverer footwork and change momentum of bodyweight. But your best bouncer is directed over leg stump and at the head, unfortunately. But fortunately the helmets are much better now.”While Archer’s confrontation against Smith may gain the headlines, Broad’s private competition against David Warner has been just as absorbing. Broad has dismissed him four times in the three Tests and feels he is reaping the rewards for bowling a fuller length. But he warned that the pitches for the final two Tests could be better for batsmen and praised Warner’s batting in the first innings in Leeds.”It’s been a great battle so far,” Broad said. “I’ve really enjoyed it. I had to look quite closely pre-series as, until this series, he had probably had the better of me.”I’d always focussed on his outside edge thinking that running the ball across him would bring in the slips. But the bloke has incredible hand-eye coordination, so if you miss your line at all it seems to disappear through the covers.”I had a change of mindset in this series and have tried to bring the stumps into play more against him. I’ve looked to nip it back onto off-stump and then, if the ball holds its line, it brings the outside edge in and that actually limits the scoring options slightly.”Also, the pitches have been in our favour with the new ball. I don’t want to take too much credit that I’ve out-thought him or anything. It’s been a really good time to bowl with that new ball.”But Test cricket always moves on and this pitch will be very different to Lord’s or Headingley. And on that first morning at Headingley it was probably as good a time to bowl as you’ll ever get in Test cricket: cloudy, heavy, swinging, seaming. He might have played and missed a lot but he got through that period and got a pretty crucial fifty. He’ll take confidence from that.”

Pakistan coach rues the inconsistency in his young team as England bounce back from a humbling defeat at Lord’s

Andrew Miller03-Jun-2018Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach, said that he would need to “dish out a couple of hidings tonight”, as he rued the inconsistency in his young team that allowed England to bounce back from a humbling defeat at Lord’s to square the series in some style at Headingley.Arthur, who was also at the helm when Pakistan drew their last Test series in England, 2-2 in 2016, said that his players were “gutted” to have been rolled aside inside three days, but said that a setback such as this could be instrumental in helping them grow as a side, so long as the right lessons are learned.”I am incredibly disappointed to be brutally honest,” Arthur told Sky Sports. “It was a poor display from us, coming off the back of such a high at Lord’s. It’s all about trying to get this consistency right and trying to get us playing in the right style and manner, so I’m incredibly disappointed with what we’ve dished up here.”We’ll talk about it and have a hard discussion right now but as long as that dressing room has learned from it, it’s a young team and we can grow, and grow quicker.”Only four players remain from the side that toured in 2016, and Arthur admitted that his current team had not been able to replicate the levels of consistency that they were able to generate, especially in the absence of such proven performers as Younis Khan, Yasir Shah and the then-captain Misbah-ul-Haq.”The guys are feeling what it’s like to play tough Test cricket over an extended period, a lot of guys haven’t done that before,” he said. “But our expectation is more, it’s better than that. They will take it on the chin tonight, and they will hopefully grow and learn from it.”In particular, Arthur bemoaned Pakistan’s batting in this contest, particularly on the first day, when they slumped to 174 all out having won what could have been a useful toss.”Inconsistency is something that comes with a young team, however hard that is to take at the moment for all of us,” he said. “[At Lord’s] they were patient, they committed to defence, committed to attack and showed good intent.”We got the balance wrong here. We weren’t as disciplined, we weren’t as patient in this first innings especially. There was always going to be something in the wicket but we had to get through a session and a half there, because the sun came out and it became really good batting conditions late in the day .”If we had got ourselves a big score we could have put them under some pressure but we could never do that at 180 [all out]. The key thing is that a number of batsmen got starts and no one got a hundred. For us to grow as a team, we need someone in top six get hundreds consistently.”Another critical lapse in Pakistan’s hitherto high standards came late on the second day at Headingley, when Jos Buttler was dropped on 4 at short midwicket by Hasan Ali, off the bowling of the legspinner Shadab Khan. Buttler went on to blaze a decisive 80 not out from 101 balls, extending England’s lead to an insuperable 189.”It was a massive chance, massive in the way the game panned out,” said Arthur. “We knew in the moment it went down it had the potential to be big, and it was. Shadab had bowled a really good spell up to that point so that would have capped it off really nicely, in terms of him confirming he belongs at this level.”But that happens. No one drops them on purpose. On the whole we fielded well, we caught well, we’ve done a hell of a lot right in this series. We’re just disappointed at the eventual outcome.”We need to dish out a couple of hidings tonight, but that’s how they’ll grow. I can’t fault effort, the way the boys worked. They are hungry, they want to do well for Pakistan, most of these young players have advance their cause, and it confirmed to us we are on the right track.”I think to be honest, most of these boys have advanced. The talent in that dressing room is phenomenal, we’ve just got to get that consistency back and that’s what we strive for as a coaching team.”

ESPNcricinfo’s wrap of the second day of the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and Victoria in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Rob Quiney top scored for Victoria with 57•Getty Images

Queensland’s hopes of reaching the Sheffield Shield final suffered a blow as almost half of the second day against Victoria in Brisbane was washed out. The Bulls need to win to have any chance of securing a place in the decider – which will also be against the Bushrangers – and although the wet weather cut into their game time, they also claimed late wickets to keep their chances alive.Victoria began the day on 0 for 20 and moved to 6 for 201 at stumps, trailing Queensland by eight runs, with Seb Gotch yet to score and James Pattinson on 5. Victoria lost both openers with the score on 65 – Marcus Harris was caught behind off Jack Wildermuth for 49 and Travis Dean then fell to Michael Neser for 14.Aaron Finch and Rob Quiney then put on 98 for the third wicket and each managed half-centuries, but Neser trapped Finch lbw for 52 and then followed up with the wicket of Cameron White for 2. The loss of Quiney for 57 and Daniel Christian for 7 helped keep Queensland in the game.