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Tour games between English first-class teams and New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan also scrapped

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2021India A’s tour of England this summer, which would’ve seen them play against both India and England Lions, has been postponed. Instead, the BCCI will send an inflated squad to “prepare for, and use during” India’s five-Test series against England. The change is keeping in mind the prevailing Covid-19 situation, with the ECB saying the focus is on “delivering the safest possible environment for all international cricket matches scheduled to take place over the summer”.”India’s warm-up schedule will now comprise two intra-squad four-day matches, which will replace the two previously planned four-day fixtures between India Men and India A in July,” the ECB said in a press statement, adding that the decision to tweak the schedule was jointly agreed on between the two boards in question.The changes are not limited to the Indian team’s tour. “Following further discussions with the boards of New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan it has been agreed to cancel their scheduled men’s tour matches against first-class counties,” the statement said. “New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s men’s teams will instead play intra-squad matches to allow them suitable preparation for their international fixtures this summer.”On rescheduling the India A tour, Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said, “We look forward to welcoming a men’s India A tour at a later date after this summer and when restrictions have eased. It will provide a valuable opportunity for players from both countries to experience high-quality cricket and to showcase the talent within our England Lions team and first-class counties.”The senior India side is scheduled to leave for England shortly after the completion of the ongoing edition of the IPL and, after playing the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton, take part in a series of five Tests, with the first slotted for Trent Bridge from August 4.

Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from professional cricket, ending a 10-year career at international level for the last three of which he was England’s Test captain

Andrew McGlashan29-Aug-2012Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from professional cricket, ending a 10-year career at international level, the last three of which he was England’s Test captain. Alastair Cook, the one-day captain, will take on the Test job.His decision comes after a week of soul-searching during a family break following the 2-0 loss against South Africa which meant England lost the No. 1 Test ranking and also comes at a time when Kevin Pietersen’s exile from the team has dominated the agenda.Strauss played down the significance of the current Pietersen situation in his decision saying it “was not a factor at all” and retiring was on his mind before the series against South Africa started. He did, though, admit that his lack of runs had played a major part.Strauss’ decision ends a career that began in 1997, an international career that started in 2003 and captaincy reign that began early in 2009 in the wake of the Pietersen-Peter Moores fall out.”After much thought over the last few weeks, I have decided to step down as England Test captain and announce my retirement from all forms of cricket,” Strauss said. “It has clearly been a tough decision to make, but I believe that it is both in the best interests of the England cricket team and myself to step down at this stage.”There are too many people who have helped me on this incredible journey to mention them all by name, but I would like to thank all the Middlesex and England players I have played alongside, as well as the phenomenal coaches and support staff with whom I have been fortunate enough to work.”Particular mention has to go to Andy Flower and Duncan Fletcher in that regard. It would also be remiss of me not to thank Middlesex, the ECB and the PCA for their support and guidance over the years.”No one can play international cricket for any length of time without having an incredibly strong support network around them, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for going through it all alongside me over the course of my England career.”I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer, and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket’s greatest moments have occurred. I have loved every minute of it. All that remains is for me to wish Andy, Alastair and the rest of the team the very best for the coming months. I will be an interested spectator.”Strauss, 35, played his 100th Test at Lord’s against South Africa and after the loss he said he still had “a lot of desire” but did not categorically declare his intention to continue leading the side. Strauss said at the time he was keen to take a break and then discuss the future with the coach Andy Flower.ESPNcricinfo were the first to suggest immediately after the Test that perhaps Strauss was
considering resignation.The South African series was a difficult one for Strauss, who not only had to deal with the ongoing Pietersen saga but also his own struggle for runs – his best score during the three Tests was 37. Cook, who took on the ODI captaincy last year, will now step into the Test role and will start with the tour of India later this year.Cook said: “Andrew’s contribution to England cricket in recent years is evident to everyone who follows the sport but only those of us who have been lucky enough to share a dressing room with him are fully aware of his immense contribution to our success.”He has been a fantastic captain, has led from the front for three and a half years and is a true ambassador for the game. To have played 100 Tests for your country is a phenomenal achievement and I want to congratulate him on a superb career. I know this can’t have been an easy decision for him and everyone in the dressing room will be sad to see him go.”I’m very excited by this new challenge, it is a huge honour to be appointed Test captain and am very much looking forward to captaining the side in India this winter and beyond, but my immediate focus is on this current NatWest one-day series. Once the series is over I will turn my attention to the Test captaincy and building on the work Andrew has started.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said: “On behalf of the ECB and everyone involved in cricket I’d like to thank Andrew Strauss for his outstanding contribution to the game.”Andrew has been a highly successful captain and opening batsman for Middlesex and England, who will be remembered for leading the side to two Ashes victories and to the top of the Test rankings. He has shown tremendous integrity, dedication and commitment both on and off the field and under his leadership the side has grown immeasurably and reached new levels of professionalism.”Andrew’s calmness and authority when dealing with some of the most difficult moments in our sport in recent times should be applauded and I have no doubt that his contribution as an ambassador for the game will be recognised by anyone who has had an opportunity to spend time with him. His legacy within the game will be felt for many years to come and we now need to continue to build on the progress we have made under his leadership.”Strauss made his debut for England in 2004, scoring a century against New Zealand at Lord’s in a performance that was enough to push former captain Nasser Hussain into retirement, and his most recent Test against South Africa was his 100th Test. When talking recently to mark the occasion he spoke about his desire to continue but events of recent weeks, including the controversy surrounding Pietersen, appear to have changed his mind.As captain, Strauss led England to new heights, including back-to-back Ashes triumphs in 2009 and 2010-11 plus the No.1 Test ranking which they held for a year before losing the series against South Africa. That was the first home Test series England had lost under Strauss’ leadership and just the third of his entire stint.However, the runs had largely dried up for Strauss in recent years. The two hundreds he scored against West Indies earlier this season hinted that he could recapture some of his best form but reality hit home against South Africa when he scored 107 runs in six innings. Having started his time as captain with three hundreds against West Indies in 2009 he managed just four more. He will finish with 21 Test centuries, one behind the England record held by Geoff Boycott, Colin Cowdrey and Wally Hammond.In his 100 Tests Strauss has scored 7037 runs at 40.91 and in the 50 Tests he captained (which included four before being appointed fulltime captian, against Pakistan in 2006) he won 24 of them.Strauss is the third England captain to resign either during or after a series against a South Africa side led by Graeme Smith. Hussain stood down early in the 2003 series and Michael Vaughan ended his time as captain after South Africa won the 2008 series with victory at Edgbaston.

Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur has rounded on critics of the national team’s management of fast bowlers

Daniel Brettig13-Jan-2013Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur has rounded on critics of the national team’s management of fast bowlers, taking particularly sharp aim at the contention that the selection panel is letting sports science make its decisions regarding who to choose.In a prolonged rebuttal of public and media views that there is confusion if not chaos around Australian team selection, Arthur revealed that a major factor behind Mitchell Starc’s withdrawal from the Boxing Day Test team was to avoid the flaring of a long-term ankle problem that will eventually require surgery and an extended lay-off from the game.He also confirmed that Michael Clarke, Matthew Wade and David Warner would return to the ODI team for the second phase of matches in Brisbane and Sydney on Friday and Sunday, and clarified that Usman Khawaja was dropped for Steve Smith under a pre-defined plan to give each batsman one game. Australia have been widely criticised by former players and sections of the public for fielding a “B-team” in the first two matches of the series, but Arthur went to considerable lengths to explain the intricacies of selection.”We’re very clear on who the best team is and who the best attack is,” Arthur said following Australia’s defeat in the second ODI in Adelaide. “I’ve been really annoyed and frustrated by some of the articles that have been going around. For me it’s common sense. Common sense prevails when we pick teams. We certainly don’t pick teams not to win any cricket games for Australia. Every time we pick a team we’re giving guys opportunities and picking what we think is the best side possible to go out and do the job and win.”It’s either very naive or just a little bit stubborn that people don’t understand what we’re doing. The example I’ve used is Black Caviar. When he runs a horse race, if they don’t feel he’s 100% right they don’t release him. We’ve done that with our bowlers, and over the year we’ve had three examples of quick bowlers basically rested, and that is all.”Ryan Harris in the West Indies, Mitchell Starc on Boxing Day and Peter Siddle at Perth. That’s the only time we have rested quick bowlers, and we’ve done that simply because we think they’re at risk. We want to play our guys all the time. With the amount of cricket we play these day’s it is impossible to keep the guys on the park in every single game. So we would not have a quick bowler at risk.”Starc’s absence from the Boxing Day Test team was a particular sore point, Starc himself stating his frustration at not being allowed to follow-up his match-clinching five wickets on the final day of the Hobart Test by playing on the biggest day of the Australian cricket calendar. But Arthur made it clear that there were more factors at play than a simple question of Starc’s workload.”If you take Mitchell Starc over the Boxing Day Test match, the information we’d got was that he was at risk. Then it’s up to us,” Arthur said. “The constant thought that sports scientists are picking the team is so far off the mark that it’s frightening. They give us information, the information is then left up to us to make that decision. Michael, myself and the selector on duty make the decision based on the information we’re given. When we get that information we will see if it holds up and if we think it’s not worth the risk.”Mitchell Starc plays three forms of the game. He had an ankle impingement, he’s got spurs that are going to require an operation at some stage. We’re hoping that will be a year down the line, but at some stage that is going to give in. There was no point in us playing him in a Boxing Day Test match and risk losing him for the one-day series and then for a tour of India. That would’ve been plain stupid.”Australia are facing one of the most demanding schedules ever set before an international team in 2013, with a four-Test tour of India to be followed by the Champions Trophy and then 10 consecutive Ashes Test matches in England and Australia. Arthur said the decisions made to withdraw fast bowlers or other players from the firing line for set periods reflected the calendar ahead.”Whenever we make those decisions, we make those decisions with a lot of thought into how we’re going to use our quick bowler and when we’re going to use him,” Arthur said. “I really want to get that out and put that on record, because I’m sick and tired of talking about it, and I’m certainly sick and tired of seeing some of the articles that are going around in the media at the moment.”A hamstring strain to Brad Haddin, meanwhile, has simplified the circumstances of Wade’s return to the squad as the national selectors prepare to strengthen their team for the next brace of matches in Brisbane and Sydney. That injury may now cause the selectors something of a headache should they still want to take Haddin on the India Test tour in early February. But for now it will allow Wade to return swiftly and smoothly to the ODI squad alongside other members of the Test team that were given a week’s rest following their exertions against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

David Hussey and Chris Rogers still harbour ambitions of playing Test cricket for Australia

Daniel Brettig19-Jun-2012Should Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey fail to reach the 2013 Ashes, there are another two Australian thirtysomethings, slightly younger, with enormous experience of how to bat in England. At the age of 34, David Hussey has not played a Test and Chris Rogers has played just one, but both have made themselves very much at home on UK surfaces, and are as familiar with Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann as any participant in the past few Ashes encounters.It would be a move from far left-field by Australia’s selectors to entertain the thought of choosing either Rogers or Hussey for 2013, not to mention a strategy more short-term than long. But they remain in the wings, still holding out the faintest hope that their years of finding the right way to play in England might one day prove useful.Hussey is part of Australia’s ODI squad currently training in Leicester, and said he felt a greater chance of playing Test cricket under the current selection panel led by John Inverarity than he ever had in the days of Andrew Hilditch’s former regime. “I think the new selection committee is going to select the best players available at any one time. I have not given up hope of playing Test cricket,” Hussey said. “If I did not believe I could not play Test cricket I probably would not be playing or probably follow the Twenty20 leagues around the world but that is still a goal for me. Playing Test cricket for your country is still the ultimate.”I just had a very good one-on-one meeting with the coach and it is probably the most comfortable I have felt in the environment. You always try your best to help your team to as many wins as possible. I actually feel that I have a few credits in the bank now. Hopefully I don’t need to use them in the short term.”Since he took over the role of national selector following last year’s Argus review recommendations, Inverarity has repeatedly insisted that Test cricket is closed to no-one. Selection discussions have occasionally thrown up more experienced names – Simon Katich’s name was mentioned as a potential Test opener against India before the panel settled on Ed Cowan, for instance – and there is a greater desire to select the best and most thoughtful team for the task at hand, rather than hoping for younger players to grow into their roles.Instead, potential Test batsman are being tried via the avenue of ODIs, meaning Peter Forrest, George Bailey and Steve Smith are the three with the Ashes most firmly in their minds. However none can call on the years of county batting that Hussey and Rogers have accumulated. Hussey made the county grounds of Nottinghamshire and Sussex his own, while Rogers has prospered for Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and now Middlesex.”I am hoping the Aussie selectors realise that Chris and myself, Phil Hughes is making a lot of runs for Worcester as well, are doing the right things in county cricket and have played a lot of cricket over here as well,” Hussey said of Rogers and himself. “Playing county cricket is a big advantage for Chris and myself and hopefully it is looked upon for future series.
“I would not have got back in the ODI team last summer if they did not pick on form. I had a really good Big Bash and I think that helped getting back in the one-day team and I thought I may as well grab every opportunity because it might well be the last.”Since his brother Michael’s Test debut in 2005, David Hussey has continued to accumulate runs for Victoria at home and a range of county and club sides abroad. He has learned to deal with feeling unwanted at Test match level. Irrespective of his international future, Hussey will do his best as a bulwark of the ODI team on this tour, and pass on as much knowledge to the aforementioned younger batsmen as he can. The bowlers, too, are likely to be offered a few suggestions.”You always get disappointed when selection comes around,” Hussey said. “You sort of sit back and hope you are going to be a on a tour playing for your country. All you have to do is to keep churning out the runs and I was probably at an unfortunate time where Australia had so many good batters.”[But] I have played a lot of county cricket over here, I think it is seven or eight years and playing all over the country and getting used to the conditions. So it is up to me to pass on some knowledge about wickets especially to our younger bowlers and how to bowl and what bowling I didn’t like to face.”21.50pm: This story was amended to correct the fact that Chris Rogers has played one Test

Tim Southee’s fitness remains uncertain on the eve of New Zealand’s second Test against Sri Lanka

Andrew Fernando in Colombo24-Nov-2012Tim Southee’s fitness remains uncertain on the eve of New Zealand’s second Test against Sri Lanka, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, was hopeful Southee had recovered well enough from a groin strain he picked up in the first Test, to take the field on Sunday, but said team management would assess the fast bowler and make the final decision before the toss.Southee was New Zealand’s best player in Galle, producing a terrific spell of swing bowling to take 4 for 46 in the first innings, as he and Trent Boult reduced Sri Lanka’s top order to 50 for 5. He was also New Zealand’s best bowler in the two-Test series against India in September. Southee did not take the field during Sri Lanka’s chase of 92 in the first Test.”Tim has been on a lot of rehab in the last few days, had a good training yesterday for a full session,” Taylor said. “He had a good bowl out and did some fitness and pulled through that well. Don’t know how he will pull up again tomorrow. I guess with injuries in this part of the world we’ll have the final assessment in the morning.”In the Test match in Bangalore he bowled very well and led the attack. It’s a young attack and he is leading that attack very well. We gave ourselves a chance in Galle, but we didn’t capitalise on it as much as we would have liked.”Taylor said legspinner Todd Astle is in the reckoning for a debut in Colombo, and will play if Southee is not deemed fit. Astle began his first-class career as an opening batsman, and may be considered even if Southee does play, in which case he will likely replace a batsman.”He’s not far off being a genuine allrounder,” Taylor said of Astle. “He’s fitted into the group very well and he’s got a good work ethic and he is trying hard. He comes into the reckoning with the wicket here and different bounce.”Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath may have vanquished the visitors inside three days in the first Test, but Taylor said his side had also prepared for the threat posed by the remainder of Sri Lanka’s attack. Herath took 11 wickets in Sri Lanka’s ten-wicket win, but the hosts’ new-ball bowlers also troubled New Zealand’s batsmen in Galle, taking early wickets in each innings. Sri Lanka’s second spinner Suraj Randiv created pressure with discipline, but finished with only two wickets in the match.New Zealand have used the extra two days in training, and Taylor said they had formulated batting plans they believe will prevent a record-equalling sixth consecutive loss for New Zealand.”We can’t just focus on Herath, there are other quality bowlers we got to play well against,” Taylor said. “If we just play Herath well and the other guys bowl well we can still be bowled out very cheaply.”It’s important for batsmen to know their plans and trust their plans and take that out to the middle. You have to be in right frame of mind to not only defend well but to try and find the scoring options.”

They will, however, remain in quarantine for their first two weeks in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2020The India players who are on tour in Australia have begun training after the entire contingent tested negative for Covid-19. On Saturday, two days after the arrival of India’s touring party in Sydney, the BCCI tweeted photographs from the players’ outdoor and gym sessions. Though India have begun training, they will remain in quarantine for the first two weeks of their stay in Australia. The tour will begin with the white-ball leg – three ODIs and three T20Is shared between Sydney and Canberra – before proceeding to a four-Test series that begins with a day-night game in Adelaide from December 17-21, followed by the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively, and the final Test in Brisbane from January 15 to 19. The Indians will also play two warm-up games in Sydney before the Test series – the first, which clashes with the T20I series, from December 6 to 8, and the second from December 11 to 13.

R Ashwin points to the stand-in captain’s calming influence for giving the team stability at the MCG

Sidharth Monga30-Dec-2020A single tucked to the leg side, no raised bat or arms, no plucking of stumps, no removing the helmet, just casually walking off knocking fists with others. Looking at Ajinkya Rahane, it might seem he had won against Railways Canteen Staff XI in a weekend club game and not against the No. 1 Test side in their own backyard a week after getting rolled over for 36. And that calmness of the stand-in captain has come in for praise from coach Ravi Shastri and spin frontman R Ashwin, who played a key role in the attack in the absence of two first-choice players.Related

• Ajinkya Rahane is brave, smart, calm, and he has the respect of his team

• Sachin Tendulkar credits R Ashwin for neutralising the Steven Smith threat

• The MCG: India's most successful venue away from home

• Shastri: MCG triumph is one of the great comebacks in history

• Mental strength and trust in skills help India bounce back

“I think getting bowled out for 36 was never going to be easy in a country like ours,” Ashwin told Channel 7 after the win. “We are quite a proud cricketing country and losing Virat [Kohli] as well, him going back was a bit of a setback as well. We stuck on very well.”Jinks [Rahane], Puji [Cheteshwar Pujara], myself and Jassi [Jasprit Bumrah], all of us, we got a great bonding inside the team. And Jinks’ calmness inside the dressing room really provided us that stability to go out there and express ourselves in this game, and a good first day set us on the road.”At the press conference after the eight-wicket win at MCG, Shastri was asked if he thought Rahane was more of a bowlers’ captain. “I don’t know,” Shastri said. “I am hearing it [‘bowlers’ captain’] for the first time. What is a bowling captain? There is no definition as such for that.”But he [Rahane] is a very shrewd leader, he has a good understanding for the game. A good reader of the game. And I thought his calm composure out there in the middle helped the debutants [Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj] as well, helped the bowlers as well. There was a calming influence out there.Virat Kohli is more expressive as captain than the quieter and calmer Ajinkya Rahane•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

“In spite of losing Umesh [Yadav, who hobbled off with a calf injury in his fourth over in the second innings], he did a great job out there.”The praise didn’t come at the exclusion of the regular captain, Kohli, who left the tour for the birth of his child but followed the action and kept tweeting encouragement at the end of each day’s play. “Both are good readers of the game,” Shastri said. “Virat is very passionate. Ajinkya, on the other hand, is very calm and composed. It is their character. Virat is more in your face whilst Ajinkya is prepared to sit back in a very calm and composed manner. But deep inside he knows what he wants.”Ever since Rahane took over, he emphasised on not over-analysing the one bad hour that cost them the Test in Adelaide but focusing on repeating what they had done on the first two days of the Test, which was to bat as well as they could and then stifle Australia with their tight lines and lengths.”We decided there is no point thinking about Adelaide,” Rahane told Sony Sports Network. “Just one bad hour and we lost the game but before that first two days were really good. We bowled well and batted well as well. But it was all about coming into the Test match with that intent, with that attitude on the field. Collective effort from each and every individual. That was the message from me and Ravi . That’s what we decided.”

Both teams are coming off wins, but might have to tweak their XIs to accommodate the star players

Shashank Kishore26-Sep-20206:58

Should it be Buttler in place of Miller or Tom Curran?

Big picture

The Kings XI Punjab recovered superbly – a 97-run win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore – after their Super Over heartbreak against the Delhi Capitals. Now they move to Sharjah, the smallest of the three venues, to take on the Rajasthan Royals, who made 216 at that venue earlier this week for a 16-run win over the Chennai Super Kings. We could be in for another high-scoring game on Sunday.The Kings XI have so far held back Chris Gayle. Is there a case for them to unleash him in this game? No ground is too big for him, but in Sharjah, where even mis-hits carry over the rope, Gayle will be a big threat even though he isn’t the force he once was. The Kings XI management is happy with his form in the nets, but bringing him could mean altering their balance because both KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, the regular openers, have done exceedingly well in the first two games. Yet, it is a good selection headache to have. Nicholas Pooran may have to miss out in case Gayle comes in.The Royals will be boosted by the return of Jos Buttler, but there is a possibility he’ll bat in the middle order. Steven Smith played anchor from the top of the innings in the first game, and might want to continue doing that alongside rookie Yashasvi Jaiswal. With Sanju Samson likely to play one-drop, Buttler could slot in at No. 4 to give the middle order some solidity, with Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag to follow. David Miller, who was run-out without facing a ball on his debut for the Royals last week, could be the unfortunate one to miss out.Having competed hard and won a high-scoring game at this venue should give the Royals a slight edge in this contest, but on their day, Kings XI can topple any side like they showed two nights ago against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Whatever happens, expect another 200 vs 200 contest.

In the news

• Buttler is available for selection after completing his extended quarantine. That means the Royals may have to decide between David Miller and Tom Curran for one overseas spot.
• The Kings XI have no injury concerns. Everyone is fit and available for selection.

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Steven Smith (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Robin Uthappa, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Shreyas Gopal, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Tom Curran, 10 Rahul Tewatia, 11 Jaydev UnadkatKings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 Jimmy Neesham/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 M Ashwin

Strategy punt

• The Kings XI have an opportunity to surprise the Royals by fielding Gayle. Apart from the dimensions of the ground, the Royals have two legspinners – Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia – and Jaydev Unadkat, the left-arm pacer. Gayle strikes at over 200 against bowlers with these skillsets since IPL 2018. This will also give more heft to an in-form Kings XI line-up.
• Jimmy Neesham didn’t bat, and bowled just two overs in the previous game, and if the top three fire, it’s unlikely he’ll get too many opportunities. While leaving him out may seem a tad harsh, strategy could dictate the inclusion of Mujeeb Ur Rahman in his place.

Stats that matter

• Samson is two hits away from 100 sixes in the IPL, and Maxwell is nine away from the landmark.
• Buttler needs 97 more to get to 6000 T20 runs.
• Archer’s IPL best of 3 for 15 came against the Kings XI in IPL 2019.
• Kings XI’s opening pair has averaged 50.8, the best among all teams, since IPL 2019.

ALSO SEE: Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals live score 27 September 2020

Chris Gayle is set to play his first Test in more than 18 months after being named in the West Indies squad for the first Test against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2012Chris Gayle is set to play his first Test in more than 18 months after being named in the West Indies squad for the first Test against New Zealand. Gayle has not played Test cricket since the tour of Sri Lanka in December 2010, and he will provide a major boost to the West Indies batting line-up, which has also regained Shivnarine Chanderpaul after he missed the final Test against England due to a side strain.The 13-man squad does not include the batsman Darren Bravo, who is West Indies’ second leading run scorer in Tests in the past year. Bravo, who has not managed a half-century in his past five Tests and scored his most recent fifty in the first innings of the first Test against Australia in April, is still recovering from a groin strain* sustained during the England tour.The top-order batsman Assad Fudadin was included after making his Test debut in the final match of the England tour. Sunil Narine was the only specialist spinner named in the squad and there was no room for the fast man Fidel Edwards, who was part of the Test side during the tour of England.The first Test against New Zealand begins in Antigua on Wednesday, before the sides move on to Jamaica for the second and final Test.West Indies squad Chris Gayle, Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell, Assad Fudadin, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Narsingh Deonarine, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy (capt), Tino Best, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine.*01:15 GMT, July 23, 2012: The story has been edited to state that Darren Bravo is still recovering from injury

A fighting innings by Ben Cutting gave Queensland a lead of 165 over Tasmania with one wicket remaining after day three of the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
ScorecardA fighting innings by Ben Cutting gave Queensland a lead of 165 over Tasmania with one wicket remaining after day three of the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart.The Bulls must win outright to stay on top of the Shield table following Western Australia’s obliteration of New South Wales in Perth, and Cutting’s innings gave them some chance of doing so.Tasmania had looked likely to claim outright points when the visitors slipped to 8 for 118 after bowling the Tigers out for 260. Jackson Bird and Luke Butterworth shared six wickets between them, but Cutting found allies in Steve Magoffin and Alister McDermott to keep the Bulls in with a chance.