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Mark Davis has left Sussex by “mutual consent” after the club’s failure to achieve Championship promotion

George Dobell25-Oct-2017Sussex have confirmed the departure of their head coach, Mark Davis. While the club insisted the decision was reached by “mutual consent”, it is clear Davis paid the price for Sussex’s failure to achieve Championship promotion and an over-reliance upon imported players. It is also understood that Davis lost the confidence of some senior figures in the dressing room.Sussex are now expected to hold a thorough recruitment process to appoint a successor. Chris Adams, captain during their three County Championship triumphs in the 2000s, is certain to be a strong candidate for the role with a possibility that he might be able to coax former team-mate Matt Prior back to the game in some sort of part-time, back-room role. Prior retired in 2015 due to injury and has subsequently moved into cycling as the co-owner and chief executive of One Pro Cycling.Confirmation of Davis’ departure comes a day after long-serving batsman Chris Nash was released and Rob Andrew, Sussex’s chief executive, said it was time to try and take the club in a new direction.”After reviewing a disappointing season for the first team, it was concluded that action needed to be taken in order to build for the future,” Andrew said. “The difficult decisions to part company with Mark by mutual consent and to agree to Chris’ request to be released from his contract were part of that action, but at its core were moves to solidify the foundations of a squad that has the potential to achieve great things in the coming years.”As such, a number of players have been offered and have signed new or extended contracts over recent weeks, and more are set to follow. This means we now have a stable and balanced squad made up of a mix of youth and experience that offers real strength across all disciplines.”Whoever is appointed is likely to be expected to show much greater faith in home-grown talent than was the case in 2017. While the club have enjoyed some success at age-group level in recent seasons, there were times last season when four or five of the team was made up of players ineligible for England – including Kolpak signings Stiaan van Zyl and David Wiese – which inevitably limited the opportunities for younger players.”I strongly believe that when a new head coach is appointed, they will have the raw materials with which to build a trophy-winning side,” Andrew said. “We are continuing to work on our four-year strategic plan for the wider organisation and there will be further news on this in due course.”A major part of that strategy will be the on-going development of home-grown Sussex players by our Performance Department. This work will continue the well-established trend of Sussex-bred bowlers and batsmen making their mark in the 1st XI.”Davis’ departure ends a long and generally happy association with Sussex. First as a player (he was part of the squad that won the County Championship for the first time in the club’s history in 2003) and then as a coach – he started as 2nd XI coach before being appointed head coach in 2015 – he has been associated with the club for 17 years.In a statement released by the club, Davis said: “I have established a very strong squad including Jofra Archer, Stiaan van Zyl and Laurie Evans and given opportunity to a number of young players who will no doubt achieve great things in the future.”The professional squad is very well set for the challenges ahead and I am confident these players will bring silverware to the club. I would like to thank all the players, support staff and coaches who supported me, as well as all the faithful Sussex supporters”.

ESPNcricinfo previews the three Women’s World Cup matches to be played on July 5, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2017With three wins from as many games, India, perched atop the points table, will look to continue their unbeaten streak against sixth-placed Sri Lanka in Derby. After two strong batting performances – against England and West Indies – India’s struggle against Pakistan’s disciplined bowling prompted the captain Mithali Raj to underline the need for batsmen to be wary of a collapse: “We definitely will look into the fact that we don’t lose wickets back-to-back because that puts a lot of pressure on the incoming batters as well as the team. We need to work on our partnerships as batters.”Having bagged 18 out of the 28 wickets taken by the team so far, India’s spinners have led the charge with the ball on pitches that have offered both turn and lateral movement. With their most recent win having come at the venue just two days ago, it is unlikely India would want to tweak their playing combination. That could mean Shikha Pandey, who was dropped in favour of fellow medium-pacer Mansi Joshi in the previous game, will sit out a second straight match.Sri Lanka’s hopes of notching up their first victory in this World Cup will rest on their batsmen, with their bowlers having scalped only six wickets in three consecutive defeats. Led by Chamari Atapattu, the second-highest run-getter in the tournament so far, and former captain Shashikala Siriwardene, Sri Lanka have amassed totals in excess of 200 against defending champions Australia and hosts England. It is an accomplishment the captain Inoka Ranaweera emphasised is “a big thing” for the team, and is likely to instill as much confidence in the side as will memories of knocking India out with a shock 138-run win at the 2013 World Cup.Bowlers have found it hard to crack open Australia’s top-order•Getty Images

Having opened their campaign with three losses, Pakistan are now left to try turning it around against an Australian team whose batting is as unflinching as their bowling. Despite a narrow loss to South Africa in their tournament opener, Pakistan looked like a team ready to challenge much-fancied opponents. But their bowling and batting let them down, by turns, subsequently, resulting in defeats to England and India by 107 and 95 runs respectively. Apart from openers Nahida Khan and Ayesha Zafar, who have struck one half-century apiece, no other Pakistan batsman has been able to get into the thirties.An untimely injury to their leading run-getter Bismah Maroof , weakened an already struggling middle order, but the inclusion of medium-pacer Diana Baig inspired Pakistan to a spirited bowling and fielding effort against India on Sunday. Much will depend on Nashra Sandhu’s leg spin for Pakistan to be able to pull off a miracle at Leicester.Australia have rollicked their way to three wins out of three matches and would look to forge their position at the top of the points table before the knockouts. They will, however, be without captain Meg Lanning, at least for this match, as she receives treatment for a shoulder problem. The team will be led by Rachael Haynes, who will turn out for her first match of this edition. Lanning’s absence will put more responsibility on opener Nicole Bolton, who has already struck a century and a fifty in three innings. When Australia’s openers have struggled, allrounder Ellyse Perry has picked up the mantle of holding the batting together. That has been Australia’s key to success in this World Cup, aided by a robust spin contingent that has pushed one performer to the fore every game.Natalie Sciver and Heather Knight have been pivotal to England’s turnaround after opening with a loss to India•PA Images

After being stunned by India in the tournament opener, England bounced back with successive wins. However, they will be wary of their fourth position, given three of their four remaining opponents are semifinal contenders. The first of those comes in the form of South Africa, whom they face in Bristol on Wednesday.Dane van Niekerk’s team are fresh off crushing West Indies, having sent them packing for the sixth-lowest score in tournament history on Sunday. Van Niekerk was at the forefront of the demolition of West Indies, her record haul of 4 for 0 making her the only bowler in cricket history to take four wickets in an international game without conceding a run. Prior to the win against West Indies, South Africa had barely scraped through against Pakistan and their match against New Zealand was abandoned without a ball bowled. But with a pace attack that is every bit as potent as van Niekerk talked up before the tournament, South Africa are a force to be reckoned with.England went back to their regular opening combination against Sri Lanka, with Lauren Winfield, returning from wrist injury, partnering Tammy Beaumont at the top. It facilitated a move down to her favoured No. 3 position for Sarah Taylor, who struck an unbeaten 74 – her first major innings since returning to the side after a year-long break due to anxiety issues.Bristol is expected to be warm for most of Wednesday, although there could be a partial cloud cover at the start.

A round-up of the National Cricket League 2016-17 matches that ended on September 28, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2016

Tier 1

Rain wreaked havoc in the National Cricket League Tier-1 opening-round match between Dhaka Metropolis and Dhaka Division. Only 15 overs of play were possible over four days in the drawn game and the umpires called off play early on the final day. The other three first-round matches were also affected by rain.Barisal Division held Khulna Division to a draw at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna. Batting first, Barisal were bowled out for 261 runs in 80 overs. Abdur Razzak and Al-Amin Hossain picked up three wickets each while Barisal’s innings was propped up by three fifties by Shahriar Nafees, Fazle Mahmud and Monir Hossain. In reply, Khulna posted 424 runs with Tushar Imran and Razzak scoring 91 and 97 respectively, while Mahedi Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz made 85 and 73. Golam Kabir and Sohag Gazi took three wickets each. Trailing by 163 runs, Barisal reached 248 for 8 on the final day. Nafees struck his second fifty of the match, scoring 72.

Tier 2

In Sylhet, Rangpur Division reached 224 for 5 in a chase of 265 runs in a draw against Chittagong Division in a Tier-2 match. Rangpur scored more than five runs an over in their chase, but couldn’t push their way to a win. Mahmudul Hasan struck an 89-ball 85 and Ariful Haque slammed 63 off 50 balls to control Rangpur’s chase.Earlier batting first, Chittagong put up 368 runs. Yasir Ali top-scored with 90 while Tasamul Haque struck 52. Alauddin Babu took three wickets. Rangpur conceded a first-innings lead of 13 runs after being bowled out for 355. Tanveer Haider fell three runs short of a hundred, while Saymon Ahmed (53) and Dhiman Ghosh (86) also made fifties. Yasir Arafat Mishu took 5 for 65 on his first-class debut. Suhrawadi Shuvo’s 5 for 50 then helped Rangpur bowl Chittagong out for 251 in the second innings, leaving Rangpur a target of 265.In the other Tier-2 game, Rajshahi Division also drew against Sylhet Division at home. Batting first, Abu Jayed’s five-for blew Rajshahi away for 199 runs in the first innings. Then Farhad Reza and Muktar Ali took three wickets each as Sylhet were bowled out for 175, giving Rajshahi a 24-run lead. Rain, however, ate into the game and the match ended with Rajshahi at 120 for 4 in the second innings.

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.

Stuart Broad has said that England “would not want to be chasing much more than 250” in the final innings against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi27-Jan-2012Stuart Broad has said that England “would not want to be chasing much more than 250″ in the final innings against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.Broad, the England allrounder, followed up his excellent first-innings bowling with an aggressive half-century to help his side gain the initiative in the second Test. A fightback from Pakistan’s fifth-wicket pair of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq brought the hosts back into the game, however, and left them leading by 55 with six wickets in hand at the close of the third day.”We’re delighted with our position,” Broad said. “They’re only about 50 ahead and we are only 19 overs from the new ball. We just have to remember we are only two wickets away from being into their tail.”We don’t want to be chasing more than 250. Scoreboard pressure plays a huge role and even if the wicket does get a bit flatter that’s still a decent score. We have to bowl well and that new ball will be the key. Hopefully we can restrict them to about 200 and then chase that down.”Broad denied that England were frustrated by Pakistan’s resistance and instead reasoned that batting conditions had eased.”Frustrating isn’t the word,” he said. “In Test cricket, you expect partnerships. The wicket today played at its flattest – I just don’t know if it will turn more or play flatter tomorrow. But the important thing is we didn’t start chasing wickets; we didn’t start trying for magical deliveries. We just stayed patient.”Earlier Broad had struck six fours and a six in a 62-ball innings of 58 to help England gain a first-innings lead of 70.”Looking at how difficult it was to defend against the quick-turning ball at the end of the second day, I thought my best option would be to try and manoeuvre the field, try to counter punch,” he said. “Once I hit a couple of boundaries, everybody seemed to move out and I could pick up some singles and twos. It was a personal decision to give it a bit of a go with the amount of turn there was the night before and it paid off.”Azhar, meanwhile, saw things slightly differently. He reasoned that a lead of 150 would prove “very good” on this wicket and that anything “above that would be excellent”.”We’re very confident,” he said. “We are fighting back. We lost four wickets but we’re determined and will not give up.”No one gave their wicket away. The England bowlers are very good, it has to be said, but we don’t want to give up. We were determined and we knew that if we stayed there, the runs would come.”Both players also praised what Azhar called the “fantastic crowd”. Around 14,000 spectators took advantage of the free entry to attend the third day’s play, creating “brilliant support for both teams”, in the words of Azhar.Their presence also helped drown out Sky Sports commentator David Lloyd, according to Broad. “The Barmy Army have been brilliant throughout,” he said. “But it was so quiet on the first day that we could hear ‘Bumble’ commentating and we had to ask the umpires to turn the speakers down.”I keep thinking when I go to leave the ground at the end of the day, ‘Tomorrow is a huge day – tomorrow evening I’ll know what the result will be’. But I keep getting to the end of the day, and I’m no clearer.”This has been an amazing Test. It’s been one for the purists, I suppose. The cricket has been quite slow at times, but very intriguing. It really can go either way.”

The next hearing of the BCCI’s disciplinary committee that is considering the case against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has been postponed by two weeks to December 27th and 28th

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2010The next hearing of the BCCI’s disciplinary committee that is considering the case against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has been postponed by two weeks to December 27th and 28th. The three-man committee was scheduled to have its next sitting on Monday and Tuesday, but decided to push it back on the request of Modi’s attorney Mehmood Abdi.Abdi asked for the postponement after Modi’s counsel Swadeep Hora, who has been cross-examining the witnesses of the BCCI, met with an accident on Friday evening. Arun Jaitley, one of members of the committee who is also a part of the IPL governing council, agreed to Abdi’s request.At the previous hearing on November 22, Modi had raised a technical point that the panel probing charges of financial irregularities allegedly committed by him as the IPL chief did not have the mandate of the board’s AGM held on September 29.The board, subsequently, convened a special general body meeting on December 11 and appointed the same three-man panel consisting of Jaitley, Chirayu Amin and Jyotiraditya Scindia to continue the disciplinary proceedings against Modi.

“I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with MCA to help us win more trophies,” Ajinkya Rahane says

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2025Ajinkya Rahane has given up the captaincy of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season, saying he believes “it’s the right time to groom a new leader”. In a communication to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Rahane, now 37, said he wants to continue as a player for the team.”Captaining and winning championships with the Mumbai team has been an absolute honour,” Rahane wrote in a social media post. “With a new domestic season ahead, I believe it’s the right time to groom a new leader. And hence I’ve decided not to continue in the captaincy role. I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with MCA to help us win more trophies. Looking forward to the season.”Rahane helped Mumbai break a nine-year drought by leading them to their 42nd Ranji Trophy title in 2023-24. While his red-ball form over the past two years has been patchy (467 runs in 27 innings with just one century), he was more fluent in the shorter formats. At the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in December last year, when he played under Shreyas Iyer, Rahane was the Player of the Tournament for his chart-topping 469 runs in a title-winning season.Related

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Rahane was most recently in charge of Kolkata Knight Riders at IPL 2025, for whom he was the highest scorer with 390 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 147.27. The team had a mediocre season, though, finishing eighth with just five wins.In July, Rahane said he still possessed the “hunger and passion” for the game and for red-ball cricket, stating he even carried his trainers and cricket gear while on holiday in London to begin preparations for the upcoming domestic season.”I still want to play Test cricket,” Rahane had told Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton in an interview with . “I’m really passionate about playing Test cricket. I’m enjoying my cricket at the moment. For me, it’s all about focusing on the controllable things. Frankly, I tried to have conversations with the selectors, but [there are] things as a player I cannot control. I got no response.”As a player, all I can do is keep playing cricket, keep enjoying the game, and give my best each and every time. I love playing Test cricket, love playing red-ball [cricket], it’s a passion. The love for the game keeps me going.”Mumbai are currently preparing for the upcoming season by playing the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Chennai, with a young squad led by 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre. Mumbai allrounder Shardul Thakur, a key member of their 2024-25 Ranji campaign, was named captain of West Zone for the season-opening Duleep Trophy.

He replaces Phil Simmons, who is now the head coach of Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2025Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) have appointed former West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their new head coach for the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2025. He replaces Phil Simmons, who is currently the head coach for Bangladesh men’s team.”It’s an honour to be given the opportunity to be Head Coach of TKR, a team that’s very close to my heart,” he said in a social media post. “I would like to personally thank coach Phil Simmons for his time and commitment over the last few years, and now I look forward to this new challenge for me and my staff.”Bravo played 107 matches in the CPL between 2013 and 2024, and took 129 wickets at an economy of 8.74. He represented TKR in nine out of the 11 seasons and won the title five times, including 2021, when he led St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.