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“It was told to Virat for the sake of Indian cricket to please continue as captain”

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-20214:43

Chetan Sharma: Told Virat to continue as captain for the sake of Indian cricket

Everyone present in the meeting had asked Virat Kohli to reconsider stepping down as India’s T20I captain on the eve of the T20 World Cup, chief selector Chetan Sharma said on Friday.Breaking from the recent norm of announcing squads via press releases, Chetan featured in a press conference today to name the ODI squad for the three-match series in South Africa. He was asked if Kohli was indeed asked to not give up the T20I captaincy when he conveyed that decision to the board and the selectors just before the T20 World Cup.

He said, he said…

Sourav Ganguly: We had requested Virat not to step down as T20 captain but he didn’t want to continue as captain. So, the selectors felt that they cannot have two white-ball captains in two white-ball formats. That’s too much of leadership.
Virat Kohli: When I decided to leave the T20I captaincy and communicated that, and I approached the BCCI first about my decision, that this is my point of view, and these are the reasons due to which I am doing this, it was received in a very nice way. There was no offence, no hesitation (from BCCI). I wasn’t told you don’t leave the T20 captaincy. Instead it was received well; I was told it’s a very progressive step and in the right direction.

“When the meeting started, it was a surprise for everybody,” Chetan said. “Because the World Cup is upon you and you hear this news, what will be the reaction of a normal person? Everyone who was present in the meeting asked him to reconsider, to rethink; ‘we can talk about this after the World Cup’. All the selectors felt this could affect the performance in the World Cup. It was told to Virat for the sake of Indian cricket to please continue as captain.”It was told to him by everybody available in the meeting. All convenors were there, board officials were there. Everybody said that. Who will not say that when you hear such a news? You will be in shock. What will be your instant reaction? It was a matter of the World Cup. We thought let’s talk after the World Cup. We told Virat the World Cup is upon us, and everybody requested let’s talk after the World Cup.Related

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“But he has his plans. We have to respect his decision. If someone has taken a decision, and he said in the media also, that he was thinking [along these lines] from the time of WTC, but at that time everybody told him to think about it.”Kohli had earlier contradicted similar claims from BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, saying, “I wasn’t told you don’t leave the T20 captaincy. Instead it was received well; I was told it’s a very progressive step and in the right direction.” Ganguly had explained Kohli’s removal as ODI captain as a natural progression once Kohli gave up the T20I captaincy, which, he said, they didn’t want Kohli to give up at that time. However, Kohli’s denial created a controversy, pitting the outgoing captain’s word against that of the president’s.Chetan Sharma: “We told Virat the World Cup is upon us, and everybody requested let’s talk after the World Cup”•AFP/Getty Images

“The main goal for everybody is the same: to keep India on top. We don’t want controversies,” Chetan said. “That is the reason we don’t come out. Our job is to select the team, make sure the best guy goes and plays for the country. When these controversies happen, it makes us sad as cricketers.”I was joking that Ajaz [Patel] has been dropped by New Zealand after taking ten wickets. Imagine if we had done something similar, what would have happened to us.”Kohli’s implication, perhaps, was that he had expressed his desire to continue as Test and ODI captain when he resigned as the captain of the shortest format, but the selectors only told him 90 minutes before the meeting to pick the squad for the South Africa Tests.Chetan was asked why, then, did they not inform Kohli that if he gave up the T20I captaincy, ODI leadership would not be guaranteed either.”If Virat told you about the T20 decision, would you be able to tell at that time that we want one or two captains,” Chetan said. “That wasn’t the right time to do it, we were in the middle of a World Cup. The World Cup was upon us. We were only thinking that the decision should not affect us in the World Cup. We have to cool things down. At that time, we don’t have the time to think about split captaincy, we had only requested that this can be discussed later. Everybody in the board said that.”When you’re in the middle of the series, you can’t always say such things. You decide only when the selectors start thinking about that format. So, when the selectors discussed, and we feel we should have one white-ball captain, this is what we told Virat, and he agreed. We communicated what was on our minds, and we are always ready, 24×7, to discuss anything. There’s no problem at all.”On the decision to let Kohli know before the Test meeting and not when the time came for the ODI selection, Chetan said he wanted to give both the captains time to process the decision. “We wanted to announce it then because we don’t want to disturb them in the middle of the [Test] series [in South Africa],” Chetan said. “We gave time to Virat and Rohit [Sharma] to process it and get it into their systems.”Selectors have [always] communicated brilliantly with the board. There is no communication problem with the team management, with the captain, even with the domestic players. All five of us speak to all the domestic players because that is our job, that is our duty. We told Virat then to give everyone time. And we informed before the meeting. You can tell him only when the selectors have met and agreed. One of our selectors was in South Africa [with the ‘A’ team] so we had to get everyone together to meet.”10:58

Newsroom: Clear communication could have made change of guard smoother

Chetan explained the rationale behind the switch, which was what Ganguly had said too: “When it comes to planning, the selectors were not comfortable with two white-ball captains. So we thought we must have one white-ball captain and one red-ball captain, and he [Kohli] is the red-ball captain. It was a hard decision, but we have to take hard decisions as selectors. Same with the playing XI, you take hard decisions. We took this decision, I know Virat is an important player, and he is going to be a very important player for us in the coming days and coming years.”While at it, Chetan also quashed reports of a rift between Kohli and Rohit. Asked if they planned to have Kohli and Rohit sit down to iron things out, Chetan said, “But about what? Things are absolutely fine. That’s why I was saying don’t go by speculations. We’re all cricketers first and selectors later. There is nothing between them.”Sometimes I read reports about them and laugh. I’m telling you there is such good planning between them about the future. Things are fantastic. If you were in my place, you would have enjoyed watching how these guys are working together aa a team and family and a unit. It’s really saddening when people make up things like that. So please, leave controversies behind in 2021. Let’s talk about how to make them the best team.”Chetan said the selectors were going to resume holding press interactions when required. “We don’t want to hide anything,” he said. “Those who do something wrong usually hide things. We’re not hiding anything.”

Ireland slipped to 66 for 6 and were swept aside in Tarouba

Sreshth Shah20-Jan-2022Despite missing their captain Yash Dhull and vice-captain Shaikh Rasheed after both tested positive for Covid-19, India thumped Ireland by 174 runs and in the process secured their quarter-final spot too.

Zimbabwe’s Victor Chirwa suspended from bowling

Victor Chirwa, the 18-year old left-arm wristspinner from Zimbabwe, was found to have an illegal action and as such the ICC has barred him from bowling in all international tournaments.

Chirwa was reported by officials at the Under-19 World Cup after he picked up 2 for 11 in seven overs against Papua New Guinea.

Upon further video analysis by the Event Panel, it was confirmed that Chirwa flexes his elbow beyond the allowed 15 degrees and was handed down his punishment.

Sent into bat, India openers Harnoor Singh (88) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (79) hit exquisite half-centuries to set the tone with a 164-run opening stand. The middle order then made crucial contributions to take India past 300. In Ireland’s chase, they were reduced to 66 for 6 inside 22 overs, after which the only question that remained was the final margin of India’s victory.With six of their 17 squad members either Covid positive or suspected as infected, India fielded the only 11 players who were available for selection. They were led by 17-year-old Nishant Sindhu from Haryana, and he struck a 34-ball 36 after the openers built the foundation. On either side of Sindhu’s innings, No. 3 Raj Bawa made 42 and the lower-order batter Rajvardhan Hangargekar – promoted for the slog overs – smacked 39 in a 17-ball innings to post 307 for 5.Openers Harnoor and Raghuvanshi had both failed in the first game against South Africa, but with the usual No. 3 Rasheed and No. 4 Dhull not available, both batters had an added responsibility. They were, however, unperturbed in their batting style, attacking right from the start. The right-handed Raghuvanshi hit a hat-trick of fours in the third over off Ireland spinner Matthew Humphreys and followed it up with three boundaries off offspinner Nathan McGuire to race away to 26 in 22 balls.After that, Harnoor found the gaps to hit back-to-back fours off seamer Muzamil Sherzad, and by the time the tenth over was up, India were 68 for 0.Raghuvanshi reached his fifty first, off 41 balls, when he pulled a short delivery from Humphreys over deep midwicket for six. Harnoor’s scoring-rate kept increasing steadily, and by the 21st over, he too had reached his half-century in 56 balls. A series of fours – all around the ground – then flowed from Harnoor’s bat and soon enough he had caught up to Raghuvanshi’s score, with both batters in their seventies.The stand was finally broken in the 26th over when India were 164 for 0. Raghuvanshi, on 79, was caught behind off left-arm spinner Jamie Forbes. The opening partnership gave No. 3 Bawa the liberty to settle in, but the 35th over brought about Harnoor’s end, as he was dismissed lbw by Humphreys on 88.With eight wickets in hand, a big finish was expected. It came with Sindhu playing aggressive shots off his pads on numerous occasions. After Sindhu fell in the 46th over, India promoted the seam bowler Hangargekar, and he got into the groove by hammering Humphreys for two sixes down the ground. In the 50th over, he spoiled Sherzad’s spell by crunching a hat-trick of sixes and ending the innings with a four to third man.Ireland’s chase of 308 began sedately. The first wicket came when left-arm seamer Ravi Kumar had Liam Doherty caught at midwicket in the fourth over. Hangargekar, on a high after at a strike rate of 229, then trapped Jack Dickson lbw. Bawa’s direct-hit then sent David Vincent back with Ireland at 17 for 3.Right-arm seamer Garv Sangwan, into the India XI because of the forced absences, then removed Ireland captain Tim Tector when the batter sliced a shot to gully. Sangwan followed it up with the wicket of Joshua Cox, who edged one to wicketkeeper Dinesh Bana.With half the side gone for only 66, Ireland’s chances of a win were almost zero. Vicky Ostwal, who took five wickets against South Africa, had Philippus le Roux lbw when he played a sweep down the wrong line. Although Scott MacBeth smacked 32, the rest of the game was a one-sided affair. Left-arm spinner Aneeshwar Gautam, another new entrant into the XI, then took two lower-order wickets, and offspinner Kaushal Tambe cleaned up the tail.

He will work as batting coach in the absence of Luke Ronchi

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-2022Former New Zealand batter Dean Brownlie has been added to the team’s coaching staff for the upcoming home series against Netherlands. Brownlie will work as the batting coach in the absence of Luke Ronchi, who is currently with Auckland Aces for the remainder of the Plunket Shield.Brownlie, who is a current Northern Districts network coach, will join the support staff led by Gary Stead.”Dean was a fine player in his own right and it’s great to see him now progressing as a coach,” Stead said. “I know he’s been working really hard in the ND coaching system and gaining a wide range of experiences which are essential to development.”His skills and knowledge of the game will certainly add to our group and I’m sure he’ll also get plenty out of his time with us.”This is a good opportunity to grow our coaching depth in New Zealand, while also being mindful of the Major Associations who are at the business end of the Plunket Shield season.”Brownlie retired at the end of the 2020-21 season having last played for Northern Districts. He also represented Canterbury earlier in his career and played a total of 14 Tests, 16 ODIs and five T20Is for New Zealand from 2010 to 2017.New Zealand will host Netherlands for a one-off T20I, in Napier, and three ODIs, in Mount Maunganui and Hamilton. The T20I will be played on March 25 followed by the ODIs on March 29, April 2 and 4.

Kartikeya has played eight T20s for Madhya Pradesh, picking up nine wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2022Mumbai Indians have signed left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya as a replacement for the injured Arshad Khan for the rest of IPL 2022. Arshad, the uncapped left-arm seamer, was yet to feature in a game this season.Kartikeya has played eight T20s for Madhya Pradesh, taking nine wickets. At the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he was the joint second-highest wicket-taker for his side with five wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 5.05.The 24-year-old has also played nine first-class games and 19 List A matches, picking up 35 and 18 wickets in them respectively.Kartikeya joins the Mumbai squad for the price of INR 20 lakh (approx. USD 26,000). M Ashwin, Mayank Markande and Fabian Allen are the other spin-bowling options Mumbai have at their disposal.With eight successive defeats since the start of the season, Mumbai are all but out of the race for the playoffs. Their next match is on Saturday, against Rajasthan Royals at the DY Patil Stadium.

Ecclestone, King also impress as Mandhana-led Trailblazers rue batting collapse

Himanshu Agrawal23-May-2022Harmanpreet Kaur’s Supernovas made a winning start to the Women’s T20 Challenge in Pune on Monday. They successfully defended 163, a prospect that looked unlikely when Smriti Mandhana raced off the blocks in Trailblazers’ chase. From 63 for 1, they collapsed to 73 for 7 in the 13th over, by which time the game was well and truly over. Supernovas eventually won by 49 runs. Pooja Vastrakar, the seam bowling allrounder, picked four wickets while England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone and Australia legspinner Alana King picked two apiece.1, 0, 2, 0, 0Trailblazers’ Nos. 4 to 8 contributed only three runs in total, as they slumped after Mandhana’s turbocharged 34. After Vastrakar got both openers, she got her third when Sophia Dunkley slapped one to mid-off where a diving Priya Punia completed her second superb catch of thre evening. That it came three balls after Mandhana was caught by Punia at mid-on rattled the Trailblazers. With big inroads made, Ecclestone and King joined the fun to close out the game.How the collapse unfoldedAfter King dismissed an advancing Sharmin Akhter, who played all around a full delivery, Ecclestone got onto the scoreboard off consecutive deliveries. First, Richa Ghosh slapped a long hop to point. Off the next delivery, Arundhati Reddy was stumped in freakish fashion when she tapped at the ball, which ricocheted off her front boot and back to an alert Taniya Bhatia behind the stumps as she whipped the bails off.Vastrakar got her fourth when Salma Khatun spooned a catch to cover. The final nail was hammered in when Meghna Singh broke Rodrigues’ resistance when Harleen Deol took a brilliant catch while diving forward at deep point. Her 24, however, merely delayed the inevitable.Super startWith the bat, every over of Supernovas’ powerplay featured at least one boundary, as Deandra Dottin and Punia got them off to a flier. The final ball of the first over was hit for six, thus signalling an early intent to go for the big hits. Dottin was on a run-a-ball seven at one stage, before launching Renuka Singh for three boundaries in the third over.That turned out to be the catalyst, as Punia decided to take the attack to Rajashwari Gayakwad in the next over. The opener hit back-to-back boundaries, the first of which was a crisp cover drive while the second was a clever piece of dab between point and short third man. Dottin crashed a four and a six off Arundhati Reddy in the final over the powerplay, before being run out by a direct hit from Akhter at square leg, even as Supernovas finished the powerplay 58 for 1.Trailblazers hit back, but fall shortSupernovas kept losing their way after the good start, but Harmanpreet Kaur and Vastrakar had added a rapid 27 for the sixth wicket to give them some impetus, but a late collapse meant they finished with at least 20 fewer than they looked like getting.Harmanpreet’s 29-ball 37 ended in a run out when she and Ecclestone ended up at the bowler’s end. The Supernovas’ captain clearly made her frustration evident, indicating that Ecclestone should have rather risked her wicket by getting to the wicketkeeper’s end.All said, Trailblazers surrendered from a position of strength and have one more game to make amends.

Three-team Women’s T20 Challenge will be played at Pune’s MCA Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2022The IPL 2022 playoffs – one eliminator, two qualifiers and the final – will be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad between May 24 and May 29, the BCCI confirmed on Tuesday. As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier, the first two of those matches will be hosted at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, and the rest at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The BCCI has also confirmed that the Women’s T20 Challenge will be held at Pune’s MCA Stadium between May 23 to May 28.Related

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The three group games of the three-team Women’s T20 Challenge, between Trailblazers, Velocity and Supernovas, will be held on May 23, 24 and 26, with the final on May 28. Supernovas won the trophy the first two years, while Trailblazers won the tournament in 2020. The tournament was first held in 2018, in Mumbai, and was played in Jaipur and Sharjah respectively the following years. However, the tournament was cancelled last season because of the Covid-19 pandemic.It was also confirmed that the IPL playoffs will be held in front of capacity crowds for the first time since the 2019 edition. The IPL governing council had initially allowed a 25% capacity, which was increased to 50% later on.All the IPL 2022 league-stage games had previously been scheduled only in the state of Maharashtra, at the Wankhede and Brabourne stadiums in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, and the MCA Stadium in Pune, with the BCCI being cautious owing to the pandemic situation. However, with the situation better in India now, the board has decided to branch out to other cities for the playoffs and final.

Four quick wickets before lunch brought Sussex back into the contest

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2022Sussex 376 and 86 for 2 (Clark 32*, Carter 22*) trail Glamorgan 494 (Ingram 178, Byrom 176) trail by 32 runsDespite a flurry of early morning wickets pegging them back, Glamorgan have finished the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Sussex with a chance to push for victory.The day started with Eddie Byrom and Colin Ingram taking their outstanding partnership past 300 before four quick wickets before lunch brought Sussex back into the contest.Glamorgan’s lower order took their score to 494, a first-innings lead of 118, with Byrom making a career-best 176 and Ingram dismissed for 178.Two early wickets, and Ingram picking up a third from the last ball of the day, has left Sussex with work to do to save this game, still 29 runs behind Glamorgan going into the final day.Having resumed with their partnership on 253, Ingram and Byrom took their stand to 328, the highest ever stand for the second wicket for Glamorgan, going past the 291 put on by Nick Selman and Marnus Labuschagne against the same opposition in 2019.It was a pretty miserable first 90 minutes of the day for Sussex with wicket-keeper Tim Seifert dropping a simple chance to dismiss Byrom for 126 being the lowlight, but the cluster of wickets before the lunch interval brought them back into the game.It was Ingram’s wicket which ended the partnership with Byrom, Henry Crocombe the bowler to make the breakthrough. Ingram’s attempted pull shot caught was at mid-wicket with Tom Alsop the fielder.Having waited so long for a second wicket Sussex had Glamorgan five down in quick time. Sam Northeast was bowled first ball with a lovely yorker as two wickets fell in as many balls. It was Crocombe who also got the fourth Glamorgan wicket with Kiran Carlson given out caught behind. Crocombe would go on to claim a career-best 4 for 84 in the Glamorgan first innings.When Sean Hunt trapped Billy Root lbw for 5 Glamorgan had lost four wickets in the space of 17 runs and were still 28 runs behind the Sussex innings.The sixth Glamorgan wicket fell with Sussex still four runs in front, Hunt bowling James Weighell for 16 and the home side were in danger of squandering the fantastic position they found themselves in overnight. Some excellent lower-order contributions took them to a lead of 118, one that could be telling at the end of this game.Byrom was dismissed just after Glamorgan had claimed maximum batting points but Michael Neser and Andrew Salter hung around with Chris Cooke who was batting at 10 with a runner due to the calf injury he sustained on the first day.The evening session saw Sussex attempting to erase the first-innings deficit on a pitch that had the odd ball keeping low. Sussex lost both openers early on to add more pressure, Alsop and Tom Haines both falling with the score on 29.First-innings centurion, Oli Carter was at the crease at the close but Tom Clark failed to keep out a ball from Ingram that trickled into his stumps to have him bowled for 34 by the last ball of the day.The draw is still the favourite result, but a Glamorgan victory is the close second.

He had been involved in a long public fallout with the state association that started earlier this year

Shashank Kishore02-Jul-2022Wriddhiman Saha, the India wicketkeeper, has parted ways with Bengal, the team he represented in domestic cricket, after a public fallout with a state association official. He is now a free agent, having obtained an NOC from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).”Mr Wriddhiman Saha came to CAB and in an application to President Avishek Dalmiya sought the NOC from the association,” stated an association press release. “CAB gave concurrence to the request of Mr Saha and provided the NOC to him for playing for another state. CAB also wished him the very best for his future endeavours.”It began in February, when CAB joint-secretary Debabrata Das issued a statement accusing Saha of giving “all sorts of excuses” to “skip” Ranji Trophy matches. This didn’t go down well Saha, who sought an apology that wasn’t forthcoming.Related

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At the time, Saha had just been left out of the India Test team, with head coach Rahul Dravid having spoken to him of the possibility of not being picked in the Test squad going forward. Consequently, he pulled out of the Ranji Trophy league phase citing “personal reasons”.In May, Saha was picked in Bengal’s squad for the Ranji Trophy knockouts, but he pulled out saying his permission wasn’t sought before naming him in the squad. Saha is believed to have spoken to the CAB officials, who promised him Das’ statement wasn’t a reflection of CAB’s stance.However, Saha reiterated his stance and said that in case the dispute could not be resolved, he wanted a no-objection certificate to leave the state. With the matter being unresolved two months on, Saha finally decided to obtain an NOC.While there are murmurs over Saha possibly taking up a role as mentor-cum-player with Tripura, they remain in discussion stage with neither party willing to make a comment at the moment. Earlier, Gujarat and Baroda, who were briefly linked as Saha’s potential teams, had categorically denied initiating talks.Saha, 37, has played 122 first-class matches, scoring 6423 runs at an average of 41.98. So far, he has hit 13 centuries and 38 half-centuries. In his 40-Test career, he made 1353 runs at an average just shy of 30. The home Test series against New Zealand last December was Saha’s most-recent appearance in India colours.While his immediate international future seems bleak, Saha is still contracted to IPL champions Gujarat Titans with whom he had an impressive season, scoring 317 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 122.39.

Whenever there is a hint of the team being in trouble someone is there to turn things around

Valkerie Baynes05-Aug-2022Take an inch against Australia and they’ll still win by a mile. That’s the realisation other teams have come to in recent years as the depth of talent enjoyed by the reigning ODI and T20I world champions has come to bite them again and again.In the opening match of the Women’s Ashes in January, England started brightly with an 82-run opening stand to reach 169 for 4 from their 20-over allocation. Then Alyssa Healy fell for just 7 and Australia were 26 for 1, only for Tahlia McGrath to smash an unbeaten 91 in a 144-run stand with Meg Lanning and Australia won by nine wickets. England didn’t win another match in that series, despite challenging in the drawn Test.Against India in their opening match of the Commonwealth Games, Australia slid to 49 for 5 chasing 155 before Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris launched a successful rescue mission with a 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket. And when McGrath and Beth Mooney dug Australia out of trouble at 19 for 2 in their final group match to beat Pakistan by 44 runs, a key to their success was rammed home yet again – if one or two players fail, someone else inevitably steps up.Related

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“We were in a bit of a sticky situation early,” McGrath said after the Pakistan game. “Then Moons and I both probably struggled a bit early and had to work through that. Then that sort of allowed us to have that freedom at the end and get us to what was a really good total.”McGrath has been a revelation in T20Is, going unbeaten in four of her six innings in the format, although she said her approach wasn’t so much about valuing her wicket.”In T20 cricket I sort of just go out there with no fear, a bit of freedom,” she said. “I get to play my shots and I know that the batters I’ve got coming in before me are world-class, that allows me to play with that freedom.”I’ve just been lucky that I’ve had a few not-outs because it doesn’t happen very often in T20. So I’ll just ride it for as long as I can do it.”Her partnership with Mooney has also been key, in this instance yielding 141 runs for the third wicket.”We’re both very chill,” McGrath said. “I remember there was a game in the Gold Coast where we got caught in traffic and it was Moons and I in the car and we literally rocked up two minutes before the start of warm-up. The security guard said to us he was glad it was us two because everyone would be freaking out. It didn’t bother us at all, we’re pretty easy-going.”We’ve batted a fair bit together now. I really enjoy with Moons and we both recognise when each other is struggling.”
Mooney agreed: “She’s awesome to work with. I think we’ve got a pretty good understanding of each other and each other’s games. We’re both pretty level-headed people.”She just comes out and plays to her strengths straight away and takes some pressure off the person at the other end, so she’s a very impressive player and hopefully she can continue that form for a while yet.”Their union against Pakistan was all the more important after Healy, the hero of Australia’s ODI World Cup triumph in April, fell for four runs, as did Lanning, the captain. In six innings since her knock of 170 in the World Cup final against England, Healy has not passed 23. But Mooney wasn’t concerned.”She’s looking really good in the nets,” Mooney said of Healy. “She’s just been a little bit unlucky. We also know that when we get into semis and finals, that she steps up and is one of the best players in the world.”So there’s no doubt in our changeroom that she’s going to show up and do that again for us. We’re really behind her and we know that she’s got the capacity to do some serious damage against the opposition, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.”With Australia having set such a high standard for themselves, Mooney warned against seeing them as “robots” in light of “a couple of low scores”.With the ball, Australia are also in a good place. McGrath took 3 for 13 against both Pakistan and Barbados, while spinners Alana King and Jess Jonassen have been in fine form.Alana King has added another dimension to Australia’s attack•Getty Images

New Zealand are well aware of the task they face in Saturday’s second semi-final of the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to start at Edgbaston at 6pm local time, which will be 3am on Sunday in Sydney and 5am in Auckland.Having managed just 71 for 9 in their final group game – a seven-wicket loss to England, who will play India in the other semi-final earlier on Saturday – Sophie Devine, the New Zealand captain, was keen put their latest result behind them.”We were well below par and it wasn’t through lack of effort or lack of planning or anything like that, I think you just get days like that,” Devine said. “It’s never nice to be a part of but we’ve got to flush it down the dunny pretty quickly and move on to something that’s actually really exciting for us, playing in a semi-final against Australia at a Commonwealth Games.”And Devine embraced underdog status against a side New Zealand, like everyone else, knows are capable of great things.”I think a lot of the pressure is going to be on Australia,” she said. “They’ve certainly come into this competition as favourites and hopeful of taking that gold medal whereas a lot of people didn’t think we’d maybe make the semi-finals.”We can really take that on board and just play with a bit of freedom and take it to the Aussies. We obviously know them really well, so I think our plans are going to be pretty spot on and likewise they know us really well too. It’s always just a great battle against the Australians.”

Acting skipper joins wife Katherine Brunt on sidelines for T20Is and ODIs starting this week

Valkerie Baynes08-Sep-2022Nat Sciver has withdrawn from England’s upcoming T20I and ODI series at home against India to focus on her mental health and wellbeing.The ECB announced late on Thursday that allrounder Sciver, who was standing in as captain for Heather Knight, who had a hip surgery and was recovering, had left the team’s camp in Durham to return home.Amy Jones was appointed captain for the three-match T20I series, starting in Durham on Saturday, with a replacement to be called up ahead of the second match in Derby on Tuesday.”I’ve played a lot of cricket over the last nine months and I am very emotionally fatigued,” Sciver said. “Elite sport demands a lot and for the moment I’m not able to perform without compromising my own wellbeing, so I need to take some time away from cricket in order to focus on myself. It’s the right decision for me and it’s the right decision for the team.”Sciver’s absence came after her wife, Katherine Brunt, was left out of the squad for the T20I leg of India’s tour, with Lisa Keightley saying Brunt would “rest across both the T20 and ODI series… with a view to maximising her mental and physical recovery off the back of what has been an intense year so far”.Related

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• Nat Sciver takes it cool on comeback after reaching 'boiling point' in busy summer

• Heather Knight hopes hip surgery will 'extend career' as she targets winter return

• Katherine Brunt rested for India series as Lauren Bell earns T20I call-up

England are yet to name their squad for the three-match ODI leg of the tour, which follows the third T20I in Bristol in a week’s time and culminates at Lord’s on September 24.Jonathan Finch, director of England women’s cricket, said: “We fully support Nat and her decision to step away from this series. Cricket is important, but it is wholly insignificant in the context of an individual’s health and happiness.”The welfare of our players and staff is always our number one priority and we will support Nat throughout this period.”Sciver also stood down from the captaincy of Trent Rockets midway through the Hundred, to “focus on her own game”, according to a Rockets spokesperson at the time. Sciver captained the Rockets in four of their five outings up to that point, missing their opening match for personal reasons.She captained England in Knight’s absence throughout their disappointing Commonwealth Games campaign in which they lost the bronze-medal playoff against New Zealand, with Australia claiming gold and India silver.T20I Series

Sept 10, 1st T20I, Chester-le-Street

Sept 13, 2nd T20I, Derby

Sept 15, 3rd T20I, Bristol
ODI series

Sept 18, 1st ODI, Hove

Sept 21, 2nd ODI, Canterbury

Sept 24, 3rd ODI, Lord’s