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Michael Jones sets tone for hosts in comfortable 48-run victory at Riverside

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2022Durham 186 for 7 (Jones 44) beat Worcestershire 138 for 9 (Raine 3-23, Tye 3-27) by 48 runsDurham bounced back from successive defeats to get back to winning ways in the Vitality Blast with a comfortable 48-run victory over Worcestershire Rapids at Seat Unique Riverside.Michael Jones set the tone for the home side with a brisk 44 from 25 balls, notching five boundaries and three sixes. Ollie Robinson and Graham Clark provided useful knocks to allow Durham to post a competitive total of 186 for seven from their 20 overs.The Rapids were behind the rate from the off after losing Ed Pollock and Jack Haynes in the first nine balls of the innings. The visitors struggled to find the fence amid tight bowling from the Durham attack led by three wickets apiece from Ben Raine and debutant Andrew Tye, resulting in a dominant victory for the hosts.Worcestershire captain Ben Cox won the toss and elected to field in the bright sunshine at the Riverside. Clark and Jones continued their bright start to the Blast campaign by racing to fifty inside five overs. Jones was particularly destructive for the home side, smashing 15 off Pat Brown’s first over before taking a further 18 off spinner Josh Baker, including two sixes straight down the ground.Jones was pegged back going for one heave too many as Charlie Morris bowled the opener, while the visitors worked their way back into the game as Clark fell victim to a good delivery from Brett D’Oliveira.Robinson used the dimensions of the Riverside to great effect in his innings of 35 from 23 balls, but D’Oliveira turned one through the gate to send the wicket-keeper on his way. D’Oliveira’s fine evening with the ball continued when Paul Coughlin was stumped off a wide, earning revenge after being struck for a maximum from the previous ball. The Rapids skipper finished as pick of the bowlers with impressive figures of three for 24 from his four overs.David Bedingham, Brydon Carse and Ned Eckersley played vital cameos for the hosts in the latter stages of the innings, propelling them towards a competitive total of 186.Pollock scored six runs from the first two balls of Worcestershire’s reply, but Coughlin removed him with the third as Bedingham produced a brilliant diving catch at cover. Carse continued Durham’s strong start with the ball by bowling Jack Haynes for one, reducing the visitors to nine for two in the second over.D’Oliveira and Munro played within themselves after the early wickets, which resulted in the run rate ascending over 10 per over. As a result, the pressure was on the duo to accelerate, but D’Oliveira was pinned lbw by Raine before Munro was caught on the fence from a Scott Borthwick loosener.Tye marked his Durham debut with three late wickets amid a Worcestershire lower-order collapse, removing Ed Barnard, Cox and Matthew Waite, allowing the hosts to ease over the line.

New Zealand captain says India “didn’t give us a sniff” after putting almost 400 on the board

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2023″It’s not over just yet” for this group of New Zealand cricketers, Kane Williamson said* after his side’s elimination from the 2023 World Cup with a 70-run defeat to India in the first semi-final on Wednesday night. Their golden generation of players are still yet to win a World Cup together in either white-ball format, but Williamson insisted that they have a future.New Zealand have one of the oldest squads in the tournament, with only two players aged younger than 28, and the core will be in their mid-to-late-30s come the next 50-over World Cup in 2027. Trent Boult and Tim Southee, the oldest players in their squad at 34, were both expensive as India racked up 397 for 4, finishing with combined figures of 4 for 186 across their 20 overs.”It’s an ongoing effort as a side to keep trying to get better and push the boundaries of where we can get to as a team,” Williamson said. “You can only hope that, as we experienced from some of our leaders as young guys, that we can continue to bring players through – not just in the quality that [the senior players] bring, because we’ve seen that in spades throughout the last seven weeks, but also in how they’re approaching their cricket in order to try and move this team forwards.Related

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“I think we’ve seen that too – so some good signs, certainly, in this last period of time. It’s not over just yet, but that’s where the focus is. You come to these tournaments and they can be small margins [which determine] whether you get further or not, but ultimately, it’s about growing as a group and becoming a better cricket team. I think the seven weeks were really valuable for us as a side: we wanted to go further, naturally, but we’ll reflect on it and take a lot of good out of it.”Williamson conceded that India had effectively batted his side out of the game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. “They didn’t give us a sniff, really,” he said. “I suppose if you bat first and put 400 on the board, it’s a tick in the batting column and you go and try and do the job in the second half. It was tough out there: the ball swung a lot initially, so we had to work pretty hard but credit to India.”We didn’t create many meaningful opportunities that could actually change the flow of runs in that first half, and that wasn’t through lack of effort. It was just quality on the opposition side and we were sort of searching. They did it well from the start. For us, it’s sucking it up and taking it on the chin; taking those experiences to become a better side and move forward.”Williamson said that he would have chosen to bat first if he had won the toss, and said that conditions changed as the game wore on. “It was a used wicket, but a pretty good surface, really,” he said. “Conditions change as they go under lights… that’s fine: that’s what you expected, and they played really well.”We would have batted as well, but it’s the toss of a coin, isn’t it? You’re still trying to operate regardless of what you do [first]. And they certainly made the most of that opportunity. It’s not all on the toss, but they made best use of the conditions they had. We were certainly trying our best [but] it didn’t quite go our way today.”New Zealand started the tournament with four consecutive wins but lost five of their final six games, and struggled in the absence of the injured Matt Henry. Williamson himself only played four of their 10 matches, fracturing his thumb after coming back from an ACL rupture, and admitted that injuries had been tough to deal with.”The injuries weren’t helpful – you never want those – but there was still some good cricket there, and we had a couple of close losses… we had our fair share of bits and pieces go on, but that’s life. Most teams are dealing with something on any given day, but I think the attitude that the guys kept coming back with [was good].”19.30 GMT – This story was updated with fresh quotes

India coach says he had “honest words” with the team after the defeat in Melbourne

Alagappan Muthu02-Jan-20251:43

Manjrekar: Transitions always a ‘delicate time’ for teams but unavoidable

India coach Gautam Gambhir was strong in saying he has “everything under control” in the dressing room but admitted he had “honest” conversations with the team after losing the MCG Test to go 2-1 down in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the days between that Melbourne defeat and the New Year’s Test in Sydney, there was a report citing Gambhir had lost patience with the way India had played in Australia.”I don’t think I need to answer to any reports,” Gambhir said on the eve of the fifth Test. “There are some honest words. That’s all I can say. Honesty is extremely important if you want to go on and achieve some great things.”Gambhir was “extremely, extremely confident” though that India could get the win that they need in Sydney to draw the series and retain the trophy. “If someone had said 40-45 days ago that we would be in this situation, that we can come to Sydney and draw this series, it’s a good position to be in. And I don’t think so that anything is out of control.”When you come to a Test like this, it’s not that batting didn’t do well or bowling didn’t do well. If batting and bowling hadn’t done well, we wouldn’t have won a Test match or we wouldn’t have been 2-1 down. We could have been in a worse situation. So, as I said, I don’t think so that anything is worrisome.”We know we’ve got the skill set. We’ve got the individuals. We’ve got everything in that dressing room that can win a Test match here. Not only here, probably go on to do some unbelievable things in the future as well.”Related

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India have a few senior players out of form: Rohit Sharma – Gambhir wouldn’t confirm if he will play on Friday – Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have all had a lean run in Australia.”First of all, all the individuals, all the individuals know which area they have to work in,” Gambhir said. “And it’s not like I’m talking about individuals here. Because ultimately, you win as a team and lose as a team. And when you’re playing for your country, everyone tries to contribute their maximum. So, that’s important.”And it’s not like the debate between a player and a coach should be known to everybody. It should just be between them. You [the outsiders] just see the results. And, fortunately or unfortunately, this sport is known only for the results. But the conversations between the individuals and the dressing room, they should stay there.”In Melbourne, when India were trying to draw the Test match, several of their batters, from Rohit to Kohli to Yashasvi Jaiswal to Pant, played attacking shots to get out. Gambhir, ahead of his first series in charge as India’s Test coach in September last year, had highlighted he wanted to be a part of a team that could adapt to various situations, whether it is scoring 400 in a day or batting time to secure a draw. On Thursday, he was asked whether a batter playing their natural game could be at odds with the match situation.”It’s the team-first ideology that matters,” Gambhir said. “It’s a team sport and you’ve got to play what the team needs you to do. That’s as simple as it can get. People can play the natural game. But still, in a team sport, individuals only contribute. It’s the team [that is important]. If you need to play in a certain way, I think you’ve got to do it.”I don’t want to talk about individuals. I think everyone knows where they are. And as I just mentioned, in a team sport, it’s only the team. You have to expect players to do what the team needs you to do. Whether they go to bad sessions, whether they go to be attacking, because that is all that matters in a team sport for me.”Gambhir reiterated that Indian cricket – despite its ups (a T20 World Cup win last year) and downs (a home series whitewash against New Zealand) – will always be strong.”I think Indian cricket will always be in safe hands till the time you’ve got honest people sitting in that room,” he said. “And honesty is the most important thing for any transition. And it is not about phasing out senior players or getting the youngsters in.”Ultimately, the only thing that can keep you in that dressing room is the performance. And it starts from all of us. Not only from the players, from the coaches as well.”

The board is taking a cautious approach after Stokes tore his hamstring during the tournament

Matt Roller16-Aug-2024Gus Atkinson will miss the final of the men’s Hundred after being made unavailable by the ECB ahead of England’s Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.Atkinson took 22 wickets in his debut series against West Indies and was named Player of the Series. He has only featured once for Oval Invincibles this year, returning figures of 0 for 28 in 10 balls against Trent Rockets on Wednesday night, and will not feature in Sunday’s final at Lord’s as he prepares for the Test series.”Gus has been withdrawn, which is quite understandable,” Sam Billings, the Invincibles’ captain, said. “It’s disappointing for him but Saqib Mahmood has been phenomenal for us all tournament and showed his class the other night. He’ll stay in the side.”The Invincibles are also missing Spencer Johnson through injury, but Tom Curran will return after he was rested on Wednesday.The ECB is taking a cautious approach to England players’ availability after Ben Stokes tore his hamstring playing for Northern Superchargers, ruling him out for the rest of the summer. Chris Woakes has already been withdrawn from the tournament, though Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett (both Birmingham Phoenix) and Jordan Cox (Invincibles) are available this weekend ahead of the first Test.Related

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“Jordan will be available and I think that’s great for him,” Billings said. “I’ve been in that position before where as a young player, you get withdrawn and miss out on playing time. For anyone to play in a final at Lord’s in the leading domestic competition in the country, in front of a packed house is perfect preparation for international cricket.”Jofra Archer, who is being managed carefully after long spells on the sidelines with back and elbow issues, is expected to be available for both Saturday’s eliminator and Sunday’s final, if Southern Brave qualify. He was made unavailable for two group-stage games to manage his workload, but Brave captain James Vince is not anticipating any restrictions in the knockouts.”I’ve not heard otherwise, so I’m hoping that’s the case,” Vince said. “Obviously we’ve got tomorrow to take care of first, but as I understand it, he is available for both should we make the final. I can’t give you 100% confirmation because I don’t know that myself, to be honest. But there’s not much travel involved and it’s only 20 balls [per match] so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”In the women’s Hundred, Chamari Athapaththu is unavailable for the Invincibles in their eliminator against London Spirit on Saturday, having linked up with Sri Lanka’s squad for their ODI series in Ireland. Laura Harris has returned to the squad as cover, while Megan Schutt has also been with the squad throughout and will come into contention.

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, arrived in Brisbane on Wednesday morning and declared himself “mentally prepared” to play the first Test against Australia, beginning at the Gabba on Thursday

Alex Brown24-Nov-2009Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, arrived in Brisbane on Wednesday morning and declared himself “mentally prepared” to play the first Test against Australia, beginning at the Gabba on Thursday. In a tremendous boost for the tourists, Gayle headed directly for the Allan Border Field for the Windies’ final training session, where he informed team-mates he would be taking the field beside them the following day.”It’s difficult but, yes, I’m playing tomorrow,” Gayle said. “I’m committed to it. It doesn’t make sense to come and sit around and watch the game. It’s always difficult to come in the day before a Test match but what I try to do is prepare mentally. I know it’s a tough task ahead. The main thing is to condition my mind to go out there and lead from the front. It won’t be easy, but I’m mentally ready. I was hitting balls in the nets today and I’m feeling pretty confident.”Gayle touched down at Brisbane International airport shortly before 8am, sporting diamond encrusted sunglasses and all-black attire. He promptly dashed to the team hotel in the city, changed into his whites and reported for training at the Allan Border Field with the rest of the West Indian squad at 9am.Gayle showed few ill-effects from the long haul flight during a 20-minute batting session, with Sulieman Benn and a handful of local quicks on the receiving end of some powerful blows. He bowled several overs of finger spin to round out training, before racing across town to the Gabba to conduct his pre-match press conference.

Fans more drawn to short formats

Chris Gayle feels that declining attendance figures around the world suggest many supporters concur with his infamous assertion regarding the death of Test cricket. “If you look at what’s happening now, it’s no secret,” said Gayle, who sparked an international furore earlier this year when he said he “wouldn’t be so sad” if Test cricket were to perish.
“At the same time we’re always going to be committed to whatever cricket we play. I can’t say ‘Test cricket is going to die’ and it just happens like that. It’s just how things have been progressing the last couple of months. Spectators haven’t turned out. They’re more drawn to the coloured clothing at this point in time.”
The Gabba Test will mark the first time Gayle has represented West Indies since the home limited-overs series against India in July. Industrial action saw him miss the disastrous two-Test series against Bangladesh and the ensuing Champions Trophy, and he hopes the tour of Australia will help mend relations within West Indian cricket.
“This is a situation that we look at as a rebuild,” he said. “We’re trying to get back together. A lot has happened the last couple of months. We’re trying to put our best foot forward, go out as one unit and try to put the past behind us. We’ll give Australia a good fight.”

“I’m not feeling anything at this point in time,” Gayle said of his impending battle with jet-lag. “I don’t know what later on will happen. Hopefully I’ll get some rest in between and pull up fresh tomorrow morning. I haven’t played Test cricket for quite some time now. We haven’t played as a unit for quite some time as well. The challenge is always going to be there.”Gayle is no stranger to eleventh hour arrivals ahead of Test series. He landed in England the day before this year’s first Test, having been granted special permission by his board to extend his stint in the IPL. He also cut fine his arrival for the 2008 home Test series against Australia, also due to IPL commitments, prompting David Williams, the West Indies interim coach, to quip: “He’s getting used to it.”Gayle has spent almost 100 hours commuting between Jamaica and Australia over the past fortnight, with the latest trip occurring so he could be with his sick mother. She was released from hospital at the weekend, allowing Gayle to plan his way back to Australia. He thanked supporters for their “prayers and best wishes.””I’m honoured, it’s good to be back here,” he added, looking remarkably fresh. “Hopefully tomorrow it will be a good day for the West Indies cricket team. This time we’ll test our skills against the best team, so I’m looking forward to it.”Gayle kept fans abreast of his recent movements via his Twitter page, including updates on his mother’s improving health. He also caused a stir when, before boarding a flight in the United States, he tweeted: “couldn’t use my private jet pilot was too drunk so commercial all the way.” Upon arriving in Brisbane, Gayle said the post was intended as a joke. “I was mucking around,” he said.Joel Garner, the West Indian team manager, was buoyed by Gayle’s return. “He is the captain and one of the leading batsmen and now that he is back we hope he will be well rested over the next 24 hours,” Garner told Cricinfo. “I hope he will come out and give us the kind of support and performance that would make West Indians proud.”Williams, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions West Indies could opt to field first on Thursday to allow Gayle additional time to recuperate from his latest long-haul flight. “We’re not going to make a decision based on one guy,” he said. “If we get to the Gabba and we have a look in the morning and we feel it’s feasible for us to be bat then so be it.”

Says the timing of the announcement – two days before the PSL – was “wholly unnecessary”, and the way it was communicated to the player amounted to “really poor management”

Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2024Lahore Qalandars’ owner Sameen Rana has castigated the PCB for announcing its decision to tear up Haris Rauf’s central contract just two days before the start of the PSL, tagging the board’s handling of the situation as “pathetic”. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Rana said he did not wish to get into whether the decision was correct but its timing severely disrupted his side’s PSL campaign, and the way the information was passed on to the player amounted to “really poor management”.”The timing of that announcement was wholly unnecessary,” Rana told ESPNcricinfo. “There was no Pakistan series coming up, or any emergency situation that necessitated the announcement two days before the PSL. Whatever the logic was, the timing was really bad. It was a huge blow psychologically for him, because his whole life’s main aim is playing for Pakistan.Qalandars were understood to be privately fuming at the time the decision was announced. Shaheen Afridi told ESPNcricinfo on the day of the decision that the PCB would “understand in time” that making the decision just before the PSL started was not correct. But while Qalandars held back from expressing public outrage at the time, now, Rana has not.Related

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“Rauf’s our premier bowler, our highest wicket-taker after Shaheen Afridi. To publicly humiliate him and issue a press release announcing the termination of his central contract, I have never seen this happen anywhere,” Rana said. “I would never treat my employees like that.”The employee at least has the right for you to call, email or message them. None of that happened with Rauf, and it was pathetic. It was really poor management.”The decision came two months after Rauf made himself unavailable for Pakistan’s three Test series in Australia; at the time, chief selector Wahab Riaz had publicly criticised Rauf, saying he had gone back on his word. Wahab said Rauf’s decision would hurt Pakistan, and that his central contract mandated him to be available. Pakistan went on to lose the Australia series 3-0.While disciplinary proceedings against Rauf were not made public, the PCB issued a statement on February 15 that Rauf’s responses in a personal hearing were unsatisfactory, and that the board was terminating his central contract. In addition, it would prevent him from playing any overseas T20 league till June 30 2024.The development put title-defenders Qalandars “on the receiving end”, Rana said. Their 2024 campaign has gone from bad to worse as injury, unavailability, and indifferent performances have seen them rooted to the bottom of the table, winless in their first seven games.Rauf, who was searching for form before the PSL, began poorly, but had his best day against Karachi Kings, taking 1 for 22 in four overs, but even that could not prevent Qalandars from slipping to a final-ball, two-wicket defeat; and Rauf injured himself in that close finish. He dislocated his shoulder while diving to take a catch off the penultimate delivery of the game, and the injury is expected to keep him out of action for about six weeks.”I don’t know what the PCB was thinking; I was on the receiving end. Haris was our premier fast bowler. If someone treats you like that, you can’t pretend it doesn’t affect you,” Rana said. “Especially when it’s your country, something you’re emotional about anyway. And especially Haris, who is a naturally emotional person.”It was an additional responsibility on me and the whole team to keep motivating him, and keeping him in the right frame of mind. He is a very strong boy, but again, a negative thought can creep into your brain. But unfortunately, after he seemed to be returning to form and performed brilliantly, he got injured. Of course we can’t control that.”

The league is also planning to expand from the current six teams to 10 in the coming seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2024Major League Cricket (MLC), the season-old T20 tournament in the USA, has become the second Associate-run franchise competition to acquire List A status from the ICC, following on from the UAE’s ILT20 earlier this year.The status means that MLC will now be recognised as an official T20 league, with tournament playing records now counted as official format statistics. “We are really excited for the news as it’s a recognition of the standard and high quality of players taking part in the tournament,” tournament director Justin Geale told ESPNcricinfo. “By awarding MLC List A status for the upcoming season, it assists to acknowledge the strength and growing stature of the tournament and ultimately will help to enhance the credibility of the sport in the USA on a global scale.”The most important part for me though is it ensures the performances of some of the world’s best players alongside their peers are adequately reflected in their career statistics.”Really thankful to the ICC for taking the time to look at it as cricket in the USA doesn’t always fit into a template. We are an Associate nation and proud of that, one with a unique opportunity in front of us. It’s our hope that on the back of the upcoming World Cup and a successful season we can continue to build a platform for the sport to grow and ultimately succeed in the USA.”The 2024 edition of MLC will start on July 5, a week after the T20 World Cup ends on June 29 in Bridgetown. The T20 World Cup begins, however, in Dallas, USA on June 1, in what is an important season in the game’s continuing efforts to crack the US market.The , which reported on the awarding of List A status on Monday, also revealed MLC’s plans to expand from the current six teams to 10 over the next few years, jumping from 19 games in 2023 to 34 by 2025. Twenty-five games have already been scheduled for this season.”It was always intended to be a 10-team league,” MLC’s chief executive, Vijay Srinivasan, told the . “Studies show that we are a big enough country, with a big enough demographic to support 10 teams, so that’s our plan. We had 19 games in our first season, will have 25 in our second. I think we want to get to 34 next year, and just gradually keep expanding.”Srinivasan said they wanted the league, which clashes with the Hundred in 2024, to start in early June in 2025.”Ultimately for us, our ideal calendar is to start much earlier, in the late spring or early summer,” Srinivasan said. “With the Indian Premier League ending in late May, I think our sweet spot would be to start in early June, which is when we have the school holidays in the US, and go into July. That’s how we would like to establish our window.”An early June start avoids a clash with the Hundred’s July-August window, but it could mean an overlap with the T20 Blast. This scheduling clash became a major talking point in the last English summer when Jason Roy opted out of his ECB contract to play in the MLC and went on to represent LA Knight Riders, who have the same owners as that of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who won their third IPL title on Sunday.Last year, MLC ended two days before the start of the Hundred, though this time there will be an overlap of six days between the two leagues, with the MLC ending on July 28 and the Hundred starting on July 23. As a result, as many as half of the overseas players in the Hundred could arrive in the UK late after the MLC ends. Twelve out of the 24 overseas players under contract in the men’s Hundred have already been announced as signings or retentions in MLC and more could follow before the tournament starts.Four of the six teams in the MLC are owned by IPL team owners – Mumbai Indians, KKR, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.The first season ran from July 13 to 31 with 15 group-stage games followed by four playoff matches, and ended with MI New York lifting the trophy under the captaincy of Nicholas Pooran. The second season will be played across the same two grounds which hosted the first season – the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and the Church Street Park Stadium in Morrisville.

Besides working with the Ranji side, he will help the state’s eight teams in both men’s and women’s sections in various age groups

ESPNcricinfo staff and PTI31-May-2023Former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener has signed as consultant with the Tripura Cricket Association for India’s upcoming domestic season.Klusener, 51, is contracted to work with them for 100 days in a year. Besides working with the Ranji side, he will help the state’s eight teams in both men’s and women’s sections in various age groups.Tripura Cricket Association vice-president Timir Chanda said Klusener would arrive in the state capital, Agartala, on Saturday to work with the state cricketers for overall development. In the first phase, Klusener will stay in Agartala for 20 days and will watch and guide the cricketers.”We hope the cricketers will benefit from his vast international experience,” Chanda said. “Our cricketers are also excited to work with Klusener.”Klusener, who played 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for South Africa, was also Delhi’s consultant coach for the 2018-19 season. He is currently the coach of the Durban Super Giants in the SA20 tournament. He has previously worked as batting coach of South Africa and Zimbabwe, and was the head coach of Afghanistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup.Earlier this year, he withdrew his application to become South Africa’s next white-ball coach. He was among the six candidates interviewed by Cricket South Africa but chose to pull out of the process and concentrate on T20 franchise roles instead.

She will end her professional career after this season’s WBBL with Sydney Thunder

Andrew McGlashan14-Sep-2022Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes has announced her retirement from international and state cricket. She will finish her professional career entirely after this season’s WBBL with Sydney Thunder.Haynes, a left-hand top-order batter, made her Australia debut in an ODI against England at Lord’s in 2009 and a few days later scored 98 on her Test debut at Worcester. In total she scored 3818 international runs with 2585 of them coming in ODIs, which also brought her two centuries.Related

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Haynes’ career can be divided into two parts: up to 2013 and then after her return in 2017. Having been dropped following the 2013 Ashes in England, Haynes was recalled for a tour of New Zealand nearly four years later and from that point averaged 45.07 in ODIs and 33.00 in T20Is with a strike-rate of 126.15. Her final international match was Australia’s gold-medal victory against India at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.Haynes captained Australia on 14 occasions when filling in for Meg Lanning, most notably during the 2017-18 Ashes when Lanning was ruled out with a shoulder injury.”One of the great things about having a long career is watching those around you develop,” Haynes said. “I’m extremely proud of the way this team has brought players in and nurtured their development. The ability to help players transition smoothly has been instrumental to our team’s success. To be a leader within this environment has been the greatest privilege of my career.”Haynes fell agonisingly short of the century mark three times during her Test career•Getty Images

Haynes filled a variety of batting positions, finishing as an opener in Tests and ODIs – ending her one-day career at the 2022 World Cup where she was the second-highest run-scorer behind Alyssa Healy – and became Australia’s middle-order safety net in T20Is, a role never better exemplified than against Sri Lanka, in Perth, during the 2020 T20 World Cup after Australia’s tournament had been left on a knife-edge following the opening defeat against India.A Test-match century agonisingly eluded her: apart from her 98 on debut, she also made 87 at Taunton in 2019 (ended by a dubious lbw decision) and 86 in Canberra against England earlier this year.
She had addressed the retirement question over the past year and during the World Cup in New Zealand said: “At the end of every series I play I ask myself the question, ‘do I still have that passion and desire to continue on’ and ‘am I still playing at a level which is contributing to the team’s success?”On Thursday, she thanked all those who had played a part in her career.”Playing at this level isn’t possible without the support of many people,” she said. “From clubs, states, coaches, family and friends, I’m so grateful to those who helped me along the way. In particular, I want to thank my parents Ian and Jenni, and partner Leah for their unwavering support.”To all the team-mates across my career, you are the reason I’ve played as long as I have. You’ve inspired me to be better every day. I’ve learnt something from all of you, on and off the field. You’ve challenged me as a player, helped me grow as a person and most importantly, made cricket fun.”Haynes captained Australia on 14 occasions when filling in for Meg Lanning•ICC via Getty Images

Healy, who put on 160 with Haynes in the ODI World Cup final earlier this year, paid tribute to her team-mate.”I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend most of my career playing with Rach,” she said. “In the early years I played against her when she was at Victoria, and we have been rivals in the WBBL, but it’s pretty obvious that it’s better being on her team than trying to get her out.”To have the privilege of being at the other end watching some of her greatest innings, and it [is] those times, as well as the times off the field travelling around Australia and the world, that I will always cherish.”Nick Hockley, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said: “On behalf of everyone at Cricket Australia I’d like to congratulate Rachael on an amazing career and also recognise the outstanding contribution she has made off the field.”Rachael’s calm and assured leadership has played a key role in Australia becoming one of the most successful sporting teams in history. She will go down as a great of the game.”Rachael has been an inspirational figure for kids coming into the game and to her many teammates and has played an integral part in the advancement of cricket as a sport for women and girls, both here in Australia and around the world. We look forward to watching Rachael in the WBBL this season and hope she maintains a close connection to the game in coming years.”In the WNCL, where Haynes played for Victoria and New South Wales, she scored 4528 runs at 43.12 with nine centuries. For NSW she sits fourth on the all-time run scoring list behind Alex Blackwell (4788), Lisa Sthalekar (3414) and Lisa Keightly (3081).

Jake Fraser-McGurk echoes his captain’s sentiment, saying NRR was foremost on Capitals’ mind after routing Titans for 89

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Apr-20241:18

Aaron: A win like this would infuse belief in the camp

After dismissing Gujarat Titans for 89, the only chat in the Delhi Capitals dugout was to get the job done quickly. They went on to chase down the target with 67 balls to spare and, as a result, their net run rate (NRR) jumped from -0.975 to -0.074 and they leapfrogged Titans to sixth spot on the points table.”We talked about champion mindset,” Rishabh Pant, Capitals captain who was also the Player of the Match, said. “The only conversation was to get it as early as possible because we lost a few NRR points in a few matches and tried to cover it up.”It was Jake Fraser-McGurk, who led the way for them with the bat. After a half-century on IPL debut he got going here with a six and a four, taking 14 off the opening over of the chase bowled by Sandeep Warrier. He made 20 off nine balls with two fours and two sixes before being dismissed by fellow Australia Spencer Johnson.Related

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“[I was] just trying to get on to a nice start and hopefully get the net run rate going in our favour,” Fraser-McGurk said. “When you are riding this phase [of good form], you’ve got to ride it for as long as you can. Keep going and trying your luck, cricket is a feeble game when it turns.”Opting to bowl, Capitals struck regularly in the powerplay with Ishant Sharma picking up two wickets. Tristan Stubbs also picked up two wickets in an over – that of Abhinav Manohar and M Shahrukh Khan – while Mukesh Kumar finished with three wickets for just 14. It all added up to Capitals having to chase just 90.”[The NRR] was definitely something we talked of during the break,” Fraser-McGurk laughed, “I don’t think I needed much encouragement to go out and try and chase that fast. Something we talked about and happy to get it done pretty quick.”We got the better of the conditions. There was a little bit of dew and it skidded on nicely. Kept a bit low though. I didn’t face much spin or slower-pace balls, so it was nice personally.”Fraser-McGurk rose to fame with a 29-ball century, the fastest in men’s List-A cricket, in the Marsh Cup last year and then made his debut for Australia earlier this year. He received a message from Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting in February, asking if he would want to play for Delhi as a replacement player. He was then brought in for Capitals as an injury replacement for Lungi Ngidi.”It’s pretty surreal; you have to pinch yourself every time you are here,” he now said of sharing the dressing room with Ponting. “The last memory I have of him playing is of his last Test where Nathan Lyon came out to bat as nightwatchman instead of him. That was pretty funny.”We [Capitals] have got confidence in the way we play, we know how to go about our business. Took us a few games to find that out. We can keep looking up and jumped up a few steps on the ladder here. We keep going [like this], who knows…”This was Capitals’ third win in seven matches.