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RCB will be Maxwell’s fourth IPL team since 2012

Saurabh Somani06-Apr-20217:08

Gambhir, Vettori discuss Maxwell’s form over the years

That Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Glenn Maxwell will represent his fourth franchise in IPL 2021 points to his inherent inconsistency in the tournament, according to Gautam Gambhir.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Gambhir – who briefly captained him at Delhi Daredevils in 2018 – has said that Maxwell had received more freedom than any other player in the IPL by his past teams, but wasn’t retained by them because he could not be consistent.Related

• Virat Kohli: No home advantage in IPL 2021 is a positive

• Maxwell wants to be a 'positive influence' on RCB, and performances 'can take care of themselves'

• Australians at IPL 2021 – the form guide

• Hesson calls Maxwell his 'X-Factor'

“Had Maxwell done really well in the IPL, he wouldn’t have played for so many franchises, to be honest,” Gambhir said. “He’s played for so many franchises because he’s not been consistent at all. We can’t keep talking about ‘he hasn’t had the freedom’ for the previous franchises he’s played for… when he played for Delhi, he had a lot of freedom. Most of these franchises and coaches – because they think he’s an X-factor – they want to try and provide him with the best platform where he can succeed. The most unfortunate thing is that despite getting that platform, he has not succeeded, apart from that one season in 2014 where he set the IPL on fire. Had he done that, I think none of the franchises would have released him. Look at what Andre Russell has done for KKR and the amount of time he’s spent at one franchise.”The only reason why a franchise releases you is because you haven’t performed. The more franchises you play for, it just shows you haven’t really been able to get settled in any of the franchises. Hopefully, he delivers this time around because every year, he keeps getting more and more money just because he does really well for Australia. So hopefully from RCB’s point of view, he can do really well. He’s probably got freedom more than any other player in the IPL. I feel he has been very disappointing throughout the IPL, but hopefully, this time around he can turn it.”Maxwell’s numbers playing in the IPL make for a stark contrast to when he’s played for Australia or for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. While his scoring rate remains high, Maxwell has found a consistency with the Stars and Australia that he hasn’t found with any IPL franchise. In the IPL, Maxwell – who has represented Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Daredevils previously – averages 22.13 and strikes at 154.67 since 2012. In that same period for the Stars and Australia, he has averaged 32.72 and has a strike rate of 154.13.Maxwell’s BBL numbers are far superior to his IPL numbers•Getty Images

Daniel Vettori, the former New Zealand captain who played for – and coached the Royal Challengers – felt that the focus that Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers tend to draw will allow Maxwell to maintain a low profile in the side, which may work to the Australian’s advantage.”The emphasis normally is on AB and Kohli, and Maxwell in a way can fly under the radar,” Vettori told ESPNcricinfo. “Hopefully that lack of pressure will allow him to have an IPL that everyone expects him to most years.”Where he’s been successful, particularly at Melbourne Stars, he’s been engaged, he’s been captain and he’s been the senior player. He’s been given a lot of responsibility and I think that’s where teams tend to get the best out of him. Even though de Villiers and Kohli are the focal points, if they can spread that leadership across him, I think that will be the best way to utilise him.”Gambhir held that the Royal Challengers had a team structure that would allow Maxwell to bat consistently at No.4, alongside de Villiers at No.3 – which Vettori called “a lethal combination” in the middle.”I’ve been saying it, RCB needs to do something different,” Gambhir said. “So they’ve got to push AB at No.3 and Maxwell at No.4. And they’ve got Padikkal and Virat Kohli, and now you’ve got the option of Kyle Jamieson and Daniel Sams. So you don’t need to actually have Maxwell as a finisher because Daniel Sams can hit a long ball, Kyle Jamieson can hit a long ball, you’ve got Washington Sundar who can bowl and bat.”So rather make them [de Villiers and Maxwell] bat at No. 3 and 4 and that’s going to be a good combination. What happens is, your top four becomes really, really strong. With this kind of combination, I will try and take that punt and probably make them bat at three and four together.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth one-day international between England and South Africa at Trent Bridge

The Preview by Alex Winter04-Sep-2012

Match Facts

Trent Bridge, September 5
Start time: 2.00pm (1300 GMT)England can be comfortable with their back-up spinner•PA Photos

The Big Picture

England’s victory at Lord’s ensured their unbeaten run at home continues – they have not lost an ODI series at home since 2009 when Australia won by a country mile. But that was After the Lord Mayor’s Show since the Ashes were already won and South Africa will cast this series off as just the same, particularly if they lose the final rubber.With the No. 1 ranking secure until the new year, England have at least a major achievement to take away from this summer and are building well. The test of their progress will come in India but for the time being they can be content with several plus points that bode well for their long term vision towards the 2015 World Cup. One of those is the offspinner James Tredwell who was superb at Lord’s. He has proved a more than capable replacement for Graeme Swann and England should be confident that should Swann need to be rested, Tredwell is the wings.South Africa will need to play Tredwell, and Samit Patel far better if they are to put a good total on the board – their downfall in the two games they have lost. Their middle order is beginning to look as fragile as Australia’s earlier in the summer, although the quality of personnel in the South Africa line-up is far better on paper; but they haven’t delivered as AB de Villiers conceded.Their bowling also lacked punch at Lord’s and Morne Morkel is needed back in the attack if South Africa are to maintain pressure and get below Eoin Morgan sooner in the innings. They will be pleased that Jonathan Trott isn’t available for England, who will most likely bring in Jonny Bairstow and either promote Ravi Bopara or Craig Kieswetter to No. 3.But that will be a call for Alastair Cook and Richard Halsall, the England fielding coach, to consider, as Andy Flower is taking a week off. The ECB denied Flower would use the time to conduct more meetings with Kevin Pietersen.

Form guide

(Most recent first, completed matches)
England WWLWW
South Africa LLWWW

Watch out for

Ravi Bopara has been on a downward spiral with the bat since his self-inflicted exile from the second Test. With Trott out of the side, Bopara should be looking forward to more time at the crease but his current form may see England opt to keep Bopara at No. 4 and reduce the risk of losing two early wickets. Fortunately for Bopara his bowling is keeping him in the side but he needs runs.AB de Villiers has not made the big runs he produced against Sri Lanka and New Zealand earlier this year and by his own admission has been guilty of not continuing his starts – 39, 28 and 28 in the last three games – into scores that could put England under pressure chasing. With several players around him out of form, de Villiers needs a captain’s knock at Trent Bridge.

Team news

England’s replacement for Trott is likely to be Bairstow, the spare batsman in the squad. England could move Craig Kieswetter up the order to save the out-of-form Bopara going in at No. 3 under pressure.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Craig Kieswetter (wkt), 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Samit Patel, 8 James Tredwell, 9 James Anderson, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade DernbachSouth Africa lacked bite to their bowling attack and will want to get Morne Morkel back into their XI, possibly in place of Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Justin Ontong is also an option to replace one of the middle-order batsmen.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Dean Elgar, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

The Trent Bridge wickets have got better as the season has progressed and with the weather forecast set for warm and sunny, batting first will be the desired option given the September dew may come into play under the floodlights.

Stats and trivia

• If England win they will have reeled off eight series victories in a row at home, stretching back to 2009. Of the previous 11 series, England won just three.
• Since returning to the England ODI side at the start of this year, Ian Bell averages 59.88 with 539 runs.
• Morne Morkel needs three wickets to reach 100 in ODIs

Quotes

“It’d be nice to see him back in England colours. He’s a great player; we know he’s a class player. I hope for him things turn out well.”
“I’ve seen them win matches for their teams back home on the big stage in finals and stuff like that. But they are inexperienced and when you have inexperience in your team you need the senior players to take control, including myself.”

She now has a record six T20 centuries, four of which have come since the start of 2020

Vishal Dikshit14-Jan-2021Sophie Devine struck the fastest women’s T20 century with a 36-ball hundred for Wellington against Otago in Dunedin. Devine’s unbeaten 108 off 38 balls was also the quickest Super Smash century, for men or women, in Wellington’s 10-wicket win as they stormed past the 129 target in under nine overs.In what was her first game of the tournament this season after returning from the WBBL in Australia, Devine, the New Zealand captain, broke Deandra Dottin’s record of a 38-ball century from 2010 against South Africa, and with her sixth T20 century, she also overtook Suzie Bates (five) and Alyssa Healy (five) on the list of most T20 hundreds in women’s cricket. It was also Devine’s fourth T20 hundred since the beginning of 2020, following her centuries in the Super Smash last year, against South Africa at home in February 2020, and for the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL in November.Devine’s feat was all the more remarkable as she completed her 14-day mandatory quarantine only fours days ago, on Sunday, having extended her stay in Australia until the end of last year following the completion of the WBBL.Her knock on Thursday was studded with nine sixes and as many fours. After Otago managed 128 for 7 with a quick 35 off 26 from No. 4 Hayley Jensen, Devine tore into the opposition with a 21-ball fifty that powered Wellington to 82 for 0 in the powerplay and a 41-ball century stand, off which Devine had scored 85 runs in the company of her opening partner and captain Maddy Green. In just over half an hour into the innings, Devine had clocked her century with seven fours and nine sixes.Devine was particularly brutal in the third over when she smashed Jensen for two fours and as many sixes, and Green also ended the over with a six that took the over’s tally to 28. Devine then finished the fifth over with a four and a six to reach her half-century, and followed it with three sixes in the seventh over to propel her team past 100. She then took on Emma Black in the ninth over to strike a six and two fours on three straight deliveries that sealed the win for Wellington.When asked how she felt about an innings like this after returning to the field following the quarantine-enforced break, Devine said: “I was really nervous this morning, I think when you have a bit of an extended break away from the game you get nervous about can you come back into it. So it’s nice just to spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the screws.”For me it was just about playing smart cricket so knowing where my gaps were, trying to manipulate the field. I sort of knew where they would bowl so if I could manipulate myself around the crease, I’d open up areas of the field. Pleased with the way it went today.”Sometimes I get a little bit carried away and we’ve probably seen it a little bit, and I get a bit over-eager and play some rash shots. So it’s nice to stick to some decent cricket shots today and finish the job.”With their fourth win from five games, Wellington are leading the points table with 16 points.The record for the fastest century in men’s T20s is held by Chris Gayle, who reached the three-digit score in 30 balls, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors in IPL 2013.

The Thunder will feel very little impact of international duty except for a late start by Sam Billings

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2020Captain Callum FergusonCoach Shane BondSquad Sam Billings (Eng), Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Callum Ferguson, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (Eng), Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne (NZ), Arjun Nair, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris TremainIn Sam Billings, Ben Cutting (Heat), Baxter Holt, Adam Milne
Out Jay Lenton, Gurinder SandhuOverseas player availability Sam Billings (in quarantine until approx. Dec 25), Alex Hales (all tournament), Adam Milne (all tournament)Last season: Challenger finalA promising start to the tournament where they had three wins in five matches – and could well have had four if the match against the Strikers in Canberra had not been abandoned due to the smoke from nearby bushfires – become more of a struggle in mid-season. However, they clinched fifth place in a virtual knockout against the Scorchers then kept themselves alive with victories in the Eliminator against the Hurricanes and the (actual) Knockout final against the Strikers. However, needing one more win to reach the final they fell to the Stars at the MCG.Bubble impactThey are the only team not to have suffered any impact from the various Australia squads (as of now). Usman Khawaja would have been closest to a spot, but he was overlooked for the enlarged Test group. Given that two of their overseas players – Alex Hales and Adam Milne – are not involved with their respective national sides the only early loss they will need to cover is England wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings while he serves his 14-day quarantine after arriving from South Africa.Player to watchOn his day, Adam Milne can be quick. Very quick. But his body has struggled to stand up to the strain. It is almost a decade since he made his international debut (in a T20I against Pakistan) and it has been a stop-start career. When he takes the field for the Thunder, having opted for a BBL deal ahead of New Zealand domestic cricket, it will be his first game since August 2019 when he suffered an ankle stress fracture playing for Kent and hopes of Plunket Shield cricket early in the season were hit by a hamstring injury. His overall T20 numbers – 116 wickets at 22.32 with an economy of 7.65 – are impressive and he will form a lively attack with Daniel Sams, Brendon Doggett and Chris Tremain. He could be an x-factor for the Thunder, if he can stay on the park.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)No one took more wickets in the last four overs (33) than Sydney Thunder last season. This was mainly due to the bowling of Sams. He finished with 15 wickets in the death (overs 17-20) at an average of 10.33.

New Zealand are in for a tough time in India in the Test series, according to Mark Richardson and Simon Doull

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2012New Zealand are in for a tough time in India in the Test series due to questions over their ability to take 20 wickets in a Test, the lack of world-class players, and some poor form coming in to the tour, according to former opener Mark Richardson and former fast bowler Simon Doull.Richardson and Doull, in conversation with Harsha Bhogle on ESPNcricinfo’s audio show , said the changes in structure, the appointment of a new coach and inconsistency from some of the team’s senior players added to New Zealand’s problems.”I think New Zealand are going to struggle,” Richardson said. “There’s no form behind them, they’re going to a very difficult place to succeed. The motivation will be there but I believe they are down on confidence.”I just can’t see this New Zealand team bowling out India. So draws, and one or two times that [Brendon] McCullum and [Ross] Taylor might come off may give them a chance in the shorter games.”New Zealand were beaten 0-2 in the Tests against West Indies before this tour, and they will be without Daniel Vettori, their lead spinner, due to injury. They have five seamers in the squad and two spinners, Tarun Nethula and Jeetan Patel. Doull, though, said a four-pronged pace attack – Chris Martin, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell – was the way to go for the visitors.”If they [spinners] are part of your four best bowlers, play them,” Doull said. “The flip side is, the Indians play ordinary spin a lot better. Our four best bowlers are our four quicks. There’s no point playing average spinners against very good quality Indian batsmen.”New Zealand’s lean run in recent times owed in part to their senior players, like Vettori and McCullum, not meeting expectations, Richardson said. Vettori picked up just four wickets in his previous four Tests, while McCullum got starts in five of his last eight innings, but went past 50 only twice.”McCullum is massively talented but massively overrated as well,” Richardson said. “He just doesn’t perform enough. When he does, it’s staggeringly good and sticks in people’s minds, but in the end it averages out to around about 30. Vettori once was a magnificent left-arm spinner. He is still very good but has lost the ability to take wickets. The key players have failed to be the catalyst for performance and the youngsters simply aren’t at the level to make up for that.”McCullum, Vettori and Taylor are among the New Zealand players with IPL contracts and there could be uncertainty over their availability for part of the tour of England next year as it clashes with the league. Doull said they were able to play in the IPL because they performed for their national team on the world stage. “I wonder if too many players around the world forget that that is where they were predominantly first seen [international cricket], and that’s where their loyalties should lie.”New Zealand are currently ranked No. 8 in both Tests and ODIs. When asked if they could only become a bigger force in the shorter formats, Doull said: “The stats are just not stacking up, to say we’ll be a better one-day side. There will be the odd good performance like there was in the World Cup, but remember South Africa [in the quarter-final] was the only side we had to beat in a one-off situation. To play [and win] three or four games in a row, we don’t seem to be able to do that.”Listen to the show here

The idea behind the change is to “add a fresh look and fresh feel,” co-owner says

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Feb-2021The Kings XI Punjab will now be called Punjab Kings. The idea behind the change is to “add a fresh look and fresh feel,” Mohit Burman, one of the co-owners of the franchise, said.According to Burman, the franchise, which also has Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karn Paul as the other owners, will also unveil a new logo on Wednesday as part of its rebranding strategy. Burman, who is vice-chairman at Dabur India Pvt. Ltd, said the plan to rename the team had been in the works for at least a year.Burman said that the franchise decided to change the name following not just in-house feedback but also from fans. “We put it to research, both with fans and with closed groups and have finally arrived at the new name,” Burman told ESPNcricinfo. “The idea behind the new name is to add a fresh look and a fresh feel to the franchise. As with any product/service, everything has its own life cycle and we believe given the changing ethos and the audience taste we thought it was apt for the brand to go through a complete new refresh.”Related

• IPL 2021 auction: Who will the Super Kings, Capitals, Punjab Kings and Knight Riders target?

• S Marsh, Corey Anderson, M Morkel on final IPL auction list

The franchise has timed the rebranding exercise in the week of the IPL auction. In fact, the new name and the logo will be unveiled the day before the auction – a small one this year – where a total of 61 slots are available for the eight franchises to fill their teams up.The Kings have the strongest purse this auction at INR 53.9 crore having released several players recently including Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, K Gowtham, who were some of the most expensive buys at the 2020 auction. Overall the Kings have nine slots to fill to reach the maximum squad strength of 25, including five overseas players.Instability has been among the factors that have hurt the franchise in the 13 seasons, during which they made the playoffs only twice: in 2008 and 2014.Last year the franchise spent INR 68.5 crore out of the total purse of 85 crore under the new team management led by former Indian captain Anil Kumble, who took charge as the team director. India wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul was named the new captain. Although Rahul was the most consistent performer last season, Maxwell’s weak form combined with the close defeats in three crucial matches hurt their playoff chances as they finished sixth.The Kings are the second franchise to opt for a new name. In 2018, the Delhi Daredevils rebranded themselves as the Delhi Capitals after Indian business conglomerate Jindal South-West (JSW) Group bought a 50% stake in the franchise, which is co-owned by GMR Sports Private Ltd.KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, the consortium that owns Kings XI, recently also purchased the Caribbean Premier League team St Lucia Zouks about a year ago.

Partnership of 118 off 47 balls leaves Kandy Tuskers well adrift

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Dec-2020How the match played outJaffna Stallions lost early wickets. Jaffna Stallions rallied through the middle and late overs, thanks largley to Thisara Perera. Then Jaffna Stallions’ bowlers locked the opposition out. The script for this match was largely the same as for the Stallions’ victory on Monday over Dambulla Viiking. With Colombo Kings having lost earlier in the day, Stallions are now the team to beat in the LPL – the only side that are yet to lose a game after three outings. They’ve not been pushed in any of their matches either. This win over Kandy Tuskers was by a whopping 54 runs.Thanks to a good Powerplay spell from Munaf Patel, and some decent early overs from Dilruwan Perera and Asela Gunaratne, Tuskers had Stallions pinned early. Their total at the end of the fielding restrictions was 26 for 2 – the lowest in the tournament so far. They would go on to lose Tom Moores in the eighth over, and Shoaib Malik in the tenth, but at no point did they seem flustered. Dhananjaya de Silva kept the frequent fall of wickets from turning into a full-blown collapse by batting cautiously, making only 15 from his first 20 deliveries before gradually raising the tempo to finish on 61 off 38.Tuskers slumped to 131 all out in the 18th over in response, with Brendan Taylor (46 off 32) and Gunaratne (31 off 24) the only batsmen to make a serious run at the target.Stars of the dayPerera was the the driving force behind the Stallions’ recovery once again, blasting 68 off 28 balls – an innings that included five sixes and as many fours, helping propel his team to 185 for 8 on a pitch that not many batsmen prospered on. As is often the case for Perera, the confidence from his batting flowed into his bowling, and he picked up 2 for 9 in 2.1 overs. He had also hit 95 not out in Monday’s match against Viiking.Wanindu Hasaranga was excellent as usual with the ball, taking 2 for 17 from his four overs, his googly wreaking havoc yet again. Usman Shinwari was also outstanding with the ball, however, dismissing both the Tuskers’ dangerous openers – Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Kusal Perera – inside the Powerplay, on his way to figures of 3 for 17 off three overs.For the Tuskers, Gunaratne was perhaps their best bowler, taking 2 for 20, though his full quota wasn’t used. Kusal Perera’s captaincy continues to be puzzling.Turning pointDe Silva and Perera came together with the score on 49 for 4 in the tenth over, and propelled the Stallions towards their commanding score with perhaps the partnership of the tournament so far. They made 118 runs off 47 balls in each other’s company, and on this pitch, that’s a monumental momentum shift.The big missNot a major miss, because it came towards the end of his innings, but Perera was dropped on 50 off the bowling of Nuwan Pradeep in the 17th over – Naveen-ul-Haq spilling the chance at deep midwicket. Perera would go on to hit two more sixes and a four before getting out.

Liam Plunkett’s 3 for 19 restricts Kent to 159 on slow Oval surface

Matt Roller20-Sep-2020Jason Roy’s first half-century of the summer helped Surrey to confirm top spot in the South Group and lock in a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast.Chasing 160 to win – and 127 to ensure they won the group ahead of Kent on net run-rate – Surrey started slowly, losing the in-form Will Jacks early on and with Roy looking out of nick as he struggled towards 18 off 21 balls.But Roy started to find his rhythm with a flurry of boundaries off Fred Klaassen in the fifth over, and was soon up and running. He was ably supported by Laurie Evans, who has now made 268 runs for twice out in his last four T20 innings after a lean start to the Blast, with their 135-run partnership setting up a convincing victory.It has been a difficult summer for Roy, who managed only 49 runs in his six ODI innings for England, and missed all of their T20Is due to a side strain. His two previous Surrey appearances had yielded 24 runs in three innings, across the Bob Willis Trophy and the Blast, and he would be the first to admit that things had not gone his way.”He’s a bit grumpy at the minute, and we’ve lost four golf games in a row, so he’s not speaking to me on the golf course either,” Evans joked. “Me and Jase said it was a wicket that if you bowled well on, it made it quite difficult to score. We took options at the right time and put them under pressure, and I’m glad we got over the line.”Roy’s best shot came off Imran Qayyum, when he skipped down the pitch to loft the left-arm spinner into the building site to the right of the pavilion, and he reached his half-century with a slash through extra cover off the same bowler. Evans, meanwhile, appears to have found his groove after a quiet start to the competition. He batted superbly for his 45-ball 73, with a towering six over extra cover off Matt Milnes to bring up his half-century demonstrating his form: he picked a 61mph/98kph slower ball outside off, hung back in his crease, and launched it into the stands with a full extension of his arms. He smote another into the top tier of the pavilion, putting his inexplicable drop of Sam Billings in the first innings to the back of his mind.Kent’s 159 had appeared a par score on a slow, used pitch, and owed plenty to Billings’ 33-ball 50. After Daniel Bell-Drummond continued his impressive season with a fluent 37 at the top of the order, Kent had begun to stumble in the middle overs with two wickets in as many overs.Billings drove them up towards a useful total as he extended his form with the bat, taking a particular liking to Jamie Overton, Jacks and Reece Topley, all of whom were hit for two fours in an over, but they ultimately paid for a poor finish.From 136 for 3 after 16 overs, they failed to hit a boundary off the bat in the final four overs, with Liam Plunkett in particular impressing with a series of cutters and back-of-a-length balls. Kent paid the price, too, for picking an extra batsman: Heino Kuhn and Jack Leaning contributed two runs from four balls between them, while captain Billings had no choice but to give Joe Denly his full four-over allocation.”Joe Denly has been brilliant with the ball so we get four overs out of him, and Jack Leaning’s also bowled well with his offspin but with two right-handers and the way they were playing, I thought it was a risk to get a couple of overs out of him [today],” Billings said, defending their combination.”Timmy Groenewald is on the bench at the moment, and maybe that’s something we can look at – that experience, coming into those latter stages might be something to lean on – but I think the boys have done really well in this tournament, and trying to get back to what they were doing, that’s all.”The fixture also served as a warm-up act for next month’s quarter-final, with the same two teams returning to The Oval on October 1.Vitality Blast quarter-finals:Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire
Surrey v Kent
Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire
Sussex v Lancashire

Can Australia bounce back from their horror collapse when they had the series for the taking?

Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2020

Big Picture

Somehow there is a decider to this series. That looked a very small chance when Australia needed 88 to win with eight wickets and 19 overs in hand two days ago. But as well as the middle order staged a recovery in the opening match there remains a vulnerability and England were able to seize on it, albeit on a tricky pitch that made their total of 231 more demanding that it may have appeared.A key factor for this final game – the last of an extraordinary men’s international season that will be completed amid the Covid-19 pandemic – is that it will be played on a fresh pitch, although it’s worth saying how superbly the two groundsmen at Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl have done to sustain the quality of surfaces over such a high turnover of matches.Who holds the advantage heading into this one? You would have to say England given the confidence boost of coming back from the brink on Sunday and an unbeaten home record that dates back to 2015 (when Australia were the last side to win a bilateral series in the country). However, perhaps due to the stop-start nature of the format since the World Cup, England have not quite hit their straps consistently in ODIs since then. For now, the top order has lost just a little of its aura – not that it would take much for it to return, and winning in different ways is certainly a good thing.Australia came into the tour having not played cricket for six months and perhaps a little lack of match hardness is partly to blame for their two defeats-from-the-jaws-of-victory performances in the first T20I and then the second ODI. However, particularly the way the collapse unfolded at breakneck speed two days ago will have been of concern.What they do have, though, is a very impressive pace attack with Josh Hazlewood outstanding in the two ODIs – conceded just 26 and 27 in 10 overs – while Adam Zampa is picking up wickets for fun. Bowling has never really been a massive concern for Australia; it’s the batting that continues to hold unanswered questions. Still, as shown in the opening match of the series, they are good enough to beat the world champions. England will need to be at their best to end this summer-like-no-other with a trophy.Jofra Archer celebrates as Marcus Stoinis departs•Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
England LWLWW
Australia LWWLL

In the spotlight

Jos Buttler was outstanding in the two T20Is he played, taking the Man of the Series award despite being allowed to step away for the final match, but he has not been able to rekindle that feeling in the first two ODs with scores of 1 and 3 as Australia have made inroads into England’s middle order. He has had a magnificent season, all amid the challenges of being in the bubble almost from start to finish, so if his powers are waning a touch towards the end (his keeping is still good) then that would be understandable. However, the prospect of a series to win could just be the moment to bring a final flourish.With one innings to go, it has been another low-scoring tour of England for David Warner. After a half-century in the first T20I he has made three single-figure scores and been dismissed by his newest nemesis, Jofra Archer, in all four innings. As in the Ashes when he became a walking wicket for Stuart Broad he has received some superb deliveries from Archer, notably the two in the one-day series, but he will be keen not to finish another trip to these shores with the memory of him falling regularly to the same England pace bowler.

Team news

The Curran brothers had a big impact after replacing Moeen Ali and Mark Wood in the XI. It would be tough on either of them to miss out for the decider. It might hinge on whether Wood’s ankle niggle was anything more than needing a match off to rest amid a tight turnaround. If Moeen didn’t play on the previous pitch, it’s unlikely he’ll be recalled on a new one.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Sam Billings, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, 9 Tom Curran, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jofra ArcherThe key decision will be again around whether Steven Smith is able to return after the blow on the head before the opening game. He has passed all his concussion tests but a cautious approach has been taken so far, and Justin Langer says a late decision will be made. Despite the middle-order collapse it’s unlikely the selectors will be drawn into any knee-jerk decisions.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Marcus Stoinis/Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

A new pitch offers the prospect of something more in favour of the batsmen, although Old Trafford is usually a good battle between bat and ball on any surface. The forecast is for another dry and bright autumn day, although there have been a few signs of dew being a factor at the very end of the game.

Stats and Trivia

• Joe Root needs 38 runs to reach 6000; Aaron Finch needs 29 to reach 5000 and Glenn Maxwell 45 to reach 3000
• Josh Hazlewood has conceded just 2.65 runs per over this series. Since 2010, the lowest economy rate for an Australia bowler to play at least three matches in a series and bowl at least 20 overs is Doug Bollinger’s 3.28 against Pakistan in 2009-10
• Tom Curran’s 0 for 28 was the most economical wicketless 10-over spell by an England bowler since 2006

Quotes

“Jofra Archer’s an incredibly talented bowler. Equally, David Warner – what a player. I was looking over numbers last night and Davey’s record over the last little bit, I know when he gets in, he scores hundreds in one-day cricket. It’s been a great contest, some of these one-on-one match-ups, and often the fast bowler against the opening batter, that’s why we get up to watch the game. I’m sure Davey, he’s a superstar, he’s working overtime to be up for tomorrow night’s game.”
“I think we’ve earned that respect over a four- or five-year period. Teams do realise that we can potentially win from any position and the game is not done until they get over the line. We’ve got that character and belief that we can win from any position.”
Chris Woakes reflects on England’s ability to overturn the odds as a 50-over team.

The BCB president said: “I have said it repeatedly that it is BCB’s obligation that if any player is unpaid, the board will make the payments”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2012Mustafa Kamal, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, has said that all player payments related to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will be cleared and that no player had contacted the board with written complaints.The reaction comes a day after Tim May, the chief executive of Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), told ESPNcricinfo that he would initiate legal action against the BCB and BPL franchises as many players were yet to receive full payment. May called the BCB “amateurish” and also called into question the “integrity of people involved in the leadership of Bangladesh cricket”.While talking to , Kamal said: “The statement is very unfortunate. I have said it repeatedly that it is BCB’s obligation that if any player is unpaid, the board will make the payments. I am reassuring that not a single player will go unpaid.”The impression we have from talking to the six franchises is that most of the payments have been disbursed. But there may still be one or two cases of unpaid wages. We have said it before and I will repeat it now: the BCB will pay the foreign players if the franchises don’t.”The BPL governing council was informed by the franchises that around 89% of the foreign players’ payments have been made but haven’t provided similar information for the local players. According to a BCB press release, out of the $2.77m net payable, the unpaid fees figure currently stands at around $305,000. The release also said that two of the six BPL franchises have completed their payments to foreign cricketers in full. For local players, it said, the BPL would take action after speaking to the concerned players and officials individually.”The governing council has recommended to the BCB that, as guarantor, the board should clear the outstanding payments and the process should be initiated immediately,” the BCB said. “The payment of local cricketers is also being seriously looked into by the governing council, which has not received a definite picture of the payment status from the franchises. Therefore it has been decided that the governing council would speak to individual players and relevant officials of team managements and take measures accordingly.”Kamal said that neither the players nor their agents had lodged an official complaint to the BCB. “The most unfortunate thing is that not a single player has sent us a written complaint, we don’t have a particular case in our hands. Every comment is made in general, not made about a particular player,” he said. “We have even talked to the players’ agents, but once again the name of any particular player who hasn’t been paid didn’t come up. Nobody has written to us. Anyone can contact us, even Tim May, about an unpaid player.”But ESPNcricinfo has learned that FICA emailed the BCB twice last month regarding the non-payments and that at least one individual agent has shown that he has communicated with Game On Sports, BPL’s event management firm, which was copied in the mail to BCB regarding unpaid wages.Kamal said that since the BPL was a hurriedly organised event, there were some mistakes in their work. “From the beginning we have said that it has been organised in a very short time,” he said. “Mistakes are bound to happen but we are working on correcting them ahead of the next tournament.”We are doing everything for the players’ benefit. As an example, I can tell you that we have paid some of the ex-Bangladesh players from the earnings of BPL.”