BBC broadcaster on his involvement in English cricket and the fight for its future

Matt Roller07-Feb-2024How do you solve a problem like the Hundred? It is the question that has dominated meetings between the ECB – and in particular, chief executive Richard Gould and chairman Richard Thompson – and the first-class counties this winter, which have centred on the ownership model, the number of teams and the prospect of private investment.If those discussions have been productive, then there remains an oversight: they have hardly – if at all – featured the people actually involved in running the competition. “I haven’t had a single conversation with the ECB’s hierarchy since this lot took over,” says Mark Chapman, best known as a respected broadcaster across English sport but also the chair of Manchester Originals’ board since the team’s inception nearly five years ago.”The eighteen first-class counties put Richard Gould and Richard Thompson in their jobs, so they’re going to talk to them: I get that. But I would have thought, at some point… I mean, you’re sat here now, talking to me now about how it’s gone and what the future is, so why would they not talk to those that are involved in the Hundred?”Chapman, who has worked extensively for the BBC and, more recently, Sky Sports, cut his teeth as a young broadcaster covering Durham in 1997. Working for BBC Radio Newcastle, he travelled home and away with a team captained by David Boon, and recalls fondly the celebrations as they broke a long winless streak at Darlington Cricket Club.But his principal association is with Lancashire and in 2019, when studying for a Masters degree in sporting directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University, he was put in touch with the county’s chief executive, Daniel Gidney. “He said they were helping the ECB put a board together for Manchester Originals and asked if I’d be interested,” Chapman recalls.The Originals were – and remain – the only Hundred team with a single county affiliated to them, a situation which led them to appoint an independent board to mitigate fears that conflicts of interest could arise; Gidney is unusual among chief executives in that he has no official involvement in the Hundred team affiliated to his county.Old Trafford under the floodlights during the 2023 Hundred•Getty ImagesChapman chairs a board which comprises James Sheridan (Knights plc, and a non-executive board member at Lancashire), Fiona Morgan (SailGP) and Amy Townsend (Freddie’s Flowers), while Sanjeev Katwa, Tottenham Hotspur’s head of technology, is an advisor. “The diversity of thought around that table is massive,” he says.In 2021, the Hundred’s inaugural season, “we didn’t really know what we were doing,” Chapman admits. “We were still operating in the Covid landscape and it was a case of thinking, ‘Right, let’s just try and get this thing on the road. We only really got a grasp on the whole thing once that first year was done.”Since then, he believes that the Originals have developed “much more of a Manchester feel” and gives much of the credit to their mid-20s marketing manager, Josh Dooler. “The work he has done within Manchester’s communities on behalf of the Originals over the last two years has been absolutely phenomenal,” Chapman says. “I think this is relevant when people slam the competition and say this, that and the other.”Last year, we sold 60,000 tickets [for four home matchdays] which is 10,000 more than the year before. 30% of our ticket-buyers are female, 22% went to Under-16s, and 48% of people who bought tickets for our games in 2023 had never been to a cricket match before. And we reached 5,000 people via community engagements in non-traditional cricket areas.”They are impressive numbers, but do they vindicate the Hundred’s start-up costs and its effect on the rest of the English summer? “The honest answer is I don’t think we’ll know for 10, even 15 years,” Chapman says. “If Lancashire’s average crowd for the Blast drops by 500, but we sell 60,000 Hundred tickets and 300 more girls take up in South Manchester as a result, does that balance it out?”I genuinely have no idea – and it’s very difficult to measure. But I didn’t come up with the Hundred. Obviously, I didn’t have to work in it either, but I genuinely love cricket and I genuinely want cricket to be a successful sport, enjoyed by as many people as people, because it’s given me and my family such enjoyment over the years.”I can see why people are in different camps with the Hundred. I’m 50 years old: I’m a traditionalist when it comes to cricket, but I work in a lot of different sports. I cover the NFL; I go and watch netball with one of my daughters. I adore Lancashire and the County Championship, but I can also see why some things have moved on or developed.”Related

Gordon Hollins: 'Six million fans in the south-west don't feel a part of the Hundred'

Women's Hundred to receive £800,000 salary boost from ECB

Hampshire confirm investment talks amid IPL links

New Hampshire chairman: Hundred expansion 'makes good sense'

Surrey chairman outlines plans to bring Oval Invincibles under club banner

Chapman believes that the Originals have found a balance between an inclusive atmosphere – “last year, 30% of our ground was alcohol-free zones” – and Emirates Old Trafford’s raucous party stand. “In British sport in general, you have to try to find a balance between family-friendly fun and pissed blokes dressed as bananas on a stag do,” he says.He also believes that the Originals have been front-runners among Hundred teams in pioneering a ‘two teams, one club’ approach: “We’ve been big on integrating the men’s and women’s side of it.” He cites as an example their decision to convert the away dressing-room at Old Trafford into the women’s home one, leaving away teams to change in the indoor school.But Chapman fears that the progress that has been made towards cricket becoming an equal-gender sport is being overlooked during discussions about the Hundred’s future – hence his frustration at the fact that he has not been consulted by the ECB’s leadership. “All of these discussions that I’m reading about only seem to be looking at men’s cricket,” he says.One early proposal – which was never likely to succeed – involved the Hundred becoming a 39-team pyramid including the national (formerly minor) counties. “I mean, my God!” Chapman says. “You arguably can’t have a 39-team pyramid in the men’s game, but you definitely can’t have it in the women’s game at the moment because the depth just isn’t there.”There have to be safeguards to guarantee the continued progression of the women’s game. Everybody involved in the Hundred has worked really hard to get to a certain point, but we’re miles off where we need to be, and that’s because of the historical treatment of women’s team sport in this country. It’s going to take a long time, but there is work being done – which shouldn’t be undone.”He believes that handing equity stakes to host counties could work – “Daniel Gidney has been absolutely phenomenal, not in supporting us, but accommodating what we want to do with the Originals” – and is open to the principle of private investment, which might better enable the women’s Hundred to attract “the top Aussies” with higher salaries, though he has some broader concerns.”I’ll give you an example: in 2022, we lost a bowler in our men’s team to injury and looked at a couple of bowlers – John Turner at Hampshire, and Danny Lamb at Lancashire – as replacements. We had a final group game and then the eliminator, and we were looking to bring someone in, but they’d have missed the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup.”We had a long think about it and said, ‘do you know what? Go and play your 50-over semi-finals’. That was why we had a squad of 15 in the first place, and Tom Lammonby came into the side and did well. Sometimes when the Hundred gets hammered I think, ‘we are trying to be fair’. And the worry is that if private investment comes in, that could easily blow county cricket apart.”Chapman comfortably fills an hour discussing the Hundred and its future, and it is immediately clear to see that he is desperate for it to be a success. But the irony is that when it comes to dealing with the ECB, a ubiquitous broadcaster is struggling to get his voice heard.

The best photographs from Anderson’s final day as an international cricketer at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2024James Anderson’s final day as an international cricketer started with a guard of honour. He was applauded onto the pitch at Lord’s by his England team-mates and the West Indies’ line-up, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite shaking his hand as he walked on.Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesAFP/Getty ImagesBowling from the Nursery End – not his preferred end at Lord’s – he struck with his seventh ball of the morning. It was a classic Anderson dismissal, suckering Joshua da Silva into playing across the line with an outswinger that angled in before swinging away late to take the outside edge.Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesAlex Davidson/Getty ImagesAt the Pavilion End, Gus Atkinson was closing in on a landmark of his own. He removed Alzarri Joseph to clinch ten wickets on debut, then ripped Shamar Joseph’s off stump out of the ground to leave him with four second-innings wickets.Getty ImagesWith Atkinson hunting a five-for at the far end but West Indies nine wickets down, Anderson had a chance to make his final ball as a Test cricketer a match-winning wicket. It looked like the perfect ending when Gudakesh Motie chipped one back to him…Alex Davidson/Getty Images…but the ball evaded his grasp, leaving Anderson covering his face with his hand before smirking in disbelief. Look closely below for Ben Stokes’ reaction at mid-off.Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesAtkinson sealed England’s innings victory with the wicket of Jayden Seales, caught in the deep in the leg side. It meant he finished with 12 wickets in the match, and a second five-for on Test debut.PA Images via Getty ImagesBut it was left to Anderson to lead England off the field to a standing ovation at Lord’s, the same venue where he played his first Test against Zimbabwe back in 2003.Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesAFP/Getty ImagesPA Photos/Getty ImagesHe was interviewed by Nasser Hussain in the England dressing room, Guinness in hand, then had a moment or two to compose himself before the post-match presentation.Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesAFP/Getty ImagesHe was presented with an honorary life membership by MCC president (and incoming chair) Mark Nicholas, before ECB chair Richard Thompson performed a similar presentation.Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesMichael Steele/Getty ImagesHe was given several rousing cheers by the crowd, who broke into one final chant of ‘Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy’.PA Images via Getty ImagesAFP/Getty ImagesAnderson wasn’t done just yet, with another TV interview to complete on Sky Sports.Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesBut he was finally given the opportunity to take it all in, on an emotional day for Anderson and for English cricket as a whole.Alex Davidson/Getty Images

There was no animosity between the sides this time, but it was still an engrossing game

Shashank Kishore21-Apr-20241:17

Tom Moody analyses Starc’s final over against RCB

KKR versus RCB at Eden Gardens is often an eventful contest.There was the infamous 49 all-out in 2017, and more recently ‘lord’ Shardul Thakur scored a brazen half-century to pull off a stunning rescue act.On a sweltering Sundary afternoon, KKR and RCB played out another memorable game in Kolkata, and though nearly 450 runs were scored it wasn’t your regular IPL run fest. In the end the contest was decided by… well, the barest of margins. With a wicketkeeper from England diving full length to break the stumps and run out a batter from New Zealand, who was attempting a second run off the final ball to take the match into a Super Over.The heartbreak was once again RCB’s to suffer as their season hurtles towards an early conclusion with their seventh loss in eight games. And yet, this hit different, because it was different from their feuds with KKR in the past.Only a month ago, KKR’s mentor Gautam Gambhir had said the “one team I wanted to beat every time and probably even in my dreams was RCB.” But there he was, on the eve of the match, displaying camaraderie for the second time this season with Virat Kohli, whom he has had several feisty altercations with in the IPL.Related

Why Kohli's dismissal against KKR was not given a no-ball

How RCB finished so near and yet so far against KKR

KKR survive Karn scare to win by one run

Du Plessis: 'Your decision making is clearer when you are winning games'

The contest came alive nonetheless through Phil Salt’s salvo in the powerplay, RCB’s exceptional catching, and an exchange of blows that ensured that neither team stayed in control for too long. There was a flashpoint at the start of RCB’s chase when Kohli’s cameo – which included a no-look six off Mitchell Starc – was cut short by a high full toss that he felt should have been a no-ball, but the flaring of tempers died down once it was clear the decision was based on technology and not human intervention.A 102-run stand for RCB’s third wicket between Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar threatened to decide the game far too early. An ask of the nature of 86 off 54 balls with eight wickets in hand should have been straightforward in this extremely high-scoring season, but it is rarely so between RCB and KKR. Four wickets in the space of two overs, and the visitors were reeling.Dinesh Karthik, who had scores of 53 not out and 83 in RCB’s most recent defeats, brought the game down to 31 off 12 balls. One big over away from ending a run of five successive defeats. A finishing test a day after he expressed his desire to play the 2024 T20 World Cup for India. But when Karthik fell for an 18-ball 25, RCB still needed 21 off the final over with only two wickets in hand.Mitchell Starc stood at the top of his mark. He’d been expensive all season and he’d gone for 36 in his first two overs on Sunday, but surely with Karn Sharma and Mohammed Siraj at the crease, the game was beyond RCB?Mohammed Siraj is distraught even as KKR celebrate their dramatic one-run win•BCCIOn a pitch where pace-off seemed the way to go, Starc trusted his Plan A: pace-on. He went full and he went fast, but he missed his lengths. The first ball of the final over to Karn was in the slot outside off stump and disappeared over the cover boundary. The second was similar too; this time it grazed the edge of Karn’s big swing but the TV umpire decided the ball had bounced just before Salt collected it behind the stumps.Yorker anybody? Or what about the bouncer? Sweat pouring off his face, his purple jersey clinging to his skin, Starc was on his haunches two balls in. He rose to deliver more of the same. Karn stayed inside his crease, cleared his front foot, and slammed the third and fourth deliveries over extra cover and point for sixes.With only three to get off two balls, and RCB’s hopes as high as they’d been all day, Starc found his length and delivered a yorker-length delivery. Karn connected with the toe of his bat and Starc bent down low to grab a sharp return catch with just one hand. Under pressure in oppressive conditions, he had managed to cling on when it mattered most.It seemed to have taken plenty out of Starc but he managed to bowl a tight last ball, yorker-length and tailing away as Lockie Ferguson squeezed it to deep cover. The throw to the wicketkeeper was poor and it took an outstanding take and dive from Salt to break the stumps and leave RCB one run short of where they needed to be.It was a strange contest, with 12 scores more than 15 but none higher than 55, the most in that range in any IPL game. And though it didn’t have the headline performance that lingers in the memory, it did have the fight and the finish to further embellish the RCB-KKR rivalry.

All the key numbers as Afghanistan seal their first ODI series win against a top-five ranked nation

Sampath Bandarupalli21-Sep-2024Afghanistan beat South Africa by 177 runs in the second ODI in Sharjah on Friday to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead. Rahmanullah Gurbaz set up the win with a fine century that helped take Afghanistan to 311, before birthday boy Rashid Khan took a five-wicket haul as the visitors folded for 134. Here are all the key stats from the game:1 – This victory against South Africa marked the first bilateral ODI series win for Afghanistan against a team ranked among the top five in the ICC rankings. South Africa are currently ranked third in men’s ODIs.Afghanistan won 13 bilateral ODI series previously, of which five came against Zimbabwe, four against Ireland, two against Scotland and one each against Bangladesh and Netherlands.Related

• Shot at history kept Rashid Khan on field despite hamstring issue

• Afghanistan ease to victory after South Africa fold for 106

• Stats – A new low for South Africa, and Farooqi gets to 100

• South Africa will continue to play Afghanistan in bilaterals, CSA confirms

• Rashid's birthday five-for, Gurbaz's ton give Afghanistan series win

177 – Margin of Afghanistan’s win is their biggest in terms of runs in men’s ODIs. Their previous biggest was by 154 runs against Zimbabwe in 2018, also in Sharjah.9 – Afghanistan are now the ninth team to secure a bilateral men’s ODI series win against South Africa. Zimbabwe and Ireland are the only teams without an ODI series win against South Africa among the Full Members.1 – The first instance of South Africa getting all out under 150 in successive men’s ODIs. They were bowled out for 106 in the first ODI and could only make 134 on Friday.9 – Wickets lost by South Africa to Afghanistan spinners on Friday, the joint-most they lost to spin in a men’s ODI. The Indian spinners also shared nine wickets against South Africa in 1999 in Nairobi.Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his seventh ODI century•Afghanistan Cricket Board1 – Rashid became the first player to bag a five-wicket haul in ODIs on birthday. Two players had a four-wicket haul on their birthdays in ODIs previously – Vernon Philander against Ireland in 2007 on his 22nd birthday and Stuart Broad against Australia in 2010 on his 24th birthday.5 – Five wicket hauls for Rashid in ODIs. Only three spin bowlers have bagged more five-fors in men’s ODIs than him – Muthiah Muralidaran (10), Shahid Afridi (nine) and Saqlain Mushtaq (six).172 – Azmatullah Omarzai’s strike rate during his unbeaten 50-ball 86. It is the highest in an ODI innings for Afghanistan, for a minimum of 50 balls faced, and also the highest by any batter against South Africa.7 – ODI centuries by Gurbaz. Two batters have scored more hundreds before turning 23 in men’s ODIs – eight each for Sachin Tendulkar and Quinton de Kock, while Virat Kohli also had seven.1 – Gurbaz now has the most hundreds for Afghanistan in ODIs, surpassing Mohammad Shahzad’s tally of six. Gurbaz has eight centuries across formats in international cricket, the most for Afghanistan, going ahead of Shahzad’s seven.42 – Innings Gurbaz took for his seven hundreds in ODIs. Only three batters needed fewer innings to score their seventh century in men’s ODIs – Babar Azam (33), Imam-ul-Haq (36) and Hashim Amla (41). Zaheer Abbas also got to his seventh ODI ton in 42 innings.

Australia’s captain suffers “acute right foot injury” after seeing Tayla Vlaeminck go down with dislocated shoulder

Valkerie Baynes11-Oct-20243:56

Takeaways: Australia win big, but at what cost?

Alyssa Healy looked shaken and an air of concern descended on her Australia side as Tayla Vlaeminck lay in a crumpled heap on the boundary’s edge, clutching her shoulder. Surely this wasn’t happening.Right-arm quick Vlaeminck had just come into the side to add “impact” to the bowling attack for their first outing in Dubai, Australia having begun their T20 World Cup campaign with two wins on a spin-friendly Sharjah pitch that swing bowler Megan Schutt had managed to master. Now, just four balls into the game, Vlaeminck was out with a right-shoulder dislocation to add to a long list of serious injuries.They clearly felt for her. Two ACL injuries, a twice-dislocated left shoulder and stress fractures to her foot had severely curtailed Vlaeminck’s career and still she’d kept fighting back. But as she received treatment, Australia entered a huddle, Ellyse Perry gave them a pep talk and they picked themselves up – then picked Pakistan apart.Bowled out for 82, the lowest total at this tournament, Pakistan – without captain Fatima Sana, who had flown home to Karachi following the death of her father on Thursday – could mount no resistance agaisnt a side whose depth is the envy of the world and would be tested further…

****

Alyssa Healy grimaced and pulled up sharply as she came back for a second run and an air of concern descended on her Australian side. Surely this wasn’t happening.She and Perry were cruising through Australia’s pursuit of 83 after Beth Mooney fell for a run-a-ball 15 and now the captain was hobbling from the field.Healy had to hop up a set of stairs leading to the changeroom and Cricket Australia later confirmed that she had suffered “an acute right foot injury”. She was set to undergo scans on Saturday after which her availability for the rest of the tournament was expected to become clearer.What is clear is Australia’s ability to overcome such setbacks.Schutt, Australia’s standout performer with the ball so far, took 1 for 7 from three miserly overs to overtake Pakistan’s Nida Dar as the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20Is with 144.Then Ashleigh Gardner claimed 4 for 21 – including three in the penultimate over – with her offspin to record her best T20I figures since taking 5 for 12 at the previous edition of the tournament last year in Paarl.

“There were people that were obviously emotional. I think that just shows the care that we have for our team-mates. Tay has worked so hard to get back here and she’s earned it. To see her go down like that, we had to regroup really quickly”Ashleigh Gardner on Tayla Vlaeminck’s injury

Vlaeminck’s injury had hit the team particularly hard given that this was her first World Cup match since 2018 and just the second of her career.”It’s obviously horrible seeing one of your mates go down and knowing Tay’s road to get back to here,” Gardner said. “She’s someone that probably works harder than anyone else I know so to see someone like that go down with another injury, we all really felt for her.”There were people that were obviously emotional and things like that and I think that just shows the care that we have for our team-mates and especially Tay. She’s worked so hard to get back here and she’s earned it, so to see her go down like that, we had to regroup really quickly.”Pez [Perry] just brought us all in and she reverted back to the Mackay incident, where that kind of erupted pretty quickly and just to make sure that everyone was okay and to get on with it. That’s the nature of sport, unlucky things happen and then you’ve just got to get on with it and then wait until after the game to make sure that Tay was okay. She’s in good spirits which is nice to see.”The “Mackay incident” refers to when Gardner herself was withdrawn from Australia’s starting XI right before the toss in last month’s first T20I against New Zealand in Mackay when she collided with team-mate Georgia Wareham during the warm-up and suffered a knock to the jaw.Megan Schutt became the leading wicket-taker in T20Is•ICC/Getty ImagesOn Friday, Gardner conceded seven runs in the second over of the match but in the 19th, she had Tuba Hassan stumped by Healy, then took two wickets in as many deliveries when Syeda Aroob Shah spooned a catch straight to Mooney at midwicket and she pinned Nashra Sandhu lbw with one that spun back in and ripped past the outside edge.It was also Gardner who came in to bat when Healy retired hurt, scoring an unbeaten 7 off five balls while Perry remained not out 22. In mowing down their 83-run target in just 11 overs, Australia’s net run rate now sits at a healthy 2.786. But Gardner expects to face a sterner test in their final group game against India on Sunday.”I wasn’t overly happy with how I bowled that over in the powerplay,” she said. “But then to come back and change that, the bowlers that bowled before me laid a fantastic platform for me to take wickets at the back end and mop up the tail, as some would say, but it was nice to be able to get some wickets.”Certainly going to the next game I know I’m going to be challenged. I’m going to have to bowl two overs probably in the powerplay against someone like Smriti Mandana so the challenge is always there and I relish those environments. Hopefully I’m on the upper end against her.”

Will MI have to choose between Rohit and Hardik? Who can KKR afford to let go? Will RCB go back to Kohli as captain?

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-20243:53

IPL auction 2025 retention rules: All the big questions answered

Chennai Super Kings5:44

Should CSK retain Pathirana?

MS Dhoni falls in the uncapped category now, and there is little doubt that CSK will retain him. But who else do they keep? Ruturaj Gaikwad, possibly. Other attractive options are Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana. Jadeja, though, retired from T20Is earlier this year, and will be 36 by the start of the season.Delhi Capitals2:59

Moody: ‘Kuldeep, Stubbs offer Delhi Capitals more value than Fraser-McGurk’

Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel look all but set to be retained by DC. But who else? Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Jake Fraser-McGurk might be options, but are they worth the money? They might also be tempted to hold on top Abishek Porel.Gujarat Titans5:23

Shami a risky retention for Gujarat Titans?

Mohammed Shami has been out of action for almost a year now, and is also 34. So, do GT retain him? They will almost certainly want Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan to stay with them. Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia, both uncapped, are also possibilities. But don’t be surprised if they don’t retain the maximum number possible.Kolkata Knight Riders6:38

Which two among Shreyas, Narine, Russell will be KKR’s 18-crore picks?

KKR have Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, Rinku Singh and Shreyas Iyer among the big names as part of the squad which took them to the title in 2024. If that makes it tough, throw in Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh and Angkrish Raghuwanshi. They face perhaps the toughest of choices among all teams.Lucknow Super Giants4:25

Can Pooran lead LSG if they let go of KL Rahul?

Last season, there were hints about KL Rahul not having the best of relationships with the LSG owners. So, in case LSG let him go, they will need a new captain. Could that be Nicholas Pooran? LSG have a call to make about Mayank Yadav, who is uncapped for now, but has been called up to India’s squad for the T20Is against Bangladesh. There are also contenders like Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur and Ayush Badoni, all uncapped, all stars for the franchise.Mumbai Indians6:35

Bumrah, Suryakumar, Hardik among Moody’s MI-retention picks

MI replaced Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain in 2024 and had a terrible season. Do both of them stay? If yes, who is the captain? Among other big names, MI have Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah to think about. There is also Ishan Kishan, who has been part of their core over the years.Punjab Kings6:59

IPL 2025: Will PBKS go into the auction with a clean slate?

The list starts with Arshdeep Singh, and includes the uncapped Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Harpreet Brar. While Shashank and Ashutosh were PBKS’ finds in 2024, Prabhsimran has performed well at the top, a position where Shikhar Dhawan’s retirement has created a void. And, of course, they need a captain.Rajasthan Royals5:09

Can Rajasthan Royals do without retaining Buttler ahead of auction?

While Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler have been performing for RR consistently, even young Riyan Parag made the step up in 2024. Among bowlers, RR have Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin and Trent Boult as the senior pros. How many of them will RR be desperate for? And will they be tempted to release Buttler, and get him back at the auction?Royal Challengers Bengaluru4:36

Moody: RCB will look for a new captain at the auction

Virat Kohli is all but certain to be retained. But will RCB go back to him as captain? Faf du Plessis has led them since 2022, but he has now turned 40. What about Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green? They also have to balance the side, so do RCB go for a bowling captain?Sunrisers Hyderabad8:33

Head or Cummins: who will be the top retention pick for SRH?

Pat Cummins led them to the final in his first season in charge last year, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma sparkled at the top, and Heinrich Klaasen fired as a finisher. SRH made the final in 2024, and that was because of a settled, batting-heavy squad. However, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s position could turn out to be tricky, given he is uncapped now, but is in India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh, where he could make his debut.

They beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively, but not in the most convincing ways

Valkerie Baynes05-Oct-20244:01

Takeaways: Australia and England off to winning starts

Australia and England safely navigated their opening contests of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 but the path ahead shimmered into perspective in the Sharjah heat with neither side fully exerting their dominance and both left with some work to do.India’s shock loss to New Zealand on Friday night had fuelled Australia’s status as trophy favourites and England’s as their closest challengers.And while Australia defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets with 34 balls to spare, they were less polished in the field than has been their trademark for eons and Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 43 off 38 balls represented the bulk of their successful 94-run chase.Related

• October 8 at the T20 World Cup: Can NZ produce another upset against trans-Tasman rivals Australia?

• Sharjah's lack of pace key to England, South Africa's fortunes

• Linsey Smith on being recalled: My mindset has completely flipped from six years ago

• Schutt and Molineux set the tone for Australia, Mooney gets the job done

• Wyatt-Hodge, Smith to the fore as England grind past Bangladesh

England enjoyed the better of the conditions in their night game against Bangladesh, who restricted them to 118 for 7 before succumbing to a four-pronged spin attack in which Linsey Smith and Charlie Dean took two wickets each and Sarah Glenn one with spearhead Sophie Ecclestone going wicketless.England’s 21-run victory put them at the top of Group B with a superior net run rate to South Africa, who thumped West Indies by 10 wickets on Friday. Australia remained behind New Zealand on net run rate at the top of Group A.England team in a huddle ahead of the chase•ICC/Getty ImagesIt took England until the fourth over to find the boundary at the vast Sharjah Stadium. But when Danni Wyatt-Hodge struck two fours in three balls from Fahima Khatun and Maia Bouchier added back-to-back fours immediately before she was dropped on 16 slicing Marufa Akter to point, it looked like England’s attacking style was coming to the fore.By the end of the powerplay, England were looking good at 47 without loss but Bouchier fell in the seventh over. And while Wyatt-Hodge’s 41 at slightly better than a-run-a-ball propped up the innings, the loss of 5 for 37 in 8.2 overs gave Bangladesh a chance.Left-arm spinner Smith, in her first appearance at a World Cup since 2018, took 2 for 11 from her four overs and ran out Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana while off-spinner Dean accounted for top-scorer Sobhana Mostary, who made 44, and opener Dilara Akter.”First game out, a few nerves with the bat, I thought we adapted quite early, which was good,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “Then with the ball, I thought the girls did a fantastic job. Linsey Smith was outstanding, her first game for England in a World Cup for a while, really happy for her.”Hopefully we can kick on, learn from tonight and put out another display the next game.”

“It was warm out there, it’s tough. And we probably could have done that a little easier with the bat, but conditions were tough out there.”Megan Schutt

For Australia, Megan Schutt opened with a maiden and by the end of the third over, Sri Lanka had only six runs on the board – half of them because Schutt overstepped twice – for the loss of one wicket, Vishmi Gunaratne pinned in front on the last ball of Schutt’s second over.Then Ashleigh Gardner struck with her eighth ball of the match to remove great hope Chamari Athapaththu, whose lean tournament with the bat continued when she fell lbw for just 3, having scored only 6 in Sri Lanka’s first loss to Pakistan.Australia’s start wasn’t blemish-free. Having opted for the pace of Darice Brown over another spin option, she endured a torrid first over with three front-foot no-balls, a wide and clubbed for four through extra cover by Harshitha Samarawickrama.After seven overs, Sri Lanka were 27 for 3 and it could have been more after 12 had Alyssa Healy not missed a chance to stump Samarawickrama and had Brown not put down the same batter running in from extra cover.Schutt led the way with 3 for 11 including back-to-back wickets in the final over but it was a less-than clinical performance in the field by Australia’s standards in an innings punctuated by soft dismissals.The early loss of Healy, and Georgia Wareham had Australia looking shaky but then Mooney marshalled their pursuit expertly, although she was dropped on 22 to Athapaththu’s disgust.Megan Schutt now has the joint-most wickets in Women’s T20 World Cups•ICC/Getty ImagesSchutt described New Zealand’s win against India, which came off the back of Australia’s 3-0 sweep of their series with New Zealand last month, as “pretty cool”. Australia play New Zealand next up on Tuesday back in Sharjah.”It opens up the tournament completely and shows if you have a lot of intent at the start, what that can do in the powerplays,” Schutt said. “It’ll be a great match. Obviously we’ve just come off a series against them in Australian conditions, so it’ll be even a tougher match-up here.”Defending champions doesn’t really mean anything in a new tournament. The slowness of the pitches brings in every single team to this tournament. It actually evens it out really nicely.”It was pretty exciting to go out there. We were pretty nervous to play at 2pm in terms of the heat and I think we handled that really well. We probably worked ourselves up a little bit more than what it was out there. The breeze was lifesaving. So I think we’ve acclimatised nicely to that and now we’ve moving into night game, which should be much more pleasant.”Australia also understood they had work to do ahead of their next game.”We probably could have been cleaner in the field,” Schutt said. “It was warm out there, it’s tough. And we probably could have done that a little easier with the bat, but conditions were tough out there and credit to them for getting the job done.”

From Perth to Sydney, all you need to know about the five grounds for the India-Australia Test series

Andrew McGlashan14-Nov-20242:06

Straight Talk: Will the lack of warm-up matches impact India’s performance?

Optus Stadium, Perth: Australia’s new fortress?

Cricket Australia recently made a change to the tradition of starting the Test summer at the Gabba, with Perth now the first venue for the visiting team.Optus Stadium is still a relatively new ground having hosted its inaugural Test in 2018-19 when India toured – a high-octane match on a lively surface which Australia won despite one of Virat Kohli’s finest hundreds – before it missed out for two summers due to Covid-19 border restrictions.Optus Stadium (2018-19 onwards)•ESPNcricinfo LtdAustralia have continued a formidable record at the ground which could play into their favour when it comes to setting the tone for the series. All four of their wins have been by handsome margins, with the last three coming against New Zealand (a day-night Test), West Indies and Pakistan. All followed similar patterns: a big first innings total, a hefty lead when the opposition can’t respond, swelling the advantage rather than enforcing the follow-on and then taking advantage of an increasingly difficult surface.While pace bowling has been traditionally associated with Perth (both at the new ground and the WACA), Nathan Lyon has an outstanding record at Optus Stadium where he has enjoyed the bounce on offer.Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (519 at 103.80)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Nathan Lyon (27 at 18.00)
Average first innings of match total since 2018-19: 456

Adelaide Oval: The day-night battleground

The venue of 36 all out. A few hours where India nicked everything. As was the case in 2020-21, this season it will be a day-night Test at the home of the format. Australia have never lost a pink ball game at the ground; their day-night Test defeat to West Indies came in Brisbane.Adelaide Oval stats (2018-19 onwards)•ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia won in Adelaide on the 2018-19 tour when it was a day game, in what was an absorbing Test where Australia’s lower order threatened to get them home. Last year’s day Test against West Indies was over before lunch on the third day.Related

• Labuschagne wants to do to India what Pujara did to Australia

• Boost for India as KL Rahul returns to bat in Sunday training

• Batting issues loom over Australia with big five in focus

• 'They are incredibly tough' – Gambhir backs Kohli and Rohit

• Fast and furious: A spicy pitch awaits India in Perth

Barring the extremes of the 2020-21 Test against India, Australia have a tried-and-tested formula in day-night Tests in recent seasons. They look to bat big in the first innings – England even offered them that opportunity by bowling first in the 2021-22 Ashes – which has often given them a crack with the new ball under lights on the second evening.Since 2018-19, the night-time third session has a batting average of 26.84 compared to 28.04 for the first session and 30.15 for the middle one. Timings can become a key factor in pink-ball Tests to try and exploit the new ball under lights.Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (574 at 71.75)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Mitchell Starc (30 at 17.20)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 375

Gabba, Brisbane: No longer an Australian fortress?

In recent seasons, Australia’s aura at the Gabba has diminished somewhat, with India famously winning in 2020-21 and equally so West Indies through the efforts of Shamar Joseph. But the future is in doubt. The venue only has guaranteed Test cricket for one more summer after this one amid the uncertainty over redevelopment plans for the 2032 Olympics.Gabba stats (2018-19 onwards)•ESPNcricinfo LtdIt reverts to a day Test for this series having been a flood-lit encounter against West Indies. In 2022-23, the match against South Africa ended in two days on a heavily-grassed surface that produced uneven bounce. It was borderline dangerous when facing the quicks. The overall bowling average at the ground since 2018-19 has dropped by nearly 10 runs per wicket compared to the figure for the previous four years (36.21).Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (497 at 62.12)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Pat Cummins (36 at 17.25)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 227

Melbourne Cricket Ground: New fast-bowling paradise

Since the insipid Ashes Test in 2017-18, the pitch at the MCG has undergone a transformation and is now among the most interesting in the country, leaning in favour of the fast bowlers. To highlight the shift, in the last six seasons the bowling average has dropped 15 runs. Between 2013-14 and 2017-18, it was a whopping 41.19.Melbourne Cricket Ground stats (2018-19 onwards)•ESPNcricinfo LtdAlready this season there have been three fascinating surfaces for a Sheffield Shield match, the ODI against Pakistan and the Australia A-India A fixture with runs at a premium and the ball holding sway. India have won their last two Tests at the ground: by 137 runs in 2018-19, when Jasprit Bumrah produced a magical spell on what remained a sluggish surface, and eight wickets in 2020-21.Interestingly, since 2018-19, it’s the ground where the toss appears to have mattered least with a 3-3 record for teams batting first. Against England in 2021-22 (Scott Boland’s Test where he claimed 6 for 7) and South Africa the following year, Australia bowled first and won by an innings.Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: David Warner (361 at 60.16)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Pat Cummins (31 at 15.41)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 299

Sydney Cricket Ground: Will it spin?

The SCG remains a ground where the pitch is still trying to regain its former glories when spin would come to the fore. There were promising signs last season against Pakistan where it was a result surface that offered some assistance for all the bowlers. The other factor with Sydney in early January is often the weather: India were denied a likely victory in 2018-19 by two days of rain and the 2022-23 South Africa match was badly affected.Sydney Cricket Ground stats (2018-19 onwards)•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe average for pace bowlers at the ground since 2018-19 is by far the highest of the five venues for this season. Reverse swing can be a factor depending on how abrasive the square becomes. Like the Gabba, the SCG doesn’t utilise drop-in pitches.Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (734 at 81.55)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Nathan Lyon (26 at 32.42)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 436