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Bowling coach concedes the team are behind in the first Test against Pakistan, but says they can fight back

Umar Farooq08-Feb-2020Pakistan scored at a rate of 3.89 runs per over on the second day of their first Test against Bangladesh, ending the day on 342 for 3. Their scoring rate though, also pointed at how little the Bangladesh bowlers threatened while toiling at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The lack of pace from the seamers, in particular, is something that newly appointed bowling coach Ottis Gibson will want to work on.Historically, Bangladesh haven’t produced out-and-out fast bowlers and it’s been their spinners who have led the way. The spinners have helped them be a force at home, while the seamers have tended to cover the deficit in pace with discipline. However, that discipline was lacking on Saturday. The pitch had followed the pattern of the first day, offering help early and then going flat. It required bowlers to be patient, but Bangladesh’s bowlers weren’t consistent and rarely created opportunities.Abu Jayed showed the most control, with 73% dot balls and two wickets. But Ebadot Hossain not only conceded 78 runs in 14.5 overs to be the most expensive bowler, he also dropped Babar Azam at mid-off when the batsman was only on 2. Azam ended the day unbeaten on 143. Rubel Hossain conceded 77 runs in 17 overs, while Taijul Islam took the heaviest workload, bowling 34 overs for 111 runs, and getting the prize wicket of Shan Masood for 100.However, Gibson, who is on his first series with Bangladesh, gave credit to his bowlers for not giving up. “We did some good things .. we got an early wicket and we bowled well in patches but perhaps we didn’t build pressure long enough,” Gibson said. “We are behind obviously in the game we still have three days to go and still an opportunity tomorrow to come back. Learn the lessons from today, that we have to be a lot more consistent and we have to create chances, and when we do, we have to grab them. That nick that we didn’t even appeal for [off Masood when he was on 86, in the 45th over off Rubel’s bowling], and then a dropped catch that could have made a difference. So overall, it was a tough day.”We are still in the game and we when we have the opportunity, we have to bat better in the second innings. I thought we tried hard today. We got an early wicket which encouraged us, but after that we didn’t perhaps build on that pressure we created. We let the batsmen get off to a relatively easy start, gave too many boundaries early on. But I thought that all through the day, even at the end, we tried hard and it’s not a case that we gave up. We gave Babar a chance and he punished us. Shan Masood batted very well all day .. he was solid and compact and didn’t give us much until he got out.”Gibson’s previous experiences as a coach have been with England and South Africa, where he had several fast bowlers clocking over 140 kph. He doesn’t have the same luxury with Bangladesh, but he was happy to work with the talent available. “There is a lot to work on for sure, but generally, when you played against Bangladesh you often saw just one fast bowler, but here we have three seamers bowling which is great for us,” Gibson said. “We’ve got good seamers, but obviously we have a lot of work to do. My job at the moment is to sit and watch and understand what they are capable of doing before I jump in and start trying to change things, so I am having a really good look at them.”There is enough talent but the guys are clearly short of pace. Most of our guys bowl between 130 and short of 138, and Abu Jayed is capable of bowling 140. But conditions also plays a part in the psyche of a fast bowler .. these guys grew up bowling on flat pitches in Bangladesh. One of the things we are trying to do is encourage them even if we can take them outside Bangladesh for camps, so that they can see the ball flying through like everywhere else in the world.”There was some lateral movement, but during the day, bowlers hardly pushed batsmen on the back foot, and didn’t beat the bat or hit the pads very often either.”I think you would have seen today the ball’s movement and that’s the one skill we have so we can make the ball swing, move it in the air and off the pitch but we just lacked a little bit of pace and physicality. That is there genetically so nothing we can do about that, but if a guy can bowl 130 and have other skills like we saw in some of our bowlers then it’s okay. But when we go away from home, that is where our challenges are which come where the wicket is flat .. in my opinion it’s a very flat pitch here. We should have made more runs yesterday and we could have bowled better today.”

This is his second stint with the franchise, having earlier led them to the IPL semi-finals in 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2019
Paddy Upton has been appointed as head coach of the Rajasthan Royals for the 2019 season, which begins in March. This is Upton’s second stint as head coach of the franchise, having previously held the position between 2013 and 2015. Shane Warne, who was head coach in 2018, will likely assume a brand ambassadorial role, as earlier reported by ESPNcricinfo.Upton was at the helm in 2013 when Rajasthan Royals turned their fortunes around after a bad start and made it to the semi-finals. In that season, Royals were also finalists in the now defunct Champions League, and under Upton, they were unbeaten in 12 consecutive home games. He also served as assistant coach to Gary Kirsten at India and South Africa.Upton will form Royals’ central coaching group along with former Debyshire quick Steffan Jones, who had been appointed the franchise’s fast-bowling coach last season, and director of cricket Zubin Bharucha. Former Mumbai players Amol Muzumdar and Sairaj Bahutule have been retained as batting coach and spin-bowling coach respectively.

Reece Topley, the England left-armer, and Jamie Overton will continue their rehabilitation from back injuries as part of the ECB’s Pace Programme in South Africa this winter

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2017Reece Topley, the England left-armer, and Jamie Overton will continue their rehabilitation from back injuries as part of the ECB’s Pace Programme in South Africa this winter.Topley last played for England at the 2016 World T20 and has subsequently endured two injury-hit seasons with Hampshire. He has made 15 appearances across all formats since moving from Essex and was diagnosed with a fourth stress fracture to his back in August.Somerset’s Jamie Overton is regarded as one of the quickest young bowlers in the country and had been mentioned in some quarters as a contender for England’s Ashes squad. His twin brother, Craig, made the party instead, with Jamie having been sidelined since June after suffering a ‘hot spot’ in his lower back, following a stress fracture to the same area in 2016.They will be joined on the Pace Programme by teenager Josh Tongue, who took 47 Championship wickets in his debut season. Tongue’s Worcestershire team-mate George Scrimshaw, Essex allrounder Paul Walter, Tom Barber of Middlesex and Leicestershire’s Zak Chappell make up the seven-man party.There will be further Worcestershire involvement, with Matt Mason, the club’s assistant and fast-bowling coach, joining Kevin Shine, the ECB’s lead fast-bowling coach, in overseeing the programme. The group will train in Potchefstroom in January and February, as well making trips before and after to the Desert Springs resort in southern Spain.The ECB has also helped place eight players, seven of whom have represented the Under-19s, with clubs overseas to aid their development over the winter. In Sydney, legspinners Matt Critchley (of Derbyshire) and Matt Parkinson (Lancashire) will work with former Australia international Stuart MacGill, while offspinners Andrew Salter (Glamorgan) and Brad Taylor (Hampshire) are set for Wellington, where they will receive specialist coaching from Jeetan Patel.Also heading to Sydney are Ollie Pope, the Surrey wicketkeeper-batsman, and Sussex allrounder Delray Rawlins, who will join Critchley and Parkinson in playing in the New South Wales Premier competition. Additionally, top-order batsmen Max Holden (Middlesex) and George Bartlett (Somerset) will go to Perth, featuring in the Western Australian Premier Cricket competition.”By exposing talented young players to an unsupported, unstructured cricket programme in a challenging overseas environment, the aim of overseas placements is to develop the skills and also independence required to be a successful international cricketer,” David Parsons, the ECB’s Performance Director, said.

A round-up of the third day’s play in round one of Ranji Trophy Group A matches

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2016Dhawal Kulkarni’s six-for and Abhishek Nayar’s unbeaten 45 led Mumbai to a tense two-wicket win on the third day against Tamil Nadu, to start their title defense in Lahli. Once Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 185, Mumbai stuttered on their way to chase 97, being 35 for 5 at one point, before Nayar saw them through.Mumbai had a shaky start to their chase, as Aswin Christ removed the openers and K Vignesh got rid of Kaustubh Pawar, Armaan Jaffer and Suryakumar Yadav, leaving Mumbai still 62 adrift with five wickets left. Nayar, who was promoted from No. 7 to 5, held one end with a brisk innings. He got brief support from Aditya Tare’s 23-ball stay, but Crist had the captain caught behind after the team crossed 50. Kulkarni was then caught behind off Vignesh, before Balwinder Sandhu’s eighth-wicket stand of 30 with Nayar took the score to 90. Sandhu fell for 12, but Nayar, on his 33rd birthday, used five fours and two sixes to earn six points for Mumbai.Tamil Nadu started their day on 153 for 6, ahead by only 64, and could add only 32 more as Kulkarni ran through the tail. B Aparajith, who was on 15 overnight, kept resisting, but ran out of partners. He was unbeaten on 28 as Kulkarni dismissed J Kousik, Christ, M Mohammed and Rahil Shah. Kulkarni finished with his 13th five-for in first-class cricket, and maiden match haul of 10 wickets, his 6 for 47 having come on the back of 4 for 31 in the first innings.Uttar Pradesh were left with a daunting task to save the match after conceding a first-innings lead to Madhya Pradesh and being asked to follow on in Hyderabad.Bowled out for 176 in the first innings, UP ended the day at 118 for 2, still trailing Madhya Pradesh by 171 runs. Opener Tanmay Srivastava (60*) and Sarfaraz Khan (18) were at the crease, having added 38. A call on whether Suresh Raina can bat will be taken on the morning of the final day. Raina is recovering from a mild fever and didn’t bat in the first innings.Wicketkeeper Eklavya Dwivedi was the top-scorer in UP’s first innings with 37, while Kuldeep Yadav made 36. MP’s new-ball pair of Ishwar Pandey (3 for 65) and Gaurav Yadav (4 for 44) did bulk of the damage. Gaurav had last played for Madhya Pradesh in November 2014.Gujarat made slow progress, but were still in the fight for the first-innings lead against Baroda after half-centuries from Bhargav Merai (70) and Manpreet Juneja (66 not out), in Jaipur. They went into stumps on 277 for 4, still needing 267 runs to pocket three points.Their hopes will hinge largely on Juneja and Rujul Bhatt (38 not out), who shared an unbroken 100-run stand after the Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik – removed Merai and Parthiv Patel, the captain, in quick succession to leave Gujarat at 177 for 4. Irfan Pathan was wicketless, while Munaf Patel had one.Railways consolidated their position against Punjab with a 116-run lead on the third day in Delhi. Shivakant Shukla, who made 128 in the first innings, built a solid opening stand with Saurabh Wakaskar, before the latter retired hurt on 56. Shukla ended the day unbeaten on 86, with Railways at 180 for 2 in their second innings.Earlier, Punjab, who resumed on 154 for 4, added only 61 to their overnight total as medium-pacer Manjeet Singh Choudhary picked up three of the six wickets to fall, including the wickets of Gurkeerat Singh Mann (66) and Uday Kaul (61). Choudhary finished with 4 for 56, while Anureet Singh and Deepak Bansal picked up two wickets apiece.

As was England’s mantra against New Zealand earlier this summer, when they responded to back-to-back defeats to take the series, there will be no backing away from an aggressive mindset

Andrew McGlashan04-Sep-2015As was England’s mantra against New Zealand earlier this summer, when they responded to back-to-back defeats to take the five-match ODI series, there will be no backing away from an aggressive mindset after the loss to Australia at the Ageas Bowl regardless of the ramifications.That much was clear when James Taylor, who made 49 on his return to the side at No. 3, said he was willing to take the chance that he could “look silly” when it goes wrong rather than change the outlook which has been at the core of reshaping England’s one-day side since the World Cup.Taylor was almost hyperactive on Thursday, skipping around his crease, coming down the pitch at the bowlers and generally trying to put the opposition off. Early on, he launched Mitchell Marsh for a straight six and he had helped give England the platform to chase down a target of 306 whey were 152 for 2 in the 27th over.However, one shuffle and swipe too many ended with him missing a straight delivery from Shane Watson – for which he was given a forceful stare by the bowler, who had been one of Taylor’s main targets – and from that moment England lost their way to be bowled out for 246.”When I bat, and especially against a specific bowler who is bowling into my strengths, I go for it. It was in my arc, but it was just the execution,” Taylor said of his downfall.”It is a shot I have played for a number of years now – and people watching international cricket will have seen that when I go big, that’s a shot I have played. It brings me runs.””When you miss you look silly. But that is the way it is,” he added. “When I bat I try and take hindsight out of the equation. If I want to take a bowler down, I will go into it wholeheartedly rather than pussy-foot around.”You saw that when I hit Mitch Marsh over his head on 2. I’m confident with the shot, and I don’t do it half-heartedly.”Marsh, for his part in the contest, not just with Taylor but with the whole of the England batting, sees plenty of gain for Australia from England’s method with the bat. Marsh conceded more than eight-an-over, and was only used for four overs, but removed Alex Hales when the opener pulled a long hop to midwicket.”We know they’re going to come hard at me, Watto and Maxi. We said in our team meeting that it gives us an opportunity to take wickets. If they’re going to come hard at us then so be it … the only way to stop their team scoring runs is by taking wickets. Our attack allows us to do that.”It would be easy to forget that England’s first ODI after the World Cup debacle was captained by Taylor, when they faced Ireland in Dublin, although the match was abandoned after 18 overs. The day was quickly overtaken by the news emerging of Peter Moores’ sacking as coach, and when England next took the field for an ODI, against New Zealand at Edgbaston when they crossed 400 for the first time, Taylor was carrying drinks.That followed a period around the World Cup where he was shuffled up and down the order. In the triangular series which preceded the tournament he batted at No. 3 and made two half-centuries against India but failed against Australia. That prompted a seemingly panicked 11th-hour change from the selectors as Gary Ballance was recalled at No. 3 and Taylor moved to six.To his credit, Taylor was one of the few players to emerge from the opening-game mauling by Australia at the MCG with any credit as he made an unbeaten 98 – only denied a maiden hundred when James Anderson was controversially run out when the ball should have been dead. Although Taylor did not pass fifty again in the tournament, he conceded that getting the axe just one game after being captain had tested his resolve.”When I got whispers of the team, I was bitterly disappointed,” he said. “But you cannot dwell on that. I got over it quickly. I have been knocked down before and got up stronger, and that’s the way I try and look at it.”I try to look at the positives – if I take one step back by not getting selected, I will take a few forward in the future. It makes you tougher as a player.”And now he wants to keep taking it to the Australians.

After the group stage of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy under the new format, teams get ready to play the ‘Super Eights’ and the plate league

Umar Farooq04-Feb-2013Fourteen teams participating in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy will enter the next stage of the first-class tournament under the new format, introduced this season to make the league more competitive. The top four teams from the two groups will play in the ‘Super Eights’ and the rest in the lower plate league.The teams in the Super Eights will play three matches each before the final, and those in the other league will play two matches ahead of the final, on February 24.The new phase of the tournament begins simultaneously in various venues in Pakistan on Wednesday.The group stage, which concluded on Sunday, was dominated by Karachi Blues and Rawalpindi, who topped their respective groups – I and II respectively.There were some dull games in the first group, in which 22 matches were drawn, and four called off as a ‘no result’, of the 42 played. Blues took 26 points with three wins and three draws, and Islamabad won two games, lost two and drew two to finish second. They were followed by Sialkot and Lahore Ravi, who were locked on 12 points each to take the third and fourth positions respectively. Ravi, who were the only side to remain unbeaten besides Blues, played five lifeless draws and had only one victory, against Quetta. Multan and Peshawar remained winless, with Quetta the only side in the bottom three to win a game.Group II, however, was more competitive. Rawalpindi and Lahore Shalimar won three matches each to lead the points table, with Karachi Whites and Hyderabad taking the next two spots. The 2003-04 Quaid-e-Azam champions, Faisalabad, had a disappointing tournament, and so did Bahawalpur, who were winless and settled second from bottom in the points table, below Abbottabad.

Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, has said that his decision not to play Twenty20 cricket has given him time to work on his Test and one-day skills, and the results are showing

Daniel Brettig in Sydney06-Jan-2012This day last year, Australia were about to be splintered by England in the fifth Ashes Test, and their stand-in captain Michael Clarke was about to announce his retirement from international Twenty20 matches.Twelve months later, Clarke has led his team to an overwhelming victory against India, and his monumental 329 not out was its centerpiece. The first step Clarke made between then and now was to excuse himself from the game’s shortest format, and it now appears among the wisest decisions he has made.Clarke was never the most natural fit for Twenty20 anyway, but his muddled batting in the Ashes was the best encapsulation of the syndrome that had Australia spreading its diminished resources too thinly across the formats. It was an approach the former coach Tim Nielsen said had made the team “jack of all trades and master of none”.Michael Clarke: “I feel my game is in a better place now than it was 12 months ago, that’s for sure.”•Getty Images

“The greatest thing about the Twenty20 competitions is it’s very individual, each individual player has the opportunity to make his own decision, and I think the T20 in Australia has been outstanding,” Clarke said. “For me, I think I made the right decision to stand down from T20 cricket internationally at the time, to be able to focus on my one-day cricket and Test cricket. I really thought I had to improve my game, to try to become the player I want to be, to become the best player I can possibly be.”I think that time, whether it be four or five days to be able to work on Test cricket before we travel and play a Test match [has been helpful]. I don’t know what my results say, my statistics over the last 12 months, but I feel my game is in a better place now than it was 12 months ago, that’s for sure.”Clarke’s batting and captaincy have been given valuable time to breathe by his absence from T20, both internationally and in the domestic Big Bash League. That time allows Clarke, as captain a man with many responsibilities and distractions, the chance to look after his own game.”The reality is as a player you need to perform, if you don’t perform you’re not in the team, and it’s no different whether you’re captain or not … I learned that the hard way when I got dropped,” Clarke said. “My focus my whole career has been winning games of cricket, the teams winning whether I was a player, vice-captain or now captain, so I don’t think that’s changed, my attitude towards that hasn’t changed.”There’s enough time in a day in my opinion to look after your own individual preparation and make sure everyone in the team is fully prepared and ready to go. It takes a lot of help from all the people around me, all the support staff, the coach and the rest of my team. I’m lucky in this team that I have some senior players that help me out a lot, and I have some young players that are really keen to learn and improve.”This whole team in my opinion is heading in the right direction. We have a lot of work to do but we’re heading in the right direction and I’m just enjoying the opportunity to lead so many good young players.”As captain and T20 retiree, Clarke has now compiled 819 runs at 68.25 with four centuries. The tally is swelled greatly by his Sydney effort, but greater responsibility and presence has been evident in innings played on a wide variety of surfaces, from the Galle dustbowl to the Cape Town green top.”[Captaincy has] probably put a bit of extra responsibility on me, but I don’t feel like I’ve changed my game,” Clarke said. “I guess what I’ve worked on over the last 12 months is really trying hard to improve my game, facing our bowlers in the nets with brand new balls to improve my technique, my defence. Facing a lot of spin on unprepared wickets, to improve my play against spin for when we travel to the subcontinent.”So I just think and hope my game is improving. That’s been my goal for a long time now, to become the best player I can be, and I certainly don’t think one innings determines whether your game’s improved or not. I think the last 12 months in every part, getting fit, getting strong, getting my back right and training hard in the nets, that’s a reward for the work I’ve put in.”As for the magnitude of what he achieved in Sydney, Clarke said he may not fully grasp it until he retires. In cricket’s endless 21st century cycle of matches and tours, a moment’s reflection can be hard to come by.”I don’t think it does until you’ve retired to be honest, until your career’s come to an end,” he said. “I got asked the same question about my Test debut, and until this day I don’t think I’ve ever stopped and looked at my debut and thought, ‘how did I play and how special was that’. It’s exciting at the time, don’t get me wrong, but this Test match I’m very proud of the achievement of being able to bat for a long period of time, and the runs took care of themselves I guess.”I don’t think I’ll ever look back on it until my career’s ended. I’m most pleased as to my personal performance, just being able to make runs and contribute in this series. It’s a huge series for this team, the first series I’ve been full-time captain in Australia, in front of my fans and the Australian public, and it is important that I stood up.”

Laura Marsh continued her strong form as England swept aside Australia again to take a 4-0 lead with a match to play in the Twenty20 series

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2011
ScorecardLaura Marsh gave England a great start with 43 off 28 balls•Getty Images

Laura Marsh continued her strong form as England swept aside Australia again to take a 4-0 lead with a match to play in the Twenty20 series. Marsh starred for the second game in a row as England defended their 144 to secure a 13-run win at Canberra’s Manuka Oval.England had a stunning start as Marsh (43 off 28 balls) and Charlotte Edwards, who collected 15 off eight, sped out of the blocks, but the hosts fought back through the spinners Shelley Nitschke and Sarah Elliott. Nitschke removed Danielle Wyatt and Marsh on the way to 3 for 19 off four overs, while Elliott broke through the middle order with 3 for 17.Elliott had Jenny Gunn (10) lbw and bowled Lydia Greenway, the star of the series, for 28 before dismissing Fran Wilson. That left England at 6 for 118, but the tail-enders boosted the total before the innings ended with a ball to spare.Australia’s troubles really began when they lost Leah Poulton, who top scored with 32, and Alex Blackwell in two deliveries with the score on 59. Jess Cameron fell nine runs later and despite a stand of 40 between Rachael Haynes (25) and Nitschke (22), the side was left with too much to do.Holly Colvin ended up with 2 for 25 as Australia finished at 6 for 131. The final game of the series is in Canberra on Tuesday.Marsh was suitably pleased with her performance and is hoping the run of form can continue. “We’re delighted with another win today, it was a great team performance,” she said. “We were brave with the bat and attacked from the start and I enjoyed playing with a bit of freedom.”The bowlers did well to restrict the runs on this pitch and we upped our game in the field. We are looking forward to the final game of the series tomorrow and carrying this momentum forward into the Test match.””England played really well again today and full credit goes to Charlotte and her team,” said Australia coach Richard McInnes. “It’s obviously disappointing not to get the win today; we made some changes to the team to try and find that winning formula but again we’ve come up just short. We need to turn things around tomorrow and finish this series with a win before we head to Sydney for the Ashes Test at Bankstown starting on Saturday.”The Ashes Test gives Australia a chance to put the misery of the Twenty20 series behind them and captain Blackwell is confident her side can spring a surprise.”England currently hold the Ashes and we have one chance to get them back so we will be playing some good attacking cricket to do everything we can to win them back,” Blackwell said.”We’ve played some good one-day and Twenty20 cricket so far but there is no doubt an Ashes win would be the highlight of the summer for us,” she said. “We’ve got half the squad from New South Wales so we’re all really looking forward to getting back home and putting on a good show.”