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The three teams have combined to play just 23 Tests since 2017

Tristan Lavalette17-Feb-2023As they trudged off the Queens Sports Club after suffering a second successive Test thrashing, Zimbabwe were left disappointed at being comprehensively outplayed by West Indies.Defeat in this recently-concluded two-match series, however, was almost inconsequential for a nation emerging from an 18-month hiatus from Test cricket. Before hosting West Indies this month, Zimbabwe played only 14 Tests from 2017-22: in part because ongoing financial strife forced them to, and also because enticing bigger Full Members while not being part of the nine-team World Test Championship (WTC) has proven something of an impossible sell for them.Ireland and Afghanistan, who became Full Members by gaining Test status in 2017, are also not part of the WTC, and similarly have barely played Test cricket; Ireland have had only three Tests since, while Afghanistan just six. But when the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the period 2023-27 was released last August, these three teams were allocated significantly more Tests: Afghanistan (21), Zimbabwe (20) and Ireland (12).Related

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• Afghanistan cricket plunged into crisis as ICC funds-flow hits snags

• ICC puts onus on boards to make international calendar manageable

• ICC: 'Volume of ODIs and T20Is in the calendar is up to every member'

Until that announcement, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan had combined to play just 23 Tests since 2017; none of them played another for the rest of 2022 as well. So while the Test numbers were a positive, the problem was that precious few in the new FTP were scheduled against the cash cows of India, England and Australia. Zimbabwe, notably, were allocated 109 matches across formats, with not a single one – even in the shorter formats – being against cricket’s three biggest draw cards.During ICC meetings in Melbourne last November, while he contemplated running for ICC chair, Zimbabwe Cricket boss Tavengwa Mukuhlani used his leverage to push for a working group focused at looking into current and future FTP bilateral planning arrangements. Mukuhlani, along with ECB’s Martin Darlow and New Zealand Cricket’s Martin Snedden, will be comprising that group, which is expected to be ratified at next month’s ICC board meetings. They haven’t met formally, although they had discussions on the sidelines in Melbourne.The working group is open for Full Members to address concerns heightened amid international cricket’s shrinking calendar as T20 leagues sprout worldwide. It is expected to have a particular focus on the three countries not part of the WTC too, even as the abolition of the ODI World Cup Super League has also raised an alarm for smaller nations over future ODI fixtures.”We believe Zimbabwe is a Test nation. We can’t just let that slip simply because nations don’t want to play us,” Mukuhlani told ESPNcricinfo. “We have something to preserve and defend. We want to play Tests. We know it will cost us money, but we can’t put a value on playing Test cricket.”Zimbabwe have not played any of the so-called Big Three teams in Test cricket since September 2005, when they had hosted India for two Tests. Last year, they ended a 19-year drought of touring Australia other than for a World Cup, for a series which was part of the Super League, and where they famously won the third ODI, although their push for a one-off Test was rebuffed by CA.This year’s match remains Ireland’s only Test against England, India or Australia through to 2027•Getty Images

Mukuhlani said discussions were ongoing over Zimbabwe hosting India for a white-ball series later in the year after the countries played a three-match ODI series last August in Harare. But their relationship with England has long proved thorny due to strained political ties during the latter years of the reign of Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe.The two countries have not played each other bilaterally since 2004 – and not at all since September 2007, when they had met in the inaugural ICC World T20 – although Zimbabwe’s political situation is different since Mugabe was ousted from power in 2017.Both the ZC and ECB have confirmed that there are no longer political issues preventing the countries from playing each other; but such a bilateral arrangement still remains stalled for the foreseeable future.”England for us is big money – the second biggest behind India,” Mukuhlani said. “We want England to tour us. It’s a conversation we’ve had for many years. There is great willingness from the ECB, and there have been signs in recent times. But nothing tangible has ever happened on their end. But we know they – like other countries – are struggling to find gaps in the schedule.”Mukuhlani said he would advocate through the working group for countries touring South Africa to make a stopover in Zimbabwe; even as England last month were in South Africa for a three-match ODI series, but won’t be returning there until 2026-27. He also planned to propose annual triangular or quadrangular white-ball series during April-May for countries with limited or no players competing in the IPL, such as Zimbabwe and Pakistan.”I’ve been trying to raise these issues for a long time, so hopefully now there is a proper platform to air them,” Mukuhlani said of the working group.Afghanistan are set to end a two-year Test wait with a series in Bangladesh mid-year•Abu Dhabi Cricket

Unlike Zimbabwe, Ireland play England imminently with a one-off Test scheduled in June at Lord’s. Cricket Ireland administrators had hoped it would become an annual fixture in the English summer, but this year’s match remains Ireland’s only Test against England, India or Australia through to 2027. Before that fixture, they will be breaking a four-year drought in the format when they meet Bangladesh in a one-off Test in Dhaka in April.”Our players are keen [to play Tests], but we have to be realistic,” Ireland’s ICC board director Ross McCollum said.Ireland’s only home Test was their debut in the format against Pakistan in 2018 which cost around a million Euros; and they aren’t scheduled to host a Test until the middle of next year against Zimbabwe.”With the budget we have, it is much easier to play away,” McCollum said. “Our annual turnover is around 10-12 million [Euros], so it’s a sizeable chunk out of that to host Tests. Ideally we want to play Test cricket. But only a few countries are financially able to play Test cricket and can put bums on seats.”While they strive for more Test opportunities, these smaller nations realise that an expanded WTC remains unlikely.”I think [WTC] is important because it creates context,” McCollum said. “Ideally it would have been expanded to 12 members, and I would have liked to have seen two leagues with promotion and relegation. But some countries didn’t want it because they might have fallen into relegation, and 12 teams in one division is too hard because of the crammed calendar.”Afghanistan, meanwhile, are set to end a two-year Test wait with a series in Bangladesh scheduled for mid-year. Their FTP is marked by a historic tour of Australia in 2026, which includes a one-off Test, but relations between the two countries are currently frayed. CA recently pulled out of an ODI series against Afghanistan set for March due to the Taliban’s ban on university education for girls.It was met with fierce condemnation from the Afghanistan Cricket Board and their players, including Rashid Khan, who threatened to boycott the BBL. But amid the politicking, Afghanistan’s future is murky beyond the playing field, as the sport’s administrators grapple with the apparent erosion of women’s cricket development since the Taliban seized control. The Afghanistan issue is set to be debated at the ICC meetings next month.

Jadeja and Ashwin also scored fifties to take India past 400

Deivarayan Muthu21-Jul-20231:17

Dasgupta: Kohli wants to prove certain things to himself

Virat Kohli made his first away Test century in almost five years, and Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin helped themselves to half-centuries, as India piled up 438 in Port-of-Spain. In reply, West Indies started slowly but solidly, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul responsible for the hosts’ first half-century partnership in the series. But Jadeja struck 20 minutes before stumps to have Chanderpaul carving a catch to Ashwin. Brathwaite and debutant Kirk McKenzie, who is playing only his tenth first-class game, then safely negotiated a tricky passage of play, with West Indies still 352 runs behind.Earlier, Kohli looked like converting his hundred into a big one until Alzarri Joseph’s athletic intervention ran him out for 121. Jadeja looked set for a hundred of his own, but Kemar Roach removed him for 61. Both overnight batters fell in a space of six overs, but Ashwin marshalled the tail and pushed India towards 450.Related

• A Kohli hundred that felt like a new beginning

• Jadeja dismissal: right decision made despite DRS 'glitch'

The Queen’s Park Oval pitch – and the outfield – had slowed down even further on day two but that didn’t prevent Kohli from pinging the boundary with his punchy drives. One of those drives, which was crunched behind point off Shannon Gabriel, brought Kohli his 76th hundred in his 500th international match. Three balls later, Jadeja reached his fifty and celebrated it with his signature sword dance.Another Kohli drive, this time off Jason Holder in the 92nd over, was among the contenders for the shot of the match. When Holder served up a half-volley on the stumps, Kohli had originally shaped to flick it away through midwicket, but he ended up half-flicking and half-driving it past mid-off with great authority. There was another drive that he drilled so straight that it knocked out the middle stump at the non-striker’s end.R Ashwin plays a ramp shot on his way to a half-century•AFP/Getty Images

Jadeja was more circumspect, but he combined well with Kohli to steal singles and doubles from right under the noses of the West Indian fielders. However, the 159-run fifth-wicket stand ended when an uncharacteristic moment of hesitation between the wickets resulted in Kohli getting run out. Joseph swooped on the ball from square leg and capitalised on the chance. Soon after, Roach dangled out a wide ball and had Jadeja edging a drive behind.Jadeja was originally given not out by the on-field umpire, but West Indies overturned the decision on review. The replay that came up, however, for the TV umpire was of a different ball. During the tea analysis show, the broadcast commentators clarified that the correct decision was made despite the “glitch”.Kishan, who had spent 19 balls on zero on Test debut in Dominica, started with more attacking intent in Port-of-Spain, advancing at left-arm fingerspinner Jomel Warrican and flaying the ball past him for four. After lunch, Kishan got a life when McKenzie dropped him after mistiming his jump at short midwicket. That error cost West Indies only four runs as Holder had Kishan wafting behind the very next ball for 25.Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul added 71 for the first wicket•AFP/Getty Images

After Ashwin had bedded in with back-to-back drives off Gabriel, West Indies’ quicks peppered him with short balls. But Ashwin used the bounce to his advantage and created scoring opportunities. When Roach kept banging it short – but not short enough – outside off, Ashwin leant back and ramped him over slip for a pair of fours. He then brought up his fifty with a slapped four off a similar short ball from Roach. With No. 11 Mukesh Kumar for company, Ashwin backed away and tried to rustle up more boundaries, but Roach knocked him over with his slower variation. Roach and Warrican finished with three wickets each before West Indies’ openers settled in.Chanderpaul, in particular, had to grind for his runs in the early exchanges. He took 58 balls to score his first boundary and move into double figures. When Ashwin erred down the leg side, Chanderpaul put him away with the sweep. He then countered Mohammed Siraj’s bouncers with the hook.Both Chanderpaul and Brathwaite were happy to leave anything wide of off stump on a track that didn’t offer much assistance to seamers or spinners. Brathwaite had glanced Siraj and whipped Jadeja for fours but wasn’t as assured against Ashwin who got one to drift past his outside edge from over the wicket.It was Jadeja who produced the breakthrough in the 35th over. After bowling 36 balls on the trot to Brathwaite, Jadeja had a crack at Chanderpaul and with his second ball to the left-hander, he drew a thick edge that looped to backward point. McKenzie announced himself in Test cricket with a six down the ground off Ashwin and then caressed Jadeja through extra cover for four to help West Indies end the day in a confident manner.

A four-day defeat loomed until Greaves and Hope dug in to give West Indies some hope against New Zealand’s tired attack

Shashank Kishore05-Dec-2025A depleted New Zealand attack – effectively reduced to just two-and-a-half frontline bowlers – was made to toil as a defiant West Indies rearguard stretched the contest into a fifth day on an increasingly docile Hagley Oval surface.Forced off the field on day three by an eye infection, Shai Hope returned with sunglasses under his helmet to compile an unbeaten 116. It followed his first-innings 56 and marked his second century in three innings, a seamless extension of the defiance he showed while stonewalling India for long periods in New Delhi in October.If Hope was the fulcrum, Justin Greaves was the anchor beside him. He reined in his instincts to play a composed, almost uncharacteristically restrained hand to finish 55 not out off 143 balls. His unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with Hope was worth 140 as New Zealand’s attack toiled under the blazing Christchurch sun.Related

• Blundell, Smith, Henry sustain injuries in Christchurch; Jamieson returns to Plunket Shield

Nathan Smith did not come out to bat and spent the entire innings off the field with a side strain. When Matt Henry left the field after the 35th over – later heading to hospital next door for scans – with West Indies 92 for 4, New Zealand may have hoped to finish off the game quickly.But with his bowling resources rapidly thinning, Tom Latham – already standing in with the gloves due to Tom Blundell’s torn hamstring that ruled him out of not just this Test but the next – was left to lean heavily on Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell’s part-time spin around pacer Jacob Duffy. On a surface that only got easier to bat on against the old ball, Hope and Greaves settled in and applied themselves admirably.Having begun with positive intent, Hope was tested periodically with the short ball, Duffy setting a square leg halfway to the rope along with a short leg and fine leg for the pull. Hope mostly swayed and ducked out of harm’s way, and on the rare occasions he was tempted into the shot, he did well to keep it down. He brought up his fourth Test century off 139 deliveries.Duffy employed a similar plan to Greaves, whose natural game is far more instinctive. But to his credit, Greaves appeared to take a cue from Hope, choosing restraint instead. He played only when the ball was at his body, using his height to ride the bounce and fend safely. While he was a lot more enterprising against spin, the fundamental of his knock was crease occupation.Justin Greaves played a composed knock of 55 not out off 143 balls•Getty Images

Hope and Greaves laid down the template for those who perished prior to their arrival. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and John Campbell were put through a stern new ball test by Foulkes and Henry as they repeatedly tested both their edges in an engaging first spell. Chanderpaul’s propensity to shuffle across got him into trouble more often than not, and was out to a short ball that he inside-edged to the keeper for 6 off 45 balls.Campbell – out an over earlier – was taken out by Foulkes as he jabbed at an away-swinger with no feet movement as Bracewell took a superb low catch at second slip. In the overs prior to his dismissal, Campbell wore a blow on his boot as he smashed one back off an inside-edge, making him groan in discomfort. This may have eventually had a hand in his dismissal.Alick Athanaze never got going, and the frustration of being unable to score had him attempt a pull, only to be rushed into the stroke by Bracewell. He only managed to toe-end a pull to mid-on. And when Roston Chase fell in eerily similar fashion to his dismissal in the first innings – nibbling at a Henry away-swinger while being rooted to the crease – West Indies were collapsing swiftly and were 72 for 4.A four-day defeat loomed until Greaves and Hope dug in to give West Indies some hope even as New Zealand’s tired attack wheeled away in the hope of a mistake. That wasn’t to come, as West Indies took the fight into the final day even though hopes of scaling down the 531-run target they were set seem just a pipe dream for now.Earlier in the morning, New Zealand surprised many by choosing to bat on. Perhaps this was to give their bowlers more rest on a placid surface, considering the slew of injuries. Kemar Roach picked up three of the four wickets to fall, finishing with figures of 5 for 78 to take his wickets tally to 290.

Whittam oversees a new body which will take over duties from the Cricket Discipline Commission

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2024Richard Whittam KC has been appointed chair of the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP), a new independent tribunal which will take over from the Cricket Discipline Commission as the body to hear and adjudicate on regulatory breaches in English professional cricket and subsequent sanctions handed out.Whittam’s appointment, made by the ECB board for a four-year term, comes after an open recruitment process. The 64-year-old is a specialist regulatory and criminal barrister with a background in sport.After serving as a deputy high court judge between 2016 and 2022, Whittam was appointed as the Rugby Football Union’s Head of Independent Judiciary last year. He has chaired discipline, safeguarding and appeal panels in rugby union since 2014. Whittam is also a member of the Word Rugby and European Professional Club Rugby Judicial Panels.Whittam will be responsible for presiding over specific disciplinary cases, and appointing the other members of the CDP who possess an appropriate range of skills and diversity. Once they are in place, the panel will begin considering cases, taking over this role from the current CDC, which is chaired by Tim O’Gorman.The CDP’s function will be to consider cases brought before it by the Cricket Regulator, the body responsible for monitoring compliance with and enforcement of adherence to the game’s regulations on behalf of the ECB. Formed in 2023, the Cricket Regulator was a key recommendation from a damning report published by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) in June of that year, detailing structural inequalities across race, gender and class in cricket in England and Wales.The majority of cases brought to the panel will relate to breaches of the ECB’s Professional Conduct Regulations, but will also include other regulations such as the Anti-Corruption code, Player and Match Officials’ Minimum Standards, Cricket Playing Conditions, Bowling Review Regulations, Pitch Regulations and Head Protector Regulations.Speaking on his appointment, Whittam said: “I am delighted to be appointed to this important role. It is vital to the integrity of cricket that the sport’s rules and regulations are upheld. As the first Chair of the CDP I look forward to getting the Panel up and running and ensuring that cases are dealt with promptly, in a fair, thorough and transparent manner.”ECB chair Richard Thompson said: “The independent Cricket Discipline Panel will play an important role in enforcing cricket’s regulations and dealing with any misconduct and regulatory breaches. Richard Whittam KC has an impressive background in law and sports discipline which makes him the ideal person to chair the Panel.”I’d like to pass on my sincere thanks to Tim O’Gorman and all the panel members from the Cricket Discipline Commission for the service they have given the game over many years. They have performed an important duty in enforcing cricket’s regulations, and I’m grateful for their continued service while the new Cricket Discipline Panel members are recruited.”

Moeen hits seven sixes then takes two key wickets to keep West Indies at bay

Matt Roller29-Jan-2022Moeen Ali set up a Sunday-night decider in England’s series against West Indies at the Kensington Oval, leading from the front as stand-in captain with 63 off 28 balls and two key wickets in the run chase.With Eoin Morgan ruled out of the series after injuring his quadriceps in the warm-ups on Wednesday, Moeen struck seven sixes – four of them off consecutive balls in Jason Holder’s 18th over – as England surged to 193, building on the platform set by Jason Roy’s scratchy 52.West Indies started brightly in pursuit, reaching 56 for 0 after the powerplay with Kyle Mayers making a sprightly 40 on his return to the side, replacing Shai Hope at the top of the order. But England’s spinners put the squeeze on: Moeen removed both openers, and Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone both made breakthroughs on a dry pitch.Holder and Kieron Pollard kept the run chase alive, but a middle-overs slowdown meant the task was beyond them. The result set up a deciding final match on Sunday night, with the series squared at 2-2.Roy’s late arrivalAsked to bat by Pollard for the third time in the series, England struggled to adapt to the pace of the pitch – the same one used in their one-run win last Sunday night – early on, with Tom Banton plinking a pull to mid-on to give Holder a wicket in his first over. Roy, who was given a life when Holder put down a return catch, looked particularly out of form, creeping to 11 off 19 balls and swearing in frustration over the stump mic after failing to beat the infield yet again.But 15 balls later he had brought up a half-century, clicking into gear by clubbing Sheldon Cottrell 101 metres over midwicket, and England raced to 80 for 1 after nine overs with James Vince also hitting his straps at No. 3.Pollard put the brakes on with another canny spell of slow-medium cutters, exchanging words with Roy after angling the ball into his pads to defend the short off-side boundary. He conceded only one run (plus a leg bye) off the seven balls he bowled to Roy, roaring in celebration when Nicholas Pooran gobbled up a thick outside edge from a legcutter.Moeen cuts looseWhen Vince miscued a wide offbreak from Akeal Hosein to short third, England had lost their two set batters in the space of seven balls and the innings threatened to fall away. Moeen and Livingstone traded sixes – Livingstone’s, a 91-metre pull over midwicket, was the only boundary Pollard conceded – but a canny 17th over from Cottrell left them 134 for 3 with three overs left.Related

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What followed was a masterclass in death-overs hitting from Moeen. Holder, whose first two overs cost just three runs, leaked 28 off the 18th, including four consecutive sixes from Moeen: a drag over long-on, a dead-straight hit into the press-box window, a languid swing over extra cover and a wristy pick-up over square leg.Shepherd had Livingstone caught off a steepler with the first ball of the 19th but then suffered some rough treatment himself. Moeen clipped two into the leg side to bring up a 23-ball half-century – his fastest for England – before hitting two more sixes, including a sumptuous chip over extra cover with the full face of the bat.He miscued Holder to long-on at the start of the final over, and Phil Salt – down at No. 7 – skied his first ball into the covers, but Sam Billings, recalled in place of Harry Brook after missing Wednesday night’s game through illness, clubbed the last two balls for six. England added 59 in the last three overs, and Holder’s final two cost 41 runs.Moeen Ali scored a quick-fire fifty•Getty Images

Spin strangleMayers impressed at the top of the order, hitting Moeen for two sixes over the leg side and thumping Tymal Mills’ first three balls for four, six and six, but West Indies’ chase faded badly against spin in the middle overs. Moeen made the first breakthroughs, having Mayers and Brandon King caught at long-off and long-on respectively, while Rashid maintained the pressure from the other end.Rovman Powell had played Rashid out during his hundred on Wednesday night, milking him for 11 off 11 balls, but his notorious weakness against wristspin was enough for Billings to bark over the stump mic: “Still love this match-up!” Three balls later, he ripped a googly through the gate which crashed into middle-and-off stump.56 for 0 after the powerplay became 84 for 3 off 13, and after Pooran hit Livingstone for consecutive sixes, he holed out to long-on looking for three in a row. Holder’s 36 off 24 – his highest T20I score – kept West Indies’ hopes alive, but Reece Topley and Chris Jordan kept their composure to close things out at the death.

Could England breach 500? With Jos Buttler in world-beating mood, more carnage is on the cards

Alan Gardner18-Jun-2022

Big picture

Well, how do you follow that? The logical answer – if logic has anything to do with what happened in Amstelveen on Friday – is that England will aim to top 500. And on the back of a record-breaking display, headlined by Jos Buttler’s berserker 162 off 70 balls, few would bet against them racking up a similar score in the event that they again bat first.There was an element of Stick Cricket about the way Buttler dismantled the Dutch, sixes punched into the trees around the ground as if casually tapping away at a keyboard. If only office work was this fun.Coming off the back of a prolific IPL, and given licence to unleash at No. 4, it was easy to see why he was described by Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, as “the best white-ball cricketer in the world at the moment”.Related

• Phil Salt on fast track behind trailblazer Jason Roy

• Unburdened, unshackled, unbelievable: Buttler channels AB de Villiers

• Eoin Morgan: Jos Buttler is in a 'world of his own'

England’s white-ball revolution is now so deeply seeded within the ranks of the domestic game that the two men who joined Buttler in reaching three figures were both doing so for the first time in ODIs. Dawid Malan has long been involved across formats, of course – and became only the second England men’s player to score hundreds in all three – but Phil Salt was making just his fourth appearance, and did a decent Jonny-Bairstow-impression at the top of the order.Liam Livingstone’s 17-ball fifty, meanwhile, was his first in ODIs, as well as another England record. Those involved in the Test squad – including Bairstow, Joe Root and the captain, Ben Stokes – won’t be worrying about their places in the pecking order yet, but it serves as a reminder of the depth available to England in white-ball cricket. (As did another record total in the Blast later on Friday.)To be fair to Netherlands, aside from a couple of dropped catches that might have stalled England’s rampage, they did not do too much wrong. Although the captain, Pieter Seelaar, may not opt to insert the visitors again. “Getting Jason Roy out was a good moment,” he laughed afterwards, recalling the early dismissal that left England 1 for 1 in the second over. All bar one of the 26 sixes hit (another record) cleared the boundary-riders comfortably.In the face of such an unprecedented chase, Netherlands did well to bat through the overs, bar two balls, and make sure that the margin defeat was not similarly record-breaking.Without some of their best players, who have opted to remain playing in county cricket, there was clearly a gulf in talent. But the core of this Netherlands side – players such as Seelaar, Max O’Dowd, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards and Logan van Beek – have plenty of experience at bouncing back from adversity. “This will make us better cricketers in the future,” Seelaar added, and the Dutch will be hoping to prove that straight away.Max O’Dowd has become a banker at the top of the order, averaging 45.61 in ODIs•ICC via Getty

Form guide

Netherlands: LLLLL
England: WWWWW

In the spotlight

Despite the carnage visited upon the VRA ground by England’s batters, it was a Netherlands player who landed the KNVB with a repair bill for smashing a window pane to go with the estimated €1,000 hit for lost balls. Max O’Dowd gave a glimpse of his range during a run-a-ball 55, which included some Shane Watson-esque clumping down the ground. The Auckland-born opener has become a banker at the top of the order, averaging 45.61 in ODIs. He is also the only man to have scored a T20I hundred for Netherlands – and might need to tap into that mindset if England are going to be challenged.Centre stage. Name in lights. Place booked in the hall of fame. Jos Buttler will have harder day’s work, but there is no doubting he is currently in his pomp as a white-ball batter. Without sounding like a broken record, there were several he narrowly missed out on – a 47-ball hundred was one slower than his best; getting to 150 in 65 balls was also a single delivery behind AB de Villiers; with 14 sixes, he was three short of the high-water mark in ODIs. But if England continue to deploy him at No. 4, having cottoned on to his brilliance, then there may be further chances to go above and beyond.

Team news

Netherlands seem likely to stick with the spin-heavy strategy, but could bring in either Tim Pringle – the slow left-armer whose dad Chris played for New Zealand – or 19-year-old legspinner Shariz Ahmad. If keeps his spot, it will be an important test of character for Philippe Boissevain, who conceded 108 from his ten overs.Netherlands (possible): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Musa Ahmed, 4 Tom Cooper, 5 Bas de Leede, 6 Scott Edwards (wk), 7 Pieter Seelaar (capt), 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Shane Snater, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Philippe Boissevain/Tim Pringle.Brydon Carse might come on if Sam Curran is given rest•Getty Images

Morgan is usually reluctant to rotate for the sake of it, and has previously suggested he will try to play all three games despite recent injury problems. Sam Curran, who bowled nine overs on Friday, is perhaps likeliest to get a rest, with Brydon Carse primed to come in and offer some right-arm variation to the seam-bowling department.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Brydon Carse/Sam Curran, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

As evidenced by England’s world-record 26 sixes, the Amstelveen boundaries are eminently clearable – although the same pitch will be used as for Friday’s run-fest, which might slow down some of the scoring. An even bigger crowd is expected, but they may also have to contend with some rain interrupting proceedings.

Stats and trivia

• England’s 498 for 4 was a new high in ODIs (you may have heard). They are now responsible for the top three scores in the format. England also became only the second team to have three centurions in an innings after South Africa, who have done so twice.
• Amstelveen has regained the record for the highest ODI total, which it previously held for Sri Lanka’s 443 for 9 against Netherlands in 2006, before England twice eclipsed that score at Trent Bridge.
• During the course of the destruction, Buttler became the tenth Englishman to 4000 ODI runs.
• Roy is set to play his 100th ODI. Cooper needs one more run for 1000 in ODIs.
• Two Netherlands milestones are in sight for Seelaar. His 58th cap will draw him level with Peter Borren for most appearances; and he needs one more wicket to replace Mudassar Bukhari as Netherlands’ leading bowler in ODIs.

Quotes

“You can’t drop the best batsman in the world twice in one over. Phil Salt was [also] dropped on 30 or 40. I’m not going to say it would be a completely different game, but you probably won’t be looking at 498.”
“We don’t take days like this for granted at all. We earned the right to give it a nudge today, that doesn’t mean that on Sunday or Wednesday we’ll not be up against it. We’ve worked incredibly hard to earn days like today.”

BCCI “obligated” to get ICC a tax waiver on the event; if that doesn’t happen, the BCCI’s share of the ICC’s central revenue pool will take a hit

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Oct-2022The BCCI stands to lose between US$58-116 million from its share of the ICC’s central revenue pool as a result of the tax imposed by the Indian government on the global cricket body for hosting the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup in India. The marquee event is scheduled to be played in India in October-November next year.”It is to be noted that any tax cost incurred by the ICC for the 2023 event in India will be adjusted with the BCCI’s share of revenue from the ICC,” the BCCI said on Thursday in an update sent to its state associations. In the two-page document, seen by ESPNcricinfo, the BCCI outlined the estimated financial hit it is likely to incur in the absence of the ICC securing a full tax exemption from the Indian government for staging the tournament in India, the first men’s global cricket event in the country since the 2016 T20 World Cup.Related

• ICC threatens to shift 2021 T20 WC from India over tax issues

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The tax exemption has been part of the host’s agreement the BCCI signed with the ICC in 2014, when three men’s events were awarded to India: the 2016 T20 World Cup, the 2018 Champions Trophy (later changed to 2021 T20 World Cup, which was moved to the UAE and Oman) and the 2023 ODI World Cup. As per the agreement, the BCCI was “obligated” to help the ICC (and all its commercial partners involved in the tournament) secure the tax waiver.The tax waiver has been a contentious issue every time a global cricket event has been held in India. In 2016, the BCCI said in the note, the ICC deducted “nearly $23.5 million” from the central revenue pool after the Indian government had charged Star India*, which owns rights for ICC events, 10.92% in taxes.The BCCI has challenged the ICC on that at the global body’s disputes tribunal. Even as it awaits a final decision from the tribunal, the BCCI has said it had opened discussions with India’s finance ministry to “deliver a tax exemption or a tax solution” for the 2023 World Cup.The BCCI was originally meant to secure such an exemption 18 months before the event. It said that it had asked ICC to extend the deadline to May 31 this year from April, which was the original timeline.”At the start of this financial year, the BCCI had advised the ICC that in line with the tax order for the 2016 event, it was expected that a 10% (excluding surcharges) tax order could be obtained as an interim measure for the 2023 event within the required timeframe,” the BCCI said in its update. “The ICC has now received a 20% (excluding surcharges) tax order for its broadcast revenue for the 2023 event from the tax authorities in India.”In the note the BCCI listed the ICC’s broadcasting income from next year’s World Cup in India at an estimated $533.29 million. The BCCI said the “financial impact” it would suffer for a 10.92% tax order on that would be around $58.23 million (the BCCI’s note listed the figure as $52.23 million, which appears to be an error given the percentages listed), which would more than double to roughly $116.47 million if the tax component were to be 21.84%, as desired by the Indian government.This amount, whatever it finally is, will be deducted from the BCCI’s share of ICC’s central revenue pool, which over the course of the current rights cycle (2016-2023) amounts to roughly $405 million based on ICC’s overall earnings for the period estimated at $2.7 billion.The BCCI said it remained “hopeful” of a solution as it is engaging at the “highest level” in the Indian government. “The BCCI is currently working with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and have represented against this 20% (excluding surcharges) tax order at the very highest level and are hopeful that a 10% (excluding surcharges) tax order would be forthcoming shortly.”*

Pakistan fast bowler will be available across formats from the end of May

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2025Hasan Ali, the Pakistan fast bowler, has agreed a return to Warwickshire to play all formats for the club in 2025. He is expected to be available from the start of the T20 Blast in May through to the end of September.Hasan, 30, has not played since suffering an elbow injury during his stint at Edgbaston last season, which ruled him out after taking 10 wickets in five Vitality Blast appearances. Surgery followed and he has been undergoing rehab overseen by both Warwickshire and Pakistan’s medical staff.”I said last year that Edgbaston felt like a second home to me…but it’s becoming more like a first home now,” he said. “I love playing for Warwickshire, playing for the Bears fans. And I hope they see by the way I play how much I want to win for this club.Related

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“Being awarded my White Bear Cap in 2023 was among the proudest moments in my career and I want to make lots more special memories with the Bears next season.”Last year was unlucky with the injury. I felt I was bowling well and taking plenty of wickets in the Blast. But I’m back bowling 100 percent in training and focused on joining up with Warwickshire next season.”Hasan has taken 27 wickets in nine County Championship appearances for Warwickshire across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, as well as 19 in the Blast.His availability was restricted last summer after a surprise late recall to Pakistan’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, but Warwickshire’s head coach, Mark Robinson, said they had been in contact with the PCB about securing the player, who is no longer centrally contracted, for an unbroken spell.Robinson said: “His call-up last May came out of the blue and took Hasan away from our County Championship start. We’ve had reassurances this year from the PCB that Hasan will be able to focus on the Bears which is great news.”Obviously the contract comes with the caveat that Hasan continues making good progress on his post-op rehab and arrives to us fully fit.”Hasan is a heart-on-the-sleeve performer who always gives his all to the cause. He’s a proven wicket-taker at the highest level and was flying with us last season before the injury. He brings a real energy to the place, the dressing room and on the pitch and inspires everyone around him with his enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to welcoming him back into the Bears fold.”

Seamer’s six gives Worcestershire the edge, leading by eight with seven second innings wickets to take

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2024Worcestershire all-rounder Tom Taylor produced a deadly spell with the ball on his way to career-best figures as Warwickshire were forced to follow on in the Vitality County Championship derby at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Taylor picked up five wickets in six overs this morning as Warwickshire were bowled out for 128 in 42.2 overs in their first innings. The 29-year-old finished with 6 for 28 as he surpassed his best figures of 6 for 47 for Leicestershire against Sussex at Hove in April 2019. His morning analysis was 5 for 6 from five overs and Warwickshire lost six wickets for 16 in 9.2 overs after resuming on 112 for 4.Taylor added one more in Warwickshire’s second innings when they followed on 179 runs in arrears to take his tally to 23 wickets in five Championship games for Worcestershire.The visitors provided sterner opposition the second time around, with captain Alex Davies and Will Rhodes both hitting half-centuries. But Matthew Waite, Ethan Brookes and that man Taylor picked up a wicket apiece to leave Warwickshire still eight runs in arrears.Warwickshire resumed 195 in arrears but were quickly plunged into trouble by Taylor’s dynamic wickets burst. The pace bowler had deserved a greater reward than one wicket for his efforts on the second day but quickly made an impact on the third morning.His second delivery accounted for Hamza Shaikh who pushed forward and was taken by keeper Gareth Roderick away to his right. Michael Burgess fenced at a Taylor delivery and Brookes held onto the chance at second slip.Taylor then struck with the first two deliveries of his third over of the morning to complete his five-for. Danny Briggs was LBW after attempting to work to leg and then Michael Rae was beaten all ends up and bowled. Taylor then had figures for 5 for 27 and had taken four wickets in the space of 13 balls.Oliver Hannon-Dalby was yorked by Taylor to complete his career-best performance, and then Logan van Beek wrapped up the innings as Ed Barnard holed out to club captain Brett D’Oliveira at deep midwicket.D’Oliveira enforced the follow on with van Beek and Matthew Waite sharing the new ball. Waite picked up the wicket in his first over of Rob Yates who was beaten by an in-swinging delivery and plumb LBW.There was still enough in the pitch to encourage the seam bowlers but Alex Davies, who yesterday became the first player to score 1,000 Division One runs this summer, and Will Rhodes provided determined resistance.Young pace bowler Jack Home was on the receiving end of some fine stroke-play from Davies, conceding three successive fours to the Warwickshire captain during a spell costing 41 runs. Davies completed a 73-ball half century with nine fours and a six and also brought up the 100 in the 27th over.The century partnership spanned 162 deliveries and was worth 115 in total when Ethan Brookes accounted for Davies in similar fashion to the first innings. Davies tried to steer the ball square on the offside but it nipped back sharply and he only succeeded in playing onto his stumps for the second time in the gameBrookes delivered an excellent post-lunch spell of 1 for 5 from seven overs, including four maidens, before Rhodes brought up his half-century from 117 balls with seven boundaries.But Taylor came back into the attack after tea and his fourth delivery accounted for Sam Hain, who aimed a blow to the on side and was leg before to a full length ball shortly before the heavens opened.

Fit-again allrounder sets sights on the Ashes but his immediate focus is the ODI series in India

Andrew McGlashan16-Mar-2023Mitchell Marsh did not realise how much he was being hampered by his ankle injury until he made the decision to have surgery and is now feeling rejuvenated as he sets out with twin ambitions for the months ahead.Most immediately is the ODI series against India, a stepping stone to the World Cup later this year, but before that he hopes to find a place in Australia’s Test squad for the Ashes.Marsh underwent surgery after the T20 World Cup and ODI series against England during which he had carried the ankle problem that he initially picked up against Zimbabwe. He was out of action for three months, missing the entire BBL, but made an immediate impact on his return for Western Australia with a Sheffield Shield century and a fifty in the Marsh Cup final.He still won’t be available to bowl in the three matches against India, instead eyeing a return with the ball during the IPL with Delhi Capitals.Marsh has not played Test cricket since a one-off return against England at The Oval in 2019 where he claimed his first five-wicket haul. He was then ruled out of contention for the next series, back home against Pakistan, after he broke his hand punching a dressing room wall at the WACA during a Sheffield Shield match.Related

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The following season Cameron Green emerged into the Test side and has cemented the allrounder role at No. 6, although in recent months there could have been an opening for Marsh if he hadn’t been sidelined. It’s unlikely that he and Green will play in the same side, but he wants to be in position to take an opportunity if it arises.”I feel I’ve really developed as a person and feel like every single year I’ve got better as a cricketer,” he told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the opening ODI in Mumbai. “I’m full of confidence at the moment that my best can match it with anyone. I’m hopeful to get another opportunity in red-ball cricket but if it doesn’t happen I’ll keep plugging away and be happy to represent Australia in whatever team I can.”At 31 years of the age, we’ve seen a lot of guys who have hit their peak around that age. Hopefully that’s the case for me.”Mitchell Marsh made an unbeaten 108 for WA in the Sheffield Shield earlier this month•Getty Images

He admitted to a hint of ‘what if’ when Green was absent for three Tests against South Africa and India with a broken finger but knew he’d had no choice but to get his ankle fixed.”It’s natural to feel that way at times, but in the same sentence if I’d kept going with my ankle I probably wouldn’t have got through and it would have been more detrimental to the team,” he said. “I never want to put my own personal goals ahead of anything that comes with team.”I’ve said that getting in the Ashes squad is a real goal of mine. I’m hopeful that’s the case, but I also understand that might not be. It was certainly part of the reason I got the surgery done.”Marsh, who played a key role in Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup victory after his promotion to No. 3, made the best of his enforced break and when he was able to train again worked extensively on his batting with coaches Scott Meuleman and Beau Casson.”You never really know when you come back how it will pan out but was pretty confident in myself,” he said. “Generally speaking through my career I’ve been best when fresh. Getting a chance to have a break from the rollercoaster ride that international cricket is, I used the time as wisely as I possibly could.”Ultimately, however, an opportunity to add to his 32 Test caps could well be out of his hands as Green continues to make huge strides in Test cricket. Having claimed a maiden five-wicket at the MCG in the game he suffered the broken finger he scored a maiden Test century in Ahmedabad last week.”The trajectory of his career is only going up,” Marsh said. “He’s got a level head on him, he loves learning. He’s got all the attributes to be a great cricketer and he’s sort of got through that period now of all the hype around him.”Now we are starting to see him just perform. He’s gaining a lot of respect around world cricket, not just as a young player but as an established international cricketer. Now he has that belief in himself he will be able to keep pushing the boundaries. And they are big boundaries for him so anything is possible.”