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The future of Sion Mills Cricket Club, the scene of Ireland’s famous win over West Indies in 1969, is in doubt following an arson attack.Equipment was destroyed in the blaze and graffiti written onto buildings at the ground.”Our ride-on lawnmowers, our strimmers and things like that have been destroyed. It’s groundskeeping equipment and it’s expensive stuff,” Simon Galloway, the club captain and secretary, told . “We don’t have the money to replace it. It could be a final nail in the coffin for Sion Mills Cricket Club after 155 years.”This building was our equipment store. What they’ve done is brought a ladder from somewhere, who knows where, and they’ve gone in through a hole in the roof. They painted this – HRY – on the roof first of all. Whatever that means, I don’t know. And then they’ve set fire to the shed.”A GoFundMe page has been set up with the target of raising £5000. Police are investigating the incident which follows recent fires at the next door derelict Herdman’s Mill site.Earlier this year marked the 50th anniversary of when Ireland beat West Indies by bowling them out for 25 in their first innings. Douglas Goodwin claimed 5 for 26 in an innings where the top score was 6 by Clyde Walcott.

Moeen Ali resorted to bowling two overs of medium pace as he endured a difficult return to first-class cricket following his omission from England’s Ashes squad.After a torrid Test match at Edgbaston, Moeen took a “short break” from cricket – which lasted all of two Vitality Blast matches – having been left out of England’s squad for Lord’s.He bowled 39.1 overs, but only managed three tail-end wickets against Northamptonshire, and surprised many by bowling two overs of seam-up swing bowling with the wicketkeeper standing back shortly before tea.As Moeen struggled, centuries from Dwaine Pretorius and Alex Wakely and an irresistible new ball spell from Ben Sanderson set Northamptonshire firmly on course for victory.Pretorius made 111 on his Championship debut and Wakely 102 – his first hundred of the summer – to help Northants take a first-innings lead of 190 before Sanderson claimed 4 for 13 in nine overs to leave Worcestershire 42 for 4 at the close, trailing by 148.It was a second dominant day for the home side who ground out 123.1 overs with the bat to make 376 before Sanderson seized his chance with the new ball in 17 overs Worcestershire were left at the end of the day.He drew edges from Daryl Mitchell to second slip for 4 and from Jack Haynes to the wicketkeeper for 19. Another one nipped away to flick the off stump of Callum Ferguson for a four-ball duck before he brought one back to pin Alex Milton lbw for an eight-ball duck.It was a wonderful spell of nine overs, five maidens, 4 for 13 which left Worcestershire with much to do to avoid an innings defeat.Northants’ day was set up in the morning session by Wakely and Pretorius, who arrived at the wicket for the start of play after Nathan Buck was removed from the game after being struck on the head on the first evening.Pretorius got off the mark straight driving Wayne Parnell for four and went back to cut Moeen’s first ball of the day past extra-cover. He slog-swept Moeen over midwicket for six but then should have been held on 25 when he lifted the offspinner to mid-off but Joe Leach spilled a straightforward chance.Moeen then went round the wicket and Pretorius sent him over deep midwicket again and drove him wide of point to put Northants into the lead. A short-arm pull past mid-on for four and a flashing drive through cover point brought him a seventh four an fifty in 67 balls.Resuming after lunch on 70, Pretorius lustily drove Parnell through cover point and next ball flicked him past midwicket for another boundary. Leach bowled short and wide and was cut hard past extra cover to take Pretorius into the 90s.A flick against Parnell past mid-on for four brought him closer to three figures, which he reached with a push into midwicket in 136 balls with 14 fours and those two slog-swept sixes against Moeen. He swung Ed Barnard to point soon after, becoming Worcestershire’s third wicket with the second new ball.The first of those was Wakely but only after a hard-earned ninth first-class century.Wakely resigned the captaincy back in May and has enjoyed some reasonable form since but this was his first major contribution to a Championship match.Returning on 63, he began his work for day two with a crunching back-foot drive for four off Parnell and two clipped threes through midwicket. An on-drive against Parnell took him past his highest score this season before a nudged single wide of mid-off brought him three figures.It was a grinding effort on a slow wicket in 233 balls with nine fours and a six and Wakely’s delight was obvious. But he could only add one to his lunchtime score before shouldering arms to a Parnell inswinger and losing his off stump.Adam Rossington also lost his off stump for 1 from a beauty from Leach and after losing Pretorius, Northants got stuck, failing to reach a fourth batting point despite only needing 26 in 11 overs. It was the only disappointing element to their day.

Chelsea continue to hold their interest in Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran despite Mauricio Pochettino's departure.

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Chelsea still keen on Duran Wanted to sign him in January Villa open to negotiations WHAT HAPPENED?

The 20-year-old Colombian forward has been a subject of speculation for several months, with Chelsea's interest showing no signs of waning despite the recent managerial change at Stamford Bridge. The Blues wanted to bring him on loan in January but had to pull out of the race as Duran suffered an injury while playing against Everton during the same month.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT DURAN'S AGENT SAID

Jonathan Herrera, who represents Duran, stated in an interview with El VBar Caracol that Chelsea's interest in the young striker is long-term and genuine.

"The interest has always existed," he stated. "The fact that Pochettino continues or leaves the club (should not affect), the one who wants him in the end is the club. He is a player who, whether they change coaches or not, is something we will see what happens, but there has always been an interest. Let's see how we can handle it and make sure Aston Villa is ready."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Chelsea are well aware that luring away Duran from Villa will not be an easy task. He was signed from MLS outfit Chicago Fire in a deal reportedly worth up to £18 million ($22m) in January 2023 and has a contract with the club until 2028. Hence, Villa would make sure they earn a hefty profit from the deal, especially after his heroics against Liverpool where he scored a brace to hold the Reds to a 3-3 draw.

"He is a player who has a contract with Aston Villa," Herrera said. "He ended up doing things very well and the coach is counting on him. It is a club that has gotten into the Champions League. It is a great opportunity, but we know that he wants to play, he wants to go out and play, let's see. Now the market is opening, the club is looking at some options and so are we.”

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR DURAN?

One of Duran's primary motivations is his desire for more playing time. Last season, he started only three Premier League matches for Villa, often finding himself on the bench. This limited role has been a source of frustration for the young striker, who is eager to prove himself on a bigger stage. If Chelsea can promise him minutes then the player should have no qualms about moving to Stamford Bridge – provided the Blues agree on a transfer fee with Villa.

Paceman returns to scene of Champions Trophy glory with hopes of emerging from lean 50-over form

Osman Samiuddin07-May-2019Mohammad Amir’s last-ditch audition for a role in Pakistan’s World Cup campaign could begin at the very ground where he was one of the architects of their memorable Champions Trophy triumph of 2017.Amir was not picked in Pakistan’s preliminary squad for the tournament but has been included in the 17-man squad for this England series, which begins tomorrow at The Oval. If he does start, it will be with the understanding that performances here could squeeze him into the final World Cup 15.So far on this tour Amir has appeared in just one of the four games Pakistan have played – a warm-up 50-over game against Northamptonshire in which he picked up 1 for 45.But it is understood that he will be part of Pakistan’s match-day 12 and depending on what the weather and surface look like in the morning stands a good chance to start.”As far as fast bowling goes, we will be flexible in this series, we will try and give Amir a full opportunity,” captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said. “The good thing is we have this opportunity to try out what we need to try out before the World Cup. We have till May 2 so we’d like to give Amir a full opportunity to stake his claim in the side.”If he does make it into the squad, it will hold some extra personal significance for Amir, being his first World Cup. He missed the 2011 and 2015 tournaments because of his five-year ban for spot-fixing.The word around Amir’s non-inclusion is that it is the kick he has long needed to put things right in the 50-over game. But given how lean a drought he has endured since that Champions Trophy final, he will still need to show some solid wicket-taking form to get back in.In the 14 ODIs since the final, he’s taken just five wickets, going wicketless in an innings as many as nine times. It’s been a strange run in which, though he’s rarely looked like taking a wicket, he’s also not looked awful. His economy rate in that period is 4.58, though if you take out games against Zimbabwe and Hong Kong that goes up to 5.28.But Pakistan already have two left-arm pacemen in the World Cup squad; the emerging Shaheen Shah Afridi, against whose dazzling and swift rise Amir’s own form has paled; and Junaid Khan, an exact contemporary of Amir’s through their earliest years, who without ever attracting the same attention has picked up far more wickets since the Champions Trophy.The arrival of Mohammad Hasnain has also made it harder for Amir. Hasnain has the one thing Pakistan’s squad has missed: genuine pace. It is something that Mickey Arthur in particular is very excited about, enough to overlook his extreme rawness. Hasnain has only played four List A games in his career, of which three were ODIs.If Amir were to perform in these ODIs, however, Hasnain or to a lesser degree Junaid might be most at risk of losing a spot.

Surrey’s Will Jacks smacked his way to a 25-ball century, including six sixes in an over, during a pre-season T10 clash with Lancashire in Dubai.Jacks hit Stephen Parry for six sixes in an over en route to his ton, which, had the match been officially recognised, would have beaten Chris Gayle’s world record for the fastest century in representative cricket, achieved in the 2013 IPL, by five balls.While it will not go down in the record books, Jacks passed the top score of 87 for the 10-over format achieved by Alex Hales last year.Jacks finished with 105 off 30 deliveries with eight fours and 11 sixes to lead Surrey to an impressive 176 for 3. Lancashire managed 81 for 9 in reply as Gareth Batty, who at 41 is more than twice team-mate Jacks’ age, took 4 for 21.Will Jacks struck his maiden Surrey century at the third attempt•Getty Images

“I didn’t think about the hundred until I was on 98 – it all happened quite quickly,” Jacks said. “Once I got to 98, I thought, ‘I’ll just knock it around for these last two and start again;.”Similarly, it was a little while before Jacks contemplated his sixth maximum off Parry. “After the fourth six I was thinking, ‘I’ve got a real chance here’, and when the fifth one just snuck over I gave it everything on the last one and that just snuck over too,” Jacks said.The 20-year-old Jacks made his debut for Surrey in first-class, List A and T20 last season, scoring 121 off 100 balls in a Royal London Cup match against Gloucestershire. He spent the English winter playing for University Cricket Club in Perth, Australia, before being called up to tour India with England Lions.

Sydney Sixers collapsed spectacularly, losing their chance to host their semi-final

The Report by Daniel Brettig10-Feb-2019

Glenn Maxwell’s brilliance and Sydney Sixers’ total collapse combined to serve up a semi-final berth for Melbourne Stars against Hobart Hurricanes, and a home semi-final for Melbourne Renegades, in an afternoon of high drama at the MCG.In the final qualifying game of the Big Bash League 2018-19, the Stars looked to be struggling to mount a defendable total in the first 15 overs of their innings, before Maxwell did nothing short of detonating as 77 runs were piled up in the final five. Maxwell’s innings, as captain of the Stars, not only pushed the hosts to a total unimaginable with five overs remaining, but appeared also to knock the stuffing out of the Sixers.Their innings was to trigger a series of surrenders in the face of Melbourne pressure, as all the Stars bowlers enjoyed success – none more so than the spin pair of Sandeep Lamichhane and Adam Zampa.Before Maxwell
Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques sent the Stars in to bat and, after a shaky opening over by Lloyd Pope, of which Marcus Stoinis took full advantage, the visitors appeared to have much the measure of their hosts on a pitch that offered some variable pace to the bowlers. Merely 1 for 39 from the Powerplay, 2 for 63 from 10 overs and 3 for 91 from 15 overs, the Stars were battling to put up a score that looked capable of being defended even if the surface offered some encouragement to spin.Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe both delivered economical spells, aided also by Sean Abbott. Maxwell, meanwhile, had fashioned his way to 17 from 20 without quite looking at ease. As captain he had witnessed Peter Handscomb depart after building a similar platform, and could not afford to do likewise. The cogs of Maxwell’s brain could be seen almost visibly to be ticking over as he pondered ways of lifting the Stars to higher ground. First, he sized up his erstwhile Test match team-mate Lyon, bowler of the 17th over.After Maxwell
Jumping down the track to Lyon’s second ball of the over, Maxwell found sweet contact and the crowd beyond long-on. When Lyon adjusted his length, Maxwell hung back to pull wide of long-on for four more. Sixteen from that over, despite the run out of Dwayne Bravo, had Maxwell and the Stars looking up, and they did not look back. Two fours and a six meant Abbott’s 18th over reaped 15 runs; a six and a four meant 15 more from Tom Curran’s 19th.But the best was saved for last, as Maxwell leapt three times into Ben Dwarshuis in the 20th, taking full advantage of the left-armer missing his ideal yorker length on both full and short sides. At the death, Maxwell had piled up 65 from 22 balls before falling, while the Stars’ tally of 77 between overs 16-20 was the most ever in the closing five overs of a BBL innings. At the end of a summer of some frustrations for Maxwell, he had delivered the kind of innings to underline the rare nature of his talent.Stars win through to semis
Left with a far steeper chase than anticipated, the Sixers were soon losing wickets. Bravo pouched a couple of early catches from miscues, before Maxwell chimed in once more to coax a top edged pull shot from his opposite number Henriques and claim wicket No. 3.Daniel Worrall’s bouncer/short of length combo had accounted for James Vince, and he then offered up an offcutter slower ball to have Daniel Hughes pushing tamely to shortish cover. At 4 for 34 inside five overs the Sixers’ chances of winning the game were all but gone, leaving swift recalculations by the visitors as to what they needed to do to retain a home semi-final against Melbourne Renegades. The magic number? 108.Sixers hand Renegades a home semi
Maxwell had kept his spin bowlers Zampa and Lamichhane in reserve, and they were to apply the final touches to an enormous Stars victory – enough to in turn ensure their rivals the Renegades found themselves hosting rather than travelling to face the Sixers in the knockouts. Both Zampa and Lamichhane found useful skid, bounce and spin off the surface, the better to flummox a Sixers lower order already one batsman short due to the balance of the selected side.Jordan Silk was stumped artfully by Handscomb off Zampa, Curran was lbw to Lamichhane’s googly, and the allrounder Abbott’s cut at Zampa resulted in a superb reflex catch by Maxwell at slip – this was a day on which he could truly do no wrong. By contrast, the bouncing bat of Lyon precisely at the moment the bails were whipped off by Handscomb for a run-out rather summed up the Sixers’ dirty day. They will now be back in Melbourne for the semis.

The fast bowler also singled out the difference Australia’s lower order made in the second Test

Melinda Farrell19-Dec-20183:55

‘We play our best cricket when we put emotion aside’ – Paine

Mitchell Starc expects the MCG pitch to be “a surprise” for both teams in the Boxing Day Test a year after it earned a “poor” rating from the ICC. During the Ashes the iconic Test of the summer subsided into a dreary draw on a surface that offered little assistance to bowlers.During the early rounds of the Sheffield Shield, head curator Matt Page has attempted to inject more life into the drop-in wicket by putting a layer of sand between the concrete base and the pitch trays and leaving more grass on the pitch, methods expected to be repeated for the Test. But while the drop-in block is due to be replaced in March, Starc admitted that, for now, conditions remain a mystery.”I don’t know what to expect,” Starc said. “I didn’t play last year. I had to watch from the side and it didn’t do a thing for five days so hopefully they’ve sorted it out. It sounds like they’ve been trying a few things with the Shield cricket there in the first few rounds.”I think it may be a surprise, what they actually dish out next week, but I think we’ll just sort of review this week and enjoy a moment of reflecting on the hard work we’ve had to do this week and then we’ll focus on Melbourne when we get there.”The hard work shouldered by Australia’s bowlers included their efforts with the bat and the respective depths of the two sides batting line-ups has been a significant factor in the series, keeping them in the contest in Adelaide and then helping set up a winning total in Perth.ALSO READ: MCG drop-in pitch to be upgraded to Perth standard”It’s an interesting one,” Starc said. “It’s something that we all work really hard at and we have done for a long time. Pat’s obviously fantastic at eight. He plays a bit more like a batter than the other three of us he can bat for long periods of time.”I think it just showed in Adelaide how many balls he can face and really he looks comfortable at the crease. He may not at times feel that way but he looks very comfortable and, when he’s batting with someone like Painey or other batsmen, it’s just fantastic. Those partnerships make India bowl a lot more overs and then the other three of us we just try and hang around a bit and score a few runs and face a few balls.”It’s something that I think our tail takes a lot of pride in. And then with the ball we’re trying to do the exact opposite for them and try to get them out really quickly.”To illustrate the importance of the tale of the tails, Australia’s Nos. 8-11 have made 227 runs off 520 balls in the opening two Tests, while India’s equivalents have made 51 off 228 deliveries. India’s decision to replace the injured R Ashwin with fast bowler Umesh Yadav lengthened their tail and put more onus on the top order to fire.”They had a longer tail this week,” Starc said. “Obviously bringing in an extra fast bowler, I guess someone like a Bhuvneshwar or a Jadeja who probably bat a bit better than perhaps maybe Umesh did this week, could have made things interesting – or another spinner.”But I think we probably over attacked a little bit in Adelaide and so I think we learned from that in the second innings in Adelaide and then this week. It was obviously a different wicket, we bowled a little bit differently to the tail this week.”We probably repaid a few favours which they did to us in the third innings so it’ll be a different story again next week I guess in Melbourne depending on what the wicket is.”

Having returned the best figures – 4 for 35 in his ten overs – in Pune, the returning fast bowler said the defeat in the third ODI shouldn’t be deemed as lack of depth in the Indian lower order

Varun Shetty in Pune28-Oct-20181:35

‘No guarantees in death bowling’ – Bumrah

Four of India’s five bowlers went at more than five per over, and no one from No. 6 in the batting line-up could make a score greater than 20 during India’s loss in the third ODI. But that wasn’t a full indication of India’s depth, said returning fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who was by far the best bowler of the match with 4 for 35 in his ten overs.”In Indian cricket, you don’t get an off season because we are playing continuous cricket,” Bumrah said on being asked if players were training for secondary skills. “Some of our players are injured and some are coming back from injuries. Right now, we are trying some combinations. You’ve got to take that into consideration as well. Players who can [both] bowl and bat are not available. Maybe once they are available, we will have more bowling options. The balance will be better.”Bumrah himself has had fitness concerns after transitioning into an all-formats bowler over the last year, and as such is one of the few players who has often been rested, as he was at the start of this series. But the fast bowler had no problems bringing his form from last month’s Asia Cup to Pune.”I was on a break so I was focusing on building the strength levels back up. When you [don’t] play continuously, the strength level goes down, so you have to bring that up because long tours are coming up. You have to put something in the time; that was my main thing. I was practising at the nets too, with match-like situations. Match feel is different, but if you could replicate that practice, that leaves you in a good space.”Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on the other hand, didn’t have quite the same success on his return, ending up going for 70 in his ten overs as West Indies’ lower order took India on in the final 15 overs. As opposed to India’s lower half, West Indies’ lower-order batsmen put on 92 runs between them, led by Man-of-the-Match Ashley Nurse’s 22-ball 40 that helped them post 283 after being five down for 121. Bhuvneshwar was especially targeted, being taken for 36 in his last three overs.”Bhuvi had a good start, but at times, things (go a bit off) towards the end. It happens. Bowling at the death is difficult. It is not like every bowler will have a good day. He gave runs in the end, but they batted well.
“We bowled well till 35-40 overs. We gave away runs towards the end, but that’s part of the game. In the position we bowl [death overs], there’s no guarantee of success. Some days it will go well, some days it won’t. He was clear in his plans but the batsmen were in a better place. We will be better prepared now,” Bumrah said.

China has long been described as a dormant superpower, but where cricket is concerned, it is clearly still in the deepest of slumbers

Andrew Miller10-Oct-2018

Nepal 29 for 0 (Bhandari 24*) beat China 26 (Lamichhane 3-4, Regmi 3-5) by ten wickets
ScorecardChina has long been described as a dormant superpower, but where cricket is concerned, it is clearly still in the deepest of slumbers.It took their next-door neighbours Nepal just 1.5 overs to hunt down a miniscule total of 26, as China slumped to their fifth defeat out of five in the ICC’s latest regional qualifier for the next World T20 in 2020.With a population of approximately 1.5 billion people, China has a burgeoning and focussed interest in global sporting prowess – from their hosting of the 2008 Olympics to the recent relaunch of the super-rich China Super League, they aim to create a GBP500 billion dollar sports industry by 2025.But where cricket is concerned, China remains way off the pace – despite the best endeavours of the former Bangladesh captain, Aminul Islam, who described himself as the “Neil Armstrong of Chinese cricket” when he was appointed by the Asian Cricket Council a decade ago oversee the growth of the game in the country.”We are putting extra effort into China, because without China, cricket is not a global sport,” Aminul told ESPNcricinfo back in 2010. On the current evidence, the sport will remain a second-class citizen for some years to come.In today’s non-contest, just one Chinese batsman, Hong Jiang Yan reached double figures – opening the batting he made 11 from 27 balls, having made scores of 1, 0, 1 and 1 in his first four outings of the tournament.Seven of their players made ducks, two of them falling to Nepal’s star of the show, the 18-year-old legspinner, Sandeep Lamichhane, who returned the stunning figures of 3 for 4 in four overs to take his tally for the tournament to 20 wickets in 17 overs at an average of 2.05.In reply, Nepal’s openers galloped to their total in an 11-ball flurry – with Binod Bhandari clobbering 24 of those in eight deliveries, with three fours and a six.Nepal have now won five games out of five, with a top-of-the-table showdown to come against Singapore on Friday. Both sides have already secured their progression to next year’s WT20 Asian finals, with Nepal sealing their berth with their 117-run win over Bhutan on Tuesday.For China, it’s back to the drawing board – although they have one last outing to come against Malaysia on Friday. And given that Malaysia themselves reduced Myanmar to 9 for 8 in another extraordinary contest on Tuesday, the portents are great.On the plus side, China still have time to get their ambitions in order before these beatings take on any official status. The ICC recently announced that all T20Is would be given full international status, but effective only from January 1, 2019.Fortunately, that edict won’t be extended to 50-over contests, in which China’s record is no better. In April 2017, they lost by 390 runs to Saudi Arabia after being bowled out for 28 in a World League Qualifier.

Warwickshire took further strides towards promotion with an innings win well inside three days

ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2018

ScorecardKeith Barker picked up five wickets as league leaders Warwickshire completed a comprehensive innings victory inside three days in their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at Grace Road.Barker’s haul gave the left-armer seamer eight wickets in the game, and with Warwickshire skipper Jeetan Patel picking up four second innings victims on a pitch that offered the offspinner both bounce and turn, the match was done and dusted well before tea.It was a perfect return for Warwickshire, who earlier in the day ensured they picked up maximum bonus points by hitting 16 runs off ten balls to reach 400 in the 109th over of their first innings, Chris Woakes finishing on 73 not out.Warwickshire sign Miles

Warwickshire have agreed terms with fast bowler Craig Miles to join on a three-year contract from Gloucestershire at the end of the season.
Miles, 24, made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire at 16 and has twice been involved in England training camps.
“Just three weeks ago Craig showed what an exciting prospect he is, by taking 5 for 69 against us at Edgbaston,” said Warwickshire sport director Ashley Giles. “He has the opportunity to go far in the game if he continues his development

Once they began to bowl, Barker immediately made the ball move, and a fine inswinger beat Leicestershire opener Paul Horton’s airy drive and uprooted his middle stump. Colin Ackermann’s off stump was clipped by an inswinger that straightened off the seam and a full delivery accounted for Mark Cosgrove, trapping the out of form Australian leg before deep in his crease.Opener Harry Dearden battled his way through until close to lunch, but did not read an arm ball from Patel, and he too went leg before just before the interval.The procession continued in the afternoon, as Neil Dexter, having attempted to slog sweep Patel off consecutive balls, tried it again and gave Chris Wright – placed at deep square the ball before – a simple catch.Former Warwickshire player Ateeq Javid may have been unlucky to be given out leg before to a ball that bounced and turned, but Barker returned to bowl Ned Eckersley.Ben Mike hit some defiant blows, lofting Patel for two straight sixes, but the end was not long delayed as Usman Arshad went leg before on the back foot, David Sayer was bowled by Barker and Mike hold out off Olly Stone.