His returns have dipped as the McCullum-Stokes partnership has flourished, but he’s finding his niche in the side once more

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Feb-2023A score of 57 for someone who has 84 fifty-plus scores – 28 of them hundreds – is small fry in the grand scheme of things. But Joe Root’s knock in England’s second innings of the first Test against New Zealand carried something more. A sense he is starting to fit in under the new regime.That might sound a little like heresy when talking about one of only two Englishman to pass ten thousand Test runs, second only to Sir Alastair Cook by 1,772 on the all-time run-scorer’s list, with time on his side to become No 1. Not to mention the fact that he’s averaging 50.68 since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge of the Test side at the start of last summer, after Root had stepped down as captain.But the 19 innings so far have been one of rediscovery. While the team has gone from strength to strength, a tenth win in 11 matches coming in Mount Maunganui, Root has lost his sense of equilibrium out in the middle. It began midway through the 2022 season, averaging 11.50 in the home series against South Africa, then just 25 on batting-friendly surfaces in Pakistan.Related

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It was in Pakistan that his career average dropped below 50 after moving it back to that figure – and beyond – with a stellar 2021. His McCullum-Stokes average is only as high as it is thanks to scores of 115 not out, 176, 86 not out and 142 not out in his first eight innings under their watch. That patch, he explains, came about through liberation from soul-crushing leadership duties.”I think if I’m being brutally honest with all, there was the initial relief of coming out of the captaincy,” Root explained. “Now I’m just trying to find out what my role is within this team.”It sounds silly having the experience I have, but you want to be involved and want to be a part of it. You want to heavily contribute, and I felt like I’ve not been able to do that the last few Test matches.”It’s nice in a small way to have a little bit in that second innings – runs wise and performance wise. I felt like I found a really good tempo in how I wanted to bat. I didn’t feel like I was in fifth gear, I felt like I was playing quite reserved in some respects but still scoring very quickly and I think that’s the beauty of the nature of this team. Because we can bounce off each other and already in a short space of time, some good relationships have been developed in that batting group and it’s leading to some wonderful results.”Tempo is the right word, here. The knock on day three at the Bay Oval came at a strike rate of 91.93, as England looked to take the game into the twilight period when they would get a second crack at New Zealand’s top order. Time rather than runs was the main focus, allowing Root to play his more natural game. Stuart Broad, who removed four of the top order that evening to leave New Zealand 28 for 5 after England eventually set them a target of 394, put it best: “Rooty found that ODI rhythm”.This is not so much a crisis of confidence or identity, but getting swept up in the wave of attacking batsmanship rather than riding it. The strength of the tides over the last nine months has evidently been too great to resist.”I’ve always bounced off the guys at the other end and tried to play what’s right in front of me. In the recent past it’s a case of … the rhythms of the game, I’ve maybe got a bit caught up in it. But I’m not too far away from what’s given me success.”I didn’t feel I tried to force it second innings and when I’m playing well that’s one of my strengths: I can score freely and I can rotate the strike. As soon as there are sweepers out, a deep point, I can drop it and get off strike, keep the scoreboard moving. I’ve not performed for a little while, so I had bit between my teeth second innings and it’s given me a little sharpener, a kick up the backside, that this is how I need to play my cricket. How I can be consistently useful in this group.”Is he overthinking all this? Talk of working out a format he has more or less cracked feels like he is. It does feel like he is workshopping a new sound when the classics still have their pull amid the techno blaring around him.He insists he’s not, and you will have to take that at face value. He has always been a batting purist rather than an obsessive, grooving in the nets until he feels comfortable rather than drained. “I’ve not gone full Matt Fitzpatrick on it,” he countered when asked if this professional introspection has involved any note taking. Fitzpatrick, a 28-year-old English golfer who won the 2022 US Open, has recorded every shot he has taken since the age of 15.And yet, there is a new club in Root’s bag that has become a lightning rod for what is perceived as unnecessary tinkering to a seemingly flawless square-on, high-elbowed approach. The now infamous square-on, reverse lap over the slips first got an airing in 2021 against Mohammed Siraj, but has been brought out regularly over the last year under Stokes where freedom of expression is encouraged.Tim Southee and Neil Wagner were on the receiving end last summer, and he used it during his recent ILT20 stint with Dubai Capitals. It looked in good order during the warm-up match, lifting Jarrod McKay over the fence in Hamilton on his way to a tidy 77.It also worked in the first innings at Mount Maunganui, Wagner again on the receiving end for four which took Root to 13. Alas, six balls later, an attempt to repeat the trick was caught well by Daryl Mitchell at second slip.Speaking to Wisden Cricket Monthly, he explained the rationale behind the “minimal risk” shot as a counter to a bowler operating on “sixth stump to a 7-2 off-side field”. The vacancy down at third man also increased its value, which was presumably the rationale behind the reverse sweep off Michael Bracewell that brought about his dismissal in the second innings. That was arguably much worse than his downfall in the first given it came at the start of the last over before the first break on day three.”Sometimes you get a good ball,” he joked. “In the book it’s caught first slip, isn’t it?””It was calculated: it was to get them to bowl both sides of the wicket, change their plans and in that middle session, force the game. You take calculated risks. I’ve got where I’ve got to by trusting my gut. It just didn’t quite work out: I just sort of middled the edge of it.”So, will he pack it away? No chance.”It’s not going to stop me playing it. Maybe just be smarter about playing it, having played it once, maybe look at my movements … because he bowled it wider. You have to give the bowler credit in some respects. But yeah, it’s now part of my Test game and I’ll continue to utilise it when it’s the right time.”

Scrivens, Grewcock, Villiers in the runs as habitual stragglers get off to flying start

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2023Sunrisers 288 for 7 (Villiers 70, Grewcock 69, Scrivens 67) beat Southern Vipers 162 (Bouchier 57, Maqsood 5-30) by 126 runsSunrisers finally won a Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match at the 21st time of asking as they thrashed two-time winners Southern Vipers by 126 runs.Grace Scrivens, Jodie Grewcock and Mady Villiers all scored half-centuries as Sunrisers totted up 288 at the Ageas Bowl.And despite Maia Bouchier getting off to a flier with 57 off 48 balls, Vipers’ star-studded side folded to Abtaha Maqsood’s five for 30 to get bowled out for 162.Sunrisers had suggested they would be a stronger proposition after a 100 percent record from their five pre-season run-outs, and now have a second victory as a region – following a single Charlotte Edwards Cup success in 2021.Nineteen-year-old Scrivens laid the foundations for the historic victory with a stunning 67.Scrivens will play for England at some point, the question is when? She was the third top run-scorer in last season’s Trophy before setting the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup on fire with 293 runs in seven innings, with her captaincy helping England to the final.It was no surprise that six of the eight regional captains picked her as the most exciting young player in the competition, with four predicting her to be the PCA’s Domestic Women’s MVP.Any extra expectation on her was shrugged off as she punished England fast bowler Lauren Bell with five boundaries inside the first five overs to start with a bang. Any width was nailed to the boundaries with supreme power.Sunrisers had chosen to bat first and lost Lissy Macleod to a clumsy piece of running, but Scrivens and fellow teenager Grewcock set the foundations for a decent score on a pitch perfect for batting.Northamptonshire-reared Grewcock rotated the strike, while Scrivens cruised to a 64-ball half-century – brought up with a luscious cover drive. The duo added 93 before Scrivens was stumped by the quick hands of Vipers debutant Rhianna Southby.Grewcock took a more active part with Villiers – who was dropped twice early on but motored through the gears. Grewcock reached her maiden professional fifty in 94, balls while Villiers quickly followed in 44 – an innings with included an outrageous six over cover.Their stand of 117 allowed the last ten overs to be used as a thrashing, with 86 runs coming and five wickets coming. Eva Gray clubbed 25 in 14 balls to headline the late-innings fireworks.Linsey Smith picked up three for 59, and whilst Georgia Adams was wicketless, she only conceded 34 in her 10 overs.Ella McCaughan fell swinging Kate Coppack to deep square leg in the fifth over and Georgia Elwiss was scratchy before picking out mid-on.But Bouchier was dominant in her strokeplay to give Vipers some control. She had scored 41 of a 58-run stand with Elwiss, with shots off her legs a real joy.Her fifty came in 39 balls, only to york herself when attempting to advance to Maqsood. Danni Wyatt and Adams fell in quick succession to leave Vipers 111 for five – with three wickets falling for just five runs.Villiers, capped 17 times by England, then bowled Charlie Dean and Linsey Smith in the same over – she ended with three for 52.Maqsood picked up her fourth when Mary Taylor’s leading edge chipped to Coppack before completing her five-for and the victory by bowling Alice Monaghan.

Defending champions record third straight win despite Holden half-century

ECB Reporters Network06-Jun-2023Hampshire seamer John Turner starred with three wickets on his Vitality Blast debut as the defending champions recorded their third straight win, holding off rock-bottom Middlesex at Radlett.The 22-year-old captured the wicket of Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi with his first ball in the tournament, finishing with 3 for 30 as the Hawks successfully defended a modest total of 164 for 6.Max Holden’s first Blast half-century of the summer, with 53 from 31 balls, had given the Seaxes hope of finally breaking their duck in the South Group as he and Ryan Higgins (43 from 35) added 60 for the fourth wicket.But Hampshire’s death bowlers held their nerve to ensure the home side remain winless in the competition, equalling their longest losing start to a campaign of seven defeats in 2006 and 2009.Hampshire skipper James Vince, who had smashed a match-winning 88 not out in the sides’ first meeting of the tournament, missed out this time after driving Josh de Caires’ second ball tamely to mid-off.But Ben McDermott was soon into his stride, pummelling Blake Cullen for successive boundaries and dispatching both Tom Helm and de Caires over the fence as he and Toby Albert shared a partnership of 56 from 38.Luke Hollman’s tight three-over stint of 2 for 12 broke the stand, luring Albert into a mistimed reverse sweep and the leg-spinner also prised out the big-hitting McDermott, caught at long-off just short of his half-century.
With Joe Weatherley and Aneurin Donald both holing out as de Caires recorded his best T20 figures of 2 for 34, the Hawks had lost three wickets for just 11 runs and they responded by shifting Chris Wood up the order to No.7.That move paid off as the quick hrashed 31 from 21 and he and Ross Whiteley, with an unbeaten 28 from 20, hauled Hampshire above 150 but Higgins, with four consecutive dot balls in the penultimate over, ensured they fell short of par.However, their total looked more than substantial after two overs of the Middlesex reply, with just two extras on the board and both openers back in the pavilion with ducks against their name.Eskinazi was caught miscuing a pull to midwicket off Turner’s first delivery and Joe Cracknell followed five balls later, leg before – but Holden and Pieter Malan kick-started the innings with a stand of 43 from 23.Malan, having advanced to 18 with two powerful leg-side blows off Wood, attempted to do the same against Nathan Ellis just before the end of the powerplay and was caught in the deep.Holden displayed a knack of picking out the gaps, carving Scott Currie to the cover boundary and clipping his next ball to leg for four more as Middlesex kept pace with the required run-rate.The left-hander brought up his 50 from 26 balls and Higgins was a more than capable foil in their partnership, bisecting the leg-side fielders perfectly to register successive fours off Wood.But Liam Dawson tilted the contest back in Hampshire’s favour, tempting Holden to top-edge a pull to short fine leg and Turner claimed his third wicket before Vince raced from mid-off and dived to pouch a skier from Higgins.Despite two boundaries by Martin Andersson to keep Middlesex in contention, a target of 15 from the final over proved too steep.

Bangladesh A were skittled for 96 after Vrinda Dinesh top-scored with the bat to help set a 128-run target

PTI21-Jun-2023The spin duo of Shreyanka Patil and Mannat Kashyap starred with the ball after a sedate batting effort to guide the India A team to the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup title with a 31-run win over Bangladesh A in the final in Mong Kok.Electing to bat, India A first posted a modest 127 for 7 before the bowlers rose to the occasion with Patil (4 for 13) and Kashyap (3 for 20) sharing seven wickets between them to bundle out Bangladesh A for 96 in 19.2 overs. Off-break bowler Kanika Ahuja also chipped in with two wickets.It was complete spin-show from the Indians with off-spinner Patil and slow left-arm orthodox Kashyap ruling the roost on a slow Mission Road Ground pitch. Sobhana Mostary scored 16, while Nahida Akter remained stranded on 17 not out for Bangladesh A.Vrinda Dinesh was the top-scorer for India with 36 off just 29 balls while Ahuja remained unbeaten on 30 off 23 balls. It was a struggle for Indian batters as only four of them managed double-digit scores with Bangladesh A bowlers picking up wickets at regular intervals, not allowing India to build any substantial partnership. Besides Vrinda and Ahuja, wicketkeeper Uma Chetry (22) and skipper Shweta Sehrawat (13) were the other two Indian batters to reach double figures.For Bangladesh, slow left-arm orthodox bowler Nahida Akter (2/13) and off-spinner Sultana Khatun (2/30) picked up two wickets apiece.India progressed to the final after their semifinal against Sri Lanka was washed out without a ball being bowled on Tuesday.In a bizarre run of events, India played only one game in the run-up to the final, their opener against hosts Hong Kong, which they won by nine wickets. India’s other three matches, including the semifinal against Sri Lanka, were washed out without a ball being bowled. In fact, rain played spoilsport throughout the tournament, forcing as many as eight games to be washed out.

Sri Lanka’s top four scored fifties before Hasaranga ran through UAE with figures of 6 for 24

Deivarayan Muthu19-Jun-20231:35

Samarawickrama: ‘Hasaranga is a champion bowler’

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis led a quartet of half-centuries from Sri Lanka as they dominated UAE and enjoyed a winning start to their World Cup Qualifier campaign in Zimbabwe.Openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka also struck fifties as Sri Lanka posted 355 for 6. Their attack was without Dushmantha Chameera, who was sidelined with a shoulder strain, but Wanindu Hasaranga bagged career-best List A figures of 6 for 24 to wreck UAE’s chase. Maheesh Theekshana and Dhananjaya de Silva backed Hasaranga up as UAE were rolled over for 180 in 39 overs.Allrounder Ali Naseer stood out amid the UAE rubble, following up his sharp spell of 2 for 44 in his ten overs with a sprightly cameo. Since making his ODI debut against West Indies earlier this month in Sharjah, Naseer has made scores of 58, 57, 13, and 34 in four innings in addition to fronting up to bowl the difficult overs.Related

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On Monday, Sri Lanka’s top four saw him off and lined up the other bowlers. Mendis treated wristspinner Karthik Meiyappan with contempt, taking him for 36 off 18 balls. Having sussed out that Meiyappan was repeatedly dipping into his wrong’un and not threatening the stumps enough, Mendis attacked him with a variety of sweeps. Contrastingly, Hasaranga and Theekshana didn’t give up the stumps and didn’t give UAE’s batters as many chances to employ the sweep.Samarawickrama also played a number of inventive strokes during his 64-ball 73, the pick of them being a ramped four off Naseer in the 44th over. Samarawickrama had initially shaped to scoop the ball over short fine leg, but Naseer shifted his line even wider of off. Samarawickrama was so switched on that he changed his shot at the last instant and ramped it over wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind. He had forged a 105-run partnership for the third wicket with Mendis off 77 balls, which formed the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s innings.Before they had got together, Nissanka and Kartunaratne had also done their bit by countering the early-morning swing and seam movement. Karunaratne was the more fluent of the two openers and was responsible for six of the nine fours Sri Lanka had scored in the powerplay.But Sri Lanka had to wait until the 48th over for their first six. Charith Asalanka injected greater urgency into the innings when he shanked Muhammad Jawadullah over wide long-on for six. Then in the next over, he launched Rohan Mustafa for another imposing six. Hasaranga joined the hitting spree in the final over, thumping Zahoor Khan for three fours off four balls.Wanindu Hasaranga registered his career-best List A figures•ICC/Getty Images

Hasaranga then ran rings around UAE in their chase, though some of their players have played with – or against – Hasaranga during the inaugural ILT20. They struggled to pick his wrong’un in particular as the wristspinner went on to record his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.”He [Hasaranga] is world-class, one of the best bowlers in the world right now,” Aravind said at his post-match press conference. “We did look at videos and tried to analyse what he does. But of course once you are playing it, it is a different story. Credit to him, he bowled really well today.”Naseer aside, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem (39) and vice-captain Aravind (39) were the only batters to pass 30 in the chase.When the two teams last met at the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, Meiyappan picked up a hat-trick, and overshadowed Hasaranga, who was his senior during his IPL stint as a net bowler at Royal Challengers Bangalore.On Monday, it was Hasaranga, the master, who bossed his protégé and UAE.

With Ireland having qualified for next year’s T20 World Cup, selector Andrew White said the wider focus is now to build towards that showpiece event

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2023Allrounders Fionn Hand and Gareth Delany make a return to the Ireland squad for the T20I series against India later this month. They come in at the expense of wicketkeeper-batter Neil Rock and pacer Graham Hume – these were the only changes to the Ireland squad that featured in the T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier in Scotland in July.Ireland had secured their spot in next year’s T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and USA, finishing in the top two along with Scotland in that qualifier. Andrew White, Ireland men’s national selector, said the idea now is to build towards that showpiece event.”The recent qualifying campaign in Scotland was the first stage of our strategic planning for next June’s T20 World Cup,” White said. “We currently have around 15 T20Is scheduled between now and the World Cup, so it is important that we use each of these to continue to build on areas that the coaching team have identified.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We only have a limited time between now and the end of the 2023 domestic season, so it’s also crucial that we use what opportunities we have to provide exposure and experience to a pool of players who we believe are in contention for making that World Cup squad. Giving opportunities to players also filters down the series themselves, so I would expect that all of the 15 players named in the India series squad will feature at some point.”Hand is back in contention for the first time since Ireland’s one-off Test against England at Lord’s in early June. Delany was part of the ODI squad that played the 50-over World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June-July, but he had to leave that tournament with a broken wrist. Unlike the T20 version, Ireland failed to seal their spot at the ODI World Cup in India later this year after a forgettable campaign in Zimbabwe.The T20Is against India are set to be played in Malahide on August 18, 20 and 23.Ireland squad for India T20I series: Paul Stirling (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Theo van Woerkom, Ben White, Craig Young
In: Gareth Delany, Fionn Hand
Out: Neil Rock, Graham Hume

The video was ultimately deleted and an updated version that does feature Imran Khan was published by the PCB

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2023Wasim Akram has criticised a PCB video released on the country’s Independence Day, on August 14, for the conspicuous absence of their only ODI World Cup winning captain Imran Khan. The PCB released a two minute-plus video on August 14 with the hashtag #BeyondJustOneDay, highlighting the major contributions of some of their top players and some of the highlights from Pakistan cricket, since 1952 when they played their first international game.Akram tweeted on Wednesday that he got the “shock of his life” when he watched the video and urged the PCB to delete the video and “apologise” for leaving Imran out of it.”After long flights and hours of transit before reaching Sri Lanka, I got the shock of my life when I watched PCB’s short clip on the history of Pakistan cricket minus the great Imran Khan… political differences apart but Imran Khan is an icon of world cricket and developed Pakistan into a strong unit in his time and gave us a pathway… PCB should delete the video and apologise,” the tweet said.