Torrid Footitt presses for a Test debut

January 20, 2016

Mark Footitt must wonder how many chances he will have for a Test debut © Getty Images Had a stranger wandered into England’s net session in Centurion on Wednesday, they could have been forgiven for concluding that Mark Footitt was the outstanding bowler in the squad. Footitt, bowling with pace and skill, made life torrid for all the batsmen. Jonny Bairstow, arguably England’s man of the series, was twice drawn…

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SA coaches deserve 'a lot more respect' – Elgar

January 20, 2016

South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo is under pressure after a string of poor results © Gallo Images Dean Elgar has provided a forceful defence of South Africa’s coaching staff, who have taken a public battering in the aftermath of the team’s back to back series defeats. Head coach Russell Domingo and his slew of support staff were most heavily criticised by former captain Graeme Smith who questioned whether the management…

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Bayliss hails Rashid BBL stint a success

January 20, 2016

Trevor Bayliss has hailed Adil Rashid’s spell in the Big Bash League as an overwhelming success as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker prepares to feature for Adelaide Strikers in tomorrow’s semi-final against Sydney Thunder. Rashid played in all three of England’s Test matches against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2015, but Bayliss felt the leg-spinning all-rounder’s time would be better spent Down Under preparing for the…

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Afghanistan U-19 draw inspiration from senior team

January 20, 2016

Ihsanullah had turned out for Afghanistan in the previous Under-19 World Cup as well © ICC Neither of the three captains from Group B teams, Ihsanullah, Abraash Khan and Charith Asalanka, were short of confidence, but it was the Afghanistan Under-19 captain who firmly said that his team had set sights on the title. Ihsanullah, the younger brother of Nawroz Mangal, drew confidence from Afghanistan’s series win against Pakistan in…

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Afghanistan U19 draw inspiration from senior team

January 20, 2016

Ihsanullah had turned out for Afghanistan in the previous Under-19 World Cup as well © ICC Neither of the three captains from Group B teams, Ihsanullah, Abraash Khan and Charith Asalanka, were short of confidence, but it was the Afghanistan Under-19 captain who firmly said that his team had set sights on the title. Ihsanullah, the younger brother of Nawroz Mangal, drew confidence from Afghanistan’s series win against Pakistan in…

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Morgan plays visually impaired cricket

January 20, 2016

[embedded content] England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan was put through his paces like never before during a recent net session at Lord’s. Morgan joined the England Visually Impaired squad for practice as they prepare for the upcoming Blind Cricket Ashes in Australia. Matt Dean’s side will play three Twenty20s and five one-day internationals Down Under as they seek to regain the Ashes, having lost 3-0 at home to Australia in…

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Vince and Curran star in Lions victory

January 20, 2016

England Lions 194 for 5 (Vince 70) beat Pakistan 192 (Alam 51, T Curran 3-29) by five wicketsScorecard Tom Curran picked up 3 for 29 for England Lions © Chris Whiteoak England Lions took the opening match of their one-day series against Pakistan by five wickets with an efficient all-round display in Dubai. The captain James Vince starred with a brisk 70 as England chased down 193 with nearly nine…

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Umpire Benson to retire following surgery

January 20, 2016

ECB today announced long-serving umpire Mark Benson will step down from his role as a result of a back injury which required surgery. Benson, who played one Test match and one ODI for England in 1986, became a first-class umpire in 1997, before officiating an international match for the first time in 2004. Since then he has umpired the World T20 final in 2007 and been a member of the…

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Ishan Kishan relishes the pressure of expectations

January 20, 2016

Ishan Kishan on Rahul Dravid: “His words have a lot of value for us. His appearance is very important especially when we are in a pressure situation.” © PTI India Under-19 captain Ishan Kishan has said that he is enjoying the expectation on him to win the trophy, like Virat Kohli did in 2008 and Unmukht Chand four years ago. He has said that he finds inspiration in the fact…

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Cook set for debut as Rossouw released

January 20, 2016

Stephen Cook talks with Russell Domingo © Getty Images Stephen Cook has moved a step closer to making his Test debut against England in Centurion after Rilee Rossouw was released from South Africa’s squad to play for his franchise, Knights, in the fifth round of the Sunfoil series which starts on Thursday. Stiaan van Zyl, the incumbent opener alongside Dean Elgar, was let go from the squad yesterday after his…

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