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Allrounder says Australia “travelling really well as a group” despite absence of Meg Lanning

Valkerie Baynes20-Jun-2023Tahlia McGrath has described the fact that Australia were pushed by England A in their Women’s Ashes warm-up as the perfect preparation for the series.England A bowled Australia out for 284 in the first innings of their three-day, red-ball warm-up match in Leicester last week then piled on 562 in reply, led by centuries to Lauren Winfield-Hill and Paige Scholfield.”It was perfect prep for us,” McGrath said at Trent Bridge, two days out from the Test which will begin the multi-format series. “We really enjoyed it. We got tested, we had a long day in the field and we had some really good moments and some moments that we’ve had some really good discussions about and reflected on. From a preparation point of view, we couldn’t be happier. We’ve had some really good chats, reflected and we’re going into this five-day game really confident.”Related

• Lanning ruled out of the Ashes, Healy to lead Australia

• Australia 'a little bit rattled' by Lanning's sudden Ashes withdrawal

• Litchfield still pinching herself at Ashes prospects

• From sickbed to Ashes hotbed, Kate Cross is ready to be England's Test spearhead

McGrath is vice-captain for Alyssa Healy, who in turn will lead the side in place of regular skipper Meg Lanning, who was ruled out of the tour for medical reasons. McGrath said she was impressed with how Australia had adapted in the circumstances.”Meg’s an outstanding captain and it’s obviously going to be a bit different without her, but everyone’s stepped up and just found that five percent extra,” she said. “It’s a collective approach with the side and Midge [Healy] is doing an outstanding job with leading from the front. Every time she speaks, everyone stops and listens. So we’re finding everyone’s stepping up and doing that little bit extra and we’re travelling really well as a group.”McGrath has been hugely impressed with Phoebe Litchfield, who is expected to open alongside Beth Mooney as Healy moves down the order to manage her workload, which also includes keeping wicket.Litchfield scored 68 during a 167-run stand with Annabel Sutherland, who made 116, as Australia reached 371 for 7 in the second innings of the warm-up game.”Phoebs has been unreal,” McGrath said. “If I was her, I’d be quite nervous, my first major tour away, and she’s like she’s been doing it for years.”She’s absolutely killing it, extremely hard working at training, and she’s so hard on herself, she just wants perfection. I’m really enjoying watching her journey and I’m excited for her, if she gets the opportunity, to watch her go out there and do her thing.”I look at our squad and I’m just excited about how much talent there is. You look at the Phoebe Litchfields, the Darcie Browns, yes, they’re young in age but wow, they’re serious cricketers. I don’t think it matters who we put on the park, it’s going to be a really good team and yeah, we’re missing a bit of experience but we’ve got some talent and we’ve got a lot of domestic experience behind us as well so I’m excited for different individuals to stand up at different times.”England enjoyed the best of the weather on Tuesday and were able to train on the outfield at Trent Bridge while Australia had been forced to train entirely indoors due to heavy morning showers. But McGrath didn’t believe that would dent Australia’s hopes of taking four points from winning the Test, which looks set to be played in finer conditions and with a fifth day providing an added buffer against a draw.”That’s one thing we were really excited about, the prospect of a result, and both teams play a really aggressive brand of cricket and are both in some really good form at the moment,” she said. “Personally, I love the five days I’d love to see it from now on. That’s where I stand on it. But we’ll leave that for others to decide.”If any moisture remains in the air, McGrath will look forward to the chance to try and swing the red Dukes ball, which she said had provided a learning experience in terms of how to use it, but a welcome one ahead of just her fourth Test appearance in what will be 53 matches for her country.”I’m feeling really good,” she added. “If you’d asked me a couple of months ago, maybe a different story when I was learning the red ball. But we’ve all put in a lot of hard work, we’ve had a lot of discussions as a team, a lot of discussions with our skill group coaches… everyone’s feeling really good about their game.”We’ve had a decent training block where we’ve trained pretty uncomfortable at times and we’ve come out better for it, so I personally go in full of confidence and I know for a fact that the team goes in really confident as well.”

Former players weigh in on the controversial dismissal at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-20231:37

Was Cameron Green’s grab out or not?

Shubman Gill’s dismissal in India’s second innings of the World Test Championship final sparked debate over whether the catch taken by Cameron Green at gully was clean or not.It was a spectacular effort from the 6’7″ Green once again. He had taken a high one-handed blinder with his right hand in India’s first innings to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane, and here he had to dive low to his left and pluck the ball milliseconds before it hit the turf. Replays though suggested it was a close call.Both Gill and his opening partner Rohit Sharma had seen the edge dying on its way to the cordon, so they waited, bringing the TV umpire into play. Previously, contentious catches referred to the TV umpire used to come with a soft signal – out or not out – from the on-field umpires, and there needed to be conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision. The ICC has only just scrapped the soft-signal rule, and this was the first instance of a TV umpire adjudicating a contentious catch on his own. In this case the TV umpire Richard Kettleborough saw enough from the visuals to suggest Green had got his fingers under the ball.Rohit didn’t agree though. He seemed to mouth an audible “No” as the “Out” flashed on the big screen at The Oval. Gill, also, put out a tweet after the day’s play, using emojis that suggested he did not believe it was a clean catch. The replays on the broadcast lost a frame between Green catching with his fingers underneath the ball as he fell to the grass and then throwing it up in celebration. Did the ball in that frame – as he rolled his hand over – touch the turf? There seemed to be no conclusive evidence to say either way, and both of ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day experts – Sanjay Manjrekar and Brad Haddin – were of the opinion the right decision had been made.”When you see it real time, it is very important thing to see and something I have advocated to a lot of people about when there is a review for a low catch that goes upstairs to the TV umpire, they get a lot of angles and the frozen image is something that sets the cat among the pigeons,” Manjrekar said. “The viewers see the frozen image and see the leather touching the turf … in real time, it looked like a pretty brilliant catch, just a nice motion. If you ask me if that was a catch, I’d say, yes, brilliant catch.”Haddin said: “I thought it was a clean catch and Green got his fingers underneath the ball. I like it at real time because if you slow it down too much and look at different frames, it can create a lot of doubt. In this case, he had his fingers under the ball and it was a clean catch.”The catch that Cameron Green took to dismiss Shubman Gill•Getty Images

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting also agreed with the interpretation that it was a fair catch. “When I saw it live, I knew it had carried to him on the full, but I wasn’t sure what the action was after that from all replays we have seen,” he told the ICC. “I actually think some part of the ball did touch the ground and it is the interpretation of the umpire that as long as the fielder has complete control of the ball before the ball hits the ground then it is out. That must have been what the umpires’ interpretation was and I think that is exactly what happened. It carried probably six or eight inches off the ground then there was another action after that.”Former India allrounder and coach Ravi Shastri, speaking after the day’s play, said two fingers under the ball often means the ball has touched the ground but, in this case, he could certainly see why the umpire when with the out decision. “If I saw what I saw there as the third umpire, it’s very difficult to say that the ball hit the ground, because you could see the two fingers under it,” Shastri told Star Sports. “I’ve always believed when it comes up with two fingers, the chances of the ball touching the ground are much more as opposed to three fingers, where the three fingers come under the ball. So what I can see of Cameron Green there, there are two fingers. So it’s a tough one, but you go down the umpire’s route, he has to be convinced that the ball has touched the ground.”And let’s not forget, he has got giant fingers, he’s a big fellow, and you can see the angle of the fingers, it’s under the ball. You’ve got the thumb on top, the fingers are wrapped around the ball. Richard Kettleborough, I can see where he’s coming from.”Former Australia opener and coach Justin Langer, on the same segment on Star Sports, agreed with Shastri’s assessment. “Richard Kettleborough is a world-class umpire, and what he goes on, he had to probably give it out. The other thing that I always find interesting is the initial reaction of the fielder. Cameron Green got underneath it and was convinced he had caught it. Often if there’s any doubt, you can see it in the body language of the fielder.”Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh and former India batter Virender Sehwag both said the replays viewed by the third umpire were inconclusive, and giving the batter out based on those visuals was incorrect. “Inconclusive evidence. When in doubt, it’s not out,” Sehwag tweeted, while Harbhajan told PTI: “The replay was inconclusive. They should have zoomed in on his fingers closely before taking the call. It could cost India dearly in the run chase.”That was the last action before the tea interval on the fourth day, with the players leaving the field to boos from the largely Indian crowd. Gill fell for 18 off 19 with his team 41 for 1 in 7.1 overs in a chase of 444.

Anthony Everard, the head of the Big Bash League, talks about plans to expand its fan base, and what he has picked up from other franchise-based competitions

Interview by Freddie Wilde05-Dec-2015Last season you had a lot of success – TV ratings went up, average attendances went up. How do you feel you can build on that success?
There’s two things we are focusing on: one is that as much success as we’ve had in recent years we’ve still got a lot of empty seats in our grounds, and that applies to some teams more than others. The clubs in the smaller venues are pretty full, but the majority of teams have still got seating capacity, so we are encouraging them to make sure they are chasing down additional ticket sales.Beyond that the research has indicated that while there’s a pretty strong following of the BBL, not a lot of people have chosen to follow a particular team. So it is really important to us that we drive that passion and engagement with a particular club. A lot of the fans, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney, where you’ve got the two teams [each], are still to commit to a team.Do you still feel it was the right decision to have two teams in Melbourne and Sydney?
Yes, totally. We always felt it would be the right decision to give those teams the chance to establish fan bases concurrently rather than start with one team in Melbourne and Sydney and a couple of regional teams. It would always be a huge challenge for a second team to come into the town when the other team had had a five- to ten-year head start.It is obviously really important for us to have strong representation within the two biggest commercial markets within Australia and Channel Ten are very supportive of that.How have you tried to distinguish teams in the dual-team cities? Is it a geographical thing, or is there a deeper distinction between the two?
In Sydney you could argue there is a geographic divide. That’s not the case in Melbourne, where both stadiums are in the CBD. Originally we really took a lot of learnings from other leagues around the world: look at the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers, or Manchester City and Manchester United, with everything from colours through to other brand elements and values. We really tried to separate them, so although I appreciate it is marketing talk, they do represent a reasonably strong contrast on paper.

“We did some research last year with some mums who weren’t cricket fans. One of them was looking up at the vision screen and said, ‘I can find Smith, I can find Watson, but I can’t find sundries!'”

The [Sydney] Sixers have built themselves as a really strong entertainment brand. The [Sydney] Thunder are a bit more grounded, in terms of their community outreach, etc. The [Melbourne] Stars consider themselves very much as the Melbourne sporting fabric at the MCG, while the [Melbourne] Renegades offer something very different in a stadium with a roof and the motocross at the innings break.At the beginning of the BBL, teams had a biography on their website. The Stars stood for the traditionalists and the Renegades were the rebels. Is that something you felt would translate seamlessly into their promotion, or did you feel it was a bit forced?
We designed eight distinct brands, all of whom occupied a different space. We actually revisited that last year. We had a brand consultancy come in and help us. You can’t artificially manufacture brands, and ultimately it is how the clubs actually represent themselves, whether it is through their match-day experience, how their players engage with fans, the way they dress their venues.How involved is Cricket Australia in consulting the separate teams with regards to marketing?
Not really. We’ve established a framework within which the clubs operate. From a marketing perspective, Cricket Australia conducts the national campaign and the clubs are responsible for their local market engagement. We leave them to their own devices. We were very central to the establishment of the brands to make sure they were occupying reasonably different spaces and we avoided duplication were possible. We are certainly close to what they are doing and there’s a certain set of principles that everyone buys into upfront and then off they go.Which clubs do you feel are doing the best?
The one-team towns have a natural advantage. If you live in Adelaide, by and large you are going to support the Adelaide Strikers. And Perth, Hobart and Brisbane. So they have all done a good job. We must admit we are all surprised by how quickly the fans have got on board with their clubs. If you go to a Perth Scorchers game you’d think that club has been around for 30 to 40 years. Everyone is wearing the orange gear, it’s incredibly parochial. In Melbourne and Sydney it’s taking a bit longer, and that’s for the reasons we discussed earlier.”The Stars consider themselves very much as the Melbourne sporting fabric at the MCG, while the Renegades offer something very different in a stadium with a roof and the motocross at the innings break”•Getty ImagesLast season the semi-final structure received a lot of criticism when first-placed Adelaide Strikers lost in the semi-finals. Why has the BBL not adopted a CPL/IPL style playoff structure?
It comes down to time available to play matches. Adding a prelim would add an extra three days to the season [allowing for travel]. This would result in more afternoon matches [half the ratings of a night match], or the season continuing outside the school holiday period. For now we consider that the pros don’t outweigh the cons. But we are open-minded about different finals systems into the future.Have you considered the possibility of expanding the season to include home-and-away matches in the future?

We are starting to consider a future approach to growth for BBL, which contemplates a variety of options – more games, more teams, finals etc. It’s early days and we won’t rush. We need to consider which option helps best achieve our objective of new and diverse fans – not expansion for expansion’s sake, or purely commercial reasons. Our focus now is successful delivery of BBL5. We’ll know more early to mid-next year.Before last season the BBL wasn’t quite making a profit, but according to former BBL chief Mike McKenna, it was on track to, and a couple of teams were making a profit. What’s the latest situation with regards to that?
They actually all made a profit last year – the first time all teams have made a profit. Part of that was funding from Cricket Australia. So I don’t think it’s fair to say they are all standing on their own feet just yet, but that’s to be expected. We envisaged that at this early stage of the league we would support them financially. The encouraging thing is, in only four short years they have made a profit. From year one to year four, their reliance on central funding is decreasing substantially. In year one, funding as a percentage of overall revenue was 67%. That number last year was down to 50% across the league, and this year it will dip below 50%. So that trend is heading in the right direction and they’ll all be budgeting again for profits this year. So we are certainly encouraged by the direction in which their financial health is going.

“You can’t artificially manufacture brands, and ultimately it is how the clubs actually represent themselves, whether it is through their match-day experience, how their players engage with fans, the way they dress their venues”

How long do you envisage it will be until they can stand on their own feet?
We haven’t put a time frame on that. We have this year and next year, when our funding level is committed, so they have another 18 months of certainty. But Cricket Australia still sees BBL as our fan and customer acquisition arm of the business, so we don’t shy away from the fact that we need to invest in that. This is not a purely commercial exercise. If we see that we need to continue to support the clubs and invest in particular areas, which may be families, or women, or different ethnic groups, we’ll redirect some of that funding to make sure it’s being spent on particular areas that will ultimately deliver a greater return.Have you looked at the possibility that the BBL could, in the more distant future, become Australian cricket’s No. 1 commercial property?
I think the view of Cricket Australia is that there is room for all three forms of the game. Certainly in the short to medium term, the commercial engine room is still international cricket, and that’s from a media-rights perspective, sponsorship and gate receipts. There is an enormous gap in the money that is derived from international cricket relative to BBL. I know that is not necessarily consistent with other countries around the world, but from an Australian perspective, the view is to use the different forms of the game as a competitive advantage for cricket over other sports. Ultimately I guess the fans will determine what the landscape will look like in the future.How is the BBL doing abroad? Are you eyeing overseas viewers as well?

It’s a secondary consideration for us. The BBL was established around capturing a more diverse and younger audience around Australia. That is the rationale for the significant investment that Cricket Australia has made into the league, and that absolutely remains our priority. The BBL revenue is an outcome rather than a focus area, so if we are putting a fantastic, entertaining league, as part of that we are going to grow attendances, more people will be watching on TV in Australia and the revenue will come.”The BBL was established around capturing a more diverse and younger audience around Australia. The revenue is an outcome rather than a focus area”•Getty ImagesIs there any thought to expand the number of overseas players permitted?

It’s been spoken about since the first season. We made a slight change where we relaxed the conditions around replacement players. Obviously you’ve got your two primary overseas players and if they get injured or get called up for international duty, you can get a replacement. So you can have four overseas players in your squad and two on the park. We think that has worked pretty well. The players’ association may have a different view. If we opened up an overseas spot, that’s eight domestic players who may not get on the park. When the BBL is being played there’s a hell of a lot of international cricket being played, and I would be doubtful that we’d get real high-quality players that would add value.Do you feel that the BBL can lay claim to being the leading T20 league in the world?
They are all very different, aren’t they? The IPL is in a league of their own. They have a structural advantage in that they have a window and everything is just on a different scale in India anyway. We certainly talk to our counterparts in the other leagues, but we don’t see each other as competition. We’ve got a really close relationship with Damien [O’Donohoe] at the CPL.Obviously the more alignment we can get between the league, our clubs and our broadcasters around that, the better. And if we all do a good job on that then the crowds will come and people will tune in on TV etc.You went to the IPL final last season. What were the things that you have taken out of other leagues that you feel that you can translate into the BBL?
I thought they did a really good job at simplifying the vision screens and using them in a simple but effective way. They were very good at how many runs off how many balls. For a new fan they did a much better job than we do to actually explain what’s going on in the game.We did some research last year with some mums who weren’t cricket fans. One of them was looking up at the vision screen and said, “I can find Smith, I can find Watson, but I can’t find sundries!” She thought sundries was a player. Do you really need sundries up there? That’s something we are focusing on this season. It’s a fine line. You have to make sure your fans can follow the game. But you don’t need Duckworth-Lewis up there, you don’t need extras.What has worked in sport in the past is not what the fans want in the future, and that’s the philosophy we are adopting at the BBL.

A worrying new Liverpool exit claim has emerged, with one star player now reportedly close to completing a deal to join another club.

Liverpool contract concerns

While Reds supporters will be hoping to see new faces arrive at Anfield in January and next summer, the contract situation of three star players is dominating the headlines currently.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all out of contract at Liverpool at the end of this season, at which point the iconic trio will be allowed to leave on a free transfer. They are even able to strike a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from January 1st.

It remains to be seen how many of the three will sign extensions with the Reds, but as things stand, it arguably looks as though Van Dijk and Salah are the most likely to. Both are now in their 30s and there are no specific clubs being mentioned as alternative options for them, so the hope is that their futures are sorted sooner rather than later.

With Alexander-Arnold, however, there is constant speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid, with the reigning Champions League winners seeing him as a perfect option to come in and be Dani Carvajal’s long-term successor at right-back. That’s not to say that a new contract won’t be signed, and one has been offered, but it feels far from a given currently.

Alexander-Arnold close to leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid

According to AS [via Sport Witness], Alexander-Arnold is edging closer to joining Real Madrid from Liverpool, with an agreement ‘almost complete’.

A January switch is preferred by the La Liga giants but could be unlikely; however, there is confidence at the Bernabeu that they can strike a summer deal for the services of the 26-year-old.

This isn’t an update that any Liverpool fan will enjoy seeing, considering Alexander-Arnold is arguably someone with more ability than any other full-back in world football.

At 26, his prime years are also potentially about to arrive, unlike Van Dijk and Salah, so to lose their vice-captain at this point in his career would be an almighty blow. He is irreplaceable in terms of his technical ability and creativity, with Neil Jones saying of him back in 2022: “He may be flawed, but he’s still a genius. But then you knew that anyway, right?”

Ultimately, the decision rests with Alexander-Arnold, who has to weigh up whether to remain at Liverpool and possibly end up becoming captain of his boyhood club, or succumb to the lure of Madrid, playing alongside some of the biggest names in world football.

In fairness, it is easy to see why he may feel conflicted, considering he has won all there is to win for the Reds, with a fresh challenge at his peak appealing to him.

As well as Nunez: Slot must boldly drop Liverpool's "special" talent

Liverpool travel to West Ham as Arne Slot looks to preserve his unbeaten record on the road this season.

By
Angus Sinclair

Dec 29, 2024

The likes of Steve McManaman and Michael Owen did the same in their careers, however, and it arguably affected their reputations among Liverpool supporters, which he may be wary of.

RB Leipzig are “1000 per cent” certain that former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will not be returning to management in their hot seat.

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• Klopp fills role for Red Bull
• Head of Global Soccer
• Will not return to dugout

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Klopp, who severed ties with Premier League giants at Anfield in the summer of 2024, is among those responsible for a vacancy opening up at the Red Bull Arena. Marco Rose has been relieved of his duties with the Bundesliga giants.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Klopp is now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, meaning that he had a say in Rose being ushered through the exits. There are, however, no plans for the 57-year-old to step back into the dugout less than a year after leaving those stresses behind on Merseyside.

• WHAT RB LEIPZIG SAID

  Leipzig’s supervisory board chairman, Oliver Mintzlaff, told when asked about the chances of Klopp succeeding Rose: “I would do that before then. And nobody wants to see that. So I can rule that out 1000 per cent.”

• Getty Images
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Ex-Hungary international Zsolt Low has taken over on an interim basis, with there no plans to hand him a permanent coaching role either – having left a post alongside Klopp in order to take on caretaking duties.

Southampton are rock bottom of the Premier League currently and look to be sinking straight back to the Championship in a sorry fashion.

Indeed, the depressed Saints find themselves on just five points at the very foot of the difficult division with only one win next to their name and an alarming 12 defeats tallied up.

Looking back, Russell Martin must wonder if the transfer window in the summer could have been approached differently, with various new faces at St. Mary’s failing to settle.

Southampton's 2024 summer transfer window

Not every purchase can be written off as an outright failure, with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Taylor Harwood-Bellis standing out in defence for their side, even in spite of their lowly position in the league standings.

Ramsdale has been calm and collected when playing out from the back while Harwood-Bellis’ form has been rewarded with an England debut, a match he just so happened to score in too.

Moreover, the relegation-threatened Saints bringing in the likes of foreign imports Mateus Fernandes and Yukinari Sugawara as transfer gambles have worked somewhat too, with the promising Portuguese midfielder in particular standing out, who is now up to 14 first-team appearances in the Premier League.

Of course, other risks such as bringing in Ben Brereton-Diaz haven’t paid off at all, as the ex-Blackburn Rovers star continues to misfire up top in his new kit with zero goals registered from ten top-flight appearances.

There have also been buys that have underwhelmed to date, with Flynn Downes falling into his category after penning a permanent Saints deal in the summer.

The former West Ham United face was key in the centre of the park for Martin’s men during their unbelievable promotion journey – having been a silky operator with a stunning 93% pass accuracy averaged per Championship clash – but he hasn’t been as noticeably bright for his South Coast side as they battle against the drop.

It likely hasn’t helped the 25-year-old’s situation that he has lacked a consistent partner centrally, with Southampton now left to just curse the fact one ex-Saints star isn’t around to line up next to Downes to give the basement club a sterner figure in the middle.

Former Southampton star perfect for Downes

Southampton supporters would have been rightfully aggrieved when Oriel Romeu walked away from St. Mary’s in the summer of 2022, having been a loyal servant to the Saints for seven whole years after signing for £5m.

In that time, Romeu would notch up a mightily impressive 256 appearances in total, with eight goals and six assists coming his way, alongside praise from ex-Southampton boss Claude Puel in 2017 that boldly compared his game as a holding midfielder to that of Chelsea star N’Golo Kante.

Alongside always putting in above-average performances – much like the Frenchman was renowned for at Stamford Bridge – Romeu was also capable of firing home a stunning strike from nothing like the one below against West Bromwich Albion.

Southampton would grow to rely on their “fantastic” number 6, as he was once labelled by Ralph Hassenhuttl when he was manager on the South Coast, to deliver top displays week in week out, with his exit two years ago then understandably hurting.

Looking at the above table from his swansong season in England, it’s evident that Romeu would complement the likes of Downes well if he was still on the books, with the Spaniard equally as calm and composed on the ball as the ex-West Ham man whilst also offering more grit and bite with 5.5 duels won on average.

He hasn’t relented since leaving Southampton either, with Romeu going on to be a hit in his native country for Girona with 11 first-team appearances under his belt this season in La Liga, after also donning a Barcelona strip briefly.

Whilst Romeu gets to enjoy the glitz and glamour of the Champions League with his current employers, Downes will be hoping he can guide his team to safety somehow, with that task looking more and more tricky as defeats begin to stack up.

Archer axed for £25m signing in Southampton's dream XI after January

Southampton could well be busy this January transfer window as Russell Martin adds in a whole host of new players.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 23, 2024

Hetmyer continues to miss out; the squad for UAE series includes four uncapped players

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2023West Indies have named allrounder Keemo Paul and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie in the squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe as well as the three-match series against UAE before that. Both Paul and Motie last played an ODI in July 2022 and were forced to miss the subsequent New Zealand series with injuries.Shimron Hetmyer, meanwhile, did not find a place in either squad.The roster for the UAE series, which will form part of the preparations for the qualifiers and will be played in Sharjah, also includes four uncapped players – left-hand batter Alick Athanaze, as well as allrounders Kavem Hodge, Dominic Drakes and Akeem Jordan.Paul had recently returned to domestic cricket, scoring 53 runs and taking five wickets for Guyana against Trinidad & Tobago in the four-day West Indies Championship in March. He is currently with Lucknow Super Giants as a net bowler in the IPL.”Paul is a three-dimensional player, who can bowl the new ball effectively, he is dynamic in the outfield and he can also make vital runs,” lead selector Desmond Haynes said. “He is now fully recovered from injury and with his skill set, we see him as a potential match-winner for us.”Motie was excellent in the Test matches in Zimbabwe earlier this year, where he took 19 wickets, and we anticipate similar conditions for the qualifiers. We believe he will again relish the chance to bowl in those conditions. He is also a capable batsman and good in the outfield.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shai Hope will lead the side in both assignments. Brandon King will be his deputy for the UAE series, with Rovman Powell, who is currently playing in the IPL for Delhi Capitals, taking over for the World Cup Qualifier.Apart from Powell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd and Paul are the others from West Indies’ IPL contingent who are part of the World Cup Qualifier squad. All of them have been given permission to return to the Caribbean for a short break before arriving in Zimbabwe.”We see this as a crucial tournament as we look to secure one of the two places left in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India,” Haynes said. “Therefore, we have selected a balanced team which we believe is well-equipped to get the job done in the conditions we anticipate in Zimbabwe. It will be a challenging tournament, it will be intense and competitive, there is no doubt about that. In speaking to the players, they are fully aware of the job at hand. We are happy with the preparations and the mindset of the players, and everyone is clear about their roles in the squad.”For the matches against the UAE in Sharjah, this presents a chance for some other players who are not in the squad for the qualifiers to get an opportunity at the international level as we look to expose more players.”Squad for UAE series: Shai Hope (capt), Brandon King (vice-capt), Alick Athanaze, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Kavem Hodge, Akeem Jordan, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith, Devon ThomasSquad for World Cup Qualifier: Shai Hope (capt), Rovman Powell (vice-capt), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd

The Ashes are regained, but England have been horribly poor at The Oval not least in their playing of Nathan Lyon which does not bode well for challenges ahead

George Dobell at The Oval22-Aug-2015Leonard Cohen almost certainly wasn’t thinking about England’s tour of the UAE when he wrote “I’ve seen the future, brother: it is murder” but he might as well have been.To see England’s batsmen grope and prod at the offspin of Nathan Lyon at The Oval was to be filled with trepidation for how England will manage when they take on Pakistan in a couple of months. They were criticised for urinating on the pitch the last time they celebrated winning the Ashes here in 2013; you could make a strong argument to suggest they did something far more unpleasant on it this time.Lyon is a fine bowler. He is the best Australian offspinner since Tim May, at least, and perhaps the best for some time before that. But he is a traditional offspinner – the sort that England players used to be brought up against – and this Oval surface is what old timers might have described as a slow turner. The surfaces in the UAE will turn and skid far more.In Pakistan’s legspinner Yasir Shah they will also come up against a bowler with far more weapons than Lyon or Steven Smith, the part-time legspinner who dismissed Alastair Cook here. Bearing in mind that England lost 3-0 the last time they played Tests in the UAE, at the start of 2012 after they had just risen to No. 1 in the world rankings, it is hard to be wildly optimistic over how they will fare this time. Mahela Jayawardene, who will be with the team as a batting coach for the first couple of weeks of the UAE tour, may feel he has to be an alchemist.England have long had a poor reputation against spin bowling. While they may have consoled themselves, at times, in the belief that it was only against wrist spin or mystery spin that they have struggled, there have been enough days against the likes of Rangana Herath and Abdur Rehman – pretty conventional spinners – to suggest the problem goes someway deeper.The evidence has been clear to see in this match. England batsmen have been dismissed in ways that betray basic failures against basic spin bowling. That is not to say the bowling was anything other than good; but that it was often clear what Lyon was trying to achieve and England’s batsmen really should have had the ability to counter it a bit more effectively.Take the example of Ben Stokes on the third day. Stokes was drawn into a drive by a beautifully flighted off-break delivered from round the wicket that turned, perhaps out of the rough, took the outside edge and carried to slip. Easy.Or take the example of Jonny Bairstow. Pushing half forward with hard hands to one from over the wicket, he turned a catch into the hand of short-leg as obliginglyas if he had been organising catching practice. Horribly simple.Or take the example of Jos Buttler in the first innings. With Lyon bowing round the wicket, Buttler was drawn into driving – with his front foot having moved perhaps an inch – and was bowled through a gate so large you could place stone lions on either side.On each occasion, the batsman made a basic error. On each occasion, the batsman was too timid to leave their crease, yet pushing for the ball in a vaguely aggressive manner. On each occasion they were unable to reach the pitch of the ball and pushed with hard hands. Perhaps because they have so little faith in their defence against spin bowling, they seek to attack instead. Against good bowlers in helpful conditions at Test level, it is a method that is destined to fail.Cook showed – as he did in India in 2012 – how it could be done. Learning from his first innings dismissal, when he was bowled playing half forward to a fine delivery that turned and beat his outside edge, he made a noticeable effort to reach further forward in the second innings to smother the spin. And when Lyon compensated by pulling back his length, Cook deployed his trademark cut shot. He did not attempt to push for the ball – only four runs in his innings came in the V between mid-on and mid-off – and while he finally fell – failing to get to the pitch of a leg-break from Smith – he had given his side an outside chance of salvaging a draw if the weather intervenes on days four and five.England should not allow that to mask the obvious deficiencies they have shown here, though. They need to examine why they are producing so few spin bowlers and why they are so poor at playing it. They need to ask questions of those charged with developing the skills and put in place mechanisms to correct the shortfalls.Part of the problem is the lack of quality spin bowling that developing England players face in county cricket. With much of the County Championship programme squeezed into the opening weeks of the season – weeks when the pitches offer little assistance to spinners – there is less reason for counties to invest in spinners with red ball skills.Instead, there has been an emphasis on slow bowlers – and the distinction between slow bowlers and spinners is relevant – with white ball skills. England have a plethora of men who can bowl a tight couple of overs in a T20; they have almost nobody who can bowl in the attacking manner Lyon has managed in this series.The problem is exacerbated by the policy of financially incentivising counties to select young players. It has purged the game of mature performers; not necessarily international-quality players, but experienced performers who added to the quality of the domestic game and the knowledge in domestic dressing rooms.But the ECB meddling does not stop there. They have also had a habit of penalising counties who prepare pitches that offer ‘excessive’ turn, while pitches which offer excessive assistance to English-style seamers are usually tolerated. There was an obvious example at Hampshire a couple of seasons ago when, despite the game going into the fourth day (albeit the first was washed out), the club were harshly penalised.As a consequence, some of the skill has gone out of the game. There are a few old-timers left – the likes of Gareth Batty and James Tredwell – but they are the wrong side of 30 (quite a way the wrong side in Batty’s case) – while Nottinghamshire picked 40-year-old Gary Keedy earlier this season.Men from a previous age – the likes of Vic Marks, John Mortimore, Eddie Hemmings, Don Shepherd, Rodney Ontong, Norman Gifford and Brian Langford – who all played little or no Test cricket, would all soar in the current playing age.There will be calls to recall Monty Panesar ahead of the UAE trip. But while he bowled nicely there on the last tour and it is pleasing to see his personal problems have eased sufficiently for him to return to the professional game, it would be a major surprise if they have improved sufficiently to render him able to tour.Instead, alongside offspinner Moeen Ali and legspinner Adil Rashid, England may look at the left-arm spin of Zafar Ansari to the UAE. Not only has Ansari claimed 39 first-class wickets this season – he is missing Surrey’s current Championship game due to a hamstring injury – but he has, at times, opened the batting. His batting average is only 30.18 but he is young – 23 – bright and his talent and temperament are rated highly.It would be a big ask for a young man and a reminder that, despite the Ashes win, England are at the early stages of their development. There is a long, long way to go.

The attacking pair combined for a brilliant goal as the Blaugrana won at the Metropolitano to set up a mouth-watering meeting with Real Madrid

Barcelona secured their place in the Copa del Rey final as Ferran Torres' first-half strike secured a 1-0 win for Hansi Flick's side against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

The second leg started out in much the same fashion as the 4-4 first-leg meeting, with both sides attacking at will, and Cesar Azpilicueta was the subject of a VAR review for a red card after fouling Raphinha within the first six minutes, but the referee opted to stick with his initial decision of a booking.

Before the half-hour mark, Ferran was sent through by a brilliant pass from Lamine Yamal, and the stand-in striker, replacing Robert Lewandowski, found the bottom corner with a smart finish to give Barcelona a 5-4 aggregate advantage.

On 40 minutes, Raphinha had another excellent chance for Barca as they again broke the offside trap, but his effort, from an angle, was well saved by Juan Musso.

At half-time, Atleti boss Diegoi Simeone introduced Alexander Sorloth, and he went close within five minutes, finding the side netting from close-range. The substitute striker then thought he had levelled proceedings in the 68th minute after springing beyond Ronald Araujo as the last man, but the strike was correctly ruled out for offside.

Atletico pushed and pushed, but they simply didn't have the quality to get in behind and find a leveller, and Barca will now take on Clasico rivals Real Madrid in the final on April 26.

GOAL rates Barcelona's players from the Metropolitano…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Wojciech Szczesny (6/10):

  Always in complete control of his area. Didn't have to make a save, as Atletico failed to have a single shot on target.

  Jules Kounde (7/10):

  Got forward regularly and has found a consistency to his deliveries into the box. Had to deal with Griezmann floating between the lines and did so well.

  Pau Cubarsi (7/10):

  Strong and composed defensively. As he's just back from injury, though, Flick opted to protect him and subbed him before the hour.

  Inigo Martinez (7/10):

  As strong and dogged as ever defensively. Slightly thrown by Sorloth's introduction, but stood his ground well against the big man.

  Alejandro Balde (6/10):

  Not able to offer quite the same amount of thrust as he usually does due to Atleti's high press. Fine defensively, but it was notable that he didn't offer as much in the final third.

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  Midfield

  Frenkie de Jong (7/10):

  A tidy, if understated, midfield performance. He allows others to do the flashy stuff, but without him, Barcelona's machine wouldn't run anywhere near as efficiently.

  Fermin Lopez (7/10):

  Buzzed forward whenever he could and linked well with Torres. Subbed before the hour for Araujo as Flick made a tactical adjustment.

  Pedri (8/10):

  Some gorgeous passes. One within a minute could have seen Yamal open the scoring, but his cut-back was well intercepted. He runs games, and while he couldn't quite dominate here, this was another fine midfield display.

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  Attack

  Lamine Yamal (9/10):

  A gorgeous pass for Ferran set him away before he opened the scoring. Left bleeding by one challenge but kept going. He is utterly brilliant with the ball at his feet, and he unlocked this tie for Barcelona with a moment of magic. As a reminder, he's 17.

  Ferran Torres (8/10):

  Scored an excellent goal, timing his run perfectly and finishing coolly. Subbed for Lewandowski after some impressive work up front.

  Raphinha (7/10):

  Took a nasty knock from Azpilicueta in the first five minutes and Atletico targeted him continuously, such is his talent on the ball. Had a couple of chances but couldn't find a way to finish. Commendable that he was so willing to get on the ball, given the hosts' rough tactics.

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  Subs & Manager

  Ronald Araujo (6/10):

  On for Fermin. Some strong clearances – one denying Atleti at the last – but his passing radar was somewhat off.

  Eric Garcia (6/10):

  Replaced Cubarsi. Clattered immediately and required treatment, but kept playing as Barca saw the tie out.

  Robert Lewandowski (6/10):

  Replaced Ferran with 20 minutes to go. Held the ball up when he could, but wasn't given a chance to shoot.

  Gerard Martin (N/A):

  On for Yamal for the last few minutes.

  Hansi Flick (8/10):

  Perhaps a little too defensive in the second half, allowing Atletico to carve out some chances, but Barca are into the final. A clean sheet at the Metropolitano should always be commended, and starting Ferran proved a masterstroke.

Geraint Jones plays the final match of his 16-year career at Lord’s tomorrow, ten years on from the defining moment of his life

Andrew Miller18-Sep-2015Geraint Jones is back in familiar surroundings. Leaning on the upper balcony of the Underwood Knott stand at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, he’s back at the county that he’ll always call home.”Kent has been a huge part of my career, the major part of my career,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “Without the opportunities here I wouldn’t have had the career I had. I do enjoy coming back here, I know all the Kent guys, it’s easy to come and have a chat with them. I’ve watched all the changes in the ground from when I first arrived – the old [lime] tree was still standing, none of the development had happened. I’ve really seen Kent evolve over the years.”His 15 seasons with the club were spent living up to some of the grandest reputations in English wicketkeeping, and he let no-one down in that regard – 14 hundreds and more than 450 dismissals in 150 first-class appearances, plus 34 Test caps, confirm his right to be mentioned in the same breath as Les Ames, Godfrey Evans and Alan Knott, the most illustrious of his precedessors.But Jones’s last hurrah comes as neither a Kent player nor a wicketkeeper. It takes place tomorrow against Surrey at Lord’s, as Gloucestershire’s No.4 in the final of the Royal London Cup.It’s a send-off that Jones could hardly have envisaged at the start of what had threatened to be a tricky final summer. With the emergence of Sam Billings encouraging his quest for pastures new, Jones’ initial plan after relocating from Canterbury to Bristol had been to serve a two-year term as the county’s four-day captain. However, it quickly became apparent that the fire in his belly was not burning quite as brightly as it once had.In July he stepped down as captain and announced his impending retirement, having read the runes in a fast-developing changing-room and recognised that, in the twilight of his career and with a glut of young players seeking first-team opportunities as well as an ambitious new coaching partnership of Richard Dawson and Ian Harvey at the helm, his presence in the side was proving more of a hindrance than a help.”I could have hung on and carried on playing, but it got to a point that it felt right,” he says. “A young squad needed to work out a few things about some players moving forward. At 39 I’m not getting any younger, so it was in the best interests of the squad. This is Daws’ first year, he inherited the squad, he inherited me as captain of the four-day stuff. And I had my family to consider. It just felt all right.”But then, barely a week after he’d made his decision, Iain Cockbain, Jones’ replacement as four-day leader and a shoo-in in all formats, suffered a broken wrist while batting in the nets at Cheltenham. And, as Dawson succinctly put it, Gloucestershire responded by putting another token in the coin-op, as the old stager was restored to centre stage for the Royal London leg of the summer.”Iain Cockbain was our first name on the team-sheet in white-ball cricket,” Jones says. “I might not have featured had he not been ruled out. But his injury gave me my chance and to go all the way to a Lord’s final and hopefully lift the trophy at the home of cricket, it’s incredible really.”Gloucestershire go into the final under no illusions about their underdog status. The phenomenal form of Michael Klinger, with 531 runs at 132.75, has been the single biggest factor in their re-emergence as a one-day force. But Jones’ role as the experienced old lag in the middle-order has been invaluable at several crunch stages of the competition, not least the quarter-final victory over Hampshire, when he sealed their progression with a six in the penultimate over.”I’ve been very happy with my contribution,” Jones says. “I’ve batted at 4 which is new to me, but it’s a responsibility that I’ve really enjoyed. The fact that the games were pretty regular allowed me to stay in form, and I felt that I did really contribute in the early rounds, and the quarter final.””The good thing about us playing Surrey is they are a known factor,” he adds. “We played them in the T20s and lost off the last ball, then in the rounds of the competition we lost a fairly close game. We know what we are getting. They’ll have Jason Roy back who’s been playing well for England and Kumar [Sangakkara] had that incredible knock [in the semi-final against Nottinghamshire] but we quietly fancy our chances because we know what we are up against.”The big factor will be to enjoy it. To get to the final, the hard work has been done in a way. The more you can enjoy it, the better your day will be. I won’t put too much pressure on myself, I just want to enjoy the day, enjoy it with my team-mates, and hopefully at the end of the day the right result for us will have happened.”There’s a clear serenity to Jones’ final days in the game. His time is up and he’s not afraid to embrace it, but his future is mapped out to a greater degree than that of many retiring sportsmen. He’ll always have his family farm to keep him busy – (“There are a few jobs that need doing,” he concedes, “a bit of weeding and some fences to mend”) – but his next full-time step will be a job as the cricket professional at Brentwood School in Essex, where he’ll be doubling up as the third XI football coach during the winter months.Jones has played some key roles in Gloucestershire’s run to the Royal London final•Getty Images”I knew I wanted to stay within cricket,” says Jones. “I’ll be working with talented youngsters, nurturing guys in the Essex set-up, and maybe helping a few guys get to first-class level. But it’s not just the upper end, hopefully I’ll be showing my love for the game to anyone who wants to do it at the school.”It is a role, he admits, that had been bubbling in the background even before his move to Gloucestershire. “As a cricketer you do worry when you’re coming to an end,” he says. “Getting a real job, taking the next step, what are you going to do? So to have this opportunity helped me make my mind up.”If the timing seems apposite, then it is merely a continuation of a season-long theme for Jones, for whom barely a day has been allowed to pass without reference to the summer of all summers, ten now-distant years ago.It is ten years to the week, in fact, since Jones was recovering from the greatest hangover of his life, following the open-top bus celebrations and the party in Trafalgar Square that heralded the end of England’s 18-year wait for the Ashes.”It’s reaffirmed to me how great a summer that was,” Jones says. “The matches, the way the public got involved, the disbelief at the people who came to watch us on the bus. People are still thinking about it, but for me it was the best time of my life, without doubt.”The summer wasn’t without its stresses, however, with Jones’ glovework in particular coming under scrutiny from first ball to last. And yet, when it came to the crunch, on that unforgettable Sunday morning at Edgbaston, his nerve held firm as he swooped to scoop that catch off Michael Kasprowicz, to seal the two-run victory that changed Ashes history.”It’s the only moment I’ll be remembered for, to be honest,” he laughs. “That’s what I tell everyone. I’ll be remembered for one catch. It came to me in slow motion in my mind, I’m watching it go into my gloves and rolling over, then seeing Billy [Bowden]’s crooked finger go up, and then me going a bit mental.”Again I’m happy with that. It was a big moment, not only in that series, but such an iconic moment in Ashes cricket. To be the man with gloves at that moment, taking the catch, is a very special memory to have.”He’s been storing up the memories in the final days of his career, but Jones still hopes that there’s one last triumph to come.”Gloucestershire are a side who, two or three years down the line, can be a very competitive team so to get to a final this year has probably surprised me,” he says.”The bowling aspect has really impressed me. They are local lads in their early 20s, who’ve really stood up in white-ball cricket. Liam Norwell has had a breakthrough year, Craig Miles is in the development programmes, David Payne has been brilliant bowling at the death.”And then there’s Jack Taylor, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with the amount of belief he has, he’s won two or three games off his own back, with the bat more than anything. As a group they can get better with that belief in each other, but individually they are very exciting.But Surrey are a good side, a young side themselves, the transition they’ve been through is what you are seeing with English cricket as well, and it’s the right way to go about things. Graham Ford had some wonderful years at Kent and I’ve a huge admiration for him and Alec Stewart. But I’d still like to beat them, that’s for sure.”