Mushfiqur happy in new role as batsman – and father

Mushfiqur Rahim has already made a sound start to his new role in the Bangladesh team: that of just a batsman. Coincidentally, it has come at a time of personal joy. On the day after the Chittagong Test, his wife Jannatul Kifayat gave birth to their first child.Ahead of their training session at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Monday, Mushfiqur treated everyone to sweets. The 92 first-innings runs in Chittagong must have added to his joy as it was an important contribution to the team, while also giving him a personal boost.In December, BCB had ousted Mushfiqur as the Test captain (handing over the job to Shakib Al Hasan) after Bangladesh’s diabolical tour of South Africa where he also courted controversy by criticising the fast bowlers and suggesting that the team management gets away with losses while the players don’t. With Liton Das also being given a longer rope as the regular wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur’s job in the team became more condensed.Mushfiqur said that now he has to solely think as a batsman, and he is enjoying the new role. “There was always pressure but as a captain, I was an automatic choice,” Mushfiqur said. “Now as a top-order batsman, I have to perform. I tried to give my best in the last game. I was unlucky in the second innings, the ball wasn’t that great. I will keep trying, and get more runs in the next game.”I had three jobs and now I have one job. I always try to perform my responsibilities to the best of my ability. I scored while being the captain and wicketkeeper and I even got out for a duck. I have to face whatever comes in front of me, and go forward. I am enjoying it.”Mushfiqur said that he misses at least one side of wicketkeeping, which allowed him to have a closer look at the pitch. But, otherwise, he believes Liton is in it for the long haul. “I always enjoy fielding. Keeping wicket of course gives you a better perspective, especially about the wicket,” he said. “But I am happy. Liton is batting and keeping well and I think he can give serve Bangladesh cricket for eight to 10 years.”Although Shakib had inherited his job, Mahmudullah was the captain in the first Test that Mushfiqur has played after losing his captaincy because of Shakib’s injury. Mushfiqur said that Mahmudullah is a kind of captain who chooses to lead by example.”I liked his captaincy,” Mushfiqur said. “He has been a good captain at the domestic level including the BPL. He tries to lead by example with his performance. He says what he believes in, which also inspires me. The team is really looking forward to playing under him in Dhaka.”

WATCH: Artem Dovbyk completes stunning six-minute hat-trick for Girona to draw level with Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham at the top of La Liga scoring chart

Girona star Artem Dovbyk scored a sensational hat-trick within six minutes as he fired his side into a clear lead against Sevilla on Sunday.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

  • Dovbyk scored three times in six minutes
  • Now has 14 goals in La Liga
  • Joint-top with Madrid star Bellingham
  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    It was an incredible start to the game as Sevilla took the lead after just 10 minutes through Isaac Romero. Just three minutes later, Dovbyk pulled his team level and then added a second almost immediately afterwards. In the 19th minute, he lashed the ball low into the net from outside the box to complete his hat-trick.

  • Advertisement

  • WATCH THE CLIP

  • Getty Images

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    The 26-year-old forward's treble takes his goal tally in La Liga to 14, putting him level with Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham at the top of the scorer chart. The Ukraine international also has five assists to his name, one fewer than Toni Kroos and Villarreal's Alex Baena.

  • ENJOYED THIS STORY?

    Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

  • Getty

    WHAT NEXT FOR GIRONA?

    Girona are still going strong at the top of La Liga, though Real Madrid sit just a point behind and have a game in hand over the shock leaders. After Sunday's game they will turn their attention to Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash against Mallorca, followed by a clash against Celta in La Liga.

Thigh injury forces Tamim to return home, to miss start of BPL

Tamim aggravated the injury he suffered during the second Test, forcing him to miss the rest of the South Africa tour and at least two weeks of Bangladesh’s premier domestic T20 tournament

Mohammad Isam20-Oct-2017Tamim Iqbal has been ruled out of the rest of Bangladesh’s tour to South Africa after aggravating the injury on his left thigh muscle for the second time in two weeks. He will return home on October 22, and is set to miss at least the first two weeks of the Bangladesh Premier League, which is scheduled to begin on November 4.Tamim had first injured his left thigh during the practice match at the start of the tour in Benoni and in the first Test in Potchefstroom, which he played carrying the injury. Both instances occurred when he was fielding.Despite not being 100% fit, he played the second ODI in Paarl. Before the game however, he had said that he was risking another injury.At the time, Tamim said: “If I get injured again [in the same spot], then I will be out for two months which I hope the team management doesn’t want and neither do I.”When he played in Paarl, there were many who were dismayed by the team management’s decision to risk an in-form batsman, like Tamim, who had already aggravated the injury during the first ODI. Bangladesh, meanwhile, have also lost Mustafizur Rahman due to an ankle injury.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin, on the South Africa tour as manager, has said that Mominul Haque, who is in the ODI squad, will remain with the team for the T20Is as Tamim’s replacement.

Nottingham Forest Book Medical For Exciting £15m Signing

Nottingham Forest have scheduled imminent medical tests to finalise a summer deal for Manchester United star Anthony Elanga, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Who is Anthony Elanga?

Elanga is primarily a left-sided winger who has played his football at Old Trafford for the past eight years having graduated from the club’s academy to get promoted to the first-team fold back in January 2022, as per Transfermarkt, but there’s a chance that he could be on the move during the present window.

During the 2022/23 Premier League season, Erik Ten Hag only handed the 21-year-old five top-flight starts and he was reduced to coming off the bench as a substitute on 11 occasions, via WhoScored, showing how out of favour he is and highlighting that he needs to leave should he want to receive more regular game time elsewhere.

The Telegraph have reported that despite interest from West Ham United and Everton, the Sweden international turned down the chance to join David Moyes’ and Sean Dyche's sides and instead has opted to make the switch to Steve Cooper’s men, with The Athletic revealing that the Reds have had a £15m offer for the attacker accepted in M16.

So far this summer, the Midlands outfit have finalised a permanent deal for Chris Wood who initially joined on loan from Newcastle United and most recently they confirmed the arrival of defender Ola Aina from Torino, and the club’s third recruit could be about to walk through the doors at The City Ground.

Are Nottingham Forest signing Anthony Elanga?

Taking to Twitter, Romano revealed that Nottingham Forest have already agreed with Manchester United for a medical to take place for Elanga, whilst also providing an update on their pursuit of goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who Cooper is keen to secure following his successful loan spell last season.

“Nottingham Forest are insisting on Dean Henderson as negotiations are ongoing with Manchester United after loan bid sent earlier this week. Medical booked for Anthony Elanga after permanent deal agreed on Friday.”

Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga.

How many goals has Anthony Elanga scored?

Whilst Nottingham Forest will know that Elanga wasn’t given a fair chance to prove what he was capable of last season, the left-winger has racked up a total of 50 goal contributions (30 goals and 20 assists) in 124 appearances since the start of his career, so should he put pen to paper, he could be reborn under Cooper.

The CAA Stellar client can pose a huge threat in the final third having ranked in the 92nd percentile for most attacking touches in the opposition’s penalty area, whilst averaging 3.59 shot-creating actions per top-flight match last term was also impressive even though he was a bit-part player, as per FBRef.

The Malmo native, who has the versatility to operate in five different positions across the pitch, including everywhere across the frontline, also has bags of experience under his belt having previously played in both the Champions and Europa League competitions, so he would be able to instil a much-needed winning mentality and increase the level of performance in the Midlands.

Middlesex sneak it to leave Warwickshire adrift

ScorecardA match that might have finished in an historic tie just went the way of Middlesex after a tense and absorbing conclusion, providing the defending champions with only a second win of the season and the hope that they might yet claw back more of the space that opened up between them and leaders Essex with last week’s thumping defeat at Chelmsford.None of the ties in first-class cricket has featured identical totals in both innings, yet that prospect was on the cards here as Middlesex, who had looked as though they would reach their target comfortably while Nick Compton and John Simpson were together, began to lose wickets with disconcerting regularity in the post-lunch session.Warwickshire fought as you would expect from a side desperate for a win and stand-in captain Jonathan Trott was never without an idea that might make something happen, but they are now 48 points adrift from safety,They gave themselves a substantial shot of hope and adrenalin before lunch when Jeetan Patel managed, seemingly against all probability, to draw Compton out of his crease and had him stumped.Until that moment, Middlesex looked in command, needing 112 with six wickets in hand. Yet Warwickshire, who have not enjoyed too many good moments in a largely dismal season, used that wicket as a motivational factor and had a fresh determination as they emerged for the afternoon session.Ryan Higgins at first maintained Middlesex’s momentum but Warwickshire somehow kept themselves in it. A fine catch by William Porterfield, diving forward from gully, removed Simpson off Rikki Clarke. And from 170-6, needing 64, Middlesex stumbled three more times.James Harris was unable to get out of the way of a super ball from Boyd Rankin – among a mixed bag of a performance, it has to be said – and gave a catch behind at 193-7, Higgins popped up a bat-pad short-leg catch off Patel at 210-8 and, tantalising Warwickshire fans even more, Ollie Rayner stepped across one from Rankin to be leg before, leaving his side nine down with seven still required.Tim Murtagh and Tom Helm kept their nerve admirably, however, taking four singles off Clarke before Murtagh found a gap on the offside against Rankin and took three runs to the longer boundary.Dawid Malan, Middlesex’s acting captain, believed the key phase of the match had been the last session on day three, when Tom Helm dismissed Trott for 99 and rapidly cleaned up the tail, leaving Warwickshire at least 20 or 30 runs short of where they had hoped to be.”I think the way Tom plus Tim Murtagh and Ryan Higgins bowled at the end of day three – their spell set it up for us because at tea they had been in the driving seat and we probably bowled them out for a lot less than they should have got,” Malan said.”We desperately needed that win. We haven’t been playing our best cricket so far and have not been able to string four good days together.”We have won two and lost two of our last four which is disappointing on the loss side because we pride ourselves on being hard to beat, but positive on the winning side.”To get a win moving forward with guys due to come back from injury and England duty when the Championship starts again we are in a good position to get a few wins in a row and be pushing for the top.”The concern for Warwickshire, of course, is about finding a way somehow to get away from the bottom, although with only six matches left time is running out.Yet coach Jim Troughton still believes his team’s character remains intact, even though results suggest that time is catching up with some of the senior members of their dressing room.”Yes, we probably need to win at least half our remaining games but in 2010 we needed to win four out of five and if there is one thing you can always say this team has been good at, over the years of winning trophies and getting to finals and bringing this club a lot of success, it is being up for it in the big games that matter.”We always knew that we were hitting a period of transition and that this season was going to be tough and we’ve had some performances this season we have not been proud of, where we have crumbled under pressure or drifted through sessions.”But this is a league in which anyone can beat anyone. Somerset have shown that up at Scarborough. And in this game we have gone toe to toe with a good side so we have to take positives from that.”We need to keep asking questions of the older players. We need to compete over all four days of games and to walk off at the end of the game knowing we have given everything and (on this occasion) I don’t need to question that.”He could not question the passion of some of those players, either, as was evident in the scenes on the third evening, before and after Stevie Eskinazi was dismissed for a duck – the score at which Warwickshire had been convinced he was out in the first innings before going on to score the match-winning individual score.The umpires had to intervene, asking Rikki Clarke and Keith Barker in particular to calm down, giving Trott another challenge as captain he might not have bargained for. Troughton admitted the incident had been a cause for concern.”We had a chat with the umpires and recognised that the passion probably bubbled over a little bit,” he said.”Our members maybe sometimes ask where’s the fight, where’s the passion in our team. They definitely saw it there but to people watching without knowing the context it does not look great. So we talked about being competitive and hitting them hard but not stepping over the line.”

Durham line up Imad Wasim signing

Durham are hoping to complete the signing of Imad Wasim as an overseas player in the NatWest T20 Blast. Imad, who is currently rated as the best T20 bowler in international cricket, will join for five matches before departing for the Caribbean Premier League.Imad, who was born in Swansea, made his international debut in 2015 and was recently a member of the Pakistan team that won the Champions Trophy, playing in every game at the tournament.He has impressed with his left-arm spin in the Pakistan Super League, as well as during stints at the CPL, and will bring something extra to a thin Durham squad, who have lost two from two in the competition so far. Tom Latham, their main overseas signing, is currently out of action with a foot injury.Imad’s signing is subject to him receiving a work permit.

Denly, Parnell help Kent defend 200

Part-time legspinner Joe Denly was the unlikely bowling hero as Kent opened their Royal London Cup win account with a 46-run victory over South Group rivals Middlesex in Canterbury

ECB Reporters Network07-May-2017
ScorecardSouth Africa’s Wayne Parnell was Man of the Match•AFP

Part-time legspinner Joe Denly was the unlikely bowling hero as Kent opened their Royal London Cup win account with a 46-run victory over South Group rivals Middlesex in Canterbury.Having failed to defend 330-plus scores in their previous two games, Kent managed to protect a modest all out total of 200 with Denly bagging 3 for 20 to secure his side’s first win in four starts and inflict a third defeat on Middlesex. Needing to score at a shade over four an over to record their second win of the campaign, Middlesex committed cardinal one-day errors in losing cheap wickets at regular intervals to fall woefully short.The visitors lost Dawid Malan in the third over when the left-hander sparred outside off against Wayne Parnell to nick to second slip. Four balls later, Parnell, in his last home game of his current spell as Kent’s overseas allrounder, ran one back up the Canterbury slope to trap Nick Gubbins lbw for a single.Adam Voges and Nick Compton added 47 before Kent struck through Darren Stevens, who belied his 41 years by taking a stunning return catch from a Voges’ drive to make it 49 for 3. Eleven runs later and Kent were celebrating again when a direct hit from 12th man Will Gidman, substituting for the injured Matt Coles, ran out John Simpson after Nick Compton had called for a sharp single to the cover fielder.Coles returned after treatment for a sore shin to pocket a comfortable catch off the bowling of James Tredwell that ended Compton’s 85-ball stay for a painstaking 37 and left Tredwell with 1 for 29 from his 10 overs.Keeping pace off the ball, Denly struck to have Ryan Higgins caught behind and then, in his next over, he trapped Toby Roland-Jones lbw when working across the line. Middlesex, with only three wickets remaining, still required 78 going into their final 10 overs when Denly, leaping full-length to his left caught a rasping James Franklin drive one-handed to send the visiting skipper packing for 33.Mitch Claydon replaced Denly to have James Fuller caught off a skier leaving Parnell to finish it with another reflex return caught-and-bowled catch that accounted for Ravi Patel and gave Parnell, the Man of the Match, deserved figures of 3 for 33.Kent’s day started badly when they again lost the toss in overcast conditions and were duly invited to bat with the floodlights already on. Their gloom deepened after only two deliveries when Daniel Bell-Drummond, fresh from scoring back-to-back hundreds in losing causes, feathered a defensive push against Roland-Jones into the gloves of Simpson to depart without scoring.Home skipper Sam Northeast and second-wicket partner Denly, batting against his former county, steadied Kent with a stand of 52 that ended in the 13th over when Denly pulled a short one to midwicket where Voges held a stinging overhead chance.Northeast, who enjoyed a life when on 24 after Voges downed a regulation slip chance, posted his 13th List A half-century from 73 balls and with six fours. He and Sean Dickson added 44 before the latter miscued his attempted pull against Franklin to mid-on to go for 29.Northeast followed, sweeping against Patel to give a catch to the keeper for 55, having spent almost two hours at the crease. Alex Blake lasted only five minutes, tamely hanging his bat out to dry against Franklin, the left-hander went for 2 after edging a third catch to Simpson behind the timbers.The procession of Kent batsmen to the pavilion continued when Stevens miscued to extra cover to gift Patel a second scalp, bringing together Adam Rouse and Parnell for a face-saving seventh-wicket stand worth 34. .With little to lose Parnell went for his strokes only to smear Malan’s first ball of the day, a low full-toss, straight into the hands of Tom Helm at deep midwicket.Coles edged an attempted drive against Helm to slip where Voges took off to hold a stunning overhead catch diving to his left, then, to the first ball of the third and final Powerplay, Rouse nicked an attempted cut to his Middlesex counterpart Simpson to give Helm a second wicket.With four of their 50 overs still to be bowled, Kent’s last man Claydon, who had just hooked the only six of his side’s innings, was yorked by Roland-Jones, the pick of the Middlesex attack with 3 for 35 from his 10 overs.

Man Utd player ratings vs Crystal Palace: Casemiro is back to his best & Sofyan Amrabat looks at home already!

The two midfielders dominated the lacklustre Eagles as the Red Devils began their Carabao Cup defence in style

That was more like it from Manchester United. Erik ten Hag earned lots of goodwill by winning the Carabao Cup last season and his side made an emphatic start in the competition with a dominant 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Alejandro Garnacho got United off on the right foot by scoring the opening goal following a sweeping team move although Casemiro was the star of the show, heading in the second goal then setting up the third for Anthony Martial.

Sofyan Amrabat had a brilliant home debut, appearing all over the pitch and playing some wonderful passes, while Mason Mount had a strong return from injury and even Harry Maguire gave a solid performance.

GOAL rates Man United's players from a smiling Old Trafford…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Andre Onana (7/10):

Had a quiet night but did well to beat away two shots from Jean-Philippe Mateta, using his feet and then his chest.

Diogo Dalot (8/10):

Had a brilliant first half, flying up and down the right wing and also dropping into midfield. Combined well with Facundo Pellistri to set up Garnacho's goal.

Raphael Varane (7/10):

Lead a very solid defence as captain for the night and looked sharp after recovering from injury.

Harry Maguire (7/10):

An accomplished performance, seeing plenty of the ball and comfortably nullifying Mateta and Jordan Ayew. Will do his confidence a world of good.

Sofyan Amrabat (8/10):

An excellent full debut for the Moroccan. Rotated between left-back and midfield and oozed class as he sprayed long passes across the pitch.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

Mason Mount (6/10):

An encouraging return after a month out injured. Launched the move for the opening goal then got his first assist for United by teeing up Casemiro. Rested at half-time.

Casemiro (8/10):

After showing signs of recovery against Burnley this was the Casemiro United fans fell in love with last season. Physically dominant and classy.

Hannibal Mejbri (7/10):

Energetic and influential. Helped the team in attack and defence although had to be careful after getting booked in the first half.

Getty ImagesAttack

Facundo Pellistri (7/10):

Linked up well with Dalot down the right hand side and worked hard defensively.

Anthony Martial (6/10):

Got his first goal of the season which will help his confidence. Important that he took his chance in the Cup as he won't be starting much in the league ahead of Rasmus Hojlund.

Alejandro Garnacho (7/10):

Got the ball rolling with his first goal of the season but crucially showed he can perform well from the start and not just when coming off the bench.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty ImagesSubs & Manager

Victor Lindelof (6/10):

Brought on for Mount at half-time to shore up the defence and did just that.

Jonny Evans (6/10):

The hero of Turf Moor got a rousing reception from the home fans when he came on and helped United stay in command.

Dan Gore (6/10):

A bright debut for the 19-year-old, did not look overawed by the occasion at all.

Donny van de Beek (5/10):

Made his first appearance of the season. Is unlikely to get many more but did little wrong.

Rasmus Hojlund (6/10):

When he came on the job was already done and didn't really get involved.

Erik ten Hag (8/10):

Did not mess about with his team selection and used his substitutions early to make sure players for some rest while giving others the minutes they needed.

Pretorius, Phehlukwayo provide Domingo plenty of cheers

South Africa regained the one-day series lead with the kind of showing that coach Russell Domingo believes typifies their new style of play

Firdose Moonda25-Feb-20171:21

‘We expect New Zealand to bounce back’ – Parnell

In their most dominant performance on the tour of New Zealand so far, South Africa regained the one-day series lead with the kind of showing that coach Russell Domingo believes typifies their new style of play.It is a brand of cricket built on shared responsibility with new members of the squad as able to contribute as some of the stalwarts. Dwaine Pretorius’ career-best 3 for 5 from 5.2 overs on the back of a maiden half-century in Christchurch is the best example of it.”It’s been a feature of our side’s performances over the last year that the younger players have all come in and put in performances straight away which speaks a lot about where the team is at the moment and the culture of the group,” Domingo said. “It’s always pleasing when some new players are stepping up nor relying on one or two players.”And Pretorius is not the only one. Twenty-year-old Andile Phehlukwayo has emerged as a long-term all-round prospect and in the batting department, Quinton de Kock is one of the leading players in the world.Although AB de Villiers, who became the fastest to 9000 ODI runs, was the man of the moment in Wellington, South Africa’s recent ODI successes have been built on the foundations de Kock has laid. As he did in Test cricket last year, de Kock has reeled off five consecutive fifty-plus scores in ODIs. He has yet to convert one of his three in New Zealand into a century, but Domingo brushed that off as part of the game.”He has got a phenomenal rate of transferring those fifties to hundreds so I’m sure he’d be disappointed he hasn’t got a hundred because he is playing as well as he has ever played. I suppose he would feel a little disappointed in the manner of some of his dismissals. That’s the nature of how he plays.”He is such an aggressive player and I by no means want to curb his natural instinct. He is an x-factor player and some days he is going to get it wrong and that’s okay but on the days he gets it right, he is going to win the game for you. He is still a baby, its hard to believe he is only 24. We’ve had some great players play international cricket for South Africa, who’ve got 10 or 11 hundreds in 200 games. He has got 12 in 77. That’s a phenomenal return for a young player like that.”At this early stage of de Kock’s career, he already lies sixth on South Africa’s ODI century-makers’ list above a big name like Graeme Smith. The former captain played 196 ODIs and scored 10 centuries, de Kock could go on to double or even treble that. Also below de Kock is JP Duminy, who has played 170 ODIs and only has four hundreds to his name, three against Zimbabwe and one against Netherlands.Duminy has not registered three figures in two years, since the 2015 World Cup. In that time, he has managed just four fifties. Although he can cite limited opportunity – Duminy usually bats at No.5, behind players who don’t often leave him with many overs to face – by his own admission, there have been chances wasted.After the Christchurch ODI, where he was given a chance at No 4, Duminy explained he understood he needed to step up. “A lot of us got in but we didn’t take it home for the team. That’s something we need to look at – especially myself, getting in and not taking it home for the team,” he said.He was unable to in Wellington, where he was run-out and his string of low scores – only one over 30 in seven innings – could raise concerns, especially with Farhaan Behardien waiting on the bench.Some pressure for his place may be just what Duminy needs to kickstart a change in fortunes, as it did in Tests. After being dropped last summer during the series against England, Duminy returned with a much improved mindset and scored two important hundreds, in Perth and in Johannesburg, to prove he still has plenty to offer. The upcoming Tests will be another chance for Duminy to build on that progress.Eight members of the Test squad, who are not part of the limited-overs outfit, will arrive in Auckland on Sunday, where they will begin a week-long camp. Batting coach Neil McKenzie and fitness trainer Greg King will break away from the ODI group to oversee the Test players’ preparations. South Africa do not have a warm-up match before the series starts in Dunedin on March 8 but all their players have been in action in the domestic one-day cup.Among them are the two senior seamers, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, who are the favourites to make up a pace pack with Kagiso Rabada, although South Africa have three other quicks in reserve. Rabada will be the most worked of all of them, with South Africa well aware of his importance to every XI. Rabada was left out of the Christchurch game with a knee niggle and returned in Wellington and Domingo has explained that its unlikely Rabada will be given time off with the series still on the line.”It’s a fine line between resting players and trying to win series. You’ve got to try and and manage that process quite carefully, particularly for a guy like KG. I read the other day that he bowled 200 overs more than anybody else in the last year. He is only 21,” Domingo said. “But its hard to leave KG out of the next game in Hamilton. He is a seriously good bowler and it’s no coincidence that when he is back in the mix, we look a seriously good side.”

Beams out of ODI series with finger fracture

Kristen Beams will look to return to cricket for the Melbourne Stars in the Women’s BBL, after being ruled out of action with a finger fracture

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2016Australia women legspinner Kristen Beams has been ruled out of the remainder of the home ODIs against South Africa due to a finger injury. She had fractured her right little finger during the third match on Wednesday in Sydney and parted with the squad on Friday.While the Australia squad headed to Coffs Harbour for the last two ODIs of the series, which they lead 3-0, Beams returned to Melbourne after undergoing surgery. Beams had bowled six overs for 35 runs and one wicket on the day.”You never want to see one of your team-mates get injured,” seamer Rene Farrell said before training at Coffs International Stadium on Saturday. “We’ve all been there and we’ve all had finger injuries before. Hopefully she’ll be right around the middle of the WBBL season. I know she’ll come back stronger, she’s a tough character.”Beams had broken her finger after bowling four overs on Wednesday and received medical treatment near the boundary line before returning to bowl another two and dismissed centurion Lizelle Lee in her final over.”Her finger was still dislocated and she bowled her last two overs for us,” Australia opener Nicole Bolton said. “That shows the strength of character of someone like Beamsy, who we heavily rely on with the ball, and for her to come out and do that for us was just incredible.”Beams had a terrific tour of Sri Lanka in September, across four ODIs and the lone T20I. She was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series, which Australia whitewashed, with 13 scalps at a stunning average of 5.92 and took two four-fors. In the T20I, her figures of 3 for 11 from four overs restricted the hosts to 59 for 8. She had bettered her career-best figures in both formats on the tour.She is also Australia’s leading wicket-taker (18) in ODIs this year, behind South Africa legspinner Suné Luus (30), England’s Katherine Brunt (21) and Luus’ team-mate Ayabonga Khaka (21).

Game
Register
Service
Bonus