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Veteran of 2005 tour prepares to play first Test in country in 19-year international career

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Nov-2022If you’ve been paying even vague attention, you’ll have heard that James Anderson is the only member of this England touring party to have played international cricket in Pakistan prior to this winter.Back in the winter of 2005, a younger, sprightlier but no less downbeat Anderson was part of the squad that last played Test cricket in the country. He did not get on the park during the three-match series, which the hosts took 2-0, but did take part in the subsequent ODI series, finishing with seven wickets. That included 4 for 48 in the final match – a consolation win with England losing 3-2 overall – at Rawalpindi, the venue for the first Test of this series.Given his lack of red-ball action on that tour and the time between visits, the 40-year-old Anderson is reluctant to play the role of wise old sage when it comes to predicting how things could pan out. Heading into the first Test, he and the rest of the team are happy to take cues from the conditions, while maintaining Brendon McCullum’s assertion earlier in the week that, however things pan out, a draw is not on the agenda.”No, not at all,” Anderson said, when asked if he had anything to pass on. “Seventeen years is a long time. It would be wrong if I said ‘the pitch is going to play like this, or this is what to expect’. It’s a completely different team we’re playing against, completely different conditions.”It’s about adapting when we get out there. We talk a little bit about the opposition but mainly concentrate on what we do well – that’s what we did in the summer. We don’t know how it’s going to play. Traditionally it is flat. We’ve seen Tests in recent times – the Australia game was very flat. It ended in a draw. We’ve got a captain and coach that don’t want draws. We’re not playing for draws. We’ll come out and try to win the game – we might have to be creative in how we do that.”The extent of England’s adaptation will be dictated by the varying conditions over the next month, and indeed over this first Rawalpindi Test match. England have noticed there has been dew for their morning training sessions, which will no doubt play a part early on given the 10am starts on match days, adding a bit of juice in the air and moisture into the pitch. Both of which bring Anderson to the front and centre of their plans.England have also been concentrating on honing their reverse-swing skills in anticipation of what might lie ahead. The training camp in Abu Dhabi last week saw them experiment with an assortment of balls worn to varying degrees. Anderson had also been fine-tuning his technique with the Lions in Dubai since the start of November. Both he and Ben Stokes will be the main proponents of the craft this week, with Mark Wood out recovering from injury. However, Anderson doesn’t expect it will play too big a part in the first Test.Related

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• Ben Duckett: 'There's no better time to play Test cricket than under Stokes and McCullum'

• Brendon McCullum puts best feet forward as England brace for test of new resolve

“Just looking at the pitch out here and the outfield, it looks quite lush so whether reverse will play a huge part here, I’m not sure, at this particular ground,” he said. “But we will try and cover all bases and make sure we’ve got options, if and when we need them.”As Anderson approaches the 20th anniversary of his England debut, this Test bow in Pakistan represents a new and final frontier. It will be the ninth country he has graced in the format, and even coming into this series with 175 caps and a seam bowler’s record haul of 667 wickets, there is a palpable excitement from the usually reserved Lancastrian.”Firstly, it’s amazing to be back here,” he said. “I want to say thank you on behalf of, not just myself, but the whole team for the welcome we’ve had. We know how many cricket fans there are in Pakistan and how much they love and support, not just Pakistani cricket, but cricket in general around the world. I’ve not played a Test match here so I’m delighted to have the chance to be able to play here.As for who that first red-ball victim in Pakistan might be, Anderson claims he isn’t fussed, even if he recognises that one man in particular is likely to be a key adversary in the days ahead.”We are well aware how important a wicket Babar is for Pakistan, being the captain, as well as I’d say their best player. Yes, we will give him attention, but also we need to focus on the other guys as well because they’re very strong.”And I don’t care who it is, as long as I get a wicket and try and help the team towards a win. That’s what we’ve come here for – we want to win the series, so that’s our main focus.”

Starc moves up as many as 10 places to reach eighth among ODI bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2021Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga has leapfrogged Afghanistan’s new T20I captain Rashid Khan to be ranked career-best No. 2 among T20I bowlers. The ICC rankings list is led by South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi, who has a 72-point advantage following impressive returns on the tour of the Caribbean and Ireland earlier this month.As many as six wristspinners feature in the top 10 – the others being Adil Rashid (fourth), Adam Zampa (seventh) and Ish Sodhi (ninth). Hasaranga will have an opportunity to establish a lead over Khan, who is just one point behind, during the second and third T20Is against India this week. The 23-year-old legspinner picked 2 for 28 during the series opener in Colombo on Sunday.Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India’s vice-captain on tour, jumped four places to be ranked 16th, while Yuzvendra Chahal, whose tight spell reined in Sri Lanka in the first T20I, jumped 10 places to be ranked 21st. Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera also moved up five places to 37th spot.

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The other gainers include India’s stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan, who is joint-29th with Reeza Hendricks. The South Africa opener made a 48-ball 69, his sixth T20I half-century, in an impressive 127-run opening stand to help South Africa clean sweep Ireland in Belfast last week.In the ODI arena, Josh Hazlewood made significant gains following an excellent tour of the Caribbean, jumping to No. 2 after taking five wickets and starring in Australia’s 2-1 series win. His new-ball partner Mitchell Starc, who also came up with a Player-of-the-Series performance in picking 11 wickets, jumped 10 places to be ranked eighth. The list is headed by New Zealand’s Trent Boult.Among the batters, Alex Carey jumped three places to be ranked just outside the top-20 (22nd), while Avishka Fernando, who struck a match-winning half-century against India to lift Sri Lanka off the bottom of the World Cup Super League points table, is now ranked 52nd.

Spinner cites change in Kolpak regulations for ending hopes of qualifying for England

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2020Simon Harmer believes that his hopes of qualifying to play Test cricket for England are over, but has not ruled out the possibility of a return to the South African set-up, after starring once again for Essex with 14 wickets against Surrey at Chelmsford.Harmer, 31, overcame an abductor strain to lift Essex clear at the top of the Bob Willis Trophy South Group, returning second-innings figures of 8 for 64 to complete a 169-run victory on the final afternoon.It was the third time in his first-class career that he has claimed 14 or more wickets in a match, a feat that no bowler has achieved since the Kent spinner, Derek Underwood, between 1967 and 1983.He has now claimed 230 wickets at 20.01 in his four seasons at Essex, including 18 five-wicket hauls and four ten-fors, but speaking after the match, he acknowledged that the UK’s impending exit from the European Union, and the changes to the Kolpak ruling that that will entail, have effectively ended his chances of qualifying to play for England.”I think so,” he said. “With the Kolpak ruling changing, as far as I know with clarity, the Kolpaks will fall away at the end of the year when England leaves the EU and therefore the door closes.”I have explored trying to get onto a different visa so that I can have more rights, in terms of buying property and a whole load of other things but I got a very stern no from Alan Fordham at the ECB. As far as I am concerned there is no future there.”Harmer played five Tests for South Africa in 2015 before joining the country’s exodus into the ranks of county cricket. However, with his status set to change to that of an overseas player from 2021 onwards, when all counties will be permitted two such registrations, there is still the outside prospect of him being reunited with his former countrymen.ALSO READ: Simon Harmer interview: ‘If you say English wickets don’t take spin in April, I want to prove you wrong’“It is a difficult question to answer,” he said. “There is a lot happening back in South Africa and I don’t know what the feeling is back home.”As far as I’m concerned, my main focus is with my employer which is Essex. I don’t look too far ahead and just try to do as well as I possibly can.”If other things happen and fall into place then what will be will be. I can only focus on myself, my own performances, on Essex and trying to contribute as I can to winning as many trophies as I possibly can. As a professional cricketer that’s what it all boils down to.”Harmer has already been an integral part of two County Championship victories in the space of three years, and last season he captained Essex’s T20 side to a thrilling final-ball victory against Worcestershire in the T20 Blast final, and even hit the winning runs.”There are a lot of teams with a lot of players that don’t win trophies and I think we are in a very special place as a team and I think we need to capitalise on that,” he said.”It is a once-in-a-generation thing and I think there is something very special brewing here at Essex with the players who are coming through with the players we already have. I think we can really be a dominant force in county cricket for a long time to come. That is my focus and I am quite excited about being a part of that and the rest of the noise is just noise.”Nevertheless, with South African cricket in a state of flux at the moment, Harmer said he would welcome the chance to sit down with CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith, and find out once and for all whether he has a chance of representing his country again.”Yeah, I think there needs to be an open-door policy from both sides and there needs to be commitment from both sides,” he said. “There is quite a bit that needs to happen but I am all for having discussions but for now it is a long way off.”There is a lot happening back home in South Africa to do with coronavirus. When is cricket going to get going again etc? I try to keep things short term and try and take care of the now. If you are doing the right things then perhaps bigger things might happen.”I am a believer in positive energy and putting positive energy into the universe, so whatever is meant to be will be.”

Warner has been charged with a Level 2 offence, while de Kock has been booked under the Level 1 category

Firdose Moonda and Daniel Brettig06-Mar-2018Australia’s David Warner and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock have been charged by the ICC for their stairwell confrontation in Durban, with both players having until Wednesday to respond to the charge.Both players were charged under the catch-all ICC code of conduct clause on bringing “the game into disrepute” following the episode that marred the Kingsmead Test, but Warner faces a more serious level 2 charge while de Kock a less serious level 1 offence. The difference in levels means Warner could be banned for one Test, but the heaviest penalty de Kock faces is a fine.The matter was debated in a meeting at the hotel being shared by the two teams in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday night, with the Australian and South African team managers Gavin Dovey and Mohammed Moosajee speaking with the match referee Jeff Crowe.The incident took place as the players left the field for tea on the fourth day. CCTV footage from cameras trained on the staircase leading to the dressing rooms showed Warner being physically restrained by several team-mates as he launched a verbal attack at de Kock. South African captain Faf du Plessis emerged from the hosts’ dressing room to try and diffuse the situation. He was accompanied by Kagiso Rabada, who did not get involved. The players went into their own changerooms after a few minutes. The video was first made public by South African media outlet .South Africa’s management will meet with de Kock to discuss his options before deciding how to respond to the charge. They strongly maintain that the verbal fracas started while de Kock was batting and was led by Warner making personal affronts to de Kock. South Africa are understood to be disappointed that Warner did not receive a more serious charge; a Level 3 charge would have required an independent arbiter to hear the case.The on-field umpires – Kumar Dharmasena and S Ravi – are understood to be claiming not to have heard anything that could be considered a breach of the code. South Africa’s reaction to this is one of incredulity, and some sources told ESPNcricinfo that the view in the home camp is that the umpires are “intimidated” by Australia. After the Durban Test, du Plessis said he felt the umpires should have stepped in earlier to avoid the situation spilling over onto the stairwell, but he also admitted the chatter had got personal from both sides.The charges against Warner and de Kock were brought by the on-field umpires. “Australia vice-captain David Warner and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock have been reported for breaching the ICC code of conduct following their altercation on the fourth day of the Durban Test which was captured on CCTV,” an ICC spokesman said. “The umpires officiating in the Durban Test have reported Warner for a level 2 offence and de Kock for level 1 offence for ‘conduct that brings the game into disrepute’ following the incident in the stairwell near their dressing rooms. The teams have been given until tomorrow to respond to the charges.”The former Australia batsman Simon Katich, currently commentating in South Africa, said the ICC had the opportunity to draw a line under the sort of aggressive exchanges captured on the CCTV footage by imposing a ban. “The one thing the match referee has got the control to do is if they set a precedent, players will stop behaving like that,” Katich said on SEN radio.”At the moment it might take a one-Test ban for players to realise they can’t behave like that, and then it would put it to bed.”In the end, the team that gets affected by a player missing out on a Test match is going to be very disappointed with their fellow team-mate, and what will happen is the team-mates will start to police these issues, rather than let them happen over and over again. Let’s see what happens with the match referee and whether they’re going to be stern enough to stamp this behaviour out.”

Ashton Turner broke Sydney Sixers’ spirit with five sixes in his 27-ball 52 as Perth Scorchers cruised to a six-wicket win

The Report by Alex Malcolm23-Dec-2017
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There is a reason the Perth Scorchers have won three BBL titles, out of six.Even without Australia’s previous T20I new-ball pairing in Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff, the Scorchers still fronted up at the SCG with an attack featuring five international players and blew away the Sydney Sixers’ top order, including a hat-trick from Andrew Tye, to set up a comfortable six-wicket win.The chase wobbled early without the experienced Michael Klinger. But the composure of Ashton Turner and Adam Voges turned potential disaster into a doddle with an unbeaten 70-run stand from just 38 balls to see the Scorchers home with 11 balls to spare.Sixers slump earlyFor as well as the Scorchers bowled, some of the Sixers batsmen contributed to their own demise after having been sent in to bat on a good surface.Daniel Hughes wiped across a straight half volley and lost his off stump. Jason Roy looked in sublime touch until he bunted a slower ball that he hit straight to midwicket. Both batsmen fell to Jhye Richardson.Henriques was unfortunate to glove one down the leg side off David Willey. Billings made a strange decision to walk down the wicket off the first ball he faced from Tye only to meekly pop a leading edge to square leg.Willey bowled Botha with a slower ball that gripped past his outside edge and clipped the top of off leaving the Sixers in trouble.Tye’s hat-trick of hat-tricksNic Maddinson and Peter Nevill were forced to consolidate to avert further disaster. Their 37-run stand never really exploded. Voges brought back Mitchell Johnson to bowl his fourth over in the 14th over. He removed both set batsmen in three balls.Sean Abbott and Steve O’Keefe threatened to push the total towards 150. But Tye dashed those hopes with his third T20 hat-trick this calendar year, ending the innings at 132 with eight balls remaining.Top-order wobble for inexperienced ScorchersThe Scorchers chase took a while to get going. Debutants Will Bosisto and Josh Philippe put together a 31-run partnership at just above a run-a-ball. The run-rate dropped well below six when both were dismissed to Abbott in the fifth over. Willey and Hilton Cartwright also struggled to score freely. In total, the Scorchers’ top four faced 29 dot balls from the first 71 deliveries. When Cartwright fell to Doug Bollinger, the Scorchers still need 67 from 49 balls.Cool and calm in the endTurner and Voges never panicked. They calculated that boundaries were difficult to find early so they elected to place balls into gaps and run twos to get the run-rate moving. They pinched three twos in an over from O’Keefe with just nudges to the 30-yard circle at a vacant midwicket to take nine from his fourth over after he had conceded just 14 from his first three.Turner then used his long reach to target Daniel Sams and Abbott. He struck five sixes to break the back of the chase. His boundary to win the game also took him to 52 not out from just 27 balls.

Daniel Farke’s Norwich City side are considering a move for Hamza Choudhury this summer.

What’s the word?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that the newly-promoted Canaries have made signing a defensive midfielder a priority in the summer transfer window, as the club are set to lose the services of on-loan starlet Oliver Skipp, who is returning to Tottenham Hotspur.

As such, Leicester City’s Choudhury has emerged as a transfer target for Farke, who can expect to battle Newcastle United for the £7.2 million-rated midfielder, with Steve Bruce also thought to be keen on a move.

Forget Skipp

While there is no denying that Skipp has been something of a revelation since joining City on a season-long loan deal last August – with the 20-year-old making an average of 1.1 interceptions and 2.2 tackles per game over his 44 Championship appearances, as well as averaging an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.02 – there are a number of reasons that suggest Choudhury could actually prove a more useful addition to Norwich, following their promotion.

Firstly, while he has only featured for Brendan Rodgers’ Champions League hopefuls nine times in the Premier League this season, Choudhury has a total of 46 top-flight appearances under his belt, much bettering Skipp’s total of 15.

Secondly, it is easy to forget just how highly rated the 23-year-old was upon breaking into the Leicester City first team, with the Sky Sports News reporter, Rob Dorsett, claiming back in 2019 that Choudhury’s “reading of the game shows a footballing maturity beyond his years”, as well as stating that the midfielder has “pace to burn” and a “rare aggression in the tackle that sets him aside from many other midfielders.”

Furthermore, the Leicester and England legend, Gary Lineker, dubbed the 23-year-old an “extremely talented” footballer in reaction to the midfielder’s “exceptional” first goal for the club back in 2020.

Indeed, it could be argued that Choudhury has not kicked on to fulfil his potential just yet, but, with Stuart Webber’s Moneyball approach to the transfer market – signing talented but underrated players for lower fees – we would not bet against him flourishing at Carrow Road next season, if the Canaries do go on to complete a deal for the £7,500-per-week man this summer.

In other news: Farke must ensure damage limitation at Norwich after worrying transfer admission – opinion

Manchester City will be looking to seal their place in this season’s FA Cup final as they take on Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side in the semi-final at Wembley on Saturday evening.

Pep Guardiola’s side can keep their quadruple hopes alive with a win against the Blues, who have dramatically improved since the German manager’s appointment in January. Both sides progressed to the Champions League semi-finals in midweek, with City beating Borussia Dortmund 4-2 on aggregate, whilst the west London side scraped past Porto 2-1.

Rotation always seems likely when Guardiola is involved but the Spanish manager will surely go with something close to his strongest XI given the importance of Saturday’s fixture.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Guardiola to line up against Chelsea, with three changes from the side which started against Dortmund on Wednesday…

Despite Zack Steffen featuring earlier in the competition, it seems likely that Guardiola will keep his faith in Ederson to start this fixture.

There’s one change in defence as Joao Cancelo comes in at left-back for Oleksandr Zinchenko after the Portuguese defender was left out in midweek.

In midfield, Kevin De Bruyne takes the place of Bernardo Silva, with the Belgian dropping further back despite impressing up front in the win in Germany.

This allows for two changes in attack as Gabriel Jesus returns up front in the hope that he can stretch Chelsea’s ageing defence with runs in behind, with Riyad Mahrez supporting him on the right flank.

Phil Foden is also unfortunate to miss out after a starring display in midweek, but the “exceptional” Raheem Sterling – in the words of England boss Gareth Southgate – has barely featured of late and his pace could prove to be a game-changer for Guardiola. That is especially the case as Reece James will likely push up on the right-hand side, which could leave a lot of space in behind to be exploited by Sterling, so he gets the nod ahead of Foden.

In other news… Man City handed boost in transfer race for £31.5m-rated beast amid Romano claim 

Celtic missed out on a 40-50 goal forward in Ivan Toney, according to Peterborough’s Director of Football Barry Fry, who was speaking exclusively to Football Fan Cast.

According to the Scottish Daily Mail’s chief football writer Stephen McGowan, the 25-year-old went as far as travelling to Glasgow for talks over a move last summer.

This was off the back of an outstanding season at Peterborough which saw him net 26 goals in 39 appearances and win the League One Player of the Year award.

Toney punishes Celtic with Brentford heroics

Ultimately, Celtic could not strike the deal, and Brentford moved in to sign the striker for an undisclosed fee. He has since been sensational in the Championship, with 28 goals and nine assists under his belt already this season.

He is six clear at the top of the scoring charts in the division and is powering Brentford’s promotion bid, and Fry reckons that the Hoops will surely be looking on enviously, saying:

“Toney would have got 40/50 goals playing in Scotland, no disrespect to Scottish football.

“He would have been a sensation because he doesn’t only score goals, he makes goals. He’ll go to the very top, Ivan Toney, that’s for sure.

“I’m sure they [Celtic] do [regret not signing Toney] already. I’m sure they regret it, not breaking the bank for him.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

It’s difficult to dispute Fry’s 40-50 goal claim given Toney’s devastating record of late.

With Odsonne Edouard linked with the likes of Leicester, Arsenal and Liverpool, the 25-year-old Brentford predator would have been a ready-made replacement at centre-forward before potentially moving on himself for a very healthy profit.

Indeed, as Fry says, it seems that Toney is destined to follow in the footsteps of Ollie Watkins and make a big-money step-up to the Premier League, with Celtic left wondering what might have been as they look on from afar while he prospers.

In other news, Celtic will look to sell this player in the upcoming transfer window.