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The latest round-up of how the Australians are performing in the IPL and county cricket as the World Cup and Australia A tours edge closer

Alex Malcolm07-May-2019Who’s in form and who’s notJames Pattinson was the only member of the Australia A squads playing overseas this week. He only played once though after Nottinghamshire’s Royal London One-Day Cup clash with Durham was washed out. Pattinson took 1 for 55 from nine overs and made an important 15 from 10 balls in a thrilling win over Northamptonshire.Ashton Turner, another Australia A squad member, oddly didn’t get selected in Rajasthan Royal’s last IPL game against Delhi.Chris Lynn, who is not in Australia’s winter squads, had an excellent finish to the IPL for Kolkata making 46 off 22 against Kings XI and then 41 from 29 in the loss to Mumbai Indians.Andrew Tye dismissed Lynn but had a very difficult season for Kings XI. After being the IPL’s leading wicket-taker in 2018 with 24, and an economy rate of 8.00, he took just three wickets in six games this season with an economy rate of 10.59. In his last two outings he conceded 78 runs in just six overs.#AsheswatchThe Royal London Cup continued in England this week as the County Championship remains on hold with World Cup preparations ramping up. Although 50-over white-ball form may not carry as much weight towards Ashes selection, the Australian selectors are undoubtedly keeping an eye on the players involved.Cameron Bancroft was starved of opportunity this week due to bad weather. Durham’s clash with Notts was abandoned prior to the toss and he was 18 not out when the clash with Yorkshire was washed out after 34.2 overs, a result that eliminated Durham from the competitionMatt Renshaw is putting his hand up for allrounder status in white-ball cricket. He took 2 for 17 from five overs and made 32 not out in Kent’s a big win over Surrey. But his returns with bat and ball against Essex weren’t as fruitful. Peter Siddle didn’t play for Essex.Marnus Labuschagne has been doing plenty of bowling, taking 2 for 57 from his full quote of 10 overs for Glamorgan against Middlesex, but he would prefer a few more runs after making 16 in the loss and became the first List A wicket for Sam Robson’s part-time spin.Jake Lehmann made an impressive start to his short spell with Lancashire•Getty Images

Did you see?Jake Lehmann made an excellent start at Lancashire as a replacement for Glenn Maxwell. He struck 77 not out from 66 balls in a win over Derbyshire. He then followed up with 23 in a loss to Warwickshire.Injury listTurner revealed last week he will need shoulder surgery after the Australia A tour of England. It will be the third procedure he’s had on his right shoulder but he hopes it will fix the issue that has restricted his bowling and throwing.Performance of the weekCallum Ferguson is a forgotten man in Australian cricket. He was in the mix for the ODI tour of India but was dropped from South Australia’s Sheffield Shield team late in the season. He made 103 not out from just 95 balls for Worcestershire on Monday as they chased down 352 with ease at Derby. Ferguson had a great season in the Royal London Cup last year with Worcestershire and will be hoping to carry that form forward.

Only 65.1 overs were possible on another rain-affected day on which Tasmania’s third-wicket pair put on an unbroken partnership of 160

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2018Getty Images

Persistent batting from the Tasmanian pair of Beau Webster and Jake Doran and persistent rain have combined to frustrate New South Wales at the SCG.After much of day two was lost to rain, further weather delays meant only 65.1 overs were bowled on day three.The Blues made an early breakthrough with Steve O’Keefe deceiving George Bailey seven balls into the start of play to leave Tasmania two down and trailing the home side’s first-innings total by 369. But that was the only joy for New South Wales as Webster and Doran put together an unbroken stand of 160 in 64 overs.Webster reached his fourth first-class hundred in the penultimate over of the day, having faced 253 balls to get there. Doran remained not out on 86 at close. The two sides will face a challenge on the final day trying to manufacture a result.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has glimpsed a few weaknesses in New Zealand’s batting line-up and believes his varied attack can bring it down

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Christchurch16-Nov-20161:30

Fernando: Pakistan attack can exploit NZ conditions

When South Africa returned from a 0-3 drubbing in India in 2015, they went on to lose the subsequent home series against England. When Australia returned from a 0-3 drubbing by low-ranked Sri Lanka this year, they went to lose the subsequent (and ongoing) series against South Africa.New Zealand hope to break the trend; they hope their 0-3 in India will not have a similar effect on their home summer. Misbah-ul-Haq, though, has glimpsed a few weaknesses. He believed his varied attack can bring an ailing New Zealand top order down.”If you see, after the Indian tour, most of the Kiwi batsmen have been struggling and short of confidence,” Misbah said. “I know this is their own territory and they’ll be confident playing here, but as a batsman, and a cricketer, confidence can play a big role. Being short of confidence – we’ll look forward to exploiting that.”While New Zealand’s batsmen seek a return to collective form, Pakistan’s own top order must resist the likes of Trent Boult and Tim Southee on Hagley Oval’s green top. Pakistan did win two Tests in England this year, but both those matches were played in London, where pitches were less seam-friendly than elsewhere. It had, in fact, been the legspin of Yasir Shah that defined the Lord’s Test, as well as playing a crucial role in the second innings at The Oval. Tracks in New Zealand have not been so spin friendly recently.”If you look at the UAE conditions and New Zealand conditions, these are totally different,” Misbah said. “That’s the biggest challenge for us, especially for our batting. Most of our players have been to New Zealand before, and they know how these conditions can be different from what we are used to. We need to make sure that we bat with discipline and put good scores on the board. Our bowling is very much capable of performing well in any sort of conditions.”There may be rain in the air in Christchurch, but Pakistan had also had their three-day practice match in Nelson completely washed out, meaning their preparation in New Zealand has been less than ideal. Misbah said his team would fall back on their recent experience in England, and hoped the lessons learned on that tour would hold true here.”The England series was a tough series for us. That experience will really help us here, because of the confidence we gained from that. The players are up for this challenge, and we can prove ourselves here also. We need to learn some things from that tour – those conditions, and how we go about business. How we’ve batted, how our disciplines are, and how we’ve bowled.”It’s going to be a key for us because we missed the practice game here. A couple of practice sessions are the only experience we’ve got before the Test match. As professionals, we need to use that information and be ready enough for the Test.If India lose the series against England, Pakistan have an opportunity to reclaim the no. 1 Test ranking they had briefly held following Australia’s loss in Sri Lanka. Misbah said the prospect continued to spur his team.”Always the no. 1 ranking is a big motivation. If you play any sport, you want to be the best. That’s what we are looking forward to. That said, we need to improve ourselves every game. Every series and game becomes important for us. Looking forward to playing well in this series and in Australia.”

Mark Footitt, the former Derbyshire left-arm fast bowler, and Liam Dawson, the Hampshire left-arm spinner, have been called up to the England Performance Programme (EPP) in South Africa and Dubai next month

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2015Mark Footitt, the former Derbyshire left-arm fast bowler who recently joined Surrey on a four-year contract, has been called up to the England Performance Programme (EPP) for a ten-day training camp in Potchefstroom next month.Footitt, 29, is considered by many to be the quickest bowler on the county circuit, and trained with England ahead of the Ashes last summer to help the batsmen prepare for the left-arm pace of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc.He was initially overlooked for this winter’s EPP, even though some pundits suggested he would have been a worthy replacement during England’s Test series in the UAE, after Steven Finn succumbed to a stress injury in his foot.From November 11, he will be working alongside seven other promising English fast bowlers in South Africa – Jake Ball, Craig Miles, Craig and Jamie Overton, Tymal Mills, Olly Stone and Tom Curran, who was himself added to the party last month.Hampshire’s left-arm spinner, Liam Dawson, is another man who will be featuring in the EPP plans this winter, after he was called up to the batting and spin-bowling camp that starts in the UAE at the same time but lasts for two-and-a-half weeks.Dawson, who claimed 29 wickets at 31.93 for Hampshire last season, takes the place of Zafar Ansari, who has failed to recover in time from the thumb injury he sustained while fielding for Surrey against Lancashire.Ansari, whose injury occurred on the same day that he had been called into the Test squad, will continue to be monitored by a specialist, and his participation with the EPP and Lions programmes later this winter will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.From South Africa, Footitt and the rest of the EPP fast bowlers will fly to Dubai to join up with the EPP batting and spin bowling group for a further training opportunity in sub-continent conditions – ahead of the England Lions T20 series against Pakistan A, which gets underway on December 7.Both Footitt and Dawson will first take part in a four-day EPP training camp for all players at the National Cricket Performance Centre (NCPC) in Loughborough next week.”Congratulations to both Liam and Mark on their selection for this winter’s England Performance Programme,” said James Whitaker, the national selector. “The training camps in Dubai and Potchefstroom next month present an ideal opportunity for them to work closely with the EPP lead coaches and experience what it is like to be in an England environment.”This is essential as they continue to develop their all-round games and push for future international recognition.”It is unfortunate that Zafar’s recovery from injury has not progressed at a rate that would allow him to participate fully in the EPP batting and spin camp in the UAE at present. But we will continue to monitor his progress closely and will consider involving him in the later stages of the EPP and Lions programme this winter, once he regains full fitness.”

Northamptonshire weren’t touted as promotion contenders but few counties have started 2013 better. Rain denied them victory at Glamorgan last week and here the vaunted Essex batting line-up were dismissed for 183.

Tim Wigmore at Wantage Road17-Apr-2013
ScorecardSteven Crook continued his excellent start to the season•Getty Images

Northamptonshire weren’t touted as potential Division Two promotion contenders but few counties have started 2013 better. Only rain denied them victory after bowling Glamorgan out for 134 last week and here the vaunted Essex batting line-up were dismissed for 183.The shoddy shot selection of Essex’s top order was partially to blame for their fate but significant credit must go to Northants’ seamers. Steven Crook was outstanding, claiming Mark Pettini caught at second slip to a ball that reared up and then James Foster clean bowled to a delivery that moved late in the same over on the stroke of lunch. Ravi Bopara was utterly becalmed by Crook’s unrelenting line in his 31-ball 6 and edged behind just three balls after being dropped at second slip to another tentative forward prod. Since returning to Northants, Crook has now taken nine Championship wickets at under ten apiece.Crook’s career path may have been unconventional – he briefly retired from cricket a few years ago – but his bowling success, based on a strong, repeatable action and a consistent line just outside off stump, is certainly not.Northants have quietly assembled a formidable seam attack at Wantage Road. Australian Trent Copeland bowls a consistently threatening off stump line, which accounted for the stylish Tom Westley; David Willey showed the priceless left-armer’s virtue of swinging the ball back from around the wicket; and Andrew Hall’s relentless wicket-to-wicket bowling trapped Essex’s overseas player Rob Quiney lbw. Together, they easily vindicated Stephen Peters’ decision to bowl after winning the toss.Peters would have been particularly thrilled that three bowling changers yielded wickets within two balls. As Crook later said, “We’ve bowled well as a unit and we’ve got some variation in our attack – we’re not all doing the same thing.”That Essex even mustered 183 was the result of Graham Napier’s belligerent unbeaten 73. With Essex in disarray at 138 for 9, Napier responded as is his wont, thrashing five sixes in ten balls. A couple were harrumphed over long-on, and there were a trio of upper cuts for six as Napier sagaciously targeted the short third man boundary. It’s not often that a bowler can feel frustrated with figures of 4 for 39, but that was Crook’s fate after Napier plundered him for 22 in an over.Napier, who said he had never played in windier conditions, was almost as impressive with the ball, bustling in with considerable pace to take 3 for 30. Indeed, had substitute Tom Craddock taken Rob Newton – who has batted pleasingly for his unbeaten 35 – just before the close, Essex might even be dreaming of a first innings advantage.But Napier and Reece Topley might have benefited from a little more support. While Topley was impressive, fellow left-armer Tymal Mills bowled too many short deliveries on leg stump. Maurice Chambers was also inconsistent, going for 27 in five overs, and was a little fortunate to dismiss Alex Wakely, caught at square leg of a lackadaisical flick. But he was also unlucky not to get another wicket: he got a ball to rear up to Rob Newton’s glove, and it bounced onto off stump without dislodging the bail. As wags immediately remarked, it was a case of Newton defying gravity.Fifteen dismissals in the day might suggest this was a pitch with excessive zest but, although good bowlers can find seam movement and bounce, it is an excellent cricket wicket. Indeed, if there is a problem with the conditions it is with the wind. Napier avoided blaming the wicket for Essex’s first innings total, saying only “it’s a strange pitch – when it’s done something it’s done a lot”.That the wicket rewards good batsmanship was highlighted by Stephen Peters, who played the late-cut deliciously in his 60. It is often remarked that Peters hasn’t enjoyed the career expected after scoring a match-winning hundred in the Under-19 World Cup Final in 1998 but he remains one of the most aesthetically pleasing batsmen on the county circuit.

Michael Clarke’s belief that the Bridgetown Test match could be won was forged six years ago in the middle of Adelaide Oval

Daniel Brettig at Kensington Oval12-Apr-2012Michael Clarke’s belief that the Bridgetown Test match could be won was forged six years ago in the middle of Adelaide Oval. He had been joined at the wicket by Shane Warne, Australia struggling for first innings parity with England on the fourth day of what seemed destined to be a drawn Ashes Test. Simply and clearly, Warne told Clarke the match would be won. On a scarcely believable final day, it was.Clarke carried that memory with him throughout the first Test against the West Indies, and echoed Warne in assuring his team that the Barbados match remained within their grasp. After a mighty struggle over the final two days, the visitors dragged themselves up from a position every bit as dire as the one occupied by Australia against England in 2006, and another remarkable victory was secured. It made Clarke only the second captain in the history of Test cricket to win a match after declaring behind.”I remember Warney telling me back then that with a day and a half left in the Test match that we would win the game and I was trying to work out how,” Clarke said of 2006. “At best surely we’d get a draw but he had no doubt in his mind. For me as a young player I thought ‘right-o, that’s my attitude, I’m going to win’. A few years on and I’m in the change rooms telling the boys we’re going to win this Test match. Hopefully a few of them believed me the way I believed Warney back then.”It shows, if you have that self-belief and belief in the inner sanctum and the guys that sit beside you that you find ways. That was the main thing I said to the boys today. I know it’s tough, I know we’re tired, I know there’s going to be issues of the foot marks, I know it’s going to be a tough run chase but find a way. Everyone and individually as a team we’ve got to find a way and we’ll win this Test match. Credit to the boys, they certainly found a way.”Australia are building a team to be reckoned with under Clarke, and he had little hesitation declaring the Bridgetown result the equal of any he had enjoyed. It was as much a victory over the conditions and late season lethargy as the opposition, a West Indies team that is gathering discipline, skill and experience but is still learning how to fight out the critical phases of a Test.”A just reward for hanging in, the team showing true character and fight and not giving up,” Clarke said. “I think whatever happened this afternoon, whether we won the game, drew the game or lost the game, I think we certainly showed a lot of fight, a lot of character. We tried to win the Test.”We did everything we could to try and win the Test match and it’s very, very rewarding now sitting in the change rooms with that bunch of boys that we got the result we were after…after a lot of hard work, a couple of days with, I guess, our backs to the wall. But to be able to fight and get a result like that, that’s as special a win as I’ve had in my career.”This is as good as I’ve had, no doubt, because we had our backs to the wall for the first three days of the game. And the spirit and the character, I guess of the guys in the change room is what drives you, I guess, as a captain to make a bold decision, to declare when I declared. The confidence around me from everybody in that group, there wasn’t one bit of fear of losing that Test match, it wasn’t spoken about.”From day one of the Test all that’s been spoken about is what we have to do to win this Test match. And a lot of time it’s easier said than done, especially when a team gets 450 on the board in the first two days, you get some time taken out of the game with the light, so full credit to every single player and support staff person in that change room.”The Australian team is beginning to bear the stamp of Clarke – relentlessly positive, adventurous, tactically agile and skillful. He said the team was learning more about how to best operate under pressure, meaning the lapses that occurred in Cape Town against South Africa and Hobart against New Zealand are now growing less likely to occur. It is also benefiting from the balance between the brash youth of David Warner, and the poise of older heads like Michael Hussey, so calm in the chase as he had been in Adelaide six years ago.”I think we are just learning more and more about each other every day, especially under pressure,” Clarke said. “We’re working out what guys require to perform their best under pressure. We’re seeing guys stand up when they get an opportunity to play Test cricket. We’re seeing some old hands and some old legs still pulling tricks out of the bag to help us win games and Huss is a great example of that.”We’re putting in really good team performances. You’re not going to be successful individually every single time you walk out to bat or walk out to bowl. But I think the team we have at the moment, the players we have around the group at the moment aren’t bothered about themselves. They care most about the team winning and doing whatever they can to contribute to success. In my mind, there’s no coincidence the team’s doing well because we’re all putting the team first.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

Debutant Liam Norwell produced a superb all-round performance to put Gloucestershire in a commanding position against Derbyshire at Bristol

09-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Debutant Liam Norwell produced a superb all-round performance to put Gloucestershire in a commanding position against Derbyshire at Bristol. Norwell contributed 19 to a last-wicket stand of 76 with David Payne, who made an unbeaten 46, as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 343.The 19-year-old pace bowler then took 6 for 46, including the last four wickets for two runs in 11 balls, as Derbyshire were dismissed for 157. Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman enforced the follow-on and the visitors reached 30 for no wicket from nine overs by stumps.Gloucestershire had started the day on 224 for 6 and Ian Saxelby departed in the second over when he hooked Jon Clare to long leg, where Tim Groenewald took a fine catch low down. Jon Batty, unbeaten on 61 overnight, advanced to 70 before he gloved a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Luke Sutton off Groenewald. It was Batty’s best score in 31 innings for Gloucestershire since he joined from Surrey last year.Lewis, who had batted with characteristic freedom in making 29 from 26 deliveries, was dismissed in the next over when Clare ripped out his off stump. But then came the last-wicket heroics from Norwell and Payne, which prolonged the Gloucestershire innings for a further 32 overs.There were few alarms for either batsman, although Derbyshire felt aggrieved not to get any of three confident appeals for catches at the wicket given by umpire Martin Saggers. The first came against Norwell, when he was on 6, and the other two were against Payne, when on 17 and 44.Payne was within sight of a well-deserved half-century when he rightly declined a second run to midwicket and Norwell was beaten by Groenewald’s throw to Sutton behind the stumps. Payne’s 100-ball innings contained eight boundaries, six of which came through the offside and the other two were turned off his legs through midwicket.When Derbyshire batted, Garry Park was first to go when Norwell, with his third ball, had him caught by Will Gidman at gully. Three more wickets fell in quick succession as Wes Durston fell leg before to Lewis, Wayne Madsen was caught behind off Norwell and Chesney Hughes drove
Saxelby to Payne at mid-off.Only another 19 runs had been added when Greg Smith mistimed a drive off Norwell to Lewis at mid-off. Then, three balls after the tea interval, Lewis had Dan Redfern caught at the wicket off a thin edge, which made it 92 for 6. Sutton and Clare hinted at a recovery with partnership of 56, but Norwell returned to have Sutton caught behind for 35 and the teenager soon wrapped up
the rest of the innings.He had Groenewald leg before to his second ball. Then, in his next over, Clare was taken at second slip by Chris Dent and Antonio Palladino gave Batty his fourth victim behind the stumps.
In Derbyshire’s second innings, Park was dropped on eight when Saxelby spilled a chance at third slip off Lewis. He was on 11 at stumps with Madsen on 17.

A round-up of the third set of matches in the SLC Inter-Provincial Tournament 2009-10

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Apr-2010Offspinner Sachithra Senanayake continued his outstanding form for the 2009-10 season by bowling Ruhuna to their first win in the Inter-provincial four-day tournament. His haul of eight wickets coupled with a career-best knock of 89 off 108 balls enabled Ruhuna to thrash Wayamba by an innings and 63 runs at Colts Cricket Club.Ruhuna never lost their grip on the game after dismissing Wayamba for 161. Sri Lanka one-day opener Mahela Udawatte’s pleasing knock of 90 off 106 balls was the only redeeming feature of the Wayamba innings. Despite interruptions due to bad weather, Ruhuna managed to build a substantial first-innings lead of 298, through contributions from Geeth Alwis who scored 123, and half-centuries from Sri Lanka’s only uncapped player in their World Twenty20 side Dinesh Chandimal and Senanayake.Wayamba, once again, fared disastrously in their second innings to be dismissed for 235, with the major contributions coming from Jeevantha Kulatunga (85) and Shalika Karunanayake (95 n.o.). Senanayake picked up four wickets in each innings and was well supported by fast-medium bowler Tharanga Lakshitha, who ended up taking seven wickets in the match. Senanayake has captured 113 wickets so far in all three forms of domestic cricket for Sinhalese SC and Ruhuna and has been one of the most prolific wicket-takers for the season.Basnahira North went to the top of the table with their second win of the tournament, getting the better of their southern rivals Basnahira South by eight wickets in Moratuwa. Their first-innings lead of 97 proved crucial, as they were left to chase only 163 in the fourth innings.An unbroken third-wicket stand of 118 between Dimuth Karunanayake (84) and Kaushal Silva (52) saw them home. Basnahira South were put out for totals of 224 and 259, rocked by the pace of Sri Lanka Test fast bowler Dammika Prasad who took 6 for 74 in the second innings and eight wickets in the match, and the offspin of Sachitra Serasinghe, who took four wickets in the first innings.In-form opener Dilshan Munaweera reached his second successive century, scoring 136 off 109 balls to give Basnahira North the edge. Munaweera is the leading run-getter in the tournament so far with 412 at an average of 101. Basnahira North, led by Sri Lanka one-d ay batsman Thilina Kandamby, remain the only unbeaten team in the competition with two wins and a draw, and their current form indicates they are firm favourites to win the title.

New Zealand name experienced 15-man squad with only Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra set to play in their first T20 World Cup

Alex Malcolm29-Apr-2024Devon Conway has been named in New Zealand’s provisional 15-man 2024 T20 World Cup squad with Kane Williamson named as captain of an experienced squad, but fast bowler Adam Milne has been ruled out after requiring surgery on his injured ankle.The squad also features veterans Tim Southee and Trent Boult, with Southee named to play in his seventh T20 World Cup. Rachin Ravindra and Matt Henry are the only members of the squad who have not appeared in a T20 World Cup previously.Ben Sears has been named as the 16th travelling reserve.Conway had been recently ruled out of the IPL, as he was yet to recover from the thumb injury he had suffered in February. Despite being ruled out of the IPL, Conway has still travelled to India to train with Chennai Super Kings. He has returned to batting and has done some wicketkeeping sessions. He is set to be New Zealand’s first-choice keeper and opener at the World Cup.Williamson, meanwhile, returns to lead the side after missing New Zealand’s last two T20I series – the home series against Australia in February because of the birth of his third child and the Pakistan tour because of IPL duties.Milne was ruled out after requiring surgery on the injured ankle that saw him miss the tour of Pakistan. New Zealand coach Gary Stead said Milne’s injury, as devastating as it was, had made the selectors’ task easier in terms of picking the final 15.”I think the injury to Adam Milne was really tough on him but it probably made it easier for us in some ways in terms of getting the squad that we wanted,” Stead said.”We knew pretty quickly that it was surgery that he required on his ankle. Thankfully he’s had that now but he’s going to be out for I think it’s 10 to 12 weeks.”New Zealand squad for 2024 T20 World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kyle Jamieson is also unavailable as he continues his long recovery from another stress fracture in his lower back.Finn Allen has recovered from the back injury that kept him out of the tour of Pakistan. Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham and Ish Sodhi are the only players who went on that tour who have made New Zealand’s squad.Stead said it was difficult to tell some of the players who had performed well in the 2-2 drawn series in Pakistan that they had missed out on the World Cup but stressed that it bodes well for New Zealand’s future.”I think when you go to World Cups you want experience and you want people that know what it’s like,” Stead said. “That certainly doesn’t exclude those that have really put their hand up. I think that what’s been really exciting about the tour to Pakistan. We’ve seen some performances from some younger players, that’s really exciting for our future. And the message I had to them was, look, you haven’t been selected in the side, but in two years there’ll be another World Cup and that should be certainly a big enough carrot for you guys to put pressure on these guys that are here now.”Stead confirmed that the selectors had discussed the possibility of recalling veteran batters Colin Munro and Martin Guptill despite both being full-time franchise players. But the selectors opted to stick with a group that has been together regularly in recent times.”Those guys were discussed because of the experience they have,” Stead said. “But when you look at the group of batters that we’ve selected, there was no room for them.”New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Sears (travelling reserve)

Australian seamer joins county after helping Perth Scorchers to BBL title

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2023Andrew Tye, the Australia seamer, has signed for Northamptonshire for the 2023 T20 Blast.Tye was the stand-out performer in Durham’s Blast campaign last season, claiming 21 wickets in 10 matches, to take his overall record in the competition to 67 wickets in 48, following a previous spell at Gloucestershire between 2016 and 2019.He joins Northants off the back of his fourth BBL title, having helped Perth Scorchers overcome Brisbane Heat in last week’s final. In the course of that match, he picked up his 300th T20 wicket in just his 211th match, surpassing the previous record set by Rashid Khan (213 games).”I’m very excited to be joining Northamptonshire for the Blast,” Tye said. “They’re a good team that’s had success in the competition in the past so I’ll be hoping that we can recreate that success this year.”Tye, 36, will be reunited with his Australia team-mate Chris Lynn at Wantage Road, and has also played alongside the club’s bowling coach, Chris Liddle, during their Gloucestershire days.”I’m looking forward to joining Lynny, it’s always better to have him on your team than to try playing against him,” Tye added. “I’m excited to work with John Sadler too, I’ve heard really good things about him plus Chris Liddle and I go back to his playing days at Glos so I’m excited to see him and work together again.”Sadler, the head coach, added: “To get AJ on board is really pleasing, he’s an amazing addition and gives our team a great balance.
“His experience and skill set is exactly what we needed and he knows what’s required to win games and win competitions too. He’ll be a super asset for us this season.”Northamptonshire, two-times winners of the T20 Blast in 2013 and 2016, have struggled in the competition in recent years, with a solitary quarter-final appearance in the past five editions. However, with England’s David Willey also returning to the club after his spell at Yorkshire, the captain Josh Cobb believes they will have a “world-class” core in 2023.”AJ’s got a fantastic record in T20 cricket and we were looking for someone to come in and bring real experience to the attack, someone that can bowl the tough overs in the latter part of the innings and be a banker for us at the death,” Cobb said.”Willo [David Willey] coming back is a great addition for us as an allrounder, then we’ve got Lynny [Chris Lynn] at the top of the order and AJ now with the ball. It gives us a real solid core of world class experience throughout the side.”We know we fell away last year but we played some excellent cricket in the tournament, so hopefully with these two coming in alongside Willo we can push and go one step further this summer.”