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They have come forward to support the claim made by Stokes in the wake of his arrest, namely that he was acting in defence of two companions following a homophobic attack

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2017Two men have reportedly come forward to support the claim made by Ben Stokes in the wake of his arrest on suspicion of actual bodily harm last month, namely that he was acting in defence of two companions following a homophobic attack.According to a report in The Sun, two gay men, Kai Barry, 26, and Billy O’Connell, 20, have praised Stokes for his actions, having met the England allrounder on a night out in Bristol in the wake of England’s ODI victory over West Indies on September 24.The development followed two appeals from Avon and Somerset Police following the incident outside Mbargo nightclub, the second of which went into detail about the build and hair colour of the two witnesses, who were seen leaving the scene shortly before Stokes’ arrest at 2.35am.O’Connell told the newspaper: “We were so grateful to Ben for stepping in to help. He was a real hero.”Kai feared he could be attacked. If Ben hadn’t intervened it could have been a lot worse for us.”Barry added: “I’m not a fighter and we didn’t want a fight. We could’ve been in real trouble. Ben was a real gentleman.”Barry and O’Connell claimed they met Stokes and Hales in a nightclub on the evening in question and Stokes bought them drinks. They said they had no idea they were cricketers.It was reported that Stokes and Hales were later walking along the road near the pair, after leaving the nightclub, when Barry and O’Connell were subjected to homophobic abuse.Stokes has been unavailable for England selection since the incident, along with his team-mate Alex Hales, who was also present at the scene but was not arrested. He remains under investigation by Avon and Somerset Police.Stokes was initially named as England vice-captain for the upcoming Ashes, but was withdrawn from the squad earlier this month, pending further investigation. At the team’s departure press conference at Lord’s, captain Joe Root said England were preparing to be without Stokes for the entirety of the Ashes.

At half-past four, with seven wickets down and India’s tail up, the light deteriorated enough to help Sri Lanka draw an absolutely riveting Test

The Report by Nikhil Kalro20-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:00

Chopra: India timed declaration nicely

Virat Kohli’s 50th international century set up a fascinating conclusion to the Kolkata Test. It helped India declare at 352 for 8 and set Sri Lanka 231 to win at Eden Gardens. India’s seamers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, then found conventional seam movement and reverse swing to leave Sri Lanka’s middle order battling for survival in rapidly-fading light in a dramatic fifth-day finish. Somehow, Sri Lanka huffed, puffed and prevented India from blowing their house down, with three wickets in hand.After hours lost to rain over the first two days, the match came down to the final few minutes, with Shami and Bhuvneshwar hurrying back to their mark and Sri Lanka trying to delay the game to force a draw. Eventually, the light was deemed unfit at 4.28pm local, around the same time play was called off on the fourth day.In seven tentative overs prior to tea, Sri Lanka lost their openers Sadeera Samarawickrama and Dimuth Karunaratne, both chopping on to wide deliveries they had no reason to play at. India’s quicks got the ball to move again, not prodigiously but sufficiently, up until that point. First-innings half-centurions Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne were dismissed soon after tea, opening up an out-of-form middle order.Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella stalled India’s momentum with a feisty 47-run stand. At one stage in that stand, India’s frustration with Dickwella backing away from facing Shami boiled over to a point where the umpires needed to intervene. It ate into time, but that didn’t deter India.Sri Lanka’s task was made significantly harder by Bhuvneshwar and Shami both producing varying degrees of movement. Shami went through Chandimal’s defenses with a sharp inswinger, while an indipper pitched a tad shorter beat Dilruwan Perera on the outside edge, and knocked into his off stump. Three middle-order wickets in 28 balls gave India a sniff, but in the end, bad light put an end to a riveting Test.That India were given a chance was down to Kohli’s 18th Test century. Batsmen treasure centuries in such challenging conditions and Kohli’s was a classy effort. Prior to lunch, he was in a battle of attrition. He survived a close call when he gloved a short delivery past the wicketkeeper to get off a pair, but left well thereafter. When Sri Lanka erred too full, he drove through the line, accumulating more than half of his runs – 22 of 41 – in the arc between cover and mid-on.India lost R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha to tame strokes after lunch, but Kohli remained watchful. It was only when Sri Lanka took the new ball that something changed. A half-lunge meant to help him play close to the body while defending gave way to a confident, long stride and free-flowing shots. Sri Lanka’s seamers were looking for wickets, and rightly bowling full, but with hardly any swing, Kohli met the ball as early as possible as he drove and flicked merrily. He made 46 runs off 26 balls since the 80th over.In the 83rd though, Kohli was given out lbw off the bowling of Lakmal when he missed a routine flick. He reviewed immediately, and replays showed a thin inside edge. Back came the swagger: a jig with the 12th man, cheerful smiles with Bhuvneshwar and more importantly, the full range of attacking strokes.Sri Lanka, though, dominated the majority of the first two sessions. Suranga Lakmal was the only bowler to hit a high 130 kmph range and produce appreciable lateral movement. First, he set KL Rahul up with a few deliveries hung outside off. Rahul stayed patient, waiting for Lakmal to overpitch. Then came the big, booming inducker, attacking the pads and stumps. Rahul’s balance was thrown off by the change in line as he fell over a flick, and the ball found a considerable gap between bat and pad.He produced the ball of the morning to have Cheteshwar Pujara, who became the ninth player to bat on all five days of a Test, caught at gully. A back of a length delivery kicked up off the pitch a lot higher than Pujara expected and it lobbed over to Dilruwan at gully, who took a sharp, low catch. Four balls later, Lakmal had another good-length delivery hooping back in to beat Ajinkya Rahane’s inside edge and trap him lbw for 0. With the ball moving both ways, Sri Lanka believed they had a fair chance on their own terms. India though, like they have done on several occasions in home Tests over the last few years, turned the tables drastically on the visitors.

He starts work from January 8, and will join the Afghanistan squad in Dubai as it prepares for the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Dec-2017Phil Simmons is Afghanistan’s new head coach. He takes over the role that was left vacant when the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) terminated the contract of Lalchand Rajput, barely three months after the former Indian batsman was appointed. Simmons starts work from January 8, and will join the Afghanistan squad in Dubai as it prepares for the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in February. His contract runs till the 2019 World Cup.Simmons was one of the three candidates shortlisted by the ACB, which conducted interviews over the past few months. He eventually emerged as a favourite owing to his experience and success as head coach with Ireland and then West Indies. Also in favour of Simmons was his stint as a coaching consultant with the Afghanistan team last year. “We went with Phil because he understand our team,” Shafiq Stanikzai, the ACB chief executive officer, said. “He has coached West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland – all these are teams Afghanistan will play in the World Cup Qualifiers. He is a good prospect.”Simmons’ immediate challenges will be on the limited-overs front. After the Zimbabwe series, which comprises two T20Is and five ODIs between February 5 and 19, Afghanistan will move on to the World Cup Qualifiers in March. Later in the year, Afghanistan will travel to India to play their inaugural Test, dates for which are yet to be finalised.Simmons had also interviewed for the Bangladesh coach job earlier this month.

The one-off Test will be played between June 14 and 18, a year after Afghanistan were given Full Membership by the ICC

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jan-2018Afghanistan will play their inaugural Test between June 14 and 18 in Bengaluru against India. The announcement was made after officials from both the BCCI and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) met in Delhi on Tuesday. Never before has a Test match been played in India in the month of June.In December last year, the Indian board agreed to host Afghanistan’s debut Test. The match will be played one year after Afghanistan were inducted as a Full Member by the ICC – along with Ireland – in June 2017.Before the Test, Afghanistan will play a warm-up match, most likely a three-day game, the schedule for which will be announced later.Despite being a country with a history of conflict, Afghanistan have taken impressive strides across all levels in world cricket. They qualified to play their first-ever ODI World Cup in 2015 and are likely to be a strong contender at the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers in March. Although the national players have training bases overseas – in Delhi and the UAE – the ACB, with help from the ICC, has initiated development programmes at the grass-roots level over the past decade.According to Shafiqullah Stanikzai, the ACB chief executive officer, the BCCI has agreed to provide more exposure to Afghanistan players and also help out in the overall development of their cricket. “Our junior cricketers – from Under-17s to emerging sides to the A teams – will be having regular tours to India,” Stanikzai said. “In addition, the BCCI has said it will provide technical support, and merge Afghanistan in their education programmes – coaching, umpiring, curators, performance analysts, speicialised coaching – and help us wherever it can.”The BCCI has also approved the ACB’s request to have a second training base in India, in addition to the existing one in Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi. ACB officials are scheduled to carry out a recce of two more venues, both in northern India, before finalising their choice.Afghanistan will be the fourth team to play their maiden Test against India, following Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

England put in an outstanding fielding display during the first half of the second ODI at Mount Maunganui

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2018Mark Chapman: c Willey b WoakesWoakes to Chapman, OUT, Willey runs back from midwicket and takes it with a slide on his knees. Chapman late on yet another shot against Woakes, but this time he’ll pay because he’s trapped on a middle stump line, trying to pull. Back of a length ball, with some extra climb again and he’s caught halfway in his swivel as he goes for the shot. It’s good work from the fielder, who had to go about ten yards back and to his right before reaching out and completing itRoss Taylor: run out (Willey/Buttler)Rashid to Taylor, OUT, it looks like Willey has pulled off another sensational piece of fielding. Taylor won’t wait for the third umpire’s decision on this run out. This is epic stuff from Willey at backward point. Rashid drops short and Taylor slaps it. It’s a release shot after a long time and this probably leads to him instinctively take off for a run. But Willey has leapt to his right to stop this with one hand, close to the ground. He’s then chucked it back in with force after swivelling to switch to his stronger hand and it’s close enough to the stumps that Buttler won’t have difficulty whipping the bails off. Guptill sends Taylor back, and Taylor’s dive can’t get him anywhere closeMartin Guptill: c Roy b MoeenAli to Guptill, OUT, uh oh. Guptill picks out deep midwicket. Another terrific play by England in the field. Roy makes it look so easy, that’s one of the harder catches in international cricket. Some flight from Moeen, and Guptill accepts the invitation to sweep fiercely. He hasn’t quite got it. There is plenty of bat behind the stroke, but not enough timing or elevation. The ball flies flat and low to Roy, who gets his hands in position early and takes a really good catch.Henry Nicholls: c Roy b StokesStokes to Nicholls, OUT, 130 kph, another sensational catch! England are on fire. To be fair, that was a terrible delivery, short, wide and asking to be hit. Nicholls cuts, but doesn’t keep the ball down. It flies flat and quick, like the Guptill catch, to Roy’s right at backward point. His eyes are on the ball right through, he extends his hands with a reverse cup and takes it with both hands. Another very hard catch made to look incredibly easy. Stunning work from England this afternoon.Colin de Grandhomme: run out (Bairstow/Buttler)Woakes to de Grandhomme, 1 run, OUT, full on leg stump again, same shot again. But this time Bairstow at deep square has fired a flat throw in after getting there marginally quicker. CDG is struggling. It’s been sent upstairs. It’s out. A yard short. England have been good, but it won’t be unfair to question the wisdom of going back for the second this time. It was much more in front of square and towards the fielder in comparison to the last ball. A good innings from CDG ends tamelyTim Southee: run out (Stokes/Buttler)Ali to Santner, OUT, well, what do I know. Southee’s gone. Full and drifted in at leg stump. Santner flicks to Stokes’ right at midwicket. He fumbles. Santner is waiting to make a call and has taken a few steps down. Southee, however, is craning his neck and is twisted awkwardly trying to look at the ball. When Santner does make the call to go for the run, Southee isn’t in position to sprint. Santner makes it at the non-striker’s end but Southee won’t survive as Stokes fires it on the bounce to ButtlerTrent Boult: run out (Stokes/WoakesWoakes to Santner, 1 run, OUT, length on off stump, short-arm jab into the ground, to deep midwicket’s right. A one-handed pick up and throw from Stokes. Boult appears to have slid his bat in on the second run…but third umpire’s replay finds him an inch short. A cruel end to his innings. A premature one for New Zealand. Fourth run out of the inningsAnd one that got away…Stokes to Santner, 1 run, Roy has missed a pick up and a possible run out. The first real missed chance. Santner taps this in front of point and it’s a very tight run halfway through becase Roy has already reached the ball. He can’t gather on the first attempt though

Allrounder Ryan Burl and batsman Tarisai Musakanda, who were part of the squad against Afghanistan in the UAE, have been left out

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2018In a bid to strengthen their side after their 1-4 series loss to Afghanistan in the UAE earlier this month, Zimbabwe have included allrounder Sean Williams and batsman Cephas Zhuwao in their squad for the World Cup qualifiers.Williams and Zhuwao, who weren’t part of the squad in the UAE, will replace allrounder Ryan Burl and batsman Tarisai Musakanda. Burl had managed only 23 runs in four innings one wicket in 10.4 overs while Musakanda had scored 20 runs in two innings.Williams missed the ODIs against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe A’s home series against Kenya due to a finger injury he sustained during training in January. He last featured in an ODI during the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2017.Zhuwao, who last played for the country in 2011, made a strong case to be considered. He had scored 235 runs in four one-dayers for Zimbabwe A, including 131 in the opening game, against Kenya. Recently, he hit a career-best 265 against Rhinos in the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s first-class tournament.The top two teams from the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers will join the top-eight sides in the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. Zimbabwe will open their campaign against Nepal at the Queens Sports Club on March 4.Squad: Graeme Cremer (capt), Tendai Chatara, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams and Cephas Zhuwao.

Plugging collapses in difficult situations will be top priority for the new high performance coach of Brisbane’s National Cricket Centre

Daniel Brettig14-Mar-2018Australia’s global reputation for flakiness with the bat in difficult conditions will be in Chris Rogers’ sights after he was formally appointed as the man to mentor the nation’s future generations of top-order players as the new high performance coach at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.Rogers, who replaces Matthew Elliott after the fellow former left-hander quit for family reasons, became synonymous with thinking his way through challenging circumstances as a batsman, with vast experience of conditions in England and Australia in particular. The 17-year drought since an Australian side last won the Ashes in the UK looms large among the nuts he and others will be trying to crack in future years.Following his retirement from Test cricket in 2015, Rogers played one more season of county cricket as captain of Somerset, before staying on with the club as a batting coach last year. He has also worked as an assistant coach for Australia A, the Cricket Australia XI and the Australian Under-19s team at the World Cup earlier this year in New Zealand.”We’re excited to have Chris on board, and know he will be an outstanding addition to our coaching team,” the team performance manager Pat Howard said. “Chris brings thoughtfulness, persistence and passion to the role and combines this with a strong intellect. He has a wealth of cricket experience that will be invaluable to the players he will be working with.”He enjoyed a successful career at both international and first-class level, succeeding in Australia and overseas. From a coaching perspective, Chris has already been involved in roles with Cricket Australia’s pathways program – including as assistant coach at the recent Under 19 Cricket World Cup – and in the English County system.”We’re looking forward to having Chris work with Australia’s next generation and watching him develop as a coach. We are confident he can have a big impact in moulding our rising stars into future international cricketers.”Back in November 2016, after Australia’s fifth consecutive Test loss, against South Africa in Hobart, Howard had identified Rogers as a key voice in the process of rehabilitating Australian batting, particularly with a view towards dealing with the moving ball. “It needs more focus. That’s simple,” Howard said. “Chris was fantastic. You go back to what he and David Warner did at the Oval [in 2015], I think it was 14 runs off 10 overs, they read the situation really well.”That patience and adaptability to read the situation there. I’ve really been impressed by Chris’ insights and comments, and I was before. He’s got a good insight into the game … we’ve talked to him about coming and talking to people around that, both technically and mentally, and about a year ago, he worked with our Under-19s. It’s a fair comment and something to drive some of our thinking.”In also working as a commentator for , Rogers has offered his insights freely. “I think good sides always find a way to fight when they’re in trouble, and the Australian side at the moment, when they lose a few wickets, it’s just a collapse,” Rogers told at the time of the Hobart defeat. “All 10 wickets have fallen. We’ve seen it now two Tests in a row, I think for 86 in the first Test, and now 85 in this Test, and you don’t see that [often].”So there’s something fundamentally wrong, I think, with the side. They’re obviously lacking confidence. There’s no doubt the talent’s there, but they just can’t find a way to fight, and that’s really disconcerting. Speaking to particularly a few of the older guys, past players, there’s a bit of a thought that maybe we should push to return to how the Sheffield Shield used to be – just pick the best sides, the best players, and see who wins. We have this system now where we’re trying to identify players and push them through.”But we’ve been doing that for a fair while now, and it doesn’t seem to be working. The performances haven’t really been there to justify it. I think it’s about now finding that winning culture. We’ve perhaps lost that, and whether we need to find that at the level below, maybe that’s the way to go.”While Australia have improved substantially in terms of eradicating batting collapses since 2016, there is still a tendency to lose wickets in a hurry when placed under the sort of pressure created by Kagiso Rabada in Port Elizabeth. The middle-order batsman Shaun Marsh conceded this was indeed a problem to address, both for the remainder of this series and into the future.”We’ve come a long way. We just need to keep working hard,” Marsh said. “I think we’re all playing well. As a batting group, we just need to make sure that once we get in, we really lock ourselves in and get the hundreds we haven’t got in the first two Test matches. We’ve got a few days now to reflect and work hard, and make sure we’re out there and doing the job for the team.”

The new captain Iyer, who comes in with coach Ponting’s full support, said “we still have the potential to win the tournament”

Sidharth Monga in Delhi25-Apr-20182:13

Not yet decided on my IPL future – Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir has stepped down as captain of Delhi Daredevils after the team suffered another woeful start to the IPL. According to his recommendation, the 23-year old batsman Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as his successor.”I take full responsibility for where we are at the points table,” Gambhir said. “I thought I hadn’t done enough. I needed to take the responsiblity as a leader. I felt this was the right time because we still have a chance. [It was] absolutely my decision. No pressure from the franchise.”Gautam Gambhir has scored 42 runs off the 60 balls he’s faced from seamers in IPL 2018•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Daredevils had won only one out of six matches in 2018 and were in last place when he addressed a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday. But the new captain Iyer, who comes in with the full support of the coach Ricky Ponting said, “We still have the potential to win the tournament. We have eight games in hand. There are lots of us who believe.”Gambhir had returned to the Daredevils set-up after seven years with Kolkata Knight Riders in the hopes of giving back to his home city. However, after a half-century in his first game back, his batting faded away with opposition teams honing in on his weakness against pace. He has only made 85 runs in five innings.Ponting understood how difficult the decision must have been for Gambhir. “Having been in the same situation many years ago, [I know it is] tough decision to make… to put their hand up and say his performance has not been good enough. I would like to congratulate him for having put the team ahead of himself.”CEO of the Daredevils franchise Hemant Dua said Gambhir will now function as a player-mentor. “This is a decision Gautam made on his own. We salute it. He is passionate about making DD win. We are touched. There aren’t many such examples in India that a cricketer says my team comes before the individual. He will obviously be around and will mentor Shreyas into captaincy.”Daredevils might have felt the need for drastic changes after the outcome of their most recent game. Having restricted a powerful Kings XI Punjab line-up to only 143, their batting malfunctioned resulting in a loss by four runs.

After enduring a few jitters in the course of England’s mini-revival on the third evening, normal service was resumed in emphatic fashion

The Report by Andrew Miller27-May-2018 Pakistan 363 (Babar 68*) and 66 for 1 (Haris 39*, Imam 18*) beat England 184 (Cook 70) and 242 (Root 68, Buttler 66, Bess 57, Abbas 4-41, Amir 4-37) by nine wickets.

ScorecardIn the end, a good night’s sleep was all that Pakistan’s rampant cricketers needed. After enduring a few jitters in the course of England’s mini-revival on the third evening, normal service was resumed in emphatic fashion on the fourth morning at Lord’s.With Mohammads Abbas and Amir to the fore, Pakistan scalped England’s supine lower order with four wickets for six runs in the space of 18 balls, before Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail made light of the early loss of Azhar Ali to stroll across the finish line in an unbroken second-wicket stand of 54.Pakistan’s nine-wicket win was their second Test victory at Lord’s in consecutive visits, following a famous win under Misbah-ul-Haq in 2016, but it was arguably even more remarkable given the callow nature of a line-up that lacks any of the great batting stars of their recent history, and a bowling attack which pales in experience compared to that of their opponents.If there were any nerves in Pakistan’s dressing room before the start of play, they were emphatically quashed by Abbas’s second delivery of the morning. With the new ball around the corner, he thudded the old one into the front pad of Jos Buttler, a man who had done so well to take that dismissal out of the equation during his counter-attacking fifty on the third evening.There was no recourse from DRS, however, and as he trudged off without addition to his overnight 66, England’s scant hopes departed with him. Mark Wood had no answer to Amir’s wiles when the new ball was taken midway through the next over – he grazed Amir through to Sarfraz for 4.Abbas then repeated that trick with a mirror-image snick off the left-handed Stuart Broad for a duck, before Amir flattened Dom Bess’s off stump to wrap up another woeful collapse. Bess did at least depart with huge personal credit after becoming the third youngest England player to make a fifty on debut – and the youngest, at 20 years and 306 days, to have been picked primarily for his bowling.Pakistan needed 64 to win, then. A pretty facile target on the face of it, although few teams are better at making meals of small targets. So, when James Anderson found the ideal length to pluck out Azhar Ali’s off stump for 4, there was a ripple of alarm at 12 for 1, especially with Babar Azam indisposed with a broken forearm.But Imam-ul-Haq has seen this situation once already on this tour, having marshalled Pakistan’s chase in a tense finale at Malahide earlier this month, and as he bedded in at one end, Haris Sohail displayed the fluency that met the needs of the hour at the other, to rush the score along at a fair clip.In particular, Haris climbed into the spin of Bess, on a hiding to nothing with so few runs to defend. He was driven for three sublime fours to break the back of the chase, before a brace of full tosses in his final over sealed the deal – Haris slammed the first high into Mound Stand for six before slapping the winning four in the same direction.There is little time for an inquest into England’s humiliation – and make no mistake, regardless of Pakistan’s excellence, their opponents have been largely woeful – given that the second Test at Headingley gets underway on Friday.But not only was this Pakistan’s eighth Test win in their last 11 against England, it was – incredibly – the first time England had lost the first Test of a home summer since 1995. Back then West Indies, still led by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in their pomp, routed them by nine wickets at Headingley. The more things change, the more they stay the same.”It was not good enough, if I’m being brutally honest,” said Joe Root, England’s captain. “We were outperformed in all three disciplines.”

Domestic T20 remains vital given the significance of format globally, say England players

Melinda Farrell25-Jun-2018The Vitality T20 Blast, which gets underway next week, remains a vital part of the English domestic calendar, according to Dawid Malan and Mark Wood, in spite of the uncertainty surrounding its future in light of the ECB’s plans for a new 100-ball competition from 2020 onwards.Both Malan and Wood are likely to be in action for their counties, Middlesex and Durham, in the opening round of the Blast on July 5 and 6, having been overlooked for the T20I series against England. But it is that continued importance of the 20-over format at the top level of the game that encourages both men to believe that the competition remains relevant.”I think it depends what happens in the rest of the world,” said Malan. “If the rest of the world keep playing T20 cricket and there’s a T20 World Cup, I can’t really see how 100-ball cricket is going to take over all T20 around the world.”Fifty-over cricket has been dying for the last 10, 15 years, but it seems to be getting stronger and stronger now with the way it’s been reinvented by the players, so I think it’s a good initiative from the ECB to bring a franchise system in, but I still think T20 is your key and T20 is what everyone associates with.”It’s not to say that it won’t work but the T20 tournament for me is the one that will be recognised around the world, that all the players will play, that you’ll be selected to play internationally in T20 cricket, and I can’t see 100-ball cricket having a place if I’m honest.”I just think it’s the unknown of what happens if we don’t get picked up, where are we going to be, where are we going to play, will we play 40-over cricket, 50-over cricket, are we going to have five weeks off, what are we doing? No one really knows what’s happening and I think that’s why a lot of us are standing up and asking relevant questions.”David Malan•Vitality UK

It’s a concern shared by Wood, who – while open to the concept – believes there is uncertainty for players surrounding the new and untested format.”I think they have the right sort of filters in international cricket, you’re playing 20 overs, and it’s the same as the Royal London 50-over competition,” said Wood. “So they both filter into international cricket with the competitions you play there.”I think with the 100-ball competition you’re not gonna play that at international level so the unknowing around that is maybe what the problem is with the 100-ball format.”If it’s a new idea, maybe people will jump on it and if there’s new audiences and it gets people back watching cricket on terrestrial TV, I think that’s good.But in terms of the Blast I think there’s something quite exciting about the Blast. The finals day is something quite unbelievable, for a player especially.”We don’t get massive crowds in the County Championship and in the 50-over stuff but then we’ll play Yorkshire in a T20 and it’s our biggest game. It’s great playing in front of a full house, so I hope that that side of things can continue, whether it’s the Blast or the 100-ball format.”
Wood was impressed by what he saw of the marketing of the Big Bash in Australia, something he feels could be improved on in England. He also has concerns surrounding support in the north-east for a Leeds-based side in the new 100-ball competition.”We will have a job persuading Durham fans to go and watch a team in Leeds as it is a bit of a trek, but I hope they do… especially if I am playing!”While the exact breakdown of overs has yet to be confirmed, Wood – who has bowled at the death in the IPL and the Blast, as well as for England – isn’t thrilled at the mooted idea of a ten-ball final over.”I think a lot of batters are queuing up for this in the competition!” said Wood “For me personally I’m not a massive fan of that, I mean I’d give it a good go but to think you could go for 60 in ten balls … especially if the first two balls go for six, you’ll be thinking ‘oh no, I’ve got eight balls to go here’ so it’s not going to be the best.”It’s not the physicality, it’s more the mental state of getting hit for a couple of sixes early doors and then you think ‘oh no here we go,'” Wood added. “But if it is a ten-ball over then it could change the game dramatically, couldn’t it? Why not just have two bowlers that just bowl from one end each. You play nine batsmen and have two bowlers, we’ll get smacked and you can just keep.”Whatever lies in the future of short-form cricket in England, players like Malan and Jos Buttler have proven the T20 game has provided a new pathway into the national Test side.”I think one of the major things in international cricket is to learn how to handle pressure,” said Malan. “You’ve got to deal with the pressure and the scrutiny from the media and the thing that T20 teaches you is that you have to be able to handle pressure.”If you’re out there and chasing ten an over and you can’t handle the pressure, you’re never going to win a game of cricket for your country or your team and you’re never going to get close.Malan was given his opportunity in the third T20I against South Africa last summer and, with only one game to stake his claim in the England side, his experience in performing under pressure proved vital: he scored 78 off 44 balls to help England to a 19-run victory.”If you can handle those pressures and be able to go out there and express yourself while you’re under pressure, while you’re being judged, while you’re definitely being looked at and broken apart in every aspect, it gives you that opportunity and gives you that mental strength that you need to succeed at Test level.”Dawid Malan and Mark Wood were speaking at the launch of the Vitality IT20 – starting with England v Australia at Edgbaston on June 27. Vitality offers health insurance, life insurance & investments