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Jake Doran left the field having felt ill after testing positive for Covid-19

AAP01-Dec-2022Tasmania wicketkeeper Jake Doran left the field feeling unwell after testing positive to Covid-19 and was replaced by Tim Paine on day one of the Sheffield Shield clash against South Australia.South Australia batters Jake Weatherald and Nathan McSweeney scored centuries to put their side in a solid position at 8 for 309 having been sent in to bat by Tasmania.Tasmania named former Test skipper Paine as 12th man but he was brought into the game as a substitute wicketkeeper when Doran left the playing arena.Doran had felt fine at the start of play and took an early catch but was replaced by Paine after taking ill. Paine, who will not be allowed to bat, took two neat catches.Weatherald made 100 and McSweeney (118) scored his maiden first class century.Peter Siddle, sporting a peroxide blonde hairstyle, was a constant threat on his way to 4 for 59 from 25 probing overs.Weatherald and McSweeney combined for a 149-run stand for the third wicket after Siddle struck early to remove Henry Hunt and Daniel Drew.Left-hander Weatherald struck 16 boundaries, including two sixes, and was particularly savage through the off side in a confident counter-attacking innings.McSweeney offered sensible support and was an excellent foil for his more aggressive batting partner before upping the ante. The 23-year-old brought up his century with a sweet on drive from the bowling of spinner Jarrod Freeman.It was a moment to savour for the former Australia Under-19s representative after he was stranded on 99 not out in March when he hit the winning runs in a five-wicket Shield win over NSW.South Australia were 6 for 196 just after tea but McSweeney received excellent support from in-form allrounder Benjamin Manenti and Nathan McAndrew.Weatherald said he was delighted to find form against a class attack.”This year has been a bit of a struggle for me with the bat so it was good to walk out there and play freely and score some runs,” he said. “[McSweeney] was able to absorb an amazing amount of pressure … and batted really well.”Tasmania sit second on the Shield table behind Western Australia after a hard-fought four-wicket win over Victoria in their most recent match. South Australia are second-last with two losses and three draws so far this season.

Nabi, 39, is Afghanistan’s highest capped ODI cricketer and has been a constant since their debut in the format in 2009

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2024Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi has said he wants to retire from the ODI format after the Champions Trophy 2025. Nabi revealed his plans at the end of the ODI series against Bangladesh in the UAE, while claiming his Player-of-the-Series award in Afghanistan’s 2-1 series victory.”In my mind, from the last World Cup, I was retired but then we qualified for the Champions Trophy and I felt if I could play that, it would be great,” Nabi told the host broadcaster after the third ODI.It is understood he has communicated the decision to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and will continue playing T20Is. To the ACB media team, he said: “We will see, but no, I will not play for long. God willing, after the Champions Trophy, we will say goodbye to the ODIs.”With 167 appearances in the format, Nabi is Afghanistan’s highest-capped ODI cricketer and the current World No. 1 ODI allrounder according to the ICC rankings.He has represented Afghanistan ever since their debut ODI against Scotland in 2009. With the bat, his 3600 ODI runs puts him at second on the list of Afghanistan’s highest run-getters. He has also hit 17 fifties and two centuries at 27.48. As an offspinner, he has 172 wickets, the second-highest for Afghanistan, at an average of 32.47.The 2025 Champions Trophy will be Afghanistan’s maiden appearance at the event. They made the cut by virtue of finishing sixth at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The eight-team Champions Trophy features the top seven teams from the latest ODI World Cup, along with hosts Pakistan.In both T20Is and ODIs, Nabi has been a constant in Afghanistan’s rise up the ranks that culminated in ODI, T20I and Test recognition. He was ODI captain in Afghanistan’s maiden 50-over World Cup appearance in 2015, and featured in the 2019 and 2023 editions too. He retired from Tests in 2019.

On Thursday, Test captain Pat Cummins confirmed most players were comfortable with the series going ahead

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2022Australia’s first visit to Pakistan since 1998 has received a final all-clear. The tour, which comprises three Tests, three ODIs and a T20I, has been on the cards since November 2021. Both boards have been making steady progress towards the series going ahead, and now after a final pre-trip security briefing Cricket Australia has given its full endorsement.”I would like to thank the PCB and both the Pakistan and Australian Governments for ensuring the tour will proceed for the first time in 24 years,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley said. “This is a historic occasion and important for the global growth and health of the game.Schedule of Australia’s tour of Pakistan 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I would also like to thank the Australian Cricketers’ Association and the players, coaches, support teams, staff and security experts for their collaboration in the planning for the tour. We are looking forward to an exciting series between two world-class teams.”On Thursday, Test captain Pat Cummins confirmed most players were comfortable with the tour going ahead, while understanding and accepting a few may not make the trip.”I think we’ll get close to a full-strength squad,” Cummins said. “There is still a little bit of work to do. We have received a lot of information and it has been great. All the pre-tour security and biosecurity work has been done and it’s been fantastic.”Australia are expected to name their squad early next week. It will be their first overseas Test series since the 2019 Ashes. With matches going on until April 5, some of their players may not be available for the first few days of the IPL due to begin on March 27.

Former England captain withdraws from Test Match Special following internal criticism

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2022Michael Vaughan has made the decision “step back from work with the BBC”, almost two weeks after being charged over the Yorkshire racism scandal, and will not be part of the Test Match Special commentary team for next week’s delayed fifth Test against India.Vaughan was dropped from last winter’s Ashes coverage after being implicated in Azeem Rafiq’s testimony about the culture of institutional racism at Yorkshire, but was restored to broadcasting duties for the recent three-Test series against New Zealand.That move, however, has caused disquiet for the BBC Sport’s Black, Asian and minority ethnic group, which last week sent an internal email criticising the “totally inexcusable” decision to re-employ Vaughan, whom Rafiq claims told a group of Asian players in 2009 that there were “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it”.That alleged comment led to Vaughan becoming one of seven Yorkshire players to be charged by the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission with bringing the game into disrepute.On Tuesday evening, Vaughan responded to the criticism by releasing a statement on Twitter.”On numerous occasions, I have put on record my views on the issues concerning YCCC,” Vaughan wrote. “It is always regrettable when commentary on matters off the field take the focus away from what’s happening on the field. In view of the ongoing dialogue on the subject, I have taken the decision to step back from my work with the BBC for the time being.”The key driver for this is my concern for the wellbeing of my family members and my wish to protect their family life. Stepping back temporarily is also in the interests of the game and I hope that it will minimise any difficulties for my work colleagues.”The BBC responded in a statement: “Following conversations with Michael Vaughan we have accepted his decision to step away from our cricket coverage. This is a decision we respect and understand. Michael remains under contract to the BBC.”

Naseem Shah expected to return for hosts; Tom Helm or Olly Stone likely to replace Mark Wood

Danyal Rasool24-Sep-2022

Big picture

The shapeshifting nature of a seven-match T20I series makes it difficult to capture the big picture in words that age well, so the first rule of doing this is accepting that.England, after all, have a seemingly bottomless pit of explosive T20 cricketers, and as Harry Brook and Will Jacks – who debuted on Friday – showed in the series, they’re nowhere near scraping the bottom of that barrel. Pakistan, who will be playing their 200th T20I, have the most consistent opening pair in the world, and a middle order that has so far been unable to live up to its vast potential. We all know this. We knew it three games ago, and we know some combination of these events will continue to define the final four games of this series, because that’s what you get with Pakistan and England. We didn’t need three T20Is on the best batting pitch in the world to figure that out.Related

• England's visit to cricket city

• Wood focused on T20 World Cup readiness despite stellar display

• Brook makes his mark with maiden international fifty

• Babar and Rizwan raise the volume to drown out the noise

But that doesn’t mean there’s no value to be gained from this glut of games. Pakistan have seen the debates that are both furious in their intensity and tiresome in their repetitiveness around the top and middle order rage on, but that has shielded the bowlers from the scrutiny they deserve after two especially uninspiring performances. Shadab Khan’s return to fitness cannot come soon enough, with Usman Qadir having comprehensively failed to take the chances that have come his way. It might have been forgotten in the blur of boundaries that followed, but England hadn’t hit a six in the first half of the innings until Qadir landed a half-volley right in new batter Brook’s hitting arc and found himself dispatched over his head.The seamers, too, have repeatedly failed to find their lines and lengths at crucial points in overs, and evidence of match-up bowling has been scarce. The short-ball at pace was persisted with despite Brook’s prolific ability on the pull and behind the wicket, while rigidity with bowlers’ lines frequently allowed him to back away and open up cover, where deep protection often didn’t exist. The fielding hasn’t helped either, and in the ferocity of the culture war around batting intent, it escapes notice that the best way to limit the need for extreme risk-taking is by making sure you don’t need to chase down any more than necessary.England have problems, too, but of a much different kind. They have been the side happier to treat these games as experiments, tinkering around with both the batting and the bowling, even opting to set a total in one game, a modern T20 anathema. Alex Hales has shone on his England return, and Ben Duckett, Brook and Jacks have all enjoyed impressive starts to the series. Adil Rashid’s landed them with almost metronomic consistency, making him the most useful spinner from either side. And if you thought Luke Wood was a shot in England’s arm, what Mark Wood did on his return from injury on Friday – racking up a top speed in excess of 97 mph – becomes incomprehensible. All of this means there’s little England can complain about so far this tour.

Form guide

Pakistan: LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

England: WLWLLMohammad Nawaz has conceded just 7.83 runs this series•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

When the opposition amasses huge scores for fun, don’t expect to get any credit as a bowler. Especially one who doesn’t pick up many wickets. And yet, Mohammad Nawaz, having conceded 94 in three games for just one wicket, is arguably Pakistan’s best T20 bowler. It is a selfless role of sorts he plays, operating as a left-arm spinner with only pace and line variations to rely on. He doesn’t possess the ability to turn it big, but it’s uncanny how often a slight slowing of an England innings tempo coincides with Nawaz’s introduction. He hasn’t been afraid to take on an over or two in the powerplay, either, and against an England side that’s scored 580 runs in just under 60 overs, Nawaz has found a way to concede just 7.83 in his dozen.In an England batting line-up so chock-full of natural power-hitters, Dawid Malan can stick out. He might have been the number one ranked T20I player fairly recently, but the big-hitting that comes so effortlessly to his team-mates is obviously not his forte in the same manner. Despite impressing as opener in the Hundred, it has been a tricky start to the series for him, his penchant for starting slowly offering Pakistan’s bowlers much-needed respite. The slow, low conditions haven’t helped – and, of course, won’t be a feature of surfaces in Australia at the upcoming T20 World Cup. But with his team-mates hitting sixes for fun, Malan might feel it’s about time he showed why he belongs in this glittering batting line-up.

Pitch and conditions

Evening conditions have cooled down slightly in Karachi, though it remains fairly humid. A fresh pitch will be used for this game.

Team news

Naseem Shah might return as Pakistan look to level the series, while the middle order could face a reshuffle as the hosts search for their best combination. Shadab will be expected to come in at some stage, and, if available, would slot straight in for Qadir.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt) 2 Mohammad Rizwan/Mohammad Haris (wk) 3 Haider Ali 4 Shan Masood 5 Iftikhar Ahmed 6 Khushdil Shah/Asif Ali 7 Mohammad Nawaz 8 Shadab Khan/Usman Qadir 9 Mohammad Hasnain 10 Naseem Shah 11 Haris RaufEngland didn’t train on Saturday and would be expected to make a couple of changes for the fourth T20I. Mark Wood will likely be rested after his explosive burst on Friday, with Tom Helm or Olly Stone the likeliest replacements. Hales may also return despite Jacks’ impressive debut. David Willey might come in if Sam Curran gets a rest.England: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Alex Hales/Will Jacks, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali (capt), 7 Sam Curran/David Willey, 8 Liam Dawson 9 Reece Topley, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Olly Stone

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan will be playing their 200th T20I on Sunday, the first team to this landmark.
• Babar is 97 away from 3,000 T20I career runs. Only four batters – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Martin Guptill and Paul Stirling have reached that mark.
• Malan hasn’t enjoyed playing against Pakistan. In nine T20Is, he averages 18.87 against them, down from a career average of 37.05, and strikes at 106.33, while his career strike rate is 137.61.

Quotes

“You tend to be a bit fresh after seven months out. It’s been a long time, and I felt very tired at the end. I know it’s only a T20, but it’s all the intensity of international cricket.”

The injury-prone quick pulled up injured after bowling five balls against Mumbai Indians before completing his over and going off the field

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2023Deepak Chahar will undergo scans this week to determine the extent of the left-hamstring injury he sustained during Chennai Super Kings’ seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night.Chahar, the leader of Super Kings’ seam attack, pulled up injured after five balls of his first over before receiving treatment from Tommy Simsek, the franchise’s long-serving physio, who appeared to tape up his left hamstring.He completed his over, tentatively bowling a 73mph/118kph half-volley which was hit for four by Rohit Sharma, but was then replaced by substitute fielder Subhranshu Senapati for the rest of the innings. During Super Kings’ run chase, Chahar was replaced by Ambati Rayudu under the Impact Player rule.Related

• 'It's ridiculous' – Shastri frustrated with Indian quicks' recurring injuries

• Deepak Chahar on returning from big injuries: 'Mentally it's very tough'

• Archer misses Mumbai vs CSK clash in the IPL as precaution

• Jadeja, Santner and Rahane hand Mumbai a drubbing

• Rahane encouraged by Dhoni to 'be Ajinkya Rahane and play like Ajinkya Rahane'

Chahar has struggled with injuries over the last 18 months, and admitted recently that he had found it “mentally… very tough” to deal with missing so much cricket. “Chahar will undergo scans to identify the extent of the injury once the team returns to Chennai,” the franchise said in a statement on Sunday.Ben Stokes, Chennai’s INR 16.5 crore buy at December’s auction, was ruled out of Saturday night’s game with what the franchise described as “a minor toe injury”, which is understood to be unrelated to his ongoing left knee issue.Stokes travelled to the ground with the rest of the squad on Saturday night but only played a minor role in the warm-ups. “Stokes played Chennai Super Kings’ first two matches of IPL 2023 before injuring his toe during training ahead of the third game, which the Super Kings won by seven wickets,” the franchise said. “The Chennai Super Kings medical staff are closely monitoring both the players and will provide all support necessary for their recovery.”Moeen Ali, who missed Saturday’s game because of illness, is also expected to be available again soon. Chennai’s next fixture is on April 12, at home to Rajasthan Royals.

The opener made 155 out of a second innings total of 291 to leave Victoria a testing target

AAP10-Feb-2025Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield pacesetter Jake Weatherald blazed another big century to put the heat on Victoria ahead of a final-day run chase in Hobart.The hosts began their second innings 22 runs behind Victoria, but the former South Australian opener turned the tables with a blazing 155 off 212 balls on Monday as Tasmania made 291.Related

• McAndrew's 7 for 11 blows WA away for 66 in five session game

• Debutant Dixon fires for Victoria against Tasmania

Victoria, second on the Shield ladder with three rounds remaining, were 55 for 2 at stumps They need a further 215 to deny the last-placed Tasmania just their second win in the seventh match of the season.Weatherald found some support from Jake Doran and debutant No. 9 Raf MacMillan, whose bright innings came to an unfortunate end when he miscued a juicy Harry Dixon full toss.Weatherald clattered 20 boundaries in his innings, lathering drives through point and cover, and latching on to anything short with sweetly timed pull shots that sounded like cannons echoing around the Bellerive stands.He was the last man out, his crisp knock following 185 against Queensland in November to put him on top of the Shield run-scoring list this season.Opener Marcus Harris was an early casualty in the chase, trapped in front by Gabe Bell. Bell then dismissed Campbell Kellaway in similar fashion, Jon Merlo and Sam Elliott the unbeaten pair at stumps.

Obuya, who had an international career spanning 23 years, was instrumental in Kenya’s run to the 2003 World Cup semi-final

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2024Kenya allrounder Collins Obuya has retired from cricket following their defeat to Uganda in the third place play-off match in the African Games on Saturday.”I have decided to retire from the game after 23 years. It’s been a big honour playing for Kenya,” Obuya said after the match.A legspinning allrounder, Obuya played 104 ODIs for Kenya, scoring 2044 runs and taking 35 wickets. He is their third-highest run-scorer in the format, with Kenya stripped of their ODI status in 2014.He is also Kenya’s highest run-scorer in T20Is, with 1794 runs from 76 appearances.Obuya was instrumental in Kenya’s run to the 2003 World Cup semi-finals. His career-best haul of 5 for 24 helped Kenya notch a famous win over Sri Lanka and reach the Super Six stage. Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were among the scalps he claimed that match as Kenya successfully defended their total of 210. He finished the tournament with 13 wickets at 28.76.In the 2011 World Cup, Obuya produced his best effort with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 98 against Australia which earned him the player-of-the-match award.Obuya was named Kenya’s captain after the 2011 World Cup, but he stepped down in 2013 after they failed to qualify for the 2014 T20 World Cup.