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Tshwane Spartans stuck in third after washout against Jozi Stars

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This is the third time the Centurion-based side were unable to play at home, but the first where not a ball was bowled

Firdose Moonda05-Dec-2019Match abandoned Tshwane Spartans had to settle for two points against Jozi Stars, which keeps them in third place on the MSL table, after their match was abandoned at SuperSport Park. This is the third time the Centurion-based side were unable to play at home, but the first where not a ball was bowled.The Spartans faced 7.1 overs against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants on November 13, before the rain came down, and there were 17.1 overs played in their fixture against Durban Heat, which was eventually reduced to five overs on November 21, before play was no longer possible.Those results affected the early part of the Spartans campaign, which left them with one win from their first three matches. They went on to two more victories against the Stars and Paarl Rocks before losing to the Giants and Cape Town Blitz to keep them off the top of the table. The Spartans are now two points behind the Giants and the Rocks and have one more match to play.On the other end of the table, the defending champions Stars will welcome their first points after losing all seven matches so far. While they are out of contention for the playoff and will still end up with the wooden spoon, they have moved to two points instead of none and have two matches left to play.Heavy rain on the South African Highveld is expected to last until Friday, bringing much needed relief from a heatwave and a severe drought. It should clear before the Stars play their final pool match against the Heat at the Wanderers on Saturday and the Spartans host the Blitz on Sunday afternoon, in what could be a decider to determine who makes the playoff.

Tabraiz Shamsi, Faf du Plessis keep Durban Heat at the bottom of the table

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After the left-arm wristspinner’s twin strikes limited Heat to 154 for 6, the Paarl Rocks captain led the chase with an unbeaten 76

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu02-Dec-2018
Left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi’s twin strikes and his captain Faf du Plessis’ well-modulated 76 not out off 48 balls fashioned a crucial win for Paarl Rocks and kept Durban Heat at the bottom of the points table. The game boiled down to the final over, but du Plessis’ clever manipulation of the field – his innings included eight hard-run twos – ensured Paarl were always in control of their chase of 155 on a two-paced pitch.The nine-wicket win meant Rocks remained in contention for the playoffs, while Heat were pushed to the brink after their fifth loss in six matches.Such a heavy defeat for Heat did not seem likely when they zoomed to 56 for 0 in the Powerplay. While the dropped Hashim Amla was carrying drinks after managing just 55 runs in five innings, his replacement Sarel Erwee teed off with four successive boundaries off left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin in the fifth over. Morne van Wyk too kept the scorecard ticking before seamer Grant Thomson had Erwee chopping an inducker onto his stumps for 32 off 22 balls.Shamsi then struck in the 10th over to pin van Wyk lbw with his stock ball that broke back in. The next five overs yielded only 23 runs for the loss of two further wickets. Shamsi was central to the squeeze, exploiting the early-morning moisture with his variations. He ended with 2 for 20 in his four overs on a day when no other bowler took more than one wicket.Khaya Zondo and Vernon Philander then added 49 in 4.3 overs to haul Heat from 105 for 5 to 154 for 6.Rocks had an early scare in their chase when opener Henry Davids retired hurt on 2 because of an adductor muscle strain, sustained while running a single. Ironically, the running between the wickets turned out to be the hallmark of the chase. There were as many as 17 doubles, including four on the trot in the 18th over.In the Powerplay, du Plessis and Aiden Markram matched each other shot for shot to take full toll of anything loose. Zimbabwe legspinner Brandon Mavuta then cut short the opening stand at 76 when he drew Markram out of the crease and had him stumped for 48 off 39 balls. Du Plessis, though, displayed greater confidence against Mavuta, taking 16 runs off 10 balls from him. He raised his fifty off 36 balls and coaxed Vaughn van Jaarsveld to run hard between the wickets too.They sealed victory with three consecutive fours, van Jaarsveld hitting the winning runs with a violent hoick over mid-on.Durban Heat, who are still mathematically in contention for the playoffs, will hope that Rashid Khan’s arrival – he missed the start of the tournament because of his stint in the T10 league – gives their campaign a leg-up.

Bangladesh tighten grip with late wickets

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The hosts made 260 after choosing to bat in Mirpur, and then rattled Australia just before stumps on the first day

The Report by Brydon Coverdale27-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
6:56

Isam: Tamim, Shakib dug Bangladesh out of a hole

There was nothing to match a Jason Gillespie double-century, but the first day of Test cricket between Bangladesh and Australia in 11 years provided a gripping contest all the same. Three Bangladesh wickets tumbled in the first four overs of the day; three Australian wickets crashed in the final four overs of the day. In between, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal celebrated their respective 50th Tests with a century stand that led Bangladesh’s recovery.

Stats – Lyon surpasses Benaud

1 – Number of Australia spinners to have taken more Test wickets than Nathan Lyon. The offspinner surpassed Richie Benaud’s tally of 248 and moved to 250 wickets. Shane Warne leads the list with 708 wickets. Lyon also became the eighth bowler from Australia to claim 250 wickets in Tests.
155 – Runs added by Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal – the second highest for the fourth wicket for Bangladesh.
3 – Wickets lost by Bangladesh for 10 runs in four overs. This is only the second time they have lost their first three wickets for 10 runs or fewer. They had lost three wickets for five runs against New Zealand in 2004.
8 – Century partnerships for the fourth wicket after a team had lost its first three wickets for 10 runs or fewer. The 155 runs added by Shakib and Tamim in this match is the second highest after Larry Gomes and Clive Lloyd added 237 runs against India in 1983.
12 Dismissals for David Warner against offspinners in Asia. He averages 28.75 against them. On Sunday, he was pinned lbw by Mehidy Hasan for 8

By stumps, Australia were 18 for 3 in reply to Bangladesh’s 260, and much work remained for Steven Smith, who was on 3, and Matt Renshaw who had 6. Australia’s innings was only nine overs old, but already their struggles against quality spin had come back to haunt them. David Warner was given out lbw twice in successive balls off Mehidy Hasan; the first time he was saved by an inside edge on review, the second time he walked.Usman Khawaja, restored to the side despite a disappointing record in Asia, appeared nervous and found himself run out for 1 when he took off for a single of high risk after pushing Shakib into the off side. Renshaw sent him back, and Khawaja was short. Shakib then accounted for the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, who was trapped lbw for a five-ball duck, ensuring no repeat of Gillespie’s heroics from 2006.It was a frantic end to an eventful day in which the only batsmen to really shine were Shakib and Tamim, who compiled a 155-run stand. Curiously, given the length of their service, this was just the fifth time that Shakib and Tamim had batted together in a Test innings. Both men would have been disappointed to fall to Australian spinners with centuries seemingly there for the offering, Tamim for 71 and Shakib for 84.The morning had started disastrously for Bangladesh, who had chosen to bat. Pat Cummins, who was 12 years old last time these teams played a Test, demolished much of the Bangladesh top order within his first two overs with the new ball. He found pace and bounce in a pitch the Australians likely expected to offer little but spin, having Soumya Sarkar caught at gully, then Imrul Kayes and Sabbir Rahman caught behind off consecutive balls.Cummins missed out on a hat-trick, but he had reduced Bangladesh to 10 for 3 in four overs. But if Australia thought Bangladesh would be pushovers, they reckoned without Shakib and Tamim, who put together the second-highest fourth-wicket partnership in Bangladesh’s Test history to lead the recovery.Tamim Iqbal propped up Bangladesh with 71 off 144 balls•Getty Images

Shakib scored more consistently, having little trouble handling the pace of Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, and showing a willingness to attack the spinners. He brought up his half-century off his 65th ball by steering Ashton Agar behind point for two. Tamim was patient but threatened to get bogged down in a string of dot balls, though when he did attack he did so effectively and struck three sixes, all off Lyon. His fifty took 119 deliveries.The Australian spinners, most notably Lyon, had found turn and bounce, but it was Glenn Maxwell who broke the big partnership with his only wicket of the innings when Tamim rocked back and shaped to cut, but succeeded only in lifting a catch to backward point. Eight overs later, Shakib was gone as well, caught at slip when he played back and followed an offbreak from Lyon.That wicket took Lyon’s tally to 248 in Test cricket and brought him level with Richie Benaud, who himself had taken eight wickets in Australia’s first Test match in Dhaka, against Pakistan in 1959. By the end of the innings, Lyon had moved on to 250 wickets and was outright second on the all-time list of spinners on Australia’s Test wicket tally, behind Shane Warne.From there, Bangladesh’s batting offered only glimmers of resistance. Ashton Agar, playing his first Test since that memorable debut series in England in 2013, had Mushfiqur Rahim lbw with a flattish delivery for 18, and later added Nasir Hossain in similar fashion for 23. Lyon was lucky to snare Mehidy, who was given out caught at short-leg despite missing the ball – but by then, Bangladesh were out of reviews.Lyon had Taijul Islam lbw and Agar finished the innings by having Shafiul Islam caught skying one to mid-on. Australia might have been pleased to knock Bangladesh down from 165 for 3 to 260 all out. They were about to find out that 260 still was perhaps not so bad after all.

Wessels' 80 off 35 leads Notts charge

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A brutal innings from Riki Wessels helped Nottinghamshire to their second NatWest T20 Blast victory of the weekend with a one-sided nine-wicket victory over Worcestershire at Trent Bridge.

ECB Reporters Network 09-Jul-2016
ScorecardRiki Wessels ensured Nottinghamshire raced to victory•Getty Images

A brutal innings from Riki Wessels helped Nottinghamshire to their second NatWest T20 Blast victory of the weekend with a one-sided nine-wicket victory over Worcestershire at Trent Bridge.Having toppled Northants on Friday evening, the Outlaws were equally ruthless in dismantling the Rapids to move into second place in the North Group table.Set to score 125 to win, Notts reached their target in only 12.2 overs with Wessels blazing an unbeaten 80, scoring his runs from only 35 balls, He hit six fours and seven sixes in one of the most brutal assaults witnessed on the ground for some time.Worcestershire limped their way to a score of 124 for 8, after morning rain had delayed the start by 15 minutes.
Ben Cox made an unbeaten 37 and Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored 22 from 28 balls but far too many of their team-mates were guilty of gifting their wickets away.Put in, after Dan Christian had won his eighth toss out of 10 for the Outlaws this season, the Rapids lost their way as early as the third over when Joe Leach fell for 18.Leach had shown signs of intent by hoisting Harry Gurney for the only six of the innings but then perished to a catch at long-on from Jake Ball’s bowling.Christian took pace off the ball as soon as the Powerplay overs had been completed and was rewarded as Imran Tahir, Steven Mullaney, who took two for 26, and Samit Patel dried up the runs and picked up crucial wickets in the middle overs.Tahir was the only bowler not to take a wicket but was nevertheless instrumental in throwing down the stumps to run out Brett D’Oliveira off his own bowling and then gathered a Ball return to dismiss Daryl Mitchell in the same way.The chase soon became a formality, even though Michael Lumb fell to Matt Henry in the fourth over.By then Wessels had already hit his straps, hitting Leach for 4646 at the end of the second over. The 30-year old continued in the same aggressive manner and brought up his fifty with his sixth maximum, from just 17 balls, the quickest in the competition this year.Greg Smith provided additional firepower from the other end, hitting Matt Henry over the ropes on his way to an unbeaten 32 from 27 balls.

O'Brien gives Leicestershire winning feeling

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Niall O’Brien hit 47 off 27 balls to guide Leicestershire to their first win of the season in all forms of cricket

ECB/PA22-May-2015
ScorecardNiall O’Brien led Leicestershire to their first win of 2015•Getty Images

Niall O’Brien hit 47 off 27 balls to guide Leicestershire to their first win of the season in all forms of cricket. The Ireland wicketkeeper hit five fours and one maximum in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 69 with New Zealand international Grant Elliott to see Leicestershire home in conditions of almost Stygian gloom in front of a delighted crowd of close to 5000 at Grace Road.Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove chose to bowl first after winning the toss, and Derbyshire suffered an early blow when Hashim Amla was held by Rob Taylor off the bowling of Clint McKay for just 8, an outstanding catch two-handed low down running in from the deep square leg boundary.

Insights

Leicestershire’s chase of Derbyshire’s 163 for 6 could well have been very difficult, especially so when they lost captain Mark Cosgrove in just the third over. But there is no replacement for experience though, it seems, and Leicestershire’s middle-order of three current internationals, Kevin O’Brien, Grant Elliott and Niall O’Brien made light work of the target, carrying Ned Eckersley with them to complete the chase with an over to spare. Leicestershire are a team desperately searching for a winning habit and having such experience and know-how in the middle-order will be crucial in hauling a raw team to consistency.

Wes Durston and Chesney Hughes took the Falcons score past 50, but offspinner Jigar Naik picked up the wickets of Shiv Thakor and then Scott Elstone, both caught behind by O’Brien, off consecutive deliveries.Tom Poynton also fell to the offspinner, held by Tom Wells at long-on, but Hughes, improvising cleverly in between clubbing blows over the leg-side, went to his 50, though not before he was dropped by Clint McKay. The Australian failed to hold a skier off his own bowling in an incident that saw an angry Ned Eckersley confront non-striker Billy Godleman, accusing the Derbyshire batsman of shouting an inappropriate comment while the ball was in the air.A target of just over eight runs an over allowed Leicestershire to pace their reply, and although Cosgrove went quickly, lofting Ben Cotton straight to Amla at mid-off, Eckersley hit 39 off 33 balls in a partnership of 66 with Kevin O’Brien.His dismissal brought Elliott to the wicket, and despite the increasingly bad light, Leicestershire’s overseas signing played with calm assurance.After Kevin O’Brien holed to Greg Cork at backward square leg, his older brother played himself in before striking Mark Footitt high back over his head for a huge straight six.”It’s always good to celebrate a win, and yes, hopefully it will lift everybody connected with the club,” said Cosgrove. “Jigar Naik changed the game with his spell in their innings, we took our catches – which we haven’t always been doing this season – and then the batsmen did their job. The aim now is to take the lift and momentum into next week’s T20s and then the Championship.”

Australia chase 288 to draw level

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Australia Women’s openers scored quick half-centuries that laid a platform which helped their team chase New Zealand’s formidable total with 20 balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2012
ScorecardRachael Haynes scored 70 off 75 balls in Australia’s chase•Getty Images

Australia Women’s openers, Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes, scored quick half-centuries that laid a platform which helped their team chase New Zealand’s formidable total with 20 balls to spare in Sydney. The four-wicket victory helped the home side level the series 1-1 with two games to play.Lanning made 72 off 53 balls and Haynes scored 70 off 75. Their 131-run stand took just 18.2 overs and gave Australia an ideal start to the chase of 288. The middle order slumped, though, and they went from 169 for 1 to 199 for 5. Morna Nielsen did the damage for New Zealand, and finished with figures of 3 for 36. The run rate had stayed above six an over, however, so the asking rate was never an issue for Australia.Jodie Fields and Sarah Coyte steadied the chase with a 60-run stand for the sixth wicket and Coyte stayed the course, scoring 51 off 54 balls, to achieve victory in the 47th over.Australia’s feats overshadowed a powerful performance from New Zealand’s top order after the visitors had been asked to bat. Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite added 115 for the second wicket and Bates and Sara McGlashan put on 102 for the third. Bates followed up her century in the previous game with 59; Satterthwaite made 109 off 119 balls, her maiden ODI century; and McGlashan contributed 51. They reached 240 for 2 in 44 overs before McGlashan and Satterthwaite were dismissed in the next two. Katie Perkins blitzed 31 off 15 balls to lead New Zealand to 288 for 6, but it proved inadequate.New Zealand suffered another blow when Sophie Devine had to return home because of a peroneal tendon injury in her left foot. The injury had ruled her out of the first two ODIs.

Harbhajan sidelined by shin injury

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Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been ruled out of Punjab’s Ranji Trophy game against Railways because of a shin injury

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2011Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been ruled out of Punjab’s Ranji Trophy game against Railways, which begins today, because of a shin injury. Uday Kaul will lead the side in Harbhajan’s absence.”Against Saurashtra, Harbhajan first felt this shin pain,” Punjab’s coach Vikram Rathore told . “Harbhajan is in touch with a physio from the NCA [National Cricket Academy in Bangalore] and will possibly be going there to recover. He is expected to return for Punjab’s next fixture in Jaipur.”Punjab lost their previous match against Saurashtra and have six points after three games. Harbhajan took only two wickets in those games at an average of 102. He was left out of India’s squad for the home Test and one-day series against West Indies, as well as the Test series in Australia, after taking only two wickets in two Tests in England before an abdominal muscle injury forced him to return home.In Harbhajan’s absence, offspinner R Ashwin and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took 22 and 20 wickets in the Test series against West Indies, which India won 2-0, at averages of less than 23. They were both selected in the Test squad for the series in Australia.

Mountaineers, Eagles open with wins

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A round-up of the first day’s action from the Stanbic Bank 20 tournament in Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2010Despite the presence of the great Brian Lara in their ranks, and his contribution of 65 runs, Southern Rocks were unable to match Mashonaland Eagles, who made a good start to the tournament with a 28-run victory at Harare Sports Club. As the second edition of the Stanbic Bank 20 got underway, the hot, sunny weather was ideal for cricket and a crowd of several hundred had entered the ground in time for the start of play.Southern Rocks put the Eagles in to bat on winning the toss, and some tight bowling kept the batsmen under reasonable control at the start. Chamu Chibhabha and Chris Harris worked their way through the batting line-up, and Eagles slipped to 114 for 6 when Somerset batsman Nick Compton was run out for a 49-ball 70.Chibhabha was on a hat-trick when he removed Andrew Hall and Regis Chakabva with consecutive deliveries in the 18th over, but Trevor Garwe survived his first ball and then launched a remarkable assault on the bowling in the closing overs. He and Ryan Butterworth added 45 in 15 balls, Garwe hitting three sixes as Mike Chinouya’s medium pace and Steve Tikolo’s offspin bore the brunt of their attack.Southern Rocks lost Chibhabha in the first over of their chase to bring Lara to the crease. Lara had a stint in the unofficial Indian Cricket League in 2007-08 and played for an MCC side against Pakistan at Lord’s in June, but has not played much competitive cricket in recent years and took some time to settle.He slowly picked up momentum, adding 53 for the second wicket with Sikandar Raza, and began to open up when Tatenda Taibu joined him at the wicket. He accelerated past fifty, hitting eight fours and a six, but with 43 needed off the last four overs, Lara lofted a catch to long-off and was gone for 65 off 47 balls.With the required rate rising all the time, Rocks’ lower middle order swiped desperately and Garwe swung the match decisively towards Eagles with four wickets in the 18th over. Elton Chigumbura, who made a surprising move from the Eagles to the Rocks days before this tournament began, was pinned lbw and Tikolo, Taibu and Tendai Chisoro quickly followed.The experienced Harris was perhaps kept back too long and was left stranded with 7 when the last wicket fell in the final over. For Mashonaland Eagles there had been two crucial turning points: the final blaze by Butterworth and Garwe with the bat and then the crucial dismissal of Lara.In the second match of the day reigning Twenty20 champions Mountaineers dominated Mid West Rhinos from beginning to end to open their tournament with a 35-run win. Hamilton Masakadza batted through their innings and while he missed out on a century his muscular, unbeaten 96 set up a daunting total of 191 for 5. Rhinos lost Brendan Taylor to the very first ball of their chase and never really recovered, a brief flutter from their middle order adding a sheen of respectability in defeat.Masakadza and Jonathan Beukes got Mountaineers’ innings off to a fluent start with a 52-run opening stand, and Greg Smith and Sean Ervine helped keep the momentum up after Beukes picked out Malcolm Waller to give Graeme Cremer the first of his three wickets.The score had passed 170 when Ervine was bowled by Cremer in the 18th over, and it was left to Masakadza to boost the score in the closing overs as Lance Klusener was run out for 2 and Timycen Maruma was castled first ball by Ed Rainsford. Masakadza swung the last ball of the innings to fine leg to finish four runs short of a hundred, having hit eight fours and four sixes and faced 59 balls.Taylor has been in stellar form with the national side this year, but made no impact in Rhinos’ chase as he flicked the first ball of the innings, from Shingi Masakadza, straight into the hands of Prosper Utseya at long leg. Utseya opened the bowling from the other end with his offspin, keeping a tight line as his first two overs went for just seven runs. Frustration set in for the batsmen and wickets fell as they tried to break free. Three wickets fell in the first five overs for the addition of just 22 runs before Malcolm Waller launched a fightback, hitting out powerfully.It was a hopeless cause, as the required rate had risen beyond 13-an-over halfway through the innings, but Waller’s fighting 31 off 25 balls did at least change the tone of the innings. Solomon Mire gave him admirable support, thrashing Maruma for two enormous sixes in an 18-ball 31. In the dying overs Riki Wessels hammered 45 not out off 26 balls, but by then the result was already a foregone conclusion and his innings simply allowed his team to retain some dignity in defeat.The morning crowd grew steadily during the afternoon and there were perhaps a couple of thousand spectators of all races present during the second match. The new embankment proved a popular spot and, even if the finish wasn’t exciting, the opening day of the Stanbic Bank 20 was at least entertaining.

Surrey make bid for Rory Hamilton-Brown

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Surrey have made an audacious bid to lure Rory Hamilton-Brown, the Sussex allrounder, back to The Oval and are believed to be ready to offer him the captaincy

Andrew McGlashan01-Dec-2009Surrey have made an audacious bid to lure Rory Hamilton-Brown, the Sussex allrounder, back to The Oval and are believed to be ready to offer him the captaincy. Sussex have called the approach “unwelcome” and are considering their options.Hamilton-Brown, 22, began his career with Surrey but struggled to establish himself in the first team and moved to Sussex in 2008 where his game has developed, especially in the one-day format. He made a mark in the Championship towards the end of last summer with a career-best 171 against Yorkshire. However, his first-class career equates to the grand total of eight games. He is currently with the England performance squad in Pretoria as a level B player, meaning the selectors view him as being one to three years away from international level.”This approach is most unwelcome and the timing is very unfortunate when Rory should be focussing on his time in the England performance programme as he seeks a place in the England Lions squad after Christmas,” Jim May, the Sussex chairman, said. “We had already offered Rory a contract extension on improved terms prior to the official approach from Surrey.”We regard him highly as a player who has developed well since joining us. At the age of 22, Rory has very strong potential to develop an excellent career with Sussex, where we strongly believe his cricketing development will be best served. This is a complex situation as we have absolutely no wish to lose a player of Rory’s potential, and we will consider our response carefully before any further communication.”Surrey, who confirmed they approached Hamilton-Brown on November 13, are still searching for a long-term captaincy successor to Mark Butcher who retired midway through last season with a persistent knee injury. Michael Brown had the role at the beginning of 2009 after his move from Hampshire, but by the end of the season it had passed to the relatively unknown 26-year-old Stewart Walters, who made a positive impression despite Surrey’s poor season.It would be a huge gamble from Surrey to put the captaincy in Hamilton-Brown’s hands with his only previous leadership experience being a short spell as England Under-19 skipper and it would make him the youngest captain in the county game.Hamilton-Brown is the latest target of Chris Adams, the former Sussex captain and now Surrey cricket manager, as he strengthens his squad ahead of the 2010 campaign. He has already plucked Piyush Chawla, the India legspinner, from Sussex’s grasp to be their overseas player and Adams is clearly hoping Hamilton-Brown will want to rejoin him at Surrey.Adams has already been busy recruiting big names to The Oval as part of his long-term rebuilding plan for the team with Steven Davies and Gareth Batty both joining from Worcestershire.

Zimbabwe pick uncapped Masekesa and Welch for one-off Test against Ireland

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Ireland also play three ODIs and three T20Is during their full tour of Zimbabwe starting on February 6

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2025Zimbabwe have picked two uncapped players – legspinner Vincent Masekesa and top-order batter Nicholas Welch – in their squad for the one-off Test against Ireland starting on February 6 in Bulawayo.Masekesa, 27, has played 15 first-class matches and taken 49 wickets, while Welch, nearly 27, has played 26 first-class games and scored 1216 runs at an average of 31.Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Marumani were left out of the Test squad that lost the home series 1-0 to Afghanistan in the first week of January.Allrounder Sikandar Raza was also not selected because he is playing for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20, which ends on February 9. “He had already committed to franchise cricket before the [Ireland] tour schedule was confirmed,” Zimbabwe Cricket said in a release. Raza will return to captain Zimbabwe’s T20I squad for their three matches against Ireland.Sean Williams was passed fit after struggling with a back injury during the Tests against Afghanistan.Zimbabwe made two changes to their ODI squad, replacing Myers and Joylord Gumbie with Wessly Madhevere and Nyasha Mayavo. Myers, however, kept his place in the T20I squad while Faraz Akram and Takudzwanashe Kaitano missed out on selection.Ireland’s tour of Zimbabwe begins with the one-off Test in Bulawayo followed by the white-ball leg in Harare: three ODIs on February 14, 16 and 18 and three T20Is on February 22, 23 and 25.

Zimbabwe Test squad vs Ireland

Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Vincent Masekesa, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams.

Zimbabwe ODI squad vs Ireland

Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.

Zimbabwe T20I squad vs Ireland

Sikandar Raza (capt), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Johnathan Campbell, Trevor Gwandu, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Nyasha Mayavo, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri.