Category Uncategorized

Michael Hussey believes Australia will have the advantage in the first Test against a South African side whose key men have not played a first-class match in ten months

Brydon Coverdale in Cape Town07-Nov-2011Michael Hussey believes Australia will have the advantage in the first Test against a South African side whose key men have not played a first-class match in ten months. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Mark Boucher have all had no first-class action since the New Year’s Test against India, one of the longest lay-offs possible in the modern game.You wouldn’t eat a braaied boerwoers that was that underdone. The Australians will be skewering them this week to see if they’re ready. The World Cup was South Africa’s focus during February and March, and then followed the IPL, the Champions League Twenty20 and the limited-overs games against Australia, preventing their players from turning out for their first-class franchises.In the same period, Australia won a three-Test series in Sri Lanka, before some players went home to play in the Sheffield Shield. The Australians also spent the past week in Potchefstroom, where they faced South Africa A in a challenging three-day encounter. On the other hand, South Africa’s stars have had to settle for domestic one-day cricket in the lead-up to the Test, which begins in Cape Town on Wednesday.It is far from ideal preparation, something Australia know all too well after they failed to ready themselves for the Ashes last summer and were thumped by a well-oiled England. Hussey was careful to avoid calling the South Africans underdone, but he said the solid base of first-class cricket Australia’s player had enjoyed recently was an advantage.”Definitely getting some first-class cricket is beneficial coming into a Test series, no question about that,” Hussey said. “For me personally I would love to have some first-class games coming into a Test series, so we can definitely have that as an advantage. But they have been playing some provincial cricket, some of their guys have only been playing Twenty20 which makes it tougher.”I look at it two ways, freshness is important as well, you can come in flying from the start, but the hard thing about Test cricket is maintaining that pressure and intensity the whole time. The more Test cricket you have as a base, you can maintain that pressure and intensity for longer periods. I’m not anticipating them being underdone, they will come out firing and they will be playing pretty hard cricket. Us having played quite a bit of cricket, hopefully we can maintain our intensity.”One of the key targets of Australia’s intensity will be the South Africa vice-captain de Villiers, who broke his hand six weeks ago while training in the Champions League. de Villiers has been ruled fit for the first Test and was hoping for a solid hit-out in Sunday’s one-day game for the Titans, only to be given out obstructing the field when the umpire adjudged he had got in the way of a run-out attempt.He will need to do plenty of work in the nets over the next two days to ensure he is comfortable for a Test against the likes of Mitchell Johnson, who broke both Graeme Smith’s hands in separate incidents nearly three years ago. Hussey said Australia’s aggressive fast men would give de Villiers a searching test.”I think we’ll have very specific plans for all their batsmen but that’s what Test cricket is all about – trying to put doubt in the opposition’s minds,” Hussey said. “We’ll be trying to test all their batsmen and it’s nice to have the personnel to be able to do it, they’re all pretty aggressive bowlers, apart from Copes [Trent Copeland].”It will be a tough challenge for [de Villiers] as well. Is the hand okay to start with, and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. It is very difficult to come back one from a break and two from injury and play well straight away. He is a class player though and I would expect him, if he plays, to get better and better as the series goes on the more cricket he gets under his belt. He is a very important player for their team.Getting better and better as the series goes on isn’t that easy in a two-Test series, adding to the questions over South Africa’s preparation. If they fail to shed their rust in Cape Town, they have only one more opportunity. Hussey might not call them underdone, but the skewer will tell the story.

Sean Ervine will leave Hampshire to resume his international career with Zimbabwe.

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2011Sean Ervine will leave Hampshire to resume his international career with Zimbabwe.Ervine, 28, is expected to receive a call-up to Zimbabwe’s World Cup squad later this month, after being named in their preliminary 20-man group, and will revert to overseas status in order to play.”International cricket is my ultimate goal,” Ervine told BBC Radio Solent. “It’s tough to leave Hampshire, which I hold as family. They’ve looked after me and I give them every praise possible.”Ervine, has played 42 ODIs for his country but was one of the rebel cricketers in dispute with the ZCU, and in May 2004 he left Zimbabwe to start a new life in Australia. After struggling to break into the Western Australia side he moved to England making his Hampshire debut in 2005.He will sign off his career with the county in the ongoing Caribbean T20 tournament. His return to the Zimbabwe set-up represents yet another step forward for cricket in the country, with a number of players returning either to the side of the coaching staff.Hampshire, meanwhile, still have an overseas player in legspinner Imran Tahir, but he was recently named in South Africa’s 14-man squad to play India in their five-match one-day international series. Although the call-up will not affect his overseas status at Hampshire, he could miss their pre-season if selected in South Africa’s World Cup squad in February. The 2011 World Cup is due to start on 19 February and the final 15-man national squad will be selected later this month.

Sussex prevail thanks to Clark 82 as elimination creeps up on hosts

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025Sussex 277 for 9 (Clark 82, Hannon-Dalby 3-53) beat Warwickshire 258 (Barnard 82, Davies 74, Lenham 5-48) by 21 runs (D/L)Warwickshire suffered Metro Bank One-Day Cup heartbreak after a 21-run (D/L) home defeat to Sussex caused qualification to slip through their fingers.In a match reduced to 48 overs per side, Sussex totalled 277 for nine with only Tom Clark (82 from 77 balls) building an innings beyond the cameo stage. Olly Hannon-Dalby’s three for 53 was well-supported by the spinners who shared five wickets.Warwickshire’s D/L target was adjusted to 280 from 48 overs and they were bowled out for 258 in 45.1 overs. Ed Barnard struck 82 (75) and Alex Davies (74, 90) but Archie Lenham took his maiden List A five-for – five for 48 – as the middle and lower order imploded.That left Warwickshire’s players clinging to the hope of Middlesex losing to Lancashire – but half an hour later those hopes were extinguished as Middlesex snuck home by one wicket at Old Trafford.Sussex chose to bat and soon lost Henry Rogers, caught by a diving Hamza Shaikh at extra cover off Hannon-Dalby, but Clark sped to a 45-ball half-century. After a short rain break, Daniel Ibrahim tickled a potential leg side wide from Rob Yates to wicketkeeper Kai Smith.The fluent Clark was 18 short of emulating his championship century at Edgbaston in April when he lifted Tazeem Ali to deep mid-wicket. Batters throughout the tournament have learned that you attack the young leg-spinner at your peril – Tom Alsop joined the list when his top-edged slog landed in the hands of mid on.John Simpson fell lbw, sweeping at Jake Lintott and as the innings stalled against the spinners, it needed late impetus. Danny Lamb provided some with a run-a-ball 42 before reverse-sweeping Lintott to deep point. Bertie Foreman (30, 33) lifted the total over 250 but, on a good batting pitch, Sussex appeared around 27 under par.Warwickshire quickly lost Yates, who sliced a wide Sean Hunt half-volley to point. Zen Malik assured a brisk start with 27 from 25 balls but then hoisted Clark to long leg.Barnard and Davies shifted the game their side’s way with a stand of 107 in 99 balls. Barnard was imperious, deploying sparkling footwork to the spinners, but his departure, caught at extra cover off Troy Henry, triggered a collapse.Although out of the qualification picture, Sussex back fought back with great heart. Foreman ousted Shaikh, who reverse-swept to short third, and Lenham removed Davies, caught at extra, and Vansh Jani, bowled cutting, with successive balls.Lintott swept Lenham to deep mid-wicket, Kai Smith played on and when Adam Sylvester edged to slip, Vaughan had his five for. When Hannon-Dalby swung and missed at Henry Crocombe, the Bears were left hoping for a Middlesex defeat. They hoped in vain.

The Australia captain says he’s never seen Smith as energetic as he has been since his opening role was confirmed

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2024Australia captain Pat Cummins has been in contact with Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris to reassure them that they remain firmly in Test consideration despite being overlooked following David Warner’s retirement.With Steven Smith promoted to open, Cameron Green returning at No. 4 against West Indies in Adelaide, and Matt Renshaw selected as the reserve batter, the other two specialist openers remain on the outer.Bancroft was the leading Sheffield Shield run-scorer last season and is in the same spot midway through the latest campaign, while Harris holds a central contract and was the reserve batter on the Ashes tour last year.Related

• Takeaways: Batting under scrutiny, Green's evolution and masterful bowling quartet

• Cricket's great divide: no quick fix to level the playing field

• Persuasive Smith gets his new (and final?) challenge

• Smith has no negative thoughts after opening pitch finally pays off

• After a tough year, Green returns to 'natural game' at No. 4 in Australia's Test side

“Obviously private phone calls, but no real surprises,” Cummins said in Adelaide. “We love what they both are doing in first-class cricket. We love what they bring to any side they’re playing in. They’re doing all the right things. Unfortunately, they both just missed out on this one. So [the] message was ‘don’t change’.”In international cricket, there’s always injuries or these guys [the incumbents] aren’t going to be around forever. Marcus and Cam are still relatively young, as is Renners. So once that opening comes up at some point, any one of them we’re confident can jump straight in and do a really good job.”When Cummins was asked after the Sydney Test about replacing Warner, he appeared lukewarm to the idea of a batting-order reshuffle but has now said that once the option of Smith had been seriously considered, it made a lot of sense by allowing Green back at a more natural position for him.Smith has spoken of not enjoying the wait to bat from No. 4 and while he hasn’t specifically addressed whether the move will lengthen his Test career, he has committed to the shift not being a short-term solution. At training, Cummins has already noticed a difference.”Seeing someone who’s basically achieved everything in the game get really excited for a new challenge, you’ve got to entertain that,” he said. “You can already see his mind whirring about how he’s maybe going to go about it a bit differently.”I’ve never seen him as happy and as energetic as I’ve seen him around the nets the last couple of days. He can’t wait to get out there. Also think the new ball, maybe [there will be] a few more scoring options. It’s something that excites him. So that makes sense and getting Greeny a spot where we think he is set up to succeed.”The retirement of Warner and Green’s return will also see a reshuffle in the cordon with Usman Khawaja taking up first slip, followed by Smith and Mitchell Marsh, with Green in the gully where he has already made a considerable impression with a string of spectacular catches.Green also provides Cummins with another frontline bowling option, meaning he effectively has a six-man attack plus the offspin of Travis Head.

Tom Latham to lead while Kane Williamson has been rested for the three-match series

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2023New Zealand have called up three uncapped players – allrounder Josh Clarkson, fast bowler Will O’Rourke and legspinner Adi Ashok – in their 13-man squad for the ODI series at home against Bangladesh.Tom Latham will lead the side as regular ODI captain Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, and Devon Conway have been rested ahead of the home season.Michael Bracewell (achilles), Matt Henry (hamstring), Lockie Ferguson (achilles), James Neesham (ankle), Ben Lister (hamstring) and Henry Shipley (back) were unavailable for selection due to injury. Trent Boult made himself unavailable.Ashok, the 21-year old from Auckland, had made his T20I debut against UAE in August and will be part of the squad for the second and third ODIs, when legspinner Ish Sodhi takes a planned break after the first game. Ashok has 24 wickets from 18 List A matches.Clarkson, 26, has played 68 List A games, averaging 32.37 with the bat at a strike rate of 99.48. As a medium-pacer, he’s taken 27 wickets in 23 innings at an average of 26.55 with an economy of 5.31.Canterbury’s O’Rourke, 22, has played 17 games, and taken 27 wickets at an average of 23.25 and economy of 5.01.”The volume and intensity of the cricket over the winter this year means we need to strike a balance with workloads for players, particularly those that play multiple formats,” New Zealand selector Sam Wells said. “That need for balance also creates opportunities and it’s great to be able to give some players their first call-ups.”Josh is someone who, while still only young, has played over 150 matches for the Stags, developing his skills with bat and ball to become a consistent contributor. Adi and Will are both still fresh to domestic cricket but have been impressive in their early efforts and stepped up well this year in the New Zealand A matches against Australia A.”Both offer valuable skillsets, Adi with impressive control as a young legspinner, and Will with natural bounce and variation as a tall pace bowler.”The squad will assemble on December 14 in Dunedin, the venue for the first ODI against Bangladesh on December 17. The second ODI is in Nelson on December 20 and the third in Napier on December 23.

New Zealand squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Tom Latham (capt), Adi Ashok (games 2 & 3), Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi (game 1), Will Young

Twenty-five players have been elevated to the top groups across the WBBL and BBL

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2023Fifty players have been handed platinum status across the BBL and WBBL drafts, including Haris Rauf, Nicholas Pooran, Harmanpreet Kaur and Marizanne Kapp.England players dominate the BBL list with 14 names, Ashes stars Harry Brook and Zak Crawley among them, while there are seven in the WBBL platinum group. South Africa provide six of the WBBL players and India five.Related

• Pooran and Rizwan late withdrawals from BBL draft, van Niekerk out of WBBL

• Perth Scorchers WBBL retention decision over Kapp and Devine likely to shape the draft

• Who has nominated for the 2023-24 BBL overseas draft?

• All the names in the inaugural WBBL overseas draft

• Smriti Mandhana to skip WBBL again with an eye on India's upcoming domestic season

The drafts will take place on September 3. The WBBL runs from October 19 to December 2 and the BBL goes from December 7 to January 24.BBL platinum players
(Possible retention clubs marked)

• Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings (Heat), Harry Brook, Joe Clarke (Stars), Zak Crawley, Tom Curran (Sixers), Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis (Scorchers), Martin Guptill (Renegades), Alex Hales (Thunder), Will Jacks, Chris Jordan (Sixers), Rashid Khan (Strikers), Shadab Khan (Hurricanes), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills (Scorchers), Colin Munro (Heat), Nicholas Pooran, Haris Rauf (Stars), Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (Thunder), Phil Salt (Scorchers), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Heat), James Vince (Sixers)

WBBL platinum players
(Possible retention clubs marked)

• Chamari Athapaththu (Renegades), Lauren Bell, Tazmin Brits, Alice Capsey (Stars), Kate Cross, Nida Dar, Sophie Devine (Scorchers), Deandra Dottin (Strikers), Richa Ghosh, Sarah Glenn, Shabnim Ismail (Renegades), Marizanne Kapp (Scorchers), Harmanpreet Kaur (Renegades), Amelia Kerr (Heat), Heather Knight (Thunder), Hayley Matthews (Renegades), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Jemimah Rodrigues (Stars), Deepti Sharma, Stafanie Taylor (Strikers), Chloe Tryon (Thunder), Pooja Vastrakar (Heat), Laura Wolvaardt (Strikers), Issy Wong (Hurricanes), Danni Wyatt (Heat)

It is the first time overseas recruitment will be determined by a draft in the WBBL but there is also a mechanism which has allowed players to sign directly with a club, a route that six have taken, for a reduced fee. They are: Suzie Bates, Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Amy Jones, Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee.In the WBBL, platinum players will earn AUD 110,000, gold will earn AUD 90,000, silver AUD 65,000 and bronze AUD 40,000. Those taking the direct nomination path can only earn up to 95% of the silver category.England players make up a large part of the BBL platinum group, but availability will be an issue for many•Getty Images

There has been an increase in the men’s BBL overseas salary bands after the cap was increased from AUD 1.9 million to AUD 3 million. Platinum players are now set to earn AUD 420,000, up from $340,000 last year although there are caveats. They will only earn the full amount if they are available for the entire season including finals, which runs from December 7 to January 24.If they are only available for 10 matches, they will earn AUD 400,000. If they can only play nine matches the price will be AUD 380,000. Anyone only available for eight matches or less in the platinum category will earn AUD 360,000 regardless of whether they play one game or eight.Gold players will earn AUD 300,000, silver AUD 200,000, and bronze AUD 100,000 with no minimum matches required for those players.The key factor in the BBL will be availability due to both international commitments and other T20 leagues. The SA20 starts on January 10 so the players who head to that will miss the latter part of the regular BBL season. The schedule for the ILT20 in UAE has proved more favourable with that tournament starting January 19 although it will impact BBL finals.Internationally, England have tours at either end of the BBL with a white-ball trip to West Indies in December then the start of the Test series in India in January. That could limit the interest in the likes of Brook and Crawley.Pakistan, who also provide a sizeable group of players in the overall draft list, have a Test series in Australia at the same time as the BBL then a T20I series in New Zealand later in January.How retention picks work

• Have been in a Big Bash squad for a minimum of two seasons and haven’t been contracted to another team since
• Have been in a Big Bash squad the previous season
• Was in a team squad last season but did not play in the starting 13 and have been approved by the Big Bash Technical Committee
• Is otherwise approved by the Big Bash Technical Committee due to exceptional circumstances

Planned Essex county stint falls through in a setback after allrounder’s breakout Sheffield Shield season

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2023Will Sutherland, the Victoria fast bowler, faces “a period on the sidelines” after scans confirmed a stress fracture in his lower back. Sutherland, 23, had a breakout Sheffield Shield season, and had signed up with Essex for the County Championship season, but that deal has been cancelled.”It’s disappointing for Will after a fantastic season. He had signed with Essex to go over and play in the County Championship – but this news will keep him at home and working on his rest and rehabilitation programme for the next few months,” Cricket Victoria’s head of male cricket, David Hussey, said in a statement.”He has put his name up in lights with some big performances through the summer and we want him to be ready for next season, so we’ll do everything we can to support him with his injury rehabilitation.”Related

• Essex sign Doug Bracewell for 10-game County Championship spell

• Taking the aggressive route key to Sutherland's breakout season

On the Essex website, head coach Anthony McGrath said, “It’s really unfortunate that Will has injured himself so close to the 2023 season. We were all looking forward to welcoming him to Chelmsford and we’re sorry to hear he will face a period of time recovering from his stress fracture.”Everyone at the club wishes Will a speedy recovery and we hope to see him back on the pitch soon.”Sutherland topped the Sheffield Shield wicket-takers’ table with 41 wickets in Victoria’s run to the final, which they lost to Western Australia. He’d also stood in as captain during the course of the season.In the final, Sutherland played through pain and put in a big performance, returning 5 for 75 in the first Western Australia innings, and then scoring 83 in 84 balls after Victoria had fallen behind top set a 91-run target, which was easily overhauled.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the board has suspended 236 players in the last two years

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Aug-2020In its most high-profile move against age fraud, the BCCI has proposed an amnesty scheme accompanied by a system of punishments for offenders. Under this, registered players will get an opportunity to voluntarily declare any age fraud and avoid suspension if they provide their actual date of birth, but face bans if they are found to have breached this.A press statement from the board on Monday said that if the BCCI discovered such a fraud after the deadline of declaration – September 15, 2020 – the players could be banned for two years and barred from any age-group tournaments even after the ban ended. That rule would be both applicable both at the India and the state levels.ALSO READ: Indian cricket’s age-fraud problemAge fraud, as the BCCI said, has been a “menace: in Indian cricket for long specifically at age-group level: Under-16, Under 19 and Under 23 (both men women categories).” ESPNcricinfo understands that in the last two years itself, the BCCI has suspended 236 players – 210 men and 26 women. A total of 159 players were detected to have committed age fraud in 2019-20 season.Rahul Dravid, the former India captain who is now director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy, has long considered age fraud as “seriously detrimental” to the culture of Indian cricket. Dravid reiterated that stance in the media release on Monday.”Age fraud is a serious matter and is detrimental to the health of the sport,” Dravid said. “Many youngsters who are supposed to be playing in a particular age group fail to make it owing to age fraud. With the BCCI taking stern actions to curb this, it is only advisable for the players to come forward and abide by the directives issued by the board.”Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, has underlined his commitment to “providing a level-playing field across all age groups”. “The BCCI has been taking steps to counter age fraud and are now introducing even stricter measures from the upcoming domestic season. Those who do not voluntarily disclose their misdemeanour will be punished heavily and will be banned for two years,” he said.How does the age verification process work?As part of the age verification process, at Under-19 level, the player has to submit his birth certificate along with as many documents concerning his school/college educational reports. For the Under-16 category, the BCCI conducts a one-time TW3 (Tanner-Whitehouse3) bone maturation test at the Under-16 level only. The TW3 test, adopted by the BCCI in 2012, allows accurate estimation of a player’s age by the analysis of x-rays of the lower end of the player’s forearm.Going forward, from the 2020-21 season, the BCCI said only players aged between 14 and 16 will be permitted to register for the Under-16 level. For the Under-19 category, if a player’s birth certificate has a date two years after his actual date of birth, there will a cap imposed on the number of years the player can feature at that level.Nonetheless, players have managed to bypass these rules. Last year, the BCCI banned Rasikh Salam, the Jammu & Kashmir pace bowler who represented Mumbai Indians in one IPL game, for two years for submitting a faulty birth certificate when registering with the board. At the time, he was part of the India Under-19 side to play a triangular one-day series in Bangladesh.ALSO READ: Age-fudging no different from fixing – Rahul DravidThe BCCI introduced a 24-hour helpline last year (see footnote) to report age and domicile fraud. Upon receiving complaints, the BCCI has launched investigations that reach out to the players’ schools, hospitals of birth, local municipalities and panchayats etc. to verify the documentation provided.Domicile fraudThe voluntary disclosure scheme will not apply to domicile fraud, which also carries a two-year ban. The number of such cases might have gone up with newer states qualifying to play Ranji Trophy in accordance with Lodha reforms. So, a player qualified to play for a more established state might find it easier to get selected for newer states.The BCCI also said players under the age of 14 would not be allowed to play in Under-16 tournaments. And those whose birth was registered more than two years after the date of birth would be allowed to play only a certain number of years in the Under-19 events. It didn’t spell out the restriction.

Offspinner took 51 wickets in title-winning 2016 season but fell down Middlesex pecking order

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2020Ollie Rayner, the offspinner who won the County Championship with Middlesex in 2016, has confirmed his retirement from cricket at the age of 34 after his release at the end of last season.Rayner, a tall spinner with an orthodox action, took 51 wickets at 23.56 in Middlesex’s title-winning team in 2016, but was consigned to a holding role in the following three seasons and was twice sent out on loan after falling down the pecking order behind Ravi Patel and Nathan Sowter.Intriguingly, both those loan spells were to Division One counties (Hampshire in 2018 and Kent in 2019) while Middlesex were in the second tier, demonstrating the high regard in which he was held elsewhere but also a breakdown in his relationship with the club.Confirming his retirement in an interview with wisden.com, Rayner revealed that he only found out he had been put on the loan list last season when he was called by Kent “telling me they were looking forward to having me”.”I was like: ‘Hold on a sec, I’ve got to talk to my family.’ There were things that definitely could have been done better.”Rayner also said that playing under Dawid Malan’s captaincy from 2018 onwards was “very hard work”, suggesting that he never felt as though he had been given enough opportunity to impress. Malan left Middlesex at the end of last season, and since his departure several players have indicated that the dressing room had been a difficult place under his leadership.”I didn’t always see eye to eye with Dawid,” Rayner said. “We had a chat at the end of last season and I said that if he goes to Yorkshire he should just stay out of the politics and get on with his batting because he’s a fine player. If he can do that he’ll go far.”I haven’t necessarily got any animosity there, but that relationship didn’t really help me personally in my progression.”Rayner previously detailed his frustrations about the plight of English spinners in a 2015 article for ESPNcricinfo, in which he said “it is not easy being an English spin bowler at this moment in time”. His case was backed up in 2018, when he went unused in five of the nine Championship games he played.ALSO READ: The plight of the English spin bowler“Over the last few years I’ve been renowned as steady Ollie; I’ve offered a lot of control in what have been seamer-friendly conditions – I don’t think I thrived under that.”It just clicked in 2016. I just felt so backed. In my career when I’ve had my best years it’s when I’ve been used as an attacking option.”That year they were dependent on me for breaking partnerships. Adam Voges was brilliant in that he’d bowl me before lunch, and when you bowl well you stay on and earn the right.”Rayner ended his career with 313 first-class wickets to his name at 33.26 apiece, plus a further 53 in List A cricket and 41 in T20s.He started his career at Sussex, making a handful of first-team appearances in the side that won the Pro40 (2008, 2009), the Twenty20 Cup (2009) and Division Two of the Championship (2010) before joining Middlesex, initially on loan, in 2011.He spent the 2013-14 and 2016-17 winters on England Lions tours, and was perhaps unfortunate to miss out on the Test tours to Bangladesh and India in 2016-17 having been overlooked for Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty. Aside from the Championship win, his finest hour came at The Oval in 2013, when his 15-wicket haul sealed a memorable win against Surrey.

They were lighting up stadiums in India as opening partners three months ago. All that will be forgotten on Tuesday when England meet Australia at Lord’s

Melinda Farrell at Lord's24-Jun-2019Three months ago, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow were lighting up the IPL with a record-breaking partnership for Sunrisers Hyderabad. On Tuesday their bromance will be forgotten as they plot each other’s downfall when England and Australia meet at Lord’s. Such is the nature of the modern game where players regularly swap T20 franchise jerseys for national colours.Bairstow has used his column to question the fairness of Australians asking fans to cease booing Warner and Steven Smith in light of previous calls by the then Australia coach Darren Lehmann for fans to show less charity towards England players, Stuart Broad in particular. While that may seem incongruous after their feats as team-mates in India, Aaron Finch says it’s a natural part of the T20 era.”I think that’s the great thing about domestic tournaments around the world is that you get an opportunity to play with guys you might have had perception on, just from playing against them, about how they play, what kind of bloke they are, or something like that,” Finch said.”I think that’s opened up everyone’s eyes to [the idea that] 99 per cent of people that you play with are good blokes, regardless of what tournament it is or who you’re playing for. But that’s pretty easy to flick back into international mode, no doubt. It’s a game representing your country. There’s a lot of pride on the line. There’s a couple of points in a World Cup, which is so tightly contested.”David Warner and Aaron Finch walk out to bat•Associated Press

Finch has in some ways had a similar, albeit reversed, relationship with Warner; they have been opponents when playing for their states in domestic competitions in Australia and T20 tournaments abroad, while also combining forces to form a dynamic and aggressive opening partnership for Australia.”Yeah, I think a bit like anyone who plays with Davey,” Finch said. “They see a side of him and they play against him and they see one when they play with him, and he’s a great man. He’s someone that obviously Jonny and him have had some run-ins on the ground, too. It’s good to see that when you do get an opportunity to get to know somebody, that you take that advantage.”The other facet of the T20 era is that players come back from tournaments into the national side with far more knowledge about franchise teammates’ strengths and weaknesses, something Finch actively aims to exploit.”Absolutely,” Finch said. “Everyone is involved in sort of planning meetings and things like that. You get an opportunity to talk, whether it’s in a structured meeting or over coffee or dinner or a beer or whatever it might be. I think as cricketers, we’re all nuffies at the end of the day for the game; so you’re always talking about the game and coming up with different strategies and things that you’ve seen over time.”A lot of times, that changes. When a guy has come in as a youngster into international cricket, their game changes dramatically over a period of time, so you always have to be adapting, and that’s what’s a great thing about these domestic T20 comps, is that you get to play with so many players that you wouldn’t have had the access to in the past, that you do get to see more of them.”