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Kent’s stand-in captain Geraint Jones breathed new life into the third day at Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl with a challenging declaration after the follow-on had been saved.

07-Jun-2013
ScorecardBen Harmison’s innings was essential in helping Kent save the follow-on•Getty Images

Kent’s stand-in captain Geraint Jones breathed new life into the third day at Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl with a challenging declaration after the follow-on had been saved.Hampshire ended the day on 98 for 3 in their second innings, a lead of 232 after Jones had declared 134 behind in a bold bid to end his team’s winless start to the season.The whole of the first session was washed out by heavy rain but play resumed after the lunch break with Kent on 149 for 4, still needing 157 to avoid the humiliation of following on. Their plight worsened seven runs later when Brendan Nash edged an outswinger from James Tomlinson into the slips where the reliable Liam Dawson pouched the opportunity.But that brought Darren Stevens to the crease and in a belligerent stand of 102 in 20 overs with Ben Harmison, potential embarrassment was averted comfortably.Stevens lifted Tomlinson for six while taking 14 from the over and Kent had no problems until at 258, Stevens played across the line to the fourth ball of James Vince’s first over. Stevens had made 60 and Kent were well on their way to safety even though Harmison departed five runs short of the follow-on target, driving David Balcombe to Danny Briggs at square cover.Harmison hit a six off Liam Dawson and nine fours from 121 balls during his innings of 63 and at 321 for 7, Jones called a halt to the Kent innings.Hampshire, not much better off with only one win in six matches, made a poor start to their second innings, losing James Adams and Michael Carberry with only 12 on the board. Adams went in the second over, caught behind by Jones off Matt Coles for his third duck in four innings and Charlie Shreck had Carberry leg before in the third.First innings century-maker Neil McKenzie carried on where he left off with six fours in his quick-fire 27 before chopping a delivery from Coles into his stumps. That saw Hampshire 53 for 3 but Dawson and Vince saw their team through to stumps with an unbroken stand of 45 to set up the prospect of an intriguing last day.

Australia’s wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin, has conceded his confidence took a blow when he dropped Gautam Gambhir in India’s second innings at the SCG last week

Brydon Coverdale09-Jan-2012Australia’s wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin, has conceded his confidence took a blow when he dropped Gautam Gambhir in India’s second innings at the SCG last week. The edge off James Pattinson sailed between Haddin’s arms as he dived to his left, the ball closer to his original position than he anticipated.It was the second time in the series Haddin had misjudged his movement and gone too far. In the first innings at the MCG, Virender Sehwag edged the ball off Pattinson and Haddin dived to his right, only to see the ball bounce off his wrists as he moved further than necessary.Neither mistake proved match-turning but Haddin, Australia’s vice-captain in the absence of Shane Watson, has struggled to show his best with either bat or with the gloves during the India series. He said it was important not to get too concerned about the missed opportunities.”It’s obviously disappointing to miss chances,” Haddin said on the Sydney radio station 2KY. “We’d just gone up an extra metre to make sure the ball was going to carry and it [the Gambhir chance] flew up and it was one of those things that happens in cricket. It obviously dents your confidence a bit but from my point of view it happens in cricket, you’ve got to get back on the horse and show what sort of person you are and keep throwing punches.”The biggest thing is you don’t over analyse it. It happens as a wicketkeeper you just don’t want to make a habit of it. It was just one of those things in the game. I actually saw it pretty early and probably moved too fast. The train goes onto Perth and let’s hope it’s a better performance there.”While Haddin’s spot in the side appears to be safe in the immediate future, the Victoria wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is building a case for selection. Tasmania’s Tim Paine is likely to be considered when he returns from a long-term finger injury, but his return to cricket remains uncertain.Haddin, 34, has also had a difficult time with the bat in the past few months, throwing his wicket away with poor shots in both innings of Australia’s defeats in Cape Town and Hobart. He was one of Australia’s better performers during the Ashes last summer but since then has averaged 21.35 with the bat.

Brendan Taylor has said his team will continue to play attacking Test cricket, even though chasing a win against New Zealand in Bulawayo may have cost them the match

Firdose Moonda07-Nov-2011Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe captain, has said his team will continue to play attacking, aggressive Test cricket, even though chasing a win instead of playing for the draw against New Zealand in Bulawayo may have cost them the match. New Zealand won by 34 runs after setting Zimbabwe a steep 366 to chase for victory.On a traditionally flat pitch, Zimbabwe decided to bat for a result, despite needing 305 on the final day with eight wickets standing. A century from Taylor and a half-century by Tatenda Taibu kept them in the hunt but a spectacular collapse, in which they lost six wickets for 44 runs, saw them end up on the losing side. Taylor said he had no regrets about thinking positively.”If we want to become better cricketers, we have to play like that,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “If you don’t test yourself, you won’t know how far you can go.”Taylor has only captained Zimbabwe in three Tests, but has already become known for brave decision making. In Zimbabwe’s comeback Test, against Bangladesh in Harare in August, Taylor declared Zimbabwe’s second innings on 291 for 5 early on the fourth day, setting Bangladesh 375 to win. Critics said Zimbabwe should have batted longer to ensure Bangladesh were out of the game but Taylor preferred to dangle the carrot instead. The result was a comprehensive 130-run win for Zimbabwe with two sessions to spare.When Taylor found himself in the opposite situation, with New Zealand leaving Zimbabwe a gettable target, he accepted the challenge. “You have to be realistic and we felt that it was realistic to go for the win.” Even though Zimbabwe have a short batting line-up, which Taylor admits “stops at No. 7,” Taylor felt that with two frontline batsmen occupying the crease for most of the day the target was within reach.
He shared a 108-run fourth-wicket partnership with Taibu and believed one of them would take Zimbabwe over the line. “I wanted us both to spend a session or a session-and-a-half at the crease and thought that if one of us was there at the end, we could win.”It was when the pair were dismissed that the collapse began, which raised questions about Zimbabwe’s lack of stability in the lower-middle order. “We are missing some guys through injury,” Taylor said. “Elton Chigumbura is struggling with a hamstring injury and Graeme Cremer has been out for a while [with a knee injury]. They could really make a difference.”While the cricketing world was touched, disappointed and some even a little heartbroken for Zimbabwe after they lost, Taylor said the team were not overcome by a sense of gloom. “Within 20 minutes afterwards we were ok. We had a meeting and everyone was very praiseworthy of each other. We gave it our all; for five days we played good cricket and to take it late into the fifth day we knew we had done something right.”Since their return to Test cricket, Zimbabwe have won one Test and lost two, won four ODIs, including a record run-chase against New Zealand, but lost seven and been defeated in four Twenty20 internationals. Taylor said it’s not the numbers but the progress that matters.”To have won the third ODI against New Zealand gave us confidence and we came close in the Test. We can hold our heads high. The senior guys have performed and helped the younger guys.”The Test against New Zealand saw contributions from several of the more-experienced players in the team. Vusi Sibanda scored 93 in the first innings and Chris Mpofu showed an understanding of the conditions to take 4 for 92, before Taylor and Taibu shone on the final day. There were also impressive performances from some of the younger players: Kyle Jarvis took 5 for 64 and Malcolm Waller, on debut, scored an undefeated 72 in the first innings. “We can take positives out of all of these things,” Taylor said.Zimbabwe have a break for the next two months, during which the players will play in the local T20 competition. Their first assignment next year is a tour of New Zealand that consists of a one-off Test, three ODIs and two T20s. It will provide a barometer to measure how Zimbabwe cope in foreign conditions.

Tom Maynard’s 67-ball hundred spared Surrey’s blushes at Guildford, where Middlesex took 14 wickets in two sessions of an enthralling Championship match only to then feel the full might of the young Welshman’s bat

22-Jul-2011
ScorecardTom Maynard propped up Surrey’s second innings with an aggressive century•PA Photos

Tom Maynard’s 67-ball hundred spared Surrey’s blushes at Guildford, where Middlesex took 14 wickets in two sessions of an enthralling Championship match only to then feel the full might of the young Welshman’s bat.The visitors appeared in command after dismissing Surrey for 117 to enforce the follow-on by mid-afternoon, with the hosts well short of their target of 308. Yet by stumps Maynard had reached an unbeaten 105, helping Surrey through to 306 for 6 and a useful 115-run lead going into the final day.The first two sessions had belonged to Middlesex, who made an impressive start through West Indies paceman Cory Collymore. The right-armer initiated Surrey’s first-innings collapse by having Arun Harinath, making his first championship appearance since last August, caught at
third slip for 1.Rory Hamilton-Brown propped forward to go leg-before to the same bowler, then Steven Crook plucked the middle stump of Mark Ramprakash to make it 48 for 3. Zander de Bruyn drove a knee-high return catch to Tim Murtagh and, on the stroke of lunch, Maynard’s first innings ended in a third-ball duck when Murtagh uprooted his off stump.Surrey’s position worsened rapidly after the interval as they lost their last five wickets for 10 runs in the space of only 42 deliveries. Murtagh finished with 5 for 30 to take his first-class tally to 50 wickets for the season, while Collymore chipped in with 4 for 28.Surrey’s total of 117 was their lowest first-innings score since limping to 102 at Leicester in 2001, and their worst first-innings effort at Woodbridge Road since posting 106 against Hampshire in 1958. Although Murtagh needed treatment for cramp and Collymore was carrying an ankle niggle, Middlesex enforced the follow-on by 2.30pm with a first-innings lead of
191 in the bank.Steve Finn finally got amongst the wickets when Harinath’s airy drive was well gathered by Jamie Dalrymple at second slip, only for Hamilton-Brown and Ramprakash – playing contrasting roles – to add 74 for the second wicket. Ramprakash erred on the side of caution, while Hamilton-Brown went for his shots to reach a 47-ball 50 before Murtagh broke the stand by snaring Ramprakash leg before for 21.With the last ball before tea, Finn squared up Hamilton-Brown (62) with a leg-cutter that flew to third slip and six overs after the break Steve Davies followed one from Murtagh to edge to John Simpson. Maynard marched in and, with nothing to lose, launched a savage counter-assault
with shots to all parts. He raced to a 35-ball 50 with nine fours.In tandem with De Bruyn, Maynard added 100 in 12.2 overs to erase the first-innings deficit and ensure Surrey had to bat again. For his part, De Bruyn posted 50 from 64 balls with eight boundaries.It took an incredible one-handed diving catch way to his left at short cover by Chris Rogers to end the partnership for 170 in 132 balls and send De Bruyn packing for 82 as Surrey blasted 209 runs in 32 overs after tea.

Tony Palladino has been fined by Essex after deliberately knocking the stumps down during the County Championship game against Somerset at Colchester

Cricinfo staff23-Aug-2010Tony Palladino has been fined by Essex after deliberately knocking the stumps down during the County Championship game against Somerset at Colchester.The incident, reported by umpires Peter Willey and John Steele, occurred during Somerset’s innings as Marcus Trescothick compiled the run-a-ball double hundred that set up a 219-run win for the visitors.”Tony has been fined by the club following his action in the Somerset game. It was in the heat of the moment,” explained Paul Grayson, Essex’s head coach. “Whilst Tony has apologised for his actions we cannot let the event go without punishment”.

The Delhi Daredevils assistant coach has said his main aim would be to ensure a finals spot in the third season of the IPL

Cricinfo staff10-Mar-2010Eric Simons, the Delhi Daredevils assistant coach, has said his main aim would be to ensure a finals spot for his side in the third season of the IPL. Having made the semi-finals in the two previous editions, Delhi choked against eventual winners Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers respectively.Simons, who is also India’s bowling coach, strongly suggested that a rotation policy was a key strategy to ensure his players’ freshness for the big games. “The key is to peak at the right time and we need to find ways for that,” Simons told the . “Rotating the players will play a key role.”He also gave his full backing to new captain Gautam Gambhir, who took over from Virender Sehwag, and said he should have no problems with the rotation policy. “He’s [Gambhir’s] a mature and clear-thinking individual,” Simons said. “He has got no ego and is the perfect man to lead. Captaincy is all about taking information from others and making the right decisions and he will be able to do that.”Simons, 48, served as South Africa’s head coach from 2002-2004 and later held various capacities at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. He also has some coaching experience in the IPL, having worked as a consultant with Ray Jennings last year for Royal Challengers Bangalore when the tournament moved to South Africa.He will be assisting Greg Shipperd, having filled the position left vacant by Australia’s David Saker on March 3 this year, and focus on working with the large bunch of young bowlers in the Delhi squad. However, Simons said he has not had much time with the local players for the tournament beginning March 12. “I haven’t seen the local players yet. I think, after three or four nets, I should get an idea.”For a team boasting many international stars – Dirk Nannes, Paul Collingwood, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori, Farveez Maharoof, David Warner, AB de Villiers, Moises Henriques, Andrew McDonald and new purchase Wayne Parnell – the choice of playing four players from the contingent could be tough.”That is where the balancing act needs to be done,” Simons told . “It is important to manage international players. We have to make sure our top players are not jaded and, hopefully, this time we can manage that. At the moment, everyone is fit and raring to go. It is going to be an arduous six weeks of the tournament and we are hoping to keep everyone on the field. This is where the role of the backroom staff will be very important.”The pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi’s home ground, has come under criticism in the recent past. The abandonment of the fifth ODI between India and Sri Lanka in December last year, resulted in a one-year international ban from the ICC. However, the venue will host IPL matches as the tournament, being a domestic one, is out of the global governing body’s purview.”We had a practice match last night where one team scored 200 and the other got really close,” Simons said. “There were a few occasions when batsmen were hitting length balls over the bowlers’ heads, which I always believe to be a fair indicator of how good a pitch is.”The surface seems kind of cold, so I think they have left some moisture on the surface which is helping it stay together. We had played on another wicket a few days ago and that had seemed slower, so it is getting better for sure.”

The openers Travis Dowlin and Adrian Barath provided the best news of the tour for the struggling West Indians

Peter English20-Nov-2009West Indians 271 and 1 for 133 (Barath 65*, Dowlin 53) trail Queensland 7 for 617 (Kruger 172, Reardon 147, Townsend 100, Simpson 73) by 213 runs

Scorecard
Travis Dowlin overcame some nervous moments to post a confidence-boosting half-century at Allan Border Field•Getty Images

The openers Travis Dowlin and Adrian Barath provided the best news of the tour for the struggling West Indians as they reached 1 for 133 at stumps on the third day. Since the squad arrived in Brisbane last week they have lost their captain Chris Gayle, who flew to Jamaica to be with his sick mother, and received a tough initiation in their opening tour game against Queensland. Ramnaresh Sarwan, one of the two leading batsmen, has also been told by his doctor to stay off the field due to an infection.So after the Bulls declared at 7 for 617, with a lead of 346, the tourists needed something to cheer and Dowlin and Barath provided it during a 95-run opening stand. With Gayle increasingly unlikely to be back in Australia before Thursday’s first Test, the side is desperate for the remaining openers in the squad to be in form. The team management is still waiting to learn when Gayle is likely to return and the selectors are expected to meet over the weekend to consider possible replacements and whether to extend the outfit to 16 men for the three-Test series.Life has been tough and will become harder when they run into an Australia side preparing for their first series since the Ashes defeat. Dowlin, who went for 2 in the first innings, backed up with a much more authoritative display, striking seven boundaries in his 53 before he was caught behind off the unstoppable Nathan Reardon.Barath is expected to make his debut next week and he followed his first-day duck with a composed 65. He was dropped by Chris Hartley on 34 but held on to make it to stumps, taking advantage of some loose bowling by the legspinner Dan Doran to increase his boundary tally to nine.Reardon’s 147 was the major problem for the tourists on the third day as he became the third local batsman to register a maiden first-class century in the innings. Kemar Roach, the 21-year-old fast bowler, continued to run in hard despite his side’s situation and returned 3 for 135 from 32 overs, but he did not receive much help from his team-mates, who wilted against a modest batting line-up.The day began well for them when Hartley (12) edged a Roach short ball in the third over, but they were soon being pummelled by Reardon’s muscular stroke-play. Reardon, a 25-year-old in his second four-day game, joined Nick Kruger (172) and Wade Townsend (100) in raising centuries, which was only the second time in Australia three players have achieved their maiden first-class hundreds in the same innings. Reardon resumed on 45 and sped towards his century, equalling a state record with his seven sixes while taking advantage of the mediocre offerings.He was particularly brutal against the left-arm spin of Sulieman Benn, who was lashed for two sixes in one over and later launched on to the roof of Queensland Cricket’s offices at midwicket. Another Reardon sweep off Benn cleared the fence and the hitting was so strong that the bull mascot sitting in the back of a caged ute was asking to go back to the farm. After lunch he also pulled a tiring Roach high into the Matthew Hayden Stand before eventually falling caught behind to Dwayne Bravo.Chris Simpson, the captain, also blasted one on to the office roof off Ravi Rampaul, who continued to find life in Australia difficult. He was not the only one. Benn gave up 151 runs in 34 overs and Rampaul went for 131 in 29, while Bravo and Narsingh Deonarine also failed to make much of an impact. Simpson and Reardon clumped 156 in 30.4 overs for the sixth wicket before Simpson was bowled by Roach on 73, but the tourists were kept waiting before the innings was closed 40 minutes before tea. They needed the break.

Baartman successfully defended seven runs in the 20th over to give SA a stirring come-from-behind win

Madushka Balasuriya14-Jun-20243:06

Morkel: Nepal’s bowling made life difficult for SA

It was heartbreak for Nepal and their fans in Kingstown, as they fell short by only one run against South Africa in a nail-biting encounter.Fans and players alike were in tears since the result also eliminated Nepal from Super Eight contention at the T20 World Cup 2024. South Africa made a clean sweep of the group stage with four wins in four, riding on Tabraiz Shamsi’s 4 for 19 that dragged them back with a stunning 18th over.But for so very long, the game seemed Nepal’s to lose. Their spinners had spun a web to limit South Africa to a subpar 115 for 7 – even on a difficult, turning track – and then with the bat had brought the equation down to 25 needed off 30 balls, with seven wickets in hand.Related

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Shamsi though, in for Keshav Maharaj, turned the game with a double-wicket 18th over, including that of the set Aasif Sheikh (42 off 49). The dots that followed raised the required rate, but two powerful late strikes from Sompal Kami and 18-year-old Gulsan Jha took the game down to two off two balls. But Ottneil Baartman bowled two dots as Nepal failed to get bat on the ball both times, and a desperate attempt at a last-gasp run left them inches short in the end.

SA’s overly cautious start

Possibly scarred by their earlier outings in the tournament, South Africa began the game a touch too cautiously, and in the process batted conservatively when conditions for batting were at their best.While their 38 for 1 in the powerplay was their best of the tournament, South Africa were guilty of waiting for loose deliveries instead of putting the bowlers off their lines early on. Nepal for their part, rarely strayed in their lines and lengths and once the spinners took hold, they never looked back.

Nepal spinners make SA crumble

Sandeep Lamichhane’s first delivery spat 6.2 degrees as it gripped and turned past Reeza Hendricks’ defence, and that set the tone as South Africa rarely looked comfortable against the turning ball from that point on. While Lamichhane would end wicketless, his probing spell went for just 18 runs in his first outing of the tournament in Nepal’s first game outside the USA. But in Dipendra Singh Airee (3 for 21) and Kushal Bhurtel (4 for 19), Nepal had enough overs of spin to exploit the conditions, with the pair accounting for all seven South African wickets.2:32

Morkel: South Africa need to have more intensity with bat

South Africa did their best to negotiate the conditions with a steady approach, but despite run-a-ball stands of 22 and 46 for the first two wickets, they struggled to up their gears. Only Tristan Stubbs, who scored 27 in 18 balls from No. 8, scored at a strike rate of over 100.In all, Nepal bowled spin for 14 overs, including the final over of the innings. There Bhurtel grabbed two wickets for nine runs, and Nepal had conceded only 58 runs in the back end for six wickets, after conceding only 57 in the first ten.

Sah, Aasif steady the chase

Nepal were provided an early reprieve when Kagiso Rabada dropped a catch. After that, Nepal opted for risk-free cricket as they lumbered to 32 at the end of the powerplay without losing a wicket. With spin playing such a pivotal role though, Shamsi’s introduction was always going to prove critical in the game and so it proved.In just his first over he disturbed the stumps of both Bhurtel and Rohit Paudel to bring South Africa roaring back into the game. After seeing out Shamsi’s next over, both Aasif and Anil Sah sought to rebuild. Sah was the first to raise the ante as a pair of boundaries off Anrich Nortje boosted their rate, before a six off Shamsi brought about genuine belief of a win. Sheikh joined in an over later taking Rabada for six and four, with the pair reaching their fifty partnership off just 36 deliveries.

Shamsi’s 18th-over heist

With just one frontline spinner in the XI, South Africa knew they’d have to time Shamsi’s reintroduction perfectly. Aiden Markram, with his part-time offbreaks, had ended the Sah-Sheikh stand, but Airee was determined to stick in with the set Sheikh.But enter Shamsi. His third delivery of the 18th turned down the leg side, but Airee’s attempted pull got a feather touch to Quinton de Kock. So light was the touch that Airee reviewed thinking he hadn’t touched it. Shamsi then grabbed the big fish off his final delivery, ripping one through Aasif’s bat and pad to clatter into the stumps. By the time he was done, Nepal needed 16 off 12.

Baartman holds his nerve

Shamsi’s over was backed up by Nortje, who bowled four consecutive dots to start the penultimate over – including one which took off the top of Kushal Malla’s middle stump. That left Nepal needing 16 off eight, with them needing at least one big hit before it got too late.Kami then unleashed a monstrous 105-metre pull that sent the ball sailing out of the stands to bring the equation down to eight off the final over. When the teenager Jha found a boundary over cover to make it four runs off three balls, the Nepal fans stood up, with their phones out, to capture a potentially historic moment.A hard-run two off the next delivery showed that Nepal understood the brief precisely, but a pair of expertly executed slower bouncers by Baartman off the final two deliveries proved too good to get away.A desperate run off a bye off the final ball might have led to a Super Over, but as the ball deflected off Jha, it was picked up by Heinrich Klaasen lurking near the stumps and he flicked to the non-striker’s end. Jha was short and Nepal were out.

Mitchell Swepson and Marnus Labuschagne undid the Scorchers at the end of the group stage

Andrew McGlashan02-Feb-2021Colin Munro has said the Perth Scorchers will need to “take our egos out” of their batting when they come against Brisbane Heat in the BBL Challenger final on Thursday with the prize a place in the final against the Sydney Sixers.The two sides faced each other in their final regular-season match with the Heat coming out on top by six runs with Mitchell Swepson and Marnus Labuschagne, who have formed a dynamic legspin pairing at the tail-end of the tournament, having combined figures of 8-0-55-5.The Scorchers were well placed in their chase of 182 with an opening stand of 53 in six overs before Liam Livingstone charged and missed at a delivery from Swepson which skidded low. The top four all fell to the legspinners with Munro top-edging a slog sweep to deep point having made 7 off 14 balls.Related

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Labuschagne would then remove Josh Inglis and Ashton Turner in the same over to leave them 5 for 94, and despite a late charge by Mitchell Marsh the chase came up short.”[We need to] just try to take our egos out of it instead of trying to smash it for six every ball like we tried, just play smart cricket,” Munro told reporters in Canberra ahead the rematch. “The other day we tried to go outside of our comfort zone a little bit.””Marnus and Swepo they’ve added some different dynamics to their bowling group. We’ve just got make sure we play to our blueprint.”In the five matches Labuschagne and Swepson have played together, since returning to the BBL after the Test series against India, they have shared 18 wickets and been key to the run that has seen the Heat put together four wins on the bounce to keep their tournament alive with no second chances for a loss.”Looking back a couple of weeks ago it was a far cry to see us in this position,” Swepson said. “Really proud of the team that we’ve been able to get here from that position we have some nice momentum now.”It’s always nice when you come up against an opposition where you’ve had success, gives you a little bit of confidence, but we know their batting line there is firepower all over it. We can’t just rock up and expect to be able to do the exact same thing we did, they will come better prepared.”That was the first time this season that they were playing against both me and Marny so they’ll be better prepared. We’ll have to be prepared for that and make sure that we are on top of whatever they throw at us.”Labuschagne had one T20 wicket before this run in the BBL but has claimed two three-wicket hauls to give captain Chris Lynn a wealth of bowling options.”It’s been great to see Marny bowl and get some good overs,” Swepson said. “Think in the past he’s probably been a little frustrated that he hasn’t got that opportunity to bowl in this format and you are seeing what he can do.”

England captain to help transport medicine and make calls to people in isolation

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2020England captain Heather Knight has signed up to be a National Health Service (NHS) volunteer during the coronavirus outbreak.Knight only returned from Australia, where she led England to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup, 10 days ago and is now living under the UK’s lockdown rules with her boyfriend in Bristol.She revealed in her BBC column that she had volunteered for the scheme that will see people support the health service by delivering food and medicine, transporting patients to appointments and making calls to those in isolation.”I signed up to the NHS’s volunteer scheme as I have a lot of free time on my hands and I want to help as much as I can,” Knight said. “My brother and his partner are doctors, and I have a few friends who work in the NHS, so I know how hard they are working and how difficult it is for everyone.”More than half a million people signed up when the volunteer programme was announced on Wednesday. The following day, people from around the country took a moment during the evening to applaud the NHS from their residences.”Standing on our doorstep, joining in the #ClapForCarers was incredible, and getting involved and volunteering will help even more,” Knight said.”I’m going to get the car out as I’ve volunteered to transport medicine, and also speak to people who are self-isolating. If someone is home alone, you can ring them up and chat. They have had so many people sign up.”The ECB, meanwhile, has indicated that it could consider installing coronavirus checkpoints and isolation units at grounds, as it examines the possibility of resuming cricket behind closed doors this summer.Steve Elworthy, the ECB’s director of events, said games would need take place inside a “sterile” environment, likely with fewer than 500 people in the venue. “So it’s how you test them at the gate, the isolation units that you have to put in,” he told the . “These are considerations we are thinking about.”