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John Inverarity, Australia’s new national selector, has not ruled a line through Simon Katich’s name but he has signalled the need for Australia to look to the future when choosing squads

Brydon Coverdale28-Oct-2011John Inverarity, Australia’s new national selector, has not ruled a line through Simon Katich’s name but he has signalled the need for Australia to look to the future when choosing squads. On a day when Katich scored a match-saving Sheffield Shield century at the SCG and then said his 2009 dressing-room scuffle with Michael Clarke was a key reason for his axing, Cricket Australia unveiled Inverarity as its full-time selector.A former Perth headmaster who saw Katich play during his school days, Inverarity was handed a three-year deal and will pick Australian sides almost until the 2015 World Cup. That period will feature two Ashes series, with back-to-back contests scheduled in England in 2013 and in Australia later that year to avoid a clash with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following summer.Inverarity’s five-man panel will face the challenge of managing a succession plan for several older players. By the 2013 Ashes, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey will both be 38, while Brad Haddin will be 35, and the timing of the retirements of any or all of those men will be critical to Australia’s preparation for their battle to regain the urn.Katich, 36, was moved on by the previous selectors this year as they aimed to start the transition process, a decision that sparked an angry reaction from several quarters, including from Katich himself. While Inverarity was reluctant to speak about individual players, he said he would keep an open mind, while also balancing the short-term needs of the side with long-term goals.”The selectors’ role is always a very demanding role,” Inverarity said. “If you’re going to bring in youth and invest opportunity in young players, well you’ve only got a certain number in the squad, so people have got to come in and people have got to go out. As far as I’m concerned, the book is closed on nobody.”When you sit down to select the side you select for that next week, for later in the season, later in the year, the next year and probably two or three years hence. You need to keep all of those in balance as you make selection. Generating youth is the lifeblood of all sports. You need to keep an ideal balance in terms of age profile and how much longer people have got in their careers.”You need to exercise very good judgment in managing that and making appropriate decisions, investing opportunity wisely. All games in all forms the Australian team play, they are all of great importance. But there are some especially important times. Those times would be World Cups and Ashes series and playing against very strong sides like India. You try to manage it so that you’ve got plenty of talent who are experienced and available when you need them most.”Inverarity’s panel, which will include Clarke as captain, as well as the coach and two yet-to-be-named part-time selectors, will need to manage some of the youngest players Australia’s team has fielded in recent years. Pat Cummins, 18, could make his Test debut during next month’s series in South Africa, and Inverarity said it was important to balance the concerns of age with the benefits that could be gained by such a young man being exposed to the highest level.”I don’t think you can say how young is too young,” he said. “It depends on them and their general maturity. It depends on what it is, whether it’s a fast-bowling load or a batting load or a wicketkeeping load. Selection is based on merit. You select on the expectation of how well that person is expected to perform and contribute to the team, but at the same time you’ve got to invest opportunity wisely.”For example, I recall Steve Waugh … didn’t do particularly well for a number of Test matches but opportunity was invested in him and as it turned out it was invested very, very wisely, because there was an obvious identification there of talent, and not only talent but the right character and attitude that was going to come through. Of course it bore wonderful fruit.”Waugh came into the national side at a time when the Australians were struggling, and there are similarities to current era. Inverarity said that while in an ideal world players would be ready for international cricket when chosen, sometimes patience had to be shown to young men finding their way.”A lot depends on what’s available,” he said. “It’s all very easy to select when there’s a wealth of talent available. Sometimes that’s not the case… There’s always a case for being patient for talent to develop. You hope that develops at a lower level and it’s ready when that person is selected to play for Australia.”

The large gathering of former Sussex players at Hove on Friday would not have been impressed by the efforts of the current crop to stave off defeat by County Championship title hopefuls Durham

02-Sep-2011
Scorecard
The large gathering of former Sussex players at Hove on Friday would not have been impressed by the efforts of the current crop to stave off defeat by County Championship title hopefuls Durham.The visitors batted on until tea before declaring on 366 for seven with a lead of 520, and at the close Sussex were 119 for 4. The old boys were present for a lunchtime ceremony which involved re-naming the pavilion and most of them stayed for a surreal evening session played mostly in a swirling mist.Durham could have been made to look foolish for batting on so long, but although the umpires consulted once they decided to stay on and the last few overs were played in sunshine. Chris Nash fell lbw to Callum Thorp for four in the second over after tea.In the fifth over Graham Onions pinned Luke Wells in front to make it 25 for two, but Ed Joyce and Murray Goodwin put on 46 with relative comfort before both surrendered to Ian Blackwell. Blackwell came on when the mist was at its worst and struck in his fourth over when he defeated Goodwin’s attempted sweep to gain the third lbw verdict.Six overs from the close Blackwell was handed a second wicket when Joyce pulled him to Scott Borthwick at deep square leg to depart for 57. Nightwatchman James Anyon kept Matt Prior company to the close, although the latter was lucky to survive an airy drive at Borthwick in the final over when on 21.All Durham’s top six, other than the injured Michael Di Venuto, earlier helped themselves to relatively easy runs. Resuming on 93 without loss, they added 107 in the morning and 166 in the afternoon. Although he was on the field throughout both sessions, South African Wayne Parnell was kept out of the Sussex attack as they looked ahead to Sunday’s Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-final at The Oval.Durham face a four-hour trip to Taunton for their semi-final and will hope to wrap things up swiftly tomorrow. Occasional off-spinner Nash got through 27 overs to take four for 103 and Monty Panesar picked up his first two wickets of the match.Opener Will Smith, on 54 overnight, went on to complete his third century of the season off 192 balls. As soon as he reached his hundred he looked to accelerate and in trying to paddle Panesar to fine leg he fell lbw.Paul Collingwood drove Panesar for a big six over long-on, but in going for a repeat he fell slightly short and was caught by Amjad Khan for 51. Blackwell made 61 off 68 balls before he was stumped by Ben Brown off the bowling of Nash.

Rudi Koertzen, the South African umpire, has announced his retirement from officiating in international cricket

Cricinfo staff04-Jun-2010Rudi Koertzen, the South African umpire, has announced his retirement from officiating in international cricket: his last Test will be the Pakistan-Australia fixture at Headingley from July 21 to 25. The ICC have added Marais Erasmus, from South Africa, and Rodney Tucker, from Australia, to the Elite Panel of Umpires for 2010-11 to replace Koertzen and Mark Benson, who stepped down from the panel in February.Koertzen, 61, has officiated in 106 Tests, a record 209 ODIs and 14 Twenty20 internationals. His first international match was the ODI between between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth on December 9, 1992 and he made his Test debut at the same venue three weeks later.”A distinguished career like Rudi’s presents a benchmark for aspirant umpires,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. “Rudi is a role model for many of the younger-generation umpires and his distinguished career sets a standard for them to emulate.”He is one of the most respected umpires in the game and has always been confident and self motivated yet humble. It is why he has been comfortably able to embrace the core values of the traditional game with the technological advances in recent times.”Koertzen is currently in Zimbabwe, where he is officiating in the tri-series involving the hosts, India and Sri Lanka. “It has been 18 incredible years for me as an international umpire and I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it,” he said, reflecting on his career. “I feel humbled to have been trusted with this massive responsibility and awarded this great opportunity to see cricket revolutionise, be actively involved in some of the biggest changes, see some of the iconic players of the modern era and be part of some of the most fascinating matches.”One of the new members of the elitle panel, Tucker, is from New South Wales and Cricket Australia congratulated him on his promotion. “Rod’s rise through the ranks has been meteoric but extremely well-deserved. As the first umpire to progress from CA’s Project Panel to the highest level, his is a great story for Australian cricket,” CA chief James Sutherland said.”Australian umpires now comprise one third of the ICC’s Elite Panel which is a significant achievement and recognition of the quality of our development pathway. CA is enthusiastic about identifying former players to remain in the game post-retirement and we expect Rod will serve as motivation for others to follow a similar path.”The umpires in the Elite Panel for 2010-11 are Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Asoka de Silva, Billy Doctrove, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Daryl Harper, Tony Hill, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel, Rodney Tucker.

A combined batting effort and a six-wicket haul from Shoaib Akhtar sealed Federal Areas Leopards’ second successive win in the Pentangular One-day Cup

Cricinfo staff21-Apr-2010
ScorecardA combined batting effort and a six-wicket haul from Shoaib Akhtar sealed Federal Areas Leopards’ second successive win in the Pentangular One-day Cup, as they beat Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Panthers by 77 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi.After opting to bat, the Leopards were boosted by half-centuries from four of their batsmen. Opener Rahil Majeed and Umar Amin scored at a brisk pace in a 65-run second wicket stand, Yasim Murtaza scored a quick 55-ball 63 including six fours and a six and wicketkeeper Naeem Anjum provided the late flourish, finishing with an unbeaten 53 off 36 balls to lift the Leopards score to 305. Left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan was the pick of the Panthers bowlers, taking 3 for 46.In reply, none of the Panthers batsmen managed a score of 50 or above as Shoaib crippled them with early strikes, and returned to finish off their innings and seal a thumping win for the Leopards. He dismissed openers Imran Nazir and Rafatullah Mohmand cheaply, broke a 46-run sixth wicket stand by getting rid of wicketkeeper Ahmed said and nipped out two of the tail-enders to end with 6 for 52.

A superb match needed a Super Over to split the teams and New Zealand prevailed to repay Brendan McCullum for his amazing century

The Bulletin by Peter English28-Feb-2010New Zealand 214 for 6 (McCullum 116*) tied with Australia 214 for 4 (Clarke 67, White 64*). New Zealand won after Super Over

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
McScoop Master: Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten 116 included bouts of brave brilliance•Getty Images

A superb match needed a Super Over to split the teams and New Zealand prevailed to repay Brendon McCullum for his amazing century. McCullum became the second-highest scorer in a Twenty20 international with an unbeaten 116, but after Michael Clarke and Cameron White exploded in the reply the scores were tied at 214 after 40 overs.A six-ball tiebreaker was required and the calm Tim Southee delivered another tight over to allow only six runs for White, David Warner and Brad Haddin. Shaun Tait’s waywardness, including two wides, assisted the locals and Martin Guptill finished the game with a four over point from the third legitimate delivery.The hosts were upset by a meek performance in Friday’s one-sided defeat, but McCullum showed his might with an unforgettable 56-ball demolition on a small ground that was rocking at the start and the end. Things were much quieter as Clarke organised the chase with 67 from 45 and White provided some much-needed muscle with 64 off 26 in a pursuit that was almost perfectly timed. However, Clarke and White could only scurry two from the final ball when three were required, with Clarke run out well short of his ground.Needing two off almost every delivery throughout the second innings, the Australians managed to stay on track after Warner departed for a McCullum-style 20 off 10. Haddin (47 off 37) and Clarke, who was travelling much quicker than his usual pace, were able to stay close to the rate so they required 125 from the final 60 balls.James Franklin slowed things down briefly with the wickets of Haddin and David Hussey (10) before White’s brute force arrived. White warmed up with a six over cover off Daniel Vettori, then caressed an inside-out clearance in the same area and was dropped on the boundary attempting a third.He then powered two fours and a six off Franklin before flicking Shane Bond into the spectators at square leg. The 13 that came from Bond’s final over left Australia wanting 36 off 18 deliveries, but the first of three magically controlled Southee efforts made it 30 from 12.White survived a run-out and found two boundaries and a six down the ground off Jacob Oram to cut the margin to 12. In Southee’s final over the bowler showed the maturity of a 30-year-old, not a boy who is 21, by delivering more pin-point yorkers to keep his side in the game.And he proved it wasn’t a fluke by doing it again in the Super Over. The result levelled the series and delivered Australia their first loss of their summer while setting up an intriguing five-match one-day contest beginning on Wednesday.Despite the flurry of absorbing action at the end, it was McCullum’s fireworks over the first half of the match that were the highlight. He showered boundaries around the tiny stadium and the change in attitude left the Australians, who had rested Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson, wondering if there was any way to stop the run avalanche. They were able to slow it a couple of times, but McCullum carried his team through the loss of six wickets and achieved the side’s highest total.His hundred came up in 50 balls, equalling the record of Chris Gayle, the only other century-maker in this format. It was achieved with a single to deep cover, at which point the batsman ripped off his helmet to take in the applause, but he was not finished and carried his bat. Nathan McCullum joined his brother at the end, getting 14 in a 50-run stand in 3.2 overs on an afternoon that stunned everyone.The big crowd of 26,148 was sprinkled by McCullum’s eight sixes and he backed up with a dozen fours during the barrage. Four of the boundaries came with “McScoops” past or over the wicketkeeper, but that was nothing compared to the two sixes he managed to shovel behind himself off Tait. It was brave and brutal – one of the clearances off Tait came from a 155kph thunderbolt.McCullum proved he wouldn’t be intimidated by Australia’s quick bowlers when he charged the third ball of the day from Tait (2 for 40) and bashed him for four through cover. There were 10 runs from the eventful over, which also contained the ugly bowled of the out-classed Peter Ingram for 0 and Tait sending a finger signal to McCullum.In the second over McCullum planted a six through cover off Dirk Nannes’ opening delivery, was almost caught next ball top edging a pull, and quickly flicked him to fine leg for a boundary. The new-ball bowlers couldn’t match Friday’s performance as they gave up 42 in the first four overs.McCullum ended up on his back after his first attempt to scoop Nannes over the wicketkeeper, but he managed it the second time, with the ball just missing Haddin on the way to the boundary. He followed up by unleashing a huge six to midwicket to show he could mix the unorthodox and the traditional. Nannes returned for the 16th over and McCullum enjoyed swinging him twice into the stands on the legside as the bowler went for 51 off four.After losing the strike in the middle stages when some of his team-mates disappeared, McCullum focused by blasting a fierce straight four off Steven Smith and brought up his half-century in the same over when he pulled to midwicket. He dusted off the scoop to surprise Daniel Christian and then pulled him for six behind square – 57 of his runs came in that segment.Gareth Hopkins (36 off 17) was the perfect ally for McCullum as they put on 68 in five overs to regain their explosive momentum. McCullum kept going till the end and had a chance to seal the game in the Super Over, but he was as happy as every other local when Guptill squared the series.

Teenage spinner now has 15 wickets in five One-Day Cup appearances as Lancashire stumble

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay22-Aug-2025Warwickshire 253 for 5 (Shaikh 75, Malik 72, Blatherwick 4-48) beat Lancashire 249 for 9 (Tazeem 3-39) by five wicketsHamza Shaikh made 75 and legspinner Tazeem Ali took 3 for 39 to help Warwickshire beat Lancashire by five wickets at Aigburth and thereby consolidate their bid to reach the knock-out stages of the Metro Bank One Day Cup.Having restricted the home side to 249 for 9 on a pitch that aided spin, Ed Barnard’s side reached their target with 61 balls to spare, Kai Smith finishing on 45 not out having put on 77 with Shaikh.The one consolation for a severely under-strength Lancashire was that Jack Blatherwick took a career-best 4 for 48 but Marcus Harris’s side have now won just one of their seven matches in this competition and their own slim chances of making further progress had vanished with Wednesday’s defeat to Durham.Michael Jones was caught behind without scoring off Ethan Bamber’s second ball of the game but George Bell and Kesh Fonseka then batted positively against the Bears’ seamers to give their side a respectable platform of 69 for 1 after 15 overs.However, 33 of the next 35 overs were bowled by the Warwickshire spinners and scoring runs never looked as straightforward as it had done in the first hour of the game. Lancashire’s second-wicket pair put on 87 before Fonseka was caught at cover by Shaikh for 43 when driving Tazeem and the legspinner took his second wicket in his next over when Bell was leg-before for 46 when attempted to sweep.Harris and Harry Singh then tried to rebuild the innings with a stand of 68 in 13 overs only for Singh to depart for 29 when he pulled Rob Yates straight to Alex Davies at deep midwicket and the left-handed Harris to be bowled for 41 by a lovely offbreak from Yates.File photo: Shaikh led the way in Warwickshire’s run chase•ECB via Getty Images

Tazeem took his third wicket when George Balderson pulled him straight to Zen Malik and the remainder of Lancashire’s innings was dominated by Arav Shetty, who consolidated the good impression he has made during this competition by making 40 off 30 balls.Shetty, though, was one of two wickets to fall to Jake Lintott in the 49th over of the innings and the experienced Warwickshire wristspinner finished with 2 for 62 from his ten overs. Yates finished with 2 for 44 but it was Tazeem’s bowling that had taken the eye – and not for the first time this month.Warwickshire’s reply got off to a thunderous start, eight boundaries being struck and 44 runs scored in the opening four overs. But the visitors’ progress was slowed, first when Ed Barnard was caught by Bell when trying to scoop Blatherwick for 21 and then when Yates tried to slap Blatherwick through mid-on but only found Balderson’s safe hands and departed for 23.Former Lancashire batter Alex Davies was then surprised by the lift Blatherwick extracted from the Aigburth pitch and was caught behind for eight to leave his side on 71 for three in the eleventh over. That, though, was as near the home side got to upsetting the form book.Sheikh put on 97 with Malik, who reached his maiden List A fifty off 39 balls and seemed set for a century when his attempt to hit Blatherwick for six over mid-off only found the safe hands of Jones on the cover boundary and he departed for 72. Seemingly untroubled by this setback, Shaikh reached his own fifty off 74 balls and Warwickshire’s victory was all but certain long before Shaikh was bowled by Luke Hands when his side needed five runs.

IPL’s breakout star produces another fast-paced innings after Rocky Flintoff top-scores for England

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay27-Jun-2025India U19 178 for 4 (Suryavanshi 48, Kundu 45*) beat England U19 174 (Flintoff 56, Mohammed 42) by six wicketsIndia’s 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 48 from just 19 balls as India’s Under-19 side made short work of beating England in the first of five Youth ODIs at Hove.Suryavanshi, who became the youngest-ever century maker in men’s T20 when he hit 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL earlier this year, made a startling debut to competitive cricket in England, putting on 71 in 7.3 overs with his captain, Ayush Mhatre as England were overwhelmed, losing by six wickets with 26 overs to spare.The young India side have made a memorable start to their tour of England. Three days earlier they had won another 50-over game, against a Young Lions Invitational XI at Loughborough, by 231 runs.Here, Suryavanshi was the star attraction, bludgeoning five sixes and three fours. Jack Home’s first over cost 21 runs as the left-hander top-edged his pull shot for six before driving over mid-on and pulling to cow corner for other sixes. But when slow left-armer Ralphie Albert came on Suryavanshi immediately skied to point.It was a different game after that, with India losing three more wickets before crossing the line, keeper Abhigyan Kundu leading the way with an unbeaten 45.England had been bowled out for a disappointing 174 in 42.2 overs, with only Rocky Flintoff (56) and Isaac Mohammed (42) reaching the 20 mark.There was a constant cloud cover and a green tinge to the pitch but it was India’s spinners, Mohamed Enaan and Kanishk Chouhan, who caused most problems, sharing five wickets and proving the most economical of the bowlers.England, who had chosen to bat, had started so positively, with Ben Dawkins and Isaac putting on an aggressive 39 for the fist wicket. The left-handed Isaac, one of two debutants in the team, along with French, was particularly exciting, pulling Henil Patel over square-leg for the first of his four sixes – there were also three fours in his 28-ball innings.The 17-year-old is related to England’s Moeen Ali and Worcestershire’s assistant head coach Kadeer Ali. He signed a three-year contract for Worcestershire from the Warwickshire Academy earlier this month.England lost their first wicket in the eighth over when Dawkins edged to first slip. But Isaac responded by striking Yudhajit Guha for successive sixes to bring up the 50 in the ninth over. Isaac then pulled Enaan over square-leg and out of the ground for another six. But three balls later he was caught at backward square-leg going for another big hit.Flintoff, the youngest player to score a century for the side, again looked in fine form. But his efforts were compromised by the constant fall of wickets at the other end. Ben Mayes looked in good touch when he drove through mid-on for four, but he was caught behind next ball to make it 80 for three and then captain Tom Rew was caught behind third ball.Flintoff, unsure whether to stick or twist, waited for some decent company but it didn’t arrive. Joe Moores and Albert fell cheaply to the off-spin of Chouhan and then Home was run out for five to make it 129 for seven. Flintoff was finally forced to hit out, and there were three sixes and three fours in his 90-ball innings before he was last out, going for another heave.

Five-wicket win opens series at Western Province CC in Cape Town

ECB Reporters Network17-Jan-2025England Under-19 91 for 5 (Mayes 51) beat South Africa Under-19 87 (Minto 3-15) by five wicketsA dominant bowling performance from England Men U19s paved the way for a comfortable five-wicket win over South Africa Men U19s in the opening Youth ODI at Cape Town.New-ball duo Harry Moore and James Minto did the damage up top taking five wickets between them as the hosts were skittled for just 87.Opener Ben Mayes then broke the back of the chase with 51 from 48 balls while debutant captain Archie Vaughan added 26 as the Young Lions reach their target in 18.3 overs.Moore and Minto immediately got to work after the hosts opted to bat and subsided to 33 for six.The tone was set for an impressive Lions display in the field when Joe Moores held a sharp catch at backward point when Adnaan Lagadien arrowed a backfoot drive off Derbyshire right-armer Moore.Durham left-armer Minto had already had opener Shaylen Pillay caught by wicketkeeper Thomas Rew on his way to figures of innings-best three for 15.Spinners Taz Ali and Farhan Ali ensured the wickets continued to tumble before Worcestershire’s Jack Home – one of three debutants alongside Vaughan and Aaryan Sawant – ended the innings.Home first had Enathi Kitshini caught at backward point by Moores before pulling off a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to run out Nqobani Mokoena.Mayes and Vaughan then combined in a 64-run stand for the second wicket to ensure there were no jitters for the Young Lions. Mayes took the lead role, reaching his half-century from 45 balls, and despite some late wickets the tourists were always on course for a comfortable win.The Lions can secure the three-match Youth ODI series on Sunday when the second match is also played at Western Province CC in Cape Town.

Afghanistan continue bring joy back home with fourth victory of World Cup campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2023Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan captain, dedicated his side’s seven-wicket win over Netherlands to the thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who are facing the prospect of being deported back to Afghanistan.Shahidi was speaking after a comfortable win in Lucknow, Afghanistan’s third in a row and one which sees them move to eight points and closer to a semi-final spot, albeit with two games left to play against Australia and South Africa.”Right now, a lot of refugee peoples are in struggle so we are watching their videos and we are sad for that and we are with them in this tough time,” Shahidi said after the game. “I dedicate this win to those refugees that are in pain and also to all country peoples back home.”Nearly two million Afghan refugees that Pakistan says are in the country illegally had been told by the government to leave by November 1 or face either deportation or arrest. This week many thousands have rushed to the border between the two countries, trying to beat the deadline but worried about facing an uncertain future in Afghanistan, which has been governed since August 2021 by the Taliban.Related

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Pakistan has a long history of taking in Afghan refugees, dating back to 1979 when the former Soviet Union came into Afghanistan in a new front of the Cold War with the US. A lot of the players from Afghanistan’s earliest cricket sides had grown up and learnt the game in refugee camps in north-west Pakistan. There has been another sizeable influx of refugees into the country after the Taliban took control two years ago. But the order for the refugees to leave Pakistan comes amid tense political relations between the two countries.The issue has been close to the hearts of the cricket team. Following their eight-wicket triumph over Pakistan in Chennai last week, Ibrahim Zadran also dedicated the win to refugees being forced to leave.”I think the players are attuned with everything that’s going on back home, whether it’s an earthquake and other things,” Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s coach, said on Friday after the Netherlands win.”So they realise, and I think they’re enjoying the joy that they’re giving to the Afghan people and the smile that they currently have on their face in the changing room, but also the smiles that’s giving everybody else. That’s the great thing about sport and being able to touch people far further afield than just here in the stadium or in this country, but back home as well.”Afghanistan are now fifth on the points table, outside the top four on net run-rate but with the same points as New Zealand and Australia. They take on an in-form Australia in Mumbai first, on Tuesday, and then a rampaging South Africa in Ahmedabad, among their toughest tests.”I think you’ve got to definitely prepare and have a look at how the opposition are going to play, but the thing is with us, I certainly feel that if we worry, we just focus on how we play and what makes us the side that we are,” Trott said.”We’ve got to make sure that we don’t look at the opposition too much and forget about what we’ve got to do well. So that’ll be it and obviously we’ll prepare for Australia, a very good side along with South Africa but right now we’re focused on Australia and what we can do to beat them.”

Australian veteran will act as a player-coach for Victoria in the 2023-24 season

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2023Peter Siddle has left Somerset after sustaining an injury to his hand which has ruled him out of the remainder of his stint with the club as an overseas player.Siddle, 38, fractured a finger while attempting to take a catch off his bowling during Somerset’s T20 Blast defeat to Hampshire last month and the injury will not heal before the end of his contract later this month.Somerset, who will play Nottinghamshire in the Blast quarter-finals on Friday night after topping the South Group, have signed Ish Sodhi as a replacement for the Blast. Sodhi has already played twice, taking four wickets, at the end of the group stage.Related

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Siddle will return to Victoria from Tasmania in the Australian summer in a player-coach role but said: “My playing days are slowly dying down.”He told the Somerset website: “Although I still want to play a bit, I’m aware that’s slowly coming to an end. I’ll move into doing a bit of coaching, but whether or not I want to do that in the long term, I don’t know.”I think my days of signing long deals over the summer are behind me, but if I come back to England and play, it will be as a replacement to cover someone for a short stint. Who knows?”If Somerset sign Matt Henry again next year and he ends up missing a month during his stint then maybe I might be able to dust off my boots and pull a kit back on. You never say never. I may have a game or two left in me for the club, but as things stand, I’m pretty sure my county cricket days are done.”Siddle has spent two seasons with Somerset, taking 43 County Championship wickets as well as 24 in the Blast. “I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the club and I’m definitely going to miss it,” he said.