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These are tough times for Hampshire and their coach, Dale Benkenstein, is trying to find a way to reinvigorate the season of Michael Carberry to aid a relegation fight

Freddie Wilde at the Ageas Bowl28-Jun-2016
ScorecardHampshire hope a move down the order can spark Michael Carberry’s form•Getty Images

There was a heavy sense of sadness about this, the flattest of days, at the Ageas Bowl. Played out in front of a smattering of barely 100 people, a crowd described by one seasoned journalist as the smallest he had seen here for at least a decade; bottom of the table, relegation-threatened Hampshire battled and blocked, nudged and nurdled and waited for the forecasted rain to fall.It is at times like these that a club needs its senior players. In Michael Carberry, Hampshire have one who stood up better than most to some of the fastest bowling in history when Mitchell Johnson ripped England apart in the 2013-14 Ashes. Shortly after that, perhaps harshly, Carberry’s international career came to an end and Dale Benkenstein, the Hampshire coach, revealed it has not been an easy adjustment for Carberry to make. This season season his average hovers around the mid-20s.As part of Hampshire’s attempt to re-motivate Carberry they have shifted him down the order to No. 4 to give him a new challenge and the management will have been pleased with the fight he showed, closing on an unbeaten 37, alongside Sean Ervine in a 52-run stand before play was halted.”We are trying to find some motivation for Carbs,” explained Benkenstein. “I think it’s tough when you don’t have England anymore. You just lose your oxygen. When you’ve had one thing as your goal and suddenly it goes, and you’ve never really thought about anything else – you’ve always wanted to play for England. I’ve seen that with a few senior players in my career as captain.””Physically and skill-wise he could play for many more years, but at this level you have got to have a real hunger to play. Especially as a batsman you have to have that hunger for runs because you are getting a year older and guys are getting faster and better and they have ambition to play for England and you tend to see guys drop off quite quickly.””We’ve found he is actually playing quite well but keeps getting out,” Benkenstein said of the move to bat him down the order. “The new ball is always tough in England and we thought maybe it’s a chance to free him up a bit and take him away from the new ball. Just changing his role gives him a bit of a mini-challenge and we are hoping that stimulates him.”Hampshire will hope Carberry can flourish in the second half of the season. Play began under a warming sun, but as the day wore on, the clouds thickened and darkened and like the looming threat of Hampshire’s relegation, they slowly closed in.When, at 3.18pm the umpires decided the light was too bad for play to continue Ervine and Carberry could hardly have left the pitch much quicker. Less than five minutes later it started to rain and the players never returned.More rain is forecast tomorrow and Hampshire could well escape this match with a draw but having been hoping for rain since mid-afternoon on day one, it will be with a heavy heart that they make the five hour drive to Chester-le-Street on Saturday.This pitch has been very slow, too slow to produce particularly intriguing cricket, and without the blanket of dark clouds under which they bowled on the first day, Somerset must have felt what it was like to bowl several overs in Hampshire’s shoes on day two as the hosts fought admirably against some accurate bowling.Unlike Somerset’s batsmen however, Hampshire’s were unable to convert strong starts into significant scores. All three of the wickets to fall were self-inflicted.Tom Alsop was the first to go when shortly before lunch he was caught at second slip having tried to cut a ball from Peter Trego that was too straight to do so to and angling in further still. Alsop’s wicket ended a stoic partnership of 89 – tellingly Hampshire’s best second-wicket stand of the season.That Alsop received a generous reception from Hampshire’s members for his 53 when he finally reached the pavilion, head bowed, bat hanging limply by his side and dragging along the turf, is perhaps emblematic of the club’s readjusted expectations. A good effort it was, but ultimately not good enough.After the interval Will Smith dragged on to Lewis Gregory and when Liam Dawson’s limp push outside off stump ended up in the hands of second slip there was a possibility Hampshire were not even going to beat the rain, let alone Somerset.After an hour of thick, miserly rain, with darkness enveloping the ground and puddles forming on the covers, the floodlights were unceremoniously switched off. Ten minutes after that, with the ground practically deserted but for a lone member of the ground staff, the PA system echoed around the stadium confirming to no one but the assembled press that play had been abandoned.And with that the lonely groundsman trudged across the outfield and disappeared into the bowels of the stadium, the only sound he left behind him was the gentle patter of rain on the covers as a melancholy day crept slowly towards its end.

Azhar Ali said the series win against Zimbabwe boosted the team’s confidence, and also gave him ample belief as captain ahead of the upcoming series against Sri Lanka

Umar Farooq01-Jun-20151:33

Coming to Pakistan was about playing cricket – Whatmore

After leading Pakistan to a 2-0 ODI series win against Zimbabwe, Azhar Ali has said the victory boosted the team’s confidence, and also gave him ample belief as captain ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka. Pakistan, playing their first home series in six years, whitewashed Zimbabwe in the two-match T20 series and also won the ODI series.Azhar, who was appointed ODI captain after the World Cup, had lost his first assignment 0-3 to Bangladesh in April. However, he not only won his first home series as captain but was also the leading run-scorer with 227 runs at 75.66. He also became the first Pakistan captain to make a century in a successful chase in ODIs.”It’s been an exciting and emotional series for many reasons,” Azhar said. “It became important for us, as many of us never played in Pakistan, and winning makes it more significant because it gives you confidence. I know the opponent wasn’t as big but they played good cricket against us and eventually a win is a win and this will definitely help us move forward.”I’m happy that I was able to carry out the responsibility of captaincy very well and score runs as a batsman. I always try to make myself feel as a batsman while batting but obviously there are a lot of things going on in my mind. But I think to be a good batsman, you have to be your own captain first. I always go in with the same sense, which was the reason I was successful in this series.”To develop confidence you have to win and it becomes a habit only when you start winning games consistently. You don’t have to bother who the opponent is but it is the belief that makes you win. So this belief has to build in our players, which is very important.”Since the World Cup, Pakistan have made extensive changes to their squad in a bid to rebuild the side. The transition saw some experienced hands – Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Sami – return to the team, while many youngsters got a chance as well. The experiment was seen as necessary to find the best combination.”These players have been waiting for a long time after performing in the domestic circuit,” Azhar said. “So the idea is to induct them gradually and test their skills at this level. But at the end we have to figure out the best combination by mixing it up with experienced players. We all know that we are facing a tough challenge to qualify for the Champions Trophy so we have to find the right combination in both the bowling and batting departments who can finish the game well.”Pakistan are presently facing a dearth in their bowling resources: Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan and Sohail Khan are all injured, and Saeed Ajmal has been left out of the side. Sami, Hammad Azam and Anwar Ali helped Azhar win the series against Zimbabwe at home but it may not be enough to take on Sri Lanka in their upcoming series.”There are a lot of injuries in our bowling department and I am hopeful that all the players will be available for selection. This will help us find our best combination looking at the conditions in Sri Lanka,” Azhar said. “We are also going through a tough time after the retirement of some senior players but the players coming up are talented enough to be considered. They have the temperament and are performing well but the only thing is to give them an opportunity.”I am optimistic they will blossom, but you can’t notice the result with one or two series, one needs to be given one or two years to establish themselves. Soon we will be able to fight with any team in the world with the same level of competitiveness which is required for modern cricket.”Babar Azam, the 20-year-old batsman, made his debut in the third ODI and scored 54 off 60 balls. His composed innings under pressure, when Pakistan had lost three wickets for 36 runs, helped post a decent target of 296. “The highlight of the series against Zimbabwe was the young batsman Babar Azam who played well under pressure,” Azhar said. “These are the innings that reflect how much potential he has in him. It was a tough innings to play and I am happy that we found players who can perform under this kind of pressure.”

Dimitri Mascarenhas has criticised the pitch in Centurion, calling it “no good for 20-over cricket” after Hampshire were knocked out of the Champions League

Firdose Moonda in Centurion10-Oct-2012Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascarenhas has criticised the pitch at SuperSport Park in Centurion, calling it “no good for 20-over cricket” after his team was knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers having played only one match. Hampshire posted 121 on a surface with inconsistent bounce that did not allow the ball to carry through quickly, and Auckland reached the target with 33 deliveries to spare.”When we saw the pitch yesterday, we thought there was no way we could play on the wicket,” Mascarenhas said. “We knew that whoever won the toss would win the game. I heard there was a chance the match would be moved to the Wanderers but obviously that didn’t happen.” There has been no confirmation that a request was put in to change the venue and the second match continued as scheduled in Centurion.When the Hampshire team saw the pitch on Monday it was being watered, which groundsman Hilbert Smit said was “standard practice.” He admitted he may have “misread the weather,” when he watered the pitch during last week’s heat wave in anticipation of no rain early this week. Instead, 38 millimetres fell on Monday in the summer’s first storms, and the water table rose substantially.”Because of that [the rain] we knew the pitch would be slow and a few deliveries would hold back. But one team still scored at more than eight runs to the over and there is nothing wrong with that,” Smit said, referring to Auckland’s chase.Mascarenhas said the pitch had eased after the heavy roller was used in the innings break and it “definitely got better” to bat on. He thought his team had lost the match because of the batting performance. “Not many teams defend scores of around 120. When you are, you’re desperate for wickets and in doing that, you will give a few away.”Rather than a low-scoring game, Mascarenhas would have preferred a strip with runs in it. “In 20-over cricket, you want a flat wicket and you want to see runs on the board. You don’t want the ball to be dominating the whole time,” he said. “I am a bowler and even I don’t want the ball to dominate.”Auckland captain Gareth Hopkins was less scathing about the surface. “The toss did play a little part in it and it was easier to bat on second, but I don’t think it was too tricky up front,” he said. “It was a little bit slower than the pitch we had last night at the Wanderers and one or two balls did something funny.”Hopkins was the happier of the two captains not just because his team won but because Auckland have now qualified for the main draw. Their victories in both group matches mean they will progress irrespective of the result between Hampshire and Sialkot tomorrow.Hampshire were gutted not only to be out of the competition in the space of a day but because, as Mascarenhas said, “The most disappointing thing is that it was all in the toss, it was decided on that.”

Marcus Trescothick was named PCA player of the year for the third time at the annual end of season awards in London on Thursday evening

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2011Marcus Trescothick was named PCA player of the year for the third time at the annual end of season awards in London on Thursday evening. Alex Hales, the Nottinghamshire and England batsman, took the young player award while Alastair Cook was England’s most valuable player.Despite Somerset twice finishing in second place again on Friends Life t20 finals day and in the CB40 final, Trescothick had an outstanding season with 2518 runs in all competitions putting him at the top of the batting list even though he missed games towards the end of the season due to an ankle injury. Trescothick is only the second player, after Sir Richard Hadlee, to win the Reg Hayter Cup three times.Hales, meanwhile, was rewarded for passing 1000 runs in the County Championship for the first time along with hitting 544 runs in Twenty20 cricket which earned him an England call-up to face India at Old Trafford. Although he made a second-ball duck he will get another chance to impress in the two matches against West Indies.Cook and Stuart Broad, who is currently out injured, were recognised for their part in England’s triumphant summer with the overall and ODI most valuable player awards respectively. Mark Ramprakash was also named County Championship player of the decade while Andrew McDonald and Chris Nash collected domestic awards.Reg Hayter Cup for the NatWest PCA Player of the Year Marcus Trescothick (Somerset)
John Arlott Cup for the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
ECB Special Award Patrick Eagar
PCA Special Merit Award Jack Bannister
Sky Sports Sixes League Winner Darren Stevens (Kent)
NatWest ODI Player of the Year Stuart Broad
England FTI MVP of the Summer Alastair Cook
LV=County Championship Player of the Decade Mark Ramprakash
Friends Life t20 Player of the Year Andrew McDonald (Leicestershire)
Clydesdale Bank 40 Player of the Year Chris Nash (Sussex)
PCA Umpire of the Year Michael GoughFTI Team of the Year Alastair Cook, Marcus Trescothick, Chris Nash, Alex Hales, Darren Stevens, Steven Davies, Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, James Anderson, David Masters, Monty Panesar

India won the three-ODI series 1-0 as the final match was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Margao

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2010Match abandoned
ScorecardIndia won the three-ODI series 1-0 as the final match was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Margao. Heavy rain on the eve of the game clogged the ground and, though the weather was clear on match day, the outfield was not suitable for play.The result meant a winless tour for Australia. The last time they experienced something similar in India was on their tour in 2008-09 where they drew the tour game and lost the Tests 0-2.The first ODI in Kochi was also washed out in similar circumstances. It was an unfortunate result for the locals who had turned up at the stadium. The series was effectively reduced to a solitary game in Visakhapatnam and both teams took a couple of positives.For India, Virat Kohli scored a century to move ahead of Rohit Sharma in the selection pecking order and R Ashwin impressed with the ball. India, though, struggled in the end overs with Australia looting 84 from the final five overs. For Australia, Michael Clarke made a century after a disappointing performance in the Test series, in which he managed just 35 runs in four innings. Mitchell Starc, the 20-year old left-arm seamer, made a promising debut and the other debutant John Hastings too had a decent outing.

“I don’t think the players are mentally down. We give them lot of confidence,” says Sri Lanka’s batting coach

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Dec-2024Comebacks can happen. Sri Lanka have proved that already this year, when having lost a Test at Lord’s by 190 runs, they surged back at The Oval to win by eight wickets.This, at least, is what Sri Lanka are trying to believe, having lost their first Test in South Africa by 233 runs.They can look back at other series-leveling come-from behind Test wins as well, such as in 2018, when they won in Barbados having lost in Port of Spain. Or even at home, when having gone down to Australia in the first Galle Test of 2022, they roared back in the second.Batting coach Thilina Kandamby feels there are enough players in the group who have tasted comeback success.Related

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“We have a very experienced unit, and they have been in situations like this before,” Kandamby said. “We have given comebacks before as well. I don’t think the players are mentally down. We give them lot of confidence.”We started off in a similar fashion in England this year. We came from behind to win a game. We have identified that and we need to be at our best from day one.”Just as in that England series, Sri Lanka’s top order struggled substantially against the moving ball, crashing to a calamitous 42 not out in the first innings. Kandamby said the “options we took were wrong”, particularly the damp surface offered plenty to the bowlers in the first innings.Since that match, however, Sri Lanka have taken every opportunity to train. They’d rocked up to Kingsmead on what would have been day five of the first Test for a long session, and will also train the two days ahead of the Gqeberha Test, with Monday having been their travel day.”We had a chat, and the key here is to see off the new ball. There is no point being too aggressive, but we do have to put the loose balls away. Once we get past the first hour, it gets a lot easier.”Sri Lanka had also been at a significant advantage in Durban, as South Africa allrounder Wiaan Mulder had fractured his right hand while batting, and as such was unable to bowl. And yet, having collapsed inside 14 overs for their lowest Test total, Sri Lanka were in no place to capitalise on this advantage.”It’s so disappointing really – South Africa were one bowler short, and we should have made most of it,” Kandamby said. “Even with Marco Jansen we didn’t force him to a second spell. But the good thing is, we were a lot more organised in the second innings. If we’d batted the whole day in the first innings, it could have been very different.”The major positive for Sri Lanka, perhaps is that unlike for South Africa, there are no serious injury concerns for their bowlers. They’d had to bowl more than 150 overs in the first three days of the Test, but will have had five days potential recovery before the second Test starts. Although privately, some bowlers had expressed annoyance at having to bowl again so soon after dismissing South Africa for 191, at the time, they just got on with the job, Kandamby said.”Hats off to the bowlers. After one and half hours they had to go out and bowl again. They were not bitter. They just took on the challenge.”

Veteran recovers from horror drop at short third to take 4 for 21 with his knuckleballs

ECB Reporters Network18-Aug-2023Ravi Bopara went form villain to hero as London Spirit beat Northern Superchargers by 13 runs at Lord’s to keep alive their hopes of a place in the knockout stages.The veteran allrounder dropped a sitter of a catch early in Superchargers’ attempted chase of 161 but atoned – and then some – with ball in hand. He finished his spell with 4 for 21, including the prize wicket of Harry Brook for 44 from 24 balls – the youngster having played like a man scorned following his omission from England’s provisional World Cup squad earlier this week.Earlier, Adam Rossington made his second half-century in as many games, sharing a stand of 66 in 32 balls for the third wicket with Matthew Wade (42) as the home side posted 160 for 6. Adil Rashid took 2 for 18 and Reece Topley 2 for 20 for the visitors.Zak Crawley struck three fours before becoming Topley’s 11th victim of the tournament, caught at mid-on by David Wiese. The England man stood his ground but a check by the third umpire sent him on his way.Dan Lawrence didn’t stay long, bowled by Rashid attempting a reverse-sweep, but Rossington picked up where he’d left off against Oval Invincibles on Tuesday, unleashing a flurry of boundaries including a six into the Mound Stand off Wiese.The Essex wicketkeeper followed up with successive sixes off South African Wayne Parnell, the first a towering blow into the pavilion seats as his 50 came up in 25 balls. Rossington’s pyrotechnics inspired Wade, who sent one from Matthew Potts over the ropes in taking 18 from one set.Rossington though lost the strike and with it his rhythm and soon mishit Rashid into the hands of mid-wicket. Wade followed when Parnell trapped him in front and with that Spirit lost momentum, only a late six from Daryl Mitchell (34 from 19) taking them to 160.Under darkening skies, Lyth began by belting Dan Worrall into the stands but he should have been out for 8 when skying Jordan Thompson to Bopara at short third, only for the Sussex man to spill the regulation chance. To compound the error, Matthew Short sent the next ball into the crowd. Lyth then celebrated his reprieve with a second six off Worrall.Spirit’s ragged fielding gave Lyth a second life on 25, Nathan Ellis the culprit, but his luck ran out when he sent one from Liam Dawson into the hands of Thompson.Bopara though bowled a stunning opening set, first having Short caught in the deep before knocking Tom Banton’s off stump out of its groove. Unsurprisingly the allrounder was kept on for another set and promptly had Saif Zaib caught at short fine leg.All eyes were now on Brook who lofted one from Bopara into the crowd before crashing Thompson for three fours in a set. Critchley was treated with equal disdain, but Bopara returned to have Brook caught on the rope by Mitchell.Hose continued to swing valiantly, but when he fell to Ellis’s stunning diving catch, 24 from the final six proved too many as Ellis closed out the game, bowling 15 of the final 20 deliveries with a wet ball.

Rory Burns leads Surrey’s response after record-breaking sixth-wicket stand

David Hopps12-Jul-2022They know their history in Yorkshire. When Adam Lyth and Jonny Tattersall broke Yorkshire’s sixth-wicket batting record, prolonged applause burst across North Marine Road the moment that Lyth flicked the ball off his hip. Such momentous achievements have always been met by an outbreak of White Rose pride but these days there is a touch of defiance, too – a statement that the much-chastised County Championship is deep-rooted and forever worthy of protection.Fortunately, by the time Lyth and Tattersall broke the record, the spectator vainly trying to come to terms with his new yellow-plastic rain-protector had decided that the risk of a shower had receded and removed it. He had become so entangled in it, failing to find the arm holes in several futile attempts, pulling it backwards and forwards over his head at various angles, that he would have found it impossible to clap.As far as the main stage was concerned, it was less about contortions than skill and concentration. Lyth and Tattersall had logged 239 runs on the first day and they had extended that to 305 in 77 overs when Lyth pulled Conor McKerr to deep square leg to fall for 183, an innings that spanned nearly eight hours and his highest score in his home county. Tattersall, on his Championship return, was left with an unbeaten, career-best 180 as Tom Lawes took three quick wickets after lunch and Yorkshire were dismissed for 521.Related

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But they are not yet on solid ground and Surrey, the Championship leaders, 191 for 1 at the close, will imagine that they have the batting prowess to put Yorkshire under pressure on the final day. Dom Bess can anticipate a heavy workload and the offspinner took the only wicket to fall when he drew Ryan Patel down the pitch with one that dipped and turned a shade and Tattersall completed a straightforward stumping.There had still been life in the surface on a cloudy morning, for Dan Worrall in particular as he came down the hill, but Yorkshire’s attack rarely threatened. Rory Burns was calmness personified as he closed the second day on 93 not out. He was assured square of the wicket on both sides and his commitment to the long game was illustrated when he made only 10 runs in the last 12 overs of the day, from which he faced 33 balls. He had one moment of fortune, caught at first slip on 72 only to be reprieved because Shannon Gabriel, the West Indian quick who has joined Yorkshire on a short-term contract, had overstepped.Considering the overpowering nature of Yorkshire’s cricket history, it is instructional to reflect that five of the highest batting partnerships for each wicket have been made this century. Holmes and Sutcliffe are famously there for their 555 for the first wicket at Leyton in 1932 – the world record that wasn’t thanks to a faulty scoreboard – and Geoffrey Boycott makes an appearance for his 10th wicket stand of 149 with Graham Stevenson at Edgbaston in 1982 when he memorably remarked, with a lopsided grin, that was down to “his brawn and my brains”. But there are many names of modern vintage – Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan, Bairstow again with Joe Root. Lyth broke his own sixth-wicket record, too, a stand of 296 in league with Adil Rashid in the Old Trafford Roses match eight years ago. Flatter pitches for sure – markedly so – but Lyth, too, and the rest will enter Yorkshire folklore.Major renovations are in progress at North Marine Road•Matthew Allen

For Scarborough to protect its place in history, however beloved it is, the ground must remain solvent. Crowds here have been a little above 3,000 on the first two days which are reasonable, but well down on pre-Covid days and not entirely in keeping with the esteem in which the ground is held. A recent 10-year staging agreement with Yorkshire helps in an age when outgrounds are permanently under pressure but it is also ambitious to become an established centre for women’s cricket. It would have to address primitive broadcasting facilities to achieve that. But anyway, changes are afoot and that can only be positive.The very thought will have been enough to leave Yorkshire traditionalists on red alert because they routinely insist North Marine Road is perfect and want no messing with their memories. The last time it was suggested the place needed a revamp, a Yorkshire supporter on the wooden-benched banking took umbrage on and countered: “You don’t need a sofa to sit on”.Rest assured there are no unwelcome fripperies in a £500,000 upgrade. The first two phases – improved toilet facilities, better communications and new practice net facilities – are largely completed. The final phase, subject to planning approval, is a refurbishment of the incongruous West Stand, which will have new seating and a new ground-floor frontage which will also house a heritage museum and improved catering facilities – or, as they are known these days “innovative places to linger”.Scarborough is also an unusual place to linger for Clean Slate Filmz, Yorkshire’s main sponsor, which is making a biopic of Jhulan Goswami, the great champion of India women’s cricket, in September.Also attracting interest was Yorkshire’s 2nd XI match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield where Gary Ballance is continuing a low-key return to action after missing the bulk of the season with mental health issues. Ballance has made back-to-back hundreds so it appears from afar that he is feeling his way back successfully. He is one of seven people charged – and the only current player – by the ECB after their investigation into Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations. There is no regulation that stops Yorkshire selecting him, but there is no suggestion that any 1st XI return is imminent and that seems to be the most sensible approach.Yorkshire’s fast-bowler injuries are also relenting. Ben Coad is also involved the 2nd XI fixture, although he is following a programme of limited workload and has yet to bowl, and Matthew Fisher has not given up hope of a match or two at the back end of the Championship season. He has been undertaking fielding drills during the lunch interval on the last two days as he recovers from a stress fracture.

The fast bowler is hoping to face Bangladesh in T20s later this month after another frustrating injury-hit season

Andrew McGlashan05-Mar-2021Lockie Ferguson is holding out hope that he can still earn a place in New Zealand’s squad for the World Test Championship final and the preceding matches against England despite another season disrupted by injury.Ferguson is making good progress in his recovery from the stress fracture of his back which has sidelined him since the middle of December and is hopeful of being available for the T20Is against Bangladesh as previously flagged by New Zealand coach Gary Stead.”That’s the aim, it’s a bit of process so can’t make the call right now,” he said of facing Bangladesh. “Certainly there’s some boxes to tick, but definitely the way things have been tracking it’s been going really well that’s certainly the goal.”Despite competition for spots in all formats, Ferguson’s standing in the white-ball game is pretty secure, although it remains to be seen whether there is an element of rotation to keep players fresh.Related

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Test cricket is a bit harder to gauge, not least because Ferguson would have to get past Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson for a spot in the starting XI although if fit he would surely feature in any extended squad for the trip to the UK which follows the IPL where he has a deal with Kolkata Knight Riders.That tournament could keep him, and a few other players, out of the Test series against England depending on final dates of the IPL with the indication that franchises will be able to keep hold of their overseas players for the knockouts.However, Ferguson holds Test cricket in very high regard and is eager to add to his one cap which came against Australia, in Perth, in late 2019 and which ended after 11 overs due to a calf injury that limited last season for him before the pandemic hit.”I’ve always talked very highly of Test cricket and the want to play it,” he said. “Certainly my closest focus is to get back on the park and play, it’s been enjoyable watching the Test boys and stoked they made the final which is going to be super exciting.”Think the best thing for me and the team is to get back playing a decent amount of cricket, get that loading behind me, then I certainly want to be in the mix for selection for the UK trip but that’s a couple of months down the line so we’ll cross that bridge later on.”Despite the amount of T20 on the calendar this season, which now includes a stint in the T20 Blast with Yorkshire, and concludes with the World Cup in India during October, Ferguson is not making it is sole focus although acknowledges Test cricket presents different challenges”Certainly to play in the Test Championship would be very special as well…but at the same time have to focus on what’s coming up and make sure I’m ready to go,” he said. “The Test demands are much higher than T20 in terms of loading, so from that point of view it takes some time to build up. Give your body a chance to adjust to playing a lot of cricket then you can make a decision.”Ferguson does not have any worries about returning from the back injury, reasoning that the risk of injury will always go alongside trying to bowl at 150kph.”I’ve always pushed my body to the limits and to do what I do you need to,” he said. “With that comes risk of getting injured, the forces are that much greater that go through the body. Unfortunately, this injury kept me out a while but you certainly can’t dwell on that”There were a lot of injuries coming out of that big break that international sportsman had from Covid. It’s interesting watching players come back to the intensity of international sport, not just cricket, and getting injured. There’s a few things to think about, a few areas to tighten the bolts, work on the body a bit more, build strength and build my core.”

New Zealand batsman twice filled in during 2019 season

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2019Hamish Rutherford, the New Zealand batsman, will return to Worcestershire as their overseas player for the whole of their 2020 campaign.Rutherford twice filled in as a replacement for Callum Ferguson in 2019, making a pair of 50-over hundreds – against Lancashire and Northants – and another on his Championship debut.He was flown into Sri Lanka by New Zealand in September for his first international game in four years – though was out first ball as he missed the T20 Blast quarter-finals – but is unlikely to be absent due to international duty much next season.”I am really excited to be returning to New Road for the 2020 season,” Rutherford said.”I really enjoyed my two stints with the club last season and hopefully I can contribute to some success for the club next year. I look forward to catching up with my team-mates and support staff in April.”Paul Pridgeon, the club’s cricket steering group chairman, said that signing Rutherford for the full season would be “really good for continuity”.”He did well for us and we thought trying to sign him for the entire summer was worth persevering with,” Pridgeon said. “He is available for all cricket.”Hamish was very keen to come back, he is enthusiastic and has gelled with the rest of the lads in the dressing room.”