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David Warner has maintained that he feels in good touch in the Ashes, and Stuart Broad’s record over him is not a concern

AAP19-Jul-2023David Warner insists Stuart Broad has not got inside his head, despite admitting he has Barmy Army taunts over the English seamer’s record against him stuck on the mind.Warner has retained his spot at the top of Australia’s order for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, as the tourists push for their first Ashes series win in England since 2001 .The decision came after speculation over whether Warner could be squeezed out, after a double failure at Headingley last week took his series average to 23.5.Related

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Also of rising concern to a number of ex-players is Warner’s record against Broad. The left-hander has now been dismissed by Broad 17 times in his career, including twice in seven balls against him at Headingley last week.Devoid of any real sledging aimed in his direction in this series, Warner quipped on a podcast this week he had been playing Barmy Army chants over and over while facing up to bat.Included in those is the chant of “Broady is gonna get you” after the opener heard it on repeat throughout the opening Test at Edgbaston and in the matches that followed.But regardless, the 36-year-old insisted Broad’s record against him was not genuinely on his mind when facing up the quick.”I don’t really think about the match-up,” Warner said on the podcast.”You think about the ball that’s coming at you, how you are going to score. He bowls in a great area all the time.”I always love facing Broady. We have two left-handed opening batters and he is one of, if not the best bowler to left-handers in today’s game. He is so good at it.”Jimmy (Anderson) is there as well. These are guys we have watched and played against for a long time.”Stuart Broad celebrates dismissing David Warner again•Getty Images

Warner was also adamant he still feels in fine form ahead of the fourth Ashes Test, arguing Broad simply beat him with two good balls at Headingley.The left-hander began the tour with a fighting 43 against India in the World Test Championship final and made 66 in the second Ashes Test at Lords. Australia have also regularly pointed to the fact he and Usman Khawaja have made three half-century opening stands to help set up their 2-1 series lead.”I feel like I am in great touch,” Warner said. “I have felt good in the nets, leading in I had good sessions against our quicks at Beckenham (before the series).”Lord’s was probably the best I’ve batted in the last two years. Just holding my line.”We have batted in probably the toughest conditions so far. In Leeds, I got two good balls.”You can’t do too much about that … You just have to take it on the chin, can’t do anything about it.”

Yorkshire claim fourth win in a row despite sliding to 78 for 7 batting first

ECB Reporters Network06-Jun-2023Beaten in their opening three North Group fixtures, Yorkshire Vikings extended the turnaround in their Vitality Blast campaign to four wins from four, defeating Leicestershire Foxes by 30 runs after the home side were bowled out for 126 at a chilly Uptonsteel County Ground.Having opted to bat first, the Vikings recovered from a perilous 78 for 7 on a green-tinged pitch to post 156 from their 20 overs, allrounder David Wiese finishing on 50 not out from 32 balls and former Leicestershire allrounder Ben Mike 30 from 17 after the pair set a Vikings record by adding 78 for the eighth wicket.Jordan Thompson was the most effective bowler for the Vikings, taking a career-best 5 for 21, with 20-year-old legspinner Jafer Chohan impressing with 1 for 16 from four overs.Wiaan Mulder – playing solely as a batter after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury – top-scored for the Foxes with 46 but although Rishi Patel, with 36 from 25 balls, proved effective in the powerplay, the home side could not build sustained partnerships, dismissed with three balls left of the 20th over.England’s young legspinner Rehan Ahmed took 3 for 21 and left-arm seamer Josh Hull took 2 for 30 – both just 18 years old – as the best of the Foxes bowlers, but strike bowlers Mikey Finan and Naveen-ul-Haq took some punishment as the home attack leaked 69 runs in the last five overs.Dawid Malan’s hot streak ended in the second over as a leading edge to a ball from left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson saw him caught at short third man for 2 following his run of 95 not out, 83 and 81 not out in three innings. James Wharton cashed in on a couple of balls wide of off stump by Hull but there was another success for the Foxes as Naveen beat Adam Lyth’s swinging bat and the Vikings were 42 for 2 from their batting powerplay.Wharton and Shan Masood added 36 in 29 balls but three more wickets before the halfway point had the visitors on the back foot at 65 for 5.Rehan, among the contenders for an England Ashes spot following the injury to Jack Leach, did his prospects no harm by bowling Wharton with one that skidded through before holding an easy return catch next ball as Jonathan Tattersall chipped one back.The Vikings were in more trouble as Masood under-edged a catch behind off the tall Hull before Rehan claimed his third scalp via a catch in the deep on the leg side, well taken by Finan.Yorkshire had no momentum at all at this point and were six overs without a boundary at 75 for 6 when Rehan finished his spell in the 13th over, suffering a further setback in the next over as Matthew Revis nicked one off Hull.But a loose over from Finan gave Wiese a helping hand as he lofted a free hit over long-off for the first six of the Vikings innings and hammered a full toss for four, setting off a strong finish for Yorkshire side and a poor one for Leicestershire, who up to that point had given little away.Wiese and Mike hit eight fours and three sixes from 38 balls after the fall of the seventh wicket, Mike clearing the rope off former team-mates Naveen and Finan to give his old county a tougher chase than they had anticipated.On a roll, Wiese began the home side’s batting powerplay with a maiden and when Nick Welch was grabbed behind the stumps at the second attempt off spinner Dom Bess, the Foxes were 1 for 1. They recovered to put 44 on the board in the opening six but also lost Lewis Hill, who skewed Thompson to third man.At the halfway point, the outcome looked in the balance after a couple of tight overs from Chohan, with 93 needed from 60 balls at 64 for 2. When Patel – hit on the helmet by Revis on 31 – was leg before to Thompson for 36 from 24 balls, and Louis Kimber was bowled by Chohan sweeping, the Vikings looked favourites, an assessment quickly confirmed as Rehan thumped a short delivery from Revis in the air to Wharton at mid-off.Mike held a steepling return catch to remove Arron Lilley, after which a flurry of boundaries by Mulder raised hopes that the Foxes could still make a game of it until Thompson dismissed him and Naveen with consecutive deliveries, both via catches in the deep. Parkinson departed in similar fashion off Mike and Thompson kept steady under another soaring return catch put up by Finan to complete his maiden five-for.

Business leader set to succeed Lord Kamlesh Patel once his nomination has been ratified

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2023Yorkshire’s long search for a successor to their former chair, Lord Kamlesh Patel, could be at an end, following the nomination of Harry Chathli as a non-executive director of the club, with a view to him succeeding the current interim chair, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.Chathli, whose daughter, Kira, plays for South East Stars and was part of the Oval Invincibles team that won the 2022 Hundred, is described in a Yorkshire press release as a “highly regarded business leader, and an experienced international capital markets expert, with a 25-year track record of advising global companies, organisations and government agencies”.His nomination is subject to ratification from club members at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), on a date to be confirmed.”I am delighted and truly privileged to have the Board’s support as their nominee to become the Chair of Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” Chathli said. “This is one of the most iconic clubs in the cricketing world and, as with all English cricket fans, Headingley has always held a special place in my heart.”I have seen the positive steps taken over the past year by YCCC and I believe Yorkshire has turned the corner – I’ve heard this from the business people I have spoken to over the past few months and from well-known international cricketers. It’s because of this that I jumped at the chance to get fully involved with this prestigious club.”The Club has been through a difficult period,” he added. “I would like to bring the focus back to cricket and excellence on the pitch, as the club continues to learn from the many issues it has faced. I believe cricket excellence is built on two things: inclusivity and financial stability. YCCC needs to represent the Yorkshire of today and tap into all the extraordinary talent at its disposal and we need to have the proper funding to do this.”We have a lot of work to do, but I have been impressed by the determination and resilience the club has shown and am ready to work with the Board and management to do everything I can to get the club back to where it should be.”Stephen Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, added: “Harry was the outstanding candidate in a very strong field and his passion for the game and vision for an inclusive future stood out to the whole board.”His corporate and commercial experience will be vitally important as we look to secure the future health of the club, at the same time as reaffirming our commitment to deliver positive changes in line with the values and standards we have established as a board. We are determined to deliver long-term success and to build on the work we have done collectively to address the many challenges we have faced together to make Yorkshire County Cricket Club a thriving and welcoming place for all. We look forward to Harry having the opportunity to meet with Members ahead of the EGM and can’t wait to welcome him to the Yorkshire family.”Baroness Grey-Thompson described Chathli as “the ideal person to continue to drive the club’s recovery,” and will continue in her role as a Non-Executive Director following the transition to the new chair.

Nabi turned the match around with a brilliant display as he struck 86 of the 99 runs needed when he came to the crease

ECB Reporters Network03-Aug-2018

ScorecardA savage and brilliant innings of 86 not out in only 32 balls by Afghan allrounder Mohammad Nabi secured a stunning five-wicket victory for Leicestershire Foxes in their North Group match against Lancashire Lightning at Emirates Old Trafford.Coming to the wicket with his side on 92 for 5 in the eleventh over and needing another 99 runs to win the game, Nabi tore the Lancashire attack apart, hitting eight sixes and four fours as the visitors cruised home with eight balls to spare.Ateeq Javid, Nabi’s partner in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 102, made only 15 not out but finished the game with a pull for four off Matthew Parkinson in front of a crowd 9525, most of whom were probably stunned by what they had just witnessed.Much earlier in the evening Alex Davies had made a career-best 94 not out in the home side’s 190 for 5 and that total had looked plenty when the home side lost a wicket in each of the first three overs of their innings, left-arm spinner Mark Watt taking a wicket with only his second ball for Lancashire.Colin Ackermann and Ben Raine repaired the innings to some extent with a stand of 77 but both fell to successive balls from Parkinson. That, though, only prepared the stage for Nabi, whose previous highest score in this year’s Vitality Blast was 32.Nabi hit almost all of Lancashire’s bowlers for sixes and some of them cleared the boundary by over thirty yards. It was as astonishing a hitting innings as even this great ground has seen.The centrepiece of Lancashire’s innings was the batting of Davies. The diminutive right-hander scored most of his early runs with ferocious drives as his side levied 77 runs in the six Powerplay overs and he then helped later batsmen consolidate that progress when the Foxes’ skipper, Colin Ackermann opted to take pace off the ball.Lancashire’s early surge was checked when Zak Chappell took two wickets in three balls, first having Karl Brown caught at cover by Harry Swindells for 29 and then bowling Arron Lilley for 4, Indeed, it was not until the 17th over that Lancashire doubled their rich haul from the first six overs.However, T20 debutant Josh Bohannon helped Davies add 58 for the third wicket in 7.3 overs and Steven Croft joined the opener in a 48-run stand for the fifth but most of the burden fell on Davies who batted through the innings, hitting eleven fours and two sixes.Lancashire’s top order was lacking a trio of batsmen either injured or on Test duty and Davies’ innings was certainly needed as the home side certainly struggled against the Foxes’ slower bowlers.Chappell was the only Foxes bowler to take two wickets but the efforts of Ackermann, who took 1 for 23 in three overs, and Neil Dexter were quite as valuable in checking the Lightning’s progress.Left-armer Callum Parkinson also bowled well on his return to Old Trafford and his figures of 0 for 36 in four overs did him little justice.

Kusal Mendis, too, has started the World Cup with two low scores, but John Lewis says both players are too good not to come right soon

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Bristol10-Jun-2019Angelo Mathews has batted 11 balls at this World Cup, and made a grand total of zero runs. Kusal Mendis has faced all of three deliveries, getting out to two of those, and hitting a streaky two past slip off the other. Together, the pair are supposed to comprise Sri Lanka’s middle-order engine room, but in both matches so far, they have hastened collapses, and copped criticism in vast volumes. But they are too good not to come right soon, insists batting coach Jon Lewis. Mathews knows how to get himself out of these funks. And young Mendis just needs a bit of love.ALSO READ: Nuwan Pradeep ruled out of Bangladesh game“I think with Angelo, you’ve got to have faith in the guy who has done as much as he has over such a long period of time, and he tells me that he’s in a good place,” Lewis said ahead of Sri Lanka’s match against Bangladesh. “He’s comfortable with his game. You know, at this stage I’ve got no reason to doubt that the runs will come for him. You can’t expect him to go on not producing big runs soon. It’s going to come for a player of his quality.””Kusal could do with a little bit of a confidence boost. For him it’s just a case of getting through those first 20 balls, because in the build up to the World Cup, in Scotland, he played very well. The two warm-up games against excellent bowling attacks, he was in good form. He only got 20s and 30s (24 and 37), which was a bit of a downer – it would have been a good opportunity to get a big score. But there was nothing about his form in those two games that suggested that there’s anything to worry about. He’s had two low scores, and yeah, it will be good if he had some more runs behind him. But he’s probably only 20 balls away.”Although a developing Test batsman, having hit 1000 runs in the longest format last year, Mendis, 24 now, hasn’t quite cracked ODIs. Late last year he went through a stretch when he made three consecutive one-day ducks, and then a five. A free-flowing player at his best, he has made only one ODI hundred, and averages 27.77 after 63 innings.”In Tests and T20s, Kusal’s numbers at the moment look good, but in 50-over cricket, his numbers aren’t where a player of his ability should be, yet,” Lewis said. “He’s still quite early in his career to be fair to him. I know he’s played a lot of games, but they do rack up quite quick. I think his conversion from 20s and 30s into 80s, 90s, hundreds is the big step forward he needs to make. He looked in really, really good touch in the warm-ups, but got 30-odd in both games, so those are the sorts of days when you’ve got to get a hundred because you know you can’t be in good touch every day.”It would give him a lot of confidence if he can get those big scores. He’s only got the one hundred so far in his career, and I think that was against Bangladesh. So maybe that’s a good omen, and he’ll get a second one tomorrow.”

Batsman recalled for three T20s against Afghanistan in June

Mohammad Isam20-May-2018The Bangladesh selectors have recalled batsman Mosaddek Hossain to their T20 squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan next month. He last played T20 internationals last year in Sri Lanka, and this is his first senior call-up since being dropped after the first Test against Sri Lanka in February.

Bangladesh T20 squad

Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed
In: Mosaddek Hossain
Out: Imrul Kayes, Taskin Ahmed, Nurul Hasan

There was no place for batsman Imrul Kayes, pacer Taskin Ahmed and wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan from the squad that played their previous international assignment: the Nidahas Trophy in March. Imrul and Nurul didn’t play a match in the tournament in Sri Lanka while Taskin was below par.Batsman Soumya Sarkar, who made just 50 runs in five innings in the Nidahas Trophy, and seamers Abu Jayed – who didn’t get a game in the Nidahas Trophy – and Abu Hider – who didn’t have an impact in the one game he played – have been retained.”We also had a question about Soumya but the captain [Shakib Al Hasan] and coach [Courtney Walsh] thought that it would be better to add him,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin said.Bangladesh play Afghanistan on June 3, 5 and 7 in Dehradun, in what is the teams’ first-ever bilateral T20 match-up.

Renshaw helped Somerset get to the top the Division One table – taking them within reach of a maiden title win – prior to their innings defeat against Surrey on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2018Australia opener Matt Renshaw’s stint with his county side Somerset has been cut short after he suffered a broken finger during the four-day match against Surrey at Guildford.Renshaw, who was signed as Cameron Bancroft’s replacement for the club, is currently the side’s top run-scorer. He made 513 in six four-day matches, including three centuries, and 180 runs in six One-Day Cup games. Notably, Renshaw’s 1180 runs in 24 innings is the best by anyone in first-class cricket this year and narrowly so. He is five runs clear of Sri Lanka’s Roshen Silva, who will likely take the top spot once the day-night Test in Barbados begins on Saturday.”Matt sustained a fracture on the top of his finger,” Somerset coach Jason Kerr said. “After speaking with Cricket Australia it has been agreed that he will return to Australia sooner rather than later.”Sadly for us that means it is the end of his time with Somerset this season. It’s a huge blow to us because he has been brilliant both on and off the field. He fitted into the dressing room very well and a player of that calibre is going to be missed.”Renshaw was expected to be available until the end of June, and return to the club in mid-August. His sublime form had helped Somerset get to the top the Division One table – taking them within reach of a maiden title win – prior to their innings defeat against Surrey on Friday. His century on first-class debut for the club also made him the 14th man to do so in Somerset’s history and the first since Alviro Petersen in 2013.

Middle-order batsman Devika Vaidya was recalled for the three-match series while there was no place for Punam Raut and Mona Meshram in 15-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2018Uncapped 23-year-old Tamil Nadu allrounder Dayalan Hemalatha has been called up to the India women squad to face England women in a three-match ODI series at home. Middle-order batsman Devika Vaidya, who last played for India in May last year, was recalled to the squad of 15. Jhulan Goswami, who missed India’s last ODI assignment – a three-match series against Australia due to a heel injury – reclaimed her place, and left-arm spinners Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ekta Bisht also recovered from their injuries to return to the squad.

India women squad

ODIs: Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt), Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Dayalan Hemalatha, Veda Krishnamurthy, Devika Vaidya, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Sushma Verma (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad
IN: Dayalan Hemalatha, Devika Vaidya, Jhulan Goswami
OUT: Punam Raut, Mona Meshram, Sukanya Parida

Bisht had injured her left index finger during a caught-and-bowled attempt in the third ODI against Australia and was replaced by Gayakwad for the ongoing tri-series. But later Gayakwad injured herself in a training session in Mumbai last week and was ruled out of the series too, to be replaced by Radha Yadav.These returns meant there was no room for Punam Raut, Mona Meshram and Sukanya Parida, who were all in the ODI squad to face Australia in Vadodara.Hemalatha, who bowls offspin and bats right-handed, played four matches for India A recently – two T20s against England before the ongoing tri-series and two one-dayers against Australia in early March.Vaidya, a 20-year old from Maharashtra, was part of the title-winning Indian team in the World Cup Qualifier that took place early last year in Sri Lanka. She struck 111 runs in four innings – that included a match-winning 89 in the tournament opener against the hosts – and took five wickets in six matches.Among the exclusions, Raut once again found herself out of favour after being dropped for the final ODI against Australia. After making scores of 37 and 27 in the first two matches, Raut’s place was taken by Jemimah Rodrigues, the 17-year old batsman, who is fast becoming a sensation. Meshram, who also last played in the same Australia series, has been plagued by inconsistency since impressing at the World Cup Qualifier.The selectors also made a slew of changes to the 14-member A squad that will face off against England in a warm-up game in Nagpur. Deepti Sharma will lead the team, taking over from Meghna Singh, who captained them for the T20 warm-ups against England.The England ODIs will present an opportunity for India to resurrect what has been a middling home season. Though they had a hugely successful tour of South Africa, where they clinched both the T20 and one-day series, India are now on a six-match losing streak at home. After being whitewashed in the ODI series by Australia, they have now lost all their matches in the ongoing T20 tri-series so far, that leaves them without a spot in the final.The first ODI of the week-long series takes place on April 6 and all the matches will be played in Nagpur.India A squad: Deepti Sharma (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Devika Vaidya, Dayalan Hemalatha, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Mona Meshram, Sukanya Parida, Kavita Patil, Shanti Kumari, Tanushree Sarkar, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Radha Yadav, TP Kanwar

Captain hits 77 not out after taking 4 for 31 as Somerset slip to defeat

ECB Reporters Network07-Aug-2022Jack Taylor made match-winning contributions with bat and ball as Gloucestershire carved out a hard-earned five-wicket win over arch rivals Somerset in a low-scoring Royal London One-Day encounter at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium.Gloucestershire’s captain returned figures of 4 for 31 with his legbreaks and then made an unbeaten 77 as the home side chased down a victory target of 200 with 7.1 overs to spare in front of a modest but enthusiastic derby crowd.Somerset won the toss, posted 57 without loss in 10 overs and then inexplicably slumped to 112 for 7, one batter after another giving their wicket away cheaply. Lewis Goldsworthy mustered a defiant 66, hewn from 103 balls with two fours, but the visitors were bowled out for 199 in 47.4 overs, with slow left-armer Tom Smith taking 2 for 29 in support of Taylor.Related

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Australian Test batter Marcus Harris proved the mainstay of Gloucestershire’s reply, raising 59 from 90 balls on a typically slow Bristol pitch, before Taylor and Zafar Gohar finished the job off. Kasey Aldridge was the pick of the Somerset bowlers, claiming 2 for 43.Following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Warwickshire and Sussex, Gloucestershire will be relieved to have finally broken their duck, even though the contest will scarcely live long in the memory of those who witnessed it. As for Somerset, they will go into Wednesday’s home game against Durham seeking a first win in three attempts after another disappointing batting display.There was no sign of the trouble that lay ahead as Matt Renshaw and Steve Davies staged a productive opening stand of 57 in 10.2 overs, justifying the decision to bat first. Aggressive from the outset, Renshaw cut and pulled to good effect in making 38 from 45 balls, including five fours and a six, smashed high over long-on at the expense of Zafar. But the Australian flirted with danger outside off stump and twice survived confident caught behind appeals before eventually edging Jared Warner to James Bracey.The introduction of spin from both ends yielded instant dividends thereafter, experienced campaigners Davies and James Hildreth both falling to poor shots in successive overs as the visitors lurched from 72 for 1 to 75 for 3 in the space of seven deliveries. Taylor and Smith both struck with their first balls, the former inducing Davies to hit a full toss to Oli Price at cover for 18 and the latter bowling Hildreth for 1, the batter guilty of an airy shot outside off stump.Somerset contributed further to their own downfall, new batter George Bartlett being comprehensively run out by Chris Dent for seven after being sent back by Goldsworthy in pursuit of a notional single. Having made such a promising start, the cider county had lost four wickets for the addition of 34 runs in 10 overs, in the process offering Gloucestershire a way back into the contest.Academy product James Rew then attempted to sweep Taylor and was caught by Bracey down the leg side, while Ben Green played an ill-advised forcing shot and was held by the diving Price at mid-on as Somerset subsided 111 for 6 in the 27th over.Worse followed when Aldridge missed a straight ball on off stump and was bowled by Pakistani slow left-armer Zafar, at which point Goldsworthy represented Somerset’s last realistic hope of posting a competitive score. In danger of running out of partners and forced by the parlous situation in which he found himself to be circumspect, the 21-year-old Cornishman played responsibly to chisel 50 from 81 balls.He found a willing ally in Siddle, the eighth wicket pair adding 67 in 16 overs to at least partially rebuild the innings. The sole contributor of boundaries during his sojourn in the middle, Siddle struck a straight six and a brace of fours before playing across the line and being bowled by Taylor for 29.Taylor completed his stint by bowling Goldsworthy in the 46th over and Paul van Meekeren accounted for Jack Brooks as Somerset were dismissed with 14 balls unused.Somerset had no option but to press hard for early wickets and new ball bowlers Aldridge and Brooks obliged, sweeping aside openers Chris Dent (3) and Ben Wells (15) respectively inside six overs. Siddle produced late swing to bowl Bracey for 15 and, when Price suffered a rush of blood to the head and hoisted Goldsworthy’s slow left-arm straight to deep mid-wicket, Gloucestershire were 69 for 4 and experiencing a degree of discomfiture.A calming influence in the middle, overseas star Harris offered reassurance, staging a restorative stand of 75 in 18 overs for the fifth wicket with skipper Taylor, who initially suppressed his naturally attacking instincts to play the supporting role that was the order of the day. Harris registered 50 from 82 deliveries, only to then spoon a slower ball from Aldridge to backward point with Gloucestershire in need of 56 more runs from 15.3 overs and the result still in doubt.Dropped on 10 by Renshaw at slip off the bowling of Green, Zafar made good his escape to score 18 not out, while Taylor went to an 83-ball 50 with a huge six over long-on off the same bowler to calm any lingering nerves.

England hand seamer first cap since January as straight swap for Matthew Potts

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Aug-2022Ollie Robinson will make his first appearance for the England men’s side since the fifth Ashes Test in January when he plays in the second Test against South Africa in Manchester on Thursday.The seven months between Hobart and Emirates Old Trafford, his ninth and tenth caps, have been tough, damaging on body and reputation of a seam bowler whose 39 wickets at the highest level have come at a miserly 21.28. Having left that tour of Australia with questions over his fitness, he was unable make it on the park during the West Indies series in March because of back issues which persisted into the English summer.Then came a bout of Covid-19 and dental issues, both curtailing hopes of starting the English summer afresh. But after returning to professional action with Sussex at the end of July, taking match figures of 9 for 110 against Nottinghamshire, and a decent run-out for the Lions against South Africa, showcasing a leaner figure and more robustness across spells of 2 for 76 and 3 for 29, a return to the fold represents the start of a new chapter for Robinson.