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There is a template for a success from other left-arm spinners who have toured Australia

Andrew McGlashan01-Dec-2021The return of Ben Stokes to the England set-up is good news on many levels, but one person perhaps happier than most will be left-arm spinner Jack Leach.Leach, who famously combined with Stokes at the dramatic conclusion of the Headingley Test in 2019, did not play a Test in the last English season (he has not played at home since the 2019 Ashes) largely because of the difficulty in balancing the side in Stokes’ absence.England tried to find a solution by recalling Moeen Ali after the first Test against India but that still left Leach on the outer. Leach’s Test record is a more-than-creditable – 62 wickets at 29.98 from 16 games – he took 12 at 25.83 in the previous Ashes – 11 of which have come overseas.Putting Stokes straight back into the Test cauldron at the Gabba will be something of a gamble given the lack of preparation – albeit the rain has made that an issue for a lot of players – but Leach’s fortunes are closely intertwined with his presence.”Stokesy being back is a great boost for all of us, in terms of the balance it really helps things out and is probably good news for the spin department,” Leach said. “From the summer the feedback was that Stokesy not being in the side, having that all-round option in the top order, made it difficult for me to get into the side.”Related

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“Over the summer not playing I was thinking about this series so I feel like preparations have been ongoing and now it’s about getting out there and doing it.”Leach is confident he will have enough bowling under his belt despite the disrupted build-up that has so far limited England to 29 overs of play.The other dynamic at play in terms of Leach’s place in the team is the inclement weather and what that might mean for the Gabba wicket although Shane Warne for one would laugh at the notion of not playing a spinner.It is the bounce offered in Brisbane that can be as important as the turn – a factor that can extend to venues beyond the Gabba – and Leach has noted how Nathan Lyon has been able to forge an outstanding career.”For years I’ve watched Nathan Lyon and he’s very impressive, how he goes about his business,” he said. “How strong his stock ball is on wickets that don’t necessarily offer a lot spin-wise he’s found ways to extract bounce, dip and all the other things. There’s a lot of over-spin from him and those are the kind of things that I’ve been trying to add in but trying to stick to my strengths. You take little bits from everyone you play against.”A central plank of England’s victory in 2010-11 was the role of Graeme Swann whose overall return of 15 wickets at 39.80 may seem modest but he won the Test in Adelaide on the final day and conceded just 2.72 an over which meant the scoreboard rarely got away.Leach can also take some confidence from the role played by Ravindra Jadeja on India’s last two tours of Australia and further back that of Keshav Maharaj and Paul Harris for South Africa.”I don’t think he [Jadeja] did too much different to what he does in India,” Leach said. “That’s another nice thing to see. He’s taken what he does, is doing pretty similar things and having success. I also take a lot of confidence from bowling in England, against Australia in 2019.”Definitely looking at those left-armers who have had success is a good thing. Offspin is totally different, [it’s still] fingerspinner but different parts of the pitch bowling to right and left handers.”And while seamer-friendly conditions may not play in Leach’s favour – the second Test is with the pink ball under lights in Adelaide – he can more than see the silver lining.”I went for food with Broady and Anderson the other day and some guy came out afterwards and started saying ‘I just want to wish you the worst of luck at the Gabba’. Then he said ‘it’s going to be a green seamer’ and I was thinking, not sure that’s the best sledge to two of the greatest bowlers England have ever had so I think they were pretty pleased about that.”

As teams stand for ‘moment of unity’ in seamer’s debut Test, ECB commits to ‘full investigation’

George Dobell02-Jun-2021Ollie Robinson has “unreservedly apologised” after admitting posting “racist and sexist” comments on Twitter while a teenager.The tweets, sent between April 2012 and June 2013, included use of the ‘N’ word, comments suggesting Muslim people were linked with terrorism, and derogatory comments about women and people of Asian heritage. Robinson was aged 18 and 19 at the time, and representing either Leicestershire, Kent and Yorkshire in second-team cricket.”On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public,” Robinson said in a statement released shortly after stumps on the opening day of the two-Test series against New Zealand. “I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist.”I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport.”There was some irony in the timing of the discovery. Both England and New Zealand joined in a ‘moment of unity’ ahead of play in an attempted to show a collective stance against any form of discrimination in cricket. England also unveiled training t-shirts to be worn all summer which bear slogans declaring that ‘cricket is a game for everyone’ on the front and denouncing racism, sexism and religious intolerance among other things on the back.”I don’t want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my teammates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support,” Robinson continued.”I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.”Ollie Robinson has apologised for offensive tweets posted as a teenager•PA Images via Getty Images

The tweets may also expose the ECB to allegations of a failure to conduct due diligence. Robinson has been close to the England team for some time – he has toured with the Lions and spent months in the senior team’s bio-bubble in recent times – so it may raise eyebrows that nobody at the organisation had noticed such comments. Questions might also be raised of Yorkshire, who are currently facing an enquiry into their attitude towards race and inclusivity. Robinson made his first-team debut for the club in August 2013.While the comments were made several years ago, it is possible Robinson could still face disciplinary action from the ECB. A statement from ECB chief executive Tom Harrison made it clear that a “zero tolerance” attitude to such behaviour will be taken and committed to “a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.””I do not have the words to express how disappointed I am that an England Men’s player has chosen to write tweets of this nature, however long ago that might have been,” Harrison said.”Any person reading those words, particularly a woman or person of colour, would take away an image of cricket and cricketers that is completely unacceptable. We are better than this.”We have a zero-tolerance stance to any form of discrimination and there are rules in place that handle conduct of this nature. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.”Our England Men’s Team, alongside others from the ECB and our partners across the game, worked together today to create a moment of unity. Using today’s spotlight to reaffirm our commitment to driving forward an anti-discrimination agenda. Our commitment to that effort remains unwavering, and the emergence of these comments from Ollie’s past reiterates the need for ongoing education and engagement on this issue.”England players and staff stand for a Moment of Unity whilst wearing anti-discrimination T-shirts•Getty Images

Until the emergence of the tweets, Robinson had enjoyed a memorable day for almost entirely positive reasons. Having been presented with his Test cap by former Sussex colleague Jon Lewis, who is now the bowling coach with England, he impressed in taking two of the first three wickets on a flat pitch. Delivering an excellent probing length, he generated movement in both directions and looked to have the talent to forge a decent career at the top level.”Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England, but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this,” Robinson’s statement continued.While Robinson made no attempt to excuse his behaviour, he did suggest he had “matured as a person” since the tweets were posted. In a subsequent media conference, he also suggested they had been sent in a period of turmoil after his release from Yorkshire. While the tweets came to prominence shortly after lunch, it is understood that the England management did not tell Robinson until the close of play.”I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable,” Robinson continued. “Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.”Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult. The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England Cricket Team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer.”Related

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It was not until July 2014 that Yorkshire terminated Robinson’s contract due to “unprofessional” conduct. The club’s coach at the time, Jason Gillespie, was quoted at the time as saying: “When a player consistently displays behaviour that isn’t professional, there has to be a point in time when you say, ‘look, this isn’t really working, you’re obviously not bothered about playing for the club’.”Robinson’s current club, Sussex, issued a statement saying they were “beyond disappointed to read these tweets when they were brought to our attention today” and that “their content was wholly unacceptable”.”We are pleased that Ollie has apologised unreservedly and taken responsibility for a significant mistake that he made as a teenager,” the statement said. “His age does not excuse the content of these tweets in any way and he will now suffer the consequences of his actions.”We know he recognises the severity of the situation and that he is devastated that what should have been a proud day has been overshadowed in this manner. We know also that Ollie will learn some very important lessons from this experience. We will be here to offer any support Ollie needs during that process.”There will be some who dismiss the tweets as the work of an immature young man and suggest Robinson should not be defined by them. Others will point out that we may all have once been young and foolish, but we have not all been young, foolish and racist. Either way, they will be an acute embarrassment to the individual as well as the ECB and do nothing to convince the doubters that the sport is inclusive and welcoming.In the longer term, though, Robinson’s tweets may serve to provide a reminder of where we are as a sport and a society on such issues. By doing so, they underline the importance of the England’s team’s current campaign in ensuring there is greater awareness and education in such areas.

Steve Finn takes 4 for 19 but Middlesex stumble in run chase for fourth defeat out of five

ECB Reporters' Network18-Jun-2021Colin Ingram smashed 75 runs off 48 balls to lead Glamorgan to a Vitality Blast triumph over Middlesex. Ingram carried his side to a total of 150 for 9 before Timm van der Gugten starred with the ball, taking three wickets for 16 runs to secure a 21-run victory in Cardiff.Glamorgan won the toss and chose to bat. A sweeping six from Ingram in the first over was a sign of things to come before Blake Cullen came into the attack and trapped Nick Selman lbw to halt their early momentum.The early wicket brought Marnus Labuschagne to the crease, but it was his batting partner Ingram who accelerated the run rate through to the end of the sixth over to take the score to 41 for 1 after a strong finish to the first Powerplay. But Steven Finn dented Glamorgan’s positive start in the 10th over.First, he bowled Labuschagne for 13 before dismissing stand-in skipper David Lloyd with the next ball to leave Glamorgan 74 for 3 at the halfway stage.Ingram celebrated his fifty off 30 balls before Kiran Carlson was caught and bowled by Luke Hollman. Callum Taylor was next to fall to Hollman and was followed by Dan Douthwaite who was caught in the deep by the 20-year-old attempting to hit a Finn delivery for six.Finn bowled Ruaidhri Smith for a duck to collect his fourth wicket before Ingram’s important innings came to an end when he was caught by Paul Stirling off the bowling of Cullen. van der Gugten hit a quick 18 runs from No. 8 to help Glamorgan set Middlesex a target of 151 runs for victory as Finn ended with four wickets at the cost of only 19.The Middlesex chase got off to a nightmare start when Stephen Eskinazi nicked Prem Sisodiya’s third delivery into the hands of Tom Cullen. Sisodiya played his part in a second early wicket as he caught Joe Cracknell off the bowling of van der Gugten to bring England captain Eoin Morgan to the crease.The visitors had posted 35 runs for 2 wickets at the end of the first six overs, and Stirling was denied his half-century when Ingram caught him off the bowling of van der Gugten for a spirited 46 off 36 balls.Simpson went for a duck after being trapped lbw by Lloyd as the chase stalled, and their chances of victory took another hit when Morgan was bowled by Smith for 33.With the required run rate creeping up, Hollman went for 12, and Middlesex were tasked with hitting 31 runs from the final two overs. But they ultimately fell short with a total of 129 for 9 to leave them cemented to the bottom of the South Group.

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge16-May-2013
ScorecardGareth Batty’s 41 helped keep Surrey in the match•Getty Images

This could be a disappointing season for Surrey, who will be casting envious glances in the direction of their neighbours, poised seemingly to collect a third victory of the season at Taunton.Themselves without a win, with their major signing crocked and already revising their expectations downwards, Surrey have some ground to make up to emerge with a draw at Trent Bridge, where they were in danger of being asked to follow-on until Gary Wilson and Gareth Batty averted the threat in a partnership of 81 for the seventh wicket.In the event, Surrey were still bowled out for 207, conceding a lead of 67 to Nottinghamshire, whose 274 looked a meritworthy effort given that the conditions they faced on day one, against a persistent attack with at times heavy cloud cover.The wickets were shared equally between five bowlers, of whom Luke Fletcher looked the most impressive. There has been a feeling over the last couple of seasons that Nottinghamshire have become too reliant on Andre Adams to win them matches, with Fletcher and the others cast merely in supporting roles, but the Adams’ absence with a calf injury is requiring others to take responsibility and should they complete a victory in this match it might been seen as a significant moment.Indeed, it would be a milestone of sorts, given that Nottinghamshire have not actually won a Championship match in which Adams has not taken part since 2010, discounting this season’s win over Derbyshire, over which he had little influence but in which he was on the field at the start.Adams, leading wicket-taker for the last three years, is not done yet, but at 37 he has a limited shelf life. Hence Nottinghamshire’s need someone to emerge from the pack as the new leader. It may yet be Ajmal Shahzad, although the Yorkshire refugee needs time to settle into his new surroundings. In the meantime, Fletcher and Harry Gurney, the left-armer, have a chance to make their case.Sharing the new ball after Jade Dernbach had quickly taken the remaining Nottinghamshire wicket, Gurney struck first, drawing Rory Burns into an edge, before Fletcher, tall, thickly set and with a willingness to work hard, opened his account by finding a way through Jason Roy’s defence with a fine inswinging ball. Fletcher could not claim much credit for dismissing Vikram Solanki, leg before shouldering arms, but figures of 2 for 40 from 18 overs with 10 maidens, though impressive enough, did not do him full justice.There was a bonus for Nottinghamshire in the return of veteran seamer Paul Franks, who has forced his way back into the side after being told last autumn he was at liberty to seek another county, rather than wait for limited opportunities. He bowled as if he had a point to prove, removing both Zander de Bruyn and Steven Davies in his first four overs with the help of second slip, conceding no runs in the process. Had Ed Cowan not dropped a routine chance at third slip, he would have seen off Arun Harinath in that spell too.As it was, Surrey were 47 for 5. When Shahzad removed Harinath, who was caught at gully stretching to cut, they were 71 for 6. It did not help the batting side that, despite an outing for the heavy roller between innings, there was clearly an element of variable bounce.Conditions eased in the afternoon, when Batty and Wilson were able to stem the flow of wickets. There was an argument that James Taylor, standing in for Chris Read as Nottinghamshire’s captain, might have turned to Samit Patel’s left-arm spin a little earlier given that it was his bowling that regained control. As it was, the possibility of a follow-on was removed moments before Patel had Wilson caught behind, attempting a cut. Batty followed soon afterwards, stumped as he went for a big hit over midwicket.A couple of boundaries from Dernbach secured a batting point for Surrey and the wicket of Alex Hales, who chopped on to Stuart Meaker, offered a measure of encouragement. But Nottinghamshire are still well placed to stretch ahead on day three.

The sentence will be backdated to October 16, 2019, when he was provisionally suspended by the ICC

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Apr-2021Qadeer Ahmed, the UAE medium pacer, has been banned for five years by the ICC for committing six breaches of the governing body’s anti-corruption code. Ahmed’s ban will be backdated to October 16, 2019, when he was provisionally suspended by the ICC along with his colleagues Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar, both of whom have since been handed eight-year bans.The ICC anti-corruption unit found 35-year-old Ahmed, who played 11 ODIs and ten T20Is between 2015 and 2019, guilty on counts that included failing to disclose approaches during two bilateral series the UAE played away in 2019. The first was in Zimbabwe in April, where Ahmed was offered AED 60,000-70,000 (US$ 16,000 to 19,000 approx) by the corruptors. Then, in August in Netherlands, Ahmed was again found to be in contact with corruptors, and the ACU subsequently suspended him just at the start of the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, held in Zimbabwe in October-November.The ICC said in a media statement on Wednesday that Ahmed had failed to disclose details of the approaches from corruptors, or that he provided inside information in August 2019 to a person, who had played with club cricket with him in the UAE.Related

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That person is understood to be Mehardeep Chhayakar, named “Mr Z” in the ACU findings, which were published by the ICC on Wednesday. Chhayakar knew Ahmed while playing domestic cricket in Ajman in the UAE.On Wednesday, the ICC also charged Chhayakar for breaching half a dozen counts of the anti-corruption code. He was charged for “attempting to contrive to fix aspects” of games in the Zimbabwe vs UAE series in April 2019 as well as at the Global T20 Canada league in 2019. Chhayakar was also charged with trying to “induce and/or solicit” a participant involved in both the Zimbabwe-UAE series as well as at the GT20 Canada. Chhayakar, who the ICC said has refused to cooperate with the investigation, has 14 days from April 15 (the day he was charged) to respond.Ahmed is originally from Pakistan, and has been there since leaving the UAE midway into the ACU investigation. Before that, Ahmed had attended two interviews with the ACU team, held on October 6 and 9, 2019. He would talk to the ACU team again in April 2020, before quitting midway through again.How was Ahmed approached?
Ahmed told the ACU that Chhayakar had been a “close associate” and he had helped him get into various teams in the UAE club circuit. In early 2019, Chhayakar told Ahmed he could help him get into one of the T10 franchises in a tournament scheduled for November 2019 in the UAE. To that end, Chhayakar put Ahmed in touch with a “Mr Y”, who ESPNcricinfo understands is Dinesh Talwar, who is on the ACU’s list of corruptors.”[Mr Z] [Chhayakar] had previously connected him with an individual named [Mr Y] [Talwar] (a known corrupter), on the basis that [Mr Y] might be able to get him into a T10 team which [Mr Y] was looking to buy into,” the ICC elaborated.Chhayakar and Talwar then made their first approach to Ahmed just as he was preparing to leave for Zimbabwe. “About a week to 10 days before Mr Khan [Ahmed] travelled to Zimbabwe in April 2019 to participate as a member of the UAE squad in the Zimbabwe v UAE series, [Mr Z] and [Mr Y] approached him and offered him 60,000-70,000 dirhams to “do bad bowling” in the Zimbabwe v UAE series. In particular, they asked him to give away 70/80 runs while bowling.”It could not be confirmed if Ahmed ended up receiving the money. Ahmed, the ACU found, continued to meet Chhayakar, who would contact him before a series or tournament. Ahmed then shared inside information, especially of bowling plans in case he was playing, from the series against the Netherlands.”He had provided Inside Information to [Mr Z], at [Mr Z]’s request, in August 2019, namely which overs he would be bowling if he played in the Netherlands v UAE series that month.”Ahmed agreed he was aware of the ACU rules that he had breached, as he failed to come clean about being approached, being offered money, and providing inside information to corruptors. However, the ICC said that Ahmed had questioned the timing of suspending members of the UAE team just prior to the World Cup qualifiers.”He questioned why the ACU had acted against members of the UAE team prior to the start of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers in October 2019 because if it had not, he said that the ACU would have been able to collect a lot of information about corruption (i.e. inferring that the ACU’s action in questioning members of the UAE team had disrupted planned corruption).”According to the ICC, Ahmed suddenly left for Pakistan on October 11, 2019 without the knowledge of either the ACU or the Emirates Cricket Board. The ACU did track Ahmed down and conducted another interview on April 18 last year. However, Ahmed “stopped the interview halfway through, stating that he had to go to work”. Subsequently, he “refused” to complete a rescheduled interview and said he would face the ICC anti-corruption tribunal instead.Last week, on April 14, Ahmed agreed to all the ACU sanctions without facing the tribunal.Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC’s integrity unit, said in a statement, “He [Ahmed] has accepted he did wrong and requested an agreed sanction in place of a Tribunal. His five-year period of ineligibility is a reflection of the seriousness of his breaches and the number of charges. He has accepted responsibility for his actions and expressed regret for those he has let down.”

Olly Stone and Dan Lawrence miss their chances to impress before Lord’s Test

Andrew Miller22-May-2021Warwickshire 166 and 0 for 0 trail Essex 217 (Cook 57, ten Doeschate 56, Harmer 40*) by 51 runsOn a day when two of England’s likely lads might have hoped to make final, indisputable cases for involvement in next week’s first Test against New Zealand, it was instead a pair of old stagers who stole a march on the young bucks, as Essex inched themselves into a position of quiet advantage against Warwickshire in the LV= County Championship.Olly Stone and Dan Lawrence are both strong bets for a starting berth at Lord’s in 11 days’ time, after being named last week in England’s 15-man squad, but on this occasion they ceded the limelight to Alastair Cook and Ryan ten Doeschate, with their combined age of 76, whose pair of fifties, allied to a responsible 40-run marshalling of the tail from Simon Harmer, secured a 51-run lead that might yet prove significant if Chelmsford’s fourth-day factor can come once again into play.A stalemate remains the strong likelihood, however, after an Essex performance that lacked the requisite ruthlessness to really turn the screw on their visitors, and another day of weather frustration – this time centred around bad light, which caused a two-hour delay to the afternoon session, including a ludicrous moment when the players returned to resume play, only to march back off before a ball had been bowled.Either way, the interruption seemed to affect Essex’s poise rather more than Warwickshire’s, who were perhaps grateful for a chance to regroup after a sketchy start to their day, including two dropped catches at square leg and point respectively – the latter by Dom Sibley to reprieve his England team-mate Lawrence before he had scored.But, having gone to lunch well placed on 65 for 2 after 24 overs, with Cook cruising towards his third half-century in his last four games, and Lawrence unfurling further glimpses of the startling strokeplay that had wrecked Derbyshire on this ground last week, Essex lost four wickets in 11 overs to slump to 125 for 6, and squander the platform that had been laid.The first to go was Lawrence, who was beaten for pace by Liam Norwell and comprehensively yorked for 14 – not the most encouraging mode of dismissal given the quality of the New Zealand attack that he may be facing next week. But Warwickshire’s true golden-arm would prove to be Will Rhodes, whose diligent seam-up picked off three scalps in his first four overs, including Cook to the second ball he faced.Up until that moment, Cook had been playing the most authoritative innings of the match. All season long, his cover-driving has been particularly eye-catching – not always for the right reasons, given that his record-breaking Test career had essentially been built on his two most risk-free strokes, the cut and the shovel to leg.But, there was no sense of anything other than sweet timing as Cook opened his account for the day with a brace of drives off Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Norwell, before adding a third to remind Stone that raw pace is all very well, but raw pace in the slot will be punished however burgeoning your reputation.But wobbly seam on a full and wide line, on the other hand … Cook had only himself to blame when he opened the face for another drive as Rhodes joined the fray in the 36th over, and scuffed his effort straight to Rob Yates at gully. He slumped on his bat, frustrated at giving his wicket away cheaply after laying the groundwork, much as he had done against Derbyshire last week, but Rhodes was only just getting started.Paul Walter came and went in a curious flurry. After using his height to get the better of a bouncer barrage from Stone – a flick for four and six over the keeper’s head forced a rapid change of approach – he was then nailed on the pad for 22 by a full-length swinger from Rhodes, who steadied himself one over later to pocket a wild top-edge from Adam Wheater, who won’t want to look back on his duck in a hurry.At the other end, however, Tendo was doing what Tendo does, chivvying the score along with a particular eye for anything remotely wide on the off side. With Harmer steadfast alongside him, and scoreless for the first 20 balls of his innings, Essex regained the initiative. Stone served up a pair of short balls that Ten Doeschate swatted for four through fine leg and third man respectively to march to a 74-ball fifty.By the end of the same over, the scores were level and the seventh-wicket stand had extended to 44 when Norwell extracted one swing too many to strangle ten Doeschate down the leg side for 56.What followed was a curious game of cat-and-mouse in arguably the best batting conditions of the match. While Essex – Harmer to the fore – resolved not to do anything rash as they eked their way towards a precious batting point that may yet prove vital in a tightly permutated Group One, Warwickshire seemed content to keep the contest in check, with Tim Bresnan’s hard lines belatedly coming to the fore for figures of 10-3-8-1, rather than risk the awkward challenge of a ten-over batting stint before the close.As it was, they were left with a solitary over to negotiate after Danny Briggs had spun his way through Sam Cook, and Stone – armed with the new ball – had unpicked Jamie Porter for his solitary scalp of a brisk but unthreatening day’s work. And it was Briggs himself who saw it off as the nightwatchman. It’s hard to see a result in this contest, but compared to most of the matches in a rain-wrecked round, the third day finished on a relative knife-edge.