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The most experienced player in T20 cricket has been sidelined after experiencing a “tightness” in his thigh

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2020Kieron Pollard, the most experienced player in T20 cricket, has been ruled out of his PSL stint with Peshawar Zalmi due to a niggle in his right thigh. The West Indies captain, who recently reached 10,000 runs in his 500th game in the shortest format, was initially slated to join the Peshawar squad after his international commitments. However, he has now been sidelined, having experienced “tightness” in his right quad.ALSO READ: Sammy becomes Peshawar Zalmi head coach, steps down from captaincyFellow West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite had been named as Pollard’s temporary replacement, and has already played two matches this season. In the wake of Pollard’s injury, Brathwaite will now stay with Peshawar’s squad for the rest of the PSL.”I’m sorry I can’t be there in person this year but the team has some inspirational characters leading the charge and I’m sure can give Daren [Sammy] his first trophy as a head coach,” Pollard said in a statement released by the PSL.England allrounder Lewis Gregory can also be a like-for-like replacement for Pollard in the XI. He had made a splash on his PSL debut, taking 4 for 24 in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Lahore Qalandars.In all, Pollard has featured in 13 matches for Peshawar, scoring 284 runs and taking five wickets. Earlier this week, Daren Sammy had stepped down from captaincy and took over a new role as head coach-cum-player for Peshawar.Peshawar are currently placed second on the points table, behind table-toppers Multan, with four wins in eight games.

Windies coach Phil Simmons says quick is ‘bowling as fast as I’ve seen him for while’ after ankle surgery

George Dobell22-Jun-2020Shannon Gabriel looks set to be added to West Indies’ Test squad for the series against England.Gabriel, who was a key player in West Indies’ victory over England in the Caribbean, was only named as part of the reserve squad for the tour as he was seeking to prove his fitness following an ankle injury.But Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, suggested Gabriel was now “bowling as fast as I’ve seen him for while” and hinted that, if he came through the warm-up games, he was highly likely to be added to the 14-man Test squad.ALSO READ: Phil Simmons recalls racist abuse in English league cricket“Yes, there is a possibility of Shannon Gabriel joining the touring party,” Simmons said. “He’s one of West Indies’ prominent fast bowlers coming back from injury and we just had to make sure that he was fit enough to work through the tour.”The last week he’s been at full tilt and he looks fit. He looks good. He’s bowling as fast as I’ve seen him for a while so he’s ready and close enough to the Test match.”When leaving home 14 were named in the squad. Because of Shannon coming back from his injury, we had to let him get a little bit further and see how he is and then we’ll decide whether to make it a 15-member squad. After that, injuries might be the cause for changes.”The top three bowlers speak for themselves. Jason Holder is the number one ranked all-rounder in the world in Test cricket, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel are high up on that fast bowling list in the ICC rankings. That shows you there’s quality there.”Shannon Gabriel hasn’t played since September last year•Getty Images

West Indies start their first warm-up game – a three-day affair – on Tuesday. While that inter-squad match may feature teams of more than 11 players and could see some flexibility around conventional playing arrangements, their next game will be a four-day, first-class match which looks set to pit the first choice Test team against the reserves.While Simmons was understandably cautious about committing to a team at this stage, he did hint that fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and spin-bowling all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall could also feature. Both venues for the series – the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Emirates Old Trafford – usually provide some assistance for spinners in Test cricket and, in the likes of Jason Holder, Shane Dowrich and Roston Chase, West Indies have the all-round options which may allow them to squeeze an extra bowler in if required.”We haven’t seen what the Ageas Bowl is like,” Simmons said. “When we see that, we will know what our combination will be like.”But at this stage, you can say that Rakheem will be a part. He got 10 wickets against Afghanistan in our last Test. So you can say he’ll be a part if we go in with two spinners and three fast bowlers or four and one.”Alzarri Joseph is going to be a big hit on this tour.”Simmons confirmed the entire squad, including the reserves, were currently considered fit with Jason Holder having recovered from “a little thing with his ankle”.”He seems to be all right,” Simmons said. “He batted and bowled today. He could bat No. 6; Shane Dowrich could bat No. 6. The warm-up games will help us decide how we structure the batting. There are possibilities in different directions.”

Newcomers score half-centuries, pressing their claims to feature in Test series against West Indies

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2020Newcomers James Bracey and Dan Lawrence stole the spotlight as England’s leading red-ball players went head to head on day one of a rare intra-squad clash at the Ageas Bowl.When growing concerns over the spread of coronavirus brought an early end to England’s last official outing 111 days ago in Sri Lanka, neither man was even in the country never mind the conversation.But with circumstances, much changed and the national side was forced to schedule its own internal tune-up between ‘Team Stokes’ and ‘Team Buttler’ and it was the latter’s uncapped batsmen who gained most as their contrasting half-centuries underpinned a score of 287 for 5.Gloucestershire’s Bracey batted diligently at the top of the order, reaching 85 in 194 balls to make good on an opportunity few would have forecast at the start of the summer, while heavily touted Essex batsman Dan Lawrence turned in a sparkling 58.Already a two-time county champion, and scorer of a century in the Lions’ victory over Australia A in Melbourne over the winter, he scored his runs with an unmistakeable swagger in 83 deliveries.With regular Test skipper Joe Root missing next week’s series opener due to the birth of his second child, Lawrence made a strong pitch for the vacant number four spot and could ultimately find himself competing with Joe Denly.Denly managed 48 here but, had Saqib Mahmood not overstepped when he took out his off stump on 12, the contrast between his contribution and Lawrence’s would have been stark. As it was, he faced over 100 balls but failed to kick on to a major score, a well-worn trope of his 14 Test appearances.In bowling terms, the 18 overs sent down by James Anderson will probably have the most impact on England’s immediate plans. The country’s record wicket-taker has not played since breaking a rib during the New Year Test in Cape Town, but looked reliable and fit as he returned two for 49.James Anderson in action•Stu Forster/Getty Images

The remaining wickets fell to the Overton twins, both of whom turned in impressive performances as they jostle for position in a packed seam attack.Craig Overton got the first wicket of the day, finding Rory Burns’ outside edge in the morning session, and had Ollie Pope lbw for 25 in the evening. Brother Jamie was not initially included among the 27 players taking part, added to Stokes’ side only after Olly Stone reported a tight hamstring.The younger Overton added some heat to the line-up after tea but got slightly lucky when Bracey flicked a leg-side delivery to the waiting Ben Foakes while in sight of a century.The 23-year-old had been given a life early on, edging Craig Overton on 14 only for Stokes to parry the chance at second slip. He put that chance swiftly to one side, shaping up well against Anderson to reach 33 not out in a lunch score of 70 for one.Denly and Bracey put on 98 for the second wicket, both men striking straight sixes off Jack Leach, with latter bringing up his half-century by successfully taking on Moeen Ali for a quick single.Denly was hoping to follow suit but was pinned in front by Anderson to end a middling innings.Lawrence scored just 10 more runs but did it with greater aggression and purpose, whipping Leach over midwicket for six, repeatedly getting the better of a battle against Moeen’s off-spin and dominating a stand of 53 with the settled Bracey.Both had cause to regret their dismissals, Bracey feathering Jamie Overton off his pads after being forced back by the short ball and Lawrence’s ambition getting the better of him as he flicked Anderson to midwicket.​Jos Buttler and Sam Curran combined to see their side to stumps without further loss.

The NSW coach enjoyed the variety of challenges on offer

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2020New South Wales coach Phil Jaques believes splitting the Sheffield Season between two types of balls was a good way of challenging the players to improve.Since 2016-17, the second half of the season played after the Big Bash had used a variation of the Dukes as part of Cricket Australia’s plans to give players more exposure to that type of ball ahead of last year’s Ashes where the urn was retained in England for the first time since 2001.Now the season will again be played with the Kookaburra throughout although the manufacturer has made some small tweaks and the feedback from the altered version which was trialled last season was positive.ALSO READ: Cricket Australia spin chief: Sheffield Shield pitches, not the ball, need to change“I think it’s created some good competition among the manufactures, and from a skills perspective for the players, it’s a good thing to have exposure to different things,” Jaques told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s been a really worthwhile experiment. CA have made the decision to go to one ball which will give the players some continuity but from a coach’s perspective, I thought the contest with the Dukes was also good and brought different skillset.”I didn’t mind having a slightly different ball for half a season, it’s good to keep stretching your players. But we’ve gone with the Kookaburra and the improvements they’ve made this year with the feedback they had has put them in good stead to be a better contest as well.”One of the reasons given for the return to the Kookaburra throughout the season is an attempt to bring more spin back into the Sheffield Shield although their numbers with the Dukes overall were marginally better than with the Kookaburra but the volume of overs had become an issue. The broader theme emerging about how to boost spin bowling is that it will come down to the nature of the surfaces. At the moment, only the Shield pitches used in Sydney offer much encouragement to spinners.”I’m sure the spinners around the country would like to play a greater role, from a development perspective it’s important that they do,” Jaques said. “I think it’s important that the New South Wales wickets always spin because otherwise there will be no wickets that really turn and when we do go to the subcontinent or anywhere else where it spins, the players don’t have the exposure to it. I’d personally like to see a bit more exposure to spinning wickets around the country but the make-up at the moment it’s how it is.”ALSO READ: All the Australian state squads for the 2020-21 seasonNew South Wales’ spin department, which includes Nathan Lyon when not on Australia duty, will have a new look this season with the retired Steve O’Keefe replaced by Adam Zampa after his move from South Australia while offspinner Arjun Nair has a rookie contract along with 18-year-old legspinner Tanveer Sangha.Zampa has spoken about a major part of the move being to revitalise his first-class career to push for a Test cap but there won’t be an open door to the starting XI. “We had an informal chat about where he wants to head and how he sees himself,” Jaques said. “From my perspective, there’re certainly opportunities for him to achieve what he wants to. He’s come to state on no promises, like everyone else he’ll have to earn his position and Adam’s very much up for that and wants to progress his game.”New South Wales secured the Sheffield Shield in strange circumstances back in March when the season was curtailed due to Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown meant there was no squad celebration.”We are planning to do something. We’ll certainly celebrate it,” Jaques said. “You don’t get the opportunity to win a Sheffield Shield that often so think it’s important that we recognize it then we work really hard towards building a sustainable, successful team.”

The allrounder hasn’t played international cricket since last October and is excited about a comeback against England

Andrew McGlashan26-Aug-2020It is Glenn Maxwell’s batting – and often his fielding – that will grab most of the headlines, but he hopes to be able to play a key role with the ball if he returns to Australia’s ODI side for the first time in more than a year against England next month and in the T20I line-up expects to have the task of finishing an innings.Maxwell’s last ODI was the World Cup semi-final defeat against England and his most recent international outing was the second T20I against Sri Lanka last October after which he took a break from the game to manage his mental health.Having had an underwhelming World Cup, where he made 177 runs at 22.12, he was overlooked for the ODI tour of India in January but had been recalled for the trip to South Africa before withdrawing when he needed elbow surgery. His last cricket of any sort was the Big Bash final against the Sydney Sixers on February 8.ALSO READ: Marnus Labuschagne working on his death batting in ODIs and legspinIt would appear a given that he will return to the T20I side for the three-match series against England: his last innings in the format was a destructive 62 off 28 balls against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval and the two knocks before that, albeit back in February 29, were 56 and 113 not out against India.