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Can visiting bowlers keep Virat Kohli quiet at one of his favourite venues?

The Preview by Sreshth Shah17-Dec-20194:33

The Hetmyer and Hope threat looms again

Big picture

It’s been over 15 years since India last lost two consecutive bilateral ODI series at home. it’s been over 30 years since India last lost five straight ODIs at home. But both those things may happen if they lose to West Indies in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday – they lost the last three matches to concede the series against Australia 3-2 in March.Although Rohit Sharma has been off-colour so far against West Indies, the rest of the Indian batting contingent has displayed enough composure and grit for the spotlight to move away from the star opening batsman. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube have all shown across the white-ball series that they could be relied on to take responsibility, but the same cannot be same about the team’s bowling. Virat Kohli’s template as captain has been to strangle teams in the middle overs after the new-ball bowlers do their job in their first spells, but with Jasprit Bumrah missing, the early wickets have been more difficult to come by.It was on display in the first ODI, when the set West Indies batsmen played out the spin threat of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja with ease, despite plenty of turn on offer in Chennai. It forced Kohli to bowl out Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami before the slog overs, leaving young Dube with the task of bowling at the death. It was similar for India during the loss to Australia, where Vijay Shankar was often the go-to bowler at the back end.ALSO READ: Smart and on target, Cottrell is more than just the saluteThe only difference between India and the visitors in Chennai was the number of options each captain had, and West Indies’ seven-bowler plan helped Kieron Pollard use conditions to his advantage.In the preceding T20I series, West Indies had gone into the final game on level terms and then fallen short. While they walk into the second game here with confidence, they need to make sure they don’t let the opposition batsmen settle in.

Form guide

India LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WWWWL

In the spotlight

Is Shivam Dube a better all-round option than Vijay Shankar? An exciting half-century in the T20I series got people to sit up and take note, but his bowling hasn’t been terribly impressive. On his ODI debut, he made just nine with the bat and conceded nearly nine per over with the ball. There are question marks over his pace – late 120s – and whether he can bowl accurately enough, to the team’s fielding plans.Shivam Dube gets into position to pull•BCCI

Shai Hope has been one of the keys to West Indies’ success in recent times. Hope’s role as an anchor will be crucial once again, whether they bat first or chase. In his 218-run partnership – at a strike rate of over 100 – with Shimron Hetmyer in Chennai, Hope was calm in his approach, scoring at a strike rate in the 60s while allowing his partner to bloom. He rotates the strike well, allowing his big-hitting partners to have that safety net, and gives a blanket of security to the team.

Team news

India may return to their “Kul-Cha” plans, having failed to trouble West Indies with spin in the first ODI. That means either Dube or Jadeja may be left out to accommodate Yuzvendra Chahal.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Ravindra Jadeja/Yuzvendra Chahal, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohammad ShamiWhether Evin Lewis has recovered from a right-knee injury is not yet known. If he has, then he’s likely to return to the XI in place of Sunil Ambris.West Indies (probable) 1 Shai Hope, 2 Evin Lewis/Sunil Ambris, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Roston Chase, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Hayden Walsh Jr, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Stats and trivia

• The last time an ODI was played – last year – in Visakhapatnam, India and West Indies battled hard for a tie. With West Indies needing five to win off the final ball, Hope, who made 123, slapped a boundary through point to level the scores.
• Teams batting first have won just one of the last six ODIs played in Visakhapatnam
• The average first-innings total at the ground since 2010 is 275
• Virat Kohli averages 139 at the ground, having scored 556 runs – including three centuries, a 99 and a 65 – in his five outings in Visakhapatnam

Shafali’s 75 went in vain but India still won the T20I series 3-2

Valkerie Baynes12-Jul-2025England 168 for 5 (Wyatt-Hodge 56, Dunkley 46, Deepti 2-31, Arundhati 2-47) beat India 167 for 7 (Shafali 75, Dean 3-23, Ecclestone 2-28) by five wicketsThree wickets for Charlie Dean and Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s half-century in her 300th match for England set up a consolation victory for the hosts, who then held their nerve to pull off the highest successful run-chase in women’s T20Is on their home turf in another last-ball thriller against India, who won the series 3-2.Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley put on a 101-run opening stand, which allowed England to reel in a target of 168, set largely by Shafali Verma’s 75. Once they fell, however, England’s pursuit grew tougher and they needed six off the final over, which yielded two wickets for Arundhati Reddy but Sophie Ecclestone held her cool to take England over the line.Shafali wrapped up her comeback in T20Is with her best innings of the series at Edgbaston, a 41-ball knock which rescued India from 19 for 2 in the third over and helped them to a respectable total of 167 for 7 despite none of her team-mates reaching 25 and only three joining her in double figures.England put on an improved performance in the field, an area that has had them under fire since the T20 World Cup, and managed to keep India’s batters under some pressure, thanks to a regular stream of wickets. Em Arlott and Linsey Smith struck early before Charlie Dean claimed 3 for 23 with an economy rate of 5.75 and Ecclestone took 2 for 28.Em Arlott struck in her first over to remove Smriti Mandhana•Getty Images

England on top early

Arlott and Smith returned to the England attack for the first time since the second match in Bristol as the hosts rested seamers Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer ahead of the ODIs.Smriti Mandhana, the leading run-scorer for the series, struck back-to-back fours off Arlott in the opening stanza, over mid-off and pulled in front of deep backward square leg, but her cut off the final ball of the over sailed into the hands of Smith at point.Smith entered the fray in the third over and struck with her third delivery, a pinpoint-accurate ball which kept low as Jemimah Rodrigues stepped back to cut, missed and heard the stumps rattle.Shafali Verma struck 75 off just 41 balls•Getty Images

Shafali shines bright

After being dropped following India’s group-stage exit from the World Cup last October, Shafali was recalled for this series and had been making progress with scores of 20, 3, 47 and 31. She played a big part in lifting India to 47 for 2 at the end of the powerplay and shifted into another gear thereafter.Issy Wong conceded 20 off her second over, the seventh of the match, which Shafali opened with a four and finished with a thunderous six down the ground. She then pulled wide of midwicket and struck through a desperately diving Wong on her follow-through.Shafali dug out a full Ecclestone delivery and advanced, then retreated when she realised wicketkeeper Amy Jones was in a position to gather, an umpire review confirming the batter had recovered her ground before the bails were removed. She lofted Ecclestone’s next ball over extra cover to bring up her fifty off just 23 balls, drawing level with Mandhana as the second-fastest Indian woman to the milestone behind Richa Ghosh’s 18 balls against West Indies last year.Charlie Dean returned 3 for 23•Getty Images

Dean directs traffic

Shafali brought up India’s 100 with an emphatic four back over Arlott’s head and it took a brilliant catch from Maia Bouchier to remove her – and dim the memory of Bouchier sitting on her haunches with her head bowed as one of the many culprits in England’s poor fielding display against West Indies that saw them exit the T20 World Cup before the knockouts. Shafali skied a Dean delivery towards cow corner and Bouchier ran round to her right, timing her dive to perfection to take the ball cleanly just inside the rope.Dean had already bowled Harmanpreet Kaur for 15 and she picked up her third when she trapped Deepti Sharma lbw. Bouchier took another calm catch in the deep to remove Richa and give Ecclestone a second wicket after she had pinned Harleen Deol’s back leg directly in front, attempting to sweep. It was a welcome return for Bouchier, who was dropped after the Ashes in January and only recalled partway through India’s visit as injury cover for captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Wyatt-Hodge celebrates 300 in style

Wyatt-Hodge’s 66 at The Oval in England’s only other win of this series – also secured off the last ball – had broken a run drought going back to the Ashes in January.Opening partner Dunkley smoked a six over long-on off Arundhati, followed immediately by four down the ground. Their partnership passed fifty at the start of the sixth over and at the end of the powerplay, they were 57 without loss. Wyatt-Hodge accessed all areas with a quartet of fours off Arundhati’s second over. That put her on the cusp of her half-century, which she brought up off 30 balls with a pull through the deep midwicket region for two.Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley added 101 runs for the opening wicket•Getty Images

Down to the wire

Dunkley and Wyatt-Hodge fell to spin within eight balls of each other, Dunkley within one strike of her half-century when she was bowled by Radha Yadav and Wyatt-Hodge advancing to Deepti, sending a leading edge to Rodrigues at mid-on.Charani put down a sitter at short third off Amy Jones at the end of the 18th over, bowled by Arundhati, who had been expensive, conceding 41 off three overs. England needed six off the final over and when Arundhati sensationally claimed two wickets in the first three balls, they needed five off three. She took the pace off to bowl Beaumont with her first delivery of the 20th and Radha took a screamer off Jones at deep midwicket.Ecclestone and Paige Scholfield scampered three after Ecclestone sliced through backward point and a single to Scholfield meant they needed one off the last. With the pressure high, Ecclestone pushed to mid-on, where Mandhana pounced but her throw to the non-striker’s end missed and Ecclestone was home.

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed Netherlands’ international home summer with all sports banned in the country until September 1

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2020Pakistan’s tour to the Netherlands has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was taken in light of the Dutch government’s decision to ban all sports and cultural events in the country till September 1, with KNCB confirming the country will host no international cricket this summer.Pakistan were due to visit Netherlands for a three-match ODI series before a full tour of England, with the games slated to be played in Amstelveen on 4,7 and 9 July. Netherlands were also due to host New Zealand for a one-off T20I on 15 June, but that has also been pushed back indefinitely. A quadrangular series with Namibia, Oman and the USA has also fallen victim to the pandemic.,”It is sad that we have to postpone our July tour to the Netherlands, but in the prevailing circumstances, this is absolutely the right thing to do as human lives are far more precious and valuable than a cricket match or an event,” Wasim Khan, the PCB Chief Executive, said. “Netherlands has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and we offer our heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their lives. Like any other country, the PCB stands firmly with the KNCB and hope they will be able to overcome this crisis. The Pakistan national cricket teams have always enjoyed touring the Netherlands and as soon as things return to normal, the PCB will engage with the KNCB to reschedule the tour so that we can fulfil our obligation.”KNCB chair Betty Timmer echoed Khan’s sentiments. “It is extremely disappointing that we won’t be able to host any international cricket in the Netherlands this summer,” she said. “However, the health and safety of the players, staff and fans is our main priority, and in that light the ban on events by the Dutch government is understandable. We truly hope that by next season the situation is under control again, so we can host the Super League series against England, Ireland and the West Indies as planned. We would love to welcome back all cricket fans on our grounds in the summer of 2021.”The coronavirus pandemic has shut down all cricket across the world, along with nearly all sporting activities. England’s three-Test tour of Sri Lanka was among the first to be cancelled, with a slew of other series being called off as the virus began to take hold throughout the world. An ODI series between India and South Africa was pushed back indefinitely, and New Zealand’s ODI series in Australia was postponed part-way. While there has been guarded support from some players about the possibility of playing cricket behind closed doors when the time comes, it appears there is still plenty of time before even that becomes a realistic possibility.

The 19-year-old Trinidad & Tobago quick could make his Test debut despite having played just one first-class match

Sruthi Ravindranath09-Jun-2021Jayden Seales has played just one first-class match, but the 19-year-old quick has impressed the West Indies selectors enough to be drafted into the 13-man shortlist for the first Test against South Africa. It’s already “a dream come true” for Seales, and he is hoping for more.”Firstly, it’s a dream come true being in the set-up. Being in the final 13 obviously was a goal of mine,” he said in a press interaction. “Just a matter of me now hoping that I get to play the first Test match and do my best for the team.”The Trinidad & Tobago bowler made his first-class debut last December, turning out for West Indies A in New Zealand, where he picked up one wicket.Related

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More recently, he took 4 for 40 playing for Team Hamilton in a four-day intra-squad game against Team Blackwood. He had also picked three wickets in the first innings during an intra-squad tour match ahead of the series against Sri Lanka in March.In all, he has played only ten games at the senior level across formats.”I didn’t play much first-class cricket but I think being in the set-up and training with the team from New Zealand to now I think I’ve put in a lot of hard work and my body is ready,” he said. “Now I’ve to go out there and perform for the team.”As far as chief selector Roger Harper is concerned, the lack of experience at the senior level should not be a hindrance for Seales.”I saw a young bowler perform in games where Test players and the best of our best of our regional first-class players were playing and he performed exceedingly well,” Harper said. “Better than a number of players who have been playing first-class cricket for a number of years. The thing is the match wasn’t classified as first-class match but those were played by the best of our first-class players.”I would like to think that if he can perform well in those games against those players, he has the potential to transfer that onto the Test scene.”Seales had attracted attention at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa last year, taking ten wickets in six matches with an average of 18.30 and an economy rate of 3.89. That helped him secure a CPL deal with the Trinbago Knight Riders for the 2020 season, and he picked up eight wickets in six matches then. He has been retained by the franchise for the new season, and while he isn’t looking for idols he is learning from watching his team-mates closely.”Honestly, I never really try to adapt from any other bowlers,” he said. “It just came naturally. I’ve been told I have an action similar to [Kagiso] Rabada. In terms of internationals, I look at old West Indian bowlers and now in the set-up I look at Jason [Holder], Roachy [Kemar Roach] and Shannon [Gabriel] closely. I try to hear as much from them, learn as much from them and take it under my game.”With Gabriel missing out on selection because of an injury, Seales is happy to take his cues from Roach. “There has been no conversation whether I would take the new ball,” he said. “For me, if selected, if given a new ball, follow Roachy. If Roachy is bowling good areas it’s just my job to do the same and try and get the early wicket for the team.”

Spinning allrounder recalled to balance side in wake of England’s struggles at Trent Bridge

George Dobell10-Aug-2021Moeen Ali has been recalled to the England squad and looks set to play in the second LV= Insurance Test at Lord’s.Moeen, the off-spinning all-rounder, is expected to join up with the squad at training today (Tuesday) as England attempt to balance a side missing key all-rounder Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes.England were unable to find a place for a frontline spinner in the team that drew the first Test.While Moeen has only played one first-class game in the last 23 months, he has been in fine form in the white-ball game. He hit a 23-ball half-century for Birmingham Phoenix on Monday night and has captained the side to the top of the table.He last played a Test in February, also against India in the second Test in Chennai, where he claimed eight wickets in the match, but subsequently returned home as part of England’s rest and rotation policy.The call-up means that Moeen is set to play his first Test on home soil since the 2019 Ashes, when he featured in England’s defeat in the series opener at Edgbaston, then took an indefinite break from the format, for the remainder of the series as well as the subsequent tours of New Zealand and South Africa.To date in Test cricket he has claimed 189 wickets at 36.24 in 61 matches, at a sub-60 strike rate that is better than each of the more celebrated spinners above him in England’s wicket-takers’ list – Derek Underwood, Graeme Swann and Jim Laker.Meanwhile his record on home soil against India is particularly impressive. He has taken 31 wickets at 22.22 across seven previous matches in 2014 and 2018, including a Player-of-the-Match-winning nine-wicket haul at the Ageas Bowl following his mid-series recall in 2018.Moeen has also struck five Test centuries in his career to date, and though the most recent of those came in December 2016, it was also made against India – the second of his two on that winter’s tour. His most recent Test innings was a hard-hitting knock of 43 from 18 balls, made from No.9 in the closing moments of England’s defeat in Chennai in February.Asked about the prospect of his recall on Monday, in the wake of Birmingham Phoenix’s 93-run win at Edgbaston, Moeen told the BBC: “Of course if you get the call-up, then playing for England is the highest thing you can get. If I get the call then I’ll be available.”It’s a win-win for me, things are going really well for me here and the team.”

Young quick impressed on recent Australia A tour of New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2023Australian fast bowler Jordan Buckingham has joined Northamptonshire.Buckingham, 23, impressed for South Australia in the most recent Sheffield Shield season, and has a record of 25 wickets at an average of 26.56 in his first seven first-class matches. That includes being selected for the Australia A tour of New Zealand in April, where he took 6 for 58 in his first appearance, dismissing the New Zealand A top six.”I’m really grateful for the opportunity to represent such a proud club in Northamptonshire during my first stint in the UK.” Buckingham said. “I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting stuck into it this week and to winning some four-day cricket with my new team-mates for the next few games.”Related

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Buckingham trained with Northamptonshire’s squad this week ahead of their trip to Somerset and is available for the club’s next three LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures.John Sadler, Northamptonshire’s head coach, said: “We’re delighted to have Jordan on board. He’s an exciting young prospect who’s rated highly by Cricket Australia. He showed his quality for Australia A recently and we think he’ll complement our bowling attack well.”Northamptonshire had signed Australian seamers Chris Tremain and Lance Morris, who were due to split six Championship games between them. Tremain has finished his stint while Morris has suffered a back injury, ruling him out of his planned cameo as well as Ashes calculations.

MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tend to take Twenty20 internationals as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tended to take Twenty20 internationals as a “warm-up for the one-dayers to follow”. India have now lost seven of their last ten Twenty20s and two of their three wins were against Bangladesh and Ireland.”I don’t think we were in the groove for a Twenty20 game and too often we treat it as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow,” Dhoni said. “It’s probably the reason for our defeats in these games.”Another, and more significant, reason for Wednesday’s defeat was India’s terrible fielding. They dropped five chances – two off the Sri Lankan openers before they made a start – and frequently fumbled balls in the outfield. Yuvraj dropped Sanath Jayasuriya on 4, Ishant grassed Tillakaratne Dilshan on 13 and Kumar Sangakkara as well, Rohit Sharma let off Chamara Kapugedera on 14, and Pragyan Ojha failed to reach a tough chance given by Angelo Mathews in the final over after which the batsman hit two sixes.”The catching is a bit of concern,” Dhoni said. “We are not a brilliant fielding side, but we don’t drop too many catches. That also hurt us also to some extent.”Had India taken their chances, Sri Lanka would have struggled to reach 215. In the over after he was dropped, Jayasuriya hit Ashish Nehra for five consecutive boundaries and provided the acceleration after a slow start. The opening stand of 43 set the platform for Kumar Sangakkara to score 78 off just 37 deliveries. Kapugedera provided propulsion by scoring 47 off 20 while Mathews made 15 off four balls.”What really set us up was the two openers batting for six overs, even if they didn’t get a flying start,” Sangakkara said. “They really applied themselves and got those 40-odd runs and we could launch our innings from there. I’ve been in good form, but I’ve been getting out cheaply because I’ve never really applied myself. I thought it was about time I really did something to inspire the side.”Sangakkara also described Jayasuriya’s four-over spell during India’s chase as “magic”. Jayasuriya came on after India had raced to 88 in seven overs and brought down the scoring-rate dramatically. He conceded only 19 off his four overs and also took the wickets of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were also supported by far superior fielding effort and Sangakkara acknowledged as much.”I thought the fielding was outstanding, we were excellent in the first 16 overs and I thought we could have been a little more ruthless in the final four overs and finished the game off,” he said. “Overall, everyone played really hard and they showed a lot of hunger to win.”The second Twenty20 game is in Mohali on December 12.

Mohammed Shami was left out of the 15-man squad

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2018India’s frontline pace bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been added to the ODI squad for the remaining three matches against West Indies, after being rested for the first two games. Mohammed Shami was left out of the squad, which had no other changes.Allrounder Kedar Jadhav had missed the first two matches with a hamstring injury he picked up during the Asia Cup; he was expected to be back for the remaining ODIs, according to chief selector MSK Prasad, but wasn’t named in the squad of 15. Jadhav scored an unbeaten 41 off 25 for India A against India C in the Deodhar Trophy on Thursday and bowled a few overs too.Shami played the first two ODIs but was the most expensive India bowler in Guwahati, where he took two top-order wickets in his figures of 2 for 81. He bettered his performance in Visakhapatnam by finishing with 1 for 59 from 10 overs, but could not retain his place for the remainder of the series even though Umesh Yadav has so far conceded 142 runs in the two matches, compared to Shami’s 140, with only one wicket to his name.The remaining three matches will be played in Pune, Mumbai (Brabourne Stadium) and Thiruvananthapuram on October 27, 29 and November 1.Squad: Virat Kohli (cap), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey

Lack of availability of England players heightens scrutiny on county cricket’s big day out

Matt Roller15-Jul-2022The ECB have insisted they are “committed to driving progress and increasing the reach” of the Vitality Blast after the competition’s 20th season saw a 15 percent decline in ticket sales compared to pre-pandemic numbers.The Blast’s 2022 season concludes with Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, which will be the competition’s earliest-ever finish. The Blast has been squeezed into a shorter window at the start of the summer in order to accommodate the month-long window for the Hundred, which starts on August 3.Several counties were unhappy about their fixture lists, with many games taking place on week-nights during term-time, and ESPNcricinfo understands that the total attendance figure for the tournament will be around 800,000 – including a sell-out crowd at Edgbaston on Saturday.That figure is down from around 920,000 in 2019, the most recent Blast season in which full crowds were permitted. The 2020 season was played behind-closed-doors in its entirety, while full crowds only returned for the knockout stages in 2021.”After the impact of Covid and the restrictions that were in place for two summers, in addition to the changing consumer habits that has impacted other sports and entertainment, it has been heartening to see crowds returning up and down the country,” Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of county cricket, wrote in a blog post.”We are undergoing research to further understand the changing consumer habits and how we can develop the Vitality Blast’s offer to fans. What is certain is that there has never been more ways to watch and follow the Vitality Blast, whether it is at-venue or across the various digital platforms, and we’re committed to driving progress and increasing the reach of a competition that has become much loved since its inception in 2003.”The Vitality Blast is a short-format competition unlike any other, partly due to age-old county rivalries that play out every year across the country. Over the years, all 18 first-class counties have established their own rich history in a competition that continues to attract top players from across the world and also provide a stage for homegrown players to develop their skills.”Related

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There has been controversy surrounding the non-availability of six England players for Finals Day in Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, David Willey (all Yorkshire), Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone (both Lancashire) and Craig Overton (Somerset), who will be playing in Sunday’s deciding third ODI against India instead.The ECB were forced to reschedule the white-ball leg of the India series due to the postponement of the fifth Test last summer, prompting the clash between Finals Day and the end of the ODI series, but Tom Abell, Somerset’s captain, said that the occasion would not be “diminished in any way” by their absence.”The Blast can still take pride of place,” Abell said. “If there are really good games in the Blast, that creates huge interest and excitement around the competition in itself. Everyone really buys in and you really see the passion for it. If you’re getting good sides playing against each other, that fuels the passion for the T20 Blast and for county cricket.”Tim David, Lancashire’s overseas player, said it was “frustrating” to be without several England players. “Personally, I think it’s disappointing when you have clashes with international fixtures,” he said. “As a team, of course you want your best players available – but it happens everywhere. You have fixture clashes. I think it can be done better but I’m not going to offer any solutions at this stage.”Obviously there is some really high-quality stuff happening in the Blast but there’s also some different challenges with the scheduling and the number of teams,” David added. “It’s a different intensity to other tournaments: guys will be off playing a four-day game and then the next day, they’ve got a T20 match. It’s certainly a different challenge to franchise tournaments.”Five venues reported record T20 attendances this season: Edgbaston, Taunton, the Ageas Bowl, New Road and Grace Road, where Leicestershire reaped the benefits after deciding to cut their prices significantly midway through the group stages. “Last week’s quarter-finals attracted a combined 42,000 spectators – the most ever for the last-eight stage,” Snowball said.The new TV deal signed between the ECB and Sky Sports this week includes a 50 percent increase in the number of televised group-stage games, as well as a weekly highlights show on free-to-air television. Snowball said that the deal “reiterates the value and importance that is placed” on the Blast and “reflects the loyalty and passion fans have for it”.

Dushmantha Chameera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Niroshan Dickwella and Hazratullah Zazai are the other big names in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2022Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Dasun Shanaka and Sikandar Raza are among the 14 overseas players signed by Dubai Capitals, the team owned by the GMR Group in the UAE’s International League T20.Dushmantha Chameera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Niroshan Dickwella, Hazratullah Zazai and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are the other big names, while Scotland’s George Munsey and Netherlands’ Fred Klaassen are the two Associate players. Four domestic (UAE) players will be drafted at a later date.Among the current signees, Powell is the only one who is part of Delhi Capitals, the franchise partly owned by the GMR Group in the IPL.”Being a part of T20 cricket’s most extravagant set-up, the Indian Premier League, for 15 years now – we felt that it was the right time to expand our wings on to the global popularity charts of this format of the sport,” Kiran Kumar Grandhi, the managing director of the GMR group and chairman of Dubai Capitals said.”The International League T20, which is scheduled to be launched in the United Arab Emirates in January 2023, is a perfect stepping-stone for GMR Sports towards building the Capitals universe comprising of a galaxy of cricketing stars from all corners of the world. We are looking forward to making a world-class city like Dubai, our home as Dubai Capitals.”Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are the other teams who have announced their overseas roster for the ILT20. The six-team league has been sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board and will take place between January 6 and February 12.Dubai Capitals squad so far: Rovman Powell, Dushmantha Chameera, Hazratullah Zazai, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sikandar Raza, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dan Lawrence, Blessing Muzarabani, Isuru Udana, George Munsey, Fred Klaassen