Bangar joins Mike Hesson, Simon Katich, Sridharan Sriram and others in the back room

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2021The Royal Challengers Bangalore have appointed Sanjay Bangar as their batting consultant for the 2021 edition of the tournament, announcing the development with a tweet on Wednesday. Bangar joins Mike Hesson (team director), Simon Katich (head coach), Sridharan Sriram (batting and spin-bowling coach), Adam Griffith (bowling coach) and Shankar Basu (strength and conditioning coach) as part of the team’s support staff. Bangar, who served as India’s batting coach from 2014 before being replaced by Vikram Rathour in 2019, also has coaching experience in the IPL. He joined Kings XI Punjab as assistant coach in 2014 before being promoted to head coach during the season, but he stepped down from the role in December 2016. He was also a player in the Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders set-ups before retiring in 2013, and was also a part of the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala as batting coach.The Royal Challengers overhauled their coaching set-up in August 2019 after three poor seasons in a row, where
they finished bottom of the eight-team table twice and sixth once. Hesson and Katich joined the ranks, and under the new set-up last season, they reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016 before being knocked out in the Eliminator by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.Bangar, who played 12 Tests and 15 ODIs between 2001 and 2004, scored 8349 runs in first-class cricket and picked up 300 wickets, leading Railways with distinction when at his prime in the Indian domestic circuit.

The remaining matches involving Australia men’s team and England women’s side will be played behind closed doors

Andrew McGlashan27-Feb-2021Next week’s T20Is in Auckland involving the Australia men’s team and the England women’s side have been relocated to Wellington, after Auckland was put into a week-long Covid-19 lockdown. The remaining matches of the two tours are set to be played behind closed doors.Under Level 3 of the New Zealand government’s alert system, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced would take effect from 6 AM on Sunday morning following the emergence of another case of community transmission, sports events cannot take place, which means that New Zealand Cricket has shifted the two matches on March 5 in an attempt to keep both series going.The rest of New Zealand has been placed in Level 2 of the alert system which means that matches will have to take place behind closed doors: New Zealand and England Women play their third ODI in Dunedin on Sunday and the men’s series against Australia resumes in Wellington on Wednesday.Under the current seven-day period of the lockdown there could be a change in time for the matches in Mount Maunganui on March 7 although a NZC spokesman indicated those games were likely to be without crowds.Auckland was briefly under a Level 3 lockdown earlier this month after the emergence of community cases but these will be the first international matches of the season to be affected by Covid-19.Bangladesh recently arrived in Christchurch for their two weeks of managed isolation ahead of their limited-overs matches later in March. The Australia Women side are also set to tour later next month.

Jonathan Batty replaces Lydia Greenway as Oval Invincibles coach in women’s Hundred

Matt Roller23-Feb-2021Stephen Fleming has stepped back from his role as Trent Rockets’ coach in the Hundred, with Andy Flower confirmed as his replacement.Fleming, the long-term head coach of IPL side Chennai Super Kings, took part in the competition’s inaugural draft in October 2019, but opted against travelling to the UK this summer. It is understood that Fleming had intended to bring his family over, but was unclear whether he would be able to do so with the country still in lockdown and decided to resign from the job.”I’m really disappointed that I won’t be coach of the side this summer but ultimately family has to come first,” Fleming said. “The current global crisis has made it very difficult to travel and the extra time needed for quarantines has made it hard to get the right work/home balance.  Andy is a world-class coach with experience all over the world and I’m sure the Trent Rockets men’s team will have a fantastic first season of the Hundred with him behind them.”Related

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Flower, his replacement, has a growing reputation as a franchise coach. He is currently with Multan Sultans in the PSL after leading them to the top of the group stages in his first season. He has also coached Maratha Arabians to an Abu Dhabi T10 title, finished as a runner-up with St Lucia Zouks in the CPL and Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10, and worked as Kings XI Punjab’s assistant coach in last year’s IPL.Flower was involved in the Rockets’ recruitment in Monday’s draft, which saw them sign Timm van der Gugten and Samit Patel to complete their squad. However, it is understood that some squad members were unaware of the change of coach until Tuesday.”Stephen will be a tough act to follow, but the guys put together a really strong squad in the original draft with a mix of international and local talent,” Flower said. “We have built on it in this draft with van der Gugten and Patel joining.”Flower’s appointment will reignite the debate over the absence of any British head coaches in the men’s Hundred, which came in for criticism when jobs were initially offered in 2019. All eight head coaches in the men’s competition are from overseas, though the majority of support staff are British.Jonathan Batty will replace Lydia Greenway as Oval Invincibles head coach•Getty Images

There has also been a change of head coach in the women’s competition, with Lydia Greenway stepping down from her role at Oval Invincibles. She will be replaced by Jonathan Batty, the former Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Surrey wicketkeeper, who was in interim charge of South East Stars in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last summer.It is understood that Greenway is still likely to be involved in the competition as a commentator, having previously worked for both Sky Sports and the BBC.

Their 48-run win is their 15th consecutive T20 victory in the UAE as captain Afghan equalled Dhoni’s record for the most wins in this format

Firdose Moonda19-Mar-2021Afghanistan sealed the T20I series against Zimbabwe, with a match to play, in another authoritative display with both bat and ball. Their 48-run win is their 15th consecutive T20 victory in the UAE and captain Asghar Afghan has equalled MS Dhoni’s record for the most wins in this format.Usman Ghani and Karim Janat’s 102-run second-wicket stand laid the foundation for Afghanistan to post a total close to 200. They fell seven short, but it was still more than enough against a Zimbabwe side that has not come to grips with how to pace a chase. Zimbabwe’s biggest partnership of 62-run between Ryan Burl and Richmond Mutumbami kept them in the game but collapses at the beginning and end of their innings meant they were always behind the game. Zimbabwe slumped to 56 for 5 inside seven overs and then lost four wickets for seven runs in seven balls at the end. They have not won a T20I since October 2019.Lucky No.13 Mohammad Nabi had gone 12 T20Is without a wicket before he bowled Zimbabwean captain Sean Williams, who missed a slog sweep and lost his offstump. The dismissal was celebrated enthusiastically by Afghanistan’s batting coach HD Ackerman but it wasn’t Nabi’s biggest contribution on the day. That came a little earlier with his 40 off 15 balls, and later, when he ended the 62-run stand between Richmond Mutumbami and Ryan Burl that threatened to keep Zimbabwe in the hunt.With the bat, Nabi took Afghanistan’s total from middle to mammoth and was an exhibition of power-hitting. Nabi struck three sixes off legspinner Brandon Mavuta in the 16th over, all over long-on to bring up 24 runs off 7 balls for himself and elevate Afghanistan’s scoring rate over nine runs an over. He hit one more six, off Muzarabani, when the tall seamer missed a yorker before holing out off a slower ball in the penultimate over of Afghanistan’s innings. By then, the stage was set for Asghar Afghan and Rashid Khan to have some fun and they took 18 runs off the last over to take Afghanistan close to 200.Rashid’s records mount The third-highest wicket-taker in T20Is. All because of three wickets in one over that ended Zimbabwe’s hopes of staying in the series. Rashid Khan went for runs – 23 in his first two overs, 21 of them off Burl – but he had the final say once again. Searching for big runs, Burl was caught at deep mid-wicket when he didn’t get hold of the first delivery of Rashid’s third over. Two balls after that, Brandon Mavuta swept to long-on. And three balls later, Donald Tiripano was bowled as he missed the reverse sweep.Rashid Khan poses with a special cap gifted to him on the occasion of his 50th T20I appearance•Abu Dhabi Cricket

Power in the powerplay Left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava’s two overs for three runs in the powerplay kept Afghanistan quiet in the opening period of their innings but with one over of fielding restriction left, Karim Janat decided to up the ante. He took 20 runs off Blessing Muzarabani’s second over including a six down the ground, two cuts that went for four, and upper cut off a short, wide delivery that sailed for six. Janat left Afghanistan one away from fifty runs at the end of the powerplay and had raced to 33 off 18 balls. While Ghani farmed most of the strike in the next six overs, Janat brought up his fifty off 31 balls in the 13th over.The first no-baller no-one wants Tinashe Kamunhukamwe enjoyed Zimbabwe’s best batting return from the first T20I and their worst in this match when he was dismissed off the first ball of the innings. He was hit on the back leg by a Naveen-ul-Haq ball that moved in sharply from outside off stump. Kamunhukamwe cleared his front leg to try and hit it to the leg side but missed and was struck on the knee, as the pad slipped down. Aleem Dar gave it out lbw, although there may be an argument for the ball sliding past leg stump especially as the wicketkeeper was moving that way, but Kamunhukamwe had more to worry about than that. He needed on-field treatment for what will likely be a painful bruise and had to be helped off the field.Decisions in the spotlight Zimbabwe had another batsman who may also have felt aggrieved with the decision made against him. Richmond Mutumbami had reached a run-a-ball 21 when he missed a reverse-sweep and was given out lbw to Nabi, although replays showed he may have been hit outside the line. There is no DRS in this series, but it would have been welcome.

Josh Bohannon also helps hosts to batting bonus point with half-century

ECB Reporters Network09-May-2021Honours finished even at Emirates Old Trafford in the LV=Insurance County Championship clash between Lancashire and Glamorgan with both sides collecting 14 points each from a rain-affected draw.With day three a total wash out, there was little to play for apart from batting and bowling points but half-centuries from Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon ensured there was plenty to savour.With Lancashire restarting on 22 for the loss of no wickets in reply to Glamorgan’s 344, Michael Neser immediately began posing questions and quickly dismissed Alex Davies with a beauty which the opener could only feather behind for 15, adding just one to his overnight score.Luke Wells came to the crease for his home debut and together with Jennings, the pair compiled a second-wicket partnership of 62, before the former Sussex batter skied spinner Andrew Salter to Dan Douthwaite at mid-on for 30.Related

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In-form Jennings continued to press his England credentials as he cruised to a third successive half-century off 163 balls with a delightful off drive for four off Neser.It was a shock then, when he gifted Salter a second wicket after slicing a drive to Callum Taylor at backward point to depart for 64.Batting had been slow-going by this point but Liam Livingstone’s introduction brought an immediate injection of entertainment with the tall Cumbrian getting off the mark with a towering six off Salter.At the other end, Bohannon followed suit with Marnus Labuschagne’s legspin also targeted as the run rate increased.The 50 partnership came off just 57 balls but Livingstone’s frenetic innings ended soon after when he holed out to Joe Cooke on the leg side boundary off Timm van der Gugten for 25 with Lancashire on 183 for 4.Bohannon brought up his third half-century of the season from 105 balls but fell soon after when cutting Taylor to Salter at backward point for 53.Twelve overs were lost through a combination of rain and bad light and when play was resumed at 4.35pm, Lancashire began to throw the bat with Dane Vilas caught at third man by Cooke off Douthwaite for 25 and Luke Wood top-edging the same bowler to keeper Chris Cooke for 28.Saqib Mahmood hit a couple of boundaries before he fell to a stunning one-handed caught-and-bowled by Neser, with Danny Lamb the ninth wicket to fall clean bowled by David Lloyd for 22 which brought England’s James Anderson to the crease.Together with Matt Parkinson, who finished unbeaten on 16, the last-wicket pair scrambled their way to a batting point with Anderson finishing on 5 not out as Lancashire passed 300 and declared on 301 for 9, bringing the game to a close.

Gloucestershire loanee stranded on 86 as Surrey claim final five wickets

Matt Roller30-May-2021This is the time of year when Surrey’s County Championship season is meant to fall away: international call-ups, injuries and workload management meant they made as many as six changes this week, with four players coming in to make their first appearances of the summer. Instead, they became the first team in Group Two to beat Gloucestershire, applying the finishing touches to the rout by taking five wickets and leaving time to get home for Sunday lunch.They were held up by a determined innings from Jonny Tattersall, Gloucestershire’s on-loan wicketkeeper who was stranded 14 runs short of a first Championship hundred, but ended up completing a win inside the first session to move into third place in the group. They are three points behind Somerset and six behind Gloucestershire, though have only two fixtures remaining compared to the top two’s three.”One thing we’re quite lucky with at Surrey is that we’ve got quite a big squad,” Amar Virdi, who took seven wickets in the match, said. “There’s a lot of good players and we’ve got a very strong work ethic, whether boys are playing every week or for the twos.”Rory Burns, Ollie Pope and Kemar Roach were all lost to international duty, with Ben Foakes ruled out with a torn hamstring and Jordan Clark and Reece Topley both rested. “You do miss some of the big players, but we have a lot of good ones behind them,” Virdi said. “We’re not solely reliant on guys that are playing international cricket; we’ve got a strong core of county players as well.”Virdi was the beneficiary of two bizarre shots from Gloucestershire’s lower order on the final morning: Matt Taylor skipped down the pitch to pick out long-on, and David Payne chipped a catch to mid-on with a mistimed hack. Even the busiest Sunday-evening traffic on the M4 back to Bristol would struggle to explain their shot selection while trying to save the game.The first wicket to fall had been that of Miles Hammond, who looked aghast when he was given out caught behind while sweeping Dan Moriarty. It seemed that the ball had flicked his pad on the way through to Jamie Smith, but umpire Billy Taylor gave him out; Hammond glared at him like a parent who was “not angry, just disappointed” before ruefully trudging off. There were no such frustrations when Ian Gould gave Tom Smith out lbw to a Jamie Overton nip-backer that smashed him on the pad in the following over.It was to Gloucestershire’s credit that they decided to have a dart after losing their ninth wicket, with Daniel Worrall and Tattersall adding 56 in 7.2 overs and dragging them towards parity. Tattersall swept and slog-swept well, while Worrall’s bat resembled a pitching wedge as he chipped over mid-on and mid-off; regrettably, it retained its shape when he prodded forward to defend a straight one from Dan Moriarty, which zipped between his pad and the shaft of the club to knock back his off stump.Tattersall was left stranded on 86 not out, his second-highest Championship score (his first-class hundred was against Leeds-Bradford MCCU in early 2019). Having been dropped by Yorkshire five games into the season after managing an aggregate of just 101 runs, Tattersall was signed on a one-match loan to cover for James Bracey’s absence ahead of his Test debut next week.Tattersall has had an unusual career to date: he was released by Yorkshire in 2015, but successful trials in 2016 and 2017 led to a one-year deal for the 2018 season. With Jonny Bairstow regularly absent on England duty and Andrew Hodd, the club’s first-choice keeper, coming towards the end of his career, Tattersall saw an opportunity and took it, training over the winter to become an option behind the stumps.After two-and-a-half seasons with the gloves, he was left out of the side for the 19-year-old Harry Duke, and his next step is uncertain: Glenn Phillips, the New Zealand batter who is in Bristol ahead of the T20 Blast, is expected to keep in Gloucestershire’s fixture at Grace Road next week following the departure of Kraigg Brathwaite for West Indies’ series against South Africa, while Bairstow’s return from the IPL will put Tattersall’s place in Yorkshire’s T20 side in doubt.Either way, a resolute innings from No. 7 was a reminder that he is a handy player: he started by defending doggedly on the third evening, and grew more expansive on Sunday as it became increasingly clear that the game was up. “We showed a bit of fight today and the guys who batted out there did a really good job,” Chris Dent, Gloucestershire’s captain, said. “Surrey played the better cricket over the four days but we are still top of the group and there is a lot for us to play for.”

Stunning Glenn Phillips catch helps Gloucestershire defend 171 after Higgins cameo

ECB Reporters Network09-Jul-2021Benny Howell produced an outstanding spell to see Gloucestershire defend 171 to beat Middlesex by 10 runs in the Vitality Blast at Cheltenham College.Howell’s 3 for 23 from his four overs helped deliver a victory to revive Gloucestershire’s chances of qualifying from the South Group. Their sixth win of the group stage lifted them – perhaps only briefly – to second in the table.Having lost the toss, Gloucestershire were well held for most of their innings but a late burst from Ryan Higgins, who hit 43 from 25 balls on his return from paternity leave, helped add 52 from the final four overs as the home side posted 171 for 8.Related

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Middlesex were fairly well placed at 83 for 3 after 11 overs but fell away badly and Max Holden’s unbeaten 50 in 34 balls came too late.Mujeeb Ur Rahman had set the tone for a fine bowling performance from the away side as he bowled Miles Hammond with the fourth ball of the match and then had Howell taken at short third man in his second over. Mujeeb’s four overs conceded only 23 runs.Glenn Phillips cut Blake Cullen behind to leave Gloucestershire 26 for 3 after four overs, but James Bracey broke the shackles with a slog-sweep over deep midwicket as overs eight and nine collectively went for 33 but any momentum was ended as Bracey holed out to deep midwicket for 33 from 22 balls.The home side needed a spark and Higgins, returning after the birth of his son on Monday, played a most necessary late hand. He swung Cullen into the pavilion and pulled Finn over midwicket.