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Fast bowler admits age may be slowing his recovery after recurrence of knee issue

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2025Mark Wood has cast doubt on his availability for the third Ashes Test and admitted concerns that, at 35, his body is no longer coping with the rigours of bowling 90mph/145kph.Wood had surgery on his left knee after hobbling out of England’s Champions Trophy campaign in February, and the series opener in Perth was his first Test match in 15 months. He bowled 11 wicketless overs across the match but was sent to a specialist after reporting more pain and has been wearing a knee brace since arriving in Brisbane.Speaking to Channel 7 at the tea break during the second Test at the Gabba, Wood suggested he was unlikely to be in contention for the Adelaide Test, which starts on December 17: “I think there’s a chance there, but more realistically, it’s probably more Melbourne and then [Sydney] after that… I need to get out of this [brace] first to get moving around.”Related

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Wood said that he has had painkilling injections in his knee since the first Test, and suggested that age is catching up with him. “Throughout my career, I’ve tried to show resilience and keep coming back and keep trying to push it where I can bowl faster and faster, but I’m getting older now.”I don’t know if my body’s not coping with it as well [as it used to] but I’ll keep trying. That’s something I pride myself on, to keep running in for the team and be a good team man. I’m hoping I can get this right and can charge in again.”I’m trying to just get through day-to-day at the minute. Later in the series is what I’m aiming for, but I can’t do that much at the minute. I’ve had a couple of injections, resting up, and slowly but surely, running [will] start soon, then back into bowling.”It’s more mentally difficult than physically. You’ve got to try and build it back up and come back again, and that’s probably the more difficult thing.”Ben Stokes, England’s captain, said on the eve of the Brisbane Test that Wood would do “everything” possible to remain in contention for selection in this series: “We’ve got a lot more time to go on this tour, and we’ll just see how things play out with that.”

Spinner played key role in 2018 title but has been overlooked since 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2024Offspinner Amar Virdi has been released by Surrey, having been overlooked throughout their run of three consecutive County Championship titles.Virdi, 26, claimed 39 wickets in Surrey’s Championship-winning season in 2018, and was at the time considered to be a future Test prospect, having featured for the England Under-19 side in 2016 and 2017. He was part of England’s training bubble during the 2020 Covid-19 season and toured the subcontinent at the start of 2021 as a reserve for series against Sri Lanka and India.On his first-class debut in May 2017, he made history by joining Sam Curran, Ryan Patel and Ollie Pope to form the first quartet of teenagers to play for a county since World War 2, and only the fifth in history.But unlike his contemporaries, all of whom have gone on to become fixtures in Surrey’s first XI, Virdi’s opportunities have waned in recent years, with Surrey tending to prefer a batting allrounder such as Will Jacks or Dan Lawrence to carry their spin burden.He spent the latter part of the 2024 county season on loan at Worcestershire, where he took 14 wickets in four matches, including a five-wicket haul against Hampshire in September, but a permanent move is understood to be unlikely. Previously he had been on loan at Somerset in 2022, with his most recent Championship outing for Surrey coming in September 2021.”Having been a part of the club since I was 11 years old, I will look back on my time at Surrey with great fondness and I have some incredible memories of playing for the club,” Virdi said.”Winning the 2018 County Championship was a personal highlight and it was incredible to be part of the team that brought success back to the club after many years.”Having had a tough couple of years at Surrey with selection and pitches, I still believe I have a huge amount to offer the game as shown in my recent loan stint at Worcestershire and I’m looking forward to whatever the next step is in my playing career.”Alec Stewart, Director of Cricket, added: “It’s always tough letting a player go from the club and especially when that player has been in our set up from a young age. With the balance of our bowling attack we’ve used in the Championship in recent years which has brought us great success, Virds hasn’t been able to find a way into the starting eleven.”I firmly believe his bowling has a lot to offer another county and hopefully he will find a new home where he can show case his talents and further his career. I will do everything possible to help him find a good solution.”In the meantime, on behalf of everyone at Surrey CCC, I would like to thank Virds for the service he has given and we should never forget the impact he had when winning the 2018 County Championship title.”

He also defended Pakistan’s performance at the Women’s World Cup, and called for a stronger domestic women’s structure

Danyal Rasool14-Mar-2022The Pakistan Super League could ditch the draft system, which it has operated under since its inception, as early as next year, with PCB chairman Ramiz Raja keen to replace it with an auction. At the National Stadium in Karachi, Ramiz said Pakistan needed to “elevate the concept” of the PSL, and an auction system could provide it the financial clout to rival the IPL.”We need to create new properties to be financially independent. We have nothing for now but the PSL and ICC funds. There’s an argument over the model from next year; I want to switch it to an auction model from next year,” he said. “The market forces are conducive, but we’ll sit down with the franchise owners to discuss it.”This is a game of money. When the cricket economy grows in Pakistan, our respect will rise. The main driver of that financial economy is the PSL. If we take the PSL to auction model, increase the purse, then I’ll put it in the IPL bracket. And then we’ll see who goes to play the IPL over the PSL.”The financial health of individual franchises and the willingness of the owners to invest further capital into their sides will go a long way to gauging support for the dramatic shift in the PSL’s model. When the league was launched, the PCB opted for a draft system over an auction to afford similar opportunities to franchises with inferior financial clout, preventing them from being locked out of acquiring the best talent because of an inability to pay for it. The draft was designed to allow every side a chance to assemble as strong a squad as possible, with the egalitarianism allowing more competition.That theory has, so far, worked in practice. It has taken just seven years for all six sides to win the competition at least once. In an auction system, most famously employed by the IPL, it would be up to the individual franchises to compete for the signature of every player, with the side willing to offer the most lucrative salary securing their services. The IPL does have a mechanism to level the playing field, however, with all teams assigned the same spending purse at the auction. Teams were allowed a purse of INR 90 crore (USD 12 million approx) at the 2022 auction.’We want to regularise the women’s cricket calendar. The more they play the better they’ll be’ – Ramiz Raja•Associated Press

Ramiz also said the PCB wanted to host the PSL across more than the two venues it was played at over this season, going so far as to say the league might adopt a home-away structure from next year. “We want the PSL to be on a home and away basis from next year. The gate money will be excellent, and we want to elevate the concept of the PSL.”Every side’s purse will increase, and if they want to improve they’ll have to spend money. When you go from a draft system to this, the world’s talent suddenly becomes available to you. I’ve spoken to a couple of the franchise owners; they’re quite happy to experiment with this. I’ll talk to the others, too. It’s in the embryonic stages, but it’s top of my wish list.”Ramiz bats for first-class matches in women’s domestic calendar
Ramiz, meanwhile, defended Pakistan’s performance at the Women’s World Cup, where they have lost all four of their games so far. He said women’s cricket needed more investment, and reiterated his desire to see Pakistan become the first Asian country to host a women’s T20 league.”We want to regularise the women’s cricket calendar. The more they play the better they’ll be,” Ramiz said. “You can’t just go into hibernation and then expect them to beat Australia. It’s not going to happen. We have our limitations and cultural issues, and to get out of that we have to fix their calendar. They need to play first-class-style three-day matches. Then look at selection and U19 structure.”We want to sign up young girls and develop them. Right now, the excitement is we might launch a T20 league before India, and the world can’t believe that because there’s a particular perception around Pakistan that needs to be broken.”The shape a women’s PSL would take is not immediately clear. Pakistan currently have just 12 centrally contracted women cricketers, with a further eight listed in the emerging category. A league, even if, as ESPNcricinfo understands, it were initially to include just four sides, would require at least 60 cricketers, meaning even if there was a significant international presence, Pakistan would have to dig deep into their reserves of local talent to fill the squads.”In January-February, we’re thinking of the women’s PSL,” Ramiz said. “There’s a lot of traction and a lot of takers for it. Pak women’s cricket needs to improve a lot, and that will only happen when we give them an environment where they can make money and share the dugout with world-class players.”We are also thinking of making first class women’s teams and attaching them with provincial teams. They don’t play much cricket and operate on a trial-and-error basis.”

The Australia opener can see the rise in T20 leagues squeezing out 50-over cricket

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-20221:59

Ehantharajah – Stokes’ ODI retirement a seismic turn of events

Usman Khawaja believes ODI cricket is “dying a slow death” and he’s not surprised England’s Ben Stokes has quit the format.Stokes, 31, brought the demands of international cricket on players into sharp focus when he confirmed his 105th ODI appearance for England against South Africa would be his last.Stokes, who has taken over as England’s Test captain, said authorities can’t treat players like “cars” and there was “too much cricket rammed in” to realistically compete in all three formats – Test, T20Is and ODIs – at international level.Test opener Khawaja, who hasn’t played limited-overs cricket for Australia since 2019, said it’s clear to him something has to give on the international calendar – and it’s most likely to be 50-over matches.Related

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“My own personal opinion – I know a few of the guys are very similar – you’ve got Test cricket, which is the pinnacle, you’ve got T20 cricket, which obviously has leagues around the world, great entertainment, everyone loves it, and then there’s one-day cricket,” he said.”I feel like that’s probably the third-ranked out of all of them. I think personally one-day cricket is dying a slow death…there’s still the World Cup, which I think is really fun and it’s enjoyable to watch, but other than that, even myself personally, I’m probably not into one-day cricket as much either.”Khawaja’s thoughts were expressed as Cricket Australia released tickets for this summer’s international calendar on Friday. That schedule opens with ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, all to be played in Townsville and Cairns in September ahead of October’s Men’s T20 World Cup.It’s a far cry from the glory days of 50-over cricket in the 1980s and 1990s when an annual triangular series in Australia packed stadiums and turned into a television winner for Cricket Australia and the Nine Network.The future of ODI cricket was also brought into sharp focus when South Africa put their World Cup hopes in jeopardy by withdrawing from their series against Australia in January to prioritise their new T20 leagueKhawaja said while he didn’t think it was impossible to be a three-format player in the modern era, it wouldn’t be an easy life.”Not impossible, very tough,” Khawaja said. “So much travelling. If you’re playing all three forms of the game, you’re not at home at all really. And then the demands on your body, mentally, physically and a lot of the guys might be playing also the IPL”There’s a lot of cricket going on. Yes, you get to pick and choose, I guess, in certain respects what you want to play but look it can be very tough at the moment.”However, he retains a bright view on the future of Test cricket ahead of a summer where Australia will face West Indies and South Africa as they push for a place in next year’s World Test Championship final.”The majority of people I talk to still love Test cricket,” he said. “It’s my favourite format. Think Test cricket still has a very strong presence so don’t really see that going anywhere. Think both [Tests and T20] can be quite easily balanced, but then you ask yourself the question does one-day cricket give.”

Queensland weren’t able to cement their advantage and were bundled out for 97 as 20 wickets fell on day two

Tristan Lavalette01-Nov-2022Queensland seamer Mark Steketee was almost unplayable on a green WACA pitch as he continued his strong start to the Sheffield Shield season, before Western Australia’s quicks engineered a stunning fightback as 20 wickets fell on day two of an enthralling low-scoring contest.Steketee, a late addition to Australia’s Test squad to Pakistan earlier in the year, issued another reminder to national selectors with a six-wicket haul as Queensland dismissed WA for just 115 to gain a first-innings lead of 96. He has taken 16 wickets at 13.37 in three Shield matches this season.But Queensland weren’t able to cement their advantage and were bundled out for just 97 in a dramatic last session with quicks Lance Morris and Joel Paris combining for seven wickets.Having been dismissed just three hours earlier, WA’s chase of 194 started disastrously when opener Cameron Bancroft fell to seamer Michael Neser in the first over.Though they claimed Bancroft just before stumps, Queensland were left frustrated after being in control following Steketee’s earlier heroics.Even more bowler-friendly than nearby Optus Stadium, which hogged the local limelight the past week, the WACA’s seaming pitch was tailor-made for Steketee who tore through WA’s strong batting order during a destructive morning session.He claimed Bancroft and 18-year-old sensation Teague Wyllie within three balls to leave WA reeling at 3 for 3. Steketee at one point had the remarkable figures of 5-9 from seven overs.He combined brilliantly with Neser, who also relished the conditions, as WA slumped to 6 for 29 and were in real danger of posting their lowest-ever score on their home ground and overtaking the long-time record of 50 against New South Wales in 1950.But allrounder Aaron Hardie and Paris combined for a 45-run partnership to ensure WA avoided the history books before Steketee and Neser finished off the innings to give Queensland a stranglehold of the contest.WA’s quicks needed to respond and they did so after tea with Morris, arguably the quickest bowler in Australia, grabbing the key wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja in four balls.He beat Labuschagne with sheer pace to trap him lbw before Khawaja nicked a fiery length delivery to second slip. While Morris produced the fireworks, left-arm quick Paris nagged away on a good length to finish with superb figures of 3 for 15 from 11 overs.There was some concern over the fitness of quick Jhye Richardson, who starred on day one with four wickets, when he hobbled off the ground in the final session but he returned with two wickets, including ending Matthew Renshaw’s stubborn 72-ball resistance.Western Australia’s fightback has thrown the match wide open with the only certainty being that it will finish on day three.

The visitors sensed victory before rain wiped out 17 overs and they ran out of time

AAP26-Nov-2024Cameron Bancroft produced a breakthrough Sheffield Shield century but rain and a stubborn knock from Liam Scott ended Western Australia’s bid to secure victory against South Australia.Bancroft struck an unbeaten 105 off 255 balls as WA set South Australia a victory target of 364 off 90 overs. They were precariously placed at 170 for 5 after 60.1 overs – with debutant Keaton Critchell taking three wickets – when a rain break wiped out 17 overs.Related

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The loss of Harry Nielsen in the first over after the rain break meant WA needed just four more wickets with 12.2 overs remaining. But Scott (33 not out off 106 balls) and Ben Manenti survived before the game was deemed a draw with three balls remaining.There was unexpected drama late in the match when Hilton Cartwright was forced off the field after being accidentally struck in the head by the ball. Cartwright wasn’t looking when Bancroft tossed the ball to him from five metres away, but luckily the impact was only minor.Bancroft started the season as a genuine chance to win the vacant opener’s spot in the Test side following two mammoth years with the bat. But his form turned to mush so quickly over the past two months that critics even started questioning whether he deserved to keep his spot in the WA side.Bancroft opened the Shield campaign with scores of 0, 0, 8 and 2. In his two matches for Australia A, which effectively doubled as a bat-off for the vacant top-order spot in the Test team, Bancroft scored 0, 16, 3 and 0.Nathan McSweeney ended up winning the Test call-up, and Bancroft went on to make 12 and 11 in his next Shield match against Victoria, before opening the current Shield clash with a first-ball duck, despite not appearing to have edged the ball.It continued a rotten run of luck for Bancroft, with a number of his dismissals this season appearing to be umpiring errors. But his luck finally changed.Bancroft made it to stumps on Monday unbeaten on 71, and he had one edge fall short and another edge fly too high for the fielder on Tuesday on the way to reaching his 30th first-class century.The 32-year-old raised his bat and helmet to the sky upon reaching triple figures, with the knock an important step in his bid to get back in the conversation for a Test call-up.WA young gun Jayden Goodwin was named player of the match for his scores of 139 and 69.

In the absence of Rashid and Farooqi, Afghanistan’s attack lacked some intensity but they did not have much to work with after the batting blunders

Firdose Moonda22-Sep-2024South Africa earned a consolation win to end their three-match series against Afghanistan 2-1 as they completed their ninth successful chase in 22 matches since 2021. After being outplayed in the first two games, South Africa finally arrived in the contest via their bowlers and fielders who dismissed Afghanistan in 34 overs and left their batters a small total to chase.Aiden Markram scored his first ODI fifty in 10 innings and shared a 90-run fourth-wicket stand with Tristan Stubbs. Stubbs’ ODI career is only four matches old and importantly for him, he was able to bat time and finish the match.In the absence of Rashid Khan, who tweaked his hamstring in the second match, and Fazalhaq Faooqi, who was rested, Afghanistan’s attack lacked some intensity but they did not have as much to work with as they would have liked after the batting blunders. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the only member of Afghanistan’s top eight who scored more than 10, once again holding their innings together. He fell 11 short of a second successive ODI century and extended his lead at the top of the series run-scorers charts. AM Ghazanfar, batting at No.9, contributed 31 off 15 balls to give South Africa a target of 170. They got there in 33 overs.South Africa’s energy came from a good new-ball combination of Lungi Ngidi and Bjorn Fortuin, and in the field. Run-outs accounted for three of the first five Afghanistan wickets and gave South Africa an edge they lacked in the previous two matches.Ngidi was excellent upfront, with his range of cutters and slower balls and got an early breakthrough when debutant opener Abdul Malik played all around a straight delivery and was pinned on the pad. Arguably, Ngidi made a more important breakthrough in his next over, when Gurbaz drove him aerially, he stuck out his right hand and the ball clipped his finger and ricocheted off Rahmat Shah and onto the stumps. Rahmat, at the non-striker’s end, was short of his ground.While Rahmat was sloppy in getting back in time, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s lack of urgency was worse. He hit Markam behind square and called for two but ran the second too slowly and veered off a straight line to give Stubbs enough time at sweeper cover to throw to Kyle Verreynne and run the Afghanistan captain out. Things got worse in the next over when legspinner Nqaba Peter bowled Azmatullah Omarzai.Rahmanullah Gurbaz waged a lone battle at the top•ACB

By then, Gurbaz had already brought up a 47-ball 50, laced with his characteristic clean hitting down the ground and on the leg side. He dealt with the wickets by batting as normally as possible, even as he grew frustrated with his partner’s mistakes. Ikram Alikhil was next to misjudge when Gurbaz bottom-edged a pull off Markram to midwicket, leaving no time for a single. Alikhil was halfway down the wicket when Gurbaz sent him back but Temba Bavuma was onto the ball and ran Alikhil out.Mohammad Nabi was Afghanistan’s last recognised batter and South Africa kept him quiet and should have him out for 5 when he missed a Bjorn Fortuin arm ball. South Africa didn’t review but replayed showed he would have been out lbw. In Fortuin’s next over, he got his own back when Nabi edged him to Verreynne and Bavuma reviewed successfully.Gurbaz’s push for a century ended when he tried to hit Andile Phehlukwayo over extra cover and was well caught by Reeza Hendricks diving forward to leave Afghanistan 133 for 7. Phehlukwayo took a second wicket in three balls before Ngidi and Peter got rid of the tail. Afghanistan left 16 overs out there and will be disappointed with their capitulation after two dominant performances earlier in the week.South Africa’s batting has been their downfall throughout the series and although improved, did not always look convincing. Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi were tentative against left-armer Naveed Zadran at first and Bavuma almost chopped on in the third over. But when they got hold of the 19-year-old, they capitalised. De Zorzi smashed him past mid-off for the innings’ first boundary and Bavuma pulled him through mid-wicket later in the same over. He also took on Ghazanfar to suggest South Africa had done some work on their approach to spin, but de Zorzi underlined the old problems. He hit a sweep off Nabi straight to Hashmatullah at square leg and the captain put it down and then sent the next ball to cover, where Omarzai could not hold on.In the next over, Bavuma played Ghazanfar down the wrong line and was bowled and the over after that, de Zorzi gave Ghazanfar a return chance but the ball bounced just in front of him. Just when it seemed de Zorzi’s charmed life knew no end, he stayed back in his crease against Nabi and was trapped lbw.Reeza Hendricks’ lean run continued when he top-edged Fareed Ahmad to depart for a third score under 20 this series. In his last 15 white-ball internationals, Hendricks has only gone past 20 three times.Markram took it on himself to anchor the rest of the chase and also provided experienced counsel for Stubbs. The pair built slowly at first and minimised risk but also picked their moments to attack. Markam scored the first boundary in 10 overs when he slog-swept Nangeyalia Kharote and then drove him through the covers. Then it was back to singles until Stubbs pulled Fareed behind square. Markram’s aggression against spin came out when he hit Nabi for two sixes in an over. He brought up 50 off 54 balls and ended unbeaten on 69 off 67 balls. Stubbs reviewed successfully when he was given out lbw to Fareed on 18 and saw South Africa through to the end.