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Slow left-armer recruited as replacement for compatriot Todd Murphy

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2023Durham have signed Matthew Kuhnemann, the Australia slow left-arm spinner, for their LV= Insurance County Championship campaign, after a planned deal for Kuhnemann’s Test team-mate Todd Murphy fell through.Durham had hoped to bring in Murphy for the first part of the summer but the offspinner’s availability was blocked by Cricket Australia, with the expectation that he will be part of their Ashes squad. Durham’s director of cricket, the former Australia international Marcus North, said the club still intended to call on Murphy for the latter part of the season.Kuhnemann, 26, made his Test debut alongside Murphy and Nathan Lyon in India last month, going on to claim nine wickets in three appearances, including a maiden five-for in Australia’s victory in Indore.”We are very excited to have secured another exciting young spin talent in Matthew Kuhnemann,” North said. “Matt impressed in India for Australia and is in a great place with his game, we are really looking forward to him joining us next week and seeing him perform in the County Championship.”We were keen to bring in a spinner that will enable us to further strengthen and balance our Championship side and with the signing of Matt, that now helps us to be effective in all conditions.”We are obviously disappointed that Todd Murphy will not be joining as in the early part of the season as planned, but we look forward to welcoming him to the club later in the summer.”Kuhnemann, who was already due to play club cricket in the UK, only made his first-class debut for Queensland in 2021 but has had plenty of Big Bash experience with Brisbane Heat as well as being capped four times in ODIs.”I’m really excited to be joining Durham for the upcoming county season,” Kuhnemann said. “I look forward to playing with some world class players and contributing to some wins for the club throughout the summer. I can’t wait to get over there and meet everyone.”

Offspinner will join Imam-ul-Haq at the club for the final month of this season

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2022Somerset have signed Sajid Khan, the Pakistan offspinner, as their second overseas player for the final month of the County Championship season as they look to avoid relegation to Division Two.Matt Renshaw and Peter Siddle, their overseas players for most of the 2022 season, have both returned to Australia and Sajid joins his compatriot Imam-ul-Haq in signing for the final four Championship games.”I know that in recent years Babar Azam and Azhar Ali have enjoyed their time at Somerset, and I am looking forward to playing alongside Imam-ul-Haq again,” Sajid said. “I hope that I can contribute to Somerset winning the last four County Championship games of the season.”Related

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Jack Leach, Somerset’s frontline spinner, will be unavailable for the next two games while on Test duty, and Andy Hurry, their director of cricket, said the club felt it was “important to recruit an international quality spinner for the County Championship run in”.”After detailed consideration of all the options available to us, we felt that Sajid Khan was the standout individual,” Hurry said. “He has proved his quality at the very highest level, and he is hungry to test himself in English conditions over the next few weeks.”He is a player with an outstanding attitude, and he is well aware of exactly what County Championship cricket means to this club and its members and supporters.”Somerset are ninth in Division One heading into the final month of the season, though have a game in hand on Kent and Warwickshire who sit seventh and eighth respectively.

Chameera held his nerve at the death to deny Salman the ability to hit the winning runs

Danyal RasoolUpdated on 27-Nov-2025Dushmantha Chameera held his nerve in a clutch final over to ensure Sri Lanka did not throw away a win they had spent the rest of the evening working for. He conceded three runs in the final over, building on a magnificent opening spell to deny Pakistan victory by six runs in a 184-run chase.The stakes were higher for Sri Lanka than they were for Pakistan, with a victory required for a place in the final, or it would be Zimbabwe playing that game on Saturday. And Sri Lanka played with a hunger they have rediscovered since they finally won a game on Pakistan soil on Tuesday. Kusal Mendis and Kamil Mishara’s 36-ball 66-run stand got them off to a flier, with Mishara ending up with 76 off 48 balls, and cameos lower down the order got them to 184.Right from the outset, Chameera hampered Pakistan with three top-order wickets in his first two overs. The chase looked as good as dead after the loss of the first four, with 43 runs on the board, but captain Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten half-century kept Pakistan fighting on until the bitter end.A 56-run stand between Salman and Usman Khan brought Pakistan back into contention, and Mohammad Nawaz brought Pakistan right to the brink. The hosts were favourites when a six over cover reduced the equation to 10 in the final over, but Chameera got a wicket, nailed his Yorkers and squeezed Pakistan out.

Mendis, Mishara nail the early overs

Earlier in the evening, Pakistan strangled Sri Lanka in the first three overs. It started with a beautiful delivery Salman Mirza kissing Pathum Nissanka’s off bail. But when Faheem Ashraf was thrown the ball for the fourth over, Kusal Mendis picked his moment. Three boundaries saw helped him plunder 16, and Mohammad Wasim disappeared for 15 more when he replaced Ashraf for the powerplay’s final over.Even the spreading of the field struggled to contain Mendis and Mishara. When Nawaz came to bowl in the eighth over, Mendis cut him for four before Kamil Mishara slapped him for six. A late flurry put Sri Lanka on course to a match-defending total.

Salman stakes a T20I case

Salman has played every single Pakistan game this year, but has never convinced as a T20 batter. Today, finding himself in the sort of situation where what was required of him closely matched his best attributes, the Pakistan captain got stuck in. He began sedately, as he tends to do, but then worked himself into touch and took the game deep. Through the middle overs, his ability to play spin was on full display as the boundaries came regularly enough and the runs kept ticking over.When Sri Lanka turned to pace, Salman kept the pressure up, picking up 10 off Dasun Shanaka, smashing Eshan Malinga for six to keep Pakistan on track. Increasingly, by the end, Sri Lanka’s ability to starve Salman of the strike would prove crucial to holding Pakistan at bay; the final three overs, Salman was at the non-striker’s end for all but five balls, with his unbeaten heroics going in vain.

Chameera guts Pakistan

Pakistan felt they had built up a steady opening stand with Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan setting up a platform in the powerplay in the first three overs. It was from that point onwards that Sri Lanka had cut loose in their innings, and the home openers were positioning themselves to do the same.But then, along came fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera. His extra pace beat Farhan for timing and forced him into dinking one straight to cover. The big wicket came two balls later, when a touch of inconsistent bounce had the ball strike Babar Azam below the knee roll, sending him back for a second duck in four innings. Another two balls later, a length delivery grew big on Fakhar Zaman, who skied it straight to midwicket. Pakistan had suddenly lost four wickets in ten balls, and following the end of the over, Chameera’s figures read 2-0-3-3.After conceding 14 in his third over when Pakistan were on the charge, Sri Lanka’s hopes of victory were slipping away. Pakistan needed ten to win with Agha still set. Chameera rolled his fingers over two length balls to start off and allowed just three in the first three balls, but it was the killer yorkers that followed which sealed the deal. Three deliveries that landed on the batters’ toes got rid of Ashraf, and did not leak a single run to spark celebrations in the Sri Lankan camp.

Fast bowler is understood to have made considerable progress in his recovery after an ankle surgery

Shashank Kishore09-Aug-2024India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has made considerable progress in his recovery from an ankle injury that has sidelined him from cricket since the ODI World Cup last November. The hope is that he will be ready to play India’s home season, which begins with a Test series against Bangladesh in September.The selectors have been apprised of Shami’s progress and a decision on whether he should play at least one of the Duleep Trophy matches, beginning on September 5 in Anantapur, to prove his fitness will be taken soon.Shami is currently in his final stages of rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Last month, he had resumed bowling for the first time since his surgery and is understood to have slowly built up his bowling workload after being pain free.Related

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Prior to India’s departure for the tour of Sri Lanka in July, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had confirmed Shami had “started to bowl” and the first Test against Bangladesh starting on September 19 in Chennai “was always the goal” for his comeback.”We more or less know who the guys are, there are some injuries at the moment and hope they will be back up,” Agarkar had said. “Shami has started to bowl which is a good sign. September 19 is the first Test and that was always the goal. I don’t know if that is his timeline for recovery, will have to ask the guys at the NCA about that.”There are so many Tests coming. We will need some depth. Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj have been around for a while, these are the obvious ones. But there will be some conversation around it. Got a lot of first-class cricket coming up so we can build guys up like that.”Mohammed Shami was the highest wicket-taker in the 2023 ODI World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Late last month in Kolkata, Shami had expressed hope of playing for Bengal first before returning to the national team, while he took part informally in a few motivational and fitness sessions for the state players.Even if Shami misses some or all of India’s home Tests – two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand – he still has enough time to build his bowling rhythm for the tour of Australia, for which the team will depart shortly after the third Test against New Zealand ends on November 5. There is the Ranji Trophy beginning in October, following the BCCI’s decision to split the first-class competition into two halves to prevent matches being affected by weather disruptions, especially during winter in north India. India’s A team will also play two first-class games in Australia from October 31, giving Shami plenty of opportunities should he need them.The ankle injury, which came to light soon after the 2023 ODI World Cup, was initially believed to be not so severe. Shami had been included in India’s Test squad for the two-match series in South Africa in December-January subject to fitness. He was subsequently withdrawn from the tour.Shami went back to the NCA in the hope of recovering for the home Tests against England in February-March, but was advised surgery after he experienced continuous swelling on his right ankle, forcing him to miss the series and IPL 2024 for Gujarat Titans.Shami was a key player in India’s run to the final of the ODI World Cup, taking 24 wickets in just seven games at an average of 10.70 and strike rate of 12.20.

Their warm-up fixtures have been cancelled but discussions to resolve the issue are ongoing

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2022Visa glitches have delayed Afghanistan’s arrival into the Caribbean for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup. This has had a knock-on effect to a bit of the pre-tournament scheduling, with their warm-up games cancelled, and those of England and UAE rescheduled.Discussions attempting to resolve the issues are ongoing.”We have been working together with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and relevant stakeholders to try and find a resolution to the problem and allow the team to travel,” ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley was quoted as saying in an official release.”In the meantime, we have rescheduled the warm-up fixtures to ensure the teams in the region are able to continue their preparation ahead of the start of the tournament on 14 January.”Afghanistan were scheduled to play England and UAE over two warm-up games on January 10 and 12 at St Kitts & Nevis and St Paul’s respectively. England will now play UAE in a warm-up at the Conaree Cricket Centre on January 11.The teams at the Under-19 World Cup are split into four groups of four teams, with Scotland the latest to join the competition, replacing New Zealand who withdrew in November over Covid-related quarantine restrictions.Afghanistan are placed in Group C alongside Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea. The top two teams from the pool qualify for the quarter-finals, while the bottom two from each pool will compete in a playoff round.As things stand, Afghanistan are set to open their tournament on January 16 against Zimbabwe in Diego Martin. This will be their seventh appearance in the Under-19 World Cup. Since first qualifying in 2010, they’re made every single subsequent edition. Their best finish came in 2018 in New Zealand where they made the semi-finals.

Linsey Smith, Holly Armitage ensure Finals Day race heads into final round of fixtures

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2022Northern Diamonds kept their Charlotte Edwards Cup hopes on course by holding their nerve to defeat Lightning by five runs at Seat Unique Riverside.The home side set an imposing total of 146 after Bess Heath led the way with a great knock of 60, sharing a partnership of 93 with Sterre Kalis. Kalis and skipper Hollie Armitage scored 39 and 30 respectively to lay down a challenge for Lightning.Ella Claridge and Bethany Harmer gave Lightning real hope of chasing down the target, but the Diamonds’ bowlers held their composure under pressure led by Armitage with figures of 4 for 27. Linsey Smith and Emma Marlow also impressed to seal a narrow victory, taking the race for Finals Day into the final game.After winning the toss, Heath and Kalis were in great touch at the top of the innings to put the visitors on the back foot in the power play. Heath made the most of a life after Kathryn Bryce failed to run her out for 1, while Kalis was also afforded a second chance when Teresa Graves put her down on 14 at square leg.Related

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Lightning were to rue those missed opportunities as Kalis and Heath poured on the runs for the home side. The two batters cruised past the 50 partnership for the opening stand in only 40 balls, and surpassed the highest stand for the first wicket for the Diamonds in the 2022 campaign.Heath brought out her reverse-sweep to perfection to bring up her fifty, dispatching Marie Kelly for two boundaries in the 12th over to reach the milestone. The opening stand was only ended when Kalis mistimed her drive off Lucy Higham to Claridge.Heath and Armitage kept the pressure on the visitors and pressed over the 100-run mark. Piepa Cleary prised out Heath for a fine innings of 60, stumped by Sarah Bryce while overbalancing.Late wickets from the visitors prevented the Diamonds surpassing 150, but the hosts were well placed after posting 145 for 5 from their 20 overs.Marlow made an instant breakthrough for the Diamonds to remove Kelly to put Lightning on the back foot in the first over but they responded through Harmer and Claridge, who raced to their 50 partnership from 40 balls, matching the earlier effort from Kalis and Heath.Armitage brought herself into the attack and secured a vital breakthrough to dismiss Harmer lbw for 35, ending the partnership for the second wicket for 74.Sophie Munro ensured the game would have a tense finish with a quick-fire 16 from 10 balls but Armitage held her composure when it mattered the most to dismiss Munro, Graves and Cleary.Sarah Bryce still kept Lightning in the game, leaving them needing 10 runs from the final over. But, the Diamonds held their nerve under pressure as Smith bowled Higham and had Ballinger caught by Phoebe Turner to guide her side over the line.

Captain calls for his side to “be positive and play with aggression” as Pakistan finish 2022 without a Test win at home

Danyal Rasool30-Dec-2022No one knew where the decision had come from, least of all Saud Shakeel. The left-hander had put together 55 runs, chewed up 108 balls, and put on an unbroken 81-ball partnership with Mir Hamza. He was batting out of his skin to keep out Ish Sodhi – a man who’d beat the defences of six of his team-mates. Ajaz Patel, too, was now hitting the sweet spot of the rough consistently enough to worry Pakistan, and it was all Shakeel could do to scrape a few more runs together, and shave a few more minutes off the game. Pakistan needed a draw, and he would provide them with it.And then he looked up. Babar Azam was waving them in. Had he shaken hands with someone and had the game called off? No, that couldn’t be, the final hour hadn’t yet begun. He had actually declared! The two wickets Shakeel had been so jealously guarding had been vaporised into thin air, with the Pakistan management apparently feeling the game was out of New Zealand’s reach by this point.Not that it meant an inevitable draw, though. According to Babar, the point of the declaration was the same as the point of any declaration: to win the game.”Saud was a bit shocked when we declared,” Babar grinned afterwards. “He thought we were going for a draw.”Related

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But for a brief period during that final innings at dusk, there weren’t many smiles on Pakistani faces. A first-over wicket had given way to an onslaught against spin from Tom Latham, and by the end of the sixth over, New Zealand had piled on 55. It was a rate that was sufficient to see them through to victory if the full 15 overs available when the chase began were to be bowled. With the light deteriorating rapidly, though, that was effectively impossible.Babar turned to the fast bowlers and, 2.3 overs into spin being taken off, the umpires decided it was much too dark. With it, a slightly surreal piece of final-day Test cricket came to an end.”We said we’d go after a result,” Babar said after the match. “We took a chance, you never know. It’s cricket. Anything can happen. Saud and [Mohammad] Wasim Junior’s partnership was vital for us because it brought us into the game. That put the idea in my head that we could declare. You all will have enjoyed it as well, and it surprised everyone. It was in our mind we’d take a chance because anything can happen.”We sent a message in, just before we declared, to tell the batters to assess the conditions and play according to those. At times you have to take brave decisions and take chances. As a team and captain, I try and do that. You plan for a result, even if you can’t guarantee it.”Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Wasim helped Pakistan to safety with a 71-run stand•Associated Press

It’s not clear whether the decision to declare came from Babar himself. If it did, it would certainly be a break from historical precedent; Babar the captain has tended to err on the side of caution. Besides, the chances of a Pakistan win were so remote it’s impossible not to wonder if Babar had his tongue firmly in cheek when talking them up. New Zealand had, after all, kept Pakistan out in the field for nearly 195 overs in the first innings and still hadn’t been bowled out. The thought that it might take fewer than 10-15 overs in the second seemed fanciful at best.The final hour or so might have provided a flicker of entertainment, but did not detract from Pakistan’s continuing home woes. This is the seventh successive Test Pakistan have failed to win at home; it is now nearly two years since their last win. They might have escaped a record-extending fifth successive home defeat, but the fact was – and Babar acknowledged it – this was a game New Zealand had dominated.”It’s not that we need to play different cricket,” Babar said. “We need to take things session by session and day by day. We need to be positive and play with aggression. We’re working on it. Everyone has a different game and mindset. We need to credit New Zealand with the way they played and dominated.”We lost three early wickets but we came back after that. Salman Ali Agha deserves credit for the way he batted with the tail [in the first innings] and put us in a good position. Imam [ul-Haq], Sarfaraz [Ahmed] and Saud Shakeel built partnerships in patches in the second innings, and Wasim chipped in as well. So the batting line-up did quite well.”As a coach and captain we can ask for what kind of wicket you need. You know spinners dominate there and reverse swing from the fast bowlers gives you an edge. The fast bowlers bowled well. Mir Hamza bowled well and there were lots of close appeals on his bowling, which also created chances. You don’t always get what you want but the conditions are the same for both sides.”

Kavem Hodge fell for 99 as the tourists made good use of the final day of their warm-up match

AAP12-Jan-2024West Indies 251 for 8 (Greaves 65, Hodge 52, Brathwaite 52) and 315 for 5 dec (Da Silva 105, Hodge 99) drew with Cricket Australia XI 174 (Ward 50) and 149 for 5 (Sinclair 3-38)Joshua Da Silva wrapped up West Indies’ on-field preparations for the Frank Worrell Trophy by hitting a century against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide.Five days out from the first Test in the South Australian capital, Da Silva offered the tourists hope on Friday with a fine 105 against an inexperienced attack at Karen Rolton Oval.Related