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He picked up seven wickets in the second innings – and bowled 41.1 overs in the match – in his comeback from knee surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-20230:43

Jadeja trains in Chennai ahead of Saurashtra’s Ranji game

Ravindra Jadeja’s return from injury has had its hiccups but now, with a crucial Test series against Australia imminent, the India allrounder is hopeful that he is “good to go”.On Thursday, in the middle of his first game of cricket in five months following knee surgery, Jadeja picked up a seven-for for Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy. He also got through 41.1 overs of bowling across two innings.Ahead of this game, he had been rather more cautious in his outlook. “I will go slowly [when I’m bowling],” he said on Monday. “Have to see how my leg is feeling and then I will see.”But on the third day’s play against Tamil Nadu, Jadeja managed to get through an uninterrupted spell of 12 overs and seemed fairly happy with the results. “I [am] used to bowling long spells,” he was quoted as saying by . “Nothing new for me. I was enjoying… ball was turning. The pitch was assisting me. When we were batting, the odd ball was spinning, the odd ball was keeping low, so I was keen to bowl a long spell. Luckily I got wickets.”Ravindra Jadeja picked up 7 for 53 in the second innings•PTI

When asked about his fitness, Jadeja said he felt “no discomfort… not really” and added that he was “almost there… it is just a matter of little bit of confidence. Luckily I bowled enough overs in the match, like almost 37 overs in the game (41.1 – 24 in the first innings and 17.1 in the second).”So feeling very good, playing a game after a long time. Hopefully I am good to go now. It was tough on the first day but as the game progressed, I was feeling good. When you take a five-for in a first-class game it is always good.”It has been a long road back for Jadeja since he had his knee surgery in September 2022. Initial estimates suggested he might be able to return in time for India’s tour of Bangladesh in December 2022 – he was named in the squad subject to fitness – but that didn’t pan out. ESPNcricinfo learnt that it was only a few weeks ago that he had started to bowl and bat again. In between, he has also been helping his wife campaign in the Gujarat assembly elections, which he said helped keep his mind off the injury.Up next for Jadeja is an India training camp in Nagpur, which will host the first of four Tests against Australia starting February 9. He was picked in this squad subject to fitness too, so a 29th first-class five-wicket haul should come in handy.

Others on the list, including the GLT20 Canada, the Abu Dhabi T10 and the Euro T20 Slam, have attracted big-name players

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2020Over a third of all players have experienced either late or non-payment problems in a host of domestic T20 leagues across the world, according to the latest annual players’ report. The Men’s Global Employment Report 2020, put together by the global players’ body, Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), found that 34% of all players had experienced payment troubles.The body identified six leagues where players have recently experienced pay issues:

• Global T20 Canada
• Bangladesh Premier League
• Abu Dhabi T10
• Qatar T10
• Euro T20 Slam
• Masters Champions League

The BPL is the only wholly Full Member-run league in that list, but the others – including the GLT20 Canada, the Abu Dhabi T10 and the Euro T20 Slam, which is partly organised by Full Member Cricket Ireland – have attracted big-name players from across the globe.Protests at the GLT20 last year led to players refusing to take the field in one game. And the Euro T20 Slam, run by the same organising group behind the Canada League, was ultimately called off two weeks before it was due to start because of financial problems.FICA urged the ICC towards greater involvement in the matter, given that it ultimately sanctions these leagues – a recognition that helps these leagues to attract cricketers.”Systematic contract breaches and non-payment of players are issues that urgently need addressing,” Tom Moffat, FICA’s CEO, said. “The ICC has an obligation to protect people working within its regulatory frameworks and it’s time something was done about this issue.”We continue to urge decision-makers to work with FICA at global level, and players’ associations at domestic level, to develop joint solutions to issues highlighted in these reports.”Because a number of members, including India and Pakistan, don’t have player associations FICA said it believed the true figure of players who have faced problems with payment is “much higher”.”This is completely unacceptable and there are clear solutions to this issue,” the report stated.Much of the gaze of the annual report – FICA’s second – is centred around the squeeze in the game’s calendar. The ongoing fallout from the co-existence of domestic T20 leagues alongside international cricket has been a continuing focus for FICA.FICA said the global structure of international cricket is a “mess”, calling the World Test Championship (WTC) “a sticking plaster solution,” which will not solve basic inequities in the game. “There is significant inconsistency across countries, formats and schedules,” the report said. “Whilst the challenges associated with developing a clear and coherent global structure are understood, the mess of international cricket is confusing for fans and chaotic for players and player pathways.”Despite the issues with payments, a survey of 277 current men’s internationals found that 53% would still consider becoming freelance cricketers and reject a national central contract if better domestic league contracts were on offer.

Jason Kerr says playing two spinners unlikely but open to helping Bashir continue his development

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-20241:37

Harmison: England have a hugely-talented proposition in Bashir

Somerset’s head coach has responded to the challenge laid down by Brendon McCullum, calling for game time for England’s young spinners, by suggesting that Shoaib Bashir could be allowed to go out on loan.Bashir and Tom Hartley have thrived out in India despite limited grounding in the county game and McCullum said earlier this week that it would “slightly mad” if they did not get increased opportunities during the coming season.While McCullum suggested he would like to see Bashir and Jack Leach bowling in tandem at Somerset, Jason Kerr said that situation was unlikely for the start of the County Championship in spring conditions that tend to encourage seam bowling.Related

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“It’s certainly not easy but I always try and put myself in the player’s shoes and what they want is to play cricket,” Kerr told the Press Association. “We start the season on April 5 and I’d be surprised if too many teams are playing two specialist spinners. So I understand there will be some questions about it.”Bash will be on cloud nine right now and riding that. He would have seen the world very differently at the start of the winter than he does now that he’s had international opportunities and done very well. So it’s important to have really honest, transparent conversations.”Bashir was only signed by Somerset at the start of last summer, after impressing for the 2nd XI, and played six times in the Championship, taking 10 wickets at 67.00. He has since exceeded that number in two Tests for England but will likely find himself back down the pecking order behind Leach, England’s senior spinner, who returned home from the tour of India with a knee injury.”There’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but what I’m not going to do is stand in the way of anyone’s opportunity,” Kerr said.Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir will likely vie for one spinner’s spot back at Somerset•Getty Images

“We will always do what is best for the player and we’ve done it time and time again. We’ve allowed people to go on loan and get some cricket because it can benefit them and us in the future, and we’ve said no to players because they’re next in line and we might need them.”We will look at each case as it arises but, historically, we’ve been open to it.”A similar situation arose at Somerset a few years ago, when Dom Bess emerged to briefly replace Leach as England spinner – Bess went on loan to Yorkshire before making a permanent move in 2021.With Leach currently recovering from knee surgery, there may be a chance for Bashir to stake his claim at the start of the county season. But Kerr indicated that Leach would be at the forefront of his planning once fit.”It’s important we see both of the guys bowling first but we also look at what Leachy has done for club and country over the years,” he said. “We always want competition for places and we want it to be healthy. Nobody has the right to start but Jack has got a lot of experience and, from my side, that counts for a lot.”Bash has so much time to grow and to become a world-class spinner who can bowl on all surfaces and know when to defend and attack. He’ll be coming back from India to very different conditions in the UK.”We’re an incredibly ambitious club and we want to inspire players to represent England. We want to help them fulfil those aspirations and that doesn’t change whether it’s Shoaib or Jack.”

Win takes India C to the final, where they will play India B, who had won their game against India A too

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2019Shubman Gill made his List A best of 143, Mayank Agarwal extended his form by scoring 120, Suryakumar Yadav provided belated Diwali fireworks with a 29-ball 72 not out, and Jalaj Saxena also recorded personal best figures of 7 for 41, all of it adding up to India C crushing India A by 232 runs to qualify for the Deodhar Trophy final in Ranchi.In a batting template very similar to India B’s against India A on Thursday, India C started cautiously but picked up pace along the way, with Gill and Agarwal putting together 226 for the first wicket in 38.3 overs. Agarwal was the more aggressive of the two early on, but Gill caught up, hitting ten fours and six sixes to Agarwal’s 15 fours and a six.Their stand set the tone for more fireworks. Once Agarwal and No. 3 Priyam Garg fell, Yadav walked in and immediately brought in a touch of the unorthodox, by scooping, paddling and sweeping his way to a half-century in a jiffy. The last three overs alone went for 61 as he shellacked nine fours and four sixes, including a sequence of 4, 6, 6, 4 off Siddarth Kaul to finish the innings, after 4, 4, 6 and 4 against Jaydev Unadkat in the previous over. Unadkat was the most expensive bowler, conceding 82 off ten wicketless overs. R Ashwin was the only one to concede at less than six per over, with figures of 10-1-57-1, taking Gill’s wicket.India A needed a win to stay in contention but were rocked early when they lost Vishnu Vinod and Abhishek Raman in the first two overs. After getting his Bengal mate Raman with one that swung away to get a leading edge to point, Ishan Porel had captain Hanuma Vihari nicking behind a bouncer for a duck to leave them tottering at 17 for 3. The only semblance of a partnership came in the form of Devdutt Padikkal and Bhargav Merai’s 57-run stand, before the innings unravelled again, with Saxena deceiving Merai in flight to castle him for 30.That was the start of a joyride for Saxena, in which he exhibited tremendous control and guile even as India A seemed to be in implosion mode, playing one rash shot after another to fold without a fight. Saxena scythed through the lower order in no time as it took India C only 29.5 overs to complete the formalities.The next game is between India B and India C on Saturday, but with both teams having qualified for the final – on Monday – that will only serve to provide the players a bit more time in the middle and a chance to rack up good numbers.

Australian legend praises England legspinner for backing his own skills, and believes he has Test role

Andrew Miller22-Jul-2021Shane Warne may be preparing for London Spirit’s opening match of the Hundred, against Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston, but true to reputation, he can’t help but cast his gaze to a rather more distant campaign opener – at Brisbane in December, where he believes Matt Parkinson, England’s up-and-coming legspinner, could yet play a significant role in the Ashes.As London Spirit’s head coach, Warne will be working closely this month with the last England legspinner to feature on an Ashes tour – Mason Crane, whose solitary Test appearance to date came in Sydney at the end of the 2017-18 tour. However, it is Parkinson who is in pole position for a call-up this winter, after what is already proving to be a breakthrough summer for him.Having toured Sri Lanka and India without getting a single game across formats last winter, Parkinson admitted last week he had been “gutted” to miss out on selection for the home white-ball series against Sri Lanka, and feared he was destined to be overlooked all season – until a Covid outbreak in England’s first-choice squad offered him a late call-up, and a chance to play in five of England’s six matches against Pakistan.He duly made his mark with a string of impressive performances – six wickets across formats, at an economy-rate of less than seven. In the T20I at Headingley, his selection alongside Adil Rashid meant that England fielded a twin-legspin attack for the first time since Eric Hollies’ final Test against West Indies in 1950.Related

• 'Sack it, I'm going to try and rip it' – Matt Parkinson on his ball-of-the-century contender

• Matt Critchley: 'Legspin is a niche market in itself but I bat in the top six, too'

• Matt Parkinson: 'I don't just want to be in England squads on potential'

• Matt Parkinson 'gutted' to be left out of England's white-ball squads at start of summer

However, with the Ashes on the horizon – as well as the five-Test home series against India – Warne believes that Parkinson’s displays for Lancashire in the County Championship are the biggest indicator of where his value as an England bowler could lie.To date this season, Parkinson has claimed 24 wickets at 19.75 in eight first-class outings. However, 19 of those came in his first four matches, when the pitches were conducive to legspin after an unseasonably dry spring, and included one of the moments of the season – a ripping, dipping legbreak to bowl Northamptonshire’s Adam Rossington at Old Trafford, a delivery that Warne himself admitted, via Twitter, was worthy of comparison with his own “Ball of the Century” at the same ground in the 1993 Ashes.”He is pretty exciting, isn’t he?” Warne said. “I love watching him. I’ve been watching him from afar and been very impressed so far. I really like the look of the way he bowls. He is a great addition to white-ball cricket, but also I see him playing a huge part in Test cricket, especially in Australia. I wouldn’t be surprised in that first Test match at the Gabba, if he is pencilled into the playing XI.”