England are preparing for the series against India with an 11-day training camp in Abu Dhabi and will not play any warm-up matches in India before the first Test. They will arrive in Hyderabad three days before the start of the match.
It's a good job that we haven't a history of not adequately preparing for playing overseas otherwise the England authorities might come under a little bit of scrutiny if we lose this series.
It's staggering that we are still not preparing with a couple of 3/4 day games beforehand.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri in this interview called for a proper practice game before tours. Test cricket becomes a joke if touring sides end up effectively using Test matches to warm up.
Last summer, the Aussies were in the groove from the start because they had been playing the World Test Championship, and thus were back in the rhythm of Test cricket and English conditions.
I see Steve Smith is going to open for the Aussie Test team.
Interesting development, brave of him to move up, apparently no one else wanted to and he volunteered.
Thought Labuschagne might do it, but Smith will probably step up fine.
Probably tongue in cheek but Labuschagne said that he would have volunteered to open but Smith beat him to it. Cameron Green batting at 4 would concern me more if I was an Aussie.
With the opportunities available for English cricketers at all levels with those who excel in all forms of the game having to be somewhat selective between now and the end of September as to where and when they play:
Big Bash - 7th Jan to 24th Feb SA20 - 11th Jan to 10th Feb India v England Test Series - 24th Jan to 11th March International League - 19th Jan to 17th Feb IPL - 22nd March to 29th May County Championship - 5th April to 29th September England v Pakistan T20 Series - 22nd to 30th May Vitality Blast - 30th May to 19th July (Group) and 3rd to 14th September (Knock Out) The 2024 World Cup - 1st to 29th June The US Major League - TBC but likely to be 4th July to beginning of August England v West Indies Test Series - 10th to 30th July The Metro Bank One Day Cup - 24th July to 14th August with Final on 22nd September The Hundred - TBC but likely to take up most of August England v Sri Lanka Test Series - 21st August to 10th September England v Australia T20 Series - 11th to 15th September England v Australia ODI Series - 19th to 29th September
There are other tournaments during this period but not ones where many English players are likely to be involved
Former India coach Ravi Shastri in this interview called for a proper practice game before tours. Test cricket becomes a joke if touring sides end up effectively using Test matches to warm up.
Last summer, the Aussies were in the groove from the start because they had been playing the World Test Championship, and thus were back in the rhythm of Test cricket and English conditions.
I think if we weren't rusty coming into Edgbaston we'd have comfortably won that test and the Ashes.
I see Steve Smith is going to open for the Aussie Test team.
Interesting development, brave of him to move up, apparently no one else wanted to and he volunteered.
Thought Labuschagne might do it, but Smith will probably step up fine.
Probably tongue in cheek but Labuschagne said that he would have volunteered to open but Smith beat him to it. Cameron Green batting at 4 would concern me more if I was an Aussie.
I see Steve Smith is going to open for the Aussie Test team.
Interesting development, brave of him to move up, apparently no one else wanted to and he volunteered.
Thought Labuschagne might do it, but Smith will probably step up fine.
Out for 12 to debutant Shamar Joseph with the first ball he bowled 😁
Shamar now has three wickets to his name - the only three taken by the Windies to date namely Smith, Labuschagne and Green. Not the worst to have on your CV.
I see Steve Smith is going to open for the Aussie Test team.
Interesting development, brave of him to move up, apparently no one else wanted to and he volunteered.
Thought Labuschagne might do it, but Smith will probably step up fine.
Out for 12 to debutant Shamar Joseph with the first ball he bowled 😁
Shamar now has three wickets to his name - the only three taken by the Windies to date namely Smith, Labuschagne and Green. Not the worst to have on your CV.
And finishes with figures of 20-2-94-5. This to go with his 36 off 41 balls coming in at 11. He seems a real character too.
Australia ended up with 283 for a first innings lead of 95, the difference being down to the innings of 119 (134) from Travis Head on what is his home ground. Unfortunately, the Windies are 7-3 in their second innings with Hazelwood picking up all three without conceding a run in the innings.
Edit: Windies 73-6 at close and still 22 beind. Hazelwood on 4-18 and 8-62 in the match.
Starting in a couple of weeks time, NZ host SA in a two match Test Series that goes towards the World Test Championship.
SA have left out Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Nandre Burger, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj and Tony de Zorzi because of their own domestic T20 competition. Dean Elgar has retired too. In all South Africa have seven uncapped players to go with seven capped players - Duanne Olivier, who played 15 Tests between 2017 and 2022 is the most experienced, followed by Petersen (12).A sad sign of things to come?
Starting in a couple of weeks time, NZ host SA in a two match Test Series that goes towards the World Test Championship.
SA have left out Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Nandre Burger, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj and Tony de Zorzi because of their own domestic T20 competition. Dean Elgar has retired too. In all South Africa have seven uncapped players to go with seven capped players - Duanne Olivier, who played 15 Tests between 2017 and 2022 is the most experienced, followed by Petersen (12).A sad sign of things to come?
SA pulled out of a ODI series against Australia a year ago because it clashed with their domestic T20 competition, but this is just as bad.
Hundreds for Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon for the Lions out in India. Nice middle/lower order 50s for Warwickshire's Dan Mousley and Sussex's Jack Carson too.
Hundreds for Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon for the Lions out in India. Nice middle/lower order 50s for Warwickshire's Dan Mousley and Sussex's Jack Carson too.
Ridiculous that the lions are out in India getting games with the red ball but the test squad wont be playing any warm up matches. I hope we are keeping the lions out there for the duration of the series as I'm sure some will be needed....
Hundreds for Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon for the Lions out in India. Nice middle/lower order 50s for Warwickshire's Dan Mousley and Sussex's Jack Carson too.
Looks a bit of a one sided match.
We have some untested youngsters but also have a fair share of players who have played international red and/or white ball. The Indian side looks like a Prime Ministers XI - Jennings alone has played more matches at the highest level than their team put together - but good experience nevertheless playing in those conditions
England U19s restricted Scotland to 174 all out in 49.2 overs today with the spinners doing most of the damage - namely Farhan Ahmed (the 15 year old younger brother of Rehan:10-2-22-3), Luc Bekenstein (son of South African international, Dale: 10-0-41-3) and Jaydn Denly (nephew of Joe: 7-0-24-1)
England win by 7 wickets with 23.4 overs to spare - captain Ben McKinney leading the way with 88 (68) and aided, in the main, by Jaydn Denly 40 (50) and Noah Thain 22 (28). There will be much bigger tests to come but, as the well-worn saying goes, you can only beat what's in front of you.
Haydon Mustard, son of Phil, is in the England u19 squad. Cricket does seem to have more family connections that any other sport!
As well as Denly, Benkenstein, Ahmed and Mustard there is Charlie Allison (brother of Essex's Ben).
Cricket tends to be a much smaller and closer group than say football by virtue of who plays the game and the pathways available to those players. At say 11, for example, when it is impossible to say for a fact that a kid is going to make it as a pro, it is more difficult for an age group county coach, who might have only played club cricket, not to select the child of a county or international player who shows any semblance of talent than an individual who has no connections to the professional game whatsoever. So they are "in the system" but it can, equally, then be harder for those children to prove themselves because they are aware that there will be comparison with their relatives and there will always be speculation that he or she is only being selected because of their name.
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Former India coach Ravi Shastri in this interview called for a proper practice game before tours. Test cricket becomes a joke if touring sides end up effectively using Test matches to warm up.
Last summer, the Aussies were in the groove from the start because they had been playing the World Test Championship, and thus were back in the rhythm of Test cricket and English conditions.
Big Bash - 7th Jan to 24th Feb
SA20 - 11th Jan to 10th Feb
India v England Test Series - 24th Jan to 11th March
International League - 19th Jan to 17th Feb
IPL - 22nd March to 29th May
County Championship - 5th April to 29th September
England v Pakistan T20 Series - 22nd to 30th May
Vitality Blast - 30th May to 19th July (Group) and 3rd to 14th September (Knock Out)
The 2024 World Cup - 1st to 29th June
The US Major League - TBC but likely to be 4th July to beginning of August
England v West Indies Test Series - 10th to 30th July
The Metro Bank One Day Cup - 24th July to 14th August with Final on 22nd September
The Hundred - TBC but likely to take up most of August
England v Sri Lanka Test Series - 21st August to 10th September
England v Australia T20 Series - 11th to 15th September
England v Australia ODI Series - 19th to 29th September
There are other tournaments during this period but not ones where many English players are likely to be involved
On the bottom right, it says -1:08:06. That's just over one hour and eight minutes they edited out.
Australia ended up with 283 for a first innings lead of 95, the difference being down to the innings of 119 (134) from Travis Head on what is his home ground. Unfortunately, the Windies are 7-3 in their second innings with Hazelwood picking up all three without conceding a run in the innings.
Edit: Windies 73-6 at close and still 22 beind. Hazelwood on 4-18 and 8-62 in the match.
SA have left out Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Nandre Burger, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj and Tony de Zorzi because of their own domestic T20 competition. Dean Elgar has retired too. In all South Africa have seven uncapped players to go with seven capped players - Duanne Olivier, who played 15 Tests between 2017 and 2022 is the most experienced, followed by Petersen (12).A sad sign of things to come?
If he ever gets into the full side, then England will have picked two pairs of twins in the last 5 years!
Cricket tends to be a much smaller and closer group than say football by virtue of who plays the game and the pathways available to those players. At say 11, for example, when it is impossible to say for a fact that a kid is going to make it as a pro, it is more difficult for an age group county coach, who might have only played club cricket, not to select the child of a county or international player who shows any semblance of talent than an individual who has no connections to the professional game whatsoever. So they are "in the system" but it can, equally, then be harder for those children to prove themselves because they are aware that there will be comparison with their relatives and there will always be speculation that he or she is only being selected because of their name.