Southee hopes to 'be right in time' for World Cup as he begins bowling with 'tender' thumb

He has started to build up the bowling loads, which raises hopes of a swift return after he dislocated his thumb during the series against England

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2023Tim Southee’s dislocated thumb is still tender and scarred but he has begun bowling and has started to build up his bowling loads, which raises hopes of a swift return at the World Cup. Southee had dislocated his thumb during an ODI against England on September 15, and now has a plate and some screws in his hand to show for it.”It’s still a bit tender where obviously there’s a bit of scarring and a bit of numbness around where the plate is,” Southee said upon arrival in Ahmedabad, two days before New Zealand’s tournament opener against England. “So I guess it’s just [about] getting used to that. And getting back into some bowling. Haven’t done a lot of bowling over the last couple of weeks, so it’s about getting your loads back up as well as managing the thumb.”Related

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The outlook wasn’t always this optimistic. “It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” Southee said. “A bit of a race against time to get here, but managed to get here and it’s a great place to come. It’s an awesome place to come and play cricket, let alone being a World Cup.”[The injury was] something new. Haven’t done an injury like this before. I guess when something like that happens so close to a world event, your mind starts to drift towards that. With the limited time we had, I guess sitting down and working out the fastest recovery time, and the route back was to chuck some screws in it and a plate and hope for the best. Everyone I’ve dealt with and the process has been brilliant to get me to this stage. So fingers crossed we can carry on the recovery process and be right in time.”The three World Cups that Southee has played have all been impressive for New Zealand. In 2011, they were the only non-Asian team in the semi-finals, in 2015 they made it to the final but lost, in 2019 they made it to the final, didn’t lose the match but lost the title on a boundary count back.As they hope they can go one step further, the core of the team – injured and bruising right at this moment – might even get a bit emotional looking back at the joys and heartbreak of these campaigns undertaken together. Kane Williamson and Trent Boult have lived the heartbreak of 2015 and 2019 with Southee alongside some sweet memories, including the inaugural World Test Championship final.”Obviously two very good mates and guys I’ve played a lot of cricket with. Not only for New Zealand, but going back through age-group cricket, domestically for Northern Districts as well,” Southee said. “So I think also two of our greatest, greatest players to have played the game. So it’s been a special, I guess 10-12…how many [ever] years it’s been, to play alongside those guys and see [them] grow from kids into two of New Zealand’s greats.”

Spotlight follows Sodhi as he spearheads NZ victory

New Zealand 254 (Blundell 68, Nicholls 49, Sodhi 35, Mahedi 3-45, Khaled 3-60) beat Bangladesh 168 (Mahmudullah 49, Tamim 44, Sodhi 6-39) by 86 runsIsh Sodhi had a field day in Mirpur with bat and ball to hand New Zealand a 86-run win. Somewhere in between all that he was run-out backing up too far at the non-striker’s end and recalled to resume his innings. It was his 35 off 39 balls that lifted the visitors from 187 for 7 to 254 just as it was his 6 for 39 that ripped through Bangladesh’s batting order.Sodhi was brought on in the ninth over of the chase, with Tamim Iqbal and Tanzid Hasan picking up 23 runs in the two previous overs and preparing a platform from which Bangladesh could launch. He struck twice in his second over, first enticing Tanzid into a big shot with a full, loopy legbreak that was miscued to mid-off and then having Soumya Sarkar caught and bowled off a leading edge.Towhid Hridoy’s attempt to rebuild the innings was undone by a Sodhi googly that took the inside edge onto the stumps. Tamim, who was the only set top-order batter, paddled a ball that spun big to the wicketkeeper. Sodhi started his first spell with the hosts on 42 for 1 in eight overs. And when it ended, Bangladesh were reeling at 93 for 5 in 19 overs while he was flying with 4 for 29 off six.Mahmudullah, who was playing his first ODI innings in six months, and Mahedi Hasan knuckled down to deny Jamieson, Rachin Ravindra, and Lockie Ferguson for just over ten overs. They even started to pick up a boundary every over after a 35-ball drought. And then, Sodhi came back, ripped out Mahedi’s middle stump with the first ball of his new spell to claim his first ODI five-for.A few quiet overs later, Mahmudullah pulled a rank long-hop, from Cole McConchie, straight to Finn Allen at short fine leg. Nasum Ahmed extended the innings with a 30-ball 21, bashing two sixes along the way, but Bangladesh could add just 19 runs for the last three wickets, which was where Sodhi made a difference with the bat earlier in the day.Sodhi was on 5 off 13, and New Zealand were 187 for 7, when Jamieson joined him in the 39th over. They saw off the better part of three overs before Sodhi heaved a length ball from Nasum over long-on. Jamieson picked up a couple of boundaries himself before being caught and bowled by Mahedi.Then came the most talked about moment of this innings. Three balls into the 46th over, with New Zealand on 224 for 8, Hasan Mahmud ran Sodhi out for backing up too far at the non-striker’s end. Sodhi was walking off, wearing nothing but a smile on his face, which suggests that some players are starting to get used to this form of dismissal. But, a few seconds later, the Bangladesh stand-in captain Litton Das chose to withdraw the appeal and invited Sodhi back to resume his innings. Sodhi returned, wearing an even bigger smile on his face, hugged the bowler Mahmud and ushered New Zealand to a total of 254. He was on 17 off 26 when he was run out and recalled and went on to make 35 off 39 with three sixes. New Zealand added 67 runs for the last three wickets.At the start of the day, New Zealand chose to bat after winning the toss and were in trouble at 36 for 3. Mustafizur Rahman turned on his fizz mode with the new ball, extracting sharp bounce to nick off Will Young for an eight-ball duck. Mahmud found swing to trouble batters regularly. Allen had picked up fours off the first balls of the first two overs but he couldn’t keep the trend going. He fell at the start of the seventh over, when he flashed at a full ball from Mustafizur to Sarkar at first slip.For the second time in two ODIs, Henry Nicholls found himself having to repair the New Zealand innings, a job made easier by the new ball losing some spite and Tom Blundell’s thirst for a fight. The duo passed the challenges put forth by Mahmud and the debutant Khaled Ahmed by seeing off the good balls and punishing the ones that were short, wide or overpitched. It was just what New Zealand needed after they couldn’t score off 45 of the first 60 deliveries they faced.Blundell brought up fifty at the end of the 26th over but two balls later, Khaled got some extra bounce and subtle seam movement away to nick off Nicholls for 49. Their 95-run partnership had staged a recovery but Mahedi and Nasum led New Zealand into their second slump in the innings. With close to 12 overs to go and seven wickets down, it looked like the visitors would struggle to get to the finish line, but Sodhi and Co took what they were given and ran away with the game.

Cummins is bowler first, captain second ahead of ODI World Cup

Pat Cummins has indicated he may not captain Australia in every one-day international leading into the World Cup in India later this year.For the multi-format players involved in the Ashes there will be a three-week break after the final Test, but it won’t be long before attention shifts to white-ball cricket.A T20I and ODI tour of South Africa begins in late August, for which the squad is expected to be announced shortly after the final Test in England, with three one-dayers in India following off the back of that then straight into the World Cup.Related

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Cummins was appointed ODI captain last October following the retirement of Aaron Finch. Since then Australia have only had six matches in the format, but Cummins has played just two of them. Josh Hazlewood stood in as captain for one game against England then Steven Smith did so for the series in India when Cummins was absent following the death of his mother.With Cummins having a poor game at Old Trafford, as a bowler and a captain, questions have been raised about whether the workload is manageable, but he is comfortable about how the role will pan out over the next few months as the focus shifts formats.”I know the selectors have been really clear that I’m a bowler first in that team,” he said. “So if we need to manage some of those games leading into the World Cup that takes precedence over the continuity of being captain every single game.”We’ll manage that, but there’s a great team around us of players and staff so while I’m the captain and it’s a bigger workload it’s manageable.”It was an outlook flagged by national selector George Bailey when Cummins was named captain. “In our one-day team, we do feel like we’ve got some strong leaders, some really experienced members of the team, and some developing leaders,” Bailey said. “So regardless of Pat being there, I think we are moving away from this concept of a captain taking over and their leadership being all-encompassing.”It is expected that Cummins’ ODI captaincy stint will only continue until the end of the World Cup with a potential that the selectors will look to unify the white-ball leadership under one person.There has yet to be a successor named for Finch as T20 captain and it is possible that whoever leads the side for the three matches against South Africa is only an interim appointment before a permanent structure is put in place later in the year to lead into the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA.Meanwhile, in Test cricket Cummins is approaching the two-year point of his captaincy and when he was announced in late 2021 he indicated he may not keep the role for as long as some. However, if he continues for another couple of years at least, it will likely coincide with the start of the regeneration of the side as senior players begin to retire with the chance a significant number could depart in swift succession.David Warner has given his departure date early next year, but Cummins is in no rush to hasten others to the finishing line although is confident that replacements will be readily available when needed.”I certainly don’t want to rush anyone out the door,” he said. “I think this is about the fourth Ashes series where Jimmy Anderson says it’s going to be his last one. You never know. It’s just an age. Some of these guys might be around here in four years, and still at the top level. We’ll see.”It’s always a conversation. In cricket, we’re lucky you’ve got white-ball cricket where you can kind of have a soft entry for a lot of the guys, give them exposure to international cricket. It’s something the selectors talk about, but really you try and pick your best XI each week.”A replacement for Warner will be the first significant order of business for the series against West Indies in mid-January unless the selectors decide to draw a line ahead of the three Tests against Pakistan starting in December.Marcus Harris could be first in line having been the spare batter throughout the last Australia home summer and this Ashes tour, although Warner gave a strong endorsement to Matt Renshaw.”I’ve always said Matt Renshaw is a very good player,” Warner said. “He can play both formats quite easily. He’s tall. He’s exactly like Haydos [Matt Hayden]. We spoke about him in the early part of his career.”I’ve always felt and held him in high regard as a very good player. He’s worked on his technique. He’s been in and out of the squads, and I think he’ll be a great replacement.”

Stats – West Indies' worst batting effort in T20 World Cups and first loss to England

All the stats and records from West Indies’ forgettable night in Dubai.

Sampath Bandarupalli23-Oct-202155 West Indies’ total against England is the third-lowest for any side in the men’s T20 World Cup. Netherlands recorded the top-two lowest totals – 39 all out in 2014 and 44 all out on Friday, both against Sri Lanka. West Indies did not have a sub-100 total at the men’s T20 World Cup before this game.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 The 55 all-out score is the second-lowest T20I total ever by West Indies. Their lowest was 45 all out, also coming against England, in 2019. West Indies have made consecutive T20I totals of 55, 71 and 45 against England, the top three lowest T20I totals against England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 England have beaten West Indies for the first time at the men’s T20 World Cup. West Indies were victorious in their previous five meetings, including twice in the 2016 edition.

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4 for 2 Adil Rashid’s bowling figures during West Indies’ innings, the best in men’s T20Is for England. The previous best was 4 for 6 by Chris Jordan, also against West Indies, in 2019. Only one player before Adil had a four-wicket haul for England at the men’s T20 World Cup – 4 for 28 by Jordan against Sri Lanka in 2016.ESPNcricinfo Ltd70 Balls to spare when England reached the target of 56 runs, the first time England won a T20I with ten or more overs to spare. It is also the first time West Indies lost by such a margin. England chased a target of 72 against West Indies in 2019 with 57 balls to spare, the previous biggest T20I win in terms of balls to spare for England, also the biggest defeat for West Indies previously.2 Runs conceded by Adil Rashid for his four wickets against West Indies, the cheapest four-wicket haul in men’s T20I cricket. Steve Tikolo also took four wickets for two runs, in 1.2 overs against Scotland in 2013.2 West Indies’ 55 all out is also the second-lowest T20 total ever recorded in the UAE, behind Netherlands’ 44 all out on Friday against Sri Lanka in Sharjah. The previous lowest T20 total in Dubai was 59 all out by Lahore Qalandars against Peshawar Zalmi in 2017.

Amy Jones plays down Hartley row as England face must-win Canberra contest

Wicketkeeper insists team will continue to ‘inspire and entertain’ despite insipid Ashes showing

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2025Amy Jones has insisted there’s still a “lot of love” for Alex Hartley within the England Women’s squad, as she sought to play down the row over Hartley’s claims that she has been “given the cold shoulder” by certain players during her duties as an Ashes broadcaster.England go into Thursday’s second T20I in Canberra needing nothing less than a win to maintain their hopes of salvaging a drawn series after four consecutive losses. But their on-field struggles have been overshadowed by the team’s alleged response to Hartley’s criticism of their fitness levels, which began with their T20 World Cup exit in October.Speaking on a BBC podcast on Monday, after Australia’s 57-run win had confirmed that they will maintain their decade-long hold on the Ashes, Hartley claimed that Sophie Ecclestone had refused to do a TV interview with her, and that other members of the squad were no longer talking to her on the boundary edge.”The reason I said that they were not as fit as Australia is because I want them to compete with Australia,” Hartley had added. “I want them to be better than Australia, and I want them to win Ashes and World Cups. I’m giving my opinion, and I’ve been given the cold shoulder from the England team ever since.”Replying to the row, Jones acknowledged that the squad had fallen well short of its own expectations during the Ashes, but denied that the players had taken Hartley’s comments personally.”I don’t think it is the case,” Jones said. “I think we all respect that commentators have their own opinions and it’s Alex’s job to say how she feels. And I think we all respect that. Hartley’s a great personality, and we have a lot of love for her within the group. So, I definitely don’t think that’s the case.”Jones herself has been a qualified success in a misfiring batting line-up, making three 30-plus scores in four innings to date, including an unbeaten 47 in a low-scoring ODI in Melbourne.Related

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However, England’s missed opportunities in this series were epitomised by Jones’ glaring lack of game awareness at the culmination of that Melbourne innings, when she failed to run on a free hit that could have kept her on strike going into the penultimate over of the innings. No.11 Lauren Bell was bowled one ball later to condemn England to a 21-run loss.”That one in particular was hard to take, for many reasons,” Jones said. “I felt emotionally drained afterwards [because], with the obvious mistake at the end, you definitely feel responsible for the loss. But the support from all the girls and the staff emphasised that long games don’t often come down to one specific moment, so I guess that definitely helped.”I’ve obviously made contributions along the way, but as a player, you definitely judge yourself on matchwinning contributions. I’ve been lucky to be in a position where I could have really helped influence a few of those games, especially in the ODIs, and I’m disappointed not to be able to get the team over the line. There’s a lot of learnings in there.”Alex Hartley claims she has been given the ‘cold shoulder’ by England players•Getty Images

Even with the series all but lost, Jones says that the squad will be sticking to the same mantras and methods that have been in place since the start of Jon Lewis’ tenure as head coach, in particular their desire to “inspire and entertain” – traits that have arguably been in scarce supply in a dispiriting campaign.”We’re still working hard at training and in team meetings to try and put our best foot forward,” Jones said. “We’ll be very excited to come out play tomorrow, and hopefully get some points on the board.”There was a bit of reconnection after the second ODI about how we want to play, making sure we’re still trying to inspire and entertain,” she added. “That’s worked really well for us in the past, and it’s something that all of us connect to really well.”It brings out more of a fearless playing style, which suits us. I think we’ve lifted a bit away from that, and so reconnecting to that is important for us. We play our best when we take the game on, put their bowlers under pressure with the bat, and have a wicket-taking mindset with the ball. In the field, it’s around energy and enjoyment. When all those things come together, we’re obviously a very good side.”

Liverpool now want "complete" £51m+ defender ahead of Man Utd and Newcastle

Liverpool did a great job of fending off competition from rivals to win the Premier League title last term and could now look to repeat the trick on the transfer market.

Liverpool chase more arrivals after Florian Wirtz confirmation

Arne Slot has brought success since arriving at Anfield and looks to have made ann early play in the transfer market as his side aim to stay at the top of the English pyramid.

Jeremie Frimpong has already arrived and Florian Wirtz is set to soon officially become a Liverpool player once the formalities from his move are ticked off, so who could be next on the summer conveyor belt?

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez could be next in line at Anfield, claiming his trademark ‘Here We Go’ statement is imminent regarding the Hungary international.

He stated: “I maintain my position, Milos Kerkez will be a Liverpool player. In this case, there are some small details to clarify with Bournemouth, but I maintain my position. I see Milos Kerkez going to Liverpool this summer.

“Then they still have to close these details. This is why, in this case, there is still no here we go, but it’s coming. I have told you several times, here we go soon. Here we go, it’s coming.”

Huijsen 2.0: Liverpool holding final talks to sign "revelation" after Wirtz

Liverpool’s hectic start to the summer transfer window only looks set to continue – and we aren’t even halfway through June

1 ByRobbie Walls Jun 12, 2025

Not resting on their laurels, Liverpool appear to have several priority positions ready to strengthen and money is expected to be spent in the pursuit of further silverware.

Achieving a steady stream of success both domestically and in Europe will be difficult, but the Reds now have a top defender lined up to further their chances of staying at the summit.

Liverpool ready to beat competition to sign Goncalo Inacio

According to A Bola, Liverpool are ready to move for Sporting Clube de Portugal defender Goncalo Inacio, even if Manchester United ad Newcastle United will provide stiff competition for his signature.

Labelled “complete” by scout Jacek Kulig, it is mooted that he will cost in excess of £51 million. However, the reigning Portuguese champions may be willing to sell the Portugal international for less despite his recent part in Portugal’s UEFA Nations League triumph.

Five similar players to Goncalo Inacio (FBRef)

Olivier Boscagli

PSV Eindhoven

Leo Ortiz

Flamengo

Ryan Flamingo

PSV Eindhoven

Nehuen Perez

Porto

David Hancko

Feyenoord

Enjoying a superb campaign, Inacio registered an impressive six goals and three assists in 42 appearances across all competitions last term featuring for the most part in central defence.

Ibrahima Konate has yet to sign a new deal at Liverpool and could be available to sign a pre-contract elsewhere in January, paving the way for the Reds to court potential replacements.

Liverpool have shown already this window that they have an elite talent radar, and Inacio arriving at the club would certainly fit the bill as another striking addition.

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