Zak Crawley admits he was “shocked” to be named England captain for the one-day series against Ireland, more than two years after his only previous appearances in the format.
With England’s World Cup squad preparing to head for India, the selectors have cast their net far and wide for their three Metro Bank ODIs, but Crawley was still an unexpected pick as leader.
Despite being an ever-present in the Test side in recent times – and an Ashes star this summer – he has played only three 50-over games. They all came in the 2021 season, when Covid withdrawals left England scrambling for late replacements.
Speaking at Headingley on the eve of his first outing in charge, the 25-year-old said: “Yeah, I was shocked. I was just hoping to get into the team and play more for England. But they told me I was captain and it’s a great opportunity for me.
“It was Motty (head coach Matthew Mott) who gave me the call to say I’d be in the squad and captaining. It was as simple as that. He was doing the rounds phoning everyone else so it was a pretty brief phone call but a pretty good call.”
While Crawley will be leading an inexperienced squad, including four uncapped players and seven more with six caps or fewer, the vastly experienced Joe Root will be on hand on Wednesday to help out.
Like the rest of the first-choice squad he was not due to feature but asked to play at his home ground in a bid to find some form after a lean series against New Zealand.
And for Crawley, having his first Test skipper there is a major boost.
“Obviously having Joe in the team makes it stronger, no matter what team you’re in. It’s great having him,” said Crawley.
“Especially so for me as captain because I can lean on him for that kind of stuff. It’s awesome and hopefully he gets what he wants from it.”
Ireland frustrated by lack of discipline as home winning run ended
Ireland captain Caelan Doris believes they were "not good enough" as they suffered a first home defeat in more than three years against New Zealand.
The All Blacks ran out 23-13 winners in Dublin thanks to Damian McKenzie, while Ireland's discipline cost them late on after they had made a bright start to the second half.
McKenzie scored three of his six penalties before the break to give New Zealand a 9-6 lead, but the visitors started the second half a man light after Jordie Barrett's yellow card for a high tackle.
Josh van der Flier scored a try for the hosts, but McKenzie soon added another three penalties before Will Jordan's try secured New Zealand a first win on Irish soil since 2016.
And Doris pointed to Ireland's discipline as the turning point late on in the game.
"It was intense out there. We were quite reactive out there and our discipline wasn't where it needed to be," he told TNT Sports.
"We got momentum at the start of the second half, but they came back. They were quality, we weren't good enough.
"Discipline was a big part. We didn't fire enough shots and part of that was our defence letting them hold onto the ball. I'm not sure exactly what the answers are, but we weren't good enough tonight."
Ireland were seeking a 20th home win in a row, but New Zealand ensured their impressive run came to a halt on Friday.
It is now five wins on the bounce for New Zealand in all competitions, having followed up their dramatic win over England last weekend.
Head coach Scott Robertson was impressed with what he saw from the All Blacks, both individually and as a team.
"It was a hell of a match, we defended extremely well, and it's really pleasing with all the work we have been doing," he said to TNT Sports.
"Discipline and self-control is an area you have to own it, and I think a lot of individuals did."
On Damian McKenzie, he added: "He is so mercurial, and sometimes he doesn't get it right, but when he does! He got enough right tonight, and I'm really pleased with how he controlled the game and kept calm."
“We have capable replacements”- Powell encourages bowlers to step up and be counted in Alzarri Joseph’s absence for first two England T20Is
West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell called the unavailability of pacer Alzarri Joseph a big loss on the eve of the first of five T20 Internationals against England at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Joseph was suspended by Cricket West Indies for two games after abruptly leaving the field during the series-deciding third ODI between the West Indies and England at the same venue on Wednesday which the hosts won by eight wickets to claim a 2-1 series win.
“It’s a definite loss for us,” Powell said in a pre-match press conference on Friday.
“He’s the spearhead of our attack and one of our more experienced bowlers but, having said that, we have capable replacements. When you look on the bench strength, I think guys that are waiting in the wings are good also. It’s an opportunity for somebody to step up and be counted,” he added.
The West Indian T20 side are coming off a disappointing series loss to Sri Lanka and will be looking to bounce back against opponents they have become very familiar with over the years, especially on their home turf.
“Every time England comes to the Caribbean it’s a big rivalry. England is one of the best teams in the world so it definitely brings out the best in us from a T20 perspective,” Powell said.
“I think we’ve been playing some good T20 cricket so this series provides an opportunity for us to continue to do that,” he added.
Another added thought in the mind of players in the format this time of year is the looming IPL player auction.
With the amount of cricket played throughout the year, however, Powell doesn’t see how anyone’s performance in these five games will determine whether or not they are picked up during the auction on November 24 and 25.
Instead, Powell wants his team to focus on the task at hand.
“A lot of scouting has already been done. I don’t think five games would actually change the decisions of where IPL teams will go. It’s just for us from an individual standpoint to focus on what we can contribute to our team and leave the rest to whatever,” he said.
With the ODI team just winning their series, Powell was asked about whether or not there is pressure for the T20 side to do the same.
“There is always pressure, especially playing at home against such a good opponent,” he said.
“Fortunately for us as a T20 team, we’ve been managing that pressure pretty well, so far,” he added.
The first T20I bowls off tomorrow at 3:00pm JA time/4:00pm ECT.
Hamilton hits 96*; Cornwall, Walsh Jr dominate as Hurricanes go top with 84-run win over Volcanoes
Jahmar Hamilton, Rakheem Cornwall and Hayden Walsh Jr all played starring roles to lead the Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a comprehensive 84-run win over the Winward Islands Volcanoes in their CG United Super50 Cup game at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Friday.
The Hurricanes, after winning the toss and batting first, recovered from being 68-6 after 23 overs to post 180 all out off 48.4 overs, a respectable total in the end.
Hamilton, who came to the crease at 23-2 in the ninth over, carried his bat though the innings on the way to a career-best 96* off 128 balls including just five fours and two sixes.
To put into context how crucial Hamilton’s knock was, Jewel Andrew was the next highest scorer for the Hurricanes with 17.
Kavem Hodge starred with the ball for the Volcanoes with 4-26 from his 10 overs while Darel Cyrus was good in support with 2-33 from his 10 overs.
It was then the turn of the Leewards spin twins to take over proceedings as captain Rakheem Cornwall and Hayden Walsh Jr combined to take all ten wickets as the Windwards were bundled out for 96 in just 21 overs.
Cornwall led the way with 6-26 off nine overs while Walsh Jr took 4-20 off six overs as the Hurricanes moved to 38 points from five matches to sit at the top of the points table, one point ahead of the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and six ahead of the Barbados Pride who were doing battle with the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the time of publishing.
Alick Athanaze was the only Volcanoes batting to pass 30 with his 34.
Full Scores:
Leeward Islands Volcanoes 180 off 48.4 overs (Jahmar Hamilton 96*, Kavem Hodge 4-26, Darel Cyrus 2-33)
Windward Islands Volcanoes 96 off 21 overs (Alick Athanaze 33, Rakheem Cornwall 6-26, Hayden Walsh Jr 4-20).
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