Cricket news round-up – 04 July: England qualify for semi-final; Ambati Rayudu retires

England beat New Zealand by 119 runs and qualify for the semi-final of the World Cup; Ambati Rayudu retires from all forms of cricket; Chamari Athapaththu replaces Sophie Devine at Lancashire Lightning, and Joe Burns becomes available for Ashes selection.

England make the semis after 27 years

England entered the semi-final of a men’s World Cup after 27 years as they beat New Zealand by 119 runs at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday, 3 July. The last time England made the semi-final of a World Cup was in 1992.

After winning the toss and batting first, the hosts were helped by a second consecutive century by Jonny Bairstow, who scored 106 off 99 balls with 15 fours and a six. Jason Roy got 60 off 61 and Eoin Morgan helped with 42 off 40 to take England to 305/8.

The New Zealand reply never got going even since they lost both their openers inside the first six overs. Both Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were run out, putting the Kiwis in deep trouble at 69/4.

Tom Latham tried to hold one end up with his 57 off 65 but got little support from the all-rounders, Jimmy Neesham (19), Colin de Grandhomme (3) and Mitchell Santner (12) as New Zealand were bowled out for 186 in 45 overs. Mark Wood returned three wickets.

Ambati Rayudu retires

India middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The move comes after Rayudu was overlooked by the selectors while naming replacements for two injured players in India’s World Cup squad despite Rayudu’s name being present in the list of standby players.

Rishabh Pant was named Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement and Mayank Agarwal was called up when Vijay Shankar, who piped Rayudu to earn a place in India’s original squad and occupy the No.4 position erstwhile taken by Rayudu, was injured.

The right-handed batsman finished with 1694 runs from 55 ODIs at 47.05. He had a long IPL career, too, playing for Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. “I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to the decision to step away from the sport and retire from all forms and levels of the game. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and all the state associations that I have represented which include Hyderabad, Baroda, Andhra and Vidharbha,” Rayudu said in a statement.

“I also would like to thank the two IPL franchises MI and CSK for their support. It has been an honour and privilege to have represented our country. I would like to thank the captains I have played under, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and especially Virat Kohli, who has always shown great belief in me throughout my career with the Indian team.”

Joe Burns available for men’s Ashes

Australia opening batsman Joe Burns is available for selection after recovering from a chronic fatigue disorder. He will fly to England to link up with the Australia ‘A’ squad ahead of the Ashes series and will play the England Lions at Canterbury on July 14.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Burns said. “I’m looking forward to getting back to the UK, getting stuck in.”

“The hardest thing is when you do have the uncertainty. I had symptoms for a long time, so I knew that something wasn’t right, but to get the diagnosis and then work with some specialists and get the support from Cricket Australia to get myself right and get back into training, as soon as you have that certainty it makes it a lot easier,” he added, speaking about his injury. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity. It was always going to be tough with no prescribed cricket coming up so I’m glad the selectors could find some cricket for me.”

Athapaththu to replace Devine at Lightning

Loughborough Lightning have roped in Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu as a replacement for the injured Spohie Devine in their squad for the 2019 edition of the Women’s Super League. Devine, who scored 269 runs and picked up 16 wickets last season and was retained by the side, has been ruled out due to injury.

“It is gutting not to have Sophie in our squad this year as she made such a big impact last season and we were looking forward to seeing her prowess again with bat and ball,” said Rob Taylor, head coach of the Lightning.

Athapaththu, an attacking opening bat, dazzled in the 2017 Women’s World Cup in England, where she scored a magnificent 178 against Australia. She has also played for the Yorkshire Diamonds in the 2017 and 2018 editions of the league.

“I’m really excited to have Chamari in our squad this summer. She is an explosive player with plenty of talent and will compliment the other batters we have in our top order. She has played in the KSL before and has performed well against us in the past, so it is great to have her on our side,” said Taylor.(