Cricket news round-up – 1 August: England announce XI, England Women finally win

England have left out a yet-to-be-fit Jofra Archer for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston; England Women managed an end-of-series consolation win in the Women’s Ashes; Zimbabwe cricketers have announced that they are willing to play without getting paid; and more.

Jimmy in but not Jofra

Jofra Archer’s side strain has ruled him out of the first Ashes Test, at Edgbaston, starting July 1. However, James Anderson, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler – all of whom were rested for the Test against Ireland – returned to the XI. The team reads:

Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Joe Root (c), Joe Denly, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

England Women finally win

England Women finally won a match in the ongoing Women’s Ashes, by 17 runs in the last T20I of the series, at County Ground, Bristol. Australia Women took the series 12-4.

It was not easy, especially after Jess Jonassen (4-0-19-1) and Megan Schutt (4-0-27-1) had reduced England to 84/5 in 13.3 overs. But Lauren Winfield (26* in 22 balls) and Katherine Brunt (25* in 18) took the score to 139/5.

The Australian chase was never on. They were bowled out for 121. Ellyse Perry (60* in 50) scored almost half the runs. Alyssa Healy got 28, but nobody else reached double figures. Brunt (4-0-21-3), Sophie Ecclestone (4-1-22-3), and debutant Mady Villiers (4-0-20-2) were the wreckers-in-chief.

Zimbabwe cricketers willing to play without getting paid

An ESPNCricinfo report suggested that Zimbabwe cricketers are willing to pay for free even it comes to that, for as long as they can see “light at the end of the tunnel” and there is an assurance that they will be paid eventually.

The assurances came in the aftermath of ICC’s ban on Zimbabwe from all ICC activities. As a result, Zimbabwe will not be eligible to participate in any qualifiers (including the upcoming ICC World T20 qualifiers), though they can still play bilateral series.

Mumbai, Delhi swap players

In a between-season tradeoff, Mumbai Indians have traded Sherfane Rutherford for Mayank Markande with Delhi Capitals. Markande, a star in 2018, played only thrice this season. The draft is somewhat surprising, given that Delhi already have three leg-spinners in Amit Mishra, Rahul Tewatia, and Sandeep Lamichhane.

Rutherford, on the other hand, is an explosive batsman who also bowls reasonably at a brisk pace. He had earned some renown during his stint for Guyana Amazon Warriors, and has recently got a rearguard 65 against India A.