Cricket news round-up – 11 September: Gayle scores 22nd T20 ton, still ends up on losing side

Cricket news round-up – 11 September: Gayle scores 22nd T20 ton, still ends up on losing side

Gayle has scored 9,727 runs and taken 165 wickets

There was a run-fest in CPL 2019 when St Kitts and Nevis Patriots chased down a 242-run target with seven balls to spare, with Chris Gayle seeing his 22nd T20 ton go in vain. Elsewhere, Sri Lankan players are denied NOC to play in CPL, and Jimmy Anderson is frustrated the England pitches suited Australia more during the Ashes.

Gayle ton in vain as CPL sees record run-chase

Jamaica Tallawahs posted a mammoth 241/4, thanks to Chris Gayle’s century, but that still wasn’t enough to ensure victory as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, riding on big hits from its top order, powered through the chase with seven balls remaining for a four-wicket win.

Apart from it being the highest total in CPL history, it was also the fourth-highest total batting second in all T20 cricket, and the second-highest successful one. The encounter also saw a plethora of sixes – the record for most number of sixes in a T20 was match, with a combined 37 big hits between the two sides.

The victory was St Kitts first in CPL 2019, and it moved them up to No.3 in the table, four points behind defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders and top-placed Guyana Amazon Warriors, both level on six points.

Smith extends lead over Kohli atop rankings

Following his double-century in Manchester, Steve Smith has extended his lead over Virat Kohli at the top of the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen. He has 937 ratings points, 34 ahead of second-placed Virat Kohli.

Similarly, among the bowlers, Pat Cummins consolidated his lead at the top of the charts, with a career-best 914 points, 63 ahead of second-placed Kagiso Rabada. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood moved up four places to No.8 in the bowlers’ charts.

Afghanistan players also had a good rankings update, following their historic ‘away’ victory over Bangladesh. Asfghar Afghan, the former captain, moved from 110 to 63 in the batting charts, while Rahmat Shah is two places below him at 65, moving up from 93. Rashid Khan, the captain, has moved from 69th to 37th on the bowling charts, following a match-haul of 11 wickets.

Dickwella, Perera denied NOCs to play in CPL

Niroshan Dickwella and Thisara Perera have been denied NOCs to play in CPL 2019 by Sri Lanka Cricket after the two players, along with eight others, withdrew from their tour of Pakistan at the end of this month.

The report, in ESPNCricinfo, suggested the denial was a direct consequence of players withdrawing from the Pakistan tour, quoting Ashley de Silva, the SLC CEO. “It’s our policy not to give NOCs when there is a national tour, and the players would have known that,” de Silva said.

“So Dickwella has not been granted an NOC and will be expected to train with the national team in the next few weeks. We have also asked Thisara [who has played two matches for St Lucia Zouks] to return to the country on September 15, so he can also join the team in training.”

‘Pitches suited Australia more than us’ – Jimmy Anderson

England pace ace Jimmy Anderson believes pitches during the Ashes should have better-suited the home side, after Australia retained the urn with victory in the fourth Test in Manchester.

Anderson’s involvement in the series has been just four overs – a calf injury thereafter ruled him out for the rest of the tournament. He admitted Steve Smith’s “phenomenal” batting was a factor, but said the pitches suited Australia more, and that England weren’t allowed to exploit home conditions.

“I think they’ve probably suited Australia more than us,” he said. “I would have liked to have seen a bit more grass but that’s the nature of the game here. When you’re selling out – like Lancashire selling out five days of Test cricket – it’s hard not to produce a flat deck but, you know, that’s one of the frustrations from a player’s point of view. We go to Australia and get pitches that suit them. They come over here and get pitches that suit them. It doesn’t seem quite right.”