All posts by n8rngtd.top

Shan Masood provides key support as Luke Procter claims three for Northants

ECB Reporters Network24-May-2024Adam Lyth celebrated his 200th Championship match for Yorkshire by scoring his third century of the season on day one of this Vitality County Championship game against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.In-form Lyth, who made his White Rose debut against Durham in 2008, looked in command throughout his innings of 109 (205 balls), playing his trademark cover drive and tucking the ball sweetly off his legs. His 35th first-class century follows scores of 101 and 113 against Leicestershire and Gloucestershire this spring, and a 97 against Derbyshire.While he was again unable to press home the advantage and post a big more emphatic total, his partnership of 116 in 33.4 overs with Shan Masood (60) provided Yorkshire with a solid platform.Northamptonshire failed to capitalise in the afternoon session despite winning the toss and sticking Yorkshire in on green top under lights. But the tide turned after tea as the hosts fought back, skipper Luke Procter (3 for 63) and former Indian international Siddharth Kaul (2 for 81) sharing the spoils as Yorkshire lost five wickets for 52, before rallying to finish on 312 for seven.Earlier Lyth produced the shot of the morning when he stroked Kaul silkily through the covers for four before taking consecutive boundaries off Procter and running a single to bring up his half-century off 81 balls.He survived big lbw shouts from Jack White on 24 and Ben Sanderson on 56 but dominated an opening stand of 86 with Finlay Bean (18) who was undone by one from Justin Broad which tailed back in and knocked back leg stump. Broad has clearly put on a yard of pace this season and was the fastest bowler on display, consistently in the low eighties mph.Northamptonshire were bolstered by the return of White from an ankle injury. Last year’s leading wicket taker, White was by far the hosts’ most threatening bowler, regularly beating the bat and unlucky not to have been rewarded with a wicket.After lunch Masood offered a sharp chance on 7 but Emilio Gay was unable to hold on at slip. It proved a costly mistake as the Yorkshire captain square cut Kaul to the ropes to bring up the 50 partnership in 19 overs. He brought up Yorkshire’s next milestone too when he tucked Broad off his legs to bring up the visitors’ 150 in the 50th over.Still living a charmed life, Masood was gifted a reprieve in Rob Keogh’s first over when, after surviving a close lbw shout, Lewis McManus missed a stumping chance off the next delivery.Lyth meanwhile straight drove White down the ground for four and picked up another boundary when he steered Sanderson behind square. He looked set for a big total after reaching three figures, stroking Luke Procter through the covers once more before chipping one back for the easiest of caught and bowled chances.After tea Masood clipped Broad off his legs for four to reach 50 and stroked Kaul through the covers before he loosely played at the Indian international’s next delivery and was sensationally caught by a diving Gay at slip who redeemed himself after his earlier drop.It set in motion a Yorkshire collapse, Kaul soon picking up a second wicket when he got one to jag back and trap George Hill (8) lbw.James Wharton (21) took the attack to Keogh, smashing him over long-on for six, but he was next to go when the ball ricocheted off his leg onto the stumps as he attempted to pull the spinning all-rounder.Will Luxton (12) attacked against the new ball, but Procter soon had his wicket when he edged to Gay at second slip. Procter and Gay then combined again as Jonathan Tattersall (14) edged low to slip.Jordan Thompson showed some defiance at the end of the day, driving Sanderson through the covers and pulling Broad away for another boundary.

Hong Kong field an unchanged side in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-20251:27

Can Bangladesh maintain their aggressive batting approach?

Bangladesh captain Litton Das elected to bowl in their Asia Cup opener against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi.Litton said he decided to bowl since they were not aware of the pitch conditions at the venue. He confirmed that Bangladesh were playing three seamers, two spinners, and six batters.Hong Kong captain Yasim Murtaza was happy despite losing the toss because he wanted to bat first anyway. Murtaza said that the batters made some mistakes against Afghanistan and that they wouldn’t want to repeat them. There were no changes to the Hong Kong side, with Murtaza backing the same XI to come good tonight.The pitch report sugges a dry surface with some cracks opening up but remains run friendly. The shorter boundary on one side of the ground could interest the battersOne losing record promises to come to an end tonight. Bangladesh have never won a T20I in Abu Dhabi. Hong Kong are yet to win an Asia Cup match.Bangladesh XI: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Parvez Hossain Emon, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shamim Hossain, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Tanzim Hasan, 9 Rishad Hossain, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.Hong Kong XI: 1 Zeeshan Ali (wk), 2 Anshy Rath, 3 Babar Hayat, 4 Nizakat Khan, 5 Kalhan Challu, 6 Kinchit Shah, 7 Yasim Murtaza (capt), 8 Aizaz Khan, 9 Ayush Shukla, 10 Ateeq Iqbal, 11 Ehsan Khan

The new state-of-the-art NCA campus likely to be operational in early 2025

Shashank Kishore15-Aug-2024VVS Laxman, the former India batter, will extend his term as head of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru by at least a year. His initial three-year contract was until this September.Laxman was being pursued by an IPL franchise for a head coach position, a role that is now not possible because of his NCA duties. He is likely to be assisted by his team of coaches, including Shitanshu Kotak, Sairaj Bahutule and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, all stalwarts of Indian domestic cricket.The extension of Laxman’s contract comes ahead of the inauguration of a new state-of-the-art NCA campus in the outskirts of Bengaluru, the foundation for which was laid in January 2022, 14 years after the land was sanctioned by the Karnataka government on a 99-year lease.Believed to be equipped with at least 100 pitches, indoor facilities with 45 pitches, three international-sized grounds, a modern rehab centre, lodging facilities and Olympic-sized pools, apart from a host of other amenities, the NCA is in its final stages of construction. It is likely to be operational from early next year.One of Laxman’s challenges will be to build on an already comprehensive India A tour program that he has carried forward from Rahul Dravid’s tenure. It has, however, been hampered lately by a busy international calendar.During his first three-year term at the NCA, Laxman has built on the robust processes set for injury management, player rehabilitation, coaching programmes and preparing roadmaps for the senior teams, age-group and women’s cricket.

Both teams still seeking first win after final-ball drama

ECB Media30-Jul-2024Northern Superchargers 100 for 7 (Davidson-Richard’s 27, Bell 4-11) tied with Southern Brave 100 for 8 (Tryon 25, Smith 2-24)Kate Cross scrambled two runs off the final ball to level the scores and secure a tie between Northern Superchargers and Southern Brave in the Hundred.On a slow and used wicket, boundary-hitting never looked easy and Superchargers’ chase of 100 was a nervous and fraught affair throughout, off the back of a first-innings batting effort from Southern Brave that was equally scrappy.Brave – well marshalled by captain Georgia Adams – used the conditions and kept the stumps in play to maintain the pressure in the chase, and were thankful to England seamer Lauren Bell whose 4 for 11 was the standout performance of the game.Both Phoebe Litchfield and Alice Davidson-Richards looked to have the chase in hand for Hollie Armitage’s side, but on a nip-and-tuck day that saw momentum swing this way and that, both players were dismissed just as they seemed to be putting their team’s nose in front.Only Maia Bouchier and Chloe Tryon passed 20 for Southern Brave, but Rhianna Southby and Bell played a hugely important role with bat in hand to inch their team up to the psychologically important three-figure total.As it was, Southern Brave’s total was just enough to not be surpassed by Superchargers, but both sides will feel they missed the opportunity to get their first win of the Hundred on the board.Meerkat Match Hero Lauren Bell said: “The emotions were up and down! In that last set of five I had a lot of adrenaline. It was cool, that’s what we play cricket for.”You just go ball by ball at the death, and see what player you’re bowling at. Pace-off was working on this pitch, and pace-on was a good variation, so it was ball by ball.”The ideal final ball was a straight yorker and I don’t think I was too far away from executing. Maybe we should have just looked at the field a bit but what can you do, hindsight is lovely.”

The two matches will provide Australia’s preparation for the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2025An extra ODI has been added to Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka which will provide the visitors additional preparation for the Champions Trophy.The two matches will now take place on February 12 and 14 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and will be day games.The first of the games begins just two days after the scheduled fifth day of the second Test in Galle so it remains to be seen how many players featuring in that match can turnaround for the one-dayer if the Test goes the distance.However, Australia have nine players in their preliminary Champions Trophy squad who aren’t part of the Test series, including captain Pat Cummins and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood.But Cummins’ participation remains uncertain as he is carrying an ankle injury which he played with during the India Test series.Australia’s ODI players are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka around the start of the second Test. Their first match in the Champions Trophy is against England on February 22 followed by South Africa on February 25 and Afghanistan on February 28.The first semi-final will take place in Dubai on March 4 with the second in Lahore on March 5 following confirmation of the hybrid model due to India not traveling to Pakistan. The final will be on March 9, in either Dubai or Lahore depending on whether India qualify.

“I think the impact player is having a big effect on the way teams are batting,” the Delhi Capitals head coach says

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2024Scoring rates have gone up as the IPL has aged. But never before has the scoring rate for a season hit nine an over. This year, after 31 games, we are going at 9.48. The highest before this was in IPL 2023, 8.99.That 9.48 was nudged along by Rajasthan Royals matching their own record for highest successful chase in IPL history, crossing Kolkata Knight Riders’ 223 for 6 off the last ball.The three highest team totals in the history of the IPL, and four of the five highest, have come this year. The record, held from April 23, 2013, to March 27, 2024, by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (then Bangalore) when Chris Gayle hit 175 not out in 66 balls to take them to 263 for 5, has been surpassed three times this year.Related

• The good man Pattie and the scoundrel Cummins

• RCB have Narine to tackle, again, with their campaign starting to go belly-up

• The sloppiest IPL of them all? Here's what the numbers say

• The high-impact emergence of the uncapped Indian player

Delhi Capitals have not been at the forefront of this run glut, and are down at No. 9 on the table ahead of their seventh match, against Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, and their head coach Ricky Ponting feels that “the team that’s most willing to take on the bowling”, rather than the best defensive side with the ball, will likely win the title. And the IPL rule of teams having an impact player to turn to has made things the way they are.”Looks like that’s where the game is going to go,” Ponting said at his pre-match press conference. “Sunrisers [Hyderabad, SRH] are obviously responsible for a couple of those [big scores]. KKR got 260-odd [272 for 7] against us. I think the impact player is having a big effect on the way teams are batting. You watched the way Travis [Head] batted last night. You can’t bat that way unless you’ve got confidence in the players underneath you and you bat deep in your batting order as well.”Quite often, big tournaments like the IPL and the Big Bash back in Australia have been won by the best defensive bowling teams. But the way this IPL is going – and [with] the different rules in the IPL – it looks like it will be won by the team that’s most willing to take on the bowling, and try and post some really big scores. I think it’s potentially more attacking batting that’s going to win this IPL than defensive bowling.”Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have made a name for defending smallish totals in Lucknow, but look around and there are massive totals everywhere. The 200 mark was breached for the first time in the third game of the season, when KKR scored 208 for 7 and SRH responded with 204 for 7 at Eden Gardens. It has been breached 11 times since, with SRH’s 287 for 3 against RCB the biggest total at this stage. And, if Ponting is right, SRH, or one of the other teams maximising the powerplay and sailing past 200, could well take the trophy come May 26.

Jadhav, who had also registered for the WPL auction but went unsold, is one of the standbys for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2025Fourteen-year-old Ira Jadhav scored an unbeaten 346 off 157 balls to launch Mumbai to 563 for 3 against Meghalaya in Alur in the Women’s Under-19 One Day Trophy. Jadhav smashed 42 fours and 16 sixes and finished with a strike rate of 220.38.In the chase, Meghalaya crumbled to 19 all out, with six players falling for ducks, as Mumbai posted a massive 544-run win.The record for the highest individual score in a women’s U-19 match belongs to South Africa’s Lizelle Lee. Playing for Mpumalanga, Lee scored an unbeaten 427 against Kei in 2010.Jadhav, who opened the innings, was part of a 274-run stand for the second wicket with her captain Hurley Gala, who made 116 off 79 balls. Jadhav’s contribution to the partnership was 149 off 71 balls. This was followed by a stand of 186 with Diksha Pawar – Jadhav’s share was 137 off 50 balls. Against such an onslaught, three of Meghalaya’s bowlers conceded 100 runs or more.A student of the Shardashram Vidyamandir International School, the alma mater of Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli and Ajit Agarkar, Jadhav was one of the youngest players to register for the WPL 2025 auction, but she went unsold. A few days later, she was named among standbys for India’s Under-19 T20 World Cup squad that will travel to Malaysia.

England captain seeks positives after 4-1 loss as he backs team to stick to positive style

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-20242:42

Did England run out of steam in Dharamsala?

England were outplayed by the better team since winning the first Test against India – that was Ben Stokes’ assessment of his side’s 4-1 series defeat, delivered well inside three days of the final match in Dharamsala.Faced with a first-innings defict of 259, England were bowled out for 195 in their second as India won by an innings and 64 runs. Stokes’ response immediately after the match was measured in the face of R Ashwin’s five-wicket haul – he took nine for the match in his 100th Test – which sealed the result. Centuries to Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma helped India to an imposing 477 after Kuldeep Yadav’s five-for helped restrict England to 218 in their first innings.”Now that the series has come to an end – I don’t give too much away, obviously, whilst the series is going on – but since the first Test match of the series, we’re man enough and we’re big enough to say that we’ve been outplayed by the better team in the series,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation. “But we’ve got so much cricket coming up in our summer, and then Pakistan and New Zealand. Taking the positives that we’ve got from the series is something that I’m really looking forward to. I’m excited to be a part of driving this team even further forward.”Speaking to broadcaster TNT afterwards, Stokes added that the tour result had done nothing to dent England’s Bazball ethos, saying “we ain’t gonna let the last two years go to waste over this series in isolation”, having said during the presentation that he wasn’t troubled by a lack of batting consistency.”When you look at the game as a whole, and the series as a whole, there’s been really small moments throughout every Test match where we wrestled a bit of momentum back towards us, but we’ve not just been able to maintain and keep that going,” Stokes said. “And in Test-match cricket, especially out here where the game can turn really fast on you, it’s about understanding that and trying to understand those moments and being a bit more relentless with it. How that looks, I’m not sure, but we’re all here at the highest level playing cricket. I think we all know as individuals that that’s probably where it’s gone wrong for us, on more than one occasion.Related

• McCullum: 'When you are exposed, you know you have to get better'

• Dhruv Jurel manifests his dream scenario

• Ashwin bags nine in his 100th Test as India cruise to innings win

• Kuldeep marks Ashwin's big day with his own big show

• 'We've always found people to step up' – Dravid looks back at a famous series win

“When India get on top, especially with the ball, you see a lot of men come around the bat, and when you’ve got the quality bowlers that they do – Ashwin, [Ravindra] Jadeja, Kuldeep – you’ve got to find ways of getting the guys around the bat out of there. Sometimes that comes with risk. Risk doesn’t always pay off, but you get a couple of sweeps away and then you find you’ve only got one man around the bat. You’ve just got to be positive enough to be able to take that risk, and know that sometimes it can be your downfall.”You can look and say, ‘could I have done something better?’ But when the intent and the application is there, with the real reason as to why you’re playing that shot, then you can’t really say too much else.”In spite of the margin of England’s defeat, Stokes reiterated that there were positives to take from the match and series. Young spinner Shoaib Bashir overcame illness on the eve of the match to take his second five-wicket haul in as many Tests (just the second and third of his career). Tom Hartley stepped in as lead spinner in the absence of an injured Jack Leach, while Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett continued to develop their partnership at the top of the batting line-up with seven 45-plus stands in the series.Some of the senior players had their moments at the end of the series, too, with Joe Root coming into form with a century in the fourth Test and 84 in the second innings of the fifth, while at the age of 41, James Anderson took the 700th wicket of a Test career spanning nearly 21 years.”I’ve been lucky enough to be on the field with some of the lads there, the milestones that Jimmy’s got to, but being there for 700 wickets as a seamer, it is quite phenomenal,” Stokes added.”I’ve said many a time that he’s someone who every young kid, if he wants to be a fast bowler, should look up to and try and emulate,” he continued. “Everything that he has done from the day he first started being a cricketer, let alone international cricketer, to where he is now … 41 years old, he’s as fit as I’ve ever seen him, and I honestly just don’t know when he’s going to stop, because the desire to commit is still there. It’s great to watch.”

Focus on Australia’s pace-bowling stocks, while England push Joe Root down to accommodate Jamie Smith at No. 3

Vithushan Ehantharajah21-Feb-20255:01

Agar: Aussie youngsters will have ‘hunger to make a difference’

Big picture: Both teams coming off series defeats

Would you believe it, not only have Australia and England been drawn in the same group at a global tournament, but their Champions Trophy returns also start against one another. Universe (ICC), you’ve done it again! And yet, amid such predictable money-grabbing comes a bit of shameful excitement. Even without mentioning the “A” word, these are two bitter rivals in unique states. A champion Australia side shorn of some of those champions, and an England side increasingly desperate to rediscover former glory.The lack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood gives the ODI World Cup holders a less intimidating feel, and subsequently shifts the onus on a batting line-up led by Travis Head’s brand of “Ah, we’ll have a go”. Quite how that responsibility will manifest itself to what is more or less an established group of batters remains to be seen particularly as captain Steven Smith, standing in for Cummins and the injured Mitchell Marsh, who would have likely deputised, weighs up the right combinations for his top seven.That Australia can call upon Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson and Ben Dwarshius to fill big bowling boots reflects the enviable depth of Australian cricket, even if those bowlers’ most notable successes – Abbott aside – have come exclusively in T20s. Extrapolating that to 50-over cricket will be its own challenge. Australia are not putting much stock in the fact they arrive off the back of a 2-0 ODI series loss against Sri Lanka. The same could be said of England, even if their 3-0 defeat to India elicited far more anger and ridicule.Related

• Smith, Australia hope champion DNA outweighs big-name absences

• Buttler: Smith has 'free hit' at No. 3 in reshuffled England batting order

Not training enough and golfing too much were the main takeaways outside a group that actually seems in good spirits considering they have now lost all four ODI series since the 2023 World Cup. To be expected, of course, as negative vibes have no place in Brendon McCullum’s house.In keeping, England’s break to the UAE came with a view of shedding the baggage from a travel-and defeat-heavy month in India, with added benefit of escaping the press hysteria around focusing on the wrong kind of white ball. But McCullum’s task requires a more hands-on and technically focused approach with a group which continues to look uneasy with bat and ball in this format.How much of that McCullum can change in such a short space of time – he has only been in charge of the limited-overs set-up for a month – will be determined over the coming weeks. Right now, it probably helps to have a familiar foe on the horizon to drum up a little extra heart and vigour.As for Jos Buttler, the next fortnight will go some way to determining whether he sticks with the captaincy. A promise to smile more at the start of the year felt optimistic at the time, and has proved as much. But after missing all of England’s ODIs in 2024, he will be better for the three ticked off earlier at the start of February.Of those Buttler missed last year due to a calf injury was the five-match series against Australia at the end of the home summer, which ensures greater familiarity at international level between the players, even if many of them have rubbed shoulders as team-mates or opponents at domestic level.Australia, made up of a few of the alternates substituted into their Champions Trophy squad, triumphed 3-2 on that occasion, having been 2-0 up before taking their foot off the gas. All five results were blowouts of one kind or another. And just as it was for India, Australia’s spinners made hay against England’s batters, with Adam Zampa doing the brunt of the damage, supplemented by handy contributions from Glenn Maxwell, Marnus Labuschagne and Head.Spencer Johnson replaces Mitchell Starc as the left-arm quick in Australia’s squad•Associated Press

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)Australia: LLLLW
England: LLLLW

In the spotlight: Spencer Johnson and Harry Brook

Starc is as close to irreplaceable a bowler as you can get in white-ball cricket. But if you’re going to try, a bloke who is six-feet-four and also bowls left-arm rockets is a great place to start. The best of Spencer Johnson has come in the shortest format, and with only three ODI caps spaced out over more than a year, the burden of replacing Starc at the front and back of an innings will weigh heavy on his broad shoulders. After taking his maiden wickets in Sri Lanka earlier this month, much more will be required of Johnson in Pakistan.Speaking of Pakistan, is there a better place for Harry Brook to rediscover his groove? This country’s pitches have been kind to him, albeit in the Test format, where he averages 84.10 courtesy of four hundreds – the most recent being a triple. England’s newly-appointed vice-captain left the India tour in a funk, with a lowly average of 16.66 in the ODIs brought about by an inability to attack spin effectively. But he will take heart from flatter decks and skippering with distinction against Australia last year, which included registering his maiden ODI century in the 3rd ODI at Chester-le-Street.

Team news

Given the absences, Australia’s pace attack pretty much picks itself. Allrounder Aaron Hardie, the immediate beneficiary of Marcus Stoinis’ retirement from the 50-over format on the eve of the tournament, could sit out for Labuschagne to play as an extra batter. Dwarshius’ left-arm/left-hand option may see him pip Abbott to the bowling allrounder slot.Australia (probable): 1 Travis Head, 2 Matthew Short, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Marnus Labuschagne, 6 Alex Carey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Sean Abbott/Ben Dwarshius, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Spencer JohnsonEngland’s batting reshuffle will see Jamie Smith at No. 3 and Joe Root at No. 4•Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

England announced their XI two days out from the match – early by their unusually prompt standards – with Jamie Smith not just back fit from a calf injury, but also batting at No. 3 while also playing as wicketkeeper. It is not quite a nuclear option, but it does involve pushing Joe Root to No. 4 and taking the gloves from Phil Salt, who kept throughout the ODIs in India. With just four frontline bowling options, Root and Liam Livingstone must join forces effectively to provide a serviceable fifth. The pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, playing his first 50-over tournament since his Super Over heroics in 2019’s World Cup final, will present Australia’s starkest challenge.England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jamie Smith (wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood

Pitch and conditions

ODI pitches at the Gaddafi Stadium are almost always flat belters. The venue hosted two matches in the recent tri-series, with New Zealand posting 330 for 6 to beat Pakistan, and then chasing down 305 with six wickets and eight balls to spare. Lahore is expected to be slightly cooler than it was for the tri-series, partly because of rain this week, which ended up hampering England’s preparations on Thursday. Dew is very rarely a factor at this time of year.5:44

Knight questions idea of Root, Buttler coming down the order

Stats and trivia

• Australia and England have a tight head-to-head record in the Champions Trophy, with England ahead just by a 3-2 margin.
• Maxwell and Buttler are the only members available from the two teams’ squads from the 2013 edition of the tournament.
• Archer is two wickets away from 50 in the ODIs.
• Jamie Smith has only previously batted at No. 3 once in 18 List A innings – for Surrey against Kent in 2019.

Quotes

“I’m going to have my work cut out for me with some of that fast bowling England have got. They’re high quality, highly skilled and high pace. I’ve got to make sure I start well, earn the right, and see where the game takes us. I’m just worried about making sure I start well for the team.”
“He’s been fit and firing now for 18 months or so since being out of the game for a while. He’s really excited to put together that kind of length of time back on the field, and he’s obviously a superstar of the game for us. He is someone, as a captain, you always know you can turn to and throw the ball. He’s obviously going to be really looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

Former Essex and Sussex allrounder agrees one-year deal at Wantage Road

Matt Roller26-Mar-2024Ravi Bopara said he still feels “like a young man in the game” after signing a contract with Northamptonshire which ensures he will play in England’s T20 Blast for the 22nd consecutive season, at the age of 39.Bopara is one of three men to have played more than 200 matches in the Blast and one of two, alongside Samit Patel, to have featured in each of the tournament’s first 21 seasons. He has been in discussions with several counties since his release by Sussex last summer and was ultimately unveiled as a Northants player on Tuesday morning.He has initially signed a one-year, T20-only contract and will celebrate his 39th birthday a few weeks before Northants start their Blast season on May 30 against Derbyshire, who will be captained by their own new signing in Patel. “I’m really happy to have joined Northamptonshire for the T20s this year,” Bopara said in a press release.Bopara captained Sussex in the Blast last year. He had a productive season – he scored 408 runs with a strike rate of 146.23 and chipped in with eight wickets – but Sussex missed out on the quarter-finals and he was not offered a new contract, a decision he described as “very disappointing”.He spent the winter playing overseas for Delhi Bulls (Abu Dhabi T10) and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ILT20) and has recently finished a stint as assistant coach at Karachi Kings. “I felt great in the Blast last year and my game is in a really good place at the moment,” he said. “I’m looking forward to joining the Steelbacks and putting on a show for the fans at Wantage Road.”Northants won the Blast in 2013 and 2016 but have only reached the quarter-finals once in the last seven seasons. They have brought in George Bartlett (Somerset) and George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire) over the winter, with Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza signing for the Blast, while Tom Taylor and Josh Cobb have both left for Worcestershire.”We have a really exciting squad: there’s a lot of quality in that list and I’m hoping to play a big part in bringing a third Blast trophy to the club,” Bopara said. “I’m still learning a great deal about this game at my age. I have a burning desire and hunger to up-skill my game to new heights and I still feel like a young man in the game. There’s so much more for me to achieve in the T20 space.”John Sadler, Northants’ head coach, said: “Ravi is a phenomenal signing for us and we’re delighted to get it over the line. He’s been an incredible performer across all formats for many years and brings a huge presence on and off the field.”