Yorkshire coach McGrath 'embarrassed' by poor form

Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath has questioned his side's mentality after they slipped to an "embarrassing" defeat at Durham in the T20 Blast.The White Rose's 63-run defeat at Chester-le-Street leaves them with two wins from eight games in the competition.They are also struggling in Division One of the County Championship after winning promotion last summer, with just one victory in seven matches."It was pretty embarrassing if I'm honest," McGrath told BBC Radio Leeds. "The last two performances have not been anywhere near good enough."Again, we lost our way, and anytime we have a bump in the road we seem to have a bad three or four overs and we just can't deal with that setback. We just give all the momentum away to the opposition."We did it a bit with the ball and then with the bat. We were going well in the powerplay, but there were six or seven overs where we got behind the rate and lost wickets. Very disappointing."He added: "We just haven't played good enough. We had a very experienced team out there, there's no excuses."You can have great individuals, and we've got that. But we're just not playing well enough and are not smart enough either when push comes to shove."
Visa issue delays Shafique's arrival
McGrath's side head to Trent Bridge to face County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire on Sunday.They had added Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique on a two-match deal last week but McGrath revealed he will now not be available to play against Notts."We've had some disappointing news on Shafique, his visa isn't going to be ready on time," said McGrath."It's out of our hands so there's not much we can do."McGrath is hopeful he will be available to play in the County Championship match against Essex, starting at Clifton Park, York, on 29 June.

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Times

21 minutes ago

• Times

Jasprit Bumrah shows timid England seamers how risk brings reward

There may not be a better cricket pitch in the world than at Headingley. It exhilarates and frustrates in equal measure; it can exasperate, but also stimulate. Above all, it is a pitch that, especially to a bowler, says: 'Don't be afraid of taking risks, as rewards may be just around the corner.' It is a place of extremes: England famously winning in the 1981 Ashes Test after being asked to follow on, or being bowled out for 67 by the Aussies in 2019 and still chasing 362 in the second innings to win by one wicket. On Saturday, India produced a fourth-wicket of partnership of 209 and then lost seven wickets for 41. It was classic Headingley fare. Don't take your eye off the ball for a second. What makes it such a good surface? The bounce, firstly. There is more lift and life from this 22 yards of loam than any other in England. Edges carry to slips set halfway back to the boundary. But long hops can be cut or pulled confidently and half-volleys slide obligingly on to the middle of the bat rather than hitting the toe end. When the ball is new and the clouds are heavy, it wriggles past the bat like an elusive snake. When the ball is old and the skies are clear, it satisfies a batter's deepest cravings. For a bowler it rewards bravery, punishes timidity. You have to speculate to accumulate. Look to pitch the ball up, but deliver it with purpose, intent. Don't just float it up there. Chris Woakes, slightly short of bowling after his ankle injury, was a bit inclined to do that. Headingley is a cruel place if you are a bit out of sync. Woakes's figures were zero for 103. Ben Stokes, galloping to the wicket with easy rhythm and forcing the ball in to the pitch almost on a driving length, asked a question every ball. His figures were four for 66. The margins are minute. Later, Josh Tongue got some cheap spoils for targeting the stumps of the lower order. Brydon Carse paid the penalty for not making the Indian openers play enough. This is the first Test at Headingley since 2007 when England have taken the field without James Anderson or Stuart Broad — or both — in the team (they have 97 wickets and average 26 at Headingley between them). It made Stokes's decision to put India in — based on the stats suggesting the pitch gets better day by day — more of a risk than it might otherwise have been. Because of the precision required, the rapid outfield and the odd undulations of the ground — running slightly downhill and then up on to the pitch from the Kirkstall Lane End, and yet ploughing uphill from the Rugby Stand End, it is a tough place for a bowler uncertain of himself. Your front foot lands slightly sooner than you expect from the Kirkstall Lane End, jarring your whole body, and you tend to overpitch, or no ball (both, in my case). You are switched to the Rugby Stand End, which feels like a steep climb, and you keep overstriding and dropping short. Neither Carse nor Tongue had ever played a first-class match at Headingley before. England were thankful that Stokes found a similar rhythm to the brilliantly sustained spell he produced here in that epic 2019 Test, and that India totally relinquished their advantage of 430 for three. Against this unproven attack they should have got 600. The India bowlers suffered the same extremes of fortune. As expected from a man with 205 Test wickets at an average of 19.4 — lower than anyone in history with 200 or more Test victims — Jasprit Bumrah was virtually unplayable in his first four overs. Unperturbed by the ground's unusual geography in his approach — because he doesn't have a run-up — he produced a series of wicked deliveries angling into the stumps and then snaking away. A high-tech bowling machine set to 88mph with a hint of late outswing to right or left-hander could not have unleashed a more searching or unremitting spell. It was to Ollie Pope's and Ben Duckett's great credit that they survived it, aided by Ravindra Jadeja's dropped catch off Duckett at backward point. With his extraordinary action and fingertip command of swing, Bumrah is a freak. He is as good in his way as the whippet-like Malcolm Marshall — generally agreed to be the best of the great West Indian attack of the 1980s — and with many of the same attributes. High pace, deception, super-skilled manipulation of the ball with his wrist and an innate understanding of batsmen, pitches and situations. Like Bumrah, his deliveries seemed laser-guided to evade bats and cannon into stumps. Marshall averaged 14 with the ball at Headingley, and, it might be recalled, even bowled England out in 1988 (taking seven for 53) with a broken thumb. But the other India bowlers found control elusive and the pitch capricious. Mohammed Siraj conceded four an over, and Prasidh Krishna went at six. Pope and Duckett were coasting along in a second-wicket partnership of 122. Until overambition cost Duckett his wicket and could have caused Pope's downfall too, but for a second drop, this time by Jaiswal. Bumrah the sufferer. As with almost any Headingley Test, only a fool would try to predict the eventual outcome after two days' play. But England could do with Jofra Archer coming through his Sussex rehab, and soon.

Telegraph

an hour ago

• Telegraph

Tip-toeing assassin Jasprit Bumrah finds fast-bowling perfection

As Jasprit Bumrah strode on to the Headingley turf, the crowd was pregnant with expectation. It was not merely that play was about to resume, with England beginning their innings – but that the ball would be thrust into the hands of one of the most remarkable bowlers in Test match history. The clouds circling Leeds lent Bumrah's preparation an especially ominous quality. With his slingshot action, pace and array of variations, Bumrah does not need conditions to be in his favour to be lethal. But the moisture on the Headingley pitch, the grey conditions overhead and the floodlights amplified the challenge facing England's batsmen. Bumrah's first two warm-ups were in vain: drizzle delayed his first bowl in a first-class game for almost six months. Bumrah's appearances will be rationed this summer which only makes the sight of him standing at the top of his mark, poised to unleash hell, more tantalising. Zak Crawley was tasked with facing Bumrah from 22 yards. Perhaps Crawley hoped that, 168 days since he last bowled in a first-class match, Bumrah would need a few overs to relocate his best. If Crawley entertained this delusion, Bumrah's first delivery – which straightened on an immaculate line just outside off stump – showed otherwise. Now Bumrah circled on to off stump, returning to his spot with the menace of a debt collector door-knocking. His third ball squared up Crawley, and narrowly evaded his edge. His fourth delivery kissed the edge but bounced in front of the slips, earning four scarcely-deserved runs. Crawley then blocked the fifth ball securely enough. From the last ball of his opening over, Bumrah seemed to have mislaid his immaculate line, instead spearing the ball towards leg stump. But as Crawley shaped to play the ball through the on side, the ball leapt up, like a leopard out of a bush, and swung away to claim the edge: fast-bowling perfection, a fusion of swing, seam, bounce and 90mph pace. Jasprit Bumrah has arrived. — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2025 For Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, the challenge in the rest of Bumrah's spell was to do what Crawley had failed to do, and survive. This almost proved too much for Duckett from his first ball against Bumrah, which he poked just short of gully. Three balls later, Bumrah changed his line of attack and unfurled a yorker which struck Duckett's boot. But India's review showed that the ball hit Duckett fractionally outside the line of leg stump. When Duckett is batting with either Crawley or Pope, England have a left and right-handed pair against the new ball, forcing bowlers to adjust their lines. Yet this is rather less advantageous against Bumrah. Indeed, one of the many wonders of Bumrah is his equal potency bowling to left and right-handers alike: absurdly, he averages under 20 against both. Whoever faced Bumrah bowled in his opening spell at Leeds, the sense of foreboding remained. In his third over, Bumrah treated Pope to a near-replica of his dismissal of Crawley, which again seemed to defy geometry as it moved in the air and off the pitch. This time, the batsman's edge bisected third slip and gully and secured an undeserved four runs. The over ended with another edge from Pope, this time bouncing just in front of gully and again going for four. Bumrah's wry grimace spoke of his ill-fortune. When he returned for his fourth over, Shubman Gill vowed that Bumrah should not again suffer the injustice of an edge through the vacant slips going for four. As such, he fortified the slip cordon – which now comprised four slips and a gully. Duckett knew what awaited him: a series of deliveries angled across him, each moving wickedly and testing his famous reticence to leave the ball alone. This time, the edge did land in a fielder's hands, when Duckett slashed the ball to backward point; yet Ravindra Jadeja, one of the world's greatest fielders, shelled a relatively routine chance. When Duckett survived the next over, Bumrah's first spell ended with a haul of 1-21 from five overs: figures can seldom have been more deceptive. By the time Bumrah returned, an over before tea, the afternoon gloom had given way to glorious sunshine. Yet his threat was undimmed. Duckett, already fortuitous against Bumrah earlier, almost edged another venomous delivery, which pitched on the leg stump then curved past his groping edge. Finally, in the fourth over of his spell, Bumrah cramped up Duckett and elicited an inside edge, which crashed into his stumps. Bumrah celebrated with an undemonstrative smile, exuding the air of a man who was not surprised. Then again, nor should Bumrah have been: no one else in Test history, after all, has taken more than 200 wickets at under 20 apiece. This record is even more remarkable as he disproportionately rests against weaker sides. 🎙️ "You need a breakthrough, you go to Bumrah and he delivers." Ben Duckett departs for 62 ❌ — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2025 Moving the ball both ways from his exaggerated angle wide of the crease, Bumrah plotted his moves ahead, like Ronnie O'Sullivan constructing a century break. Joe Root was perilously close to edging behind. Pope, who was once the victim of one of Bumrah's most outlandish yorkers, drove at a ball that left him, edging to third slip. This time, Yashasvi Jaiswal spilled the chance. Bumrah covered his face in his Indian cap in his despair. As he trudged back to fine leg, Rishabh Pant ran towards the bowler to console him, apologising for his teammate's failure to match Bumrah's excellence. In the last throes of the day, Gill returned – inevitably – to Bumrah. From his second ball, Pope got an inside edge and scrambled a single to bring up his century; perhaps Bumrah's luck had not changed. But next ball, Root was deceived by a delivery that straightened rather than moved in, and poked the ball to slip: his tenth dismissal to Bumrah in Test cricket. GOT HIM! Jasprit Bumrah gets the BIG wicket of Joe Root ⚡️ — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2025 Harry Brook has never previously had the misfortune of facing Bumrah before. In an over and a half at the close, Brook learned just how hazardous batting against Bumrah is. Deliveries by turn nipped in and away; there was a surprise slower ball too. Then, Bumrah showed off his bouncer, cramping up Brook and watching as Mohammed Siraj rushed back from mid on to complete a fine catch. Bumrah raised his arms aloft in elation. Then, he heard the umpire's sickening call: he had overstepped, for the third time in the over, winning Brook a reprieve. A brutal bouncer to end the day, which Brook narrowly ducked inside the line of, emphasised the challenge that awaits England on day three and beyond. England's fear for the rest of the series will be that Bumrah will be just as good but less unlucky. Their only comfort will be that, unlike Australia last winter, they will not have to face Bumrah in all five Tests.

Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

Emma Raducanu spotted watching US Open doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz at Queens after withdrawing from Wimbledon practice event with back pain

Emma Raducanu took a trip down to Queen's Club on Saturday to watch her US Open mixed doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz. The British No1 withdrew from the Berlin Open this week as she continues to manage back pain after a spasm. She is due to compete in Eastbourne next week but before that was spotted on the Queen's Club balcony with Myah Petchey, the daughter of her coach Mark, watching her friend Alcaraz beat fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 to reach the HSBC Championships final. Earlier this week, the US Open revealed the partnerships for their revamp, $1million mixed doubles event in 2025. Among the more eye-catching pairings was one featuring two former US Open singles champions. 'I was thinking that I couldn't play better if it wasn't with Emma,' said Alcaraz earlier this week. 'I just asked Emma if she wants to play doubles with me. Yeah, I made that special request.' 'She took a while (to respond),' he joked. 'No, not that much, not that much. 'But obviously she had to ask, and she had to think a little bit. But it wasn't a minute, so...' 'She's going to be the boss,' the 22-year-old grinned after being asked how the pairing would work in practice. 'The US Open came to us and gave us the opportunities to play mixed doubles. I'm super excited about it. I think it's going to be great. It was an amazing idea for the tournament. 'I've known Emma since a really long time ago, so we know each other. I have a really good relationship with her. So it's just going to be interesting. 'We are going to enjoy it for sure. I will try to put my doubles skill on it. We will try to win. But obviously, it's going to be really, really fun.' Raducanu has been drawn to face American Ann Li in the first round at Eastbourne, with a possible second-round clash with two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur.