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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRandy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Trinbago Knight Riders used terrific batting conditions – a surface with even bounce and short boundaries at Sabina Park – to rack up 208 for 6, the joint-highest score of this season’s CPL, setting up a 36-run victory against Jamaica Tallawahs. It was the Knight Riders’ eighth win in nine games this season. Brendon McCullum led Knight Riders’ charge with 91 off 62 balls, while Colin Munro and Darren Bravo made rapid contributions again.An 85-run, second-wicket stand between Kumar Sangakkara, who struck his second consecutive half-century, and Lendl Simmons pushed Tallawahs ahead at one stage. However, both batsmen were dismissed off consecutive deliveries, and the Tallawahs never recovered. The Tallawahs remained at third spot on the points table with 10 points.(P)acing T20 battingThe T20 format is relatively new, but McCullum has enough experience – he had played 295 T20s before today – to know how to pace an innings. On a surface with even bounce and good carry, he was aware of the need to take a calculated risk, but also ensured he retained a passive-aggressive approach. He struck five fours and six sixes, all of them were followed by an intention to get a single. Of his 11 boundaries, five were followed by a single and six by dots. Still, he finished with a strike rate of 146.77.Sixes v foursThe shorter the duration of a game, the higher are the chances of marginal plays influencing the game. Teams consume plenty of time and finances to maximise returns. On a ground with small boundaries, the Knight Riders were willing to take the risk of hitting the ball in the air to hit more sixes than fours. The marginal utility of two extra runs per ball earned them at least 10 additional runs. The Knight Riders struck 10 fours and 14 sixes.Falling behind the required rateChasing 209, the Tallawahs needed to stay abreast with the required rate while also keeping sufficient resources in hand for the end overs. Sangakkara and Simmons followed that template for 52 balls in an 85-run stand, but were removed off successive balls either side of the end of the ninth-over mark.That meant the Tallawahs had to consume valuable time trying to stabilise their chase. Eventually, they fell behind the asking rate, which in turn resulted in more wickets. Suddenly, a strong reply collapsed quickly.

Collapses. Why do they happen? It is a question the Australian leadership leaves Bangladesh with, in urgent need of a solution. By taking time out from the India ODI tour preceding the Ashes, much as he did in 2013, the coach Darren Lehmann has given himself the chance to ponder this question in some detail.In Chittagong, it was a 7 for 79 stumble that should have had a greater influence on the final result than it did. In Dhaka, 6 for 41 was fatal in the final innings, while 4 for 33 and 4 for 42 set up the failure in their first.In the aftermath of the squared series, the captain Steven Smith was not shy in airing his frustrations. Stating that they had again let themselves down, citing 15 collapses in their previous 14 Tests according to their internal team metrics. “That’s not good enough for an Australian cricket team,” he added bluntly, adding they would have to sort it out before the Ashes.Lehmann echoed the sentiment. “It’s happening too often for a young group,” he said. “The first part of the batting collapses was with an older group if you like, and then we changed it around and we’re still having them. It’s seriously not their preparation or how they go about it. It’s more the mental side of the game. We’re working through that with a young group and trying to come up with some solutions.”Inevitably, the personnel involved are coming under selection scrutiny. Glenn Maxwell is an interesting example. He earned a start in each innings in Bangladesh, and after a mini-wobble chasing 86 smashed an unbeaten 25 to finish off the job in Chittagong. Yet it is his position that appears most under threat.”With No. 6 in Australia, it is totally different to Asia,” Lehmann said, hinting to Australia’s preference of picking a seam-bowling allrounder in the slot at home. “We’ll certainly be looking at that position and anyone can jump out of the pack in the three Shield games and what we think the best make-up is for that first Test. Glenn is there at the moment, like everyone else, he’ll have to perform.”Technically, Maxwell wasn’t there in the second Test, shuffled to No. 5 after Usman Khawaja was dropped. But Lehmann all but confirmed Khawaja will be back at first drop for the Ashes, averaging 76 in Australasia since his return to international ranks in November 2015.”I would think Usman would play the first Test, although I’m only one of four selectors,” Lehmann said. “Obviously for the make-up of the side we changed it here, but we think he’s a pretty special player and obviously he’s got a really good record in Australia.”If Maxwell has to sing for his supper in the three Sheffield Shield rounds that lead into the first Test, another such case is wicketkeeper Matthew Wade. He had a stellar game with the gloves after coming excruciatingly close losing his position to part-timer Peter Handscomb. But with the bat he had another failure, trapped leg before for 8 in his one hit.”Wade did a great job behind the sticks this game after the criticism he copped,” Lehmann said. “We obviously want runs from our keeper as well so for him and all the other keepers around the country, the Shield games are going to be important.”Of altogether less concern for the coach is how his bowlers accounted for themselves across the two Tests, bowling out Bangladesh four times for an average of 236 runs an innings. The talisman was Nathan Lyon, who took a staggering 22 wickets – one victim short of Rangana Herath’s all-time record for a two-Test series.”Obviously, after Sri Lanka, he had to change a little bit,” Lehmann said, as one who levelled specific criticism at the spinner last August following that misadventure. “He’s done that and he’s bowled in well each series on the subcontinent since, so I’m really pleased for him.”As for sole-fast bowler Pat Cummins, his pace was crucial to opening up the home side at the time they had a chance to get back into the game in Chittagong, after ending Australia’s first innings in a hurry. “Exciting wasn’t he?” Lehmann said. “I don’t think we’ve done it for however long with one quick. He did a great job. For him, holding up, Steve used him really well in short spells. From our point of view, just pleased he got through.”Which begs the question – where does he fit in come Brisbane, with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson all expected to be fit and ready? In the XI, there is no doubt about that. But do all four get rolled out in an effort to shock and awe the English tourists in a similar fashion to the way Mitchell Johnson did in the corresponding 2013 fixture?It was a topic Lehmann was happy to entertain in March at the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, but is less forthright now, with Lyon having locked in his own spot. “Nathan is going to play there’s no doubt about that,” he confirmed, adding they would look at conditions and assess accordingly.In the event of a more solid middle order, maybe it would be the case that five specialist bowlers could be considered. Or another way of taking that: if a brittle spine is just that, then what is lost by playing to their strengths? Some more questions for Lehmann to ponder away from the Indian spotlight, with all roads now leading to the the Gabba.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard’s measured half-century went in vain•Ashley Allen – CPL T20 / Getty

An error-strewn performance from Barbados Tridents cost them victory despite a highly mature half-century from their captain Kieron Pollard. Good as his unbeaten 63 was, it couldn’t paper over the mistakes of his top-order batsmen, and started becoming a footnote around the time his opening bowler Akeal Hosein started the chase by bowling five wides in a row.In the end, it was a happy (second) homecoming for Chris Gayle, playing his first game in Basseterre wearing a St Kitts & Nevis Patriots shirt. With rain ending a lopsided contest early, in favour of his team by 17 runs, he could even get to the party with energy to spare.The strangle
Three of the four totals above 200 in the CPL were made at Warner Park, and the pitch on Friday fostered thoughts of another. A little bit of moisture and even covering of grass ensured the ball came onto the bat. However, the Patriots denied that advantage to the Tridents by using their spinners for seven out of the first 10 overs. Samuel Badree bowled out, bowling over Dwayne Smith and Chris Barnwell in the process. Mohammad Nabi and Tabraiz Shamsi followed his lead, attacking the stumps on a fuller than good length, giving no room for the batsman to draw power from. As a result, the scoreboard reflected only 79 for 4.The power player
At the start of the 15th over, Pollard was 15 off 20 balls. He wasn’t even trying to hit the ball, with so much of his concentration in trying to stay till the end. Dinks and nudges and clips and dabs made up the first half of his knock, during a partnership of 27 off 32 balls with Shoaib Malik. Regardless of the run-rate, it was a crucial passage of play, offering the Tridents captain some sort of a foundation to take off from. A straight six, and a beastly pull, both for six, signalled the start of something special. And sure enough, Pollard’s full range of stand-and-deliver shots was put on show, with the front-foot bludgeons over long-on and midwicket hogging the limelight. Only one of the last six overs cost less than 10 runs.The many malfunctions
Earlier in the day, Kane Williamson was caught the next ball after hitting a six. Dwayne Smith committed the same mistake. Malik was half the player he usually is because he was battling a sore ankle. He could have been lbw for 9, but umpire Johan Cloete wouldn’t give in to the appeal. He could have been caught for 24, but countryman Mohammad Hafeez spilled a tough chance. He tried hard but 29 off 30 was not a good return for a batsman at No. 4.So, too, was packing 11 balls into the first over of a tight chase. Hosein, plying his left-arm spin into the hitting arc of Gayle, and perhaps told to cramp him on leg stump, kept pitching the ball too straight and watching it spin past the batsman. He was nervous. He was then hit for six. And somehow, he still found a wicket off a ball that would surely have been another wide had Evin Lewis chosen to leave it.The same script continued for the rest of the innings, with full tosses being whacked for boundaries, and simple run-out chances being missed. Gayle nudged Hosein to short fine leg and strode out of his crease thinking a single was on, and Shamar Springer at fine leg got to the ball quickly enough. But having done so, his throw was so wayward instead of going to the wicketkeeper, it wandered out to deep midwicket. The Patriots captain was on 27 at the time. He gathered 11 more runs before bad weather set in and eradicated all chances of further play.

ScorecardColin Ingram achieved Glamorgan’s fastest T20 hundred•Getty Images

A record-breaking century by Colin Ingram at Arundel on Sunday propelled Glamorgan to their first victory in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast.Glamorgan, who were beaten by Hampshire in their opening fixture on Friday, beat Sussex by 18 runs, despite the almost equally violent Luke Wright equalling Ingram’s score of 101.Ingram’s century was the fastest in the county’s history in this competition. He reached his hundred from just 46 balls, and there were eight fours and seven sixes. He and Jacques Rudolph put on 130 from only 71 balls, a third wicket record for Glamorgan and their third highest for any wicket.”I’m not too fazed by records,” he said. “But it was nice to get a win under our belts in this competition. It was a beautiful day, a good crowd, a good wicket and I just went out there and enjoyed the conditions. “Glamorgan had made a slow start to their innings, with just eight runs coming from the first four overs, by which time they had already lost two wickets..Danny Briggs had Aneurin Donald lbw, sweeping, in the third over and in the next David Lloyd played on to Jofra Archer as he swung to leg.The first four did not arrive until the fifth over, when Ingram got Chris Jordan away to the fine leg boundary. And it was only in the seventh over, bowled by Nash, which went for 14, that the innings really got going.Sussex had varied their attack cleverly, with six different bowlers involved in the first nine overs. But once Ingram and Rudolph got into their galloping stride there was little any of them could do. The 11th over, from Briggs, went for 18 as Ingram raced to his fifty from 25 balls.Sussex almost dismissed Rudolph in spectacular fashion when David Wiese, on the leg-side boundary parried the ball but it fell just short of he supporting fielder Wright.Rudolph fell to a skier off Chris Jordan for 49 but Sussex could find no way to stop Ingram, now joined by Chris Cooke, as the pair put on an unbroken stand of 61 in 4.3 overs. When the 18th over, bowled by Archer, went for 19, Glamorgan looked likely to top 200. They fell just two runs short.The Sussex innings, just like Glamorgan’s got off to a stuttering start. Nash had his off-stump knocked back by Michael Hogan for a run-a-ball 12 and then Stiaan van Zyl was lbw to the same bowler, first ball.Sussex suffered an even heavier blow when captain Ross Taylor, who looked in good touch with a six and a four in his brief came, top-edged Marchant der Lange to fine leg for 17, heaping even more pressure on Wright. When Ben Brown skied Colin Ingram to deep mid-wicket for 14 Sussex 97 for 4 in the 12th over.Sussex needed a daunting 70 from the final five. When Hogan went for 16, with Wright thumping successive deliveries for six and four, it looked on. But Sussex’s chances disappeared when Wright fell for a 53-ball 101, with five fours and seven sixes.

Jason Roy’s “selflessness” is likely to see him retain his place in the England side for their final Champions Trophy group-stage match against Australia.Roy has failed to pass 20 in his last eight ODI innings and, in that period, has suffered five single-figure dismissals. With Jonny Bairstow in outstanding form for club and country – he has scored three half-centuries in his last four ODI innings and smashed a career-best List A score of 174 when opening the batting for Yorkshire at the start of May – Roy’s place has been under increasing pressure.But Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, appreciates Roy’s commitment to the aggressive approach that has been at the heart of this team’s improvement over the last couple of years and feels it is important such behaviour is encouraged by a consistent selection policy that recognises the inherent risks involved in batting in such a manner.”One of the things we’ve been very consistent on is selection,” Farbrace said. “Whatever length of one-day series we’ve played, we’ve tried to stick to the same players as much as we can.”Playing for the team, as opposed to playing for themselves or for their place, definitely has a lot to do with the consistency of selection which enables batsmen to play with that confidence.”They know that if they miss out for a couple of games through playing for the team they’re not going to get left out of the side.”They know they’re going to be playing in the next game. Very often, if you play in the first game of the series you pretty much know you’re going to play that whole series. And if you have a tough series, you’re going to be back for the next one. I think that contributes massively to the confidence.”Jason Roy epitomised that selflessness when we came back from the 2015 World Cup in the series against New Zealand. He played in the way we want people to play, and that’s continued ever since.”Every player wants to take wickets and score runs and Jason is no different. But we’ve been consistent with our selections and we’ve stuck by people when they haven’t been taking wickets or scoring runs, and it’s always paid dividends when it’s happened. I don’t see Jason being any different.”The manner of Roy’s recent dismissals may have increased pressure upon him. In the match against Bangladesh, he was caught at fine leg attempting a scoop, while in the match against New Zealand he lost his leg stump after moving across to the off side in an attempt to hit through midwicket. Both shots look ugly when they don’t come off.But Farbrace made the point that, if England are going to encourage their players to take bowlers on, they have to accept there will be times the high-risk strokes don’t come off.”The only thing I wish he would do is keep hitting the middle of the bat,” Farbrace said. “There is a risk in shots you play but what you try and learn is what are high-risks and what are good risks to take.”He has walked across his stumps in the past and put people over square leg or flipped them over fine leg, and those shots have come off for him and been good. He’s not getting out to shots he hasn’t played, but when you’re not playing well they do look like tough dismissals.”There’s an element of trust and reward for him in the sense that he’s gone and played the way we wanted at all times,” he said. “You stick with people when they’ve played in a certain way. At no stage has he ever tried to get runs for himself to keep himself in the next game.”He’s always played in the way we want him to play as a team and I think you stick by people in that case. You just have to keep backing them.”While Farbrace insisted Roy’s form in training looked fine, he did hint that his place will be reviewed before the semi-final if he fails again on Saturday.”We’re not saying we’re not bothered by him and we are watching him carefully,” Farbrace said. “And if he started scratching around in training, if he started doubting himself, then that’s the time you do have to think carefully.”But everything he’s doing, and the way he’s doing it, suggests he’s not too far away from a score. We haven’t seen anything about him that suggests he is struggling for confidence. I don’t see any point in making changes before the semi-final next Wednesday.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

West Indies fined for slow over rate

Match referee Chris Broad has fined West Indies for their slow over rate during the Jamaica Test against Pakistan. West Indies were ruled to be one over short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration.
As per the ICC code of conduct, captain Jason Holder has been fined 20% of his match fee, while the rest of the West Indies players have been fined 10%. Holder will face a suspension if West Indies commits another minor over rate breach in a Test match within 12 months of this offence with Holder as captain.
Holder pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the fine, which meant there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough, third umpire Bruce Oxenford and fourth umpire Gregory Brathwaite levelled the charge.

Pakistan took a giant stride towards winning their first-ever Test series in the Caribbean, after an efficient bowling performance helped ease to seven-wicket win in Kingston. After Yasir Shah’s six-for in the second innings left Pakistan chasing 32, Misbah-ul-Haq, who walked in at the fall of Younis Khan’s wicket with the side needing eight, hit two successive sixes to complete the formalities.Pakistan, emboldened by pushing West Indies to a tight corner last evening, spent the morning session closing in. They picked up six wickets for 59 as West Indies, resuming 93 for 4, were bowled out for 152.Misbah was in no mood to experiment, getting his two best bowlers – Mohammad Amir and Yasir Shah – into the attack straight away. At perhaps no stage of the Test did a wicket look as imminent as it did in the first 10 overs. Amir tormented nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo with an unwavering line outside off stump. Or perhaps it was the other way round, as Bishoo kept missing, somehow managing to keep his outside edge from making contact with the ball.Lesser bowlers – or indeed, Amir with lower levels of confidence – may have been frustrated, but Amir kept plugging away, and was duly rewarded. Vishaul Singh had just cut a rare poor Amir delivery away for four, but the bowler’s comeback was destructive. He went slightly wide of the crease to the left-hander, the ball shaping in sharply from the moment it pitched, destination: top of off. Singh, who had seen Amir move the ball the other way all morning, shouldered arms, and was every bit as much a spectator as everyone else when the off stump cartwheeled.Yasir Shah’s ninth five-for hastened West Indies’ collapse•AFP

Yasir was menacing from the other end, getting sharp turn off what was beginning to look like a standard day-five pitch, but it was Mohamamd Abbas who struck the next damaging blows with two wickets off three balls. Bishoo was the first to go, flashing at a short and wide delivery with Younis Khan pouching it in the slips. Two balls later, Shane Dowrich played across a straight ball that struck his pads in front of middle stump.Wahab, who has had a slightly disappointing Test with the ball, then got into the act, removing Jason Holder, West Indies’ highest scorer in the first innings. Yasir came in to clean up the lower order, just like he had the top order, removing Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel within four balls of each other to take six wickets this Test match, bolstering his ever-burgeoning credentials as a lethal second-innings bowler. This was the fifth time two Pakistan bowlers had taken six wickets in a Test innings of a Test, and the first since 2002.The chase of 32 was one perhaps not even Pakistan could stuff up, but they can’t be accused of not trying to make things interesting. Ahmed Shehzad tentatively pushed at the Gabriel delivery outside off stump for a simple catch to the wicketkeeper in the third over. Three balls later, Azhar Ali was making the walk back, having made a mess of trying to leave a ball from Joseph, only to somehow end up dragging it onto his stumps.After lunch, Younis fell trying to work Bishoo to the leg side with the side two boundaries away. But Misbah needed just three balls to put West Indies out of their misery. Thirty six for three may not look too clinical, but, as is so often the case, their bowlers had left the batsmen ample room for error.

Pakistan batsman Younis Khan remains firm about his intent to retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing three-Test series against West Indies. In a clarification of a previous statement which left open the possibility that he could extend his career if his team needs him, Younis said that he will retire even if he scores “a hundred in every innings of every match against West Indies”.Younis’ statement around the possibility of reconsidering his retirement raised a number of eyebrows in Pakistan, a country familiar with difficult and prolonged retirements; only two weeks ago he had announced his decision to end his career.”A lot has been said about my retirement from cricket that maybe Younis wants to keep on playing Test cricket which is absolutely not true,” Younis said in a video message released on the second day of the first Test in Kingston. “I had announced my retirement with a plan, with honour after thinking and according to my wish.”The question that was asked to me, what my answer was and what version went out, I don’t want to go in detail. Younis Khan will retire even if he scores a hundred in every innings of every match against West Indies. Please don’t doubt Younis Khan’s credibility and support Pakistan. Pray for Younis Khan and for Pakistan that we can win a Test series for the very first time in West Indies.”

Younis sets the record straight on retirement

Posted by ESPNcricinfo on Saturday, April 22, 2017

Younis, 39, had announced his decision to retire from international cricket on April 8. At the time, when asked if he would reconsider his decision if asked to return by the PCB or fans, he said: “This will be a u-turn and then people will call me u-turn. But the country is always first and we can do anything for Pakistan. I am not saying that I want to captain but I don’t want to make a u-turn. I am for Pakistan and Pakistan is everything for me.”His retirements from T20 internationals and ODIs have not been without some drama. In 2009, he announced his intent to retire from T20 internationals moments after leading the side to the World T20 title. But a year later, he played three T20I matches in New Zealand, after which he was never selected for the format.He announced his retirement from ODIs on the morning of the start of a four-ODI series against England in the UAE in November 2015 and walked away after playing the first match. He had been recalled to the side after losing his place following a disappointing performance in the 2015 World Cup, and had been vocal in his criticism of the selectors in the wake of his axing.With Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq set to retire at the end of the series, Pakistan’s selection committee is looking to induct youngsters in the side with the intention of building a new team after the exits of the senior batsmen. The team’s next assignment is a series against Bangladesh and Pakistan’s chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq was known to be keen to move on beyond Misbah and Younis after the Caribbean tour

Pat Cummins will officially return to contention for a place in Australia’s Ashes team for next summer when he plays his first Sheffield Shield match in almost six years, for New South Wales against South Australia at the SCG from Tuesday.Cummins made his state debut at 17 and his Test debut later that year, before a series of foot and back injuries prompted the national selectors and Cricket Australia’s medical staff to drastically alter their plans for him.Now 23, Cummins’ body is approaching a point of maturity that is hoped will reduce his risk of injuries, after the fashion of the incumbent Test bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. As such, he is now in line to play in the Shield for the Blues and possibly Australia A in South Africa later this year ahead of next summer’s home Ashes series.”There’s the Ashes, which is a goal for probably everyone playing Shield cricket this year at the moment,” Cummins told reporters in Sydney. “I think for me getting back into first-class cricket was the No.1 goal for the year and I’m absolutely pumped to be back. I think if I get through these games then hopefully next year I can start off the year just like any other cricketer.”Cummins’ bowling action has gone through numerous adjustments over time, while his range of skills and experiences have broadened to add to his capabilities this week. While Cummins always demonstrated exceptional intelligence for a fast bowler, as evidenced by his memorable display against South Africa at the Wanderers on his 2011 Test debut, it has taken time for his body to catch up to his mind.”Probably given the extra week that we waited after the T20s has just given me a chance to prepare for the game once I got back in the frame for playing Shield cricket,” Cummins said. “I just wanted to go in [to Shield cricket] with no restrictions and not have to think about my body really, so all good.”I feel like I’m a lot more consistent now than I probably was a couple of years ago, and I think that’s put down to a few things. I think having a long pre-season, I was able to just work on quite a consistent rhythm and tempo rather than trying to bowl 180kms every ball.”I think the beauty of red-ball cricket is the ball normally swings out here [in Sydney]. After some rain hopefully it might seam around a little bit so actually bowling within yourself that 5 or 10% can actually provide some better results. Pace is one tool a bowler uses, but it’s not the be-all and end-all.”NSW have also added the English wristspinner Mason Crane to their squad for the match after a series of stand-out performances in Sydney grade cricket. However, the same overcast and damp weather that may aid Cummins to swing the ball may work against Crane’s chances of a Shield debut as the second spinner behind Will Somerville’s off-breaks.The Blues need to win both their remaining matches outright to have a chance of making the Shield final, while their opponents South Australia are in second place and can solidify their own chances with victory at the SCG.

Former Karnataka batsman K Sriram died at the age of 43 in Bangalore on February 16, following a cardiac arrest. Sriram, who was unwell for the last two months, is survived by his wife and two children – a son and a daughter.Sriram played 15 first-class matches for Karnataka and scored 644 runs, including a hundred and a fifty. He was also part of the Anil Kumble-led Karnataka team that won the Ranji Trophy in 1995-96. In the final against Tamil Nadu, Sriram was pitted against his older brother Srinath, who opened the batting and made 85 runs in the first innings.Sriram, who had worked with Canara Bank, was a qualified BCCI level-two coach.

Gordon Lord, the ECB’s head of elite coach development, is set to swap his role in cricket for a similar position in rugby union, after being appointed as the new head of professional coach development at the Rugby Football Union (RFU).Lord, 55, has spent 25 years at the ECB (formerly TCCB), following a decade of first-class cricket with Warwickshire and Worcestershire. He has held his current role since 2006, during which time he has been responsible for the development and leadership of the ECB elite coach development strategy and of a new game-wide coach development strategy.He also leads the delivery of level three and four coaching and the personal development and succession plans for all elite-coaching roles at the ECB.In his new role, starting from April, he will report to Dean Ryan, the RFU’s head of international player development, and be responsible for implementing a coaching development and education programme to further the development of world-class England rugby players.”I’m delighted to be joining at such an exciting time for England rugby,” said Lord. “This new challenge offers the chance for me to help enhance the coaching culture in English rugby and build on an established coach development programme.”Commenting on the appointment, Ryan said: “Gordon is well-regarded throughout sport for his work developing coaches and has proven experience in effective coaching processes and mentoring coaches at an elite level. He has built an outstanding elite coach development programme in cricket and we look forward to welcoming him to the RFU in April.”It is understood that the ECB will be seeking a replacement for Lord but Andy Flower confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he does not intend to apply for the role.