Nick Friend

Nick Friend Category Archive

Consensus growing stronger for domestic schedule change, player surveys show

NICK FRIEND: In sessions held between PCA representatives and each of the 18 men's county squads, the percentage of responses calling for a day between T20 Blast matches and at least three between County Championship fixtures has increased

Melissa Story: BBC commentator, trainee solicitor, podcast host, Gloucestershire seamer

NICK FRIEND – INTERVIEW: When the inaugural tier-two women's season begins later this week, Story will be one of its most recognisable faces and busiest people, juggling a training contract and broadcast work with the stresses of county cricket

Hampshire end Oval hoodoo with hard-fought draw

NICK FRIEND AT THE KIA OVAL: For the first time in 11 years, Hampshire leave south London with something other than defeat, their new-look side – without the guarantees of James Vince or Mohammad Abbas – standing up to the defending champions

Cameron Bancroft leads from the front after Gloucestershire's Australians touch down

NICK FRIEND AT BRISTOL: Bancroft, named the county's new red-ball captain over the winter, landed at Heathrow in the early hours on Wednesday morning and ended the working week by churning out 163 as fellow overseas signing Cameron Green watched on

Meet Keith Dudgeon, Kent's overseas quick with Joe Root in his corner

NICK FRIEND – INTERVIEW: Dudgeon was first engaged by Kent last year, but the stars have now aligned for the South African seamer, whose seven-wicket haul won their Division Two opener, via recommendations from Root and Zak Crawley

Lancashire hoping to have Anderson Phillip available after visa delay

Phillip, re-signed after featuring towards the end of last season, when the club were relegated from Division One of the County Championship, missed the hard-fought draw against Middlesex

Stylish Max Holden coming of age as Middlesex's key batter

NICK FRIEND: Holden was compared to Alastair Cook as a youngster but flitted between opening the batting and the middle order, but having established himself in The Hundred and, more recently the ILT20, he has finally found his red-ball home

Middlesex expect to have overseas seamer available for second County Championship round

NICK FRIEND: The veteran seamer, who turned 36 on Friday, was one of several overseas signings unavailable during the first round of games

Danni Wyatt-Hodge: If you don't meet Charlotte Edwards' standards, you'll be out the door

NICK FRIEND – INTERVIEW: The batter, who has represented her country on 292 occasions, has praised Edwards' appointment as England's new head coach and spoke in glowing terms of Heather Knight after her removal as captain

Mammoth feat casts Tom Banton onto all-time list

NICK FRIEND AT TAUNTON: Ultimately, Sunday came after the Lord Mayor's show, with Banton edging a cut inside the day's first half hour, but this was a remarkable feat, the fifth-highest score in the history of a competition that began 135 years ago

Relief for Josh Tongue as belated Notts debut brings long-awaited fillip

NICK FRIEND AT TRENT BRIDGE: Tongue's availability for the seven County Championship rounds through to late May will depend on the ECB, as they look to manage their contracted quicks through a daunting year

Season dawn at Trent Bridge provides microcosm of English cricket's seamer conundrum

NICK FRIEND AT TRENT BRIDGE: Dillon Pennington, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts are all in action in Nottingham, where an Australian, Fergus O'Neill, starred for the home side on the same day that Olly Stone was ruled out for three months

Adam Hollioake: "I just love competing; it's a sickness, isn't it?"

NICK FRIEND - INTERVIEW: The Surrey great has signed up for his first county head coach role, taking over from Matt Walker at Kent, where he has already make a mark in pre-season with his competitiveness and enthusiasm

"We have 18 counties who agree it isn't right": Domestic structure review aiming for 2026 implementation

NICK FRIEND: The ECB are hoping to establish a clearer consensus on the future of the men's domestic schedule in the next two to three months, with the intention of implementing a new structure in time for the 2026 campaign

Ben Charlesworth: "In the past, I've tried to be the best players in the world, instead of myself"

NICK FRIEND – INTERVIEW: Charlesworth's key role in Gloucestershire's run to last year's Blast title earned him a winter deal with the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard at MI Emirates, an experience he thinks has changed him