Browsing: Owen

Cricket Scotland has appointed Owen Dawkins as its new men’s head coach.

The 46-year-old has been coaching with Gloucestershire full-time since 2006 and has also worked with Cricket Scotland in the past on a consultancy basis.

He will be assisted by former Scotland captain Gordon Drummond, who moves from his previous role as head of performance pathways.

“I think there’s such a talent in the group that they want to be playing those big nations and show that they can perform and beat those big nations,” said Dawkins.

“Representing your country is a remarkable opportunity, and as a coaching team we will work tirelessly with our players to help them perform at their very best and make the nation proud.

“We are fortunate to have several experienced, successful players who know what it takes to succeed at this level, alongside a group of talented young players at the beginning of their journeys. It’s vital that everyone pulls together so we can reach the success we’re capable of.

“As a coaching team, we are also committed to developing a broader talent pool – one that continually challenges and elevates the standards of the current squad. This is the start of a fantastic journey, and I can’t wait to get to work with the team.”

Scotland had been searching for a new men’s head coach since Doug Watson left the role in September.

Watson had been in post for two years, balancing other coaching commitments in his native New Zealand.

Scotland missed out on the 2026 T20 World Cup after losing to Jersey and Italy in qualifying in July.

Source link

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In a late July at-bat for Single-A Myrtle Beach, Owen Ayers couldnâ€t shake the feeling something was wrong. He pushed through the plate appearance, but didnâ€t put his catcherâ€s gear back on the next inning. It turned out his right hand was broken. And amid the clubâ€s Carolina League playoff push, it looked like his 2025 was over.

Then came the Arizona Fall League.

The premier prospect circuit offered Ayers, 24, a lifeline to end his campaign on a positive note. After enjoying a successful July in which he collected 18 RBIs in 18 games, he brought that hot bat to the Fall League and rode it to the leagueâ€s Breakout Player of the Year award after slashing .379/.539/.591 with three homers and 16 RBIs. He walked more times (22) than anyone in the league and ranked in the top six in hits (25) and total bases (39).

“I’m just trying to do my best and trust the preparation these coaches have given me,†said Ayers. “I’ve had a lot of good coaches in my career, so I’m very thankful for what I’ve learned from them and just glad I’m able to put it together on the field.â€

The Cubs have an illustrious lineage in the Fall League awards department: their four past winners of the leagueâ€s Joe Black MVP Award (Nelson Velazquez, Kris Bryant, Sam Fuld, Jason Dubois) are the most of any club. Ayers becomes the first member of the organization to take home hardware since James Triantos (No. 10 prospect) was named the leagueâ€s Offensive Player of the Year in 2023.

Back to full health, it clicked quickly for Ayers in Arizona. He earned the campaign’s first AFL Hitter of the Week honors, and then just kept on hitting. All told, he reached base in 19 of his 20 regular-season games, then hammered a go-ahead three-run homer during Mesaâ€s opening-round playoff victory.

As difficult as it can be to take on advanced arms from the upper levels in the batterâ€s box, Ayers also had to learn an entirely new staff of arms from behind the plate in the Fall League. He displayed his versatility by making multiple starts at first base and right field, but his time in the desert enabled him to dive deep on the nuances of catching.

After splitting time between catching and first base during his junior year with Marshall in 2023, Ayers transitioned behind the plate full time the following season. His plus throwing arm works well in neutralizing the run game, and after throwing out 23.8 percent of runners during his brief pro debut in ‘24, he hosed 30 percent of would-be basestealers with Myrtle Beach this season.

A major part of throwing out runners is largely tied to the elite pop times Ayers has displayed in the AFL. The 19th-round selection from the 2024 Draft posted three of the top four — and six of the top nine — pop times to second base across the circuit, all of which clocked in at under 1.8 seconds. (There were just 33 instances during the 2025 MLB season of catchers posting better than a 1.8-second pop time on throws to second.)

“I’m just always looking for someone to run and someone to throw out,†said Ayers. “That’s just what makes the game fun to me. Any chance I get to do that, I’m gonna try to show it off and show people what Iâ€ve got.â€

Three years running, the AFLâ€s Breakout Player of the Year has gone on to make his Major League debut the following season (Caleb Durbin, 2024; Oliver Dunn, 2023; Edouard Julien, 2022). While thatâ€s highly unlikely for Ayers — who is yet to play above Single-A — itâ€s an indication of how far heâ€s come in his second professional season, now knocking on the door of the Cubs†Top 30 Prospects list.

“It’s nice to have a lot of success and everything, but at the end of the day, I realized what I do here doesn’t matter for next year,†said Ayers. “If I do good or do bad, really it’s the preparation in the offseason, what I do in Spring Training that’s gonna determine how well I’m able to do next year. Iâ€m just trying to stay even, not get too high, too low, and just continue to put the work in because I know I have a lot of work left to do. Even though I’ve had some success, it doesn’t end.â€

Source link

Even on Australian pitches, Varun Chakravarthy has been able to conjure up his magic and outfox the hosts batters as he continues to cement his spot as Indiaâ€s premier T20I spinner in the current setup.

Chakravarthy had returned with excellent figures of 2/23 in four overs in the IND vs AUS 2nd T20I on a pacer-friendly pitch at the MCG. And while Kuldeep Yadav also claimed a couple of scalps, he was smoked for 45 runs in 3.2 overs.

Kuldeep got the axe in the IND vs AUS 3rd T20I, played on Sunday in Hobart, as India brought in Washington Sundar in the XI to add batting depth, with Arshdeep Singh replacing Harshit Rana.

While Arshdeep took two wickets in his first two overs, dismissing the dangerous Travis Head and the in-form Josh Inglis, Tim David hit a flurry of boundaries to get Australia going in the second half of the powerplay and beyond.

After eight overs, Australia were 72/2, with David reaching his fifty off only 23 balls.

India needed someone to arrest the momentum Australia was gaining with Davidâ€s onslaught. And stepped up Varun Chakravarthy, who is the No. 1 ICC T20I bowler.

While David remained at the non-strikerâ€s end, Chakravarthy got rid of Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Owen in consecutive deliveries to dent the hosts.

Marsh miscued his slog down the ground and was caught at long-off. The dismissal of Owen on the next delivery came through a terrific googly from Chakravarthy that left the batsman clueless.

The ball pitched outside the line of the off-stump on a good length, to which Owen went for a cut with little feet movement. Upon pitching, the ball turned in sharply, going through the massive gap between Owenâ€s bat and body, and crashed into the top of the off-stump. Owen was left dumbfounded by this stunning delivery from Indiaâ€s mystery spinner.

IND vs AUS: Varun Chakravarthy Cleans Up Mitchell Owen With A Googly, VIDEO

Despite Chakravarthyâ€s double strike, David has continued with his gung-ho approach, targeting and reaching the boundaries regularly. Davidâ€s innings eventually ended on 74 (38).

At the time of writing, Australia are 118/5 in 13 overs.

IND vs AUS 3rd T20I Playing XIs:

Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Owen, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Matthew Short, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann

India: Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah

Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.

Source link

WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather recently opened up about the company’s Nation of Domination, and why he believes Owen…