August 17, 2024

Rich Pyrah Returns to Yorkshire as Women’s Coach After 2021 Sacking

Rich Pyrah, a former allrounder and bowling coach, will return to Headingley in September as Yorkshire’s new head coach for the women’s team. Pyrah, who was previously the men’s batting coach, was dismissed last year following a racism scandal at the club. He was found guilty by the Cricket Discipline Commission of using “racist and discriminatory language” regarding Azeem Rafiq’s sister, leading to a two-week coaching ban and a £2,500 fine.

Pyrah was among the 16 staff members fired after signing a letter that accused Rafiq of trying to “bring down the club” with his allegations of institutional racism in late 2021. Yorkshire later reached a settlement with Pyrah, admitting that his dismissal had been “procedurally unfair.”

Yorkshire Appoints Richard Pyrah as Head Coach for Women’s Team Amid New Domestic Structure Changes

Yorkshire confirmed the news in a club statement on Friday which made no reference to his sacking. “We’re delighted Richard has agreed to become the head coach of our women’s team and we are very pleased to welcome him back to Yorkshire,” Colin Graves, the club’s chairman, said.

“After a thorough and robust process, Richard stood out amongst an incredible shortlist of candidates. Through the whole process it was clear Richard is the right person to lead Yorkshire into the club’s new chapter and take our women’s professional team to the highest level.

“Richard is a proven developer, has an excellent reputation, and a winning mentality as a player and as a coach. We believe that Richard will be the perfect fit for the next stage of our new and exciting journey.”

Yorkshire will play in Tier 2 of the ECB’s revamped domestic structure next year, alongside Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Sussex and Worcestershire. They will then become a Tier 1 county from 2026 onwards.

“It’s an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead Yorkshire’s women’s side and it’s the proudest moment of my career,” Pyrah said. “This is an exciting time to be involved in women’s cricket, following ECB’s restructure of the women’s professional game.”

Madushka, Mathews, and Dhananjaya Find Form, but The England Lions Close in.

On the final day, the England Lions needed just 75 runs to win after Sri Lanka set a target of 122. In their second innings, the England Lions scored 47 for 2, chasing a target after Sri Lanka’s 139 and 306. Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva each scored half-centuries for Sri Lanka, helping them to 306 runs.

Sri Lanka, trailing 185 runs from the first innings, were all out on the third day. Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 26 in the first innings. Ben McKinney scored 20 off nine balls in the England Lions’ run chase before being dismissed. Offspinner Farhan Ahmed, the 16-year-old brother of England’s Rehan Ahmed, took 3 for 87 and dismissed key Sri Lankan batters. Despite Dhananjaya’s two quick wickets, the England Lions are well-positioned to chase the remaining runs on the final day with eight wickets.

This match is Sri Lanka’s only practice game before their three-Test series against England, starting in Manchester next Wednesday.

All-round Prendergast Helps Ireland Notch Up Their Highest ODI Chase.

Orla Prendergast played a match-winning innings as Ireland defeated Sri Lanka by three wickets in the first ODI in Dublin. Prendergast starred with bat and ball, scoring an unbeaten 122 off 107 balls and taking 3 for 25.

Sri Lanka batted first and set a target of 261, thanks to Vishmi Gunaratne’s maiden ODI century, who scored 101. Despite contributions from Perera (46) and Gunaratne, Sri Lanka could only manage 260 for 8.

In Ireland’s chase, they lost Gaby Lewis early for 9. Sarah Forbes and Amy Hunter built a solid partnership, with Forbes scoring 24 and Hunter adding 42 off 45 balls. After Leah Paul’s dismissal, Prendergast took charge, leading Ireland to their first successful chase of over 200 in ODIs and securing their first ODI win over Sri Lanka in five attempts.

Orla Prendergast reached her fifty with a four off Kavisha Dilhari, taking 57 balls. Despite Ireland losing wickets regularly, Prendergast kept scoring steadily. With 30 runs needed from the last three overs and only three wickets left, Prendergast turned the game around in the 48th over. She hit Dilhari for two fours and a six, including a four that brought her century off 97 balls. This 18-run over reduced the target to 12 runs from two overs. Prendergast hit the winning single off the second ball of the final over, finishing unbeaten on 122, the second-highest score by a No. 4 or lower in a women’s ODI chase.

Earlier, Vishmi Gunaratne scored her maiden ODI century for Sri Lanka, becoming only the second Sri Lankan batter to achieve this after Chamari Athapaththu. Athapaththu was out for a duck, caught behind off Prendergast. Harshitha Samarawickrama scored 19 before being dismissed by Alana Dalzell. Gunaratne and Hasini Perera then added 122 runs for the third wicket. Gunaratne, who hit a six off Dalzell and two fours off debutant Alice Tector, reached her fifty off 58 balls and her century off 97 balls with a four off Arlene Kelly. She was out immediately after reaching her hundred but only after helping Sri Lanka set a competitive total. Despite a late rally, scoring 62 in the last ten overs and 36 in the final five, Sri Lanka’s total was insufficient.