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Virat Kohli was once again the architect of a successful Indian chase, one that clinched the ODI series for India – they took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series

The Report by Siddhartha Talya31-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Manoj Tiwary claimed his best List A figures – 4 for 61 – to help set up India’s comfortable victory•AFP

Virat Kohli was once again the architect of a successful Indian chase, one that clinched the ODI series for India – they took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match competition. Kohli anchored India’s response to 251, and was helped along by Suresh Raina, who struck his third half-century of the series, each of which came in an India win. Both had their moments of fortune, just when Sri Lanka had fought their way back, but once set, they approached the target confidently, never allowing the required-rate to go above six and often being imperious in their shot-making. A game that promised to be close at one point eventually produced a comprehensive winner.Sri Lanka had edged ahead when Manoj Tiwary was trapped in front trying to sweep Jeevan Mendis to make it 109 for 4. Kohli had survived a run-out chance when on 19 and after he lost Tiwary, it was Raina who went through some jitters. An appeal for caught-behind was turned down when on 2, a run-out was missed when he was on 19 and Mahela Jayawardene dropped a sitter at slip two balls later. Kohli then survived a close shout for lbw while on 77, and was put down after his century – though, by then, India’s task was all but complete. Sri Lanka’s fielding, though occasionally impressive, was below-par for the bulk of the game – they leaked at least 11 runs in overthrows.Those lapses could have been decisive but were rare incidents of discomfort for the two batsmen. On a track favourably disposed to batting, such moments of anxiety were easy to put behind, as both Kohli and Raina drove assuredly through the line, used their feet well against spin and found it easy to step up and go over the top when a victory seemed within striking distance. Kohli played the supporting role when Virender Sehwag was going strong, was an equal contributor in a rebuilding stand with Tiwary and took the lead in the company of Raina. The transition from one role to the other was seamless.

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• India won their third consecutive bilateral series in Sri Lanka. Their last loss in a bilateral series in Sri Lanka came in 1997, when they lost 3-0.Since 2006, India have gone on to win all five bilateral series against Sri Lanka (home and away).

• The six-wicket win is MS Dhoni’s 22nd against Sri Lanka in 38 matches. He goes past Imran Khan on the list of captains with the most ODI wins against Sri Lanka.

• Virat Kohli’s century is his eighth in chases and 13th overall. It is also his fifth century against Sri Lanka. Among India batsmen, only Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have more centuries against Sri Lanka.

• Only Tendulkar (14 centuries) has more hundreds than Kohli has (13) before turning 24. Chris Gayle is a distant third with nine centuries.

• Kohli’s average of 61.02 is the best among batsmen who have scored 1000-plus runs in chases in ODIs. He is already joint-sixth on the list of batsmen with the most centuries in ODI chases.

• The 146-run stand between Kohli and Suresh Raina is the third-highest fifth-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka. The highest fifth-wicket stand of 223 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja also came at the R Premadasa stadium.

• The partnership run-rate of 7.82 during the stand is the second-highest for a fifth-wicket stand (100-plus partnerships) and the seventh-highest overall for India against Sri Lanka. The same pair holds the record for the best run-rate (13.09), which came during their 120-run stand in Hobart earlier this year.

Kohli began his innings with an audacious pull off Lasith Malinga but in a partnership of 49 with Tiwary, after India were 60 for 3, struck just one boundary. Both ran well between the wickets, pressing for twos with the field spread out and Tiwary appeared to be in the groove, flicking a couple of fours through the leg side. His first batting stint this series was preceded by the loss of Sehwag and Rohit Sharma in quick succession. Sehwag, after appearing set for a long knock, was caught smartly at extra cover off a leading edge and Rohit, nervous from the outset and fighting for his place in the XI, was lbw when playing across to debutant seamer Nuwan Pradeep. The umpire’s call to double-check for a no-ball only prolonged his anxiety, but he knew soon he’d fluffed another chance.Raina was shaky to begin with but a generous dose of length deliveries gave him several opportunities to free up. After being dropped, he gradually settled in by picking off singles as Kohli was becoming increasingly dominant at the other end and eventually, in the batting Powerplay, accelerated with a sliced boundary over point off Pradeep before dispatching him for a straight six. At the start of that over, India needed 78 off 14 overs. After Raina had kick-started India’s race to the finish, Kohli made the rest of the innings a one-man show.With the fielding restrictions still on, Kohli entered the nineties, smacking Thisara Perera over midwicket, followed by a six over the sightscreen. He reached his 13th ODI century with a pull off Malinga before thrashing Rangana Herath to different parts of the ground for four fours in an over to all but seal the game. Extra cover, square leg and deep midwicket were his preferred scoring areas, the bowlers having no answers against his powerful, and skilful, wristwork.Though Sri Lanka finished on a high in their innings, they would, presumably, have fallen short of their desired score after choosing to bat. India’s decision to leave out a frontline bowler in Rahul Sharma – instead of the struggling Rohit – to make way for Tiwary raised eyebrows but, as it turned out, Tiwary played a crucial role in restricting the hosts.Dinesh Chandimal was going along fluently but his knock was cut short when he swung a Tiwary long hop straight to deep square leg. The innings began to stagnate when Jayawardene miscued a sweep off Sehwag shortly after and India’s part-timers proved so effective that Zaheer Khan, their best bowler, bowled just six overs. Angelo Mathews consumed 32 deliveries for his 14 before holing out, Mendis was bowled playing the reverse-sweep and Perera was caught in the deep – all off Tiwary. This slide undermined an opening stand of 91 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga, and India’s non-regular bowlers picked up five wickets in 22 overs, conceding 112. Tiwary was an unlikely bowling hero for India; the stars with the bat had already built a solid reputation.

Only one day of this Test match has been played, but already, there have been four small victories for Zimbabwe

Firdose Moonda in Harare04-Aug-2011Only one day of this Test match has been played, but already, there have been four small victories for Zimbabwe.The first was achieved before the game had even started when four, eager young men were given their first Test caps. Tinotenda Mawoyo, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis and Brian Vitori lined up like schoolboys, hands behind the backs, blazers perfectly tailored and fitted, those with hair had it neatly combed and there was excitement in all eight eyes. In front of them, the chief executive of the ICC, Haroon Lorgat, was waiting to congratulate them, having made the trip to Zimbabwe especially to witness the country’s return to Test cricket first hand.That in all the strife that has engulfed the country in recent years, they were able to produce four players capable of donning Test caps, two black, two white, showing the gap that has been bridged in cricket if not elsewhere, is a significant achievement. That one of them went on to bat with assurance and poise is something that the word victory doesn’t quite encapsulate. It’s just fantastic. Mawoyo showed why he was deserving of his debut with an accomplished 43, a just reward after battling a persistent hamstring injury in recent months.”I am definitely proud,” Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe captain said. “He’s a guy that’s really guts it out and has batted long periods. I know he will be disappointed with getting in and then getting out but knowing the kind of guy that he is, he will come back stronger in the second innings.”The second triumph was in the way Zimbabwe approached the first day’s task. All the talk about the pitch was that it was, beyond doubt, a win-the-toss-and-bowl surface. What a mockery they made of that notion. A situation that could have disintegrated into a panic pot was handled with responsibility and authority as Mawoyo and Vusi Sibanda scored quickly but carefully in the morning session.They weren’t rattled by Shafiul Islam’s accuracy or over excited by Robiul Islam’s inconsistency. They showed the maturity that is sometimes absent from teams that have been playing Test cricket much longer, much more frequently and much more recently, than they have been. “I can’t compliment our guys enough,” Taylor said. “The way the openers stuck in there and laid a good platform for Hamilton and myself. It was good start for the day, we can’t ask for more.”Hamilton Masakadza is their third success story of the day. A stalwart of the set up, who has been playing international cricket for the last ten years, albeit sporadically, Masakadza showed how well he can apply himself when the occasion calls for it. His defence was solid, his attack was well executed and his mindset was strong. He will start tomorrow needing just 12 runs to reach a second Test century.Some of the journalists at the press conference reminded him that he has never been able to push on for 100 in the past, when being unbeaten overnight. Masakadza’s response showed that he cared about more than a collective cause and not doing anything to put that in jeopardy.”The thought [of getting to 100] crossed my mind a little bit when I was on 85 and there was still time in the day,” Masakadza said. “But when I saw the way Brendan was playing I thought it was better to just to see out the day and come back tomorrow only two down so that it didn’t put pressure on the guys coming in behind me.”The fourth truimph comes in the wonderful blend of ambition and humility that the Zimbabwe players carry with them. In years to come that may change, but for now it remains their most likeable trait.As far as objectives go, Taylor is already looking at a total that could well bat Bangladesh out of the match. “We’ll look to bat deep into tomorrow and put up to a total that makes it very difficult for the Bangladeshis to come back into the game,” he said. That total should be “nothing less than 450” and then comes the slight reticence, “but that’s still around 200 runs away.”The game plan tomorrow will be to continue building their house and not risking anything that may tear it down. “Hopefully Hamilton and myself can come in and bat the first session out and leave it up to our bigger hitters to come in from the middle order and add some runs,” Taylor said. He switched effortlessly from professional to pleasant acquaintance and went on recommended a local steakhouse to a few reporters who were looking for somewhere to experience an African dining experience.With all the focus on Zimbabwe’s showing, Bangladesh may feel as though they have no feats of their own to talk about after day one, and they wouldn’t be far wrong. A poor effort in the field takes away from any of the rare impressive deliveries that some of them dished up. A weary Shakib al Hasan said he expected more after putting Zimbabwe in to bat. “We thought that in the first two hours there will be some help for the bowlers,” he said. “I don’t think our bowlers bowled in good areas consistently, they bowled some good balls but not consistently enough.”He goes into the second day with only a simple piece of instruction for his bowlers: “I’d like them to bowl as straight as they can, to try to hit on the wicket every time they come and bowl, that’s why I have set a straight field.” He thinks that will be only way Bangladesh will get anywhere close to a victory of any sort because, “on that wicket, although it is flat, if you can’t bowl straight you are supposed to get hit.”

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott hit unbeaten half centuries to guide England to an emphatic nine-wicket win in the second Test at Edgbaston to give them a 2-0 lead in the series

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan09-Aug-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss played a controlled innings to ensure England didn’t wobble in their run chase•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott hit unbeaten half-centuries to guide England to an emphatic nine-wicket win in the second Test at Edgbaston to give them a 2-0 lead in the series. Both batsmen finished on 53 with the second-wicket pair making light work of a potentially testing surface as the hosts completed their sixth consecutive Test victory midway through the afternoon session.England did the hard work before lunch and when they resumed 47 were needed with the bite gone from Pakistan’s attack. Strauss went to his fifty from 108 balls then Trott brought up the same milestone, his second fifty of the match, with a powerful cover drive which levelled the scores. Strauss secured victory via a rather inglorious inside edge but he’ll be highly satisfied by another successful outing,The day began with thoughts of Pakistan continuing their resurgence from the third evening, but in the end it proved a stroll for England. The visitors had left themselves far too much ground to make up after crumbling for 72 on the opening day and they couldn’t create enough opportunities to defend the low target. Two more chances did go begging off Strauss, both to the hero of the previous day Zulqarnain Haider, although the first was very difficult and the second came with less than 50 needed.It took England just 11 balls to wrap up Pakistan’s innings as Stuart Broad, lighter in the wallet after his fine for throwing the ball at Haider yesterday, had Mohammad Asif taken in the gully. However, Pakistan managed the early breakthrough they desperately wanted when Cook’s poor run continued as his stumps were demolished by Mohammad Amir. Cook’s footwork was nowhere and he is becoming a serious concern, although with Ian Bell still injured and the England selectors not keen on major structural changes he is likely to have the remainder of the series to revive his season.Amir’s eight-over opening spell was another eye-catching display from the 18-year-old and he could easily have collected a second scalp as he beat the outside edges of Strauss and Trott. Saeed Ajmal was introduced for the eighth over and nearly followed Graeme Swann’s lead by striking straight away, but Haider couldn’t gather Strauss’s thick outside edge. It was a tough chance, but the type of opportunity that needed to stick if Pakistan were to stay in the contest.The pitch was also offering uneven bounce for both the spinner and the quicks. Trott was beaten by consecutive shooters outside off stump, while Strauss received a grubber from Ajmal that just missed the timber. However, the two batsmen displayed impressive watchfulness and rotated the strike well with regular quick singles.Boundaries were hard to come by, but both Strauss and Trott timed the ball nicely when the opportunity came. Trott produced the shot of the morning when he flicked Asif through midwicket, and he continues to develop into an increasingly reassuring figure at No. 3, while Strauss produced a sweet cover drive off Ajmal shortly before the break.Much had been expected of Ajmal after his five-wicket haul in the first innings, but he wasn’t able to provide the same threat as Swann. He couldn’t quite find the right pace for the surface to extract the optimal turn and, tellingly, couldn’t send down a maiden until his tenth over. Once again England proved far too strong for inexperienced opposition and Pakistan will have to show more of their second-innings spirit to avoid a whitewash.

Chair of selectors George Bailey confirmed that Smith had requested to move back down the order prior to Cameron Green’s injury

Alex Malcolm14-Oct-20241:36

What’s the logic of moving Smith back down the order?

Steven Smith won’t open the batting against India in the Border-Gavaskar series with Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey confirming that Smith had indicated his desire to move back down the order, and that it was set to be accommodated even prior to Cameron Green’s injury.Speculation had swirled around Smith’s batting position dating back to Australia’s last Test series against New Zealand in March after his eight innings at the top of the order had yielded just 171 runs at 28.50.Despite Smith making the initial request to open the batting back in January, which allowed for Green to slot in at No. 4, Bailey confirmed that Smith, in conversations with captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald, had requested a move back to the middle-order prior to Green’s summer-ending back injury.Related

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“Pat, Andrew and Steven Smith had been having ongoing conversations separate to the untimely injury to Cameron anyway,” Bailey said on Monday after the announcement of the ODI squad for the Pakistan series and the Australia A squad for the India A tour.”And I think Steve had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position. Pat and Andrew have confirmed that he will be dropping back down the order for the summer. So, yeah, clearly we’ve got a No. 4 spot to fill and an opening spot to fill.”Bailey did not rubberstamp that Smith would slot in at No. 4 for the first Test against India which starts on November 22 in Perth and was careful to reiterate that Cummins and McDonald were the ones who decided the batting order. He added that the order was still not set in stone given there is five weeks to go before the first ball is bowled.Bailey did hint that Smith would have moved regardless of Green’s injury but he would not divulge how they would have configured the top six had Green been fit to play.”Part of those discussions have been had and what it might look like,” he said. “But I guess once you do get moving parts, a lot of those conversations become null and void.”0:56

Steven Smith: ‘Bumrah is the complete bowler’

Time for a specialist opener?

It seems very likely that Australia’s selectors will pick an opener to replace Green and return Smith to his preferred position. Bailey was asked whether the need for an extra bowling option in the top six was necessary, given Green’s absence and queries over Mitchell Marsh’s bowling capabilities. But he was quick to note that Australia’s attack had played without an allrounder before.”They’ve done it in the past,” Bailey said. “You don’t know how each Test is going to play out in terms of the workload for the quicks, or how much of an impact Nathan Lyon’s going to have across the summer. We certainly have been and will continue preparing for Mitch Marsh to be able to bowl some overs as well, and that’s been part of his management and build for the last couple of months. So there’s other ways. There’s teams that have played, and we’ve been a team that has played, without an allrounder in the past. There’s more than one way to structure up a team.”All eyes then turn to Australia’s domestic openers to see which one will emerge from the pack to win a place alongside Usman Khawaja. Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and New South Wales’ teen sensation Sam Konstas were the three openers named in the 17-man Australia A squad that will face India A in two four-day games starting on October 31 and November 7.Matt Renshaw, who was the reserve batter in the Test squad for Australia’s last two series against West Indies and New Zealand following David Warner’s retirement, was not named in the A squad but Bailey said it shouldn’t be taken to mean they have moved on from him.”No, we still really like Matt’s ability to play,” Bailey said. “As far as Australia A selection goes, part of the process around that is trying to identify opportunities that may come around in the short term for any opportunities that that might pop up, but also making sure that we do keep an eye on developing opportunities for those players who may become important in different roles in the future as well.”So whilst there’s an Australia A squad there, I think Matt Renshaw, Pete Handscomb, Nic Maddinson as three examples are guys who we’ll continue to watch really closely in Shield cricket.”Bailey did suggest that the 19-year-old Konstas could put himself in the mix for the opening slot for India if he continues to perform following his twin centuries in the opening Shield round.”He’s in the mix as are plenty of others,” Bailey said. “I certainly don’t want to single him out. I think the consistency of Cam Bancroft over a number of years, the consistency of Marcus Harris over a number of years, they’ve both had a look at Test cricket as well. So I don’t think there’s any need at this stage to put undue pressure expectation on Sam.”He’s five games into his first-class career. He’s had a good start to that, and he certainly looks like he’s got a well organised game that we’re really excited and looking forward to seeing at the A level, and we’ll just continue to watch as that progresses.”Bailey also noted that Bancroft’s untimely pair against Queensland in the opening round of the Shield season would not count against him.”I spoke to Cam after that game, I sort of jokingly said to him, if he [wasn’t] in such good nick, he might have played and missed those as well,” Bailey said. “So that might be a really good sign for the rest of the summer. There’s plenty of batters that have managed to get a feather on an early Michael Neser ball. So no harm done. He’s certainly got credits in the bank. His consistency over a number of years has been phenomenal, as have a number of those other players I’ve mentioned. A one-off game like that wasn’t going to have any impact.”

India lose 6 for 11 before the hosts keep their head in chase and deny the visitors a clean sweep

S Sudarshanan13-Jul-2023Two days after coming close to upstaging them, Bangladesh defeated India in the final T20I to register a consolation win and finish the series 2-1. Chasing 103, Shamima Sultana kept Bangladesh in the hunt with a 46-ball 42 before a brief collapse in the middle threatened to undo the good work. But Sultana Khatun’s eight-ball 12 and Nahida Akter’s calm unbeaten six-ball 10 helped Bangladesh register their third win over India in 16 T20Is.

Spinners continue to trouble India

Like in the second T20I, India were once again bogged down by the Bangladesh spinners. Smriti Mandhana’s troubles against offspin continued as she was dismissed off Sultana’s first ball. Mandhana was early on an attempted flick and managed to get a leading edge behind the wicketkeeper, where Fahima Khatun pouched it after running to her right from slip. In Sultana’s next over, Shafali Verma danced down the track and whipped the ball straight to long-on. This was after Shafali was kept quiet by seamer Marufa Akter – who, along with Sultana – had two fielders deep on the leg side to cut down boundary-scoring options and denied width outside off.Shorna Akter then struck in her only over, getting a set Jemimah Rodrigues stumped before India collapsed from 91 to 3 to 102 for 9. While Yastika Bhatia failed to connect with an attempted heave and got trapped lbw by legspinner Rabeya Khan, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma and Minnu Mani all fell to spin, in an attempt to force the pace at the death. Vastrakar was knocked over by a straight ball from Nahida while trying to hit across the line, while Mani was cleaned up attempting a scoop. Then Deepti holed out to deep midwicket on the final ball of the innings to hand Rabeya a three-for.While Bangladesh bowled 16 overs of spin in the second T20I, they had spinners on for 17 overs on Thursday with India facing 44 dots against them.

Harmanpreet or bust

Coming on the back of a first-ball duck on Tuesday, Harmanpreet Kaur steadied the ship for India after finding herself in the middle, inside the powerplay again. She looked at ease against an on-song Sultana. In the company of Rodrigues, Harmanpreet calmed proceedings, often tapping the ball in front of cover and point for quick singles. She also used the sweep to good effect in an attempt to put the spinners off their lengths.Harmanpreet first added 45 off 49 balls for the third wicket with Rodrigues and then another 26 with Yastika. She also hit the only six of the game, when she slinked down the track against Fahima’s legspin to deposit her over wide long-on. The legspinner went on to have Harmanpreet stumped in the 17th over to severely dent India’s progress at the death. In the end, India managed only 12 runs for six wickets in the last four overs to be restricted to 102 for 9.Ritu Moni and Nahida Akter sealed the win for Bangladesh•BCB

Shamima holds the chase together

After failing to chase down 96 in the second T20I, Nahida had called for more responsibility from the top five. Shamima took it upon herself to take the chase deep. She hit only three fours in her knock and ran well between the wickets. She used the sweep to find the gap in the arc between deep midwicket and fine leg and kept Bangladesh abreast of the asking rate.She found an ally in captain Nigar Sultana, and the duo added 46 for the third wicket. That partnership put them on course to not repeat the errors from a couple of days ago. But in an attempt to cut Devika Vaidya – brought in for Harleen Deol – Nigar edged one to the wicketkeeper to briefly send jitters in the home dugout. From 62 for 2, Bangladesh were reduced to 85 for 6, with Shamima being run out in the 17th over.However, Ritu Moni and Nahida ensured there were no further hiccups – they were aided by a 13-run over from debutant Rashi Kanojiya, who was brought in for B Anusha – as Bangladesh ensured their bowlers’ good work for a second successive game did not go to waste.

Seamer claims seven second-innings wickets and 11 for the match in dramatic win over Glamorgan

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2022Durham 311 (Stokes 82, Petersen 78) and 249 (Borthwick 90, Lees 61, Neser 4-57) beat Glamorgan 365 (Root 88, Neser 62, Carlson 53, Northeast 51, Potts 4-61, Raine 4-61) and 137 (Potts 7-40) by 58 runsMatthew Potts enhanced his England credentials by claiming career-best figures to inspire Durham to a dramatic 58-run victory over Glamorgan on the final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash at the Riverside.Potts was in breathtaking form and took five wickets on final day, having previously claimed two in the evening session of day three, ending the innings with 7 for 40 and match figures of 11 for 101. Glamorgan were to rue a collapse from 65 for 2 to 137 all out in pursuit of their victory target that began when Marnus Labuschange was out from the penultimate ball of day three.Once Potts made inroads in the early overs of the final morning, the momentum as truly with the home side. The England hopeful blew away their resistance that should surely put him on the path to be included in team-mate Ben Stokes’ first squad as captain. More importantly for Durham, it ended a run of five matches without a win in the County Championship to propel them up into third place in Division Two.Durham required a fast start to put the pressure on the visitors. Potts answered the call for his team, producing a vicious bouncer that caught the glove of Kiran Carlson. Carlson was not thrilled with the decision, but Alex Wharf raised the finger. Potts then prised out Sam Northeast, who had looked comfortable at the crease. Scott Borthwick initially spilled the catch, but managed to clamp his legs together to claim the ball at the second attempt to send Northeast on his way for 26.Potts made way after his initial burst, but Brydon Carse ensured that the intensity from the hosts did not wane. He bowled with pace and accuracy after struggling in the first innings. An array of short-pitch bowling ended Billy Root’s stay at the crease for 10 as he gloved one behind, attempting a hook shot that had brought him a boundary earlier in the over.Sensing another opportunity, Borthwick brought Potts back into the attack for a short spell. The 23-year-old claimed his fourth five-wicket haul of the season when he pinned Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd lbw, who was batting at number eight after suffering an injury on day three.Carse turned the momentum firmly in the favour of the home side when he found Chris Cooke’s outside edge before lunch, removing the last recognised Glamorgan batter.Potts sensed blood in the water after lunch, and he drove his side over the line to claim career-best figures by dismissing Michael Neser with a brilliant yorker that caught the toe of the Aussie before clean bowling Michael Hogan to wrap up the victory, sparking massive celebrations from the hosts in the middle.Potts played down the England chatter. His dream of a game at Lord’s was just Durham’s trip to the capital to face Middlesex on Thursday.I’m looking forward to playing Middlesex to go to the Home of Cricket, I’ve only played there once with The Hundred,” he said. “It will be nice to play a red-ball game there to see what it has to offer.”As for the news articles about England I tend not to try and read them too much. It would be silly to read them and get too far ahead of myself. If you look too far ahead you can lose sight of what is in front of you.”It would be a dream to be picked and obviously to play Test cricket is something I aspire to do, having previously just been a white-ball bowler. I feel I have a lot to offer in the red-ball game, hopefully I can maintain my form and we’ll see what happens.”

Liam Hatcher and Nic Maddinson twice turned things around in the field for the Stars who were then left a tough six-over target

Andrew McGlashan16-Dec-2020Rain in Launceston meant the first abandoned game of the BBL season as the points were shared between Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars.The Stars will probably have been the happier with that: having been set a demanding 76 in six overs in an adjusted chase, they had lost Marcus Stoinis lbw the ball before the rain returned to end the game.The Scorchers’ innings was halted at 17 overs and they had been hauled back by the Stars attack after a stand of 70 in five overs between Colin Munro and Ashton Turner and put then on track to push 200.Hatching a planSpeaking to the television coverage, Glenn Maxwell said he had hoped to use a lot of spin in the first half of the innings but he had to adjust things when Tom O’Connell – who would be subbed out at the 10-over mark in favour of Ben Dunk – and Clint Hinchliffe went for 32 between them in the space of two overs. Liam Hatcher was brought on before Maxwell really wanted, but made an immediate impression when he had Joe Clarke – who had sped to 34 off 16 balls after being missed on 9 – caught behind, then trapped Mitchell Marsh lbw first ball. However, replays showed the Marsh lbw was missing leg stump which reignited the lack-of-DRS-debate, with Adam Gilchrist being especially vocal on Twitter.Turning it onTurner averaged 12.28 from seven innings in last year’s BBL and has drifted well down the Australia reckoning but he remains a very fine middle-order limited-overs batman. In the space of seven balls against Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright he struck five sixes, with the latter’s over costing 23 and the Stars may have regretted subbing out a bowler in O’Connell. However, the innings was turned around by Nic Maddinson’s occasional left-arm spin as he had Turner caught behind off a pull – a juggling catch for Stars debutant Nicholas Pooran – and then Munro picked out deep midwicket. In between an over from Nathan Coulter-Nile cost just seven and when Billy Stanlake removed Aaron Hardie the innings was threatening to subside.Chase on, chase offAfter a lengthy delay the rain briefly cleared enough for a six-over chase which left plenty of people checking the playing conditions about what would happen to the Bash Boost (the answer was that the point was shared). In the end it didn’t matter: the weather only allowed seven balls, with the only real impact being on Stoinis’ average when he was beaten for pace by Jhye Richardson.

Australia captain proud of how his team have ‘handled everything thrown at them’

Daniel Brettig in Manchester08-Sep-2019Having put on a brave face in the aftermath of Headingley, Australia’s captain, Tim Paine, admitted in the afterglow of retaining the Ashes in England for the first time in 18 years that the trauma of that defeat had been enough to break a team.What’s more, he reckoned that the wider trials and tribulations of Australian cricket over the past 18 months, in the wake of the Newlands scandal that thrust the Test captaincy on his shoulders and the national coaching job on Justin Langer’s, served as an important contributor to the team’s ability to rebound from Leeds with a largely commanding victory over England at Old Trafford, culminating in a far better collective display in the field on the final day to bowl out the hosts with 13.4 overs to spare.”In terms of what we’ve been able to achieve as a group is pretty satisfying from where we’ve come from in the last 18 months,” Paine said. “Great character, shows the great people we have got and shows we’ve also got some bloody good cricketers in our team. I am also proud of our staff. Also from where we’ve come from even from last week, that was a loss that would break a lot of teams, but we weren’t. I could feel it during the week. We turned up here and did our job like good sports teams do.”The group has clearly been through a bit of adversity, some more than others. But the guys sat in that change room have been through what happened at Cape Town and it’s times like that you find out what sort of people you have got and you find people who can give up or keep fighting and I think we have got guys who have come back and kept fighting and are wanting to get better and keep wanting to be in situations like we got at Headingley because those games, when you do win, feel very special.”Headingley’s loss make this all the more sweeter after a lot of people wrote us off. There were a few nervous moments there, coming off Headingley but I thought we learnt from that, held our nerve and bowled really well against a team that fought really hard like we knew they would.”Paine’s captaincy, the team’s fielding and catching, and the bowling of the inexhaustible Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood plus Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon had all stood up far better to the pressure of the moment, leading to a victory that will be both celebrated wildly and recorded as an important moment in Ashes history.”It’s exciting, you are going to see emotion when you get a bunch of people together who have a common goal and have worked so hard for it for a such a long time,” Paine said. “This has been two years in the planning so to carry it out over here under pressure and with everything we’ve had thrown at us … it’s a nice place to play cricket but it is bloody difficult in England, if I am honest.Tim Paine directs strategy at the start of play•Getty Images

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way our group have handled everything thrown at them. At the end, it was just a bit of raw emotion when you have a little bit of success particularly on the back of last week and the last 18 months. We haven’t had a lot of success and not a lot of happy times. But we are beginning to get them and that is awesome.”My dream was to come here and win an Ashes. I certainly didn’t want to be the captain winning the Ashes. It doesn’t mean any more or any less to me. I have said a lot of times my part in this team is just one job that many are doing, I just get a lot of the credit, I suppose, but it is something we share around between the players and staff. I am just happy to be a part of it. I could have been working at Kookaburra [in 2017], so this isn’t bad.”Among many key moments on the last day was Paine’s use of Marnus Labuschagne’s wristspin to break a pesky stand between Jack Leach and Craig Overton as the final hour drew near. The subsequent wicket not only set up Hazlewood’s final wicket but also underlined how Labuschagne had made a difference to the team.”Even from when I captained him in Dubai he has been working on his legspin bowling,” Paine said. “He came on the trip and bowled a lot in the nets and we said, ‘he can bowl’.”He has bowled a lot of overs in county cricket for Glamorgan, which has helped him. He is improving all the time. He is one of those cricketers if you tell a youngish part-time legspinner to warm up at that part of a Test match, I don’t think too many would want to bowl.”Marnus wanted to bowl. He wants to bat in the games when the best bowlers are on and even in the field, he wants to make a difference all the time. His energy is great and a really exciting cricketer for us and someone we can build our team around in the future.”As for Hazlewood and Cummins, Paine offered the praise of a grateful captain. “They are extremely consistent and that is why they are good,” he said. “What I love about those two fast bowlers is that from day one of the series the same effort is coming all of the time. I can’t fault them. They run in fast, bowl as hard as they can and for me that is a real weapon to have.”I am not sure there are a heap of bowlers going around that would get through the workload that our guys are and maintain pace and skill like those two do. Pat is No. 1 in the world and rightly so and Josh has been right up there as well. We’re lucky to have them.”Last but far from least, the dominance of Steven Smith with the bat had been the rock on which Australia’s Ashes challenge was built, and at one stage the rock on which England’s campaign was dashed.”Anyone who’s watched him bat know the talent, hunger and skill that he has got,” Paine said. “People don’t see how driven he is and how he trains, eats and sleeps batting. He is just a genius and I never had any doubt he would come back and be the player he was. The scary thing is he’s getting better. I don’t know where it is going to stop but we are enjoying being on the ride, that is for sure.”

England have the chance to expose India’s middle-order muddle again as teams square up for another decider

The Preview by Alan Gardner16-Jul-20181:15

What is your favourite MS Dhoni shot?

Big Picture

For the second series in a row, England-India goes down to a decider. For the second series in a row, England have come back from being befuddled by Kuldeep Yadav to level things up. For the second series in a row, India will be hoping that one of the big guns of their top order fires them to victory and secures another trophy ahead of the marquee five-Test series.Spiking those cannons at Lord’s was the major contributor to England eventually running out comfortable winners. The common denominator in India’s three white-ball victories so far has been a centurion in the top three: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma at Old Trafford and Bristol in the T20Is, and Rohit – backed up by a slick 75 from Virat Kohli – in the first ODI at Trent Bridge. India’s middle order has been less productive, and the match at Headingley could hinge on whether England can make inroads again.The scrutiny on MS Dhoni may go up a notch, too. India’s veteran tank commander rumbled into a ditch during the second ODI, a tepid 59-ball 37 so far removed from what is expected from him as a finisher that it left fans on both sides scratching their heads. He has talked about deciding to go up the order in T20, and maybe that is something to explore as India focus their World Cup plans.England were reassured twice over by their Lord’s performance. Despite Kuldeep striking with his second and 13th deliveries, they continued to attack the wristspinner; both openers fell taking the attacking option of sweeping, while Eoin Morgan hit a full toss to a fielder on the rope, but figures of 3 for 68 were eminently manageable. The performance of Joe Root, with his 12th ODI hundred (equalling Marcus Trescothick’s record for England), then reinforced the view that his method of busy accumulation has a home in an otherwise-macho hitting line-up.With anticipation of Kuldeep being named in India’s Test line-up growing, it will be interesting to see if Kohli is minded to protect him again – as occurred during the T20 decider at Bristol. With England and India set to remain No. 1 and No. 2 in the rankings whatever the result, Headingley will provide a useful marker as the last ODI to be played in England before World Cup year – with a little knockout pressure into the mix. It could also contribute another thread in the Test tapestry to come.Mark Wood trains ahead of the third ODI•Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWWW
India LWWWL

In the spotlight

Armed with a white ball that rarely swings and asked to bowl on the most benign of surfaces, all but the quickest of quicks face a fight for survival every time they walk out in ODIs. David Willey is a man with as much fighting spirit as any member of the England squad, however, and he is having a quietly effective season in coloured clothing. He can still just about talk the new ball into doing a bit, while his death bowling has improved – and his batting has also shone through, with a maiden half-century at Lord’s to follow a match-sealing contribution against Australia at The Oval last month. He is still a little way off being classed as a genuine allrounder, but his wickets and runs have helped make up for the absence of Chris Woakes.Suresh Raina had an opportunity to shepherd the chase after a top-order wobble at Lord’s. While he managed 48, the top score of the innings, his age-old nemesis, the short ball, had him hopping and fending awkwardly. His footwork lacked assuredness even to pitched-up deliveries. After being dropped twice, he was out bowled failing to read Adil Rashid’s googly. As key as his contributions have been in the past, the room for failures currently is minimal with India’s middle order still testing the waters as far as their combinations for the World Cup go. With Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer breathing down his neck, the onus is on Raina to ensure his return to the ODI squad after nearly three years is not short-lived.

Teams news

England have called up James Vince as the spare batsman in the squad, with Dawid Malan heading to play first-class cricket with the Lions, and he could come straight into the side if Jason Roy is not fit to play, although Sam Billings has also been called into an ever-expanding squad. Roy suffered a “laceration” to the little finger on his right hand going for a catch at Lord’s and sat out of training on Monday. He remains a doubt, according to the ECB, and will have a fitness test in the morning to ascertain whether he’ll be fit to play. Sam Curran has also been released to play for the Lions against India A, but Jake Ball remains an option.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy/James Vince, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Mark WoodIndia seem set to continue with Raina, so the only change is likely to be in the seam-bowling attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bowling smoothly in practice, having missed three games with a stiff back, and should replaces Siddarth Kaul.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 KL Rahul, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

The surface at Headingley is usually good for run-scoring, with the white Kookaburra unlikely to be persuaded to do much whatever the overhead conditions: England piled up 339 for 6 at the venue against South Africa last year. The UK’s extended dry spell has resulted in a very brown surface with hardly any grass, which should bring the spinners from both sides into play.

Stats and trivia

• England have won their last four ODIs at Headingley, with their most-recent defeat coming against Sri Lanka in 2011.
• Kuldeep needs two wickets for 50 in ODIs – if he gets them at Headingley, in his 23rd match, he will equal Ajit Agarkar as the fastest for India.
• Dhoni became only the 12th man, and fourth Indian, to record 10,000 ODI runs during his innings at Lord’s.
• Jonny Bairstow needs 68 runs to reach 2000.

Quotes

“If we can use this game as a semi-final, a must-win with the pressure on, we can learn what we are doing wrong if we don’t win or what we are doing right if we do. Over the past year we have dealt with these situations well and hopefully we can carry on that trend.”
Going forward, still 16-17 games to go [before the World Cup], we are looking at in terms of the games remaining where we could look at settling the middle-order slots.”

Pakistan will not tour Bangladesh this year as per schedule; the PCB said the series has been postponed indefinitely by mutual consent

Umar Farooq26-Apr-2017Pakistan will not tour Bangladesh this year as per schedule; the PCB said the series has been postponed indefinitely by mutual consent. Pakistan was to play two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I series in Bangladesh in July and August.”We had spoken about the possibility of hosting them [Bangladesh in Pakistan] this year,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told ESPNcricinfo. “Pakistan have now toured Bangladesh twice without them reciprocating, and we feel we cannot tour Bangladesh for the third straight time. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the tour, and will explore another window in the next year or so.”Bangladesh last toured Pakistan in 2007-08, for a five-ODI series. Since then, Pakistan have toured Bangladesh twice, in 2011-12 and 2015. The PCB had invited Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series this year, only for the BCB to rebuff the invitation.On Pakistan’s last visit to Bangladesh in 2015, the PCB had reportedly taken US$ 325,000 and justified it by saying the series had “technically” been Pakistan’s home series. This year the BCB rejected all such proposals to share revenue, though it was open to playing at a neutral venue if necessary.The PCB, however, was not keen on that option. It is understood the Pakistan board feels that hosting teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the UAE – its adopted home – is not financially viable.Relations between the Pakistan and Bangladesh boards have been sour in the past. During the Zaka Ashraf regime, the PCB had stopped communication with the BCB and barred its cricketers – who had already been auctioned to various teams – from featuring in the Bangladesh Premier League.Bangladesh were the fourth team – after West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka – to refuse to travel to Pakistan in the last two years. Nevertheless, the PCB is looking to build on hosting an incident-free PSL final in Lahore in March by inviting a team of international cricketers to play a T20 series in September. However, even the PSL final – touted a success – was marred by Quetta Gladiators’ entire foreign contingent deciding against travelling to Pakistan for the final.In another development, members of the ICC board were briefed on the security situation in Pakistan. According to Shaharyar, Giles Clarke, the head of the ICC task force on Pakistan, confirmed that Lahore would host a World XI in September.”We wanted to share the series between Lahore and Karachi but since the security assessment was focussed on Lahore only, it was decided to restrict the series to Lahore for now,” Shaharyar said. “The presentation about the PSL final was well received and all members understand that the World XI tour will further pave the way for major international cricket in the country. They were supportive overall and we are looking forward to host some of the top players of the world.”