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Amit Mishra came into the series not knowing if he would remain a part of India’s ODI plans when the team’s lead spinners – R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – returned from a rest. By the end of the fifth ODI in Visakhapatnam, however, he had not only emerged as the highest wicket-taker, but also produced a spell of 5 for 18 to lead India’s 190-run rout of New Zealand to help them clinch the series 3-2. He picked up two or more wickets in every game and finished with 15 wickets to claim his first Man-of-the-Series award.Mishra, who will turn 34 next month, said he knew he had to perform given the stage his career was at. “It has become a trademark of sorts that ‘Amit wicket (once Amit comes on, he will get wickets),” he said after the match. “I always see how I can become a wicket-taking bowler. I focus on the match ahead, and try to do well according to the match situation. If I start thinking a lot about achievements, then I’ll end up putting more pressure on myself.”I’m happy for all the hard work I’ve put in. I think it’s the second series where I’ve played five matches continuously. Because it was the final match, there was a lot of pressure to perform well here. Feels great.”Mishra was introduced into the attack in the 12th over, with Axar Patel bowling at the other end. He began by bowling predominantly short in his first two overs and conceded 11 runs.”When I started bowling, I was a little worried about the boundaries. So, [MS] Dhoni came to me and asked me to bowl my normal deliveries and go for wickets.”‘I was worried about the boundaries. Dhoni came to me and asked me to go for wickets’•BCCI

After Axar dismissed Kane Williamson in the 15th over, Mishra removed Ross Taylor and BJ Watling in the space of three deliveries in the 16th. He then ran through the lower order as New Zealand were bowled out in the 24th over. Mishra said he wasn’t surprised by the visitors’ collapse that had them go from 62 for 2 to 79 all out.”The way we have bowled and batted in the series and the effort we have put in, I am not surprised,” he said. “I knew if we took one-two wickets, with the kind of bowling we had and the hard work we were putting in in the field, I was confident we could bundle them out quickly.”Since his debut in 2003, Mishra hasn’t been a regular, featuring in only 36 ODIs in the 13-year period. He said he had stopped thinking about things beyond his control, like selection. “I focus a lot more on what’s in my hand, like improving my fitness and my batting.”This was in evidence from Mishra’s diving stop while backing up, a marked improvement from previous games.”I have stopped thinking about how many matches I have played in so many years because it’s not in my hands,” he said. “I’ve prepared myself mentally in such a way that whenever there’s an opportunity, I give more than 100%.”Like he had done earlier in the series, Mishra expressed his gratitude towards coach Anil Kumble for sticking by him, especially when he had not featured in the XI during any of the three Tests that were played before the ODIs.”The small tips I get from him have made a huge difference to my bowling,” Mishra said. “He speaks about the seam position, the fields I can set and the importance of mental toughness. He also told me that I should improve my batting, and whenever I get a chance I should support the team with my batting. Whenever something was going wrong, Anil supported me mentally.”When I sat out of all the Test matches against New Zealand, he supported me a lot. He would say, ‘Don’t worry, your time will come.'”

If you wanted to know how badly South Africa wanted to win 5-0, you need look no further than Imran Tahir. In the 38th over, with Australia requiring 119 runs at more than nine an over, and shortly after David Warner had survived a lbw appeal, Tahir took it on himself to tell Warner who was boss. He sprayed down a shower of words which lasted into the next over and took the intervention of the umpires, the captain Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla to calm down.While Warner said he had “no idea,” what set Tahir off, du Plessis explained it was merely a case of the legspinner following through on his request for South Africa to boss the opposition with body language.”He wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves doing well. I haven’t seen him like that but it just shows how badly he wanted to win the game,” du Plessis said. “He realised David Warner was playing a great knock and he had to try and get under his skin. They had a few words.”Whether Tahir will be punished by the ICC remains to be seen but as far as du Plessis is concerned, his only crime was passion. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. When Immi was done, they put their arms around each other’s shoulder said lets have a beer afterwards. Immi is obviously going to have a glass of water,” du Plessis joked.The major damage Tahir inflicted on Australia was not of the verbal kind, though. In his first over, Tahir struck a double-blow when he bowled both Aaron Finch and Steven Smith and derailed Australia’s chase. After being rested from the Port Elizabeth game in favour of Tabraiz Shamsi, Tahir wanted to make a statement and from the praise du Plessis heaped on him, he made it loud and clear.”He is an absolute gun,” du Plessis said. “He is the reason we are where we are in one-day cricket. He is a competitor, he wants to win games and he wanted to show everyone that he is still our No.1 which he is. He is my banker.”Tahir was not the only standout from South Africa’s win. Rilee Rossouw batted with a fractured finger to score his third ODI hundred and first of the series, Andile Phehlukwayo topped the wicket-takers’ list and JP Duminy scored a second half-century in the series to ensure South Africa had contributions from several sides. Ultimately, the team effort is what du Plessis hopes will be the legacy of this series, in which South Africa made history by white-washing Australia.”We didn’t expect 5-0; we just wanted to beat the Aussies,” du Plessis said. “And then when we got to 3-0, it was important for us to make sure we don’t take our foot off the gas. We wanted to make history and we did that.”It’s a special feeling. I am hoping tomorrow when we wake up, we will see this incredible team effort and it will last a long time. I am incredibly proud to sit here and be captain of a side that has done that. We were a team right through the series.”

Leicestershire have confirmed that Graeme Welch is joining the club as assistant coach at the end of the 2016 season.Welch will work alongside Pierre de Bruyn, who was recently confirmed as the club’s new head coach, replacing Andrew McDonald who is returning to Australia.After a long career in the county game as an allrounder with Warwickshire and Derbyshire, Welch had spells as bowling coach at Essex and Warwickshire before becoming the head coach at Derbyshire ahead of the 2014 season. He quit that post in June of this year after what is believed to have been a disagreement over interference into team selection from outside the dressing room.He has a particularly strong reputation as a bowling coach and worked with England Lions ahead of their series against Pakistan A in Dubai at the start of the year.”Graeme will be a fantastic assistant for Pierre with his tremendous experience of county cricket as both a player and coach,” Wasim Khan, the Leicestershire chief executive, said.Leicestershire have also announced the signings of batsman Harry Dearden and seamer Gavin Griffiths, both of whom emerged through the Lancashire system, and seam-bowling allrounder Will Fazakerley, who graduates from the club’s academy having previously impressed with Guernsey and in the Sussex youth system. Cameron Delport has also been re-signed for the 2017 white ball season.

Leicestershire could be looking for a new coach after reports in Australia linked Andrew McDonald with the same role at Victoria. While Leicestershire insist McDonald has, to date, only been approached for a role with Melbourne Renegades (the Big Bash side), rumours persist that he has become the preferred candidate for both the first-class and limited-overs teams.”When you have a coach as good as Andrew, it is inevitable that other teams will be interested,” Wasim Khan, Leicestershire’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “But as things stand, he tells me he has only been approached for a role with the T20 side. My reaction was ‘great; good for you’.”Despite a poor year in limited-overs cricket, McDonald has made a strong impression as elite performance director at Leicestershire. After several miserable years, the club are currently fifth in Division Two of the County Championship and retain ambitions of winning promotion. If that sounds modest, it must be remembered that, when McDonald was appointed ahead of the 2015 season, the club had not won a Championship match since 2012.While McDonald is two years into a three-year deal with the club (he is contracted from February to September until the end of the 2017 county season), he may well conclude that the opportunity to become head coach of Victoria and Melbourne Renegades is too good to miss. Indeed, with the Matador Cup season starting in the first week of October, Victoria may well want McDonald before the end of the current county season. It is not thought sustainable to continue in both roles.McDonald, who played four Tests for Australia, represented Victoria, the state of his birth, for more than a decade. The vacancy arose when David Saker left to take up the role of bowling coach with the Australia team.

Kraigg Brathwaite, whose innings of 74 could not prevent a struggling West Indies batting unit from falling short of the follow-on mark on day three of the Antigua Test, praised India’s bowling attack for the pressure they sustained through the day.”I think I haven’t seen any bowlers bowl so well in the early stage of the innings,” Brathwaite said. “They bowled with a lot of discipline. They also set attacking fields and really backed it up with good disciplined bowling.”Replying to India’s 566 for 8 declared, West Indies were bowled out for 243. Following on, they ended the day 21 for 1, with Brathwaite dismissed in the first over.”It’s a bit of both,” he said, when asked whether West Indies’ situation was more a reflection of poor batting or good bowling from India. “As a batsman, you have to know when you have to curb your aggression and defend, or when to attack. I think it’s all about individual batsmanship as a whole. It’s about having confidence in what you do and building partnerships and bat throughout the third day.”While there was no denying the uphill nature of the task West Indies face over the last two days of the match, Brathwaite said their batting line-up was capable of saving the game.”We had just a bad day,” he said. “We have some really good batsmen. Today it didn’t go well but tomorrow we should come back and bat really well and put some runs on the board.”He expected the pitch to remain good to bat on and hold together on days four and five “Little bit of grass. I don’t think it will crack up. The bounce is still good and we have to come tomorrow and see if it continues or if it gets low.”

Leicestershire Foxes have bolstered their batting ranks by snapping up big-hitting Cameron Delport for NatWest T20 Blast fixtures this summer.Delport, a South African-born left-hander, qualifies to play for Leicestershire as a non-overseas player. He has made 2,045 T20 runs in 88 innings at an average of 25.56 and strike rate of 135.70. Delport has also picked some useful wickets with his medium paced seamers, taking 23 at 27.56 with an economy rate of 7.65.He is well-known to Elite Performance Director Andrew McDonald following a spell at Sydney Thunder in 2015 and also played alongside Umar Akmal at Lahore Qalandars earlier this year.McDonald said: “Cameron has experience in most of the world’s top T20 competitions and his knowledge and skill will be valuable assets for us. He will give us another useful option in our batting roster and is also a good person who will contribute greatly to the changing room.”

Scorecard2:10

‘Good to start the tour on a high’ – Younis

There may be more impressive individual performances and more action-packed days in the next two or three months but, in the context of this Pakistan tour, this was an almost perfect start.On a benign pitch, in front of a good natured crowd, Pakistan were able to ease their way into a tour that promises some tough moments on and perhaps off the pitch, with a low-key day – a wonderfully low key day from a Pakistan perspective – of gentle cricket.It wasn’t like this the last time they were here. The last time Pakistan were in Taunton, in September 2010, they were besieged. It was only days after the story had broken and, as helicopters hovered over their hotel and journalists waited in the car-park, the atmosphere inside the squad was anything but low key and gentle.The Pakistan camp remain nervous, probably unnecessarily so, about the reception that awaits them on this tour. So to have started this trip with three weeks training out of the spotlight and then enjoy a relatively uneventful day during which nearly all of their top six enjoyed a decent amount of time in the middle represented an ideal start.Not for the first time, Pakistan were grateful to the composure and class of Younis Khan. The 38-year-old, who missed the 2010 tour having fallen out of favour with the team management, finished the day unbeaten on 99 having added 179 for the fifth-wicket with Asad Shafiq.It was not a flawless innings. Younis was reprieved on 20 (a tough chance wide to Marcus Trescothick’s right at second slip) and again on 75 (when Alex Barrow was unable to cling on to an even tougher chance offered via the inside edge). But, in between times, he began to settle into the pace of pitch and the movement in the air and unveiled many of those familiar strokes – the devastating sweep, the flamboyant cut and the pleasing drives off front and back foot – that have already brought him more than 9,000 Test runs and 31 centuries.”It’s not easy for any team when they come to England,” Younis said afterwards. “But we have come to the country very early and we are very well prepared. I think this may be the first time that Pakistan have batted well at the start of a tour. We nearly all had 50 or 60 balls in the middle.”It would be fantastic for me if my performances helped the team do well. It would make me the happy man of the earth.”Shafiq was no less impressive. Joining Younis with the side on 132 for 4 and in just a little trouble, he survived an early run out chance but then was admirably compact and watchful in steering his side into a safer waters. While he may reflect he squandered an excellent opportunity to register a century – he sliced a somewhat wild drive off a wide one that turned a little – he will have taken confidence from this start.The one man to miss out was the captain. Misbah-up-Haq felt for his second ball, a delivery some way outside off stump, without any foot movement and edged to slip.Tougher challenges remain, of course. The days when county teams looked upon these matches as an opportunity to make a name for themselves are largely gone, especially for bowlers. So here Somerset, resting the Overton brothers and Lewis Gregory, fielded an attack that included three men with one Championship cap for the club between them including a first-class debut for 18-year-old off-spinner, Dominic Bess, who moved from Sidmouth to Exeter a couple of years ago to ensure him of more opportunity at club level.They bowled tidily enough. Paul van Meekeren, a Dutch international who has been playing club cricket for Benwell Hill near Newcastle, has just signed until the end of the season and did himself no harm with a whole-hearted effort. After Mohammad Hafeez missed a straight one, van Meekeren produced a beauty that draw a stroke from Azhar Ali but left him to take the edge.Tim Groenewald also finished with two wickets. Two balls before Misbah’s departure he had seen Shan Masood fall across a straight one as he tried to whip the ball through the leg side.But Josh Davey, the Scotland international, was less fortunate. After dropping a relatively simple caught and bowled chance offered by Masood on 17, he was also the unlucky bowler on both occasions that Younis was reprieved. On another day, he might also have won a leg before shout against Hafeez before the batsman had scored.Masood, especially efficient off his legs, and Hafeez, who pulled successive sixes when the medium-paced Davey dropped short, may both feel they missed out on the chance to cash-in against this inexperienced attack. But, in terms of gaining time at the crease ahead of the serious business part of this tour, this was a pleasing start for Pakistan.

Match facts

Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)4:13

Cullinan: Time for Sunrisers’ middle to back up Warner

Big Picture

Sunrisers Hyderabad had the top spot in the points table with two games left. Kolkata Knight Riders were behind them. One bad game was enough to turn the tables, with both sides losing an opportunity to have a second crack at the final. After being comprehensively beaten by Knight Riders on a rank turner in Kolkata, Sunrisers will be hoping for a turn in fortunes in the eliminator, on what is expected to be another slow Feroz Shah Kotla surface.Sunrisers’ fielding lapses consigned them to a last-ball loss against Delhi Daredevils before they lost to Knight Riders. Knight Riders were thumped by six wickets on a green surface by Gujarat Lions in Kanpur, but banked on home advantage to win their final game and finish fourth.Knight Riders could be buoyed by the return of their MVP, nay T20’s MVP, Andre Russell, who missed the last two games because of a leg injury. He could be rusty, though, and a tad worn out as a part of the Knight Riders squad arrived in Delhi by road from Jaipur on Tuesday morning, after their flight had to be diverted because of bad weather. Having already won the Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League and World T20, Russell has an opportunity to lay his hands on a fifth T20 title in six months.But to say Knight Riders are only about Russell would be misleading. In his absence, the middle order had mixed power with smarts. Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey used an off-stump guard to hit against the spin of Karn Sharma and the cutters of Mustafizur Rahman in Kolkata. The Knight Riders spinners then left Sunrisers’ weak middle order in a straightjacket, after David Warner had a rare failure. If Warner fails again in the eliminator, can the middle order find an escape route?

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders WLWWL

In the spotlight

Sunil Narine may have been subdued over the last month or so, but is peaking at the business end of the competition for Knight Riders. He dismissed Royal Challengers’ Chris Gayle with a skidder, while the ball he bowled to dismiss Gujarat Lions’ Brendon McCullum – a seam-up inswinger – showed that variations are still a part of his repertoire, even with a remodelled action. Narine’s 3 for 26 on Sunday against Sunrisers was his best figures this season.Yuvraj Singh will be playing his first IPL knockout game since the semi-final in 2008. Apart from two cameos – his 42 not out off 24 balls against Kings XI Punjab has been his biggest contribution – he is yet to strike big.

Team news

Kane Williamson has managed only 124 runs in six matches at a strike rate of just a shade over 100. Eoin Morgan’s strike rate of 117.14 in seven games isn’t inspiring either. Deepak’s Hooda’s patchy form has exposed the middle order further. Sunrisers, however, are likely to persist with the same batting line-up. There could be a change on the bowling front, though, with legspinner Karn Sharma likely to make way for way for seam-bowling allrounder Ashish Reddy or left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable): 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Kane Williamson/Eoin Morgan, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Naman Ojha (wk), 7 Moises Henriques, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Barinder Sran, 10 Karn Sharma/Ashish Reddy/Bipul Sharma, 11 Mustafizur RahmanRussell is likely to replace his West Indies team-mate Jason Holder, while Morne Morkel may return in place of Colin Munro. Knight Riders are also likely to persist with left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav over legspinner Piyush Chawla.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Robin Uthappa (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Piyush Chawla, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Ankit Rajpoot

Pitch and conditions

The Feroz Shah Kotla surface has traditionally offered grip and turn for the slow bowlers. Three of five games at this venue have been won by the side batting first. But with Raipur hosting the last leg of Delhi Daredevils’ home games, a fresh surface could offer better value for the batsmen.Wednesday is expected to be a warm day, with chances of showers in the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• Sunrisers have the lowest economy rate in the Powerplay – 6.73. Knight Riders’ 7.41 is the second lowest
• Russell is the leading wicket-taker in T20s in 2016 with 49 wickets in 35 matches. Mustafizur is fourth on the list with 32 wickets in 22 matches

A disciplined batting performance gave Leicestershire the upper hand on the first day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.Sam Evans faced 292 balls for 88 while Lewis Hill and George Rhodes also made half-centuries as the visitors took advantage of a flat pitch. Hill was unbeaten on 86 from 124 balls and Rhodes scored 54 from 84 balls to take Leicestershire to 282 for 3 at the close.Lancashire’s on-loan seamer Ed Moulton claimed the wicket of Evans on his Derbyshire debut but it was hard going for the home attack.With Colin Ackermann serving a one match ban because of a conduct breach by Chris Wright in the previous match, Callum Parkinson captained the side and chose to bat on a sunny morning. His decision was vindicated because despite a green pitch, there was little in it for the bowlers who took only one wicket in each of the three sessions.Evans set the tone for a patient approach by taking 174 balls to reach 50 but it put Leicestershire in a position to go on and make a substantial first-innings total. Derbyshire at least kept it tight with legspinner Matt Critchley the pick of the attack and Leicestershire’s first batting point did not arrive until the 72nd over.Ben Aitchison twice saw edges fall just short of the slips but Leicestershire passed 50 before Hassan Azad edged low to second slip where Wayne Madsen marked his return from nearly three months out with a hamstring injury by taking the catch.Evans and Rhodes added 75 in 31 overs before Rhodes aimed a slog-sweep at Critchley and was bowled when the chance of a big score beckoned. That was Derbyshire’s last success for 44 overs as Evans and Hill raised the tempo to take the score well beyond 200 after tea.Evans combined watchful defence with precise placement on both sides of the wicket but was given two reprieves in successive overs from Anuj Dal. On both occasions, the usually safe hands of Madsen failed to cling on when Evans was on 85 and 86 but he failed to take advantage as Moulton struck late on.Evans got an inside edge into the gloves of Brooke Guest as he pushed forward but with Hill unbeaten at the close, it was very much Leicestershire’s day.

Take a bit of risks and don’t go after the yorkers for all six balls – that was Matt Henry’s clear plan as he helped New Zealand to the men’s T20I tri-series title in a last-ball thriller in Harare.Henry stood at the top of his mark with South Africa needing seven off the last over with six wickets in hand. ESPNcricinfo’s win predictor gave South Africa a 93.3% chance, with a set Dewald Brevis batting on 31 off just 14. But all Henry conceded were three runs and picked up two wickets.”The thought process was making sure that there were tough options [for the batters]. If you go to yorkers too early and you run two, it’s hard to kind of keep six [balls] out,” Henry said after New Zealand’s three-run win. “So, we just tried to be positive and to take an element of risk of the death that doesn’t always come off but that was good.Related

• Henry the hero as NZ win last-ball thriller to clinch tri-series title

• Conrad: 'Bitterly disappointed but we have got the makings of a great side'

“With not too many to defend, I probably made it a little bit clearer in terms of, having probably taken a few more risks, and making sure that it either was a dot ball or a wicket. Just making sure I was nice and clear at the top of the mark and executing what I wanted to do, and thankfully executed the plans nicely and catches stuck, so that was good.”2:32

Matt Henry: ‘Tried to take an element of risk at the death’

The last over was not devoid of drama. A couple of athletic catches sealed New Zealand’s fate, while the one missed chance did not cost them. On the second ball, Brevis looked to pull a bouncer over the deep midwicket boundary and almost succeeded. But Michael Bracewell timed his jump, held his balance to complete a juggling catch that gave New Zealand the edge. A ball later, he couldn’t hang on to a miscue from Corbin Bosch, grassing the chance after running in from deep midwicket. On the fifth ball, Daryl Mitchell covered good ground to his right from long-on to pull off another excellent catch to convert a certain boundary into a wicket, thus sending back George Linde.”I was hoping he was going to catch it,” Henry said of Bracewell, “it was a really good catch. When you’ve got Bracewell out there on the boundaries, [he is] one of the better fielders going around. So [I had] a lot of confidence, just hoped that one did his job. These guys, they take more catches than they drop, so I wasn’t as worried [about the dropped catch]. I was more just focused on what I could do. [It was a] tough chance, and not many people probably get to that to create a chance. He’s an unbelievable fielder.”Henry finished the tri-series as the leading wicket-taker with ten wickets. Six of those wickets came at the death (overs 17-20), a phase in which he had an economy of 6.69.”The key thing is wanting those overs,” Henry, who was named the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Series, said. “It’s never easy, they don’t always go your way either. It’s something we all train at, and I think when you’re talking about death, it’s not just the final over. It’s actually the building up of that.”I think the guys that had some really tough sets there, [Jacob] Duffy and Zakary Foulkes, they’ve done a great job. There was some seriously aggressive striking there [from South Africa] as well. So for us to get to that position was probably the key thing.Henry also praised the tri-series as a means to play high-pressure matches in preparation for the T20 World Cup next year.”We don’t play too many of them, but to come here today and then the final one is great,” he said. “We want to play cricket against great sides and under pressure, that’s why we play the game. Today was one of those games. It was different to all the games we played here. It was a really strong surface, which required a high scoring game – obviously 180 was probably the highest for the tri series – so to come down to the wire was exciting. For us, it was building on what we’ve been talking about. A lot of guys that have stepped up at different times, which is a pleasing thing.”We’ve loved it, we’ve had such a great tour, and we’ve got a big year of T20 cricket with the World Cup to look forward to. For us, [it is about] not getting carried away with the results, more of the style of cricket we’re playing, and how do we keep asking ourselves to grow in our roles and take the game forward. It was a great stepping stone towards where we want to get to.”