All posts by n8rngtd.top

Six centurions and 1390 runs scored in drawn Cardiff match

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2019
Northamptonshire have criticised the Glamorgan pitch which yielded 1390 runs, six centurions and 19 wickets as “shocking” and “poor” following their drawn County Championship match.It might have been shocking to watch, but it did not stop Glamorgan’s Kiran Carlson scoring a century in a session as the home county gained five batting points in the 92nd over.The final day descended into farce with Glamorgan using 10 bowlers, their two spinners – Carlson and Billy Root – bowling medium pace, while Northants’ only objective to was break as many records as they could.They achieved the highest score made at Sophia Gardens of 750 and their highest against Glamorgan, but that would have been of little interest to the handful of spectators left.After resuming on 522 for 4, Rob Keogh and Adam Rossington shared a partnership of 169 for the fifth wicket, but Keogh should have been out on 74, when Lloyd dropped him off Michael Hogan at slip. Rossington made 70, before he swatted a full toss to mid-wicket from Marnus Labuschagne’s leg spin.Keogh went on to score 150 before he too fell to Labuschagne, who was signed by Glamorgan largely as a batsman and ended up taking 3 for 122 from his 44 overs.West Indies captain Jason Holder made just three runs before he was bowled through the gate by Charlie Hemphrey’s off-spin.Nathan Buck then slogged away at the end of the innings, scoring his maiden first-class fifty before he fell lbw to Root.Nick Selman, the Glamorgan opening batsman used as their 10th bowler, captured his first Championship wicket when he had Ben Sanderson out, edging to wicketkeeper Chris Cooke for 18.There were 33 overs remaining at the end of the day, and despite losing Selman to Josh Cobb’s gentle medium pace, Hemphrey and Labuschagne avoided any further alarms, with the umpires mercifully ending the game at 5.00pm with 17 overs left, and Glamorgan 70 for 1.Ricardo Vasconcelos top scored in the run-fest with 184 for Northamptonshire.Northants opener Rob Newton described the pitch as “shocking”, while captain Alex Wakely was also critical of the surface.”I thought it was a very poor pitch and, as you saw, very difficult for the bowlers to take wickets,” Wakely said. “Our bowlers had a long bowl in the last game against Middlesex and in the first innings here, and it did them good to have a rest. It was difficult to score quickly and we weren’t prepared to declare.”Despite Northants’ record total, Glamorgan Head Coach Matthew Maynard was delighted with his team’s efforts and disagreed with the visitors’ assessment of the pitch.”The batsmen batted aggressively on a good pitch, the bowlers were disciplined and had we taken the five chances in the field, then things might have been different,” Maynard said. “We can’t comment on the way Northants played, but had we been in their position, we would have certainly attacked more, declared and had a go at winning the game.”

Rinku Singh nearly pulled off a stunning chase as KKR’s campaign came to an end

Hemant Brar20-May-2023Lucknow Super Giants 176 for 8 (Pooran 58, Shardul Thakur 2-27, Narine 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 175 for 7 (Rinku 67*, Roy 45, Bishnoi 2-23, Yash Thakur 2-31) by one runLucknow Super Giants survived a Rinku Singh scare to become the third team to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2023 as they beat Kolkata Knight Riders by one run at Eden Gardens. They ended with 17 points, tied with Chennai Super Kings, but LSG’s inferior net run rate meant they finished third. They will now face the fourth qualifying team in the Eliminator in Chennai on May 24.At the start of the day, LSG had a chance to secure a top-two finish. However, CSK’s 77-run win over Delhi Capitals in the earlier game meant LSG needed to beat KKR by a margin of around 97 runs to go above CSK. That was not going to be easy, especially after LSG posted 176 batting first. At 73 for 5 in the 11th over, they didn’t look like scoring even that many, but Nicholas Pooran’s 30-ball 58 lifted them.KKR had a flying start before they lost their way in the middle overs. It came down to 56 needed from the last four overs, and then 41 from two. Rinku took 20 off Naveen-ul-Haq in the 19th, leaving 21 for the last.Vaibhav Arora took a single on the first ball of the final over, bowled Yash Thakur. That was followed by two dots and two wides, making it 18 required from three balls. Rinku hit the next one for a six but could pick up only a four off the fifth. A six on the final delivery only reduced the margin of defeat.

LSG’s hit-and-miss start

After being sent in, LSG lost a wicket in the third over of the innings when Harshit Rana bounced out Karan Sharma for 3. Prerak Mankad tried to attack but he was more like a cat on a hot tin roof. After being on 4 off eight balls, he picked up five fours in the next two overs but hardly looked comfortable. Once the powerplay ended, his attempted upper cut against Arora was taken at deep cover. Two balls later, Arora bounced out Marcus Stoinis for a duck, making it 55 for 3.Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine dragged LSG back further. Narine had Krunal Pandya mistiming a slog sweep to deep square leg in the tenth over, and Varun got Quinton de Kock to top-edge to deep midwicket. De Kock, who picked up two sixes in the powerplay – his only boundaries on the night – ended with 28 off 27 balls.

Pooran hits them beyond the boundary

Pooran came in at No. 7, a ball after the halfway mark in the innings. Varun induced an outside edge straightaway but Pooran had played it with soft hands, resulting in the ball falling short and to the left of first slip and going for four. The next ball, though, was too short, and Pooran cut it for four. Varun then overcompensated, erring on the fuller side and was duly smashed for a straight six.With another six in the spinner’s next over, Pooran moved to 23 off just ten balls. KKR had brought in Suyash Sharma as the Impact Player for Harshit, who had bowled three overs for 1 for 21. Pooran welcomed Suyash with yet another six, and ended the over with a four, making sure the legspinner didn’t bowl another over in the game.In the 19th over, Pooran brought up his half-century with a six off Shardul Thakur. He sent the next ball over the boundary line as well, but Thakur had him caught at deep third when the batter attempted a hat-trick of sixes. Andre Russell conceded only three off the first four deliveries of the 20th over before K Gowtham hit the last two for a six and four to take LSG past 175.

KKR quick out of the blocks

KKR had an almost impossible task in front of them: they needed to win in 8.5 overs to lift their net run rate above Rajasthan Royals’ to stay alive for the playoffs. Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer smashed 30 in the first two overs but the next two brought only 15. Roy did hit three fours off Krunal’s first three balls in the fifth over but Iyer fell to Gowtham in the next, and KKR finished the powerplay on 61 for 1.

Rinku takes it close

As far as this match was concerned, KKR were well ahead of the required rate. After eight overs, they were 78 for 1, but could score only 30 in the next six for the loss of three wickets. Ravi Bishnoi had Nitish Rana caught at extra cover, Krunal bowled Roy for 45 off 28, and Yash Thakur’s slower ball accounted for Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 10 off 15.With 63 needed from 28 balls, Russell hit Bishnoi for a six but was bowled on the next ball. Rinku was still in the middle, and if there is one thing this season has taught us, it is that no game is over till Rinku is batting. En route to his unbeaten 67 off 33 balls, he took Naveen for three fours and six in the 19th over but with 18 needed from three balls, he could hit only 6, 4 and 6.

For upcoming Tests in SL, Babar wants mistakes from previous WTC cycle to not be repeated

Umar Farooq06-Jul-2023Talking about the October 15 ODI World Cup fixture against India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said that the tournament doesn’t revolve around only one game, and all nine fixtures will be important. Babar addressed the media in Karachi, where the team is undergoing a preparatory camp before the Sri Lanka Test series.”We are going to play World Cup and not just going to play against India only,” Babar said. “There are eight other teams and it’s not only India and only if we beat them then we will make it into the final. We are not focused on only one team, we are focused on all other teams in the tournament. Our plan is that we have to play well against all of them and win against them.”Pakistan are scheduled to play their nine league matches in five cities, their first stop being Hyderabad. There they play Netherlands and Sri Lanka – the two qualifiers from Zimbabwe – on October 6 and 12 respectively. Their next fixture is the big one, travelling west to Ahmedabad for the India game on October 15. They then go down south to Bengaluru to play Australia on October 20, and onward to Chennai, where Afghanistan await on October 23 and South Africa too on October 27. Pakistan then shuttle between Kolkata (v Bangladesh) and Bengaluru (v New Zealand) on October 31 and November 4 respectively, before finishing their league-stage fixtures against England in Kolkata.”In our thought, wherever the cricket will be played, wherever the matches are, we are going to play there. Because as professionals that is what we do, you have to be ready for everything. You prepare yourself for different conditions and in every environment and that is what we call a challenge and you take it to live up to it. Me, as a player and captain, I aspire to score runs in every country, dominate and win Pakistan games. So this is all we have in mind and not only that we’re going to play against one team.”Pakistan’s league stage matches at the 2023 ODI World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan’s participation is subject to the government approval, though there is a tentative approval which will be reviewed closer to the event. There will be the usual security reconnaissance before the team flies out, but there is no other hindrance at this stage.There was a letter sent out to the government by the PCB seeking advice on whether the Pakistan team is allowed to travel to India, and if so, if there are any reservations about any of the five venues for the Pakistan games, and if the Pakistani government wants to send a security delegation.

Babar wants faster runs from Test batters

Most Pakistan players are currently in Karachi, attending a conditioning camp before their two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. The series starts July 16 in Galle, with Pakistan playing their first Test after a gap of six months. The second Test is in Colombo from July 24.In the last ICC World Test Championship cycle, Pakistan were derailed in their home series with scorelines of 0-1 against Australia, 0-3 against England, and a drawn series against New Zealand. The Sri Lanka Test series is the first away series for Pakistan in the 2023-2025 cycle, and also have away tours of Australia (three Tests) and South Africa (two) lined up. They will host England (three), West Indies (two), and Bangladesh (two) at home.Honours were shared in SL when Pakistan last toured in 2022•AFP/Getty Images

“When you reflect back on the championship, you look out for all the positives and mainly what we were lacking in,” Babar said. “We did look back and plucked a few points. We’ll try to start this cycle in a positive way and up our game by 5-10 percent. We talked about taking our partnerships longer and with the ball, we have to take wickets. With the bat, if we were going with 3.5 [run rate], so now we have to change our game to try and go with 4.”On a question about taking a leaf out of the book on how England and Australia play Test cricket, Babar insisted that his side has its own way of playing.”As a captain, the approach is to win matches and always look to have a result,” he said. “Every team has a mindset and they play in their way. We try to play our best game and apply ourselves. For example, we went on to chase 360 [342] in Galle last year with our game. It happens when you have to score at the rate of three or four but sometimes you have to be defensive so it’s the need of the hour that dictates how you going to go into the situation. You learn every day and try to add new things to the system.”

Weather could be a factor as the teams move from Mumbai on the west coast to Visakhapatnam on the east

Hemant Brar18-Mar-20234:05

Jaffer: India might be tempted to go with Axar Patel

Big picture: India target series victory

The Wankhede Stadium might have thrown a curveball in the first ODI but neither India nor Australia will fret too much over how their batters fared in those seamer-friendly conditions. Both teams have already qualified for the upcoming ODI World Cup and this series, anyway, is not part of the World Cup Super League.Right now, it’s more about fine-tuning and finding the right combinations, and so the caravan moves from Mumbai on the west coast to Visakhapatnam on the east coast for more of that.For India, their regular captain Rohit Sharma will be back after missing the first game because of family commitments. That means Ishan Kishan is likely to sit out. Unless India value his left-handedness and give him a chance in the middle order in place of Suryakumar Yadav.

Watch live on ESPN+

In the US, you can watch the second India-Australia ODI live on ESPN+.

KL Rahul hasn’t had a great time in Test cricket of late, but he showed his value as an ODI No. 5 with a match-winning unbeaten 75 in the first game. India will also be pleased with his glovework behind the stumps. He took an excellent diving catch to his right to dismiss Steven Smith apart from making a couple of one-handed stops down the leg side. Against spin too, he was equally impressive. With Rishabh Pant unlikely to be fit in time for the World Cup, Rahul’s wicketkeeping is a big plus.Australia will be happy with the returns of Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell in the first ODI. Marsh, coming back after ankle surgery and playing this series as a specialist batter, smashed a 65-ball 81. Maxwell was playing his first international match since breaking his leg in November. He might not have contributed much with bat or ball, but he didn’t seem to be in any sort of physical discomfort.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Australia LWWWW

In the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and Mitchell Starc

Shreyas Iyer’s absence has allowed India to play Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. However, he has failed to replicate his T20I success in 50-over cricket. In his last ten ODIs, he has scored only 110 runs at an average of 13.75. With the ODI World Cup a little over six months away, is Suryakumar running out of time to be a serious contender for India’s squad?Rohit Sharma will be back for India after missing the first ODI•Associated Press

On Friday, Mitchell Starc showed why he is such a force in ODI cricket. His new-ball spell, during which he dismissed Virat Kohli, Suryakumar and Shubman Gill, made Australia favourites to defend 188, before they were denied by KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. Given Starc no longer plays in the IPL – 2015 was his last season – he will like to acquaint himself as much as possible with the Indian conditions before the World Cup.

Team news: Rohit returns

Apart from Rohit’s return, India could consider bringing in Washington Sundar for Shardul Thakur as spinners have a better economy rate (5.64) than fast bowlers (6.15) in Visakhapatnam.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav/Ishan Kishan, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur/Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajDavid Warner (elbow injury) and Alex Carey (illness) missed the first ODI but there is a chance that both could play on Sunday. If Warner returns, Australia will have to reshuffle their batting order. Carey will be a straight swap for Josh Inglis. They may experiment elsewhere, too, as they have said they will try things ahead of the World Cup.Australia (probable): 1 Mitchell Marsh, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Cameron Green, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Marcus Stoinis, 9 Sean Abbott, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions: A shortened game?

Visakhapatnam has been a high-scoring venue with an average first-innings total of 295. The last time India played an ODI here, in December 2019, they posted 387 for 5 against West Indies with Rohit and Rahul scoring hundreds. Weather, though, could play spoilsport as there is a forecast of scattered showers in the afternoon.

Stats and trivia: Kohli in Visakhapatnam

• India’s five-wicket win in Mumbai extended their winning streak in ODIs to eight matches, and halted Australia’s run at six wins.
• Of the nine ODIs Visakhapatnam has hosted to date, India have won seven, lost one, and one was a tie.
• In six ODIs at this venue, Kohli’s scores are 118, 117, 99, 65, 157* and 0.
• Rahul has 1945 runs in 50 ODI innings. If he scores another 55 on Sunday, he will be the second-fastest Indian behind Shikhar Dhawan (48 innings) to reach the landmark.
• Smith is 61 short of 5000 runs in the format. If he gets there in his next innings, he will be the joint second-fastest for Australia.

Head coach, as well as other support staffers Grant Flower, Azhar Mahmood and Grant Luden, to be discarded next week

Umar Farooq and Danyal Rasool07-Aug-2019Mickey Arthur’s time as Pakistan’s head coach will end next week with the PCB deciding against renewing his contract. The board’s decision means that nearly the entire coaching staff – batting coach Grant Flower, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, and fitness trainer Grant Luden – will not have their contracts extended.According to a statement released by the PCB on Wednesday, the board will be “immediately undertaking a robust recruitment process” to fill these roles ahead of Pakistan’s next international commitment, a Test series against Sri Lanka in October.With the contracts of Arthur, Flower, Azhar and Luden all scheduled to end on August 15 anyway, none of the coaches has been sacked per se. But Arthur, certainly, had expressed an eagerness to continue: in an exhaustive review conducted by the PCB after the World Cup, Arthur asked for a chance to present his report, which was widely seen as a chance for him to defend his record and make a case for an extension.The decisions were arrived at following a five-hour PCB cricket committee meeting on Monday, in which Arthur was grilled about his performance with the team over the last three years. He was keen to continue, and ESPNcricinfo understands that he asked for two more years at the job.Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, said in a statement: “I am thankful to the PCB Cricket Committee for submitting their recommendations following an exhaustive and detailed review process. The committee comprised of individuals who possess tremendous acumen, experience and knowledge. The unanimous recommendation of the Committee was that it was time for new leadership and a fresh approach. I am happy to accept their strong recommendations.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“On behalf of the PCB, I want to sincerely thank Mickey Arthur, Grant Flower, Grant Luden and Azhar Mahmood for their hard work and unwavering commitment during their tenures with the national men’s team. We wish them every success in their future endeavors.”This means five key people will be out of the set-up following Pakistan’s fifth-place finish at the World Cup, with chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq having earlier decided against contract renewal once his stint ended in July. The only survivor from the coaching staff is fielding coach Grant Bradburn, whose contract runs until September 2021.Bradburn’s continuation underscores the PCB’s stated position that no one has been removed, their contracts just haven’t been renewed. However, with the men leaving interested in staying on, it’s really a distinction without a difference.Arthur was appointed as head coach in May 2016 after Pakistan’s disappointing performance at the World T20 in 2016 ended with Waqar Younis’ stint coming to a close. Arthur immediately adopted a tough stance on the fitness and fielding standards of the players and brought in Steve Rixon as fielding coach. Several players were cast aside – Umar Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan for example – for not being at the levels Arthur wanted, while Pakistan’s fielding numbers soared under Rixon’s watch; in the 12 months before he left in June 2018, Pakistan were a better fielding side than South Africa and Australia.Will there be changes among the players too?•Getty Images

Under Arthur, Pakistan reached the top spot in the T20I rankings and, following a 2-2 series draw in England in 2016 – his first assignment as head coach – they rose to the top of the Test rankings. That didn’t last long, though, as Pakistan endured a disappointing run in the format after that, losing nine of the following 11 matches they played, including a 2-0 loss at home to Sri Lanka. It was Pakistan’s first Test series loss in the UAE since it became their home away from home. Overall, Pakistan won 10 and lost 17 of the Test matches played under Arthur, by far the most disappointing aspect of his coaching record with the side.But there were also concerns that his robust, high-intensity methods, and no-nonsense headmasterly style of coaching was beginning to wear out his players. There was a high-profile falling out with Umar Akmal in 2017, following which the player was sidelined for over a year, only to play in a five-match ODI series where Pakistan rested half-a-dozen frontline players. Then, in South Africa last year, Arthur had a go at several players following a second-innings collapse in Centurion, and also had tough words for Babar Azam following a loss against England in a five-match ODI series in May this year. Babar had scored a hundred in the game, but Arthur felt his strike rate was a contributing factor to the defeat.Flower’s departure, meanwhile, means Pakistan have let go of the longest-serving member of the coaching staff. Flower, who ESPNcricinfo understands was also willing to continue, was appointed in May 2014, and it was during this time that Sarfaraz Ahmed emerged as Pakistan’s No. 1 wicketkeeper-batsman in Test cricket, and players like Babar, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman all broke through.The highest point for the team, of course, was winning the Champions Trophy in 2017, when everything came together brilliantly. Arthur was the motivator as Pakistan turned a thumping early loss to India around with four wins on the trot. The top-order batting clicked in semi-final and final thrashings of England and India, while the pace bowling in those two games was exquisite. The fielding still hadn’t touched the heights it would in the 12 months to follow, but there were signs that a corner was being turned.Now, they have chosen to try and turn another corner and they will have to do it with a whole new group of people for company and guidance.

The Pakistan coach feels his batsmen did not stick to their roles, and his bowlers abandoned good plans too quickly against India

Shashank Kishore in Dubai20-Sep-20181:05

We were soft, and batted outside our roles – Mickey Arthur

If the Pakistan players were looking for some consolation from their coach Mickey Arthur after an eight-wicket pounding from India on Wednesday, they found none. There was no sugar coating, just an honest appraisal of what went wrong.The first glaring mistake was deviating from set plans. In nine ODIs coming into the India game, never mind that five of them were against a second-string Zimbabwe team, Imam-ul-Haq had been the grafter who looked to bat through. While he has four hundreds in these games, sceptics have felt his batting style is out-dated.On Wednesday, after facing seven deliveries for two runs, he had a Shahid Afridi moment though – advancing down the pitch to heave Bhuvneshwar Kumar after Jasprit Bumrah had bowled a maiden over to Fakhar Zaman. Imam isn’t the adventurous kind, even if he steps out. The result was a thin edge leading edge through to MS Dhoni, and Pakistan had lost a wicket in the third over.”I think the pressure told on Imam,” Arthur said. “That’s not in his area. If he comes down, he’s going to be going extra cover, not midwicket, so yes I do think there was a little bit of pressure.”Arthur wasn’t against the idea of hitting over the top, but said the team management had worked overtime to drill into each player their role. Fakhar, for example, has been empowered to biff the bowling without worrying about repercussions, because anything else would be tweaking his natural ability.”We’ve got guys, X-factor guys whose role it is to do that [hit out],” Arthur said. “If Fakhar gets out playing that way, then it’s okay, because that’s what he needs to do. If Asif Ali gets out like that it’s okay because that’s his role. But the other four batsmen certainly need to take responsibility. And I just thought we were soft – 158 dot balls out of 258 played is not good enough.”With the middle order exposed early, Pakistan’s experienced batsmen had time to forge a recovery, and while crease occupation was important, they had to be mindful of runs too. It was in trying to step out and loft Kedar Jadhav over long-on that Sarfraz Ahmed was caught brilliantly on the boundary by Manish Pandey. Babar Azam had looked compact, but was out stepping out to Kuldeep Yadav. Then a mix-up with Asif Ali cost Shoaib Malik his wicket. In the end, a tame 162 all out in 43.1 overs was all they had.The deviation from plans wasn’t just restricted to their batting. After giving away just 15 runs off the first six overs with the ball, Pakistan could have looked to build pressure by continuing to bowl full and swing the ball. Strangely enough, Usman Khan decided to adopt a short-ball strategy from around the stumps to Rohit Sharma, and saw the plan spectacularly backfire as Rohit played the hook to perfection.”On a wicket like that you need to strike really if you’re going to defend it. We didn’t strike early enough,” Arthur said. “We went away from our plans too quickly. We said that our batters batted outside our roles and that wasn’t acceptable. With our bowling, we went outside our plans far too quickly. We wanted to bowl hard lengths, hit the top of off stump.”It was tough to score then. We did that in the first six, and then [Usman Khan] Shinwari decided to come around the wicket and bowl a bouncer with fine leg up. And from there it just tumbled. We’re going to sit down and talk about that. It’s not good enough. We went outside our plans. That’s not acceptable. I think there was a bit of panic when they didn’t strike early.”It wasn’t just Usman’s poor outing that concerned Arthur. He was also mindful of the growing pressure on Mohammad Amir, whose struggle for wickets since last year’s Champions Trophy is becoming an Achilles heel, but was encouraged by what he saw in the six overs Amir bowled.”I’d be lying if I sat here and said there wasn’t [any concern about Amir],” he said. “I had a really good, long hard chat with him last night and I thought he came out and bowled really well. He hit the crease really hard. He ran in well. He’s been decelerating to the crease, but he didn’t do that today. Today he seemed more fluent, there was a little bit more pace there. And I was comfortable [with what he did], he bowled well tonight. There is pressure on him, of course there is.”With the assessment of his team done, Arthur was asked how an attack that almost failed to defend 286 against Hong Kong just the previous day transformed itself. Arthur put this down to the Bumrah factor.”You see what a difference Bumrah makes to their attack,” he said. “I thought their spinners bowled better, their lengths were far better than they were last night [v Hong Kong]. So I think they were better for the hit out. As far us, whenever we go head-to-head with India, I am comfortable that we’ve got a dressing room of players who can stand up to it. I am comfortable we’ve got a dressing room of players who, on any given day, can win. So I still think it’s a 50-50. Lucky this game was inconsequential in the tournament.”

Suzie Bates briefly gave New Zealand hope in their chase, but defeat left them facing the exit

The Report by Alex Malcolm14-Nov-2018
Australia’s toughest test of the tournament to-date only proved to further entrench their favouritism for the title.Alyssa Healy continued her stunning form with the bat to help Australia cruise into the semi-finals. A third consecutive half-century and a sixth in eight T20Is underpinned Australia’s strong but slightly underwhelming total given the platform set by Healy and her opening partner Beth Mooney.

NZ fined for slow over rate

New Zealand have been found to have fallen short of the targeted over rate in Guyana by one over, resulting in captain Amy Satterthwaite being fined 20% of her match fee, and her players 10% each.
The charge was levelled by the four on-field umpires and the penalty was handed by the match referee, Richie Richardson. Satterthwaite accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
As per the ICC Code of Conduct, players are fined 10% of their fee per unbowled over, with the captain fined double that.
According to the ICC statement, if there is a second minor over-rate offence committed by the New Zealand team in a T20I within 12 months with Satterthwaite as captain, she will face a one-match suspension.

But it proved too many for New Zealand, who without Suzie Bates’ lone hand of 48 may have fallen short by far more than they did.Both sides, however, may admit the margin was a little deceiving. New Zealand did expose some vulnerabilities in the powerful Australian line-up but failed to capitalise through some poor fielding. Amelia Kerr dropped Healy at point in the third over, letting a simple sliced sky ball slip through her fingers. Australia were just 16 runs from 16 balls at that stage.But a bevy of boundaries from Healy intertwined with a stack of wides from New Zealand’s bowlers saw the opening stand reach 71 in just 8.2 overs. It was the fourth consecutive 50-run opening stand between Healy and Mooney and the sixth in seven innings.Australia’s innings then stalled badly. Mooney holed out before Meg Lanning made a rare failure. Ash Gardner failed to rotate the strike adequately to leave Healy frustrated as she threw her wicket away on 53 from just 38 balls, bowled by Hannah Rowe stepping well outside her off stump trying to flick to leg.Alyssa Healy’s continued her hot streak in T20Is•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Leigh Kasperek really put the brakes on Australia as skipper Amy Satterthwaite juggled her bowlers around with good effect. Kasperek removed the dangerous trio of Mooney, Gardner and Ellyse Perry in four overs that cost just 25.But New Zealand dropped two more catches in the last two overs of the innings, crucially both off Rachael Haynes who ended up making an unbeaten 29 from 18 balls to tick the total past 150.The chase got off to a horrendous start. Anna Peterson was trapped lbw by Megan Schutt in the first over and burnt New Zealand’s sole review in the process. After Sophie Devine was clean bowled next over by Perry the review haunted New Zealand when Satterthwaite was adjudged lbw to Sophie Molineux in the third over attempting a reverse sweep. Replays showed she was struck outside the line.It left New Zealand 13 for 3. Bates and Katie Martin mounted an excellent revival that put Australia under pressure. Bates got a reprieve when Healy dropped a sharp top edge off the bowling of Perry. The pair added 69 in 7.4 overs before Healy made amends with a silky stumping off the legspin of Georgia Wareham to remove Martin.Bates keep finding the rope reducing the equation to a manageable 61 from 42 balls before Delissa Kimmince took two wickets in the 14th over to tip the game in Australia’s favour, with Healy taking a stunning catch up the stumps to confirm her Player of the Match award.Bates was correctly adjudged lbw by Gardner an over later despite skipping down the track to effectively end the chase and all-but end New Zealand’s tournament with a second straight loss.

Rizwan’s unbeaten fifty in vain as UAE fall short by 32 runs

Mohammad Isam27-Sep-2022Bangladesh predictably claimed the hastily arranged two-match T20I series against the UAE, beating the home side by 32 runs in the second game in Dubai. The visitors would be relieved with the two wins under their belt in a season of slim pickings, but UAE, too, will be heartened by their performances in these matches.Running well behind the eight-ball, Basil Hameed and captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan added 90 runs, a T20I record for the fifth wicket in the UAE, after they had slipped to 29 for 4 in the seventh over. Hameed made 42 off 40 balls with four boundaries, while Rizwan struck his maiden fifty in the format, hitting some crisp shots among his four boundaries that included two sixes.For Bangladesh, Mosaddek Hossain took two wickets while Taskin Ahmed built a fantastic spell of 1 for 22, including 12 dot balls.During their innings, Mehidy Hasan Miraz top-scored with 46 but none of the other batters could really push on after making starts.Aggressive batters fall softlyBangladesh were generally a little more forceful during this innings as opposed to their timid start in the first game. But still, the batters’ intent didn’t translate to good starts. Sabbir Rahman struck a four and a six before being given out lbw, playing a lap sweep in the fourth over. Litton Das, on the comeback trail after missing the Asia Cup, looked in good touch hitting four boundaries in his first 19 balls, but then his uppish square-cut looped to point.Afif Hossain, who made a career-best unbeaten 77 in the last game, also took a similar route. He dinked one towards square-leg, playing a half-shot to an Aayan Azal Khan full-toss. Karthik Meiyappan took a great catch diving forward, but it looked like a huge waste of a wicket for Afif.Miraz keeping the faithGood news for Bangladesh is how Mehidy has taken to opening the batting. His 46 off 37 balls contained five fours, but his pacing of the innings should be encouraging for the team management. After allowing Sabbir, Litton and Afif to dominate, he took on the mantle when Mosaddek took a bit of time to get settled.Mehidy has also developed a few shots that is helping him score regularly during and after the powerplay overs. He plays the cut and the pull freely in the air, but when the field is spread, he plays the percentage shots quite well.UAE claw backKeeping Bangladesh down to 43 runs in the last five overs would be something that captain Rizwan and coach Robin Singh can take heart from. Zahoor Khan, who replaced Junaid Siddique for this game, gave away 30 runs in three of those overs, but more importantly foxed Nurul Hasan and Yasir Ali several times with his change of pace.Zawar Farid and Meiyappan too bowled well during the end of the innings, ensuring they preyed on Bangladesh’s lack of intent. The visitors finished on just two sixes and a four in the last 30 balls, even though they looked well set on 126 for 4 after 15 overs.Bangladesh take four earlyChirag Suri, top-scorer for the UAE in the first game, couldn’t connect properly for two overs, before eventually skying one towards cover. The bowler, Nasum Ahmed, completed the easy catch, as the UAE began to stutter. After hitting two sixes off Nasum, Muhammad Waseem was trapped lbw by Taskin in the sixth over, before things got worse for the home side.Mosaddek removed Aryan Lakra and Vritya Aravind off successive balls in his first over, to reduce the UAE to 29 for 4 in the seventh over. Lakra holed out to Mohammad Saifuddin at cover, while Aravind missed a delivery that spun back on to his stumps as he went back to cut the ball.Rizwan, Hameed dig deepBangladesh could have shut up shop but allowed the game to meander. It meant Hameed and Rizwan rebuild the UAE innings, adding 90 runs in the following 11.5 overs. Yasir Ali helped them along the way by dropping Rizwan on 13 at the deep square-leg boundary.But the pair scampered hard for ones and twos, while peppering the scoring with a number of boundaries. Hameed’s four boundaries included a risky ramp shot off the stumps against Saifuddin. Rizwan reached his fifty with a rasping cover drive in the penultimate over, but he was left with too much to do by himself.

The Ireland captain was struck on the helmet after scoring a century in the first ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2023Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie has been withdrawn from the ODI series against Zimbabwe after getting hit on the helmet in the opening match. Left-hand batter Murray Commins has received his first call-up as Balbirnie’s replacement and Paul Stirling will stand-in as captain.Balbirnie scored his eighth ODI hundred and was on 121 when a low full toss from Brad Evans deflected off his bat onto his helmet. A stretcher brought out but he managed to walk off the field, and Ireland did not use the concussion substitute.”Andrew Balbirnie sustained a suspected mild concussive episode after being struck on the helmet while batting in yesterday’s match against Zimbabwe,” Mark Rausa, head of physiotherapy and medical services for Cricket Ireland, said. “He retired hurt and did not take the field in the second innings in line with concussion protocols. He was reassessed this morning, but the decision has been made to withdraw him from the remaining two matches of this series as a precaution.”Related

• Zimbabwe clinch last-ball thriller in rain-hit game against Ireland

When Zimbabwe had toured Ireland in 2021, Commins, playing for the A side, scored a half-century at the top of the order. He had low returns in Ireland’s domestic 50-overs competition last year but struck a century in the T20 competition.”It’s extremely disappointing to lose our skipper in this manner, particularly after his outstanding century in his 200th match for Ireland,” Ireland selector Andrew White said. W”e all hope his recovery is quick and he is back on the park soon.”With Andrew’s withdrawal, we have called up Murray Commins. Murray is a talented top-order batter that we see as a direct replacement – we know he has the stroke play, technique and mindset to build big scores and being left-handed, he will also add a new dimension to the top order. Given the volume of cricket coming up, this is also an opportunity to give Murray exposure to the international arena.”After losing the T20I series 1-2, Ireland lost the opening ODI – a rain-hit contest – by three wickets off the final delivery. The second and third ODIs will be played on January 21 and 23 at Harare Sports Club.

SL were all out for only 105 in the tournament opener against Afghanistan

Shashank Kishore02-Sep-20226:27

Maharoof: ‘Afghanistan firm favourites for me’

Big picture

Sri Lanka can breathe easy. Or can they?

Having been blown away by Afghanistan and then having to use every ounce of firepower to get past Bangladesh, they will once again face a trial by spin. Against the Rashids and the Mujeebs. However, the current Afghanistan team is beginning to establish a new bowling order. Their fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen ul Haq have been the perfect prelude to the spin superstars. So as a batting unit, there’s unlikely to be any respite.Does the current line-up have the confidence to take on bowling straightaway? In their virtual knockout, Sri Lanka had to go for broke, for a flight was waiting to take them home otherwise. Can they replicate a similar mindset with the stakes significantly higher?Chris Silverwood’s focus is on bringing back Sri Lanka to their refreshing approach to white-ball cricket that revolutionised the ODI game in the 1990s, the kinds that gave opponents nightmares when Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana destroyed attacks with disdain.However, that is easier said than done. The proof lies in the pudding. Saturday will be another opportunity to test that.

Watch live on ESPN+

If you are in the USA, you can watch the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka game live on ESPN+, both in English and Hindi.

Afghanistan have proved they’re giant killers no more. UAE conditions are as good as home conditions. Most players are residents here, and train and play all year round on pitches such as these, and in weather far more oppressive. What they will want to guard against is complacency.So far, they haven’t been tested while batting first. How they approach it – should this scenario play out on Saturday – will be interesting to watch.Afghanistan have the edge but having just about stopped the door from shutting them out of their own party, they will now want to barge it open.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Afghanistan: WWLWW

In the spotlight

On T20I debut, Asitha Fernando won Sri Lanka game that even his teammates thought had slipped away. His 10 out out of three balls helped clinch a thriller to put Sri Lanka in the Super 4s. Against Bangladesh, Asitha seemed a tad nervous and sprayed the ball around even as the Bangladesh top order took him on. He finished with 1 for 51 off his four overs. Now, he’d be looking to impress with the new ball, which is his primary skillset.Can Fazalhaq Farooqi repeat his Group B performance?•AFP via Getty Images

Afghanistan are slowly beginning to establish an identity beyond their globetrotting T20 superstars. Among those who putting themselves high on the radar of franchises around the T20 circuit is Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The hard-hitting 20-year-old was given out on zero in the Asia Cup opener but overturned the lbw call on review and went on to take Sri Lanka’s attack to the cleaners by making an 18-ball 40 in a low-key chase. Can he rise to the occasion? Now the stakes are high, and a Super 4 game win first up could set them on the road to the final.

Pitch and conditions

The surface in Sharjah will be the same as the Pakistan v Hong Kong game. There is likely to be some rough patches and dry spots that could aid the spinners. That said, the ground dimensions are significantly smaller than Dubai, and both sides have batters than can take surfaces out of the equation. So far, there hasn’t been any dew across both venues. Toss should not be a deciding factor.

Team news

Both sides have a fully fit squad of players to choose from. They are unlikely to make changes.Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka.Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Karim Janat, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Stats and trivia

• Hazratullah Zazai and Gurbaz are the second-most prolific pair for Afghanistan in T20Is. They have eight fifty-run stands in just 21 innings together, including a 37-ball 83 against Sri Lanka last week.
  
  
• In 13 T20Is this year, Sri Lanka have conceded runs at 8.21 during the powerplay at an average of 42.73. While this average is the worst among all Full Members, their economy is third worst, behind England and West Indies.
  
  
• Mujeeb ur Rahman has a prolific record in Sharjah: 10 wickets in four T20Is.

Quotes

“Chris Silverwood is trying to bring back the positive, aggressive brand of cricket we used to play a couple of decades back. He has given us the freedom to think as adults and not be pampered.” – “The way the boys have performed, the way they have adjusted and taken the responsibility upon themselves has been great to see. In the Super 4s too, our focus is on playing the same brand of aggressive cricket, but also learn from the mistakes we made and not repeat it.” –