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ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2023Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie has been withdrawn from the ODI series against Zimbabwe after getting hit on the helmet in the opening match.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.

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.

Mumbai’s batting looks settled but they need their bowlers to step up

Srinidhi Ramanujam24-Apr-20235:09

Moody: Mumbai should give Arjun Tendulkar another chance to finish games

Big picture: Rohit Sharma vs Hardik Pandya

Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan vs Rashid Khan. Hardik Pandya vs Jofra Archer. Wriddhiman Saha vs Piyush Chawla. Well, it’s also Rohit versus Hardik, only the second time in the IPL. The only two Indian players in this competition who have tasted success on their debut season as captains will go head-to-head in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.Mumbai Indians lost their first two matches, clinched their next three games in a row, before going down to Punjab Kings in a high-scoring game. They sit at the seventh position with six points whereas Gujarat Titans are fourth on the table with eight points. And after four weeks, it’s tough to pick a favourite between them.Mumbai are a batting-heavy side, with their top-six batters striking at more than 140 in this season. With Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav showing results in the last few matches, Rohit will be content with their middle order that also includes the aggressive Tilak Varma and Tim David.However, the same can’t be said of their bowling department. Chawla has bowled the most for Mumbai, has picked up the most wickets (nine) and his economy rate (6.86) is also the best for his side (minimum two games). But the rest of the lot – who have played two or more matches this season – has leaked more than nine runs per over.On the other hand, Titans have fared well in bowling, thanks largely to Mohammed Shami and Rashid. Both have combined to take 22 of the 40 wickets Titans have taken in six games. Mohit Sharma is back and has been bowling at a stunning economy rate of 4.66 from nine overs.Even though Titans return to their home ground, they have lost two of the three games there in IPL 2023. In fact, their defeats have only come at home. In the batting line-up, Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha, despite not clicking as an opening pair, have performed as individuals.However, despite the likes of David Miller and Hardik chipping in, Titans have struggled to score freely in the middle overs. At 7.37 runs per over, they have one of the lowest run rates among all teams from overs 7 to 15. This is an area which Mumbai would be keen to exploit against a team that fires away in the final five.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans WLWLW

Mumbai Indians LWWWL

Team news

Jofra Archer is back for Mumbai after being on the bench due to soreness in his right elbow.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Gujarat TitansAllrounder Jayant Yadav took over Gill’s place in the XI when the team was bowling and they are likely to continue with this approach. The opposite will work too if they bowl first.Probable XII: 1 , 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Abhinav Manohar, 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Josh Little/Noor Ahmad, 12 Mumbai IndiansMumbai might bring in Riley Meredith for Jason Behrendorff in their XI, with batter Nehal Wadhera and one of these two overseas bowlers as impact players.Probable XII: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Cameron Green, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Tim David, 7 Arjun Tendulkar, 8 Hrithik Shokeen, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 , 12 Nehal Wadhera

Stats that matter

• Shami has taken six wickets in the powerplay this IPL and has bowled 61 dot balls in this phase, the second-most among bowlers this IPL.
• Rohit has scored 43 runs off 29 balls against Rashid in T20s, and has been dismissed by the legspinner in three out of six matches.
• Titans haven’t made it out of the powerplay without losing one of openers Saha or Gill. The pair’s highest stand is 48 runs.
• Mumbai have hit 16 sixes so far in the powerplay, the third-most in this IPL. Titans have hit only five, the second-lowest.

Pitch and conditions

One can expect a another high-scoring game. In the three games played at the Narendra Modi Stadium this season, teams have put up totals in excess of 175 on all occasions. Tuesday evening will be very warm, with temperature touching 40 degrees Celsius during the day.

Quotes

“If a batsman scores a hundred and 60% of the runs comes from cover drives, nobody asks him why he played that shot so many times. This is what (bowling googlies) I have been doing since the beginning. My 60-odd % of wickets come in googlies.

Piyush Chawla answers a straight one

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.”

Wafadar Momand, who is uncapped in T20I cricket, and Sediqullah Atal also part of 16-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2023Rashid Khan, who had been rested for the one-off Test in Mirpur last month, will return to captain Afghanistan in the two-match T20I series against Bangladesh. Rashid is also part of the ODI squad that will be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi.Mohammad Shahzad, who last played international cricket for Afghanistan at the 2021 T20 World Cup, was recalled to the T20I side that also included Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran. Hazratullah Zazai, who had been left out for the T20Is against Pakistan earlier this year, also returned to the squad.Related

• 'Quality of our spinners shone through' – Afghanistan coach Trott pleased after opening win

• Rashid back in Afghanistan squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Wafadar Momand, who is uncapped in T20I and ODI cricket, too found a place in the squad alongside Sediqullah Atal, who made his T20I debut against Pakistan in Sharjah in March. Naveen-ul-Haq, who has taken a break from ODI cricket, but is active in T20 cricket, will form the seam attack along with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai , Fareed Ahmad and Karim Janat. Rashid will be assisted by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad in the spin attack.The two T20Is against Bangladesh will be played in Sylhet on July 14 and July 16.Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Sediq Atal, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Wafadar Momand, Farid Ahmad, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Hosts haven’t been afraid to try new things against formidable Australians

Valkerie Baynes11-Jul-2023Sophia Dunkley will open the batting as England seek to embrace their role as “disruptors”, and win the opening ODI against Australia to keep their Ashes hopes alive.Opener Tammy Beaumont, who scored a record-breaking 208 in the Test, which Australia won by 89 runs, returned to the England squad named on Monday after missing out on the T20I leg. But Emma Lamb, who had become her regular partner in the 50-over format, was overlooked after a string of low scores including innings of 10 and 28 in the Test then 8 and 0 in for England A in their one-day series against Australia A.Dunkley scored a century having moved from the middle order up to No.3 in an ODI against South Africa almost exactly a year ago in Bristol, the venue of Wednesday’s match. Heather Knight, the England captain, has confirmed that she herself will step up to that role now.”Sophia’s going to open the batting,” Knight said. “She moved up to three last year, was brilliant, really successful, made an impact, so she’s going to move up to open and do exactly how she has done in the ODI team at three.”We want to maximise the powerplay and that was a change we made with Sophia moving up to three last year to try and take on the powerplay a little bit more. But with Sophia, she’s a proper batter as well. She’s not just a little pinch-hitter at the top.”Related

• Tammy Beaumont batters Diamonds to maintain Blaze's dominant start

• 'Sometimes going to come off, sometimes I won't' – Alice Capsey on series-winning 46

• Tahlia McGrath calls for 'fearless' cricket as Australia return to their favoured ODIs

Dunkley scored a half-century in a losing cause during the first T20I against Australia and shared an important 57-run stand with Danni Wyatt in the second, where Wyatt scored 76 from 46 balls to lead England to victory. While Dunkley only scored 9 in the third T20I at Lord’s, a 39-run opening stand dominated by Wyatt’s 26 from 15 balls set England on track for a 2-1 victory in that leg of the series. An in-form Wyatt provides a England with a strong option in the middle order for the ODIs.”Their partnership at Lord’s was outstanding,” Knight said. “I thought that probably won us the game, the way they started, Danni in particular taking on the game, and Sophia plays that role so brilliantly for us.”Naturally she scores quite quickly so she can score big runs as well. It’s for her to play her natural game and put the bad balls away and then also try and put pressure back on the bowler, maybe not quite at the tempo she does in T20 but that’s the logic behind it.”Also crucial in the victory at Lord’s was Alice Capsey’s 46 off just 23 balls, which broke a run of five T20Is for England in which she scored just 17 runs in total.”She’s obviously very attacking and she’s not always going to be Mrs. Consistent and that’s not the role we want her to play, we want her to go and take the game on and do exactly what she did the other night,” Knight said. “I think she’ll become more consistent as she goes on, but she’s only 18 and the talent that she’s got is unbelievable.”I was really pleased with her. Obviously she found it a bit tough leading into it, hadn’t performed the way she wanted to, so for her to come in and do that and win a key game is a really good sign.”Lauren Filer returns after making her international debut during the Test and taking two wickets in each innings, troubling the Australia batters at times with her raw pace, bowling at speeds in excess of 75mph/120kph. Playing regional cricket for Western Storm, she is a strong chance to play the opening ODI on her home ground.”Potentially we see her as someone that can disrupt a little bit and bowl quick in those middle overs and try and take wickets,” Knight said. “She knows the ground very well and she’s really exciting. She’s still quite raw, you saw that in the Test match, but the way she played even surprised me, how she rose to the occasion and just made things happen every time she bowled.”It felt like something was going to happen and that was exactly the role we gave to her, very clear, to run in, bowl fast and try and make an impact. That’s what she did and that’s the role if she gets in the 11 that we see her playing in this ODI series.”England haven’t been afraid to try new things in a bid to throw the Australians off course and Knight believes such a mentality shift is beginning to bear fruit. But with Australia on a 15-game winning streak in ODIs and the hosts needing to win all three if they are to win the Ashes while their opponents need to win just one to retain them, she expects a tough contest.”It’s things like picking Lauren Filer in a Test match when she’s completely unknown, just because she can bowl quick and try and shake things up and try and make an impact,” Knight said. “Doing things a little bit differently, like using [offspiner] Charlie Dean first over [at Lord’s] just to do things that the Australians don’t expect and things that we feel are good things to do tactically and good things for us as a group.”The mentality is probably the most important thing and trying to chase a very, very good team that have had a lot of success, we feel like we have to try and maximise how we do things as much as we can, and try and disrupt what’s a very good thing.”

Despite receiving a two-match ban for her actions, India’s captain doesn’t feel she “said anything wrong to any player or any person”

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2023India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has no regrets over her actions during a fractious third ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka last month, despite having received a two-match ban for them.”I will not say that I regret anything because at the end of the day as a player you want to see that fair things are happening. As a player you always have the right to express yourself and what you’re feeling,” she told on the sidelines of the Women’s Hundred, where she is playing for Trent Rockets.Related

• Harmanpreet to miss start of Asian Games on disciplinary grounds

• Harmanpreet slams 'pathetic' umpiring; Nigar criticises her 'manners'

“I don’t think I said anything wrong to any player or any person. I just said what happened on the field. I don’t regret anything.”During the Dhaka ODI, Harmanpreet made her displeasure with the umpiring clear: she reacted to her dismissal by smashing the stumps with her bat, and went on to call the umpiring “pathetic” at the post-match presentation. When players from the two teams posed for end-of-series photographs, Harmanpreet is understood to have shouted out, “bring the umpires too”, suggesting they had been part of the Bangladesh team.Harmanpreet received three demerit points for “showing dissent at an umpiring decision” and one more for “public criticism” of match officials, apart from fines of 50% and 25% of her match fee for the two offences. When a player reaches a total of four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, those points are converted to suspension points, i.e. a ban from one Test, two ODIs or two T20Is, depending on which comes first in the player’s schedule.Harmanpreet, as a result, will miss the first two matches of India’s campaign at the Asian Games T20 competition in Hanghzou in September-October.Following the incident, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said BCCI president Roger Binny and National Cricket Academy director of cricket VVS Laxman would have a word with Harmanpreet.

The Queensland captain will miss the game against Victoria with an eye on the Test summer which starts in December

AAP12-Oct-2023Usman Khawaja has been rested for Queensland’s next Sheffield Shield fixture as Cricket Australia’s workload management spreads to include batters ahead of the international summer.The Queensland captain is fit and healthy, but on Saturday he will watch his side’s clash with Victoria in Mackay from his home in Brisbane.Queensland still have four Shield games before the first Test of the summer against Pakistan, beginning in Perth on December 14.Related

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• Neser and Peirson centuries help Queensland hold out NSW

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Australia, currently competing in the ODI World Cup in India, will play a five-game T20 series against the hosts, before returning home for a five-Test summer.They will also play two Tests in New Zealand in February and March, and contest T20 series alongside those five-day clashes.AAP understands all Australian squad members will be subject to the load management policy – which had not been flagged before Khawaja’s omission on Thursday – on a case-by-case basis.How to best manage bowlers’ workloads has long been a divisive topic, with Australian captain Pat Cummins dismissing the notion of rotation in India and hopeful his battery of quicks will play every World Cup game if fit.The 36-year-old Khawaja has a relatively light schedule compared with some of his Test team-mates who frequent the world T20 circuit, but he will play for the Brisbane Heat in the BBL.His omission is a nod to how crowded the modern-day cricketer’s calendar has become.”Ideally you want your captain and best player to be there for every game, but we all know that, barring injury, he will be one of the first bats picked for the Pakistan series, so we understand the rationale behind the decision-making process,” Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said.”Uzzie is philosophical about it. He’d be happy to play, but he will also benefit from a more measured build-up ahead of another big international schedule for Australia.”He’s hitting them well, so we shouldn’t be too concerned on that front.”In-form wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson will captain in Khawaja’s absence, while Gold Coast product Ben McDermott is poised for a Shield return after his off-season move from Tasmania.

He overcame illness and a lack of sleep to produce one of his most stunning displays

Alex Malcolm26-Oct-20234:10

How did he do it? Maxwell’s blow-by-blow account of the mayhem

Glenn Maxwell admitted he is very aware of the fastest century records and sometimes chases them to his own detriment, after clubbing the quickest ODI World Cup hundred off just 40 balls in Australia’s thumping win over the Netherlands in Delhi.Maxwell obliterated the record set by South Africa’s Aiden Markram just a couple of weeks ago at the same ground. Maxwell also has the fourth fastest World Cup century off 51 balls against Sri Lanka in 2015, which was one ball shy of Kevin O’Brien’s then-record of 50 against England in 2011.Maxwell conceded he has gone overboard in the past trying to set such records.Related

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“I’m very aware of them,” Maxwell said. “I’m very aware of balls faced. I love the fastest 50, fastest 100 records. I think they’re pretty cool records. Sometimes to the detriment of myself, I’ve always probably pushed the boundaries a bit too much.”I think against Afghanistan in 2015, I was 88 off [38] and I was like ‘I’m getting it in the next two balls’. I hit one straight to cover and butchered it. I think I got my fastest hundred next game.”I’ve been in those positions before where I could make fast hundreds when I get on the run – I know I’m difficult to bowl to. It’s just about getting past the first ball.”Maxwell revealed that the situation of the game and his own health helped calm him down after falling to a crazy first-ball slog in the previous game against Pakistan, where the perfect platform had been laid for him to do something similar.Glenn Maxwell’s record-breaking ton earned him a photoshoot•Getty Images

He revealed he had been feeling unwell in the lead-up to the Netherlands game and had not had much sleep following the arrival of his wife and infant son to India.”I was sitting in the changing room and I didn’t really want to bat, which is a bit different than last game where I was way too eager to get out there,” Maxwell said. “We talked about over-arousal levels and I probably reached double maximum [against Pakistan] if you couldn’t tell. But I was a little bit more chilled when I got out there. I didn’t have many high hopes. I’ve been pretty cooked the last couple of days.”Australia’s innings had also stalled badly. They had slipped from 244 for 2 after 36 overs, to 267 for 5 in the 40th over when David Warner picked out fine leg just after reaching his century. Maxwell did not face his first ball until the 41st over. Australia fell to 290 for 6 when Cameron Green was sensationally run out by a direct hit from Sybrand Engelbrecht running in from long-on.It forced Maxwell to play conventionally in the early part of his innings, which set him up perfectly. His first five boundaries featured three glorious drives along the ground, a leg glance, and a stock paddle sweep to a ball drifting down leg.”It’s a bit weird that I had to calm myself down for the first 20-odd balls and rebuild,” Maxwell said. “I think the circumstances of, I suppose, the timing of the wickets probably changed the way I would have gone about it if it was just me and Davey at the back end. I felt like I was just super selective. Even with the boundaries I was hitting, until I got to about 50 or 60, I was literally hitting them flat through the gap or picking my spots pretty clearly where I wanted to go and it was only the back end where I tried to just pump everything.”It wasn’t until Maxwell was on 35 after 21 balls that he unfurled the first of three outrageous reverse swats over backward point. He admitted that he thought he had got himself out with the second one when he picked the wrong length off Bas de Leede but still managed to reverse flick it into the stands at backward point to bring up his half-century off 27 balls.”I thought it was going to be slower into the wicket or back of a length and he bowled it full at I think middle and off and luckily enough my hand speed got me out of trouble,” he said. “I feel like tonight, I actually gave myself a chance to be able to play those shots at the back end, where circumstances and pitch types, I suppose, in the first few games probably didn’t allow me to.”I was in the stage of rebuilding and trying to get through and trying to bat as long as I possibly could, and just haven’t probably had the opportunity. And as I said last game, had the opportunity and threw it away.”