All posts by n8rngtd.top

Windward Islands slipped from 163 for 4 to 244 all out, setting up an easy chase for Guyana who won by seven wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2017Guyana notched up their second win of the season after chasing down a target of 39 in 14.5 overs against Windward Islands in Gros Islets. Veerasammy Permaul’s four-for triggered a Windward slide in their second innings as they slipped from 163 for 4 to 244 all out, setting up an tiny chase for Guyana that they completed with seven wickets to spare.Windward Islands seemed on course for setting a sizeable total when Kirk Edwards was striking a half-century in a 58-run stand with Roland Cato, but then 19-year-old Sherfane Rutherford struck before Permaul dismantled the middle and lower order, and just like that Guyana needed 39 for victory.In their chase, although Guyana tottered to 30 for 3, the target was never going to cause too much concern.Rutherford, in just his third first-class game, caused Windward Islands plenty of problems in their first innings too, taking 6 for 32 to help knock them out for 151. While seven of Guyana’s batsmen did not get into double digits in their reply, the four who did made it count: Chandrapaul Hemraj made 50, Anthony Bramble fell 10 short of a maiden first-class hundred, Vishaul Singh made a seventh first-class ton, and that man Rutherford got his first first-class fifty. As a result, Guyana pushed on to 357 and put themselves well on course for victory even at that halfway stage.

West Indies not close to finalising the squad for the T20 World Cup, concedes head coach

Deivarayan Muthu08-Aug-2022West Indies are yet to figure out their team combination and preferred style of play for the upcoming T20 World Cup, their head coach Phil Simmons has admitted.Whether T20 stalwarts Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will be available for that tournament or not is still unclear, while Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen and Sheldon Cottrell have all been left out of recent squads because of different reasons. Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd were also unavailable for some games in the white-ball series against India because of injury.Related

• 'I know this was coming' – Russell responds to Simmons on non-availability for West Indies

• Phil Simmons: We can't beg people to play for West Indies

• Axar, Bishnoi and Kuldeep lead India to 4-1 series win

• Hardik 'more than happy' to take over full-time captaincy

• Obed McCoy ready to break his World Cup curse

West Indies’ team management, perhaps, missed a trick by not pairing up Akeal Hosein, the left-arm fingerspinner, with Hayden Walsh Jr, the legspinner, in the T20Is against India. In contrast, India played three spinners in the first T20I in Tarouba, and in the final game in Lauderhill, to take advantage of the slow, two-paced tracks. Off-spin-bowling allrounder Roston Chase, who was also West Indies’ anchor in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, has since dropped down the pecking order. And until the home series against India, Shimron Hetmyer was out of the squad on fitness grounds.The three-match T20I series against New Zealand, which begins with the first match in Kingston on August 11, will be West Indies’ last before they announce their squad for the T20 World Cup, for which they by competing against Zimbabwe, Scotland and Ireland in Group B in the first round.”It’s difficult,” Simmons said after West Indies suffered an 88-run drubbing in the final T20I against India. “But I think we have three more matches [against New Zealand]. After that we will sit down and make decisions as to who fits into the way we want to play.”I think the three matches will be important for a lot of players as well as some players who will be rested. But, in general, after that we will have to make a decision.”West Indies’ batting was particularly poor in Florida, where they were dismissed for 132 and 100 in the two T20Is. Simmons called for greater game awareness and application from his batters. I think the major lesson is that we gave away our wickets a little bit too cheaply,” he said. “And if we continue to bat [deep], we will be up there with the run rate, but we keep losing too many wickets and we’ve got to learn from this series.”The main thing is we need to bat in a format. We need to be able to bat for the six overs [of the powerplay] and know how we are batting in that. We need to stop losing wickets and once we stop losing wickets, we’re going to make big scores. We have the players – Hetty [Hetmyer] showed he is back to form, we have Rovman [Powell], we have [Nicholas Pooran], who has done a little bit as we went on in the series, but nobody has been consistent throughout the series. So, I think that is what we need now – consistency and understanding the situation of the game and knowing how we play that.”Obed McCoy went from returning the best T20I figures by a West Indian to conceding the most runs by a West Indian in T20Is•Associated Press

There are concerns for West Indies on the bowling front too and against top teams like India, they need to fire with both bat and ball, Simmons stressed.”It’s always going to be difficult playing against India. It’s the best T20 team in the world – man for man,” Simmons said. “But we showed in glimpses that we are capable of competing – sometimes with the ball and sometimes with the bat. Probably, we never put everything together. That’s the lesson we are going to take from this. We have to put everything together on the day to beat the top teams.”After taking 6 for 17 in St Kitts – the best figures by a West Indies bowler in T20Is – left-arm seamer Obed McCoy went in the other direction, leaking 66 runs in the first T20I in Florida, the fourth of the series – the most runs conceded by a West Indies bowler in a men’s T20I. Simmons, however, backed McCoy to bounce back against New Zealand.”We all know that he has excellent skills,” Simmons said. “But there’s a lot of bowlers around the world who have excellent skills and go for runs on one day and bowl well the next day. It’s how he comes back from it. He’s shown that he can bowl; so, he will come back from it.”

Bangladesh have picked their 15-member squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which begins next month in New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2017Bangladesh have picked their 15-member squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which begins next month in New Zealand. The BCB did not name a captain but it is likely that Saif Hassan, the highly-rated opener, will lead the side because he has been captain for the last two years.Saif and Pinak Ghosh played the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where Bangladesh reached the semi-final for the first time. Apart from these two, Bangladesh will depend on Afif Hossain and Towhid Hridoy for their runs.Qazi Onik and Robiul Haque will lead the pace attack, while the offspinner Nayeem Hasan is likely to be the main specialist spinner. Thirteen of the 15 players have played youth ODIs in the last two years, with reserve wicketkeeper Shakil Hossain and pace bowler Roni Hossen the only ones who have not.Bangladesh leave for New Zealand on December 26 and their tournament begins on January 13, when they take on Namibia. Canada and England are the two other teams in their group.Squad Saif Hassan, Pinak Ghosh, Mohammad Naim, Afif Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Aminul Islam, Mohammad Rakib, Mahidul Islam Ankan, Shakil Hossain, Robiul Hoque, Nayeem Hasan, Qazi Anik, Roni Hossen, Hasan Mahmud, Tipu SultanReserve players Mohammad Sozib Hossain, Rayan Rafsan Rahman, Shakhawat Hossain, Saidul Islam, Yeasin Arafat, Abdul Halim, Monirul Isam.

An absorbing day of Test-match cut and thrust finished with honours more or less even but with South Africa over-flowing with belief, thanks to a searing yorker from the final ball of Kagiso Rabada’s day

The Report by Andrew Miller04-Aug-20171:57

Kimber: Lack of big scores could come back to bite England

England 260 for 6 (Stokes 58, Root 52) v South Africa

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAn absorbing day of Test-match cut and thrust finished with honours more or less even but with South Africa over-flowing with belief, thanks to a searing yorker from the final ball of Kagiso Rabada’s day that burst through the defences of England’s top-scorer and most potent threat, Ben Stokes. His stumps were splayed to bring to an end a 65-run stand for the sixth wicket with Jonny Bairstow and bring to the crease the nightwatchman, Toby Roland-Jones, who loitered at the non-striker’s end without facing a delivery as England closed on 260 for 6.Each of England’s top six made starts, including the captain Joe Root, who went past 5000 runs in the course of his 52 – an innings which also equalled John Edrich’s England record of ten consecutive matches with at least a half-century. But, as a testing morning session under slate-grey skies gave way to perfect sun-kissed batting conditions in the afternoon, England’s recent propensity to squander solid positions with reckless intent threatened once again to destabilise their series prospects.It had been a testing decision for Root to bat first after winning the toss. After several days of the most stereotypically grim Mancunian weather imaginable, the suspicion lingered that the surface, though ostensibly dry, could hardly have avoided absorbing a considerable amount of moisture in its preparation. And sure enough, England found the going tough from the outset, even in the absence of the one South Africa bowler most likely to have thrived in the seam-and-swing conditions.

105 Innings taken by Joe Root to score 5000 Test runs, the fifth-fastest by an England batsman, behind Jack Hobbs, Wally Hammond, Ken Barrington and Len Hutton. Root also became the third-youngest ever to score 5000 Test runs, behind Sachin Tendulkar and Alastair Cook.
10 Consecutive fifties for Root in Tests – the joint-highest for England in Tests. Root equalled John Edrich, who set his record between 1969 and 1971. The overall record is held by AB de Villiers, with fifties in 12 consecutive matches.
100 Wicketkeeping dismissals for Quinton De Kock in Tests – the fourth wicketkeeper from South Africa to this feat. De Kock reached 100 dismissals in his 23rd Test, equalling Mark Boucher’s South Africa record. Adam Gilchrist set the overall mark in his 22nd Test.

After battling through illness in the third Test at The Oval, Vernon Philander succumbed to a back spasm on the eve of the match, as did another valued member of their fast-bowling stocks, Chris Morris – whose pace and aggression had been instrumental in their second-Test fightback at Trent Bridge last month.However, Morne Morkel and Rabada set South Africa’s example with the new ball, hammering out an edge-threatening line and length to England’s brace of left-handed openers, before Duanne Olivier provided pace, enthusiasm and the odd unplayable delivery in a lively return to the ranks. The undersung hero, however, was the left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, who churned out 29 overs from the Brian Statham End to allow his quicker counterparts to stay fresh and threatening in rotation from the newly anointed James Anderson End.Keaton Jennings, whose 48 in the second innings at The Oval had been a streaky but valuable reminder of his battling qualities, once again failed to dispel the gathering doubts about his Test aptitude with a battling but unfulfilled innings of 17 from 37 balls. He could, and perhaps should, have been dismissed by his fourth ball of the match, a lollipopping inside-edge onto the pad flap that Rabada couldn’t gather in his followthrough but that short leg would have swallowed, but was instead lured forward by a sharp lifter outside off by Olivier, for Quinton de Kock to take the catch that ended an opening stand of 35.Alastair Cook, true to his phlegmatic approach, was tested time and again in the channel outside off, particularly by the superb and largely luckless Morkel, but managed, through a combination of skill, luck and judgment, to guide England to a digestible lunch at 67 for 1. His most productive scoring area, unusually for the first morning of a Test match, was straight down the ground, where he twice placed fractionally overpitched deliveries from Morkel and Olivier with dead-eyed timing.Cook did have one moment of discomfort against the sharp pace of Rabada, who hurried him on the pull as he combated a round-the-wicket bouncer, and gloved a top-edge over the keeper’s head for four. But it was the spin of Maharaj that made the next big breakthrough, half an hour after the resumption. Warming to a spell that would span the entire session, his relentless accuracy on and around the blockhole, allied to a hint of spin and natural variation, lured Cook into the indiscretion that the seamers had been unable to tempt.Harnessing the breeze across the ground, Maharaj drifted the ball past an urgent drive for de Kock to gather a thin edge behind the stumps. Cook was gone for 46 from 103 balls, an innings that almost precisely represented both his career average (46.18) and strike rate (46.77). Distinctly average by his standards, therefore, but a cut above what most other players would have produced in such conditions.Ben Stokes made a fifty but fell in the penultimate over of the day•Getty Images

As if to prove the point, four overs ticked by without addition to the score before Tom Westley too was extracted – his 29 echoing his 25 in his debut innings at The Oval last week, in that it had showcased a Test-worthy technique and temperament, but had been cut short before it had fully formed. This time the executioner was Rabada, and in dramatic style. Cranking himself up to full pace and ferocity, he burst a lifting delivery off the edge and into the outstretched right mitt of de Kock.A brilliant dismissal though it was, de Kock had arguably made up in athleticism and hang-time what he had lacked in his initial footwork, as he dived fully to his right to gather the flying edge. It was a suspicion that would be reinforced in jaw-dropping style three overs after tea, when he failed to react as Morne Morkel found Root’s edge with a lifter that couldn’t have passed his motionless gloves by more than a foot.De Kock’s crestfallen expression brought to mind that of Mark Boucher after dropping Nasser Hussain at Trent Bridge in 1998. And, as Root ground through to his fifty from 91 balls, South Africa might have feared it would be equally ruinous to their series prospects. And yet, on 52, and with a lazy afternoon of accumulation yawning in front of him, he galloped down the pitch to Olivier and fell lbw to a one-day waft through midwicket.By that stage, Malan had been and gone, having played his part in a fourth-wicket stand of 52 with Root, before succumbing to another moment of impetuosity with four minutes of the afternoon session remaining. He might have departed first ball, as he whooshed into a nervy and hard-handed drive to an exocet from Rabada outside off. But, having steadied his nerves and remembered his arena, he was suckered by a change of angle from Morkel, who had switched his line to the left-hander from round the wicket to over.Suddenly balls that had been bearing into Malan’s body were being dangled across his bows, and it was too much of a temptation for a man whose first international innings had been 78 from 44 balls. Du Plessis took the chance in his breadbasket, and Malan stalked from the field, swishing his bat in annoyance.The evening session, therefore, was reserved for England’s middle-order pairing of Stokes and Bairstow – the most prolific partnership of the Trevor Bayliss era, and architects of that 399-run stand in Cape Town 18 months ago. This was a performance far removed from that batsman’s benefit game, however, and both men were obliged to ride their luck despite occasionally breezy moments of accumulation.Bairstow, on 4, was given not out, out and not out again by a combination of Kumar Dharmasena and the TV umpire, Joel Wilson, after an inside-edge off Maharaj was adjudged to have fallen millimetres short of Dean Elgar at slip. And Stokes, his face reddening in keeping with his mood as he gritted his teeth in the day’s closing overs, exacerbated Morkel’s lack of luck by edging his fifth delivery with the second new ball clean through the unposted third slip. Undeterred, he punched Rabada down the ground to bring up his fifty from 89 balls, to allow England to reclaim the upper hand.But, with stumps approaching, Rabada cranked up his aggro in one last-ditch bid for a breakthrough. Stokes picked off two boundaries in a high-octane finale, including a rushed pull that flew through at a catchable height through fine leg. But he had no answer to the yorker, and South Africa reached the close with their ambitions still very much intact.

Royal Challengers’ poor net run rate makes their final league match, against Gujarat Titans, almost a must-win contest

S Rajesh15-May-2022Rajasthan Royals: Mat 13, Pts 16, NRR 0.304
A comfortable 24-run win against Lucknow Super Giants means Rajasthan Royals are almost certain of qualifying for the playoffs. Only five teams can now get to 16 or more points – Delhi Capitals play Punjab Kings, so only one of them can reach that tally – and Royals’ excellent net run rate (NRR) of 0.304, coupled with Royal Challengers Bangalore’s poor -0.323, means Royals are very well placed. For them to drop below Royal Challengers, they will have to lose to Super Kings by a huge margin and Royal Challengers will need a big win against Gujarat Titans – the combined margin of those two results will need to be around 160 runs. (If Royal Challengers win by 70, Royals will need to lose by around 90.)They also play their last game after Royal Challengers, so they will know exactly what they need to do to finish in the top four. The target for Royals will now actually be to win their last game and finish among the top two.Lucknow Super Giants: Mat 13, Pts 16, NRR 0.262
In their last two matches, Super Giants’ NRR has dropped from 0.703 to 0.262, thanks to losses in these games by a combined margin of 86 runs. However, like Royals, Super Giants are also comfortably placed to qualify because of Royal Challengers’ poor NRR. For them to lose out on a playoffs spot, the combined margin of their defeat and Royal Challengers’ win will have to be around 150 runs.Like Royals, Super Giants, too, have the chance to finish among the top two. If both these teams win their last match, they will finish on 18 points each and NRR will decide who finishes second.Delhi Capitals: Mat 12, Pts 12, NRR 0.210
With Royals also reaching 16 points, there is less wriggle room for teams which are at the middle of the table. Delhi Capitals are still the best placed among those teams, thanks to their excellent NRR of 0.210. If they win their last two matches, they will go through. Even if they lose one of those matches and finish on 14, they could still qualify if Kings and Royal Challengers don’t reach 16, and if Knight Riders and Sunrisers don’t win their last games and go past Capitals on run rate. In fact, it is still possible for all these five teams to finish on 14 points, fighting for the last playoff spot.Punjab Kings: Mat 12, Pts 12, NRR 0.023
Kings currently have an NRR of 0.023, which is lower than Capitals’ 0.210 whom they play on Monday. If they win that game and their last one against Sunrisers, they will qualify.If they lose to Capitals, they will have to win their last game against Sunrisers, and then hope that Capitals and Royal Challengers lose theirs. It will then come down to NRR among the teams on 14 points.For instance, if Kings lose to Capitals by a run on Monday and beat Sunrisers by 25 runs after scoring 180, their NRR will improve to 0.112; if Capitals lose their last game against Mumbai Indians by 25 runs, their NRR will drop to 0.086. Thus, it’s possible for Kings to stay in contention even if they lose to Capitals, as long as they lose by a small margin.Royal Challengers Bangalore: Mat 13, Pts 14, NRR -0.323
Given their poor NRR, Royal Challengers will probably have to win their last game to stand a chance of qualification. If they lose that, it is highly unlikely that they can survive the NRR battle against the other team(s) on 14.Even if they lose by just one run and Punjab Kings beat Capitals by a run, Punjab Kings will have to lose to Sunrisers by around 90 runs for their NRR to drop below that of Royal Challengers. Thus, a defeat against Titans will effectively end their qualification chances. A victory might not be enough either, if Capitals or Punjab Kings also finish on 16.Kolkata Knight Riders: Mat 13, Pts 12, NRR 0.160
Knight Riders can reach a maximum of 14, which means they too must hope that no other team reaches 16. Their NRR of 0.160 is quite healthy; if they score 180 and win their last game by 25 runs, it will improve further to 0.241, which means they will be in the hunt for the playoffs if none of the other teams go up to 16.Sunrisers Hyderabad: Mat 12, Pts 10, NRR -0.270
Sunrisers will have to win their last two games by big margins, and then hope that no other team moves up to 16 points. They will obviously stand a better chance if Capitals lose both matches and stay on 12, and if Knight Riders lose their last game too.If Sunrisers win their last two by 30 runs each, then their NRR will be -0.010. If Kings beat Capitals by a run and lose to Sunrisers by 30, their NRR will drop to -0.085 (assuming scores of 180 and 150).

Bad light and rain brought an early close to day three with SA 75 ahead with all ten second-innings wickets in hand

Firdose Moonda02-Apr-2022Stumps South Africa 367 and 6 for 0 lead Bangladesh 298 (Mahmudul 137, Litton 41, Harmer 4-103, Williams 3-54) by 75 runsMahmudul Hasan Joy became the first Bangladesh batter to score a Test hundred against South Africa, registering his maiden century in just his third Test, as the visitors extended their fight against a weakened home attack. Mahmudul had good support from the lower middle order and shared in a 33-run stand with Yasir Ali and a 51-run stand with Mehidy Hasan Miraz after putting on 82 for the fifth wicket with Litton Das, Bangladesh’s best partnership of the innings. He was eventually the last man out for 137, as Bangladesh limited South Africa’s first-innings lead to 69.Bangladesh were bowled out inside the first hour of the evening session, leaving South Africa a potentially tricky period to bat out, but fading light and rain brought the day to a premature close just four overs into their second innings. Their openers survived it unscathed, even as Bangladesh burned a review when they felt Dean Elgar had edged an attempted drive off Najmul Hossain Shanto’s offspin. It turned out in the end that he had missed the ball but his bat had hit the ground.On a pitch that remained good for batting, albeit slow, South Africa’s attack lacked bite in the absence of an out-and-out strike bowler. While Lizaad Williams bowled at a good pace – a shade under 140kph – Duanne Olivier remained innocuous, and Wiaan Mulder was not called on until the third session, after 107 overs of the Bangladesh innings. Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj did the bulk of the bowling and sent down 77 overs between them but Maharaj went wicketless and Harmer was unable to add to his four from the second day.Williams was the only bowler to enjoy success in the first two sessions of the day, removing nightwatchman Taskin Ahmed in the third over of the day and Litton two balls after lunch. Litton was well-set at the time, after surviving two chances in the morning session which could have seen him dismissed on 16 – when Williams found his outside edge, but Dean Elgar put down a regulation catch at first slip – or 29. He was given out caught behind off Harmer and reviewed immediately. Ultra Edge showed a flat line.Lizaad Williams picked up three wickets in his first Test innings•AFP/Getty Images

Despite those chances, Litton was attacking against the Olivier short ball and showed good intent against the spinners, who may have been guilty of trying too hard. Harmer, in search of a five-for on Test comeback, bowled quicker and fuller than he had on the second day and Maharaj was unlucky despite being economical.Harmer was denied a second time when Mahmudul, on 64, was dropped at short leg by Sarel Erwee and a third when Litton appeared to inside-edge him to short-leg on the stroke of lunch and South Africa reviewed unsuccessfully. All told, they missed four opportunities in the morning session.Their fielding was sharper as the day went on and did not let the easiest chance go begging when Yasir was late to respond to a call. Mahmudul was on 90 when he clipped Olivier through midwicket and ran one before rejecting a second run, but Yasir did not hear him in time. He ended up almost at the non-striker’s end when Ryan Rickleton’s throw reached Kyle Verreynne, who ran him out.Mehidy partnered Mahmudul to his milestone, which came with a two off Maharaj, and celebrated with an air punch and a leap as the Bangladesh change room rose to their feet in celebration.Mulder was given the ball after tea and took less than three overs to make an impact. He had Mehidy caught at slip to leave Mahmudul with the tail. He changed gears almost immediately and after scoring 110 off 309 balls added his next 27 runs in 17 balls including a slog-sweep off Harmer which went for six and four boundaries off Mulder’s fourth over. Williams removed him when he backed away to cut and edged to Harmer at slip.

Despite a century from Aaron Finch, Australia conceded many clutch moments and, subsequently, the series, plagued by a familiar batting collapse

Alagappan Muthu in Indore24-Sep-2017Australia had most things going in their favour to construct a fine first innings. For the first time in the series, they had won the toss. Their bowlers did not have to toil under the heat, as they did bravely in Kolkata. Nathan Coulter-Nile abandoned his last-minute practice to watch the coin go up and the moment he saw it was his captain Steven Smith walking up to talk to the host broadcaster, he threw his arms up in the air to celebrate. He knew Australia were batting, and for the first 37.4 overs, they did so like a dream – the scoreboard read 227 for 1 with Aaron Finch, the comeback man, scoring a century.”That was kind of the template we were trying to set,” Smith said. “Two guys in the top four going on, – one guy getting a hundred obviously, sort of the others bat around. Our first 38 overs were very good.” In Kolkata, the Australia captain took the blame for not finishing the game himself, for not turning a partnership of 76 runs into something in the region of “140”, which might well have been enough in a chase of 253. Indore, however, was turning out much better.But, off the fifth ball of the 38th over, they lost Finch, the backbone of their innings. In the 42nd, Smith was caught for 63. Next ball, Glenn Maxwell fell and, consequently, Australia lost their way, making only 69 runs off the last 74 balls. They had lost a massive advantage and Smith conceded this has been happening too often.”That’s probably bit of a trend for this format and the Test format as well,” he said. “We are quite often getting ourselves in good positions but not taking advantage of those. Today was no different, first 30 overs. We continually address it. It’s just hard to put your finger on what we are actually doing or not doing to get the results we are after. Today, it was about execution.”Smith had to accept that India’s bowlers caused a few of those problems. “I think [Jasprit] Bumrah and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar] are probably two of the best death-overs bowlers going around, particularly when the wicket sort of slows up a little bit as it did [today]. We still need to find a way. We set a template really well. The first 38 overs were magnificent. We set it up and we just weren’t [able] to execute it in the back end.”Another crucial moment Australia couldn’t win came in the 37th over of India’s chase. Hardik Pandya had whacked Ashton Agar for a six and a four, and wound up to do it again. But the left-arm spinner held the length back and secured a leading edge. It flew up towards cover where Smith tried to get under a very tough catch but couldn’t hold on. He had dropped Rohit Sharma in Chennai and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in Kolkata. Pandya joined the list in Indore, and a man who should have been out for a run-a-ball 41 went on to make a match-winning 78 off 72.”It went in the air and was swirling a little bit; [there was] a fair bit of spin on the ball. I expect myself to take those chances,” Smith said. “If I get my hands to the ball, I expect to catch them. At the moment, my catching hasn’t been good enough. I think I’ve dropped one in every game I’ve played so far [in this series]. I’ve been working hard, just might need to work a little bit harder to try and set the standard. But yeah, disappointing result.”The only bright spot for Australia in the match was Finch. After recovering from a calf injury that had kept him out of the first two games of the series, he produced a high-quality century, accelerating from 36 off 54 balls at the end of 19 overs to 101 off 110 in the 34th.”I think he played really well today; [he] summed things up early, understood the pace of the wicket, played his big shots at the right time, made some good decisions. We’ve been talking about it as a batting group, we’ve been having a lot of those collapses in the middle overs. I thought the decisions he made throughout his innings were very good: keep the right balls out, attack the spinners. It was just a well-paced innings. It’s nice to see him back.”

England captain hopes senior pair will put themselves back in mix in early English season

Matt Roller23-Feb-20221:52

Root: Nobody saying this is the end for Anderson and Broad

Joe Root has insisted that James Anderson and Stuart Broad can win back their places in England’s Test side after they were left out of the squad for the upcoming series against West Indies, as Anderson revealed he was “praying that this isn’t the end” of his international career.Anderson addressed his omission publicly for the first time on Wednesday, saying that he had experienced “shock and disappointment” and that “a five-minute phone call [with interim ECB managing director Andrew Strauss] doesn’t really clear much up”, after Broad had described feeling “confused and angry” in a newspaper column.Root stressed that while he saw the tour of the Caribbean as “an exciting challenge” and a “real opportunity” for the rest of England’s seamers – Chris Woakes and Mark Wood in particular – to lead the bowling attack, he hopes to see Anderson and Broad “very much in the mix” for selection at the start of the English summer.”The fact they’re not there means there are different roles others have to fill,” Root said. “They’ve taken the new ball for such a long time in English cricket, they’ve been leaders of the attack, had a lot of success and deserve a huge amount of respect for it. But this is an opportunity for other guys to step into that space and become leaders as well.”Over time, [Woakes] has not played a huge amount of cricket away from home in the recent past,” he added. “He’s constantly been our first-change bowler or second-change bowler, he’s not had the opportunity to bowl with the new ball away from home.”That change in role and mindset might have a massive difference. He’s someone that’s done it in the white-ball game and grown massively from it, and gained a huge amount of confidence and ability from stepping into that void, and there’s no reason why he can’t do it with the red ball in hand as well.”Other guys can step up as well. Mark Wood had a fantastic tour of Australia, he bowled with heart, great passion, speed, endurance, being able to do it for long periods of time. It’s a chance for him to grow and develop as a player as well. And really, I want those guys step into that void and enjoy that challenge, and enjoy becoming more senior within the group.”Joe Root insists the door is not closed for James Anderson [pictured] or Stuart Broad•AFP/Getty Images

While Root is not officially involved in selection meetings, he was consulted by the interim panel of Strauss, Paul Collingwood and James Taylor. He said that Anderson and Broad’s omission had been “a discussion point for a long period of time” but added that England have been “slightly too honest” regarding selection in the past and that he believes “certain things should stay in the room”.”I’ve spoken both to Stuart and Jimmy and they’re obviously disappointed, angry, and Stuart in particular has voiced that quite publicly,” Root said in a press conference the day before England’s departure to the Caribbean ahead of the first Test in Antigua on March 8. “You’d expect that. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for both of them. It’s been made very clear: no-one is saying this is the end for them. It would be great to see Stuart and Jimmy very much in the mix at the start of the summer as well.”At no stage has anyone said it’s the end for them. It would be great to see them starting the season and putting themselves in the mix for selection. You don’t want to look too far ahead. Ultimately, we’ve got to look after what’s right in front of us. And that’s this tour and making sure we get as much of that right as we possibly can.”If we’re in a position where they can come back into this team, then great, that’s only going to strengthen things. A lot can happen between now and then. But no-one’s been told that it’s the end of the road.”Related

• James Anderson, Stuart Broad dropped from England Test squad for West Indies

• Joe Root instigates move up to No. 3 for England's West Indies tour

• Anderson-Broad absence a chance to grow leadership options – Andrew Strauss

• Stuart Broad on being dropped by England: 'It has hit me pretty hard'

Speaking on his BBC podcast , Anderson confirmed his intention to play for Lancashire in the early round of the County Championship this season, insisting that he has “one more go at digging deep” and adding: “I still love playing the game.””There is likely to be a new director of cricket and a new head coach in the summer so I just hope that whatever decision is made, it’s talked about in the way that it should be,” Anderson said. “Another frustration for me over the last couple of weeks is a five-minute phone call doesn’t really clear much up for you.”I managed to get back to Burnley and spent the day playing golf and having a few drinks with my mates which I think just helps that bit. I’m praying that this isn’t the end, but if I never play for England again I know I’ve got amazing people around me to support me and that’s really important to me. I want to keep playing, I want to keep bowling and we’ll just see what happens in the future.”I’ve got to try and focus on stuff that I can control and that’s playing cricket and showing people what I can do with a ball in my hand. [There have] been quite a few texts between myself and Broady in particular, getting some initial frustration and anger out, but I think once that was gone, now it’s really trying to look to stuff that we can affect.”Anderson took eight wickets at 23.37 across his three Tests in England’s 4-0 defeat in Australia this winter, conceding just 1.79 runs per over but struggling for penetration. He insisted that he was happy with his performances on the tour, and highlighted his record since turning 35 in July 2017 – 160 wickets at 21.72 – as evidence that he is “not slowing down”.”It was obviously a difficult tour of Australia but I was happy with the way I bowled,” he said. “I thought I put in some decent performances out there. I had a few days off when I was home and then I was straight back trying to work in the gym at my fitness, trying to get my body back to where I want it to be and start bowling again, getting ready again for that West Indies tour. I felt in good shape and I still do.”I’ve just got to look to the summer and try and show people what I can do because I still feel like I’ve got the hunger and passion to play. I feel in great shape, I just want to keep bowling. When age is spoken about, actually, I’ve got better. Since I was 35, my record’s got even better. I know that I’m not slowing down, I’m not losing anything as people often say – ‘oh, he’s lost a yard of pace’ – but I don’t feel like I’m doing that.”

Contingency plans include resetting bubbles from scratch if there is a Covid-19 outbreak; no window later in year if tournament stalled

Umar Farooq20-Jan-2022The PCB is set to host another season of the Pakistan Super League during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first 15 games to be played in Karachi from January 27, and the remaining matches scheduled in Lahore, including the final on February 27. There are provisions in place to avoid a postponement even if a handful of players contract Covid-19 – the franchises have 20 players on their roster, with an additional pool of reserve players to provide cover in case of an outbreak.ESPNcricinfo has obtained PSL’s Covid-19 protocol document, which details how the PCB will form its bio-bubble environment. The document broadly covers health and safety protocols that are being put in place at venues, and has a step-by-step guide to every stage of the tournament.What will the PSL’s bio-secure bubble look like?
This season the PCB has replicated the biosecure bubble that was created by Restrata, an independent company that managed the environment during the rescheduled Abu Dhabi leg last season. The PCB will regulate the bubble itself, forming three distinct bubbles with different protocols.The main bubble will comprise all teams, support staff, match officials, hotel staff and certain PCB officials. Vehicle drivers, close protection security staff, reserve players, bubble-integrity managers, anti-corruption officials and hotel staff will all reside within the bubble and are not allowed to leave. As per the guidelines, each franchise will be allotted rooms on a separate floor of the hotel and maximum possible efforts will be made to avoid interaction between teams at the hotel.The second bubble will be created in a separate hotel and will include the TV production crew, key event management staff and essential hotel staff and drivers. The third bubble will comprise of groundstaff, who will be housed in dedicated biosecure accommodation.Vigilance will be more stringent for the primary bubble. The bubbles cannot interact with each other and every individual will be required to follow general health and safety guidelines, as well as specific protocols to maintain the integrity of the bubble.How often are teams going to be tested for Covid-19?
There will be as many as 17 tests starting on January 20 – the day teams are checking into the hotel. There is a mandatory three-day quarantine, followed by four days of training, before the tournament starts from January 27 in Karachi. The first three days of quarantine will have regular testing before everyone with two negative PCR results is allowed to enter the bubble. Every individual will then have a PCR test every second day.What if an individual requires hospital treatment for an injury or illness?
The PCB has designated Agha Khan Hospital in Karachi and Hameed Latif Hospital in Lahore to handle all potential medical requirements of individuals involved in the PSL.A medical passage will be established through which individuals requiring hospital visits for scans and/or consultations will be moved with minimal contact with others. Individuals will be provided a dedicated treatment room, sanitised passageways, PPE suits for all medical staff and will be taken around in a dedicated vehicle.What happens in case of a positive test?
The individual(s) will be immediately separated from the rest of the squad and undergo a PCR test.All close contacts (those who have had an interaction of longer than 15 minutes from less than two metres away in the previous 48 hours) will be isolated and tested. All casual contacts will also be isolated and tested immediately.Once the case is confirmed as positive, the individual will isolate for a minimum of seven days and self-monitor their symptoms, providing updates to the Bio-bubble integrity manager. On day seven, if the individual is asymptomatic, they will have to undergo a Rapid Antigen Test and on returning a negative result, can be re-integrated into their bubble.If symptoms persist on day seven, the isolation will continue till day 10. If the individual is asymptomatic on that day, there will be no need for an exit test to rejoin the bubble.What happens if protocols and guidelines are breached?
With every team there will be a bio-bubble integrity manager policing the bubble. The offender may face a sanction ranging from reprimand to expulsion from the league. Penalties can be levied for minor or major breaches, from game bans to match-fee fines. The PCB can require any participant to quarantine in their hotel room in case of a breach, and undergo repeated testing.How many fans will be permitted?
The PCB had originally announced full crowds for both the Karachi and Lahore legs. However, Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) determines regulations surrounding Covid-19 restrictions, and with cases rising steeply in Pakistan over the past few weeks – particularly in Karachi – the NCOC announced that the Karachi leg would see a maximum of 25% crowd attendance. Lahore, for now, is still set to see full crowds. Spectators’ entry is subject to Covid-19 protocols – no one will be allowed to enter the venue without a valid vaccination certificate.What is the PCB’s contingency plan for a Covid outbreak?
Each of the last two seasons, the PSL was played over two legs due to Covid outbreaks, but this season, the PCB has made contingency plans to try and ensure the PSL isn’t postponed or cancelled. The PSL management will instead reset the bubble and start over after seven days, recreating the bio-bubble from scratch. In case of outbreaks among franchises, matches can go ahead as long as there are 13 players available on each side. There will also be a reserve pool for franchises to pick players from. A PCB official confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that if the league were to be postponed for some reason, it would have to be cancelled altogether, since there will be no window to play the remaining games.Could the entirety of the PSL be held in one city?
It would appear unlikely at present. ESPNcricinfo understands that all bookings and hotel confirmations have been finalised in both Karachi and Lahore, and there are at present no plans to change that.

Rain brought day two to an early end after three wickets in two overs from Shakib Al Hasan had left the second Test delicately poised

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:33

Isam: New Zealand are under fire

Rain brought day two to an early end after three wickets in two overs from Shakib Al Hasan had left the second Test delicately poised. Replying to Bangladesh’s 289, New Zealand had slid from 252 for 4 to 260 for 7 when bad weather arrived some 20 minutes from scheduled close of play, ending a seesawing day in which New Zealand had routinely held the upper hand only for quick losses of wickets to stall their progress.

Taylor climbs up the table

• 3 New Zealand batsmen with 6000 or more Test runs. Ross Taylor got there in this match and only Stephen Fleming (7172) and Brendon McCullum (6453) sit above him on the list.

• 6 Fifty-plus scores for Tom Latham in his last seven Tests. No other New Zealand player has made more than four such scores in the same number of successive matches.

• 3/32 Shakib Al Hasan’s figures, his best across four Tests in New Zealand. This was his maiden three-wicket haul in the country, having picked up only five wickets in previous matches. All three wickets came in the space of nine balls after he was used for only four overs in the first 66 of the innings.

• 2 Fifties for Henry Nicholls in this series; equaling the number of fifties he had made in nine Tests and 14 innings previously.

First, New Zealand had capitalised on two dropped catches and moved to 46 for 0 before Kamrul Islam Rabbi pegged them back with two wickets in three balls. Then a 106-run third-wicket partnership between Tom Latham and Ross Taylor, which rattled along at 4.41 per over, put Bangladesh on the back foot only for both to fall, against the run of play, in the space of 8.5 overs. Shakib’s triple-strike came after another meaty partnership – 75 for the fifth wicket between Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner. Nicholls was batting on 56 at stumps, with New Zealand seven down and trailing by 29 runs.Shakib, Bangladesh’s most experienced bowler, had only been used for four overs when he came back into the attack to start the 67th of New Zealand’s innings. His under-utilisation may have had something to do with the fact that left-handers comprised four of New Zealand’s top six, but if that was the case, it reflected one-track thinking from their captain Tamim Iqbal, for within four balls of his new spell, Shakib dismissed a stodgy left-hander.Playing for turn, Santner went on the back foot to work Shakib, bowling from left-arm over, into the leg side. The lack of turn, however, left him in a fully open position and he ended up playing across the line and missing by a long way. The ball hit his back pad in front of middle stump. Reviewing Paul Reiffel’s out decision, Santner had to walk back without technology either upholding or rejecting it, as ball-tracking failed to materialise. Umpire’s call seemed the likely outcome, with the ball looking like it may have gone on to clip leg stump. New Zealand got their review back, but not their No. 6.Bowling with a low arm from around the wicket and getting the ball to skid on towards the stumps, Shakib gobbled up BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme in his next over. Both played for the turn, and both were bowled playing unneccessarily aggressive shots. Watling chopped on an attempted cut, de Grandhomme played a loose drive, leaving a massive gap for the ball to sneak through.If the scorecard at stumps was an indictment of New Zealand’s batsmen for frittering away their starts, it also flattered Bangladesh’s bowlers, who were frustratingly inconsistent for most of the day. They began excellently in the first session, lost their discipline in the second, and seemed to be letting the game drift in the third before Shakib intervened.Shakib Al Hasan removed Colin de Grandhomme for a three-ball duck•Getty Images

Taskin Ahmed, though, was excellent with the new ball, beating the outside edge four times in his first three overs, and finding Jeet Raval’s edge in his sixth, only for Sabbir Rahman, moving to his right from second slip, to grass a knee-high catch. Taskin troubled the two left-handed openers so frequently because of his line, which didn’t allow the comfortable leave despite his angle across them, his length, which was usually on the fuller side of good, and every now and again a bit of seam movement towards the slips. He did overpitch on a few occasions – Latham in particular capitalised with three splendid, full-faced drives to the straight boundary – but that did not cause him to pull his length back at any point.Mehedi Hasan opened the bowling with Taskin, extracted bounce, and created a chance in his first over, provoking a drive away from the body from Raval that resulted in a low chance that Mahmudullah, rising too quickly at second slip, shelled. Raval didn’t do much with his two lives. The opening partnership had stretched to 46 before Kamrul, coming on as second change, broke through in the 15th over, his first. Trying to pull one that was perhaps not short enough, Raval was cramped for room and only managed a bottom-edge onto the stumps.Two balls later, New Zealand were two down. Kane Williamson may be among the hardest players in the world to dismiss, but even he could do little when confronted with the perfect late outswinger – full enough to draw him forward but not so full that he could get close to the pitch of it, its initial line close enough to off stump to force him to play, and its movement late enough to prevent him from adjusting and withdrawing his bat. Wicketkeeper Nurul Islam tumbled to his right to take his first catch in Test cricket.Latham batted serenely through the first session, never following the ball with his hands even when he was beaten, and had only one real moment of discomfort, when the slingy Rubel Hossain bowled a bouncer that didn’t rise as much as expected. Latham was unable to sway away in time, and the ball crunched into his helmet grille and sent the protective attachment at the back of his neck flying.By lunch, Latham and Taylor had added 23, and had seen out some tight bowling from Bangladesh’s quicks. Their discipline suffered after the break, though, and boundary balls grew frequent. Taylor, who has looked in excellent touch since the series against Pakistan – thanks in part to adopting a consciously side-on approach, with front shoulder pointing down the pitch rather than opening out to mid-on – drove fluently through the covers in addition to showing off his usual strengths of cutting and working the ball off his legs.The first 13 overs of the post-lunch session brought 83 runs at 6.38, including nine fours and two sixes, and New Zealand seemed to be running away with the game, when Bangladesh profited from a loss of concentration from Latham on 68. Looking to cut one that wasn’t quite wide enough for the shot, he top-edged Taskin in the first over after drinks.Taylor could have followed him seven overs later, when he misread the flight of an offbreak from Mehedi and whipped it in the air to deep square leg, only for Kamrul, diving forward, to drop the low chance. He was on 75 at that point, had already brought up one landmark – becoming the third New Zealander to pass 6000 Test runs – and seemed set to bring up another and equal the late Martin Crowe, his mentor, on 17 Test hundreds. But that wasn’t to be; he had added only two runs to his score when he drove too early at Mehedi in his next over and spooned a catch to short midwicket.