The South Africans enjoyed a productive outing at New Road, with four batsmen registering half-centuries as England Lions managed just three wickets on another shortened day.

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2017
ScorecardHeino Kuhn made 80 before retiring in his warm-up for a Test debut•Getty Images

The South Africans enjoyed a productive outing at New Road, with four batsmen registering half-centuries as England Lions managed just three wickets on another shortened day.Heino Kuhn, who is expected to make his Test debut at Lord’s next week, and Hashim Amla retired in sight of hundreds, while Temba Bavuma was unbeaten on 85 when an early close arrived due to bad light. Quinton de Kock added a brisk 51 as the South Africans scored 324 from the 77.3 overs possible.George Garton added a second wicket, after Kuhn’s retirement, when he dismissed JP Duminy for 25 and Liam Plunkett dismissed Theunis de Bruyn – the potential deputy for Faf du Plessis if South Africa’s captain does not make at back in time after the birth of his child.De Kock then added 82 in less than 20 overs with Bavuma during the afternoon before before falling to the back-up seam of hid former U-19s team-mate Keaton Jennings.Kuhn, who won a call-up after making an unbeaten 200 in a pink-ball game against Hampshire and then a century against the Lions for South Africa A, continued his good form by scoring 80 off 126 balls before retiring.Amla was similarly assured, with 91 from 148, while Bavuma batted for more than three hours, putting on an unbroken 68 with Chris Morris to give South Africa a satisfying day ahead of the four-Test series, which starts on Thursday.

The club’s T20 captain has returned home to New Zealand and a decision is yet to be taken over his availability for the quarter-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2017Sussex Sharks have lost their captain Ross Taylor, who has had to return home to New Zealand due to family reasons.Taylor had led the team in all 13 of their games in the NatWest T20 Blast this season, securing four wins and fourth place in the South Group points table. If they slip any lower they will lose out on the race to the quarter-finals.Wicketkeeper Ben Brown, who captains the Championship side, will take the reins for their one remaining game in the group stage, against Essex at Hove on Friday night.”It’s a blow to us to lose Ross,” Sussex head coach Mark Davis said. “However, that gives somebody else an opportunity to represent the club in a very important game on Friday night. We wish Ross and his family all the best”Taylor, who had been in Hove in 2016 as well, has not been in the best form this season though with only 177 runs from 12 innings at an average of 19 and a strike-rate of 112.A press release from the club said, “a decision has not yet been taken on whether Ross will return should the side qualify for next week’s Blast quarter-finals”.

Hardus Viljoen took the first eight wickets to give Derbyshire a rare victory and leave Sussex’s outside hopes of promotion in tatters

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2017A magnificent display of fast bowling by burly South African Hardus Viljoen inspired Derbyshire to only their second championship victory of the season against Sussex at Hove.Viloen took the first eight wickets to have a chance of all-10 before Harry Podmore nipped in for the last two to complete Derbyshire’s win and end Sussex’s promotion hopes in the processViljoen, 28, followed up his first innings return of seven for 80 to take 8 for 90 to finish with career best match figures of 15 for 170 as Sussex, bowled out for 344, were beaten by 45 runs. It was the fifth best match return by a Derbyshire bowler.This was the fifth time Viljoen had taken ten or more wickets in an match – but it’s the first time he has achieved it for Derbyshire, who must regret that he has been injured for most of the season.At the start of the day it looked as though Derbyshire had been stingy with their declaration. By declaring their innings closed at their overnight score of 322 for 8 they set Sussex a formidable 390 for victory.But Sussex had to go for the win to keep their promotion hopes alive. And Derbyshire knew that that would give them their best chance of victory.Viljoen, who is a genuine fast bowler, started his demolition job in his second over of the day, when he had Angus Robson caught at third slip. The fielder, Matt Critchley, took the ball with his hands high above his head.But by lunchtime Sussex had put themselves in with a chance of pulling off a stunning victory. They were 110 for 1, and needed another 280.Luke Wells and Stiaan van Zyl had set the platform for an unlikely win by the home side, van Zyl bringing up the 100 partnership just before lunch when he straight drove Luis Reece for four.After the break, Wells hit Viljoen for three successive fours but was then lbw looking for a fourth. And when Chris Nash was caught in the slips for just nine in Viljoen’s next over Sussex were 147 for 3 and Derbyshire were back in the match.But the match turned towards Sussex once again as even Viljoen struggled against van Zyl and the more pugnacious Luke Wright as the pair put on 120 for the fourth wicket. At tea, when Sussex were 236 for 3, needing another 154 from 36 overs, they were clear favourites to win the match.But then Viljoen turned the game towards Derbyshire once again. He had van Zyl caught at third man for 85 and then dismissed the Sussex captain Ben Brown, caught at slip. Then, when he plucked out Wright’s middle stump for 80 with a yorker Sussex were struggling at 276 for 6.Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer continued to encourage the Sussex supporters with a seventh wicket stand of 31. But then Viljoen took out Robinson’s off stump for 15 before having Archer caught at slip for 25.Podmore finished the job for Derbyshire with the final two wickets, thanks to fine catches by Hamidullah Qadri and Ben Slater. But Viljoen was the great hero of the day.

Ambati Rayudu made his first half-century since returning to his home team of Hyderabad, leading them to 272 for 3 against Railways

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2017
ScorecardPTI

Group A table-toppers Karnataka continued their impressive showing this season with an emphatic bowling display – led by Vinay Kumar’s six-for – as they successfully countered a brisk century from Maharashtra’s Rahul Tripathi.Vinay, the Karnataka captain, backed up his decision to bowl in Pune, chipping away at opposition line-up to leave them at 28 for 5 by the 13th over. But even as he backed up match hauls worth six and eight wickets from the previous two rounds with figures of 6 for 59, Tripathi, the No. 7 batsman, launched a counter-attack, stitching together 147 runs for the sixth wicket with Naushad Shaikh.While Shaikh was dismissed for a dogged 69, Tripathi, who had fallen short of a ton by nine runs in the previous game against Uttar Pradesh, waltzed to his fourth first-class hundred, smashing 13 fours and three sixes. On the back of his 120 off 117 balls, Maharashtra put up a comparatively decent total of 245.In response, R Samarth (47) and Mayank Agarwal (50) got Karnataka off to a solid start with unbeaten opening stand of 117 in 31 overs.
ScorecardAmbati Rayudu struck his first half-century – an unbeaten 88 – since his return to Hyderabad, and put up an unbroken stand of 139 with B Sandeep as the visitors posted 272 for 3 against Railways in Delhi.The foundation was laid by openers Tanmay Agarwal (41) and Akshath Reddy (69) who put on 93 after Railways had put them in. They lost two quick wickets on either side of lunch, and soon slipped to 131 for 3 before Rayudu and the promoted Sandeep (64*) took them through to tea, and then batted out the entire last session together. Of Railways’ four-pronged pace attack, only Manish Rao (2-49) and Karan Thakur (1-53) found any success.

Delhi overcome slight hiccups and move to the second spot in the standings after four-wicket win

Varun Shetty in New Delhi04-Nov-2017
ScorecardBCCI

Delhi stumbled towards their 252-run target in the last hour of the final day, but eventually came out trumps by four wickets against Uttar Pradesh at Palam A Ground. That meant they were second in Group A, behind Karnataka, while Suresh Raina’s men continued to languish second from last.The day began with UP on 223 for 7, after a security breach had ended the game early on the third evening. The loss of those 20 minutes and the associated momentum was amplified with the loss of overnight centurion Akshdeep Nath early the day when he got a thick inside edge to short midwicket off Navdeep Saini.The fast bowler then took two more wickets as UP were bowled out for 229, leaving Delhi little more than two sessions to get to the target. They lost Gautam Gambhir early when he slashed outside off and nicked to the wicketkeeper. Dhruv Shorey looked every bit as assured as he was in the first innings, and took charge in his partnership with Unmukt Chand.However, extra bounce did him in while he attempted one more of many cover drives on the up. He ended up scooping it to point. Unmukt and Nitish Rana, however, played calm knocks under pressure as they put up 71 to bring Delhi within 122 runs of victory with eight wickets in hand. But Unmukt and Rana were out for 49 and 67, leaving Delhi needing 65 in the final session.Milind Kumar, who had put together 52 with Rana, held one end up as Rishabh Pant took the bowlers on. As Delhi neared the target, UP slowed things down, with Ankit Rajpoot taking an injury break that lasted nearly six minutes. As if that was a warning sign to him, Pant skipped down the track against spinner Mohammad Saif in the next over and drilled him over long-on.The battle was won by the spinner, however, as he pushed one through Pant’s defend and forced him to play on. At this point, Delhi needed 28. Manan Sharma, who has been pushed into an all-round role for Delhi this season, made a nervous start and fell to a poke.With 21 to get, Delhi made a move that would ensure Milind wouldn’t have to switch gears, promoting Saini ahead of Pulkit Narang. The motive was visible as early as the second ball Saini faced as he looked to heave across the line against Rajpoot; it was a big edge that flew past the keeper for four.Saini walked down the track to bump fists with Milind, without bothering to look where the ball had gone. He slapped the fast bowler to the midwicket boundary the next over, and it was followed by a loft over mid-on from Milind as Delhi entered the half-hour extension needing two runs for a win. Saini got them with a clobbered six over long-on. The match was won and their campaign was alive.

Ed Cowan has revealed that Australia captain Steven Smith was surprised at how the national selectors ignored Cricket Australia’s directive to choose younger players for the first Ashes Test

Daniel Brettig22-Nov-20172:43

Shaun Marsh is back. Yet again

Australia’s captain Steven Smith was surprised at how the national selectors abandoned Cricket Australia’s previous directive to focus on choosing younger players in their squad for the first Ashes Test, former opener Ed Cowan has revealed.In pleading for greater clarity and consistency in selection policies, Cowan said that Smith had not expected the panel to turn away from youth in dropping Matt Renshaw and choosing Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine for the Gabba. Those decisions arrived a matter of weeks after Smith had explained to Cowan that there was no room in the New South Wales team for Cowan due to the need to look at younger players, despite the left-hander’s standing as last season’s leading run-maker in the Sheffield Shield.”He (Smith) has had some open and honest conversations with me,” Cowan said ahead of his return to the NSW Shield side. “I think he was surprised – without revealing confidential conversations between us – he certainly had a view that that’s the way the board had indicated selections were going to go. And I think the selection panel, as directed by Pat Howard, has turned that on its head.”Once we got to the bottom of why it happened, I was comfortable with that [being dropped from NSW team]. The only sour element comes from the fact that three weeks ago, I was evidently too old, and then someone [Shaun Marsh] who I played youth cricket with gets picked in the Test team. The policy of the young guys playing, I’ve got no problem with, as long as it is a selection policy that sticks consistently.”The bottom line here is every player in the system wants it to be at its absolute maximum capacity. We love the Australian cricket team. We want it to win and we are wishing those guys all the very best. But from a systemic point of view, we just want a little more consistency and clarity around selection.”Speaking to ESPNcricinfo earlier this month, Smith said Cowan had been left out for the younger Daniel Hughes as a direct result of the board’s directive to think long-term, following a fifth successive Test defeat in Hobart last year. “There’s been a directive from the board last year to try to get younger guys into the Australian team,” Smith said. “Guys like Matt Renshaw and Pete Handscomb, who came in and did really well. That’s got to filter down, I think, into state cricket a bit. I know Ed doesn’t agree with it, but Hughesy’s been in terrific form.”Cowan, who was a longtime team-mate of Tim Paine for Tasmania before returning home to NSW, said that the Blues’ wicketkeeper had reason to be “shattered” by the decision to not recall him, and instead choose a gloveman who has not been the Tigers’ first choice behind the stumps for two years. Paine has only kept wicket in one first-class match this season, for a CA XI against the Englishmen in their tour match at Adelaide Oval.”While Tim Paine’s a friend and former team-mate, and someone whose cricket I admire a lot, I really do feel for Nev, and to a degree, I really feel for Matt Renshaw,” Cowan said. “So I think, generally, the goalposts moving around selection is pretty hard to take, and I’m sure that’s why someone like Pete probably feels very aggrieved and I think he has every right to. Whichever way you want to select the team, it needs to be consistent, and those goalposts of performance need to be set in stone.”I feel for those guys who are really pushing for Test selection and they really don’t know what is required. I can only imagine [Nevill] is shattered, but ever the professional, he’s getting on with what he needs to do to prepare for this next game. You’re talking about a guy who’s a seasoned professional, he’ll continue to be a high performer in our team. I wish Painey well and [hope] the Australian team’s winning, but hopefully we can get some clarity around selections.”

If West Indies concede the match, they will have to return home with nothing to show for their stay in New Zealand

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu31-Dec-2017

Big picture

It may just be arbitrary – an illusion of time even – but a new year can have a remarkable effect. Ask West Indies. They ushered in 2017 with their trophy cabinet bursting at the seams. Then they were booted out of an ICC tournament. They will have to play fringe teams in international cricket to qualify for the next World Cup. And, on the basis of their performance on Friday, even their often infallible T20 game needs work.If West Indies concede the match on January 1, they will have to return home with nothing to show for their stay in New Zealand and the only people that would be feeling worse than Stuart Law, Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite would be those who had ended up as designated drivers the previous night. So the Bay Oval better prepare itself. It’ll be hosting a hurt world-champion side looking for revenge.New Zealand may sympathise – they are apparently the nice guys of this sport, even if their bowlers keep picking up seven-fors and their fielders take leave of gravity to snaffle impossible catches – but, with their captain Kane Williamson returning, they won’t offer much quarter. They’ve written the book on winning matches without too many star players. And it isn’t a complicated read either: have plans at the ready, ensure the players buy into that and can execute them under pressure. They’ll get plenty of practice in that regard coming up against a team that has nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLWLL
West Indies: LWWWWThe perfect on-drive from Martin Guptill•BCCI

In the spotlight

With so many of West Indies’ frontline players in T20 cricket missing, it may be time Chris Gayle produces one of his single-handed demolition jobs. Not so long ago, after winning the Bangladesh Premier League, he proclaimed that he was the best to ever play the game. He would be able to lend that statement a little more oomph if he were to, say, beat an international team.New Zealand have their own marauder at the top, even if he is coming off a break. Martin Guptill. An average above 30 and a strike-rate of 130 suggests he likes playing longish innings even in the shortest format and should he do so in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand’s job of winning a third successive trophy, and staying on course for a tour-wide whitewash, will get a little bit easier.

Team news

Ross Taylor won’t be in action on Monday; he was only picked for the first T20I. Williamson will take his place.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Glenn Phillips (wk), 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Anaru Kitchen, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Doug Bracewell/Lockie Ferguson, 9 Seth Rance, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Ish Sodhi*There may be some thought about bringing in Shimron Hetmyer into the batting line-up and Sheldon Cottrell into the bowling attack simply for the sake of variety.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Chadwick Walton, 3 Andre Fletcher/Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Samuel Badree, 10 Jerome Taylor/Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Kesrick Williams

Pitch and conditions

There have been three T20Is at Bay Oval and runs have so far come by at a rate of 8 and above. Perfect conditions for a Gayle storm. The actual weather, though, is expected to be cloudy, with the possibility of showers late in the night.

Stats and trivia

• Williamson goes into the T20I with 133 fours, three less than Gayle. Of course, Gayle (103) has hit six times as many sixes as Williamson (16) has
• New Zealand have never lost a T20I in Mount Maunganui – and over their last 12 matches at home, they’ve only lost two
• Under the condition of at least 100 overs bowled, Samuel Badree has the second-best economy rate in T20Is; his figure of 5.78 is only just behind Daniel Vettori’s 5.70

Quotes

“Fantastic player, probably the best T20 record in the game and can take the game away at any time”

Sri Lanka are no strangers to playing on dustbowls, but Bangladesh can only hope their familiarity with Mirpur, where they recently picked up wins over Australia and England, gives them an edge

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Feb-2018

Big Picture

Thank heavens the first match is over. In Chittagong, bowlers were buffeted by meaningless run-making gales, boundaries came in endless waves, and the game, eventually, was sunk – a few confidence-boosting hundreds the only salvageable thing from the whole affair. It was a pitch so heavily loaded in the batsmen’s favour, it was difficult to get a gauge on how these teams really stack up. Sri Lanka’s batsmen certainly outlasted their counterparts in the first innings, but will the same necessarily hold true on a track that is a sterner test of defensive technique? Lahiru Kumara, the Sri Lanka quick, was ineffective in Chittagong, but would facing him have been a different proposition on a pitch that gave him something – anything – to work with?The track in Mirpur, however, is expected to be substantially different. Here is where Bangladesh roll out the dustbowls that yank their spinners emphatically into the game. In Mirpur have they recently claimed two huge Test scalps – England and Australia.Sri Lanka are no strangers to the “maximum spin” strategy, of course, having employed it with great success at home when certain teams come to visit. But Bangladesh will hope their familiarity with this particular surface will provide them with an advantage – mild though it may be.The hosts are, however, more hamstrung by the absence of Shakib Al Hasan than Sri Lanka are by the absence of Angelo Mathews. In the most recent match here – against Australia last August – Shakib claimed 10 wickets and scored a vital first-innings 84. Even if the likes of Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam can be effective in Mirpur, the wonderful balance Shakib adds to the XI will be missed. That he is the leader of this team only makes the loss more acute.

Form guide

Bangladesh DLLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka DDLDW

In the spotlight

Having not made a century since November 2014, Mominul Haque took full advantage of the Chittagong surface, hitting 281 runs in total to properly reclaim his place in the side. If that Test was the fillip that gets Mominul’s career back on track, the boredom might even have been worth it. A player of obvious quality, and, when he is at his flowing best, scintillating to watch, it is now up to Mominul to get his average above 50, where it belongs, and keep it there.Like Mominul, Dhananjaya de Silva is the most watchable batsman in his side, and he too is re-establishing his place. At Chittagong, he became the joint-fastest Sri Lanka batsman to 1000 Test runs, one innings after scoring an excellent rearguard hundred in Delhi. So far, de Silva has been a confidence player – one good innings rolling into two or three more, just as had been the case in his debut series against Australia, in which he was the top run-scorer. Full of form now, and with a good track record on turning pitches, he may be a key player again in Mirpur.

Team news

Sabbir Rahman is likely to pip Mosaddek Hossain as he appears to be a more aggressive option. Sunzamul Islam’s place is still up for grabs, with Abdur Razzak being slightly ahead of Kamrul Islam and Nayeem Hasan, who could still get a chance.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Liton Das (wk) , 6 Mahmudullah (capt), 7 Sabbir Rahman/ Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Mustafizur RahmanLahiru Kumara, who fielded poorly, in addition to being wayward with the ball in Chittagong, is likely to give way to Lahiru Gamage. Dushmantha Chameera might have been the preferred replacement, but is in fact back in Sri Lanka after picking up an injury. There may be no other major changes.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kusal Mendis, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 5 Roshen Silva, 6 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 7 Dilruwan Perera, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Lahiru Gamage

Pitch and conditions

Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal strongly suspects the pitch will produce a result, as it already appears pretty dry on the eve of the match. The weather in Dhaka is expected to remain good for the duration of the Test, with temperatures in the high-20 degrees range.

Stats and trivia

• Rangana Herath needs only four more wickets to surpass Wasim Akram’s tally of 414 and become the most successful left-armer in the history of Test cricket.
• Herath is also seven wickets shy of becoming the most successful finger spinner in history (counting Muttiah Muralitharan as a wrist spinner). Harbhajan Singh is at 417 scalps, and the only spinners ahead of him are bona-fide legends: Murali, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.
• No fewer than 34 wickets in the most recent Test in Mirpur fell to spin. In the previous Test, featuring England, 32 wickets fell to spin. Neither match went to the fifth day.
• Having played Sri Lanka in six of his 11 Tests, 29% of Mominul’s 2121 Test runs have come against them. He averages 48.20 overall and 62 against Sri Lanka.

Quotes

“We got out of a tough position in the first match. So this game is a great chance for us to win a Test series. I think all the players are thinking positively, which will help our outcome.”
“When you look at this pitch, definitely there will be a result. The pitch looks dry. Spinners will definitely come into play. It is challenging for both teams. It won’t be like Chittagong. We saw in the ODI tri-series that they were really bad pitches at this ground. It was good for the spinners but not for the batters. This pitch looks similar.”

On a day of uncertainty, Travis Dean played a steady hand, helping Victoria progress to a lead of 184 with five wickets in hand against New South Wales at stumps on day two

Alex Malcolm04-Mar-2018Getty Images

Victoria has progressed to a strong position against New South Wales at stumps on day two despite young batsman Will Pucovski being subbed out of the game after a sickening blow to the head.Pucovski had to retire hurt after he was struck on the helmet attempting to duck a short ball from Blues quick bowler Sean Abbott in an incident that left players on both sides distressed.After a short delay the game continued without incident and Pucovski was in good spirits post-play despite being replaced by Victoria’s 12th man Dan Christian under Cricket Australia’s concussion substitute rule.Travis Dean played a steady hand on a day of uncertainty. He moved to 64 not out by stumps and guided the Bushrangers to a lead of 184 with five wickets in hand after Trent Copeland had taken four wickets to keep the Blues in the game.Earlier, they had conceded a 28-run first innings lead after the Blues batsmen failed to capitalize on a number of starts against the Bushrangers well-balanced attack.

The Bangladesh captain has said he wants his side to remain as relaxed as he had seen them throughout the day

Mohammad Isam17-Mar-2018With just over 24 hours to go before their fifth multi-nation tournament final in limited-overs matches, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said he wants his side to remain as relaxed as he had seen them throughout the day. It encouraged him to hope that the rest of the players would keep out the mental blocks and treat the final like just another game.It is easier said than done, especially against India who have beaten Bangladesh in all seven previous T20s, including the 2016 Asia Cup final. In the two league stage matches in the Nidahas Trophy, Bangladesh were outplayed and looked short of ideas on occasions. But Shakib is bound to put a brave front. He insisted that if the Bangladesh players treat it as a mere contest between bat and ball, they could remain focused on the job in hand.”We haven’t discussed the final so we are not thinking about it as pressure yet,” Shakib said. “This, I think, is a big realisation of how we are handling this game so far. If you think about pressure, it is pressure. If you don’t think about pressure, it is not pressure. I am sure everyone is relaxed, and if we can be like this till tomorrow’s match, it will be good for us.”We are not thinking too far ahead. We have to be relaxed and open-minded. It is important to be mentally free to do well in T20s. I hope no one takes any pressure, and stays focused on the process. Everyone has a different mentality. I would hope that none of our players have that mental block. It would help us to play well. If we think it is a big final against India, then it is pressure. Rather, let’s think about a bat versus ball contest.”Given how the R Premadasa Stadium’s pitches have remained mostly similar throughout the length of a game, Shakib wasn’t too worried on whether he wouldd want to bat or bowl first, but much of Bangladesh’s focus would be on their start. During this tournament, their opening batsmen have provided them with better starts than their opening bowlers. Against Sri Lanka on Friday, they bowled well in the first eight overs and then gave away a big partnership.”We have a fair idea of what the Indian batsmen like to do,” Shakib said. “They are quite experienced, so we will try not to make it comfortable for them. We have to start well in the game, and then hold on to the momentum.”