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India A have clinched the two-match series 1-0 after a well-fought second unofficial Test ended in a wet draw

The Report by Sreshth Shah in Alur13-Aug-20181:28

‘Captaincy gets the best out of me’ – Iyer

Only 58 overs were possible on the final day, but with seven wickets falling it was yet another day dominated by the bowlers. With the post-tea rain not subsiding, India A captain Shreyas Iyer and South Africa A’s stand-in captain Dane Piedt shook hands two hours before scheduled stumps, and shared the honours of the well-fought second unofficial Test in Alur. India won the series 1-0, riding on the tight victory in Bengaluru last week, where the hosts won the game with only seven deliveries remaining on the last day.The standout performances on Monday were all from the hosts. In the morning, Mohammed Siraj’s double-wicket blow bowled South Africa out for 319, after they had added only 25 to their overnight score. Then Iyer and Ankit Bawne scored classy half-centuries in the afternoon to rescue India following three early wickets. Siraj finished with figures of 4 for 72 while it was Bawne’s second half-century of the match.Hanuma Vihari, who made 148 in the first innings, could not repeat that performance in the second, trapped lbw off Duanne Olivier for zero. Olivier had also removed Prithvi Shaw in the third over, his leg stump flattened by a full delivery. Olivier was the standout among the South Africa bowlers, capping off his 6 for 63 in the first innings with figures of 2 for 24 in the second.India, starting their second innings with a slender lead, were rocked early with Olivier’s wickets, which left them reeling at 14 for 2. Mayank Agarwal – who scored a duck in the first innings – then combined with Iyer in a 40-run partnership before Agarwal’s stumps were cleaned up by offspinner Senuran Muthusamy. Then Iyer built another partnership with No. 5 Bawne, the pair adding 94 in 117 deliveries. Srikar Bharat then made a patient, unbeaten 18 alongside Bawne, and when tea was called, India were 207 ahead. India opted to bat on after the break, but the rain came down as soon as they made their way to the middle, and soon after that the game was called off.After the match, Iyer said India had no intention of declaring, for two reasons: first, that they knew the weather forecast wasn’t promising and second, their 1-0 series lead.”We were not going for victory,” Iyer said. “Yesterday itself we knew it wasn’t going to be a full day. Yes, I was contemplating which bowler to give certain situations, but we chose not to go for it because of the early wickets lost.”In this situation, it didn’t demand us to take risk, because we were 1-0 up. The pressure was on them, and they weren’t showing any glimpse of going for the win, so we decided to play it easy and bat the whole day.”India A’s next four-day contest will be against Australia A in Visakhapatnam, and before that will play a one-day quadrangular tournament also involving India B, South Africa A and Australia A in Vijayawada next week.

Barbados Tridents slip to fourth straight loss at home and are in danger of missing playoffs for the third year running

The Report by Peter Della Penna01-Sep-2018Barbados Tridents’ home performances make Jamaica Tallawahs’ American nightmare look tame by comparison. The Tridents lost their fourth straight match at Kensington Oval in an eight-wicket trouncing at the hands of Guyana Amazon Warriors courtesy Luke Ronchi’s unbeaten 40-ball 67. This helped Warriors to the top of the table, while Tridents are firmly rooted to the bottom and are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third year in a row.Prime time performance

It looked like Tridents were going to escape the Powerplay without much damage, but that changed in the sixth over. Rebuilding after the loss of Martin Guptill, Tridents were 39 for 1 when Roshon Primus snared Dwayne Smith thanks to some good fortune mixed with loose strokeplay.Recalled after their loss to Tallawahs two nights earlier, Dwayne Smith looked in excellent touch before holing out to a flick at deep square leg where Shimron Hetmyer was one of only two men outside the ring. When he snared Hashim Amla, who spooned a catch to point as the ball stopped on him, Primus was on a hat-trick.Shai Hope and Steven Smith shared a half-century stand, during the course of which the pair impressed with their sublime wrist work. Primus then made his mark in the field, charging in from square leg with a sharp one-bounce relay to Ronchi to deny a second run for Hope in a needless run-out.Tahir’s brilliant finish

Steven Smith and Nicholas Pooran gave the Tridents hope with a 71-run stand, but three wickets fell in the final eight balls of the innings in another major momentum shift. Steven Smith fell to a brilliant diving catch by Chris Green running in from the rope at long on, his second take of the night, to make it 160 for 5.Pooran had played splendidly to that point, cracking four fours and two sixes in a typically fiery knock, but the Tridents needed a big over to close out the innings. Imran Tahir denied them in masterful fashion. After conceding four runs off the first three balls, Tahir struck with a googly to induce a skied catch to get Pooran at long-off. This was well-taken in swirling wind by Hetmyer. After a dot to Jason Holder, Tahir got him driving a third catch to Green at long-on to close the innings.So close… yet so so far

Ronchi had struck his first two balls of the night for boundaries off Chemar Holder to end the second over, but the Tridents nearly got him twice in the following over.The in-form Mohammad Irfan gave Ronchi the most trouble he’d encounter on the night as a drive on the second ball of the third over fluttered just out of the reach of Ashley Nurse at mid-on and bounced away for four. Ronchi was squared up by Irfan’s next ball and a healthy edge barely evaded slip to go to third man for one.From then on though, Ronchi was in total control, perhaps never more so than in the sixth over from Jason Holder off which he plundered 24 runs. Warriors ended the Powerplay at 70 for 0 with Ronchi on 39 off 15 balls.Ronchi only faced 10 deliveries – scoring 10 singles – across the next five overs, but if the Tridents strategy was to slow down the scoring rate by starving Ronchi of the strike then it wasn’t working.Chadwick Walton provided brilliant support during a 96-run opening stand before Hetmyer hit his fourth, sixth and seventh balls over the rope for a trio of sweetly timed sixes. By the time Ronchi finally brought up his 50 off 26 balls with a single in the 12th over, the required run rate was well under a run a ball and the Warriors strolled home.

England could bring back Joe Denly after eight years in the wilderness, while Sri Lanka have called up Sadeera Samarawickrama

The Preview by Alan Gardner26-Oct-2018

Big Picture

Following an ODI series in which all five matches were affected by the rain, Sri Lanka and England will now attempt to squeeze in a one-off T20 that could be more splash than thrash. By the time the rain came hammering down in Colombo on Tuesday, England had suffered a painful-looking belly-flop to end their winning run; Sri Lanka will be hoping it is them handing out the towellings from here on in, with three Tests to follow next month.Given that the third ODI in Pallekele was a 21-over affair, things might not be greatly different now the teams are officially playing T20. England have taken to opening with Jos Buttler (where he averages 62.75, at a strike rate of 158.86, from five innings) and have added yorker specialist Chris Jordan to their party; there might not be room for Joe Root, and Joe Denly could complete a remarkably long-and-winding return to England colours, but otherwise the line-up will be pretty familiar.Sri Lanka will be led by Thisara Perera in this format, while Lasith Malinga could win his first T20I cap in over a year following a successful return in the ODIs. Perhaps the most interesting name in their squad is that of batting allrounder (and ambidextrous bowler) Kamindu Mendis. A former U-19s captain, and one among a crop of young players trying to perfect the skill of bowling with both arms, Mendis played against England in one of their warm-up games and could make his full international debut.With the next men’s World T20 still more than two years away, there may not be many significant lessons to learn – but both teams, and an expected full house at the R Premadasa Stadium, will be hoping the weather doesn’t spoil their fun.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
England LWLWW

In the spotlight

After his barnstorming return to form in the fifth ODI, Kusal Mendis will be champing at the bit for another crack. A 30-ball fifty, which featured several imperious blows beyond the ropes, was pretty decent practice for shifting up into T20 gear – a format in which he has already made four half-centuries this year. Sri Lanka will be hoping that their foremost young batting talent can go into next month’s Test series with confidence fully replenished.Alex Hales was unable to capitalise on the opportunity afforded by Jonny Bairstow’s injury during the ODI series, making scores of 12 and 0, while his fielding has also come in for scrutiny – in the second Pallekele game, he managed to drop Dasun Shanaka for six. He has competition in the T20 side, too, after Buttler’s successful outings at opener. Having given up first-class cricket to focus on smacking the white ball, these are the moments he needs to seize.

Team news

Kusal Perera has not recovered from the quad strain he sustained during the second ODI, so Sadeera Samarawickrama has been added to the squad and will likely come into the XI. Kamindu has won his first senior call-up for Sri Lanka at 20, and he could compete with Dhananjaya de Silva for a spot. There has been some late news that Akila Dananjaya is also injured, which means Amila Aponso has been added to the squad, and could take his spot in the XI.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 2 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Thisara Perera (capt.), 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Amila Aponso, 11 Dushmantha ChameeraEngland have flown in Jordan but will otherwise pick from the same squad as for the ODIs. Several players missed training on Friday, however, including Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Olly Stone. Denly looks set to come in for his first England cap in over eight years, though he is unlikely to be given the top-order berth he occupies for Kent.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Alex Hales, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Joe Denly, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Tom Curran

Pitch and conditions

The Premadasa was flat and full of runs for Tuesday’s ODI (during the Sri Lanka innings, at least) and they will be using a fresh surface – although that doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of spin. However, the weather once again looms as a major obstacle, with showers and thunderstorms likely to arrive over Colombo during the late afternoon/evening.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have lost three of their last four T20 outings in Colombo, including a penultimate ball defeat to Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy that led to a dressing room door being smashed.
• England have played two T20s at Khettarama, beating Afghanistan and losing to India during the 2012 World T20.
• Denly’s last international appearance came against Pakistan in Dubai in 2010. England promptly switched to the uncapped Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter as their opening combination and went on to win the World T20.
• Denly does however hold the distinction of being one of only 15 men to take a wicket with their first ball in international T20.

Quotes

“Kamindu played alongside with me for Colombo District in domestic cricket. We know what he is capable of. He’s a remarkable player – he can bowl with either hands and when a right-hand/left-hand combination is out in the middle, having him in the team is a big bonus for us. He is a good fielder and a good batsman as well.”
“The last ODI was a wake-up. I don’t recall the last time we were hit for 360 as a bowling unit or played so poorly with the bat. It was a big learning curve. It gave us a big kick up the arse. Hopefully we can right those wrongs on Saturday.”

For a man with a supposed inaptitude to Test cricket, Babar Azam does end up with an awful lot of big scores in the format

Danyal Rasool25-Nov-2018For a man with a supposed inaptitude to Test cricket, Babar Azam does end up with an awful lot of big scores in the format. In his last four Test innings, the 24-year old has managed 92, 62, 13 and an unbeaten 127 on Sunday. It was his fifth 50-plus score in 10 innings this year, in which he averages nearly 68 with the bat. What Test inaptitude?A quick glance through his run tallies across his fledgling career will answer that question, and explain his great relief at the innings he played on the second day in Dubai. For all of his prowess in 2018, Babar had never yet managed a three-figure score in this format, all the while scoring hundreds for fun in ODIs; he scored, remember, three of them in a row a couple of years back against West Indies. Besides, before 2018, his career average in Tests was under 24. It was nothing short of remarkable to see him struggle to get starts, given if you coloured the ball white and clad him in green, he would have surpassed that before your kettle had boiled.It is an obscene simplification, of course, but obscenely simple is what Babar makes batting look. It would be particularly self-indulgent to assume saying this adds to the weight of expectations on him, but Pakistan haven’t had a middle-order batsman so cut out across formats since Inzamam-ul-Haq hung up his boots. There was, for a short while, the false dawn of Umar Akmal, but Babar keeps showing, time and again, he is the real thing. This was a player, still a very young player, mind you, seeing his ability to be competitive in Test cricket openly questioned, repeatedly told, at the very least, he was drafted in too early. He has come out the other side, and insisted the lack of a Test hundred never once weighed on his mind.”There was no pressure [of scoring a Test hundred]”, Babar said. “I’d be lying if I say that not scoring a Test century was a burden on me. The difference is that I did the job today. My previous best scores will be counted as half-centuries. I had heard that scoring a Test century is special and that’s exactly what I experienced today. I was out on 99 against Australia. It’s definitely a relief to get over the line. I have gained a lot of confidence in the wake of scoring this hundred.”In the UAE, the wickets are on the slower side. You can’t play through the line, you need to take your time and be patient.”Patience would be an understatement. Babar, along with Haris Sohail, loomed large over the day’s proceedings, at the crease for over two sessions as they frustrated New Zealand while consolidating their position. All the while, they were aware one rash shot could see their work undone, but while Haris dug in, Babar took upon himself the responsibility of ensuring Pakistan had enough runs to declare before the end of the day’s play. One-twenty-seven runs off 263 balls doesn’t sound especially free-flowing, but other than Sarfraz Ahmed, who came in late with far less pressure, Babar had the highest strike rate of all. He was the one chiefly responsible for injecting some impetus into the innings, having his innings cut by a declaration short one ball after he smashed Ish Sodhi for a six and sought to get his team closer to 450.”Our plan was to build partnerships. We were trying to complement each other,” he said. “If I played a poor shot, Haris would come and counsel me and vice versa. Our plan was to dig in deep.”The ball isn’t coming onto the bat; it’s really slow. The spinners are getting purchase off the wicket. Hopefully our bowlers will benefit from the conditions as well. We are confident we’ll get them out cheaply.”This isn’t just the brazen confidence of youth; far too many young players have found the burden of Test-match cricket, and indeed the pressure of holding up a famously fragile Pakistan batting order, too heavy to bear. Babar, however, seems to be cut from a different cloth, and if he can sustain the hunger and confidence that has seen him rise to every challenge thrown his way so far, his path to becoming a modern all-format great seems inexorable.

The tournament, in May 2019, is part of a busy Irish home summer that will feature 16 international matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2018Ireland will host an ODI tri-series also involving West Indies and Bangladesh next summer. The tournament, which will begin on May 5, will see the teams play each other twice with the top two sides playing the final on May 17.The tri-series, which begins two days after Ireland are scheduled to play an ODI against England in Malahide, adds to a busy home summer for Ireland that will feature 16 international matches. Apart from the tri-series and the England ODI, Ireland are set to meet Afghanistan in two ODIs, and Zimbabwe in three ODIs and three T20Is. All these matches will be played across four international venues in the country, with Malahide hosting five, Clontarf three, Stormont five and Bready three.All this limited-overs action will serve as a curtain-raiser to the main event; Ireland first ever Test match against England, at Lord’s. After being granted Test status in 2017, Ireland hosted Pakistan for a one-off Test in May 2018, which the visitors won by five-wickets in Malahide. Ireland are also set to play their first-ever away Test match in March 2019, against fellow Test newbies Afghanistan.

Faf du Plessis has suggested it’s a straight shootout between Hendricks and Markram for the No. 3 slot, but if he keeps scoring heavily Hendricks could also put pressure on the openers

Liam Brickhill05-Dec-2018Reeza Hendricks has strung together scores of 55, 104*, 108* and 79 in his last four innings, winning three Player-of-the-Match awards on the trot and helping Jozi Stars recover from a difficult start to rise to second on the points table. He has been the talisman that has turned Stars’ Mzansi Super League campaign around, but he does not believe that T20 form will have a big impact on his chances of making South Africa’s World Cup squad.”I don’t think so, to be honest,” Hendricks said when asked about turning T20 form into a ticket to England. “This is obviously a different format. I’d love to think it has some impact towards it, but it’s a different format. Taking it as it comes. Leading up to the World Cup, it’s still a while away. Hopefully I can continue scoring, and closer to the time the rest will take care of itself.”Hendricks should be part of South Africa’s ODI squads to face Pakistan and Sri Lanka this summer, and that is when real stakes can be claimed in the national squad. Before South Africa left for Australia, captain Faf du Plessis suggested it was a straight shootout between Hendricks and Aiden Markram for the no. 3 position, but if he keeps scoring runs Hendricks may also put pressure on the opening slots.Hashim Amla endured lean patches in the Caribbean Premier League and the opening rounds of the MSL, as well as being hobbled by an injury that kept him out of South Africa’s touring party to Australia. After scores of 15, 24, 12. 0 and 4, Amla was dropped from the XI for Durban Heat’s last match against Paarl Rocks. Hendricks, meanwhile, is in a “purple patch”. Has he ever hit the ball better?”That’s a tough question, but to answer that, I don’t think so,” said Hendricks. “It’s a purple patch that I’m going through at the moment. I’m quite grateful for how it’s going at the moment.” Hendricks’ form certainly impressed Cape Town Blitz captain Farhaan Behardien, who suggested that Hendricks is “in the form of life”, and is very tough to stop at the moment.”He batted really well,” Behardien said after Hendricks’ well-paced 79 helped set up Stars’ match-winning 196 for 4 at Newlands on Tuesday night. “His strike rate wasn’t as high in the beginning, but he catches up. And he’s in form. He’s in the form of his life. It’s like trying to stop a guy like AB in form, to stop a guy like David Miller when he’s going really well. It’s his time at the moment. We couldn’t combat him tonight. Fortunately he toed one to Quinny [de Kock] at long-on. It’s tough to stop him, so hopefully if we do come up against him again in a knockout or the final, we’ll try have some better plans.”Hendricks credited his time in the Proteas camp with raising his game leading in to the MSL. He has been part of South Africa’s last three ODI series, and while he has not quite replicated the success of his debut hundred yet, he has gained plenty of confidence from being in the national set-up.”The intensity in the training and everything around that, the knowledge in the squad, it’s a good environment to be in,” he said. “Coming back here, that obviously gave me a great deal of confidence. What I’ve learnt, I can try and execute here, and fortunately it’s been working and it’s been coming off.”While he may have to score similar runs in 50-overs cricket to cement his place in South Africa’s World Cup plans, Hendricks has already done enough to greatly enhance his reputation as a T20 cricketer. With the IPL auction two weeks away, he has made sure to throw his name into that hat. “I did actually put my name in the IPL auction, yes,” Hendricks said. “Who knows, we’ll see what happens.”Hendricks said he had been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support he has received from family, friends and fans since his back-to-back hundreds, but insisted that he won’t be basking in the glow for too long and is already focussed on Jozi Stars’ next game against Durban Heat at Kingsmead on Friday.”Over the last few days it has been overwhelming,” he said. “But after tonight, the game is done so I have to focus on the next day and the next game coming up. As I move on, I put this behind me and try to contribute again in the next game.”Hendricks also got the backing of his stars team-mate Chris Gayle, who suggested that his form made him the most dangerous batsman in the side. Gayle had even hoped for a third hundred from Hendricks.”When I saw that, I had a good laugh about it,” Hendricks said. “I didn’t think it would be on the cards. I just went about it, didn’t think too much about the three figures. Took it as it came, and just went about it over by over, ball by ball, and I was quite fortunate today that I managed to get some runs again.”

Sixers booked their place in the semi-finals and kept themselves firmly in the hunt for a home tie as they dispatched defending champions Strikers in thumping fashion

The Report by Andrew McGlashan29-Jan-2019Set up by outstanding bowling from left-arm quick Ben Dwarshuis, Sydney Sixers have one foot in the Big Bash semi-finals and kept themselves firmly in the hunt for a home tie as they dispatched defending champions Adelaide Strikers in thumping fashion by eight wickets at the SCG with the Strikers seeing their hopes all-but ended in a one-sided contest.The tone was set by Alex Carey’s first-over run out, a continuation of a problem that has hit the Strikers’ this season, and they couldn’t find any early momentum against some excellent Sixers bowling. Jono Wells and Jake Lehmann, who made his highest T20 score, built a promising stand but the Sixers always had a grip on proceedings.Dwarshuis claimed standout career-best figures of 3 for 7 and such was the effectiveness of the display in the field that a slightly below-par display from Tom Curran was barely felt. The Strikers needed much more than the two early wickets they managed to have any hope and an unbroken stand of 106 between Daniel Hughes, who made 42-ball fifty, and Moises Henriques whose half-century took just 26 balls did the job in style with 35 balls to spare.Strikers run out of chancesRun-outs happen in all formats, but the nature of T20 makes them especially prevalent. Still, Carey and Jake Weatherald have had an issue this season. Four times when batting together one of them has been run out, this innings was the third time it fell Carey’s way when he played the ball to backward point only to be sent back by Weatherald. Carey’s look of thunder told the story. It hasn’t just been when batting together they’ve had problems, either. Weatherald has been involved in six run outs this season and Carey five all told.To compound matters, Weatherald couldn’t make amends as he struggled to find his timing against an impressive Sixers attack. He didn’t find the boundary in a 19-ball stay which ended when he clubbed to mid-on and when Colin Ingram was caught at short third man in the next over it left the Strikers with a horrid Powerplay of 3 for 30.Dwarshuis’ day outA year ago Dwarshuis was named in Australia’s T20 squad for the tri-series against England and New Zealand. He wasn’t used as Australia won the tournament and hasn’t featured in squad since, but he is enjoying the sort of season that could keep his name in frame if the selectors want to delve in to their reserves.His figures of 3 for 7 were the joint second-most economical spell in BBL history behind Mitchell Johnson’s 3 for 3 in 2017 and level with Lasith Malinga’s incredible 6 for 7 against Perth Scorchers in 2012 and Fawad Ahmed’s 1 for 7 against Brisbane Heat in 2015. He’d started by removing Weatherald and then showed sharp skill to react to Wells’ movement around the crease to fire in a leg-stump yorker to halt the Strikers’ attempts at a recovery. He added top scorer Lehmann, well caught over his shoulder by Hughes, and should have had a fourth wicket but James Vince couldn’t hold on to a chance at cover when Michael Neser clothed a full toss. He escaped with what should have been a wide call off his penultimate delivery then closed out with another dot.Efficient SixersThere were a couple of blips early in the chase as the in-form pair of Josh Philippe and Vince fell cheaply. Philippe took a painful blow from Billy Stanlake before being trapped lbw by Neser then Vince, having clipped back-to-back leg-side boundaries, smashed a short ball straight to cover. But the result was never in doubt.Somewhat surprisingly, given the dire need of wickets, Rashid Khan was held back until the sixth over by when Hughes was settled and Henriques had had some sighters. Hughes played some delightful drives and then the pair tore into Stanlake’s third over which cost 16, including a crunching flat six over deep square leg by Henriques. The captain went to his fifty by taking Rashid for 6, 4, 6 to put a rubberstamp on a dominant display and finished the match with a huge six over deep midwicket.Tough sellChris Lynn’s comments a few days about the tournament being too long has given a prominent voice to the debates around this year’s BBL. They will linger throughout the rest of the tournament and well into the off-season ahead of potential tweaks for next year – but that won’t include a reduction in games; the full home-and-away program is locked into the new six-year broadcast deals.This match was a tough sell and just 8,083 were at the SCG. It was the first day back for most schools following the Australia Day weekend marking the end of the holiday season. Cricket Australia will continue to talk about overall numbers, but vast swathes of empty seats are not a great look for a tournament that seemed to have it just right. There is still another home match for Sixers as they look to secure a home semi-final. Everyone will be hoping they pack them in if it happens.

Roston Chase reaches unbeaten century as England snuff out West Indies

The Report by Valkerie Baynes12-Feb-2019
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEngland and West Indies have plenty of food for thought after a third Test won emphatically by the former and a series clinched almost equally as convincingly by the latter.Joe Root’s return to form, Mark Wood’s revival as a strike bowling option, and lingering uncertainty at the top of the order were England’s takeaways from St Lucia, where the tourists claimed a 232-run victory inside four days for a face-saving 1-2 series scoreline.They switch their focus to the five ODIs starting next Wednesday but, in the context of a landmark year of cricket including a home World Cup and Ashes series, they will also be thinking ahead to the English summer.West Indies, meanwhile, will be boosted by their 2-1 triumph as underdogs, with some outstanding performances, including Player of the Series Kemar Roach, who took 18 wickets at 13.88 and Roston Chase, who claimed eight wickets in the first Test and scored an unbeaten century in his side’s second innings in St Lucia.However, they missed suspended captain Jason Holder in the dead rubber and will welcome him back in the limited-overs series opener in Bridgetown, the scene of his unbeaten double-century that helped lead his side to victory in the first Test. They also felt the absence of impressive allrounder Keemo Paul, Holder’s replacement in St Lucia who broke down while fielding early on day three with a torn thigh muscle.What England had lacked in the first two Tests – in sharp contrast to West Indies – was someone to stand up with bat or ball. In the third Test they had both with Man of the Match Wood’s five-wicket haul in the first innings and Root’s century in the second, but they also enjoyed a stronger all-round team performance with Joe Denly, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler scoring runs and James Anderson’s three wickets early in West Indies’ second innings snuffing out any hopes of chasing down a hefty target of 485.Root gave his side plenty of time to bowl West Indies out, declaring their second innings at 361 for 5 on the fall of his own wicket. He was out for 122 within the first half-hour of play to an excellent diving catch by Shimron Hetmyer off the bowling of Shannon Gabriel, with whom Root had exchanged words the previous evening over comments that led Gabriel to be charged under the ICC Code of Conduct.The declaration left Stokes stranded two runs shy of his second half-century for the match and he had looked set to build an impressive knock with some typical shot-making flair after play resumed.Anderson claimed 3 for 5 in the space of 3.1 overs, while Wood chimed in with one to send West Indies to lunch at 35 for 4 in their second innings. Moeen Ali contributed well with the ball and in the field, claiming three wickets and taking a spectacular catch.Anderson had Moeen to thank for his first wicket, claimed with the third ball of the innings when John Campbell drove and Moeen pulled the ball down with a sensational one-handed grab over his shoulder at gully.Anderson, who went wicketless in the first innings, struck again in his next over when he forced Kraigg Brathwaite to play and had him caught by Stokes at second slip.Darren Bravo, missing from the field for the entire third day as he sought treatment on a finger injury suffered earlier in the match, survived an lbw review off Anderson, and then Stuart Broad saw Shai Hope dropped by Buttler in the slips. But Anderson had Bravo out a short time later, edging to Root at first slip and Hope went cheaply when Wood was brought into the attack, caught by a back-pedalling Broad at point.Potential danger man Hetmyer was run out shortly after lunch, attempting a third run with Chase when Denly fired the ball in from near the boundary and Jonny Bairstow dislodged the bails with the batsman well out of his ground.Chase went on to post some resistance, with a gutsy 102 not out but he ran out of batting partners.Dropped catches were rife, but Rory Burns’ contribution to the blooper reel was a sitter, simple, head-height and with plenty of time, Roach’s chip off Moeen slipped through Burns’ hands at at mid-off. Roach’s cameo to an end on 29 when he drove Moeen to cover, where Wood took the catch.Alzarri Joseph swung the bat for some late entertainment value, smacking three sixes on his way to a quick-fire 34 off 30 balls before he pushed too far and spooned Moeen to Anderson at mid-on.With Chase not out 78, that brought Gabriel to the crease but his dismissal to a simple caught behind off Stokes when Chase was on 98 meant a lame Paul returned to action for the first time in the best part of two days. Unable to run, Paul saw Chase bring up his century with a four and then smacked three of his own before he was caught and bowled by Stokes to end the match.

The India coach also wants the players who have missed out on making the squad to not lose heart

PTI17-Apr-2019India coach Ravi Shastri said he would have preferred a 16-member World Cup squad instead of the mandated 15 and urged those who missed out to “not lose heart”.India announced a 15-strong squad for the tournament starting May 30 in England, and the omissions of batsman Ambati Rayudu and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant had triggered widespread debate.Shastri steered clear of it, though. “I don’t get involved in selection. If we have any opinion, we let the captain know,” he was quoted as saying by the website in Dubai.”When you only have 15 to pick, there is bound to be someone or the other who misses out, which is very unfortunate. I would have preferred 16 players. We had mentioned to the ICC that in a tournament that long, 16 players makes sense. But the diktat was 15.”Shastri said those who missed the final 15 should continue to look ahead as opportunity could knock anytime. “They shouldn’t lose heart. It’s a funny game. There could be injuries,” he said. “So you never know when you could be called up.”Rayudu and Pant, as well as paceman Navdeep Saini, have already been named on standby in case any of the original 15 get injured.When pressed on Vijay Shankar’s selection for the No. 4 slot months after captain Virat Kohli had declared Rayudu as the front-runner for the position, Shastri said the spot remained a flexible one. “Total flexibility depending on conditions, opposition. I would say the top three but after that you can be very flexible,” he said.Shastri also brushed aside criticism that India seemed to be too reliant on Kohli to carry them through. “If you look at the last five years, the way the Indian team has performed, they have always been in the top two or three. To be in top two or three for five years in a row, No1 in Tests, again top three in T20 cricket you can’t depend on one player.”You have that kind of consistent record, you need a bunch of players performing all the time. Due credit to the team.”Speaking in general about the World Cup, Shastri gave the favourites’ tag to England. “England have been the most consistent team over the last two years,” he said. “They have multi-dimensional players. They have depth in bowling and batting. And they are playing at home. So they would start as favourites.”But there are so many teams that can beat any team on a given day. In a tournament like the World Cup, you have got to be on top of your game every game.”

Paul Stirling’s century in vain as Ireland’s bowlers struggle against superior batting line-up

The Report by Mohammad Isam15-May-2019
Seamer Abu Jayed’s first five-wicket haul in only his second ODI coupled with fifties from Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan led Bangladesh to a six-wicket win and kept Ireland winless in the tri-series. However, Bangladesh will be sweating over Shakib’s fitness after the allrounder had retired hurt during the chase with a suspected side strain.Earlier, Ireland opener Paul Stirling put on a show, making 130 off 141 balls, and was well supported by his captain William Porterfield, who hit his first ODI fifty in more than a year, but their efforts went in vain as Bangladesh aced their chase.Abu Jayed bowls•AFP

Tamim set the tone with his second fifty in three matches this series, helping Bangladesh to another rapid start. He put on 117 for the first wicket with Liton and piled the pressure on Ireland with a flurry of boundaries. Tamim could have been dismissed on 22 had Gary Wilson hung onto a catch behind the stumps, but he went onto add 35 to his tally.Liton complemented Tamim well and was particularly strong square of the wicket, keeping Bangladesh ticking in the chase. Both the openers were bowled, but Shakib and Mushfiqur then took over, adding 64 runs together in 10 overs. During the process, Mushfiqur became the fifth wicketkeeper to reach 5000 ODI runs after Adam Gilchrist, Andy Flower, Kumar Sangakkara and MS Dhoni. The stand, however, ended when Mushfiqur’s leg-side tickle was superbly intercepted by a diving Wilson.Shakib suffered a suspected side strain while trying to pull Josh Little in the 35th over, and consequently retired hurt. Mahmudullah, though, got them home, with his unbeaten 35 off 29 balls.Such an emphatic Bangladesh victory had looked less likely when Stirling dominated the visitors in the first innings. Stirling got going with a crunch through the covers off Jayed and proceeded to add 174 with Porterfield – the highest third-wicket stand for Ireland in ODI cricket. In all, Stirling struck eight fours and four sixes in his 130.Porterfield made 94 off 106 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, but got out to Jayed just as he tried to accelerate. He had been particularly severe on Mashrafe Mortaza, taking the veteran seamer for 31 off 25 balls. Shakib wasn’t spared either. Porterfield also slammed five fours off Shakib, who finished with 0 for 65 in his nine overs, including a 23-run last over.Jayed also took the prized scalp of Stirling, helping Bangladesh keep Ireland to under 300. Porterfield was caught at the deep extra-cover boundary while Stirling gave deep midwicket a simple catch. Ireland’s slide either side of the Stirling-Porterfield stand and some wayward bowling meant they ended the series without a single win.