Cricket Australia picked the players with a focus on the Women’s World T20 in November, and recent performances

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2018Bowlers Kristen Beams and Lauren Cheatle have lost their contracts as Australia focus their efforts on the Women’s World T20 in November. Another contributing factor was recent performances, which helped Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince and Nicola Carey have make their way into the 14-player list for the first time. All three players were part of Australia’s tour of India where they beat the hosts 3-0 in the ODIs and beat England in the final of the T20I tri-series that followed.

CA Women’s contract list 2018-19

Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jessica Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Meg Lanning, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

“The National Selection Panel had a firm focus on the World T20 in the West Indies later this year when selecting the contract list, with players rewarded for world-class performances,” national selector Shawn Flegler said.”The elevation of Nicola Carey, Delissa Kimmince and Sophie Molineux is an indication of how they are viewed by the NSP, having all impressed during Australia’s recent tour of India and domestically across the summer.”Allrounders Molineux and Carey earned their caps during the recent India tour, while 28-year old Kimmince made her international debut in 2008 against New Zealand.”Sophie is a Victorian product of the female pathway and the NSP believes she is a long-term player for Australia and provides another spin bowling option with the ability to bat in several positions.””Delissa and Nicola have similar all-round roles within the team and have both performed well when given the opportunity. They have both been on the cusp of selection for a while and it is good to see them rewarded with a contract.Flegler insisted that it wasn’t the end of the road for the out-of-contract players. “Several players, including Kristen Beams and Lauren Cheatle from last year’s contract list have missed out but they will still be considered to play for Australia with strong performances.”Lauren has had to overcome various injuries over the last couple of years, which has hampered her ability to perform at her best,” Flegler said. “She has been selected in the women’s NPS alongside a number of exciting young fast bowlers and there’s no doubt her best is yet to come.”CA has also named a 13-player National Performance Squad, which includes a number of youngsters, who will be training under High Performance coach Leah Poulton at the Bupa National Cricket Centre.Women’s National Performance Squad 2018: Lauren Cheatle, Piepa Cleary, Josephine Dooley, Erin Fazackerley, Heather Graham, Saskia Horley, Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham, Tahlia McGrath, Maitlan Brown, Annabel Sutherland*, Rachel Trenaman*.

There isn’t too much wrong with either Mumbai or Daredevils’ personnel or squad balance, but a number of big names from both sides are yet to fire

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Apr-20183:35

Dasgupta: Rohit needs to give himself some time

Big Picture

Two games each, two losses each. It doesn’t mean too much given the length of an IPL season. Mumbai Indians have come back from worse starts and gone on to win titles, and both they and Delhi Daredevils can tell themselves their results so far do not fully reflect how they have played. Mumbai have lost two excruciatingly tight games, one of which they had no business losing. Daredevils could say they got on the wrong end of DLS in their last match.But the table simply says both teams have played two and lost two. Both teams need to start winning, ASAP.There’s nothing in the personnel or balance of either side to suggest they can’t do this, but some of the biggest names from both sides are yet to fire this season. We could, therefore, be one Glenn Maxwell or Rohit Sharma innings, or one Jasprit Bumrah or Trent Boult spell, from seeing their respective teams shoot up the table.One of these two teams, however, will lose Saturday’s game, their third in a row, and that – for all of Mumbai’s past escapades – will be a hard place to rebound from.

In the news

Hardik Pandya missed Mumbai’s last match; he did not travel to Hyderabad having suffered a twisted ankle earlier. He has not regained 100% fitness yet and did not train full tilt on Friday evening. He bowled for under 20 minutes in the nets and batted for a marginally longer duration, taking throwdowns from batting coach Robin Singh and a few others; that means his participation on Saturday is still in doubt.

The likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Hardik Pandya/Ben Cutting, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Mitchell McClenaghan/Pradeep Sangwan, 9 Mayank Markande, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mustafizur RahmanDelhi Daredevils: 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Colin Munro, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Vijay Shankar, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Trent BoultESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stats that matter

• Mumbai have won four of their last five matches against Daredevils, and have won five of their six meetings at the Wankhede overall
• Rahul Tewatia has been among this season’s best-performing under-the-radar players. He has only picked up one wicket, but, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, has conceded 12.95 runs less than par over the course of his eight overs so far. Only Sunil Narine (22.46) and Rashid Khan (15.64) have done better.
• Mumbai’s top three haven’t yet hit their stride this season, which explains why they have the worst Powerplay run rate (7.75) of all eight teams so far.
• Since the start of 2015, Evin Lewis has a strike rate of 123.7 against left-arm pace. In the same period, he has scored at 137.7 against offspin and at a 150-plus strike rate against all other kinds of bowling. It will be interesting to see how he goes against Trent Boult, whom he is yet to face in T20 cricket.
• Glenn Maxwell, on the other hand, has relished batting against all of Mumbai’s left-arm seamers. In all T20s, he has scored 15 runs off five balls against Pradeep Sangwan, 37 off 15 against Mitchell McClenaghan, and 13 off four against Mustafizur Rahman – all this while only being dismissed once.

Strategy punt

In their opening match against Kings XI Punjab, Daredevils batted first and sent out a top four of Munro, Gambhir, Iyer and Shankar. Against Rajasthan Royals, their top four consisted of Maxwell, Munro, Pant and Morris. They were forced into this since they had to chase a revised target, but how dangerous did that line-up look compared to the first one?This, perhaps, could be a front-loaded blueprint for the rest of their season, with perhaps Morris held back for the slog overs; and Gambhir playing the role of a firefighting No. 4 or No. 5 in case Daredevils lose early wickets, and remaining happy not to get a hit if the power-hitters really get going.

Fantasy pick

Batsmen have been in control against only 27 of the 47 balls (57.45%) they have faced from Mustafizur Rahman so far this season. It suggests the left-armer is back to his best in terms of his control over his length and variations, and all that rhythm makes it likely he’ll earn valuable fantasy points on Saturday too.

This was Taunton at its finest – an engrossing finale watched with time-honoured angst by spectators emotionally wedded to the culture and history of the county game

David Hopps at Taunton12-Jun-20181:55

Somerset chase down Notts to top Division One

ScorecardSomerset moved to the top of the County Championship on a thoroughly absorbing day at Taunton as they dislodged the previous leaders, Nottinghamshire, by six wickets with just over an hour to spare. For much of the day, it felt a lot closer. This was Taunton at its finest – an engrossing finale watched with time-honoured angst by spectators emotionally wedded to the culture and history of the county game.Ageism is never more rife than when people discuss the relevance of the Championship, the facile not to say disparaging assertion that many of its spectators are dying out rather overlooking the fact that they are being reliably replaced by those of us growing older by the day. It is a curious analysis that derides a game because of the age of those who watch it rather than the talent of those who play it. Such nonsense is rarely addressed because those who have had actual experience of old age are likely to be too dead, or too weary, or too wise to state the obvious.The man on the mobility scooter seemed to have got it about right as Somerset’s batsmen went about their business. “Their spinners look more dangerous than ours,” he observed before careering off under the stand at a speed that might have been pushing it in M5 roadworks.Hampshire’s James Vince had thwarted Somerset at Taunton a month ago by batting throughout the final day for an unbeaten double century, an innings of great responsibility which nevertheless was followed by the loss of his England place.But this surface had a better balance, showing some signs of wear late in the game, and by enforcing the follow-on, with a first-innings lead of 258, Somerset’s young skipper Tom Abell had risked a fourth innings chase against the turning ball, with both Matt Carter and Samit Patel carrying a growing threat.Suitably, it was Abell, though, who saw Somerset home in a spritely post-tea stand of 87 in only 17 overs with Steven Davies for the fifth wicket. Marcus Trescothick, the Grand Old Man, recovering from injury, had been following the final throes on the Somerset chat forum, and announced to all and sundry with nine still needed that he was going for a cider: nothing like beating the rush. As for Abell, he has matured impressively into a captaincy that last season asked so much of him that it might have broken lesser individuals.Matt Renshaw also bade farewell to Taunton with another accomplished innings, following up his first-innings century with an accomplished 61 before Carter had him caught at slip, pushing forward. Nobody has made more first-class runs than Renshaw in 2018 and Somerset have benefited hugely from the ball-tampering tomfoolery which saw him step in as an emergency replacement for his fellow Australian, Cameron Bancroft: sandpaper boy replaced by the polished kid, a player who might soon replace him in Australia’s Test side.Renshaw does have three away Championship matches left before the departs for an Australia A tour of India and it is here, beginning with matches against fellow title contenders Surrey and Essex, that the season will reach a critical point. Whether Somerset are capable of finally winning that first title will be a lot clearer then.It took an hour for Somerset to dislodge Nottinghamshire’s last two wickets, suggesting the target of 248 was eminently achievable. Matthew Milnes was refused a good lbw shout against Renshaw, and Ed Byrom fell to Steven Mullaney, but it all felt like a precursor to the intervention of spin.Renshaw was fortunate, on 42, to clear deep mid-on as Patel bowled with no luck – he also turned past the outside edge on several occasions – but generally he possessed a certainty that insisted while he remained a Somerset victory was inevitable.He certainly goes about matters in a more relaxed fashion than another Australian much treasured in these parts, Justin Langer, whose four seasons at Somerset terrified them into high standards of organisation and discipline; a man with horror movie eyes. Now Australian coach, he would do well to look at Renshaw, although Renshaw would be well advised not to look straight back.George Bartlett batted with some panache in a second-wicket stand of 96 in 28 overs, but Carter bowled him off his bat and boot as he attempted a forcing shot to leg and then added a third wicket on the stroke of tea when he had James Hildreth caught at short leg – a wicket that Patel might have felt he deserved as he beat the outside edge more than once and would have had him lbw were it not for a faint edge. At 163 for 4, with 85 still needed, the game was far from settled.The manner in which Abell and Davies came out after tea suggests a county high on confidence, planning and spirit, rattling on at a run a ball. Three consummate boundaries in an over from Abell broke the game. The man on the mobility scooter was nowhere to be seen, but it is a fair assumption that he careered home happy.

The top two ODI teams in the world will look to this series to sort out any issues ahead of next year’s World Cup

The Preview by Varun Shetty11-Jul-2018

Big Picture

If England’s long-term ODI project needed one last tryout ahead of next year’s World Cup, there can hardly be a better dress rehearsal than facing cricket’s other formidable ODI team at home. There’s a plethora of staggering batting and bowling numbers around both England and India, but the larger picture is that this is a contest between No. 1 and No. 2, with the possibility that those positions could be either one’s by the end of the series.For now, it is England, with their explosive openers and robust middle order who come in as the better-ranked side. They have lost only four of the 21 ODIs they have played in the last 12 months, with the most recent string of those wins coming in the 5-0 thrashing they handed to Australia.Those would be grounds to be favourites against any other team, but as the T20I series – with largely the same players – showed, the competition is likely to be neck to neck and winning will depend on how the teams maneuver crucial short phases, the kind that are expected to belong to match-winners.And there’s no shortage of those on either side. England’s batting depth narrowly edges India, but the visitors have their bowling sorted more than the hosts, as evidenced in their domineering series wins against South Africa in the limited-overs series earlier this year.On flat surfaces, both these teams can be destructive. What will we see when they take on each other on England’s characteristically flat surfaces? One can only predict that whatever it is, it won’t be dull. What’s more? We’re back to Trent Bridge, where England scored a record-breaking 481 less than a month ago.

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWLWW

In the spotlight

Virat Kohli is rarely outside of the spotlight, but there is tremendous significance in this tour for him on a personal front. While his numbers in England are up there – an average of 52.46 in 19 games – he hasn’t done well against England in the country – an average of 32.33 in 10 games. You’d bet on him doing better than that average considering his three centuries in six innings this year, but there is the possibility that India could look to solve their No. 4 dilemma by dropping their captain into that slot like they had during the T20s. In ODIs, he last batted there in October 2015: will Kohli risk that move in his pursuit to win every session of the tour?Jonny Bairstow has made a century against every team he has faced this year, and is currently top of the charts with 864 runs in 16 innings. His opening partner, Jason Roy, has made three ODI hundreds this year and is the only other international batsman to make more than 700 runs in the format. Both of them have been striking at greater than 100, and have struck a combined 174 fours and 45 sixes between them. With Jasprit Bumrah out of the ODI series and Bhuvneshwar Kumar battling a stiff back, how the openers do against India’s inexperienced pace line-up can set the tone for how the middle order tackles the wristspinners.Virat Kohli and Eoin Morgan pose with the trophy•Getty Images

Team news

Ben Stokes is expected to come straight back into the England XI after missing the Australia series. Alex Hales should make way for him, especially given he has injured his side. Dawid Malan was called up as Hales’ cover, and his availability will be reviewed on a game-by-game basis.*England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood/Jake BallBhuvneshwar Kumar is doubtful for the opening ODI after he was rested for the final T20I in Bristol due to a back injury. He went to the ground on a day of optional training but did not participate in any warm-up exercises or net sessions. Rohit Sharma said that Bhuvneshwar was “fine” but a final decision would only be taken on match day. Siddarth Kaul, who had a hit in the nets, could take Bhuvneshwar’s place and accompany Umesh Yadav in the pace attack.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 KL Rahul, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Dinesh Karthik/Suresh Raina, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Siddarth Kaul, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch conditions

The temperature continues to stay in the early twenties. It’s the middle of a long, dry summer in England and there are no signs that it will end tomorrow. It should suit perfectly for a run-fest on the same ground that produced the highest ODI score last month, even though the same strip is not going be used.

Stats and trivia

• England have a win-loss record of 46-19 since the 2015 World Cup; India are the only team that comes close, with a 39-19 record in the same period
• MS Dhoni is 33 runs away from 10,000 ODI runs

Quotes

“India have been a really strong team in this format for a long time. They won last time they came over here. I know it was a very different side they played against but it is a really good marker to see where we’re at.”
“When you’re playing on pitches like this, you want to bat second. This team likes chasing down targets. I’m sure England would like the same. We’ve noticed the last series they played here, it was high scoring. This very ground was where they scored 480 runs. I’m expecting nothing less than a high-scoring series.”
*

Slow over rates – a cause for delayed matches – will lead to a net run rate penalty, affecting a team’s chances of progressing in the league

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2018The CPL is set to undergo two major changes in its playing conditions this year. Slow over rates – a cause for delayed matches – will be dealt with severely, as teams failing to bowl their overs within the allotted time frame will be given a net run rate penalty, affecting their chances of progressing in the league.The stipulated time to complete 20 overs in the CPL is 85 minutes, plus any additional time the umpires deem fit due to delays in play. Should a team fall short by one over, a deduction of 0.05 from their net run rate will be the resultant penalty. For every additional over the team falls short of completing, they will face a penalty deduction of 0.10 from their net run rate.The other amendment in playing rules is the introduction of a coin toss to decide which team bats first in the event of a Super Over. Earlier, the team that batted second in a tied match would automatically be the one to bat first in the Super Over.”We work hard each year to ensure that playing conditions are making the competition as fair as possible while also keeping the spectators and viewers at home entertained. We feel both of these changes will help with both of these goals,” Michael Hall, the tournament operations director for CPL, said.The CPL commences on August 8, with trophy holders Trinbago Knight Riders taking on St Lucia Stars in Port-of-Spain. The final will be played on September 16 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.

Among the skills Dale Benkenstein is trying to teach his charges is to pick spinners out of the hand

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jul-2018South Africa’s batsmen had a rough time in the Tests, but when it comes to ODIs, there are few places better to be right now than Sri Lanka. That is what batting coach Dale Benkenstein is hoping anyway, and his thinking is this: with several top teams fielding wristspinners in their ODI attacks right now, South Africa’s batsmen need to be primed against high-quality spin ahead of next year’s World Cup. With the hosts likely to stack their attack with spin options, and with tracks on the island likely to take some turn, this is as good a place as any, for South Africa to hone their skills ahead of the World Cup.”It’s huge value for us to be here – we’re not in the subcontinent again for a while,” Benkenstein said. “Even though we’ve had a poor Test series, there’s been a lot of work done on spin for a lot of batters. There’s been a lot of learning going on. We’re seeing this as a great opportunity to just get better. Not only the guys who are playing, but some of the young guys who are with us now. We tell them to use these conditions. Use the nets. Ask people around you. Try and get as much out of it as you can, other than just in the matches that are going on.”Among the skills Benkenstein is trying to teach his charges is to pick spinners out of the hand. South Africa had struggled substantially against wristspin in their 5-1 home series defeat against India earlier in the year, when Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav took 33 wickets between them. Sri Lanka’s ODI spinners have been nowhere near as prolific as India’s wristpsinners, but they do pose unorthodox challenges as well. Akila Dananjaya is ostensibly an offspinner, but also delivers an accurate legbreak and a good googly. South Africa may also have to contend with left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan through the course of the series.”Picking the bowlers is massive,” Benkenstein said. “It’s something that’s fairly hard to coach. You’ve got to have a lot of experience. Now we are lucky – we’ve got some technology that you can go and watch bowlers, and try and pick up anything that can help you out. But ultimately, the guys have got to go out there and work it out for themselves.”One of the big things is trying to take out one form of dismissal. If you’re not sure which way the ball’s going, it’s always better to be covering your own stumps until you start to find that you’re picking him. Often with wristspinners, once you get one wicket, they get two or three. It’s just trying to prevent that. The senior guys have got no problem – they’ve been there before. It’s really for the younger guys who are trying to understand that you can’t actually face a ball that’s spinning both ways until you can actually read it. It’s really those first 10 balls – to make sure they’ve got a gameplan to cover one way. With spinners, if you face them longer, you start to pick up the changes the bowler has.”South Africa’s first spin challenge of the series is likely to be posed by Dananjaya, who took seven wickets in the SSC Test. Although he is unorthodox, South Africa’s top order can be confident of picking him, said Benkenstein. But just picking him doesn’t mean they will automatically play him well.”One of the impressive things is that Dananjaya is very consistent. Even though he bowls three different styles, he does tend to land the ball in the right place. He’s not a massive spinner of the ball. But I think it’s just his consistency that you have to be aware of. So I think it’s just [about] getting yourself in. Once you’ve got in, then I think it’s a lot easier. It’s just really [about] being calm and not panicking when you’re finding it a bit tough. That’s probably the key to our success.”

Moeen Ali starred with bat and ball and another outstanding spell from Pat Brown had held back Sussex’s innings

David Hopps15-Sep-20181:57

Social story: Worcestershire take Finals Day glory

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThroughout the Blast season the refrain had gradually become louder: Sussex have the finest bowling attack in T20, certainly in England, perhaps in the world. But Worcestershire survived it, ultimately relished it, the youngest side in the tournament, the county that had never been to Finals Day, emerging victorious by five wickets with nine balls to spare.Worcestershire’s rush to victory came suddenly, perhaps unexpectedly. When Jofra Archer’s full toss accounted for the destructive left-handed hitter, Ross Whiteley, they needed 32 from 19 balls with five wickets left, on a pitch beginning to feel the exhaustion of an 11-hour day. It was not alone in that: this is an intoxicating day in more ways than one.But Ben Cox, one of the finest, most underrated wicketkeeper-batsmen in the country, saw Worcestershire through with an unbeaten 46 from 27 balls, challenging Sussex’s pace attack with innovative flicks and glances. He was helped on his way by a single, stray delivery by Archer – a no-ball beamer which flew for four byes as his attempted scoop turned into a duck for cover, a resulting free hit and a six over square leg to exact full retribution.For Moeen Ali, Worcestershire’s captain, a calming influence on a young side, satisfaction was immense. No recent summer has passed without suggestions he is leaving Worcestershire. He has stayed. And he has returned from a long England summer to guide them to glory.At the end, the team dashed on to celebrate, Moeen walked on, a captain seeking to do the right thing. “I’m not one for running on the field too much,” he said. “You have to win and lose with dignity and respect. You have to respect Sussex’s position. They had obviously lost a tough game. The guys were buzzing and they were allowed to run out but as a captain you have to lead the team in the right way.”

Moeen pays tribute to Rhodes

Moeen Ali paid tribute to Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s former coach, who left the county after 33 years after an internal dispute.
“It’s been a tough ten years. I want to give a special mention to Bumpy Rhodes who put this team together and unfortunately is not here to see it, but I’m sure he will be very proud that all these guys he brought through in the Academy are doing well and we are just reaping the rewards.
“To lead a great bunch of guys with no ego is very special. To get through the quarter-final broke a mental block for us. We are a young side and I’m sure we can get better.”

“He’s just a human being, same as the rest of us,” said Worcestershire’s head coach, Kevin Sharp, in the build-up the Vitality Blast Finals Day when asked how it was that Moeen integrated himself so successfully into the Worcestershire side when he returned from England.But Worcestershire must have yearned for something superhuman as Moeen organised their pursuit of Sussex’s 157 for 6. It was the sort of score that an army of data statisticians might have chosen to make the chase exactly 50-50, but Worcestershire had to contend with a T20 bowling attack which has had admiration thrust upon itNo England cricketer feels as embedded into his county side as Moeen. He will even play relegation matches for Worcestershire in the next fortnight. He reached 41 from 27, rocking back to haul the left-arm spin of Danny Briggs over midwicket, majestically driving legspinner Will Beer over extra, and finding a valuable ally in his opening partner, Joe Clarke, who made 33 from 27 in an opening stand of 61 in 6.5.Worcestershire were still reasonably comfortable at 80 for 2 at midway. Then a ball later Brett D’Oliveira was stumped, pushing forward at the left-arm spin of Briggs and the pressure again clamped down.When Moeen fell to a tumbling catch in the deep at long-off by Phil Salt off Beer, they still needed 68 from 47 with six wickets left, the job far from done. He was so caught up in the game that he almost wandered into Sussex’s dugout by mistake.Worcestershire can also celebrate one of the great nought-fors in Blast finals. Pat Brown’s unrewarded four-over spell cost only 15 runs, but his exceptional economy rate compressed Sussex’s innings every time he had the ball in his hand. Such is his trickery, honorary membership of the Magic Circle should await.Brown is slight figure for a fast bowler, barely 20, and looking as if you would want to know what time he would be back when he went out for his birthday celebration.But he is a master of deception already. His stock ball is his knuckle ball, but as a variation he bowls a decent offcutter and can also up his pace above 80mph. The Blast is drawing quality from England’s young cricketers and those who disparage it are not observing closely or kindly enough.He began the final with 31 wickets, four freshly gathered in Worcestershire’s semi-final defeat of Lancashire: only Danny Briggs, who took 31 for Hampshire in 2010, and Alfonso Thomas, 33 for Somerset in the same season, could rival that. Sussex saw him off, but when it came to formulating an attacking response they found him unfathomable.Luke Wright found himself nodding down the pitch in recognition of Brown’s quality. The highest score on T20 Finals Day – 92 in the semi-final victory against Somerset – and a judicious 33 from 25 in the final: for Wright it was a good day, the highest combined runs total ever achieved. But it was not just a judicious innings but slightly careworn.It took some strong blows down the ground – two fours and a six – off Ed Barnard to take Sussex to 78 for 2 by midway, but he was that second wicket, one ball before the end of the 10th over, when Moeen bowled him on the charge.At the end of the Powerplay, Sussex were only 43 for 1, Salt falling wastefully. Salt’s strokeplay can be as disdainful as any young player in the country, as two sixes quickly testified, but he was distraught at his carelessness when he jogged an easy single to backward point, had both feet beyond the crease, but had both in the air when D’Oliveira’s pinpoint throw broke the stumps.Moeen took wickets at vital times. Delray Rawlins, who had begun with consecutive sixes in D’Oliveira’s sole over of leg spin, smoothed over long-on and square leg in turn, holed out to Moeen off a leading edge at long-off, his balance all asunder; David Wiese chopped on to be bowled.Laurie Evans has held Sussex’s innings together all season, and his 52 from 44 balls followed a familiar pattern, but Sussex’s innings died away as it had in the semi-final. It was workable score but only such a fine attack, on a surface about to withstand its sixth innings of the day, could have had confidence that they could defend it. Cox ensured otherwise.

After impressing in his first Test series, Prithvi Shaw presented a case to be considered for the shorter formats but not without some luck

Saurabh Somani in Bengaluru17-Oct-2018AFP

After heavy rain ended the contest early, it was Mumbai who marched into the Vijay Hazare Trophy final by recording their ninth consecutive win in the competition, but Hyderabad, who weren’t even sure of their participation until 12 hours prior to their first fixture, can walk away a proud side.Rohit Rayudu, the younger cousin of Ambati Rayudu, displayed admirable composure to make 122 not out. Struggling on 52 off 95 at one stage with the lower order for company, he ensured Hyderabad almost doubled their score in the last 15 overs to post a competitive 246 for 8. It wasn’t enough, though, with Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer scoring half-centuries as Mumbai won by the VJD method. A drizzle that turned into a torrential downpour forced the players off the field with Mumbai 155 for 2 in 25 overs. They didn’t return.The spice in the contest was provided by two people who were part of India’s dressing room until four days ago.There are many who think Mohammed Siraj and Shaw ought to be in the mix for India in limited-overs cricket too, and not just Test cricket. Shaw, of course, announced his entry in Tests in grand style, with a Man-of-the-Series performance against West Indies on debut.Siraj was considered unlucky for not making his own debut against West Indies, with the team management ignoring his red-hot form and opting to give the cap to Shardul Thakur, who limped out of the attack with his Test career just 1.4 overs old.On Wednesday, both Shaw and Siraj showed why pitch-forking them to the top level in ODIs might be a good idea. Siraj finished with first-spell figures of 3-0-33-0, while Shaw hit a fifty off just 34 balls, but for anyone watching both were winners.Siraj was introduced in the fifth over, but the stage had been set in the third over itself. Shaw had just slogged Akash Bhandari’s legspin wide of long-on for a boundary when he pulled up clutching his right shoulder. Play was held up while the physio ran out to treat him, and Shaw resumed, but the shoulder was still troubling him.Siraj opted for a short-ball attack. It would perhaps have been his go-to tactic anyway, having seen that Shaw could be uncomfortable when the ball was climbing into his body, particularly against the West Indies quick Shannon Gabriel. With an injured right shoulder, it made sense to force Shaw to use his bottom hand more.Siraj had Shaw in some trouble in the first over, and the action peaked in his next. The first ball went to the long-on boundary, but off a toe-ended pull that just cleared mid-on. Siraj then got his bouncer on target, and Shaw got a top edge on a pull to fine-leg. M Ravi Kiran ran in, got both hands to the ball while tumbling forward, and saw it pop right out. Three balls later, there was a similar chance, but easier. Standing not as far back, Ravi Kiran reached another top-edged pull in time, but the ball popped in and out again.Siraj had handled the first drop reasonably calmly, but he was seething now, standing mid-pitch with hands on his hips and eyes that could bore a hole in the ground. Captain Ambati Rayudu gave vent to his feelings, staying mid-pitch after Siraj had walked off and glaring at the fielder.Ravi Kiran had to bowl the next over, and he had Rayudu and Siraj at mid-off and mid-on. Both put their anger aside to huddle with the bowler and offer words of encouragement, with Siraj patting him on the back. With shoulders almost visibly drooping, Ravi Kiran opted to play safe, bowling slower balls in the channel to get a quiet over in.Siraj came back for his third over. Perhaps expecting a shorter one, Shaw hung back to the second delivery. It thudded in full and it was ball hitting bat rather than the other way round. The bat flew out of Shaw’s hands, and he was clutching his shoulder again. If Siraj thought he had won, there was one final act left, and the over ended with three short balls going for 6, 6, 4. Siraj’s effort and fury should have got him Shaw’s wicket, now it worked against him, with Shaw ready to pounce, and the balls not rising quite as high either.The last shot took Shaw to his half-century, making it the fourth time in four innings in this tournament that he had passed the milestone.The scorecard will show that Shaw took 29 runs off the 14 balls he faced from Siraj. Scorecards don’t always capture the whole story – but perhaps the watching selectors might have.

Aaron Finch opened for Australia in the UAE, but McDonald said he would be a better fit in the middle order, where he bats for Victoria

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2018Victoria coach Andrew McDonald has declared that opener Marcus Harris is ready to play Test cricket and believes Aaron Finch, who like Harris also plays for Victoria, is more suited to the middle order.Harris, 26, put himself in contention for the first Test against India in Adelaide with a sparkling start to the Sheffield Shield season: he made 250 not out against New South Wales and two other half-centuries in his last three games. Finch made his Test debut on Australia’s two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October, and made 62, 49, 39 and 31 at the top of the order.McDonald said Harris was ready to go after watching his development over the last two-and-a-half seasons.”He’s [Harris] ready,” McDonald told . “He’s matured. He knows his game better than previous seasons. The way he batted down (in Hobart) albeit he only got a 20-odd (22) and 67 in that run chase, it would have been nice to see him go on and get a bigger score, but the way he played, his batting movements are really, really repeatable, and his decision-making has been a lot better this year.”He scores runs quickly, generally speaking. He played an innings of 250 earlier in the season, which was sizeable, where he showed a lot more patience. So that was the moment where some people out there may have said the penny may start to be dropping.”We’ve seen him play some patient innings. But one of his traits is that against quality fast bowling he can score and put them under extreme pressure.”Harris had spoken about his own development this season, particularly in his decision-making. He had a lengthy conversation about the mental side of elite performance with Cathy Freeman, the Australian Olympic gold medallist and two-time World Champion 400m runner, during the off-season.McDonald also said he would likely bat Finch in the middle order for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland starting next Tuesday – Finch’s only red-ball warm-up before the first Test against India.”We’ve picked him in the middle order in the last three seasons I’ve been coach, so that gives you some thought on where I believe he’s best suited,” McDonald said. “We’ve got a couple of really good openers that complement each other really nicely at the top of the order. But there’ll no doubt be some conversation around that depending on what the national selectors are going to do and the direction they’ll take.”McDonald said he had not spoken to either Australia coach Justin Langer or chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns regarding Finch’ batting position.”I don’t know their policy on that,” McDonald said. “Look, I think any sort of cricket or any batting in any position for both Finch and Glenn Maxwell to put their hand up for selection, if they get time in the middle from whatever position they bat, I think that’s probably fair preparation for the Test series. Albeit they may not be batting the specific position that they’re going to play in. But that’s not uncommon.”Finch had spoken about the challenge of having to switch between formats over the past month but McDonald said the change of position would be a greater challenge.”I think the preparation won’t be something that’s out of the ordinary for him because of the fact that he’s played county cricket, where they do shift between formats quite rapidly at times,” McDonald said. “He can go from red ball to white ball and white ball to red ball throughout that season quite comfortably. I don’t know where he’s going to bat in the Australian line-up. If he does open that’s probably going to be the big shift, marking centre, day one first up, as opposed to sitting down having a coffee and coming in in the middle order.”So that will be something they will be preparing him for if that’s where they’re going to bat him. If not then he’ll be pretty familiar with a middle order role if they go that direction as well.”

Shannon Gabriel’s four-wicket burst reduced the hosts to 235 for 7 before the lower order fought back

The Report by Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2018
Mominul Haque raises his bat after bringing up his hundred•AFP

A topsy-turvy day that consisted of a brilliant 120 by Mominul Haque and a blazing third spell from Shannon Gabriel, ended with Bangladesh’s ninth-wicket stand of Taijul Islam and debutant Nayeem Hasan resisting West Indies in the last hour and a half. Their unbroken 56-run stand staved off the visitors who had taken control early in the third session.

David Boon flies home after mother’s death

David Boon, the match referee for the first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies in Chittagong, will leave for Hobart on Friday, following the death of his mother Lesley Boon. Shipar Ahmed, a Bangladeshi who is a part of the ICC’s international panel of match referees, will stand in for Boon.
Shipar is a former cricketer himself, having played club cricket professionally for 16 years, before becoming a referee following his retirement. Andy Pycroft will serve as match referee for the second Test in Dhaka.

After going swimmingly well for the first two sessions, Bangladesh collapsed from 222 for 3 to 235 for 7 in the space of 4.2 overs. Gabriel picked all four wickets – Mominul, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan.Mominul edged a waft outside the off stump. Mushfiqur, fresh from an unbeaten 219 in his last Test, lasted two balls before Gabriel jagged one back into his pads and trapped him in front. In his next over, Gabriel got another one to nip back between Mahmudullah’s bat and pad and knock his stumps. Shakib was the fourth wicket to fall in that Gabriel spell, another inswinger that took the inside edge on its way to clipping middle stump.On many days, such a blazing spell would have spelled the end of the Bangladesh innings, with the tailenders at the crease. But Mehidy Hasan, Taijul and 17-year-old Nayeem batted a combined 148 balls together. The Taijul-Nayeem ninth-wicket stand has so far lasted 95 balls.The stand had its moments: Taijul survived two leg-before decisions through reviews, while also seeing Jomel Warrican dropping the throw that would have run him out after he slipped on the turn when being rejected a third run by Nayeem.However, the day should be remembered for Mominul’s hundred. He made 120 off 167 balls with ten fours and a six. This was his eighth hundred in Tests, equaling Tamim’s record for most centuries for Bangladesh. It was also Mominul’s fourth century in 2018, equal with Virat Kohli; the fourth hundred also meant he now holds the record for most hundreds in a calendar year for Bangladesh.Despite losing Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes on either end of the first session, Mominul ensured Bangladesh made a strong start. After Soumya was out third ball of the match edging a Kemar Roach delivery, Mominul struck Gabriel for three fours and generally dominated a 104-run second-wicket partnership with Kayes, who survived two chances on his way to 44.Roston Chase had dropped him at second slip on 3, and Warrican had overstepped as Kayes slogged him to deep square leg on 16. Mominul struck Warrican for three fours in the 16th over and reached his fifty off 69 balls. But West Indies would have been relieved to get Kayes in the last over before lunch, as he hit Warrican straight to short leg.Soon after the lunch break, Shane Dowrich dropped Mominul on 67 off Devendra Bishoo, before the wicketkeeper took Mohammad Mithun’s skier, after an unnecessary slog against the same bowler. It was the second time in his three Test innings that Mithun had fallen in that manner.Mominul remained solid as he and Shakib rebooted Bangladesh’s innings during their fourth-wicket stand. Mominul slammed a six over midwicket to reach 98 before reaching his hundred in the following over, with a four through point. The game unraveled swiftly, however, as Bangladesh first collapsed and then resisted. Through it all, both teams would have noticed just how much the ball was turning, even when Kraigg Brathwaite bowled his part-time offspin.