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A wrap of the first day’s play of the 8th round match between New South Wales and Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2017
Scorecard
File photo – Ed Cowan built on his form to score another century•Getty Images

Ed Cowan’s 115 proved a lone hand for New South Wales in Wollongong as Tasmania made a bright start to their first Sheffield Shield match since the sacking of coach Dan Marsh.NSW lost regular wickets over the course of the day after being put in, four of them falling to the seam and swing of Simon Milenko. Tim Paine, recalled for his first Shield appearance this season, held a quartet of catches behind the stumps.Cowan, batting at No. 3 for the hosts, put on a strong display to follow up his double-century against Victoria at the MCG two rounds ago – he has prospered against the experimental Dukes ball being trialed for the back half of this Shield competition.His only real support came from the captain Moises Henriques, who made it to 47 in fourth-wicket stand worth 119 before falling to Sam Rainbird, who took two wickets. James Faulkner and Andrew Perrin also chipped in with two wickets each, as NSW folded for 253. Alex Doolan and Jake Hancock took Tasmania to 40 without loss at stumps.

Faf du Plessis has urged his batsmen to deliver a series victory in Hamilton by being more consistent, as South Africa target to finish the season as the No.2 ranked Test side

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton24-Mar-2017This may sound counter-intuitive but South Africa don’t want a hero. Not one, anyway. They want many.”In every series, every time there has been a saviour in the batting line-up. If we don’t have those guys who save us on the day, there would have been a few times when we would have been rolled out cheaply,” Faf du Plessis said ahead of the Hamilton Test. “That’s a
concern. It’s not good enough. We want more consistency.”Despite being 1-0 up in the series, South Africa’s batting has not been at its best with half of the top six struggling. Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy have yet to score a fifty and South Africa only have one hundred in this series, from Dean Elgar, compared to New Zealand’s
two, scored by Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls.Though Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock have five fifties between them, South Africa see that as below-par because they do not have any player racking up more than one hundred in the series. “The standards we set for ourselves as a
batting unit are extremely high and we haven’t delivered on that,” du Plessis said.After du Plessis’ lone hundred in the two home Tests against New Zealand in August, South Africa set their batsmen a challenge to try and score more than one century in a series. Essentially, they want those who find form to make the most of it. No one managed that in Australia – though they had five centuries – or the home series against Sri Lanka, where they had another five. Cook came closest, when he scored hundreds in successive Tests in Adelaide
and Port Elizabeth.That means the pressure is as much on Elgar to try to add another three-figure score as it is on the out-of-form players to get among the runs. If he does that, it may not have much of an impact on continuity because the season ends here, but it will ensure South Africa have achieved everything they set out to do at the start of a season they began at No.7 in the Test rankings.”Our goal was to get to No.2 at the end – we knew No.1 was going to be a little bit steep because India were so far ahead – so our goal was to get to No.2 and if we do that, it will be an incredible year,” du Plessis sad. “We would have ticked every box, won every series we’ve played and I saw there will be a nice little bonus for second place as well, so that will be nice to get the guys going.”A cash award of $500,000 is awarded to the team in second place in the Test rankings and though it is only half of what South Africa have received in previous years, when they topped the rankings, it is much more than they would have expected after last season’s disappointments. And the money is only one reason South Africa have their eye on a series win.Victory in New Zealand will restore their road warrior reputation, which extended nine years before being dented by defeat in India in 2015. That remains the only series South Africa have lost away from home in a decade, a testament to their ability to adapt.”I don’t think people appreciate and understand exactly how well the South African team before me and the guys that are playing now did. The record was exceptional. That India series was the one series where we were outplayed but apart from that we’ve been really good,” du Plessis said. “Mentally we are a very resilient team. We know that whatever the situation on the day, you have to find a way and try and make sure you deliver. You can never use an excuse, whether it’s green or spinning. You just have to get on and do the job. Our mental toughness has helped us.”

While Royal Challengers Bangalore play for pride, Kolkata Knight Riders will look to avoid losing a third-straight game as they pursue a top-two finish

The Preview by Sreshth Shah06-May-2017

Match facts

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders
Bengaluru, May 7, 2017
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

Head-to-head

This season: In a record-breaking performance, Kolkata Knight Riders bowled out Royal Challengers Bangalore for 49 – the IPL’s lowest total – to win by 82 runs. Knight Riders, defending 131, used no spinners; Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme took three wickets each and Royal Challengers were dismissed in 9.4 overs.Overall: Knight Riders lead 10-9 in all IPL matches but Royal Challengers have a 4-3 record against the Kolkata team in Bengaluru.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bangalore (eighth): lost to Kings XI Punjab by 19 runs, lost to Mumbai Indians by five wickets, lost to Rising Pune Supergiant by 61 runs
Kolkata Knight Riders (third): lost to Rising Pune by four wickets, lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 48 runs, defeated Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets

In the news

A hamstring niggle kept Robin Uthappa out of Knight Riders’ last game. The team will take a call on his selection based on how he shapes up during practice on Saturday.Chris Lynn, recovering from a shoulder injury he picked up on April 9, said he hoped to return to the side before the playoffs and was back to training this week. According to assistant coach Simon Katich, Lynn “could well be available for selection”.Nathan Coulter-Nile, RCB’s nemesis last time, suffered a blow on his helmet grille against Rising Pune Supergiant and was subsequently “shaken up” and “a little bit off colour” leading up to this game, according to Katich. A call will be taken on his fitness closer to the game.Royal Challengers are out of contention for a top-four finish. The captain Virat Kohli, after another heavy loss on Thursday, said that his team continued to “let themselves down with the bat” and that he found it “difficult to find motivation” due to their poor performance. Shane Watson has been in and out of their XI and it will not be of any surprise if Travis Head replaces him again.

Qualification scenario

A win against Royal Challengers will all but seal Knight Riders’ place in the playoffs – and help them shake off any nagging doubts that might have crept in after two losses in a row. Moreover, they are chasing a top-two finish, which allows them two chances to get to the final; they will need to win at least two of their last three games for this, but might need to win all three depending on other results.

The likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Mandeep Singh, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Kedar Jadhav (wk), 6 Shane Watson/Travis Head, 7 Pawan Negi, 8 S Aravind, 9 Samuel Badree, 10 Aniket Choudhary, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Kolkata Knight Riders 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa/Sheldon Jackson (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile/Piyush Chawla, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Strategy punt

Kolkata Knight Riders might consider legspinner Piyush Chawla, who has had considerable success against de Villiers (dismissed four times, conceding only 43 off 44 balls) and Kohli (dismissed three times, 95 off 71 balls). If Chawla plays, though, captain Gautam Gambhir will look to hold him back until Chris Gayle is dismissed. The West Indies batsman has hit Chawla for 103 runs off 57 balls.

Stats that matter

• Sunil Narine is having his poorest IPL with the ball. He has averaged 39.71 runs for every wicket and has a strike-rate of less than a wicket per game. His economy of 8.53 in the Powerplay – where he has taken only one wicket – is the worst among all spinners this season (minimum five overs bowled).
• Knight Riders’ batting is heavily dependent on their top four. Their middle and lower order have scored at an average of 14.52 and a strike-rate of 115.97, the second-poorest among all teams – behind RCB.
• Overall, Knight Riders have the second-worst scoring-rate at the death, and hit a boundary only every 6.1 balls.
• In 2017, Chris Gayle has averaged 9.00 per match at the Chinnaswamy after four games. Shane Watson averages 13.66 while de Villiers averages 15.75. Each of them has scored at below a run a ball, too. Virat Kohli (106) and Kedar Jadhav (133) are the only two Royal Challengers batsmen to score more than a hundred runs this season at home.
• Virat Kohli has smacked 137 runs off 73 balls against Umesh Yadav.

Five overs, six wickets. England’s startling collapse at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-20170.5 Rabada to Roy, OUT, got him, steered to slip! Amla holds on this time, low down as a thick edge lobbed off the bat… Another single-figure score for Roy, who was drawn forward by a demanding line, the ball nibbling away down the Lord’s slope and sending England’s tub-thumping opener back to the changing rooms with a whimper1.5 Parnell to Root, OUT, trapped in front! Parnell beats him past the inside edge, booming swing – and England are two down! Lovely shape on that delivery, which started outside off and curled back in as Root aimed a punch down the ground. No hesitation from Michael Gough and it looked pretty plumb3.6 Parnell to Morgan, OUT, lovely bowling, Morgan gone! Parnell is enjoying the famously moribund juicy Lord’s surface, curving the ball away and kissing the outside edge, giving a simple catch to de Kock. Morgan’s brief sally is over and England are wheezing in North Weezy4.1 Rabada to Hales, OUT, England continue to attack… and SA continue to capitalise! Pitched up in the channel, Hales drives and Amla this time tumbles to his left to snap up another catch. A second for Rabada and England are tottering like an MCC member after a day on the port. Somehow that was only Hales’ ball… One he’ll quickly want to forget4.5 Rabada to Buttler, OUT, throws the bat, thick edged to second… England are five down! Superb catch from Faf du Plessis, that went very quickly as Buttler attempted to thrash it through the covers. Not quite as quickly as England are subsiding, but still4.6 Rabada to Rashid, OUT, edged and gone – THIS IS ABSURD!!! Rashid goes for a big, booming drive from his first ball, du Plessis scoops it up low to his left this time… and Rabada is on a hat-trick! Perhaps England are trying to get their shocker out of the way before the Champions Trophy, but this is golden-era awful from a country that knows a fair bit about being rubbish at ODIs

While India will rely on Cheteshwar Pujara in the absence of their first-choice openers, much of Sri Lanka’s fortunes will depend on Kusal Mendis and stand-in captain Rangana Herath

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jul-2017

Match Facts

July 26-30, 2017
Start time 1000 local (0430GMT)2:51

The team that tackles spin best will win – Arnold

Big Picture

At a glance, Sri Lanka’s recent home record is not so bad. They have won five of their six most recent Tests on the island and at least three of those victories were comprehensive. The whitewash over Australia, too, remains a source of enduring pride, even though it was achieved close to a year ago. Rangana Herath – the hero of that series – remains undiminished in his 40th year. Kusal Mendis, who produced pivotal performance, has also since made headway, hitting another mammoth match-winning innings, in Galle, against Bangladesh.And yet, there is fear in Sri Lanka that this series could go badly. Earlier this year, the hosts were beaten by Bangladesh for the first time ever and, less than two weeks ago, had been pushed by an even lower-ranked Zimbabwe side. How will they compete with India, the top-ranked Test team? How can Sri Lanka beat a side that, almost irrefutably, is fitter, better drilled, more confident and, probably, have comfier seats and softer suspension on their team bus?Since their arrival on the island, India have even made the kinds of noises that teams, who are runaway favourites, tend to make. While on tougher tours, words like “challenge” and “big effort” dominate the pre-series talk, here, they have spoken of respecting the opposition. They had, after all, won the series in 2015, when the Sri Lanka team seemed to be in much better shape. While for Sri Lanka the two years since have been characterised by resignations, new faces and flux, India have rocked up with a very similar squad. Stability, consistency, and excellence – right now, India represent everything Sri Lanka are not.Still, strange things happen on the island. No one expected a 3-0 thrashing of Australia last year, and, like a ball leaping out a footmark, that series produced a triumphant surprise for Sri Lanka. Besides, with so many developing players in their XI nothing is ever written in stone for Sri Lanka.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLWLL (completed matches, most recent first)
India WDWLW

In the spotlight

Only a year ago Upul Tharanga had been out of all Sri Lanka’s sides, but now, he finds himself not only embedded in them, but saddled with responsibility. That he is an outlandishly talented batsman has never been in doubt, but he has, at times, been wasteful – running down the pitch to play a lazy shot when well set, or fatally failing to ground his bat at the non-striker’s end, such as in his most recent game, against Zimbabwe. Having come into this series on the back of some form, here is Tharanga’s chance to prove he is not a fair-weather batsman – one who only prospers in friendly conditions, or low-pressure match situations. Runs against R Ashwin and co. will be hard-earned.India are without their first-choice openers in the most difficult country for openers this decade. It is time to rely on Cheteshwar Pujara again. India will need his solidity at the top to settle the team down at the start of the series. From their experience in Galle the last time, India know that things can go wrong quickly in Sri Lanka; Pujara has to be their assurance against that.

Team news

Danushka Gunathilaka and Dhananjaya de Silva will fight for the No. 4 spot vacated by the newly appointed Test captain Dinesh Chandimal, who was ruled out of the Test owing to pneumonia. There is, however, a chance Sri Lanka could go into this match with five bowlers, in which case, left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara could pip them both for a debut instead. A fit-again Nuwan Pradeep may enter the XI.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 7 Asela Gunaratne, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath (capt), 10 Lahiru Kumara, 11 Nuwan PradeepVirat Kohli said India were not going to experiment at the top of the order, which means Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan should open for India. Kohli also said the pitch looked good for batting, which could tempt India to play only five batsmen and opt for Hardik Pandya as the allrounder. If they do emphasise on security in the first Test of a series, India could go in with Rohit Sharma at No. 6.India (possible) 1 Abhinav Mukund, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma/Hardik Pandya, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami

Pitch and conditions

There was a light covering of grass on the pitch on the eve of the match, but rarely does a Galle surface fail to turn at the back end of a Test. For now, the teams expect the track to be good for batting on the first two days. Afternoon showers are always a threat in the region at this time of year.

Stats and trivia

• This will be R Ashwin’s 50th Test match, and his fourth in Sri Lanka.
• Rangana Herath will be leading Sri Lanka for fifth time. He has three wins and a loss on his record – all previous matches having been against Zimbabwe or Bangladesh.
• There has not been a drawn Test in Sri Lanka for three years. Each of the 16 most-recent matches have yielded results.

Quotes

“We totally respect the game, we totally how hard we need to work to win every Test match, every situation, every session and every ball is an event for us.”
“This looks a good pitch I can’t say whether there is going to be turn early on or not. But on the fourth and fifth days, there will be some assistance for the spinners.”
Rangana Herath on the conditions

CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association are inching towards a compromise, with discussions of a new hybrid model

Daniel Brettig25-Jul-20173:46

What exactly is the Cricket Australia-ACA pay dispute?

Compromise between Australian cricket’s warring parties appears closer than ever as the previously divergent positions of Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association shift towards long overdue middle ground.For virtually the first time in a pay war now more than nine months old, CA has appeared to consent to a model of revenue sharing that has been adjusted to allow more of the game’s financial upside to flow into areas such as grassroots cricket, while still affording a significant proportion of money above projections to all players.CA’s chief executive James Sutherland, his ACA counterpart Alistair Nicholson and their negotiating teams were believed to be meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the board’s most recent submission of MoU articles that factor in the new, hybrid model. The players had previously consented to discussions based on “modernised” revenue sharing that would commit up to A$30 million of player payment pool money to the game’s lower levels.While negotiations appeared to hit a major snag last week when CA sent the ACA an updated Article 5 of a proposed MoU that deleted all references to revenue sharing, further discussions and correspondence between Sutherland and Nicholson have proven more fruitful.Talks between the parties now appear to be as much about the optics of the deal – CA being able to claim a break from the fixed revenue percentage model that has existed over the past two decades and the ACA being able to say it has been retained – as its detail. One industry figure noted that the emergence of issues over the wording of clauses suggested that agreement “must be close to happening”.After the ACA distributed details of its “peace plan” based on recent discussions to all contracted players over the weekend, the newspaper has published an outline of CA’s possible compromise. “Under the terms of CA’s ­revised offer,” the report said, “men and women players would draw their salaries and bonuses from an agreed total player payment pool equating to a percentage of forecast revenue. Above forecast revenue would be distributed according to a complex, sliding scale ­between the players, community cricket infrastructure and other spending priorities.”Both the Australian Cricketers’ Association and Cricket Australia have shifted from fixed positions•Getty Images

The same newspaper had previously published CA’s complaints about this year’s adjustment ledger payment of more than A$58 million going to the male players covered under the previous MoU but not the female players who were paid directly by CA during that time. It then published a column and front-page pointer story by the CA chairman David Peever in which he denied being “anti-union” during his days at the mining company Rio Tinto. CA’s head of communications, government relations and infrastructure is Mark O’Neill, a former Rio Tinto executive who has also worked in federal politics.The ACA’s proposed terms, meanwhile, were close to those reportedly offered up by CA. According to an ACA statement on Sunday: “Players conceded to accept CA’s lower end revenue scenarios as the basis for the allocation to Australian Cricket Revenue (ACR) given market and contract uncertainty; Players accepting an agreed percentage of the ACR forecast. (Note this percentage is of ACR and not Total Cricket Revenue (TCR) and it is not an increase in share on the last MOU but does factor in the inclusion of all female players).”Revenue sharing is modified so that the players allocate up to $30 million via a new Players Grassroots Investment Fund (PGIF) from their share of over forecast revenue and performance bonuses. Thus reducing the share of revenue players would otherwise earn.”While numerous areas remain up for debate, namely what the percentage due to players – previously 24.5-27% of ACR – should be and what should be excluded and included in the ACR definition, the earlier state of impasse has at least been broken down. CA had initially proposed fixed wages for all players, augmented by a capped bonus system for international male and female players, with minimal increases for domestic male players in particular.By contrast the ACA proposed a fixed percentage of 22.5% of agreed cricket revenue for all players, a further 22.5% for grassroots investment and the remaining 55% to remain with CA for other areas of the game. A week before the previous MoU’s expiry on June 30, CA revised its offer to include all players in the capped bonus system and also to raise the wages on offer to domestic male players, without specifying by how much.One of the ACA’s longtime complaints was that it had not been provided with sufficient financial records by which to judge CA’s offers, which the players claimed to include payroll tax, prize money and the assumption that all players would draw match fees by playing in all possible fixtures. Another point of contention was the inclusion of overseas Big Bash League players – who typically draw the most lucrative contracts from each team’s salary cap – in the “average” wage to be offered to domestic males.About three weeks remain for an agreement to be struck between CA and the ACA to avoid numerous forms of dislocation to the game, from the cancellation of the looming Bangladesh Test tour to the floundering of various commercial deals for the summer with sponsors, broadcasters and advertisers on those broadcasts.The dispute has already resulted in the cancellation of an Australia A tour to South Africa earlier this month, while more than 230 players have been left out of contract, and therefore unemployed, since the expiry of the previous MoU on July 1. All players have continued to train without pay over that period. Members of Australia’s Test squad for Bangladesh met in Sydney on Monday and stated their support from compromise, while also reiterating their commitment to refuse going on the tour unless an agreement is reached beforehand.Both CA and the ACA declined to comment.

West Indies’ new-ball bowlers took four wickets apiece as England were bowled out for 258, a total centered around Ben Stokes’ sixth Test century

The Report by Andrew McGlashan25-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWe’ve seen this somewhere before. England’s vulnerable top order exposed, steadied by their captain and rescued further by someone in the middle order. Ben Stokes’ sixth Test hundred was a bristling display, albeit not without fortune, but England’s recovery was far from total as Kemar Roach and the recalled Shannon Gabriel took four wickets apiece to keep them to 258.West Indies’ bowling, especially from the quicks, was in a different league to what had been witnessed at Edgbaston; Gabriel’s return injected some pace, Roach was dangerous from a full length and Jason Holder chipped out a useful wicket. However, the fielding again let them down: Joe Root, who went on to equal the world record of at least a fifty in 12 consecutive Tests, was dropped on 8, a shocker at first slip by Kieran Powell, and even more significantly Stokes was missed on 9 by Kraigg Brathwaite at second.Powell’s day did not get much better when he edged James Anderson to first slip, but on a gloomy evening with the lights on, the loss of just one wicket in a 45-minute period before the close was acceptable. Anderson, who began needing eight wickets for 500, was on the mark but Stuart Broad was too wide in his first spell.The England innings ended in somewhat chaotic scenes with further embarrassing lapses in the field. Stokes was dropped at mid-on when on 98, one ball before he went to his century, while Shane Dowrich, the wicketkeeper, inexplicably shelled an edge off Broad. However, the sum total of those chances was two runs. Gabriel, the man who dropped the simple chance off Stokes, had him caught behind pulling and then, having glared at his keeper, did the job himself by ripping through Broad with a yorker to complete a successful comeback (and he didn’t even bowl a no-ball).Stokes came in at 71 for 4 – a not-entirely-unknown situation for him, as can be said for the scoreline of 26 for 2 which greeted Root – and regularly threaded the off side with some powerful driving having initially flirted with the cordon. Two overs after being dropped, he sent a thick edge through where third slip had been stood a few balls previously.His fifty came off 67 balls and it was the second half of his innings, after tea, in which he was especially eye-catching as he toyed with Holder’s tactics of trying to pack the off-side field, at one point operating with an 8-1 field. Three times Stokes went to the off side and whipped full deliveries wide of mid-on. He rarely mistimed a stroke in his second fifty, barring the one he clubbed to mid-on on 98, and two runs from his next ball took him past Andrew Flintoff’s tally of five Test hundreds, another landmark in the history of England’s finest allrounders.Stokes’ dismissal, which was followed by a few words from Gabriel, brought a final collapse of 3 for 0 as England were prevented from pushing towards 300. Chris Woakes, on his return to the Test side, had eased to 23 with five boundaries before being the last man out to give Roach a deserved fourth wicket.West Indies had managed a decent start with the ball at Edgbaston – England were 39 for 2 – but couldn’t get past the Cook-Root partnership until the damage was done. This time they had a third wicket, and a foothold, shortly after the hour mark. It was Gabriel who made the first mark when he found Alastair Cook’s outside edge for Kyle Hope to take a sharp, low catch at third slip.It meant two of England’s new recruits, Mark Stoneman and Tom Westley, joined forces in the middle – but not for long. Westley is quickly finding out how a technique that has served you well at county level can be unpicked in the Test game and for the second time in two innings was lbw missing a full, straight delivery.Stoneman received the best ball West Indies bowled at Edgbaston but here was more culpable in his demise. He had looked solid during much of his stay, lining the ball up well from over and round the wicket, but was lured into a drive at Roach and got an inside-edge to Dowrich. England were 37 for 3 with West Indies offering very few moments of release, except for Powell’s blunder, and the morning session brought just seven boundaries (in the first session at Edgbaston they had conceded 22) with two of those from Root off Roston Chase’s early exploratory overs.They managed to keep control after the interval with Holder, now in the role of third seamer in the re-jigged attack, rewarded straightaway for switching to around the wicket against Dawid Malan who dragged a drive into his stumps. It meant England’s three vulnerable batting positions had made 30 between them.Root and Stokes have bailed England out before, most memorably against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2015, and this time combined to add 69 in 15 overs as the bat dominated for the first time in the day. Root took advantage of an inconsistent start from Bishoo as he skipped to a 74-ball fifty to equal AB de Villiers’ record but then top edged a sweep to slip.Root’s conversation rate from fifties to hundreds has been much remarked on, and rightly so for someone aspiring to greatness, but he’d managed to quieten the chatter somewhat with his century at Edgbaston. However, this was an occasion of one that would remain unfulfilled although his consistency – as highlighted by the record-equalling milestone – remains laudable.There was no initial homeground success for Jonny Bairstow, who scored 140 here against Sri Lanka last year. This time, he was well held low down at second slip by Holder. The catch was upheld by the third umpire after much rocking and rolling of replays, the key factor being the soft signal of out from the onfield umpires, and it did appear Holder’s long fingers were under the ball whatever the Yorkshire faithful may have thought.At 152 for 6 talk for some sides would often be of scrapping to 200, but such is the strength of England’s lower order that it felt another stand would develop. At the start of the final session, Moeen Ali accompanied Stokes in a freewheeling partnership of 68 in 13 overs as the day threatened to run away from West Indies. Chase was given a surprisingly long bowl ahead of Bishoo but, in the nick of time, Roach returned and struck second ball when Moeen drove to point. Despite the fielding mishaps there was limited damage to come. West Indies’ bowlers have lifted their game, now the batsmen have to do the same.

Taylor, whose commitment to USA came under scrutiny in 2015 after he chose to play CPL over the World T20 Qualifier, had previously declared his intentions to play for West Indies

Peter Della Penna10-Sep-2017USA opening batsman Steven Taylor has been axed as captain after less than a year in the role. Multiple sources confirmed Taylor’s removal as captain, describing it as a “mutual decision” between him and team management after he made playing first-class cricket for Jamaica a priority in his pursuit of a West Indies cap. The Florida native is now living full-time in Jamaica after he was recently awarded a full contract with the Jamaica Scorpions franchise.Consequently, Taylor has been left out altogether from the USA squad for the Auty Cup series against Canada, multiple sources confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. The squad is yet to be officially announced by the ICC Americas caretaker administration – which is running cricket operations until a new governing body is formed in the wake of USACA’s expulsion – despite the first match starting in two days in Toronto, but Taylor was not at early team training sessions in Toronto.Taylor’s omission is the first part of a major revamp described by one team source as an effort “to change the team culture and reward players who show commitment to want to play for USA”. He is also expected to be unavailable for a tour to the UAE being planned for late 2017 due to his commitments with Jamaica.Taylor has allegedly communicated to ICC Americas staff that he is still interested in playing for USA at key tournaments such as the World T20 Qualifier, if it does not conflict with his Jamaica commitments. However, team management is understood to have wanted to a full-time captain that they can build around through the rest of this year leading into WCL Division Three and T20 World Cup Qualifying in 2018, and as a result a call was made for Taylor to step down, which he agreed to.Taylor, 23, took over the role last October ahead of the previous Auty Cup series in Los Angeles, which Canada won 2-1. He led USA to victory at home a month later at WCL Division Four, highlighted by an unbeaten 124 off 95 balls in an eight-wicket win over Oman that featured 15 fours and seven sixes.However, he enjoyed less success personally and as captain at WCL Division Three in Uganda this May. He passed 50 just once and finished with 126 runs in six games as USA failed to gain promotion, though his five-wicket haul bowling offspin in the final round-robin match against Uganda helped USA stave off relegation.He was the highest paid American player of the five who were in CPL squads for the 2017 season, fetching a $30,000 deal after being taken in the eighth round by Guyana Amazon Warriors though he played just two games. His attractiveness was enhanced after he represented Jamaica’s one-day side in this year’s Regional Super50 competition, including a knock of 88 off 71 balls against Trinidad & Tobago in the tournament semi-final.Taylor’s commitment to USA had come under scrutiny in the past after he chose to join Barbados Tridents in the summer of 2015 over playing with USA at the World T20 Qualifier in Ireland. That came not long after he gave an interview to a Jamaican news outlet in which he declared his intentions to pursue a spot with the West Indies side.

His career-best ODI score and Andile Phehlukwayo’s four-wicket haul ensured Bangladesh remained winless on tour

The Report by Mohammad Isam18-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:31

‘It felt like my first game again’ – AB de Villiers

South Africa’s massive 353 for 6, amplified by a career-best 176 by comeback-man AB de Villiers, proved too much for Bangladesh as they went down by 104 runs to concede the series. The win in Paarl was also made sweeter by Andile Phehlukwayo’s four-wicket haul that helped skittle out Bangladesh for 249.De Villiers added 136 runs for the third wicket with Hashim Amla to drive the innings from 90 for 2. Once Amla was out for 85, de Villiers went berserk, striking six of his seven sixes in 17 deliveries. The six-storm raised hopes of a double ton and South Africa’s 400. But that wasn’t to be as de Villiers holed out at deep square in the 48th over.Bangladesh lost openers Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das by the 11th over. Imrul Kayes and Mushfiqur Rahim added 93 runs for the third wicket thereafter, but they hardly threatened South Africa as the required run-rate escalated above eight an over by the 19th. By the 33rd over, it had crossed 10 per over.Imrul reached his first half-century across formats in 2017, but he couldn’t convert, falling to Imran Tahir for 68. Shakib Al Hasan followed in Tahir’s next over, while Mushfiqur became Dwaine Pretorius’ second victim in the 34th over when he reached out too far to a slower, wide bouncer. He could only slice an easy catch to JP Duminy at cover. From there, the innings was largely in a freefall as Tahir and Phehlukwayo made merry.Earlier, South Africa started steadily through their openers again. Despite hitting just three boundaries in 17.3 overs, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla still added 90. But when Shakib removed de Kock and Faf du Plessis in the space of four deliveries, Bangladesh had an opening. But, they somehow found ways to fluff their lines and concede the advantage.Mahmudullah missed a run-out opportunity while Nasir Hossain wasn’t swift enough in the slips when an edge flew past his left. Both were chances to remove de Villiers early in his innings. He cashed in and brought up his half-century off just 34 balls, and a further 34 to bring up his 25th ODI century. All of his seven sixes came between backward square-leg and midwicket while a majority of his fours came through the covers.Rubel Hossain, who finished with 4 for 62, prevented further damage after he removed de Villiers; South Africa added just 10 runs in the last 2.2 overs of their innings. Shakib took 2 for 60 from his 10 overs but Mashrafe Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed, expected to do the early running, conceded 12 fours and six sixes collectively.Bangladesh now have three days to recover from the de Villiers onslaught going into the final ODI of the tour in East London.

India may have to rethink their six-bowler plan, and perhaps also the role of MS Dhoni, while New Zealand will hope they can deal with the heat and humidity of Thiruvananthapuram

The Preview by Shashank Kishore06-Nov-20171:43

Agarkar: India should pick Kuldeep Yadav

Big picture

Ravi Shastri captained India the last time international cricket came to Thiruvananthapuram. It was a forgettable evening for India fans in football country as Phil Simmons and Gordon Greenidge orchestrated a nine-wicket West Indies win. Virat Kohli, who turned 29 on Sunday, wasn’t even born then. Now the Shastri-Kohli combine will have to plot hard, particularly on the batting front, to prevent New Zealand from winning their first-ever proper series, across formats, on Indian shores.New Zealand could claim the 2012 T20I series was theirs, but that was reduced to a one-off contest in Chennai because a cyclonic depression washed out the first game in Visakhapatnam. Now, there’s the small matter of hoping the receding monsoons, which have caused intermittent showers around Kerala, don’t cast a spell on Tuesday evening.In that 2012 Chennai game, MS Dhoni, faced with having to get 13 off the last over, couldn’t pull India past the mark. He was at his peak then. Perhaps not so now, as his struggle to bring out the big shots on demand has opened up debate over his batting position, and even his place in the side. Does he belong, or is it time to make way? A definitive answer is elusive just yet, but could be in the making, maybe even as early as Tuesday provided there’s a full game.In Delhi, New Zealand dropped three catches. It cost them the match and their No. 1 ranking. In Rajkot, India were the generous hosts, reprieving Colin Munro four times and watching him wallop his second T20I century of the year, which set the game up for spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. In Thiruvananthapuram, where the weather is entirely different to the dry heat of Rajkot or the early winter chill of Delhi, New Zealand’s fitness will be tested by near-100% humidity. Are they hydrated enough to go one better after failing in successive deciders in India?

Form guide

India: LWLWW (completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand: WLLWW

In the spotlight

MS Dhoni scored 49 off 37 balls in Rajkot, and while the bare numbers look impressive, they don’t tell the whole story. Coming in at No. 6 with India needing 130 off 65 balls, he pushed and prodded his way to 26 off 26 before heaving a couple of big blows when the match was out of bounds. VVS Laxman, for one, believes it is time to look beyond Dhoni and groom a younger wicketkeeper-batsman in the shortest format. While his position isn’t under immediate threat yet, it remains to be seen if he will continue to bat at No. 6.Colin de Grandhomme came to India with the reputation of being a useful medium-pacer who can provide plenty of lower-order muscle. On this tour, save for one game in Pune where he made 41, he hasn’t managed to showcase his talent in either area. In the first T20I, he was out for a golden duck and conceded 34 off three wicketless overs. In Rajkot, Williamson preferred Munro’s medium-pace to de Grandhomme’s, which meant he only got the one over.BCCI

Team news

Mohammed Siraj’s international initiation didn’t quite go to plan in Rajkot, where he conceded 53 in his four overs. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah conceding only 52 off their eight overs and with Hardik Pandya as a third seam option, India could look at replacing Siraj with Kuldeep Yadav, who hasn’t featured since the first ODI in Mumbai.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalTom Latham was left out of the Rajkot game despite having been one of New Zealand’s finds of the tour, despite having been given a new role in the middle order. While there may not be a reason to make a change to a winning XI, barring injury, they could consider bringing Latham back.New Zealand (probable): 1 Colin Munro, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Tom Bruce, 5 Glenn Phillips (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Adam Milne

Pitch and conditions

A brand-new venue and a brand-new surface. The organisers claim scores of 180-plus were made in both innings of a warm-up game a fortnight ago. What teams will be mindful of, though, is the sapping heat and humidity, and the possibility of rain and a truncated game. The Kerala Cricket Association has invested in a modern drainage system and has three Super Soppers should it get to that.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand haven’t lost a bilateral T20I series of two or more matches in their last eight series.
• Sodhi has an economy of 5.66 against India, the best ever in T20Is among spinners who have bowled at least 10 overs against them.
• Three of India’s four failed T20I chases at home have come against New Zealand
• Greenfield Stadium becomes the 19th venue to host a T20I in India

Quotes

“I never felt that kind of a pressure that we play five batsmen and Hardik Pandya. Whatever the situation or combination we are given, we have to go according to that.”
“It’s one exciting thing for us that we’ve taken them to the decider for the last two series now. They played well in Kanpur under a little bit of pressure as well so we still have to turn up tomorrow and play the best we can and perform our roles.”