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David Warner may miss both of Australia’s warm-up matches in Sri Lanka, but both he and coach Darren Lehmann are confident he will be ready for the first Test starting on July 26

Brydon Coverdale08-Jul-20161:43

Fielding, fitness bigger concern for David Warner than batting practice

David Warner may yet miss both of Australia’s warm-up matches in Sri Lanka, but both he and coach Darren Lehmann are confident he will be fit and ready for the first Test starting on July 26.Warner missed the second half of the recent one-day tri-series in the West Indies due to a broken finger and he is expected to sit out of an intra-squad practice match in Sri Lanka next week. The Australians hope Warner will be able to play a first-class tour game that follows, but even if he misses that he could still figure in the first Test.”I’ve done it before,” Warner told reporters in Sydney on Friday, referring to going into a Test with no warm-up games. “I’ve picked up a bat and gone back out there and tried to play to the best of my abilities. Sometimes it comes off. You always want some time in the nets.”For myself, I’ve said in the past, less is more. I prefer to go into a lot of the games fresh. I don’t usually hit a lot leading into any series or any game. I just like to go in there and bat for 20 minutes or so.”The injury to Warner’s left index finger, sustained while fielding in an ODI in St Kitts, has prevented him from any form of batting for nearly a month. Warner said more than batting, he was concerned about how ready he would be to take an active part in the field for Australia, in his usual position in the slip cordon.”The biggest thing for myself is the fielding aspect,” Warner said. “I field in the slips, so I’m going to have to try take a handful of catches there to make sure it’s nice and warm.”Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann was equally confident that Warner would be ready to take his place alongside Joe Burns at the top of the order for the first Test. Shaun Marsh is the back-up batsman in Australia’s squad who would likely step in if Warner was ruled out.”He will be fine,” Lehmann told the . “He probably won’t play the two-day game but should play the first-class game – the tour game before we play the first Test. Even if he didn’t, I am not too worried about that. He is one of these guys who picks up a bat quite quickly.”He has had broken fingers and injuries before, and we have just plugged him back into Test cricket and he is fine. We would like him to play the tour game and, hopefully, medically he can, but if he can’t, I am not too stressed. As long as he is available for the first Test.”Lehmann is also returning from some time off, having stayed at home in Australia while Justin Langer stood in as head coach for the tour of the West Indies.”I am really excited to get back in the hot seat, if you like,” Lehmann said. “Justin did a great job and obviously had a good result in the West Indies. I think he summed it up beautifully, the way we have a bit of improvement to do in that format of the game.”

It took more than four sessions coming, but once R Ashwin found his rhythm he ran through the West Indian line-up to seal India’s first innings win in the West Indies and their biggest outside Asia

The Report by Sidharth Monga24-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
An Ashwin-inspired India ran through West Indies after lunch on day four to bring up their biggest Test win outside Asia•AFP

It took more than four sessions coming, but once R Ashwin found his rhythm he ran through the West Indian line-up to seal India’s first innings win in the Caribbean, and their biggest one outside Asia.After lunch on day four, with India needing eight wickets to finish the match, Ashwin found dip and drift. Simultaneously, he cut out the loose balls to earn a five-for and a hundred in the same Test for a second time, the most by an Indian. West Indies couldn’t offer much resistance and folded in 78 overs. They had lasted only 12.2 overs longer in the first innings.Before Ashwin struck, Marlon Samuels and Rajendra Chandrika had managed to hold India up for 22 overs, which did frustrate India a little. Especially after an umpiring decision got India’s goat. After Umesh Yadav had removed Darren Bravo in the first over of the morning – a repeat feeble push to a wide delivery from the first innings – Mohammed Shami, in his first over of the morning, hit Samuels’ glove and offered a low chance to Wriddhiman Saha’s left. The wicketkeeper claimed immediately.Coach Anil Kumble, watching from the balcony, lifted his finger after the first replay. However, the replays – understandably not adequate in terms of angles or quality for financial reasons – didn’t return a verdict beyond reasonable doubt, nor was there a soft signal made by the on-field umpires. So the benefit of that doubt went to Samuels. His bat obscured the front-on replay somewhat, and there was nothing else to go by. The third umpire erred on the side of caution.Virat Kohli wasn’t amused. He was seen having an animated conversation with Ian Gould, who had irritated the Indian captain on day two as well. Kohli was trying to get in an extra over before stumps, but Gould, conversing on a walkie-talkie, had denied them.In a glimpse of what makes him a frustrating batsman to watch in Tests – a superb stroke-maker with an average under 35 – Samuels drove and cut gorgeously to take 23 off the 19 balls after his reprieve. Rain arrived, 40 minutes before lunch, and several players walked straight to a laptop and sat around it, perhaps watching the replays and wondering how Samuels had survived.India lost 15 minutes because of the rain. When an early lunch was taken, Ashwin had only bowled 22 overs in the match. He had offered too many balls to cut and was the only wicketless Indian bowler at the time. On a pitch that didn’t assist spin, and against batsmen who were happy to sit back, he was made to work hard.Ashwin’s rhythm, however, returned immediately after the break. He beat Samuels in flight, with the ball dipping and hitting him on the pad. The next ball didn’t turn as much, and took a soft outside edge for two runs. That was followed by another probing over, replete with a leading edge. You could sense Ashwin was building up to something.He had Chandrika believing he was driving at a half-volley, but the dip created distance, and Saha juggled a low catch off the batsman’s pad. Replays weren’t conclusive vis-à-vis the inside edge, but Chandrika didn’t protest at all. Next up was Jermaine Blackwood, for a pair. Once again, Ashwin created the distance with drift and dip, and the offbreak was driven to short midwicket.Samuels became the victim of drift. As it is, he likes staying beside the line, but this one from Ashwin drifted away, and then didn’t turn as much as he expected, hitting the top of off stump. The ball kept dipping on the inexperienced batsmen, who were arguably facing this quality of spin bowling for the first time, and debutant Roston Chase soon fell to forward short leg because his intended block didn’t reach the pitch of the ball.Amit Mishra broke the Ashwin streak with a topspinner that trapped Shane Dowrich, but Ashwin finished his first five-for outside Asia with another beauty. Jason Holder thought he could drive at a seemingly full offbreak, but the ball drifted away to create the bat-pad gap, and turned through it to hit the leg stump. Ashwin had taken five wickets in 51 balls.A win seemed only a matter of time but India got fancy with bowling changes, and Carlos Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo made them wait 24.1 overs for their ninth wicket. After West Indies forced the match past the tea break, Ashwin came back to end it with the wickets of Bishoo and Shannon Gabriel in one over.

Surrey, finishing the season with a swagger, put Yorkshire in their place on their own Headingley midden by a 19-run margin

David Hopps at Headingley28-Aug-2016
ScorecardSteven Davies well-paced hundred helped Surrey overcome the loss of two early wickets•Getty Images

Yorkshire folk, so tradition has it, don’t much care for London. Dire warnings are issued that it’s £5 a pint, people run up escalators and that you are stared at suspiciously if you talk gratuitously to a stranger. As far as Yorkshire cricket is concerned, there must be strangers a plenty in London – they have still not managed to go there for a Lord’s final since 2002.Surrey, finishing the season with a swagger, put Yorkshire in their place on their own Headingley midden by a 19-run margin and now face the winners of Monday’s semi-final between Warwickshire and Somerset with a chance to improve on last year’s agonising defeat to Gloucestershire.Steven Davies’ impressively carefree century, with Ben Foakes not far short, took Surrey to 255 for 7, a worthy effort, but manageable in easing conditions. But Surrey looked in control of this Royal London Cup semi-final from the moment that Stuart Meaker took 3 for 2 in nine balls – Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance and Jack Leaning all succumbing on a sluggish surface that gave Meaker, the fastest bowler on view, few advantages.That Yorkshire remained in touch until deep into the game was down to the resolve of Tim Bresnan, who completed a productive batting summer in this competition with 68 from 82 balls, his resistance ending seven balls from time when he swung a full toss from Jade Dernbach to long-on. It was a composed effort from Bresnan, so calm in adversity that one imagines if war ever hit Pontefract he would first sit on a bench munching a bacon butty and see how it developed.After briefly imagining the possibility of a treble, Yorkshire have now crashed out of both limited-overs competitions on successive weekends at the semi-final stage. Their semi-final record in List A cricket is particularly galling. “That statistic isn’t in our minds,” said Jason Gillespie, their coach, ahead of this tie. But the statistic exists, further swollen to 17 defeats in 20. Perhaps it partly explains a Headingley crowd of only 5,000, left disappointed too often.”When it has mattered we haven’t been good enough,” said Alex Lees, whose debut season as a limited-overs captain has ended with dejection. “I thought it was a gettable target. Tim Bresnan has won us three or four games single-handedly and has been exceptional both with bat and ball. If we look back it will have been a positive season, but let’s be honest, you don’t want to lose two semi-finals.”There was little to delight the Tykes who did spend Bank Holiday Sunday at Headingley when Yorkshire batted. Adam Lyth popped Dernbach into the off side and then Lees, never entirely secure, played outside a quicker arm ball from Gareth Batty, who underwent an instant transformation from chatty chappie to the Batty Haka, his eyes as wide as fat-fried eggs, his face contorting in warlike celebration. “I’m so bad I always think it might be the last wicket I ever get,” Surrey’s captain proffered. He is much better than that.Batty held back Meaker until the 20th over, perhaps fearing that he would be more likely to leak runs when the ball was hard, and it took Meaker three balls to remove Bairstow, courtesy of a weak whip to midwicket. In his next over came two more. Ballance, who had carved his way into the 30s, edged to the wicketkeeper, Foakes, attempting to chop him through gully, a shot that often gets him into bother. Leaning dragged on to leave Yorkshire 81 for 5.Consolation came not just from Bresnan but also in the competitive instincts of Matthew Waite, whose spirited 38 shared a sixth-wicket stand of 80 in 16 overs. But Sam Curran scuttled in dementedly to deceive Waite with a slower ball from around the wicket, Tom Curran loped in with his own version of a slower ball to remove Steven Patterson first ball and Surrey got the job done.Surrey fielded five wicketkeepers in their XI, including the England U-19 Ollie Pope on debut. That plus a wicketkeeper of an older vintage, Alec Stewart, looking on. After they had been inserted by Yorkshire, two of them, Davies and Foakes, provided the substance in a fourth-wicket stand of 130 in 24 overs which allowed them to make light of a failure for Kumar Sangakkara, the man who had virtually single-handedly won their quarter-final against Northants – pulled off by one wicket off the last ball.The careers are increasingly interconnected: Davies has decided he wants to don the gauntlets again; Foakes is the man in possession. Davies has been offered another Surrey contract, but Somerset and Nottinghamshire are among those seeking to entice him away. There are good England judges who hold Foakes in high regard, so much so that a Test tour to Bangladesh and India is not beyond possibility, while Davies has not represented England for five years and never warrants a mention these days. It must frustrate him, but competition among keeper-batsmen has been high and his indecision about his commitment to the role has not always helped him.Here, though, was a reminder, of his quality. He timed the ball as crisply as anyone, his bigger shots, as so often, found square on the off side, and he reached 104 with little to discomfort him until depositing a full toss from Waite into the hands of deep square. Foakes, working the leg side efficiently, missed his hundred as he scooped Bresnan to short fine leg.Surrey had eyes on 275 when Davies was dismissed with 12 overs remaining. That they never quite summoned a final flourish was partly due to the nature of the pitch and also to the resilience of Waite, who received cheers for his return of 3 for 48. He was fortunate to pick up Rory Burns with a leg side gift which he flicked to long leg and Sam Curran also self-destructed but – just as he did in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final against Glamorgan in Cardiff – he revelled in the pressure of a big game and by that virtue alone looks a decent prospect. He will rue not locking onto a return chance, however, when Davies was 43.A place in the final, though, deservedly belonged to Surrey – and their combative captain, Batty. Born in Bradford, a Yorkshire loyalist in the crowd is bound to have asserted. Clearly here is one Yorkshire-born cricketer who has revelled in life in the capital.

On his first day as Bangladesh’s batting consultant, Thilan Samaraweera reunited with an old friend in Chandika Hathurusingha and was very pleased to see how far the team had come

Mohammad Isam18-Sep-2016Thilan Samaraweera reunited with an old friend on his first day as Bangladesh’s batting consultant. “I divide my career into two,” he said. “First it is from 2001 to 2006 when I was dropped. I became a totally different player when I met Chandika [Hathurusingha].”Samaraweera began with a century on Test debut in 2001 but suffered a drastic dip in form five years later. When he returned to the Sri Lankan side, he averaged over 72 in 2007 and 2008 and peaked with 114.25 from six matches in 2010. Speaking to the media in Mirpur, he said he was looking forward to working with Hathrusingha, who is the Bangladesh head coach, again.”I know what he is capable of and I would love to work with him. He gave me the freedom to express myself. He focused on the technique and mindset, the key to international cricket. I became a totally different cricketer. I think my average was close to between 50 or 60.”Samaraweera was hired by the BCB for the series against England and Afghanistan. His tenure would last 45 days and in that time he has to make sure the Bangladesh batsmen do not feel the drawbacks of not playing international cricket since the World T20 in March.”On the first day I am a bit quiet as I want to get to know the players. There are a few newcomers. I know four to five players as I played against them. Just had a few chats here and there. After another day I will be more comfortable working with this group.”My first priority is the Afghanistan series because I know that when you are not playing for four to five months, the international arena seems totally different than practice. I think the key is to get into the groove of international cricket. I am not worried about talent as the talent is there.”Samaraweera, who had previously worked as a batting consultant for Cricket Australia, was pleased with the amount of progress made by Bangladesh over the last year and a half.”I think the freedom that the coaching staff led by Chandi gave to the Bangladesh players made them believe they could fight against the top teams. You can see in the last 18 months they beat Pakistan, India and South Africa and they also did well in the World Cup in different conditions. More freedom, belief and support from senior to younger players are what a team requires.”I think more about the mental toughness and I can see how much they have changed over the last 18 months in terms of the technical aspects.”

Vinay Kumar returned from injury in style as Karnataka recorded their third successive win this season

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2016Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar capped his return from injury with a second-innings half-century and five-wicket haul that sent Vidarbha crashing to a 189-run loss inside three days in Vadodara. The win took Karnataka to their third victory in four games, thereby topping Group B at the season’s halfway mark.On a 17-wicket day in 71 overs, Karnataka first crumbled from 108 for 3 to 209 all out. Set 301 for victory, Vidarbha were skittled for 111, with Vinay returning 5 for 28.Left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh (4 for 59) and Lalit Yadav ripped through Karnataka’s lower middle-order, before Vinay rescued them with 56 from No. 8. He hit eight fours along the way to build the lead.After top-scoring with the bat, Vinay returned to lead the bowling charge, by picking three of the first four wickets; Vidarbha slumped to 12 for 4 at one stage. Jitesh Sharma counter-attacked to make 61, before S Aravind and K Gowtham dismissed the tailenders to finish off the innings inside 37 overs.Saurashtra dismissed Assam for 171 in Kolkata with Jaydev Unadkat taking six wickets, but not before Assam took a first-innings lead of 18.Saurashtra started the day on 121 for 9 with Unadkat and Shaurya Sanandia adding 32 runs in the morning for a cumulative partnership of 46 runs for the final wicket – their highest in the innings. Unadkat’s 46 helped creep their score up to 153 before Sanadia was dismissed by Dhiraj Goswami.In the reply, Assam lost their first wicket in their second over and Unadkat’s double-strike in overs 13 and 15 saw them stranded at 26 for 3. But a 52-run partnership between Arun Karthik and Swarupam Purkayastha for the sixth-wicket took them close to Saurashtra’s score, before the former was dismissed for 57. Purkayastha was out the following over and then Unadkat and Jadeja cleaned up the tail to constrict Assam to a slender lead.Saurashtra lost opener Avi Barot to Arup Das – his eighth scalp of the match – as they ended on 0 for the loss of one wicket at stumps.Opener Ranjit Singh and Subhranshu Senapati helped Odisha to 244 for 2 after following-on against Rajasthan in Patiala. Their unbeaten partnership of 159 runs in 56.3 overs gave Odisha a 93-run lead before final day’s play.Beginning the day on 143 for 8 in their first innings, Odisha fell short of avoiding follow-on by one run as Pankaj Singh picked up the last two wickets to finish with 4 for 61 as they were all out for 172, chasing 343.Odisha batted better in their second innings; opener Sandeep Pattnaik scored a 32-ball 40 before his partner Singh and Senapati – both of whom remained not out on 89 and 90 – steered Odisha to a significant lead while playing out the seven Rajasthan bowlers used in the innings.Unmukt Chand reached his century and followed that up with another half-century as Delhi reached 165 for 1 in their second-innings at stumps against Jharkhand in Thumba after being asked to follow on.Starting the day on 225 for 3, Chand and overnight centurion Rishabh Pant added 36 runs more before the latter was removed by Ashish Kumar. Chand fell one run later, but not before he had completed his eighth first-class ton earlier in the day. The last five Delhi wickets could add only 72 more runs as they were dismissed for 334, trailing by 159. Kumar and offbreak bowler Sunny Gupta returned with three wickets each.In their second innings, Chand put on 109-runs with fellow-opener Dhruv Shorey before Gupta dismissed him for 63. Shorey continued, to post his third first-class fifty, and ended not out on 67 with Nitish Rana, at stumps with Delhi on 165 for 1, leading by six runs. * The report erroneously mentioned Karnataka had beaten Baroda. This has been corrected.

Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, believes Ben Duckett could slot into the middle order for the Test matches against Bangladesh following his impressive first international series

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-20160:55

How will England line-up in Tests?

Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, believes Ben Duckett could slot into the middle order for the Test matches against Bangladesh following his impressive first international series.Duckett, the Northamptonshire left hander who made 2,706 runs across all formats in the 2016 English season, struck 60 on his ODI debut in Mirpur then, after a duck in the second match, compiled 63 in England’s successful chase to seal the series.Prior to the tour, it was billed as a contest between him and Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year-old Lancashire opener, as to who would open with Alastair Cook in the Test cricket. While that could still be the case – both players will have the two two-day matches in Chittagong with Cook back in England for the birth of his second child – there is also a potential vacancy lower down with Gary Ballance having made an unconvincing return against Pakistan.”It’s a bit of a shootout but they could end up both playing,” Farbrace said. “There’s no reason why Duckett couldn’t bat in the middle order, there are places going. In terms of balance, here [Chittagong] you might want three spinners in the team, Dhaka only two. We have half an eye on the India series as well.”Duckett was a brand new face around the squad when they flew out for the tour, so much so that he admitted having not met the coaching staff on the eve of the departure. After such a stellar season, which culminated in him winning a host of awards, he came with a big reputation but Farbrace said the ease with which he has slotted in has been surprising.”He has come in, and settled so well – better than any of us could have expected,” he said. “Not many of us knew that much about him as a bloke or a player, other than what we’d seen on TV and what we’d been told by David Ripley. His calmness around the game has shown he has the temperament. He has shown it straight away.”Another option for the middle order is to play Jos Buttler as a specialist batsman. During the English season it was a notion supported by Trevor Bayliss who was unperturbed by Buttler’s lack of red-ball cricket: he has played one four-day game since being dropped from the Test side in the UAE last year.His batting stood out in the one-day series as he made 63 off 38 balls in the first match, followed by a run-a-ball 57 in the second and 25 in the third. Farbrace said that it was as though he was batting “on different pitches” but also hinted that he remained lower down in the pecking order and would require injury or illness to find a spot.”If he can play that way in red-ball cricket, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be seen as a batter. He’s on this trip as the second keeper to start with, but…if you’re here in the squad, you’re a genuine chance of playing. Broken finger, wake up ill, you’re off and running. He’s showed real maturity with the bat and looked high quality.”

Whether the Sneddon Park pitch will aid the quicks or the spinners remains to be seen, but the balance is tilting towards the quicks: two days out from the game, the track is green, and much of the grass will be retained

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2016Pitch prediction sometimes brings to mind the reading of palms or tea leaves.In the days before a Test, coaches and captains take familiar positions near one end of the track and stare pensively down at the clay; silently nodding or shaking heads, or murmuring softly under their breath. They drop ritualistically, to their haunches to lay hands on the surface, sometimes feeling it with closed eyes, as if searching for the pitch’s life force. Towards the end of the exercise, glances are often thrown skywards and divine guidance is sought. Occasionally, the pitch curator consulted.Members of both teams observed this tradition, at Seddon Park, on Tuesday, and if they were especially intense during the examination, it is because the Hamilton pitch has had many avatars in recent years. It bounced for Sri Lanka last December, when even a visiting seamer prospered with the short ball, and Sri Lanka’s top order treated the crowd to an unforgettable slapstick collapse. In 2013 it had sung for offspinner Sunil Narine, who took 6 for 91 in the first innings. In the two Tests before that, reverse-swing had defined the outcome. All the way back in 2010, when Australia came, pace and seam movement had proved significant.Pakistan say they are happy to play on any track, but two days out, this track is just as green as the one at Hagley Oval had been. And although it was a warm, cloudless day, Seddon Park’s curators also kept the surface covered for much of the afternoon. Much of the grass will be retained – all the better to mute Pakistan’s spinner, said New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling, who also plays on this surface for the Northern Districts domestic side.”A lot can depend on the cloud cover we get here when conditions are around,” he said. “It can swing when it’s overcast. I’m hoping it doesn’t spin too much because Yasir Shah is a world-class bowler, and we really don’t want to bring him into the game too much.”In addition to aiding swing, the cloud cover and rain expected for the first three days of the match may also prevent the track from drying out as much as Pakistan and Yasir would like. The forecast has improved through the week, however, and Watling suggested that even a little sunshine could change the pitch’s character.Todd Astle will likely lose his spot to Mitchell Santner, who has recovered from a fractured wrist•AFP

“Our pitches here can flatten out quite quickly. If it’s green on day one, I can guarantee that by the end of day two, if it stays sunny, it won’t be that green anymore.”If the pitch does turn out seam-friendly again, the visiting quicks had shown competence in such conditions – particularly on the third morning of the first Test, when the claimed six wickets for 96. Their success had largely come from bowling shorter lengths than they had initially ventured, the previous day.”Their bowlers are very good, and conditions like these can suit them,” Watling said. “They would have learned from that last match and will adjust their lengths accordingly. They would have learned a lot with the bat as well and we can expect a tougher challenge in this game.”New Zealand are likely to retain the quicks that played in Christchurch, but will likely swap Mitchell Santner for Todd Astle in the XI. Watling said the hosts’ attack is varied enough to be menacing, even if the ball does not move for as long as expected.”We know we always have Neil Wagner, who when conditions flatten out, can change a game and give you those couple of crucial wickets to bring our swing bowlers back into the game as well. We’ve got a good balance there. With Colin bowling quite a few overs for us as the allrounder, I think it really helps Kane.”

Khulna Division crushed Dhaka Metropolis by 398 runs in their final match, at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, to successfully defend the National Cricket League Tier-1 title

The Report by Mohammad Isam05-Jan-2017Khulna Division crushed Dhaka Metropolis by 398 runs in their final match, at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, to successfully defend the National Cricket League Tier-1 title. Khulna finished on 58 points, which gave them an unassailable lead over second-placed Dhaka Division, who can only go up to 54 points even if they beat Barisal Division in Sylhet.It was Khulna’s fifth title win, which helped them equal Rajshahi Division, who haven’t won the trophy since 2011-12. After Dhaka were set 509 to win, Khulna bowled them out for 110 with Al-Amin Hossain taking 6 for 41.Abdur Razzak, the veteran left-arm spinner and Khulna captain, was delighted with the triumph. “Winning a first-class tournament is always pleasing,” Razzak told ESPNcricinfo. “We worked hard this season. Tushar [Imran] and [Anamul Haque] Bijoy batted really well throughout the six games. We also wanted to dominate the tournament, and I am happy that we won the last game by such a big margin.”Khulna had started off poorly. After being invited to bat, they were bowled out for 207 with Dolar Mahmud taking a five-wicket haul in his first match of the season. Anamul Haque top-scored with 62.But Khulna’s bowlers fought back, with Al-Amin, Ashiquzzaman and Abdur Razzak taking three wickets each, to skittle Dhaka out for 122 in just 36 overs.Anamul came good again in the second innings, and along with Tushar Imran, took Khulna to 423 for 5 before they declared with an overall lead of 509. Tushar’s 138 off 169 balls, which came with the help of 14 fours and three sixes, was his third century of the season and 20th in his career. Anamul’s 153-ball 122, with 12 fours and five sixes, was his second ton of the season.With 184 runs in the match, Anamul was adjudged joint player-of-the-match, alongside Al-Amin who took nine wickets in the match.

India have added legspinner Amit Mishra and offspinner Parvez Rasool to their squad for the three T20s against England, choosing to rest their first-choice spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2017

Updated India squad

KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Virat Kohli (capt), MS Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra
In: Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool
Out: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja

India have added legspinner Amit Mishra and offspinner Parvez Rasool to their squad for the three T20s against England, choosing to rest their first-choice spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series. Ashwin and Jadeja had been part of the initial 15-man squad for the series, which also includes legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal.The series begins on January 26 in Kanpur, rounding off England’s full tour of India.Mishra played two Tests against England in the recent home series and picked up five wickets. In the home ODIs against New Zealand before that, he was India’s top wicket-taker with 15 strikes at 14.33 and an economy rate of 4.79. He had played that series, too, in the absence of Ashwin and Jadeja, who were rested.In all, Mishra has played eight T20Is, and taken 14 wickets at 13.71 and an economy rate of 6.40. Only one of those eight T20Is have come in the last year; before playing West Indies in Florida last August, his previous T20I was in early 2014 at the World T20 in Bangladesh where he finished as India’s second-highest wicket-taker behind Ashwin.Rasool, who is handy with the bat down the order, has played just one international game till date – against Bangladesh in Dhaka in mid-2014. It is understood that the selectors felt this series was a good opportunity to blood someone like Rasool as there were no high-profile T20I tournaments in the near future.When Rasool was selected for India A to play England in a warm-up one-dayer in January 2013, during what was a stand-out Ranji season for him with bat and ball, he became the first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to be selected in an Indian team to play an international side.Leading up to the recently-concluded ODIs against England, once again Rasool was picked to play a tour game, and he claimed 3 for 38 including the wickets of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes. In the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy, he took 38 wickets at 23.86.In the IPL, Rasool has represented Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad and, most recently, Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 37 T20s, he has 27 wickets at 34.44 with an economy rate of 6.88.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between West Indies and England in Antigua

The Preview by Alan Gardner04-Mar-2017

Match facts

March 5, 2017
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

If the first ODI was a boxing match, England would have scored a TKO in the final round. The result was pretty much as expected, with a few notable displays in England’s largely workaday performance, but West Indies will have been encouraged by pretty much going the distance. A 45-run defeat was certainly not the mismatched mauling some may have feared.Shannon Gabriel’s new-ball spell had England in trouble, while Ashley Nurse did a decent containing job in the middle overs; then with the bat, Jason Mohammed led the resistance after West Indies looked to be in trouble at 39 for 3. Mohammed and Jonathan Carter combined composure with power – particularly in the case of the latter – and perhaps only the difficulty of chasing on a slow surface undermined them towards the end.Stuart Law, West Indies’ new coach, will surely feel he has some ingredients to work with as he tries to marshal a rise from No. 9 in the rankings and secure automatic World Cup qualification. Narrow defeats are not worth any more ranking points than heavy ones, however, and immediate improvement could be required as the tourists warm to the conditions and the task at hand.England may not have blasted away their opponent in the opening rounds but they did show some improved ringcraft. Eoin Morgan’s hundred showed the savvy that has not always been so apparent in the hard-hitting approach favoured by this side; Ben Stokes, too, applied himself to the situation and England were therefore able to grind their way to the brink of 300 without overreaching. A more ruthless performance with the ball will be on Morgan’s tick list for the rematch.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLTW
England: WWLLW

In the spotlight

Jason Mohammed had only played two ODIs for his country – spread over four years and yielding six runs – before making his maiden half-century for West Indies in Antigua. After a strong Regional Super 50 for Trinidad, in which he was fifth on the run-scorers’ charts, Mohammed has been preferred in the middle order to the younger, more dynamic Rovman Powell. He showed the value of his experience in the first match, during partnerships of 69 and 82 with Shai Hope and Carter respectively, and almost single-handedly milked Moeen Ali’s offspin, scoring 30 of the 37 Moeen conceded to keep West Indies in the hunt. At 30, now is his chance to demand a run in the side.It might be counterintuitive to suggest that one of the three men who passed 50 for England on Friday is under pressure – but that is the case for Sam Billings, who is attempting to hold on to his billeting as a makeshift opener while Alex Hales recovers from a hand injury. Billings has two fifties in three ODI outings at the top of the order but the sense here was of an opportunity missed after he had made it through the tricky initial stages against the new ball. Morgan has described Hales as a “very formidable player in our side” and Billings may need to produce something spectacular if he is not to drop straight back into England’s very competitive pack of white-ball reserve batsmen.

Team news

The XI West Indies selected in the first ODI probably did enough to warrant another outing together. Rovman Powell offers another all-round option, while Alzarri Joseph offers extra pace with the ball.West Indies (probable) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Jonathan Carter, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Ashley Nurse, 11 Shannon GabrielEngland are also likely to stick with the same side, although Hales could return at Billings’ expense if passed fit. The teams did not train on Saturday but Jake Ball is not thought ready to play after injuring his knee in a warm-up match.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven Finn.

Pitch and conditions

The same pitch is to be used for the second ODI, which could make run-scoring even more of a struggle. Rainfall on Friday had contributed to a slightly damp surface in the morning but it quickly dried out and is likely to become more and more receptive to spin. There is again a forecast for early showers on Sunday but the day should otherwise be clear.

Stats and trivia

• England now lead West Indies 43-42 on head-to-head results in ODIs – the first time they have done so since winning their very first encounter in 1973. England have won ten of the last 11 against West Indies.
• The team West Indies played in the first ODI had 169 caps between them – fewer than Morgan, who has played 174 times for Ireland and England.
• Steven Finn needs two more wickets to reach 100; if he gets there in this series, he will be the third-fastest to do so for England.

Quotes

“We showed that, as a young team, we can compete with England and we can win games.”
“We took early wickets but they managed to rebuild. That’s what experienced sides do, so credit to them for doing it.”