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Legspinner Imran Khan took seven wickets in the match and struck an unbeaten 84 to lead Trinidad and Tobago’s innings rout of Leeward Islands in North Sound

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2017Legspinner Imran Khan took seven wickets in the match and struck an important 84 unbeaten runs to lead Trinidad and Tobago’s innings rout of Leeward Islands in North Sound. T&T’s big win puts them more than five points clear of Jamaica for the second place, while Leeward, stuck with a solitary win after five matches, are on fifth position.Imran took 3 for 26 in the first innings as Leewards buckled for 207 after opting to make first use of the surface. Devon Thomas held Leeward’s innings together and tried to build it with 46. But Leeward lost wickets regularly at the other end to be brought down to 93 for 5. Thomas then finally found support in the form of Rahkeem Cornwall, the Leeward captain, who struck 43 and partnered Thomas for a sixth-wicket partnership of 66. The stand ended with the dismissal of Cornwall, while Thomas fell two overs later, having top-scored for his side. Shane Burton’s 29 quick, unbeaten runs hauled Leeward past 200 before Imran mopped up the last two wickets to end Leeward’s innings on 207. Medium-pacer Roshon Primus took wickets all across the line-up and finished with 4 for 57.T&T made a dominant start to their reply, with their openers Kyle Hope and Amir Jangoo stitching together 187. Both batsmen fell short of centuries – Jangoo for 96 and Hope for 84 – in successive overs. That triggered a spectacular slide as T&T lost seven wickets for 48 runs. But Imran extended Leeway’s stay on the field substantially by putting on an eight-wicket partnership of 79 with Khary Pierre (23). Imran stayed not out on 84 as T&T piled on 360 for a first-innings lead of 153. Terrence Warde took three wickets for Leeward.Barring a first-wicket stand of 86, Leeward’s second innings made for woeful reading. Montcin Hodge displayed oodles of patience in compiling 54 off 198 balls, while Chesney Hughes struck 42 off 96 balls with the help of five fours and a six. Apart from the two, only the No. 9 Jeremiah Louis moved to double figures as Imran and Pierre tore through Leeward with nine wickets between them. Pierre finished with his first-class best figures of 5 for 44, while Imran took 4 for 17.

Moeen Ali has admitted England’s ‘off-field behaviour needs to improve’ after Ben Duckett was suspended for the remainder of the England Lions tour

George Dobell in Perth11-Dec-20171:21

‘ECB will take dim view of Duckett’s behaviour’

Moeen Ali has admitted England’s “off-field behaviour needs to improve” after Ben Duckett was suspended for the remainder of the England Lions tour.Duckett, who was due to play for the England XI in the weekend’s warm-up match against a CA XI, was also fined around £1,500 and given a final warning over his conduct after he poured a drink over James Anderson in a bar in the early hours of Friday morning.While Moeen, captain of the England XI in the warm-up match, said he thought the portrayal of the team as “out of control” was “unfair”, he urged his teammates to be mindful of the influence their actions – on and off the field – could have on young spectators.”The off-field behaviour needs to improve,” he said. “We all know that and hopefully that will happen in the future.”It’s not as bad as people make out, but these days small things are made into big things.”The incident, however, occurred in the Avenue Bar in Perth, the same venue that England had been frequenting on the first night of the tour, when Jonny Bairstow greeted Cameron Bancroft with a “head-butt”. It also took place on the first night on which England’s midnight curfew had been lifted.”We’re all grown men and should know how to behave,” said Moeen. “Through county cricket all the way up to international cricket, the individual needs to be responsible for his behaviour.”I think the image of the team is unfair but, as cricketers and professionals, with scrutiny on us, we have to be careful and behave ourselves.”With young kids watching and hearing the news, we have to be on our best behaviour and I think it’s really important that we inspire the younger generation to take up the game. Any poor behaviour could turn them away and that’s not what we want.”

After the India captain smashed an unbeaten 160, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal shared eight wickets between them to put their side 3-0 up

The Report by Firdose Moonda07-Feb-20181:13

Cullinan: Probably SA’s worst ODI fielding unit ever

Live Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Virat Kohli ensured India will have some share of the silverware as he took them to unassailable 3-0 lead in the ODI series. Kohli scored his second century in three matches, his third on India’s tour of South Africa and more than half India’s total of 303 before his bowlers did the rest, or should that be wrist?South Africa’s line-up, riddled with inexperience, was again spun out by Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. With eight wickets between them, the pair took their series tally to 21. They have claimed but all but seven of the South African wickets across three matches. Their wickets at Newlands came at a cost just 69 runs, and through the series, they have conceded 190 runs and taken their wickets at an average of 9.05.The hosts had serious problems, which started when they decided to bowl first on a surface where everything screams bat. Perhaps, it was the knowledge that India fancy themselves to chase just about anything and the ghosts of their previous two batting performances still swirling. But South Africa decided to save their weaker suit upfront and were witness to a Kohli masterclass instead, but not before they had an opportunity to dismiss him for a duck.After Kagiso Rabada removed Rohit Sharma in the opening over, he had Kohli given out lbw off the third ball of his second over but the India captain reviewed. Replays showed Kohli had hit the ball as he attempted a flick. The on-field decision was overturned and so were South Africa’s fortunes.At the other end, debutant Lungi Ngidi struggled to pull his length back and India’s batsmen capitalised. The visitors reached 50 in 10 overs with 40 via boundaries.Andile Phehlukwayo’s opening over, full but wider outside off than Ngidi had been, promised to plug the flow of runs, but he lost his line after that. Morris tried the short ball but with Dhawan well set, only drinks could stop the runs momentarily. India were 87 for 1 after 16 overs.Imran Tahir was introduced after the interval but Dhawan swept his second ball to the deep square leg boundary to bring up his fifty off 42 balls. Dhawan then swiped the fifth ball to the midwicket boundary to put Tahir under further pressure. Ngidi’s second spell went significantly worse than his opening one. His first four overs cost 29 runs and his next two 18 to leave Aiden Markram with no choice but to turn to JP Duminy.While offspin is meat and drink to India’s line-up, Duminy was able to toss the ball up and slow it down and it brought some results. He had Dhawan chipping a catch to short midwicket in his second over to end a 140-run second-wicket stand that came at 6.31 runs an over. Five overs later Ajinkya Rahane was beaten in flight as he stepped out and holed out to long-off.South Africa established something of a squeeze between the 20th and 40th over, in which they conceded 105 runs but Kohli was there throughout, accumulating steadily. In all, 100 of his 160 came through singles, twos, and threes. He had brought up his 34th ODI hundred off 119 balls when he nudged a double to fine leg.Duminy completed a full quota of 10 overs for the first time since July 2013, and only the fifth time in his 182-match ODI career, returning 2 for 60.India entered the final 10 overs on 223 for 4 and despite Tahir and Phehluwayo’s dismissals of MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadav respectively, Kohli accelerated. He brought up 1000 ODI runs against South Africa, 150 of 157 balls and helped India score 47 off the final five overs to top 300.A target so steep demanded something much more than South Africa have offered so far and the early loss of Hashim Amla only made it tougher. Amla was deep in the crease when he missed a Jasprit Bumrah ball that slanted in from off stump and struck him on the pad. He considered a review but eventually decided against it and left Markram to lean on Duminy instead.A 78-run stand followed with glimpses of promise from Markram and maturity from Duminy, who went on to score his first fifty in 21 ODIs, since October 2016, but the pair only kept South Africa in the chase for a short while. Once Markram was stumped off Kuldeep, South Africa’s soft underbelly was exposed.Heinrich Klaasen then missed a flick and was out lbw to Chahal and 15 balls later, Duminy went the same way, struck in front of leg stump. With the asking rate mounting, David Miller heaved and was caught behind off Bumrah to leave South Africa 129 for 5. They lost their last five wickets for 50 runs and may now look to a change in personnel ahead of the next three games. South Africa will announce the squad for the remainder of the series on Thursday with AB de Villiers expected to return from a finger injury.

The batsman marked his return from injury with a 22-ball fifty, while Shikhar Dhawan’s 49-ball 90 went in vain

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando at Premadasa06-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:22

Dasgupta: It’s a new side, can’t read much into India’s loss

Sri Lanka rode a 22-ball fifty from Kusal Perera, and a proficient finish from Thisara Perera, to victory in the Nidahas Trophy opener against India, though the chase of 175 was not without its tense moments. With four overs remaining in the chase, Sri Lanka needed 35 and had two relatively new batsmen at the crease. Although India’s quicks were briefly ascendant, a six and a four down the ground from Thisara lurched Sri Lanka to the brink of victory. He would complete the win himself, with a swipe to the fine-leg boundary, with nine balls still left in the innings.Asked to bat first, India had lost two early wickets, but mustered a competitive total thanks largely to Shikhar Dhawan, who made 90 off 49 balls – his best score in the format. Dhawan’s 95-run stand with Manish Pandey was the centrepiece of India’s innings, though perhaps they will be disappointed to not have made at least 10 runs more, given the position Dhawan had left them in. Two spinners – Jeevan Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka – had taken a wicket apiece and kept the scoring in check through the latter half of the innings.It was Kusal who had got Sri Lanka well ahead of the asking rate, and he had done it inside the Powerplay. He slog swept the second ball of his innings for six, and then really took flight in the next over – the third of the innings – bowled by Shardul Thakur. Kusal walloped the first ball nonchalantly over midwicket for four, the second he carved behind point, the third he drilled to the cover boundary, and the fourth – a slower delivery – was lifted over the long-on boundary. The bowler’s mind muddled now, he sent a chest-high full toss at Kusal, who had no issues thumping the no-ball to the cover fence. Another four, this one smoked down the ground, brought the total for the over to 27. Only with the last ball did Thakur gain some respite – a short delivery was merely bunted to fine leg. India, however, were now scrambling to contain Kusal. His partner Danushka Gunathilaka would soon hole out to mid-off, but even he had hit three boundaries. Though Sri Lanka had lost both their openers by the end of the fifth over, they had hit 70 runs.Associated Press

After the field restrictions were relaxed, Kusal hit only the occasional boundary, but the cushion of a fast start meant Sri Lanka’s middle order could afford a few stutters. Dinesh Chandimal made an awkward 14 off 11 balls before being bowled by a quicker Yuzvendra Chahal delivery. Upul Tharanga batted at less than a run-a-ball for his 17. And though Kusal himself was dismissed with Sri Lanka still requiring 48 runs, the hosts batted deep enough to haul themselves across the target. Thisara’s winning runs came in the company of Dasun Shanaka, who had more or less mis-hit his way to 15 off 18 balls.Earlier, Dhawan’s own innings had not been without good fortune. He mistimed three pull shots and saw each of those sail over fine leg for six – two coming in the same Nuwan Pradeep over. On 82, he edged a full delivery from Dushmantha Chameera behind, but wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal went at the ball with one glove instead of two, and grassed the chance.Dhawan took more risks than virtually all his partners, and usually got enough bat on ball to survive the mis-hits. The intentional big shots – the two slog sweeps off the spinners and the wallop down the ground off Chameera – were well planned and disdainful. There was no area of the ground that he particularly favoured. Generally, he stayed in his crease to prey off the bad-length deliveries, and rarely let a scoring opportunity pass him by. His fifty was off 30 deliveries, and when he perished, holing out to long-off he had hit 90 of India’s 153 runs.Sri Lanka’s victory against India – albeit against a weakened India side – was their first in eight attempts. Where they really set themselves apart was in the Powerplay. Sri Lanka were 75 for 2 after their first six overs. India had hit only 40 while losing two wickets – Chameera having been especially effective during that period.

Following the announcement of sanctions, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland answered questions about Darren Lehmann’s role, David Warner’s future, and the Australian team culture

Daniel Brettig in Johannesburg28-Mar-2018How can Darren Lehmann escape charges given the apparent relaying of messages to Cameron Bancroft?
It is understood and it has been verified by others that on the walkie-talkie he said… you guys probably saw it, the first time anyone knew about it was when it came up on the vision screen. He saw that and he radioed down and he said: ‘what the f*** is going on?’ He said to Peter Handscomb ‘find out what the f*** is going on’. Beyond that, I would like to just touch on he brought everyone into the room when the next break was. He basically went through everyone and went ‘what is going on?’ There are other parts of the investigation that asked lots of questions to try and understand that. But in Darren’s defence, these were findings that Iain Roy had.How could he not know given the culture around the team, and is he culpable on a wider level?
I’ve got no doubt that he feels some sort of personal responsibility for that. We all do. This is a terrible situation. There are three guys going home that have been offered sanctions that are life-changing. There is a feeling of guilt and questions obviously being asked of lots of people as to why or how that might have happened. That’s part of the purpose of later discussion and review. We’ll clearly take on board whatever comes out of such investigations.But further to that I think it’s really important that to say this process is about culture and performance and all of that but it’s also about the standing of the Australian cricket team and how they engage with the Australian public. There is a rebuild that needs to happen to reinstate the faith and the confidence and I guess the pride that the Australian public had and should have in the Australian cricket team.How much scrutiny will Lehmann face during the culture review?
The review will be deep and far-ranging. We’re committed to doing something about it. We cannot have this happen again. It’s just unquestionable and so obvious. If there are things that allow little things to turn into little things to turn into big things that allow this to happen, then you’ve got to go back to the core and find out what the little things are and address them. That is what we’ll be doing.How much did David Warner’s history contribute to receiving the harshest penalty?
It’s certainly not history, though in terms of code of conduct he does have a rap sheet that is longer. So there’s an element of that. But I think that you don’t need to look any further than the specific comments or findings. There were lots of things in there that ultimately come to a judgement around that. He’s the vice-captain, Steven Smith’s the captain. He might not have been as integrally involved, but at the same time the captain has a responsibility and could have done something about it.What about allegations from South Africa about the use of sandpaper [the bandage on Warner’s left hand] in Port Elizabeth?
Again, the focus of Iain’s investigation was very much about the incident in Cape Town and what happened. If there’s an element of truth to those allegations then they’re obviously of severe concern. If there was more to that or more understanding then there would be action taken, and further investigation.Will you investigate?
Not at this stage. But from our perspective, if there are credible allegations, and there is evidence to come to light, we have powers under our code of conduct to investigate that or any other matter.Will they get contracts for 2018-19?
No contracts next year, they won’t be offered contracts. There’s no impact on pre-existing contracts. At the same time as we go forward, for Steve and David, there’ll be no Cricket Australia contract for the year.They have been banned by the IPL – did you have the authority to reject NOCs? And what of county cricket?
Under the code, we didn’t have any clear authority over domestic matches played overseas. It was talked about but we ascertained based on the legal advice that we didn’t have that clear authority. I understood the IPL has made a call recently, someone told me about that. It sounds like IPL have made a decision, and I think again it [county cricket] is a matter for the ECB. As I understand it Bancroft has got something going with Somerset, but what happens with that is up to them.Would you be happy if they did play county cricket?

On balance, what we’ve done is we’ve dealt with the matters within our control. We have made an assessment and I think we all know here that there are extreme views around this in terms of what the penalties are. And not only extreme, one end to the other, but up and down the line as well. What we have done is try to over a number of meetings, the directors have gone into great detail to consider all of the evidence at hand and try to find the right balance for the circumstances. It was a really significant offence, it’s done immeasurable damage to the game and the reputation to the game in Australia and perhaps more broadly. And we believe in difficult circumstances we’ve found a landing spot that is fair after offering a proper process of investigation.Were bigger bans contemplated?
I can assure you there were considerations and views around the table that were all over the place. Higher sanctions for all three players, lower sanctions for all three players and it is one of those things that needs to be carefully considered. You need to talk openly and share views on balance but working with the timelines that we had and proper process, we’ve landed at something that we believe is appropriate, commensurate with the offence, but at the same time allows an opportunity for these people who are good people who have made bad mistakes, the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and come back and play the great game.Can Smith captain Australia again?
His ban is for captaincy is 24 months. It’s not before 24 months. All I’d say is that he’s got a very steep hill to climb to rebuild the confidence and faith of the Australian public. Ultimately, the public and the Board who approve the captains of the Australian teams are the ones who will decide that or not. I think he’s got that opportunity. I know speaking to him today before he left, he actually said with a smile on his face when we were talking about the community service and working at club cricket, he said with a smile on his face ‘I’ll be doing that anyway’, which I think says a lot about him.Has Warner got a steeper path than Smith?
Everyone’s different, Cameron Bancroft’s different as well. They have different relationships with different people. But irrespective of that, I think when you boil it down everyone will have different perspectives, but when you have a look at it I think Smith and Warner both 12 months suspensions, it’s fair. Steve is the captain, David the vice-captain, they play different roles, they’re guilty of different things in our view, based on the investigation. People will have different views but the Board was dealing with the evidence they had in front of them.Was the harsh penalty for ball-tampering or outrage?
They haven’t been charged by Cricket Australia for ball tampering. It’s something that’s important to remind people that the code is worth reading, those four dot points, that’s what they’ve been charged for. That’s the significance. It relates to contrary to the spirit of the game, it relates to denigrating the game or having an impact on the reputation and image of the game, causing damage to the game, all of those things have quite clearly happened in a short space of time as a result of those actions. That’s what the report is for and the sanctions are on that basis.How much more damage could there be done if the matter goes to a hearing?
All we can do is uphold the code to our best judgement and take into considerations the evidence we have. It’s about the spirit of cricket it’s about the good of the game, it’s not about individuals or thinking about those sorts of consequences, we’ve got to make those judgements on what’s best for the game and quite rightly as a course of natural justice under our code, players have the right to accept or reject the charges or the sanctions or both, and if they do to take that to appeal. That’s a good, proper legal process and that’s why it’s written that way.Given Warner has got in strife before, were you worried he might transgress again?
David has got a rap sheet but I actually had a lot of confidence that he was going well. And I think over the last couple of years, certainly at least prior to Durban, he had a pretty clean sheet and he was performing well and he was leading well. He had just come off the Twenty20 successful series and was doing well. So I guess based on prior things you can say that, but at the same time I am as surprised as anyone about all this. Putting aside individuals, I am surprised that Australian cricketers have let this happen to them, allowed this to happen, and allowed it to happen to the team and the game.”Regarding culture. Smith said before Cape Town he was not in a great headspace. He was talking about batting, but still. Under umbrella of culture, are you looking at that part of it?
Yeah, I think it is performance, culture and the pressure of the tour. You guys know what it is like when you see the players first hand, you have good days and bad days and it is a difficult situation. This is a tough tour, South Africa is a tough environment to play because of the combative nature of Australian-South Africa cricket with the crowds and everything else that you have to deal with. It sort of goes with the territory and you expect that. It can still get to you, we still understand that.And that’s part of performing better or being better, but it is also about having the mechanisms around the players to help support them and put them in a position of not only performing, but dealing with the pressures and ensuring the right cultures to ensure that little things don’t turn into big things that turn into monumental things.What is Warner’s future like given apparent breakdown of his relationship with the rest of the team?
I don’t know about the details but the intention of the charges, the sanctions that we have offered is that they are commensurate with what we believe are terrible actions that have damaged the game, but allow all three players, if they so wish and are motivated to, to come back and play for Australia.

A “tibial bone stress in his right leg” has ruled Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc out of the fourth Test against South Africa, and the IPL starting April 7 in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-20181:25

‘Starc’s injury a huge blow to KKR’ – Deep Dasgupta

A “tibial bone stress fracture in his right leg” has ruled Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc out of the fourth Test against South Africa, and the IPL, which starts on April 7 in Mumbai. Starc’s injury has added to a series of horrible news for Australia after the ball-tampering controversy, which most recently saw Darren Lehmann’s announcement to step down as their coach after the ongoing Test in Johannesburg.Starc will fly home after the fourth Test for further assessment. His injury handed a Test debut to Chadd Sayers on Friday, which was the fourth change in the Australia XI with Steven Smith, David Warner Cameron Bancroft having flown back home.Starc’s injury has added to Kolkata Knight Riders’ worries too, who bought him for nearly USD 1.47 million in January. Knight Riders are already waiting on injury updates for Chris Lynn and Andre Russell, and an update on Sunil Narine, whose action was reported during the PSL earlier this month. Narine will be allowed to bowl in the IPL, but will be under scrutiny by the match officials considering he had been banned from bowling in the league in the past. Knight Riders are confident about Russell and Lynn being available during the first half of the tournament.Starc is the third Australian player to be ruled out of the IPL this week after Smith and Warner were banned from participating in the league by the BCCI. Starc had been troubled by a calf injury before the start of the third Test, and suffered a heel problem that ruled him out of the Boxing Day Test in the Ashes too.

Rajasthan Royals’ hopes of a playoffs spot took a beating after their sixth defeat in nine games

The Report by Nikhil Kalro06-May-2018
5:00

Hogg: Mujeeb has been better than Ashwin this IPL

Given the short dimensions of the Holkar Stadium, the plausibility of dew impacting spinners in the second innings and the favourable chasing trend this IPL season, Kings XI Punjab had to win two key phases in the game: the toss and their bowling performance. And they did both. R Ashwin chose to chase and the bowlers, led by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Andrew Tye, stifled Rajasthan Royals to 152, a score well below par in Indore.Although Royals put in a spirited bowling performance of their own, KL Rahul expertly switched gears to finish with a match-winning 84 off 54 balls, his highest IPL score, to push Kings XI to third on the points table. Royals, with five losses in their last six games, retained their spot at the bottom of the points table.A slow PowerplayAs an opener in the IPL, Buttler has an average of 30.80 and a strike-rate of 167. At any other position, he has an average of 22.10 and a strike-rate of 134.40. He also scored a 26-ball 67 against Delhi Daredevils opening in the previous game. Also, Royals’ average Powerplay score prior to this game, fifth in the IPL. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that Royals promoted Buttler to open.Royals were desperate for a strong start, but D’Arcy Short and Ajinkya Rahane hadn’t quite found their fluency this season. In the first over, Short skewed a heave to mid-on. In the fourth over, Rahane top-edged a cut to short third man. At 35 for 2, with a fragile middle order, Royals had lost a crucial Powerplay battle against Kings XI’s spinners.A stuttering middle …Sanju Samson, batting at No. 4, and Buttler put Royals back on course with a 49-run partnership. Then, Royals lost another key duel: Samson was bounced out, Stokes was dismissed via a magnificent relay catch by Mayank Agarwal and Manoj Tiwary, Buttler nicked off to Mujeeb and, one ball later, Jofra Archer was bowled, beaten between bat and pad.Overall, Royals managed just 65 runs in nine overs after the Powerplay and entered the death overs – the final five of an innings – at 110 for 6. The lower order was scrapping for a score they could defend, which meant they lost another phase in the game.BCCI

… and a sub-par endPrior to this game, Royals scored an average of 10.10 runs an over in the back end, equating to an average of 50.5 runs. At Holkar Stadium, Royals needed plenty more than that, but they were bare of batting resources in that period.The lower order added just 42 runs in the final five overs and they finished with 152, which was below the average score at this ground of 188 in T20Is and the IPL since 2015. Royals lost all three phases in their innings, which meant the game was all but done.Gearing for the endAt this stadium, bowling is the harder art and Royals took on the challenge gamely. First, Archer generated speeds in excess of 145 kph in a riveting battle against Chris Gayle. Archer was hit for two fours before Gayle nailed an uppish cut to point. Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and Axar Patel were also dismissed in a disciplined spell from Royals in the first 13 overs.At the other end, Rahul was forced to re-evaluate his tempo. At one point, he was 48 off 43 balls, with Kings XI requiring 43 off 24 balls. Seamlessly, his stroke-making fluidity changed: he hit five boundaries in his next 11 balls to end Kings XI’s two-game losing run, with eight balls to spare.

The allrounder said that tensions had now eased and he is focused on being as valuable as possible to county and country

Andrew McGlashan14-Jun-2018Yorkshire threatened to tear up David Willey’s contract when he took up a last-minute offer to join the IPL on the eve of the English season.Willey was picked up by Chennai Super Kings, the eventual champions, as a late injury replacement which did not go down well with director cricket Martyn Moxon who bemoaned an “impossible situation” for the county.Willey said the decision to take up the offer was a “no brainer” but it led to considerable tensions. They have now eased, but Willey believes counties have look at what they can potentially gain from allowing players to go and play in India.”I was threatened with them ripping my contract up which wasn’t great, but that has all been resolved now,” Willey said. “I think the landscape of the modern game is changing and I do think that counties should try and work with it rather than work against it and look at the longer term picture.”These guys who go and play in these competitions around the world ultimately you would think that their counties will benefit from it whether it be immediately that summer when they come back and contribute to winning games or whether they go on and help develop youngsters down the line.”Willey has conceded that Yorkshire, who signed Willey in 2016 with the allrounder at the time keen to push his Test credentials, may not see as much of him as they would like but he has just put pen to paper on a new one-year deal with the club. He does not see himself going the route of Alex Hales and Adil Rashid in ditching first-class cricket.”Naturally the way things have worked out over the past few years I haven’t played much four-day cricket but that is no reflection of my ambition to play red-ball cricket, it is just the way things have worked out,” he said.Willey will have a chance to play the latter part of the Championship season with England’s white-ball cricket for the season finished by mid-July, but for now his focus is on the one-day series against Australia.He played a key role in the opening victory at The Oval with an unbeaten 35, his highest ODI score, when England wobbled in the run chase. Willey admitted he had “probably underachieved” with the bat at international level where he has a different role down the order than he does with Yorkshire.”Yesterday allowed me to play in my natural way because the state of the game meant there was plenty of overs left to get the runs so I could play my natural game which suited me,” he said. “It is a different role and it requires a different set of skills to what I do back at Yorkshire.”Willey also helped set the tone with the ball when he removed Travis Head in his first over and it is ultimately his impact with the ball that will determined how often he slots into the one-day side. In this series he has the chance for an extended run in the starting XI due to the injuries to Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes.”No-one is guaranteed a place and my position is certainly not guaranteed a spot in the side so whoever is playing well gets an opportunity and it is up to them to make that spot their own,” he said.While known as a threat when the new ball swings, as he showed at The Oval to remove Head, Willey is conscious of expanding his range of skills. He showed a glimpse of a new tactic by bowling wide yorkers against Scotland and has also tried to learn of AJ Tye’s slower balls having played with the Australia seamer in the Big Bash for Perth Scorchers.”I need to make sure I am swinging that new ball and taking wickets inside that Powerplay,” he said. I might get driven a few times but with the sideways movement I’m in the game.”In the case of AJ Tye, he’s got a brilliant knuckle ball which I’m trying to develop myself, but it isn’t quite as good as his.”You need to have different variations in white-ball cricket, it is crucial to be able to combat the flat pitches, and playing in different environments means you need to develop your game to cope in different ways.”

With three days still to go, and a draw or win unlikely for the visitors, the coach Ottis Gibson said that he wanted his players to compete with pride

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo21-Jul-2018Before this series, South Africa’s lowest total in Sri Lanka had been 169. On this tour, they have now crashed to 126, 73 and 124 – a grand total of 323 runs, in a series in which opposition opener Dimuth Karuanaratne, by himself, has made 330 (and counting). Staring at a 2-0 whitewash two days into the second Test, South Africa are still at a loss as to how it all went so horribly wrong, but the only thing they know for sure, is that right now, it hurts.”We’ve got very capable batsmen – world class batsmen – in our dressing room, and they are hurting at the moment because they haven’t performed to the level that we expect in Sri Lanka,” South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said. “In the past, Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar especially have got runs here. We got a couple of new faces as well as youngsters getting their first or second taste of subcontinent cricket, trying to understand what’s it all about. But you could put up your hands and say that Sri Lanka in these conditions are too good for us.”South Africa will have to bat last in this Test, and are already 365 runs in arrears, with Sri Lanka likely to grow their lead beyond 400 on the third morning. With the pitch taking significant turn, South Africa’s is almost a hopeless situation – no team has ever successfully chased down over 400 on the island. With victory virtually out of reach, and a draw unlikely with three days to play, what is left to play for is pride, Gibson said.”That’s one of the things that we talk about – making sure that we play for pride, because when we left home we came here full of pride, and full of optimism and ambition, hoping we can do well in the series. It hasn’t worked out. I would like to think that the guys who haven’t performed up to now would look at is as one more opportunity whenever the Lankans are bowled out or they have declared. And that they try and bat as long as we can and see what we can get out the game still.”The one thing that I picked up very early when I came to South Africa was what it meant to represent the Proteas. I will still be drawing on that in the dressing room tomorrow to say that the thing about the Proteas is that we fight till the very end, and that’s what we are going to do for the duration of the game.”Among other South Africa hopes that haven’t quite panned out in Sri Lanka, was the expectation that the seamers could get wickets via reverse swing. Of the 13 Sri Lanka wickets to have fallen in this Test, only one went to a South Africa quick – with the visitors playing three fast bowlers in their XI, with only one frontline spinner in tow. In Galle too, reverse swing had failed to play the role it often does for South Africa, on tours of Asia, but the team had still felt that banking on pace and reverse swing was the right call, over playing two spinners.”We played two spinners in Galle and we got 20 wickets, but we didn’t make enough runs and we felt the batting was a bit short,” Gibson said. “So we thought we’d play an extra batsman. Looking at the surface before the game it looked a lot more abrasive than the Galle surface, and we felt we’d get a bit of reverse swing, so we backed our seamers.”

Prasidh Krishna picked up another four-wicket haul to ensure India B only had 218 to chase

The Report by Shashank Kishore in Alur25-Aug-2018Getty Images

Saxena replaces Injured Jayant in India B squad

Jayant Yadav has been ruled out of the Quadrangular series with a right side strain. In a like-for-like substitution, Jalaj Saxena has been called up to replace the offspin-bowling allrounder in the India B squad. Saxena was originally part of India Green squad, who are scheduled to play a Duleep Trophy game against India Blue from August 29.
Jayant played India B’s match against South Africa A on Thursday, bowling eight overs for figures of 0 for 45, but did not feature in their most recent match against India A. He will now undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

For all the seriousness of this being a List A fixture, there was a sense that the result was just academic. It was, after all, a contest between 22 players picked by Rahul Dravid, the India A coach, and the national selectors in two representative Indian squads for the Quadrangular series.While a place in the final was still at stake, it was more about how a group of cricketers that live and dine together for at least six months in a year, play alongside and against each other in the IPL, face each other at the nets, and know each other’s game inside-out, go about their game in a proper match scenario. For the record, India B won by seven wickets to post their second successive win.The contest itself wasn’t particularly exciting, but it produced a number of key individual performances, which, when put in context, provided a glimpse into the players’ mindsets. One of those players was Mayank Agarwal.Perhaps unlucky not to receive a call-up to the Test squad for the last two Tests in England, after a superb English summer with India A – he top-scored with 442 runs in six innings at an average of 88.40 in a victorious tri-series campaign – he knuckled down and flattened a quality fast-bowling attack consisting of Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed. He seemed to have put his non-selection aside, and his 114-ball 124 allowed India B to gallop towards their target of 218, which they reached with 53 balls to spare.Agarwal fought through the discomfort of batting with a heavily taped left webbing, which he had damaged while attempting a catch in the slips in the 12th over of the India A innings. He spent a couple of hours off the field, but returned towards the end of India A’s innings. With bat in hand, though – he could open because it was an external injury – he looked as assured as he’s ever been, reeling off boundaries in the Powerplay and checking himself in for an extended batting session.The highlight came as he marched into the 40s and hit successive sixes off K Gowtham – both over deep midwicket with the spin – to bring up his half-century. Then he once again buckled down and accumulated, seemingly intent on converting his start into his 12th List A hundred, and his fourth in his last seven innings in that format.As approached the century mark, he became more adventurous. He played and missed two consecutive deliveries and got into some banter with Siraj. The crowd clearly were on local boy Agarwal’s side and egged him on, chanting ” (hit him, son, hit him>)”. Agarwal responded by stepping out and walloping two length balls over extra-cover to march into the 90s, and then brought up his century with a pulled four. When he was out pulling with India B needing 14, he had hit 14 fours and three sixes.Shubman Gill also had a bumper India A tour of England, batting in the middle order. His seamless transition from the Under-19s to the A level along with Prithvi Shaw has many, including Dravid, excited. Fearlessness and situational awareness are traits that Gill is becoming known for, and he displayed them yet again.In England, he was often the aggressor, coming in with platform set to tee off. Here, he walked in at No. 3 in a chase of a middling target after Ishan Kishan’s early dismissal, knowing there wasn’t any need to be overly aggressive. He cut out the lofted hits and other risky shots, and instead showed off his fleet-footedness and punchy drives as he made 42 in a 97-run stand with Agarwal. Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav completed the chase in the 42nd over.As significant as Agarwal’s contribution was Prasidh Krishna’s earlier in the day. The 22-year old fast bowler, whose action is eerily similar to that of Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, finished with four wickets to go with the four he picked up in Thursday’s series-opening win over South Africa A. Two of these came in his first two overs, but the one that would have given him the most satisfaction was his third, that of Shreyas Iyer in the 11th over of India A’s innings.After setting him up with two length deliveries that angled in and held their line – Iyer edged both towards the slips – Prasidh removed the cover fielder. Iyer went for the drive off the next ball, which jagged back in off a good length, beat the inside edge, and trapped him lbw.Ambati Rayudu reconstructed the innings with a watchful 48 and looked set for another big score until he misread a Shreyas Gopal googly, to be bowled driving against the turn. K Gowtham muscled three sixes in his 35, while Sanju Samson, out first ball on Thursday, briefly held the lower order together in making 32.