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Spinners Saleh Ahmed and Saeed Sarkar claimed three wickets each to rout Afghanistan Under-19s for 99, which Bangladesh Under-19s chased down in less than 25 overs

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2015
ScorecardBangladesh Under-19s captain Mehedi Hasan and Nazmul Hossain Shanto celebrate the team’s win•PTI

Spinners Saleh Ahmed and Saeed Sarkar claimed three wickets each to rout Afghanistan Under-19s for 99, which Bangladesh Under-19s chased down in less than 25 overs. The win, Bangladesh’s second of the tournament, sealed their passage to face India Under-19s in the final.Having opted to bat, Afghanistan had a decent start with the openers Hazratullah and Ishanullah putting on 34 in 5.4 overs. Once Ishanullah was undone by Mehedi Hasan Miraz, the collapse began, Afghanistan losing three wickets in a space of five balls. The freefall stretched to the middle and lower order as well with only two batsmen, apart from the openers managing double-digit scores. Pervez Malakzai and Tariq offered a semblance of resistance, making 12 and 27 but it wasn’t enough to push their side to three figures.Afghanistan’s pacers dismissed the Bangladesh openers quickly in the chase but Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mehedi Hasan Miraz put on an unbroken 72 at a fairly brisk clip to steer their team home and hand Afghanistan the knockout punch.

Molly Strano picked up 5 for 15 to restrict the Stars to 9 for 85 in their 20 overs, while Sophie Molineux’s 30 and Danielle Wyatt’s 23* led Renegades to victory in a close chase

The Report by Will Macpherson at the MCG02-Jan-2016
ScorecardMolly Strano picked up 5 for 15 to restrict Melbourne Stars Women to 9 for 85•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

This game had been identified as ‘the one’ for the Women’s Big Bash League. It was the tournament’s first fixture at the MCG, its first on Channel Ten’s flagship channel – all on a Saturday afternoon at the end of the holiday season. Central to the fixture’s sporting appeal was the presence of Meg Lanning, captain not only of the Melbourne Stars, but Australia’s national side too, and the world’s best batsman. But she was on the wrong side of the result as Sophie Molineux anchored a low-scoring chase that Melbourne Renegades won quite comfortably.On a number of levels, things didn’t start terribly well. The MCG naively decided a single general admission gate would be adequate, leaving many – perhaps 2000 – punters outside for the start of the match. Only the quickest to their seats would have seen Lanning, who fell caught behind prodding half-forward to Molly Strano’s spin in the second over of the match. She had made just 2, on what was supposed to be her day.By the second ball of Strano’s next over, the Stars had lost three more wickets. Natalie Sciver was bowled off the penultimate ball Shabnim Ismail’s second over. A ball later, Emma Inglis fell in almost identical fashion, castled by a full, straight, skiddy delivery from the diminutive South African – fresh off the plane and playing her first game of the competition. Then came the scalp of Katie Mack – the only Star besides Lanning with more than 100 runs in their eight WBBL matches to date – who was trapped by Strano.In the blink of an eye, the Stars, having chosen to bat, were 4 for 8. The only saving grace was that Mignon du Preez safely defended the hat-trick ball from her compatriot Ismail. It was largely thanks to du Preez that those queuing outside got to see a game at all. \\She nudged and hurdled her way through the middle overs, first in the company of Kelly Applebee, then Kristen Beams. The first boundary only arrived from the innings’ 64th ball, a du Preez edge off Briana Binch, and only two more followed (the innings also contained 63 dots).Having cleaned up the top order, Ismail and Strano returned to lop off the Stars’ tail. Hayley Jensen was caught and bowled by Strano, then Ismail had du Preez caught at mid-on. Strano bowled the last over and got the wicket of Beams, with a tossed up delivery as she was caught well low down at mid-off, and then struck with the wicket of Gemma Triscari, who was trapped plumb in front as Stars managed just 9 for 85 in their 20 overs. Strano was rewarded for her accuracy with remarkable figures of 5 for 12.Defending a paltry total, Lanning’s Stars did just about everything right. Seamers and spinners alike bowled tight, probing lines, the team were energetic and vocal in the field, Lanning set aggressive fields and they fielded like demons, led by their wicketkeeper, Inglis, who claimed two excellent stumpings. Sciver’s second ball was full and wide, and Dane van Niekerk – who had just sliced the parsimonious Triscari over point for four – advanced and was smartly stumped by Inglis.Kris Britt never got going, and when Beams gave one some flight, she was also stumped. 17-year-old Sophie Molineux – opening, having batted No. 11 in her previous WBBL knock – stuck about and looked increasingly fluent, but after 13 overs, the Renegades were still not halfway there, and the Stars, improbably, were on top.Then the pressure began to tell. 11 was taken from Beams’ last over, including a beautiful lofted drive for four from Danielle Wyatt, while Alana King’s following over cost eight, including a pair of missed run-outs. With the running increasingly suicidal, those two run-outs happened in the following overs; Molineux was carelessly caught short as she failed to pick up Wyatt’s tip and run, while Sarah Elliott simply set off when there was never a run on offer.Wyatt’s stay at the crease began eventfully, when she was hit on the back of the helmet by a full-blooded Molineux drive, but she kept her composure to see the Renegades home when requiring a run-a-ball. She hit a stunning cover driven four and was joined by Ismail, who thrashed around briefly before being run-out in the final over. But Wyatt’s push into the off-side off the innings’ penultimate ball, and another, final scampered single saw the Renegades home.

Misbah-ul-Haq’s third consecutive half-century and 88th in first-class cricket proved crucial, as Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited collected a 30-run lead against United Bank Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Misbah-ul-Haq stroked his third consecutive first-class fifty•Getty Images

Misbah-ul-Haq’s third consecutive half-century and 88th in first-class cricket proved crucial, as Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited collected a 30-run lead against United Bank Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final in Karachi.SNGPL, who began the day precariously placed at 35 for 2, were rocked by regular blows from Ehsan Adil (4 for 39) and Yasim Murtaza (3 for 28). However, Misbah and Umar Akmal led a recovery by stringing together a 72-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Akmal was eventually dismissed for 44, but Misbah battled his way to make 85, with 14 fours and a six. Misbah’s effort pushed SNGPL to a total of 238, ensuring his team had a vital innings lead.United Bank suffered another big setback towards the end of play, as Mohammad Hafeez dismissed Sharjeel Khan off what turned out to be the last ball of the day. They were 17 for 1 when stumps were called.

Despite England being 1-0 up in the series against South Africa, the second ODI in Port Elizabeth could turn out to be much different from Bloemfontein, where neither side’s seam attack impressed

The Preview by David Hopps05-Feb-2016

Match facts

Saturday, February 6, 2016
Start time 1000 local (0800 GMT)In his last two ODIs, Chris Jordan has bowled 14.3 overs for 153 runs•Getty Images

Big Picture

At some point in the second ODI between South Africa and England in Port Elizabeth, the bang of the hammer at the IPL auction is bound to intrude. Jos Buttler, available for the first time, was wise enough to shrug that he will be just “a piece of meat” but the system is what it is and, as one of the prize cuts on view, it would be forgivable if he fell asleep on Friday night with his mind as much on IPL as his England career. Such moments can be life-changing.AB de Villiers suggested that South Africa were on target for victory when rain intervened in Bloemfontein with them 250 for 5 in the 34th over, still 150 short of victory. Messrs Duckworth Lewis disagreed and gave victory to England by 39 runs. A third view is that no rain tables can be expected to quantify the innings played by Quinton de Kock. If he had remained at the crease, his brilliance might well have won it, but it would have just taken the fall of his wicket for England to look comfortably in control.Neverthless, the rain fell, England went 1-0 up, but South Africa had enough cause to talk up their confidence levels. It could be a different game in Port Elizabeth where scoreboards do not often run riot. The emphasis could be more on the respective seam attacks and neither particularly impressed in on the flat deck at the Mangaung Oval with Marchant de Lange and Chris Jordan having particularly troubled nights. England’s new-ball attack, though, was the steadier and that is what South Africa will be eager to redress.England’s one-day exploits have attracted much praise, but even in these batsman-dominated days the sense remains that they are more content with their batting than their bowling. That is why Stuart Broad is in the squad and why he can be expected to get an airing at some point in the series.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


South Africa: LWLWL
England: WWWWL

In the spotlight

Rilee Rossouw missed South Africa’s 3-2 defeat of India in an ODI series in late 2015 because of a stress fracture of the foot, a disappointing end to a year that had started so strikingly with hundreds against West Indies in Johannesburg and Centurion in the space of 10 days. He is not a name familiar to England, having never met them before in 36 appearances in limited-overs formats which preceded the first ODI in Bloemfontein. His record has advanced since four ducks in his first six international innings and he now has the chance to make an impression on England.Adil Rashid‘s stint in BBL could not have worked out any better, as his coach at England, Trevor Bayliss, testified. Rashid took 16 wickets at 14.12 to emerge as the most successful bowler in the group stages although he could not quite bowl the Adelaide Strikers to victory in the semi-final. What was evident, though, was a strength of character that the legspinner has not always shown at England level. Rashid, in Bayliss’ words, had taken his chance to become more “worldly” and England will hope to see signs of that in the matches ahead.

Teams news

Kyle Abbott has recovered from a hamstring injury that troubled him throughout the Test series and is expected to play. Marchant de Lange is likely to be omitted after his uncontrolled return in the first game. Having rested Kagiso Rabada in the opening match, South Africa could opt to do the same with Morne Morkel this time around unless the surface looks so seam-friendly that Imran Tahir is omitted.South Africa (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Rilee Rossouw, 7 Farhaan Behardien, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Kyle Abbott, 11 Imran Tahir or Morne MorkelEngland routinely opt for an unchanged side after a one-day victory, but the display of Chris Jordan must have brought cause for concern. He was all over the place and, if you track back to his previous ODI against New Zealand at The Oval, has now had two troubled matches in a row, albeit eight months apart, in which he has bowled 14.3 overs for 153 runs. In fairness, he has not played much cricket of late, so obviously his recall was a tough ask, but he will need to lock onto the job in Port Elizabeth to hold down his place. And if the pitch looks bowler-orientated, do not entirely rule out an outing for Stuart Broad.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan / Stuart Broad, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

A sunny day with energetic breezes is forecast for Port Elizabeth with no chance, it seems, of the rain that curtailed the first match in Bloemfontein. Port Elizabeth pitches often make batsmen work hard for their runs, so a different challenge awaits than the 400 wicket at the Mangaung Oval.

Stats and trivia

• England and South Africa first met in Port Elizabeth in 1889 – the first Test to be staged outside England or Australia – when South Africa’s run rate in making 84 barely surpassed one run an over.
• Jos Buttler has now matched Alec Stewart’s England record of four hundreds in ODIs as a wicketkeeper.
• Eight England batsmen hit a total of 15 sixes in Bloemfontein. Both figures were national records.
• While England made their second-highest one-day international total of 399 to beat South Africa, the batsman they shunned, Kevin Pietersen, took to Instagram with a picture of himself smoking hookah in Dubai. That is one way to ease the pain of not appearing in the forthcoming World Twenty20.

Quotes

“I felt we made a lot of mistakes. We weren’t as disciplined as we’d want to be. So that is the focus for tomorrow, to try to hold the pressure a little bit longer.”
Faf du Plessis wants to see South Africa start better with the ball than they did in Bloemfontein.“It’s quite a strange feeling – you put yourself in the hat and you see what happens: I could be sat on my sofa in April.”

Madhya Pradesh’s pace pack shredded Bengal’s batting order and secured a 227-run lead in the first innings to sway the match almost decisively in their direction

The Report by Arun Venugopal in Mumbai04-Feb-2016File photo – Ishwar Pandey led Madhya Pradesh’s charge with four wickets•AFP

Madhya Pradesh’s pace pack shredded Bengal’s batting line-up and secured a 227-run lead in the first innings to sway the match almost decisively in their direction. Ishwar Pandey, Puneet Datey and debutant Chandrakant Sakure needed only 224 minutes to bowl out Bengal, whose slide began in the second session and eventually descended into a freefall in the third. Pandey, Datey and Sakure bowled all but two of the 45.2 overs faced by Bengal. MP chose to not enforce the follow on, and went to stumps with all their wickets in tact in their second dig.MP’s seamers had a robotic efficiency to them and the effect was amplied by their near-identical physical build and bowling style. Their lengths – neither too short nor full – were perfect on a pitch like this; Datey, in fact, bowled opener Sayan Mondal and Pankaj Shaw with deliveries that snuck in sharply and just clipped the bails. It was, however, Sudip Chatterjee’s dismissal that gave MP’s bowlers the incentive their toil so far had merited.Up to that point, opener Abhimanyu Easwaran and Chatterjee pushed the team’s score to 45 for 1 in 18 overs. But Chatterjee, who has been Bengal’s highest run-getter this season, had a brain freeze and top-edged a pull off Sakure. Pandey, the most experienced of the seamers, crippled Bengal’s innings with the wickets of captain Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha in successive overs. While Tiwary was caught behind, Saha was adjudged lbw to an offcutter, which may have headed over the stumps.Easwaran had played admirably until his dismissal, holding his shape when blocking rising deliveries and leaving the ones that bounced a little too much. However, Datey, much like Pandey, bowled an offcutter that caught Easwaran on the back leg. Datey bowled a similar delivery soon after to Pankaj Shaw that homed into his stumps. Bengal had slipped to 72 for 6, and it was only thanks to three dropped catches, including two from captain Devendra Bundela, they managed three figures.Bengal’s morning bore no signs of the abject slump that would ruin the rest of their day, as Harpreet Singh was removed by Ashok Dinda in the third over of the day. Dinda made the most of his good rhythm to remove Bundela soon after, but handy contributions from Ankit Dane (39), Ankit Sharma (17) and Pandey (13) – aided by some sloppy catching from Bengal – took MP close to 350, a score Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule had reckoned on Wednesday would be ideal to restrict the opponents to. Veer Pratap Singh, who had wrapped up MP’s tail, claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.Sakure later told the reporters that MP’s seamers learnt from Bengal’s mistakes and ensured they consistently hit the good length on a pitch that still carried help for the seamers. Bahutule on the other hand complimented MP’s bowling, and said Bengal now had to try to push hard to force a result.

Angelo Mathews has admitted he was not mentally prepared to take over as Twenty20 captain after Lasith Malinga resigned because of fitness problems

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai09-Mar-2016Angelo Mathews has admitted he was not mentally prepared to take over as Twenty20 captain after Lasith Malinga resigned because of fitness problems. Mathews said he could not refuse the leadership once Sri Lanka Cricket offered it to him.”I was not,” Mathews said in Mumbai, when asked if he was immediately open to taking up SLC’s offer. “But I have the experience of captaining for quite a few years now so it is a challenge. The selectors and Lasith have been planning for this tournament for a quite a long time so they worked together. And now it is a whole different situation, so I have to do the best and get the best out of the team which I have.”Though Mathews is Sri Lanka’s Test and ODI captain, Malinga was appointed as Twenty20 captain after Sri Lanka won the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh. Of Sri Lanka’s 14 T20Is since, though, Malinga has played only six because of injuries. He played only one match this year – the Asia Cup opener – in which he was Man of the Match for taking 4 for 26 against UAE.

Sri Lanka hopeful about Malinga

A serious question hangs over the availability of Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s most experienced T20 bowler, for the first game of their campaign in India. Sri Lanka play a qualifier from the first round in Kolkata on March 17 but their captain Angelo Mathews said he could only hope Malinga would be fit.
Before that game, Sri Lanka have two warm-up games on March 10 and 14 – New Zealand in Mumbai and Pakistan in Kolkata – but Malinga won’t play those fixtures.
“We are hoping Lasith would be fit for the first game,” Mathews said. “As of now he won’t be playing the practice games. We want him to rest and recover because we know the quality he has in him – he can train a couple of days and walk straight into a match. So we are hoping that he’ll get a couple of net sessions before the first game. That is only a hope. We don’t really know what the doctors and physios (have on) the current situation.”
Malinga did not travel to India with the Sri Lanka squad, remaining at home to focus on his rehab. He has had an injured left knee for a while now and returned to competitive cricket after a three-month layoff only to play one match in the recent Asia Cup. Subsequently he stepped down as Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain because he could not guarantee being fit for the entire WT20.
“It is unfortunate that Malinga is not fit as yet so he had to take that call. But he is a very vital, very important person in our team so we kept him in the squad hoping that he will be able to play the first game.”

Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal have been stand-in captains in Malinga’s absence and even now Mathews said he had accepted the captaincy only for the World Twenty20. “I don’t really know what the thinking is after this. I was told to lead the team in the World Cup and how can I say no,” Mathews said. “I can’t let the team down and the country down. I will take this as a positive because I know they trusted me. I will try my best to do whatever possible to get to the top with the team that I have. They have given me the team that I wanted and now it is the matter of going out there and expressing ourselves.”Sri Lanka enter this tournament as rank outsiders. Having twice finished as runners-up, Sri Lanka won their maiden World T20 title in 2014, but the slide has been swift since then: they have won just four T20Is and lost 10. In 2016, Sri Lanka have lost seven out of nine matches.Mathews said he felt like Sri Lanka had “not competed” at all during the disastrous Asia Cup campaign, but he was not too concerned by it. “Not going in as favourites, it is doing a favour for us. We have admitted that we haven’t played good cricket in the Asia Cup. But the morale … well, the moale in the team is quite good. We can’t say that we are all depressed and we are mourning about the Asia Cup. It is done and dusted. It is a new series. It is a fresh start for us. So we are hoping that we’ll click. We are starting our campaign from tomorrow and hopefully we can go right till the end.”Mathews wanted his players to play with freedom and express themselves. “If you look from the outside, no one will give us a chance and that’s a good thing because we can go out there and express ourselves and play with a lot of freedom. That is what I expect from the team. We want to take one game at a time, play with a lot of freedom because if we do play with a lot of freedom I am sure we are going to beat most of the teams. That is all I want from the team, they very well know what I expect.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s

The Preview by Andrew Miller08-Jun-2016

Match facts

June 9-13, 2016
Start time 11am local (1000 GMT)

Big Picture

After a torrid tour of England’s northern-most venues, Sri Lanka head south to their relative fortress at Lord’s. Ever since Sidath Wettimuny and Duleep Mendis lit up their country’s maiden visit in 1984 with a brace of epic hundreds, Sri Lanka have forged an unlikely fondness for the game’s grandest venue. They haven’t yet won in seven previous matches – but neither have they lost since 1991, and the defiance that they showed in each of their four most recent visits will augur well for the challenge that lies ahead this week.In 2002, Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene belied the usual pre-series assumptions by securing a formidable first-innings lead of 280, before Nasser Hussain’s England found the gumption to dig in for the draw. Four years later, the boot was on the other foot as Sri Lanka were forced to follow on, only to rally themselves in a whopping second innings of 537 for 9 – a vital show of resistance in the final analysis, as Muttiah Muralitharan spun them to a series-squaring victory at Trent Bridge in the third Test.In 2014, their refusal to buckle reaped even greater rewards – England famously thought they’d won the match off the penultimate ball, only for Nuwan Pradeep to successfully overturn his lbw decision. Instead, at Headingley a week later, it was James Anderson who succumbed at the same moment of England’s own rearguard to hand Sri Lanka a famous series win.But it is perhaps the 2011 contest that has most relevance to the week ahead. Now, as then, Sri Lanka head to HQ as a chastened and somewhat demoralised outfit – back then, they’d been crushed in Cardiff after being bowled out for 82 in the second innings of a rain-plagued first Test. But just as they managed in the second innings at Chester-le-Street last week, Sri Lanka found unexpected resilience in their hour of need, and matched England blow-for-blow on a typically flat deck – 486 v 479 in the first innings.There’s no guarantee that Sri Lanka’s batsmen will maintain that upward surge, of course. But with the weather finally threatening to break out into summer, and with four innings of proper England Test experience now under their belt – as opposed to the slightly flimsy county opposition that Dimuth Karunaratne was railing against earlier this week – they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for a contest that provides an early raison d’etre for Andrew Strauss’s newly incorporated points system. The Test series may be lost already – England are 2-0 up with one to play – but the avoidance of defeat this week will keep the Super Series alive ahead of the one-day leg later in the month.With Dinesh Chandimal’s excellent century underpinning their resistance, Sri Lanka now know they have a means to survive the best that England can throw at them – and it really is the best, given that James Anderson has just succeeded his new-ball partner Stuart Broad as the No.1-ranked bowler in the world. Among Englishmen, only Steve Harmison (2004) and Ian Botham (1980) have ever before held that accolade, which just goes to show how mighty this current partnership is.But, in Sri Lanka’s bowling ranks, the disarray and despondency hasn’t been entirely banished. Dushmantha Chameera’s zippy pace will be missed on this Lord’s surface perhaps more than anywhere else – he flew home earlier in the month with a back injury. And while Shaminda Eranga is available for selection after being reported for a suspect action at Chester-le-Street, the chances are that he won’t be exposed to the heightened scrutiny.The tale of the tour so far doesn’t augur well for Sri Lanka’s prospects over the next few days. But, as Kumar Sangakkara, their irreplaceable former captain and linchpin, said during the MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture on Monday, this is not a team that can be judged in the here-and-now. Give their young players 18 months to absorb the lessons of a bruising tour, and let’s see how they stack up when England next pay a visit to their shores. Nevertheless, as their forebears have demonstrated in the past, the hallowed turf has an uncanny ability to bring out their very best. If England aren’t yet forewarned, a quick glance at their recent Lord’s history ought to do the trick.Alastair Cook trains ahead of the first Test at Lord’s•Getty Images

Form guide

England: WWLWD (last five completed matches, most recent first)


Sri Lanka: LLLLW

In the spotlight

In what is otherwise a pretty buoyant England set-up, two players will be grateful for a few of their Middlesex home comforts this week. Following scratchy starts to the summer, Nick Compton and Steven Finn are under the microscope going into the Lord’s Test, although Compton is the only one who is seriously fearing for his future. His failure to make so much as a half-century in 15 first-class innings is weighing heavily on his mind, and when a man as intense as Mark Ramprakash says it’s time to loosen up, you know the writing is on the wall. Compton, to be fair, probably hasn’t been helped by the lack of competition in the first two Tests. It’s hard to appreciate the merits of hard graft when the opposition is being rolled over inside 40 overs on a regular basis. But his only salvation is runs, and lots of them.Chandimal took the plaudits at Chester-le-Street, but the catalyst for their fightback was provided by Kaushal Silva at the top of the order. His hard-earned 60 from 145 balls atoned for a dismal run of performances by Sri Lanka’s openers – his partner, Dimuth Karunaratne, has reached double figures once in four innings – and demonstrated that resistance wasn’t entirely futile. It’s been an up-and-down few months for Kaushal – he was dropped last year after a run of one fifty in nine innings against Pakistan, India and West Indies. However, he thrived at Lord’s on his last visit in 2014 with 63 and 57 in his two innings. He knows he has the game to succeed in England, and he might just have picked up the confidence too.

Teams news

England, unsurprisingly, have opted for an unchanged team. Compton has his chance to shine, Finn keeps Jake Ball waiting once again for a Test debut and Chris Woakes’ revelatory pace and incision in Durham means his allrounder’s berth remains secure in Ben Stokes’ continued absence.England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Nick Compton, 4 Joe Root, 5 James Vince, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James AndersonMore potential upheaval in Sri Lanka’s ranks following an injury in training for Milinda Siriwardana, who faces a late fitness test on an ankle problem. Chaminda Bandara, the uncapped left-arm seamer, may step in while Eranga faces up to his bowling action issues, while Dasun Shanaka could also be considered for a recall. Kusal Perera, back with the squad following the overturning of his drugs ban, is an outside bet to challenge the underperforming Lahiru Thirimanne in the middle order.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Dasun Shanaka / Milinda Siriwardana, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Chaminda Bandara, 10 Nuwan Pradeep 11 Suranga Lakmal

Pitch and conditions

Don’t look down, look up. Lord’s is one of those venues that can be entirely dictated by the weather. The pitch has been flat as a pancake ever since the installation of its now-decade-old drainage system in 2006 – as the riot of recent centuries on its legendary honours boards can attest. However, the ball still hoops around regardless given the right cloud cover, so we’ll all have to wait and see. The week is presumed to be dry, but there’s humidity in the offing for Thursday morning. Anderson, for one, won’t object to that.

Stats and trivia

• Stuart Broad needs seven more wickets to become the 22nd bowler, and third from England, to reach 350 in Tests. Only Ian Botham (383) and James Anderson (451) lie ahead of him among Englishmen.
• With 16 catches in two Tests so far, Jonny Bairstow needs another seven dismissals at Lord’s to set a new record for a wicketkeeper in a three-Test series. The record of 22 is held by Sri Lanka’s Amal Silva, against India in 1985.
• Kumar Sangakkara will ring the bell to signal five minutes before the start of play on the first day of the match. He will become the seventh Sri Lankan to be given the honour, following in the footsteps of his team-mates Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu and Chaminda Vaas who rung the bell in 2014.

Quotes

“It gives people the chance to show what they can do in an England shirt. You want people to feel as comfortable as they can. You are never going to be perfectly comfortable when you’re on the periphery. You don’t want people always looking over their shoulder. When they get a chance, they get a good one.”
Alastair Cook justifies the consistency of selection that has been a hallmark of recent England teams“Every Test match is a motivation. When you play a Test match at Lord’s it’s great. I hear the first couple of days are sell-outs. That’s more than enough motivation without considering Super Series or anything.”

Nearly 10 years have slipped by while Alastair Cook has been a permanent fixture at the top of England’s order in home Tests. In his temporary absence at Lord’s because of a bruised knee, England had an unnerving vision of the future

The Report by David Hopps11-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:34

WATCH – Highlights of the third day’s play

Nearly 10 years have slipped by while Alastair Cook has been a permanent fixture at the top of England’s order in home Tests. His absence at Lord’s was only temporary, the result of a hospital scan on a bruised knee, but in that time England had an unnerving vision of the future as Sri Lanka made them sweat in the final Investec Test.Four down by the close of the third day, England still held a healthy lead of 237, with six wickets – Cook included – and remain overwhelming favourites to win but shorn of his presence for the first time on these shores since Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss opened against Pakistan at The Oval in 2006, their shortcomings were stripped bare.There was another failure for Nick Compton, moved up from No. 3 to fill an emergency opener’s role, that will surely end the second phase of his Test career, his footwork again leaden as Shaminda Eranga brought one down the slope to have him caught at the wicket. There was a first-ball duck, too, for James Vince, who has failed to secure a maiden Test half-century in this series, and who naively left a delivery from Nuwan Pradeep which skipped back down the hill to hit his off stump. So far he has been a player of style rather than substance.”No thoughts of retirement for a while yet” will be England’s exhortation to Cook, a CBE freshly to his name in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. With Pakistan lying in wait later this summer, there will be relief that the x-ray – the result of a blow from Kusal Perera while fielding at silly point – revealed nothing sinister.Pradeep’s zestful display brought him three wickets in all, a shooter accounting for Joe Root, who risked ricking his back on his return to the pavilion as he turned round frequently to watch his demise on the big screen, and a hack across the line by Jonny Bairstow that was a throwback to earlier times. Alex Hales, 41 not out, stood firm but Pradeep would have removed him as well, on 19, if Dimuth Karunaratne had clung to a low chance to his left at second slip and again on 39, shortly before the close, when he glanced Pradeep down the leg side only for Dinesh Chandimal to grass the chance.A Lord’s Test Saturday had swung loyally towards England in the morning, as a place of such ingrained traditions must presumably feel obliged to do when they are Trooping the Colour a few miles down the road for the Queen’s 90th birthday.Sri Lanka’s visions at start of play of conceding more than 400 in the first innings and then winning the Test, as they did at The Oval in their Muttiah Muralitharan-inspired 1998 victory, would have been encouraged by reaching the close on the second day 162 runs to the good and Karunaratne the only casualty.But by lunch, they were obliterated: six down and still trailing by 198, Kusal Mendis, Kaushal Silva and Angelo Mathews all dispatched in the first 7.3 overs as England’s pace attack regained the initiative.Chris Woakes had been the most insistent of England’s attack on the previous evening and that was enough for him to start the day alongside Stuart Broad. There was enough in the air to encourage the bowlers that it would be a more even contest and they pounded a good length – a fuller length than on the previous day – from the outset.Woakes’ first ball of the previous day had brought about the Bairstow howler – and more critical examination of his wicketkeeping role. This time Woakes enjoyed immediate success, winning an lbw as he rammed a delivery down the slope into Mendis’ pads.Silva failed to add to his overnight 79, his edge to Bairstow in Broad’s third over of the morning extending a remarkable record in which he has been caught at the wicket in all nine of his Test innings in England. Repetition around off stump has rarely been more obviously rewarded.England’s energy also extended to Bairstow. When Mathews thick-edged Broad to third man, Hales and Root, giving chase, were shocked to find a red-headed retriever tearing past them and diving full-length in wicketkeeping pads to save the boundary. Such chases are part of Bairstow’s make-up and his pleasure in mildly embarrassing two of his team-mates was evident.Mathews’ pugnacity was needed to restore Sri Lanka’s ambition, but he was defeated by extra bounce from Woakes, going wide on the crease, and Root, quite close at second slip, held a good catch. It was a delivery that encapsulated Woakes’ improvement, a bowler of good habits and decent action now capable of something a little more unsettling.Chandimal was equally uncertain, beginning with an inside-edged four against Woakes and almost scooped up at second slip by Root when Anderson made an unaccustomed late arrival into the attack.It was not long before Chandimal fell, too, lbw to a fullish delivery from Steven Finn and unsuccessfully reviewing in the hope that the ball might have faded down the slope past leg stump. Finn also looked more eager than on the previous day and the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne completed a satisfying England morning, a poor uppish-drive which gave Root another catch.Root, England’s stand-in captain, endured a merry stand of 71 in 17 overs, against old ball and new, by Sri Lanka’s seventh-wicket pair of Perera and Rangana Herath. Perera, back in the Sri Lanka side after overturning drugs allegations, produced some typically emphatic blows and Herath offered good support, chancing his arm and indulging in some puffed-out cheeks fist-pumping with his partner with an air of mild relief.Root’s star fast bowlers were also having a wild mustang moment. Root wisely resisted a headstron g appeal from Broad to review a refused lbw appeal against Herath, and then was spoken to by the umpires regarding Anderson, who indulged in some behind-the-hands muttering at slip (always a sign of trouble afoot).Around the time Cook collected his diagnosis, Sri Lanka’s lower order crumbled. Broad caused Herath to chop on, Perera was caught behind off a bottom edge, attempting to pull, Suranga Lakmal edged Anderson low to second slip, and Woakes, who had followed his highest Test score with a stand-out bowling display, took his third wicket when Eranga edged the first ball of his spell to Vince at third slip.When Anderson dismissed Perera the Anderson-Broad new-ball combination became the most prolific opening partnership in history, overhauling the 493 collected by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and ahead of other notables on the list: Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, and Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.Those wickets have come at five-runs more per wicket – roughly 26 to 21 – but they are all in the book, Anderson and Broad both stand in the top three in the ICC Test bowling rankings and how England will miss them when they are gone. Of Cook, the same was evidently true.

Former Pakistan batsman Mudassar Nazar, who took charge as director of Pakistan’s national cricket academy on Thursday, has said that he chose to return to the country and to the PCB to “fix the broken cycle of development”

Umar Farooq16-Jun-2016Former Pakistan batsman Mudassar Nazar, who took charge as director of Pakistan’s national cricket academy on Thursday, has said he chose to return to the role to “fix the broken cycle of development”. Nazar was NCA director between 2006 and 2008, before he quit to join the ICC Academy as a coach, a role he fulfilled for the last eight years. Nazar will head the NCA for the next three years.”I might have been away from Pakistan cricket but, in the last eight years, I have always been the true ambassador of the NCA,” Nazar, who is also part of the PCB’s cricket committee, said. “I was approached many times in the past but it didn’t work out, but my eyes have always been here. We all know the system was made and it was broken, and now they intend to revive it and I realised that now they are serious and [will] work towards development. So I am here.”The cycle of development is very important and, due to many reasons, it easily disintegrated twice in the last 14 years, which has cost [Pakistan cricket] five to ten years. I don’t know what the reasons were. They may be financial or whatever the circumstances were, but now my biggest task is revive this cycle and make a plan to speed up this process of development so that we can cover up the lost time.”Nazar, 60, played 76 Tests and 122 ODIs between 1976 and 1989. Before he served as NCA director in 2006, he was also a coach at the academy between January 2001 and October 2002, under the tenure of then PCB chairman Tauqir Zia. After Nazar’s departure in 2008, a number of directors were appointed to the NCA but the academy became largely defunct. The development phase was put on hold as the academy struggled to fill coaching roles for all skills. The regional academies were also gradually terminated due to lack of funds, and the Lahore terror attack in 2009, in which Sri Lankan players were injured, was another setback for cricket in the country.”I will be reviving the NCA as it was earlier, and there is no rocket science in it,” Nazar said, about his plans to correct the system. “The plan is there, as the academies will have their role from top to bottom. It will similarly will be expanded from the NCA to the regional academies, age group [cricket] will come under development, the A team will be developed with emerging players and all the 16 regional academies will start functioning from August 1. So this cycle will be alive and running in due course.”One of the players to train at the NCA during Nazar’s two-year stint was fast bowler Mohammad Amir and Nazar is credited with helping the bowler recover from three stress fractures to the back in the early phase of his career. Nazar coached the Pakistan team in 1993 and 2001, and was also Kenya coach in 2005. During his time with Kenyan cricket he also served as director of the Nairobi Cricket Academy.

A season-high 79 by opener Evin Lewis provided the springboard for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to upend Trinbago Knight Riders by 34 runs on night two of the Caribbean Premier League’s Florida leg

Peter Della Penna in Florida30-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEvin Lewis struck a season-high 79 in to set up a Patriots win•CPL/Sportsfile

A season-high 79 by opener Evin Lewis provided the springboard for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to upend Trinbago Knight Riders by 34 runs on night two of the Caribbean Premier League’s Florida leg. The crowd, about 5,000-strong, were largely rooting for Knight Riders, but there was still plenty of love for Lewis’ entertaining display of power hitting.It began in the second over when he laced three fours off Ronsford Beaton. Two overs later, he tucked into Kevon Cooper for a pair of sixes before giving Dwayne Bravo similar treatment with two more that cleared the ropes. His sixth six, smashed off Nikita Miller over midwicket in the seventh over, brought up his half-century in 23 balls. Lewis put on 65 for the first wicket with JJ Smuts before both men fell to Sunil Narine, who also dismissed Lendl Simmons to clear out the Patriots’ top order.By that time, though, the heavy damage had been done and Jonathan Carter teamed with Shamarh Brooks to drive home the advantage, putting on an unbeaten 58 for the sixth wicket. Brooks drove Bravo over the long-on boundary twice in the 19th for two of his three sixes, en route to 35 off 19 balls. The late flourish took Patriots to a score of 180, which proved to be comfortably out of Knight Riders’ reach.Brendon McCullum’s poor season with the bat continued as he notched up his fifth single-digit score in six games, splicing a drive off Sheldon Cottrell to mid-off for 1 in the second over. Lewis’ great night continued when he ran out a well-set Hashim Amla with a direct hit from cover for 33 in the sixth.Colin Munro’s reprieve on 11 in the ninth over off Krishmar Santokie provided a glimmer of hope for the Knight Riders’ chase. The New Zealander blasted Jonathan Carter for a four and two sixes in the 12th in a bid to keep pace with a required run rate that had climbed above 10 per over. His luck ran out in the 13th, though, when Santokie finally claimed him for 46 after a dubious leg before decision. That left Knight Riders on 103 for 4 in 12.5 overs.Samuel Badree made it three wickets in four balls for the Patriots by dismissing Umar Akmal at long-off and knocking back Denesh Ramdin’s stumps with a googly, off the first two balls of the 14th. Santokie also claimed two in two in the 16th, as Bravo struck a full toss to long-on and Kevon Cooper followed by pulling a short ball to midwicket for a golden duck. Cottrell returned for his fourth over in the 18th and dismissed Narine and Beaton to end the match with the Knight Riders all out for 146 in 18 overs.The Knight Riders’ loss prevented them from clinching a playoff spot and helped keep Barbados Tridents’ hopes alive. Tridents face Guyana Amazon Warriors in the second game of Saturday’s double-header. A win for Tridents, who sit at fifth place with seven points, could put them ahead of Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks into third place, while a Tridents loss would eliminate them from playoff contention and simultaneously seal playoff berths for Zouks and Knight Riders, who are currently tied for third at eight points.