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Captain is very confident in the way her players have trained ahead of series against South Africa

Annesha Ghosh06-Mar-20213:23

Mithali Raj – ‘It’s time we started our campaign for the 2022 World Cup’

When India face South Africa in the ODI series opener in Lucknow on Sunday, they would be taking the field after a 364-day gap in international cricket. South Africa, on the other hand, have had two full limited-overs series – of three ODIs and as many T20Is each, against Pakistan – during this period. Mithali Raj, the India ODI captain who is 85 away from 10,000 runs in international cricket, would herself be turning out in India colours after 487 days. With the next ODI World Cup in 12 months, Raj, 38, is hopeful that both she and the team will be able to get in into “rhythm” quick enough to challenge South Africa, whom they have faced more times than they have any other opponent since the 2017 ODI World Cup.”I am training the same way I do before any international series. But I am really looking forward to getting more runs. I was in rhythm in the last seriesm against West Indies, in 2019. Hope to do the same here,” Raj, senior-most player in the ODI side, said at a virtual press conference on the eve of the first of the ODI in Lucknow.”This series is very important for two reasons. We have young players, and it is the right platform to give them opportunities in the home conditions. At the same time, it is important to see that the core players get enough game-time to get out there and develop their rhythm, come together and set our standards out there and take it from there,” she said.Related

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In the six games between the two sides, played across two-match bilateral series, since the 2017 50-over World Cup, India, runners-up in that edition, lost only once to South Africa, semi-finalists in that competition. But South Africa have the advantage of more game time under their belt since the 2020 T20 World Cup in March last year, several of their players even playing a domestic T20 tournament in December following the Covid-19-enforced cancellation of the national team’s England tour. By contrast, the India cricketers have had the four-match Women’s T20 Challenge in November as their only opportunity of playing any top-flight competitive cricket in the whole past year.Raj believes that India’s preparations in the lead-up to the series, including the three training sessions they’ve had in Lucknow over four days since completing a five-day quarantine on March 2 – would hold them in good stead.”Clearly they’ve had game time, but we are playing after a gap. Having said that we definitely have put in the efforts, trained ourselves, have these short camps, four days of sessions here,” Raj said. “It doesn’t look like we are rusty or anything. I think the girls clearly are quite excited to get on the field and start putting our best performances because it’s time that we start our campaign for the World Cup, and start playing some cricket.”The girls have been training in their respective places before coming here. During the lockdown, we have all kept in touch and kept up with our routines via Zoom and other apps. We are communicating with the staff. It’s no different in that sense. A lot has gone in the mental set-up because it has been a long gap.”This series is very important for two reasons. We have young players, and it is the right platform to give them opportunities in the home conditions. At the same time, it is important to see that the core players get enough game-time to get out there and develop their rhythm, come together and set our standards out there and take it from there.”From the start of 2017 until November 6, 2019, when India last played the format, they scored 240 runs or more only nine times out of 22 instances while batting first. Among the top eight-ranked ODI teams, India’s tally in this regard is only the fifth-best, with South Africa one place above them.India kicked off their 2017 ODI World Cup preparations with a 50-over game on February 7, 2017. Their last appearance in the format was on November 6, 2019•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Raj said that while India would look to put on about 250 runs when batting first on the Ekana pitch, the priority for the home team in the first match would be to regain lost momentum.”Clearly, coming back into the one-dayers after 15 months, we first look forward to developing a rhythm, a momentum,” Raj said. “If it’s a good batting track, we definitely look forward to around 240-250. It’s something we can start aiming at. But if we get a good start may be, you know, push beyond.””But again, it all depends on how we take the first game, the wicket. But as on today, the girls seem to be very confident. We’ve had some very good sessions. So, clearly, I’m looking at a very confident unit to take the field tomorrow.The South Africa assignment is also the first time since July 2015, when they squared off against New Zealand at home, that India would be playing five ODIs in a bilateral series. Raj said that the length of series might allow her to field the four uncapped players – left-hand batter Yastika Bhatia, legspin-bowling allrounder C Prathyusha, left-arm medium pacer Monica Patel, and wicketkeeper Sweta Verma – named in the 17-member ODI squad.”[I am] Definitely [considering the possibility of trying them out], because it’s a five-ODI series. We have some young players in the side. As captain I would like to give them opportunities to show their talent, so yes, we’re definitely looking forward to giving them opportunities in these five ODIs.”She also explained that though 17-year-old Shafali Verma, the batter with the most runs – 163 – for India and the best strike rate – 158 – among those with 50 runs or more across teams in the 2020 T20 World Cup, was picked only for the T20Is against South Africa, a debut in the 50-over format may not be far away.”She definitely is in the scheme of things, she is on the radar. We need to have a little bit of patience and we will see her very soon,” Raj said, smiling.

The captain says getting over jet lag and a quick turnaround after England T20Is will also be a challenge

Shashank Kishore05-Feb-20222:31

Who will be the key batters for West Indies?

It was only less than a week ago that West Indies were involved in back-to-back T20Is against England in Barbados with the series delicately poised. A few hours after wrapping up a morale-boosting series win, the Kieron Pollard-led side left for India. After a three-day quarantine in Ahmedabad, and negative Covid tests, they were allowed to train in groups of four on Friday.On Saturday, they held their first and only training session ahead of the series. And on Sunday, they will be thrown into the cauldron against a hurt Indian team looking to move on quickly from their 3-0 whitewash in South Africa. West Indies themselves are searching for answers, having lost the ODIs 2-1 at home to Ireland in January.”For us, we have to crack on,” Pollard said. “Today (Saturday) is the only full practice we had, and then we have to have our meetings and discussions, and stuff like that. Again, we know these are some of the things people don’t want to hear and understand because we need to perform on the cricket field, but these are some of the challenges we have to face as international cricketers. The most we can do in a short space of time is to try and be in the right mental space, have discussions about it, sort of visualise and plan as to how we want to go about it.Related

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“From a physical point of view, we can do it. We have to get over jet lag. Some of us are still living in the Caribbean time [zone]. It’s night here in India but the guys have eyes wide open, but we have to get up early in the morning to play a day-night game. So, the challenges are there, but that’s why it’s international cricket, and we try and overcome it, and not use that as an excuse.”We’re doing what is necessary to try to take the field and perform at that optimum level. Hopefully, we can overcome these things and can make us better cricketers as well as individuals at the end of the day when we stick out and look out for one another.”The limited acclimatisation time has given West Indies little time to try and address the batting problem Pollard felt they had after the Ireland series. But the talk has revolved around three things: learn to adapt, take learnings from their series loss, and try to bat out 50 overs. Along the way, they want to draw inspiration from the fight they showed in their previous ODI series in India. They had taken a 1-0 lead before losing the next two games to concede the series. This time they want to better that.”We need to put our heads together and try to improve in every area of our game we fell short against Ireland”•Associated Press

“For this series against India, the learning we need to take forward is how we bat 50 overs,” he said. “We haven’t batted 50 overs in the last couple of series against Ireland and Australia, so that is something we need to look at. As a team, we need to follow the template and plans that are put out there so that we can go out there and be successful.”For us, it’s another opportunity to improve our skills, another opportunity to test where we are in international cricket against a formidable Indian team. The last time we were here, if my memory jogs me right, we did okay. We didn’t win the series, but we pushed them. So now we’re looking to push that one step further. Having said that, we need to put our heads together and try to improve in every area of our game we fell short against Ireland.”Pollard has been vocal about the team’s need to improve fitness standards. He hasn’t been shy of calling out issues in selection – like being categorical about how average returns in the Regional Super50, West Indies’ domestic 50-over competition, can’t become the basis for international call-ups. This appears to have ruffled a few feathers higher up in the West Indies cricket administration, but as captain, Pollard insists he is “in a good space” and isn’t going to allow off-field chatter to come in the way of his vision.”Obviously, I didn’t tour Pakistan [for the limited-overs series in December], so I got some much-needed time off to refresh the mind and body,” he said. “Coming back in the Ireland series, yes it was difficult. And the England series was another tough series, but these things happen. Once you have the intention of playing the sport, emotions, mental space, [and] physical capabilities – all these things get tested.”I’ve played my entire career with a lot of things riding on it, and I have come through it with a smile on my face. That is how I’m going to finish my career as well. For me personally, I’m in a good space and always looking forward to a challenge.”As captain, one of the things he is doing is wearing a bigger cape around his broad shoulders to shield his players from external noise and give them the security to perform. For this, Pollard said it was imperative for him to “continue his process and judgment”.”For me, it is just a matter of backing my skill, ability, back my cricketing acumen in terms of leading,” he said. “Sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns. Sometimes you have to put guys in a situation where they can thrive with their confidence and stuff like that. For me, those are a couple of things coming out of it, just letting things happen and continuing my process and judgment.”

Head coach says players got ahead of themselves in the match against Netherlands and “seeds of doubt” crept in

Hemant Brar02-Nov-2022After being “outplayed” by Netherlands in Adelaide, Zimbabwe head coach Dave Houghton said his players got ahead of themselves given the significance of the match and had “seeds of doubt” in their minds.Had Zimbabwe won, and then beaten India in their next game, they could have been in with a chance, although an outside one, to make the semi-finals of the men’s T20 World Cup. However, yet another batting failure meant they could put up only 117 and lost by five wickets, the defeat pushing them to the brink of elimination.Related

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“We’ve been quite fragile with our batting throughout this tournament,” Houghton said after the game. “It has been our bowling, really, and fielding and catching, that has kept us in. Unfortunately, it [the batting] let us down in a game like this, which would have been huge for us if we had won, because then we’ll go on to the next game with just that outside possibility. I think we just got a little bit in front of ourselves thinking of what the possibilities might be.”One of the things I’ve tried to encourage to the team, even if our batting is a bit fragile, is to still be positive and play with fearlessness. There was a bit of movement in that wicket, and we needed to do something about it. We needed to be batting a bit more positively, using our feet going down the wicket at the seamers, but we didn’t. The seeds of doubt just kept us stuck to the crease, and unfortunately, it cost us.”Since I’ve been in charge of the side, the last four-and-a-half months, we’ve had an incredible journey; we’ve played some really good cricket. This is probably the first time that I’ve seen a bit of doubt creep into our game. Hopefully, it’ll be the last time for a while as well.”Earlier in the tournament, Zimbabwe had beaten Pakistan in a last-ball thriller but the high didn’t last long as they lost to Bangladesh in dramatic fashion, also on the final ball of the game.Houghton was asked if the result against Bangladesh played a part in today’s game.”Oh, no, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think we just had the doubt here. I think it was because of a new surface [this was the first match in Adelaide this World Cup]. We took a couple of days off between the two games, because our guys were so tired. I just couldn’t make them practice again. So that might have sown a little bit of the doubt that they hadn’t actually been to the ground.”And the occasion – we knew we needed to win one of the games against Bangladesh and Holland [Netherlands]. We lost closely to Bangladesh, so we thought, well, we need to beat Holland. That extra bit of pressure on them [the players], plus the fact that we hadn’t been down here beforehand, might have sown the seeds of doubt.”Regis Chakabva’s sub-par returns with the bat played a part in Zimbabwe not putting up challenging totals. In seven innings, the wicketkeeper-batter has scored only 45 runs at an average of 6.42 and a strike rate of 77.58.Chakabva started the tournament batting at the top of the order but was moved down to No. 6 in the last two games. Against Netherlands, he came in at No. 3, was offered two lives during his 16-ball stay but could score only five.”The biggest reason for moving batters around is that we’re not getting enough runs out of various players,” Houghton said. “I mean, we’ve been literally living on some runs from Sean Williams and [Sikandar] Raza for the last short while and one or two contributions from Wessly [Madhevere] and occasionally from Craig Ervine. So it has been difficult. We’re having to move people around to see if we can adjust the order a bit to make life a little bit easier so hopefully we get bigger contributions from everyone. As I said, our batting has been brittle throughout this tournament. So we’ve done incredibly well to get where we’ve got to.”Sikandar Raza has been, arguably, the prime reason for Zimbabwe’s run of good results•ICC via Getty Images

Overall, it has been a positive tournament for Zimbabwe. After a dominant show in the qualifying event in Bulawayo, they topped their group in the first round in Australia and then almost threatened a semi-final spot. Houghton said that the performance has “brought the game back to life” back home.”It has meant a hell of a lot to people at home, and not just people at home, but Zimbabweans all around the world,” he said. “The messages that we get on a regular basis from everybody have been unbelievable. We’ve had quite a few night games in this tournament, after which get back to the hotel at half past 11 and I’m still answering messages at 4-5 in the morning. It has been phenomenal and we know because we have been getting the videos posted [of the celebrations] as well.”We know how it has been taken at home. The thing is they’ve enjoyed the way we play. They’ve enjoyed the fact that we are able to come out and stand toe to toe with some of the best. And even though we have lost today, they will still have enjoyed watching us and they will still be proud of us. I said to the guys after the game that win or lose, our crowd is behind us, and you guys have brought the game back to life in Zimbabwe.”If you had told me in June, when I started, that we would end up being sort of two games away about with the possibility of getting to a semi-final, I would have bitten your hand off for it. But it has been a positive journey for us all the way through. It’s just a pity we chose this game to have our worst game.”

Controversy flares between the two sides yet again as Sri Lanka celebrate series win with players pointing to their watches

Mohammad Isam09-Mar-2024Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has asked Sri Lanka to move on from the timed-out incident at the 2023 World Cup. Shanto’s comments came after Sri Lanka’s win in the third T20I in Sylhet, where the visitors had sealed the series 2-1 and, while celebrating with the trophy, made a collective gesture – players pointing to their watches – that originates from that incident. Later, Sri Lanka’s assistant coach Naveed Nawaz played things down, saying players from both sides are “very friendly outside the boundary line”.Angelo Mathews, who became the first player ever timed out in international cricket during the World Cup after an appeal from Shakib Al Hasan, was the first to use the pointing-at-watch gesture in question. Mathews did it later in that same World Cup game, when he dismissed Shakib. After the game, Mathews had roundly criticised Shakib for his decision to appeal.Shoriful Islam brought back the gesture in the first T20I of this series, on March 3, after he took Sri Lanka’s first wicket.Related

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Today, the Sri Lanka fielders took aim at Towhid Hridoy after his dismissal; he was bowled by a peach from Nuwan Thushara to leave Bangladesh 15 for 3 and, as he walked off, someone in the Sri Lanka huddle said something to him leading to an angry exchange. Hridoy had to be dragged away by umpire Tanvir Islam, the type of scene not wholly uncommon at a Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka game in recent times as a feisty rivalry has developed.Asked if he would like to tone down the rivalry from his end, Shanto said: “It is not about aggressive handling or anything like that. They showed the timed-out gesture, right? They haven’t moved on from the timed-out incident.”I think they should get out of it. They should stay in the present. We were within the rules [with the timed out dismissal]. They are in a frenzy about it. I am not too worried about it.”Shoriful Islam had revived the time-out celebration second ball of this series, while celebrating Avishka Fernando’s wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Kusal Mendis, who made a career-high 86 in the match, also had to field questions on the topic. Speaking about his side’s celebrations, Kusal said: “Someone was doing the timed-out celebrations. I don’t know why. We can celebrate our own things. I think we celebrated because we are happy.”When there were more questions on the same lines, Nawaz took over. “I think we have moved on from that [timed-out incident]. I think it was a celebration which was misunderstood at that time. It was during the heat of the game. Both teams should forget about it.”Nawaz said that the two teams get along fine off the field. “I think both teams play really hard. The atmosphere is really nice. They all give their 100%. Sometimes emotions come into the middle. The players are all very friendly outside the boundary line. They fight really hard once they are inside the ground.”I think that’s what the game is all about. As long as you maintain discipline in the middle and play really hard, and then cross the boundary line and be good to each other, that’s what both teams are expected to do.”Asked whether Sri Lanka felt vindicated winning the series following the controversial overturning of Soumya Sarkar’s dismissal in the previous game which Bangladesh won, Mendis said that wasn’t the case. “I think the umpire made a mistake. Everyone can make a mistake. Our team isn’t thinking about it too much. It is part of the game.”

Australia have a successor lined up in Jake Fraser-McGurk but Warner will leave “really big shoes” to fill

Andrew McGlashan and Nagraj Gollapudi05-Jun-20240:32

Ponting: Australia play their best cricket at World Cups

Ricky Ponting believes David Warner will be missed for more than just the runs he scores when he brings the curtain down on his international career at the end of the T20 World Cup 2024.Warner’s stage-by-stage retirement from Australia duty will be complete when the team’s campaign ends in the West Indies – barring an unlikely comeback in next year’s Champions Trophy – following his final Test against Pakistan at the SCG earlier this year.Related

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He is coming into the World Cup on the back of a lean and injury-hit IPL for Delhi Capitals, where Ponting was the head coach, which coupled with Jake Fraser-McGurk’s blistering form was enough to have his spot talked about even though he was never going to be left out. Warner made a brisk half-century in the warm-up match against Namibia and has been backed to find form with another global trophy on the line.If Australia do end up holding trophies in all three formats at the same time, Warner could be one of just four players – alongside Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Travis Head – to have played in all three finals.”He’s the sort of character you want to have around your team, especially in big tournaments like World Cups,” Ponting told ESPNcricinfo from New York. “And he’s just one of those natural winners. Everything he does, he wants to win. You can see that with his attitude in the field and the way he goes about his cricket.”So there’s more than just the runs that we’ll be missing when Warner finally is gone. But hopefully the depth of Australian cricket is good enough to find someone to come in and fill that void.”In terms of replacing Warner, Ponting was confident that the “extreme talent” of Fraser-McGurk, who will be a traveling reserve during the World Cup, will soon slot in at the top of the order.”It’s going to be really big set of shoes to fill, there’s no doubt about that. They have got a lot of depth there. I’d be very surprised if he [Fraser-McGurk] doesn’t go straight into the T20 team when David’s finally done. And for that matter, we saw Jake debut for Australia in the one-day stuff in the last Australian summer. I was lucky enough to coach him at the Delhi Capitals this year as well. He’s got extreme talent.”In terms of the 15 players on duty for the T20 World Cup, where Australia’s campaign begins against Oman on Wednesday night, Ponting said they could achieve something “very special” by uniting three trophies across formats.”It’s a really good group of players and it’s starting to get spoken about a little bit more,” he said. “Certainly, even internally, you hear a lot of the players in these current teams [are] actually recognising and talking about how lucky they are and what a special team that they know that they are playing in.”When you are involved in a group like that, it’s really important that you make every post winner. So they have got an opportunity here in a T20 World Cup to do something really special. And I know they will leave no stone unturned to give themselves the best chance to do that. They have got some very experienced players on their side.”They have got a few leaders in the side as well. Mitchell Marsh being the captain of this team and Pat Cummins obviously being the one-day and Test captain, and Pat’s just come off a pretty successful captaincy campaign with Sunrisers [Hyderabad] as well in the IPL. So they have got a lot of bases covered and they won’t want to let this opportunity slip knowing that it could be the last World Cup that a few of these guys play as well.”

The final has been allocated to Lahore, but will be played in Dubai if India make the title round

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2024Dubai has been confirmed as the venue for all matches of the Champions Trophy 2025 involving India, including one of the semi-finals and possibly the final, too, if India get there.The schedule, officially released by the ICC on Tuesday, specifies that “semi-final 1 will involve India if they qualify” and will be played in Dubai, and, similarly, “semi-final 2 will involve Pakistan if they qualify”. Also, Lahore has been finalised as the host city for the final, but “if India qualifies for the final it will be played in Dubai”. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days, an ICC statement confirmed.As reported by ESPNcricinfo on Sunday, the decision to host India’s matches at the eight-team Champions Trophy away from Pakistan, the official host country, and in the UAE was finalised after Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, met with Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak in Pakistan. Sheikh Nahyan is a senior UAE minister and also the head of the Emirates Cricket Board.Related

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Naqvi, the PCB chairman, said, “We are pleased that an agreement has been reached based on the principles of equality and respect, showcasing the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that defines our sport.”Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to the ICC members who played a constructive role in helping us achieve a mutually beneficial solution. Their efforts have been invaluable in promoting the interests of international cricket.”The marquee Pakistan vs India match in the group stage will be played on February 23, a Sunday. The other two teams in that group are Bangladesh and New Zealand. India will face Bangladesh on February 20, and New Zealand on March 2.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan, the defending champions of the tournament, will start things off on February 19, against New Zealand in Karachi. Pakistan’s last league match, against Bangladesh, will be played in Rawalpindi on February 27.The second group has Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. The matches for both groups – apart from the India games – will be played across Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.The two semi-finals are scheduled for March 4 and March 5, and with both games being allocated reserve days, it’s not impossible that they end up taking place on the same day, though Dubai is usually dry at that time of the year.The hybrid model was finalised after the parties involved agreed that, in return, Pakistan’s matches at ICC events hosted by India till 2027 will also be at neutral venues. In all cases, knockout games such as the semi-final and the final will also be held at neutral venues.The agreement begins with the Champions Trophy, and will apply to the 2025 women’s ODI World Cup in India, and the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. It will also apply to the 2028 women’s T20 World Cup, the first tournament of the next events cycle that has now been awarded to Pakistan.

Other option on the table is to consider only those matches completed by end of March 2020

Osman Samiuddin22-Oct-2020The ICC is considering splitting points for unplayed games in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, as it prepares to host the final in June next year. That is one of two options to be considered by its cricket committee next month, on how to manage the points system in a league disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic; the other option considers only those matches actually played by the end of March and bases final positions on the percentage of points sides have won from those that they’ve contested.The aim is to have clarity in place by the time the next WTC commitment begins, with West Indies’ two-Test series in New Zealand in December this year. Any decision from the cricket committee would have to be signed off by the chief executives’ committee.A significant number of Tests have been postponed this year because of the pandemic. In many cases, it isn’t clear when they might be rescheduled to, let alone whether they can be squeezed in within this WTC league cycle, which concludes at the end of March 2021.What’s left in the World Test Championship?•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

That has thrown an already imperfect league structure – where sides play a different number of total Tests and not every side plays the other – into further complications. But, as the decision has been taken to conclude the league and play the final, what could be described as the “least bad” option is being sought to account for the impact of the disruption on the points table.Splitting the points would be within the regulations as they stand, whereby all Tests in the cycle that can’t be played (through no fault of either side) are deemed draws. In that scenario, both sides receive a third of the points available for a Test (120 points are available for every series). Basing it on percentages of points played for would require a tweak to existing regulations.There remains hope that a substantial number of the remaining commitments until the end of March will still go ahead. New Zealand, for example, have a full home summer, and South Africa are aiming to host Sri Lanka and Australia between now and next March. For now, Pakistan expect to host South Africa in January-February. Australia, England and India, meanwhile, will complete their commitments against each other by the end of March.As things stand, however, only India and England have a realistic chance of playing all six of their respective WTC series. For England, that depends on whether their Sri Lanka tour goes ahead. Pakistan can play six series but one against Bangladesh wouldn’t have been completed.The World Test Championship points table, as of October 2020•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Neither option is likely to feel satisfactory, not least for a side like Bangladesh, who could end this cycle having only played three of their six series. But a resolution is necessary given the push to complete this first WTC cycle.It was only last week that it emerged the final going ahead at Lord’s in June next year, when Tom Harrison, the ECB CEO, said his board had been in discussions with the ICC about its staging. That was the culmination of a few weeks of communications between the ICC and its members, in which some boards preferred to see the final postponed and others the cycle completed. One of the concerns cited by those wanting postponement was about the integrity of a league in which a final is held without all games in the run-up to it being played. Those in favour stressed the importance of completing the inaugural cycle of a tournament that had unanimous backing when conceived, even with imperfections.Postponement was the favoured option, though when practicalities were explored, a workable alternative could not be found. The lack of space in the calendar, in fact, is one of the driving reasons why there is keenness to ensure a final takes place next June and the first cycle of the league is officially completed.Soon after the final, the second WTC cycle starts with India’s Test series in England. After that, preparations – and attention – turns to the T20 World Cup in India and the year ends with the Ashes in Australia. Apart from the oddity of completing the first season of a league while the second is ongoing, there is a worry that between these high-profile events and series, the impact of a first World Test Championship final will be lost.With this in mind, and based on feedback from those in favour, the decision was taken to push ahead with the final.

Young quick impressed on recent Australia A tour of New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2023Australian fast bowler Jordan Buckingham has joined Northamptonshire.Buckingham, 23, impressed for South Australia in the most recent Sheffield Shield season, and has a record of 25 wickets at an average of 26.56 in his first seven first-class matches. That includes being selected for the Australia A tour of New Zealand in April, where he took 6 for 58 in his first appearance, dismissing the New Zealand A top six.”I’m really grateful for the opportunity to represent such a proud club in Northamptonshire during my first stint in the UK.” Buckingham said. “I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting stuck into it this week and to winning some four-day cricket with my new team-mates for the next few games.”Related

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• Jordan Buckingham runs through New Zealand A with six-for

Buckingham trained with Northamptonshire’s squad this week ahead of their trip to Somerset and is available for the club’s next three LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures.John Sadler, Northamptonshire’s head coach, said: “We’re delighted to have Jordan on board. He’s an exciting young prospect who’s rated highly by Cricket Australia. He showed his quality for Australia A recently and we think he’ll complement our bowling attack well.”Northamptonshire had signed Australian seamers Chris Tremain and Lance Morris, who were due to split six Championship games between them. Tremain has finished his stint while Morris has suffered a back injury, ruling him out of his planned cameo as well as Ashes calculations.

MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tend to take Twenty20 internationals as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tended to take Twenty20 internationals as a “warm-up for the one-dayers to follow”. India have now lost seven of their last ten Twenty20s and two of their three wins were against Bangladesh and Ireland.”I don’t think we were in the groove for a Twenty20 game and too often we treat it as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow,” Dhoni said. “It’s probably the reason for our defeats in these games.”Another, and more significant, reason for Wednesday’s defeat was India’s terrible fielding. They dropped five chances – two off the Sri Lankan openers before they made a start – and frequently fumbled balls in the outfield. Yuvraj dropped Sanath Jayasuriya on 4, Ishant grassed Tillakaratne Dilshan on 13 and Kumar Sangakkara as well, Rohit Sharma let off Chamara Kapugedera on 14, and Pragyan Ojha failed to reach a tough chance given by Angelo Mathews in the final over after which the batsman hit two sixes.”The catching is a bit of concern,” Dhoni said. “We are not a brilliant fielding side, but we don’t drop too many catches. That also hurt us also to some extent.”Had India taken their chances, Sri Lanka would have struggled to reach 215. In the over after he was dropped, Jayasuriya hit Ashish Nehra for five consecutive boundaries and provided the acceleration after a slow start. The opening stand of 43 set the platform for Kumar Sangakkara to score 78 off just 37 deliveries. Kapugedera provided propulsion by scoring 47 off 20 while Mathews made 15 off four balls.”What really set us up was the two openers batting for six overs, even if they didn’t get a flying start,” Sangakkara said. “They really applied themselves and got those 40-odd runs and we could launch our innings from there. I’ve been in good form, but I’ve been getting out cheaply because I’ve never really applied myself. I thought it was about time I really did something to inspire the side.”Sangakkara also described Jayasuriya’s four-over spell during India’s chase as “magic”. Jayasuriya came on after India had raced to 88 in seven overs and brought down the scoring-rate dramatically. He conceded only 19 off his four overs and also took the wickets of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were also supported by far superior fielding effort and Sangakkara acknowledged as much.”I thought the fielding was outstanding, we were excellent in the first 16 overs and I thought we could have been a little more ruthless in the final four overs and finished the game off,” he said. “Overall, everyone played really hard and they showed a lot of hunger to win.”The second Twenty20 game is in Mohali on December 12.

He has been appointed amid a raft of changes following Pakistan’s disappointing ODI World Cup campaign, while Sohail Tanvir as been appointed head of the junior selection committee

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2023Wahab Riaz, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has been appointed the new chief selector of the senior men’s team. His appointment comes not long after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from the position amid conflict-of-interest allegations and in the wake of widespread changes in the set-up at the end of a below-par ODI World Cup campaign.Wahab, who retired from international cricket in August this year, will get going in his new post ahead of the three-match Test series in Australia, to be played in December-January, which will be followed by a five-match T20I series in New Zealand in January. Though he hasn’t formally retired from franchise cricket, his PSL team, Peshawar Zalmi, posted a tweet on Friday thanking Wahab for his “exceptional services to the team”, adding, “thank you for your countless contributions over the past 8 years and you will always remain an integral part of Zalmi family”.The other members of the selection panel have not been named yet.”The [PCB’s] decision to involve former players in cricketing matters is commendable and I am willing to work for the betterment of Pakistan cricket,” Wahab said in a board statement. “Heading a selection committee is a challenging task. We have a significant Australia tour coming up that is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle and a T20I series against New Zealand that will allow us to develop a formidable unit leading up to the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June next year.