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England’s list of wicketkeeping candidates will increase mid-way through February when Craig Kieswetter completes his four-year qualification period

Cricinfo staff07-Feb-2010England’s list of wicketkeeping candidates will increase mid-way through February when Craig Kieswetter, the South Africa-born gloveman who plays for Somerset, completes his four-year qualification period. Kieswetter is expected to earn international honours in the near future, as much on the strength of his batting as his keeping, despite concerns over the number of South Africans in the team.Kieswetter has flown out to UAE this weekend as part of the England Lions squad and becomes eligible for full honours on February 17 – the day he is likely to play against England in Dubai – and it isn’t out of the question that he will be considered for the ICC World Twenty20 in West Indies at the end of April.He has made his name on the county scene with a string of destructive one-day batting performances alongside Marcus Trescothick at the top of Somerset’s order and some observers believe he could make it as a specialist batsman. Early on England’s tour of South Africa Graeme Smith said he’d like Kieswetter to return home, but the keeper quickly reiterated his desire to play for England and now hopes talk about his roots will disappear”My four years are now up so this is a massive thing for me and I feel as English as anybody else does and I am just happy that is now out of the way, and hopefully people can now concentrate on talking about my cricket rather than my background,” Kieswetter told the Somerset website. “It has been pretty much a roller coaster for me to have reached this level because I am only 22 years old now.”I am really excited about where I am with my game at the moment and comfortable with a lot of the technical side of things as well as trying to balance technique with flair. Pulling on an England shirt and testing myself against international players will be another challenge for me and it will enable to see where I am at the moment.”Kieswetter was part of the England Performance Programme which spent time in Pretoria before Christmas and worked with Bruce French, England’s wicketkeeping coach, who has played a key role in Matt Prior’s improvement.However, towards the end of the South Africa tour Geoff Miller, the national selectors, made it clear that there would need to be a rethink over the use of players born overseas. Kieswetter played for South Africa at the 2005-06 Under-19 World Cup before committing his future to England through county cricket.”We have got to get to the stage where we are very careful on that [the number of South Africans in the England team], and we will be,” Miller said. “I wouldn’t say he’s the last but we will monitor it. But Craig has passed all the criteria required to be an English cricketer. He has proved his worth, that’s why he’s there.”He has developed his game, he’s a strong character so he fits all the bills from an England point of view. South Africa talked to him and he said ‘I’m English, I want to play for England’.”

Isaac Mohammed, the 17-year-old nephew of Moeen Ali, scores maiden half-century

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Aug-2025Isaac Mohammed evoked the spirit of his uncle, the England allrounder Moeen Ali, with a maiden half-century to get Worcestershire’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign off the ground with victory at Chelmsford.The 17-year-old opener, who only made his first-team debut in the Vitality Blast less than two months ago, played enterprisingly in laying the foundations for Worcestershire’s 60-run win against Essex with 28 balls to spare.Worcestershire’s 340 for 9 was built around four big-hitting half-centuries from top-order batters, who shared 11 of 12 sixes in the innings with Mohammed landing four of them. His 63 from 75 balls was the appetiser before Kashif Ali (80 from 73) and Jake Libby (70 from 63) put on 110 in 17 overs. That preceded Ethan Brookes exploding on to the scene to take the game away from the still winless hosts.Brookes was at the crease for 27 minutes while hammering four sixes and six fours in a 25-ball 56. His stand of 80 with Libby encompassed just six overs.In response, Essex opener Robin Das took his tally to 147 runs in three innings with back-to-back fifties. But while others got in, they just as quickly got out and the target was never seriously threatened. Brookes made sure of that with 3 for 52.It was not all rosy for Worcestershire, though. Rob Jones had declared himself unfit to play earlier in the morning but was named in the XI at the toss in what was later described as an ‘administrative error’. He came out at the fall of the ninth wicket, faced two balls, scored five not out and was not seen again.The visitors recovered from an underwhelming 33 without loss in the 10-over powerplay, to add 117 in 15 overs between the halfway mark and the 40th over before six wickets went down in the last half-dozen overs as they chased late runs.Worcestershire’s openers put on 60 before Nick Browne snaffled a leading-edge skier in the covers to dismiss Brett D’Oliveira.Mohammed, meanwhile, had looked in trouble early on as Shane Snater benefited from the extra grass left on the wicket to gain lift and carry that had the youngster groping outside off-stump. It did not last long as the left-hander took control and reached his maiden half-century in 67 balls. His four sixes were equally distributed between long-off and square leg.He departed when he misjudged a ball of fuller length from Tom Westley that beat his tentative forward prod and rapped him on the pad.Kashif and Libby’s second successive century stand was less thrilling than Mohammed’s innings, but with lots of nudging and nurdling they kept the scoreboard ticking along.Kashif reached his fifty by punching Luc Benkenstein through the covers. However, he had earlier been hit on his right hip, and when he reached 58, called for the aid of a runner. Re-enter Mohammed. Despite his mobility being severely restricted, Kashif still managed to launch his next ball over midwicket for six. His evident discomfort was ended, though, when he lofted Benkenstein to long leg.Brookes was a whirlwind of hyper-activity with four sixes in his 23-minute fifty, reached with a delicate leg glance for his fifth four. He departed at 297 for 4 when caught at short third. The late wickets were largely self-inflicted.Ben Allison ended his former team-mates’ opening stand of 71 when Matt Critchley stepped aside to give himself room and was bowled. Das reached fifty from 49 balls but next ball was caught just inside the midwicket boundary.Charlie Allison dug in for a 46-run stand with Westley before he was bowled off his pads by Fateh Singh and Benkenstein’s belligerent 23 from 17 balls was ended when he drove D’Oliveira to extra cover.Westley also fell stepping away from his wicket against Singh for 43; Simon Fernandes chipped to short midwicket and Noah Thain was caught-and-bowled by Brookes as Essex’s reply spluttered and died.

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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• Mathews the first to be dismissed timed out in international cricket

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.”

His 6 for 49 hands Essex a 47-run win as Jack White’s six-for goes in vain

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2022Simon Harmer claimed six wickets for 49 to spin Essex to a 47-run victory over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road and finish as leading wicket-taker in this year’s LV= County Championship Division One.Harmer extracted prodigious turn to run through Northamptonshire’s middle and lower order after Sam Cook set up the win with three wickets in two overs to shatter Northamptonshire’s hopes of chasing 211.A breezy 30 from Ricardo Vascconcelos boosted the hopes of the home fans before six wickets fell for 29 runs. Despite a belligerent 39 from Gareth Berg, Northamptonshire’s highest individual score in the match, the hosts were bowled out for 163, meaning they finish in sixth place in the Championship – their highest in 27 years.Harmer finished with 58 wickets for the season, one ahead of Kyle Abbott of Hampshire while Cook passed 50 for the season at an average of just 16.1.The result meant Jack White’s career-best bowling figures were in vain. White took 6 for 38 to skittle Essex for 110 as the visitors lost their last five wickets for 47 runs in the morning session and set up a tantalising run chase.Essex had resumed on 63 for 5 in the morning, in perfect overcast bowling conditions with White taking full advantage and obtaining plenty of movement outside off-stump.He struck early when Michael Pepper edged a low catch to Emilio Gay at second slip and Gay was in action again when Harmer (16), who had played a few lusty blows, played a wild slash and edged White into the cordon.White claimed his second career five-fer when he trapped Shane Snater lbw and then recorded his best figures when the ball flew once more to Gay who took a tumbling catch to dismiss Matt Critchley (20). White’s figures eclipsed his previous best of 5 for 14 achieved against Lancashire in July. Tom Taylor then wrapped things up when he nipped in to claim the wicket of Cook.In the run chase, Snater and Cook bowled a probing spell with the new ball before lunch, making an early breakthrough when Gay prodded at one outside off-stump from Snater and edged behind.Vasconcelos got off the mark with a streaky four down to third but found the boundary off consecutive balls from Snater in the over before lunch including a glorious drive through the covers.Northamptonshire began the afternoon session with a flurry of boundaries with Vasconcelos crunching the ball through extra cover and finding the ropes three times in one expensive over from Cook.Will Young was soon into his work and greeted Harmer by hitting him over his head for another boundary. Harmer had his revenge later in the over though when he got one to turn sharply out of the rough. Young shaped to pad it up only for the ball to spin past his legs and smash into leg stump.That wicket sparked a Steelbacks collapse. Vasconcelos attempted to pull Cook but the ball did not bounce as much as he expected and hit the top of his off-stump. Rob Keogh left Cook’s next delivery which nipped back and trapped him lbw. Northamptonshire had lost three wickets in four balls.Wickets continued to fall with Cook striking again in his next over when Luke Procter edged behind to leave Northamptonshire’s hopes in tatters.James Sales was the next to go, adjudged lbw to Harmer to a ball which looked like it would have gone over the stumps. Saif Zaib struck three boundaries before he was next to go, leaving a ball from Harmer which spun back and hit the stumps with the Steelbacks reeling on 93 for 7.Berg took the offensive approach, clubbing Harmer through the covers for two boundaries and hitting a six all off one over and he continued to take the attack to the spinner as he was joined in a partnership of 49 with Taylor who also looked to be positive during his 26. Taylor eventually departed after coming down the wicket to Harmer and giving Nick Browne an easy catch at short-leg.Berg then fell in similar fashion with Browne taking an excellent diving catch before White was the last batter to go, trapped lbw by Harmer.

The 19-year-old Trinidad & Tobago quick could make his Test debut despite having played just one first-class match

Sruthi Ravindranath09-Jun-2021Jayden Seales has played just one first-class match, but the 19-year-old quick has impressed the West Indies selectors enough to be drafted into the 13-man shortlist for the first Test against South Africa. It’s already “a dream come true” for Seales, and he is hoping for more.”Firstly, it’s a dream come true being in the set-up. Being in the final 13 obviously was a goal of mine,” he said in a press interaction. “Just a matter of me now hoping that I get to play the first Test match and do my best for the team.”The Trinidad & Tobago bowler made his first-class debut last December, turning out for West Indies A in New Zealand, where he picked up one wicket.Related

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More recently, he took 4 for 40 playing for Team Hamilton in a four-day intra-squad game against Team Blackwood. He had also picked three wickets in the first innings during an intra-squad tour match ahead of the series against Sri Lanka in March.In all, he has played only ten games at the senior level across formats.”I didn’t play much first-class cricket but I think being in the set-up and training with the team from New Zealand to now I think I’ve put in a lot of hard work and my body is ready,” he said. “Now I’ve to go out there and perform for the team.”As far as chief selector Roger Harper is concerned, the lack of experience at the senior level should not be a hindrance for Seales.”I saw a young bowler perform in games where Test players and the best of our best of our regional first-class players were playing and he performed exceedingly well,” Harper said. “Better than a number of players who have been playing first-class cricket for a number of years. The thing is the match wasn’t classified as first-class match but those were played by the best of our first-class players.”I would like to think that if he can perform well in those games against those players, he has the potential to transfer that onto the Test scene.”Seales had attracted attention at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa last year, taking ten wickets in six matches with an average of 18.30 and an economy rate of 3.89. That helped him secure a CPL deal with the Trinbago Knight Riders for the 2020 season, and he picked up eight wickets in six matches then. He has been retained by the franchise for the new season, and while he isn’t looking for idols he is learning from watching his team-mates closely.”Honestly, I never really try to adapt from any other bowlers,” he said. “It just came naturally. I’ve been told I have an action similar to [Kagiso] Rabada. In terms of internationals, I look at old West Indian bowlers and now in the set-up I look at Jason [Holder], Roachy [Kemar Roach] and Shannon [Gabriel] closely. I try to hear as much from them, learn as much from them and take it under my game.”With Gabriel missing out on selection because of an injury, Seales is happy to take his cues from Roach. “There has been no conversation whether I would take the new ball,” he said. “For me, if selected, if given a new ball, follow Roachy. If Roachy is bowling good areas it’s just my job to do the same and try and get the early wicket for the team.”

Allrounder says he “wants to be part” of next winter’s Test tour of India

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2020Moeen Ali has restated his desire to return to Test cricket in the future, saying he has “huge ambitions” to prove himself in the format. Moeen did not make himself available for next month’s tour of Sri Lanka but said he was keen to be involved in next winter’s five-match World Test Championship trip to India.Moeen’s last Test appearance was in August, for the opening encounter of the 2019 Ashes. He subsequently took time away from the game to deal with burnout, making his England return in the third ODI against South Africa last week.He was named Player of the Match in Durban on Friday as England levelled the T20I series, and spoke afterwards about his plans for a Test return.ALSO READ: Tom Curran holds nerve as England level series“I do want to be part of that [tour to India] for sure,” Moeen told the BBC. “I still have huge ambitions for Test cricket. It is still the best form of the game and the hardest. I want prove to myself and to other people that I am not a bad Test player.”England play two Tests in Sri Lanka in March, before taking on West Indies and Pakistan during their home summer.Moeen, who lost his central contract in October but could have been obliged by the ECB to make himself available for Sri Lanka as part of his white-ball deal, will next head to the Pakistan Super League, where he has been signed by Multan Sultans.”I am going to give myself a bit more time,” he said of his break from Test cricket. “I want to make sure when I come back I am ready and fresh.”I want to keep enjoying my cricket and get that hunger back because I feel I lost that completely. I had no interest in my batting and bowling and when you are in that situation there is no point playing.”I definitely feel like I am getting there and not far [away]. I want to give myself extra time and know when I come back I will have to fight for my place.”Moeen played once during the ODI series against South Africa, taking 1 for 41 and then hitting the winning runs in Johannesburg. He showed signs of getting back to his free-scoring best in the second T20I, cracking a whirlwind 39 off 11 balls to fire England to a score they narrowly managed to defend in a dramatic final-over finish.”It was amazing to contribute and finally feel like I am back for England,” he said. “I will not take it for granted.”

Mark Robinson, England women’s coach, admitted too many of their batsmen had struggled for rhythm after rain affected the start of the tournament

Alan Gardner25-Nov-2018Mark Robinson, England women’s coach, admitted the team felt they had been “playing catch-up” throughout the Women’s World T20, due to rain affecting the early part of their tournament, as a rusty batting line-up failed to fire in the final against Australia. Despite an eight-wicket defeat ending their hopes of adding the 20-over title to the 50-over World Cup they lifted last year, Robinson was pleased with the squad’s overall development.England first warm-up game – also against Australia in Antigua – was abandoned, as was their opening Group-A fixture, against Sri Lanka in St Lucia. Two victories followed, chasing targets of 78 against Bangladesh and 86 South Africa, but the only time the whole of the top order got to bat came in the defeat to West Indies, when No. 7 Sophia Dunkley, in her third match, top-scored.Although Amy Jones and Nat Sciver found some form with unbeaten fifties in the semi-final win over India, England came unstuck on a slow pitch at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, dismissed by Australia for 105 in 19.4 overs. Tammy Beaumont, Player of the Tournament during last year’s World Cup, managed just 54 runs at 10.80 in the Caribbean, while Lauren Winfield, England’s No. 6, only batted twice, making six runs.”There were a lot of girls who hadn’t quite got into rhythm,” Robinson told Sky Sports. “We felt we’d got Nats away the other night, and Amy… We felt all this tournament we’ve been playing catch-up, we started okay and then we hit the rains in the last warm-up game and then St Lucia.”But that’s sport, that happens – there was a Champions Trophy [in 2017] when the Aussie men only played one game and went home. It’s just sometimes you’ve got to cope, and overall we’ve coped really, really well but it cost us today. There were just too many mistakes, from the umpires, from us, from the fielders, and it was quite a strange first half, but you’re not going to win defending 105.”There’s some really disappointed, upset girls [in the dressing room]. We’d have liked to perform a bit better especially in that first half of the game. Look, 105 you’re not going to win a game like that, especially when you’re going to have to bowl with a wet ball on a wicket that’s actually quite good. It did grip a bit but with all the dew it skidded on.”We were just 30 runs too light, it was a shame because the Aussies were jittery, they made quite a lot of mistakes in the field but we just couldn’t capitalise and were a bit careless. But it’s not for lack of effort, lack of preparation, sometimes those things happen on the day.”One clear positive for England through the tournament was the performances of the new players to the set-up. Kirstie Gordon, one of three to debut during the group stage, finished as England’s leading wicket-taker, while Dunkley and Linsey Smith also made encouraging starts to their international careers, having been called upon the strength of performances in the Kia Super League.Robinson, who has given T20I caps to six players in 2018 – more than in the previous four years combined – said that increasing competition within the women’s set-up was key to making further improvements.Sophie Ecclestone is mobbed by her team-mates•ICC/Getty

“I think we’ve done it since we’ve come in, under Heather, we don’t want things to stand still,” he said. “We’ve got to get competition for places and we’ve got to keep moving forward. We thought we caught Australia cold in 2017 but they’ve moved their game on now, so we’ve got to keep doing that – even if you can’t do it in the short term, you’ve got to be looking for the long term.”People like Sophia Dunkley are going to have long futures, she’s not the finished article by any stretch of the imagination, she’s an academy player but she’s come in here and didn’t impact today, but that innings against West Indies showed she has a chance.”All the bowlers have done well, we hope that was a breakthrough for Amy Jones in T20 cricket, Kirstie Gordon’s done really well on some helpful wickets. Sophie Ecclestone was outstanding tonight. Our bowling’s made a move but we haven’t had enough batters into form when we need it.”As for the success of the tournament as a whole, Robinson suggested improving the surfaces for women’s cricket should be a priority – although he praised the groundsmen in St Lucia and Antigua for their efforts to produce good pitches in spite of heavy recent rainfall on the islands – and called for greater efforts to develop the playing pool in countries other than England and Australia, who have now contested three of the last four Women’s World T20 finals.”Probably some of the cricket hasn’t been what you want due to the surfaces, but the people of the West Indies have got behind it, been absolutely fantastic,” Robinson said. “You’ve probably helped grow women’s cricket in the West Indies, due to how it’s caught the imagination and the home team doing quite well. Surfaces weren’t what we want but it wasn’t through lack of effort, the groundsmen did their best but sometimes through rain or circumstance you can’t do it. This game’s on the way up but it does need the best surfaces to play on.”It’s going in the right direction. You always want more, you always want to be impatient. It needs the respect, from everybody, from the groundsmen. It’s getting there, the amount of publicity, worldwide we need all the counties to support the girls. We need lots of good domestic leagues, infrastructure, we need the whole stage to be growing not just England-Australia.”

The latest developments in the Ben Stokes case don’t necessarily mean he will take part in the Ashes

David Hopps28-Oct-2017I see witnesses have come forward to defend Ben Stokes. That’s great. So he can play in the Ashes then?Well hold on a minute. Somerset and Avon Police are still investigating the incident and the ECB has suspended him indefinitely as it awaits developments.The guy’s a hero. If Stokes had saved me from a beating, I’d have been down the nick in no time. What took these guys so long?Cricket’s not their thing apparently and they had no idea who he was until a policeman knocked on the door. But according to the they regard Stokes as “a real gentleman”.That’s good. So now Stokes has an alibi, why not just get the first taxi to Heathrow?It’s not an alibi. The footage still shows someone who looks very much like him throwing punches. As far as that goes, nothing has changed.It was self-defence, we all know that.An argument of self-defence would certainly help his case. But a court might still be asked to decide whether the level of force used was reasonable based on the circumstances as Stokes genuinely believed them.So if he is going to be charged, get on with it and find him not guilty. The first Test in Brisbane is less than a month away…“Slow but sure moves the might of the Gods,” as Euripides had it.Eh?The wheels of justice turn slowly.How slowly?Government figures suggest it takes an average of 24 weeks between the offence and the case being concludedBut that’s the end of the Ashes. And some.The middle of March. And the same figures indicate Bristol Crown Court can take twice as longSurely sometimes famous people deserve special treatment? This affects the enjoyment of millions of people.All right, you’ve convinced me. Get him on the plane.

Sri Lanka’s transitioning limited-overs squad face yet another stern test in Pallekele against Australia, who cracked the dusty pitches as their batsmen steadily developed a taste for spin

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Sep-2016

Match facts

September 6, 2016
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

Sri Lanka may have the beginnings of a future-proof Test team, but in the shorter formats, the juggernaut that is their transition rolls relentlessly on. So long has it reigned now, it probably deserves to be capitalised: Transition. Perhaps in years to come, Sri Lankan historians will see fit to add a prefix, and it will become “The Great Transition”. Whatever the case, it continues to guzzle up players and spit out empty husks of international careers, chewing up those husks and spitting them up even emptier, fans wailing by the roadside in rags, a terrible limited-overs drought afflicting their once-lush land.Back together in this current squad are players like Chamara Kapugedara, Sachithra Senanayake and Thisara Perera, many of whom had been part of Sri Lanka’s T20 boom years, from 2009-2014, but their presence does not seem a guarantee the boom years will come again. The more experienced hands are as much on trial as the likes of Kasun Rajitha or Dasun Shanaka. A big, limited-overs breakthrough continues to evade them.Australia are without Aaron Finch and Chris Lynn, but through the ODI series, their bowlers cracked Sri Lanka’s dusty pitches, and the batsmen steadily developed a taste for spin. David Warner’s scored his first Asian limited-overs ton playing a more measured brand of cricket than he would have liked, but now that he is in the runs, the T20 format may bring the violence out of him. George Bailey seems the most assured batsman playing in this series. Even Mathew Wade and Travis Head look well-set to contribute.Like Sri Lanka, Australia had also exited this year’s World T20 at the end of the group stage, but during that campaign, had beaten Bangladesh and Pakistan, both of whom Sri Lanka had lost to in the preceding Asia Cup.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia: LWWLW
Sri Lanka: LLLLW

In the spotlight

Tillakaratne Dilshan has had an eventful week since playing his last ODI. He made veiled accusations about Angelo Mathews in the press conference after that match, and neither Mahela Jayawardene nor Kumar Sangakkara came off well in Dilshan’s verbal memoirs either. In addition to suggesting he did not have these players’ support during his captaincy, Dilshan has also taken umbrage at some team-mates “trying to rename the dilscoop by saying it is a shot a cricketer with no brain plays”. The comments have divided opinion, but Dilshan remains a draw card for one final series. He will want to give evidence to his claim that he could easily have played two more years.Adam Zampa‘s T20 career began in South Africa, where he went wicketless in two games, but Asia has been kinder to him. He took five wickets across two games in the World T20, and has generally been economical, if a shade under-bowled. Having now imposed himself in Sri Lanka in the ODIs, claiming nine wickets at 20.77, the opposition will turn out on Tuesday with a plan to neutralise him. If Zampa can get through that trial, however, he will have made further headway in what is becoming a good limited-overs career.

Teams news

There are so many injuries and so many permutations with the Sri Lanka squad that pinning down an XI is difficult. Kusal Perera is likely to return to the top of the order. In the past, Sri Lanka have liked to stack their team with allrounders.Sri Lanka (possible): 1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt.), 5 Chamara Kapugedara, 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Seekkuge Prasanna, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Kasun RajithaThe visitors’ XI is no less difficult to predict, as they have not played T20s since March. On current form, Mitchell Starc, James Faulkner, John Hastings and Zampa should make up the bulk of the attack.Australia(possible): 1 David Warner (capt.), 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 George Bailey, 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Matthew Wade, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 John Hastings, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

The Pallekele surface aids both quicks and spinners under lights, so the match is unlikely to be a high scorer. There is a small chance light showers could interrupt play. The game is already sold out.

Stats and trivia

• Pallekele is the scene of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s lone T20 hundred, also against Australia, in 2011.
• In eight T20s between these sides, Sri Lanka have won six and lost two.
• George Bailey needs 30 runs to complete 500 in the format.

Mitchell Johnson is hoping to return to the aggression that saw him bounce out Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes at Edgbaston

Daniel Brettig04-Aug-2015For a few tantalising minutes, Mitchell Johnson once again had England by the unmentionables. Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes had been bounced out in the space of three balls, and the hosts’ tail-enders quaked in their Edgbaston rooms as they scurried around, out of sight of the cameras, for protective gear. England led on the scoreboard, but not between the ears.Had this been 2013-14, the unbridled aggression briefly glimpsed would have been allowed to bloom. Johnson would have continued sending down his bombs, the English tail would have been razed, and doubtless Brad Haddin would have done his merry batting dance once more. But it is now 2015, and at the other end to Johnson are Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazewood rather than Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle.Johnson cannot quite put his finger on why he did not follow up with further hostile short stuff, but the matter of runs leaking at the other end has crossed his mind. So too does the fact that in a Test series that has already spanned the length of most encounters between nations, it is those two balls to Bairstow and Stokes that have generated most discussion. Next time around, he is unlikely to hold anything back.”I don’t know. I guess from my point of view I was just trying to really dry up the runs and I probably just lost that bit of aggression,” Johnson said. “I don’t read into it too much to be honest. But I think because the ball has been swinging over here a lot more, I feel like I’m trying to get the ball up there a lot more often anyway. I feel like I’ve bowled a lot fuller this trip. I’ve been really happy with the way I’ve bowled, generally.

Johnson reveals off-field heckling

Mitchell Johnson says he quite enjoys the taunts of England supporters on the field these days – but does not want a repeat of one instance away from cricket where he was confronted while walking with his family. Johnson was confronted during the Cardiff Test, and expressed a hope that there would be no repeats.
“I have got it walking down the street in the past and in Cardiff as well it’s happened,” he said. “I’m all for it when it’s in a game but I think when you’re walking with your family in the street I think it’s a bit overboard.
“People are pretty passionate about their cricket and when they’re doing well so I guess you’ve got to understand it from that point of view, but I’d prefer when it’s out in the middle that the crowd are right behind their team and giving it to me on the field. I think that’s fair game.”

“There’s been a few spells here and there. I probably didn’t start too well last Test match. You probably try a bit too hard when there’s a small total there to defend. Generally I feel like I’ve bowled quite well throughout this tour. I’ve swung the ball consistently. At Lord’s I felt like I used the short ball when it was time to use it. I feel like I’ve become a much smarter bowler and I feel like I’ve found a bit more consistency.”Lord’s is the only ground where I’ve had a real crack at it, and those two short balls. I actually had a few high-school friends Facebook message me about it, saying they’ve been replicating it at club training. So they were pretty excited about it. It’s something I need to have a look at throughout this Test match and just keep that aggression. That’s how I’ve been bowling and it’s been working.”Johnson was certainly building up to an aggressive spell on the third and final day of the Birmingham Test. Granted only 120 runs to defend, he paced through his warm-ups with an intensity that suggested he was exceptionally eager to take the new ball for the first time in this series. Yet by the time Michael Clarke deigned to throw Johnson the ball, England needed only 74 more runs.”I thought to myself I was really keen to get the new ball, but whatever is best for the team in those situation I’m happy with,” Johnson said. “It’s something that I’ve become better at is not to become frustrated in those situations where sometimes I feel like I might be better suited in a situation like that. But I have full trust in those guys, Starcy and Hazlewood, to do the job but I’m always prepared to bowl in any position, I think that’s something that I’ve adapted very well to in my Test cricket now.”The equanimity with which Johnson waited for the ball was matched later on when he responded in good humour to the most sustained and intense baiting of the series thus far. Thousands as Edgbaston sang their mocking tune as he bowled, and as the game sailed beyond Australians’ reach, he responded by jokingly stopping his run-up for one delivery, and then next time around delivering a ball to Joe Root from parallel to the umpire.”I get amongst it a bit more now,” he said. “I definitely take it as a bit of a compliment now and when the whole crowd is cheering my name at the end of a game when they’ve just won you have to take that as a compliment. It’s a pretty special crowd, they were really loud there and I expected that from past experiences, they really do get vocal and they really enjoy their cricket.”That over where I did stop in my run-up was deliberate to try and have a bit of fun with the crowd and apparently it had a fair bit of appreciation when I went down to fine leg with people clapping and saying a few choice words. But it was all in good fun. I was just playing it up a bit with the crowd as well, but at the same time respecting the game.”Playing up to the crowd is less likely to be on Johnson’s agenda this week, as he charges at England’s batsmen in what is most likely the last chance more than half this squad will get to win an Ashes series on these shores. The tourists are not wallowing in the problems exposed at Edgbaston, knowing that self-recriminating thoughts do no-one any good right now. But they know they have to get things right this time.”Cardiff, the way we played, then we played so well at Lord’s then we played in Birmingham and did what we did there. I just think our consistency as a whole has just been off,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think we bowled particularly well up front in Birmingham, I think we could have done a lot better with the newer ball. It was a bit like Cardiff, we didn’t play our cricket in partnerships, batting and bowling.”The way we’ve been playing Test cricket for the last 12-18 months has been really good. It has been that consistent cricket. But we are over in these conditions, it’s an Ashes series and we’ve got some guys that are probably feeling the pressure a little bit. I know what it’s like when you first come over and experience it, so I think the guys have handled it really well.”Especially a loss like we had in the last Test, I think we’ve all handed it really well. We were disappointed as a team and a group, but we were able to move on and the guys are – we left a day early to get here and train, get used to the conditions. I think that’s what we have done really well, we’ve been able to move on from losses like that. Hopefully learn from them and hopefully we can come out here and win this Test match, because if we don’t we are in big trouble.”More trouble, even, than Bairstow and Stokes.