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Afridi 'strong, fit and in good shape'

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Shahid Afridi has said he is “strong, fit and in good shape” to come back from the “wild period” he spent out of the Pakistan limited-overs sides due to his conditional retirement

Umar Farooq03-Nov-2011Shahid Afridi has said he is “strong, fit and in good shape” to come back from the “wild period” he spent out of the Pakistan limited-overs sides due to his conditional retirement.Afridi had made himself available for selection after Zaka Ashraf succeeded Ijaz Butt as PCB chairman and was named on Wednesday in the ODI and Twenty20 squads for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. His selection came hours after he met with Ashraf in Lahore.”I found Zaka a very cooperative person,” Afridi said. “Though he is not a cricketer, I feel he can understand cricketers’ problems and is good at managing things. I feel he will do the best for the interests of cricket in the country.”Afridi last played for Pakistan in the West Indies in May, when he had a public falling-out with the coach Waqar Younis. He was replaced by Misbah-ul-Haq as captain in the limited-overs formats, after which he announced his retirement, saying that he would not play for Pakistan under that administration. Waqar subsequently resigned as coach after the tour of Zimbabwe and Butt ended his term as PCB chairman in October, clearing the way for Afridi’s comeback. Afridi said he still had “a lot to offer”.”It’s obviously very tough to be out in such a manner. It indeed was a very difficult time and I am happy that I am back,” Afridi said. “I am strong, fit and in good shape to cover the wild period I had lost during the time of retirement.”I was well supported by the seniors in the team and also by Misbah, which is really good. Now I am ready to contribute in the team as a senior player.”Afridi had wasted no time in pushing his case, requesting a meeting with Zaka on the day the new PCB chairman took office. The selectors, too, wasted little time in picking the allrounder.”I met with Afridi before his selection and we had a positive meeting,” interim chief selector Mohammad Ilyas said. “He is like a son to me and I believe his selection isn’t unfair.”Though he hasn’t played international cricket for five months, Afridi has not been short of match practice. He played for Hampshire in the Friends Life t20 in England. “I am not rusty at all as I kept myself busy playing cricket,” he said. “I am focusing on maintaining my all-round abilities. I had a successful county stint, which gave me ample confidence of doing well in both departments.”

Jacques Kallis slams 'flat' pitch

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Jacques Kallis, the South Africa allrounder, has criticised the Abu Dhabi pitch after Pakistan, led by a determined half-century by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, drew the second Test and the series

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2010Jacques Kallis, the South Africa allrounder, has criticised the Abu Dhabi pitch, after Pakistan, led by a determined half-century by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, drew the second Test and the series. South Africa set Pakistan a target of 354 but managed only three wickets in the chase, though they did pick them up in quick succession after lunch to put pressure on their opponents.”The groundsman needs to ensure the game of Test cricket stays healthy and produces a good contest between bat and ball,” Kallis said. “It didn’t really live up [to expectations] and you can probably play another Test match straight away and not get a result. The pitch was really flat.”Our spinners bowled well but there was absolutely no turn on that pitch and no pace either. Any team would have struggled to take 10 wickets, today, out there.”Though not winning the series was disappointing for Kallis, who scored two centuries in the two Tests, he said his side had prepared well for the Test series against India starting December 16 in Centurion. “The pleasing thing was the way we went about our business,” he said. “We put Pakistan under pressure for most of the series apart from one or two sessions where we were perhaps not as good as we can be.”I think the guys will take a lot out of the series and have got some good runs under their belt. The bowlers did not take as many wickets as they would have liked but the wickets played a role in that. As a unit, we’ve gained a lot of confidence.”Pakistan, currently ranked No.6 in the Test rankings, were helped considerably by the experienced duo of Younis Khan and Misbah, both making a return to the Test format after a long break. The youngsters stepped up too, with Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq making important contributions. Kallis admitted Pakistan had resisted well. “I think we had them under pressure in the whole series and the Pakistan cricketers, especially the youngsters, came in and performed really well. Their cricket is looking positive.”They put in big performances and showed that they have the determination
needed to survive in big games, though the tracks were flat.”

Smith enters revolving spin door

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Andrew Hilditch raised more than a few eyebrows when he boldly declared Australia’s spin bowling stocks were “in a pretty good spot at the moment”

Alex Brown15-Dec-2009Andrew Hilditch raised more than a few eyebrows on the eve of the Brisbane Test when he boldly declared Australia’s spin bowling stocks were “in a pretty good spot at the moment”. That assessment seemed misguidedly optimistic at the time, and even more so now that a 20-year-old wrist-spinner with just 11 first-class wickets to his name has been called into the Australian squad as cover for Nathan Hauritz in the Perth Test.Steven Smith is regarded by many as an Australian player of the future, but opinion is divided over precisely what role he should fill. To date, Smith’s wrist spin has produced six wickets at 55.00 for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield this season – his career average expands further to 75.18 – and his action was recently described as “loose” by former Test legspinner Kerry O’Keeffe. “The Blues prodigy is a batsman first and a slow bowler second,” O’Keeffe added.Smith has enjoyed somewhat more success with the bat, raising his maiden first-class century against Queensland over the past week. But it is his bowling for which Hilditch’s panel have called him into the Test squad, and on that account there must be considerable concern. He returned figures of 0 for 156 from 25 overs against the Bulls in a match the Blues conceded by nine wickets.”The bowling’s going pretty well,” Smith said at Sydney airport. “It was quite hard gripping the ball up there [in Brisbane]. It was really sticky conditions, a little bit different to what I’ve been used to. I had a good bowl this morning and the ball seems to be coming out pretty well. So if I get an opportunity, I’m sure I’ll take it with both hands.”He has never met Ricky Ponting and was watching a movie when he learned of his selection. “I couldn’t believe it,” Smith said. “I’m still shocked. I was shaking for about an hour and a half after I heard.”Smith will be in contention to make his Test debut should Hauritz fail to recover from a finger injury sustained at training on Tuesday. He would join a list of spinners that includes Stuart MacGill, Brad Hogg, Beau Casson, Cameron White, Jason Krejza, Bryce McGain and, most recently, Hauritz to have turned out for the Test side since Shane Warne’s retirement in 2007, opening Hilditch’s panel to further accusations of inconsistency.”While he has excited all in recent times for New South Wales with the bat,” Hilditch said, “we consider his skills as a leg spinner will give good balance to the attack. We are confident he will seize the opportunity if it presents itself in Perth.”Warne recently described Smith as “one to watch” and “a real bolter”, but urged selectors not to rush him into the Test side. Still, with the uncapped pace duo of Clint McKay and Brett Geeves Australia’s only other options – and memories still fresh in Ricky Ponting’s mind of India’s 72-run victory the last time he fielded an all-pace attack at the WACA – Warne’s advice may go unheeded.”In a perfect world … he would learn how to bowl in different conditions,” Warne said. “[He would bowl in] different situations, trying to bowl a side out to win a game, bowl when they are miles behind, bowl defensively so they don’t lose, on first-day wickets when it’s not turning, on fourth-day wickets when the expectation of you is that you come out and take five-for. [Selectors should] be patient with him and just let him bowl.”In an ideal world I’d love him to play 10 Shield games, learn how to bowl in all the different situations, and not get carried away by all the one-dayers and Twenty20s. But you can’t say to a young player, ‘We’re going to rest you from Twenty20 or one-dayers, we want you to learn your craft at Shield cricket.’ It’s nearly impossible to do that these days.”News of Smith’s elevation to the Test squad will come as a major blow to Jason Krejza, who was widely considered to be Australia’s next-in-line spinner after Hauritz. Krejza has not played a Test since Perth last year, and despite managing just a solitary wicket in that six-wicket loss to South Africa, he has been among the better-performed first class spinners this season with 13 wickets at 47.23 for Tasmania.

Jaffer: Senior Bangladesh players 'just don't turn up' in ICC events

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Bond reckons that there is a lot to with the Bangladesh bowling attack but the batting is the problem

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-20251:58

‘Disappointing to see Bangladesh’s big players go missing in a must-win game’

Bangladesh endured another dismal campaign in a global event which has placed a harsh spotlight on their batting unit. They were knocked out of the Champions Trophy after two sub-par totals – 228 all out and 236 for 9 – which, in former India batter Wasim Jaffer’s view, continued the trend of their experienced players not turning up in ICC events.Jaffer was particularly critical of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim’s performances in the five-wicket loss to New Zealand on Tuesday. Both men were dismissed playing rash shots which left Bangladesh five down in just the 27th over. New Zealand hardly broke a sweat in chasing the eventual target down.”We’ve only seen probably Shakib [Al Hasan] with that 2019 [ODI] World Cup where he was a standout player,” Jaffer said on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day. “But I don’t know if it’s the pressure that gets to them or they put too much pressure on themselves, they just don’t turn up.”Related

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  • Ravindra and Bracewell win the middle overs to knock out Bangladesh

Mahmudullah has history in performing well at ICC events, he made back-to-back hundreds in the 2015 ODI World Cup and a hundred when Bangladesh beat New Zealand in the 2017 Champions Trophy. But here, he missed their first match with injury and self-destructed in the second.”Even the shot selection we’ve seen today was very disappointing,” Jaffer said. “Mushfiq [Mushfiqur] playing that shot, Mahmudullah playing that wild shot. And this is a must-win game. You want them to step up in these kinds of games and make themselves count. So that’s been the story in the ICC events, unfortunately.”Jaffer also felt that Bangladesh were at least “50 to 60 runs short” on a Rawalpindi surface which wasn’t offering much help for the bowlers.”They could have easily put 300-plus on that pitch,” he said. “They have got themselves to blame. It is too much to ask from the bowling unit to get a team New Zealand all out for below 240.”Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler, suggested that while “there is a lot to work with” Bangladesh’s bowling attack, their batting seems to be a problem. He also said the chances Bangladesh missed in the field also played a role in their five-wicket loss. Rachin Ravindra survived a run-out chance when he was on 26 and was dropped on 93 by Mehidy Hasan Miraz and then by Mahmudullah on 106.1:07

Jaffer: Bangladesh at least 50-60 runs short

“I like the look of their bowling attack,” Bond said. “They have got the heat, they have got the left-armer [Mustafizur Rahman] which New Zealand and a team like England doesn’t have. The spinners are good.”Also the fine margins… they missed chances. If you miss those run-out chances or those dropped catches, they are the difference between winning or losing a game. If they had taken those chances, this game could have been completely different. There is a lot to work with with their bowling attack. I think their batting in the end was the problem.”Bond, who coaches extensively in the franchise T20 circuit, also felt that any coach would “feel a bit grumpy” after the kind of performance Bangladesh put in as their Champions Trophy 2025 journey came to an end.”I think it’s the natural inclination as a coach to feel that way,” Bond said. “If you start talking about what you shouldn’t do and let emotion pour out as a coach, it’s a dangerous place to go. So you’re still trying to create an environment where you want guys to come out and play positively, you want them to be really clear about how you’re going to play.”And at the end of the day, if they go out and try to execute their game plans and play the way that you want and they lose, then that’s okay. If they don’t, then it makes it very difficult. So that’s what you’re looking for as a player.”You want, ‘this is how the coach wants me to play my role in the team. If I go and do that to the best of my ability, then it’s okay.’ You know, some days it’s not going to work and we’re not a fly on the wall in the Bangladesh camp, so we don’t know what those conversations are and it’s difficult to make judgments on that stuff.”

Wahab Riaz is Pakistan's new chief selector

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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.

“I have a good rapport with the Pakistan Men’s Team Director Mohammad Hafeez and we will be working closely for the success of Pakistan cricket. My primary goal would be to give weightage to the top performers in domestic cricket and announce well-rounded squads equipped with the necessary skillsets. I will always be available to the players for feedback and advice.”The position of chief selector became vacant when Inzamam resigned on October 30, when the World Cup was still on and Pakistan were still in contention for a semi-final spot, following uncomfortable questions around a possible conflict-of-interest situation.Related

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  • Explainer – Making sense of Babar Azam's unexpected resignation as Pakistan captain

  • Afridi to lead Pakistan in T20Is; Masood in Tests

Reports in sections of the Pakistan media said that Inzamam was an active director in a UK-based company, Yazoo International Ltd, of which a gentleman called Talha Rehmani was also a director; Rehmani is also managing director of a company called Saya Corporation, which represents many prominent Pakistani cricketers, including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan. According to gov.uk, a UK government public sector information website, Rizwan is also a director at Yazoo alongside Inzamam. The company secretary is Intisar-ul-Haq, Inzamam’s brother.Inzamam became a director in the company in question on December 7, 2020, and when he was announced as Pakistan’s chief selector earlier this year, his involvement with the company was not made public.Pakistan formally exited the World Cup on November 11 after losing their last league-phase game to England in Kolkata, and Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan’s captain from all three formats on November 15. Shan Masood and Afridi were subsequently named captains of the Test and T20I formats respectively, while no ODI captain was named since Pakistan’s next engagement in that format is some way away.The ICC’s future tours programme doesn’t have an ODI listed for Pakistan for a year – their next fixtures in the format are in a series of three games scheduled in Australia in November 2024.Hafeez, meanwhile, has been named the Pakistan team director, replacing Mickey Arthur, and has been given the additional responsibility of being the team’s head coach in a temporary capacity for the tours of Australia and New Zealand.Sohail Tanvir, meanwhile, was announced as the head of the junior selection committee. Its first task will be the selection of the Pakistan Under-19 squad for the Asia Under-19 Cup, to be played between December 8 and December 17. It will be followed by the ICC Under-19 World Cup, which will be held in Sri Lanka from January 13 to February 4.”I am truly honoured and grateful for the opportunity provided by Chairman PCB Management Committee Mr Zaka Ashraf,” Tanvir said. “I believe in the potential of our young talent and we collaboratively aim to build a pathway for success from the grassroots to the international level.”

ECB defends dip in Blast attendances as Finals Day feels schedule squeeze

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Lack of availability of England players heightens scrutiny on county cricket’s big day out

Matt Roller15-Jul-2022The ECB have insisted they are “committed to driving progress and increasing the reach” of the Vitality Blast after the competition’s 20th season saw a 15 percent decline in ticket sales compared to pre-pandemic numbers.The Blast’s 2022 season concludes with Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, which will be the competition’s earliest-ever finish. The Blast has been squeezed into a shorter window at the start of the summer in order to accommodate the month-long window for the Hundred, which starts on August 3.Several counties were unhappy about their fixture lists, with many games taking place on week-nights during term-time, and ESPNcricinfo understands that the total attendance figure for the tournament will be around 800,000 – including a sell-out crowd at Edgbaston on Saturday.That figure is down from around 920,000 in 2019, the most recent Blast season in which full crowds were permitted. The 2020 season was played behind-closed-doors in its entirety, while full crowds only returned for the knockout stages in 2021.”After the impact of Covid and the restrictions that were in place for two summers, in addition to the changing consumer habits that has impacted other sports and entertainment, it has been heartening to see crowds returning up and down the country,” Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of county cricket, wrote in a blog post.”We are undergoing research to further understand the changing consumer habits and how we can develop the Vitality Blast’s offer to fans. What is certain is that there has never been more ways to watch and follow the Vitality Blast, whether it is at-venue or across the various digital platforms, and we’re committed to driving progress and increasing the reach of a competition that has become much loved since its inception in 2003.”The Vitality Blast is a short-format competition unlike any other, partly due to age-old county rivalries that play out every year across the country. Over the years, all 18 first-class counties have established their own rich history in a competition that continues to attract top players from across the world and also provide a stage for homegrown players to develop their skills.”Related

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There has been controversy surrounding the non-availability of six England players for Finals Day in Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, David Willey (all Yorkshire), Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone (both Lancashire) and Craig Overton (Somerset), who will be playing in Sunday’s deciding third ODI against India instead.The ECB were forced to reschedule the white-ball leg of the India series due to the postponement of the fifth Test last summer, prompting the clash between Finals Day and the end of the ODI series, but Tom Abell, Somerset’s captain, said that the occasion would not be “diminished in any way” by their absence.”The Blast can still take pride of place,” Abell said. “If there are really good games in the Blast, that creates huge interest and excitement around the competition in itself. Everyone really buys in and you really see the passion for it. If you’re getting good sides playing against each other, that fuels the passion for the T20 Blast and for county cricket.”Tim David, Lancashire’s overseas player, said it was “frustrating” to be without several England players. “Personally, I think it’s disappointing when you have clashes with international fixtures,” he said. “As a team, of course you want your best players available – but it happens everywhere. You have fixture clashes. I think it can be done better but I’m not going to offer any solutions at this stage.”Obviously there is some really high-quality stuff happening in the Blast but there’s also some different challenges with the scheduling and the number of teams,” David added. “It’s a different intensity to other tournaments: guys will be off playing a four-day game and then the next day, they’ve got a T20 match. It’s certainly a different challenge to franchise tournaments.”Five venues reported record T20 attendances this season: Edgbaston, Taunton, the Ageas Bowl, New Road and Grace Road, where Leicestershire reaped the benefits after deciding to cut their prices significantly midway through the group stages. “Last week’s quarter-finals attracted a combined 42,000 spectators – the most ever for the last-eight stage,” Snowball said.The new TV deal signed between the ECB and Sky Sports this week includes a 50 percent increase in the number of televised group-stage games, as well as a weekly highlights show on free-to-air television. Snowball said that the deal “reiterates the value and importance that is placed” on the Blast and “reflects the loyalty and passion fans have for it”.

Travis Head and Alex Carey help give South Australia the honours

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Jake Weatherald also made a half-century on his return while Nathan Lyon claimed three wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2021South Australia 4 for 298 (Carey 86*, Weatherald 66, Head 64) v New South WalesSouth Australia took the honours on the opening day against the defending champions on the back of a consistent display from their top order with Alex Carey closing in on a century.Travis Head continued his fine form before becoming the third of Nathan Lyon’s wickets for the day on a surface already showing signs of assistance for the spinner. He could have removed his Test team-mate on two earlier occasions, putting down a caught-and-bowled chance on 23 and then seeing him missed at short cover on 51 with the last ball before tea.The day was in the balance when Head fell but Carey, who had some edgy moments early when he was keen to reverse sweep Lyon, and Harry Nielsen added an unbroken 96 through to the close.Lyon had made the first breakthrough when he bowled Henry Hunt in the 14th over but Jake Weatherald, on his return to the Sheffield Shield team, and Liam Scott took the home side to lunch without further loss.However, second ball after the break Josh Hazlewood struck when Scott provided a catch to gully. Weatherald, who pulled out of the Shield hub earlier in the season to manage his mental health, scored a double century for the 2nd XI last week and marked his return with a half-century from 110 deliveries.He was then defeated by a lovely piece of bowling from Lyon which left South Australia 3 for 116 and in need of the middle order firing to ensure a good chance wasn’t wasted.With a little fortune on his side Head was able to do that and given his current form – he made a double century in the previous round – it was then a surprise when he was beaten on the back foot by one which slid on from Lyon.South Australia handed a first-class debut to left-arm wristspinner Joe Medew-Ewen and the signs are he could have a considerable amount of work against a batting line-up that includes David Warner.

India's home record under threat as confident West Indies eye series win

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Can visiting bowlers keep Virat Kohli quiet at one of his favourite venues?

The Preview by Sreshth Shah17-Dec-20194:33

The Hetmyer and Hope threat looms again

Big picture

It’s been over 15 years since India last lost two consecutive bilateral ODI series at home. it’s been over 30 years since India last lost five straight ODIs at home. But both those things may happen if they lose to West Indies in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday – they lost the last three matches to concede the series against Australia 3-2 in March.Although Rohit Sharma has been off-colour so far against West Indies, the rest of the Indian batting contingent has displayed enough composure and grit for the spotlight to move away from the star opening batsman. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube have all shown across the white-ball series that they could be relied on to take responsibility, but the same cannot be same about the team’s bowling. Virat Kohli’s template as captain has been to strangle teams in the middle overs after the new-ball bowlers do their job in their first spells, but with Jasprit Bumrah missing, the early wickets have been more difficult to come by.It was on display in the first ODI, when the set West Indies batsmen played out the spin threat of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja with ease, despite plenty of turn on offer in Chennai. It forced Kohli to bowl out Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami before the slog overs, leaving young Dube with the task of bowling at the death. It was similar for India during the loss to Australia, where Vijay Shankar was often the go-to bowler at the back end.ALSO READ: Smart and on target, Cottrell is more than just the saluteThe only difference between India and the visitors in Chennai was the number of options each captain had, and West Indies’ seven-bowler plan helped Kieron Pollard use conditions to his advantage.In the preceding T20I series, West Indies had gone into the final game on level terms and then fallen short. While they walk into the second game here with confidence, they need to make sure they don’t let the opposition batsmen settle in.

Form guide

India LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WWWWL

In the spotlight

Is Shivam Dube a better all-round option than Vijay Shankar? An exciting half-century in the T20I series got people to sit up and take note, but his bowling hasn’t been terribly impressive. On his ODI debut, he made just nine with the bat and conceded nearly nine per over with the ball. There are question marks over his pace – late 120s – and whether he can bowl accurately enough, to the team’s fielding plans.Shivam Dube gets into position to pull•BCCI

Shai Hope has been one of the keys to West Indies’ success in recent times. Hope’s role as an anchor will be crucial once again, whether they bat first or chase. In his 218-run partnership – at a strike rate of over 100 – with Shimron Hetmyer in Chennai, Hope was calm in his approach, scoring at a strike rate in the 60s while allowing his partner to bloom. He rotates the strike well, allowing his big-hitting partners to have that safety net, and gives a blanket of security to the team.

Team news

India may return to their “Kul-Cha” plans, having failed to trouble West Indies with spin in the first ODI. That means either Dube or Jadeja may be left out to accommodate Yuzvendra Chahal.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Ravindra Jadeja/Yuzvendra Chahal, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohammad ShamiWhether Evin Lewis has recovered from a right-knee injury is not yet known. If he has, then he’s likely to return to the XI in place of Sunil Ambris.West Indies (probable) 1 Shai Hope, 2 Evin Lewis/Sunil Ambris, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Roston Chase, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Hayden Walsh Jr, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Stats and trivia

  • The last time an ODI was played – last year – in Visakhapatnam, India and West Indies battled hard for a tie. With West Indies needing five to win off the final ball, Hope, who made 123, slapped a boundary through point to level the scores.
  • Teams batting first have won just one of the last six ODIs played in Visakhapatnam
  • The average first-innings total at the ground since 2010 is 275
  • Virat Kohli averages 139 at the ground, having scored 556 runs – including three centuries, a 99 and a 65 – in his five outings in Visakhapatnam

Jos Buttler denies rivalry over wicketkeeper's role with Jonny Bairstow

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England’s top-scorer content to have his Test place back as he targets a fourth-day victory push on a wearing wicket

Melinda Farrell at the Ageas Bowl01-Sep-20180:59

Stokes and I bring the best out of each other – Buttler

Jos Buttler says he is “not fussed” about being England’s first-choice wicketkeeper and hosed down any suggestion of a rivalry with Jonny Bairstow over the role at the end of the third day at the Ageus Bowl.Buttler has had mixed fortunes behind the stumps after Bairstow’s fractured finger forced a him to hand over the gloves for this Test but, while Bairstow has made it clear he wants to reclaim the job as soon as he is fit, Buttler said there was no jostling for the role or problems between the two team-mates.”Not at all from my angle, and not from Jonny’s either,” said Buttler. “It’s not been a problem at all.”Obviously Jonny’s not fit to keep wicket in this match, which is frustrating for him because he’s been fantastic for the last few years. Whatever happens moving forward, it doesn’t affect me or Jonny.After a day in which England’s rejigged top order struggled to assert themselves, Butter – who top-scored with 69 – suggested that, far from coveting the gloves full time, he is simply happy to keep his place in the Test team.”I’m not fussed,” he said. “From a few months ago, to even be in the Test match side is fantastic – so gloves on or not, it doesn’t matter.”England were 122 for 5 when Buttler joined Ben Stokes at the crease and, while Sam Curran impressed once more with his fearless brand of batting, it was the Buttler-Stokes partnership that righted the ship after Joe Root was run out for the second time in the series.”We’ve batted together in quite a lot of situations in different formats, so that rapport is obviously comforting in a way and allows you to get the best out of each other,” Buttler said of a player who has been a regular team-mate in white-ball cricket for England and, latterly, for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL too.”We’ve got that right, left-hand combination, trying to rotate the strike and not let bowlers settle. We just went about it the same way … trying to extend the partnership, and slowly and steadily building the lead.”With a lead of 233 and two wickets in hand, England may just have the upper hand in this contest, although it would be foolish to discount what the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara could produce in the fourth-innings chase. But Buttler feels there are signs the pitch could be deteriorating sufficiently for Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid to make inroads in India’s batting line-up.”You’ve seen the wear and tear in the wicket – even in the first innings as well, there was quite a bit of rough outside the right-hander’s off-stump,” said Buttler.”That’s promising for Moeen and Adil – and with the seamers, we’ve seen a bit of variable bounce. So I think it’s nice to have the runs on the board.”

Dhananjaya, Pradeep return to Sri Lanka's Test squad

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Batting allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva, uncapped left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, and seamer Nuwan Pradeep returned to Sri Lanka’s squad for the first Test against India, in Galle

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Jul-20171:18

‘SL looking for Herath’s long-term replacement’

Sri Lanka squad for first Test

Rangana Herath (capt), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep

Batting allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva, uncapped left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, and seamer Nuwan Pradeep returned to Sri Lanka’s squad for the first Test against India, in Galle. De Silva, who had been left out of the squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, effectively takes Dinesh Chandimal’s place in the 15-man squad, while Pushpakumara displaces left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, and Pradeep pushes out Dushmantha Chameera.Though Pushpakumara, 30, has not played any international cricket yet, he has for long been prolific at the first-class level, where he has 558 first-class wickets at an average of 19.85, and is routinely among the top three wicket-takers in the Premier League Tournament. In the most recent season, Pushpakumara’s 77 wickets at 13.79 put him 20 wickets clear of the second-highest wicket-taker. That he has not already played for Sri Lanka is largely due to the fact that Rangana Herath is the team’s incumbent left-arm orthodox spinner.De Silva’s return to the squad was somewhat expected, following the news that Chandimal would be unavailable for the first Test owing to his hospitalisation for pneumonia on Friday. Though De Silva got a duck against India in the two-day practice match in Colombo, he had impressed in Tests in 2016, when he had highly successful series against Australia and Zimbabwe. His competition for the middle-order spot vacated by Chandimal comes in the form of Danushka Gunathilaka, who is an opener by trade, but has been in excellent form over the past two months, top-scoring in the recent ODI series against Zimbabwe, then hitting a brisk 74 against India in the two-dayer, before he was run out.A hamstring niggle had sidelined Pradeep for two weeks, but Sri Lanka had always hoped he would regain fitness before the India series. That it is Chameera he is replacing, however, is a slight surprise. Chameera’s pace had made him one of the more promising quicks in Sri Lanka’s battery, and he appeared to be making a steady comeback.Vishwa Fernando’s left-arm angle, and perhaps his wickets on Friday, may have swung the decision in his favour, however. He had made his Test debut at Galle against Australia last year, in a match that was so heavily dominated by Sri Lanka’s lead spinners that Fernando was only required to bowl two overs. Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara are the two other quicks in what is an especially pace-heavy squad.Herath has already been confirmed as captain for the Test that starts on Wednesday.

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