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The selections of Tim Paine, and Shaun and Mitchell Marsh were all “gut feel” calls, Darren Lehmann said, while lauding the players for seizing their opportunities

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2017Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has revealed the national selectors relied on “gut feel” calls to assemble the team that regained the Ashes in Perth, namely the choices of Tim Paine, Shaun and Mitchell Marsh.All three decisions attracted plenty of scrutiny: Paine had not been Tasmania’s first choice wicketkeeper in recent first-class matches, Shaun Marsh averaged only 39 in the three Sheffield Shield games before the Gabba Test and Mitchell Marsh appeared to be rushed back after shoulder surgery had left him playing primarily as a batsman.

‘One innings doesn’t make a career’

Mitchell Marsh cannot afford to rest on the laurels he gained from a breakthrough century in the Perth Ashes Test and has already been counselled to improve his bowling by the coach Darren Lehmann.
For all the emotion attached to Marsh’s display, Lehmann offered stick as much as carrot to the young allrounder while acknowledging the progress he had made. The retention of Pete Handscomb in the squad is a reminder that Australia’s selectors still see Marsh as a conditional option.
“The challenge for him is to back that up again to be perfectly honest,” Lehmann said. “One innings doesn’t make a cricket career. For him he’s got to back that up next game and do the right thing and continue to make runs. I thought his bowling was a little bit disappointing, which he spoke about with me the other day. He’s got to get his bowling right, his fielding right and his batting and if it all comes together that’s fantastic.
“It’s quite emotional when you see Swamp and Shaun, Swampy’s had an unbelievable two weeks for the Marsh family with Adelaide and now here. But Mitchell went back to refine his game a little bit, worked with some different people, and just looked like he enjoyed himself out there and that’s the key to those sorts of guys, those allrounders, you have allrounders in any team if you can. That was obviously really hard on Pete [Handscomb] missing out in this game, but the way Mitchell played was exceptional and really drove us to that total.”

However, in each case, the selectors were rewarded, as Paine has showcased his skills behind the stumps while also adding important runs, Shaun Marsh played handily in Brisbane and pivotally in Adelaide, before Mitchell Marsh bludgeoned England in the company of the captain Steven Smith in the last Ashes Test at the WACA Ground.”We were just going with gut feel to be perfectly honest and really pleased for the players that they turned up and played really well,” Lehmann said. “I was impressed with each one of those selections and the way they turned up in the series so far.”There is [satisfaction for getting calls right] I suppose but full credit to Trevor [Hohns] and Mark [Waugh] and Greg [Chappell] for that. Yes I’m on the selection panel but it’s a tough, thankless job, it’s just pleasing those guys get the credit where it’s due to be perfectly honest.”Those guys we picked were fantastic. You don’t know how it’s going to go when you first start and you cop a lot from people and media. That’s the way it is, so really pleased for the selection panel.”There was enormous relief in the Australian set-up after securing the Ashes at home, and Lehmann spoke frankly of the pressure the team and Cricket Australia had felt to deliver a winning result after defeat in England in 2015.”Ashes cricket is high pressure, everybody is nervous every ball, every session,” Lehmann said. “It’s been that way for 15 days so far, so they can go and express themselves a little bit more. We’ll be playing the same brand of cricket but obviously with less pressure on us. it’ll be interesting to see how we respond to that. Boxing Day and SCG are fantastic Test matches to be a part of.”It was extremely satisfying for the lads, they’ve worked so hard over the last few months to get the prep right, the way we played. The planning came together, so all credit to the players, the support staff were fantastic. The work behind the scenes was great. I’ve loved the way we have gone about it in all three Tests.”It was a lot closer than what the scores relate to. Certainly in Brisbane they had the upper hand at certain stages, but the captain was brilliant there. Obviously the bowlers were great in the second innings to get the job done. Adelaide was close and this one – albeit by an innings – it was still close, it came down to magnificent bowling from our quicks on the last day. It was a great day, the way the boys played.”Speaking about Smith, who has utterly dominated the series with the bat and led expertly for the most part, Lehmann said the 28-year-old could now be ranked with Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting and may well pass them by the end of his career.Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“He’s running pretty hot isn’t he? I’ve been lucky enough to see all of his Test hundreds,” Lehmann said. “So for me, seeing him evolve from that first Test hundred at the Oval to now – he just changes his own plans to what the bowlers are doing and what the wicket’s doing, and what the game needs. He’s gone to another level, which is pleasing.”By the end it might be a bit different, but Pup and Ricky Ponting at times were exceptional captains and exceptional batters, when they were leading the team. Statistically you only see that at the end I suppose, but the way he’s gone about it, averaging 72 or 73 as a Test captain, that’s pretty special. For him to keep delivering what he needs to do is exceptional under the pressure he’s under in Ashes series.”Having won a second consecutive home Ashes series win, Lehmann was quick to point out that the Australians needed to replicate their mastery of the “big moments” away from home. A tour of South Africa looms and there will also be a trip to India before the 2019 World Cup and Ashes double in England. A youngish team led by Smith and with a high-class bowling attack now has the chance to grow together.”That’s the game itself, winning the big moments and transferring the pressure back to the other side,” Lehmann said. “I think we’ve done that really well in the first three Tests matches. It’s something we have to do when we travel away.”You’re always learning lessons whether home or away, as a coach, as a player, support staff, you’re always learning. They’ve got some good young players, we’ve managed to put them under pressure at the right times, and hopefully that continues for the next two Test matches. But some of those players will be involved in the next Ashes series, so we’ve got to make sure we keep evolving our plans and being better.”I’m pretty sure they can hang together, this group, they’re young enough to play for a few years together and that was the key 12 months ago even though we’ve changed some of those younger players. This group can hang together for the next 12-18 months and we’ve got to always evolve and get better at how we play and who we select and see where we go.”

Nayeem’s inclusion comes as a big surprise since he has played only four first-class matches and hasn’t been mentioned in any selection conversations in the last three months

Mohammad Isam26-Jan-2018Bangladesh have picked Under-19 offspinner Nayeem Hasan in the 14-man squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka. Seventeen-year old Nayeem is currently playing the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. His inclusion comes as a big surprise since Nayeem has played only four first-class matches and hasn’t been mentioned in any selection conversations in the last few months.

Squad for first Test

Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah (vice-capt), Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamrul Islam, Mehidy Hassan, Rubel Hossain, Nayeem Hasan.
IN: Nayeem Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Kamrul Islam
OUT: Subashis Roy, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Taskin Ahmed

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that Nayeem will be returning from New Zealand to join the Test squad.”Nayeem is a talented bowler and since we wanted an additional offspinner, we picked him,” Minhajul told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a good option. He is coming back from New Zealand since we lost to India today.”The squad sees other major changes too. Shakib Al Hasan returned as captain after he was rested for the South Africa Tests last year while Mosaddek Hossain and Kamrul Islam were also recalled. Mosaddek was recovering slowly from an eye condition but he scored a century in the Bangladesh Cricket League first-class competition last week.The selectors dropped Subashis Roy, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed. The three pace bowlers hardly made an impact in South Africa or in first-class matches recently. Soumya, too, hasn’t made many runs after being dropped from the ODI squad for poor form in South Africa.Sabbir has also been batting poorly in the ODIs and was guilty of throwing his wickets away in the Tests in South Africa.

No play possible on day one, despite mostly clear conditions in Brisbane; overnight rain and a wet outfield get in the way at Allan Border Field

Peter English23-Mar-2018The first day of the Sheffield Shield final between Queensland and Tasmania was abandoned without a ball being bowled despite mostly clear conditions in Brisbane. Overnight rain and a wet outfield were the major obstacles during an extremely frustrating opening for players and the small crowd at Allan Border Field.The ground staff worked in often sunny weather throughout the day and while there was no problem with the pitch, the umpires felt there were safety concerns over patches of the outfield. Their call to abandon came at 3pm local time. The match will start an hour earlier for the remaining four days.Allan Border Field is a boutique ground with drainage more like a well-manicured backyard than the sieve-like surface across town at the Gabba. With the Test stadium being prepared for the Australian Football League season, Queensland are hosting the match at their inner-city training base.The forecast for the rest of the game is occasional showers, continuing the wet end to Brisbane’s rainy season. A combination of the bowler-friendly conditions and the Dukes ball, which has swung considerably since being employed over the second half of the season, should make things uncomfortable for the batsmen and ensure a result remains possible even with further interruptions.Queensland are chasing their eighth Shield win and as hosts need only to draw the match to gain the trophy.

Virat Kohli will focus attention on England’s professional circuit with a month-long deal at Surrey ahead of India’s Test series in England

David Hopps03-May-2018Surrey have confirmed the signing of India’s captain Virat Kohli for the month of June so ending months of anticipation that he would use the county circuit to warm up for the Test series against England in August.Kohli will become the fourth Test-eligible Indian player in county cricket this year with fellow batsman Cheteshwar Pujara currently at Yorkshire and seamers Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron representing Division Two clubs Sussex and Leicestershire respectively.Although there have been a few voices decrying the fact that Surrey have given Kohli useful acclimatisation ahead of India’s Test series in the country this summer, the vast majority of followers of England’s professional circuit will welcome the additional publicity and status it is bound to bring.Kohli will be available for all Surrey cricket throughout the month, beginning with Royal London Cup 50-over matches against Middlesex – an opening match at Lord’s for India’s captain – and Glamorgan and three Championship matches against Hampshire (which will feature a match-up with Dale Steyn), Somerset and, finally, Yorkshire where there will not be a guest house room to be had in Scarborough.”It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season,” Kohli said. “I can’t wait to get to the Kia Oval.” His presence in county cricket owes much to the attitude of India’s Committee of Administrators, headed by Vinod Rai. Rai had prepared the ground for Surrey’s announcement by confirming that India players would not be forced to play in a one-off Test against Afghanistan against their wishes.”Afghanistan is playing versus India and not Virat Kohli. No player (Cheteshwar Pujara especially) will be called back from UK to play versus Afghanistan. Priority is England and to do well there, so, whatever it takes,” Rai said.A five-Test series which begins at Edgbaston on August 1 is now confirmed as Kohli’s priority as he seeks to conquer the challenge of English conditions. His record against the red Dukes ball in English conditions is the one blot on his cricketing CV. He had a sorry time on India’s tour in 2014, scraping only 134 runs from 10 innings as India lost the series 3-1.England will hope that Kohli’s presence will also signal a general softening of India’s resistance to their leading stars playing professional cricket in England if and when the opportunity arises.Stewart, Surrey’s Director of Cricket, said: “We are thrilled to have signed the biggest name in world cricket for the month of June. Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him.”At a time when there is much discussion around the future of county cricket, the arrival of Virat should give our domestic game a massive boost and positive exposure around the cricketing world which in turn can benefit every county.”Stewart had enquired about Kohli’s availabilility as long ago as March, only to be told that the prospect was highly unlikely because of India’s Test against Afghanistan and Twenty20 commitments in Ireland.Surrey, the wealthiest professional club in England, are making a habit of such marquee signings. Kumar Sangakkara had an outstanding summer in 2017, averaging 106.50 as he made eight centuries and three half-centuries in 13 innings.

Nitish Rana’s 59 and a 12-ball 41 from Andre Russell powered Knight Riders to what proved an eminently match-winning total of 200

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy16-Apr-20186:25

‘KKR seem dependent on Russell’

Is Andre Russell the most valuable T20 player in the world? He has the stats (and the Smart Stats) to back such a claim, and on Monday he added to his vast body of work with a brief and brutal assault that transformed the mood of what had until then been an edgy battle for first-innings points.Russell came in with Kolkata Knight Riders 113 for 4 in the 14th over. He departed 22 balls later, having added 61 to his team’s total in the company of the impressive Nitish Rana. He only faced 12 balls, but he hit six of them for six.Knight Riders finished with exactly 200. This was a difficult target against Knight Riders’ spin attack, on a pitch offering a good amount of turn. Delhi Daredevils needed a strong start; they ended up slipping to 24 for 3. It was all uphill from there, and Daredevils didn’t have the legs for the climb, with none of their batsmen getting into double figures apart from Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell, who threatened briefly to make this a contest with a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket in 33 balls.Daredevils were bowled out for 129, with 5.4 overs still to play.Uthappa and Rana make up for misfiring Narine and LynnChris Lynn likes pace, but doesn’t score as quickly against spin. Sunil Narine likes spin, but isn’t too fond of fast, short bowling (16 off 20 balls against this type of bowling last season, and four dismissals). It’s a hard opening pair to plan against, and Daredevils, having chosen to bowl, went all pace at the start. It worked: Trent Boult started the game with the first maiden of the season, to an off-colour Lynn who struggled for timing, and then sent back Narine with a well-directed bouncer.After that early dose of pace, it was all spin from overs 6-10, presumably in an effort to keep Lynn quiet. Daredevils managed that, as Lynn ended the 10th over batting on 28 off 25, but the batsmen at the other end compensated, with Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana hitting five sixes between them in that phase. Knight Riders ended the first half of their innings at 85 for 2.Russell ruins Shami’s nightIt remained like that for a while: runs coming quickly at one end but not quite at the other. Mohammed Shami, varying his pace constantly, went for only 11 in his first two overs, the 11th and 13th of Knight Riders’ innings, and sent back Lynn with a well-disguised knuckleball. Vijay Shankar and Chris Morris, meanwhile. went for 12 and 15 against Rana and Dinesh Karthik in the 12th and 14th overs.Neither team could really say it was significantly in front at the start of the 15th over, which began with Russell batting on 0 off 0. Twenty-two came off that over, with Russell ramping, lofting and muscling Shami for three massive sixes. In between, he miscued one, only for Jason Roy to drop him, diving forward after running in from long-on.Rana was the dominant partner in the next over, pulling Morris for six and then holding his shape to carve a slower one over point for four, before Russell versus Shami resumed. Three more sixes came off this over, off three very different deliveries – a wide, full slower ball; a length ball; a bouncer – and 20 runs in all.It took a perfectly directed yorker from Boult to send back Russell in the 18th over. Then Rana played a couple of outrageous shots himself – a middle-stump yorker from Boult squeezed past short third man, a scything square-drive off Morris that made deep point redundant – before falling for 59 off 34 in the penultimate over. With Knight Riders’ batting might almost extinguished, Rahul Tewatia took three wickets and only conceded one run off the last over, but the damage had been done.Early wickets seal the dealRoy came into this match fresh off a match-winning, unbeaten 91 in a chase of not dissimilar magnitude against Mumbai Indians. There would be no repeat here. Piyush Chawla bowled the first over, no doubt because of Roy’s dodgy T20 record against legspin, and had him stumped down the leg side when he spotted him charging out of his crease too early. That was Roy’s 12th dismissal to legspin in 27 innings – in that time he has scored 190 runs against them at a strike rate of roughly 126.Russell’s pace and bounce did for Shreyas Iyer, who fended a rising delivery to slip, and when Gautam Gambhir chopped on against Shivam Mavi, Daredevils had lost a wicket in each of their first three overs.With no option but to keep playing their shots, Pant and Maxwell kept the game alive for a little longer, but with such a large chunk of Daredevils’ resources already depleted, it was a matter of time before Knight Riders would reassert their dominance. Both fell to Kuldeep Yadav; Pant smashed him straight to deep midwicket in the ninth over, and Maxwell, having just struck successive sixes off him in the 11th, holed out attempting a third in a row. Morris and Shankar, the last two recognised batsmen, fell in the space of three stump-to-stump balls from Sunil Narine, enabling him to pick up his 100th and 101st IPL wickets.

Bangladesh also added four new faces – Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider and Abu Jayed – to their one-day squad for the three-match series

Mohammad Isam03-Jul-2018Bangladesh added four new faces – Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider and Abu Jayed – to their ODI squad for the three-match series against West Indies starting on July 22. Liton Das and Mosaddek Hossain also earned recalls as Mashrafe Mortaza prepares to lead a new-look side in his first assignment since January.

Bangladesh ODI squad

• Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider, Abu Jayed

• IN: Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider, Abu Jayed

• OUT: Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Abul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Sunzamul Islam

Shanto, a left-handed top-order batsman, made his Test debut in New Zealand in 2017 and has been in prolific form in domestic one-day cricket this year while Nazmul, Hider and Jayed have found only limited opportunities in the senior side lately. Liton has also featured in Tests and T20Is in the recent past.The selectors dropped three batsmen – Imrul Kayes, Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Mithun – two allrounders – Abul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin – and a left-arm spinner – Sunzamul Islam – to bestow greater responsibility on senior batsmen Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.Despite failing to put up convincing performances, Anamul Haque emerged the only regular with a middling form from Bangladesh’s previous ODI squad to survive the axe. Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Abul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin and Sunzamul Islam were dropped.Anamul, however, has some recent runs behind him, and so does Sabbir Rahman who earlier lost his place in the Test side but soon bounced back with a 165-run knock against Sri Lanka A last week.

Seven of South Africa A’s eight wickets were pouched by the wicketkeeper or the slip cordon, on a day when India A’s pacers dominated at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu in Bengaluru04-Aug-2018
Rajneesh Gurbani in action•PTI

While India were locked in a riveting contest with England at Edgbaston, fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini made inroads for the A team against South Africa A in a less-intense setting at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The two quicks swung the new ball and later Rajneesh Gurbani seemingly reversed the old one, but the South African batsmen kept stabbing at wide deliveries and continued nicking behind. Seven of the eight batsmen who were dismissed on day one were either caught by wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat or pouched in the slips.However, Knights’ wicketkeeper-batsman Rudi Second, who has been a prolific scorer in the Sunfoil domestic competition, repaired the innings with a sprightly 94 off 139 balls and hauled his team from 93 for 4 to 246 for 8 at stumps.Unlike his team-mates, Second largely played close to his body and when he shaped to drive, he ensured his front foot met the pitch of the ball. He was compact against spin too, often stretching forward to smother whatever little turn Yuzvendra Chahal extracted from the day-one pitch. Fifteen minutes before the close of play, though, Second himself threw his bat at a Siraj offering that finished possibly wider than a set of stumps outside off and handed Bharat his fourth catch.Siraj’s wickets, however, weren’t as eye-catching as the inswinger that stormed through the defences of Alastair Cook in Worcester. “Getting a world-class batsman like Cook gave me the confidence that I would dismiss any batsman,” Siraj said after play. “My plan there was to just keep bowling dot balls and make the batsman commit a mistake. Even today there was movement with the new ball and I just wanted to bowl in the right areas.”As for Chahal, who was playing his first red-ball match since the Ranji quarter-final against Jharkhand in 2016, he showed signs of rust in the first two sessions before settling down after tea. In his second over, he bowled a knee-high full-toss to Sarel Erwee and watched the ball disappear into the midwicket boundary, where his coach Rahul Dravid was overseeing the action. He then bowled two front-foot no-balls, the second of which was cracked to the extra-cover boundary by Second. Chahal, ultimately, got the breakthrough in the 72nd over when a sharp legbreak duped Shaun von Berg. Axar Patel, the second spinner, who was picked ahead of Jayant Yadav, barely found turn and toiled for figures of 17-3-35-0. He was the only Indian bowler who did not take a wicket.Siraj, however, was the standout bowler for India A. He had been the pick of the bowlers in the four-dayers in England as well, bagging 15 wickets against West Indies A and England Lions, and moved up the pecking order further with his 3 for 56 on Saturday. He made his first incision when he moved the ball off the seam and drew the outside edge of opener Pieter Malan in the fifth over. In his next over, he removed Zubayr Hamza in similar fashion for a duck. Siraj later returned with the second new ball to nip out Second.Saini had also generated seam movement and was rewarded with the wickets of captain Khaya Zondo and allrounder Senuran Muthusamy. Both were jittery throughout, flashing the ball over the cordon or the infield before their edges were also snaffled. Muthusamy faced 17 dots before getting off the mark with a top-edged boundary that sailed over long leg. He then hung on for a 59-run stand – the highest of the innings – with Second.Second rallied the middle and lower order after Erwee had scored 47 around the top-order wobble. Second was particularly strong through the off side, driving Gurbani off either foot through extra cover. He also laced Axar in front of square and dared to foray down the track against Chahal, proceeding to his 29th first-class fifty off 71 balls. Moments later, he was reprieved on 60 when Hanuma Vihari shelled a low catch. Second added 34 runs to his tally before being the last man to be dismissed on day one.Meanwhile, Gurbani, who played only the four-dayer against West Indies A in Taunton, gave a good account of himself by venturing wide of the crease and nipping the ball against the angle from over the wicket. He claimed the only non-caught behind wicket when he pinned Dane Piedt in front for 5 in the 79th over.

Durham’s surge to the top of North Group is the season’s heartwarming story – as for Northants, they are now consigned to bottom spot

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2018
ScorecardDurham went top of the North Group of the Vitality Blast, and qualified for the quarter-finals in the process, with a 12-run win at Northamptonshire as their Twenty20 season continued to bring pleasure where for most of the financially-stricken past two years there has been only pain.Having set 174 for 7 after being sent in, Durham chipped away in the second innings and just as Northants reduced the equation to 34 needed from 20 balls with five wickets in hand, the visitors took three wickets in four balls to end the contest.A tenth defeat consigns Northants to last place in the North Group and they were behind in this game from the first over that cost 17.Tom Latham pulled Nathan Buck for his first boundary and pulled another that drifted away on the breeze for the night’s first six over deep square leg before cutting Brett Hutton for four more and pulling Ben Sanderson for a third boundary as the Poweplay yielded 59 for the loss of Graham Clark for 16. But trying to pull Seekkuge Prasanna, Latham dragged the leg-spinner into his stumps to fall for 26.Latham and Paul Collingwood moved Durham to 74 for 1 after seven overs buts after Latham fell, Collingwood went four balls later for 26 as the visitors reached halfway 82 for 3.Collingwood skipped down the pitch to lift Buck over mid-off for four and pulled Hutton backward of square for six. Outside the Powerplay he stepped out to slap Rory Kleinveldt wide of long-on for four but trying to run Ben Sanderson to third man, got a thin edge to Ben Duckett stood up to the stumps.Ryan Pringle heaved Sanderson wide of long-on and reverse-swept Prasanna for four but was trapped lbw by the leg-spinner for 13. Stuart Poynter slog-swept over deep square for six and pulled Buck for a boundary but having reached 31, top-edged a cut stroke and was very well caught by Ben Curran running back from point.Ryan Davies pulled Sanderson for a flat six in front of deep square before slapping two boundaries past extra-cover in a useful 21 from 13 balls before Mark Wood pulled and then cut boundaries to end the innings with a 17 from 9 balls.In reply, the Northants’ Poweprlay was of stark contrast. Ben Duckett was missed on 5 by Nathan Rimmington who simply lost a skied pull shot in the floodlights. Duckett then pulled Rimmington for four but it was a struggle in the first six overs where only 37 were scored.Josh Cobb flicked Rushworth over midwicket for six and cleared his front leg to heave Wood over mid-on for four but trying to hit over the off side, edged Wood into his off stump to fall for 14, after Ricardo Vasconcelos slapped Rushworth straight to point for 1 in the opening over of the chase.Outside the Powerplay, Charlie Thurston cut Paul Collingwood to deep cover but Duckett hit Ben Whitehead’s leg-spin either side of long-on for boundaries and swept Collingwood past midwicket for four more.104 were needed from 10 overs and Alex Wakely edged a boundary just out of the reach of the wicketkeeper and Duckett reverse-swept narrowly over short-third man’s head. But Wakely edged Collingwood behind for 16 and Duckett was lbw for 40.Seekkuge Prasanna was promoted to No. 6 and, with 82 needed from 42 balls, hammered two boundaries past extra-cover and lifted a six over long leg. 60 were needed from 30 balls and the Sri Lankan hit Collingwood for six, went down on one leg to lift Rimmington over deep square but holed out next ball and the chase collapsed.

The opener has looked Australia A’s best batsman in India, but hasn’t pushed onto make substantial contributions

Varun Shetty in Alur08-Sep-2018″The answer is straight up ‘no’.”That was Australia coach Justin Langer’s response to the when asked a few weeks ago if he knew who the best six batsmen in Australia were.”You take Smith who has got 79 hundreds, you take Warner who has got 88 hundreds — I am talking about all A-grade cricket — you take those out. You take [out] Cameron Bancroft who you could say had just started to find his feet, he was a bit of the heartbeat of the team…there are certainly some questions,” Langer had said.That was a few days before the Australia A squad flew to India for a quadrangular one-day series, and about two weeks before Australia A’s four-dayers against India A. With just one batting innings left in the series for the Australians, Langer, perhaps, still doesn’t have too much clarity on who those best six are, with Australia’s tour of the UAE looming. So inseparable have been the performances from the Australians, that barring Khawaja’s grand performances on one extreme, and an underperforming Peter Handscomb’s on the other, the contest is neck-to-neck.In that middling group is New South Wales’ Kurtis Patterson, who had been pushed up to open – what he calls the “best place to bat” in the subcontinent. He has looked the visitors’ best batsman so far, but hasn’t converted his starts into substantial scores.”Yeah it is a bit frustrating,” Patterson said. “I feel like I’m batting nicely and having not opened that much in my career, I know that opening over here is probably one of the better places to bat. It starts turning later and skidding and playing tricks. So a little bit disappointed that I haven’t been able to push on.”Patterson made 48 off 71 balls, including eight classy boundaries, before he was bowled through the gate by left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem in Alur. Until the dismissal, it was an innings full of grace, and he was particularly fluent down the ground against spinners who were taking the ball away from him. In his batting were glimpses of why the 25-year-old left-hander is rated highly, but the premature exit marked something of a career trend.Patterson began his first-class career in style, when he became New South Wales’ youngest centurion in Sheffield Shield cricket at the age of 18, on debut in 2011. Not long after that, Patterson turned down a Big Bash League contract in order to focus on a national Under-19s tournament and a NSW Second XIs appearance.These were signs of a man leaning towards conventional growth as a batsman, but things haven’t gone along that trajectory. Patterson’s 157 on debut continues to be his highest score in first-class cricket, and he has since made four hundreds in 90 innings, with the last one coming in October 2016. Not ideal numbers for a top-order batsman over seven years, but his average still sits at 40-plus. The bigger concern is that since that debut innings, Patterson has faced more deliveries on only four occasions.But Patterson downplayed it, and felt he wasn’t far away from a big score. More importantly, he said, he is now a better player than he had ever been. Patterson was the tenth-highest scorer in the Sheffield Shield in 2017-18, with 672 runs in 19 innings, and for the second season in a row, made more than 600 runs.”I’m a lot better player than I was back then [during the debut].” Patterson said, “I had a lot of luck in that innings. It was one of those days that comes along once every now and then in your career, and I was just lucky that it was my first day when it happened.”I feel like I’m a lot better player and cricketer, a lot more mature person than I was. To win a title with my state team, both one-day and Shield cricket and also a Big Bash title in there as well. It’s been a good six years and hopefully it continues in that trajectory.”With Australia A captain Mitchell Marsh approaching a hundred in Alur, the battle for what could be the final few spots for the Pakistan series has ostensibly narrowed into that of one starter and one reserve batsman. Handscomb, Head, and Patterson would appear the frontrunners, with Queensland’s Marnus Labuschagne, who wasn’t picked for the four-dayers originally, a left-field choice.”We’re all aware that there are some spots available, it doesn’t take a genius to know that,” Patterson said. “But I think the thing we’ve really done well is come over here and play as a team and put in two good performances. We obviously did that in game one, and we’re doing the exact same in game two.”I think that’s the best way. When you’re winning, generally, a lot of players are picked. We all know as batters we’ve to try and get runs. Yes there’s a carrot there with the Test side, but I think what the leadership group has done really well is emphasie the importance of playing as a team and playing to win.”At the moment, even with average numbers in India, Patterson comes in second in the aforementioned three-horse race. But in an Australian cricket year that’ll be long remembered for its tumult, and with a management focused on repair, there isn’t a better chance for Patterson to finally turn his potential into a baggy green. If only he can make that last innings count.

The allrounder has picked up a side strain and will be replaced in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2018Allrounder Liam Dawson has been ruled out* of the rest of England’s tour of Sri Lanka after suffering a side strain. Joe Denly, who is in the Test squad, has been called up as his replacement.Dawson, who has been in the XI for the opening two matches, sat out training on Monday, ahead of the third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. After the injury was assessed by medical staff, the decision was taken to send him home, with PCA Players’ Player of the Year Denly coming out to Sri Lanka early.Denly has been preparing for his return to the England set-up after more than eight years, having been selected for the Test party following two impressive seasons with Kent in which his batting has been rejuvenated and his legspin a surprise success across the formats. He will arrive in Pallekele on Wednesday, hours before the third ODI, and could at some stage win his first one-day cap since the 2009 Champions Trophy.England have fielded three frontline spinners at the start of the series – Dawson joining Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in the side – so unless Denly steps off the plane and straight into the side, it will likely mean a different balance and the chance for one of the other seamers to come into the team. Joe Root’s offspin could help cover for Dawson’s absence if required.Mark Wood, Tom Curran and Sam Curran have been carrying the drinks so far after England opted for a spin-heavy attack and also preferred Olly Stone to share the new ball with Chris Woakes.Dawson claimed one wicket in England’s victory in Dambulla, hustling through the overs alongside Moeen to ensure the 20-over mark was reached before rain arrived, meaning the result would stand without needing the reserve day. Early wickets for Woakes and Stone, during an impressive first spell at international level, had left Sri Lanka well behind the DLS target.
There was an extra visitor to England’s training session on Tuesday when a cobra was spotted by groundstaff behind the pavilion. It was removed with the help of a drain pipe and a sack. England’s players had spent some of their downtime in Dambulla getting up close with local wildlife around their hotel and on safari – some posted on Instagram holding a python – but it’s unlikely many would be volunteering to get too close on this occasion.It isn’t the first time, however, that England’s cricketers have encountered snakes in Sri Lanka. On the 2007 tour, two were spotted on the boundary’s edge during a warm-up match in Colombo. Matthew Hoggard was among the players keen for a closer look that day.*6PM BST – This story was updated with news of Denly replacing Dawson