Category Uncategorized

Rahul stroked a composed half-century before Pant’s chaotic cameo took India’s lead to 357 by lunch

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2025Lunch
Rishabh Pant’s chaotic cameo helped India stretch their lead to 357 on the fourth morning at Edgbaston, after KL Rahul’s calm half-century laid the foundations for him. Dropped on 10 by Zak Crawley, Pant threw the bat – quite literally, collecting it from square leg after losing grip – to reach 41 not out off 35 balls at the lunch interval.Rahul, resuming on 28, ticked over under gloomy skies, with the floodlights on throughout the first session. Brydon Carse caused him some problems, but was all over Karun Nair: he hit him on the grille with a lifter, had him edging into the gap between first and second slip, and finally had him caught behind on the drive for 26.Rahul progressed serenely to his half-century but was cleaned up by Josh Tongue, who was rewarded for sticking to his full length despite being driven for boundaries. Angling the ball in from wide on the crease, Tongue found some late movement away off the seam to beat Rahul’s outside edge, and remove his middle stump.

Pant made his intentions clear by charging his fourth ball and slapping it back over Tongue’s head for six, and was reprieved when Crawley put a straightforward chance down at mid-off off Ben Stokes. He responded by slog-sweeping Tongue for another six, and hauled Shoaib Bashir for three boundaries in as many overs.Shubman Gill batted with more composure at the other end, and faces a decision later in the day around how many runs India should look to set England. It was three years ago today that England completed their record run chase – against the same opponents, at the same venue – but they will likely need far more than 378 to take a two-nil series lead.

On following the auction: “We were trying to keep ourselves busy, and when [your name] popped up, you end up being glued to the screen”

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-20234:53

Making sense of CSK’s INR 14 crore bid for Mitchell

Mitchell Santner – “he’s a Chennai stalwart now” – was the first to get in touch. And then “your phone goes off pretty quickly,” Daryl Mitchell said with a laugh, talking about the calls from his new team at the IPL, Chennai Super Kings, not long after he was sold for INR 14 crore (US$1,687,000 approx.) at Tuesday’s auction in Dubai.”Yeah, your heart starts to pump a little bit as you see the paddles going up. And yeah, having been through an auction before and going unsold, it was a special night last night to experience that, and now to obviously be part of the Chennai Super Kings is an exciting time,” Mitchell said in a chat with reporters back in New Zealand the morning after.”[Elder daughter] Addie’s birthday today, so there was a bit of wrapping up presents and stuff like that while the auction was going on. At the auction, you don’t quite know exactly when you’re going to come up in the list. So yeah, I guess we were just trying to keep ourselves busy and watching it, and then, when it popped up, I guess you end up being glued to the screen to see what happens.Related

• Daryl Mitchell keeps the family globe-trotting tradition alive

• Meet Robin Minz, the quiet boy who lets his bat do the talking

• IPL 2024 auction stats: Pace bowlers take higher share, first-timers earn big

• IPL 2024 auction: How the 10 teams stack up

• 'Nothing that I could've ever imagined' – Starc reacts to becoming the costliest IPL auction buy

“As soon as it’s all done, your phone goes off pretty quickly, and Chennai get in touch with you, speak with the manager and Flem [head coach Stephen Fleming], in contact with them to get a few things sorted and becoming part of the Chennai Super Kings team. It all happens pretty quickly. At the moment, I guess I am still pinching myself [because of] how lucky and grateful I am for this opportunity and looking forward to getting stuck into it in a few months’ time.”Mitchell, an established member of the New Zealand national team across formats after 20 Tests, 39 ODIs and 56 T20Is, was a part of Rajasthan Royals, in 2022, but go into the first XI only twice. This opportunity, he is hoping, helps him in a bigger way, and not just in terms of his cricket.”It’s my oldest daughter’s fifth birthday today, so I got her a pretty good present waking up,” he said. “Not that she understands what’s going on, but yeah, look, I guess that’s the whole thing about these sorts of situations, it will help us set up the family in many ways, [the two daughters can] grow up and enjoy the things they love, and for me, that’s the really cool thing about it, and they are the reason why you do all this.2:50

Mitchell excited to work with ‘great of the game’ Fleming at CSK

“I understand that the game doesn’t owe you anything, but you also have to be grateful for the opportunities that are provided. I still showed up this morning when we woke up, my daughter ran in and she [doesn’t] really even think about the IPL. So, I guess, in many ways, it’s about keeping things in perspective. And be grateful for what’s happened over the last 12 hours and being excited about it, but at the same time knowing that the hard work doesn’t stop, and you keep showing up with a smile on your face and getting stuck into the competition.”At Super Kings, Mitchell will have a lot of familiar faces around. Santner, of course. And Fleming. Rachin Ravindra has been acquired at the auction too, and Devon Conway was already there. Not to forget the physio, Tommy Simsek.”Really excited to play under Flem, he is obviously a great of the game in our country as a player and now as a coach as well. To learn off him, he’s obviously had a lot of success, and I am looking forward to that experience,” Mitchell said. “I grew up with Mitch since we were about 12 years old. And now, with Dev and Rachin in the team as well, it’s going to be good fun. And again, a lot of the Indian players – the cool thing about the IPL is that you get to rub shoulders with some world-class players, so really looking forward to that.”You obviously spend a lot of time in hotels throughout the IPL and to have some good mates there helps the time go a bit faster. Throughout the World Cup, I know Rachin was in charge of the PlayStation group every night, so those sort of things will be happening again. Yeah, look, it’s nice to have some familiar faces, but at the same time, it’s also awesome to be part of what is such a cool franchise and successful franchise, to learn off some guys and those things are going to be seriously exciting.”

Batter’s focus is back on playing good shots instead of strike-rates and six-hitting and he credits Rohit for giving him the space to figure that out

Shashank Kishore09-Sep-20223:08

Is Kohli back to his best?

Rohit Sharma has hailed Virat Kohli’s “work ethic” and his attitude of “never letting things go no matter what” following his first T20I century in India’s Asia Cup fixture against Afghanistan. In turn, Kohli credited the “space” Rohit and Rahul Dravid have given him upon his return from a six-week break for the recent success.”Personally, since I’ve come back from a break where I didn’t touch the bat for the longest time in the 13-14 years I’ve played, a lot of things were put into perspective,” Kohli told Rohit in a chat on BCCI’s official portal. “I got a lot of clarity from you guys [pointing to Rohit] and the team management, to just allow me to bat. That was very important.Related

• Asia Cup – India's takeaways: Hardik not ideal third seamer, Karthik best bet as finisher

• Unshackled Kohli brings the joy factor back to his batting

• Kohli: 'Time away from game taught me a lot'

• Kohli: Dhoni was the only one to reach out during my low phase

• Reactions to Kohli's ton – 'You can delay class, but you can't deny it'

“The space I got made me feel very relaxed. When I returned, I was excited to see how I could contribute to the team. Playing this way was important for me because the World Cup is big and if I play well, I can contribute big for the team.”I’d spoken to Rahul [Dravid] three-four days back, where batting first, especially the middle overs phase, how I can improve my strike rate. My only goal was to work on whatever I need to improve, I will try it at the Asia Cup. I honestly didn’t expect it [to score a T20I century]. I was shocked, [and] as you also mentioned after that, no one expected a century from me in this format after a long time. I was pleasantly surprised, grateful and honest.”Kohli finished the Asia Cup with 276 runs in five innings, striking at 147.59. After India’s game against Afghanistan, he was the leading run-getter in the tournament, 64 ahead of second-placed Mohammad Rizwan. He had made two fifties and a century, his 71st in international cricket and first in over three years.The standout aspect of that hundred was his end-overs acceleration after having opened the batting. On 59 off 40 going into the last five, he switched gears and scored his next 63 runs off just 21 balls. There were no nerves even as he approached a landmark that had eluded him for 1020 days. On 94, he played a disdainful pull to bring up his century. It was a drought he broke in style.”I got a lot of clarity from you guys [pointing to Rohit] and the team management, to just allow me to bat,” Kohli said•AFP/Getty Images

Equally noteworthy was Kohli’s propensity to step out of his crease, especially against spin, something he’s done quite a lot at the Asia Cup, seemingly to try and increase his scoring options. Between April 1, 2018, and the start of the Asia Cup, Kohli stepped out once every 7.9 balls on an average in all T20s. This Asia Cup, as per ESPNcricinfo’s data, he stepped out once every 4.9 deliveries.In trying to raise the bar, Kohli also brought out shots he doesn’t often play, like the conventional sweep. The one he hit off Mujeeb Ur Rahman was only his 24th sweep against spinners in all T20s in this time period, out of the 1200-plus deliveries he has faced from them. This includes all kinds of sweeps, including the slog, so the numbers for the conventional sweep would be even lower.Kohli explained how his focus has been on playing good cricket shots, without worrying too much about strike rates and six-hitting, something he said had bothered him prior to his break. He admitted to having been “desperate to do something that wasn’t in my game” at that point.”My aim was to always to play all three formats, and I banked on good cricketing shots,” he said. “I always came to every tournament or series thinking six-hitting is not a big strength of mine. I can [hit sixes] when situation demands, but I’m better at finding gaps and hitting boundaries, so as long as I can hit boundaries, it will still serve the purpose for the team.”I told the coaches as well that I’m going to try and hit gaps rather than thinking I’ve to hit sixes to improve strike rates in T20 cricket. That thing I removed from my system in this tournament, and that helped because I was able to come back to my template. But it’s about being in a good space and enjoying your batting.”We can play in many ways, but my role is to play as per the situation and if it demands I have to take the scoring rate higher, I should be able to do it. My aim was if I can be in this zone, I can be relaxed because I know if I’m set for 10-15 balls, I can accelerate. I’m very happy that especially from the team’s point of view, I’m back to being in my template I’ve played for a while, which I was going away from because I was desperate to do something that wasn’t my game.”Rohit, who was conducting the interview, agreed that the knock against Afghanistan was a fine lesson in pacing an innings. “Obviously in T20 cricket we talk about big hitting and all of that. But that [century] was the perfect example of how to craft an innings without focusing so much on the big hitting,” he said. “That was wonderful to see. I know it personally because I’ve seen you bat long enough.”

Wickets tumble at Cardiff, as debutant wicketkeeper plays role in key scalp

David Hopps14-May-2021Yorkshire 69 for 4 (Root 34*, Bess 16*) trail Glamorgan 149 (Brook 3-13, Patterson 3-27) by 80 runs Anybody who googled “Harry Duke” on May 14, 2021 would have found Prince Harry expounding on his newly-held belief in genetic pain. Search the scorecard and there was not a run, catch or stumping to be seen. It is fair to remark that Yorkshire’s debutant wicketkeeper has yet to capture the public eye.But Harry Duke – that’s the teenage wicketkeeper from Wakefield and not the man sixth in line for the throne – can claim nevertheless to have made an immediate impact on his first day in the job, by playing a small but important role at the start of the Ashes phoney war.”The battle that will decide the Ashes: Root v Labuschagne” was how one national newspaper billed Yorkshire’s visit to Glamorgan. Only Joe Root has made more Test runs than Marnus Labuschagne since he played in his first Ashes Test as a concussion replacement for Steve Smith at Lord’s nearly two years ago. If Ashes series can ever be determined by a single match-up, it’s a fair enough theory.Labuschagne only managed 10 from 18 balls for Glamorgan before he fell lbw to Ben Coad, displaying his frustration at his error with an incredulous shake of the head and a route march to short leg and back. But that error might not have happened had Duke not dared to stand up to the stumps to Coad, force Labuschagne to abandon his method of batting well outside his crease, and contributed to the malfunction.Jonny Tattersall, who had been dropped to give Duke his chance, also stands up at times to Coad, who clocks around 80mph. But this was the first morning of a debut on a devilishly difficult pitch which offered the bowlers swing, seam and some uneven bounce. This was a 19-year-old on debut. This was a world-class batsman who might just nick one that would be easier to take standing back than standing up.Related

• Emotional Chris Rushworth breaks record as Durham power to victory

• Keith Barker, Kyle Abbott too good for flatlining Middlesex as Hampshire surge to victory

• Will Young, Jack Burnham centuries set up final-day push for Durham

• Jofra Archer 'happy to go back in the bubble' after confirming Test fitness bid is on track

• Middlesex's seamers rally to rock Hampshire after familiar tale of batting woe

His boldness brought to mind the pre-match comments by Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, when he reflected on the fact that the match would be televised. “Harry is a real competitor, a real scrapper and a battler, and he’ll thrive on that. He’s the kind of character who will relish the stage.”No need to fret unduly then, about the damage that could be caused by giving Duke an unexpected headline then, even in Yorkshire where “too much too soon” was once the catchphrase of every club chairman in the county.Labuschagne is having a lean time in this challenging English Spring. He has talked about the need to adjust his technique again for county pitches after becoming a little square-on to find more run-scoring opportunities against an India attack that bowled straight to him. His anxiety was perhaps illustrated before he had scored when he was sent back after Dom Bess had pulled off a fine stop at cover and would have been run out by a direct hit.Jimmy Anderson, who also dismissed him cheaply for Lancashire last week on their first-ever meeting, pointedly said with the Ashes in mind that it was “nice to get the first blow in” and then probably messed with Labuschagne’s mind even more by adding: “It’s like when you see a girl at a club and you try to play it cool; you want her to be impressed.”Joe Root endured in tough conditions•Getty Images

Root’s judicious unbeaten 34, by contrast, was comfortably the outstanding innings on a taxing batting day in which 14 wickets fell, so enabling the game to stay “live” after the loss of the first day to rain. Yorkshire are still 80 behind on first innings with six wickets left, aware that the world could collapse around their ears at any moment. Kent were dismissed for 72 in the last match on this ground and conditions can’t have been much different.Glamorgan were 82 for 7 immediately after lunch, total calamity prevented by David Lloyd and Billy Root, backed up by some tasty late-order flourishes. Lloyd, advanced up the order to opener this season, still drove freely during his 31, and survived missed slip catches by Root, at fourth, and Brook, at third, in reaching 10. Root’s was difficult; Brook’s was simpler, but the England captain (uncommonly) was to his right as well as the ball and these things can have an effect.This was the day that Billy Root was awarded his county cap, a nice touch with Joe available for the brotherly fist bump after the ceremony at the tea interval. He has developed into a decent county player in his own right and, after he reached 23, it took a smart catch in his follow-through by Brook to remove him off a leading edge.Brook, Yorkshire’s fifth seamer, collected 3 for 15 with his medium-paced inswing, Chris Cooke and Dan Douthwaite also falling lbw. Whenever Yorkshire’s attack lost its discipline the skipper, Steven Patterson, restored it. There were three wickets for him, too. Lloyd inadvisably left one which came back to hit his off stump and though the in-form Kiran Carlson got off the mark with his signature square drive, he then edged one that bounced a bit to first slip.Yorkshire subsided to 36 for 4 in return, three of them to Michael Neser, whose presence enhances Glamorgan’s already competitive edge. Lyth’s dismissal owed everything to a springing catch at square leg by Carlson, Ballance cut to third man in somewhat giveaway fashion and Neser no doubt observed Brook’s pronounced, unbalanced trigger movement across his stumps and thought “I’ll have a bit of that”.The day on ended with both commentators, Robert Croft and Eddie Bevan, covering an entire over in Welsh. At the end of the over the umpires decided enough was enough and called off play early. The two incidents were not thought to be connected.

That means a Test series will not be possible; BCB to relay the decision to PCB

Mohammad Isam12-Jan-2020The chairman of the PCB is set to meet the BCB President this week as Pakistan attempt to keep the scheduled tour of Bangladesh on track. A press release from the PCB stated that Ehsan Mani would meet with Nazmul Hassan on the sidelines of the ICC’s Governance Review Committee Meeting to try and get a clearer picture of the BCB’s position on the tour. It represents the first official reaction of the PCB to Bangladesh’s announcement yesterday, which effectively appeared to put paid to the prospect of a two-Test match series later this month, as was originally scheduled.Little had changed following a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) meeting on Sunday that was expected to produce a final decision on Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Pakistan. At a media briefing in Dhaka after the meeting, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan said the government had told the board it could go ahead with a tour of Pakistan, but to keep it “short” due to the Iran-US tensions.This essentially means Bangladesh can play a T20I series but not Tests, which was the line that the BCB had taken in December. The BCB will now speak to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about its decision.”We are clear cut, but let’s see how they react,” Hassan said. “As far as security is concerned, T20 is a better option. They should be happy that we still want to go to play T20s. We just wanted rescheduling [of the Tests], not saying we won’t tour. This is the best thing we can offer to Pakistan.”The BCB’s citation of rising tensions “in the Middle East” as a leading cause of it not embarking on a longer tour would appear to rule out hosting the Test series in the UAE – Pakistan’s home for the bulk of their home commitments over the past decade – as well. But the PCB is adamant the series be held within Pakistan, so that may be a moot point anyway. ESPNcricinfo understands any offer that does not include playing the Tests in Pakistan is unlikely to be acceptable to the PCB.The proposed tour features three T20Is in Lahore, on January 23, 25 and 27, followed by two Tests, originally slated for Rawalpindi and Karachi. But then the BCB said it wanted to split the series, playing the T20Is in Pakistan and the Tests at a neutral venue.It is learnt that last week, PCB offered to fly Bangladesh in and out after each Test – land in Karachi, go back to Dhaka, and then return to Rawalpindi directly for the second Test. Following the BCB’s announcement, it would seem this offer has been rejected.Bangladeshi sides have toured Pakistan in the recent past, but the senior men’s team hasn’t done so since playing a five-match ODI series there in 2007-08. Seven years ago, they were close to deciding on a tour to Pakistan, only for the AHM Mustafa Kamal-led BCB to pull out shortly after the decision to tour was taken.

Australia’s lower order conjured thoughts of a remarkable victory but India held on to take the series lead

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2018Had it done enough to be classed as nerve-jangling? It was certainly engrossing. A wonderful Test match. India secured their first Test victory in Australia since 2008 and lead a series in the country for only the second time after a gripping 31-run win in Adelaide.Their quicks led the way on the final day, breaking through each time a partnership was threatening to develop, with Jasprit Bumrah providing the bulk of the key moments. But Australia’s last wicket pair of Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood got it down to needing 32 to win when, on the brink of a delayed tea, Hazlewood drove at R Ashwin and edged low to second slip. Elation everywhere for India, pain for Australia but, when they reflect, pride as well.1:06

Laxman: Both bowling units fantastic, the batting will decide series

It always felt the target was out of reach, but the last three wickets added 104 to ensure India could never be sure. Shaun Marsh, the focus of much attention after his first-innings continued a run a single-figure scores, played very well for his 60 and Tim Paine battled hard, but both fell to Bumrah who then returned to shift the stubborn Pat Cummins when Australia’s lower order was showing plenty of bottle.Rishabh Pant equalled the world record of 11 dismissals in a match, but for a little while it appeared one that escaped – when Lyon edged Bumrah on 7 – looked like it might come back to haunt him as Lyon produced one of his finest Test innings. The tension was starting to show on India when Ashwin was finally rewarded after a final day of toil: never had an India bowler sent down as many overs in the fourth innings of a Test.Australia resumed the final day on 4 for 104, still needing a distant 219, and had only added another 11 when Travis Head was removed by a superbly-directed short ball from Ishant Sharma which he could only fend into the slips. It was the perfect length, leaving the batsman unsure whether to play the ball or sway out of the line.Pat Cummins slams the ball over cover•Getty Images

The first of the day’s mini-stands then began to form between Marsh and Paine, but all the runs continued to be a grind against a disciplined attack. Marsh went to his fifty off 146 balls, his first in the fourth innings of a Test, before being defeated by Bumrah’s line from round the wicket and feathering a catch to Pant.Despite all his catches, Pant’s glovework certainly remains a work in progress and with a better technique might have got closer to Paine’s gloved pull on 7 which flew fine down the leg side. Australia’s captain made it through to lunch alongside Cummins, but could not go much further when he top-edged a pull to the first ball of the second over after the break.At that point, Australia needed 136 and any modicum of tension seemed a long way off. However, Cummins and Starc got the target down into double figures, the former playing a largely defensive role while the latter produced a few more shots. Again, though, just as thoughts were turning to what happen India struck, Starc edging a big drive against Mohammed Shami for Pant’s record-equalling catch.Still Australia did not fold, this time Cummins and Lyon chipping away. Cummins was just showing signs of coming out of his shell, having passed 100 deliveries faced – driving Shami powerfully on the up through the covers – when he edged a drive off Bumrah which was taken at first slip by Virat Kohli, the India captain hurling the ball to ground with a look of thunder on his face.With just one wicket to fall, the odds were stacked against Australia but a few little things started to go their way: Ishant over-stepped when Lyon might have been given lbw on 32 and edges started to fly wide of the slips. Ashwin had rarely been attacked by the Australia batsman, but the last-wicket pair were nullifying him effectively. One delivery jumped at Hazlewood, took the shoulder of the bat and evaded the field. Surely not? And in the it wasn’t. From around the wicket, Ashwin pushed one full, encouraged the drive, and KL Rahul took a sharp catch inches off the turf.The marker has been laid for this series. It promises much more.

Three figure partnerships for the sixth wicket, between Kieran Powell and Shane Dowrich, and the seventh, between Dowrich and Shimron Hetmyer, saved the West Indies from potential embarrassment

ECB Reporters Network02-Sep-2017Shimron Hetmyer enjoyed some time in the middle•Sarah Ansell / Stringer

Three figure partnerships for the sixth wicket, between Kieran Powell and Shane Dowrich, and the seventh, between Dowrich and Shimron Hetmyer, saved the West Indies from potential embarrassment after the tourists had been reduced to 64 for 5 by Leicestershire.The runs were well timed from both a team and personal point of view as both Powell, who made 82, and Dowrich, who made an unbeaten 108, having been among the few West Indies batting failures in their remarkable victory over England in the second Test at Headingley last week.Hetmyer, however, was playing just his third innings of the tour, and in scoring an unbeaten 128, played with freedom and real style against the old ball as Leicestershire’s attack tired in the evening session.The 20-year-old Guyanan hit five sixes and 12 fours in going to a run-a-ball century, and having played three Tests earlier this year, all against Pakistan, may have put himself into the frame for a fourth cap at Lord’s.It was not a flawless innings – Gavin Griffiths failed to hold a very catchable caught and bowled opportunity when Hetmyer was on 39, and he went to 99 with an inside edge of fast bowler Zak Chappell that Harry Swindells touched with his glove diving to his right behind the stumps – but he has certainly given the West Indies selectors something to think about.Dowrich, who made a first innings duck and was not out without facing a ball at Headingley, hit 16 boundaries in his 176 ball innings.Opener Powell, who scored 5 and 23 at Leeds, had scored 82 off 153 balls when he was unluckily caught behind down the leg-side off left-arm seamer Dieter Klein. He rode his luck at times, notably when twice edging Chappell through the slips, but he also hit some fine shots, including hooking Chappell for the six with which he brought up his half-century.In terms of preparation for next week’s final Test, it had been a far from ideal morning for the tourists.Kraigg Brathwaite had made just 2 when he was trapped leg before on the crease by a quick, in-swinging delivery from Klein, and Kyle Hope quickly followed, also leg before, falling over to the off-side as he attempted to defend a well pitched-up ball from Chappell.Shai Hope, scorer of centuries in both innings at Headingly, played several high-class off-side drives as he and Powell added 48 for the third wicket, but having gone to 28 off just 32 balls, Hope played loosely at a straight delivery from Richard Jones and was bowled off the inside edge.Roston Chase became the third leg before victim of the morning when he was dismissed by Gavin Griffiths, and Jermaine Blackwood drove airily at his second delivery to give Rob Sayer a straightforward catch at extra cover off Griffiths.

Angelo Mathews admitted he thought Sri Lanka “had the game in the bag” after a dramatic tie in the first ODI of the Royal London series

George Dobell at Trent Bridge21-Jun-2016Angelo Mathews admitted he thought Sri Lanka “had the game in the bag” after a dramatic tie in the first ODI of the Royal London series. England went into the final over eight wickets down and needing 14 to win but levelled the scores off the final ball thanks to Liam Plunkett’s six.England had earlier recovered from 82 for 6 through Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes but Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, did not blame his bowlers for the result and instead reflected that his side had been poor in the field and had finished 15 or 20 runs short of a par total.”I thought we had the game in the bag for most of the overs,” Mathews said. “Unfortunately, Nuwan Pradeep’s final ball yorker fell just off line and went for a six. For Pradeep, it happens. Unfortunately for bowlers, it happens. All the bowlers did well.”We fell short by 15 or 20 runs. It was a brilliant wicket to bat on but we had to be satisfied with 286. We just kept losing wickets at crucial times.”We’ve got lots of positives. We batted and bowled pretty well. But we were poor in the field. We can improve in all three departments, but especially in the fielding.”Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, admitted that his side were lucky to escape with a tie, calling it one of their worst batting performances of the last 12 months, but said that the belief in the squad was high.”You can always win the game from any situation and today proved that a little bit,” Morgan said. “We were dead and buried a couple of times in the World T20. There is a lot of belief in the changing room, particularly with the bat.”We are very lucky to get out of this game with a tie and go to Edgbaston at 0-0 all square. The general performance was poor. Bat, ball, field, was really rusty. That was as bad as we have performed with the bat over the past year.”Morgan also praised the contribution of Man of the Match, Woakes. “A lot of Woakes’ story is that he is competing with Ben Stokes and the two of them are incredible cricketers. We are lucky to have both of them.”Plunkett, who had hit six sixes in his previous five ODI innings, said that he knew he had done the job as soon as the ball came off the bat.”You know when you have nailed the ball,” he said. “It’s that feeling pretty much when you’re on a golf course and you nail it off the tee; it’s a similar feeling. As soon as I hit it I thought ‘it’s six bits, thanks for coming’.”I’ve practised striking the ball into the stands a lot. I bat at the death for Yorkshire as well, I feel I’m decent at doing that. I did back myself, if he missed, to hit it. I was trying to stay still. If he yorks and missed it try to go straight, if he tries to bowl a slow ball hopefully I can hit it out of the ground.”

Pakistan last won a Test match in Sri Lanka in 2006, and with Kumar Sangakkara likely to play only the first two Tests, Misbah-ul-Haq might feel this is his best chance yet to win a game in Sri Lanka

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando and Umar Farooq16-Jun-2015

Match facts

June 17-21, 2015
Start time 1000 local (0430 GMT)4:12

Arnold: SL have never been short of talent

Big Picture

If familiarity breeds contempt, no one told Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The teams now embark on their seventh bilateral series in as many years, and as Ahmer Naqvi says, this relationship has the hallmarks of an arranged marriage and there is genuine warmth there too. Perhaps no two boards back each other quite as unequivocally at the ICC table. SLC chairman Sidath Wettimuny has made two trips to Pakistan in the last month alone.Yet for all the mutual back-scratching, Pakistan’s most successful Test captain is yet to win a match on the island. Pakistan’s last three Test series in Sri Lanka have brought results of 0-2 (2009), 0-1 (2012) and 0-2 (2014). With Sri Lanka in heavy transition, and Kumar Sangakkara likely to play only the first two Tests, Misbah-ul-Haq might feel this is his best chance yet to win a game here – maybe even a series.Pakistan are in something of a transition too, but having had more cricket in recent months, their side feels better meshed. Greater responsibility has settled well on Azhar Ali’s shoulders, and Yasir Shah is marching quickly towards a menacing Test record. Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan have tasted success in Sri Lanka as well.The hosts have plenty of batsmen pressing for a middle-order place. Kusal Perera’s four brisk centuries and two fifties against Pakistan A make him the likeliest option, but Kithuruwan Vithanage waits in the wings, and a reinvented Jehan Mubarak is back for another crack at the top level. Injuries to the two frontline quicks have opened up opportunities for seamers more often seen in away Tests, as well.Neither captain is renowned for attacking play, though Angelo Mathews has taken small steps away from the safety-first outlook that defined the early months of his captaincy. How he does in his first home series without Mahela Jayawardene’s support may give clues to his development as a strategist. As ever, the Galle Test should ease the hosts into the series, with several key batsmen and bowlers often at their peak at this venue.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)


Sri Lanka: LLWWD
Pakistan: WDLDW

In the spotlight

Lahiru Thirimanne has progressed nicely in ODI cricket, having had a good World Cup, but his Test average languishes at 26.70. It would be worse still if not for a 155 not out against Bangladesh on the flattest Galle track seen in recent years. His modest Test returns seem like an anomaly, because he has the temperament to flourish in the long format. Groomed for a while now to take up Sangakkara’s No. 3 spot, he will have to increase his output dramatically to be an adequate replacement.Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar have stepped up over the months to cover the absence of Saeed Ajmal. The left-arm spinner and wrist spinner combination will have an important contribution to make. Both of them had a decent practice match in Colombo, with Babar taking 6 for 31 while Shah picked up two at a decent economy rate.

Teams news

Kusal looks likeliest to bat at No. 6, with Dinesh Chandimal taking the gloves and batting at No. 7. Sri Lanka may also be tempted to play 22-year-old offspinner Tharindu Kaushal who, with his flight and variation, may be an effective foil for Rangana Herath.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kaushal Silva, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 8 Dhammika Prasad, 9 Tharindu Kaushal/ Dilruwan Perera, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Nuwan PradeepPakistan had thought about flying in Rahat Ali for this match, but opted not to strain him so soon after a hamstring injury. Their attack is likely to contain three left-arm bowlers.Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Junaid Khan, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Zulfiqar Babar

Pitch and conditions

There appeared to be a hint of live grass on the Galle track on the eve of the match, which may mean it plays flat for the first two days. Plenty happens in the back end of most Galle Tests though, so expect the sea breeze to dry the track up nicely for the second innings.Galle has been getting daily rains, but these have mostly been restricted to night-time hours. The occasional interruption can be expected, however.

Stats and trivia

• Kumar Sangakkara needs one more double-ton to equal Don Bradman’s record of 12. He already has three such scores against Pakistan.
• Rangana Herath needs 12 more scalps to become the first bowler to take 100 wickets against Pakistan, surpassing Kapil Dev’s 99 wickets.
• Younis Khan has seven hundreds against Sri Lanka – his highest against any opposition, although he has also played the most Tests against them.

Quotes

“Saeed Ajmal hasn’t been picked, but we know they’ve got some excellent bowlers, so it’s no different from your usual, strong Pakistan attack.”
“It’s very important for us to deal with the spin on this tour to get the best result.”

Phillip Hughes continued to show the improvements he has made in his time out of the national setup, steering South Australia to a hefty nine-wicket win over Queensland at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2012
Kane Richardson took 6 for 48•Getty Images

Phillip Hughes continued to show the improvements he has made in his time out of the national setup, steering South Australia to a hefty nine-wicket win over Queensland at Adelaide Oval. After Kane Richardson picked up six wickets to restrict the Bulls to 189, Hughes guided the chase with ease and finished unbeaten on 95 when the winning runs came in the 37th over, handing the Redbacks a valuable bonus point.Hughes and Michael Klinger put on 138 for the opening wicket and quickly ended any hopes Queensland may have had of defending their small total. Klinger faced more of the strike and brought up his half-century from 60 deliveries, eventually departing for 72 when he was trapped lbw by James Hopes.But it was Hughes who was most impressive, scoring all around the ground in a confident display as he brought up his fifty from 56 deliveries. He found gaps with his usual cuts and cover-drives, and notably with pulls through and in front of square, which has not always been a strong area for him. Hughes has now started his first season as a South Australia player solidly, adding to the 95 and 83 he made in the first Sheffield Shield game.He brought up the victory with six over long-on from the spin of Brad Ipson, and it was a fittingly dominant way to end a match that South Australia owned completely. The result had been set up earlier in the day by Richardson, who was named Man of the Match for his 6 for 48, the equal third-best one-day bowling figures by a South Australia player.Things weren’t going too badly for the Bulls early as the opener Usman Khawaja brought up a confident half-century. But having pulled Richardson for six in the 24th over, Khawaja tried to repeat the stroke a few balls later and managed only to sky a catch to deep midwicket, where he was caught for 57 from 69 balls.It was just what the Bulls didn’t need, for none of the rest of their batsmen found it easy to get in. Richardson caused all kinds of havoc in his next over, picking up three wickets as Peter Forrest was hurried by a bouncer and fended a catch to fine leg, Chris Lynn was caught and bowled off a leading edge and Nathan Reardon edged behind from a ball that moved away.Queensland were wobbling badly at 5 for 103, and it took some patience from Joe Burns to help steady things. Burns had taken 16 balls to get off the mark, with a slog-swept six off Johan Botha, but after that he found scoring difficult and scratched out 51 from 83 balls, while he had support from Ipson, who made 33 batting at No.9. But Richardson’s strikes had been terminal for Queensland, who were bowled out for 189 in the 49th over.