All posts by n8rngtd.top

The allrounder took another stunning catch on the third day at Edgbaston

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2023Virat Kohli, AdelaideNow Cummins has the Kohli wicket I think all the wickets at the other end have unsettled Kohli, and made him decide he has to take on the bowling. Fullish in a wide-ish channel outside off, and Kohli does something he didn’t do at all in the first innings, attempt a cover drive against such a ball. Slices it to gully, where Green seems to have taken a clean catch low to his left, but they’re checking anyway. Soft signal is out. He caught it a few inches above the turf, but the issue is whether it slipped momentarily from his grasp on his way down. There seems to be a bit of a juggle, but it’s hard to tell, given he’s landing in an area of shadow, so it stays with the soft signalRishabh Pant, GabbaTaken, super catch! Green in the gully. Short outside off, Pant leans back and tries to send this over the slips. It went very quickly but Green adds another good grab to his listPathum Nissanka, GalleScreamer in the gully from Green! Starc strikes! Back of a length, rising outside off across Nissanka, he tried to drive off the back foot with a vertical bat away from his body, as he did in the first Test, he got a thick edge which flew high to Green’s left and the 200cm giant with an unrivalled wingspan reached up with two hands and plucked it in his left at full stretch diving away like a goalkeeper. Sensational catch. No other Australian fielder could have caught thatJermaine Blackwood, AdelaideThree in the over for Boland as Green takes a stunner at gully! Green is swarmed by his team-mates after he essentially dove low into the air, picked the ball up low and picked up Usman Khawaja who ran in. Absolute joy in the Australian camp. Blackwood was squared up by the length ball on leg. Tried to nudge it through mid-on or midwicket, was indecisive due to the moving ball. Got a leading edge that went low. Excellent catch duly taken.Sarel Erwee, Brisbane, 1st inningsBrilliant gully catch by the big buckets of Cameron Green! Full again, tempting the drive outside off, it seams away a touch, he drives very hard at it and slices a thick edge low to Green’s left in the gully and he pouches it diving to his left. That flew quickly. He is so good there.Sarel Erwee, Brisbane, 2nd inningsPlucked in the gully by Green! Brilliant catch above his head. Short of a length, Erwee shapes to play, it decks across and climbs, he can’t get the bat out of the way and it flies off a thick edge quickly to Green and he jumps up at full stretch to pluck it with two hands. That would have cleared every other gully fielder in the world just about.Ajinkya Rahane, The OvalThey have dropped easy ones, but Green has now pulled off a ripper at gully. This is short of a length, has some width, the field is up, Rahane has a punch at it, gets a thick edge, and Green dives to his right, sticks the big mitt out, and catches it clean as a whistle. The ball is past the line of his body when he takes it. You beauty. End of a terrific knock, but that century on Test comeback is not to be Shubman Gill, The OvalGreen takes another screamer! Left hand this time! Gill stands his ground. The umpires send it upstairs. The third umpire is checking for a fair catch. This was a good length and it bounced a touch extra, Gill jabbed at it with hard hands. The edge flew low to Green’s left, he flings his huge left hand out and plucks it clean, but then his hand brushes the ground as he falls to the ground. The question for the third umpire is did he have full control over the ball. It looked fine. He had his fingers under it between the ball and turf. Out is the decision.Ben Duckett, EdgbastonGot him, what an incredible gully fielder Cameron Green is! Length ball in the corridor, straightens on Duckett, and he offers a bit of a loose response, hanging his bat out, looking for a lazy off-side push. Thick edge, and Green dives low to his left to grab it. Just as in the case of his second-innings catch of Shubman Gill last week, the umpires send it upstairs, but this time it’s very clear that Green has wrapped his fingers nicely around the ball by the time his hand hits the turf

Sri Lanka’s interim head coach on how the side approached tough selection calls for the Galle Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Sep-2024Sri Lanka have a problem of plenty. This is not something that has been true for Sri Lanka Test sides in recent years. Even stranger, the kind of players they have too many are seam bowlers.In their most recent Test at The Oval, Sri Lanka’s quartet of quicks decked England for 156 in the third innings and swung the whole match around. Now, at Galle, one of the most reliably dry tracks in the world, they can’t play four specialist quicks. In fact, they have to drop half their frontline attack.Sri Lanka’s interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya spoke about the sensitivity with which they had to approach the omission of Milan Rathnayake, who in his debut series not only took 11 wickets but also produced decent innings, making 72 at Old Trafford and 43 at Lord’s.Related

• Was Milan Rathnayake's 74 in Manchester the highest on Test debut from No. 9?

• Can New Zealand outspin Sri Lanka in Galle?

• Southee pleased with depth, variety in New Zealand's attack

“When you come to the matter of a third fast bowler, you are talking about someone who is one of our best,” Jayasuriya said. “In the last series he [Rathnayake] not only bowled well, he batted very well too. But in Galle you have to bring spinners for the balance of the side.”The seamers make way for the return of the spinners – Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis.’We have to mention Milan specifically, because the things he did on his first tour should be appreciated,” Jayasuriya said. “He played like a mature cricketer. Unfortunately we can’t bring Milan into this XI. We can only play two quicks. Everyone knows what the Galle pitch is like. We already have filled those spots with our two best quicks: Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara.”But Milan doesn’t go out of the side having done anything wrong. I’ve spoken to him personally and impressed on him that these are the reasons, so that he knows for sure. Other players also know that he’s gone out of the side having done well.”Left-armer Vishwa Fernando, the other seamer to be omitted from the XI, had also been excellent at The Oval, bowling one of the most memorable spells of the series. He’s taken 21 wickets at an average of 21.61 this year, but will not play in Galle, with the express pace of Kumara preferred.Sri Lanka’s other conundrum is the wicketkeeping spot. Dinesh Chandimal started as keeper in their last match at The Oval, but appeared to suffer a back injury while keeping in the second innings of that game. In the first match of that series, he’d also been hit on the thumb and as such been unable to keep wickets for several days after.Chandimal will now be moved up to No. 3, however, while Kusal Mendis takes the gloves and moves down the order, possibly to No. 7.”Chandimal won’t keep, and that’s the team’s decision,” Jayasuriya said. “We had to figure out who will come out at No. 3, and it’s very tough for a No. 3 batter to keep wickets. Chandimal has taken the responsibility to bat at No. 3, and he’s doing that for the team and for the country. We have to look after him and give him that confidence.”The batting order Sri Lanka have settled on is to bring Kamindu Mendis, whose batting proficiency was thought by some to be wasted somewhat at No. 7, will now come up to No. 5, where Chandimal used to bat. Meanwhile Kusal takes Kamindu’s old spot.”We talked a lot about how we go about this, because it’s a complicated decision. We talked to Chandimal. Moving him up meant we had to bring someone else into the middle order. If we can bring a wicketkeeper to the lower middler order, that’s the best for this team in terms of balance.”

A round-up of the latest round of Group B Ranji Trophy matches, in which Rishabh Pant made one of the fastest hundreds in Ranji history and Arup Das bowled Assam to victory

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2016Rishabh Pant smacked one of the fastest centuries in Ranji Trophy history, off 48 balls, to clinch his second hundred in the match as Delhi saw out a draw against Jharkhand in Thumba. The 19-year old batsman, has averaged 81.87 with a strike rate of 96.75 since making his first-class debut in October 2015.Pant, who scored a 106-ball 117 in the first innings, followed it up with a 67-ball 135 to secure a point for Delhi after they were asked to follow on. Overnight batsmen Dhruv Shorey and Nitish Rana put together an 82-run stand for the second wicket, before the latter was dismissed one short of a half-century by Shahbaz Nadeem. Thirteen runs later, Nadeem got Shorey out on 91, before Pant’s blitz of 13 sixes and eight fours ended any chance of a Jharkhand victory. Milind Kumar (65) and Manan Sharma (53*) chipped in with half-centuries as Delhi finished on 480 for 6 at stumps. Jharkhand collected three points on account of their first-innings lead.Assam beat Saurashtra by nine wickets to record their first win this season in Kolkata. Arup Das returned with another five-wicket haul to finish with match figures of 12 for 70, his best in first-class cricket.Saurashtra were skittled for 81 in their second innings, with only three batsmen reaching double figures. There were five ducks overall. The new ball pair of Arup and Krishna Das shared nine wickets between them to trigger a massive collapse that resulted in Saurashtra losing seven wickets for just 30 runs. Needing 66 to win, Assam missed an opportunity to claim a bonus point when Rahul Hazarika was dismissed for 8. Rishav Das, who made a 41-ball 30, and Sibsankar Royl secured the six points for an outright win.Centuries from Ranjit Singh, Subhranshu Senapati and debutant Abhishek Yadav helped Odisha to a draw against Rajasthan in Patiala after being asked to follow on.Ranjit and Senapati put together a 233-run partnership for the third wicket as both batsmen reached centuries before lunch, before both were dismissed in the space of four runs as Odisha slipped from 318 for 2 to 334 for 5. Yadav then struck a 157-ball 115 supported by Saurabh Rawat as they ended on 508 for 6 at stumps. Rajasthan used ten bowlers in the innings, as they settled for three points due to their first-innings lead. Odisha received a solitary point.

Dhawan suggested that the England allrounder had pulled a muscle in his first training session

Matt Roller14-Apr-20234:13

Punjab set to face their old boys in Lucknow

Big picture: Lucknow’s Kings

KL Rahul captaining. Andy Flower in the coaching staff. Deepak Hooda and Nicholas Pooran in the middle order. K Gowtham and Ravi Bishnoi bowling spin. There are several similarities between Punjab Kings’ class of 2020 and Lucknow Super Giants’ 2023 vintage, but one clear difference so far: results.While Kings finished that season in sixth, Super Giants are among the early pace-setters this year. They have already established themselves as a team who are hard to beat at home, winning both games at the Ekana Stadium, and their last-gasp win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday night means they are joint-top of the nascent league table with three wins from four.Several of those former Kings players will be particularly keen to perform against their old franchise on Saturday night, but none more so than Pooran. The West Indies left-hander had a miserable final year for Kings in 2021, making 85 runs at 7.72 across the season, and was released ahead of the mega auction.Since then, Pooran has averaged 40.63 and struck at 161.95 in the IPL, bringing his Sunrisers Hyderabad form from 2022 into the early stages of this season. Super Giants invested heavily in him, spending INR 16 crore to buy him in December’s auction; the early signs are that he is worth the money.

Form guide (most recent match first)

Lucknow Super Giants: WWLW
Punjab Kings: LLWW

Team news: Livingstone still a doubt?

Kyle Mayers’ early success at the top of the order has seen Quinton de Kock carrying drinks since his arrival in India, but Super Giants may look to make a change after Mayers’ back-to-back failures against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.Liam Livingstone arrived in India late after knee and ankle injuries, and Shikhar Dhawan suggested on Thursday night that he had pulled a muscle in his first training session. “He’s just got off a flight,” Brad Haddin, Kings’ assistant coach, said.”We’re just monitoring him for the next couple of days to see where he’s at. He’s just come back from a long-term injury.” He appears unlikely to feature on Saturday, but could come into contention to play against RCB next week.There is also a chance Kings will consider rotating their seamers, playing their second game in 48 hours. If so, Kagiso Rabada – who was expensive against Gujarat Titans – might make way for Nathan Ellis again.Meanwhile, Super Giants have replaced medium-pace bowler Mayank Yadav with Arpit Guleria in a like-for-like change, with an injury ruling Mayank out of the tournament.*Super Giants’ musclemen Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis hit 127 runs in 49 balls between them in Bengaluru•BCCI

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Super Giants have used Ayush Badoni as their Impact Player when bowling first this season, and could bring him in for Amit Mishra like they did in their one-wicket win over Royal Challengers. If they bat first, Mishra – or another bowler – could replace Badoni.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Jaydev Unadkat, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Avesh KhanPossible bowl-first XI: 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 7 Amit Mishra/Krishnappa Gowtham, 8 Jaydev Unadkat, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Avesh KhanPunjab Kings
Rahul Chahar came into Kings’ team halfway through their defeat to Titans on Thursday, and will likely replace either Prabhsimran Singh or Bhanuka Rajapaksa during the innings break if they bat first again. If they bowl, they will probably pick an extra bowler and then sub a batter in.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 Matthew Short, 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Rishi Dhawan, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Arshdeep SinghPossible bowl-first XI: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Matthew Short, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Prabhsimran Singh, 4 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 5 Sam Curran, 6 M Shahrukh Khan, 7 Harpreet Brar, 8 Rishi Dhawan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Stats that matter

• Shikhar Dhawan has dominated Jaydev Unadkat when they have faced one another in the IPL, scoring 70 runs off 44 balls against him for once out.
• Super Giants’ innings of 193 for 6 in their first home game this season was the first time in 16 T20s held in Lucknow that a team had posted a score in excess of 190.
• This will only be the second meeting between these teams, following Super Giants’ 20-run victory last season.

Pitch and conditions

Keep a close eye on the colour of the soil used at the Ekana Stadium. Lucknow played their first home game against Delhi Capitals on a red-soil pitch which played relatively true; in their second, against Sunrisers, they played on a black-soil pitch which offered sharp turn from the outset. The venue is quickly becoming a fortress for them, with two home wins from two so far.

Quotes

“Watching the game last [Thursday] night, it came down to the last two balls, even on the Mohali wicket which is a really good wicket. We must respect their bowling line-up: they have international experience and quality spinners.”
“Whenever a team plays 56 dot balls, they end up losing the game so we have to rectify that. And of course, losing early wickets puts the batting side on the back foot and we have to work on that.”
*The line was added after confirmation through an IPL media release

The offspinner believes India’s spin-friendly wickets mean that Australia’s batsmen stand no chance during their four-match Test series against India later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2017Harbhajan Singh said Australia don’t stand a chance in the four-match Test series against India, especially if spin-friendly pitches are laid out. He also felt Australia’s inexperienced batsmen lacked the quality of their predecessors like Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist.”If Australia play well, India will win 3-0. That is Australia play well. Otherwise, 4-0,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by the . “I don’t think the wickets [in India] are going to be that easy for them. If the ball starts spinning from the first ball, I don’t think they will survive for long.”Players like [Matthew] Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting, [Damien] Martyn, [Michael] Clarke were all top-class batters. This team – apart from [David] Warner and [Steve] Smith – I don’t think they will be able to play the game they play in Australian conditions, here in India. It is going to be a tough series for them.”Australia’s spin attack is led by Nathan Lyon, who has 228 Test wickets, but the rest of the group – Steve O’Keefe (four Tests), Ashton Agar (two) and uncapped legspinner Mitchell Swepson – are thin on experience. While R Ashwin felt Australia’s spinners couldn’t be taken lightly, Harbhajan said they would find it difficult to bowl the right speeds on Indian pitches.”I don’t think they have the quality to do so. It is different bowling here and bowling there [Australia],” he added. “The speed [off the pitch] is different – they will have to adjust to that.”You don’t get that in Australia but here you get a lot of help, so from the first ball you need to bowl that correct speed. Not many spinners have done [that] in India for the last 15 years. Only [Monty] Panesar and [Graeme] Swann did it but nobody else.”Upon Australia’s arrival, Smith had said he would let individuals decide if they wanted to engage in verbal jousting with India on the field.”If they want to sledge, then they better be prepared for a lot of stuff from this Indian side,” he said. “This Indian team is not going to sit back and listen. All I can say is good luck to Australia if they want to play that way.”Harbhajan, who last played a Test in 2015, is India’s most successful offspinner. With 95 wickets from 18 Tests, including a breakout series in 2001 where he claimed 32 wickets to engineer India’s historic triumph, he was for a long time Australia’s bête noire.

When South Africa’s A squad embarks on tours of Zimbabwe and Australia, the transfer of knowledge between players will be as important as catching the national selectors’ eyes

Firdose Moonda06-Jul-2016When South Africa’s A squad embarks on tours of Zimbabwe and Australia, the transfer of knowledge between players will be as important as catching the national selectors’ eyes. The group is a made up of players with international experience and those on the fringes of higher honours, and captain Stephen Cook hopes they will spur each other on.”It’s a great squad, we’ve got a lovely balance,” Cook said at the team’s training camp in Pretoria. “These guys are all fantastic players in their own right, and I am sure we will all learn from one another.”An experienced leader in franchise cricket, Cook takes charge of the A side with an ambition to cement his own place in the Test team. He made his debut in the fourth Test against England in Centurion, South Africa’s last Test in the 2015-16 summer, and scored a century. Cook was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak period for the side, and he will be one of the players they will rely on as they seek to re-start their climb up the rankings.Despite having been around for a long time – Cook has been playing in the domestic set-up for 16 years – he is still looking to develop, this time under Malibongwe Maketa, a coach he has not worked with before. Maketa, the Warriors coach, has been put in charge of the A side and Cook is interested in his insights. “It’s good to get fresh ideas, some fresh thinking from someone who coaches against you and analyses you in a different way to what your coach does,” he said. “Everyone can learn from each other and that makes for a healthy set-up.”The word health has not been associated with South African cricket over the last year, with severe criticism of the structures at both national and domestic level, so to hear someone use it is refreshing. Cook believes there is strong competition as players hope to break into the national side. “Guys here are putting up their hands to say, ‘Hey I want to make that Proteas side in whatever format is required,'” he said. “The guys are all up for it, they have all trained fantastically, our work ethic has been great.”One area where they cannot be faulted – and Cook singled it out – is conditioning, even in mid-winter. “Everyone is fit. In previous years, I have seen criticism levelled that the guys arrive unfit. This year, guys are all in tip-top shape and rearing to go which shows a good attitude,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. If you can control your attitude, that takes care of a lot of the performance.”A central figure in the fit-again stakes is Vernon Philander, who missed most of the previous season after tearing ankle ligaments during warm-ups ahead of AB de Villiers’ 100th Test against India in Bangalore. Philander made a comeback towards the end of the season and is now aiming to reclaim his place in the Test side to face New Zealand in August. He is also hoping to inspire the younger generation.”As much as it’s for me to get back, it’s also to share my knowledge with these guys out here,” Philander said. “As long as I can help the younger ones coming through as well, I think I’ve played my part in South African cricket.”Someone like Sisanda Magala, a fast-bowling allrounder from the Eastern Cape, could benefit from having Philander around. Magala was the second highest wicket-taker for Warriors in the first-class competition and 13th overall with 27 wickets at 27.00, and is making his debut for the A side. “I am very excited. It’s my first time going overseas and my first time playing for South Africa A, so there’s definitely lots of emotions going around,” Magala said. “I will try and be like a sponge and absorb as much as I can, learn from them, because they have been at this level for a long time.”Another hopeful is Cobras’ four-day captain, Omphile Ramela, who has emerged as a promising top-order batsman. At 28, Ramela, who finished ninth on the first-class run charts with 592 runs at 42.28, seems to be entering his prime, and sees the A tour as taking him a little closer to the South African side. “It’s a stepping stone. I am trying to get closer to playing for the Proteas,” Ramela said. “These tours are important. It’s important that we keep learning as players. I am still learning as a player, but I will be trying to help where I can.”South Africa play two four-day matches in Zimbabwe, two in Australia, and then a quadrangular 50-over tournament in Australia, in which Wayne Parnell will take over from Cook as captain.

Bruce Oxenford wore a shield on his left arm while officiating the second Royal London ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.

Melinda Farrell at Edgbaston24-Jun-2016Bruce Oxenford may not leap to mind as the first choice to play Captain America in any upcoming Marvel films.But the Australian umpire could have been mistaken for an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, when he marched onto the field carrying one on his left arm to officiate the second Royal London ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.While Oxenford had worn the lollipop-shaped guard in April during the IPL match between Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and earlier at a World T20 warm-up match between Australia and the West Indies, this is the first time the protective device has appeared in an international match and represents another step towards greater protection for officials.The issue of umpire safety was thrust into the limelight in 2014 when an official died after being struck in the head by a ball during a league match in Israel.Earlier this year Australian John Ward became the first umpire to wear a helmet in an international match during the fourth ODI between Australia and India at Manuka Oval.The shield worn by Oxenford is made from polycarbonate, weighs one kilogram and is six millimetres thick. The version used at Edgbaston is the second incarnation of the device and it was tested in the nets before being cleared for use during the match.An ECB spokesman confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that, if a batsman struck the ball and it deflected off the shield and was subsequently caught, the batsman would be given out, in contrast to the situation for fielders wearing protective headgear. If the ball strikes the helmet before looping to a fielder, dead ball is called.

A torrential downpour on the Gold Coast dampened the mood before South Africa inflicted Australia’s third loss in four matches

The Report by Alex Malcolm17-Nov-2018A torrential downpour on the Gold Coast dampened the mood before South Africa inflicted Australia’s third loss in four matches to leave the home side down right miserable.Australia have now lost their last four T20Is and five of the last six on top of losing a one-day and Test series in between times.The rain reduced the game to a 10 overs-a-side on a surface at Metricon Stadium that was hosting international cricket for the first time.South Africa coped with the unknowns of the conditions and the pitch better than their opponents, piling on 108 in 10 overs thanks to a power-packed Powerplay from Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks.Australia’s chase drowned under the scoreboard pressure. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi built the pressure before Chris Morris delivered the knock-out blow in the third over removing D’Arcy Short and Chris Lynn and Australia never recovered.Rain, rain go awayMetricon Stadium on the Gold Coast had set itself for its first international cricket match, just seven months after hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games. But a deluge of rain pre-game, 18 millimetres in total, nearly ensured the match never started. Fortunately, the heavy rain cell passed due to strong winds. The game did start after a delay of nearly two hours, with the playing conditions changing to 10 overs per side, two overs maximum for each bowler, with a three over Powerplay.Pace gets burntAustralia opted for an all specialist pace attack, leaving out Adam Zampa and relying on the part-time spin of Glenn Maxwell and Short. They paid a price in the three-over Powerplay. Jason Behrendorff, Billy Stanlake and Nathan Coulter-Nile were clubbed for 42 in three overs. de Kock and Hendricks feasted on the shorter lengths and inconsistent lines that were offered before Hendricks holed out from the second last ball of the Powerplay. Finch turned to spin post Powerplay and it put the brakes on. Maxwell and Short bowled the next three overs for 28 runs and it could have been far less with a bit of luck. Maxwell had de Kock stumped and should have had du Plessis stumped as well and numerous mis-hits fell safely into the gaps.Chris Morris cleaned up Chris Lynn with a superb yorker•Getty Images

Maxwell’s catchThe innings changed with du Plessis’ dismissal. With 3.1 overs left South Africa had a score of 120 on offer. Du Plessis hammered Stanlake to deep midwicket. Very few fielders in the world could have saved six let alone completed the catch. Maxwell leapt high and took the catch at full stretch above his head while momentum carried him over the rope. He threw the ball up just before his left foot hit the ground over the rope, he balanced, got back inside the rope and made the end result look exceptionally simple despite the incredible degree of difficulty. Coulter-Nile and Andrew Tye then closed the innings brilliantly conceding just 24 runs from the last 18 balls and claiming three wickets with some well-executed slower balls.The old-fashioned yorkerLynn opened the innings in the shortened chase and held the key. He was missed fourth ball of the innings at deep square when Hendricks misjudged a catch that sailed over his head and landed inside the rope. Finch was tied down by some strategic straight bowling and was clean bowled by Ngidi. Short fell first ball picking out cover off Morris. But Lynn is capable of anything. Morris, in his first match of the tour, delivered the perfect yorker. It was fast and straight, tailing in a touch, it slid under Lynn’s bat and crashed into middle. Australia slumped to 3 for 27 at the end of the Powerplay and never recovered. Morris was magnificent taking 2 for 12 from two overs with almost flawless execution throughout. Tabraiz Shamsi bowled very well claiming 1 for 12 from his two overs of left-arm wrist spin and earned the Man of the Match award. Maxwell tried in vain to chase the target down making 38 from 23 balls, which was remarkable in itself as he faced three consecutive dots from Morris while he struggled to keep his shape trying to clear the rope.

The bowling Sri Lanka faced in practice games ahead of the Test series was of modest quality, opener Dimuth Karunaratne has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Jun-2016The bowling Sri Lanka faced in practice games ahead of the Test series was of modest quality, opener Dimuth Karunaratne has said. Karunaratne made scores of 8, 16 not out, 0 and 100 not out in three-day first-class matches against Essex and Leicestershire, but felt those outings had been inadequate preparation for the challenge of facing England’s attack.”I don’t think the century in that warm-up game was very satisfying,” Karunaratne told the . “I don’t think that kind of preparation will do any good ahead of a tough Test series. The oppositions we played were basically second-string teams. In our second warm-up game, there were just two fast bowlers and the rest were spinners. I wasn’t too pleased after getting the hundred.”Though he has not made a significant score in the ongoing series, Karunaratne had been one of Sri Lanka’s better batsmen of the past two years, hitting 1283 runs at an average of 38.88 across 2014 and 2015. He was especially impressive in similar conditions in New Zealand, where he averaged 42.12 after four Tests.He said he would have preferred to play a Division One county side ahead of this series. Essex and Leicestershire are both in Division Two.”During the practice game, of the two fast bowlers, the quickest guy bowled just four overs,” Karunaratne said. “Some of the Division Two bowlers didn’t ask many questions. When we play that kind of opposition and all of a sudden play James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the Test match, the gap is huge. We tend to make more mistakes and get out cheaply. When England come to Sri Lanka, they play our A team as warm-up.”Karunaratne made more significant contributions during the 2014 Test series in England, in which he had scores of 38, 16, 28 and 45, as part of an opening partnership which saw Sri Lanka past the 10th over in three out of four innings. The opening partnership has been less steady on this tour, but did survive 16.2 overs in Sri Lanka’s most-recent innings, in which the team went on to make 475.”When we won the Test series here in 2014, Kaushal Silva and I had batted for more than ten overs and we had seen off the new ball threat,” Karunaratne said. “That made things easier for the guys who followed. This time, I got out in the third or fourth over of the first three innings and then it’s hard on rest of the batsmen. We needed to rotate the strike and put the loose balls away and be active always. When runs are on the board, the opposition’s mentality also changes, and they aren’t too attacking. We can hear them talking that runs are being scored and the need to cover certain areas.”Karunaratne has been out to the series’ leading wicket-taker, James Anderson, twice in his four innings so far. He reported having faced a sharper England spearhead.”Anderson this time around is a changed bowler from what we had seen of him in the past,” Karunaratne said. “He has good rhythm. Last time he was only concentrating on swinging the ball. This time what we have found is that he has got the length spot on too. He was bowling lot of inswing for me last time, but this time not a single inswinger. He hits the deck hard and when he does that with the swing he creates, the ball cuts away too quickly. That makes it even tougher.”Conditions at Lord’s are likely to be the most comfortable for batsmen so far in the series, with temperatures forecast to be above 20 degrees right through the Test and a flatter surface expected. The visitors will likely need to add to the six Sri Lankan names already up on the Lord’s batting honours board if they are to be competitive in the third match.”Last time I had got a start at Lord’s, but didn’t know how to build the innings,” Karunaratne said. “The Lord’s wicket has lot of runs. It’s a batting paradise. The swing will be less and the sun will be out.”Mahela Jayawardene had a chat with me and he gave me some options. Then Kumar Sangakkara called me and stressed the need to remain positive. His tips are useful as he has played here a lot. Sanath Jayasuriya too had a chat with me. Currently I take guard on the middle stump. He suggested that I should maybe move between middle and off stump as that allows me to stop playing outside the body. He had done the same thing during his playing days. These are very useful tips.”

Sune Luus will lead a group that includes one new cap in batting allrounder Delmi Tucker

Firdose Moonda23-May-2022South Africa will be without Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez, Sinalo Jafta and Masabata Klaas during their white-ball tour of Ireland next month.Kapp, Lee and Jafta are all recovering from illnesses, Klaas is out with a shoulder injury, and du Preez, who retired from ODIs but remains available in the shortest format, has been left out of the squad scheduled play three T20Is and three ODIs in Dublin. Regular captain Dane van Niekerk is also not in the touring party as she continues to recover from the ankle injury that ruled her out of the World Cup.That means van Niekerk’s participation in the England tour that follows, which includes a one-off Test, three ODIs, three T20Is and the Commonwealth Games, is in doubt. The final squad for those matches will be announced in the first week of June, which gives van Niekerk little over a week to make the cut. She returned to training earlier this month and is currently still on an individual program, and not training with the rest of the group. The South African squad that travels to Ireland will remain in the UK, with any personnel changes for the England series and Commonwealth Games to travel in or out as needed.For the Ireland matches, Sune Luus will lead a group that includes one new cap, batting allrounder Delmi Tucker, who has recently played for the South African Emerging side against Zimbabwe and Thailand. Tucker also had a successful domestic season for Western Province, where she scored 409 runs white ball cricket and took 15 wickets with her right-arm off-spin. “Delmi Tucker has been rewarded off the back of a very successful domestic season and has really made positive strides with significant contributions, and we are looking forward to seeing her transition into the international arena,” Clinton du Preez, South Africa’s selection convener, said.The rest of the squad includes the familiar faces of Shabnim Ismail, Laura Wolvaardt, Chloe Tryon and Ayabonga Khaka as well as all three reserves who traveled to the World Cup – Raisibe Ntozakhe, Nadine de Klerk and Andrie Steyn. Anneke Bosch, who missed the World Cup with a fractured thumb, also returns.While the T20Is are part of South Africa’s preparation for the Commonwealth Games and next year’s T20 World Cup, the ODIs are part of the 2022 to 2025 Women’s Championship, which will determine qualification for the 2025 World Cup.”When we are looking at the T20Is, there is a bigger picture when it comes to that. It is a new beginning for us this year, building up towards the T20 World Cup and the Commonwealth Games,” Hilton Moreeng, South Africa’s coach, said. “The senior players know what is at stake. The ODIs are the ICC Women’s Championship qualifications for the next 50-over World Cup, so there is a lot at stake in the sense that we are also looking to grow our base.”Squad: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus (capt), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Tumi Sekhukhune, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt