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Captain Faf du Plessis was quite clear in his assessment that South Africa fell at least 10 runs short of a defendable total against West Indies at Nagpur

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur 25-Mar-2016It was an over sent from the heavens. Three googlies from Imran Tahir and nearly three wickets.Marlon Samuels looked to drive the first one through the covers. The ball turned into him and forced him to hit it straighter, and in the air. Tahir got his left hand to the ball but couldn’t wrap his fingers around it.Andre Russell looked to slog the second beyond wide long-on, but ended up hitting it squarer than intended and deep midwicket ran a few steps to his left to take a simple catch. Darren Sammy simply didn’t pick the last one. It hung deliciously over his eyeline, dipped wickedly, and turned through the gap between front pad and airy cover drive to hit the top of middle stump.Two wickets taken, only one run conceded and West Indies were 100 for 6 after 17 overs. The over might have turned the match South Africa’s way had West Indies been chasing 140. But they were only chasing 123 and still only needed a perfectly gettable 23 off the last three overs.After the match, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was quite clear in his assessment that his side fell at least 10 runs short of a defendable total.”The batting today was the difference between us winning and losing,” he said. “We needed to get to 130-135 to have a par score. I thought we were 10 runs short, definitely.”On the eve of the match, du Plessis had counted adaptability and “being smart in decision-making” among the strengths of his batting side. He had hoped these qualities would make the difference against a West Indies batting unit reliant on power hitting, given the large outfield and the expectation that the pitch would provide turn.The pitch met du Plessis’ expectations: it was slow, low and offered a fair degree of turn, though not to the extent seen during the India-New Zealand match on March 15. West Indies’ batting proved to be as reliant on big hitting as du Plessis had noted and, as a consequence, was not at its best with the ball not coming on to the bat.But before they could expose West Indies’ frailties with the bat, South Africa had failed to demonstrate the adaptability and smart decision-making du Plessis had spoken of. After the match, he conceded that they had been “frantic” at the start of their innings, when they lost their three most experienced batsmen to what he called “soft” dismissals: Hashim Amla to a run out, du Plessis himself to a spooned catch taken at mid-off, and AB de Villiers to a shot played across the line. Rilee Rossouw also slashed a wide delivery straight to point.”Obviously batting first, the thinking was that it wasn’t going to be the same wicket as Mumbai, doesn’t take a brain surgeon to look at that. But those decisions you make when you’re batting, we didn’t make them tonight,” du Plessis said. “The run-out, caught at mid-off, and Rilee – our first three wickets for me were all soft wickets. AB’s wicket was also a soft wicket.”They didn’t bowl us out tonight. We were put in situations where we needed to be smarter and we weren’t. If you don’t do those things you’re not going to bat as well as you can. We went into this game thinking that West Indies is a power hitting team and we rely on being smart. Ten or 15 runs more, I think we could have won the game. They don’t rely on touch, on getting ones and twos, whereas this ground is spot on for that. That’s where we lost the game.”Du Plessis said Quinton de Kock and David Wiese – who added 50 for the sixth wicket – showed South Africa how they could have played on the Nagpur surface, but only after the top order had already collapsed.Hashim Amla’s run out was the first of several soft dismissals according to South Africa captain Faf du Plessis•IDI/Getty Images

“I thought we were very frantic there, up front,” du Plessis said. “Obviously you never want to start your innings with a run out, that just puts you back, puts it all, puts everything in a bit of a negative mode, because you’re giving the opposition a wicket, but to lose three or four wickets so quickly, that broke our momentum in the innings, and that was the difference between us [scoring 122 and] getting to 140.”The guys batted beautifully in the middle, David Wiese once again as a guy that’s coming in today, had a great game, and I can’t fault the bowlers today. Obviously there’s been a lot of pressure and a lot of stuff said about our bowling unit over the last two weeks or so, but they fought really hard today.”Especially in a big game like today, you want your big players to stand up, and myself, Hashim and AB, one of us needed to anchor the innings and be there. Quinton played an amazing innings, a mature innings, that’s something he hasn’t done a lot. Normally he plays his aggressive game and he’s very free. Today the shoe was on the other foot and he adapted brilliantly. And he showed the rest of the batting unit what it is like to adapt on that wicket.”Despite all this, South Africa’s bowlers kept them in the game till the last over. Tahir took those two wickets in the 17th and Wiese, mixing up his pace brilliantly, conceded only three runs in the 18th over. It took a slash and a thick edge past the keeper from Marlon Samuels, which streaked to the third man boundary in the 19th off Chris Morris, to bring the equation down to 10 off eight balls.Du Plessis said the edged four made him think “oh my word, it’s not meant to be for us today”, but he was quick to add that West Indies had earned their luck by staying “half a step” ahead of South Africa right through the game.”We’re not playing close to how good we are or can be, and that’s frustrating,” du Plessis said. “We want to be better, and unfortunately we’re not producing the goods on the day. As I said, you need a bit of luck but also you make your own luck, and I feel if you win those small moments in the game, generally the luck goes your way.”That’s why it didn’t go our way tonight, because we were just half a step behind West Indies all the time. But they’re playing great cricket and that’s why it’s going for them. They’re a confident team and things will fall their way, because you almost earn that luck, and they deserve it.”The win put West Indies through to the semi-finals and left South Africa hanging from edge of the precipice. They will need Sri Lanka to beat England, and then need to beat Sri Lanka themselves, to have any chance of progressing. It was not the situation du Plessis had expected his team to be in at this stage of the competition.”[I’m] disappointed, because I had strong hopes of winning the tournament, and now we’re hoping for other performances to go our way,” he said. “We’ll obviously be rooting for some opposition to try and do us a favour, but if it doesn’t happen like that, there’s no excuses.”

It is, perhaps, a sign of the times that, just as the County Championship season should be reaching a peak, the demands on its resources are at their greatest. Maurice Chambers’ loan signing demonstrated so.

George Dobell at Edgbaston28-Aug-2013
ScorecardMaurice Chambers made an immediate impact for Warwickshire•Getty Images

It is, perhaps, a sign of the times that, just as the County Championship season should be reaching a peak, the demands on its resources are at their greatest.Over the next couple of weeks, teams vying for the title or fighting to avoid promotion and relegation will lose players to England, Ireland and Scotland. Other players will be rested after the rigours of international campaigns. Few of the Ashes-winning squad will make another appearance in the county game this year.All of that is understandable. The England team pays the bills for the county and the recreational game and it is entirely reasonable to demand the players are used and rested as the team management see fit. Equally, it is quite appropriate for Ireland and Scotland to call upon their best players as they seek to progress in world cricket.But there is a downside. The endless withdrawals – be they for Lions game or international fixtures – that stretch through the season, not only threaten the integrity of the premier domestic competition, but threaten to drive a wedge between the international game and the county game. And if that happens, the difficulty of county players taking the step-up to international cricket will grow.There was a time such withdrawals were masked by the presence of experienced, older players or strong overseas or Kolpak registrations. But now, with young player incentives and tougher work permit criteria, that depth has been diminished.With such factors combining, the dilution of the county game is both obvious and dangerous. It may well, in time, return to bite the England set-up. You could construct a strong argument to suggest it was one of the key mistakes made in Australian cricket a decade or so ago.Certainly Warwickshire are a shadow of the team that won the County Championship title last season. As well as having lost seven players to various England squads at some stage of the season (Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes, Varun Chopra, Boyd Rankin, Chris Wright and Keith Barker, four of which are absent from this match) they have lost Freddie Coleman (to Scotland) and William Porterfield (to Ireland).In this game, they are further weakened by injuries. Their captain, Jim Troughton (back) is absent, two of their leading allrounders, Rikki Clarke (ankle) and Woakes (who hurt his thigh batting for England) are absent, several seamers – such as Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Wright, Richard Jones, who has joined on-loan despite carrying an injury – are absent as are two spinners in Chris Metters (who has been released due to injury) and Paul Best. As a result, their attack in this game consisted of a 20-year-old – Tom Milns – and two other seamers – Recordo Gordon and Maurice Chambers – with two first-class wickets between them this season.But such setbacks offer opportunity. In this game, Warwickshire drafted in Chambers, unwanted at Essex, on loan in a deal that stretches to the end of the season. Chambers, a 25-year-old longer on talent than achievement at this stage of his career, bowled with impressive pace and decent skill and discipline to suggest he may be able to persuade another county to invest in him. He will hope to follow the path of former team-mate Wright, who benefitted considerably from leaving Chelmsford and working with former Essex bowling coach Graeme Welch, who is now at Edgbaston. At present, Warwickshire are interested more in finding a solution to their availability crisis and have looked little further ahead than that.But they have opened talks with unsettled Somerset keeper, Jos Buttler. They are one of three clubs to have made an approach for the player and are likely to have offered him the chance to keep in all white-ball cricket if he joins. The difficult economic times are likely to result in far less movement in this year’s close-season than has been the case in the previous two or three years.It appeared for the first half of the day that Sussex would take full advantage of Warwickshire’s weaknesses and winning an important toss on a flat, dry pitch. Though they played and missed a few times, Chris Nash and Luke Wells put together a composed opening stand of 121 taking full toll of anything straying in line or length and of an unusually short boundary. Indeed, with Warwickshire struggling for pitches after a busy season, they were required to gain special dispensation for the 49-yard boundary on the Eric Hollies Stand side of the ground. Wells, tall and upright, was strong on the drive, while Nash, dropped by Jeetan Patel on 24 at slip off Gordon, cut particularly well.But Sussex squandered much of their hard work. After Nash played slightly across one, Sussex subsequently lost 6 for 39 runs in 21 overs as their middle-order surrendered their wickets in an array of soft, impatient strokes.If Michael Yardy, undone by late swing, was the victim of a fine delivery, Wells, caught at mid-on as he mis-timed a flick to the leg side, and Rory Hamilton-Brown, caught at short mid-on at he skipped down the wicket and attempted to drive, had less excuse. Ed Joyce fell to a loose drive at a wide ball, Matt Machan top-edged a pull and Ben Brown, caught on the crease, looked as if he were beaten for pace.At that stage it appeared Sussex, who are still outside contenders for the Championship title, might struggle to gain even a couple of batting bonus points. But Chris Jordan, perhaps the signing of the season, and Will Beer, demonstrated the patience and determination that so many of their top-order colleagues failed to exhibit, in adding 83 unbeaten runs for the eighth wicket before stumps. It was Jordan’s second half-century of the campaign, to complement his 51 Championship wickets.The Warwickshire attack, green as it was, were impressively tight and, in Chambers and Gordon, had bowlers of considerable pace. The pitch may well provide help to spin later in the game, presenting quite an opportunity for Will Beer and, perhaps, highlighting the absence of Monty Panesar for Sussex.

Warwickshire are exploring the loan market in an attempt to secure their first Championship title since 2004

George Dobell at Edgbaston09-Aug-2012
ScorecardWarwickshire will miss Jeetan Patel after his Test recall and are trying to fill the gap•PA Photos

Warwickshire are exploring the loan market in an attempt to secure their first Championship title since 2004. The current leaders require a replacement for their spinner, New Zealand’s Jeetan Patel, who is about to depart on Test duty and are looking at several options – including Durham’s Ian Blackwell and Lancashire’s Gary Keedy – as short-term solutions.While Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, expects Patel back for the final game of the season (against the second-placed team Nottinghamshire) and maintain outside hopes of welcoming him back for the game before that, against Worcestershire, they are reluctant to go into their matches against Middlesex and Nottinghamshire without an experienced spin bowler.Chris Metters, their left-arm spinner, is out for the season though injury while spin-bowling allrounder Paul Best, with just nine first-class games behind him, is deemed too green for such a demanding task. The overseas market has now become so bureaucratic that it takes a minimum of three weeks to bring in a new player.There are several loan possibilities. The most intriguing is the former England allrounder Blackwell who cannot currently squeeze into the Durham squad. Blackwell is not really Giles’ type of player – Blackwell’s dislike for training and fitness are something of a throwback to a different age – but, aged 34, he remains a fine cricketer who took career-best bowling figures of 7 for 52 in his last first-class game, against Australia A. He has also scored over 11,000 first-class runs at an average only a fraction under 40.The Lancashire pair of Keedy and Stephen Parry are also of interest. Giles has long been a fan of Keedy – Warwickshire offered him a three-year contract at the end of last year – but he might well be required by Lancashire. It is possible, however, that in seeking to help Warwickshire defeat Lancashire’s relegation rivals, Lancashire’s cause might be well-served by allowing Keedy to go for a spell at Edgbaston. Parry has played only three first-class games and none since 2009 and is a less likely option.While Warwickshire worry about replacing Patel, they also missed Chris Woakes against Worcestershire. Woakes’ lower-order excellence with the bat has papered over cracks in the top-order batting at the club for some time, just as Neil Carter did in the past. Yet, like several counties, they have seen their team weakened by England Lions call-ups just as the Championship should be reaching a peak. While the ECB consult about the future of county cricket, they might also reflect how it would prosper if given half a chance.Still, in a game of numerous twists and turns, the decisive blow may have been struck by Warwickshire in the evening session. Set 260 to win, the opening batsmen rode their luck and benefitted from a somewhat jaded performance in the field from Worcestershire in reducing their target to a more manageable 181. On a day on which 17 wickets fell, their unbroken stand of 79 was the largest by a distance.They enjoyed some fortune. Ian Westwood, in particular, endured the most uncertain of starts and came within an ace of playing on when four. Varun Chopra, meanwhile, escaped an edge off Moeen Ali that flew between wicketkeeper and slip when he had scored 27 and another to short-leg off Brett D’Oliveria when he had 39.The pitch, also used for Tuesday night’s CB40 game, is offering ever more assistance to spin, however, and some uneven bounce to seamers, so all is not yet lost for Worcestershire.If Worcestershire do lose they will rue their lower-order batting collapses in both innings. Just as on the opening day where they lost their last five wickets for the addition of just seven runs, on the second they lost their last six for the addition of only 37. It meant they squandered a position from which they were 222 ahead with six wickets in hand to one in which they set a target of only 260.It is not an unfamiliar tale for Worcestershire. They have shown throughout the last couple of seasons that they can compete with the best for a couple of days, only for one poor session to undermine their good work.Perhaps, when we come to reflect on this game, we may conclude that the turning point came with the early wicket of Phil Hughes in Worcestershire’s second innings. Leading by 114 on first innings, Worcestershire had an excellent opportunity to bat Warwickshire out of the match but Hughes, unsettled by Keith Barker’s incisive swing, left a straight one, before Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali were drawn into pokes at deliveries on off stump that resulted in slip catches.But Vikram Solanki was even more culpable. For the second time in the match he made batting appear easy only to once again squander his wicket. This time a thick edged force squirted to point and, while Matthew Pardoe fought hard, the lower-order never hinted at permanence against Patel’s off-breaks.In many ways this has been a bewildering game. There is little wrong with the pitch. But the bowlers of both sides have performed admirably and the batsmen of both sides have shown a lack of application and technique. Still, Chris Russell, the 23-year-old Worcestershire debutant, showed excellent stamina and consistency to deliver a 12-over spell of pace and swing bowling in the morning session that picked up three wickets.The only Warwickshire man who looked at all comfortable was Rikki Clarke, who batted beautifully in registering his fifth score above 50 in the campaign. Clarke is an admirable cricket and a passionate competitor but may concede, in time, that he soured another fine innings by displaying obvious disappointment when he was adjudged by umpire Neil Bainton to have been caught at short-leg.It matters not whether the umpire was right or wrong, such obvious signs of dissent have no place in the game. Later the umpires were also obliged to speak to Chopra, captain in place of the unwell Jim Troughton, after Clarke’s continued disappointment manifested itself in the field. The umpires spoke to Warwickshire’s team management at the close and Clarke may consider himself fortunate if he escapes further censure.

With Australia set to play their first full bilateral series since the Ashes, in Sri Lanka, their coach Tim Nielsen believes the team has an opportunity to turn public opinion on the state of Australian cricket around

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2011With Australia set to play their first full bilateral series since the Ashes, in Sri Lanka, their coach Tim Nielsen believes the team has an opportunity to turn public opinion on the state of Australian cricket around. Australia have been on a break since they played three ODIs in Bangladesh in April, which Nielsen said had helped the players recover from the disappointment of the Ashes loss and the exit at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup.”The most important thing is it gives us the opportunity to get our cricket, especially publicly, heading back in the right direction,” he told .The series will also be the first opportunity for Michael Clarke to captain Australia in Tests, and Nielsen said it would be a test for him. “Michael’s very clear on how he feels the team should be playing. We’ve got some new staff, a new captain, a new vice-captain, so all of those things lead to a different voice and a different idea.”The new leadership though does not mean former captain Ricky Ponting, who remains in the squad as a player, will not be looked to for advice, Nielsen said. He also said Ponting was professional enough not to let his presence in the team undermine Clarke’s status.”We haven’t had a lot of cricket since he [Ponting] handed over the reins to Michael. It’s been beneficial for Punter to have a bit of a break, I’m sure, and think about how he attacks the role. He’s an experienced man, he and Michael got on well as captain and vice-captain in the past so they obviously can work together very closely.”The worst thing we could do is not listen to Ricky again because he’s not captain or expect him not to do things that could help the team and Michael’s very supportive of that.”Australia will play two Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and three Tests in Sri Lanka and Nielsen was wary of how good Sri Lanka are in their home conditions.”They played in the World Cup final, so they’re an excellent one-day team; their Twenty20 cricket is strong and their Test match cricket is strong. They are certainly one of those teams that revel in their own conditions.”Nielsen said his team was looking forward to a season in which they will also tour South Africa and host India. “We couldn’t get a better opportunity or challenge, playing three of the top four nations inside the next 12 months away and at home.”

Northamptonshire moved back into contention for promotion in the County Championship by upsetting the odds with a four-wicket win against Worcestershire at New Road

31-Jul-2010

ScorecardNorthamptonshire moved back into contention for promotion in the County Championship by upsetting the odds with a four-wicket win against Worcestershire at New Road.Successfully chasing 223 on the third afternoon, they completed an outstanding recovery after trailing by 129 runs on an unpredictable pitch. Having bowled out the home side for 93 in their second innings – the third lowest total in the Championship this summer – they sealed their sixth victory of the season after a mature performance by Alex Wakely.The former England Under-19 batsman made a crucial 68 with 12 boundaries, and after losing three wickets in quick succession, Northamptonshire eased over the line with two fours from David Murphy in the second over after tea. Wakely, at 21, is still making his way in the first-class game but he was not lacking in composure after beginning his innings when Richard Jones pounced from cover to run out Ben Howgego for the second time in the match.Initially watchful in a valuable stand of 45 with Stephen Peters, he successfully resisted the main challenge from Matt Mason and Alan Richardson. The veteran seamers were again a handful in helpful conditions, but Peters made an important 37 before jabbing the fifth ball of Richardson’s second spell to Daryl Mitchell at second slip.The match then took a decisive turn as David Sales bounced back from a first-ball dismissal on the previous day. Gradually finding his timing to hit eight boundaries, the former captain made 46 from 67 balls until he was lbw to a full-length delivery from Mason.This could have been a damaging blow for a side missing a number of senior batsmen but Newton more than proved he was up to the task. Born in Somerset and brought up in East Anglia, he completed a productive debut with scores of 23 and 33.Although there was some turn to help Worcestershire, Shakib Al Hasan was unable to make an impact when bowling 10 overs for 35 runs. Instead it was off-spinner Moeen Ali who removed Wakely with a catch at short leg by Alexei Kervezee. There were still some alarms before the job was completed. Like Howgego, Andrew Hall was run out for a second time and Newton brushed a catch behind the wicket in the following over from James Cameron.Earlier, Northamptonshire kept their target within reasonable bounds by mopping up Worcestershire’s last two wickets for the addition of 21 runs. Hall (two for 10) claimed a 35th birthday success when Mason, attempting to pull, edged to the wicketkeeper after driving a six off James Middlebrook.Even then, the former Essex off-spinner had conceded only 23 runs when Jones became his third victim, leg-before wicket to the second ball of his 10th over.

Sri Lanka are back playing a Test at The Oval for the first time since 1998

Alan Gardner05-Sep-20240:35

Ollie Pope excited to see ‘massive’ Josh Hull debut for England

Big picture: Sri Lanka return to scene of 1998 triumph

To The Oval, traditional venue for the final Test of the English summer – although not, by any means, the final international commitment for England’s men, who go straight into eight white-ball fixtures against Australia off the back of Sri Lanka’s visit (the first T20I takes place 24 hours after the scheduled fifth day of the Test).For now, the focus remains on Test cricket – even if Brendon McCullum’s mind may start to wander following news he will soon take charge of England’s white-ball fortunes as well – and the aim of completing a first summer sweep since 2004. Twenty years ago, Michael Vaughan’s team dispatched New Zealand and West Indies for a 7-0 scoreline, providing momentum that fueled them into the following year’s Ashes campaign; McCullum and Ben Stokes, currently watching on from the sidelines as he recuperates from a torn hamstring, will hope something similar can play out ahead of marque series against India (at home) and Australia (away) in 2025.England’s reboot, having lost 4-1 in India at the start of the year, has gone smoothly thus far, despite the limited challenge provided by West Indies and Sri Lanka. Gus Atkinson has emerged as the star of a post-Broaderson attack, with 33 wickets in five appearances – to go with a maiden hundred at Lord’s last week – while Jamie Smith has nailed down the wicketkeeper’s spot. With the Sri Lanka series secured, McCullum has decided to throw in another promising tyro, with 6ft 7in Leicestershire left-armer Josh Hull emerging from left-field for an unexpected debut.Related

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• 6ft 7in Hull handed England Test debut

• Hull, England's left-armer from left-field, prepares for shock Test debut

All this may well be with the 2025-26 Ashes in mind – and who wouldn’t want a giant southpaw who can hit 90mph to bowl down under? – but Hull has already had success against Sri Lanka, taking five wickets for England Lions during the series warm-up, and England have once again reasoned that raw first-class statistics (16 wickets at 62.75) only tell part of the story.The final Test of the home season is also a final chance for Ollie Pope to improve his average as Test captain – that is assuming Stokes is fit to take the reins again in Pakistan next month. Pope has so far managed 30 runs in four innings, with his dismissals ranging from eyebrow-raising to hair-raising. Leading England to three wins from three would certainly tick a box, but runs under the belt might have more long-term significance.For Sri Lanka, a first multi-match Test tour at the height of the English summer has not lived up to expectations – although the same might be said of the English summer, with the weather again likely to be underwhelming in London this week. There were flashes of resistance at Lord’s, Asitha Fernando and Kamindu Mendis once again showing their promise while the senior trio of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva held up England with fourth-innings fifties.They would certainly have hoped for more than to be fighting for pride at this stage, but two first-innings collapses have left them with too much to do – while Dhananjaya’s decision to bowl at Lord’s threw an inexperienced bowling attack under the bus. A return to south London for their first Test since famously winning at The Oval in 1998 should help raise spirits. If further motivation is needed, Sri Lanka have played four previous three-Test series in England and never been whitewashed.Ollie Pope will continue to deputise for Ben Stokes•Getty Images

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLWWW

In the spotlight: Josh Hull and Asitha Fernando

He might be blotting out the spotlight, so tall is Josh Hull. The 20-year-old only emerged on the county scene last summer, notably bowling the final over as Leicestershire sealed the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a two-run win over Hampshire, and his rise this term has been meteoric. A couple of outings in the Hundred showed he had put on pace, nudging the speed gun up to 89mph, while success in the Lions game counted for more with England than a County Championship record of two wickets at 182.50. He is set to become only the second left-arm seamer to play Tests for England since Ryan Sidebottom in 2010.Despite Atkinson’s stellar performances and England’s dominance generally, the leading wicket-taker in the series is Sri Lankan. Asitha Fernando has 14 scalps at 20.14, already second only to Muthiah Muralidaran for Sri Lanka in England, and his lion-hearted efforts have kept the home batters honest. Asitha got himself on the honours board with a five-for at Lord’s – matching Rumesh Ratnayake’s effort from 1991 – but would no doubt love to help his team end the tour on a winning note. With Sri Lanka banking on pace at The Oval, his skills with conventional and reverse-swing will be vital if can post a score.

Team news: Hull to debut, SL go all pace

England announced on Wednesday that Hull would debut, coming into the XI for Matthew Potts. The Oval Test will likely be Dan Lawrence’s final opportunity to impress as stand-in opener ahead of the return of Zak Crawley.England: 1 Dan Lawrence, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Olly Stone, 10 Shoaib Bashir, 11 Josh HullSri Lanka warm up – literally and figuratively – at The Oval•PA Photos/Getty Images

Sri Lanka have opted for a rare four-man pace attack, given what they expect from the pitch (see below), meaning Prabath Jayasuriya makes way. They have also rejigged the top order (again), with Kusal Mendis back in the side at No. 3, Pathum Nissanka opening and Nishan Madushka sitting out. Angelo Mathews has only bowled a handful of times in Tests since 2017 but was going through his paces in the nets at The Oval, with a view to making up Jayasuriya’s overs alongside Dhananjaya and Kamindu.Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Lahiru Kumara, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Asitha Fernando

Pitch and conditions: Autumn weather sets in

The Oval has not been the place to bowl spin this season, with only 26 wickets falling to slow bowlers in six County Championship matches – compared to 173 taken by pace, where Surrey’s seam-and-swing merchant Dan Worrall leads the way. With wet weather in the build-up and a forecast for showers throughout – Monday looks particularly bleak – the conditions will be a long way from those in which Murali’s Sri Lanka dominated England 26 years ago.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have a 100% win rate in Tests at The Oval, having beaten England emphatically on their only previous visit – Sanath Jayasuriya’s 213 helping the visitors comfortably overhaul a total of 445 before Muralidaran took 9 for 65 to set up a 10-wicket win.
• Joe Root overtook Alastair Cook’s Test centuries record for England at Lord’s, and is now only 95 runs behind overall. He needs 24 runs to pass Kumar Sangakkara in sixth on the all-time list, with Cook next in his sights.
• Root also took his 200th catch in the field and can close in on the top two, Mahela Jayawardene (205) and Rahul Dravid (210).
• Atkinson will break the record for most wickets by an England seamer in a home summer – currently jointly held by SF Barnes, Alec Bedser and James Anderson – if he takes seven in the match.
• Karunaratne overtook Jayasuriya at Lord’s to become Sri Lanka’s fourth-highest Test run-scorer; he needs 10 more runs to reach 7000 in the format.
  

  Quotes

  “Six foot heaps, bowls left-arm, ranges in pace from 80 to 90 miles an hour. Swings it, not too dissimilar to the likes of Jimmy Anderson. He’s 20 years of age, good farming stock. It’s not a huge gamble, is it?”
  
  Brendon McCullum on England’s latest surprise selection“We need to score big runs and that’s the biggest fault that we had in the first two Tests. Most of our batters who had got starts didn’t convert. Joe Root is a good example, he converted the starts into hundreds. Others batted around him. One of us need to do that and if that happens we need to get 320 mark in the first innings.”
  
  Dhananjaya de Silva on how his side can improve

Pakistan seamer will provide fast-bowling cover with Naveen-ul-Haq still involved at the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2023Leicestershire have signed Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah on a short-term deal for the start of the Vitality Blast.Naseem will act as cover for Afghanistan overseas Naveen-ul-Haq, who is currently involved in the IPL play-offs with Lucknow Super Giants. Naseem was due to arrive in England on Tuesday and be available for Leicestershire’s Blast opener against Lancashire on Thursday.”Having Naveen in the IPL play-offs meant we had to make a quick call and we are extremely excited to have secured someone of Naseem’s calibre,” Leicestershire Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson, said.”He’s proven to be a world-class performer in T20 cricket, and we look forward to seeing him in a Leicestershire shirt shortly.”Leicestershire start their campaign with back-to-back games, away to Lancashire and then at home to Warwickshire, followed by a trip to Worcestershire on Monday. Should Lucknow reach Sunday’s IPL final, then it is likely Naveen would miss all three fixtures.Naseem featured for Gloucestershire in the Blast last season, taking five wickets in three games. He was also signed by Welsh Fire to play in the Hundred, but withdrew due to international commitments.Naseem said: “I’m very excited to be joining the Foxes for the start of the Vitality Blast. I can’t wait to meet my team-mates and help win games for Leicestershire.”

Karachi Kings guaranteed to finish bottom of the table after eighth straight defeat

Danyal Rasool16-Feb-2022
They might have left it a bit late, but the inevitable could not be thwarted. Multan Sultans, almost certain to top the table now, edged past Karachi Kings, guaranteed to finish bottom, in the final over, sealing a seven-wicket victory. In pursuit of 175, they were only trudging along at seven an over with five to go, with the asking rate at 14. But 71 runs in the last 27 balls – the last six a dashing flourish over square leg by Rilee Rossouw – condemned the Kings to their eighth successive defeat, at the same time ensuring the Sultans will get two bites at the cherry in their bid to qualify for the PSL final.In the end, Karachi might blame a mystifying approach to the first innings, particularly the first ten overs. Only 57 came off the first nine, with vaunted power hitter Sharjeel Khan struggling badly, managing just 21 off his first 29 balls. With Babar Azam falling for just 2 off four, it was down to the middle order to salvage a respectable total for their side.Sharjeel belatedly clicked into gear and was good for a couple of sixes, but hadn’t nearly undone the damage he had caused in a somnambulant stroll of an innings when Khushdil Shah struck to remove him with just his second ball. The Kings seemed well off the pace until the last seven overs, and needed cameos from Rohail Nazir and Imad Wasim – who smashed an unbeaten 32 off 16 balls – to get the 174 they eventually did finish with, the late surge thanks coming courtesy of 75 runs in the final seven overs.The Sultans innings looked, for the most part, very much like the batting effort of a side that already knew it was through to the next round. Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood appeared content to strike at just over a run-a-ball, prioritising preserving wickets on a pitch that didn’t look quite as free-scoring as some in this tournament have. The free-flowing Masood was reined in for much of his innings, and would admit in a post-match interview he feared he had “messed up” the chase as the asking rate climbed inexorably and the Sultans’ power-hitters sat in the dugout where they could do little damage.It was only after Masood holed out to the deep-cover boundary that the game really moved into the next phase. Rizwan’s best instincts came alive, and all of a sudden he seemed to be finding the gaps with every delivery, almost putting Tim David, batting alongside him, in the shade as he brought the run rate down single-handedly every over. When he fell for a 56-ball 76 that belied his early struggles, David quickly picked up the mantle with a couple of further boundaries, though his dismissal in the 18th over kept the Kings just in front.It was, as it so often is in T20 cricket, the penultimate over when the game truly showed its hand. Khushdil Shah smashed Chris Jordan first ball for six over midwicket, with a remarkable flick of the wrists; astonishingly, it was the first six the Sultans had hit all game. The second would follow two balls later and a boundary came in between, leaving nine to get off the final over.The winning shot was delightfully flamboyant from Rossouw, who moved across his stumps to pick Umaid Asif up over square leg for six, before nonchalantly folding his arms and holding the pose. It showed a swagger that comes so easily to the Sultans right now, and is wholly missing from the Kings, for whom this campaign cannot conclude soon enough.

India players were seen training with pink and red balls

PTI17-Nov-2020The limited-overs competition awaits them first but the India players, led by captain Virat Kohli, seemed focused on next month’s Tests against Australia as they practised in simulated long-format match conditions with pacers using red and pink balls in Sydney on Tuesday.The top batsmen and bowlers from across the three squads were seen taking part in the practice session.The likes of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj were seen bowling to Kohli in a video posted on Twitter by the captain himself.ALSO READ: Tim Paine, Marnus Labuschagne in mass airlift to avert summer disruptionKohli will feature in just the opening day-night Test, starting December 17 in Adelaide, before flying back to India for the birth of his first child. The video showed the players using the centre strip of the ground with Test match field and a batsman at the non-striker’s end, which is a deviation from traditional net sessions. Given that the players were kept busy by the IPL for the last two months, the white-ball training has taken a back seat.In another video, posted by the BCCI, Shami was seen bowling in tandem with Siraj. The 30-year-old Shami, who took 20 wickets from 14 matches for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, is a part of all three squads. India will rely heavily on him during the four-match Test series.Siraj, who is only in the Test squad, followed his senior team-mate and was seen sending down a few deliveries as other senior players watched him bowl.ALSO READ: Glenn McGrath says ‘Australia slightly ahead’ because of Mitchell Starc’s X-factorThe 26-year-old, who has played one ODI and three T20Is, took 11 wickets from nine matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.On Monday, the star studded batting line-up was seen gearing up for the lively Australian pitches with the traditional tennis ball training after competing on the slow UAE tracks during the IPL.The first two matches of the ODI series will be played at the SCG on November 27 and 29, followed by the third in Canberra on December 2.The first T20I, on December 4, will also be played in Canberra while the last two will be played at the SCG on December 6 and 8.

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2019Gloucestershire 172 for 7 (Salter 4-12) tied with Glamorgan 172 for 5 (Fakhar 58)Glamorgan’s Andrew Salter returned the superb figures of 4 for 12 in three overs, including a first-ball wicket and three more in the space of seven deliveries, but AJ Tye battled back for Gloucestershire to seal a thilling tie in the Vitality Blast clash at Cardiff.Gloucestershire, set a daunting 173 for victory following a brisk half-century from Fakhar Zaman and a turbo-charged 42 from 21 balls from Chris Cooke, suffered a terrible start when Miles Hammond was deceived by Salter’s offspin, knocking a simple catch back to the bowler off the first ball of the innings.Two overs later, the visitors lost their second wicket, when James Bracey was caught off Marchant De Lange on the midwicket boundary.Gloucestershire were 46 for 2 after six overs, but in the next over Michael Klinger edged Dan Douthwaite’s fifth ball to the wicketkeeper, and with Graham Wagg conceding just three runs from his first over, Glamorgan’s bowlers held the upper hand.After ten overs Gloucestershire required a further 100 runs, but Cockbain raised their spirits by taking 14 runs from Wagg’s third over before Salter burst back into the action, ending his stay for an aggressive 40.With five overs left, the visitors required 57, but Salter struck twice more in three balls to dismiss Higgins and Jack Taylor. Billy Root held on to a low catch at mid-wicket to dismiss Higgins before Taylor drove to long-on.Tye, however, was not done yet, and hauled Gloucestershire back into contention with a violent innings of 38 from 19 balls, including three fours and a six.He struck De Lange’s penultimate over for 19, though he was also dropped by Colin Ingram in the process, a simple chance at mid-off.
With 14 needed in the final over, Benny Howell smashed Lukas Carey for six to keep his side in the hunt, only to fall the next ball, but Tye scrambled Gloucestershire to parity with a brace of twos off the final two balls of the innings, and deny Glamorgan their first win of the Blast campaign.