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Needing 286 in their second innings to make Victoria bat again, New South Wales crumbled under the relentless pressure of Boland

Alex Malcolm27-Oct-2018Getty Images

A sublime unbeaten 250 from Marcus Harris and five wickets from Scott Boland have put Victoria on the verge of a crushing innings victory over New South Wales at the MCG. Needing 286 in their second innings to make Victoria bat again, New South Wales crumbled under the relentless pressure of Boland.He forced a mistake from Daniel Hughes early in the innings before Nick Larkin and Kurtis Patterson put up some resistance. Larkin made a well-compiled 53 before he was bowled leaving a ball from Andrew Fekete that snaked back off the seam from well wide of off stump. Moises Henriques was trapped plumb in front by Boland and Jack Edwards was castled by a devilish inswinger from Tremain.The Blues slumped from 4 for 167 to 9 for 175 in the space of 12 overs. Patterson reached his second half-century of the match but again fell to a right-arm quick angling in and seaming away from around the wicket. In the first innings it was Chris Tremain who found his outside edge, in the second it was Boland.Boland also knocked over Daniel Sams and Daniel Fallins for his fourth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket after Fawad Ahmed accounted for Peter Nevill and Jason Sangha.The Blues’ last wicket pair of Mickey Edwards and Trent Copeland survived for 60 balls on the third evening to ensure the game went into a fourth day.Earlier, Harris pushed on from his overnight total of 210 to make an even 250. He faced 403 balls and struck 22 fours and a six in his remarkable innings to put his name up in lights ahead of the Test series against India.Harris got incredible support from Fawad, who posted his highest score in first-class cricket. He made 34 from 90 balls with four fours and a six to rub salt into the Blues wounds. Harris and Andrew Fekete also added an unbeaten 54 for the 10th wicket before Peter Handscomb declared.

No law requiring government’s okay, but ICC dispute panel ‘confident’ that Indian government would not have cleared series with Pakistan given the political climate

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Nov-2018The ICC’s Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC) may have ruled against the PCB’s claim for damages against the BCCI, but it may also have established an important precedent for the prospect of bilateral ties between the two countries. That centers upon the BCCI wanting the approval of the Indian government when touring Pakistan, something the three-member panel recognised was not a legal requirement but an “oral tradition”.It is an important point, concluding a 26-page judgement which ultimately ruled that the PCB had no claims for two tours the BCCI did not undertake in 2014 and 2015, despite having signed an agreement to do so in April 2014. The BCCI maintained that the agreement was not legally binding and cited the main reason for not playing as the absence of clearance from the Indian government.The DRC established that there was no “express directive” or Indian law by which a bilateral tour had to be sanctioned by the government. The DRC also felt that it was not clear which ministry of the Indian government could give the consent, that “the manner in which such approval had to be sought and obtained, appeared to the Panel more a patchwork quilt than a seamless robe.”

Najam Sethi on the verdict

Former PCB chief Najam Sethi, who was the man behind the PCB’s drive to hold the BCCI accountable for not playing the agreed-upon series, had this to say of the dispute panel’s verdict: “I find this finding to be a mockery of the law. This means that sports boards can in future renege on bilateral or multilateral contracts simply by clutching at “oral” or perceived views of governments without offering proof or evidence.
“It reaffirms the notion that financial power is might and might is right, exactly the philosophy that led to the discredited ‘Big 3’ nexus in the first place. It will also reinforce the BCCI as the big bully on the block. This is not cricket.”

Instead, the DRC said that it was “ultimately persuaded’ by the evidence of a couple of BCCI witnesses – Ratnakar Shetty (the former general manager of administration at BCCI) and Salman Khurshid, the former Indian foreign minister. On numerous occasions Shetty was the BCCI messenger who put forth the requests for bilateral tours with the Indian government. Khurshid had approved some of those requests during his time in office. Both men explained to the DRC that although not a written law, seeking and getting the government clearance was a norm and had become, as Khurshid said, an “oral tradition”.”The Panel’s conclusion is that what varied was the readiness with which such approval for an Indian tour of Pakistan would or would not be granted, which itself, was a reflection of the state of relations between the two Governments and peoples, informed by security and political considerations rather than whether there was any need for such approval in the first place.”The DRC found there was “no evidence” that the BCCI had sought government clearance for a proposed series in the UAE with Pakistan in November 2014. The first instance of the BCCI seeking approval occurred in November 23, 2015, when then BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur approached the Indian government for clearing India to play Pakistan in Sri Lanka.”It is common ground that such approval was not obtained; hence the cancellation of the 2015 tour,” the DRC noted in its findings, released by the ICC on Tuesday.During the DRC hearings, which took place in Dubai between October 1-3, the PCB argued the BCCI had applied for the clearance “too late”. The DRC was “confident” that the clearance would not have been “granted” because the political climate between the two neighbours was “generally tense”. That confidence has bemused officials within the PCB, who question how the DRC could place itself in the shoes of the Indian government on such a call.But the DRC pointed to the heavy exchanges between security forces of both countries at the border, exacerbated further by the hardline verbal rhetoric of the defence ministers of both India and Pakistan. For further context of the environment, it pointed to terrorist attacks in India through 2015, “said to have been perpetrated by Pakistan-based terrorist organisations”, which claimed many lives.On August 20, 2015, the then PCB chairman Najam Sethi had expressed apprehensiveness about the “potential impact” in such a fraught climate on the proposed tours in a note to Pakistan’s prime minister. “The Indian government has seemingly withheld its permission for India to play Pakistan stating that the cricket series would be inappropriate in the current atmosphere of tension at the borders, Lakhvi’s release, Gurdaspur incidents. Accordingly, there is a possibility that India would not agree to honour its commitment to play its series with Pakistan.”The DRC said the PCB’s “pessimism” was justified.The last time India and Pakistan played a full bilateral tour was towards the end of 2007. Early 2006 was the last time Pakistan hosted India in a bilateral tour. The BCCI insisted at every dialogue that without the Indian government’s approval no bilateral cricket with Pakistan was possible. As a consequence, India did not play Pakistan during the ICC Women Championship during the 2014-16 round. On that occasion, however, the ICC’s technical committee rejected the BCCI’s stance about government clearance and awarded points to Pakistan instead.The two countries have, however, played against each other in nearly every ICC tournament as well as the Asia Cup since then, a point the PCB made during the proceedings.

Mohammad Akhtar starred with bat, ball and in the field, as Ilford CC beat their rivals Ilford Town in a tense finale under gloomy skies in East London

Andrew Miller29-Jul-2018

ScorecardMohammad Akhtar starred with bat, ball and in the field, as Ilford CC beat their rivals Ilford Town in a tense finale under gloomy skies in East London. Akhtar followed two key breakthroughs with his legspin with a vital 59 from 40 balls, as Ilford chased down a stiff target of 171 with seven balls to spare, in a contest that had been reduced to 25 overs a side.The match, which was played as part of the NatWest Cricket Has No Boundaries campaign, featured Nasser Hussain as the guest of honour on the ground where he cut his teeth as a club cricketer in the 1980s. And though for much of an unusually drizzly day it appeared that the only action would be taking place in the old Ilford Cricket School, where Hussain and the former England seamer Saj Mahmood conducted a masterclass for local kids, the skies cleared sufficiently to get underway after 3pm.After winning the toss and batting first, Town suffered an early setback when Naail Dar edged Theeban Tavarasa low to slip off the second ball of the innings, but the early arrival at No.3 of Etinder Bopara, Ravi’s older brother, proved to be a blessing in disguise for their run-rate.Bopara’s 38-ball fifty provided the bedrock of Town’s innings, as he and Surjeet Ubhi Singh compiled a 50-run stand in the space of nine overs, ended only when Surjeet opened the face to the left-arm seam of Jenushan Jayarooban and steered a simple catch to Akhtar at point.Bopara, however, took that wicket as his cue to cut loose. In particular he climbed into the looping seamers of Ratnakar Tiwari, often finding the fielder in his bid to hit the cover off the ball, but connecting well enough in between whiles, not least when he knocked long-on off his feet with another battered drive down the ground.However, the introduction of the legspinner Akhtar brought an end to the fun. After missing a reverse-sweep first ball and nearly running himself out from his second, Bopara holed out to cover for 50 from 41 as Akhtar earned his reward for a teasing first over.The former Essex seamer Merv Westfield arrived at No.4, but he was done in by another man with county credentials, as Tavarasa – a second XI spinner back in the day – tweaked one through his defences to send him on his way for a second ball duck.Mohammad Zaidi chose not to stand on ceremony against the offie, however, and crashed his fourth ball of the same over clean down the ground for the first six of the day. That would prove to be the highlight of his innings, however, as Akhtar’s extra flight lured him into a loose hack to long-on.Jermaine Shillingford showed a similar appetite for destruction as he marched to the crease at 112 for 5 with seven overs in which to make his mark. He swiped his second ball clean into the pavilion at wide long-off off the legspin of Aditya Nair, then repeated the dose three balls later, this time over the sightscreen and into the hedge at long-on.Shillingford’s onslaught persuaded the skipper, Rajnish Dohal, that the time for quietly anchoring the innings had been and gone. He had eased along to 31 from 55 balls with just a solitary boundary but a fine eye for the gap-finding single, but when he attempted to take the long handle to Haaris Ayub, he top-edged a swipe for the bowler himself to cling onto a fine running catch at mid-on.Two more muscular boundaries from Shillingford kept the scoreboard ticking over, until, on 36 from 18, he had his bails trimmed by Ayub as he swiped once too often across the line. And without him, Town’s innings rather petered out – the excellent Tavarasa claimed Sumit Sharma in the deep for his third wicket, as Ilford prevented any more boundaries in the final three overs.In reply, Town’s run-chase got off to a terrible start when Akash Raji laid into a first-ball bouncer from Mohammad Zaidi and gloved a catch down the leg side to Westfield behind the stumps. However, Mohammad Hamza and Akhtar responded with a fusillade of attacking intent, not least against the seamer Sumit Sharma who bowled some fine deliveries in between whiles but was punished whenever he offered up any room to free the arms.Together the pair broke the back of the run-chase, adding 106 for the second wicket in 14.5 overs, with Hamza setting the tone with a brace of butchered boundaries from his first three deliveries. Akhtar stepped up his own intent by drilling the dangerous Zaidi on the up through the covers for a calypso four, before swivelling into a mighty pull two overs later, to dump a huge six into a nearby tree.Akhtar brought up his fifty from 37 balls with a well-judged flick off the pads through backward square leg, but – having celebrating by crashing Jermaine Shillingford for another vast six over deep midwicket, he gave it all away one ball later, making too much room for a murderous mow to be bowled for 59.Three balls later, and suddenly the match was back in the balance at 107 for 3, when Hamza slammed a drive at the spinner Surjeet Ubhi Singh, who clung onto a sharp return catch to send Ilford’s anchor back for a well-compiled 44 from 52.But, with the weather beginning to close in, Gagan Bhogal and Prahathen Jayarooban pieced together a diligent stand of 45 in 6.1 overs to take the chase deep into the final five overs. Jayarooban survived a tough chance on 10, when the keeper failed to cling onto a leading edge as he attempted to work Shillingford to leg, but with the chase at his mercy, he clipped a suidical single to midwicket, and wasn’t in the frame when the stumps were pinged down.It was a glimmer of hope for Town, who had come into the game on a 37-match unbeaten streak. But it wasn’t to be enough. Aditya Nair showed composure as he and Bhogal carried their side to the win, with Nair crashing two boundaries in three balls off the spin of Westfield to seal victory in the drizzle.

Worcestershire’s batsmen are heading to the 2nd XI for recuperation after a third successive defeat extended a dismal return to Division One

Paul Bolton at New Road30-Apr-2018
ScorecardIt is only seven months these sides were promoted together from Division Two of the County Championship but the gulf in class between them was startling in a one-sided affair that was completed in just five sessions.Worcestershire, who went up as Second Division champions, were routed twice in the equivalent of just two sessions by a high quality attack who made expert use of a slow seaming pitch.Stuart Broad, playing his first match of the season, played his part, surviving a mid-pitch collision with Luke Fletcher along the way, but he was not Worcestershire’s chief tormentor. Instead it was Jake Ball, another member of England’s Ashes attack, who wrecked their second innings by taking his second five wicket haul of the season.Worcestershire have now lost all three matches since they were promoted for the sixth time and with a trip to the Oval this week followed by the visit of reigning champions Essex, things are unlikely to get any easier.Kevin Sharp, who was installed as head coach following the sacking of Steve Rhodes during the winter, had some difficult times during his time as Yorkshire’s batting coach but preventing Worcestershire from being relegated after just a season in the top flight for the fifth time may yet prove to be his biggest challenge.”We know that there are some really top sides in this division. Division One sides are more experienced and they have strength in depth but there lies the challenge. If we didn’t know before we certainly do now about what is expected,” Sharp said.After a lengthy post-match team Sharp announced that five of his punch drunk top six – Travis Head is the exception – will play in a Second XI Trophy match against Warwickshire at New Road on Tuesday in an attempt to find form and confidence..Brett D’Oliveira and George Rhodes have scraped together just 35 runs in 12 innings between them and Worcestershire’s only half centuries have come from Ben Cox and Ed Barnard at seven and eight in the order.”It hurts and it’s not nice. Someone asked me the other day if I was enjoying myself. I said sometimes because it’s not easy to enjoy yourself in such circumstances,” Sharp said.”I have been at this club for four years, I have seen these lads grow up and they are fine players but they have not performed as yet. But I have every confidence and belief they will come through and by September things will have turned round.”Jake Ball showed England form at New Road•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire have yet to play at Trent Bridge this season because of building work but they will return there to face Hampshire on Friday having won twice on the road.”We started this little block of five matches thinking of it like a Test series of five. We are 2-1 up at the minute and everyone is excited at going back to Trent Bridge,” Ball said.Ball already 21 wickets this season and with a new National Selector in Ed Smith, he remains hopeful of reclaiming his England place after he was dropped for the two Tests in New Zealand.”It’s nice to have had this start having had the winter I had. It’s something I wanted to do. Hopefully I can kick on again and see where we go from there,” he said.Ball was given the opportunity to pitch the ball up and attack here thanks to the early aggression of Tom Moores and Broad who accelerated Nottinghamshire towards their declaration. They pulled out after the last wicket pair of Luke Fletcher and Harry Gurney had scrambled the 12 runs they needed for a third batting point and then set about Worcestershire’s feeble batting.Daryl Mitchell, who has made only five of his 26 championship centuries in the First Division, was bowled by a full length ball for the second time in the match and only Tom Fell, who batted 28 overs for his 37, threatened to delay Nottinghamshire.Fell looked distraught when he was bowled shouldering arms to Gurney and Worcestershire’s version of Kwik Cricket meant it was all over long before a party of 150 schoolchildren arrived hoping to see some cricket before a presentation evening.

The Australia wicketkeeper-batsman maintained his prolific current run by clouting 114 against the England Lions on the day of the World Cup final at Lord’s

Daniel Brettig15-Jul-2019An Australian squad of 16 for the looming Ashes series, rather than the traditional number of 17, may well play into the hands of Matthew Wade as the selectors look for a utility reserve batsman and back-up wicketkeeper to face England over five Tests.The selection chairman Trevor Hohns has flagged 16 as the number for the final squad, which is to be pared down from the 25 players to assemble in Southampton later this week for a final warm-up match that will conclude with the naming of the group to play the Tests.Wade, who has battered all bowling attacks he has faced in a prolific past 12 months, maintained his run by clouting 114 against the England Lions on the day of the extraordinary World Cup final at Lord’s, in a stand worth 219 with Travis Head. With the national captain Tim Paine taking the gloves for the Tests, Wade’s strong case as a batsman and back-up wicketkeeping skills in the event of a late injury are firming his case for inclusion.”I think I can do both roles,” Wade said in Canterbury. “I’ve played 22 Test matches; they’ve all been as wicketkeeper. So, I think if I manage to get a spot on the tour as that dual role and if anything happens to Tim, I feel I can stand in and catch them if they need me to.”And vice versa, I’m playing more as a bat at the moment as well. Coming here I thought my opportunity would be in that dual role if they wanted to take some extra bowlers or allrounders or what have you. I’m not sure if that’s the case but I feel I can do both if I’m needed.”The 17th spot has customarily gone to a back-up wicketkeeper, a role Wade himself filled in 2013, before Peter Nevill replaced Brad Haddin midway through the 2015 series. In 2009, Graham Manou played his one and only Test at Birmingham when Haddin was injured, while others such as Wade Seccombe, Darren Berry, Tim Zoehrer and Ray Phillips have all filled the role in the past. While the ODI vice-captain Alex Carey enjoyed an outstanding World Cup, his first-class record is modest when lined up against that of the more experienced Wade.”I wasn’t aware [of a 16-man squad] but that might be a good thing if they are looking to take 16, then they’re probably looking for someone to bat and keep,” Wade said. “I feel like I can do that, so fingers crossed I get the tap on the shoulder. If not I’m comfortable with where my game is at and comfortable with what I’ve done on this tour.”The century at Canterbury confirmed that Wade is both extremely well grooved into his style and rhythm of batting – taking his time early in getting to 15 from 47 balls – before taking command against the strongest attack the Australians have encountered on tour so far. He also spoke warmly of Head’s innings, noting how the South Australian captain had curtailed his common tendency of flailing the bat outside the off stump.”Traditionally, over my career, that’s the way I’ve played,” he said. “[I] give myself a pretty good chance to assess the wicket – that slope took a little bit more time than what I thought it would take to get used to – and then, as I went on, my innings certainly flourished a little bit more – runs-wise – but I tend to start like that in first-class cricket anyway.”I think the ball just did a little bit later than what we’re used to, especially early. They pitched a couple up to me and I went to drive and missed them by a little bit, so it was more just getting used to that and adjusting. I bat on off stump anyway, but some of the lefties that came off found it a lot easier batting towards the off stump and then giving themselves a better line up of where their off stump is.”[Head] played the ball really late, he didn’t go too hard outside off stump. He’s done a lot of work there, but over his whole innings, he looked like he played the ball really late, let it come down to him and hit a lot of balls on the square, which over Heady’s career he probably hasn’t hit a lot there. He probably goes down the ground and through gully, so it looks like he’s done a heap of work there and it’s paying off for sure.”Another impressive aspect of Wade’s innings was that his tour had been interrupted by a late call-up to join the Australian squad ahead of their semi-final against England in Birmingham, where he witnessed a heavy defeat and then travelled once more to rejoin the red-ball group in Canterbury.”I thought it was a reward that I was really happy to get,” Wade said. “I’ve gone away from my young family to come here and try and push for selection for World Cup and Ashes, and I suppose it was a little reward for the sacrifices that I’ve made and runs I’ve put on the board over the last 12 months.”

He wasn’t picked for Sri Lanka’s upcoming series against Zimbabwe, but has been named in the 16-member squad for the Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2025Legspinning allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga has been picked in Sri Lanka’s 16-member squad for the Asia Cup. He had injured his hamstring during their previous series against Bangladesh and was left out of Sri Lanka’s upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe, but it is hoped he will be fit for the competition in the UAE.Hasaranga replaces Dushan Hemantha from the squad announced for the Zimbabwe series, while uncapped batter Vishen Halambage has been left out in the only other change from that squad.With Hasaranga’s return, it means the squad going to the Asia Cup has four changes from the one that lost to Bangladesh at home, with Avishka Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Jeffrey Vandersay and Eshan Malinga left out. Batters Nuwanidu Fernando and Kamil Mishara come into the squad, along with fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera.Among the other seam options is Chamika Karunaratne, who is making a comeback into the limited-overs teams. Dasun Shanaka has been picked again as a seam-bowling allrounder as well. Angelo Mathews’ absence suggests the selectors are unlikely to look to him for the T20 World Cup next year. He had retired from Tests earlier in the year, but remained available for white-ball cricket.As left-arm spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage is also in the squad, Sri Lanka have three major spin options, Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana being the others.Sri Lanka will play their first Asia Cup game on September 13 against Bangladesh. They had made the final of the previous Asia Cup, in 2023, and won the 2022 edition.

Sri Lanka squad for Asia Cup

Charith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana

Bancroft appears likely to partner Warner, with Wade looking set to bat No.6, while Hazlewood, Starc and Siddle are in a tussle for the last fast bowling spot

Daniel Brettig at Edgbaston30-Jul-2019Australia’s coach Justin Langer has declared James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja certain starters for the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston, while also consigning Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle to a three-way duel for the final pace bowling spot on a dry-looking pitch and with an unpromising weather forecast.The tourists pushed their main training session forward to Monday with its sunny skies, ahead of an expected stream of showers over the rest of the week, including once the Test begins on Thursday. Khawaja proved his recovery from a hamstring strain through a series of running drills, and spent quality time in the nets against Pattinson, who Langer effectively cleared for a first Test match since 2016 and a first Ashes match since he suffered a side strain midway through the 2013 Lord’s Test.”Usman Khawaja will definitely be in, he’s fit, ready to go, he’s playing well,” Langer said. “He’s a seasoned pro for us, he averages 40-odd in Test cricket, his hammy’s good, he’s running well, he’s passed all the fitness tests so he’s ready to go. He’ll bat No. 3.”ALSO READ: Head softens approach for Ashes questNumerous selection debates remain to be had, although Cameron Bancroft looks highly likely to return alongside David Warner at the top of the batting order, followed by Khawaja, Steven Smith, Travis Head and Matthew Wade. Mitchell Marsh is a contender also, particularly if the pitch continues to get a chance to dry further – something of an open question given that it may well spend much of the next two days under the covers.”Like in all these selections, there’s literally a case for 17 blokes to play,” Langer said. “The opening partnership’s going to be really tough, between Cameron and Marcus Harris, really hard. They’ve both got a really strong case, and then the fast bowling spots. There’s probably three to be fair, Starcy, Peter Siddle and Josh Hazlewood, for one spot.”It was very similar to the World Cup semi-final as well, we got here, it was the same, the grass, but it wasn’t green grass. But we still saw some life in it in that we came unstuck in the semi-final. The wicket doesn’t surprise me, that’s more what I was expecting here.James Pattinson steams in during Australia’s net session•Getty Images

“Because the grass is so brown, there’s no green grass on it, and it’s rock hard and quite dry underneath, I don’t think [wet weather] will make much difference. I’m not a horticulturalist, but I don’t see how that’s going to get green. It might just be a bit of sweating and stuff, but I don’t think it’ll make a difference because of the colour of the grass. Probably the groundsman would give you a better answer than me.”Pattinson’s return not only to the squad but to a position where his selection was all but confirmed three days before the first ball is clearly a source of great enjoyment for the Australian team’s planners, having guided him through numerous injuries and then radical back surgery in New Zealand in late 2017. He forms a key part of an attack that will be shuffled according to the character of the pitches and weather the tourists encounter, much as they did during the World Cup.”Just a very, very good bowler,” Langer said of Pattinson. “I’m sure Painey will work out ways of using him, it’s just nice to see him back, it’s a great story isn’t it, coming back from where he was as a young bowler, the back surgeries, to more than likely being selected for this Test match, it’s a great story.”They won’t be rotated as such, like in the World Cup we’ll pick the best three or four for every game we play. Lord’s is very different to here, Old Trafford’s going to be different. We won’t rotate them per se, but we’ll just pick the best three, probably not four, but three for every game. It won’t be for different opposition, certainly different conditions.”As for Bancroft, whose work at short leg was lauded by Steve Waugh, the tenacious qualities he had shown in battling back to a place in the squad, and more than likely the team, are of the sort that Langer wants to see in every member of the squad.”Whichever ones we pick, that’s what you want from everyone, so it’s not just him,” he said. “I think Matthew Wade’s fought his way back into selection because of that tenacity to keep getting better and he’s knocked so hard on the door. You see it, if Steve Smith averages 60 it shows a bit of tenacity, David Warner’s the same. You want it from all of the players, not just him.”

David Warner insists that his relationship with Steven Smith is intact in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal

Daniel Brettig30-Jun-20182:10

‘There were a lot of mental scars after the Ashes’ – Warner

David Warner insists that his relationship with Steven Smith is intact in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, and has echoed the former captain’s words that a 12-month ban from international cricket is the sort of imposed break from the game that he needed after seven years in a “bubble”.A day after Smith made 61 on his return to cricket at the Global T20 Canada, Warner was bowled by Lasith Malinga second ball in a far briefer stint at the batting crease. But he professed to enjoying the run around the outfield for Winnipeg Hawks, and described the tournament as a small step forward on the road back from his role as the primary instigator of the Cape Town ball-tampering plot, where he instructed Cameron Bancroft on how to use sandpaper on the ball, with the tacit approval of Smith.”It definitely has been [tough], not just for me but for my family, obviously the fans out there that support cricket and Australian cricket, so I’m responsible for that, that’s my fault and why I’ve had some tough times,” Warner said in Toronto. “But I’m an adult, I’m big, strong, I’ll move forward and keep continuing to move forward and making sure I’m doing the right things at the right times to keep playing the best cricket I can.”Steve and me are good mates. If people hang in the hotel, they’ll see us hanging out with each other and stuff. At the end of the day, it was a big thing that happened and for us, you’ve got to handle it in your individual way and then how you handle it collectively. We haven’t really been able to catch up because he’s been away, Cameron’s been in Perth and I’ve been doing what I’m doing and got family at home. So it’s been hard, but this has been good, we’ve had numerous chats and I’m sure we’ll hang out plenty more, we’re in the same hotel.”Another member of the Newlands team, Mitchell Starc, had described the way relationships in the team had been strained: “It was such a stressful time in our lives. There was strain on relationships both as individuals and as a team. However, the relationships of that group remain very much intact. I look forward to the opportunity to play alongside every one of my team-mates from that tour again. We still have a long way to go in rebuilding the trust with the Australian public and I know personally, that I am 100% committed to doing that.”David Warner celebrates a wicket as Australia close in•Getty Images

On his return home from South Africa, Warner had considered taking his Cricket Australia code-of-conduct sanction to a formal hearing before accepting his punishment alongside Smith and Bancroft. He said the ban, which has also seen him barred from taking any leadership positions in Australian cricket ever, had proven beneficial in allowing him more time at home. One of the flow-on effects was the cancelling of his IPL contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad, meaning Warner missed the tournament for the first time since its inaugural edition in 2008.”Being at home for the last 12 weeks has been great for me,” Warner said. “There were a lot of mental scars after the Ashes and that probably saw my form [dip] and maybe [for] Steve as well in the one-day series against England. It takes a lot out of you, and moving onto South Africa and what happened, it was really tough. We’re responsible for that and we’re moving on. But to get back out here and play cricket is really good for us mentally. I was excited about the chance to come here and play, and to do what we love. Can’t sit at home and dwell on the past, you’ve got to move forward, and I felt this was a great opportunity to get out there, play cricket and be happy.”If you were stuck inside this tent for 365 days you’d probably go insane, so in the bubble we’ve been in for the last six or seven years, you need time out and I think this 12 months is going to be a good reflection upon myself as a person and a character, as a dad and a family man. The last 12 weeks have been tough, but it’s enabled me to spend a lot of time with my family, and that’s something I’ll always cherish every day. To have my daughter on Facetime and say that she misses me and loves me and she wants to come over here and watch cricket, I’m excited that they want to get back into it as well. It’s those things we miss.”I’m extremely grateful for cricket and what it’s brought me; the game owes me nothing. To be here, I’m just so grateful for Canadian cricket to have this tournament and it’s a reflection of what we do day in and day out. It’s tough on the road, all three forms, but a lot of time in this next eight or nine months to ponder and think about what my future holds. I’m just grateful to be back out playing cricket.”Unlike Smith or Bancroft, Warner did not give any overt indications about returning to play for Australia when his ban expires in March 2019. CA’s punishment included a clause stating that the place of all three players in the esteem of the Australian public would be a factor in whether or not they were reinstated.”Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and I look back at the past that’s happened and the sanctions that have been handed down by the ICC, it is what it is,” Warner said of his critics. “For us to come out here and play the game we love, we’re very fortunate for that and grateful for that opportunity that Canada cricket have given us. Critics will be critics, that’s why they’re behind the keyboards, they do what they do and we just move forward and try and ignore that.”For me it’s about getting back into the rhythm of cricket again, making sure I’m putting my best foot forward for this tournament, making sure that I’m putting 100% in all the time, giving advice to the guys who don’t get the opportunity to play on the big stage as well, and just to compete. It’s been a long three months, thinking that I probably wouldn’t be over here, but it’s a good opportunity, I’m excited about it, and I look forward to the rest of the tournament.”

Leicestershire plunge into trouble despite Sol Budinger’s aggressive half-century

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Jul-2025Birmingham Bears boosted their chances of qualifying for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals for a fifth consecutive season as they eased past Leicestershire Foxes at the Uptonsteel County Ground, winning by six wickets with 10 balls to spare.The Foxes were bowled out for 154 in 19.3 overs, Pakistan international pace bowler Hasan Ali finishing with 4 for 22 – all four wickets in the opening powerplay. Sol Budinger made 51 off 24 balls but allrounder Logan van Beek’s 26 was the next best score, Richard Gleeson and Danny Briggs picking up two wickets each for the Bears.Half-centuries from Sam Hain (55 from 38 balls) and Dan Mousley (64 not out from 48) then got the job done as Bears move level on 20 points with the Foxes in a tight North Group.After the Birmingham-based visitors chose to bowl, an extraordinary opening powerplay saw Budinger smash 40 off 17 balls but the Foxes careered from 38 without loss to 71 for 4 after two stunning overs from Hasan.There were eight boundaries from the first 13 deliveries, culminating in Budinger walloping Hasan’s first ball over the rope at midwicket in what looked potentially another big night for the explosive left-hander, who smashed a 15-ball half-century against Derbyshire on the opening night of Leicestershire’s season.But how the picture changed. Hasan, who took a hat-trick against Derbyshire in figures of 6 for 23 a month ago, now dismissed Rishi Patel, caught at long-off, and international team-mate Shan Masood, tamely bunting to extra cover, with consecutive balls. Budinger picked up a second six in taking 19 off Mousley but Hasan immediately grabbed back the spotlight by bowling Rehan Ahmed, stepping across, and trapping Louis Kimber in front with the first and fifth balls of his second over.By the 12th over, the Foxes were 102 for 7 after Budinger had been caught on the slog-sweep, Liam Trevaskis holed out to wide long-on and Ben Cox was bowled playing back to Gleeson.Van Beek and Tom Scriven added 36 but it took five overs and the momentum from the start of the innings had completely dissipated, Gleeson (2-24), Mousley and Ed Barnard picking up a wicket apiece at the death as the home side were dismissed in 19.3 overs.Leicestershire took two wickets in the powerplay but the Bears were comfortable at 59 for 2 from six, although New Zealand batter Tom Latham made only a single before he was caught at cover off Sam Wood after Alex Davies had been caught behind attempting to hook van Beek.By halfway the target was down to 60 at 95 for 2 with Hain and Mousley able to progress without taking too many risks with no need to chase boundaries beyond those that were there for the taking.Hain and Mousley both survived difficult chances but with the last five overs arriving with only 21 more needed, the result was effectively decided, even though Hain would be caught at long-on off Kimber before the Foxes skipper collected a second wicket in Moeen Ali with a return catch. Mousley struck Josh Hull to the cover boundary for the winning runs.

Wanindu Hasaranga has been named captain after missing the IPL to get fit in time for the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2024Left-arm spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage has made Sri Lanka’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup despite never having played a T20 international. Top-order batter Kamindu Mendis, and round-arm seamer Nuwan Thushara are also in the 15.From the older cohort, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dasun Shanaka also find places in the squad.The team is led by Wanindu Hasaranga, who missed the IPL with a long-standing heel injury, largely so he would be fit for the World Cup. He has made his return to competitive cricket in the ongoing practice matches in Sri Lanka, where he has batted in the first two matches but not bowled.Wellalage has been chosen more for his skillset, rather than performances in T20s, or form. In addition to bowling good left-arm spin, he’s also capable of hitting boundaries from lower down the order, and is also an excellent fielder. The selectors are understood to have thought of him as a handy utility player in a World Cup campaign. Wellalage has had some success in international cricket, most memorably in an Asia Cup ODI match against India in 2023, when he took five wickets.Missing out on selection are players like opening batter Avishka Fernando, left-arm seamer Binura Fernando, and batter Kusal Perera. Avishka had modest performances on the tour of Bangladesh in March, Kusal Perera had not impressed selectors after a long injury layoff, and Binura has been outperformed by Thushara, who took 5 for 20 including a hat-trick in his last international outing.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The batting order is somewhat predictable: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka and Angelo Mathews are likely to form the top six. On the spin front, they have Maheesh Theekshana and captain Hasaranga as likely first-choice players, with Hasaranga poised to go up the order when required.There is serious competition for fast-bowling places, however, with Dushmantha Chameera the likeliest starter, but with Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, and Dilshan Madushanka providing tough competition.Sri Lanka are in group D at the T20 World Cup along with Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands and South Africa. They play their first game of the tournament against South Africa on June 3 in New York, before travelling to Dallas to play Bangladesh on June 8. Their last two group games are against Nepal and Netherlands, in Florida on June 12 and St Lucia on June 17.

Sri Lanka squad for 2024 T20 World Cup

Wanindu Hasaranga (capt), Charith Asalanka (vc), Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dilshan MadushankaTravelling reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage