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CSK can inch closer to the playoffs with a win, while Capitals will join the mid-table huddle if they can add two points to their kitty

Ashish Pant09-May-20235:40

Is Ruturaj doing the job for CSK as an opener?

Big picture: Can Delhi Capitals breach Chepauk fortress?

A campaign that seemed to have fizzled out even before taking off has suddenly found life. Delhi Capitals lost their first five games on the bounce, but have won four of five games after that and are now in with a shot of joining the mid-table jam in IPL 2023. Capitals are still placed last on the points table, but as things stand, there is only a three-point difference between them and third-placed Lucknow Super Giants.To keep their chances alive, though, Capitals must first get past Chennai Super Kings, something they have failed to do more often than they have over the years. Capitals have beaten CSK in Chennai only on two occasions in eight attempts, the last being in 2010, and the head-to-head record is also skewed in CSK’s favour: they have won 17 of the 27 games over the years. CSK’s run at Chepauk this year, though, has been patchy. They have won three and lost two so far.Related

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Both sides come into his game on the back of confident wins. While CSK steamrolled Mumbai Indians by six wickets on Saturday evening, Capitals took down a 188-run target against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 16.4 overs the same night.A big reason behind Capitals’ revival has been their spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, mainly – who have restricted the opposition to sub-140 totals in three of their last five matches. Their spinners have been the most economical amongst all teams in the competition going at 6.9 an over, which might come in handy on a Chepauk surface that showed signs of slowing down last time around.It won’t, however, be easy against a rampaging CSK top order, led by, Devon Conway (458 runs at a strike rate of 139.20), Ruturaj Gaikwad (384 at 148.26), Shivam Dube (290 at 156.75) and Ajinkya Rahane (245 at 181.48). They have the joint-best powerplay scoring rate of 9.5 this season, and have recorded 50-plus scores in eight out of ten innings in that phase this IPL.CSK currently sit second on the points table with 13 points, and a win will push them closer to a playoff spot.

Team news: Will CSK field Stokes even if he’s fit?

Ben Stokes has been batting and bowling in the nets, but even if he is fit, it will be tough for CSK to slot him, considering their overseas players – Conway, Moeen Ali, Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana/Mitchell Santner – have been doing well. “I’m pretty sure Stokes is available for selection but it comes down to the balance of the squad” Mike Hussey, the CSK batting coach, said on the subject on the eve of the game.And guess who has the best average and best strike rate of the CSK batters? Yup, MS Dhoni has 76 runs in 38 balls this season, his average is 76.00 (one dismissal in seven innings) and strike rate is 200.00.Anrich Nortje had to fly back to South Africa following a personal emergency and missed Capitals’ last game. He is unavailable for the game against CSK as well on Wednesday. Shane Watson, Capitals’ assistant coach, expects Nortje to return to the IPL for the back end of the tournament.

The big question

Form guide: Capitals look to make it three in three

Chennai Super Kings WNRLLW
Delhi Capitals WWLWW

Impact Player strategy

Ambati Rayudu has consistently been CSK’s Impact Player this season, replacing one of the bowlers when they chase, and that trend is likely to continue. If they bat first, Rayudu will likely start, with Tushar Deshpande or Theekshana coming in as the sub in the second innings.CSK probable XII: 1 Devon Conway, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 , 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Matheesha Pathirana, 12 Capitals have followed a straightforward batter-for-bowler swap as far as the impact-sub rule is concerned. If they bat first, Ripal Patel or Sarfaraz Khan will likely start, with Ishant Sharma coming in the second innings, and vice-versa. Depending on the surface, Capitals might also look to bring in offspinner Lalit Yadav into the mix for a quick.Capitals probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 David Warner (capt), 3 Mitchell Marsh 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Aman Hakim Khan, 6 Manish Pandey, 7 Axar Patel, 8 , 9 Khaleel Ahmed/Lalit Yadav, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mukesh Kumar 12 1:10

Ruturaj: I don’t want to face Pathirana in the nets

Numbers that matter: Warner vs Theekshana

• Kuldeep should be kept away from Conway and Moeen. While Conway strikes at 268.42 against Kuldeep in T20s, Moeen has a strike rate of 287.5 against him.
• David Warner and Axar have never fallen to Ravindra Jadeja in T20s. Warner has struck Jadeja for 92 runs in 55 balls across seven innings, while Axar has scored 66 off 38 in nine innings.
• But Warner has fallen to Theekshana three times in six innings and averages 18.66 against him.
• Capitals have hit the least number of sixes in the tournament so far – 42.

Pitch and conditions

Scores of 200 have been breached four times this season in Chennai in ten innings. The surface did show signs of slowing down last time, but there was not much turn on offer for the spinners. The surface should be better for batters in the night game and dew might also come into play. It has been cloudy in Chennai for the last few days, but rain isn’t forecast for Wednesday.

Bangladesh captain refuses to blame conditions for their tense defeat in a rain-hit game

Sidharth Monga02-Nov-2022Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has refused to complain about resuming the game too early, and instead said that they panicked while chasing the DLS-adjusted target, which he felt most teams would have done.Bangladesh had India rattled in a chase of 185, thanks to a stunning assault from opener Litton Das who had raced away to 59 off 26 when rain interrupted their charge. Their 66 for 0 in seven overs was 17 ahead of the DLS par score. When play resumed, Das slipped twice when running on the first two balls. The second of those cost him his wicket after which Bangladesh fell six short of the required 85 in nine overs.”Nobody in our dressing room talked about fair or unfair,” Shakib said about the resumption of play. “We wanted to play. We wanted to win. Everyone tried their best, but we came short.”Related

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Shakib was asked looking at how the initial conditions were slippery did he wish they had started 10-15 minutes later? “That is the decision umpires make,” Shakib said. “We don’t make that decision. We are there to play cricket. Both teams wanted to play full 20 overs. Unfortunately rain interrupted. I am happy the way both teams played. It was played in the right spirit. Both teams played really well, we were very close like the 2016 World Cup, but not close enough.”So were the conditions slippery when they resumed? “It was a little slippery the amount of rain it had had,” Shakib said. “But normally that suits the batting side rather than the bowling side. We should not make that an excuse.”Shakib even said Das could have shown better awareness after he slipped for the first time, and that he should perhaps have run on the edge of the pitch and not the grass. While taking the second, Das slipped but didn’t fall like the first time when he even injured his wrist. However, the time he lost was enough for a KL Rahul direct hit from the deep to catch him short.Litton Das’ run-out for 60 turned the game in Adelaide•ICC/Getty Images

“It was unfortunate that Litton slipped, but I don’t know if he ran on the pitch or in the grass between the pitches,” Shakib said. “If he had run on the grass, he should have been careful and run on the pitch the next time.”Shakib was asked if it was lack of experience or an emotional response that they played too many shots immediately after resumption. “Combination of both lack of experience and panicking,” Shakib said. “We were pretty relaxed in the dressing room. We knew what was coming our way. When we got the target of 85 runs in nine overs, we [said we] will take that. With wickets in hand. Bhuvi was almost done too [Bhuvneshwar Kumar had bowled three overs by then]. You take that challenge, and chase that down. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it.”It was down to 52 required off five overs with eight wickets in hand, a walk in park for most teams. “Most teams would have got those 52 runs,” Shakib said. “We should have chased it down. I thought we were capable. It didn’t happen unfortunately. Maybe we panicked in the middle order, playing too many shots. We lost the momentum big time in two-three overs. Nurul [Hasan] and Taskin [Ahmed] almost brought us back into contention later on. T20 matches change every over. If you look at the last two overs, many teams can now get 30 in the last two overs. We couldn’t do it, but we can take a lot of positives from this game.”

Nottinghamshire new-ball pair share nine as visitors skittled for 85 on final day

ECB Reporters Network28-Jul-2023Five wickets for Dane Paterson and four for Brett Hutton consigned Kent to a rapid and damaging defeat in their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge, where they were bowled out for 85 to drop into the bottom two in Division One with only three matches to play.Paterson finished with 5 for 41 in 10 overs, while Hutton’s 4 for 44 allowed him to celebrate a 50-wicket season for the first time in his first-class career, giving him 52 so far. Kent skipper Jack Leaning’s 21 was a paltry top score as Kent, theoretically chasing 407 to win from 72 overs, were dismissed in just 21.3 overs.Earlier, Will Young and Ben Slater had both made 87 and Joe Clarke 73 before Nottinghamshire declared their second innings on 372 some 40 minutes or so before lunch.The result gives Nottinghamshire 22 points, which is probably enough to ensure they remain in Division One for another season after being promoted in 2022.Slater, his eyes on a second hundred in the match, fell to the fifth ball of the day, unable to add to his overnight score, but otherwise Nottinghamshire’s plans on how to set up a run chase could not have gone better.If anything, they went too well, the scoreboard turning so rapidly that skipper Steven Mullaney might well have had to think again about when to declare given the overs left in the match. When he did decide the moment was right, some 196 runs had been added in just 78 minutes following Nottinghamshire’s resumption on 176 for 1.Of those, 114 came off just 77 balls in a blistering third-wicket stand between New Zealand’s Young, who made 87 in the last innings of his brief attachment to the county, and Clarke, whose 73 from 40 balls would have felt like the perfect preparation for his upcoming stint with Welsh Fire in the Hundred.Clarke hit three sixes, matching Young’s tally of maximums in half the number of balls, and there were a couple each for Mullaney and Lyndon James, who hammered 42 in 18 balls for the sixth wicket before Mullaney’s dismissal, bowled aiming to inflict more damage in an Arafat Bhuiyan over that had already gone for 20, prompted the declaration.Eventually caught at deep midwicket, Clarke should have gone for 26 but Arshdeep Singh, in his final outing for Kent, dropped a regulation catch at mid-off. Joey Evison, the disappointed bowler and Clarke’s former Trent Bridge team-mate, was only too aware of how costly that mistake might be.Like Clarke, Young and Tom Moores were caught in the deep going for big returns as Nottinghamshire ultimately pushed the Kent target beyond 400, which was never likely to be a realistic ask of a side lacking so many front-line batters through injuries and international calls.Yet draw still looked within their capabilities and the rapid unravelling of that possibility came as a surprise.In the eight overs before lunch, their top three all departed. Toby Albert copped a beauty from Hutton to fall for a fourth-ball duck, Ben Geddes fell victim to a fine, rapid-reaction catch by Slater at short leg off Paterson and Ben Compton was leg before to a swinging ball as the South African celebrated his second success.Lunch did nothing to stiffen Kent’s resolve, with Harry Finch soon leg before as Hutton claimed his 50th of the season, before Leaning was caught behind off a bottom edge to make it 59 for 5.Paterson had Evison caught low down at third slip and Matt Quinn on the boundary as a merrily brief innings ended with a top-edged pull. Alex Blake knew his fate immediately as he saw Mullaney readying himself for the catch as he heaved Hutton over midwicket and Arshdeep, having launched Paterson for six over the leg side, perished next ball, well caught by a diving Hutton at deep backward square attempting a repeat.The two pacemen each took a breather after 10 overs, but Kent’s demise was quickly completed as Bhuiyan gave Haseeb Hameed’s legbreaks a maiden first-class wicket.

Gunaratne’s maiden century in vain as Ireland romp home in the final over

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2024Orla Prendergast pulled off a stunning heist, picking up 3 for 25 and following it up with an unbeaten 122 off 107 balls as Ireland beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in the first ODI in Dublin.Sent in, Sri Lanka rode on Vishmi Gunaratne’s maiden ODI century to rack up 260 for 8. In reply, Prendergast scored a maiden ODI century of her own to help Ireland record their first successful chase of over 200 in ODIs. This was also Ireland’s first ODI win over Sri Lanka in five attempts.Chasing 261, Ireland lost Gaby Lewis for 9 off 24 balls. Sarah Forbes got a few boundaries away, adding 49 for the second wicket with Amy Hunter before being trapped lbw by Sachini Nisansala. Hunter started briskly, scoring 42 off 45 balls, which included four fours in a 47-run third-wicket stand with Prendergast. When Leah Paul also fell soon after, Prendergast took it upon herself to take the chase forward.Prendergast reached her fifty with a four off Kavisha Dilhari off 57 balls. Even as Ireland lost wickets at regular intervals from the other end, Prendergast kept the scoreboard ticking. In the last three overs, Ireland needed 30 runs with just three wickets in hand. The 48th over, though, turned the match in their favour as Prendergast hit Dilhari for two fours and a six. The first of those fours also brought her a century, off 97 balls. That 18-run over reduced the equation to 12 required from two overs.It was fitting that Prendergast hit the winning single, off the second ball of the final over. Her unbeaten 122 was the second-highest score while batting at a No. 4 or lower in a women’s ODI chase.Getty Images

Earlier, Gunaratne became just the second Sri Lanka batter after Chamari Athapaththu to score an ODI century. Athapaththu’s return – having missed the T20I series – lasted just one ball as she was caught behind off Prendergast. Harshitha Samarawickrama took 11 balls to get off the mark but struck four fours in her 19 before being cleaned up by Alana Dalzell in the eighth over. Gunaratne and Hasini Perera then joined forces to take the innings forward.Gunaratne got going with a six off Dalzell and then struck debutant Alice Tector for two fours in the ninth over. After reaching her fifty, off 58 balls, she upped the scoring rate further.In the 30th over, she hit Jane Maguire for a six to move to 96 and brought up her hundred, off 97 balls, with a four off Arlene Kelly in the next over. She was dismissed on the next ball but not before adding 122 with Perera for the third wicket.Sri Lanka lost Dilhari and Perera in quick time, but useful contributions from the lower middle order saw them score 62 in the last ten overs, and 36 in the last five. That took them to a competitive total but it was not sufficient.

Ben Curran scored a quick half-century on Test debut, and set the tone for Zimbabwe’s total of 363 on day one

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2024Zimbabwe had as many as three debutants in the Boxing Day Test against Afghanistan in Bulawayo. One of them, opening batter Ben Curran, went on to score 68 on day one, while the other two debutants were pace bowlers Trevor Gwandu and Newman Nyamhuri.Curran reached his half-century off just 54 balls, and hit 11 boundaries during his stay of 74 deliveries. After the day’s play, Sean Williams, who ended unbeaten on 145, felt Curran’s approach helped set the tone for Zimbabwe, who ended up scoring 363 at 4.27 runs an over.”I think it’s huge. That intent and those partnerships going forward, it’s amazing,” Williams said. “The intent one batsman shows, allows the other batsman to score. It’s like, he ends up benefiting from your intent. And that’s what we want in the team.”Related

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Williams said players like him, Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza have been “around for a long time”, and that Zimbabwe wanted the incoming debutants to just have “clear minds”.”It’s kind of like going back to grade one again, and it’s actually really refreshing as a senior to go back and review all of those things that you used to do in a team meeting – taking notes, doing this thing, analysing, [and] checking your videos,” he said. “Things like that, these younger guys, we’re encouraging them to do.”Zimbabwe entered the Test series on the back of defeats to Afghanistan in both the T20I and the ODI series with their batting coming under criticism. But Williams, and half-centurions Curran and Ervine, helped Zimbabwe dominate the opening day of the first Test in what was a turnaround of fortunes for the hosts. Williams put that down to having “clear plans”.”Going into training, coming to a meeting, and being absolutely clear on what you need to do,” he said. “Keeping that good ball out, but scoring off the bad ball. And that’s the intent that we’re after from all of us… Every bowler bowls bad balls. But you have to put them away and you have to be brave enough to be able to try to put them away.”

Scrimshaw, Eskinazi, Mousley also in contention for deals ahead of second tournament

Matt Roller06-Jul-2022Richard Gleeson is top of several teams’ shortlists ahead of the Hundred’s wildcard draft on Thursday after his stellar form in the T20 Blast for Lancashire earned him a first full England call-up at the age of 34.Gleeson is not expected to play in Thursday’s first T20I against India at the Ageas Bowl but looks certain to be picked up as a £30,000 wildcard signing earlier in the day. He was due to play for Manchester Originals in the inaugural competition but withdrew due to his back injury, and their coach Simon Katich will be able to use their ‘right-to-match’ card if another team attempts to sign him first.The wildcard draft will see each of the eight men’s teams add one final player to their squad based on performances in the Blast. Last year, Jake Lintott was picked up as a wildcard by Southern Brave and finished the season as their leading wicket-taker as they won the inaugural tournament.Teams will pick in reverse order to last year’s wildcard draft, meaning Birmingham Phoenix will pick first and Northern Superchargers will pick last. Last month, each team also picked a wildcard overseas player.Along with Gleeson, George Scrimshaw is likely to be picked up after his performances for Derbyshire earned him selection in the England Lions squad to play South Africa in two 50-over games next week. Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi, Warwickshire batter Dan Mousley and Leicestershire allrounder Ben Mike have also been mentioned in conversations with teams as possible wildcards.The ECB have also confirmed to teams – though not to media – that Toby Roland-Jones has been signed by London Spirit as a replacement for Blake Cullen, who will miss the second season of the Hundred with a back injury.Related

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ESPNcricinfo understands that Northern Superchargers have lined up Michael Pepper, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter, as a replacement for Luke Wright, who is expected to withdraw from the tournament to fulfil his coaching commitments with New Zealand, though the deal had not been officially confirmed to other Hundred teams by Wednesday evening.Wright is approaching the end of his playing career and played only eight of Sussex’s 14 T20 Blast games this season, struggling with a foot injury. He is due to act as an assistant coach on New Zealand’s white-ball tours to Europe and the Caribbean and will be part of Auckland’s support staff from this winter onwards, though he intends to see out the final year of his Sussex contract next summer.The move would mean that Wright, the all-time leading run-scorer in English domestic T20 cricket, may never play a game in the Hundred, having been an unused squad member at Trent Rockets last summer.Pick order: 1 Birmingham Phoenix, 2 Welsh Fire, 3 London Spirit, 4 Manchester Originals, 5 Southern Brave, 6 Trent Rockets, 7 Oval Invincibles, 8 Northern Superchargers

Mo Bobat said that his players have not been able to play to their potential, backing Maxwell to find his form soon

Hemant Brar14-Apr-20242:54

What’s gone wrong with Siraj this season?

Mo Bobat, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s director of cricket, feels it is “not easy to gain home advantage” at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Over the years, RCB have struggled to convert their home venue into a fortress, and this year has been no different. Alongside Punjab Kings, they have the joint-worst home record in IPL 2024, with just one win from their three home games.”Winning at home is quite tricky [for us],” Bobat said on the eve of their next home game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad. “It’s a sort of ground – because of its small boundaries – that is a bit more of a leveller. So it’s quite hard to get home advantage compared to a bigger ground. Or if there are conditions that tilt one way or the other, you can try to build your team to maximise those conditions. So it’s a hard thing for us to do.Related

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“From our perspective, what we’ve tried to do is try to have pitches that have pace and bounce in them, hopefully, because we are seam-bowling heavy and our top-order batters are really good against quick bowling.”We try to work closely with the curators to try to make sure we get exactly what we want, and to be fair to them, they are trying really hard to deliver that. But at this stage of the year, there has been a lot of cricket on this square – the WPL was here, a lot of other cricket was here – so we haven’t always got that here.”The simple answer is that it’s not that easy to gain home advantage at the Chinnaswamy. It’s the sort of place where everybody fancies having a go at a big score and if you get on the wrong side of the toss, it’s difficult to defend.”After six games, RCB have just one win and are at the bottom of the points table. A big reason behind that has been the lack of runs from their overseas batters, particularly Glenn Maxwell.Glenn Maxwell’s poor form has hurt RCB this season•BCCI

Last IPL, Maxwell had smashed 400 runs at an average of 33.33 and a strike rate of 183.48. This time he has managed only 32 runs in six innings. Only once has he lasted beyond five balls – against Kolkata Knight Riders, when he made a 19-ball 28 with the help of two dropped catches. His current average of 5.33 is the lowest for an overseas batter who has batted in the top five at least six times in an IPL season.”Look, firstly, he is disappointed,” Bobat said of Maxwell. “He obviously has high standards, and he has had a very impressive 12 to 24 months. He is a really important part of our batting line-up, particularly in those middle overs where we want to attack spin bowling, in particular, of which he is one of the best players in the world. We are trying to support him as best we can and help him find his best form.”Mohammed Siraj is having a similar slump in the bowling department. He was RCB’s highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023 with 19 scalps at an economy of 7.50. This year, he has picked up just four wickets from six games at an eye-watering economy of 10.40.”He probably feels himself that he hasn’t quite been at his best,” Bobat said. “We all know Mohammed Siraj is a sort of player that when he is on song, you can see his rhythm, his body language, he is aggressive. So we are trying to help him get back to that place where he can trust his best ball and bowl with aggression. But it’s difficult to show that body language and intent when you’re not feeling quite confident.”There aren’t quick fixes to some of these things, and the coaches are working hard to support the players. But look, what is true is that we’re talking about some champion cricketers who will find their form, we just hope it’s sooner rather than later.”In their previous game, against Mumbai Indians, RCB tried changing the personnel, bringing in Will Jacks for Cameron Green. It didn’t bring immediate success but Bobat is hopeful a couple of wins will put their campaign on the right track.”We’re getting close to the halfway point of the competition, and there’s no hiding away from the fact that we haven’t played the way we want to play,” Bobat said. “When you go into the competition, you work out what your best chances of winning are. You set the strategy, and you come in and you expect the players to deliver.”What you try next is you look at different selection options, different combinations. We have already looked at a couple of different personnel changes, and we will continue to think about whether any selection changes can enhance the team.”And selection is only one tool. There are other ways to improve the team as well. One really pleasing thing is the team environment feels very strong and the players are very well-connected. As most of us have been involved in league cricket, we spend time in environments… when you get bad results, the environment isn’t always healthy. I think our environment is excellent – the captain [Faf du Plessis] and coach [Andy Flower] deserve a lot of credit for that. So if we can get one or two performances under our belt and play the way we want to play, I think that will turn it around.”

The Sylhet Test will be NZ’s first in eight months and first in Bangladesh in ten years

Mohammad Isam26-Nov-2023Daryl Mitchell is looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet, after the World Cup humdrum, when New Zealand return to Test cricket after eight months in Sylhet. It will also be the first Test for both New Zealand and Bangladesh in the third cycle of the World Test Championship. Mitchell is coming off a strong run in the World Cup where he struck two centuries, both against India.”A bit more patience is required going from white ball to Test cricket,” Mitchell said. “You can breathe and relax a little bit. The surfaces are turning. We will keep adapting. We will see what we get on day one.”It is always special to play in that tournament in front of millions of people. It is also about recognising what an opportunity we have here at the start of the World Test Championship. How much it means to wear that baggy with the silver fern on.”He also said that New Zealand are focussing on short-term goals rather than thinking about the ultimate goal of reaching the WTC final.”We obviously know it is the end goal,” Mitchell said. “That’s what every country taking part in the World Test Championship wants to do. For us, it is about making small goals. Trying to tick off games as we go. First, we have to take on Bangladesh. It is always a tough challenge in Bangladesh.”Conditions are foreign to us as Kiwis so it is about adapting as quickly as we can to these surfaces, and getting stuck to win little moments. It is what we are speaking about. We are not looking too far ahead. At the same time, you want to be part of those big games. That’s why you play Test cricket.”Related

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Sylhet, incidentally, has hosted just one Test previously but while conditions will be alien to both sets of players, New Zealand coach Luke Ronchi said that his side has developed their skills in the sub-continent. This, despite New Zealand having last played a Test in Bangladesh in 2013.”Ten years is a long, long time,” Ronchi said. “That’s when Ish Sodhi made his Test debut. Some of the guys were young so their style of play would have changed a lot. We played a lot of cricket in the sub-continent. We have toured Pakistan as well. The guys have their own tactics to play around the world.”You can see the reverse-sweep coming into it a lot more now. It makes life difficult for bowlers. But that’s how guys want to play. They need to adapt to that surface whichever way they think is the best way for them to score.”Ronchi said that the ODI World Cup in India on slow pitches has prepared them for the Test series on similar tracks in Bangladesh. “It would have been a big change if we came from the green wickets of New Zealand straight to Bangladesh,” he said. “But for the majority of our group here, they have been in the World Cup. They have been practicing on slower and turning surfaces so that it helps us in this Test series.”As for Mitchell, he put the World Cup behind him, though he savoured his presence in the ICC’s team of the tournament. “It is cool to be recognised with [a place in the World Cup team of the tournament]. It means you are contributing to the team and helping to win games,” Mitchell said. “There’s not much time to reflect. We are straight into Test cricket. You want to stay present, and be ready to go for the Test team. But also, a very special eight weeks in India. Those memories will last a lifetime.”

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

Visitors bowled out for 92 in a session to confirm crushing 399-run defeat

ECB Reporters Network27-Jun-2023James Rew notched his fourth LV= Insurance County Championship century of the season to help Somerset complete a 399-run rout of Nottinghamshire inside three days at Taunton.The 19-year-old wicketkeeper hit a career-best 123 not out as his side ran up 514 for 8 declared in their second innings to set their opponents an unlikely victory target of 492. George Bartlett, unbeaten on 109 overnight, fell for 134, just three short of his career-best score, while Kasey Aldridge weighed in with 50. Lyndon James had the best bowling figures for Notts with 2 for 64 from 18 overs.The visitors then slumped to 92 all out in their second innings, Josh Davey taking 4 for 17, to suffer the heaviest Championship defeat by a margin of runs in their history. They took three points from the game, while their opponents claimed 19.Somerset began the day on 268 for 4, knowing that the second new ball was just an over away. Any hopes Notts had of using it to reestablish their first day advantage soon disappeared.Bartlett and Rew, who set out on 17, batted confidently through the opening hour, taking few risks and eliminating the errors that had cost Somerset dear in their first innings. They had taken their fifth-wicket stand to 89 and the total to 320 when Bartlett, who had begun his innings with his team 43 for 2, was bowled by Dane Paterson, having faced 265 balls and hit 14 fours and a six.Rew has demonstrated a passion for batting long in red-ball cricket since first breaking into Somerset’s side last season. The young left-hander reached a typically unflurried fifty off 105 deliveries and played through the morning session without alarm.By lunch, he had moved to 60 and the lead was 342. Aldridge was on 17 and the afternoon session saw the pair build another substantial stand. Rew unleashed sixes over long-on and midwicket off Matt Carter, whose offspin posed as little threat as the seamers on what was looking a very flat pitch.Aldridge took the lead past 400 with a cover-driven boundary off Brett Hutton before Rew brought up the fifth first-class hundred of his short career off 172 balls, with 10 fours and 2 sixes.Aldridge has grown in confidence with the bat this season. He went to fifty off 88 balls, but was then bowled by James, having hit 5 fours. By then Somerset had posted 447 for 6 and their lead had grown to 424.It was then just a case of when skipper Tom Abell would choose to declare. By the time he did, Craig Overton and Matt Henry had warmed up for their bowling duties with some lusty blows, Henry clearing the ropes twice, while the ever-vigilant Rew had extended his rock solid innings to span 216 balls and just over four-and-three-quarter hours.Tea was taken before Notts began their mammoth task. It became even more mountainous when Haseeb Hammed was run out without scoring, sent back attempting a single to backward point and undone by Bartlett’s direct hit.It was 2 for 2 when Henry, bowling around the wicket, jagged one into left-hander Ben Slater’s pads to pin him lbw and 10 for 3 when Matthew Montgomery edged a defensive shot off Overton to Aldridge at second slip.Notts captain Steven Mullaney found himself walking to the crease at 14 for 4 after Joe Clarke had been snapped up at second slip by Overton to give Henry his eighth wicket of the match.The extra pace of Somerset’s opening bowlers was making the pitch look very different. And when Josh Davey replaced Overton, his first over saw James edge a drive to Tom Lammonby at third slip. Henry, whose bowling on the second morning had changed the course of the game took a rest having taken 2 for 19 from eight overs and his replacement, Aldridge, soon had Mullaney caught behind for 23 to make it 62 for 6.Hutton sportingly walked when inside-edging Davey to wicketkeeper Rew, who claimed another victim when Tom Moores, on 24, nicked a ball from Aldridge. Davey then cleaned up Jake Ball and Dane Paterson to spark joyous celebrations among home supporters.