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Harry Tector hit 64 off 33 balls but Ireland were still comfortably outplayed in Malahide

Deivarayan Muthu26-Jun-202212-over game
Harry Tector cracked a career-best 64 not out off 33 balls, but India hunted down 109 in a 12-over shootout in the first T20I of the season at Malahide. After intermittent rain and a wet outfield delayed the start of play by just over two hours, Tector’s one-man show led an Ireland rally from 22 for 3 to a competitive total.That, however, seemed a lot less competitive once Ishan Kishan dashed out of the blocks. Although seamer Craig Young cut Kishan’s innings short at 26 off 11 and then pinned Suryakumar Yadav for a duck next ball, Deepak Hooda, promoted to open the batting for the first time in his 160-match T20 career, ushered India home with 16 balls to spare.Bhuvneshwar revels in powerplay
A greenish Malahide track that offered both swing and seam was right up Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s alley. After moving one away from Andy Balbirnie, Bhuvneshwar let rip an inswinger that hit the top of the Ireland captain’s off stump and sent him packing for a duck.Bhuvneshwar then greeted No. 3 Gareth Delany with a sharper inswinger which pinged the pad, but it was doing too much to threaten the stumps. Bhuvneshwar’s two overs in a truncated four-over powerplay cost two runs.After winning his first toss as India captain, Hardik Pandya gave himself the new ball, ahead of debutant Umran Malik, and struck with his second legal delivery, when he had Paul Stirling slicing a catch to mid-off for 4 off 5 balls. Delay threw his bat around for 8 off 9 balls before Avesh Khan had him nicking behind to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.Harry Tector helped Ireland recover after losing early wickets•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Tector lights up Malahide
Despite wickets falling around him, Tector once again showed why he is one of the most exciting young batters in Irish cricket. He had started 2022 with three successive half-centuries in the Caribbean in ODI cricket and now he showed that he could cut it against India’s IPL superstars in T20Is as well.Tector laid into Axar Patel’s left-arm fingerspin, lacing him for back-to-back fours through the covers. In all, twenty-nine of his 64 runs came through and over that region.Malik marked his arrival with a 148kph thunderbolt, but his only over on the evening cost 18 runs. He erred with both his lines and lengths and Tector was offered the chance to both drive and hook the bowler for boundaries.Tector pressed on to notch up his half-century off 29 balls and, in the last over of the innings, he audaciously reverse-scooped Avesh for four. However, there wasn’t enough support from the rest of the Ireland batters who could cobble together only 34 off 39 balls at a strike rate of 87.17.Hooda opens, Hardik at No.4
India shook things up by bumping Hooda up to the top, along with Kishan, in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad. While Kishan hit three fours and two sixes in 11 balls, Hooda dawdled to 5 off 7 before turning up the tempo to end with an unbeaten 47 off 29.He advanced at offspinner Andy McBrine and launched him over long-on for six and in the next over shovelled debutant Conor Olphert over the same region for another six. He forged a 64-run third-wicket stand with Hardik, who bashed his way to a 12-ball 24 from No. 4.After taking a pasting from Kishan in the early exchanges, left-arm seamer Josh Little bounced back to trap Hardik lbw. Hooda and Karthik, however, coolly closed out the game to put India 1-0 up.

Australia’s Test stars make a quiet return while Nathan Ellis doesn’t notice his hat-trick

Andrew McGlashan15-Jan-2023

Slow start for Test players

The much-heralded return of Australia’s Test starts didn’t quite begin with a bang. Marnus Labuschagne top-scored with 46 in Brisbane Heat’s win over Adelaide Strikers where Travis Head and Alex Carey made three runs between them. David Warner couldn’t really get going against Perth Scorchers although there wasn’t much he could have against the yorker from Riley Meredith that cleaned him up in Hobart. Likewise for Usman Khawaja, he got a good delivery from Harry Conway in the game against Strikers. Steven Smith was in good touch against Scorchers at the SCG but Nathan Lyon didn’t have things all his own way as Nick Hobson sent him for a 105-metre six.

Lynn departs

Chris Lynn won’t see out the competition with Strikers after his much-publicised deal which allowed him to leave early to join the ILT20 after there had been a chance of him missing the BBL entirely. But he’s certainly brought value and departs as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer (he and team-mate Matt Short are way out in front). Early in the tournament Lynn couldn’t quite make the most of his starts, but he turned that around with consecutive scores of 87, 64 and latterly an unbeaten 69 off 37 balls as Strikers piled up 202 against Melbourne Renegades.Related

• Renegades take Melbourne derby thriller as Stars bottle chase

• Nathan Ellis hat-trick, Tim David's sixes hand Thunder their third straight loss

• Abbott helps down leaders Scorchers to keep Sixers in touch at the top

However, whether he’ll be back next year remains uncertain. “You can’t say ‘no, I don’t want to come back’ or ‘I’m locked in’ or whatever it may be,” Lynn said. “There’s a lot of conversations to be had and I’m sure the right decision will happen.”

Davies a shining light amid batting woes

Sydney Thunder’s batting is stuttering badly (although not quite 15 all out badly) which is putting their finals prospects at risk. However, Ollie Davies is building himself a very good season. He has now passed 300 runs – one of just five batters to do it so far – with two more impressive innings. He was head and shoulders above the rest of the Thunder batting against Scorchers with a rapid half-century then also top-scored against Hurricanes amid another top-order collapse.

Memories of the derby final

In a re-run of the 2018-19 when Renegades and Stars faced off, it was a question of how did Stars manage to lose that? The Melbourne derby clashes have certainly not been dull this season with the first game lit up by Adam Zampa’s failed attempt at a run out backing up. In the return fixture Renegades again came out on top when Stars somehow failed to complete their chase having needed 21 off 25 balls with seven wickets in hand. Kane Richardson was superb and Will Sutherland held his nerve in the final over with 12 to defend, but it compounded what is becoming a miserable season for Stars. Injuries haven’t helped – Glenn Maxwell has missed the whole tournament and Marcus Stoinis recent games with a hamstring niggle – and it has left their campaign all-but done.

Hurricanes’ relief

Hobart Hurricanes nearly messed up a chase of their own. Needing 132 against Stars, they were seemingly home with ease at 94 for 1 in the 12th over before mayhem set in. Caleb Jewell had made 70 off 44 balls out of those 94 runs when he departed with Hurricanes then almost falling in a heap. Tim David fell over his own bat as he was run out and the rest of the middle order disappeared to a range if indiscreet shots. No. 10 Nathan Ellis, captaining in place of the absent Matthew Wade, walked out with three needed in the 18th over and finally got the job done, although even the winning runs came from a thick inside edge. However, after that alarm, earning back-to-back wins with victory over Thunder made it a good few days for Hurricanes.

Performance of the week

It felt like a good week for the bowlers. Jason Behrendorff was superb against Heat as was Sean Abbott against Scorchers at the SCG as he made it three three-wicket hauls in a row. But Nathan Ellis takes it for his 4 for 27 against Thunder, a career-best T20 haul, which included a hat-trick that he didn’t notice. Having removed Matthew Gilkes with the last ball of the fourth over, Ellis did not bowl again until the 15th when he had Davies superbly caught at cover before spearing one through Nathan McAndrew but the time between overs meant the significance of the moment passed him by.

Fifties for Rob Keogh, Luke Procter but Northants still 170 adrift in second innings

ECB Reporters Network27-Jun-2023Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond became Wantage Road’s first visiting triple-centurion as his side closed in on an innings victory against Northamptonshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship.Bell-Drummond finished unbeaten on exactly 300, registering the fourth-highest individual score in Kent’s history after almost nine hours at the crease as the visitors racked up an imposing total of 621.That left Northamptonshire, for whom legspinner Alex Russell recorded figures of 6 for 175 in only his second first-class game, weighed down by a hefty first-innings deficit of 384 as they went out to bat again. However, spirited half-centuries by Rob Keogh – his second of the match – and skipper Luke Procter maintained their side’s hopes of avoiding defeat as they reached 214 for 5, still 170 adrift, before bad light halted play.Resuming on 271 overnight, Bell-Drummond survived a strong lbw appeal by Ben Sanderson in the second over of the day and made cautious progress while his partners threw the bat at the other end. A delicate late cut for two off Russell propelled him beyond John Freeman’s 286 for Essex more than a century earlier – the previous highest score registered by an opposition player at Wantage Road.However, wickets began to tumble to the young spinner, with Joey Evison lured down the track and stumped for 27 before Hamid Qadri and Wes Agar also perished in pursuit of quick runs.With Jack White trapping Matt Quinn leg before first ball, Bell-Drummond, on 293, suddenly looked in danger of ending up marooned with a personal landmark tantalisingly close as last man Arshdeep Singh arrived at the crease.The India international calmly swung his first delivery over long-on for two before smashing a couple of boundaries as Bell-Drummond inched closer to 300 – eventually pulling Russell for a single and punching the air with delight and relief.Having slammed the next ball into the hands of deep midwicket, Arshdeep raced off to lace up his bowling boots as he and Agar hurtled in for a pre-lunch burst at Northamptonshire’s openers.They removed both before the interval, with Emilio Gay prodding Arshdeep to Jack Leaning at second slip before the skipper’s call for Joe Denly’s legbreaks paid dividends as Ricardo Vasconcelos departed in the same manner to the final ball of the session.Sam Whiteman displayed some resistance after lunch, crunching Agar for successive off-side boundaries to reach 28, but Denly tempted him to sweep and the resulting top edge sailed to backward square. Denly, who remained on throughout most of the afternoon, might have collected a third wicket when Ben Compton was unable to grasp a sharp chance from Keogh at short leg with the right-hander on 18.Keogh gradually got on top of Kent’s all-spin attack, taking advantage of some wayward Denly deliveries to crack three fours in an over and sweeping Qadri to the square leg fence to bring up his half-century on the cusp of tea.There was a scare for Keogh when a ball from Qadri lodged in his back pad and then trickled across to rest against the stumps without dislodging a bail, but the spinner got his man soon afterwards for 57, winning what looked a very marginal lbw decision.That broke the fourth-wicket stand of 80, but Procter progressed to a resolute 50 from 146 balls and, with Saif Zaib going for his shots at the other end, the pair shaved another 51 off the deficit. Leaning brought himself on to bowl and promptly pinned Procter leg before with his second delivery, but murky overhead conditions forced the players from the field just a few overs later.

Glenn McGrath insists Brett Lee’s bowling is still world class and he should be picked in Australia’s Test team as soon as he is fit

Cricinfo staff10-Nov-2009Glenn McGrath insists Brett Lee’s bowling is still world class and he should be picked in Australia’s Test team as soon as he is fit. While Lee has not played a Test since hobbling out of the Boxing Day match last year and is currently recovering from an elbow bone spur, he is also behind the young bowlers Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus in the pecking order.However, McGrath, who was launching Jane McGrath Day for January’s Sydney Test, said Lee remained a threat to international batsmen. “I think Brett’s still got a lot to offer, a lot of experience and what he brings to the team, that fear factor, there’s still that aura there he’s created,” McGrath said at the SCG.”In saying that, the guys that have done the job, the way Mitchell Johnson’s bowled, Pete Siddle has impressed me and Hilfy and Dougy Bollinger coming on the scene, you can’t fault any of them. It’s good, healthy competition [but] I would have ‘Binga’ in any team I played in if he’s back fit again.”Lee, 33, has taken 310 wickets in 76 Tests but there is a feeling the selectors doubt his ability to get through back-to-back five-day games. After recovering from ankle surgery, Lee did not play a Test during the Ashes series due to a side strain even though he felt he was ready for the final two games. The latest elbow setback, which resulted in an early departure from the India one-day series, came following some encouraging performances in the limited-overs sides.New South Wales face Tasmania in a Sheffield Shield match next week and Lee will have to play in that game to be a serious contender for the opening contest against West Indies from November 26. “In a Test the workload is going to be pretty heavy and I don’t think Brett would want to go into a Test where he was concerned [about his body],” McGrath, who took 563 wickets in 124 Tests, said. “If he broke down in that first match back it could damage his career a lot more than just sitting that one out and coming back when he was 100% right.”I heard he had a bowl at the nets yesterday and was pretty happy about how it went. If he can get through a four-day match then he can get through a Test match.”

Fast bowler sympathises with Jansen after axing, backs Harmer to come good

Firdose Moonda25-Aug-2022Kagiso Rabada has defended Dean Elgar’s decision to bat first in bowler-friendly conditions at Old Trafford, citing team selection as the reason for the approach.South Africa were shot out for 151, and Rabada, batting at No.9, was the top-scorer with 36 and shared in the highest-stand – 35 for the ninth-wicket with Anrich Nortje. Despite England trailing by only 40 runs at the close, with seven wickets in hand, Rabada maintained that Elgar made the correct call.”Generally, if you’re playing two spinners, then you’re going to bat first,” Rabada said. “As you’ve seen the wicket is getting drier and drier by the second. It’s day one and it’s really dry and it’s quite slow. Simon was in the game. His second ball ragged quite a bit. So I think it was the right decision (to bat first).”When asked if he would have preferred to get first use of the movement on offer and a pitch with substantial bounce, Rabada stuck to the team’s line that the surface is rapidly ragging. “We played two spinners for a reason, knowing it can get quite dry out there. It is what it is.”Related

• Go hard when it suits but dig deep when the force is with those who oppose you

• Jonny Bairstow guides England reply after seamers make SA rue toss choice

• Jansen: 'We don't take anything for granted because Mother Cricket will kick you in the backside'

• Five years on, South Africa look to new beginnings at Old Trafford

Old Trafford is not necessarily known for being particularly spinner-friendly. Since 2018, spinners’ strike-rates at the ground have been the third-worst among venues in England at 74 balls, or a wicket every 12.2 overs. South Africa may have been swayed by the small sample size of matches Harmer has played at the ground: three. He has taken 15 wickets at 17.60, and last played here in May, where his match-haul of 6 for 114 bowled Essex to an innings win over Lancashire.To make room for Harmer, South Africa benched Marco Jansen, despite his four wickets and a score of 48 with the bat at Lord’s. Rabada has some empathy for his fellow fast bowler, but threw his support behind Harmer.”The selection issues: we had to play two spinners,” Rabada said. “But Marco is an exciting talent. He can bat. We’ve seen what he can do with the ball. He has got a lot of x-factor. Unfortunately he had to miss out. That was a team decision. It wasn’t based on his performance.”Simon is a top quality bowler, especially in the County Championship. He has proven that. If you had to look at the (Marco’s) replacement, it’s not a bad one. Marco has got a long career ahead of him and he is going to play a lot more games. He wouldn’t mind the rest. He is going to be playing a lot more over the years.”

England are in the process of rebuilding their T20I team, while Bangladesh, in what isn’t their favourite format, have made a whole host of changes

Mohammad Isam08-Mar-2023

Big picture – England favourites despite missing stars

England will hope to keep their white-ball juggernaut rolling in the first of three T20Is against Bangladesh, to be played in Chattogram on Thursday. This is England’s first time out in their T20I strip since becoming world champions. Up against them are Bangladesh, who are pretty good in ODIs – though they just lost the series 2-1 to England – but quite a way behind in T20Is. So Bangladesh will start as the underdogs if one considers recent records and overall quality of personnel.Keeping that in mind, Bangladesh have made a lot of changes to their squad, bringing in five players including newcomer Towhid Hridoy. Shamim Hossain has come in after two years and Rony Talukdar after eight years. While Talukdar has done consistently well in domestic cricket – he was the BPL’s second-highest scorer this season – Shamim’s return was probably based on one good knock in this season’s BPL, the 51-ball 71 for Rangpur Riders against Fortune Barishal.Related

• How might England line up for their World Cup defence?

• Bangladesh determined to develop big-hitting skills

Bangladesh have also included fast bowler Rejaur Rahman Raja and left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam, perhaps as reward for their BPL performances. Tanvir was the top wicket-taker in the competition with 17 wickets in 12 games at an economy rate of 6.36, while Rejaur picked up 13 wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 8.41.England have a T20I squad similar to their ODI set-up, with Ben Duckett and Chris Jordan coming in to add firepower. They are, however, without Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Alex Hales and Liam Livingstone, a development that prompted Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha to call it an “experimental” squad.But he was quick to point out that he would take notes from how England rebuild their team for the upcoming T20 World Cup, to be player next year. That’s how good England are at the moment.

Form guide

Bangladesh LLWLW
England WWWWL

In the spotlight

Rony Talukdar has made his international comeback after eight years, when, in 2015, he played a solitary T20I against South Africa. It’s a rare occurrence in Bangladesh, where once a player is dropped, it is usually the end for him. Talukdar has scored consistently in domestic cricket, and capped it with a strong run at the BPL this season. He scored 425 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 129.17, often giving Riders fast starts.England would be hoping for Phil Salt to start the T20I series with a big score. He managed only 54 runs in the three ODIs, and that came after he had scored just 37 in two ODIs against Australia in November. His last big show in international cricket was against Pakistan, in a T20I in Lahore in September last year, when he made an unbeaten 88 in 41 balls. It’s time to get some runs.

Team news

Hridoy and Talukdar are likely to be in Bangladesh’s playing XI, and they are leaning towards three fast bowlers. They usually don’t use spinners at the death in T20Is.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Rony Talukdar, 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Mustafizur RahmanEngland don’t have too many players to choose from because of injuries. It is likely that Reece Topley, who is nursing a slight niggle, and Mark Wood will miss out from the first game.England (probable): 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jofra ArcherEngland have not played a T20I since winning the World Cup last year•Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

The first T20I will be played on the same pitch where the third ODI was played earlier in the week. So expect a slow pitch and no real lateral movement. The weather will be dry.

Stats and trivia

• This is the first bilateral T20I series between Bangladesh and England. They have played each other only once before in the format, at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, where England won by eight wickets.
• Bangladesh have played 106 T20Is since Talukdar’s solitary appearance in 2015. If he plays on Thursday, he will have the longest gap between T20I appearances, beating Adil Rashid’s 92 missed matches between 2009 and 2015.
• If picked, Rehan Ahmed will become England’s youngest men’s player in T20Is as well. He has already set the same record in Tests and ODIs. The previous youngest for England in T20Is was Stuart Broad at 20 years and 65 days.
  

  Quotes

  “[England] have a very settled 50-over team. They are experimenting with the T20 team. I don’t think the team that won the 2022 World Cup will play in 2024 World Cup. That’s why they are trying new players. They are systematically building the team towards that. We can keep an eye on how they do it, as well.”
  “It’s a great opportunity for us to hopefully lay down a marker again as world champions. We haven’t played a series since we won that World Cup so it’s a challenge for us in these conditions but it’s exciting to play here against obviously a very good Bangladesh side.”

Fast bowler frustrated by timing of injury, just as he was hitting his stride in career

Andrew Miller19-May-2022Mark Wood is a naturally ebullient fellow, but even he admits he’s “clutching for straws” when trying to take any positives from the timing of the elbow injury that has interrupted his career just as he was hitting full flow.As recently as January, Wood was right at the top of his game. He alone among England’s players emerged with his reputation enhanced during a chastening Ashes campaign, bowling with off-the-peg heat and hostility to claim 17 wickets at 26.64 in their 4-0 defeat, including a career-best 6 for 37 at Hobart in the last of his four appearances.The troubling run of injuries that had held him back in his earlier years – including three ankle operations in the space of 12 months in 2016 – seemed to have been put behind him, and at the age of 32, he was ready too to cash in on the bonus of a £735,000 deal with Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL. Life was pretty “mint”, as the man himself might have put it.But then, during the first Test of England’s tour of the Caribbean in Antigua, Wood felt “acute pain” in his right elbow while warming up in the nets, and barely a fortnight later, he was undergoing an operation in London to remove bone and scar tissue that had been causing an impingement issue in his action.Although his initial target for a comeback is this summer’s T20 Blast for Durham, Wood admits that his rehab is “slower progress” than anticipated, and after featuring in five Tests in the winter just gone – the heaviest workload of his career – he doesn’t envisage adding to his total of 26 caps until the back-end of the summer, against South Africa in August and September, at the earliest.Related

• Mark Wood: 'My role isn't to try and go for five, six an over, it's to try and get good players out'

• Jofra Archer ruled out for summer after suffering back stress fracture

• Mark Wood elbow injury rules him out of action in Antigua

• Mark Wood out of West Indies tour, IPL 2022 with elbow injury

• Mark Wood undergoes surgery to tackle 'impingement issue' in right elbow

“I’m off half a run-up,” he said. “I’m hoping that I can get off my full run-up in the next couple of weeks and then hopefully play for Durham after that. But at the minute it’s a little bit slow going. Every time I bowl at the moment there’s still a bit of swelling. They’ve assured us that that’s normal, because I’ve had surgery five weeks ago, so it’s obviously still a little bit raw.”If I can build up through one-day cricket first, that will make it easier for us to then come back in the Test matches later in the summer. But, from the roster of fast bowling, I think we’re all trying to get fit as quick as we can, but it’s slow going at the minute.”After probably two years of not many injuries at all, playing a lot of games felt pretty good,” he added. “To now have a sustained period off is pretty frustrating, when I felt like I was coming up to the best part of playing for England, bowling consistently quick, and taking wickets. But if I do get back, I’ve got the confidence of that two years that I can fall back on.”The unspoken concern, however, is that elbow injuries are particularly devastating to 90mph-plus fast bowlers. Jofra Archer, whose own return to cricket received a further setback on Thursday with news of a stress fracture to his back, has undergone two operations since succumbing to injury on the tour of South Africa in January 2020. And Wood admitted that the two had been comparing notes in their rehab.”I saw him the other week. I mentioned my elbow and said how it was feeling. He said it was similar to how he was feeling at the same stage when he was coming back. I ran it by him to make sure I was on the right path.”I’ve messaged him a few times when I’ve felt he might have been down in the dumps, to tell him to keep his head up and stick with it. I think he was appreciative. But Jofra doesn’t need me to tell him that. He’s very strong-willed and I’m sure he’ll be back with a bang. It’s just about when he’ll be back. He’ll bowl rapid when he’s back.”After the extended periods in England’s bio-secure environments over the past two seasons, Wood has at least been able to enjoy some family time during his rehabilitation, including with his two-year-old son, Harry, whose favourite three things, he says, are “digger, insects and looking at the moon”.But, he added, it’s scant consolation for the interruption to his prime years. “I’m clutching at straws looking for positives. I’m really disappointed with this injury to be honest. The West Indies was a huge disappointment. Going there as a perceived senior player, I really wanted to give a good account of myself, and then the IPL after that would have been a big thing for me personally.”I’m really disappointed that I didn’t fulfil that period of my career, which I really hoped to do. I’m a lot better at dealing with things like that now, I’m not as up and down anymore – I guess Morgy’s rubbing off on us a little bit – but I really wanted that to be a big impact for me.”Wood can at least console himself with the fact that he has achieved many of the things that might have eluded him during his earlier injury set-backs – he is a World Cup winner from 2019, and now has three five-wicket hauls among his 82 Test wickets.”It does make it a bit easier, feeling more comfortable in myself and within the team,” he said. “I know what it takes to go into rehab and get back up to speed, this is my fifth time doing it after an operation. It’s never always an upward curve and plain sailing, there’s always some little bumps along the way. But at some point I’ll be back, and when I’m back, I’ll be ready to let loose again.”Mark Wood and other England cricketers surprised Leicester Electricity Sports Cricket Club during an inter-squad friendly game organised by Test partners LV= Insurance. The club will receive support to train a new coach and relaunch their women’s team as part of LV= and the ECB’s commitment to support 4000 coaches through their #Funds4Runs community initiative. Visit Funds4Runs for more information

For New Zealand, Mitchell’s 113 went in vain, even as Naseem bowled a tight spell

Danyal Rasool27-Apr-2023Fakhar Zaman’s ninth ODI hundred and a phenomenally frugal bowling performance by Naseem Shah helped Pakistan ease to a five-wicket win over New Zealand in the first ODI in Rawalpindi. In the process, they brought up their 500th ODI win, the third team to do so; the 949 games they took makes them the second quickest to the landmark after Australia, who managed the feat in 811 matches. Set 289 to win, Pakistan were never in serious danger of falling short after a 124-run opening stand between Fakhar and Imam-ul-Haq. Forty-nine from captain Babar Azam and a cameo lower down the order by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan helped them get over the line in the 49th over and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.Daryl Mitchell’s second ODI hundred had helped New Zealand to 288. A century second-wicket stand with Will Young, whose own knock of 86 came off just 78 balls, had helped set the platform for a score in excess of 300, but accurate death bowling from Pakistan – as well as the visitors’ inability to find boundaries – kept them in check. That was largely thanks to Naseem, who was at his metronomic best at both top and tail of the innings, his figures of 2 for 29 in his allotted ten ensuring New Zealand wouldn’t get past the 300-mark they looked on track for, for the best part of the innings.The chase was a realisation of the template Pakistan have followed on their best days in this format over the past four years. The bulk of the run-scoring was done by Fakhar, Imam and Babar; there is a reason, after all, no other side has relied as much as Pakistan on their top three for runs. While New Zealand’s openers had begun sedately, Pakistan started briskly on a surface that posed little danger to the batters.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Adam Milne and Matt Henry were milked and picked off for the occasional boundary, but once the 100 partnership came up in the 19th over, they displayed more obvious truculence. Fakhar pumped Mitchell for a six back over his head while Imam did the same to Ish Sodhi soon after. Both men had brought up half-centuries by now, and Pakistan appeared on track.Sodhi struck the next ball after finding some grip and trapping Imam in front, but only paved the way for another long partnership, this time between Babar and Fakhar. It looked as if those two would take the game right through to the end. The Pakistan captain looked at home since ball one, while Fakhar was moving inexorably towards yet another ODI hundred. When he did get there with a drive through extra cover he punched the air before the customary .But a loose shot from Babar one away from 50 brought Shan Masood to the crease. He was soon on his way back after a bit of a struggle, lapping the 12th ball to extra cover having added just one run, and New Zealand had the tiniest of openings once more.But Rizwan would shut it down with aplomb, looking to take the jeopardy out of the game by counterattacking. This he did with considerable success, and even as Fakhar fell for 117 at the other end, he ensured there was little reason for the home side to get wobbly. A smear over midwicket in the penultimate over sealed the deal, giving Pakistan the win they looked good value for through much of the game.Earlier, Pakistan had opted to put New Zealand in to bat on a hot day and a flat track. The bowlers started off keeping the openers on a leash, particularly Naseem, who found sideways movement and an extra yard of pace, allowing just 12 runs in his six-over spell. It was a bowling change, though, that brought the wicket, with Haris Rauf drawing the outside edge from Chad Bowes in his first over, capping a powerplay that belonged to the bowlers.Daryl Mitchell and Will Young added 102 for the second wicket but it was in vain•AFP/Getty Images

But as the field spread out, New Zealand began to grow into the innings. Young began to find his feet, especially against the spin. After a 51-ball 50, he swept Shadab for four and Agha Salman’s first delivery for a six. Pakistan continued to plug away with spin to little effect, with Mitchell soon beginning to play a useful support act. Young looked to be heading for a breezy hundred as the partnership crossed three figures and New Zealand sat pretty at 150 for one in a shade over 26 overs.But Shadab struck as Young holed out in pursuit of another boundary, and though Mitchell was only getting more comfortable, New Zealand could never quite assert themselves in the same way again. Tom Latham’s struggle at the crease – he managed 20 off 36 before falling lbw to a juicy full toss – sapped momentum. Mitchell smacked a pair of boundaries off Shadab and another four and six off Nawaz, but he was getting little support.The last 25 overs of the innings produced just three boundaries that Mitchell did not hit, and once Mark Chapman was cleaned up by Rauf, the innings never really went anywhere. Mitchell brought up a well-deserved hundred with a majestic straight drive off Shaheen Afridi, but with the miserly Naseem at the other end, New Zealand’s run-scoring was becoming more and more impecunious.Naseem would get the rewards he deserved so richly in the wickets column right at the death, dismissing Rachin Ravindra and Adam Milne off the final two deliveries of the innings, ensuring New Zealand ended well short of 300. As it turned out, they also fell well of a total to challenge Pakistan’s batters on a surface like this.

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.”

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