A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group B matches played on October 1, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Mandeep Singh’s ninth first-class ton featured 14 fours•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh shared an unbroken partnership of 178, helping Punjab seize the initiative on the first day of their Ranji Trophy clash against Railways in Chandigarh. Punjab, opting to bat, were dealt an early blow when their opener Manan Vohra was run out for 5 by Saurabh Wakaskar in the ninth over. Jiwanjot Singh and Kaul offered a brief resistance, but Jiwanjot’s wicket in the 25th over reduced the hosts to 57 for 2.From then on, though, Kaul and Mandeep took center stage, batting out the next 65 overs to lift Punjab to 235 for 2 at stumps. Kaul played the more patient foil, stroking nine fours during his 92 not out, while Mandeep hit 14 fours to reach his ninth first-class ton.
ScorecardNineteen-year-old opener Almas Shaukat struck a century on his first-class debut, lifting Uttar Pradesh to 260 for 2 on day one against Madhya Pradesh in Moradabad. Shaukat received ample support from his opening partner Tanmay Srivastava, as the pair added 125 inside 44 overs.While Srivastava eventually fell for 75, Shaukat remained unbeaten on 110, with 17 fours and one six. MP also picked up the wicket of Himanshu Asnora – trapped lbw by Ankit Sharma – but Shaukat and Mohammad Saif (34 not out) led UP safely to stumps without any further damage.
ScorecardFifties from Mohammad Kaif and Ricky Bhui helped Andhra make slow progress against Mumbai in Vizianagaram. Scoring at just over two an over, the pair shared an unbroken 152-run stand for the third wicket, as Andhra recovered from a jittery start to make 170 for 2 by stumps.Andhra, after being inserted, soon found themselves floundering at 18 for 2, as Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar were both caught behind by the wicketkeeper Aditya Tare. However, Mumbai failed to find any more breakthroughs, as Kaif and Bhui held firm for 65.4 overs. While the captain Kaif remained unbeaten on 66 with nine fours and a six, Bhui was not out on 91, with 12 fours and two sixes. Tamil Nadu v Baroda in Chennai – Bhatt, Yusuf spin TN into trouble

New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against Australia with a back injury

Brydon Coverdale at the Gabba08-Nov-2015New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against Australia with a back injury. Fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has been called in and will join the squad ahead of the second Test, which starts in Perth on Friday.Neesham batted for 45 minutes in the second innings of the Test at the Gabba, where the fifth day’s play began with Australia needing seven wickets for victory and wrapped up a win in an extended first session. But Neesham, who missed the tour of England earlier this year with a stress fracture in his back, will fly home after the Brisbane Test for assessment.”Jimmy has worked hard to get back to fitness following his injury earlier this year, but at this stage still experiences discomfort when bowling extended loads,” coach Mike Hesson said. “Jimmy will return to New Zealand for further medical assessment and we’ll continue to monitor his situation. At this stage our number one priority is getting Jimmy fully healthy and ready for the home summer.”Neesham bowled 20 overs in the first Test against Australia and his injury is a further blow to New Zealand, who are already sweating on the fitness of new-ball bowler Tim Southee ahead of the WACA Test. Southee left the field on the second day at the Gabba with an irritated lower disc in his back, and Neil Wagner was called into the squad as cover for him.New Zealand may field a vastly different attack for the Perth Test, with left-arm spinning allrounder Mitchell Santner a strong change to debut in place of Mark Craig, which would allow four fast bowlers to play. Hesson said the uncapped McClenaghan would offer plenty to the group when he joined the squad in Perth.”Mitch has the ability to run in all day, bowl quick spells and has experience on the International stage,” Hesson said. “He’ll bring a lot to the group and is obviously very excited to come and join the squad.”

It was like Test cricket had gone asleep for one hour on the third morning before India lost eight wickets for 39 runs, and yet spun South Africa out to take a 1-0 lead

The Report by Sidharth Monga07-Nov-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
4:31

Manjrekar: ‘Lightning’ Jadeja a big plus

It is often said that Test cricket in India crawls for three days with seemingly nothing happening before suddenly exploding to life. What happens when Tests do not last three days? Time frames get compressed. It was like Test cricket had gone asleep for one hour on the third morning. India lost eight wickets for 39 runs, and yet spun South Africa out to take a 1-0 lead. This was the fourth straight three-day finish in Tests in India. R Ashwin continued his impressive bowling, Ravindra Jadeja completed a successful comeback to the Tests with a five-for, and Amit Mishra contributed with the big wicket of AB de Villiers again.At effectively 178 for 2 on a pitch that had been turning big from day one, India looked home and dry. It took a big collapse for South Africa to be set a target they could think about chasing. Imran Tahir and Simon Harmer took four wickets each, but the task for South Africa was still enormous: only twice had visiting teams chased 200 successfully in India, most recently in 1987-88. South Africa needed to bat extremely well to add to that tally. They did not.South Africa’s mistrust of the pitch showed in their approach. The demons in their heads were bigger than the ones under their feet. Three of them got out even before the pitch could do a thing. Vernon Philander was promoted to open the innings. He survived two balls. Hashim Amla took guard outside leg, and left alone a straight delivery that hit middle and off. Both of them fell to Jadeja, who confirmed his reputation of being a dangerous bowler on a turning track, by bowling straight and quick. He showed the value of being able to hit the off stump on square turners.Faf du Plessis overestimated an Ashwin offbreak with the new ball from round the wicket, and edged him to slip. It looked a set plan. He had bowled over the wicket to Philander before this dismissal, and over the wicket to Amla after it. Du Plessis read that it was on offbreak, but the ball didn’t turn as much as he expected.It was mayhem at 10 for 3, which de Villiers calmed down for a bit with his excellent use of feet and ability to punish anything loose. It is a mark of the threat he carries that India did not feel entirely comfortable until they had got rid of de Villiers. For the second time in the match Mishra did the job. This was a rare case of de Villiers’ failing to pick the length as he went back to a length ball. A possible explanation could be the flat trajectory of the delivery, but Mishra does bowl that fuller flatter one, which turns only a little. What is more, it stayed low, and took the inside edge onto the stumps.Only formalities were left after that. Spinners completed them duly with South Africa managing to bat out only 39.5 overs to go with 68 in the first innings, but Varun Aaron too contributed by drawing a big leading edge with a short ball to Dean Elgar. This was the first wicket taken by an Indian seamer, but South Africa, who do not have the luxury of the quality of Indian spinners, did have to rely on seam in the morning. India consolidated their position with 36 runs without loss in the first hour of the day, but South Africa conjured a breakthrough through part-time medium-pace of Stiaan van Zyl.A major chunk of the collapse in a five-batsmen Indian team was the losing of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane for three runs. When you have three-day Tests, you often have batsmen falling for no mistake of their own, but all three made errors here. Except that they took longer to make these errors than the South Africa batsman. Kohli went driving outside off at a ball not full enough, and van Zyl and Amla looked like geniuses. South Africa now went to their spinners once Kohli had provided them with the opening.Tahir began with a regulation legbreak first ball, Pujara went to defend, but was nowhere close to the pitch of the ball, allowing it to turn and take the edge. He had added 14 to his overnight 63. Rahane jabbed at a Harmer offbreak well in front of his body, and offered the acrobatic substitute Temba Bavuma a catch at short leg. Three wickets gone in four overs, India now looked to the lower order for some stability, but Tahir and Harmer got the better of them, which was expected on a pitch like this.

The Royal London Cup will begin earlier in the 2016 season, a subtle tweak to the county fixtures ahead of the more overarching restructuring of the domestic schedule which has been pushed back to 2017

Andrew McGlashan02-Dec-2015For the full 2016 fixture list click hereAndrew Gale, the Yorkshire captain, will face an early test of his opposition to the ECB’s controversial new rules for the toss in County Championship fixtures when Hampshire, the visitors, are offered the chance to bowl first in the champions’ first outing of the 2016 season, at Headingley on April 17.The 2016 County Championship, which gets underway a week earlier on April 10, is the first in which the toss is not mandatory following the ECB’s decision to allow the visiting side to bowl or opt for a toss of the coin. The first group of visiting teams to have that option will be Gloucestershire, Kent, Somerset, Sussex and Warwickshire, as well as newly promoted Surrey, who mark their awaited return to the top flight with a first-round trip to Trent Bridge.The 2016 schedule contains none of the more overarching restructuring that had originally been proposed but has now been pushed back to 2017. However, there is a subtle tweak to the 50-over competition, the Royal London Cup, which will now be staged in two blocks from the start of June.

Key dates

April 10-13 – County Championship begins

May 20 – NatWest T20 Blast starts

June 5 – Royal London cup starts

August 20 – NatWest T20 Blast finals day, Edgbaston

September 17 – Royal London Cup final, Lord’s

September 20-23 – Final round of County Championship

In 2015 the competition did not begin until the last week of July but next year it will form part of a concentrated period of white-ball cricket. The opening round of matches will take place on June 5, a group of games that includes defending champions Gloucestershire taking on Somerset in a South West derby in Taunton, It will run concurrently with the NatWest T20 Blast, which starts on May 20 and will again predominantly be played on Friday nights.While not a radical change, shifting a portion of the 50-over matches forward by seven weeks should bring a few benefits. Aesthetically it could help the tournament feel less of a late adjunct to the season, but on a more fundamental level it provides a couple of rounds of matches before England play their one-day series against Sri Lanka, so there is an an opportunity for fringe players to stake a claim.It should also ensure matches take place on better pitches as surfaces will be less tired than they are getting in late July and August. June is also when periods of the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 World Cup will be held, both of which are a priority for the new England management. Another impact of shifting a block of the Royal London Cup is that it allows more County Championship cricket in August with 32 four-day games starting that month instead of 15 last season which it is hoped will aid the role of spin bowling.The Royal London Cup then takes a break from mid-June, when T20 and County Championship matches continue to intermingle, until a second set of matches in late July which lead towards the quarter finals in mid-August. The final will take place on September 17 at Lord’s.There had been plans for a more comprehensive overhaul of the county programme but those moves have been delayed by a year after counties voiced their concerns that they had not been consulted sufficiently on the process which is likely to include changing the Championship into divisions of eight and 10, rather than the two nine-team split that is currently in place.The ECB has promised that a decision on the structure of the 2017 season will be confirmed before next summer begins so that counties know what they are playing for, especially in terms of any changes to promotion and relegation in the Championship. Any significant changes to the T20 competition are unlikely to take place before the next cycle of TV rights kicks in 2020.With Lancashire and Surrey back in the Championship top flight, following the relegation of Sussex and Worcestershire last season, eight of the nine Division One clubs are now Test match counties. One notable omission from the 2016 fixtures list is Sussex’s Horsham festival, which had been under threat two years ago but has now seemingly paid the price for their second-division status.Internationally, England will again play seven Tests during the season – three against Sri Lanka and four against Pakistan – alongside 10 ODIs and two T20Is. England Lions will play a triangular one-day series against Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A, England Women will play one-day and T20 series against Pakistan while England Under-19s will face Sri Lanka.Yorkshire, as County Champions, will take on the MCC in Abu Dhabi in a four-day match from March 20.

In the first MCL auction held in Dubai, Jacques Kallis and Adam Gilchrist were the most expensive buys after two marquee players were handed to each team from a list of 12 former international players

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2015Former South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis attracted the highest bid of US $175,000 at the inaugural Masters Champions League (MCL) auction, held in Dubai on Monday. Kallis was signed by the Libra Legends franchise, owned by Popcorn Sports and Entertainment Private Limited.

MCL marquee players

• Abdul Razzaq and Michael Vaughan (Capricorn Commanders)

• Scott Styris and Heath Streak (Leo Lions)

• Sourav Ganguly and Graeme Swann (Libra Legends)

• Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara (Gemini Arabians)

• Mahela Jayawardene and Daniel Vettori (Sagittarius Soldiers)

• Graeme Smith and Azhar Mahmood (Virgo Super Kings)

Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist was the second most expensive player in the auction, purchased for $170,000 by the Sagittarius Soldiers franchise.Kallis and Gilchrist were among the six icon players listed for the auction, along with Muttiah Muralitharan, Brian Lara, Paul Collingwood and Brett Lee. The base price for all icon players was set at $100,000. Collingwood was picked up for $140,000 by Capricorn Commanders, while Muralitharan was signed by Gemini Arabians for $120,000. Lara and Lee were picked up by Leo Lions and Virgo Super Kings respectively, for their base prices.Each team was assigned two marquee players from a list of 12 that included eight former international captains.Former Pakistan players Abdul Razzaq, Saqlain Mushtaq and Azhar Mahmood will also participate in the league for Capricorn Commanders, Gemini Arabians and Virgo Super Kings, respectively. Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and pacer Shane Bond will play for Sagittarius Soldiers, while allrounders James Franklin and Scott Styris were bought by Leo Lions. Kyle Mills was picked up by Gemini Arabians.The MCL is slated to be played in January 2016 in the UAE and has received a ten-year approval from the Emirates Cricket Board. The league is the brainchild of Dubai-based Grandmidwest Sports.Capricorn Commanders – Michael Vaughan, Abdul Razzaq, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Symonds, Chamara Silva, Ashwell Prince, Upul Chandana, Ryan McLaren, Jeetan Patel, Rikki Clarke, Rory Kleinveldt, Ben Laughlin, Rizwan Cheema, Geraint Jones, Sunil Joshi, Saleem Elahi.Gemini Arabians – Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kyle Mills, Saqlain Mushtaq, Jacques Rudolph, Naved-ul-Hasan, Justin Kemp, Paul Harris, Brad Hodge, Richard Levi, Ashish Bagai, Graham Onions, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Saqib Ali.Libra Legends – Sourav Ganguly, Graeme Swann, Jacques Kallis, Brad Hogg, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ajay Ratra, Chris Read, Sean Ervine, Shaun Tait, Ryan Sidebottom, Michael Lumb, Marcus North, Taufeeq Umar, Nicky Boje, Ian Butler.Leo Lions – Heath Streak, Scott Styris, Brian Lara, Herschelle Gibbs, Brendan Taylor, James Franklin, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Fidel Edwards, Mohammad Tauqir, Neil Carter, Hamish Marshall, Kyle Jarvis, Ramesh Powar, Simon Jones, Darren Gough.Sagittarius Soldiers – Mahela Jayawardene, Daniel Vettori, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Bond, Khurram Khan, Phil Mustard, Tino Best, Nathan Hauritz, Alviro Petersen, Michael Carberry, Krishmar Santokie, Jonathan Trott, Yasir Hameed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Gavin Hamilton.Virgo Super Kings – Graeme Smith, Azhar Mahmood, Brett Lee, Jonty Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, John Mooney, Dirk Nannes, Owais Shah, James Foster, Murali Kartik, Malinga Bandara, Gareth Batty, Hasan Raza, Jacob Oram, Humayun Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf.

Glamorgan have added to their seam bowling attack for the start of 2016 season by confirming a loan agreement with the Middlesex pace bowler Harry Podmore

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2016Glamorgan have added to their seam bowling attack for the start of 2016 season by confirming a loan agreement with the Middlesex pace bowler Harry Podmore.Podmore, a graduate from the Middlesex Academy and former MCC Young Cricketer, is yet to appear in first-class cricket, but has featured for Middlesex in limited-overs cricket over the past two seasons.Glamorgan now offer him the chance to break into Championship cricket in the first six matches of the season, beginning with the visit of Leicestershire to Cardiff on April 17, as well as a fixture against Cardiff MCCU fixture the previous week.Podmore, born in Hammersmith, has impressed with his bowling at the death and picked up regular wickets with a controlled yorker becoming something of a trademark weapon.Glamorgan chief executive and director of cricket Hugh Morris said, “We have been aware of the progress Harry has made in recent seasons with Middlesex and his development work with the England fast bowling programme.”He’s a bright, young fast bowling talent who will add depth to our seam bowling department, which is an area we identified needing strengthening. Harry will spend the first 2 months of the season with us before Ruaidhri Smith and Jack Murphy return to the club at the end of May following their University commitments.”With an international calibre bowling attack at Middlesex, there’s an opportunity for him to play some first-class cricket for Glamorgan and we are thankful to Angus Fraser and Middlesex CCC for allowing us to have Harry on loan.Glamorgan also recently signed all-rounder Craig Meschede after he was allowed to leave Somerset.Podmore admitted: “The current strength of the Middlesex seam attack has made it difficult for me to break into the County Championship side, and with limited opportunities available to play red ball cricket here, this is an ideal way for me to not only gain invaluable experience in this format of the game, but also to hopefully help Glamorgan get off to a good start in their own Championship campaign.”He will rejoining Middlesex in readiness for the club’s white ball campaigns.Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said: “Harry continues to develop nicely as a cricketer. He is ready to get his teeth into first-class cricket and, with the fast bowling resources we currently have, we do not see him starting in the 1st XI.”When not playing for Glamorgan 1st XI Harry can return to London to practice his white ball skills, as we do see him featuring in our T20 and 50 over cricket. The loan to Glamorgan to play first-class cricket in April and May will hopefully provide all three parties with what they are looking for.”

Mashonaland Eagles beat Mountaineers in an eliminator to clinch the Domestic Twenty20 Competition at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2016
Scorecard
Eagles won the Super Over EliminatorThe Mashonaland Eagles players pose with the series trophy•Zimbabwe Cricket

Mashonaland Eagles beat Mountaineers in an eliminator to clinch the Domestic Twenty20 Competition at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.Chasing 17 in the one-over shootout bowled by Bright Mugochi, the left-arm spinner, Mountaineers fell one short. This despite Hamilton Masakadza’s power-hitting delivering a boundary and a six to bring the equation down to four runs off the last ball, off which only a brace was possible.That they needed an eliminator to decide the winner was largely because of Tendai Chatara, who conceded just four runs off the final over to force the game into a tie as Eagles also finished on 167 for 6 after 20 overs.Cephas Zhuwao (71) and Chamu Chibhabha (37) put on 69 in just 5.5 overs to set the chase up nicely, before Mountaineers struck twice in four deliveries. When Regis Chakabwa was dismissed, Eagles were in a hint of trouble at 80 for 3. A 42-run stand for the fourth wicket between Zhuwao and Tinotenda Mutombodzi, who made a sprightly 22, before the slower bowlers applied the choke to force the game into an eliminator.Earlier, Mountaineers rode on Masakadza’s 42-ball 66 to post 167. Despite his strong show with the bat, it boiled down to his big-hitting prowess at the end once again, but on the night, the Eagles managed to hold on by the thinnest of margins in a thrilling finale.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Group 1 encounter between England and Sri Lanka

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Mar-2016

Match facts

March 26, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)2:37

Chappell: England mild favourites against SL

Big Picture

A drubbing at the hands of West Indies, a sensational run chase against South Africa, and a nerve-jangling finish against Afghanistan – England have perhaps had the most interesting campaign in Group 1, and they haven’t even had their customary big-tournament meltdown yet. There is a chance they will not have a meltdown at all. Eoin Morgan leads a side that has a little steel to it, which perhaps has not been the case in previous England sides. They have withstood onslaughts, and done enough – even if it is just enough – to win.Despite the middling total against Afghanistan, England’s batting still appears their latest asset. Joe Root is the form batsman from either side, and there is a spark to that top order, which has poise, imagination and power in equal measure.They have also handled spin moderately well, so far in the tournament. They played Samuel Badree out safely for 34 runs in their first match, which is much better than the performance Sri Lanka mustered against the same bowler. Imran Tahir didn’t rattle them either. Sri Lanka will have been encouraged that Afghanistan’s talented Rashid Khan did claim figures of 2 for 17 on a slow Delhi surface however, and will hope their own leggie, Jeffrey Vandersay, can inflict similar damage.If it’s Sri Lanka’s spinners England are worried about, Sri Lanka should be worried about Sri Lanka’s batsmen. It would be a waste of time to unpack the top order’s failure against West Indies, because those same flaws had been evident in Sri Lanka’s previous series, and the one before that, and the one before even that. There have been hard words, from fans and ex-players alike, from across the Palk Strait. “Take responsibility,” is an oft-heard refrain. Encouragingly, the team has at least stopped referring to their current state as a “transition period”.Defending champions Sri Lanka have to win to stay alive (barring a no-result), after West Indies overcame South Africa in Nagpur. With just one game remaining, England will book their berth in the semi-finals with a victory, but a loss – by any margin – will see them eliminated since their net run rate is lower than that of South Africa.Thisara Perera could have a key role to play for Sri Lanka•ICC/Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


England: WWLLL
Sri Lanka: LWLLL

In the spotlight

He’s promised much in the competition to date but, with a top score of 30 in three innings, more is expected of Jos Buttler, England’s T20 vice-captain and superstar-in-waiting. With the sharp end of the tournament now upon England, there’s no time to fit in another dress rehearsal. Against Afghanistan, Buttler was guilty of attempting too much too soon on a wicket that demanded a hint of circumspection. Admittedly, it took a scorching catch to remove him but, given how destructive he can be when he gets going, he’ll know this time around that he can afford a few sighters to find his range.In the midst of an otherwise forlorn performance against West Indies, the batting exploits of Thisara Perera were a lone crumb of comfort. From the depths of 47 for 5, his 40 from 29 balls at least offered his side a token target to defend. As it happens, he then conceded the contest in the space of two legal deliveries, but his introduction in the 19th over – with just seven runs to defend – was an unfair reflection of his status as Sri Lanka’s go-to death bowler. In the absence of Lasith Malinga, recovering back home from a knee injury, he has big shoes to fill.

Teams news

Alex Hales was playing football with the rest of the squad before training on Friday, so he seems to be on the mend after his back injury. James Vince will make way at the top of the order if so. Liam Dawson’s international debut is sure to be put on the back-burner following the success of Liam Plunkett against Afghanistan, plus the fact that Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid bowled just five overs between them in that match.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Liam PlunkettSri Lanka have three frontline spinners on tour. There is a chance each of them will feature in this match, which means a seamer may miss out. Nuwan Kulasekara appears likeliest to exit the side.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Chamara Kapugedara, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Sachithra Senanayake, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Jeffrey Vandersay

Pitch and conditions

Both teams expected the pitch to play slow – as it did for England during their match against Afghanistan. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will take much turn, though. The weather is not expected to impede play.

Stats and trivia

• Joe Root is the highest tournament run-scorer of the batsmen who have only played in the Super 10s, hitting 143 runs at a strike rate of 162.50.
• Thisara Perera’s highest T20I score remains the 49 off 25 he hit against England at the Oval in 2014.
• England’s last meeting with Sri Lanka at the World T20 was also their sole highlight of a disappointing campaign. On a memorable evening in Chittagong, Alex Hales toppled the eventual champions with a brilliant 116 not out from 64 balls. His onslaught secured a six-wicket victory and remains England’s only T20I hundred.
• Sri Lanka’s sole WT20 victory in three previous meeting with England came on home soil in 2012, a 19-run win in Pallekele where the absent Malinga took 5 for 31, his best figures in T20Is.

Quotes

“Being from England and facing completely different conditions for the majority of your career, you’ve got to work pitches out pretty quickly and be quite smart. The guys who have experience of playing in India have really got to try and work that out and communicate to the rest of the guys.”
“In T20 formats it’s always better to chase. When you’re batting first you don’t have a target in your mind, but you do when you’re chasing. You realise first six overs how you need to bat. Chasing is an advantage as far as I’m concerned.”

Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper-batsman, has been appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain

Umar Farooq05-Apr-2016Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper-batsman, has been appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain. Sarfraz is already the vice-captain of the ODI team, and he will now take over the T20I captaincy from Shahid Afridi, who stepped down from that role following Pakistan’s early exit in the recently-concluded World Twenty20 in India.”I am happy to have this opportunity and I am honored that PCB has trusted my ability to lead the country,” Sarfraz told ESPNcricinfo. “Indeed, this is a challenging job but at the same time, it’s the highest privilege in a cricketer’s life, so I am determined to do my best to justify my position captain. I didn’t make any future plan, but I will sit down with the PCB and will talk about it in due course.”The best thing about me, I believe, is my ability to contribution for the team. I always try to play my role whatever it is – batting or wicketkeeping – regardless of the situation or the number I bat on. The more important thing about me is that I remain in my limit and don’t talk much. It’s my cricket that speaks, and this is what a captain should be doing – lead form the front.”The position of Pakistan’s T20I captain had been a subject of much speculation in recent days, as Afridi was heavily criticised as a leader following the team’s poor performances in both the Asia Cup and the World T20 – Pakistan won just three matches out of eight across the two tournaments.In a scathing report after the World T20 debacle, Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s now former coach, had lambasted Afridi’s style of leadership, writing that “Afridi was not performing with the bat, ball or as a captain but I was not listened to,” and that the allrounder “didn’t attend few meetings, practice – and this is not how a captain leads from the front.”Sarfraz Ahmed will take over as captain of the T20I side from Shahid Afridi•AFP

Soon after Waqar’s report, Pakistan’s team manager Intikhab Alam branded Afridi as an “absolutely clueless” captain in a five-page report that was hugely critical of Afridi’s on-field tactics and off-field leadership. Intikhab also termed the use of Sarfraz in the batting order by Afridi in the World T20 as a “critical waste of talent and form”. Intikhab referenced various statistics, including that of all the deliveries that Pakistan faced at the World T20, Sarfraz only played 17 of them despite having made scores of 41, 25, 58 and 38 in his four T20I innings leading into the tournament.Sarfraz has played 21 T20Is, scoring 291 runs at 29.10, with two half-centuries. He was the captain of the Pakistan Under-19 team which won the World Cup in 2006, and is presently one of the few players in the Pakistan set-up who is assured of a spot in the XI in all three formats, which is possibly why the PCB views him as the best candidate to replace Afridi. Sarfaz also showed off his captaincy credentials during the Pakistan Super League, where he led Quetta Gladiators to the final.Sarfraz’s T20I captaincy debut, though, will have to wait till September 7, when Pakistan play England at Old Trafford for a one-off match. The team’s next home series is against West Indies in the UAE, where at least two T20Is are likely to be played.

Jonathan Trott’s masterful double century stirred memories of his England heyday before exhaustion and anxiety took its toll

George Dobell at Lord's19-Apr-2016
ScorecardJonathan Trott revived memories of when he was indispensible to England•Getty Images

For a few hours, as Jonathan Trott brought calm to the chaos at Lord’s, it could have been 2010.That was the year that Trott followed a career-changing innings of 226 against Bangladesh here with an innings of 184 against Pakistan. On each occasion, without fuss or extravagance, Trott subdued a threatening attack and made batting look as if it were the most natural pastime in the world. He was the eye of the storm.The intervening years have not always been kind. A combination of mental exhaustion and situational anxiety eroded “England’s rock” – as both Andy Flower and Kevin Pietersen have described Trott; and those two don’t always agree on everything, you know – and brought to a premature end an international career that briefly flirted with greatness.He had memories of having played a key role in a side that went to the top of the world rankings to console him – and the ICC’s international player of the year award for 2011 – but the ending and the stigma that went with it brought a sour taste to a career that deserved better.For a while it seemed those demons would defeat him. Struggling for motivation and equilibrium following an ill-fated return to Test cricket 12-months ago, he pondered retirement throughout the 2015 season and ended it without a century and averaging just 25.05. There were whispers around the club that, should he struggle over the first few games of this season, Laurie Evans would replace him in the side.But here, with his side in trouble and against one of England’s most hostile fast bowlers, he produced an innings that was both masterful and fluent and evoked memories of a time when you could set your watch by his reliability.As the sun came out on Tuesday afternoon and Middlesex turned to two part-time spinners and a gentle seamer in an attempt to improve a flagging over rate (they were minus four at one stage) batting became a relatively straightforward business.It will be noted that there have already been four Championship double-centuries this season; there have never been so many before the end of April. Perhaps the tinkering made to the regulations designed to improve pitches has produced the desired results.But such luxury has to be earned. And Trott, by seeing off Steven Finn at his most hostile on Monday night and by demonstrating a strong defensive technique, earned it for sure. He also earned his side, at one stage teetering on 173 for 6 and facing the prospect of the follow-on, full batting bonus points and an outside chance of pushing for victory.And he did it – or most of it – in one of the new-style, ECB approved batting helmets. With the ECB alerted to his use of the non-compliant one on the previous day – and in the previous match in Southampton – they contacted Warwickshire overnight and insisted that Trott adopt the new one. So, when he resumed on 62 on Tuesday morning, it was – for the first time – in the new design.If there was any visual disturbance, it was not obvious. He began the day with a series of flowing cover drives and then produced some sublime straight drives – a sure sign that his game is in top order – as it appeared as if he were batting on a different surface to his colleagues. While Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke were undone by deliveries that appeared to keep low, Trott produced those familiar clips through the leg side and pulled with assurance. It’s been a long time since he has batted with such class.Keith Barker was a beneficiary of Trott’s groundwork. After surviving a testing first half-hour or so, Barker was able to capitalise against some modest support bowling that surrendered Middlesex’s dominance to a degree that they will surely look back upon with regret. By the time he played across a straight one, a weary attack was unable to stem the tide. The vision of Warwickshire’s No. 11, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, pulling Finn for six in front of square is not one the fast bowler will want to savour.It was noticeable that, as Trott’s innings progressed and his calm deepened, his movement at the crease became less pronounced. He still tends to walk at bowlers as a trigger movement these days, but this was an increasingly assured performance and will surely provide confidence for the rest of the season.He had broken Middlesex long before he reached the fifth double-century of his first-class career and his first in the Championship since 2005. This chanceless innings was his highest for Warwickshire.The mischievous might suggest that, such was his gratitude towards his new headgear, he kissed it upon reaching the landmark. The more honest version is that he was kissing the Warwickshire badge on the helmet. It will have pleased him enormously to have contributed to the team’s success.”The new helmets fit slightly differently on your head, so it’s about fit and vision,” he said afterwards. “But I don’t have a problem with the new rules. As a kid you get used to using a certain type and you become attached to it, but it’s fine. It didn’t feel that different.”Middlesex, with a first innings deficit of 16, were soon two down in their second innings. Barker’s swing accounted for both left-handers – he is a desperately tough proposition for them – but with Sam Robson and Nick Compton as proficient as most at seeing off the new ball, Middlesex made it to stumps without further loss.A victory for either side remains possible, but Middlesex may reflect their best chance has gone. Their team selection – without a frontline spinner – renders over-rate issues inevitable and will see a repeat of the session where part-time bowlers release the pressure on batsmen in their attempt to avoid penalties.Perhaps Trott’s success will be celebrated beyond the confines of Warwickshire. While his England days are clearly over – he has no appetite for a return – nobody would begrudge a key figure in one of the best England teams in living memory finishing his career with the sun on his back and a smile on his face. This was a vintage performance.