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Bangladesh vice-captain feels the bowling performance was a positive from this T20 World Cup campaign

Mohammad Isam28-Jun-2024Poor form from the batters was the primary reason for Bangladesh’s disappointing T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, according to vice captain Taskin Ahmed. He said that almost everything went according to plan except the batting during Bangladesh’s 47-day tour of the Americas.In a tough environment for batters across the tournament, Bangladesh’s batting unit had the lowest collective average among the Super Eight teams.Bangladesh’s top three failed to give them a start in any of their innings with Litton Das scoring the lone fifty from those positions. Towhid Hridoy’s 153 runs at 128.57 was their best batting performance but Shakib (111 runs at 106.73 SR) and Mahmudullah (95 runs at 94.05 SR) couldn’t provide him with enough support in the middle order.Related

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“The seniors’ off-form had an effect on the team but not off the field,” Taskin told reporters at the Dhaka airport, after the Bangladesh team’s arrival on Friday morning. “They are great team men. We stayed as a team for 47 days. Everything was fine off the field. It is quite normal that a team will have problems when important players are not in form. I am hopeful that we can recover from this, and play better soon.”Taskin said that the batters only found better pitches when they reached the West Indies but even then he said that he hadn’t seen such a long batting slump by Bangladesh in his international career.”When you talk about the batting, if you look at the statistics, I think every [teams’] batting department suffered in the USA this time. Bowlers got a lot of help. We got better [batting] wickets in the West Indies.”I haven’t seen such a long bad patch for the batters in my ten years playing for Bangladesh. I hope it goes away quickly.”We never had great numbers in T20s. We are improving slowly. We cannot just look at minus points; we are in the negative already. We are trying to get a ‘plus’. Your frustration is expected. We will give you a good win. You have to keep faith in us. We will give it our best.”Taskin was part of a strong bowling display from Bangladesh. He was returning from injury but Tanzim Hasan and legspinner Rishad Hossain led the bowling charts; Rishad remains in joint-third position among the tournament’s top wicket-takers, ahead of the final. Taskin said that it proved talented cricketers are coming up from Bangladesh.”The bowling unit has been doing well for the last few years. We have been consistent. It will keep getting better.”Tanzim and Rishad are among the tournament’s top wicket-takers. It is a positive. We have some future stars emerging from Bangladesh. It says that we have ability. What has taken place has hurt us and the fans, especially our inability to win certain matches,” he said.Taskin said that they were left disappointed with the last game against Afghanistan especially, when Bangladesh had to chase down their target in 12.1 overs to make it to the semi-finals but couldn’t get the job done.”We could have done a lot better. We were all quite disappointed with the last match. We tried to win it in 12 overs, but when we realised it wasn’t possible, we tried to win the game. We still couldn’t win.”There are positives from the campaign. Our bowlers did very well throughout the tournament. We qualified to the Super Eight. We won three matches in the T20 World Cup for the first time. So there are positives, but there are negatives too. We are disappointed like the rest of you. We didn’t play up to expectations.”

While Laura Wolvaardt and Mignon du Preez played protagonists in South Africa’s first win in the three-match series, captain Dane van Niekerk’s cameo and India’s sloppy fielding aided the hosts’ seven-wicket triumph

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2018Mignon du Preez hits through the leg side•ICC/Getty Images

India’s quest for a maiden bilateral series whitewash against South Africa was thwarted by the hosts with a resounding seven-wicket win in Potchefstroom. Laura Wolvaardt and Mignon du Preez, who both struck half-centuries, played protagonists in South Africa’s first win in the three-match series, aided by a brisk 41-run cameo from captain Dane van Niekerk and India’s sloppiness in the end overs of their 240-run defence.Needing 63 off the last nine overs, and the fourth-wicket stand between du Preez and Niekerk worth only nine runs, Shikha Pandey dropped a Niekerk force at mid-off off the first ball of the 42nd over. Four balls later, legspinner Poonam Yadav gave herself a chance of picking up her second wicket and India a shot at sending back du Preez, only to be squandered by wicketkeeper Sushma Verma in the form of a missed stumping. When Poonam came back in the 44th to bowl her ninth over, she dropped a return catch off van Niekerk, who subsequently unleashed a flurry of drives and sweeps – some while falling on her knee – and peppered the square-leg boundary for quick runs. She totaled five fours in her unbeaten 30-ball innings, while routinely capitalising on overthrows from India in the back-end of the chase.Van Niekerk’s ingenuity amounted to a 72-run stand with du Preez, who anchored the chase with an unbeaten 111-ball 90 that steered a 118-run third-wicket partnership with 18-year-old Wolvaardt. Coming into the game on the back of scores 9 and 21 in the previous two ODIs, Wolvaardt weathered the early loss of opening partner Lizelle Lee, and put on 41 runs with Andrie Steyn (30 off 53) en route to her 88-ball 59. In doing so, Wolvaardt became the youngest South African to notch up 1000 runs in ODI cricket. After Ekta Bisht removed Wolvaardt, du Preez kept the chase on track with plucky singles, including the one that sealed the chase with four balls to spare.Out of the three changes made to India’s winning combination from the previous two matches, debutant Pooja Vastrakar, the teenage medium-pacer who came in for Jhulan Goswami, and Bisht, who replaced fellow left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, leaked 77 runs between them for a solitary wicket in their combined 18 overs. The other change – in the batting department – Mona Meshram, who came in for Punam Raut, pinched 11 in her 22-ball labour during an India innings that blew hot and cold in their 240-run effort.While Smriti Mandhana, the Player of the Series, followed her 135 and 84 with a duck, captain Mithali Raj fell for a 24-ball 4 as both found themselves in the middle of a blistering opening burst from Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail, who topped and tailed her 9-1-30-4 with the wickets of Mandhana and tailender Bisht. Deepti Sharma, however, validated Raj’s decision to promote her to the opening role with a 112-ball 79. After van Niekerk brought Harmanpreet Kaur’s 35-ball 25 to an end, Deepti steadied India’s innings with an 83-run stand with Veda Krishnamurthy, becoming the youngest Indian to get to the 1000-run mark in women’s ODIs.Krishnamurthy, meanwhile, added urgency to the innings with a quick-paced second straight fifty, before a run-a-ball 17 from Verma and 31-run blitz from Pandey hoisted India to 240 as the hosts bowled them out off the last ball of the innings, concluded by part-time bowler Chloe Tryon who took two wickets in her 10 overs.

Yorkshire’s final three wickets fell in just 40 minutes on day three, giving the hosts a manageable target of 158

ECB Reporters Network21-Apr-2024Leus Du Plooy and Ryan Higgins steered Middlesex to six-wicket victory over Vitality County Championship Division Two favourites Yorkshire on an absorbing day three at Lord’s.Hungarian citizen Du Plooy and the Zimbabwean-born Higgins, shared a match-winning stand of 59 just as the Seaxes were wobbling at 77 for 3 in pursuit of 158 to win in this low-scoring encounter.Du Plooy fell eight short of 50 with victory in sight, but Higgins remained 33 not out when Stephen Eskinazi made the winning runs. Ben Coad’s 2 for 20 led a spirited attempt by the visitors to defend the tally, but in the end they didn’t have enough on the board.The chase came after Yorkshire, who resumed on 216-7 were dismissed in the first 40 minutes of the day for 244, George Hill last man out after extending his overnight 52 to 75 with several well struck boundaries, Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones finishing with 3 for 78.The win marks a significant moment for Middlesex. Relegated from the top tier last year after gleaning only five batting bonus points – three of those in the final game of the season – they had surpassed that total in the first two games of this against a Kookaburra ball rendered impotent by placid surfaces.This however was in many ways the acid test, a fourth innings run chase in a game where batting had proved difficult against just about everyone’s tip for the laurels.It should probably come as no surprise that Du Plooy, the man brought in over the winter to shore up the batting ranks, combined with Higgins, so often the sole contributor in 2023, to get Middlesex over the line.There was drama first ball of the chase when Shan Masood brilliantly fielded Nathan Fernandes’s cover-drive and shied at the stumps, the suspicion being the youngster would have been short of his ground had the throw hit, despite a full-length dive. Two balls later however, Mark Stoneman was trapped lbw to Coad for nought giving the visitors a dream start.A tense 75 minutes unfolded as Fernandes and Holden resisted against probing bowling. Holden calmed home nerves with a couple of glorious cover drives, before being given a life on 17 when gloving a short one from Mickey Edwards only for Jonathan Tattersall to spill the gift and allow the hosts to lunch on 40 for 1.When battle resumed it was just as tense, Fernandes and Holden, defiant in defence, getting a big stride in as often as possible to negate any swing. The partnership crept to 50 before four overthrows from a sharp Holden single added to the visitors’ growing sense of frustration.The tension though would tell on Fernandes, who, bogged down, hooked an innocuous short ball from Thompson down the throat of Hill at long leg. Du Plooy might have followed him a few balls later to an identical shot which to his relief carried a few yards further and cleared the rope.Coad returned to have Holden caught behind from one that bounced on him and was taken by Tattersall standing up, in the aftermath of which time seemed to stand still as disciplined bowling to a well-set field suffocated attempts to score.Boundaries for Ryan Higgins in successive overs from Thompson helped the hosts over 100, those blows seeming to break the shackles as the White Rose which had for so long promised to blossom amid adversity, slowly but inexorably wilted.Du Plooy slashed one from Moriarty to Adam Lyth at slip on 42, but victory came without further alarms 25 minutes after tea.Earlier Coad had edged his first ball of the day from Ethan Bamber into the hands of Du Plooy at slip to end an eighth-wicket stand of 62 and thereafter only the aggression of Hill pushed Yorkshire’s lead beyond 150.

Rasooli’s maiden international half-century took Afghanistan to what was a match-winning 153

Abhimanyu Bose13-Dec-2024Darwish Rasooli’s maiden international half-century propelled Afghanistan to 153 for 6 before their bowlers delivered to help Afghanistan comfortably win the second T20I against Zimbabwe and draw level in the series with one to play.Zimbabwe won a last-ball thriller to post their first T20I victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday, but the visitors ensured there was no drama this time around, routing the home side by 50 runs with 14 balls to spare.Rasooli found support from Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib to prop up Afghanistan. Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan then picked up three wickets each, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman dealt a crucial double-blow in the middle overs.

Afghanistan stutter in the powerplay again

Afghanistan’s top order failed to fire for the second game in a row; they lost three wickets in the space of nine balls to finish the powerplay on 41 for 3 – a minor improvement on their 34 for 4 in the first T20I.Rahmanullah Gurbaz got going with a boundary punched through square in the first over, while Sediqullah Atal hit Blessing Muzarabani for two fours through the off side in the second.But Trevor Gwandu made an instant impact, striking with his first ball, Gurbaz spooning a catch to mid-off. Two balls later Zubaid Akbari was run out trying to pinch a single to backward point that was never there.Trevor Gwandu struck with his first ball of the match•AFP/Getty Images

Atal tried to keep Afghanistan’s momentum going, pulling Muzarabani in front of square for his third boundary off the seamer, but Muzarabani had the last laugh as he had Atal caught at cover point next ball.Afghanistan could have lost a fourth wicket in the powerplay thanks to another mix-up, but Azmatullah Omarzai survived. Rasooli got going with a pickup shot behind square off Gwandu, and then lofted Wellington Masakadza over extra cover in the first over without fielding restrictions.

Burl pegs Afghanistan back with a double-strike

Omarzai, who took some time to settle, pulled a Sikandar Raza half-tracker over midwicket for the first six of the match in the tenth over.He followed that up with another six down the ground in the next over but holed out trying to hit Ryan Burl in the same areas. Brian Bennett took an excellent catch running across to his left from long-on, catching it high and throwing it up before taking one step outside the boundary rope and coming back in to complete the catch.In his next over, Burl dropped one short and Nabi miscued a pull to deep midwicket’s left and Wessly Madhevere held on to a screamer at full stretch. Now Afghanistan had half their side back in the hut.

Naib fined for breaching ICC code of conduct

Gulbadin Naib has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second T20I. He breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”

Rasooli gives Afghanistan late surge

Rasooli slapped Gwandu over mid-off in the next over before going downtown again when Burl almost pulled off yet another fantastic parried-grab on the boundary, but replays showed he had made contact with the ground outside the boundary rope at the wrong moment.Naib then edged a four off Raza, as Afghanistan collected 22 runs from the two overs after Nabi’s wicket.The best was yet to come. In the penultimate over, Rasooli hit Ngarava for three fours on the trot, bringing up his maiden T20I fifty in the process. That was 17 for the over, and Afghanistan were in sight of 150. Gwandu got him in the final over and conceded just the six runs though, to keep Zimbabwe’s target down to 154.

Omarzai, Naveen deal early blows

Zimbabwe started to build momentum from the second over of their chase, with both openers hitting Mujeeb for a four each before Bennett dispatched Naveen over deep midwicket for six.But soon enough Naveen spotted Tadiwanashe Marumani coming down the track and pulled his length back and the batter ended up slashing it to deep backward point.Omarzai struck with another short ball, having Dion Myers caught at deep backward square.Brian Bennett could not carry on after getting a good start•AFP/Getty Images

Mujeeb derails Zimbabwe’s chase

Mujeeb came back in the attack immediately after the powerplay and had Madhevere hitting a drive straight to short cover.In his next over, he bamboozled Bennett as he got one to turn past his outside edge and just clip the off bail.Rashid then joined in the fun when he trapped Burl in front trying to sweep and at 57 for 5, Zimbabwe were on the ropes.

Naveen, Rashid close the game out

Tashinga Musekiwa, who hit the winning runs off the final ball of the first T20I, took Mujeeb on in his final over, driving him through extra cover and launching him over long-on off consecutive deliveries.But Musekiwa’s counterattack was short-lived; Naveen rushed him with pace in the next over and he miscued a simple catch to cover.Rashid then struck twice in an over and the game was all but done.Naveen had Raza caught at deep midwicket in the 17th, and Fareed Malik finished things off castling Muzarabani next over.

Spinners skittle Lancashire for 149 as visitors establish 231-run lead going into final day

ECB Reporters Network26-May-2024Career-best figures of 4 for 20 from Warwickshire slow left armer Jacob Bethell ensured Lancashire’s first innings collapsed from 66 for 3 overnight to 149 all out before the visitors built a lead of 231 runs with seven wickets in hand after closing on 96 for 3 going into the last day of this Vitality County Championship Division One clash at Emirates Old Trafford.Once Olly Hannon-Dalby had clean bowled Tom Bruce for three early on, it was Bethell and fellow tweaker Jake Lintott who took over, with the latter also producing career-best figures of 3 for 10, as the hosts lost their last six wickets for 36 runs in 19.2 overs.It was a familiar story for Lancashire, who have been dismissed for under 150 in their first innings three times this season. With Bruce’s dismissal followed by George Balderson’s. However, the all-rounder was unlucky after he was given out for 20 after seemingly not connecting with a Bethell delivery, which deflected off the wicketkeeper’s thigh to Will Rhodes at slip.Keaton Jennings could also claim bad luck after he was adjudged lbw to Bethell for 36 to a delivery that looked to be sliding down leg but Lancashire’s brittle tail could have little complaint as Tom Aspinwall, Tom Bailey, Nathan Lyon and Jack Morley all went cheaply with only Matty Hurst showing any kind of resistance to finish unbeaten on 20.Warwickshire commenced their second innings with an unlikely lead of 135 runs meaning the hosts needed quick wickets and Balderston obliged with a beauty to remove Rob Yates for five edging behind.Lyon, who took just one wicket in the first innings, struck next with a turning delivery that was helped on its way by an inside edge from the Warwickshire skipper and first innings centurion, Alex Davies, who departed for 17. When Hartley trapped Will Rhodes in front for five, home hopes were raised once again with the score 34 for 3.But a counterattack from Ed Barnard, who hit 40 from 46 balls, and Dan Mousey, who struck 18 from 20, eased Warwickshire’s worries and took them to 96 for 3 when the much-forecast heavy rain came just after 5 p.m. accompanied by some rumbles of thunder, which even when the showers stopped prevented any further play.

Lloyd Pope claimed four wickets, including three in an over, as Sydney Thunder collapsed

AAP14-Jan-2024Adelaide Strikers captain Matt Short steered his side to the BBL finals with a quality innings to down the Sydney Thunder.In sealing a spot in the top four, Short clubbed a brilliant 74 not out as Strikers chased Thunder’s 140 with nine wickets and 23 balls to spare at Manuka Oval on Sunday night.They’ll face Perth Scorchers or the Sydney Sixers in an elimination final and they take some serious form there, having won four straight games.Related

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Legspinner Lloyd Pope (4-22) and quick Jamie Overton (3-26) led a strong bowling night for Strikers, with regular wicket-taking ensuring Thunder couldn’t get set in a stuttering innings.In comparison, Short looked unstoppable from the moment he strode into the middle, quickly showing the sort of form that’s seen him smash six half-centuries in nine innings.Such was Short’s dominance, he deposited two enormous sixes out of the Manuka Oval precinct, while No. 3 Jake Weatherald was in similar touch with four sixes in his unbeaten 47.Things could have been different for Thunder, with David Warner dropping a difficult catch offered by Short off the first ball of the innings.Short praised his team’s ability to hit their straps at the pointy-end of the competition.”We made it pretty hard for ourselves the last few games obviously having to win the last four or five to keep our hopes alive,” he told reporters. “Very happy with the boys, we hit form at the right time and I’m looking forward to next week. We were at the bottom of the ladder at some stage there, to turn that around and get the wins and make the finals, it’s a real credit to the boys.”Short’s remarkable batting form, which has earned him a call-up to the Australian ODI side, is sure to be a trump card for Strikers in finals.”I’ve always put a big emphasis on starting the tournament well, getting a bit of momentum early on and rolling through, which I think I did pretty well,” he said. “The challenge was to sustain that which I haven’t in the last couple of years, I’ve finished tournaments pretty poorly. I’m pretty proud of being able to go on with the tournament and the start I had.”Batting first, Thunder opener Alex Hales looked to take the game away from the Strikers, but legspinner Cameron Boyce produced a perfect leg-break that gained an edge to turn the match on its head.Contributions lower down the order from skipper Chris Green and Matt Gilkes helped the Thunder build a somewhat respectable score, before they were bowled out with four balls to spare.Top-order players Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Ollie Davies all fell cheaply. Spinner Pope did his part in cleaning up Thunder’s tail, including bowling Green and Nathan McAndrew in consecutive balls. He didn’t get his hat-trick but settled for the next best thing, knocking over Liam Hatcher a ball later.

Alastair’s unbeaten half-century builds on Sam’s three wickets as hosts begin reply unscathed

ECB Reporters Network19-Jul-2023Essex 106 for 0 (A Cook 64*, Browne 31*) trail Kent 207 (Compton 47, S Cook 3-19) by 101 runsSir Alastair Cook notched the 123rd half-century of his bejewelled career as he steered Essex into a commanding position on the first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Kent.Cook, still there at the close on 64, was joined in an unbeaten first-wicket stand of 106 by Nick Browne, who was painstakingly attempting to rebuild his flagging form after a run of three successive ducks. He was on the path to redempton with 31 from 117 balls.Earlier, Kent elected to bat on a green-tinged pitch under heavy grey clouds that required the use of floodlights after an hour. Their innings lasted just short of two sessions for 207 as the lower-order threw away their wickets with some abandon.Only a sedate 58-run fourth-wicket partnership between Ben Compton, who recorded an 81-ball 47, and captain Jack Leaning interrupted a regular clatter of wickets with nagging seamers Sam Cook and Jamie Porter sharing six of them equally.Twanda Muyeye survived a decent chance to Matt Critchley at third slip before he was beaten for pace to present Sam Cook with the first of three wickets for 19 in 11 overs.Next ball Joe Denly’s miserable season continued when he played down the wrong line and was caught behind for his fourth duck of this campaign.To compound Kent’s problems, Harry Finch faced 15 deliveries without scoring when he set off for a non-existent single to gully where Paul Walter swooped and hit the single stump he could see.Compton and Leaning settled in for a stand that needed 17 overs to put on fifty, and that despite Compton hitting Doug Bracewell for three successive boundaries, two through the covers, the other a flick off his legs.However, to the last ball before lunch Compton attempted to dig out a fuller delivery from Simon Harmer and only succeeded in chipping the ball back tamely to the bowler.Leaning followed soon after the break when he got a thick edge to one from Sam Cook that went away from him and wicketkeeper Adam Rossington took a fine diving catch to his right. Joey Evison went shouldering arms to one that came back late from Bracewell.Grant Stewart smashed Harmer for two straight sixes in a brisk, seven-over stand of 43 with Jordan Cox before Porter found a peach of a ball to remove Cox.Porter then set a short-ball honey-trap for Stewart who hooked straight to one of an army on the boundary, and two balls later Matt Quinn skied rashly to midwicket. Arshdeep Singh swept Critchley for a huge six and wafted lazily at the next ball and was stumped without bothering to look back.When Essex replied in the evening session, Alastair Cook slipped into imperious mode after a watchful start, showing an array of shots around the wicket in depositing Stewart for three successive fours, though he was put down off the same bowler to a sharp chance in the gully.Of the fifty partnership in 17 overs, hecontributed 38 with Browne playing second fiddle with a dozen; of the century partnership Browne had 27 and Cook 63, passing fifty for the fifth time this season when he swept Hamid Qadri for his 10th boundary.Essex, incidentally, will be reinforced with the inclusion of Dan Lawrence in their batting line-up on day two as he returns south after being the spare man in the England XII for the concurrent fourth Test at Old Trafford. He will replace Robin Das.

The Strikers’ slim playoff chances take further beating while the Sixers moved to the top of the ladder

Tristan Lavalette15-Jan-2025Steven Smith produced another blistering BBL innings before Hayden Kerr and Sean Abbott kept their cool at the death as Sydney Sixers completed a nerve-jangling chase that has almost ended Adelaide Strikers’ slim finals prospects.Chasing 183 at the Adelaide Oval, Smith’s red-hot form continued with a rapid half-century but his dismissal sparked a collapse. Sixers slumped to 92 for 5, but they rallied through their batting depth.They still needed 16 off the last seven deliveries before Kerr smashed a tossed up delivery from legspinner Lloyd Pope over the rope. He then hit quick Henry Thornton for a boundary off the second ball of the final over before Abbott hit the winning run off the penultimate delivery.Sixers moved to the top of the ladder, while Strikers need a miracle to progress into the finals.

Smith dominates early, Kerr steps up late

All eyes were on Smith after his blistering ton against Perth Scorchers in his BBL return. With three centuries in his last seven BBL matches, he clearly enjoys letting his hair down for Sixers, who he captained to the title in the competition’s first season.Smith’s unbelievable BBL record continued with 52 off 31 balls and he started with a third ball six after launching quick Brendan Doggett over the legside. He smashed four sixes with the loud whack coming off the bat music to the ears of the Sixers.Smith’s best shot might have been a back-foot smoke off Thornton that sped to the boundary like a tracer bullet. He scored 34 of the 47 runs in the powerplay before shifting gears with the field spread around.But Smith’s dismissal to Jamie Overton just before drinks triggered a collapse with Jordan Silk falling later in the 10th over lbw after an unsuccessful review. Skipper Moises Henriques, who had called for the review, then was adjudged lbw to spinner Lloyd Pope, but he was livid with the decision having inside edged onto his pads.Sixers slumped to 92 for 5 before Ben Dwarshuis and Lachlan Shaw produced a brisk half-century partnership. They were unable to see Sixers home but Kerr stepped against Strikers, once again, having memorably lifted them home in the Challenger final of BBL 11.His six off Pope – who was brought on in a gamble by skipper Matthew Short – was perhaps the game-changing moment.
Overton finishes season on a highStrikers’ season appeared in ruins under an avalanche from Smith, who reached his half-century off just 27 balls. But Overton had other ideas in his last BBL match before linking up with his England teammates for the white-ball tour of India,He entered the attack just before drinks and produced a thick edge off Smith that flew to short third. Overton then trapped Silk lbw later in a game-changing over.Strikers were not able to get over the line, but Overton can be well pleased with his season. The firebrand has become a fan favourite for Strikers but a villain for opposition supporters to be of the characters of this BBL season.Lloyd Pope celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Chohan unleashed, Shaw sparkles in field

Sixers, in trademark style, were a well oiled machine in the first 10 overs after electing to bowl. Henriques brilliantly rang the changes as he rotated his four quicks during the powerplay.He then threw the ball to offspinner Todd Murphy, who claimed D’Arcy Short and Alex Carey in – curiously – his only over of the innings.Jafer Chohan, the Yorkshire legspinner, finally made his BBL debut after being a surprise selection in the draft. He varied his speeds nicely and finished with 0-30 from 4 overs.Sixers weren’t quite as slick after drinks, with their quicks unable to execute. For the second straight game, Abbott struggled badly at the death to cap a forgettable performance.But 22-year-old Shaw did provide some cheer in the field. In just his fourth BBL game, Shaw produced an outstanding piece of fielding on the legside rope where he acrobatically flicked the ball back into play to prevent a boundary.Shaw, who is normally a wicketkeeper, produced another spectacular effort in the outfield after a diving catch – having misjudged initially – amid very windy conditions to dismiss Alex Ross.

Strikers recover well after top-order collapse

In Strikers’ last match, they flayed Brisbane Heat and racked up the second highest score in BBL history. Matthew Short starred with a belligerent century, but he was confronted by a surface that wasn’t as rock hard and he walked to the crease without opening partner Chris Lynn, who suffered a hamstring injury in that match.Short looked to continue where he left off with a boundary straight down the ground off Jack Edwards, who earlier in the day was named the new Australia A captain.But Short could not replicate the shot, merely hitting Edwards straight up in the air in the first of three reckless dismissals.Carey missed out on the run glut against Heat and he appeared keen to make up for it with three early boundaries. But Carey fell tamely after the powerplay, picking out deep midwicket two balls after D’Arcy Short was clean bowled by Murphy having failed to execute a reverse sweep.It was left to Ross and Ollie Pope, who made their move after taking the power surge in the 12th over.Ross nailed several drives through the offside, but Pope was more fluent and reached his half-century off 35 balls before Overton provided a late flurry in the death overs.Harry Manenti hit a six in his debut to complete an impressive Strikers recovery. Manenti, who has represented Italy in international cricket, was presented his cap by his brother Ben – a Sixers squad member.

Trent boult found some form to lead the dismantling of Sri Lanka in Bengaluru

Madushka Balasuriya09-Nov-20231:30

Harmison: Excellent display of fast bowling from Boult, Southee

New Zealand all but booked their place in the World Cup semi-final against India with a dominant five-wicket win – with 160 balls to spare – against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. The result took them to ten points, and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.743, leaving Pakistan needing to beat England by 287 runs, while Afghanistan need an even more fantastical 438-run win over South Africa, if they are to surpass New Zealand’s NRR.If Pakistan were to chase, they would have no chance of qualifying.As for Sri Lanka, the margin of defeat against New Zealand left them languishing in ninth place, thus out of qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They now need one of England or Bangladesh to suffer defeats – while Netherlands also need to lose to India – to the extent that their respective NRRs drop below Sri Lanka’s.New Zealand’s win was the product of an all-round performance with bat and ball. While the threat of rain in Bengaluru ultimately proved to be a red herring, winning the toss and putting Sri Lanka in seemed to be the most prudent way to ensure both an NRR-boosting victory as well as hedge against any rain interruptions and DLS interventions.And so it proved. Despite the loss of some late wickets, Sri Lanka’s total of 171 was comfortably dealt with, as Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell all pitched in with forties.On a pitch that proved even better to bat on under lights, Ravindra and Conway put on 86 to break open the chase, before Mitchell’s 43 off just 31 balls rammed home the result. All three fell before the finish, but the win was never in doubt.Kusal Perera counterattacked for Sri Lanka amid plenty of early blows•AFP/Getty Images

That it was so easy in the end was down to a solid bowling effort and a haphazard outing with the bat for Sri Lanka. New Zealand shared the wickets around, with Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Ravindra picking up two apiece, though Trent Boult’s 3 for 37 was what had set his side up at the top of Sri Lanka’s innings – and earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.Such was New Zealand’s dominance that they won so comfortably despite dropping three catches. The first was of Kusal Perera without scoring, as Tom Latham grassed a straightforward caught behind. Latham got his shot at redemption a ball later though, with Pathum Nissanka nicking through for an even more simple chance.Kusal Mendis fell a few overs later, splicing a leading edge to deep third while looking to hit over midwicket, with Sadeera Samarawickrama following soon after edging through to Mitchell at first slip. Both those wickets were grabbed by the excellent Boult, taking him past 50 wickets in World Cups – he ended the game with that tally on 52.But even as wickets fell at one end, Perera functioned as a one-man army, finding boundaries all around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and punishing New Zealand for that early drop. Two picked-up sixes over long-on off Tim Southee were the highlights of some belligerent ball striking, as he brought up his 50 off just 22 deliveries – the joint second-fastest by a Sri Lankan in ODI World Cups.Trent Boult went past 50 World Cup wickets•ICC/Getty Images

An over later, though, Charith Asalanka was adjudged lbw off Boult after a well-taken review, before Perera fell a few deliveries later, getting under a delivery from Ferguson that was not full enough to drive and slicing it to cover.Sri Lanka were in free fall at 70 for 5 in the tenth over, before Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva put up mild resistance. Dhananjaya was reprieved too, courtesy Latham’s second drop of the game, a tough chance off Santner during that stand of 34. Santner’s guile, control and subtle variations in pace, however, were eventually too good for the pair.Mathews was the first to go in what might have been his last World Cup innings – perhaps even ODI innings – lunging forward at one that was floated up and then dipped. He failed to get to the pitch, and the bounce and turn did the rest, grazing the outside edge to Mitchell at slip. It was a similar story for Dhananjaya, after another flighted delivery with some added bounce found its way into Mitchell’s hands.Maheesh Theekshana batted for 91 deliveries•ICC/Getty Images

Chamika Karunaratne, making just his second appearance at this World Cup, did not fare any better, edging behind Ferguson. A swift end to the innings seemed imminent but Maheesh Theekshana, in partnerships with Dushmantha Chameera and Dilshan Madushanka, showed the resistance that was lacking throughout the rest of the innings.In facing 91 deliveries, Theekshana played more balls than all of Sri Lanka’s frontline batters combined. Even Madushanka’s 48 balls were more than what any other batter faced apart from Theekshana.Theekshana remained unbeaten on 38 – the second-highest scorer of the innings – as the ninth and tenth wicket stands, despite only contributing 58 runs, spanned 139 deliveries. Sri Lanka lost their eighth wicket in the 24th over, but it wasn’t until the 47th that New Zealand dismissed them, with Ravindra finding Madushanka’s edge for Latham to complete a sharp take.It took a while for New Zealand to get there, after winning their first four matches and then losing their next four, but this victory has all but ensured a fifth consecutive ODI World Cup semi-final.

Four wickets from England’s debut seamer tore through South Africa’s top order leaving them in danger of follow-on at The Oval

The Report by David Hopps28-Jul-2017Even before he bowled a ball in Test cricket, Toby Roland-Jones could be said to have made a name for himself. Double-barrelled international cricketers, after all, are a bit of a collector’s item, just enough of them to raise an XI with a 12th man and manager in support.By the time he finished his first spell, Roland-Jones was more than part of a statistical quirk; his name was about to permeate the cricketing world. Four for 22 was quite an introduction for his first eight overs in Test cricket, South Africa’s top four all back in the dressing room, caught cold by a debut that, whatever the extent of his Test career, will go down in England’s history.As the weather deteriorated from the west, and the floodlights pierced the south London gloom, England followed up Ben Stokes’ astute century – his fifth in Test cricket – by revelling in a perfect bowling day. South Africa crashed to 61 for 7 by the 26th over before stabilising at 126 for 8 by the close of the second day, still 227 behind.Widely criticised for the manner of their defeat at Trent Bridge, England remain well placed to go 2-1 up in the series with one to play. South Africa need a further 28 runs to avoid the follow-on.Supporters spending a day at the Test buy into a lottery. On Thursday, a capacity crowd at the start of The Oval’s 100th Test observed Alastair Cook’s orderly resistance as England reached a creditable 171 for 4. Friday’s full house delighted in something more enticing: Stokes’ enthralling hundred – raised during a rush of three successive sixes against the left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj while the last man, James Anderson, looked on from the non-striker’s end – followed by the high drama of Roland-Jones’ introduction to the Test scene.South Africa were hampered by the loss of Vernon Philander, who left the field midway through the morning with his stomach ailment unrelenting and went to hospital for tests, which also rendered him unable to bat as wickets crashed in the final session. His involvement on the third day had not been confirmed at the close.Strong, willing and decidedly able, Roland-Jones has a commodious run-up and, when he finally reaches his destination, hits the seam. He has long been regarded as a redoubtable bowler on the county scene, the man whose hat-trick against Yorkshire at Lord’s last September gave Middlesex their first Championship for 23 years. At 29, he has now made his mark in more exalted circumstances south of the Thames, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock all accounted for, the first three in a burst of 3-3 in 15 balls.

Roland-Jones’ stunning start

2009 – Last instance of a fast bowler from England to take four or more wickets on Test debut. Graham Onions took 5 for 38 against West Indies at Lords in 2009. Toby Roland-Jones took 4 for 39 from his 11 overs. With two wickets remaining he can look to add to his tally.
5 – Number of wickets lost by South Africa before they reached 50. The last instance of South Africa losing their first five wickets for less than fifty was also against England at Johannesburg in 2016. They were bowled out for 83 on that occasion.
72 – Balls taken by Ben Stokes to reach his half-century. Incidentally he also took the same number of balls to move from 50 to 100. After negotiating the second new ball, Ben Stokes scored 27 runs from 12 balls to move from 76 to 103. Stokes scores his second century against South Africa and averages 49.83 from 12 innings.

Elgar fell to what became the last ball before tea, crouching forward to be caught at the wicket off a faint edge, a decision Elgar failed to overturn on review and which, by his expression, Roland-Jones did not entirely expect until he saw the spike on the big screen.Amla might have fallen to the next ball – the first after tea – but England’s review, in search of an lbw decision, narrowly failed. Considering that the last time Amla played at The Oval he batted for more than 13 hours it was perhaps a better gamble than most.On this occasion, however, the balance heavily favoured the bowlers. Roland-Jones brought one back in his third over to have Kuhn lbw, struck on the back leg. Amla followed in his fourth – a ripper, this one, which took off and flicked his glove as he tried to drop his hands. The fact Amla walked somehow made it seem even grander. Finally, came de Kock who aimed to work a full delivery to the leg side and sent an outside edge to Stokes at gully.Roland-Jones had replaced Anderson after only three overs – a sensible nerve-settler by his captain Joe Root – and Anderson’s eventual switch of ends did the trick. He was in no mood to waste the opportunity. Du Plessis left one that seamed back and was lbw on the back leg and Chris Morris patted back a return catch.Their recovery, of sorts, was some relief. No side has made less than 100 in the first innings of an Oval Test since 1957 when Surrey’s spinners, Jim Laker and Tony Lock, tore through the West Indies.Stokes’ 112 from 153 balls was one of his most accomplished, an innings of contrasting shades as he defended with conviction and appreciated the opportunities to play more expansively.Anderson’s emergence at No. 11 with Stokes still nine short of his hundred persuaded him that it was time to crank things up. Maharaj’s second ball should have caused his downfall at deep midwicket only for du Plessis to touch the boundary markers as he stretched to take the catch.Undeterred, Stokes stretched to swing a ball well wide of off-stump down the ground and into the stands; du Plessis applauded ruefully. His century secured, for good measure Stokes slog-swept the next one for a third six in a row. The next over, from Morne Morkel, silenced him as he launched the bowler high to Kagiso Rabada, running in from long-off.There was no 31st Test hundred for Cook – 82 overnight, he had only added six when Morkel won an lbw decision. Morkel’s wicket confirmed his excellent record against Cook as he dismissed him for the 10th time in Test cricket. No bowler has dismissed him on as many occasions.South Africa bowled impressively as long as Philander and Morkel had the ball in their hands, but their support seamers posed less threat. Morris found so much swing from the Dukes ball that he was unable to control it: he was one player, on this evidence, who did not benefit from South Africa’s decision to rest between Nottingham and The Oval rather than request a further warm-up match.Stokes’ recognised an opportunity to press ahead. He had stood so far outside his crease against Philander, to negate his movement, that one half expected him to follow Philander into the dressing room and take guard.Instead, he feasted upon Morris. Three overpitched deliveries in one over from disappeared to the boundary and Maharaj, conceded three more against Jonny Bairstow, one of them an advance to drive down the ground, a typically defiant repeat of the shot that caused his downfall at Trent Bridge.England rattled up another 73 at nearly five an over, making excellent use of the hour leading up to the second new ball.Unsurprisingly, South Africa took it immediately with England, at 256 for 5, threatening to break free. Rabada felt the benefit as he took the new ball for the first time in the series. Ten deliveries into the new ball and Bairstow was dislodged, pushing at one that bounced and moved away for du Plessis to take the catch at second slip.Late-order allies slowly departed as Stokes edged towards his century. Moeen Ali fell to a keeper’s catch via an inside-edge onto his pad, Morkel the deserving bowler. Roland-Jones’ spirited 25 from 25 balls also provided a glimpse of his dangerous late-order hitting. Morris leaked 17 off an over to complete a miserable day.Roland-Jones’ best shot was a pulled six off Rabada. As he revelled in the near-absurdity of it all, he might have imagined that he would have no happier moment all day. Then England tossed him the ball and he realised that it was only the start.