All posts by n8rngtd.top

England’s captain says he “couldn’t be prouder of the boys and all their efforts” following his team’s runners-up finish

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2022Halfway through the Under-19 World Cup final, England were confident they could still win, despite only having put up 189. Tom Prest, their captain, had the belief that his bowling attack could defend that total.”We’ve bowled really well throughout the tournament,” he said. “We thought if we could take some early wickets, get their middle order in early and really put some pressure on… then Josh Boyden taking a wicket in the first over kind of filled us with confidence.Related

• Googly specialist Rehan Ahmed is on the move

• Fateh Singh following the Moeen Ali path

• India win fifth U-19 title after Bawa, Ravi run through England

• Laxman praises India's resilience; Prest proud of England's run

“But yeah, at half-time I thought we’d done really well to get up to 189 from where we were, [thanks to] James Rew’s effort. It’s not often that you get to play in a World Cup final. That’s enough motivation as it is to scrap for every ball and defend every run as best as we could.”As it turned out, India survived a few hiccups to chase down their target and claim their fifth Under-19 World Cup title. Despite the loss, Prest said England could feel proud of the tournament they played, and for being the first side from his country to reach an Under-19 final since 1998.”It’s obviously pretty tough to take, losing in a final, but we’ve done amazingly just to get here,” Prest said. “It’s taken 24 years to get to a final. I couldn’t be prouder of the boys and all their efforts, right from the group stage. We’ve put in some amazing performances, but unfortunately we couldn’t just do one more.”India seamers Ravi Kumar and Raj Bawa ran through England’s top order to leave them gasping at 61 for 6 and then 91 for 7, but Rew’s innings of 95 and an unbeaten 34 from No. 9 James Sales dragged England to a total of 189. A bit more solidity at the top, Prest suggested, could have led England to a defendable total.James Rew’s 95 dragged England from 91 for 7 to an eventual total of 189•ICC/Getty Images

“The way James Rew and James Sales came in, I think they put on close to a hundred or maybe even just over [93],” he said. “All it would have taken was one more partnership, really, earlier on in our innings, and if we had got to 230 it would have been really interesting.”Prest was proud of the way his bowling unit fought, and kept India on their toes through most of the chase. “I think we actually did really well, restricting the run rate,” he said. “It felt like they were almost digging themselves a hole, really, that first partnership [between Harnoor Singh and Shaik Rasheed for the second wicket]. They chewed up quite a lot of balls – we felt, just a couple of wickets and we were well in the game.”Rasheed obviously played really well, but then we got the key wicket of him and then we got Yash Dhull as well out, fairly soon after. Once we got those two quick ones the game kind of changed, and they had to rebuild again. I felt the bowlers, all of us, we bowled really well, we didn’t bowl much loose balls, and it was backed up in the field as well, with some great fielding.”Asked for his highlight of England’s tournament, Prest picked the tense semi-final win over Afghanistan.”I think that win in the semi-final against Afghanistan, that was an incredible feeling, to get to a World Cup final,” Prest said. “There was a lot of pressure at the back end there, and the bowlers really stepped up, so we did really well to come through that, and yeah, get to play in the final today. That’s probably my highlight.”

Pakistan closed eight wickets down and 244 runs ahead as England’s seamers battled back on the third evening

The Report by Valkerie Baynes07-Aug-2020Yasir Shah collected four wickets as Pakistan secured a healthy first-innings lead but England’s five-pronged seam attack chipped away to keep them in contention during the opening match of what could turn out to be a classic three-Test series.Late on an intriguing third day, it felt as though there were multiple scenarios yet to be played out, but it would take much more than England had shown so far to completely flip the script. By the close, the hosts had put themselves in a position to do just that, provided they can take early wickets on the fourth day and then produce an improved batting performance in their second innings.England had resumed in peril at 92 for 4 and required either Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler or both to produce big innings with the deficit 184 runs following Shan Masood’s outstanding 156, built over the first two days.Instead, Pakistan seamers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas kept the pressure on the batsmen with a miserly first hour in which England managed 19 runs. Abbas was particularly exacting, conceding just one run from his initial seven overs.Pope, who had resumed on 46, passed fifty during that time but he and Buttler, who began the day on 15, just couldn’t get into a flow.It was teenage firebrand Naseem Shah who caused the batsmen real bother, however, eliciting loose shots from both before he had Pope out to an excellent ball that lifted late off a full length, found the splice and went straight to Shadab Khan at gully for 62.Three balls later, Naseem cracked Chris Woakes on the side of his helmet with bouncer. Concussion tests passed, Woakes joined Buttler in guiding England to lunch otherwise unscathed, despite the introduction of Yasir, who bowled two overs before the break. In all, England had added 62 runs for the session and trailed by 167.Yasir, who had Joe Root caught behind on the second evening, struck with his second ball after lunch, bowling Buttler between bat and pad as he played forward to a ball he expected to turn more than it did and which crashed into the top of off stump. Buttler, having come in under pressure to score runs, added just 23 for the day before he found himself out to a very good delivery.Yasir then removed Dom Bess with turn and bounce and an excellent slips catch by Asad Shafiq, who leapt high to his right to pull down the ball which looped off the shoulder of the bat and, crucially, held on as he hit the ground, horizontal and at full stretch.Woakes had dug in for 19 runs off 48 balls but he also fell to Yasir, whose quicker ball clattered into middle stump. For a third day in a row, England were struggling after lunch but being eight wickets down brought Stuart Broad to the crease and there was a sense of anticipation following his crucial half-century in the third Test against West Indies not a fortnight ago.Three consecutive boundaries followed off Afridi but by the time Khan had Jofra Archer caught behind off the glove for 16, Broad had quietened down. He had another go with 6-4-2 in succession off Yasir to move to 29 but that’s where he stayed, unbeaten, when James Anderson fell lbw to Khan attempting a reverse sweep and England were all out for 219, trailing by 107.When Broad removed Masood for an 11-ball duck, Pakistan were 8 for 1 and they could have been two down at tea but for Ben Stokes putting down Abid Ali off the bowling of Anderson.It took the introduction of Bess to make further inroads after the interval. Bess struck with his sixth ball to remove Abid, hoicking in ungainly fashion to deep square leg, and so began an enthralling period where the plot deviated one way then another.Like Bess, Woakes came in with immediate effect, removing the dangerous Babar Azam – who scored 69 in the first innings – for just 5, caught by Stokes holding on this time at second slip. Woakes then trapped Azhar Ali lbw for 18 to put Pakistan at 63 for 4 with the lead 171 and keep England in the fight.Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Rizwan pushed Pakistan’s advantage beyond the 200-mark with a partnership that looked set to frustrate the hosts but which ended on 38 with a superb run out by Dom Sibley, descending on the ball from point and firing it in off-balance to take out the stumps with Shafiq nowhere near making his ground.Stokes, who did not bowl in the first innings due a quad injury suffered in the West Indies series, came into the attack late in the day and his ability to make things happen could not be denied. Stokes had Rizwan out lbw and Afridi gloving a bouncer to gully, with Broad accounting for Khan via the DRS in between after his appeal for lbw was initially turned down by on-field umpire Richard Illingworth but was shown to be hitting leg stump.That left Yasir set to be the protagonist again, seeking quick runs to push the lead up on the fourth morning as the storyline came full circle.

No Williamson yet but Southee and Ferguson are likely to be fit; for Netherlands Van Beek might miss out due to a hamstring injury

Ashish Pant08-Oct-20232:03

Should New Zealand look to get Southee in for Chapman?

Big Picture: Can Netherlands thwart New Zealand?

Hand on heart, how many expected New Zealand to trounce England the way they did in the opening fixture of the 2023 World Cup? But then that’s what New Zealand do. Fly under the radar, without making much of a splash, but deliver when it matters.And they didn’t do it the conventional way. With Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson out injured, New Zealand opted for just three frontline bowlers, four part-timers and no Ish Sodhi. Yet they restricted the power-packed England batting unit to 282 for 9. Then, despite no Kane Williamson, they needed just 36.2 overs to wipe out the target.As New Zealand now move to Hyderabad for match No. 2 of their World Cup campaign to face Netherlands, they will still be without Williamson, but Ferguson and Southee are likely to be fit and available according to head coach Gary Stead. Williamson, meanwhile, is targeting a return in New Zealand’s third game against Bangladesh.Related

• Ned vs NZ: Ferguson, Southee likely to be fit; Williamson remains on sidelines

• Netherlands keep their SOUL intact despite World Cup reality check

• Eng vs NZ: New Zealand play with fire and come out unscathed

• Netherlands set sights on World Cup semi-finals

If numbers are anything to go by, New Zealand definitely have the upper hand going into the clash. They have met Netherlands four times in ODIs, winning on all four occasions – three of those games by a margin of 100-plus runs. The most recent ODI series between the two teams in 2022 went New Zealand’s way by a 3-0 margin.But it will be silly to take Netherlands lightly. Not after their stellar run at the World Cup Qualifier where they finished second ahead of three Full Member nations and certainly not after troubling Pakistan in their first outing. They did fall short but were no pushovers.Netherlands have another chance come Monday but have their task cut out against a side raging with confidence. For the record, New Zealand have never lost a World Cup game – ODI or T20I – against an Associate nation in their history.But streaks and stats are meant to be broken and changed. Netherlands showed spunk in their first game. Also, they have been in Hyderabad longer than New Zealand and know the conditions better. Now to translate all that into results and take a step towards the semi-final spot they had their eye on ahead of the tournament.

Form guide

Netherlands LLWWL
New Zealand WWWLLDevon Conway has a stellar record in India•Getty Images

In the spotlight: Devon Conway and Vikramjit Singh

Devon Conway’s 2023 has been all or nothing. In 11 innings this year, he has stacked up 601 runs in 11 innings at 66.77 with four centuries and a fifty. But in the other six innings, Conway has failed to breach the 20-run mark even once. The best bet for Netherlands will be to see the back of Conway quite early because when he gets set, it’s usually for the long haul. Easier said than done, though.Vikramjit Singh has been Netherlands’ rock at the top of the order this year. Their highest run-getter at the World Cup qualifiers with 326 runs in eight innings at 40.75, he followed it up with 52 on ODI World Cup debut. The left-hander has a solid technique and more importantly a lot of time in his hands. He’ll want to go one better than what he managed in the game against Pakistan.Logan van Beek has been struggling with a hamstring injury•ICC via Getty Images

Team news: Van Beek a doubt

New Zealand’s batting line-up is likely to remain the same with Rachin Ravindra slotted in at No. 3 and Will Young to retain his place at the top. While Southee did have a bowl in the nets on the eve of the game, Ferguson didn’t. It is likely New Zealand will end up playing one of the two in place of either Mark Chapman or James Neesham.New Zealand (possible XI): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Will Young, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultThere is an injury cloud over Logan van Beek – he is struggling with a hamstring injury. With still a long way to go in the tournament, Netherlands might not be willing to take a risk on one of their premier fast bowlers just yet.Netherlands (possible XI): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Scott Edwards (capt, wk), 5 Bas de Leede, 6 Teja Nidamanuru, 7 Saqib Zulfiqar, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Aryan Dutt, 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Ryan Klein

Pitch and conditions

The Hyderabad surface has historically been a high-scoring one with an average first-innings score of 288. The pitch had a light biscuit brown tinge to it on the eve of the game with no grass whatsoever. It had a nice sheen on it under the lights.The temperature should revolve around the mid-30s in the afternoon while the evenings will be slightly cooler. There are no chances of rain.

Stats and trivia

• Devon Conway has scored 307 runs in four ODI innings in India. He averages 102.3 in the country with a strike rate of 121 and has two centuries to his name
• Devon Conway averages 274 against spin in ODIs this year.
• Matt Henry has picked up the most wickets for New Zealand in ODIs since the start of 2022 – 35 in 21 innings at 26.20.
• Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh are one and two in Netherlands’ run-charts in ODIs this year.
  

  Quotes

  “Kane is progressing really well and we are pretty confident he will be playing the third match for us. We have got another training to get through today so we will finalise the team once we have got through that training. At this stage with Kane, we are looking like the third game is when he will start the tournament.”

Director of cricket Alan Coleman hails addition of “world-class talent”

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2023Middlesex have recruited Keshav Maharaj as an overseas player for the first four months of the 2023 season.Maharaj, South Africa’s left-arm spinner, will arrive ahead of Middlesex’s third Championship game against Nottinghamshire on April 20 and will be available for eight four-day fixtures in total, as well as the entirety of the T20 Blast.Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said that it was “essential” to bring in a “world-class talent” ahead of the club’s first season in the Championship’s top division since 2017, and that he would play a role mentoring Luke Hollman and Thilan Walallawita.”We are delighted that Keshav has signed for Middlesex this season and are really excited to have someone of his calibre and experience joining us for the first four months of the season,” Coleman said. “The young spinners we have in our squad will benefit enormously from having Keshav with us this year.”Related

• Henry joins Somerset as overseas player for Championship, Blast

• Durham bring in Stubbs for Blast

• Warwickshire hail 'amazing signing' as Maxwell joins for Blast

• Middlesex appoint Fraser as interim chair

• Roland-Jones named as Middlesex red-ball captain

Maharaj will be playing for his third different county, after previous stints with Lancashire and Yorkshire. He has taken 72 wickets at 21.72 across his 13 games in the Championship.”I’m really excited to be linking up with such a professional and experienced county and am looking forward to wearing the Middlesex colours and calling the Home of Cricket my home,” he said.Middlesex previously announced that Pieter Malan would return as an overseas player after a successful stint last year.Elsewhere, Richard Gleeson has re-signed with Lancashire on a two-year, T20-only contract.

Ravi Shastri expects the World Cup to come to India if the players perform to their potential

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai21-May-20193:27

‘Most challenging World Cup due to the format’ – Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli believes handling the pressure “is the most important thing in the World Cup and not necessarily the conditions”. He said as much a day before the team’s departure for England, for the tournament beginning on May 30. Second on the ICC ODI rankings behind hosts England, Kohli said his team was “very balanced” and “very strong”.”White-ball cricket, playing in England, playing an ICC tournament, the conditions are not that different or that difficult I would say, compared to Test cricket,” Kohli said in Mumbai. “Pressure is the most important thing in the World Cup and not necessarily the conditions. From that point of view, it will be helpful. Secondly, all the bowlers that are in the squad, even during the IPL they were preparing themselves to be in the zone for 50-over cricket. And if you saw the guys bowling – no one looked tired or fatigued after bowling four overs. They were very fresh. The mindset or the ultimate goal is to be fit for the 50-over format and not let their fitness come down and that was communicated before the IPL started.”We go into the World Cup feeling very balanced very strong as a side. You saw in the IPL as well, all the players that are in the squad were in great form and played really well.”Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri spoke about the different challenges they will face because of the format of this World Cup in which all 10 teams play each other once and the top four qualify for the semi-finals. India’s first four matches will be against “tough” sides – South Africa, defending champions Australia, New Zealand and arch-rivals Pakistan.”It is probably the most challenging World Cup of all the three that I have been part of because of the format and looking at the strength of the all the sides as well,” Kohli said. “If we live up to our skill sets and our standards that we set for ourselves, we’ll be on the right side of the result more often. That is going to be key. Every game you have to play to the best of your potential because it’s not a group stage anymore, it’s playing everyone once.”The best thing is that we’ll have four tough games straight up and that will set the tone nicely for us. Everyone has to be at their best intensity from the first match onwards and we don’t have any room for complacency.”The format is the same as that of the 1992 event in which Shastri played. When asked how challenging the format is, he said: “Very challenging. If you look at 2015 and 2019, the gap is much closer now between teams. See what Afghanistan were in 2015 and see what they are now. See what Bangladesh were and what they are now. The good thing though is there are those nine games rather than just three-four games where you have to be on the ball from the outset.”The most important thing is to get out there and enjoy the World Cup and if you play to the potential the cup might be here.”In terms of form and fitness, India had two players in focus ahead of the tournament – Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav. Kuldeep was dropped by Kolkata Knight Riders for five of their 14 matches in the IPL recently because of his economy rate of 8.66 – his worst in any IPL season since his debut in 2016 – and his tally of four wickets in 33 overs. Jadhav, on the other hand, had injured his left shoulder in Chennai Super Kings’ last league game earlier this month to give India a worry before the World Cup. Even before the injury, Jadhav put together only 162 runs this IPL in 14 innings, averaging 18, and didn’t bowl at all, something he is expected to do for India during the World Cup. He was, however, declared fit on Monday and Shastri confirmed he will fly with the team.India coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli take questions from the media•Associated Press

“Someone like Kuldeep who has had so much success, it’s important to see a period where things don’t go your way also,” Kohli said. “We are glad that it happened during the IPL, rather than during the World Cup. He has time to reflect, time to correct things and come into the World Cup even stronger. The kind of skill set he possesses, along with [Yuzvendra] Chahal, they are really two pillars of our bowling line-up.”Kedar also, we understand the kind of pitches they (Chennai Super Kings) got playing at home. We were not too worried looking at Kedar because he was looking in a good space. Yes, he couldn’t get runs, T20 is such a format where you don’t get a few and you can go on like that for a few days. We are not worried about anyone’s headspace.”A team that does well at the World Cup is a team that can handle pressure well and secondly try and be as normal as possible. Looking at the magnitude of those games, the team that stays more focused and more balanced can go on to win the tournament.”Both the captain and coach also reflected on the recent scores that were put up by England and Pakistan in the bilateral series that had both teams score at least 340 in three of the four completed matches. The conditions might be the same during the World Cup, but the scores might be a little different, Kohli said.”We expect high-scoring games, but a bilateral series compared to a World Cup is very different,” he said. “You might see a lot of, I won’t say low-scoring games, but 260-270 kind of games, teams getting those totals and defending it successfully because of the pressure factor. We expect all kinds of scenarios at the World Cup but yeah, there will be quite a few high-scoring games too.”India will be playing their matches across six venues in England, and Shastri said they will have to adapt according to the grounds.”Our mantra will be to be flexible according to the conditions,” he said. “It’s one country in the world where the pitches might be flat but if it’s overcast and conditions change, then you’ve got to be up with it because any other country in the world, overhead conditions don’t matter that much. In England they do, and it differs from venue to venue. In London it might not make that much of a difference whereas if you go up north, it does get overcast and you’ll see things happening. So you have to be ready for that, prepare for that.”India will play two warm-up matches, against New Zealand (May 25) and Bangladesh (May 28), before starting their main campaign on June 5 against South Africa.

Sarfaraz Ahmed confirms his wish to stay on as captain in all three formats despite World Cup exit

Danyal Rasool07-Jul-20192:27

As a team we put up a great fight – Sarfaraz

The ball is now firmly in the PCB’s court after Sarfaraz Ahmed declared he wished to continue as captain of Pakistan in all three formats. Speaking shortly after landing in Karachi following Pakistan’s exit from the 2019 World Cup, Sarfaraz said the job had been given to him by the PCB, and any decision to replace him must come through the same channel.Sarfaraz had earlier in the year hinted he would take a decision on the Test captaincy following the World Cup, but now appears content to continue in the role unless asked to step aside. The PCB officially only makes appointments on a series-by-series basis, with managing director Wasim Khan set to head a cricket committee review of the last two years before making any recommendations on the future.”It’s not that I’m saying I refuse to resign. All I’m saying is the decision rests with the PCB, the same way as the decision to appoint me captain was taken by them,” Sarfaraz said. “I’m sure they’ll take the decision that’s best for Pakistan.”ALSO READ: Babar Azam up to No. 3 in ODI batting rankingsPakistan began their World Cup campaign disastrously following a thumping defeat to West Indies, the consequences of which stretched far beyond the loss of two points. It meant Pakistan were always catching up in terms of net run rate against their rivals in the race for the semi-final slots, a problem exacerbated by a heavy defeat against India that left them hanging by a thread.While they did stage a comeback following that game, winning their final four, they could only tie with New Zealand on 11 points, with the latter’s significantly superior net run rate meaning Pakistan fell just short. Speaking of the tournament in general, Sarfaraz found heart from the way Pakistan had responded to adversity, particularly after intense criticism, both professional and personal, following the loss to India.”We couldn’t do well against the West Indies in our tournament opener, but gained momentum by beating England, the home team and the favourites,” Sarfaraz said. “Because of the delay in our next match due to a washout against Sri Lanka, we had lost that momentum and it reflected in our performances against Australia and India.’This was my team and I had full authority over it’ – Sarfaraz Ahmed•PCB

“There’s always criticism when you play poorly, and we did play poorly initially. A lot of things happened after the India game that hurt the players deeply. We were distressed by that defeat like every fan. It was really difficult for us to cope with the things that happened in the next seven days. Some of the former players, who were commentating, were present there and provided us support and backing. I called up a meeting comprising just the 15 players in the squad and discussed what mistakes we might be making. The team responded really well, and everyone gave their honest opinions, and we bounced back and won the final four games.”Footage of Sarfaraz Ahmed walking around a shopping mall with his young son in his lap being repeatedly abused by a fan went viral on social media, with Sarfaraz’s decision not to react winning him much support among the general fanbase. It led to much criticism of the tone of the censure the players had received following the game against India, with a general softening in the days that followed, eased inevitably by the uptick in both form and results.”It wasn’t only me who was subjected to slurs by fans,” Sarfaraz revealed. “Many other players were also targeted in malls and other public places. Some things that happened did not get attention, but we reported all incidents to the management.”Anyhow, it is unfortunate that we couldn’t qualify due to NRR. But I am happy with every player. Everyone, regardless of their seniority or experience, contributed. I am also thankful to the coaching staff. They are normally behind the scenes and don’t get credit. But I am thankful to them and especially to Mickey Arthur who kept things together in that difficult time.”There were reports of malcontent in the first half of the campaign, with rumours of disagreements between the players and the management that had to be mediated by chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who, it had not escaped notice, was there with the team for much of the campaign. Sarfaraz, however, dismissed reports of infighting, and said there was no disagreement about squad selection, with coach Mickey Arthur, Inzamam and Sarfaraz himself all satisfied with the make-up of the final 15.”The whole squad was mine. The team for the first five matches was made by me, Inzi bhai, and Mickey. When you lose, a lot of things that should stay in the dressing room get leaked. The players that we needed, they were present. Except for Wahab Riaz, all the players had been playing in the recent years. This was my team and I had full authority over it.”Amir was never out of the team. People say that we selected him again, but we wanted Amir to play in England before he got chicken pox and couldn’t play in the bilateral series. We called on Wahab because we had realised we’d need an express pacer.”The performances overall have been good. The most junior bowler [Shaheen Afridi] picked up 16 wickets. Babar Azam playing his first World Cup batted brilliantly and scored a century and half-centuries. As a team, we put up a great fight. It is unfortunate we couldn’t qualify.”

“We have concerns when the smoke is around because it is a challenge on those two metrics: visibility and breathing,” CA’s head of cricket operations said

Andrew McGlashan23-Dec-2019Cricket Australia is preparing for the possibility that play in the New Year Test in Sydney could be halted by smoke from the bushfires that are devastating vast areas of New South Wales.On Saturday, the BBL match between the Sydney Thunder and the Adelaide Strikers in Canberra was abandoned when heavy smoke drifted across the Manuka Oval with the game four balls short of being a result. The initial reason for the suspension was the reduced visibility caused by the smoke although the poor air quality was also an issue.Sydney has suffered a number of days of thick smoke shrouding the city and earlier this month the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Queensland was completed in a heavy haze which produced an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 170 which sits in the ‘unhealthy’ band.An AQI of 300 and above falls in the ‘hazardous’ level and is when ICC guidelines say umpires can consider suspending play.”We hope not, but potentially,” Peter Roach, CA’s head of cricket operations, said of the Test being possibly halted. “What we’ve seen in Sydney and Canberra is that it comes to a point where it becomes a challenge. Rules are in place, like rain, to add time for suspended play.”What we are finding is that it can come in quick, but it can also go quick so it’s unlikely it will be there for a full day. We might see some challenges across that day, but we’ll play it like rain or adverse weather. What we’ve seen is about one day in ten is proving a challenge, we hope it won’t come during the Test but we also understand that it might.”We have concerns when the smoke is around because it is a challenge on those two metrics: visibility and breathing.”After the Sheffield Shield match, NSW spinner Steve O’Keefe said: “That air quality was shocking. The doctor was all over it and speaking to us about it, and the fact the game wasn’t going to go all day was considered, but in the future they need to look at it because it’s not healthy – it’s toxic. It got to the stage we weren’t going to come off for quality, it was more about visibility. It was getting hard to pick the ball up. I’m sure they’ll address it. It’s a bit left field to have something as severe as this.”Peter Siddle, playing for the Strikers, was on the field when play was suspended in Canberra. “I’m feeling alright…the smoke was thick, we’d dealt with it the night before at training, as you could see from TV it came in quickly – into that fifth over it changed dramatically,” he said. “If you sit next to a camp fire, just imagine that, that’s what it felt like in the field.”In statement issued at the weekend, CA said: “CA, alongside relevant state cricket associations and BBL Clubs, is closely monitoring the air quality and visibility in areas impacted by bushfires.”In line with ICC, Australian Institute of Sport and relevant government guidelines, we are maintaining vigilance on the ever-changing air quality in locations where games are impacted by poor air quality.”As the safety of players, fans and staff is our number one priority, the guidelines state what needs to be measured and looked for. We will constantly monitor the situation and be prepared on the ground in the case of any circumstance, as we know conditions change very quickly in these scenarios.”At BBL games played in areas impacted by bushfires, a discussion and assessment about air quality will be added to the pre-match medical briefing hosted onsite 60 minutes prior to the scheduled match time.”In November a T20I between India and Bangladesh in Delhi was severely impacted by smog which led to an AQI of over 400.

Narine claimed 2 for 10 even though he was bowling with an injured finger

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu06-Oct-2019
Defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders launched CPL 2019 with four wins in a row, but they suddenly cooled off, going winless in their last six games in the lead-up to the playoffs. Their slump coincided with the recurrence of a finger injury for Sunil Narine. But, in the eliminator against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Providence Stadium, Narine – injured finger and all – marked his comeback with 2 for 10 in his four overs to limit Patriots to 125 for 7 on a sluggish track under overcast skies to set up the win. During a sideline interview, Patriots’ coach Robin Singh was critical of his batsmen, saying, “You can’t let a guy who has a broken finger end with 2 for 9 [10] in four overs.”Patriots’ bowlers then briefly made their total look bigger than it was with clever pace variations and despite Lendl Simmons’ stop-start half-century – his fifth this season – Knight Riders fell behind the asking rate on a pitch where stroke-making was difficult.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

When Simmons holed out for 51 in the 16th over, Knight Riders still needed 48 off 27 balls. Enter captain Kieron Pollard. He had injured his quadricep in the outfield in the first innings, but he shook that off to smash 26 off nine balls to lead his side into the second qualifier, scheduled at Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, the same venue where they had won back-to-back titles in 2018.ALSO READ: Khary Pierre, Trinbago Knight Riders’ master of thriftBeware of the wounded spinner
Nursing an injured index finger, Narine didn’t put enough revs – and body – into the ball, but he still found enough turn and bounce on a helpful pitch to trouble Patriots’ line-up. He didn’t concede a single run off the bat in his first two overs and continued to straitjacket the batsmen.He struck in his second over when he slowed down a stock ball and had Evin Lewis chipping a return catch for 9 off 17 balls. And later, when Laurie Evans and Devon Thomas were in rebuilding mode, he snapped the 51-run partnership – the highest in the match – by trapping the wicketkeeper-batsman with the last ball of his spell. Despite obvious pain, Narine sent down as many as 19 dots and returned 2 for 10.Narine’s comeback also solved Knight Riders’ puzzle at the top. He opened with Simmons and cracked two fours before holing out to deep square-leg.Evans evens up proceedings
When Evans walked out to bat, Patriots were 30 for 2 in the sixth over. While the Sussex batsman didn’t take any undue risks against Narine, he found a way to pick off runs against left-arm spinners and childhood buddies Khary Pierre and Akeal Hosein. He jumped outside leg, narrowed down the angle, and regularly launched them inside-out over extra-cover. All told, Evans hit 33 runs from 21 balls off Pierre and Hosein.Evans also went after Chris Jordan and raised his fifty off 44 balls with a nifty leg-side clip for four. Just when it looked like Evans would crank up the tempo further, he scythed USA seamer Ali Khan to sweeper cover for 55 off 47 balls in the penultimate over of the Patriots innings. Jordan then got rid of Fabian Allen in the final over and pinned down Patriots with his accurate yorkers.Barring Evans, no other Patriots batsman passed 20. Keron Cottoy scrambled a brace of fours, but could not get his side in the range of 140, which the team was looking for.Simmons, Pollard save the day for TKR
After Alzarri Joseph dismissed Narine, Sheldon Cottrell stormed through the weak defences of Colin Munro and brought out his trademark salute. Then it was 31 for 3 when Darren Bravo swung slower-ball specialist Rayad Emrit to Cottrell at deep square-leg – the only man in the outfield on the leg side.Simmons got going with a lusty club over extra-cover off Joseph, but the clatter of wickets around him forced him to shelve some of his aggression. Denesh Ramdin, the vice-captain, neither found the gaps nor the boundaries in the early exchanges, and by the end of the tenth over, Knight Riders were 43 for 3, and Patriots’ slower bowlers kept hiking the asking rate.Simmons raised his fifty off 46 deliveries when he smeared Carlos Brathwaite for a mighty six over the midwicket boundary. But, when he attempted an encore the next ball, he picked out long-on.Pollard then snatched the momentum with a shovelled six over square leg and then, as if a switch had been flicked on, Ramdin too unleashed some big blows in an 18-run over off Cottrell. From 13 off 30 balls, Ramdin moved to 32 not out off 38 balls, but it was Pollard who sealed victory with a hat-trick of boundaries.Pollard dominated the celebrations, too, raising his hands towards his ears and staring at the Guyana crowd, as if to say, “Yeh Guyana talk nah.”

“Having been through difficult match situations and close defeats, hopefully we will react better under pressure at this World Cup”

Annesha Ghosh23-Jan-20221:50

Jhulan Goswami: “I hope past experiences help us handle pressure better in this World Cup”

Three appearances in the knockouts in as many world tournaments between 2017 and 2020. Yet, a maiden World Cup title has eluded India, their mental toughness in the face of pressure coming under scrutiny every time. Runners-up last time out, India renew their pursuit of the ODI world crown on March 6 in New Zealand, and their premier quick, Jhulan Goswami, is hoping that the “near-misses” of the past help them respond better in high-pressure fixtures.”This is a very valid point,” Goswami, set to become only the eighth player to feature in five ODI World Cups, told ESPNcricinfo. “If you see the last three World Cups, including the T20 World Cup in the West Indies [in 2018], we had a very good chance. We played good cricket, but the pressure of that semi-final (in 2018) and the final (in the 2017 ODI World Cup and in the T20I equivalent in 2020) is something that cannot be denied.Related

• Mithali Raj: 'Too much importance is given to strike rate'

• Goswami: NZ ODIs will help us 'fix our errors' before World Cup

• Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey left out of World Cup squad

“It may have played a part in how we performed. It was like a final barrier we were stumbling at every time. Maybe this year we will be able to respond better as a team. Sports is very unpredictable, but hopefully, those near-misses and our preparations leading up to this World Cup will help us react better in big matches.”India’s inability to get out of sticky situations in knockout fixtures had its most pronounced manifestations at the two most recent finals: at Lord’s, where they lost the 2017 50-over World Cup to hosts England by nine runs, and then at the MCG, where wayward bowling and shoddy catching early in the 2020 T20 World Cup final effectively pushed them to a point of no-return against Australia.With record crowds in attendance on both occasions, critics, fans, and casual followers deemed India’s defeats less a reflection of their technical abilities, and more a case of fragility of nerves.”I think people can criticise us. But it’s something we are [still] developing slowly, slowly. Overnight it will not happen, but we are in the process of developing,” Goswami said. “So, whatever experience we’ve gathered in the past – I’ll put it in that way – hopefully, in this tournament we’ll handle in a better way.”I can expect that [kind of approach] from my team-mates. They are mentally very strong. Whenever challenging stuff comes, they take that challenge and take responsibility. So, I am very much hopeful that learning experience is going to help us in this tournament.”New Zealand is traditionally conducive to pace and movement. Seam-bowling talisman Goswami, the highest wicket-taker in the women’s game with 340 strikes and India’s most successful bowler in ODIs in 2021 with 15 wickets, will spearhead an attack that doesn’t have Shikha Pandey, one of the notable absentees in India’s extended 18-player squad for the upcoming bilateral fixtures against the hosts in February and the ODI World Cup that follows.Goswami, 39, had said earlier this month that the bilateral series could help India acclimatise better to “windy conditions” and “fix our errors” ahead of the World Cup. She had also stressed that she appreciated the need for her and her team-mates to not put themselves under undue pressure by overthinking about variables.Instead, the focus, she said, should be on implementing the takeaways from India’s series defeats in 2021 against South Africa (at home) and England and Australia (away).”World Cups come with pressure, expectations, and unpredictable elements – it’s sport, after all,” she said. “But I expect, individually and as a unit, I and we back ourselves to deal with that pressure in a positive way without thinking too much about anything. We must enjoy our cricket because I think that’s very important if we are to express ourselves and our preparedness in a proper manner.”We have been put under very challenging situations [in the recent past]. Though we did not win any of the three series we played last year, they were all very important preparations for us. So, having been through a variety of difficult match situations and close defeats, hopefully, (we) will react better under pressure at this World Cup.”India have been in quarantine since January 16 in Mumbai and are scheduled to leave for New Zealand on January 24. They are expected to serve at least a seven-day hard quarantine upon entering the country, with a very real possibility of being under rigid restrictions, albeit with some relaxations, for much longer.Goswami – “We must enjoy our cricket if we are to express ourselves and our preparedness in a proper manner”•Getty Images

“This [dealing with restrictions because of Covid-19] is not something you can overcome in a day,” Goswami said. “It’s not a cricketing technical part that individually we can go there and bat and bowl [to improve]. It’s a different thing. It’s not easy.”I think worldwide we all are struggling with mental-health issues at this moment. Because of the present situation, sportspersons are having to quarantine, they’re staying in biobubbles, not able to meet your family, friends, staying in hotels, having same food – that’s a challenge. That’s called mental toughness.”Heading into the World Cup, the Indian squad, Goswami suggested, has grown into a more tight-knit group. She attributed that to the players’ participation in a boot camp, understood to be the brain child of head coach Ramesh Powar, during Christmas last year in the cool climes of Dehradun, in northern India.”In my 20 years as an India cricketer, never before had I participated in anything officially known as a boot camp” Goswami said with a smile. “Yes, we may have gone on camps from the National Cricket Academy for a night or so in the past, but this camp – the boot camp – lasted five days, so it was definitely first of its kind.”It was a new and fun experience, especially getting to know each other better, from up close, as team-mates – was refreshing and could be helpful for us in the future. I now know my team-mates a little better than I did before the boot camp because we were put through a kind of challenging situation – living in a tent, in cold weather, with limited resources, and yet no body complained.”Plus, there were tasks devised to help with team bonding and react in pressure situations. I hope this experience helps us in the World Cup because understanding each other as team-mates plays a big role in a team’s performance. We never had this kind of a team bonding exercise or camp, so I’d say it was a good thing to participate in before New Zealand tour and the World Cup.”

Mustafizur Rahman unlikely to get clearance too, keeping in mind Bangladesh’s busy international schedule

Mohammad Isam01-Jun-2021Shakib Al Hasan will not get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the BCB to take part in the remainder of IPL 2021 for the Kolkata Knight Riders, most likely in September-October this year. Board president Nazmul Hassan has pointed to Bangladesh’s busy international schedule in that period in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India in October-November, but could well be shifted to the UAE keeping in mind the Covid-19 situation in India.”Given our schedule, it is almost impossible (for Shakib) to get the NOC. I don’t see any possibilities, nor any opportunity. The World Cup is coming up, which makes every game important for us,” Hassan told on Sunday.Mustafizur Rahman, the only other Bangladeshi in the IPL – for the Rajasthan Royals – is also unlikely to get an NOC, given his importance in Bangladesh’s white-ball plans.Related

• Shakib Al Hasan won't change, because the BCB is incapable of changing him

• Shakib, Mustafizur join Bangladesh bubble after quarantine

• Shanto dropped for first two ODIs against SL, Shakib returns

• Gayle returns to Patriots; Shakib back with Tallawahs

After touring Zimbabwe for a Test, three ODIs and three T20Is in June-July, Bangladesh will take on Australia in five T20Is at home in July-August, and both New Zealand (three T20Is) and England (three ODIs and three T20Is) are expected to tour Bangladesh after that for white-ball matches in the lead up to the World Cup.Akram Khan, BCB’s cricket operations chairman, stressed that keeping in mind all these matches, especially the England series – where the ODIs will be a part of the World Cup Super League – it was important for all the players to train and play together. “We have to consider the team training together,” he said. “We want to go into the England series with full strength. Both the ODI Super League and the World Cup T20 are important to us.”Shakib was involved in a tussle with the BCB in March after he accused the board of “misrepresenting” his letter requesting an NOC to play in the IPL. In response, the BCB threatened to revoke his NOC, but ended up granting it. Shakib had missed the New Zealand tour in March this year because of a thigh injury and later opted out of the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka to play in the IPL. He has since skipped the PSL, opting to play in the Dhaka Premier League T20s instead.