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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.

The deadlock on bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan continues after the meeting between the two boards in Dubai on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2017The deadlock on bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan continues after the meeting between the two boards in Dubai on Monday. Even as the government of India reiterated earlier in the day that there cannot be any bilateral cricket given the current strained relations between the countries, the PCB remained hopeful of continued deliberations. The two boards could meet – again, informally – in England during the Champions Trophy. ESPNcricinfo understands that if a resolution is not found in these meetings, under the ICC dispute resolution procedures, there will have to be a formal meeting in the presence of the ICC CEO.On Monday, the BCCI is known to have conveyed its earlier position: that it cannot play bilateral cricket with Pakistan without the clearance of the government, and that such a clearance was not forthcoming. The meeting was held after the PCB had sent a notice of dispute to the BCCI, claiming losses for the BCCI’s refusal to tour in 2015. After receiving the notice, the BCCI sought the government’s permission again, which it conveyed to the PCB. The PCB’s response then invoked a provision in the MoU for dialogue should a series not go ahead.The said MoU to play six bilateral series from 2015 to 2023 was signed between the two boards in 2014. Although the BCCI indicated this MoU was “just a letter” and not a formal “contract”, it has responded to both the times the PCB has invoked dispute resolution.The next meeting between the two boards could take place in Birmingham, where India play Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. They could also have more interaction during the next round of ICC meetings.India continue to play Pakistan in multi-team events, as they did in Kolkata in the World T20 last year. India were supposed to play away against Pakistan in 2015, and are scheduled to host them in 2017.In 2015, the BCCI had offered PCB a series at home, which the PCB declined. India in turn refused to play Pakistan’s home series at a neutral venue without specifying any reasons. “We are not asking any permission from the government,” the then BCCI president Shashank Manohar had told ESPNcricinfo. “We are not playing in UAE. That is certain. There are reasons. But I don’t want another debate on that. So I will not tell you the reasons.”

Alastair Cook has said he wants to move on from the “sideshow” regarding the omission of James Anderson for the opening Test against Pakistan at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford21-Jul-2016Alastair Cook has said he wants to move on from the “sideshow” regarding the omission of James Anderson for the opening Test against Pakistan at Lord’s.Medical advice regarding his shoulder injury overruled the desire of Cook and Trevor Bayliss to have Anderson in the side. Anderson then went to play two days of Lancashire’s Championship match against Durham at Southport, where he took 3 for 58 off 22 overs.However, Cook believes the fall-out, which has included a suggestion that Andrew Strauss wants to drastically alter the selection model England use, has been an overreaction because the Test was lost – something far more down to England’s poor batting than a failure of the bowling attack, which removed Pakistan for 339 and 215.”A lot has been blown out of proportion,” Cook said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t play the greatest game of cricket. So then people start jumping on things which were less important, but became more so because we lost.”If we’d played really good cricket, and won the game – and the 11 guys were certainly capable of that – then that story wouldn’t be blown up like it has been.”It’s happened. It was a slightly messy affair, no one intended it to be like that and we’ve got to move on, and play better cricket. It’s been a bit of a sideshow – an unimportant sideshow, really.”An England spokesman said on Wednesday that there were no plans to sack any selectors. However, Strauss has previously said that he would examine the selection process once he had got through various other issues that were in a rather full inbox when he took on the managing director role last year. So if any changes do occur in the future they could well have been on the cards regardless of the Anderson situation.Anderson and Ben Stokes, who also proved his fitness in the match at Southport following knee surgery, will return to England’s XI at Old Trafford as they aim to level the series, with Steven Finn and Jake Ball making way.”It’s great to have Jimmy back. He’s an outstanding bowler, it’s great to have him fully fit,” Cook said. “If he’d bowled 30 overs and really hurt his shoulder, and was out again, we’d all be sitting here and be disappointed with that decision.”In hindsight, he could have played that game – because obviously, he went and played for Lancashire and got through that. We probably erred on the side of caution, and have to hope we now have him for three games.”

On a dead Lord’s track, the Championship leaders have got themselves into a position where they almost certainly cannot lose

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's27-Jun-2016
ScorecardAlviro Petersen racked up 191•Getty Images

What ingredients there were for a high-quality encounter at Lord’s look already to be heading for a bland conclusion. That may seem melodramatic – should Middlesex collapse tomorrow, it may enter into “misguided” or “facetious” – but there were few other conclusions to draw from a day in which eight wickets fell yet only one was taken.Lancashire’s seven were shed in the pursuit of quick runs to hammer a tiring Middlesex attack further into the dust. Even Tim Murtagh’s shoulders, constantly in a slumped relaxed state, plummeted to knee height. Even Murtagh, a bowler who can make the ball talk for fun could barely muster a whimper from a pitch that does the long-form more harm than good.What should have been a compelling day’s cricket, in near-perfect conditions, asked spectators to find their own source of amusement. The evening session hosted a low sun and with it the chance for them to shed some clothing, get some colour and indulge in the sorts of conversations with opposing fans that only beer and minor heatstroke encourages.”So you see, it’s those bastards across the way – they’re the tight ones,” concluded one such tête-à-tête. It’s those across the way that Lancashire are looking to build a lead over: level on points with Yorkshire going into this match but leading Division One by virtue of number of games won.Middlesex, with their six draws from seven, sat 16 points off the Northern rivals. This fixture between first and fourth felt like it could set the tone for the next half of the season, when captains roll the dice and each session weighs heavier on the nerves.The opening exchanges were very much in Lancashire’s favour as they amassed their highest innings score of the season. Alviro Petersen was thoroughly unflustered, picking up where he left off to add 86 to an overnight 105: perhaps the only surprise was his failure to bring up his double hundred. Looking to move the game on, he was caught and bowled by Toby Roland-Jones, whose 31-over toil was made relatively worthwhile by four wickets.Flanking Petersen were the offerings from the middle order cavalry of Steven Croft, Karl Brown and Liam Livingstone. It was with Livingstone in particular that the most damage was done: 103 runs put on together at six an over – 67 coming in 11 overs after lunch, as Livingstone brought up a 54-ball half-century filled with reverse sweeps and the odd wristy thwack through the leg side. To nitpick, 500 perhaps should have come up easier than it did: a scampered single between Lancashire’s 10 and 11 that nearly resulted in a run out.But even with scoreboard pressure and a 12-over session before tea bowled by Kyle Jarvis and Neil Wagner – perhaps the best opening duo in the domestic game at present – Lancashire were unable to land a telling blow on the hosts. Even the one wicket they managed looked a tad lucky, though that is simply going by Sam Robson’s forlorn expression after he had been adjudged caught at first slip off the leg spin of Matt Parkinson. The disappointment was understandable: he had looked on the cusp of one of those Lord’s vigils he embarks upon when he basically invokes squatter’s rights.If anything, Robson’s wicket sharpened Nick Gubbins’ focus, who gave up driving for a while and worked his way to 71 at the close. He will recommence tomorrow with Stevie Eskinasi, who goes to bed on a new first class best of 43.Lancashire will be hoping that when they wake up tomorrow the pitch might too. Unfortunately this is yet another Lord’s track that needs a defibrillator rather than a roller. The new ball brings something out of it but not for long. From then on, whatever movement there is comes once the ball had passed the stumps. Steven Croft found that out the hard way as he scrabbled around to contend with the late dips and swerves. The skip in his step at the start of the final session had slowed to a trudge when stumps was called.If anything, perhaps the Lancashire bowlers might leave the match with a bit of sympathy for their Middlesex counterparts, whose charge has consistently been hampered by these sorts of pitches. Still, the Championship leaders have got themselves into a position where they almost certainly cannot lose. If they are not still bowling by this time tomorrow then they should consider that a victory.

As Middlesex trudged off after this evisceration, one thought might have terrified them: how much worse could it have been if Chris Gayle were still at Somerset?

Tim Wigmore at Uxbridge26-Jun-2015
ScorecardJim Allenby has brought his T20 success from Glamorgan colours to Somerset’s•Getty Images

As Middlesex trudged off after this evisceration, one thought might have terrified them: how much worse could it have been if Chris Gayle were still at Somerset?At Uxbridge, the pitch has often been criticised for producing soporific Championship cricket but here Jim Allenby and Johann Myburgh were in no mood to complain. Together the two added 118 in 13.2 overs as Somerset waltzed to their target of 172 with rather contemptuous ease.Middlesex’s failure to notch up a higher total deprived Allenby of the third T20 hundred of his career. Still he provided further affirmation of his consistency and class in this format of the game: after 548 runs at 45.66 apiece for Glamorgan last year, he has 237 runs at 47.40 for his new county. After beginning the T20 season at No. 5, to accommodate Gayle and Marcus Trescothick, the latter again omitted from this match, Allenby is relishing his return to opening.”It’s where everyone likes to bat – it’s the best place to bat without a doubt. If you get a chance to bat you make the most of it, because there’s a mile-long queue of people who want to do it, especially at Taunton and in this team,” he said.

Insights

Somerset have not allowed the coming and going of Chris Gayle to unsettle their strategy. Rather than shifting and changing their approach with and then without him, the promotion of Jim Allenby to open, who, although not quite Gayle, is a player of a similar ilk, has minimised disruption to Somerset’s angle of attack. Middlesex meanwhile are too inconsistent with the ball. They have a bowling attack made up of individuals capable of match-winning spells, but this season they haven’t managed to perform together. In this match, for example, Rayner and Harris were frugal, but their work was undone by the others who were taken apart by Somerset.

Such was his effort that Middlesex’s 171 for 7 was made to feel utterly inadequate. While there were manifestations of Allenby’s power – a pulled six off Kyle Abbott and a dismissive pull off Ravi Patel, clearing the burger vans with ease, among them – this was an innings marked by a clinical approach. On a pitch as true as Uxbridge, Allenby eschewed histrionics and cruised with the ease of a driver on the M40, which can almost be heard from the ground. He failed to score off only 11 of his 51 deliveries.”That was an unbelievable pitch with an unbelievable outfield, unbelievable sized boundaries with a big wind,” Allenby said. “It wasn’t much fun bowling on it – I’m glad I only had to bowl one over. That’s a tough place to bowl so we were quite comfortable chasing that.” He paid heed, too, to Abdur Rehman, who yielded just 19 from four overs of chicanery.There feels like a new vitality in Somerset. The successful chase of 401 in the Championship against Nottinghamshire nine days ago – though it feels rather longer – has brought catharsis. Three wins have followed since, the last two by nine wickets. How Middlesex must be envious: the side has not won a game in any format in June.A three-ball spell rather summed things up. A leading edge from Allenby shaped up as an easy return catch for James Harris, but he assumed the ball was Eoin Morgan’s at mid-off, so it dropped between them.Harris’ next delivery induced a leading edge from Myburgh to a vacant midwicket. His pride pricked by the previous ball, Harris ran with gusto, cupping the ball in a brilliant full-length dive – just only for a second. When Allenby earned a single with an overthrow next ball, Uxbridge’s heckles were becoming palpable. It seemed appropriate that the denouement came when the rankest of long hops, from Paul Stirling, was marmalised over midwicket by Trego.The thrashing felt rather unfair on John Simpson. Thriving in the responsibility of batting at No. 3, he held Middlesex together, thundering two ginormous sixes off Max Waller and harrying between the wickets. A delightful straight six off Alfonso Thomas carried him to a career-best in this format, though the most intoxicating shot of the innings was Stirling’s thunderous swipe over midwicket off Jamie Overton.When Stirling was dismissed, Morgan was greeted with generous applause as he walked out to the middle. It was testament to how much England’s ODI series against New Zealand had galvanised the public, yet Morgan scarcely resembled the player who had amassed 322 runs in that series. He scratched around for 7 off 16 balls until being sharply taken by Trego on the long-on boundary, who just prevented his fluorescent green trainers from tumbling over the rope.”Wouldn’t miss these shoes,” Trego joked to the crowd. Middlesex supporters didn’t have much else to laugh about. Two emphatic victories in consecutive nights a month ago proved deceptive: Middlesex have lost five consecutive T20s since. Bottom of the South Group last season, they risk the same fate in 2015. He may have enacted a transformation in England’s white ball fortunes, but doing the same at Middlesex seems an even more demanding task for Morgan.

Tributes for the South Africa-born former England allrounder Basil D’Oliveira, who has died in England, aged 80

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2011’The story of Basil shows the courage and feistiness of people who were excluded during the aparthied era.’•Paul McGregor/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“It is a sad time for us as a family but after a long battle against Parkinson’s disease dad passed away peacefully. Although it is difficult we will celebrate a great life rather than mourn a death.”

“My memories are of a very good player, who was cheerful, friendly and unassuming. He was also quite brave. He was a shrewd cricketer, a good catcher and a very useful extra bowler who would swing the ball. Ray Illingworth used to use him as an extra bowler; he appealed to him because he filled in gaps and wouldn’t give too many runs away. I can remember reading a book of tours that Ray was captain of and how often he turned to Basil. I never saw him in any other way than as a friendly cricketing colleague who enjoyed the game.”
“He will always remain a giant in the transformation of South African sport. He showed conclusively that blacks in South Africa, given the same opportunity as whites, had that ability, talent and potential to become international stars. It is sad that he could never play for his country of birth. There is no question that in the 21st century he would have played for South Africa, which I’m sure would have been his first choice.”

“When I was growing up in South Africa, Basil was a revered personality in ‘non-white’ cricketing circles. At the time his influence and his legacy in a divided South Africa stretched way beyond the cricket field. While he never regarded himself as such, he was a hero to a generation of disenfranchised South Africans. Today I can recall with even greater respect how he served as a role model showing that despite the odds, underprivileged South Africans like myself can rise to the top.”

“He was a man of true dignity and a wonderful role model, somebody who overcame the most extreme prejudices and circumstances to take his rightful place on the world stage.”

“Basil D’Oliveira was more than just a cricketer. He personified the bravery and determination of the South African people’s struggle against apartheid, and his own remarkable achievements, starting a Test career at 34, an age when most players are considering retirement, showed the world just what he and his people could accomplish.”

“We are just finishing a book on our [Western Province’s] 121-year history and the story of Basil is central in that. It shows the huge waste of human potential that happened during the aparthied era and the courage and feistiness of people who were excluded at that time. They created rich cultures that we are benefiting from today.”

“A few Soweto Cricket Club players that have read his biography, in our small library at the Soweto Cricket Oval and marvel at Basil’s vision. He achieved great feats irrespective of the adversity he faced back in the 1950’s. During the historic first 1995 SCC tour of England, Ireland and Wales, the late great Khaya Majola broke down after reading a letter from Basil d’Oliviera to the touring party. In the letter Basil pointed out the plight of black cricketers, deprived of opportunity in South Africa and encouraged the players on tour not to give up on their dreams and hopes of playing first-class cricket.”

“It’s terrible news to me because Basil was one of the my best friends. I can remember saying ‘If he doesn’t go, I’m not going,’ because we were such great friends and he’d done everything to go and get back into the team, so it was politics I’m afraid. It was very sad.”
“From a county point of view, he was a massive part of the club’s history and his family name lives on through Damian and grandson Brett.”
“He became a flagship for all those who despised the whole concept of apartheid. Basil D’Oliveira’s influence helped to usher in a world where apartheid was consigned to the dustbin.”

“He was somebody who just carried himself in a very dignified way, despite all the pressures whirling around him. Somebody who became much loved in the English cricket world as a result and yet somebody who, in his own quiet, modest and unassuming way, became the symbol of what was wrong with apartheid South Africa.”

“His is the example I use when people tell me sport and politics should never mix. Sport can have huge political influence in the right situation.”
“History may well decide that the lives of millions of non-white South Africans would have been made wretched for even longer but for Basil d’Oliveira.”

Stuart Broad faces a vital week for the short-term prospects of his England place after being dropped for the deciding one-day international at Old Trafford on Saturday

Andrew McGlashan10-Jul-2011Stuart Broad faces a vital week for the short-term prospects of his England place after being dropped for the deciding one-day international at Old Trafford on Saturday. His county, Nottinghamshire, have a Championship match against Somerset starting on Monday and Broad will need wickets to avoid being overtaken by Tim Bresnan.It had been considered that Broad was so highly rated as part of the player-management structure within the England set-up that he would survive the axe, especially after finally opening his wicket tally with two scalps on his home ground at Trent Bridge. However, when England wanted to alter the balance of their team and include Samit Patel as a second spin option, it was Broad who made way with Jade Dernbach retaining his place.Broad had been carrying a heel problem since the end of the Sri Lanka Test series and also hurt his ankle in training before the Twenty20 in Bristol, where he made his captaincy debut, but Alastair Cook didn’t hide why the decision had been made.”We wanted to play two spinners,” he said. “We picked Jade ahead of Broady, and that’s why we changed it. It doesn’t mean that Broady won’t come back in. It’s obviously a tough pill for him to swallow, but his record in one-day cricket is outstanding. Just because he hasn’t taken the wickets he would have liked doesn’t mean he won’t be back.”It was a view echoed by Andy Flower, the England team director, who added that the extra rest will benefit Broad and suggested that he was still very much in the planning to face India. “A nice by-product of him missing this game is that he will have a four-day break from bowling between the fourth one-day international that he played and the four-day game that he will play for Nottinghamshire,” Flower said.”After that he can have another four-day break to rest those niggles and then get into training for the Test match at Lord’s. Broad’s been a superb performer for us, a great competitor – and I foresee him doing great things for us in the future, both in this upcoming Test series and the one-day series.”The decision showed that Cook, in consultation with Flower, wasn’t afraid to make tough selection decisions even if it involved dumping a fellow international captain. However, it is England’s three-captain policy which continues to throw up intriguing situations, as it is now Andrew Strauss who will have a major say on Broad’s place in the Test team.While Broad is bowling at Trent Bridge – a good venue for a seamer to try to regain form and confidence – other contenders for his place will be looking to stake their claims. At the head of the list are Bresnan and Steven Finn, the former who made a successful return from injury during the one-day series with eight wickets at 29 including 3 for 49 at Old Trafford while Finn was in the one-day squad without playing. Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, also couldn’t get a game but he’s some way off Test selection at present.”We wanted to try out a couple of new fast bowlers,” Flower said. “Jade Dernbach has got his chance in this series, but we also had Steven and Chris in the squad. I think they’ve both got a future. There is a lot of competition for fast-bowling places. We’ll see how they develop over the next couple of months. Whether they get a go in the Tests or not, I’m not sure, but I think they’ve both got futures in the limited-overs game.”Yorkshire have a Championship match against Worcestershire which will allow Bresnan some extended spells of bowling after his one-day return, but Finn doesn’t have a four-day game available with Middlesex not in Championship action. It was the situation that forced Strauss to ask Somerset if he could appear for them against India later in the week.Finn was the next in line when a replacement was needed against Sri Lanka, at Lord’s, but at that time Bresnan, who was outstanding at Melbourne and Sydney during the Ashes, was still on the sidelines. Finn was inconsistent at his home ground but still finished the match with four wickets.Away from Bresnan and Finn, the other option could be Graham Onions if England wants a wicket-to-wicket bowler. Again, though, the scheduling isn’t helpful for Onions – who missed the whole of last season with a severe back injury – as Durham aren’t in four-day action before the first Test.

India’s attack has built huge pressure on Australia’s batsmen by stemming their scoring rate

Andrew McGlashan01-Jan-2021Marnus Labuschagne started 2020 with a double-century against New Zealand at the SCG. What Australia would give for even half that when they take on India in Sydney next week with the Test series locked at 1-1.In many ways, Labuschagne is lower down Australia’s list of concerns when it comes to their batting line-up: he has faced the most deliveries and scored the most runs in the two Tests so far. That does, though, come from a pretty low base with the home side having limped to totals of 191, 195 and 200 in their three completed innings.Dismantling India for 36 meant it did not prove costly in Adelaide, but at the MCG their under-par first-innings total was significantly overhauled by India and then they could only muster a lead of 69.However, Labuschagne’s series is also part of the problem. Three times he has got himself well set at the crease but has been unable to pass fifty. Compare that to last season against New Zealand and Pakistan, where he only failed to reach fifty once in eight innings, and converted four of those to hundreds, of which the smallest was 143.Related

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For that, the credit has to go to India’s attack, which has pulled off some superbly worked-out plans to Labuschagne, as well as all the other Australia batsmen. The three substantial innings Labuschagne has played have ended lbw to Umesh Yadav, caught at leg slip against Mohammed Siraj and caught at slip off R Ashwin.Each has been the reward of excellent thinking with the dismissals against Yadav and Siraj highlighting the straightness with which India have bowled to Labuschagne, with a well-set leg-side field that has strangled his scoring rate.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Of the six Test series Labuschagne has played more than a single match in, this current one is comfortably his slowest in terms of his strike rate – 41.61. As a new year dawns, for the first time since returning to the Test team in the 2019 Ashes, he has a problem to solve.”They’ve certainly come in with a plan with those straight fields and making sure they really aren’t leaving the stumps,” Labuschagne said. “Having a really heavy leg-side field obviously slows your scoring rate down because those shots you do get on your legs go for one not four, and they are always keeping those catchers in the game.”You have to be really disciplined as they showed when I did glance once around the corner and got caught with that leg slip. For us, it’s probably a two-phase answer: we need to be very disciplined and we also need to come up with ways to put them under pressure.”None of Australia’s batsmen has been able to break free – this is currently their slowest-scoring home Test series since 1986-87. While India have also had to work hard for their runs, the crucial difference in the last Test was that they had a match-defining century from captain Ajinkya Rahane.”It doesn’t have to be pretty, we got to keep grinding and finding a way,” Labuschagne said. “If we do get in we’ve got to make sure we get those big scores.”Should have played forward – Marnus Labuschagne shadow-practises after being dismissed•Getty Images

In terms of output, it has been the lean returns of Steven Smith that have caught the eye over the first two Tests as his three completed innings have brought 1, 0 and 8, twice dismissed by Ashwin and then bowled behind his legs by Jasprit Bumrah in the second innings at the MCG. Only once in his Test career has he been dismissed for four consecutive single-figure scores – against England during the 2015 Ashes – and he has averaged 26.40 since the 2019 Ashes.Unsurprisingly, with the record that Smith has under his belt and the success Labuschagne has enjoyed before this summer, the Australia camp is confident that an upturn is around the corner.”I wouldn’t be too quick to be judging these Steve Smith not looking good the middle,” assistant coach Andrew McDonald said. “He hasn’t got going in this series. Marnus, probably the question for me at the moment is tactically the way that India have prepared, and have been able to probably control those two players particularly with that leg-side theory.”That’s something those two players have got to come up with a better method. I don’t think it’s anything to do with technique. Technically, they’re ready to go. It’s about how that are going to score their rounds and how they’re going to combat these tactics from Indian bowlers and captains.”

She was withdrawn following an incident that took place on Wednesday, in Antigua, after a training session

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2019West Indies vice-captain Hayley Matthews has been withdrawn from the ODI squad for the home series against Australia. She faces a charge of breaching the Cricket West Indies code of conduct following an incident that took place on Wednesday, in Antigua, according to the board, which sent out a press statement announcing her withdrawal less than two hours before the scheduled start of the first ODI against Australia on Thursday, in Coolidge.”The matter has been referred to the CWI Disciplinary Tribunal,” the statement said. “CWI will make no further comment at this time.”It is understood that the incident in question took place after a West Indies training session on Wednesday, and Matthews will now fly home to Barbados from Antigua.Matthews was part of a 13-member squad for the ODI series, and the CWI interim selection panel named uncapped 21-year-old batsman Sheneta Grimmond from Guyana as her replacement.West Indies will play three ODIs and as many T20Is against Australia.

The teams split points, which means Sri Lanka moved to third on the table by virtue of a superior run-rate

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu07-Jun-2019
As it happenedGround staff work on the covers as rain delays start of play•Getty Images

Persistent rain and a damp outfield forced the first washout of the 2019 World Cup as the game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Although the rain wasn’t heavy, it was enough to force a delay of more than five hours and render several parts of the outfield too wet to play on.Umpire Ian Gould and Nigel Llong made the final call at 3.45pm local time. The teams split points, which ensured Sri Lanka moved to third on the table by virtue of a superior run-rate (-1.517). Pakistan, like Sri Lanka, have three points from as many games, but they only have a net run-rate of -2.412.The (no) result means Sri Lanka will have to wait even longer to break their World Cup duck against Pakistan. The head-to-head reads 7-0.Pakistan will now enjoy a five-day break before facing Australia in Taunton while Sri Lanka will run into Bangladesh on June 11 in Bristol.