All posts by n8rngtd.top

The move follows her relocation from Queensland to New South Wales for state cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2020Sammy-Jo Johnson has signed for the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash to complete a pair of off-season moves following her state switch from Queensland to New South Wales.Seam-bowling allrounder Johnson has been an integral part of the Brisbane Heat’s WBBL success with 38 wickets across their back-to-back titles of the last two seasons. She will join South Africa pace bowler Shabnim Ismail in the Thunder’s attack.”I was really drawn to Thunder’s values,” Johnson said. “I enjoy giving back to the community and having an impact on local clubs and schools, and that’s something I’m really keen to get involved in at Thunder.”There’s so many talented young players in the squad and I think it’s just a matter of guiding them in the right direction and ensuring they know that they can handle any situation that’s thrown at them. Even as a senior player, I’ve still got plenty to learn and I want to continue to evolve as a person and a player.”ALSO READ: Sammy-Jo Johnson: ‘Australia the hardest team in the world to get into at the moment’Johnson has reached the Australia A set-up but has yet to earn an international debut. There could be vacancies for the series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start at the end of September, depending on the progress of Ellyse Perry and Tayla Vlaeminck from the injuries they suffered at the T20 World Cup.”I think [Australia] is the hardest team in the world to get into at the moment because they are so successful and everyone plays their role,” Johnson told ESPNcricinfo in June. “You don’t want people to get injured, but I feel like it’s your only foot in the door at the moment – which is good because you want that competition. If I can keep churning out consistent performances with the ball and bat I’m hoping going to give the selectors no reason not to pick me.”The WBBL is set to begin on October 17 and run until November 29 although there are expected to be changes to the schedule due to the impact of Covid-19 in some parts of Australia.

Worcestershire fall three wickets short after setting 358 in 51 overs

ECB Reporters Network11-Aug-2020Worcestershire head coach Alex Gidman has defended the timing of his side’s declaration after they fell three wickets short of a final-day win against Glamorgan.Worcestershire took a 179-run lead into the fourth day at New Road, but batted on until after lunch to set Glamorgan an unrealistic target of 358 to win in the final innings from 51 overs. They were reduced to 5 for 3 after 4.3 overs, but Chris Cooke’s 74 helped them cling on, with the captains bumping fists with two balls remaining.”It was spot on, the decision,” Gidman said. “It’s been hard work, so physically we wanted to try and make sure we could really put it in, and anything over that number of overs in the field would have become really hard work.”Equally and probably more importantly, we just felt the mindset of Glamorgan needed to be a defensive mindset. It is actually really hard to defend and, if a team had something to go for, it could have been hard work. We needed to be able to keep fielders around the bat and keep that pressure on.”On that exact wicket, in the last few years there have been some very high chases which was something we were wary of. It didn’t deteriorate. It was still an excellent wicket, a good batting wicket, so we were very conscious of that when we made that decision.”Does eight points for draw come into mindset? Definitely. We are in a competition. We’ve got five games. We’ve drawn that game. Yes, we would have liked to have won it but the next best is a draw and there are a lot of points up for grabs for a draw in this campaign.”It was a day to remember for Cooke, who had equalled the Glamorgan record for the most dismissals in a game before his invaluable innings eased fears of a spectacular collapse.Worcestershire had resumed on day four on 98 for 2 – an overall lead of 179 – and Daryl Mitchell pressed home their advantage with a composed 94. He had looked set to complete his sixth first-class ton against Glamorgan but then gave Kieran Bull the charge just before lunch and was stumped by Cooke.Tom Fell had earlier given Mitchell solid support during a third-wicket stand of 85 in 21 overs before he tried to work away a legside delivery from Timm van der Gugten and feathered a low catch to Cooke.Worcestershire batted on for a further eight overs after lunch and lost Brett D’Oliveira and Riki Wessels to the Cooke-Graham Wagg combination in the same over. The latter of those scalps enabled Cooke to equal the Glamorgan record for the most dismissals in a game: it was his ninth victim of the match and only Colin Metson and Mark Wallace had achieved that feat previously for Glamorgan.Some improvised hitting from Ben Cox and Jack Haynes helped them add 44 in six overs before the declaration came.Glamorgan were immediately on the back foot and Joe Leach broke through with his second delivery when Nick Selman was trapped lbw. He enjoyed another success when Charlie Hemphrey offered no stroke and departed in the same manner.In between, Dillon Pennington had accounted for Kiran Carlson who looked to work the ball to leg and outside edged through to keeper Cox.First innings century-maker Billy Root and Cooke added 82 in 22 overs to calm Glamorgan’s nerves before the former on 34 was caught down the legside off Pennington. Cooke went on to complete his half-century from 78 balls with his tenth boundary.Charlie Morris gave Worcestershire another ray of hope when Tom Cullen went lbw with still 12.5 overs remaining. Then Dan Douthwaite became the fourth leg-before victim of the innings in the next over to give part-time offspinner Jake Libby his first wicket for his new county, but Cooke stood firm until he pushed half forward to Libby and saw the ball roll back onto his stumps.But Wagg and Bull managed to block out for 15 more balls to see out the draw.

Sri Lanka release five players from bio-bubble, including quicks Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Jan-2021Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis will not play for Sri Lanka in the second Test against England, after both were released from the squad and its biosecure bubble, along with three other players.Karunaratne and Mendis have been let go for different reasons. Karunaratne, the regular Test captain, has not sufficiently recovered from a finger fracture suffered on the tour of South Africa, where he sustained a blow during his second-innings hundred at the Wanderers. Mendis, meanwhile, has been ommitted due to poor form – he has four consecutive ducks and a 15 in his five most-recent innings. Roshen Silva is among the batsmen vying to replace him.ALSO READ: Arthur laments Sri Lanka’s first-innings batting tempoAlso released from the squad were fast bowlers Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep, as well as reserve wicketkeeper-batsman Minod Bhanuka. With Sri Lanka hoping that Suranga Lakmal will be fit for the second Test, no other frontline seamers may be required – the preferred strategy being to play three spinners and one quick. From the fast-bowling contingent, Asitha Fernando (who played the first Test), Vishwa Fernando, and Dushmantha Chameera remain with the squad.The second Test against England begins in Galle on Friday. Sri Lanka lost the first match by seven wickets.

A round-up of Ranji Trophy Group A matches on November 18, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Arun Karthik struck two fifties in the game to be named Man of the Match as Assam thumped Delhi•PTI

Assam continued their excellent run, having earned promotion this year, by beating table-toppers Delhi by five wickets in Guwahati. There were only 95 runs away overnight and most of those were knocked over by Arun Karthik (55*), who struck his second fifty of the match. Opener Rahul Hazarika (59) joined him, and those two were the only batsmen to reach the mark in the entire match. Delhi lost all 10 wickets for fewer than 200 in both innings, which proved their undoing. Assam have now vaulted into second place in Group A. With three wins in six games, they are on 22 points, only two behind Delhi’s 24.Vidarbha 247 (Sarwate 50, Tanveer ul Haq 4-60) and 199 for 2 (Badrinath 70*, Satish 61*) beat Rajasthan 216 (Puneed 67, Dobal 51, Umesh 4-45) and 226 (Menaria 76, Saxena 54, Sarwate 5-58) by eight wickets
ScorecardAditya Sarwate, the 25-year old left-arm spinner, is having a fabulous debut season in the Ranji Trophy. His second first-class five-for now takes him to 25 wickets in four games and has also set up Vidarbha’s third win of the season. A target of 199 became a formality with Ganesh Satish (61*) and captain S Badrinath (70*) and hitting unbeaten half-centuries.Sarwate needed only one ball on the fifth day to wrap up Rajasthan’s second innings on their overnight score of 226. He finished with 5 for 58, to finish with seven wickets in the match. Besides him, Umesh Yadav had taken a hat-trick in the first innings.Early wickets were necessary for Rajasthan to pose a challenge to a line-up that features three of the best professionals in the Ranji circuit. Although Wasim Jaffer did not bat, Satish and Badrinath combined for an unbeaten 127 runs for the third wicket to seal the game and consolidate Vidarbha’s place at three on the Group A points table. They have 22 points from seven, same as Assam, who have played only six.
ScorecardHaryana held on for 103 overs in Lahli thanks to Chaitanya Bishnoi’s unbeaten 86 off 259 balls, but the 250 for 4 that they ended up with while following-on was still not enough to match match Odisha’s 529 for 6 declared. Chances of an outright win were high for the visitors, especially after a Virender Sehwag-less Haryana were bowled out for 216 in the first innings in 85.5 overs. But their batting was able to show greater resolve to deny Odisha a second win of the season. Haryana themselves have not had any victories so far and both teams are stuck in the bottom half of the table.Bishnoi, the 21-year old playing his first season of Ranji Trophy, was the common thread that connected three solid partnerships. He added 86 runs in 36.5 overs with Nitin Saini (64), 75 runs with Rohit Sharma (42) in 30.5 overs, 44 runs with Sachin Rana in 18.5 overs and an unbeaten 30 runs with Priyank Tehlan in 11.5 overs to guide his team to relative safety. And clearly, Odisha’s bowlers could not summon the finishing blow: Dhiraj Singh, Suryakant Pradhan and Basant Mohanty bowled 73 overs for only four wickets.
ScorecardThe game eventually petered out into a race for the first innings lead, and Maharashtra who had come into the final day on 290 for 3 did have an opportunity to run down Bengal’s 528 for 9 declared, but were unable to do so. They were reliant on the overnight pair of Rahul Tripathi’s (132 off275 balls) and Ankit Bawne (65 off 143 balls) but once that 156-run partnership for the fourth wicket was broken, Bengal took control.Bawne was bowled by Veer Pratap Singh and the score became 313 for 4. Tripathi fell 16 runs later, then Maharashtra lost their sixth, seventh and eighth wickets for only 11 runs and finally were eventually all out for 406. Pragyan Ojha took 3 for 71. Ashok Dinda, Mukesh Kumar and Aamir Gani picked up two wickets each. Bengal then played out 33 overs with Abhimanyu Easwaran securing his second fifty of the match.

It has been more than a decade since Sri Lanka last won a bilateral series, in any format, against India

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Jan-20205:10

Keep an eye out for the return of Bumrah and Dhawan

Big Picture

Lasith Malinga has a problem. He has captained Sri Lanka to a World T20 title, but that was way back in 2014. Now, almost six years later, there are serious doubts over his leadership. Since he took over as captain again, in 2019, Sri Lanka have lost nine matches under him, and won only once. There’s no doubt he’s the best player in the side – that one victory came in the match in which he took four wickets in four balls for the second time in his limited-overs career. But can he get the best out of the ten remaining players in the side? Sri Lanka are a relatively young team. Malinga has as much T20 nous as anybody. But is he a competent manager of inexperienced players?Malinga has another problem. Lately, India haven’t lost many series to Sri Lanka. In fact, India have not lost a bilateral series to Sri Lanka – in any format – in more than ten years. In T20Is, Sri Lanka at least have the bragging rights of having defeated India in a World T20 final in 2014. But where Sri Lanka were serious rivals in the 90s and the aughts, India have more recently begun considering Sri Lanka matches a low-profile fixture. Often, they rest their regular captain. This time, they have rested their batsman of 2019, Rohit Sharma.Can the visitors turn the tables in 2020? Their young batsmen were glorious in Pakistan in September, and awful in the Australia series that followed. Young legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga was similarly a revelation in Lahore, but not so great in Adelaide and Brisbane.India, however, are not as difficult to beat in this format as they are in others. They have not been quite as dominant in this format as they would like to be either, They lost T20I series in New Zealand and Australia in 2019, and also lost matches at home to West Indies, Bangladesh and South Africa (though India didn’t lose any of those series).

Form guide

India WLWWW (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLLWW

In the spotlight

Remember the Nidahas Trophy? That tournament won by India in a whirl of Dinesh Karthik sixes? The hero of that final is not in the India squad, but one of the heroes of the round robin, Washington Sundar, is. While maintaining an economy rate of under six, he took eight wickets in five matches in that tournament, five of those coming against Sri Lanka. Washington hasn’t had much fortune since the Nidahas Trophy, though, taking only six wickets in 12 matches. Can a favoured opposition prod him back into wicket-taking form?Lasith Malinga and Isuru Udana celebrate•Associated Press

Angelo Mathews hasn’t played a T20I since August 2018. The reason? Well, his batting isn’t particularly devastating anymore, and injuries have dictated that he can’t bowl much. He has been bowling in the nets in the approach to this series, however, and that may explain why he has been picked in the squad again, after such a long hiatus. If he does bowl, he could offer that crucial control with the new ball that Sri Lanka have been yearning for, while letting Malinga save his overs until late in the innings. If he only bats, Sri Lanka will hope he captures his best hitting form from years gone by. Malinga described Mathews as Sri Lanka’s “best finisher” ahead of the first match.

Team news

Malinga has suggested that Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis may not play.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Oshada Fernando, 3 Avishka Fernando, 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Kusal Perera (wk), 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Wanindu Hasaranga, 10 Lasith Malinga (capt), 11 Lahiru Kumara/Kasun RajithaJasprit Bumrah is likely to slot right back into the XI as he returns after recovering from a stress fracture. With India prioritising batting depth of late, both spin-bowling allrounders could play, with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal having to battle it out for the lone wristspinner’s slot.India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/ Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

In the peak of winter, Indore is likely to be pleasant on the skin. The pitch generally leans towards the batting side too, and it is a small ground, which could mean exciting strokeplay if the spinners don’t get a chance to call some shots.

Stats and trivia

• Washington Sundar averages 14.20 and has an economy rate of 5.91 against Sri Lanka.
• Mathews averages 78.00 in India with the bat, in T20Is. This is largely thanks to his four not outs in six innings. He strikes at 130.00.
• In the only T20I played so far in Indore, Rohit Sharma made everyone dream of a T20 double-century against Sri Lanka with his 118 off 43 balls. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were the most effective bowlers across teams that night – they took a combined 7 for 104 in eight overs

Quotes

“Akila [Dananjaya]’s bowling action isn’t great at the moment, and he might be cleared before the World Cup, but we don’t know what’s after that. Still we have young spinners and we need to give opportunities to them.”

Tom Abell, Somerset’s talented but beleaguered young captain, has been dropped for Somerset’s Championship match against Yorkshire at Scarborough

David Hopps03-Jul-2017Tom Abell, Somerset’s talented but beleaguered young captain, has been dropped for Somerset’s Championship match against Yorkshire at Scarborough.But Somerset remain adamant that the decision to have appointed him captain at 22 remains the right one with director of cricket Matt Maynard praising him as “a genuine leader of men.”Abell’s season hit a new low point when he made a pair during Somerset’s draw at Ageas Bowl last week – a match in which their top-order frailties were again exposed by two wholesale collapses.Abell, now 23, is not the only batsman out of form, far from it – only the South African Dean Elgar averages more than 30 – but his decline is marked nevertheless, with 171 runs at 14.25. Even his season’s-best 71 came during a stalemate against Middlesex on a docile Lord’s pitch.Somerset go into the Yorkshire match 29 points adrift of safety with half the season gone and Elgar now on South Africa Test duty. They will draw some hope from the fact that Yorkshire lack three senior batsmen in Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow, all on England duty..Somerset’s other alternative would have been to have rested Abell from the captaincy, and encouraged him to regain his form in the 1st XI, playing only as a specialist batsman, because not to do so has left their top six looking strikingly raw.But that would have conveyed the message that their captaincy decision was a flawed one at this stage of his career, and they remain insistent that this is not the case. Their faith in him both short-term and long remains unstinting.Abell, well respected but a less bullish individual than many who have made a success of captaincy at a young age, will now search for form in the 2nd XI without the added pressure of leading a struggling side. Tim Rouse, a 2nd XI batsman, replaces him with Lewis Gregory standing in as captain.Happier times as Abell is named as captain•Getty Images

Abell said on the Somerset website: “It’s been a tough start to the season for me and the team has to come first. The support that I’ve received has been incredible and hugely appreciated, as has the backing from the team and coaches.”Maynard added: “Every single person connected with the club, from the members and supporters up to the committee, are desperate for Tom to return to form and I have no doubt that he will do just that.”He is an outstanding player, a genuine leader of men and as the old adage says: form is temporary but class is permanent.”We’ll be working hard with him in the nets and he’ll be playing some Second XI cricket – I’m confident that he will be back in contention for First XI selection again sooner rather than later”.Abell had been full of optimism as April dawned, observing a Somerset season in 2016 in which they were pipped for the title on the final day and saying: “I am convinced we have the squad and the coaching staff to win the title.”

Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer revive Essex after they gain vital first-innings lead

Paul Edwards26-Sep-2020Somerset 301 and 227 for 7 (Lammonby 116, Porter 4-51) lead Essex 337 for 8 (Gregory 6-72) by 191 runsThe penultimate morning of the first-class cricket season offered both a familiar elegy and a fresh dynamic. The trees in St John’s Wood Church Grounds were crisping gently into autumn and it seemed fitting that John Sell Cotman, the 19th century landscape painter, has his marked grave in their abundant shadow. The day could have been mistaken for summer’s finest vintage until one stood in the bitter breeze and realised why the track-suited Essex players were muffled up as they strolled down Circus Road towards Lord’s. “The sunlight on the garden / Hardens and grows cold,” Louis MacNeice wrote.Tom Westley’s players could not allow either the weather or the many attractions of St John’s Wood to deter them. Panzers may sell 15 varieties of tomato – is there a finer food emporium in the land? – but Essex have a cup to win and are more concerned with taking the Bob Willis Trophy back to Chelmsford. It would be their fourth domestic triumph in as many seasons and would confirm them in many minds as the best team in the land. Such an achievement, though, rested on their ability to secure a first-innings lead and then avoid losing this match.That first goal was attained with little trouble; the second will depend on their ability to withstand Somerset’s attack on what is effectively a fourth-day Test match pitch. (If they do that they will probably win the game in any case.) Until the last couple of hours on Saturday the wicket had misbehaved as frequently as the most unctuous teacher’s pet but Somerset’s batsmen have given their bowlers a chance. One suspects the last day of this game will hold the interest of those watching around the country on live stream before they bid farewell to the type of cricket they most enjoy. “We cannot cage the minute / Within its nets of gold,” MacNeice continues.There is, though, little doubt that Tom Lammonby is currently making excellent use of almost every hour the gods allow him. When the Somerset opener eased Jamie Porter through midwicket for three runs in the fourth over after tea he completed the third hundred of his first-class career, all his centuries coming in successive matches in the Bob Willis Trophy. Yet so assured had been Lammonby’s strokeplay, particularly through the leg side, that a century had looked likely ever since he had swept Simon Harmer to fine leg, thus reaching his fifty off 73 balls with his ninth boundary.That first landmark was reached during Lammonby’s 105-run opening stand with Ben Green, who made 41 before he nicked Aaron Beard to Alastair Cook. Tom Abell then offered almost trifling assistance as a further 50 runs were added off 47 balls for the second wicket; by contrast most bowlers came alike to his partner. Porter was clipped square off Lammonby’s toes and then punched through midwicket. Harmer, who had been smacked over midwicket for six by Green, was driven against the spin through the leg side, which Lammonby favoured for a dozen of his 17 fours. The 20-year-old’s command appeared absolute until Harmer, as he so often does, had his revenge.Lammonby’s wicket was the second of the three that fell for one run in the ten balls that may be seen as vital in determining the destiny of the trophy. Well-placed to set a decent target when they were 159 for 2 at tea, Somerset had already lost Eddie Byrom, who played on to Porter for 1, before George Bartlett perished at mid-on when trying to muscle the same bowler to the Nursery End. Harmer’s arm ball then hit Lammonby on the back pad to give Russell Warren one of his easier decisions and Essex’s revival was maintained when Alastair Cook, whose enjoyment of cricket remains so obvious, dived to his left to take Lewis Gregory’s sharp edge.And quite suddenly the cricket, and even the day itself, seemed far removed from the first half-hour of the morning in which Essex had gained the lead that ensured they will win the trophy should the game be drawn. That task had been accomplished in almost perfunctory fashion, one that belied the importance of the runs scored.Essex began the session a mere 35 runs behind Somerset but with four wickets in hand. The common expectation was that we would watch a grim and glorious struggle for every run; the reality was that Porter and Adam Wheater knocked off the runs needed for a lead in 7.2 overs and there was roughly as much tension as would normally accompany the washing-up. Two sets of four leg-byes got things moving and Wheater’s boundaries through midwicket and long leg off Overton brought the target down to single figures. It was fitting that a Steve Davies fumble and four byes should provide the anti-climactic moment that was greeted with understandable applause on the away balcony. By the time the innings closed when 120 overs had been bowled, Gregory had taken his fifth and sixth wickets but Essex’s lead was 36 runs.Some seven hours later Somerset had their own lead of 191 but after hoping to set their opponents a target in excess of 250, they had spent the rest of the session after Gregory’s dismissal struggling towards advantage of 200. And by the close they had also lost Davies, caught at slip for 19 by Cook, who seems impervious to both frost and fever. Mortal men – or at least those of us who do not have to brave the climate on a Bedfordshire farm – are not so fortunate. Describing the weather as autumnal when the umpires took the players off seven overs before the close was an act of verbal generosity towards it. One thought of Michael Rosen’s poem, “London Fields”:The wicket falls
High fives all round
Conkers shining in their nests
Mr Softee pulls away.Perhaps they do, perhaps he does, but we have had a fine season, all two months of it. There has been sunlight on our gardens, a brighter sunlight than we thought possible. Let us pray it is a portent.

The West Indies captain was given out on what was evidently a no-ball due to fielding infringements by Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam in Sylhet14-Dec-2018In a controversial incident in the series-deciding ODI in Sylhet, West Indies captain Rovman Powell was out to what should have been called a no-ball due to an excessive number of Bangladesh fielders manning the leg-side field. Following the game, which Bangladesh won to seal the series, Powell expressed disappointment with the on-field umpires for not catching the breach till it was pointed out by Carlos Brathwaite, West Indies’ 12th man who came on to the field to bring it to the notice of umpires Masudur Rahman and Ruchira Palliyaguruge.Brathwaite was seen having an animated discussion with the umpires just after Powell was given caught behind off Mehidy Hasan in the 26th over. He seemed to bring up the matter again, when he came onto the field with drinks a few overs later. Powell said that Brathwaite had come on to the field to bring the situation to the umpires’ notice.Powell said the issue had persisted over several balls. “It was a situation where Bangladesh had six persons on the leg side, and generally six persons on the leg side is considered a no-ball. It is a bit disappointing to see about six or seven balls [were] bowled with six players on the leg side and the umpire didn’t pick that up. It is human mistake, so sometimes you have to just give and take.”But you don’t want to lose a wicket in that fashion. Maybe that’s one of the major reasons why Carlos came on the field. To be honest, I didn’t spot it. None of us, me nor [the other batsman at the time] Shai Hope, spotted it. We were concentrating on rebuilding, getting a partnership going and that just happened.”It is not clear why Brathwaite did not prevent Powell from leaving the field when they had, evidently correctly, spotted this umpiring error. When Powell was asked about the matter at the press conference, he didn’t seem to catch the question.According to clause 28.4 of the ICC men’s playing conditions, “At the instant of delivery, there may not be more than 5 fielders on the leg side… In the event of infringement of this clause by any fielder, the striker’s end umpire shall call and signal no-ball.”Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said that they also did not spot the error. “We all know that a 6-3 field is a no-ball,” Mashrafe said. “But by being focused on getting them out we ended up having six fielders on the on-side, but since the umpire had made his call [on the Powell dismissal], he had to be given out.”

Sri Lanka overcame their-now traditional mini-collapse to post a respectable 273 for 7, but it was not enough to deny England another comfortable victory

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Oct-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSri Lanka overcame their-now traditional mini-collapse to post a respectable 273 for 7, but the efforts of the lower order, who had propelled them to that score, were not enough to deny England another comfortable victory.In yet another calm and proficient display of batting, England cruised to 132 for 2 at the end of 27 overs – captain Eoin Morgan and Joe Root hitting 56 in each other’s company to hoist the team to safety. When the forecast monsoonal deluge hit, they were 18 runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score. The series now sewn up 3-0, England head to Colombo’s dead rubber with the licence to give their second-choice players a run.Sri Lanka can at least dwell on a few decent batting performances, chief among them that of Dasun Shanaka, who struck a run-a-ball 66 to re-energise the Sri Lanka innings after Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid had lorded it over the early middle overs. Had he not attempted a suicidal single just as he was starting to ramp up the big hitting in the death overs, Sri Lanka might have managed a score closer to 300. Other lower-middle order contributors included Thisara Perera, who made 44 off 41 balls, and Akila Dananjaya who hit a tenacious 32 not out off 26.In response, the visitors just never looked like they were daunted by the target. The first over, bowled by Lasith Malinga, yielded 12 runs, with wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella unable to stop two balls from running away for four byes each. Jason Roy was comfortable against the left-arm spin of Amila Aponso, which you suspected had been specifically deployed to unseat him. Dananjaya struck twice in his first four overs to eventually get rid of both openers, but Morgan and Root – both monsters against spin – ensured England’s advance continued smoothly.The only possible late hiccup for the visitors was when Root top edged a sweep off a full toss to short fine leg, but although the catch was completed, eagle-eyed umpire Lyndon Hannibal denied Sri Lanka a wicket. The umpire had spotted that Kasun Rajitha had not entered the circle at mid-off, and ruled that delivery a no-ball, on account of too many fielders being outside the circle. Even if that wicket had been awarded, however, England would probably have been ahead of the DLS par-score when the rains came.Earlier, having arrived at the crease with the score on 102 for 4 and three wickets having fallen in the space of 13 runs, Shanaka had immediately cut a confident figure at the crease. He reverse-swept Mooen for four eighth ball, before tonking towering sixes off the spinners in the following few overs.He probably should have been out for 24, though. He lined up the midwicket boundary with a slog sweep, but should have been caught on the rope by Alex Hales, who failed to close his hands around the high chance, while leaning backwards over the rope. A six was the result. England, in general, were sloppy on the field, several fielding lapses marring their performance, while they spurned three clear-cut wicket opportunities.That Moeen had created so many chances before Shanaka arrived, was perhaps down to Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen being more aggressive against him, compared to their watchfulness against Rashid. Having begun his spell the moment the first Powerplay concluded, Moeen was accurate and guileful, occasionally gaining substantial turn. He was the man who set in motion the mid-overs slump in the Sri Lanka innings, bowling and advancing Dinesh Chandimal through the gate in the 19th over, before getting Dickwella lbw – Dickwella having helped lay some sort of foundation for Sri Lanka with a 70-ball 52.Rashid, whose variations the batsmen did not always read, was more difficult to milk for singles, and collected the third wicket in Sri Lanka’s mini-collapse, trapping the struggling Kusal Mendis in front with a slider. He collected 1 for 36 from his 10 overs; Moeen took 2 for 55.Aside from the poor fielding, England’s other major failing was their bowling at the death. Olly Stone was expensive, leaking 50 runs from his seven overs, and neither Ben Stokes nor Tom Curran were especially miserly either. Given the paucity of Sri Lanka’s lower-order batting, England will feel they should not have given away even as many 74 in the last 10.

Fast bowler attracts board’s ire after becoming 43rd South Africa cricketer to take the Kolpak route

Liam Brickhill26-Feb-2019Duanne Olivier was offered a two-year contract as an incentive to stay in South Africa ahead of his decision to take up a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire, Cricket South Africa has revealed after news broke of Olivier’s decision to effectively end his international career.Olivier was upgraded to a national contract during the current home season, in which he played all five home Tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka and was also trialled in the ODI side, and was offered a contract that would have kept him in the national frame until the end of the 2020-21 season.In a post on Instagram, Olivier wrote that the decision to turn his back on South Africa was “possibly the most difficult … I’ll ever have to make”, adding that he was aware that CSA “might not understand or agree” with his decision.Sure enough, CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe was strongly critical of the decision. “We find it extremely disappointing that Duanne has taken this step after all the opportunities we have given him, particularly over the past season and going forward, to live his dream of being an international cricketer,” Moroe said.”He was upgraded to a national contract during the current season on the strength of his outstanding performances in our Test squad and we offered him a two-year contract which would have given him financial security through to the end of the 2020-21 season.”Moroe also suggested that the trend of cricketers putting domestic leagues and franchise cricket ahead of national duty was “not good news for the global game”. Forty-two South African cricketers have now opted for Kolpak deals since left-arm spinner Claude Henderson became the first to take that route back in 2004.”If one looks at the bigger picture this is not good news for the global game either that a player who has just broken into the top 20 on the ICC Test match bowling rankings for the first time should opt effectively to bring down the curtain on his international career in favour of playing only in domestic leagues,” said Moroe, adding that Olivier was “not short of opportunity” after the cricket he played this summer.South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson echoed Moroe’s disappointment. “We are naturally disappointed with Duanne’s decision to sign a Kolpak contract,” he said. “He has been a key feature for us this summer and was without a doubt one of our standout performers.”We held several meetings with him regarding his future with the Proteas throughout the summer and even offered him a two-year contract. To see him cut short a promising international career is disappointing. Ultimately, it was a decision we could not control despite our best efforts.”CSA expects to announce the contracted South Africa men’s and women’s squads for the next 12 months later this week.