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ScorecardBrendan Doggett leads Queensland off the field•Getty Images

Eleven wickets fell on the third day of the Sheffield Shield game in Perth, as momentum see-sawed between Western Australia and Queensland.First, the WA bowlers combined to take the last five Queensland wickets for only 81 runs, denying overnight batsmen Jack Wildermuth (95) and Marnus Labuschagne (92) a single run, let alone their hundreds. But then Queensland hit back as legspinner Mitchell Swepson (3-76) and seamer Brendan Doggett (2-28) reduced WA to 5 for 99. An unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 66 between Ashton Turner and Josh Inglis ensured the hosts went to stumps at the WACA with a 155-run lead.It all began with Queensland losing three wickets without adding anything to their overnight score of 343. Wildermuth was the first to go, when he was caught off Matthew Kelly in the second over of the day. Labuschagne joined him soon after, caught by the wicketkeeper in the following over. Simon Mackin then bowled Swepson for a duck and Queensland were suddenly seven wickets down, still trailing by 71. It was at this point that Doggett, the 23-year old playing only his third first-class game, stepped up with an unbeaten innings of 48 that handed Queensland a 10-run lead.WA’s second innings got off to a solid start with openers William Bosisto (27) and Jonathan Wells (44) putting on 67 in 32.1 overs. But then they lost five wickets for 32 runs and were in serious trouble when Turner (30*) and Inglis (40*) got together to stem any further damage.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAFP

The fourth day in Bulawayo drew tenacious performances from batsmen on both sides, but West Indies will still go into the final day as firm favourites. Record contributions from Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich and quick wickets in Zimbabwe’s second innings put them in a virtually unassailable position. It took a battling unbeaten 94-runstand from Sikandar Raza and PJ Moor to stretch the match into a fifth day.While Raza and Moor’s efforts stalled West Indies’ push for victory, the day belonged to Holder and Dowrich, who added 212, the most by an eighth-wicket pair for West Indies. Holder’s century was his second in Tests, and the first by a West Indies No. 9, while Dowrich’s joy at reaching his own maiden Test hundred was plainly evident.Not since 1908 have both a no. 8 and no. 9 made centuries in the same innings of a Test. Clem Hill and Roger Hartigan did it for Australia against England at the Adelaide Oval, and Holder and Dowrich repeated that achievement against Zimbabwe to put their team in a winning position. Their efforts took West Indies to 448, a lead of 122, before the bowlers increased their advantage even further in keeping Zimbabwe to 140 for 4 at the close.It was apparent early on this morning that this might not be Zimbabwe’s day. Regis Chakabva, who has had a difficult match behind the stumps, missed an edge of a flashing Holder drive in the sixth over of the morning and the West Indies captain punished the error as Zimbabwe’s marathon in the field continued unabated.Holder and Dowrich mixed studied defense with daring strokes, and the arrival of the third new ball provided few alarms. Zimbabwe quickly reverted from pace to spin, and both men progressed steadily through the 90s. Holder was first to his ton, crunching Chisoro extravagantly through the covers for his ninth boundary.Dowrich reached his landmark in even more emphatic style, stepping out to dispatch Cremer high over long off. Holder added another six – his second – as West Indies went on the charge, but the increase in tempo was quickly followed by the end of the innings. Chisoro trapped Dowrich lbw, playing back to one that rushed on, for his maiden Test wicket, and then bowled Holder around his legs. The spinner grabbed a third wicket, removing Roach lbw, to bring the innings to an end half an hour before lunch.Though he failed with the bat, Roach excelled at his primary role as senior seamer. Operating from the City End, he got the better of Masakadza with a canny piece of Test fast bowling to draw first blood. Looking to leave the ball, Masakadza was deceived by Roach’s wide angle on delivery and some hooping inswing to have his off stump disturbed.Mire then aimed an ill-judged pull at a length delivery in the final over before lunch, the ball keeping low to strike him in front of middle and leg. A pumped-up Roach gave Mire a rollicking send-off, earning a demerit point in the process.The lunch session allowed West Indies’ new ball bowlers to freshen up and, essentially, have two gos at the wilting Zimbabweans, and Shannon Gabriel bowled with vim and vigour after the interval. He hit Taylor on the glove with a bouncer that skidded through low, and between times maintained a testing line outside off stump. That line, along with pace and inward movement, eventually proved Taylor’s undoing, an indipper beating his flat-footed defense and pinging him right in front of middle.With that, Zimbabwe were teetering at 23 for 3, and the pace bowlers continued to give PJ Moor and Craig Ervine a torrid time. They survived the burst, Holder replacing Roach from the City End, but what Roach couldn’t do, Bishoo soon did. With his second delivery, he rushed a legbreak through Ervine’s defense to bowl him for 22.Moor and Raza took Zimbabwe to tea still 57 runs shy of making West Indies bat again, and amid lengthening shadows in the afternoon they chipped steadily away at the deficit. Mirroring his first innings effort, Moor shelved most of the big shots he is known for, though a pair of drives off Holder and Bishoo were the shots of the day. He was less successful against Gabriel, who touched 150kph in the afternoon and beat his edge multiple times.At the other end, Raza was far less subdued and latched onto any loose bowling that came his way. Roach was flicked and driven for boundaries, while the spinners were attacked whenever they were too short, or too full. Bishoo was drilled for six over wide long on, and a quick single took Raza to a 111-ball fifty just after the final drinks break. The batting pair took Zimbabwe beyond parity, ensuring West Indies will at least have to bat again tomorrow.

Sri Lanka Cricket is hopeful of naming a strong team for the third and final T20I against Pakistan in Lahore – the first fixture the team will play in Pakistan since 2009, when their team bus was attacked by armed gunman.Players had raised concerns about travelling to Pakistan, but the board on Monday confirmed that it will be sending a team across. There have been questions around whether SLC would be forced to name a weakened side if players pulled out of the game – limited-overs captain Upul Tharanga has already withdrawn from the squad – however team manager Asanka Gurusinha felt a competitive team could be named.”We have to wait and see who the players will be. SLC is expected to tell [chief of selectors] Graeme [Labrooy] what the next step forward is,” Gurusinha said. “There are lots of positives taking place. It is not nice to name them, but there has been positive feedback from most of the players.”On top of security assurances from Pakistan’s cricket board and government, SLC will be looking to further allay player fears by only staying in Pakistan for 24 hours. SLC has also said its president Thilanga Sumathipala will accompany the team to Lahore, while the board officials had stated earlier that Sri Lanka’s players had been promised the same level of security afforded to the World XI team in September, and that the ICC was also willing to send its match officials to Pakistan.Gurusinha, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s third ODI, said he was hopeful the players who had raised concerns would “seriously look at” the precautions being taken before coming to a final decision.”SLC will be speaking to the players to find the best way to handle it. Seems like we will be there in Lahore only for 24 hours. We are flying in and flying out. We are hoping that some of the players who had concerns will seriously take a look at it.”Gurusinha acknowledged that it was a tough decision to go through with the plan despite player concerns, but explained that Pakistan’s support for Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup coupled with the security assurances meant there was little chance of the venue being changed.”We have to look at both sides. SLC was concerned with security. I am yet to talk to the board, but once security was cleared the board had to send its players.”[Pakistan] came down to help us two weeks after the Central Bank bombing [in Colombo in 1996]. Had they not come down, I am not too sure whether Kenya and Zimbabwe would have honoured their World Cup fixtures.”The security [in Pakistan] has been cleared. The team will seriously look at it and I am hopeful players will be happy with the situation.”A preliminary 22-man squad is expected to be named on Wednesday, which will be cut down to 15 by October 20.

The governance process to rebuild USA cricket in the wake of the USA Cricket Association’s expulsion in June takes another step forward this week as ICC Americas staff begins a series of town hall forum meetings around the country. The overarching aim is to create a governance structure under a new constitution to achieve the ICC’s repeatedly stated goal of “unifying the cricket community” according to the ICC’s USA project manager Eric Parthen.”Leading into the expulsion, obviously we continued to try and work with USACA and get them to reform with the new constitution,” Parthen told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview ahead of the first town hall meetings to take place this week in New York City and Washington, DC. “That didn’t happen. So at the ICC annual conference we had a unanimous board decision and a unanimous full council decision to expel USACA. In the wake of that, we’ve done exactly what we said we were going to do and continue to focus on developing a national governing body that can unify the cricket community.”We will ultimately use the constitution that was created by the sustainable foundation group, potentially make a few tweaks to incorporate in the state of Colorado instead of the state of New York, but by all intents and purposes it will be the same document that was created by the cricket community and was proposed to USACA. We’ll use that document to ultimately elect a new board of directors that will then assume authority and hopefully by June of 2018 be before the ICC as a national governing body or federation for the United States in the sport of cricket.”Parthen says that despite USACA’s unwillingness to adopt the revised constitution put forward to them by the ICC’s Sustainable Foundation Advisory Group, the final straw preceding USACA’s expulsion as an ICC Associate Member, he is making it clear that current or former members of USACA are more than welcome to throw their hat in the ring to be a part of the new federation. That includes longtime USACA president Gladstone Dainty, a controversial figure whom many current and past administrators blame for the stymying the growth of cricket in the country.”This has never been about one individual,” Parthen said when asked about whether Dainty and other USACA executives would be welcome to run for office given the contentious nature of USACA’s expulsion. “This process has been about unifying the community. So whether it is Gladstone or somebody else from ACF, we’re going to put trust in a unified body to make good decisions for the directors that will ultimately be elected.”When we look at the board makeup, there’s going to be two athletes elected both male and female that will serve as a check and balance, there will be three independent directors that will serve as a check and balance. There will be some individuals elected by clubs and leagues and then there will be individual elected seats by the full membership. So we believe there’s enough checks and balances there to get the right people elected. If anyone is elected, I’d hope that they went through a great process that showed they have the majority of people interested in seeing them lead this organisation.”One of the main areas of focus for Parthen’s office in Colorado Springs is establishing a database to collect information about the wider cricket community. The purpose is to establish better communication channels but also to make sure as many constituents as possible are identified and registered to be able to take part in elections which are anticipated to be held in early 2018.”We want to set up a governing body that’s a governing body for all forms of the sport: softball cricket, hardball cricket, disabled cricket, all forms of cricket we think the national federation should ultimately govern,” Parthen said. “That’s why we’re focused on creating a database that can manage all of those pieces and ultimately communicate with all of those pieces.”Clubs, coaches, athletes, umpires, administrators, fans, we want them all to be a part of this new national federation, have a voice in the new national federation and ultimately be a part of it. So that database needs to be able to support all aspects of it. Once the database is created, we’ll shoot to have membership open in November of 2017 and ultimately elections starting in January 2018 with hopefully a finishing point of April 2018 where we have a new board of directors and a new national federation to govern the sport of cricket in the United States.”One of the ironic aspects of USACA’s suspension and expulsion has been that instead of having their ICC funding stopped – as was the case in previous suspensions and what occurs when most countries are suspended – their ICC funding mushroomed. USACA had been getting approximately $300,000 annually from the ICC prior to suspension but the caretaker administration in the USA has been operating on an annual budget between $2 and $2.5 million, equivalent to Ireland and Afghanistan before their elevation to Full Membership.When the new national governing body is put in place, the funding assistance from the ICC is expected to revert to pre-suspension levels. However, Parthen is optimistic that the new governing body will be able to maintain if not exceed those funding levels independent of help from the ICC.”The $2-2.5 million, we think that’s a drop in the bucket compared to what this country potentially could produce,” Parthen said. “The ICC hasn’t commercialised any aspect of this sport. A typical national federation in any other sport – USA Swimming, USA Basketball, Cricket Australia, you name it – are commercialising parts of the game and we have not done that.”We are very bullish and we hope the new national federation will be very bullish on the opportunities that exist for growing the amount of revenue that we can ultimately support cricket in the United States with. We hope that far dwarfs the $2-2.5 million that the ICC has supported this country with and I’d argue that in the time that I’ve been here, I certainly see those potential opportunities and I’d be disappointed if we only function on a $2.5 million budget in this sport moving forward.”Parthen was also in Florida during CPL weekend last month where staff and volunteers surveyed fans in person and online to seek out opinions on designing a logo for the new national federation. A new logo is something he feels is an important symbolic step in rehabilitating the image of USA cricket as they chart a new path with the formation of a fresh national governing body.”Specifically with the logo, we want it to represent the United States,” Parthen said. “This is a United States federation. So the imagery will be red, white and blue, USA, speak to cricket, hopefully speak to our identity as a sport with over 300 years of history in the United States but also do so in a way that is more progressive, more forward-thinking, looking forward, more exciting, a new future and a new era for cricket.”One thing that came out in our surveys is that we need to be thoughtful of both our past and our present. We’re very optimistic and bullish on what the future of USA cricket can be but we also need to keep in mind what our past is and the history that we have in the United States.”

ScorecardJofra Archer continued an excellent season•Getty Images

Jofra Archer recorded his career best Twenty20 figures to help Sussex end Hampshire’s unbeaten start to the Natwest T20 Blast.West Indian-born fast bowler Archer posted figures of 4 for 18 from his four overs to restrict Hampshire to a below par 126.And Sussex eased to their first victory of the tournament as Chris Nash and Ben Brown crashed an 82-run stand before Chris Jordan hit the winning runs to complete the six-wicket thrashing with 16 balls to spare.James Vince won the toss for Hampshire and decided to bat on a grubby looking track as they attempting to celebrate a fourth successive Blast win – but scoring never looked easy for the hosts.David Wiese hinted at what was to come as he had Rilee Rossouw caught by a diving Jofra at mid-off with the match’s fifth ball.Tom Alsop was the only batsman to appear comfortable for the hosts as he made his first appearance in the competition, and his first-team appearance for Hampshire since May.He uppercut back to back sixes off the returning Tymal Mills – who was also making his maiden outing this season after IPL commitments and a hamstring problem.As former England Lions star Alsop appeared in control, wickets fell at the other end.James Vince swiped across the line to be caught at cover before George Bailey departed to a stunning David Wiese grab while running back at backward square.Sean Ervine was next to enter and exit when he miscued a pull to square leg as Archer celebrated his first scalp of the evening – Sussex restricting the hosts to 30 for four.Alsop enjoyed his greatest partnership with fellow academy graduate Lewis McManus as they added 48.The left-hander moved to his second Blast fifty in 30 deliveries with a crashed pull to the boundary.Former Hampshire spinner Danny Briggs impressed as he yorked McManus and had Shahid Afridi lbw on the sweep – as he recorded figures of 2 for 17.But Archer stood out when he finally saw the back of Alsop for 64, caught at short fine leg attempting to scoop an over after being dropped, before he bowled Kyle Abbott.Reece Topley was the last wicket to fall as the home side could only post 126.Sussex’s reply got off to a poor start as left-armer Topley pinned Luke Wright leg before with an in-swinger.Runs seemed to flow more quickly in the second innings with Chris Nash and Ben Brown constantly picking the gaps – although the latter was spilled by Bailey on 18.The carried Sussex to within 42 runs of the win before Brown was lbw for 43 to Afridi.Nash was caught at mid-wicket for 32 to hand Mason Crane a wicket and Ross Taylor was run out by a Vince direct hit – but Sussex cantered to victory.

In a stinging offensive against the committee of administrators (CoA), former BCCI president N Srinivasan has accused the panel of attempting to present “incomplete facts and circumstances” and projecting a picture of him that would “prejudice” him in the eyes of the Supreme Court.Srinivasan was responding to the CoA allegation (made in its status report) that he along with other disqualified administrators had “hijacked” the June 26 Special General Meeting (SGM) of the BCCI where the members – state associations – were supposed to adopt a new constitution as per the Lodha Committee recommendations.The CoA had said that Srinivasan and other disqualified administrators such as Niranjan Shah, who was attending the June SGM as a representative of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), had prevailed upon the other BCCI members, who were otherwise “willing” to support the reform process.According to Srinivasan the CoA had contradicted itself because its status report states that no “consensus” could be arrived at in its two meetings with the state associations, first on May 5 and then on June 25. “In this background the aforementioned allegation made against the answering respondent [Srinivasan] of hijacking the proceedings and prevailing upon the other attendees, who were otherwise willing to facilitate the reform process, is not only false but is a mala fide attempt to mislead this Hon’ble Court and prejudice this Hon’ble Court against the answering respondent,” Srinivasan noted in his affidavit which the court heard on Monday.Srinivasan pointed out that as many as 19 state associations had filed petitions challenging the July 18 court order from last year which he said had “partially” approved the recommendations. Srinivasan challenged the CoA’s assertion that it had arrived at a “mutual consensus” with a “majority” of the state associations on implementing the recommendations when many had challenged the same in the court. “The entire basis of the allegations made by the CoA is unsubstantiated, hypothetical and contrary to the facts on record.”Srinivasan accepted that he stood disqualified as an office bearer, but argued that he was not ineligible to attend the BCCI meetings as a representative of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). Srinivasan’s justification for making such a statement, he said, was that neither the Lodha Committee nor the July 18 court order from last year had barred disqualified office bearers from attending BCCI meetings or from being part of any committee of the BCCI.”The true intent and purport of the orders of this Hon’ble Court was to change the degree of control which the off(i)ce bearers of the BCCI and the State Associations wielded, as pointed out by the Justice Lodha committee, and to prescribe certain disqualifications to stand for such elected office. There was no reference in the [Lodha] Committee report nor in any of the orders of this Hon’ble Court in regard to the membership or participation of individuals in cricketing affairs, in representative capacities. Equally, there was no discussion in any part of the committee report nor any of the orders of this Hon’ble Court on the right of an individual to join and participate in the affairs of a local club or a District Association.”Indeed, it was never the intention of this Hon’ble Court to define the parameters of eligibility for a citizen to pursue his interest in sport of cricket by being a member of any sports body or managing committee of any sports body. It is evident that the CoA seeks to expand the orders of this Hon’ble Court which is not permissible in law.”According to Shah, who was also pulled up by the CoA, he has not committed any violation by attending the BCCI meeting as an SCA representative. In his affidavit, Shah told the court that he was not playing the role of an “obstructionist” by attending BCCI meetings. He disagreed completely with being cast as a “disruptive and subversive” element as alleged by the CoA in its status report. “This approach of the CoA is contrary to democracy and meritocracy,” Shah said in his affidavit.

Scorecard”We’re all mercenaries now,” said Brendon McCullum at the launch of South Africa’s T20 competition. At least you had to admire his honesty. T20 imports, like politicians, probably need aides alongside them to remind them what town they are in, and which dressing room to go into. If they ever feel insecure or rootless, presumably they just call up their bank balance.Similar accusations are levelled against the rush of South Africans now plying their trade in county cricket. Signed in a rush while Britain remains in the EU, and while the reciprocal labour deal survives, it does not take much for their emotional commitment to be questioned.They stalk the counties, making big runs, taking wickets and, by and large, lifting standards. In Premier League football, such signings are viewed as glamorous, part and parcel of the claim to be the best league in the world; in county cricket, the resentment over their short-termism and the loss of a place for an England-qualified player is never far away. The story is a more complex one.In this fraught climate, occasionally a player can become a much-loved member of county cricket’s community. Simon Harmer gives the impression that he can become one of those players. There is something about Harmer that suggests he will not be the sort of Kolpak signing who mentally never unpacks his suitcase. Essex, having initially offered him a one-year deal, have quickly upped it to three. He is seen as a good bowler and a good sort.Wickets will help, of course, and as Essex, the leaders, pressed for victory against Warwickshire, Harmer delivered them, his Championship tally lifted to 25. On a straw-coloured Chelmsford pitch now turning big but slowly, his offspin is central to Essex’s chances of victory. His 6 for 92 in 45.5 overs – the prime reason that Warwickshire followed on 258 behind – made that abundantly clear.In all, including a brief foray in Warwickshire’s second innings – the deficit cut to 231 for the loss of Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott – Harmer bowled 39 overs in the day. By the end, he must have been so weary that even his floppy fringe failed to spring to attention in his bowling action with its usual vigour. He left the field to a guard of honour.Harmer bowled at the Hayes Close End from 11.30am until 4.35pm, with only breaks for lunch and tea. His afternoon stint returned 17-10-20-1. Throughout, his predatory semi-circle of close catchers lived in anticipation of reward. Warwickshire’s batsmen became increasingly becalmed. It is not often that Rikki Clarke takes 30 balls to get off the mark but he did so here, reaching 7 in 45 balls in all before Harmer’s big break-back had him lbw. With a quicker pitch, his rewards might have come quickly. Instead, he needed resolve as well as skill.Simon Harmer chiselled through Warwickshire’s batting•Getty Images

He seemed to have been given a well-deserved breather at one stage but it was only for a change of ends. That gambit brought rewards with three wickets in 17 balls to round up the lower order, lbw decisions against Keith Barker and Boyd Rankin and Jeetan Patel succumbing to a return catch.Patel had laid about him with gusto. Of his 71 from as many balls, – a season’s best – 36 came off Harmer in only 28 balls, all but one of them on the leg-side as he struck out with the spin to good effect.Apart from Patel, the only other Warwickshire innings of note was from Sam Hain, whose 58 was his first half-century in a season studded by a series of single-figure innings. He fell to a cracking wicketkeeper’s catch by James Foster, who had received a sighter the previous delivery when Hain’s edge bisected him and Alastair Cook at first slip. Ian Bell reached 32 before he jabbed a turning ball to slip.It might be that Harmer delivered the coup de grace with the last ball of the day. If you want a batsman to block out a final day, there are still few better choices than Trott, a batsman blessed with the method and mindset to slow life down. But he fell to a leave-alone, lbw, to give Harmer his seventh and final wicket of a productive day. No drip-fed resistance from Trott then in the closing hours.Trott has already summoned defiant hundreds against Surrey and Hampshire this season, both to no avail, but he fell twice in a manner that will not resonate easily with him. It was the combative left-arm pace of Neil Wagner that had defeated him at the start of the third day: a top-edged boundary against the fourth ball of the day when he ducked a bouncer but left his bat in the air; his dismissal against the next when he pulled to square leg.If Trott is feeling the effects of a challenging Warwickshire season, their chances of survival will be so much lower. They can begin with a defiant draw on the final day, but the odds are firmly with Essex – and an offspinner rapidly planting himself in the county’s affections. County cricket still hankers after loyalty and will open its arms to all who give it.

Eoin Morgan, the England captain, admits that his satisfaction at an otherwise emphatic victory over Bangladesh in the opening match of the Champions Trophy has been tempered by a side strain sustained by Chris Woakes, which threatens to rule him out for the rest of the tournament.Woakes had come into the match nursing a tight quad that led to his omission from the final two matches of England’s recent ODI series against South Africa, but he looked in fine fettle as he opened the campaign with a maiden to Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal.However, he bowled just one more over in his spell before leaving the field for treatment. He will undergo a scan on his left side this evening, but Morgan is already braced for bad news from England’s medical team.”He’s obviously been very impressive for us over the last couple of years, and a mainstay, a very reliable guy,” Morgan said. “And it is a worry when he goes off the field and can’t come back on and bowl.”Though it is too early to say how the injury will impact on Woakes’ involvement either in the remainder of this match, or England’s subsequent group games against New Zealand on June 6 and Australia on June 10, side strains are notoriously difficult injuries for fast bowlers to shake off.A typical recovery can take between four and six weeks, especially if the injury involves damage to the intercostal muscles, because even when fully recovered, fast bowlers in particular find it hard to hit the crease with their usual aggression, for fear of suffering a relapse.Were that the case, it would rule Woakes out of the entire tournament, and leave him in some doubt for the start of England’s Test series against South Africa as well, which gets underway at Lord’s on July 6.”Side strains are a big confidence thing, aren’t they?” said Morgan. “Yeah, he would definitely be a loss if he couldn’t play.”Morgan denied, however, that Woakes had suffered for being rushed back into action before he was fully recovered from his quad niggle. “He was chomping at the bit to play,” he said. “If we rushed him, he might have played the last game of the one-day series but we didn’t want to rush him.”Woakes’ injury isn’t the only issue undermining England’s previously settled Champions Trophy squad. Ben Stokes came into the match nursing a knee injury that limited his ability to bowl in the South Africa series – although he showed no signs of discomfort in his seven overs today – while Joe Root also picked up a calf injury in the course of his match-winning 133 not out.”Joe is all right,” Morgan said. “He wasn’t in extreme pain. It was manageable, so given that we have four days between now and the next game, hopefully he’ll rest up well and be fully fit.”The size of England’s victory masked a few concerns beyond the fitness issues. Jason Roy endured another day to forget, making just 1 from 7 balls to extend his fallow run at the top of the order, while Jake Ball, surprisingly included in place of the legspinner Adil Rashid, struggled for consistency as his ten overs were dispatched for 82 runs.However, Morgan reiterated his unequivocal support for Roy, adding that he had been unlucky to fall to an impressive catch at short backward square leg from Mustafizur Rahman.”It was quite smart, bowling a slower bowl from the opening bowler, and brave,” Morgan said. “It was a big gamble. But that sort of stuff can happen. You can get out in that sort of fashion when you’re short on runs. But yeah, certainly we believe in him.”On the subject of Rashid’s omission – which seemed to go against the team ethos of selection continuity – Morgan insisted there were two separate issues to consider.”We felt Bangladesh probably would have preferred to play against a lot more spin, as opposed to four quicks, and obviously Ben [Stokes]. So that contributed to how we wanted to balance the side and how we saw them playing. Their top three batters are lefties, and the possibility of getting Joe [Root] or Mo [Ali] on early was an option.”With the batting, obviously you can’t ask guys to go out and play positive cricket and whack it everywhere – there’s an element, a high-risk element – and then drop them as soon as they are lacking runs. On previous teams, that has happened and we don’t want it to happen.”We want to reinforce confidence so the guys can go out and we can make 300 an easy score to get, by playing real positive cricket. And contributing to that, both as a captain and coach, and selectors, by backing your own players up.”

Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga said that fearlessness helped his team tighten up their fielding, after their athletic defence of 280 in the third ODI.Sri Lanka have been routinely woeful in the field over the past two years. The standards hit new lows in 2017, in series against South Africa and Australia, as well as Bangladesh’s ongoing tour. The performance in the third ODI was a sharp departure from what had been a worrying trend. A high-energy effort in the infield was backed up by clinical work at the boundaries. Sri Lanka did miss one chance – letting a catch pass between keeper and slip in the first over – but did not commit any major mistakes after that.”The way we fielded today was really good – everyone was chasing the ball and diving and that’s the way we should be fielding,” Tharanga said. “We were sloppy in the first game. We gave away too many runs. Not only the first game, I don’t think we fielded well in the last two series. The thing that we discussed was to not to be afraid to do mistakes. Sometimes, when we field, we are bit reluctant and worried whether we will miss catches and we position ourselves too deep.”Before the match, cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha had said the team trialled a new training method for fielding, through which they hoped to better replicate match conditions. Early indications are that the new methods have had some impact.”If you practice those things only it works out in matches,” Tharanga said. “There were some good training sessions after the loss. We have attracted lot of criticism that we are not good a fielding side. But we wanted to prove that wrong. We’ve got to keep doing what we did today and consistently field this well.”Alongside the fielding, Tharanga also credited Thisara Perera’s batting for the win. Sri Lanka were in danger of limping through the final overs when Thisara arrived at the crease with the score at 194 for 5. But he played himself in – venturing no boundaries off his first 19 deliveries – before accelerating in the 45th over. He eventually wound up with 52 runs off 40 balls, and was named the player of the match. He had also hit a rapid half-century in the first match.”I thought Thisara Perera was exceptional today,” Tharanga said. “He showed lot of maturity during his knock. He took his time and finished the innings well. He understood his role, and he did this throughout this series. He realised that he needed to come up with big efforts. Today, we were in a tough position. He was the only recognised batter, and his approach was good – he showed a lot of responsibility.”One weakness that has persisted through the series, however, is Sri Lanka’s running between the wickets. Sri Lanka lost two batsmen to run outs at the SSC, and of those Dinesh Chandimal’s dismissal was especially unusual. Though he grounded the bat after completing a second run, he lifted it as his body crossed the crease, at which point the bails were dislodged. Tharanga was himself run out in strange fashion during the second ODI in Dambulla. He took off for an easy single after the wicketkeeper had misfielded the ball, but was caught by surprise when Mahmudullah threw down the stumps to find him short of his ground.”My run out in the second game and Chandi’s run out today – you can’t let those things happen,” Tharanga said. “It looked as if we were too casual in our approach. If you take ODIs, you can excuse the run outs towards the end of an innings when you are trying to score quickly. But silly mistakes like these are not good enough.”

Dillon du Preez returned figures of 4 for 31 as the Knights beat Dolphins by one wicket in the final over to seal a qualifier spot in the Momentum One-Day Cup. After Dolphins chose to bat in a virtual eliminator, they were put under pressure from the start, slipping to 54 for 4. The early damage meant even a 50-run fifth-wicket partnership between Sarel Erwee and Andile Phehlukwayo, and useful contributions lower down the order, could only take the Dolphins to 204.In response, Knights got off to a steady start, openers Rudi Second and Tumelo Bodibe putting on 61 in 13 overs. However, in the collapse that ensued five wickets fell inside 12 runs. Imran Tahir inflicted most of the damage, removing David Miller for a first-ball duck. Pite van Biljon (44) and Aubrey Swanepoel (42) steadied Knights with a 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket, but after Phehlukwayo bowled du Preez with Knights requiring 25 to win, it needed Marchant de Lange and Sammy Mofokeng to take their side through. They combined for an unbeaten 27 runs for the tenth wicket to lead Knights to a four-ball win.Table toppers Titans sealed a home final with a demolition of Cape Cobras at SuperSport Park. Opening bowlers Chris Morris and Lungi Ngidi put the Cobras on the back foot right away as the pair shared three wickets for 41 runs in their combined 16 overs. The 184 Cobras were bowled out for, after languishing at 30 for 4, was courtesy a half-century from Aviwe Mgijima (52).The Titans chase was led by a 75-run stand between openers Jonathan Vandiar (72) and Aiden Markram in 11 overs. Even two wickets in three balls with the score on 100 – the second being AB de Villiers for a duck – didn’t bother Titans as they won by six wickets.In Port Elizabeth, Lions’ campaign ended with a whimper, as they lost by 36 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method to Warriors, who will play the qualifier against Knights. Warriors’ top wicket-taker this tournament JJ Smuts was the star performer again, taking 4 for 25 in ten overs to skittle the Lions – who lost their last eight wickets for 59 runs – for 154. No batsman outside the Lions top five managed to make double-digit scores.The Warriors were well on course to victory with a 93-run opening partnership between Smuts (51) and Gihahn Cloete (41), and were on top of the D/L equation – despite a flurry of four wickets – to complete a 36-run win when the rain arrived.