All posts by n8rngtd.top

The Bangladesh allrounder hasn’t played T20Is or ODIs since November last year

Mohammad Isam23-Apr-2024Shakib Al Hasan could play in Bangladesh’s T20I series against Zimbabwe next month, according to chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain. He might also feature in a couple of Dhaka Premier League matches as part of his return to white-ball cricket”We have communicated with him [Shakib],” Ashraf said. “He is expected to arrive in Dhaka at the end of this month. He will possibly play one or two DPL matches. Afterwards, he will get involved with the team management. There he can do his training on cricketing skill as per the desire of team management. We will definitely want him to play couple of matches in the series. We will announce the team on April 28 and by that time, you will get a clear picture of his availability.”Shakib had been on a break due to an eye condition and a finger injury after the 2023 ODI World Cup ended last November and returned to international cricket in the Chattogram Test against Sri Lanka earlier this month.On Tuesday, Bangladesh announced a 17-man preparatory squad that will train for three days in Chattogram from April 26. The group doesn’t include Shakib or Mustafizur Rahman, who is playing for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL until May 1. Ashraf said that Mustafizur would also miss the first T20I against Zimbabwe on May 3 in Chattogram.The training squad includes Mohammad Saifuddin, who returns after a long injury layoff. He last played for Bangladesh shortly before the 2022 T20 World Cup and returned to action in this season’s BPL, where he was part of Fortune Barishal’s title-winning squad.”Definitely (Mohammad) Saifuddin is a promising player and if he is not injured he could have more international experience,” Ashraf said. “He is ahead with his batting but in bowling he has competitors. So it a good opportunity for him to get back into his groove in the Zimbabwe series because we have lot of interest in him.”Bangladesh play the first three T20Is against Zimbabwe in Chattogram on May 3, 5 and 7, and the last two T20Is in Dhaka on May 10 and 12.

The South Africa fast bowler moved up from second place following his performance in the Test win against India in Cape Town

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-20183:05

Know your opponent – Kagiso Rabada

South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has displaced James Anderson as the No. 1 ranked Test bowler, after his spells of 3 for 34 and 2 for 41 led his team to victory in the Cape Town Test against India.Rabada, 22, earned five points for that performance, taking him past Anderson’s tally of 887 by one point. Anderson’s tally reduced by five points after the final Ashes Test in Sydney, where he took 1 for 56 in Australia’s only innings.”It’s special to be ranked as the No.1 Test bowler in the world. It is a surreal feeling,” Rabada said. “It’s what you dream of achieving when you start playing the game.”Cricket is ultimately a team sport and I’m thankful for the support from my team-mates. It’s a great start to the year personally and for us as a team, hopefully we can continue putting in winning performances.”Vernon Philander, who was Man of the Match for his nine wickets against India at Newlands, jumped from 12th place to sixth.In the rankings for Test batsmen, Steven Smith remained No. 1 with 947 points, but Joe Root overtook Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson to move into second place. Cheteshwar Pujara dropped from third to fifth.

There have been several instances of turmoil in Bangladesh’s selection policy in the last two decades, and the controversy surrounding Mominul Haque’s place in the side won’t be the last time the selectors find themselves undermined

Mohammad Isam20-Aug-2017Mominul Haque became the latest high-profile selection turnaround in Bangladesh after he was swiftly brought back into the squad for the first Test against Australia, a day after he was dropped. The decision, reportedly taken by the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan, is also the latest episode of tumult in the convoluted selection policy introduced last year, which also factors in the approval of the board president.The initial decision to drop him was contentious since Mominul had suffered only his first dip in batting form since his Test debut in 2013. Other Bangladesh batsmen have been given longer stints in the senior team, with recent examples being Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar. Mominul remains the highest run-getter at home in the last four years, and the best player of spin by far.During the press conference to announce the team on Saturday, chief selector Minhajul Abedin and coach Chandika Hathurusingha offered different reasons to support Mominul’s exclusion but many of those fell flat. When Minhajul and Hathurusingha were called to a meeting by Hassan, in the presence of selector Habibul Bashar and other BCB directors, they had to agree to bring Mominul back.He was brought in to replace Mosaddek Hossain, who has an eye infection, but the discussion went much deeper. Hassan said that he usually talks plans and strategies with the players, head coach and selectors before every series but this time he missed the meeting because the team was training in Chittagong earlier this month.”So after seeing the squad, I asked the selection committee and the coach to see me because I wanted to know what they were planning to do,” Hassan said. “Today I heard the coach’s plan with the selectors present. I also spoke to the senior players yesterday.”He said that during the meeting there was no real reason given to explain Mominul’s axing, and that the decision was “unfortunate” and “sad”.”Both sides said that there was no real reason to drop Mominul. He became a victim of circumstance, particularly for this game.”It is unfortunate. Mominul is one of our best batsmen, there is no doubt about it. When we dropped him from ODIs and T20s, we said that he will concentrate on Test cricket. He has been our Test specialist, so I am bound to feel sad when he is not in the Test team. There is a big difference between being dropped for one game or being set aside permanently. He can be dropped with conditions or opposition in mind but Mominul is not the sort of player to be dropped. He has a huge career in front of him in Test cricket.”But this is not the first time the selection panel in Bangladesh has made a 180-degree turn for a player. Previously, Minhajul and Habibul Bashar were reinstated after being overlooked in 1999 and 2000 respectively. In 2006, Mohammad Ashraful was brought back into the squad after being dropped.In recent years, there has been some drama surrounding team selection, none more so than when Mahmudullah, touring Sri Lanka, was asked by the team management to return home ahead of Bangladesh’s 100th Test. Hours later, Hassan insisted that Mahmudullah would remain in Sri Lanka and be picked in the ODI team. Hassan also said that he asked the selectors to pick Mehidy Hasan for the ODIs on that tour.The instances of Mahmudullah and Mehidy are among the more high-profile turnarounds since the new selection committee took over in June last year. The BCB rebooted the committee by adding Hathurusingha, team manager Khaled Mahmud and cricket operations chairman Akram Khan. Faruque Ahmed resigned as chief selector, with Minhajul being named as his replacement. The committee picks a squad, and it still needs Hassan’s approval.Hassan has asked the selection committee to reduce his role in decision-making, but on several occasions in the last 14 months, he has made recommendations for certain players. For instance, he asked the selectors to continue with Mosharraf Hossain after he bowled well in the third ODI against Afghanistan.During last year’s Bangladesh Premier League, he mentioned Mehedi Maruf and Shahriar Nafees as potential candidates for the New Zealand tour. The selectors picked Maruf in the training squad and the player traveled to New Zealand, had nets for a day and then returned home.The latest episode is not the last instance when the selectors are undermined, though it will leave a bad taste for those who reformed the selection system.Could it, for the first time, trigger a rethink on the policy?

Seales picked up six wickets, Motie scored a fighting 45 but it was not enough for the hosts

Firdose Moonda17-Aug-2024South Africa secured a 10th successive Test series win against West Indies, and earned a vital second win in the World Test Championship 2023-25, with a hard-fought 40-run victory in Guyana. In the process, Keshav Maharaj became the most successful spinner in their Test history with 171 wickets, including five in this match and 13 in the series. His success eclipsed an exceptional effort from Jayden Seales, who took 12 wickets across the two matches and a career-best 6 for 61 in South Africa’s second innings in Guyana.Seales ensured West Indies were left with a gettable, but tough, target of 263 and their chase had all the makings of a classic. They slumped to 104 for 6, before a 77-run stand between hometown hero Gudakesh Motie and Joshua Da Silva put them within sight of a historic victory. Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s two most reliable bowlers on the tour, denied the hosts despite a fighting effort from the tail.In a series that was tough for batters with no centuries across the two Tests, no West Indian got a second-innings half-century and they had only one partnership above fifty in the match. In contrast, two South African batters got fifties in the second innings and had three half-century stands in the match. The 63-run tenth-wicket stand between Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger in the first innings proved decisive too.Overall, it was a series for the bowlers, who benefitted from a surface that was tough for run-scoring in Trinidad and a venue with swing, seam movement and good bounce in Guyana. Shamar Joseph enjoyed his first home Test with 5 for 33 in the first innings but a collective effort from South Africa’s attack gave them the edge where it mattered the most.Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreynne forged a solid partnership•AFP/Getty Images

Wiaan Mulder, operating as the third seamer and sole seam-bowling allrounder, took six wickets in the Test, scored an important 34 in the second innings and shared in an 85-run sixth-wicket partnership with Kyle Verreynne to set up South Africa’s win. His contributions mitigated some of the questions over South Africa’s team composition. They were a bowler short in Trinidad and a batter short in Guyana but found a way to defend a total on a surface that was only three days old and improved for batting.Set 263, West Indies lost Mikyle Louis in the fifth over when he pressed forward and edged Rabada to Mulder at third slip. Three overs later, Rabada thought he had a second when Kraig Braithwaite, on 17, was given out lbw but the West Indian captain reviewed and replays confirmed the impact was outside off. West Indies went to lunch on 43 for 1.Braithwaite only added eight runs before Mulder beat his inside edge and hit him on the knee roll. He was given out again and reviewed again, unsuccessfully. Mulder could have had Keacy Carty, on 17, in his next over when he sliced a wide ball to point but Mulder had overstepped. Three balls later, South Africa reviewed a Burger appeal for lbw to Alick Athanaze which was also outside the line and their frustration reached boiling point. It cooled when Carty chopped Mulder on without adding to his score and South Africa were back in it.Kavem Hodge met fire with fire and took on the short ball. He pulled Mulder through mid-wicket and square leg and then scored two boundaries off three Rabada deliveries but played one shot too many when he inside-edged Rabada onto the stumps. By that stage, offspinner Piedt had been introduced into the attack for the first time in the match and tempted Athanaze with full, flighted deliveries. Athanaze struggled to turn the strike over, eventually went for a rash sweep and top-edged behind the keeper. Aiden Markram ran back from slip to take a good, high catch.Athanaze’s mistake could be blamed on inexperience but when Jason Holder, the best batter from West Indies’ first innings, holed out to long-on in Piedt’s next over, it was a sign South Africa’s strangle was working.Enter Motie, who had a disappointing series with the ball, but did his bit with the bat. Motie and Da Silva took the target to below 100. Motie was particularly severe on Piedt and took 18 runs off the 14 balls he faced from him but his attempts to take on Maharaj were not as successful. Motie was hit on the front pad as he moved back to hit the left-arm spinner away and was given out lbw. He reviewed but ball-tracking showed it was clipping leg stump. Da Silva went similarly in Maharaj’s next over, and also asked the third umpire to have a look, but the technology was in South Africa’s favour and Maharaj equalled Hugh Tayfield as South Africa’s leading spinner.Jayden Seales picked up his best figures in an innings in Test cricket – 6 for 61•AFP/Getty Images

With only two wickets left to get, and Rabada two away from 300, he was brought back on and threatened to produce the goods soon after. Jomel Warrican edged him wide of second slip and then Joseph offered a chance that went between second and third slip as both Markram and Mulder left the ball for each other. Rabada was livid but the annoyance did not last long. Four balls later, Joseph pulled him to mid-on where Temba Bavuma got hang-time with both feet off the floor and plucked the ball in his outstretched right hand to complete the catch of the series.Rabada was one wicket away from 300 but was unable to complete the feat in the match. Maharaj overtook Tayfield when Seales clipped him to David Bedingham at short leg and South Africa celebrated. Seales had been vocal with them throughout the match, so dismissing him to secure victory was even sweeter for South Africa. It would have stung Seales, who was instrumental in South Africa’s collapse. They lost their last five wickets for 22 runs in 65 balls, including the first three wickets for 8 runs in 15 balls.Warrican struck in the first over when Mulder chose to stay back in his crease and attempt a flick but missed an arm ball and was hit on the back pad. That early breakthrough prompted Kraig Braithwaite to call on Seales earlier than he may have planned, with the second new ball nine overs away. An under-pressure Maharaj chipped the second ball he faced to Motie at mid-wicket and registered a third successive duck on the tour.Seales’ next one was all skill as he beat Kyle Verreynne’s inside edge with a delivery that angled into him from wide of the crease. It also confirmed Seales’ second Test five-for. Piedt and Rabada took the lead over 250 but one over and one delivery before the second new ball was due, Rabada went forward to block Warrican and edged to Hodge at slip.West Indies took the second new ball as soon as it was available and Seales succeeded. Burger drove the fourth ball back to him and Seales reacted quickly to take the catch with both hands to his right to end South Africa’s innings 50 minutes into the third day. Burger’s duck was the third of the innings and seventh of the match for South Africa, their most since 1932.South Africa are now up to fifth on the WTC points table, with six matches left to play. West Indies remain ninth, with only one win.

There remains some regret at last year’s Ashes draw, but it has still been a period of significant success for the team

Andrew McGlashan23-May-20241:14

Why Cummins considers Lyon Australia’s most important Test player

Pat Cummins is confident Australia can manage any turnover in personnel that comes over the next few years. He is hopeful that the majority of his Test side in particular can stay together while he is captain, with back-to-back home summers against India and England to come.While the retirement of David Warner at the end of last summer marked the start of a changing of the guard, there is not yet expected to be bulk retirements in Test cricket. Australia were also given a window into a more uncertain future when Nathan Lyon missed three of last year’s Ashes Tests through injury, although he has since said he is targeting the 2027 England series.”It’s something we definitely think about,” Cummins told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the release of on Prime Video on Friday. “Think we are lucky in that everyone has gone a couple of years longer than we’d have first hoped. Hopefully it’s the same with Nath.Related

• MCG to host one-off Australia-England Test in 2027 to mark 150 years of Test cricket

• Can T20 World Cup inspire a Maxwell revival?

• The Test documentary reveals Cummins' role in Bairstow stumping

• Brief Stokes vs Lyon bout follows formula

“The job is to try and ensure he does get those four or five years. We try and do everything we can to get him right for those Test matches. At his age, it all comes down to his body really. That will be his biggest barrier so [it will be about] as much as we can help him and he can help himself, similar to what Jimmy Anderson did.”Given the age of the Test side – only Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green were under 30 in the last match against New Zealand – the challenge will be ensuring against a mass exit, particularly among the bowlers. With ODI and T20I sides tended to be built around the World Cup cycles, there is likely to be the start of transition after the upcoming T20 World Cup. Then there could also be a similar change in the ODI side after next year’s Champions Trophy.”In more recent years, it’s one of the benefits of white-ball cricket that we have so many guys who play all three formats [that] they are going to have rest at some points,” Cummins said. “In white-ball cricket, we’ve seen the emergence of younger guys. So come big tournaments or Test matches, they’ve already had some exposure, and hopefully it makes the transition a bit more seamless.”Last year was one of considerable success for Australia with the World Test Championship (WTC) title, retention of the Ashes and the ODI World Cup triumph, of which chronicles the first two of those. At the end, though, there is the sense of a missed opportunity having been unable to win the Ashes series in England despite being 2-0 up, with a number of members of that side unlikely to return in 2027.Pat Cummins reflected on the 2023 Ashes series: “Headingley was one that got away from us”•Getty Images

In the documentary, it is clear Australia were chastened by what happened at Old Trafford, where Zak Crawley led England’s charge, even though the rain enabled them to retain the Ashes: “Yeah, that was tough,” Cummins said. But reflecting back, he picked out the game before at Headingley, which England edged by three wickets, where he would have liked his chance again.”Think maybe Headingley was one that got away from us,” he said. “Manchester we were totally outplayed, nothing went our way, but think Leeds we had our opportunities. Felt like [it was] one or two partnerships that they had, [and] maybe if we’d got some earlier wickets, particularly to the tail, you wish you had another crack at [that].”[I] know we bowled a few bouncers which probably didn’t work out… in that moment you think that’s your best way to take wickets as cheap as possible, and it worked at Lord’s the week before, but didn’t work out [at Headingley].”While Cummins has not put a specific timeframe on how long he will remain captain, he has previously said it won’t be a long stint. Head coach Andrew McDonald has indicated he will likely do the job for four years, so it is possible that the pairing which is forging a hugely successful era has reached its midway point.”Hopefully the senior guys hang around and manage their bodies until we are done” – Pat Cummins on his pairing with Andrew McDonald•PA Photos/Getty Images

Australia are well-placed to qualify for next year’s WTC final – although dropped what could be crucial points at home against West Indies in January – with next summer’s five-match India series likely to be vital, before an away trip to Sri Lanka to complete the current cycle.”I’d love if the second half was as successful as the first half,” Cummins said of the current WTC cycle. “Most things have gone to plan for now. Think you are going to get a natural churn rate with some of our more senior guys. Hopefully they hang around for a while and they can manage their bodies until we are done. That makes the job for Andrew and myself a lot easier, but we’ll see.”I’ve been pretty open to say I don’t think I’ll do this forever. Feel really well-placed at the moment. Feel like we are in a really good spot, so it’s certainly not imminent.”

Hurricanes player, who was found not guilty of rape, will likely return to play for Hobart in the BBL despite not telling the club about the charges.

AAP07-May-2024A player found not guilty of rape will likely return to play for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL despite not informing the franchise about the criminal proceedings.In March, Nikhil Chaudhary was found not guilty by a jury of raping a 20-year-old woman in a car in Townsville in 2021. Cricket Tasmania says it was not informed of the charge or court action.Chaudhary, who joined the franchise in late 2023, had his deal extended to 2027 in February, the month before the trial.Related

• From Punjab to Big Bash, the journey of big-hitting Nikhil Chaudhary

Cricket Tasmania’s high performance general manager Salliann Beams told reporters the organisation was still going through “internal processes” in relation to Chaudhary. She said he would likely play the upcoming season.”[There are] some legalities through that process,” Beams said on Tuesday.”It’s not so much the incident because we know that nothing happened … legally not guilty and everything.”It’s just the disclosure of information. We want to know where we sit on that because we were completely in the dark.”Beams said it was disappointing Chaudhary didn’t inform Cricket Tasmania about the charges or court proceedings.”You have to deal with the organisation’s point of view and the impact that it could potentially have on that,” she said.”Because you don’t really want to associate yourself with … that type of investigation.”But at the same time, you can understand from the players’ point of view is that, you know, they’ve done nothing wrong and it’s a scary place.”[You’re] legally advised not to say anything, so you’re always balancing different sides of the story.”Beams said she was proud of how Cricket Tasmania handled the scenario and made sure every person was managed the best way possible through the process.Chaudhary played nine games last BBL season, averaging 26 with the bat and taking five wickets in a Hurricanes side that missed the finals.

The spin attack has been rejigged with Washington, Saurabh and Mulani getting call-ups for the last two four-dayers against England Lions

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2024 • Updated on 23-Jan-2024Tilak Varma and Arshdeep Singh have been picked in the India A squad for the last two four-dayers against the visiting England Lions in Ahmedabad. Rinku Singh, who has made a big splash in T20 cricket, is set to play his first game for India A after having been selected for the second* and third four-dayers.Rinku was recently with the India Test squad in South Africa as a reserve player, after he was added to the squad for the four-day match against South Africa A. He has played 43 first-class matches so far, scoring 3099 runs at an average of 58.47. While Rinku was only selected for the last four-dayer, his UP team-mate Yash Dayal found a place in the squads for both the remaining games against England Lions.Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra was also picked in the squad, with Railways’ Upendra Yadav being the spare keeper. The pair replaced KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel, who both will join the senior side for the first two Test matches against England in Hyderabad and Vizag.Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was the reserve opener in South Africa but missed the cut for the home Tests against England, will continue to captain the India A side. Manav Suthar and Pulkit Narang, who are currently playing the first four-dayer against England Lions, though were not part of the squad for the next two games.Washington Sundar was also called up to the India A squad for both games. Saurabh Kumar, another spinner who has been on the fringes of the India Test team, will partner Washington in the second match. Mumbai left-arm fingerspinner Shams Mulani will replace Saurabh for the final game. His Mumbai team-mate Tushar Deshpande found a place in the squad for both matches.Washington had originally planned to link up with his state team Tamil Nadu for their Ranji Trophy clash against Railways in Coimbatore, which began two days after the Bengaluru T20I, where he came away with 3 for 18 in his three overs. But his name was withdrawn from the squad at the last moment to free him up for India A commitments.

India A squad for second four-dayer

Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal

India A squad for third four-dayer

Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Washington Sundar, Shams Mulani, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav (wk), Akash Deep, Yash Dayal

It took just 15 deliveries into the fifth day for the visitors to take the last two wickets

Himanshu Agrawal06-Jan-2025It had to be Rashid Khan. After starring in each of Afghanistan’s previous three Test wins – in Dehradun, Chattogram and Abu Dhabi – he wrapped Zimbabwe up with a match haul of 11 for 160 in Bulawayo. That included career-best figures of 7 for 66 in the second innings, with expectations of a thrilling finish being quashed only 15 deliveries into the final morning. Zimbabwe were 73 runs away from victory, with all hopes from their captain Craig Ervine. Afghanistan needed two good balls to finish the game off.But even the short span of play on the fifth day was enough for plenty of drama. The day started with exactly what Afghanistan wanted: Rashid bowling to Zimbabwe’s No. 10 Richard Ngarava. Four balls into play, Afghanistan got exactly what they wanted – almost. Ngarava skied an attempted slice off Rashid, and the ball popped up behind the man at silly point. Hashmatullah Shahidi, placed at cover, moved to his right. Fareed Ahmad, at point, stepped to his left.With his attention divided between the dipping ball and the approaching Fareed, Shahidi dropped Ngarava. Rashid couldn’t hold back an angry expression towards his captain, who had stretched both his hands out, only for the ball to never stick. Ngarava survived, but for hardly any longer.Ngarava did play out the remaining two deliveries of the over to ensure Ervine had the strike for the next. Starting on his overnight score of 53, and being the last recognised batter, he had a spread-out field to play with. After turning down two singles, Ervine decided he should go for the third. He drove Yamin Ahmadzai towards deep extra cover, where the man was placed only about three-fourths of the way to the boundary.Shahidullah collected the ball while chasing it forward, and fired a flat throw at the wicketkeeper. Perhaps not expecting Ervine to go for the run that early in the over, Ngarava was late to take off. But Ervine was well down the pitch by that time, and wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai whipped the bails off with Ngarava miles short.Last man Blessing Muzarabani defended the next two deliveries and left the third one alone. Ervine again took strike for the next over, with Zimbabwe having yet to add to their overnight score. Rashid went short for the first two balls, but pitched it much fuller the third time. The ball landed just outside off, turned in, and struck Ervine in front as he missed an attempted sweep.Rashid and his mates went up right away, even as umpire Ahsan Raza’s finger took its time to show up. But it eventually did, although the first impression was of the ball missing leg stump. However, there was no DRS to turn to, leaving the Afghanistan players jumping and celebrating.It was a come-from-behind win fashioned by centuries from Rahmat Shah and debutant Ismat Alam in the second innings, which Afghanistan had started 86 runs in the arrears. Not to be left behind with the bat, Rashid even contributed what turned out to be crucial innings of 25 and 23.As a result, Afghanistan took the two-match series 1-0 after a high-scoring draw in the first Test, and left Zimbabwe with a series win across each of the three formats.

David Warner and Mitchell Marsh superb hundreds in Bengaluru, while Netherlands will hope for another big scalp and there’s a huge game in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-20231:04

‘What works for Warner is he’s super fit’

—Fixtures | Squads | Points table | Tournament Index

Top Story: Warner, Marsh hundreds set up vital win over Pakistan

Australia may have drawn level with Pakistan today, but really, they were one step ahead all evening. A game that briefly threatened to break into a thriller ultimately had Australia clinching a routine win, the havoc unleashed by centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh too much for Pakistan to overcome in the end. Pakistan fought back to contain – to the extent that word can be used for a team that posts 367 – Pat Cummins’ side, and gave the chase a good go.But despite a 134-run opening stand between Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique, Australia began to chip away with regular wickets, with Adam Zampa taking four for the second consecutive game. Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan looked to take the game deep, but eventually Pakistan would lose six wickets for 36 runs as Australia won by 62.Click here for the full report

Match analysis: Warner still the GOAT-to option for Australia at World Cups

David Warner leaps after his fourth successive ODI ton against Pakistan•Getty Images

Last year, Virat Kohli hit a six off Haris Rauf that everyone raves about all the time. On Friday afternoon at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, David Warner hit Rauf for a six that was just as astonishing. Take away the context of Kohli’s six, and maybe, just maybe…But why compare at all?Here’s how the Warner six unfolded – and that word is chosen with some deliberation, because the shot was a miracle of folding and unfolding. Rauf, angling the ball in from round the wicket, went full and at the stumps at 146.1kph. It was the kind of ball that’s difficult to get underneath and hit in the air in any direction. Warner didn’t just hit it in the air, but made it clang into the roof of the stand at backward square leg.Read the full analysis from Karthik Krishnaswamy in Bengaluru

Must Watch: Shane Bond on Mitchell Marsh

1:12

Bond: Continuity of selection brings the best out of Marsh

News headlines

• Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of India’s next World Cup game, against New Zealand in Dharamsala on Sunday, after hurting his left ankle against Bangladesh.
• Bangladesh’s acting captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has bemoaned their inability to turn starts into major innings as they campaign hangs in the balance after three defeats.

Match previews

Netherlands vs Sri Lanka, Lucknow (10.30am IST; 5.00am GMT; 4.00pm AEST)Can Netherlands take another famous scalp?•ICC/Getty Images

When these two sides met a little over three months ago, the picture could not have been more dissimilar. Sri Lanka had just racked up a clean sweep of the World Cup Qualifier and dispatched the Dutch twice over the course of the tournament. While the first was an edgy affair, the second – a final, though with nothing really riding on it – was as one-sided as most Sri Lanka-Netherlands games have tended to be.In all, these sides have squared off five times in ODIs with Sri Lanka winning all those encounters, including one where the Lankans racked up the then-highest ever ODI total of 443. But despite this lopsided history, it’s the Dutch that come into this game with all the momentum.Team newsNetherlands (probable) 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Bas de Leede, 5 Teja Nidamanuru, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Logan van Beek, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van MeekerenSri Lanka (probable) 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Perera/Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt & wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Dunith Wellalage, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Lahiru Kumara, 11 Dilshan MadushankaEngland vs South Africa, Mumbai (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEST)1:47

Buttler: ‘Commitment to our style of play more important than the result’

Will it be England, the reigning world champions across 50- and 20-overs, whose quest for a third global title in four years is in danger of dissolving in a bisque of self-doubt? Instead of cementing a legacy to rival the great Australian team of the turn of the millennium, their humiliating losses to New Zealand and Afghanistan are threatening to cast England’s narrative back into their World Cup dark ages of the 1990s and 2000s, to make that 2015-19 resurgence seem more like a mirage than a miracle.Or will it be South Africa… the calmest, most serene force in the competition for two heady performances, as a team seemingly without baggage cruised past Australia and Sri Lanka with scarcely a backwards glance, to give the impression that this… finally… could be their year. And then, out of a clear Himalayan sky, came defeat in Dharamsala, and all bets were offFull previewTeam newsEngland 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 6 Harry Brook, 7 Chris Woakes/Gus Atkinson, 8 David Willey, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Reece TopleySouth Africa (probable) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi/Gerald Coetzee

Feature: South Africa unites for double World Cup clash with England

There are Super Saturdays and then there are Super Saffadays and this is one of the latter.South Africa and England (hence Saffa: the casual expression for someone from South Africa – which is also where a lot of English professional sportspeople come from) have only played each other in international cricket and rugby once before on the same day and that was 25 years ago. In 1998, South Africa and England were tussling on day three of the Manchester Test, which was eventually drawn, and the Springboks beat England 18-0 in Cape Town. This time, they’re both on neutral ground playing at World Cups, an unprecedented occasion, which means there’s at least 10 hours of entertainment and rivalry guaranteed.Read the full feature from Firdose Moonda

Given India had a longish tail in Tarouba, they could consider bringing in Jaiswal for one of the wristspinners

Himanshu Agrawal05-Aug-2023

Big picture: Fearless approach sets the tone

In the first T20I on Thursday, there was a hint of the fearlessness and the freedom with which both West Indies and India batted. Despite losing both opening batters inside three balls of the fifth over, Nicholas Pooran pumped Yuzvendra Chahal for a four and a six off the next three deliveries. Next over, he deposited Axar Patel for a six and four.Fast forward to the run chase where India too lost both openers early. They were scoring at less than a run a ball two deliveries into the final over of the powerplay when debutant Tilak Varma pulled back-to-back sixes to show us just a glimpse of the future.Both teams are filled with eye-catching hitters and the T20 format offers the perfect stage to entertain only it was the bowlers who shone the brightest. India’s spinners did not let the odd boundary throw them off their plans and West Indies’ seamers used their change of pace to pull off a fine defence.The last time West Indies beat India in successive T20Is was in 2016. That only four runs separated the teams in Tarouba perhaps points towards a closely contested five-match series.

Form guide

West Indies WWLWL (Last five completed T20Is; most recent first)
India LWWLW

In the spotlight: Shepherd and Hardik

Romario Shepherd has faced just 185 balls across 13 innings in T20Is and sent 34 of them for a six or a four. That’s a balls per boundary ratio of 5.44, which fits a player who usually bats at No. 6 or lower. He has a strike rate of 205.88 in the last five overs in T20Is this year, the second-best for any batter to have faced at least 30 deliveries in that phase. While he managed just four from six balls on a used pitch against India, his two previous T20I knocks were an unbeaten 44 off 22 and another unbeaten 41 off 18 – both against South Africa in March 2023. If Shepherd can keep this form going, then he all but becomes a shoo-in ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.Contrast that with Hardik Pandya’s recent form. When he first came into the side, he was a finisher. Now he seems to prefer batting up the order. But it’s not entirely working. Since the T20Is against New Zealand last November, India’s short-format captain strikes at only 106.31 in the middle overs, hitting just one out of the 95 balls he has faced for six. If that’s him biding his time for the death, then a strike rate of 119.23 doesn’t quite make the job well done territory. All but set to lead a refreshed and a much younger T20I side of India in the medium term, he will be keen to show the way before it gets too late.Romario Shepherd has been one of the fiercest strikers at the death•Associated Press

Team news: How do India shorten their tail?

West Indies wouldn’t want to tinker with a winning combination, especially since one more victory would take them close to a series win.West Indies (probable): 1 Brandon King, 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Johnson Charles (wk), 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Rovman Powell (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Obed McCoyPlaying three spinners in Tarouba left India with four No. 11s. So even as they needed only 37 from the final 27 balls, once the last recognised batter – Axar- fell it became a tall ask, though Arshdeep Singh did give West Indies a scare. That might force India to play Yashasvi Jaiswal, the only spare batter in the squad, leading to a toss up between Kuldeep and Chahal.India (probable): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Sanju Samson, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mukesh Kumar

Pitch and conditions: Rain expected

Two of the last five T20Is at Providence Stadium in Guyana have been washed out. The scores batting first in the three completed games were 146, 157 and 163, with the chasing team winning twice. Going by that trend, prepare for more middling scores and more rain.

Stats and trivia

• With a minimum of 40 wickets while playing for Full Members in T20Is, only four have an average less than 15, and an economy rate under seven. Kuldeep is one of them.
• Kyle Mayers averages only 20.81 as opener in T20Is. That is the second-lowest for any West Indies batter to have opened at least 20 times in the format.
• West Indies and India had played a T20I at Providence in 2019 too. But no member from the visitors’ playing XI from that game is part of the squad for the ongoing T20I series.

Quotes

“This series will be decided on how the West Indian batters bat spin in those middle overs. If we bat spin good during the middle overs, then we have lot of batters and a lot of power in the back end… That makes left-handers – [Shimron] Hetmyer, [Nicholas] Pooran and Kyle Mayers – very important.”

“That’s his way of playing – he has a lot of attacking shots. He played really well despite being on debut, and despite the pressure of a run chase. There were some beautiful strokes, and he should back himself. I believe he will win a lot of matches for his side in the future.”