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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.”

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.

England’s tour of India is unlikely to be disrupted by the hurdles the BCCI face in signing a memorandum of understanding with the ECB

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Nov-2016England’s tour of India is unlikely to be disrupted by the hurdles the BCCI faces in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the ECB. Officials from both boards confirmed there has been no change to their preparations ahead of the series, which starts in Rajkot on November 9.The state associations hosting the five Tests – Saurashtra, Punjab, Andhra, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu – also said they did not foresee any difficulty as long as the England team’s hotel costs, airfare and the daily allowance are taken care of. A representative from one state association even said they would be happy to foot the hotel bill should it come to that.Alastair Cook’s squad had landed in Mumbai on Wednesday, but doubts emerged over whether the series would take place after email exchanges between the BCCI and the Lodha Committee revealed that an MoU had not been signed yet.According to an order passed by the Supreme Court of India on October 21, all contracts that the BCCI enters into have to be cleared by the Lodha Committee, which was appointed by the court to suggest changes to the way the board functions. Matters directly related to cricket though are beyond the Committee’s remit, which was why they had asked the BCCI for more information before giving their approval for the MoU’s signing. On Thursday evening, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke sent a copy of the blank MoU to the Lodha Committee without mentioning any specifics.To work around the problem, Shirke wrote to Phil Neale, England’s operations manager, on Thursday asking the ECB to pay for its own expenses until further updates. “We are already in India, there is no change to any plans and we are looking forward to the series against India,” an ECB spokesperson said.A top BCCI official said the board already had contracts in place with the hotels that England would be staying at and, as such, lodging expenses shouldn’t prove a problem. “The main issue is their daily allowance has to be cleared. Ultimately it is a large amount,” the official said. “The daily allowance is in the range of GBP 50-75. The England contingent strength is about 30 including the players and support staff. The BCCI will need to calculate the daily allowance for roughly 50 days for the Test series, and that amount will need to be ratified by the committee before the Indian board disburses the amount to ECB.”The BCCI official also said the MoU could be signed once the series starts. “In letter and spirit, we can’t sign it right now because it is part of the list we sent to the Lodha Committee,” the official said. “Unless and until they revert we can’t sign something that we have referred to them. (But) ultimately we hope it will get signed.”In the interim order delivered on October 21, the Supreme Court asked the BCCI to stop distributing funds to its state associations until they instituted the reforms the Lodha Committee had suggested in January.But the state associations that will host the five Tests said they have no trouble taking on routine costs in the course of the matches and can provide security and in-ground hospitality for the England team if the BCCI finds a way to take on the tourists’ hotel charges and daily allowances.Niranjan Shah, secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association, said he saw no threat to Rajkot’s first-ever Test in under a week’s time. All the preparations, he said, were going on as scheduled, and even added that if SCA has to pay for lodging, it will.Punjab Cricket Association, that will host the third Test, in Mohali, is also going ahead with its preparations. “Will PCA do the match? Yes, PCA will,” the secretary MP Pandove said. “Will PCA pay for the expenses? Yes, PCA will pay for the expenses it is required to pay for. To get the teams here, to pay for their hotels, to pay their daily allowance, that is BCCI’s job. All ground hospitality, all local transport, traffic control, all staging costs, that is our responsibility. That has been the understanding for years now.”Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which will host the final Test of series in Chennai, will finalise its plan at an executive meeting on November 7. “We will meet only those expenses that the states have to pay,” a TNCA official said. “Payments concerning daily allowances, airfare, hotel bills have to be met by the BCCI. We will take care of ground expenses and team security.”Mumbai Cricket Association, hosting the fourth Test of the series, has said it is ready to host the match, following its managing committee meeting on Friday. Andhra Cricket Association secretary G Ganga Raju, who is also one of the five BCCI vice-presidents, has said the association has enough funds to host England for the second Test, in Visakhapatnam.

Club makes plea for “reasonable sanction” after previously admitting four charges

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2023The ECB has recommended that Yorkshire be fined £500,000 and face points deductions in all three competitions this season in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.Yorkshire pleaded guilty to four amended charges of bringing the game into disrepute earlier this year, with their punishment due to be decided after a Cricket Discipline Committee (CDC) sanctions hearing.Jane Mulcahy KC, representing the ECB, said the governing body was not trying to put Yorkshire out of business and aimed to “strike a balance” in its recommendations.The fine was broken down according to the four charges: £100,000 for mishandling the Rafiq inquiry, £100,000 for destruction of data, £150,000 for not taking action in relation to racist behaviour, and £150,000 for the systemic use of racist language at the club. It was suggested that £350,000 of the fine would be suspended, with the rest paid in instalments.The ECB also proposed sporting sanctions comprising a deduction of 48-72 points in the LV= Insurance County Championship, 4-6 points in the One-Day Cup and 4-6 points in the Vitality Blast.Yorkshire lost a swathe of sponsors over their handling of the Rafiq affair and face severe financial difficulties, with the club owing almost £15 million to the family trust of the former chair, Colin Graves, and in the process of seeking new investment.In a statement released ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Yorkshire asked that the CDC consider imposing sanctions that “are reflective of the circumstances of the club” after almost two years of turmoil and concerted attempts to “encourage greater inclusivity and tackle discrimination”.”Racism and discrimination in any form is unacceptable and, as a board, we have been clear on the need to take accountability for the historical cultural issues that allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged at the club,” the statement said. “The acceptance of four amended charges brought by the CDC was part of a continued effort to acknowledge what happened in the past so we can learn and move forward.”In making representations to the CDC panel, we hope to achieve a reasonable sanction which takes into account our acceptance of the charges, YCCC’s current financial position and the robust work we have undertaken to build the foundations for a club which is truly inclusive and welcoming to all.”The Yorkshire hearings took place on the same day that the ECB issued an apology to those who had experienced discrimination in the game following the publication of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report.

The injury-prone quick pulled up injured after bowling five balls against Mumbai Indians before completing his over and going off the field

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2023Deepak Chahar will undergo scans this week to determine the extent of the left-hamstring injury he sustained during Chennai Super Kings’ seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night.Chahar, the leader of Super Kings’ seam attack, pulled up injured after five balls of his first over before receiving treatment from Tommy Simsek, the franchise’s long-serving physio, who appeared to tape up his left hamstring.He completed his over, tentatively bowling a 73mph/118kph half-volley which was hit for four by Rohit Sharma, but was then replaced by substitute fielder Subhranshu Senapati for the rest of the innings. During Super Kings’ run chase, Chahar was replaced by Ambati Rayudu under the Impact Player rule.Related

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Chahar has struggled with injuries over the last 18 months, and admitted recently that he had found it “mentally… very tough” to deal with missing so much cricket. “Chahar will undergo scans to identify the extent of the injury once the team returns to Chennai,” the franchise said in a statement on Sunday.Ben Stokes, Chennai’s INR 16.5 crore buy at December’s auction, was ruled out of Saturday night’s game with what the franchise described as “a minor toe injury”, which is understood to be unrelated to his ongoing left knee issue.Stokes travelled to the ground with the rest of the squad on Saturday night but only played a minor role in the warm-ups. “Stokes played Chennai Super Kings’ first two matches of IPL 2023 before injuring his toe during training ahead of the third game, which the Super Kings won by seven wickets,” the franchise said. “The Chennai Super Kings medical staff are closely monitoring both the players and will provide all support necessary for their recovery.”Moeen Ali, who missed Saturday’s game because of illness, is also expected to be available again soon. Chennai’s next fixture is on April 12, at home to Rajasthan Royals.

After an extraordinary World T20 final, Marlon Samuels was named Man of the Match for the second time in four years after his unbeaten 85 off 66 balls kept West Indies in their chase

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2016Following an extraordinary World T20 final, Marlon Samuels was named Man of the Match for the second time in four years after his unbeaten 85 off 66 balls kept West Indies in their chase after a poor start and gave Carlos Brathwaite the chance for his astonishing finish.As the emotions flowed for West Indies, Samuels made reference to recent comments from Shane Warne in the commentary box after his dismissal against India in the semi-final which reignited a feud between them – the pair had an infamous run-in during the Big Bash in 2013 – and said he always had confidence in himself to produce another key performance in a final.”I woke up this morning with one thing on my mind. Shane Warne has been talking continuously and all I want to say is ‘this is for Shane Warne’. I answer with the bat, not the mic.”In the practice against Australia I sat in the same seat and made a first-ball duck, so I said I’d go back in the same seat I’d do something special. I don’t worry about semi-finals because when it comes to finals I always turn up and do well for the team. I grew up watching England cricket so all respect to the England players, we are champions again and want to continue to move from strength-to-strength. This is a win for the Caribbean. It means a lot. I didn’t have much to say to Carlos, but told him to swing hard.”Brathwaite himself was keen to heap praise on Samuels’ innings.”It’s us against the world and someone needed to take responsibility. And today Marlon Samuels after a slow start took responsibility and played a fantastic knock. That was amazing man, I wish I could use some expletives on TV to really express how much of a top knock that was. He did it in 2012, and I knew if Samuels was there in the end, he’ll bring us home in 2016 … it was a matter of when and not if.”Curtly Ambrose, West Indies’ bowling coach, said the team always had the belief that as long as the target was mathematically possible they could chase it.”We are that kind of team, we believe that we can chase down any target because we got some real firepower and it showed throughout this tournament. We have the self-belief, that it doesn’t matter how many we have to chase, I mean if it 40 it is out of the question, but anything under 30, we believe we can always get it. We wanted to create history, we won the Under-19, the ladies won theirs and now this. We created history and we’re really enjoying it. Yes, yes I have sympathy for the bowlers these days, but on this occasion, no!”

Even if Sri Lanka win the next Test, they will finish below India – irrespective of the result in Ahmedabad – on the WTC points table

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2023India have qualified for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), setting up a date with Australia for the biggest global honour in the format. Their presence in the final was confirmed after New Zealand pulled off one of the most dramatic wins ever, off the last ball of their first Test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch, by two wickets.The WTC final race had gone into Monday, with the results of both Test matches – in Ahmedabad and in Christchurch – equally relevant. If Sri Lanka had beaten New Zealand, they would have stayed in the race – if India didn’t win in Ahmedabad – but with Kane Williamson hitting an unbeaten 121 and Daryl Mitchell scoring a quick 86-ball 81, New Zealand pulled off a win that didn’t look possible for the longest time, off the very last ball of the game. The result put Sri Lanka out of the running for the WTC final.Now, following their loss in Christchurch, even if Sri Lanka win the next Test, they will only go up to 52.78 points. That will be lower than India’s 56.94 even if India go on to lose the Ahmedabad Test. If they draw – as looks most likely – India will finish on 58.80. Australia have already qualified: even if they lose in Ahmedabad, they will end with a percentage of 64.91.Australia and India are the only teams which have won at least twice as many Tests as they have lost in the current WTC cycle (in Tests which counted towards the WTC). Australia have been stellar with a 11-3 win-loss record so far, with series wins against England, West Indies and South Africa (home), and Pakistan (away). They also drew in Sri Lanka (1-1), with the only series defeat coming in India (assuming a draw or a defeat in Ahmedabad).India have a 10-5 record in this cycle, with series wins against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia (assuming they win or draw in Ahmedabad) at home, and Bangladesh away. They drew 2-2 in England, and lost 2-1 in South Africa.The WTC title contest will take place at The Oval in London from June 7.

The Australia coach also defended his batsmen for their scoring rate against R Ashwin after their tactics were questioned by Sachin Tendulkar among others

Melinda Farrell in Adelaide08-Dec-20183:16

Laxman: Langer has got it wrong about Kohli’s celebrations

Justin Langer believes if the Australia players were to react in the same manner Virat Kohli celebrated the wicket of Aaron Finch, they would be considered “the worst blokes in the world”. Langer also fended off criticism from Sachin Tendulkar over Australia’s slow batting in the first innings.Langer’s comments showed the level of scrutiny that surrounds Australia on two distinct levels: their style of play and their on-field behaviour. Amid all the swirling fallout from the Newlands scandal, the question is hovering: can the Australian team win without resorting to the sort of behaviour that led to a widespread public backlash? When replayed Kohli’s celebration after Ishant Sharma bowled Aaron Finch, Langer’s answer suggested the team is still trying to find the right balance.”You love seeing that passion in sport, don’t you?” said Langer. “Mind you, I think if we did that at the moment we’d be the worst blokes in the world, but it’s a fine line isn’t it? That’s the truth of it. But I love seeing the passion, I mean that’s great passion but, as I said, there’s a fine line isn’t there?”In an interview to be broadcast later on Saturday on , Kohli says he had sympathy with Steven Smith and David Warner with what they had to go through after the ball-tampering.Langer, speaking as rain delayed the start of play on day three, defended his players for their scoring rate and suggested allowances should be made for youth and inexperience.6:10

Hodge questions Australia’s defensive mindset

As Australia battled to 7 for 191 on the second day on what has proved to be a difficult pitch for batting, Tendulkar tweeted, “#TeamIndia should make the most of this situation and not lose their grip. The defensive mindset by the Australian batsmen at home is something I’ve not seen before in my experience. @ashwinravi99 has been very effective and has played a role to help the team be on top, for now.””I saw the tweet from Sachin saying he’s never seen an Australian side bat so defensively,” Langer told . “That said every time he’s played Australia he had Allan Border or David Boon, guys who have played 300 or 400 Tests between them. We’ve literally got kids when it comes to Test cricket playing. They’re just finding their own skin, they’re fighting their backsides off, not only to help us win the Test match, but to find out what Test cricket’s about.”You’re always looking to score, every one of them is looking to score, but they bowled really well, Ashwin bowled well, we’ve got to find different ways of playing him, that’ll come. But it’s a very different team this batting order than what we’ve seen in past Australian teams.””After the day’s play I knew there’d be a lot of comments about, like Sachin’s comments, I knew that’s what they’d say,” Langer told . “And if that starts affecting our players then that’s going to really hurt us so the key is to get as close to the mark as we can and regardless of whether it’s no more runs or go ahead of them it’s going to be key how we bowl in the second innings.”Langer did concede that Australia could have been more attacking when R Ashwin was bowling. The offspinner took three wickets – all of them left-handed batsmen – while keeping one end tight during a 22-over spell.Virat Kohli shows his emotions•Getty Images

“Maybe Ashwin we could have been a little bit more pro-active against,” he said. “I think particularly our lefties we need to have methods of scoring on both sides of the wicket. I think Travis did it really well I think Marcus did it well in his first Test match so there’s areas we can get better at. It’s the first innings of a four Test match series so and they’re the number one ranked Test team in the world but I’m definitely not going to get caught up in this we were too slow, we weren’t attacking enough because we saw with some fantastic Indians the same thing happened.”One thing I learned from Allan Border 25 years ago is there’s a lot of time in Test cricket, you have to be patient. In Test cricket we’ve probably gone a bit away from it actually over a bit of time, but the great players are patient, they bat for a long time and that’s what we can do. I think we get a bit preoccupied with how T20 goes and to an extent one-day cricket, but in Test cricket there’s so much time, there’s five days to bat. Particularly in a long series like this we’ve got to wear down the opponent, so we probably missed an opportunity to do that.”

Jake Doran left the field having felt ill after testing positive for Covid-19

AAP01-Dec-2022Tasmania wicketkeeper Jake Doran left the field feeling unwell after testing positive to Covid-19 and was replaced by Tim Paine on day one of the Sheffield Shield clash against South Australia.South Australia batters Jake Weatherald and Nathan McSweeney scored centuries to put their side in a solid position at 8 for 309 having been sent in to bat by Tasmania.Tasmania named former Test skipper Paine as 12th man but he was brought into the game as a substitute wicketkeeper when Doran left the playing arena.Doran had felt fine at the start of play and took an early catch but was replaced by Paine after taking ill. Paine, who will not be allowed to bat, took two neat catches.Weatherald made 100 and McSweeney (118) scored his maiden first class century.Peter Siddle, sporting a peroxide blonde hairstyle, was a constant threat on his way to 4 for 59 from 25 probing overs.Weatherald and McSweeney combined for a 149-run stand for the third wicket after Siddle struck early to remove Henry Hunt and Daniel Drew.Left-hander Weatherald struck 16 boundaries, including two sixes, and was particularly savage through the off side in a confident counter-attacking innings.McSweeney offered sensible support and was an excellent foil for his more aggressive batting partner before upping the ante. The 23-year-old brought up his century with a sweet on drive from the bowling of spinner Jarrod Freeman.It was a moment to savour for the former Australia Under-19s representative after he was stranded on 99 not out in March when he hit the winning runs in a five-wicket Shield win over NSW.South Australia were 6 for 196 just after tea but McSweeney received excellent support from in-form allrounder Benjamin Manenti and Nathan McAndrew.Weatherald said he was delighted to find form against a class attack.”This year has been a bit of a struggle for me with the bat so it was good to walk out there and play freely and score some runs,” he said. “[McSweeney] was able to absorb an amazing amount of pressure … and batted really well.”Tasmania sit second on the Shield table behind Western Australia after a hard-fought four-wicket win over Victoria in their most recent match. South Australia are second-last with two losses and three draws so far this season.

Odean Smith’s all-round showing was not enough for West Indies who fell short again

Associated Press10-Aug-2022A solid innings of 47 by returning captain Kane Williamson and a dashing 33 from 15 balls by Jimmy Neesham propelled New Zealand to a 13-run win over West Indies in the first of three T20Is in Jamaica.Neesham struck three fours from the last three balls and 23 runs from the last over of the innings as New Zealand made 185 for 5 after being sent in to bat at Sabina Park. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner took 3 for 19 as New Zealand restricted West Indies to 172 for 7.”There was a lot of spin which was a big surprise,” said Santner, who was voted the Player of the Match. “I think the lengths are key against these guys. They can hit you pretty far, so back of a length worked today and as a unit we were able to pick up wickets which was pretty key.”New Zealand’s innings had two parts, separated by a lengthy rain break. Openers Martin Guptill and Devon Conway gave the tourists a strong start, putting on 62. But the pair fell to consecutive deliveries from Odean Smith, who went on to take career-best T20I figures of 3 for 32.Guptill fell to a brilliant one-handed catch by Shimron Hetmyer, who was backed up against the boundary at deep point, while Conway’s innings of 43 from 29 ended when he top-edged a catch to wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.The rain came in the 12th over with New Zealand on 95 for 2 and Williamson at the crease with Glenn Phillips. Players were off the field for almost two hours and when play resumed New Zealand immediately lost Phillips for 17.The New Zealand innings briefly lost momentum but Williamson re-established the impetus of the innings by taking 33 runs from his next 18 deliveries. He finally was out to another brilliant catch on the boundary, this time from Hayden Walsh who dashed from midwicket to pocket a comfortable catch at speed.Neesham struck a six from the second ball of an over in which he also was dropped by Romario Shepherd from the bowling of Jason Holder. West Indies paid the price with Neesham’s three fours from the last three balls.”We want to get better as a group but in saying that I was happy with the performances,” West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran said. “Santner bowled very well and Ish [Sodhi] got away with a few. Scores above 175-180 are tricky for us. Unfortunately losing is contagious and we’re a losing side at the moment.”Shamarh Brooks anchored the top of the West Indies innings with 42 at almost a run a ball. But there was a lack of consistent momentum afterward. Pooran with 15 from eight balls, Holder with 25 from 19 and Rovman Powell with 18 from 12 all threatened to take control of the game but couldn’t carry on.Finally, Shepherd and Smith shared a 50 partnership from 23 balls for the eighth wicket to fan West Indies’ hopes. Shepherd struck an unbeaten 31 from 16 balls and Smith 27 from 12. But West Indies came to the last over needing 26 runs and the task proved too much.