Quetta Gladiators were able to make short work of a total that seemed challenging thanks to their top order’s fire power

Danyal Rasool17-Feb-2019

How the game played out

Career-best PSL figures from Sohail Tanvir coupled with the type of destructive innings Shane Watson has played so often in the PSL allowed Quetta Gladiators to maintain their unbeaten record as they trounced defending champions Islamabad United by seven wickets.Quetta had begun dominantly, with Tanvir’s double-wicket maiden. Before long, Islamabad found themselves wobbling at 8 for 3, and it took spirited rearguards from Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, and most impressively Wayne Parnell – who smashed 41 off 20 – to dig them out of that hole. Despite the best efforts of Fawad Ahmed, the other star bowler alongside Tanvir, Islamabad demonstrated their batting depth, posting a very respectable 157.Given the low-scoring games in Dubai on Saturday, it appeared a good total, but the brilliance of Umar Akmal turned it into something of a stroll. After Ahmed Shehzad and Rilee Rossouw perished early, he took charge with Watson happy to play second fiddle. The struggling Shadab Khan came in for the greatest punishment, several boundaries and one 98 metre six bringing the asking ate sharply down.When an excellent catch from Cameron Delport finally dismissed Umar, the required rate was down to 7. Watson hadn’t yet entered top gear, and when he did, Islamabad found themselves about 25 runs short, his 55-ball 81 taking Quetta home with 10 balls to spare.

Turning point

With Quetta having so dominated the start and finish, it’s hard to pinpoint a moment upon which the match turned. But Islamabad’s fate was sealed when Parnell bowled his first over to Umar. With Quetta at 33 for 2 and scoring at just 6.6, a win was by no means assured, but Umar smashing two fours and a six off that over set the template for how the chase would go. With Watson joining in, Islamabad simply didn’t bowl well enough to make this interesting.Mohammad Sami bowled Watson on 29 only to realise he had done so off a no-ball, while Rumman Raees dropped the Australian off his own bowling when he was on 18. With the margins so fine, there was no way Islamabad could afford to make those mistakes.

Star of the day

Umar and Fawad played their parts, but it was Watson and Tanvir, with their combined age of 71, that put their side in pole position. Tanvir’s double-wicket maiden at the top was only the start of a near-perfect day from the left-armer, one where he took four wickets and claimed an incredible diving catch. Watson’s consistency with Quetta over the years has been brilliant, and it appears age hasn’t blunted his T20 abilities at all.

The big miss

Shadab knows he’s not doing well. He’d acknowledged it during an interview recently. But it took until now for Islamabad to find out how bad the problem is. The 20-year old legspinner was not as consistent in hitting his spots. The googly was often ill-judged and the quicker ones, as is often the case on slow UAE pitches, merely helped the batsmen’s cause. In low-scoring games like this one, Islamabad needed wickets from Pakistan’s star spin bowler. Instead, Shadab went at nine and a half without taking a wicket.

Where the teams stand

Quetta becomes the first team to keep a 100% winning record over multiple games. They top the table with two wins out of two, while Islamabad are second bottom, having won one of three.

Bancroft’s century put his name back in front of the selectors but New South Wales ended the second day in a strong position

Alex Malcolm24-Feb-2019Cameron Bancroft produced a marathon performance to put his name back in front of Australia’s national selectors, carrying his bat with an unbeaten century against New South Wales at Bankstown Oval.Bancroft made 138 not out from 358 balls to underpin the Warriors first innings total of 279, but New South Wales were only 91 runs behind with seven first innings wickets in hand at stumps on day two thanks to a composed unbeaten half-century from Test batsman Kurtis Patterson.It was the third time in Bancroft’s career he has carried his bat in a first-class innings and the second time against New South Wales in Sydney in two seasons.ALSO READ: Ball-tampering trio ‘stuck by each other’ – Bancroft
With the exception of Sam Whiteman’s 66 on the opening day, no other WA batsman scored more than 10. Bancroft lost his last recognised partner in debutant Brad Hope with the score at 6 for 183 early on day two, but mustered 96 with the tail. He struck two huge sixes off Steve O’Keefe late in the innings with nearly every fielder on the rope.O’Keefe and Trent Copeland both finished with four wickets.The Warriors attack lacked penetration as the Blues cruised towards a first innings lead. Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin put on 62 for the first wicket before debutant legspinner Liam O’Connor made the breakthrough with Hughes top edging a sweep shot from the rough.Patterson had a huge slice of luck early nicking a ball between the keeper and first slip off Matt Kelly. Josh Inglis and Sam Whiteman stood motionless as the chance flew between them.He settled thereafter and took control against an inexperienced WA attack easing to 57 from 104 balls with six fours and a six. Joel Paris removed Larkin lbw with a skilful late inswinger and O’Connor produced a gem of a wrong ‘un to clean bowl Moises Henriques late in the day.

Restructuring the domestic set-up could cost 70 cricketers their livelihoods, argues SACA

Liam Brickhill10-Apr-2019A showdown is looming between Cricket South Africa and South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA). CSA held meetings over the weekend and has announced that its board has approved plans to restructure domestic cricket as a response to a dire financial situation. But SACA has complained that it has been kept in the dark on the potential changes, which could cost 70 professional cricketers their jobs.CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe announced the planned austerity measures after two days of meetings to discuss the body’s financial standing. In October, loss projections stood at R654 million [approx. USD 47 million], according to a report CSA had submitted to a parliamentary sports portfolio committee, and Moroe said that the amount had come down to R350 million [approx. USD 25 million] because of the proposed revamp.But SACA says that it has been offered no clarity on the details of CSA’s financial position, and how the challenges ahead will be dealt with.”A four-year deficit amounting to hundreds of millions of rands is unprecedented in South African cricket and is a serious concern to us as the representative of the players,” SACA chief executive Tony Irish said. “The future of the game is in the balance and as a critical stakeholder we believe the players have a right to know what the financial position actually is, how it is being dealt with, and how this is going to affect not only them but also all other cricket stakeholders.”We have asked CSA for clarity and to date it has not provided this. SACA wishes to act responsibly and play its part in dealing with the challenge but in order to do that CSA must play open cards with us and properly engage with us.”CSA’s austerity measures have been approved at the board level, and changes would include expanding the six franchise teams – Cape Cobras, Warriors, Dolphins, Knights, Highveld Lions and Titans – to 12 provincial teams from May 2020, effectively ending the existing system.”We have a three-phased process where we will see Cricket South Africa go back to 12 provinces and we plan in the third year to either have Limpopo or Mpumalanga – or both – become part of the first-class structure, which will take us to the 14-member competition,” Moroe explained.”Franchise cricket has been a huge burden to CSA’s coffers. We are pinning most of our work and commercial strategy on the Mzansi Super League (MSL) to be the programme that is actually going to fund domestic cricket.”The T20 Challenge, one of three T20 competitions run by CSA alongside the Africa T20 and MSL, will also be scrapped after operating without a sponsor this season following Ram Couriers’ pullout last year.”Obviously with us collapsing the franchise system into the senior provincial system, you will have lesser competition costs associated with the competitions,” Corrie van Zyl, CSA’s general manager – cricket, said. “Next year, we’ll already be saving because of the termination of the T20 Challenge. From May 2020, we’ll be moving to a 12-affiliate first-class structure, which enables us to have a saving.”But, Irish argued, the potential changes have been planned “without any meaningful consultation with SACA and despite the fact that this will directly affect the players”. “This restructure, announced as part of cost-saving measures, is likely to lead to at least 70 players losing their contracts and many other players at franchise level having their earnings reduced. The ‘human impact’ of this is significant,” Irish said. “SACA has a collective agreement in place with CSA, franchises and provinces, known as the MoU, which deals with these issues yet CSA has, in announcing this structure, disregarded that agreement.”SACA president Omphile Ramela explained, “SACA has formally written to CSA twice in the last six weeks to express its concerns relating to CSA’s financial position. To date we haven’t received any reply at all to those letters. It is critical for us as the players’ association and the representative of all of South Africa’s professional cricketers to know the extent of the financial challenge facing cricket and to be comfortable on how that challenge is being dealt with. The players’ livelihoods depend on cricket’s financial sustainability but this is not only about the players. It is also about the future of the entire game in our country.”

Colin Ackermann made a ton for the home side but it was not enough even if the chase went down to the last ball

David Hopps at Grace Road24-Apr-2019Leicestershire were unable to give Karen Rothery an introductory win in the week she became county cricket’s second female chief executive. Instead, she was met with a frantic finish, a last-ball defeat and a dressing room wondering what might have been. The likelihood is that Leicestershire’s interest in the Royal London Cup will now end at the group stage. How’s that for an immediate reality check?Colin Ackermann, Leicestershire’s classiest batsman, summoned an untroubled 119 from 117 balls before slog-sweeping Luis Reece to deep square. Their 312 for 8 was rejigged to a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target of 266 from 39 because of rain. Derbyshire moved towards it as floodlights cut through the gloom with the sort of calm that suggested victory was inevitable only for chaos to descend as they belatedly realised it wasn’t.Eight were somehow needed off the last over, bowled by the left-arm seamer Dieter Klein, and when Derbyshire’s captain Billy Godleman ran himself out for 106 from 115 balls, seeking a second run to deep square with the non-striker Leus du Plooy, the latest of the endless stream of South African Kolpaks to arrive in county cricket, entrenched in his crease, they still needed six from three.Du Plooy then swung and missed at the next, pulled a long hop for four over long leg and hacked the last ball to long-on, getting home for the second run with a second to spare to finish with 73 not out from 52 balls and a Derbyshire victory which fortunately for him allowed him to look his captain in the face on returning to the dressing room.Godleman, again excelling in 50-over cricket, already has more than 300 runs in the Royal London Cup this season after two successive hundreds. He might not be the most elegant batsman around, but his record cannot be quibbled with. Derbyshire’s bowling attack had looked pedestrian – unlike last season there are no bowlers of international pedigree in Duanne Olivier or Hardus Viljoen – but they bat better than they bowl.Time for Rothery to adopt her first brave face then, and the likelihood is that there will be many more to come, even though Nixon’s return to Leicestershire guarantees vigorous defiance of the pessimists on a daily basis. If only 500 or so come through the gates when the Royal London Cup is still a reputable tournament, how many will bother next season when it understudies The Hundred, a developmental tournament to give the professionals not chosen for the ECB’s controversial new short-form competition something to do?Rothery has returned to Leicester, her home city, after a career which has included spells as commercial director at England Netball and more than three years as CEO at Surrey Sports Park, a venue which reeks of privilege with a state-of-the-art gymnasium, squash courts and an eight-lane Olympic-sized swimming pool among its attractions. Grace Road has a county cricket club looking for relevance in a changing landscape. It is a big challenge.Her predecessor, Wasim Khan, was a darling of the ECB, but he departed after four years to become managing director of the PCB without quite managing to inspire Leicester’s considerable multi-cultural population – around 30% have Indian heritage, the highest in the country – to feel a sense of belonging.She offers a familiar refrain. “I think Leicestershire has made a very positive step in appointing only the second female CEO in county cricket history,” she said recently. “But it is not only about gender, it’s about age, it’s about disability, it’s about ethnicity. I want us to be an inclusive club for everybody.”We in Leicester are probably best placed to try to encourage more people from the local ethnic groups. We have embraced multiculturalism here for many years and we need to take advantage of that. Maybe being a woman coming into a largely male environment fighting to make female sport noticed, maybe will take a slightly different approach towards engaging with our local community.”Those who do come on days like this must be unnerved by the silence. There is no quieter county ground in the land, even allowing for the man with a vuvuzela who must be there on sufferance and the presence of the eternally optimistic chatterbox Paul Nixon as coach. Too often, it feels like a ground resigned to its fate, unloved by the financial obsessives in the higher echelons of the ECB. But it has its good days, too. It was reportedly livelier over Easter when another Ackermann hundred helped them see off Worcestershire with their highest List A score against a first-class county.While the ECB imagines a potential in The Hundred that may well not exist, Rothery must grapple with reality: a perpetual battle for survival. The Hundred might deliver an annual £1.3m handout, but it won’t deliver prestige. If she caught much of her first match in charge, it would have been to see Leicestershire set a decent target despite some horrible dismissals, Mark Cosgrove’s leg-side whip to a ball outside off stump from Luis Reece a strong contender for the worst of the lot.From 245 for 7, the tail thrashed 67 from the last 35 balls, the inexperience of Derbyshire’s young pace bowlers exposed. Enough for a win perhaps? A century stand from Godleman and Wayne Madsen seemed to have put those thoughts to rest. And even as the match boiled up again in that frantic last over, it felt like two up-against-it East Midlands counties passionately striving to do good things against ever-rising odds.

Pakistan will be rejuvenated after breaking an 11-match losing streak by beating England

The Preview by Shashank Kishore06-Jun-20193:24

Dilshan: Sri Lanka should bring in a batsman in Lakmal’s place

Big Picture

Sarfaraz Ahmed must feel like he is always sitting on a hot stove. After a loss, he has people questioning his fitness. After a win the same people go ‘unpredictable Pakistan, mercurial Pakistan, cornered tigers’ and what have you. A week into the World Cup and the team has already experienced a roller coaster of sorts as they prepare to run into Sri Lanka.It says much about Sri Lanka’s position that a win against Afghanistan is looked at as an upset in several quarters. That game ended with a Lasith Malinga war cry after nailing a perfect yorker, and Malinga will know that creaking knees or not, he’ll still have to be the leader of the attack, and a leader of sorts apart from that too.New ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne is still finding his feet as a 50-overs batsman. Angelo Mathews’ form has deserted him. Dinesh Chandimal is cooling his heels at home, and Niroshan Dickwella, seen as part of Sri Lanka’s next-gen batting is somewhat perplexingly in Belgaum, trying to prove a point by scoring runs for Sri Lanka A.Sri Lanka can draw some solace from the fact that Pakistan are also in a somewhat similar space with one close win and one heavy defeat, except their win was against favourites England. And unlike Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s batting has turned a corner – the off-day against West Indies notwithstanding – and brings with it hope that tall totals can be put up regularly, like they did against England in the lead-up to the World Cup, to allow their sometimes erratic bowlers enough leeway.The return to form of Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan spells out hope, as does Wahab Riaz’s promise of breathing fire once again.But will these protagonists get a chance to exhibit their skills? The forecast on Thursday is dire. There’s 90% chance of rain, and those planning to arrive in Bristol can take time to tick off essentials like windcheaters and raincoats.

Form guide

Pakistan WLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri LankaWLWLLSLC

In the spotlight

Angelo Mathews seemingly can’t buy a run. In two games, he’s lasted all of 11 balls and has made two ducks. In the first game, he was roughed up by the pace of Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, before falling to a gentle Colin de Grandhomme away-swinger. Against Afghanistan, he was done in by the lack of turn from Mohammad Nabi as an indecisive push resulted in a catch to the slips. He doesn’t bowl and is no more than a ‘safe fielder’, so pressure will be mounting on him with every failure.Mohammad Amir is expected to be blockbuster, even if not in the Shahid Afridi league. After the ‘will he or won’t he’ merry-go-round around his selection, he was finally included in the World Cup squad. In his first outing, he did himself no harm by picking three wickets in a shellacking. Against England, his cutter proved difficult to negotiate, the scalp of Jos Buttler turning the game around decisively. Under possibly overcast skies, Amir has the stage to bring out that famous old weapon that made the world groove to his tune: swing.

Team news

Pakistan have hinted at continuity, while Sri Lanka are likely to bring in Jeevan Mendis in place of Suranga Lakmal if it’s likely to be a full game. Avishka Fernando and Mendis could play in place of Lahiru Thirimanne and Lakmal if it’s a truncated fixture.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Hassan Ali, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Wahab RiazSri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Jeevan Mendis/Suraga Lakmal, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

England made light work of a 359 chase against Pakistan just a month ago. If there’s another flat track, combined with the short boundaries, it could result in another hard day for bowlers.

Strategy punt

• Despite his two ducks, Mathews remains Sri Lanka’s best bet to stem a top order wobble. Since 2017, he’s been dismissed just 20% of the time in less than 20 deliveries. All others have been dismissed 50% of the time in the same period. Promoting Mathews could also bring about a balance to the playing XI if Sri Lanka are looking to slot in allrounder Milinda Siriwardena at No. 6, in place of the misfiring Kusal Mendis, who averages only 21.5 in ODIs since 2018.
• Sri Lanka could use Nuwan Pradeep to bounce out Mohammad Hafeez. Pradeep hits the hard lengths and has the pace to generate disconcerting bounce, a troubled area for the Pakistan batsman, who has been out seven times to fast bowlers in 2019.

• He may have conceded 83 in the previous game, but Wahab Riaz remains a potent death-bowling option, having taken four wickets off the 28 balls he has bowled in this period. He concedes only 7.3 an over in this phase. Is there a case to reserve him for the end then? He has gone for 8.3 in the first 10, in comparison. His wickets of Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes at the death against England proved game-changing.

Stats and trivia

• In 56 innings since 2017, Sri Lanka have been bowled out 32 times – more than once every alternate innings.
• In ODIs since 2017, Sri Lanka have been the quickest to lose half their side – they lose five wickets inside 29 overs on an average. Pakistan’s average for the same stands at 34.4 overs.
• Shadab Khan is one short of 50 ODI wickets, while Hafeez needs one half-century for 50 ODI fifties

Quotes

“I believe this is the best batting order we have. I’ve played a lot with Kusal Perera, I have faith in him. Thirimanne is a reliable player who can pace his innings. Middle order is okay.”
“Since we won, it took off a lot of pressure definitely, having gone through that string of defeats. Psychologically, that lifts a huge weight from their shoulders.”

‘The more I stay at the moment with the new staff coming in, when they have different ideas and I have a different idea, it’s hurting the team.’

Peter Della Penna13-Jul-2019Former USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake has said his position as head coach became untenable after his decision-making authority was stripped back with the introduction of Kiran More as USA director of cricket at a USA T20 World Cup Qualifying squad selection camp last month in Los Angeles..”It’s basically everything. We can say it one word: freedom, to work,” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo when asked why he had chosen to resign immediately on Friday rather than staying on until the end of his contract in December. “It’s been cooking for awhile. Resigning is mainly a personal decision and the reason for it is in the best interests of the national team.”The more I stay at the moment with the new staff coming in, when they have different ideas and I have a different idea, it’s hurting the team. I thought me going out, the new staff will have the freedom to move forward. I hope they’ll do well and wish them well.”Dassanayake has been at the top of the totem pole in US cricket since September 2016 when he came on board as USA head coach, overseeing both the men’s and Under-19 teams at the time. As such, he had a commanding presence in squad selection and the overall direction of the national team program, helping guide USA from World Cricket League Division Four in Los Angeles in November 2016 to finally achieving ODI status earlier this year at WCL Division Two in Namibia.After achieving such a historic success, Dassanayake says he was blindsided when he showed up to June’s USA national-team camp and was introduced by Atul Rai, a USA Cricket board member and head of the cricket committee for USA Cricket, to More and Kieran Powell. Dassanayake was told by Rai that he would be reporting to More as director of cricket. Prior to that, Dassanayake had mainly worked with USA project manager Eric Parthen and officer Wade Edwards on all operational decisions while selection was done with a selection panel headed by Ricardo Powell. Instead, final selection decisions will now go through More.”I was caught a bit off guard,” Dassanayake said. “It’s hard for me to comment about them at the moment because I was outside the decision-making process in the last few weeks in the men’s team. So I don’t know how they did it. But the vision that I have and the vision that they have is two totally different roads. They can be successful. I’m not saying their visions are bad. They are good visions.”But for me, Associate cricket is different from the Full Member setup and I would like to work in an environment where trust and freedom has to be there. We have lost a bit of that part basically.”Following the selection camp in Los Angeles, Dassanayake says he had a conference call in the first week of July with More, ICC high performance manager Richard Done and ICC COO Iain Higgins, who is due to be announced as USA Cricket chief executive at the conclusion of the World Cup. But the conference call ended in a stalemate.USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake talks to the entire national squad at the end of a training session•Peter Della Penna

Dassanayake then flew with Edwards to the UK last week to have an in-person meeting with Higgins, who made one final effort to convince him to stay on as head coach. But Dassanayake says that when he left London on Thursday he had informed Higgins of his decision to step down.”I respect whatever decisions taken by the board,” Dassanayake said. “If I have to talk about myself, the success that we had in the last two and a half years is that some things we had done in a certain way to suit these tournaments to building up this team, we made it, we break it, we made it.”We did lots of experiments and shook things up a lot to get the right set up. All these things really helped and that freedom that I had was the main success. Once I see that I don’t have that freedom, it’s good for the game for USA Cricket that whoever is doing it needs to have that freedom to move forward. So that’s why I just want to move away from that and let the other group move forward.”Dassanayake also said that the recent months since USA obtained ODI status were reminiscent of his experiences while coaching Canada and Nepal. Once USA Cricket signed a licensing deal with American Cricket Enterprises, he foresaw changes coming that could possibly force him to reevaluate his position going forward.”In all three countries I have worked, as soon as you get ODI status or T20I status… when the teams are in the tough time there are not too many people around but when teams get to a certain level, so many want to get into it,” Dassanayake said. “I anticipated something is coming up, but didn’t anticipate it to come this early.”In Associate cricket sometimes, there is two different things. If you get into an already-ODI-status country, it’s a different game that you need to do. But if you enter into a low-ranked team, as soon as they come into that place, it’s a different ball game. I don’t blame anyone, but that’s how life goes. The same thing happened in all three nations that I had.”The outgoing coach hopes people will remember him for the results he helped the nation achieve on the field rather than the sudden nature of his departure.”That was the biggest challenge that I had, compared to earlier jobs,” Dassanayake said. “We didn’t have a team when I joined, basically. There were so many talented, good players. But I knew it was not easy to win with this team. At Division Four, we got through purely because of the talent. When you are at Division Four and Five, you can get through with talent. But when it comes to Three and Two, the levels have gone so high, you need everything in the right place.”I’m proud that I was able to get everyone in the right direction. They all played together and played for each other, a strong team under one flag. I never thought that I can gel the group that we had into such a close unit. You know some of the issues that we had with different players. In Namibia, they were one unit. People who never thought that we could do it was so surprised to see that unit.”

South Africa held their nerve in the face of David Warner’s hundred to seal a 10-run victory in the final group game

The Report by Liam Brickhill06-Jul-2019
As it happenedThey have one foot on the plane home, and South Africa have finally turned up at the World Cup. In the final league game of the tournament, the Proteas corrected many of the mistakes that had plagued their campaign to secure a consolatory 10-run victory over Australia at Old Trafford.Their batsmen have struggled to convert starts, yet here there were very nearly two tons scored, Faf du Plessis leading the way with a round 100 and Rassie van der Dussen backing him up with 95. Kagiso Rabada has struggled for incision in the UK, but he bounced back with three vital wickets. And where they have wilted under pressure in previous games, South Africa steeled themselves to come out ahead in the crunch moments, holding the catches that mattered and weathering David Warner’s third hundred of the World Cup and a career-best knock from Alex Carey to secure a winning end to the ODI careers of Imran Tahir and JP Duminy.Faf du Plessis celebrates bringing up his century•Getty Images

The result means that it’s the old firm, Australia v England, who will meet in the second semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday. New Zealand will play India in the first semi, here at Old Trafford, on Tuesday.Twenty years on from the Greatest ODI Ever, this wasn’t quite the game it could have been had South Africa’s campaign through this tournament charted a different course. But on a day when 640 runs were scored and the final result was not decided until the penultimate delivery of the match, this was still an excellent exhibition of cricket, and du Plessis, accepting the Player of the Match award, said that South Africa’s first World Cup win over Australia since 1992 meant they would at least ” go home with a smile, a small smile”.Watch on Hotstar (India only) – Faf du Plessis’ 100Du Plessis also had a smile on his face when he brought up a cathartic hundred in the 43rd over. He got close in South Africa’s last match against Sri Lanka, finishing on 96 not out while completing a nine-wicket win, but if there was any team against which you’d back du Plessis to score a hundred, it’s probably Australia. He now has eight tons against them, across formats, and averages well over 50 against Australia in ODIs. “I do like playing against Australia, I’ve tried to figure out why I bat nicely when I play them as compared to the other teams,” he said afterwards.Whatever the reasons, Australia certainly seem to bring out a defiant streak in him, and a keenness for a scrap. It was there in his hundred on Test debut in Adelaide almost seven years ago, in his four previous hundreds against them in ODIs, and it was there again as he hit Mitchell Starc out of the attack early in his knock, and charged Pat Cummins to smite him back over his head later on.He was helped along the way by van der Dussen, who once again showed the composure that is becoming his calling card during a 151-run third wicket stand. Van der Dussen seemed to have been ruffled when he was struck on the head by a Cummins bouncer before he had reached double figures, offering up three half-chances in the space of two overs thereafter, but once he settled back down he gave further indications that he will be a vital part of South Africa’s immediate post-World Cup future and came within a couple of feet of clearing Glenn Maxwell in the deep and bringing up what would have been a maiden international ton off the last ball of the innings.He didn’t quite get there, but he and du Plessis had done enough for South Africa to build a challenging total from what was – by far – their best start of the tournament with the bat. With Hashim Amla sidelined by an injury picked up during a warm-up game of football on Friday, Aiden Markram opened with Quinton de Kock and together they cruised through the Powerplay at seven an over before they were eventually parted by Nathan Lyon.David Warner attempts a reverse sweep•Getty Images

Australia needed a similarly rapid start from their openers to set up their chase, but du Plessis decision to open the bowling with Tahir brought immediate dividends. Finch chipped the first ball of Tahir’s second over to a diving Markram in the covers, and for the last time in ODI cricket Tahir set off on a solo celebratory run into the outfield.Worse was to come for Australia as Usman Khawaja tweaked a hamstring running between the wickets and had to leave the field having faced just five deliveries. Khawaja came out to bat later in the innings, but Finch admitted that things “don’t look ideal” afterwards and he could join Shaun Marsh on the injury list ahead of the semi-final. And his wasn’t the only injury worry for Australia, with Marcus Stoinis also batting through some discomfort that seemed to be located in his lower back, and Starc showing some strain on his knee in the midst of a generally off-colour performance with the ball.WATCH on Hotstar (US only): Full highlightsOne area that certainly won’t be a worry, however, is Warner’s form. Once again, he took his time to settle at the top of the innings, but when he got going, he was virtually unstoppable. A quick single to mid-off took him to a 58-ball fifty in the 18th over, and he only built momentum even as two moments of brilliance from de Kock in the field – an unsighted, back-handed run-out and a leaping one-handed catch – sent Stoinis and Maxwell packing.Wickets in the middle put South Africa ahead, but Warner found an able partner in Carey, whose crisp hitting added 50 to a sixth-wicket stand of 108. It took a sprawling blinder of a catch from Morris, tumbling to his left at mid-on, to get rid of Warner, but Carey wasn’t done yet, and he proceeded to record his highest ODI score before holing out on the cover boundary in pursuit of an unlikely victory.Unlikely looked like impossible when Cummins and Carey both fell in the space of four deliveries as the match neared its end, but Khawaja hobbled back out to the middle and, with Starc, proceeded to take 17 from Morris’ ninth over to keep Australia in the hunt. A Rabada double-strike, and a nerveless final over from Andile Phehlukwayo, put paid to those hopes.

The pair first powered Sri Lanka to an imposing total before Shanaka’s 3 for 27 derailed Bangladesh’s chase

The Report by Mohammad Isam31-Jul-2019Sri Lanka cantered to a 122-run win in the third and final ODI of their series against Bangladesh to complete a 3-0 whitewash. After posting an imposing 294 for 8, their second-string bowling attack ran through the visiting side in 36 overs, bowling them out for 172. Bangladesh have now lost five ODIs in a row, starting from the World Cup, their worst run of results since 2014.There was hardly any resistance from Bangladesh as Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis starred with the bat and Dasun Shanaka put up an all-round show.Sri Lanka’s dominating total came mainly due to three partnerships, two of which Mathews helmed – 101 for the fourth wicket with Kusal Mendis and 52 for the fifth with Shanaka. He only stepped on the gas when he figured it was absolutely necessary, and by then Sri Lanka were well on their way to a strong total.After Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne exited in quick succession following their 83-run second-wicket stand, Mathews and Kusal Mendis kept it steady, hitting just a single boundary between overs 20 and 30. But they burst into life in the next ten overs, which set Sri Lanka on course for the big score.Kusal Mendis struck five fours and a six in his 54 off 58 balls, falling to the first of Sabbir Rahman’s three catches. Mathews, at the other end, kept up the scoring with ones and twos, and took advantage of two missed chances on 32 and 63 respectively. But once Shanaka found his range, in the 44th over, Mathews also went after the bowling.Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews put together a century stand•AFP

Shanaka struck two sixes and a four in Shafiul Islam’s 20-run 45th over, before falling to a catch that Sabbir made by running in from the long-off boundary. Bangladesh still conceded 43 runs in the last 3.5 overs as Sri Lanka took 106 runs in the last ten Mathews struck eight fours and a six in his 90-ball 87, while Shanaka blazed 30 off 14 balls.While Sri Lanka were served well by the partnerships their batsmen strung together, Bangladesh were undone in the first 12 overs. Tamim Iqbal’s wretched tour ended with a caught-behind in the second over before Anamul Haque, playing his first ODI in 12 months, top-edged a flick a ball after hitting two fours off Kasun Rajitha. Mushfiqur Rahim, who made an unbeaten 98 in the second ODI, was caught at slip off Shanaka for 10, and the visitors slipped to 46 for 3.Before 20 overs were complete, Bangladesh had lost half their side. Mohammad Mithun holed out to fine-leg where Lahiru Kumara juggled a couple of times before completing the catch, and Kusal Perera took a diving one-handed catch off a Mahmudullah edge in the 20th over, the batsman finishing the series with only 18 runs to his name.Sabbir and Mehidy Hasan were then both caught in the covers off Kumara, leaving Soumya Sarkar to try to bat through till the end. He reached his first fifty after ten innings, before being bowled by Akila Dananjaya for 69, having struck five fours and a six in his 86-ball knock, the only good hand in the innings.To add to his good batting effort, Shanaka picked up three wickets, while Rajitha and Kumara took two each.It was the sort of performance to lift a team after a disappointing World Cup campaign, and Sri Lanka, with the 3-0 win, got exactly what they wanted. It was the opposite for Bangladesh.

England bowler sends down 20 overs for Lancashire 2nd XI as he continues to rebuild from a calf injury

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2019James Anderson has taken another step in his Ashes comeback plan with a solid day’s work for Lancashire 2nd XI.Anderson bowled just four overs on the opening day of the first Test at Edgbaston before he was struck down by a calf injury which ruled him out of the rest of that match and the following two Ashes Tests. He was, however, present behind the scenes for England’s historic victory at Headingley, as he continued his rehabilitation with national team medical staff.Anderson bowled 20 overs for Lancashire 2nd XI on the first day of a four-day friendly against Durham 2nd XI at Chester Boughton Hall CC on Tuesday, claiming 1 for 38 with nine maidens.It follows his appearance for Lancashire Seconds in a match against Leicestershire last week in which he took 2 for 23 in nine overs and reported no recurrence of the injury, which first bothered him in early July.It is expected that if he comes through this latest match unscathed, Anderson will have a good chance of winning a recall to the England side for the fourth Test at Old Trafford starting on September 4.

India women will play three ODIs and five T20Is against West Indies women in November 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2019Sushma Verma, the wicketkeeper-batsman, was the only new entrant to the India women’s squad for their upcoming tour of the West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is.The BCCI announced a 16-member ODI squad for the tour that kicks off in November, with Sushma the only addition to the squad of 15 that is set to play South Africa in Vadodara in three ODIs next week. The T20I squad was the same as the 15 that were chosen for the first three games of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, where the hosts lead 1-0 with the second game washed out.That means 15-year-old Shafali Verma, the hard-hitting top-order batsman, retains her place in the T20I squad despite being out for ducks in the warm-up game against South Africa and on T20I debut. Harleen Deol, who impressed in the Women’s T20 Challenge earlier this year, keeps her place, as does 19-year-old allrounder Pooja Vastrakar.Led by Harmanpreet Kaur and with Smriti Mandhana as the vice-captain, this tour is a further opportunity for India to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in March 2019.The first two T20Is will be played in St Lucia, before the teams move to Guyana for the next three matches.For Sushma, who last represented India in April 2018, it is a return to the side after missing out in the home series against England and South Africa this year. She offers a second wicketkeeping option to ODI captain Mithali Raj behind Taniya Bhatia. The ODIs will be played in Antigua from November 1.India women’s ODI squad: Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Punam Raut, D Hemalatha, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Priya Punia, Sushma Verma (wk)India women’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy