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Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order after India set them 410 to win the Delhi Test or survive the best part of four sessions to save it

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy05-Dec-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBCCI

Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order after India set them 410 to win the Delhi Test or survive the best part of four sessions to save it. Bad light brought the fourth day to an end with a theoretical 13 overs remaining, with Sri Lanka struggling at 31 for 3.Sri Lanka came within six balls of going to stumps just one down. Nigel Llong had a long look at his light meter before motioning Jadeja to bowl, and he duly picked up two wickets in what turned out to be the last over of the day. First, Dimuth Karunaratne stretched forward to defend a topspinner that dipped on him, and nicked to the keeper, playing for non-existent turn. Three balls later, the nightwatchman Suranga Lakmal made a mess of his attempt to block a stump-to-stump delivery, cue-ending the ball into the ground and back onto his stumps.Shami had given India their first breakthrough with an exhibition of searing pace and accuracy. He sent down two bouncers that reared dangerously towards Sadeera Samarawickrama’s head. The batsman evaded the first one, falling onto the floor while swaying out of line, but couldn’t avoid the second, ball kissing his glove and bouncing off his right shoulder to gully.The effort of those back-to-back bouncers in the Delhi smog quickly told on Shami; he vomited and went off the field thereafter. Lakmal had shown similar symptoms while bowling in the morning session, when Sri Lanka again came out with a number of their fielders wearing face masks.There was no such discomfort for India’s batsmen in their second innings; three of them scored half-centuries, with the declaration arriving as soon as Rohit Sharma brought up his in the 10th over after tea.There were two major partnerships in India’s innings. Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara added 77 for the third wicket at just under four-and-a-half an over, and Virat Kohli and Rohit added 90 for the fifth at just under a run-a-ball. Kohli and Rohit only hit eight fours between them, but picked up a steady stream of singles and twos against spread-out fields as Sri Lanka waited for a declaration. Kohli holed out in a bid for quick runs, soon after reaching his fifty and passing 600 runs for the series.Having secured a 163-run first-innings lead in the sixth over of the morning, India came out with clear intent to score quickly. M Vijay, normally so watchful outside off stump, repeatedly looked to drive the new ball on the up, and, having hit two fours in this manner, nicked Lakmal behind on 9.Instead of Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane walked in at No. 3, having scored 4, 0, 2 and 1 in his four previous innings in the series. Rahane likes the ball coming on to the bat, so perhaps this was an effort to have him face a harder, newer ball than normal. The experiment didn’t come off. He struggled to middle the ball in his 37-ball innings, as a control percentage of 64 would suggest, and survived two close lbw shouts before holing out while looking to hit Dilruwan Perera over long-on.Pujara was the freer-scoring batsman in his third-wicket partnership of 77 with Dhawan. He came out full of urgent intent and was typically twinkle-toed against the spinners, stepping out frequently, working the ball into gaps, often calling “two” loudly as soon as he had hit the ball.He hit successive fours off Dilruwan early in his innings, an off-drive and a square-cut, and went to lunch batting on 17 off 15 balls. He found the boundary three more times after lunch before he was caught at slip off Dhananjaya de Silva, playing for turn when the ball went on with the around-the-wicket angle.As in the second innings in Kolkata, Dhawan took his time initially and switched gears effortlessly to reduce the gap between runs and balls. It took him 63 balls to hit his first four, a late-cut off Dilruwan, but the boundaries flowed thereafter, as he stepped out against the quicks, went over the top against the spinners and, as always, scored heavily square of the wicket on the off side. As in Kolkata, he seemed set for a century when he was dismissed, beaten by Sandakan’s turn when he danced down the pitch and went for a big hit.In the morning, Dinesh Chandimal HAD extended his score from an overnight 147 to a career-best 164 before becoming the last man out in Sri Lanka’s first innings. He added 30 for the last wicket with Lakshan Sandakan, who ended up unbeaten on 0 off 20 balls. The No. 11 was beaten multiple times by Ishant Sharma and Shami, but defended stoutly when the line was on the stumps.Chandimal went for his shots, and picked up three fours in the morning, two of them with cuts and uppercuts. That shot, in the end, cost him his wicket, as he sliced Ishant straight to Dhawan at third man.

Sri Lanka will host the Under-19 Asia Cup between December 8 and 22, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2016Sri Lanka will host the Under-19 Asia Cup between December 8 and 22, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced.After a meeting of the SLC’s executive committee on September 24, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, the Galle International Cricket Stadium and Matara Uyanwatte Stadium were approved as venues for the tournament. The tournament itinerary and other details will be decided in due course.The committee further approved the appointment of Thusith Perera, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) general manager, as the event director, while Sultan Rana, the ACC’s events manager, will serve in the same role for the U-19 tournament.

A fresh – if familiar – format, some new colours, a couple of new faces and a return to a favourite old venue was all it took to freshen England up and keep the Ashes alive

Will Macpherson at Chelmsford26-Aug-2015
ScorecardCharlotte Edwards congratulates Sarah Taylor on a matchwinning fifty•Stephen Pond/Getty Images

A fresh – if familiar – format, some new colours, a couple of new faces and a return to a favourite old venue was all it took to freshen England up and keep the Ashes alive.After a torrid Test match that saw little go right for England, there was still the chance of winning the Ashes overall in a series where they are decided by virtue of points gained in all three formats.Charlotte Edwards’ side ticked boxes aplenty: their fielding – with three sharp run outs, a series of fine dives in the deep, and some excellent catching – returned to the spectacular level achieved in the series opener at Taunton, Edwards was more tactically astute, and, crucially, Sarah Taylor – fresh from a pair in the Test match at Canterbury – enjoyed a timely return to form with the bat, that characteristic insouciance and those rubbery wrists back as she notched a nonchalant half-century.Even the promotion of the brutalist Katherine Brunt to No 5 worked, as she boshed 12 from Ellyse Perry’s final over to help England home with 15 balls to spare; her 21 from 10 balls was just her third double-figure score in twenty T20I innings.This bumptious Australian side – whose run of 16 consecutive T20I victories comes to an end with this defeat – seldom seem cowed. But with a partisan packed house cheering the hosts on, they were unable to recover from a sluggish start having been inserted.Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were immediately into their groove, and England were particularly lively in the field, with both Danielles – Wyatt and Hazell – making impressive early contributions. But Australia were passive in the opening powerplay, which included 22 dot balls for the loss of Elyse Villani, whose leading edge off Shrubsole’s fifth ball – a slower one – fell simply back to the bowler.Australia’s start was slow, but their two strongest batsmen, Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning, were set. As if to demonstrate that point, Lanning swept Jenny Gunn’s first delivery – the first after the powerplay – for six. The introduction of Hazell, however, tied the pair down. Her first over went for one, before Lanning drove straight and hit Hazell square on the leg, and two dot balls later she slogged a rank full toss to deep square-leg, where Lydia Greenway took a sharp catch.Gunn failed to pick up a Perry miscue off Hazell’s next over and shelled the catch, but the drop was worth just a slogged four to cow and a single, as Nat Sciver’s first ball saw Perry bowled off the pad by a full one.Wickets fell steadily from that point. Canterbury hero Jess Jonassen was deceived by Sciver’s slower ball, and then, as Australia took on risky singles, the run outs began. Youngster Grace Harris was dismissed by a direct hit when backing up, Alyssa Healy by a fired up Brunt, and Erin Osborne by sharp work from Greenway. Between times, Alex Blackwell lofted Gunn’s first ball back to cover, and tight bowling meant runs were hard to come by.A target of 123 was underpar, but with a dewy outfield, a quality attack, and an English order prone to indecision, was eminently defendable. But Australia – particularly in the middle overs – bowled an ugly set of half-trackers and full tosses, and dropped both Edwards and Taylor, who shared 77 after Perry had Lauren Winfield caught at mid-on in her second over.The pair bristled with intent in the powerplay, as Megan Schutt once again made the ball talk. Taylor unleashed her ramp to Perry and used her feet to Sarah Coyte’s seam, while Edwards showed off that classical cover drive and flick to midwicket out, too. Australia had their chances, with Villani dropping Edwards on 19 at mid-off, and Coyte shelling a low caught and bowled off Taylor on 34.Both batsmen were eventually stumped by Healy, Edwards sharply and Taylor easily, but by then the damage was done, as hard-hitting cameos from Sciver and Brunt ensured victory. England must do this twice more, of course, and if the Ashes are to be retained, they will have to do it away from their happy hunting ground, where they have now won six from six.

Stuart Broad has arrived in New Zealand “fit and good” to return to England duty

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2013Stuart Broad has arrived in New Zealand “fit and good” to return to England duty.Broad has not played since the second Test in Mumbai in November, where his 0 for 60 was his second consecutive wicketless Test. Broad was subsequently dropped for the second time in his career.A heel problem prevented his return as captain for the T20 series, which England drew 1-1 with Eoin Morgan leading the side, before snow denied him the chance to re-join his colleagues in India for the final two matches of the ODI series.The poor weather has hindered Broad’s training programme, so he is glad to be back in warmer climes, arriving a few hours ahead of the rest of the squad who travelled direct from India following Sunday’s final ODI.”I have not done any outdoor running because it has been a bit hazardous at home,” Broad said. “But I feel pretty good and look forward to getting going and excited to be here. With the snow back home it has been tricky to really test anything.”It was disappointing not to get out to India and do some outdoor bowling ready for this tour but we have plenty of time to do some work here leading into the warm-up games and the first Twenty20.”England play two warm-up matches on February 4 and 6 before the first of three T20s on February 9 in Auckland. It will be the first time Broad has captained England since they tumbled out of the World T20 at the Super Eights stage in October.Broad will be hoping for a return to form after averaging 39.72 with the ball and 14.00 with the bat in his last full Test series – against South Africa in July and August. He has also been short of one-day cricket having missed the ODI series with South Africa in September. His overs at the World T20 were taken for 7.42 runs each.Short of match-practise, Broad’s first task is to feel satisfied that his heel injury has recovered. “When you’ve not played cricket for five or six weeks, I suppose you go into a game a little bit unsure,” he said. “I have done quite a lot of treadmill running, and a lot of spinning, so I’m fit. I just need to test out the impact of it.”We’ve got well over a week till the first Twenty20 game, and that should be plenty to get it right.”Broad travelled to Adidas headquarters in Germany to have his boots moderated to help ease the strain. “I have had a bit of adjusting to the foam inside the boot and we will see how that goes outside,” he said. “But I have bowled five or six spells of six or seven overs indoors, which felt good. And you’d have thought indoor bowling would be as big a test on the heel as anything.”I feel fit and good, so where I am at now I feel ready to go.”Longer term for Broad there is the challenge of trying to regain his Test place in what is likely to be a three-man pace attack alongside James Anderson and Steven Finn. It was Finn who initially replaced Broad in India and then Tim Bresnan played the final Test although he is absent from this tour.Broad began 2012 in impressive form with consistent performances against Pakistan in the UAE and then claimed 11 wickets against West Indies at Lord’s before having less of an impact against South Africa and conceded being dropped in India was the right decision.”I’m quite relaxed, and I know that if I bowl well and hang in there and do the right things in training, then wickets come your way,” Broad said. “I had a really good start, first half of the year, and was the leading seamer in the world.”Then I went three innings without taking a wicket in India and lost my place. That happens and it was probably a good decision, looking back, to leave me out.”Finny came in and bowled really nicely. Then I picked up that little injury before the final Test match. Personally, the tour didn’t go ideally to plan. But we won the Test series and left happy.”

England Under-19s kept their series hopes alive with a 28-run victory in the fifth game of their seven-match series against Bangladesh Under-19s

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2012
ScoreboardEngland Under-19s kept their series hopes alive with a 28-run victory in the fifth game of their seven-match series against Bangladesh Under-19s, in Sylhet. Bangladesh still hold the advantage, despite failing to chase 196 for a victory that would have put them 4-1 up and out of sight.Medium-pacers Brett Hutton and Adam Ball led the way with five wickets between them as Bangladesh lost their top six with just 79 on the board. No.7 Zakaria Masud attempted to forge an unlikely revival with a patient, unbeaten 38 but despite putting on a 35-run partnership – the highest of the innings – for the final wicket with Abu Jayed, Masud eventually ran out of partners. No other batsman reached 20, while Hutton was the pick of the England bowlers, taking 3 for 34 from his allocation.After being put in on a slow wicket, opener Sam Kelsall top-scored with 43 as England reached 195 for 8 from their 50 overs. Kelsall departed with the score on 73 as England slipped to 85 for 4 but Ramanpreet Singh and Sam Woods rebuilt with a partnership of 54. Singh, who made 38, became Naeem Islam Jr’s third wicket in the 42nd over but some late hitting from Craig Overton and Ball helped add 38 in 27 balls to pull England up to an ultimately defendable total.

John Wright has replaced Mark Greatbatch as New Zealand’s coach, and Daniel Vettori has lost his role as a selector, as part of a review of the team’s recent tour of India

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2010John Wright has replaced Mark Greatbatch as New Zealand’s coach, and Daniel Vettori has lost his role as a selector, as part of a review of the team’s recent tour of India. Wright will take charge of the side immediately, while Greatbatch will become the convener of a three-man selection panel that will also include Glenn Turner and Lance Cairns.One of Wright’s major tasks will be to turn around New Zealand’s poor one-day form, after they suffered clean-sweeps in India and Bangladesh over the past two months. The team has lost 11 consecutive ODIs, hardly the sort of lead-up they wanted ahead of February’s World Cup, and they have also won only two of their past 19 Tests.”I’d always thought it would be a great challenge. When you look back at past history it’s been a tough one but that’s cricket,” Wright told reporters after his new job was announced in Auckland. “I feel some unfinished business. I’m excited and I want to test myself as a coach.”Wright is contracted until after the West Indies tour in 2012, and his appointment completes his return to the international scene after he ended a five-year stint as India’s coach in 2005. He knows that his first task is to get to know the New Zealand players ahead of their next international encounter, a Twenty20 against Pakistan on December 26.”I understand it will be small steps,” he said. “I look at particularly the one day team and they have potential. But the trick is to help the players find that consistency, find how to rediscover their form and confidence. I’ve been in a similar situation before going into a World Cup that was very, very low on confidence.”The decision to hand the reins to Wright was the central outcome of a review of New Zealand’s tour of India, but changes to the selection panel were also significant. Greatbatch is in charge of the new panel, which will be independent of the team, ending Vettori’s tenure as a selector.However, in a statement, New Zealand Cricket said the captain and coach would continue to contribute to the selection process and would be actively responsible for team selections on tour. Greatbatch will stay on as a batting coach in New Zealand’s high-performance programme.”A thorough review of the Black Caps tour of India has been undertaken over the last week,” said the New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan. “All aspects of the tour – playing performance, preparation, selection and support staff – were examined to ensure that the Black Caps have the greatest chance of succeeding. The changes being made are a direct result of that process and should make a real difference.”Wright will be the fourth coach New Zealand have had in just over two years. John Bracewell was the long-standing mentor until his departure in December 2008, and his replacement Andy Moles lasted barely a year before the search for a new coach landed on Greatbatch, who took over in January this year.

At the start of the series Chris Gayle tipped a 4-1 win for West Indies, but given their predicament he would probably settle for 1-4

Peter English11-Feb-2010

Match Facts

In the mood: Ricky Ponting finished Tuesday’s win in Adelaide with 57 not out•Getty Images

Friday, February 12, SCG

Start time 1325 (0325 GMT)

The Big Picture

At the start of the series Chris Gayle tipped a 4-1 win for West Indies, but given their predicament he would probably settle for 1-4. Calling the tourists out-classed in the opening exchanges is being polite to guests and if they lose in Sydney on Friday the five-game contest will be decided with two matches spare.After West Indies’ fight in the Test series earlier in the season, the follow-up campaign has been hugely disappointing, although Gayle hasn’t been helped by a batch of injuries which kept many of his best men at home. Batting has been the most serious problem, with the tourists managing 143 on the way to a 113-run loss in Melbourne, and 170 in Adelaide after being 4 for 16. The second game, which was watched by only 8378 spectators, was finished in the 27th over of the chase.Australia have been outstanding throughout the limited-overs segment of the summer and are on a 10-match winning streak. With a 2-0 lead, the hosts have been able to rest key players in Shane Watson and Brad Haddin, but there won’t be any relief for West Indies as the locals pursue an undefeated summer.

Form guide (most recent first)

Australia WWWWW

West Indies LLLLL

Watch out for…

Everything for West Indies currently revolves around Chris Gayle. The match in Adelaide was basically over after Gayle’s first-ball departure and he must find a way to escape from the restrictions Australia have placed on him. Over the past week Gayle has remained cheery and upbeat in public but in his private moments he must feel like a one-man band. He is so important that at the moment the scenario is Gayle out, game over.Ricky Ponting has run into some good form with scores of 55, 49 and 57 not out in his past three games, but will be wanting more. With his developing team doing incredibly well, he can relax at the crease, which isn’t a good thing for the opposition bowlers. He pulled Kemar Roach in Adelaide, showing he is not haunted by the fast man’s short balls which got him in the Perth Test, and will look to sign off with a century to seal the series.

Team news

The wicketkeeper Tim Paine and Adam Voges come into the squad for Shane Watson and Brad Haddin, who are resting. Paine has opened in 14 of his 15 ODIs and will slot in with Shaun Marsh at the top. With Watson out, Australia could play all four fast men and Nathan Hauritz, which would leave James Hopes and Voges to miss out.Australia (possible) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Mitchell Johnson, 8 Ryan Harris, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Doug Bollinger.West Indies were unchanged in the second game but after two horrible defeats will have to do something to spruce up the side. Gayle has talked about needing some substance in the middle order, which could give Brendan Nash an opening, while Wavell Hinds is another option, possibly for the struggling Runako Morton.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Travis Dowlin, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Brendan Nash, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Dwayne Smith, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

Pakistan chose to bowl first at the SCG last month and were rolled for 127 in their chase as the bowlers took advantage of seaming conditions. It has been another wet lead-up and there are storms predicted for Friday afternoon, along with a maximum of 31C. If that happens the bowlers will be happy again.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies’ top six batsmen have scored 150 runs in the past two games while Australia’s top four have managed 310
• Only one game at the SCG has been won by the batting side from the final ball of the 50th over. That came in 1995-96 when Michael Bevan starred against West Indies
• West Indies have twice scored fewer than 100 at the SCG, with 87 in 1992-93 and 91 in 2000-01
  

  Quotes

  “At 2-0 down in a five-match series, this is the time for some of our players to come of age.”
  
  
  “Every time we start a series that’s our goal, to go undefeated. It’s no different in this series. We played really well against Pakistan. We gave them nothing and we’ll be doing that against the West Indies.”

The India captain didn’t explain why, but outlined it had to do with conditions and early morning starts

Shashank Kishore02-May-20244:45

Rohit: Dube will be bowling a few overs

India’s selectors picked four spinners in their 15-man squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup because Rohit Sharma wanted them, though he did not want to reveal his reasons for doing so just yet.”I don’t want to go too much into detail on it, I’m sure opposition captains are listening to this,” Rohit said in Mumbai. “I definitely wanted four spinners. We’ve played a lot of cricket there [Caribbean]. We know what the conditions are like. With morning starts at 10-10.30am, there’s a little bit of technical aspect involved in this.”India picked left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal and left-arm spin allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in their provisional 15, which left space for only three specialist fast bowlers and no slot for Rinku Singh. Chahal was not a part of India’s T20I squads for their two most recent series – in South Africa in December and against Afghanistan at home in January – and was selected after his impressive form in IPL 2024.”Maybe when I do the first press conference [upon landing], I’ll give more details,” Rohit said about picking four spinners. “The reason for four spinners is this, which I’m not going to say in public. But I wanted four spinners for sure. With two of the spinners being allrounders who can bat, Axar and Jadeja, and two attacking spinners – Kuldeep and Chahal – it gives you the balance in the spin department. Based on the team composition of the opposition we can decide what we want to play with.”Related

• Similar but different India have tough choices to make with their batting order

• India's T20 World Cup squad: Pant, Dube and Samson make the cut

• 'Rohit said just show us what you can do' – How Shivam Dube knew he was in the reckoning for the World Cup

• How Samson jumped the queue and got his T20 World Cup ticket

Dube selected for middle-order power

While Rohit wouldn’t be drawn into discussing whether Virat Kohli could be his opening partner instead of Yashasvi Jaiswal, he emphasised the need for more power in the middle order, which led to Shivam Dube’s selection.”The one thing we really looked at was middle-overs hitting,” Rohit said. “The top-order hitting has been alright, hasn’t been bad, but there are options there as well. In the middle overs we wanted someone to come and play that role where he can play freely without worrying about who is bowling and who is not. We picked Shivam Dube based on the IPL and a few games before the IPL as well.”Dube has been in explosive form for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024, his 350 runs coming at a strike rate of 171.56, and he is third on the six-hitting charts this season. He was also the highest run-scorer in the T20I series against Afghanistan in January, with 124 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 158.97. Rohit also expected Dube to contribute with the ball, if needed, though he has bowled only one over in his first ten games in IPL 2024.”I know Shivam has not bowled a single over, but he’s a seasoned cricketer who bowls a lot of overs in red-ball cricket,” Rohit said. “Honestly if we need Shivam to bowl a few overs, he will bowl a few overs. Hardik as well, he has been bowling regularly in the IPL. Whenever it’s been required, he has come and bowled. Like Ajit [Agarkar] said, he’s come and played all the games, fitness wise, there are no issues.”Allrounder Shivam Dube was selected for his hitting ability but he has bowled only one over in 11 innings in IPL 2024•BCCI

Why KL Rahul missed out

India’s decision to pick Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson as the two wicketkeepers ahead of KL Rahul was to do with their ability to bat in the middle order.”KL is a terrific player, we all know that” chairman of selectors Agarkar said. “The thing is we were looking at guys batting in the middle order, and at the moment KL is batting at the top.”When it was pointed out that Samson is batting at No. 3 for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, Agarkar said: “We feel Sanju has the ability to come down the order, if need be, Rishabh has been batting at five-six. That was more the thinking, about the slots we needed. These two were better at this point. Guys who spend a bit more time in the later part of the innings at the World Cup, that was the thinking.”After suffering a severe car accident in December 2022, Pant made a successful comeback in IPL 2024, scoring 398 runs in his first 11 innings for Delhi Capitals at a strike rate of 158.56, and proving his wicket-keeping skills were back to their best. Samson has 385 runs in nine innings for Royals, at a strike rate of 161.08.2:01

Samson over Rahul – the right call?

‘Rinku’s exclusion one of the toughest calls’

Rinku Singh’s exclusion was the “toughest” decision India’s selectors had to make while picking the squad.”He [Rinku] has done nothing wrong, nor has Shubman Gill. It’s just the combinations,” Agarkar said. “We’re not sure of the conditions we’ll get [in USA] and we wanted to have enough [bowling] options.”We had a couple of wristspinners to give Rohit more options, I don’t think it’s anything to do with Rinku. It’s not his fault that he missed out, it’s more the 15 we felt we needed, with two keepers who are both terrific batters, we will have an extra batter sitting out. We got to have another bowling option, but he’s still one of the traveling substitutes. That’s how close he was, but we can only take 15.”Rinku has played 15 T20Is for India, scoring 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.23. However, he’s had a quiet IPL 2024: 123 runs off 82 balls in eight innings at a strike rate of 150.

The defending champions are currently on the brink of elimination ahead of their last group match against Afghanistan

Alex Malcolm03-Nov-2022Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes there will be some questions asked of Australia’s T20I team if, as the defending champions, they don’t progress to the semi-final of a home World Cup.Ponting, who had led Australia to two 50-over World Cup triumphs and also captained a team that made the semi-final in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, has been surprised by Australia’s form in the lead-up and throughout the ongoing tournament.”If they don’t make it through, there’ll be some questions asked I’m sure, because I had them in the top three coming here,” Ponting said on Thursday.Related

• The baffling breakdown of the Australian T20I team

• Should Australia turn to new-ball Starc for Afghanistan match?

• Finch: If I don't feel comfortable with my hamstring, I won't play

• Australia take charge against Ireland, but fail to take control of destiny

“I thought the final would be between two of Australia, India and England. The reason I say that was no one gave Australia a chance in the last [World Cup] over in the UAE in conditions that didn’t suit. But then, they’re [currently] in home conditions, and conditions that all of these guys have been brought up [in] and played a lot of cricket [in].”I thought that everything was just sort of aligning itself quite nicely for the Aussies to make it through. But even their form coming in wasn’t great either with the lead-up that they had, and they did play a lot of T20 games coming here. So there can’t be any excuse as far as preparation is concerned.”Australia are currently on the brink of elimination ahead of their last group match against Afghanistan in Adelaide. Unless one of New Zealand or England lose their final matches or Australia make up the large net run-rate difference with a thumping win over Afghanistan, then the hosts will miss the semi-finals just 12 months after winning the title for the first time.Australia had lost five of their last nine T20Is heading into the tournament, and were down and out too before rain in Canberra ruined their match against England. They also lost their only warm-up game against India in Brisbane after being in control of the chase, before getting hammered by New Zealand in the opening Super 12s match.It might end up being Australia’s only loss of the tournament, but it left their net run rate in tatters, and could well be the reason they miss out on the semi-finals. They have also dropped three catches in this tournament so far, looking back at which they will feel they were critical, particularly from an NRR perspective.Against New Zealand, Finn Allen was put down on 19, and went on to make 42 off 16 balls to rip the game away from Australia at the SCG. Ireland’s Lorcan Tucker was dropped on 35 at the Gabba. Had it been taken, it would have left Ireland at 89 for 7 and given Australia a chance to have a huge NRR boost if they could bowl Ireland out for under 110. Instead, Tucker went on to make 71 not out and pushed Ireland to 137.Thus, Ponting believes Australia have been off in their execution across all departments.”It’s there and then the moments in games that you just have to get right, and you have to nail in World Cups,” he said. “And looking back to the last one [T20 World Cup], Australia nailed all the big moments. They haven’t so far in this tournament, and that’s quite often the difference.”I think Australia have been just that little bit off in probably all departments, to be honest. They’ve been a little bit sloppy in the field. A lot of their bowling hasn’t been great, and their batters probably haven’t scored the runs that they should have either – particularly probably at the top of the order. If they don’t make it through, they obviously only have themselves to blame.”

Allrounder sets sights on England call-up after 54-ball ton

ECB Reporters Network09-Jul-2021Emma Lamb became the first batter to score a century in the Charlotte Edwards T20 Cup as Thunder defeated Sunrisers by 71 runs to register their second win in the new competition.Timing the ball well and frequently striking it with considerable power, Lamb reached her hundred off 54 balls and finished unbeaten on 111 off 61 balls having hit 11 fours and three sixes. Her hundred is only the fourth to have been scored in senior domestic women’s cricket.”I’m so happy,” Lamb said. “I haven’t scored a century for Thunder in T20, so that’s good obviously, but also scoring it at Emirates Old Trafford is amazing.”I don’t think it could have gone much better for me this season. There’s been a lot of hard work but some of it is up in your head and I’ve enjoyed working with the new coaches we have this season, Stephen Parry and Craig White. I’ve always got a little thought of England in my mind and I do want to play for England one day. I’ll just have to do well and see what happens.”Unsurprisingly Lamb’s innings was at the heart of her side’s total of 186 for 1 in 20 overs and that proved to be far too many for Sunrisers, who finished 115 all out in exactly 20 overs.Lamb put on 69 for the first wicket with Georgie Boyce before her opening partner departed for 36, caught at mid-off by Cordelia Griffith when driving Gayatri Gole. But that reverse only brought Ellie Threlkeld to the wicket with whom Lamb shared an unbroken stand of 117, Threlkeld finishing unbeaten on 26.Related

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The same bowler also had two catches dropped, including one off Lamb, who was put down by Kate Coppack at deep square leg when she had made 90. Gole finished the innings with 1 for 37 but the most impressive visiting bowler was Grace Scrivens who conceded just 22 runs from her four overs.Replying to what may have seemed a daunting target, the Sunrisers batters came out determined to play their shots but lost Naomi Dattani in the second over, brilliantly caught by Laura Marshall at deep square leg off Kate Cross, the Thunder skipper.Another fine catch, this time by wicketkeeper Threlkeld standing up to Laura Jackson, saw the end of Scrivens for seven and wickets fell steadily thereafter. Griffith made 34 and Amara Carr 25 but at no stage did Sunrisers look like overhauling Thunder’s total.Fine run-outs by Sophia Turner and Laura Marshall removed Griffith and Lissy McLeod as the visitors declined to 103 for 6 after 16 overs but inevitably, perhaps, Lamb could not be kept out of the action and the Thunder allrounder took three wickets and two catches in the latter stages of the game.She was even on a hat-trick in her final over but had to settle for figures of 3 for 16. Overseas player Piepa Cleary also bowled well, taking 2 for 20 as Thunder strolled home.