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Unsettled England face back-to-back challenge after losing captain to injury

Andrew Miller28-Jan-2022

Big Picture

Coming into this five-match series, Eoin Morgan had said that the “development of our game is more important than a series win” … and that caveat may be one that England are keen to cling onto as the climax of the campaign approaches.With a glut of Ashes campaigners already absent for this tour, England’s resources in Barbados have been further hit by illness and injury – the latest being a quadriceps niggle that has forced Morgan himself onto the sidelines. As for the action itself, the understudies on parade have frequently been put through their paces, most emphatically on Wednesday, when West Indies surged back into the series lead on the back of Rovman Powell’s 51-ball century.And so England go into this weekend’s back-to-back fixtures needing consecutive victories to swipe the spoils. As recently as November, you’d have backed them to do just that, after West Indies old guard were put out to pasture in a humiliating 55-all-out display at the T20 World Cup. But Powell’s pyrotechnics, coupled with Nicholas Pooran’s power at No. 3 and an enviable depth of hitters that came to the fore in West Indies’ one-run loss on Sunday, suggests that the mood of the hosts may have shifted a touch this past week.Nevertheless, as DJ Bravo noted in an exasperated tweet on Thursday, it’s never easy to rally round West Indies these days without a few political spanners impeding on the works. A curious row about Odean Smith’s “victimisation” has blown up since he was dropped to make way from Powell’s power-packed return, with Phil Simmons, the head coach, being forced to decry such talk as “foolishness” in his pre-match press conference before Ricky Skerritt, the board chairman, weighed in too.The off-field issues have detracted from a genuinely uplifting series of displays from West Indies – a team that lost an ODI series to Ireland only last week, but which has hit upon a potent balance of youth and experience for England’s visit. In particular, some canny bowling from the veterans Jason Holder and Kieron Pollard has offered a steady foil to a batting line-up that is still prone to over-reaching, but which looks better balanced than it had been at the World Cup.Related

• Resilient Powell serves up lethal T20 cocktail to leave England feeling punch-drunk

• Morgan ruled out of T20I series after sustaining quad injury

• Banton's best is bubbling back after struggles with lockdown lifestyle

• Simmons rubbishes 'victimisation' claims after Powell-Smith swap

As for England, they’ve had their moments in between the ignominies. Tom Banton and Phil Salt served up a pair of powerful fifties on Wednesday that fitted the imposing template that England’s absentee World Cup winners have crafted for the white-ball team since 2015, while the spin-twins Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid remain a pre-eminent force as the countdown continues to another T20 World Cup in Australia in barely 10 months’ time.But on the seam-bowling front, there’s obvious room for improvement, particularly at the death, where England’s recent stats make eye-watering reading. Reece Topley has been a notable exception to the theme – his lanky left-arm line and canny variations have confirmed the promise he showed when called up for the 2016 World T20 in India. But Chris Jordan and Saqib Mahmood, at opposite ends of the experience spectrum, have both endured some rough treatment in this series, as have Tymal Mills and the debutant George Garton.As Morgan admitted, it’s better for England’s development to be put under pressure in this build-up period than to experience such setbacks on the main stage in November. But as Moeen prepares to lead England out for these final two games, there are perhaps a few more unknown factors in his ranks that the management would have bargained for at the start of the tour.

Form guide

West Indies WLWLL (most recent first)
England LWLLL

In the spotlight

Consistency has been one of West Indies’ watchwords for this series, and so all eyes will be on Rovman Powell after his startling return to the fray on Wednesday. Expecting him to back up his 51-ball hundred with a similar performance this weekend might be a stretch, but given that West Indies’ top-order collapsed to 65 for 7 in the second match after a serene display in game one, how he resets after that effort could be a microcosm of the team’s mentality at large. Either way, he’s made a phenomenal mark as one of only three West Indies batters to record a men’s T20I century, alongside Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. It’s illustrious company, and after six years on the team’s periphery, it gives him a golden opportunity to cement that place as his own.It’s been a good problem for England to have down the years, but such has been their glut of explosive white-ball hitters, almost everyone in the line-up has been queuing up for a place in the top three. Phil Salt is a potential exception to that rule, after making his debut at No. 6 on Wednesday, and responding to the challenge with a fine innings of 57 from 24 balls. He prides himself on his ability to strike the ball hard from the get-go, and with Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow among the dead-certs missing this campaign, there’s a more obvious long-term vacancy in the middle-order. Morgan’s absence should guarantee he’ll get the next two games to make his mark, but Moeen has hinted he may get a chance higher up the order in the coming games – much as he did when debuting in the post-Covid ODI line-up last summer.

Team news

There are few reasons for West Indies to make wholesale changes to a line-up that performed so impressively in the third T20I, although one tweak may come at the top of the order, where Shai Hope’s haul of 26 runs from 40 balls shows room for improvement. He may make way for Kyle Mayers, which would also give West Indies a left-right opening alliance. Nicholas Pooran would take over as wicketkeeper in that case. The Odean Smith controversy probably means he’s further from a recall now than he might have been had that issue not become headline news, especially in light of Powell’s blistering reintroduction. But it’s feasible that he might also come in at the expense of Darren Bravo.West Indies (possible): 1 Shai Hope / Kyle Mayers, 2 Brandon King, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Romario Shepherd, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Sheldon CottrellThere were so many changes to England’s line-up for the third game that Moeen Ali, the stand-in captain, failed to remember them all – but then, seeing as one of them was the ever-overlooked Liam Dawson (now back on the sidelines after a solitary T20I appearance in four years), perhaps that’s understandable. In theory, there should be fewer changes this time around – assuming Liam Livingstone doesn’t suffer a recurrence of his acid reflux issue, he will be a lock in the middle-order, where Sam Billings may yet rejoin him if he’s got over his understandable jet-lag. Harry Brook, a late inclusion after Eoin Morgan’s quad strain, is the obvious man to make way. Assuming Reece Topley’s fitness holds up, he’s the first-choice quick on the team-sheet. Saqib Mahmood, taken out of the firing line on Wednesday, may be ripe for a return.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Tom Banton, 3 James Vince, 4 Moeen Ali (capt), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Sam Billings (wk), 7 Phil Salt, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Saqib Mahmood / Tymal Mills, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

There have been a variety of surfaces for this series so far – a bit of a flyer that caught England on the hop in game one, a lop-sided lay-out for Sunday’s second match which played havoc with the quick bowlers’ tactics in particular, then a surprise belter on Wednesday, which served up a total of 428 runs across 40 overs. Another short boundary to the Greenidge-Haynes Stand is in prospect for Saturday, which may once again influence the willingness to bat first.

Stats and trivia

• Kieron Powell needs 22 runs to reach 1500 in his T20I career. This will be his 97th match in the format.
• Nicholas Pooran needs 34 runs to pass 1000 T20I runs. He will be playing in his 53rd match.
• The 428 runs scored in the third match was the third-highest aggregate in a 20-over match involving West Indies. They took part in the highest-scoring T20I ever, a one-run win over India in Lauderhill in 2016, when 487 runs were scored.

Quotes

“If Odean wasn’t in the best team for the day, it is because we thought that Rovman was better suited for yesterday. All those who want to sit out there and preach about victimisation, I think they need to look within themselves.”
“Wednesday happened just before the toss, there were five changes and it just felt there was a lot going on. I didn’t feel like I had time to prepare and think about it too much, which sometimes can help. Hopefully going forward it’ll be a little bit easier and calmer.”

Hampshire have signed West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy as an overseas player for the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast.

George Dobell24-Mar-2016Hampshire have signed West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy as an overseas player for the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast.Sammy, captain of West Indies T20 side, will be available for around four weeks in June. His first match at the Ageas Bowl will be on June 2. He will depart for the Caribbean Premier League at the start of July.Hampshire have qualified for the last six T20 Finals Days and, having already recruited Shahid Afridi as an overseas player for T20, seem determined to do so once more.With the possibility remaining that the competition will split into two divisions – despite recent decision by the ECB Board that suggest the opposite – in the relatively near future, many of the larger clubs are investing heavily to ensure they qualify for the quarter-finals. If a split is made, the top division may well contain eight sides and be selected on the basis of the previous season’s results.Sammy is a vastly experienced T20 player. As well as captaining West Indies to the World T20 title in 2012, he has enjoyed spells in domestic leagues around the world, including four matches with Nottinghamshire in 2015. He recently played under the captaincy of Afridi in the Pakistan Super League.Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “We are very proud of our T20 record and hopefully Darren can contribute to another successful campaign. He’s an explosive player and an infectious character which was what we were looking for; it will be great having him around.”

Sarah Taylor is taking an indefinite break from cricket and may miss the summer series against Pakistan that gets underway on June 20

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2016
Sarah Taylor, the England wicketkeeper who is widely considered to be one of the most talented women’s players in the game, is taking an indefinite break from cricket and may miss the summer series against Pakistan that gets underway on June 20.According to the ECB, Taylor, 26, is “taking a break from cricket, having decided to take some personal time away from the game”.She has already missed the first three fixtures of Sussex’s domestic season, and the decision also puts in doubt her participation in the inaugural Kia Women’s Super League, which gets underway at the end of July.An ECB spokesperson told the website CRICKETher that they were continuing to monitor the situation and that the board would “support her, keep in touch and talk with her prior to selection for the Pakistan series and the start of the Kia Super League.”The news comes just days after Charlotte Edwards stood down from her ten-year role as England women’s captain, following pressure from the head coach, Mark Robinson, for a renewed emphasis on youth and fitness in a squad that has stagnated in recent years.The team disappointed at the World T20 in India in March, exiting at the semi-final stage following a limp defeat against Australia, and have not won a major global title since 2009.Taylor’s dismissal in that semi-final at Delhi was heavily criticised at the time, as she finished the tournament with 49 runs at 9.80 in five matches – well short of the standards that have made her one of the most talked-about female players in the game.Taylor’s decision also effectively rules her out of becoming the next England captain, a job that now seems likely to go to Heather Knight.Taylor took a four-month break from cricket in 2010, missing an Ashes tour in the process, but returned to the sport to become the leading wicketkeeper batsman in the world.

Ireland’s premier men’s domestic competition, the Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series, gets underway on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-2016Ireland’s premier men’s domestic competition, the Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series, gets underway on Monday, with Northern Knights hosting the defending champions, Leinster Lightning, at Stormont.The competition, now in its fourth year, involves three teams competing across all three formats, with the third of them, North-West Warriors, set to get their season underway against Leinster at Merrion on May 13.In light of Cricket Ireland’s newly launched strategic plan, which aims to build on a decade of achievement at international level to broaden the sport’s appeal domestically, this season’s Inter-Pros take on an added layer of significance.”The Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial series is the bridge between club and country and showcases the best of Irish cricket talent throughout the season,” said Dennis Cousins, the commercial director of Cricket Ireland.”Cricket Ireland are greatly appreciative of the support from Hanley Energy which enables us to make each series bigger, better and more competitive.”Leinster Lightning completed the clean sweep of three trophies in 2015, winning the Hanley Energy Championship, 50-over Cup & 20-over Trophy, but will face stiff competition from the Warriors and Knights across all three formats.Monday’s action at Stormont gets underway at 10.45am, and admission is free. The matches will be scored live on ESPNcricinfo.

While West Indies continued to struggle to get enough runs on the board in spin-friendly UAE conditions, Pakistan would be cheered that many of their younger players are at the forefront of their winning momentum

The Preview by Umar Farooq01-Oct-2016

Match facts

October 2, Sharjah
Start time 1500 local (1100 GMT)Babar Azam is part of a young brigade that has driven Pakistan’s recent success•Getty Images

Big picture

A change of formats has not brought a change in fortune for a faltering West Indies side. Having been blanked out in the T20I series, they lost the first ODI in Sharjah by 111 runs. While West Indies continued to struggle to get enough runs on the board in spin-friendly UAE conditions, Pakistan would be cheered that many of their younger players are at the forefront of the winning momentum they are starting to build.Among those young guns is 21-year-old top-order batsman Babar Azam, who stroked his maiden international century in the first ODI. Opener Sharjeel Khan and left-arm spinners Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz are other less experienced players who have shown signs that they may have bright careers ahead of them. For the time being, they are fueling Pakistan’s progress and West Indies’ demise in a tour that has so far been utterly one-sided.For West Indies, one of the main stumbling blocks has been their failure to put up competitive totals on tracks that are not conducive to their free-spirited, big-hitting game. As captain Jason Holder acknowledged, they need to rotate the strike better and show the application to build an innings.A win in the second ODI would seal the three-match series for Pakistan, but there is more riding on it than that. A 3-0 series victory for Pakistan would displace West Indies from the No. 8 position in the ODI rankings. As both teams eye direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup (for which they would need to be in the top eight on September 30, 2017) such encounters acquire added significance.

Form guide

Pakistan WWLLL (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LLWLL

In the spotlight

In the opening ODI, Pakistan captain Azhar Ali nicked the first ball of the match, and his first of the tour, to depart for a golden duck. Azhar, who averages 38.69 in 26 ODIs as captain, will be under mounting pressure to prove that he can juggle the responsibilities of captaincy and opening the batting. At issue is not just whether he can churn out enough runs, but whether he can do so at a strike rate in tune with the new brand of cricket that coach Mickey Arthur wants to inculcate in his charges. Given that Azhar had earlier declined the PCB’s request to relinquish the captaincy and focus on his batting, he would doubtless feel he has a point to prove.While Holder has spoken of the need for his batsmen to play spin better, he would also want more from his own lead spinner, Sunil Narine. After going wicketless in the T20I series, Narine returned figures of 1 for 58 in 10 overs in the first ODI. He was outbowled not only by team-mate Sulieman Benn but also by Pakistan’s far less experienced spinners. If it is unrealistic to expect West Indies’ batsmen to dramatically improve against spin overnight, then at least a better showing by Narine could narrow the gap between the sides.

Team news

Umar Akmal must be itching to break back into the ODI side, but Pakistan are unlikely to change their winning combination as they seek to build consistency and stability in their limited-overs set-up.Pakistan (possible): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Hasan AliIn West Indies’ continuing quest for top-order runs, they may consider replacing the scratchy Kraigg Brathwaite, who made his ODI debut in the first match, with Jonathan Carter or Evin Lewis. The rest of the XI is not expected to change much.West Indies (possible): 1 Evin Lewis/Jonathan Carter, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and conditions

Nearly 80 minutes were lost due to a floodlight failure during the first ODI. With Sharjah set to host the second match as well, it is hoped that those issues have been adequately tackled. The weather has been consistently hot and the pitch is likely to be similar in nature to that of the first match. Expect a flat, batting-friendly surface with assistance on offer for disciplined spin bowling. Given the afternoon heat, bowling first might be best avoided.

Stats and trivia

• Kieron Pollard is one match short of completing 100 ODI appearances for West Indies. He has played 99 matches, scoring 2256 at 25.93 and picking up 49 wickets at 38.63
• Four of Pakistan’s six biggest ODI wins against West Indies (in terms of runs) have come in Sharjah. Friday’s 111-run win was their fourth largest.
• Sharjeel Khan has a strike rate of 150 in ODIs in 2016, the best among batsmen who have scored 150-plus runs this year. He has scored 306 off 204 balls in seven innings.

Quotes

“I have had the experience of playing in Sharjah, and it worked well for me to score a maiden hundred. What I did was just to stay till the end and get as many runs as I could; the coach had asked me to play my natural game.”
“Spin has played a heavy part in our downfall. We need to find a way to tick over the scoreboard then maximise our boundary options. We need to buckle down better against spin.”

The development will allow players from England and Bangladesh to play in the IPL when it resumes in September

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2021The ECB and BCB have confirmed that England’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh has been rescheduled to March 2023. The tour, comprising both ODIs and T20Is, was originally slated to take place in September-October this year, ahead of the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman.Both the ECB and BCB put out statements to the effect on Tuesday morning, saying it was “mutually decided” to reschedule the series. “The tour is planned to take place in the first two weeks of March 2023, with three ODIs and three T20Is due to take place in Dhaka and Chattogram,” the statements said.Related

• England add South Africa and New Zealand tours to packed 2022-23 winter

• KKR captain Eoin Morgan confirms participation in second half of IPL

• Giles: No official request for England to accommodate IPL restart

• England tour of Bangladesh postponed indefinitely

• BCB wants Prince to stay on as batting consultant until T20 WC

While the BCB has said that the proposal to reschedule the games had come from the ECB, sources within the England board told ESPNcricinfo on Monday that it was being postponed on the BCB’s request, with Covid-19 protocols possibly playing a part in the decision. It may be relevant, however, that the decision will allow many of those involved to return to the IPL when it resumes in the UAE on September 19 . The IPL was postponed after 29 matches earlier this year following a spike in Covid-19 cases within many teams’ bio-bubbles.The ECB is set to allow their players to take part in the remainder of the tournament, having said that it will provide ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup, which will be staged in the same part of the world a few weeks later.The players not involved in the IPL, meanwhile, will get a chance to rest before England embark on a packed winter touring schedule that includes the T20 World Cup, which begins on October 17, and the Ashes in Australia. England are also scheduled to tour Pakistan for two T20Is on October 14 and 15 as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup. The PCB and ECB are currently confident this tour will go ahead.Ashley Giles had earlier said that England were not planning on making changes to their plans to accommodate the IPL•PA Images/Getty

The ECB has also indicated that it will complete England’s aborted limited-overs tour of South Africa at some stage.In May this year, Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, had stressed that England were not planning on making any changes to their plans to accommodate the IPL.The discussion then had been around rejigging the schedule of the upcoming home Test series against India, which is set to begin on Wednesday. The question was whether the dates for the Test series could change to enable a larger window for the IPL. The fifth day of the final Test of the series is September 14, with England originally having been scheduled to leave for Bangladesh less than a week after that. The IPL, meanwhile, will resume on September 19 and run until October 15.The England cricketers expected to link up with their IPL squads are Moeen Ali and Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings), Sam Billings, Tom Curran, and Chris Woakes (Delhi Capitals), Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders), Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan (Punjab Kings), Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), and Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy (Sunrisers Hyderabad). The Royals also had Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, and Liam Livingstone in their ranks to start with, but all of them were withdrawn for one reason or another during the first leg in April-May. Shakib Al Hasan (Knight Riders) and Mustafizur Rahman (Royals) are the only Bangladeshis in the IPL.As for Bangladesh, they will begin a five-match T20I series at home against Australia – the first bilateral T20I series between the two sides – today and are also expected to host New Zealand before the T20 World Cup.

Wicketkeeper-batsman will lead South Africa in T20Is in Pakistan without many first-choice players in the mix

Firdose Moonda09-Feb-2021Heinrich Klaasen will play competitive cricket for the first time after a two-month recovery from Covid-19, when he captains South Africa in the T20I series against Pakistan. Klaasen, who is leading the team in the absence of Quinton de Kock, tested positive for the virus on December 3, during South Africa’s white-ball series against England.At the time of the positive result, Klaasen was part of a bio-secure team environment and had played in the first two T20Is. He was withdrawn from the third T20I and required to isolate. And so began a long and solitary period of rehabilitation.Related

• Boucher: de Kock to be released from 'burden' of Test captaincy

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“The first 16 or 17 days I couldn’t really do much. I was very ill,” Klaasen, who did not require hospitalisation, said in Lahore on Tuesday, two days ahead of the first of three T20Is. “The problem came with the fact that I could not start exercising. Or I could start exercising again, but I could not run 20-30 metres, or do anything for two or three minutes without my heart rate going up too high.”As a result, Klaasen was unable to follow CSA’s return-to-play plan and had to proceed at a slower pace. “There are protocols that one has to follow to be able to rebuild your workload but I could not stick to that programme,” he explained. “It is a very simple programme where you exercise for 10-15 minutes a day and (do exercises) like walking 200 metres. It took me a long time to just get my heart rate under control so that I could exercise at least a little bit without getting past the phase where it is too dangerous.”The physical challenge was not the only hurdle Klaasen had to overcome. In an Instagram post he shared three weeks ago, Klaasen cautioned his followers to understand that Covid-19 “is real” and that “the mind takes you to deep and dark places in times like this”. He was unable to take any part in domestic cricket, including the four-day and one-day competitions, and the frustration of working his way back took its toll. “It was mentally very difficult to just have to sit at home for two months. I could do nothing. Later I had a weekend in the bush where I could get away from it all and get a fresh head before we had to come here.”At the end of January, Klaasen visited the Lions Sands Game Reserve in the Kruger National Park at the same time as the tropical storm Eloise struck. The game reserve was battered by heavy rainfall and high winds and parts of it were flooded and forced to close to visitors but Klaasen’s stay was unaffected. He even managed to get in his exercise while on the trip, determined to be ready for the Pakistan series. “For the last three weeks, I have been able to train really hard with Mandla (Mashimbyi, the Titans coach) at the Titans. I’m on course, I’m fit and I’m safe and I can play cricket again.”Of course, Klaasen cannot say for sure what he expects his form to be like after last playing a match in December, but he was confident from sessions in the nets that he has been striking the ball well. “It’s been a different kind of season for me. I’ve played four games which has been frustrating so it’s difficult to tell you what my form is like. We’ll see after these games,” he said. “I am hitting the ball really nicely at the Titans just to get some rhythm.”The squad for the T20Is is without the likes of de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen and Lungi Ngidi. All of them returned home with the Test side as part of South Africa’s plan to prepare for the three-Test series against Australia, which has now been indefinitely postponed – it was too late to change their plans and keep some of the Test squad in Pakistan. They have retained head coach Mark Boucher and assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, who have been joined by South Africa A coach Malibongwe Maketa and Dolphins franchise coach Imran Khan. Charl Langeveldt and Justin Ontong, the bowling and fielding coach respectively, have also gone home.While the T20I squad is quite clearly not made up entirely of first-choice players, Klaasen was bullish about their status and their intentions for the three-match series. “We are by no means a second-string T20 squad and we are looking to win,” he said. “South Africa has got loads of talent, which people sometimes don’t see because we only have six franchises.”That will change as of next summer, when domestic cricket in South Africa is revamped to a 15-team provincial structure.

Cheteshwar Pujara dipped into an imprint that has defined his standing as a Test batsman, and provided the critical nudge that advanced Saurashtra’s position in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Vadodara

Arun Venugopal in Vadodara14-Feb-2016
ScorecardCheteshwar Pujara hit 15 fours and a six in his unbeaten 116 to help Saurashtra nudge ahead•AFP

Cheteshwar Pujara dipped into an imprint that has defined his standing as a Test batsman, and provided the critical nudge that advanced Saurashtra’s position in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Vadodara, even if only slightly. Pujara’s unbeaten century, his 31st at the first-class level, that spanned over five hours and saw him rebuild, consolidate and drive the innings forward helped Saurashtra end Day 2 on 254 for 5, which amounted to a lead of 20.Pujara played central roles in two partnerships, the second of which was an unbroken 93-run alliance with Chirag Jani that helped Saurashtra set themselves up for a bigger lead. Pujara was also the recipient of some luck as he was dropped on 37 by wicketkeeper KB Arun Karthik off Krishna Das, after he got a thick inside edge.For Assam, the Das duo of Krishna and Arup produced long, tireless spells without any discernible drop in efficiency.It was Arup, the quicker of the two, who left the batsmen frazzled early on. Avi Barot, the slightly thick-set opener, counterpunched with some robust drives on the rise but his partner, Sagar Jogiyani, was clearly in trouble against Arup’s pace. The inevitable happened in the 13th over as a length delivery from Arup had Jogiyani moving gingerly, and his reticent poke was held by Gokul Sharma at first slip.Krishna, meanwhile, was testing the batsmen by bowling outside off stump to a 7-2 field with a straight-ish mid on to boot. He wasn’t averse to trying out different angles, which accounted for Barot, who was trapped lbw. This was followed by a relative lull in the proceedings as Pujara and Arpit Vasavada sought to establish order. At one stage, Krishna had bowled nearly 15 overs on the trot and conceded only 23 runs, but Pujara was willing to wait.It was Sheldon Jackson, though, who forced the pace as he drove the seamers for boundaries on either side. With Assam’s bowlers persisting with a shorter length, Pujara fancied the cut. But when they compensated for it by bowling straighter, Pujara brought his wristy flicks, propelled by a strong yet supple bottom hand, into play.As the day neared its end, he hiked his scoring rate, moving from 87 to 98 in one over. This time he brought out the whole range; the back cut, the flick and the on drive with a rapid, forceful downswing. Within no time his hundred was being cheered on by a small crowd.Assam, for their part, sought to extract the most out of their seam bowlers, their prime wicket-taking options, but in that ended up overworking them. It wasn’t until the 51st over that left-arm spinner J Syed Mohammad was employed, and he struck with his fifth ball as his quirky, round-arm finish accounted for Jackson, who was evidently thrown off rhythm.The batsman’s attempted drive off a wide delivery lobbed up to point. Similarly offspinner Swarupam Purkayastha was introduced only with a few overs left in the day. Arup later admitted that they could have bowled a lot fuller, especially with the older ball.Assam, however, had begun the morning with gusto as overnight batsman Amit Verma and Goswami galloped along to 41 runs in eight overs. At 234 for 7, they must have surely fancied at least 30 more runs, but it took Saurashtra and Jaydev Unadkat all of one over to snuff out Assam’s first innings.Goswami, who scored 22 off 34 balls, played one onto his stumps, and two balls later it was Krishna’s turn to walk back to the dressing room. Verma was the out the very next delivery two short of his hundred to give Unadkat his sixth wicket, his second five-for in as many matches.

Spending 179 and 159.2 overs on the field has led to them getting to a “breaking point”

Mohammad Isam01-May-2021The Bangladesh team reached a physical and mental “breaking point” on the third afternoon of the second Test in Pallekele, according to coach Russell Domingo. He was referring to the 179 and 159.2 overs they have been in the field over the two Tests against Sri Lanka with three rest days thrown in. Domingo however said that there were some soft dismissals as the visitors were bowled out for 251 – losing 7 for 37 – and ending the day behind by 259 runs.”The guys have spent so much time on the field in the last 4-5 days (over the two Tests),” Domingo said. “They are probably a little bit mentally fatigued after being in the field for 338 overs. It wears you down physically and mentally as a cricketer. It could be one of the reasons. Obviously, there were one or two soft dismissals.”All teams reach a breaking point. Our breaking point came this afternoon when we were batting. It has been a tough day for us. We have to try to be positive. There’s still a lot of cricket to be played. We have to make sure the guys are in a good frame of mind when we bowl tomorrow (Sunday).”Domingo also expects the less-experienced players in the line-up to make bigger contributions. And as part of that process, he wants to identify young players and back them. In return, he expects them to repay the faith to lessen the burden on the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim.”It is a batting unit that we need to support and identify roles for, and make sure get better,” he said. “There are six or seven batters who all need to contribute, and build partnerships. While Tamim has played really well, the focus shouldn’t be just on one particular player. We have some younger players who need to step up and put in big performances. We have to give them opportunities so that they can get to the levels of Tamim and Mushfiq in time to come.”The coach was also of the opinion that Iqbal should continue to bat aggressively upfront. The senior batter has scored four fifties in a row now, having shredded a slightly-conservative template.”In our particular line-up at the moment, we have four or five players who haven’t played ten Tests yet,” he observed. “There’s a lot of inexperience, so we need to encourage someone like Tamim to play positively, and take pressure off the younger players. Some of the younger players are not at east to express themselves, and play with that sort of intent.”Domingo also pointed towards Bangladesh’s previous Test series for inspiration, underlining how West Indies scaled their 395-run target in the fourth innings to win the Chattogram Test by three wickets.”We were part of an unbelievable Test match a few months ago, when West Indies chased down 387,” he said. “We know that we are way behind the game at the moment. We are under a lot of pressure. Sri Lanka are dominating at the moment. But if we can pick up early wickets, cause a little bit of jitters in the change room, you never know. Somebody comes out and plays a great innings. So we have to remain positive going into day four.”Did Bangladesh pick the best XI? Domingo certainly thinks so, despite the bowlers toiling away. “It is easy to say after three days of cricket that we picked the wrong team,” he said. “I don’t think we have (picked the wrong team). We have a balanced bowling attack, who we think can take 20 wickets. When we bowled on day one, there wasn’t much spin on offer. Obviously the wicket started to spin now, towards the end of day three. It was tricky for the batsmen.”

Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order – but he is glad to be back

Alan Gardner25-Aug-2016Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order – but he is glad to be back. Figures of 1 for 57 on his first ODI appearance in almost a year were not as arresting as the fact that his fastest delivery was clocked at 92.7mph, during a hostile opening spell in which he helped put Pakistan on the back foot in the first match of the series in Southampton.Following two operations on his left ankle, and ten months out of the England side, Wood has hurtled back into contention following a series of vibrant displays. A couple of his one-day squad-mates can attest to that, after a searing contribution to Durham’s NatWest Blast semi-final win over Yorkshire on Saturday, in which he gave Joe Root a torrid working-over – five balls, several hurried prods, one run – and yorked Jonny Bairstow on the way to career-best T20 figures of 4 for 25.Root, whose 61 helped England to a comfortable DLS victory on Wednesday, could barely lay a bat on Wood in their Finals Day encounter – a problem he has solved by giving it away to his tormentor. For Wood, it has been an immensely satisfying comeback after missing most of the winter and half of the English season recovering from his injured ankle.”I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months,” Wood said. “To come back with Durham so strongly is amazing. The coach there, Jon Lewis, and the way that the whole England medical team have looked after me, they deserve huge credit. Jon Lewis basically said to not worry about going for runs and to concentrate on taking wickets and that confidence and getting a few wickets and playing the role that I did at Durham gave me the confidence to come back to the England set-up fresh.”That was my best Twenty20 bowling performance for sure. I haven’t seen the paces but a couple of the Yorkshire lads said I bowled well and getting that recognition from international players is always nice. One of them in particular is a pretty good batsman so I was very happy that he was saying it was tough and I even just swapped a bat with him now so that must be some sort of recognition. I think it’s because I bowled so well at him, Joe obviously wasn’t so fond of that one so he’s given it to me.”The surgery has allowed Wood to play without discomfort in his ankle when bowling and he believes that will enable him to maintain his pace from spell to spell, in particular over back-to-back matches, an area where there were previously concerns about his durability.”I would say I’m consistently quicker,” he said. “I wouldn’t say quicker at my top speed, but I have not got the pain in the back of my ankle, which was causing me huge problems. People were saying I could not play back-to-back games, but it wasn’t that I couldn’t play back-to-back, [it was that] I couldn’t bowl at 90mph every day and I’m a totally different bowler bowling 90mph to when I am bowling 80mph. I need that pace and with no pain in the back of my ankle, I find that a lot easier on my body and that allows me to do that. Consistently it is a lot better for me.”While Wood at top speed ranks among the quickest bowlers currently playing the game, he is less concerned than some about raw pace – “the analyst gets quite worked up when I come in and he says ‘you’re bowling at 92′” – and recognises he is more likely to be judged for England on wickets and economy. As Wood’s first over, in which Sharjeel Khan picked up two boundaries, demonstrated, extra velocity can sometimes cut both ways. “I think the third ball, off Sharjeel’s bat, went about 98mph, so he was winning that one.”Mark Wood consistently topped 90mph on his ODI comeback for England•Getty Images

Not that Wood will be looking to dial it down in pursuit of something more metronomically reliable. Having returned midway through the season, he has dived headlong into competitive action and believes he could still bowl quicker yet.”I reckon I could, yeah. When you get that rhythm and match fitness back,” he said. “I’ve been rushed back through to get some game-time having missed the first half of the summer, and I’ve been desperate to play so I’ve not really had that time where I’ve been getting used to bowling and bowling again. I’ve only played two Championship games, and in one of those I only bowled 14 overs. So if I get that match fitness back up, hopefully I can bowl even quicker.”Wood formed part of a three-man pace attack at the Ageas Bowl, alongside Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett. With David Willey hopeful of returning to action after the hand injury he sustained on Finals Day, Chris Jordan and Jake Ball also in the squad, Steven Finn recuperating from a hamstring tear and James Anderson and Stuart Broad filling out the options for the Test side, England look like having a considerable seam battery to call upon.For now, Wood is focused on proving himself worthy of a place – England have still to see the best of him in ODIs, with six wickets from eight appearances at an average of 66.83 – but there is another layer of uncertainty due to his contractual situation at Durham. Should his central contract not be renewed by the ECB, there are doubts about whether Durham could afford to retain him, but reigniting his international career remains the quickest (in every sense) route to a resolution.”It’s complicated off the field at Durham, everyone knows there are issues there,” Wood said. “My situation is to focus solely on getting back in the England team first. I love the north-east, I’m a north-east lad.”Am I confident of a central contract? I wouldn’t say so, but I know that part of the reason that we give out central contracts is to look after fast bowlers and things like that. If I was to fall into that category that would be brilliant. Getting looked after by such a superb medical team that I talked about before, they’ve been superb with us. They’ve looked after me tremendously well, to be honest.”So I wouldn’t say I’m confident because I’ve not played for England for a long time, and throughout this year I probably haven’t deserved to get another one, so we’ll just have to wait and see. But in terms of Durham, I’m focusing on England at the moment and I’ll see what happens there come September.”