All posts by n8rngtd.top

He is also ‘sure’ the travel and recovery time ‘will be taken into consideration a lot more in the future’

Vishal Dikshit23-Jan-20204:01

Kohli: New Zealand will have slight home advantage

Merely five days after an ODI ended late on January 19 in Bengaluru, India will be playing a T20 international all the way across in New Zealand as part of a five-match series to kick-off a full tour that features 10 games across formats. And it’s the same set of players: With the T20 World Cup coming up this year, India did not rest anyone from the squad that played the ODIs against Australia and picked a full-strength squad from those available.India left for Zealand on January 20 to reach the next evening, giving them only three full days before the series opening in New Zealand on Friday. Virat Kohli is “sure” the travel time and the packed schedule “will be taken into consideration a lot more in the future”, while also accepting that that’s how international cricket is these days.”Well, it’s definitely getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium straight, that’s how compressed the gap has become,” Kohli said in Auckland a day before the T20I series. “But yeah, I think this kind of travel and coming to a place which is seven-and-a-half hours ahead of India time is always difficult to adjust to immediately. So I am sure these things will be taken into a consideration a lot more in the future … it is what it is, and you’ve got to do the best you can to recover and to get used to the timings and just get on the park again. That’s international cricket for you today. It’s back to back.”After the five T20Is, India will play three ODIs in New Zealand followed by two Tests to end the tour on March 4 in Christchurch. That’s not it, though, for the season. Just eight days later, India will host South Africa for the first of three ODIs, the second leg of a series that saw three Tests in October 2019. The last of those ODIS is on March 18 and the IPL is likely to start in the last week of March, leaving roughly 10 days’ gap for the players.India have been playing back-to-back series at home this season by hosting South Africa (two T20Is and three Tests), Bangladesh (three T20Is and two Tests), West Indies (three T20Is and three ODIs), Sri Lanka (three T20Is) and Australia (three ODIs). It’s not India’s busiest home season but, combined with injuries to a few key players, it has hardly left the players who feature in both limited-overs formats any time to rest or manage their workload. Kohli was pleased that the New Zealand tour was starting with the shortest format after playing ODIs at home recently.”It (T20Is) sort of helps because it’s less time on the park,” he said. “So from that point of view, I think we’ve had longer games, the last three that we played against Australia, we played a few T20s before that. But having played a lot more than what you do in a T20 game in the last three games, I think we will find it a bit easier to come here and, even though with less time, just to be at the park and just be at our best as a team. We are looking forward to that, starting the T20s, because this is the year of the World Cup, so every T20 is important.”Kohli acknowledged that New Zealand will be “very strong” in their backyard and India will hence have to be at their “best”. New Zealand, in turn, will also take confidence from the fact that they had beaten India 2-1 in the T20I series a year ago.”In their conditions, they have always been very, very strong,” Kohli said. “You know what they bring to the table when playing in New Zealand, so we are not going to take that for granted. They know their conditions well and they understand the angles of the field and how the pitches play, so I think they will have a slight home advantage. But having said that, we have played here a lot.Associated Press

“Not relating anything to the fact that Australia beat them and we beat Australia. It’s irrelevant, honestly. You have to play good cricket to win every series at the international level and (that’s) something we have done well as a side. For us, every series is a fresh start, and New Zealand in New Zealand is obviously a tougher challenge than playing them back home in India. We definitely have to be at your best.”The last time these two teams met was in the 50-over World Cup, semi-final when New Zealand had reduced India to 24 for 4 while defending 239, and even though India fought back with half-centuries from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, India lost by 18 runs. Was Kohli looking for revenge now?”Not really. Honestly, even if you think of revenge, these guys are so nice you can’t get into that,” he said. “We get along really well with all these guys. It’s all about just being competitive on the field and, as I said, that they are probably the one side that has set the right example for teams to play at the international level and how they should carry themselves. They obviously want to bring the best that they can every ball of the game, and they are intense in their body language. But they are not nasty, they are not doing things which are not acceptable on the field; they are very respectful of that fact and you can tell by the way they play.”They are a quality side and we have a lot of respect for them. And vice versa as well, I think, they have a lot of respect for us. We actually were happy for them when they qualified for the finals, because when you’ve lost, you’ve got to look at the larger picture, and it meant a lot to them as a side. So yeah, I don’t think this is about any kind of revenge at all, it’s just about two quality sides playing good cricket, it’s a challenge for us to beat New Zealand here and something we are totally up for.”

Ellie Anderson three-for trumps Kate Cross’ hard-fought fifty for hosts

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Sep-2025An impressive bowling display set Somerset up for an entertaining five-wicket DLS victory against high-flying Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford as they boosted their Metro Bank One-Day Cup semi-finals hopes.Sixth-placed Somerset restricted their second-placed hosts to 169 for nine from 44 overs and chased a revised 164 from the same allocation inside 35 for a bonus point.Ellie Anderson’s seam accounted for three wickets and Amanda-Jade Wellington’s leg-spin two before Niamh Holland and unbeaten Dani Gibson contributed 44 apiece to help secure a fifth win in 11 games. Wellington also added a steadying 25 not out to cap her impressive day.Inserted, Lancashire had been put under early pressure at 69 for seven inside 24 overs before England seamer Kate Cross’s composed 51 off 58 balls led a fightback which ultimately failed to prevent a fourth defeat in 11.Both sides maintained the group-table positions they held at the start of the day.This fixture was interrupted for just over an-hour-and-a-half by rain from 1.10pm onwards.The Red Rose made a disastrous start on an overcast and damp Manchester morning.Anderson – three for 44 from 10 overs – did the early damage with three of the first four wickets, including Ireland overseas batter Gaby Lewis superbly caught low down at cover by Holland for a debut eight.She also bowled Seren Smale and had Fi Morris caught at backward point following a sliced drive. The 21-year-old was bowling from the end named after her fellow Anderson, Sir James.Somerset let a few catches go begging, but none were too damaging.Australian Wellington’s spin then further tightened the screw.She had Ailsa Lister caught behind and a sweeping home captain Ellie Threlkeld caught at short fine-leg, finishing with an excellent two for 19 from 10 overs.But Cross and fellow England fast bowler Mahika Gaur calmly settled the ship with their side’s highest eighth-wicket partnership in List A cricket since the start of the professional era in 2020, including regional Thunder matches.Gaur contributed a determined career best 20, while Cross was more expansive. She was particularly strong against spin in hitting nine fours.It has been a bittersweet few weeks for Cross having been left out of England’s squad for the forthcoming World Cup before – on Sunday – winning the Hundred with the Northern Superchargers.Just after Gaur miscued the left-arm spin of Olivia Barnes to cover – 141 for eight in the 39th over – the rain came.Cross reached her fifty off 57 balls shortly after the resumption before heaving Mollie Robbins’ seam to deep midwicket. Robbins claimed the first and last wickets of the innings.Somerset made a stress-free start to their chase, with Holland and Bex Odgers sharing 64 inside 14 overs for the first wicket.The latter contributed 24 before falling lbw on the reverse sweep to the spin of Hannah Jones.And that was the start of a collapse which threatened their victory as the score slipped from 64 for none to 109 for five.Holland was caught behind off the seam of Danni Collins – 82 for two in the 19th over – before Fran Wilson and captain Sophie Luff both fell cheaply. Cross bowled the latter.But Gibson and Wellington steadied the ship and saw their side home by sharing 58 unbroken. Gibson hit four fours and a six in 36 balls.In the semi-finals race, Somerset are three points behind fourth-placed Surrey with three games remaining. Lancashire, meanwhile, are five points clear of Durham in fifth.

Veteran says he wants to go out on a winning note

Danyal Rasool15-Jun-2020Mohammad Hafeez, the second-longest serving Pakistan cricketer in the current setup, could yet extend his 17-year career. Hafeez’s original plan was to retire in November this year, after the T20 World Cup in Australia but he said – in a video conference – that he would continue to make himself available if the tournament was delayed due to Covid-19. Hafeez said he wanted to go out on a winning note.”I gave retiring from T20 cricket after the World Cup a lot of thought. Just like when I retired from Test cricket, I decided to retire on my own terms. It took into consideration my own goals, as well as the interests of Pakistan cricket. I want to retire from T20 cricket after playing a big tournament in which I perform well, and hopefully go out on a winning note. This is my plan, and if the World T20 is postponed to November or some later time, that doesn’t mean I won’t play it.”The length of Hafeez’s career has meant there have been several calls over the years for Pakistan to move on to younger prospects, but the allrounder continues to work himself back into the side. Hafeez has played all but one World T20 – the one Pakistan won in 2009. Should he play the upcoming one, he’d tie the Pakistan record for most World T20s played, equaling Shahid Afridi’s five.He retired from Test cricket in December 2018, but continued to make himself available in the shorter formats. He was called up for the three-match T20I home series against Bangladesh in January this year, the first time he featured in a T20I in over a year. Following that, he announced that the T20 World Cup would be his final tournament. Hafeez insisted whenever it was played, he would ensure he was physically up for the challenge.”I would like to play it, because I have never compromised on ensuring my skillset and my physical preparation. I will never be found lacking in the requirements necessary to play cricket for Pakistan. If the tournament is delayed, I’ll ensure my physical fitness is up to standard, so I can play in it when it does take place. If there are better options at international level, then of course they’ll play, and I’ll happily step aside. In that case I’ll turn my focus to international leagues, which I hope to play another couple of years,” he said.One of the higher-profile names calling for Hafeez to call it quits was Ramiz Raja, who said earlier this year Hafeez and fellow veteran Shoaib Malik should “retire gracefully”. This week, he doubled down on his comments, criticizing Misbah for including the pair in the squad for the England tour, calling Hafeez a “weak fielder” while saying his performance was “not the same anymore”. Hafeez, however, made it clear he wouldn’t be taking heed of those comments, and would make decisions about his career on his own terms.”Ramiz is a friend of mine,” he said. “Everyone has the right to express themselves. But I’m not going to quit cricket because someone asks me to, same as I never started playing at someone else’s behest. Playing for Pakistan is an honour for me. Even when I started in 2003, people thought Hafeez should not play cricket because I came from a very small town – Sargodha. I’ve spent the last 17 years justifying my selection, and I hope I’ll justify my selection again this time. All I’d like to say is – my career, my choice.”

A recap of the significant milestones in the competition’s five-year gestation

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-2021September 2016
It was almost five years ago that the seeds for the Hundred were sown – little did we know it at the time. Late in the 2016 summer, the first-class counties finally voted in favour of the ECB’s idea for a new city-based competition, initially conceived as a T20 vehicle. Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, said: “We’ve all been looking at how we can use domestic T20 for an even bigger purpose, especially getting more young people to play. This format was invented here and is successful worldwide. It can excite new fans, attract the best players and fuel the future of the game, on and off the pitch.”Related

• Sandeep Lamichhane asks ECB for 'clear answer' after visa issues scupper his Hundred plans

• Shiny, new, and a load of balls – your handy guide to the Hundred

• It's over for 'overs' as ECB outline the Hundred's playing conditions

• Cricket must 'learn to live with Covid, or we will lose players'

• Dobell: A Hundred reasons why the ECB has failed the game

October 2017
On a winter scouting trip to the Desert Springs resort in Spain, the ECB’s chief commercial director, Sanjay Patel, first put forward the idea of 100-ball cricket. Patel gave a presentation to Graves, ECB chief executive, Tom Harrison, and England director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, which pitched a shorter, simpler game than T20. “Don’t prejudge it,” he said, “just go away and have a think.” With a new broadcast deal banked, ensuring cricket’s return to BBC TV, the board was considering a radical move.April 2018
The 2018 season had barely begun when the ECB went public with its new plan. Instead of a T20 tournament, eight city-based sides would compete in a completely untested format – innings of 100 balls, broken down into 15 six-ball overs and a 10-ball finale. No, it was not an April fool. “This is a fresh and exciting idea which will appeal to a younger audience and attract new fans to the game,” Harrison said. Strauss later came in for criticism after suggesting a simplified game would be aimed at “mums and kids”.July 2018
With the ECB establishing a working group to fine tune the concept, now known as “The Hundred”, various ideas were put forward – including the abolition of the lbw law. Opposition from the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) led to the abandonment of the 10-ball final over; instead, a switch to five-ball overs bowled in blocks of ten won favour, the reduction in end changes helping to save time. The option to retain a bowler for 10 consecutive deliveries, if a captain chose to, was also mooted.September 2018
Pilots of the new format were held at Trent Bridge and Loughborough, allowing players to finally see what they were getting into. Various different tweaks to the rules were introduced across the trial days – ranging from substitute fielders, tactical timeouts, and Powerplays of differing lengths. The reception from those involved was broadly positive. “I think the emphasis on the ball is really interesting and really important,” Kevin Shine, the ECB’s lead bowling coach, said. “We’re not thinking of overs, we’re not thinking of an innings. It’s that old cliché: every ball is an event.”View inside the studio ahead of the Hundred draft•Getty Images

October 2019
Work continued behind the scenes during an Ashes and World Cup summer, with a planned launch in 2020. The eight team names – Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire – were confirmed, and Test players allocated. Later the same month, the first sporting draft held in the UK took place at Sky’s studios in west London; Rashid Khan was the first player picked, followed by Andre Russell and Aaron Finch, as the teams set about selecting 96 players from a starting list of 571.December 2019
Playing conditions were announced for the Hundred, including confirmation of a 25-ball Powerplay, one strategic timeout per innings, and the provision for a new batter to always be on strike, even if the two in the middle crossed before the dismissal was completed.April 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic threw the entire 2020 season into disarray. With the prospect of any cricket being pushed back, and the likelihood of it having to be played behind closed doors, the ECB quickly took the decision to postpone the Hundred entirely. Commitment to the idea had not wavered, however, with Harrison describing the case for the tournament as being “much greater than it was”.October 2020
With the player draft having taken place a year earlier, the ECB had to rethink how teams for the 2021 tournament would be put together. Initial plans had been to allow 10 players to be retained from year to year – but in the event, men’s teams were allowed to retain as many as they wanted, with a period for negotiating new deals ahead of a mini-draft in early 2021. Players in the women’s teams were all given the option to roll-over their contracts.February 2021
Fixtures for the competition are announced, headlined by the decision to begin with a standalone women’s fixture at The Oval. The second draft was held behind closed doors this time, with Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran among the overseas players picked up; while the advent of Brexit meant several of those expecting to be involved using their Kolpak status in 2020 missed out.England men’s Test captain Joe Root will play for Trent Rockets•Getty Images

April 2021
There was still time for new innovations to be floated, with a controversial suggestion that wickets could become ‘outs’, in order to make the game’s language more accessible. The idea was shelved soon after.June/July 2021
Amid uncertainty about travel restrictions due to Covid-19, and the requirements for players to quarantine, a number of overseas players started to withdraw from their deals. The women’s competition was particularly affected, with all 11 Australia internationals who had originally signed up eventually pulling out – including major drawcard Ellyse Perry. Wildcard selections, based on form in the T20 Blast, were also announced.July 2021
Despite concerns around rising Covid-19 infection rates, with requirements for self-isolating causing cancellations in the Blast and County Championship, Harrison says there will be no return to biosecure bubbles for the Hundred. Availability of England men’s Test players, initially planned for the first three matches, is reduced to two on the eve of the tournament. Playing conditions are finalised, with umpires to hold up a white card between sets of “five” (the term “over” will largely be dropped) from the same end; an amended version of Duckworth-Lewis-Stern will be used for rain-affected matches.After the longest of waits, the stage is set for the women of Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals to take the field on Wednesday evening at The Oval.

Surrey face Durham in semi-finals on Tuesday, a day after Glamorgan play Essex

David Hopps15-Aug-2021It would be tempting to call Tim David’s match-winning hundred against Gloucestershire contemptuous, such was its mastery, but that would only cast more aspersions on standards in a 50-over tournament which is racing stout-heartedly towards its climax like a diminished Speed Dating event with the nation’s sexiest stars commandeered for the inaugural season of the Hundred.Surrey’s five-wicket win in this play-off against Gloucestershire gives them a semi-final against Durham at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, 24 hours after Glamorgan face Essex. The final, at Trent Bridge, is a floodlit affair on Thursday and tickets for what was once the pinnacle of the season are only a tenner. Some Hundred players might theoretically be available, but whether they play in place of the young thrusters (some, not all, of them quite exciting prospects) who have kept the tournament alive is a different matter.David’s 102 encompassed 72 balls, with 11 fours and five sixes. He keeps things extremely simple: he sees things and deals with them. Vigorously. Maybe he should be in charge of the fixture list. He also figured in two run-outs, one of them his own, which fleetingly brought back memories of Surrey’s capitulation against Gloucestershire in the 2015 RL final, but in between he smote the ball to all parts to enable Surrey to surpass Gloucestershire’s modest 242 for 7 with five wickets and 44 balls to spare.He might also be the overseas player who the Hundred missed, a bear of a man shrewdly snapped up by Surrey for the Royal London Cup and the latter stages of the Blast. The Hundred deal never came for this Australian by way of Singapore, despite a big season for Hobart Hurricanes. He took a while to come to life, as if coming out of hibernation, but back-to-back hundreds at Kia Oval have left him with an average of 84.25 (outdone only by Durham’s Graham Clark among recognised batsmen) and a strike rate of 152.48 which is second to Dane Vilas among top run-getters. Anyway, it is as good as it gets although doubtless there may be a Batting Impact algorithm somewhere that suggests otherwise.David’s follow-up hundred was not quite as destructive as his remarkable 140 from 70 balls, with 11 sixes, against Warwickshire on Tuesday, but arguably it was no worse for that. His first wild shot probably came on 101 when he tried to put Matt Taylor onto the surface of Mars, but otherwise he just flayed balls that needed hitting. Gloucestershire’s bowlers have carried a weak top order all season, and that should be respected, but they asked him few questions.Jamie Smith was captaining Surrey at 21 in the continued injury absence of Hashim Amla, who fulfilled 12th man duties. Smith also made a controlled unbeaten 69 in a match-winning stand of 102 in 19 overs for the fourth wicket. The stand began after the run out of Ryan Patel, who pushed the ball straight to Chris Dent at short midwicket and was run out at the bowler’s end. It ended when Dent collected David’s push to short extra cover and attempted a lumbering return to his ground. Neither throw hit direct, but neither needed to.Gloucestershire’s total had owed almost everything an unbroken 105-run partnership in 111 balls from the pit of 137 for 7 between George Scott and Tom Smith. Scott, a former Middlesex all-rounder, produced a List A best while Smith’s unbeaten 51 not out was his second List A fifty.Smith swept particularly strongly against the spinners while Scott produced the stroke of the innings, a pick up six off Matt Dunn that sailed far over the mid wicket boundary, before also top-edging a high full toss from the same bowler over the fine leg ropes. With umpire Ian Blackwell rightly signalling for the no ball, that shot earned Gloucestershire eight runs.A slowly turning pitch disguised Surrey’s mediocre seam resources which could cost them dear in the climax to the competition. Dan Moriarty’s left-arm slows curbed the rate and Cameron Steel’s leg spin, although expensive, deserved better than his 1 for 55: he turned his googly substantially and his 33 county wickets in 61 matches smacks of under-utilised potential, even allowing for the standard of the competition.It was hard to find a wicket in Gloucestershire’s first seven that did not fall to batsman error. James Bracey, whose season began with England recognition, chipped back one of two wickets for David’s offspin off a horrible leading edge; Graeme van Buuren, playing as an overseas player while he waits to see if he can stay in England post-Brexit, was the only other batsman to threaten until his checked drive against Moriarty saw him fall at short extra on 37.Surrey’s reply also involved a brief and somewhat sad appearance from Ollie Pope who recovered from a thigh injury while in the England fold but who was released from the Test squad to play for Surrey in a competition that it can safely be assumed did not exactly smack, in its current guise, of career development. One does not have to look hard this summer to find a young England batsman looking glum in anything other than T20 (or its inferior substitutes) and here was another example.Pope made a single from three balls, the third seeing him leg before to a straight one from Taylor, a left-arm quick coming around the wicket. There was a time when it would just be recorded that Pope played across a straight one, but now off stump guard is all the rage so to avoid being drawn into another tiresome generational clash it is safest to observe that he missed it and whatever his mildly disapproving look at the umpire, Ian Blackwell, replays suggested that it would probably have shaved leg stump. Disapproval should best be aimed elsewhere.

Windies batsman delighted to deliver a matchwinning hundred at last

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur11-Dec-2018Shai Hope, five runs short of his third ODI hundred but with his side in deep trouble at 185 for 6, told Keemo Paul to hang in there with him.Paul arrived at the crease with West Indies needing 71 runs in the last eleven overs. Hope had just lost the side’s other recognised batsman, Roston Chase, at the other end. Bangladesh’s bowlers had their tail up, but Hope, unsurprisingly, never gave up hope.There was reason to believe, too. Paul’s big-hitting 36 in the first ODI had helped West Indies avoid a really low score, and his reputation as a helpful tail-ender was enough for Hope to cling to. He delivered, despite two dropped catches in the deep leg-side field, with a crucial unbeaten 18 that ensured Hope didn’t have to worry too much even as he went after Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain in the 48th and 49th overs.”[The plan] was just to bat as deep as possible,” Hope said. “We know Keemo has very good batting ability. I had full confidence in him. We just tried to rotate as best as possible. We knew the wicket was a bit difficult to come in and strike from ball one, so he played a very crucial hand here to go over the line.”But the evening belonged to Hope, who was adjudged player of the match for an unbeaten 148 that contained 12 fours and three sixes. Despite spending most of the innings running hard for the 106 singles and 18 twos, it was his first and third six that had stirred West Indies to life.The first came in the ninth over when, after Chandrapaul Hemraj’s early dismissal, West Indies’ scoring rate was dipping, just like it had in all their previous matches on this tour when they had lost an early wicket.Hope drove Mustafizur over long-off, which helped his second-wicket stand with Darren Bravo to pick up the pace. By the time he had to find his third six, West Indies desperately needed some renewed impetus with 32 needed off the last three overs. With Rubel coming around the wicket, he took his front foot out of the way and slammed him straight into the sightscreens.Hope then struck Mustafizur for three fours in the penultimate over, bringing down one of the best death-over bowlers in world cricket.
Afterwards, he admitted it was a happy moment for him to score, at last, an ODI hundred in a match-winning effort for West Indies.”It must be above the other two, because we tied those games. I am just pleased to get over the line. It is great to score a hundred but there’s more joy if you can get over the line as a team.”I just believed regardless of what was happening. We are here to play cricket, compete and win. It is only a matter of time before we get over the line,” he said.Hope said that he grabbed the opportunity to bat the entire length of the innings, but had to adapt to Bangladesh’s spin threat as well as Mustafizur’s cutters towards the end of the innings.”It was about pacing the innings. I knew that someone had to bat deep. I got the opportunity to start at the top of the order. I had all 50 overs. We knew that they will throw spin at us in the first 10 overs of the game. We came with a different plan and it came off this time.”When the bowlers took some pace off, it was a lot more difficult to get bat on ball, especially against Fizz. His offcutters were quite difficult to get away in the crucial stage. The wicket wasn’t the best for strokeplay but it was much better than the last game.”

The adverse effect the pink ball and the dew have on Yasir Shah’s bowling and Pakistan’s iffy results in day-night Tests have led to the move

Osman Samiuddin09-Oct-2018Pakistan chose not to schedule a day-night Test this season because they felt it would hamper their side’s chances against Australia and New Zealand.This is the first season in three that the PCB, hitherto a keen proponent of the concept, has not staged a day-night Test in Dubai. Indifferent results in the two previous Tests prompted the team management to tell the board to opt against one this time round.Pakistan won the first Test against West Indies two years ago, but only after a massive scare in the second half of a game they had initially dominated. Their batsmen first collapsed under lights to Devendra Bishoo’s legspin, and then their bowlers struggled to defend 346 in the fourth innings. Last year they lost to Sri Lanka, when their batsmen failed to make over 262 in either innings.More than the batting, however, the team was concerned about the blunting of their main weapon Yasir Shah, through a combination of dew, the pink ball becoming soft quickly and the pitch not breaking up as much as expected.Though Yasir has taken 15 wickets in the two day-night Tests, they have come at a higher cost compared to wickets in daytime UAE Tests – 31.00 against 24.75. More critical is the rate at which they have come, a strike rate of 60.7 in the two day-night games as opposed to 51.5 in day Tests.The board is understood to have canvassed the team as both the PCB and Cricket Australia have pushed the concept of day-night Tests. But based on those on-field concerns, the PCB decided not to pursue the option.That goes against the grain of most missed chances to play day-night Tests. Generally it is the touring side that has turned down the opportunity to play – and mostly on the basis that they would be unfamiliar, and so uncomfortable, with the conditions. Sri Lanka turned Pakistan down once in 2013, while India and Bangladesh have also refused to play day-night Tests on away tours.It didn’t help that, unlike the rest of the world, a day-night Test makes little difference to attendances in the UAE. Neither the West Indies Test nor the one last year against Sri Lanka attracted a noticeably bigger crowd.As has become the norm for Pakistan’s UAE Tests, the ongoing Test has been played out in front of virtually empty stands, enlivened only in pockets by groups of schoolchildren. Free entry for the Tests hasn’t made a difference, though the fact that it is the case is because the PCB, for the first time since 2009, has negotiated a deal whereby it doesn’t pay a hosting fee for a Test. Usually the PCB would pay approximately USD 35,000 plus expenses per Test as a separate cost in the UAE, something it has avoided this season when they play five Tests there.The fact that the Test began on a Sunday – the start of the UAE working week – is unlikely to have adversely affected that aspect. Sunday starts for Tests are not unusual in any case: the West Indies Test in Sharjah in 2016-17, the England Test at the same venue the year before and the Test against New Zealand in 2014 in Abu Dhabi all began on Sundays. The compressed nature of this tour and season has played some part in this game beginning on Sunday.According to one board official, the PCB wanted to have a schedule whereby as many of the limited-overs games take place on weekends, though ultimately, of the three T20Is Australia play here, only one is on a weekend. And only two of the six limited-overs games New Zealand play here take place on a weekend.

Tim Paine confident over Steven Smith and Cameron Green is on course to make his debut

Daniel Brettig15-Dec-2020Australia are leaning towards the retention of Joe Burns and the promotion of Matthew Wade to open alongside him in place of the injured David Warner, while Cameron Green is all but assured of a Test debut in the traditional allrounder’s spot at No. 6 in the batting order.This much could be gleaned from the words of Australia’s captain Tim Paine on the morning of match eve, even if the team’s diktat is to keep the identity of the final XI “in-house” until the toss of the coin at Adelaide Oval on Thursday afternoon. There were indicators late on Wednesday that Paine had also pondered the option of promoting himself to open, though this move would shunt Green, very much a batting allrounder at this point of his career, down as low as No. 7 in the wicketkeeper’s usual spot.Paine placed a heavy emphasis on continuity in the side, a tick for Burns in the absence of Warner, and was hopeful that the interrupted preparation of Steven Smith, missing Tuesday’s main session with an apparent back complaint, would actually serve to freshen the No. 4 batsman’s mind ahead of his first Test match meeting with India since 2017.Related

• Shaun Marsh: 'Probably wasn't expecting' a phone call for Adelaide recall

• Does twilight really make a difference in day-night Tests?

• Cameron Green will make Test debut if fit

• How should India bowl to Steven Smith?

• Steven Smith absent for Australia net session after tweaking back

The team’s final training session featured plenty of batting time for Smith, Wade and Burns against a selection of throwdowns, net bowlers and the reserves Moises Henriques and Mitchell Swepson, as Australia’s frontline bowling attack took their usual match eve rest.”Dave won’t be there but we expect Steve to be there,” Paine said. “Steve’s had a stiff back a number of times before and you do when you bat at training as much as he does. But his preparation has been very good, he’s batted for the last week since we’ve been in Adelaide, so for him to have a day off might actually be a blessing in disguise yesterday.”But when we get our team out there tomorrow, we would love to have David there and he won’t be, but I don’t think our team will look too dissimilar to what it did at the end of last summer and we’ve had a really consistent team for a period of time and that certainly helps us perform well.”Wade, meanwhile, has never opened in first-class but he was endorsed by Ricky Ponting earlier in the week as the man who should partner Burns while Warner is unavailable. “He’s certainly an option to open the batting. No doubt about that. I think we’ve got a number of guys who are willing to open the batting. That says a lot about our group, not just Wadey,” Paine said. “But Wadey in particular, we saw against New Zealand last year with the short-ball stuff, he’s willing to put his body on the line for his team.”We know he’s as tough as nails and he’ll do a good job no matter where he bats. Obviously we have got a scenario where we could have a different opener and we’ve had a number of guys put their hand up to do it if that’s the best thing for the team. That’s a great thing for us as a side.”Smith this week and Warner when fit loom as the biggest differences to this series when lined up against India’s first ever victory in a Test bout in Australia in 2018-19. The hosts were, by Paine’s own admission, still trying to find themselves in the wake of the Newlands scandal back then, and have hardened into a much more settled, accomplished and confident unit in the intervening years.Cameron Green is closing in on a Test debut•Getty Images

“Having them back has clearly been a great thing for our team, certainly for me to have two very experienced players out there with me has helped, there’s no doubt about that,” Paine said. “Those guys are two of the best players in the world, they’ve played in lots of Test matches for Australia, lots of big matches, lots of big series, so their experience not only for me to lean on but for our whole group has been awesome, and the way they’ve been around our group for the last 12 months has been unbelievably good, so we’re very lucky to have them back.”In terms of my captaincy or performance in this team, it’s been okay. I’ve got a role to play in this group like everyone else does, as long as I keep doing that, then we’re all happy. My job is to wicketkeep, captain and try and score some handy runs and bat with the tail and that’s my role and I think I’ve been performing it pretty well.”As for Green, Paine has made no secret of his admiration for the 21-year-old, particularly after seeing him up close in Sheffield Shield matches and more recently for Australia A in their tour game against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval. Concussion protocols dictate that Green must pass his final series of tests on match morning to be right to play, but all indications are that he is, in parallel to a burgeoning cricket career, well ahead of the curve. Paine also hinted Green’s bowling restrictions could be lifted.”[He’s] super impressive, I’ve played against him and seen him score hundreds against Tasmania before,” Paine said. “To be out there with him and talking with him he’s really impressive for a guy his age, understands his game really well, really smart cricket brain for such a young guy and really calm and cool under pressure. From what I’ve seen of him playing against him and the last couple of weeks being around him he’s made for Test cricket and we can’t wait to see him get out there tomorrow and unleash him.”Once you’re selected in a Test match you’re good to go. Having said that we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs anyway with the attack we’ve got we see him as just a nice change up. He takes 12-14 overs an innings out of our key fast bowlers, which is great. In terms of being able to keep them fresh in a pink-ball Test for the night session and in terms of being able to keep them fresh for the whole series.”If Greeny can continue going the path he is I think having him in the side allows us to have Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood around the Australian Test team for even longer in terms of their careers. He’s going to be a huge asset for us in that sense, we’ll wait and see how many overs he’ll bowl. We’ll know when he does bowl he’ll make an impact. That’s what we’ve seen from him, that’s what we expect him to do again.”

Hardik Pandya moves to eighth in the allrounders’ list

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-2022South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen has achieved his career-best third position in the ICC ODI rankings after his match-winning 134 against England in the first ODI. Van der Dussen now has 796 rating points, with only Babar Azam (892) and Imam-ul-Haq (815) placed higher than him.Among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah has lost his top spot in ODI rankings to Trent Boult after sitting out of the final match against England with back spasms.Aiden Markram, who also contributed 77 in South Africa’s 62-run victory, jumped 15 places to be No. 61, while David Miller also moved up by one position to be 16th.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

Another batter who gained significantly in the rankings was Rishabh Pant, who scored an unbeaten 125 against England in the final ODI. The wicketkeeper-batter moved 25 slots to be placed 52nd. His team-mate Hardik Pandya, who hit a 55-ball 71 in the same match and picked up six wickets in the series, gained eight spots to occupy 42nd place in the batters’ list and 13 spots to move to eighth in the allrounders’ list. He also moved up 25 places to be 70th among bowlers.Bangladesh batters Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das climbed two spots each to be 17th and 30th, respectively, after Bangladesh’s 3-0 win over West Indies.On the bowling front, apart from Boult reclaiming his top place, his compatriot Matt Henry moved up by a place to be seventh, while Yuzvendra Chahal was up by four spots to be at 16th position. The legspinner ended with seven wickets in three ODIs against England.In the T20I rankings, Glenn Phillips of New Zealand gained five places to reach 30th position, having cracked an unbeaten 69 against Ireland in the first T20I at Belfast while his team-mate and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has climbed 25 slots to be at 40th following his 4 for 14.

This is Washington’s third straight injury-interrupted season in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2023Washington Sundar, the Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder, will play no further part in the ongoing IPL season due to a hamstring injury, the franchise confirmed on Thursday.Washington played seven matches for Sunrisers this season, scoring 60 runs from five innings and taking three wickets overall, with his team currently in ninth place on the table.This is Washington’s third straight injury-interrupted season in the IPL. In 2021, Washington was ruled out of the UAE leg of the tournament due to a finger injury, after he had picked up three wickets for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first half of the season.Washington’s luck wouldn’t get any better, as he was then forced to miss the ODI leg of India’s tour of South Africa in January 2022 after testing positive for Covid-19, while a hamstring injury kept him out of the three-match T20I series at home against West Indies.During IPL 2022, Washington, having been signed by Sunrisers, missed four games due to a split webbing in his bowling hand. Last August, Washington injured his left shoulder while fielding for Lancashire during a county stint, and subsequently was ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.