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Underdogs need to overcome internal issues if they are to carry the fight to an England team who are now hitting their stride

The Preview by Andrew Miller17-Jun-20193:50

Hussey: How Afghanistan play Archer and Wood will be key

Big picture

Now here’s a contest that England would once have feared. A surely-can’t-lose clash with an aggressive band of ball-striking badmashs, backed up by some of the best and most varied spin bowlers in the world game.Sides of a bygone England era might have taken a fatalistic approach to such a line-up, and found a way to be cowed by expectation. But not, you suspect, this current team. Even with the prospect of two major absentees from their first-choice batting line-up – Jason Roy has been ruled out with a hamstring tear and Eoin Morgan is still recovering from a back spasm – there’s little chance of any let-up from a side that seems now to be hitting its stride in the tournament, following that early stumble against Pakistan.Besides, there’s something about Afghanistan that just doesn’t feel right just now. Their rise through world cricket’s ranks has been a joy to behold, and the heart that they showed in winning the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe last year – despite losing each of their first three games – is proof that this group of battlers can never be entirely written off.But in four World Cup matches to date, they simply haven’t been at the races. Their campaign has been a litany of incremental controversies, from the sacking of the captain, Asghar Afghan, on the eve of the tournament, to the eviction of their opener Mohammad Shahzad for an injury that he claims did not exist, to the dropping against South Africa of their one in-form batsman, Najibullah Zadran. None of them constitutes a shocking scandal in its own right, but the net effect is destabilisation and demoralisation. Just when the players need to be trusted to strut the same stuff that has got them to the World Cup in the first place, they are finding themselves dragged down by in-fighting and incompetence.Afghanistan’s natural exuberance seems to have been drained in recent outings as well. Case in point, their dispiriting display against South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday. Faced with a team in every bit as much strife as their own, they traded a dogged start with the bat for a shambolic finish, losing their last nine wickets for 69 in 19 overs despite having given the impression – through the number of times they shouldered arms to South Africa’s seamers – that seeing out 50 overs was the most important aspect of their day’s work.England have encountered one team of this ilk in the tournament already, of course. Quite apart from sharing a border, Afghanistan and Pakistan share an ability to turn it on (or off) from one day to the next. If a batsman of the destructive qualities of Hazratullah Zazai can get stuck for any period of time, then a spinner of Rashid Khan’s world-beating quality could find himself with enough runs to do a number on another highly fancied side.But the odds do seem stacked against them on this occasion. England’s depth with bat and ball (even in the midst of their injury woes) is designed to mitigate against flurries of opposition aggression, and they will surely believe that this will be the victory that puts them on the brink of a place in the semi-finals. Afghanistan still have the potential to claim a major scalp before their own campaign ends, but it would be one of the greatest World Cup shocks of all time if this England team, at this moment in time, were the side to succumb.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLLLW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
England: WWLWW

in the spotlight

Is there something amiss with Adil Rashid – Morgan is adamant he’s fine (see below) – or does he simply need an extra injection of confidence to get his game back to the levels that England so desperately want? Despite talk of a shoulder injury that might have tempted the management to give him a break, he has played in every game of the campaign to date, with Moeen Ali the spinner to miss out in each of the last two games. Rashid’s returns have been poor without being appalling – two wickets at 101.50 and an economy of 6.15 – but crucially, he’s not been offering the all-round wicket threat that Morgan in particular so values as a captain. Perhaps a flurry of cheap scalps will help him to rip that googly with renewed intent. Assuming his shoulder doesn’t fall off in the process, of course.At this somewhat critical stage of their World Cup journey, it’s time for the experienced heads in the Afghanistan squad to take control – and few have more experience, and crucially, current form, than the wily allrounder Mohammad Nabi. With bat and ball, he’s been an example of what could still be possible for this team – his three-wicket over against Sri Lanka ought to have set up a shot at victory in Cardiff last week, and while his batting in the main event hasn’t yet caught fire, he was one of the few to take the fight to England in their warm-up at The Oval last month, with three big sixes in his 44.Hazratullah Zazai and Noor Ali Zadran run between the wickets•Getty Images

Team news

After his unexpected absence against South Africa, Najibullah seems sure to slot back into Afghanistan’s middle order … though who knows what the management is thinking at present. Asghar Afghan didn’t exactly justify his recall with a five-ball duck against South Africa, and may be the man to make way once again. The prospect of spin may bring Mujeeb Ur Rahman back into the reckoning.Afghanistan: (possible) 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Gulbadin Naib (capt), 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Hamid HassanRoy’s absence has been confirmed after his hamstring tear against West Indies – he will miss the Sri Lanka match as well, with James Vince set to slot straight in at the top of the order. Morgan’s fitness was also under a cloud after he suffered a back spasm, but he was moving freely in the nets on the eve of the game and may yet feature. Liam Plunkett missed training with a stomach complaint but is not thought to be a serious concern.England (possible) 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 James Vince, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Mark Wood.

Pitch and conditions

After the same strip served up 336 runs for India against Pakistan on Sunday, the straw colour of the surface augurs well for further big hitting, and the hint of footmarks augurs the return of two spinners to England’s attack. Judging by what he’d seen on Sunday, Morgan anticipated good carry for the quicks, allied to a bit of turn. The weather promises an overcast start and the potential for showers in the afternoon, and the eve of the game featured steady rain as well. Another bowl-first day would seem to be in prospect.

Strategy punt

• Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack offers another opportunity for England’s batsmen to reaffirm their new-found credentials as masters of white-ball slow bowling. From 2011 until the end of the 2015 World Cup, England averaged 30.2 against spin while facing Asian opponents in ODIs. Since then, that figure has rocketed to 54.4. Consequently, their win percentage against Asian teams has rocketed in the same period. From 40.8% between 2011 and 2015, that figure is now a much healthier 70.5%.
• One of Afghanistan’s established strategies in recent times has been to unleash the offspin of Mohammad Nabi against the left-handers in the opposition ranks. However, England’s senior left-handers – Morgan and Ben Stokes – have largely negated such tactics with their prowess against the ball turning away from them. Both Stokes and Morgan average above 60 against offspinners in ODIs since the 2015 World Cup, and have done so with a strike-rate over 90 against that bowling type.

Stats and trivia

• England won their only previous ODI encounter with Afghanistan, a rain-affected nine-wicket win in Sydney at the 2015 World Cup.
• With England having already been eliminated from the World Cup following their defeat against Bangladesh in Adelaide, that fixture marked the final ODI appearance of a number of England stalwarts – Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, James Tredwell and James Anderson.
• This contest provides a match-up between the two most prolific ODI bowlers since the 2015 World Cup … and they are both legspinners called Rashid. England’s Adil tops the charts with 131 from 87 games, but Afghanistan’s Khan (128 at 15.86) has an average that is almost half that of his counterpart.

Quotes

“Adil has probably been at his best in the last two games. He’s been unlucky. He’s had two dropped catches. I think that might have been the turning of how his figures look, but actually how it’s coming out of the hand is very impressive. The shoulder’s fine. Thank you.”
“Not only for us it’s difficult, every team is struggling here. But specifically for us, like we played the last four games, we face four different kind of conditions. But we are trying to learn from them, and we shall be in good form now.”

Gulbadin Naib, Afghanistan’s captain, on the challenge of playing in English conditions and weather.

They qualified on the virtue of finishing higher than Paarl Rocks on the points table

The Report by Liam Brickhill14-Dec-2018A summer downpour sent Jozi Stars into the final of the inaugural Mzansi Super League, heavy rain washing out the play-off eliminator against Paarl Rocks at the Wanderers.The weather was starting to close in even as the captains met in the middle for the toss half an hour before play, with Rocks captain Faf du Plessis calling correctly and opting to field. The players never left the dugout, however, with the covers coming out straight after the toss. When it was still raining heavily at 8.30pm, the game was officially called off.There was no reserve day, and according to the league’s playing conditions in the event of insufficient playing time being available to achieve a result, Stars went through to the final on the basis of their better final log position as they finished in second position with 29 points.They will meet Cape Town Blitz in the final on Sunday at Newlands, where the weather should be set fair. In the event of inclement weather in the final, there will be a reserve day, as well as two hours of additional playing time allocated on both the match day and the reserve day. An additional 20 minutes is permissible for a Super Over to take place which is inclusive of the 10 minutes changeover period after the match.

Mumbai Indians’ premier fast bowler Lasith Malinga joined the squad on Friday evening, but he is unlikely to be available for selection immediately

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Apr-2016Mumbai Indians’ premier fast bowler Lasith Malinga joined the squad on Friday evening, but he is unlikely to be available for selection immediately given the ongoing issues with his knee. The Sri Lankan pacer had missed Mumbai’s first two matches of this IPL due to fitness concerns.Two days before the IPL started, Mumbai coach Ricky Ponting had had said that Malinga was likely to arrive at this stage, but would sit out at least the first half of the tournament to recover from a knee injury. “I believe he will be joining us after the first couple of games to have his fitness assessed,” Ponting had said. “Right now it’s unlikely he will take part in the first half of the tournament anyway.”Malinga has been trying to recover from a bone bruise in his left knee since November. He was to captain Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, but played just the one match. He then decided to stand down as captain for the World T20, because of uncertainty over his fitness, and eventually did not play a game.In the absence of Malinga, the IPL’s overall highest wicket-taker, Mumbai had fielded New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee in their victory over Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this week. In the tournament opener, which they lost to Rising Pune Supergiants, Mumbai had opted to field an extra overseas batsman in Lendl Simmons, while Southee’s New Zealand team-mate Mitchell McCleneghan had shared the new ball with India seamer Jasprit Bumrah.

Mark Wood picked up a solitary wicket but his discipline and determination kept England in contention on a tough first day in Dubai

Andrew McGlashan in Dubai22-Oct-2015There was an almost apologetic look on Misbah-ul-Haq’s face when he won his second toss of the series. As if to say, ‘sorry, Alastair, but you know what’s coming’. And there certainly was a case of déjà vu.The close-of-play score – 282 for 4 – was remarkably similar to last week’s at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium when Pakistan finished on 286 for 4, and there was even a sense of having seen it all before in the way Misbah disdainfully raced to his hundred in the final over.There is an expectation that this surface will deteriorate more rapidly than Abu Dhabi, which offered virtually nothing until the penultimate session of the match, so having first use was seen as a major coup, especially with Yasir Shah back in Pakistan’s ranks. Yet, despite Misbah’s hundred, England reached the close knowing they remain firmly in the contest after the bowling attack strained every sinew.An opening stand of 51 was countered by two pieces of sharp work at short leg from Jonny Bairstow. Then Shan Masood’s elegant fifty was snuffed out straight after lunch – both he and Mohammad Hafeez fell to that notorious helping hand, the break in play – and Younis Khan was extracted before his partnership with Misbah could swell to vast proportions. The final hour swung the day, but not the match.As on the first day in Abu Dhabi, there was a stark contrast between pace and spin: the four quicks compiled 57-16-138-3 and the two spinners 33-4-142-1. The value of having six frontline bowlers was again on display from Alastair Cook. He did not have to over-expose Adil Rashid or over-burden any of his quicks.The heaviest workload of the day went to Moeen Ali with 20 overs. He was introduced in just the eighth over and was also the man to feel the force of Misbah in the last, while the tireless James Anderson was the hardest-worked of the quicks, with 16 overs stretched across four spells. However, it was the effort of Mark Wood that was most notable – with a worthy nod to Ben Stokes who was still recovering from the effects of a stomach bug – even though his wicket tally remains limited.”It’s three or four overs as a bowler and then you are off and then the next guy has to back that up,” Wood said. “It’s no good, say, Jimmy putting in a great three overs and I come on and let the pressure off. I think that’s why we all look out for each other and are quite a close unit. You sort of have that badge of honour in these conditions, you know you’ve put a hard shift in and done it for the team.Mark Wood grabbed the key wicket of Younis Khan in a fine spell after tea•Getty Images

“I think the pitch is a little more skiddy than [Abu Dhabi], this comes onto the bat a little bit better. As a seam group I think we did our job, we set traps and tried different things. They attacked the spinners but I don’t think they bowled badly.”In Wood’s case, how his body reacts to back-to-back Tests is always the focus of attention. Against New Zealand, at Headingley, he laboured after his debut the week before; against Australia at Lord’s he struggled after impressing in Cardiff – and those matches were not in 35-degree heat. In Abu Dhabi he sent down 29 overs in the match, comparable to the other quicks but not a huge workload.Still, the strain needs to be carefully monitored; if he plays all three Tests in this series that will be above expectation. Wood does not hide his concerns, he has been happy to talk about them in the past, conceding surgery made be needed on his ankle eventually. Still, as a player deemed worthy of selection Wood can’t then expect special protection. Besides, it’s not in his nature to hold anything back.Each spell was full of hostility. In his first burst he attempted to unsettle Masood, who had not played the short ball at all well during his brief pair of innings in Abu Dhabi; then in his second spell, Wood twice stuck Misbah on the shoulder and the back of the helmet as the Pakistan captain turned his head away from short deliveries.What must go through the mind of a fast bowler, on these pitches, when the captain asks for a spell of bouncers? There was, however, a modicum of extra carry compared to last week and Wood threw his all into trying to make the most of it.”I tried to make more aggressive use of the short ball,” Wood said. “With my height, in these conditions, it tends not to go over them very much, it’s always at them, so I can use that to my advantage. But they played it pretty well, I know I hit Misbah a couple of times but he’s still out there and has a hundred so I’ll have to try again tomorrow.”After tea Wood produced an outstanding spell of 4-2-3-1; between him and Moeen the first 17 balls of the final session were dots, the 18th brought the wicket of Younis who was set solid on 56. A leg-side catch it may have been, but it is worth noting the build-up in the over – the third ball, a short delivery, made Younis flinch out of the line and the next he was beaten playing a flat-footed drive. Younis, a batsman enjoying the prime of his career late on, had been unsettled on a flat pitch.Next over, Wood gave Asad Shafiq a testing time, zipping one past the outside edge and then creating a nick which landed short of gully. In the fourth over of his spell he pummelled Misbah’s gloves with a rising delivery and nipped another past the outside edge. On another day, Wood could easily have had more reward. But although both batsmen survived, he had left nothing in the shed, or should that be the stable. Wood’s own horse may be imaginary, but England’s most certainly has not bolted.

Boyd Rankin did well to conquer the nerves inherent in playing against his native country and return England’s best bowling figures on debut for eight years, according to his coach, Ashley Giles

Andrew McGlashan04-Sep-2013
When Boyd Rankin’s second ball of his England one-day debut – against an Ireland side who he had represented 37 times at the same level – disappeared so far down the leg side that Jos Buttler couldn’t gather it there was a fear the occasion may get the better of him. That he ended with a career-best 4 for 46 provided Rankin with a major tick in Ashley Giles’ coach’s notebook at the beginning of a period where the depth of England’s next generation will be assessed.Rankin, who has spent much of his county career under Giles at Warwickshire, overcame his early waywardness in Malahide with the scalps of Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce, then later in the innings he removed William Porterfield and Jonny Mooney to earn him the best figures of a bowler on England debut since Chris Tremlett’s 4 for 32 against Bangladesh in 2005.He formed a tall opening attack with Steven Finn which is likely to be the combination used for most of the series against Australia with England having rested James Anderson and Stuart Broad alongside the injury-enforced absence of Tim Bresnan. His chances of breaking into England’s Ashes party for the Test series in Australia this winter are already being talked up.Giles told ESPNcricinfo that the nerves had been evident. “All credit to him. He was probably more nervous yesterday than if he’d been playing against Australia,” he said, “with him going home and all the talk around the Irish players playing for England. His first couple of overs were a bit nervous but he settled very quickly. To finish with four: what a great debut. He’ll take that confidence into the next match.”Boyd Rankin dismisses William Porterfield on his way to the best debut figures by an England bowler for eight years•Getty Images

Rankin and Finn were the only two frontline quicks selected against Ireland – Jamie Overton and Chris Jordan were overlooked – and for large chunks of the bowling performance England did feel a specialist bowler light, especially when Eoin Morgan turned to Michael Carberry’s basic offspin. Giles, however, was impressed by the role of Ben Stokes who bowled for the first time in ODIs, ending with none for 51 in his 10 overs.”Ben was our third seamer and his bowling has really developed over the last 12 months, and I thought he bowled pretty well yesterday. We have an inexperienced attack for these one-dayers and it’s going to be a steep learning curve. In terms of the balance it was great to look down and see Stokes at No. 8, and at one point it looked as though we might need it. I think we are lucky in his case as he’s a genuine allrounder and can fill two spots.”Giles was alluding to England’s top order collapse as they slipped to 48 for 4 chasing 270 before being rescued by a world-record fifth wicket stand 220 between Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara. Although Giles would have preferred not to see the team in such a tricky position he believes they could yet feel the benefit of it further down the line.”It was a very useful exercise. Obviously there are areas we can work on. Ireland setting us a challenging target was, in hindsight, good for the side because it put them under pressure. It was a bit closer than we’d have liked to be at one stage but overall for us to firstly see some of those guys in an international environment, and then for Morgan and Bopara to get us home was extremely worthwhile.”The side that faced Ireland resembled more a Lions team that a full England one-day side and although three players – Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root and Jonathan Trott – return to face Australia the bowling will retain a callow feel for the five-match series.Giles has not been able to able to pick a full strength team during his time as one-day coach (Pietersen was injured for the Champions Trophy) but acknowledges the need for rotation and also sees the benefit of judging different players under the pressure of one-day cricket.”Myself and Andy Flower, in our conversations, have always accepted that this would have to happen to manage the player workloads. We want to keep their services for the long-term. In the Champions Trophy we had our No 1 side out, barring Kevin Pietersen and that’s our aim: to have our best sides available for the key tournaments.”Between times we are going to have to rest and rotate. It does give us a chance to look at some of the young talent coming through, particularly with an eye on 2015 World Cup. We could say our best team – the one that played the Champions Trophy plus Kevin Pietersen – could get us to the World Cup. It might be, but it might not be and some of youngsters might be needed.”And he insists the split coaching roles which have been in place since January are dovetailing effectively. “It’s going pretty smoothly. Myself and Andy have a good relationship. I feel, and I hope Andy feels the same, that we can talk about where we are and what we want. I’m looking at the one-day squad then have to take into account what Andy wants for the Test team. We certainly haven’t had any fallings out.”As part of NatWest’s “Big Cricket Ticket Giveaway” cricket fans still have the chance to win tickets to the remaining NatWest Series matches this summer. Follow @NatWest_Cricket on Twitter for your chance to win.

Bangladesh will get more matches to fine-tune their World Twenty20 preparations after it was announced that they will play two Twenty20s in Netherlands next month

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2012Bangladesh will get more matches to fine-tune their World Twenty20 preparations after it was announced that they will play two Twenty20s in Netherlands next month. One match will be against the home side, and the other against Scotland during a five-day stay in Netherlands following their tour of Ireland. The matches will be played at Voorburg Cricket Club near The Hague, on 24 and 25 July.There has been no international cricket in Netherlands since a couple of ODIs against Kenya last September, and no Test-playing nation has played there since Sri Lanka visited in 2006. “We are delighted to have secured the opportunity to host a Full Member country on home soil as it has been some time since this last happened,” Cricket Netherlands CEO Richard Cox said.Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim also welcomed the extra matches. “The Twenty20 game is a great leveller and our matches against Netherlands and Scotland should be very interesting,” he said. “Netherlands have beaten England in a World Twenty20 game and Scotland have some fine players.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between West Indies and Australia in Dominica

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale22-Apr-2012

Match facts

April 23-27, Windsor Park
Start time 1000 (1400 GMT)

Big Picture

Darren Sammy’s contributed this whole tour, but can he deliver a match-winning performance in Dominica?•AFP

Australia have retained the Frank Worrell Trophy but a drizzly draw is far from enough to satisfy Michael Clarke. He wants his first West Indies tour as captain to end in victory, and the Australians have that chance over the next five days in Dominica. The second-least populous nation that makes up the West Indies cricket team (after St Kitts and Nevis), Dominica is an unfamiliar venue for the Australia players, none of whom have played at Windsor Park before.Not that it’s that familiar to some of the West Indians either: the veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul has played only one first-class game there. West Indies do have a Dominican player in their side, the spinner Shane Shillingford, and he should play a key role having been preferred to Devendra Bishoo, who has been released from the squad.West Indies might have lost the chance to regain the trophy but they can take encouragement from the Test in Trinidad, where they looked like making a real go of their chase of 215 on the final day until the weather intervened. They also dominated the first three days of the series in Barbados, so while Australia will enter the match as favourites, a 1-1 series draw is far from out of the question.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
West Indies DLDLL
Australia DWWWW

In the spotlight

Darren Sammy has made contributions throughout the Test series – in fact, throughout Australia’s entire tour – but this would be the perfect time for him to play a match-winning role. In Barbados, he removed Australia’s openers and made a handy 41 himself in the first innings and in Trinidad he showed a willingness to promote himself up the order when the situation demanded it. If he can combine a fast-paced innings of substance with a few wickets, he will be one step closer to ending his first Frank Worrell Trophy series as captain on a high.Australia’s Test-only players have a six-month break after this match and as one of the few in that category, Ed Cowan would feel much better over the winter if he was coming off a big Test innings. Cowan has now walked out to bat ten times for Australia and has two half-centuries to show for it, but no hundreds. His contributions in this series – 14, 34, 28 and 20 – have not been failures but nor have they cemented his place in the side. The same could be said of his partner David Warner on this trip, but Warner already has two Test centuries to his name. At some stage, Cowan will need to take that next step as well.

Team news

Fidel Edwards finished the Trinidad Test with what the captain Sammy described as “a slight niggle” and he could be replaced by Ravi Rampaul. Bishoo has been released from the squad, so there is no chance of West Indies picking two spinners. The Guyana batsman Assad Fudadin has joined the squad but is unlikely to find a place in the starting line-up.West Indies (possible) : 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Carlton Baugh (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Shane Shillingford, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Ravi Rampaul.Injuries have forced Peter Siddle and James Pattinson to head home, which will mean a return for Ryan Harris after he was rested following his Man-of-the-Match performance in the first Test in Barbados. Michael Beer bowled well in Trinidad but is expected only to hold his position if the Windsor Park pitch looks especially spin-friendly. It appears more likely that the left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc will come in for his fourth Test.Australia (possible): 1 Ed Cowan, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ryan Harris, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Pitch and conditions

Windsor Park is still in its international infancy. In its first Test, between West Indies and India last year, only a third of the wickets fell to spin. In the two four-day matches played at the venue during the domestic competition that has just finished, no team managed 300 in an innings. The forecast suggests there could be showers throughout the Test.

Stats and trivia

• Shivnarine Chanderpaul needs 82 runs to reach 10,000 in Tests
• Should West Indies win, it will be the first time since 1999 a Test series between the two sides has not been won by Australia
• Kemar Roach’s ten-wicket haul in Trinidad was the first time a West Indies bowler had achieved the feat in a Test since Corey Collymore claimed 11 against Pakistan in Jamaica in 2005

Quotes

“I’m pretty sure all the boys will want to make this Test a good one for themselves personally and for the team because we’ve had a really good summer, we want to finish on a high before we get stuck into one-day cricket and the Twenty20 World Cup.”

“When Australia came here everybody didn’t give us a chance, but we’ve played a brand of cricket that we want to get used to. That said we’ve still got to get the victories and that’s what we’re looking for. To level a series against Australia would be another stepping stone for us.”
.

Tasmania had begun a pursuit of 318 for victory over Victoria after a fluctuating and tempestuous third day on which 14 wickets fell in the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2011
ScorecardGeorge Bailey was angered when an appeal against David Hussey was turned down•Getty Images

Tasmania had begun a pursuit of 318 for victory over Victoria after a fluctuating and tempestuous third day on which 14 wickets fell in the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart.Having bowled the Tigers out for 235 in the morning, the Bushrangers soon slid to 3 for 10 as Ben Hilfenhaus and Luke Butterworth made the new ball count.However David Hussey was reprieved in the 11th over of the innings when the umpires declined an appeal for caught behind from Hilfenhaus, judging a low edge had not carried to the wicketkeeper Brady Jones.Tasmania’s captain George Bailey remonstrated over the decision at some length, and the incident may have affected the hosts’ composure as Hussey and Matthew Wade added 150 critical runs, the Bushrangers’ gloveman completing a fine double following his first innings 108.Hussey’s eventual departure, lofting the part-time spin of Nick Kruger to long off, heralded another twist to the day, as the final seven wickets went down for 30 runs. Hilfenhaus claimed five wickets, his first such haul since 2008.The Tigers openers Ed Cowan and Steven Cazzulino reached 0 for 23 by the close, leaving Tasmania with some chance of claiming the outright points they require to build momentum after a poor start to the Shield campaign.

Peter Drinnen, the Netherlands coach, has warned his players not to read too much into their shock World Twenty20 victory against England

Nagraj Gollapudi in Nagpur20-Feb-2011Peter Drinnen, the Netherlands coach, has warned his players not to read too much into their shock World Twenty20 victory against England when they launch their World Cup campaign against the same opponents in Nagpur. Netherlands won that famous match at Lord’s off the last ball by four wickets and six members of the team are still part of the squad, but Drinnen has stressed to his players the difference between 20- and 50-over cricket.”The big thing is at times we can get ahead of ourselves,” Drinnen said “We lack the knowledge of batting in the 50-over cricket. We need to special attention to that.” Not that Drinnen wants the Dutch to forget their maiden triumph against a full member nation. He said they can take plenty of pointers from their victory at Lord’s.”Certainly half the squad were there on that evening and they are fully aware of what is possible on any given day. I know it was a shorter version but they are going to take quite a bit of confidence out of that victory into this. I have got no doubt their confidence will spread through the group and rub off all the players.”Netherlands have been preparing for the World Cup for three weeks including a preparatory camp in Dubai followed by three warm-up matches in Sri Lanka. They won the last n against Kenya having lost the first two to Canada and Sri Lanka respectively and Drinnen believes he has a balanced squad at his disposal.”We have got a good top order. Our bowling attack is not youthful in age and probably is and inexperienced attack,” he said. “The way they have progressed in the last six months is significant. The challenge is going to be great as the wickets are flat. Bowlers know they really have to be disciplined.”If Netherlands want to improve their World Cup record, where they have managed just two victories out of 14 matches spread across the three editions, much would depend on the performances of the senior players like Bas Zuiderent, Tim de Grooth, Peter Borren and Essex allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate. “If we put up a performance we know we are capable of, we know we can cause some problems,” Drinnen said.Drinnen also cleared up doubts over the availability of Borren, the captain, who had been sidelined in the warm-up matches and could not attend the opening ceremony after suffering from a side strain but today he had his first complete workout. “He is fit but still carrying side strain. He has trained very well, had a full hit out in the field and full hit out with the bat today. We are happy with his progress. I’m confident looking at how he has performed today and he will be fine for the match.”

Tuesday’s contest, a dress rehearsal for the final, despite the monotony of what began in January last year, will be one that India will welcome

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya21-Jun-2010

Match Facts

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)
Upul Tharanga will play his 100th ODI•Associated Press

The Big Picture

The neighbourly affection between India and Sri Lanka knows no bounds. What was meant to be a ceaseless flow of riveting action between the two teams was rudely interrupted by an inspired Zimbabwe, who deprived India of a place in the tri-series final in Harare. But India bounced back in the Asia Cup, upstaging Pakistan to seal another meeting with their favoured rivals and restore the trend. Tuesday’s contest, a dress rehearsal for the final, despite the monotony of what began in January last year, will be one that India will welcome. They are without Virender Sehwag, ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury, and will want to achieve some stability at the top of the order leading into the final.Sri Lanka have won their games with greater comfort, with their bowlers restraining Pakistan in the opening match and the batsmen, led by Tillakaratne Dilshan, dominating Bangladesh to prepare themselves well for the remaining two games. Both teams, however, have untested players and could try out their bench strength ahead of the final.

Form guide (most recent first)

India: WWLLW
Sri Lanka: WWWLW

Watch out for…

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli: Though relatively inexperienced, they have acquired a strong reputation in India’s middle order and their responsibility has grown in the absence of Sehwag at the top. Both batsmen have had a quiet Asia Cup, following impressive performances in Zimbabwe, and now have the match they need to shape up for the big game.Upul Tharanga: He has filled in admirably at the position vacated by Sanath Jayasuriya. Tharanga’s scores in his previous six innings read 40, 27, 69, 72, 11 and 54, complementing the belligerence of Dilshan with an assured solidity.

Team news

Dinesh Karthik is Sehwag’s replacement for the remainder of the tournament and is likely to open on Tuesday with Gautam Gambhir. India may be tempted to rest one of their seamers, possibly Ashish Nehra who has just recovered from back spasms. They have Ashok Dinda in the reserves as well as the spinner R Ashwin. Saurabh Tiwary is a candidate for the middle order, but the rest will be keen to spend some time in the middle ahead of the final.India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Dinesh Karthik, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh/R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra/ Ashok Dinda.If Sri Lanka choose to try out their bench strength, they may consider resting Lasith Malinga and play allrounder Farveez Maharoof. Another possible change is the inclusion of Suraj Randiv for Muttiah Muralitharan, who may be given a break ahead of the final.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera/ Thilina Kandamby, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Chanaka Welegedera.

Stats and trivia

• India and Sri Lanka are meeting for the 18th time since the start of 2009 in an ODI.
• The game is the 2999th ODI. The 3000th will be held on the same day, between England and Australia. Incidentally the same two teams played the very first ODI in 1971.
• Upul Tharanga is set to play his 100th ODI
  

  Quotes

  “This is an important game for us. We don’t take any game lightly. Obviously, if we win the match, we can go to the final with a better frame of mind.”
  values the momentum India stand to gain if they win on Tuesday.