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Jonathan Trott has insisted England don’t hold any ‘grudges’ against Pakistan despite the home side’s impressive form being overshadowed by the spot-fixing allegations

Andrew McGlashan in Leeds11-Sep-2010Jonathan Trott has insisted England don’t hold any ‘grudges’ against Pakistan despite the home side’s impressive form being overshadowed by the spot-fixing allegations which have dominated the last two weeks and will linger until long after the tour has finished.Since the controversy erupted England have completed a 3-1 Test series victory, won the two Twenty20 internationals and taken a 1-0 lead in the one-day series, but still the talk is dominated by the fall-out after the investigation which led to Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir being questioned by police and suspended by the ICC.The three players arrived back in Pakistan last night – slipping quickly out of the back door of Lahore airport – but that doesn’t mean the issue has left the current series with Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick, set to be interviewed next week by police in London and Kamran Akmal under the scanner for previous series.As England defended their total at Chester-le-Street, Trott was involved in an ugly exchange with Kamran which required intervention from umpire Billy Doctrove, but Trott said it had nothing to do with the off-field issues and that England never use the controversy as a subject for sledging.”It was just a few things that go on on the field. That’s it really,” he said. “I said a few words, and he was saying a few – and the umpires got in the middle of it, and made a mountain out of a molehill really.”Whatever is going on in the background is none of our business. We don’t talk about it really, on the field. We don’t have any grudges, or anything. We just play cricket. The last thing you want is to be dragged down on the field. It’s important we project a good image and play within the rules, hard but fair.””As far as the England team are concerned, we go about our job – in another four very important games,” he added. “I myself feel as though, whatever happened in the Test series, I’ve moved on and am looking forward to this one-day series.”Whatever has happened is a closed case for us. All our jobs are just to play against 11 guys on the field against us. I don’t think we can take off-the-field stuff on to it.”Shahid Afridi was in the dark over what words were exchanged, but said that he enjoyed playing an aggressive brand of cricket so long as certain lines weren’t crossed by the players. “I’m afraid I don’t know what went on. But I think it’s part of the game playing good, aggressive cricket. I always enjoy cricket like this, it’s good. But in a positive way, not using bad words.”Trott really doesn’t have to resort to verbals on the field because his run-scoring is speaking for itself at the moment, but he could be forgiven for feeling a little bitter as his prolific form remains something of an afterthought. He has had a memorable summer which, in normal circumstances, with an Ashes tour looming, would be the major topic of conversation.His outstanding 184 at Lord’s was completed just a few hours before the initial spot-fixing story erupted and was quickly consigned to footnotes rather than backpage leads and he continued his form with 69 in the opening ODI at Chester-le-Street. Trott began the season with
226 against Bangladesh at Lord’s then, having been recalled for the one-day series against the same team, hit 94 at Bristol and 110 at Edgbaston before his Man-of-the-Series display against Pakistan where he notched 404 runs in a bowler-dominated contest.His one-day chance has come largely through Kevin Pietersen’s absence both from the Bangladesh series and the current one against Pakistan. The No. 3 spot is Pietersen’s home in the one-day game, but Trott is making a strong case to fill that crucial berth. Pietersen’s one-day form had been poor long before he was dropped and although it’s impossible to believe England could have a successful World Cup without him, Trott’s success means he won’t just waltz straight back in without pressure.”There are quality players out of the side,” Trott said, who is also up against Warwickshire team-mate Ian Bell for a long-term place in the one-day unit. “I have the opportunity to bat at three at the moment, and it’s up to me to do the best I can. The last few knocks haven’t been the worst. I’m pretty happy personally with how things have gone in the last few games. But I’m always looking to improve on areas I can work on.”The guys know competition for places is really good, and in a good way. It’s not people looking over their shoulders, but they know to play for this England team you have to be at the top of your game.”

Bell-Drummond, Leaning and Finch all contribute as Hosts reach 398 for 4

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Zak Crawley’s century led Kent to 398 for 4 on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship fixture with Nottinghamshire at Canterbury.Crawley cashed in after being dropped when he was on two, making 158 from 153 balls and hitting three sixes before he was caught and bowled by Calvin Harrison, who was Notts’ most potent bowler, claiming 2 for 104.Daniel Bell-Drummond was Kent’s next highest corer with 60 while Jack Leaning and Harry Finch were unbeaten on 54 and 42 respectively at stumps.Kent were barely recognisable from the side that lost by 321 runs at Trent Bridge in July. Of the seven changes, Crawley was back from England duty and there were debuts for spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Aron Nijjar, signed on-loan from Essex.The major talking point, however, was the ongoing absence of club captain Sam Billings.Billings had taken a break from red-ball cricket earlier in the season and although he was included in the squad, Leaning remained captain and Finch retained the gloves.Nottinghamshire handed a debut to Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando, just 24 hours after he’d arrived in the UK and on a day when the temperature in Canterbury was 30 degrees, the same as in his native Katuneriya.It looked like a vital toss to win and after choosing to bat Kent’s openers put on 95 in a partnership of almost diametrically opposed styles.Crawley played like he was still in Ashes mode, riding his luck at times on a surface that wasn’t as dead as it initially appeared. He was put down by Dane Paterson at point in just the second over and responded by cracking Brett Hutton for four consecutive fours in the third.He punched his way past 50 when he straight-drove Paterson for four while Ben Compton, after one expansive early effort, Geoffrey Boycotted his way to 18 before he was bowled trying to reverse sweep Calvin Harrison, four minutes before lunch.Crawley brought up his century off 100 balls when he nudged Lyndon James to point for a single and reached 150 when he pulled Fernando for one through fine leg before Harrison somehow clung onto a violent drive to remove him.Bell-Drummond was out to the very next delivery when he tried to hook Fernando and went to an acrobatic grab by keeper Tom Moores, but Tawanda Muyeye pulled the final ball of the afternoon session for six to leave the hosts on 260 for 3 at tea.Muyeye and Leaning put on 59 for the next wicket, before the former went for 35. Having edged Steven Mullaney for four he ran out of luck when he nicked the next ball to Harrison at slip, but Finch joined Leaning to earn Kent a third batting point and the skipper brought up his half-century when he flicked Mullaney to third man for four in the penultimate over.

Earlier, an impressive show from Sunrisers’ pace pack kept Knight Riders to a gettable total

Sreshth Shah15-Apr-20222:44

What’s gone wrong for Varun Chakravarthy?

An enterprising 71 from Rahul Tripathi and an unbeaten 68 from Aiden Markram helped Sunrisers Hyderabad complete a hat-trick of wins in IPL 2022, this time beating Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium. They subsequently join five other teams in jostling for the second position on the points table.Playing against his former side, Tripathi walked in when opener Abhishek Sharma was out for 3. He counterattacked while Kane Williamson struggled in the powerplay, and then took on Varun Chakravarthy in his opening spell. Tripathi smacked four fours and six sixes all around the field while Markram hammered six fours and four sixes. Markram began his partnership as the accumulator while Tripathi went berserk, but as the partnership grew, both batters began to attack.Markram took the lead after Tripathi’s dismissal following their 94-run third-wicket stand and finished the game with 2.1 overs to spare by smacking Pat Cummins for 4, 6, 6. Such was his dominance after Tripathi’s wicket that Nicholas Pooran could score only five runs in a 43-run stand with Markram.Earlier, Knight Riders did well to recover from 31 for 3 to finish on 175 for 8. It was Nitish Rana (54 off 36) and Andre Russell (49 not out off 25) who dragged Knight Riders out from a spot of bother. But even though Knight Riders had the momentum at the break, the Tripathi-Markram stand broke their back for a second straight loss.Natarajan-led seamers trouble Knight Riders
Knight Riders made three changes to their XI, handing debuts to Aaron Finch and Aman Khan and bringing back Sheldon Jackson. That meant there was no place for Ajinkya Rahane in the side. But Finch’s stay was not a long one – he got an inside edge to the wicketkeeper off Marco Jansen in the second over.T Natarajan, coming on as first change, then took two wickets in the fifth over to snag two left-hand batters. Venkatesh Iyer (bowled) was Natarajan’s first scalp, followed by No. 4 Sunil Narine, who sliced a slower full toss to cover two balls later.With Knight Riders at 31 for 3, Williamson’s decision of bowling first at the toss seemed vindicated. In the tenth over, Umran Malik bowled a 148.8kph yorker to bamboozle Shreyas Iyer on 28 and leave his poles flattened on the ground.Rana-Russell put up a fight
With scores of 10, 0, 8 and 30 in his last four innings, it was time for Rana to step up with his team in trouble. Although he wasn’t timing it perfectly, he was finding the gaps. He struck 54 off just 36 balls even though his control percentage, according to ESPNcricinfo’s data, was a poor 72%. He was helped by Sunrisers bowling just two bouncers at him, despite him producing 42 false shots off the 100 bouncers he has faced overall at the IPL.It was Natarajan once again who dismissed him in the 18th over, but with Russell still in the middle, Sunrisers could not afford to breathe easy. Spinner J Suchith, playing in place of the injured Washington Sundar, was handed the ball for the 20th over, and Russell punished him for 6, 6, 4 off the last three balls to set Sunrisers a target of 176.Rahul Tripathi brought up his half-century in just 21 balls•PTI

Sunrisers’ openers fail
Both Abhishek Sharma and Williamson were in top form entering the game, but Cummins and Russell sent them back cheaply, leaving Sunrisers at 39 for 2 inside the powerplay.Even though Umesh Yadav did not get a wicket in his opening over, Cummins enjoyed the reward of Umesh’s tight bowling as Abhishek tried to take the Australian on in his first over. Coming around the stumps, Cummins bowled a length ball that angled in, and Abhishek dragged it back onto his stumps.Williamson was scratchy through the powerplay. If it wasn’t for Tripathi’s 12 in his first six balls, Sunrisers’ run rate would have been under six when Williamson was dismissed by Russell. The Sunrisers captain dragged a pull from outside off onto his stumps for a 16-ball 17. But then came the counterattack.Tripathi, Markram turn Sunrisers’ fortunes
It was Kuldeep Yadav who had taken it out on his former team when Knight Riders played Delhi Capitals and, on Friday, it was Tripathi who plundered them. Tripathi – who Knight Riders lost out on following a fierce three-team bidding war at the auction – began his innings by dispatching Umesh and Cummins for fours, but it was his pulled six off Russell in the sixth over that broke really the shackles.Tripathi then hit debutant Aman for six and four, and tonked Varun for two sixes and a four in the spinners’ first over, which went for 18.Against Varun, in particular, Tripathi used his big stride to get to the pitch of the ball and then used his bottom hand to go over the infield. By the time Varun finished his second over – the tenth of the chase – Tripathi was raising his bat for a 21-ball fifty.Markram was slow off the blocks, but he could afford that with Tripathi’s free-flowing strokes from the other end. He too was brutal on Varun, clubbing him for six and four in a 14-run second over, and then took out Umesh with a hat-trick of fours in his return spell.Tripathi was in a hurry to finish the game as the duo approached a century stand, but he fell trying to hit Russell for back-to-back sixes in the 14th over. Out to long-on for a 37-ball 71, Tripathi’s dismissal gave Knight Riders a sniff with Sunrisers still needing 43 to win with 34 balls to spare.But Markram wasn’t going to let it get close. He dispatched Varun for another six and four (Varun would finish the evening with an economy rate of 15) to bring the required run rate under six with 24 balls to go. After reaching his fifty in 31 balls, he sealed the win in the 18th over.

Nadine de Klerk took a three-for as Mithali Raj’s 9 and Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s 3 for 13 in vain

Shashank Kishore17-Mar-2021It wasn’t straightforward, it wasn’t pretty, but it is one of those wins that would give South Africa immense satisfaction. On a turning track, where a modest 188, made largely thanks to Mithali Raj’s battling 79 and Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s magnificent 3 for 13, the visitors dug deep to carve out a five-wicket win to take the series 4-1.The victory was set up by Mignon du Preez and Anneke Bosch, who hit half-centuries in a 96-run fourth-wicket stand. It was crucial coming at the time it did, because the visitors had been reduced to 27 for 3 in the 11th over, with the ball jumping off the rough created at one end by left-arm seamer Monica Patel. South Africa have now won 10 of their last 11 ODIs, winning back-to-back series against New Zealand, Pakistan and now India.But they would’ve been nervy at the start. Opening the bowling, Gayakwad defeated Laura Woolvaardt with sharp turn as substitute fielder Jemimah Rodrigues took a sharp catch at slip in the second over. In the fourth, Gayakwad beat Lara Goodall with sharp turn to trap her lbw. But after a three-over spell, Gayakwad was taken off the attack to give inexperienced Patel, playing in just her second game, a spell.Although India struck soon enough, in the 12th over, when D Hemalatha beat Sune Luus in the air and off the deck, they couldn’t sustain the pressure. In looking to attack, the inexperienced spinners conceded more runs than they would have ideally liked.In the absence of Poonam Yadav, the frontline spinner, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur, who earlier in the day injured her hip flexor to be ruled out of the game, the responsibility was on debutant C Prathyusha and Hemalatha to offer maximum support to strike bowler Gayakwad. It proved a task too steep as their inexperience showed.Wristspinner Pratyusha, who has a quick-arm action, struggled to land the ball at drivable lengths, which made it easy for du Preez and Bosch to pick her away both off the front and back foot. Bosch was particularly aggressive, looking to clear the infield by getting to the pitch time and again. du Preez, meanwhile, showed all her experience by using the pace to play cheeky paddles.Their industrious partnership meant the score kept ticking along, forcing Raj to keep going back to her two trump cards Goswami and Gayakwad from time-to-time Gayakwad had bowled out going into the last 10, with South Africa still needing 36. This helped Marizanne Kapp guide Nadine de Klerk through the tricky phase with the target within touching distance.Things may have yet been interesting had Goswami taken a catch to remove Kapp at long-off with South Africa still needing 32. South Africa would’ve been six down. It would’ve also come quickly on the back of the wickets of Bosch and du Preez, who fell in the space of 15 deliveries, to Gayakwad and Prathyusha respectively.The missed opportunity had a deflating effect; Pratyusha who should’ve had her second wicket finished with 1 for 60 off nine overs instead. With Patel unable to have any kind of stranglehold over the batters, Kapp calmly wiped off the remainder of the runs with 12 balls to spare, with India forced to rue their batting lapses.That they took the fight till the end was thanks to Mithali Raj’s rescue act after the rest of the batting stuttered yet again. The lone ranger who has carried the India middle order for much of her career, Raj hit her 55th ODI half-century after being put into bat by South Africa.The loss apart, India may also be staring at another major worry ahead of the T20Is, with Kaur, the designated captain for the shortest format, having to retire hurt after a hip-flexor injury. Pushed ahead of Raj to No. 4 on the day, Kaur had settled in to put together a half-century stand with her captain, before retiring out in the 31st over just as India looked to launch.It proved to be a huge setback, after they appeared to have overcome the early losses of Smriti Mandhana, Priya Punia and Punam Raut, India’s highest run-getter, with the scoreboard reading 53 for 3 in the 13th over.Hemalatha, in her first game after replacing Deepti struggled to wriggle out of a hole she dug herself into. Taking 12 balls to get off the mark, she survived an ugly hoick before nicking one to the wicketkeeper two balls later. Then the returning Sushma Verma, picked ahead of Taniya Bhatia, did little to prove her batting credentials, given out lbw to de Klerk.India’s slow middle order consolidation also allowed Sune Luus to get her fifth bowling options – de Klerk and Bosch – to dictate terms; their 16 overs went for just 61 runs for three wickets, all reward for de Klerk’s accurate medium pace.In the face of this meltdown, Raj, who took her time, like she does, focused on holding one end up even if strike-rotation proved difficult initially. And while debates continue over whether she should be accelerating a lot more upfront, India’s middle and lower order did her no favours by collapsing the way they did to give the team management plenty to think of in terms of their approach In the face of a changing game leading into next year’s 50-over World Cup.

An NZC review recommended the coaching and support staff reapply for their positions but Tiffen has decided to stand aside

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2019Haidee Tiffen has decided not to reapply for the head coach role of the New Zealand women’s team after opting to stand down from the recent tour of Australia following an NZC review into the team’s performance.Tiffen had said she was not in the right frame of mind to coach the team in the one-day series in Australia, after the review concluded that the support staff should reapply for their positions.She was, however, encouraged to seek a renewal of her contract by NZC, but she has decided it’s time to move on and may explore opportunities in other sports.”I believe in collaboration, hard work, respect, and team first, and I have enjoyed developing a learning environment where players are supported and encouraged to take responsibility to be better every day,” Tiffen said.David White, the NZC chief executive, said: “Haidee’s made a decision and we understand and respect that. She is a talented and committed coach who leaves NZC with her head held high, and knowing she has a healthy future in the game.”Women’s international cricket has been making some rapid gains of late and Haidee has worked tirelessly in what has been an increasingly competitive high-performance environment. We wish her well and thank her for the integrity and passion she has brought to the role.”The review into team performance was instigated after New Zealand failed to get out of the group stage of last year’s World T20. They then lost the one-day series against India at home but won the T20I series that followed before getting whitewashed 3-0 by Australia in the Rose Bowl series.The new coach will have the challenge of preparing the team for 2020 T20 World Cup, which will be staged in Australia next February and March.

Treating these Tests almost as tour games for the series in South Africa, India were in no danger of the apparent disrespect to Sri Lanka, biting them on the backside instead

The Report by Sidharth Monga24-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
3:56

Chopra: Sri Lanka batsmen lacked in skill sets and temperament

Treating these Tests almost as tour games for the series in South Africa, India were in no danger of the apparent disrespect to Sri Lanka, biting them on the backside instead. For the sixth straight Test between these two sides, Sri Lanka failed to reach 300, getting bowled out for 205 after winning the toss on a pretty good batting surface. Ishant Sharma, replacing the injured Mohammed Shami, presented his claim to the first XI in South Africa with disciplined bowling and three wickets while R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja reclaimed their turf with seven wickets after both went wicketless in Kolkata.At the toss, India made it clear that they were thinking as much about South Africa as they were about Sri Lanka. The pitch, as expected, had grass on it in an attempt to prepare the hosts for their next tour. Rohit Sharma replaced a bowler in the XI just because they want him to have some game time before South Africa, where he might well be needed as the sixth batsman.The biggest gain keeping South Africa in mind, though, might have come in the field. Since he dropped Alastair Cook in Kolkata in 2012-13 – Cook went on to score 190 from 17 when he was let off – Cheteshwar Pujara has only rarely stood at slip for India. That alone will not be the reason for his banishment from the slips, but Pujara has continued to field at slip for Saurashtra. Now fielding at first slip in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence, Pujara pulled off an excellent low catch to his left, almost diving forward, to send back opener Sadeera Samarawickrama to make it 20 for 1 in the fifth over.This was a significant catch for two reasons. India usually have about a 50% success rate at slips for quick bowlers, and given this was a tough catch, it was an odds-on favourite to go down. And slip catches for quicks will be crucial in a month’s time in South Africa. Given he stays fit enough, Pujara could be an option India need to seriously think about.In the context of this Test, too, it was an important catch. In attempting to create the hard bouncy surface, Nagpur had rolled out a pretty friendly surface to begin with. There wasn’t disconcerting sideways movement in it, and it began to assist spin only later in the day. Sri Lanka had won the toss, and they had got off to a comfortable start. Samarawickrama, though, played an ill-advised drive on the up to give Ishant an early wicket.That wicket taken, India turned the screws with tight lines and lengths. Circumspect batsmen played into their hands. Hardly any runs came in the first session, even singles involved risking a run-out, and eventually led to a big risk seven minutes before lunch to give an India spinner a wicket for the first time in this series. R Ashwin was the man who struck in the 25th over when Lahiru Thirimanne played a big sweep after scoring just nine runs off 57 balls in the best batting conditions of the match.BCCI

Like buses, one nearly brought two as Ravindra Jadeja had Dimuth Karunanaratne stumped in his first over, but it turned out he had overstepped. That capped off a session sprinkled with good fortune for Karunaratane. He was on 14 when a 26-ball spell of no runs produced a risky single where he just about beat Pujara’s direct hit. Pressure not yet released, Karunaratne looked to go over mid-on a couple of overs later, but this time the overhead chance burst through Pujara’s hands.Kanrunaratne’s fortune continued post lunch as he survived an extremely tight lbw call through umpire’s call. His former skipper Angelo Mathews wasn’t as fortunate. Having shown some intent against Ashwin, Mathews missed a straight ball from Jadeja because his bat clipped the pad on its downswing and got displaced from the line of the ball. This one too returned an umpire’s call but had been given on the field.Karunaratne and current captain Dinesh Chandimal then put together the most assured-looking batting spell of the day in a 62-run partnership. Chandimal had to take a couple of risks in the beginning – including a thick-edged six off Ashwin – but he settled in nicely. The tandem act of spinners was broken, and Umesh Yadav brought easier runs. Ashwin now began to bowl a defensive line to Chandimal, on off and middle, which was half a victory.Just then, though, Karunaratne ran out of luck, and copped what in traditional sense was a rough lbw. From over the wicket, Ishant pitched short of a length and hit him in front. Barring appreciable seam movement, this ball had to either pitch outside leg or miss the stumps if it pitched within. The review, though, showed that the ball pitched within and shaped back in late and just enough to be clipping the off stump. This umpire’s call finally went against Karunaratne.Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella then saw Sri Lanka through to tea with a purposeful 29-run stand but they had almost exhausted themselves in trying to maintain parity, that too just about. They might have held off wave after wave of India’s charge in the first two sessions but the dam broke in the hour after tea. The batsmen’s patience ran out and loose shots creeped in.Dickwella charged down recklessly to Jadeja, was beaten in the flight, and then saw the ball didn’t turn as expected to make it the worst possible outcome for him. Dasun Shanaka played for a big Ashwin offbreak, against the round-the-wicket angle and on the first day, which was recipe for the off stump to be flattened. Dilruwan Perera then fell to a non-turner from Jadeja; it had seemed only a matter of time.With the last three for company, Chandimal decided it was time for him to dominate the scoring. With India not providing him any free runs, Chandimal went for a big reverse slog, and was trapped lbw by Ashwin. Suranga Lakmal then swung around for a chancy 17 before Ishant came back to nick him off. Ashwin immediately wrapped things up with Rangana Herath’s wicket.There was some consolation for Sri Lanka in the wicket of KL Rahul, but they were now looking at the reunion of the old firm of M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have ground into dust the best of the lot at home.

Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton shared nine wickets between them to secure MCC a sizeable first-innings lead on the second day of their Champion County fixture against Middlesex in Abu Dhabi.
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ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2017
ScorecardLewis Gregory claimed five wickets in a hostile display•Getty Images

Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton reprised the form that helped to carry Somerset to the brink of their maiden Championship title last summer, as they shared nine wickets between them to secure MCC a sizeable first-innings lead on the second day of their Champion County fixture against Middlesex in Abu Dhabi.By the close of play, however, Middlesex had themselves fought back with the ball, reducing MCC to 145 for 7 – an overall lead of 298 – with Harry Podmore leading the line with three wickets.Middlesex had resumed their first innings on 9 for 1 in reply to MCC’s 332 all out, but struggled to make headway against a Somerset-dominated attack, for whom the spinner Jack Leach made the first breakthrough, when Tom Helm was bowled for 15.It was Gregory, however, who did the bulk of the early damage to Middlesex’s prospects, adding three quick wickets to his overnight scalp of Sam Robson to reduce the champions to 68 for 5.Middlesex’s fortunes were boosted by Dawid Malan, who top-scored with 56, and John Simpson, who made 49 in a sixth-wicket stand of 98. But Malan was trapped lbw by Overton, who then had James Franklin caught behind two balls later for a duck.Simpson fell in a similar fashion ten runs later, as Gregory completed his five-wicket haul, and the tail came meekly, with Overton accounting for Podmore and Ravi Patel in consecutive deliveries.With a significant lead of 153 in the bank, MCC were able to take the early losses of Alex Lees and Tom Alsop in their stride, as Podmore trapped both men lbw in the same over, but when Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke were removed in quick succession by James Harris, the score was a dicey 49 for 4.Podmore added his third when Ben Cox fell for 13, but Adam Lyth’s 42 carried the lead past 250, before Gregory and Overton reprised their bowling partnership with some enterprising hitting to ensure MCC finished the day back in command.

Runs from Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque and Liton Das in the two-day tour game will give Bangladesh some measure of confident before the first Test in Galle

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Mar-2017
ScorecardFile Photo – Tamim Iqbal struck seven sixes and nine fours in his 136-run knock•Getty Images

Bangladesh batsmen made a roaring start to their tour of Sri Lanka, as Tamim Iqbal reeled off a rapid hundred, with Mominul Haque and Liton Das also contributing with unbeaten half-centuries.The Sri Lanka Board President’s XI does not feature a particularly strong attack, given that the country’s second-string bowlers are currently engaged in the Sri Lanka A team. However, a score of 391 for 7 will, nonetheless, have the visiting batsmen approach the Galle Test with a measure of confidence.Tamim’s 136 off 182 balls (retired out) came after a few modest performances on tours of New Zealand and India, during which he scored only one half-century in six Test innings. Perhaps, it is because of this brief stretch of indifferent form that he was not retired out earlier. In any case, Tamim struck seven sixes and nine fours in his innings, and forged a 143-run second-wicket stand with Mominul, following it up by a 75-run partnership for the third wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim.Mominul’s 73 (retired out) also came at a brisk pace – off 103 balls – and featured 10 fours. Towards the end of the day, Liton struck an unbeaten 64-ball 57 in what was an important knock for the wicketkeeper-batsman, as he would be taking the gloves from Mushfiqur and, as such, will feature in the XI for the first Test.Meanwhile, Mahmudullah, who finds himself in competition with Sabbir Rahman for a lower-order position, may not have done enough with his 73-ball 43 to definitively win over the selectors’ favour.Chamika Karunaratne, the 20-year-old Tamil Union seam bowler, returned the best figures for the hosts, taking 3 for 61. If the Board President’s XI bat tomorrow, Dinesh Chandimal’s innings will be of particular interest in light of him having failed to cross fifty on the recent tour of South Africa.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test of the Investec Ashes at Lord’s

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale15-Jul-2015

Match facts

July 16-20, 2015
Start time 11am local (1000GMT)3:06

Ponting: Muted Australia need to be more flamboyant

Big Picture

Australia must wish the first Test had been played in New South Wales instead of old south Wales. Already Cardiff held few fond memories for Australia cricketers, from their one-day loss to Bangladesh there in 2005 to their 2009 failure to finish the job against England in an Ashes Test. After their defeat in the first Investec Ashes Test this year, their win-loss record in Cardiff across all formats reads much like the name of a Welsh village: LWLDLLL.No wonder they didn’t feel like sharing a beer with Alastair Cook and his men after the game. Of course, the post-match snub was merely froth and bubble (or not, apparently) compared with what happened on the field. There, Cook earned praise for his captaincy and was backed by a strong all-round effort from his players. They were calm, confident and patient. And, despite doubts over Moeen Ali’s fitness, they enter the second Test at Lord’s with a largely settled side.The same cannot be said of the Australians. Significant changes are expected, including the withdrawal of Brad Haddin for personal reasons. That will mean a Test debut for Peter Nevill, albeit not in the kind of circumstances anyone would wish for. There is also a likelihood that Shane Watson will be axed for Mitchell Marsh, a move that has been described as potentially career-ending for Watson. However, given Marsh’s history of injuries, it is not out of the question that Watson could find himself back in the side later in the series.England have fitness concerns over Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid•PA Photos

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWLW
Australia LWWDD

In the spotlight

Things went pretty well for England on the third day in Cardiff, and not only because they skittled Australia’s lower-order and set up the victory. It was also the day on which Ian Bell emerged from a batting slump. England will hope he gained some confidence from the 60 – his first half-century in ten Test innings – and Australia know how dangerous it can be to allow him to find form. Last time the teams met at Lord’s, Bell scored 109 and 74.Peter Nevill will become the 443rd man to represent Australia in Tests and will be keen to show the selectors he can handle the step up. A fine domestic batsman who scored 764 runs at 76.40 in the most recent Sheffield Shield summer, Nevill has overtaken Matthew Wade as Haddin’s backup and, at 29, he could have many years of Test cricket ahead of him if he eventually becomes the full-time successor.

Team news

England named an unchanged 13-man squad for the Lord’s Test and hope to keep the same XI from Cardiff but Moeen Ali is carrying a side strain that has limited his ability to practise. Adil Rashid has suffered a minor injury to his spinning finger, too, so England look set to bank on Moeen.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Adam Lyth, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Joe Root, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Moeen Ali/Adil Rashid, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James AndersonMarsh and Nevill appear set to replace Watson and Haddin, but a third change looks unlikely. Mitchell Starc battled an ankle injury during the Cardiff Test but has bowled well in the nets in the lead-up to the Lord’s Test and should retain his spot ahead of Peter Siddle.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

The Lord’s pitch should have more pace and carry than what was offered at Cardiff, where even on day one some deliveries were staying low. Rain has hampered preparations slightly but the forecast for the match is for fine weather and temperatures in the low 20C range.

Stats and trivia

• Nevill will become the first Australian to debut in a Lord’s Ashes Test since 1977, when Richie Robinson, Craig Serjeant and Len Pascoe all debuted together
• Mitchell Johnson needs 16 runs and seven wickets to join Shane Warne as the only Australians with the double of 2000 Test runs and 300 Test wickets
• The last Lord’s Ashes Test was just two years ago but only three Australians and five England players from that game appear likely to take part this time

Quotes

“When we win, the captain gets the plaudits; when we lose, the captain picks up the negative bits as well. That is part and parcel of the job.”
Alastair Cook is not getting complacent after a week of good reviews“Generally here at Lord’s the first session of the first day is a bit tough, it seams around a bit, but once you get in as a batter it can be beautiful to bat on.”

Bangladesh bowling coach Heath Streak said it was unlikely that his team would opt for three seamers for the first Test against India

Mohammad Isam in Fatullah07-Jun-2015The return of Rubel Hossain from injury, and the consistency of Mohammad Shahid have been welcomed by Bangladesh’s bowling coach Heath Streak ahead of the upcoming Test against India in Fatullah. However, Streak said it was unlikely that Bangladesh would opt for three seamers at a venue where pace-bowling has largely been ineffective.”We are unlikely to go with a three-seam attack in this wicket,” Streak told ESPNcricinfo. “We are probably looking at two but it is up to the coach and selectors, once they have a better look at the wicket as we get closer to the game.”Obviously it is nice to have Rubel back in the equation. Normally wickets here are quite tough for the fast bowlers so it requires a lot of patience. I thought Shahid bowled really well in the Pakistan series and showed what he can do. Rubel has been in good form prior to his injury.”Shahid for us is that dependability. He is the guy you rely on to bowl lots of overs like we saw in the Pakistan Test. He comes in, the captain sets a field and he bowls well to it. He asks the questions. He is not an easy guy for batsmen to get on top of. Hopefully he can be that anchor role for us, with the volume of overs with one or two of the spinners and let the other seamer have an attacking option.”Currently, Rubel has a Test bowling average of 75.90 – the worst among bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 3000 deliveries – and takes a wicket roughly every 116 balls. But his form in ODIs, since his four-wicket haul against England in the World Cup, has helped him keep his place in the Test side.Shahid showed that he can be relied on to take the workload in Tests. He bowled 60 overs in his first two Tests, which included 41 in the second Test in Dhaka after Shahadat Hossain got injured in the first over of the match.While Rubel has never played a first-class match in Fatullah, Shahid has taken six wickets in two matches. Bangladesh’s other seam option, Abul Hasan, has played one match at this venue taking three wickets.Whether Bangladesh’s pace bowling is in the shape of a Shahid-Rubel alliance or a single-man unit, they would have to defy conditions, history and current form to be effective against India.