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Protocol required, says Tony Irish, to prevent host broadcasters from exploiting players’ comments

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Feb-2019The head of FICA, the international cricketers’ association, says that a protocol for the use of stump microphones must be introduced to avoid the “selective use” of incriminating audio by broadcasters.Tony Irish’s comments come after the West Indies fast bowler, Shannon Gabriel, and the Pakistan captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, were both handed four-match bans by the ICC after being overheard making derogatory comments in separate on-field incidents.On Wednesday, Gabriel admitted to making homophobic comments in an altercation with the England captain, Joe Root, during last week’s third Test in St Lucia, while Sarfaraz was caught making a racist comment to the South Africa allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo during an ODI in Durban in January.The incidents are the first to cause controversy since the decision was taken, at the ICC annual conference in July, to broadcast stump microphone audio “at any time, including when the ball is dead”. That move came as part of the ICC’s drive to fight player misbehaviour, with new offences introduced such as personal abuse and audible obscenity.The ICC also factored in fan engagement as a big part of live sport, and the fact that cricket needs to embrace that. During the discussions involving the ICC and the various member boards’ chief executives, it was agreed that turning up the stump mic turns the focus not just on spirit of the game, but also allows for greater engagement for the fan watching at home. It brings them into the middle with the players.*While Irish, the executive chairman of FICA, believes that players will be willing to buy into the usage of stump mic audio, he says it is vital that broadcasters are consistent and universal in how they apply the technology.”The issue to be discussed is how they are used, including when they are turned up and when they are turned down,” Irish told ESPNcricinfo. “What I can say is that, when it comes to a matter such as this, players are generally in favour of consistency, which suggests to me that a protocol on how they are used is necessary.”Asked about the potential for a host broadcaster to exploit the feed captured on the stump mic, Irish said that was the players’ biggest fear. “When there is inconsistent use of the stump mic, then there is potential for selective use, which I think players naturally fear. That is not to say all broadcasters do that but the potential and opportunity is there.”The prospect of increased stump-microphone usage has already divided opinions among international teams. England’s head coach, Trevor Bayliss, is not in favour, arguing that “sometimes in the heat of battle things are said”, whereas Moeen Ali, the England allrounder, believes that the volume should be turned up at all times because “it’s time for people to behave themselves”.Irish recognised that there was a danger that some players could seek to use the stump mic to their advantage by setting up an opponent, but added that it remained the players’ responsibilities to ensure the line was never crossed.”Players have an obligation to play within the spirit and rules of the game, much of which relates to the way players treat each other on the field,” said Irish, “and I think a consistent protocol shouldn’t present opportunity for players to disregard that.”In a cricket match, and particularly a Test match, long periods are spent in the field, there are intense contests between bat and ball and a lot goes on. On-field characters have been a hallmark of cricket over the years and most of what goes on is within the rules and spirit of the game. It should stay that way.”

He won’t be available for most of the Asia Cup, but will join the team for the World Cup in October-November

Umar Farooq21-Apr-2023Pakistan’s new team director Mickey Arthur will only be available to the team in a limited capacity over the next ten months but he will be involved in designing and overseeing strategies remotely while he also fulfils his responsibilities as head coach of Derbyshire. His appointment was formally announced by the PCB in Rawalpindi on Thursday.Arthur is only one year into his four-year contract with Derbyshire and his reluctance to leave that role meant that it took months for him and the PCB to arrive at an arrangement to work part-time with the Pakistan team. Arthur will be available to Pakistan for only one game in this year’s Asia Cup – against India – and will miss the tour to Sri Lanka and the series against Afghanistan in UAE. He will be available for the ODI World Cup in October-November, the away tour to Australia and home series against West Indies.The PCB had also hired former South African internationals Morne Morkel and Andrew Puttick as bowling and batting coach, while Pakistan’s former fielding coach Grant Bradburn is now the head coach. Assistant coach Abdul Rehman is the only Pakistani in the coaching group, which has been designed to facilitate Arthur working remotely as team director.Related

• Zaka Ashraf, Najam Sethi set to contest PCB leadership again

• Bradburn confirmed as Pakistan men's head coach for next two years

• PCB's Najam Sethi-led management committee likely to get extension

• Arthur 'excited' to rekindle Pakistan relationship

• Morne Morkel set to be Pakistan's bowling coach

“I am pleased that Mickey has formally re-joined the Pakistan men’s cricket team with an enhanced role in which he will be responsible for formulating and implementing strategies for the upcoming assignments across all formats,” the PCB’s head Najam Sethi said. “Furthermore, he will also be responsible for strengthening the national team culture and identifying and grooming future stars, so that we can strengthen our bench strength and strategically secure our future.”Having lived and worked in Pakistan during his previous tenure, Mickey knows the current players, the structure, and the system at the back of his hand. I am sure he will incorporate learnings from the previous tenure so that he can have an even more successful second term.”Arthur’s re-hiring wasn’t straightforward. He wanted to stay on with Derbyshire while the board wanted him full time, and discussions stalled twice before both parties reached a consensus. At one stage, the PCB said it had moved on from Arthur, but negotiations were ongoing.Arthur was Pakistan’s head coach from 2016 to 2019, a tenure that included a Champions Trophy title in 2017 and during which Pakistan became the top ranked T20I team. They were not as successful in Test cricket under Arthur, and a league-stage exit from the 2019 World Cup led to him being replaced as head coach by former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq.Arthur’s reappointment was criticised by Misbah, who called it a “slap on Pakistan cricket.”

The batter says he wasn’t fussed about being left out of the XI in India after making a terrific hundred in the WTC final

Andrew McGlashan07-Jun-20231:51

Haddin breaks down Head’s high-risk game

This World Test Championship final is Australia’s 20th Test match in the two-year cycle. Four of their players have appeared in all the games. Travis Head has been part of 18 of them. One of his absences was due to Covid in Sydney during the 2021-22 Ashes, but the other was when he was dropped.Head, unbeaten on 146 off 156 balls after the first day against India, has now scored 1354 runs in this WTC at an average of 58.86 and strike rate of 81.91, and he can eye a double-century on Thursday. However, earlier this year, he was not deemed worthy of a place in the first Test against India in Nagpur.Whichever way the argument is spun with statistics, it will go down as one of the stranger selection calls in recent times, even when Head’s previous struggles in Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2022 are factored in, but he insisted there is no lingering resentment.Related

• Have India made a mistake in leaving out Ashwin?

• Head and Smith dominate India on day one

“It honestly doesn’t faze me,” he said at The Oval. “Very privileged to be where I am and do what I do. We’ve got a very strong squad of guys, selection isn’t always going to go your way, it hasn’t in the past, that’s out of my control. All I can do is be as consistent as I can be on the field, [and] off the field enjoy myself.”Yes, I’d love to play every Test but that won’t always be the case. That gives good perspective to moments like this. Hopefully I don’t get dropped too much in the future but it will definitely happen … it doesn’t give me extra fuel.”I know certain decisions haven’t gone my way in the past but I feel like I [have] got a fair bit to contribute to this team and [am] valued within the team. I’ve got the backing of the staff and the captain and the players so it’s nice.”Like Nagpur, The Oval is also a ground where Head has been on the rough end of a selection call when he was omitted from the final Test of the 2019 Ashes. This time his sixth Test century, and the fourth in this edition of the World Test Championship, three of which have come at decisive stages of an innings, powered Australia to 327 for 3 at the close.The unbroken stand with Steven Smith was worth 251 to suggest few gremlins in the surface. However, batting was far from easy for considerable portions of the day, with some deliveries jumping from a length and others scuttling low. Australia, too, would have bowled first had they won the toss, but it appears to have worked out perfectly for them if the unevenness develops further over the game.”If you get it in the right area there’s plenty there,” Head said. “As the game goes on, hopefully it gets a little quicker for us and we can find the right lengths, and I feel if you do that for long periods of time it can be a challenging wicket.”That good length at the top of the stumps was hard work. And as we [saw] when they went to that short-pitched plan it wasn’t the most consistent wicket, and the Dukes swings a little so it made for some awkward moments.”

The latest news as it happens in the build-up to Vitality Blast Finals Day

Paul Edwards and ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2018Moeen Ali has paid tribute to his England colleague, Jos Buttler, as the pair prepare to go head to head in Worcestershire Rapids’ Vitality Blast semi-final against Lancashire Lightning at Edgbaston.”I’m not sure I want to bowl at him too much, the way he’s been playing this year,” said Moeen, as he looked forward to pitting his off-spin against Buttler’s explosive hitting. “He’s an incredible player but somehow we’ve going to have to get him out early and I hope he makes a mistake. He’s going to be a massive threat tomorrow but it only takes one mistake.”I’ve bowled at him plenty of times before and he’s hit me for many sixes in the nets but I’ve also got him out a few times. He’s played in quite a few of these days and he knows how to cope with the pressure. I can bowl at him but he can’t bowl at me.”Moeen also hopes that the experience of playing in their first Finals Day will inspire his Worcestershire team, many of whom have come through the county’s Academy together.”It’s very exciting obviously, It’s our first appearance and so the lads are pumped and excited and a bit nervous about the game tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will sleep well, turn up tomorrow and we’ll be fine.”Getting to Finals Day is something we’ve been trying to do for a while now but it never managed to happen, we always stumbled at the quarter-finals. Now we’ve got over that I think we’ll be fine, it almost like a monkey off our back and we are only two games away from lifting the trophy.”We have nothing to lose. Sometimes when you haven’t had anything for a while you want it more than anyone else and I’m hoping that’s the attitude we’ll come with tomorrow. We’ve finally got here and now it’s a question of moving Lancashire out of the way.”Moeen also disclosed that Worcestershire had been boosted by the availability of Joe Clarke and Brett D’Oliveira, both of who missed their county’s match against Surrey with back problems.”Both Brett and Joe have had stiff backs this week but they’re trained today and they are fine. Joe was a little bit sore this morning but hopefully the adrenalin will kick in and he’ll be fine.”

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Wright plays down Rashid absenceLuke Wright crunches through the leg side•Getty Images

Sussex captain Luke Wright has sought to downplay the absence of Rashid Khan at Vitality Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston.The Afghan leg-spinner has taken 17 wickets for the Sharks in this year’s competition but Wright praised the way in which Will Beer had filled the gap created by Rashid’s absence in recent games.”Spin’s been a big part of our game and it would have been nice to have Rashid here but Danny Briggs has been unbelievable and Will has stepped in and done a great job, especially in the quarter-final up at Durham. But when you get to this stage you only need a few players to come off and we’ve still got a really good team anyway.”

Finals day schedule

Semi-finals: 1100: Lancashire Lightning v Worcestershire Rapids; 1430: Somerset v Sussex Sharks
Final: 1845.

And Wright’s also believes that his team is not overly dependent on the batting of Laurie Evans, who has scored over 200 runs more than any other Sussex player in this year’s Blast.”Well, Phil Salt’s had three fifties, two of them very quick ones, and I’ve had four 70 pluses or something. But in any competition you need one batter who can be your glue and Laurie has done that for us. In semi-finals and finals, anyone can have their day out and if it’s Laurie again, then great.”Only Will Beer and Wright know what it is like to win the Blast but the Sussex skipper is encouraging his players to embrace the occasion, along with the ballyhoo.”It’s easy to put too much pressure on the day and I’ve told the lads to enjoy it. Jason Gillespie has helped us to do that and I think that why we’ve had so much success. The quarter-final was the most relaxed game I’ve ever played in really, Dizzy was so chilled in the build-up and he’s the same now.Wright also explained why he had taken back the captaincy having relinquished it last year when Mark Davis was the Sussex coach.”I’ve always enjoyed the on-field stuff but last year under a different coach it just didn’t work between us. We had different ideas and I stopped enjoying my cricket. It was an easy decision to stop being captain but it was also easy to take on the captaincy when Dizzy asked me to take it on again because we have the same ideas about how we set up a team.”That chilled fun side of it exactly how I want to play my cricket and I think when people are happy they seem to play better. In T20 you have to risk a lot and you have be brave enough to go out and have a go.”

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I’ve learned lessons – KerrSomerset’s head coach Jason Kerr believes the lessons learned by Somerset when they reached Finals Day four times in a row between 2009-12 but failed to win once will hold them in good stead at Edgbaston.Kerr, who was part of the coaching staff on all those occasions, told the : “I was involved in a different capacity and I’ve learned lessons in terms of how to approach the day. We’ve got some experienced guys in James Hildreth and Peter Trego who can feed from that.”For the rest it is fresh, they have no emotional baggage and they will be looking forward to making their mark on the day.”What’s been so pleasing through the group stage is how different people have stepped up – we are not relying on one person continually. It may have been Craig Kieswetter in years gone by – relying on that fantastic start he sometimes gave us – whereas here the guys have absolute trust in each other and know that contributions will come from 1-11. That’s the exciting thing about this team.”

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Laurie Evans struck three sixes in his 37•Getty Images

Three players press for Denly’s crownOnly three players in the PCA MVP Blast Rankings Top Ten take part in the Vitality Blast Finals Day and Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory, Sussex’s top order batsman Laurie Evans and Lancashire opener Alex Davies all have a chance to hunt down Joe Denly of Kent.Either Evans or Gregory will get at least two matches when Sussex and Somerset face each other in the second semi-final of the day. Davies has the first opportunity to press his claims when Lancashire face Worcestershire.Gregory, the Somerset captain, sits on 154 points, 64 off Denly, but has been instrumental in helping Somerset reach county cricket’s big day out. He smashed 44 off 15 to power his side to Finals Day and has been a consistent performer with bat and ball throughout the tournament, hitting 321 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 217, the highest in the top 50 run-scorers in the competition.Coupled with his 17 wickets, he is the highest placed Somerset player in the Blast MVP Rankings and is in third position in the Overall Rankings, behind Denly and Surrey’s Rikki Clarke, neither of whom are on show.

Talking T20 Podcast

Dan Norcross and Matt Roller discuss Vitality Blast Finals Day on our Talking T20 podcast

Evans has scored 554 runs in the competition and is 35 off Aaron Finch who is the current leading scorer and while it would take a monumental effort for him to pip Denly to the MVP of the Blast, he still has a great chance of overtaking the Australian as the leading run-scorer.Evans has scored his runs at an average of 79.14 and a phenomenal strike-rate of 138.5, a key factor in the MVP formula as players are attributed more points depending on the scenario of the game.Davies is likely to be joined in Lancashire’s top order by England’s Most Valuable Player of the summer, Jos Buttler.As for Worcestershire, their star has been Pat Brown with the 20-year-old going into Finals Day as the top wicket taker. His 27 scalps at an average of 14 only place him 19th however.It could be surprising to see Brown not firmly inside the top 10, but he has never scored a T20 run and has only faced six balls in his entire career – another reason for fast bowlers to grumble that despite all their hard work the world is stacked against them

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Attendances rise again
Taunton fans gather for autographs•Getty Images

Attendances in the Vitality Blast increased by 3% this season – the fifth time in the last six years that the competition has broken its own attendance record.Advance tickets for this season’s Finals Day also sold out in record time. although in controversial fashion as the four finalists were only allowed an allocation of 500 tickets each, forcing many would-be spectators to complain they would have to seek out ticket resale sites or risk travel on the day and hope for the best.

‘I don’t think we need to go after Mushfiqur, he was trying hard to get him out’ – Mashrafe

Mohammad Isam at The Oval05-Jun-2019Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza defended Mushfiqur Rahim after he hit the stumps with his elbow when trying to run out Kane Williamson. The incident took place in the 12th over of the New Zealand innings when the Ross Taylor – Williamson partnership was at an embryonic stage.As the two batsmen got involved in a mix-up, Tamim Iqbal threw the ball from mid-on with Williamson still well short of the crease and almost given up. But Mushfiqur took the ball in front of the stumps, with his feet behind, and tried to break the stumps. Straight away Tamim and Shakib reacted in a way that suggested they knew what had happened, while the rest of the stadium were cheering the big wicket.Williamson and Taylor went on to add 105 runs for the third wicket, that set New Zealand in the right path.Mushfiqur Rahim’s error hands Kane Williamson a lifeline•Getty Images

Mashrafe, who was also following the ball closely during that incident, said that he wouldn’t blame Mushfiqur for the mistake and expects him to bounce back from it quickly. He said that with the catches he had taken off Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme, Mushfiqur had already started to make amends.”I don’t think we need to go after Mushfiqur,” Mashrafe said. “He was also trying hard to get him out. That throw was straight, but as a keeper it was hard to know if it was straight or not. Suddenly the stumps hit his elbow, but it happens. Mushfiqur is a professional player. He knows how to handle all of this. It is not as if this was the first mistake in Mushfiqur’s life. Every player makes mistakes.WATCH – Highlights of Mushfiqur’s error on Hotstar (India only)”For example, in the last match Soumya dropped a catch, but he has caught many difficult ones before that. I think that it can happen with Mushfiqur, and that it may happen again is a normal thing. We are not here to blame anyone, we are here to give our best. Even after that, the catches that Mushfiqur took off Ross Taylor and Grandhomme, those could have been turning points.”I don’t think there is a need to create pressure for anyone and neither do I think that he needs to think about this. If everything goes well in the next match, you will see that everything is fine again.”Mashrafe said that falling 30 runs short of their desired total was a bigger problem on the day. He said that Mushfiqur himself getting run out after a mix-up with Shakib, after they had added exactly 50 runs for the third wicket, was also a crucial point in the game.”If you don’t score big, you have to take all those chances. It happens in cricket. No one wants to make mistakes. I think the bigger mistakes was when we batted. If we managed to score 30 more runs, it could have been a different game.”That run out [of Mushfiqur while batting] was the turning point. They both got set in that moment. Again, Shakib and Mithun had their partnership broken when they were putting it together. If any of those two partnerships had gone into eighties or a hundred, things would have been different,” he said.

Teenager Tess Flintoff smashed the fastest WBBL half-century off 16 balls before Sasha Moloney picked up 4 for 24 to help Stars beat Adelaide Strikers

AAP02-Nov-2022Teenager Tess Flintoff has smashed the WBBL record for the fastest half-century in the competition’s history to power Melbourne Stars to a 22-run win over Adelaide Strikers.The allrounder blasted an unbeaten 51 from only 16 balls at North Sydney Oval on Wednesday. Flintoff broke the previous mark – 22 balls – by smashing a six off the final ball of the innings to push Stars to 5 for 186 after Strikers elected to field first.The 19-year-old’s blistering career-best knock consisted of six fours and three sixes. Flintoff had not been required to bat in Stars’ past three matches, but her most recent innings was an unbeaten 40 against the Perth Scorchers on October 20.Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner and South African Lizelle Lee shared the previous record for fastest WBBL half-century, with both reaching the mark in the same game back in 2017.England batters Alice Capsey and Lauren Winfield-Hill also played important roles in the Stars’ big total sharing an 81-run stand for the second wicket.Flintoff’s match-winning knock proved too much for Adelaide to overcome, with Strikers finishing their 20 overs on 8 for 164. Australia star Tahlia McGrath’s troubled run with the bat continued, with Strikers’ captain out for just 1 following two ducks in as many games.Adelaide had solid contributions from Katie Mack, Bridget Patterson and Laura Wolvaardt as Sasha Moloney was the pick of Stars bowlers claiming 4 for 24.It was just Stars’ second win of the tournament, with Adelaide remaining in third on the table with four victories.

Eden Park was transformed into a T20 batting paradise as Australia pulled off a world-record run chase in Auckland, reducing Martin Guptill’s 49-ball hundred to a footnote

The Report by Alan Gardner16-Feb-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEden Park was transformed into a T20 batting paradise as Australia pulled off a world-record run chase in Auckland, reducing Martin Guptill’s 49-ball hundred – and a host of other records – to a footnote. D’Arcy Short and David Warner hammered aggressive fifties to set the tone of the reply and Australia’s middle order kept the pedal to the metal at a stage where New Zealand had stuttered to seal victory with more than an over to spare.The stands were peppered for 32 sixes – equalling the T20I record – as the odd-shaped boundaries at Eden Park produced a lop-sided match in which batsman were able to swing with impunity and bowling became an exercise in damage limitation. No team had successfully chased as many in all T20 cricket.Aaron Finch and Alex Carey celebrate Australia’s record-breaking win•AFP

New Zealand were left to rue a passage at the back end of their innings when they didn’t score a boundary for 18 balls, but the point at which the game tipped decisively came in the 17th over of the chase. Australia needed 42 from 24 but Ben Wheeler, in the side after an injury to Mitchell Santner, delivered a no-ball that Aaron Finch struck for six, followed by a four and another high full toss.Wheeler was removed from the attack, the equation had become 29 from 23, and although his replacement, Trent Boult, had Short caught behind top-edging a pull, another four and a six from Finch left Australia needing less than a run a ball. Finch’s unbeaten 36 off 14 at No. 5 provided a muscular contrast with the way New Zealand had faltered and it was probably apt that he finished things off with the final six of a gluttonous encounter.Australia had ransacked their way to victory, leaving Guptill in the shade despite several personal milestones. Their fourth win from four in the tri-series left the home fans muttering quietly to themselves but would have been cheered down in Hamilton, as it helped keep England in with a chance of pipping a shell-shocked New Zealand to a place in the final.Guptill became the leading run-scorer in all T20 internationals, surpassing Brendon McCullum, while also striking the fastest hundred by a New Zealander (one delivery quicker than McCullum) and moving up above his former team-mate to second on the all-time six-hitting list, too. But from Guptill’s dismissal in the 17th over, New Zealand stumbled. Kane Richardson picked up two wickets as New Zealand lost 4 for 12 and it required a couple more sixes from Ross Taylor – one of which was adroitly held by a fan in the crowd wearing a sponsor’s shirt – to ensure the innings didn’t dribble to a conclusion.Guptill became the leading run getter in T20Is•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This was a night to make bowlers question their life choices. AJ Tye conceded 64 from his four overs, soothed a modicum by two wickets, but he could probably spare some sympathy for New Zealand’s Wheeler, who was left with 0 for 64 from just 3.1. Perversely, the most economical bowler on either side – Ashton Agar – did not deliver his full quota.Having been on the receiving end of untrammelled aggression from Guptill and Colin Munro, who struck six sixes of his own in making 76, Australia’s openers took the Spinal Tap route and turned the amps up to 11. Short’s first three boundaries all came off the edge of the bat – the first flying all the way over the rope at third man – and he might have been caught on 18 gloving a pull at Tim Southee, but Tim Seifert could not hold on one-handed down the leg side.Warner, whose run of poor form in white-ball cricket had extended 10 innings without a fifty, had 12 off seven balls when he twice latched on to Wheeler for leg-side sixes. Five wides over the keeper (among 20 extras down by the New Zealand attack) turned the fifth into a 22-run over, and Warner cleared the ropes two more times in the next as Australia equalled the Powerplay record of 91 in T20 internationals.A 20-ball fifty from Warner had clearly shaken New Zealand’s resolve, though he fell shortly after missing an attempted pull at Ish Sodhi’s googly. Chris Lynn struck one towering blow before being caught by Guptill – who had dropped him two overs before – but Short crashed two sixes and a four from his next four legitimate balls to keep Australia on track.Australia raised their 150 in the 12th over, just as New Zealand had. Short had not looked as imperious as Guptill but he was striking the ball ever-more cleanly; Glenn Maxwell, meanwhile, continued the theme of the night by hitting his second ball for six over long-on as New Zealand’s late-innings lull began to look ever-more costly. Something had to give and it turned out to be Wheeler.Having chosen to bat, and knowing that victory would make their final game against England an irrelevance, New Zealand set about the Australia attack with calculated fury. In the first match of the tri-series, New Zealand had limped to 117 for 9 at the SCG; back on home soil, they crossed that mark in the 11th over.Guptill flicked his first delivery for four and cleared the ropes for the first time in the second over, smoking Billy Stanlake down the ground. Munro took a little longer to find the boundary – two balls – and then, from a steady start, began to stage an exhibition of six-upmanship with his opening partner.Only one over in the Powerplay went for less than 10, as New Zealand piled up 67 without loss. Munro climbed into Agar with sixes in the seventh and ninth overs, bringing him up to parity with Guptill. It was the latter who reached his half-century first, from 30 balls, when he munched Short’s left-arm wrist spin – making its first appearance at international level – over long-on; Munro then got there in identical fashion, three balls faster, later in the same over.The 12th threatened to become a Tye-breaker when Munro hit the first three balls for six, but the bowler held his nerve to instead break the stand via a mistimed blow to long-on. Guptill maintained the tempo, clearing the ropes for the ninth time to bring up his hundred with 28 balls still remaining in the innings, but he was also removed by Tye as New Zealand lost power at a crucial juncture. Australia in with a chance? You’d better Adam and Eve it.

Sri Lanka lost their first three wickets to Keshav Maharaj, but remain in a position to push for victory over the next three days, after taking a first innings lead of 161

The Report by Firdose Moonda13-Jul-2018
Keshav Maharaj gets a breakthrough for the visitors•AFP

Sri Lanka took control of the first Test on a 13-wicket day in Galle, where spinners dominated. After South Africa were shot out for 126 – their lowest total in Sri Lanka – with seven wickets falling to the spin trio of Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan, Sri Lanka lost their first three wickets to Keshav Maharaj, but remain in a position to push for victory over the next three days, after taking a first innings lead of 161 runs.On a surface that is taking substantial, but not unplayable turn, anything over 300 would be daunting. For a South African side who woke the ghosts of India 2015, the lead is perhaps already too much.In South Africa’s last eight innings in the subcontinent, they have only managed to score more than 200 runs once and the last time they scored over 300 in Asia was in the Galle Test four years ago. While there are elements of technique that are wanting – the left-handers playing across the line is an example – their confidence is the bigger concern. Collapses of 6 for 51 and 4 for 11, which sandwiched the 64-run seventh-wicket stand between Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander, would have done nothing to boost their belief.Herath made the first incision into South Africa at the end of the opening day when he removed Aiden Markram, and he did the same on the second morning when he beat nightwatchman Maharaj with an arm-ball. And then the wickets tumbled.Dean Elgar played across a Dilruwan Perera delivery that took the outside edge to offer first slip a catch, Hashim Amla was given out caught at short leg on review off Dilruwan, Temba Bavuma dragged a Sandakan ball onto his stumps as he swept, a shot he had employed with success earlier in his short innings and Quinton de Kock was bowled by Dilruwan, also playing across the line. Shortly after the first drinks, South Africa were 51 for 6, and left du Plessis with the tail.Philander showed the patience the top order lacked and defended solidly, while du Plessis tried to play a more positive role in also searching for runs. The pair ushered South Africa past their lowest total since readmission, 79, and over the 100 mark. Philander was fortunate when Sri Lanka missed a chance to review a Herath delivery that would have gone on to hit middle stump – the last of three opportunities they did not take – and reviewed successfully when he was given out two overs later. He faced 86 balls, only two fewer than du Plessis, before he was out for 18.Du Plessis, celebrating his 34th birthday, played with as much intent as he could and compiled 49. But when Philander went, he followed within three balls. After several inside-edges, du Plessis missed a Suranga Lakmal ball that nipped in and was bowled. Lakmal had not used himself before the 37th over but enjoyed the last bits of reward when he also bowled Rabada and had Steyn caught at first slip.Already low on morale, South Africa’s situation only worsened when Danuskha Gunathilaka and Dimuth Karunaratne put on 51 for the opening stand, denied Dale Steyn the two wickets he needs to overtake Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker but offered three other chances.Maharaj appealed for lbw against Gunathilaka, but the opener had shuffled far enough across enough to get umpire’s call on impact. Then, Gunathilaka lap-swept Maharaj in front of backward square but Bavuma could not hold on to the catch. Later, Gunathilaka reverse-swept Maharaj between the wicket-keeper and first slip. And this time, Maharaj got his man, and two others, when Gunathilaka picked out deep mid-wicket, Dhananjaya de Silva, who was bowled and Kusal Mendis given out lbw.As he had done in the first innings, Karunaratne anchored Sri Lanka and became only the second batsman after Kumar Sangakkara to score a century and a half-century against South Africa in a Test. He took on the spinners with success, used his feet well and his placement was impressive but he was eventually undone with Kagiso Rabada having him caught at slip.There was no further damage done to Sri Lanka before the close, which gives them the resources to add to their total on the third day.

Sussex show fight in reply but face a long haul to reach first-innings parity

ECB Reporters Network27-Sep-2022Chris Cooke and Shubman Gill both made impressive hundreds as Glamorgan put themselves into a strong position in their must-win game against Sussex.Gill scored 119 – his first LV= County Championship hundred – and Cooke 141 as they piled up 533 for eight declared on the second day at the 1st Central County Ground.Sussex responded positively and were 86 for one when bad light forced the players off with 13 overs still to be bowled at Hove after there had been two short rain delays earlier in the day.Glamorgan need to win to have any chance of overhauling Middlesex and claiming the second promotion place from Division Two and although Sussex bowled well in the morning session when they took three wickets, their bowlers suffered thereafter with Cooke leading the charge as he made his tenth first-class century.Earlier it had been Gill who went on the offensive. He quickly added the nine runs he’d needed overnight to lodge his seventh first-class hundred before greeting Jack Carson’s arrival by hitting the off-spinner for three boundaries in his first over.But Carson had his revenge in his next over when he tossed another one up and Gill picked out long-on, having faced 139 balls and hit 16 fours and two sixes.Left-armer Sean Hunt had already broken through when he yorked Billy Root and Carson picked up a second wicket when he gave the ball air again and Andrew Salter was also caught at long-on.When Sussex took the new ball Brad Currie soon had James Harris caught behind for 34, after Harris had added 77 with Cooke. Timm van der Gugten helped the South African put on 41 for the eighth wicket before van der Gugten was held at long leg off Tom Clark.Acceleration came either side of tea as Cooke and Ajaz Patel thrashed 96 in 13 overs with Patel hitting an undefeated 51 from 37 balls including three sixes, two of them hit over long-on in an over from Carson.Cooke hardly played a false shot before edging Hunt to wicketkeeper Oli Carter after making his second Championship century of the season. His 141 came off 165 balls with 14 fours and two sixes. Carter was one of two substitutes employed by Sussex after Charlie Tear and Fynn Hudson-Prentice went down with food poisoning overnight. The Glamorgan total was also swelled by 50 extras.Sussex began their reply needing 384 to avoid the follow-on and they made a positive start, Ali Orr and Tom Haines laying into some wayward new-ball bowling from Harris and Mick Hogan.They added 69 in 11.2 overs before Hogan’s nip-backer struck Orr on the back leg and he was lbw for 45. Haines and Tom Alsop saw their side through to the close but Glamorgan will still feel they can claim their first Championship win at Hove since 1975, even though the pitch shows little sign of deterioration.

“I’m happy, I’m excited and having fun playing cricket again, which was the most important thing for me”

Shashank Kishore05-Sep-20224:13

Kohli on answering his critics: I’ve never paid attention to these things

Virat Kohli is “excited” and “having fun” playing cricket, he said, but not long ago, he wasn’t getting any joy from the game. As he said recently, he was “faking his intensity a bit” and the fatigue and everything else added up and took a toll on him mentally. After top-scoring for India in the defeat to Pakistan on Sunday night at the Asia Cup, he also said that MS Dhoni aside, no one actually made the effort to reach out to him when he was going through a low phase.That phase came on the back of a somewhat tumultuous period in his career. He had given up the IPL and T20I captaincy, and lost his ODI captaincy – something he hadn’t expected – hours before a selection meeting. Then came his shock announcement of quitting Test captaincy earlier this year. All along, the runs weren’t coming quite as smoothly as he was used to.How did he deal with it? In Dubai, Kohli tried to provide answers, and stressed that he was in a good place.”Let me tell you one thing: when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person, with whom I had played previously; that was MS Dhoni,” Kohli said. “Many people have my number. On TV, people give lots of suggestions, people have a lot to say. But none of the people who had my number sent me a message.”That respect [with Dhoni], that connection you have with someone, when it is genuine, it shows like this, because there is no insecurity with either of us. Neither does he [Dhoni] need anything from me, nor do I need anything from him. Neither of us suffers from insecurity. I can only say: if I want to say something to someone, I reach out to that person individually if I want to help.”I mean, if you give the suggestions in front of the world, it has no value for me. If it is for my improvement, you can talk with me one-on-one, (tell me) that I genuinely want you to do well. I live life with a lot of honesty, so I can see through such things. I am not saying that it doesn’t matter to me, but you see the real thing. I can only say that. When you play for such a long time, when you play with honesty, the only one who looks out for you is the almighty. Until I play, until I am worthy of playing, I will play this way.”Prior to the Asia Cup, in an interview with Star Sports, Kohli elaborated about his struggles. He touched upon how an obsession over his professional identity had led to him losing perspective as a human being. He subsequently took time off, during which he switched off completely from the game, not even doing something as spontaneous as lifting a cricket bat.2:56

Uthappa: Kohli looked ominous from the first boundary he hit

At the Asia Cup, Kohli has found a semblance of form, scoring 35, 59* and 60 at an overall strike rate of 126.22. But, more importantly, there has been an air of calm around him, both at training and at the games. He said that came from the realisation that taking a break wasn’t a bad thing sometimes.”I didn’t think I’d go a month without touching my bat, but the situation became such that I had to take a break,” he said. “More mentally than physically. Then you realise when you bat again after a month why you started playing the game. That [realisation] is lost at times, the way people look at you, cheer for you when you’re at the ground, at such times you can lose that realisation.”That drive and purity for the game, that joy dissipates. It was important to rediscover that again for me. When I’m happy in my space, then I know what I can do for the team. Me being in a bad space is neither good for the team nor for me. I think no one should run away from this, if someone is feeling negative or low, taking a break isn’t a bad thing.”And I hope people will derive strength from that and address whatever they are feeling. We’re all human, everyone can feel this way. But to recognise that and care about it is important. If you ignore it, you will get more frustrated. This is something I realised and I got a lot of help. I’m happy, I’m excited and having fun playing cricket again, which was the most important thing for me.”