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Paddy Upton joins as “Team Catalyst” and will look after the players’ mental well-being

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2022Rajasthan Royals have roped in Lasith Malinga as their fast-bowling coach ahead of IPL 2022, and Paddy Upton as “Team Catalyst”.Malinga, who retired as a player in 2021, is the highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 170 scalps across nine seasons for Mumbai Indians. In 2018, he was Mumbai’s bowling mentor as well, and earlier this year, he was appointed Sri Lanka’s bowling strategy coach for the T20I series in Australia.At Royals, Malinga will work alongside his former captain Kumar Sangakkara, who is the franchise’s head coach and director of cricket, and Steffan Jones, who was named as high-performance fast-bowling coach last week.”It’s a wonderful feeling for me to return to the IPL and an absolute honour to join Rajasthan Royals, a franchise that has always promoted and developed young talent,” Malinga said. “I am excited by the pace bowling unit we have going into the tournament and looking forward to supporting all the fast bowlers with the execution of their game-plans and their overall development. I’ve made some very special memories in the IPL with Mumbai Indians and now with Royals, looking forward to new experiences and creating great memories in this journey.”Upton returns to Royals having previously worked as their coach from 2013 to 2015 and then in 2019, leading them to a top-four finish in 2013 and 2015. He will be with the team for the first four weeks of the season, after which he will support them virtually.”Being the Team Catalyst, Upton will play a crucial role in establishing team integration by bringing them together as a cohesive and mutually supporting unit, and look after their mental well-being with the use of various mental conditioning processes and activities that aid in maintaining a healthy culture and environment, especially within the restrictions of being in a bio-bubble,” a Royals statement said.Sangakkara said both Malinga and Upton would be great additions to the coaching staff. “Lasith is arguably one of the greatest T20 fast bowlers of all time, and to have a personality like his around the training ground, and the expertise he brings to the table, is certainly something we feel the team can benefit from,” he said. “We have some of the best fast bowlers in our squad and we are delighted that they will have the chance to work with Lasith and get to learn and develop further.”It’s the same with Paddy, who has been a great servant for the Royals, and has done an exceptional job in building that cohesion between players and also conditioning them mentally. We believe he will act as a great addition to our coaching staff.”Trevor Penney (assistant coach), Zubin Bharucha (strategy, development and performance director) and Dishant Yagnik (fielding coach) will continue in their respective roles.

RCB awaits the report of the CID investigation that is in its final stages

Shashank Kishore17-Jul-2025The Karnataka government has held Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) accountable for the stampede that occurred outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, resulting in 11 deaths and injuries to more than 50 people.The findings were outlined in the government’s status report, which was made public on Thursday, two days after the Karnataka High Court rejected the government’s request to keep it confidential and ordered its release.In the status report, a copy of which has been accessed by ESPNcricinfo, the government said: “The RCB Management, in association with its event management partner, DNA Networks Private Limited, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), unilaterally decided to hold the victory celebration without prior consultation with the police and without obtaining the necessary permissions or license for such celebration.”As per the report, KSCA CEO Subhendu Ghosh submitted an intimation on behalf of DNA Entertainment to the Cubbon Park police on June 3 around 6.30pm about RCB’s intention to organise a victory parade should they win the IPL final that was scheduled the same evening in Ahmedabad.Related

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However, the police denied the request due to “insufficient information regarding the expected gathering size, arrangements made as well as the proposal being made on very short notice.”The report, which largely details the sequence of events right from when the request was first made, further underlines how RCB went ahead and posted an invitation on their social media channels at 7.01am on June 4, announcing a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to the Chinnaswamy Stadium.The report further said that the posts on RCB’ s official social media handles, including one that had Virat Kohli announcing plans to celebrate with the fans in Bengaluru, garnered immense engagement online.While citing Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Processions (Bangalore City) Order, 2009, to underscore RCB’s procedural violations for crowd gathering, the report stated, “It is pertinent to note that a mere intimation was given by the organisers.”There was no requisition for permissions in the prescribed format, nor was any necessary information provided to the concerned departments to anticipate the gathering and make adequate preparation.”Meanwhile, lawyers arguing for the government, challenged the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that revoked the suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar and four others, who were held responsible for the stampede and subsequently dismissed by chief minister Siddharamaiah. They argued that the tribunal had overstepped its jurisdiction.The government contended that managing such a large crowd at just 12 hours’ notice was an impossible task and questioned the officer’s [Vikash & team] handling of the situation. “What was the officer doing? Did he take any action? Instead of issuing prohibitory orders under the Police Act, they proceeded with arrangements for the celebration,” the government stated.RCB continues to await the report of the CID investigation that is in its final stages. Members of RCB’s top brass as well as those from DNA have all submitted their testimonies over the past month. A set date for the judgment is yet to be made public.

Indian captain also talks about why he turned vegetarian in a chat with Kevin Pietersen

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2020One hundred thirty-four runs in five Tests.Stats that make Indian captain Virat Kohli cringe each time he thinks of the 2014 Test series in England.On Thursday, in an Instagram chat with former England captain Kevin Pietersen, Kohli said that tour was the lowest point in his career and it had come about because he was “too focused” on “doing well from a personal point” instead of putting the team first.”The lowest point in my career was the England tour in 2014 where that is one phase where I felt like, you know, when as a batsman you know you are going to get out in the morning when you wake up,” Kohli told Pietersen. “That was the time I felt like that: that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail was something that ate me up. It just demolished me completely. And I promised myself I am never going to allow myself to feel like ever again in life.”Kohli now wants India’s young cricketers not to commit the same mistake. “And that happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation. I just got too engulfed with England tour – if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I’m going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all. It just ate me up. I just kept going into a downward spiral and I just couldn’t get out of it. Horrible.”Kohli said he was able to pick himself up and become the best all-format batsman in the world because he opened his mind and started focusing on what his team needed more than what he needed.Later, when Pietersen inquired about whether Kohli’s training routine ahead of a match day, he said it was just a mental thing and once again warned against being “self-centered.””With technique also, everything is mental. You have played in a time where you were walking and hitting fast bowlers. Coaches don’t teach you that. So it’s innovation. It’s staying one step ahead of the opponent. If you are thinking about how to win the game for your team, these things come to you.”If you are too personal in your approach, if you are too self-centered, you are just thinking about yourself, then you are just looking for ways to get out eventually because people are going to find you out. You are not getting out of your comfort zone because you don’t want to fail.”Kevin Pietersen and Virat Kohli catch up before the match•IDI via Getty Images

When and why did Kohli turn vegetarian?By the time Kohli returned for his next Test series in England, in 2018, he had not only improved his skill levels, he also decided to become a vegetarian. Pietersen, who had seen Kohli enjoy meat when they were team-mates at Royal Challengers Bangalore, was curious to know about the transformation.”I wasn’t a vegetarian till 2018,” Kohli said. “When we actually came to England, I left eating meat just before the Test series started.”Kohli went to talk about a medical condition that prompted him to become vegetarian. “In 2018 when we went to South Africa I got a cervical spine issue, while playing a Test match at Centurion…one of the discs in my cervical spine bulged out and it compressed a nerve which was running straight till the little finger of my right hand. So it gave me a tingling sensation, I could barely feel my little finger on the right hand. It was hurting like mad, I could hardly sleep at night. And then I got my tests done.”My stomach was too acidic, my body was creating too much uric acid, my body was too acidic. What was happening was, even though I was taking calcium, magnesium everything, one tablet was not sufficient for my body to function properly. So my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones, and my bones got weaker. That’s why I got this issue. That’s why I stopped eating meat completely in the middle of the England tour to cut down the uric acid and the acidity in my body.”The biggest difference that has made, Kohli said, was that it made recovery between matches quicker. “I’ve never felt better in my life, it felt amazing, it’s been two years, and the best decision of my life. I have never felt better waking up. I have never felt better when I have to recover after a game. If you make me play three games a week, which are intense, I am at 120% every game. I can recover within a day after a Test match and go on another Test match.”It’s so much better than being on meat. Being vegetarian now made me feel, honestly I felt like why didn’t I do it before? I should have done it two-three years earlier, to be honest. It’s completely changed everything – you start feeling better, you start thinking better, your body is lighter, you are more positive, you have energy to do more, so, overall it’s just been an amazing, amazing change.”Kohli’s most “fun” batting performanceKohli has played perhaps the greatest innings by an Indian batsman in T20Is – a half-century against Australia in the 2016 World T20. That was right after he played a starring role in that same tournament against Pakistan with politicians, actors, everyone including his idol Sachin Tendulkar watching from the stands. But when asked what was his most “fun innings”, Kohli picked out a lesser known classic.”It was against Kings XI in the IPL. It was I think, a 13… 14 over game or a 15 over game and I got a hundred in 12 overs. That was one of the days where I felt like Jeez, I’m just connecting everything and I just felt like I couldn’t get out. And I’ve never felt like that before. Just to be able to hit and not have that fear of getting out. It was amazing. So that has been my most fun innings.”

Pair’s 243-run stand proves crucial as Middlesex sink to sixth defeat in eight

Jon Culley30-May-2021Although they suffered an attack of the jitters late in the piece, Leicestershire broke their duck for the season in the County Championship with a remarkable victory over Middlesex, chasing down an unlikely target of 378 to achieve the third-highest successful fourth-innings run chase in their history.They did so on the back of a magnificent 185 from Australian Test opener Marcus Harris, having been 159 behind on first innings after being bowled out for 136.Harris shared a stand of 243 for the third wicket with Colin Ackermann, Leicestershire’s captain and most experienced player, who ultimately had the know-how to finish the job after seeing two new partners buckle under the pressure, although even he had his own heart-in-the-mouth moment.Reprieved on 103 when he sliced a drive off Ethan Bamber but was dropped when the unfortunate Martin Andersson misjudged the chance and spilled it at third man, the South African-born allrounder saw his side home by five wickets with just 3.5 overs to spare.The match had sharp echoes of the 2018 meeting between these sides on this ground, when Middlesex, having been 194 behind on first innings, chased down 381 in the last innings to pull off a remarkable win, albeit by only one wicket. This time, Middlesex went home licking their wounds as they have so often this season, suffering a sixth defeat in eight matches to swap places with Leicestershire at the bottom of Group Two.Among successful fourth-innings run chases in Leicestershire’s history, this has been bettered only twice, when they reached a target of 391 to beat Derbyshire in 1947 and 381 to beat Northamptonshire in 1980, each time at Grace Road.Yet the omens had not looked good for Leicestershire when Sam Evans fell to the seventh ball of the day, caught behind down the leg side for the second time in the match with only eight runs added to their overnight score and still 295 needed.Related

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The last expectation then was that Middlesex’s young bowling attack would not claim another wicket in 86 overs until a weary Harris stabbed at one outside off stump and was caught behind off 22-year-old Thilan Walallawita, one of their two young spinners.Shortly afterwards, Ackermann completed his first Championship century for three years when he swept the same bowler for his 16th four, having faced 229 balls. The Sri Lankan-born left-armer Walallawita set nerves jangling in the home crowd when he had new batter Lewis Hill leg-before on the sweep in the next over.After the Ackermann escape, which conceivably could have turned the game with 37 still required, Leicestershire lost another wicket when Bamber uprooted Harry Swindells’ middle stump as the pressure began to tell.But Ackermann relocated his calm and, after Ben Mike had eased his own nerves by finding the boundary for the first time with his 18th ball faced, swept legspinner Luke Hollman round the corner to run three, leaping with his bat in the air as he completed the third.Ackermann’s hundred was his first in the Championship since 2018•Getty Images

Harris, who has 10 Test caps to his name, hit 21 fours and a six, having faced 311 deliveries. His 185 was the third-highest score of his first-class career and his sixth of more than 150. Until he was out, the only semblance of a chance he offered was on 175, when he was a whisker away from being caught-and-bowled by 20-year-old Hollman, who was unlucky that an impressive performance gained no reward.Earlier, Harris and Ackermann had entirely dominated proceedings, adding 84 runs in a chanceless morning and a further 115 in the afternoon to leave 96 from 32 overs in the last session, underlining the value of Chris Wright’s 6 for 48 in Middlesex’s second innings to keep Leicestershire in the game.Harris, 93 at lunch, went to 100 slightly streakily, edging a ball from Andersson in the area second slip would have occupied had there been one. Instead, it continued to the rope for his 13th four from 193 balls. It brought him his 17th career first-class century and his second for Leicestershire.His quicker bowlers having failed to make the desired early inroads, captain Peter Handscomb turned to his two young spinners to see what they could do, although on a pitch that had not broken up to anywhere near the degree Middlesex had hoped when they chose to go with only three seamers.It was asking a lot of them to be match-winners against such experienced adversaries as Harris and Ackermann. The tall Hollman, a confident young man who already has a presence about him on the field, looks an outstanding prospect, but this was only his third first-class match.Likewise Andersson and Ethan Bamber look like a couple of young quicks with good careers ahead of them, but as the third-wicket pair kept the scoreboard turning with a metronomic regularity under a cloudless afternoon sky Middlesex may have regretted leaving out Tim Murtagh, who doubtless needs to be rested now and again in his 40th year but took eight wickets in the match that they won here in 2018.

The captain blasted 39 off 14 balls while Malik turned in an all-round show in a comprehensive win against Galle Gladiators

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2020How the match played outA strong opening stand, a cool-headed 69-run partnership between Shoaib Malik and Dhananjaya de Silva, finishing fireworks from Thisara Perera and an utterly dominant bowling effort – Jaffna Stallions were by a distance the best team in the final; a winning margin of 53 runs was an apt reflection.The only nervous passage of play for Stallions were the early middle overs, after they lost the top three for 26 runs, in the space of four overs. Dhananjaya and Malik – both calm and experienced accumulators – were exactly the right batsmen to rebuild, however, and they played their parts beautifully, unambitiously picking up the singles against Galle Gladiators’ spinners at first, before taking calculated risks as the partnership developed. Dhananjaya made 33 off 20, hitting two sixes and two fours in his innings. Malik went on to 46 off 35, and was out only in the 18th over. Between them, they had given Stallions’ innings its spine.The big death-overs blows were dealt by Thisara, whose thundering 39 not out off 14 required more muscle than usual, as Gladiators’ bowlers delivered plenty of slower balls at him. Unusually for Thisara, more than half of those runs (23) came on the offside. Which suggests that Gladiators didn’t bowl all that badly at him.Gladiators were always going to struggle to get to 189 in a final, but were dealt huge blows inside the first two overs, after which even a competitive chasing effort seemed unlikely. Hazratullah Zazai holed out against the bowling of Dhananjaya first over, and then the hammer blow, and perhaps the most controversial moment of the match – the run-out of Danushka Gunathilaka.As the tournament’s top run-scorer by a distance, Gunathilaka’s performance was always going to be key to Gladiators’ batting effort, but in the second over, he collided with Suranga Lakmal mid-pitch, and what should have been a comfortable leg bye, ended with him being run-out at the non-strikers’ end for 1. Lakmal hadn’t crashed into him intentionally, but had strayed into Gunathilaka’s path while appealing for an lbw (which was rightly turned down). In the ensuing chaos and disorientation, Gunathilaka even ran in the wrong direction for half a second, before making a desperate run at the non-striker’s crease. But Thisara swooped in from midwicket and ran him out. When Lakmal had Ahsan Ali caught behind chasing a wide, seaming delivery, Gladiators had slipped to 7 for 3.Thisara Perera and Johnson Charles rejoice with the LPL trophy•Jaffna Stallions

Some valiant blows were struck in desperate hope. Bhanuka Rajapaksa had injured his side in the field, but walloped four sixes in a 17-ball 40 to try and revive Gladiators’ chase. Later, Azam Khan hit 36 off 17, targeting mainly the fast bowlers, even as the required rate climbed to 12. Stallions’ bowling was too good, though. They held back their strike seamer – Usman Shinwari – until the 10th over. The tournament’s best bowlers – Wanindu Hasaranga – didn’t arrive at the bowling crease until half the innings had been completed, and delivered another fine spell taking 1 for 18 off his four overs.Gladiators kept losing wickets and their innings petered out.Stars of the dayMalik not only gave substance to Stallions’ innings, he also claimed two wickets – including that of Rajapaksa, in his three overs that went for only 13.For Gladiators, Dhananjaya Lakshan’s three wickets were a bright spot. Those dismissals took him up to 13 wickets from seven bowling innings – second only to Hasaranga’s tally.Turning pointStallions’ innings momentum had slowed by the end of the 11th over, by which time no boundaries had come off the previous 21 balls. But having played themselves in by now, Malik and Dhananjaya took the innings by the collar, and struck 45 runs off the next three overs. By the time they were parted, the run rate was up near nine again, and a total of more than 180 was in view.

South Africa demonstrated the ruthless instinct that has brought them seven straight series win at home, rounding up the seven Pakistan wickets they needed before lunch

The Report by Alan Gardner14-Jan-2019South Africa demonstrated the ruthless instinct that has brought them seven straight series win at home, rounding up the seven Pakistan wickets they needed before lunch on day four at the Wanderers. Duanne Olivier made the early inroads, taking his wicket tally for the series to 24, before Kagiso Rabada scythed through the tail to help confirm a 3-0 whitewash.Pakistan did manage to breach the 200-mark for the only the second time in six innings, but that was small consolation as they fell to another heavy defeat. Asad Shafiq top-scored with 65 from 71 and there was some devil-may-care hitting lower down, though little to suggest the tourists ever harboured serious hopes of chasing 381 for a consolation victory.While the efforts of the top order on the third evening declared that Pakistan were not willing to run up the white flag in their last act of the series, it did not take long for them to buckle once play had resumed. For the second time in the match, Olivier found himself on a hat-trick and when Shafiq’s punchy innings was ended by Vernon Philander a few overs later, the bulk of South Africa’s hard work had been done.Babar Azam is one player who has left a mark on South Africa – just ask Dale Steyn – but he could do little about the Olivier throat ball he received in the third over of the morning, a pawing, snorting delivery worthy of the Bullring that flicked the bottom glove on its way through. Sarfraz Ahmed was then bluffed out first ball, hanging back for the short one only for Olivier to hit the top of off stump as the bat came belatedly into line.There was a second fifty of the series for Shafiq – although 185 runs at 31.00 was an underwhelming return for one of Pakistan’s senior batsmen – and a few more retaliatory boundaries before he walked down at Philander and diverted tamely to second slip.With Pakistan now 179 for 6 little more than half an hour into the morning session, and the target a hazy dot on the Highveld horizon, the rest was mostly formality. Shadab Khan had negotiated Olivier’s hat-trick delivery by sending a compact drive back down the ground for four, and he added 25 in partnership with Faheem Ashraf, before the latter’s fun was ended by an excellent diving catch at gully from Aiden Markram.The same combination of Markram and Rabada removed Mohammad Amir two overs later, bat dangled apologetically in the channel, and although Hasan Ali made merry while hitting two fours and a six in 22 of 14, he soon sent up a steepling caught-and-bowled chance for Rabada to swallow.Shadab demonstrated a correct technique and some enterprising strokes, hitting seven fours to move within sight of a fourth Test fifty. However, having put on 31 for the last wicket with Mohammad Abbas, forcing the lunch interval to be pushed back, an impetuous call by the No. 11 ended Pakistan’s resistance via a run-out.

Phil Salt hit a half-century off 19 balls for Sussex in an action-packed evening at Lord’s

ECB Reporters Network02-Aug-2018Sussex 168 (Salt 50, Rawlins 49, Barber 4-28, Agar 3-41) beat Middlesex 156 for 7 (Morgan 90, Archer 3-25)

ScorecardJofra Archer’s hat-trick in a dramatic last over saw Sussex to a 12-run win over Middlesex in the Vitality Blast South Group match at Lord’s.Archer claimed the vital wicket of Eoin Morgan just as England’s white-ball captain threatened an unlikely win for the hosts with 90 off 56 balls, his highest score in T20 cricket. He then bowled John Simpson before completing his hat-trick by trapping James Fuller lbw.The drama came after a blistering half-century off just 19 balls from Phil Salt and 49 from debutant Delray Rawlins had helped the visitors post a challenging total of 168.Victory was the Sharks’ fourth of the campaign, but defeat for Middlesex left them struggling to qualify.Smarting from defeat at the hands of Gloucestershire 24 hours earlier where their batting failed them, Jason Gillespie’s side were given an electrifying start by Salt.He set the tone by hitting successive sixes in the first over, bowled by Steven Finn, a long-hop pulled over square-leg, followed by one drilled over long-off.Finn claimed some recompense when catching the dangerous Luke Wright at backward point off Ravi Patel, but Salt continued his onslaught, twice depositing Ashton Agar into the crowd, the second maximum seeing him to 50.Agar bowled him next ball with a quicker delivery, the first of three wickets in as many overs for the Australian, but with the victims costing more than 10-an-over Sussex had 98 on the board at halfway.Rawlins took up the quest for runs, one reverse sweep into the stands off Agar probably the shot of the innings.At one stage it looked as if Sussex’s highest score of 202 in the format at Lord’s five years ago might be under threat but to their credit a Middlesex attack pummelled for 229 by Somerset in their last outing fought back well.Fuller was the first to apply the brakes before Patel bowled Ben Burgess to leave Sussex 150 for 6.Then Tom Barber took centre stage, having Rawlins caught by Fuller out in the deep, one short of a deserved 50, though the catcher and Nick Gubbins collided in pursuit of the ball, Fuller doing well to cling on as he fell.Left-armer Barber would go on to claim the scalps of David Wiese and Chris Jordan to make it three in six balls, the second match running he had taken a trio of wickets in an over.And Sussex were all out with two balls left of their innings when Rashid Khan was caught on the fence to give Fuller a deserved wicket.Middlesex made a poor start, losing dangerman Paul Stirling for nought to the second ball of the innings, Wright producing a fine diving catch at cover off Wiese.And when Max Holden fell in the fifth over with just 25 on the board Middlesex were in trouble.Morgan’s counter-attack was breathtaking with two sixes and five fours, one a gorgeous reverse-sweep, helping glean 31 in just two overs. He and Nick Gubbins raised a 50-stand in 30 balls, of which Morgan contributed 42.Gubbins was stumped off Danny Briggs for 25, but Morgan went to 50 off 32 deliveries. Another huge six off Rashid followed, but the run-rate kept climbing and Stevie Eskinazi was bowled by Jordan in the quest for quick runs.While Morgan remained, Middlesex were still in the game and another huge six took the equation down to 16 off the final over.However, he holed out to Jordan in the deep as Archer, with figures of three for 25, claimed his hat-trick.

Stand-in skipper’s late flurry seals run chase and ends Lancashire’s unbeaten start

ECB Reporters Network10-Jun-2022Liam Trevaskis produced late heroics to guide Durham to a final-over victory over Lancashire Lightning in their Vitality Blast clash at Seat Unique Riverside.The home side appeared to be on the verge of their fourth straight defeat in their chase of 131 amid outstanding bowling from Richard Gleeson, despite knocks of 46 from Ned Eckersley and 36 from Michael Jones. However, with the pressure on Trevaskis, the skipper blasted 16 runs from seven balls to steer his side over line with vital late boundaries with three balls to spare.Lancashire had produced an under-par effort with the bat, mustering only 130 from their 20 overs, with the main contribution coming from Steven Croft’s innings of 55. Durham debutant Nathan Sowter and Andrew Tye claimed three wickets apiece to limit the visitors, which proved to be crucial later in the day in delivering the win for the hosts and Lancashire’s first loss in the tournament this season.Lancashire opted to bat on a used wicket and Phil Salt looked to use the powerplay to his advantage. The opener scored quick-fire boundaries, including three in a row against Trevaskis, to get the visitors off to a bright start.However, the Durham skipper had his revenge from the fourth ball of his opening over as Salt fell for 23. In a sign of things to come, Keaton Jennings endured a difficult seven balls at the crease, scoring only three runs before he was bowled by Tye.Related

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Sowter then put the clamps on the visitors after only completing a loan move from Middlesex hours before the contest. He prised out Dane Vilas lbw for 12 before taking the key wicket of Tim David bowling the powerful right-hander for only six.Further wickets from Tye and Raine allowed Durham to keep the pressure on the Lightning, while Sowter returned for his final over to remove Tom Hartley, ending the innings with impressive figures of 3 for 22.Croft was the only Lancashire batter to offer resistance with a determined half-century from 49 balls, but he fell going for a big strike to Raine in the final over before Matt Parkinson was run out from last ball of the innings, leaving the visitors with work to do to defend their total.Durham lost Graham Clark to the first ball of their reply as Liam Hurt produced a brilliant delivery first up to bowl the opener. Gleeson then came to the fore cleaning up David Bedingham and Ollie Robinson for single-digit scores to bring the Lightning back into the game. Jones steadied the Durham innings by picking his moments to find the fence and seeing off the initial threat of Gleeson.The opener made 36 before he had a rush of blood to the head and attempted a risky sweep against Hartley and was pinned lbw. Hartley drew another false stroke to notch his second wicket as Raine was caught miscuing his slog-sweep to Croft at deep backward square leg. The wickets gave the Lightning a glimmer of hope as the required rate climbed above seven for the first time.Eckersley appeared to have Durham in position to whittle off the remaining 21 runs from the final three overs, but Gleeson’s return to the attack turned the tide as he bowled him for 46 and Brydon Carse for 2.Durham needed heroics from their captain in the middle, and Trevaskis delivered by striking Hurt for a four and six in back-to-back deliveries in the penultimate over before seeing his team over the line to secure their third win of the campaign.

West Indies lost by an innings and 134 runs despite a rearguard by Jermaine Blackwood and Alzarri Joseph

Saurabh Somani06-Dec-2020
In the end, it ended with a full ball from Neil Wagner. The man who has turned bowling sustained short-ball spells into an art form got six wickets in New Zealand’s first Test victory over West Indies, and only one of them via a short ball. It was the kind of end that was strangely fitting in a Test that New Zealand dominated, as evidenced by their victory margin of an innings and 134 runs, but where they were made to stretch themselves a bit further than they would have imagined. It still ended up being New Zealand’s biggest win over West Indies in terms of innings victories, and their fifth biggest ever.

Mitchell fined 15% of match fees

Daryl Mitchell has been fined 15% of his match fees and a a demerit point has been added to his disciplinary record after breaching Article 2.3 of the ICC code, which relates to “use of an audible obscenity during an international match”, against West Indies on Saturday. The incident occurred in the 62nd over when Mitchell used inappropriate language as captain Jason Holder was running between the wickets in close proximity to Mitchell.
The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Chris Gaffaney, Wayne Knights and TV umpire Christopher Brown. Match referee Jeff Crowe imposed the sanction and Mitchell pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the penalty.

West Indies had got through the first hour of the fourth day with the overnight pair of Jermaine Blackwood and Alzarri Joseph still together. Not only had their partnership crossed 150 – more than the entire first-innings total West Indies mustered – but Blackwood had also progressed to a second Test century. The clouds that had gathered for much of the third day had given way to bright sunshine on day four, and both Blackwood and Joseph continued to be positive. That didn’t mean they attacked indiscriminately, but they were assured while defending and leaving the ball, and full of punch when putting it away.

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Blackwood showed great control of his game, not shelving his aggressive instincts but picking his moments well. He had a bit of luck early on when Tim Southee got one to shape away beautifully in the channel and draw a leaden-footed drive, but New Zealand’s catching woes that dogged them in the latter part of West Indies’ second innings continued, as Ross Taylor put down a straightforward chance at first slip. That was Blackwood’s only blemish in the first hour, and he got to his century via the patient route, through singles rather than any ambitiously aimed big shots.Joseph, who had crossed fifty in a Test match for the first time, was impressive too. He showed sound judgement of his off stump when leaving the ball, and had a full range of shots. When defending he got behind the line, and when a few balls were banged in short to him, he carted them in the arc between backward square leg and deep midwicket. He had shown vulnerability against the short ball earlier, but for that to come into play the bowlers needed to get it up to his throat. When the short ball sat up, Joseph was not hanging back.The seventh-wicket stand kept flourishing until Kyle Jamieson made the breakthrough. He had pushed Joseph on the back foot on the third day, and when he dangled one full and wide, Joseph went for it without the balance being quite right. He ended up slicing it off the toe end to deep cover to end a 155-run stand. After that the end was swift. Wagner got his only wicket with a ball pitched in his half when Blackwood miscued a pull to backward square leg, cramped for room. In the same over, a fast and full delivery took out last-man Shannon Gabriel’s stumps to give Wagner his fourth for the innings.New Zealand had only needed nine wickets to bowl West Indies out in both innings with wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich absent hurt both times, having injured his hand on the first day while keeping. West Indies captain Jason Holder later said it wasn’t still certain whether Dowrich would be fit in time for the second and final Test, starting on December 11 in Wellington.Kane Williamson was the undisputed Man of the Match for his masterful 251. Wagner’s 4 for 66 were the best figures in the second innings, while Southee’s 4 for 35 in the first innings had set up West Indies’ collapse.

Both England and Pakistan could make changes as the teams head south with the series square

The Preview by Alan Gardner10-May-2019

Big Picture

What did we learn from the 19 overs of play possible at The Oval on Wednesday? Jofra Archer took another step towards breaking into England’s World Cup squad – and even his rivals for a spot were impressed by an opening spell of 4-2-6-1 that saw him regularly push up past 90mph. Liam Plunkett, who conceded Archer was “obviously a class act”, made a small point of his own by removing Pakistan’s best batsman, Babar Azam, though his pace still appeared slightly down.For Pakistan, the old-fashioned approach of their top order remains a worry. With Fakhar Zaman pinned down and nicked off by Archer the first time he tried to free his arms, there were few signs of Imam-ul-Haq, Babar and Haris Sohail trying to put the bowlers on the back foot – notwithstanding the fact England had won a good toss and conditions required a bit of sizing up early on.But the series is yet young, and still all square after the rain teased and toyed with those at The Oval for several hours before the umpires decided the ground would not be fit for even a 20-over thrash under floodlights. The World Cup summer is yet to warm to the occasion but the good news is that drier weather is expected over the coming week or so.The truth, of course, is that neither team learned too much in south London, as the clock ticks down towards the May 23 deadline for finalising those 15-man World Cup squads. With Moeen Ali and Jason Roy returning to fitness, Joe Denly and James Vince might find their chances limited; Pakistan have Shoaib Malik back, which will likely change the balance of their side, and Mohammad Amir still desperately hoping to make his World Cup case. But the first order of the day in Southampton is for clear skies.Jason Roy aims a reverse sweep in the nets•Getty Images

Form guide

England WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLL

In the spotlight

At the start of the season, Jason Roy was fielding almost as many questions about his chances of involvement in the Ashes as the importance of his role in trying to land a first World Cup for England. Since then, Roy has only batted three times, with a top score of 35 not out, having returned from the Caribbean in March carrying a hamstring strain, then suffering a back spasm while batting in the Royal London Cup. Mindful of how he fell out of form kicking his heels at the IPL two years ago, leading to a poor Champions Trophy, England are keen to get him back playing and scoring runs before facing South Africa in their World Cup opener.With the ball doing a bit and a pitch to assess, Imam-ul-Haq‘s unbeaten 42 off 68 before the rain ruined things at The Oval was eminently respectable – plenty of time left in which to potentially kick on, after all. But the sense is that too much conservatism at the top is holding back Pakistan in ODIs. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, only Afghanistan have batted more slowly in the opening 10-over Powerplay than Pakistan, and a scoring rate of 4.29 is almost two full runs behind England. Imam averages 56.90 in 25 ODIs, which is hard to argue against, but his strike rate of 79.40 is well out of step with the modern game.

Team news

England have Moeen and Roy available again, after rib and back injuries respectively, and they are set to come straight back in for Denly and Vince, bringing the XI back up to something like full strength. Mark Wood is expected to play in the third ODI at Bristol on Wednesday.England: (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Chris Woakes, 11 Liam Plunkett.Malik has returned to join up with the Pakistan squad after a 10-day break for personal reasons. He could step straight into the starting XI, possibly at the expense of Asif. Mohammad Hafeez is back in the nets after a thumb problem, though may not be considered, while Yasir Shah could come into contention if the pitch is dry and receptive to spin. Amir will be hoping to keep his place and get on the field this time.Pakistan: (possible) 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt/wk), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Mohammad Amir/Yasir Shah

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Ageas Bowl is usually hard and flat for limited-overs game, and this looks set to be a biscuit-coloured belter. Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur suggested it was drier than The Oval, so spin may play more of a role. Overnight rain could be a problem and there is a small chance of showers through the day, but the sun may force its way through, too.

Stats and trivia

• Eoin Morgan is set to draw level with Paul Collingwood on 197 as England’s most-capped player in ODIs.
• The last time these teams met in Southampton, in 2016, England won comfortably on DLS; Pakistan were victorious then years before that, thanks to a Younis Khan hundred.
• Although England’s winning run in bilateral ODI series came to an end with their recent draw in the Caribbean, they have not been beaten over a distance since January 2017.

Quotes

“We know he’s a very, very good bowler though and a highly skilled bowler. And he’s going to get an opportunity here to put his name forward. We’ll see at the end of the series where we are with that.”