Alex Lees made his first List A fifty for Durham but they could not hold off Worcs’ charge after a four-hour delay

ECB Reporters Network24-Apr-2019Durham suffered their first defeat of the campaign in the Royal London Cup as Ross Whiteley and Ben Cox guided Worcestershire Rapids to a four-wicket success under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at Blackfinch New Road.The visitors had won their opening games but Cox and Whiteley tipped a see-saw contest in favour of the Rapids with a half-century stand for the sixth wicket before victory was completed with 10 balls to spare. Cox, so often the cool head in a crisis, ended unbeaten on 31 from 26 balls.Victory enabled Worcestershire to bounce back from the weekend defeat to Leicestershire and move level on points with Durham.Durham were restricted to 114 for 4 in 27.2 overs before the heavens opened after being put into bat, despite Alex Lees scoring his first List A half-century for the county. Worcestershire were eventually set a revised target of 152 in 24 overs after a delay of more than four hours.Hamish Rutherford and Riki Wessels quickly established a position of command for the home side as the half-century came up in only 4.5 overs.Rutherford had become the second Worcestershire player to score centuries on his County Championship and List A debut and he continued in the same vein. He deposited Matt Salisbury and Matt Potts for six on his way to 33 from 22 balls before nicking a widish delivery from Ben Raine through to keeper Cameron Bancroft.Wessels was also full of attacking intent in making 29 until he was caught off a skier by Bancroft running back towards the boundary from a Salisbury delivery.Daryl Mitchell dragged a slower delivery from Brydon Carse on to his stumps for a second successive duck in the competition at 71 for 3 in the 10th over.Carse struck again in his next over as Tom Fell went for a pull and top-edged a simple catch to Graham Clark at mid-on. When captain Brett D’Oliveira was caught behind off Salisbury, Worcestershire had lost four wickets for 10 runs in the space of five overs.But Whiteley and Cox turned the game back in the Rapids favour by adding 51 in seven overs before the former provided Bancroft with another catch, this time off Raine. Cox and Ed Barnard saw Worcestershire over the finishing line.Durham had been put into bat and new-ball bowler Charlie Morris made the first breakthrough in his third over as Scott Steel went for a drive and was bowled by a delivery which came back sharply.Lees, who moved to Durham from Yorkshire after an initial loan spell last summer, had been dismissed for 4 and 6 in Durham’s opening two Royal London Cup games He looked in good form and cover-drove Morris for successive boundaries. But Clark paid the penalty for a poor shot as he pulled a short delivery from Josh Tongue straight to Whiteley at deep square leg.Durham skipper Bancroft went into the game on the back of unbeaten centuries in the competition – 151 versus Northamptonshire and 118 against Leicestershire.He moved confidently to 20 but the introduction of Mitchell into the attack led to his downfall. The Australia batsman drove loosely and Morris held on to the chance at short third man with the total 78 for 3.Lees completed his half century off 75 deliveries with four boundaries. But Gareth Harte, making his first RLC appearance of the campaign, fell shortly before an elongated break. He took a stride out of his crease before driving at D’Oliveira and was stumped by Cox.Only two more runs were added before the players were forced off by driving rain.

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.”

England to play four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is before Australia arrive for limited-overs tour

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2019Centurion will remain the host venue for South Africa’s Boxing Day Test against England later this year, with CSA confirming its fixture list for the 2019-20 season. As well as a full England tour featuring four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, South Africa will also host Australia for six limited-overs matches in February and March.England will travel to Cape Town, the traditional venue for South Africa’s New Year Test, followed by matches in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. Durban misses out on a Test but is the venue for an ODI and T20I; England will also travel to East London for the start of the T20I series.The tour will begin in mid-December with one two-day and one three-day tour match in Benoni. After the Tests, England have two one-day warm-up games scheduled in Paarl.Australia’s arrival in late February will see them go straight into T20Is at Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, with the three ODIs scheduled for Paarl, Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom – Australia’s first visit to Senwes Park since the 2003 World Cup.”This will be a huge summer both for our Standard Bank Proteas, who are currently ranked in the top three in all three formats, and for our fans who can look forward to action-packed and top-quality entertainment against two of the powerhouses of world cricket,” CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe said.”The Test matches will take on particular significance as this will be our first home series in the ICC World Test Championship following our away series in India in October. I am delighted also to announce that we will be working closely with SA Tourism around the Test host venues of Pretoria, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg to ensure that this series creates a win-win situation both for cricket and the South African economy.”The two KFC T20 international series take on extra relevance as we start our preparation for the ICC Men’s World T20 to be played in Australia in October and November next year.”South Africa 2019-20 fixturesDec 26-30 – 1st Test v England, SuperSport Park, Centurion
Jan 3-8 – 2nd Test v England, PPC Newlands, Cape Town
Jan 16-20 – 3rd Test v England, St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
Jan 24-28 – 4th Test v England, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Feb 4 – 1st ODI v England, PPC Newlands, Cape Town
Feb 7 – 2nd ODI v England, Kingsmead, Durban
Feb 9 – 3rd ODI v England, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Feb 12 – 1st T20I v England, Buffalo Park, East London
Feb 14 – 2nd T20I v England, Kingsmead, Durban
Feb 16 – 3rd T20I v England, SuperSport Park, Centurion
Feb 21 – 1st T20I v Australia, Bidvest Wanderers, Johannesburg
Feb 23 – 2nd T20I v Australia, St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
Feb 26 – 3rd T20I v Australia, PPC Newlands, Cape Town
Feb 29 – 1st ODI v Australia, Eurolux Park, Paarl
Mar 4 – 2nd ODI v Australia, Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
Mar 7 – 3rd ODI v Australia, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom

All the live updates and analyses from the South Africa v Sri Lanka game

Daniel Brettig28-Jun-2019

Taylor, one of Smith’s mentors, thinks the captain needs one dominant hundred to complete his reintegration into the Australia side

Daniel Brettig31-Jul-2019Should the Australian touring team want a few pointers on how to deal with a febrile Edgbaston crowd over the next five days, they would do well to ponder the experiences of Mark Taylor.22 years ago he was right at the centre of the storm leading Australia into a Test match that has gone down in history as the loudest and most raucous Test match ever played in England. Taylor entered the match in the grips of what might easily have been a career-ending slump, 11 Tests and 19 innings without passing 50, and ended it on the losing side.But along the way he found a way to carve out a century that broke the sequence, and helped to take the heat out of an issue that was threatening to engulf the team. 1-0 down but having righted the ship, Taylor’s men went on to claim the series, 3-2. Asked to recall how he dealt with an Edgbaston crowd that was in tumult in day one, when the Australians were shot out for 118 having been 50 for 8, Taylor had recollections that may well be relevant to Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in particular.”In 1997 when I went out to bat in that second innings, I made a conscious effort to look at the crowd,” Taylor told ESPNcricinfo. “When I looked around as I walked out, I didn’t see people booing me and wanting to continue my slump. I saw people, yes, wanting England to win, but also saw people wanting good cricket. Maybe that’s looking through rose-coloured glasses, but I remember when I made my hundred in that game that I took my helmet off and I looked around and I could see people were genuinely thrilled for me.”They’re the same crowd that’s going to be there on Thursday. Yes, sure they’re going to bring in bits of sandpaper and they’re going to talk about what happened in South Africa and what have you. And they’re going to hope that England are going to win the first Test. But at the same time they’re also going to want to see some good cricket, that’s the way I’ve always looked at crowds, and therefore they haven’t really worried me that much over the years – that’s how I would be approaching it.”Mark Taylor (centre) celebrates Australia’s 1997 Ashes triumph with Steve Waugh (left) and Ian Healy (right)•Getty Images

Taylor is in England to commentate on the series for Nine, and was reminded of 1997 via the unusual sleeping hours familiar to many an Australian just arrived in the UK. “I woke up at 5am because I was a bit jetlagged and they were going through Edgbaston Test matches. It got to 1997 and I watched it,” he said. “The crowd, I didn’t realise they were that loud, I don’t remember them being that loud.”And when they won on the final day, Alec Stewart hit Warney to the extra cover boundary, the crowd stormed onto the field, they were nuts. I didn’t remember that, I just remembered thinking we had to improve. If your head’s in the crowd, it means you’re not worrying about your own game. I think Smithy, Warner and Cam Bancroft, they shouldn’t be thinking about the crowd, they should be thinking about how they play their best cricket, and if they do that, they’ll keep that crowd quiet.”As captain of Australia, Smith had listed Taylor as one of his mentors, and the pair have maintained contact over the past year, vexed as it was by the decision of the Cricket Australia Board – of which Taylor was then a member – to ban Smith and Warner for a year, and Bancroft for nine months. The intense and introspective visage of Smith has been noticeable to many since he arrived in England, and Taylor believes that the 30-year-old needs the validation of a Test century to feel more at ease with the world.”I think with Smithy, what he needs, and is still yearning for, is a big score,” Taylor said. “We saw in the World Cup semi-final that he’s still a class player – he looked a class above the rest in that innings. I think when he makes a big score, hopefully in this series, that’ll be him fully back in the Australian side. There’s probably a part of him that would still like to captain the side again, and maybe he will, but I think he also loves the game and playing the game so he’s happy enough at this stage to be back.”He’d love to be making runs like he was 18 months ago. When he makes a big score and raises the bat for a Test match hundred, that’ll be a great sign for Australian cricket that he is back. I think David Warner has already got himself back with the World Cup, so Smithy now needs that big score to tick the last box.”Talking to Steve Waugh, one of the things he noticed from this team and someone like Smithy is how many balls he hits, and that’s one of the biggest differences he’s seen with the training. In our day we had net sessions and liked to hit balls, but nowhere near the volume of balls that someone like Steve Smith does. He’s in a different stratosphere in terms of ball hitting. He had a 45-minute net today, that’s a huge net, that’d be three nets from yesteryear – you used to get about 15 minutes.”Mark Taylor watches the replay of his dismissal on the big screen during the 6th Test of the 1997 Ashes•PA Photos

As an opening batsman, the 1997 century gave Taylor three out of three in the first Tests of the series he played in England, also including 1989 and 1993. Those innings and their circumstances have left him thinking that Warner and Bancroft may well be hoping to be sent in to bat on Thursday, for a chance to capitalise on nervous bowlers while also feeling like the pressure is off them.”Making that hundred on day one at Headingley was huge for me and the team at the time. AB went after the bowling, which helped, and I got a lot of confidence from the fact that they sent us in,” Taylor said. “I used to love being sent in as an opening batsman, because I always felt that took the pressure off me as a batsman, the opposition captain thinks it is going to do plenty, so they put you in. Straightaway the onus is on the bowling team to bowl you out, not necessarily you to make runs, even though that is your job.”I batted out there with Boony and Swamp for a while and it didn’t do a lot. It swung a little bit, then AB came in and took them on and before you knew it we were 2 for 120 and I thought ‘hey this is going alright’. In 1993, there’d been a lot of rain around and they put us in again, and then Slats and I both made runs to be 0 for 100. Slats made 50 in his first Test, I made 100, and once again, bowling first can be a huge disadvantage if you don’t get it right.”More than two decades since the 1997 century, Taylor still carries the air that helped him so much as captain of Australia: jovial, confident but not arrogant, and conscious that life could be so much worse than not making enough runs. “I’ve always tried to look at cricket as a game,” he said.”I remember Rick McCosker said that to me at Newcastle Sports Ground in about my second season: ‘just remember it’s a game’. That’s what it is. It can be all-consuming sometimes and I’ve even felt that in the last couple of years on the board. But you’ve got to remember you’re talking about a game of cricket. People are supposed to be enjoying this, players are supposed to be enjoying it, fans are supposed to be enjoying it, and it’s nothing more than that.”Whether Australia wins or loses the Ashes is not going to change the world. So when I walked away from games of cricket during my slump, I’d go home to my wife and, I wouldn’t laugh about it, but there was no reason why I was making low scores. My eyes were OK, my fitness was OK, my wife wasn’t leaving me, my kids weren’t ill, there was nothing I could put my finger on that suggests I shouldn’t be making runs. Eventually, fortunately at Edgbaston I did make runs.”Of course, by 1997, the Australians were filled with memories of beating England in the previous four series, a history that imbued them with confidence. Taylor reckons that for Tim Paine’s 2019 team, the challenge is not dissimilar to that of 1989, when England were not exactly flying, but Australia faced uncertainty about their own quality and a barren recent history in England, having not won a series there since 1975.”Looking at the 1990s when we won six Ashes in a row, things changed in 1989, with us coming over, considered an ordinary side, world’s worst side, and we won,” Taylor said. “England had rebel tours going on and all of a sudden they were in disarray. We belted them again in Australia, came back in 1993 and belted them again here. All of a sudden we were getting bigger and bigger and England were trying to regroup.”By the end of the 1990s they were playing better, 1997 was a closer series. But we had this belief, even with me playing badly at the start, that we were going to beat them, even 1-0 down we had this belief, and England didn’t have the belief they were going to beat us. It wasn’t until 2005 when Michael Vaughan’s team turned it around in a big way and beat a very good Australian side. I didn’t think England would beat Australia until 2009, yet they won in ’05.”England have had belief since then that at least here in this country. There’s a lot of talk about the pitches and the balls, a lot of those things to me are almost red herrings. It’s who’s going to play the better cricket and win those big sessions. But it’s changing the belief in their head as much as anything. I think they’ve got the talent to win this series and win it well. But they’ve got to believe it. They won’t be thinking about 2001 and not winning here since, but they will be thinking are we good enough to beat this England team. I think they are.”

Matthew Wade could find himself out of the Test side at Old Trafford as Australia ponder adding another right-hander

Daniel Brettig31-Aug-2019Australia are pondering a radical change to their batting line-up for the Old Trafford Test, considering the inclusion of Mitchell Marsh at the expense of Matthew Wade to increase their complement of right-handers.The around-the-wicket line from Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer in particular has been a source of considerable angst for the tourists, while the most productive Australian batsmen by far have been Steven Smith and his stand-in Marnus Labuschagne.In order to fit both Smith and Labuschagne into the team there will likely be a change at the top of the order, but the selection chairman Trevor Hohns has hinted that Wade may be omitted to allow Marsh to play as a third right-hander in the top six – the allrounder made 74 batting at No. 3 in Derby.ALSO READ: Starc polishes off Derbyshire to push case“He played very well that innings he made a hundred,” Hohns said of Wade. “Unfortunately things have not quite gone his way since then. That will certainly be an area we are having a look at.”It has been difficult up top for both teams, the opening bowlers with that new ball, conditions that seem to have prevailed, it has been very, very difficult for any player who has batted in the top three. We are mindful of that. We are also mindful of the England bowlers have bowled very well to our guys, particularly our left-handers, so we will certainly look at that as well.”Labuschagne is certain of retaining his place thanks to a trio of half-centuries after substituting for Smith at Lord’s and Headingley. Where he bats will be another conversation, though it appears most likely he will move up to No. 3 behind David Warner and Usman Khawaja.”Absolutely, there’s no doubt about that. He’s been terrific with the opportunity he was given in Lord’s, unfortunate opportunity of course,” Hohns said of Labuschagne seizing his moment. “He’s certainly made every post a winner and made the most of every opportunity he has been given. Adding that to the fact he can bowl some handy legspin as well, he’s a prime contender.”Very hard for me to say just where [Labuschagne will bat] but he’s an option everywhere, as we have seen. He can bat at three, he can bat at four, he can bat in the middle and he can bowl handy legspinners, so he’s a good option for us.”Mitchell Starc’s impressive outing at Derby, where he combined an improved level of control with his customary speed and knack for hitting the stumps, underlined that he will be a genuine contender for Old Trafford. This is not only because it promises to be the fastest surface of the series, but also because releasing Starc would allow Australia the luxury of having two fresh fast bowlers available for the final Test of the series at the Oval.”He’s certainly given us a good option there. We’ll have a look at the pitch of course and we have heard that it is renowned for being possibly the quickest in the country. That will all be taken into account,” Hohns said. “Right from the start of the tour it was made very clear what was expected of our bowlers and where we wanted them to bowl.”Mitchell has taken all that on board and he was worked very very hard to improve his game in that area. We all know he is an aggressor, so we can’t expect him to change the way he bowls too much. But he is doing everything he possibly can to bowl in the right areas and the right channels.”With our bowling unit in particular, we have tried to manage our bowlers, so we will certainly be taking that in to account. In the past we have generally used the same ones but I think a lot of the Test matches in the past were spaced out a little more. In this instance right now we are very thankful to have five, six of our top fast bowlers all fit at the same time. We haven’t had that for a long time. It’s quite a luxury actually.”

Weather might be a concern in what is expected to be a gripping contest, with rain forecast for all five days in Chattogram

The Preview by Mohammad Isam04-Sep-2019

Big Picture

The bourgeoning rivalry between Bangladesh and Afghanistan begins its Test chapter with a spin duel likely to be the highlight in what is expected to be helpful conditions in Chattogram. Rain, however, could well play a major role in the proceedings, and the stop-start affair could well make the batsmen’s lives more miserable.The two sides are also led by top-class spinners: Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan. Shakib’s spectacular 2019 World Cup has made him one of the game’s major global stars – if he wasn’t already – and now he is tasked with reviving the fortunes of the team after an indifferent few months. Rashid has somewhat emulated Shakib in terms of becoming his team’s main man, winning them games with the ball as well as becoming a competent lower-order hitter and gun fielder. Much of that, though, has been restricted to the white-ball formats.ALSO READ: Five challenges for new Afghanistan captain Rashid KhanRashid’s new role as Afghanistan captain in all formats gives him a lot more responsibility. He would definitely look forward to his batsmen, especially the likes of Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan, to tackle Bangladesh’s four-man spin attack – Shakib, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan and Nayeem Hasan, who took all 40 wickets during the last home series, against West Indies last year. The tricky part for the Afghan batsmen would be to rein themselves in and avoid the big hits, which isn’t going to be easy for long periods in a Test match.ALSO READ: Bangladesh look to take the pace off againRashid and Mohammad Nabi will be the main bowlers, and they can call upon left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan and legspinner Qais Ahmed for a four=pronged spin attack similar to what Bangladesh will have.For the home side, which is without Tamim Iqbal, the concern would be to replace the experience at the top. How Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib and Mahmudullah bat in the middle-order becomes key, while Liton Das and Mominul Haque would no doubt need to step up.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LLWWW
Afghanistan: LW (only two Test matches so far)
Mushfiqur Rahim makes a point during a training session•BCB

In the spotlight

After a brilliant World Cup, Shakib Al Hasan is back playing for Bangladesh after a rest, during which Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka for an ODI series. He has been tasked to lead the side into a new era, albeit reluctantly.How will Rashid Khan the bowler fare after becoming the captain, is a critical question for Afghanistan. He will be the man Bangladesh’s batsmen watch out for as well as target, and as much as they would like to wear him out, pitch and conditions in Chattogram could assist Rashid’s type of accurate, stump-to-stump spin bowling.

Team news

Shakib and Mushfiqur, having missed Bangladesh’s New Zealand Test series, will replace Tamim and Mustafizur Rahman. This is likely to push Soumya Sarkar to open with Shadman Islam, while Abu Jayed could be the token pace bowler.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Liton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Nayeem Hasan, 11 Abu JayedAfghanistan have three obvious changes to make from the side that played their last Test against Ireland. Mohammad Shahzad, Wafadar Momand and Waqar Salamkheil are all out of the reckoning, and could be replaced by Ibrahim Zadran, Zahir Khan and Qais Ahmed.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Ihsanullah, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Asghar Afghan, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Yamin Ahmadzai, 10 Qais Ahmed, 11 Zahir Khan

Pitch and conditions

The curator here, Zahid Reza, has often produced sporting pitches, as much as it is possible while keeping the home team happy. Particularly in the 2016 Bangladesh v England Test, the evenness and consistency of turn and bounce ensured a good game of cricket. But rain has been forecast for all five days, and that could be a bummer.

Stats that matter

• Taijul is one strike away from becoming the third Bangladeshi bowler to reach 100 Test wickets. The other two are Shakib and Mohammad Rafique.
• Bangladesh have never won their maiden Tests against their previous opponents.
• The uncapped Ibrahim was the standout performer during Afghanistan A’s tour of Bangladesh last month, having made 482 runs with a century and three fifties.

Quotes

“I have to bowl a lot of overs at home, so it is slightly difficult to bat up the order. Maybe in the future if I bowl less, then maybe I can bat higher up the order. Concentration levels are important for a batsman, so I must be fresh. It is better then to bat down the order.”
“Everyone is matured. It is not like we are playing for the national team for the first time. They have played enough cricket. I tell them to keep enjoying, on and off the field.”

Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed says they were not able to apply themselves and click at the right time

Umar Farooq10-Oct-2019Misbah-ul-Haq has been welcomed into his dual position of head coach and chief selector with a 3-0 whitewash in the T20I series at the hands of a second-string Sri Lanka side. That has left Misbah and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed “clueless” with “lots of questions to answer”.Pakistan have been No.1 in T20Is for nearly two years now and losing this series at home, where they don’t play too often, will hurt them further. Both Misbah and Sarfaraz answered questions at the post-match press conference about what went wrong since Mickey Arthur left.”It’s an example for us the way they have beaten us in every department,” Misbah said. “They won the games in almost one-sided fashion leaving us in tatters and with lots of questions to answer. We played very poor cricket and definitely it’s my responsibility but I am still thinking what really happened because these are the same set of players that have been playing for long and made the team No. 1.”When asked if the loss was because of a strategy change in the dressing room since Arthur left, Misbah said: “I haven’t done anything in the last 10 days that could have deterred anything. If you want to put responsibility on me you can but in this brief time since I took charge how big a difference could I created with my coaching. The strategy was simple: to cash in on the Powerplay and later go all out in the last five overs. These are the same players who took Pakistan on top [in the T20I rankings] but in this series they were not able to execute things well with the bat, ball and while fielding.”These reasons may not comprehend properly how a top-ranked side can slide so quickly against a Sri Lankan team without their top players. But when Misbah was asked again, he got sarcastic.”Maybe I did something? Probably I made our right-hand batsmen switch to left-handed batting or maybe made our right-handers bowl with the left arm or vice-versa? In terms of strategy, nothing really has changed but I am thinking what went wrong.”Sarfaraz came to the rescue of his coach and brushed aside any change of strategy or thought process in the T20 format.”Everything is the same [in our planning] but the difference was our performance on the ground,” Sarfaraz said. “We were not able to apply ourselves, we didn’t click at the right time, we were not able to clinch the key moments. We shouldn’t have let them cross the 150-mark but we did, we did not capitalise in the middle overs, we dropped catches…so all this played a part.”Whether it’s the last management or this, our message [to the players] was clear and almost the same. It’s then the responsibility of the captain and players to deliver at the ground. But we didn’t perform. There are good and bad days for almost everyone but we have to learn quickly from this. We have to regroup and stand together again and it will be good if we get our momentum back as soon as possible.”Pakistan have had a prolific run in the last two years in T20Is, winning 21 of their 29 matches with a win-loss ratio of 2.6, the best among teams that have played at least 15 matches in this period. Babar Azam, the No. 1-ranked batsman in T20Is, has played a crucial role in Pakistan’s form in these 24 months by scoring 858 runs in 22 innings with a stellar average of 47.66 and strike rate of nearly 127.But his lack of form, combined with Fakhar Zaman’s, while opening in this series dented Pakistan’s chances of getting off to dominating starts as Babar scored 27, 3 and 13 in their opening stands of 0, 9 and 13.In the third T20I on Wednesday night, Fakhar was bowled on the first ball of their 148 chase before Babar and Haris Sohail steered the innings but they managed only 35 runs together in the Powerplay. Babar was later caught behind for a 32-ball 27 and Sohail brought up half-century off 46 balls but their asking rate kept climbing, leaving much of the work for the lower order. Pakistan were left to score 54 runs off 29 balls when Sohail fell for 52 and they eventually fell short by 13 runs.”It’s not that they (the top-order batsmen) were being selfish, they were unable to adapt to the slowness of the pitch,” Misbah explained. “They were trying to hit but weren’t able to which led to more dot balls and frustration. Babar wasn’t able to time the ball in all three innings.”It’s unfair to say that both (Babar and Harris) were playing for themselves. Their position in the team is not uncertain and nobody is challenging their positions at the moment. It was Sri Lanka’s good bowling which never allowed our batsmen to adapt properly. A big factor has been the impact of their wristspinner (Wanindu Hasaranga). We didn’t pick his googly whereas they played our spinner nicely and batted well.”

Bernard Scholtz produced the tournament’s best haul of 4 for 12 to decimate Kenya in their chase

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Dubai25-Oct-2019
After starting off the tournament with two lopsided loss to Netherlands and Papua New Guinea, Namibia are now red-hot after steamrolling Kenya by 87 runs for their third straight win to control their own destiny for one of Group A’s four playoff spots. Stephan Baard and Gerhard Erasmus scored half-centuries at the front and back of the first innings before left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz produced the tournament’s best haul of 4 for 12 to decimate Kenya in their chase. A win over Singapore in their final group match will guarantee Namibia a spot in the playoffs.Namibia chose to bat first after winning the toss and were kept to a reasonably modest total in the first 10 overs, reaching 75 for 1. Niko Davin fell in the second over, slicing a thick edge to short third man off Shem Ngoche’s left-arm spin. But Baard and JP Kotze rebuilt with a 63-run stand to steady course after the early loss. Baard scored five boundaries in an eight-ball stretch from the fourth to the sixth overs, punishing the width routinely on offer.Kotze was sluggish at the other end, doing what he could to rotate the strike and give Baard support. He finally fell for 24 in the 11th trying to slog Sachin Bhudia’s medium pace with the keeper up to the stumps. The wicket sparked a brief collapse for Namibia with poor running accounting for two of the next three wickets in the sequence. Zane Green ran himself out after freezing amidst an lbw shout from Rakep Patel as Aman Gandhi underhanded into the striker’s stumps from short third man. Baard fell for 51 in the next over, flicking Collins Obuya to short fine leg. JJ Smit was then run out in the 16th from short third man again as he hesitated on a call from Gerhard Erasmus at the non-striker’s end to make it 108 for 5 with 32 balls left.But Erasmus and Craig Williams scored 73 through the rest of the innings, including 57 off the last three overs. Erasmus was brutal over the leg side, particularly in the final over bowled by Elijah Otieno. The medium pacer had already overstepped twice in his opening over but paid the price for a third no ball in the 20th, over waist height this time, as Erasmus clobbered him over the largest boundary on the east side for six in a 25-run frame to move to 49. A three off the final ball took him to a 25-ball half-century and left Kenya deflated heading into the break.Kenya’s chase started poorly when Irfan Karim took on Gerhard Erasmus at midwicket and was sent back by Aman Gandhi as the relay to the keeper beat him by three yards to make it 7 for 1 in two. Christi Viljoen bounced out Dhiren Gondaria, claiming a top-edge charging in his follow-through to make it 28 for 2.Scholtz then entered in the 7th and struck once each in his four overs bowled unbroken. Jasraj Kundi was defeated charging down the wicket and bowled leg stump for 2. Gandhi fell in carbon copy fashion to Kundi for 22. Obuya drove to long-on in the 11th before Ngoche fell in the 13th leg before to a missed sweep. By the timehis spell was done, it was 53 for 6 and the rest of the innings petered out. Smit came back to clean up the tail with three late wickets as Kenya failed to last their 20 overs. At 2-3 after five matches, they need to beat group leaders Papua New Guinea in their final match to have any hope of advancing to the playoffs.

South Africa’s new head coach talks up key lessons about diversity as he prepares to take on England

Firdose Moonda21-Dec-2019Some call it bullish, while others call it bullying. Mark Boucher had been labelled both during his playing career. On the field, he was the man up for a fight. Off it, he was one of the toughest fines’ masters around: if he ordered it, you drank it. He was the ultimate boytjie. And then came that day in July 2012.When Boucher’s career was ended by that freak eye injury, three Tests before he planned it would, he was forced to turn his focus inwards. Initially, it took him completely away from cricket and into nature conservation, and then it brought him back as a coach. At the Titans, Boucher was open to running his dressing room differently to the ones he had played in. He let go of the schoolboy-style ideas of hierarchy and embraced modern methods of man-management which are less dictatorial and more focused on individualism.Under Boucher, the Titans won five trophies, produced Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi and Heinrich Klaasen for the national side, gave Dean Elgar and Theunis de Bruyn a franchise to find and re-find form and harnessed the talents of players such as Farhaan Behardien and Junior Dala to form a competitive unit. Just read those names and you can see differences of culture, background and experience. That Boucher was able to impact them all speaks of the biggest lesson he has learnt as a coach, and presents a softer and more considered side to a man we all thought we knew as uncompromisingly hard.”My way is not always the right way,” Boucher said at the South African training camp in Pretoria. “There were times in my career where I used to go out there and be quite aggressive and try and impose myself on team-mates and this is what I have learnt about diversity within a set-up. Sometimes you won’t get the best out of the players if you are trying to get them to be like you. My biggest lesson is to let people be who they are and let them be natural. I played at my best when I was natural but my natural wasn’t the same as AB’s [de Villiers’] natural or JK’s [Jacques Kallis’] natural. That’s a big lesson I have learnt with regards to leading individuals.”Boucher’s observations about difference are essential at a time when the South African team risks appearing as if it is returning to the monotone days of the past. Although seven of the national side’s support staff were not part of the famed “clique”, as Herschelle Gibbs dubbed it, four most definitely were, and two of them are in the most influential positions. Graeme Smith is the acting director of cricket and Boucher is the head coach until 2023.In addition, Jacques Kallis is the batting consultant for this summer and Paul Harris’ role as spin consultant is ad-hoc but, considering Boucher was appointed above Enoch Nkwe, who is now his assistant, and taking into account the racial dynamics in South Africa, there are already accusations of a whitewash. While Gibbs has congratulated Boucher, he has also hinted that there is a concentration of power in certain peoples’ hands and so Boucher’s message of inclusivity and humility is even more important.”If you look at every team, they’ve got different characters and I want those different characters to come out because I think they add value to team unity,” Boucher said. “The other thing is understanding that we don’t know everything and there’s certain players in there that have played a lot of Test cricket. Sometimes you’ve just got to be a man manager to them. Other individuals coming in maybe need a little bit more coaching and knowledge passed on to them to try and speed up the learning process.”To apply that approach, not only does Boucher have to be perceptive enough to know which players need him more than others, he also has to able to get his own personality out of the way. And that already seems to have happened.”It’s important that you don’t have guys with egos,” Faf du Plessis, the captain, said. “That’s the most important thing when it comes to leadership groups, especially if there’s a few names thrown into the mix. For someone like Mark Boucher who has been coaching for the last three or four years with the Titans, seeing what it is like on the other side, because coaching and playing are two different roles, and you can see his development from a personality point of view.ALSO READ: Explainer: How and why Cricket South Africa’s crisis unfolded“He also understands that it’s give-and-take. He will come in sometimes and I’ll pull away and vice versa and I think that only comes when you are mature enough to understand what a leadership group looks like and are secure in your own position. If you are insecure, then you are going to feel like you need to talk all the time because there is another big voice in the team but I don’t feel like that at all.”Boucher still talks tough and is quick to remind anyone who asks that South Africa have recovered from tough times before, citing the 2-1 win in an ODI series against Australia after the Hansie Cronje scandal as his example. He needn’t go that far back, though. South Africa pulled themselves together after losing Boucher in the first warm-up match in 2012, which could have put their plans in disarray that summer, to beat England 2-0 and claim the ICC Test mace.So perhaps it’s only fitting that now, seven years later, with another crisis at their door, Boucher is back to try and fix things. But this time, it’s both the same and a different Boucher. It’s still a Boucher that is willing to roll his sleeves up and do the “dirty work” of preparation, and a Boucher that is willing to push others to their limits, but it also a Boucher that is content to sit back and watch what happens rather than bulldoze his way through.”Our role as coaches is about trying to create an environment for these guys to go out there and play their best cricket,” he said. “It’s been hard work on the coaches, we have thrown a lot and my shoulder is a bit sore but we want to get the dirty work done. And the dirty work is sometimes a bit uncomfortable for the players in the nets but we spoke about being adaptable and open to change and to try and break the ceiling a bit and see how far we can push ourselves as individuals and as a team.”