The Cricket Australia chief executive on what the new structure would mean for cricket in Australia and elsewhere

Daniel Brettig13-Oct-2017Why does this matter?
In international cricket history, this is the first time there has been broad structure and context for international cricket. In their own way series between countries have some sort of context, but the broader context of a league and a championship provides certainty and competition structure that will create a really strong narrative for fans and commercial partners in the game. For those who write and report on the game it will provide an element of much greater richness, because every game will have context and meaning, not just for the participating countries, but also for other third-party nations and fans. It’s a tremendous step forward for international cricket.We’re perhaps here because of what people might say about the game of cricket being challenged by having three formats. I prefer to say cricket is blessed to have three formats, but right now is a very good time, not before time probably, for us to turn up with this structure and context to provide a foundation where fans can really relate to the way in which the game is played. Ideally the structure and context will provide an opportunity for the three formats of the game to co-exist together and to complement each other, and to allow fans to pick and choose what formats of the game they enjoy most, notwithstanding there are many out there who love the game no matter how it’s played.Will the Test Championship final and ODI League have big prize money attached to eclipse other events in world cricket?
That detail hasn’t been worked through but absolutely there will be significant rewards associated with being a champion team. That’s only appropriate. There are already significant awards for teams who win ICC events, so only appropriate that these being extensions of ICC events that there are similar sorts of prize money available. Every two years a playoff between the top two Test cricket teams in the world will be a highly anticipated event. The prestige of winning will be very significant.Does this mean more or less Test matches will be played?
For Australia it will probably mean a tiny bit less Test cricket. Something like 10 Test matches a year, where at the moment we probably average about 12. It will vary a little bit. I really believe the prestige and the level of engagement with Test cricket will be higher if we make it more precious, we play it in certain windows, it has structure and context as part of the Test Championship, it’s not meaningless with people wondering why it’s being played. All those things will come together.How will the championship impact on major series like the Ashes?
I can’t think of any way in which this denigrates or undermines the Ashes. The Ashes will continue to be the biggest Test event we play in, but these matches will have even greater meaning than they do currently – if that’s possible. Looking at the draft schedule it may well be that the first ever series of this new Test Championship is the Ashes series of 2019 in our winter. The Ashes will continue to fit into a four-year cycle.What happens in terms of the venue for the championship final? Neutral venue in England or home of top team?
Where the final will be played is still to be determined. It’s likely in that first cycle in 2021 it will be somewhere we can play in an Australian wintertime. But everyone liked the idea of finishing on top of the Test Championship and hosting a playoff match, whether that works logistically and fits in with everyone else is another matter. On an aggregate basis there’s less cricket played in the middle of the year than over the Australian summer period, because so many countries share the same cricket season. Ideally a home final would be the case, but you can also write a script pretty powerful to say imagine in July 2021 having a Test Championship playoff match at Lord’s, and people come from everywhere to be a part of it. If it was Australia and say South Africa or India playing, I don’t think there would be any question of it being an absolute sellout.Does the ODI league and a cap on series at three matches each mean we’ll see less 50-overs cricket played overall?
Absolutely. I’ve been on about this for a long time. If you want to take a harsh view on one-day cricket, incredibly popular as it has been and continues to be in many respects, the real context happens every four years when a World Cup is played. In the middle of that there’s a lot of one-day cricket played, between 20 and 30 matches every season for us, that in many ways is all a prelude between World Cups. This is a really strong structure, there’s a championship at stake, but it’s also about World Cup qualification, seeing who the top six or seven teams are who will qualify automatically, but also brings in Ireland and Afghanistan and a 13th country, so it creates opportunities there. Series will be capped at three matches and when you draw that up in your mind, a three-match one day series between Australia and India that counts towards a one day league championship, there’s a lot at stake there.How do you work out a points system for Test matches where winning series have value but also individual matches, say Tests four and five if the series is already won 3-0?
There’s a belief that is very important. Every match will count, it’s a matter of working through with statisticians and even actuaries will do an analysis on what the right mix is. For discussion I provided that it might be there’s 100 points available for a series, 60 of those for winning the series, and then the other 40 points are available on a per match basis, so if it was a two match series each Test would be worth 20 points for a win, or if if was a five Test match series each match would be worth eight points for a win. Something like that. In citing that example it means the fourth and fifth Test match of that series would be worth the same amount of points as the first Test match, even if they haven’t contributed to the series result. Everyone understands the important of winning series, but we want every match to count even though the series result might be resolved.Why has this championship and league model actually been approved this time, when there have been many failed attempts before?
What has evolved very quickly over the course of the last decade is a world that has these three formats and I think there’s a realisation amongst members that we needed to find a place to better define Test and one-day cricket. Where they fit and the contribution they make, and how those formats engage with fans is really about the continuing relevance and sustainability of those three formats. They’re popular but I certainly believe they can be more popular by virtue of this structure and context. There has been a lot of discussion about these sorts of things in the past, somewhat in isolation, somewhat without the burning platform of trying to bring it all together so all three formats live together in some kind of complementary fashion that makes cricket better and stronger.How much is this about making Test cricket, in particular, stronger in countries other than Australia or England where there isn’t an Ashes series up for grabs?
Definitely. I think it’s valued in all countries but there are concerns about the way fans engage with it [in some places]. This is not the silver bullet solution to ensure Test cricket crowds and viewing audiences all jump by 20-40%, there’s a whole lot of other things that need to happen to continue to support not just Tests but the other formats to ensure they’re relevant, but it is certain that all Full Members are united in the view that the primacy of international cricket is incredibly important, Test cricket as part of that, and this is a big step forward.And what about the introduction of four-day Test cricket ahead of the Championship which will still be played over five days. What is the thinking behind that decision?
There’s a commitment to the Test Championship being played over five days, but there’s nothing compulsory around countries playing four-day Test cricket if two countries come together and say they want to. It’s about learning more, innovation and understanding whether these sorts of things can work. We’ve seen innovations in day-night Test cricket where two countries wanted to play a game, and this sort of trial, if you don’t do it you’ll never know.

Parvez Rasool claimed a match haul of 11 wickets in Thiruvananthapuram, while Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless in Rajkot

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2017Seventeen-year-old left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai’s four-wicket haul in the second innings put Gujarat on course for their third outright win after Haryana slumped to 94 for 7 in their chase of 361 in Valsad.Desai received support from senior legspinner Piyush Chawla, who picked up three wickets, including that of Haryana captain Amit Mishra. After Gujarat declared their second innings on 281 for 9, Haryana lost their first wicket with the score on 8, and the innings gathered little momentum thereafter. They slumped to 28 for 4 and 54 for 7 before Sanjay Pahal (25*) and Harshal Patel (17*) put on an unbroken 40-run stand to avert any further mishap. Desai, playing his second first-class game, has a match-haul of seven wickets so far. He had finished with nine wickets on debut against Kerala.In the morning, Gujarat resumed on 110 for 2 and went about setting a fairly tall target. Priyank Panchal (67) and Bhargav Merai (66) were at the heart of such efforts with a 79-run partnership. Seamer Ashish Hooda finished with four wickets while Mishra picked up three to add to his four in the first innings.Kerala edged closer to their third victory of their season after their bowlers knocked over seven Jammu & Kashmir batsmen with only 56 runs after they were set a target of 238 in Thiruvananthapuram. Seamer MD Nidheesh and spinners Sijomon Joseph and KC Akshay picked up two wickets each before bad light suspended play.Resuming their second innings on 45 for 1, Kerala folded for 191. Rohan Prem (58) was the standout contributor, while there were also handy efforts from KB Arun Karthik (36) and Salman Nizar (32). Kerala, however, kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were at on 131 for 5 and later 174 for 6. J&K captain Parvez Rasool picked up five wickets to finish with a match haul of 11 wickets.Offspinner Vandit Jivrajani’s four-wicket haul helped Saurashtra restrict Jharkhand to 270 in the first innings and enforce the follow-on in Rajkot. Jharkhand got off to a better start in their second innings, going to stumps on 139 for 1 in 24 overs after opener Mohammad Nazim Siddiqui set the tone with an unbeaten 58-ball 83 that featured 11 fours and two sixes. They still trail Saurashtra by 144 runs.In the morning, though, things didn’t go Jharkhand’s way. Resuming their first innings on 52 for 2, the side lost overnight batsmen Sumit Kumar and Saurabh Tiwary inside the first 10 overs of the morning. Ishank Jaggi, however, put up a stiff resistance with a 171-ball 114 that included 15 fours and three sixes. With Ishan Kishan (59) for company, he added 133 runs for the fifth wicket.However, Jivrajani, who had claimed six wickets against Jammu & Kashmir in the previous game, provided the breakthrough to dismiss Kishan, and soon Jharkhand slipped from 204 for 4 to 226 for 7 before being bowled out. Seamers Jaydev Undakat and Shaurya Sanandia finished with two wickets each, while Ravindra Jadeja bowled 19 wicketless overs.

David Willey’s admission that he might abandon attempts to play Test cricket, at 27, and concentrate solely on limited-overs cricket, is unnerving news for England’s first-class system

David Hopps22-Dec-2017David Willey is considering abandoning attempts to play Test cricket for England to concentrate instead on a career as a limited-overs specialist.Willey made the admission in Perth where he is about to begin a third season in the Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers.”I think over the past couple of years, the way the scheduling is now it’s difficult to play enough four-day cricket to put your name in the frame for Test cricket,” he said.”So, I’m at a real crossroads at the minute actually of whether I decide to pursue a career in Twenty20 cricket and one-day cricket and leave my dreams of Test cricket behind.”The scheduling argument has most validity in late-season when County Championship cricket clashes with a heavy diet of England limited-overs cricket, but there remains a wedge of Championship matches in April and May, with seam-bowling conditions often encouraging, when a player of Willey’s skill sets might be deemed ideally placed to press his Test claims.More persuasive perhaps are the financial rewards that can be gained by mixing an England career in the shorter formats with life on the various T20 circuits worldwide.England have increasingly made the distinction between red and white ball specialists during Trevor Bayliss’ time as coach with the likes of Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Liam Plunkett and Alex Hales seemingly destined for a limited-overs future.Only Morgan, however, has displayed an obvious aversion for Championship cricket with Middlesex – Tymal Mills, another absentee, only plays Twenty20 because of fitness issues – but Willey made noises that he might follow the example of England’s limited-overs captain.It was T20 cricket, after all, with unfashionable Northamptonshire, where he first made his reputation. An IPL contract is not beyond his ability.David Willey takes a catch on the boundary•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

This will all will interest Yorkshire, in particular, who signed Willey with both county and player ambitious for him to lift his first-class reputation in county cricket but who instead have only seen him restricted by injury and non-selection to six Championship matches over two seasons. The vision of him becoming a ready-made replacement for their now-retired left-armer Ryan Side4bottom, but with added batting power, has not materialised.”Certainly, two years ago I still had ambitions to play Test cricket,” Willey said. “But right now, I’m at a real crossroads and I’ll have some sleepless nights thinking about that.”For me now it’s thinking about my body, my family, how long I want to be away from home and not only that but what sort of a condition I want to leave myself in come the end of my career and how long I can play for.”The absence of Ben Stokes from the Ashes series might have opened a door for Willey as a fourth seamer, albeit further down the order, if he was regarded as a realistic Test option, but as England reshuffled with the likes of Craig Overton, and perhaps Tom Curran in Melbourne, his worth was never even considered. That perhaps has sent a message as to where his future may lie.Willey’s uncertainty will add to the feeling of unease surrounding the Championship which cannot afford a slip in standards if it is to maintain credibility as an 18-county competition.With overseas players also increasingly hard to secure because of rival T20 attractions, the Championship cannot afford the long-suffered absence of England players on international duty to be aggravated by a further outflow of one-day specialists who simply choose to turn their backs on the competition.Willey has built up a catalogue of 31 ODIs and 16 T20Is for England, but even here there has been frustration. His reputation as a combative and dangerous hitter has led Yorkshire to employ him at the top of the order, and he has two Twenty20 and two List A hundreds to his name, but he languishes in England’s tail end, so much so that he has so far mustered only 202 international runs in both formats combined with a top score of 26.Even with the ball, he has become typecast as a bowler who is effective if he can swing a new ball, but more vulnerable if he cannot.Hardly a veteran at 27, he has taken 17 wickets in his two seasons in BBL for a Scorchers side that reached the semi-finals in 2015-16 and claimed its third title in four years in 2016. He is available for only six matches before teaming up with England’s party for the one-day series in the New Year.England are unlikely to object to Willey then returning to play for the Scorchers, if they reach the knockout stages, during a gap in the international schedule.

Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur also recalled; no places for Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-20180:37

Raina’s rampant T20I form

Suresh Raina has been recalled to India’s squad for the three-match T20I series in South Africa. Raina’s inclusion was the biggest highlight among a several changes from the squad that faced Sri Lanka at home last December.

IN: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur
OUT: Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar

Shreyas Iyer was the most notable absentee in the 16-man squad announced on Sunday, while Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar did not find places either. Allrounder Axar Patel and fast bowler Shardul Thakur filled two of the vacancies. Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar reclaimed their places after foregoing the Sri Lanka series on account of their weddings. Shikhar Dhawan, who had opted out due to personal reasons, was also back in the squad.Raina last played an international match in February 2017, which was T20I as well. Back then, he smashed 63 to help fashion a series-clinching 75-run win over England in Bengaluru. He fell out of favour thereafter, and endured a middling season with Uttar Pradesh, averaging 11.66 after nine innings in the Ranji Trophy. But he found form in the domestic T20 tournament, making 314 runs at a strike-rate of 146. Those figures include back-to-back innings of 126*, 61 and 56.Iyer, who made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka, made a bright start with two fifties in three matches. However, he returned just 54 runs in the three T20Is that followed and spent large parts of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy recovering from a hamstring injury. He did hammer an unbeaten 44-ball 79 in his last game though.The T20Is begin with the first game in Johannesburg on February 18, two days after the teams wrap up a six-match ODI series. India have already conceded the Tests 2-1.India squad: Virat Kohli (capt) Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur

With New South Wales threatening to build a huge platform, Nick Winter snared his second five-for in his second first-class match and the home team lost their last eight wickets for 73 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2018
ScorecardSouth Australian left-arm paceman Nick Winter claimed his second five-wicket haul in just his second match to help restrict New South Wales to a modest day-one total at the SCG.Winter, who took 5 for 85 on debut against Victoria last week, ripped the heart out of an experienced Blues middle order, with the home side threatening to build a huge platform.Daniel Hughes and Kurtis Patterson put together a 117-run stand to move the total to 2 for 183 after the Blues had won the toss. But Hughes fell seven short of a century to the part-time spin of Tom Cooper.Winter removed Moises Henriques shortly after, and the Blues lost their last eight wickets for just 73 runs to give the Redbacks the upper hand.

The Sri Lanka batsman expressed surprise over the rank turner in Mirpur based on how his team had “very experienced bowlers” capable of exploiting it

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2018If one was looking to take a bit of pleasure in the Mirpur Test, it was either in seeing a parade of spinners turning the ball a mile or watching how Roshen Silva tackled those vicious deliveries. The 29-year old may only be playing his third Test match, but he didn’t seem too perturbed by the conditions. Playing the ball as late as he could, he has scored two high-quality half-centuries to put Sri Lanka 312 runs ahead.Roshen now has four successive scores of 50 or more in his first five innings at the Test level. Only three other players have managed such a sequence: Herbie Collins (1921), Sunil Gavaskar (1971) and Mohammad Azharuddin (1985). Roshen’s only blemish was a duck on Test debut last December. A veteran of 110 first-class matches, he struck his maiden Test century in Chittagong, but that effort came on a featherbed and as such might pale in comparison to his knocks in Dhaka.Roshen took a refreshingly realistic view of proceedings on the second day at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. He didn’t sugarcoat anything, saying it wasn’t easy out there but that a batsman has to be mentally prepared that there would be far more deliveries spitting off the edge of the bat than those hitting the middle.”Before going to bat, praying is the best thing,” Roshen said. “I am just joking. But if you get a good ball on this wicket, you can’t help it. You can lose one or two wickets suddenly. You must get runs from the loose balls. We play in similar kind of wickets back home. We just wanted to play as normally as possible. I am not going to say it is a good wicket, but mentally we knew it was going to turn.”Roshen said that he was lucky to survive the initial skirmishes. “Thank God I didn’t get out in the first few balls to Mustafizur Rahman. You must have seen it was really bad. I didn’t think that this would happen.”But once he got a hang of the pitch, like in the first innings, his ability to play the ball close to his body, and with soft hands, thwarted the Bangladesh spinners. He cut them away forcefully whenever they dropped it short and when they went too full – like Mehidy Hasan did – he struck fours thorough midwicket.Roshen was surprised to see Bangladesh lay out a rank turner against a side that has experienced spinners. Keeping in mind how the hosts batted in the first innings, he said Sri Lanka’s 312-run lead is enough to get them a win. “I thought it would be a good batting wicket. In the subcontinent, when Aussies or other teams come, we give this wicket but Sri Lanka has a good spin attack. I don’t know why they gave a wicket like this.”I think this [lead] is enough. All the batsmen from the Bangladesh team also know this wicket is not going to be easy. We have a much more experienced spin attack. They also have really good bowlers but Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera are very experienced bowlers. Rangana has 400-plus Test wickets; Dilruwan 700 first-class wickets. Suranga and Akila Dananjaya bowled well too. We are in a good position to win this match.”

The opener’s blistering 64-ball 124 was instrumental in England gunning down a chase of 199 against India in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2018 by seven wicketsOpener Danielle Wyatt’s blistering 64-ball 124 was instrumental in England gunning down a record chase of 199 against India at the Brabourne Stadium. Wyatt was the cornerstone of a rousing chase that saw her bat till the end of the 17th over. England went over the line with seven wickets in hand and eight balls to spare.During the course of her knock, which included 15 fours and five sixes, Wyatt was involved in two sizeable stands. She first put 61 runs in 5.2 overs for the opening wicket with Bryony Smith. Then, she raised 96 runs for the second wicket with Tammy Beaumont, who slammed a 23-ball 35. Deepti Sharma dismissed Wyatt, but captain Heather Knight and Natalie Sciver knocked off the remaining runs with little difficulty. Four of India’s bowlers went for more than 10 runs an over.Danielle Wyatt’s second T20I hundred set England on course to breaking their own record•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England’s bowlers couldn’t avoid a similar fate early on, as India’s batsmen went on the rampage after being sent in. India prospered from a 129-run stand for the opening wicket between Smriti Mandhana (who smashed the fastest T20I fifty by an India women’s player en route to her 76 off 40 balls) and Mithali Raj (53 off 43). Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then carried on the momentum with a 22-ball 30 even as India ransacked 45 runs off their last 19 balls.Pooja Vastrakar finished the innings with a flourish by slamming an unbeaten 10-ball 22. Tash Farrant was the pick of the England bowlers with 2 for 32. Sophie Ecclestone and Sciver claimed a wicket each.

Had they been able to complete two more balls, Uganda would have clinched promotion to WCL Division Three later this year

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur05-May-2018No result
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCoach Steve Tikolo and captain Roger Mukasa are stoic after rain denied Uganda victory•Peter Della Penna

The World Cricket League has already thrown up its fair share of drama in the first half of 2018, beginning with the miracle that was Nepal’s 51-run tenth-wicket stand on the last day of group play to beat Canada at Division Two in Namibia. On Saturday in suburban Kuala Lumpur, the heavens opened up for a different kind of miracle to save Jersey and deny Uganda promotion.Having already sat through a two-hour delay in the ninth over that reduced Uganda’s original target from 127 to 105 off 35 overs, Riazat Ali Shah had just clubbed the fourth ball of the 20th over through wide long-on for four to put Uganda on 55 for 3, four runs ahead of the DLS par score for 20 overs. But as the ball bounced over the ropes, another storm that had closed in on the ground in the previous over let loose with heavy rain, forcing the umpires to take the players off the field 80 minutes before the official cut-off time of 5:45 pm. Even though the shower lasted only 20 minutes, it was enough to render the bowlers’ run-ups unplayable.The umpires took a final inspection at 5:05 pm before waving Uganda captain Roger Mukasa and his Jersey counterpart Charles Perchard out to deliver the news. The pair shook hands, Mukasa waved his hands apart while Perchard gestured a throat slash. Both gestures were met with silence from their respective camps before a full handshake line commenced with Uganda frustrated and Jersey relieved. Under the tournament rules, the match will be replayed from ball one on Sunday, with the playoff round scrapped and turned into a reserve day as league matches take precedence in determining promotion and relegation.Had they been able to complete two more balls, Uganda would have clinched promotion to WCL Division Three later this year while Jersey would have stayed in Division Four. However, thanks to Denmark’s loss to Vanuatu at Kinrara Academy Oval, where play went on uninterrupted just 16 miles northwest of UKM-YSD Oval in Bangi, Jersey can sleep on the knowledge that a win over Uganda in Sunday’s replay could see them overtake Denmark on the net run rate tie-breaker for promotion. Uganda, however, remain firm favourites to move up regardless of a win or loss.The rain spoiled another brilliant performance from Mohammed Irfan, who took the new ball and ripped through Jersey’s top order to leave them 36 for 5 during an unbroken 10-over spell of spin after Uganda sent Jersey in at the toss. Whether it was defending on the front foot (Peter Gough), back foot (Nick Ferraby), charging down the pitch (Jonty Jenner) or sweeping from the crease (Harrison Carlyon), Irfan found all sorts of ways to defeat the Jersey batsmen to claim 4 for 26.First-drop allrounder Ben Stevens held firm in the face of Irfan’s assault, building a 92-ball 66 that prevented Jersey from crumbling altogether and helped drag the innings out to 42.2 overs. Irfan’s new-ball medium-pace partner Bilal Hassan then returned to rip through the tail as Jersey were dismissed for 126.

The allrounder says he would rather get out playing the way he wants rather than way other people tell him

George Dobell12-Jun-20180:51

England better for Scotland defeat – Morgan

Moeen Ali has defended the choice of stroke that led to his dismissal in Edinburgh and vowed not to change the way he plays.Moeen appeared to have taken England to the brink of victory over Scotland with a fluent innings of 46 when, with 25 more required from the final 28 deliveries of the match, he tried to thrash a six and was caught on the long-on boundary; the eighth wicket to fall. It seemed an unnecessary risk from England’s last front-line batsman.But Moeen insisted it was the right choice of stroke and he wasn’t going to allow “negativity” to change the way he plays.”The ball was there to hit and I just mis-hit it,” Moeen said. “I’d hit two or three for six. When they are going for six and you’re playing well, everyone is trying to big you up. Mis-hit one, get out and all the negative people come out.”I could have knocked it for one, but then Liam Plunkett would have been on strike and could have been out. Then Adil Rashid could have been out. And then you’re in the same position.”From my point of view, it’s best not to have any sort of doubt. I have to stay true to myself; don’t doubt myself.”When I went out of the Test side, I sat down and realised that you have to be true to yourself. I’d rather get dropped playing the way I want to play rather than playing the way people want me to play. So that’s what I’m going to do.”I’m going to stay true to myself and not worry about what people say. There is a lot of negativity around. Scotland played really well, we couldn’t stop them from scoring runs and they made it really hard for us and they deserved to win.”Moeen also insisted he was growing into the ‘finisher’ role that and it is true that, a little after he came to the crease with the score on 276 for 7, England were in deep trouble. A stand of 71 with Plunkett appeared to have put England back on course”We were struggling big time but Liam and myself got us back in the game,” he said. “I feel good in my game: batting and bowling. I want to try to stick to my mindset and not let anyone change that.”If there was any lesson from the Edinburgh experience it was, perhaps, that England may not have the strength in depth they thought. Certainly Ben Stokes, who would have played in place of Alex Hales, and Chris Woakes, who would have played in front of David Willey, were sorely missed.Without a frontline sixth bowler – England did have the option to try Joe Root in Scotland, but were persuaded not to bowl him by the short boundaries – they had no insurance option should one of the main bowlers have an off day. As it transpired, pretty much all five of them did. They may also have missed Woakes’ calm head in the run-chase.”I always feel you’re better off having six bowlers in one-day cricket,” Moeen said. “The best thing is that Stokesy bats in your top six. If you can have two guys in the top six who bowl, I think you’re sitting pretty with the balance of the team.””It was a very good game in the end. They scored a lot of runs that we had to try to chase. It was a small ground and we should have chased them. Good for Scotland, bad for us.”

The 28-year old Sri Lankan legspinner has been punished for conduct that was in breach of his player contract

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2018Sri Lanka have sent legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay back home from the tour of West Indies owing to conduct that was in breach of his player contract. A press release from the board said the team management had reported an “incident” following which this decision was taken.Sri Lanka have had a difficult time in the Caribbean. They lost the first Test by a huge margin, became the subject of a ball-tampering controversy in the second, and the penalties handed out mean they won’t have the services of their captain Dinesh Chandimal in the third.Chandimal along with the coach Chandika Hathurusingha and manager Asanka Gurusinha are awaiting sanctions on another charge, relating to their role in holding up play for two hours on the third day in St Lucia in protest against the umpire’s suspicions that they had altered the condition of the ball.