Can Afghanistan sustain momentum in lead-up to the T20 World Cup?

Shashank Kishore18-Mar-2021

Big Picture

Cricket is a confidence game. Afghanistan, searching for a spark in the first Test in which they were ambushed in less than two days, found it a week later in the second Test. And they’ve carried that forward into their favourite format, the T20s, breaking little sweat in seeing off Zimbabwe in the series opener.Rashid Khan, a global T20 superstar, one of the architects of their series-levelling second Test win, singlehandedly works magic for them. His presence automatically lifts a young side, many of whom are slowly spreading their wings in leagues like the BBL, CPL and the Abu Dhabi T10. Most times, his four overs are like an insurance policy when they defend or are under sustained aggression from opponents.While he lived up to his reputation on Wednesday too, the star was opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who displayed a ferocity to his batting to make a 45-ball 87 at the top of the order. Asghar Afghan, chipping in with just his fourth T20I fifty in his 64th innings, may have steered away from some of the “is he good enough” debates. Only a week ago, he also became the country’s second Test centurion. And it all bodes well for Afghanistan: the batting not being dependent on just one or two people alone is something they’d want to cultivate as they build up to the T20 World Cup in India in October.Zimbabwe have no immediate requirements of that kind, because they won’t be playing in that showpiece event after failing to qualify for administrative reasons – their board was suspended at the time of the qualifier. But there’s plenty of pride at stake and an opportunity to look a year into the future, when there’s another T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.For a while now, Zimbabwe’s schedule hasn’t been defined. So having an intense stretch of games such as this in a span of four weeks by itself is a positive sign. Now the next step is for them to overcome the batting dependency on Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, if they’re to put up tall totals or chase down scores like the 199 were faced with in the first T20I. There’s also a streak to break. They’ve lost each of their last five T20Is, including nine of the last 10 against Afghanistan.

Form guide

Afghanistan: WLWWW (completed T20Is, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: : LLLLL

In the spotlight

Twenty-two-year old Karim Janat, brother of Afghan, is developing into an allrounder. He first showed shades of his brilliance against West Indies in November 2019, after his selection had become somewhat of a talking point because at that stage, he had averaged 31 with the bat, while his bowling numbers weren’t that impressive either. Then, he shredded a power-packed West Indies by first making a freewheeling 18-ball 26 and then taking 5 for 11, Afghanistan’s second-best T20I figures, in a win. Over the past year, while his bowling has come on superbly, he’s fallen behind slightly with the bat. For an opener, he’s yet to hit a T20I half-century. Can he on Friday?Can Karim Janat continue to improve as an allrounder?•AFP

A prodigious batting talent at 16, Wesley Madhevere has found the transition to international cricket tough. A member of two Under-19 World Cup squads and a heavy scorer for Eagles in domestic cricket, Madhevere’s struggled for runs on tour. He’s made two ducks in his first two Test innings and, on Wednesday, managed just 2 before being foxed by Rashid trying to slog. It speaks of the side’s confidence, perhaps, that he’s also batting at a lowly No. 7 currently. He didn’t bowl either in the opening game, so there is much to prove.

Pitch and conditions

It’s likely to be a good surface in Abu Dhabi, but one of the square boundaries will be considerably shorter. The heat at this time of the year isn’t yet intense by UAE standards, but it’ll still test the fitness and endurance of the players nonetheless.

Probable XIs

The status of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Gulbadin Naib is as yet unclear after the two were among a group of five players whose UAE visas were delayed.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Usman Ghani/Gulbadin Naib, 3 Karim Janat, 4 Asghar Afghan (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen Ul Haq, 10 Amir Hamza, 11 Fareed Ahmad/Mujeeb Ur RahmanZimbabwe (probable): 1 Tarisai Musakanda, 2 Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, 3 Sean Williams (capt), 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 7 Wesley Madhevere, 8 Donald Tiripano, 9 Brandon Mavuta, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Richard Ngarava

Stats and trivia

• Mohammad Nabi, now just a white-ball player, hasn’t picked up a wicket in his last 12 T20I bowling innings. This is the longest streak without a wicket for any player who’s bowled regularly in this format.
• Rashid Khan will make his 50th T20I appearance on Friday.
• Rashid is currently the joint-fourth-highest wicket-taker in men’s T20Is, with Shakib Al Hasan. He needs two more wickets to go past Tim Southee (93 wickets). Lasith Malinga (107) and Shahid Afridi (98) occupy the top two spots

Also said that selectors have told him to go beyond just scoring half-centuries in ODIs

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-May-2021Fearlessness. If there’s one change Sri Lanka’s new ODI captain Kusal Perera would like to usher in, it is for his team to play as he says he does: completely unafraid.Perera has been appointed leader of a young squad, which is without several big names, including Angelo Mathews, and now has the opportunity to turn around Sri Lanka’s poor form in the format – the side having slipped to ninth on the ICC rankings. Perera has long been one of the most aggressive batsmen in Sri Lanka’s ranks, and early indications are that he would like the team to embrace that ethos.”We have to play fearless cricket to win matches,” he said, a day after his appointment as captain was made official. “You can’t be fearful about losing. If you’re worried about your place, you aren’t going to give 100%. What I’m going to tell the players is to go and give it everything. If we play fearlessly even when we are practicing, then you will be able to play the same way in a match. That’s what I’ve told the team. If we are fearful, we will fall even further. I’m trying to build a culture where the players have a lot of confidence.”Perera’s own most notable innings have been aggressive ones. In Tests, his 153 not out off 200 in Durban is now counted among the format’s greatest knocks. In ODIs, he has hit the second-equal fastest half-century – off 17 balls, against Pakistan, in 2015.”I really like to play fearless cricket personally, and that’s where my success has been. Whenever I’ve played with fear, it hasn’t worked for me. I want everyone else to play like that. You can’t guarantee that you will go right playing this way, but the chances of things going well are greater.””But you have to practice well to instill that fearlessness. Because if you are 100% certain about the shot you’re playing, you can play without fear. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Where does the ball need to be for me to hit it? Will I get myself in trouble by hitting there? You need to have that understanding. If you’re a bowler, you need to know which ball can get you a wicket, and which will help you bowl a dot. These things help you play fearlessly. As a fielding unit, you have to carry that same ethos as well, and I have big hopes for the upcoming Bangladesh series about our fielding.”Although Perera has sparkled briefly, however, his overall record as a batsman is modest. After 96 ODI innings, he averages 31.04, with a strike rate of 92.04. The responsibility of leadership, he hoped, would bring bigger personal scores as well.”What the selectors told me when they appointed me was that I often get a 50 or a 60 and get out without getting to a 100. I accept that. If I score a hundred, the chances of winning the match go up. You can’t get a 100 every game, but when you get a start, you need to make sure you convert. They expect me to take that responsibility.”

Captain’s knock revives Surrey after table-toppers make early running

Alan Gardner27-May-2021If Surrey supporters could name one thing that they missed most about not being able to come to the Kia Oval in recent times, the sight of Hashim Amla in full flow would surely have been high on the list. Amla has an imposing record on this ground, the scene of his unbeaten 311 for South Africa in 2012, not to mention a double-hundred against Hampshire a few weeks ago, and that aside there are few batters in world cricket so unarguably worth the admission fee.Those who made the pilgrimage for Surrey’s encounter with Gloucestershire were duly rewarded. Amla moved serenely to three figures during the dying embers of the day, as if to order for those wishing to slip in for a glimpse of greatness on their way home from work. Some 2500 were in the ground, and the majority of them rose to their feet as he stroked his 12th boundary through the covers, then removed his helmet to salute the four corners.This was also a captain’s innings, with Amla taking over responsibilities from Test-match bound Rory Burns. Leading with the bat has always come naturally for Amla and, having started well by winning the toss, he coasted up and down through the gears as required to ensure Surrey finished the day ably placed – an unbroken century stand with Jamie Overton quietly closing the door on Gloucestershire after they had picked off the majority of the top six without too much damage.Despite Ryan Patel’s neatly compiled half-century, Surrey had looked a little ill at ease on 181 for 5 approaching tea. Taking on the Group Two leaders, this is a game they arguably need to win to keep their prospects of being involved in Division One later in the summer alive; Amla’s third Championship hundred for Surrey (the first came back in 2013) ensured they were well placed to make good on the expected advantage of batting first on the same pitch as used against Middlesex last week.Ryan Patel celebrates reaching his fifty•Getty Images

Amla’s repertoire of silk and steel is well known, but there’s nothing wrong with playing the old favourites. His first boundary of the day was a wristy clip off Dan Worrall that perfectly bisected two leg-side fielders; a few overs later he eased on to the gas a little, pinging Worrall for four fours in 10 balls, daubing the canvas on either side of the wicket. Worrall, strong of shoulder and unruly of hair, looks rather like one of the bad guys from a 1980s high school movie – but the twinkling Amla nimbly gave him the slip.The only blemish came during the evening session, when he attempted to back-cut the left-arm spin of Tom Smith only to edge a catchable chance to slip, which Miles Hammond put it down. Amla was on 76 at the time, and Gloucestershire may well have plenty more time left in the field to rue that miss.Crowds had made their return in the previous round of the Championship, but here was a balmy south London day to create a genuine frisson of excitement among those trooping along the Harleyford Road, rucksacks full and straw hats in place, and plenty came to bask in late May conditions worthy of the name. One chucklingly referred to the hand “sataniser” dispensers dotted liberally around the ground; for Surrey, who have been off the pace in their group, the devil was in the detail.There were six changes to the XI that went a long way towards winning and then almost managed to lose against Middlesex. Out went Burns, Ollie Pope and Kemar Roach to international duty, Ben Foakes to the treatment room after his hamstring tear, Jordan Clark and Reece Topley to the exigencies of rest and rotation. In came Patel, Laurie Evans and Will Jacks to fill the batting spots, with Sean Abbott, Roach’s replacement as overseas, and Overton as bolstering the seam department, and Dan Moriarty the extra spinner.The initial exchanges hinted at an Oval surface of the most benign variety – although, already somewhat worn, Surrey will hope it offers a crumble of comfort for their trio of tweakers (Jacks’ offbreaks being a genuine consideration). Mark Stoneman clipped and cut efficiently to add 50 alongside Patel, before Ryan Higgins succeeded in dragging him across his crease before angling one back to hit the pads in front of leg stump.Related

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Patel, the 23-year-old allrounder making his first appearance of the season and opening the batting in Burns’ absence, was soon comfortably riding the mid-morning zephyrs on the way to a 100-ball half-century, despite being clocked on the helmet by Worrall early in his innings. Patel was particularly dismissive on the pull, and carved Worrall for back-to-back fours in bringing up his fifty – one slashed behind square, the other flayed through the covers. He had just swatted David Payne to the backward square leg boundary when a change of ball brought his dismissal from the very next delivery, a flying edge taken by the lone slip, Kraigg Brathwaite.Gloucestershire had not done too much wrong during the morning session, with little in the conditions to assist their four-pronged seam attack. Reward came after lunch, as Patel became the first of three wickets to fall inside eight overs; Jamie Smith was undone by Payne’s left-arm angle of attack, steering a thick edge to slip, before Evans got a good one from Matt Taylor, which straightened on him from round the wicket. Jonny Tattersall, on loan from Yorkshire as cover with James Bracey set to become the first Gloster to play a Test for England since 2006, plunged to his right to hold a thin edge.Jacks then dragged on after a 48-run stand with Amla, a wide half-volley from Higgins leaving him on his knees. But with Amla immovable and Overton haring through to complete his half-century from the final ball of the day, it was Gloucestershire in need of a pick-me-up.

Skipper slams 75 from 44 to help make short work of small chase

ECB Reporters' Network15-Jun-2021Luke Wright entered the 2021 Vitality Blast with a stunning 75 off 44 balls as Sussex Sharks made it three wins from three with a seven-wicket victory over Essex Eagles.The Blast’s all-time leading run-scorer missed the opening two rounds after splitting the webbing in his hand while practising fielding on the eve of the competition. But he made up for lost time by bringing up his fifty in 33 deliveries as Sussex chased down Essex’s below-par 128 for eight with 36 balls to spare.Wright looked at home right from the start, with boundaries from his second and third deliveries – two of eight fours.Opening partner Phil Salt earned a life when he bludgeoned a full toss to mid-on, only to earn a reprieve for the umpire to judge the ball to have been above waist-height, much to Simon Harmer’s chagrin. Salt was run out for 13, after putting on 54 with Wright before Travis Head added 60 together with the skipper.Wright continued to his 26th Blast half-century, going past 8000 T20 career runs, with a pair of straight sixes and another over cow corner. He departed with six still needed but Delray Rawlins clattered the winning runs over long-off soon after.Wright’s day had started perfectly as he won the toss and stuck the hosts in – although Will Buttleman struck successive sixes in the fourth over. On a used hybrid pitch, scoring proved difficult for Essex with only Buttleman, Michael Pepper and Jimmy Neesham’s strike rates topping 100, for those who reached double figures.The strain on scoring was exemplified by the last over of the Powerplay, which saw just one run, as Paul Walter struggled to lay a bat on Chris Jordan – the run rate throughout the innings hovering just below seven an over.To add to the Eagles’ woes, wickets were a regular occurrence. Tom Westley and Buttleman fell in the Powerplay – the former picking out deep midwicket off George Garton and the latter slapping a Tymal Mills slower ball to cover.Walter was stumped, Ryan ten Doeschate clubbed old pal Ravi Bopara to long off, Pepper – having scored 38 off 25 balls – drilled to extra cover, Harmer miscued to midwicket, Jack Plom skied to mid-off and Neesham was comprehensively bowled.Garton ended up with 3 for 31, with Mills, Jordan and Bopara all going at under a run-a-ball.

Kent stay just out of reach as New Zealand quick defends 18 off final over

ECB Reporters' Network02-Jul-2021Adam Milne took a hat-trick off the final three balls to clinch a thrilling 11-run victory for Kent Spitfires over Surrey at Canterbury, smothering the visitors in the death overs to leave them on 180 for 6, in reply to the Spitfires 191 for 4.Milne took 4 for 38 and defended 18 in the final over, bowling Ollie Pope with the fourth delivery and getting Kyle Jamieson caught on the long-on boundary with the penultimate ball to make the result all but certain. He then had Laurie Evans caught off the last ball of the innings to seal an astonishing recovery.Surrey looked heavy favourites when Will Jacks smashed a T20-best score of 87 from 54 balls, but after putting on 92 for the second wicket with Evans, who made 57, the run rate steadily increased.Kent had posted a challenging 191 for 4, thanks to another hefty partnership between Jordan Cox and Jack Leaning, who hit 61 not out and 50 respectively.After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Kent lost skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond to the second ball of the innings, lbw to Jacks, for nought. Zak Crawley made 24 before he was bowled by Jordan Clark and Joe Denly top-edged Gus Atkinson to Pope for 36. The run rate slowed before, not for the first time this season, Leaning and Cox rescued Kent with a stand of 90 for the fourth wicket.Leaning reached 50 and although he was out next ball, driving Jamie Overton to Clark, Clark’s final over went for 19, Alex Blake hitting 12 not out and Cox ending the innings with a six over cow corner.Surrey made a ferocious start. Fred Klaassen ripped out Jamie Smith’s middle stump for 9, but Evans and Jacks batted through the next 10 overs until Klaassen had the latter lbw.Kent were right back in it when Jamie Overton holed out off Milne, caught by Qais Ahmad for 6, and Surrey needed 34 from the last two overs. The penultimate, bowled by Klaassen went for 16, and Milne’s first three balls cost six runs, but the fourth splayed Pope’s stumps and needing to hit successive sixes, Jamieson perished in the deep.

Henriques praises Mustafizur’s skills in restricting Australians

Sreshth Shah04-Aug-20211:59

‘Great for Australia to be exposed to these conditions’ – Moises Henriques

On a difficult, sticky and turning Mirpur deck, 21-year old Afif Hossain hit an unbeaten 31-ball 37 to drag Bangladesh out of a bit of a mess, helping rescue the hosts from 67 for 5 to winning with eight balls to spare. After the victory, Afif said he knew all along that as long as he was not dismissed, Bangladesh would emerge victorious. However, he said that a useful piece of advice from Mahmudullah, the T20I captain, went a long way in achieving that outcome.”When I went out to bat, Riyad bhai just told me one thing. To take two-three overs to settle in,” the 21-year old said. “And personally, my ambition was to return after finishing the game. First thing I did was to assess the wicket and to understand what needs to be done on this surface.”I was aware that if I stay late, I can finish the match. The plan for both Nurul Hasan and me was to just score without losing a wicket because the run-rate was under check.”Afif Hossain is pumped after taking Bangladesh to victory•AFP/Getty Images

After the match, Mahmudullah said that Afif and Nurul showed “maturity” in their partnership. He said that their half-century stand brought “relief” to a “tensed” camp that was downcast after sliding into a losing position after a terrific bowling show.The T20I captain also praised Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib blitzed his way to a 17-ball 26 to keep Bangladesh ahead of the required run-rate early on after returning 1 for 22 in his four overs. Mahmudullah said that “Shakib once again showed how important a player” he is for the Bangladesh team. Shakib’s momentum-building innings, in a low-total run-chase, allowed Afif and Nurul to play risk-free cricket when the pressure was high.Henriques praises Mustafizur’s skillsThat Afif had to take Bangladesh only past 122, however, was courtesy of the bowling effort in the first innings. Left-arm seamers Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam shared five wickets for 50 runs in their combined eight overs, and Afif said their returns had equal impact on the match result that now sees Bangladesh lead Australia 2-0 in the five-match series.”Our pace bowlers made full use of the home advantage we have,” Afif said. “It was natural that our bowlers would bowl to a plan that is successful on these decks. But it needed backing up from the fielders too, which we received.”Mustafizur – who finished with an economy of 5.75 and the wickets of Josh Philippe, Matthew Wade and Ashton Agar – was also the beneficiary of praise from the opposite camp. Moises Henriques, who has played both with and against Mustafizur in the IPL, said that for Australia to put up better totals, it would be paramount to combat the sort of skill Mustafizur brings to games on slower surfaces.”Today Mustafizur showed how quickly he adapts,” Henriques said after the match. “He bowled 24 slower balls (laughs) and did not bowl anything pace on. He just summed up the conditions really well tonight.”The amount of revolutions he gets on the slower ball even on a good wicket is hard to play anyway, let alone on a surface like that. We need to find a way to combat that, and try and get as many runs as possible. It’s quite clear it’s not a 160 to 200 wicket, but we need to find a way to get to 140 or 150 whatever that might be.”

Roston Chase dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne late in the day, but not before another century opening stand

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Nov-2021Pathum Nissanka breezed his way to a half-century, Dimuth Karunaratne fell eight short of a fifty that would have seen him equal a world record, and on a day in which rain washed out the first two sessions, Sri Lanka gained a significant advantage, moving to 113 for 1 in the 33.4 overs that were possible.Before Roston Chase caught-and-bowled Karunaratne late in the day, Sri Lanka’s openers had put on 106 runs in 31 overs – their second century stand in the series. Kemar Roach, returning for this game after having been left out in favour of Shannon Gabriel, was perhaps the best of West Indies’ bowlers, delivering six overs and conceding just 12. Sri Lanka’s batters were largely untroubled by the others.Nissanka was positive almost from the outset. He drilled a full Jason Holder ball down the ground for four to begin the second over, carved Roach past the slip cordon soon after, and although occasionally beaten by deliveries that jagged past his outside edge, was on a constant hunt for runs, moving to 20 off his first 30 balls. Karunaratne was typically conservative by comparison – defending and leaving the majority of deliveries he faced from the seamers, making just 4 from his first 30 deliveries.Eventually though, Holder and Roach wrapped up their spells, and batting seemed to get easier. Kyle Mayers was hit for three fours – twice through the leg side by Karunaratne – in his first two overs, the only two he bowled on the first day. Nissanka attempted to dominate the left-arm spin of Veerasammy Permaul, who was playing his first Test since 2015, coming down the track in Permaul’s second over to launch him into the sightscreen.Soon, Captain Kraigg Brathwaite had spinners bowling from both ends, and although they prompted the occasional mistake, the batters largely settled into a rhythm against them, with Nissanka scoring primarily through the off side, and Karunaratne favouring the leg side, as he often does. Nissanka got to fifty – his third in Tests, and second in the series – off the 74th ball he faced.Karunaratne’s dismissal came against the run of play. Earlier in that Chase over, he had played a late cut and a flick through midwicket, both of which went for four. But Chase found some rip off the last delivery of that over, and turned a ball more than the batter expected, which produced a return catch off the inside half of the bat as Karunaratne attempted to drive him down the ground.If he had got to fifty, Karunaratne would have made seven Test half-centuries in as many innings, a feat only six batters had accomplished. In any case, his last seven scores read 42, 83, 147, 66, 118, 244 and 75.Oshada Fernando survived ten balls before the players went off for bad light. Nissanka was 61 not out off 109 balls, his scoring rate having slowed as the light faded.

Clearer weather is expected on days three and four, but there is more rain forecast for day five

Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Dec-2021Persistent rain washed out day two at Centurion, with the umpires calling off play at 1.55pm local time. There had been overnight rain in the Centurion area, and intermittent showers through the morning and afternoon ensured there was no possibility of play.The weather relented twice, causing the umpires to announce inspections at 11.30am – with an early lunch taken – and 12.45pm, but rain returned on both occasions to dampen hopes of a resumption.Related

• Covid-19 after-effects, hamstring niggle forced Duanne Olivier to sit out Centurion Test

Clearer weather is expected on days three and four, but there is more rain forecast for day five, meaning there is likely to be further time lost and a diminished chance of a decisive result. Conditions so far have not been conducive to flurries of wickets, with the pitch playing flat apart from the occasional instance of inconsistent bounce.Given the state of the game, the washout has probably caused more frustration in India’s camp than South Africa’s. At stumps on day one, the visitors had laid a strong platform, moving to 272 for 3 with the centurion KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, having already put on 73 for the fourth wicket.Rahul was also involved in stands of 117 for the first wicket with Mayank Agarwal, who made 60, and 82 for the third wicket with Virat Kohli. Lungi Ngidi was the only wicket-taker for South Africa, ending day one with figures of 3 for 45.As such, day two’s biggest development came off the field, with CSA confirming that Duanne Olivier had missed out on selection owing to the lingering effects of Covid-19, which he tested positive for a few weeks ago, and a hamstring niggle. The left-arm seamer Marco Jansen, chosen in Olivier’s place, endured a tough start to his Test career, ending day one with figures of 0 for 61 in 17 overs.

The primary reason for the postponement is because “participants are still not vaccinated and as such, are vulnerable” to the virus

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2021The Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, which was scheduled to begin in January 2022, has been postponed following a fresh surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in India and the growing threat of the Omicron variant. In a letter to the affiliated units of BCCI, which ESPNcricinfo has seen, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the primary reason for the postponement is because “participants are still not vaccinated and as such, are vulnerable,” as those below 18 years of age are still not eligible to take the vaccine in the country.”We have been closely monitoring the situation in lndia and across the world, and it is estimated that the caseload will shoot up in the immediate future if the situation is not controlled now,” Shah said in the letter. “After consulting experts and seeking views of the medical teams and operations team, it has been decided that keeping health and safety in mind, the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy is postponed for this season.”We must exercise caution and not be adventurous and put the health of our talented cricketers at grave risk.”On Thursday, India reported 13,154 new Covid-19 cases, the number of active cases stands at 82,402.The BCCI announced in July that it was confident that all tournaments, including those for various age groups and women, will be played this season.”Ahead of the domestic season, we had said that will endeavor to have a full season across age groups,” the letter further said. “We started off well and are now mid-way into the season having completed 748 matches when we have again encountered a serious issue, The cases across lndia are spiraling and despite being a large number of adults doubly vaccinated, they have still been infected.”The tournament was scheduled to be played between January 9 to 21, in four venues across Agartala and Guwahati.

Chris Lynn passed 3000 BBL runs but his Brisbane Heat future is uncertain

AAP19-Jan-2022Sydney Sixers all but locked in second place on the BBL ladder, consigning the Brisbane Heat to a sixth straight loss.In a potential BBL farewell for Heat cult figure Chris Lynn, Sixers easily defended their 6 for 178 at the Gabba with Heat slumping to 4 for 43 in the ninth over and finishing 27 short.It meant, unless the Sydney Thunder could notch a monster victory against Melbourne Renegades, the Sixers will play table-topping Perth Scorchers on Saturday at Marvel Stadium for a spot in the final on January 28.Lynn passed 3000 BBL runs on his way to making 19 before slapping uppishly to cover against left-armer Hayden Kerr, a familiar scene in a season in which he’s passed 32 just once in 12 innings.The slump is a far cry from the form he was in, despite a host of injury setbacks, when he signed a rich, five-year deal that expires this season. The loyal Heat servant, replaced as captain by Jimmy Peirson this season, could be forced to look elsewhere or retire from the BBL and continue to tour the international T20 circuit.Heat’s loss leaves them in danger of collecting the wooden spoon, Renegades able to overtake them with a win over the Sydney Thunder later on Wednesday.Thunder could still jump the Sixers on run-rate, but Daniel Hughes and Moises Henriques did their best to put them out of reach on a warm afternoon.Marnus Labuschagne’s dismissal of Henriques in his return from Test duties and Michael Neser’s 3 for 39 ensured the hosts kept things respectable.Lynn’s exit after a bright start was followed by Labuschagne’s for just 3, while the returning Nathan Lyon found Sam Heazlett’s edge to make it 4 for 43.Peirson and Max Bryant combined to put some pressure back on Sixers, Bryant notching back-to-back BBL half-centuries for the first time. The jig was up though when the captain holed out to the miserly Steve O’Keefe, leaving them 51 to get off 19 balls before Bryant followed soon after.Kerr took his tournament tally to 22 wickets, one shy of leading wicket-taker Peter Siddle.