Jamaica Tallawahs were pushed into rebuild mode following the departure of several key senior players, and their coach Paul Nixon believes they will have to cope with it by being smarter in their approach and more energetic on the field

Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill04-Aug-20172:27

We’ve got to be smarter without big hitters – Nixon

A fresher and more energetic unit, rebuilt in the offseason to make up for the loss of several key senior players, will be vital to Jamaica Tallawahs’ chances of securing a third CPL title, according to their coach Paul Nixon.On the eve of the tournament’s opening weekend in Florida, Nixon believes that while some of the departures created challenges, the overall depth of the squad and younger legs in the field may help the defending champions in their bid to secure consecutive titles.”We’ve got a different brand of cricket now,” Nixon told ESPNcricinfo, before the team’s back-to-back matches against Barbados Tridents in Florida. “We had a lot more hitters then, now we have to be a lot smarter.”The three biggest names missing from the squad are Chris Gayle, Chadwick Walton, and 2016 CPL Player of the Tournament Andre Russell. Nixon was reconciled to Gayle and Walton’s departures – with the former’s skills in decline and the latter accepting a hefty pay rise from Guyana Amazon Warriors – but admitted that Russell’s absence as part of an anti-doping violation still stings. The team has acquired Lendl Simmons, fresh off a good IPL in which he scored two fifties in seven matches for Mumbai Indians.”For us, Andre Russell is a frustrating one,” Nixon said. “But we’ve got world-class players coming in. We’ve got Lendl Simmons, who had an outstanding IPL and for us to have his quality and his experience, I think he’s going to be one of the men of the tournament. We’ve got some other good young guys in the side as well.”Among the newer faces, Nixon picked 20-year-old Odean Smith, who has played for West Indies Under-19s. The coach is hopeful Smith can pick up some of the slack in Russell’s absence, while also lifting fielding standards, an area that was exposed as the team’s weakness towards the end of the regular season.”We’ve got Odean Smith, who is a really attacking batsman, bowls very high 80s, pushing 90 mph and is a really attacking fielder. He’s going to bring a massive amount of positivity. Some of the older guys, having Chris out of the field… Chris cost us a few runs in the field because he was an older guy who struggled a bit with his knee and his back. We’re an exciting fielding unit and now we’ve got to be a little bit smarter without the big hitters.”Paul Nixon believes the team can build their attack around Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim•CPL/Sportsfile

Nixon believes Pakistan’s left-arm spinning allrounder, Imad Wasim, is a player the team can build around. Imad, who was also a part of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy-winning squad earlier this year, was Man of the Match in the CPL 2016 final, taking 3 for 21 to dismiss Guyana Amazon Warriors for 93.”Immy is a guy who has had a massive amount of experience in the last 12 months,” Nixon said. “From being a star with the ball last year, one of the very best. We had Garey Mathurin and also Imad who were outstanding left-arm spinners last year. Responsibility with the ball is never an issue with those guys and Imad is very keen to bowl up front. He loves it when batsmen come after him.”But he didn’t have that many opportunities with the bat last year and hopefully he won’t this year if our top order can do the business but a perfect guy, a left-hander to come in 5, 6, 7, somewhere in there. It depends on the pitches and we’ll see how it goes but he’s not a guy that’s going to clear the ropes too many times. He’ll hit it in the gaps and works hard in those gaps and he’s a good accumulator. On the belting pitches, then he might have to come down the order but on the turning pitches, a bit more Pakistan-like pitches, there might be an opportunity to bring him up.”In terms of medium-pace allrounders, Rovman Powell and Timroy Allen have also been earmarked as options to take on the finishing role in the lower-middle order that Russell excelled in. Both are still raw in terms of experience but have shown flashes of their ability to clear the ropes. Nixon says the most important thing for them to do to develop further is to maintain consistency.”Rovman was a massively inexperienced cricketer with huge natural ability for striking the ball. He played a really nice innings in the preseason where he got in, knocked it around and then dominated. We all expect so much so soon. Rovman’s got the ability to change games, win matches and clear the ropes easily but you have to earn the right to do that in matches generally over a consistent period of time. He’s learning about his options to each bowler, the right areas to hit and every ball is not just a corker that he can smash out of the ground.”Timroy and Rovman are both similar characters. They can both hit the ball out of the ground consistently well. It’s just making sure that their role in the team is the right role. Timroy is the perfect guy for a coach to come in the team with eight or 10 balls left, go and strike it at 150 or 200. So if he can get 20 off 10 balls then that’s what we’re looking for. As a coach having those guys up your sleeve is really important.””He’s [Rovman Powell] learning about his options to each bowler, the right areas to hit.”•CPL/Sportsfile

After a week of training in Jamaica before coming to Lauderhill, Nixon is eager for their campaign to get underway. He’s also hoping that their fortunes in Florida change – the team lost their pair of games against St Lucia Zouks last year.”We knew that we’d organised to go through [the playoffs], so we probably took our foot off the gas a little bit, great lessons for us all. But Florida cricket, people over here, the passion for the game, the ground is looking fantastic, the wickets are always fantastic here. So we’re looking to setting off our campaign really well.”

The captain reflects on his multi-layered role in the Test team after Australia dashed hopes of a historic series win for Bangladesh in the second Test

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong07-Sep-2017For a little over two hours, Mushfiqur Rahim fought hard to keep Bangladesh afloat. With each over, the job got harder; particularly after they had slipped to 43 for five inside 20 overs. He managed to stave off every effort from Nathan Lyon to sneak between his bat and pad, as it had happened in the first innings, or get him to pop a catch to one of the close-in fielders.Just as Mushfiqur was getting the hang of a prickly situation in the middle of the second session, Pat Cummins got him to feel for a delivery that was tailing away. Matthew Wade took the edge and Cummins celebrated with a double fist-pump. Mushfiqur, the big-hearted performer, who has battled through several difficult segments of play over the last nine months, started to walk even before the umpire had raised his finger.Mushfiqur kept his head down after his dismissal, as Lyon ran in from the covers to give him one last send-off. The pair had had a go at each other in the over before lunch after Lyon had said something to him. The Bangladesh captain had to be pulled away by umpire Ian Gould, who told Mushfiqur that he had heard what Lyon had said.Mushfiqur kept walking to the pavilion, slowly, telling the approaching Mominul Haque something about the pitch. ‘Look out for that spot’, he seemed to say. But he knew the fight was over with only the tail and Mominul left to fend off a strong Australian attack.He took his time in the post-match conference to explain what goes wrong with Bangladesh when they approach a defensive period of play to save a match. The last time they had done a satisfactory job of it was against Pakistan in Khulna two years ago, when Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes notched up a second-innings world-record stand of 312 for the opening wicket, before Shakib Al Hasan shepherded them to safety in the evening. Since then, an effort to enforce a draw hasn’t happened – neither at home nor abroad. They have won in Colombo, though, chasing a challenging total with Mushfiqur in the middle till the end.But for someone who oversaw the missed chances of drawing Tests in Wellington, Hyderabad and Galle, the Chittagong failure is, perhaps, their most heartbreaking. They had Australia on the mat in the Dhaka Test, spinning them out twice within three days, but couldn’t finish off the job on a familiar pitch at a ground where they have usually found ways to draw games in the recent past – against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2013 and 2014.Mushfiqur Rahim takes a moment to reflect after reaching his half-century•AFP

The failure to set up shop in the first session in Chittagong also brought into question Mushfiqur’s role in the team – not that he lacks one but, perhaps, he has way too many. He was possibly the most well-equipped batsman to tackle Lyon by going up to No. 4 but said that he couldn’t be expected to do the job after having kept wickets for 119.5 overs. “It is a difficult question for me. It was a tactical move on our part but if you are talking about me, I would say it was not my sole responsibility to bat at No. 4 after keeping for 120 overs,” Mushfiqur said. “I can’t go out to bat at No. 4 when we are batting first and then move to No. 6 if we are batting second. It doesn’t happen anywhere. You can take this risk once or twice and it might not even click in those occasions.”Instead, Bangladesh sent in an unsure Nasir Hossain, who didn’t get the counter-attack on or could hold up one end; essentially, they made No. 4 a hole by sending Mominul all the way down to No. 8, while Shakib, Mushfiqur, and Sabbir went in at positions that they would be comfortable in.Mushfiqur said that he doesn’t decide where he wants to bat or whether he has to be the wicketkeeper. It is the decision of those above him, he added.”It is not up to me. It was not my decision not to keep wickets in Sri Lanka. I don’t have any problem keeping wickets. I want to contribute to the team in any way possible for as long as I play. It doesn’t matter if I am not the captain or the keeper. I will give my all if I am told to be the 12th man. I will do as the team management says. You better ask this question to the higher authorities.” he said. “It would also make things clear for me.”There is little doubt that Mushfiqur is a passionate character who has given it all for Bangladesh’s cause. He will be questioned as a captain for his reactive outlook and his fickle wicket-keeping. It is definite, though, that his batting must take precedence over those two commitments as has been pointed out several times in the last three years.To see him walk off the ground, head bowed, was similar to seeing a battered boxer being told he had lost a knockout. Mushfiqur, however, was a boxer tasked with beating his opponent on three fronts, an unrealistic expectation. Thursday afternoon in Chittagong was stark proof of that.

Middlesex had challenged the decision on the grounds of the extraordinary events that led to their match against Surrey being called off after a crossbow bolt was fired into The Oval

George Dobell17-Oct-2017Middlesex’s appeal against an over-rate penalty has been denied, confirming their relegation from Division One in the County Championship.Middlesex, who were penalised two points for a slow over-rate following their match against Surrey at The Oval in August, had appealed the decision on the grounds of the extraordinary events that led to the early finish of that game. The match was called off a couple of hours early on the instructions of police after a crossbow bolt was fired on to the playing surface from outside the stadium.Middlesex, who were batting at the time of the incident, claimed the abandonment denied them the opportunity to declare their second innings and catch up on their overrate in the dying moments of the match. They also claimed that, at the time of the abandonment, they were assured by match officials they would face no such sanction.Had the appeal proved successful, Middlesex would have moved above Somerset in the Division One table (only a point separated them) with Somerset falling into the relegation positions as a consequence. Somerset had previously stated they would take legal action against the ECB should they suffer relegation in such fashion.But the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) dismissed Middlesex’s arguments and upheld the two-point deduction. As a result, the relegation of Middlesex – the 2016 County Champions – is confirmed and Somerset will play Division One cricket in 2018.”It is in the interests of the whole game that arrangements are put in place to prevent slow over rates, and it is noted that the requirement of 16 overs per hour is a minimum rate,” Tim O’Gorman, the CDC Chairman, said”The rules relating to over rates are clear and understood by all teams, coaches, players, and captains. Although it may be common practice that teams will seek to make up time later in a match, even in the second innings, if they seek to do this they must also be aware that approaching their over rate in such a way carries with it an inherent risk. If, for any reason, they are unable to make the time up, the appropriate sanction will be imposed.”Middlesex have sought to argue that it was only because of the abandonment of the game that they did not make up their overs but that cannot be entirely correct. There was no guarantee that, if the game had run its normal course those overs could ever have been made up.”I do not accept that Middlesex only agreed to the abandonment of the match on condition that their slow over rate in the first innings would be overlooked. It is not within the power or gift of either the umpires or the players to make deals like that. The match was abandoned for safety reasons. Play ended accordingly and the points earned or deducted should stand with effect from that time.”The ECB also acknowledged that over-rate penalties – applied under Playing Condition 16.4 – are automatically applied and come with no right of appeal. They accepted, however, that such was the unusual context of this decision that Middlesex (and the ECB) should be able to send submissions to O’Gorman. He concluded that it was not a matter that should be referred to a CDC panel hearing.Richard Goatley, the Middlesex chief executive, said: “Whilst we still believe the imposition of the penalty was unjust, we accept the decision of the Chairman of the CDC and will move on. We do not believe that any further action is in the interests of Middlesex or the wider game. We will now focus on regaining a place in the First Division at the earliest opportunity.”The affair may leave an unsavoury taste in the mouth, however. Not only is it far from ideal to confirm such matters almost three-weeks after the season’s end, but the matter has highlighted a loophole in the playing regulations. It is not unusual for teams to attempt to catch-up their overrate in something approaching farcical circumstances. If the penalties were applied by the innings, or even by the session, rather than by the match, they might prove more effective.The comments of Lee Cooper, the Somerset chief executive, also raised questions about the integrity of the ECB disciplinary process. He claimed he had been given some sort of “reassurances” that the appeal took place only so the ECB could be “seen to be going through a process” and was assured Somerset had “nothing to worry about.”The ECB declined to comment on Cooper’s words.

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.