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New Zealand’s training session, meanwhile, was cut short because of what Stead said were “not really acceptable” practice pitches

Matt Roller12-Jun-20242:19

Powell on what a home World Cup means for West Indies

Rovman Powell believes that his West Indies side are facing an “undercooked” New Zealand at the perfect time after their heavy defeat to Afghanistan.Both teams were forced to cut their preparations short at the Brian Lara Stadium ahead of Wednesday night’s Group C fixture. New Zealand abandoned their afternoon training session an hour before schedule due to “unacceptable” practice strips, while heavy rain wiped West Indies’ floodlit session out altogether.It is the start of the rainy season in Trinidad and the national meteorological service issued a yellow-level adverse weather alert on Tuesday morning, signalling the likelihood of thunderstorms. There was a brief downpour during New Zealand’s session – when the pitch was uncovered – and longer, heavier ones followed after they left. Wednesday night’s forecast is much better.Related

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“We had that downpour for about five minutes, and the practice wickets got wet out in the middle,” Gary Stead, New Zealand’s coach, said after returning to the team hotel in Port-of-Spain. “I know the priority was obviously for the match wicket to get covered, but when we went back and tried them they were pretty slippery to stand up on.”New Zealand briefly tried to use the practice strips but swiftly gave up. “The balls were going through the top of the surface, so we had a good fielding training instead,” Stead said. “It was deemed not really acceptable to get anything out of the nets… The guys worked out pretty quickly that there wasn’t going to be a lot of point in it”An 84-run defeat to Afghanistan in their opening match on Friday means that a loss against West Indies would effectively – if not quite mathematically – eliminate New Zealand from the World Cup. Powell, West Indies’ captain, believes that his side can exploit New Zealand’s slow start to the tournament.”Definitely, if there’s a good time to play New Zealand, I think it’s now,” Powell said. “As you said, they’re a little bit undercooked. The pressure is really on them, because this game decides whether they go on: yes or no. Having said that, we’re not focusing on New Zealand: we’re focusing on what we have to do.”With New Zealand’s limited preparation for the tournament already under scrutiny, their batters have barely been able to face fast bowling in the nets since arriving in Trinidad. They travelled from Guyana on Saturday and trained on Sunday, but faced similar issues.”Again, the pitches weren’t great,” Stead said. “Balls were rising up around throat height regularly, so it was more facing the slower bowlers and throws. It comes back to making sure that mentally we get in a good frame of mind and ready for this match tomorrow night.”England racked up 267 against West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium in December but Stead believes that score was an outlier, and expects a much lower-scoring game on Wednesday.James Neesham is in contention to be back in the XI against West Indies•ICC/Getty Images

“If you look at the history of the ground here… it’s certainly not a 200 wicket or anything like that. The pitch looked interesting. For us, it’s about making sure we’ve got our bases covered.”Powell also hinted towards a low-scoring game. “With the rain around, that can play a part in the scores,” he said. “If the groundsmen don’t have sufficient time to produce good wickets, that’s also a problem with the rain around. You don’t get enough time to sun. Hopefully tomorrow is a very good day in terms of the weather.”New Zealand’s management have made clear that they expect all 15 players in their squad to play a role in the World Cup and are set to bring Ish Sodhi into the side on Wednesday night. James Neesham could also come into contention, with Stead suggesting that selection will be heavily influenced by West Indies’ potential weaknesses.”Every game, we try to go in and work out what our best match-ups are,” Stead said. “That comes from the data analysis and videos that we do in our scouting. I would expect there will be some changes.” He also hinted heavily at Sodhi’s inclusion: “When we look at the West Indies team, [he is] a guy that matches up well against a number of their opposition players.”New Zealand’s net run rate took a significant dent against Afghanistan, to the extent that winning their remaining fixtures – against West Indies, Uganda and Papua New Guinea – might not be enough to qualify for the Super 8s, depending on other results in Group C.”We know what’s in front of us: we have to win three games and win them well,” Stead said. “It’s [about] still holding the belief and the confidence within the group that we can go out there and do this. We know things are stacked against us at the moment but that’s the challenge; that’s the cards we’ve been dealt. We now have to go out there and put in a performance that we’re proud of.”

Australia batsman Peter Handscomb had been due to lead side in 2020 and 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2020Middlesex have named Stephen Eskinazi as their captain for this summer’s Bob Willis Trophy, after confirming that Peter Handscomb, the Australia batsman who was set to lead them this summer, will defer his two-year contract until 2021-22.Eskinazi, 26, will take charge of Middlesex’s red-ball team in the competition that has replaced the County Championship this summer due to the impact of Covid-19. England seamer Toby Roland-Jones has been appointed as his vice-captain.ALSO READ: Kent opener Dickson signs for Durham“Steve was the obvious choice for me as the captain of our squad in Pete Handscomb’s absence,” Middlesex coach, Stuart Law, said. “Last year when Steve stood in for us, the team played really well and with a smile on their face and had immediate success. Good signs for sure and I look forward to working with him again this season.”Handscomb had been signed as the club’s overseas player and captain for the Championship and Royal London Cup, but his deal was put “on hold” after the global shutdown cause by Covid-19. The Bob Willis Trophy, named after the former England captain who died last year, will begin on August 1, while the 50-over competition has been dropped this summer.Dawid Malan captained Middlesex during the 2019 season but stepped down from the role after they finished eighth in Division Two, before leaving for Yorkshire over the winter.

After a ‘weird’ start, youngster is keen for a sense of normality in his international career

Valkerie Baynes31-Dec-2019Ollie Pope knows how suddenly opportunity can come knocking… then turn around and slam the door in your face.So, rather than panic when illness robbed him of a fifth Test appearance for England at Centurion last week, he just rolled with it. Pope has learned a lot over the past 18 months or so, you see.Having played two home Tests against India in 2018, Pope was bumped from England’s tour of Sri Lanka to make way for Ben Foakes, who scored a century on debut in the first Test at Galle. Pope was then overlooked for England’s Caribbean campaign at the start of 2019 and a dislocated shoulder injury then curtailed his English summer before he found himself on Ashes standby and playing a further two Tests in New Zealand. All that and he is still just two days shy of his 22nd birthday.Now, having declared himself “pretty much 100 percent back to normal now” ahead of the second Test against South Africa starting in Cape Town on Friday after succumbing on Christmas Day to the illness doing the rounds of the England camp, Pope can be forgiven for yearning for a touch of normality in his burgeoning international career.”Absolutely,” Pope said. “It’s been a bit of a weird start to my career … I think the weirdest time for me was after I got told I was leaving that Sri Lanka tour, which was completely understandable with Foakesy coming in, scoring that hundred just put me one down. I wasn’t going to play.”Hoping I’d be on that West Indies trip, not being on that, not really hearing much and then doing my shoulder. I had no idea how far away from it all I was. That was a pretty frustrating time and I had a lot of time to think, overthink things.”As soon as I found out I was the next batter in for the Ashes, that concussion replacement, that was a massive boost for me. Then coming back – last week sums it up. I’m very rarely ill as well so that was annoying. If I do get a go at Newlands… I don’t overthink it really. I try to just take it in my stride… If I do get a run – brilliant – then hopefully I can take that and make it my own. “Also read: We ‘won’t be afraid’ to leave out Broad or Anderson – SilverwoodPope made his debut batting in the unfamiliar position of No. 4, scoring 54 runs in three innings against India. Initially included as the spare middle-order batsman in Sri Lanka, Foakes’ performance, combined with the presence of Joe Denly in the squad and Jonny Bairstow making his way back from injury, made him surplus to requirements. In a twist, it was Bairstow’s omission that handed Pope a chance in New Zealand – where he scored 29, 6 and 75 – and it is Bairstow who could make way again in Cape Town if Dom Sibley also recovers from illness in time.How things can turn in an instant.”I was looking at the county scores while I wasn’t playing and I was thinking about all these players that are probably ahead of me, in line, just purely because I wasn’t really sure even how I’d come back from the injury,” said Pope of his recovery from shoulder surgery which culminated in a double-hundred for for Surrey against Hampshire and a call-up as a potential, but ultimately unused, concussion substitute for Jason Roy, who was hit on the helmet in the nets in the lead-up to the third Ashes Test at Headingley.”Next thing you know I’m nearly playing a Test in the Ashes. That week was a good way for me to gain my confidence back and know where I’m at with this England side. And, having put a score under the belt, that was a massive boost for me as well. That was a strange week but that week hopefully set it all up.”Making Pope’s illness setback over this past week more frustrating was the fact he had scored 132 off 145 balls in an innings full of the attractive stroke play that is a distinctive feature of his game during the warm-up against South Africa A. But it has him straining at the leash to taste South African Test conditions for which he feels prepared, having faced down county team-mate Morne Morkel in the nets at Surrey.”Obviously these pitches will be a different challenge to what I’m used to,” Pope said. “But we’ve come across some quick bowlers in the county circuit, we’ve faced a lot of Morne in the nets – someone who is tall and gets a lot of bounce like a lot of their bowlers do.”In the warm-up games, felt good with it, they had some nice pace and in the nets when I get them to ramp it up on the bouncier decks, then same really. I feel confident in my game to deal with their pace and bounce.”I’ve gained the confidence in myself and my game over the last, probably – and it sounds stupid because I was injured for so much – but over this season and the back-end of last season. There’s no need to put myself under any more pressure.”I definitely don’t see it as ‘I definitely have to score runs in this game’ because I understand how cricket works. If you just stay pretty level across it all then I’m sure the good will come with the bad.”

Defending champions CP need another 216 runs to win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2021Central Punjab made a decent start to the target of 356 as they need another 216 runs to win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final. Usman Salahuddin and Mohammad Saad were unbeaten at the crease having scored 51 and 27 respectively as CP head into the final day with eight wickets in their hands.The day started with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resuming from their overnight score of 243 for 5 with a lead of 286 runs. Kamran Ghulam, managed to add 11 more runs to his 104 before departing while Khalid Usman, who was unbeaten on 14, smacked 53 off 73 balls to propel the innings. KP folded for 312 as Waqas Maqsood ripped through the tail, ending with figures of 4 for 77 to add to his 3 for 59 in the first innings.Central Punjab, the defending champions, were off to a cautious start in the chase. The opening partnership was broken in 22nd over by offspinner Sajid Khan – the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 64 scalps – as he sent back Ali Zaryab. Muhammad Akhlaq and Salahuddin then put up a 54-run stand before Arshad Iqbal dismissed the former for 48. Saad then joined Salahuddin at the crease as the duo batted through the final session to take CP to 140 for 2 on day four.

Left-arm seamer is Hampshire’s all-time leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket but has been plagued by injuries

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2020Chris Wood, Hampshire’s left-arm seamer, has announced his retirement from red-ball cricket at the age of 29 to focus on prolonging his limited-overs career.Wood has taken 105 wickets at 30.22 across a 43-match first-class career, but has regularly been dogged by injuries. He will represent Hampshire in the T20 Blast, and was a £40,000 signing for the Oval Invincibles in the Hundred draft.”I’ve been desperate to play red-ball cricket,” Wood said, “but in recent years every time I get up and running my body seems to hold me back, and this has been the case since having two knee operations over the last few seasons.”When I play red-ball cricket, I feel I’m good enough to contribute to the team but my body just hasn’t allowed me to bowl 30 to 40 overs each week and in consecutive games, so I’ve been mulling it over for some time and now feels like the right time to finally make this decision.”Concentrating solely on white-ball cricket and trying to get the most of my career, playing the formats that I’m more comfortable with and have had more success in, feels like it makes sense and I’m looking forward to being able to focus all my training overs on improving my skills as a white-ball bowler, which will hopefully help me to continue contributing to the club’s limited-overs success in the years to come.”Wood is Hampshire’s all-time leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket, with 131, and was a key part of the club’s limited-overs double in 2012, as well as their sustained period of T20 success from 2010-15. He had his first taste of franchise cricket earlier this winter, playing for Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10.

For CSK, this game comes with barely any time to prepare and against one of the most consistent teams of recent years

Alagappan Muthu11-May-20243:33

Aaron: ‘Ruturaj should open; he shouldn’t be batting at No. 3 at all’

Match details

Chennai Super Kings (4th; W6, L6) vs Rajasthan Royals (2nd; W8, L3)
Chennai, 3.30pm IST (10am GMT)

Big picture: CSK in a spin

Will this be MS Dhoni’s final home game in the IPL? He played through a severe knee injury last year. He has been pushing through side strains and other discomforts this year. Even under that duress, he has produced some vintage moments, but CSK are suddenly in a bit of a fight to make the playoffs.They would ideally want to win both of their two remaining games but this one comes with barely any time to prepare and against one of the most well-rounded teams of recent years. RR don’t have a title to back the claim but they have been the most consistent unit since 2022. Plus, they have won each of the last four meetings against CSK. Central to that is the performance of their spinners, particularly R Ashwin, who has intimate knowledge of how Chepauk behaves. With this being an afternoon game, there is every chance that spin will dictate terms.

Form guide

Chennai Super Kings LWLWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals LLWWW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Chennai Super KingsCSK have carried Ajinkya Rahane all through this campaign and now at the pointy end, they are stuck with a batter who is out of form. Dropping him now and having a youngster take on a role as important as opener might be just as big a risk but they could potentially use Daryl Mitchell up there and make room for Sameer Rizvi down the order as a ten-ball hitter.Likely XII: 1 Rachin Ravindra, , 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Tushar Deshpande, 12 Rajasthan RoyalsDonovan Ferreira attended the pre-match press conference, which suggests he might once again make the XI, which in turn suggests Shimron Hetmyer isn’t quite up to speed yet (and there might be a degree of caution in play here since he is part of the West Indies squad for the T20 World Cup in June). The other question RR face is between choosing Rovman Powell, who will have it tough on a spinning pitch, and Keshav Maharaj, who is an excellent weapon to have as a bowler, but shortens the batting line-up.Likely XII: , 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Shubham Dubey, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Rovman Powell/Keshav Maharaj, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Sandeep Sharma,

In the spotlight: Shivam Dube and Yuzvendra Chahal

Given the expectation of a slow pitch, batters capable of coping with that become instant difference-makers. That is Shivam Dube to a T. With his long reach and incredible power, he has the ability to send good balls soaring over the boundary. Most teams have tried to hide their spinners when he is at the crease – he has faced only 40 balls from them – but RR won’t shrink like that. They have quality in their attack.The Chepauk pitch should suit Yuzvendra Chahal more•AFP/Getty Images

Yuzvendra Chahal has broken back into India’s T20I team through sheer weight of wickets. This is a time when even wristspinners are asked to be quick through the air and Chahal has understood that, occasionally getting the speed gun up to 95kph, but in between those, he still trusts the old, loopy legbreaks that seem like they could go the distance before they end up as catches on the boundary. He has lost some of his form over the last few games – 1 for 48, 0 for 62, 0 for 48, 1 for 41, 0 for 54 – but three of those took place in Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad, which have been extremely high-scoring venues. In Chennai, he might have better luck.

Stats that matter

• The MA Chidambaram stadium is the toughest challenge for a visiting team, with a win percentage of only 27.3%. Therein lies solace for CSK. In a crunch match, against a big team, they will be happy to draw on the strengths of their home crowd and familiar conditions. The only thing is, their fortress has been breached twice already this year.
• Jos Buttler has unfavourable T20 match-ups with Mitchell Santner (80 runs off 70 balls, one dismissal), Moeen Ali (74 off 51, with five dismissals) and even Maheesh Theekshana (51 off 45, no dismissals) if CSK consider bringing him in.
• But if CSK go all in on spin, that brings Yashasvi Jaiswal into the fray. He is a left-hand batter, and Ravindra Jadeja and Santner’s stock ball will be turning into his hitting arc. Jaiswal, in the IPL, averages 67 against spin with a strike rate of 144.
• Sanju Samson vs Jadeja is an all-action match-up with 73 runs in 52 balls and three dismissals.
• Dhoni might not be spending too much time at the crease but it is all by design. He is fulfilling his cameo role perfectly, to the extent that he has the highest strike rate (227) by any batter during the first five balls of their innings this season.
• Ashwin has won eight of the 11 matches he has played against CSK. He has 13 wickets against them at an economy rate of 7.75.

Pitch and conditions

There have only been four day games in Chennai since the end of 2019. Three of them went in favour of the chasing team. Two of them produced sub-140 totals by the team batting first. That’s when the ball holds in the pitch, and when the evening comes, it gets better to hit through the line. The problem with chasing, though, is that team will have to spend a lot of time melting away in 40°C heat.

Quotes

“I don’t think really that you can be 100% prepared because this heat and this humidity is crazy. But hopefully we’ve been training in this heat and this humidity the last two days so that should condition us to be ready for the game

Teague Wyllie fell just short of a ton as Western Australia ground down the visitors at two runs an over

Tristan Lavalette05-Oct-2023Former Test opener Cameron Bancroft made an early season statement with a disciplined century to frustrate Victoria’s attack on a sedate WACA pitch to put Western Australia in a strong position in the Sheffield Shield.WA trailed by 19 runs at stumps on day two after Bancroft and Teague Wyllie combined for a 193-run second-wicket partnership.Wyllie, 19, fell short of his second first-class century when he was bowled by quick Mitchell Perry, shouldering arms as the ball nipped back to hit the top of middle stump. It was the only wicket on an attritional day, where WA scored 208 runs off 96 overs.Related

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After finishing unbeaten on 121 off 306 balls, Bancroft started his case to replace veteran opener David Warner, who is set to retire from Test cricket this summer. Bancroft has not played Tests since the Ashes in 2019.With fringe Test opener Marcus Harris not playing due to the birth of his first child, Bancroft seized his opportunity on the back of being the standout batter in the Shield last season.Even though he scored 289 more runs than second-placed South Australia batter Daniel Drew, Bancroft did not make the Ashes touring squad but issued a reminder of his indefatigable approach.It was a fitting performance for Bancroft with his mentor Justin Langer, who has acted as his private coach, at the ground.Resuming at 29 for 1, Bancroft and Wyllie dug in as WA scored just 46 runs in 30 overs during a slow first session.WA coach Adam Voges recently said domestic teams might consider adopting elements of Bazball, believing England’s aggressive approach would inevitably creep into the Shield, but Bancroft and Wyllie didn’t get the memo.The pair were forced to stonewall against typically accurate bowling from quick Scott Boland, who had clean bowled WA captain Sam Whiteman in the shadows late on day one.The first boundary was not struck until 45 minutes into the day’s play as Boland – armed with four slips – relentlessly probed outside the off-stump but without reward.WA did not cross 100 runs until midway through the day’s play, but Bancroft and Wyllie started to take advantage of a tiring Victoria in warm conditions.Though a green-tinge was still notable, the pitch flattened under the baking sun as WA eyes a big total with temperatures set to soar on day three.”I think we’re going to try to bat as long as we can…hopefully bat just once,” Wyllie said.Disciplined and playing straight, Bancroft and Wyllie batted in contrast to Victoria who were left to rue gifting several wickets late on on the opening day.Wyllie started last season spectacularly when he famously resisted celebrating his maiden first-class century in the Shield opener against New South Wales.But his form tailed off, perhaps unsurprisingly given his age, as teams exposed him outside the off stump. Wyllie only scored one half-century for the rest of the season, but WA stuck with him and he was at the crease when their title triumph was complete against Victoria.Much like at stages last season, Wyllie was similarly bogged down against Victoria’s accurate pace attack but he dug in alongside Bancroft.The smattering of fans did grow restless, but there were no bronx cheers echoing from the terraces like when Victoria batter Ashley Chandrasinghe produced a painstaking 46 off 280 balls in last season’s final.With solid defence and powers of endurance, like his idol Rahul Dravid, Wyllie kept his composure and made his move in the second session.As temperatures approached 30 degrees celsius, sensing Victoria’s attack was flagging, Wyllie put the foot down to reach his half-century amid three boundaries off Boland.While Wyllie was scoring mostly through boundaries, Bancroft calmly nudged the ball around to pick off the bowling. A rare moment of aggression was against Test offspinner Todd Murphy when Bancroft, an accomplished white-ball batter, hit a reverse sweep to the boundary.Wyllie also took a liking to Murphy, striking several lusty blows after advancing down the pitch.After another quiet patch following Bancroft’s century, Wyllie agonisingly fell short of a ton almost exactly a year since his maiden century earned him national prominence.

Veteran commentator says he hadn’t blamed Sharma, and was referring to a video put out during lockdown

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2020Anushka Sharma, India captain Virat Kohli’s wife, has criticised Sunil Gavaskar for his “distasteful” commentary on Thursday and “accusing a wife for her husband’s game”. In an Instagram story posted the day after Kohli’s team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, lost an IPL match comprehensively to Kings XI Punjab, Sharma took objection to a part of the commentary where Gavaskar was discussing Kohli’s lack of practice with co-commentator Aakash Chopra.ESPNcricinfo has reviewed the relevant footage from the Hindi commentary, spread over the second and third overs of Royal Challengers’ chase. This passage took place while Kohli was at the wicket and not after his dismissal, although it did make a mention of the two catches dropped by Kohli earlier in the evening.”[Josh Philippe’s early dismissal] has given Virat Kohli a chance to play more overs [Kohli walked out in the 12th over in RCB’s first match],” Gavaskar said when Kohli walked out. “He dropped two catches in the field. So he knows he has to do something [special].”After a bit of live action, Chopra said just after Kohli was beaten on a pull shot: “Players are playing after a long time. So you can see the rustiness. They are not yet fully ready… If you see his [Kohli’s] IPL record, he is unparalleled. But Sunny, it is not easy to not play any cricket for six to eight months.””Absolutely,” Gavaskar said in response. “He hasn’t had the chance to do the practice you need. He always wants… he knows that the more he practises the better he will be. And during the lockdown, he has only practised against the bowling of Anushka as seen in that video. That is not going to be enough.”Gavaskar was referring to a clip circulated on social media during the lockdown where a neighbour had shot Kohli facing throwdowns from Sharma on the terrace of their house. Chopra then went on to rue the lack of privacy for the couple. Kohli then got out for one, and the conversation moved on.Following the criticism his comment attracted, Gavaskar said he hadn’t blamed Sharma in any way.
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“Firstly, I would like to say, where am I blaming her, I’m not blaming her. I am only saying that the video showed she was bowling to Virat. Virat has only played that much bowling in this lockdown period,” Gavaskar told the channel.”It is a tennis ball fun game that people have to pass time during the lockdown, so that’s all, so where am I blaming her for Virat’s failures.”In her post, Sharma said: “That, Mr Gavaskar, your message is distasteful is a fact but I would love for you to explain why you thought of making such a sweeping statement on a wife accusing her for her husband’s game? I’m sure over the years you have respected the private life of every cricketer while commentating on the game. Don’t you think you should have equal amount of respect for me and us?”I’m sure you can have many other words and sentences in your mind to use to comment on my husband’s performance from last night or are your words only relevant if you use my name in the process?”It’s 2020 and things still don’t change for me. When will I stop getting dragged into cricket and stop being used to pass sweeping statements.”Respected Mr Gavaskar, you are a legend whose name stands tall in this gentleman’s game. Just wanted to tell you what I felt when I heard you say this.”It is also worth mentioning here that when Gavaskar’s comments first went viral on social media, he was misquoted. The initial quote that went around accused Gavaskar of saying, in Hindi, that during lockdown Kohli had practised only with Anushka’s “balls”, and not “bowling” as Gavaskar had originally said.

Sri Lanka, who at one stage seemed set to take a commanding lead, claimed one of only four runs and were 40 runs ahead by stumps

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Jul-2022Prabath Jayasuriya terrorised Pakistan in the first session before Babar Azam struck a valiant 119, much of it in the company of No. 11 Naseem Shah, as the hosts surged back into the match either side of tea. Between Jayasuriya’s 5 for 82, and Pakistan’s 70-run last-wicket stand, the teams ended day two roughly even in the context of the match.Sri Lanka, who at one stage seemed set to take a commanding lead, claimed one of only four runs and were 40 runs ahead by stumps. They had lost captain Dimuth Karunaratne to the left-arm spin of Mohammad Nawaz. Nightwatcher Kasun Rajitha was at the crease alongside Oshada Fernando.Babar’s century was extraordinary for how many of his runs came in the company of the tail. When Pakistan lost their seventh wicket, he was on 28. When they lost their eighth, on 36. One wicket to go, he was on 55. And this was when he started farming the strike beautifully, facing 133 of the 185 balls Sri Lanka delivered to the last-wicket pair.It wasn’t as if he suddenly switched to hyper-aggression either. Sri Lanka put their field back for Babar, routinely putting at least seven fielders on the boundary while he was on strike, then bringing the field in for Naseem. Thanks in part to Naseem’s resolute defence, and refusal to be tempted into big shots even when the spinners tossed it tantalisingly into the air, Babar kept pressing. Occasionally, he would have enough of merely taking the single off the fourth or fifth ball, and ventured boundaries. Against Kasun Rajitha, for example, who he smoked down the ground, lashed over midwicket, then whipped aerially through deep square leg, to hit three successive boundaries off the last three balls of the over.This was after Naseem had proven his mettle, though. Next over, he saw six Jayasuriya balls out, much to the frustration of the bowler, who kicked the turf when his last ball – a quicker one at the stumps – was blocked out. Naseem’s contribution to a 70-run partnership was just five runs. But he survived, unbeaten, for 52 balls.Prabath Jayasuriya celebrates his five-wicket haul•AFP/Getty Images

This pair having come together roughly midway through the second session, Pakistan went to tea with Babar needing five more for his hundred, which he got three balls into resumption, whipping a full toss from Maheesh Theekshana through wide mid-on for four, before nurdling a single square on the legside to completed his seventh Test hundred, and third against Sri Lanka. He’d turned down many singles for the sake of keeping the strike before this.He hit two more boundaries – a six over wide long-on off Jayasuriya, and four through square leg off the same bowler, before eventually Theekshana spun an offbreak through his defences and hit him in front of the stumps. The last-wicket stand had taken them from 148 for 9, to 218.Earlier, it had been Jayasuriya who ran the show. First ball of the day, he had Azhar Ali chipping to cover, only for Dimuth Karunaratne to shell the chance. It didn’t matter. He slid one into Azhar’s pad two balls later. Bowling unchanged at the fort end right through that first session, he also removed debutant Agha Salman with a straighter one, then claimed the wickets of Mohammad Nawaz (jumping down the pitch, clipping straight to short leg who held a chance that hit his chest), and Shaheen Afridi (lbw) off successive deliveries.Having also dismissed Abdullah Shafique the previous evening, this completed Jayasuriya’s third five-wicket haul in as-many bowling innings. He was not quite so good against the tail, failing to break through after lunch, as Yasir Shah, and Hasan Ali put on useful stands worth 27 and 36, respectively, with Babar. In his 39 overs, during which he secured figures of 5 for 82, Jayasuriya repeatedly beat right-handed batters’ outside edge, and threatened their pads with his straighter one. Ramesh Mendis, who took 2 for 18 from his 13 overs, was more economical and gained greater turn. But no one threatened like Jayasuriya.

Scrivens half-century drives run-chase to boost title hopes

ECB Reporters Network26-Aug-2024Sunrisers 189 for 7 (Scrivens 56) beat Northern Diamonds 188 for 9 (Villiers 4-36, Munro 3-25) by three wicketsBirthday girl Mady Villiers equalled her career-best with the ball as Sunrisers beat high-flying Northern Diamonds by three wickets at Chelmsford to move third in the standings.Villiers, who turned 26 today produced spin wizardry to take 4 for 36 and with Sophie Munro’s 3 for 25 lending valuable support, Diamonds were restricted to 188 for 9.Grace Scrivens’ 56 led the chase, sharing half-century stands with Cordelia Griffith and Jody Grewcock (40) as the hosts overcame a late wobble to race home with 12 overs to spare.Diamonds, for whom Sterre Kalis made 36 and Katherine Fraser 34, were left to rue dropped catches in the field, but stay second and on course for the semi-finals.Missing Lauren Winfield-Hill, away at the Caribbean Premier League, and Bess Heath, withdrawn by England, Diamonds opted to bat on a used Chelmsford pitch.Fraser provided early impetus, a cracking pull shot the pick of her four boundaries, while Emma Marlow struck successive fours off Eva Gray. The bowler gained compensation with the wicket of Fraser, caught by Grewcock from the last ball of the powerplay.The visitors advanced to 67 for 1 before Villiers began the host’s fightback, dismissing the tournament’s leading scorer, Hollie Armitage, caught at short mid-on. The dismissal continued Armitage’s recent run of low scores from the Hundred with Northern Superchargers.Villiers wheeled away to great effect, capturing the wicket of Marlow with one which stopped in the pitch, before trapping Rebecca Duckworth lbw.Kalis in company with Beth Langston counter-attacked from the other end with a 60-ball stand of 50, the former mixing powerful driving with some classy cut shots.Both though fell in quick succession Langston becoming Villiers’ fourth victim before Munro, switched to the Graham Gooch end to castle Kalis, the wicket part of a spell of 3 for 11 in seven overs from the quick on loan from the Blaze.Thereafter, a stubborn ninth wicket stand of 28 between debutant Maddie Ward and Katie Levick helped Diamonds to what looked a par score.In a strange quirk all nine Diamonds wickets were taken from the Graham Gooch End.Ward was in the action early in the field catching Gardner to give Rachel Slater the breakthrough.Kalis’ catching would prove less secure an over later, shelling a straightforward chance at first slip to reprieve Griffith on 4, Beth Langston the unlucky bowler.Griffith, who endured a difficult spell with London Spirit in the Hundred, despite the franchise lifting the trophy, celebrated the life by lofting Levick for the first six of the day. However, the introduction of Fraser brought her demise, Griffith skying the spinner’s fourth ball back to the bowler, ending a stand of 53.Scrivens, who had been driving well off front and back foot through the cover region sent another skywards in the following over which Ward got a hand to running to her right but couldn’t hold.Scare survived, Scrivens was soon back to taking heavy toll of the Diamonds’ bowling, hitting Fraser for a towering straight six which accompanied by five fours took her to 50 from 62 balls.The stand with Grewcock reached 60 before Scrivens in attempting to sweep Marlow lobbed a gentle catch to Levick at short fine leg.Villiers was given a present by the visitors when Kalis dropped her at mid-on when she’d made only four, but Sunrisers’ hearts were beating a little faster later in the over when a mix up between the batters saw Grewcock run out for a run-a-ball 40.Villiers fell with 19 needed and Fraser (3 for 37) caused late panic with the wickets of Miller and Gray but Lissy Macleod (23 not out) saw Sunrisers over the line.