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Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Prabhsimran Singh and Harshit Rana are also part of the 15-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2023Yash Dhull, the Delhi batter who led India to the Under-19 World Cup title last year, will captain India A at the Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 50-overs tournament, which will be held in Sri Lanka from July 14 to 23. Dhull’s deputy is the Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Abhishek Sharma.The tournament involves the A teams from the five Asian Full Member boards – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – as well as the senior teams of Nepal, Oman and UAE.There is no age restriction on the players who can feature in this tournament, but India have named a squad with a distinctly youthful tinge, with all 15 players less than 23 years old. Four of the five standby players are Under-23s as well, with the Saurashtra wicketkeeper-batter Snell Patel the lone exception at 29. The squad, incidentally, was picked by India’s junior selection committee chaired by former Karnataka keeper Thilak Naidu.The main squad includes a number of players who impressed during IPL 2023, including top-order batter Sai Sudharsan – who scored 96 in the tournament final – keepers Prabhsimran Singh and Dhruv Jurel, and fast bowlers Harshit Rana and Akash Singh.Former Saurashtra batter Sitanshu Kotak is the head coach of the side. He will be assisted by bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule and fielding coach Munish Bali.India A will begin their campaign on July 13 when they face UAE at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.India A squad: Yash Dhull (capt), Abhishek Sharma (vice-capt), Sai Sudharsan, Nikin Jose, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Akash Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rajvardhan Hangargekar. Standby players: Harsh Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Snell Patel, Mohit Redkar

A total of 548 runs scored in 52 overs as rain triggers 30-over mayhem

George Dobell27-Jul-2021Surrey 311 for 8 (Patel 131, Smith 54) beat Nottinghamshire 266 for 7 (Slater 69, Evison 54) by 33 runs (DLS method)There’s a generally held view that the life of a modern sportsperson is a glamorous affair full of travel and adulation. And it’s true, the good days can be pretty damn good.But not if you’re a bowler confronted with Guildford. This is a desperately tough ground on which to bowl. The flat pitch is complemented by short boundaries and an outfield that slopes a little from the square meaning the ball picks up pace as it approaches the rope. Really, it’s the sort of place to make a bowler wish they had persuaded a career in sewage treatment instead of sport. It is brutal.The bare facts of this match are this: in 52 overs (following an early stoppage for rain), 548 runs were scored between these two sides. At one stage, as sixes rained down onto Woodbridge Road despite the high fencing designed to avoid such mishaps, you feared for the safety of pedestrians and motorists. One motorcyclist will, thankfully, arrive home this evening having no idea that a six from Rikki Clarke missed him by an inch.Some will suggest that such surfaces, offering little balance between bat and ball, are not especially good for the game. And it is true that an attempt from a pensioner to throw a ball back into the ground – it took him four efforts – was one of the more competitive moments of the afternoon. The fence really did put up a terrific fight. But for anyone who wasn’t a bowler – or especially sympathetic to bowlers – it provided rich entertainment for a crowd which included former Prime Minster, Sir John Major, lots of families on summer holiday and a stag party dressed as flamingos.That Surrey prevailed was largely due to two career-best innings from Ryan Patel and Jamie Smith. It’s worth reiterating that Surrey have lost 11 players to the Hundred and Nottinghamshire nine, so players like this are winning opportunities which might otherwise be denied them. Though whether any bowler feels this was an opportunity is debatable.Surrey had reached 28 for 1 after eight overs before rain interrupted their innings. But, after a prolonged delay, they resumed in such style that they plundered 282 in the next 22 overs. Two hundred and eighty two! Their innings included 23 sixes and, not only the fastest List A century from a Surrey player since 2007, but what is believed to be the quickest List A half-century ever made in England (an equally quick one was made in Wales by Somerset’s Graham Rose).Related

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The century, reached in just 59 balls, was scored by Patel. It was an innings that improved his List A career-best by 90 and tripled the number of sixes he had hit across formats from five to 15. He later took an outstanding catch – running in and diving forward from the cover boundary – to account for Haseeb Hameed. He had, in short, a wonderful day.Patel actually started relatively cautiously. With Surrey having lost an early wicket – Hashim Amla walked after gloving one down the legside – he took 27 deliveries to make his first 16 runs. But shortly after play resumed, Patel seemed to be a man reborn. He thrashed 115 from the final 43 balls of his innings, including 25 from a Matthew Montgomery over which included a six from each of the first three balls.But the half-century from Jamie Smith was, if anything, even more eye-catching. It took only 16 deliveries (with two fours and six sixes) and contained several strikes that would have cleared the boundary on any ground. At one stage he added 50 in just 14 balls with Nico Reifer; Reifer contributed one scoring stroke.Surrey actually scored 311. But the DLS algorithm reduced Nottinghamshire’s target to 300. Understandably, that caused some consternation around the ground, but it seems the reasoning was that Surrey had benefited from eight powerplay overs and Notts had only six.Notts’ reply started brightly. Sol Budinger and Ben Slater added 71 for the first wicket in just 5.5 overs, with Slater going on to make a fine half-century, from 38 balls, and Joey Evison later made one from 37.Given the deluge of runs, some of the bowling is worthy of particular praise. Matt Dunn, for example, delivered nine dot-balls in succession at one stage – an incredible achievement amid the carnage all around – while Clarke also ratcheted up the pressure with a masterful display of controlled variations. Connor McKerr and Dan Moriarty held their heads in a way the Notts bowlers struggled to match. In their way, these Surrey performances contributed just as much to Surrey’s victory as Smith and Patel’s batting.Spare a thought for Peter Trego. Not only was he one of the few to miss out on this feast – he received what might have been the delivery of the day and nicked off for a second-ball duck – but he put down a chance in front of the beer tent. It did not go unnoticed.It’s worth noting the size of the crowd, too. Despite the rain, just over 3,000 spectators – or ‘haters’ as they might be called by some – stayed to watch this run-fest. At Taunton and Chelmsford, Scarborough and Bristol, this competition is continuing to win encouraging support. Might that show that the Hundred and the county game can co-exist? It certainly could be interpreted that way. Or maybe it just shows there’s a market for cricket scheduled where and when people can see it. Twenty overs, 50 or 30 overs a side; we have a great game. Unless, of course, you’re a bowler.

Cricket New South Wales has announced a significant restructuring after an extensive review

Daniel Brettig16-Apr-2021Jodie Hawkins, the general manager of Sydney Sixers, has exited Cricket New South Wales (CNSW) as part of a restructure that removes the positions of club general managers, despite overseeing the Sixers to victories in each of the past two men’s tournaments.In measures shared with staff this week, the chief executive Lee Germon outlined the restructure approved by the NSW board and its chairman John Knox, and the fact that Hawkins would leave the organisation after declining an alternative role, understood to be in communications. The general manager of the Sydney Thunder, Chris Botherway, will stay on after accepting another job with NSW as general manager of customer experience. Hawkins declined to comment.Germon told ESPNcricinfo that the state would be hiring two new independent list managers to oversee recruitment for the Sixers and the Thunder and report into the heads of men’s and women’s cricket Michael Klinger and Leah Poulton. He insisted that NSW had not shut the door on female leadership within the organisation, even though the new four-person executive team directly reporting to Germon is all-male.”Both Jodie and Chris were offered roles here. Chris has gone into a new role, Jodie has decided to leave us, and I totally respect that decision,” Germon said. “Jodie has been here for every BBL over 10 years and I think whoever does end up getting Jodie is going to be very well off, because she’s a leader who’s been developing through our organisation.”We’ve got some very good female leaders coming through. If people say there’s no-one in those roles, look at Leah Poulton as head of female cricket, a role below the executive level. We’ve got the boss in charge of the people side, Bernadette Chehine, some wonderful leaders coming through. We’ve just appointed three of our best up and coming female coaches and given them internships, Sarah Aley, Hannah Trethewy and Lisa Griffith.

Germon on CNSW organisation review

“It’s important I make it clear this has been an 18 to 24 month process. It started with a review of our cricket performance and it was all based on us wanting to be world class and that led to a few changes.

“The structure is less important than how we work together. So we’re going down from eight departments to four squads, and teams within those squads working together to achieve what we want to.

“This is not based on saving money, saving costs, this is done from a position of strength to really catapult us forward in terms of how we deliver cricket. It’s certainly not in response to any certain activity or action or event, it’s something that’s been going for a while and its vision is that we want to be a world leading organisation, not just a cricket one.

“We are very cognisant of developing leaders throughout our organisation and very cognisant of developing female leaders because we want that diversity of thought. We spoke to Jodie about another role here and I think she’s made the right decision to really spread her wings and move on because she has been here for a while. But I would say we want to keep developing our female leaders.”A new NSW executive team reporting directly to Germon comprises Chris Muldoon as head of strategy, governance and insights, Greg Mail as head of cricket performance, Michael Dalton as chief financial officer and a new hire, Anton Brown, as head of customer experience. Brown’s past experience included a long stint with Virgin Active.The organisational changes have raised eyebrows across Australian cricket, particularly after Cricket Victoria’s multiple BBL restructure attempts since the boards and chief executives of the Melbourne Stars and Renegades were dispensed with in 2019. CV recently elected to a return to a structure where two club general managers would report directly to the state’s chief executive, Andrew Ingleton.Germon underlined the fact that the state had concluded, as the result of an 18-month organisational review, that the commercial and “customer facing” areas of the BBL clubs needed to work more closely together, likening them to the two competing drivers within the same Formula One team. This, he argued, was already happening in terms of player recruitment.”I think the BBL GM role has evolved, certainly within CNSW over those four years. Last year our cricket performance team, as part of the performance review, had much greater contribution alongside the GMs around the playing lists and the players,” Germon said. “Ultimately the final sign-off of players contracted sat with our cricket performance team and not with the GMs of the BBL clubs.”They’re competing with one another on the field, but they’re not competing off the field. Both clubs are part of CNSW and that’s the essence of this redesign. Our commercial team joined with the two BBL teams last year, our commercial team sells for both clubs off the field. But on the field absolutely we need that competitive rivalry and tension. I liken it to the Formula One scenario.”While the Sixers men’s side has claimed each of the past two BBL titles, the women’s team has faded from an early dominance of the WBBL to a failure even to make the tournament finals of the most recent edition. Sydney Thunder won this season’s WBBL title.”The on-field performance of the Sixers women didn’t come into the restructure, but having said that, there’s been a thorough review of the Thunder and Sixers WBBL campaigns and that’s where Leah has driven that review and the way forward,” Germon said. “The performance of the WBBL or BBL sides on the field, yes we’re cognisant of it, but this is driven by maximising the off-field benefits of the two clubs.”We need the respective list managers in place because that’s important to the autonomy of the clubs and the competitiveness which we’re well aware of, and also the integrity nature of it.”

After dismissing Peshawar for 123, the hosts overcame an early wobble to eventually saunter to victory

The Report by Peter Della Penna26-Feb-2020
How the game played out
Shan Masood’s men gave the home fans a night to remember on PSL 2020’s debut evening in Multan as a rip-roaring bowling performance set up a simple chase iced by Rilee Rossouw’s unbeaten 49 in a six-wicket win against Peshawar Zalmi.Mohammad Irfan had Tom Banton dropped at slip by James Vince on the first ball of the match, but it was just about the only misstep on the night by Multan in the field. Banton fell five balls later driving Irfan to Shahid Afridi at extra cover and the Multan pacers continued to rip through the Peshawar line-up, aided by Sohail Tanvir’s four-wicket haul, to eventually bowl out the visitors for just 123 in 18.3 overs.In a deja vu moment, Darren Sammy dropped the first ball of the Multan chase at slip when James Vince edged a drive off Hasan Ali, only for the bowler to have Vince caught at mid-on by the end of the over. Whereas Peshawar were 41 for 4 at one stage, Multan slipped to a near-identical 47 for 4 in the seventh over when Zeeshan Ashraf cut Wahab Riaz to Banton at backward point.But that was where the similarities between the two innings ceased. Rossouw got Multan back on track before he was slowed down with a hip injury after getting pinged by Wahab to end the 12th over. He was then dropped in the 14th on 46 by Livingstone at deep cover off Mohammad Amir Khan, the last sniff Peshawar had of an unlikely fightback.From there, Khushdil Shah helped send the Multan fans home with happy hearts by smashing a no-ball by Amir Khan through mid-off for four before clubbing a slower ball on the free hit 20 yards over the long-on rope for six to end the 14th. Another six yanked flat over square leg off Wahab in the 15th by Khushdil put Multan one stroke away from victory. It was sealed with a single down the ground by Rossouw, clinching a mostly one-sided contest.Turning point
Superficially, the scorecard might point to Peshawar’s top-scorer Haider Ali heaving Tanvir to Vince on 47 for the fifth wicket to break a 44-run stand with Liam Dawson. But in terms of impact and energy on the field, it had to be the double-strike by Mohammad Ilyas in the sixth over after Peshawar had been sent in to bat.At 41 for 2 in five overs, the powerplay honors were about even before Ilyas decimated Peshawar with two wickets in the space of three balls to identical back-of-a length deliveries edged behind. Shoaib Malik played slightly away from his body to the first to fall for 2, and then Liam Livingstone was completely squared up by one angled into the off-stump line and had no choice but to fend at it for a second-ball duck. At 41 for 4, the Powerplay was decisively won by Multan.Star of the day
Tanvir got the big wickets beginning with Kamran Akmal. Coming off a century in his last match, Akmal was looking ominous early once again with three fours. But hubris got the best of Akmal, who charged at Tanvir only to miscue a full ball to Vince at midwicket for 15 in the fourth over.The left-arm quick struck again in the 11th, having Haider caught at deep midwicket. Haider had played an identical stroke hammering Ilyas over the region for six just moments earlier but could not achieve the same against Tanvir. After the spinners worked through the rest of the middle order, Tanvir came back to claim Hasan Ali and No.11 Rahat Ali.The big miss
Rossouw was actually dropped twice. The latter came on 46 at deep cover but a far more costly chance came off Rahat’s bowling in the sixth over when Rossouw was on 15. The South African checked a drive that resulted in a low chance floating back to the tall Rahat at ankle height. He was able to crouch out and get two hands to it but couldn’t clasp on completely. It opened the door for Rossouw to form a 77-run stand with Khushdil to see Multan across the line.Where the teams stand
Multan are now in first place, level with Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators on four points but way ahead of the other two on net run-rate. Peshawar are equal with Karachi Kings on two points but technically in fifth place way behind Kings on net run-rate.

The South Africa captain excited to work with the new-look squad that will take on India in a three-match Test series starting tomorrow

Firdose Moonda01-Oct-20190:33

How much have South Africa changed from their last India tour?

South Africa are readying themselves for a new era in Test cricket. Not only is the three-match series against India their first long-format outing of the World Test Championship or their first under the new coaching structure, it is also the first since the retirements of Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn, the last links to the golden generation who were ranked No.1 in the world. But, for captain Faf du Plessis, that signals an opportunity to deliver a statement of intent. And a strong one at that.

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“It’s a real good time for me to be involved with a young team,” he said at the pre-game press conference in Visakhapatnam. “There’s a lot of senior players that are out of our system, our leadership group has changed completely, you’ve lost all your experience and those players. But what that does, it’s a new time for growing new leaders in our team. The next best fast bowlers that’s going to come through, they’re going to be the next best Hashim Amlas, so it’s exciting for me to be working with the young guys in the team.”With 58 Test caps to his name, du Plessis is the joint-most senior member of the squad, alongside Vernon Philander. South Africa will look to draw from the experience of Dean Elgar (56 caps) and Quinton de Kock (40 caps) as well, even though de Kock is on his first Test tour to India after being dropped for the 2015 series. Vice-captain Temba Bavuma is the only other batsman to have played Test cricket in India. While all of this leaves presents the picture of a team that may not have enough information about the conditions they will face in the coming weeks, it also means there are fewer memories of the 0-3 series loss from four years ago.”What Test cricket, in general, does to you that if there is a flaw in your game, or if there is something that you’re not quite on top of against an opposition, generally Test cricket exposes that in your game,” du Plessis said. “And obviously, last time we came here as a batting unit, and personally myself, finding it very difficult in tough conditions, and it was a fact that I needed to get better from a defensive technical point of view, to adapt to play in tough conditions.3:15

Maharaj as good as any spinner in the world – du Plessis

“It was really dry back then, the ball spun a lot. As a batting unit, we found it tough, even though we had lots of experience in our team, and now we’ve got a completely different unit, you know. It’s a very, very young-looking batting line-up, so there’s not a lot of baggage that comes with the guys that are on the tour, and they’re also – as most young cricketers are – very motivated and driven to do well in international cricket, and this tour will be no different for them.”ALSO READ: Missing Dale-a in the time of India v South AfricaThose levels of determination run deep and South Africa have prepared extensively for this tour. Several members of the Test squad, such as Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn, Bavuma and Zubayr Hamza, were involved a spin camp in India, followed by an A team tour. South Africa even added local expertise in the form of batting consultant Amol Muzumdar to the backroom staff, which has added a different perspective to their planning.”It’s been really refreshing having some local knowledge in our dressing room,” du Plessis said. “It’s just a different mindset, it’s a different language, it’s different chats that you’re not used to, and that’s really refreshing no matter how many games you’ve played. I’ve enjoyed his time with us, it’s been very short, but already some really good conversations.”ALSO READ : Aiden Markram’s unfinished business in the subcontinentBut now the time for talking is almost up and South Africa have to show what kind of progress, if any, they have made since they last faced India at home. There is very little expectation of anything but another drubbing, which may only spur du Plessis to try to spring a few surprises.”It’s a challenge, but I’ve always been the type of person and character that enjoys the challenge, I think it generally brings the best out of me as a personality and as a character, so it’s one thing you have to look forward to,” du Plessis said. “You can’t look at teams that you’re playing and see that it’s… oh dear, we’re playing against some really strong oppositions. You’ve got to face it head on.”

And in their chase, Peshawar Zalmi cruised to a ten-wicket victory courtesy a hundred-run partnership between Kamran Akmal (57*) and Tamim Iqbal (37*)

The Report by Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2018In a nutshellThe template doesn’t change for Lahore Qalandars. They got off to a blazing start in the Powerplay again with Fakhar Zaman smashing 25 in the first two overs. Once the first six overs had ended, they began to lose wickets and the wheels came off rapidly. Peshawar Zalmi skittled them out for 100, the lowest total in the PSL this year. Soon after, they became the fifth team to inflict defeat on Brendon McCullum’s beleaguered side. This was the most resounding one yet, the first 10-wicket defeat in the history of the PSL.The collapse this time was even more dramatic than previous games, tempered only by its predictability. After reaching 57 for one at the end of the Powerplay, they failed to build on it through the middle overs, continuing to go for rash shots and losing wickets rapidly in the process. Before you knew it, the tail was in, and Peshawar, further strengthened by the return of Hasan Ali, prowled ominously.The chase was everything Lahore are not: calm, clinical, mature and professional. It required just openers Tamim Iqbal and Kamran Akmal to brush aside Lahore. Kamran scored a 47-ball 57, while Tamim was unbeaten on 36 as the chase effectively became a stroll early on. Lahore’s bowlers were toothless, their fielding uninspired, their captain out of ideas – and their side very likely out of the tournament already.Where the match was wonA chase of 101 isn’t daunting by any means, but many teams thought processes get muddled while assessing how to go about a small chase. Not Peshawar Zalmi, whose openers were as assured as could be hoped in the situation. They got their eye in for the first couple of overs, not letting the lack of runs worry them. Inevitably, the runs came once they were settled at the crease. Lahore weren’t good enough in the field either, dropping a catch early on, and allowing themselves errors they could ill-afford. It wasn’t Lahore’s charity to give, and Peshawar didn’t need it at any rate, the opening pair ensuring no one else in the dugout was disturbed.The men that won itHasan Ali hasn’t bowled for over a month, but he didn’t look any worse for it. Skiddy, quick and consistent, he bowled in the Powerplay when Fakhar was in blistering form, keeping that over to just three runs. He got rid of the McCullum, and was instrumental in orchestrating Lahore’s collapse, cleaning up Sunil Narine and wrapping things up with a third wicket for good measure.Another newcomer into the side didn’t do much worse either. Liam Dawson was brought in to replace Darren Sammy. It doesn’t bear repeating that those are big shoes to fill. But Dawson was up to the challenge, ripping the Lahore top order apart with his left-arm spin. He dismissed Fakhar and Dinesh Ramdin off just his second and third deliveries, and overall figures of 4-0-20-3 suggest he’s more than just a back-up in Peshawar side.Where they standLahore look to have taken out a lease on the basement of the table, firmly sixth after their fifth successive defeat. Peshawar are third, having won three of their five games.

Three bowlers who will be much sought after at the IPL auction for their skills at the end of an innings

Nagraj Gollapudi and Gaurav Sundararaman25-Jan-2018Death overs stats•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Dwayne Bravo

Base price: INR 2 crore (US$315,000)Angles, bowling form both sides of the stumps, mixing up pace and variations, bowling off-stump yorkers, slower-ball bouncers – all with a poker face. Bravo has evolved to become one of the best slog-overs specialists during his long career. Bravo has battled a hamstring injury over the last year, but he has given himself ample opportunity to keep himself fit for the final phase of his career.NumbersBravo has picked up the most wickets during the slog overs (overs 17 to 20) in T20 history – 201 wickets (of his 409), coming at 9.50 and a strike rate of 11.31. Since 2012, Bravo takes a wicket every 10 balls during the slog overs in the IPL. That is the best for any bowler in the IPL during that period.

Andrew Tye

Base price: INR 1 crore ($160,000)
The knuckle ball is tied to Tye’s name. But that is not the only variation he utilises to dominate batsmen at the end. He uses his tall frame to deliver a very good short ball that is equally lethal. And, like Bravo, Tye has a cool temperament in the high-pressure overs at the end of the innings where being able to breathe easy on the job is an asset.NumbersSince June 2015, Tye has the fourth-best strike rate (10.84) in the slog overs at and economy of 9.57. Tye has taken three hat-tricks in T20s and is only the second player to achieve the feat alongside India legspinner Amit Mishra.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Jaydev Unadkat

Base price: INR 1.5 crore ($315,000)
Heavy balls into the body, sly wide yorkers, and a sharp bouncer – Unadkat teases the batsmen and keeps them thinking. Unadkat always had the pace, but last year, for Pune, he showed his bowling intelligence and brought out all the skills he had worked on to become a complete T20 fast bowler. The variety of being a left-hand bowler adds to his allure.NumbersLast IPL, Unadkat had 16 wickets in the death overs, which was the joint-best along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whom Steven Smith had called the best in that phase. Importantly, Unadkat’s economy rate was 8.41. He is the only Indian bowler to take two five-wicket hauls in the IPL. Overall among fast bowlers, Undakat was the second highest wicket-taker in the IPL last year with 24 wickets at an economy rate of 7.02

Opener proud of how he rediscovered his form in the final two matches of the international summer, after an unexpected recall

Andrew Miller15-Nov-2017Jason Roy believes that Ben Stokes and Alex Hales have “dealt extremely well” with the fall-out of Stokes’ arrest in Bristol in September, an incident that inadvertently allowed Roy to reclaim his place at the top of England’s ODI batting order.Speaking at the Chance to Shine Awards at Lord’s, Roy reflected on a disappointing personal season in England’s limited-overs teams, but added that he was proud of the way he put aside England’s huge off-field issue to rediscover his form in the final two matches of the international summer.”The team wasn’t that focused given the events that happened, but as with most sports, you have to come in and take your opportunities,” Roy told ESPNcricinfo. “You have to blank out all the stuff that’s happening in the media, all the stuff that people are saying to you about what’s happened in previous games, and just crack on with the next delivery.”The circumstances of Roy’s return to the side could hardly have been less of a cause for celebration for the player, who had been dropped during England’s Champions Trophy campaign after mustering 51 runs in eight ODI innings.He had seemed resigned to a long stint on the sidelines, but was instead drafted back in for the fourth ODI against West Indies as a direct replacement for Hales, who had returned to Bristol to help police with their enquiries after emerging as a key witness following Stokes’ arrest at 2.30am on the morning after England’s victory in the Bristol ODI.Jason Roy made his first fifty in ten ODI innings•Getty Images

Roy seized his chance, scoring 84 in his comeback at The Oval and 96 in the season finale at the Ageas Bowl two days later, as England wrapped up a 4-0 series win.”For England it was a disappointing international summer,” he said. “I went over to the IPL, got sidelined for a couple of games, came back and didn’t have that rhythm that I usually have. And then in the Champions Trophy, I tried a few stupid things, and got myself in a bit of a rut.”I’ve always been pretty honest with myself and with everybody else about where I’m at, and yeah, I got myself in a bit of a rut and I couldn’t really get out of it. Then found my way with a few runs in the county game with Surrey, a few good wins under my belt, and then finished strongly at the end of the summer.”The star of the West Indies series, however, was Jonny Bairstow, the man who had himself taken over from Roy during the Champions Trophy, and who marked his promotion with two hundreds in a Man of the Series display.”It is healthy for English cricket,” said Roy. “If any one of us is sitting on the sidelines, it’s only going to be a positive for England. At the end of the day that is exactly the mentality of Jonny, Halesy and myself, if one of us is sidelined then happy days, because we must have a seriously strong opening pair.”Neither Hales nor Stokes has spoken publicly since the Bristol incident. However, both men were present at Roy’s wedding in France in October, where they were pictured smiling and joining in the festivities.”They are fine,” Roy added. “It was obviously an unfortunate event, an unfortunate period, but they came to my wedding, all bearing smiles and everything was all good. Obviously it’s something we wish didn’t happen, but it did. They’ve actually dealt with it extremely well.”Jason Roy was supporting Chance to Shine, the national charity who aim to spread the power of cricket through schools and communities. NatWest have partnered with Chance to Shine as part of their Cricket has no boundaries campaign, championing diversity and inclusion in cricket.

South Africa batsman Dean Elgar believes his team will avoid complacency at Bellerive Oval, a venue at which they have never played a Test match

Firdose Moonda in Hobart10-Nov-20162:32

‘We are guarding against complacency’ – Dean Elgar

South Africa are not going to follow Graeme Smith’s lead and dismiss Australia as being low on confidence. In fact, they are bracing for a backlash from the wounded hosts.”If he has said that I’m sure that’s just his personal dig,” South Africa’s opening batsman Dean Elgar said. “I don’t think there is a culture issue within the Australian side. We know they’re still a dangerous team and they can bounce back in the second Test.”Asked whether he thinks Australia have lost some of their bite, Elgar would not be drawn into a slanging match. “Yes and no. We know that the Australian side is still a very dangerous side. Them being beaten in the first Test is working in their favour because they can bounce back, and we’re aware of their bouncebackability. It’s just human nature to withdraw into yourself because of what you’re going through. But they can bounce back hard.”To that end, South Africa are spending the build-up being drilled hard both in the nets and in the analysis room. “Complacency is a big thing for us,” Elgar said. “That’s something we’ve addressed as a team. It’s a new Test, a new challenge and a new venue for us.”South Africa have never played a Test in Hobart before, and the last of their five ODIs at this venue was in 2009. Of the current squad, only Hashim Amla and JP Duminy played in that match, while batting and bowling consultant Neil McKenzie and Charl Langeveldt were part of previous ODI teams at Bellerive Oval. They won’t be able to draw too much from that but have be trawling through the scorecards of previous matches to try and gauge what awaits.0:24

Dean Elgar expects Australia to bounce back in Hobart

The last two Tests have seen Australia post big scores in the first innings against West Indies and Sri Lanka but the one before that was a low-scoring thriller against New Zealand. The pace and bounce of the WACA is a thing of the past but there may still be plenty for the bowlers. Two days before the Test, the pitch was a violent shade of green but much of that grass will be shaved off. What won’t change is the overhanging cloud, at least not for the rest of this week. There will be swing on offer and for South Africa, that may also mean reverse-swing.Josh Hazlewood commented on how effectively South Africa managed to get the ball to reverse in Perth, much to Australia’s envy, and Elgar was sure they would try to do it again. “It is an asset for us if the ball can reverse but also, for a bowler to be able to bowl with the reversing ball is a massive skill,” Elgar said. “We’re fortunate if that most if not all of our bowlers can bowl with the reversing ball, which works in our favour quite nicely. In Perth the ball reversed in both innings for us when we were bowling and it proved to be a massive asset for us.”Elgar maintained that South Africa’s working of the ball does not venture into troublesome territory, even though Hazlewood had noticed their habit of throwing the ball onto the pitch to scuff it up. “We’re trying to throw it into the turf and scuff one side up,” Hazlewood said “They’re pretty well drilled on it and get that side nice and rough and the other one shiny.”But it is “not a deliberate tactic”, according to Elgar. “When you’re on the boundary, there are rules that you are allowed to bounce a ball in from the boundary,” he said. “All teams around the world use that tactic these days. If you are allowed to use it to your advantage all teams are welcome to do it. But obviously within the rules and regulations of the game.”Those are things Smith, who retired more than two years ago, does not have to think about anymore and it’s allowed him to say some of the things he may have been thinking in his playing days. Smith spoke about Australia being a country where you had to earn respect as a player and you could only do that through performance. That’s what South Africa did in Perth and hope to continue in Hobart, but Elgar would prefer they didn’t make too much of a big noise about it.”Having a lot guys put up their hands and make a big play for the team is very important to us,” Elgar said. “It’s very important for us to have those different kinds of players in the team. We don’t talk about it at all. It just comes out naturally.”

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has been suspended for two ODIs and his team-mates have been fined 40% of their match fees for their slow over-rate in the final of the tri-series against India in Port-of-Spain

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2013Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has been suspended for two ODIs and his team-mates have been fined 40% of their match fees for their slow over-rate in the final of the tri-series against India in Port-of-Spain.Match referee David Boon handed the suspension after Sri Lanka were found three overs short of their target at the end of the match, after time allowances were taken into consideration. Mathews accepted the suspension which avoided a formal hearing.In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct, the captain receives two suspension points and his team-mates are fined 10% of their match fees for each of the first two overs short and 20% for every subsequent over they fail to bowl in the stipulated time. Two suspension points equate to a suspension for one Test or two ODIs.The suspension means Mathews will miss the first two of the five ODIs against South Africa on July 20 and 23 in Colombo.