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Experienced allrounder Lata Mondal has been left out

Mohammad Isam30-Oct-2023Young batter Sumaiya Akter and uncapped offspinner Nishita Akter have been named in Bangladesh’s women’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Pakistan, starting next week. Nishita is just 15 years old while Sumiaya, who has featured in one T20I, is 18 and is yet to make an ODI debut.From the last ODI series against India at home, which they drew 1-1, only the experienced allrounder Lata Mondal has been left out, with Bangladesh naming Salma Khatun, Shorifa Khatun and Sharmin Akter as standbys.The ODI series is part of the ICC Women’s Championship cycle 2022-25, where Bangladesh occupy the ninth position on the table with just one win from nine matches. Pakistan, meanwhile, are fourth with six wins from 12 matches, and suffered back-to-back series defeats against South Africa (home) and Australia (away) before this series. India are currently the table-toppers with seven wins from nine games.Bangladesh are coming off a 2-1 series victory against Pakistan from earlier this week in Chattogram. Left-arm spinner Nahida Akter was adjudged the player of the series for her eight wickets.The three ODIs against Pakistan will be held on November 4, 7 and 10 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.Bangladesh ODI squad: Nigar Sultana Joty (capt & wk), Fargana Hoque, Sobhana Mostary, Murshida Khatun, Shamima Sultana, Disha Biswas, Rabeya Khan, Ritu Moni, Sultana Khatun, Shorna Akter, Nahida Akter, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Sanjida Akther Meghla, Sumaiya Akter, Nishita Akter.Standbys: Salma Khatun, Shorifa Khatun and Sharmin Akter.

Extra day vital as Australia wrap up points on back of Ashleigh Gardner eight-for

Andrew Miller26-Jun-2023Australia’s hard-fought 89-run victory in the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge was a vindication of the decision to stretch the contest over a full five days, according to Alyssa Healy and Heather Knight, the opposing captains, as well as the Player of the Match, Ashleigh Gardner, whose 12 wickets included the outstanding second-innings figures of 8 for 66.Australia duly wrapped up victory shortly before lunch on the final morning, as Gardner claimed each of the final five wickets to fall for the addition of 62 more runs, and have now taken a huge leap towards retaining the Ashes for fifth series in a row, with England potentially needing to win five of the remaining six matches, starting with the first of three T20Is at Edgbaston on Saturday.”It just shows having five days in the Test match to actually get a result is super-important,” Gardner said at the post-match presentations, having played out draws in each of her previous three appearances in the format.Related

• MCG to host historic women's Ashes Test to mark 90-year anniversary of format

• Ashleigh Gardner eight-for, 12 in the match, as Australia claim Ashes advantage

• Healy shows fighting spirit as Australia dig themselves back into ascendancy

• Gardner senses Australia victory push despite tough day in the field

• Ecclestone the 'benchmark' but Gardner turns Test towards Australia

“We obviously need to celebrate this because it’s super-special,” Gardner added. “This is the first time that I’ve been involved in a Test match where we’ve got a result, but then we also turn our attention pretty quickly onto the T20s. We know how good England are at T20 cricket, so we need to be ready for that first match in Birmingham.”For Healy, captaining Australia in the absence of Meg Lanning, there was pride at overseeing a famous result, but also relief – both at ending her own barren run of form in Ashes Tests with a vital second-innings fifty, and in not messing up in her stand-in role.”It was stressful,” she joked. “I’ve got a few more grey hairs. But I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and I’m really honoured to have been able to do it in Test match, and obviously win one as well. I’m pretty chuffed standing here, but I really thoroughly enjoyed the experience.She added: “First and foremost, how good is it to have a result, and I’m pleased to be on the right end of it. I guess, when you take the pressure off the captains and the teams to try and manipulate a result, it probably makes a little bit easier, but we’ll have to wait and see how [five days for women’s Tests] pans out. Even if it’s just a potential of a reserve day, if there is rain, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”Knight, meanwhile, has been one of the loudest advocates for a fifth day in women’s Tests – not least since her brilliant performance in the last Ashes Test at Canberra in January 2022, where her first-innings century set up the game, only for England to have to settle for a draw, nine wickets down, after a thrilling fourth-innings chase.”I’ve been quite vocal about having five days and I think today – and the whole five days, actually – showed why that was,” she said. “Credit to Australia. They were outstanding, but our girls went toe to toe with them for a hell of a long time. And that was really impressive.”In particular, Knight called out the efforts of Tammy Beaumont, whose England-best 208 carried the fight after Australia had posted a daunting 473, and their star spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who picked up a brace of five-fors in each innings, and carried the bowling for a total of 77.1 overs after Nat Sciver-Brunt’s involvement with the ball was hampered by a knee injury.”Sophie, we called her Merlin [like the bowling machine], she just kept going from one end,” Knight said. “Obviously with the loss of a bowler to a niggle, we had to have bowlers that stepped up and really take the job on and they’ve really grafted hard there.”She’s a captain’s dream, I’ve been able to get the ball to her and just for her to hold up an end, she’s so consistent. And, on that pitch, she was a real wicket-taking threat. I did wonder whether I was over-bowling her at one point, but she came back and again and again, and hardly bowled a loose ball all Test match.”She’s pretty tired but she’s done an amazing job for the team. She’s really dug deep and done a real job for us.”The final word, however, went to Australia’s own star spinner, as Gardner took confidence from Ecclestone’s success and ripped the contest her team’s way at the crucial moments.”I couldn’t have dreamt of it, to be honest,” she said after her 12-wicket haul. “There was a little bit of luck involved with the conditions out there, but I think as a whole bowling unit we bowled really well throughout and just tried to bowl in partnerships. I guess I was the lucky one to come away with wickets.”We just said to keep the stumps in play as often as possible, to keep all modes of dismissal in play. Thankfully for me some kept low, some turned – most of mine didn’t turn – but it was just awesome to be able to put a performance on for the team.”

The wicketkeeper-batter is in quarantine and will not travel with the team to Durham on Thursday

PTI15-Jul-2021Rishabh Pant, who is part of India’s touring party in England, has tested positive for Covid-19. He will not travel with the team to Durham as it reassembles ahead of next month’s Test series against England.A BCCI source confirmed that Pant had tested positive and had been in isolation for the past eight days. He is, according to the source, asymptomatic at this point. “He is in quarantine at an acquaintance’s place and won’t be travelling with the team to Durham on Thursday,” the source said without divulging when the 23-year-old would join the squad.”Yes, one player has tested positive but he has been in isolation for the last eight days. He was not staying in any hotel with the team, so no other player has been affected,” BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla told PTI. “As of now no other player has tested positive. Also you must be aware our secretary Jay Shah has written a letter to all players to maintain protocols.”Related

• Rishabh Pant returns to India camp after recovering from Covid-19

• India to play warm-up game against County Select XI

• Stokes says England ready to 'make sacrifices'

The development came close on the heels of Shah sending an email to the Indian contingent, warning it about the rising cases of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. The players were given a break after the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, which the team lost last month.It is understood that Pant has been afflicted by the Delta variant, which has led to rising number of cases in England. He was seen attending a Euro 2020 football match last month and had even posted pictures on his social media accounts.Shah, in his letter, told the players to “avoid” crowded places as Covishield, the vaccine that has been administered to the players and other members of the team, only provides protection, not full immunity against the virus.In fact, Shah’s letter had specifically stated that players should avoid going to Wimbledon and the Euros, both of which recently concluded in the UK.The Indian team is due to take on England in a five-match Test series starting August 4. It will play a practice game starting July 20 as a build-up to the high-intensity series. The India-England showdown marks the beginning of the second cycle of the World Test Championship.Recently, the England team too was hit by the virus and was forced to field a second-string side for its limited-overs series against Pakistan.

Players arriving in Sydney from New Zealand won’t need to quarantine for 14 days and will be allowed to move freely

Andrew McGlashan23-Oct-2020The West Indies squad could provide a lucrative source of overseas signings for the BBL, after the competition added scope for a third foreign player in the XIs, if the tournament can take advantage of the travel bubble that exists with New Zealand.West Indies have a three-match T20I series in the country at the end of November followed by two Tests, and since earlier this month it is now possible to travel from New Zealand into New South Wales without needing to quarantine on arrival.The West Indies players will undergo managed isolation when they arrive at the start of the tour next month, but under current regulations, they will then be able to move around freely with the normal population unlike the restrictive biosecure bubbles which are in operation around the world. ALSO READ: BBL clubs to be allowed three overseas players in XIThat could mean they are able to fly directly to Australia to take up BBL deals without the need to quarantine for 14 days, although Cricket Australia (CA) stressed that all overseas players are subject to Australian Border Force approval. The T20I series finishes on November 30 and the second Test ends on December 15 in Wellington. The BBL, meanwhile, is expected to begin in the second week of the month.A significant number of the West Indies squad could be of interest to BBL clubs since it was confirmed there is now room for an extra overseas player, revealed by ESPNcricinfo earlier this week, which will be funded outside of the salary cap.Kieron Pollard is captain of the T20I side which includes Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer, the latter who is also in the Test group. West Indies Test captain Jason Holder is not part of their T20 set-up but is currently at the IPL and could interest clubs as might fast bowler Kemar Roach who has previously played in the BBL.Andre Russell, who would likely gain plenty of interest, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis opted out of the New Zealand tour so they would need to go through 14 days quarantine to be part of the BBL. Dwayne Bravo recently withdrew due to an injury sustained at the IPL.The BBL is attempting to attract as many big-name overseas signings as possible to help compensate for the potential absence of more Australian internationals to the larger squads that will be needed this season. They’re also looking to ease tensions with broadcaster Channel Seven, although the postponement of New Zealand’s limited-overs tour in January means there is a clear window in the latter part of the competition. However, given the strains on multi-format players this season, it would appear unlikely the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc will feature.Steven Smith and David Warner may not be able to play in the BBL this season•BCCI

“It’s such a fast-changing environment with borders and different considerations. Our clubs have been really innovative and agile to be able to adjust their recruitment strategies so that [bubble] is a good example of one that’s opened up recently and I know there’s conversations happening,” Alistair Dobson, the head of the BBL, said. “There’s a unique opportunity to capitalise on it if that’s the way our clubs decide to go, there are a players that are available and suit the contracting strategies. That would be a great result.””I think having the best players in the BBL is always a primary objective of our clubs. You can see by some of the announcements in recent days that they’ve been really ambitious. The third player on the list just adds another dimension, [more] depth and quality to the teams. The types of players we get, there will be some names you know and some up and coming stars. There’s plenty of history in the BBL of players leaving the competition with much bigger profiles than when they arrived.”However, while the bubble exists with New Zealand it could be harder to get their own players involved. Pakistan tour after West Indies and though that series finishes on January 7, there is no more international cricket until late February. When the schedule was announced, NZC made specific mention of having their leading names available for the T20 Super Smash, although some could well be attracted across the Tasman.”One of the silver linings is that our Super Smash competition, which will be played in that window, will now be boosted by the presence of Blackcaps and White Ferns,” David White, the NZC CEO, said last month. “It’s going to be the best Super Smash yet, I’m confident of that.”Dobson said: “I know there’s some players from New Zealand we’d love to have in the BBL if it lines up. I can see a way for them to be part of it. They’ve got their own commitments at the same time, [so] it all comes down to the unique requirements of each club, borders and contract strategies. But it certainly looks like there’s a unique opportunity this year with that bubble opening.”Outside of the potential advantages of the New Zealand bubble, Dobson said that all indications were that other overseas players would still require 14 days hard quarantine including the England contingent who will have come from a biosecure series in South Africa. The WBBL players recently completed the same protocols and were not allowed outside of their hotel rooms for that period, but Dobson added he had not received any significant concerns from the BBL players already signed.The schedule itself is expected to be confirmed shortly after the rubberstamping of the Australia-India fixtures. That tour received government approval on Thursday and is awaiting final BCCI sign-off. On Friday, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that state borders, expect Western Australia’s, could be open again by Christmas which may give the BBL more flexibility with the fixturing.

South Africa’s captain hopes there will be more assistance for the seamers in Port Elizabeth, and less for the spinners, than there was in Durban

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Port Elizabeth20-Feb-20192:00

Something brilliant took away the first Test from us – du Plessis

At Kingsmead, Sri Lanka’s unknown bowlers were effective against South Africa’s batsmen. Then, Kusal Perera, whose excellence with the bat was a revelation to everyone – possibly even himself – took the match away from the hosts.At St George’s Park now – a venue at which they have won five of their six most recent Tests (the other was a draw) – South Africa have come to terms with the quality this inexperienced Sri Lanka team can sometimes summon. Or, at least, that is what captain Faf du Plessis hopes.With South Africa only ever having lost Test series to Australia and England at home, they must now prepare to defend their proud record, against a team they hope has sprung its last surprise. The last time Sri Lanka were on these shores, in 2016/17, they were brushed aside 3-0.”We’re very proud about our record – we have made sure that we’ve made our home a fortress,” du Plessis said on the eve of the second Test. “For the last two years or so, I don’t think we played a bad game against Sri Lanka at home. But we need to be better to beat them.”They surprised us with the way they played in Durban, but here there will be bit of sideways movement. In Durban, there’s not lot of that. Kingsmead has always a five-wicket-haul for spinners. Here, although the spinner plays a role, I don’t think that much help will be there.”Lasith Embuldeniya celebrates his five-wicket haul•AFP

A lack of turn may help neuter Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya (as well as South Africa’s own Keshav Maharaj, of course), but South Africa will still have to contend with Vishwa Fernando, who took eight wickets in the first Test, as well as Kasun Rajitha. Quinton de Kock had said after the first day’s play at Kingsmead that those bowlers had “surprised” the South Africa batsmen, who had never played him before. This time, du Plessis, said, the top order would be ready.”It’s the nature of international cricket, and I find it happens a lot that new bowlers do well. If you play bowlers for the first time there’s an element of the unknown and a surprise factor, where it takes a you little while to get used to it,” du Plessis said. “Call it “first year syndrome” when oppositions don’t know them as well as they should yet. Batters need to play against them to set plans. There’s already been a lot of chat about playing the new guys better.”The St. George’s Park surface had a healthy covering of grass on the eve of the game, but du Plessis was wary of the famed Port Elizabeth wind drying the surface out once the game begins.”It looks a normal pitch for me. It has looked like this for the last two years. We have played Australia and Sri Lanka here in the last two Tests. The grass tends to look a bit thick a day or two before the game, but the wind, when it blows like today, dries it quickly. So the groundsman tends to keep most of the moisture before the Test match and then take a decision on the morning of the match. Hopefully there will be some sideways movement for our seamers.”

With the series drawn level at 2-2, Zimbabwe will look to exploit Sri Lanka’s bowling woes, while the hosts will rely on their in-form top order to clinch the series

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jul-2017

Match Facts

July 10, 2017
Start time: 0945 local (0415GMT)Danushka Gunathilaka leads the run charts with 271 from four innings•AFP

Big Picture

To find the most-recent bilateral series in which Zimbabwe pushed Sri Lanka to a decider, you’d have to go back decades, to a time before Sri Lanka won the World Cup, to before the island’s players were fully professional – all the way back to November 1994. Now, there is a chance the series that the Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews hoped could be won 5-0, may not be won at all. How did we get here?Largely, the state of the series is owed to the skill and poise of Zimbabwe’s batsmen. In three of the four games so far, they either surpassed 300 or as was the case on Saturday, appeared capable of getting there, and comfortably achieved the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target in any case. Encouragingly, they have not been reliant on any one batsman. In the first match, Solomon Mire’s maiden ton, coupled with Sean Williams’ supporting hand, propelled them to victory. In the matches since, Hamilton Masakadza and Craig Ervine have starred. Lasith Malinga may now be a diminished force, but for a side that had not seen a lot of him, Zimbabwe have defused Malinga with particular confidence. With one match to play, Malinga has two wickets in the series, at an average of 78.50 and an economy rate of 6.28.Sri Lanka’s batting has been consistently good – their openers putting up back-to-back double-century stands for the first time in ODI history – but the attack’s lack of venom has been repeatedly exposed. Too often, boundary balls have spoiled tight overs and, at other times, bowlers have faltered when batsmen began to attack them.As the series comes to its climax, Zimbabwe will hope that given Malinga’s troubles, Sri Lanka’s young attack will remain leaderless. Sri Lanka’s bowlers, meanwhile, need to find some way of squeezing life out of a Hambantota pitch that has been unkind to them.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LWWLL (completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe WLLWW

In the spotlight

Despite having played only three matches in the series, legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga tops the wicket-takers’ list, having claimed eight scalps at an average of 12.37. Hasaranga’s rise has been fairly sharp, after he debuted in the second ODI at Galle. Although he impressed in patches during Sri Lanka’s recent one-day Super Provincial Tournament, he was hardly the best bowler on show there. Instead, the selectors can take a little credit for picking a player on potential, with their hunch having proven correct so far.Largely unheralded before this series, Solomon Mire has also been something of a revelation, hitting a match-winning century in the first ODI in Galle, and also contributing to their second win, with a boisterous 43 off 30 balls. He had showcased some of his ability in the Netherlands, during the List A series there, but it is in Sri Lanka that he has begun to click at the ODI level. Zimbabwe will hope they have found a long-term partner, in Mire, for Hamilton Masakadza at the top of the innings.

Team news

With debutant Asitha Fernando having proven expensive in his brief trips to the crease on Saturday, Sri Lanka may opt for the more experienced Nuwan Kulasekara in their seam attack. The top order is likely to stay in place.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Upul Tharanga, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Lasith Malinga,Zimbabwe may opt for the same XI, given its success.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Solomon Mire, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Tarisai Musakanda, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Malcolm Waller, 8 Peter Moor (wk), 9 Graeme Cremer (capt.), 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Chris Mpofu

Pitch and conditions

Chances are there will be more runs on the Hambantota pitch, with it having been more batting-friendly than either side has expected so far. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon again, but the forecast looks better than it did for the fourth ODI.

Stats and trivia

• Despite the series scoreline, the top three run-scorers (Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga) and the top three wicket-takers (Wanindu Hasaranga, Asela Gunaratne, Lakshan Sandakan) are all Sri Lanka players
• If Zimbabwe win on Monday, it will be their first bilateral series win over a Test-playing opposition away from home, since they beat Bangladesh in Bangladesh in 2001
• Hamilton Masakadza needs 50 to become the fifth Zimbabwe batsman to 5000 ODI runs

Quotes

“The pressure is more on them because they expected to beat us. We won’t take any pressure into the final game. The confidence is pretty high for us.”

“Not just Malinga, but as a bowling group we have to all cop the blame rather than pointing the finger at one person.”

David Warner’s 156 off 128 balls – his seventh ODI hundred in 2016 – headlined Australia’s 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the MCG09-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDifferent crowd, different context, similar result. Australia returned to the scene of their 2015 World Cup final hiding of New Zealand and duly inflicted another enormous defeat on the visitors, completing the first clean sweep of a Chappell-Hadlee series in a decade, in front of a far smaller gathering than last time.Only 20,591 spectators were on hand to see the heavy lifting done by the vice-captain David Warner, who soared to his second ODI hundred in as many innings and seventh of the year, in conditions far more challenging than those prepared for either of the first two matches of the series.Warner’s innings was all the more laudable for the fact that most batsmen found scoring difficult on a slow and capricious pitch. After his 156, the next best score on either side was a doughty supporting hand of 37 by Travis Head, part of the only century stand of the match.On a chilly December day in Melbourne, the visitors had bowled with accuracy to some nifty plans devised by the captain Kane Williamson, notably catching out Aaron Finch and Steven Smith with a fielder placed at a shortish square leg. However Warner endured through the difficult passages and accelerated during a rearguard stand with Head, reaching his century, then going on to guide the Australians to a total that proved well beyond New Zealand.Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both proved fiendishly difficult to counter in the evening, while Head made a further contribution to the match with the wickets of Martin Guptill and BJ Watling. James Faulkner chimed in with the vital dismissal of Williamson. The failure of New Zealand’s batsmen to make any impression on the scoreboard undermined some decent work earlier in the day by their bowlers, Warner’s excellence excepted.Trent Boult performed nicely for New Zealand, while the recalled Lockie Ferguson again demonstrated the high pace he is able to generate from a fast-arm action. It was Ferguson who came closest to dismissing Warner early on, but Henry Nicholls was unable to cling onto a difficult, diving outfield chance when the opener was on 18.The hosts had gone in with an unchanged team for the third match, retaining their fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins while also continuing to ignore the all-round skills of Glenn Maxwell. New Zealand had to leave out Jimmy Neesham due to continued pain in the arm that was struck by Starc in Canberra, while also recalling Ferguson at the expense of Matt Henry.Mitchell Starc blasted out Henry Nicholls and Colin Munro with lethal reverse-swinging yorkers•AFP

While the new ball did not swing a great deal, Boult bowled the ideal lines to coax Finch and Smith into false strokes towards the leg side that were snapped up by Nicholls. Smith’s wicket was a particular source of satisfaction after his tall scores in the first two matches of the series.George Bailey, again showcasing his backside-to-the-bowler stance, hung around to add 62 with Warner, but when his dismissal by Colin de Grandhomme was swiftly followed by Mitchell Marsh being bowled off bat and body, the Australians were in difficult straits.Warner was able to find a useful ally in Head, who struggled with timing but was at least able to rotate the strike and form a partnership, ultimately worth 105. That stand gave the hosts something to work with, and Warner was able to push on further once he passed three figures, surging beyond 150 and only being dismissed via a run out on the final ball of the innings.Matthew Wade and James Faulkner had provided some support at the back end of the innings, ensuring Australia were able to set New Zealand a total of good value on a sluggish pitch and expansive outfield. Guptill and Tom Latham made a fair start to the chase, reaching 44 in good time before Pat Cummins coaxed Latham into granting another catch to square leg, this time patrolled by Faulkner.Williamson was pinned in front of the stumps by Faulkner from around the wicket, and two overs later Guptill cracked Head’s very first ball into the outstretched hands of Bailey at cover. Nicholls was comprehensively yorked by Starc, and when Watling was found to be lbw to Head on a DRS review the game was all but up.Smith ended the match with another ripping catch, this time diving to his right at slip. While a vast match and series victory over a New Zealand side lacking both confidence and sharpness, this was no World Cup final. By their restrained celebrations it was clear that both Australian players and spectators alike were well aware of this fact.

Alex Hales made 99 and Jos Buttler an unbeaten 48 from 28 balls as England took a 2-0 lead in their five-match ODI series against South Africa

The Report by David Hopps06-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSt George’s Park, the oldest of South Africa’s international venues, stayed true to its nature by overseeing a one-day international with an old-fashioned flavour on an inhibiting surface. A keenly-fought affair, in which both innings seemed locked together throughout, had the makings of a last-over nail-biter. Instead, thanks to Jos Buttler’s sudden lift of tempo, it fell England’s way by five wickets with 20 balls to spare.Inhibitions? Not when you have just won your first IPL contract and are nearly £400,000 richer. Buttler gave the impression he would have played just as freely on the cobbled streets of his native Somerset as he logged an unbeaten 48 from 28 balls.Three successive fours off Kyle Abbott, the first of them streaky (where was South Africa’s slip?) then three sixes in a row off Imran Tahir in the following over sent England scooting to victory. South Africa’s pace bowling had gone up a notch since their defeat in Bloemfontein but they now trail 2-0 in the five-match series.It was Alex Hales’ 99 from 124 balls that placed England for victory, although there was work to be done when he was fifth out with 59 needed from 52 balls – caught down the leg side pulling at Abbott with visions of a hundred. Front-foot pushes and crafted singles had supplanted what has become the common avalanche of sixes but the incoming Buttler recognised only a day of dreamy blue skies.Hales has played more exciting innings, he has played fine innings in more draining conditions, but this was one of his most judicious ODI affairs. The Test series did not advertise the emergence of a rounder game, but his selectivity did here. With the exception of AB de Villiers, whose 73 from 91 balls was a notable return to form, he managed the conditions better than anybody.Abbott, fit again after hamstring trouble, put in a combative shift, a bowler of great physicality, nipping one through to gate to bowl Jason Roy for 14 – Norton anti-virus would insist on a patch to stem that weakness. Root was at his most conservative, labouring 64 balls over 38 before he tried to advance to Abbott and deflected a rising ball into his stumps.Eoin Morgan came in at No 4 – shrewdly, no promotion for Buttler on this occasion with grafting to be done – and kept England in touch with the rate with judicious sixes against Imran Tahir and Farhaan Behardien before Morkel defeated his blow-down-the-ground shot with a wide cutter.Stokes’ fate was an eventful duck. Tahir nearly had him twice in an over, sweep and reverse sweep both failing in turn with a review needed to spare him on the second occasion. In the next over he deflected Morkel into his stumps. The pressure was on England, but not, it became evident, on Buttler.Financially, Chris Morris was even better served than Buttler by the IPL auction – he was sitting on a cool million dollars after a bidding frenzy that eventually saw him move to Delhi Daredevils. No matter: he had to watch from the outer. South Africa, seemingly of different persuasion, dropped both him and his Bloemfontein new-ball partner Marchant de Lange.The match did not turn solely on Buttler’s late merrymaking – Chris Jordan also played a crucial part in South Africa’s innings. De Villiers came into the match with three successive ducks to end the Test series and 8 in the opening ODI, but he did the hard yards, his form flooded back and he signalled his intentions as South Africa reached the last 10 overs by lashing Jordan over midwicket for six.But Jordan is a multi-faceted cricketer, dangerous with the bat, outperformed by few at slip and in the deep, and when de Villiers failed to middle another mighty hit over the leg side off Ben Stokes in the following over, Jordan was equal to the challenge.It was a hugely difficult catch, a white ball falling out of a blue sky, a swirling breeze strong enough to fleck the sea and shake the branches of the trees outside the ground holding the ball just within range: Jordan’s range anyway as he dashed back full tilt to take the ball over his shoulder at mid-on with remarkable poise.De Villiers had built his own stage in the early part of South Africa’s innings but the final onslaught which could have carried the game away from England never materialised. Only 64 came from the last 10 – respectable but not a game changer.By the 20th over, South Africa had been three down for 98, Hashim Amla bowled when Reece Topley’s semblance of inswing developed into something straighter, Quinton de Kock’s bountiful run of form ended when Stokes had him lbw with a fullish delivery, and du Plessis’ confident innings fell just short of a half-century when Adil Rashid found drift and turn to have him caught at slip.Rashid and Moeen Ali throttled the mid-innings, both stints completed by the 37th over. That left a lot of onus on Jordan, and he could have done without Buttler spilling a very acceptable catch, one-handed to his left, when JP Duminy tried to run him to third man on 37. Five overs for 33 did not flatter him, but the catch released him from his troubles and Topley, maintaining a full length, squeezed South Africa to a chaseable total.A slow pitch was to get slower still. The breeze was lifting. The match was in the balance. Hales got a break on 17 when he scrunched a full toss from Tahir into no-man’s land and played with great responsibility. Then came Buttler, the liveliest breeze of all.

The proposed Bangladesh tour of Pakistan, though agreed to in principle by the two countries’ boards, is being threatened by logistical issues stemming from a lack of coordination at the political level

Umar Farooq18-Apr-2012The proposed Bangladesh tour of Pakistan, while agreed to in principle by the two countries’ boards, is being threatened by logistical problems stemming from a lack of coordination at the political level. The PCB has delayed sending its security plan to the ICC because issues between the federal government and the state government of Punjab. Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, urged the Pakistan government to play its role in moving quickly for the tour to fall into place, “for the sake of national interest.”Pakistan and Bangladesh, after reaching a consensus on the short tour, had informed the ICC earlier this week that they will play one ODI and one Twenty20 International at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The matches are scheduled for April 29 and 30.Ashraf returned to Pakistan on Tuesday night after attending the ICC board meeting in Dubai, calling for an immediate press conference to announce the Bangladesh visit. He did not however elaborate on any substantial plan ahead for Pakistan to host a foreign team for the first time in three years. Every question about the uncertainty surrounding the Bangladesh tour was responded to with a confident reply that all matters would be sorted out in time.Meanwhile, at a press conference at the National Cricket Academy, the Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, welcomed the Bangladesh tour but was himself not certain of the security arrangements in place. “Bangladesh are our brothers and I welcome them to come and play here in Pakistan,” Sharif told reporters in Lahore. “But the federal [government] is not coordinating with us.”The PCB, whose headquarters are housed in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, wrote a letter to the chief secretary of the Punjab Government on April 16 regarding security arrangements and plans and was still awaiting a reply from the provincial government. “We had dispatched them the letter for the plan (on April 16) that they are yet to respond to, but we will send the plan to the ICC shortly,” Ashraf said. “The ICC actually was asking us to hand them the plan during the [board] meeting but we didn’t carry it. It’s our mistake that it is delayed for some reason but it will be sorted out soon.”Ashraf said that ICC has already promised to send their officials and the security plan that was sought by the ICC was merely a formality. “ICC won’t be sending any of its delegation to assess security. They sought the security plan which we will dispatch to them shortly but that isn’t a big issue for ICC.”ESPNcricinfo understands, though, that the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, after receiving the plan from the PCB, may consider outsourcing a company for an independent security assessment of the measures in place for the short tour by Bangladesh.The series broadcasters, Ten Sports, also had their qualms. “They earlier showed reservation about the series being very short,” Ashraf said, “but we told them this is what we have planned and that they have to cover it.”The prospect of an end to Pakistan’s three-year drought of international cricket, Ashraf said, counted as a big victory. “Cricket is a passion in Pakistan and convincing Bangladesh to tour is a victory for all of us,” he said. “The tour will not only benefit the PCB. The whole economy of the country is linked, so it’s about the country not about the federal and Punjab government. I think all should play their role for the one national interest.”The three-day tour, Ashraf said, “will break the ice” and he was also confident of the resumption of Indo-Pak cricket. “The breakthrough achieved during President Asif Ali Zardari’s tour to India will also help in the revival of Indo-Pak cricket.”Ashraf said the situation had changed considerably since 2009. “I thank the ICC Board for the way they appreciated the revival of cricket and approved of it. The situation is not like it was in 2009. Since cricket was suspended in Pakistan our grounds were left deserted but things have improved and I hope more teams will come after the Bangladesh team’s tour.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

Dawid Malan struck a brilliant century as Middlesex took control on the third day of their top-of-the-table clash against Northamptonshire

26-Aug-2011
ScorecardMiddlesex’s hopes of forcing a victory over County Championship Division Two leaders Northamptonshire were dashed as the final day’s play of their Wantage Road clash was washed out.Northamptonshire had ended day three on 22 without loss, 181 runs behind their opponents, but second-placed Middlesex were deprived of the chance to press home their advantage as play was abandoned at 2pm. They would have had high hopes after declaring on 479 for 8 yesterday in reply to Northamptonshire’s 276 all out, but have to settle for 10 points from the draw, which puts them 18 points off the pace with a game in hand.Northamptonshire come out of this match with six points and will look to take a giant step towards promotion against Surrey at Wantage Road next week whilst Middlesex face bottom club Leicestershire at Lord’s.