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Derbyshire wrapped up a 125-run win despite half-centuries from Durham openers Alex Lees and Gareth Harte

ECB Reporters Network08-Apr-2019Matt Critchley and Logan van Beek inspired Derbyshire to a 125-run victory after Durham looked set to save the Division Two match at Derby.Alex Lees and Gareth Harte scored half centuries but Durham, set an improbable 361 to win the game, collapsed from 177 for 4 to 235 all out. Critchley took 3 for 54, including two wickets in two balls, and van Beek followed a stunning catch to remove Jack Burnham for 32 by bowling Harte for 69 and then removing Stuart Poynter in his next over.Ravi Rampaul also took two wickets and after the second new ball sealed Durham’s fate, there were just over 18 overs remaining when Luis Reece clinched a 19-point victory.Durham’s chances of saving the match looked good after Lees and Harte batted through most of a sunny morning before Critchley struck twice in consecutive balls. There had been few alarms for the openers on a pitch which had flattened out but after Lees swung Critchley’s first ball for six, he edged the third to short leg and the next had Will Smith taken at slip.Alex Hughes just failed to take what would have been a brilliant one-handed catch at second slip when Michael Richardson edged a drive at Critchley before he had scored.Richardson could do nothing with one from Rampaul that kept low and bowled him five overs after lunch but Harte and Jack Burnham played with increasing authority to suggest Durham might be in with a chance of chasing down the 361 target. But the game turned back towards Derbyshire as both were dismissed in the space of six balls after adding 57 in 17 overs.Burnham tried to whip Wayne Madsen through midwicket but van Beek plunged to his left to take a breathtaking catch and in the next over the New Zealander brought one back to end Harte’s 258-minute occupation.Poynter was caught behind in van Beek’s next over and the rest of the innings fell away rapidly with the lower order offering little resistance. Ben Raine drove back a return catch to Critchley, James Weighell was run out by a direct hit from mid off and Matt Salisbury edged Rampaul to first slip.Liam Trevaskis and Chris Rushworth delayed Derbyshire’s celebrations but the inevitable was confirmed when Reece swung what was the last ball before the delayed tea interval in to trap Rushworth lbw.

Harmanpreet admits that the short turnaround between the ODIs in Australia and the T20Is at home against West Indies is “very difficult” to deal with

Sruthi Ravindranath14-Dec-20242:52

Harmanpreet: Australia series was learning experience for young bowlers

Harmanpreet Kaur has put India’s failure to win crunch games in big tournaments – specifically at this year’s Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup – down to the “mindset” of individual players.”I think it’s only the mindset because, if you see, our team has very good players,” Harmanpreet said ahead of the T20I series against West Indies, which starts on Sunday. “All of them have done really well whenever they got the opportunity. I think in the big games it’s only about the mindset and what you’re feeling individually. Because, as a player, as a team, you can only talk about the things you have done well. At the end of the day, it’s only you who is dealing [with the situation and pressure] in the middle and it’s only about you, how you are going to take these things forward.”We discuss whatever is required to win but, at the end of the day, it’s the individual performer’s mindset, about how you are going to win the game for the team.”Related

• India, West Indies meet with T20I records to set straight

• India drop Reddy; Kashyap, Bist, Rawal get maiden call-ups

• Australia rebound after T20 World Cup disappointment

While India have won 13 out of the 20 T20Is they have played this year, they have lost all-important games. They had an unbeaten run in the Asia Cup in July till they lost big to Sri Lanka in the final. Then they missed out on making the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after losing a must-win match against Australia in the group stage. In the Asia Cup final, Smriti Mandhana top scored for India when the rest of the batters failed. Harmanpreet’s solo effort with the bat went in vain against Australia.India are now coming into the T20Is against West Indies on the back of a 3-0 loss in the ODI series in Australia.”It’s really tough when you’re going through this patch,” she said. “At the same time, we can only talk about the good things we have done in the past. I think having team-bonding sessions are very important. So, when we were coming back from Australia, we had good talks on the flight because that was only time we could talk and think about how we can start this series. Yesterday was a good off-day and today we had a good meeting where we discussed how we have to go about in this particular series.”The scheduling hasn’t helped. These T20Is in Navi Mumbai take place right after the ODIs in Perth and Brisbane – the last was on December 11 – and while Harmanpreet said it was part of playing at the highest level, she admitted it wasn’t easy.The Indians have a very short turnaround between the ODI series in Australia and the T20Is at home against West Indies•PTI

“To be honest, it is difficult because you know we’re coming from Australia. After the game, only within four-five hours we left the country and came back to India,” she said. “But as professionals, these things happen and we just want to stay motivated. Yesterday was an off-day so we tried to rest well and we are looking forward to the game tomorrow.”Think when you have very less time, it’s very difficult to come back and reflect on the things which you have done in the past. At the same time, we just have to keep talking about the positives. The young girls who have come into the team have done really well in domestic and they are also positive. I think staying together is something which is very important, which we have been doing.”Harmanpreet was tight-lipped when asked about the omissions from the squad for the series.India have rung in several changes to the T20I side, but the exclusion of Arundhati Reddy and Shafali Verma have been major talking points, particularly considering Reddy was India’s joint-highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup and Shafali has the second-most runs in T20Is for India this year.”I would say to ask the right person, because I can only talk about the team that’s here, and what things we can do to win this series,” Harmanpreet said. “I think regarding Shafali or any other player, [it’s] better to ask the right persons.”

Dawid Malan adds fifty to help hosts reach 286 for 4 in response to Sussex’s first-innings 216

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2023Adam Lyth’s excellent 115 – his second LV= Insurance County Championship century of the season – underpinned a dominant Yorkshire batting display as they seized control after two days against Sussex at Headingley.Lyth led the county’s 286 for 4 in response to Sussex’s inadequate first-innings 216 after the visitors elected to bat on a pitch they believed would get worse but has got much better.Lyth’s 31st career first-class century included 18 fours in 175 balls and was ably supported as opening partner Fin Bean made 45, South African overseas batter Ryan Rickelton 46 and England white-ball star Dawid Malan 51.Play started with Sussex advancing their first innings from 120 for 6 overnight after they struggled in bowler-friendly conditions during a shortened first day.All-rounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Australian overseas seamer Nathan McAndrew gave their total respectability by completing a 94-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Impressive Hudson-Prentice top-scored with 73 and McAndrew added 47.It was a sign of things to come that they batted comfortably late on day one and early on day two in advancing from 76 for 6.Matthew Fisher finished with 4 for 69 for Yorkshire, all four of his wickets coming on the opening day.Left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty claimed two of the four morning wickets including Hudson-Prentice brilliantly caught by substitute fielder Matthew Revis running back towards the long-on fence. He was on for Lyth at the time.Yorkshire clearly haven’t had things easy in Championship cricket for the last season-and-a-half.And while Lyth, dropped on 38 at second slip by James Coles, played the lead role, it is his 21-year-old opening partner Bean’s form this season which is even more pleasing as they build for the future.Even though he missed out on the big eye-catching score in this innings, Bean still went beyond 600 Championship runs for the season – a milestone Lyth later reached as well.Bean put his name in lights last summer with a remarkable 441 in a second-team Championship match at Nottinghamshire when not on contract at Headingley.It earned him an almost immediate rookie deal with the county, and only last week that was turned into a maiden two-year full professional deal following three Championship centuries in 2023.Stalwart Lyth has not had a solid opening partnership since fellow Championship-winner Alex Lees left for Durham in late 2018. Now, this Lyth and Bean alliance looks to be set in stone for a good while to come.Lyth, as ever, drove handsomely as Yorkshire confidently made inroads into Sussex’s total.At one stage, he and Bean hit five fours in seven balls off the seam of Hudson-Prentice and Henry Crocombe in the 15th and 16th overs, moving the score to 75 without loss. In fact, 76 out of Yorkshire’s first 89 runs came in boundaries.Lyth drove with more of a flourish and Bean was more compact and mechanical. The latter is not too dissimilar to the way Sir Alastair Cook bats.Lyth reached his fifty off 77 balls shortly after Bean had departed, caught at slip trying to play forcefully off the back foot against McAndrew – 94 for one in the 22nd over.But Lyth found another partner in Rickelton, who is playing his second of four Championship matches as a short-term replacement for captain Shan Masood, away on Test duty with Pakistan.Rickelton was quick on his feet in lofting Coles’ left-arm spin for six over long-off before he edged the seam of Ari Karvelas to second slip as he jammed down on a full ball.Lyth later reached his century off 157 balls but was the first of two wickets in as many overs from off-spinner Jack Carson, who helped Sussex end the day well. Lyth chipped to midwicket and George Hill edged to slip without scoring, leaving Yorkshire at 258 for four in the 63rd over.While Sussex limited the damage late on, Malan reached his fifty off 82 balls.

England quick wants match practice before T20 World Cup after a long lay-off

Matt Roller29-May-2024With two washed-out games out of three in their series against Pakistan, England’s preparation for the T20 World Cup has been some way short of ideal. Mark Wood said they were “deflated” by Tuesday night’s abandonment and with less than a week until their opening match against Scotland in Barbados, his own fitness remains something of an unknown.Wood was due to replace the rested Jofra Archer in Cardiff and was hoping to “test out” his left knee after bowling off his full run-up in training, albeit with heavy strapping. He has not bowled in a competitive match since England’s fifth Test in India in early March, and has not played a T20 fixture since featuring for Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL over a year ago.While Wood believes it is “important” for him to get some match practice before flying to the Caribbean, the final match of the series at The Oval on Thursday is also under threat from the weather. England will fly out on Friday morning. “The lads were itching to get out at Cardiff,” Wood said. “I don’t want a repeat of that tomorrow: hopefully, the rain stays away and we get some practice ready for the World Cup.”Obviously, it’s not ideal when you schedule four games and we might only get one or two. It was great we got a run-out the other day [at Edgbaston]… that’s why these games are important. Yes, we have got experience, but warm-up games always give you a sense of different things you can tinker with; who’s in good form, who needs to work on other things.”Related

• Rain wrecks third T20I between England and Pakistan

• Archer's smooth comeback gives England 'different level mood'

• Buttler to keep wicket and captain despite over-rate concerns

• Buttler backs England to learn from 50-over World Cup debacle

• England bring back Manchester City psychologist for T20 World Cup

The washouts have been particularly frustrating for England after the ECB decided to bring their players home early from the IPL, a move which caused some disquiet in India. Wood said the squad have still benefitted from spending time together, and specifically with psychologist David Young who has returned on a short-term basis.”It was great to have a session with David Young… it felt very similar to a session we had with him in 2019,” Wood said. “Jos [Buttler] spoke really well in that session about what we’re looking for as a team, and went over a few old things that strike hard with our team. Most teams around the world will say the same things, and Jos wants to get away from that and be really specific.”England’s build-up has been in stark contrast to their preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup, which they won, after playing seven T20Is in Pakistan and three more in Australia, one of which was a no-result due to rain. “Whatever preparation we get, that’s what we’re going to have to go with,” Wood said. “There were plenty of games before the last one, but who’s to say it won’t work the other way around?”You can look at both sides: some lads have been playing at the IPL, and they’re match-ready… the lads that haven’t, is there a freshness? At the IPL, you’re playing all the time: other lads have seen your tricks, they’ve seen what you’re doing. Of course, it’s different conditions, and you have to adapt. But in terms of fresh legs, I might be going into that tournament feeling fresh.”Wood on Jofra Archer: “I don’t see why we can’t play in the same team”•Getty Images

Wood arrived in India for last year’s 50-over World Cup short on match practice and struggled: he conceded 55 runs in five wicketless overs in England’s opening match against New Zealand, and finished the tournament with six wickets at 58.16. Perhaps that is why he is so keen to play at The Oval: “I was in a position to bowl quickly and test [my knee] out,” he said. “I’m really happy with where I’ve managed to get to, after a little bit of a speed bump.”He appears unlikely to start the tournament – England picked what they consider to be their strongest XI at Edgbaston – but recent experience suggests that they will have to dip into their squad. In Australia, 18 months ago, they were without five players through injury by the final, including Wood himself. “As a group, we’ve all got to be ready to go and not be caught cold,” he said.Wood believes he will have to be flexible if he does play: “In Twenty20, you’ve got to try to be able to bowl in all phases. I usually bowl one at the top, a couple in the middle and one at the end. I was really happy with how things went in Australia: I know it’s a different surface, but the last World Cup, I was pleased with how I came out there. I’ll be trying to repeat that.”He also believes that he can feature in the same side as the returning Jofra Archer, as he did during the 2019 50-over World Cup. “That’s a question for the management, but I’ve played with Jofra before and I don’t see it like ‘me or him’. I don’t see why we can’t play in the same team, but maybe it’s up to the management to manage our bodies and see how we get through the tournament.”

DC have just one win in five matches; LSG are coming into this contest having won their last three matches

Himanshu Agrawal11-Apr-20244:01

‘Nicholas Pooran can hit boundaries from wherever he bats’ – Deep Dasgupta

Big picture – Spin to win again?

Lucknow Super Giants started the season with a defeat, but have won three on the bounce since. Their most recent victory came against Gujarat Titans on a spin-friendly pitch at home. LSG’s spinners were central to that result – Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi and M Siddharth combined for figures of 10-0-48-4 to help defend 163 – and they could consider laying out a similar surface on Friday, especially against the visiting Delhi Capitals.Batting has been a struggle for the Capitals this season. Their collective average of 23.35 is the lowest among all teams, and they have had to deal with the absence of key players like Kuldeep Yadav and Mitchell Marsh due to injuries. So that doubles Capitals’ worries: a misfiring batting line-up on a potentially spin-friendly pitch, and Capitals have the second lowest batting average against spin (28.44) this season behind Kolkata Knight Riders.Unlike LSG, Capitals come into the contest having lost their previous two games and are at the bottom of the table with just one win in their first five matches. And they are still looking for their first win against LSG, having lost all three of their matches so far.

Form guide

LSG LWWW
DC LLWLL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Fast bowler Mayank Yadav had walked off the field after bowling one over in their last game, against Titans. LSG said he will have his workload managed over the coming week as a “precaution”, and head coach Justin Langer all but ruled him out of the next two games. LSG also continue to wait on the fitness of Mohsin, who had a sore hamstring and missed his side’s last two games.If both Mayank and Mohsin miss out against DC, LSG could play left-arm pacer Arshad Khan or right-arm quick Yudhvir Singh. They have two other overseas fast-bowling options in Matt Henry and Shamar Joseph.Probable XII: 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Yash Thakur, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Arshad Khan, 12 M SiddharthDelhi CapitalsRicky Ponting, the Capitals coach, is hopeful that Kuldeep and Mukesh Kumar will be available to play in Lucknow. Marsh, however, is still side-lined by injury.Probable XII: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Abishek Porel, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Lalit Yadav, 8 Jhye Richardson, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Ishant Sharma, ,

In the spotlight – Nicholas Pooran and Tristan Stubbs

Nicholas Pooran is LSG’s top run-scorer so far this season – 178 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 169.52. He has been especially impactful in the death overs, where his six-hitting abilities takes his strike rate up to 180. Pooran has been dismissed only once so far this season, and holds the key to LSG getting a strong finish to their innings.Tristan Stubbs leads the run charts for Delhi•BCCI

Tristan Stubbs has been Capitals’ best batter this season. He is their top-scorer with 174 runs and has been particularly good against spin. His strike rate of 207 against the spinners is the highest for anyone who has faced at least 35 balls, so he will be key against LSG’s spinners on the day.

Stats that matter

• In the IPL, Quinton de Kock’s combined record against Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel and Khaleel Ahmed stands at 193 runs at an average of 64.33. All four are expected to start for Capitals against LSG on Friday. Ishant, Nortje and Axar have got de Kock once each, with Khaleel yet to dismiss him.
• At 13.43, Nortje has the highest economy rate for any bowler to have bowled at least 90 balls this season. Umesh Yadav, second on the list, has conceded at 10.55 per over.
• Since 2022, LSG have won nine of their 18 home games, the third highest win-loss ratio among all teams. By contrast, DC have won only six out of 17 away games, the fewest by any team.
  

  Pitch and conditions

  It is expected to be hot and humid in Lucknow and Langer said they would play on a black-soil pitch against Capitals. That could mean another slow, spin-friendly surface, like the one on which LSG scored a convincing victory against Titans.

  Quotes

  “What I was most proud about the last game was that with Mayank coming out of the team after only one over, we had to find another way to win – and we were able to do that. So it shows we’ve got some depth in our squad.”
  “We are very aware that time is running out… We’ve got a lot of work to do. I absolutely have full trust in the players that we can win enough games from here.”

The No. 3 batter struck the fastest PSL 2024 century and deflated Kings in the first innings

Associated Press04-Mar-2024Usman Khan hit the fastest century so far in this season’s Pakistan Super League to lead Multan Sultans into the playoffs with a 20-run win over Karachi Kings on Sunday.The Sultans continued their dominant run, securing its sixth win in seven games. They top the standings with 12 points, while fifth-place Karachi has just two wins from six games.Pakistan-born Usman, who now plays for the United Arab Emirates, smashed 106 not out off 58 balls after reaching his ton in 56 deliveries. Captain Mohammad Rizwan contributed 58 in Multan’s imposing 189 for 3 after choosing to bat first.The Kings never looked a threat before reaching 169 for 7 in 20 overs and losing their third straight home game. Skipper Shan Masood got clean bowled for 36 off 29 balls by the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Usama Mir (2-29). Legspinner Mir stretched his wickets tally to 15. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who took 1 for 40, has 14.Usman and Rizwan exploited some wayward Kings bowling, sharing a second-wicket stand of 148 off 93 balls. Rizwan was caught at mid-off soon after completing his half-century before Usman reached his ton with a pulled six against Mir Hamza in the last over.The Kings’ overseas signings Tim Seifert (1) and James Vince (7) fell inside the batting powerplay.Shoaib Malik top-scored for his team with 38 before holing out at long off in the 12th over and the Kings had plenty of soft dismissals in the run-chase.

Chief selector Wahab Riaz also said Naseem Shah has recovered from his injury but still needs rehab and is expecting to play the PSL

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2023Mohammad Haris has been left out of Pakistan’s 17-man squad for the five-match T20I series in New Zealand starting January 12. Haris, who has been out of the Pakistan set-up since the Asia Cup in September, is one of two notable absentees in the squad, along with Shadab Khan, who had to miss out due to an ankle injury.However, Wahab Riaz, Pakistan’s chief selector, confirmed that both players are still a part of the team’s long-term plans: “Shadab is a very important member of Pakistan T20 cricket and he’s a white-ball specialist. Unfortunately he got injured during the season; he twisted his ankle which will take another two weeks for rehab. He will be available to bowl after that. Haris is rested because there were some first-class performers and we saw Harris’ capability and since he’s part of our plans going forward, we want to use our pool of players.”Related

• Melbourne Stars sign Dan Lawrence as a replacement player

• Naseem Shah moves to Islamabad United from Quetta Gladiators

• Sarfaraz Ahmed could be replaced as Quetta Gladiators captain

• Pakistan docked two WTC points for over-rate offence in Perth Test

• Shaheen Afridi to lead Pakistan in T20Is; Shan Masood appointed Test captain

Pakistan have been dealing with international cricket without first-choice fast bowler Naseem Shah who has been injured since September, and while they won’t have him for this tour either, there was good news.”Ihsanullah, Shadab, Mohammad Hasnain, and Naseem Shah were unfit,” Wahab said. “The good news is Hasnain and Naseem have recovered and Naseem is undergoing rehab at the cricket academy and we don’t want to overload him so he will be available for the PSL next year. Same for Hasnain – he is returning and we’ve called him at the academy so we can assess him. Ihsanullah will unfortunately take more time and I’m not sure right now if he’ll play in the PSL or not. Shadab will also come to the academy after his ankle injury and he’ll undergo rehab.”This series will be Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first series as Pakistan’s full-time T20I captain. Notably, Pakistan have picked three wicketkeepers in their squad – Azam Khan, Mohammad Rizwan and the uncapped Haseebullah Khan – in an attempt to find “back-ups” ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup in USA and the Caribbean.”All three wicketkeepers-batters are proven performers in domestic and international cricket,” Wahab said. “In the last few years, we weren’t able to create back-ups. Going forward into the World Cup, we want to create those back-ups and try some of the boys. Haseebullah played in the middle order for Peshawar Zalmi and played some impactful innings. Overall he has been performing very well for the last few years in white-ball cricket.”Haseeb also opens in domestic but we have to develop our Nos. 4 to 7 which has troubled us in the past. Now we are in a building phase so we know before the World Cup who our Nos. 4 to 7 are, who will grab the opportunities. Keeping that in mind, we picked Haseebullah because he is a proven performer and he has that ability where his strike-rate (120.65) is very high. We want to develop such players so they don’t have a problem in the West Indies.”Pakistan will also be without Shan Masood, who Wahab said was among the probables, but ultimately not considered; They, instead, have decided to “invest” in “impact player” Azam.”We’ve watched Azam very closely and at times it happens that you’ve to prefer skills over fitness. A player winning you a match is much more important than anything else,” Wahab said. “We’ve spoken to Azam about fitness levels and we’ve sent him a very clear message that we want to invest in you but you have to respond as well. Obviously you can’t expect someone to lose 10-15kgs in 10 days so Azam will travel with the team. He’s an impact player so we want to give him a chance and keep an eye on his fitness levels.”Haris Rauf, whom Wahab claimed had backed out of playing the ongoing Test series against Australia, will return in Pakistan colours in New Zealand.

Pakistan squad:

Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan

West Indies will be without the injured Andre Russell in their must-win game against the new No.1 ODI side

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu26-Jun-20194:11

Kartik: India’s middle order not a cause of concern

Big Picture

Thirty six years after India sprung a surprise on West Indies in final, the two sides meet again with plenty on the line at Old Trafford. Carlos Brathwaite fell inches short on Saturday, but it’s not quite the end of the road for West Indies, who have just won one of their six matches and are placed just above South Africa and Afghanistan, who are both out of contention for the semi-finals.England’s back-to-back defeats come as soothing news to West Indies, who can still sneak into the knockouts, provided they win their last three league matches and the stars align for them. Should Jason Holder’s men lose tomorrow, though, their dream will be over and India will take a big step closer to the semi-finals.West Indies will have to do without Andre Russell whose utterly wonky knees have given up. There’s also an injury cloud over Evin Lewis, who had hurt his hamstring in the field against New Zealand and later did not open the batting. Instead, he batted at No. 8 and bagged a three-ball duck.Chris Gayle and Shai Hope have blown hot and cold, compounding West Indies’ top-order troubles. They are the only side in the tournament without a fifty opening stand and they have the worst average for the opening partnership (11.2). Sunil Ambris, who has been drafted in as Russell’s replacement, could help remedy this and bring some attacking enterprise at the top while Brathwaite seamlessly fits in as a like-for-like replacement for Russell.Sheldon Cottrell: taking wickets and having fun•Getty Images

West Indies’ new-ball bowlers ditched the bang-it-in plan and hit much fuller lengths on Saturday, and Sheldon Cottrell was immediately rewarded with a double-wicket first over. His left-arm angle coupled with an awkward round-arm action could pose a threat to India’s batting line-up that still has some cracks in the middle order. Vijay Shankar is still feeling his way into the middle order, and he had his first – and only crack – at No. 4 on Saturday. Kedar Jadhav made a scrappy fifty, but he could not find a gear high enough to hurt Afghanistan.That brings us to MS Dhoni. As is his wont, he simply blocked the spinners and set up for the late burst. However, it never came and Dhoni fell in the most un-Dhoni fashion: jumping out to slog Rashid Khan against the break in his last over and getting stumped.Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury has also messed with India’s balance. Mohammed Shami bowled a fiery first spell and later closed out the game against Afghanistan with a hat-trick, but his inclusion has lengthened India’s tail. Against West Indies whose batting drips with power and depth, India could consider recalling Ravindra Jadeja in place of one of the wristspinners.ALSO READ: Aakash Chopra on what India need to do against West Indies’ key players

Form guide

India: WWWWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLLW

In the spotlight

Manchester is a special place for Vijay Shankar. He’s a die-hard fan of Manchester United and he enjoyed a tour of the football’s Old Trafford before pinning Imam-ul-Haq lbw with his first World Cup delivery at cricket’s Old Trafford, against Pakistan. The batting allrounder had a bright start against Afghanistan, but he threw it away, chancing a sweep just after fine leg had been whisked in. Can he make the No. 4 spot his own upon his return to Manchester?ALSO READ – Gollapudi: What Vijay Shankar brings at No. 4Shimron Hetmyer started the tournament quietly and then eased himself into back-to-back fifties against Bangladesh and New Zealand. That Hetmyer is a fine player of spin makes him one of the key figures in the middle order against Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav or Jadeja. Remember his rousing hundred in Guwahati last year, India?4:42

Ganga wants Bravo, Allen in WI’s XI

Team news

India are set to give Vijay another shot at the middle order. But, the big question is will they throw Jadeja into the mix at the expense of a wristspinner? Bhuvneshwar has resumed bowling at the nets, but India are unlikely to risk playing him on Thursday.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (captain), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Kedar Jadhav, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal/Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit BumrahWest Indies are likely include Ambris if Lewis is unfit, and Kemar Roach might keep his place ahead of the erratic Shannon Gabriel.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis/Sunil Ambris, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Carlos Brathwaite, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Oshane ThomasChris Gayle has a hit in the nets•AFP

Pitch and conditions

The Old Trafford track is likely to be flat as usual, and there’s no rain forecast for Thursday.

Strategy punt

• Keep your inswinger ready against Gayle in the Powerplay. The opener has struggled against incoming deliveries in the first ten overs, managing only 19 off 30 such balls while being dismissed twice.
• Gayle sized up Mitchell Santner’s left-arm spin on Saturday, and West Indies have more left-handers in Lewis, Nicholas Pooran and Hetmyer, but India could still take a punt on Jadeja for his athleticism in the field and the batting cover he provides. Even if Jadeja, the bowler, is taken to the cleaners, India have an extra bowling option in Vijay.

Stats and trivia

• Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 15 yorkers in four matches this World Cup. Only Mitchell Starc has bowled more yorkers (16) although he has had the benefit of playing three more games.
• Gayle is 59 runs away from surpassing Brian Lara as West Indies’ top run-getter in ODI cricket
• Tomorrow’s ODI will be Hardik Pandya’s 50th. He needs two wickets to reach 50 ODI wickets
• In ODIs since 2017, at Old Trafford, spinners have managed only 15 wickets in 10 innings as opposed to 56 taken by the seamers.

England have sent the back-up plus Joe Root to take on an Ireland side who missed the boat for India

Andrew Miller19-Sep-2023

Big picture: Back to the margins

It’s no slight on the visitors, honest. But here we are again, all the same. Just as Ireland opened England’s international season at Lord’s back in June, with a contest so translucent that both teams found themselves peering straight through it towards more pressing matters beyond, so they have returned at this fag-end of the English summer, with the narrative once again marching off into the middle distance.Back in June, the focus for the two squads was England’s Ashes bid on the one hand, and Ireland’s 50-over World Cup qualification campaign on the other (and we’ll come back to that sorry saga in a moment). Now? It’s just cricket for the sake of cricket.Three ODIs that, when they were first added to the schedule last year – before the BCCI had got round to finalising any dates for the World Cup – had been intended to form part of both teams’ final preparation for the main event in India next month.Instead, Ireland dropped the ball with calamitous finality in Zimbabwe, losing each of their first three qualifying games to crash out at the group stages. Then England torched any pretence of remaining relevance by extracting each of their World Cup-bound players from the reckoning – with the honourable exception of Monday’s late addition, Joe Root, whose form across 50 overs has gone from non-existent to troubling in the space of four ropey displays against New Zealand.All things considered, therefore, this contest could – at a pinch – have more relevance four years down the line. That’s already the distant target that Heinrich Malan, Ireland’s coach, has urged his players to build towards, notwithstanding the more immediate target of the T20 World Cup in the USA next summer, at which Ireland will be present after a significantly better showing in this year’s other qualifying event in Edinburgh.But for England too, with a backlog of outstanding white-ball cricketers itching for an opportunity on the international stage, there’s relevance to be found on an individual basis this week, even if the three matches are destined to be forgotten amid a deluge of main event action in October.We’ve been here before (sort of) in England’s recent history. Two summers ago, at the height of the Covid crisis, Ben Stokes – himself in recovery from a broken finger – led a scratch team of county stars in three matches against Pakistan, after the entire frontline squad had been sent into isolation following an outbreak.They won the series handsomely, three emphatic wins to nil, with one especially familiar name seizing his chance for white-ball honours. Zak Crawley, England’s Ashes Bazballer extraordinaire, is now captain of this rejigged squad, having played his only three ODIs in that Pakistan series (including an unbeaten half-century on debut).Ben Duckett, Crawley’s Test opening partner and now vice-captain, was named in that squad too but didn’t play. Now, he’s unquestionably one of the players with designs on a reserve role at the World Cup, as are Brydon Carse and Will Jacks – two other players with the proven pedigree to thrive given half a chance. All things considered, therefore, there will be plenty to play for this week… just not, at this juncture, anything of immediate consequence.

Form guide

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Ireland WWWLL

In the spotlight: Joe Root and Curtis Campher

“A nice addition” is how Ireland’s coach described Joe Root’s late call-up to England’s squad, for a one-off appearance on his home ground of Headingley, before getting his head back down in preparation for the main squad’s departure for India next Wednesday. He’s into the reckoning in place of Harry Brook, whose own response to a low-key performance against New Zealand has been to hunker down and visualise the better times that came before it (and hopefully afterwards too), now that he’s been preferred to Jason Roy in those World Cup plans. Root, however, is a more mechanical beast than his colleagues, and still has some last-minute tinkering to be done as he readjusts to the rhythms of the 50-over game after a year on the sidelines. In particular, he seemed bothered by his inability to rotate the strike against New Zealand, and lacked faith in the Root-scoop that had served him so well in Bazball. Surely nothing he can’t surmount, but it’s indicative of England’s overall lack of preparation for their title defence.Leaving aside his mighty exploits with the ball – four wickets in four balls at the 2021 T20 World Cup will take some beating – most of Curtis Campher’s finest moments in international cricket have come from the middle-order. He made a brace of half-centuries in his maiden ODI appearances on Ireland’s last white-ball visit in 2020, and after making a first Test hundred from No. 7 in Galle, he saved his best yet for Ireland’s moment of crisis in Bulawayo this summer, a superb 120 from 108 after coming in at 33 for 4 against Scotland. In the end it wasn’t quite enough in an agonising one-wicket defeat, but at the age of 24, the time has come from him to stop being the “rescue act”, as coach Malan put it, and start setting the team’s agenda from No. 3.

Team news: Root’s cameo takes precedence

All change from the New Zealand series, with the exception of the No. 3, as a host of England players with genuine aspirations jostle for the chance to star in the absence of the big guns. Phil Salt – a T20 World Cup winner in November – seems likely to start with the gloves, despite the close attentions of Surrey’s rising star Jamie Smith, whose chance may come when Root has had his net, and will probably open alongside Jacks, whose versatility as an opener, auxiliary spinner and general purpose power-hitter makes him a very tempting option as a World Cup reserve. Crawley and Duckett will slot into the middle-order, having opened in the Test against Ireland in June. On the bowling front, Carse has another chance to enhance his deck-hitting attributes, while Rehan Ahmed is self-evidently Adil Rashid’s legspinning heir apparent. Three more outings at the age of 19 can only bed him in further. Sam Hain is the likeliest of England’s four potential debutants to get a go, but at least two will feature.England: 1 Will Jacks, 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Joe Root, 4 Zak Crawley (capt), 5 Ben Duckett, 6 Sam Hain, 7 Rehan Ahmed, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Tom Hartley/George Scrimshaw, 10 Luke Wood, 11 Matthew PottsStirling is Ireland’s stand-in captain, having taken over from Balbirnie after the World Cup debacle. How long he remains in the role is for Cricket Ireland to decide, but the two senior men will be leading their team in every sense, in their new partnership at the top of the order. Seeing as each made a hundred in a memorable 329-run chase at the Ageas Bowl three years ago, it feels like a safe pair of hands. Campher slots in at three, ahead of the rising star Harry Tector and the keeper Lorcan Tucker, while George Dockrell showcased his powerful ball-striking during Ireland’s series against Bangladesh at Chelmsford in May. On the bowling front, Josh Little’s left-arm pace offers a genuine point of difference.Ireland: 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Curtis Campher, 4 Harry Tector, 5 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 6 George Dockrell, 7 Andy McBrine, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Craig Young, 11 Josh Little

Pitch and conditions

It’s late September in Yorkshire, so let’s not get our hopes up… there’s a weather warning in place for Wednesday and the omens are not entirely promising. The outfield has been drenched with rain over the last few days and Yorkshire are desperately hoping that it dries out in the next 24 hours. It’s been under covers non-stop, so you’d imagine some assistance for the seamers will be in the offing. The club reckon 14,000 tickets have been sold, but there will doubtless be a few gaps in the stands.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland have won each of their last two white-ball fixtures against England. At the T20 World Cup in Melbourne last October, they prevailed by five runs on DLS after England misjudged the pace of their chase with rain looming at the MCG.
• However, at the Ageas Bowl in August 2020, it was a far more emphatic display. Stirling led the line with 142 from 128 balls, as his 214-run stand with Balbirnie powered Ireland to a seven-wicket win.
• Overall, England have won ten and lost two of their 12 completed ODIs against Ireland, dating back to their first meeting at Belfast in 2006. Aside from Southampton, the one that got away was a whopper – Ireland’s incredible World Cup win in Bengaluru in 2011, powered by Kevin O’Brien’s 50-ball hundred.

Quotes

“Obviously having Joe in the team makes it stronger – no matter what team you’re in. It’s great having him, especially for me as captain. I can lean on him with that kind of stuff as well, so that’s awesome. Hopefully he gets what he wants out of it.”
Stand-in England captain Zak Crawley is looking forward to leading a side which features his old Test skipper, Root“What are we crying out for is just more consistent cricket. Everyone’s playing at the World Cup, and we won’t be part of that this time around, so that makes us more hungry when we get these opportunities to play quality opposition at quality grounds..”
Heinrich Malan, Ireland’s coach, wants his players to focus on the international opportunity, irrespective of England’s distractions