The selectors decided not to name any replacement for the allrounder for the series which starts on August 17

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2018Allrounder Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the upcoming quadrangular series in Vijayawada, scheduled to begin on August 17. Vijay, who was set to represent India B in that series, is currently undergoing rehabilitation for his injured left hamstring at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.The selectors have decided not to name a replacement for him for the quadrangular series, which will also feature India A, South Africa A and Australia A.India B, who will be led by Manish Pandey, have likes of Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan, Jayant Yadav, Siddarth Kaul and Prasidh Krishna in their ranks, while India A include Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Nitish Rana, Sanju Samson, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar and Shivam Mavi, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer.The series will run till August 29, with India B scheduled to play their first match against South Africa A on August 17.India B squad: Manish Pandey (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubhman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Ricky Bhui, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Gopal, Jayant Yadav, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Siddarth Kaul, Prasidh Krishna, Kulwant Khejroliya, Navdeep Saini.

The India captain says his team has the character and skill to win difficult tours; they just need the experience to close out tough situations

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-20181:43

Did think about a win at tea – Kohli

India’s captain Virat Kohli believes India have the character and skill to win difficult tours; they just need the experience to close out tough situations with fearless and smart cricket. He said the scoreline of 4-1 to England didn’t show how competitive the series was, and that both the teams and those who understand cricket know it.”Definitely there will be things we will sit down and think about that could be taken as opportunities,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation at The Oval. “I know we have missed quite a few. But we have no regrets in terms of the way we have played. Obviously when both teams are going for wins, you are going to have results that look like that. England play fearless as well. We decide to play fearless as well. You will hardly have draws in this kind of series.”That’s exactly what the scoreline shows. Not saying it is not a fair scoreline. They played better cricket than us, they deserve to win. But it does not mean that we have been outplayed every game. Barring Lord’s. We have been competitive in every game. People watching and people understanding the game know that. We can take a lot of heart from that but at the same time we need to learn from things we didn’t do right and apply them the next time we step on the field.”The biggest lesson for India, Kohli said, was the way rookie allrounder Sam Curran played. India voted for him as England’s Man of the Series.”There is a reason why we voted for Sam as the Man of the Series,” Kohli said. “Coming in at that stage in the batting order, and with the ball as well, he has made very important contributions. If you look at the significance of the matches, the first one was massive, and after 2-1, the fourth one was massive. He made plays in both those games. It takes character for someone to come in and play like that. He put England in front in both those matches. We can learn from that. Guys coming in, being fearless, taking on the situation head on but being smart about that. That is something we need to learn and apply.”Kohli was also full of praise for KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, who stretched England on the fifth day at The Oval, with fourth-innings centuries in the face of an improbable target. “A lot of credit has to go to both those young guys,” Kohli said. “Stepping up at such a difficult stage. Three wickets down for two runs. Jinks [Rahane] got stuck in with KL but I think the way KL and Rishabh batted showed the character we have in the team.”The kind of cricket we played in the series, it might not show in the scoreline, but both the sides know that it has been a competitive series, it has taken a lot out of both the sides.”We have taken the challenge head on. Today was an example of two guys not giving up and actually entertaining the crowd. This is probably the revival of Test cricket and shows what it means to us. It is a great advertisement for Test cricket.”

Supported by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, Gill shepherded the first successful chase of the tournament this year

Sidharth Monga25-Oct-2018Shubman Gill looks to the heavens after bringing up his century•PTI

Shubman Gill has dazzled in the IPL, but for those of the more conventional disposition, he made a big statement with his first List A hundred in a chase. From 85 for 3, India C mounted the first successful chase of this Deodhar Trophy, sealing their berth in the final against the undefeated India B. All three matches have been played at Feroz Shah Kotla, but this pitch played better than the previous two where the chasing teams managed only 218 and 201. Gill, though, shepherded this chase of 294 with the first hundred of the tournament.Gill was supported by wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. What will impress the three national selectors in attendance is that there was a lot of sensible batting to go with impressive stroke-play. Going by the trend in this tournament, and with Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina both gone, India C seemed out of the contest chasing the biggest total of the tournament.Pretty early on in the chase, Gill settled down to bat through, and Kishan assumed the role of the enforcer. Kishan has shown in the past he can innovate and hit against slower bowlers. He hit international bowlers Mohammed Siraj and R Ashwin for two boundaries in an over. His strike rate was under 100 only against Ashwin and Nitish Rana. In between, Gill tonked Ashwin and Shams Mulani for a six each.International teams might also want to look at the tapes of this chase as a tutorial on how to face Kedar Jadhav, who was making his comeback from his latest hamstring injury. They played the full balls straight – Kishan even drove one back past him for four – and waited for the short ball. Suryakumar was the most severe on Jadhav, hitting a short, low-bouncing ball for an inside-out six over extra cover.By this time, Gill and Suryakumar had sailed through the slightly nervous period after Kishan’s dismissal for a 60-ball 69. Now Gill, too, began to show off, hitting a slower bouncer from Dhawal Kulkarni over wide mid-off. Suryakumar responded with two sixes in empty stands, which slowed down the progress of the match. Suryakumar’s power hitting again was from a chasing template: the top order brings you to the 35th over with the asking rate in control, and then the big hitter kills the contest.Gill brought up his hundred with just 12 runs required, and then finished the game off with a boundary off the last ball of the 47th over.

Dom Bess on a rollercoaster season for England and Somerset, and the realisation that he may need to move counties to fulfil his ambition

Jon Culley11-Nov-2018After a head-spinning summer that saw him question the direction of his career after going from the England Test team to Somerset’s second XI in the space of a month, Dom Bess says that it was one particular moment during the England Lions training camp ahead of the upcoming series against Pakistan A that helped him find clarity of thought.It came during a squad meeting in which motivation and goal visualisation were the topics.”A couple of boys came up with a great scenario in which, when you finish your career, you have all your caps lined up, from under-10s, club cricket, county cricket, all the way through your career,” Bess said.”The last one you have is your England Test cap, which for me is the pinnacle of the sport. You ask yourself the question: do you want that England cap to look brand new or look like the other caps that have seen so much hard work and sweat and tears?”That’s the thing that really got me. Some of the caps I’ve got have had a lot of hard sweat and tears gone into them and I want to make sure at the end of my career that my England cap has seen a lot of sweat, and a lot of champagne hopefully, so it’s just like the others.”The 21-year-old off-spinner tells the story of his roller-coaster season, his relationship with county team-mate Jack Leach, and his feeling that he may have to leave Somerset to fulfil his ambitions, with extraordinary candour.In his words, he had a season with an “Everest followed by a massive descent”. Both were linked with the fortunes of his team-mate Leach, whose place he took when he made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in May after Leach had broken his thumb.Bess made a favourable impression. He took no wickets at Lord’s but scored a remarkable 57 batting at No 8 to stave off an innings defeat, following up with 49 as nightwatchman in the second Test at Headingley and 3 for 33 as England bowled Pakistan out for an innings victory.The rapid descent came at Worcester at the beginning of July, just four weeks after walking off the field as a Test winner.”We had a game at New Road,” he said. “Leachy hadn’t played. He’d been out with concussion and had had a broken thumb and I thought I was potentially the option but they picked Leachy. I’ll admit that I struggled with that decision.”I had to go back and play in the second XI. It was like going from Lord’s in front of 30,000 people to Taunton Vale in front of a man and his dog.”Bess is not part of Somerset’s white-ball teams so the second XI became his domain for the next six weeks. He played for the senior team only twice more.”It was tough at times,” he said. “I had a lot of what you would say were honest conversations with Jason Kerr [head coach] and Andy Hurry [director of cricket] in which at times we disagreed with each other.”But actually we finished second in the Championship and everything we do is for Somerset so looking back it was a decision that was made and there is no point in sobbing about it. That’s professional sport.”Now Leach is back in the Test team but Bess smiles at the suggestion that people looking from the outside might expect that he secretly wants his rival to fail.”You can’t start to think that way,” he said. “If you did it would just get toxic. This is professional sport and you have to remember that at the end of the day it is about the team.”We are good mates. I’m buzzing that he’s having success and taking wickets. It’s a fascinating relationship because when we are on the field we don’t compete against each other, we play together, we bowl together, for the team. Yet in training my goal is to knock him off the No 1 spot.”Yet he accepts that, at Taunton, he may never be No 1, which leads inevitably to questions about where his future might be.”I’m contracted for next year and the year after. I love Somerset. They have always given me the opportunity, but if I am not progressing to where I want to be… At some point I feel I will have to be No 1 somewhere.”I know I’m young and people say I should be patient but when I look back on my career, do I want to be a good county cricketer who was patient and sat behind somebody like Leachy for a while, or do I want to have seven, eight, 10 years playing for England? Or at least give myself the opportunity to have that?”The first chance to further those ambitions comes now, as England Lions depart for the UAE.”For me this is a hell of an opportunity for wickets and runs after not playing in the Somerset side, but also to contribute in a Lions side with some exciting young players but also a lot of experience.”I have gone away and got my head space right and now I’m back on it. I’ve got a really strong fire in my chest now to play England cricket.”

The India captain praises Shastri’s man-management, credits him for bringing players out of their shells

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai15-Nov-20181:24

Kohli: ‘Nobody says no to me more than Shastri’

After an “untenable” relationship that led to Anil Kumble’s resignation as head coach, Virat Kohli says he’s been working with a coach who has said “no” to him more than anyone else in Indian cricket.To give context to Kohli comments, he was asked ahead of the India’s departure for Australia whether Ravi Shastri merely said “yes” to everything Kohli said. The captain responded by saying it was “the most bizarre thing” he had ever heard.”About saying ‘yes’ all the time, that is the most bizarre thing I have heard,” Kohli said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who has said no to me more than him in Indian cricket. Honestly, because he’s one guy I can speak to and get an honest opinion and he’ll tell me something that if it doesn’t need to be done, it doesn’t need to be done. I’ve made more changes to my game listening to him than anyone else in the past.”These are very personal things that happen within the team environment and things that conveniently need to be put out there are put out there, and we’re not going to take a banner and say, ‘no, this is what happens in the Indian team’. As long as our heart is clear and our intent is right, we just want to keep moving forward.”Reports and a public image of Shastri and Kohli hardly differing on anything took shape following Shastri’s appointment as head coach in July last year. At the time, Kumble said he was informed by the BCCI that “the captain had reservations with my style and about my continuing as head coach”. Shastri had incidentally been team director just before Kumble was appointed in 2016, despite Shastri also applying for the job.Soon after Shastri took over as coach in 2017, he first made it clear the captain was going to be the boss. When asked about what exactly Shastri brought “to the table strategically or by motivation” as coach, Kohli jumped to his defence, saying he had pulled many players out of shells when they had been in poor form.”The contribution he has brought to the table ever since we started building this team is making people believe that they belong to this level,” Kohli said. “I can vouch for it because at a time when we all went through a really difficult time in England in 2014…for me to be able to come out of that shell [and] a lot of other players, like Shikhar [Dhawan] in the 2015 World Cup, he can vouch for that as well…you know to get the best out of players, I think he’s been the most important factor.”Man management is the most important thing at the level at which we play. I think a lot of people think that we don’t understand what needs to be done and someone needs to literally tell you where the bat needs to come from, where the head has to be. I think we’ve learnt those things enough, it’s the man management which Ravi has done brilliantly for the time that he’s been with the team.”About the other factors, look, everyone has their opinion on things, and they are absolutely free and entitled to voice their opinion, but we can’t stop living life, we cannot stop doing things that we feel are organic. Nothing is made up here, nothing is created or happening in a fake way. Everyone has a different personality, if someone’s personality doesn’t fall into someone else comfort zone, then that becomes a problem.”We’re all given a responsibility and we’re doing it to the best of our abilities. The only motive is to take Indian cricket forward. And if someone can say otherwise about the progress of the team, then that’s a very personal point of view because we all feel that we’re moving in the right direction as a team.”

BCB to take a final decision after other franchises object to bending of rules to allow Comilla Victorians to rope in Smith

Mohammad Isam11-Dec-2018A question mark hangs over axed Australia captain Steven Smith’s participation in the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League, following a meeting on Tuesday that ended in a deadlock. Jalal Yunus, the BPL’s technical committee chairman who held the meeting with BPL franchise representatives, said that he asked the BCB to take a final decision on whether Smith will be eligible for the T20 tournament that begins on January 5.Smith had signed with Comilla Victorians in late November, as a replacement for Sri Lanka’s Asela Gunaratne. This is where the issue stems from: replacement players are supposed to be chosen from among the players who were in the draft in the first place, and Smith was not part of the draft.Yunus said that Comilla were allowed to contract Smith with a view to enhance the league’s appeal, but the other franchises objected to this bending of the rules, putting his participation under a cloud.”We had allowed Comilla to sign Steven Smith for the greater interest of the BPL,” Yunus said. “The bylaws said that a replacement player has to come from the [players who were in the] draft and, after we allowed Comilla, the other franchises objected. Which is why we held the meeting today but, since we couldn’t come to a conclusion, I have now referred it to the BCB.”Yunus didn’t confirm by when the BCB is likely to take a decision.

India captain Virat Kohli, though, feels that he is “best suited” for the No. 5 spot in ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-20194:08

Dhoni best suited for No. 5 spot – Kohli

MS Dhoni’s batting spot has become a raging debate in the lead-up to the World Cup. After scoring three successive fifties, including a series-clinching 87 off 114 balls from No. 4, he has said that he’s ready to float in the middle order. While India’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma believes Dhoni at No. 4 is “most ideal”, captain Virat Kohli says he is “best suited” to bat at No.5.Dhoni is no longer the explosive force he once was, but he has absorbed pressure on the slow pitches in Australia and has secured two successive chases after taking it to the last over in his own inimitable style.In the series opener in Sydney, he walked in at No.5 after India were reduced to 3 for 4 within four overs. He weathered many attacks in a chase of 289 before falling in the 33rd over. He batted at No. 5 in the must-win second ODI for India and struck an unbeaten 54-ball 55 to force the series into a decider. In the third match on a tough pitch, Dhoni was dropped twice on 0 and then on 74, but he pressed on to win it for India.”Well, it’s good (enjoying batting at No.4?),” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation after claiming the Man-of-the-Series award. “If I am batting at 6 and somebody is batting at 4, we’ve to look if we can interchange the position and see if the team [balance] remains the same. It’s not about where you want to be, it’s about how many you can fill in that position. I’m happy to bat at any number. If I have to go back and bat at 5 or 6, I’m happy to do that. Because the important thing is where the team needs me. After playing 14 years, I can’t say I can’t bat at 6 and I need to bat at 4 or 5, so I will bat at where the team needs me.”When asked if the management was keen on keeping Dhoni at No.4 Kohli said: “I personally feel No.5 is the best-suited spot for him because that allows him to do a bit of both – get some game-time and finish games off and attack as and when required. The management discussed No. 5 was the ideal position for him and if you saw him in Adelaide as well he was pretty comfortable batting there. He was more himself in that game and he built onto this knock.”ALSO READ: Chopra: What is Dhoni’s role in the India ODI side?On Friday, Dhoni managed only 12 off 22 balls against legspinner Adam Zampa and 5 off 17 balls from Jhye Richardson, but he made up for that by attacking Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake and Marcus Stoinis to shift the pressure back on Australia. Kedar Jadhav eased the pressure on Dhoni with timely boundaries and hard-run twos in an unbeaten 121-run stand.”It was a slow wicket, so it was a bit difficult to hit whenever you want to,” Dhoni said. “I think it was important to take it till the end because some of their main bowlers were on the verge of finishing their quota of overs. So, you have to target the bowlers you can on wickets like these. No point going after the ones who’re bowling well. That was the game plan and it was really well supported by Kedar. He’s somebody who plays some unorthodox shots and great shots in the middle, so it takes that pressure off me when you’re looking to go right till the last over.”Kohli conceded that he was nervous when the asking rate ballooned in the chase, but agreed with Dhoni, saying that the key was to take the game deep.”As MS said, it wasn’t that easy a wicket to bat on. So, he had to take the game deep,” Kohli said during the presentation. “They’re professional enough to finish it off. We were a bit nervous there, but two set batsmen in the middle knew exactly what they wanted to do. So, they got the job done. In the end, that’s what matters.”

Jason Roy also absent for birth of child, meaning recalls for Sam Billings and Dawid Malan

George Dobell21-Feb-2019Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes have been rested from England’s T20 squad for the three-match series against West Indies.Buttler and Stokes, key members of the side in all three formats, will be allowed to return home immediately after the fifth ODI of the current series against the same opposition. Both men face a hectic 2019 schedules which include the World Cup, the Ashes and spells at the IPL, which starts on March 23.But Ed Smith, the national selector, insisted there was no way the decision to rest them from the T20 series should be interpreted as a case of prioritising franchise cricket over England duty.”I have not favoured franchise cricket over international cricket,” Smith said. “The contracts that Jos and Ben had with their franchises pre-date my involvement. There were a set of obligations in place and, with a busy year coming up, I’ve accepted the strong recommendations of the head coach to rest these guys now.”Jason Roy will also miss the West Indies T20s to ensure he is on hand for the birth of his first child. As a result, Sam Billings and Dawid Malan have been recalled to the squad for the first time since last year’s tour of Australia and New Zealand.”Sam is a very talented cricketer who hits the ball as hard as anyone,” Smith said. “But he’s been in a position where he’s been picked up by franchises but then not always been playing. And he’s been in England squads but not always been playing.”So last summer we took a view that we didn’t want him to be in a squad and not playing. So we left him out so he could play for Kent and he captained them to a Lord’s final and promotion. He then played both legs of full Lions tours before and after Christmas and I think that will have been a good thing for him. He has considerable ability.”Dawid would love an England career across all three formats. It’s just a question of where the opportunities come and, when he has played T20, he has grabbed his chances.”There were also discussions over whether to rest Joe Root. Ultimately, however, Root, who has not always commanded a place in England’s T20 team, was keen to play.”Joe is an absolutely critical asset for English cricket in the very big 2019 summer,” Smith said. “His form and preparation is essential for England, so we did discuss resting him. But he is very keen to play in these games. He feels playing in the white-ball sides offers a different experience to captaining the Test side and he likes that blend.”While Smith is usually reluctant to talk about players outside the squad, he did confirm that James Vince’s good form in various franchise tournaments “had been noted” and said he remained in discussions.He also had praise for Harry Gurney, who ended up with a winner’s medal from a successful period in the BBL. “Harry has terrific skills,” Smith said. “And we’re very aware of what he’s doing. But he misses out in this instance.”England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, David Willey, Mark Wood

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.

Offspinner Anisa Mohammed and wicketkeeper-batsman Merissa Aguilleira, meanwhile, have been dropped

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2019West Indies women have named a fit-again Hayley Matthews and left-arm pace-bowling allrounder Stacy-Ann King in the 14-member squad that will tour Ireland and England in May-June.Offspinner Anisa Mohammed, who was part of the squads that toured Pakistan and the UAE for the limited-overs series against the former, has been dropped alongside wicketkeeper-batsman Merissa Aguilleira, who had led the T20I side in Karachi in designated captain Stafanie Taylor’s absence.Matthews returns to the national fold after missing both series against Pakistan with an injured medial collateral ligament that she had sustained while playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Women’s Big Bash League last December. She has been named deputy to captain Taylor. King, meanwhile, last played for West Indies in 2016 at the World T20 final against Australia in Kolkata.Interim chairman of selectors Robert Haynes said: “Stacy Ann King’s return to the West Indies Women’s team to tour Ireland and England is no real surprise after her performance during the recently concluded Colonial Medical Insurance Women’s Super50 Cup and CWI’s T20 Blaze tournaments. Her experience is very vital in this very crucial series against England, a series that we must win, so her ability to bowl good left arm swing will be an added dimension to our bowling attack.”Anisa Mohammed and Merissa Aguilleira’s performances in the recent women’s championships weren’t what we expected or how we wanted them to perform, so unfortunately they were not picked on this touring squad. There are other ladies who are vying for these coveted spots, we have three other wicketkeepers who have all been scoring consistently thereby outperforming Merissa.”The fourteen-member squad along with six reserve players will assemble in Antigua from May 6 to 20 for a training camp, before the touring party’s departure to Ireland on May 21. They will play in three T20Is, on May 26, 28 and 29 there before taking on England in three ODIs as part of the ICC Women’s Championships, on June 6, 9 and 13. West Indies will round out the tour with three T20Is against England, to be played on June 18, 21 and 25.West Indies are currently ranked sixth and fourth on the ICC ODI and T20I team rankings, and occupy the seventh spot on the eight-team ICC Women’s Championship table. In their most recent international outings, they had won the T20I series 2-1 against Pakistan, in Karachi, but lost the subsequent ODIs 1-2.Squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt), Hayley Matthews (vice-capt), Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack, Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell, Shemaine Campbell, Natasha McLean, Stacy Ann KingReserves: Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Reniece Boyce, Britney Cooper, Shanika Bruce, Shawnisha Hector