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Fast bowler’s hopes of T20 World Cup selection appear to be over

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2024 • Updated on 23-May-2024Hasan Ali’s chances of making Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad appear to be over, after he was released from their squad for their four-match series against England in order to resume his stint with Warwickshire in county cricket.”The team management has decided to let Hasan Ali continue his commitments in county cricket,” the PCB said in a press release on Wednesday, the morning of their first T20I against England in Leeds. “Initially, Hasan was selected as an injury cover for Haris Rauf.”Hasan won a surprise recall to Pakistan’s T20I set-up ahead of their recent series against Ireland, having played only three times in the format since the 2021 T20 World Cup. But he recorded figures of 0 for 42 in three overs in the series decider in Clontarf, and has now been released from the squad.Pakistan have not announced their provisional squad for the T20 World Cup but must submit a final list of 15 names to the ICC before Saturday’s deadline.Warwickshire were blindsided by Hasan’s international recall but he will return to their squad ahead of their County Championship fixture against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford, which starts on Friday. He is also due to feature in the T20 Blast, which starts next week, and will stay with the club until the end of July.Aamer Jamal, Hasan’s compatriot, has also been at Warwickshire but took one wicket in his first two appearances. “[Jamal] is struggling for rhythm and not reaching the sort of pace we’d like him to,” Mark Robinson, Warwickshire’s coach, said after their defeat to Surrey. He has since been absent with a back injury.Last week, the club brought in Canterbury seamer Michael Rae on a short-term contract, who took five wickets against Essex. With Chris Rushworth, Liam Norwell, Michael Booth and Craig Miles all absent through injury, Barbados-born Che Simmons also made his first-class debut at Chelmsford, and recorded match figures of 5 for 71.May 23, 1545 GMT – This piece was updated to mention Jamal’s back injury.

Pakistan batter smashes 41 off 13 balls to give Sixers a late scare

Tristan Lavalette22-Dec-2022
Sydney Sixers survived a late onslaught from Asif Ali to thwart Hobart Hurricanes on a slow SCG surface and register their first victory of this BBL season.Rain delayed the start by an hour and reduced the match to 14 overs per side. There were some eyebrows raised when Sixers captain Moises Henriques elected to bat but it proved a masterstroke.Defending 138, Sixers’ bowlers relished returning to their favoured SCG as they stymied Hurricanes, who were never really in the hunt until Asif’s astonishing 41 off 13 balls almost snatched a remarkable late victory.Asif nearly conjures a miracle
Hurricanes were dead and buried, needing 45 off 10 deliveries until Asif had other ideas. He proceeded to smash 22 runs off Hayden Kerr’s next four deliveries, with the last being a six off a full toss around waist height that should have been called a no-ball.Needing 23 off the final over, Hurricanes’ chances increased considerably when quick Naveen-ul-Haq bowled a wide on the first delivery and then he was smashed for a boundary by a red-hot Asif.Sixers’ players looked ashen-faced as their stunned fans sensed a massive meltdown. But Asif holed out on the next delivery to finally snuff out Hurricanes’ chances.O’Keefe relishes slow surface
Left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe turned 38 earlier in the month, but he hasn’t lost his ability to frustrate batters. On an increasingly slow surface, O’Keefe proved a vital inclusion, having been omitted against Scorchers at the pace-friendly Optus Stadium.With canny bowling, O’Keefe put the brakes on Hurricanes’ high-octane top-order batters. He snared the key wicket of Ben McDermott in the fourth over and then returned in the eighth over at a crucial juncture.Hurricanes’ run rate had lifted to 12 an over as captain Matthew Wade eyed putting the foot down. But he was unable to break the shackles from O’Keefe, who bowled nine dot balls in his first 11 deliveries.A frustrated Wade holed out in the next over to spinner Todd Murphy and then kicked his bat as he trudged off in disgust.Mixed bag for Sixers’ batting line-up
Sixers were keen to make amends after sloppy batting displays in losses to Strikers and Scorchers.After a topsy-turvy batting effort against Hurricanes, Sixers still have not had a batter score a half-century this season although they reached a competitive total due to strong bookends.Openers Josh Philippe and Kurtis Patterson finally fired with a 68-run opening partnership to get Sixers off to a flier. Patterson, who holds a Test average of 144 from two matches, was a revelation last season as an aggressive opener for champions Scorchers.After returning home to Sydney, Patterson made his first impact this season with a 25-ball 38 to lay a strong platform with Philippe. But their good work was undone after a collapse of 5 for 16 before Kerr hit an invaluable 32 from 20 balls at the death.Kerr, who made 42 against Scorchers, continues to make a compelling case to move up the order.Shadab makes amends after dropping a sitter
Hurricanes were thrashed early with Wade using five different bowlers in as many overs in a desperate bid for a breakthrough.Their early woes were symbolised when spinner Shadab Khan dropped the simplest of return catches in the fifth over to reprieve Philippe.The wet ball may have given him an excuse for fumbling the skier but Shadab was keen to make amends.Shadab did exactly that when he came back in the eighth over and removed Philippe with a slow and wide delivery that was hit straight to long-off. It was gutsy bowling from Shadab, who was suddenly on a roll when he dismissed Henriques first ball with a spectacular diving return catch.It was reminiscent of his brilliant caught and bowled dismissal of Scorchers allrounder Aaron Hardie earlier in the week.Shadab’s efforts sparked a Sixers collapse with left-arm spinner Paddy Dooley, whose unorthodox bowling action has turned heads, continuing his breakout season with the wickets of Jordan Silk and Dan Christian.

Opening partnership add 243, as hosts crumble to 156 all out in reply

ECB Reporters Network29-Jul-2021Worcestershire 338 for 7 (Haynes 153, D’Oliveira 123) beat Essex 156 (Wheater 77, Cook 42, D’Oliveira 3-8) by 182 runsJack Haynes and Brett D’Oliveira notched their maiden Royal London Cup centuries during a record first-wicket partnership as Worcestershire Rapids demolished Essex Eagles.Haynes was flawless in his maiden professional ton of 153 while his opening partner’s 123 made him the third generation of D’Oliveira to reached three figures for Worcestershire in the format.Their stand of 243, a best for the first wicket for the county, laid the foundations of a mammoth total of 338 for 7.Essex collapsed to 17 for four in reply, and despite Adam Wheater’s 77, were bowled out for 156 and lost by 182 runs – their highest ever defeat.The Rapids maintained their 100 per cent record in the tournament while the Eagles lost for the first time.Having been put in by Essex, D’Oliveira and Haynes strutted against a depleted home bowling line-up – with Sam Cook at the Hundred and Jamie Porter injuring his side during the victory over Middlesex.D’Oliveira won the race to a half-century, smashing his 54th ball into the Tom Pearce Stand at wide long-on, before Haynes followed in 57 deliveries – for Haynes it was his third fifty in as many innings in the competition.D’Oliveira also reached his hundred first, off 95 balls, but Haynes was quicker, in 91 balls, as both passed the milestone for the first time in professional white-ball cricket.The incredible stand ended on 243, a best for Worcestershire of any stand against Essex, when D’Oliveira picked out wide long-on.That started a wicket tumble as Rapids lost seven wickets for 68 runs in 69 balls.Joe Leach was lbw to Aron Nijjar, Tom Fell was caught on the square leg boundary, Jake Libby was brilliantly run out by Simon Harmer and Ed Barnard was caught behind attempting a reverse sweep.Haynes continued to accelerate, bunting over the long-off boundary and a sweet strike straight down the ground for two sixes – the latter off Shane Snater, who returned Essex’s third most expensive List A bowling figures with his one for 83.The only chance he offered was a diving effort to Jack Plom at backward point on 151 before he was finally stumped off Harmer for 153 off 128 balls.Gareth Roderick scooped to fine leg but Joshua Dell’s 27 off 24 helped Rapids back up to a total befitting the opening stand.Essex’s top-order collapse was even more emphatic as they slumped to 17 for four in the first six overs of the reply.Will Buttleman was yorked fourth ball by Charlie Morris before Joe Leach has Tom Westley bowled, Michael Pepper feathering behind and Ryan ten Doeschate leg before to an in-ducker.Wheater was dropped on 16 and 23 both by Dell at cover during a 70-run stand with Alastair Cook before Ed Barnard took two wickets in two balls – Cook clothing to mid off for 42 and Harmer caught behind – to keep the win predictor firmly pointing towards the visitors.Wheater accelerated after Cook’s dismissal but eventually holed out to long-on, Nijjar holed out to long-on, Snater chipped to midwicket and Plom was stumped – the last three wickets falling to that man D’Oliveira (three for eight).

Batsman’s bid to earn a spot in West Indies first-Test line-up hit by washed out first day of final warm-up in Manchester

ECB Reporters Network29-Jun-2020Jermaine Blackwood believes he has something to prove against the world’s leading bowlers, should he find himself back in West Indies’ line-up for the upcoming Test series against England.A measured 112 not out against England in April 2015, in just his sixth Test, remains Blackwood’s only international three-figure score. Having been dropped two-and-a-half years after that century in Antigua, he was a concussion substitute last August and regained his place in the Test squad to tour England after topping the run-charts in the Caribbean’s domestic four-day competition.Earlier this month, Blackwood told ESPNcricinfo his “new way going forward” was to “bat as long as possible”. Now that he is in a position to make the XI for the first Test at the Ageas Bowl on July 8, Blackwood said that remained the plan, rather than going gung-ho from the off.ALSO READ: West Indies to wear Black Lives Matter logo“Over the years people have got the wrong impression about me, like I’m a ball-beater or whatever,” Blackwood told the Press Association after the first day of West Indies’ four-day intra-squad warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford was washed out on Monday.”But it’s just natural for me, I’m from the Caribbean, it’s only natural for me to score runs. I want to add a little bit more to my game and bat time. I’m really pushing hard for that and I’m really putting the mental work as well in to bat time. Once I bat time, I will score runs.”It’s been two-and-a-half years that I’ve been out of the Test team. This opportunity has come out and I have to grab it with both hands. I have something to go out there and prove against all the best bowlers in the world, I want to score runs against them.”Blackwood’s ton came against an attack featuring James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes, a trio who will almost certainly line up for England in Southampton.A career average of 30.26 in 28 Tests swells to 55.33 in six matches against England, so it is little wonder Blackwood is relishing the chance to face the same opposition.”I always love to play against England because they are one of the best teams in the world and they have one of the best attacks in the world as well,” Blackwood said.”Anderson and Broad are two world-class bowlers so whenever I get the chance, once I bat some time against them I know I will score runs. They are wonderful bowlers but once I can wear them down and let them bowl spell after spell, that is going to be the key thing for me in this series.”Blackwood made 3 and 15 in West Indies’ first intra-squad warm-up last week and his hopes of pressing his claims in the second practice match were dented as intermittent showers conspired to frustrate the squad’s preparations. The match represents the final chance for those on the fringes of the side to push their case for the first Test.Whereas the first practice game between Kraigg Brathwaite’s XI and Jason Holder’s XI was played out amid a heatwave last week, several downpours and a strong gust were the order on a dreary Monday in Manchester.Any prospect of play was officially ended just before 3pm and it is understood that the idea to award the match first-class status has been scrapped, potentially allowing all 25 members of the squad to feature at some point.The initial team-sheet was missing wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich , who hurt his side in the first warm-up match, and fast bowlers Oshane Thomas and Keon Harding, but there is now no reason why any of the trio should be ruled out of contention altogether. Harding suffered a facial cut when he was struck while attempting to field the ball during that earlier game.West Indies have announced that a Black Lives Matter logo will be displayed on their shirts in the series against England but, for this contest, they will line up in the maroon and navy training kit they wore last week.

Rodrigues, Raj and Goswami dragged India past 200, before the bowlers stifled England; India placed second in the championship

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai22-Feb-2019Heather Knight, England’s captain, had talked up their squad depth ahead of the ODI series against India, but the side faltered in the first bout on the face of some superb bowling by India’s pacers and Ekta Bisht. The left-arm spinner picked up four wickets in the middle of a collapse – England lost seven wickets for 25 runs – as India took a 1-0 lead with an emphatic 66-run win while defending 202 at Wankhede Stadium.Put in to bat, India started slowly and set themselves up with a 69-run opening stand between Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, before they slid to 95 for 5. Mithali Raj, batting at No. 4, shored up the inexperienced middle order with a 74-ball 44. The final kick came courtesy Jhulan Goswami’s 37-ball 30 to give India’s bowlers something to defend.In reply, England couldn’t really get off the blocks and kept losing wickets. It started with Shikha Pandey trapping Amy Jones plumb with a nip-backer in her first over. Sarah Taylor, returning from an anxiety-related issue that forced her out of the World T20, scratched around to make a 31-ball 10 before falling to a superb inswinger from Pandey. With no DRS in place, England were a tad unlucky as replays indicated the swing may have taken it down leg.Deepti Sharma chipped in with Tammy Beaumont’s wicket before the repair work came about through a 73-run fourth-wicket stand between Knight and Natalie Sciver.The pair received a reprieve each along the way, denying Poonam Yadav a wicket in the first and the last ball of the 25th over. Knight, on 22, mistimed a pull off Poonam to midwicket, where Bisht stuck her left hand out but was unable to cling on. Sciver, meanwhile, flashed hard at a legbreak that flew past wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia.Sophie Ecclestone was the best of the England bowlers•Getty Images

Bisht, however, made up for the lapse with a superb effort off her own bowling in the 31st over. Knight’s leading edge went over to Bisht rather innocuously, but with Sciver having backed up too far down the pitch, Bisht had enough time to collect it and run the non-striker out with a back-hand flip. This proved to be a huge moment in the game. With England needing 90 off 18 overs with six wickets in hand, Bisht took centre stage by completing a triple-wicket over in the 41st to cap off a collapse.”The total was perfectly chaseable,” Knight said after the game. “We bowled well, but were unlucky not to take more wickets up front. But we were more than happy with 200 to chase. It was sticky, it turned, but once you got to play 15-20 balls it became easier to play shots. The first 10-15 balls were the key. I don’t think we played it particularly well today. The pitch started to turn and deteriorated too. There was inconsistent spin as well which makes it harder.”Earlier, India’s middle-order woes resurfaced, albeit not as telling in manner as in the T20Is in New Zealand. It’s perhaps with the knowledge that the middle order, especially with Harmanpreet Kaur missing, is a tad brittle that their openers started cautiously, with the first six overs producing just 11.Those weren’t without drama, though. There was some raucous lbw appeals from the experienced pace pair of Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole. Rodrigues cut loose in the eighth over, flicking Shrubsole for two wristy fours. She countered the early movement deftly, picking the gaps for quick singles and eight well-timed fours in total.Mandhana, however, didn’t look her fluent best, beaten at least thrice by Shrubsole, before chopping on while attempting to pull Georgia Elwiss in the 16th over. Coming in at No. 3, Deepti became the first of left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone’s two victims thanks to some top-notch glovework from Taylor.Ecclestone, the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series against India last year, denied Rodrigues a half-century as she popped up a return catch with a top edge. Harleen Deol, the batting allrounder who replaced the injured Harmanpreet, made an eight-ball two on her international debut.One ball later, Mona Meshram, who had sat out all six matches across formats during the tour of New Zealand, was adjudged lbw, although the inswinger appeared to have struck her slightly high on the knee-roll. Thanks to Sciver’s double-strike, India had lost half their side for 95 inside 22 overs. Meshram’s dismissal capped a 42-ball frame during which India lost five wickets for 26 runs.Raj, meanwhile, held up one end and forged a 54-run stand with Bhatia, whose 41-ball 25 helped India inch closer to 150. But after Raj fell in the 42nd over, it was largely down to handy knocks from Pandey and, especially, Goswami that India went past 200. Goswami followed a six and a four with a brace before holing out with two balls remaining. By then, she had done enough to give England a good run for their money.

India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said it was hard to look beyond Bumrah for the fifth fast bowler’s slot given his “phenomenal” form

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Dec-20174:54

Dasgupta: About time Bumrah got an opportunity

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has earned a maiden Test call-up, after being named in the 17-member squad for the three-Test series against South Africa, which starts from January 5 in Cape Town. Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel, Bumrah’s state mate and captain at Gujarat, has also been recalled, as back-up wicket-keeping option for Wriddhiman Saha.The pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pandya returned to the Test squad after voluntary breaks from the ongoing home Test series against Sri Lanka. The two men in the existing Test squad who missed out were left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and Tamil Nadu allrounder Vijay Shankar, who had replaced Bhuvneshwar in the squad for the Nagpur and Delhi Tests.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bumrah can be seen as radical choice mainly because he has not played first-class cricket in nearly a year. His last appearance in whites came when he turned up for Gujarat in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy semi-final against Jharkhand in January this year. However, the fast nature of pitches at the three Test venues in South Africa – Cape Town, Centurion and Johannesburg – meant that the selectors were keen to have a fifth specialist fast bowler despite Pandya’s presence as an allrounder.Bumrah’s ability to swing the ball into the right-handers, his searing pace and crushing, accurate yorkers and his bowling smarts pushed him quickly ahead in the selection queue. His recent form was also not lost on the selectors. In limited-overs cricket Bumrah has been stellar this year: with 35 wickets, he is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in ODIs in 2017.India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said it was hard to look beyond Bumrah for the fifth fast bowler’s slot given his “phenomenal” form.”If you see his performance in the last 18 months, he’s been phenomenal,” Prasad said after the selection meeting in Delhi. “He’s been sensational and has done outstandingly well in both one-day and T20. Considering the Ranji Trophy he played last year (where) he bowled brilliantly in the whole season, we have no doubts. It is a unanimous choice and there is no doubt in picking Bumrah because he definitely adds variety to our pace attack. And considering the nature of wickets there, it will definitely suit his bowling.”The rest of the squad, as Prasad pointed out, “picked itself”, with no surprises. The selectors might have been tempted to include Kuldeep, considering his unorthodox spin could have been an X-factor against the South Africa batsmen. However, in the end the selectors and captain Virat Kohli, who attended the meeting, opted to play it safe and bank on their two senior spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.According to Prasad, Kuldeep remained in the mix of things, but it was impossible to think of playing him ahead of Ashwin and Jadeja, who are ranked No. 4 and 2 respectively in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers.”I really feel unfortunate for Kuldeep Yadav. Definitely he would have added (variety), but we are going to play only three Test matches. Considering to play Kuldeep ahead of No.1 and No.2 spinners in the world is a bit of a big ask.”Parthiv remains the best glovesman after Saha in the longer formats. Given his impressive form and ability to bat at any position, he was an automatic choice for the back-up wicket-keeper’s slot. Parthiv was part of the India squad for the home series against England last year where he played three Tests, in Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai. He scored 195 runs including two fifties at a healthy average of 65. In the ongoing domestic season, Parthiv has compiled 421 runs in 11 innings.Prasad brushed aside skepticism about picking Parthiv, who has not been part of the India squad since the England series”When we had given an opportunity against England he did beyond our expectations. We all know that Wriddhiman Saha is the side’s No.1 wicketkeeper, [but] we still need to have a back-up wicketkeeper. Right now he [Parthiv] is the next-best wicketkeeper that we have in India. His domestic performances are also equally good.”India will depart for South Africa on December 27 and start their tour with a two-day warm-up match in Paarl on December 30 and 31. Asked whether there was any plan to send the Test-only players ahead for acclimatization, Amitabh Choudhury, the BCCI secretary, said no such plan had been discussed with the team management.Regardless, Prasad exuded confidence saying India were well equipped to enter the tough contest against South Africa. “We are going there as the No.1 Test team. We are going with a very good confidence. Everybody is in very good form. Hence, on that basis, I am saying this is a good, balanced side.”

Mitchell Starc has admitted that he is probably a week-and-a-half behind where he would like to be in terms of fitness and preparations for the upcoming Perth Test against South Africa but is confident of performing any role needed by the team

Daniel Brettig31-Oct-20162:00

Wound on my knee is still a bit open – Starc

Mitchell Starc’s leg wound is still open. He will require a special knee pad to be able to dive in the field. And he is more than 10 days behind where he would prefer to be in preparation for the first Test of the summer, against South Africa in Perth – the match all Cricket Australia’s intricate preparatory plans are meant to be geared for.That’s the challenging scenario for the man who has swiftly become Australia’s most valuable cricketing asset. His pace and swing are capable of unpicking the lock to a South African batting line-up that toyed with Steven Smith’s team on the recent ODI tour in Starc’s absence.For that reason, there is no question of Starc missing out on a match that will set the tone for the home season, and a series against opponents who will test the resolve of the hosts to perform in familiar climes after humiliations in Sri Lanka and South Africa. The training-inflicted gash to the leg that Starc is still recovering from mirrors the sense that this is an Australian side yet to take complete form after 2015’s raft of retirements.”It’s still open, clean it every day, put a patch on it and away you go,” Starc said of his left leg. “It’s still a little bit opened, so it’s probably going to take a couple of weeks [to heal]. It’s not bleeding, it’s healing nicely. It’s all clean. I think when I started bowling and running again it just sort of stretched the skin a little bit. It’s not a bad thing, it needed to stretch anyway. But it probably just delayed the healing a little bit.”[Without the injury] I would have obviously played a couple of Matador games and played the full Shield game as well. So I’m probably – hard to say, probably a week or week-and-a-half behind where I would have liked to be. Being in a brace for four weeks – I couldn’t sweat on the wound, so I couldn’t run or do all of the gym sessions I wanted to do. So I was a fair bit behind at the start and tried to catch up at the end.”I’m still a little bit behind where I would have liked but it hasn’t cost me any cricket for Australia so I’m ready to go.”Echoing the views of the CA chief executive James Sutherland on the need to prioritise some series above others, Starc said he would be prepared to push through pain and even a re-opening of the wound in order to bowl the kinds of spells his captain requires. That being said, it is hard to imagine Starc being used as anything other than a high-speed battering ram in three to five-over spells after the fashion of Mitchell Johnson.”I’m happy to bowl long spells, it’s going to be up to Steve,” Starc said. “I’m prepared to play the Test match and perform any role I need to. Obviously that’s initially to bowl as fast as I can and try to attack the South Africans. It’s not going to be an issue for me to bowl longer spells, it’s just how Smithy sees my role on the day, and the conditions, the wicket and the other guys in the team.”I guess in the longer scheme of things it hasn’t been that long a break. Obviously coming off two months of cricket in Sri Lanka – it’s not like I’ve come off six months of nothing. It is a little bit behind, but I was a lot happier with how I finished the Shield game the other night after 19 overs. A couple more days of preparation this week and I’ll be ready to go full tilt.”While South Africa’s batting coach Neil McKenzie has had a bit to say about the visitors not fearing any members of the Australian line-up, Starc said he knew there would always be some trepidation among opponents about facing him. “Easy for him to say that, sitting behind the desk,” Starc quipped. “I’m happy for him to face me.”He’s entitled to his opinions. It’s a lot easier making comments like that when you don’t have to face anything. He just throws the whanger down at his batsmen and sits back and watches. Look, we’ll all be trying to crank it up. I’ll be trying to bowl as fast as I can and Josh can still hit over 140s, Joey [Mennie] bowls a heavier ball than you think and can hurry up a lot of batsmen. He probably bowls a lot quicker than people think.”Sidds is coming back into some pace as well. We’ve got plenty of firepower. Just because they’ve got Dale Steyn – I know he’s an outstanding bowler, he’s taken 400-plus Test wickets – [but] just because you’ve got him and [Kagiso] Rabada bowling fast it doesn’t mean we don’t have anyone to match that.”One of the ironies of Starc’s current physical impediment is that he may actually be in his best ever shape to play all six Tests, against South Africa and Pakistan, this summer. Until December last year, when he finally submitted to surgery on foot and ankle problems, Starc had suffered from ankle bone spurs. A full season is chief among his goals.”I’d love to play a whole summer for a change, whether it be through rotation or injury or bad form I haven’t managed to do that yet,” Starc said. “So I think I just put that on myself really, to be there for all six Tests and bowling well enough to be selected for all of those Test matches along with the one-day games this summer.”I think that’s part of it as well – being there for a little bit of time now with Josh. We probably take it on ourselves to – along with Pete coming back into the squad after his back – it’s probably important for the three of us especially to I guess lead the attack. I think we do that really well together.”There’s not really one leader, we just sort of run off the back of each other and have done for a while. We’d all love to play every Test match this summer, along with the Indian series. Without talking too much about it, we probably put that on ourselves.”Should Starc play six Tests, Australia will be hard to stop. This week may be the highest hurdle to that goal.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Haryana and Gujarat sides ahead of the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season

Karthik Krishnaswamy30-Sep-2015

Haryana

Haryana will hope their new captain will lift their spirits and results•Associated Press

Where they finished last season
Second from bottom in Group BBig picture
Last season, only two Haryana batsmen averaged 30 or over in the Ranji Trophy. But six of their bowlers sent down 50 overs or more and averaged under 25. Such numbers come with the territory – in this case their home ground, the Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli, which hosts the most seam-friendly pitches in India. The five matches Haryana played in Lahli last season produced three 200-plus totals in 17 innings.Results, as they tend to be on pitches of that nature, were a lottery, with Haryana winning two of their home games and losing one. There were two draws, but only because of poor weather that ruled out a fourth day against both Vidarbha and Delhi.Performances away from home, perhaps, were a better gauge of Haryana’s quality: they lost all three of their matches on the road, to Punjab, Gujarat, and bottom-placed Saurashtra.Given that Haryana begin their 2015-16 season with three away games, against three formidable opponents – Maharashtra (semi-finalists and finalists in the last two seasons), Delhi (who topped their group last season) and Karnataka (gunning for a hat-trick of titles) – they will have to find some way to compete in unfamiliar territory.Their task is made harder by the absence of Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma – both part of India’s limited-overs squads for their series against South Africa – and Joginder Sharma. This will leave a bulk of the bowling burden to be borne by Harshal Patel and the spinners Jayant Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.Batting is usually the bigger worry for Haryana, and the acquisition of Virender Sehwag – he will also captain them – will be accompanied by both excitement and anxiety. Over the last couple of years, there has been a perceptible dimming of his powers, but are they still at a level that can cause fear among domestic attacks? Almost 37, and with no realistic prospect of an international comeback, how much enthusiasm can he sustain over a domestic season with barely any breathing room?Surendra Bhave, their coach, isn’t too worried. “I don’t have to say what sort of impact [Sehwag] would have on any cricket team,” he says. “He has been wonderful so far. Every player he has spoken to personally. He’s a very good mentor also. He’s doing an excellent job. Coming from him, it makes a lot of difference, coming from a great achiever.”Players to watch
Yuzvendra Chahal recently earned a call-up to the India A T20 side against the South Africans thanks to his performances in the shortest format, particularly the IPL. But in a career that began in 2009, Chahal has only played 17 first-class matches (32 wickets at 40.06). If he gets an extended run in the Haryana side in the absence of Amit Mishra, can Chahal show that his legbreaks belong in the longest format as well?Himanshu Rana will only turn 17 on the day the Ranji season begins, but has already shown glimpses of what could be a special talent. His coach Surendra Bhave calls him a “cracking player”. On his debut last season, Rana made 80 against Delhi, and followed it up with a 149 that set up an innings win over Rajasthan. He topped Haryana’s batting averages last season, and his side will hope he can shore up their often brittle top order again.Preparation
Apart from a pre-season camp and practice matches in Lahli, Haryana also geared up for the season by playing the KSCA tournament (four-day matches) in Karnataka and the Buchi Babu tournament (two-day matches) in Chennai.Squad
Virender Sehwag (capt), Chaitanya Bishnoi, Sanjay Budhwar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Dagar, Rahul Dalal, Rahul Dewan, Ashish Hooda, Sanjay Pahal, Harshal Patel, Himanshu Rana, Sachin Rana, Nitin Saini (wk), Guntashveer Singh, Priyank Tehlan, Jayant Yadav.In their own words
“The data shows that teams which play well at home usually do very well in domestic cricket. But we would like to look at it in a thorough manner and start winning outside also, which is very crucial for us.”

Angelo Mathews will take over as Test and ODI captain from Mahela Jayawardene for the home Test series against Bangladesh. Dinesh Chandimal will be Mathews’ deputy but will lead the national side in the Twenty20 format

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2013Angelo Mathews will take over as Test and ODI captain from Mahela Jayawardene for the home Test series against Bangladesh. Dinesh Chandimal will be Mathews’ deputy but will lead the national side in the Twenty20 format. Lasith Malinga has been named Sri Lanka’s T20 vice-captain. The appointments are for a period of 11 months.Jayawardene was expected to step down from captaincy after the tour of Australia, and Mathews was tipped to take over. Chandimal assumes a senior role in the team, having played five Tests and 50 ODIs.The 20-man squad for the two-Test series starting on March 8 has several fresh faces and some notable absentees from the tour of Australia. Thilan Samaraweera has been dropped, together with opener Tharanga Paranavitana and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene. Ajantha Mendis returns to the Test squad, having last played a Test in May 2011 against England.Samaraweera has signed up with Worcestershire for the 2013 county season, but had an inconsistent 2012, a year in which he averaged 32.50. He had a poor tour of Australia, where he failed to score a half-century in six innings. Paranavitana was part of the squad on that tour but didn’t play a Test, with Dimuth Karunaratne being preferred over him. Prasanna Jayawardene’s Australian tour was cut short by a thumb injury, but he hasn’t been picked for the Tests against Bangladesh following his recovery. Chandimal will keep wicket.The squad features four uncapped players, and six in all who are yet to play a Test: Batsmen Ashen Silva and Kithuruwan Vithanage, seamer Dushmantha Chameera, and offspinner Tharindu Kaushal are those yet to play international cricket. Wicketkeeper-batsman Kushal Janith Perera and legspinning allrounder Jeevan Mendis have played ODI cricket for Sri Lanka but not a Test.Kumar Sangakkara’s participation in the Test series is subject to his recovery from a fractured hand, an injury he suffered on the tour of Australia. Bangladesh play one warm-up game, two Tests, three ODIs and one Twenty20 international on their almost month-long tour of Sri Lanka.Test squad: Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal (vice-capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ashen Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Mahela Jayawardene, Kushal Janith Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga, Chanaka Welegedera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Rangana Herath, Tharindu Kaushal.

Kris Srikkanth, the chief India selector, has blamed the inability of the batsmen to make big scores for the team’s defeats in the first two Tests of the Australia tour

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2012Kris Srikkanth, India’s chief selector, has blamed the inability of the batsmen to make big scores for the team’s defeats in the first two Tests of the Australia tour.”Our batting didn’t click as a unit,” Srikkanth told . “It is a bit surprising as we were confident of a good show in Australia. But we must admit that Australia have played better cricket than us.”In South Africa, when we drew the Test series [in 2010-11], at least one of our batsmen went on to score a big hundred. Here our batsmen have got to half-centuries but didn’t get a big score. Test cricket provides you with few opportunities but one needs to grab them when they come your way.”The defeats in Australia mean India have lost six successive away Tests, starting with their 4-0 drubbing in England – an unexpected and swift fall from grace for a side that began the England tour six months ago as the No. 1 Test team. Unlike in England, where they suffered several injury setbacks, India have had the first-choice side at their disposal in Australia. Srikkanth, like the captain MS Dhoni, refused to offer excuses.”Look, when you lose you can cite any reason,” Srikkanth said. “There is no point trying to find excuses and we need to move on. But Dhoni has been honest enough in not giving any excuses. In fact he has rightly admitted that our batting has not clicked, it has clicked only in patches.”This is the best team we have at the moment. Also there are no injuries. I believe each and every member has accepted that Australia is playing better cricket.”India were completely outplayed in the second Test in Sydney, going down by an innings and 68 runs after winning the toss. But the previous match, in Melbourne, was much closer with India holding the upper hand before a middle- and lower-order collapse in the first innings gave Australia an opening. India eventually fell short by 122 runs while chasing 292 in the fourth innings. Srikkanth felt India should have won that match.”We were 211 for 2 [in the first innings] and we lost it from there,” Srikkanth said. “We had Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar playing well but then no one got a big score. When you lose the first Test, automatically, there is a lot of pressure on you. Now one should try and do well in the Perth Test. We have won in Perth last time and we should try and do well there.”