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Earlier, O’Rourke completed his five-for as Sri Lanka folded for 305 in their first innings

Madushka Balasuriya19-Sep-2024Partnerships were the name of the game as New Zealand strung together several of significance to come within 50 runs of Sri Lanka’s first-innings total of 305 at stumps on day two in Galle.There were breezy fifties from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, and Rachin Ravindra also put forward an aggressive cameo. By the time an extended final session ended 15 minutes early due to bad light, there were more names on that list, as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell had put together an unbeaten stand of 59 off 105. Theirs was the fourth 50-plus stand of the innings on a day that belonged almost in totality to the visitors.All this happened despite a rain-curtailed morning session during which only 15 minutes of play were possible. But that was all it took for New Zealand to pick up the remaining three Sri Lanka wickets.Related

• Latham's sweeping success shows NZ will not get bogged down on turning tracks

Sri Lanka’s best moments of the day were just that – moments – as their bowlers struggled to put together any periods of concerted pressure. Despite the surface offering turn, none of the four spinners used by the hosts were able to find consistent lines and lengths – either due to the strong breeze across the stadium or the New Zealand batters’ proactiveness in using their feet as well as a variety of sweeps.The hosts were also unable to build on any of the wickets to fall, with each new batter settling in quickly. Only a burst from Dhananjaya de Silva, when he dismissed Williamson and Ravindra in the space of two overs, offered a glimmer of Sri Lankan dominance, but that hope was snuffed out quickly by Mitchell and Blundell.Kusal Mendis took an excellent catch to send back Kane Williamson•Associated Press

The rest of the spinners’ figures told a story. Prabath Jayasuriya toiled for 31 overs for figures of 99 for 1, easily his worst in Galle thus far, while Ramesh Mendis’ 17 overs went for 69 and brought a solitary scalp. Kamindu Mendis was used only for one over that went for eight.Earlier in the day, it was Latham and Williamson who proved to be Sri Lanka’s tormentors. Latham, in particular, provided the blueprint during his 111-ball 70, both with his footwork and, more potently, prolific use of the sweep and reverse sweep.While Devon Conway never really looked anywhere close to his flowing best, labouring his way to 17 off 59 deliveries, Latham was more than making up for it at the other end. This ensured a solid opening stand of 63, one brought to an end against the run of play – and upon review – with Conway missing one from Ramesh Mendis that straightened after pitching.Instead of bringing Sri Lanka back into proceedings, the wicket only hastened New Zealand’s advancement as Williamson easily matched Latham’s urgency. Within his first 14 deliveries, the former captain had cut, pulled and lofted two boundaries and a six, and while that rate of scoring was never going to be maintained, the Sri Lanka spinners’ wayward lines allied with expert manoeuvring from both Williamson and Latham meant dot balls were rarely strung together.Daryl Mitchell attempts a reverse sweep, a shot New Zealand’s batters used quite often against spin•Associated Press

That Sri Lanka eventually broke the 73-run stand, which took only 120 balls, was down to the batter’s error more than the bowlers’ effectiveness, as Latham’s most potent weapon – the sweep – became his undoing, when he top-edged to backward square leg off Jayasuriya at the stroke of tea.There was no respite for Sri Lanka in the final session either, as Ravindra managed to further up the ante over the course of a 48-ball 39. His expert use of the depth of the crease also meant any error in length was punished square of the wicket on either side.The Williamson-Ravindra stand of 51 took just 84 deliveries, and were it not for a piece of brilliance from wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis – leaping forward past the stumps to hold on to a leading edge of Williamson – it was hard to see where a breakthrough might have come from. Ravindra himself fell shortly after, leaving an arm ball that clattered into his off stump and punching his bat in disgust on the way back to the dressing room. But Sri Lanka’s joy was short-lived as Mitchell and Blundell negotiated safely whatever was thrown at them, including a period of short-ball barrages from Asitha Fernando.During the heavily rain-affected morning session, William O’Rourke starred once more, adding two further wickets to his overnight tally, to end with figures of 5 for 55 as Sri Lanka were bowled out adding just three runs to their overnight total.

Vidarbha were staring at a heavy defeat before the duo stitched an 88-run partnership to convert a 116-run first-innings deficit into a 79 run lead by the end of day three, with six wickets in hand

Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Kolkata19-Dec-2017Ganesh Satish sends one rocketing through the off side•PTI

For the third time in three days, Vidarbha showed flashes of fight, but Karnataka maintained their dominance over the Ranji Trophy semi-final at Eden Gardens. Vidarbha wrapped up Karnataka’s first innings 35 minutes after play began an hour late due to bad light. Having conceded a lead of 116, Vidarbha lost three wickets before they could wipe out the deficit. When play ended at 3.33pm local time – the earliest it has yet in this game – they led by 79 runs with six wickets in hand and looked on track to set Karnataka a reasonable target.In any case, it was an innings of improvements for Vidarbha. Ganesh Satish was at the forefront, leading their fight with a stroke-filled, unbeaten 71. It took Vidarbha 10 runs past their first-innings score, for the loss of four wickets. Satish walked out with Vidarbha potentially staring at a heavy defeat. By the end, they were still facing an uphill battle, but had given themselves just a glimmer at salvaging the game. At stumps, they were 195 for 4, having progressed at 4.15 runs an over.It took Karnataka’s pacers less than 10 overs to snuff out the Vidarbha openers. Faiz Fazal fell as much to Vinay Kumar’s tactical brilliance as to his second botch up with the bat in the match. Technically correct for the most part, Fazal tried to flick Vinay across the line and was hit in front of the stumps. That he attempted the stroke was possibly only because Vinay had left midwicket open and placed mid-on slightly straighter than usual to invite the shot. The only thing that came in the way of making it a perfect dismissal was a possible inside edge, the likelihood of that having happened magnified by Fazal’s reaction, as he stayed put in his crease and stared emptily into the ground before trudging off.Having cramped up on the opening day, and perhaps not wanting to strain himself too much ahead of the final, Vinay bowled with a considerably shorter run-up. He used his bowlers in short bursts to keep them fresh and retain intensity. Vinay, Abhimanyu Mithun and Stuart Binny’s first spells each lasted just three overs.Karnataka’s bowlers continued to effect subtle movement. Binny produced an outside edge from Sanjay Ramaswamy’s bat with a length ball that kicked up and ripped away off the seam.Wasim Jaffer, meanwhile, slashed a wild square cut and followed it up with a more controlled pull off Binny for four. He continued to counter Karnataka’s pacers with a flurry of boundaries and took Vidarbha to 58 for 2 at lunch.He fell in the second over after the break, trapped lbw by Aravind. Though the ball had come in with the arm, the width it had been delivered from made umpire Paschim Pathak’s call seem debatable. Just a few overs prior to that, Pathak had withheld Aravind’s appeal against the same batsman with a lot straighter one that had held its line.With the ball doing all sorts of things off the surface, Karnataka’s bowlers optimised the conditions on offer by bowling smart angles and keeping the batsmen guessing. Vidarbha continued to show indiscreet tendencies, every now and then flashing outside the off stump and playing across the line.What they did well, however, was to capitalise when the sun came out and made batting easier. Satish led that change in the company of Apoorv Wankhade. Together, they stroked the ball well on both sides of the wicket and steadied Vidarbha as the afternoon wore on. They did take their chances early in their stand – and it made for ugly viewing when they did – but Vidarbha needed to get a move on.The deficit was erased shortly after the fifty of their partnership came up. Soon after taking the lead, Wankhade drove Binny uppishly just past the cover fielder, and then launched him with authority over mid-off to end the over. After a change in ball at the end of that over, he cracked a square cut between point and gully off Vinay.All this was to the great frustration of the Karnataka captain, who had a go at the batsman. With Satish holding firm at his end, they made sure Vidarbha didn’t slip into a shell, which was crucial on a tough surface.Though he struck at over 100, Wankhade largely played very neat shots. That included a pull in front of square off Aravind that took him to 49. Two balls after that, perhaps done in by a lack of pace, he drove half-heartedly into the hands of cover.Satish stretched the lead at the other end, raising his fifty with a square-driven four off Vinay. For all their good work, Karnataka’s bowlers, unlike in the first innings, offered a sprinkling of boundary balls that kept Vidarbha ticking.In the morning, thick layers of mist engulfed the ground. It was only three-quarters of an hour after the scheduled start that the sun began peeking out for the first time.As on the second evening, Vidarbha began by bowling outside Vinay’s off-stump, but the Karnataka captain continued to leave them alone. When they finally had him, it was to a full and straight delivery from Umesh Yadav that arrived at scorching pace. By the time Vinay’s bat had come down for a flick, he had been rapped on the pad and adjudged lbw.Nair brought up his 150 with a smooth clip through midwicket for a brace off Gurbani. But Umesh’s pace accounted for him too: when he was trying to arch back to guide a shortish delivery, he edged to the keeper.

ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB is likely to reject NOCs to several all-format players for upcoming franchise tournaments

Danyal Rasool13-Jul-2024The PCB is set for a collision course with some of the biggest names in Pakistan cricket after deciding to refuse an NOC to Naseem Shah for the Hundred.ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB is likely to reject NOCs to several all-format players for upcoming franchise tournaments. While the Global T20 League in Canada has not yet been officially sanctioned by the ICC – without which the PCB cannot issue NOCs to centrally contracted players – it is believed Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam will not be allowed to play there either way, with workload management likely cited as the reason.The immediate implications of the decision mean The Hundred’s Birmingham Phoenix will lose out on Naseem next month, while Afridi, Rizwan and Babar will be unavailable for the Global T20 League Canada. Neither tournament directly clashes with any international cricket Pakistan play, but with a busy upcoming schedule for the national side, it is understood the PCB wishes to see their all-format players rest up ahead of Pakistan’s two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which starts on August 21.Related

• Shaheen, Babar, Rizwan denied NOCs to play in Global T20 Canada

• PCB mulls 'key changes', says domestic cricket 'compulsory' for players

• Wahab and Razzaq sacked from PCB selection committee

Though the GLT20 awaits official ICC sanction, the Pakistan players drafted were fully expected to be allowed to play the league; Afridi is scheduled to travel to Canada shortly, with the tournament officially slated to begin on July 25. Naseem, meanwhile was set to earn £125,000 for his time at The Hundred, which starts on July 23.This doesn’t necessarily mean no NOC requests will be entertained, with the latest NOC repressions likely to only affect those considered all-format regulars. Usama Mir, who had his NOC denied last month for the T20 Blast, will be allowed to play The Hundred, as will Haris Rauf.The NOC rejections are set to go further than just the leagues over the next month. Pakistan have a virtually non-stop cricketing schedule from October to May the following year. They play three Tests against England at home that month, followed by limited-overs series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, a Test series in South Africa, a home Test series against the West Indies, a home tri-series featuring South Africa and New Zealand, a home Champions Trophy, and the PSL. It is understood the PCB will entertain no NOC requests during that period for all-format players, which coincides with a spate of T20 leagues.The three-year central contracts the PCB and the players signed last year allowed for two overseas franchise leagues per year, as long as those tournaments did not clash with the player’s international commitments. While the contracts do state the PCB has the right to refuse NOCs if they feel it is in the best interests of Pakistan’s international obligations, the decision to withdraw the players from leagues which do not directly clash with international cricket is set to cause discontent among players affected, and questions around whether the allowance made in central contracts is being respected in spirit.The past month has seen an uneasy quiet take hold after Pakistan’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign which saw them exit in the first round. Initial reports suggested PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi wanted to enact “major surgery” on the side, but no immediate ramifications followed in the wake of the exit. Of late, however, there have been signs that events are beginning to gather speed, with Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq sacked from the PCB selection committee.

He had advanced colon and liver cancer, and is survived by his wife Nadine and four children

Firdose Moonda03-Sep-2023Heath Streak, the former Zimbabwe captain and arguably their greatest allrounder, has died at the age of 49. He had advanced colon and liver cancer and had been receiving specialist treatment at a Johannesburg hospital, travelling from his home in Bulawayo on a bi-weekly basis since May. He is survived by his wife, Nadine, and four children.”In the early hours of this morning, Sunday the 3rd of September 2023, the greatest love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, was carried to be with the Angels from his home where he wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones,” Nadine wrote on social media.Streak was a major figure in the Zimbabwe team of the 1990s, when they enjoyed their most successful run in international cricket. He represented Zimbabwe in 65 Tests, making him their second-most capped Test player, and 189 ODIs between 1993 and 2005. He was their leading bowler, with 216 Test wickets and 239 ODI wickets – also the only Zimbabwe bowler to take more than 100 Test wickets and over 200 ODI wickets. He was also their seventh-highest Test run-scorer, with 1990 runs, and one of 16 Zimbabwe batters to score more than 2000 ODI runs, finishing with 2943.”This is a very sad day for Zimbabwe and a sad day for cricket as we, on the one hand, mourn the demise of a true great of our beautiful game and, on the other, celebrate the greatness of what Heath gave us: he played with passion, spirit and was nothing less than an inspirational figure who raised our flag high and touched lives within the sport and beyond,” Zimbabwe Cricket chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani said. “On behalf of the ZC board, management, players and staff, I would like to pass our heartfelt condolences to Heath’s loving wife, Nadine, his family, friends and the entire cricket fraternity on the loss of the icon.”The son of Denis, who played cricket for Rhodesia, Streak made his international debut as a 19-year-old in an abandoned match against South Africa in Bengaluru during the 1993 Hero Cup, a five-team tournament played in India. Coincidentally, one of the umpires in Streak’s debut game – Piloo Reporter – also died on September 3 in Mumbai at the age of 84.Streak also got his Test cap that year, against Pakistan in Karachi, and took eight wickets in the next match in Rawalpindi.Related

• Dissecting Zimbabwe's troubles with Heath Streak

• The many silences of Heath Streak

• A brief history of Zimbabwe in Australia: Streak's day at SCG

Pakistan would become something of a favourite opponent. He took more Test wickets – 44 – against them than any other team, including three of his seven five-fors.He made his first Test fifty in his ninth Test, against South Africa, and it would be followed by 10 more. His only Test century came against West Indies, in Harare in 2003.After making his debut, Streak played in all eight Tests that Zimbabwe won over the course of his career. He was a mainstay of the ODI side and played in three World Cups – in 1996, 1999 and 2003 – and took 3 for 36 and 3 for 35 in their wins over India and South Africa in the 1999 tournament in England.Streak became Zimbabwe captain in 2000, but it proved a tumultuous tenure.In 2001, he resigned for the first time, officially citing the impact of leadership on his performance. Behind the scenes, politics was rife in the country, and Streak was in the crosshairs.Heath Streak got his Test cap in 1993, against Pakistan in Karachi, and took eight wickets in the next match, in Rawalpindi•Stu Forster /Allsport

As part of Zimbabwe’s white, privileged minority, his family was targeted in the land-reform projects of the early 2000s, where white farmers’ lands were seized and redistributed. More than 70% of the Streaks’ farm in the Turk Mine area, 60 kilometres north of Bulawayo, was taken but they were left with enough to continue farming cattle and run a small safari park.In sporting terms, the increased political push to transform Zimbabwe’s previously elite sporting codes, such as cricket and rugby, into representative games meant the introduction of quota systems. And all the while, Zimbabwe’s economy suffered. Selection interference and payment issues were behind Streak’s first resignation as captain but he accepted the job again in 2002, and led them at the 2003 World Cup, where Zimbabwe were co-hosts.The difficulties never went away, though, and in 2004, Streak resigned as captain for the second time after a clash with the board, prompting the walkout of 13 other white players from the national side. That was a pivotal moment for Zimbabwe cricket and led to them rebuilding the national side with inexperienced players, which resulted in a sharp decline in results. Streak was the only one of the players who returned to the national side and made an international comeback the following year. He played six Tests and six ODIs (two for Africa XI against Asia XI in August 2005) before retiring from international cricket at the age of 32 in 2005.Streak went on to play for Warwickshire and had a short-lived stint as captain before leaving the club in 2007. He then signed up with Ahmedabad Rockets in the short-lived Indian Cricket League. From there, he returned to Zimbabwe and moved into coaching. He was appointed Zimbabwe’s bowling coach in 2009 and went on to work under Alan Butcher as Zimbabwe made their Test comeback after a six-year self-imposed exile in 2011. They enjoyed fairly regular game time over the next two years but in 2013, Streak’s contract was not renewed. He remained coach at his domestic union, Matabeleland Tuskers, and founded his own academy, the Heath Streak Academy, in Bulawayo in 2014.Heath Streak captained Zimbabwe at the 2003 ODI World Cup•Getty Images

He also found gigs as a bowling coach around the world and had stints with Bangladesh (2014-2016) and Gujarat Lions (in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the IPL) and then returned home to take over as Zimbabwe’s head coach in October 2016, tasked with ensuring the team qualified for the 2019 World Cup. At the 2018 World Cup qualifier held in Zimbabwe, the team lost a crucial match to the UAE and missed out on the World Cup. Streak and his entire coaching staff were sacked. He went on to have short stints with Scotland, Somerset and Kolkata Knight Riders.In 2021, he was banned for eight years after being charged with – and admitting to – five breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code, including accepting payment in bitcoins from a potential corruptor. However, he later said he was not involved in any attempts to fix matches, but admitted to disclosing inside information pertaining to international matches.As such, he was serving his ban at the time of his death. Streak would have been 57 at the time the ban ended and had expressed doubts on whether he would be able to return to having a role in the game. He was understood to be considering appealing the length of his ban before he took ill.His academy continues to run and was renamed the Zimbabwe Youth Academy when Streak had to resign last year. He spent his final months fishing and tending to the family farm.

The new contract structure is an attempt to prevent players leaving early for rival leagues but the drafts will remain

Alex Malcolm02-Apr-2024Cricket Australia has introduced the option of clubs signing one overseas player in the BBL and WBBL on a multi-year deal outside of the drafts, in an attempt to ward off the mass exodus of players to other leagues that has hit the men’s competition, but the player must be available for the entire tournament including finals after next season.The multi-year deals can be signed before the W/BBL drafts but clubs will still need to draft at least two more. However, in an intriguing twist, players who sign a contract before the draft, be it single year or up to three years, cannot be retained by their former club. It raises the prospect of a player like Rashid Khan being poached away from Adelaide Strikers after Melbourne Stars attempted to draft him at the last two overseas drafts only for Strikers to use their retention pick.Related

• Billings picks Sydney Thunder ahead of rival T20 leagues

• Hobart Hurricanes get first pick in WBBL overseas draft

• Sixers secure Amelia Kerr to land seismic WBBL blow on Heat

• Wes Agar traded to Sydney Thunder as Adelaide Strikers improve draft position

• Finch raises prospect of relocating BBL teams, calls for draft to go

Strikers would not have rights to Rashid at the draft if any other club signed him under the new contracting rules. If Rashid or another player who qualifies for a retention pick is not signed before the draft, they can be retained as per the previous rules.The new multi-year contracts can be negotiated at any price meaning in the BBL players can command a figure above the current overseas draft platinum contract of AUD$420,000. However, the club will still need to fit all 18 players in their squad under the AUD$3 million salary cap. In the WBBL the platinum level is AUD$110,000.Overseas players will be allowed to limit their playing availability for the upcoming season due to pre-existing contracts with other leagues but for the following W/BBL seasons starting in 2025-26, any player who signs a deal outside of the draft will have to be available to play the full season plus the finals.”We are excited to introduce this new contracting mechanism for the upcoming WBBL and BBL seasons,” BBL general manager Alistair Dobson said. “We have worked closely with clubs and the ACA to continue developing and enhancing the Big Bash, and a key focus has been ensuring the best players continue to compete in the Big Bash, and for longer periods.”The opportunity for international players to ink multi-year deals with teams not only strengthens the League’s global appeal but also provides clubs with greater stability and strategic planning capabilities.”

January’s T20 crunch

The move has been made to avoid the situation the BBL suffered in recent seasons after an exodus of overseas players to the ILT20 and the SA20 saw clubs severely affected heading into the finals. The overseas players themselves blamed the fact that the September draft meant they had no certainty over their own schedule and many of them had signed guaranteed deals with ILT20 and SA20 clubs well before being drafted to the BBL.Laurie Evans did not want to leave Perth Scorchers last season but was contracted to ILT20•Getty Images

The decision from the BBL to allow multi-year contracts with the caveat of availability does partly mitigate against those exits from 2025 onwards although clubs can only sign one player to that deal. They must still draft two more at the draft later in the year, which does leave the BBL vulnerable to those players leaving the tournament early due to existing deals in other leagues.It is understood there are BBL clubs who would prefer to contract players for all three overseas slots without a draft, as was the case previously, but the competition has invested heavily in the draft and believes the jeopardy of it adds value to the competition.It will be interesting to see how many overseas players are lured via multi-year deals which will lock them into playing in the BBL. The scheduling of the BBL, ILT20, SA20 and the BPL in the same January window has incentivised players to hop from one league to another to maximise their earnings causing chaotic player movement across the four leagues.Whether the new type of contract, which does get taxed heavily in Australia, will be enough to keep players in the BBL for a full season compared to the money on offer in the UAE and South Africa remains to be seen.In the WBBL the new contract structure will replace the direct nomination route which was in place for the 2023-24 season, the first time the competition had used an overseas draft. That system meant only 17 players were signed at the draft itself.

BBL contract window opens

Australia’s Test players should be available for a period after the India series•Getty Images

CA announced their new contracting mechanism on Tuesday as the BBL’s official contracting window opened. Clubs can officially trade and sign players in the coming weeks. The BBL only allows clubs to retain 10 players on their 18-player list each season to try and promote player movement.There is an added element to their contracting this season with Australia’s Test players set to be available for a short window at the back end of the BBL. The competition dates are yet to be announced but it is likely to start just after the Adelaide Test between Australia and India, which finishes on December 10, and run through until roughly January 26.In another new element clubs are also able to sign any player holding a CA contract during the initial retention week, even if they have not previously played for the team.Australia’s Test players will finish their five-Test series against India on January 7 but the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka is due to start around January 31. Players involved in that are likely to only be available for the BBL until around January 20, which means those who make themselves available will only play a handful of matches and won’t be available for the finals.Meanwhile, the WBBL schedule is still to be determined with a reduction to a 10-game season, in line with the BBL, still on the cards. There is only a limited window available for the WBBL this season between the end of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in late October and the start of a three-match women’s ODI series between Australia and India on December 5.

The wicketkeeper-batter has been advised rest for ten days

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2024Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan has been ruled out of the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand after picking up a grade one tear in his right calf muscle. After radiology reports confirmed the injury, Azam was advised rest for ten days.A statement from the PCB said that Azam will now leave the Pakistan squad and report to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, where he will “commence his rehabilitation process under the supervision of the PCB medical panel”. The statement added that the problem was first noticed when Azam was training ahead of the first T20I on Thursday, which was washed out after just two balls.Azam has so far played eight T20Is, the last of which also came against New Zealand this January. But, despite a big reputation as a hitter, Azam has tallied just 29 runs across seven innings with a highest score of 10. In the latest PSL, for example, although Azam got just 226 runs in ten innings for Islamabad United, they came at a high strike rate of 171. United won the tournament.That reputation, plus a good showing at the last edition of the CPL – where he scored 224 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 155.55 for champions Guyana Amazon Warriors – have put him in contention for a spot in Pakistan’s squad for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in June in the Caribbean and the USA. Pakistan have recently brought back Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, two players with CPL pedigree who were out of the picture but have come back into the mix.After the series against New Zealand concludes on April 27, Pakistan are scheduled to play another seven matches in the lead-up to the World Cup, three in Ireland and four in England.

The duo helped Bangladesh defend 198 as India went down by 59 runs in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2024Iqbal Hossain Emon and Azizul Hakim bagged three wickets apiece as Bangladesh defended their U-19 Asia Cup title with a comfortable 59-run win against India in Dubai.Chasing 199, India were bowled out for 139 in 35.2 overs, completing a horror Sunday that also saw the men’s Test and women’s ODI sides suffer big defeats.Electing to field, fast bowler Yudhajit Guha cleaned up Bangladesh opener Kalam Siddiki relatively early for 1. Zawad Abrar struck two fours and a six in his 20 but fell to Chetan Sharma caught behind. Guha then struck again getting rid of captain Azizul Hakim with Bangladesh slipping to 66 for 3 in the 19th over.Mohammad Shihab James and Rizan Hossan then stitched a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket to resurrect the Bangladesh innings, but wickets in quick succession wrested any momentum they had built.James departed first on 40 dismissed by Ayush Mhatre in the 32nd over before Debasish Deba fell eight balls later to KP Karthikeya. Raj then bowled Hossan for 47 while Samiun Basir and Al Fahad fell in the space of an over as Bangladesh slipped from 128 for 3 in the 32nd over to 167 for 8 in the 42nd.Wicketkeeper-batter Farid Hasan and Maruf Mridha added a crucial 30-run stand for the ninth wicket before Bangladesh were all out for 198 in the last over.India, however, failed to get going in their chase from the outset. Mhatre departed in the second over bowled by Fahad while 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi fell in the fifth after hitting two fours. When C Andre Siddharth became Hossan’s first victim, India found themselves struggling at 44 for 3 in the 12th over.Captain Mohamed Amaan and Karthikeya added a brief 29-run stand for the fourth wicket, but soon Emon ushered a collapse and there was no way back for India. The medium pacer first had Karthikeya caught behind for 21 before striking two balls later to send back Nikhil Kumar for a duck. In his next over, he removed Harvansh Pangalia as India were reduced to 81 for 6 in the 23rd over.That became 92 for 7 when Fahad removed Kiran Chormale giving ‘keeper Farid his fourth catch of the innings. Amaan and Raj tried to delay the inevitable but once Hakim removed his opposite number in the 32nd over, the game was as good as done.Hakim picked the last three wickets to spark jubilant scenes in the Bangladesh camp.

The eyes will be on the skies once again with rain forecast at St. George’s Park on Tuesday afternoon

Firdose Moonda11-Dec-20233:29

Suryakumar: ‘There’s no fear of failure in the new-age Indian T20 batters’

Big picture: Is time running out for India, SA?

With the series opener in Durban washed out, both India and South Africa have just five T20Is to nail down their combination for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.The second and third matches in the series will take place on Tuesday and Thursday in Gqeberha and Johannesburg respectively, with rain forecast at St. George’s Park on Tuesday afternoon and cloudy skies over the Wanderers through the week.The first T20I in Durban was sold out since the end of last month, the other white-ball games are expected to be well attended too, and the financial boost of the entire tour is understood to be in the region of R1 billion (approx. US $52.7million); and all that before we even get to the importance of the cricket.These T20Is are the last competitive matches South Africa will play before they have to name their T20 World Cup squad, who will play three matches in the West Indies ahead of the tournament. India have these matches and one more series – against Afghanistan in January – before the T20 World Cup. So the importance of finding combinations is amplified for both teams, although they will also rely on performances in T20 leagues, especially the SA20 and IPL, where their mainstays play.Related

• Rinku and Jitesh in a race to be India's finisher

• SA grapple with the changing world of T20 cricket

• India and SA bank on franchise T20s for WC selection

For fringe players, then, this series presents a massive opportunity. South Africa could have two debutants – both bowlers in left-arm quick Nandre Burger, and right-arm medium-fast Ottniel Baartman – and might give opening batter Matthew Breetzke a run in the remaining two games. India don’t have any uncapped players in their touring group, but four of their squad – Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma – have played 10 T20Is or fewer. We often hear that there’s no substitute for experience, and some of the players mentioned above will get that over the course of the next two weeks.The fixtures roll in thick and fast, with a one-day gap between each of the T20Is, and two before the ODIs start. By then, South Africa will have entered the belly of the holiday season, with mid-December the time for many to put their feet up, grab a cold one and watch some cricket.

Form guide

South Africa: LLLLW (Last five matches, most recent first)
India: WWLWW4:13

Markram: ‘I’m a pretty relaxed captain’

In the spotlight: Reeza Hendricks and Ravi Bishnoi

The biggest beneficiary of Quinton de Kock’s unavailability is Reeza Hendricks, who is expected to be given a long overdue run in both white-ball formats, albeit still without a guarantee of a T20 World Cup place. Hendricks was South Africa’s fourth-highest T20I run-scorer in 2022 but played half the number of games of the second- and third-highest players, and three fewer than their top scorer. This year, Hendricks is South Africa’s leading run-scorer. In his last 11 T20I innings, he has made seven half-centuries, and should be a certain pick for next year’s T20 World Cup. A few more solid performances will confirm his place.Ravi Bishnoi has enjoyed a dream December so far after finishing as the leading wicket-taker in India’s recent T20I series against Australia, and rising to the top of the ICC’s T20I bowling rankings. With his unusual run-up, he might pose a new challenge to a South Africa line-up that still struggles against the trickier legspinners, and who have not faced him in this format. Bishnoi played his only ODI to date against South Africa in October last year, where he took 1 for 69 in eight overs, but is expected to present more of a threat in the shorter format.

Team news: New faces for South Africa

Breetzke has been confirmed as Hendricks’ partner at the top of the order, but not as the designated wicketkeeper. That leaves South Africa to choose between Tristan Stubbs and Heinrich Klaasen. There’s a glut of allrounders available, but only two of Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo are likely to play. There could be a debut for Burger, with two spinners to add experience to a young attack. Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen will now be available only for the second match before they are released to prepare for the Tests and will field a second-string pace attack in the third match.South Africa (probable): 1 Reeza Hendricks, 2 Matthew Breetzke, 3 Aiden Markam, 4 Tristan Stubbs/Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 David Miller, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Marco Jansen/Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiIt remains to be seen whether Deepak Chahar, who had missed the last T20I against Australia because of a medical emergency, is available for this series. At the top, India will have to pick between the returning Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad. And if India can accommodate just one spinner, there will be a toss-up between Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Shubman Gill/Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Deepak Chahar/Mukesh Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Arshdeep SinghNandre Burger could make his debut in the T20I series against India•Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

The eyes will be on the skies once again, with rain forecast at St. George’s Park on Tuesday afternoon. In the only late afternoon start (5pm) at this venue in the SA20 earlier in January, Paarl Royals chased down 131 against Sunrisers Eastern Cape. St. George’s Park has hosted only two T20Is so far, with South Africa losing to West Indies in 2007 and winning against Australia more recently in 2020.

Stats and trivia

• India have won two of their last four T20I series against South Africa, with the other two being drawn. The last time South Africa beat India in a T20I series was in October 2015, when they had won 2-0 in India.
• Arshdeep Singh is India’s leading T20I bowler this year, with 25 wickets at 23.68. From Full-Member countries, he is the second-highest wicket-taker in 2023.
• In 99 T20I innings, Miller has hit 106 sixes. No other South African has hit more sixes than him.

Coach Justin Langer explains why Peter Siddle was picked ahead of Mitchell Starc at Edgbaston

Daniel Brettig in Worcester07-Aug-2019Australia’s Ashes blueprint to starve England’s boundary-hungry batsmen from scoring paid off handsomely at Edgbaston and may see Peter Siddle playing as expansive a role in the series as any of the touring pacemen.In a plan that the national team coach Justin Langer has hinted was partly inspired by the way a 2004 touring team to India won Australia’s only series victory in the country for the past 50 years, England’s scoring – and boundary count – were drastically clamped down upon, after Siddle was chosen when the selectors resisted the urge to choose the faster Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood on a Birmingham pitch that was drier than anticipated.While Siddle did not have the sort of seam movement at his disposal that has characterised many of his spells for Essex over the past couple of seasons, his nagging lines and lengths, pressuring England into the sort of shots played by Jonny Bairstow in the first innings and Jason Roy in the second, helped the Australians suffocate an England team that is used to getting regular release from pressure by finding the short boundaries of their home grounds.Over the course of the Test, England were restricted to 0.33 boundaries per over and 2.75 runs per over, a long way behind Australia’s 0.47 boundaries per over and 3.99 runs per over. Across 39 overs for the match that cost 80 runs, Siddle’s economy rate of 2.09, conceding just eight boundaries at 0.21 per over, made him the only bowler in the match to go under 2.5 runs per over. It was a performance that not only reaped wickets at the other end, but also prevented England from surging to high-scoring bursts that would also bring Edgbaston’s crowd to life.”We knew 10 of the [starting] XI two days before; we made a decision between Starcy and Peter Siddle quite late actually, on the morning of the game,” Langer said. “We were going to have a last look at the wicket on the morning and when we got here it was a pretty strong gut feeling.”For some reason, the way Sidds played in the practice game and the way he’s been bowling and the style of cricket we need to beat England – it was a line-ball decision and it is easy to say in hindsight, but I thought Peter Siddle was almost the bowler of the game. He was brilliant. That was the best none-for I’ve ever seen.”We’ve got a pretty clear view on how we think we can beat England in this series. I go back to 2004, India, when we finally beat India in India. We had a very, very clear [plan]. Adam Gilchrist drove that. Remember, he was the captain at the time; Punter [Ricky Ponting] was injured, so he drove that. We’ve got a really clear plan for how we can beat England. We’ll stick to that.”Gilchrist has spoken about how the 2004 plans in India called for the denial of boundaries to India’s batsmen, playing on patience and fitness by forcing them to run frequently between the wickets. “The main thing with the quicks was that we went really negative,” Gilchrist had said in 2017. “We started with one slip, a deep point, a deep square leg and just played on the Indians’ egos. That was probably the key tactical change we made in that series, and it worked nicely. It was a patience game, but it came through. That allowed us to get into the game without being blown away, and the deeper you take it the more chance you have.”Siddle echoed these words in assessing how he, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon had complemented each other in Birmingham. “That’s the good place that the team is in at the moment,” Siddle told Macquarie Sports Radio.”The bowling group is happy to get the job done and build the pressure. You’re not always going to be the one to take the wickets and gets the rewards. But that’s the strength of this bowling group, that’s how to have success in England. The second innings was a perfect example, Nathan and Patty [Cummins] got the rewards but Patto [Pattinson] and myself were able to build pressure when we had the chance. To bowl them out so cheaply, it was a great start to the series.”Travis Head, a deputy to the captain Tim Paine alongside Cummins, said that the team was committed to ensuring that they would not chase wickets too aggressively at the risk of conceding rushes of boundaries. “The only time I remember them doing it was a couple of overs on day two where we chased it a little bit. I think we bowled two overs for 10,” he said. “We spoke about that, and said we don’t mind going for wickets but we have to consolidate and keep the scoreboard quiet.”We know that if we can do that there will be enough balls in the right area and enough balls to create an opportunity and then we can keep them at a low total. I think that will be the same throughout the series. You can see how quickly we scored [on day four], that great day we had.”On the flip side of that is minimising how much they can score, as defensive as it looks, making sure we have our catches, getting our wickets, we can protect at the same time and build pressure that way. A couple of ones to the boundary is better than a four. I thought we had a really good mix of trying to get boundaries [with the bat] and containing the scoreboard [with the ball].”

Responding to its allegations that he, along with other disqualified administrators, had “hijacked” the BCCI’s June 26 SGM, N Srinivasan has accused the CoA of projecting a picture of him that would “prejudice” him in the eyes of the Supreme Court

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Jul-2017In a stinging offensive against the committee of administrators (CoA), former BCCI president N Srinivasan has accused the panel of attempting to present “incomplete facts and circumstances” and projecting a picture of him that would “prejudice” him in the eyes of the Supreme Court.Srinivasan was responding to the CoA allegation (made in its status report) that he along with other disqualified administrators had “hijacked” the June 26 Special General Meeting (SGM) of the BCCI where the members – state associations – were supposed to adopt a new constitution as per the Lodha Committee recommendations.The CoA had said that Srinivasan and other disqualified administrators such as Niranjan Shah, who was attending the June SGM as a representative of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), had prevailed upon the other BCCI members, who were otherwise “willing” to support the reform process.According to Srinivasan the CoA had contradicted itself because its status report states that no “consensus” could be arrived at in its two meetings with the state associations, first on May 5 and then on June 25. “In this background the aforementioned allegation made against the answering respondent [Srinivasan] of hijacking the proceedings and prevailing upon the other attendees, who were otherwise willing to facilitate the reform process, is not only false but is a mala fide attempt to mislead this Hon’ble Court and prejudice this Hon’ble Court against the answering respondent,” Srinivasan noted in his affidavit which the court heard on Monday.Srinivasan pointed out that as many as 19 state associations had filed petitions challenging the July 18 court order from last year which he said had “partially” approved the recommendations. Srinivasan challenged the CoA’s assertion that it had arrived at a “mutual consensus” with a “majority” of the state associations on implementing the recommendations when many had challenged the same in the court. “The entire basis of the allegations made by the CoA is unsubstantiated, hypothetical and contrary to the facts on record.”Srinivasan accepted that he stood disqualified as an office bearer, but argued that he was not ineligible to attend the BCCI meetings as a representative of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). Srinivasan’s justification for making such a statement, he said, was that neither the Lodha Committee nor the July 18 court order from last year had barred disqualified office bearers from attending BCCI meetings or from being part of any committee of the BCCI.”The true intent and purport of the orders of this Hon’ble Court was to change the degree of control which the off(i)ce bearers of the BCCI and the State Associations wielded, as pointed out by the Justice Lodha committee, and to prescribe certain disqualifications to stand for such elected office. There was no reference in the [Lodha] Committee report nor in any of the orders of this Hon’ble Court in regard to the membership or participation of individuals in cricketing affairs, in representative capacities. Equally, there was no discussion in any part of the committee report nor any of the orders of this Hon’ble Court on the right of an individual to join and participate in the affairs of a local club or a District Association.”Indeed, it was never the intention of this Hon’ble Court to define the parameters of eligibility for a citizen to pursue his interest in sport of cricket by being a member of any sports body or managing committee of any sports body. It is evident that the CoA seeks to expand the orders of this Hon’ble Court which is not permissible in law.”According to Shah, who was also pulled up by the CoA, he has not committed any violation by attending the BCCI meeting as an SCA representative. In his affidavit, Shah told the court that he was not playing the role of an “obstructionist” by attending BCCI meetings. He disagreed completely with being cast as a “disruptive and subversive” element as alleged by the CoA in its status report. “This approach of the CoA is contrary to democracy and meritocracy,” Shah said in his affidavit.