Leading the two-Test series 1-0, Sri Lanka may once again go in with the three-pronged spin-attack that fetched them 17 wickets in the first game

The Preview by Firdose Moonda19-Jul-2018

Big Picture

Soon, Sri Lankans might be making jokes about how the captain, the coach and the manager should be banned more often. Dinesh Chandimal, Chandika Hathurusingha and Asanka Gurusinha will miss four of the five ODIs against South Africa, after the ICC meted out its most severe punishment earlier this week since the demerit points system was introduced, but that is not a concern for the next five days.The trio is also out of this second Test but, even sans their engine room, Sri Lanka had trounced South Africa so soundly in Galle that they can confidently say they don’t need the big three back just yet. Rather, it’s the other three Sri Lanka will rely on: the three spinners.Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan made South Africa look like amateurs on a surface that was challenging but nowhere near a minefield, and they will look to do it again in Colombo. It’s difficult to imagine South Africa’s batting line-up doing worse, but stranger things have happened.For a start, South Africa have to decide on their approach against spin. Are they going to attack, with the mentality that they have to get runs before the ball gets them – something Ottis Gibson said was a tactic on seamer-friendly pitches – or are they going to show patience, bat time and trust that runs will follow? The latter sounds more sensible, the former more desperate, and desperate is what South Africa are.In 2014, South Africa reached the SSC 1-0 up in the series and were dogged in their determination not to lose the advantage. What followed was a blockathon that made the rain breaks more entertaining than play. Four years on, Sri Lanka are 1-0 up at the SSC and will want to turn the screws. South Africa will be happy to draw the series, but whether they are capable of that is the real question.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WWDLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa: LWWWL

In the spotlight

While Dimuth Karunaratne scored more than the entire South Africa team in the first Test, he also made more runs than any of his team-mates, which puts the onus on Angelo Mathews, among others, to step up. In absence of Dinesh Chandimal, Mathews is the senior-most batsman in the line-up and will want to show that. He was their second-highest run-scorer, behind Chandimal, when they visited India last year, before missing two of the three Test in the West Indies for personal reasons. He has not got past the 30s in his last five innings, numbers that simply won’t do for the man who should be leading with the bat.On his first tour of the subcontinent, Aiden Markram already showed improvement from one innings to the next in the first Test and will want to leave his mark on the series in Colombo. Markram faced 46 balls in the second innings, six times more than what he faced in the first, and, though he was stumped trying to charge the spinner, he showed a little more patience and a little more finesse the second time. Batting coach Dale Benkenstein expects Markram’s ability to adjust quickly to bring more rewards in the second Test.

Team news

The major decision South Africa have to make is whether or not to leave out Vernon Philander – who, despite his efforts with the bat, bowled only 11 of the 112.1 overs they delivered in the Galle Test – and finding a suitable replacement. If it’s an extra batsman they’re looking for, Theunis de Bruyn will slot in. If it’s a bowler, Lungi Ngidi could come into contention.South Africa: (possible) 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Vernon Philander/Theunis de Bruyn, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiHaving had success with a three-pronged spin-attack against Australia at the SSC in 2016, Sri Lanka will probably go with a similar strategy.Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Roshen Silva, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Suranga Lakmal (capt), 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lakshan Sandakan

Pitch and conditions

The SSC surface is expected to take substantial turn in the latter half of the Test, but it does also tend to be conducive to seam bowling on the first morning and generally has more runs in it than the Galle pitch.Some rain is forecast for every day of the match. However, the second day is the most likely to be affected, with an 80% chance of showers.

Stats and trivia

• Hashim Amla needs three more runs to become the third South African, after Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, to 9000 Test runs.
• Angelo Mathews is eight runs away from 5000 runs. He will become the ninth Sri Lanka batsman to reach the milestone.
• In Galle, South Africa lost 17 of their 20 wickets to spin. In Colombo in 2014, they lost the same number of wickets to Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera, but managed to draw the Test and win the series.
• Irrespective of the outcome of the series, both South Africa and Sri Lanka will remain in their current positions – No. 2 and No. 6 respectively – on the ICC rankings table. If Sri Lanka win 2-0, they will gain six points, and South Africa will lose six. If the series is drawn 1-1, Sri Lanka only gain two points and South Africa lose two.

Quotes

“It is very important that we win a series, and that we win at home. They are the No. 2-ranked team. We need a victory to gain confidence, so it’s a very important game.”
“I will give him a kiss on the cheek.”

Australia’s coach has said he will have a ‘close look’ at various aspects of the side including leadership, and that Finch had ‘put his best foot forward’ with his performances in the T20 tri-series

Liam Brickhill in Harare08-Jul-2018Two formats, eleven games, three wins. Thus ends the first chapter in Australia’s new era after their defeat to Pakistan in the final of the T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe. But while they have lost more than they have won over the last month, they have gained in experience according to new coach Justin Langer, who also hinted that Aaron Finch could assume the role of captain across both limited-overs formats.”After this tour we’ll have a really, really close look at everything we’re doing at the moment including our leadership, which is such an incredibly high priority in Australian cricket,” Langer said. “Finchy has definitely put his best foot forward in this series. So we’ll look at that. We’ll look at all our staff. We’ll look at everything to make sure we keep flying forward, as is the expectation of the Australian cricket team.”After England’s 5-0 ODI hammering in England last month, Langer had conceded that Australia would need to work out whether Tim Paine was the right man to captain them in that format. Finch’s performances in this tri-series will certainly bolster his credentials for the role; he was the leading run-scorer, with 306 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 201.31, including a world-record 172 against Zimbabwe. He is second only to Fakhar Zaman in terms of overall T20I runs in 2018.”He’s been brilliant,” Langer said. “Finchy and I spoke privately yesterday and I told him he’s done a great job at the top of the order. To have someone that dynamic is a great example to all our players. As we saw from Pakistan today, you’ve got to play fearless cricket. D’Arcy [Short] started taking steps towards that today, like we’ve seen from him in Big Bash cricket. That’s how he needs to play his cricket.”Australia also have the leading wicket-taker in T20Is this year in Andrew Tye, but, as Finch pointed out, taking wickets will only get you so far in T20 cricket if you’re not also stopping the flow of runs.”When we’re having a big over, they’re very big,” Finch said. “Ten overs over 10 today, one over 20. Not a great way to structure a bowling performance. You’re always going to be under pressure regardless of how many wickets you take if they’re some of your stats. It’s just about guys getting back to the basics and making sure that they’re executing when there’s no pressure on so that when the time comes in a final like this, they’re confident in their skills and able to deliver.”Australia appeared to have the second half of the match well under their control when Glenn Maxwell struck twice in the first over, but Fakhar and Sarfraz Ahmed, and then Fakhar and Shoaib Malik led Pakistan’s riposte with the bat to wrest back control and hurt Australia’s bowlers “badly”.”You can’t take anything for granted against the number one team in the world,” said Finch. “Or any international team. They’ll hurt you if you’re complacent. I don’t think we were complacent, I think with the ball we just mis-executed and got hurt badly. Guys had really good plans, but just missed slightly, and that’s all it needs to be in T20 cricket against good players.”While Australia won’t be leaving Zimbabwe with the tri-series trophy, they have at least gained considerably in experience – the lack of which has created an imbalance in Australia’s squad, according to Langer.”I think we’ve shown, throughout this series and in England, just our lack of experience,” said Langer. “The only way you get experience is by number one, playing, but also having some really tough experiences. We’ve certainly seen that in England, and also the last two times we’ve played Pakistan. They’re the number one team in the world.”Whilst it looks horrible on the surface to lose, I think looking at the bigger picture, I was very impressed with the way Jhye Richardson and Billy Stanlake stood up today. They’re both really young cricketers, but besides Jhye’s last over, he fielded brilliantly and bowled really well. Billy’s been good throughout the series. So there’s some great experience for those guys. We’ve shown our inexperience over the last six weeks, but we’ll be much better for it.”To have a couple of experienced guys who are playing well, like Glenn Maxwell, Finchy and AJ Tye is awesome,” added Langer. “In a great team you’ve usually got eight of those sort of players with a couple of younger players. We’ve probably got three experienced players with eight very inexperienced players. So the balance isn’t quite right at the moment, but hopefully moving forward we’ll get that balance back as we usually have in an Australian cricket team.”

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2018
ScorecardJohann Myburgh started his long farewell from professional cricket by thumping an unbeaten 54 to keep Somerset top of the South Group of the Vitality Blast.Opening batsman Myburgh, who began his county career at Hampshire, announced he would retire from the sport at the end of the season earlier this week.And the decision to quit might have been made prematurely as he clinically smashed the ball around the Ageas Bowl to chase down 129 with six wickets in hand.Hampshire had toiled to an unconvincing total but where the hosts had struggled, Myburgh appeared to find the going much easier as he stroked boundaries at will.Myburgh added 32 for the first wicket with Steven Davies, who was brilliantly caught in the covers by a diving Liam Dawson. He was unfazed by the loss of partner as he got his head down and kept the run rate ticking at just above the six and over needed.Peter Trego was deceived by a Mujeeb Ur Rahman variation, as he played on, and James Hildreth hit straight up in the air to be caught keeper Tom Alsop, but Myburgh remained comfortable.Myburgh moved to his 11th format fifty and although Liam Dawson had Corey Anderson lbw, eased Somerset to a six wicket victory with seven balls to spare.Earlier, Lewis Gregory won the toss and elected to bowl on the same wicket that Southern Vipers had posted 159 earlier in the day – a quickish wicket, which slowed throughout the two games, albeit with steady bounce.Hampshire never got to grips with the pitch though, despite James Vince firmly cutting Max Waller through point first ball and Rilee Rossouw dispatching a six over cow corner.That was as good as it got for the hosts as the wickets fell with regularity, with the runs failing to arrive.Rossouw started the slump when he dragged a full ball to mid-wicket, before Jerome Taylor found Vince’s leading edge, with Tom Abell completing the snaffle at backward-point.Hampshire were left 45 for 2 at the end of the powerplay and quickly lost Tom Alsop skying to mid-wicket and Liam Dawson offering up a simple catch at point.Sam Northeast attempted to anchor an end – scoring 30 off 36 balls – but nobody else could build around him.The former Kent batsman eventually fell off a top edge, which James Hildreth easily caught at short fine leg, before Joe Weatherly was bowled.Hampshire didn’t manage to strike a boundary between the eighth and fifteenth over which summed up their misery.

Former coach and mentor pays tribute to fellow England legend as he prepares to play his last Test

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-20182:07

Miller: Alastair Cook a titan of English cricket

Graham Gooch, the former England and Essex captain who was without question the single greatest influence on Alastair Cook’s legendary career, has paid tribute to his protégé’s “attitude, sacrifices and example” in the wake of the announcement that Cook will retire at the end of next week’s Oval Test against India.Gooch was Cook’s coach and mentor, with Essex and latterly England, until their split at the end of the 2013-14 Ashes, and his longstanding England record of 8900 Test runs was one of a raft of landmarks that Cook surpassed in the course of what will have been a 161-run Test career.”Alastair has been the rock of England’s batting for the last 12 years since he made his debut and while we are all sad to see him retire, we must rejoice in what he has done for our country,” said Gooch in a statement issued through the PCA, the player’s body for which he is currently serving as president.”He is a genuine legend of English cricket.”Cook himself had paid an emotional tribute to Gooch in his own retirement statement, recalling how as a young Essex fan in the 1980s he had queued up for his autograph at Chelmsford.”Graham was my sounding board, especially in the early years of my career,” said Cook, “spending hour after hour throwing balls at me with his dog stick. He made me realise you always need to keep improving whatever you are trying to achieve.”With that in mind, Gooch’s words earlier this week may have been significant, when he suggested in a interview with BBC Radio 4 that Cook’s career was “flat-lining”, and that he needed to find new ways to improve his game.However, with Cook admitting that he had “nothing left in the tank” at the end of a 12-year international career, which has included a world-record 158 consecutive Test appearances, Gooch turned his attention to the huge raft of attributes that he brought to his game.”He is a legend not only because of his performances, but, because of his attitude, his sacrifices, the way he has carried himself and the example he has set,” Gooch said. “Alastair is a perfect role model and is the image of the game we want to project.”He is a great ambassador for his sport, he is a great person as well as a great cricketer. His record is unsurpassed in terms of runs and the commitment he has showed for every team he has played for and has been a beacon for our sport as a person and as a cricketer.”He has been his own man all the way through. He has his own views and he knows what he wants to achieve and what he wants to get and he has pursued that all the way through his career. It was evident from the very first time I met him when he came to Essex that he was a smart lad and he knew how he could play, he knew how he could manage his game, even at a young age.”Alastair Cook and Graham Gooch in the nets•Getty Images

That understanding of his own strengths and limitations was evident in Cook’s very first England appearance, when he flew halfway round the world from the Caribbean to Nagpur as a last-minute replacement for Marcus Trescothick, and responded with a century on debut.”Throughout his career he has developed his game to improve and the results are there for all to see,” Gooch said. “To achieve what he has in playing 160 Test matches, scoring over 12,000 runs and 32 centuries is an incredibly special achievement from a special person.”It all stems from being strong of mind, being committed to hard work on his game and focusing on what’s in front of him. He has accepted every challenge and has achieved everything he wanted to achieve so we have to be sad that he will no longer be representing our country but we must rejoice in the fact he has been a rock for us for 12 years.””To be a successful sportsman it is not just about the skills or talent, it is about hard work, commitment and desire. All of those parts complete the make-up of you as a person and helps you be successful and he has been determined, he has been stubborn sometimes but he is always somebody you can depend on and always the first name on the team sheet.”At the age of 33, Cook’s England career may be over, but it seems that his hunger for runs has not been entirely diminished, and he will continue playing county cricket next season.”For Essex it is a dream come true,” said Gooch. “I understand he wants to play for Essex next year and knowing Alastair like I do, he will give the same commitment as he did for England.”He has decided he has run his race at international level and I can understand that as he has done it for 12 years.”We are all sad he will no longer be wearing the three lions but he is going to move on so we must look back and rejoice in what he has done for our country.”

The state associations want the CEO suspended pending inquiry, and want the panel investigating allegations against him to include their nominee

Sidharth Monga25-Oct-2018Seven state associations of the BCCI have written to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the office bearers asking them to immediately suspend the board’s chief executive Rahul Johri pending inquiry into anonymous allegations of sexual harassment against him that emerged a fortnight ago. They want the allegations to be probed by an independent panel of three individuals, one each of whom should be nominated by the state associations, the office-bearers, and the CoA.Hours after these letters were sent, the CoA announced that an independent panel will look into the allegations against Johri. There is no input from the states in the constitution of the panel. The states, the general body of the BCCI, don’t have any powers to act until the new constitution as mandated by the Supreme Court is adopted and general elections are held. The CoA runs the BCCI until such time.The state associations are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. Two of them – Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – have also informed the CoA that Johri will not be allowed inside their premises. The TNCA, for example, has banned Johri from the MA Chidambaram Stadium pending inquiry.Each of the letters – accessed by ESPNcricinfo – has expressed concern at the lack of transparency and due process in the handling of the matter and the absence of communication with the BCCI’s stakeholders. They have raised a concern that the BCCI lawyers – with whom only Johri is empowered to deal – are not in a position to provide the CoA independent legal advice on how to handle allegations against Johri.”Have the steps taken/procedure followed by the CoA or the office bearers in this matter been taken on the basis of legal advice?” the Haryana Cricket Association has asked. “Who has given the advice? Does Mr. Rahul Johri interact with these lawyers who have advised the CoA on this matter? On account of the various directions issued by the CoA, do these lawyers not essentially depend upon Mr. Rahul Johri’s decisions to some extent? We would like to see a copy of the advice from the lawyers and their details and the number of cases and dates of hearing on behalf of the BCCI that Mr. Johri has interacted with them on.”What assurance can be given to the members that the legal advice being given by the lawyers in this matter is in the best interest of the organisation rather than in the best interest of Mr. Johri? How many times has Mr. Johri interacted with these lawyers by phone or by email since the allegations saw the light of day?”The anonymous allegation against Johri first appeared in a tweet on October 12, after which he was given a week to explain himself. There had also been an anonymous email to the BCCI in January 2017, alleging “sex harassment” by Johri at his previous employment.The letters from the state units contend that the CoA’s response was not consistent with how the CoA has dealt with other matters. Mohammed Shami’s contract was withheld pending enquiry when his wife accused him of domestic violence. In October 2017, the board “dismissed” the Pune curator Pandurang Salgaoncar on an allegation of pitch fixing based on a sting operation, which is not permissible evidence in court, without any investigation. In July 2018, an Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association official was suspended immediately after a sting operation involving bribery for selection. He has subsequently been cleared by a panel.The state associations have also brought up another internal complaint of alleged harassment – following which the complainant, a BCCI staffer, was transferred within the organisation – that has been reported in the media but neither acknowledged nor explained by the BCCI. These allegations first appeared in letters written by the petitioner who originally took the BCCI to the Supreme Court, Aditya Verma. The letters say the allegations haven’t been discussed with state units either.The Saurashtra Cricket Association referred specifically to this case. It asked:”a. Is there any truth to the allegations that an employee had complained of harassment?
b. Was an employee made to write a letter of apology?
c. Was the employee who complained of harassment made to write a letter stating that all was ok?
d. If there is any truth in the set of facts, what was the procedure that was adopted by the office bearers/ CoA/ Management in this matter?”It is worth noting that the BCCI’s Internal Complaints Committee was set up two months after this alleged incident, in April this year. In the absence of such a committee, such matters are referred to the Local Complaints Committee under the district administration.

Half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Sam Curran swept England towards a competitive total before Jack Leach struck late in the day

The Report by George Dobell in Pallekele14-Nov-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIf there was any doubt how much assistance the surface in Pallekele would provide for spinners in this match – and there really wasn’t very much – it was banished within a few minutes of the start of the second Test.The first and final balls of the second over of the innings, bowled by offspinner Dilruwan Perera, fizzed past the outside edge of Rory Burns’ bat. By the close, 10 of the 11 wickets to fall had been taken by spinners with few more dramatic than the last – Kaushal Silva being bowled by a beauty from Jack Leach that drew him forward, gripped and turned past the outside edge to clip the top of off stump. Not many are expecting to be here on Sunday.Certainly Joe Root would have been delighted to win his seventh toss in succession in Test cricket. England’s theory – and they are probably right – is that batting (or at least run-scoring) on this unusually dry surface will become more difficult throughout the game. While it is possible that the pitch will, instead of the pitch crumbling – there is little if any precedent for that here – simply lose pace, scoring runs is unlikely to become any easier.That England were able to set something around a competitive total in such circumstances was largely due to half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Sam Curran. Both men owed their success to the use of calculated aggression, confidence in their own ability and abundant natural talent.There was a time when batsmen would have reacted to the turning ball and pressure that Sri Lanka built with careful defence and hours of concentration. Not any more. Buttler’s first response was to attempt to sweep (either reverse, conventional or lap) almost every delivery he received – at one stage he swept five balls in an over and 51 of his 63 runs came from different variations of the stroke – while Curran thumped six sixes, all of them before he had hit a four, in a remarkable late-innings blitz. The modern game has lost some qualities it used to have – some rigour, some grit, some attrition – but it might never have offered more entertainment.Both Buttler and Curran started their innings in fairly conventional fashion. But Buttler soon abandoned that after just recovering his ground to avoid being stumped before he had scored and instead reasoned that his best method of combating the turn was to sweep. Sometimes he swept through extra-over, sometimes he swept just past the keeper’s left hand and, at one stage, Akila Dananjaya was swept for three fours in succession.While the shot eventually brought his downfall – he top-edged a reverse to backward point – his innings had helped revive England just as they appeared to be falling away. Burns, who batted nicely in making 43, was the only other man in the top seven to reach 20.Curran’s contribution was every bit as impressive. England were 225 for 9 when James Anderson joined Curran but, so well did he strike the ball and farm the strike that the final pair added 60 in 11 overs in a stand – the highest of the innings – that seemed to dishearten an increasingly ramshackle Sri Lanka.Curran thrashed six sixes – he has now brought up all three of his Test fifties with a six, and has hit more sixes than anyone else in Test cricket this year – while Anderson contributed just seven runs in the partnership. Five of those sixes were off the unfortunate Dananjaya- twice he was driven over long-off, once over long-on, once he was pulled and once, impossibly, he was swatted over extra cover when the bowler delivered a wide one in an attempt to thwart him – while Perera was also lofted over mid-off to help England progress from an adequate total to, perhaps, a dangerous one. Anderson was also reprieved on review after he had been given out lbw first ball.Sri Lanka will rue a couple of missed opportunities, though. Curran was reprieved on both 1 – when Niroshan Dickwella whipped off the bails just before Curran overbalanced and fell out of his ground – and again on 7 when he edged the deserving Dananjaya through the left hand of a diving slip fielder.He was dropped on 53, too. On that occasion Malinda Pushpakumara, who came into the side in place of the retiring Rangana Herath, was back on his heels on the long-on fence and subsequently put down a relatively straightforward chance driven straight into his midriff. It summed up the latter stages of an increasingly untidy performance in the field by a somewhat demoralised Sri Lanka side.For all the talk of spin, it remains seam – or at least pace – that appears Keaton Jennings’ weakness. Here he fell jabbing at one he could have left from Suranga Lakmal; the only man to fall to seam bowling all day.Burns was the most comfortable of England’s batsmen. Three times he swept Dilruwan to the boundary; on another occasion he cut him there. He also picked up an early boundary off his legs from the seam of Lakmal. It was some surprise when he was drawn forward and edged to slip by a fine delivery in Dananjaya’s first over.While Burns might be forgiven for wondering how he could play such a delivery, Root might be forgiving for wondering how he missed the one that bowled him. Lunging forward to the left-arm spin of Pushpakumara, Root left a gate so large you could reverse park a caravan in it and simply missed a straight one. It was the third time in the series he has been dismissed by left-arm spinners. Shades of Kevin Pietersen, perhaps?Ben Stokes started his first innings at No. 3 in typically positive style. He was down the pitch to his first delivery, bowled by Lakmal, and flicked his third through square leg for four. But while there was another flowing drive to the boundary off the seamer, life against spin proved harder. He survived a reviewed appeal for lbw on 10, on the basis of umpire’s call, but fell in almost identical fashion shortly afterwards, back when he should have been forward and struck on the back pad by one that turned and beat his outside edge.For the second match in succession, Adil Rashid contributed valuable runs, too. England were 171-7 when he came to the crease but, so well did he strike the ball that England added 45 – the second-highest partnership of the innings – for the eighth-wicket.England may yet regret a couple of somewhat soft dismissals, though. Moeen Ali simply missed a short ball he had tried to turn into the leg side, while had Ben Foakes called for a review, he would surely have won a reprieve after being adjudged to have edged to slip. Replays suggested the ball brushed both his front and back leg but at no stage touched his bat. In a low-scoring game, such moments could yet prove crucial.

He’s been compared to Shane Warne and has been talked up as the next big spin hope, but the 18-year old isn’t losing focus

Andrew McGlashan07-Nov-2018He’s been compared to Shane Warne and proclaimed a saviour of Australian cricket, all before his 19th birthday. But rather than being overawed by it all, legspinner Lloyd Pope is embracing his life-changing experiences as he turns heads with his leg-breaks and wrong ‘uns.Pope burst onto the global scene with his remarkable figures of 8 for 35 against England in the Under-19 World Cup quarter-final, pulling Australia back from the brink of elimination in a manner Warne would have been proud of. Then in just his second first-class match he claimed 7 for 87 against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, becoming the youngest player to take a seven-wicket haul in the competition. On Wednesday, his first Big Bash contract was confirmed when he signed with Sydney Sixers.In the current climate of Australian cricket, where each day appears to bring another sacking, resignation or associated drama, Pope’s rapid rise has been enough for some to suggest that international cricket should come sooner rather than later. While he isn’t getting carried away, the spotlight certainly doesn’t sit uneasily for him.”It’s a different challenge, but I guess I like the media attention. Just trying to ride the wave at the moment. The attention is one thing I feel more off the field. When I’m out there I just sort of let cricket take over,” he said. “My dad’s told me that each time I take wickets ‘you’ve change your life today’ so it’s a really good feeling.”Pope’s father, Myles, has been a major influence on his early development, offering encouragement and advice while even as a young teenager coaches spotted that he may have some special – “a natural turner of the ball,” he was termed.”Think I was around 8-10 years old [when I started] and I’ve always just tried to jump in the nets and bowl as much as I can,” he said. “My dad’s been a big influence, just telling me to go out and bowl. A couple of coaches said I had natural talent, a natural turner of the ball one of them said and if I could continue with that I’d have a bright future.”Pope has had one session with Warne when he was younger – “amazing feeling to shake his hand, to know he knows who I am” – but stressed how he was keen to forge his own path, while absorbing all the advice he could. His sharply spun googly has been the delivery to really catch the eye and the aspect of his first dip into the BBL that he is excited about is the chance to have the license to go through a full range of variations.”I’ve had a bit of a red-ball focus recently with Shield cricket but it’s going really well, it will be nice to get the white ball back in my hands and try some more variations. There are different challenges, in red-ball cricket it’s a lot about consistency and in white-ball cricket it’s about a lot more variations and being able to out-think batters a lot more quickly.”And while talk of international honours will follow Pope around, especially if the wickets continue to come, he is keeping his feet on the ground. “I’ve only played three matches so I’m more worried about keeping my place in the Redbacks team, if I can do that I’ll be a very happy man.”

Uttarakhand make it five in five, Karnataka lodge protest against Saurashtra. More in our Ranji round-up

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2018Aaron gives Odisha heartbreak
Odisha had to endure a massive heartbreak in Ranchi, going down by two runs to Jharkhand for their second loss of the season. This was their narrowest loss in terms of runs in the competition. Subhranshu Senapati, the 21 year old, who is fast becoming their new batting lynchpin was the last man standing, unbeaten on 157 when Varun Aaron castled No. 11 Dhiraj Singh.Odisha were down and out at 193 for 9 in their chase of 260. The last-wicket pair added 64 to take them within touching distance. This loss dents Odisha’s chances of a knockouts berth, as they’re now placed sixth in Group C with 13 points in five matches. The top two sides in the group – Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh – are on 28 and 24 points respectively.That Jharkhand gave themselves a shot at victory was thanks largely to a solid second-innings unbeaten 132 by former captain Saurabh Tiwary. The win puts Jharkhand within touching distance of the top two, with four matches still remaining.Uttarakhand all but through to knockouts
Uttarakhand are well on their way to the quarter-finals in their debut season. Their fifth win on the trot took them 14 points clear of second-placed Meghalaya in the Plate Group. Mumbai have the biggest winning streak of eight matches in the tournament’s history, a feat they achieved between 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons. Fast bowler Deepak Dhapola, who finished with a match haul of 11 for 111, is now the leading wicket-taker of the season. His 37 wickets in four matches have come at a mind-boggling average of 9.89 and a strike rate of 23.6.
Karnataka protest“I’m happy we made 91 in the second innings.”The irony wasn’t lost on anyone as Vinay Kumar gave his appraisal of the Rajkot surface where Karnataka were trounced by Saurashtra for their first loss this season. For the record, both sides were shot out for under 100 in the second innings, with the match finishing close to tea on the third day.A day after the match, the KSCA confirmed they had lodged an official complaint with the BCCI over the nature of the Rajkot surface, where the spinners picked up 38 of the 40 wickets. Both ends were abrasive, with plenty of cracks and indentations that had the ball shooting up, leaving both sides preferring to sometimes bring on their part-time spinners. Vinay and Abhimanyu Mithun, Karnataka’s pace duo, had minimal roles with the ball, while Saurashtra fielded an all-spin attack.This, Sudhakar Rao, the KSCA secretary, argued was the biggest hint that they’d laid out an underprepared surface.”The pitch was under-prepared. We had filed one complaint on the first day itself,” he said. Saurashtra didn’t have a medium pacer in their playing XI and they opened the bowling with spinners. It appears that the nature of the pitch was pre-planned. We don’t think a neutral curator was consulted. As a punishment, we want the touring team to be awarded full points.”Click here for all the Ranji Trophy scorecards from this round

Tamil Nadu win, finallyIt’s increasingly becoming a trend they do not want to carry any further. After doing all the early running, Kerala slipped to their second straight loss this season, this time to Tamil Nadu at Chepauk. It was no coincidence that for a second straight outing, Jalaj Saxena, their talismanic allrounder, had a forgettable outing. This loss does not entirely rule them out of knockouts contention, but comes as a blow nonetheless. For Tamil Nadu, it was vital, for it keeps them in the hunt after wet weather denied them in the first two matches of the season.The hero was T Natarajan, the left-arm seamer, who picked up his first five-wicket haul of the season to give his side a 151-run victory. This was the first five-for by a Tamil Nadu fast bowler at home since J Kaushik’s feat during the 2011-12 season.Here’s the winning moment:
Gambhir signs offHaving spent a majority of his time during the second innings off the field, Gautam Gambhir was denied a final innings for Delhi on the final day of their fixture against Andhra. Delhi batted out a draw after pocketing a first innings lead. Later after the match, he took centre stage at a felicitation ceremony with both teams in attendance at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

The pair added 109 off 45 balls for the fourth wicket as Sylhet completed a chase of 190 with two overs to spare

The Report by Peter Della Penna30-Jan-2019How the game played outBuoyed by the return of Ryan ten Doeschate from injury, Rajshahi Kings hauled down a target of 190 in impressive fashion to knock out Sylhet Sixers from playoff contention. Ten Doeschate and Laurie Evans combined for a 109-run fourth-wicket stand to steer a brisk chase, completed with two overs to spare.Sixers were given several opportunities to remain in the match, beginning when Johnson Charles missed a straightforward stumping on Afif Hossain’s first ball off Mehidy Hasan in the second over. Hossain went on to make 29, while Sabbir Rahman made the most of being given not out on 0 after feathering an edge behind – Kings had already burned their review in the field – before going on to make 45.Yet, in spite of all the bonus runs, not to mention Nicholas Pooran’s imperious 76 not out off 31 balls, Sixers bowling unit produced a limp effort. Evans continued his superb form with a solid 76 off 36 balls in the Kings chase. Both he and ten Doeschate fell in the 17th over to Sohail Tanvir, but by that stage the required run rate was well under a run-a-ball. The match was sealed when Tanvir bowled consecutive wides to start what should have been the 19th over, though no legal delivery was registered; a microcosm of Sixers’ day in the field.Turning points

• Pooran hit 21 off Arafat Sunny’s final over in the 14th over to begin a surge of 83 runs off the last seven for Sixers en route to a 21-ball fifty
• Kings were having a sedate Powerplay before Charles ended the sixth over with a trio of fours off Tanvir, taking the score to 51 for 1 at the end of six overs
• Evans began his acceleration in the 14th off Ebadot Hossain with three fours to bring the required run rate back under 10 for the first time since the end of the Powerplay
• Kings needed 41 off 30 balls at the last strategic timeout. Evans began the 16th with a four over extra cover to bring up a 28-ball 50, then continued the over with three fours through the off side, a two, and a six over midwicket, to bring equation under a run-a-ball

Star of the dayEvans, who seemed more relaxed with ten Doeschate back by his side in the chase, one match after the Dutch national sat out with a side strain. After a stretch of three runs in four innings to start off, Evans has now compiled 391 in his last six knocks at an average of 65.20 at BPL 2019, and is currently fourth on runs aggregate behind Pooran, Mushfiqur Rahim and Rilee Rossouw.The big missAny number of them from Charles. The missed stumping was bad but he also seemed uninterested in appealing for caught-behind on the ball that Jason Roy edged. His non-appeal on the Sabbir decision also went against the Kings in the field.Where the teams standKings kept their slim playoff hopes alive by moving to 12 points to break a tie with Dhaka Dynamites for sole possession of fourth place, though Dynamites still have two games remaining while Kings have completed their league phase of matches. Sixers remain on eight points and are eliminated from playoff contention with one match remaining.