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The seamer took 4 for 46 after Apoorv Wankhade’s unbeaten 157 swelled Vidarbha’s total to 800 for 7, the highest total in the Irani Cup history

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2018
PTI

After Vidarbha declared at 800 for 7 – the highest total in the Irani Cup – seamer Rajneesh Gurbani sliced through Rest of India’s batting line-up to help his side take a step closer to another title. At stumps on the fourth day, RoI were 236 for 6 and 564 runs in arrears.Apoorv Wankhade, unbeaten on 99 overnight, completed his second first-class hundred to swell Vidarbha’s total. Mayank Agarwal had the other overnight batsman Aditya Sarwate stumped for 18 and Hanuma Vihari took a return catch to remove Akshay Wakhare for a duck, but Wankhade and Gurbani forged an unbroken 56-run partnership in seven overs to propel their team to 800.There was not much respite for RoI even after the declaration. Gurbani, who had become only the second bowler to register a hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy final, continued his excellent form. He struck with his second ball to have R Samarth caught at midwicket for a duck and Umesh Yadav had the in-form Agarwal caught at first slip with an inviting outswinger for 11 in the seventh over. RoI recovered briefly with Prithvi Shaw’s crisp back-foot strokes and a six over wide long-on in his 51 off 64 but Aditya Thakare, Shaw’s Under-19 team-mate from the World Cup in New Zealand, had him caught at gully.Once Gurbani returned, he induced an outside edge off Karun Nair’s bat and struck the top of the off stump with a sharp inswinger when Srikar Bharat shouldered arms, for a two-ball duck. In Gurbani’s next over, R Ashwin tentatively pushed at a delivery outside off and handed a catch to first slip for 8 and RoI were in tatters at 98 for 6 with a massive deficit of 702 runs.But Vihari and Jayant put on an unbroken 138-run stand for the seventh wicket to give their team some breathing space. Vihari hit 10 fours in his unbeaten 81 while Jayant struck nine fours in his unbeaten 62.Even if Vidarbha fail to bowl RoI out twice, they have a strong chance of securing the Irani Cup by virtue of a first-innings lead.

Imran Haider, the legspinner, took four wickets in his second ODI to help United Arab Emirates record a six-wicket win over Hong Kong in their tri-series fixture in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2017
Scorecard
Shaiman Anwar steered UAE home with his seventh ODI half-century•Peter Della Penna

Imran Haider, the legspinner, took four wickets in his second ODI to help United Arab Emirates record a six-wicket win over Hong Kong in their tri-series fixture in Dubai on Thursday. UAE got to their target of 175 in 38.1 overs to finish the series on top of the points table.Hong Kong were put in to bat and lost wickets in clumps, tottering at one stage at 85 for 5. Nizakat Khan, the No. 4 batsman, held the lower order together in making a 111-ball 93 including seven fours and three sixes. Nizakat’s 67-run stand for the eighth wicket with Ehsan Nawaz, who made 11, was the highest of the innings which folded in the penultimate over.Haider removed Babar Hayat, the Hong Kong captain, and Shahid Wasif for ducks. At one stage, he had three wickets in as many overs; he eventually finished with 4 for 25 off his 10 overs to take his wickets tally to seven in two matches.UAE started solidly courtesy a 76-run opening stand between Rohan Mustafa and Mohammed Qasim, before losing three quick wickets – two of which were picked up by Ehsan Khan, the offspinner. Shaiman Anwar then took charge to make a half-century to take UAE to within 27 runs of victory before giving Ehsan his third wicket. Muhammad Usman (20 not out) and Mohammad Naveed (9 not out) then saw the chase through.

Stuart Broad has been fined 30% of his match fee for telling umpire Aleem Dar to “just get on with the game” during the fourth day of the Newlands Test

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2016Stuart Broad has been fined 30% of his match fee for telling umpire Aleem Dar to “just get on with the game” during the fourth day of the Newlands Test.The incident happened the 195th over of South Africa’s innings after Dar had warned England captain Alastair Cook about Broad damaging the pitch when he kicked at it in frustration following a dropped catch by Jonny Bairstow which reprieved Temba Bavuma.Broad was charged with a Level 1 offence under the ICC code of conduct. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charge which meant Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee, conducted a hearing where he found Broad guilty.For all first offences, Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee.

On the evidence of Shane Watson and Chirs Rogers’ opening union at New Road, this might just become another triumph out of the chaos

The Report by Daniel Brettig at New Road02-Jul-2013
ScorecardShane Watson and Chris Rogers put on 170 opening the batting together for the first time•Getty Images

Australia’s last great opening pair of Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden were unearthed only when Michael Slater was dropped for a combination of poor form and wayward behaviour. Twelve years later, Shane Watson and Chris Rogers have been thrown together as the most visible on-field consequence of David Warner’s suspension and Darren Lehmann’s arrival as coach. On the evidence of their opening union at New Road, this might just become another triumph out of the chaos.Even if the modesty of Worcestershire’s attack is accounted for, Watson made batting look easy during his domineering century before lunch and Rogers provided an immediately reassuring sight at the other end. Their first stand tallied 170 in all, precisely half of the Australians’ 340 before rain brought an early conclusion to a chilly day. Fluency came less easily to Ed Cowan and the captain Michael Clarke, though both passed 50 before falling prey to run-outs.Having wrought similar destruction in his first match restored to the top of the batting order against Somerset, Watson crashed the Worcs bowlers to all parts of the ground without ever looking like he was taking undue risks. Tellingly, it was Watson’s first hundred at first-class level since his most recent Test century, against India at Mohali in October 2010. The confidence imbued by Lehmann’s decision to publicly announce him as an Ashes opener as early as last week in Taunton has returned Watson to something like his imperious best.Rogers played with far less extravagance, but appeared an ideal partner, rotating the strike and leaving the ball with precision. Their unbeaten stand meant that Cowan, made redundant as an opening batsman after 18 months in the job, remained padded up in the tourists’ viewing area for the whole of the morning.When he did appear following Watson’s exit, Cowan found the going altogether more difficult, confirming the impression that he will struggle to impose himself on a bowling attack, a skill usually expected of a No. 3. Any hard decisions about the shape of Australia’s batting line-up can be expected to be made this week. Along with Lehmann and Rod Marsh, the national selector John Inverarity is also in Worcester, ready to submit his casting vote if required.A correct call at the toss by Clarke had given the visitors first use of a friendly, even-paced surface. This allowed Rogers and Watson to commence the opening partnership identified by Clarke and Lehmann as Australia’s best means by which to blunt England’s new-ball battery next week at Nottingham and beyond.

World-leaders … in run-outs

Australia’s unwholesome penchant for run-outs was on display again against Worcestershire, maintaining perhaps the only trend in which they have been world leaders over the past four years.
Since the start of the 2009 Ashes series in England, Australia players have been run out in Tests no fewer than 25 times, the most in the world by a margin of five. While Ricky Ponting was the most frequent transgressor with five during the period, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes and Ed Cowan have all been caught short twice.
At New Road the causes were variable, as ever. Michael Clarke was called through by Cowan for a tight single and found short by a direct hit. Cowan stumbled and fell in mid-pitch, leaving him no chance to beat a throw from cover.
Watson is no expert on successful running, but agreed such details would be critical to the outcome of the Ashes. “It’s certainly a tough enough job to bat for long periods of time let alone giving the opposition one or two wickets,” he said. “We can’t afford to have our better batsmen run out.”

Wearing the Australia coat of arms for the first time since his one Test match in 2008, Rogers began a little nervously. He was perilously close to falling lbw to Charles Morris, making his first-class debut for Worcs, and his first few runs were snicked rather than struck. But Australia have employed Rogers for his record of making consistent runs, not the manner in which they arrive, and he was soon finding his stride, scoring at a steady trot with the occasional edge here and there.Watson had not taken part in the Australians’ second innings against Somerset, following a brazen 90 on day two that expressed his joy at returning to the top of the order more succinctly than any interview could. He continued on his merry way, gliding the first ball of the match to the backward point boundary and thereafter playing his shots with complete conviction, bordering on disdain.Several of Watson’s drives scorched through fields that did not have time to move, while the left-armer Jack Shantry had one delivery deposited beyond the sight screen with rare crispness – his preference for around the wicket provided Watson with an amiable angle by which to flick through the leg side. It was with one such stroke that Watson reached three figures, drawing strong applause from a plentiful crowd and warm congratulations from his new batting partner.The afternoon did not quite find Watson in the same flowing form of the morning, and he added only another seven runs to his lunch tally before swinging an offbreak by Moeen Ali to deep-backward square leg. Rogers reached 50 and continued on with increasing certainty, making it a surprise when he popped an off-side catch from a leading edge off Shantry.Cowan clattered one six off Moeen but was otherwise circumspect, while Clarke negotiated his first ball with a thick inside edge and had trouble locating the middle of his bat for some time. Together they negotiated 38 balls without a run during the hour before tea. The sequence was broken by a fortunate Clarke boundary, edged wide of the slip cordon, but both batsmen would fall short of the substantial scores they desired.Clarke was short of his ground when the stumps were hit from square leg by Alexei Kervezee. It appeared Cowan’s call, and Clarke looked notably miffed to depart in such a manner. Cowan followed his captain to the pavilion a little more than five overs later, stumbling in mid-pitch to turn a tight-ish run into an ignominious exit.Steve Smith and Phillip Hughes did not have much time to get established before the showers arrived, but they were batting in such a comfortable scenario because Watson and Rogers had excelled in the morning. England will be taking note.

The ICC’s annual conference in Kuala Lumpur in June is where India and Pakistan could take significant steps towards the resumption of cricketing ties, with even the possibility of the announcement of a series, according to PCB chief Zaka Ashraf

Sharda Ugra30-May-2012The ICC’s annual conference in Kuala Lumpur in June is where India and Pakistan could take significant steps towards the resumption of cricketing ties, with even the possibility of the announcement of a series, according to PCB chief Zaka Ashraf.Ashraf is in Delhi for a few days after attending the IPL final (to which he was invited by the BCCI) in Chennai, and he told ESPNcricinfo, “Probably the final decision will be [taken] in Kuala Lumpur, where the ICC board of directors meeting will be held. There Mr Srinivasan and I will hold discussions, and maybe we will be able to formulate and announce something about the resumption of ties.”He denied that the two parties had already discussed or suggested a tentative schedule for a bilateral series during a gap in England’s winter tour of India, when the England team will return home for a Christmas break. “The BCCI haven’t conveyed that to us. What we see on the calendar is that the English team will continue to play matches. But that is now up to the BCCI, the ball is in their court. They have to think which slab is available, where there is a vacuum during which both of us can play. What we can play, what format … they have to take steps and let us know.”During his stay in Delhi on what was his first visit to India, Ashraf said he had met with the Pakistani high commissioner to India, Salman Bashir, and political leaders of several parties, ruling and opposition, whose names he did not wish to reveal.India and Pakistan have not played each other in a bilateral series since December 2007. It is India’s turn to tour Pakistan, but the country has not hosted an international series between two Full Members at home following the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in March 2009. Bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Pakistan, however, travelled to India to play in the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup.On the day that an unofficial lunch meeting took place between Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari in April, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla had told Pakistani channel that the participation of Pakistan players in the IPL would depend on bilateral ties between the two nations.Ashraf said his discussions with BCCI president N Srinivasan had not touched upon the participation of Pakistan players in the IPL much. “I didn’t discuss the IPL, because it was more of a commercial thing. I was talking to the BCCI more on the revival of cricketing relations – on bilateral ties, because that is more important. If they feel like inviting Pakistani players [to the IPL], it is up to them. If they want to, I think that will be a good move also.”The participation of the Sialkot Stallions in the Champions League T20 was however confirmed by Ashraf. News of the decision to invite the team from Pakistan to the most lucrative club competition in world cricket was released on Twitter by Sundar Raman, a member of the CLT20 technical committee, but it is yet to be formally announced. Similarly Raman announced on Twitter that the dates for the Champions League T20 would only be released by the end of June. Ashraf, who had talked about the resumption of ties with Srinivasan on the side of ICC meetings in Dubai, said he had been asked for his approval for the Sialkot Stallions not once but twice by Srinivasan.”He called me once from India about 15-20 days ago to discuss the Champions League T20, saying the issue [of Pakistani participation] has come to the board and ‘if we decide in favour of Pakistan do you have any objection’. And I said no, of course not, I am always in favour of ties. So after the meeting he called me and said ‘I’m going to the press to announce it. Finally I just want to ask, I hope you don’t any objections’. I said our board and our people are also for the revival of ties of cricketing relations, Test series, one-day and Twenty20 games.” Ashraf said the news of the invitation extended to the Sialkot Stallions had been welcomed “in the press, by the general public and the board. At least the ice is melting. And things are moving in the right direction.”The meeting between the Indian prime minister and the Pakistani president had been important, because it indicated that the Indian government had no objections to the resumption of cricketing between the two countries. “What I understand is that, again, the honourable president of Pakistan requested that the honourable prime minister of India do something, so that India-Pakistan cricket could be revived. He [the Indian prime minister] said, ‘Yes, I’m for it, the government has no objection and we are going to convey it to the [Indian] board. The board should decide the other questions … when and where they should play, because those are the nitty-gritty details.’ “Ashraf said that he had kept aside an extra day after the IPL final to have an extended meeting with Srinivasan. However, the extended meetings could not take place because Srinivasan had to be admitted to hospital during the IPL final for observation. “He never used to smile, but he was smiling then [when Ashraf visited him in hospital],” Ashraf joked. “He was very happy that I went. That showed that brotherly relations between the boards are developing.”He came across goodwill in general, he said, on his visit to India. “I found that everybody in India has got good feelings about Pakistan and they all want cricket to resume between these two great cricketing nations. There’s great cricket passion in India, like there is in Pakistan. I brought with me, to the people of India and Indian cricket fans, the warmth and feelings of Pakistani cricket fans. This visit is like a friendship message from both the nations to each other.”

Netherlands and Scotland will face off in a series of matches across different formats starting with the four-day Intercontinental Cup fixture on June 24 in Aberdeen, followed by two ODIs and as many Twenty20s

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2011Netherlands and Scotland will face off in a series of matches across different formats starting with the four-day Intercontinental Cup fixture on June 21 in Aberdeen, followed by two ODIs and as many Twenty20s.Netherlands last played international cricket in the 2011 World Cup, in which they failed to win a single game. They’ll be missing some players due to work and other commitments, but will have Alexei Kervezee in their ranks for the first ODI and star allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate for the second ODI and the Twenty20s.”The squads are well balanced with plenty of experience,” Netherlands coach Peter Drinnen said. “The World Twenty20 qualifiers are not far away and with increased depth in our squad, the players are keen to seize every opportunity to secure their spot.”Netherlands squads:
Intercontinental Cup: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari , Tom Cooper , Tom Whol , Tom Heggelman , Neil Kruger, Matthijs Luten, Ahsan Malik, Peter Seelaar , Eric Szwarczynski , Michael Swart, Berend WestdijkFirst ODI: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Tom de Grooth, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Neil Kruger, Ahsan Malik, Pieter Seelaar , Eric Szwarczynski, Michael Swart, Berend WestdijkSecond ODI: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari , Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Tom Heggelman, Neil Kruger, Ahsan Malik, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Michael Swart, Berend WestdijkTwenty20s: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Tom Heggelman, Neil Kruger, Ahsan Malik, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Michael Swart, Berend Westdijk

Paul Condon, the outgoing chief of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), has said there is uncertainty over whether or not there was any match-fixing involved in the first and second editions of the IPL

Cricinfo staff20-May-2010Paul Condon, the outgoing chief of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), has said it worried about the first two IPL seasons not because it suspected match-fixing but because of the lack of infrastructure to prevent it. He said the third edition held this year was a clean event largely due to the heavy involvement of the ACSU.”IPL 1 and 2 we were worried about, not because we think there were huge fixes, but because there was no infrastructure to prevent it,” Condon said at Lord’s on Thursday. “That doesn’t mean to say that matches were fixed in IPL 1 and 2, but nor can I, hand on heart, give it a clean bill of health. I just don’t know .”Our advice was, and remains, that if you are going to have world-class players, international players, who are playing in IPLs and Twenty20s, and if they do anything daft there, sadly they will take that back into the international game. You can’t be a part-time fixer, once the bad guys get into them, and a lot of them are organised criminals, then you are on the hook.”While Condon acknowledged he had heard rumours of spot-fixing in the third IPL season, he said there was no concrete evidence to suggest that was the case. “In IPL 3, the ACSU was heavily involved, there was an education programme, and we’ve got no current intelligence, or information, or ongoing enquiries, which suggest anything other than IPL3 was a clean event in terms of spot-fixing.”IPL 3 from a clean cricket point of view seems to have been a very good event, but you are never more than a phonecall away from someone saying otherwise. There were rumours and vague allegations about IPL3, but no one has come forward either from the Indian board, or IPL, or franchises, or journalists, or players, or team managers, or anyone with specific allegations about match-fixing in IPL. All it’s been is very generic rumour, and we’re still waiting.”Condon said it was essential to prevent any possibility of match-fixing in leagues like the IPL to ensure the problem didn’t spread to the international arena. “To keep the game clean, we’ve got to make sure that events like the IPL and other events like it, don’t contaminate international cricket. So the same regime works for IPL: education, security managers in place.”

Former England captain says “ticking clock” of 2025-26 campaign down under was against James Anderson continuing

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Jul-2024Andrew Strauss has called for James Anderson to receive a knighthood as the England legend prepares for his 188th and final Test cap at Lord’s this week.As Test cricket’s most productive pace bowler with 700 career dismissals at 26.52, and England’s most capped cricketer, “Sir Jimmy” seems a foregone conclusion.Strauss is one of a number within English cricket to be recently awarded knighthoods, having received the honour in 2019 from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to charity, sport and cricket (his longtime opening partner Alastair Cook is also a Sir). Having captained Anderson for 42 Tests, and also worked above the 41-year-old as the ECB’s director of men’s cricket, Strauss has had a box seat to Anderson’s brilliance. He can also speak to his longevity, having retired from Test cricket 12 years ago, despite making his debut a year after Anderson in 2004.Related

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When asked if Anderson was worthy of being knighted too, Strauss was unequivocal: “Very much so! I think any fast bowler that plays 188 Test matches deserves a knighthood, I’ll put it that way.”Strauss had previously tried and failed to park Anderson and Stuart Broad, who retired at the end of last summer. Off the back of a disastrous 2021-22 Ashes campaign, Strauss, in his guise as interim director of cricket following the departure of Ashley Giles, dropped the pair for a tour of the West Indies.Their absence was short-lived as Ben Stokes restored Anderson and Broad for the home summer with his first act as Test captain. Two years on, Stokes, along with head coach Brendon McCullum and men’s managing director Rob Key, have finally pulled the plug on Anderson.”Jimmy’s still bowling well, as we saw from his performances at Lancashire [for whom he took 7 for 35 last week] but there’s a ticking clock there for the next Ashes, isn’t there?” Strauss said. “I think 18 games until the next Ashes. And at some stage you’ve got to juggle the needs for the future with the needs for the present. So I can understand why they’ve chosen this as the right time to do that.”One thing we know for sure is that to win in Australia, or to win any test match or any Test series, it all comes down to the quality and variety of your bowling attack. And so, to me, the next Ashes is too far away for Jimmy.”People have written him off many times, including probably myself, but that does feel too far down the road. And so at some stage you have got to start planning for that.”I think it’s a tremendous thing that he has the opportunity here this week to feel the love, I suppose, and to get the appreciation he deserves from the cricketing public for those 21 years. It’s going to be a very emotional and poignant Test match and, of course, the boots that need to be filled are immense. But I can understand why this is the right time.”Strauss will be present for Anderson’s farewell with Lord’s set to turn red on day two to support the Ruth Strauss Foundation’s #RedForRuth campaign.It will be the sixth year of the initiative, aiming to raise funds and awareness for the charity set-up in memory of Strauss’ late wife, which supports families facing the death of a parent from cancer, and funds more collaboration and research into non-smoking lung cancers.”Most of what I’ve done in my career, achievement-wise, has been about me but this isn’t,” Strauss said. “This is about a need that we can help fill and I feel very proud we are carrying out Ruth’s wishes to a certain degree. But our work is only just beginning, really.”We would struggle to do what we do without this ‘Red for Ruth’ Test match and we are incredibly grateful to the ECB, to Lord’s and to the cricket community for continuing to support us.”

An exemplary fielding performance and a perfectly executed 19th over help Australia eke out a narrow win

Valkerie Baynes24-Feb-20232:45

Baynes: Australia’s death bowling the difference

India needed 18 runs off nine balls when Ellyse Perry sprinted to her right from deep-backward square leg, threw herself into the air and flicked the ball back before tumbling over the boundary rope to save two runs. That moment epitomised what makes Australia tick. Every piece of effort is given at 100% and forms part of the whole juggernaut, which even when pushed by India in the T20 World Cup semi-final prevails by five runs.At the time, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen – who hadn’t played since their opening match as Australia opted for legspinner Alana King for the next three games – was in the middle of executing the perfect 19th over, conceding just four runs when India needed 20 from 12 balls, and pegging Sneh Rana’s leg stump back with the last ball.With India left to get 16 off the last over, the eventual Player of the Match Ashleigh Gardner gave away only ten and claimed her second wicket as Perry again held her nerve and settled under a skier, by Radha Yadav, at long-on to allow Australia to snatch a berth in their seventh successive T20 World Cup final.Related

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After the win, Gardner said the victory ranked “pretty high” on Australia’s unmatched list of triumphs.”I think at the ten-over mark in India’s batting innings, everyone had probably written us off, but I think that just shows our character within our side and that’s why the best teams win in those types of positions,” she said.”What we speak about is when our backs are up against the wall, we always try and find a way, and today we probably had no right to win at one point there. They were cruising and then we found a way to get some wickets and ultimately came out on top.”It was similar to last year’s Commonwealth Games gold-medal match, which Australia had won by nine runs. That, combined with Thursday’s performance at Newlands, suggests the gap might be closing somewhat compared to the 85-run thumping they had dished out to India in the final of the T20 World Cup back in 2020.India, on the other hand, squandered their chances with crucial drops of Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning, Australia’s two biggest run-scorers on this occasion, as well as leaking runs through numerous misfields and overthrows.”We showed our class today in the field and we always speak about as a group being the best fielding team in the world, and I think today really showed that,” Gardner said. “Ellyse Perry was elite on the boundary. Whether it’s dropped catches, [or] missed opportunities in the field, those ultimately add up to quite a lot of runs and I think we took those moments when we really needed to.Player-of-the-Match Gardner contributed 31 off 18 balls with the bat and followed that with two wickets•ICC/Getty Images

“I certainly think Pez is probably the blueprint for our side going forward – certainly on the boundary. At the end of the day, that could have been the difference between us and them.”Gardner, who had also contributed an excellent 31 off 18 balls with the bat, revealed it was no accident that Australia are so strong in the field.”We have KPIs and there are markers that show us whether we’re positive or negative in the field,” she said. “So there’s a pretty clear indication of how we’ve fielded. We just know how to push each other. In our training sessions, there are always really high-pressure situations, and as athletes, we all push each other – whether it’s on the field or off the field, whether it’s in the gym, running.”That’s something we really pride ourselves on is being fit, being strong, and ultimately that’s one of the things that has an impact in the field.”India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who overcame illness to put her side in a winning position before being run out when her bat got stuck in the pitch, acknowledged that the difference in fielding was the key.”The Australian side, they always field very well; and from our side, we made some mistakes,” Harmanpreet said. “But again, we have to just learn [from] whatever mistakes we have made. But obviously, the Australian side is better than us. They always field well, and today also, after I got out, their body language completely changed. The way they stopped two-three boundaries, that also made a huge difference.”Jemimah Rodrigues, India’s second-highest run-scorer on the day, agreed: “When you lose, you always find a lot of reasons. You can blame anything… but yeah, that is one aspect. As an Indian team, we know that we need to improve our fielding and our running between wickets. Today the running between was really good but I think there’s so much to learn from.”Gardner, Jonassen and Mooney all said that competing under pressure in franchise tournaments such as their own WBBL and England’s much-newer Hundred had contributed to Australia’s strength, which is encouraging for India ahead of their inaugural WPL season, which starts next month.”It probably comes back to the exposure of those sorts of situations,” Jonassen said. “Having such a quality domestic set-up, having the WBBL, having some of the best international players coming over every year – that plays a significant part. Then we’re almost primed for those same situations on the international stage.”We’ve had a few young players making debuts in different formats this season as well that have come from those competitions, and we’re always looking to try and improve, and try and push each other to that next level and try and get the most out of each and every person because ultimately we know if we can gain an extra one or two percent individually, then the team’s collectively going to be better off.”And such is Australia’s depth that Jonassen jokingly revealed her disbelief when head coach Shelley Nitschke told her after training on match eve that she was back in the side.”I had to get her to repeat it because I had walked about ten laps after training yesterday, sort of getting my head around how I would mentally deal with if I missed out again,” Jonassen said. “I’ve got my partner and my mum who have flown over, so I was pretty disappointed up until today that I wasn’t able to play a game in front of them. Hopefully one more and it’s another successful one.”One more will mean a contest for the trophy against either hosts South Africa or England. Besides India at this World Cup, only England have looked capable of threatening Australia. Whoever it is will need to do more than just threaten, as India found out.

Sri Lanka fast bowler to be reunited with former national coach Mickey Arthur

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2022Suranga Lakmal has signed a two-year deal with Derbyshire, where he will be reunited with his former national coach Mickey Arthur, after announcing that he will be retiring from all forms of international cricket following Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of India.Lakmal, the 34-year old fast bowler, did his best work in Test cricket, having so far picked up 168 wickets from 68 matches. One-hundred-and-thirty of them came away from home.”I’m indebted to Sri Lanka Cricket for giving me this astonishing opportunity and having faith in me to bring my motherland honour, as it has been [an] absolute pleasure to be associated with the board that shaped my professional life and also enriched my personal development,” he said in his retirement letter submitted to Sri Lanka Cricket.Arthur, who joined Derbyshire as director of cricket late last year, praised Lakmal’s attributes as a bowler and a leader in welcoming him to the club.”Suranga is among Sri Lanka’s all-time greats with the ball and it’s brilliant to be able to bring him to Derbyshire for the next two seasons,” he said. “We have big ambitions for the project at Derbyshire, and Suranga’s decision to retire from international cricket and commit to the club shows he’s as excited about those plans as the other players and coaches.”He knows my standards and can set the example for our young players on and off the field, and to add his quality to our ranks gives us a whole new dimension with the ball.”Lakmal added: “Experiencing county cricket is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and the chance to work with Mickey again was something I couldn’t turn down.”I’ve loved every second of my international career, and I would like to thank Sri Lanka for giving me the opportunity to live my dream. Hopefully I can bring that experience into this new challenge, to help the young bowlers, who are already making an impact at Derbyshire.”The spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka often pushed him into the sidelines, but on tour, Lakmal’s ability to hold a line and length over long periods of time and his knack for moving the ball both off the pitch and in the air made him an important asset. So far, he has a five-for in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies. His away average, accordingly, is an entire 15 points lower than his home average, even though his record in five Tests in England, 12 wickets at 51.83 between 2011 and 2016, bucks that trend.Lakmal has also captained Sri Lanka in five Tests, winning three of them – two against South Africa during the home series in 2018.In the last six years, Lakmal has been Sri Lanka’s seam-bowling spearhead. He has contributed to several excellent results during that time, taking 4 for 39 in the second innings to set up victory in Port Elizabeth in 2019, 3 for 25 in the second innings to fashion a win in Bridgetown the previous year, and a match haul of 7 for 119 as Sri Lanka struggled late to draw a rain-affected match in Kolkata in 2017. Since 2018, he has been especially consistent, taking 72 wickets and averaging overall 24.73 across the next four years, and 22.61 away from home.However, he departs without a real successor in place. Dushmantha Chameera has been good in limited-overs cricket, but has not been a regular member of the Test squad partly owing to fitness concerns. Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando have also only made sporadic appearances in the Test team.Lakmal made his debut for Sri Lanka in December 2009 and largely performed a holding role in limited-overs cricket, picking up 109 wickets from 86 ODIs and eight wickets from 11 T20Is.