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Keshav Maharaj’s six-for and Khaya Zondo’s first-innings ton helped the Dolphins consolidate their lead at the top of the Sunfoil Series points table

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2017Keshav Maharaj and Khaya Zondo’s dominating first-innings performances against Lions helped Dolphins consolidate their lead at the top of the table in the Sunfoil Series. Zondo struck his seventh first-class century, an unbeaten 290-ball 141 that included 21 fours, to lift Dolphins to 339 in the first innings after they opted to bat in Pietermaritzburg.Vaughn van Jaarsveld chipped in with a brisk 53. Seam-bowling allrounder Dwaine Pretorius claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class matches, returning figures of 5 for 54. In reply, the Lions were quickly reduced to 4 for 49. Dominic Hendricks and Pretorius brought the Lions some respectability with a 91-run partnership.After Hendricks was dismissed for 78, Kagiso Rapulana hit a patient 52 to push Dolphins’ total to 267. Left-arm spinner Maharaj finished with figures of 6 for 86.Entering the fourth day with a lead of 72, Dolphins set up a late declaration after posting 189 for 5 in 51 overs, taking the safety-first approach to ensure the Lions didn’t have enough time to bowl them out. Zondo struck a 139-ball 54. Left-arm fast bowler Beuran Hendricks took 3 for 48. The Lions chose not to go after the steep target of 262, as the game petered out into a draw.

Adam Voges has indicated that his days as an international cricketer are over

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-20170:50

Adam Voges retires with one of the highest averages in Test cricket

Adam Voges has indicated that his days as an international cricketer are over. A day before he is scheduled to lead the Prime Minister’s XI against the visiting Sri Lankans in Canberra, Voges said it would be his last game against an international team.”This will be it for me,” Voges said. “I’m certainly looking forward to getting out there and playing this game. I’ve had an amazing couple of years with Australia with the Test team and I’ve loved every minute of it.”I see this as a last opportunity to play against an international team and I’m certainly looking forward to that.”Voges, 37, has not played a Test match since suffering a concussion during Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in November. Having failed in the first two Tests against South Africa, this game served as a chance to score runs and keep himself in the reckoning for the third Test. Peter Handscomb took Voges’ spot at No. 5, scored a half-century on Test debut, and has established himself as a first-choice member of Australia’s line-up.Voges, who won his Baggy Green in 2015, aged 35, became the oldest debut centurion when he scored an unbeaten 130 against West Indies in Dominica. He struggled through the Ashes tour of England that followed but kept his place in the side and went on to enjoy a storming 2015-16 season that fetched him a century against New Zealand at the WACA, an unbeaten 269 against West Indies in Hobart and another double-hundred in Wellington.His batting average, after the tour of New Zealand, stood at 95.50 after 15 Tests. It fell to 61.87 after sub-par series against Sri Lanka away and South Africa at home, but he ends his career, nonetheless, with the second-highest average – behind only Don Bradman – among all batsmen with a minimum of 20 Tests.Voges’ stint in the Test side was the second half of a two-part international career. Between February 2007 and November 2013, he played 38 limited-overs games, scoring 870 ODI runs at 45.78 and 139 T20I runs at 46.33.

Chris Lynn has said he stuck to the basics and focused on putting the bad balls away during his unbeaten 93 off 41 balls in the record opening stand with Gautam Gambhir

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2017The prolific opening combination of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa was one of the highlights of Kolkata Knight Riders’ 2016 season. Uthappa had lauded their “batting chemistry”; they had stacked up staggering numbers after all: 566 runs at an average of 37.73, with one century and four fifty stands.Why would they then change the combination in their opening match of the 2017 IPL? The answer is Chris Lynn. Knight Riders’ frail middle order was probably a cause of concern from last year and Friday night showed using Lynn’s strength against pace bowling early on was not a bad idea, even though he had opened only twice in his career of 85 T20s. It meant Uthappa would probably bat at No. 3, but he was not required to in their opening fixture against Gujarat Lions.Knight Riders’ Suryakumar Yadav revealed in the post-match conference that their strategy to open with Lynn was not an impromptu decision after Gujarat Lions had scored 183 for 4. “Since he [Lynn] came to Kolkata and we started the camp, we had one thing in mind – our captain backed him to open,” Suryakumar said. “It was the best thing and he [Gambhir] told Lynn straightaway that he’s going to open in the tournament so it was not instant, it was pre-planned.”Lynn was the dominant one in the opening partnership with Gambhir as he raced to a 19-ball fifty, hammering 23 runs against Dwayne Smith in the seventh over. He said he did not try anything unusual and only focused on getting the basics right by putting the bad balls away.”We knew we had to get off to a good start and we did that, we put them under pressure in the first six overs and then we took our momentum from there,” Lynn told after ending unbeaten on 93 off 41 balls.”I try and keep things very simple, it’s as simple as see ball, hit ball. If they bowl a good ball, you’ve got to respect that and try and get down at the other end and if they bowl a bad ball, you’ve to try and put it away. That’s as simple as I can put it. And if I’m not having fun, I’m not going to do well. That’s the main thing.”Chris Lynn was particularly unforgiving against Gujarat Lions’ seamers•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Opening the batting also meant Lynn did not have to make too many adjustments to his game to suit Indian conditions. “Probably just the [adjustment to the] bounce, and maybe as a batter you might put your stance a little bit lower and you’ve got to hold your shape a little bit more. As an opener the difference is minimal but batting in the middle order has a lot more changes – starting against spin is one thing. But upfront it’s generally the ball slotting on, and it’s a nice hard Kookaburra… as I said, have a bit of fun and you never know. I had a little bit of luck tonight but you make use of luck so it’s a positive thing.”It may not always be my night but fingers crossed I can always pick that momentum and ride that wave throughout that tournament now. So that’s the challenge and teams are going to watch the footage and work a plan out and I’m going to have to try and throw a punch back and go one better, that’s part of the game but it’s great fun while we’re doing it.”Knight Riders’ opening stand of 184 was the highest total chased down in the history of T20s, with Gambhir unbeaten on 76 off 48 balls. Lynn said he was “very comfortable” with Gambhir and there was hardly going to be a chance of scoring a century since the captain was also scoring at a quick rate.”I’m just really happy with the way we gelled, we did it so quickly,” Lynn said. “That’s probably the second time I’ve batted with GG now. We were very comfortable, we ran between the wickets well and that’s the best sign coming out of it. It’s good fun and to do it none down was even more special.”First I was happy to get off the mark, then get the fifty but the way Gauti was batting, he was never going to give me a chance to get to a hundred. But I’ll take 90 not out any day of the week over a hundred, as everyone says the team comes first.”

Like turning to the person next to you at a wedding and remarking ‘these things only end in divorce or death’ it seems untimely to predict Warwickshire’s fate this season

George Dobell at Edgbaston15-Apr-2017
ScorecardLike turning to the person next to you at a wedding and remarking ‘these things only end in divorce or death’ it seems untimely to predict Warwickshire’s fate this season.But, as they failed to secure a batting bonus point for the second game in succession and then conceded what may well prove to be a match-defining first innings deficit for the second game in succession, it was hard not to look at them as a vulture sizes up a sickly wildebeest. Suffice to say, they have earned themselves the tag of relegation favourites.Yes, it is mid-April. Yes, there’s a lot of cricket to play and yes, they may salvage something from this game with some better second-innings batting and some rain. But, going into this match, they had won one and lost four of their previous eight Championship matches and they look overly reliant upon a few key performers – notably Keith Barker and Jonathan Trott at this time of year – who are not gaining the support they might expect from colleagues.It is a talented team, certainly, but it is a team in decline, a team with holes and a team lacking the spark of youth in its bowling in particular. And in a tough division where 25% of the sides will be relegated this season, those are weaknesses that will have those vultures licking their lips.There are birds coming home to roost at Edgbaston. The failure to develop players in the quantity or quality required of a big club is one key factor – Chris Woakes is the last capped player at the club to emerge through the youth system and he made his debut a decade ago – but so is the failure to retain and recruit.Last year’s fall-out with Varun Chopra, which looks more damaging by the week, might be compared to the failure to retain Moeen Ali a decade or so earlier, while the decision to spend relatively heavily on a bowler – Olly Stone – who had just sustained what may well prove to be a career-defining injury is puzzling. Ashley Giles has returned to the club to find half his squad look like the cast of and half the cast of .Given time – and that might be an issue at a club that has become accustomed to success; Dougie Brown was sacked last year despite securing the Royal London Cup – Giles is the ideal man to sort things out. But he has an enormous job on his hands. It’s not just about improving the scouting from the leagues, the schools and surrounding non-first-class counties. It’s not just about improving the development process so that talent is better exploited and encouraged. And it’s not just about intelligent recruitment from other counties.Most of all, it’s about changing the culture of a club that can, at times, be held back by a hubris that fools itself into thinking it doesn’t need to change. Really, for a club this size to field a team containing one or two home-grown players (Ian Bell and Sam Hain) is a crushing indictment of the failure of their development system irrespective of the absence of Woakes at the IPL.They don’t have to look far to see how these things can work. The Yorkshire side here, despite missing four Yorkshire-born Test players (Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ryan Sidebottom and Liam Plunkett) through injury or ECB policy, still contains eight home-grown players. While Yorkshire’s catchment area contains more cricket clubs than Warwickshire’s, their ability to produce England players while continuing to challenge in trophies is a testament to a club that, in cricketing terms at least, has been exemplary in recent times.The emergence of Ben Coad, who bowled Chris Wright early on the second morning to claim his second five-for in two Championship games this season, is just the latest example.Yorkshire might feel they lacked just a bit of ruthlessness here. Having allowed (maybe ‘allowed’ is the wrong word; Barker batted very well for his second half-century in successive games) Warwickshire’s final three wickets to add more than 100 runs, they perhaps failed to gain the first innings total they might have done.Several times it appeared they had the opportunity to put this game beyond Warwickshire with an overwhelming lead, but several times they lost wickets to shots they may consider a bit loose. Alex Lees, for example, faced 24 deliveries before he scored and 30 before striking his first boundary. But, having done the hard work, he attempted a series of lavish drives and then prodded, without foot movement, at one outside off stump and edged to the cordon.Peter Handscomb’s dismissal was more of a surprise. He looked terrific in making 75. After a testing beginning against Barker – his habit of playing as far back as a batsman can play without standing behind the keeper negated the swing – he feasted against the support bowling and a tiring Barker. It came as some surprise when Wright, belatedly given a second spell, induced an inside edge as Handscomb aimed a somewhat footless drive at one that swung in a little.While Gary Ballance, shaping to play to leg, edged one outside off stump, Jack Leaning was brilliantly caught at short-leg off the glove by a diving Hain and Adam Lyth was earlier caught down the leg side as he attempted to glance a short one, Yorkshire were – as so often – grateful to their middle-order.Tim Bresnan and Adil Rashid both punished a tiring attack in the final session, taking the lead beyond 100 and giving their side hope of at least three and perhaps four batting bonus points.Barker, on whose broad shoulders so much rests for Warwickshire, eventually defeated Bresnan with a characteristic inswinger with the second new ball – umpire Nigel Cowley adjudged that, although Bresnan had hit the ball, it had brushed his pad first; replays suggested it was an outstanding bit of umpiring – but with Rashid, Andrew Hodd and David Willey still to account for, Yorkshire will have realistic hopes of extending their lead on day three.Warwickshire didn’t bowl badly by any means. Just as they didn’t bat especially badly. They just found they lacked the pace to gather as much from the pitch as Yorkshire’s bowlers and the consistency to build much pressure. They have the talent, the experience and the time to turn things around, but if they are expecting any easy games this year, they are in for a rude awakening. This division is relentless and tough and stacked with talented players of ambition. And that’s just the way it should be.

Glamorgan opener Nick Selman followed his match-winning century against Durham at Swansea last month with another hundred

ECB Reporters Network19-Jun-2017

ScorecardChris Rushworth ensured Durham’s hard graft earlier in the day brought reward•Getty Images

Glamorgan opener Nick Selman followed his match-winning century against Durham at Swansea last month with another hundred in the Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.But Durham’s Chris Rushworth hit back with the second new ball, grabbing three wickets to finish with 5 for 40 as the visitors slipped from 182 for 3 to close the first day on 221 for 7.Having elected to bat in baking heat, Glamorgan ground along all day. losing only one wicket in each of the first two sessions in reaching 147 from 66 overs.Selman spent 249 balls over his hundred, getting there by inside-edging Rushworth for his 13th four. Three balls later he was lbw for 103.
Offspinner Ryan Pringle conceded only 23 runs in 19 overs as Durham maintained their accuracy, with the other two wickets going to academy seamer Matty Potts in his second appearance.Despite a minute’s silence for the London fire victims at 11am, and a drinks break at noon, Durham got through 33 overs in an attritional first session.Jacques Rudolph fell in the seventh over when Rushworth was rewarded for an excellent spell by clipping the left-hander’s off bail.
Andrew Salter, promoted to three in the absence of Will Bragg, cut and pulled Barry McCarthy for two fours but was otherwise restrained.He departed for 25 when he pushed forward and edged Rushworth to wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter to end a stand of 66 in 34 overs.
Colin Ingram also made a cautious start but began to flourish when he drove Pringle through the covers then cut him for another four. He fell for 33 when Potts moved one away to have him caught behind.When Rushworth took the new ball his fourth delivery swung in to take out Aneurin Donald’s off stump. Then balls which nipped back had Selman and David Lloyd lbw, although neither seemed happy with the decision.Potts took the final wicket of the day when wicketkeeper Tom Cullen, handed his debut after Chris Cooke took a blow on the head in practice, was well caught at second slip by Pringle.

It has been 17 years since New Zealand last won an ICC trophy. They came close in the 2015 World Cup, but will it be the Champions Trophy in 2017 that adds a second trophy to their cabinet?

Andrew McGlashan28-May-20171:14

How crucial will Trent Boult be in New Zealand’s Champions Trophy campaign?

Overview

Fifty-over cricket has delivered New Zealand only one global trophy – the 2000 edition of this tournament, when it was called the ICC Knockout Trophy – and almost gave them the greatest success in their history in 2015. Riding on a surge of home support and home advantage, they reached the World Cup final that year, unbeaten, only to be overpowered (and overawed) at the MCG.

Squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Gradhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor

In some ways, the team has been regenerated since then. The talismanic Brendon McCullum, the wily Daniel Vettori and the heroic Grant Elliott have retired. However, within this squad, there is an element of trying to rekindling that 2015 spirit: Corey Anderson, Mitchell McClenaghan and Adam Milne have been recalled after lengthy periods on the sidelines, while in Mitchell Santner they also have someone doing a very fine impression of Vettori.This is, though, a side in Kane Williamson’s image; a little less gung-ho and a touch more considered than the McCullum model, much like his batting. Since taking over full-time, Williamson has had two series against Australia and one apiece against India, Bangladesh and South Africa. The toughest of those – India away, Australia away and South Africa at home – have been lost, and while there is no disgrace in any of that, there is a sense that this New Zealand team is a notch below the side of 2015.There is also a lingering concern about burnout among some key figures, notably the captain and coach. With a smaller pool of resources to call on than some nations, Williamson – who did not travel to Ireland but was still active at the IPL – and Mike Hesson are involved in virtually every aspect of New Zealand’s cricket, and it’s been almost non-stop cricket for them since August 2016. After this tournament, they do have a significant break until October, thereby giving them a chance to take stock at the mid-point cycle to another World Cup.

Champions Trophy history

1998 – Quarter-final
2000 – Winners
2002 – Group stage
2004 – Group stage
2006 – Semi-final
2009 – Runner’s up
2013 – Group stage

Form guide

Half the members of the Champions Trophy squad have been warming up with a tri-series in Ireland, while key figures completed their IPL campaigns. It all went swimmingly until the final match when they slipped up against Bangladesh, but it could yet prove a useful exercise for New Zealand’s fringe players – should they be needed as reinforcements. In their previous home season, New Zealand lost 2-3 against South Africa, having cleaned up Bangladesh and Australia, although they lost the away Chappell-Hadlee series.

Strength

As has been touched upon, a core of senior players remain from the 2015 side – each of them in their prime and looking to make it to the World Cup in 2019. There is the big three in the top four – Martin Guptill, Williamson and Ross Taylor – while Trent Boult and Tim Southee are impressive white-ball bowlers. They are all among the finest one-day cricketers in the world. Guptill’s unbeaten 180 off 138 balls against South Africa earlier this year was a stunning innings, Taylor had a resurgent home season with two match-winning hundreds in his last eight matches, and Williamson is rightly bracketed alongside Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Joe Root as this generation’s outstanding batsmen across formats.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Weakness

New Zealand have got themselves into a bit of pickle over the wicketkeeping situation, and it has had a knock-on effect. They are keen to balance their side by having the gloveman open the innings. It led them to giving Tom Latham a chance behind the wicket during the home season, but that – whether as a result or a coincidence – saw Latham’s runs dry up so much that he was briefly dropped. They have now gone back to Luke Ronchi, and signs suggest that he will open the batting – having had that role in the tri-series. There remains huge faith in Latham, who captained the side in Ireland and also churned out the runs. That could make it difficult to fit Ronchi into the full-strength XI – he has not scored an ODI half-century since January 2015, when he made 170 not out against Sri Lanka. However, his runs in Ireland came at a strike-rate of 113.48, and he could be used with the licence to cut loose.

Key stats

• Since the beginning of the 2015 World Cup, Martin Guptill is the second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 2222, just behind David Warner (2244).
• Kane Williamson has the highest average (45.90) of any New Zealand batsman to have played 50 ODIs. If the qualification is trimmed to 40 matches, Glenn Turner (47.00) sneaks ahead.
• Of players to have bowled 100 ODI overs since the start of 2016, Mitchell Santner has the lowest economy rate (4.59) of anyone who will appear in the Champions Trophy.

England will continue to treat Moeen Ali as a batsman who “bowls a little”, according to their coach, Trevor Bayliss

George Dobell10-Jul-2017He may have taken a ten-wicket haul in the Lord’s Test, but England will continue to treat Moeen Ali as a batsman who “bowls a little”, according to their coach, Trevor Bayliss.While Moeen, who claimed the best figures by an England spinner in a Lord’s Test since 1972, has risen into the top 20 on the ICC’s bowling rankings – and, at No. 4 in the allrounder rankings, is ahead of team-mate Ben Stokes – England look likely to stick with Liam Dawson as their first-choice spinner.But if that appears to be a demotion for Moeen, Bayliss insisted it is more an attempt to alleviate him of too much pressure or expectation and suggested it was no impediment to his being England’s “best spinner”.

Bayliss on…

Jonny Bairstow: “That catch down the leg side was probably the best he’s taken since I’ve been here in the last three summers. Keeping to the spinners was not dissimilar to what we saw in Bangladesh and India and I thought he kept pretty well out there. I thought he did a very good job.”
Alastair Cook: “He’s loving it! I was having a bit of a laugh watching him in the field. He was out running around in the covers. He looked like he was enjoying it. For someone in that stage of his career, it’s a good sign.”
Gary Ballance: “The three guys who batted on Saturday night did an exceptional job. Gary made 30-odd in difficult circumstances. You can’t average 100 in county cricket without being able to play.”

“We’ll stick with one spinner and one batter that bowls a little,” Bayliss said after victory at Lord’s. “And that’s important for Mo more than anything. He wants to be in the team as a batter that bowls a bit so we’ve selected him as a batter and the second spinner.”It takes that little bit of pressure off him. He does see himself as a batter first and a spinner second. And I suppose that doesn’t mean he’s still not our best spinner but his No. 1 job is to bat.”Moeen enjoyed an outstanding Test with the ball at Lord’s, taking his career average below 40. But, ahead of that game, his bowling average since the start of 2016 was 53.02 and there were times in India, in particular, when it seemed he was losing his way with the ball in a haze of confusion over what the side required of him. At the same time, he was scoring runs more consistently, recording four Test centuries in 2016, including two in the series in India.While Dawson experienced a somewhat chequered game at Lord’s – he suffered a pair (he has been dismissed for a duck in three successive Test innings) but recovered after a nervous start with the ball to claim four wickets in the match – Bayliss feels the control his bowling can offer complements Moeen, in particular, and the make-up of the England side in general.It is for that reason he was preferred to Adil Rashid for selection, despite Rashid’s 23 wickets in the series against India. In the one Test Dawson and Rashid played together, the former conceded three runs an over and eight boundaries from his 43 overs, the latter conceded 5.15 runs per over and 18 boundaries from his 29.4 overs.”Moeen and Adil Rashid are very similar characters,” Bayliss said. “Both are attacking spinners and we just felt if we could get someone who could control a little better – and hopefully take some wickets as well – that might set us up more long-term.”In the second innings, Dawson did that role very well. If it is tight at one end, it allows Mo – as an attacking style offspinner – to attack at the other.”Liam admitted he was very nervous in the first innings. It was his first Test match at home and his first Test at Lord’s. It was one of those games when it didn’t quite come out for him how he would have liked in that first innings, but I thought he showed the character we know he has to come back and bowl better in the second innings. It was a good partnership with Mo.Liam Dawson claimed the big wicket of Hashim Amla in the second innings at Lord’s•Getty Images

“Dawson has the opportunity at the moment but there are a number of other good, young spinners – and Rash himself – pushing hard. But Dawson is the one with the opportunity at the moment. I thought in the one Test match he played in India, he was probably our best spinner. He deserves that opportunity.”Bayliss also feel the team selected by England for the Lord’s Test has the versatility and depth to prove effective on most surfaces.”The combination we had in this game could play on a lot of wickets,” he said. “We’re lucky that we have Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Ali who can bat five, six and seven. That allows us to have three other pace bowlers and another spinner. Somewhere along the line, we could throw in someone else in one of those positions, whether it is another batter, another pace bowler if we need one. It just gives us plenty of options.”

Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope lived up to West Indies’ promise to fight back after their humiliation at Edgbaston

Alan Gardner at Headingley26-Aug-2017Leeds is only 65 miles from Scarborough – aka “Scarbados” – so it was perhaps appropriate that a sun-kissed Headingley was the scene for a pair of Bajans to revive West Indies’ hopes on this tour. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope put on 246, West Indies’ second-highest partnership on the ground, to underpin a day of unexpected domination in their attempts to fight back into the series after being thrashed at Edgbaston.Hope’s unbeaten innings of 147 was his maiden Test century, coming two years after his debut against the same opposition in Bridgetown. Brathwaite, meanwhile, made his second hundred against England – the first was a valiant attempt to stave off defeat in Grenada during the 2015 series – and provided the bedrock for the tourists to go past England’s 258 during the evening session; not since Old Trafford 2004 had West Indies secured a first-innings lead in England.”The key word for us was ‘fight’,” Hope said on Sky TV. “We are not coming here to let people run over us.”Brathwaite, the team’s vice-captain, echoed that sentiment. “It was very important for us,” he said. “We know what we can do. We decided we would show fight, work hard and believe in ourselves and that’s what we did. Looking in the mirror after [Edgbaston], we knew we could do better, as a team we said we won’t give up and we’ll come out and work twice as hard.”While Hope and Brathwaite both hunkered down and made the most of their luck during a tricky morning session, neither got stuck. Brathwaite went to both fifty and a hundred with sixes down the ground, while the pull that took Hope to 99 had more than a touch of Gordon Greenidge’s flamboyance to it, one knee proudly pointing upwards. The next delivery was tucked for the single that took him to three figures, a moment he greeted with a full-throated roar of celebration.”Relief. It was good to get the monkey off my back,” Hope said. “I felt the pressure. As a professional you want to perform to your best. I wasn’t thinking about the 100 as much as I would expect [in the 90s]. I just tried to bat as long as possible and stick it out.”Having won his first cap as a 21-year-old, Hope’s introduction to Test cricket was a difficult one. It was not until his 17th innings that he finally passed fifty – although that helped West Indies to a series-levelling victory against Pakistan in Bridgetown earlier this year – but Brathwaite predicted that a player he has grown up alongside would now go on to establish himself.”I think Shai’s a top-quality player and I know he will do extremely well in international cricket,” Brathwaite said. “He already has a lot of one-day runs. This is the start of a lot of big things for him.”We played from Under-13 right up, so I’ve played a lot of cricket with him – we play first-class cricket together as well. I know him well and I’m very happy for him.”Although England fought back to remove Brathwaite, for 134, and Roston Chase with the second new ball, Hope remained at the crease until the close, in the company of the dangerous Jermaine Blackwood. From a perilous position of 35 for 3, and with last week’s twin capitulations with the bat still fresh in the memory, it was a quite remarkable performance. After West Indies’ impressive display with the ball on the first day, Kemar Roach had said he was expecting “big things” from the batsmen. Brathwaite and Hope ensured they did not disappoint.Brathwaite was involved in four reviews in all – twice overturning decisions given against him, twice surviving England’s attempts to winkle him out via DRS. The majority of his scoring inside the first hour was done behind the wicket, as several edges went to ground, but England were forced to reassess their tactics as the early cloud cover moved through and Headingley’s Janus face decided to smile on the batsmen once more.”I know my strengths and weaknesses,” Brathwaite said of his watchful approach. “I know it won’t be easy but once I’m out there, it’s good for my team. I try my best to be out there as long as possible and make sure I put away all the bad balls and it worked quite well for me.”Of West Indies’ turnaround in form from the previous Test, he added: “We stuck to our plans, as a bowling unit we were a lot more disciplined and, as batters, we just had to believe in what we’re working towards. We work hard in the nets and we believed we could do it. It’s not impossible and we showed our fight.” England will certainly know they are in a fight now.

Sri Lanka Cricket is unlikely to penalise any players who opt out of the proposed T20 against Pakistan in Lahore but the board has reminded the players of their “contractual obligation” to play where required

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Sep-2017Sri Lanka Cricket is unlikely to penalise any players who opt out of the proposed T20 in Lahore, but has reminded cricketers that they have a “contractual obligation” to play where the board requires them to.Although the recent World XI series in Lahore was a success, Sri Lanka’s own visit – for the third T20, on October 29 – is not confirmed yet. For now, SLC is positive the match will be played in Lahore, but will make further security assessments closer to the game. According to CEO Ashley de Silva, the board is committed to addressing player concerns.”I don’t think [there will be repercussions for players], but we would look at their security first and give them the assurance that nothing would happen if they go to Pakistan,” de Silva said. “As per the agreement they have signed with Sri Lanka Cricket, there is a contractual obligation. But always the players can bring concerns to the notice of the management. So far they have not brought anything to our notice.”Nevertheless, players are likely to have reservations about the trip. Two current cricketers – batsman Chamara Kapugedara and bowler Suranga Lakmal – had been on board the bus that was attacked in Lahore, in 2009. Lakmal, in fact, had even sustained minor injuries. It is possible that one of both of those players will be picked in the T20 squad, but even if not, the remaining players will be aware of the trauma suffered by the players who lived through that attack. They will have also have heard about the anxiety experienced by former team-mates’ family members during the ordeal.For now, Test captain Dinesh Chandimal remained non-committal about the players’ stance. He had, however, received a positive – though brief – report from Thisara Perera, who played in the recent World XI matches in Lahore.”We couldn’t talk to Thisara much, but when I spoke to him once he said the security was very good,” Chandimal said. “The players will have to sit down and make the decision together.”According to de Silva, SLC’s final decision on whether a squad will visit Lahore will be made soon after the Test series in the UAE finishes, on October 10.”As planned, we would be sending one of our security personnel to Pakistan at least two weeks in advance of the team going there to pad out an assessment and give us a report,” he said. “As indicated before, our prime concern will be the security of the players. If we feel there is a security threat, we will not send the team. We will assess the situation prior to taking the final call.”

Asanka Gurusinha hopes players with concerns will reconsider their stance given team is “flying in and flying out”

Madushka Balasuriya17-Oct-2017Sri Lanka Cricket is hopeful of naming a strong team for the third and final T20I against Pakistan in Lahore – the first fixture the team will play in Pakistan since 2009, when their team bus was attacked by armed gunman.Players had raised concerns about travelling to Pakistan, but the board on Monday confirmed that it will be sending a team across. There have been questions around whether SLC would be forced to name a weakened side if players pulled out of the game – limited-overs captain Upul Tharanga has already withdrawn from the squad – however team manager Asanka Gurusinha felt a competitive team could be named.”We have to wait and see who the players will be. SLC is expected to tell [chief of selectors] Graeme [Labrooy] what the next step forward is,” Gurusinha said. “There are lots of positives taking place. It is not nice to name them, but there has been positive feedback from most of the players.”On top of security assurances from Pakistan’s cricket board and government, SLC will be looking to further allay player fears by only staying in Pakistan for 24 hours. SLC has also said its president Thilanga Sumathipala will accompany the team to Lahore, while the board officials had stated earlier that Sri Lanka’s players had been promised the same level of security afforded to the World XI team in September, and that the ICC was also willing to send its match officials to Pakistan.Gurusinha, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s third ODI, said he was hopeful the players who had raised concerns would “seriously look at” the precautions being taken before coming to a final decision.”SLC will be speaking to the players to find the best way to handle it. Seems like we will be there in Lahore only for 24 hours. We are flying in and flying out. We are hoping that some of the players who had concerns will seriously take a look at it.”Gurusinha acknowledged that it was a tough decision to go through with the plan despite player concerns, but explained that Pakistan’s support for Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup coupled with the security assurances meant there was little chance of the venue being changed.”We have to look at both sides. SLC was concerned with security. I am yet to talk to the board, but once security was cleared the board had to send its players.”[Pakistan] came down to help us two weeks after the Central Bank bombing [in Colombo in 1996]. Had they not come down, I am not too sure whether Kenya and Zimbabwe would have honoured their World Cup fixtures.”The security [in Pakistan] has been cleared. The team will seriously look at it and I am hopeful players will be happy with the situation.”A preliminary 22-man squad is expected to be named on Wednesday, which will be cut down to 15 by October 20.