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New Zealand have used 11 different players between No. 5 and 7 since the 2015 World Cup. India, in the same period, have tried just as many players at No. 4 alone

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu21-Oct-20172:22

Chopra: Dhawan must open; use Pandya as the sixth bowler and batting option

Big picture

You will remember the last team to go down in the Champions Trophy earlier this year: India, shellacked by Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Amir in the final. But, do you remember that New Zealand were the first to be ousted from the tournament? They have a rejigged squad for the series against India, but the old troubles remain. The Brendon McCullum-shaped hole at the top of the order. The middle-order that is a revolving door. New Zealand have used as many as 11 different players between No. 5 and 7 since the 2015 World Cup. And the one with the best numbers – allrounder James Neesham (557 runs in 22 innings) isn’t even with the team now.Instead, New Zealand have tasked Tom Latham with a dual role: hold the middle order together and keep wicket. Opening the batting in each of the five ODIs in India last year, Latham had accumulated 244 runs in five innings. In the first ODI on a seamer-friendly pitch in Dharamsala, he became the first New Zealander to carry his bat through an ODI innings. Glenn Phillips, Henry Nicholls – who did not even manage a single win for New Zealand A against India A in the lead-up to this series – and Colin de Grandhomme – who did not get a game in the Champions Trophy – are the other middle-order aspirants.Since the Champions Trophy final, India have secured dominant series wins in the Caribbean, Sri Lanka, and at home against Australia. They have gone from ignoring wristspin to lapping it up with both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal lending a fresh edge to the bowling attack. But the hosts have middle-order concerns of their own: they have used 11 different players at No. 4 since the 2015 World Cup.

Form guide

India: WLWWW (completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand: LLLWW

In the spotlight

The last time New Zealand were in India, Hardik Pandya was just making his ODI debut. A year later, he has established himself as the team’s premier allrounder. His six-hitting prowess – he has smashed 28 of them in 2017, just one below the leader of the list – has eased India’s middle-order worries and set them up better for the final flourish. The batting brawn is complemented by the bowling smarts – he has added the fast offcutter and the knuckle ball to his repertoire.Trent Boult was singled out by India’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma as a major threat, two days before the series opener. That the left-arm quick scooped 5 for 38 in the first warm-up match, and took 16 wickets in seven games against India last year adds more weight to Rohit’s comments.

Team news

Ajinkya Rahane struck at least a fifty in each of his four most recent ODIs, but with Shikhar Dhawan returning to India’s squad, he appears set to partner Rohit at the top. Dinesh Karthik might have to tussle with Manish Pandey for a middle-order spot.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 MS Dhoni(wk), 6 Manish Pandey/Dinesh Karthik, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit BumrahNew Zealand captain Kane Williamson confirmed that Colin Munro will open the batting with Martin Guptill. The visitors might also have to make a choice between Nicholls, Phillips, and George Worker.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls/Glenn Phillips, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Tim Southee

Pitch and conditions

The pitch in Mumbai wore a brownish look on Saturday, amid fairly dry conditions. The Wankhede surface is noted for its batting-friendly nature – the last ODI here saw South Africa amass 438, and the same trend could follow. Mumbai has received some erratic rains in the last few weeks, which means Sunday is likely to be hot and humid.

Stats and trivia

• Rohit needs 98 runs to become the second batsman after Virat Kohli to reach 1000 ODI runs in 2017.
• Kohli is set to feature in his 200th ODI on Sunday. He will be the 13th Indian to the landmark.
• South Africa and India are both on 120 points with Faf du Plessis’ men ahead on decimal points. If South Africa beat Bangladesh 3-0, India will have to beat New Zealand 3-0 to regain, and retain, the No. 1 ranking.
• Munro has never opened in 57 matches across formats in international cricket so far.

Quotes

“We have got a relatively new middle order – some guys with injuries, some guys with some good opportunities that certainly they all deserve, and it’s exciting. These guys were here on the A tour and experienced these conditions for a while coming into the series, which is always good.”
“We always had in mind to bring wristspinners into play. We honestly didn’t think of playing two together but they (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) are so good together that it is very tempting to play them every game.”

ESPNcricinfo understands that SLC and Hathurusingha have agreed verbally on a deal, and are about a week away from putting pen to paper

Mohammad Isam19-Nov-2017When Chandika Hathurusingha takes over as Sri Lanka’s head coach at some point this month, his first assignment will be against Bangladesh, the team he has only recently left in unceremonious circumstances. ESPNcricinfo understands that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Hathurusingha have agreed verbally on the deal, and are about a week away from putting pen to paper.That will end weeks of speculation about Hathurusingha’s new job, after BCB president Nazmul Hassan said last month that the coach had sent his resignation letter from the Bangladesh job in mid-October, and that the BCB had accepted his resignation. Hassan, and other BCB officials, later said that Hathurusingha wasn’t taking their calls although he had apparently said that he would be in Dhaka after November 15.However, BCB have now given up hope on Hathurusingha’s arrival in Dhaka or the prospect of him further extending his stay in Bangladesh. Instead, they are now turning their focus on the prospect of facing him in the opposition camp. In January, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play an ODI tri-series involving Zimbabwe and then bilateral T20 and Test series.”Officially we are not aware whether he has taken a new job anywhere else,” said the BCB director Jalal Yunus, repeating what the BCB has been saying for the past 10 days in response to queries about Hathurusingha.When asked about his first assignment likely being against Bangladesh in January, Yunus said: “If he does take the Sri Lanka job, then he will have the advantage of knowing our players quite well. Not just off the laptop, but from practical experience. He knows our long-term plans. He will also know more about the pitches. But I also feel that he will also be with Sri Lankan cricketers after a long time so he may need a bit of time to adjust there as well.”Ironically, Sri Lanka were on the receiving end of a similar switch in 2014 when Paul Farbrace resigned from the head coach’s position and joined England as assistant coach, weeks before Sri Lanka were to tour England.Earlier this year, Hathurusingha had given a hint of thinking of moving back to Sri Lanka in an interview during Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka.”I will absolutely come [if SLC asks me to],” Hathurusingha said in March 2017. “I am in this position today because of all the things I learned playing cricket in Sri Lanka. After I learned everything in Sri Lanka for about 20 years, I went to Australia and learned things there as well. But if Sri Lanka invites me at any time, I will happily come back to do something for the country.”

Josh Hazlewood struck twice in his first two overs before Mitchell Starc cleaned up England with the new ball to banish any thoughts of a famous upset

The Report by Brydon Coverdale06-Dec-20171:02

Swann: The batting monkey is growing on Root’s back

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEngland arrived at Adelaide Oval on the fifth day knowing that hope springs eternal, or at least until Joe Root gets out. And so England’s hope sprung for only 17 deliveries. By the time the day was three overs old, Josh Hazlewood had dismissed Root and Chris Woakes, and within two hours Australia had won the Test and taken a 2-0 lead in the series. At least the England fans who had awoken in the small hours back home in anticipation of a tense final day could get some sleep.The day began with England 178 runs from victory with six wickets in hand. They added only 57 to their overnight total for the loss of all six of those wickets. That England even fought back into this match, that they entered the final day with any sort of hope whatsoever, was a surprise in itself. But if Australia officially won the Test on the fifth afternoon, in reality England had lost it on the first two days, when they sent Australia in and saw them make 442.It left England needing their all-time highest successful chase to win this match, and the final day began badly when Woakes edged behind off Hazlewood from the second ball – Snicko confirming his fate despite a review. In Hazlewood’s next over he claimed the key wicket of Root, who did not add a run to his overnight score of 67. On a surface that had been good for batting all match, a ball finally stayed a touch low and kissed the toe of Root’s bat on the way through to Tim Paine.Josh Hazlewood had Joe Root caught behind for 67•Getty Images

From then on it was only a matter of time, and not even much of that. Moeen Ali was trapped lbw trying to sweep Nathan Lyon on 2, and the rest of the damage arrived with the new ball. Mitchell Starc curled the very first delivery with the new pink Kookaburra in to the pads of Craig Overton, who was lbw for 7; Stuart Broad edged behind off Starc for 8; and the result was confirmed when Jonny Bairstow chopped on against Starc for 36.Starc had finished with 5 for 88, but it was Hazlewood’s two early strikes that set the tone for the final session of this Test. After a day of England fight, normal service had resumed. And if the Gabbatoir is the fortress at which Australia like to open their summer, the Adelaide Oval day-night Test is becoming a strong occasion for them as well – the Australians have now won all three pink-ball Tests played in Adelaide.Now the teams fly to Perth with Australia just one win away from regaining the Ashes. And if Root wins the toss at the WACA, don’t expect him to do anything but bat.

India sealed a comprehensive 10-wicket win against Zimbabwe to maintain an all-win record in the group stages and will play their knockout clash, in all likelihood against Bangladesh, in Queenstown on January 26

The report by Shashank Kishore in Mount Maunganui19-Jan-2018Another day, another lopsided contest. India exhibited their batting depth in making light work of Zimbabwe to maintain an all-win record in the group stages. This meant India will enjoy a week off and play their knockout clash, in all likelihood against Bangladesh, in Queenstown on January 26.With little or no pressure to contend with, India’s openers treated the 155 chase as an extended net session. Shubman Gill displayed his punch and power by strolling to a 36-ball half-century, with his stability and strong bottom-hand in playing the short-arm jab for six over deep midwicket being the standout. With a few more runs to knock off, he may have had a crack at becoming India’s first centurion in the tournament. He finished 90 not out courtesy 14 fours and a six.Desai, who showed sharp reflexes and soft hands behind the stumps after coming in for Aryan Juyal, showed he was more than capable of holding his own in front of it too. By the end of it, India had not only ticked most boxes but gave themselves plenty of back-up options should they need it later in the tournament. They strolled home in 21.4 overs. This meant India and Australia were the two qualifiers from the group.India chose to bowl against Papua New Guinea because they were mindful of the weather. Here, they wanted to bat, but lost the toss. This meant their bowlers enjoyed some excellent bowling conditions on a surface that was under the covers all of Thursday and all through the morning Friday because of heavy showers.When play began, the showers dissipated to give way to bright sunshine. This wouldn’t have been all that bad for Zimbabwe, provided they were willing to bide time. But lack of application resulted in a succession of wickets to India’s left-arm spinners Anukul Roy and Abhishek Sharma.Roy, the more conventional of the two, used his loop to deceive the batsmen in the air and finish with 4 for 20, to go along with his five-for in the previous game. The third left-arm spinner, Shiva Singh, was tight and economical, conceding only 16 off his eight overs while Riyan Parag, the offspinning-allrounder who replaced Himanshu Rana, picked one wicket.In finishing with 1 for 17 off five overs, Parag may have also given the team management an extra bowling option going into the quarter-finals, should they look for more variety. India have another spinner in the squad, a leggie, in Pankaj Yadav who is yet to get a look-in. This alongside an already impressive pace battery of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and the impressive Arshdeep Singh.On the day, however, Nagarkoti was inconsistent with his lengths and struggled for rhythm. Mavi was much tighter and created opportunities with the new ball. Appreciable movement both in the air and off the pitch made him dangerous. He could have had more than the one wicket of opener Gregory Dollar, which he picked up in the third over.Zimbabwe’s only pocket of resistance came in the form of Liam Roche and Milton Shumba, who put together 49 for the fourth wicket. Roche, the captain, fought hard during his 45-ball stay, but a combination of being unable to pick lengths and playing poor strokes led to them freefalling from 110 for 3 to 154 all out.

CSA will engage the eight team owners to determine whether the tournament is still feasible

Firdose Moonda04-Mar-2018In a surprise about-turn, Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) board has reverted to its original idea of a privately owned franchise T20 competition and will now engage the current owners in the Global T20 League to determine whether the tournament is still feasible.The eight owners – of whom three are IPL franchise owners, two are PSL franchise owners, and only one is South African – have had scant communication with CSA since the inaugural edition of the tournament was postponed in October last year. At the time, some of them expressed their support for CSA and willingness to stay involved with the tournament but since then, the uncertainty over the future of the tournament has left owners concerned. All eight paid a refundable deposit of USD 250,000 for their successful team bids, money that has been in CSA’s coffers, and were concerned about their cash as well as their future involvement.The prospect of a collective claim from the owners, which would include an amount for losses should the league not go on as originally conceived, was one of the reasons CSA has decided to embark on further discussions with the existing owners to determine if a league is still viable.The decision was made at a joint sitting of the CSA board and members’ council which took place at a luxury golf estate 40km north of Kingsmead on Saturday, but it does not provide a guarantee that the T20 Global League will go ahead.A final decision will only be made once CSA have tested the tournament’s “financial viability in both local and international markets”. An eight-member task team that includes acting board CEO Thabang Moroe, CFO Naasei Appiah, three member presidents and three member CEOs will present their findings to the members’ council at the end of March, when a final decision on the tournament’s future will be taken.That will bring to six the number of months CSA has spent trying to get its own T20 tournament off the ground after postponing it last October when it was estimated that the inaugural season would lose USD 25 million. At the time, it was suggested that the absence of a broadcaster and a title sponsor were the main reasons CSA could not pull off the tournament after parting ways with former CEO Haroon Lorgat in late September. The GLT20 was Lorgat’s brainchild but he was accused of not keeping the board fully apprised of developments. That, and his non-existent relationship with the CFO, with whom he was not even on speaking terms, ultimately led to Lorgat’s position becoming untenable.Post-Lorgat, CSA has tried to come up with a different business model for the T20 Global League. In February, the members’ council was presented with a proposal for a move away from private ownership and towards a CSA-owned-and-run league, which would include transformation targets and minimal overseas representation. The members’ council rejected the idea fearing mainly for the state of the six-franchise and 13-provincial domestic game if CSA was to own a separate T20 competition. Other options have included selling the league in its entirety and ESPNcricinfo understands that one of the proposals put to CSA was a joint bid by SuperSport, the South African broadcaster which holds the hosting rights to cricket in the country, one of the eight franchise owners, and an Indian businessman to buy out the league.While it is not known how seriously CSA is considering the offer, negotiations with SuperSport will still be crucial to the future of any new tournament. In South Africa, SuperSport is the only viable broadcast partner for CSA, and had offered it much less than Lorgat wanted to buy rights to the T20 Global League for last year. Though Lorgat travelled to India to try and pursue another deal, it is unlikely broadcasters from the country would be overly interested in holding rights to a tournament that does not feature any India players. In December, CSA said it was engaging in talks with the BCCI about the possibility of Indian players being made available for the T20 Global League but the tournament’s window – November-December – clashes with the Indian home season, so it is unlikely that will happen in the near future.Without a significant broadcast deal, the T20 Global League would be unsustainable for CSA, which speaks to the need for the task team to engage with SuperSport to determine what kind of deal can be struck. Then, they would need to evaluate costs like the player salary bill – which cost CSA the bulk of the USD 14 million it lost on the postponed event – and gauge the appetite for the tournament before deciding whether to go ahead. South Africa’s players are still hopeful of the event taking place and see it as crucial to ensuring job security in years to come.

The BPL franchise has signed the former New Zealand captain for the 2018 and 2019 seasons

Mohammad Isam01-Mar-2018Rajshahi Kings have appointed Daniel Vettori as their head coach for the 2018 and 2019 BPL. This will be the first time the former New Zealand captain will be working in Bangladesh.”With his experience as a specialist coach in the T20 format, Daniel will not only help the team but the local youngsters to learn and excel in this very exciting format,” Rajshahi Kings CEO Tahmeed Huq said.Vettori is already the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Brisbane Heat and Middlesex in the domestic T20 leagues.Earlier, Sarwar Imran was Rajshahi’s coach in 2016 and 2017 seasons. Rajshahi were the runners-up in 2016, but finished second last in the 2017 season.

India’s ODI captain doesn’t think a women’s IPL is feasible just yet, given the current depth of talent in Indian women’s cricket

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai21-Mar-2018In the wake of India’s rousing run to the final of the 2017 World Cup, there have been loud calls for the creation of a women’s IPL. India ODI captain Mithali Raj and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, however, don’t think the idea is feasible just yet, given the current depth of talent in Indian women’s cricket.

Gayakwad replaces injured Bisht

Rajeshwari Gayakwad has been called into the Indian squad as replacement for fellow left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht for the T20I tri-series against England and Australia. Bisht, who injured her left index finger during the third ODI against Australia in Vadodara on March 18, has been advised 10 days rest. Gayakwad, meanwhile, had been part of the ODI squad against Australia, and featured only in the curtain-raiser of the three-match series.

“It’s important to have a pool of players who will be qualified to play an IPL kind of a league. We need players [to] make up India A. Once we have those many players, then I think it would be wise for us to have an IPL,” Raj said on Tuesday. “India A itself needs more quality players. So, once we have those many players, I think it will be wise enough to have an IPL.”In the start, you can feed in any player from the domestic circuit, but there will be a stark difference between the calibre of an international player and domestic rookie, which might go against the idea of promoting women’s cricket. I personally believe that when you have strong domestic set-up that churns out quality players, then giving them an opportunity in IPL makes sense.”Goswami, who will be featuring in the T20 tri-series starting Thursday after recovering from a heel injury, echoed Raj’s views.”I agree with what she said. It’s important to have a strong domestic set-up and then get such leagues started.”Raj said that even though the BCCI has taken a significant step forward by putting together the India A women’s squad, identifying and nurturing the next generation of international players will require a considerable investment of time.”We just started with the India A tours with formation of the A team taking place last year after the World Cup,” Raj said. “So it will take some years to get our second-string team in place. We do have some young, talented players but they need exposure. So, I am sure in a year or two we will have a better quality of players playing for India.”At a time when the management has shown a clear slant towards blooding young talent, the return of the 34-year-old Rumeli Dhar to the international mix, during the tour of South Africa, took many followers of the game by surprise.Called up after a six-year hiatus as replacement for the then-injured Goswami, Rumeli’s selection was seen as both a reward for consistency in the domestic circuit as well as an SOS call to plug the dearth of dependable, up-and-coming talent in the quick-bowling department.Raj backed the selectorial gamble and Rumeli, who took two catches and a three-for in the two matches she played in South Africa, insisting that current form should take precedence ahead of a player’s age or their international career timeline.”Yes, there’s been a break in the last time she played international cricket for India,” Raj said, “but the selectors got her back during the South Africa tour because Jhulan got injured during the South Africa ODI series. Rumeli had done very well in the T20 format in the domestic series.”As far as I know, I think age shouldn’t be a matter. If she has performed well, I look it at as an example of if you do very well in domestic [cricket], the selectors will show a lot of interest in giving the player an opportunity in the T20 team. And Rumeli did well when she got that opportunity.”Looking back on the 3-0 series loss against Australia in the ODI leg of India’s first home season since the World Cup and a dual-series winning tour of South Africa, Raj suggested the heavy defeats had much to do with the fragility of the middle order and the inability of the bowling unit to perform at its consistent best.”We lagged in having partnerships in the middle order that we had on the South Africa tour,” Raj said. “Our middle order did not click in the ODIs. The bowlers weren’t as disciplined as they were on the South Africa tour. Things did not go our way.”She also admitted the team might have found it difficult to adapt to home conditions after a month-long overseas tour.”Coming back from the South Africa tour where the wicket was different than what we have played in Baroda, there might be an issue of not having enough time to prepare well for the series,” Raj said.”The problem is not with quality. Yes, we are coming from a successful tour, but then we are playing in different situations and conditions. The Australians have prepared well for us as it is the only tour they have come for.”With the World T20 in November, and with a view to finding the right mix of players for the tournament, Raj said the team for the upcoming tri-nation series may be quite different from the one that played the T20Is in South Africa.”We need to have few changes in the squad irrespective of the result, because we are looking at the bigger picture, that is we are preparing for the [T20] World Cup, so there is a chance we could see few changes in the team.”

Bowl wicket to wicket and tempt the batsmen for boundaries. Umesh Yadav has revealed his bowling plan that dismissed the dangerous opening pair of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul in the same over on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-20181:30

‘Umesh is bowling at his best’ – Parthiv

Bowl wicket to wicket and tempt the batsmen for boundaries. Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Umesh Yadav has revealed his bowling plan that dismissed the dangerous Kings XI Punjab opening pair of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul in the same over on Monday night in his match-winning effort of 3 for 23. Umesh’s figures helped bowl Kings XI out for only 88, which RCB chased down with 10 wickets and nearly 12 overs to spare.”We knew those two (Gayle and Rahul) were the dangerous batsmen because once they’re set, they can take the score to 180-190,” Umesh told after the match. “Our team plan was to hit the good lengths and I knew it would be better to not to give them any room. So I wanted to tempt them to hit me for boundaries and I wanted to focus on my strengths – pace and bounce – and tried to bowl wicket to wicket. My captain and team-mates also backed me with that plan.”Even before Umesh got rid of the openers with short deliveries in the fifth over, he and Tim Southee swung the new ball with precision and didn’t offer the batsmen any room to restrict them to 14 for 0 in the first three overs. The third over was a sign of the things to come in the fifth, when Umesh troubled Gayle in the first half of the over with swing, pace and bounce, and then almost had Rahul caught at mid-off on the last ball of the over.In his next over, Umesh banged in short balls and had both batsmen caught at deep square leg within a span of four deliveries, although after Rahul had smashed him for two sixes in the eight balls he faced from Umesh that fetched 15 runs.”If you’re scared of getting hit as a bowler, you can’t bowl in the IPL,” Umesh said. “T20 is such a format that sometimes you get a wicket off a poor ball and sometimes you are hit for a six on a good ball. My focus is always to move on to the next ball if I’ve been hit for a six. It’s important to forget the past and stay in the present in the short format.”When Umesh returned in the 13th over, which was his last, he also had Andrew Tye caught behind for a duck and finished with the same figures in both legs against Kings XI – 3 for 23. In their first clash last month, Umesh’s spell had helped bowl Kings XI out for 155 which RCB had chased in the last over. Umesh is now the leading wicket-taker for RCB with 17 scalps from 12 matches, and third on the list overall behind Tye (20) and Hardik Pandya (18).”I had not noticed that much (same figures against Kings XI) because it’s been a while since that match,” he said. “My focus was just to do well for the team and keep the motivation on a high level.”RCB are still placed seventh, with 10 points from 12 matches and to keep their playoff hopes alive, they need to win their remaining matches and hope some other results go their way. They will play their last two games against current table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on Thursday, and against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday.

The Major Associations set to contract 16 players each overall, one more than last season

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2018Former New Zealand opener Jesse Ryder has found no takers among the six Major Associations in round one of contract distribution.The associations announced their first list of contracted players for the 2018-19 season on Friday, part of a two-step contracting process in domestic cricket. They will contract 16 players each overall, one up from last season.As per the rules, the associations are allowed to contract between ten and 15 players in round one, and will fill up their quota of 16 on June 30. Whether 33-year-old Ryder finds a new cricketing home then remains to be seen. For now, it seems like his team from the last three seasons, Central Districts, has moved on. quoted Central Districts chief executive Pete De Wet as saying: “Jesse began his professional career for us way back in 2002-03, when he was a promising youngster himself at just 18. Later, after nine seasons representing the Wellington Firebirds and two seasons with the Otago Volts, we were delighted when his career came full circle in 2015-16 when we welcomed Jesse back.”It was a very difficult decision not to offer Jesse a new contract, as we have appreciated his contribution to the team for the past three summers. However, ultimately, we have considered the balance of our squad and have elected to take a long-range view.”Ryder was one of only six batsmen to score over 600 runs last season in the first-class Plunket Shield. In seven matches for Central Districts, the eventual champions, Ryder scored 640 at 71.11 with two hundreds and three fifties. The highlight of his season was twin centuries from No. 5 in Nelson, to set up a 256-run drubbing of Auckland.Here is the full list of players handed contracts in round one.Auckland: Jamie Brown, Craig Cachopa, Mark Chapman, Danru Ferns, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Ben Horne, Ben Lister, Matt McEwan, Robbie O’Donnell, Glenn Phillips, Sean Solia, Will SomervilleCanterbury: Chad Bowes, Blake Coburn, Leo Carter, Andrew Ellis, Cameron Fletcher, Andrew Hazeldine, Kyle Jamieson, Ken McClure, Cole McConchie, Stephen Murdoch, Ed Nuttall, Henry Shipley, Will Williams, Theo van WoerkomCentral Districts: Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Greg Hay, Christian Leopard, Willem Ludick, Ryan McCone, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Bevan Small, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Wheeler, Will YoungNorthern Districts: James Baker, Peter Bocock, Dean Brownlie, Henry Cooper, Anton Devcich, Daniel Flynn, Zak Gibson, Brett Hampton, Nick Kelly, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Brett Randell, Tim Seifert, Joe WalkerOtago: Matt Bacon, Warren Barnes, Neil Broom, Mark Craig, Jacob Duffy, Josh Finnie, Shawn Hicks, Anaru Kitchen, Michael Rae, Mitch Renwick, Michael Rippon, Hamish Rutherford, Nathan Smith, Brad WilsonWellington: Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lauchie Johns, Iain McPeake, James Neesham, Ollie Newton, Malcolm Nofal, Jeetan Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Logan van Beek, Luke Woodcock, Peter Younghusband

The West Indies fast bowler enjoyed great success by manipulating the angles to make sure the Bangladesh batsmen had to play (and nick) at everything

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2018A searing string of 12 balls was all Kemar Roach required to make a light work of the Bangladesh batting line-up in North Sound. He picked up five wickets, the opposition crumbled to 43 all out, and all this happened while the fast bowler was battling hamstring trouble.If his maiden over up front was a cue to what was to follow, his fifth gave a glimpse of what the visitors will have to deal with in the coming days. Roach knocked out Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan, allowing none of them to score any runs and sent Bangladesh on their way to the lowest total in the last 44 years of Test cricket.”Obviously it felt good. It came pretty rapid,” Roach said, describing his eighth five-wicket haul. “It was a bit surprising. Obviously to go out there and perform for West Indies is the main goal. To do that today and put West Indies in a good position – I’m happy with that.”I’ve been doing a lot of work with my bowling coach Corey Collymore. I think he’s done a great job with me when he came on board. My rhythm today was fantastic; the ball came out just the way I wanted to. Yeah, got five wickets in a quick span of time; I’m happy with that.”While the bounce at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium, where West Indies have played only five Tests before Wednesday, aided his raw pace, it was Roach’s deft use of angles that made him so threatening. He went round the wicket against Bangladesh’s left-handers to make sure they couldn’t leave too many deliveries – Tamim Iqbal and Shakib fell to balls that came in and went away off the seam – and attacked right-handers from wide of the crease – Mahmudullah was caught behind off an outswinger that pitched on middle, trapped him in the crease and snatched the outside edge.”Yeah, it’s [the conditions in North Sound] different,” Roach said. “I haven’t played much here, but I’ve been talking to one of the guys – Alzarri Joseph – he’s from here. He told me that the wicket’s always a good batting wicket, but what’s important is to bowl in good areas if you want to get some rewards, so today was just that for me.””I try to use the angles as much as possible. I tried to bring in all three aspects of dismissals into play: lbw, bowled, and caught. I just wanted to be as consistent as possible, make a batsman play as much as possible and, obviously play on the mistake.”Roach’s fiery burst, however, wasn’t without a scare for the hosts. Into his fourth over, a hamstring niggle had him in visible discomfort. After completing his five-for, and only marginally missing a hat-trick, he left the field with figures of 5-1-8-5.”I felt like something’s there in my hamstring,” Roach said. “It’s started to get worse as I went on; just tweaked it a little bit while running in. It’s a little heavy, the outfield, it feels heavy on the legs. It’s [the injury] not so serious so far. I pulled out of the innings to get some treatment from Dave [physio], I think he did a fantastic job. It’s quite early but I’m feeling pretty good about bowling in the second innings again.”Besides, Roach is hoping for a long rest now that West Indies are batting and have already made 201 runs. “The plan is bat once, to get 450-500 runs on the board, I think it’s going to be tough for the Bangladeshis to get. Once we bat and score that much, it’ll be fine to fine to win this Test match.”