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Knight Riders brought in Dushmantha Chameera for his first game of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2024Kolkata Knight Riders replaced Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc with Sri Lanka seamer Dushmantha Chameera for the game against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens on Friday. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss that Starc had cut his finger during their previous match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.KKR fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate later confirmed that the fast bowler was “very close to being back”.”Starcy caught his finger in one of his studs in the last game,” he said in the post-match press conference. “It’s abrased on his bowling finger, he’s obviously releasing from that finger and we just thought with that and Dushy [Chameera] being pretty fresh and ready to go that we give Dushy a game and give Starcy a chance to sort his finger out.”But as far as I know, he is very close to being back, which will either be the next game or the game after that.”Related

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• Do Punjab Kings have the batting muscle to match KKR at Eden Gardens?

Coming into the season, having been bought at the auction for a record sum of INR 24.75 crore (USD 2.98 million approx.), Starc has had a forgettable campaign so far with KKR. He has managed just six wickets while conceding runs at 11.48 per over.Against RCB at Eden Gardens, Starc was given the last over. He had to defend 21, and No. 9 Karn Sharma facing up. But he was hit for three sixes by Karn before eventually taking a good return-catch to eventually seal the win. He ended up with figures of 1 for 55 from three overs.That was the third time this season that Starc has gone for 50 runs or more in a game – and the second match in a row.His best performance of the season came against Lucknow Super Giants in a day game at Eden Gardens, when he took three wickets and gave away just 28 runs to help set up a comfortable victory.Starc is playing the IPL this year after a gap of eight years. He last played in 2015 for RCB, when he took 20 wickets at an economy of 6.76.Starc was interviewed at the ground on Friday ahead of the game against Kings, but he did not mention anything about his finger niggle. He spoke of coming back to the IPL after the long break, and what he’s learning from the experience. “Yeah coming back, obviously a different team to where I was last in the IPL, so getting to meet a lot of the guys I have played against a little bit… Some younger guys in the KKR squad, getting to know a few of the younger bowlers,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent around with bat and ball.”[I’m] getting to know how these guys go about it and learn from them as well, and try and answer any questions they’ve got. I’ve come back an older player than when I was last in the IPL, but it’s a lot of fun.”For Chameera, this will be his first appearance of the season. It’s his second proper go at the IPL: he was part of RCB in 2021 but didn’t get a game, and played 12 games for Lucknow Super Giants in 2022.

Star overseas signing only bowls two overs as rain curtails debut

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network08-Apr-2024Lancashire are hoping that “common sense prevails” in their discussions with Cricket Australia over Nathan Lyon’s availability, after his debut for the county against Surrey was heavily curtailed by the Manchester weather.Lyon initially signed for the whole season but was only made available for seven out of Lancashire’s first nine County Championship fixtures by CA. He was selected as one of two spinners, alongside Tom Hartley, for the opening match but his involvement was restricted to a first-ball duck and two wicketless overs.Asked if Lyon’s cameo would count as one of his seven permitted appearances, Lancashire coach Dale Benkenstein said: “I hope not. We have asked the question and hope common sense prevails. Two overs doesn’t constitute a match. But we are waiting to hear back from Cricket Australia.”Related

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• Sam Cook 'desperate' for England chance after running through Notts

• Lawrence turns spin discussion on its head as Surrey take a grip

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• Lyon looks beyond Ashes to spread spin gospel

Only 81.1 overs were possible across the four days at Emirates Old Trafford. The water table on the ground is very high and heavy overnight rain made the prospects of play on the final day slim even before a further morning shower. Umpires Peter Hartley and Paul Pollard carried out three inspections before finally pulling the plug at 2.15 pm.”It wasn’t ideal but there’s a few grounds [around the country] where it has been worse,” Benkenstein said. “At least we got some play. We got some positives out of it and there were a few areas in which we can do better.”Although there wasn’t a lot of cricket out in the middle, the nets have been great. Everybody’s managed to get a good bowl outside, and there has been a lot of batting in the nets on grass which helps us top up and get ready for the Hampshire game.”Surrey’s coach Gareth Batty praised the performances of Cameron Steel and Dan Lawrence, who took nine first-innings wickets between them. “I think both Cam and Dan are very skilled spinners but because we have a very good seam attack, the spinners don’t always get a go,” Batty said. “They got a go here and they were both quite magnificent.”Having bowled out Lancashire for 202 on Saturday , Surrey took 11 points from the game while Lancashire took eight points. Rory Burns’ team now return home to play Somerset at The Oval in a game starting on Friday while Lancashire’s next match is away at Hampshire, also on Friday.

A fifth straight defeat for RR in the back-end of the league stage could leave them outside the top two

Vishal Dikshit18-May-20243:18

‘Royals have the firepower even if Hetmyer is unfit’

Match details

Rajasthan Royals (second) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (first)
Guwahati, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – A dress rehearsal of the IPL final?

A week or two ago that question would have held more credence because of how KKR and RR had made the top two spots their own, that too with RR holding the top spot for a while.And then came Sunrisers Hyderabad to cast the shadows of doubt over RR’s campaign. With a slender one-run final-ball win, SRH put the brakes on RR’s four-match winning streak and also sparked off their four-match losing streak which RR haven’t managed to halt yet. And now they run into table-toppers KKR, who have won four on the trot themselves barring the washout against Gujarat Titans, in search of the elusive win that will confirm their second spot no matter what happens between RCB vs CSK on Saturday and SRH vs PBKS in the afternoon game on Sunday.RR had the winning mantra firmly in their hands for the first eight games out of nine, a pattern not new for them anymore. Last year they won five of their first eight before losing four of their remaining six to lose out on a playoff spot, and the year before that they had won six of their first eight and lost half of their remaining six to lose the top spot.A win in their final league match against KKR will break that pattern, the losing streak and do wonders for their own confidence if they want to play the first qualifier instead of the eliminator.KKR are riding high after their string of wins; so high that winning the title from here shouldn’t surprise anyone, and that success may play a role in them potentially losing their mentor Gautam Gambhir to the Indian cricket team. It’s been a week since KKR sealed their ticket for the first qualifier, ample time to think about their replacement at the top for Phil Salt and come up with a plan for Sunil Narine’s off day, with bat or ball.

Form guide

Rajasthan Royals LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)Kolkata Knight Riders WWWWL

Previous meeting

What will boost RR’s confidence is that they had snatched victory from KKR with a turnaround win in their previous fixture a month ago, which had stunned the Kolkata crowd. What will not boost RR’s confidence is that that victory was scripted single-handedly by Jos Buttler, who has left for the UK to prep for the T20 World Cup.

Team news and impact player strategy

Rajasthan Royals
Tom Kohler-Cadmore will take Buttler’s place at the top, like he did in their last game against Punjab Kings, in which they had subbed out Dhruv Jurel for Donovan Ferreira after they had slipped to 102 for 6. That may not be the case again on Sunday because Hetmyer had missed out that day but he is fit for Sunday and RR will be forced to change their combination. If it turns out to be a run-fest, RR may also want to think about bringing in a sixth bowling option against the power-packed KKR line-up.Probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 , 6 Shimron Hetmyer/Rovman Powell, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 3:16

‘Gambhir has made himself part of the KKR DNA’

Kolkata Knight Riders
Salt is likely to be replaced by Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the opener, as was being expected for the washout match against GT. Their impact bowler coming in for a batter like Venkatesh Iyer could be Vaibhav Arora or Suyash Sharma, depending on whether the pitch favours more pace or turn.Likely XII: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 , 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12

In the spotlight – Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Rahmanullah Gurbaz

All eyes will be on the two replacement openers.Tom Kohler-Cadmore already made his IPL debut against PBKS, albeit on a track he wouldn’t have wanted to stay far away from to end up with a 23-ball 18. He is a destructive hitter, particularly down the ground and RR won’t mind some of those, especially when the runs have dried up a little from Yashasvi Jaiswal. Kohler-Cadmore has made a name for himself in the Lanka Premier League, the PSL, the BBL, the Abu Dhabi T10, and the Hundred, obviously, and some fine contributions in crunch games for RR will add a lot more weight to that list.Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the hard-hitting Afghanistan opener will also likely get a game before the crucial playoffs. Just 22, he has the firepower KKR need at the top to complement Sunil Narine. His recent T20 form doesn’t inspire much confidence – 105 runs in his last six innings – and neither does his IPL record from last season – 227 runs from 11 innings while averaging 20.63 and striking at just 133.52. Gurbaz may have a sterner test waiting for him, compared to Kohler-Cadmore, with the challenge of excelling against Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin and others.

Stats that matter

• Samson has a contrasting record against the KKR spinners, with a more watchful approach against Narine. He has scored 66 runs off 82 balls with three wickets against Narine but smashed 39 off 23 without any dismissals against Varun Chakravarthy.
• Powell, similarly, has contrasting records against his compatriot Andre Russell and T&T spinner Narine. Powell has been dismissed six times by Narine for 51 runs off 73 balls, but attacked Russell for 23 off just 12 balls and no dismissals.
• Shimron Hetmyer has faced just seven balls from Chakravarthy in T20s and dismissed in two of those, while scoring six runs.
• Narine has a terrific record against the RR spinners: 94 off 39 against Ashwin and 49 off 20 while facing Chahal.
• Narine is just four sixes away from the total of 100 in the IPL. Samson needs three more sixes to reach 300 sixes in T20s.
• Nitish Rana boasts of a strong record against Ashwin: 108 off 58 balls with no dismissals yet.

Pitch and conditions

The Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati saw its first game of this IPL earlier this week when RR lost to PBKS after stumbling to 145 for 9. It had hosted three matches last IPL, and the average first-innings score since then is just 180. The temperature will range from 24 degrees to 31 degrees Celsius with lots of humidity and some rain and scattered thunderstorms expected in the evening.

Quotes

“We’ve batted first and won against two sides and chased and won as well. It’s just a case of doing your job well. It’s easy to say we should do this or that [after winning the toss].”

Under DeSilva holdings, the franchise will be known as Dambulla Sixers

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jun-2024The Lanka Premier League’s Dambulla franchise has new ownership – an engineering consulting firm called Sequoia Consultants based in Los Angeles.Sri Lanka Cricket announced this news about two weeks after the board was forced to terminate the previous ownership of the Dambulla franchise, because one of the co-owners – Tamim Rahman – was arrested by Sri Lanka police under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act.SLC said this new franchise will be run by a local company named DeSilva Holdings, “which was specifically set up for this purpose”. The owner of DeSilva Holdings, Priyanga de Silva, is in turn a majority shareholder of Sequoia, and had played domestic cricket in Sri Lanka, according to the release.Related

• LPL terminates contract with Dambulla Thunders

Under DeSilva holdings, the franchise will be known as Dambulla Sixers, having previously been Dambulla Viiking, Dambulla Giants, and Dambulla Aura – the ownership having changed repeatedly since the tournament’s first season in 2020.”My desire to get engaged in cricket, especially cricket in Sri Lanka, prompted me to purchase the Dambulla Sixers team,” said De Silva. “I have seen LPL grow as a league during the last four years, which is commendable for a small country like ours. I am excited to be a part of this growth and be able to contribute to the development of cricket in our country,” he added.The new ownership takes charge with a little over three weeks to go, before the tournament’s scheduled start, on July 1. Matches will be played in Pallekele, Dambulla, and Colombo.

Quick bowler wants role in World Cup but says control and variety will be key to success

Andrew Miller29-Jun-2024Lauren Filer insists that England will not be getting ahead of themselves in their ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, despite a comprehensive nine-wicket victory in the series opener in Durham. Nevertheless, she admits that the T20 World Cup in October, and her potential role on those slower wickets in Bangladesh, will be a factor in her preparations for the rest of the summer.Filer, England’s fastest bowler, made her second ODI appearance of the summer on Wednesday, opening alongside Lauren Bell for the first time, with Kate Cross missing the series with an abdominal strain. She made a strong impact, bowling five powerplay overs for 18 and claiming the key early wicket of Suzie Bates, before passing the baton to England’s formidable trio of spinners, who claimed seven wickets between them in bowling New Zealand out for 156.England’s openers, Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier, then picked off the bulk of those runs in a 137-run stand spanning 17.2 overs, to extend the team’s recent dominance over New Zealand, whom they beat in six matches out of eight across white-ball formats on their tour of the country in March and April.Related

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“We will definitely not underestimate New Zealand as a team,” Filer said on the eve of the second ODI in Worcester. “We know that they can hit a big ball and take wickets as well, so we’ve got to be careful. We don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves and throw everything at it, without actually thinking about it, but we’re just all up for our performance, and taking the momentum from the last game into the next one.”Filer herself took particular pride in her economy-rate (3.60) in the Durham fixture. Despite having been told by Jon Lewis, England’s head coach, that wickets were the key thing that she could offer, and that going for a few extra runs did not matter in the grander scheme of things, she conceded just two boundaries and one wide in her pacy new-ball burst, and admitted that it gave her a lift to perform her primary role with gusto without maintaining an extra level of control.”Lewy’s always told me that runs don’t matter as much,” Filer said. “But in Durham it was lovely to have that control. To only go at three and a half, it was really nice to see that on the scoreboard when when I turned around, because I wouldn’t have necessarily had that control this time last year.”It is evidence, Filer feels, of a greater understanding of her own game, and one that augurs well for a potential tweaking of her role at the World Cup, where there may be a greater need to mix up her lengths and paces to mitigate for the slower conditions.”On the pitch we played on in Durham – and most of the pitches in England – the top of stumps is the best option,” she said. “With the slower pitches, I’ll be using that quicker ball, but then it’ll be about having slower balls or yorkers, and anything that grips into the pitch, and using them wisely. I didn’t feel like I needed to do that in the last game, but moving forward, I might be able to show what I could do.”Lauren Filer celebrates the wicket of Suzie Bates in the first ODI•Getty Images

Filer’s raw pace, allied to her growing range of variations, means she could yet be deployed at the World Cup in a similar role to that which Jofra Archer performs for the men – with an impact at the top and tail of the innings, plus an ability to return in the middle of an innings if a breakthrough is required.”I’d love to do what Jofra does,” she said. “Obviously he has a great amount of control and his slower balls take a lot of wickets. But I’m trying not to look too far ahead. I wouldn’t say I’ve had a specific role given to me yet, but we’ll see where we’re at closer to the time.”I feel like I’ve worked quite hard on my accuracy, especially since my debut,” she added. “I think I’m in a good place with that. It’s about trying to move away from my stock ball and show my variations, and actually use them as a threat. When you come up against the best players, you’re not able to bowl the same ball all the time. So I’ll keep working on them until the World Cup.”Filer admits there’s no guarantees of a central role at the World Cup, especially given the ubiquity of England’s spin trio of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn. “It’s so hard as a seamer, you really want to play but you can’t push any of them out of the team,” she said. “They’re just absolutely world-class. Even if one of them doesn’t have the best day, the other two will come flying in with three or four wickets.But whatever happens, Filer knows she’ll have the support of a dressing-room which she describes as “the best environment I’ve ever been in”.”It’s just somewhere that you can be yourself,” she said. “As a team, we trust each other to do the things we do well, and that’s really important. Even on a day when it doesn’t go well, knowing that you’ve got the support of your team-mates when you come off the field, and a shoulder to cry on, that’s something really special, and something hopefully we can carry on throughout the years.”

The allrounder is currently taking part in the Hundred having come close to suffering a very nasty injury earlier in the season

Andrew McGlashan13-Aug-2024As the third-highest wicket-taker among overseas bowlers in the BBL, and the best among quicks, Tom Curran has had plenty of good times in the competition, but last season did not bring too many as most of his headlines came when he was suspended for intimidating an umpire.He was handed a four-game sanction after running towards fourth umpire Muhammad Qureshi during warm-ups before Sydney Sixers’ game against Hobart Hurricanes. He took 3 for 19 in that game, including his 50th wicket in the tournament, but only appeared in two more matches after his ban, which Sixers unsuccessfully appealed, before a knee injury ended his campaign.Related

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Curran will be back in the BBL for the 2024-25 season with a new team, having signed a two-year pre-draft deal with Melbourne Stars and he is available for the entirety of the competition. Sixers have been reassessing their overseas options for this season ahead of the draft on September 1, with a spinner understood to be high on their list after Steve O’Keefe’s retirement, but Curran believes he has left on good terms.”Obviously, the way that whole situation panned out last year wasn’t how anyone wanted it to happen,” Curran told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t feel like it was an issue with the Sixers. We fought the case together and they backed me which I really appreciated. Whenever I represented the Sixers I felt like I did them proud, not just on the field, felt like I gave it my all, immersed myself in the culture and made some amazing friends.”I got a decent idea that they were looking at other [overseas] options and they couldn’t commit at the same sort of [level] that the Stars were showing. It just felt [like] the right decision, a good time for a change. And with the multi-year contracts, I feel like a person who wants to be loyal to teams, you don’t want to be chopping and changing.””Absolutely it didn’t end the way I wanted it to…but the decisions that were made and the way it panned out was not anything to do with the people I actually dealt with and where my loyalties were.”Curran is currently playing for Oval Invincibles in their Hundred title defence having recovered from what was close to being a season-ending injury. He was bowling for Surrey in the T20 Blast against Middlesex when Luke Hollman crunched a slower ball back at him in his follow through, breaking his left forearm just above the wrist.Curran underwent surgery to have a plate inserted, which aided a quicker recovery time, and was able to get back on the field after six weeks although is currently using a protective carbon fiber guard. It was another reminder of the dangers bowlers face, particularly in T20 cricket.Tom Curran is currently wearing a protection on his arm when he bowls•Getty Images

“It was nasty,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve seen a few things over the years of bowlers getting it smacked back. It could have been so much worse if it had got me in the face that could have done some serious damage, or even the right arm or hand.”In 2017, Otago pace bowler Warren Barnes caught attention when he used protective headwear in a Super Smash game and in 2019 former New Zealand seamer Andrew Ellis wore a baseball catcher’s helmet having previously been struck, but protective equipment for bowlers is challenging.”It’s super dangerous, particularly for some guys,” Curran said. “I probably feel like I’m a standard bowler, but there’s a lot that when they follow through they get right down, their heads are down, and by the time they look up they won’t have had the time to move. I’m surprised there haven’t been more [injuries], especially the way guys are hitting them now. Maybe guys could start wearing some form of masks. It’s a tough one because you need to be mobile when you are bowling.”Curran had previously fought back from two stress fractures of the back during 2022 and 2023, between which he had opted to step away from red-ball cricket. He made the last of his T20I appearances in 2021 and while the prospect of an England recall does not consume him he is confident he could make a success of it. Since returning to bowling last July, he has 33 wickets at 16.21 and an economy of 7.88 alongside a batting strike rate of 160.61 which includes his staring role in last year’s Hundred final.”The roles I’m playing, feel like it’s quite a niche and the hardest thing about them is the consistency which I feel like I’ve done well,” he said. “But it’s not eating up my mental headspace, it’s not what’s motivating me every day and I feel that’s a good place to be.”I’ve had a fair few years to reflect on not playing and what I did when I did play. I feel like I’m a better all-round player than I was then. A bit older and feel like I know my value now. Whether I do get that opportunity or not, I’m just looking forward to contributing to teams that I do play for and keep winning some titles.”

India left-arm spinner thanked rescue forces for helping her out of a difficult situation

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2024India left-arm spinner Radha Yadav needed assistance during the flooding in Vadodara in Gujarat and has thanked the National Disaster Response Force for coming to her aid.”We were stuck in a very bad situation. Thank you so much NDRF for rescuing us,” Yadav posted on Instagram on Wednesday night.The video in her post shows the surrounding areas submerged in water and rescue personnel approaching on a raft. People can also be seen wading through chest-high water.Several areas in Gujarat have been affected by floods in recent days. As per reports on Thursday, 28 people had died and nearly 18,000 had to be relocated to safe areas because of rain and flood-related incidents.Yadav is a part of India’s 15-member squad for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup , which begins on October 3. India are grouped with defending champions Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and play their opening game against New Zealand on October 4.Yadav was last in action in the women’s Asia Cup, where she took a three-wicket haul in the semi-final against Bangladesh.Yadav has played 80 T20Is for India, returning 90 wickets. Her appearances have been more limited in ODIs, with one wicket from four matches.

“I’m quite confident in my team, I know what they are capable of”

S Sudarshanan24-Sep-20242:11

Harmanpreet: ‘Have same excitement for World Cup as I had as 19-year-old’

Harmanpreet Kaur is “quite confident” with the India squad at her disposal for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 because of the experience they bring. As many as 12 of India’s 15 squad members have prior experience of playing the tournament. Only Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and S Sajana are making their first appearances at a World Cup, having come through eye-catching performances in the Women’s Premier League.”If I talk about this team, we have a few players who have been playing for a long time and they know their roles really well,” Harmanpreet said at the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai. “I can say that this is the best team we are going for a T20 World Cup with.”Pooja [Vastrakar] is doing well and Renuka [Singh] is supporting her really well. She [Renuka] is someone who is always giving us breakthroughs. Arundhati [Reddy] is someone who can always come and bowl a few overs for the team and bat in the deep. I can’t compare our bowling line-up with other teams because every team has its own positives and negatives, but I’m quite confident in my team. I know what they are doing and what they are capable of.”Related

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• Women's T20 World Cup winners to get big increase in prize money

• Harmanpreet wants regular sports psychologist to address 'mental fatigue'

India played T20Is against Australia, England, South Africa and Bangladesh, apart from the Asia Cup, in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. While they lost the series against England and Australia, each by a 2-1 margin, they won 5-0 in Bangladesh and tied the series against South Africa 1-1 after one game was washed out. The surprise result, though, came at the Asia Cup, where Sri Lanka beat them in the final to win their maiden title.”During the Asia Cup, we played really good cricket, if I talk about the entire tournament,” Harmanpreet said. “It was just one odd game that day when things didn’t go according to the way we wanted. We sat and discussed how we wanted to work on our shortcomings in the camps and where we can improve if next time these kinds of situations arise.”The Asia Cup, in July, was India’s last outing before the World Cup. Since then, they had a couple of camps while a few players played in the Hundred and the Women’s Caribbean Premier League. Head coach Amol Muzumdar said that the camps were designed with a focus on specifics and that the lack of game-time should not hamper India at the World Cup.”We had a fitness camp which happened at the NCA and fitness and fielding camp,” Muzumdar said. “That was specifically done for those two areas and the skills [aspect] were not touched. The entire 15 days were delegated to fitness and fielding.”Later on, we had a ten-day skills camp, where there were not just the net sessions but the players played almost five games in ten days. So if you ask for game time, we have ticked that box. We played some very competitive games. There were different oppositions, there were different skill sets that were chosen for those particular games.”In 2020, India lost to Australia in the final•AFP via Getty Images

India finished runners-up at the T20 World Cup in 2020 and lost in the semi-finals in 2018 and 2023. They also narrowly lost the gold medal to Australia at the inaugural Commonwealth Games in 2022.In a bid to deal with pressure better, the players have had sessions with sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare. In the past, Harmanpreet has spoken about how Bavare helped her overcome mental fatigue, and the sessions in the camp last month have helped the players, she said.”When you talk [to a psychologist] personally, you know what you are talking and the areas you want to focus on,” she said. “But when it comes to the team, it is important that everyone opens up so that as a team we can work together and help the player as needed. We had a few sessions where we talked to each other about how we wre feeling and how we wanted to go about it. With Mugdha’s help, there were a lot of sessions after which we felt well and then after executing it on the ground, we felt better. She is really working hard on us, and so far, it is really helping us.”

‘We will reveal our No. 3 closer to opening game’ – Muzumdar

Muzumdar was also guarded on the No. 3 spot, which has been in focus in recent times. Since Jemimah Rodrigues’ shift down to No. 5 in April, India have tried Yastika Bhatia, D Hemalatha, S Sajana and Uma Chetry at that spot. Hemalatha got the longest run, batting at No. 3 in seven of the 12 games India played since April. With Bhatia’s return, though, things are a bit unclear.”Ever since I’ve taken over, we have had some tough series against good teams – England, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and then Asia Cup. So, I think the preparation has been fantastic,” Muzumdar said. “As far as the top six is concerned, I think they’re the best in the country.”I know for a fact that in T20, the No. 3 sets the game up. We have identified [our No. 3] but we will reveal that only closer to our opening game.”The World Cup was moved to the UAE after the anti-government protests in Bangladesh. Muzumdar said while the change in the venue did put a spanner in the works, India were well-equipped for the challenges.Harmanpreet and Amol Muzumdar speak to the media before departing to the UAE for the T20 World Cup•PTI

“We had specifically gone to Bangladesh in May and played five T20Is to get used to conditions. I think conditions [in UAE] would be like what we have over here in India,” said Muzumdar, who was the batting coach of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020, which was held in the UAE around the same period. “It is just that start of the season, I think there will be a little bit of bounce on the surfaces in Dubai especially.”Humidity will play a part over there. There will be a lot of heat over there, hot and humid. But I think we’ll have to go there and just assess the situation, assess the ground conditions first. We do have three games in Dubai and then one in Sharjah. We will have to really go there, feel the pitch, and then decide how and which bowlers and what combination we need to play.”For Harmanpreet, it will be her ninth T20 World Cup, having played in every edition since the inaugural one in 2009. She said she would tap into that experience to handle the pressure.”I’ve played so many World Cups and that experience and atmosphere is totally different to any bilateral series or any other tournament,” she said. “I’m going with the same excitement as I had when I was just a 19-year-old. I just want to go there and enjoy myself. I know now I have so much experience with me.”I know what the pressure is like and how I’m going to handle it. [It is about playing] with full freedom and just not thinking about what is the result. But if I go there and play freely and enjoy my cricket, I know I can change a lot of things.”

The opener batted throughout the day but the visitors wobbled in the final session

AAP20-Oct-2024Opener Henry Hunt scored a century to hold the South Australia innings together before Queensland struck back with the new ball to leave honours even after day one of the Sheffield Shield match in Brisbane.Hunt remained resolute throughout to end unbeaten on 130 as the visitors reached 289 for 7. He brought up his ninth first-class century with a six despite taking 236 balls to reach three figures in a watchful knock.Related

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Queensland concluded a long day in the field at Allan Border Field taking 4 for 24 at one stage during the final hour.South Australia lined up with Jake Lehmann returning after a 2nd XI century in place of Test star Travis Head ahead of the impending arrival of his second child. There were also changes to the bowling line-up with Liam Scott and Wes Agar replacing Lloyd Pope and Brendan Doggett.Queensland made two changes for their first home match of the Shield campaign with injured allrounder Jack Wildermuth and rested pace bowler Tom Straker omitted. Batter Lachlan Hearne and debutant paceman Tom Whitney came in for the pair.Queensland failed to take advantage of winning the toss, with new skipper Marnus Labuschagne sending South Australia in to bat and the visitors putting on a century opening stand.Conor McInerney and Hunt scored at barely 2.5 runs an over in reaching 106 before the former was caught behind for 51 off Test aspirant Michael Neser.Captain Nathan McSweeney posted 37 only to offer Jimmy Peirson a second catch, this time delivering a debut wicket for Whitney. It became two wickets in successive overs for Whitney when he bowled Daniel Drew for a duck.The scoring rate didn’t pick up until Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey arrived at the crease just after the tea break. He was eventually undone by Neser’s first over with the new ball, offering a simple catch to mid-off from a leading edge.Carey looked comfortable in his 42 off 63 balls, having also scored 90 and 111 in the season opener.Mark Steketee achieved a similar dismissal in the following over as Lehmann’s attempted flick to leg ended up in a catch at gully and a second-ball duck for the middle-order batter.Steketee then bowled Scott for 9 and Whitney knocked over Ben Manenti for 7 as South Australia lost 4 for 49 from 15 overs against the new ball.The 21-year-old Whitney was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 51.

“The most frustrating thing is that it’s always an issue depending on where you are in the world and the style of cricket that’s played”

Vithushan Ehantharajah04-Dec-2024Ben Stokes has asked the ICC to revisit its over-rate thresholds and criticised them for not engaging with players, after both New Zealand and England copped over-rate penalties from their first Test in Christchurch.Both teams were docked three World Test Championship (WTC) points with 15% match fee fines across the board last week at Hagley Oval. New Zealand now face a stiffer task to make the WTC final next year, dropping from fourth to fifth in the table. England are sixth in the WTC, in part because of over-rate fines that have seen them docked 22 points in the 2023-25 cycle, and had lost 19 of the 28 points gained during the 2023 Ashes on similar grounds.At the end of the first Test, Stokes was seen having a long conversation with match referee David Boon, who imposed the sanctions. Having initially voiced his displeasure at the punishment on his Instagram, Stokes used a media opportunity on Wednesday at Basin Reserve to elaborate on his grievances ahead of the second Test – some of them backdated to the Lord’s Test against Australia in 2023.Related

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“The most frustrating thing, from both teams’ points of view, is that the game finished early, there was a result,” Stokes said. “But I think the frustration actually stems back to last year in the Ashes where it was the first time I really brought it up to the match referee and the umpires.”I guess the most frustrating thing is that it’s always an issue depending on where you are in the world and the style of cricket that’s played. There’s never an over-rate issue in Asia because of how much spin is played.”There’s so many tactical decisions that you need to make, whether that be chatting with the bowler or field changes. As a captain, I like to change things quite a lot and the field could be completely different six balls in an over. But that’s not taken into consideration. And getting told to just ‘hurry up’ isn’t going to fix it, because we’re out there playing a game.”The times and the rules are the same wherever you go in the world. From a player’s point of view – and I’m not the only one who shares this opinion – we would like to have a lot more communication with the ICC around this.”The point regarding the different speeds of play based on conditions and bowlers predominantly used is a sound one. But it should be noted that offspinner Shoaib Bashir bowled 20 of England’s 91 overs in the first innings of the first Test.Stokes was particularly irked that having relayed his thoughts on the need for a more flexible over-rate framework – particularly to mitigate for in-game tactics – to match referee Andy Pycroft at the end of the Lord’s Test, he has yet to hear back from the ICC. This despite being told a dialogue would be forthcoming.Stokes revealed that he has not signed an over-rate chargesheet – the document from the match referee confirming a team is going to incur a penalty – since Lord’s as a mild form of protest.That being said, he accepted the charges levelled in Christchurch by standing umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth official Kim Cotton, as did New Zealand skipper Tom Latham.”The two conversations I’ve had with the match referees have actually been very good and the match referees have handled it very, very well and been very understanding from a player’s point of view,” Stokes said. “But it’s been over a year now since I made some comments around the over rates and still to this day we’re yet to hear any response back from anyone at the ICC around that.”I’ve not signed an over-rate sheet since Lord’s in the Ashes just until we hear some communication back from the ICC that we’re still waiting for. Captains have to sign over-rate sheets and fines and stuff, but I have said ‘no’ until I have the conversations. But they still take the fines off you anyway.”Jacob Oram, the New Zealand assistant coach, was on the same page as Stokes but was more focussed on learning lessons.New Zealand’s hopes of making the WTC final have been badly hit because of the sanction•Joe Allison/Getty Images

“There are results in most Test matches now and runs are being scored at a frenetic pace and wickets are falling all over the place, there is a lot of entertainment,” Oram said on Wednesday. “If you bowl 90 overs or 85 overs, there is a lot of stuff going on and I think we need to find a balance and getting some understanding.”It’s a lesson we’re going to have to take on the chin and learn from. It just comes down to hustle, making sure guys are providing that energy and bowlers are doing their job and everyone is getting into position as quickly as they can.”Stokes did have sympathy with match-going fans who end up feeling shortchanged when a full 90 overs are not bowled in a day. In England, where tickets are particularly expensive, over-rates have been a talking point among a section of supporters.”You totally understand why there is frustration from the fans about not getting their full allocation of a day’s play,” he said. “But again, we’re trying. We’re out there to play a game that we try and win and there’s a lot that goes into that. We’re not purposely bowling over rates slower than the rules say.”