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An enthralling series was heading towards a fitting conclusion in Sharjah, as Mohammad Hafeez’s classy, unbeaten 97 brought Pakistan back into the third Test

The Report by Alan Gardner03-Nov-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAn enthralling series was heading towards a fitting conclusion in Sharjah, as Mohammad Hafeez’s classy, unbeaten 97 brought Pakistan back into the third Test. They had the better of a hard-fought third day, having erased England’s first-innings advantage with all ten wickets intact, but the tourists remained in touch thanks to three wickets in the final hour.When James Anderson trapped Shoaib Malik lbw first ball with a wicked reverse-swinging delivery, returning him to the top of the wicket-takers list for the series, Pakistan were 105 for 2, just 33 runs ahead. Younis Khan followed lbw as the light faded but Hafeez kept Pakistan on course. Pakistan’s lead was 74 at the close and the ineffectiveness of England’s spinners will give Alastair Cook an uneasy night.Hafeez will go to bed three runs short of his first Test hundred against England, composed enough in the final minutes to set aside thoughts of the milestone and play out a maiden from Adil Rashid before letting nightwatchman Rahat Ali take the final over. His efforts helped raise Pakistan’s highest opening stand of the series and evened the contest after England’s first-innings total of 306 had given them a 72-run lead.Batsmen have seldom felt secure on this pitch and both sides will know that the result could be decided by a single careless session – England learned as much in defeat in Dubai – though defending a target, however small, ought to give Pakistan the advantage.The appearance during England’s innings of Ben Stokes, his right shoulder strapped up due to the collar bone injury he sustained on the first day, was symbolic of their determination to win a Test in the UAE for the first time and level the series. To do so effectively a man down would be all the more remarkable and the lack of Stokes as third seamer looked increasingly debilitating as Anderson was pressed into an nine-over spell during the evening session.Mohammad Hafeez walks off unbeaten on 97•Getty Images

Once again, Anderson and Stuart Broad gave nothing away, conceding just six runs between them in eight opening overs. But while they sent down combined figures of 26-9-55-2 – which included an insouciant leg-side six by Hafeez from an Anderson offcutter – England’s spin trio of Samit Patel, Moeen Ali and Rashid ended the day with 0 for 90 from their 27 overs.Hafeez was given out on 2, in Anderson’s third over, but Bruce Oxenford’s decision was overturned on review, despite the limited technology available, with daylight seemingly visible between ball and outside edge. Younis was not so lucky when Oxenford decided a delivery from Broad was coming back enough to hit off stump, with no shot offered, to leave Pakistan three down overnight.The watchful start was a calculated one and a warning flare went up when Hafeez skipped out to hit Patel over long-off in the 10th over. Cook brought on his spinners early but the result was pressure being released, although Hafeez was lucky that an edge off Moeen diverted just enough to miss Jonny Bairstow’s waiting gloves, hitting him on the thigh instead.Patel also had an lbw appeal against Azhar Ali turned down, with Hawk-Eye suggesting it would have hit middle stump – although he had come so far out of his crease that the point of impact was beyond three metres and would have rendered a DRS request futile. As tea approached, Bairstow nearly succeeded with an opportunistic stumping attempt when Azhar dozily lifted his foot after leaving a delivery from Rashid.When the breakthrough came, ending a stand of 101, it was via the sort of run-out that Azhar would wish to consign to Room 101. Having called for a single to mid-off, he then hesitated, saw Hafeez continue to charge down the pitch, started running again when the first throw missed but was still nowhere in sight when the ball was returned from midwicket for Rashid to break the stumps.England had gradually stretched their lead during the morning, Patel continuing to make a good impression on his Test comeback, but Pakistan wrapped up the innings shortly after the interval as the last four wickets fell for 21. Malik, belatedly called upon having taken the wicket of Moeen at the start of the innings, finished with 4 for 33, his best Test figures on the day he announced his retirement.Pakistan had removed James Taylor and Bairstow, whose fifth-wicket stand of 89 helped England into the ascendency, inside the first hour. Taylor added just two singles to his score and any hopes of a maiden Test hundred were snuffed out during an examining spell from Rahat, who followed the lead of England’s seamers on the first day by drying up the runs and waiting for a mistake. Having played out two maidens from the left-armer, Taylor fenced a back-of-length delivery through to the diving Sarfraz Ahmed.Rahat was into his fifth over before he conceded a run off the bat, though Patel then proceeded to crack boundaries either side of the wicket off him. At the other end, Zulfiqar Babar wheeled away in familiar manner. England have not had to fear many eruptions from Pakistan’s Old Faithful but there was an extra spurt to the arm ball that did for Bairstow, the batsman tied up and then skewered by a succession of subtly varied deliveries.The lead was just 11 at that stage and Pakistan could envision running through England’s lower order, just as they did on the third morning in Dubai. But little has come easily in this match and they found themselves repelled once again as the session wore on. It required the introduction of Malik’s offspin to dislodge Rashid after a stand of 40, helped by a brilliant catch at short leg from Azhar.Patel, coming in at No. 7 due to Stokes’ injury, looked as fluent as any England batsman and crunched six boundaries on the way to 42, his highest score in eight Test innings. His contribution was another valuable display of lower-order solidity, with every run precious, and it took a special delivery to remove him, Yasir Shah doing a passable imitation of Shane Warne’s “Ball of the Century” to clip the top of off stump. Some unkind souls might point out the similarities between Patel and Mike Gatting, too.Anderson did not last long, playing inside another turning delivery from Malik, and his dismissal brought Stokes to the crease, glowering defiantly. He leaned stiffly out to defend his first ball, from Malik, before Misbah-ul-Haq decided to test his constitution with a blast from Wahab Riaz; Stokes took a glancing blow from a bouncer but merely grimaced and carried on. Broad had added 10 more to England’s total when Stokes’ brave resistance was ended by Malik, who hit off stump once again.

A freer dressing room culture and a renewed focus on fitness helped improve Sri Lanka’s fielding for the West Indies tour, interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne said

Sa'adi Thawfeeq16-Nov-2015A freer dressing room culture and a renewed focus on fitness helped improve Sri Lanka’s fielding in the recent series against West Indies, interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne said.Slipping fielding standards had been a major area of concern for Sri Lanka in 2015. In January, captain Angelo Mathews had said the team’s poor catching cost them the Wellington Test match, before Sri Lanka’s fielding drew yet more criticism during the World Cup, most notably from then-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya. Chances continued to be spilt during mid-year series against Pakistan and India, but the team has been credited with a better fielding performance against West Indies. Jayaratne said giving players freedom to make mistakes was vital in bringing change.”I said I was going to bring in a policy at the beginning of the series, which was to try and catch even half-chances,” Jayaratne said. “I don’t care whether you drop catches and any dropped catch will not be discussed hereafter. The players started to believe in themselves and were not afraid to drop anything. They gave it their best shot.”Jayaratne said the dressing room atmosphere was “not all that good” when he took over as head coach. “The root of it was they were scared to drop catches. When I spoke to them individually, they preferred the catch going to the next man, rather than to them. Tillakaratne Dilshan likes the ball coming to him and he enjoys fielding. If you don’t find the means to psychologically enjoy fielding, you will never be a good fielder.”Sri Lanka earned their first trophies this year with big victories in the Test and ODI series against West Indies, but the upcoming away tour to New Zealand shapes as a key test for a transitioning team, and as an audition for its acting coach. Players have spoken out in support of Jayaratne so far, and the board is presently considering extending his tenure until the end of the World T20 in April. If the upcoming series go well, Sri Lanka Cricket may consider keeping Jayaratne in the role permanently.”The New Zealand tour will be a very stiff test for us,” Jayaratne said. “New Zealand have been playing good cricket from about a couple of years. It’s good for us especially to play under their conditions. It will show what our guys are made of at the moment.”The selection panel, headed by Kapila Wijegunawardene, have also shifted focus to the New Zealand series, which Wijegunawardene described as a “watershed tour”. He said the West Indies series had helped settle a new Test XI, but hinted the selectors would consider their options for the No. 3 position vacated by Kumar Sangakkara. Lahiru Thirimanne had earlier been groomed to take up that role, but has had a mediocre Test record so far.”What we planned earlier for the No. 3 spot is not quite working out the way we anticipated,” Wijegunawardene said. “We will be open to making a few experiments in that position to see who best needs to be slotted in there. We’re going through some of the performances from the ‘A’ team. There is some element of risk which is being forced on us when trying to identify the right player for the line-up.”
Wijegunawardene named Udara Jayasundera, Kithuruwan Vithanage and Kusal Mendis as the players they have in mind for the spot.Thirimanne is not being discarded altogether from the Test set-up, however. “It’s a matter of getting his confidence back for Thirimanne. It can happen to every player now and again. He needs to work on his technical flaws and get his confidence back,” Wijegunawardene said.

Graeme Smith has confirmed that his role with the South Africa squad is on an ad-hoc basis although added that he was pondering further involvement having been asked to help

Firdose Moonda02-Jan-2016Graeme Smith has confirmed that his role with the South Africa squad is on an ad-hoc basis although added that he was pondering further involvement having been asked to helpSmith spent New Year’s Day at South Africa’s net session ahead of the second Test against England where he worked with the batsmen and Hashim Amla, South Africa’s captain, said although he wasn’t aware of the details of the agreement, he understood Smith would be with them, “for the rest of the series.” But with commentary commitments to and host broadcaster , Smith clarified that there was no official agreements as yet.”There has been a request to join up with the guys and help a little bit. I am considering it, but I had made commitments before the start of this series that it’s important to stick to,” he said during commentary on the first morning. “Obviously my heart will always be with the Proteas and I want to see them as successful as possible, if I can add value. But it’s got to work itself out, it’s not a role that’s been committed to yet.”But Smith and Amla are on the same page about what’s ailing the South African line-up and they agree that it’s lack of confidence. Both the former captain and the current one have spoken about the need for an injection of self-belief to break the streak of seven Tests without a win.”Naturally they’re a bit uncertain I would guess,” Smith said. “The challenge when you’re short of runs and confidence is that you become a very internal person. You almost go into self-preservation mode, you can spend hours in your hotel room thinking about it.”Sometimes you can get out of it by helping your teammates and share the load. I had a few chats with the guys and you can feel there’s a real hunger to be successful.”Smith also spent time with Amla discussing the challenges of leading, both with the bat and on the field. “I had quite a nice chat with Hash about his gameplans with the captaincy, and how he is managing all the new information that’s coming into his head,” he said. “We spoke a lot in Durban of just managing that space, when you’re under pressure with things coming at you from all over the park. As a batter you have to clear your head out. He’s got to find his way, his routine to get that all out of his head so he can focus on scoring runs.”

Former Rajasthan Royals offspinner Ajit Chandila has been banned for life from all official cricketing activities for his role in the IPL 2013 spot-fixing case

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-20161:14

Ajit Chandila: Timeline from 2013 to 2016

Former Rajasthan Royals offspinner Ajit Chandila has been banned for life from all official cricketing activities for his role in the IPL 2013 spot-fixing case. Former Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah, who had been suspended by the BCCI in July 2015 for making an “illegal approach” to a player, was handed a five-year ban.

The BCCI anti-corruption code clauses Chandila breached

• 2.1.1 Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any match or event.

• 2.1.2 Seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe or other reward to fix or to contrive in any way or otherwise to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any match or event.

• 2.1.3 Failing or refusing, for reward, to perform to one’s abilities in a match.

• 2.1.4 Soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or facilitating (a) any participant to commit an offence under any of the foregoing provisions of this Article 2.1 and/or (b) any other person to do any act that would be an offence if that person were a participant.

• 2.2.2 Soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging, facilitating or authorising any other party to enter into a bet for the direct or indirect benefit of the participant in relation to the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any match or event.

• 2.2.3 Ensuring the occurrence of a particular incident in a match or event, which occurrence is to the participant’s knowledge the subject of a bet and for which he/she expects to receive or has received any reward.

• 2.4.1 Providing or receiving any gift, payment or other benefit (whether of a monetary value or otherwise) in circumstances that the participant might reasonably have expected could bring him/her or the sport of cricket into disrepute.

A release from the BCCI said Chandila was “held guilty of misconduct and corruption”, having breached seven clauses of Article 2 of the BCCI’s anti-corruption code relating to corruption and betting. Shah, the release said, had breached three clauses of Article 2, all related to corruption.The BCCI’s disciplinary committee had met in Mumbai on Monday, and pronounced the penalties against the two.This is the first definite action taken against Chandila by the BCCI, since the Indian board suspended him in May 2013 following his arrest by Delhi Police for his alleged involvement in corruption in the IPL. While the others arrested at that point – former Royals players Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan – were banned from cricket by the BCCI on September 13, 2013, a decision on Chandila was deferred as there was no chance for Ravi Sawani – who led the BCCI’s probe into the matter and whose report formed the basis for the board’s actions – to question him; he had been in police or judicial custody since his arrest on May 16 till September 9, 2013, when he was granted bail, while Sreesanth and Chavan were out on bail since June 11. Since then the BCCI has been embroiled in internal turmoil and engaged in an administrative makeover stemming from the spot-fixing scandal, possibly pushing Chandila’s case on the back-burner.On the legal front, charges against all three players were dropped by a trial court in Delhi in July 2015, on the court on grounds of lack of sufficient evidence for prosecution under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The court’s decision did not have an impact on the life bans imposed by the BCCI.Shah, meanwhile, it is understood, had approached a Mumbai team-mate ahead of IPL 2015. He was found to be in breach of Articles 2.1.1, 2.1.2 and 2.1.4 of the BCCI anti-corruption code (see sidebar for details).

The BCB has said that a shoulder injury Mustafizur Rahman picked up during Bangladesh’s second T20I against Zimbabwe in Khulna is preventing him from playing the PSL

Mohammad Isam02-Feb-2016The BCB has said that a shoulder injury Mustafizur Rahman picked up during Bangladesh’s second T20I against Zimbabwe in Khulna is preventing the seamer from playing for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League, which begins on February 4 in the UAE.Mustafizur was picked in the PSL draft and would have been paid $50,000, but the BCB suggested they were not keen on granting him a no-objection certificate, soon after which Mustafizur was injured.BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said they hoped Mustafizur would be fit by the time the Asia Cup begins on February 24 and that Bangladesh players would be picked in the IPL auction on February 6.”Mustafizur is still about two weeks away from getting fit so we are hopeful that he can be ready for the Asia Cup T20s,” Yunus said. “We want him to be fit for the two major T20 tournaments coming up which includes the World T20. It is not the BCB’s policy not to allow a player to go to a domestic T20 competition.”Tamim [Iqbal], Shakib [Al Hasan] and Mushfiqur [Rahim] are all supposed to be flying off to the UAE tonight [Tuesday night] to play in the PSL. Five Bangladesh players are in the IPL auction. If they get picked and are fit at the time, they will play in the IPL. BCB have no issues with such things.”Mustafizur’s inability to go to the PSL would be discussed in the next BCB meeting, when they will decide whether he will be compensated for his loss of earnings. “We must look to compensate him,” Yunus said. “We are considering this, so that he doesn’t have a major monetary loss.”

Caribbean Premier League officials have announced that the league will stage six games in the United States in the 2016 season after receiving approval from the ICC

Peter Della Penna11-Feb-2016Caribbean Premier League officials have announced that the league will stage six games in the United States in the 2016 season after receiving approval from the ICC. Though no cities or venues were mentioned by the CPL, multiple sources have told ESPNcricinfo that the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida will be hosting some if not all of the games.A stadium official at the Central Broward Regional Park confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that the facility had been blocked off for use by the CPL from July 17-31. The CPL matches will be the first revenue-generating cricket matches at the $70 million facility since West Indies played host to two Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand in June 2012.”This project has been in discussion for many months and we are grateful to the ICC for supporting this move which enables us to step up our planning and open up opportunities for the cricket-hungry American public,” CPL chief executive Damien O’Donohoe said. O’Donohoe first told ESPNcricinfo at the conclusion of the 2014 season that he was keen to explore matches in the USA and Wednesday’s announcement made that a reality.”The CPL has already had a positive impact in the Caribbean and we are excited about bringing top quality cricket to the USA. We are committed to developing the next generation of cricketers and we believe that by exposing the best talent from across the Caribbean and the Americas region in the CPL, we can inspire a new generation of cricketers in the USA.”Though the ICC Americas Division One T20 championship was held at the newly-opened Indianapolis World Sports Park in 2015, Lauderhill’s CBRP remains USA’s only ICC ODI-certified venue. It is also the only purpose-built cricket venue with the requisite infrastructure in place – TV broadcast facilities, locker rooms, food concession stands and parking lots – to be able to host the matches.From a geographic and demographics standpoint, the CBRP is also far more appealing for the CPL than hosting games in Indianapolis or Los Angeles as south Florida boasts a West Indian expat population in excess of 200,000. Lauderhill Mayor Richard J Kaplan told ESPNcricinfo that he was thrilled at the announcement and hoped that it will pave the way for more high-level cricket to return to the facility, which opened in 2008.”The stadium will go back to being used in a way that we initially started using it for,” Kaplan said. “A variety of international games are important to us and I believe that’s what is going to happen. There has been an expression of interest by several international teams to play in the United States and we have the facility in which they can do that.””I think it’s what we’ve been all looking forward to and hoping for. We hope to make this not just a single one-year thing but to make it a long-term arrangement so that it will be an annual event. I think it will be very popular and they have a natural audience to come here and see the game.”Though Kaplan would not divulge which teams have expressed interest, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland stated in November that playing limited-overs matches in the USA was an option he was pursuing for Australia. They are scheduled to tour the region in June for a limited-overs tri-series involving West Indies and South Africa, thus making the logistics for a Twenty20 series in Florida more feasible.Kaplan heaped praise on the ICC for taking the decision in June 2015 to suspend the USA Cricket Association and stripping them of sanctioning authority for matches in the country. Kaplan told ESPNcricinfo in 2014 that the city tried to sign an agreement to hold CPL matches in Lauderhill that summer, as well as Twenty20 matches between Pakistan and West Indies in 2013, but negotiations fell apart when approval from USACA was denied. That road block no longer exists.”This result is not surprising once people that are really and truly interested in developing cricket are allowed to do so,” Kaplan said. “It took an act of the ICC to suspend USACA [in order to allow] what should have been happening all along and it’s a very positive development. As long as we can continue having people that want this type of activity to go forward, and don’t put up impediments to it, I believe that we’re going to be able to have further development with more games.”You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the ICC for taking the position that it did because without it, this would not be happening. There should hopefully be some future announcements as well. Now it’s just a matter of sorting out the contracts and scheduling. We don’t have the prior problem of someone saying, ‘No, we’re not going to let you do it.’ Now it’s more, ‘We want to do it and let’s see how we’re going to get it done.’ People who are very into cricket are going to be very happy about it.”

The opening match of IPL 2016 will be played in Mumbai on April 9 as scheduled after the Bombay High Court adjourned a matter related to the hosting of matches in the drought-hit state of Maharashtra

Raunak Kapoor07-Apr-20162:03

‘BCCI can breathe a sigh of relief till the next hearing’

The opening match of IPL 2016 will be played in Mumbai on April 9 as scheduled after the Bombay High Court adjourned a matter related to the hosting of matches in the drought-hit state of Maharashtra. While hearing a Public Interest Litigation on Wednesday and Thursday, the High Court had sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations on why water should be “wasted” on IPL matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur following a severe state-wide drought in recent months. The matter will next be heard on April 12.While the division bench, comprising Justices VM Kanade and MS Karnik, has not yet passed an order, it has asked the Maharashtra government and Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, to file replies outlining plans to address the issue of water shortage in the state. The court has also asked for a report on how the water suppliers for organisations like the BCCI are getting water from. The Advocate General’s office, appearing on behalf of the state, contended that 21,000 litres of water were sanctioned to the Wankhede Stadium for use per day, 0.00058% of the water utilised by city of Mumbai.”We don’t care about a tournament like the IPL. Their interests are purely commercial and to mint money,” the court said on Thursday. “But just because they can pay for water tankers providing water at a premium rate, while others can’t afford it, means there is a problem that the state has failed to identify and address.”The state authorities must, therefore, find out where the BCCI’s water suppliers get their water from. That is not the BCCI’s prerogative, it is the state’s.”While the court stressed on the accountability of civic agencies, it also criticised the arguments made by the BCCI counsel in response to the PIL filed by Loksatta Movement, a Hyderabad-based NGO, which had demanded relocation of IPL matches from Maharashtra. The board’s senior counsel, Rafique Dada, said that less water was used at the grounds during the IPL in comparison to preparations for an international match.”For international matches, there is a requirement for pitches to be watered 48 hours prior to the match, but for IPL matches, it is just watered twice a day on the day of the match.” Dada submitted. “Therefore, if taken to its logical conclusion, there is less water used during the IPL than otherwise.”Dada added that apart from watering pitches, the remaining usage of water was “routine” by the standards of “all international stadia for its day-to-day maintenance”. He also argued that prohibiting such day-to-day maintenance would lead pitches and grounds of international standards to “die a natural death”.In response, Justice Kanade observed: “We were expecting you (the board) to show some consideration or at least submit that you will consider using the water for the tournament responsibly. But here you are almost suggesting that grounds and pitches are more important than people who are dying without water in the state.”Arshil Shah, who represented the petitioners, insisted the court pass an interim order to stop the IPL matches in Maharashtra until the report from the state and civic agencies is submitted. The court rejected the suggestion. “Let the report be submitted, if it shows that moving the matches out of the state will help address the water drought situation, then we shall consider,” the bench said.The judges also stated that despite the timing of the PIL, the issue of a state-wide drought cannot be ignored: “We agree that the timing of the Petitioner just days before the start of the tournament shows they may not have the best intentions at heart, but the larger issue of a state-wide drought cannot be ignored.”Overall Maharashtra is scheduled to host 20 matches in the ninth edition of the IPL. Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host eight matches, including the tournament opener on April 9 and the final on May 29. Nine matches have been allotted to the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, including the Eliminator on May 25 and Qualifier 2 on May 27, while three matches will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, designated as home games for Kings XI Punjab.

Thanks to outstanding hundreds for Adam Lyth and Jonny Bairstow, the new season began for Yorkshire in most satisfying fashion

David Hopps at Headingley17-Apr-2016
ScorecardJonny Bairstow began the new season where he left off in 2015 (file photo)•Getty Images

Anticipation of Yorkshire’s quest for a third successive Championship title has sustained many in the Broad Acres during a long, wet winter. That winter might not be quite over in the north even now – it is one thing to have the title celebrations on ice, but having the outfield on ice before start of play was going a little too far – but the season is underway, albeit with a bit of a scrunch underfoot, and thanks to outstanding hundreds for Adam Lyth and Jonny Bairstow it began for Yorkshire in most satisfying fashion.Twenty-one overs were cut from the day because of bad light, but Yorkshire’s close at 270 for 5 put them within range of a dominant position and, judging by the way that Bairstow went about his unbeaten 107, Hampshire will be desperate to see the back of him first thing on Monday. They had a good morning but were eventually worn down by two excellent batting displays, Lyth’s finally coming to a close after tea when Sean Ervine swung one back to win an lbw decision.Lyth and Bairstow have both won England honours during Yorkshire’s back-to-back Championships, but while Bairstow’s involvement this summer is assured – his critics browbeaten by sheer weight of runs – Lyth is still convalescing after an uncomfortable debut summer for England in which a maiden Test hundred against New Zealand in front of his home crowd was followed by a thin Ashes series as he struggled to find a tempo in Test cricket and at the end of the summer became the latest opening batsman to walk out through England’s revolving door.That revolving door is even casting covetous eyes on the England captain. Alastair Cook’s authority and selection is cast in stone and for a good while yet he will walk through the alternative entrance marked VIPs only, but he is so disgruntled with the new ECB-approved helmet that he makes wearing it sound as if he is peering through prison bars: do not be surprised if he takes the field at Lord’s for a first Test against Sri Lanka wearing a scowl and black-hooped convict fancy dress.As for Alex Hales, by no means secure as his Test partner, he has opted for a holiday, believing (perhaps wisely) that a rest cure can propel him into the first Test. Nick Compton, a No. 3 who could potentially move up to opener, began at Lord’s with a first-baller.A sense of a fresh opportunity would not have been lost on Lyth from the moment that Hampshire asserted their right, as the away side, to skip the toss and bowl first on a chill but sunny morning. In April, this far north, that is no surprise. Andrew Gale, proud Yorkshireman that he is, was at least able to take consolation from the fact that he could leave his money in his pocket.Gale would be less enamoured by his 12-ball duck, a leg-side strangle against Ryan McLaren, and with Alex Lees edging James Tomlinson to third slip and Gary Ballance feathering an inside edge to the keeper when he failed to leave a ball from Chris Wood, Yorkshire’s first 20 overs had brought them 41 for 3. To make matters worse, Lancashire had a bonus bowling point and as one Red Rose loyalist pointed out were above them in the table.Lyth should have fallen, too, on 14, Fidel Edwards moving naturally enough in his follow-through towards a checked drive, but failing to hold it. That apart, Lyth left judiciously – something not evident in the Ashes series – and drove crisply through the off side.Bairstow’s arrival spread enterprise into Yorkshire’s morning from the outset, Lyth caught the mood and a fourth-wicket stand of 205 in 44 overs swung the match in their favour. For Bairstow it was the old routine, following five first-class hundreds last season and his accolade as a Cricketer of the Year; for Lyth, it was his first since 2014, a summer which also won him ‘s approval.McLaren’s six overs in the morning went for six runs; four immediately after lunch disappeared for 41. Bairstow’s hundred was brought up with one of his few false shots, a top-edged hook over the wicketkeeper which left the bowler, Edwards, wicketless and expensive, with hands on knees in mid-pitch.”It was quite tricky early on,” Lyth said. “I was finding it tough out there. But when Jonny comes in, the scoreboard keeps on rolling and that helps me as well.”James Whitaker, the national selector, cannot fail to have been impressed with both batsmen. Lyth, who was initially unaware that Whitaker was in residence, had been more concerned with impressing his father Alistair. Whether he met his dad’s standards as well is not known.”It can’t do me any harm to get a hundred in front of him,” said Lyth, by now referring to Whitaker rather than his father. “I had the winter to get the Ashes off my shoulders. It’s normal business now. All I can do is keep churning the hundreds out. I left the ball a bit better than I did in the Ashes, but then that was against Australia.”And so this potentially historic season cast its first-day favours on Yorkshire, although not entirely. One impressive aspect of this Yorkshire squad is its ability to be driven by history, not weighed down by it. The chance to emulate the 1966-68 side is one that excites them and the respect is mutual – the county’s president, John Hampshire, a member of the team in the 60s, has suggested that his old side might still have the edge, but only because he chose to imagine that the game would be played on uncovered wickets. In Yorkshire, that is quite a concession.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said that communication within the BCB selection panel will improve once he becomes a part of it

Mohammad Isam02-Jun-2016Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said that communication within the BCB selection panel will improve once he becomes a part of it. Although not yet official, Hathurusingha’s inclusion will be one of the major changes to the selection committee, which is likely to be approved at the next board meeting.”BCB are going to speak to me in the next couple of days about the plan they have,” Hathurusingha said. “I think it is a good concept. At the end I am responsible for the outcome. If I have a say in selection it will make things easier for everyone, the players as well as the selectors. The communication will be much better.”Hathurusingha will not be the first Bangladesh coach to be included in the selection panel. Dav Whatmore was also a selector when he was Bangladesh’s coach between 2003 and 2007. Jamie Siddons, Stuart Law, Richard Pybus and Shane Jurgensen were advisors to the panel, although not appointed as selectors during their stints as Bangladesh coach.Amid growing concerns within the BCB, chief selector Faruque Ahmed had offered to resign if the panel expanded to seven members without a chief selector. However, he welcomed Hathurusingha to the committee. Earlier this week, BCB president Nazmul Hassan had said Hathurusingha would be tasked with staying abreast with domestic cricket.”I want the coach to watch matches rather than sitting idle,” Hassan said. “He will have a role to play. Someone or the other must watch each domestic match so that we know about the emerging cricketers. I don’t want a situation where the coach doesn’t know anything about a new player. Our contract with him is based on ‘number of days’ but he is not taking advantage of it.”Hathurusingha, who returned on Wednesday from a holiday in Melbourne, said he was looking forward to seeing the Bangladesh players’ performance in the Super League phase of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.”I want to see the performance, especially the national players stepping up,” he said. “I have been following how they are doing on the internet. I hope the national players step up in the Super League and dominate with the bat and ball.”Hathurusingha, who is likely to have his contract renewed with the BCB for two years, said Bangladesh’s foreign tours will be a test of their improvement. Apart from Bangladesh’s scheduled tour to New Zealand later this year, there are talks of at least three tours in 2017, excluding the Champions Trophy in England in June.”I think the next two-three years will be Bangladesh’s golden era. Players of the caliber of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah are all at their peak now,” Hathurusingha said. “This is the time they have to use their experience and consistently perform in international cricket.”That is going to be an exciting era as well as challenging for Bangladesh cricket, because in the next two years we play more cricket overseas. In my last two years, we played a lot cricket at home and in Bangladesh conditions. So it is going to be a challenge as well to see our development in Bangladesh cricket.”Hathurusingha said one of his main challenges was to develop a good bowling unit needed to perform consistently in Tests. Bangladesh last played a Test in July last year.”Playing matches is the best way to improve. If you look at our record, we have not played much of Twenty20 cricket,” he said. “Test matches also the same, we have not played Tests for a long time.”We also need to find good bowling unit, [that is] the main challenge for next two-three years. Whoever comes they have to find good bowlers who can take 20 wickets. We are on the right path. We have found few good bowlers as well as a few good young youngsters and the seniors are coming to their prime.”

A confident Sunrisers Hyderabad side will face off against Gujarat Lions in the second qualifier, a virtual semi-final

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro26-May-2016

Match facts

Friday, May 27, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)3:45

Nannes: Sunrisers the best bowling team in the IPL

Big Picture

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions exchanged the top two positions on the points table for the majority of the league stage. Now, they face off in the second qualifier, a virtual semi-final. The loser will bid adieu to the tournament, ending two months of gruelling training and travelling. It will be Lions’ second crack at getting into Sunday’s final against Royal Challengers Bangalore.Sunrisers have had the better of Lions in the round-robin phase, winning both matches, and the feel-good factor is with them after they brushed aside Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator on Wednesday.In that match, played on a typically sluggish Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, Australia allrounders Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting bolstered Sunrisers’ defence by banging the ball mid-pitch, a strategy Lions might have to adopt on a conceivably similar surface. The eliminator also featured only the second instance this season when a batsman other than David Warner or Shikhar Dhawan top scored for Sunrisers; Yuvraj Singh brought his experience into play to lift their total up to 162.Lions, by contrast, must have felt deflated after AB de Villiers snatched away their final berth in the first qualifier with a sensational 79. Adjusting from the Chinnaswamy’s run-filled, fast-paced surface to Feroz Shah Kotla’s slowish pitches could be Lions’ biggest headache. But they have the personnel to do so. Left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Shadab Jakati – if he is not too scarred by Royal Challengers’ assault on him – along with the wily variations of Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Dwayne Bravo could be just what is needed.

Form Guide

Gujarat Lions LWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad WLLWL

In the spotlight

In Lions’ previous two games, they returned to their opening combination from the first few games of the tournament. Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch. A pair as devastating as any in the competition, but, together, they are yet to produce the spark that could leave the opposition helpless. A semi-final could be the stage they need.David Warner has scored 686 runs in 15 games this season, at an average of 52.76 and a strike rate of 147.84. Even by his lofty standards, those are excellent returns. With sluggish conditions expected, the Powerplay could be the easiest time to score. If he imitates his average and strike rate, Sunrisers will forge ahead in the knockout game.

Team news

Shadab Jakati was plundered for 45 runs in his three overs in the first qualifier. With three left-hand batsmen in Sunrisers’ top four, Lions could contemplate including Pravin Tambe or chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik.Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Dwayne Smith, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Eklavya Dwivedi, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shivil Kaushik/Pravin TambeBen Cutting, Kane Williamson’s replacement in the eliminator, registered a golden duck at No. 6 but impressed with the ball. The out-of-form Deepak Hooda struck a quickfire 21 and could hold on to his place. Sunrisers are unlikely to tinker with their wining combination, unless they decide to include legspinner Karn Sharma for left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable): 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Moises Henriques, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Naman Ojha (wk), 7 Ben Cutting, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Barinder Sran, 10 Karn Sharma//Bipul Sharma, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Sunrisers defended 162 in the Eliminator against Knight Riders and Yuvraj Singh’s 44 was the top score of the game. The surface was characteristically sluggish with good and back-of-a-length deliveries holding up. With similar conditions expected, the captain winning the toss might opt to bat, going against the early-season trend of chasing.There is no rain forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Gujarat Lions have won eight out of 10 matches while chasing, but just one out of five matches when batting first
• Mustafizur Rahman has the best economy rate (7.28) in the end overs (overs 16-20), among all bowlers who have bowled at least six overs during this period