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Kumble's future uncertain after Kohli's feedback

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In feedback to the BCCI, India captain Virat Kohli is understood to have expressed concern at coach Anil Kumble’s approach

Nagraj Gollapudi30-May-20174:11

Bal: Captain and players should not pick the coach

India’s campaign for Champions Trophy has begun under a cloud of discontent within the dressing room with the captain, and possibly a few other senior players, expressing a lack of confidence in their head coach.Speculation had been rife ever since the BCCI chose not to automatically extend the tenure of Anil Kumble as the head coach, choosing instead to advertise the position, and it has now emerged that the decision was made following feedback from Virat Kohli about Kumble’s coaching method, which he is said to have described as “intimidating”.Kumble’s year-long contract expires at the end of the Champions Trophy. The development comes at less than an ideal time for India, with their first match in the Champions Trophy, against arch rivals Pakistan, just days away.It is understood that Kohli relayed the sense of discontent to the BCCI’s top office bearers as well as the Committee of Administrators (CoA) before the team left for England. He is also understood to have spoken to Sourav Ganguly, who is part of the cricket advisory panel which has been tasked with deciding the coaching option.The players’ concerns are thought to centre mainly around Kumble’s man-management skills. In the words of one official familiar with the details, Kumble has been conducting himself like a “headmaster” at a school. Such an approach, the official said, “had not gone down well” with the players who are used to a more relaxed dressing room. Some players – not the bigger personalities like Kohli or MS Dhoni – have felt “a bit intimidated” by Kumble’s approach.Such has been the approach, the official said, that some of the injuries that have ruled players out during Kumble’s tenure were not strictly cricket related. “Kumble was pushing hard. The bulk of them [injuries] are non-cricketing injuries. One of the players was stressed out. So the team is not a happy lot.”What has surprised the BCCI is that Kumble has failed to read these concerns. The official said that the reason Kumble has been successful was because “the team has been successful” playing cricket mostly at home. “The way the cricket set-up works in India is the coach is not the king. So the coach has to understand that.”Based on the player feedback, the BCCI decided that the time to “change” had come and the “best” way to move forward was to put in place an advertisement inviting fresh applications. The official admitted that the timing was not ideal – the advertisement went out on the day Indian squad arrived in London to defend the Champions Trophy, and applications for the job close on the eve of the tournament opener – but he said the process had to followed.The most telling public comments came from Kohli, who said last week he did not find anything untoward with what the BCCI was doing. “The process has been followed every single time the similar way in Indian cricket for the past so many years is what I know,” Kohli said at his first media briefing upon landing in England. “Even the last time the post was up for a change the same procedure was applied. With the term being one year, the procedure is being followed in the same manner. I don’t see anything very different from what has happened in the past. That is something the board has recognised. They want to follow the same pattern.”Kohli was equivocal in his response to the success India have had under Kumble. “When you have results come your way, the contribution is from every part of the team,” he said. “It is not from a single source to say the least. Everyone works hard equally if not more than the other person.”Kumble has not yet spoken publicly about the situation. He is, however, bound to be disappointed considering India have only lost one series in any format under his charge: the two-match Twenty20 series in Florida against West Indies last August. Kumble has also been front and centre in talks with the BCCI over enhancing the contracts not just of the national team’s players but also domestic players and Indian coaching staff.The situation also puts three other Indian legends in an awkward position. It was only last June that Kumble was nominated by the three-man cricket advisory panel comprising his contemporaries, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman; Kumble wasn’t in the original shortlist of candidates the BCCI had finalised because he had no formal coaching experience. But it was at the panel’s insistence that he was put in. And now they have to go through the process again; it isn’t yet known if Kumble will go through the process again. Ganguly is currently in England, doing television commentary for the official broadcaster of the Champions Trophy.At the time of Kumble’s appointment, the BCCI made out the contract for only a year saying that would give Kumble time to prove his coaching credentials. The former BCCI president Anurag Thakur had said that a review would be carried out after one year. Incidentally, Ajay Shirke, who was the BCCI secretary last June, had said that when the review was done, Kumble should find himself in the “driver’s seat” considering India were playing a long home season comprising 13 Tests and a couple of ODI series. Kumble might not be holding the steering wheel anymore.

Hathurusingha seeks better communication in selection panel

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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.”

Root hundred puts England in charge

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A sixth Test hundred from Joe Root helped England to a position of increasing dominance in Grenada, as they wore down West Indies during an extended day in the field

The Report by Alan Gardner23-Apr-2015
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:20

Dobell: Root’s run of form continues

A sixth Test hundred from Joe Root helped England to a position of increasing dominance in Grenada, as they wore down West Indies during an extended day in the field. Almost 50 overs were lost from the match over the first two days but with cloud cover and swinging conditions replaced by unbroken sunshine and a flat, if slow, surface, England were approaching a position from where they could bat once and then push for victory.England’s old guard had set the tone at the start of the day, then left it to two of the youth corps to press home their advantage. Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott both recorded fifties during a century opening stand – England’s first since 2013 – and although Cook fell short of reaching three figures himself, another strong showing from Root and Gary Ballance in the middle order helped England to a 74-run lead at the close.Going back to last summer, Root has now made six consecutive 50-plus scores, equalling England’s Test record. Cook is one of four other batsmen to have achieved the same feat, along with Patsy Hendren, Ken Barrington and Ted Dexter – no one has more than seven in a row.Increasingly, Root is the bundle of energy, the dog chasing a piece of silver paper, who sets the tempo for England in the middle order. In partnership with his Yorkshire team-mate Ballance, he helped add 165 for the fourth wicket in little over 40 overs, taking the game away from West Indies with every impish stolen single, not to mention the odd blow for six. Since being dropped for the final Ashes Test in Sydney last year, he has scored more than 1000 runs at an average of 103.70.Devendra Bishoo wheeled away, bowling 22 overs in succession and doing a much better job of keeping things tight than Sulieman Benn in Antigua, but when he returned in the evening session, his first over was taken for 16 by Root and Ballance. Bishoo did claim his first Test wicket since in 2012, removing Trott with a hard-spun legbreak, and then picked up Ben Stokes, caught on the boundary in pursuit of quick runs late in the day, but figures of 2 for 124 spoke of West Indies’ toil.Ian Bell was the only member of the top five not to pass 50, although West Indies did hit back to take 3 for 35 in the final session. Moeen Ali made his first Test duck when running himself out after calling Root for a single that wasn’t there, while Stokes also fell for a single-figure score – and got a salute from Marlon Samuels to send him on his way.This match may be taking place on the Spice Island but there was something reassuringly bland about England’s approach in the first session. With play starting 15 minutes early, 34 overs were possible and 69 runs were scored. Cook and Trott, then Cook and Ballance were content to accumulate balls faced, in the knowledge that laying a strong foundation was the most important task.Joe Root past 50 for the sixth consecutive innings on the way to his hundred•Getty Images

England’s second fifty had taken Cook and Trott 145 balls, as they methodically re-scratched their groove from the previous evening; the fifth and sixth, with Root and Ballance in full flow, came off 61 and 65 respectively. At one point, Denesh Ramdin delayed taking the new ball and called upon Jermaine Blackwood’s part-time offspin – his single over disappeared for 14. England added 120 during the evening and will begin with Jos Buttler at the crease alongside Root on Friday.The sight of Cook and Trott batting together was something England once took for granted. The two have scored almost 2700 Test runs in partnership, their successes redolent of England’s march to No. 1 in the Test rankings between 2009 and 2011. This was the 10th time they had racked up a century stand together and the first since the Headingley Test against New Zealand in 2013.It was also England’s first century partnership at the top of the innings since Cook and Nick Compton put on 231 in Dunedin in March 2013. Trott’s half-century was a poignant milestone. His previous Test fifty came at The Oval during the 2013 Ashes; many thought the following Test, in Brisbane, would be his last after he left that tour, burned out and uncertain of his professional future.Cook has also had his struggles over the last two years but he was creeping to within sight of a 26th Test hundred when Shannon Gabriel struck for the first of two wickets in seven balls. On a slow pitch, cross-batted strokes can be perilous and, cramped for room, Cook only succeeded in cutting the ball on to his stumps. Bell fell in almost identical fashion in Gabriel’s next over, this time off stump removed from the ground. On St George’s Day, it was a warning: here be drag-ons.Trott’s had been the only wicket to fall during the morning session, though he had acquitted himself during a spell of short-pitched bowling from Gabriel that topped 94mph. West Indies were without their best bowler, Jerome Taylor, and conditions were benign but the 125-run association between Cook and Trott was a bit like seeing the old gang back together. Then came Root and Ballance and another prolific double-act with plenty of time to run.

Rain ruins Cobras-Dolphins contest

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Only two days of play were possible in the solitary Sunfoil Series fixture of the week

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2012Only two days of play were possible in the solitary Sunfoil Series fixture of the week. The Dolphins and Cobras had to see out a wet draw in Pietermaritzburg, with both Saturday and Sunday washed out.Dolphins earned 0.82 more than Cobras, after batting for 90 overs more than them. It had looked as though the Durban-based side would spend far less time at the crease. After choosing to bat, Dolphins were 25 for 4 in the 11th over as two national fast bowlers ripped through them. New call-up Rory Kleinveldt took the first three wickets, one lbw, one caught behind and one bowled to start with figures of 3 for 8, and Vernon Philander claimed the fourth.Divan van Wyk survived the early assault and combined with Cody Chetty for a 102-run stand for the fifth wicket. Chetty was bowled by Johann Louw after making 59, but van Wyk went on to star in another big partnership, of 83 runs with his captain, Daryn Smit.Both looked set to score centuries but van Wyk was bowled by Philander on 95 and three overs later Smit was stumped on 94. Dolphins tailed wagged a touch and they were bowled out for a respectable 310. Kleinveldt was the pick of bowlers with his 5 for 54.In reply, Cobras were fairly untroubled by Dolphins. Alistair Gray and Andrew Puttick eased their way to 66 before bad light stopped play on day two and the teams were not able to take the field again in the match.Cobras remain at the top of the table. They have 43.78 points from their four matches so far and are 13.86 ahead of Warriors, whose match against Knights is also in danger of being rained out. Dolphins have also played four matches, three of which have been weather affected. They are third with 24 points. Neither team will play anymore first-class cricket until the schedule resumes in December.

Dilshan ton overpowers Australia

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Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a compelling century then marshalled his team neatly in the field to secure a 35-run victory over Australia

The Report by Daniel Brettig06-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
There was both brute-force hitting and innovation in Tillakaratne Dilshan’s century•AFP

Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a compelling century then marshalled his team neatly in the field to secure a 35-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 international in Kandy.Sent in to bat at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the hosts were headed for a total of about 150 before Dilshan (104, 57 balls, 12 fours, five sixes) and the allrounder Jeevan Mendis (29, 19 balls) combined for a stand of 104 runs in a mere 45 balls to lift the hosts to 198 for 3. Dilshan hammered 67 from his final 23 deliveries, a sequence that effectively decided the match.The Australians’ chase was undone by the flat offspin of the debutant Dilruwan Perera (3-26), who provided a reminder there is plenty of slow bowling depth for the Sri Lankans to utilise across the limited overs and Test series to take place through August and September. Rangana Herath (1-11) also posed plenty of problems, much as he had done on his debut against the Australians on their 1999 visit to the island.Dilshan’s was exactly the kind of opening statement a captain desires to make, providing plenty of evidence the Australians will be up against a feisty opponent on this tour. They will also need to sharpen their fielding, as fumbles were a recurring theme of the team’s first international since a limited overs series in Bangladesh in April.Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Shane Watson were all taken for more than 11 runs per over, while curiously the spin of Steve O’Keefe and Steve Smith was not fully utilised despite offering a greater level of economy than any of the faster men.By contrast the Sri Lankans employed three spin bowlers in their defence of the target, and in truth no-one other than the belligerent David Warner (53) ever looked comfortable enough to impose serious pressure on the home attack.Needing 10 runs an over virtually from the start, Australia’s reply was inconvenienced by the early swing of Nuwan Kulasekara (2-39), who found a way through Watson in the third over. Warner was soon finding the boundary, and on one occasion cleared it with a line drive over the bowler’s head.Shaun Marsh was less settled, and misread the first over from the debutant Perera to be lbw for four. David Hussey appeared fortunate that no-one on the field was fully alert to an apparent thin edge behind off the bowling of Dhammika Prasad, but next over he was nowhere near a sharp off break from Perera that tilted middle stump.Cameron White managed only one boundary before he too was defeated by a Perera offbreak that straightened from around the wicket, and at 63 for 4 Australia’s chase was looking decidedly sick. It deteriorated further when Steven Smith was utterly confused by Herath and stumped, while Dilshan had the luxury of dropping Warner then being able to accept another chance. O’Keefe and Johnson provided nuisance value, but by then the equation would have been too steep even for Dilshan.Brett Lee had shared the new ball with the left-arm spinner O’Keefe in a nod to a surface that offered some bounce but also turn. Mahela Jayawardene managed a pair of crisp boundaries to long-on and backward point, but in the third over squirted a Lee yorker into his stumps.Dilshan immediately took the attack to Lee, following a top-edged hook for six with an artful glide through gully for four, meaning the over reaped 14 runs as well as a wicket. He then sought to unsettle Johnson with a series of impudent gestures. Dinesh Chandimal also made a bright start, but on 11 was hurried onto the back foot by Johnson’s pace and slid ungracefully into his wicket – only the fifth such dismissal in T20 internationals, its rarity underlined by the bowler’s miffed reaction.Tensions were evident between Dilshan and Watson, the Australian firing a return throw towards the batsman, who fended it away with a glove. A curious appeal by the Australians posed the question about obstruction, as the game’s laws have been changed to disallow any by a batsman out of his crease, but the umpires waved it away.Kumar Sangakkara cracked boundaries over mid-off and square leg to raise a 50 stand with Dilshan, but the next over he flicked ineffectually at a Watson slower ball and handed a simple catch to Cameron White. Mendis announced himself with a reverse-swept boundary from the bowling of Smith, then gave a passing impression of no less a left-hander than Sangakkara himself with a pull shot of some flourish when Watson dropped fractionally short.John Hastings’ slower balls were losing their novelty, and Dilshan took a heavy toll by swinging thrice to the legside for boundaries either side of an exceptionally cheeky reverse-dab past short third man – the over was worth 20.Mendis and Dilshan tormented the Australians in the closing overs, piling up 67 runs from overs 15-18 to turn a middling total into an intimidating one. Too often the touring bowlers missed the yorker length, and when they did strike it Dilshan’s wrists were supple enough to send the ball skidding through gully to the rope.On 84 when the final over began, Dilshan cracked a pair of sixes then mis-scooped a boundary to go to three figures, before adding another to take the Sri Lankans to the cusp of 200 – a total they would not have contemplated at 94-3. Australia’s bowlers, and batsmen, have the task ahead of them.

Harbhajan in minor injury scare

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Harbhajan Singh seemed to be in some discomfort while bowling in the nets at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has had an injury scare in the lead-up to the Test series against Australia. He seemed to be in some discomfort while bowling in the nets at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Monday.”He underwent an MRI scan around the pelvic and hip area,” quoted local hospital sources as saying. “There is no serious injury but since he got a sprain, it would be advisable to take rest for the next few days.”During the net session, Harbhajan took a break and came back with Nitin Patel, the Indian team physio, by his side. Either side of the break, though, Harbhajan bowled sizeable spells. also reported that he bowled in the nets at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh in the evening, after the conclusion of the three-day tour game between the Australians and the Indian Board President’s XI.Harbhajan’s previous Test series was a fitness disaster. In Sri Lanka he started off with a flu, played the first two Tests at less than full fitness, and sat out the third with a calf strain. He managed only two wickets in those two Tests. He made his comeback to top-flight cricket in the Champions League T20 in South Africa.The first Test between India and Australia begins in Mohali on October 1.

Over-rate penalties: Frustrated Stokes wants clear communication from ICC

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“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.”

Chamari Athapaththu leads from front as Sri Lanka rout England by eight wickets

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England blitzed at Chelmsford as new-look team suffer a first T20I defeat at Sri Lanka’s hands

Andrew Miller02-Sep-2023Sri Lanka 110 for 2 (Athapaththu 55) beat England 104 (Dean 34, Fernando 2-16, Dilhari 2-17) by eight wicketsChamari Athapaththu led from the front in a stunning allround display – first with the ball and then with a rampant 26-ball fifty – as Sri Lanka secured their maiden T20I victory over England in extraordinarily emphatic style: by eight wickets, and with a crushing 40 balls remaining, as Heather Knight’s new-look team were served a dramatic reality check, only two days after cruising to victory in the series opener at Hove.After winning her second toss of the series and choosing to bowl first, Athapaththu showed her team how it needed to be done by bowling the dangerous Danni Wyatt for 1 in her first over, and never let up in her leadership thereafter, as England were hustled out for 104 in 18 overs – a far cry from the 186 for 4 that they had posted in just 17 overs in Thursday’s opening fixture.Then, sensing a chance to crush England from the outset of the chase, Athapaththu climbed onto the offensive with the bat, cracking eight fours and two sixes with similarly positive support from Harshitha Samarawickrama, who sealed the contest with a massive swipe over midwicket to finish unbeaten on 30 from 35 balls.Chamari sets the powerplay toneSpeaking at the toss, Athapaththu insisted – with some justification as things turned out – there had been some “positives” to take from a one-sided series opener at Hove, but recognised that their bowling had to improve after England had romped along at close to two a ball on that occasion.And so the skipper herself added that burden to her already broadly laden shoulders, to set the tone for an astonishingly unrelentingly display. Despite one loose ball that Maia Bouchier carved for four, Athapaththu’s remit in the contest’s first over was to keep the stumps in play as much as possible, on a hybrid wicket that offered a touch of grip for her spinners, and in sunny afternoon conditions a world away from the dank misery of Hove.The gambit paid agenda-setting dividends with the sixth ball of Athapaththu’s over. A beautifully flighted offbreak lured Danni Wyatt on the drive, but a hint of dip and spin bowled her clean through the gate for 1. Suddenly a partnership that had realised 77 from 45 balls at Hove had been broken before it had begun, and that carefree youth that had so flourished in game one had a different scenario to counter.Inoshi in on the actionAlice Capsey had made a belligerent 51 from 27 on that occasion; here she was restricted to an anxious 3 from 9 as Inoshi Fernando followed her skipper’s lead in her first outing of the series. First, her tall offbreaks pinned Capsey to the crease for five consecutive dot-balls and a single, then she snapped the trap shut in the field one over later. Itching to break the shackles, Capsey lashed through the line at Sugandika Kumari and Fernando was almost blown off her feet at mid-off as she clung on well to a flat chance.Bouchier by this stage had connected well on another cuff through the covers, but Fernando’s impact was not done yet. The first ball of her second over was flapped in ungainly fashion straight to Kavisha Dilhari at extra cover, and Bouchier attempted to bend her bat around her helmet as she traipsed off for 12 from 10. Not only were England truly in the m(aia)ire at 21 for 3, but she’d missed a golden opportunity to rebuild a faltering innings, and seize the opportunity for seniority that she’s been handed in the absence of the likes of Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt.Old guard falter tooInstead, England’s hopes were reinvested in a familiar pair of middle-order stalwarts. Heather Knight and Amy Jones saw out a powerplay that, at 32 for 3, realised less than half the 66 for 0 that Sri Lanka had been subjected to at Hove, but neither batter really exuded an air of permanence in an uncompromising match situation – least of all Jones, who so nearly holed out to backward point as an attempted reverse-sweep off Fernando fell inches short.On 10, Knight successfully over-turned an lbw decision after her attempted reverse-sweep was shown to have flicked her glove before crashing into the pad, but one over later, Jones’ scratchy stay was ended in the opposite fashion – Ranaweera trapped her on the back pad, and after Atapaththu’s last-ditch decision to review, the ball was shown to be thumping the top of leg stump.Jones was gone for a run-a-ball 12, and if 41 for 4 in the eighth over was a dicey scenario, England’s issues were only just beginning. Freya Kemp picked off two singles off two legal deliveries, only to be stumped off a wide in Dilhari’s next over, as she galloped out of her crease for Sanjeewani to gather well down the leg-side and beat her despairing dive, and all hopes of a competitive total ended when Knight spooned a back-foot punch back to Ranaweera. At 48 for 6, England were fully braced for ignominy.Maia Bouchier grimaces after falling in the second T20I at Chelmsford•ECB via Getty Images

Dean digs for double-figuresOnly Charlie Dean, last out for a feisty 34 from 26, found anything like the requisite blend of endurance and aggression, including three fours in a row off Ranaweera – two firm sweeps and a well-dispatched full toss.At the other end, however, the progression continued. Danielle Gibson opted for aggression without endurance, as she survived a slash through deep third that flew inches wide of the fielder, before scuffing a reverse-sweep straight into the lap of backward square.Sarah Glenn, sporting a new cap to mark her 50th T20I appearance, then snicked off fourth-ball to give Dilhari her second wicket. Though Issy Wong hung around long enough to endure England wouldn’t be setting their new record low total in a women’s T20I, when she lashed through a drive at Prabhodhani to be bowled for 13, the end was not long in coming.Cross, Wong bear powerplay bruntIf England thought their day had hit its nadir, Athapaththu had further indignities to deliver. She signalled her intention to keep the hammer down with a second-ball drive for four off Kate Cross, and even though Sanjeewani fell in Gibson’s subsequent over (after two no-balls had hinted at England’s anxieties), Sri Lanka’s captain was only just getting warmed up.Cross’s second over was utterly taken to the cleaners – 21 runs in total, compromising three blazed fours in a row and a simply vast flog over square leg, off the roof off the Felsted School Stand and into the garden of a bemused lady looking on from her balcony. After some similarly rough treatment at the back-end of the first T20I, Cross’s figures for the series now read 4.2-0-55-0 – a reminder perhaps why her impeccable lines have been overlooked in this format since 2019.Nothing, however, was quite as gruesome as the public pillorying that Wong would endure in her first international over of the summer. Her absence from the firing line has been a bit of an ongoing mystery in recent months, given the excitement that surrounded her all-round game last summer, but here was public evidence of a player at war with her own technique.Her first over of the match lasted for ten deliveries, the first four of which amounted to a tragicomedy in themselves – a huge front-foot no-ball that Harshitha Samarawickrama flicked off her pads for four, followed by a flick to deep square leg off that most of the crowd failed to realise was a free hit . Another leg-side no-ball followed, then another catch off the free hit – an astounding one as it happens, as Cross at mid-off snaffled the ball in her outstretched right hand.By the end of it all, Wong could only grin in self-effacement as Glenn jogged down to give her a consoling pat on the shoulder, and as Sri Lanka blazed towards their victory target with barely a shot out of place, it was something of a surprise to see her reintroduced with 13 runs still needed and little left to be gained. Three more drilled boundaries duly drew the scores level, leaving Harshitha to heave Cross into the pavilion for the winning six.Wong’s inclusion for this match had come at the expense of England’s new young thing, Mahika Gaur, and her struggles rather underlined the importance of Knight’s pre-series warning about the youth in this team. Expecting too much too soon is a dangerous thing.

Hayley Matthews takes over as West Indies captain from Stafanie Taylor

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Matthews will assume the role ahead of the team’s next series which is “expected to be played later this year”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2022Hayley Matthews has taken over as captain of the West Indies women’s side from Stafanie Taylor, who was at the helm for seven years. According to a Cricket West Indies (CWI) release, Matthews will assume the role ahead of the team’s next series which is “expected to be played later this year”.Taylor was named captain in 2015 and made her mark straightaway, most notably leading her side to the 2016 T20 World Cup title, as well as the semi-final of the ODI World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. She has scored 5298 runs in 145 ODIs and 3121 runs in 111 T20Is, in addition to taking 152 wickets and 98 in the formats respectively. Taylor captained West Indies to 25 wins in 62 ODIs and 33 wins in 55 T20Is.Matthews, 24, made her debut for West Indies in 2014, and played a leading role in her side’s 2016 T20 World Cup triumph. She was named the Player of the Match in the final against Australia where she made a 45-ball 66. She was appointed vice-captain ahead of the T20 World Cup in 2018. She has 1764 runs and 78 wickets in 69 ODIs, and 1055 runs and 58 wickets in 61 T20Is.The recommendation by the women’s selection panel to make Matthews the captain was ratified at the CWI board of directors meeting on June 24.”I am both humbled and honoured to be given the opportunity to captain the West Indies women’s team,” Matthews said. “It is definitely an exhilarating feeling and I welcome the experience to lead and learn with open arms. This team has been very close to my heart from the beginning of my professional career eight years ago and the influence of Stafanie’s leadership throughout those eight years has played a major role in the player I am today.”I would like to thank Stafanie for her astounding leadership of the team over the years. We’ve accomplished some of our biggest milestones with her at the forefront and I look forward to continuing playing alongside her.”Head coach Courtney Walsh said: “We figured the timing was right with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup coming up early next year, if we were thinking of making any changes now would be the best time so that we give the new captain a couple of series under her belt before she enters into a World Cup. Hayley Matthews is young; she has longevity in the game, and she can lead the team for a longer time to get the experience and we are here to support her. For us it’s a win-win as we will have Stafanie to concentrate on her best cricket and passing on guidance to Hayley as she grows in the role of taking the team forward.””Hayley has made notable progress over the years, serving as vice-captain of the West Indies women’s team and is the current captain of her national team, Barbados.” Ann Browne-John, lead selector for women’s cricket, said. “She has matured as a player and is one of the leading players worldwide with a good grasp of the game. Given the experience that she would have gained in both roles, we are confident this is the ideal time for her to step into the role of captain.”

Abdullah Shafique among three dropped as Pakistan cut Test squad to 17

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Agha Salman and Kamran Ghulam are the other two players dropped from the original list

Umar Farooq24-Jan-2021Agha Salman, Abdullah Shafique and this year’s leading first-class run-scorer in Pakistan, Kamran Ghulam, have been dropped from the original 20-man for the first Test against South Africa. The PCB insist they are very much part of the larger squad but won’t be considered for selection for the opening Test starting January 26 in Karachi.The 20-man squad, named on January 15, was always meant to be whittled down to 16 two days before the Test but the PCB ended up naming 17 instead. ESPNcricinfo understands that the board wrestled with the choice between Haris Rauf and Tabish Khan but ended up retaining both, even though neither is expected to make their Test debuts in Karachi. The squad now has four spin options and five fast bowlers including Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf as allrounders.With Shafique now out of contention, the team has only two potential openers – Abid Ali and Imran Butt – who is set to be handed a debut. The spot was left vacant after Shan Masood was dropped from the larger squad following a dismal run. Saud Shakeel – who holds the second best first-class average (48.81) in Pakistan over the last five years – has been retained. He was also the second leading first-class run-getter this season with 970 runs at 57.05. Agha, who accumulated 924 runs at 48.63 missed out.Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said his side is “fully ready”. “Understanding how poor we were in the field on our previous New Zealand tour, we have given fielding much importance while preparing,” said Misbah. “We are having extraordinary training sessions, with dedicated sessions to bring improvements. We are overall ready and looking forward to taking on South Africa.”The PCB, for once, have relayed a sense of empowerment for the captain Babar Azam, giving him a much stronger say in choosing the starting line-up. Misbah downplayed concerns his role with the side had been reduced, but said the captain needed to independently develop his strategies and ideas.”Even when I began, like everyone else, I started from zero,” said Misbah. “You have to start somewhere and the important thing is that when we did some scenario practice, there were discussions with me, the coaches, the bowlers, about what plan we take forward and how we execute it. Babar is an intelligent cricketer and if anyone who scores runs like he does at this level, they should understand cricket mechanics and how to deal with the opposition . Babar should be given a free hand to plan, so he learns how to handle things on the field and hopefully he will learn and improve his captaincy along the way.”The series holds a major significance as this is South Africa first tour to Pakistan since 2007 and the result from it can directly reflect on Misbah’s future as head coach. The PCB had already intended to bring about changes in team management after the New Zealand tour but the cricket committee recommended a stay of execution, opting against making a knee-jerk reaction and resolving instead to meet again after the home series against South Africa. The committee believed a series in home conditions can have “no points for second place”.Misbah knows the pressure is on him but he cut a relaxed figure at the press conference. “Nothing really matters right now, I played cricket under pressure, my whole life” he said. “Here [in Pakistan] it’s not like you have the certainty and security so the most important thing I have learnt is that you have to do well with the job in hand in the moment. I am not thinking about what is going to happen ahead and the only focus right now is to perform and learn from our mistakes.”Pakistan: Abid Ali , Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (capt), Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tabish Khan