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Muttiah Muralitharan is happy to retire while people are still asking him to play on

Sidharth Monga in Galle17-Jul-2010Murali the Magician. The Greatest Ever Bowler in the World. One and Only Murali. Spin Wizard. Thank you Murali. Another Milestone. I can bat too! A Glorious Cricketing Career.All the stands, temporary and permanent, at the Galle International Stadium, bear an imprint of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketer. Simple hoardings with Murali on them and a message saying thank you and goodbye. There are, of course, small advertisements on these hoardings, but that is the reality of modern cricket.”Everything will be like Murali,” said Jayananda Warnaweera, the chief groundsman in Galle, on what was in store for the farewell.Muttiah Muralitharan is not overwhelmed. Not much has overwhelmed him in his career, but he likes what he sees. “I would like to thank the cricket board and the groundsman, [Jayananda] Warnaweera, for arranging such a great thing in Galle,” a not-overly-emotional Murali said. “It is a great honour for me to retire like this.”The last week must have been an interesting time for the offspinner, who is approaching the end of something special, something satisfying – a journey that brought trials as much as it did joy; brickbats as much as applause. Murali, though, said he hasn’t been thinking about all that. “I never dreamt I would be finishing like this,” he said. “I think I had a great finish because I have done very well in Test cricket. You can’t get the record easily; so many people have tried and I am the best at the moment. Because of that, I have no regrets.”God has given me everything, I am fulfilled with that. I am not sad, I am very happy with what I have achieved and I am glad I am going out in a good manner because people are not asking me to go. They are asking me to stay. Still I want to go because this is the manner I want to go out in. I am not dreaming about any past performance or anything. I am thinking only about the next match, finish well and retire properly.Starting the match eight wickets from the 800-mark, Murali, who has almost every aggregate record to his name, is not worried about numbers. Enjoying this last game, he said, was more important. “If I could take eight in the first innings, Sri Lanka will win easily. It is not going to be easy, they have such a good batting line-up.I will try all my tricks in the middle for the last time. Let’s see if it works or not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I am going to really enjoy the game rather than thinking about how many wickets I am going to need. Just enjoy the game and not put much pressure on myself. If I didn’t get a single wicket or if I take five wickets, I will be very happy.”

“Before we came, we were looking to win here. Everyone did their job and we’re very happy,” says captain Shanto after historic 2-0 sweep in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2024There were useful contributions from across the XI, but Bangladesh’s win in the second Test against Pakistan was orchestrated by their youngsters. Especially Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana, 24 and 21 respectively, who picked up nine wickets between them in the second innings to set up the 185-run chase. “They wanted to win, that was very important,” Najmul Hossain Shanto, the Bangladesh captain, said after the win when asked about his young pace duo.”As a fast bowler, I was looking for wickets, and the boys, our effort [with the ball], we really deserved it,” Mahmud said. “You have to take advantage [of conditions] as fast bowlers, and you’ve got to keep working hard together, and especially in red-ball cricket, it’s important to get the benefit from your fast bowlers as well as spinners, all together. It was a valiant effort.”Mahmud and Rana set the pulse racing, as fast bowlers do when they get the better of batters, repeatedly, but the match and series awards went to two more experienced men. Litton Das got the match award for his 138 in the first innings. Mehidy Hasan Miraz got the series award for his tally of 155 runs and ten wickets. In this Test, the two of them came to the middle in the first innings when Bangladesh were 26 for 6 in reply to Pakistan’s 274. Litton scored 138 from No. 7 and Mehidy 78 from No. 8 to take Bangladesh to 262, keeping the match on an even footing.Related

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“It’s a big achievement by the Bangladesh cricket team. I am part of this, so I am very happy,” Litton said. “When me and Miraz [were] batting, the credit actually goes to Miraz, because the way he faced 20 balls, and [if he] hits five or six fours, the game will be easier. We just had conversations like this. They had good momentum. We had to kill that momentum. And let’s see what happens next. And after lunch, we just felt free and just went and batted.”After that stand with Mehidy, Litton had another partnership with Mahmud, of 69 runs, in which Mahmud contributed 13 but faced 51 balls.”When Hasan came, I didn’t have any scoring opportunities, because all the fielders were out,” Litton said. “So I took my time and thought I had to play the over, not the ramp or anything; I just was thinking how many overs I can play.”Mahmud and Rana took over after that. The Bangladesh fast-bowling duo put on perhaps their finest display, as the two young men, with Taskin Ahmed for company, put their team on course for victory, and history.”Very proud. Very young group, in terms of the number of games they have played. Probably not the kind of wickets we were expecting when we were talking about scouting for Pakistan. But this group has improved every Test and showed some good control second innings particularly, so very proud,” Andre Adams, the bowling coach, said.Shanto summed it up when collecting the trophy, and remembered to mention the two opening batters, Shadman Islam, who starred in the first Test, and Zakir Hasan, who gave them a fast start in the chase.”It means a lot, can’t express with words. Really happy. Before we came, we were looking to win here. Everyone did their job. Very happy,” Shanto said. [Mahmud and Rana] were very impressive. Most important was their work ethic. The way they did their work in the recent past. That’s why they got the results. They wanted to win. That was very important for our team.”The way Shadman batted, the 93 innings, and this innings, the way Zakir approached the innings, the momentum came to us.”Litton Das’s century was his second in an away Test•AFP/Getty Images

Mehidy dedicates Player-of-the-Series award to student protestors

This series took place not long after the student protests in Bangladesh, which led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government and widespread violence subsequently, leading to many deaths. The Bangladesh cricket team travelled to Pakistan earlier than scheduled to get in some practice, which they were unable to back home.The shadow of the events back home stayed with the team, with Shakib Al Hasan, their star player and also a member of parliament of Hasina’s Awami League party, being named with 146 others in a political murder case.”You know there have been problems in Bangladesh – I dedicate this award to the student protestors who were martyred,” Mehidy said when accepting his Player-of-the-Series award. “A rickshaw-puller was hurt in the violence, and eventually died. I want to gift this award to his family.”Adams took charge only in February this year, and when asked what the win meant to the people back in Bangladesh, said, “I don’t know what it means to all of Bangladesh, but I know Bangladesh is a very proud nation, so we are incredibly happy with these results given the turmoil over the last couple of months.”We were there at the time, and it was pretty scary. But we’re happy that things are returning to normal.”

Australia captain survives close call to rack up vital fifty, and give her side the edge in tense tussle

Andrew Miller25-Jun-2023In a parallel universe, Alyssa Healy would currently be nursing her fourth consecutive duck in Ashes Tests and England, in all probability, would be favourites to seal a compelling contest at Trent Bridge and steal a march in their bid to win back the trophy for the first time since 2015.Instead, Healy – Australia’s stand-in captain in the absence of Meg Lanning – survived a near-unplayable first delivery from Kate Cross, one that took a low edge and deflected off the tip of Amy Jones’ gloves, to halt Australia’s dramatic post-lunch collapse with a typically gutsy knock of 50 from 62 balls.On her watch, Australia inflated their total from a ropey 198 for 7 to a daunting 257, for an overall lead of 267, and after the capture of five England wickets in a feisty evening onslaught led by the offspin of Ashleigh Gardner, they reached the close of day four with their dominance restored.Related

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And speaking after play, Gardner, whose figures of 3 for 33 mark her out as Australia’s likeliest matchwinner as the contest moves into the uncharted territory of a fifth day, acknowledged that Healy’s knock had been a “huge” factor in reasserting her Australia’s position. And it had been especially important on a personal level too, given that Healy’s first-innings duck – bowled by England’s ten-wicket star Sophie Ecclestone – had followed on from her pair in the last Ashes, a thrilling draw in Canberra in January 2022.”We spoke at tea about how crucial those last few runs were,” Gardner told Sky Sports. “To see her stand up and have a captain’s knock in our own right was fantastic, and a bit of a monkey off the back for her as well. But for her, it was leading from the front and then taking a bit of that confidence into her keeping as well. I think she’s kept fantastically this whole Test match and, as bowlers and fielders, we just need to back that up as well.”Beth Mooney’s Test-best 85 was another critical factor in Australia’s overnight dominance, after she and Phoebe Litchfield had added 99 for the first wicket prior to England’s mid-innings fightback.”That’s Alyssa to a tee,” Mooney said at the close. “She loves being in the contest. She’s a competitor. And there’s been no doubt in our changing-room that her luck was going to change a little bit in this format, and she showed everyone the class that she is out there today with her innings.”I think that will be the difference for us, in terms of getting over 200, so I think she played beautifully and showed really good intent in really trying conditions.”Healy’s response to her own struggles with the bat had been to drop herself down to No. 8 in the order, and trust Australia’s formidable lower-middle-order to ride the confidence they had shown in their first-innings performances. Gardner’s first-innings 40 from No. 7 had been a vital factor in rescuing Australia from a dicey 238 for 6 in the first innings, while Annabel Sutherland’s maiden Test hundred had taken the attack back to England on the second morning.Ashleigh Gardner made vital inroads•Getty Images

When, however, both players were undone in consecutive overs, with Kate Cross and Ecclestone combining to instigate a collapse of 3 for 3 in 12 balls, Healy’s formidable resolve was just what Australia needed to get their innings back on track.”To Midge’s credit, she’s always trying to do the right thing by the team, and get a few different people into the game,” Mooney said about her demotion. “So I wasn’t surprised at all. I think she’s one of the most selfless players I’ve played with so, absolutely, she was trying to get the team in the best position possible. But there’s not going too No. 8s floating around world cricket with her credentials, so I don’t think she was too unhappy about it.”As for the overall match situation, Mooney acknowledged it was still very much in the balance, even though Australia’s capture of five late wickets, following a composed opening stand of 55 between Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb, has left them with the momentum going into a final day that the authorities at Trent Bridge have confirmed will be free entry.”I think it is teetering a little bit,” Mooney said. “I think the first hour tomorrow will go a long way to finding out who’s going to come out on top. We’ve still got to bowl really well on that wicket, and try to extract as much as we can out of it.”I back our bowlers to take five wickets,” she added. “There’s a lot of time left in the game and not that many wickets for us, compared to what we had an hour and a half ago. So I’m really excited to see what’s to unfold tomorrow, but certainly, we feel like we’re probably the happier team walking off this afternoon, for sure.”Ecclestone, whose ten-wicket haul reaffirmed her long-held status as the premier spinner in women’s international cricket, was phlegmatic about England’s overnight position – not least because her prowess with the bat will doubtless be a factor in the contest’s denouement. She is likely to bat at No. 9 in England’s order for this run-chase, following the promotion of Cross as nightwatcher shortly before the close.”We’re definitely winning tomorrow,” she said. “We’ve put ourselves into a lot of practice games, a lot of pressure situations. So, tomorrow, I’m backing our team all the way.”[Hitting the winning runs] would top it all off,” she added. “Hopefully [Danni] Wyatt can keep batting, and Crossy [Kate Cross] looked lovely those last few balls…I mean, I wasn’t watching to be honest. I was sat in the physio room, just waiting for the balls to be over, to be honest.”It’s just the beauty of Test cricket, it’s mad how things change,” she added. “It’s such a great form of the game that things happen so fast and things change so fast. So hopefully we can put them under a little bit of pressure tomorrow morning, and go back at them.”

Bangladesh coach explains his side’s decision to bowl first, a call which came as a “surprise” to the home camp

Mohammad Isam31-Mar-2022Bangladesh’s decision to bowl in Durban was prompted by their hesitancy towards batting first in foreign conditions, according to coach Russell Domingo. They have won all their tosses in Test cricket in South Africa, largely deciding to put the hosts in, but doing so today was still a “surprise” for the home camp as per debutant Ryan Rickelton.”I think there’s a bit of insecurity batting in foreign conditions,” Domingo said after play. “There’s a lot of young players coming up – [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy, Shadman [Islam] and [Najmul Hossain] Shanto are playing their first Test here. We need to develop the self-belief to go out there to front up on tough wickets. It is something that we have tried to address as a coaching team and senior players. [But] there were merits to [both] bowling and batting first.Related

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“Over the last ten years, it is 58-42 per cent in favour of batting first in Durban, so there’s not too much in it. There was a little bit of cloud cover today [which would have helped the pace bowlers early on] but that half an hour delay gave the clouds the time to burn off. It didn’t help us.”Rickelton however felt it was more important to think about how the pitch would behave in the latter half of the Test; usually, the Kingsmead pitch helps spinners.”I was personally quite surprised [when Bangladesh chose to bowl],” Rickelton said. “In Durban we usually bat first. The wicket takes turn as it wears on. We would have batted first if we won the toss.”A lot of people are saying they haven’t seen this type of pitch in Durban [before], maybe that’s what pushed them to bowl first. They were probably trying to get the most out of it with their three seamers. But we were happy to bat.”Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee duly laid a platform for South Africa with a century stand, despite the interruptions of the first half hour. There were freebies on offer, and the pair took full toll, adding 95 in the first session. Rickelton said that the 113-run opening stand set up South Africa nicely.”Dean says it a lot and it is true: we start quite slowly as a cricketing group. He was determined to show that that wasn’t going to be the case again. They were irritated with the delay up front. I think it made them more determined.”Hats off to them. Hundred opening stand in any format of the game is a great base to build off. They played very well. They put the bad ball away. They dug it out. They definitely set us up for the rest of the game.”Bangladesh did fight back with three wickets in the middle session, and got Rickelton in the last session to give the day, despite their errors with the ball, a more in-the-balance look. Like Rickelton, Domingo felt the delay at the start had an impact.”The first half an hour break didn’t do any team any favours. I think there’s a little bit of a difference between a 10am and 10.30am start. We didn’t start well too. We bowled pretty average in the first session.”But then came back superbly well after lunch. I suppose it is an even day at the moment. They only got 230 [233]. If we can nip out two in the morning, it puts us in a good position.”Domingo praised Mehidy Hasan Miraz who was Bangladesh’s MVP on the day, having bowled 26 overs for figures of 1 for 57 and getting Keegan Petersen run out with a brilliant dive-pick-up-and-throw from point.”It was one of the best run-outs I have seen. He has been an amazing cricketer for us with the bat and ball, and in the field,” Domingo said. “He has taken some good catches. He has great energy and attitude. It was a special run-out from a guy who is really confident in his game at the moment.”Rickelton meanwhile rued missing out on a big knock in his first innings as a Test cricketer. He got off the mark with a reverse-swept four, something that offered a glimpse of his abilities, but he fell to Ebadot Hossain for 21.”I was planting my front foot quite early. I wasn’t playing off the back foot just yet, so I took a risk,” he said, explaining why he went for that reverse sweep. “It isn’t the riskiest shot for me. I said that things aren’t going to look in my favour if I am nought off 10 or 15 balls. So I whipped it out, luckily it worked. It got me away.”I am really sad that I couldn’t manage to get through to the end of the day, but it was a nice start for me. Hopefully I can take some momentum from this.”

Australia may be thinking about handing a debut to the highly rated Cameron Green

Saurabh Somani28-Nov-20207:47

How do India solve their sixth bowling option issue?

Big Picture

The home team wins the first ODI of a three-match series, at Sydney. Both India and Australia have been here before, the last time they played a bilateral series in Australia in fact. On that occasion, India came from behind to win it 2-1, but that was in January 2019. Back when Covid was just five letters that wouldn’t have been terribly useful at Scrabble.In November 2020, Australia are fortified by the returns of Steven Smith and David Warner, and they also have all three first-choice pace picks playing. None of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc played in the 2019 matches. India too were not at full-strength then, with Jasprit Bumrah rested and the duo of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya suspended. They did have Rohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar fit and in the XI though. India now have a lopsided look where players with great individual skills make up the XI, but the batsmen can’t bowl and the bowlers can’t bat. That means there is no scope for ‘relief’ overs if you need them, and the batting strength falls off a cliff after No.7. It’s not like they have allrounders in their squad they can call on, so for this series at least, India will have to find a way with the resources they have, especially with Pandya still not match-ready for bowling.The second game of a three-match series is by default a must-win for one team and a chance to sew up the series for the other. More than losing, or winning, the series though, this will be an opportunity for several of the players to continue the adjusting phase to a format longer than 20 overs. Players will tell you it’s a mental shift more than anything else, and playing more games helps transition into that groove quicker. There are three T20Is after the ODIs yes, but they clash with the three-day tour games scheduled before the Tests, so it’s a good bet that most multi-format players in the ODI side will transition from 50-overs cricket to three-day cricket to Test cricket.Not pertinent to the result of the series, but not insignificantly either, the first ODI was also the first international cricket match post the Covid-19 pandemic to have spectators in the stands. This game will have fans too, and every cricket match that is held safely with an audience in these times, is a step forward.

Form guide

Australia WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India LLLLW
Just like old times: Crowds were back in the stands for a men’s international for the first time since March•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Mitchell Starc has the best bowing strike rate in ODI history, given a minimum of 500 overs bowled, and is one of the format’s best-ever bowlers. Strangely though, he has been fairly ordinary against India. In 12 matches, his average, economy rate and strike rate are 34.70, 5.80 and 35.8, each one significantly worse than his overall figures. He began the first ODI taking the new ball and sending down a 20-run first over that lasted 11 balls. Starc was among the few men on either side not part of IPL 2020, so that first game effort could be down to rustiness. And although 12 matches is hardly a large enough sample size, the last three times Starc has bowled against India, he has gone at more than seven runs per over each game and picked up a solitary wicket. That’s something to rectify soon, rustiness or not.Shreyas Iyer‘s ODI career is only 19 games old and his stats in the format so far are formidable enough, with an average of 46.87 at quicker than a run a ball. But Iyer will have eyes trained on him with more focus than normal, particularly because of how he got out in the first ODI: too late to get out of the way of a short ball from Hazlewood, and too ungainly when he did so with the bat sticking out over his head. That mode of dismissal pretty much ensures that Iyer can expect few deliveries pitched in his half. How he’ll deal with the expected short-ball barrage could determine his near-term prospects.

Team news

Marcus Stoinis walked off the field in the first ODI after just 6.2 overs, having picked up an injury. Cricket Australia later said Stoinis had a “low grade side strain”, which makes it unlikely that he’ll be available for this game, or even the next. His unavailability is a blow, with Stoinis having started to develop into a powerful presence in the top order and a more than useful option with the ball.Australia do have options to replace Stoinis with though. Cameron Green and Moises Henriques are both seam-bowling allrounders, with Green in particular highly rated. Neither has bowled too much in recent times though. Apart from them, there is Sean Abbott, more of a bowling allrounder, but who has clattered 271 runs in five innings in the Sheffield Shield while being out just twice, and with a bagful of wickets too. Ashton Agar is also a bowling allrounder, if Australia want to add more spin.Australia (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Cameron Green/Sean Abbott, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.India could be keeping a bit of an anxious eye on Yuzvendra Chahal, who had also walked off the field during the first ODI, but after bowling his full quota. Chahal’s issue didn’t look anything worse than a cramp though, but if he has a niggle, it could lead to a change in the XI. India might want to consider bringing in someone like T Natarajan for Navdeep Saini too.India (possible): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 T Natarajan/Navdeep Saini, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.The Indian team sing the national anthem, kitted out in their new jerseys•Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

It’s forecast to be a hot day in Sydney, with temperatures touching 40 degrees centigrade in the afternoon. The first game was a high-scoring one, which was true to recent form for the SCG, but what effect the baking sun and playing a match so soon on the heels of another has on the surface remains to be seen. The spinners found some turn in the first ODI, but that apart, there was nothing much in it for the bowlers.

Stats and trivia

• 11.40 – that’s Virat Kohli’s ODI average at the SCG, the third lowest he averages at ground, and the lowest on a ground where he’s batted at least five times. When you consider that the 21 he made in the first ODI equalled his highest score at the venue, and thus lifted his average, the curious anomaly of Kohli not scoring runs at the SCG is amplified, especially because Kohli has scored runs by the tons in Australia otherwise.
• 1 – Hardik Pandya’s rank among Indian batsmen, when sorted by strike rate in ODIs, given at least 1000 runs scored. Pandya went past 1000 runs in the first ODI during a career-best 90, and his ODI strike rate now stands at 115.81. This is among the reasons why even if he isn’t bowling, his batting is enough for a spot at No.6.
• Cameron Green’s first-class batting average is touching 50, while his bowling average is 22.5, which is still higher than his age at 21 years old. You can see why he’s got everyone excited about his potential. Green has played only nine List A games though, and his numbers in those (27.8 and 34.4) aren’t as eye-catching. There’s no doubting his potential though.

Quotes

“It was just see-ball, hit-ball and obviously the foundation had been set so I could be quite aggressive. I picked my bowlers and where I wanted to hit them, and just played some good shots to the areas of my strengths. It was nice to hit a few in the middle, and spend a bit of time out there and hopefully it holds me in good stead for the rest of the summer.”

“If you come and watch both of them train you see why they keep improving and keep getting better”, says Australian captain

Daniel Brettig05-Aug-2019Having stared down England, the chants of the Hollies Stand and their own doubts, the Australian side led by Tim Paine has still more improvement in it, the captain has claimed, not least the tourists’ most dominant forces of Edgbaston, Steven Smith and Nathan Lyon.Smith won the match award for a spine-tingling double of 144 and 142 in his first match back from the Newlands scandal ban, leaving Paine to marvel at his concentration while also admitting his tactical alertness had been of major assistance throughout the Test. However, Paine’s most telling remark about Smith and Lyon, who spun England out with a startling 6 for 49 on the final day that also took him past 350 Test wickets, was that both have shown the ability to keep building on their games as senior players.”He could get plenty. As long as he wants to go for I reckon, he doesn’t seem to have too many niggles or injuries over his career,” Paine said when asked how many more wickets Lyon might take. “The ball is coming out as well as ever. He’s a bit the same as Smithy, I feel like every Test match or series they seem to get better which is astonishing at their age. But I think if you come and watch both of them train you see why they keep improving and keep getting better and are a great example for the rest of our group.”No doubt the pitch had worn but I thought he was threatening in the first innings as well. Nathan has played on all different surfaces now and knows exactly what he is doing in all different situations. I think he bowled a bit quicker, which he tends to do over here because he doesn’t get the bounce he gets in Australia or the turn as consistently. He controlled it beautifully and he is going to be a real threat. He can take day five wickets and when you have a spinner like that it can change a game very quickly.”After bearing so much of the leadership load over the past year, Paine said he had gained a lot from the ability to delegate in this match, even if there were times when it looked as though Smith was controlling proceedings almost as much as the official captain was, while David Warner also had input. “It certainly helps. Both of those guys in particular have played a lot more cricket in England than I have,” Paine said. “They’ve played a lot more big tournaments and big series and big Tests than I have.”The same goes for all of our team – they’re not only helping me with the way they lead our group, they’re also helping … the things that Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh and Travis Head are learning from Steve Smith and Daivd Warner in our change room is stuff that cannot be taught. We’re all tapping into them whether we’re the captain, the coach, the batting coach or bowling coach. They’ve got things they’ve learned through experience that other people don’t have or don’t know. Like I said before, we’d be foolish not to tap into that. They’ve still got a huge presence in our dressing room, there’s no denying that.”ALSO READ: For Edgbaston 2019, read Headingley 1989With a tour game in Worcester beginning on Wednesday, the Australians will look to rest key players, notably the bowlers in this Test and also Smith. Nevertheless, Paine said he would not be standing in the way of allowing Smith to hit another surfeit of balls before the Lord’s Test after the way his exhaustive preparation for Birmingham played out in the middle.”I wouldn’t argue with his preparation, it seems to work for him, but there’s probably a few guys that will miss next week,” Paine said. “We’ve got some guys who haven’t played any cricket and some who have played through a World Cup and then straight into a tour game in Southampton and then into a Test match. So we’ve got to manage not just our fast bowlers but we’ve got to manage the guys who’ve been involved in the World Cup and we’ll have that conversation today or tonight and make sensible calls.”Another key Australian performer to improve across the Test was Pat Cummins, who bowled presentably in the first innings but delivered truly fiery stuff in the second, starting with a sharp lifter to dismiss Rory Burns that drew life from a pitch that had seemingly breathed its last. “I think he said he just struggled in the first innings for a little bit of rhythm, which can happen, he hasn’t played a hell of a lot with the red ball in the last six months, so I think there was a little bit of rhythm,” Paine said.After a steady first innings, Pat Cummins got better as the Test went on•Getty Images

“It was also a big series and something he wanted to have a real impact on so I think there was probably a little bit of nerves as well which was totally fine. I don’t think he was on his own there, but I think he settled into the Test match beautifully and the way he set the tone for our team this morning was exactly what we want from Pat Cummins. Now he’s settled into some rhythm I think he’ll just get better and better.”One of the reasons we pick so many bowlers was because we knew this Ashes series was going to be wearing on our bowlers. Especially the guys who were at the World Cup. We’ve got two world class bowlers sat on the sidelines raring to go [Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood]. I imagine they’ll bowl in the tour game and then put their hand up for selection. We’ll look at the pitch when we get to Lord’s and then make our selections on what will be the best combination to get us 20 wickets. We think we have a lot of different options.”Paine also disagreed that the selectors needed to feel “vindicated” by the performances of Matthew Wade and Peter Siddle, pointing out that both had been good, logical selections tailored to the conditions and also out of deference for their recent performances in first-class ranks. “Matty has been the form players in Australian cricket for the last 12 months. Siddle is someone we see as a handful in these conditions,” Paine said.”Even today on a day five wicket he took no wickets but he was still a handful. He asks questions all the time and with the Dukes ball in English conditions he is a real handful. He bowls a beautiful length over here. I wouldn’t say they are punts, they were good, educated decisions from our selectors.”

Nottinghamshire have a dreadful Championship record at Taunton and four wickets for Craig Overton suggested it might continue as they trailed by 258 on first innings

David Hopps10-Jun-20182:12

Craig Overton leaves leaders Notts following on

ScorecardNottinghamshire and Somerset occupy the top two places in the Championship, but billing this encounter as a Championship decider does not ring true. Somerset’s challenge can be sustained deep into the season, encouraging expectations that their first Championship title is a possibility, but Notts do not suggest the stuff of champions.That view was only encouraged by events on the second day at Taunton when Nottinghamshire responded to Somerset’s 392 by collapsing to 134 all out in 37.1 overs. Some stability was restored when they made 112 for 0 following on in a truncated final session, but a deficit of 146 still looks likely to translate into eventual defeat.There is no cause to cavil over Tom Abell’s decision to insert Nottinghamshire for a second time, even if there have already been fleeting signs of turn and Matt Carter, who took 10 in the match on debut on this ground, has already added another five as Somerset extended their first innings to 392 before lunch, suggesting he could be a tough proposition in an awkward fourth-innings chase.Notts’ first innings had only spanned 37.4 overs so exhaustion didn’t come into it, but there were few alarms in the 30 overs which followed as Steven Mullaney, a captain who will lead England Lions later this month, and Jake Libby summoned comfortable resistance.To turn this around, though, would challenge not just the match situation, but a habit of more than 30 years. Nottinghamshire have a terrible record at Taunton, with six draws and 10 defeats since their last Championship win here in 1985.

Things have clicked – Overton

Craig Overton feels that he is in his best form of the season: “Since the final games of the one-day competition and going into this match I feel things have really been clicking for me with the ball,” he said.
“I was bowling okay at the start of the season, but not as well as I had hoped. When I am running in hard and the ball comes out as it did today it is always pleasing and I’m delighted to have claimed four wickets.
“There were signs of turn in the closing overs so hopefully if we can get a couple of batsmen out early tomorrow we can apply some pressure. There was some discussion about enforcing the follow-on, but with a 250-plus lead we reasoned that if Notts scored 400 in their second innings, we would still need only 150 to win.”

Nottinghamshire arrived at Taunton with exalted status – seven points ahead of Somerset, who lie second with a match in hand with a match in hand, with Surrey a further two points distant in third. Three early-season wins were sourced from excellent early-season bowling in favourable conditions, but it would take a substantial batting improvement to maintain such promise.”We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” said one Somerset sage to a mate over lunch. How many summers have they watched in the hope that a first Championship would arrive at Taunton only for their bounty to be lost even as the Quantocks in the distance were transformed into the colours of harvest time?Without the contribution from Ross Taylor, their New Zealand batsman, Notts would really have been in a pickle. Taylor made 74 from 89 balls, a shrewd counter-attacking innings which reached its maximum ambition at nine down when he hoisted three legside sixes in an over off Craig Overton, one of them mighty enough to disturb residents on the balconies of the adjacent flats. Considering that a letter of complaint was once received about the unsightliness of the new outfield drainage, further missives could already be on their way.Overton, despite that over, had a decent day, bowling at the upper range of his pace and aggression, as if in what seems to be the perpetual absence of his faster twin brother, who is searching for fitness and rhythm, he is trying to fulfil both roles at once. Twins can do strange things.Either side of lunch Overton produced an inspired spell from the River End, which saw him take three wickets for four runs in his first three overs. Libby fell to an excellent ball which left him and Mullaney was lbw to one which jagged back. Soon after lunch, Samit Patel also fell for nought to one that swung back. In all, there were four ducks in the top six as Lewis Gregory sent Chris Nash and Riki Wessels packing without scoring, both trusting unwisely to the back foot.Worse could have resulted from 28 for five as Abell missed the stumps with a chance to run out Tom Moores and Taylor, on 14, survived a good lbw shout from Gregory. Taylor played with gusto thereafter and, even when he ran out Carter, trying to keep the strike, it just irked him into that final six-hitting assault.

Joe Clarke put an unproductive England Lions tour of Sri Lanka behind him when he made 89 as the MCC struck 332 all out on the opening day of the Champion County clash against Middlesex in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2017
ScorecardJoe Clarke was in good touch for MCC•Getty Images

Joe Clarke put an unproductive England Lions tour of Sri Lanka behind him when he made 89 as the MCC struck 332 all out on the opening day of the Champion County clash against Middlesex in Abu Dhabi.Clarke struck 11 fours to guide MCC past 300 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium before he fell lbw to the Middlesex fast-medium bowler James Harris. Harris also removed Tom Alsop for a sixth-ball duck and Liam Plunkett as MCC were dismissed shortly before the close.He gained support from another England Lions batsman who had an in-and-out Lions tour, Ben Duckett, who played with his usual enterprise in making 69 from 88 balls before falling lbw to
Middlesex’s off-spinner Ravi Patel.Three good wickets for Patel, who also removed MCC captain Alex Lees and Lewis Gregory, was encouraging for Patel who, at 25, will be anxious to make good the early promise that won him England Lions honours.

Cameron White’s unbeaten century and Scott Boland’s unbeaten half-century helped stall a Victoria collapse after they had conceded a 401-run lead to Tasmania earlier in the day

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Cameron White’s century saved Victoria from an embarrassing collapse•Getty Images

Cameron White’s unbeaten century and Scott Boland’s unbeaten half-century helped stall a Victoria collapse after they had conceded a 401-run lead to Tasmania earlier in the day. But defeat was still imminent for Victoria, as they ended play still trailing by 162 with just three wickets in hand.Right-arm pacer Evan Gulbis starred with the ball for Tasmania, picking up four of the seven wickets that fell. Victoria stumbled to 5 for 92 after openers Aaron Ayre and Travis Dean put on a 51-run partnership. Gulbis then removed Daniel Christian and Chris Tremain quickly as Victoria slid further to 7 for 115. White then combined with Boland to add 124 for Victoria’s eighth wicket; resisting stoutly, the pair was yet to be separated by the end of play. White chose the route of counterattack: his unbeaten 100 off 118 balls included 15 fours and a six.After starting the day at 5 for 506, Sam Rainbird’s 22-ball 24 helped Tasmania quickly reach 8 for 556 declared, a mountainous first-innings lead of 401.

Surrey became the first side to make it to Finals Day and reached the last four for the first time since 2006 as they defeated Somerset at The Oval.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at The Oval06-Aug-2013
ScorecardSteven Davies got Surrey’s chase off to a bright start•Getty Images

Surrey became the first side to make it to Finals Day and reached the last four for the first time since 2006 as they defeated Somerset at The Oval. A 4.15pm start limited the attendance to just 10,100, with Sky unwilling to put the game on their red button service. Surrey fans have a right to feel aggrieved by the scheduling but, now just two games away from a first piece of silverware since 2011’s Clydesdale Bank 40, it’s an easier pill to swallow.Through a mixture of good bowling and some indecisive strokes, Somerset stuttered to their 148, after winning the toss and asking Surrey to chase for only the second time in the competition. Craig Kieswetter carried his bat, but he faced only 51 of the 120 balls available.Kieswetter is often maligned for his inability to rotate the strike and, at times, he was guilty of trying to launch balls that deserved a bit more respect. But it would be extremely harsh for any criticism to be levelled at him today, especially given the struggles of his teammates. Fellow opener Chris Jones played out nine dot-balls during the Powerplay, while the middle order could only give their main man five balls in the final four overs. As if to make a point, Kieswetter took singles off all of them.His 70 contained all his trademarks, as he hit straight and big with his manufactured technique that looks so natural on days like these. Even someone of Chris Tremlett’s pace wasn’t safe, as Kieswetter planted him down the ground for six, before displaying some sharp footwork the very next ball to get inside of a ball just outside off stump, launching it over long-off for another maximum.After a post-Powerplay lull, it looked like Peter Trego would assist Kieswetter. But, after an attempted reverse-paddle to the first ball of the 14th over, he lost his off stump, much to the delight of the bowler, Gareth Batty, who let out a roar that would turn an Orc white. Trego took exception, removing his helmet to square up to Batty. Players and umpires separated the two, while the Surrey fielders backed up their captain to remind Trego of the direction in which he should be heading. Batty was kept well away from his confronter, and for good reason.The two were reunited at the end, once Batty had repeatedly punched the air with glee after John Lewis got a thick edge to third man from a full toss from Alfonso Thomas to seal a Surrey win. It was a lot less heated, but certainly not friendly.The required rate of 7.5-an-over didn’t challenge the hosts. Speaking after the match, magnum of champagne in hand, Vikram Solanki revealed that the plan was always to try and milk every run from the middle overs, before Yasir Arafat and Thomas returned at the death. George Dockrell had the misfortune of being the targeted bowler, with his overs going for 32, including back-to-back sixes from Solanki at the end of the 13th over that left Surrey needing 43 from 42 balls.Yet again, Jason Roy and Steven Davies started well, with 50 off the first six overs. Roy then fell to a magnificent catch by Jos Buttler – scurrying from the boundary at deep-midwicket to dive and intercept a ball over his right shoulder, before it could reach the boundary on the bounce. But even the removal of Davies could not stem the runs, as Solanki’s 38, along with contributions from Gary Wilson and Zander de Bruyn allowed the chase to be completed at a canter.They could even afford some slapstick, as Gary Wilson was run out trying to run on an overthrow, which cannoned off the stumps at the bowler’s end, with Zafar Ansari scrabbling to make his ground.For Somerset, there is no silver lining, another blow on the day they found out that Abdur Rehman will not be making his way to Taunton, having been selected in Pakistan’s squad for their tour of Zimbabwe. A fifth consecutive visit to Finals Day might not have eased their woes, but it certainly would have distracted them from them. Now, they have to consider some harsh realities.