All posts by n8rngtd.top

Klaasen thankful for the break Sunrisers got – they last played on May 8 – saying they will go into the playoffs mentally fresh

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2024Heinrich Klaasen will go into the IPL 2024 playoffs feeling like he is back at his best, having worked his way through a slight drop off in form. He hit 42 off 26 against Punjab Kings on Sunday evening in Hyderabad to help his team chase down 215 with relative ease, hitting a couple of shots along the way that “put a smile” on his face.”I haven’t hit it nicely over this period of time,” Klaasen said after the game. “So I went back into the nets to try and figure it out, [and] got something that helped. And I finally hit one or two today that put a smile on my face.”Klaasen had hit 253 runs in his first six innings this season, at an average of 63.25 and a strike rate of 199.21. But his next six knocks, including this one against PBKS in Hyderabad, brought him 128 runs at an average of 25.60 and a strike rate of 158.02. This run included a 2 off four balls against Mumbai Indians, and a 20 off 21 balls against Chennai Super Kings, both in SRH losses.Related

• SRH ride on another Abhishek blitz to finish second in league-stage standings

Asked what he felt had been going wrong for him when his form fell away, Klaasen said: “I haven’t looked at the ball at all. And I was moving way too much. And then I found something. I challenged myself in the nets against the other guys, [like] the spinners. And all of a sudden, everything just clicked again.”So I just went back to the basics of standing dead still, watching the ball, and just reacting. And finally it came [off], so I’m very pleased.”What would have helped Klaasen in this regard was the long break SRH got – partly by design, partly due to the weather. Before today, they had last played against Lucknow Super Giants at home on May 8, before having a match against Gujarat Titans – also at home – washed out without a toss on May 16. Klaasen admitted that was a blessing in disguise.”It couldn’t have come at a better time for us, to be honest,” he said. “It has been a long couple of months. The schedule, I reckon that timing was the best for us. End of the IPL, into the playoffs, will be nice and fresh mentally, and obviously [then] into the [T20] World Cup. So that break was, I reckon, sent from above.”Klaasen and Co had to wait to know which playoff they will feature in, though. The win against PBKS put them second on the points table, one point ahead of Rajasthan Royals in third. Royals played table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in the final league game of the season, later in the evening.”Yeah, we’ll definitely be awake and supporting KKR tonight,” Klaasen said with a smile. The smile would have remained as news of that game being washed out came through, confirming SRH’s top-two finish.

Head coach pays price for run of losses

Matt Roller22-Nov-2022Gary Kirsten has left his role as Welsh Fire’s head coach in the men’s Hundred after overseeing a winless 2022 season.Kirsten, 54, spent both of the Hundred’s first two seasons with the Cardiff-based team but, after winning their first two games, their results nosedived: they won one of their final six fixtures in 2021 and despite a squad overhaul at the draft, lost all eight matches in 2022.Kirsten had initially planned to build his side around Jonny Bairstow as captain, but he has only played for them twice since his Test recall last year. Unlike most of their rivals, Fire have struggled to foster a team culture or a sense of identity.His exit was long expected but only ratified recently. The decision was made by Fire’s board, which is run by the chief executives of Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Somerset, the Welsh businesswoman Aileen Richards (who acts as an independent director) and Glamorgan head of operations Dan Cherry, with Mark Wallace serving as general manager.Kirsten confirmed his departure to ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday following a report in the .Candidates to replace Kirsten could include Paul Farbrace, the former England assistant coach, who revealed earlier this month that he is open to working in the Hundred after leaving his job as Warwickshire’s director of cricket.

The bowlers set up Australia’s win, Zampa, Cummins and Starc doing all the damage after Sri Lanka had raced away to 125 for no loss

Madushka Balasuriya16-Oct-20231:34

Did Australia tick every box against Sri Lanka?

Australia chased down Sri Lanka’s sub-par 209 with some ease, cantering to a five-wicket win in Lucknow to revive their flagging World Cup campaign. The result leaves Sri Lanka second-last on the table with three losses from three, and essentially needing only wins from hereon to stand a chance of making it to the semi-finals.For Australia, it was a victory set up by a tenacious bowling effort, and then capped off by a chase exemplified by its clarity of thought.Having won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that stand-in Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis had deemed a “280-300” track, Sri Lanka got off to the ideal start with the opening pair racking up 125 runs.But a collapse of astounding proportions saw them lose ten wickets for just 84 runs – the worst such collapse in World Cups since 2011, and Sri Lanka’s worst collapse since their inaugural World Cup game – as they were bundled for 209.Adam Zampa was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 47, while Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc grabbed two apiece. Though special mention should go to David Warner for two outstanding catches in the deep to dismiss Pathum Nissanka and Mendis, wickets which in many ways catalysed Sri Lanka’s downfall. It was also a fielding effort that was a welcome change for Australia, after their opening defeats to India and South Africa had been marked by some uncharacteristically poor catching.In defence of their total, Sri Lanka, and particularly Dilshan Madushanka, started excellently. Madushanka’s first 12 deliveries went for zero runs and two wickets, including a double-wicket maiden. While those two wickets would see the dangerous Warner and Steven Smith sent packing, Mitchell Marsh at the other end offered Sri Lanka no respite.1:23

Maharoof: ‘Absolutely pathetic batting display from Sri Lanka’

Marsh lofted the first ball of the chase, a fullish delivery on off from Lahiru Kumara, back over mid-off and he didn’t look back. Maheesh Theekshana, brought into the attack as early as the third over after Kumara had been hacked for 15 in his opening over, was taken for a pair of exquisite boundaries, and Marsh repeated the feat in Kumara’s next over. The worst, though, was reserved for Dunith Wellalage, who was lashed for three boundaries in his opening salvo.It took a fine Chamika Karunaratne throw from the deep to dismiss Marsh as he looked for a tight second, but by then a third of the chase had been scratched off, and the game was well in hand. Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne then put the result beyond doubt with a stand of 77 off 86; though both fell before the finish line, Inglis notched a half-century. The finishing touches were added by Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who entered the fray to turbo-power an already comfortable chase and romp home.But on a surface that Cummins had said he would have liked to have batted first on, this was a game won with the ball.Sri Lanka’s partnerships tell the entire story. A substantial opening stand of 125, followed by a brief but industrious 32, and then… well, nothing. Indeed, beyond those two top-order efforts only two others passed double-digits, and that too by the barest of margins. Contrast that to Australia, who put up stands of 24, 0, 57, 77, 34 and an unbroken 23 on their way to victory.The collapse is a worrying theme for Sri Lanka, who have now thrown away a promising position for the second game running – the fourth time in five games if you count the warm-up games. This game also highlighted what could happen if Mendis fails to fire; despite the opening pair of Nissanka and Kusal Perera putting on 125, Sri Lanka’s middle order failed to capitalise on the platform, going from 157 for 1 to 209 all out.Nissanka had got runs against Pakistan but Perera was coming into this game nursing a recently recovered shoulder strain, and not much recent form behind him. But a lacklustre start from the Australia seamers meant that even though the Lankan openers weren’t exactly proficient in rotating the strike, there were enough boundary balls on offer to allay any pressure being built.Together, the pair put on Sri Lanka’s best opening stand of the tournament, which would have had them eyeing a total in excess of 300, but no one could have predicted the extent of the collapse that followed.1:13

Maharoof: Madushanka a real positive for Sri Lanka

While the start of Sri Lanka’s slide will nominally be attributed to Cummins for picking up both openers in the span of a couple overs, a large part of the credit should go to Warner whose catching provided the opening.Either side of Cummins nipping one back and castling Perera, Warner held on to two high-difficulty chances in the deep. The first was to get rid of Nissanka, who mistimed a hook seemingly into the safety of the vacant midwicket region, only to see the patrolling Warner sprint across from deep square-leg and hold on to it on the slide.He grabbed an even better one a couple of overs later, once more tearing to his left – from deep midwicket this time – making up an incredible amount of ground to gobble up a miscued slog sweep off Mendis. He then had to nurse some bruised kneecaps for his troubles as his forward tumble took out lumps from the Lucknow outfield, but it was well worth it as the Australians never looked back from thereon.Zampa was the beneficiary of that second moment of Warner brilliance, and he struck once more an over later, trapping Sadeera Samarawickrama lbw with a slider shown to be barely clipping leg stump on umpire’s call. It was a marginal decision that left Samarawickrama shaking his head, but Australia will feel it evened out a not-out lbw call against Perera when he was on 24, which had they reviewed would have shown three reds.It was around this time that the game was halted by a brief shower, followed by some heavy winds which blew off some scaffolding and adverstising hoardings from the stadium roof. When play continued, it was all Australia as Sri Lanka’s batters struggled to come to terms with the extra bit of zip in the surface following the rain.Dhananjaya de Silva fell just two balls after the restart, chopping one on from Starc, while a period of concerted pressure saw Welllalage attempt an ill-advised single to mid-on, only for Cummins to throw down the stumps.With the innings in freefall, a pair of Zampa googlies accounted for both Karunaratne and Theekshana, shortly before Starc returned to take out Kumara with an inch-perfect yorker. Charith Asalanka was the last man out, slicing a slog sweep off Maxwell.

Orla Prendergast’s 76 underpins Ireland innings but England side featuring five debutants get home

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2024Kate Cross claimed career-best figures with bat and ball on her captaincy debut to lead England to a four-wicket win over Ireland in the first ODI at Stormont.Cross, leading a side featuring five ODI debutants in the absence of most of England’s T20 World Cup squad, was largely responsible for limiting the home side to 210 all out, her haul of 6 for 30 including Ireland’s top-scorer, Orla Prendergast, for 76.She then helped repair the damage after Ireland had reduced the visitors to 156 for 6, hitting an unbeaten 38 that included the winning runs.”There was a lot of nerves out there today,” Cross said. “When you’re captaining one debutant it can be quite hard but to have five on the pitch was a lot to manage so I was just really pleased with the first half in general, how we managed to restrict Ireland to what I thought was a below-par total and then we’ve chased it down.”I’ve been there. When I was running in in Barbados for my debut I remember thinking, ‘just try and land it on the cut strip’ and that does go through your head as a player but sometimes it’s the unknown and a fear when they play on debut because they don’t know how they’ll go in international cricket. I think they coped with the occasion really well.”Ireland opted to bat first in the opening match of the series and were well placed at 151 for 3, with star allrounder Prendergast going well. But Cross returned to break a stand of 77 with Leah Paul, and then mopped up the tail for her second ODI five-wicket haul.Cross had struck in her first over, pinning Una Raymond-Hoey lbw, before Lauren Filer removed Ireland captain Gaby Lewis via a catch at slip. Hannah Baker, the legspinner winning her first cap in any format, then struck in her opening spell as Amy Hunter departed for 37.Prendergast, who scored her maiden ODI hundred last month in Ireland’s series win over Sri Lanka, led the rebuilding effort but the innings folded quickly after her departure. Ryana MacDonald-Gay, another England debutant, bowled Rebecca Stokell, then Paul was run out by a combination of Freya Kemp and Bess Heath – two players who will be going to the World Cup in the UAE.Ireland’s total was their highest in women’s ODIs against England, and they made a good start in its defence. Prendergast opened the bowling and removed Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont inside her first four overs to leave England 32 for 2.Two debutants in Hollie Armitage (previously capped in T20Is) and Paige Scholfield steadied the ship with a stand of 62, before they were both dismissed in consecutive overs. Kemp showed her power with 26 off 19, but after she fell Mady Villiers was run out to leave England six down.Heath was joined by Cross, with 55 needed and more than 20 overs in which to get them. The captain did the bulk of the scoring, finishing unbeaten with 38 from 36 balls, as England got home with 91 balls to spare.

Jaiswal was originally picked in India’s Champions Trophy squad before missing the final cut

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2025Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had missed the final cut for the Champions Trophy, is set to play for Mumbai in their semi-final clash against Vidarbha in Nagpur. Jaiswal’s presence bolsters a Mumbai side that already has a number of other internationals in captain Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur.Dube is part of the non-travelling reserves for the Champions Trophy and will travel to Dubai if required.Related

• Mumbai ride on Dias, Rahane, Shardul efforts to make semis

• Jaiswal out of India's CT squad

Jasiwal was originally picked in India’s Champions Trophy squad in January before making way for mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy when the final squad was announced on February 11. Jasiwal had made his ODI debut in the first match against England, also in Nagpur, in place of Virat Kohli, who had missed that game with a knee niggle. Opening the batting with Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal scored 15 off 22 balls before Jofra Archer had him caught behind.Before joining the India squad, Jaiswal had already played a Ranji game against Jammu & Kashmir, which they lost at home. Incidentally, that fixture also marked Rohit Sharma’s return to the Ranji Trophy.Mumbai, the defending champions, could face a challenge against Vidarbha in a rematch of last season’s final. In this season, Vidarbha had dominated the group stage, winning six of their seven games – the one against Gujarat was drawn with Vidarbha coming away with first-innings points – before crushing Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals.

Mumbai squad

Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Amogh Bhatkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D’Souza, Royston Dias, Atharva Ankolekar, Harsh Tanna

“Taking a short break feels like a sensible precaution to avoid injury and the risk of a longer lay-off.”

Matt Roller23-Aug-2022Reece Topley has pulled out of the final two weeks of the Hundred in order to ensure he is fit to play in the T20 World Cup.Topley was England’s standout bowler in white-ball cricket this summer, taking 17 wickets across 10 limited-overs appearances against India and South Africa, and said in a statement that he had been “feeling the effects of a busy summer more and more over the last few weeks”.Related

• Buttler out of remainder of the Hundred with calf strain

• Hasnain replaces Shaheen in Pakistan's T20 squad for Asia Cup

“Taking a short break feels like a sensible precaution to avoid injury and the risk of a longer lay-off,” he said in a statement released by his Hundred team, Oval Invincibles. “Nonetheless, I’m disappointed not to be contributing as the team enters a crucial period in the competition.”Tom Moody, Invincibles’ head coach, said he was “obviously disappointed to be losing a player of Reece’s calibre” but that the team “respect[s] his decision”. Invincibles are expected to sign a replacement player in the coming days.Topley took five wickets – three of them in a crucial opening burst against Southern Brave – in his four appearances in the Hundred this season but his departure is a major blow to Invincibles’ chances of play-off qualification.He previously missed their win against Welsh Fire in order to manage his body, and told ESPNcricinfo that he was “having to box smart” ahead of the World Cup. “Obviously there’s a lot of chat about the schedule and to be honest, for me to play as much as I have this summer and try to get to October fully fit probably isn’t sustainable,” he said.”I’m having to box smart with where I play and not necessarily go for broke at this point in the season. My priority is to be available for selection for the World Cup and I’m doing everything in my power to be available. If that means missing games here and there, so be it.”Invincibles will also lose two overseas players after Tuesday night’s game against Birmingham Phoenix: Sunil Narine will return to the Caribbean to play in the CPL, while Mohammad Hasnain has been called up to Pakistan’s Asia Cup squad. Peter Hatzoglou, the Australian spinner, will replace Narine, with Hasnain’s replacement unconfirmed.Meanwhile, Jos Buttler has revealed he is not certain to play all seven of England’s T20 internationals in Pakistan next month after being ruled out of the rest of the Hundred with a calf strain. “Whether I’ll be available for all those games, I’m not quite sure yet,” he said while working for Sky Sports as a pundit.

Test vice-captain ready for pivotal role on India tour after recovering from shoulder injury

Cameron Ponsonby09-Dec-2023Ollie Pope says he is ready to captain England against India if Ben Stokes’ knee prevents him from playing in the first Test.Stokes underwent surgery on his troublesome left knee immediately after the World Cup where he played as a specialist batter. The hope is that he will be fit to take part against India in the first Test, starting on January 25 in Hyderabad, in a full capacity, but Pope has said it would be “silly” of him not to prepare for the scenario where the reins are handed over to him.”I think naturally when you are vice-captain there is always a risk that the captain can go down,” Pope said ahead of the deciding ODI of England’s tour of the Caribbean. “Of course that is something that I can think about if it needs to happen but the feedback I have had from the physios [regarding Stokes] since the surgery has been really positive. Stokesy is doing good but it would be silly for me not to prepare.”Related

• Uncapped Pope, Turner and Tongue in England white-ball squads for Caribbean tour

• Stokes begins rehab after knee surgery

• Five things England can learn in the Caribbean

Pope has been a non-playing member of the ODI squad after getting his first call-up to an England white-ball team and is continuing his own rehab following the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the Ashes.Describing the experience of watching the final three matches of the series against Australia go ahead without him as “painful”, Pope is nevertheless now back to more-or-less 100% full fitness.”It was awesome to watch and I couldn’t leave my sofa some days,” Pope said of the Ashes, which ended 2-2. “It was frustrating not playing but the guys put on a real good show and I felt I was living it with them a little bit from my sofa with my shoulder in a sling”[But] I’m good. The shoulder has been good. It’s a stable joint and it can still be sore when I’m throwing, but that’s something I’m going to have to put up with for a while.”During training in Antigua, Pope threw almost exclusively underarm, but has since started to throw overarm at times, saying that it’s simply a case of saving the majority of his throws for game time. It is the third time that Pope has dislocated his shoulder, after suffering the same injury on his left side in 2019 and 2020, but he said that despite the injury occurring whilst he was diving in the field on all three occasions, he remains confident in his ability to throw himself around.”Not [when] diving,” Pope said of whether the injury remains in the back of his mind. “Because I’ve had the same surgery on my left side. I trust the operation and what has happened to my shoulder. I have had two on my left, the first was a smaller one which didn’t go to plan, but in terms of diving around, no. I know I have a stable joint now and that is the good thing in my mind.”This is the fourth week in a row that Pope has been away from home, after he joined up with the white-ball squad in the Caribbean after being part of the England Lions red-ball training camp in Abu Dhabi.”It is a lot better preparation for India than it would be back in the indoor school at The Oval or in the gym the whole time,” he said.”Each batter has probably started thinking about their gameplan whether that is defence or attack. We are going to go about it in a positive way. The pitches in India can be really flat as well so you never know it could be 600 par score in the first innings or it could be 200 par score. Each batter has clarity in their mind and we have been speaking with Trescothick since summer about honing defence.”It is the first time that Pope has had to split red- and white-ball thought processes having had five years in the England set-up exclusively as a Test cricketer. Having played just three List A matches in the last four years, Pope’s inclusion in the one-day squad was a surprise if not a shocking one, with England long having earmarked the right-hander as a multi-format player.”I think anywhere three, four, five,” Pope said of where he expects to fit into the XI when the time for a debut comes. “I feel like I can play spin quite nicely and rotate quite nicely. I think I have to just keep developing the boundary options.”I knew I had a chance and I feel like my game is well suited to 50-over cricket. I just had a bit of bad luck in 50-over cricket over the last couple of years. I feel I have a lot to offer, but now I want to go and show it.”

Bryony Smith seals victory with three wickets as visitors are bowled out in a thriller

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2023South East Stars have beaten Central Sparks by six runs in a Charlotte Edwards Cup thriller at Canterbury.Katie George made 53, but needing to hit seven from the last four balls she was caught on the boundary by Claudie Cooper off Bryony Smith, leaving the Sparks all out for 170, with Abigail Freeborn unable to bat due to injury.The Stars had made their highest score of the season, 176 for 6, despite an impressive display by stand-in Sparks captain Georgia Davis, who took 3 for 13. Phoebe Franklin, who’d been awarded the PCA player-of-the-month trophy before the game, blasted 52 from 27 balls and captain Smith made 47.Neither side able was to qualify for Finals Day and both were missing key players through injury and England commitments, but it was a compelling contest that fluctuated almost constantly.After choosing to bowl, the Sparks produced a fielding performance that was a mixture of the brilliant and the ordinary.Chloe Hill could have been out first ball, but after skying Ellie Anderson she was dropped by Freeborn who, given the cloud cover, was trying to catch a white ball against a white background.Smith was on 20 when she offered a regulation chance to Erin Burns. The fielder put her down but subsequently atoned with a brilliant diving effort to get rid of Smith as she was poised for her half-century.Hill was the next to go, caught-and-bowled by Davis for 25 and Charis Pavely then took a brave catch to remove Aylish Cranstone after she’d holed out to Anderson, nearly colliding with Burns in the process.Kira Chathli went for 11 when she hit Bethan Ellis to Chloe Brewer and Davis concluded a superb spell when she bowled Franklin.Ryana MacDonald-Gay drove Ellis to Burns for five in the final over, but although the rate dipped it was still the Star’s highest score of the competition so far.The Sparks’ chase misfired in the second over when Ami Campbell was sent back by fellow opener Ellis chasing a second run that wasn’t really there and she was run out after a smart throw by Hill, but Ellis responded with an enterprising innings, partnered by Davina Perrin.Perrin struck an elegant 25, only to fall to an inelegant swipe off MacDonald-Gay which was caught at point by Aylish Cranstone.Danni Gregory swung the momentum back in the Stars’ favour, removing Ellis for 29 when she pulled her to Tash Farrant at square leg off the final ball of the ninth. Although Burns hit 16 off the tenth over, Gregory then bowled Brewer for a golden duck.
George blocked the hat-trick ball and began scoring so freely that the Sparks seemed to be coasting until Smith brought herself back on at the Pavilion End and immediately claimed the key wicket of Burns for 39.Smith then bowled Pavely but as long as George was at the crease the Sparks looked slight favourites. They needed 26 from the final three and 17 from the last two, but home hopes soared when Cooper had Anderson lbw for 5.George declined a single off the last ball of the over, backing herself to get 10 off the final six balls. The first went for two after a misfield. The tension was ramped up when Cooper then dropped George but ran out Baker who was chasing a second.George drove the third ball to Cooper in almost exactly the same place, but this time the fielder held on to seal an exhilarating win.

Sussex recruit scores 126, Tom Prest unbeaten on 65 against Durham

ECB Reporters Network10-May-2024New boy Ali Orr began to fulfil the expectations placed on him with a smart maiden Hampshire century as he led a positive batting day for his side against Durham in the Vitality County Championship.Opening batter Orr, who moved from boyhood club Sussex in the winter, expertly amassed 126, his first Championship hundred since September 2022 and his fifth all told.Spinner Callum Parkinson was the pick of the Durham attack – taking 3 for 110 – but Tom Prest’s whirlwind 65 gave the day to the hosts, who ended on 336 for 4.Orr had become the latest high-profile player to leave Hove – after the likes of Luke Wells, Ben Brown and George Garton – and his departure coincided with Chris Adams and Ian Gould leaving their posts on the cricket committee. It was said it was the latest illustration of the ‘big’ counties consuming the ‘smaller’ ones.In eventuality, Hampshire have their best shot at ending their opening-batting woes, while Sussex have barely felt the effects – they are top of Division Two despite playing a game fewer than the three teams behind them.It hadn’t been a smooth start to life at the western end of the A27 for Orr – unsurprising given the mixture of hype and anger that marked his transfer.He ran out his opening partner Fletcha Middleton in their first innings together to start a scoring run of: 10, 13, 4, 26 and 6. This innings was exactly what had been promised when he signed.Orr saw off the new ball with little worry after captain James Vince had chosen to bat, and showed a business to rotate the strike early on.Hampshire were without the ill Mohammed Abbas – a blessing for Durham as he dispatched them for their two lowest first-class scores in one afternoon when playing for Leicestershire in 2018. Felix Organ was brought in as his replacement, on a pitch expected to turn.Left-arm wrist spinner Parkinson got the first look at those capabilities when he was tossed the ball in the 18th over. With his third ball he ripped one back almost 18cm with a googly to pin back Middleton’s middle stump.But the breaking of a 48-run opening stand did not spark a rush of spinning wickets. Instead, Orr found his rhythm against the pace of Matt Potts and the wiliness of Peter Siddle as he reached his maiden Hampshire half-century in 94 balls.Almost 60 per cent of his runs would come on the leg side, although that masked his true tactic; namely to scamper singles off his legs and score his boundaries pleasingly around the ground.He added another 86 with Nick Gubbins – who never found fluency in his 31 before he scooped Parkinson straight up to Ollie Robinson.Orr got stuck on 90, for almost half an hour, with blocking and ball replacements stopping his route to three figures, but when it came – in 168 balls – he delivered a triumphant fist pump towards a cheering home balcony.He departed with a tame plink to extra cover to give Siddle his first for his new county, before Vince edged behind for a disjointed 41 to give Parkinson his third.The quick-fire double didn’t put Prest off entering with gusto, sending four of his first 12 balls to the boundary before smashing his 13th for six. With Liam Dawson he upped the run-rate considerably, despite the second new ball, reaching his fifty in 62 balls during an 81-run unbroken partnership.

All you need to know about how balls land up in the ball library, and how they are selected for replacement

Sidharth Monga16-Jul-20255:19

Kumble: There can’t be so many ball changes in a Test match

A common theme during the England-India Test series has been the frequently replaced balls because the original ones are losing shape. Ever wondered where the replacement balls come from, how they are sorted and selected? Here is all you need to know.Where do the replacement balls come from?Two or three days before the Test, the host association provides used balls from first-class matches played in its venue. If it is Old Trafford, for example, Lancashire provides these balls to the fourth umpire, New South Wales for SCG, Mumbai Cricket Association for Wankhede, and so on.The fourth umpire then inspects the balls putting them through the gauge. If it goes through one and not through the other, it is considered eligible to go into the “ball library”, which is the box you see coming out when a ball is changed during a Test match. Any ball that goes through both the rings is ineligible to start playing with in the first place. So if it goes through both, it is too small to be in use. If it goes through neither, it is too big. If it goes through one and not the other, it is the right size. The number of these potential replacements depends on venues. Tests in India, England and Australia generally tend to have about 20 replacement balls, but in some countries the number can be as low as 12.Related

• India unhappy with replacement ball

• Why teams need big nuts for the Test series

If the fourth umpire sees an issue with most of the balls or doesn’t see enough eligible balls, they bring it up with the rest of the officiating team – on-field umpires, third umpire and match referee – and then they collectively ask the association to provide for more. The same process is followed for new balls. Every new ball is put through the rings before the Test.The endeavour is to have the largest possible range available from semi-new to old, but they are not batched according to age. A ball that has been used for 60 overs on a lush outfield could well be a replacement for one used in a Test on a drier outfield for just 30 overs.The umpire puts the ball through the ring•Getty Images

So are we covered for all contingencies?No, it is not possible to bring an exact like-for-like replacement. The best they can hope to do is get a replacement ball that is nearest to the original ball in wear and tear. It could be older or it could be newer.This is why the umpires are reluctant to change the ball unless it has gone completely out of shape. To maintain the integrity of the competition, the rule of the thumb is to change it only when there is no other way to continue with the existing ball. The teams of course want a ball that suits them; any change is liable to leave one of them unsatisfied.Also remember that the laws doesn’t provide for a ball change for softness. The ball is changed if there is clear damage, wetness or loss of shape. Even with the shape, nowhere do the laws mention the ball has to be round. The only shape criterion for a ball change is that if it goes through neither or both of the rings on the gauge. If it goes through one and not through the other, and if its seam is in place and the ball is dry, you have no option but to continue with it no matter how soft it feels.Are local first-class matches the only source for replacement balls?No, the match officials have to act on their feet sometimes. If they feel they are running out of replacement balls rapidly, they can ask the teams to provide used balls from their nets. They are run through the same tests before they are sent into the ball library.Another source is match balls from earlier in the series. If an innings in an earlier Test in the series has lasted 45 overs, that ball can sent into the library provided it passes the quality checks and no bowler wants to keep it as a souvenir for a five-for.Umpire Paul Reiffel looks for a replacement from the ball library•Getty Images

There have also been cases where the match balls have gone out of shape rapidly and the match referee has had to send for more from the neighbouring county or state association.Hang on, so a good swinging ball that inflicted damage earlier on in the series can come back into play later?Yes, but nobody knows which ball is which. There is no marking done on the ball, and once the balls go into the library it is near impossible to tell them apart.Can umpires change the ball without the involvement of the bowling team?Yes they can, but they do it only when they suspect ball tampering or if they ball is damaged to the extent that just tidying up with a pair of scissors is not enough.The thing with ball tampering is that since it is an accusation of cheating, it needs visual evidence. The umpires avoid making such explicit charges, but do quietly change the ball if they see something is off.Umpire-led changes of the ball are, however, rare. The ball goes to them for a check at every dismissal, during drinks break, if it has hit an LED board or been in the crowd, and during longer intervals. They don’t check it between overs or during overs.5:34

How the Dukes ball is made and why it’s going out of shape

So, the ball change on the second morning at Lord’s – when the ball was clearly out of shape but was also doing a lot for India – would not have eventuated had India not asked for it. As it turned out, the replacement ball did nothing for them and went out of shape in eight overs.Is balls losing shape an issue with a specific brand?Test cricket uses three brands of balls: SG in India, Dukes in England and the West Indies, and Kookaburra elsewhere. Balls losing shape is not limited to any particular brand.There was a time in the late 2010s when SG used to lose shape often, and the Indian players used to bring it to notice despite being sponsored by SG. Kookaburra has often being criticised for the least prominent seam of all three, but its manufacturing process has reinforced the seam in recent years. Dukes just happens to be in the eye of the storm now with frequent complaints from both sides. Even in the concurrent series in the West Indies, especially in the first Test, the players didn’t quite like the ball.However, a lot of it is also gamesmanship. You usually see complaints only when the wickets are not falling. On the last day of Lord’s, when it was in England’s interest to bowl with a softer ball to deny Ravindra Jadeja striking opportunities, the shape of the ball was never brought into question. Often, bowling sides just take a punt when nothing is happening for them in the hope that the library doesn’t have a ball that will be any worse than the one than they have in hand.Dukes has an advantage over the others when it comes to being replaced. The ball has a stamp, the equivalent of a batch number, to identify the year of manufacture. So it is not possible to be playing in 2025 with a Dukes ball that was, say, last used in 2023 or was part of another production batch. SG and Kookaburra don’t have such identification markers.