With his return, Australia for the first time in the series can at least look to balance the side however they wish

Andrew McGlashan28-Feb-20232:26

What improvements can we expect from Australia?

The last time Cameron Green picked up a bat in India it helped him become the second-most expensive player in IPL history.His value to Australia’s Test side has been made abundantly clear during the first two Tests of this series where the selectors have had to make concessions each way in his absence. Now the allrounder is back and Australia can for the first time, even in the absence of some senior players, at least look to balance the side however they wish in Indore.Related

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• Smith wants Australia to 'slow things down' under pressure

Whether or not Steven Smith keeping every option open on the eve of the match was a bit of pre-game bluster, it highlighted the flexibility that a cricketer such as Green brings. That ranged from playing an extra batter – so Green being part of a four-strong attack – to three quicks or retaining the three spinners used in Delhi, but this time having two pace bowlers alongside them.There remains a small question mark over Todd Murphy after the side soreness he reported during the second Test, although he had an extensive bowl on Tuesday.”In terms of playing an extra batter, that’s on the cards as well,” Smith said. “Three spinners is on the cards, someone with a bit more airspeed is on the cards. We’ve got some options there, we’ll wait and see.”The extra batter route would mean a reprieve for Matt Renshaw who has made just four runs in three innings so far after being parachuted in as David Warner’s concussion sub in Delhi. The reference to airspeed could put Lance Morris in with a chance of a Test debut, although Scott Boland’s wicket-to-wicket skills may also bring value. Australia’s quicks have had precious little impact so far.Cameron Green has not played competitive cricket in two months•Getty Images

They also need to work out how to get through India’s deep batting order and Smith hinted at some new plans. “Particularly with Green and [Mitchell] Starc, two fast bowlers now, and five out-and-out bowlers potentially, it gives us a few different ways to go about things,” he said. “Whether we want to bowl some quick stuff at the tail to try and unsettle them or whether it’s spinning, [we] just have to play what’s in front of us.”The Indore pitch was only getting drier by the hour. The ends were already bare and now much of the grass has been shaved off. It was kept under covers for most of the day, occasionally being revealed by the groundstaff when players and staff from either side wandered over for a look.At one point, there was a brief summit between Australia coach Andrew McDonald and tour selector Tony Dodemaide. A while later Green, along with a few team-mates, asked to have a look themselves with Green kneeling down to have a feel of the wicket’s firmness.Whatever way the selection cards fall, Green will likely need to recall his performance against Sri Lanka in Galle last year when he made 77 on the most spin-friendly pitch he had yet to encounter.”He’s a quality young player and just his all-round ability helps us in terms of the way we want to go about things with our XI,” Smith said. “We saw him play exceptionally well in Galle. He did things a bit differently to how he’s done things in the past. He brought the sweep out, he used his feet, he got deep in the crease. He did all the things that you need to do really well when the conditions were extreme.”Green’s numbers are certainly the right way round for an emerging allrounder: the batting average sits at 35.04 and the bowling dipped to 29.78 when he claimed his maiden five-wicket in Melbourne, the day before the broken finger he is now returning from.But expectations also need to be tempered. It is two months since his last competitive outing and there’s only so much nets can do to bring a player up to speed for the type of Test cricket taking place in this series. Still, it’s one part of the jigsaw puzzle Australia have been missing. And for Green, his India adventure really starts now.

Super Kings, however, will want their batters to step up

Vishal Dikshit02-Apr-20232:35

Can Super Kings make use of their home advantage?

Big picture – CSK get their home ground back for full season

If your reflexes slow down with age, how is Chennai Super Kings’ ‘Dad’s Army’ planning to face Mark Wood’s fiery pace on Monday? Jokes aside, Super Kings’ youngest batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was in blazing form in their opening game and could hold the key again with his ability to put away even good balls to the boundary. Jokes not aside, their other batters need to step up, as coach Stephen Fleming said after the game, because Gaikwad had laid a long runway for them by powering them to 114 for 3 in 12 overs, but their middle over couldn’t take off, managing just 64 more in eight overs.Their most comforting factor, however, is that they return to their den after four long years. They have always picked their spinners based on conditions at Chepauk, batted well there, and won a whopping 40 of their 56 matches at home.Many Lucknow Super Giants players will be unfamiliar with that ground, but so will some Super Kings players. What will boost Super Giants’ confidence will be how their power hitters smashed 16 sixes (and just five fours) on a challenging pitch on Saturday night for what looked like an above-par 193 in Lucknow. They now have to make sure they adapt smartly on a more turning pitch – they collected 73 off eight overs of spin against Delhi Capitals – and prepare for the game quickly after flying from Lucknow to Chennai with only a day’s gap.

Team news

Quinton de Kock will fly to Chennai after South Africa’s final ODI against Netherlands finishes on Sunday evening, which makes his participation for Monday highly unlikely. However, Super Giants won’t sweat over it considering the way Kyle Mayers opened with a 38-ball 73 in their first game.Similarly, Super Kings will be without Sisanda Magala, who’s with the South Africa squad, and the Sri Lanka pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana who are missing their first three games because of the ongoing T20Is in New Zealand

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Did Super Giants nail the use of the Impact Player in their first match? Batting first, they brought in K Gowtham after 19.5 overs when Ayush Badoni fell for 18 off seven, and Gowtham walked out to smash a six on the only ball he faced. Gowtham then bowled four overs for just 23 runs inspite of a lot of dew. They could do the same on Monday if batting first, and the reverse if they bowl first. Additionally, they may even pick an extra spinner in place of Jaydev Unadkat, who leaked 39 in three overs against Capitals and has a forgettable record against MS Dhoni and Super Kings both.Probable bat-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Avesh Khan, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Mark WoodProbable bowl-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Avesh Khan, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Mark WoodHow MS Dhoni has dominated Jaydev Unadkat in the IPL•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Chennai Super Kings
Super Kings may want to rethink their strategy from the first game. Bringing in Tushar Deshpande for Ambati Rayudu after they finished batting was good thinking, but the bowler leaked 51 runs in just 3.2 overs. But without Magala, Theekshana and Pathirana their only experienced option instead of Deshpande is Simarjeet Singh because Dwaine Pretorius can’t be brought in if they start with four overseas players. Knowing MS Dhoni, he may not make any changes at all.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Rajvardhan HangargekarPossible bowl-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Rajvardhan Hangargekar, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Simarjeet Singh/Tushar Deshpande

Stats that matter

• Super Giants opener KL Rahul starts slow sometimes but he strikes at 160 against Deepak Chahar and has never fallen to him.
• It will be Devon Conway’s first game at Chepauk and he already has a promising record against spin in the IPL: 53 runs off 23 balls, striking at 230.43, and just one dismissal
• Moeen didn’t bowl against Capitals but he probably will in Chennai, especially with left-handed batters Mayers, Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya in the opposite XI. In the IPL, Moeen has leaked at just 6.79 an over to left-hand batters.

Pitch and conditions

Spinners picked 11 of the 18 wickets taken by bowlers in the recent ODI between India and Australia, and Monday’s game could be similar, with not too many runs in store. It’s also expected to be hot and very humid with some breeze around. And don’t expect any empty seats because, well, it’s Dhoni returning to his “second home”.

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.

Fast bowler named in 15-player squad with England needing 3-0 win to take series

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2023Fast bowler Lauren Filer is in line for her England white-ball debut, in the wake of her fiery performance in the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge last month, after being named in a 15-person squad for the three ODIs against Australia next week.Filer, who touched speeds in excess of 75mph at Trent Bridge to live up to her reputation as the fastest female bowler in the country, comes into the reckoning with England needing a 3-0 clean sweep of the ODI series if they are to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since 2015.With the onus on victory, Filer could conceivably be unleashed alongside her fellow quick, 21-year-old Issy Wong, who was overlooked for the Test and hasn’t featured for England since the T20I leg of their tour of West Indies in December.Also included is the opening batter, Tammy Beaumont, whose England-record 208 underpinned her side’s strong first-innings batting display in the Test match, which Australia eventually won by 89 runs to claim four points towards their Ashes defence.Beaumont underlined her strong white-ball form with a match-winning 83 not out from 62 balls for The Blaze against Northern Diamonds in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last week, and having missed the T20I leg of the Ashes, is set to resume her place at the top of the 50-over batting order.England head into the ODIs with confidence after coming from behind to seal a thrilling 2-1 victory in the T20Is, Australia’s first loss in any series since the corresponding leg of the 2017-18 Ashes.That leg was played out in front of a series of crowds in the region of 20,000 at Edgbaston, The Oval and Lord’s, and Heather Knight’s team are hopeful of similar support at Bristol (July 12), Southampton (July 16) and Taunton (July 18), all of which are sell-outs.Head coach Jon Lewis said: “We were delighted with our T20 series win and look forward to the next stage of the Ashes with everything to play for.”We’re pleased to welcome Tammy (Beaumont) and Lauren (Filer) back into the group. Tammy showed her quality during the Test match with her double-hundred while Lauren offers us real pace in our bowling alongside Issy (Wong).”The support the team have received throughout the series so far has been incredible and it is fitting to finish with this deciding ODI campaign as the first sell-out series in England Women’s history.”We respect Australia and know that this part of the Ashes series will again be a big challenge. However, we take a great deal of confidence and belief from our recent T20 victories and will, as always, be trying to put on a great showing for our fans.”England squad: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt

On-loan legspinner shines as Durham chip away on rain-shortened day

ECB Reporters Network10-Jul-2023Gloucestershire 280 for 6 (Dent 85, Hammond 52, Parkinson 3-45) vs DurhamMatt Parkinson claimed three wickets to halt Gloucestershire’s progress on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash against Durham at Seat Unique Riverside.Chris Dent impressed at the top of the order with a resolute knock of 85, while Miles Hammond offered a change of pace with a blistering fifty to steer the visitors to 170 for 2 before Parkinson led the Durham fightback.The legspinner removed Hammond, Grant Roelofson and James Bracey and Matthew Potts added the scalp of Dent to reduce Gloucestershire to 280 for 6 before rain brought a premature end to day one.Gloucestershire won the toss and elected to bat under the sun at Seat Unique Riverside. Potts and Ben Raine were on their mettle with the Kookaburra ball from the off against the visitors’ opening partnership of Dent and Ben Charlesworth, beating the bat on several occasions without reward in the first half hour. Potts’ persistence earned him the breakthrough with the wicket of Charlesworth, who clipped a tame drive straight to Parkinson at mid-on.The morning session belonged to Gloucestershire as Dent showed his class at the crease to fend off dangerous spells from Durham’s potent attack, featuring new signing Migael Pretorius. Dent and Ollie Price put on 66 and looked primed to take the visitors into lunch one down, but a lapse in Price’s concentration handed Pretorius his first Durham wicket.Dent had to wait until after the interval to score the single required to bring up his second fifty of the season, and his knock continued to provide a valuable foundation for the Gloucestershire innings. Whereas Dent was reserved in his approach, Hammond took the attack to the Durham bowlers after lunch. The right-hander launched back-to-back sixes into the leg-side boundary against Parkinson as he raced to fifty from 43 balls.But, Parkinson would halt his charge for 52 as Scott Borthwick claimed a brilliant catch over his head at cover, which changed the momentum of the session. Dent had frustrated Potts in the morning session and their duel continued into the afternoon before the England seamer produced a beauty to find his outside edge for an impressive 85.Roelofsen and Bracey pressed Gloucestershire to their first batting point, although both were then bowled by Parkinson to open up the tail for the home side. Zafar Gohar and Josh Shaw were left to rebuild the innings before rain ended the day with the visitors 20 runs shy of a second batting bonus point.

Potent batting display leaves distant challengers Warks needing fightback to stay in race

ECB Reporters Network03-Sep-2023A fine 112 not out from Ben Foakes, and half-centuries by Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel propelled title favourites Surrey to 339 for 4 after day one of their important LV= Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.Division One leaders and 2022 winners Surrey are aiming for back-to-back championship triumphs, and lead Essex and Hampshire by 17 and 48 points respectively with three rounds to go for the top three. Warwickshire, with an extra game in hand in fourth place, trailed Surrey by 56 points at the start of a match they must win to maintain any interest in the title race.But the champions proved more than a match for the Warwickshire attack with Foakes and Steel combining to add an unbroken 152 in 42 overs for the fifth wicket after Smith had waltzed to 60 from 72 balls in a stand worth 99 with Sibley, who put together a more prosaic 65 in almost four hours of dedicated crease occupation.Steel also played well for his unbeaten 69, from 115 balls and including 10 fours, and importantly repelling with Foakes the second new ball in the final hour to underline Surrey’s opening day dominance. Foakes has so far faced 181 balls, hitting 18 fours.Put in on a well-grassed surface, Surrey lost Rory Burns and Ryan Patel in the first 12 overs as they stumbled initially to 31 for two. Burns, on 11, edged Chris Rushworth’s ever-steady fast-medium low to third slip and Patel managed only a couple of pleasing drives before falling for 9 when Barnard angled one through his defences from around the wicket.Smith, though, immediately began to take on the Warwickshire seamers, skipping a couple of short steps down the pitch to unfurl one magnificent straight driven four off Barnard and, two balls later, hitting the same bowler to the extra cover ropes with a real flourish.On 25, Smith was fortunate to get an inside edge that saved him from being stumped when he advanced at Danny Briggs’ left arm spin and aimed an ugly hack, but otherwise he continued to bat with power and class.Henry Brookes’ first three overs cost 25 as Smith and Sibley both cashed in on some wayward deliveries as the fast bowler struggled for rhythm, and lunch was reached with Surrey having recovered in some style to 111 for two.Smith completed a 52-ball fifty in the first over after the interval, punching Olly Hannon-Dalby through the covers off the back foot for three, but Warwickshire sensed they were back in the fight when Barnard beat Smith with a ball angled in and beating an attempted whip past mid on to pluck out off stump after deflecting off his pads.Sibley was then joined by Foakes in an untroubled alliance of 57 in 16 overs before, wastefully, he drove Briggs straight to mid on, called his partner for a sharp single and was, correctly, sent back. Foakes, who had actually done well to avoid the ball, did not move as Hannon-Dalby picked up and threw to the keeper’s end with Sibley run out by yards.By tea Steel had helped Foakes steer Surrey to 224 for four and, in the day’s last session, the pair kept the scoreboard ticking steadily. Steel hit one memorable extra cover four off Will Rhodes’ medium pace and Foakes, who had completed his half-century on the stroke of tea, punched Rhodes between mid on and the bowlers’ stumps for one of the 16 boundaries in his third championship hundred of the season.

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.

“How we approached the seven games has been quite clinical – everybody put in the effort”

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-20231:13

Hayden: ‘Iyer finding his feet is a big step for India’

Twenty-five days after starting their campaign, India have become the first team to qualify for the ODI World Cup semi-finals after a mammoth 302-run win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai on Thursday.”I’m very happy knowing we have officially qualified for the semi-finals, it’s been a good effort from the entire squad,” India captain Rohit Sharma said after India notched up their seventh win in seven games. “When we started off in Chennai, this was the first goal for us, to qualify first and then obviously, the semis and the final.”But all in all, I thought how we approached the seven games has been quite clinical. Everybody put in the effort. We wanted individuals to stand up and a lot of individuals towards these seven games put their hands up and stood up.”Related

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Rohit said that players hitting top gear augurs well for the team at the business end of the tournament. He was particularly impressed with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, who had a few low scores coming in to the game and hit a quick 82 to lift the team to 357, and Mohammed Siraj, who rattled Sri Lanka with three wickets up front. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah played their parts to ensure Sri Lanka were bowled out for 55 in under 20 overs.”Shreyas, as far as I know him, is a very strong lad, strong in his mind, and today, as you saw… he did what he is known for. And that’s what we expect from him; to take on the opposition and the bowlers,” Rohit said. “The couple of sixes he hit in his innings showed that he is there to take on that challenge in front of him. He’s been working very hard on his game and today we saw what he’s capable of.”As for Siraj, he’s a quality bowler and if he does that, it’s quite a big difference for us with the new ball. He can swing the ball, get the ball to get back in, he’s got a lot of skills when he is operating with the new ball.”

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.”

East Zone completed an innings win over North Zone in the final round of matches to win the trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2023Khaled Ahmed was the standout performer for East Zone, as he completed an 11-wicket match haul to take East to victory in Sylhet. The 11 wickets made it a chart-topping 18 wickets for Khaled in just two games in the BCL, well ahead of second-placed Abu Hider of Central Zone, who returned 12 wickets in three games.After East won the toss and opted to field, Rejaur Rahman Raja and Khaled returned identical figures of 4 for 40 in the first North innings to bowl them out for 108, with Abdullah Al Mamun’s 26 the best individual effort for North. East’s reply was led by Mominul Haque, who scored 117 in just under four hours, and Parvez Hossain Emon, whose 90 came in 200 balls in over four hours of batting. Shahadat Hossain also chipped in with a quick 56.Behind by 244 runs, North needed a stronger batting display, but after a steady start from Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Sabbir Hossain, which took them to 43 by the eighth over, it started to go downhill. Abu Jayed picked up the first wicket, of Joy, and it was over to Khaled after that to run through the batting with returns of 7 for 50. Rejaur took his match tally to six with the wickets of Pritom Kumar and North captain Akbar Ali.East, who had earlier beaten Central by seven wickets after drawing their opener against South Zone, finished on 20 points, double that of second-placed Central.A dramatic batting collapse in their second innings cost South a chance to make a match of it against Central, who needed to chase just 16 runs in the fourth innings after South only managed 49, having conceded a 34-run first-innings lead.Asked to bat, South put up 214, with good hands from Moin Khan (75) and Fazle Mahmud (46), as Shohidul Islam, Hider and Shuvagata Hom all got among the wickets.Central’s batting effort wasn’t much better, but good enough to get them a lead, as they scored 248. Naeem Islam led the way with a 181-ball 89, while Mahidul Islam Ankon scored 66.But there was almost no resistance from South in their second innings. Opener Prantik Nawrose Nabil batted ten balls before going off, and the procession was on. Hider picked up four, Shohidul three, and Salauddin Sakil two. Mohammad Naim then proceeded to knock off the required runs in just one over.