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The drawn inaugural day-night women’s Test meant the Women’s Ashes was in the balance ahead of the Twenty20 leg of the series

The Report by Daniel Brettig12-Nov-20170:52

‘We made sure they didn’t get a sniff’ – Knight

England’s captain Heather Knight held firm as the visitors scrounged a draw from the inaugural day-night women’s Test, leaving the Ashes in the balance ahead of the Twenty20 leg of the series.On a wearing pitch at North Sydney Oval, England were under pressure throughout the final day, particularly after Amanda Wellington’s reprise of Shane Warne’s epochal legbreak to Mike Gatting when she spun past Tammy Beaumont with a delivery that pitched outside leg stump before biting back to take the top of the off stump.It was a moment to savour, but Wellington’s inability to follow it up with a rush of wickets was largely down to Knight, the embodiment of calm temperament and sound technique in an innings that ensured England would not be overwhelmed following Ellyse Perry’s epic double-century on days two and three.Starting the day in considerable deficit, Beaumont and Lauren Winfield played soundly early on to avert the prospect of a collapse, but found life difficult against Wellington and her hard spun legbreaks.Getty Images

Beaumont’s exit was of the kind that can send shudders through a dressing room, and it was to the credit of Knight and Georgia Elwiss thst they were not dislodged once Winfield had been pinned lbw on the front toe by an inswerving yorker from Tahlia McGrath shortly after the start of the second session.So securely did Knight occupy the crease that Australia’s captain Rachael Haynes was compelled to accept the inevitability of a stalemate around an hour before the scheduled close of play, England having forged into a lead that made them safe from defeat.This in turn means that the series remains open ahead of the final three T20 fixtures, the first of which will take place at North Sydney on Friday. Perry was rightly named Player of the Match for her double-century.

James Hildreth’s guard of honour is only highlight for Taunton gathering

ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-2022Ali Orr smashed the first ever List A double century by a Sussex player as the Sharks maintained their impressive Royal London Cup form with a 201-run demolition of Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The 21-year-old left-hander hit a brutal 206, off 161 balls, with 11 sixes and 18 fours, to help his side post 397 for five after losing the loss. Cheteshwar Pujara contributed 66 and Delray Rawlings 54 not out off just 23 deliveries.Orr eclipsed the previous highest individual innings by a Sharks player, the 174 made by Pujara against Surrey at Hove just five days earlier, and earned a share of fifth place among the top scorers ever in List A cricket.”It was a very special day for me and one I certainly didn’t expect when I woke up this morning,” Orr said. “I took a blow in the face from a Kasey Aldridge delivery early on, but I felt fine. The physio came on and asked me a few questions, including where we were. I told him ‘lovely sunny Taunton’, so we had a smile and all was well.”In reply, shellshocked Somerset were bowled out for 196 in 38.2 overs as they fell to a seventh defeat in as many group matches and their heaviest ever in List A cricket by a margin of runs. Only Andrew Umeed, with 56, offered much resistance. Their captain, Matt Renshaw, said the lack of senior players because of Hundred absences was “demoralising for all of us”.Apart from a three-over opening burst from Jack Brooks, Somerset’s seamers lacked any semblance of control on a true pitch and Orr was in just the mood to capitalise.Related

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His first fifty occupied 45 balls, the second 61, the third 24 and the fourth 29 as he mercilessly punished anything off line, launching the vast majority of his sixes over mid-wicket and long-on with impressive bat speed.It was murderous display that required just one moment of luck. On 66, he edged Alfie Ogbourne through to wicketkeeper James Rew, who took a diving catch, only to see that a no-ball had been signalled.Other than that, Orr, whose previous best List A score in only 11 games was 108, produced a display of clean hitting rarely matched at ground renowned for fast scoring.From 61 for two, Danial Ibrahim having edged Brooks to Matt Renshaw at slip and Tom Clark been run out in a mix-up with Orr over a quick single, Sussex assumed total dominance.Pujara characteristically picked up ones and twos in a stand of 140 for the third wicket. The Indian maestro also hit 5 fours and a six before being caught and bowled by Kasey Aldridge off a leading edge.Fynn Hudson-Prentice supported Orr with a solid 36 in a partnership of 98. When he was caught at long to give slow left-armer Josh Thomas a maiden List A wicket, Rawlings strode out to inflict more heavy punishment.James Hildreth takes accolades at Taunton after confirming he had played his last Somerset match before retirement•Getty Images

Three sixes and 6 fours helped him to a 22-ball half-century, while at the other end Orr continued to plunder runs. When the opener was finally caught at long-off in the final over of the innings, spectators all around the ground stood to applaud.It took just eight deliveries of the Somerset reply for the Sharks bowlers to show what was possible with line and length, Bradley Currie swinging a ball away from Rew and having him caught at second slip.Lewis Goldsworthy, who had been given only seven overs despite being the pick of Somerset’s bowlers, dragged a ball from Currie onto his stumps and skipper Matt Renshaw edged a catch behind off Aristides Karvelas to leave the hosts 26 for three.Having been forced by injuries and Hundred call-ups to sign Gloucestershire all-rounder George Scott on a two-match loan, Somerset were facing humiliation.So it proved, as George Bartlett was caught at mid-off advancing down the pitch to Henry Crocombe, who then had Thomas caught at cover off a total mishit.Umeed moved steadily to a maiden List A fifty off 47 balls. But he was caught at slip off the first over from slow left-armer James Coles and when Rawlins had Aldridge caught behind it was 114 for seven.Scott, Brooks and Ogborne, who smacked Rawlins for a straight six, produced some belligerent tail-end blows to boost the meagre total. But for Somerset it was another disastrous day in a calamitous 50-over campaign.

Beckenham continued to be a batsman’s paradise as Northants responded to Kent’s 701 for 7 declared with big runs of their own

ECB Reporters Network05-Jul-2017
ScorecardNorthamptonshire batsmen Max Holden and Adam Rossington filled their boots in sublime batting conditions at Beckenham where Northamptonshire reached 528 for 7 in their first-innings reply to Kent’s mammoth 701 for 7 declared.The visiting fifth-wicket partners joined forces to bat through the entire mid-session and well into the final hour before Holden fell for a career-best 153. Soon after, Rossington followed him back to the pavilion for a season’s best 112 leaving Kent’s rookie seamer Matt Hunn to finish a tiring day with decent figures of 3 for 90.Requiring 552 simply to avoid the follow-on, Northamptonshire resumed on their overnight score of 180 for 1 and suffered a huge blow to their survival aspirations when England batsman Ben Duckett perished to only the sixth ball of the day.The diminutive left-hander, who hit a sublime double century on this ground last season, leant back to club Matt Coles’ fourth ball through mid-on to move to 105 but, in aiming an expansive drive two deliveries later, Duckett edged behind to Sam Billings, who was standing in for Adam Rouse behind the timbers.Coles gave way at the Beckenham End after a spirited seven-over spell of 1 for 26 to be replaced by Hunn, who also enjoyed success in his first over of the day. Alex Wakely, the Northamptonshire skipper, misjudged the line of Hunn’s fourth delivery, shouldering arms to one that pegged back off stump to make it 219 for 2.At the Worsley Bridge Road End, Pakistan wrist-spinner Yasir Shah whirled away in a wicketless, 11-over opening stint. He got the occasional delivery to turn, while one to Holden spat alarmingly from
the footholds, only to balloon to safety.Yasir then switched ends to bamboozle Rob Keogh with a darting top-spinner that rushed past Keogh’s back-foot force to peg back off stump in the penultimate over before lunch. It proved to be Yasir’s sole success from 34 overs bowled during the day.Kent took the second new ball immediately after the restart and, despite lung-busting efforts by Coles and Mitch Claydon, they were unable to make any impact other than beating the outside edge half-a-dozen times.Pretty soon, spinners Tredwell and Yasir were twirling away in tandem with three or four close fielders around the bat, but Northamptonshire stood firm with Holden, the Middlesex loanee, reaching a patient half-century from 146 balls, with only five fours.Rossington, the more aggressive of the pair, needed only 59 deliveries to reach the milestone hitting seven fours and a six along the way as Kent continued to toil throughout the mid-session without success.After tea, Holden, the wiry left-hander, notched his second century in Northamptonshire’s colours from 216 balls and with 13 boundaries, while Rossington, seemingly content to bat time, went into his shell.Holden received a healthy round of applause from the visiting dressing room balcony when passing 124 – his previous first-class best scored against Durham at Chester-le-Street last month – and they went up again soon after for Rossington’s 100, scored off 132 balls with 11 fours and a six. It was his first ton of the summer and the sixth of his career.Their run-fest and a stand of 239 ended when Holden, aiming an ambitious short-armed jab to a length-ball from Hunn, clipped to deep square-leg where Rouse, taking a rest from keeping, took a stunning diving catch on the ropes to send Holden packing after five hours at the crease.Rossington followed just before stumps for 112. Wearily chasing a wide one from Hunn to be caught behind, then Coles came on to have Steven Crook well caught at second slip by James Tredwell to give Kent their sixth success of an arduous day in the dirt.

He wins the race against Tamim Iqbal, who retired hurt on 133 on the third day of the Test and is currently on 4981 runs

Mohammad Isam18-May-2022Mushfiqur Rahim beat Tamim Iqbal in the race to 5000 Test runs, becoming the first Bangladesh batter to reach the landmark. He achieved the feat with a couple to fine leg off Asitha Fernando on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram.Tamim, who retired hurt on 133 on the third day following cramps on his back and wrist, is currently at 4981 runs.In 2015, Tamim had overtaken Habibul Bashar’s tally of 3026 to become Bangladesh’s leading run-getter in Test cricket. Since then, the record has changed hands a couple of times between Tamim and Mushfiqur. Coming into this Test, Mushfiqur was Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer with 4932 runs, while Tamim was on 4848.Having started his career in 2005, Mushfiqur is Bangladesh’s most experienced Test cricketer, playing in his 81st Test. He is also the longest-serving international cricketer from the country.Starting as a lower-middle-order batter, Mushfiqur took 20 Tests to reach 1000 Test runs. But his role in the Bangladesh team grew when he was made captain in 2011. The subsequent 1000-run milestones took 15, 17, 14 and 15 Tests respectively.Mushfiqur has made 3515 of his Test runs as a wicketkeeper but these days Litton Das, who was batting with him at the time of reaching the 5000-run landmark, dons the gloves for Bangladesh. Mushfiqur has also made 6697 runs in ODIs and 1495 in T20Is.

“If it starts clicking well, it will definitely add a new dimension to my game”

PTI14-Apr-2022Kolkata Knight Riders’ mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is banking on a new bowling variation to turn around what has been a subdued start to his IPL season.Varun was the leading wicket-taker for Knight Rider last season with 18 wickets from 17 matches, but has only four scalps from five games this season.”It is bound to happen, people will have plans against me. Last year in the Indian leg, I had six to seven wickets in seven matches. Later on, I picked up more wickets, so you cannot predict how many wickets you are going to get,” Chakravarthy said.”I am working on a new variation which I am looking forward to bowl more. If it starts clicking well it will definitely add a new dimension to my game.”Asked further about the new variation, he said, “I am working on a legspin (variation). I have been working for it in the last two years. I have bowled in few matches and I have got a wicket out of that also.”I need to be a little more confident (bowling the new variation) and start bowling it more.”Chakravarthy returned to competitive cricket in the IPL after featuring in the T20 World Cup last year, where he failed to pick a wicket before being sidelined due to a calf injury.”I was at the NCA for the treatment of my injury. Now it is resolved very well. I could take the field without any pain killer. So, I am feeling fitter and that has helped me to bowl a lot better.”Asked what kind of adjustments he used to make on wickets which favour batsmen, he said, “Stick to your basic plan, stick to your strength rather then focussing on the batters. So, to change the mental set-up.”Varun said he considers Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan as the best spinner currently in world cricket.”In cricket, you are bound to be hit. The best spinner right now is Rashid (Khan) and even he has gone for runs (in some matches) but he is still the best. It happens in a few matches, you will have a bad day and you just need to bounce back.”Varun also said that he shares a special relationship with fellow Knight Riders spinner Sunil Narine.”Sunil is like a big brother to me. If I go through a lean patch he will come to me and talk to me. He has also shared to me personal things of which he is vulnerable.”It is great of such a legend to talk to me about such things, to let me know he is vulnerable and he also goes though lean patches and tough times. So, talking to him gives you confidence and reinforces self belief.”Varun said that the current competition among Indian legspinners does not put any pressure on him as far as securing a national spot is concerned.”I see it as healthy competition. I messaged Yuzi (Chahal) also, the way he bowled, he is in amazing form right now, Ravi Bishnoi is bowling brilliantly, Kuldeep is doing very well for his team, Rahul Chahar is brilliant. I just feel nice when a legspinner does well.”

Mumbai Indians batsman Nitish Rana says a change of scenery going from the Delhi Ranji Trophy side into the Mumbai Indians dressing room has helped alleviate his batting woes

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai13-Apr-2017A change in environment and talking to senior players in and around the dressing room in recent times has turned the confidence switch on for Mumbai Indians batsman Nitish Rana. While trying to settle on a batting lineup with more stability in the middle order, Mumbai have batted Rana at No. 3 and 4 in their first three matches and he has excelled in all of them. The last few months, however, have not been as smooth and celebratory as they seem on television.After scoring 45 off 36 balls against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, Rana revealed that the recent stretch before the start of the IPL had not been smooth for him at all.”My problem was that I was feeling mentally disturbed, I had started overthinking about things,” Rana said after Mumbai’s four-wicket win against Sunrisers. “Change of environment made a big difference. When I came here, I got to interact with big players like Sachin [Tendulkar] sir, Mahela Jayawardene, Rohit [Sharma] . I had spoken to Gautam Gambhir also. So when I expressed what I was feeling and when they shared their own experiences, it helped me a lot.”The troubled times Rana was referring to were during the domestic season in India. He started off with a century in Delhi’s opening Ranji Trophy match against Assam, but his form tapered off and he did not score a fifty in the next 11 innings. He played five T20 matches for Delhi in the Inter-State T20 Tournament with a high score of 22 and when he produced scores of 5, 5 and 0 in the one-day matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was dropped from the side.”I was not able to play my game, I was not able to enjoy because I had gone into a shell,” Rana said. “Before the Ranji season had ended, I had spoken to Gambhir the last match I played in. He helped me get clarity. He noticed a few things in me and he has known me since my childhood, for about 10-12 years because we are from the same club. So he cleared my mind a lot. When I came here, I got similar advice from Sachin sir and Mahela sir. So then I tried to make changes in my game accordingly and things worked for me. I scored well in a practice game and in the first match also. So gradually [I regained] my confidence.”The changes in surroundings and company for Rana have been aided by the faith Mumbai Indians have shown in him by making him bat up the order. Mumbai’s depth in terms of frontline domestic batsmen in the middle order has been tested since Ambati Rayudu has been out injured for the last two matches. Even though Rohit Sharma has moved down from the opening slot, they needed another hard-hitting batsman who could bat before Kieron Pollard and set the base for him for the end overs.Batting first in their opening match, Rana started with 34 off 28 balls against Rising Pune Supergiant. While chasing 179 against Kolkata Knight Riders, Rana batted ahead of Rohit, at No. 3, and set up Mumbai’s win with 50 off 29 balls. On Wednesday night, he propelled Mumbai’s chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad by top-scoring with 45 off 36 balls. With 129 runs through three games, he is Mumbai’s leading scorer so far in the current IPL campaign but remains hungry.”You can still ask for more,” Rana said. “I would have preferred to stay not out. Cricket is that kind of a game that things can turn quickly. So it would have been better if I had stayed unbeaten in both matches.”

All-new line-up presents opportunities for host players but question marks for visitors

Andrew Miller07-Jul-2021

Big Picture

Well, that escalated quickly. It’s only been a matter of days since the soggy denouement to England’s third and final ODI against Sri Lanka – a match that had begun amid rumours of a few fresh faces in the ranks, but had continued with a solitary change to the line-up and another win-toss-and-bowl display, as Eoin Morgan targeted a full hand of World Cup Super League points before the heavens opened to rain on his run-chase.Changes are afoot now, all right. Eighteen of them to be precise, following the scrambling scenes on Tuesday morning, as seven positive Covid cases in the England camp led to the self-isolation of the other close contacts therein. You thought it was extraordinary when Gareth Southgate reeled off three substitutions with England 4-0 up against Ukraine on Saturday? Chris Silverwood just phoned and wants you to hold his beer…And so, all bets are off for the coming contest – which was always expected to be a stiffer challenge than Sri Lanka were ever able to pose, though these new circumstances are rather taking the Mickey (as Mickey Arthur himself has acknowledged). Pakistan are currently third on the Super League table, having played half as many games as England, and though they didn’t play ODIs on last year’s bio-secure tour, they emerged with a share of the T20I series with a thrilling defence of 191 in the decider at Old Trafford. The lack of jeopardy was palpable throughout the Sri Lanka leg, particularly for England’s fans, returning to the stands, but sometimes you really do have to be careful what you wish for.Nevertheless, what an opportunity these coming games present for England’s hastily-assembled stand-ins. There are players in this emergency party who may well find themselves playing their first and only international matches in the coming days – men such as Gloucestershire’s David Payne, who admitted he couldn’t stop smiling after getting the call from Silverwood while on red-ball duty in Cheltenham, and Middlesex’s John Simpson, one of the most accomplished wicketkeepers in the country, and now the only specialist on parade.John Simpson received a surprise call-up•Getty Images

But there are players too for whom this is a massive opportunity to restate credentials that, for one reason or another, have been marginalised in the intervening seasons (step forward James Vince and Ben Duckett) or simply to fast-track their own standings as ones to watch for the future – Surrey’s Will Jacks being a particularly prime example. Others, such as Somerset’s Lewis Gregory, have found it hard to gain traction in their limited opportunities to date. His eight T20Is have so far offered little opportunity to show off his range as a No.7, fifth-change bowler. A 50-over outing gives far more scope for meaningful contributions across the board.And then there’s the skipper. Ben Stokes was meant to be easing back to match fitness at Durham after breaking his finger at the IPL and saving his energies for an intense second half of the year – starting with the five Tests against India (not to mention his vital status as a drawcard for the Hundred), then morphing into the World T20 and the Ashes over Christmas and New Year. Now he’s answered the call as if it’s the final day at Headingley or Cape Town all over again – “help us Ben Kenobi, you’re our only hope”.A penny for Pakistan’s thoughts amid all this chaos. They’ve been holed up in their Derby Travelodge, a familiar base-camp following last year’s Test preparations, no doubt plotting their strategies for tackling the new-ball threat of Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and David Willey, and undermining the Bairstow-Roy-Root axis at the top of England’s World Cup-winning batting order. Instead they’ll now be cobbling together some hasty plans for the likes of Phil Salt and Brydon Carse. The county streams may help them in that regard, but despite England’s undignified departure, it’s unlikely that their outgoing management forgot to leave their own scouting reports pinned to the dressing-room fridge.

Form Guide

England WWLWL
Pakistan WLWTW

In the spotlight

One player that Pakistan won’t need to make many plans for is Saqib Mahmood. They saw signs of his potential in the T20I series last summer, but moreover, they watched him grow into his role as one of only two overseas seamers at the first leg of this year’s postponed PSL – the other was no less an icon than Dale Steyn. With 12 wickets in 18.1 overs across five appearances, he was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker at the time of the bubble breach in March, having thrived on the strike-bowling responsibility handed to him by his Peshawar Zalmi captain, Wahab Riaz. He translated that attacking threat into red-ball cricket this summer too, with a thrilling five-for to seal the Roses match for Lancashire in May, and of all the reserves drafted into England’s emergency squad, he’s among the closest to making a proper push for first-team honours.Related

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Shadab Khan is Pakistan’s designated vice-captain, and he’ll hope that that responsibility rubs off on his performance after a fallow few months for his country. He’s not taken a wicket in six matches since August, the second match of last summer’s England tour, while his batting remains promising rather than fulfilling – he made the last of his three ODI half-centuries way back in January 2018. With Usman Qadir offering an alternative legspinning option, and Mohammad Nawaz waiting in the wings as an allrounder, he’ll need to step up sooner rather than later.Shadab Khan has had a fallow few months•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

Cardiff served up a dog of a pitch for the T20I against Sri Lanka last month – tacky, two-paced, with occasionally savage lift, and resulting in a match strike-rate of barely a run a ball as England laboured to hunt down a paltry target of 112. With abject weather to boot, it was not exactly the spectacle the BBC might have ordered for their first live match of the English summer. But at least the sun is expected to shine on Sophia Gardens on Thursday. The rest is in the lap of the groundstaff.

Team news

Ha! Your guess is as good as ours. With nine new caps in England’s makeshift ranks, there will be an element of lucky dip to the final XI that takes the field – Stokes admitted on the eve of the game that the squad hasn’t yet managed to meet in person. However, a handful of building blocks are sure to be in place, namely the top-order trio of James Vince, Dawid Malan and Stokes himself – when you’re rummaging through the back of that dressing-room fridge, seeking some left-overs to make a team, two World Cup winners and a No.1 T20I batter aren’t such bad ingredients to fall back on. Mahmood, likewise, seems assured of a role, and so too Matt Parkinson – England couldn’t be so cruel as to overlook him again, surely? That leaves Phil Salt and Ben Duckett to squabble over the second opener’s role – Salt may win that, seeing as Duckett is probably the likely keeper, despite Simpson’s claims – then we need to consider the balance of batting depth and bowling penetration required at Nos. 6-9. Jacks, bruising batter and handy offspinner, looks well equipped in that regard, and so too does Gregory at No.7. Craig Overton and Brydon Carse can also wield a bat to good effect while serving up some muscular seam – Stokes likened Carse’s potential role to that of Liam Plunkett – although with left-armers very much in vogue, there may be a temptation to take a closer look at Payne. He may be a long way behind the likes of Curran, Willey, George Garton, Reece Topley and Tymal Mills in the T20 World Cup stakes, but as England have suddenly discovered, you can never have too many options …England (possible): 1 Phil Salt, 2 James Vince, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Stokes (capt), 5 Ben Duckett (wk), 6 Will Jacks, 7 Lewis Gregory, 8 Craig Overton / David Payne, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Matt ParkinsonRare are the occasions when Pakistan are outdone in the team selection drama stakes, but such is the poise of their current line-up that few surprises are in store. Saud Shakeel is set to make his ODI debut, after missing the chance earlier this year in South Africa after suffering a quadriceps tear prior to the team’s departure.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain.

Stats and trivia

• If Babar Azam continues the form he showed in South Africa earlier this year, where he made 228 runs at 76.00 in three matches, he could become the fastest batter to reach 4000 ODI runs. Hashim Amla holds the record, reaching the mark in his 81st innings in 2013. Babar currently has 3808 runs from 78.
• Should Danny Briggs feature in any of these three matches, he will be playing his first ODI since his one-off appearance against Pakistan in the UAE in February 2012, almost a decade ago. His last England appearance in any format came at Hobart in January 2014, the last of his seven T20Is.
• Ben Stokes will be playing his first home England match for 11 months – he last featured against Pakistan in the first Test at Old Trafford in August 2020, prior to a spell of compassionate leave. He has played 15 overseas matches since then, three in South Africa and the rest in India.

Quotes

“I’ve captained because Joe [Root] was having a baby, and I’ve captained because of a Covid outbreak. They are obviously strange situations to be involved in, but it’s a huge honour to lead your country out onto a sporting field and I’m looking forward to it.”

Ben Stokes is once again at the helm for England in unusual circumstances.

Former Delhi captain says he will strive to restore the “glory days” after being named “government nominee”

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2017Delhi and India batsman Gautam Gambhir announced, through a tweet, that he has been added into the Delhi District Cricket Association’s managing committee by sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore as a government nominee. Gambhir, who was Delhi’s captain until last season, said it was time to “adjust the corridors” of the DDCA to help restore the “glory days”. Gambhir has made a century and a fifty in four completed Ranji innings this season, and is currently in action against Karnataka in Alur.

Sri Lanka Cricket doctors have suggested the injury is more serious than initially thought

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Dec-2021The quadriceps strain Angelo Mathews sustained during the ongoing Test match against West Indies has put his participation in the Lanka Premier League in doubt.Mathews himself hoped that he would miss only the first few days of the tournament, or between three and four matches. But Sri Lanka Cricket doctors have suggested that the strain could be more serious, and that Mathews could end up potentially missing the whole tournament. The LPL is set to start on Sunday, and runs until December 23.”One MRI scan has been conducted, but the results are not clear,” SLC’s chief medical officer Dr. Daminda Attanayake told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ll need to conduct another MRI around December 4, and we’ll have a clearer picture.”The results of that second test will also be shared with consulting physicians based overseas, Attanayake said.Related

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Mathews had sustained the injury while running a single on the first day of the ongoing Test in Galle. He had retired hurt immediately after, but returned to the crease after the fall of the eighth wicket, and dealt largely in boundaries, refusing to take runs. He did not take the field for Sri Lanka in the first innings, but did come out to bat at No. 9 in the second innings.Mathews has a long history of leg injuries, with problems to his hamstrings, quads, and calves causing him to miss months of cricket at a time, since 2015.He is slated to be part of the Colombo Stars franchise at the LPL – possibly as captain, though that has not been officially confirmed yet either.

Australia will likely be without Mitchell Starc in the second game after he suffered a badly cut finger in the first match

Andrew McGlashan08-Jun-2022Some advice from David Warner may have helped his short-of-runs opening partner Aaron Finch start the Sri Lanka tour with a half-century.Finch entered the tour with his form again under scrutiny after four low scores in five innings at the IPL and unconvincing returns for Australia for much of the last 12 months. Former team-mate Shane Watson had even gone as far as to say that Finch’s form could be a “liability” for Australia heading into their T20 World Cup title defence later this year.Related

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• Labuschagne looks to Root's methods for SL success

• Abbott out of Sri Lanka tour with fractured finger

For a split second on Tuesday night, it looked as though the Finch form talk would bubble on, when he was given out lbw third ball against Maheesh Theekshana. However, the DRS showed a thin edge and either side of a rain delay Finch clubbed his way to 61 off 40 balls with four sixes.During the IPL, which had brought contrasting returns for the opening pair, Warner had spotted an issue that was playing a part in Finch’s problem and sent some advice over text. “[I just said] not to walk out into the ball, let the ball do the work in the air,” Warner said. “If they want to bowl nice and full, if you stay still, keep that leg-stump line, you are going to hit full contact with the ball.”He was probably moving a little too much, was walking straight into the ball and was still moving at the time of the delivery. You don’t really want to do that unless you are charging. Just kept in touch with him, I always do, we support each other as much as we can. If we see little things we try to help out by dropping a message.”Finch’s innings actually made it back-to-back half-centuries for him in T20Is after he finished the Pakistan tour in April with a fifty. The unbeaten stand of 134 with Warner was also their fourth century partnership in T20Is, taking them to the top of the list for Australia ahead of the three made by Warner and Watson.”For Finchy, it’s about keeping it simple and not moving too much around the crease,” Warner said. “He looked to hit down the ground [when] the ball was in his area, he looked to hit his slog sweeps which he’s very, very good at. You could see his energy was a lot different, running between wickets, he was up and about. It was great to see.”The pair also made a statement against Sri Lanka’s key bowler, Wanindu Hasaranga, by taking his opening over for 19 runs, although Warner said it was not premeditated and instead a response to Hasaranga giving the ball plenty of air.Australia will look to wrap up the T20I series in the space of 24 hours with the second of back-to-back games in Colombo on Wednesday, but they will likely have to do it without Mitchell Starc, who suffered a badly cut finger in rather bizarre fashion.In his opening over, the index finger of his left hand clipped a spike on his boot during his follow through. It was patched up by the physio and he was able to complete his four overs, taking 3 for 26 including the wicket of Pathum Nissanka, which started Sri Lanka’s nosedive of 9 for 28. But he won’t be able to start a new match with the same about of protection on the injury. Jhye Richardson will be the likely replacement if Australia retain the same balance in their attack.