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.

Ross Taylor became the joint-highest Test-hundred scorer for New Zealand on day three in Hamilton, something he never saw coming as a “white-ball player” growing up

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-20171:32

Feat ‘hasn’t really sunk in’ – Taylor

“I’m sure he’d be happy.” So said Ross Taylor at the end of a day when he became New Zealand’s highest century-maker in Tests, drawing level with his captain Kane Williamson and his mentor, the late Martin Crowe. The “he” Taylor was referring to, visibly emotional in a TV interview, was Crowe, whom he credited – as he often does – for moulding him into the batsman he is.”Hasn’t really sunk in,” Taylor said at the end-of-day press conference. “I thought about it [the record] a little bit last year, this year I haven’t really thought about it. At the start of my career, if you told me I’d get 17 Test hundreds, I would have said no chance. I always just saw myself as a white-ball player growing up.”Words of advice from Crowe aside – “had some good nights with Hogan, over some red wine, talking about my batting” – Taylor also had a tweaked technique to fall back on in his innings of 107, which helped grow New Zealand’s lead to 443 against West Indies in Hamilton. “I felt a bit rushed in the first innings,” he said. “It was nice to work a little bit on that and change my technique ever so slightly and nice to get the lead over 400, I think that was the main focus.”Asked about the specifics of what he had changed in his batting this innings, Taylor said: “Without giving too much away, just trying to stand a bit more side-on and not move as across my stumps as much… Sometimes, when teams are bouncing you all the time, you can have your weight a little bit more on the back foot. I tried to keep it more neutral, just trying to keep it relatively still and a pick the ball up, and I thought I pulled relatively well today.”Is breaking Crowe’s record on Taylor’s mind, then? “That was one of his goals, so I’ll try my best,” Taylor said with a laugh. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Wesley Madhevere was the pick of Zimbabwe’s performers, taking 2 for 11 and striking 47 off 38 balls

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2018
ScorecardWesley Madhevere took three wickets and struck an unbeaten half-century•ICC/Getty Images

Namibia’s decision to bat backfired on them to such an extent that they began their innings losing two wickets in two overs and then were bowled out for 113. With the score on 4 for 46 in the 13th over, and Eben van Wyk gone for 24 – it would become the highest score of the innings – they shifted focus towards lasting the full 50 overs. Zimbabwe didn’t mind. They used eight bowlers, and all of them conceded less than 4.5 runs per over. Nkosilathi Nungu, Dion Myers and Wesley Madhevere picked up two wickets each.The chase began in exciting fashion with opener Gregory Dollar and No. 3 Myers falling before the score reached double-digits. But Madhevere put an end to the mini-slide, hitting 47 off 38 balls, with seven fours, and Zimbabwe got to their target with seven wickets and 183 balls to spare.

The ranking surge capped off a memorable week for the Australia allrounder, coming on the back of her second Belinda Clark award for Australia’s women’s cricketer of the year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2018Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry displaced India captain Mithali Raj to claim the top spot in the ICC rankings for batsmen in women’s ODIs. Perry, who leads the ICC’s ODI rankings for allrounders, topped the batting rankings for the first time in her career, with Australia captain Meg Lanning and Raj occupying the second and third positions. The elevation in the rankings caps off a memorable week for Perry, who earlier this week won
her second Belinda Clark award for Australia’s women’s cricketer of the year.Perry played a critical role in Australia’s successful Ashes campaign, producing an unbeaten 213 in the day-night Test at North Sydney Oval to help her side secure a draw, and all but ensure that they preserved the lead they had established during the ODI leg over the final Twenty20 matches. Her performances were particularly noteworthy, given that Australia missed the services of the injured Lanning. Perry’s immediate challenge will be the tour of India in early March for a three-match ODI series, before a T20I tri-series also featuring England.Raj, who had wrested the top spot from Lanning in October last year, registered scores of 45, 20 and 4 in India’s 2-1 series win over South Africa recently. The upcoming series against Australia could well see Raj, the leading run-getter in women’s ODIs, Perry, and Lanning, who is hoping to return to action, tussle for the No.1 spot.Meanwhile, Raj’s compatriots Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have had mixed results. While Kaur moved downwards, from fifth to seventh, Mandhana leapt 14 places to the 21st position, following a player-of-the-series performance against South Africa, with scores of 84, 135 and 0 in the three-match series. The bowling rankings remained unchanged, with South Africa fast bowler Marizanne Kapp, who picked up two wickets against India, holding on to the top spot with 653 points. India seamer Jhulan Goswami, who recently became the first woman cricketer to 200 ODI wickets, trails Kapp by 10 points to occupy the second position.

Though the appointment is currently being made on a series-by-series basis it seems likely that Anderson will keep the job at least until the conclusion of Stokes’ court case

Andrew McGlashan in Hamilton13-Mar-2018Ben Stokes has been stripped of the England vice-captaincy for the Test series against New Zealand with James Anderson retaining the role he took on during the Ashes. Though the appointment is currently being made on a series-by-series basis it seems likely that Anderson will keep the job at least until the conclusion of Stokes’ court case.Stokes’ trial date, after his charge of affray to which he has pleaded not guilty following the incident in Bristol last September, has been set for August 6 and is expected to last between five and seven days, meaning the allrounder will miss the Lord’s Test against India. Having removed the vice-captaincy from him in the current situation it is very unlikely he will be considered again until the outcome of the legal case is known and also the Cricket Disciplinary Commission process that will follow.Anderson took over the role for the Ashes after Stokes was removed from the squad as he awaited charging following his arrest outside Mbargo nightclub in Bristol on September 25. Stokes returned to action in the one-day series against New Zealand, but having him one step away from captaining England with an ongoing legal case was a situation the ECB needed to avoid. With Stokes not being in Australia, and Jos Buttler the vice-captain to Eoin Morgan in the one-day side, this was the first time a decision needed to be made by Joe Root and coach Trevor Bayliss with Stokes present.Last week, Bayliss praised Anderson’s impact in the position during the Ashes where he was the stand-out England bowler and he is also understood to have made a good impression behind the scenes on what was a difficult tour. Given his seniority it was a logical choice for him to continue and he can now also expect to have the job against Pakistan and India in the summer.”I’m delighted Joe has asked me to do it again for this series,” Anderson told the . “It doesn’t change my role in the team a huge amount. I see myself as a senior player and I’m there for people if they need advice. Certainly if Joe needs help on the field, I’m there for him.”Anderson got a taste of being one step away from the captaincy on the final day of the Ashes when Root was taken ill and could not conduct the post-match interviews (England were only batting so Anderson was not needed to lead in the field) but he sees a collection of senior players as being important to offering advice.”It’s a big group effort when we go on the field, so it’s important that we get that right,” he said. “Again in the dressing-room, it’s trying to get people relaxed and ready to play Test cricket.”It’s not just my job; it’s Joe’s, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad have plenty of experience, and the coaches as well who have been around the block. It’s our job to help out where we can and try to help this team progress.”This series against New Zealand will see England trying to correct a horrendous run away from home which has seen them lose nine of their last 12 Tests overseas. They avoided another Ashes whitewash due to a draw on a docile Melbourne pitch, but Anderson believes that England weren’t as poor as the 4-0 scoreline suggests.”I don’t think we were far away,” he said. “I know the scoreline says 4-0, and it looks like we got thrashed. But in each Test match I don’t think we were that far away.”We got ourselves into games at certain times, and it was a bad half-hour or an hour here and there that really cost us the games we lost. I think that’s the learning curve for us.”

The board issued a detailed statement of the punishment handed out to Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for ball tampering

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2018
Following the announcements made yesterday in Johannesburg, the Cricket Australia Board has met again today to consider the report of the investigation into the incident in Cape Town.The key finding from the investigation was that prior knowledge of the incident was confined to three players, Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.Key findings:Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have been charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct, namely that their conduct:(a) was contrary to the spirit of the game;
(b) was unbecoming of a representative or official;
(c) is or could be harmful to the interests of cricket; and/or
(d) did bring the game of cricket into disrepute.
In respect of the individual players concerned, Cricket Australia advises the following:Steve Smith was charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct based on:(a) knowledge of a potential plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(b) failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and implementation of that plan;
(c) directing that evidence of attempted tampering be concealed on the field of play;
(d) seeking to mislead Match Officials and others regarding Bancroft’s attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball; and
(e) misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent and participants of the plan
David Warner was charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct based on:(a) development of a plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(b) instruction to a junior player to carry out a plan to take steps to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper;
(c) provision of advice to a junior player regarding how a ball could be artificially altered including demonstrating how it could be done;
(d) failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and/or implementation of the plan;
(e) failure to report his knowledge of the plan at any time prior to or during the match;

(f) misleading Match Officials through the concealment of his knowledge of and involvement in the plan; and
(g) failure to voluntarily report his knowledge of the plan after the match
Cameron Bancroft was charged with a breach of Article 2.3.5 of the CA Code of Conduct based on:(a) knowledge of the existence of, and being party to, the plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper;
(b) carrying out instructions to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(c) seeking to conceal evidence of his attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball;
(d) seeking to mislead Match Officials and others regarding his attempts to artificially alter the condition of the ball; and
(e) misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent, implementation and participants of the plan
2:54

Bal: CA’s decision more a reaction to public outrage

Summary of sanctionsThe range of sanctions available to Cricket Australia under Article 2.3.5 are extensive. The CA Board determined sanctions that would be appropriate in each player’s case, following their review of the report.The Board has considered the recommendations and determined that the following sanctions will be offered to each player in accordance with the CA Code of Conduct processSteve Smith – Suspension of 12 months from all international and domestic cricket
David Warner – Suspension of 12 months from all international and domestic cricket
Cameron Bancroft – Suspension of 9 months from all international and domestic cricket
All three players will be permitted to play club cricket and will be encouraged to do so to maintain links with the cricket community.In addition, all three players will be required to undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.LeadershipSteve Smith and Cameron Bancroft will not be considered for team leadership positions until a minimum of 12 months after the conclusion of their respective suspensions from international and domestic cricket. Any consideration of future leadership would be conditional on acceptance by fans and the public, form and authority among the playing group. David Warner will not be considered for team leadership positions in the future.Cricket Australia Chairman, David Peever said:”As I indicated yesterday, the CA Board understands and shares the anger of fans and the broader Australian community about these events.”They go to the integrity and reputation of Australian Cricket and Australian sport and the penalties must reflect that.”These are significant penalties for professional players and the Board does not impose them lightly. It is hoped that following a period of suspension, the players will be able to return to playing the game they love and eventually rebuild their careers.”Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland said:”As the Chairman has noted, the sanctions we have announced are significant for the individuals involved. That is why the process has had to be thorough to ensure that all relevant issues have been examined.”I am satisfied that the sanctions in this case properly reflect a balance between the need to protect the integrity and reputation of the game and the need to maintain the possibility of redemption for the individuals involved, all of whom have learned difficult lessons through these events.”As indicated, Cricket Australia will provide more details of an independent review into the conduct and culture of our Australian men’s team in due course.” Sutherland concluded.

Virat Kohli’s team will face an incredibly tough path to the playoffs if they drop points against CSK

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu04-May-2018

Form guide (most recent match first)

CSK: lost to KKR by six wickets, beat Daredevils by 13 runs, lost to Mumbai by 8 wickets
RCB: beat Mumbai by 14 runs, lost to KKR by six wickets, lost to CSK by five wickets

Big Picture

Royal Challengers Bangalore could probably afford one more loss. But only if they get very lucky with other results going their way.They came away from the IPL auction like a tourist with a detailed itinerary: allrounders, check; big-hitters, check; KKR’s bowling attack that knocked them over for 49, double check. But one month in, all they have is a bag full of knock-off merchandise. Five defeats in eight matches with a squad that Virat Kohli thought was the most balanced is, essentially, like being stuck with t-shirts that say Wrong instead of , right?But some innocent bystanders have given them a helpful tip, at least with respect to their next adventure. It is hard to compete with Chennai Super Kings’ batting line-up. So make fools of their bowlers.Target scores well above par if batting first. Forget about the run-rate and safeguard wickets for the death if chasing. Basically, RCB have to figure out a way to beat a monstrous batting team with virtually the tournament on the line.It seems karma wants them to learn how everyone that faces RCB feels.

In the news

AB de Villiers has been declared fit after viral fever ruled him out of RCB’s previous two games. Quinton de Kock, however, has flown back to South Africa for a wedding.

Previous meeting

A high-scoring affair when RCB posted 205 and CSK chased it down in a blaze of sixes in Bengaluru. De Villiers made a rip-roaring 68.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Imran Tahir, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 KM AsifDe Kock’s absence may see Parthiv Patel getting his first game of the season.Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Manan Vohra/Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Strategy punt

Imran Tahir has taken 15 wickets in Pune, the most among anyone in the CSK squad, and he has taken out AB de Villiers two times in three IPL innings. This head-to-head can be quite compelling for the viewer as well because the batsman also strikes at 185.7 against the legspinner.

Stats that matter

• RCB have four wins in five games in Pune, and de Villiers was Man of the Match in three of those games. He has made 211 runs at a strike-rate of 177. Viral fever, begone.
• CSK have rarely had a phenomenal bowling line-up. But they mask that problem with their spinners and Dhoni’s ability to use them. In each of their eight years, their economy rate had always hovered around 7 and strike rate around 25. In 2018, those numbers have risen to 8.49 and 34.50.
• Before Tim Southee was brought in to the XI, RCB were conceding a six every six deliveries in the death. Now, that figure is a far more respectable 18.3.
• Dhoni has scored 329 runs at a strike-rate of 169.6. That’s his best tally after nine matches in any season of IPL.

Fantasy pick

Ambati Rayudu. He’s the highest scorer of the IPL this season with six scores of 30-plus in nine innings. He’s also been hitting at a strike-rate of 153 with 56 hits to and over the boundary.

Quotes

“The last four days have been a blur I have been suffering from severe viral flu, one of the most debilitating illnesses I have ever experienced. Aside from one visit to the hospital, I have barely left my hotel room. Sleep has been almost impossible, and the migraine headaches have been extreme.”

They have never won a Test series in the West Indies, and considering the hosts’ form, they have a good chance to break that duck now

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jun-20182:30

‘I want to break Brian Lara’s 400’

Big Picture

That we have got to the eve of this first Test with no changes to the schedule is a small miracle. Sri Lanka-West Indies matches are prone to postponement and cancellation. Broadcasters feel the markets too small, and the time difference too great to sustain long-format cricket between these teams. They would rather see them play T20 cricket, or perhaps ODIs. But somehow, this time, the series appears as if it will be played as planned. It is not melodramatic to suggest that this could be the last ever three-Test encounter between these sides, because that way goes the cricket schedule.Considering the Test series planned for 2013 was turned into an ODI tri-series, the last time West Indies and Sri Lanka met for Test cricket in the Caribbean was in 2008. Back then Ramnaresh Sarwan was still playing, Chaminda Vaas was a new-ball bowler, and Rangana Herath was just a… okay, he was already pretty old. Point is, things have changed. West Indies’ top order is more brittle now – Roston Chase sporting their best average, a tick over 38. Sri Lanka’s fast bowling stocks have been depleted – Lahiru Kumara, their second most-experienced seamer with only nine Tests to his name. Both teams also know what a struggle it can be to rebuild following great players’ exits.It is difficult to pin down form going into this Test, because it has been so long since either team has played. West Indies’ most-recent Test was all the way back in the first half of December. Sri Lanka’s had wrapped up in early February. The one fact to recommend the visitors in this series is that Tests are probably their best format now, with a settled top order in place, and an effective spin-department led by Herath. In their last three series, all of which were overseas, Sri Lanka won against Pakistan, drew two matches against India, and beat Bangladesh – all of which are creditable achievements. West Indies, meanwhile, have won only one series in their last 11 – against Zimbabwe.Sri Lanka, for all the greats that have played for them over the years, have never quite managed to win a series in the Caribbean. Strangely, although they had one of their worst years in 2017, they have arrived on the islands feeling as if they have a good chance on this attempt. But as England found out last year at Headingley, this West Indies side has the capacity to surprise.3:21

‘If you can keep wicket in Sri Lanka, you can keep anywhere’

Form guide

Sri LankaWDDLD (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LLDWL

In the spotlight

Don’t say it too loudly, but there is a little of the regality of the old West Indian batsmen in 21-year-old Guyanese, Shimron Hetmyer. He hasn’t cracked the top level. Not even close. But there are glimpses of a wonderful player in his imperious pull shots, and his dismissive drives. In New Zealand last December, he had faced down one of the best attacks around and hit a sparkling 66 to light up the Basin Reserve. The issue for Hetmyer is that there is no consistency yet. His other scores in that series were 13, 28 and 15. Perhaps, against a weaker Sri Lanka pace attack, he can put a few more good performances together, and kick his career into a higher gear.Dinesh Chandimal took over the captaincy at one of Sri Lanka’s lowest ebbs, and within a few series, he has begun to make something of this team. His own batting has been crucial to the cause. Once a producer of flashy fifties, he is now workman-like to a fault, batting slow, batting long, often bailing innings out, sometimes even grinding down the opposition bowlers for other batsmen to take advantage of their exhaustion. He has already overseen an important series victory over Pakistan, in the UAE, but the prospect of achieving a series win in West Indies – something no other Sri Lanka captain has done – may be special motivation.Roshen Silva and Niroshan Dickwella prepare for a hit in the nets•Getty Images

Team news

The two fresh entrants into the squad, opener Devon Smith and wicketkeeper-batsman Jahmar Hamilton, may be left out of the playing XI. Devendra Bishoo is the only specialist spinner in the squad, so in Trinidad, he is likely to have a place in the XI.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shane Dowrich (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Devendra Bishoo, 9 Miguel Cummins, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon GabrielDhananjaya de Silva, who delayed his departure to the West Indies because of the murder of his father, may have arrived too late to be available for the first Test. If he doesn’t take his spot at No. 3, Kusal Perera could be deployed there. Uncapped Mahela Udawatte might take the injured Dimuth Karunaratne’s place at the top of the order. Sri Lanka also have a difficult decision to make on which of their offspinners they should field. Akila Dananjaya is the more attacking option, but Dilruwan Perera’s batting may earn him the spot.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Mendis, 2 Mahela Udawatte, 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Roshen Silva, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (capt.), 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Lahiru Gamage

Pitch and conditions

The weather in Port-of-Spain is expected to be good for the majority of the game, with the temperature in the low 30C range. The pitch generally takes a bit of turn.

Stats and trivia

• Chandimal has an average of 48.5 across his 10 Tests as captain, against an average of 42.33 when he is not leading.
• Sri Lanka have played only six Tests in the West Indies in total, winning only one of those games, in 2008. All their series before this one were restricted to two Tests only.
• West Indies, however, have won only two of their last 12 Tests at home.
  

Ravi Bopara was run out from the last ball and the Vitality Blast match at Chelmsford ended in a tie

ECB Reporters' Network21-Jul-2018
ScorecardRavi Bopara was run out from the last ball and the Vitality Blast match at Chelmsford ended in a tie. Needing two runs to win, Bopara failed to beat Colin Munro’s throw from square leg, though umpire Jeffrey Evans had to go to the TV umpire to confirm the decision.Bopara had hit 39 from 26 balls to take Essex within a whisker of only their second T20 victory of the season. Dan Lawrence had laid the foundation for the chase of 171 with the highest T20 score of his career. His 49 came off 36 balls with four fours and a six. Chris Wood kept Essex in check until the late fireworks with 3 for 27 from his four overs, but it was not quite enough for victory.Sam Northeast finished with an unbeaten 73 from 50 balls that included four sixes as Hampshire posted 170 for 5. It was a comparatively pedestrian innings compared to the 38 from 17 balls, three of them sixes, by New Zealand opener Colin Munro that looked as if it would set the tempo for a huge Hampshire total after opting to bat.Bar two overs from Matt Quinn that went for 27 and 19, Essex kept a tight rein. Adam Zampa’s 2 for 30 was only spoilt by some late hitting by Northeast. Fellow spinner Simon Harmer took 1 for 21 from his four overs, and Ravi Bopara conceded 19 from his three.Essex openers Adam Wheater and Varun Chopra had put on just 4 when Chopra fell to Ryan Stevenson’s first ball, a short delivery, and was caught behind.Wheater bookended Fidel Edwards’s opening over with sixes over midwicket before he was the second of two wickets in four balls when he charged spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s first delivery and was stumped. Tom Westley had just beaten him back to the pavilion after dragging on against Wood for 9.Ryan ten Doesechate and Lawrence steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket stand of 44 in five overs that included a big six over long-leg by the captain. But ten Doeschate perished when he top-edged a pull off Edwards to the edge of the ring.Lawrence showed his range of shots with a straight four off Dawson followed by a clip to third man next ball for another boundary. Bopara, moving beyond single figures for the first time this season, helped take the target to 60 from 30 balls.Lawrence passed his previous highest score in the competition with an effortless pick-up over square leg for six off Edwards to take him to 48. But he attempted to reach his first half-century in style, and only hit Wood flat to Munro on the long-off fence.Suddenly the asking rate was 41 from three. Harmer helped it along with a reverse-swept six off Rahman and Bopara added a second in the over midwicket. With 27 required from 12 balls, Harmer went lbw to Wood but Neil Wagner hit a straight for six followed by a four to make it 13 from the last over.Bopara hit the first ball from Stevenson for a straight six with James Vince falling awkwardly after colliding with Rilee Rossouw in an attempt to make the catch. A single gave Wagner the batting, but he went to the third ball when caught on the boundary by Dawson. Bopara refused a run from the next but thumped the fifth through the covers for four. Two needed from the last ball – and the dramatic conclusion.Hampshire had started their innings slowly, but the loss of Vince for 1 to a skier at mid-on only inspired Munro to take charge. Northeast finished off Jamie Porter’s second over with a six over midwicket, and then the New Zealander showed anything Northeast could do, he could do better.Munro followed with sixes off the first two deliveries from Quinn in an over that included a third six over midwicket plus a free-hit that was expertly caught by ten Doeschate, albeit in vain.Zampa was unfortunate that two successive misfields on the bumpy outfield went to the boundary, but hit back when he bowled Munro playing a reverse sweep. Rossouw was Zampa’s second victim with a nick behind and Tom Alsop went for an ill-advised reverse sweep and was lbw to Harmer.Hampshire had slumped to 70 for 4 and added only 33 runs in eight middle overs. Indeed, such was their sluggish scoring that the fifth-wicket partnership between Northeast and Liam Dawson needed 50 balls to reach fifty.However, Northeast saw off Zampa’s final two balls with sixes to cow corner that also brought up a 41-ball half-century. Wagner broke the 71-run stand when Dawson hit him high to wide mid-on where Lawrence took it on the move over his shoulder. Dawson’s 32 had been at a run a ball.

Can Lauderhill’s strong expatriate numbers inspire a turnaround for the visiting team?

The Preview by Mohammad Isam04-Aug-2018

Big Picture

West Indies will go into the second T20I in Fort Lauderdale armed with the confidence that their big hitters and aggressive bowlers are firing in tandem, presenting a challenge even greater for a Bangladesh side that hasn’t been able to sustain its success for any measurable period through this tour.As always, much of Bangladesh’s hopes would fall on their four senior batsmen, but there’s a lot more that the likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Ariful Haque can bring to the table. Soumya, despite being thrown multiple lifelines, has failed to find a way out his wretched form, while Liton needs to capitalise on impressive starts and push on to producing something more substantial. Ariful is still young at the international level, but expectations from newcomers have never been higher in the Bangladesh set-up.The bowling load will be shared between Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman, who both are usually required to bowl at critical phases in T20s, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan providing support. Nazmul Islam, who debuted earlier this year, needs to adapt quickly if he is to survive in this spin attack.West Indies, the world champions, have very little to worry about. Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams complemented each other, taking eight wickets together, before Andre Russell, returning from injury, Marlon Samuels and Rovman Powell upended the chase in a six-heavy onslaught in the last game. If those signs weren’t worrying enough for Bangladesh, they are compounded by West Indies’ superlative record at this venue: they are yet to lose a match in Lauderhill, have three of the four highest totals at this ground, and have bowled out the opposition twice in three completed games. Ominous?Perhaps the one factor that could come to Bangladesh’s aid is the crowd in Lauderhill; the local population has a strong subcontinental presence. The expatriates have already turned up in droves in South Florida for the double-header, meaning that Bangladesh’s first international match in the USA will likely have the feeling of a home game.

Form guide

West Indies: WWLLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Bangladesh: LLLLL

In the spotlight

Ashley Nurse took two wickets in the first over of the previous match, and yet never returned to bowl. That was partly down to his lack of wickets in the ODI series that preceded this, and Nurse would be keen to get the numbers back on his side, once again demonstrating the control he can bring while also breaking through.Liton Das has scored at a rate over 128 in nine T20Is this year, but that strike rate is hardly enough to cover up an average of 18. He doesn’t have a single half-century despite batting in the top three. It’s time for the promise to translate into performance.

Team news

Barring last-minute injuries, West Indies are unlikely to make changes to their XI.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Andre Russell, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick WilliamsSoumya Sarkar has been in miserable form in domestic cricket, and his inclusion in the squad was only as a result of the management’s plea. He would undoubtedly be under the scanner, with Mosaddek Hossain being the prime candidate to replace him.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das, 2 Tamim Iqbal, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Ariful Haque, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Mustafizur Rahman, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain

Pitch and conditions

The last completed game in Lauderhill produced a run-glut, with West Indies and India totaling 489 runs and both innings producing a century.The weather has been quite warm, but it is likely to remain clear for both matches.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh have now lost five or more T20Is in a row for the sixth time
• Tamim Iqbal is 65 runs away from aggregating 1,000 runs across international formats this year