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The Australia opener could be facing England for the last time as his career draws to a close

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-20241:53

Warner relives Australia’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2021

David Warner has predicted England’s last two Ashes destroyers loom as far different prospects on the slower T20 World Cup wickets of the Caribbean.Australia will meet England for the first time in any format since last year’s tense Ashes series on Saturday [Sunday AEDT] in Barbados, in each side’s second game of the World Cup.Related

• Highlights – Eng vs Aus – Australia dominate defending champions

• Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins – A rotating carousel of pressure

• All-round Stoinis stars as Australia overcome early wobble

• Graeme Swann: 'If England are aggressive, they can win the tournament for Jos Buttler'

• Jofra Archer: 'I had a bit of a cry' on return to action in Barbados

Mark Wood and Jofra Archer are expected to play for an England side desperately needing a win after a washout against Scotland.Archer has not played Australia since the 2020 white-ball series in England, which took place during Covid, having made his mark against them in his debut Test series in 2019. Wood was also England’s most hostile bowler in the 2023 Ashes, coming in at Headingley and helping the hosts go from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw.Both are among the quickest in the world at their best, but the slow pitches of the Caribbean are far removed from their home conditions. Throw in the fact it is a T20 rather than a Test match, and Warner believes this is a very different scenario.”You just have to use their pace,” Warner said. “Test cricket they set different fields, different balls. In Twenty20 cricket, you only have to get half an edge on it and it can go. So there’s a fair difference.”David Warner played an important innings against Oman•Getty Images

Warner also does not expect consistently high bounce as seen elsewhere in the world.”I’ve played a lot of cricket over here,” Warner said. “You are expecting it to be low rather than bounce, unless it is real short. The variation in bounce is what surprises you. Because when they pitch the ball that eight-metre [from the stumps] length, your natural instinct is to pull it. But you have to go back to targeting straight, backing yourself, and if it does bounce, so be it.”Warner hit a steady 56 from 51 balls to guide Australia to a winnable score in their first match against Oman to begin his last international tournament. The runs came after a disappointing IPL, prompting questions from critics over whether he deserved a final hurrah ahead of rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk.”It [the criticism] doesn’t fuel me. It’s in one ear, out the other,” Warner said. “I don’t understand why it’s all about myself. There are 11 players in the team. I don’t get it.”People feel like they have to keep criticising the way I play. I don’t know what it is. I have no answer as to why people write that. I have had it my whole career. I don’t listen to it.”Sunday’s Group B clash has gone from near irrelevant to crucial for England, after their shared points with Scotland. A loss to Australia would spell disaster for the defending champions, after Scotland beat Namibia on Friday. If England are beaten, it would leave open the prospect of a net run-rate shootout between them and Scotland to be the second team to advance from the group.

Former allrounder last played an international match in 2012, shortly before turning 28

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2020Irfan Pathan burst onto the international scene as a teenager full of promise, swing and runs, but played his last international match just before turning 28, in October 2012. Pathan, who retired from the game only in January this year, finished with 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is. He often had to battle injuries and long spells out of the game, but Pathan held that if he been backed more in the second half of his career, he could have become “the best all-rounder India ever produced” in ODIs.”In terms of achievement, there could have been a lot more. I really believe that in one-day internationals, I could have been the best all-rounder that India ever produced, I could have been,” Pathan said in an interview with . “That didn’t happen because I didn’t play as much cricket as I could have because my last game for India was at the age of 27.”I see people playing till the age of 35 or 37 like England fast bowler [James] Anderson. Obviously the conditions in England are different. I think if you play till 35, things would have been better, but that’s gone, it’s done and dusted.”Whatever matches I played, I played as a match-winner, I played as a guy who made the difference to the team. Even if I took one wicket — the first wicket for the match — that made a big impact on the team. Whatever innings I played with the bat, I played to make a difference. That’s what will stay with me throughout my whole life.”In ODIs, Pathan held that his numbers were used against him even when his role in the team changed from being a strike bowler to being the all-rounder who came on first change.”The one thing I always get disappointed is that a lot of people only see the numbers and numbers don’t always give you the right picture. If you see the first 59 ODI matches that I played, I got to bowl with the new ball,” he said. “And when you are the new ball bowler, you got the opportunity to bowl with the new ball as well as the old ball. Your aim, your mindset, your body language and your responsibility is to take wickets.”When you are bowling first change, when you are a defensive bowler according to your captain and coach, you have to play the role of containing the runs. You have to make sure that you don’t give away too many runs. So if your role becomes different, then your numbers also become different as well.”Pathan largely took the new ball for India in ODIs till the end of the Champions Trophy 2006. In that time, he played 69 ODIs, and didn’t open the bowling on only two occasions. In that period, he took 113 wickets at an average of 24.78 and an economy rate of 4.96.Having played 69 ODIs in under three years, mostly under Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid’s captaincy, he went on to play only 51 more in his next six years, a period that coincided with MS Dhoni taking over the reins. He took the new ball only 19 times in that second half.”I actually feel that people from the team should have spoken about it,” Pathan said. “They should have said that, ‘Yes Irfan used to take wickets, but now we have given him a different role. We have given him the role of first change bowler and someone who can bat at No. 7 or No. 8, which is very much required in one-day cricket right now.’ Now, if an allrounder goes for around six runs per over and takes one wicket per match, you are happy with that, but you were not happy with Irfan Pathan who did the same thing. Why is that?”While Pathan agreed that a player needed to be flexible, he held that a change in role needed to be acknowledged, and supported, by the team management too.”I am not saying that I could only bowl with the new ball. No, I was ready to bowl with the old ball, I was ready to bowl with the new ball as well. But in a team game, when you have a different role, your numbers reflect differently. When Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain, he used to be very flexible in his batting order, so his numbers used to be different. Now when he is not flexible, obviously his numbers are getting affected. That is why either his average or strike rate will also get affected. It’s a team game. It’s not only about individuals.”The player has to be flexible, but if his role has been given differently, then it is the team’s responsibility to talk about it, but no one talks about it.”

Mandhana’s side are eliminated, while Harmanpreet’s team will want to make final tweaks before knockouts

Sruthi Ravindranath20-Mar-2023

Big Picture

A week ago, Royal Challengers Bangalore were languishing at the bottom of the table with zero wins. Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, were riding high on top of the table with a perfect five. Mumbai had sealed their top-three spot while Royal Challengers’ chances were hanging by a thread. Earlier in the tournament, Mumbai had inflicted a heavy defeat on Royal Challengers the last time these teams had met.Royal Challengers have roared back in some style since then. After a win against UP Warriorz, they went on to thrash Gujarat Giants by eight wickets in a high-scorer. Mumbai, meanwhile, were handed their first defeat of the tournament by Warriorz.But following Warriorz’s win against Giants on Monday, Royal Challengers have been eliminated from the competition*. Mumbai will have to turn up in less than 24 hours for this encounter, so Royal Challengers will want to make use of this chance to finish the tournament on a high.Meanwhile, Mumbai, for their part, will want to hold on to the top spot which would give them a direct entry into the final. If Delhi Capitals beat them on Monday and go on to win their last league game against Warriorz, then there’s a chance Mumbai might not finish first.The teams’ respective captains – two Indian stalwarts – have had contrasting fortunes. Harmanpreet Kaur has 205 runs with three fifties while Smriti Mandhana has crossed 30 just twice. Can Mandhana outdo her opposite number this time around?

Players to Watch

Having impressed enough with her bowling, Issy Wong showcased her batting skills in the match against Warriorz with a 19-ball 32 to resurrect Mumbai’s innings. She has bowled superbly in the three games Mumbai have played at the DY Patil Sports Academy so far, making the most of the early swing on offer and finishing with figures of 1 for 7, 3 for 10 and 1 for 24 respectively. Her economy of 5.78 in the tournament is the second-best among players who’ve bowled a minimum of 15 overs.Sophie Devine delivered a banging performance against Giants, smashing eight sixes and nine fours on her way to a 36-ball 99. In Royal Challengers’ last two games, she’s been effective with the new ball as well – removing Warriorz’s openers in the first over and sending Giants’ Sophia Dunkley back in the third over.

Possible XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (c), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 Issy Wong, 7 Humaira Kazi, 8 Dhara Gujjar, 9 Amanjot Kaur, 10 Jintimani Kalita, 11 Saika IshaqueRoyal Challengers: 1 Sophie Devine, 2 Smriti Mandhana (capt.), 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Heather Knight, 5 Kanika Ahuja, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Shreyanka Patil, 8 Disha Kasat, 9 Sobhana Asha, 10 Megan Schutt, 11 Preeti Bose.

Stats and Trivia

• Saika Ishaque’s economy rate is 5.63, the best economy in the tournament so far (minimum 10 overs)
• Devine’s batting strike rate against spinners during her 99 off 36 balls was 336.36. She scored 74 runs off 22 balls against spin on the day
• Mumbai’s bowlers have taken the most wickets (16) in the powerplay while Royal Challengers bowlers have taken the least (8)

Quotes

“I’m so used to hearing chants for [Ellyse] Perry and [Smriti] Mandhana, and was feeling a bit left out. To hear your name and experience this atmosphere, it will stay with me for a very long time.”
Sophie Devine after her match-winning knock against Giants*1.30pm GMT – The story was updated after UP Warriorz’s match against Gujarat Giants to say Royal Challengers Bangalore have been eliminated from the tournament

Home Office backlog caused by displacement of Ukrainian citizens sees Pujara miss Notts fixture

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2022Cheteshwar Pujara will miss the opening game of his stint as Sussex’s overseas player in the County Championship due to a visa hold-up caused indirectly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Pujara, who was dropped by India for their recent Test series against Sri Lanka and has been demoted in the BCCI’s contract list, was due to play Sussex’s first six Championship games of the season before returning later in the summer for the Royal London Cup and “some additional four-day games”, according to the club’s statement.He had been expected to arrive in time to make his debut against Nottinghamshire on Thursday, but will not be available until Sussex’s fixture against Derbyshire the following week due to a delay in receiving his visa.Related

• Project Sussex requires signs of progress as Salisbury targets 'sustained success'

• Sussex sign Pujara for English summer

• Root rested for opening rounds of County Championship

• Notts left snow-blind amid uncertainty over Championship future

• Burns readjusts to life on England fringes after putting Ashes 'to bed'

“Securing overseas players has been tremendously difficult in the current climate,” Keith Greenfield, Sussex’s performance director, said. “We renegotiated the initial Pujara contract so he could return for more County Championship and Royal London 50-over matches, and this subsequently changed the visa requirements.”On top of this, the Ukraine crisis has meant that the Home Office has redirected their resources to help with the displacement of Ukrainian citizens. We were expecting Pujara to be with us last weekend but can now confirm he will be here at the back end of this week.”Ian Salisbury, the club’s Championship and 50-over head coach, said he was “extremely disappointed… not [to] have a player of Pujara’s experience and quality available for the opening day of the season”.Sussex will also be without Ollie Robinson for the first game of the season, with the fast bowler made unavailable by the ECB after missing all three of England’s Tests against West Indies in the Caribbean last month through injury.

After a promising start from Gloucestershire it all went the home side’s way

ECB Reporters Network25-Jun-2023Yorkshire young guns Finlay Bean and George Hill posted superb centuries – 114 and 101 respectively – to ensure their side dominated the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Gloucestershire at Headingley.Left-handed opener Bean faced 153 balls for his second century of the Division Two season – and the second of the 21-year-old’s fledgling career. It was the main contribution in Yorkshire’s 393 for 6 from 91 overs.He shared a stand of 57 with Dawid Malan for the third wicket during the morning and then 153 for the fourth either side of lunch with fellow up and comer George Hill, who then faced 180 balls and shared 111 for the fifth wicket with Jonny Tattersall.It was allrounder Hill’s first century of the summer, with Gloucestershire too loose with the Kookaburra ball having been asked to bowl in excellent batting conditions.Left-arm seamer Taylor stood out like a sore thumb amongst his colleagues with three for 43 from 17 overs, including Tattersall late on for 79. Five overs were lost to evening rain.Play was watched by Yorkshire’s new chair Harry Chathli and also their former County Championship title-winning coach Jason Gillespie, the Australian bowling legend who was triumphant with the county in 2014 and 2015.He is back in the UK for the Ashes and back at Headingley for the first time since leaving. Things have changed dramatically since Gillespie departed at the end of 2016, his side having just missed out on a third successive Championship title to Middlesex.Not only has there been upheaval off the field, results have fallen drastically on it as well, highlighted by this being a Division Two encounter.Only Adam Lyth and Matthew Fisher from the current side played four-day cricket during the Australian legend’s golden tenure.But the performances of two young players who were only playing county age-group during Gillespie’s tenure should serve as indication of future promise.Lyth’s opening partner Bean, 21, was playing for Yorkshire Under 14s during Gillespie’s last year in 2016 and Hill for the Under 15s.Bean has enjoyed an encouraging start to life in senior cricket having returned to the club last summer following a brief break to go and work as a mechanic.He earned a rookie contract on the back of a record-breaking 441 in the second team last year and made his first-team bow in August.He played a trio of Championship matches last September, but was a first choice starter at the beginning of April and scored 118 in the opening round defeat here against Leicestershire.Bean watched on from the non-striker’s end as three senior partners departed before lunch, including Lyth and captain Shan Masood within four balls to Taylor as the score slipped to 33 for 2 in the sixth over. Lyth edged to second slip trying to leave alone before Masood was trapped lbw for a three-ball duck.Bean shared 57 with another left-hander, Dawid Malan, who looked in good order for 28 before being caught behind down leg trying pull Ben Charlesworth’s seam – 90 for 3 in the 17th.But Gloucestershire’s good early work was eroded thanks to their inability to limit the fours, especially to the short boundary towards the East Stand side of this ground.Hill, 22, is more advanced in his development than Bean – a right-hander particularly strong against spin. Hill has been frustrated by his inability to build on starts over the last couple of seasons. But he did here. This was his best of four times beyond 50 in the Championship this season.Bean reached his century off 140 balls midway through the afternoon. But he only faced 13 more deliveries and fell caught at deep square-leg pulling at Zaman Akhter – 243 for 4 in the 53rd over.After tea, Hill moved into the nineties and took Yorkshire beyond 300 by helping Tattersall take 19 from the 72nd over against Gohar, including a slog-swept six over midwicket.He reached his century off 177 balls before falling caught behind off Ollie Price’s offspin. And when Taylor, now bowling with the new ball, had Tattersall caught at second slip, Yorkshire were 368 for 6 after 86 overs.

There is a 60% chance of rain around the match start time

Ashish Pant18-May-20244:26

How do RCB make best use of Maxwell?

The morning of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB’s) high-stakes IPL 2024 game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was bright and sunny, but as the day progressed, the sun was mostly out of view, hidden behind clouds. There remains a forecast of thundershowers and a 60% chance of rain around the time the match is scheduled to start, at 7.30pm local time.It’s a game that will decide the identity of the last team in the IPL 2024 playoffs, but the weather could have a big say in how things pan out at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.The Indian Meteorological Department has predicting a “generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers”.Related

• Gaikwad the captain faces his sternest test yet

• What RCB did right after it began so horribly wrong

• Patidar: 'I should know that I am the best, nothing else matters'

• IPL 2024 scenarios – RCB vs CSK for final playoff spot

Fans who are expected to fill the ground can, however, take heart from the way things went on match eve. Rain and thunderstorms had been forecast for the evening but, while it was cloudy for the most part, the rain never arrived in central Bengaluru. Both RCB and CSK trained for over an hour without any disruption.The city has received consistent rainfall over the last couple of weeks after a spell of uncharacteristically hot weather. However, it has remained relatively dry in most places in the last three days.Even if it does rain, the Chinnaswamy Stadium has an excellent drainage system and is one of the few grounds in India with a subsurface aeration system, which allows play to begin 30 minutes after the rain stops.RCB’s chances of making the playoffs will end in case of a washout. After losing seven of their first eight matches, they made a sterling comeback, winning their next five games. They are currently on 12 points with a net run rate of 0.387, while CSK are on 14 with an NRR of 0.538. To go past CSK’s NRR and make it to the playoffs, assuming a score of 200, RCB need to beat CSK by 18 runs or chase down the target with about 11 balls to spare. A truncated game will make that task tougher.”The good thing is that it is crystal clear what we need to do,” Malolan Rangarajan, RCB’s head of scouting, said on the eve of the game. “Doesn’t matter if it is a 20-over game or a five-, six-over game. For us, it might be 3.1 or 3.4 [the number of overs in which RCB may have to chase the target in case of a five-over game] because there are other intricacies within that. We are not going to be going inside thinking we need to restrict 18 runs or 11 balls. We are going to go there, try to stay consistent with what we have done.”For CSK, the equation is simple: a win, a washout, or even a narrow defeat is enough for them to make it to the final four.”The weather and these kind of things we don’t have control over,” Dwayne Bravo, the CSK bowling coach, said. “We don’t try to bring up things that we don’t have control over. It’s another game for us to push for a playoffs spot and we’re really looking ahead to the challenge against a very good team tomorrow.”

The visitors have key players, including Pat Cummins and Steven Smith, back from injury as they take on the Asia Cup champions

Andrew McGlashan21-Sep-20231:19

Are India World Cup-ready now?

Big Picture: Will Australia test out Short?

The World Cup is nearly here, but not quite. These two teams will meet to open their campaigns on October 8 in Chennai, but first there are three games in six days that, while useful for fine-tuning plans, and for a number of key Australia players returning to action, will also provide a challenge in ensuring against any further last-minute injury alarms.Australia have suffered a big one in recent days with Travis Head’s fractured hand likely to rule him out of the World Cup. India, meanwhile, have some concerns over Axar Patel who is not available for the first two matches of this series.India are coming off their Asia Cup success where they skittled Sri Lanka for 50 in the final and Australia arrive having seen a 2-0 series lead overturned by South Africa into a 3-2 defeat. In terms of performances, form of players and confidence, there is probably more riding on these three games for them rather than India.Related

• Rohit on resting Kuldeep: 'We don't want to expose him a lot'

• Audition time for Ashwin and Washington, much to prove for Iyer and Suryakumar

• Cummins: Australia can't afford to 'already be cooked' before starting World Cup

In the lead-up to the World Cup, Australia have not yet been able to have what could be considered a first-choice XI on the park. That combination has now been changed due to Head’s injury, but captain Pat Cummins, Steven Smith and Mitchell Starc are all back and Glenn Maxwell arrives on Friday. Smith will likely play all three matches and Cummins is also keen to. As far as Maxwell goes, there remains some uncertainty over how much condensed 50-over cricket he can get through.One intriguing name will be Matt Short, who has been called in for this series as Head’s replacement. As a destructive opener who can also bowl good offspin he is very much a like-for-like. It would be a meteoric rise should he make the final 15, but it can’t be ruled out.For India, the Asia Cup ticked a lot of boxes and they’ve taken the opportunity to give some of their big names a rest with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya sitting out the first two games of this series. The main interest is around R Ashwin and Washington Sundar, who will be vying to replace Axar should he be unavailable for more than two games.This will also be an opportunity for Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav to have some time in the middle. Iyer suffered a back spasm during the Asia Cup while Suryakumar played just once, making 26 off 34 balls in the defeat against Bangladesh.

Form guide

India WLWWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Australia LLLWWMatthew Short will hope he gets an ODI debut soon•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Ashwin’s chance and Cummins’ return

R Ashwin has not played an ODI since January 2022 and when a replacement was needed a few days ago for the Asia Cup final it was Washington who made the dash over. Still, should Axar not make the World Cup squad, Ashwin’s experience could yet tilt the scales his way. He and Ravindra Jadeja have certainly given Australia some sleepless nights in Test cricket.Pat Cummins was appointed Australia’s ODI captain last November, but has so far captained them in just two matches. He is entering this series off the back of a wrist injury sustained in the final Ashes Test and will strengthen a pace attack that was put under pressure in South Africa. However, there is also an interesting selection debate that could occur around Cummins if – or when – Australia only want to field two frontline quicks.

Team news: Ashwin vs Washington and Smith’s return

All three spin-bowling allrounders could play in the absence of the rested Pandya. The selectors may also consider giving Mohammed Siraj a game off after his Asia Cup heroics. Ishan Kishan will have the chance to open alongside the in-form Shubman Gill.India (possible): 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Mohammed Siraj/Shardul Thakur, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.This game could give the first indication of how Australia plan to fit together Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, although they may look to squeeze in Short. Without Head, Maxwell or Ashton Agar, Tanveer Sangha could come into the mix. Starc isn’t available for this game, which could open the door for Spencer Johnson to make his ODI debut after he picked up a hamstring injury in South Africa. Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis both left Johannesburg with injuries.Australia (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Cameron Green, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Spencer Johnson/Tanveer Sangha, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

It’s early in the Indian season, but Cummins said he didn’t expect that to affect the surfaces much. Mohali hasn’t staged an ODI for four years, but has produced some high scores in the IPL. The forecast is for a hot, dry day.

Stats and trivia

• The last ODI played in Mohali featured these two teams back in 2019 when Australia chased down a record 359 thanks to Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja and Ashton Turner.
• Steven Smith needs 61 runs to reach 5000 in ODIs.
• The last time India faced Australia in ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav bagged three consecutive golden ducks.

Quotes

“We’ll try and strike the balance between getting plenty of game time into everyone but also [have] an eye to the World Cup in a couple of weeks.”

“I knew I wasn’t going to play for India, so there was no reason to continue playing”

Shashank Kishore25-Oct-2020Tanmay Srivastava, the Uttar Pradesh batsman, has decided to retire from all forms of cricket at the age of 30. Srivastava finishes with 4918 runs in 90 first-class matches, a majority of which he played for Uttar Pradesh, a state he captained at different times right from the age-group circuit.A solid left-hand opener, Srivastava moved to Uttarakhand ahead of the 2019-20 domestic season. He wasn’t named among the probables for the upcoming season, which continues to remain in doubt due to the covid-19 pandemic.”I wasn’t going to play for Uttarakhand, so I didn’t have an immediate future with the team. I haven’t been playing in the IPL, I knew I wasn’t going to play for India, so there was no reason to continue playing,” Srivastava told ESPNcricinfo. “I played 90 first-class games. Yes, even if I could have played 10 more for 100, what would I have achieved?”Nothing would’ve changed. I’d rather not block a youngster’s place now. Someone else getting the right opportunity at the right time could benefit much more than me sticking around to complete a milestone.”Srivastava’s career started with much promise. As a 16-year old, he captained an India Under-19 team that had in their ranks the likes of Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja. At 18, he lost the captaincy to Kohli but was India’s highest run-getter in their victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign in Malaysia in 2008.He was also part of the Uttar Pradesh team when they made back-to-back Ranji Trophy finals from 2006 to 2008, even scoring a century in a losing cause against Delhi on a seaming deck at the Wankhede Stadium. He was part of Kings XI Punjab for the first two IPL seasons before he fell off the IPL radar. Although he was then contracted with Kochi Tuskers Kerala, he didn’t have opportunities to present his case.”One of my favourite memories from cricket is opening the batting with Sachin Tendulkar in the Challenger Trophy in 2006 as a 17-year old,” he said. “He is a hero, so that was a magical experience. Scoring a century in a Ranji final, being part of an Under-19 World Cup win, wearing that India jersey, being part of the IPL – these are all experiences I cherish.”Srivastava finishes his career with a first-class average of 34, something he felt a little disappointed with, although he felt playing on surfaces up north meant the worth of it was probably a lot more. That said, he also accepted inconsistency didn’t help his case.”I used to score 500-600 every season, which is okay, maybe good. But there were a lot of other batsmen who also made the same amount of runs. That is why probably I couldn’t stand out. Also, the wickets in the north, especially in winters, were a lot more challenging than in other parts of the country. So it wasn’t easy as an opener. But that said, I’m overall happy with the career I’ve had.”Srivastava hasn’t charted out a post-retirement plan just yet. For now, he will continue representing ONGC, the company that gave him a sports-quota job as a teenager in 2007, in corporate tournaments.

Ponting says Langer ‘wants to coach again’; suggests Tim Paine could also be involved in a coaching role

Alex Malcolm09-Jun-2022Ricky Ponting believes former Australia coach Justin Langer wants to coach again and is one of the top names on a long list of candidates he would like to hire as Hobart Hurricanes coach after taking on a formal role as head of strategy for the BBL franchise.Hurricanes announced on Thursday that Ponting had signed a three-year deal with his former club to take on a newly created head of strategy role. Ponting will fulfil the role alongside his commentary commitments with Channel Seven and his IPL coaching commitments with Delhi Capitals. But the role has been designed for him to take charge of the recruitment of a new senior coach, assistant coaches, list management, team strategy, and culture as Hurricanes continue to chase their maiden title after 11 years of trying.Langer has been linked to the Hurricanes job in recent months, even prior to Ponting’s appointment. Hurricanes are still searching for a new coach after Adam Griffith stepped down at the end of last season. Langer has spoken publicly in recent weeks about the toll of the exit from the Australia coaching job and has been adamant he is still undecided on his next career move.Speaking at a press conference in Hobart on Thursday, Ponting confirmed he speaks to Langer regularly about the role, amongst informal discussions as longtime friends and confidants, but no formal decisions had been made either way.Related

• Langer looks at 'other opportunities' despite Ponting's pursuit for Hurricanes job

• Ponting appointed head of strategy at Hobart Hurricanes

• Justin Langer lifts the lid on messy exit as Australia coach

• Tim Paine's career appears over after not getting Tasmania contract

“He definitely wants to coach again,” Ponting said. “I think he’s got a bit more thinking to do as far as a commitment like this is concerned through the summer, but every chat I’ve had with him so far, he wants to coach again.”He’s probably the one that I’ve spoken to the most about it so far. We’ve been having a bit of dialogue through the last probably six or seven months to be honest.”Nothing’s finalised with Justin yet. But I’ll stay on him because I’ve got a pretty good understanding and feeling of what we need down here at the Hurricanes as far as that head coaching position is concerned.”Just listening to some of the feedback from players and other people around the setup the last couple of years, it sounds like things could have been a little bit better. Not so much the on-field playing stuff. But some of the other stuff that might happen around a dressing room and around a team. And I know JL would do a great job if he was the one.”But look, I’ve got a list. I’ve got pages and pages of names of guys that I think would do a great job. I haven’t necessarily put them in order yet. And I’ll pick them off along the way over the next few weeks.”The prospect of working alongside Ponting would be enticing for Langer. He is also close with newly appointed Tasmania head coach Jeff Vaughan and former Australian captain Tim Paine, who still holds close ties to the Hurricanes. Ponting suggested Paine could also be involved in a coaching capacity if he was keen to be.Tim Paine chats with Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer•Getty Images

“I’ll talk to a few of the other people around about what I’d like to be able to achieve with the Hurricanes, [and that] is to bring as many great Tasmanian people back around the franchise as possible, and I think Tim Paine fits perfectly into that mould,” Ponting said. “So whenever and if he’s ever ready to walk back and put another purple shirt on, I’m sure lots of Tasmanians, would like to see him involved.”Paine was not offered a contract with Tasmania for the upcoming season having not played since taking indefinite leave from cricket just weeks after he resigned from the Australian Test captaincy. Paine has not made any public statements regarding his own playing or coaching future.Appointing the coach is Ponting’s top priority in his new role. The new coach will need to be involved in list management decisions that could arise later this month with the BBL finalising details of an overseas draft for the coming season in the coming weeks.Ponting believes Hurricanes have a core nucleus of a great side with Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Tim David, Nathan Ellis and Riley Meredith all locked in for next season, and said that recruiting overseas players for the right roles was more important than getting big names.Ponting all but ruled out Chris Lynn as a possible recruit to the Hurricanes after Brisbane Heat opted not to renew his contract for the upcoming BBL.”I’m sure his name will come up,” Ponting said. “But if I look at Wade, McDermott, Short, David, I’m not sure that I’m picking Chris Lynn ahead of any of those guys and what we’ve got here.”They’re all established Hurricanes players that have been here for awhile. Tim David has just had the one season here. But I’d like to stick with what we’ve got, and get the best out of the guys we’ve got there rather than adding too much from players that have been left out of other BBL franchises.”I’m not going to make those decisions here and now and by myself. They’re decisions that we’re going to make once the coaching group is together and we can all sit down as a group and actually start making decisions with what we want as far as the list is concerned.”Ponting also reiterated that he was fully committed to the role despite his Channel Seven commentary commitments, and living full-time in Melbourne, but he had yet to work out whether he would commentate on Hurricanes games or not for Channel Seven.

Kawya Kavindi and Rashmika Sewwandi have also been named, while several senior players have been left out

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Dec-2025Sri Lanka has named a young squad for the forthcoming T20Is against India, bringing in the likes of 17-year-old ambidextrous spinner Shashini Gimhani, 23-year-old seamer Kawya Kavindi, while 19-year-old Rashmika Sewwandi has also been named.Captain Chamari Athapaththu also has some experienced hands in her ranks for the series, with spinner Inoka Ranaweera, 39, also in the squad, alongside a top order that has now had significant exposure at the top level. But as the team builds towards next year’s T20 World Cup in England, there is now a drive within the squad to blood younger players.There is no room in the squad for wicketkeeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani (35), who has played 86 T20Is. Also omitted are Udeshika Prabodhani (39), Sugandika Kumari (33), or Achini Kulasuriya (34), who had all been part of the squad for the team’s most recent T20I assignment, the tour of New Zealand in March this year.Gimhani, one of Sri Lanka’s most exciting young talents, delivers wristspin with either arm, though left-arm wristpin is her primary suit. She earns her place in this squad through solid showings against Australia Under-19 in September. She had already made a promising start to her senior international T20I career, however, having taken six wickets at the top level from five matches, with an economy rate of 5.53.Seamer Kavindi also has some top-flight experience under her belt, with 10 T20Is to her name. Sewwandi, also a seamer, has one T20I against her name, but did not bowl in that match. Nimasha Madushani, the 26-year-old left-arm spinner, is uncapped in internationals.While Sri Lanka seek fresh talents in the bowling department, the batting is more familiar. Hasini Perera, Vishmi Giunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika de Silva, and Kavisha Dilhari – all of whom played significant roles in the recent ODI World Cup – are in this squad. Kaushini Nuthyangana is likely to take the gloves in Sanjeewani’s stead.Seamer Malki Madara, 24, has impressed with the ball this year in ODIs, is also there. Malsha Shehani, who bowls both seam and spin, finds a place as well.The five-match T20I series begins in Visakhapatnam on December 21, before moving to Thiruvananthapuram for the last two games.Sri Lanka squad: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika De Silva, Kavisha Dilhari. Imesha Dulani, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Nimesha Madushani, Kawya Kavindi, Rashmika Sewwandi, Malki Madara