Second time in Championship history a side has chased over 500 to win, after Middlesex beat Notts in 1925

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2023Surrey rewrote history with almost casual ease in the LV= Insurance County Championship on Wednesday, chasing down a target of 501 to beat Kent by five wickets at Canterbury.What threatened to be a pulsating final day instead turned into a one-sided procession as Dom Sibley and Ben Foakes batted mercilessly, eclipsing Surrey’s previous highest chase of 410, made at this venue in 2002, to finish on 501 for 5.Foakes made 124, while Sibley scored what’s believed to be the slowest ever century in the County Championship over the course of 511 minutes and 368 balls. He eventually finished on 140 from 415 balls, seeing Surry home with Jordan Clark after a magnificent feat of concentration and endurance.Three days of violent momentum swings, luck, individual brilliance and human error had left the match almost perfectly poised at the start of day four, with Kent needing seven wickets and Surrey 238 runs.It was the human factor that added the intrigue: without the dropped catches, the “poor” shots and the “bad” balls this would have been a torpid 700 v 700 bore draw. The final day, however, offered almost none of the drama of the previous three.Only once in the history of the Championship had a side chased over 500 to win: when Patsy Hendren hit an unbeaten 206 as Middlesex scored 502 to beat Notts by four wickets at Trent Bridge in 1925.The reigning champions did it with a determination that belied everything that had gone before. Needing under three an over, they homed in on the target like an armour-plated milk float: slow but bombproof.The morning session was almost ideal for Surrey. Foakes and Sibley saw off the new ball and scored predominantly in singles, at one point going ten overs without a boundary. Foakes survived an lbw appeal from Wes Agar but they were otherwise unthreatened.At lunch it was 335 for 3 and a Surrey win was looking as inevitable as an Arsenal title collapse. There was a fleeting moment of controversy when Kent were convinced Hamid Qadri had Foakes, on 73, caught behind, but it was an isolated outbreak of excitement during an almost catatonic afternoon.Sibley finally reached three figures when he drove Joey Evison for four, beating the previous record, understood to be Jason Gallian’s 453-minute ton for Lancashire against Derbyshire at Blackpool in 1994. He just beat his partner to the landmark: Foakes took two from Jack Leaning in the next over to bring up a relatively quickfire hundred from 198 deliveries.With the target now under a hundred, Surrey swapped the milk float for a Lamborghini. The 130th over went for 20 but Foakes then holed out to Joe Denly and was caught by Matt Quinn on the boundary, ending a partnership of 207.It was 452 for four at tea, by which time Kent’s members had long been delivered from the hell of hope and the smattering of Surrey fans by the Old Dover Road entrance were savouring every minute.Will Jacks was out for 19 caught by Agar off Arshdeep Singh but by then just 40 were needed. Clark sealed the win with a single off Denly and Surrey exited the field to a fully deserved ovation from home and away fans alike.

Phoebe Litchfield scores unbeaten 42 to see home side to victory in low-scorer

Ciara Fearn03-Aug-2023Northern Superchargers 112 for 3 (Litchfield 42*) beat Birmingham Phoenix 110 for 8 (Devine 46, Davidson-Richards 3-20) by seven wickets England allrounder Alice Davidson-Richards stole the show for Northern Superchargers as they beat Birmingham Phoenix by seven wickets to get their Hundred campaign off to the perfect start.Davidson-Richards took three wickets for just 11 runs from her 20 balls as well as taking two catches and claiming a brilliant run-out in an excellent team display from Superchargers, as they restricted Birmingham Phoenix to a total of 110 for 8 off their 100 balls.Australian Phoebe Litchfield top-scored for the home team with an unbeaten 42 as they eased their way to victory with 22 balls to spare with Marie Kelly also adding a valuable 24 at the top of the order.The visitors had got off to a flying start with New Zealand veteran Sophie Devine hitting England’s Kate Cross for two boundaries from her first set of five balls. But Superchargers quickly pulled things back with Cross claiming the wicket of Eve Jones for 10 before England wicketkeeper Amy Jones became Davidson-Richard’s first victim when she holed out to Leah Dobson on the square leg boundary for 13.Devine took centre stage throughout the Phoenix innings scoring an entertaining 46 runs off 36 balls before she was superbly run out by Davidson-Richards’ direct hit from mid-off. The Phoenix middle-order failed to offer any meaningful support to Devine with Erin Burns, Tess Flintoff and Emily Arlott all falling cheaply with Georgia Wareham’s caught-and-bowled dismissal of Burns a particular highlight.The hosts were brilliant in the field with Phoenix reliant on late-order runs from Abigail Freeborn and Issy Wong to get them up over the 100 mark, Wong hitting a mighty six into the crowd at one point before she became Linsey Smith’s one wicket.Kelly and Jemimah Rodrigues gave Superchargers an ideal start with a partnership of 23 for the first wicket. Rodrigues’ knock of 16 consisted of four boundaries before she was trapped in front by Wong.Kelly was bowled reverse sweeping by Katie Levick for 24 but Litchfield quickly took charge of the innings as she steered Superchargers home with an unbeaten 42 off 29 balls including seven fours. But this was Davidson-Richards’ day and she completed the win with a towering straight six off Hannah Baker to end an excellent showing by Superchargers.

Seamer’s 4 for 16 closes out tense win over Originals, set up by Capsey-van Niekerk partnership

Matt Roller09-Aug-2023Ryana MacDonald-Gay gave Oval Invincibles, the two-time defending champions, their first win of the season, taking 4 for 16 to close out a tense five-run win over Manchester Originals on a balmy afternoon in South London.Originals needed 16 to win off 14 balls after Deandra Dottin hit the third six of her innings at The Kia Oval, taking her to 41 off 19. But she played out four consecutive dot balls to give Invincibles a cushion heading into the final 10.MacDonald-Gay, the 19-year-old seamer, backed her slower balls at the death and, after gathering Alice Capsey’s throw to run Fi Morris out, she had Dottin caught at short third and Kathryn Bryce mistiming to midwicket. That left 13 required off the final set of five balls, and Eva Gray closed out Invincibles’ win.The result was set up by Capsey and Dane van Niekerk, whose third-wicket partnership of 61 in 37 balls enabled Invincibles to post 128 for 7 – a much-improved showing on the 80 all out they managed in the first completed innings of their title defence in a three-wicket defeat to Welsh Fire on Sunday night.But it was MacDonald-Gay who clinched the points. She was an ever-present for Invincibles last season but was used sparingly with the ball in the latter half of the tournament and did not bowl in their last three games, including the final. This was the first time in her Hundred career she had bowled all of her permitted 20 deliveries.She struck with her third ball, hitting Laura Wolvaardt on the pad and having her lbw on review for 27, just as she was starting to move through the gears, and in her second set of five she had Ami Campbell caught at point, skying a slower ball to Marizanne Kapp.Dottin thumped her down the ground for four in her third set, but her last cost only three runs as she backed her variations to finish with the fourth-best bowling figures of the competition so far.”She’s been brilliant for us at South East Stars, coming in at the back end and bowling her slower balls,” Capsey said of her team-mate. “She bowls them brilliantly and that’s one of her strengths and one of the reasons she’s so valued in our team. Whenever she comes on, she impacts the game.”She was bowling at Deandra Dottin, one of the world’s best players. That shows her character, and what a great bowler she is. She really held her nerve and backed her strengths. That’s all you can ask for from a bowler. She kept us in the game.”Invincibles started slowly with the bat, with Mahika Gaur striking early. Gaur, the towering teenage left-arm seamer, bowled 15 of the first 20 balls and had Lauren Winfield-Hill lbw, with figures of 1 for 7 from her first three sets.Sophie Ecclestone had delayed her own entry before striking in her first set, having Suzie Bates stumped, and Capsey struggled for timing early on. She was dropped on 28 by Morris, then given out lbw one ball later only to successfully review the on-field decision.She largely played second fiddle to van Niekerk but powered Ecclestone back over her head for a straight six, and was stumped immediately after reaching a 40-ball half-century, her first in a competitive game since the end of May.Van Niekerk scored quickly against Originals’ spinners, who were held back until the end of the innings, crashing a six and a four off successive balls from Amanda-Jade Wellington as Invincibles eyed a late surge towards 140.Instead, they slid to 128 for 7 as van Niekerk’s dismissal – caught at long-on off Wellington – preceded a flurry of three run-outs in the final six balls. Much to Invincibles’ relief, the mini-collapse did not prove costly.

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.”

Immediate on-field issues aside, both teams will have Champions Trophy qualification and Delhi’s air quality on their minds

Madushka Balasuriya05-Nov-20233:48

Finch wants to see Shakib at No. 3

Big Picture: Problems to address for both teams

This may not be the must-win scenario either side would have envisioned towards the tail-end of this tournament, but the ICC’s confirmation that the top seven finishers (and hosts Pakistan) will gain qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy has given what would have been a largely inconsequential game some much needed purpose.Both sides’ troubles are well documented. Since their opening game win against Afghanistan, Bangladesh have lost six on the trot. Only England have a worse record, and Bangladesh have lost to them too. For a side that had won 24 of 39 ODIs since the start of 2021, this has been the most underwhelming of tournaments, especially in conditions that on the face of it looked like it might have suited them.The unsettling of a settled batting order could be pinpointed as one of the key reasons for this downturn in fortunes. They will be hoping to regain enough lost ground to overcome a Sri Lankan side that has its own set of issues.Related

• 'Asthmatic' Bangladesh players skip training on eve of Sri Lanka match due to air pollution in Delhi

Sri Lanka, for their part, have done what they’ve always done – at least in the recent past – mixing in brilliance with despair, jubilation with fatalism. Whichever way you splice it, this was an undercooked Sri Lanka side at least in terms of ODIs – one geared towards a T20-style and rediscovering its ODI bearings. It was also one seemingly caught up in muddled thinking.”I want them to be aggressive to be honest,’ stated head coach Chris Silverwood prior to their defeat to India, and after an oddly timid display against Afghanistan. “I want them to play their game and obviously do things their way but have a positive mindset.”All sound in theory, but words that were betrayed by the fact that their sole aggressive opening option – Kusal Perera – was dropped for both losses to Afghanistan and India, in favour of the conservative Dimuth Karunaratne. Whether they stick with that will almost certainly speak towards the approach they’re likely to take.And this is all without getting into the crux of the off-field issues, where the fallout from their campaign has seen a public back-and-forth between the country’s sports minister and Sri Lanka Cricket, while there have been questions posed of the impact of the coaching staff and whispers of a selection committee shake-up. Hardly ideal when trying to play fearless, aggressive cricket.Both teams will also have the Delhi air to deal with.

Recent form

Bangladesh – LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka – LLWWL

In the spotlight: Mushfiqur Rahim and Dilshan Madushanka

Mushfiqur Rahim started this tournament at No. 6, a position he had played in for the previous seven months, though not one he had occupied for the five years prior to that. But with just 171 runs at 28.50 across this tournament, he is now back at his favoured No. 4 slot. Of his 7577 ODI runs, 4372 have come at four, while his average in that role of 42.03 is a significant uptick from his career average of 36.78 and the 37.35 he was producing at six. This may have been largely a World Cup to forget for Mushfiqur but now back in a familiar role against familiar opposition, Bangladesh will be banking on him to help end their tournament on a high.Sri Lanka’s tournament might have been one largely to forget, but you don’t have to strain hard for the silver linings. Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama are a couple of positives, but it’s Dilshan Madushanka that has firmly left his mark. In seven games, he’s picked up 18 wickets – the second best in the tournament so far – and gone wicketless just once, taking at least two in every other game including a maiden five-for against India – a game in which his impact trumped that of an attack that ransacked their opponents for just 55. His list of victims is already a veritable list of modern-day greats, and he’s still only 23.AFP/Getty Images

Team news: Kusal Perera back?

Bangladesh rejigged their batting order against Pakistan and it’s likely to stay the same.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Litton Das, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Towhid Hridoy , 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Shoriful Islam.Sri Lanka might opt to bring Perera back into the fold after Karunaratne failed to impress in his stead. Dushan Hemantha could also make way for Dunith Wellalage if Sri Lanka opt for more batting strength.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Perera/Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt, wk) 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Angelo Mathews 7 Dushan Hemantha 8 Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Kasun Rajitha, 10 Dushmantha Chameera 11 Dilshan Madushanka

Pitch and conditions

The top two highest scores at Kotla have come during this World Cup, and Sri Lanka will be keenly aware of the nature of this surface having leaked 428 runs against South Africa last month.The overall weather conditions in Delhi though have worsened since then, with both sides cancelling scheduled practice sessions over the past few days owing to poor air quality. Any call on the match perhaps not taking place will only be taken on the day of the game.

Stats and trivia

• Dilshan Madushanka is five wickets away from equalling Chaminda Vaas and Muthiah Muralidaran – 23 – for the most wickets by a Sri Lankan in a World Cup. He currently is level with Lasith Malinga on 18.
• Of active players, Shakib Al Hasan has the fourth most runs in ODI World Cups with 1250, and the most of any Bangladesh player.
• Shakib’s 41 World Cup wickets is the second-most taken by a spinner. Muralidaran has the most with 68.

Quotes

“Our doctor has kept a close eye on players. Some of the players didn’t turn up for practice because they are asthmatic so they stayed in indoors. And even for practice, we’re very conscious. We train what we have to train, and they go back into the dressing room. They don’t spend time unless they’re bowling or batting.”

Hasan Mahmud, Hasan Murad and Shahadat Hossain Dipu have earned their first call-ups to the Bangladesh Test squad

Mohammad Isam18-Nov-2023Najmul Hossain Shanto has been named Bangladesh Test captain for the two-match series at home against New Zealand starting later this month. Shanto was elevated after Litton Das, who was captain for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Dhaka in June, was granted paternity leave for a month. Shakib Al Hasan, who Litton had replaced at the helm, is out with a fractured finger.”Litton has been granted leave for one month, he is not available for the two Tests. He wants to spend time with his new-born baby,” Jalal Yunus, chairman of the BCB’s cricket operations committee, said. “We had requested him to play at least the second Test match but he insisted on [being away for] the whole series. That’s why we granted him leave. As a result, Najmul Hossain Shanto will captain the side in these two Tests.”Shanto has played 23 Tests so far, and averages 29.83 with four centuries, but hasn’t led Bangladesh in the format prior to this. He has, however, captained them in three ODIs, including twice at the 2023 ODI World Cup when Shakib was out injured for the games against India and Australia.Related

• Hathurusinghe wants Bangladesh youngsters to step up in 'exciting' transition period

• Bangladesh batters too easily satisfied, says S Sriram

• Confused and chaotic – picking through Bangladesh's World Cup

Shakib’s immediate future in international cricket – including as the ODI captain for the series in New Zealand next month – remains unclear. There is the finger injury, of course, plus there was the TV interview before the World Cup, where he had outlined his retirement plans. Yunus said that the BCB hasn’t heard directly about his plans to leave the captaincy after the World Cup.As for Tamim Iqbal, who missed the World Cup after a dramatic sequence of events, Yunus said that the BCB will meet the player on November 22. Tamim has been out of action since the ODI series against New Zealand at home in September.

Three uncapped players in 15-man Test squad

Hasan Murad, the 22-year-old left-arm spinner, has earned a first call-up to the Test squad, just two years after making his first-class debut. It’s been an impressive first-class career for him so far, though, with 121 wickets from just 25 matches.The other new faces have both played in other formats internationally: Hasan Mahmud, one of the brightest young fast bowlers in Bangladesh, has played 20 ODIs, including at the World Cup, and 17 T20Is, and has 44 wickets from 15 first-class games so far; top-order batter Shahadat Hossain Dipu has three T20I appearances to his name, and has a first-class batting average of 35.02 from 21 games.Bangladesh Test squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Naeem Hasan, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Hasan Murad

Changes in Bangladesh coaching staff

Corey Collymore and David Hemp have been appointed on a temporary basis as the national team’s fast-bowling and batting coach, respectively.Collymore, who will fill in the void created by Allan Donald’s departure after Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign, and Hemp are part of the BCB’s high-performance coaching set-up. As for Jamie Siddons, the batting coach till the World Cup, he is out of contract at the moment. Siddons could return to the position if his department, BCB’s Bangladesh Tigers, decides to renegotiate with him next year.Spin-bowling coach Rangana Herath and fielding coach Shane McDermott will continue in their capacities till the end of their contracts on November 30 and December 31, respectively. Chandika Hathurusinghe, meanwhile, will continue as head coach, though S Sriram, the technical consultant till the end of the World Cup, has left.

Australia are strong and settled as they aim to close out a memorable year with victory

Andrew McGlashan25-Dec-20233:33

Australia settled, Pakistan have more questions than answers

Big Picture: Pakistan search for inspiration

All we want for Christmas is a contest, right? Well, Pakistan will hope for a miracle. If they topple Australia at the MCG it would come close to that.After just about holding their own, to a degree, across the first three days in Perth, things unravelled quickly on the fourth, albeit the surface was tricky by the time Pakistan started their second innings.Related

• Pakistan are down, but Shakeel keeps faith in Boxing Day dream

• Sarfaraz vs Rizwan: Pakistan's self-inflicted conundrum

• One last chance for Smith and Labuschagne to turn around their lean 2023

• Back at MCG, Carey will look to end year of up-and-down fortunes on a high

So they came to Melbourne somewhat battered and bruised, but at least had a slightly longer gap to collect their thoughts. They have played two days of cricket – whether that time at Junction Oval will make any significant difference is debatable – and have also lost two players to injury and illness.Despite Pakistan’s second innings collapse last week, their biggest challenge appears taking 20 wickets with what looks a fairly threadbare attack. If the top order can build on the starts they got in the first innings in Perth they can at least have hope of building a total, although Australia’s attack is relentless.There is barely a flicker of concern around the home side, and even the talk around David Warner has diminished after his 164. Now it’s all about the farewell, rather than whether he deserves it.When Marnus Labuschagne averaging 35 for the year is perhaps an area of concern, or whether Alex Carey can recapture the batting touch that brought him a maiden century this time last year, things are tracking nicely. Things are so stable that the MCG crowd won’t even be able to cheer on Scott Boland.A final, and not hugely uplifting note for Pakistan: last time they played a Test at the MCG they made 443, only to see Australia rattle up 624 (Warner 144 off 143 balls) and win by an innings.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
Australia WLDLW
Pakistan LWWLLCan Babar Azam lead the way for Pakistan?•AFP

In the spotlight: Marnus Labuschagne and Babar Azam

It’s been a lean year by Marnus Labuschagne‘s high standards with an average of 35. In Perth, he was lbw in the first innings having moved compactly to 16. He was given a working over in the second, including a painful blow on the hand, before top-edging a short ball. This time last year his Test average was 59.05 and now it’s 52.15. He will, no doubt, turn things around and Boxing Day at the MCG – a ground where he hasn’t had a huge amount of success – could be where it starts.At 181 for 3 in the first innings in Perth, Pakistan were making a good fist of it. Then Babar Azam edged Mitchell Marsh to Carey who clung on to the chance. Pakistan lost seven wickets for 90 and the game was done. There was nothing Babar could do about the wonderful delivery from Pat Cummins in the second innings, but Pakistan need him to find the groove that brought scores of 104 and 97 on the tour four years ago. “He’s still in his shell, not really playing his natural way,” Waqar Younis told ESPN’s show. “I know the bowlers are too good, it’s hard to get on top of them, but you have to find a way, good players do that.”

Team news: Australia unchanged…

Barring any late Christmas-dinner related injuries, Australia will be unchanged which means no place for hometown hero Boland who averages 13.80 at the MCG.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodPakistan have named a squad of 12 and will make a final decision on the XI at the toss. Mohammad Rizwan replaces Sarfaraz Ahmed as wicketkeeper. Khurram Shahzad has been ruled out of the tour with a rib fracture and Faheem Ashraf has been dropped. That means two of Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza and Sajid Khan will play. Sajid appears likely to be included unless the pitch looks better for four quicks and Agha Salman.Pakistan 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Agha Salman, 8 Hasan Ali/Mir Hamza, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Aamer Jamal, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pitch and conditions

The groundsman, Matt Page, has promised a well-grassed surface with pace and bounce – although the latter two factors may not reach Perth levels. Life has been tricky for batters at the MCG in recent seasons. But this pitch only has 6-7mm of grass compared to 10mm plus on previous Boxing Days and is less thatchy. The pitch has been under the covers since December 24 due to relentless rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The forecast is not ideal with a high chance of more showers on the first day more on the second, but an improvement after that. However, things can change quickly in Melbourne.

Stats and trivia

• Travis Head needs 42 runs to reach 3000 in Tests
• Steven Smith’s MCG average of 84.75 is second only to Don Bradman for those to have played at least 10 innings at the venue
• Saud Shakeel needs 73 runs to reach 1000 – he has currently batted 15 times, and the record for Pakistan to that landmark is 20 innings by Saeed Ahmed
• Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the MCG has the lowest Test batting average of Australia’s venues, other than Hobart which has hosted just one game.

Quotes

“It looks really good, fair bit of grass, probably a fair bit harder and not as green as last year, knowing it was potentially going to be under covers today and for a little bit tomorrow maybe, so we’ll see how it plays but it looks like a really good wicket.” “It was hard out there in Perth. But I still feel there were some positives that probably we didn’t do back when we were here in 2019. We don’t want to force people to play a certain way. But we’ve sort of outlined certain things that we want to do better.”

Elsewhere, Surrey confirm Kemar Roach’s return for opening months of Championship season

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2024Australia batter Cameron Bancroft will return to Gloucestershire this year after signing a deal to represent the club across formats in the 2024 season.Bancroft was recently overlooked by Australia’s selectors for the Test opening spot vacated by David Warner, but has been prolific for Western Australia in the last two Sheffield Shield seasons. He was named men’s domestic player of the year at the Australian Cricket Awards earlier this week.He previously played for Gloucestershire in 2016 and 2017, and also played county cricket for Durham (2021) and Somerset (2023). “I’m absolutely delighted to sign with Gloucestershire and to have the chance to return to the club where I started my county career,” Bancroft said.He will link up with the club in April and be available for the majority of the summer. “I love playing county cricket and the opportunity to play all formats with the club is something I’m really excited about,” he said. “With a new coach and a really talented playing group, I’m looking forward to the season ahead.”Gloucestershire are in a transitional period after losing senior players Ryan Higgins (Middlesex) and Benny Howell (Hampshire) last season. They were winless in the County Championship last year, finishing bottom of Division Two, and failed to qualify for the T20 Blast knockout stages and were losing semi-finalists in the Metro Bank Cup.On Thursday, they unveiled Mark Alleyne as their new coach after Dale Benkenstein left for Lancashire. “I’m really excited to have someone of Cameron’s ability and experience on board for the season to come,” Alleyne said. “We already have an exciting group of players here so to add to that with a player of international calibre in Cameron, it’s fantastic for me as a coach to have such depth in the squad.”Meanwhile, Surrey have confirmed that Kemar Roach will re-join the club for the first seven matches of the Championship season. “Everyone knows that Surrey is a second home for me, and I love coming to London to play at one of the best grounds in the world,” he said.”The Club’s ambitions in the red-ball game are a big draw for me and I want to play my role in winning another County Championship trophy. I cannot wait to start my fourth season with Surrey.”

“The majority of the team is settled,” Southee said about the final XI

Alex Malcolm28-Feb-2024New Zealand will make a decision just before the toss as to whether they will pick a fourth seamer in Scott Kuggeleijn or a specialist spinner in Mitchell Santner for the first Test against Australia at the Basin Reserve after Wednesday’s rain meant the pitch remained under covers all day.Opener Devon Conway was ruled out on Wednesday morning due to his thumb injury with Will Young retaining his place in the Test XI and moving to the top of the order to open alongside Tom Latham. Daryl Mitchell slots back into No. 5 after missing the second Test against South Africa with a foot issue.Captain Tim Southee, Matt Henry and William O’Rourke will be the three seamers after their success against South Africa, but a decision is yet to be made on the fourth bowler. Southee did not get a look at the pitch on Wednesday due to the persistent Wellington rain and said a decision on the final XI would wait until Thursday morning.Related

• Conway ruled out of opening Test against Australia

• Neil Wagner retires from international cricket

“The majority of the team is settled,” he said. “We’ll have one final look obviously with the weather around and one final decision on whether an extra seamer or a spinner will play, but obviously with Devon Conway’s unfortunate injury Will Young comes in and will open the batting.”Injuries are part of cricket. But it also presents opportunities for other people. Will Young’s coming off 60-odd not out in the Test in Hamilton against South Africa.”New Zealand played four fast bowlers in their last Test in Hamilton with Neil Wagner the fourth seamer in that XI but he has since announced his retirement after being told he would not be selected in this series against Australia.New Zealand coach Gary Stead admitted on Tuesday that not picking a specialist spinner in Hamilton was a mistake after South Africa offspinner Dane Piedt took eight wickets for the match while Rachin Ravindra bagged four and Glenn Phillips two, despite O’Rourke claiming nine on debut to be named Player of the Match.Since the start of 2000, spin bowlers have averaged 40.84 at the Basin with the pace bowlers averaging 31.93. Southee said the presence of Ravindra and Phillips in the top six does give him some confidence that they have spin bowling options if they were to pick four seamers.”Yeah [it does], and I think you throw in Daryl Mitchell as well as another bowling option,” Southee said. “It’s just great to have those guys, like the Australian side have the likes of Cam Green and Mitch Marsh. It helps to balance the side when you’ve got guys in the in the top seven that are able to help out with the ball as well.”Southee said he was excited to see O’Rourke unleashed at Australia’s top order after an outstanding performance on Test debut against South Africa.”I think what we saw in Hamilton was something special from a young guy,” Southee said. “He’s shown glimpses and there’s been something about him. We’ve obviously watched him closely over the last couple of years and he’s got a lot of attributes that we liked and we saw that in his Test debut and it’s exciting to see those guys make that transition from domestic cricket to international cricket and I’m sure he’ll have a long future at the highest level.”There was some surprise within the Australian camp at Wagner’s retirement given his success against Australia’s new opener Steven Smith. Wagner claimed Smith five times in Test cricket at a cost of just 16 runs apiece, including four times in the most recent series the two sides played in 2019-20 with a barrage of short-pitched bowling and a heavy set leg-side field.O’Rourke has the pace and steep bounce to cause Smith and others similar issues on the back foot but Southee said there will be no mandate for any of his newly-formed attack to follow Wagner’s methods against Australia’s best batter.”He’s a quality player,” Southee said. “He’s obviously had a phenomenal record and now he’s moved to the top.”But I think it comes back to the individuals that we select. Obviously, Neil was extremely good at the role that he played. And he had a great tour to Australia a few years back and a lot of success against Steve. I guess you look at the type of bowlers that we will select and the way that they like to operate and all three or four bowlers will be different in the way they operate.”

LSG coach Justin Langer has said it may take a little more time before Shamar Joseph is unleashed on the IPL

Vishal Dikshit29-Mar-2024

Match details

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Lucknow, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – Welcome home, Lucknow Super Giants

The last time these two teams met, there were relentless fireworks in Mohali, where LSG first racked up 257, the second-highest IPL total then, followed by Kings’ 201.The two teams now meet in Lucknow, a venue of low bounce and low totals last year, when conditions changed depending on the colour of the soil, with the home team preferring black to red for most games. A red-soil pitch is expected on Saturday, which could mean more bounce and pace for the quicks and not much of a party for the spinners. If that’s how the action unfolds, there’s likely to be pressure on LSG’s pace unit because, on paper, their trio of Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq and Yash Thakur (they aren’t considering Shamar Joseph yet) pales in comparison to Kings’ more all-round attack of Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel.How can LSG make up? With their high-voltage batting that boasts of Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers and Ayush Badoni. Kings aren’t behind at all with the batting firepower in their ranks, but Jonny Bairstow is yet to score for them the way he did for Sunrisers Hyderabad (he missed IPL 2023 with injury), and the big names of Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone along with the hard-hitting Prabhsimran Singh need to ensure that they emerge as one of the quickest-scoring teams, unlike last year when their collective strike rate of 143.80 was sixth overall.LSG are currently placed bottom of the table after just one game, while Kings have won one out of two, and the comforting factor LSG will bank on is home advantage this IPL – home teams have won each of the first nine games of the tournament.LSG’s new head coach Justin Langer said he was happy to get his team’s opening game out of the way, “get a bit of rust out”, and is eager to cash in on home-ground advantage.

Team news – No Shamar Joseph yet, Kings likely unchanged

LSG’s pace stocks aren’t a match for Kings’ on paper, but they will wait a little longer to unleash Shamar Joseph onto this league, Langer confirmed on the eve of the match. “I love his spirit and athleticism but he’s still very young,” Langer said of Joseph. “He’s pushing hard for selection but I don’t think he’ll play tomorrow though.” Langer further said LSG have traditionally played three overseas batters and one foreign bowler which has brought them success, but they will decide a final XI on Saturday.Kings went unchanged for their second game and are likely to continue that, unless there is a niggle.Punjab Kings have won one and lost one so far•AFP/Getty Images

Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super GiantsAfter bowling first in their first game, LSG had substituted specialist bowler Yash Thakur with spin-bowling allrounder Deepak Hooda in the chase. If the pitch on Saturday aids spin more than pace, they could use Hooda through the game and use a specialist batter, such as Ayush Badoni or Padikkal, in the impact role.Probable XII: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 KL Rahul (capt), 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 , 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohsin Khan, 11 Naveen-ul-Haq, 12 Punjab KingsIn both games so far, Kings have used Prabhsimran Singh and Arshdeep Singh as their impact subs depending on the toss result, and that is likely to continue.Probable XII: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 , 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Sam Curran, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Shashank Singh, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Rahul Chahar, 12

Stats that matter –

• KL Rahul vs Kagiso Rabada could be an exciting contest – the LSG captain has scored 50 runs off 36 balls from Rabada’s in the IPL while being dismissed three times.
• Padikkal facing Arshdeep Singh could be similar, because the batter has scored 49 off 31 against the let-arm quick in the IPL while being sent back three times.
• Pooran batted at No. 6 in LSG’s first game and he’ll try to bat deep to face Harshal Patel in the death. Pooran has smashed 25 runs off 10 balls against Harshal without falling even once in the IPL.
• Against popular perception, left-hand batter Shikhar Dhawan doesn’t have a great record against the left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya: 29 off 26 with no dismissal and just one four and one six.

Pitch and conditions – red soil or black?

The Ekana Stadium was the worst ground for batters in IPL 2023. The average scoring rate of 6.93 was the lowest among the 10 venues that hosted at least five matches, the balls-per-boundary ratio of 7.7 was the highest, and the bounce was often low especially on black-soil surfaces. How these two high-octane batting line-ups play here will be interesting to watch.

Quotes

“I’m not going to lose one second’s sleep over KL Rahul.”
“Speaking on the Ekana pitch, I am aware of how the bounce and dimensions work on this surface. So my task is to inform the players on which are the good pockets where we can bowl on to get the maximum from the pitch.”
PBKS spin-bowling coach Sunil Joshi is familiar with the Lucknow surface because he coaches the Uttar Pradesh team in domestic cricket