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Sri Lanka captain also explains why they’ve been hard to come by

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Sep-2024It’s the batters, batters, batters. Right through the series, Sri Lanka have emphasised that it was their batting order that was letting the side down. Four innings in, with Sri Lanka never having got close to 350, with none of their top seven having got to triple-figures, captain Dhananjaya de Silva has reiterated the importance of top order runs again.In the first Test, Sri Lanka were 72 for 5 in the first innings. In the second Test, they were 83 for 5 in the first innings. Here’s where de Silva believes they lost.”Our batters have to score runs, and that’s the biggest issue we’ve had, ” he said. “Those who got starts didn’t turn them into hundreds and 150s. If you look at Joe Root on their side, he’s consistently made runs and it’s around him that others made runs. That’s what someone on our side needs to do as well, so we can get to 300 or 350. First-innings runs are what’s crucial to victory.”Related

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The only Sri Lanka batter to make serious runs on tour has been Kamindu Mendis, who batting at No. 7 has made scores of 113 in Manchester and 74 at Lord’s. He arrives at his sixth Test with a batting average of 78.87, having made six fifty-plus scores in nine innings, and having gone onto triple-figures on three of those occasions.Sri Lanka would have been tempted to shunt him up the order for this match, given not only his form, but the fact that he bats in the top and middle order frequently for domestic sides. But they will leave him where he is, for now, de Silva said.”I think if Kamindu plays well down there there’s no reason to change what he’s doing and put him in trouble. If he’s scoring there, it’s good for his career as well. In the future, maybe we will talk to him, about his plans as well and see what changes we can make. But right now we’re thinking of him as a No. 7.”The remainder of the batting order, even those on their third tour of England, have struggled badly against England’s seamers meanwhile. A lot of this has to do with their discipline, de Silva said.”They [England] have a lot of control in addition to their experience. They have great control of line and length and we don’t get many loose balls in England. We need to be prepared for that and our plans have to take that into account. That’s just what you get in England. In the two previous matches they didn’t let us execute our plans. That’s why they were successful.”Root, who has made 350 runs in four innings so far in the series, has also helped pound Sri Lanka to a 2-0 scoreline. Earlier this week, Dimuth Karunaratne spoke about Sri Lanka needing to go back to square one with their planning for him. De Silva hopes they’ve now got something together that will surprise Root, at the very least.”It’s not that our plans against him didn’t work – he just very quickly recognised what we were trying to do and countered it. That’s what world class players do, and that’s why he scored runs. We’ve hopefully come up with something now that he won’t expect.”

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.”

Chief executive Nick Hockley indicated they were keen to enable sanctions to be reviewed “for good behaviour and growth”

AAP13-Oct-2022Cricket Australia is contemplating lifting David Warner’s lifetime leadership ban as soon as Friday, with directors looking at rewriting the organisation’s code of ethics.Warner has had a leadership ban hanging over his head since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, with him keen to have the punishment reversed. The 35-year-old has been mentioned as a candidate for Australia’s vacant one-day captaincy, but cannot fulfil the role under his sanctions.Under current rules players who accept a sanction under the code of ethics waive their right to have the matter reviewed.It means CA’s code would need to be rewritten for Warner’s ban to be reviewed, something directors will discuss at Friday’s board meeting in Hobart.Related

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“The view within Cricket Australia is that David is doing particularly well on the field and making a great contribution off the field,” chairman Lachlan Henderson said.  “The first step in terms of David’s leadership ban is to review the code and see if those sanctions are able to be reviewed. And the appropriate revisions to that code that would need to be made.”Henderson said the code would be rewritten if deemed necessary before a call on the one-day captaincy is made.”Our intention is to review the code as quick as is practical. It’s not in anyone’s interest for us to delay that,” Henderson said. “It would be in time for any future leadership conversations in relation to David.”There are however hurdles to clear. CA is wary any change made to the code in consultation with ethics commissioner Simon Longstaff could have implications on matters beyond Warner.At the same time, CEO Nick Hockley stressed players had a right to show they had changed since the point of being handed a lifetime ban.”In very simple terms, we are looking at sanctions to be reviewed for good behaviour and growth after a period of time,” Hockley said. “Pending tomorrow’s discussion, there would then need to be a revision of the code and that would need to be approved by the board.”The pair’s comments came after CA reported a $5.1 million loss for the 2021-22 financial year at Thursday’s AGM.CA largely blamed the loss on challenges presented by the pandemic, as well as a drop in media rights from the UK for last summer’s Ashes.Former women’s quick Clea Smith was also unanimously voted onto the CA board as the sole former player serving as director, after Mel Jones’ decision to exit.Smith has previously held roles at the Australian Cricketers’ Association and was influential in the parental leave policy being introduced in 2019.Former Cricket Victoria chair David Maddocks was also voted in as a replacement for the outgoing Michelle Tredenick.Meanwhile CA remain undecided whether to lift a ban on playing Afghanistan in bilateral matches before a three-match ODI series early next year.Australia refused to host the country while under Taliban rule last summer, but have agreed to face off against them in the men’s T20 World Cup on November 4 as it is an ICC event.

Glamorgan keep knockout hopes alive with win over in-form Hants

ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-2022Glamorgan produced a huge upset, easing themselves to a shock victory over Hampshire thanks to a brutal maiden first-class century from 22-year-old Tom Bevan that eased the reigning Royal London One-Day Cup champions to a seven-wicket victory over Group B leaders Hampshire at The Gnoll, Neath.Bevan reached his century off 88 balls and smashed eight sixes on his way to 134 as he guided Glamorgan to their 229-run target. “I’ve been involved with the club for a long time and it’s a very special feeling,” he said. “I went away to University at Cardiff Met, which was a massive step for me. I went to Cape Town after that and I have always been happy just to be playing and taking all the opportunities that come my way. My dad has been a massive help for me: even when I’ve not been scoring runs, he’s always willing to throw balls for me.”Having put into bat, Hampshire were on the back foot from the start and struggled to set up a defendable target, limping to 228 for 9 despite a knock of 93 from skipper and opener Nick Gubbins. While he hung around before being the seventh wicket to fall, Hampshire lost five wickets before they reached three figures.His sixth wicket partnership with Ian Holland (63*) put on 72, but that was the best Hampshire had to offer. They then looked shell shocked in the field during Bevan’s onslaught.As their bowlers struggled to find their lengths they were duly taken down by Cardiff-born Bevan and Colin Ingram. They put on 203 for the second wicket to turn the run chase into a stroll as Glamorgan won with 110 balls remaining.Related

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Glamorgan took control early on, after winning the toss and sending Hampshire in to bat. Hampshire found themselves in a bit of trouble at 99 for 5. Only Gubbins looked to get the better of the conditions as the visitors struggled on a tricky pitch.After a quiet period between overs 20 and 30, with only 29 runs scored, Hampshire started to rebuild their innings and began to up the rate, playing with a lot more positive intent. Gubbins looked at his fluent best, playing some stylish shots, before reaching his half century from 72 balls.The Hampshire opener continued to find runs at a healthy rate throughout his innings, on his way to 93, but fell soon after, taking on Carlson’s off break with a lofted shot straight to Billy Root on the boundary.Hampshire continued to attack, upping the rate in the final 10 overs. Ian Holland, fresh off international duty, got to his half century off 52 balls. Glamorgan’s bowling and fielding had lost all its shape in the later stages and Hampshire got to 228 for 8.Hampshire had all the momentum heading into the innings break but they struggled to put Glamorgan under any real pressure, defending an under-par score.Despite the loss of Chris Cooke for nought early on, Glamorgan never really looked in trouble with Bevan smashing the ball all around the ground. The combination of Bevan and Ingram racked up that double century partnership.Bevan was eventually out for a magnificent 134, not before essentially winning the game for Glamorgan. Billy Root joined Ingram at the crease and the pair eased the home side to a shock victory over a very strong Hampshire side.

Opener hints he might stay for another Ashes tour while also targeting victory in India

Alex Malcolm29-Dec-2021Australia opener David Warner has hinted that he might want another crack at winning an Ashes series in England in 2023.Warner turned 35 in October during the T20 World Cup when he was player of the tournament in Australia’s triumph and he will be nearing 37 by the time the next away series against England rolls around.But after Australia wrapped up the home Ashes series 3-0 inside 12 days at the MCG yesterday, Warner suggested there were still a few things he would like to accomplish before he stops playing Test cricket.”We still haven’t beaten India in India,” Warner said. “That would be nice to do. And obviously, England away, we had a drawn series [in 2019], but hopefully, if I managed to get that chance and opportunity, I might think about going back.”Warner has played 13 Tests across three series in England and eight Tests in two trips to India but Australia have lost four of those five series and Warner has lean records in both nations, averaging 26 and 24 respectively without a century, something that he would clearly like to rectify.He sees age as no barrier having silenced his doubters following sterling performances across the T20 World Cup and the first three Tests of this series.”I think James Anderson sets the benchmark for older guys these days,” Warner said. “We look up to him as we’re getting on in our days. But for me, it’s about performing to the best of my ability and putting runs on the board. In the first two Tests, I actually look like a proper batsman, it’s almost like I’ve played my career the other way and had to knuckle down and respect the bowling and the line and lengths that they were bowling and obviously, the hundred eluded me.”I feel in good touch. As I said, I was out of runs not out of form, so hopefully, I can put some more numbers on the board leading into this new year.”Related

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Warner made it clear that Australia aren’t satisfied with just securing the Ashes at home. The team is already looking forward to upcoming tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka which will be vital in their quest to reach the next World Championship final, an opportunity they missed earlier this year after last summer’s defeat to India at home.”Those [tours] will really show where we are as a team and our character,” Warner said. “When you go to the subcontinent, you potentially could play two spinners. And then the selectors look at the batting line-ups with who they feel is probably going to be better on the subcontinent wickets and who’s not. There are going to be some brave decisions being made. But we’re looking forward to that.”Warner was pleased to see his opening partner Marcus Harris amongst the runs in Melbourne after a lean start to the series and the pair are determined to forge a strong partnership together.”Awesome to see Harry score some runs,” Warner said. “He is a tough tenacious fella. We gel well together when we’re out there. Obviously, a minor hiccup last game but that’s what happens in cricket can happen. His courage to keep fighting and working ways out to score runs when bowlers are bowling these good lines and lengths, he fought it out well. I’m really, really pleased for him.”When he’s looking to score and I’m looking to score, I think our defence takes care of itself and we’ll be in and amongst the runs in the next two Tests.”

Broad warns there will be no respite in England’s attempt to discomfort Smith on his return

George Dobell in Manchester02-Sep-2019Stuart Broad is excited to see the resumption of the “awesome” competition between Steve Smith and Jofra Archer when the Ashes resumes in Manchester on Wednesday.While Broad welcomed the return of Smith after the worrying injury he sustained at Lord’s, he warned that Test cricket was a “brutal sport” and there would be no respite in England’s attempt to discomfort him.Smith was obliged to miss the Leeds Test after sustaining a delayed concussion injury when hit on the neck by an Archer bouncer at Lord’s. While Smith resumed his innings after a short period off the pitch, he appeared somewhat skittish and soon fell leg before having left a straight ball. Underlining his confused state, he called for a review of the decision but then walked off before it was confirmed.Also read: ‘We felt a bit like we got the Ashes stolen’ – LangerBut while some have suggested he may be somewhat nervous when facing Archer, Smith has pointed out that the bowler has not actually dismissed him in the series. All of which has left Broad looking forward to another gripping passage of play between the pair.”Firstly, it’s great that Steve is ok and coming back into Test cricket,” Broad said. “No one wants to see anyone miss cricket through a head injury. It was a nasty hit. It’s great to have him back.”But Test cricket is a brutal sport. Sides go hell for leather against each other. So I’m sure that, when Steve comes in, Jofra will be in Joe Root’s ear wanting the ball. And I’ll be excited when he does.”It was a really tasty bit of cricket at Lord’s. Smith was on 70 or 80 and playing beautifully, but suddenly Jofra went from bowling 84mph to bowling 95mph. He was really charging in. That’s the intensity – the theatre – Test cricket brings.”That sort of cricket is awesome to watch on the telly or from the stands but when you’re stood at mid-on it’s pretty special. Hopefully we can have a battle like that again.”The dream is someone nicks him off first ball and Jofra doesn’t get to bowl at him. But Smith does average 60-something. So there will probably be a period in this game where those two come together again and, touch wood, I’m on the pitch to view it.”Jofra Archer bowls during a net session at Old Trafford•PA Images via Getty Images

Broad has had his own experience of trouble against the short ball. He was memorably struck in the eye while batting against India at Old Trafford, the scene of this week’s Test, in 2014. Top-edging his attempted pull off Varun Aaron, he sustained a badly broken nose and admitted he suffered nightmares as a consequence. He used psychologists to help recover but, before the injury, he averaged 23.95 with the bat in Test cricket with one century and 10 half-centuries. Since then, he has averaged 13.18 with just two half-centuries.While he believes Smith is unlikely to suffer such extreme consequences, it has left Broad grateful for the improved protection offered by modern helmets.”Smith has a bit more skill than me with the bat so it probably won’t affect him,” Broad said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played in a series where so many people have even hit in the head. I can’t even describe why. Obviously both sets of fast bowlers are bowling well and looking in good rhythm. The pitches have maybe played slightly untrue and a bit two-paced: one will skid through and one will slow down. It feels like the doctors are running out every 10 overs.”But it’s part of Test cricket. You bowl a bouncer not to hit someone in the head, you bowl a bouncer to maneuverer footwork and change momentum of bodyweight. But your best bouncer is directed over leg stump and at the head, unfortunately. But fortunately the helmets are much better now.”While Archer’s confrontation against Smith may gain the headlines, Broad’s private competition against David Warner has been just as absorbing. Broad has dismissed him four times in the three Tests and feels he is reaping the rewards for bowling a fuller length. But he warned that the pitches for the final two Tests could be better for batsmen and praised Warner’s batting in the first innings in Leeds.”It’s been a great battle so far,” Broad said. “I’ve really enjoyed it. I had to look quite closely pre-series as, until this series, he had probably had the better of me.”I’d always focussed on his outside edge thinking that running the ball across him would bring in the slips. But the bloke has incredible hand-eye coordination, so if you miss your line at all it seems to disappear through the covers.”I had a change of mindset in this series and have tried to bring the stumps into play more against him. I’ve looked to nip it back onto off-stump and then, if the ball holds its line, it brings the outside edge in and that actually limits the scoring options slightly.”Also, the pitches have been in our favour with the new ball. I don’t want to take too much credit that I’ve out-thought him or anything. It’s been a really good time to bowl with that new ball.”But Test cricket always moves on and this pitch will be very different to Lord’s or Headingley. And on that first morning at Headingley it was probably as good a time to bowl as you’ll ever get in Test cricket: cloudy, heavy, swinging, seaming. He might have played and missed a lot but he got through that period and got a pretty crucial fifty. He’ll take confidence from that.”

The England coach said Mark Stoneman looked “a tough type of player” and Dawid Malan was more settled in the Headingley Test

Alan Gardner30-Aug-20171:55

‘Hope result doesn’t change way Root thinks’ – Bayliss

Despite England’s humbling defeat to West Indies at Headingley, head coach Trevor Bayliss has suggested they may be closer to settling a couple more names for this winter’s Ashes party. Half-centuries from Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan were ultimately in a losing cause but the grit shown by both during England’s second innings earned praise from Bayliss ahead of a final audition in the third Investec Test at Lord’s.England have deployed a revolving cast of characters worthy of a soap opera – old favourites, new faces – in their top order over recent years, although selection for the Test side is a much more sober business than during the 1980s and ’90, as demonstrated by Tom Westley retaining his place in the squad for Lord’s.Since the end of the previous Ashes, 18 different batsmen – excluding the bottom six in this list – have been tried in the top seven, with only Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow secure in their positions (and Moeen Ali currently fulfilling his auxiliary role at No. 8). Of the others, only Keaton Jennings has managed a century and just two – Haseed Hameed and Ian Bell – averaged more than 30.Stoneman replaced Jennings at the start of the series against West Indies, becoming Cook’s 12th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, and made 52 in his third innings – a composed knock in which he batted on after suffering a dislocated finger, leading Bayliss to describe him as a “tough type of player”. Malan, meanwhile, scored his second half-century in consecutive Tests, having grafted against type for 186 deliveries.Bayliss’ admission that he has “fingers crossed for them” is reflective of a patchy track record in Tests since joining the selection panel after his appointment in 2015 and there are still several rounds of the Championship remaining in which players – such as Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone, who scored a career-best double-hundred on Tuesday – could come to the fore. While Westley’s position at No. 3 remains less certain, Bayliss was optimistic Stoneman and Malan would present strong cases to be in Australia.”We hope so. This last Test match will be another opportunity for them to really nail it down,” Bayliss said. “They have started to look comfortable and they can both play off the back foot so the signs are looking good. But, as you know, we’ve said that before and we’ve had a change after a few more matches. I still have fingers crossed for them.Mark Stoneman was struck a painful blow on the finger on 35•Getty Images

“I suppose more than anything, they started to look comfortable at the crease, if that’s possible in a Test match. Certainly, Mark looks like a tough type of player to me. He looks like he’s ready for a scrap the whole time but, when the bad ball comes along, he is able to put it away. That was the impression throughout our second innings, we were very watchful and wanted to bat for a long time but our mind was on the job because, when we got a bad ball, we were able to put it away. Dawid has a couple of 60s now, looked a bit nervous in that first one but, as I said, he was starting to look more comfortable in this Test match.”Like Root, Bayliss pointed to a flaky performance batting first – similar to that which cost them at The Oval against Pakistan last year – as the primary reason for England’s failure to put away a side ranked No. 8 in the world, who had been dismantled by an innings only a few days before. He was more positive about their ability to fight back into the contest, giving them an unexpected (and ultimately unfulfilled) shot at victory after declaring on the fourth evening.”I suppose the same mistakes are being made but they are being made by different players,” he said. “The one thing I was very happy about was the second innings. To a certain degree, they learned their lesson from the first innings. They spoke about maybe not going for the big drives, playing a check-drive.”The wicket on the first day, the thing that surprised us was how slow it was. And I think we found that, with the boys getting their hands out in front and the ball being able to take the inside edge a number of times. But they did speak about that and tried to learn from that. In the second innings, it was about doing the hard yards, making good decisions and batting for a long time. And that’s exactly what they did. I thought they showed a lot of character.”Of the drops in the field that underscored a desultory final day – two at slip by Cook and one in the deep by Ben Stokes with the game almost over – Bayliss was less concerned. “They haven’t dropped too many since I’ve been here. So it was a bit of a one-off. A bit of a sign of our overall thought process in this match. We seemed to be fairly frustrated throughout that first bowling innings [when West Indies scored 427] and I think that held over into the second innings. It looked like we were under a bit of pressure and got frustrated when it wasn’t quite happening for us.”England’s first September Lord’s Test will now take on greater significance as a series decider and could still see changes made to the side. Bayliss said there would be “a temptation, definitely” to include Mason Crane, the Hampshire legspinner, for a Test debut, which would put pressure on Westley’s place if there were to be a reshuffle of the batting order. Toby Roland-Jones’ chances of a recall may also be strong on his home ground.The reaction to Root’s most difficult Test in two long months as captain will be all important – and England could do worse than look to the example of their conquerors as they attempt to assuage the pain of defeat. “They were hurting and to me that’s a good thing,” Bayliss said. “If the team is hurting after a loss, it means something to them. I’m sure they will be fully focused and ready to put things right in the next Test.”

Mohammad Hafeez has been ruled out for the remainder of Pakistan’s tour of England, after suffering a calf injury

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2016Mohammad Hafeez has been ruled out for the remainder of Pakistan’s tour of England, after suffering a calf injury ahead of the second ODI against England at Lord’s. The fast bowler, Mohammad Irfan, has been called up in his place.After complaining about pain in his left calf, Hafeez was diagnosed with a minor strain which means he will play no part in the remaining three matches of the ODI series, as well as the one-off T20I at Old Trafford which concludes the tour on September 7.Although Hafeez will be staying in England to undergo intensive rehabilitation, Pakistan’s management decided that there was no point in retaining him with the team.The likelihood was that he was going to be dropped for the second ODI anyway, having endured a barren run of form since his arrival in England.He managed 102 runs in six innings of the Test series before being left out for the series decider at The Oval, and made 11 from 15 balls in Pakistan’s defeat in the first ODI at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.Irfan, the tall fast bowler who missed out on original selection for the squad, has been drafted into the squad following approval from Pakistan’s selection committee.Irfan, 34, was originally overlooked in favour of a recall for Umar Gul, having failed to impress the newly appointed chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq with 12 wickets in nine ODIs in the previous 12 months.However, he has been in action for Islamabad in the ongoing National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi, and will fly out to join the team ahead of the third ODI.Meanwhile, Azhar Ali defended his decision to bat first at Lord’s. Pakistan slipped to 2 for 3 in the opening moments of the match, with the England bowlers enjoying the 10.30am start and a green surface.”The start wasn’t good at all,” he admitted. “It was really difficult to come back from losing three early wickets. To some extent we made a recovery, but it was not enough. The early loss of wickets cost us the game.”But the first half of the game saw the ball come on the bat much better than the second half. If you start at 10.30, the openers have to take responsibility for getting you through the first 10 overs. But unfortunately the top order didn’t really do anything. They were out to good deliveries, but as professional players you should be able to cope with that and find a way.”But after five or six overs, there were some good shots players. The ball was coming on very well. In the second half of the game, it really wasn’t coming on well and reverse swing was effective.”While Azhar agreed with Mickey Arthur’s pre-match assessment that Pakistan are behind the rest of the world in ODI cricket – both tactically and in ranking terms – he took some encouragement from the fact his side were still able to reach 251 despite such a grim start.”We are behind,” he said. “But if the top-order had done better, we could easily have scored 300 today.”

Gujarat Lions guaranteed themselves a top-two finish on the IPL league table after a 96-run partnership between Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina set them up for an six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy21-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Bravo’s end-overs bowling played a key role in restricting Mumbai Indians to 172 in excellent batting conditions•BCCI

Bravo fined 50% of match fee

Dwayne Bravo has been fined 50% of his match fee for breaching the IPL code of conduct during Gujarat Lions’ match against Mumbai Indians on Saturday. Bravo has admitted to the Level 2 offence of “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player in the course of play during a match”.
While the IPL’s media release did not detail Bravo’s code violation, the incident may have occurred during the 14th over of Mumbai’s innings, when Bravo, after fielding a defensive shot off his own bowling, walked up to the batsman, Kieron Pollard, and shoulder-bumped him.
“Ridiculous outcome…!! Again I have seen worst happen obscenities used no outcome but @DJBravo47 fined,” Pollard tweeted, in response to news of the fine. “It’s slowly turning into a robotic game.. No emotions no actions nothing …2020 = entertainment !! Rigorous battles !! Evrything is a fine”.

Gujarat Lions guaranteed themselves a top-two finish on the IPL league table, and earned themselves two shots at a place in the final, after a 96-run partnership between Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina set them up for a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians. Lions ended the league stage on 18 points while Mumbai finished on 14. To make the playoffs, Mumbai will need Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils – who also have 14 points each – to lose their matches on Sunday, and lose by big enough margins for their net run rates to dip below Mumbai’s -0.146.Rohit Sharma noted, after Raina chose to bowl, that the Green Park pitch wasn’t as green as it had been on Thursday when Lions had restricted Knight Riders to 124. It wasn’t just less green. It was even-paced, with the ball coming nicely on to the bat, and Mumbai’s total of 172 proved well short of challenging as Lions, given a strong platform by Raina and McCullum, and a sure finish by Dwayne Smith – who swapped places in the batting order with Aaron Finch – cruised home with 13 balls remaining.Mumbai got off to an excellent start with the bat, with Rohit enjoying the batting-friendly conditions to move to 30 off 16 balls, with four fours and two sixes, before pulling Dhawal Kulkarni straight to deep square leg in the fourth over. Nitish Rana walked in and pulled his first ball for four.Dwayne Smith had picked up four wickets on Thursday, and Raina tossed him the ball at the start of the fifth over even though the conditions were rather different this time. Martin Guptill, invisible till then, glanced his second ball for four, and should have put away his third one as well. It was shortish, and offered plenty of swinging room for Guptill to flat-bat it anywhere he pleased; he ended up dragging it to mid-on.With Smith’s deceptively quick bouncer consuming Krunal Pandya in the same over, Mumbai were forced into rebuilding mode. Rana and Jos Buttler only scored 27 runs in the first 30 balls of their partnership, and Mumbai were 72 for 3 at the halfway stage.Fifteen came off the 11th, as Rana slogged Ravindra Jadeja over long-on and Buttler chopped him to the backward point boundary. Rana began the 12th over with a four and a six off Smith, and Mumbai were back on track.Rana favoured the pull and the slog-sweep, and those strengths, and his left-handedness, was probably the reason Raina only used Jadeja for one over. Rana hit Shadab Jakati, Lions’ other left-arm spinner, for a six in the 13th over, and three fours – two in the midwicket region – in the 15th.Fourteen came off that over, and with Rana past the half-century mark, Mumbai were nicely placed going into the last five. They had lost Buttler to a reflex caught-and-bowled from Dwayne Bravo, but at the crease was Kieron Pollard, in the kind of situation he enjoys batting in.Rana clubbed another leg-side six off Dhawal Kulkarni in the 16th, going deep in his crease to shorten the length of the ball, but he miscued to deep square leg when he tried the same shot off Bravo in the next over. Pollard cleared long-on with a top-edge in the 18th before swatting a full-toss from Kulkarni straight down long-off’s throat. Suddenly, Mumbai had two new batsmen at the crease with only two overs to go.They would only get 12 from the last two, as Bravo and Praveen Kumar, both going around the wicket, either speared it too full for Hardik Pandya and Harbhajan Singh to get under, or dangled it too slow to line up perfectly. Both batsmen fell in the final over as Mumbai finished on 172 for 8. They had only scored 27 in the last four overs.Finch fell in the first over of Lions’ innings, victim to his tendency to get stuck on the crease early in his innings, but McCullum and Raina quickly got the chase into gear. Bowlers tend to attack Raina’s rib cage early on, but Mitchell McClenaghan overused the short ball in the third over, and the batsman pulled, slapped and uppercut three fours, having already picked up a boundary when Hardik let a drive slip between his legs at cover point.McCullum hit Krunal for two fours and a pulled six in the fifth over, and Lions were already past 50. With the field still in, Raina’s chancy slogs off Jasprit Bumrah’s slower balls proved quite productive in the sixth over – one went to the third man boundary off the top edge, and the other, not quite middled, sailed over deep midwicket. Rattled, Bumrah fed McCullum on his pads and then gave him width; 19 came off that over and Lions’ required rate dipped to 7.35.With the spinners, Krunal and Harbhajan Singh, routinely dropping short, Lions were racing home. This being the IPL, there was a small wobble, as McCullum, Dinesh Karthik and Raina fell in the space of 19 balls to leave 51 needed from 46. Smith, though, conveyed cold authority right from the time he flat-batted the second ball he faced back over Bumrah’s head, and he steered Lions home with a calm, unbeaten 37 off 23.

Pakistan registered their first series win in Sri Lanka in nine years through yet another ruthless performance

The Report by Sidharth Monga22-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:18

Series win in SL after nine years

For the third time in the series Pakistan denied those expecting drama and nerves and inexplicable events normally associated with Pakistan cricket. They first refused to let Sri Lanka get away despite a seemingly effortless 100-run second-wicket stand and dragged them down to 256, and then Ahmed Shehzad followed it with a ruthless chase of a target that could have been tricky on a dry turning surface. This was their first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka in nine years, and took them closer to Champions Trophy qualification.In fact even in the second match – the one that they lost – Pakistan were predictable and excellent. They just came up against individual brilliance of the Pakistani kind, and even after that record fastest fifty by Kusal Perera Pakistan fought to make sure it was not a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. There was no such out-of-the-world brilliance from Sri Lanka this time, but Pakistan retained that tenacity even though Lahiru Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan seemed in control scoring half-centuries after Perera fell for a duck. The fielders cut out the singles, the spinners choked supply of easy runs, the quicks struck to cash in on the pressure, and Sri Lanka went from 170 for 3 to score only 86 in the last 14 overs.As a comparison, in the next 14 overs there was enough evidence Pakistan were going to cruise through the chase. Sri Lanka finally went to using Lasith Malinga as an attacking option, but Azhar Ali and Shehzad took his first three overs for 20. When it seemed like pace on ball was flying, Sri Lanka went to spin only to see Shehzad jump out of the crease and belt Sachith Pathirana back over his head first ball for a six. Nuwan Pradeep injured himself, Suranga Lakmal looked ineffective, and already Malinga was back for a second spell. Malinga provided a breakthrough, but then had Shehzad edge through vacant slip and then through the hands of slip for successive fours. All in the first 14 overs.With his side 92 for 1 in the first 14, Mohammad Hafeez could now afford to take his time settling in. He also blunted out Malinga as he exhausted his nine overs in the first 20, looking desperately for a breakthrough. In Malinga’s ninth, Shehzad suggested it wouldn’t have made a difference had Malinga many more left in his bag. He whipped him for successive fours to reach 71, and Pakistan were now 116 for 1 in 20 overs.Let down by spinners, missing in-form attacking bowlers, Sri Lanka threw other options at Pakistan, but there were no batsmen willing to oblige those looking for what has in the last 10 or so years become inevitable drama with Pakistan matches. Shehzad and Hafeez batted with authority. While Hafeez accelerated from 7 off 24 to the eventual 70 off 88, Shehzad never really slowed down. The only regret for Pakistan will be that a rare moment of fielding brilliance – diving-forward catch by Perera at third man – from Sri Lanka resulted in Shehzad’s falling five short of a hundred.Fielding brilliance was plentiful when Pakistan were in the field. From the time left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, playing only his second match, combined an arm ball with low bounce to remove Dilshan at 109 for 2 in the 23rd over, the fielders and the spinners circled around Sri Lanka. Often six men stayed inside the circle, and the spinners ran through their overs, building pressure dot by dot. Between them the three spinners – Yasir Shah, Wasim and Shoaib Malik – conceded just 108 in 24 overs.The first victim of the pressure was Mathews. Shah had been negotiated well by Dilshan and Thirimanne, but Mathews found it tough to face Wasim and Malik. With no easy singles on offer, Pakistan kept daring Mathews to take the risk. Nineteen runs came in Mathews’ first 5.3 overs at the wicket, and when he looked to break the shackles he hit Rahat Ali – in his first over back – straight to mid-off.Dinesh Chandimal, seemingly thanks to instructions from the dressing room, sought to avoid a similar fate – Mathews scored 12 off 23 – and went on a hitting spree. He tried one ambitious shot too many, getting out to Mohammad Irfan for 20 off 21. Amid all this Thirimanne went on smoothly, driving and late-cutting his way towards a hundred. Now, though, with an inexperienced lower middle order with him Thirimanne had to make a decision: stay the anchorman and bat till the 50th over or hit a few shots to take some pressure off the youngsters.Thirimanne went for the latter. When he first tried the big sweep off Shah, he was dropped by Ahmed Shehzad at deep square leg, a catch he somehow went on to claim. An over later Thirmanne provided both Shah and Shehzad the redemption, trying another big sweep, mis-hitting it, and watching Shehzad fly to his left. An innings that had looked solid for a long time had slowly but surely disintegrated, setting Pakistan a target that would be hunted down with 9.1 overs to spare.