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Victoria have secured the services of Pakistani allrounder Sohail Tanvir for this summer’s Twenty20 domestic tournament

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009Victoria have secured the services of Pakistani allrounder Sohail Tanvir for this summer’s Twenty20 domestic tournament. Tanvir, who last year turned out for South Australia in the event, has recently recovered from a back injury that has severely disrupted his 2009 season.Tanvir’s unorthodox, wrong-footed bowling action has proven successful in Twenty20 tournaments the world over. Tanvir, a left-armer, was among Pakistan’s leading players at the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa, and topped the wicket-taking list in the first Indian Premier League while representing the Rajasthan Royals.Victoria have been searching for a second overseas player since Muttiah Muralitharan’s withdrawal to play for Sri Lanka in matches against Bangladesh. Tanvir will join the West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo on the Bushrangers’ books this season.Tanvir has endured a difficult 2009 season, not least on account of the back injury that led to him losing his regular place in Pakistan’s limited-overs line-up. He was turned away at London’s Heathrow airport for not obtaining the appropriate visa after being offered a contract by Surrey, and will be unable to play in the 2010 IPL, after Lalit Modi announced Pakistan players would not be invited to participate.Meanwhile, New South Wales are in talks with at least one member of the current West Indian touring squad for the Twenty20 tournament. The reigning Champions League victors last year recruited New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum for the final in controversial circumstances, and are understood to have set their sights on an allrounder.

Codi Yusuf will be the third debutant for South Africa, who play a Test against Zimbabwe for the first time since 2017

Firdose Moonda27-Jun-2025

Big Picture: A first for South Africa in over a decade

South Africa have not even had the time to take the mace on tour and they’re headed off on their next assignments, though it is not a part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. They’re hopping across the border, without seven of the XI that won the WTC final less than two weeks ago (though Lungi Ngidi will join them for the second Test), to visit neighbours Zimbabwe, where they have not been for 11 years.Indeed, the two countries haven’t met in a Test since December 2017, and that was an experimental affair. It was South Africa’s first (and to date, last) dalliance with pink ball Tests and lasted a little more than a day. Of those who played in that fixture, only Keshav Maharaj, Craig Ervine and Blessing Muzarabani will feature in this one – a sign of how much things have changed.Maharaj will captain an inexperienced South African side after Temba Bavuma was ruled out, still nursing the hamstring injury that he batted, and battled, through in the WTC final. Three debutants – Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis and Codi Yusuf – will start the first Test and there is the possibility of two others – Lesego Senokwane and Prenelan Subrayen – being used for the second as South Africa mine their depth with an eye on the future.Related

• Ahead of Test debut, T20 star Brevis wants to be 'the same guy that plays all formats'

• Glimpse into South Africa's future: Young squad set for Zimbabwe challenge

• Conrad confident Maphaka can be 'main dog' in SA pace attack

Ervine leads Zimbabwe and will do so during their busiest period. They have already played five Tests this year and are due six more, all at home, and will also host a white-ball series against Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup Qualifiers.The volume of matches has not caused a reversal in results, with Zimbabwe still struggling for wins, though they pulled off their first in four years when they beat Bangladesh in April.Muzarabani, the other 2017 survivor, is their headliner but there’s lots of other talent on offer. They have a good mix of youth and experience across the team including the longest serving active international in Sean Williams and newcomers Brian Bennett and 19-year-old left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri.Blessing Muzarabani is one of the bigger names in the Zimbabwe team•AFP/Getty Images

Still, on paper, you’d be forgiven for reading this as a mismatch of the biggest kind. South Africa are world champions, with not as much Test cricket as they’d like to have, while Zimbabwe don’t even compete in the WTC, much as they would want to. But the countries share a border, and a vision for the 2027 World Cup, they will co-host with Namibia and this is the start of closer relations.Zimbabwe are even rumoured to be planning a celebration for South Africa, to congratulate them on their WTC win and perhaps bask in some of the glory.

Form Guide

Zimbabwe: LLWLL
South Africa: WWWWW

In the spotlight: Brian Bennett and Dewald Brevis

Bennett, who spent a year at South African school Kingswood, has had a dazzling start to his Test career. In seven matches, he has two centuries, one in Bulawayo and one in England, which was Zimbabwe’s fastest in the format, and two half-centuries, both in Bangladesh. Though he has been up against Josh Tongue, Sam Cook and Gus Atkinson, South Africa’s pace attack will likely be the quickest he has faced and could present him with his sternest challenge and/or his biggest opportunity. Bennett likes to take the ball on, and is particularly confident against the short stuff and with South Africa announcing an XI with four quicks, he maybe licking his lips at the prospect of cashing in.It is finally time for Brevis, regarded as a prodigy on the South African scene since he topped the run-charts at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, to strut his stuff on the big stage. Brevis has had a stellar summer, finishing second on the first-class run-scorers’ list with a strike-rate of 88.69 alongside good returns in the domestic one-day cup (also the second-highest run-scorer), SA20 (sixth-highest) and IPL. Coach Shukri Conrad is most impressed by the maturity Brevis has shown since first making his international debut (in T20Is) two years ago and then facing questions over his readiness to step up. Conrad also sees him as offering them a bowling option with “not-so-filthy” legspin and is being primed for a big role in future.Dewald Brevis caught everyone’s eye at the 2022 U-19 World Cup•ICC via Getty Images

Team News: Three debutants for SA

Ben Curran’s broken finger has opened the door for Bulawayo’s own Prince Masvaure to make a return after a year on the sidelines. Nick Welch, who missed the outing in England as Zimbabwe opted for an extra spinner, should return to No. 3 to shore up the batting line-up. With Richard Ngarava injured, Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga could make up the seam contingent and they will likely have three spin options in Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa and Wessly Madhevere.Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Prince Masvaure, 3 Nick Welch, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Craig Ervine (capt), 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Vincent Masekesa, 10 Tanaka Chivanga, 11 Blessing MuzarabaniSouth Africa will hand out three new caps to Pretorius, Brevis and Yusuf, who was preferred over Subrayan in an XI that will include four quicks. Wiaan Mulder, who batted at No. 3 in the WTC final, will do so again in this series and form part of a pack that includes Corbin Bosch, Kwena Maphaka and Yusuf.South Africa: 1 Matthew Breetzke, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Wiaan Mulder, 4 David Bedingham, 5 Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Codi Yusuf, 11 Kwena Maphaka

Pitch and Conditions: Low and slow

Pitches at Queens’ Sports Club are known to be hard work for both batters and bowlers, with runs coming at 3.34 to the over, with spinners slightly more effective than seamers. In five Tests since 2023, spinners have taken 85 wickets at 29.62 and seamers 71 at 34.74. What has yet to be tested is the threat that out-and-out pace will pose, which may become evident in this series. The weather is set fair for the next few weeks but mornings will be chilly with temperatures in single-figures Celsius.Craig Ervine, who is one of three players who played the last South Africa vs Zimbabwe Test, will lead his country•AFP

Stats and Trivia: Sean Williams on top of the world

• Zimbabwe have not won a Test in Bulawayo since beating Bangladesh in 2001. Since then, they have played 20 Tests at Queens and lost 15. They have also not won a home Test since 2013, when they beat Pakistan in Harare. They have hosted 17 matches since then, lost 13 and drawn four.
• South Africa are currently on an eight-match winning streak, one fewer than their longest run of nine Tests, between 2002-03. A series sweep in Zimbabwe will give them their longest winning run.
• Williams, who has been playing international cricket for two decades, has the highest batting average among players who have scored more than 1,000 runs since 2020.

Quotes

“I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to captain the side once again and in my favourite format of the game. It’s a privilege. I’m a very laid-back captain. I’m always open to advice, but I also allow the bowlers to come up with their own plans because I always believe in growth. I am someone that if I need to put my foot down, I will. I just want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable so that they can execute their skill best on the field.”

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.”

Smith, Starc, Henry and Boult have gained at the end of the Australia vs New Zealand ODI series

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-20222:05

Arthur: Hasaranga is reliable, incredible and loves playing on the big stage

Wanindu Hasaranga, Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the big movers in the latest ICC T20I rankings for men, following strong performances at the recent Asia Cup in the UAE.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

On the bowlers’ table, Hasaranga has moved up three places to sixth after finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker, behind Bhuvneshwar, in Sri Lanka’s sixth Asia Cup triumph. Hasaranga, who was named Player of the Tournament, picked up nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.39.He also made important contributions with the bat, including a 21-ball 36 in the final, which helped Sri Lanka get to a strong total, which they defended successfully. That helped him move up seven spots to No. 4 on the allrounders’ chart – Shakib Al Hasan is at the top there.Kohli, meanwhile, has risen 14 places to slot in at No. 15 on the batters’ table. His rise came on the back of a good Asia Cup, where he scored 276 runs in five innings – at an average of 92.00 and strike rate of 147.59.Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a good time of it at the Asia cup•Associated Press

He also scored his first T20I century during the tournament, an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan, which brought an end to a century drought across formats that had run for 1020 days. Kohli’s tally of runs was only behind Mohammad Rizwan’s 281, and Rizwan held on to the top spot on the batters’ table. Babar Azam, who had a forgettable Asia Cup with the bat, lost his No. 2 spot to Aiden Markram.Bhuvneshwar, the highest wicket-taker at the Asia Cup with 11 strikes, also made notable progress, moving into the top ten among bowlers, jumping from 11th to seventh.In ODIs, Steven Smith, after his starring role in Australia’s 3-0 sweep of New Zealand at home, jumped 13 places to move to tenth among batters. Mitchell Starc, after picking up six wickets in three games, broke into the top ten among bowlers, moving up three places to ninth.Matt Henry also jumped one position to take the eighth spot after picking up five wickets in two games, while Trent Boult continued to lead the list after finishing the series as the top wicket-taker, with ten strikes.

West Indies, Pakistan and Australia players’ availability in doubt

Matt Roller17-May-2021A number of overseas players are expected to withdraw from the inaugural season of the Hundred due to clashes in the international calendar and complications regarding international travel caused by Covid restrictions.West Indies, Pakistan and Australia players with contracts to appear in the men’s competition will have their availability limited if they are involved in the two T20I series due to take place in the Caribbean in July and August, while two Australia players – Rachael Haynes and Jess Jonassen – have already withdrawn from the women’s tournament due to quarantine requirements.Cricket West Indies announced its men’s fixtures for the 2021 home season last week, with the end of the T20I series against Australia overlapping with the start of the Hundred. Seven of the nine Australians contracted to play in the men’s competition were named in an enlarged 23-man squad on Monday – Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile were the exceptions.Those seven include marquee names in Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner, and while it is possible that they could still play the majority of the eight-game group stage subject to quarantine periods, Cricket Australia remain in talks with the Bangladesh Cricket Board regarding a possible tour which would present a further clash.Related

• Hundred wildcard and replacement slots bring added intrigue to start of Blast season

• Sean Abbott's Surrey spell ended with badly damaged hamstring

• West Indies to host South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in bumper home season

• The Hundred – full 2021 squad lists

• Sarah Taylor signs up for playing comeback in the Hundred with Welsh Fire

Four West Indians are also under contract: Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard are both key parts of the T20I set-up, while Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are likely to come back into the picture ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup. Their series against Pakistan starts on July 27, three days after the Australia T20Is finish, with the fifth and final match scheduled for August 3 in Guyana – which is on the UK’s travel red list, adding to the complications – though it is understood they remain keen to be a part of the tournament if possible.Pakistan stay in the Caribbean for two Tests on August 12 and August 20, which will effectively rule Shaheen Shah Afridi out of his deal with Birmingham Phoenix. Shadab Khan, the other Pakistan player involved, may be available for the second half of the tournament with Manchester Originals if he is overlooked for the Test squad again.The ECB remain confident that the Hundred will feature some of the best overseas players in the world but are realistic about the fact that some players will withdraw in the coming weeks and months. The new 100-ball tournament’s inaugural season was postponed last year due to operational challenges, and is now due to start on July 21. “The realities of Covid mean there remain practicalities that are difficult for some overseas players to overcome,” a spokesperson said.Jonassen was replaced by compatriot Georgia Wareham in the Welsh Fire squad last month, while Haynes’ withdrawal from her Oval Invincibles contract was revealed by London’s last week. They are the only two confirmed withdrawals as yet, but the fact that salaries are significantly lower in the women’s competition (£3,600-£15,000) than in the men’s (£24,000-£100,000) reduces the incentives for players to travel to the UK specifically for the tournament. As such, it is possible that further Indian players will sign deals and stay on following the conclusion of their tour to England on July 15 – six days before the start of the Hundred.Jess Jonassen and Rachael Haynes have both pulled out of the Hundred•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

In the men’s competition, there is a broad pool of nearly 250 overseas players registered as replacements. Several of them, including Dan Christian, Glenn Phillips, Lockie Ferguson and Carlos Brathwaite, will already be in the UK to play in the T20 Blast for their respective counties, and as such may be attractive options, either to fill in for a handful of games or to play the full season in the event of withdrawals.Meanwhile, Manchester Originals can begin to negotiate with county cricketers who were not signed in February’s re-draft following Harry Gurney’s retirement. Gurney was an £80,000 signing in the draft and his withdrawal from the competition means that there is a free slot up for grabs at that price bracket for any domestic player without a contract.The ECB are hopeful that England’s centrally contracted red-ball players will be available for up to three group-stage games at the start of the tournament before the start of the men’s Test series against India, and potentially the eliminator and the final. Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, said last week: “We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up so it’s a difficult juggling act but I know the players are also looking forward to that tournament and would love to be involved at some stage if they can.”England men’s players on all-format central contracts will earn £40,000 for their involvement in up to three matches, and those on red-ball deals will earn £28,000. All centrally-contracted players will then earn £4,608 per match for any additional fixtures. Players with white-ball contracts are due to be available throughout the Hundred, and are paid directly through the draft mechanism.

Allrounder also suffers hamstring strain after nine balls of England’s second innings

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers26-Jan-2020Vernon Philander has been fined 15 percent of his match fee for his send-off to Jos Buttler on the second day of the Wanderers match. He has also been handed one ICC demerit point, a gesture that will have no bearing on his future career, seeing as this is also his last Test.Philander was seen saying something to Buttler after he dismissed him in the 85th over of England’s innings, but television cameras did not pick up the exact words. Match referee Andy Pycroft found that Philander had breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match,” and that he had used “inappropriate language,” which “could have provoked an aggressive response from the batsman.”Philander and Buttler have history in this series after Buttler was given the same punishment for calling Philander a “f****** knobhead,” in the second innings at Newlands. Since then, the South African fielders have taunted Buttler every time he has walked out to bat, but Philander is the first to be sanctioned for it.Philander is the fourth player to find himself in on the wrong side of the ICC in this series and second in this match. Kagiso Rabada was found guilty of a celebrating in a way that could provoke an aggressive reaction from the batsman, when he screamed in Joe Root’s vicinity after bowling him in Port Elizabeth. Rabada already had three active points to his name and the addition of a fourth saw him suspended from this match.And on Friday, Ben Stokes was involved in a verbal altercation with fans near the players’ tunnel and was caught on camera telling someone who suggested Stokes resembled the singer Ed Sheeran to “Come say that to me outside the ground, you f***ing four-eyed c***.” Stokes was also fined 15 percent of his match fee and earned a demerit point.While the point will not mean much for Philander, who will not play international cricket after this match, it further mars what has been a forgettable final Test for the allrounder. Philander managed just two wickets in England’s first innings, lasted three balls this morning to become the first South African wicket to fall on day three and then left the field after bowling nine balls in England’s second innings, with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.

The left-arm/right-arm spinner couldn’t prevent Joe Root and Eoin Morgan finding their form in England’s first outing of the tour

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo05-Oct-2018England XI 215 for 2 (Morgan 91*, Root 90*) beat Sri Lanka Cricket Board XI 288 (Chandimal 77, Moeen 3-42) by 43 runs (DLS method)
ScorecardJoe Root and Eoin Morgan struck confident, unbeaten nineties in England’s first match of the Sri Lanka tour, after Moeen Ali, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes had shared seven wickets between them against a strong Sri Lanka Board XI side.Their collective efforts enabled England to cruise to a 43-run Duckworth-Lewis victory, after rain then bad light prevented the game from reaching its natural conclusion. In pursuit of a target of 288, England finished up on 215 for 2 after 35.3,Sri Lanka’s new ODI captain Dinesh Chandimal also made use of the occasion, spending 85 deliveries in the middle and hitting 77 runs in the process. Twenty-year-old Kamindu Mendis was the other half-centurion for the Board XI making 61 off 72. He also dusted off his ambidextrous finger-spin later in the day, bowling offbreaks to the left-handed Morgan, and left-arm orthodox to the right-handed Root, as those two batsmen went about their unbroken 174-run stand.The Board XI had made a bright start to the day when Lahiru Thirimanne and Test opener Dimuth Karunaratne produced a fifty-run stand. But Moeen then claimed England’s first spoils, wriggling two deliveries between the defences of both batsmen in the space of three deliveries.Kusal Mendis – recently dropped from the ODI side – could manage only 22 before he became Moeen’s third victim, leaving Chandimal to rebuild the innings from 107 for 3. He forged a 56-run stand with Kamindu for the fifth wicket, before he was dismissed by Root. That the Board XI got anywhere near 300 was thanks also to the enterprise of No. 8 batsman Isuru Udana, who hit three sixes and three fours in his 26-ball 40.England lost Jonny Bairstow to the bowling of Udana in the fourth over, and Jason Roy to Kasun Rajitha in the ninth, but Root and Morgan quickly took control of the situation, and the visitors practically cruised from there on out. Morgan, predictably, was the more eager of the pair to venture big strokes, hitting three sixes and nine fours in his 91 not out off 84 balls. Root was 90 off 92 with eight fours to his name, when the covers came on for the final timeEngland play their second warm-up one-dayer in as many days on Saturday, also at the P Sara Oval.

A second ODI loss to Zimbabwe in the ongoing series, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews conceded, has put his captaincy under significant pressure, and he hinted that he is unsure if he will lead the side in the next World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jul-2017Angelo Mathews is unsure whether he will be Sri Lanka’s captain at the 2019 World Cup, after leading his side to a second loss against Zimbabwe in the ongoing five-match series. The defeat, Mathews conceded, put his captaincy under significant pressure. His comments came after Zimbabwe chased down a revised target of 219 – deduced via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method – in the fourth ODI, after Sri Lanka had made 300.”There’s a lot of pressure on all of us, and as a captain there is a lot of pressure on me as well,” Mathews said after the loss in Hambantota. “In these games, where our batsmen have done well, our bowlers didn’t perform well – both in this match, and in the first one we lost. Our fielding also hasn’t been good at times. Against Zimbabwe, we need to play better than this. If we score 300 and still lose here, there is a big shortcoming.”Mathews’ record as ODI captain since the last World Cup isn’t exactly awful: the team has won 12 matches to the 15 they have lost under his watch. However, during that time, their only series wins under Mathews have been against West Indies at home, and Ireland, away. They have lost one away series apiece to England and New Zealand, and one home series to Australia and Pakistan each. Besides, there is now a risk of losing a home series to 11th-ranked Zimbabwe, who have tied the ongoing series 2-2.”I don’t know if I will be going to the 2019 World Cup as captain,” Mathews said. “Our batsmen are doing well, but sometimes there’s no consistency in our fielding – we don’t do well sometimes. But with the players that we have, we can win these matches. We lost these matches because our bowling wasn’t good. We have to solve this problem quickly.”If Sri Lanka perform poorly in the forthcoming ODIs against India (in August and September), there is also the chance of the team not being able to gain automatic entry for the 2019 World Cup. At present, Sri Lanka are on the eighth position, with 92 rating points. They must stay ahead of West Indies, who are currently on 78 rating points, in order to avoid going through a separate qualification procedure for the next World Cup.Considering this was the second instance in the series when Sri Lanka failed to defend 300 or more, Mathews was forthright in stating his discontent over the lack of sting in the performance of the bowlers.”After scoring 300, how many times can you lose a game?” You know, we had enough runs on the board. [It’s] unfortunate the rain had to intervene, but still, we had the bowling attack to defend it. The first ten overs we gave away a lot of runs, also the rain intervened and the last ten overs we didn’t bowl that well.”We actually didn’t know the rain might come in, but the wicket was extremely dry this morning. So we all thought it’s going to start slowing more and more once the day goes on. We saw in the last game also that the ball started turning after the first 20 overs, in the second half especially. So, I thought if we bat first and bat well, we have the spinners to defend it.”Mathews also made the point that Sri Lanka’s attack was a diminished one. Nuwan Pradeep, who has recently been the best bowler in the side, picked up a niggle in the third ODI, and is being rested in order to ensure he can be fit for the four Test matches over the next eight weeks. Suranga Lakmal was also made unavailable by illness.”In our bowling we are facing problems – Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal are injured,” Mathews said. “We have to manage our bowlers’ workloads as well. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up. We have to balance managing workloads and winning the matches in front of us.”

Ross Taylor led Sussex to their highest T20 score as they began their NatWest T20 Blast season with victory over Gloucestershire by a single run on Duckworth Lewis

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2016
ScorecardRoss Taylor led Sussex to a rain-assisted win•Getty Images

Sussex Sharks kicked off their NatWest T20 Blast season with victory over Gloucestershire at the Brightside Ground, Bristol, by a single run on Duckworth Lewis.Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 93, off just 48 balls, helped Sussex to their highest ever T20 total, beating the 239 for 5 scored against Glamorgan in 2010.However, the Sharks needed a little help from the rain to achieve their opening night success in the west country.
Chasing 240 to win, Gloucestershire looked well on course to at least take the game to the wire when the rains came. It was an agonising end for the host county whose 83 for 1, off 7.3 overs, left them just one short of their required target on the D/L method.Having been asked to bat first, Sussex made a decent first of things with the bat. Chris Nash and Phil Salt put the host county under genuine pressure with 48 for the first wicket inside five overs.When Nash was eventually bowled by Craig Miles for 30, Salt and Ben Brown added 14 for the second wicket in quickfire time before the former was caught by Miles off former Sussex left arm spinner Tom Smith, for 24.Salt’s ill advised attempted reverse sweep, brought Taylor to the wicket and the Kiwi looked in decent touch from the first ball he faced. He and Brown added 88 for the third wicket inside eight overs with Taylor particularly harsh on anything full outside the off stump.When Brown was stumped by Cameron Bancroft, off the bowling of Benny Howell in the 14th over, for 43, Sussex were 150 for 3 with Taylor having already passed his half century off 28 balls.Gloucestershire found it difficult to defend the short boundary to one side of the Bristol wicket and with Taylor and Matt Machan increasing the run rate, Sussex piled on the agony in the closing overs.Machan perished, in the 18th over, but not before hitting 31 off just a dozen deliveries. Wicket keeper Craig Cachopa was caught by Hamish Marshall off the bowling of Miles, for 0, with the bowler rounding off a decent spell of 2 for 29 from four overs.Still, Taylor was not to be undone and with Payne going for 27 in one over, the New Zealander closed in on his century. Unfortunately, for him, he fell seven runs short. He struck just four fours in his stay at the crease, but helped himself to eight sixes.The innings included six penalty runs for slow over rate. By the time the rains came later on, those runs would prove valuable, for Sussex.Gloucestershire lost Hamish Marshall for 12 at 14 for 1 in the second over of their response before captain Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain struck the ball with great accuracy, to all four corners. At one stage, they were ahead of the D/L rate and looked in a decent position to at least challenge for maximum spoils.Sadly, for the home supporters, umpires Nick Cook and Rob Bailey took the sides off midway through the eighth over with Sussex ahead on the D/L method, by one run. With no further play possible, the victory points went back to Hove, if only just.

ESPNcricinfo reporter Daniel Brettig was taken to hospital in Dominica on Saturday night after being mugged by men armed with knives in the capital city Roseau

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2015ESPNcricinfo reporter Daniel Brettig was taken to hospital in Dominica on Saturday night after being mugged by men armed with knives in the capital city Roseau.Brettig was attacked by two men and thrown to the ground after withdrawing cash from an ATM a short walk away from the Australian team hotel, and had his wallet and phones stolen.He was treated at hospital for a cut to the head, a bloody nose and other grazes, but said the incident would not taint his view of the Caribbean.”After nearly 10 years of touring maybe I had got too comfortable, but Dominica was certainly not particularly high on my list of dangerous places,” Brettig said. “It goes to show that we must be extremely careful wherever we are in the world, and that we must also look after each other and operate in groups.”The mugging itself was pretty awful and violent, although it could of course been so much worse. Quite early in the confrontation you realise that your valuables are meaningless without your life, and they can all be replaced.”Brettig had visited Dominica previously in 2012 to cover Australia’s Test match there, and said he had fond memories of the country.”I’m grateful to the overwhelming majority of the local population for how much they have worked to try to help me, from the two young men who helped me out of the street where I’d been attacked, to hotel staff, police and others,” he said. “They deserve better than to have their country dragged through the mud by a few thugs and thieves.”I’m also grateful for the kind words and gestures of the Australian team on tour, nearly all of whom have wished me well over the past day. The vigilance of the team security manager, Frank Dimasi, should not be underestimated. Equally, I am thankful for the supportive words I’ve received from the cricketing family back home.”I don’t want to let this episode dissuade me from travelling to the Caribbean nor touring generally, but I will certainly be doing so in more cautious ways in future.”Another Australian tourist travelling with a group of cricket fans was also mugged in Dominica on the same night in a separate incident.The first Test finished in Dominica on Friday, and the teams will move on to Jamaica for this week’s second Test.