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Imran Tahir, who had stayed back in Pakistan after the PSL, will take part in the T20 tournament

Firdose Moonda28-Jul-2020No South African player apart from Imran Tahir will take part in this year’s Caribbean Premier League, which is due to start on August 18. Rassie van der Dussen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw and Colin Ingram were unable to confirm travel arrangements in time to be in Trinidad by August 1, when CPL organisers wanted all participating players to arrive in order to fulfil a 14-day quarantine period before the tournament begins.While the CPL had organised a charter flight from London to Trinidad, the South African players were unable to get to the UK in time bearing in mind flight scarcity, visa requirements and the obligation to receive government permission. Tahir has not been in South Africa through the lockdown but in Pakistan, where he was playing in the PSL, and has been able to travel to the West Indies from there.There will be no English players in the competition either, with Harry Gurney and Alex Hales both withdrawing after signing for Barbados Tridents. Both players had hoped to play the first handful of games before returning to the UK for the T20 Blast on August 27, but the requirement of a strict, 14-day quarantine period and the competition’s respective dates prevented that from being a realistic option.South Africa remains in lockdown with all provincial and international borders closed and is expected to only begin easing travel restrictions after the coronavirus pandemic peak passes at the end of September. That means the participation of South African players in the IPL is also awaiting logistical checks, chiefly government permission. Similar permission is being sought for the national women’s team, who are due to play a series in England in September.While Cricket South Africa will issue its players with no-objection certificates, and does not intend to organise any bilateral cricket during the IPL window, players will need to obtain permits to travel and will need to consider quarantine regulations. The tournament is expected to take place from September 19 to November 8, which could mean that South African players will be required to be away from home from early September until early November, given pre-tournament training and quarantines.There is also the possibility that they will need to isolate for a further 14 days on their return home. As David Warner said, with families unlikely to be able to accompany players and tours made longer by quarantine periods, several players may need to consider their personal circumstances before committing to travel.South Africa has ten players contracted with IPL teams, and two of them – AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis – have babies on the way. Earlier, three players missed the 3TC exhibition match. Chris Morris was unavailable for personal reasons, Kagiso Rabada missed the fixture following the death of a family member, and Quinton de Kock pulled out because a close family member tested positive for Covid-19. The men’s team has not had any official training camps since the lockdown began in March but continue to train individually or at their franchise grounds.

Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma give visitors hope before they unravel against the new ball

Firdose Moonda08-Feb-2021Hasan Ali’s ten-wicket match haul topped stubborn resistance from two of South Africa’s Test captaincy candidates, Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma, to secure Pakistan’s first series win over South Africa since 2003. Hasan triggered a collapse with the second new ball that saw South Africa lose seven wickets for 33 runs and fall 96 runs short of what would have been the highest successful chase in Pakistan. They had lost the first Test, in Karachi, by seven wickets.Related

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• Takeaways: Are Pakistan dark horses for the 2023 World Test Championship?

• Hasan resurfaces with threatening zeal from life in the sidelines

• Rizwan learns from Shafiq to make Pakistan No. 6 spot his own

• Straight lines, sharper bursts – Nortje's method for success

Despite the defeat, South Africa would be especially pleased with Markram’s performance. He scored his fifth Test century – his first since March 2018 as well as the first in the subcontinent – to keep hopes of an unlikely upset win alive. Markram and Bavuma, who scored 61, shared a fourth-wicket stand of 106 runs and looked comfortable at the crease against the old ball. But neither could negotiate the fresh ball on a surface that was keeping low, and their dismissals opened up the lower order and allowed Pakistan to seal the series 41 minutes before tea on the final day.South Africa have now lost four of their last five series and ten of their last 13 Tests and are going to have an extended break from the longest format with no games scheduled for the rest of the summer following Australia’s decision to postpone indefinitely a proposed series in March. South Africa had hoped to use this season’s Tests to identify a suitable long-term Test captain after Faf du Plessis stepped down last year. Quinton de Kock, who took over in a temporary capacity, is expected to be relieved from the role after managing just 74 runs in four Tests as captain.Things could hardly have been worse for de Kock, who was dismissed for a first-ball duck chasing a full, wide Hasan delivery that he should have left. De Kock’s dismissal came the ball after Markram was caught at second slip, prodding at a Hasan delivery that kept low. That was in Hasan’s first over with the second new ball, and the second over with it overall, and Pakistan needed just ten more overs to finish South Africa off.The speed of, and shot selection that led to, South Africa’s collapse remains a concern – they had lost five for 37 in the first innings and seven for 87 and nine for 70 in Karachi. While the Rawalpindi pitch got better for batting as the match progressed, it kept low throughout and only Markram and Bavuma were able to adapt to the bounce on the fifth day.Rassie van der Dussen applied himself well on the penultimate day of the match and was on 48 overnight but fell to the third ball of the day. Hasan beat his inside edge with late swing to end a 94-run second-wicket stand with Markram and give Pakistan the breakthrough early on the final morning. Two overs later, Hasan had du Plessis trapped lbw with an incoming delivery that stayed low. Du Plessis reviewed but ball-tracking showed middle and leg stump would have been disturbed.The celebrations were muted as Aiden Markram brought up his first Test century since March 2018•AFP via Getty Images

Instead of sending in de Kock, South Africa opted to stick to the same batting order they had used in the first innings with Bavuma coming in at No. 5. Bavuma batted with more intent than he has come to be known for, and was especially strong on the back foot and the sweep. He played a strong supporting role for Markram, whose confidence grew as his innings developed.Markam was comfortable enough to play the ball late, kept out yorkers from Shaheen Shah Afridi – who took 4 for 51 for the innings – and took on Yasir Shah, cutting him for four and dancing down the track to loft him over long-off for six. His hundred came up the ball before lunch with a single to midwicket to break a century drought that has stretched 26 innings. But his celebrations were subdued, with the knowledge there was still work to do.He only added eight runs to his total after lunch before Hasan had the second new ball in hand and lured Markram into playing a stroke. De Kock’s dismissal off the next ball meant that Bavuma and the lower-order batsmen were left with 129 runs to get. That became far too much when Bavuma played at Afridi outside off and was caught behind.Afridi reaped rewards for his disciplined bowling in the off-stump channel and got the wickets of Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada later on, to go with the scalp of Dean Elgar on the fourth evening. But the day belonged to Hasan, whose five-for came when he had George Linde caught at point and he celebrated his usual bomb-explosion celebration to a baby-cradle one in a nod to his impending fatherhood. The entire squad did the same once victory had been completed, with Babar Azam joining Fazal Mahmood (vs West Indies, 1959), Mushtaq Mohammad (vs New Zealand, 1976), Javed Miandad (vs Australia, 1980) and Saleem Malik (vs New Zealand, 1994) in the list of Pakistan captains to win their maiden Test series at the helm.Shah, who had gone wicketless as the pacers did the damage, finished the game when he beat Wiaan Mulder’s slog to hit timber in the 92nd over. The win, Pakistan’s first against South Africa in over 17 years, means they have recorded series wins over every Test side in the last 15 years. As for South Africa, it was their 21st successive failure to boss a 200-plus (they had been set 370) chase; the last time they managed one was back in 2011 against Australia. They have lost 18 of those matches.

Delhi will play their second Vijay Hazare Trophy final after Unmukt Chand’s 80 off 86 balls set up a six-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in Bangalore

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi in Bangalore26-Dec-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Unmukt Chand hammered 80 off 86 balls to seal a chase of 201 for Delhi•PTI

Delhi will play their second Vijay Hazare Trophy final after a comfortable, six-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in Bangalore. The last time Delhi set up a summit clash was quite recent too – in 2012-13 – and they won it.The difference between both teams was the contrast in their batting styles. While Delhi were assured and always in control, Himachal were subdued and impatient and could only muster 200 for 9 after being put in to bat.No one epitomised Delhi’s confidence as much as Unmukt Chand, who became the first batsman from his team to cross 300 runs in the tournament. His unbeaten 80 today included nine boundaries and was his third fifty-plus score in List A cricket this season.Chand had walked in after Rishabh Pant became the first wicket to fall, but not before the opener had set the tone for the chase with three crunching fours in the first three overs.Chand too began with a solid straight drive, then moved inside the line of another fuller ball for a flick to the fine leg boundary and capped the series off by skipping down the pitch for a six over long-on. Ronit More was the bowler being targeted; he bowled only eight balls to Chand but gave away 16 runs.Chand’s positivity was apparent even in the break between overs during chats with senior partner Shikhar Dhawan, who joined in the early fun and punished Himachal’s 20-year old medium-pacer Pankaj Jaiswal for trying to bowl short. Delhi collected eight fours and a six in the first 10 overs to set up a strong foundation to their chase.Himachal did have a chance to turn things around. A lapse in concentration resulted in Shikhar playing on to Bipul Sharma’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir misread the line of one from part-time spinner Nikhil Gangta and was trapped leg before, continuing a dismal season with the bat – he averages 24.85 after eight matches with only one fifty. Milind Kumar lifted Himchal’s spirit further when he was run out by Ankush Bains in the 29th over.But Chand was still out there and he remained in charge. Barring a misjudged sweep against Bipul when he was on 55, he dominated the Himachal bowling and sealed the chase without any further hiccups.That Himachal even managed to get to 200, and last the 50 overs, was because of an aggressive half-century from their captain Bipul. He made 51 off 45 balls, the only man from the team to have a strike rate better than 100 on condition of at least five balls faced.Bipul had walked in with his team on 98 for 4 in the 31st over. Allrounder Rishi Dhawan had just got out for 9. The other two batting mainstays – Robin Bist and Paras Dogra – did not make much of an impact either.So it was down to Bipul to provide some substance to the innings. His first boundary came off a back cut against Pawan Negi. Then Bipul went with the turn and lofted the left-arm spinner for a straight six. Next Nitin Saini was taken for consecutive fours, and Nitish Rana’s offspin was launched down the ground for another maximum.His third six – straight again, off medium-pacer Subodh Bhatti – brought up the fifty partnership with No. 9 Mayank Dagar off only 46 balls. A dab into the off side for a single brought Bipul his first fifty in the tournament. But the enterprise he showed was absent in the rest of the Himachal batting line-up.Rishi Dhawan, who is part of the India squad for ODI series in Australia, punched the back of his bat in disgust after he was bowled attempting to sweep across the line of a straight delivery from Negi. Bist, who hit a match-winning century against Punjab in the quarter-final, nicked off when Saini was able to get one to move away off the straight.Dogra, Himachal’s most experienced batsman, was a victim of impatience. He had been part of a slow partnership – 45 off 78 balls – with opener Prashant Chopra who struggled to shift gears during his 33 off 69 balls. Chopra failed to capitalise and cut straight to point, the pressure slowly increased and Dogra, 28 off 64 balls at the time, succumbed to it when he played a half-hearted loft against Negi and was caught at long-off.Himachal could only put up 77 after 25 overs in their first innings, and it was this conservative approach with the bat that proved fatal for them.

Solo Nqweni receives anonymous donation to help fund £80,000 flight from UK by air ambulance

Firdose Moonda09-Jan-2020Solo Nqweni is going home. Nqweni, an allrounder from the Eastern Cape, was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome while playing club cricket for Aberdeenshire last July, spent four weeks in an induced coma and has been receiving treatment in a Scottish hospital for the past five months. He has now recovered enough to travel back to South Africa to continue his rehabilitation.However, it costs more than £80,000 (US$104,000) for an air ambulance. His agent launched a fundraiser four days ago, which had collected £3125 (US$4077), and then on Thursday, an anonymous donor offered to foot the rest of the bill. Nqweni will be in Johannesburg by the weekend.Rob Humphries, Nqweni’s agent, had been working alongside the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), and its player services manager, JP van Wyk, to try and secure his return home. They were floored by the generosity of an unknown individual who has made a massive difference to Nqweni’s quality of life.Nqweni played for South Africa Under-19s in 2012 and has been contracted to Eastern Province and the Warriors franchise since. He was on his first cricketing assignment abroad. “I had been pestering him for the last 4-5 years to come to the UK and he finally decided 2019 was the year – then this happened,” Humphries told ESPNcricinfo.After two months in the UK, Nqweni picked up what he thought was the flu. “He had a sore throat and just feeling unwell but was reluctant to go to the doctor,” Humphries said.It was only when the symptoms did not subside that someone at the Aberdeenshire club insisted Nqweni seek medical attention. The National Health Service (NHS) diagnosed him with Guillain-Barré “pretty quickly”, and he was admitted to hospital on July 14 when matters took a turn for the worse. “The thing about Guillain-Barré is that you lose control over your muscles and so, can’t control your ability to breathe,” Humphries said.Nqweni had to put into a coma so a machine could do the work of his lungs. “There were about three to four weeks where it was touch and go,” Humphries said. “And the other thing is that it doesn’t affect the mind, so you are completely aware of what is happening. It’s being trapped in your own body.”During this time, members of the Nqweni family travelled to Aberdeen in relays, ensuring that there was always someone at his side. SACA contributed to their accommodation expenses as well as ensured his franchise contract would stay in place for the ongoing 2019-20 season, even though he is unable to play.Once he had made some progress, Nqweni was brought out of the coma and slowly began to regain some of his muscular functions. In September, he was still being fed out of a tube but was regaining some of his vocal capacity. “It was like if someone loses their voice and you can only just hear them,” Humphries said.By October, Nqweni was able to talk loudly enough to record a video wishing the South African national rugby team, the Springboks, well for the World Cup. In December, he was visited by Ben Stokes and his wife Clare, who were in Aberdeen for the Sports Personality of the Year awards and now, in January, “he has enough mobility to use some of his messenger services,” according to Humphries, who receives messages from Nqweni on Instagram.Given the progress he has made, doctors have given Nqweni the all-clear to travel home but he requires a specialist air ambulance transfer with round-the-clock medical support and a seat for a member of his family to make the journey with him. The exorbitant cost was not covered by the NHS and was too much for the Nqweni family to bear on their own, so Humphries took to social media to try and raise funds. His GoFundMe campaign received some support in its first few days before an unexpectedly large single donation covered the bulk of the cost.Nqweni will still need significant recovery time and money. His family have identified a facility in Johannesburg for the former, while SACA has promised to assist Nqweni in accessing their past player fund, once his contract ends this season, and disability fund, should he require it. It is not known whether Nqweni will be able to return to professional sport, but if he doesn’t he has other options. Before his illness, Nqweni was working part-time for the bank Investec, and studying towards a Bachelor of Commerce degree.”He is a smart kid and can do anything he wants,” Humphries said. “But I think right now, there is no other consideration for him apart from returning to play cricket. He is so strong. I promised him that for the first ball he bowls, I will fly down from England to see it.”

Joe Leach’s Worcestershire team moved closer to the Division Two title despite Durham avoiding the follow on during a rain-affected third day at New Road

Paul Edwards at New Road27-Sep-20172:06

County Championship Round-up: Final-day drama awaits

Joe Leach’s walk back to his bowling mark is a fine enough thing, yet even his fondest relations do not judge it worthy of applause. We may live in a hyperbolic age but putting one foot in front of another does not justify hysterical ovations and hats-in-the-air jubilee. No, the reason the spectators at New Road broke into spontaneous clapping at 10.42am on this hazy late September morning was because, some 70 miles away, Northamptonshire’s Ben Sanderson had been bowled by Leicestershire’s Dieter Klein. One doubts this dismissal prompted unalloyed rejoicing even among the heaving thousands on the Grace Road terraces but at New Road it confirmed Worcestershire’s promotion to Division One of the County Championship.Some might have thought the rest of the day’s cricket would be wrapped in prolonged celebration and unreality following the achievement of the goal set by the Worcestershire coach, Steve Rhodes, last November. Yet it was not so. For one thing, Worcestershire want to go up as champions and that is not quite settled yet. Nottinghamshire may overtake them although their priority will be the achievement of a draw and their own promotion. Nevertheless, despite the entreaties of the lunchtime television people, Bradford-born Rhodes did not give any interviews until the end of the third day’s play. “I have a cricket match to win,” he said. You can take the lad out of Yorkshire etc, etc.Moreover, Durham’s cricketers have never been the drinks waiters at someone else’s party. It was entirely in character when Michael Richardson and Graham Onions added 30 for the last wicket to save the follow-on. Other teams might have folded on this third day but Onions does not want his last game for his beloved county to end in defeat. He even protested fairly plainly when Steve Gale judged him caught at second slip off the glove for 13. That ended Durham’s innings and it gave Worcestershire a 127-run lead. That had been extended to 284 for the loss of three wickets when bad light and rain arrived in mid-afternoon and only relented briefly. The destination of the title will therefore hang on the final day of the season here and even some home supporters were secretly pleased when Richardson pushed that crucial single. Every September afternoon is treasured.But this day had already offered other touching ovations and one of the warmest was for Leach and his players when they returned to the pavilion at the end of the Durham innings. The reason for this prolonged applause was very clear. Leach’s one wicket in the morning had taken his own total to 66 in the Championship but in addition to his impressive fast-medium bowling, he has been a fine skipper of some good young players. For example, Ed Barnard’s removal of Mark Wood and Chris Rushworth on the third morning took his own tally of wickets to 45, this in addition to nearly 600 runs. The hope is that cricketers like Barnard and George Rhodes will not be overawed by first division cricket. Worcestershire have won promotion five times in 12 season; all but one of those successes was followed by immediate relegation.Yet the most wholehearted applause of the day was reserved for Tom Fell, who returned to the pavilion having made 47, his highest score of what has been a thoroughly miserable season. Fell had offered signs that he was returning to something on the outskirts of form before he was leg-before when attempting to play Ryan Pringle’s sharply-spun offbreak to leg. It was a limp shot but that did not affect the spectators’ regard. Fell is one of the ten players in this Worcestershire side who came up through the county’s Academy and has recovered from serious illness. Even a half-century from him would have made the crowd’s day even more special.The evening session ambled towards a grey conclusion. Four overs were bowled but conditions were thoroughly miserable and Paul Collingwood saw no virtue in bowling his spinners to prolong the play. By the close it was clear that if Nottinghamshire avoid defeat at Hove they will be promoted while if Worcestershire avoid defeat here they will be champions. Any declaration offered by Leach will probably be tough in the extreme. That, though, may not matter to the home supporters at New Road. They hope simply that some sun will shine on a trophy their team has not won since 2003. And that will be it for another season. “Even the sun sets in paradise,” croons Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Perhaps so, but even the kaleidoscope of copper beeches, chestnuts and limes on the banks of the Severn does not make it easier to apprehend.

County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy will both be up for grabs next season

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2020Essex will have the opportunity to defend two red-ball titles in 2021, after the first-class counties agreed to a revised league-based structure for next season’s County Championship, followed by a separate five-day showpiece final at Lord’s, in which the Bob Willis Trophy will be once again be at stake.Essex are the current holders of both titles, having pipped Somerset to the County Championship in 2019 after securing a draw at Taunton on the final day of the season, before claiming the inaugural Bob Willis Trophy against the same opponents at Lord’s last month, again with a draw in which their first-innings lead proved to be the decisive factor.The announcements follow discussions between the ECB and the chairs of the first-class counties, who are seeking to mitigate against further disruption from Covid-19 in the 2021 season. A full review into the men’s domestic structure is due in 2022, for which the existing split of ten first-division teams and eight in Division Two will be taken as the default position.Unlike this season’s short-term arrangement, in which the 18 counties were split into three regional groups of six and played a single fixture against each opponent before the top two teams progressed to the final, next year’s competition will feature three seeded groups, with 10 home and away fixtures, followed by a further round of games in which the top, middle and bottom two of each group form three new divisions, and play four further games against one another for a total of 14 fixtures.The top team in this newly configured Division One will be crowned winners of the 2021 County Championship, and be awarded the traditional Lord’s Taverners trophy, but the first and second-placed teams will then compete at Lord’s for the Bob Willis Trophy, in a repeat of the showpiece finale that capped the 2020 season. Playing conditions for both competitions will be confirmed by the ECB in due course.Essex were crowned inaugural BWT champions•Getty Images

Seedings for the group stage of the County Championship have been determined based on the 18 teams’ performances in the past two seasons, while a provision for local derby encounters has also been factored in (where it does not cut across the seeding) to enable Surrey and Middlesex, Yorkshire and Lancashire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, Somerset and Gloucestershire, and Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire to compete in the same initial groups.Ian Watmore, the new chairman of the ECB, explained the reasoning behind the restructuring. “Since starting in my new role last month one of my key priorities, as a huge supporter of red-ball cricket, has been to collaborate with the first-class counties so that we could confirm a structure for next summer’s men’s domestic season,” he said.”I am delighted that the counties have been able to reach this agreement less than three weeks after Essex won the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord’s.”The success of that competition provides reassurance that this structure can help safeguard against any impact the global pandemic may have on next season while also ensuring the integrity of the County Championship.”It must be stressed that this structure has been agreed for next season only and during 2021 we will review and consult with the counties and other stakeholders to decide the appropriate next steps for the men’s domestic structure in 2022 and beyond.”

2021 County Championship Groups

Group 1: Essex, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Worcestershire, Durham

Group 2: Somerset, Hampshire, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Leicestershire

Group 3: Kent, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Glamorgan, Sussex

Fourth consecutive title for champions, but they are forced to fight all the way as Maxfield takes seven

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2019 Berkshire 164 (Morris 89, Hemmings 4-21) and 97 for 9 (Maxfield 7-48) beat Staffordshire 150 and 110 (Nugent 5-40, Rishton 4-42) by one wicket.Berkshire held their nerve to win the Minor Counties Championship for a record-equalling fourth successive season after they scrambled a one-wicket victory over Staffordshire on the third day of the final at Banbury.Berkshire were set just 97 to win but that modest target looked like being beyond them when they slipped to 87 for 9 with Staffordshire seamer Tim Maxfield taking seven of the wickets.But Staffordshire could not dislodge Berkshire opener Jack Davies who batted throughout the innings for 42 not out.With the support of last man Mungo Russell, Davies managed to whittle down the runs, striking Rob Hemmings for an important boundary, taking a single off the same bowler to level the scores and then clinching victory in a remarkable low-scoring final by taking the winning single off Maxfield.Berkshire’s win equalled Devon’s record of four successive Championships under the captaincy of Peter Roebuck between 1994 and 1997 and gave them their seventh national title in four season to go with four Western Division crowns.Defeat was hard on Maxfield who finished with career-best figures of 7 for 48 in a brave effort from Staffordshire, the Eastern Division champions.Ball dominated bat throughout the match on a pitch that helped the seamers and only one batsman, Berkshire’s Richard Morris in the first innings, made 50. Davies was the only other batsman to top 30.There were 13 LBWs in the match, ten of them against Berkshire with five in each innings.Berkshire began the day needing 73 more runs for victory and Staffordshire requiring seven more wickets.The equation became 73 runs with six wickets in hand after Manraj Johal bowled Middlesex T20 batsman Dan Lincoln without addition to the overnight total.Maxfield then bowled Berkshire captain James Morris and Johal trapped Andy Rishton LBW to make it 40 for 6.But the experienced Chris Peploe (15) and Tom Nugent (13) supplied valuable lower-order runs in important partnerships with Davies for the seventh and eighth wickets which got Berkshire to within 16 of their target.Maxfield then had Nugent and Luke Beaven LBW but Davies, who is on Middlesex’s books, and Russell held firm for 23 balls while they scraped together the last ten runs.

Lyon has become a major threat for India, taking nine of his 16 wickets off defensive shots. Sweep could be a lower-risk option to put pressure back on him

Sidharth Monga in Melbourne24-Dec-20183:58

WATCH – Ashwin, Jadeja and Rohit train ahead of Boxing Day Test

There was a time when everybody used to be surprised when a spinner did well against India, leave alone a humble offspinner. However, there is no surprise right now who the highest wicket-taker in this series is. He is Australia’s most successful bowler against India, and the world’s second-most successful spinner against the same opposition, known for their batsmanship against spin. Nobody has dismissed Virat Kohli as many times as he has. That he is fit and performing is proving to be a big advantage for Australia. Nathan Lyon, with 16 wickets at 19.43 each, is currently the most threatening bowler in the series.India’s batsmen – under fire anyway – once again have questions asked of their techniques against spin. While it is true that spinners like Moeen Ali feed off the pressure created by their seam bowlers at home – they have much better numbers against India at home as compared to in India, where they should ideally do better – Lyon has now been troubling India both home and away.That nine of Lyon’s 16 wickets this series have come off defensive shots in what can’t be classified as dream conditions for spin is a matter of big concern if you are India’s batting coach. That combined with low strike rates of batsmen against Lyon means two things: the defensive technique is not what it should be, and that they don’t have enough low-risk attacking options. Not only is Lyon taking wickets, he is bowling beautifully in one spot when the wickets are not coming. Those who have managed to score at a strike rate of over 50 against him have not been able to bat long enough, which points to the high-risk game Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma have had to play against him. The fact that others – even Kohli – haven’t been able to force mistakes from him points to lack of attacking options too.One of those attacking options was seen in the nets on Sunday, three days before the start of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. When batting against spin, Kohli played a succession of sweeps. Perhaps he was just toying with the idea, and we might not necessarily see him play that shot often, but there seems to be an intent to attack spin. Even Cheteshwar Pujara lofted spin in the nets on one occasion on Monday.The sweep remains an interesting option, though. Traditionally Indian batsmen have prided themselves on not needing the sweep: they are either right forward or right back, playing the ball either before it turns or after it has turned. The sweep has been considered the weapon of the less proficient. Yet, it is an effective shot. When played well, it not only plays with the bowler’s rhythm, it also makes the fielding captain defend more scoring zones, removing an attacking fielder.R Ashwin and Nathan Lyon share a laugh•AFP

In this series, Lyon has been swept or reverse-swept only 23 times, which is once every five-and-a-half overs. On the last trip here, when Lyon averaged 35 against India, he was swept or reverse-swept 92 times, once every two-and-a-half overs. Even when Lyon toured India last year, India swept or reverse-swept him once every three-and-a-half overs.India’s relationship with the shot has been sporadic. On two consecutive tours of England, they went to the shot in the nets only after Moeen Ali had troubled them. Trailing 2-1 in 2014, they tried it only before the finale at The Oval. Those who were present in England this year talk of how the Southampton defeat sent them to the shot in the nets at The Oval.India have trained hard to face spin although what Lyon does is difficult to replicate in nets. That quality of bowling with that much overspin is not readily available. Still India have tried to simulate the conditions, creating artificial rough; once Kohli batted at the edge of a pitch at the SCG nets with Sanjay Bangar, the batting coach, throwing balls down diagonally into some rough there. Kohli has been practising the sweep in the nets since Adelaide, but he has not played a single sweep against Lyon. Perhaps he doesn’t feel he is ready with it yet, which makes it a risky option as opposed to his against-the-turn cover-drive, which he used to good effect in the first innings in Perth.In this series, even R Ashwin, who has played only one Test, has been swept or reverse-swept only nine times, which makes it once in almost 10 overs. Seven of those shots have been played by a lower-order batsman, Lyon himself. So perhaps the conditions – both Adelaide and Perth strips had appreciable bounce in them – make the sweep a risky option. Perhaps, by sweeping Lyon more often than Australia have swept spin, India have been proactive but just haven’t been able to find a way.Melbourne should bring India more scoring options against Lyon, especially with less bounce from the pitch to aid his overspin. We might just see more sweeps. Whatever they do, India will need to find a way to attack Lyon. Even if Lyon is not a wicket-taking threat, India can’t afford to let him hold one end up, which gives the fast bowlers time to recover and take turns from the other end. One of Lyon’s big successes this series has been that Australia’s fast bowlers have fewer overs in their legs, which allows them to play an extra batsman. With the reputation they have against spin, India should not be allowing that to happen.

The opener, who has been out of action with a wrist fracture and then a side strain, has been included in the BCB XI squad that will face the West Indians in a one-day warm-up match

Mohammad Isam01-Dec-2018Tamim Iqbal comes out to bat with a fractured left hand•Associated Press

Tamim Iqbal is set to return from multiple injuries after he was named in the BCB XI squad for the one-day practice match against the visiting West Indians, which is scheduled to be played on December 6 at the BKSP ground. Tamim suffered a fractured wrist during the Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka in September, and had just begun batting in the nets again when a side strain earlier this month cut short his bid to return in time for the Test series against West Indies.The BCB XI side will be led by ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who is also short of game time, having been restricted to only training sessions since the third ODI against Zimbabwe in Chittagong in late October. The squad also includes Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Ariful Haque, Rubel Hossain and Nazmul Islam, who have featured in the ODI side recently.The selectors have also included Bangladesh U19 captain Towhid Hridoy and his teammates Akbar Ali, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury and Sahin Alam.The first ODI of the three-match series is scheduled for December 9 in Mirpur.BCB XI squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Towhid Hridoy, Ariful Haque, Akbar Ali, Rubel Hossain, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Shahin Alam, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Nazmul Islam

England’s women made it five wins out of five on their tour of Sri Lanka, after easing to another untroubled eight-wicket win

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2019England women 109 for 2 (Jones 36, Wyatt 37) beat Sri Lanka women 108 for 6 (Brunt 2-31) by eight wickets
England’s women made it five wins out of five on their tour of Sri Lanka, after easing to another untroubled eight-wicket win in the second T20I in Colombo.After their 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI leg of the tour, England ensured they wrapped up their second trophy of the trip with a match to spare as well, after restricting Sri Lanka to 108 for 6 in their 20 overs.The spoils were shared around, with five different bowlers claiming a wicket, and Katherine Brunt claiming a brace to finish with figures of 4 for 31. Freya Davies, who opened the bowling with Linsey Smith, didn’t pick up a wicket but set the tone for England’s performance with four economically delivered overs conceding just 15 runs.Sri Lanka started their innings with resolve, adding 45 for the first wicket in seven overs as Chamari Atapattu and Imalka Mendis laid something of a foundation.But Nat Sciver struck with her first delivery to bowl Atapattu for 24, before Shashikala Siriwardene and Mendis fell to Sophia Dunkley and Heather Knight in consecutive overs to keep the run-rate in check.In reply, England wasted little time in getting ahead of the requirement. Amy Jones, in a fine vein of form, added 79 in 7.2 overs with Danni Wyatt before Wyatt was stumped off Siriwardene for 37.And when Jones fell to the same bowler with 19 runs needed, Tammy Beaumont and Sciver knocked off the final requirement with 37 balls to spare.