All posts by n8rngtd.top

Both sides confirmed their XIs with Australia opting for three frontline quicks on a surface with a few unknowns

Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan24-Jun-20252:57

Cummins: ‘Iconic’ Barbados, Konstas impressing, team reset

Big picture: Resets all-round in Barbados

The prevailing northeast trade winds are a constant in beautiful Barbados but the winds of change have swept through both the West Indies team and Australia as they begin a new World Test Championship cycle in Bridgetown.West Indies have not played Test cricket since January in Pakistan and begin the cycle under a new captain in Roston Chase after Kraigg Brathwaite stepped down. Extraordinarily, Chase has not played a Test match since March 2023, having not played in West Indies’ last 13.He leads a new-look squad which, for the opening Test, sees a debut for Brandon King and returns for John Campbell and Shai Hope – the latter as wicketkeeper – for the first time since 2022 and 2021 respectively.Related

• 'I'm going to give my all' – Hope wants to do it for West Indies in Test cricket again

• Plenty left in the tank: Khawaja eyes more Ashes glory and mentoring role for Konstas

• Pace, swing, youth and promise – Ian Bishop's rundown of WI's bowling options for Australia Tests

• 'Good enough to play that role' – Voges backs Inglis as top-four Test batter

• 'Emotions got to me' – Konstas keen to settle into Test cricket

Meanwhile, veteran Kemar Roach was left out of the squad entirely despite playing in each of West Indies’ last three series. Joshua da Silva could not earn a recall either on account of his Gabba heroics against Australia and a recent run spree in the West Indies Championship, with selectors holding firm after dropping him in Pakistan. There are only three survivors from West Indies’ previous Test: Brathwaite, Justin Greaves and Jomel Warrican.Australia’s “reset” is not quite as extreme following the disappointment of the WTC final loss to South Africa just two weeks ago, but it is significant by their standards. For the first time since December 2018, they will field an XI without either Marnus Labuschagne or Steven Smith on the team sheet.The selectors finally lost patience with Labuschagne and he has been dropped for first time in six years having been a mainstay of Australia’s top three for 53 consecutive Tests. Smith had played 51 in a row before his gruesome finger injury ruled him out of the first Test of this series. He is a chance to return for the second.It means Australia do not have a single batter in the squad remaining from the last Test Australia played in the Caribbean in 2015, when Smith made 199 and 54 not out. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon are the only others to have played Test cricket in the Caribbean.Australia confirmed five days out that Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis will play in Barbados to change the age profile of the side. But they will still only field two players under 30.Australia rarely undertake full-scale reboots, and it is understandable they have not made sweeping changes following Lord’s given they have lost just one of their past seven Tests and did not lose a multi-Test series during the previous WTC cycle. But they cannot afford a slow start to the new cycle with an inexperienced top six and an aging attack, given they have away tours to South Africa and India in this WTC schedule as well as an Ashes series later in the year.

Form guide

West Indies: WLLWL
Australia: LWWWWShamar Joseph starred the last time the teams met in Test cricket•Getty Images

In the spotlight: Shamar Joseph and Sam Konstas

Shamar Joseph‘s star looked set to explode on the global stage after he carried West Indies to an astonishing Test victory at the Gabba last year. But with the exception of his 5 for 33 against South Africa in August, he has not quite reached the heights that were expected of him. He was named West Indies’ Test player of the year at an awards ceremony in Bridgetown on Sunday night but he has not played Test cricket since November and has hardly played at all due to injury and non-selection in West Indies’ white-ball teams. He bowled 31 overs and claimed just three wickets across two innings for West Indies A against South Africa A in early June. The arrival of Australia should give him a boost of confidence given the way he bowled to them 18 months ago.Similarly outlandish expectations have fallen on Sam Konstas‘ slender shoulders following his spectacular Test debut last Boxing Day against Jasprit Bumrah. But he has only played one Test since and his Sheffield Shield returns were lean at the back end of the summer, with his batting causing some consternation among coaches and selectors. He has not played a game of cricket at any level since March and has a first-class average of just 34.89 from 30 innings with only two centuries. Yet Australia’s selectors are convinced he is the man to walk out alongside Usman Khawaja in the hope that they can end the revolving door of openers Australia have had since David Warner retired. Konstas is expected to play all three Tests in the Caribbean no matter what, with a view to getting valuable experience ahead of the Ashes.

Team news: Hope to keep wicket, Kuhnemann misses out

The significant call made by West Indies was to make Shai Hope wicketkeeper on his return to the side which opens up a spot for another allrounder. Brandon King will make his debut at No. 4. The bowling attack is as expected.West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 John Campbell, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Brandon King, 5 Roston Chase (capt), 6 Shai Hope (wk), 7 Justin Greaves, 8 Jomel Warrican, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Shamar Joseph, 11 Jayden SealesAustralia opted to retain their traditional balance of three frontline quicks and a spinner supplemented by Beau Webster who can provide medium pace and offspin. Josh Inglis will cover for Smith at No. 4.Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Sam Konstas, 3 Cameron Green, 4 Josh Inglis, 5 Travis Head, 6 Beau Webster, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions: Dry grass, may turn later

Kensington Oval is an unknown for both sides in some respects given it has hosted just one Test in six years and none in the last three. In that game in 2022, Brathwaite batted for 710 minutes in a draw that arguably was a catalyst for England’s Bazball revolution. This surface looked an interesting one with a mixture of bare patches and areas of more grass, although it was dried out. In this season’s four-day Championship there were only two totals over 300 in 12 completed innings. After some rain in the build-up the forecast is promising for most of the game, with Saturday looking the mostly like to be hit by thunderstorms and showers. Chase termed it a “typical” Barbados surface and expected it to start slow before maybe gathering some pace.

Stats and trivia

• Roston Chase’s first Test as captain will be his 50th overall; Jomel Warrican will be playing his 100th first-class match
• Kraigg Brathwaite and Nathan Lyon are the only members of the two XIs that played in the last West Indies-Australia Bridgetown Test in 2012 which Australia won by three wickets.
• Australia have played 11 Tests in Bridgetown. They have won four overall including the last three.
• Despite the drought-breaking Gabba victory in 2024, West Indies have not won a home Test against Australia since the world-record fourth innings chase in 2003. They have not won a home series against Australia since 1991.

Quotes

“Coming over here with a few unknowns, that’s fine, you have to think on your feet. We feel like the three quicks are better suited for this wicket.”
“We’re looking to play with a bit more flair and bring back that Caribbean style to the game. And we’re just looking forward to making the Caribbean nation proud. I just want to ask the fans to just support the boys through and through.”

West Indies captain Roston Chase wants to leave New Zealand with their first Test win in the country in 30 years

Sreshth Shah12-Dec-20252:26

Roston Chase: ‘We made mistakes at crucial points in the game’

After another collective batting failure, West Indies captain Roston Chase called on his batters to convert their starts and hold themselves accountable after undoing the work of a disciplined bowling attack.West Indies made only 205 in the first innings in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, but then restricted New Zealand to 278. However, they were skittled for just 128 in the second innings when batting conditions were in fact better, and eventually went down by nine wickets.Chase said the manner of the loss stung especially because West Indies had got into a decent position before the collapse, and rejected suggestion that conditions were to blame.Related

• West Indies strengthen patchy batting in final bid to draw level

• Duffy five-for triggers West Indies slide to give New Zealand first win of WTC cycle

“We were in a good position up to this morning, even though in the first innings, we thought that we should have got some more runs,” Chase said in the post-match press conference. “A number of batsmen getting some starts, but we didn’t really convert into anything big. We left some runs up there in the first innings, and we thought that we would have gotten those runs in the second innings, but it didn’t happen. So very disappointing for us after the bowlers really put up their hands and brought us back into the game.”I still thought that the pitch was one that we could score runs on. Personally, I thought it was not as tough as the first game. I thought the first innings in [the first Test in] Christchurch, the ball was doing a whole lot, but I didn’t think that was the case here. I just thought we just made some mistakes at some crucial points in the game, and we just never really got our foot back into the game today.”Across the tour, Chase said, West Indies’ batting malaise had been clear: players get in, and then give it away. In Wellington, seven times batters crossed 20 across both of West Indies’ innings, yet the highest score was Shai Hope’s 47. The rest, like Hope, frittered away promising starts – 44, 33 and 29 in the first innings, followed by 22, 35 and 25 in the second.”You have to work very hard to get that start,” Chase said. “It’s just about buckling down and having that determination to carry it. You will get good balls, but I think sometimes we just give it away a little too easy when we get to the 30s and the 40s. But especially in New Zealand, we know the first innings is very crucial. If you can get a good first-innings total where the ball is moving around a lot more and [there’s] a lot of green on the wicket, that puts you in a commanding position to have a chance at winning the game.”When we do sit and chat after games, we sit and we discuss those things. We try to hold everyone accountable for their actions. But not only just talking, we need to find ways out there in the middle to combat what is being thrown at us.”Yet, even after a chastening defeat, Chase stressed that the squad remained driven by a long-standing ambition: winning a Test in New Zealand for the first time in 30 years. A victory in the third Test in Mount Maunganui would not only end that drought but also square the series and give West Indies their first win of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.”The last time we won in New Zealand was in 1995, so we want to leave here with a win,” Chase said. “We still think that we are capable enough to get a win, but it’s just for us to be consistent, because the bowlers have shown that they’re capable of getting us those ten wickets or 20 wickets that we need to get.”

New Zealand register a narrow win over USA while the England vs Nigeria game was abandoned without a ball being bowled

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2025Australia and South Africa moved closer to the semi-finals of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 with dominant shows on the opening day of the Super Six stage.Australia registered a seven-wicket win over West Indies in Bangi in the morning fixture. After opting to bowl, Australia struck immediately and reduced West Indies to 7 for 3. West Indies never recovered from the early blow and kept losing wickets regularly. Fast bowlers Eleanor Larosa, Caoimhe Bray, and legspinner Tegan Williamson each picked up two wickets and eventually West Indies were all out for just 53 runs in 16.3 overs.Despite a brief rain delay, Australia reached the target in 10.5 overs, with captain Lucy Hamilton top-scoring with 28 runs off 29 balls. Larosa was named the Player of the Match for her figures of 2 for 6 in three overs.Ritu Singh’s 5 for 15 against New Zealand went in vain•ICC/Getty Images

New Zealand produced an 18-run win over USA at the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangi. In a low-scoring Super Six game, New Zealand were all out for 97 after they were put in to bat, thanks to offspinner Ritu Singh’s 5 for 15 in 3.5 overs. However, New Zealand’s collective bowling effort triggered the USA lower-order collapse as they went from 73 for 5 to 70 all out.For New Zealand, none of the batters converted their starts. There were only two noteworthy stands: a 32-run opening partnership between Kate Irwin and Emma McLeod and a 34-run stand between Hannah Francis (25 off 33) and Rishika Jaiswal (17 off 27) for the seventh wicket. Ritu accounted for three out of the top five batters and picked up two more wickets in the final over.In reply, USA lost opener Chetna Pagydyala for a first-ball duck in the second over, but Disha Dhingra held fort with a 24-ball 30. However, when she was dismissed in the seventh over off Anika Tauwhare, USA struggled to keep their innings going. Ritu also contributed 14 with the bat but was run-out in the 13th over. Jaiswal and Irwin starred with two wickets each to bundle USA out in the 18th over.Monalisa Legodi rattled Ireland with four wickets•ICC/Getty Images

South Africa continued to stay unbeaten in the tournament as they crushed Ireland in their rain-affected match in Kuching. The contest was reduced to 10-overs-a-side and Ireland, after opting bat first, kept losing wickets regularly from the second over and were all out for just 35 in 9.4 overs. Fast bowler Monalisa Legodi offspin all-rounder Kayla Reyneke were the star performers, picking up four and three wickets respectively.South Africa chased down the target in just 6.1 overs, but lost three wickets in the process. Captain Reyneke remained unbeaten on 16 to take the team home. With this win, South Africa topped the Group 2 with six points.The England vs Nigeria game was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain.

Sri Lanka’s first goal, however, will be to be more competitive than they were in Durban

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Dec-20244:28

Will Sri Lanka go in without a spinner in Gqeberha?

Big picture: Can Sri Lanka avoid another collapse?

The headline is that both teams are in with a shot at making the World Test Championship final, but neither have secured a place. Unhelpfully for South Africa, the WTC points system doesn’t reward hefty winning margins, so although they crushed Sri Lanka by 233 runs in Durban, it still only goes down as a simple win.Still, they have arrived in Gqeberha full of confidence. Another win here, and their path to that final clears up significantly. A win for Sri Lanka, meanwhile, would mean they have a chance of qualifying for the final without having to depend on other results. (They would also need to win the matches against Australia 2-0.)Their first goal, however, is to be more competitive than they were in Durban. Their batters, specifically, cannot allow another collapse to occur. Various members of the batting group have spoken about the challenge of facing South Africa’s tall quicks, on tracks that offer more bounce than they are used to at home. These coastal venues are not as bouncy as they tend to be in the Highveld, for instance, but have clearly presented more of a challenge than Sri Lanka expected. They’ll also hope that given the wind and sunshine forecast for Gqeberha for the next few days, the surface will dry out and bring spinners more meaningfully into the game.Related

• Kandamby backs experienced SL to make a strong comeback

• SA face selection conundrum amid injuries

• Chandimal takes on No. 3 challenge

• Injured Coetzee out of second Test and all-format Pakistan series

South Africa’s own batters were dismissed for 191 in the first innings in Kingsmead, but they have Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs coming into this Test in serious form, while Aiden Markram also got a decent innings under his belt at Kingsmead.South Africa’s concerns ahead of the Test centre around the make-up of their attack, with Wiaan Mulder and Gerald Coetzee both ruled out. They still have their spearheads in Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, however, who shared 14 wickets in the previous Test, Jansen getting 11 on his own.

Form guide

South Africa: WWWWD (last five Tests, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWWWLSouth Africa will be without Wiaan Mulder and Gerald Coetzee in Gqeberha•Gallo Images/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Tristan Stubbs and Lahiru Kumara

Test cricket must seem pretty straightforward so far to 24-year-old Tristan Stubbs. Eleven innings in, he’s got two centuries and a fifty, with an average of 43.90. While Bavuma was tentative in the approach to triple figures in Kingsmead, Stubbs raced through the 90s. He had had some luck in that innings, having been dropped on 33, but remained positive through his stay at the crease, pressing South Africa’s advantage alongside Bavuma. He will relish the opportunity to back that 122 up with a solid performance in his first Test in his home town.Lahiru Kumara is not always the most disciplined of Sri Lanka’s quicks, but he is their fastest bowler, and at Kingsmead, the most penetrative. He is on the verge of joining a fairly exclusive club. Sri Lanka have only ever had four seam bowlers get to 100 wickets – Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, and Dilhara Fernando. Kumara needs only one more dismissal to get up to triple figures. If Sri Lanka are to level the series, they will likely need Kumara to blow well past that milestone.

Team news

South Africa named their XI on match eve, with Ryan Rickelton and Dane Paterson coming in in place of Mulder and Coetzee. That means an extra batter, three seamers and a spinner.*South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 David Bedingham, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Ryan Rickelton, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Dane PatersonSri Lanka also have major decisions to make around their attack. Will they do what they did in Lord’s this year, and strap four fast bowlers to the plough? It’s a definite possibility, given Milan Rathnayake can also bat a bit. They also desperately want to find a place for Oshada Fernando, as Oshada had recently made 122 and 80 for Sri Lanka A in South Africa, and had also hit 75 not out at this venue in 2019. But who would make way for his inclusion?Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karuanaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Prabath Jayasuriuya/ Milan Rathnayake, 9 Vishwa Fernando, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru KumaraLahiru Kumara is on the verge of 100 Test wickets•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

The day before the match, the playing surface was covered with a hessian to prevent too much moisture loss as the drying wind was expected to pick up in the afternoon. There remained significant grass on the surface for the same reason. The groundsman has yet to decide how much will be cut on the morning of the match. The westerly wind is forecast for most of the match, which suggests batting first and taking advantage of deteriorating conditions later on. No rain is forecast for the five days, for now.

Stats and trivia

• If Kumara takes three wickets in Gqeberha, his wicket-tally will go past those of Dilhara Fernando (100) and Lasith Malinga (101), and he will become the third-highest wicket-taker in Sri Lanka’s seam-bowling history.
  
• Sri Lanka lost their first match in Gqeberha in 2016, going down by 206 runs. But they won their most recent game at the venue, by eight wickets in 2019.
  
• Stubbs has been excellent at getting starts so far in his career, having got to 20 in nine of his 11 innings.

Quotes

“The way that we stacked up our line-up is that, we believe that with the runs on the board, that gives you enough time to get 20 wickets. It might take us a bit longer. It may not play like Durban. There is a bit more grass on the wicket. I think there will be something in there for our seamers. But if it doesn’t favour our seamers, we do have the spin of Kesh[av Maharaj] to be effective. So we believe that whether it’s the seam, whether it’s the spin, we can still be successful in these conditions.”
“If we compare this cycle with the previous one, we are doing far better. I’m happy with the boys and how they’ve performed. If we don’t get to the final in this cycle, we should be prepared to de even better in the next one.”
*

Manchester franchise hoping to challenge United and City as IPL investors arrive in “UK’s number one sporting city”

Matt Roller14-Feb-2025Lancashire officials have played down the idea that Manchester Originals could be seen as a consolation prize by the RPSG Group, who are finalising a deal for 70% stake in the franchise after missing out on a minority share in London Spirit.Lancashire shortlisted four bidders with links to IPL franchises, though Reliance, the owners of Mumbai Indians, were removed when they won the auction for a stake in Oval Invincibles. The RPSG Group – who run Lucknow Super Giants – eventually saw off competition from Kolkata Knight Riders and Amit Jain, whose bid involved a cricketing partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.The auction for Originals took place three days after the RPSG Group had missed out on London Spirit, the Lord’s-based franchise, in a three-hour bidding war with a Silicon Valley tech consortium. They were the final bidders remaining as Spirit’s valuation reached an eye-watering £295 million, and instead secured Originals at a valuation of £116m.Related

• Northern Superchargers officially renamed Sunrisers Leeds

• James Anderson registers for Hundred draft

• Hundred teams lean on new IPL partners in recruitment for 2025 season

• Lancashire want IPL link for Manchester Originals

• Hundred sale explainer: Who has bought what and for how much?

Lancashire have stressed that the RPSG Group had been their preferred partner for a significant period of time, and RPSG Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka has insisted his commitment to “developing a deep bond” with the club, saying he sees “huge potential” in the partnership.”Lord’s is Lord’s, but Manchester is Manchester,” Shashwat Goenka, Sanjiv’s son and the group’s vice-chairman, said at a launch event at Emirates Old Trafford on Friday. “While we did bid aggressively for Lord’s, we stopped at a point and I’m extremely happy with Manchester. We’ve been delighted with our interactions with Lancashire and I’m very excited with this partnership.”James Sheridan, Originals’ chair, played down the significance of the failed bids in London. “It doesn’t concern us,” he said. “We’ve had some amazing conversations… I was actually on the phone to one of Shashwat’s colleagues the minute after the auction finished in London. We’re not concerned. We’ve got 100 percent, total confidence that RPSG is in the right place.”ESPNcricinfo revealed last year that officials from the RPSG Group had visited Manchester during the Hundred, while Lancashire also sent a delegation to Kolkata – where RPSG is based – last year. “The team from Lucknow have just been exemplary from a partnership approach, right from day one,” Sheridan said. “We have got a fantastic partner that we can build something very special with.”Lancashire opted to sell part of their stake in Originals but will retain 30% and plan to include a reserved matters provision – effectively a set of veto rights – while drawing up contracts over the next six weeks. They will use their windfall of more than £30 million to pay down their debt and invest in infrastructure projects, including the development of a second home venue in Farington, near Preston.Daniel Gidney, Lancashire’s chief executive, believes that new investment will eventually help Originals compete with Manchester’s two Premier League football clubs. “We’ve talked about Manchester being probably the UK’s number one sporting city… We want the Manchester franchise in the Hundred to become the third-biggest sports team in Manchester and challenge those two [United and City].Sheridan and Gidney speak to the press•Lancashire CCC

“That is the scale and level of the ambition of both of us as partners… This is something that is incredibly exciting for us and that is why we wanted to partner with an IPL team and we always have done. You’ve got a 1.4 billion population of people who adore cricket: why wouldn’t we want to inject a bit of that energy and passion into Manchester and Lancashire?”The two parties did not confirm as much but it is widely expected that the franchise will be renamed Manchester Super Giants from 2026, following the lead of the Lucknow and Durban teams in the IPL and SA20 respectively. The RPSG Group also own Mohun Bagan, the Kolkata-based football club who play in the Indian Super League.LSG reached the play-offs in their first two IPL seasons before missing out on net run-rate last year, and spent a record INR 27 crore (£2.54m approx.) on Rishabh Pant at November’s auction. The arrival of four IPL owners in the Hundred has led to speculation that Indian men’s players could feature in future, but that appears unlikely in the short term.”If you could get Rishabh Pant playing in the Hundred, you’d have a lot more eyeballs on what’s going on,” Sheridan said. “But we all know that the BCCI doesn’t allow that to happen at the moment… I don’t think that is likely to change anytime soon.” Goenka added: “Where Indian players play and don’t play is the prerogative of the BCCI.”Phil Salt and Beth Mooney, who have both been retained for 2025, said that the partnership will benefit Originals. “There’s definitely a new level for this tournament to find,” Salt said. “At the inception of the IPL, their ambition was to bring the world’s best tournament that we’ve ever seen… We sit here today knowing full well that our ambition is to bring the world’s best cricket to Manchester.”Mooney, speaking from Vadodara shortly before playing for Gujarat Giants, added: “The IPL changed the landscape of men’s cricket, and we’re seeing that starting to happen with the WPL heading into its third season… The exciting part of the Hundred is that it’s only going to get bigger and better.”

Australia fielded a four-pronged pace attack, leaving out a fit Lyon for the first time since 2013

Andrew McGlashan12-Jul-2025Nathan Lyon’s shock omission for the final Test against West Indies at Sabina Park was based on “exceptional circumstances” created by the pink-ball day-night encounter, but Australia selector Tony Dodemaide admitted that Lyon had been disappointed by the decision.Aside from the three Tests he was injured for in the 2023 Ashes, Lyon has been ever present in the side since the 2013 tour of England when he was initially overlooked in favour of Ashton Agar. He claimed six wickets in Grenada leaving him one behind Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 as the second-most for Australia in Tests.Dodemaide said the call “didn’t come naturally for everybody” but further examination of the limited data available from pink-ball Dukes matches, evidence from Australia’s training sessions, and the fact daylight goes quickly had persuaded them spin would play a limited role.Related

• Lyon was 'disappointed on a number of levels' after being left out of Jamaica Test

• Pink-ball theatre: Unplayable deliveries, unbelievable catches and T20 batting in Test cricket

• Could Lyon be left out for first time in 12 years?

“It’s something that wasn’t front of mind, certainly a difficult [decision], but we thought the exceptional circumstances justified having the four quicks so that we could rotate those guys and keep the pressure on,” Dodemaide said. “On a well-grassed surface and a hard surface with lots of night time play hours, that was the best way to win the game.”Dodemaide also referenced the 2018 pink-ball Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka in Barbados which was played with a Dukes and saw the spinners have very limited impact. However, for this match the home side recalled their frontline spinner Jomel Warrican in place of seamer Anderson Phillip. Overall in pink-ball Tests, Lyon has 43 wickets at 25.62.”But the key in here is it’s a conditions-based decision to go with the four quicks,” Dodemaide said. “What we found here with the limited data that we have on particularly the pink Dukes ball… [is] that it actually behaves a little differently to the Kookaburra one. It doesn’t go as soft.”The Kookaburra one tends to have a trough when it doesn’t move so much in those middle overs. That’s not the case with the Dukes one, the history tells us that, and that’s been our live experience when we’ve been here for the past couple of days in terms of the practice sessions that we’ve had. We’ve seen out here in practice the last couple of days that the ball does, big ball does a lot and it’s very difficult for the batters.”The last time Australia fielded an all-pace frontline attack was during the 2023 Ashes at Old Trafford when they left out Todd Murphy, using three frontline quicks alongside Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh. To find a four-pronged pace attack without a spinner goes way back to 2012 against India at the WACA.Lyon’s omission means he won’t be on the field for the 100th Test of his close friend Mitchell Starc, with the pair having featured in 94 Tests together.”They’re great mates,” Dodemaide said. “He’s disappointed because he wants to play every game. He’s a great competitor and he believes he can be effective in any conditions. But he’s a team man as well and understands the right thing for the team and he’ll do his best to support the guys. But it’s a one-off. It’s no reflection on performance for Nathan. It’s simply the best way we think we can win this game.”This is Australia’s first day-night Test overseas having won 12 of the 13 played at home. They were only able to get their hands on the pink Dukes balls when they arrived in Jamaica earlier this week and had one training session under lights.

Limited play increases prospect of draw, but champions have a shot at pushing for victory

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025Only 21.1 overs were possible on day three at the Kia Oval but title favourites Surrey still used that time profitably to score 95 more second-innings runs and boost their chances of being able to force championship victory against Warwickshire.Dodging the showers in the afternoon, in two mini-sessions, allowed Ben Foakes and Dan Lawrence to add an unbroken 57 for the third wicket as Surrey reached 276 for two – and a lead of 274 to take into the Division One game’s final day.Foakes batted beautifully for 41 not out from 66 balls, with six fours, while Lawrence drove Ethan Bamber majestically over extra cover for six and also struck three fours in an unbeaten 36-ball 29.Earlier, in nine overs’ play before the first rain of the day arrived at 11.09am, Ollie Pope went quickly from his overnight 56 to 78, from 103 balls, before being bowled off an inside edge as he gave Michael Booth’s fast-medium the charge and tried to hit him over mid off.Pope had included a six and eight fours in an impressive knock that did much to provide Surrey with much-needed second innings impetus.Surrey, nine points ahead of nearest challengers Nottinghamshire at the start of the match, are seeking a fourth successive Rothesay County Championship title and – particularly if Notts can chase a fourth innings target of 136 to beat Worcestershire at New Road – will feel they also need to win this match.On 181 for one overnight, after taking control of the contest on day two after Warwickshire had replied with 248 to Surrey’s own first innings 246, Rory Burns’s side saw Dom Sibley retire hurt on his overnight score of 64 due to a recurring groin injury.Foakes and Pope added 38 runs in the day’s first 39-minute session, and Lawrence had only faced three balls following Pope’s dismissal when bad weather intervened and prevented any more play until 1.50pm.Nine runs were then scored in four overs, with rain causing another seven-minute delay before a further 8.1 overs were bowled in which Foakes and Lawrence plundered 48 ahead of a 2.49pm downpour.The hard-working Oval groundstaff did twice try to get play on again when the rain eased off for two separate spells, but then yet more rain swept in from the West to force an abandonment of the day’s play at 5.25pm. On the final day, weather permitting, Surrey will surely be looking for 50 or so more quick runs before declaring and trying to bowl Warwickshire out a second time.

Capitals have won two out of three matches and seem like a settled unit with most boxes ticked

Srinidhi Ramanujam21-Feb-20254:24

Deepti should have in-form players bat around her – Mithali

Who’s playing

Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7:30pm IST

What to expect: Warriorz searching for first win

UP Warriorz are yet to find their feet and will hope a change of venue brings a change in fortune, heading into the first reverse fixture of this season. They are also the only team without a win in WPL 2025. Under new captain Deepti Sharma, they haven’t been able to lock their XIs or their batting line-up. While there has been some individual flashes of brilliance – such as Kiran Navgire’s blazing fifty, Chinelle Henry’s death-over hitting and Sophie Ecclestone’s economical spells – Warriorz have not fired as a unit. They do not have a strike bowler (Saima Thakor was dropped after one game). Misfields and dropped catches have also hurt. The likes of Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath have also not fired in the middle order.On the other hand, Capitals have won two out of three matches and seem like a settled unit with most boxes ticked. Their middle order consisting of Annabel Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp has stepped up, their captain Meg Lanning has found her rhythm with a fifty against Warriorz in the last game and their pace attack has collectively taken 11 wickets in three matches.

Team news and likely XIs

Capitals are unlikely to change their winning combination which means they might still prefer Niki Prasad’s lower-order batting over Radha Yadav’s left-arm spin.Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Niki Prasad, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Arundhati Reddy, 11 Minnu ManiTahlia McGrath has had scores of 0 and 1 in the two matches and had an average outing with the ball too, picking up one wicket for 47 runs in 6.5 overs. Warriorz might bring in allrounder Chamari Athapaththu for the Bengaluru leg before she joins the Sri Lanka squad on a white-ball tour of New Zealand to bolster their batting.UP Warriorz (likely): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Chamari Athapaththu, 3 Vrinda Dinesh, 4 Uma Chetry (wk), 5 Deepti Sharma (capt), 6 Tahlia McGrath/Grace Harris, 7 Shweta Sehrawat, 8 Chinelle Henry, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Kranti GoudCan Shafali Verma make a big score in Bengaluru?•WPL

Players to watch: Shafali Verma and Sophie Ecclestone

Shafali Verma smashed two half-centuries in four attempts at an impressive strike rate of 140.6 in the Bengaluru leg of WPL last year. Having hit 43, 0, 26 so far this edition, Shafali might be keen on converting her starts and making a big score at the venue again.Sophie Ecclestone has accounted for three of the seven wickets taken by Warriorz so far and has looked most threatening in the bowling attack. She has an economy of 5.87, and her spell in the powerplay will be crucial for Warriorz to make early inroads. Against Gujarat Giants, she had figures of 2-0-6-1 in the powerplay, but she was given only one over against Capitals where she leaked eight runs.

Key stats

• Capitals are the second-best bowling unit in the death overs (17-20) in WPL 2025 so far, having conceded 8.53 runs an over.
• Ecclestone and Deepti are the only Warriorz bowlers to have bowled their full quota of four overs each in both their games.
• Navgire’s 24-ball fifty against Capitals was the joint fastest by a Warriorz batter in WPL.

Off spinner says England’s Urdu-speaking spinners were fooled into bringing the field up during his 48 not out

Danyal Rasool25-Oct-2024Pakistan offspinner Sajid Khan has found a number of ways of getting under England’s skin, from the moustache twirling to the thigh thumping that accompany borderline invasion of personal space. Much of it has involved bamboozling them with the angle of his spin or the flight of his deliveries, but on Friday, he found another avenue for English befuddlement: their spin bowlers’ bilingualism.After the fourth ball of the 86th over, once Saud Shakeel had flicked Shoaib Bashir away to turn the strike over to Sajid, the pair met to discuss how to manage the strike, and didn’t appear to bother if the stump mic picked them up. Sajid, presumably, was to see off the final two balls, but he danced down the wicket and launched Bashir over midwicket into the Javed Miandad stand.It could hardly have been the plan, but according to Sajid, the intended audience for the conversation wasn’t each other but Pakistani-origin spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir.”We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single. When we did that, they brought the field up and the bowlers flighted it. Saud told me once they do, no half measures: just go for the big shot as hard as you can.”And Sajid did. The next over Bashir bowled, Sajid plundered two sixes and a boundary in much the same way, swinging towards the midwicket boundary, finding the middle of the bat with regularity. 19 came off that over, and though Rehan kept him quieter, he was stung once when he spread the field out. Sajid took the men at long-off and long-on, comfortably clearing the rope. The wheels, by now, had begun to come off England’s bowling effort, and Pakistan’s lead had ballooned.Rehan acknowledged the quality of the innings, but was having none of Sajid’s claims. “He didn’t fool me at all, he just said it for the media,” he laughed “I didn’t even hear him. He said something like he’s going to run down this ball and I knew he was going to try and scoop me, and it didn’t really work. I think he batted well, and he hit some big blows, but he didn’t really fool me or Bash.”

Tim Seifert hit 57 for St Lucia Kings in the chase, but Usman Tariq took four wickets and Sunil Narine got three for Knight Riders to stop them short

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2025Alex Hales played anchor, Nicholas Pooran the aggressor, Kieron Pollard the controller in the middle overs, and Andre Russell the finisher to take Trinbago Knight Riders to 194 in Qualifier 2 of CPL 2025 against St Lucia Kings. In reply, Tim Seifert started quickly, but Kings never recovered from a slowdown after the first four overs, and eventually fell short by 56 runs.Unlike Kings later in the game, Knight Riders had scored just 25 runs in their first four overs after Kings asked them to bat. By then, Khary Pierre had bowled Colin Munro for 6, and Pooran, the new batter, had smashed all of his 14 runs in boundaries.But after a slow start, Knight Riders lashed 36 runs off the last two overs of the powerplay. Pooran sending Alzarri Joseph for six over extra cover in the fifth over before going 6, 4, 4, 4 off David Wiese in the sixth. Hales, meanwhile, had hardly had the strike until that stage.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pooran reached his half-century off 31 balls to end the ninth over, but was dismissed immediately after as he missed an attempted sweep against Roston Chase, and was bowled for 50. Eleven overs into their innings, Knight Riders had 89 on the board, and Kings had things under control. But the last nine overs saw Hales, Pollard and Russell bash 105 runs.On 15 off 21 balls at one stage, Hales broke free with a six off Tymal Mills in the 12th over. With five overs left, Pollard targeted Tabraiz Shamsi, and sent him for three sixes. But Joseph checked Pollard’s flow in the 17th over by having him caught at long-off for 35 – an innings that included four sixes – but Kings’ pain hadn’t ended there.With three overs left and just 146 on the board, Hales cracked three sixes in the next two overs. The second of those, an inside-out loft over the covers off Joseph, took him to his fifty off 41 deliveries. One final act of aggression from Knight Riders, however, still remained. Russell slammed Wiese for 6, 6, 4, 6 in the final over, which went for 23 runs, and propelled Knight Riders to 194. Russell had thumped 28 in 12 balls before being run out off the last ball, whiles Hales remained unbeaten on a patient 58.Tim Seifert scored 57 in the chase to give St Lucia Kings hope•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Chasing 195 for a place in the final, Seifert got Kings off to a quick start. He had scored 32 of the 38 runs Kings had until then, and was dropped on 38 in the ninth over. At the other end, Johnson Charles, Seifert’s opening partner, was struggling to get going. He ticked along to just 17 off his first 23 deliveries, before Pollard ended his stay to complete the ninth over.The required run-rate was already past 12, with Seifert also slowing down. Kings were never in the game after that. Although Seifert got to his half-century with back-to-back boundaries off Akeal Hosein in the 12th over, and Usman Tariq conceded a boundary each to Seifert and Tim David in the 13th, two wickets in as many balls ended Kings’ faint hopes of victory.Tariq first had Seifert chipping to short third for 58, and then got Ackeem Auguste caught at wide long-on as the batter went sweeping first ball. From 98 for 3, Kings lost five wickets in the last six overs of the chase. Sunil Narine got into the act by having David caught behind in the 15th over, and then struck twice in the 19th to dismiss Aaron Jones and Wiese.Tariq added two more wickets to his tally in the final over by getting Chase and Mills, as Knight Riders booked a date Guyana Amazon Warriors on Sunday.