While Bhuvneshwar Kumar will miss the remainder of the Test series, Shikhar Dhawan will be available for the third Test. The selectors have picked Vijay Shankar as Bhuvneshwar’s replacement

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-20172:27

Chopra: Utility of India’s spin twins a slight concern

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan have been released from India’s Test squad against Sri Lanka on personal grounds, the BCCI announced on Monday. While Bhuvneshwar has pulled out for the remainder of the Test series, Dhawan will be available for selection for the third Test, which starts from December 2 in Delhi.

India squad for second Test

Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar.

Tamil Nadu allrounder Vijay Shankar has been picked as Bhuvneshwar’s replacement. The board said the two players had requested the selectors and the team management to allow their release. Bhuvneshwar is set to be married later this week.Bhuvneshwar was Man of the Match in the Kolkata Test, for his match haul of 8 for 96, which included remarkable returns of 4 for 8 on a thrilling final day as Sri Lanka managed to cling on to a draw. Dhawan, meanwhile, struck 94 in the second innings after a score of 8 on the opening day.Shankar, a middle-order batsman who also bowls medium-pace, has been a part of the India A side in 2015, and more recently on the tour of South Africa and the home series against New Zealand A. One of his more notable innings in his recent stint with the side was 86-ball 72 against South Africa A that helped India A clinch the title in a tri-series that also included Afghanistan A.Since his debut in the 2012-13 season, Shankar has scored 1395 runs in the Ranji Trophy at an average of 46.5 and has taken 27 wickets at an average of 37.96.

A late rally from the lower order and early wickets from the new-ball pair of Lalit Yadav and Rajneesh Gurbani helped Vidarbha regain some lost ground in Surat

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2017
Scorecard Aditya Sarwate raises his bat after reaching his century•PTI

A late rally from the lower order and early wickets from the new-ball pair of Lalit Yadav and Rajneesh Gurbani helped Vidarbha regain some lost ground in Surat.After they had been pinned down to 95 for 6, wicketkeeper-batsman Akshay Wadkar, who was playing only his third first-class game, struck a maiden fifty, and stitched up 74 for the seventh wicket with Aditya Sarwate (36) to push Vidarbha’s total to 246. Left-arm spinner KC Akshay secured his second five-wicket haul in three matches.In reply, Kerala made 32 for the loss of opener Mohammed Azharuddeen and nightwatchman Sandeep Warrier before stumps was called.Having started the second day on 45 for 3 – wet weather had wiped out two sessions on the first – Vidarbha lost Ganesh Satish and Apoorv Wankhade early. Karn Sharma then added 24 to his overnight 7 before he was trapped lbw by allrounder Jalaj Saxena. At 95 for 6 in the 50th over, a full-blown collapse loomed, but Wadkar and the lower order averted it. He was the ninth man dismissed but Wakhare and No. 11 Yadav put on 53 for the last wicket to frustrate Kerala.

Stokes once again selected, subject to police investigation, as Moeen and Bairstow are rested after Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2018James Vince has been given the chance to convert his fluent but unfulfilled Test form into the 20-over format, after being handed a recall for the T20 Tri-series against Australia and New Zealand that gets underway in February.Vince was singled out for criticism by England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, following an Ashes campaign in which he made 242 runs at 26.88, but consistently gave away his wicket after a promising start, making scores of between 15 and 25 in six of his nine innings.However, the selectors have not yet lost faith in Vince’s ability to make the grade at international level, and have included him in a 16-man squad in place of Moeen Ali, who has been rested after a torrid time in the Ashes.

England T20 Squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood

Jonny Bairstow, who also featured in all five Ashes Tests, is another squad regular to sit this series out, with Sam Billings, the Kent wicketkeeper-batsman, taking his place in the tour party.There is no respite, however, for England’s Test captain, Joe Root, who might have been considered worthy of a break as he hands the reins over to the regular one-day captain, Eoin Morgan. However, both he and another Ashes batsman, Dawid Malan, have been included in a tri-series that is the first of its kind and potentially the start of a new departure for international T20 cricket.”We felt with that it was important for Dawid Malan and Joe Root, who have had an intense period of Test cricket over the past few months, to play in the series and continue to develop their T20 experience and skills,” said James Whitaker, the chairman of selectors.On the bowling front, the notable inclusion is Mark Wood, the Durham quick bowler who was briefly considered for an Ashes call-up when England’s lack of out-and-out pace became apparent after two early defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide.In the end, he was not considered sufficiently match-fit to play a Test match, but looked to be approaching his best rhythm during his time with the England Lions, as he continued his recovery from persistent ankle issues.In what is now a familiar turn of events, Ben Stokes has once again been named in the squad, even though his involvement remains subject to any relevant legal or disciplinary developments in relation to the incident in Bristol in September.Should the ECB Board receive formal confirmation that Stokes has either been charged or that he will face no charges, they would convene within 48 hours to make a decision on his availability for the team at that stage.”The IT20 Tri-Series will be very competitive against quality opposition in Australia and New Zealand,” said Whitaker. “Our limited-overs cricket has been progressing nicely across both formats so this tournament will be another indicator on where we are heading as a team over the long-term.”Our aim is to become the best T20 side in the world and a strong performance in this series will give us the chance to progress up the team rankings.The series gets underway on February 7 in Hobart, when England take on Australia, and will conclude on February 21 with the final at Eden Park in Auckland.

South Africa are mindful of the problems Australia’s pace pack could pose if they were to produce seamer-friendly tracks like they did against India

Firdose Moonda27-Feb-20184:45

Wessels: SA can’t afford spicy pitches against Australia

After putting in specific instructions for pace and bounce for the Test series against India, South Africa have asked, not demanded, that their groundsmen prepare good cricket pitches that lean towards the slower side for the four-Test series against Australia starting Thursday in Durban.After only getting what they wanted once at Newlands during India’s tour, South Africa have not only toned down the severity of their requests, but have turned them the other way. They don’t want green tops for this series – keeping in mind, perhaps, the strength of Australia’s pace pack – but are instead keen on surfaces that could even take some turn. South Africa see that as their best chance of beating Australia in a home series for the first time since readmission.This is partly why coastal cities have been awarded three of the four Tests, because they usually assist the quicks a little less than surfaces on the Highveld. Russell Domingo, who was still South Africa’s head coach when the schedule was announced, explained at the time that the team had identified Australia’s struggle against spin – they had just lost in India and Bangladesh.But South Africa are being careful with how much slowness they’re asking for, because they’ve already been made to rue their requests more than once this summer. “Everybody knows what happened at the Wanderers, so we’ve left the groundsmen to prepare the best possible pitches that they can this time,” head coach Ottis Gibson said after the final T20I against India on Saturday.Leaving the groundsmen to do their job has long been suggested as the best way to get balanced pitches. This time around, even the pre-series meeting between them and captain Faf du Plessis hasn’t taken place. Further, some groundstaff have complained about a lack of proper equipment and training but they haven’t been heard by CSA yet. This has left some officials worried about the quality and standard of pitches in the future. However with South Africa’s expectations for the Australia series in alignment with how conditions normally are at this time of the season, it may not be a too much of a problem just yet.There is a fair amount of wear on almost all the surfaces around the country, having been in use since September. Newlands and Wanderers have already hosted a Test, an ODI and two T20s, St George’s Park hosted a Test (albeit one that lasted one-and-half-days) and an ODI. Only Kingsmead in Durban is fresh; it’s been required for only one ODI at the start of February.The ongoing drought issues in Cape Town that have forced cancellation of all club fixtures for the second half of the summer and have diminished opportunities for a grassy surface. This could make things tricky for Evan Flint, the Newlands groundsman, especially if a tournament like the Global T20 is added to an already packed cricket calendar.”Around the country, pitches are old and need replacing and when you do that, you have do to them one at a time,” Flint told ESPNcricinfo. “We only use the three pitches in the middle for televised games, so those get used a lot and very rarely replaced. I think we should really start to think about drop-in pitches because then we also provide the team with exactly what they want when they want it.”While Flint is in du Plessis’ good books after his Test pitch provided seam movement against India, he wasn’t exactly thrilled with his work and aims to produce a more balanced pitch in future. “It was the least controversial pitch but I don’t think it was that good. It was too one-sided towards the bowlers,” he said. “We’ve been discussing preparing good cricket pitches and they won’t mind if they are a bit on the slow side. That’s sort of where we are at anyway, because we’re late in the season. And a pitch of that description doesn’t require freshness. It should be a good series.”That’s what we’re all hoping.

They made the finals of both limited-overs tournaments in 2017-18 and have now taken the first-class title

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2018They may have tumbled to 99 all out. And they may be facing an improbable target of 519. But regardless of how their final game of the season goes, Central Districts will lift the Plunket Shield trophy. Their status as champions – for the first time since 2013 – was confirmed as soon as their closest rivals for the season – Wellington – slipped to a 120-run defeat to Auckland at the Outer Oval in Eden Park.Central Districts have had a fantastic time in 2017-18, making the finals of both limited-overs tournaments, the Ford Trophy and the Super Smash, although poor batting in both title clashes left them with little to show for their efforts. That has not been a problem in first-class cricket, though. Three of their batsmen – Greg Hay, Jesse Ryder and Will Young – are among the top-10 run-getters in the tournament. And on the bowling front, left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel finished as the leading wicket-taker.Wellington had been leading points table as recently as the previous round of the Plunket Shield, but their defeat to Northern Districts coupled with Central Districts’ thrashing of Canterbury by an innings and 58 runs led to a most decisive shake-up.

Somerset spinner in prime position to fill key England vacancy, after overcoming trauma of suspect action

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland21-Mar-2018A bad round of golf didn’t seem so frustrating for Somerset left-arm spinner Jack Leach when his phone rang last week. It was the call that told him to get on a plane to New Zealand after Mason Crane had been diagnosed with a stress fracture of his lower back.”We’d had a couple of days’ golf and I’d just played the worst round of my life,” Leach said. “My golf’s shocking. I don’t even enjoy it, I won’t pretend, and I’d just lost to [director of cricket] Andy Hurry. It was a bad day up until I got the call but it turned into a very good day.”For any player a maiden call-up to the senior side is a wonderful moment, but Leach can be afforded an extra dose of satisfaction. A year ago he was trying to rebuild his confidence having, to the surprise of many, been discovered to have an illegal bowling action. The problem was discovered in September 2016, during routine testing at the ECB academy in Loughborough, and the issue became public when he wasn’t called up to the India squad later that year as an injury replacement for Zafar Ansari.

Trescothick’s forgotten pen-pal

A ten-year-old Jack Leach once received a hand-written letter from the man who now sometimes fields on his knees to him at slip for Somerset.
Marcus Trescothick was Leach’s hero growing up, and was sent a letter by him one Christmas, but could not remember penning the response until Leach showed him a copy years later.
“I reminded Tres of this like last year or something and said ‘do you remember this letter?’ and he said ‘no, no, it was probably my agent writing back to you’. So then I showed him the letter and he was like ‘oh, that’s my writing!’ so he had actually decided on this one he wanted to reply, which is quite a nice story. I share a dressing room with him now so it’s nice to know he was bothered to reply.”

Now he is an injury or tactical decision away from a Test debut, which is just reward for the most prolific spinner in county cricket over the last two seasons with 116 wickets – 51 of them coming in 2017 as he settled into his new action.”It wasn’t until the back end of last season that I started to feel mentally back to normal,” Leach said. “It was more the mental rather than the physical aspect of it, getting used to feeling like I could just bowl normally again. That I’d done the work and didn’t have to control it in my mind because the last thing you want to do in a game is think about your action. You want to be focusing on how you’re going to get them out so it was about doing that repetition in practice so I didn’t have to think about it.”Leach has previously spoken about the fears he had of being labelled a chucker or cheat after the kink in his action was revealed. Over the last year he has worked with an ECB psychologist and believes in the long run the challenge he’s been through will serve him well for a Test career.”It’s about having that resilience isn’t it? The day it came out … that was like a horrible thing for me, I hadn’t had that exposure I guess. Up until then it had been all very positive – you’re doing well in county cricket, no one knows a lot about you apart from your stats are good, so you just get praise. So to experience that before I’d actually played any international cricket or been involved with international cricket was actually quite good for me. I’ve learnt a little bit about that side of it as well.”It made me understand my bowling a lot better, it’s made me a better bowler … having a stronger and smoother action was what was going to help me. It was only a good thing to find that out and something that’s probably pushed me on.”Not only has Leach had to battle the issue over his action, he has also had to fend off suggestions he has had it a bit too easy due to the wickets at Taunton, which always felt a slightly odd argument when England’s incumbent spinners were struggling to have much impact on pitches offering assistance.”I’d be keen on more wickets [like Taunton],” he said. “It is a double-edged sword because you do get that ‘can he only do it on turning wickets?’ I know from when I’ve played away from home that I can do it away from home as well so I have no lack of confidence, I guess, away from Taunton or away from spinning wickets. It’s about being adaptive and learning all those different things. I’d say bowling at Taunton has been a very good thing for me because it’s given me more overs as a spinner which sometimes in England is tough for spinners. It’s definitely progressed my career quicker, I would say. I also now look forward to bowling on flatter pitches to test my skills on those.”Leach has been involved with the Lions over the last five months, firstly in Australia and then West Indies. Down under was a challenging experience for him – he played for an England XI in a two-day game in Western Australia where he picked up four wickets but went at 10 an over during a run chase – however he learnt a lot from watching Nathan Lyon. The Caribbean brought considerable success despite the Lions being well beaten, as he claimed 18 wickets in the three four-day matches.Moeen Ali has manfully carried England’s spin-bowling role over his 49 Tests with some notable success at home, but plenty of toil overseas, with an Ashes bowling average of 115 a particular low point. Crane was given a debut in Sydney but is raw, and now faces time on the sidelines, while Adil Rashid has given up first-class cricket. With tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies next winter, two trips where spin will play a big role, there is a huge opportunity for Leach.”I always believed that this was where I was hopefully going to get to. I definitely did,” he said. “I think those little lower moments definitely made me stronger and definitely helped someone like me. No doubt there will be more. I try to learn not to get too emotional and just learn from every opportunity.”

Azhar Mahmood, bowling coach, warns that fast bowler’s workload must be managed across all three formats of the game

Melinda Farrell at Malahide13-May-20180:52

Mahmood calls on Pakistan to manage Amir’s workload

Mohammad Amir was forced from the field with a “chronic” right* knee injury late on the third day at Malahide, a development that will be the cause of some anxiety within the Pakistan camp not only as they look forward to the end of this Test but two more against England.Amir first went off the field after a three-over opening burst, with what appeared to be a slight limp. He came back out soon after, however, and though he was walking gingerly, he eventually came on to bowl again. Two balls in, however, he got into a discussion with captain Sarfraz Ahmed and though it looked as if Amir was suggesting that he finish his over, he eventually walked off. Medical staff will assess the injury after treatment overnight before deciding if he is fit to take part in the rest of the match, though initial assessments suggest it isn’t serious and that he could bowl tomorrow.”He has got a chronic knee problem which has slightly flared up,” said Azhar Mahmood, Pakistan’s bowling coach. “Hopefully, he will be okay tomorrow to bowl for us. He’s having treatment and hopefully tonight we will do a bit more treatment, tomorrow morning, ice as well, so he will be fine.”According to Mahmood, it has been a recurring problem for the fast bowler and it will do little to alleviate concerns about Amir’s long-term future in five-day cricket. Amir has spoken of wanting to manage his workload in the future with the help of a rotation policy that allows him to sit out occasional Tests.That concern comes from having bowled more international overs than any other Pakistan fast bowler since Amir’s return to international cricket in January 2016, a return after five years out. And though it has been over six months since Pakistan’s last Test and Amir has played plenty of cricket in between, this is now twice in two Tests he has gone off with an injury – against Sri Lanka in Dubai it was a problem in his right shin that forced him off.”Yes, you can say that because unfortunately he came back after five years and since he came back he played every format for us,” Azhar said. “We have to manage his workload as well so maybe that’s a sign for us to in the future to see where he stands and we’ve got a bunch of young guys coming up and we want to have Test bowlers separately to the one-day and T20s, so we are working on that and hopefully we can come up with something.”Mahmood emphasised that keeping Amir in Test cricket is Pakistan’s greatest priority.”We want him to play Test cricket because he is our No.1 bowler and we want him to run in and bowl for us. Workload – I have seen a lot of fast bowlers and their body can’t take it, so they just manage to play one format or two formats, but for him it’s a concern for us but hopefully we will manage his workload in the future.”Frustratingly for Amir and Pakistan, the injury occurred just as he was bowling probably his best spell of the tour so far. He got more swing as Ireland followed on than he did in the first innings, though his luck had not returned – two more catches were spilled off his bowling in that burst, bringing to 16 the number of missed chances off Amir’s bowling in his last 17 Tests.*3.15pm, May 14: this story was amended when the PCB clarified that the problem was with Amir’s right knee having originally said left

Captain credits tough Test against Ireland for battle-hardening his team ahead of famous victory

Osman Samiuddin at Lord's27-May-20181:11

Sarfraz proud of Pakistan after Lord’s win

Five uncapped players before the tour began; four bowlers with less than ten Tests between them before the tour; 16 Tests between three of the top four before this Test and just four of the XI that won at Lord’s in 2016 took to the same field two years later; it was easy before the Test began to let these facts outweigh another hefty fact: that Pakistan had won seven of their last 10 Tests against England going in.Yet it was precisely those nuggets of inexperience that helped Pakistan win an eighth in 11 – and their fifth at Lord’s – according to the man who led them to it. Sarfraz Ahmed made clear to his players before this tour that there should be no fear of losing, and only an opportunity to learn.”We thought that even if we lose we should learn,” he said after a nine-wicket triumph that will find itself among the more memorable ones in England.”We had nothing to lose but a lot to learn. I don’t think we’ve ever had such a young team at Lord’s before. This squad had 12 [11] players who had never played at Lord’s before so the way they responded is great.”For collective contributions and sustained dominance – one afternoon session apart – it is difficult to recall a more complete away performance in recent years. Pakistan didn’t wilt in the field, not with the ball and, in conditions helpful for swing, batted with rare judgment and discipline.”No praise is enough for the boys especially the fast bowlers who set the tone on the first day, then our batsmen responded,” he said. “You name anyone [Mohammad] Abbas, [Mohammad] Amir, Hasan [Ali], Faheem [Ashraf] and Shadab [Khan, batsmen Azhar [Ali], Asad [Shafiq], Babar [Azam] and Haris [Sohail]. The way this young team has played I don’t think any young team would have done something like this at this ground.”Though it hasn’t felt the same as 2016, Pakistan were probably as well prepared coming into this Test as two years ago. They had 15 days of cricket in England alone before Lord’s, as well as the staple training camp in Lahore before the tour.And a difficult win against Ireland, where they wobbled with the bat, where they dropped catches, where they often bowled the wrong lengths, reaped no end of benefits.”We knew that even a Test against Ireland would not be easy and they gave us a really tough time,” Sarfraz said. “We weren’t up to the mark in bowling and batting so when we played the Leicestershire [two-day] game we told the bowlers to pitch the ball up. And that was the difference from Malahide. That was the perfect Test for us coming here.”Sarfraz had a better game himself than at Malahide, barring his dismissal off what became the last ball before tea on the second day. There were no dropped catches and most sessions he managed the field well around him. Not that he is a great self-analyser.”I shout and scream at my players like always, all that is in front of you guys. I got really angry with Hasan Ali because he wasn’t getting a wicket [post-tea on Saturday]. But the best thing is they listen to me and understand me.”

The Delhi pacer played two T20Is for India in 2012 and represented Kings XI Punjab in the IPL for three years

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2018Parvinder Awana, the India international, has announced his retirement from all formats of the game with immediate effect. The pacer represented Delhi for nine years and played two T20Is against England in 2012, but failed to pick up any international wicket.Awana shared the news of his retirement on Twitter, thanking his teammates, coaches and the support staff over the years.”Representing India and DDCA has been a matter of great pride for me,” Awana said. “I feel that it’s the right time to pass the baton to the younger guys. I thank to all DDCA selectors and senior players for providing me the platform to show my skills.”Awana, who will be turning 32 later this month, made his first-class debut against Himachal Pradesh in 2007. Although he picked up just one wicket in his debut match, he took a hat-trick against Maharashtra in his next game. In all, he played 62 first-class matches, claiming 191 wickets at 29.23, including ten five-wicket and one ten-wicket haul.His last appearance at the senior level remains the Ranji Trophy game against Jharkhand in 2016.Awana represented Kings XI Punjab in the IPL for three years during 2012-2014. Playing for the franchise in the now-defunct Champions League T20, he picked up a hat-trick against Chennai Super Kings in 2014. He also played in 44 List-A games and 61 T20s, collecting 63 and 77 wickets respectively.

He will need up to six weeks to make a full recovery and will miss the remaining two ODIs and the lone T20I

Firdose Moonda06-Aug-2018South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will miss the remaining two ODIs and the lone T20I against Sri Lanka after sustaining an injury to his right shoulder. Du Plessis fell awkwardly while attempting a catch in the 10th over of the Sri Lankan innings during the third ODI on Sunday and immediately left the field for treatment. He was not able to return and will need up to six weeks to make a full recovery.”Faf sustained an injury to one of the rotator cuff tendons in his right shoulder and will unfortunately be unavailable for the rest of the tour. He will need a rehabilitation period of up to six weeks to make a full recovery. His return date back to South Africa will be confirmed in due course,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, who is also a medical doctor, said.South Africa will name a replacement captain from within the squad, with no additional players to be added for the three matches.Quinton de Kock took over the leadership on Sunday and made two excellent review calls, both of which resulted in Sri Lankan wickets, and may be given the opportunity to captain again. Alternatively, former captain Hashim Amla could be asked to take over or Aiden Markram, who captained when du Plessis broke a finger against India in February, may lead again.Markram was dropped from Sunday’s match after a patch of poor form but this could present an opportunity for him to re-establish himself in the one-day side. South Africa’s other extra batsman is Heinrich Klaasen, who is also nursing a small niggle.Du Plessis’ injury should not keep him out of international duty in any significant way. The ongoing series in Sri Lanka has already been won and South Africa’s next assignment only takes place at the end of September against Zimbabwe, whom they host for three ODIs and as many T20Is. However, this is the second time du Plessis has had problems with this shoulder. Last October, he had surgery on it which forced him out of the four-day, day-night Test against Zimbabwe over Boxing Day.