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The ECB has launched a poster campaign against ticket touts under the slogan: ‘Touts Out! Where did your ticket come from?’

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2013The ECB, emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling against ticket touts, have launched a poster campaign against the resale of tickets for next summer’s Champions Trophy and Ashes series.Cricket fans could even face the threat of a ban from county grounds if they are caught selling tickets for personal gain during what promises to be a sought-after summer of international cricket.Auction websites such as Seatwave and Viagogo will also be monitored according to a poster campaign under the slogan: “TOUTS OUT! Where did YOUR ticket come from?”There has already been an unprecedented demand for Ashes tickets this year after England’s recent successes.A recent legal ruling by the Supreme Court promises to work in the ECB’s favour. They are entitled to demand from ticketing websites the details of customers who are seeking to profit by reselling their Ashes tickets above face value.An ECB spokesman said: “We want fans to understand that we are committed to eradicating ticket touting. Fans need to understand that we will make targeted interventions into the market place and will cancel tickets if we spot them being sold at inflated prices on ticketing websites.”Touts who resell tickets to concerts and sport events online faced losing their anonymity following a court ruling in November. In a case between the Rugby Football Union and Viagogo, the Supreme Court ruled that Viagogo must release names and addresses of people who resold tickets to England rugby matches on its site.When the RFU monitored Viagogo in 2010-2011, the governing body found that tickets to its events were being sold for up to 20 times their face value, breaching its ticketing terms and conditions.The RFU had led the way among governing bodies in the past by taking legal action, but it had previously been unable to address sites like Viagogo as the company offer anonymity to sellers.Viagogo went into voluntary liquidation after a TV documentary criticised its methods. It now trades as Viagogo AG, based in Switzerland.

Virender Sehwag had gone 741 days without a Test century, but all it took was to watch the videos of his last ten centuries to realise he needed to bat cautiously against the new ball

Sidharth Monga15-Nov-2012Virender Sehwag had gone 741 days and 16 Tests without a century, but all it took, he said, was to watch the videos of his last ten centuries to realise he needed to bat cautiously against the new ball.”I have to thank DJ [CKM Dhananjay, India’s analyst],” Sehwag said. “He gave the videos of the last ten matches [possibly he meant centuries, because he has not scored a century in the last ten] and whenever I played ten overs quietly I scored a big hundred. We were watching videos last night till 11pm. I realised that if I played the new ball cautiously it’s good for me and good for the team. I’m very pleased that Gautam [Gambhir] also scored runs and we gave a very good start. It’s a good sign.”Sehwag said the century had come at the right time. “This is my 23rd hundred,” he said. “I am very happy to score a hundred after a long time. I am very pleased that it came at the right time, the first innings of the first Test. Right we are now in good position, hopefully we will build on tomorrow, and bowl well. We know we have to bowl well because the wicket is on the slower side.”Sehwag said the pitch was slow and scoring runs and taking wickets was going to be difficult, never mind his run-a-ball 117.”It’s not easy, because the wicket is on the slower side,” he said. “It’s difficult to play your shots. They set the field with everybody on the [boundary] line, especially deep point and deep square leg, so it’s not easy to hit boundaries, but you have to back yourself and play your shots. After 50 I relaxed, got little more confident, and played a few shots. I hit 14 or 18 in a Tim Bresnan over and got more confident. But the wicket is very slow and the ball is not coming on to the bat, and difficult to hit the ball.”Sehwag said India were far from having sealed the decisive advantage. Asked if the game was as good as over, Sehwag said, “I don’t think so, because we have to work hard to take 20 English wickets. They are not Bangladesh or somebody else. They are a very good side, No. 2 at the moment. They will not throw their wickets for sure.”Sehwag also said – at least on day one – that a batsman could pitch his tent if he decided not to play shots. “The first three batsmen got out trying to hit the ball,” he said. “If you’re just blocking it’s difficult to get out. If you play your shots and make a mistake then you can get out. Wicket is very slow, it’s not turning sharply, it’s not coming quickly. If you show some patience you can score some runs as well.”

Kyle Hogg became the first bowler to take seven wickets in an innings this season as runaway County Championship Division One leaders Lancashire moved a step nearer their fifth win in six matches

25-May-2011
Scorecard
Kyle Hogg became the first bowler to take seven wickets in an innings this season as runaway County Championship Division One leaders Lancashire moved a step nearer their fifth win in six matches. Hogg finished with figures of 7 for 28 from 14 overs as struggling Hampshire were made to follow after ending their first innings on 133 in reply to Lancashire’s 328.Hampshire’s second stint at the crease was little better – save for Benny Howell’s unbeaten half-century – as they lost half their order inside 52 overs to reach 163 for 5 at stumps, still 32 runs behind heading into day three. On an uncharacteristically lively Rose Bowl wicket, Hogg, who had only previously taken five or more wickets in an innings once in a 10-year career, encountered little resistance as Hampshire lost their last seven batsmen for 35.After Howell had fallen for a three-ball duck to Hogg, fellow opener Jimmy Adams (35) and Johann Myburgh (28) steadied the ship. Their removal – both falling to Oliver Newby – left the hosts on 98 for 3 but with little sign of the implosion to come. Hogg suddenly found pace and movement at the Pavilion end and in quick order removed Neil McKenzie (16), James Vince (12), Dimitri Mascarenhas (1), Dominic Cork (0), Nic Pothas (9) and Danny Briggs (2).The medium-pacer’s remarkable spell brought him six wickets for six runs in just 28 balls, while Sajid Mahmood finished off Hampshire by dismissing Kabir Ali for nine. Lancashire captain Mark Chilton, sensing victory inside two days, had no hesitation in enforcing the follow-on.This time Adams was quickly out, caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Gareth Cross on 14, while Myburgh was snared at first slip off Newby for 31. McKenzie struck eight fours in an enterprising 35 before being trapped lbw trying to turn Mahmood through midwicket.This left Hampshire 116 runs adrift but the crisis brought together French-born Howell and the maturing Vince, and together they delayed Lancashire in a fourth-wicket stand worth 82 runs.
But just before the close Mahmood returned to the attack to have Vince caught at the wicket for 39 and then to remove nightwatchman Briggs (1) in the final over. Howell was still there at stumps, on 68 not out from 157 balls.

The Australian team believes the upcoming two-Test series against India will be really tough, but its inexperience shouldn’t hurt its chances

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh23-Sep-2010The Australian team believes the upcoming two-Test series against India will be really tough, but its inexperience shouldn’t hurt its chances. Australia’s likely first XI will have four players – Marcus North, Tim Paine, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus – who haven’t played a Test in India, and a specialist spinner who played only one Test back in 2004.Coach Tim Nielsen said the inexperience wasn’t much of a concern, given that some of those who hadn’t played a Test in India had toured the country in various capacities. “I honestly believe it’s not just about playing Test matches,” Nielsen said. “It’s the whole experience – the travel, the fanatical following, the heat, the rain, different food, different culture, different ideas, different ball. Our boys are lucky to have experienced that before.”We are a better prepared team now. Mitchell [Johnson] has been around for three-four years. A lot of other players have been here before, be it for ODIs, A tours, the IPL or the Champions League. Their understanding of conditions in India and their culture is much better.”One such player is North, even though he doesn’t play the shorter versions of the game. “I have played here a lot,” North said. “I’ve toured Bangalore twice with Western Australia and I’ve been here with the Australia A team before the last Australian Test tour. I’ve been to the MAC spin academy [in Chennai] a number of times.”I have had quite a bit of experience in the subcontinent, not at this level obviously. But I have enjoyed all my trips to India. I have enjoyed the challenges of different conditions as well. It’s not foreign to me. I know what’s coming ahead and I am just looking forward to the series.”Doug Bollinger, one of the bowlers who’ll be playing his first Test in India, has played with Chennai Super Kings and Tim Paine was here with the ODI team last year.Michael Clarke, Australia’s vice-captain, said his team was looking forward to the challenge. “Playing against India in any conditions in any form of the game is tough,” he said. “But Test cricket here is especially hard. We need to be as well prepared as we possibly can be and that’s why we’re here so early before the first Test. To get a practice match against a very good Board President’s XI team, to get that feel of the conditions under the belt is very important.”All these guys have played a lot of first-class cricket and some Test cricket,” Clarke said. “We just haven’t played much Test cricket as a team in India. But we’re excited about that. If we can play our best cricket, I’m confident we can beat India in this series.”One of the challenges for Australia will be to not look too far ahead, at the Ashes series that follows their tour of India. North said the team is not running that risk. “Obviously the next seven Tests are pretty exciting,” he said. “Each of these Tests is going to be a big one for us. We respect the baggy green, and respect very Test match we play.”And playing a Test series in India is up there with the Ashes or playing Test matches in South Africa. Especially now, as India is No.1. I am really excited about playing here. That pressure-cooker cricket that India play in their conditions, with their crowds behind them. We all know Test cricket in India is tough, but Australians love tough cricket, we have never shied away. We can’t wait for the Test series to start.”

The pitch is expected to be more spin-friendly than the first Test with Sri Lanka looking to salvage the series

Tristan Lavalette05-Feb-2025

Big picture: Australia look to build legacy, Sri Lanka hope to salvage series

Before the series opener, there were some Australians who hadn’t watched their national team play a Test match in South Asia. After watching Australia submit a near-perfect performance in Galle on free-to-air television, they might be wondering what all the fuss was about.Australia inflicted Sri Lanka’s worst defeat in Test cricket in a beatdown that felt out of the golden era under Steve Waugh. But this team isn’t satisfied just yet despite having already retained the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy on the back of their momentous series victory against India, which put them in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.They want to achieve greatness and to do that they need to finish the job in the type of ruthless fashion they haven’t always exhibited. Australia were left frustrated after a big second Test defeat to Sri Lanka on the 2022 tour, while they let series leads slip on Ashes tours in 2019 and 2023. Australia also had to settle with a drawn home series against West Indies just over 12 months ago after the remarkable Gabba Test.Related

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A victory in the second Test will add to their growing legacy and secure a rare series victory in South Asia, adding to their triumph in Pakistan in 2022 – their only series win in the subcontinent since winning in Sri Lanka in 2011.It is unlikely to be as straightforward on a different Galle surface – it was extremely dry a day out from the game – expected to rag and against a Sri Lanka team having had to undergo some soul-searching.Sri Lanka did lose a decisive toss but mustered very little fight in a humiliating defeat. But things can change quickly in Test cricket in Sri Lanka and the hosts will hope that a change of conditions combined with the farewell of retiring opener Dimuth Karunaratne might just spark a major turnaround.Their bid to regain the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy are over, but Sri Lanka can still salvage a drawn series and arrest a recent slide in Test cricket after some strong performances last year had them close to qualifying for the WTC final.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLLWW
Australia WWWDWMarnus Labuschagne’s poor run of form continued in Galle•Getty Images

In the spotlight: Dimuth Karunaratne and Marnus Labuschagne

Dimuth Karunaratne will retire from Test cricket after playing his 100th game in this match. It will be a grand occasion for him, and he will be keen to end his career on a strong note. After such listless batting from Sri Lanka in the first Test, Karunaratne will be tasked with helping shore up the top order. He will also be keen to reverse his own poor form after only making 7 and 0 in the first Test. His struggles against left-arm quick Mitchell Starc continued with a first-innings dismissal before he was clean bowled by offspinner Todd Murphy after a horrible misjudgment. There will be a lot of pressure on Sri Lanka’s batting order when they front up and Karunaratne will need to use his wealth of experience to help them build a platform.After encountering tough seam-bowling conditions against India, Australia’s batting order relished a benign surface in the first Test and posted their highest-ever total in Asia. Usman Khawaja made a double-century, Steven Smith and Josh Inglis scored centuries, while Travis Head set the tone with a rapid half-century. But Marnus Labuschagne‘s 20 off 50 balls stood out like a sore thumb. After being beaten all ends up by a sharp legbreak from Jeffrey Vandersay on his first ball, Labuschagne continued to struggle just before lunch on the first day in what was perhaps the only period in the match where Sri Lanka were competitive. He eventually poked Vandersay to slip as his century drought extended since Manchester in 2023. There had been some speculation that Labuschagne might be dropped, but coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed he would play. Labuschagne would want a decent score with pressure starting to mount and competition for spots heating up with the emergence of Inglis and Sam Konstas in recent times.

Team news – SL could get Nissanka boost, Connolly in line for debut

Sri Lanka could receive a much-needed boost with opener Pathum Nissanka expected to return after missing the first Test with a groin strain. He is set to replace Oshada Fernando, who made just 7 and 6 in the series opener. Offspinner Ramesh Mendis has been added to the squad and is set to replace Nishan Peiris, who failed to penetrate in the opening Test. Mendis took six wickets in his most recent Test – against New Zealand in Galle last September – and will add batting depth having made three half-centuries in his last six first-class innings.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Jeffrey Vandersay, 11 Asitha FernandoPathum Nissanka missed the first Test but is likely to be fit for the second one•Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

Australia’s line-up is settled but left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Cooper Connolly could be in line for his Test debut with sharp turn expected on this surface. The 21-year-old Connolly is a much stronger batter than bowler at this point of his fledgling career and would add significant batting depth. He is wicketless from 96 deliveries in his first-class career so far, but could be dangerous in spin-friendly conditions. If Connolly plays, Murphy is likely to make way.Australia (possible): 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Josh Inglis, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Beau Webster, 8 Cooper Connolly/Todd Murphy, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Matthew Kuhnemann, 11 Nathan Lyon

Pitch and conditions

The first Test’s slow surface won’t be reused. Instead, a couple of pitches away, the surface for this match has looked drier in the lead-up, fueling belief that conditions might be heavily skewed towards spin.The players will again have to come to grips with stifling humidity, but clear conditions are forecast through the match after wet weather impacted some of the opening Test.

Stats and trivia

• Khawaja needs 133 runs to become the 16th Australian to reach 6000 Test runs
• Starc needs five wickets to overtake Ian Botham’s tally of 383 wickets and move into the top 20 on the all-time list
• Sri Lanka are on a three-match losing streak – they have lost four consecutive Tests only twice in the past decade: to New Zealand/England in 2015-16 and against South Africa/England in 2020-21

Quotes

“Dimuth’s proved that he’s the best opener around, if you look at his stats. If you take Sri Lanka batters, he’s in the top five in terms of runs scored. In the last while, he’s taken a lot of responsibility and taken the game forward.”
“Same as last Test, we’re going to wait pretty late and see what the wicket looks like. It looked drier two days out compared to the first [Test]”

Their bowlers, led by quicks Siraj and Vysakh, the debutant, put on a special show to put RCB on top after their had put up a modest-looking 174

Alagappan Muthu15-Apr-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore spent a large part of this game under the pump. Frustratingly, every time they thought they got ahead, like when Virat Kohli reached a 33-ball fifty, or when Glenn Maxwell was pummelling the spinners on a spin-friendly pitch, a wicket would fall to douse the momentum. Winning a game like this – a game where their crowd spent the first innings largely silent – will do wonders for their campaign because they clawed their way back. And because their star turns came with the ball.Mohammed Siraj (4-0-23-2) was phenomenal in conditions that should have cancelled him. Their debutant Vijaykumar Vyshak was the most successful bowler on the night, with three wickets including that of an IPL legend, David Warner. Their fielding was electric, a direct hit run-out from Anuj Rawat setting the tone for the fightback. The only Delhi Capitals batters who managed to resist were Manish Pandey (50 off 38) and Axar Patel (21 off 14).Towards the end of the game, it became clear that the pitch had got better for batting under lights. This is the reason why Capitals, having won the toss, chose to bowl in the first place. But their calamitous start to a chase of 175 – 2 for 3 in three overs and then 30 for 4 with Warner dismissed – just didn’t allow them to take advantage.Virat Kohli celebrates his third half-century of the season•Associated Press

Spin > Pace

A slow pitch and the spinners targeting the stumps together meant it was hard for RCB to hit them off the 30-yard circle. Axar and Lalit Yadav bowled three overs in the powerplay for eight dots and just 16 runs.When there’s no pace coming on to the bat, and you also don’t have room to free the arms, it’s really hard to get power into your shots. That’s why Faf du Plessis felt compelled to go extra hard on the quicks and lost his wicket in the fifth over to Mitchell Marsh.RCB hit seven boundaries in the first six overs. Only one of them came off spin. Even for the rest, they often had to charge out of their crease – creating pace for themselves – to get the most bang for their buck.

Kohli on song

A 33-ball fifty on this pitch was an excellent effort, but also typical Kohli. He knew that 1) this wasn’t a 200 pitch so he could bat at his own pace, and 2) the team would almost certainly benefit if he dropped anchor and played out the whole innings. And 3) he is a monster at the death, striking as well as Andre Russell or MS Dhoni in the last four overs.Things were going smoothly enough. He had just played not one but two shots of the match. A stand-still and bottom-hand drill down the ground turning an almost yorker from Mustafizur Rahman into a boundary. And then another stand-perfectly-still and bottom-hand whip to a back of a length ball on his hips for six. The wristwork on that shot to get it so far was just incredible.But then came Lalit Yadav with a massive full toss. It had to be put away. It was begging to be put away. And Kohli went for it, the only mistake he made was dragging it to the leg side, towards the 70-metre part of the ground. He was caught right on the edge of the rope. If he had gone straight, to the 60-metre boundary, it would’ve been six.2:37

Bishop: Brave call to bring on Kuldeep against Maxwell paid off

Maxwell’s little gem

Prior to this game, among batters with at least 500 runs against spin, Maxwell had the highest strike rate (164) and the best balls-per-boundary ratio (4.6) in the IPL. He lived up to that billing, smashing 20 runs off eight balls against the slower bowlers, and that contribution proved crucial. RCB fell from 117 for 2 to 132 for 6. But they still reached 174 because their spin hitter produced a cameo that allowed their unheralded Indian batters to just play out the overs. The impact sub, Rawat, made only 15 off 26 despite coming in as late as the last five overs and yet it didn’t matter.

Capitals collapse

They were 3 for 2 in the third over. They took 23 balls to hit the first boundary.The first innings was all about fast bowlers being dispatched. Mustafizur, for example, gave up one-third of the total boundaries that RCB hit (7 of 21). They were the ones providing release to under-pressure batters.But RCB’s new-ball attack decided to change all that. Siraj found ways to use even these conditions to his advantage, hitting the deck hard, at high pace and generating movement with his wobble seam variation.Capitals were suddenly under siege against the very type of bowling they thought they’d hit around the park. Yash Dhull certainly thought that when he tried to hit Siraj on the up and over the top, but the problem was, even though it was a full ball, and had very little distance to travel after pitching, it still seamed in to beat the inside edge and trap him plumb lbw. That wasn’t so much a wicket as an exhibition of the gulf in class between bowler and batter.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The end

Vyshak on IPL debut had a great game. RCB’s batters had told their bowlers that digging balls into the wicket was causing problems and he did that all night long.Take his first wicket. It was a slower ball banged into the surface. That length makes you pull on instinct. You know you need to delay their shots on this slow pitch. But that length just over-rides everything. Warner was into the pull too early. Toe end of the bat. Caught at midwicket.That at least was the conditions working against them. Prithvi Shaw, Capitals’ impact sub, which means he didn’t field at all, started by refusing a two that was on, then got run out showing zero urgency to get to the crease. Rawat produced a moment of magic at short extra cover, diving to his right, picking the ball up one-handed and nailing a throw with only one stump to look at. But Shaw just didn’t budget for the fact that his shot could be stopped. He was lazy getting into the run, then didn’t even try to dive when it was clear he was in trouble. His IPL reads 12, 7, 0, 15, 0.That wicket set the tone as Capitals crumbled to their fifth loss in five games this season.

Ali Evans, Gavin Main, Adrian Neill, Chris McBridge and Oliver Hairs – all part of recent series against New Zealand – have been left out

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2022Allrounder Brandon McMullen has earned a maiden call-up to the Scotland side for the T20 World Cup scheduled in Australia next month. Brad Wheal and Josh Davey, the pace-bowling duo who weren’t part of the white-ball series against New Zealand in July, have been called back into the 15-member squad to be led by Richie Berrington.Pace bowlers Ali Evans, Gavin Main and Adrian Neill, and batters Chris McBridge and Oliver Hairs – who were all part of that home series – have been left out.According to a Cricket Scotland release, McMullen has been called up on the back of his impressive performances at the Regional series and A team matches with both bat and ball. Wheal, meanwhile, finished fifth on the top wicket-takers’ table at this season’s Vitality Blast with 22 wickets in 13 matches playing for champions Hampshire, after which he also played in the Hundred.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Davey, who represented Somerset across formats this summer, finished with 15 wickets in 11 matches in the Blast. He also topped the wickets charts for Scotland in the T20 World Cup last year, finishing with nine wickets in five games, including 4 for 18 against PNG.The squad includes the experience of Berrington, George Munsey, Matt Cross and Calum MacLeod in the batting department, while the bowling line-up also features Mark Watt, Safyann Sharif and Hamza Tahir. Cross has been named vice-captain of the side.The release also mentioned that “forty players were considered for selection” after analysing the performances at men’s T20 Blitz cricket at Ayr and Clydesdale.Related

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“It was good to see other younger players put performances in under pressure, and I have no doubt their opportunities will come in the not-too-distant future,” head coach Shane Burger said. “We have selected 15 that we believe will make the desired impact we are looking for. For those players who are not going to the World Cup, we look forward to seeing them challenging for international honours in years to come.”The squad has a blend of youth and experience alongside locally based players and County representatives. The balance of the team and chemistry is crucial to contributing to performances at the World Cup. We believe we have a good mix of the above and have selected players that are in form and can perform under pressure.”The only T20Is Scotland have played since last year’s T20 World Cup – where they finished winless in Group Two after qualifying for the Super 12s – are the two matches against New Zealand in July. They are scheduled to play warm-up games against Netherlands and UAE ahead of their first-round matches in the upcoming tournament, where they are placed alongside West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe in Group B.Scotland will take on West Indies in their opening match in Hobart on October 17.Scotland squad: Richard Berrington (capt), George Munsey, Michael Leask, Brad Wheal, Chris Sole, Chris Greaves, Safyaan Sharif, Josh Davey, Matthew Cross (wk), Calum MacLeod, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt, Brandon McMullen, Michael Jones, Craig Wallace

The allrounder remains hopeful of finding a place in the T20 World Cup squad

Andrew McGlashan16-Jul-2021Daniel Sams remains comfortable with the decision to make himself unavailable for the tour of West Indies and Bangladesh to prioritise his mental health after the challenges of the IPL, which included catching Covid-19 before the tournament.Sams ended up playing two matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore before being part of the cohort of Australians who had to spend time in the Maldives when the tournament was suspended before they could travel home due to border closures to those who had been in India. He was then one of eight players, including the injured Steven Smith, unavailable for the current tour.”It was quite challenging with getting Covid in India, but it’s been really good to be home. Don’t have any regrets, obviously I’ve had thoughts of ‘wish I was there’ but in the end I made the decision that’s best for me long term,” Sams said. “My relationship is the most important thing, one of the biggest reasons for me pulling out was so I can connect back with my wife Danii because we’d never been apart for that long. That was definitely a priority and then my mental health as well.”I made the decision to come home so I can be good long term where potentially if I went I’d be no good for the summer, the potential World Cup chances, the BBL, all that stuff. I’d love to be over there, but think it was the best decision for me and my family.”Related

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Sams, who plays domestically for New South Wales and Sydney Thunder, does yet know whether he will return for the resumption of the IPL in the UAE but national limited-overs captain Aaron Finch has made it clear he would find it difficult for players to go back to the league having not been available for Australia duty.It is yet to be confirmed whether Australia will have any fixtures directly before the World Cup – there had been plans for a tri-series involving Afghanistan and West Indies – although the domestic season is due to start in mid-September which could need to be traded-off against the value of using the IPL as preparation.”I 100% definitely understand where he’s coming from with that, choosing not to go on this international tour whatever the reasons were, and choosing to go back to the IPL which potentially sacrifices some of the state commitments and whatever commitments there are leading to the World Cup,” Sams said.Daniel Sams showed his batting power against New Zealand•AFP

“That’s something that needs to be considered. There’s two ways to think of it. If you go to the back end of the IPL that’s T20 cricket that you’ll be playing so you’ll be going into the World Cup on the back of playing all these games. There’s a couple of ways to look at it.”Sams, who has played four T20Is, retains hope of making the final cut for the T20 World Cup. He showed his batting power with 41 off 15 balls against New Zealand in Dunedin and has eyes on the finisher’s position.”I’d like to improve on my bowling a little internationally,” he said, “but I feel more than confident I can be a big part of the Australian T20 team. I’d like to bat as high as possible, but being realistic batting seven, there’s been a lot of talk about the finisher role, and that’s something I feel I could potentially do.”With Covid-19 currently causing lockdowns in Australia and the Delta strain proving very difficult to quell, there is the prospect of bubble life again being part of the cricket season. If that’s the case, Sams believes players may need to take time away as well as find ways to help deal with the strain of a hotel-to-cricket ground existence.”It’s definitely something we’ll figure out plans and ways to manage yourself,” he said. “So if that means you’ll have to take some time off then you’ll have to take some time off [or] if that means you need to work with someone constantly. For me it has definitely been something like ‘okay, we’re going to be in bubbles again, how am I going to get through it so I can perform the best that I can’.”That’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about and wanting to put some things in place – I’m not quite sure what it’s going to look like – to be able to manage myself while in those bubbles.”

Persistent rain gave Afghanistan just over 18 overs for the last four wickets, but Rashid led from the front in a historic debut as captain

The Report by Mohammad Isam09-Sep-2019
Afghanistan overcame the elements that separated them from a remarkable Test victory over Bangladesh and one of cricket’s great heartbreaks. After the umpires gave them 18.3 overs to bowl following a third rain break, Rashid Khan took three of the four wickets to fall, as they won the one-off Test by 224 runs.With around an hour left to play, Zahir Khan had Shakib Al Hasan caught behind off the first ball in the final session after they made a second restart. Shakib tried a cut shot to a wide delivery, perhaps unnecessary at a time when survival was the only option.Rashid picked up his fourth wicket by trapping Mehidy Hasan lbw, before completing his ten-wicket haul with the wicket of Taijul. He wanted to review the umpire’s decision, as there seemed to be a bit of bat involved, but was told by non-striker Soumya Sarkar that there were none left; Mehidy had used up the last one on his lbw decision.Taijul’s wicket made Rashid the first cricketer to take a 10-wicket haul and score a fifty on his captaincy debut. Overall, he is the third captain to do the double, following Imran Khan and Alan Border.Quite appropriately, Rashid took the final wicket to fall, Sarkar caught at short leg. In front of mostly empty stands, they celebrated by running around the ground, and then gave some of the Afghans who turned up, a victory lap.Afghanistan must also not forget to thank the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium’s groundstaff (and drainage system) for their relentless work throughout the fifth day, though. After rain wiped out the first three hours of play, the umpires got the players out at 1pm, only for the rain to return within seven minutes. It came down for another couple of hours before the groundstaff ensured play was possible at 4:20pm despite the dark clouds around.But it was not just Rashid or the groundstaff that gave them this win. It is an all-round performance from Afghanistan that they churned out over the five days. Rahmat Shah’s historic first Test century, Asghar Afghan’s twin fifties, as well as contributions from debutants Ibrahim Zadran and Zahir Khan ripped the heart out of a home side which failed to turn up all game.

Australia’s chairman of selectors insisted the panel was not against picking older players, but that younger players had been selected with the strategy of building a successful team over time

Daniel Brettig10-Mar-2017Australia’s selection chairman Trevor Hohns has denied the panel are biased against older players after Cricket Australia confirmed Hohns, Greg Chappell, Mark Waugh and Darren Lehmann would remain selectors – albeit with Twenty20 selections streamlined to be the purview of Waugh and Lehmann.Hohns, 63, who previously served as chairman from 1996 to 2006, has signed a contract that will take him through to 2020, while Chappell and Waugh are locked in until August 2018. Lehmann last year signed a contract taking his role through to the end of the 2019 Ashes tour, which will be preceded by the next 50-over World Cup.The quartet had been named in an interim capacity to chart Australia’s selection path in November after the resignation of the previous selection chairman Rod Marsh, who conceded “fresh thinking” was needed in the wake of a humiliating defeat to South Africa in Hobart, which was the fifth consecutive Test defeat for Steven Smith’s team.That result hastened the selection of several younger players, most notably Matt Renshaw and Pete Handscomb, the batting duo who slipped seamlessly into the XI during the home summer and have since shown encouraging signs on the current tour of India. While there was consternation among some players about the return of Chappell in particular, on the basis he has a history of favouring youth over experience, Hohns said the panel needed to be strategic in building a national team to be successful over time.”We’re not about having a team full of Under-23 players, we need a good blend of players, experienced players are definitely not ruled out, so there’s no need for anybody to be concerned about that,” Hohns said. “What we have right now, of course, and what we’ve attempted to do here is build a squad of players that can take us forward for some time to come, and we see by their ages that there are a lot of a similar age.”History has shown us that good teams develop over a period of time but they develop because they’ve got players who play together and they’re all of a similar age, and that’s what we’re trying to do here. As for that question, no, that’s a [misconception] I would believe.”We are responsible for putting the players on the field and trying to pick the right players for the right conditions, and obviously pick the right players to win games for Australia. Cricket in my view is Australia’s national sport so it’s only natural that people all over the country are going to have varying opinions and if they’re talking about cricket I say that’s good.”Australia’s T20 selections will now fall under the purview of Lehmann and Mark Waugh•Getty Images

Significantly, the tradition of having a selector at every state match has seemingly been abandoned. The separation of T20 selection responsibility from those for Tests and ODIs means that there will be greater onus placed on state talent managers and coaches to communicate with the panel around Sheffield Shield and limited-overs performances.At the same time, Waugh and Lehmann will be freed up to spend more time concentrating on finding the right team for a format that has been Australia’s most problematic for some time. “I think it certainly makes sense to separate the T20 format of the game from the others,” Hohns said, “because we are, in effect, trying to increase our performance in that format and also our ranking, of course, so it does make sense to have a little bit of a split panel in that area.”That’s our intention, to use the state talent managers a bit more. That will give the selectors, or the people on the selection panel, a little bit more flexibility as to who we go to watch. We might pick and choose a little bit more but we’ll certainly have a presence at all games if we possibly can. It is an attempt to get everybody heading in the same direction and also gives our state talent managers the opportunity to have some input with their feedback to the selection of our national side.”Hohns acknowledged that the selections of Renshaw and Handscomb stood out as examples of what the panel was now trying to achieve. Other examples of youth being injected into the side have included the selection of the young Queensland batsman Sam Heazlett for the ODI tour of New Zealand. The search for an allrounder now seems to have replaced that for a spin bowler as the most vexing – Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Hilton Cartwright and Marcus Stoinis have all been part of the Test squad at different times over the past nine months.”We obviously knew a fair bit about them and as I say we have all watched a lot of interstate cricket over the last few years so we did know a bit about them,” Hohns said. “And of course when we made the decision to make several changes it was a little bit unknown, everyone accepts that, but sometimes when you give people the opportunity some grab it and some don’t. It just so happens a couple of them have really grabbed it and done very well for us.”Questions have been asked of Waugh’s multiple roles as a selector, television commentator and ambassador for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, but Hohns deflected concerns about conflicts of interest. “I’m sure that’s something Cricket Australia will deal with if they feel that it’s inappropriate,” he said.David Peever, the CA chairman, said the changes to the panel’s structure were the result of a review conducted in the aftermath of the Hobart result. “In making these decisions, the Board considered findings of a review conducted by CA management which looked at various aspects of the selection function, including the selection approach, the relevant structure and ensuring that we have the best possible candidates for the period ahead,” he said.”Trevor, Greg and Mark all have a vast amount of experience, we are pleased with their performance in the role over recent months, and are satisfied that this new structure will allow the Panel to be well supported by our national talent pathway and talent identification systems,. The head coach will remain involved in selection on all three formats, but the other selectors will take on more focused roles, enabling a refined selection process and clearer lines of accountability.”We believe this new structure will enhance the performance of the selection function and deliver clearer accountability around selection and, at the same time, offers the Board the opportunity to review a two-person selection panel in the T20 format, and how well this works.”