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India swooped into a strong position after yet another West Indian batting failure, to finish 164 ahead by stumps on the second day

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran21-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outAdrian Barath’s half-century was the only bright spot for West Indies on a day dominated by the visitors•Associated Press

On another bowlers’ day in Kingston, India swooped into a strong position after yet another West Indian batting failure, and finished 164 ahead in what is shaping up as a low-scoring Test. On a Sabina Park track that had so much turn that the spinners were wondering how to keep the ball on the stumps, the Indian fast bowlers – debutant Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma – knocked West Indies over for 173. Adrian Barath played his shots in a battling half-century but there was little from the rest of the top order.Praveen was India’s star in the morning session, though it was Ishant who made the first breakthrough, removing Ramnaresh Sarwan with his first ball of the day. With Harbhajan Singh getting the ball to spin and bounce, more early wickets looked likely but two of West Indies’ emerging batting stars – Barath and Darren Bravo – defied the bowling for over an hour.Initially the runs weren’t easily available as Ishant cranked up the pace, but Barath broke free with a bunch of boundaries. Bravo too seemed to settle in, with an impressive on-the-up cover drive off Ishant, but followed it up with two nervy moments in the same over: Suresh Raina dropped a dying edge at third slip, and the next delivery reared up and nearly took the the edge.The pair survived some more close calls, and with the first hour of the day negotiated, Barath decided to open out. Amit Mishra, the most impressive Indian bowler in the one-dayers, was greeted with a loft over long-on to bring up Barath’s fifty, and the next delivery was launched into the stands in the same direction.A change of ends for Praveen, though, transformed the session. In his first over from the Michael Holding End, he produced the ball of the morning – slanting in towards off before bouncing and jagging away, forcing Barath to play, and nick to the keeper. For a bowler who has had a long wait to make the Test grade, it was a maiden wicket to savour.That was only the start of a spell in which he bagged three wickets in 14 deliveries. The other settled batsman, Bravo, was the next to go, with the off-stump line and the movement again resulting in a catch behind. West Indies still had two of their most adhesive batsmen at the crease, but Praveen separated them with a straight delivery to Brendan Nash, that took the leading edge to slips.Praveen’s day was blotted a touch as he was suspended from bowling soon after lunch, on getting his third warning for running on the danger area. India had started the second session poorly, sending down too many leg-side deliveries. Praveen’s exit and Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s presence at the crease gave West Indies fresh hope.

Smart stats

• West Indies’ 173 is their fourth total below 200 in the team first innings in Tests since the start of 2008. They have lost on each of the previous three occasions.

• Praveen Kumar’s 3 for 38 is the best bowling figures by an Indian on debut against West Indies since Narendra Hirwani, who picked up 8 for 61 and 8 for 75 in Chennai in 1988.

• After a strong start to his Test career, M Vijay has scored just one century and one half-century in his last 12 innings at an average of 29.50.

• Rahul Dravid’s aggregate in Jamaica is the most by an Indian batsman. He has scored 363 runs in eight innings in Jamaica at an average of 60.50 with three half-centuries.

• This is only the fifth occasion that India have taken a lead in a Test in the West Indies after batting first, and only the second time after scoring less than 300.

• Shivnarine Chanderpaul was dismissed for the first time in Tests by Harbhajan Singh, after facing 575 balls and scoring 203 runs off him.

The three Indian specialist bowlers, however, stepped up in Praveen’s absence. Ishant harried the batsmen with his accuracy, and the variable bounce and generous turn kept the batsmen wary against the spinners. Still, Carlton Baugh and Chanderpaul put on 45 before Harbhajan had Baugh tentatively poking to silly point. He removed Chanderpaul for the first time in Tests soon after, getting him to inside-edge onto the pads for an easy catch at short leg. There was some resistance from the tail-enders, though their efforts weren’t enough to prevent West Indies from conceding a hefty lead.India’s batsmen then set about stretching that lead, and led the side to a comfortable position despite ducks for two of their top four. M Vijay was lbw to a short Ravi Rampaul delivery that was unplayable, rising little above knee-high. VVS Laxman had a rare double failure as his attempt to get off the mark by punching Darren Sammy down the ground ended up as a return catch.Sammy latched on to that one, but put down one he will regret. He fluffed a simple chance at second slip – nice height, close to his body – to give Rahul Dravid a life on 6. Dravid went on to play his second important innings of the match. While these may not be in the league of 2006 Jamaican masterclasses that secured the series for India, Dravid again showcased his patience, judgment and tenacity, to finish unbeaten on 45.In difficult conditions, he and Abhinav Mukund added 56 for the second wicket. Mukund played a cautious hand, rarely trying anything extravagant as he looked to make an impact on debut. It was slow progress, but having negotiated the bowling for nearly two hours, he lost his concentration soon after a drinks break in the final session, feathering Bishoo behind.The other Indian debutant Virat Kohli had flopped in the first innings, and didn’t have the most comfortable of times in the hour he had till stumps. With a barrage of bouncers coming his way, he was involved in a tussle with Fidel Edwards. Kohli blew a mock kiss whenever Edwards stared him down after sending down a short ball.With Dravid at his unyielding best and the pitch remaining a brute, India will be thrilled at the quick turnaround in the fortunes after the top-order collapse on the first morning.

Jonathan Trott’s 118 guided England Lions to a tense victory over West Indies A at Northampton.

Cricinfo staff29-Jun-2010

ScorecardJonathan Trott’s 118 guided England Lions to victory over West Indies A at Northampton. In a contest that continually threatened to become tense it was the class of Trott, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell that edged England Lions home after a sensational hundred by Kirk Edwards carried the tourists to a competitive 279.Trott was unceremoniously dumped out of both England’s limited-overs teams as they looked for the right combination to deliver their new-found ‘fearlessness’, but today he displayed nous and power of his own to anchor the chase to perfection.Set 280 for victory, what had looked a challenging total became harder when Steven Davies, opening alongside Cook, fell for 11 to Gavin Tonge. Davies has been in fine form this season for Surrey, especially in limited-overs cricket, but his wicket brought Trott to the crease and together with Cook, the pair laid the foundations for the successful chase.Cook discovered a proficiency for one-day batting at the back-end of last season, and carried that form into England’s away series against Bangladesh earlier this year, where he slog-swept his way to 156 runs in three innings. Today he displayed his usual calm temperament with controlled hitting to reach a fifty at a fraction under a run a ball. Trott was similarly comfortable working the ball around and picking off the boundaries when available as the pair added 123 in just over 22 overs.Cook was eventually dismissed for 71 by legspinner Imran Khan but the wicket brought no respite for the tourists. Instead Ian Bell, another player on the fringes of the England one-day side, stroked his way serenely to 44. Trott ticked along at the other end and, without ever hurrying, the pair took England Lions to within 61 of the total with 50 balls remaining.West Indies A could not quite squeeze England Lions enough and Trott passed his century off 116 balls to take the side to the brink of victory. He fell to the first ball of the penultimate over, caught behind off Andre Russell with six still needed, but Darren Stevens and Andrew Gale ensured there were no slip-ups.It was a good work out for England Lions and it displayed the depth that lies beneath the senior side. Yet they could have been chasing a lot less had Edwards not carried the tourists’ batting with an epic 147. Before this innings he’d never past 50 in limited-overs cricket but he was on song today.West Indies A’s innings had got off to a horror start, when captain Devon Smith was caught behind from the first ball of the match off Ajmal Shahzad. Andre Fletcher, the wicketkeeper batsman recently demoted by West Indies after a series of low scores, could not get going either, and was bogged down before being castled by Chris Woakes.It brought Edwards to the crease and it wasn’t long until he saw another wicket fall; Omar Phillips nicking behind to Ravi Bopara, to leave the side wobbling on 46 for 3. At that point England Lions would have fancied their chances of chipping through the West Indies A line-up, but instead Edwards was joined by Assad Fudadin and the pair worked the tourists into a competitive position.Fudadin made a crucial fifty for West Indies A in similar circumstances against Ireland earlier in the tour and today he was equally patient as he and Edwards batted for the best part of 25 overs to add 137.Edwards was the senior partner, however, and he clubbed 18 fours and three sixes in all, reaching his century off 103 balls. Thereafter he added 47 from his next 29 balls before Woakes bowled him with nine balls left to go.Sajid Mahmood wore the brunt of the beating, with his 10 overs costing an eye-watering 79. Having bowled so well through the Friends Provident t20 for Lancashire this year, it was a major disappointment for Mahmood and he seems unable to push any closer than the fringes of the national side.It was Shahzad, who is pushing Tim Bresnan for a place in the senior England side, who was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 2 for 25 from his allotted overs. It helped restrict West Indies to a manageable total and Trott ensured England Lions eased to victory.

New Zealand batter fell for 92 just eight balls into the final morning, before Jayasuriya bagged five in the second innings

Madushka Balasuriya23-Sep-2024Sri Lanka didn’t need long on the final morning in Galle to wrap things up, taking just 15 minutes to grab the final two New Zealand wickets and secure a 63-run win in the first Test. The result means Sri Lanka go 1-0 up in the two-match series, while also leapfrogging New Zealand up to third place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.Prabath Jayasuriya was at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s charge, finishing with figures of 5 for 68 – his eighth five-wicket haul, and his seventh in Galle. He ended with match figures of 9 for 204, taking home the Player-of-the-Match award.After having fought so hard the previous day, Rachin Ravindra lasted just eight deliveries into the first session of the final morning as Jayasuriya trapped him in front with an arm ball for 92 off 168 balls. Coming around the wicket, Jayasuriya tossed one up on leg as Ravindra was caught in the crease playing down the wrong line. He reviewed, but once it was confirmed to be pitching in line, there would be no saving him.And any lingering hopes of a famous rearguard were then swiftly quashed, as Will O’Rourke kept out just five deliveries before the sixth slipped past his forward defence and on to off stump to hand Jayasuriya his fifth wicket of the innings.O’Rourke wouldn’t quite be satisfied with how the game ended after an impressive showing in the game as he finished with eight wickets to his name – the second-most across the Test, and the same as Ajaz Patel.In terms of how this result impacts the WTC, it keeps Sri Lanka’s outside hopes of a berth in the final alive. But for New Zealand, it makes their task considerably tougher, with an away series against India and a home series England coming up in the next few months.There will be no time to dwell on this result for either team, with just a two-day break before the second Test gets underway on Thursday – also in Galle.

Disagreement revolves around the nominees that make up the PCB board which plays a role in deciding the chairman

Umar Farooq27-Jun-2023The election to determine the new Pakistan Cricket Board chairman will not take place until July 17 with the High Court of Balochistan issuing a stay order against it.The Court was hearing a case which claimed the governing board of the PCB, which plays a big role in selecting the new chair, was formed in violation of the 2014 constitution. The Court did not hear the PCB’s arguments and issued notices to all stakeholders to attend the next session.On Monday morning – 24 hours before the election that could have led to Zaka Ashraf becoming PCB chairman – a number of writ petitions were filed in various courts in Pakistan to stop the whole thing. The Lahore High Court has admitted at least three petitions, combining them into one hearing, which was adjourned until Tuesday.The PCB’s board is comprised of ten members: four regional representatives, four representatives from services and the two members nominated by the Prime Minister. These members would then conduct a vote to determine the next chairman. Historically, it is the Prime Minister’s appointment to the PCB board of governors who becomes the chairman for a three-year term, and Ashraf was the overwhelming favorite.Najam Sethi was the most recent head of the PCB, but he was a temporary appointment, tasked with bringing back the 2014 constitution. He was working with a management committee and they are the ones who have taken to the courts to contest the elections. They claimed that the PCB board was improperly set up, emphasising that it disregarded a list of nominees that Sethi had put forward.Sethi’s list included Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Rawalpindi but they were named out of the rotation. The PCB election commissioner and acting chairman, Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana, rejected them and replaced them with representatives of Larkana, Dera Murad Jamali, Bahawalpur and Hyderabad. This difference of opinion is the reason the matter has been taken to court.These proceedings are a throwback to 2013 and 2014 when Sethi launched a legal offensive against Ashraf. The pair were involved in a protracted battle for the PCB chairmanship, with the position switching hands several times. Ashraf won in court but was ousted by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif which led to Sethi taking control.

The three games will be played in Edinburgh on July 27, 29 and 31

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2022Scotland will host New Zealand in July 2022 for two T20Is and a one-off ODI after New Zealand finish their tour of Ireland on July 22 in Belfast. The three matches in Scotland will be played at the Grange in Edinburgh, on July 27, 29 and 31.Scotland and New Zealand last faced each other in the Super 12s stage of the T20 World Cup last year when Scotland scared their opponents by falling just 16 runs short while chasing 173.”We are excited to welcome the BLACKCAPS to our shores this summer,” Scotland head coach Shane Burger said. “We want to keep challenging ourselves versus ICC Full Members and New Zealand are up there as one of the best.”Having reached both of the most recent T20 and 50 over ICC world cup finals, they have proven to be the most consistent team across all formats of the game in recent years.”We have 12 international ODIs to be played prior to the New Zealand series and so the squad are training well and looking forward to a busy 2022.”New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said touring Scotland would be a “great occasion” for his team.”Over the past decade we’ve seen Scotland improve as a cricketing nation and develop into a force in international cricket,” Stead said. “Having played there personally myself at Brechin Cricket Club, I know how passionate the people are about the game and I have no doubt they will be eagerly looking forward to this tour.”Playing against associate teams as a major nation is a really important part of helping them grow and that growth can only benefit the world game long term.”Cricket Scotland is likely to announce further information on the tickets and crowd in mid-April.New Zealand will fly to the UK in May-end for the three Tests against England in June, followed by the three ODIs and as many T20Is starting July 10, before they head to Scotland.

CSA will also send a security delegation to Pakistan to assess the feasibility of a tour in early 2021

Firdose Moonda27-Oct-2020A full summer schedule has been announced for South Africa’s men’s team. They will host England, Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan in biosecure bubbles between November 2020 and April 2021, with the possibility of traveling to Pakistan in early 2021. The home season will include five home Tests, six ODIs, and six T20Is, while CSA is in negotiation to play Tests and T20Is in Pakistan. All matches and training sessions will take place behind closed doors.After confirming the England series last week, CSA has announced that Sri Lanka will visit over the festive period for two Tests on the Highveld. SuperSport Park, which hosted England for the Boxing Day Test last year and Pakistan the year before, has been retained as the venue for this fixture, while the new Wanderers Stadium will host the New Year’s Test for the first time. The New Year’s Test has only been played in Johannesburg three times previously, at the old Wanderers stadium, but not for more than a 100 years, with the last instance being 1914. Newlands in Cape Town misses out on what is regarded as the most iconic fixture in the South African cricket calendar.South Africa are set for a packed 2020-21 home summer•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

South Africa hope to spend the rest of January 2021 in Pakistan but a call on the feasibility of that tour will be made after a security team completes a risk assessment. A CSA delegation will depart for Pakistan this weekend. ESPNcricinfo understands that South Africa could play two Tests and a T20I series in Pakistan.The team will then return home to take on Australia in three Tests, with venues yet to be announced, for the first time since the sandpapergate scandal of 2018. Pakistan round out the summer with three ODIs and three T20Is in April.The PCB has also confirmed that this tour will take place.”The Pakistan Cricket Board today confirmed the men’s national team will tour South Africa in April 2021 for three One-Day Internationals, which will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, and as many T20 Internationals,” the PCB said in a statement on Tuesday. “Pakistan has now agreed to fulfil its Future Tours Programme (FTP) commitment prior to visiting Zimbabwe for two Tests and three T20Is. The schedule of both the series will be announced in due course.”The up-country venues have been chosen for the Sri Lanka series for two reasons: most obviously that CSA can create a bubble between Centurion and Johannesburg, with teams likely to stay in Sandton, but also for cricketing purposes. It will suit South Africa to play Sri Lanka on the two fastest surfaces in the county, especially after losing the last home series 2-0 against them on slower surfaces on the coast. South Africa have not beaten Sri Lanka in a Test series since the 2016-17 summer, losing to them in 2018 in Sri Lanka and in 2018-19 at home. All those matches were played under the captaincy of Faf du Plessis, who stood down in January, which means the upcoming Sri Lanka series will be the first under a new captain, who has yet to be named, although an announcement is imminent. New convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang begins in the job on Monday, which is also when the first round of domestic first-class matches begins, which should provide insight into red-ball form.Faf du Plessis oversaw a 2-0 series defeat at home against Sri Lanka•Getty Images

“It is an absolute pleasure to deliver more good news for our cricket-loving fans to consume, following last week’s confirmed tour against England and domestic season launch,” Kugandrie Govender, CSA’s acting CEO, said. “The Covid-19 pandemic predictably forced many changes to the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) and the traditional sequencing of scheduling matches in South Africa this season. This is why I am particularly proud of today’s announcement. It comes as a result of many hours of dedication, negotiation and hard work by individuals behind the scenes to ensure that our fans have an exciting line-up of cricket to look forward to throughout the summer.”The announcement of the fixtures comes on the same day when CSA is due to present South Africa’s sports minister, Nathi Mthethwa, with reasons to deter him from intervening in its affairs. Mthethwa was forced to announce his intention to look into CSA after the body refused to comply with the instructions of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), which demanded that the CSA Board and executive temporarily stand down while SASCOC conducts an investigation into CSA. SASCOC also wanted unrestricted access to the forensic report that CSA used to fire former CEO Thabang Moroe.CSA refused on both counts, but its entire board has since resigned. The executive remains in place and it is expected that an interim committee will be put in place in lieu of a board until December’s AGM. For now, those behind-the-scenes activities do not seem to be affecting matters on the field, albeit CSA has hit financially tough times.The organisation is forecasting a loss for the 2019-2022 cycle but no pay cuts have taken place. The South Africa men’s team has been out of action since March, when their white-ball tour of India was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic. They had tours of Sri Lanka and the West Indies and a home T20I series against India postponed. The women’s team, whose fixtures will be announced in the coming weeks, has not played since the T20 World Cup. Their home series against Australia and trips to the West Indies and England could not go ahead.South Africa remains in lockdown, albeit it at the most lenient stage (1 of 5), and most activity has resumed. The country’s borders are open, with only leisure travellers from high-risk countries not allowed in.

A proud occasion for the visitors will inevitably be overshadowed by what has gone before, and what is still to come

The Preview by Andrew Miller23-Jul-2019

Big picture

Well, how do you follow that? The Greatest Game at the Greatest Venue. The Greatest Day for English cricket in, at the very least, a generation. And if Liam Plunkett’s telling comments in the aftermath are anything to go by, the Greatest Comedown imaginable for a band of England cricketers who, last Sunday afternoon, reached the highest high of them all – an unforgettable World Cup triumph at Lord’s.Well, in keeping with the sport’s ever-grinding treadmill, the only fit and proper follow-up is to march onwards, ever onwards, to a very different slice of cricketing history. Three strips north of the patch of grass laid out for that epic encounter with New Zealand, England and Ireland will do battle for the very first time in Test history, in a contest that offers a very abrupt change of pace from everything that we’ve so far witnessed this summer.First things first, let’s pay tribute to the visitors, for – with respect to their first overseas Test against Afghanistan in Dehradun in March – this is unquestionably the biggest occasion for Irish cricket since their inaugural Test against Pakistan last May. And in so many ways it is bigger still than that emotional home unveiling in Malahide.Will Porterfield takes a drink during training•Getty Images

Just try to imagine the huge pride that Ireland’s players will feel as they walk through the Long Room for that very first time tomorrow, to compete in a Test match at Lord’s, no less. There is no more fitting ceremony to mark the completion of their journey from Associate obscurity to Full Member acceptance, and coming so soon after a World Cup from which they were forced to look on enviously from the sidelines (and watch a former team-mate raise the trophy on England’s behalf), the occasion is sure to be all the sweeter.But let’s be frank, the timing is not exactly ideal. In fact, it utterly sucks. Schedules are no-one’s friend, and the ECB are entitled to say, if not now, then when could they possibly have issued that maiden invitation? But there are only two contests on English cricket’s minds this summer – the World Cup that has already been, and the Ashes that are looming large in barely a week’s time. Everything that occurs in the next four days (and that in itself is a telling detail) will be viewed through a light blue filter, a green-and-gold filter, or both.Of course, that in itself will throw up some intriguing subplots. England have confirmed two debutants in their ranks for Wednesday morning – the familiar face of Jason Roy at the top of the order, and the lesser-exposed Olly Stone in the pace attack – and while both men will be justifiably proud when they receive their maiden caps before the toss, they will also know that this is just the pre-amble, an audition for a far more prestigious role in August and September.And Roy aside, what of the other World Cup survivors – the captain Joe Root, the keeper Jonny Bairstow, and the seamer Chris Woakes, whose chronic knee problems have been managed so efficiently that he is now back to being a front-line Test option after not featuring in the side for almost a year? How do they manage the emotions of returning to the scene of that triumph? Should they hold anything in reserve, pacing themselves for stiffer tests to come, or should they throw themselves wholeheartedly into the fray, and honour the occasion as an equal, even when pragmatism says that it is not?Of course they’ll give it their all. Root is the Test captain, and rightly proud of the honour; Bairstow doesn’t get out of bed with anything less than 100 percent commitment. Woakes was a centurion in his last Test at Lord’s and has missed enough matches in his six-year career to know never to take anything for granted. But it doesn’t make it right to expect them to be able to dredge up another performance so soon after playing their hearts out on the biggest stage of all. As shown in the new film, The Edge, which charts the rise and fall of England’s 2009-14 team, the dangers of burn-out are all too real and all too easily ignored.But, the show must and will go on, and it’s fair to say that Ireland won’t care too greatly if their opponents’ minds are caught in no-man’s land. Even eight years on, there are enough survivors in Ireland’s ranks from that mighty victory in the 2011 World Cup to know how sweet it can be to fell a giant when they are least expecting it. They’ve spent enough of their careers punching upwards to give it one last heave for glory.That said, there is a certain poignancy about Ireland’s international fortunes at present. They are not so much a team in transition as a team basking in the last sunbeams of a golden generation. Kevin O’Brien, Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin are closer to their 40th birthdays than their 30th; Ed Joyce and Niall O’Brien have already retired since that inaugural Test. Will Porterfield has been captain for a remarkable 11 years and counting.That said, England are missing a raft of key performers – not least the ever-green James Anderson – and if their new-look top-order suffers a familiar wobble on another grass-tinged deck, the circumstances are ripe for an almighty World Cup comedown. But for that to happen, Ireland may require a new generation of heroes to make their presence known. That faithful old guard can’t be expected to do the job every time.

Form guide

England WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland LL—

In the spotlight

Jason Roy is the anointed one. The manner in which he tore into Australia’s bowlers in that crushing World Cup semi-final was all the evidence required. Like David Warner before him, he is all set to complete the transition from white-ball to red-ball opening, and given the purity of the technique that lurks behind his extraordinary power, he is surely as well placed to make a success of the promotion as any player who has gone before him. That said, he didn’t have much fun against the swinging ball in the World Cup final (though he was hardly alone in that). If he can get set, however…If Ireland are to compete on an equal footing, then local know-how is sure to be a factor. Enter Tim Murtagh, 38 next week and still making the ball talk on the Lord’s slope for Middlesex week in, week out. He’s picked up 291 wickets at 23.98 in his Lord’s career to date, including two of his four ten-wicket hauls. The degree to which he can set the agenda could define his team’s prospects.

Team news

Despite some optimistic noises about James Anderson’s calf injury, England’s senior seamer was never going to be risked with the Ashes just around the corner. Which means that Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes are the likely new-ball pairing, with the young gun Olly Stone lurking at first change to unleash his 90mph offerings, in only his third first-class outing since suffering a stress fracture of the back. Lewis Gregory will have to wait his turn after England opted for a twin-spin attack, with Jack Leach’s left-armers set to partner Moeen Ali, who will form part of a familiarly interchangeable raft of allrounders in the middle order, albeit with Jonny Bairstow pushed up to 5. Roy and Rory Burns will form an all-Surrey opening partnership.England 1 Jason Roy, 2 Rory Burns, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Olly StoneThere’s the realistic prospect of as many as three Test debutants in Ireland’s ranks, with the young allrounder Mark Adair and the more seasoned seamer Craig Young in the frame, alongside the spinner Simi Singh, who could yet feature if Ireland ape England’s strategy and opt for two slow bowlers. Will Porterfield was giving little away on the eve of the game, saying only that all 14 squad members were fit, although it emerged later on Tuesday that James McCollum had suffered a back spasm.Ireland (possible): 1 Will Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 James McCollum, 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Gary Wilson (wk), 7 Mark Adair, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Craig Young / Simi Singh, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Tim Murtagh

Pitch and conditions

Another lush green offering has been served up at Lord’s, which may give Root a restless night given how strokeless he was rendered on a similar deck in the World Cup final – that one was two-paced and sticky, and favoured the slower seamers. The weather is set fair for at least the first three days, with a threat of rain at this stage for Saturday.

Stats that matter

• This will be the first home England Test match since the 2005 Ashes – 89 Tests ago – in which Alastair Cook has not featured, and the first since August 2006 in which he has not opened the batting.
• This will also be the first Test match to feature numbers on the back of England’s shirts – the captain, Joe Root, will be wearing 66.
• Joe Denly will be making his first appearance in a home Test match, almost a decade after he made his ODI debut in Stormont against an Ireland that still features three of the same names.

Quotes

“It’s right up there – if not the pinnacle for everything that’s been achieved for the last while for Irish cricket. We have got quite a few World Cups under our belt, little things like that. They have been pretty big occasions, but getting to Test cricket and then having the
opportunity to play here at the home of cricket is a pretty special thing.”
Will Porterfield on a special occasion for Irish cricket“They are a side that have always performed well, probably over-performed at times, I hope that doesn’t sound that I am underestimating them or not giving them a fair shout – they have upset sides like England in previous World Cups and they ran us close in the one-day format at the start of the year … it is great for the game that sides like Ireland are getting a chance in this format and I think they have earned the right to get this
fixture. “

Injury concerns aside, CSK have begun well, squeezing out maximum points so far. Now they run into a revamped Kings XI Punjab, captained by an old friend

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu14-Apr-20185:03

Agarkar: Out of form Yuvraj on shaky ground

Big Picture

Two matches, two last-gasp wins and two injuries. Having squeezed out maximum points so far, Chennai Super Kings now run into a revamped Kings XI Punjab side captained by an old friend in R Ashwin. Kings XI have had a seesawing start to the season: they mowed down Delhi Daredevils but came up short against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. They have a little less than 48 hours to address their weaknesses, particularly their batting.Despite losing wickets in a cluster, Kings XI’s batsmen kept going after the bowlers and were ultimately bowled out with four balls unused in their innings. Such an approach works only if you have a fail-safe option in the batting line-up. Yuvraj Singh is past his prime while Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, and Marcus Stoinis are largely hit-or-miss batsmen. Ashwin, however, has indicated that the side will not curb its aggression after just one loss.Super Kings’ middle order is rickety as well, and the injuries to Suresh Raina and Kedar Jadhav have forced them to dig deep into their reserves. Ambati Rayudu has given the team bright starts in both games, so, perhaps, there is a case for him to stay at the top. Super Kings will have to choose between a fit-again M Vijay and Delhi’s Dhruv Shorey, who is uncapped in the IPL, for the middle-order slot thrown open by the absence of Raina.

In the news

• Raina will miss a Super Kings match for the first time in his career.
• Jadhav’s replacement David Willey joined the squad on the eve of the match.
• Lungi Ngidi will not be available for Sunday’s clash, having flown back home to South Africa following the death of his father.
• Ngidi’s captain at South Africa Faf du Plessis, who is recovering from a finger injury and a side strain, is “close” to full fitness, according to coach Stephen Fleming.

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The likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Aaron Finch/David Miller, 4 Yuvraj Singh/Manoj Tiwary, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Mujeeb ZadranChennai Super Kings 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 M Vijay/Dhruv Shorey, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats that matter

• Axar Patel has a perfect record against Shane Watson, having dismissed the Australian allrounder five times in five IPL matches
• MS Dhoni has struggled against spin, managing only 367 runs off 349 balls with a dot percentage of 45.6 since IPL 2015. Ravindra Jadeja has fared worse against spin, scoring only 157 off 161 balls in the same period.
• Mohit Sharma has bagged 25 wickets between overs 16 and 20 in 43 IPL games since 2015. He also tends to leak runs in the same phase, though, as his economy-rate of 9.4 suggests.

Strategy punt

If Rayudu continues to open for CSK, Ashwin could do well to bring himself on right away. The spinner has dismissed Rayudu four times in 48 balls while giving away only 53 runs.

Fantasy pick

That he can bowl legspin with accuracy too has amplified the threat posed by Ashwin. He struck with a loopy legbreak in the 12th over on Friday, removing Sarfraz Khan, and bowled a total of four legbreaks in the match for just one run. In Kings XI’s tournament opener against Delhi Daredevils, Ashwin had ventured four legbreaks and conceded three runs.

Quote

“There is obviously a lot going on. The positive is we have two wins out of two. There haven’t been great performances but scrapping and fighting wins, which at the start of a tournament is more valuable.”

After India’s capitulation in Pune, Virat Kohli said that he had not asked for such a pitch but saw nothing wrong with the track

Sidharth Monga in Pune25-Feb-2017Lowest match total for two all-out innings in India. Quickest end to two all-out innings in India. India’s fourth-lowest match total. The third-quickest they have taken to be bowled out. If India asked for this pitch, they have been hoisted by their own petard. India’s captain Virat Kohli, though, insisted that he had not asked for this pitch, saw nothing wrong with the pitch, and pulled himself and his fellow batsmen up for capitulating for a total of 212 runs in 74 overs.Asked if he or his team had asked for this pitch at a ground with a reputation for flat hard surfaces, Kohli said: “I don’t know. I didn’t speak to anyone.”About the pitch itself Kohli said: “I don’t think it was any different from the turners that we played on in the past. We just didn’t play good cricket. You can ask me any sort of question or any perception about the loss. We know exactly what happened, the mistakes that we made. External perceptions don’t matter to us, they have never mattered to us.”We played good cricket, that’s why we won. We played bad cricket, and that’s why we lost. That’s how simply we look at this defeat. We just want to take the learnings forward, improve and come back stronger in the next game. I can assure you that we are going to come back with more intent for sure, and put Australia under pressure straight from ball one.”Once the pitch was laid out, India had the option of strengthening the batting like they did on a similar pitch in Nagpur against South Africa. Kohli defended the selection. “We wanted to pick up 20 wickets, we did manage to do that,” Kohli said. “I mean, not in time. I would say we did make breakthroughs but we could’ve done it quicker and if you don’t grab your chances in the second innings, if you drop five chances of one batsman, then you certainly don’t deserve to win. If you get bowled out within 11 runs and lose seven wickets, you don’t deserve to win a Test match.”You can speak about combinations… I’m sure you wouldn’t have asked this question had we won the game. The question changes drastically when you win or lose. A lot of things are result-oriented, but not with our team. We focus on what we can do right, and what we need to do right on field, and we don’t drift away from that. Our mindset doesn’t change with the results.”Kohli said Indian saw the defeat as “no big deal”. “It’s fine,” Kohli said of the mood in the dressing room. “It’s just another international game. It’s no big deal. It’s how you should stay calm and composed when you win, how you shouldn’t get overexcited. The same way you react when you lose, something that you take on the chin. We take failures and losses as an opportunity to learn.”The defeat ended India’s 19-Test unbeaten streak, and Kohli looked back to their previous defeat for inspiration. “The last time we had a performance like this [in Galle, against Sri Lanka], we had the most outstanding run after that,” Kohli said. “I would say that we needed something like this for us to get a reality check and understand what are the things we need to work on and keep persisting with it. Not take anything for granted at any stage, especially at the Test-match level.”Kohli blamed his batsmen for not applying themselves, but defended his bowlers, who were outdone by Australia who had little experience of bowling in such conditions. “The way we batted in the first innings, I think we put ourselves under a lot of pressure to be honest,” Kohli said. “Conceding a 160-run lead on that kind of wicket is criminal actually. If we were close enough to their first-innings total, the bowlers’ mindset is different in the second innings. The moment you give away 50-60 runs, the game is drifting away already.”It’s very difficult to pull things back from there, even a single run hurts from thereon. And I would say our batsmen put us in that position where it was very difficult for us to come back into the game. Am not blaming the bowlers at all, they tried their level best, someone like Umesh [Yadav] bowling well in the first innings was great to see on a slowish wicket. They bowled in good areas, they put Australia under pressure, they were going well in the first innings and we pulled things back nicely. A few things we can take away from this game but [only] from bowling aspect. Our batting wasn’t up to standard, and that’s certainly how we shouldn’t bat from here onwards.’When asked what the Australia spinners did right in comparison to India’s, Kohli found no flaw with his unit. “I think our spinners bowled really well as well,” he said. “I wouldn’t say what they did better. As I said, if you don’t apply yourself, any bowling attack can look dangerous. It’s as simple as that. Even a part-timer can get four wickets if you don’t apply yourself. And I certainly would like to think that that was the case with our batting line-up in this game. It rarely happens that four-five batsmen make errors in judgement in both the innings, especially with the way we batted in the last few months. I would say this was our worst batting performance and we need to accept that.”One of the errors was Kohli’s, when he shouldered arms to become one of Steve O’Keefe’s 12 wickets in the match. This image was the most symbolic of all. Ravindra Jadeja had done this to Steven Smith in Delhi in 2012-13, and to Hashim Amla in Mohali in 2015-16. Now Kohli watched in horror as his off stump was laid flat. Kohli was forthcoming about his mistake.”It was a judgement error from my side,” he said. “I left the ball too early. I should have waited for the ball a little more. You can’t say which ball is going to turn or which isn’t. You’ve got to play the line, and I certainly didn’t do that. It was my fault.”

Hamilton Masakadza, whose unbeaten 93 from 58, set up Zimbabwe’s series-leveling win, was happy with the way he built his innings and is also proud of the way his team has bounced back after losing the T20I series to Afghanistan earlier this month

Mohammad Isam22-Jan-2016Hamilton Masakadza fired Zimbabwe off to a rapid start, held the middle order together and remained unbeaten till the last over of the innings. A few hours later he was named Man of the Match and Man of the Series having played a big part in his team coming from behind to level the T20 series against Bangladesh 2-2.Masakadza’s unbeaten 93 in Khulna on Friday sealed a hat-trick – the top three scores for Zimbabwe in T20s belong to him. He also holds the record for most runs in a bilateral T20I series, and in the second game became the first from his country to complete 3,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket. Zimbabwe will hope his form continues with the World T20 coming up in just over a month.Masakadza needed only 58 balls to almost score a T20 century thanks to five sixes and eight fours, most of which came on the leg side. But there was beauty in his brutality as well.He used singles to feed an 80-run partnership with Richmond Mutumbami, but let the big-hitting Malcolm Waller take most of the strike during their 61-run third-wicket stand. Then when he saw Elton Chigumbura miss a few, Masakadza took the lead in their unbroken 31-run fifth-wicket stand to power Zimbabwe to 180 for 4.”I thought [my innings] went almost exactly like I wanted it to go,” Masakadza said. “We started off playing quite a few shots in the Powerplay. Then, just tried to support the guys in the middle and play some more big shots in the death overs.”Masakadza’s regret was more about failing to get a bigger total for Zimbabwe than missing out on a hundred. “I think I didn’t get as many as I would have liked to in the end overs. I didn’t clear the ropes as much as I wanted to. Other than that it set up the team quite brilliantly. I was more disappointed at not getting 190-odd. We were in a good position to get to the score.”In the first two T20s, Zimbabwe made good starts with the bat but their middle order gave it away at crucial stages. That shortcoming was addressed in the third T20 with Waller playing finisher. Zimbabwe had laid the foundation today as well and a set batsman was able to make sure they got to a formidable total.Masakadza said all the team needed to win was the middle order to take advantage of a fast start, and their self-belief had shot up after winning the third T20.”We were always confident, especially the way we played in the first game. We lost after posting 160 on the board but I thought the way the batsmen had gone, especially to start with, we just needed the middle order to click. We knew we could get over the line.”The momentum definitely helped after the third game. Obviously the guys got more confident with what they were doing. They had a little bit more belief after getting the first victory.”Masakadza said the 2-2 result would go a long way in helping the side overcome their 2-0 loss to Afghanistan earlier this month.”I thought the guys showed a lot of character to come back from 2-0 down. It is a big positive for us. We needed to put what happened against Afghanistan behind us. I think the guys showed good will power to make this comeback. It was very good for the team.”