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Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, called Kane Williamson’s century in Wellington his best in 12 months but lamented some poor batsmanship around him

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington04-Mar-2018New Zealand are pinning their hopes of being able to come from behind to take the one-day series against England on the recovery of Ross Taylor and reuniting him with Kane Williamson after his magnificent century in Wellington came just short of securing victory.Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, called Williamson’s innings his best in 12 months but lamented some poor batsmanship around him – echoing the views of the captain who said his side didn’t bat smartly – as the middle order subsided against Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. A stand of 96 between Williamson and Mitchell Santner put New Zealand in a position from where they could have won, but 15 off the last over proved a little too many.”Once the spinners came on, it was always going to be a challenge starting on that surface – Kane was the only player to get past 50 in the match, so, clearly, starting was difficult – but we lacked the batsmanship required yesterday,” Hesson said. “[The dismissals] were a bit different, some were very poor decision-making; others were a bit of a lack of execution.”There are positive vibes coming from the New Zealand camp over Taylor, who missed the Wellington match with a quad injury sustained being run out in Mount Maunganui, and having their two finest batsmen back together – and both in form – is much-needed for the Dunedin match on Wednesday. Since returning to the one-day side last year after eye surgery Taylor has averaged 57.27 in ODIs, with three centuries, the most recent in the first match of the series.”We have some very talented players, such as Mark Chapman, but at the moment they aren’t Ross Taylor,” Hesson said. “It’s looking promising for Ross.”Unsurprisingly, having returned from a hamstring injury, Williamson reported as feeling “stiff and sore” after being on the field for all but 2.1 overs in Wellington, but there are currently no concerns around him for Dunedin with the extra day between matches working in his and Taylor’s favour.”That’s probably the best Kane has played in 12 months in terms of the way he stuck to his game plan form ball one,” Hesson said. “As the only player to pass fifty suggests it was an outstanding innings. To get us to a point where we had a chance to win was testament to his quality.”The one aspect of Williamson’s performance that raised a few eyebrows was his use of Santner for only two overs with his left-arm spin. Instead, Colin Munro bowled eight overs; Williamson’s decision perhaps swayed by Colin de Grandhomme’s miserly spell of 10 overs for 24 runs and the presence of left-handers in the middle for the majority of the innings, who would have been hitting with Santner’s turn to the shorter boundaries at the Westpac.”It was a tactical decision made out there…you rely on guys to make decisions out there, the left-handers were out there for a long time,” Hesson said. “Colin Munro and de Grandhomme did the job of hitting the length at the time; I certainly support that.”

Australia’s coach and selector Darren Lehmann said Nathan Lyon’s performance in the third Test in Sydney was “the best he’s bowled for a long period of time” and bodes well for their upcoming tour

Brydon Coverdale07-Jan-2017Two Tests into Australia’s summer, Nathan Lyon’s position appeared to be in jeopardy. The interim chairman of selectors, Trevor Hohns, hinted ahead of the Adelaide Test against South Africa that had Steve O’Keefe not suffered a calf injury shortly before the squad was selected, he may well have taken the place of the struggling Lyon. Fast forward four Tests and Lyon is earning nothing but praise from within the Australian camp.If he was not exactly a match-winner at the SCG, he was at least a very valuable contributor, picking up five wickets in the victory. And with a four-Test tour of India beginning next month, Australia’s selectors are pleased to see Lyon returning to something close to his best. At the SCG, he often bowled in tandem with left-armer O’Keefe in what could be a preview of Australia’s spin attack for the India tour.”I thought Nathan was very good in Melbourne and brilliant in this Test match,” coach and selector Darren Lehmann said. “That’s the best he’s bowled for a long period of time. I think he’ll admit that. He used his variation really well, bowled well to right and left-handers, bowled over and around, and chopped and changed, which was really pleasing.”Sometimes he gets into the one way, he just wants to bowl over the wicket all the time. He was exceptional in this game and bowled really well. I’m looking forward to that sort of combination going to India.”Ashton Agar, who was part of Australia’s squad for the Sydney Test but was not included in the XI, also has a strong chance of being picked in the touring party. However, Lehmann also said that Victoria’s spin-bowling allrounder Glenn Maxwell would be another contender for a place in what is likely to be an expanded squad to cover for all eventualities.”He’ll certainly come under consideration with India coming up,” Lehmann said on ABC Radio on Saturday morning. “We know he plays spin bowling well and offers that extra dimension, and is a gun fielder. We want to see him make runs, and he’s had a reasonable start to the BBL. That’s the challenge for him, to keep going, and then hopefully [earn a place] in the one-day squad.”Glenn Maxwell, whose last Test was in 2014, could make a return to Australia’s scheme of things for the tour of India•Getty Images

Whichever spinners make the cut for Australia, they will need quickly to work out that bowling in India requires a very different approach compared to Australian pitches that offer plenty of bounce. Although Lyon was Australia’s leading wicket-taker on the 2013 tour of India, with 15 at 37.33, he had been dropped after leaking runs in the first Test in Chennai.”Nathan Lyon, at the moment, I think he is bowling very well,” Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, said. “But if you compare Australian conditions with the Indian conditions, or any Asian conditions, there is difference of bounce, which normally spinners get in Australia. That’s why I think when our spinners come here, it is difficult for them because they have to get used to these conditions and utilize that bounce in their favour.”When the bowlers from here go to Asia, they find it difficult to utilize these sort of turning tracks, because there, under-cutter bowlers who bowl quicker are effective. Bowlers who bowl overspin and bowl slower normally get thrashed. It will be difficult for them. I think they can [do well], it’s about adjusting yourself to the conditions. The biggest challenge will be India’s strong batting line-up. They’re batting beautifully in their own conditions.”Australia’s batsmen will also face a significant challenge in India. The squad will spend two weeks in Dubai ahead of the tour, training on turning pitches at the ICC’s Academy and playing an unofficial three-day game there in an effort to acclimatise to Asian conditions. They then head to Mumbai for a tour match ahead of the first Test in Pune, which begins from February 23.”It’ll be a pretty tough camp,” Lehmann said of the Dubai leg of the journey. “Batting long periods of time is going to be the key. I think Alastair Cook summed it up really well on their tour, where they didn’t bat long enough. They got decent scores but still didn’t bat long enough. That’s going to be a challenge for the group.”We batted 135 overs in this first innings – we need to bat 150-plus in India, to post a big, big total. It’s a great challenge for the group going forward. They’re fit and strong, so they should be able to bat long periods of time.”

Scott Boland, who has been placed on standby to join Australia’s squad for the first Test against West Indies, has received high praise from his Victoria coach David Saker and national selector Rod Marsh

Brydon Coverdale01-Dec-2015You would not know it looking at Scott Boland now, but just a few years ago he tipped the scales at 118 kilograms. That is not quite in the realm of “The Big Ship”, Warwick Armstrong, the Australian captain of the 1920s who weighed in around 140kg, but nor is it in the league of most modern professional cricketers. Now 22kg lighter and a whole lot fitter, Boland may soon become a Test player.Boland has been placed on standby to potentially join Australia’s squad for the first Test against West Indies in Hobart, if there are fitness concerns around either Josh Hazlewood or Peter Siddle. Selector Rod Marsh has expressed doubts about Hazlewood’s ability to get through a full six-Test summer, and Siddle struggled with a sore back during the Adelaide Test. It may be that Boland’s baggy green hopes rest with his Victoria team-mate.”Sidds had a bit of a sore back during the Test, he’s having a scan today,” Boland told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday. “If he unfortunately is injured then I think I’ll come into the squad.”Boland likens his own bowling style to that of Siddle, while their state coach David Saker has been impressed with Boland’s consistency. A career-best 7 for 31 came at the perfect time for Boland, against Western Australia in the most recent round of Sheffield Shield matches, in front of national selector Trevor Hohns.”His pace in WA was right up,” Saker said. “The wicket probably helped that because there was some good bounce. But his consistency to bowl the one ball over and over again; any player who can do that in Test cricket has had good success. I’m sure if he gets the opportunity he’ll be perfect for it.”As he is on standby, Boland will only join the squad if there are specific concerns around Siddle or Hazlewood, with his Victoria team-mate James Pattinson likely to be part of the XI and Western Australia’s Nathan Coulter-Nile the probable 12th man. Marsh said Boland’s call-up was reward for a good start to the season, while he has also impressed as a consistent performer over the past couple of summers.”Trevor Hohns has seen him in three Shield games and he says he has been outstanding,” Marsh said. “Nothing was better than what he saw in Perth on Sunday when he bowled Western Australia out. He bowled fast, he bowled straight and he moved the ball.”I think the best way of putting it was one of the state coaches said to me ‘When he bowls and your team is batting, you never feel comfortable, you always feel as though a wicket’s about to happen’. It’s a little bit like when James Hopes bowls in Shield cricket, you always think a wicket’s not far away. That means they never really get taken [for runs], and if they’re not getting wickets they generally bowl very tightly.”Boland, 26, has collected 71 wickets at 30.14 since making his first-class debut in the 2011-12 season, his emergence having come after strong performances for Frankston-Peninsula in Melbourne’s premier cricket. Unlike many modern cricketers, Boland did not come through the under-age pathways, and had to embark on a fitness and healthy-eating regime to drop his weight to his current 96kg.”[Frankston coach] Nick Jewell said he wanted me to drop some weight because I was pretty big,” Boland said. “It was just him giving me a kick up the bum and that got me started.”My game has become a lot better, especially in the last couple of years, having Test bowlers in the squad, learning off Patto, Sidds, Hasto [John Hastings] and Clint McKay.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the match between Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals in Pune

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran10-Apr-2013

Match facts

Thursday, April 11, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Marlon Samuels will miss out on Thursday’s game due to a groin problem•BCCI

Big Picture

Pune Warriors’ middle-order should be the envy of any Twenty20 team. Marlon Samuels, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor and Angelo Mathews form the nucleus of what could be one of the most dangerous batting line-ups around but so far, Warriors have put up the two lowest totals of the season.When Yuvraj missed out on the game against Kings XI Punjab, they couldn’t even manage to reach triple-figures, managing only 99. The good news ahead of the match against Rajasthan Royals is that Yuvraj, who was recovering from a back problem, has been confirmed fit. They still won’t be able to field their first-choice middle-order, though, as Samuels has picked up a groin injury. Samuels’ absence opens up an overseas player’s spot and Warriors have Australia batsman Steven Smith, who was an influential performer for them last season, and England’s Luke Wright in their ranks. However, coach Allan Donald said on the eve of the match that big-hitting Australian opener Aaron Finch would come in.*In contrast, their opponents have got off to a flying start. Royals, as in every season, were written off before the tournament began, but have won two in two, with victories over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and another highly rated team, Delhi Daredevils. As usual, low-profile players have played crucial roles, including Trinidad & Tobago allrounder Kevon Cooper and Jharkhand fast bowler Rahul Shukla.

Players to watch

Sreesanth was out of action for more than a year after surgery on his toes and only returned to action in December, having watched a host of young fast bowlers leapfrog him in the queue to the Indian team. The IPL provides him a high-profile platform to remind everyone he’s still good enough to turn out for the national side. He’s begun well enough, bowling tight spells in the opening matches, and even showed off one of his typically exuberant celebrations.Robin Uthappa is one of Sreesanth’s best friends in cricket, with the pair even launching a cricket homestay together. Like Sreesanth, Uthappa too has fallen out of the national reckoning, and his failings in the IPL have not helped his cause. Two years ago, Warriors splashed out serious money to build the franchise around Uthappa and Yuvraj but Uthappa hasn’t been the match-winner the franchise expected him to be, yet.

Stats and trivia

• Warriors’ Manish Pandey has the most number of ducks in the IPL – eight, an wanted record he shares with Amit Mishra
• Royals’ Samuel Badree has the best economy-rate among all bowlers in Twenty20s, having conceded only 4.90 runs an over in his career

Quotes

“Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa are attacking batsmen, but they seem to have gone into a shell during the Powerplay overs.”

*03.20GMT, April 11: The preview was updated after pre-match press conference quotes came in

The Netherlands batter signed off with a spectacular save against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2024Sybrand Engelbrecht has announced his retirement from international cricket. The 35-year-old South-Africa-born batter made his Netherlands debut in 2023, and played 12 ODIs and 12 T20Is.Related

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Netherlands’ defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday night, which knocked them out of the T20 World Cup 2024, was Engelbrecht’s last international appearance. He marked the occasion with a spectacular boundary save that went viral on social media, racking up over a million views on Instagram reels.That effort was characteristic of a player known for his brilliance on the field – he first came to prominence in 2008 when he took a flying, two-handed screamer at backward point while playing for South Africa against Papua New Guinea in the Under-19 World Cup.