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Jonny Bairstow goes into the opening warm-up game of England’s tour of South Africa knowing that he is at last England’s first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2015Jonny Bairstow goes into the opening warm-up game of England’s tour of South Africa, against an Invitational XI at Potchefstroom tomorrow, knowing that he is at last England’s first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket, having twice been handed the role mid-series following an incumbent’s loss of form.Bairstow, whom England’s coach Trevor Bayliss confirmed at the weekend would start the Boxing Day Test at Durban, inherited the gloves for the final Test of England’s tour of the UAE, at Sharjah last month, after Jos Buttler had mustered 430 runs at 23.88 in 12 previous Tests in 2015. And this time he believes he is ready to make the job his own, having originally been handed the role in invidious circumstances during England’s whitewash tour of Australia in 2013-14.On that occasion, again for a Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, he took over from Matt Prior with England in freefall, 3-0 down in the series and with the Ashes already gone, and he proved powerless to resist the tide with scores of 10, 21, 18 and 0 in a pair of crushing defeats.Bairstow believes, however, that he is stronger for that experience. Though he does not doubt that Buttler has the wherewithal to battle back into contention, not least after his eye-popping 46-ball hundred in the recent ODI series against Pakistan, the chance to start the series with the gloves, having already earned selection as a pure batsman since the midpoint of last summer’s Ashes, will help him to play a key part in what he terms a “massive” series.”There’s always healthy competition,” Bairstow told reporters in Potchefstroom. “Jos has played some fantastic stuff in one-day cricket and Test cricket so the competition for places is there but that will drive us on to become better players and better people.”You can never take anything for granted,” he added. “Every spot within the side has got to be treasured and every opportunity you get you’ve got to try and take. So from game to game you’re always wanting to do as well as you can and get a run.”Hopefully I’ll be able to secure that spot. I’ve only kept in three Test matches but it’s an exciting time for me personally. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and with that comes a lot of responsibility.”Looking back on his baptism of fire in the 2013-14 Ashes, Bairstow was phlegmatic about the experience, from a personal point of view as well as that of the overall team.”I think I’ve grown as a person over the last couple of years since the two Tests in Australia,” he said. “The position of the squad and the morale in the camp is completely different from what it was going into those Test matches in Melbourne and Sydney.”When you’re 3-0 down against an Australian side that’s flying it’s never going to be an easy Test. So there’s different circumstances that are around this group of players at the moment and it’s an exciting time to be involved in English cricket.”As if being a Test wicketkeeper-batsman is not an onerous task in itself, Bairstow will have to match the standards of arguably the best current allround cricketer in the world, following South Africa’s decision to hand AB de Villiers the wicketkeeping duties for the Durban Test, with Dane Vilas, who held the role during their recent 3-0 series loss in India, left out of the squad.It is not exactly an onerous task as far as de Villiers is concerned. He has performed the role in 23 of his 102 Tests, including as a 20-year-old way back in his debut series against England in 2004-05, while his Test average in those matches is a remarkable 58.26. Seven of his 21 Test hundreds have come while doubling up with the gloves, most recently against West Indies at Cape Town in January.”You want to do as well as you can against the best that you can,” Bairstow said. “Obviously comparing yourself to someone like AB is going to be a fantastic challenge and if you do come out being the better of the wicketkeeper-batsmen then I will have had a very good tour.”Having the confidence of the captain and coach going into the warm-up games and hopefully the first Test allows you to be relaxed and enjoy yourself,” he added. “That’s when I play my best cricket and hopefully I’ll be able to do that not only in the warm-up games but going into the series.”

Barbados won the Regional Four-Day competition for the first time since its inception, and finally broke the dominant hold that Jamaica has had on the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2013
ScorecardKirk Edward and Everton Weekes at the trophy presentation•WICB Media Photo/Randy Brooks

Barbados registered their first first-class triumph in six seasons, winning by an innings and 22 runs against Trinidad & Tobago despite a fighting 140 from Lendl Simmons while his team was following on. That also meant that for the first time in six years, the competition has not been won by Jamaica, who lost out to T&T in the semi-finals this season.T&T, coming into the third – and eventually final – day on 140 for 4, were only able to add 30 runs before Denesh Ramdin fell for 18. Lendl Simmons and Ramdhin had put on 83 runs for the fifth wicket, in an effort to reduce the deficit after T&T’s first innings flop for 110.The wicket of Simmons followed soon after with the score on 195. Simmons, who had been batting on 111 overnight, was caught-behind off the bowling of Jonathan Carter. Miguel Cummins and Javon Searles then took out the remaining batsmen. They ultimately fell 23 runs short of making Barbados bat again.Kraigg Brathwaite of Barbados ended up the second-highest run scorer in the competition with 577 runs in eight matches, while their offspinner Ashley Nurse finished third-highest wicket taker with 45 wickets in eight.Hendy Springer, the Barbados coach, was delighted with his team’s performance. “It feels great to win a trophy, after the kind of start we had to the season [Barbados began with a loss to Jamaica], and to look around and see some of the young players improve, which is the definition of success for me.”We had guys that were willing or fight, willing to prove their worth and that was important. Players have come with higher skill levels than the ones we had this season, but the fight that they showed day in, day out was what made the difference.This team is different to others that I have coached over the years since it does not include a number of players that have represented West Indies at the higher levels. When I first started coaching Barbados back in December 2000, we had players like Roland Holder, Philo Wallace, Sherwin Campbell, Hendy Bryan, Adrian Griffith, Floyd Reifer to name a few – a number of players that had represented West Indies and it was much different then. This season we had more first-class players than West Indies players, and it was good to see those players come to the fore as well.”T&T captain Denesh Ramdin was disappointed with his side’s batting, and hoped to rectify this performance for the future. “It was an up and down season and we had to keep chopping and changing players, some going and some coming, and we never got that balance right in our batting department. We were always struggling to put 200 runs on the board but our bowlers had done it throughout the season for us. This is one of the few times we have gotten over 220 runs for the season. It is something we have to think about and we have to go back to the drawing board.”The top five or six batters need to come to the party. They didn’t come consistently as we wanted them to in this tournament. Well played to Lendl Simmons for getting a hundred this game, but having to come from 260 behind was a hard task to overcome.”I believe it is a mindset that the players have to change. We have to learn to stand up and bat longer. Players are sometimes playing too many shots and not batting as long as they should. To get hundreds, you need to bat at least two and a half sessions and we find guys are trying to get the runs all in one session. Hopefully, they can all learn from this experience and learn as fast as possible. Next year will be right around the corner and we will need to bounce back strongly.”

After having Hampshire reeling at 72 for 6, with 50 overs remaining, Gloucestershire eventually won with only 12 balls left

Ivo Tennant at the Rose Bowl15-Apr-2012
ScorecardMichael Bates almost defied Gloucestershire with 87•Getty Images

For Gloucestershire, this victory was not just important but desperately needed. Beaten in two days at Chelmsford last week and worryingly short of money, they had to dismiss Hampshire, a club with significantly greater resources, for a total of less than 289. After having them reeling at 72 for 6, with 50 overs remaining, they eventually won with only 12 balls left.Hampshire, seemingly, were on the verge of drawing what had been an absorbing contest. Michael Bates, their talented young wicketkeeper, had demonstrated he can also bat. His innings of 87 was a career best in the Championship. His partnership of 118 with Chris Wood, whose 65 was also more than he had ever made before, appeared sufficient to save the match.As it was, Will Gidman, Ian Saxelby and David Payne continued to extract life from this pitch. It was Gidman who bowled Bates and Hamza Riazuddin in swift succession. This at a stage when nothing seemed more certain than that Bates, in need of runs to ensure his club does not make any further misguided attempts to sign a more experienced replacement on the basis that he might bat better, would reach the first century of his career.Bates struck 11 fours and Wood 12. Riazuddin, too, batted with assurance. So credit to Gloucestershire’s seamers – their attack, remember, is shorn of Jon Lewis, the ideal bowler to deal with the late order – for their perseverance.Hampshire never looked likely to reach their target of 290. That was particularly so after the openers, Liam Dawson and Jimmy Adams, swiftly went, one picking out long leg and the other well held low at second slip by Chris Dent, whose fifth catch of the match this was, to say nothing of his first-innings century. Simon Katich, the one batsman who could well have stayed in all afternoon, attempted to steer Saxelby to third man and was taken behind the wicket: 36 for 3.Michael Carberry took 29 balls to get off the mark and in due course was held by Richard Coughtrie at the second attempt. When James Vince and Sean Ervine were both taken at third slip by Ian Cockbain, off Saxelby, Hampshire had subsided to 72 for 6. An early finish appeared quite possible – unless Bates, whose previous highest score was an unbeaten 58 despite possessing a sound technique, remained at the crease for a considerable time.He did just that, getting into line, collecting runs whenever he could through front foot drives and a keenness to cut. He and Wood, who put away anything on or outside leg stump to good effect, added 100 off 154 balls. Alex Gidman switched his bowlers around, utilising Ed Young’s left-arm spin, but once Bates had been bowled by brother Will, the tail was exposed.Gloucestershire, of course, are not only having to make do without Lewis. Steve Kirby and Gemaal Hussain went to Somerset the previous winter and there has been little talk since of anything but other cutbacks, players not being retained and of the need for the club to move grounds to secure its future.So they will take great heart from this triumph: the bowlers utilising the conditions to the full, the quality of the slip catching and, above all, the obduracy of Dent, a Bristol boy to boot.

Sri Lanka will have to adjust to the Test format and the English conditions if they are to challenge England this summer, Marvan Atapattu, their batting coach has said

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2011Sri Lanka’s batting coach Marvan Atapattu has said that the side will have to adjust to the Test format and the English conditions if they are to challenge England this summer.”The biggest challenge is to adjust to English conditions,” he said prior to the team’s departure for the two-month tour. “We are playing a Test series after a gap of a few months [Sri Lanka’s last Test was in the rain-affected series against West Indies in November-December 2010]. Winning the Test series in England is our aim.”A [Test] win will make it easier for our preparation work for the one-day and T20 games [that follow].”The squad left without newly appointed captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, and former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, as the players are on IPL duty. While Dilshan will join the squad ahead of their first practice game – against Middlesex between May 14 and 16 – the other two seniors will join the squad along with Dilhara Fernando, Thisara Perera and Suraj Randiv, in time for the second practice game on May 18.Another notable absence in the squad leaving for England was Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. While Sri Lanka are yet to win a Test series in England, Muralitharan has featured in some of their better performances there, picking up 16 wickets to help them win a one-off Test at The Oval in 1998, and eight wickets to win a Test at Trent Bridge in 2006 to draw a series.Downplaying Muralitharan’s absence, Atapattu said the tour provided a chance for fringe players like Farveez Maharoof and Kaushal Silva – who have been brought in for the first practice game as cover for the absent players – to prove their credentials.

Late collapse sees visitors fall short after Ben Kellaway rescued Glamorgan with bat

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2024Glamorgan 187 for 8 (Kellaway 65*) beat Gloucestershire 160 (Bracey 86, Douthwaite 4-25, Gorvin 3-32) by 27 runs Glamorgan opened their account in the Metro Bank One Day Cup with a nail-biting derby win over Gloucestershire.In a 33-over rain-affected game, Glamorgan set 187 for 8 with 20-year-old Ben Kellaway hitting a rescuing 65 not out to prevent the hosts from collapsing at 27 for 3.Dan Douthwaite shone with the ball with four for 25 including the crucial wicket of James Bracey whose solo magnificence was in vain after striking a 79-ball 86.The visitors looked set to win yet another Severnside derby before Douthwaite and Andy Gorvin combined to trigger a Gloucestershire collapse from 157 for 5 to 160 all out.Gloucestershire won the toss and put the hosts into bat after the near three-hour delay. Jack Taylor’s decision proved to be a smart one initially with openers Josh Shaw and Ajeet Singh Dale making the most of early seam movement to get into the Glamorgan middle-order.Will Smale was unable to continue his fine form from Friday’s record-breaking Vitality Blast game, bowled for a duck, with Eddie Byrom dismissed for 5 just an over later to give the Gloucestershire openers a wicket apiece.Captain Kiran Carlson and Billy Root managed to add some stability in the middle, forming a partnership of 49 from 41 balls, pouncing on some loose deliveries from Goodman and Zaman Akhter.More wickets at bad times for the hosts had a par score looking far off once again when Carlson’s attempted fine cut found the edge and, subsequently, Bracey’s gloves with a similar story for Root off Akhter. Debutant Asa Tribe and his 20-year-old teammate Kellaway were forced to rebuild from 99 for 5 with only 14 overs to bat.A catalogue of aesthetically pleasing drives through and over extra cover and straight past Akhter were the highlights of the crucial Kellaway knock.While it was Kellaway who starred, his partnerships with Tribe, Douthwaite and Timm van der Gugten were just as important to ensure the hosts batted the full allocation of overs despite slow periods towards the back end of the innings.Gloucestershire’s pursuit started in almost identical fashion to the hosts’ innings.Van der Gugten and Jamie McIlroy extracted the same movement as their Gloucestershire counterparts did in the early overs, claiming the wickets of Australian international Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Price and Miles Hammond for just 44.It came down to Bracey’s excellence to keep the visitors in the contest. As Kellaway did for Glamorgan, the former England keeper’s solo brilliance looked to take the game away from Glamorgan.Glamorgan thought they would’ve not had luck on their side as a matter of millimetres separated a Bracey skier off Douthwaite and Tribe at deep square leg while on 61 and the score 99 for 4.When Charlesworth and Taylor both departed for supportive innings of 14 each, Graeme van Buuren attacked as the required run rate crept above seven before three fours and a six took the pressure off Bracey in their quickfire 41-run partnership, leaving just 31 to get from the final six overs.As the pendulum swung in the space of 11 balls from Douthwaite and Gorvin, the match slipped away from Gloucestershire to take them to the wrong side of another derby thriller after moments of brilliance saved the game in both County Championship and Blast affairs in 2024.

Captain says team can become best fielding side in Asia after outperforming world champions

Mohammad Isam14-Mar-2023More specialist bowlers than batters in the playing XI, and a better fielding display than England could manage, gave Bangladesh the decisive edge in the 3-0 T20I series win, according to their victorious captain, Shakib Al Hasan. The home side completed their whitewash with a 16-run victory in the third game, after engineering a mid-innings batting collapse and then squeezing England’s runs in the final five overs.Similar bowling displays had been instrumental to Bangladesh’s wins in the first two T20Is too. Hasan Mahmud bowled two great overs in the end of England’s innings in the first game in Chattogram, which enabled Bangladesh to chase a moderate 157. In the second game, England collapsed twice in the middle overs to be outplayed in the four-wicket defeat.Shakib said that, instead of playing eight batters, they chose to have a cushion of bowling options. In the third game, that bowling depth came in handy in the latter part of the innings when both Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan fell in the 14th over; Mustafizur Rahman removed Malan while Buttler was run out next ball. Mehidy’s direct hit highlighted the fielding effort which saw marked improvement in their ground fielding and catching.”Our bowling unit was quite good in this series,” Shakib said. “We never had the luxury of playing with six proper bowlers as we often played with eight batters. We were always a bowler short. In T20s, you need that [bowling] cushion. Bowlers win you T20 matches, so having that extra bowler was helpful. We have a few more areas for tuning, thinking ahead to the next World Cup, but we have made a good start. I think the turning point of the match was that over. They lost both their set batters in successive balls. It proved to be decisive.”Everyone noticed our fielding in these three matches. We out-fielded England, who are themselves a good fielding side. It is a big tick mark. Our biggest improvement is in our fielding, when I consider every aspect. We should always field well, but we have targeted to become the best fielding side in Asia. After this performance, I don’t think we are too far behind.”Shakib praised the way Litton Das came back into form, as the opener made a career-best 73 in quick time. He added 84 runs for the second wicket stand with the player of the series, Najmul Hossain Shanto, with the pair’s running between the wickets particularly impressing the captain.”We didn’t know how much runs were enough on this pitch. So we were very open-minded,” Shakib said. “We first thought 140 was a good score. Then we got to a stage when we thought 170-180 would be our total. We didn’t get many runs in the last five overs, but we batted well in the powerplay and middle-overs.”They have seven or eight proper bowlers so we had to struggle at least once in the innings,” he added. “The way Rony and Litton started, and then Shanto and Litton build the innings, especially their running between the wickets, it was outstanding. The way they turned ones into twos and twos into threes, it put England under pressure.”Related

• Bangladesh vs Ireland: batting-friendly Sylhet could throw up even contests

• Player rotation, trying out fringe players on Hathurusingha's agenda before ODI World Cup

• Tamim: Bangladesh 'should tour Australia and England more often'

• England in Dhaka departure lounge as they sign off arduous winter with defeat

• Litton Das finds spark before Bangladesh bowlers choke chase

Bangladesh’s sudden upswing in the T20I format had a lot to do with its proximity to the BPL, and the selectors’ willingness to pick the best performers from a tournament that ended only three weeks before the series. “Everyone in this team performed in this year’s BPL,” Shakib said. “It wasn’t too long ago before the England tour. The top five-six batters in this series were also the top run-getters in BPL. It is the same for the highest wicket-takers. The confidence did carry over, so I think that really helped us.”Shakib also told the long-term story of how this team gained confidence in T20Is. He believes it goes back to the Asia Cup last year when he took over the captaincy, but the real belief that they can win against major teams came in the T20 World Cup when Bangladesh won two matches for the first time in their history.”I have been leading the team since the Asia Cup last year,” he said. “We didn’t win a match there, but I thought we played good cricket. We were unfortunate not to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. We were one win away from that achievement. We had a lot of doubt before the tournament, but the belief that we can compete with bigger teams started from the World Cup.”England’s lack of batting depth also played a hand in their success as Bangladesh knew that three or four wickets would bring them to the lower-order. “We had more confidence before this series, since we were playing at home,” Shakib added. “We capitalised on England being short of batters. It was our advantage that they didn’t have many batters after losing three or four wickets.”

The offspinner takes the place of George Linde, who is unavailable due to his impending wedding

Firdose Moonda26-Jan-2022Simon Harmer has been recalled to South Africa’s Test squad for their two-Test tour of New Zealand next month. Harmer last played for the country on a tour of India in 2015 and signed a Kolpak deal with Essex in 2017. The offspinner has been included in the traveling group as back-up to Keshav Maharaj and in place of George Linde, who was unavailable for selection due to his impending wedding. Prenalen Subrayen, the other spinner who has recently been around the squad, was not considered because of a groin injury.There is also a recall for seam bowler Lutho Sipamla, who missed out on tours to West Indies and the series against India at home. Sipamla joins a seven-strong seam contingent that will be headlined by Kagiso Rabada, who was rested from the ODI squad against India and also include Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Glenton Stuurman, another Kolpak-returnee Duanne Olivier and allrounder Wiaan Mulder. Sisanda Magala, who was in the Test squad for the India series, has been left out.Anrich Nortje, who missed the India Test with a hip injury, remains out of action. Selection convener Victor Mpitsang told ESPNcricinfo that Nortje is aiming to be ready to play in the ODIs against Bangladesh at home in March.The batters who did duty during the 2-1 series win against India all keep their places. Opener Aiden Markram remains part of the squad despite averaging under 25 in his last 19 Tests, with Sarel Erwee and Ryan Rickleton the other contenders for that berth. “We know Aiden has made some errors but the team has been doing well and we are opting to stick with him,” Mpitsang said. With Quinton de Kock retired from Test cricket, Kyle Verreynne is the designated wicketkeeper.But all eyes will be on Harmer, who returned to South Africa’s domestic set-up on the back of stellar county form. Since his last Test, across the County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy, Harmer has taken 303 wickets in 61 matches, more than any other bowler in that six-year period. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the the County Championship in 2019 and in the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020. This season, Harmer is the second-leading bowler in the domestic four-day competition, after Olivier, and has taken 27 wickets at 21.40.Lutho Sipamla is part of a seven-member pace contingent•Cricket South Africa

He is the third former Kolpak player to be recalled since the system ended post-Brexit on January 31, 2020. Wayne Parnell has been selected for ODIs and played against Netherlands in a washout in November last year while Olivier made his comeback during the Test series against India, suggesting CSA will now fully re-integrate Kolpak players into the fold. It’s a complete turnaround from the mood in April 2020, when Harmer said: “There’s a lot of bad blood towards the Kolpaks, and it would take, I think, South Africans and perhaps Cricket South Africa to swallow their pride and seek for those players to return to the South African set-up. There’s been a lot said in the press about the return of Kolpak players, but obviously the public perception still is not great.”Now, Harmer faces fresh public scrutiny as he returns to the country where transformation targets, which he has been critical of in the past, are a reality and have a direct impact on selection. In 2019, Harmer said the quota system worked against players of colour, whom he believed were not always ready to make the step up, and white players, who were denied an income-earning opportunity. “It’s affecting players of colour because they’re forced into a role and they’re not allowed to develop their skill. They get thrust in and then thrust out, and then they find the next person to come in,” he said at the time. “If I were to lose my place for a player of colour then I don’t have an issue with that. But as a sportsman, I need to maximise my earning potential, and to commit in South Africa where the transformation targets are constantly evolving … your opportunities do get less and less. It’s the nature of South African sport. It’s always going to be there, it’s never going to go away. It’s such a sore topic and taboo to speak about, but it is what it is.”Harmer sought to make a career in England and hoped to qualify for their international side, but with the Kolpak system ending his qualification hopes and with other visa options unavailable to him, he closed the door on that last August. He remains contracted as an overseas player to Essex until the end of the 2026 season, though his availability for the county could become dependent on his international career.Whether Harmer will make an immediate comeback into the playing XI is likely to depend on conditions. Both Tests will be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, which over recent years has boasted the quickest pitch in New Zealand that is usually green and bouncy. This is a change from the original schedule that had the first Test in Christchurch and the second in Wellington but, with New Zealand under strict Covid-19 restrictions, travel has been minimised by staying in one venue.South Africa depart for New Zealand on February 2 and will undergo 10 days of mandatory quarantine before being allowed to train.South Africa squad for New Zealand tour: Dean Elgar (capt), Temba Bavuma, Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne

Teams still waiting for tournament’s Standard Operating Procedures to be finalised by the governing council

Shashank Kishore06-Aug-2020A day after a few of the IPL owners had a meeting internally to discuss the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) draft sent by the tournament’s governing council, it appears that the teams have begun activating their own protocols prior to departure to the UAE for IPL 2020.Mumbai Indians have started quarantining their Indian players in a hotel, with regular Covid-19 tests scheduled. Players who complete their quarantine will then be allowed to train at their facility in Navi Mumbai.Rajasthan Royals too plan to conduct Covid-19 tests for their players and support staff over the next two weeks, prior to their departure to Dubai. Another franchise has asked their Indian players to home quarantine – as a precaution – while simultaneously initiating Covid-19 tests.”Outdoor training is out of question still, we’re being cautious and since everything is still very uncertain with regards to SOPs, we’re awaiting a final confirmation,” a franchise source said. “We have put forward our concerns with the IPL governing council, hopefully everything will be clear this weekend so that we can start planning.”Currently the IPL has laid out a stringent week-long quarantine process, along with four Covid-19 tests for players and support staff, before they can start training in the UAE. ESPNcricinfo understands that a number of franchises have sought a reduction in this quarantine period upon entering the biosecure bubble in the UAE.While the IPL schedule hasn’t been announced yet, Sunrisers Hyderabad, for example, could potentially lose David Warner and Jonny Bairstow for the first two matches if they are to undergo the mandatory seven-day quarantine. Royal Challengers could miss Aaron Finch and Moeen Ali for similar reasons.All the four players would likely be arriving in the UAE from the United Kingdom following the conclusion of the T20I series between England and Australia on September 15, four days prior to the start of the IPL season.Meanwhile, the IPL has also put in place stringent measures for ad shoots and promotional activities involving players. Players are required to have a 10-day gap between their shoots and their departure to the UAE.The shoots can only be scheduled at ballrooms of a five-star hotel, in order to maintain social distancing norms, with a strict cap of five crew members allowed at the location of the shoot with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to prevent any physical contact.The franchises are expected to meet the IPL governing council on Friday through video conference, while awaiting the finalised SOPs, which has delayed the departure of a number of teams.Chennai Super Kings, for example, were looking at arriving in the UAE in the second week of August. That move stands cancelled because of the absence of a formal SOP. However, they have sent out a note to their Indian players to start arriving in Chennai once the IPL circulates the SOP.Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders are looking at having Abu Dhabi as their base from August 21 or 22, with the overseas contingent of Brendon McCullum, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell joining the team from the Caribbean after their CPL commitments end by September 10.Kings XI Punjab too are looking at assembling their Indian squad together, before flying out to the UAE.

Playing three spinners “a theme that we would like to follow”, says R Ashwin

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2019The obvious question after the toss in Mohali on Monday was why Kings XI Punjab had picked three spinners when Delhi Capitals had three seamers in their bowling line-up? One of them must have got it wrong.The answer was a combination of the pitch, the form of the three main spinners – R Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin and Mujeeb Ur Rahman – and, importantly, the importance of taking the pace off the ball while defending a target, which, incidentally, captain Ashwin didn’t want to do – he said he wanted to bat first.In the last two matches in Mohali prior to Monday’s game, teams batting second had chased down big scores: Aaron Finch’s Australia chased down 359 with 13 balls to spare in an ODI against India in March, while Kings XI chased down 177 with eight balls to spare in their first home game of IPL 2019, against Mumbai Indians.According to Ryan Harris, the Kings XI bowling coach, the idea was to take the pace off the ball and make scoring as difficult as possible.”It’s really hard to defend, we’ve seen that over the last couple of weeks,” Harris told the host broadcaster after the victory. “You have to get a big score on the board to try and defend and even that’s too hard, we saw in a one-day here a few weeks ago as well.”I think (we took) a bit of pace off the ball. Chris Gayle didn’t play today so we thought bringing Sam [Curran] in as well helped, but with Mujeeb coming back in as well it took a little bit of pace off the ball.”According to Ashwin, once Gayle had been ruled out, the decision to promote allrounder Curran as an opener was taken quickly. Ashwin said placing Curran in the top order also allowed him room to play three spinners, who he was confident would play a dominant role defending the target of 166, which he said was well short of the desired total.”We were probably about 25 short and we backed ourselves to defend it against this batting line-up against our spinners and that’s why we played three spinners and we also got Sam to open the batting,” Ashwin said to the host broadcaster after the dramatic win, where Delhi lost a record seven wickets for just eight runs.”We wanted to bat first and we wanted to back our spinners, because M Ashwin bowled really well in the last game and that’s a theme that we would like to follow but hopefully it depends on the wicket. We thought there was a bit of grip on this one.”All said, the three spinners were the most expensive of the Kings XI bowlers – Ashwin went at 7.75 per over, but the other Ashwin, Murugan, had an economy rate of 9.50, and Mujeeb at 9. Ashwin got two wickets, but the others did not, and Curran (4 for 11) and Mohammed Shami (2 for 27) made the difference in the end, Kings XI picking up seven wickets for eight runs as Delhi sank from 144 for 3 to 152 all out.”We probably haven’t nailed our starts with the ball,” Harris agreed. “We spoke about that a lot as well. (But) we came back well at the death, as we did again tonight. So if we nail our starts, we should be a hard side to beat.”

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.”