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The former Australia captain will play club cricket first but the Sheffield Shield is on the horizon

AAP22-Aug-2022Tim Paine could be back playing in Tasmania in six weeks as Australia’s former Test captain prepares for his cricket comeback.Paine is training with Tasmania’s state squad as an uncontracted player as he plots a return for the first time since losing the Test captaincy in a text message controversy.The 37-year-old took time away from the sport after standing down as Test skipper in November last year. Paine never retired but wasn’t contracted on Tasmania’s playing roster for this summer.Cricket Tasmania say Paine is back in training. Tasmania’s first outing this summer is a one-dayer on September 28 against South Australia but Paine is aiming to return in club ranks.Related

• Former Cricket Australia chair hits out handling of Tim Paine scandal

• Timeline: the twists and turns of Tim Paine's international career

• Paine involved in Tasmania coaching set-up

Cricket Tasmania’s grade competition, the Premier League, starts in early October. Tasmania’s opening Sheffield Shield game begins on October 6.”We can confirm that Tim has returned to training with the aim at this stage to play in the CTPL this season,” a Cricket Tasmania spokesperson said.The governing body declined further comment but Paine has another powerful ally in fellow Tasmanian and ex-Test skipper Ricky Ponting.
Ponting, recently appointed as head of strategy for Hobart Hurricanes, has openly stated his desire for Paine to again play for the BBL franchise.Paine quit the Test captaincy after admitting involvement in a lewd text exchange with a female former employee of Cricket Tasmania in late 2017.Cricket Australia secretly investigated at the time and exonerated Paine of wrongdoing, but he stepped down on the eve of last year’s Ashes series when made aware the text exchange would become public.Paine’s successor as Test captain, Pat Cummins, said the wicketkeeper hasn’t been forgotten.”Someone like Painey, firstly as a mate you want to make sure he’s okay. We all make mistakes,” Cummins said last week. “He did the wrong thing but he tried to fix the situation as best as he could…I really feel for him.”

Comilla took 19.3 overs to chase down 98, with quick wickets in the middle overs leaving their pursuit shaky

The Report by Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2017
Raton Gomes/BCB

Comilla Victorians made heavy weather of a target of 98, taking 19.3 overs to complete a four-wicket win over Rangpur Riders that put them in the playoffs. The win gave them a three-point lead over second-placed Khulna Titans in the points table.Rangpur had earlier lasted only 17.1 overs and were bowled out for 97, the lowest total of this season. Mahedi Hasan took a career-best 4 for 22 while Mohammad Saifuddin took three wickets.Comilla thrive on twin-spin act
Mujeed Zadran, the 16-year-old Afghanistan offspinner who is the youngest player in BPL, had Ziaur Rahman plumb in front of the stumps off the first ball of the match, but umpire Ranmore Martinesz turned down the appeal despite the ball hitting the batsman’s boot with the off stump visible. The decision didn’t cost Comilla too much as
Mahedi, the slightly more experienced offspinner in their revamped spin attack, removed both Chris Gayle and Ziaur in the next over.Both batsmen were bowled trying to blast Mahedi down the ground, with Gayle getting a first-ball duck. Mahedi later went on to remove Brendon McCullum in the 11th over, after a torturous 24 off 31 balls. Nahidul Islam was his fourth wicket, with the delivery sliding through the angle.Bopara’s run out drags Rangpur back
Once three wickets had fallen by the seventh over, Ravi Bopara and McCullum tried to lead Rangpur’s recovery, but Bopara didn’t have much of an impact. As he tried to complete a single, he stopped sliding his bat just short of the crease. Imrul Kayes scored with the direct hit as Bopara’s feet, too, were in the air as the ball hit the stumps.Rangpur succumb to pace too
Rangpur also struggled against the pace of Mohammad Saifuddin, who produced bouncers and yorkers. He finished with three wickets, getting Mohammad Mithun caught at cover and bowling pinpoint yorkers to bowl Mashrafe Mortaza and Sohag Gazi. Hasan Ali also bowled good yorkers but finished with one wicket, getting Chamara Kapugedera caught behind.Comilla’s chasing woes
Tamim Iqbal started the Comilla chase with a six over cover in the first over, and in the next over, he survived a stumping chance off Mashrafe Mortaza, who then went on to dismiss Liton Das in the fourth over.In the seventh over, Tamim fell to a superb catch at the long-on boundary. Nahidul, perilously close to the line, kept his balance and, after stepping over the rope, recovered well to leap back and finish the catch. Two overs later, Buttler was stumped off Nazmul Islam, and suddenly Comilla were in some trouble at 47 for 3.Nazmul sneaks one through Malik
Imrul Kayes and Shoaib Malik helped Comilla regain some footing, but Rangpur came back to dismiss the pair in the space of eight deliveries. Imrul played a pull off Mashrafe straight to Gayle at short midwicket before Nazmul got the ball to sneak between Malik’s legs as he tried to pad it away on the charge.Samuels drags it to the end
While the asking rate did not threaten Comilla, the slow pitch did not allow their batsmen to go after the bowling. This meant that they went into the last five overs needing 25 and that equation tightened to 10 off 12 balls. Bowling the penultimate over, Mashrafe had Saifuddin caught in the deep-midwicket boundary, before Hasan Ali’s big six brought the target down to two from the last over.Samuels could not score off the first two balls of the last over, which made the Comilla dressing room very nervous, but the feeling did not last too long.

Bracewell became only the third New Zealand man to take a T20I hat-trick after Oram and Southee

Sreshth Shah20-Jul-2022A patient yet effective 55-ball 78* from Dane Cleaver, and a dominating effort from New Zealand’s bowlers handed the visitors a resounding 88-run win over Ireland in the second T20I in Belfast. The victory sealed the three-game series for New Zealand, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead with one game still to go.For the second game in a row, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie’s decision to bowl first proved costly, as New Zealand posted 179 for 4 in 20 overs. Cleaver, playing only his second T20I, hit five fours and four sixes, and stayed right till the end after coming in to bat at No. 3 in the fifth over.Then New Zealand’s well-rounded bowling unit did the rest, helped in part by some unnecessary attacking shots or risky runs from the Ireland batters. If it wasn’t for a 37-run stand for the eighth wicket between Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy, Ireland’s total could’ve been far lesser than their eventual score of 91.The spin twins Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell were the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, taking three wickets each. Sodhi’s scalps of Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell broke Ireland’s back in the middle overs, leaving him with figures of 3 for 21 but Bracewell had the widest smile by the end of the game. Bowling his first over in T20Is, the offspinner cleaned up the Ireland tail with three wickets in three balls, thus making him only the third New Zealand bowler after Jacob Oram and Tim Southee to achieve a T20I hat-trick.Spinners headline Irish collapse
Ireland’s chase of 180 began with some potential as Mitchell Santner was walloped by Paul Stirling for a six and a four in the very first over. Then when Lockie Ferguson was dispatched by Stirling for four more through the covers, it seemed like the Ireland opener could be the big-hitter around whom the rest of Ireland’s batters could rally.However, three balls after the Ferguson four, Stirling fell slicing a catch to mid off, and thereafter the floodgates opened. From the other end, Jacob Duffy had Gareth Delany bowled for a first-ball duck in the fourth over with the batter failing to get forward to a fullish ball, and Harry Tector then paid the price of being impatient, run-out to a direct-hit from Glenn Phillips at cover while trying to take the fielder on for a quick single.Having gone from 23 for no loss to 27 for 3 in the space of eight deliveries, it was up to the prodigy Campher and Balbirnie to stick a partnership together, but the latter was the next to go, becoming Duffy’s second scalp. Duffy went full and wide, got the ball to swing away under cloudy conditions, and all Balbirnie’s drive could do was take an outside edge to Cleaver wearing the gloves. After a quiet – and rare wicketless – over, Sodhi got among the wickets too in his first over of the game.Tucker tried to slog sweep the legspinner, only to lose stock of where the mistimed ball went. It had dribbled past him to the wicketkeeper, and as Tucker tried to pinch a single thinking the ball has gone elsewhere, he was stumped. Next ball, Sodhi brought a slip fielder for the new batter and Dockrell edged it to James Neesham in the cordon.With the score at 45 for 6, and ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster giving Ireland less than 1% chance of a win, the pressure was off the Ireland lower order. Mark Adair, in particular, hit a few lusty blows after Campher became Sodhi’s third (and Ireland’s seventh) wicket. Adair went 4, 4, 6 off Sodhi’s third over to ruin his otherwise tidy bowling figures and then drilled Neesham over his head for another boundary. His partner for the eighth-wicket stand, Barry McCarthy, tonked Neesham and Bracewell for a couple of fours too.But Bracewell’s offbreak had Adair caught at deep midwicket for a 22-ball 27, and with the batters crossing, McCarthy too was out next ball, slogging to the same region. On a hat-trick, Bracewell had better luck than Sodhi, taking his third wicket in three balls as the No. 11 Craig Young tried to clear cover, only to slice a catch behind point, and ending Ireland’s innings at 91.Dane Cleaver attempts a reverse sweep during his highest T20I score•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Cleaver follows his cousin’s footsteps
Having made his T20I debut at the age of 30 only two days ago, it was another chance for Cleaver to make the most of the opportunity of batting at No. 3 for New Zealand with senior batters being rested for the T20Is. Coming in at a position favoured by his first-cousin Kane Williamson – after the fall of Finn Allen’s wicket, Cleaver made a sedate start, but kept upping his gears right until the 20th over.Allen’s blitz at the top had allowed New Zealand to race to 40 for no loss after four overs, but he fell for a 20-ball 35 trying to take McCarthy on in the fifth over. With Martin Guptill struggling with his timing, and Cleaver playing but missing the swinging deliveries offered by the Irish seamers, it seemed like the hosts would provide yet another squeeze to the New Zealand top order like the first T20I.But Cleaver grew in confidence, in particular trusting the bounce on offer to play the pull on numerous occasions to finally get off the blocks. Even with Guptill falling for a 17-ball 11 in the ninth over, Cleaver motored along at a strike-rate of under 110 to move into his twenties in Phillips’ company for the third wicket. Together, they added 53 in 5.2 overs, and as Cleaver’s confidence grew, so did his choice of shots. He scooped McCarthy for an ingenious six over the keeper one time, and then played a sliced drive on purpose to beat the fielder at deep point.However, Cleaver did receive a reprieve on 40 when he skipped down the ground to a Dockrell slider, only to miss it. But the wicketkeeper Tucker failed to grab it, and Cleaver offered no further chances. He picked Adair’s two slower balls in the 16th over well enough to smack them for boundaries, then brought up his maiden half-century in 39 balls with a six over deep midwicket. Daryl Mitchell, the No. 5, contributed just 14 runs in his 48-run stand with Cleaver, letting the man in form enjoy most of the strike.Cleaver would go on to thump Young for a pulled six in the 18th, then tonked Josh Little for three fours in four balls in the 19th, and earned his final boundary off the innings’ penultimate ball by slicing a four behind square on the off side. In all, New Zealand made 50 off the last five and Cleaver finished unbeaten on 78 in 55 balls. His performance eventually eked out the Sodhi-Bracewell efforts in the second innings to also earn him the Player of the Match award.

India welcome back Rohit Sharma and mull over the Umran Malik vs Arshdeep Singh question

Deivarayan Muthu06-Jul-20225:04

Do India go in to the T20I series as favourites against England?

Big picture

A mere two days after England Bazball’d their way to a target of 378 – their highest successful chase in Test cricket, at a run rate of almost five – they are getting ready to push the boundaries even further, this time in T20I cricket. After Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes ushered in the new era in grand style, it is now the turn of Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler to lay down their own marker.Mott had already taken charge of the white-ball side for the three-match ODI series in the Netherlands, but this will be Buttler’s first game as full-time captain following Eoin Morgan’s retirement. None of the members who featured in the Edgbaston Test will be in action in the T20I series opener. As much as this white-ball leg is about testing out the young ‘uns, the pre-series focus is on two old boys: 37-year-old Dinesh Karthik and 34-year-old Richard Gleeson.Related

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Last summer, Karthik was in England as a commentator, grabbing attention with his sharp punditry and snazzy shirts. Long before that, he came to the country as a Test opener and back-up white-ball player, but now he is here to establish himself as one of India’s best T20I finishers. Karthik made a right old name for himself in the IPL smashing fast bowling to all parts to the point that teams eventually began matching him up with wristspinners. The move worked and England will have taken note of that, especially Matt Parkinson, who will get the chance, in the absence of Adil Rashid, to show off his wares against some of the best in the business.While Karthik is in the midst of his zillionth comeback, Gleeson has earned his maiden call-up, three months out from the 2022 T20 World Cup. The right-arm seamer has had dips at the Bangladesh Premier League (Rangpur Riders), the Big Bash League (Melbourne Renegades) and the Abu Dhabi T10 league (Maratha Arabians and Team Abu Dhabi) and his ability to nail yorkers makes him an attractive option to have. Those yorkers were recently on display for Lancashire in the Vitality Blast where he closed out a tie and a one-run win. However, given Gleeson’s history of injuries and the absence of a number of frontline quicks because of injury, England might not rush him into playing three T20Is in four days.

Form guide

England LWLWL (Last five completed T20Is; most recent first)
IndiaWWWWL

In the spotlight

A stress fracture of the lower back put Sam Curran out of last year’s T20 World Cup and the Ashes, but the allrounder is rising once again, having proven his form and fitness in the Netherlands ODIs and for Surrey. Curran’s new-ball swing and big-hitting could for England once again in T20I cricket. The hosts could also play him as a middle-order floater to throw Yuzvendra Chahal off his game.Like Curran, Suryakumar Yadav is working his way back into international cricket after an injury. With Deepak Hooda firing at the top, Suryakumar only had a peripheral role to play in Ireland. He could potentially slot back at No.3 and play a bigger role against England. Or Hooda could get another go and we’ll get to see how he fares against a more potent attack.

Team news

Phil Salt and Harry Brook will tussle for the middle-order slot left vacant by Morgan’s departure. Tymal Mills missed Sussex’s final group stage games with a toe injury but is expected to be fit for this fixture after getting stitches on Wednesday. He looks set to get the nod ahead of David Willey – who was released to play in the T20 Blast quarter-finals for Yorkshire on Wednesday night – and join a three-man left-arm seam attack. The early signs are that Gleeson will have to wait until the weekend for his international debut.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Harry Brook, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Tymal Mills, 10 Reece Topley, 11 Matt Parkinson1:48

Does Kohli walk in to India’s full-strength T20I XI?

India will welcome back their captain Rohit Sharma after he missed the Edgbaston Test with Covid-19. He has tested negative since and even had a net session in Birmingham. India will have to choose between Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh, who didn’t get a game in Ireland, on the bowling front. VVS Laxman will helm the side, at least for the series opener, before Rahul Dravid takes over once again.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Umran Malik/Arshdeep Singh

Pitch and conditions

The Southampton pitch had a light covering of grass on the eve of the game. The Ageas Bowl has some of the longest boundaries in the country and has been the third-lowest-scoring ground in the T20 Blast this season (7.93 runs per over). The average score batting first here in the Blast this year has been 165, and defending teams have won five games out of seven. The weather is expected to be warm and sunny on Thursday.

Stats and Trivia

• Buttler made his T20I debut in the same game Dravid did, in 2011.
• India’s run rate of 8.61 in the powerplay is the highest among teams who have played at least five or more completed T20Is since November 2021.
• Willey brings with him the reputation of being a new-ball specialist. Against India, he has taken two wickets in 36 balls in the powerplay while conceding only 39 runs in T20Is.
• Chris Jordan is two strikes away from becoming England’s top wicket-taker in T20Is. Rashid currently leads this list with 81 wickets.

Quotes

“There’s a few more things going on in your head: you’re thinking about a few things and maybe talking to a few more people. It’s really important to take really good care of my own game. I want to try and be a captain who leads from the front so it’s really vital I make sure my own practice and preparation is really good.”
“It’s always good to be back playing for your country and you don’t want to miss any games for your country, but certain things are not in your control. Now that I’m back, [I’m] excited and looking forward.”

Left-arm spinner Jon Holland’s five-wicket haul gave Victoria to platform to inflict a target of 468 on New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2017
ScorecardGetty Images

Left-arm spinner Jon Holland’s five-wicket haul sent New South Wales packing for 243 and gave Victoria a massive first-innings lead of 319. And by stumps on the third day, after they had batted again, Victoria reduced New South Wales to 2 for 46 in an improbable chase of 468.Moises Henriques’ men were always likely to face significant trouble at the North Sydney Oval considering they were 5 for 125 in reply to a total of 562. But they negotiated the first hour or so without much loss as Ed Cowan and Peter Nevill extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 47. But Holland found a way to break through the resistance as soon as he was brought back for his second spell of the day.New South Wales’ tail battled hard, with Steve O’Keefe striking 50 of the 81 runs his team made in the second session before being bowled out. However, a lack of big scores hurt them badly. Nine of the XI players fell for less than 35. Holland finished with 5 for 67 in 33 overs while fast bowlers Chris Tremain and Scott Boland chipped in with two wickets each.Victoria’s second essay was an absolute sprint as they racked up 3 for 148 at 7.04 an over. Marcus Harris blitzed an unbeaten 62 at a-run-a-ball despite the loss of Travis Dean off the first ball of the innings. Glenn Maxwell, who was left out of Australia’s Ashes squad for the first two Tests, followed up his first-innings 278 with 16. Aaron Finch blasted 43 off 28 balls, with four fours and two sixes. Shortly after his dismissal, the Victoria captain called his batsmen back in so that Holland could cause problems for New South Wales again. He bowled promising opening batsman Daniel Hughes for 21. Tremain flattened Nick Larkin’s stumps for 8 and it was left to Nic Maddinson and nightwatchman Sean Abbott to hold firm until stumps.

Tony Dodemaide has announced that he will step down as the CEO of Cricket Victoria after the coming summer

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2017Tony Dodemaide has announced that he will step down as the CEO of Cricket Victoria after the coming summer.Dodemaide, the former Test fast bowler who took 281 Sheffield Shield wickets for Victoria during the 1980s and 90s, will leave Cricket Victoria at the end of April 2018 after a decade as CEO.In a statement, Cricket Victoria said that the timing of Dodemaide’s departure would allow him to oversee the 2017-18 season and the completion of the new Victorian Cricket and Community Centre project at the Junction Oval.”Tony has been a wonderful servant for Victorian cricket, making an outstanding contribution as CEO on top of his decorated playing career for Footscray, Victoria and Australia,” Cricket Victoria chairman Russell Thomas said. “He has led the transformation of Cricket Victoria from a traditional state association to a multi-faceted organisation with high energy and enthusiasm.”As an administrator, he has overseen a decade of impressive on- and off-field achievements. These notably include the long-desired new home for Victorian cricket, arguably the most successful on-field period for the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers in Victorian cricket history and strong Victorian representation in Australian teams.”Dodemaide said: “It has been a privilege and honour to be at the helm of Victorian cricket for over a decade. I am pleased to have contributed to both the successes and solving the many challenges that have arisen in the changing local and national cricket scenes during that time.””Of course there will always be new challenges on the horizon, but for me the completion of, and transition to the new home of Victorian cricket at the Junction Oval – a facility that will set up the sport in this state for the next 50 years – is an obvious and appropriate time to pass on the baton for a new phase of leadership.”However, Dodemaide has also faced the ire of some club delegates over plans to introduce a fully independent Cricket Victoria board, and a plan to restructure the state’s turf cricket associations has also drawn considerable opposition.

‘I’m confident in that and when the big game comes Finch and Warner will nail it’

Alex Malcolm20-Feb-2022Matthew Wade has no doubt captain Aaron Finch and David Warner will be Australia’s opening combination for their T20 World Cup title defence later this year despite questions surrounding Finch’s form after a lean series against Sri Lanka.Australia lost the final T20I at the MCG but claimed the series 4-1 overall. However, Finch made just 78 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 91.76. In his last 17 T20I innings he has reached fifty just once and has nine single-figure scores with a strike rate of just 111.Related

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But Wade recalled the questions surrounding Warner heading into the last T20 World Cup and in the UAE, which he answered emphatically, and believes Finch will do the same.”It feels like these questions have come before potentially before the last World Cup and after the first couple of games about David,” Wade said. “Everyone had their say about Davey and he got player of the tournament in the World Cup. Finchy is a class player and I’ve heard people questioning where he’s at. He averages 40 and strikes at 140 for a reason.”He’s the captain of our team and the questions are always going to come when you get a little bit older and you don’t do well in one series.”They’re class players for a reason and the best we’ve had in T20 cricket ever, and I don’t expect any change at the top of the order to be honest. So those two will be there in the World Cup. I’m confident in that and when the big game comes they will nail it.”Wade made a brilliant 43 not out off 27 balls to lift Australia to a competitive total after they slumped to 5 for 82. It was just his third innings of the series and just his sixth in his last 12 T20I internationals. But his ability to deliver as Australia’s new finisher in that timeframe has been remarkable, having produced match-shaping hands in four of those six innings.Australia are intent on developing more chemistry between Wade and Marcus Stoinis in the lower-middle order and showed that intent by elevating Ashton Agar to open for two games in the series so that the pair could get more repetitions in the death batting roles.”It was nice to get a hit,” Wade said. “I know the role I’m playing now within this team. I know that opportunities aren’t going to come thick and fast. It was the same in the World Cup. It’s going to be the same in the next few series as well.”The position that I’m going to play dictates that I’ll just go there and take the opportunity that I can.”I feel really confident in what we’re doing down there. I feel backed by the coaching staff and the selectors that there’s going to be a real opportunity down there for myself and Marcus to kind of form that partnership that we’re looking for when the big games come around. Opportunities might not swing my way over the next little bit. But when I get an opportunity I feel confident that the whole team behind me.”Wade was also excited to potentially play a variety of roles in the IPL after he was bought by Gujarat Titans at last week’s auction.”I haven’t spoken to them exactly about what my role will be, but I would assume anywhere from opening down to seven I’m pretty comfortable with,” Wade said. “It doesn’t worry me too much. If middle order comes my way, then it’s another opportunity to get some game time in and play that role.”I know what I can do at the top of the order. I’ve done it for a long period of time now as well. I’m just really, really happy that I got the opportunity. It’s been a long time since I have.”I feel blessed in that I’ve been given the chance to go over there and play IPL again.”

Guyana, Leeward Islands and Barbados completed thumping wins in the seventh round of the WICB Regional 4-day tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2017Veerasammy Permaul’s 7 for 48 in the second innings, his 21st five-wicket haul, helped Guyana defeat Trinidad & Tobago by ten wickets and climb to the top of the table at Queen’s Park Oval. Guyana’s win was set up by their bowlers, who first negated T&T’s winning the toss and electing to bat, by bowling them out for 202, and then fifties from no. 7 Raymon Reifer and no. 10 Romario Shepherd helped them take a 128-run lead. That translated to an eventual target of 56, which Guyana bashed through in 13 overs on the fourth morning.Only three T&T batsmen managed to get past 30, as they collapsed from 172 for 4 in the first innings. Reifer took 3 for 48, while Permaul, Shepherd and Devendra Bishoo chipped in with two wickets each.Guyana’s response also saw a collapse. A third-wicket stand of 89 between nightwatchman Bishoo(39) and Assad Fudadin (57) had taken them to 136 for 2 before Marlon Richards (4-57) and Bryan Charles (4-91) struck regularly to reduce them to 201 for 7. But Reifer made 55 as he took them into the lead along with Permaul (24), before Shepherd (53) made his first half-century and guided a 57-run stand for the final wicket with debutant Keemo Paul (27*) to take them to 330.T&T’s second innings began with captain Kyle Hope’s dismissal for a second-ball duck, and barely took off after. A 48-run stand for the second wicket was the only substantial partnership. Once it was broken by Bishoo (2-68) in the 13th over, Permaul started chipping away, taking seven of the remaining eight wickets and pinning the hosts for 183. Isaiah Rajah, who made 41 in the first innings, was once again T&T’s top-scorer with 40 in the second.After a washed out first day, 25 wickets fell on the second and 15 on the third before Leeward Islands completed a 34-run win over Jamaica at Sabina Park. Leeward Islands dismissed Jamaica for 56 after themselves being bowled out for 71, and finished the second day at 31 for 5. They were bowled out for 133 by Jamaica on the third day but only after Jahmar Hamilton struck a crucial 45, assisted by Jeremiah Louis (23). Setting Jamaica a target of 149, Alzarri Joseph took 5 for 43 while Louis took four wickets to bundle the home side out for 114 to take the win.The match started on the second day, and Leeward Islands were skittled out for 71 after Jerome Taylor’s five wickets lit up the morning session. The joy for Jamaica was short lived, though, as four wickets each for Gavin Tonge and Louis saw the hosts dismissed for an even smaller total, giving the visitors a slender 15-run lead. By the time the second day ended, Leeward Islands were five wickets down as the game saw a wicket fall nearly every 4 overs. But Jamaica’s chase started as poorly as their first innings, and the home side fell to 15 for 3, and were soon 67 for 7 before they were all out 62.1 overs into the third day.Roston Chase produced career-best figures of 7 for 22 to help Barbados register a resounding nine-wicket win against Windward Islands at the Kensington Oval. The result meant Barbados overtook Guyana at the top of the points table.After Barbados secured a 31-run first-innings lead, Chase ripped through Windward Islands to bowl them out for just 71 in 25.1 overs. Fast bowler Miguel Cummins claimed the other three wickets to fall. Shane Shillingford, batting at No. 9, top-scored with 16 as only three batsmen reached double figures. Barbados required just four overs to chase down their target of 41.The only session in which Windward Islands dominated was the period before lunch on the first morning. Openers Devon Smith and Tyrone Theophile added a 121-run stand. Kemar Roach dismissed Theophile for 44 in the 35th over and had Taryck Gabriel caught behind off the next ball. Keddy Lesporis (59) and Smith staved off the Barbados bowlers, but a clump of wickets in the final session of the first day meant Windward Islands were bowled out for 293, despite Smith’s 103. Roach and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican picked up four wickets each.Although only one batsman struck a half-century for Barbados – Kevin Stoute with 61 – plenty of contributions pushed Barbados past Windward Islands’ first-innings score. Barbados were bowled out for 324 as Shillingford and Sherman Lewis picked three wickets apiece.

Angelo Mathews also tonned up before Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya put Ireland two wickets down

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Apr-2023Day four was the day in which Sri Lanka put themselves in a position to push hard for victory, in a match in which Ireland might have hoped they’d made themselves safe, with a first-innings score of 492. On day five, Ireland will start two wickets down, with 159 still to get to make Sri Lanka bat again.As the hosts racked up a gargantuan 704 for 3 declared, giving themselves a lead of 212, major batting milestones were reached, obviously. Here are the most salient among them:- Nishan Madushka completed a maiden double-century in just his fourth Test innings. His high score in his previous three knocks was 39.- Kusal Mendis hit his own maiden double-hundred, progressing to 245 off 291 balls. He’d been out twice in the 190s before.- Through the course of this rapid innings, Mendis also struck 11 sixes – a record for Sri Lanka, beating the eight sixes Kumar Sangakkara had hit against Bangladesh in 2014.- Angelo Mathews also completed a 15th Test century, off 114 balls.No batters were out before completing a hundred, though Dinesh Chandimal did retire hurt on 13 after seemingly dislocating his shoulder after diving into his crease. This was a monumental score, but not quite a historic one – Sri Lanka have once scored more for just the loss of three wickets, against Zimbabwe. And West Indies had once put on 790 for 3 against Pakistan, way back in 1958.Dinesh Chandimal injured his shoulder while diving to complete a run•AFP/Getty Images

Having delayed the declaration to allow Mathews to get his hundred, Sri Lanka bowled 22 overs at Ireland, and claimed two wickets within them. Ramesh Mendis spun his second delivery hard, pitched it well outside off, turned it more than James McCollum expected, took the glove, and had it deflect into off stump – almost a dream offbreak to start.Mathews then took an outstanding catch at short cover to send Peter Moor back, diving forward and to his right to pluck a leading edge up, centimetres before it hit the turf. This was off the bowling of Prabath Jayasuriya, who was spinning plenty past the bat late in the day.At the crease at stumps were captain Andy Balbirnie, who had hit a tone-setting 95 in the first innings, and Harry Tector, who had batted nicely in the first Test. Ireland’s middle order had been excellent in the first innings. But can they do it on a fifth day surface, having toiled 151 overs in the field in the first innings? Either way, they were 54 for 2 by stumps.All up, Sri Lanka maintained a run rate of 4.68 across the 74 overs they faced on day four. Madushka got to his 150 off the third ball of the day, then cut his next ball for four – one of his favourite scoring strokes. He and Mendis warmed up for a few overs, but by midway through the morning, Mendis had brought his ninth Test hundred up off 131 deliveries (he’d started the day on 83), and Madushka was marching towards a double.Angelo Mathews scored his 15th Test century•AFP/Getty Images

Knowing a declaration was probably coming, even while Sri Lanka were still in arrears, Mendis warmed up for a six-hitting spree with a strike over deep midwicket, off a Ben White half-tracker. The pair largely relied on frequent runs into the outfield to keep the run-rate brisk, however. Madushka reached his double-hundred off the penultimate over of the morning session, indulging in only measured celebrations. Soon after lunch, he was lbw to Andy McBrine, who reviewed a not out decision successfully.In Mathews’ company, Mendis started to free his shoulders, the sixes coming fast now that Sri Lanka had moved into the lead. All but one of his big hits came over deep midwicket, the only outlier sailing into the sightscreen, off the bowling of White. Mostly these were pull shots, but some were slog sweeps. All told, Mendis scored 133 of his runs in the arc between backward square leg and cow corner.Mathews struck huge legside blows too, but early in his innings, let Mendis make the big moves. He settled into a rhythm, picked off the singles, and waited for the truly bad balls to put away. Mendis, who had twice previously fallen trying to get to his double-hundred with sixes, got to the milestone with a single behind square leg this time, off the 263rd delivery he faced. He continued to attack after that, and when he fell, Mathews picked up the scoring rate.Sri Lanka’s only worrying moment on day four was when Chandimal dived into his crease after being turned back for an ill-advised single, and essentially failed to get up, so seriously did he appear to have hurt his shoulder. He hobbled off the field, and was not seen thereafter. Mathews raced to his century, and Sri Lanka declared.Ireland’s bowlers just couldn’t find a way to build pressure. Andy McBrine bowled a herculean 57 overs, and had the figures of 1 for 191 to show for it. Legspinner White bowled only 37 overs, but went at almost six, and conceded 203 for no wicket. Curtis Campher conceded 101 as well, and debutant Matthew Humphreys was used only for two overs on day four.

England rely on spinners to secure lead as worries persist about Robinson and Wood fitness

Cameron Ponsonby03-Mar-2022Everyday’s a school day and, as England’s interim Managing Director Andrew Strauss was so keen to stress ahead of the squad’s departure to the West Indies, this tour is all about learning.”[It’s] an opportunity to get some good young bowling talent into the environment for the first time,” Strauss said upon the squad’s announcement., “to allow some of the bowlers that have been playing a role in the team to play either a slightly different role or more of a senior leadership role.”And so as England’s bowling innings got underway against the CWI President’s XI, England’s opening bowler Ollie Robinson opened the bowling. England’s 42-Test veteran and known quantity Chris Woakes did some more bowling. Perennial first-change Craig Overton bowled first-change. And England’s spinner Jack Leach bowled some spin.It’s not so much learning as it is revising for the same exam that England failed last year.It was poignant, therefore, that England’s real learnings came when things didn’t go to plan. Mark Wood was absent due to a non-Covid-related illness and is a doubt for the first Test. And so too is Robinson who pulled up twenty minutes into the day’s play with a recurrence of the back spasm he suffered in the last Test match in Hobart.Robinson’s fitness is a real concern for England. Because at this point, what does Robinson being fit actually mean? Robinson being fit to take the field in the morning currently doesn’t mean the same as him being able to complete a day’s play. And with Stokes unable to bowl in the first Test and England therefore relying on a four-man attack, the risk of one-quarter of that breaking down on the morning of day one is substantial.”He got a back spasm, it’s not ideal,” Paul Collingwood said at the close of play. “When someone walks off like that it doesn’t look good but these kind of spasms can heal as quickly as they come. We’ll just have to assess.”Sometimes the optics of a situation are such that nuance isn’t necessary. And the sight of Robinson leaving the field and having his over finished by Saqib Mahmood was one. The right-arm seamer is dead. Long live the right-arm seamer.The absence of Wood and Robinson did, however, allow England to do some learning and have a look at Mahmood and Matt Fisher with the ball.Noticeably sharper than the rest of the attack, Mahmood appeared the most threatening of the seamers from his seven overs, whilst Fisher struggled to find his feet initially before settling in and bowling consecutive maidens. If a spot in England’s bowling attack does become available next week, Mahmood is the obvious man to step up and complete a full house of international debuts.Related

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However, the elephant not in the room was wickets. Between England’s five seamers, only one wicket came in the 54 overs they sent down, with it being left to the spin of Leach, who claimed 4 for 64, as well as Joe Root and Dan Lawrence to take the bulk of the wickets. The seamers’ struggles were best exemplified by CWI President’s XI No.9 Colin Archibald slogging Overton over long-on for a six. Overton, in his quest for revenge, sent down an attempted bouncer which Archibald proceeded to pull even further. As a start to life without Stuart Broad or Jimmy Anderson goes, it was an ominous showing.”We’re not going to panic,” Collingwood said, when asked if there was a temptation to call up any unnamed replacements. “It was a great opportunity for Saqi to come in and bowl some overs today. Even Fish to bowl some. We have got ready replacements in terms of a squad of 16.”In mitigation, this is an extremely docile pitch and, of the five men in the CWI President’s XI top seven to have played international cricket, it was Raymon Reifer who scored an excellent 106 from No.5. Reifer is not currently in the West Indies Test squad, having made his solitary appearance back in 2017, but on this showing it would be no surprise if he were to feature later in the series.Nevertheless, it was a day that served only to reinforce the long-held concern about England’s bowling attack, that they’re a very well polished, but ultimately blunt object. An oak dining table that looks right at home in the stately surroundings of Lord’s, but is an absolute pain in the arse to try and transport anywhere outside NW8.In reply, England were 77 for 3 at the close, a lead of 279.