All posts by n8rngtd.top

Quetta Gladiators dominated Karachi Kings to win by six wickets in what was arguably the most lopsided match of PSL 2017

The Report by Danyal Rasool23-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellIt was a game between the top side and the bottom, and boy did it show. Quetta Gladiators thrashed Karachi by six wickets in what was the most one-sided match in the PSL so far, making Sarfraz Ahmed’s squad the first to qualify for the knockout stages.The game was won on the back of a splendid bowling display by the Gladiators as they squeezed the opposition in the middle overs, the pace bowlers flummoxing the batsmen with controlled pace variations and teasing slower bouncers. Karachi had got off to a fast start, reaching 46 for 0 in five overs through their new opening pair of Kumar Sangakkara and Babar Azam.But in the middle 10-over stretch from the sixth through the 15th, Karachi managed a mere 52 runs. Chris Gayle’s ongoing struggles were a feature of the Karachi innings. He scratched around and attempted to dispatch the odd ball out of Dubai in a laboured 34-ball 29 that took all the air out of his side’s innings.Quetta, in contrast, were assured right from the start of their chase, with Ahmed Shehzad and Asad Shafiq scoring a solid 49 from the Powerplay. After that, Shehzad ripped into the bowling, taking the young Usama Mir to task in his first over. Shehzad smashed him for two fours and two sixes in a costly 22-run eighth over and the hundred partnership eventually came up in 11 overs.An enraged Mickey Arthur called for a strategic timeout after the tenth over, chastising his side in full public view. It had a short-term effect as Quetta stuttered to lose three wickets in the 13th over but the damage had been done early and, in truth, the win was a comfortable one.Where the match was wonAfter the first five overs of the Karachi innings, with Sangakkara looking in fine touch and his side at 46 for 0, a solid platform appeared to have been set. But the middle overs saw Quetta’s bowlers strangle the opposition.The spinners bowled a tight line and the fast bowlers dipped into their bag of tricks to leave the opposition – Gayle in particular – flapping at thin air. Anwar Ali and Tymal Mills deceived Kieron Pollard and Gayle a number of times with slower short balls, depriving the West Indian power hitters of the pace they can so lethally use to their own advantage. The stand between the pair, on paper arguably the most menacing duo in T20 cricket, turned out to be a frankly benign one.The men that won itQuetta’s innings had a touch of the clinical right from the start. Shehzad and Shafiq preferred to hit along the ground early on, knowing they did not have to take too many risks in a chase of 155. Shafiq, not often celebrated for his strike rate, was the more destructive of the pair during the Powerplay, scoring 29 off 19. Their 105-run stand meant Quetta even had the luxury to bear a brief collapse, including a diamond duck from Kevin Pietersen, yet still seal a comfortable two points.The easiest of dropsThat stand might not have been so lethal had Pollard, almost as famous for his spectacular boundary catches as he is for monstrous ball striking, taken an easy catch that Shafiq had spooned up to short extra cover in the sixth over. Mohammad Amir had forced a leading edge, but Pollard was slow to react. Even so, he overran the ball when he dove forward in an attempt to catch it, the ball hitting the top of his palms before slipping out. To the Kings’ massive frustration, Shafiq then hit the next two balls for four, twisting the knife into an already wounded Karachi.The moment of the matchOne might have wondered how Karachi coach Arthur would have felt watching his side at the end of a hammering like the one they were experiencing in this match, with inconsistent bowling, poor fielding and a sensational opening stand by Quetta combining to humiliate them. Well, one only needed wait till the end of the tenth over to find out.Arthur called for the timeout and demonstrably tore into his side with the cameras rolling as Sohail Khan appeared to bear the brunt of the South African’s rant. Sir Alex Ferguson would have been proud of that hairdryer. It worked, too, with three wickets coming off Sohail’s subsequent over, including a direct hit from backward point by Imad Wasim to run out Pietersen before he had faced a ball. However, Karachi’s rude awakening had come far too late.Where they standThe result reinforces the status quo, with Karachi extending their lead at the top of the table to three points. Karachi remain last on four points, and now need to win both remaining games to have a chance of qualifying.

Sunil Narine still absent as West Indies gear up for 15 T20Is against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2021Allrounder Andre Russell is back in the West Indies T20I squad for the first time since March 2020. West Indies’ 18-member squad for their upcoming set of T20I series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan also includes the returning duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Sheldon Cottrell, with Kieron Pollard continuing to lead the side following on from the 2-1 home win against Sri Lanka in the format in March.Related

• Shimron Hetmyer, Sheldon Cottrell and Roston Chase back in West Indies' ODI squad

• Pollard: Sunil Narine will return to T20I side once he gains confidence

• Andre Russell: Bubble life 'definitely taken a toll on me mentally'

• Sunil Narine indicates he's 'not ready' for West Indies return

• Prenelan Subrayen among six uncapped players in South Africa squad for West Indies Tests

Sunil Narine, meanwhile, continues to miss out, with Cricket West Indies revealing the spinner informed lead selector Roger Harper he wasn’t yet ready to return to international cricket. “If his position changes, then the selectors would consider him for selection,” a CWI spokesperson said.While the West Indies side retains at its core most of the players that helped them triumph in the series against Sri Lanka, there are a handful of changes, especially in the bowling department. Alongside Cottrell, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jnr also return, while the 39-year-old fast bowler Fidel Edwards retains his place in the side. Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis remain part of the side, while Nicholas Pooran is vice-captain.”The provisional T20I squad was put together with all T20I home series matches against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in mind,” Harper said. “This gives us the opportunity to continue to build towards the upcoming World Cup and to determine our best squad and our ideal eleven.”West Indies coach Phil Simmons stressed the importance of the 15 upcoming T20Is, with two T20 World Cups scheduled to take place over the next 18 months. “These upcoming T20Is are crucial in terms of our preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup. We have assembled a very solid squad with experienced world-class match-winners and some exciting young talented players, ready to explode onto the global stage and do great things for West Indies cricket.”We are at that point where we have identified those who we will look to be the core of the squad to defend our World Cup title, so we want to make sure the upcoming matches create that environment – the way we train, the way we plan, the way we execute and the chemistry within the group. We won five years ago, so the next few weeks and months will be major steppingstones on the road towards defending our title and being World Champions for a third time.”The series against South Africa begins on June 26 and ends on July 3, with all five games taking place in Grenada. The five T20Is against Australia will take place in St Lucia, while the five matches against Pakistan will be held in Barbados and Guyana.West Indies T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jnr

Ed Joyce hammered a career-best 160* in an innings that featured 19 fours and three sixes to propel Ireland to a series-levelling win against Afghanistan in Belfast

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEd Joyce hammered a career-best 148-ball 160* in an innings that featured 19 fours and three sixes to propel Ireland to a series-levelling win against Afghanistan in Belfast. Joyce’s knock, the second-best score by an Ireland batsman in ODIs and third-highest by a player from an Associate team, helped the side post 265 for 5, a total they defended by 12 runs. The five-match series was tied 2-2.Ireland, who were batting first for the first time in the series, lost captain William Porterfield in the fifth over when he edged to second slip for 8. Sean Terry, playing his third ODI, was dismissed in the 10th over when Yamin Ahmadzai completed a stunning one-handed grab off his own bowling, diving low to his right.Gary Wilson, promoted to No. 4, and Joyce then got stuck into rebuilding the innings. Joyce got to his fifty in the 24th over, off 70 balls. The pair combined for a 134-run stand to set up a strong platform for Ireland in the end overs. In between, Wilson survived a nasty collision with Mohammad Shahzad in the 32nd over, when he tried to return to his crease.Wilson holed out to square leg off the first ball of the 41st over, for 58 off 92 balls. At that stage, Joyce was on 93. After Kevin O’Brien fell in the following over, Joyce took charge and smashed 67 of the 87 that Ireland scored in the last 10 overs. He finished with 60.37% of Ireland’s runs, the highest percentage in a completed ODI innings for an Associate side.After the game, Joyce, who was named Man of the Series, said he was spurred on by his controversial dismissal in the previous match. “I probably was extra motivated; I was actually pretty tired this morning going into the game, had a niggle, but what happened in the last game obviously gave a bit of extra motivation.”Afghanistan’s chase was dented early by the Ireland seamers as they were quickly reduced to 27 for 3. Rahmat Shah (30), captain Asghar Stanikzai (32) and Mohammad Nabi (25) got starts in the middle order but failed to convert as Ireland chipped away.Afghanistan were tottering at 119 for 6 in the 33rd over. Najibullah Zadran and legspinner Rashid Khan, however, put on a 93-run seventh-wicket stand but the soaring asking rate proved insurmountable. Three wickets in three balls – one at the end of the 46th over and two at the start of the next – effectively killed the chase.Dawlat Zadran smashed five boundaries in his unbeaten 15-ball 31 but it wasn’t enough. O’Brien finished with 3 for 57, while medium-pacers Peter Chase and Barry McCarthy picked up two wickets each.

Alviro Petersen has denied that he ever accepted a bribe or contrived to fix matches but did admit to “playing along” with those involved in the scandal

Firdose Moonda13-Nov-2016Former South Africa opening batsman Alviro Petersen has denied ever accepting a bribe or contriving to fix matches but admitted to “playing along” with those involved in the match-fixing scandal in the domestic T20 tournament. Petersen was charged on Saturday by Cricket South Africa with six breaches of the anti-corruption code. In a statement through his lawyer Robin Twaddle, Petersen confirmed that he rejected a plea bargain because he regards the charges as “heavy-handed”, and would welcome a tribunal instead. He also claimed to know of at least one other player who has not been charged by CSA.In the statement, Twaddle wrote that Petersen was “surprised” when he learned of charges being drawn up against him at the end of July because the cricketer had been co-operating with the investigation. “Alviro acknowledges and admits that he played along with other persons involved in the scandal so as not to alert them to the fact that an investigation was underway,” Twaddle writes. “Alviro was in constant contact with the investigative team from the time he reported his knowledge of the scandal until Bodi was charged and he gave information that he had received of actual plans to influence matches to the investigative unit.”In March, Petersen revealed he had reported fixing approaches but did not consider himself under investigation. At the time, he also said the ACSU was aware of his meetings and discussions with other players. Petersen maintained that he blew the whistle on Gulam Bodi and five other players, who were subsequently banned for between seven and 20 years.Since then, Petersen has been involved in what Twaddle called “a lengthy negotiating period” with CSA during which the board offered him a plea bargain. Although the details of that agreement have not been revealed, Petersen rejected it because he thought it excessive.”Whilst Alviro is willing to take responsibility for his actions over this period, although they were taken in good faith under the circumstances at the time, he could not reach agreement with CSA because he believes that the sanctions which would have been imposed were disproportionate to Alviro’s actions and do not take sufficient cognisance of the defenses and mitigating circumstances put forward by Alviro,” Twaddle wrote.Petersen, who was due to play for the Lions franchise in the domestic T20 competition which started on Saturday, has been suspended from all cricket activities. He has 14 days to officially respond to CSA. Twaddle is out of the country until November 22.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda brought in as replacements

Shashank Kishore11-Feb-2022India vice-captain KL Rahul and allrounder Axar Patel will miss the upcoming three T20Is against West Indies in Kolkata starting on February 16. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has recovered completely from Covid-19, and Deepak Hooda have been named as their replacements in India’s 18-member squad.Rahul sustained an upper left hamstring strain while fielding during the second ODI on Wednesday. The injury also prevented his participation in Friday’s final ODI. Axar is recovering from Covid-19 and is in his “final stage of rehabilitation”, as per a BCCI statement.Axar was the only member from India’s T20I squad who hadn’t joined India’s extended biosecure bubble in Ahmedabad – comprising members from both limited-overs squads – ahead of their departure to Kolkata on Saturday evening. Both Axar and Rahul will head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further management of their injuries.Gaikwad’s addition leaves India with three opening options alongside captain Rohit Sharma. They also have Ishan Kishan, who is the second wicketkeeper, and Venkatesh Iyer, the allrounder who has had much of his T20 success in recent times as an opener for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.Gaikwad is capped in the format, having featured in two T20Is on the tour of Sri Lanka last July. His exploits in IPL 2021 have accelerated his journey to India’s white-ball squads. He ended the previous season with a chart-topping 635 runs at an average of 45.35 and strike rate of 136.26.Having debuted in ODIs during the ongoing ODIs against West Indies, Hooda was in prolific form for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 competition, where he finished as the highest run-getter for the team. His 294 runs, including four half-centuries, came at a strike rate of 168. Hooda previously made it to India’s T20I squad for the home series against Sri Lanka in 2017. He was also part of India’s squad for the Nidahas series in Sri Lanka the following year.The Indian camp had faced issues due to Covid-19 ahead of the ODIs as well, when seven members, including four players – Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Gaikwad and reserve fast bowler Navdeep Saini – tested positive.Axar had missed India’s preceding ODI assignment too, in South Africa, reportedly for a stress-related injury.India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda.

With the series in the bag, the only dampener for the hosts in the third and final T20I in Auckland could be rain

Mohammad Isam31-Mar-2021

Big Picture

New Zealand are about to end their all-win home summer that has stretched seven series. They have hosted 21 international matches, the most by any country since the Covid-19 pandemic. It is regarded as an administrative success, particularly given their country’s stringent quarantine protocols. The only dampener is likely to be the rain in the forecast in Auckland for the season finale, the third T20I against Bangladesh.A major strength for New Zealand has been their newcomers turning in superb contributions even after they have been put under pressure. In the second T20I in Napier, it was Glenn Phillips whose unbeaten half-century got them out of trouble and into a total that proved too much for Bangladesh amid confusion over the DLS-determined target. Daryl Mitchell helped Phillips in an unbroken 62-run sixth-wicket stand that came off just 27 balls.In the first match, it was Devon Conway and debutant Will Young who got them into a position of strength. New Zealand will also be pleased with how Ish Sodhi has continued his good form throughout the summer despite playing only T20Is. During the ongoing T20I series in particular, Tim Southee’s captaincy has also stood out.Come the third and final T20I on Thursday, they wouldn’t mind Martin Guptill getting a big score as he has been in threatening form since the ODI series against Bangladesh with his quick starts. Finn Allen, too, would be eyeing a sizeable score having made just 17 across two innings so far in this series. There’s going to be an opportunity to see who among Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson and Hamish Bennett get to pair up in Auckland.Related

• 'Almost felt like my debut' – Milne relishes NZ comeback

• DLS drama: Confusion over target reigns as Bangladesh begin chase

Bangladesh have had a few positives during this tour but their players have been somewhat inconsistent. Nasum Ahmed bowled well in both T20Is, particularly opening the bowling, although he has only two wickets to show for so far. Soumya Sarkar’s half-century in the second T20I should help him get out of a trough.Mohammad Naim has shown glimpses of his impressive strokeplay in both games, albeit without a big score. Afif Hossain made 45 in a losing cause in the first game, in Hamilton, while Shoriful bounced back with an economical spell in Napier after a disastrous debut in the series opener.Mohammad Saifuddin has been expensive with the ball in both games, Liton Das has scored only 50 runs on this tour while Mohammad Mithun and Mahedi Hasan haven’t converted their promise from the ODI series.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
New Zealand WWWLL
Bangladesh LLWWL

In the spotlight

Glenn Phillips has been unbeaten in his last three international matches, with all three being pivotal to New Zealand wins. In the second T20I, his 58 came off 31 balls, his big-hitting prowess on show as much as his diligence in building partnerships during a tricky passage of play.It’s hard to predict which Soumya Sarkar might turn up in Auckland. He averaged 9.5 on the tour until his quickfire 51 in Napier. It contained an array of special shots but his dismissal sparked a batting collapse. Perhaps getting back to form is important but for a batsman with 129 international matches under his belt getting the team to winning positions is his main job.

Team news

Only Todd Astle is yet to get a game in this series while the pace combination of Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne may also come to fruition.New Zealand (probable) 1 Finn Allen, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Devon Conway (wk), 4 Will Young, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Daryl Mitchell, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10, Adam Milne, 11 Hamish BennettBangladesh may not want to tweak the starting XI that to some degree tested New Zealand in the previous game unless Mushfiqur Rahim is fit.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Liton Das (wk), 2 Mohammad Naim, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mohammad Mithun, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Mohammad Saifuddin, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Nasum Ahmed, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

The series-ender will be the first day-night T20I at the Eden Park in five years. Short boundaries and an expected flat pitch hint at a high-scoring game in the offing. There’s rain in the forecast, though.

Stats and trivia

• Martin Guptil’s 582 runs at Eden Park makes him the only player to score 500-plus T20I runs in a single venue.
• Mahmudullah is set to play his 55th consecutive T20I for Bangladesh, currently the fourth longest in the all-time list. Essentially, he hasn’t missed a T20I since November 2015.

Quotes

“I have been ridden with injuries in the last three years, so I want to be injury-free, firstly. I am just going to try to keep my body in the park and play consistent cricket.””We haven’t done well in all three departments in one particular game. We have bowled well and batted well in separate matches. We need to bring it all together to win a game.”

Labuschagne and Neser to miss start of County Championship season due to Sheffield Shield overlap

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2021Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser will miss the early stages of the County Championship season following the extension of the Sheffield Shield season, with Glamorgan recruiting Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie as a short-term replacement for the opening weeks of the campaign.The Shield season is set for its latest-ever finish, with the final due to be played from April 15-19, and with Queensland second in the table with two rounds of games remaining, there is every chance that Labuschagne and Neser will be involved in that fixture.As a result, Glamorgan are looking for replacements for both of their overseas players, and announced the signing of Balbirnie on Wednesday for up to six weeks as a stand-in for Labuschagne. Balbirnie was the club’s leading run-scorer in the T20 Blast last season, and described the move as a “brilliant opportunity” having previously voiced his frustrations about the scarcity of Ireland’s red-ball fixtures since they were awarded Test status.Ireland have not played a Test since July 2019, when they gave England a scare at Lord’s, and reports in their local media have suggested that their fixture against Sri Lanka later this year will again been postponed. There will not be a single first-class game in the domestic season either, after Cricket Ireland opted to prioritise white-ball cricket in light of the international schedule.The season opener against Yorkshire on April 8 will be Balbirnie’s second appearance in the County Championship. He spent several years on Middlesex’s books, but was limited to a solitary Championship game, against Surrey in 2012.”The County Championship is historically one of the best first-class competitions in the world,” he said. “I really enjoyed my time in Wales last season – the players and coaches were incredibly welcoming and it’s a great place to play. I’m really excited to go back, get stuck in and hopefully contribute to some wins for Glamorgan.”Related

• Neser locks in Glamorgan link-up with Labuschagne

• Hemphrey calls for ECB 'compassion' to save his career

• Ingram signs new Glamorgan deal as overseas player

• No Irish first-class cricket in 2021 amid domestic restructure

• Ireland's Test opportunities remain limited in 2021

Mark Wallace, the director of cricket, said it was “disappointing” to be without Labuschagne and Neser for the early stages of the season.”We’re very happy to get someone the calibre of Balbo in on such short notice,” he added. “As he showed last year, he’s a fine player and has a good track record across all formats and experience playing at the very highest level. He was fantastic for us when he joined last year and will bring plenty of skill and leadership to our side.”Balbirnie will return to Ireland in May to play in the inter-provincial season, before leading the ODI side in their World Cup Super League series in the Netherlands in June. He was one of three Irish overseas players to impress in last year’s T20 Blast, alongside Paul Stirling and Gareth Delany, but this year’s international schedule means their availability for the competition will be limited.Richard Holdsworth, Cricket Ireland’s performance director, said: “We have a big year ahead of us at both international and domestic levels, with a T20 World Cup in late 2021, so for one of our key players to be able to take advantage of an opportunity to play cricket in April at this standard will be of great benefit.”

All five matches will be held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka

Mohammad Isam22-Jul-2021The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed that Australia will arrive in Dhaka on July 29 to play five T20Is against Bangladesh, from August 3 to 9. Australia will comply with local health regulations by being quarantined in their hotel rooms for three days before they begin training at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, where they will play all five matches.”The BCB and Cricket Australia have worked tirelessly together for confirming the itinerary,” BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. “Naturally this was a challenge due to the Covid-19 pandemic as ensuring health safety and security is a priority prerequisite for holding any cricket series in these times. I am pleased to say that a comprehensive bio-security plan is in place and will be implemented during the tour for the protection of players and staff of the two teams and the match officials.”

Australia in Bangladesh T20Is

• First T20I: August 3

• Second T20I: August 4

• Third T20I: August 6

• Fourth T20I: August 7

• Fifth T20I: August 9

BCB and Cricket Australia (CA) have reportedly agreed on extensive pandemic protocols that include a 10-day quarantine, which began earlier this week. Both teams will count their current bio-bubble measures on their respective tours as part of the quarantine. Match officials have already been isolated while the Bangladesh T20I team currently in Zimbabwe will go straight to the team hotel in Dhaka upon arrival. Bangladesh’s T20I series against Zimbabwe was also brought forward by a couple of days.The major protocols for this tour include Australia’s immigration process conducted separately after CA expressed reservations about exposing their touring party in a hall room inside the airport. After they go through the VIP entry and into the team bus, their passports will be processed separately.The team hotel will be completely off-limits to the public during the tour, which is reportedly a tighter plan than the BCB’s bio-bubbles for West Indies and Sri Lanka earlier this year. The scheduling of the series has been at the CA’s request: to be held at one venue over a short window.”We would like to thank our friends at the Bangladesh Cricket Board for developing a detailed bio-security plan to keep players, staff and match officials safe,” Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said. “Both boards have worked extremely hard to do all we can to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved in the tour.”We are looking forward to a competitive and entertaining series in Dhaka as both teams continue their preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup later this year.”Bangladesh, in the midst of a second wave of Covid-19, reported 173 deaths on Wednesday, taking the tally to 18,498 since March this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. According to the official data, the Covid-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.63 percent and the current recovery rate is 84.56 percent. Bangladesh has been on strict lockdown since July 1. Although the government allowed a temporary easing of restrictions from July 15 to 22, the initial lockdown conditions are expected to return to force from July 23 till August 5.Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood said on Thursday that the team is familiar with the limitations of movement on tours.”We’ve had a few meetings about what it’s going to look like in Bangladesh and it’s obviously going to be quite tight restrictions and within the bubble,” Hazlewood said. “I think it’s purely going to be either at the hotel or at the cricket ground, which we’ve done before and we’re used to. It’s quite a short trip as well, which is good, so I think it’ll be no dramas, we’ll get that done on the back end of this tour.”This is Australia’s first tour to Bangladesh since their 2017 visit to play two Tests in Dhaka and Chattogram. They had cancelled their 2015 and 2016 (Under-19 World Cup) visits due to security concerns.

Mushfiqur Rahim will remain under observation for another 48 hours after no fracture was found in the x-ray he had before play on the third day of the first Test in Wellington

Mohammad Isam14-Jan-2017Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim will remain under observation for another 48 hours after no fracture was found in the x-ray he had before play on the third day of the first Test in Wellington.Mushfiqur was taken to hospital after he hurt his right thumb and left index finger while batting on the second day, when he made 159. According to BCB media manager Rabeed Imam, the team physio Dean Conway had said Mushfiqur did not have any “obvious” fracture, but because he still was in pain his movement would remain restricted.”He will bat in the second innings if the need arises,” said Rabeed, who did not confirm whether Mushfiqur would keep wickets. In Mushfiqur’s absence, Imrul Kayes has taken over the gloves and took two catches on the second day.The hand injury is Mushfiqur’s second injury on the tour of New Zealand. He had suffered a hamstring injury during the first ODI in Christchurch and missed two ODIs and three T20Is that followed.

Angelo Matthews has spoken of his shock at feeling Shaminda Eranga’s racing heartbeat during Sri Lanka’s second ODI at Malahide on Saturday

Melinda Farrell at Trent Bridge20-Jun-2016Angelo Mathews has spoken of his shock at feeling Shaminda Eranga’s racing heartbeat during Sri Lanka’s second ODI at Malahide on Saturday.Eranga was rushed to hospital as his team-mates took to the field for the second innings of the match and remains in Ireland where he is undergoing tests to determine the cause of his elevated heartbeat, which is understood to have reached an alarming 220 beats per minute.

Mathews would Mankad again

Angelo Mathews has stood by his decision, during the 2014 series, to enforce the Mankading of Jos Buttler, a move that was at the time decried by Alastair Cook as “a pretty poor act”.
Sachithra Senanayake ran out Buttler at the non-striker’s end during the fifth ODI at Edgbaston after the batsman had repeatedly been warned for backing up early. But Mathews said he wouldn’t shy away from a repeat performance if a similar situation occurred.
“You face challenging moments in life,” he said. “Being in the hot seat is not easy. Sometimes you have to make those hard decisions, Unfortunately I had to make that. I still stand by it, because we warned him twice before. That’s all we could possibly do at that time.”
“We are not looking forward to doing the Mankading. We will play our cricket within the rules. If someone is trying to take advantage of the rules then we will probably warn him. But the Test series was played in very good spirit, so hopefully we’ll play the ODI series in very good spirit, too.”

The 29-year-old had gone out to bat in the first innings and faced a single delivery, the final ball of Sri Lanka’s innings. According to the team management there were no warning signs of any ill-health and and they are not aware of Eranga having any previous heart conditions.It was during Sri Lanka’s warm-up in the innings break that Eranga realised something was wrong.”At the time he called me and said ‘something has happened to me’,” said Matthews. “He was warming up and just before we went on the field, he said something happened to me, can you touch my heart because it is beating fast. I felt something unusual so I quickly called the physio and the physio went for the doctor with him. It was a shocking incident.”While Eranga’s health is of the utmost concern, he received a separate blow on Sunday when the ICC deemed his action to be illegal. The seamer had been reported after the second Test against England in Durham and subsequent tests in Loughborough showed the flexion of his elbow exceeded the legal maximum of 15 percent.ESPNcricinfo understands Eranga was not showing signs of undue stress before the ODI on Saturday and that doctors have ruled out anxiety as a cause of his condition.”It has been a tough 48 hours for him,” said Matthews, “And the whole team is behind him and we are fully supportive of him. It was an unfortunate incident just before we went on to the field.””It’s another unfortunate incident where his action has proved to be illegal and he will have to go back and work with the fast-bowling coaches and come back strong.””We are very confident he will come through both – his condition as well as his action – so we are very supportive of him and the whole team are behind him.”Eranga will remain in Ireland until the results of the tests are known and, once he is declared medically fit to fly, he will then return to Sri Lanka.His absence leaves a hole in a bowling attack that has already been depleted by injuries to Dushmantha Chameera and Dhammika Prasad, Sri Lanka are preparing to call in at least one replacement from the Sri Lanka A squad, which arrives in England tomorrow ahead of two four-day games against Pakistan, followed by a 50-over tri-series also involving the England Lions.During the three-Test series Sri Lanka struggled with the early season English conditions but showed gradual improvements and Matthews hopes the change in formats will lead to a change in fortune for his side.”It was pretty unfortunate that we haven’t performed well in the Test series but we kept improving game by game and as time went on we really started hitting our straps and we had some convincing wins in Ireland,” he said.”But England is a completely different team, we still have to play our best cricket to beat them here.””We haven’t done well in the recent past but we’ve played a lot of T20 games rather than one-dayers. We are a forceful unit when it comes to one-dayers, we’ve got a good set of guys and a bit of experience.”