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Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq put up a solid resistance against the Sri Lankan seamers but the hosts retained the edge at tea, having broken that partnership after inflicting significant damage in the pre-lunch session

The Report by Siddhartha Talya08-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Junaid Khan’s double-wicket spell boosted Pakistan in the last session•Getty Images

The SSC and Pallekele could well be on two different continents, such was the contrast in the nature of their pitches. After the highway at the SSC last week, the moisture in the Pallekele pitch – increased by the rain before the Test – and a hint of grass gave Sri Lanka’s attack early encouragement that lasted into the final session, justifying the home team’s decision to bowl first. The new ball was a powerful weapon, employed expertly by Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara, who also stood out for their stamina and helped their team have the better of most of the first day.But it was used even more menacingly by Pakistan’s fast bowlers, whose extra pace and difficult angles produced wickets and plenty of nervous moments for the batsmen. Pakistan’s 226 may be below-par, but an incisive spell in the final hour led by Junaid Khan revived their spirits and boosted hopes of a strong comeback.Sri Lanka are without their centurion from the first two Tests, Tillakaratne Dilshan, on leave to be with his unwell children. The openers Dinesh Chandimal and Tharanga Paranavitana were given a working over by Junaid and Umar Gul, who moved it both ways, beat the edge and struck them repeatedly on the pads. Junaid was more lethal when he went round the wicket in the sixth over, angling it in and then nipping it away from the right-hander. Chandimal was fooled when he was trapped in front with one that held its line.Kumar Sangakkara, fresh from missing two double-centuries in a row, was consigned to a duck the same over – done in by movement inward off the pitch, beaten through the gate twice, one an lbw not given and the other pegging back off stump. Gul should have had Paranavitana lbw, a close call that was turned down, but when Mahela Jayawardene failed to get his bat down to a Mohammad Sami yorker in the day’s last over – after the batsmen’s delaying tactics failed to meet their desired objective – Pakistan were back in it.Among their batsmen, only Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq put up any significant resistance; the others were out-thought by Sri Lanka’s bowlers, armed with movement, swing and discipline. Perera and Kulasekara bowling spells of nine and 10 overs respectively in the first session, in which the bulk of the damage was inflicted.The first sign of hope for the seamers appeared on the first ball, when Kulasekara swung one prodigiously and moved it further towards the batsman off the pitch. Perera mostly moved the ball the other way, and bowled fuller, creating more chances. It helped that the Pakistan openers also batted positively, though were edgy against deliveries bowled in the channel outside off.Taufeeq Umar was the luckier of the two. Kulasekara attacked with three slips, a gully and a short leg, and removed the option of Taufeeq walking down the track to counter the swing as he had done at the SSC, by having the keeper standing up to the stumps. As he moved it away, Taufeeq was dropped at first slip, and then had an edge fly past gully.In the eighth over, Perera beat Mohammad Hafeez with one that held its line before inducing a leading edge when he tried to work it square. Perera had his reward shortly after, as he slipped in a fuller delivery, had Hafeez playing forward and slightly away from his body, not expecting the ball to swing and then dart back in to clean him up through the gate. In his next over, Perera targeted Azhar Ali, unsettling him with an inswinger, then beating him completely with the away-going delivery and having him driving straight to gully off the next ball.Kulasekara dislodged Younis Khan in similar fashion, following up an indipper with one in the corridor that prompted Younis to feather a low catch to the keeper. When Taufeeq played down the wrong line, trying to force Perera through midwicket to be trapped in front, an ardous task lay ahead for Misbah and the middle order to rebuild.Misbah and Shafiq were reasonably adept against the spin of Rangana Herath and a shorter length bowled by the other two seamers – Dilhara Fernando, on his 17th comeback to the Test side, and Angelo Mathews. Under a good spell of sunshine, the Pakistan pair batted determinedly, leaving several deliveries outside off while at the same time capitalising on width as the swing disappeared and movement receded.Shafiq drove well but was more confident against the short balls, with Fernando providing a healthy supply. Both batsmen used their feet to Herath, Misbah charging down the wicket twice to dispatch him through midwicket, and Shafiq pinching the singles while also collecting boundaries through point. When Perera returned for a new spell, they opened the face and played the ball down past the slips and gully. Misbah, though,hung his bat out to a much wider delivery that left him, edging a catch to Prasanna Jayawardene after an 85-run stand, giving Perera his best Test figures.Harsh on width and elegant with balls pitched on the pads, Shafiq scored heavily square of the wicket, the flick and the cut – despite a deep point – producing the bulk of his boundaries. Support was lacking at the other end, however. Adnan Akmal was struck on the ring finger of his left hand by Fernando after warming up with a couple of fours, had to retire hurt and the pain would have been playing on his mind when he returned. He threw his wicket away, bowled trying an audacious sweep against Herath, who also got the ball to bite off the track. One such delivery accounted for Shafiq, who edged behind, and stopped Pakistan’s recovery short of what they had hoped. That’s before Junaid, yet again, reinforced the impact of Pakistan’s biggest strength, fast bowling – never in short supply from his country.

South Africa stalwarts Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher have both left the Warriors franchise and will re-join Cobras

Firdose Moonda21-Jun-2011South Africa stalwarts Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher have both left the Warriors franchise and will re-join Cobras. The pair, who live in Cape Town, both want to spend more time at home and cite that as the main reason for the move.Kallis played most of his cricket in Cape Town and moved to Warriors in 2008-09 after a dispute with the Cobras management. Boucher, who grew up in East London and played for Warriors throughout his career, had a stint with Cobras in the 2007-08 season and then went back to the province of his birth, following the same dispute. Boucher will now return to Cape Town, where he has lived for the past few years.”For me Warriors is one of the best-run franchises in the country. It was a huge and difficult decision for me to leave,” Boucher said. “Cape Town is my home and I do need to be based there, to explore business opportunities for my future.”Boucher’s departure means that Warriors captain Davy Jacobs will have to take on the responsibility of keeping all the time. Jacobs, who played for Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded IPL, did not keep for Warriors during their Pro20 campaign last season because Boucher was available for the full tournament.The Warriors squad includes six nationally contracted players: Johan Botha, Colin Ingram, Wayne Parnell, Ashwell Prince, Rusty Theron and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. They have awarded 14 franchise contracts, two of which have gone to former internationals Makhaya Ntini and Nicky Boje. Warriors regulars Andrew Birch, Bevan Bennett, Garnett Kruger, Lyall Meyer, Jon-Jon and Kelly Smuts, and Craig Thyssen all received contracts.Two semi-professional contracts were given to up-and coming-players, right-arm medium-fast bowler Aya Gqamame and Eastern Province Player of the Year Athi Dyili. “It is a very good sign that the newly-contracted players are youngsters that are truly homegrown,” Chris Nenzani, the Eastern Cape Cricket chairman, said.Warriors won their first two trophies since the franchise system was implemented in the 2009-10 season, when they claimed the MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 crowns, but failed to defend their titles last season. Their head coach, Russell Domingo, has been appointed assistant coach of the national team and Warriors have not yet announced his replacement.

Derbyshire revived their Friends Provident t20 hopes with a five-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning in a low-scoring match at Queen’s Park in Chesterfield

04-Jul-2010

ScorecardDerbyshire revived their Friends Provident t20 hopes with a five-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning in a low-scoring match at Queen’s Park in Chesterfield. Tim Groenewald took three wickets for 18 runs as the Lightning lost half their batsmen for 22 before an unbeaten 65 from 51 balls by Gareth Cross – his highest score for nearly three years – lifted the visitors to 132 for 7.The Falcons slipped to 12 for 2 but 50 from 44 balls by Garry Park saw them to a fifth win in the North Group with 11 balls to spare and condemned the Lightning to a fourth defeat. Lancashire had been on the back foot from the start as Groenewald wrecked the top order by taking a wicket in each of his first three overs and the innings was in tatters at 22 for 5 in the sixth over.Stephen Moore lost his middle stump to the third ball of the match, Steven Croft pulled a short ball to mid-wicket and Paul Horton was lbw playing across one from Charl Langeveldt. Mark Chilton chipped Groenewald tamely to midwicket and when Tom Smith was caught behind driving at Steffan Jones’ first ball, the Lightning were facing humiliation.But Cross hit back with the help of Nathan McCullum and Glen Chapple and a dropped return catch by Robin Peterson in the 14th over when he was on 21. McCullum had been caught at long-off for 14 in Peterson’s previous over and if the South African had held Cross’s low drive, the Lightning would have been 68 for 7.It allowed Cross to make his best Twenty20 score and share a stand of 63 in eight overs with Chapple, who chipped in with 21 off 24 balls before he top-edged a pull to square leg in the last over. Cross had already swept Peterson for six and he signed off in style by pulling the last ball of the innings out of the park as the normally accurate Langeveldt went for 18 from the final over.The Lightning needed early wickets to put pressure on the Falcons and they claimed two in the first three overs with big-hitters Loots Bosman and Wes Durston both failing. Durston was bowled for three pulling Simon Kerrigan and Bosman was stumped for nine giving McCullum the charge with the total on 12.Another quick wicket would have caused some jitters in the home camp but skipper Greg Smith and Park added 47 in seven overs although Tom Smith thought he had Park caught behind on nine off what was signalled a wide by Vanburn Holder.Smith drove Stephen Parry to long-off in the 10th over but Park and Peterson took the Falcons to within sight of victory by adding 55 in seven overs.Although Peterson was needlessly run out for 29 attempting a second and Park sliced a drive to backward point, John Sadler ended the Lightning’s hopes of a late comeback by lifting Parry for six over midwicket before Jon Clare cut Chapple for the winning boundary.

The West Indies allrounder comes in as a pre-draft signing with the hope of improving on last season

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2024West Indies captain Hayley Matthews will return to Melbourne Renegades after the club secured her as a pre-draft signing on a one-year deal.Matthews joined amid much fanfare last season when taken as the third pick in the draft having produced some stunning performance for West Indies including her spectacular innings against Australia at North Sydney Oval.However, she struggled to replicate that with 255 runs at 19.61 and a strike-rate of 114.34 in a forgettable season for Renegades, who finished bottom with just two wins, although she did finish as their joint-leading wicket-taker with 14 at 27.64.Renegades’ prospects for the 2024-25 season will be boosted by the availability of Sophie Molineux after injury. Tayla Vlaeminck also missed the full campaign and is currently off contract.”We haven’t achieved what we’ve wanted to the last couple of years but with some key members back and some new additions cooking up as well, I’m confident we can go out there and put it all together,” Matthews said.Matthews is the fourth overseas player to be signed ahead of the WBBL draft following Amelia Kerr (Sydney Sixers), Nadine de Klerk (Brisbane Heat) and Marizanne Kapp (Melbourne Stars).Meanwhile, in domestic moves the two Sydney clubs have bolstered their pace attacks. Courtney Sippel, who is part of the Australia A squad to face India A next month, has signed a three-deal with Sixers to move from Heat while Taneale Peschel has moved to Thunder from Perth Scorchers.”At the Scorchers, I’ve been given…every opportunity, but I felt like I’d been stagnant for the last season or two,” Peschel said. “I always play the safe card and I’ve always stayed in WA and thought, okay, I’m still getting opportunity, I’ll stay here. I think just this year, something clicked.”I thought, I’ve got to try something else. I’ve got to stop playing a safe card. Who knows what something like a change to another team can offer my career.”Peschel, 29, was talked out of retirement earlier in her career by Lisa Keightley, the former Western Australia and Scorchers coach, who is now in charge of Thunder.”Taneale was playing club cricket, and she was the fastest bowler there, the best bowler there, and I just thought she had the potential to give it another crack at a higher level,” Keightley said.”Taneale is a highly skilled bowler and has pace that not many have. It’s what we are after to compliment our medium pacers. She has bowled at key times for the Scorchers, in the power play and at the death and done really well.”

The hosts will need more from the likes of Shakib and Mushfiqur if they are to force the series into a decider

Mohammad Isam02-Mar-2023

Big picture – Can the likes of Mushfiqur and Shakib stand up?

England know all too well the importance of taking a 1-0 lead against Bangladesh in Dhaka. The last time it happened, in 2016, England ended up winning the series 2-1 despite the home side bouncing back with a win in the second game. In fact, the last time Bangladesh won a bilateral ODI series after losing the first match was nearly eight years ago, against South Africa.This simple fact underlines Bangladesh’s dominance at home in the last decade. They have lost just two bilateral series at home in this period. It also means England’s three-wicket win in the first ODI on Wednesday was a big deal. They broke through Bangladesh’s fort by playing in a very different way than they are used to. Conditions obviously varied, with the Shere Bangla National Stadium offering a lot more to the spinners.Still, England used predominantly their seamers to attack and restrict the home side. They bowled Bangladesh out for 209, before Dawid Malan’s unbeaten century arrested their own batting slide to seal the win. It was a great effort from a batter who had a stealthy local experience: Malan has played more than 50 matches in Bangladesh in the last ten years.Related

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But more experienced players of these conditions, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, didn’t quite do justice to their billing. Their dismissals in the middle overs, both out slogging spinners, prompted a readjustment from the rest of Bangladesh’s batting line-up. Najmul Hossain Shanto couldn’t kick on from his maiden ODI fifty, while Mahmudullah got out batting in first gear.Both teams will therefore look for batting improvements. Malan’s knock was the only innings of substance for England while Bangladesh needs their batters to make best use of the starts. What would however encourage both sides is their disciplined bowling. Taskin Ahmed and the Bangladesh spinners bowled their heart out. They couldn’t take the remaining three wickets, but they were defending a pretty low total.England’s bowlers looked to have understood the conditions well too, particularly Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali who ensured Bangladesh’s scoring never went too far. The second ODI promises to be another tight affair. The home side wouldn’t want to let go of their Dhaka dominance.

Form guide

Bangladesh LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWWW

In the spotlight

It has taken Najmul Hossain Shanto 16 ODIs to reach his first half-century in the format, the second-slowest Bangladeshi to the mark (Litton Das took 17 matches to reach the milestone). It is an important stepping stone for Shanto, who has been trying to establish himself in internationals for the last two years. Admittedly, it is still early days but even Bangladesh’s all-time best batters have taken time to establish themselves, so Shanto has some company. Still, his dismissal for 58 in the first ODI could have been avoided with a bit more concentration.What Shanto couldn’t do, Dawid Malan did quite well. He didn’t allow the low run-rate or falling wickets at the other end get to him. Instead, Malan picked up crucial boundaries, and formed small but meaningful partnerships to smother Bangladesh’s charge on Wednesday evening. It was his second successive century, and fourth in 16 ODIs, but more importantly, he handed England a difficult win. Malan has done so well in his short ODI career, that he is now close to locking his place in the World Cup squad later in the year.

Team news

Ebadot Hossain and Hasan Mahmud are options if Bangladesh feel the Dhaka pitch isn’t suited to Mustafizur Rahman. The hosts have also drafted Shamim Hossain in to the squad for the second ODI.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Mustafizur RahmanEngland started the series with Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Rehan Ahmed and Reece Topley on the bench. Rehan has been ill so appears unlikely to play but they are expected to rotate their seamers throughout the tour.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 James Vince, 5 Jos Buttler (capt, wk), 6 Will Jacks, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Saqib Mahmood/Jofra Archer, 11 Reece Topley/Mark WoodShakib Al Hasan reacts to a missed chance•Associated Press

Pitch and conditions

Dew could prompt the team winning the toss to bowl first. It won’t be the worst decision in Dhaka as the ball will still have a bit of variable bounce with turn in the day time. The weather remains dry, but it is getting warm.

Stats and trivia

Assistant coach fears damaging long-term effects of Covid bubbles on players

Aadam Patel26-Jan-2022Paul Collingwood believes that the Ashes were “one step too far” and that he is genuinely concerned about the long-term implications on the mental health of players that Covid bubbles are causing.Speaking in Barbados, where he is standing in for Chris Silverwood as head coach during England’s T20I series against West Indies, and on the island where he became England’s first ever World Cup-winning captain, Collingwood spoke explicitly on the realities of life in the bubble, and fears that the long-term impact of the pandemic on cricketers may be severely damaging.”I don’t think people have understood the impact and the effects that these bubbles have had,” Collingwood said. “Going to the Ashes off the back of a tough bubble in Dubai, I think was literally one step too far.”You can’t even explain what it’s like until you experience it. The simple fact is you cannot walk out of your front door and as soon as you’re told that you cannot do something as simple as going for a coffee, and you are penned in with the same guys. A lot of people will say ‘that must be fun’ and ‘you’ve got a lovely hotel’ [but] it hits you.Related

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“Take someone like Chris Woakes, the most loveable and down-to-earth guy. I have seen him in some serious mental states. We have seen Ben Stokes, someone we consider to be the most mentally tough cricketer in the world, being hit by this. I just hope there are no ramifications moving forward because when they come, they won’t be obvious next week or the week after. These are things that might come out down the line. That’s what scares me.”The England players underwent strict quarantine on the Gold Coast, and managed only two full days of match practice going into the first Test in Brisbane. Rory Burns’ golden duck set the tone for a dismal series as England were bowled out for 147 on the first day and went on to lose 4-0, hanging on for a draw in Sydney while nine wickets down.Despite England’s hammering, Collingwood stressed that England were facing an impossible task. “I reckon if you had given us the best England cricketers in the Ashes from the last 100 years and put them in the same environment that those boys have lived in over the past two years with the preparation that we had going into this Ashes even they wouldn’t have had a chance,” he said.Collingwood was part of the England squad that won the 2010-11 Ashes down under and understands precisely the physical and mental levels required to compete in Australia. He retired from international cricket after that winter and since then, England have failed to win a Test match in Australia, across 15 attempts.Collingwood was part of a group alongside Silverwood, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Woakes and Mark Wood that spent six weeks in a bubble in the UAE, before flying to Australia for their quarantine period on the Gold Coast and insisted that the lack of meaningful preparation only compounded the situation.And while he admitted that England made mistakes at the toss and in selection, he said that players should be praised for the efforts they had made in getting through the series in a strict environment, suggesting that Cricket Australia should have agreed to a compromise rather than packing five Tests into a short window during the pandemic.Collingwood has been touted as a possible successor for Chris Silverwood•Getty Images

“You are burnt out from the start after your team has been in the intense environment of a World Cup,” he said. “It wasn’t club cricket that these players were coming from. Then there’s just two days of preparation before going into the Ashes. Australia is the hardest place to go to when you’ve got your best team in form and everyone’s playing consistently. We’ve seen that from the past.”Yes, we made mistakes, 100%. We made selection mistakes, we made toss mistakes, but the fact we actually turned up and agreed to a five-match Ashes series, the guys should be given medals for that. It would’ve been much better if we’d done two matches and then three next year. That would’ve been a great compromise.”But no, Australia were not bothered that they were going to receive an England team who were mentally fatigued, they just wanted to get the product out there. They just wanted the Ashes. These guys deserve medals, not criticism. They should be told ‘well done’ for even going. It’s the equivalent of the England football team being asked to go to a World Cup, then from that bubble into the Euros. Would you expect a performance from that scenario? It’s ludicrous.”Ahead of another hectic schedule for England in 2022, which includes tours to West Indies, Netherlands, Pakistan and Australia, as well as a jam-packed home summer and another T20 World Cup in October, Collingwood hopes that at least in England, they can operate without bubbles, but fears that the damage may already have been done – not just for England players but also for cricketers around the world.”I almost think it is too late to get these messages across,” he said. “These sorts of things should have been brought out in the middle of last summer. We saw the signs then when boys were fading, and it is not healthy for the game. This isn’t just us. We have obviously played the most amount of cricket, but it will catch up with other teams as well.”

Sussex collapse to 109 for 9 in second innings, an overnight lead of 136

ECB Reporters Network08-Sep-2020Spinners Dan Moriarty and Amar Virdi put the skids under Sussex’s second innings at the Kia Oval to reduce them to 109 for 9 in a frenetic final session of the day and bowl Surrey dramatically back into the final Bob Willis Trophy fixture.Moriarty took a career-best 6 for 60 from 16 overs and Virdi 3 for 31 from 13 and it took a 40-run ninth wicket partnership between former Surrey fast bowler Stuart Meaker and Jack Carson to rescue Sussex from the depths of 62 for 8.Meaker remains on a fighting 32 not out, but Moriarty had Carson caught at slip for 6 three overs from stumps and tomorrow Sussex will resume with an overall lead of 136.But Surrey will hope they are not chasing much more than 150 in the final innings on a dry surface as they seek a first win of the competition, following four defeats in the south group, even after earlier battling their way to 388 in reply to Sussex’s first innings 415.It was a stand of 112 in 24 overs for the seventh wicket between Will Jacks and Jamie Overton which first rallied Surrey on day three, after they had initially slipped to 256 for 6 after resuming on 171 for 4, but Sussex still had a halfway lead of 27.That soon didn’t seem much of an advantage, however, as 20-year-old slow left-armer Moriarty took the new ball, alongside Overton, and whistled out the first three Sussex batsmen.Aaron Thomason even survived an edge to Rory Burns at slip before falling later in Moriarty’s opening over for 9 when another delivery turned sharply for keeper Ben Foakes to pull off a smart stumping.Tom Haines had just driven Moriarty for six in his third over when, to the very next ball, he advanced again but miscued an ill-judged push-drive high to Hashim Amla’s right at mid off. The veteran former South Africa batting star made good ground to dive and hold a tremendous catch.Moriarty, in the same over, then had Harry Finch held at slip by Burns for 13 and 31 for 3 soon became 58 for 6 as off spinner Virdi, replacing Overton, struck three times in his first four overs to send back Ben Brown, Delray Rawlins and James Coles.Virdi, already Surrey’s senior spinner at the age of 22, had Brown leg-before on the back foot for 7 and Rawlins caught at backward point trying to force a ball which turned and bounced. The 16-year-old debutant Coles, Sussex’s youngest first-class cricketer, was dropped at second slip on 1 off Moriarty before, on 10, falling lbw to one from Virdi that scuttled into his pads.Moriarty completed a maiden ten-wicket match haul, in just his second first-class game, by spinning one out of the footholds to have left-hander George Garton leg-before for 1 in his seventh over and then, in his next over, seeing David Wiese lift a drive straight to short extra cover.Earlier, Jacks finished unbeaten on 84 from 119 balls, with ten fours, but Surrey’s first innings ended in something of a flurry of wickets too as 19-year-old off spinner Carson took the last three tailend scalps to earn himself deserved career-best figures of 5 for 93 from 34.5 impressive overs.Overton, on his Surrey red-ball debut, made 55 from 78 balls with a six and eight fours before mis-hitting Wiese’s medium pace to mid on and Surrey lost their last four wickets for 20 runs as Carson had James Taylor caught at long off for 3 before yorking Moriarty for 1 and having last man Virdi caught off bat and pad at short leg two balls later.Sussex had also bowled well in the morning session to restrict Surrey from their overnight 171 for 4 to 259 for 6 at lunch, with Coles bowling Foakes for 39 with his tenth ball in first-class cricket after being given two overs immediately before the interval.Coles was mobbed by his teammates after his magic moment, producing a classic slow left-arm delivery which pitched on middle and took Foakes’ off stump out of the ground as one of county cricket’s most in-form batsmen groped forward defensively and was beaten by the turn.Rawlins had already struck an important blow for Sussex with his slow left-armers, claiming the prized wicket Amla, who had started the day on six but was leg-before for 26 in the 23rd over of the morning after battling for more than an hour against Carson and the accurate fast-medium of both Henry Crocombe and Wiese.Bermudan all-rounder Rawlins, introduced to bowl his left-arm spin in the 67th over of the innings, straightened one just enough to beat Amla’s forward defensive and hit him on the back pad in front of off stump.Foakes batted in composed and responsible fashion before succumbing to Coles, but after lunch Jacks and Overton counter-attacked in increasingly breezy fashion to bring Surrey back into the match.

The opener struck her maiden T20I century to help West Indies clinch the series 3-0

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2019Hayley Matthews’ maiden T20I century helped West Indies women rout Ireland by 72 runs in the third and final T20I, thus clinching the series 3-0.Matthews’ 107 not out off 62 balls, studded with seven fours and nine sixes, powered West Indies to 188 for 1. Along with Chedean Nation, she added 162 in a record second-wicket stand – it was the fourth-highest stand in women’s T20Is and the highest for the second wicket. In response, Ireland opener Mary Waldron scored an unbeaten 55 off 62 balls but they could manage only 116 for 3 in their 20 overs.Kim Garth, captaining Ireland once again in the absence of Laura Delany, put West Indies in after winning the toss. Matthews and Britney Cooper added 26 for the opening stand in five overs before medium-pacer Sophie MacMahon got Cooper caught-behind. Nation then joined Matthews and the two hammered the bowlers by scoring at 10.80 runs per over.West Indies brought up their 100 on the last ball of the 14th over. Until then, Matthews was still on a relatively sedate 39-ball 41 but the next four balls – bowled by legspinner Celeste Raack – produced 22 runs, including three successive sixes. After that, Matthews hit at least one boundary per over, except the 18th. She brought up her century off 59 balls with a four off the first ball of the final over, while Nation remained unbeaten on 63 off 46.It was never going to be an easy chase; a target of 189 or more has been chased down only once in women’s T20Is. Ireland themselves have never touched 180. Still, they fought, with Waldron and Garth putting up 94 for the second wicket. But they couldn’t keep up with the climbing asking rate.Waldron brought up her maiden half-century – off 59 balls – in the 19th over but the result was decided well before that.

An unbeaten 18-run stand for the tenth wicket took India past the finish line after the hosts were reduced to 190 for 9

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2018
Smriti Mandhana flicks the ball in front of square•BCCI

How would you describe the 2017 Women’s World Cup final? A thriller? If so, the next ODI between India and England turned out to be nothing less – this time in the opener of the three-match series in Nagpur.It took a last-wicket stand of 18, between Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav, to help the World Cup runners-up beat World Champions England in a thrilling finish. Before their performance with the bat, the two India bowlers also took seven wickets to dismiss England for 207.A collapse, one reminiscent of their failed run-chase in the World Cup final at Lord’s, had reduced India from 166 for 3 to 190 for 9, but with 18 needed off the last three overs, Poonam joined Bisht at the crease and scored four runs – all in singles – in the 48th over.A front foot no-ball off the first delivery of the 49th over from stand-in captain Anya Shrubsole, the Player of the Match in the World Cup final, conceded five as Bisht found the backward-point boundary. Three nervy singles and another four, from Poonam, made it 12 runs off the over. Shrubsole hung her head, clutching her knee in dismay, and India needed two to win off six balls.Bisht then worked a single towards third man off Natalie Sciver, before a wide down the leg side sealed victory in 49.2 overs. The run-a-ball scores of 7 by Bisht and 12 by Poonam handed India their first win in the 50-over format this home season, following a 3-0 hiding against Australia in Baroda last month.India should not have struggled in the low chase after Smriti Mandhana made 86. With the equation reading 37 needed off 72 balls, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma and Jhulan Goswami played out 46 balls for 13 runs, before left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone removed all three batsmen in consecutive overs. Her 4 for 37 followed offspinner Danielle Hazell’s 2 for 24 that had left the hosts wobbling at 41 for 2 inside the Powerplay. One of Hazell’s wickets was that of Mithali Raj, lbw for a duck in her 192nd ODI appearance.Georgia Elwiss is bowled by Ekta Bisht•BCCI

Mandhana subsequently steered the chase with two fifty partnerships en route to her sixth half-century in seven matches. With Harmanpreet Kaur (21 off 38) she added 51 for the fourth wicket and shepherded India close to the hundred-run mark, before sharing a 71-run stand with Deepti Sharma. Variable bounce and turn on the Nagpur pitch forced Mandhana to be cautious, but she managed to hit five fours and three sixes.England had also collapsed after opting to bat. They slid from 71 for no loss to 124 for 6 in the middle overs. Leading the undoing for the visitors was legspinner Poonam, who dismissed Danielle Wyatt (27) and Amy Jones in the 12th over. She followed up with a second caught-and-bowled dismissal in the 16th over – Tammy Beaumont for 37 – before Bisht ran through the middle order with three wickets.A semblance of resistance, however, came from Fran Wilson, whose 78-ball 45 hauled England to 181 for 8 on the back of three partnerships, including the 40-run eight-wicket stand with Hazell. After Wilson holed out in the 46th over, Hazell provided a final flourish. Her 52-ball 33 lifted England past 200, but Bisht bowled her in the final over to set India a target of 208.

Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the rest of Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa with a fractured hand

Firdose Moonda22-Jan-2017Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the rest of Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa with a fractured hand. He sustained the injury during the shortened opening T20I on Friday night, at Centurion, when he was struck while trying to take a catch in his follow through in his first over.Farhaan Behardien hit a low full toss straight back to Pradeep, who put up his hand in an attempt to take the catch, but it served more as evasive action as the ball was heading straight at his face. He managed to complete his two overs, but was ruled out of Sunday’s T20I at the Wanderers and was spotted with his right hand in a sling during the match. He will return to Sri Lanka this week.Sri Lanka’s other injury concern is opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka, who was earmarked to open the batting in the T20s but has hampered by a back injury. Gunathilake is being assessed by Sri Lanka’s medical team and a call will be taken on his availability as soon as possible. Sri Lanka’s team manager Ranjit Fernando told ESPNcricinfo the prospects of Gunathilake playing in this series are “not good.”