Yes, you read that right, the setting sun was at an awkward angle and straight in the batsmen’s eye

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-20191:53

When a tiger and a pig stopped play

Ten overs into India’s chase, only one over after the dinner break, play was stopped for more than half an hour in the Napier ODI because of the sun. Yes, the sun. The setting sun was at an awkward angle and straight in the batsman’s eye.McLean Park has a previous for it with the angle of the sun at around 7pm making it unsafe to play cricket. Two years ago, a T20I between Bangladesh and New Zealand was held up because of the same issue. On January 19 this year, a Super Smash match between Central Districts and Canterbury was also stopped for a while. The organisers were actually hoping for some cloud cover during the ODI between India and New Zealand.

Which Law was applied to halt play because of the sun?

• 2.7.1: It is solely for the umpires together to decide whether either conditions of ground, weather or light or exceptional circumstances mean that it would be dangerous or unreasonable for play to take place. Conditions shall not be regarded as either dangerous or unreasonable merely because they are not ideal.

• 2.7.2: Conditions shall be regarded as dangerous if there is actual and foreseeable risk to the safety of any player or umpire.

• 2.7.3: Conditions shall be regarded as unreasonable if, although posing no risk to safety, it would not be sensible for play to proceed.

The reason this happens at McLean Park is because of the east-west alignment of the pitches at the ground. Most cricket grounds have pitches running north to south.ALSO READ: All the weird reasons that have stopped a cricket match feat. burnt toast, pigs and a car driven onto the pitch”There’s nothing we can really do, to be honest, and it’s not the first time it has happened,” Central Districts chief executive Pete de Wet told , alluding to the Bangladesh T20I. De Wet hoped the sun-strike would happen during the innings break, which it did, but the play that resumed at 7.15pm caught the end of it on a lovely summer’s day.South African umpire Shaun George said he had never seen such an occurrence in his 14-year umpiring career. “The setting sun is in the eyes of the players and we need to think of the safety of the players as well as umpires,” he said. He also said the move to go off was initiated by the umpires. “There was an awareness of it by the players but they didn’t appeal.”New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said at the press conference there was no other option but to wait in such a situation. “We haven’t had to deal with too many sun-strikes. But we knew that in some of the domestic T20 games that had been the case… and it’s fairly considerable so it did have to happen because it’s hard to move the sun and hard to move the grandstand. So we didn’t have any other option and we had to sit down for a bit.”

The trio will be inducted on Monday night at the Australia Cricket Awards in Melbourne

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2019Dean Jones, Billy Murdoch and Cathryn Fitzpatrick will be inducted into the Australia Cricket Hall of Fame at the Australian Cricket Awards in Melbourne on Monday night.Jones is perhaps best remembered for his heroic double century in the 1986 tied Test in Madras which he made despite suffering severe illness, but he also helped revolutionise one-day cricket in the late 80s and early 90s, playing a key role in Australia’s 1987 World Cup victory and he was ranked the No. 1 ODI batsman for four years between 1989 and 1992.”A game changer, he was renowned as one of the best runners between the wickets and being one of the best outfielders of his generation,” Hall of Fame chairman Peter King said. “He was one of the key reasons that Australia claimed the World Cup in 1987 while his heroics with the bat to score a double century in oppressive conditions in the famous Tied Test between Australia and India in 1986 remains legendary in the history of Australian cricket.”Fitzpatrick, renowned as one of the fastest bowlers to have played, is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs having represented Australia for over 15 years and starred in the 1997 and 2005 World Cup victories, then went on to coach them to T20 World Cup wins in 2012 and 2014 alongside the 2013 World Cup.”Cathryn Fitzpatrick was regarded by team-mates and opponents as the world’s premier female fast bowler over her decorated career,” King said. “Her dedication to the game ensured she regularly bowled at a sharp pace which batters around the world often struggled to handle. She was dangerous right to the end of her career, claiming a six-wicket haul – that included a hat-trick – in her second last match.”Murdoch was the second captain of the Australia Test team and played 19 matches between 1880 and 1890, one of which – his last – came for England against South Africa in 1892 after he had qualified to represent them. He was the first player to score a Test double hundred, at The Oval in 1884, and made nearly 17,000 first-class runs with a career-best 321 not out against Victoria in 1881-82.In 1884-85, Murdoch led the Australians in a pay dispute having been denied his demand of 50 percent of gate takings. It was six years until he played another Test for Australia.

The fast bowler took four of the first five wickets to reduce Tasmania to 5 for 23 and more or less put the result beyond doubt inside 10 overs

The Report by Daniel Brettig23-Mar-2019A shattering spell from Sean Abbott obliterated Tasmania and vaulted New South Wales into their first Sheffield Shield final since 2014, to be played against Victoria at the Junction Oval in Melbourne from Thursday.The Blues captain Kurtis Patterson made a tantalising declaration on the final morning at Bellerive Oval, setting the Tigers 270 from a minimum of 112 overs and backing his bowlers to claim the outright points they needed to ensure that Western Australia could not leap them into second place to reach the final.But not even he would have reckoned that Abbott would conjure the kind of destructive burst of inswing that he would subsequently deliver, claiming four of the first five wickets to reduce Tasmania to 5 for 23 and more or less put the result beyond doubt inside 10 overs.As he has done all season, Matthew Wade offered the Tigers’ most substantial resistance, clattering his way to 65 in quick time to finish the season with 1021 runs, joining Marcus Harris as the only two batsmen to pass 1000 runs for the Shield season, the first players to do so since 2015.However, Abbott returned to pouch a return catch from Wade, and finished things off with the final two wickets to return the figures of 7 for 45 and identify himself as a key figure for Victoria to counter in order to win the Shield in a final that, for the first time since its inception, will not automatically award the trophy to the home side in the event of a draw. Instead, the team with the highest first-innings score will be declared the winner if there is no outright result.

Nearly a year after retirement, AB de Villiers said his staggered schedule has worked out well

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2019AB de Villiers’ decision to quit international cricket has made him sharper, the batsman said after putting in a Man-of-the-Match performance during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first win of the season. De Villiers made an unbeaten 59 against Kings XI Punjab, his third fifty in seven games this season. Although that is a decent ratio, de Villiers has failed to get past 20 in four games, a return that has put strain on a Royal Challengers batting order that still depends majorly on his and Virat Kohli’s performances.De Villiers admitted that he had got himself out a couple of times without converting, but said that hadn’t bogged him down.”I’ve got too much respect for the game to be upset about that,” de Villiers said at the post-match presentation in Mohali. “Obviously I want to be there at the end every time, winning games for the team. I’ve hit the ball well, I’ve got in many times, and I just haven’t gotten far on a few occasions. But as I said, I’ve got too much respect for the game of cricket to get ahead of myself and get too hard on myself. You’re always just one knock away of from being in that confidence zone and hopefully I’ll maintain this kind of form throughout the tournament now.”Since his retirement in May 2018, de Villiers has played in four T20 tournaments – the Mzansi Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, and the IPL. These appearances add up to 28 innings, eight of which have featured single-digit scores. Before this IPL season, he had made only four 50-plus scores during this period.De Villiers suggested that these up-and-down performances were not a consequence of his reduced playing time at the top level and that, if anything, the break has energised him.”That’s [being sharp’s] exactly the reason why I decided not to play international cricket, it’s to be as sharp as I can in other forms of the game around the world. I can’t keep playing 10-11 months a year and keep being sharp after 15 years of international cricket. This kind of tournament, I’m playing every now and then, every 2-3 months. [It] really keeps me energetic. I get to work with university guys back home. With some of the local guys and local youngsters, which really gives me the energy and really motivates me to be better for some of the youngsters back home and be an example for them,” he said.International cricket or not, de Villiers was gushing in his approval of Royal Challengers signing his former team-mate Dale Steyn. With the near-impossible task of keeping a perfect win record from here on to stay in contention for the playoffs, de Villiers said Steyn’s presence would boost the team.”I think it was a fantastic move to get Dale involved,” he said. “We all know what he’s capable of. One thing is for sure, you’ll get 200 percent from him. He’ll give his absolute best every single time he bowls for the team and it’s just going to be great to have a guy of that caliber and another great human being in our team.”Yes, we know what we have to do now – we have to win a lot of games of cricket, but the next step is Mumbai, at the Wankhede staium. We love playing cricket there. We’ll have to do our basics and bowl it up like we did today and hopefully more success is around the corner.”

Durham pulled off a comfortable DLS chase after restricting Warwickshire in the field

ECB Reporters Network26-Apr-2019Durham returned to winning ways in the Royal London Cup with a comfortable seven-wicket Duckworth-Lewis-Stern victory over Warwickshire at Edgbaston.A solid all-round display saw Durham bounce back from their North Group defeat at Worcester two days earlier. They restricted Warwickshire to 244 for 8 with tidy bowling, led by Ben Raine and Liam Trevaskis, supported by excellent fielding.Tim Ambrose, Chris Woakes and Sam Hain made half-centuries but the scoring-rate was slowed for too long by the need to shore up the innings after the loss of early wickets. The home side’s total looked under-par and even more so when, after an hour’s rain delay, the DLS equation left Durham requiring 211 in 36 overs.Alex Lees, Graham Clark and Gareth Harte eased Durham to victory with 14 balls to spare to ensure they remain right in the heart of the qualification race.Warwickshire, meanwhile, without a win after four games, desperately need victory in the derby against Worcestershire at New Road on Sunday. Added to their problems is yet another injury concern as Ambrose did not keep wicket after suffering some hip discomfort between innings.Put in, the home side received a perky start from Ed Pollock who collected 22 in fours and sixes but was then smartly caught by Scott Steel, running round the midwicket boundary, off Brydon Carse. Steel then showed safe hands again, at deep extra cover, to remove Dom Sibley off Trevaskis.Ambrose and Hain added 69 in 15 overs before the latter was bowled behind his legs by Gareth Harte. That was the first of three wickets in 23 balls as Will Rhodes chipped Carse to midwicket and Liam Banks lifted Raine to long off to leave the Bears 142 for 5.Woakes injected some momentum with a 43-ball half-century but Durham fielded tigerishly, turning a number of apparent boundary hits into ones or twos. They also caught like cats, with Harte pouching Ambrose at midwicket, Steel pouncing like a panther for a third time when Alex Thomson skied Carse, and Clark making no mistake when Woakes lifted Matty Potts to long-on.The DLS calculation left Warwickshire badly needing early wickets but they took only one, when Steel was brilliantly caught at cover by a diving Sibley off Olly Hannon-Dalby.Clark and Lees were little troubled in a stand of 93 in 14 overs, the former reaching his second List A half-century, from 47 balls, in the grand manner with a six hoisted into the Hollies Stand off George Panayi. He then pulled a Thomson long-hop to midwicket and Woakes swiftly had Cameron Bancroft caught by sub keeper Alex Mellor but Lees skilfully shepherded his side to victory in an unbroken partnership of 79 with Harte.

Whirlwind knocks from Buttler, Woakes keep England alive till the end before they fall short

Ankur Dhawan25-May-2019Something about England seems to inspire Steven Smith into producing his absolute best. The warm-up at Southampton, where he was greeted with hostility from a sizable crowd, was no different.He brought up his fourth fifty-plus score since returning from his year-long ban, converting this one into a hundred, which formed the backbone of Australia’s 297 for nine. England may have fancied chasing it down, but on a two-paced surface, it proved just out of reach despite stand-in captain Jos Buttler’s brilliance.England were down to only 11 fit players at the start, instead of the permitted 15. In a space of three balls in the seventh over, injury scares took a pandemic turn with Mark Wood jogging off having halted in his run-up, and his substitute Jofra Archer went off two balls later as he lost his footing while sliding at the deep midwicket boundary.Later, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson split the skin on the finger of his right hand and was out of batting contention. Substitutes, including assistant coach Paul Collingwood who turns 43 in a day, came in and went off through the revolving door. Wood also went for a precautionary scan, which James Vince confirmed “wasn’t too serious.”Australia were unperturbed by the chaos as David Warner and Shaun Marsh batted steadily, adding 63 after the early loss of captain Aaron Finch. Then Warner holed out off a short one from Liam Plunkett to mark Smith’s arrival.Steven Smith acknowledges his century•Getty Images

Smith batted fluently without ever looking in a hurry, placing good balls into empty pockets and dealing with the bad ones more severely. He had support through the innings, without a major contribution from anyone. Marsh departed for 30 and Usman Khawaja made 31 before being stumped off a wide one from Dawson as he revealed his intention too early.Had this been an ODI, Australia may have been irked by the starts squandered but in a warm-up it worked just fine that everyone had a hit. Marcus Stoinis was another one who got in and couldn’t go on, run-out as Smith called him for what should have been an easy second had the allrounder not been ball-watching. That brought in Alex Carey and through him Australia found late impetus.He struck a 14-ball 30 before being brilliantly caught by a diving Tom Curran. At the other end Smith opened up with a six over extra cover and one over the keeper’s head, bringing up his hundred with a nudge to square leg in between.The Australia innings ended amid controversy and confusion as Smith was given out caught and bowled off what seemed like a bump ball. Curiously, he was willing to walk off till he saw the replay and felt differently. The third umpire, however, thought the evidence was conclusive to rule Smith out.England began their chase nervously but luck was on their side. Jason Roy was struck on the helmet, dropped at slip by Smith and nearly dragged one on. Those moments of uncertainty seemed to stir him into action as he suddenly discovered the middle of his bat, but the surface was already showing signs of variable bounce as some reared up from a length and some scooted through to the keeper from similar areas.Wickets came soon after as Jonny Bairstow spliced Jason Behrendorff to mid-on and Roy jabbed at one that held in the surface and bounced higher than he expected to be caught at short cover. Ben Stokes struggled for timing during the course of his stay, which was curtailed by Nathan Lyon, as he threw one wide seeing Stokes advance and had him stumped.That brought Buttler to the crease and with him out there, nothing seemed impossible. He looked in imperious form from the get-go, dismissing any theories about the need to get one’s eye in. But even at that stage he seemed to be batting within himself. That became apparent when he tore into Nathan Coulter-Nile, smoking three fours and two sixes off an over.A walloping like that would have forced Finch’s hand in an ODI but here he could afford to persist with the pacer and was rewarded next over as he induced an error from Buttler off a well disguised knuckle ball.The onslaught brought parity to the contest despite the fall of James Vince for 64 which left England needing 101 off 97 with five wickets in hand. Chris Woakes, playing purely as a batsman enhanced his reputation with a composed 44-ball 40 that kept England in the hunt, but his run-out in search of a quick single that would have brought him back on strike in the 48th over left England with too much to do.

India’s chief selector also explains that Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal were picked as World Cup replacements on team management’s requests

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai21-Jul-2019The 3D sequels aren’t over yet. Among the clarifications India’s chief selector MSK Prasad made on Sunday were a couple related to World Cup selections. Prasad stressed the decision to leave out Ambati Rayudu did not have any bias. He also explained why Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal had been picked as replacements for the injured Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar respectively, and admitted the choices may have seemed “confusing” to people.The Rayudu riddle
The World Cup final hangover may be wearing off but Indian cricket’s obsession with a discarded No. 4 is not. When India’s World Cup squad was announced in April, Rayudu had been left out in favour of Vijay Shankar, with Prasad saying the latter brought “three dimensions” to the side. A day after the announcement, Rayudu in a not-so-cryptic tweet said: “Just ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the World Cup.” It was followed by a winking and a smiling emoji. On Sunday, while announcing India’s squads for the West Indies tour, Prasad said he had “really enjoyed” that tweet. “Frankly speaking, it was a lovely tweet, I really enjoyed it. Seriously. It was a very timely one, very sarcastic. it was fantastic one. I don’t know how it struck him.”He also addressed the “emotional” side of Rayudu’s decision to retire from all forms of cricket earlier this month.
Although he had been marked as India’s No. 4 by Virat Kohli last year, the selectors didn’t pick him to go to England even after Vijay Shankar was injured and the team needed replacements. Prasad insisted there was no bias in that decision, and added that his committee had backed Rayudu previously.”First of all, how much emotions have gone through anybody, the same emotions also have gone through the selection committee,” Prasad said on Sunday. “When we pick any player and he does well, we feel so happy for him. Similarly, when someone, out of emotions, goes out in this way, selection committee members also feel for it.”But, having said that, with regard to the decision that was taken, it was devoid of any bias or any favouritism. From the beginning, I have been telling why we have picked Vijay Shankar, why we have picked Rishabh Pant or Mayank Agarwal. Somewhere, it is definitely related to Rayudu’s case also. There’s no second thought, there’s nothing against that.”I will give you a small example on Rayudu. When Rayudu was picked on the basis of the 2017-18 T20 performance, we picked him in the one-day side, there was a lot of criticism but we had some thoughts about him. Subsequently, when he failed a fitness test, this selection committee backed him and we put him through a fitness programme for a month, and we ensured that he comes back fit and comes into the side. Once he came into the side we backed him, but due to certain permutations and combinations of the side, we couldn’t pick him. That doesn’t make this selection committee or me, in person, biased.”I hope you will understand that there was a certain programme that was set to see that Rayudu should come into the side. There’s nothing that we did against any particular person. So how much Rayudu is emotional, we are also emotional. We as ex-cricketers also feel for him. That’s it, that’s what I can say.”Getty Images

Picking Pant for Dhawan, Agarwal for Vijay Shankar
When an inexperienced middle-order batsman replaced an injured opener, and then an uncapped opener took an injured allrounder’s place in India’s World Cup squad, it “baffled” several fans and experts, including Sunil Gavaskar. After the side’s semi-final loss to New Zealand, Gavaskar said a batsman like Rayudu should have been in the squad, since he was among the standbys, and could have handled the crisis of being 24 for 4 in a semi-final better.”It is not the selection committee’s decision. It is the team management which has been asking these things,” Gavaskar had said. “We are not saying you are wrong but at the moment what we are seeing didn’t work out, so we need to know.”Prasad addressed these issues on Sunday, clarifying that Pant and Agarwal had been picked on requests made by the team management.”When Shikhar Dhawan got injured, we had a third opener in KL Rahul. At that juncture, after those two-three matches, we didn’t have a left-hander at the top,” Prasad explained. “Since KL Rahul was going to open, the team management requested for a left-hander and we had no choice other than Pant. We were very clear about that. We know what he is capable of. That’s the reason why we had to bring in a left-hander, which actually confused many people thinking why a middle-order batsman has been picked for an opener.”When Vijay Shankar was injured, again a middle-order player was injured, and an opener was brought in. In a game against England, when KL Rahul was trying for a catch, he had a big fall on the boundary line and he didn’t field for the rest of the innings. There was a medical emergency at that stage whether he will be continuing or not. There was so much of a worry factor. At that juncture, a written communication was given to us that we need a back-up opener.”We looked at some of the openers. Some were not in form, the others were injured. That is why we went for Mayank Agarwal. So that is very clear, no confusion on this. I’m sure by the end of the day all these speculations will be clear.”

He does things that are in essence truly remarkable, but does them with such banality that in the end they are barely remarked upon

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle16-Aug-2019If New Zealand are the team that do great things that barely get noticed in the wider cricket world, BJ Watling is the New Zealand of New Zealand. Pull up to a cricket ground when he is in action and watch him closely. Take in his every movement, observe every run he scores, note the difficult takes and the fine catches, drink in his cuts and pulls, revel in Watling, breathe Watling in.Then go home and describe Watling to a friend.He was vital to the team’s cause, and…. oh yeah, he contributed to key moments. But beyond that, be honest, you can’t really remember much. I mean, were you even really watching him? Or were you too busy seething at a Ross Taylor dismissal? Or salivating over a Trent Boult spell? No one would really blame you. Least of all Watling himself. This is his calling in life – to do things that are in essence truly remarkable, but to do them with such utter banality that in the end they are barely remarked upon. You sense he wouldn’t have it any other way.In Galle, on day three, he struck one of those quintessential Watling innings, making 63 not out. Quintessential because, as is often the case, this good Watling innings came with his team in deep trouble, effectively 64 for 4. Quintessential, also, because although the scorecard says he hit five fours, you can barely bring them to mind. Was one of them off a sweep? Come to think of it, does he even play a sweep? A batting style so bland, so nondescript, if it ever committed a crime, you wouldn’t pull it out of a police lineup.And what he does for this New Zealand side, one packed with more great players than you suspect a New Zealand side ever has been, has routinely been the difference between victory and defeat. Specialising in crises is the making of many great players. It is inherently a magnetic and heroic endeavour. When Watling does it though – and man does he do it often – it’s like he is doing no more exceptional a thing than walking down the road to buy groceries. The Galle pitch is treacherous. It has made a fool of all-time greats. Watling negotiated it, no fuss, no chances given, no look-at me shots. Just smart, scrappy batting, and concentrated stubbornness.Ninety-nine innings into his Test career, Watling has six hundreds and 17 half-centuries, but where he really excels is at putting up partnerships. He has been part of two record sixth-wicket stands, with Brendon McCullum, and Kane Williamson, but because he played second fiddle in both, no one really remembers him being in them. When he does lead a partnership, it is generally one of those vital stands with a tailender, and as such do not send any meaningful records tumbling, so no one remembers those for long either. But then what if they had never happened? Where would New Zealand be in this game without the 54-run seventh-wicket stand with Tim Southee? When he bats with the lower order, even normally aggressive tailenders suddenly become workmanlike.Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella is often accused of playing flashy and insubstantial innings, and is basically the opposite of Watling in every way. In this Test, as if even being in the same ground as Watling is enough, Dickwella produced a jaw-droppingly responsible innings (by his standards at least) and put up his own big partnership with No. 9 Suranga Lakmal.All of this is to say nothing of Watling’s keeping, which of course, as with everything, is sublimely proficient, and deeply unsexy. He doesn’t kick up his heels on the diving takes, doesn’t over-celebrate the great stumpings. His appeals are earnest but not pleading. Precise footwork, soft hands, good anticipation – this, instead, is where Watling makes his honest living. He has twice taken nine catches in a match, which is outstanding, but still two catches short of being a record. He has 2.05 dismissals per innings across his career, which again is super, but puts him at only fourth on the all-time list (for keepers with more than 200 career dismissals), behind Adam Gilchrist and Brad Haddin and a certain gloveman from Pakistan. How strange is the space Watling inhabits, that he is both statistically the greatest purveyor of his craft his nation has produced, and yet has slightly worse numbers than Kamran Akmal.If the defining quality of this New Zealand team is to be better at what they do than most imagine they are, no one embodies those virtues better than their wicketkeeper-batsman. In an alternate universe, New Zealand were bundled out for 120, and Sri Lanka have already won this Test. This universe is no sexier for Watling’s presence in it. But it definitely is better.

Sri Lanka’s new captain preserved his perfect record after taking over as Sri Lanka won their third consecutive Test under his leadership to go 1-0 up in the two-match series

The Report by Varun Shetty18-Aug-2019
Dimuth Karunaratne played a big part in preserving his perfect record as Test captain as Sri Lanka brought up their third consecutive win since he took over, brushing New Zealand aside with a six-wicket win on the fifth day and picking up the full 60 points in their first World Test Championship match. In the process, Karunaratne also brought up his first century in 23 innings and his ninth overall as the hosts bested the previous record chase in Galle – 99 – by some distance.Karunaratne came out just as positively as he had in the last session of the fourth day, adopting a simple strategy of working the spinners square on either side, off both front and back foot. In scoring 122, Karunaratne hit only six fours and a six, which belied his overall approach to prioritise a brisk scoring rate. To that end, he stepped out early in the day for a delightful flick off Ajaz Patel for a boundary, and then launched the left-arm spinner over the midwicket boundary four overs later to bring up the 150 stand for the opening wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne.Between those two shots, though, were glimpses of the occasionally turbulent theme of his innings. Karunaratne had survived a stumping chance, and at least two legitimate catching chances on the fourth day. Shortly after that flick off Patel, he got a thick outside edge on the cut – a shot that he couldn’t quite control all innings long – that snuck through for a four, and was then dropped by Tom Latham at short leg. It was Latham’s third drop of the innings in that position.That set the tone early in the day, and with every over of nudging and manipulating the field for singles, New Zealand’s resolve was visibly diminishing. Any hope came through Sri Lanka’s misadventures.Thirimanne, ever under scrutiny as a Test player, batted with composure and control throughout the innings in one of Sri Lanka’s most prolific fourth-innings opening stands of all time. If he showed any shakiness during the innings, it was when he swept, and that was the shot that led to his dismissal, Will Somerville getting his man on the review. The opening stand was worth 161.In keeping with the pattern of his short career, Kusal Mendis managed to fit in both exquisite strokeplay and a frustrating surrender in an innings of six balls. With a solid platform laid and the opponents on the mat, his plan seemed to be to attack relentlessly, and this resulted in two pristine shots off Somerville – down the track quickly, using the spin to lift one over midwicket and the other over the long-on boundary. But the daring was short-lived when he swept Patel to midwicket next over, offering New Zealand some optimism with 94 runs to still get.But the arrival of Angelo Mathews brought the calm it always has, and the veteran settled immediately into the role Thirimanne played for Karunaratne. New Zealand were switching bowlers fast, with Kane Williamson even trying himself for the first time in the Test, but the 44-run stand between the senior-most batsmen put Sri Lanka on the doorstep of victory.Karunaratne did eventually nick behind trying to chop outside off stump, in a rare Tim Southee over. But coming in next was Kusal Perera, the architect of Sri Lanka’s miracle chase against South Africa earlier this year. He had no issues slashing deliveries off that line – or dragging them to the leg side – and came out with what looked like the sole intention to finish the chase before lunch.With his boundaries, he forced a four-over extension with 22 runs to get, but fell shortly after for 19-ball 23. Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva didn’t manage to get the runs in that period, but with only six runs to get, the umpires deemed it fit to give Sri Lanka another extension and the chase was sealed with a Mathews flick to fine, seven balls later.

All the transfer and pre-season buzz from the Indian domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2019PunjabFast bowler Barinder Sran has finalised his transfer to Chandigarh after being left out of his home state Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad. He obtained a no-objection certificate from Punjab on Thursday, saying he was not informed by the Punjab selectors why he was left out, and that he did not want to “waste the entire season” by not playing.”They didn’t even give me a valid reason [for dropping me],” Sran told the . “At least I deserved to know the reason why I was dropped. The selectors stopped taking my phone calls. I had no other option. I can’t waste my entire season. So, I decided to make a move and have no regrets.”The 26-year old, who has played six ODIs and two T20Is for India, made his debut for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in 2011. “I want to play for India again, but for that, I need to play. I am being let down by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). But it is a thing of the past. I am fit now and it’s time to look ahead.”In the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, he bagged three wickets in as many games for Punjab despite going wicketless in two of them. He played in two Ranji Trophy before that, finishing with two wickets across three innings, and in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that followed, he got just three wickets in five matches, going wicketless in four of those games.This season, Punjab, led by Mandeep Singh, also have Shubman Gill in the squad. Being named in the India Test squad that will be taking on South Africa from October 2, Gill is unlikely to play more than three matches in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Punjab are placed in Group B, alongside eight other teams, and will play their first match against Himachal Pradesh on September 25.Squad: Mandeep Singh (Captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Mayank Markande, Karan Kaila, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Akul Pandove, Anmol Malhotra, Abhijeet GargDelhiRishabh Pant and Navdeep Saini have been named in the 16-member Delhi squad, led by Dhruv Shorey, for the first four games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting on September 24. Shikhar Dhawan has opted out of the squad for now due to personal reasons, according to .Pant is a part of the Indian team that will be assembling in Visakhapatnam for the opening Test against South Africa on October 2.
“Pant is expected to play at least first two to three games for Delhi as he will then report for the national team. Rishabh himself said that he wanted to play,” Delhi senior team’s chairman of selectors Atul Wassan told .”Shikhar needs to go back to Australia to attend to some family matters. He has said that he will join the squad at a later date.”
Former India Under-19 India captain Anuj Rawat has been named Pant’s back-up in the squad. Delhi will be starting their campaign against Vidarbha on the opening day of the tournament.Squad: Dhruv Shorey (captain), Nitish Rana, Rishabh Pant, Himmat Singh, Hiten Dalal, Kunal Chandela, Lalit Yadav, Pawan Negi, Navdeep Saini, Subodh Bhati, Kulwant Khejrolia, Manan Sharma, Kunwar Bhiduri, Vikas Tokas, Tejas Baroka, Anuj Rawat.Mumbai Left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who played a key role in India’s Under-19 Asia Cup win, has been named in the 17-member Mumbai squad, led by Shreyas Iyer, for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sarfaraz Khan, who was on a one-year cooling off period following his return to Mumbai last year after three seasons with Uttar Pradesh, has also been named in the squad.Ankolekar took a match-winning five-for on Saturday against Bangladesh U-19s in a low-scoring thriller and helped India defend their Asia Cup title. Ankolekar’s team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his Mumbai debut in Ranji Trophy last year, has also been named in this squad.Ajinkya Rahane, who captained the team last year, will not be available this year due to international commitments. Prithvi Shaw, who is currently serving his suspension for a doping violation, also misses out.Defending champions Mumbai are in Group A and will be playing all their matches in Bengaluru.Squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Surya Kumar Yadav (vice captain), Jay Bista, Aditya Tare , Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Shubham Ranjane, Eknath Kerkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani, Atharva Ankolekar, Shardul Thakur, Siddhesh Lad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kruthik Hanagawadi, Shashank AttardeVidarbhaWasim Jaffer has been appointed Vidarbha’s interim captain for this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy after Faiz Fazal sustained a hand injury. It is understood that Fazal is likely to return during the course of the tournament and also retain his captaincy.The 15-member squad also includes India fast bowler Umesh Yadav.Fazal, one of Vidarbha’s batting mainstays in their consecutive Ranji Trophy wins in 2017-18 and 2018-19, suffered the injury while representing India Green in the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy.”Faiz is still undergoing treatment for the injury,” VCA president Anand Jaiswal told . “We are still looking into it. Once he is cleared, he will join the side. As of today, since he hasn’t recovered, we have announced Wasim as the captain. But the injury is a minor one, not very serious.”Vidarbha are in Elite Group B of the Vijay Hazare Trophy draw, alongside Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Baroda, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, and will begin their campaign against Delhi on September 24.Vidarbha Squad: Wasim Jaffer (captain), R. Sanjay, Atharva Taide, Ganesh Satish, Rushabh Rathod, Apoorva Wankhede, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Akshay Wadkar (wicketkeeper), Akshay Wakhare, Akshay Karnewar, Aditya Sarvate, Umesh Yadav, Yash Thakur, Darshan Nalkande, Shrikant Wagh.Tamil NaduOpening batsman C Hari Nishanth and left-arm spinner M Siddharth have been named in Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, which will be led by Dinesh Karthik. While R Ashwin, who was named in the probables squad, has been ruled out due to international commitments, M Vijay, who is currently playing in the county championships for Somerset, will join the team after the first two matches.Allrounder Vijay Shankar, who is recovering from a finger injury, has been included in the 16-member squad but a call on his selection will only be taken before the side’s opening game against Rajasthan on September 24. M Shahrukh Khan has been named M Vijay’s replacement for the first two matches.Hari Nishanth made his T20 debut for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year, and has represented the Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He finished among the top run scorers in the tournament this year with 322 runs in 10 matches. Siddharth played for champions Chennai Super Gillies this season, where he picked five wickets in eight games.Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Vijay Shankar (vice-capt), Abhinav Mukund, M Vijay, Baba Aparajith, M Ashwin, Washington Sundar, R Sai Kishore, N Jagadeesan, T Natarajan, K Vignesh, M Mohammed, M Siddharth, Abhishek Tanwar, C Hari Nishaanth, J Kousik. Reserve: M Shahrukh KhanArunachal PradeshFormer India pace bowler Sanjeev Sharma has been appointed coach of the Arunachal Pradesh team for the upcoming domestic season. Sanjeev had been coach of the Sikkim team last season and has coached Delhi in the past.According to , the Arunachal Pradesh Cricket Association had initially decided to give an extension to Gursharan Singh, who coached them last season. However, Gursharan was recently named coach of Uttarakhand.”We apprised the BCCI about the issue and sought its help in getting a replacement. There is not much time in hand and we are glad to welcome Sharma on board,” ACA secretary, Kabak Geda, told .Arunachal will be hoping to improve on their performance from the debut season. They were winless in the Ranji Trophy, won two games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and one in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.Under Sanjeev’s tenure, Sikkim went winless in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but performed better in the Ranji Trophy, securing four wins in eight matches in the plate group.Uttar Pradesh
Former India spinner Sunil Joshi has been appointed coach of the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy team for one year, according to . He is set to join the training camp on September 20 before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on September 24Joshi, who served as Bangladesh’s spin-bowling coach till the World Cup, had applied for the position of India’s bowling coach but was not shortlisted.”We have appointed Sunil Joshi as coach of our team for one year. He will join the camp before the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association secretary Yudhvir Singh told .Former Karnataka fast bowler Mansur Ali Khan had coached the side last season. UP won their maiden, and only, Ranji Trophy title in 2005-06 and have been runners-up five times. They made the quarter-finals last season where they were beaten by Saurashtra.UttarakhandGursharan Singh has been named the coach of Uttarakhand for the upcoming domestic season, replacing KP Bhaskar, who has returned to take charge of the Delhi team.Gursharan, 56, who turned out for Delhi and Punjab in domestic cricket and played one Test and one ODI in 1990, is a prominent coach in Delhi, and has been involved with various state teams since 2007, when he coached Punjab. He has since worked with Assam and, more recently, Arunachal Pradesh.”I am excited to take my new job,” he was quoted as saying by the . “I know Uttarakhand has a lot of young talent and the team did well last year under Bhaskar’s guidance. The team has a wonderful captain in Unmukt [Chand, who shifted this year]. He has a good cricket brain and I am looking forward to work with him.”Last season, their maiden one in the domestic circuit, Uttarakhand topped the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy, but then lost by an innings and 115 runs to Vidarbha, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals. They had some decent results in the Vijay Hazare (one-day) Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy too. In the 50-over tournament, they came second in the Plate Group with seven wins and a loss, while in the T20s, they had four wins in seven matches.Delhi
The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association has re-signed former Delhi batsman KP Bhaskar as head coach of the senior team for the 2019-20 season. Bhaskar, a veteran of 95 first-class matches, helmed debutants Uttarakhand to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals last season. Rajkumar Sharma, meanwhile, has been named the bowling coach. Sharma, an offspinning allrounder, played nine first-class matches for Delhi but is famously remembered for being Virat Kohli’s childhood coach.Bhaskar had left Delhi in controversial circumstances in 2018 after then captain Gautam Gambhir criticised him for “creating an atmosphere of uncertainty” in the dressing room. Incidentally, it was a season where they finished runners-up to Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy.With just one win in eight games, Delhi finished bottom of Group B in 2018-19 Ranji Trophy under Mithun Mahnas. They, however, finished runners-up to Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-overs competition. Atul Wassan, the former India bowler, has been named the selection committee chief of the senior team.ALSO READ: ‘Exceptional work ethic’ sets new Bengal captain Easwaran apartMumbai
Earlier in the week, after months of speculation, Mumbai named Vinayak Samant, the former wicketkeeper, as head coach under controversial circumstances after Sulakshan Kulkarni alleged he wasn’t given a fair contract. Under the initial agreement, the Mumbai Cricket Association was to pay Kulkarni a fee of INR 24 lakh for the season. This was later whittled to INR 14 lakh, which Kulkarni rejected.Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu have appointed former allrounder D Vasu as their head coach, with former captain R Prasanna as his assistant. Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has been appointed captain for the upcoming 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Vasu replaced Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former India allrounder who has moved on to a coaching role at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Vasu scored 3001 runs and picked up 240 wickets during the course of his 15-year first-class career.ALSO READ: New Kerala captain Robin Uthappa wants to give players ‘more security’Puducherry
Former Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar has ended his 15-year career with his home state and will instead turn out for Puducherry in a player-cum-mentor role in the 2019-20 season. Vinay will link up with his old friend J Arunkumar at Puducherry.Vinay and Arunkumar formed Karnataka’s leadership group when they won successive Ranji titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They also led Karnataka to the Vijay Hazare and Irani titles, establishing the side as a domestic powerhouse.Having reportedly turned down an offer from his home state Tamil Nadu and moved from Kerala, wicketkeeper-batsman Arun Karthik will join Vinay at Puducherry.Former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand has parted ways with Delhi after making his first-class debut for them in November 2010. Chand has now signed with Uttarakhand and will captain them in the upcoming domestic season. Meanwhile, offspin-bowling allrounder Malolan Rangarajan, who helped Uttarakhand to the knockouts in the previous season, is set to move back to his home state Tamil Nadu.Assam
Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Ajay Ratra has been appointed Assam’s coach for the 2019-20 domestic season. Ratra has had coaching stints with Punjab, Assam Under-19s and NCA in the past.Ratra, who made his international debut in 2002, played six Tests and 12 ODIs for India. His maiden Test century against West Indies in Trinidad – an unbeaten 115 – made him the fifth-youngest Indian player and the youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred. He played 99 first-class matches, scoring 4029 runs at an average of 30.29, which included eight hundreds and a double-century.Other movements
Allrounder Stuart Binny and wicketkeeper-batsman CM Gautam, who were part of Karnataka’s core along with Vinay when they secured the double-treble, have also opted to move out of their home state this season. Binny will join his former Karnataka team-mate Rongsen Jonathan at Nagaland, while Gautam has switched to Goa.Among prominent coaches, Sairaj Bahutule has ended his stint with Bengal, and will coach Gujarat, while Sanath Kumar moved from Meghalaya to Baroda.