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Changes could be made to England XI after half the squad is laid low by virus on eve of match

Vithushan Ehantharajah30-Nov-2022A decision as to whether England’s first Test in Pakistan for 17 years can get underway on time will be taken at 7.30am local time on Thursday morning, two and a half hours prior to the scheduled start, after a sickness bug swept through their camp on the eve of the match to cause upheaval in Rawalpindi.Having named their XI a full 48 hours ahead of the match, England’s plans were thrown into disarray on their final day of practice, with up to 14 members of their tour party, including half of their 16-man playing pool, reporting symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting. They were subsequently confined to their hotel rooms for fear of spreading the virus.Emergency talks between PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and ECB officials Rob Key and Neil Snowball ensued, along with ECB medical director Nick Peirce and team doctor Anita Biswas, with the options discussed including a 24-hour delay to the start time, to allow the England players enough time to recover from what is hoped to be a 24-hour bug.”The Pakistan Cricket Board and England and Wales Cricket Board today discussed the outbreak of viral infection in the England men’s Test team camp and unanimously agreed to delay the decision on the commencement of the first Test, which is due to start on Thursday, until 0730 Pakistan time tomorrow [Thursday],” read a joint statement from the two boards.”The two boards made the decision based on medical advice from the England doctors, which revolved around the players’ health and welfare, agreeing that the England cricket team are able to select an XI for the first of the three ICC World Test Championship matches, which will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.”The two boards also agreed, subject to the England players not recovering well enough to take the field on Thursday morning, then the Test will commence on Friday and will be a five-day match. In this scenario, the schedule of the second Test in Multan and the third Test in Karachi will remain unaffected and will be played as per original schedule i.e. 9-13 and 17-21 December, respectively.”Ben Stokes, England’s captain, was among the players laid low on Wednesday, with only Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope and Joe Root attending an optional training session at Pindi Stadium. James Anderson, who is set to play his first Test in Pakistan at the age of 40, 17 years after featuring in the one-day leg of the 2005 tour, was also reporting symptoms.”I felt unwell yesterday and woke up feeling much better today so hopefully it is a 24-hour thing,” Root told reporters after training. “It is just one of those things that we have unfortunately picked up as a group. We’ve tried to do everything we can to get right for this game but sometimes life throws you these things at you. We have to see how we rock up as a squad tomorrow [Thursday].”England had attempted to mitigate against the risk of illness by appointment their own chef for the tour, Omar Meziane, who has previously worked with the England men’s football team. However, he was among those taken ill, with England confident that the outbreak was not food-related.

The Bangladesh batter says he still has a “lot of discomfort” in his back, but is hoping the physios will overcome it soon

Mohammad Isam24-Sep-2023Bangladesh’s batting crisis continued as they succumbed to a 86-run defeat against New Zealand in the second ODI in Dhaka. But the return of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah will be encouraging, as both looked sharp although they couldn’t kick on after getting starts. Mahmudullah top-scored with 49 before hitting Cole McConchi’s long hop to short fine-leg; Tamim had earlier gloved while trying a lap-sweep against Ish Sodhi after making 44.Mahmudullah was playing his first ODI since early March, when he was part of the squad for the three-match ODI series against England. The national selectors had initially said that they were resting him but it was clear for the next six months that they were moving on from Mahmudullah. But with the World Cup looming and Bangladesh’s batting proving to be inconsistent, the selectors had to give Mahmudullah another chance ahead of the major event in India.Related

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Tamim meanwhile had missed most of the Afghanistan series in July, amid his retirement U-turn. He also missed the Asia Cup through a long-standing back injury. Tamim admitted that his return to action was a nervous one, especially with the bat, but once he timed a few shots, he felt better.”I was nervous today. I will be lying if I said it was just another game,” he said. “Whatever has happened in the last couple of months, I had nerves going out to bat. But after the first over, it came down. It was nice to hit the balls again. I think it was good to be out there but there’s certainly still a lot of discomfort in my back. The physios are trying to overcome it.”Mahmudullah also took a bit of time to settle down, but he was forceful through all the wickets that fell at the other end. Tamim said that Mahmudullah reacted well to the situation when he came out to bat when they were 70 for 4.”I thought he was excellent. I was in a small partnership with him. His intent looked really good. I didn’t feel he was out for six or seven months. He looked good. He fielded well.”Tamim felt that though Bangladesh could have kept New Zealand down to 200 or 210, the pitch was good enough to chase down the 255-run target, urging the team to take a serious look at their top-order collapses. Only once in the last seven innings have Bangladesh gone past 100 runs before losing four wickets.”This run chase was gettable on this wicket. I think we could have restricted them around 210-215. But this was a good wicket. I don’t think we got out to really good deliveries.”We have to look into (losing four wickets early) very seriously going into the World Cup. We can’t win a lot of games if we lose four or five wickets quickly. We lost early wickets but there were good patches today. But to win any game, you have to stop this (collapse). We have to look to minimise back-to-back wickets. The coach and captain aren’t the only ones in charge of this, the responsibility is among all of us.”

Australian’s first half-century of the season lifts Spirit into last Eliminator spot

ECB Media09-Aug-2024A fifty from Georgia Redmayne saw London Spirit to victory with eight balls to spare against Manchester Originals in the sunshine at Lord’s.Despite weathering a difficult start to the innings, Redmayne hit 66 from 59 balls to see Spirit chase down the total for the loss of just two wickets.She was ably supported in the chase by England skipper Heather Knight who scored a composed 29 from 27 balls, following the earlier departures of Meg Lanning and Cordelia Griffith.Originals were left to rue dropped catches off both Redmayne and Knight, in a defence which needed a strong fielding performance to give them any chance of coming out on top, following a sub-par first innings score.Earlier in the day, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn did the damage with the ball and restricted the Originals to 112.The Spirit fielding performance was exceptional throughout, including a brilliant caught and bowled by Sarah Glenn and a superb catch in the deep by Cordelia Griffith to remove Emma Lamb.Wickets fell at regular intervals to keep Originals in check, with Kathryn Bryce ultimately top-scoring with 32 from 27 balls.Meerkat Match Hero Georgia Redmayne said: “It was a little bit of a tricky wicket. We bowled really well to keep them to that total.”I did not start great but it was nice to get some time in the middle in the end. I tried to stay calm and play to my strengths – you try to get one or two away, and then be on your way.”As a team we started the competition well with two wins, we had a bit of a wobble but we have been playing pretty good cricket. This is our last game here, so we wanted to put on a show and get a win.”

Karnataka, searching for a fifth title, now await the winner of the semi-final between Vidarbha and Maharashtra

S Sudarshanan15-Jan-2025Devdutt Padikkal put on a batting exhibition on an up-and-down surface at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara as he helped Karnataka to their fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy final. He continued his stellar run in the competition, hitting his seventh successive fifty-plus score in India’s premier 50-over domestic competition and in the process, knocked defending champions Haryana out.Padikkal made 86 off 113 balls – following his 102 off 99 against Baroda in the last outing, his first this season – and added 128 for the third wicket with Ravichandran Smaran as Karnataka chased down the 238-run target with relative ease. The win was set up by their bowlers led by left-arm quick Abhilash Shetty, who returned 4 for 34. His wickets included both Nishant Sindhu and Parth Vats, the two half-centurions from Haryana’s preliminary quarter-final win that knocked out Bengal.Legspinner Shreyas Gopal was instrumental in turning the tide Karnataka’s way with the ball when he broke a fluent second-wicket partnership worth 70 between Himanshu Rana and Ankit Kumar by trapping the latter lbw on 48. Thereon, Haryana lost 8 for 96 to collapse to 198 for 9. But a stroke-filled last-wicket stand between Anuj Thakral and Amit Rana, which included scoring 17 off the last over of the first innings, helped Haryana get to a total much more than Karnataka would have liked.Four-time champions Karnataka were jolted early in the chase when their top-scorer of the competition, the captain Mayank Agarawal, fell in the opening over. Anshul Kamboj got a fullish ball to jag in and hit Agarawal on the knee-roll, the Hawk-Eye showing it to clip the stumps. Padikkal, his opening partner since returning from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, managed to ride the uneven bounce and collect a few fours, even as KV Aneesh struggled at the other end. The No. 3 bat played 14 straight dots before heaving Sumit Kumar over deep midwicket for a meaty six to get going.Related

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If Padikkal brought Karnataka’s chase on track with his 62-run partnership with Aneesh, he dashed Haryana’s hopes with his alliance with Smaran. The pair took their time to settle, especially when Haryana pressed their spinners, Amit and Sindhu, into service. They were getting some balls to turn, some jumped from the rough but Padikkal broke the deadlock by stepping out to Sindhu and smoking him over long-on. He looked untroubled for most of his stay until he played a cross-batted heave, intending to finish the chase in a hurry, and top-edged Sindhu to mid-off with Karnataka 44 away.Smaran too scored a classy fifty, hitting three fours and three sixes and fell on 76 off 94 with Karnataka 13 away.Earlier in the day, Haryana were inserted and got a steady start through openers Arsh Ranga and Himanshu. Their partnership should have been nipped in the fifth over when Ranga edged Koushik behind, but Krishnan Shrijith failed to hang on. That did not cost Karnataka as Shetty struck with his second ball to have Ranga edge one to Padikkal at slip.That was Karnataka’s only success for some time as Himanshu and Amit scored fluently. They were helped by some wayward bowling, too, with Prasidh bowling a few wides down leg. Shrijith’s shoddy glovework also resulted in a few byes. The second-wicket pair for Haryana was doing well to set a base. Which is when Agarawal brought spin on to apply the brakes.Shreyas and left-arm spinner Hardik Raj tested both the edges of the batters, with the former using the googly to excellent effect. After he denied Haryana’s captain, Ankit, a fifty, Himanshu had an ill-timed dash down the surface against Raj and was stumped by Shrijith. Those twin wickets gave Karnataka enough of an opening. Dinesh Bana, Rahul Tewatia and Sumit Kumar all got starts but none lasted more than 36 balls.But that did not bother Karnataka, who made regular inroads to trigger a collapse. One that was enough to propel Karnataka to their first Vijay Hazare Trophy final since 2019-20 after three semi-finals and a quarter-final appearance in the last four editions. They will meet the winner of Vidarbha vs Maharashtra in Saturday’s final.

Australia are expected to hand a T20I cap to Tim David, while Pant has something to prove for India

Sruthi Ravindranath19-Sep-20223:48

Jaffer backs Karthik over Pant in the India XI

Big Picture

Post the 2021 T20 World Cup, India have played a total of 29 T20Is heading into this series. Australia, meanwhile, have played just nine. Irrespective of their prep, Australia might turn up in their usual confident manner at the T20 World Cup – but this time they’ll have to defend the title in their backyard. And they have quite a bit to figure out compared to their better-prepped opponents.In the age of packed cricket calendars and schedules, it does seem quite surprising that these two teams haven’t played each other in a T20I since December 2020. India won that away series 2-1, while Australia won the last T20I series they played in India, in February 2019. Also, how can we forget match in Mohali, when Virat Kohli left Australia speechless? Irrespective of the format, the meetings between these two countries have always been high-octane and largely competitive, and this series should be no different, provided Australia can overcome a few selection questions.Related

• Tim David's long-awaited Australia debut is finally on

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• Smith to bat at No. 3 in India T20Is in Mitch Marsh's absence

• Rahul: 'No one is perfect; strike rate is something I am working at'

Their captain Aaron Finch’s recent form seems to be among the biggest of concerns. Steven Smith’s middling strike rate has also raised questions around his place in the XI. And, Australia are without the injured trio of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis for this series, while David Warner has been rested. The team playing this series looks quite different from Australia’s first-choice World Cup side. But it does give Australia the space to experiment with the back-ups but they will also want to build a winning momentum. They have five more matches after this series – a two-match series against West Indies and three T20Is against England at home – before the T20 World Cup.It’ll be interesting to see how Tim David, who will be in Australia colours for the first time, fits into the international set-up. Australia are also likely to experiment with Josh Inglis, making him open alongside Finch. Finch said there will be a lot of “mixing and matching” ahead of the World Cup.India, meanwhile, have had some time to figure out what has worked for them and, more importantly, what hasn’t. They’re back home after some travelling, having won bilateral T20I series in Ireland, England and the Caribbean. But it was their most recent prep – at the Asia Cup – that left them with key takeaways.After the Asia Cup Super 4s exit, captain Rohit Sharma said India were “90-95% settled” ahead of the T20 World Cup. Their aggressive approach has largely worked out well. Kohli finally hit form, so his place in the XI is – at least for now – no longer a debate. They are entering the series with the strongest available squad and will be looking to mainly focus on making roles clearer.4:48

Hodge: Australia shouldn’t look back from this point when it comes to Tim David

The return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel means Hardik Pandya no longer has to be the third seamer in the side. India will also want to see how they can use the likes of allrounders Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda better. Rohit was clear KL Rahul has his backing as the opener. As for Pant, India will be hoping he comes good in the series. India still have a home series against South Africa to go before the T20 World Cup to further firm up their plans.

Form guide

India WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LWWWL

In the spotlight

All eyes will be on Tim David, who will be looking to showcase his power-hitting skills, this time in Australia colours. The Singapore-born batter has impressed in various T20 competitions, most recently in the IPL as well, and he’ll be looking to replicate his success on the international stage. His big-hitting skills aside, his ability to take on spinners and quicks alike makes him a must-have in a T20 side. He averages 32.48 with a strike rate of 164.12 in T20s. He is likely to take up the middle-order spot in Stoinis’ absence in this series. But Australia will not be able to accommodate him if both Stoinis and Marsh are fit when the World Cup begins. It’s Smith’s position that appears a bit vulnerable as of now – but he too has the reputation of being the anchor in the XI – so it remains to be seen how Australia fit David into their XI at the World Cup.Rishabh Pant is yet to find his mojo in T20Is•Associated Press

Rishabh Pant has not quite been able to live up to the expectations in the T20 format. In T20Is since 2020, he has averaged just 27.63 and has struck at 129.95 in 32 innings. At the Asia Cup, Pant had to be brought into the XI in place of Dinesh Karthik following an injury to Ravindra Jadeja as India wanted a left-hand batter in the middle. But he could only make scores of 17 and 14 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively in the Super 4s. While having Pant and Karthik in the squad offers them flexibility, it looks like India can currently accommodate only one of the two in the XI. Pant will have to make use of his time in the middle in the upcoming T20Is to get back into form before the T20 World Cup.

Team news

Umesh Yadav, who was originally meant to undergo rehab for a quad injury in Bengaluru, has been called into the squad after Mohammed Shami tested positive for Covid-19. But with the return of Bumrah and Harshal, India are unlikely to play Umesh in the XI.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rishabh Pant/ Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/ Deepak Chahar, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit BumrahWith Marsh absent, Smith will bat at No. 3 against India. David looks set to make his Australia debut in the middle order. Australia are also likely to play Inglis – who has so far played at No. 3 and in the middle order in T20Is – as an opener and push Matthew Wade down the order. Cameron Green, who has been impressive with the ball and the bat, has been brought back into the T20I squad – having played a solitary match in April this year – and is also likely to find a place in the XI.Australia (probable): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Josh Inglis, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Matthew Wade (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Cameron Green, 8 Adam Zampa, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Sean Abbott/ Daniel Sams

Pitch and conditions

It is expected to be partly cloudy and humid in Mohali tomorrow, with a 25% chance of precipitation in the evening. In T20s since 2018, the chasing team has won seven out of 11 matches at the ground. On the eve of the match, Finch said the wicket had “a bit of grass on it”.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli’s 718 runs against Australia are the most by any player against an opposition in men’s T20Is
• Australia have won each of their last three T20Is in India
• Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Glenn Maxwell seven times in 15 meetings in T20s

Quotes

“… Only we know what role is expected of each person. Everyone is trying to give their best, and not every time will a player succeed. And that is the kind of environment we have created, that players are not afraid to play, or players are not afraid to make mistakes.”
“The last thing you want to do is have an injury derail your whole campaign because you’re pigeon-holed into playing one style of cricket or one structure of team.”

His calls at the toss and in the field have raised some valid questions, and batting form has deserted him – can he still somehow coax a tune from a team that is yet to hit a single note this World Cup?

Matt Roller27-Oct-20233:15

Buttler: A ‘huge low point’ for England

Jos Buttler sat at a round table on the first floor of the Gujarat Cricket Association clubhouse, holding court with the travelling English press pack on the eve of the World Cup. He had just spent 40 minutes on stage at a captain’s event and was midway through a long afternoon of media duties before an evening training session.It was there, in Ahmedabad, that Buttler explained in some detail the thought behind a phrase that has come to haunt England’s World Cup campaign: “We’re not defending anything,” Buttler said. “It’s probably the word I don’t like: I want us to attack, so I don’t like the word ‘defending’.” It has aged like milk.Even with eight survivors from the squad that won the 2019 title, he was wary of describing the team as defending champions. “You’re can’t recreate something, or hold onto it forever,” Buttler said. “You’ve given that trophy back now. It’s done. It’s about trying to create something new.”Related

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• Buttler: 'I've not been able to lead with my own performances'

• England's lurching between attack and defence leaves them in no man's land

• England all but resigned to World Cup exit – Mott

Three weeks and a day later, it was a very different Buttler sitting in the press conference room at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He looked almost hollow, trying to process how a team with so much ability and experience finds itself on the brink of elimination after a fourth heavy defeat in five group games.”To be sat here now with the three weeks that have been is a shock,” he said. “I’ll walk back into the dressing room after this and look at the players sat there, and think: ‘How have we found ourselves in this position with the talent and the skill that’s in the room?’ But it’s the position we’re in.”Buttler was insistent that complacency had not been a problem, referring back to Ahmedabad: “Something we spoke about a lot as a team [was that] you have to go and create it again… that’s why, at the very beginning of the tournament, I said we weren’t here to try and defend our title; [that] we’re here to start something new and try and win something.”Jos Buttler has not been able to do much to change the script with his own batting•ICC via Getty Images

They have fallen a long way short. Buttler’s captaincy has already come in for criticism, some of it fair. Selection has been muddled in their last two games and his decisions at the toss have aged poorly: to bowl first against Afghanistan in Delhi was a miscalculation; to do the same against South Africa in the Mumbai heat was a serious error.He has looked powerless to change the course of an innings in the field. New Zealand and Sri Lanka cruised to victory with unbroken partnerships of 273 and 137, while constant bowling changes during South Africa’s sixth-wicket stand of 151 in 77 balls felt like trying to stop a burst dam with a bucket. Even when they dragged things back against Afghanistan, they had raced to 79 for 0 after 10 overs before Buttler finally introduced his spinners on a slow pitch.Moeen Ali, his vice-captain, was left out against Bangladesh and remained on the bench for the next two games, leaving Buttler isolated in the field. He found little support from his senior players: against South Africa, he found himself racing to the top of his bowlers’ run-ups and back again, with no calming voice to help out at mid-on or mid-off.But Buttler has not become a poor leader overnight. Even the best captains would have struggled to get a tune out of England’s bowling attack in this World Cup: their seamers have leaked a tournament-high 6.86 runs per over and, Reece Topley apart, have lacked any consistency, rendering setting a field or sticking to a plan almost impossible.Only a year ago, he got a response from a similar group of players after defeat to Ireland left them on the brink of elimination at the T20 World Cup. Then, his message to his squad was simple: “Put your chests out and enjoy your talent. You’re all here playing for England in a World Cup. Showcase how good you are.”The main difference? In Australia, he led from the front with the bat. In the first of four must-wins, he made 73 off 47 against New Zealand, setting the game up from the top of the order; in the semi-final against India, he put on an unbroken 170 with Alex Hales, sealing a 10-wicket win with a mighty straight six.In India, by his own admission. Buttler has been “a long way short” of his best. He made 43 off 42 against New Zealand, with a brace of sixes, but has been a shadow of himself since. He has managed scores of 20, 9, 15 and 8 and a trend has emerged in his dismissals: three times out of five, he has been caught behind flashing at length balls on a sixth-stump line.All too often, he has walked in with England already in trouble: at 68 for 3 against both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and at 38 for 4 against South Africa. He has attempted to launch counterattacks, but has not lasted long enough to change the tide. That Buttler has only batted at No. 4 three times since the 2019 final – a role which would enable him to set games up – is a damning reflection on England’s long-term planning.England flew to Lucknow on Friday lunchtime and will train on Saturday afternoon before playing India on Sunday. The next two weeks will be a gauge of England’s pride and their professionalism: in theory, things can only get better; in practice, they could get seriously ugly.These four games will be a test of Buttler’s leadership, and whether he can get a tune out of players who are yet to hit a single note. Whatever happens, Buttler will be the favourite to lead them into next year’s T20 World Cup – but what comes after that is anyone’s guess.

It is understood that the material which caught fire consisted mainly of the thatched roofing at Castle Corner

Firdose Moonda21-Jun-2023On Tuesday night, a fire broke out at Harare Sports Club, which is currently hosting several ODI World Cup Qualifier matches, but swift response from the authorities ensured there was no damage done to the ground despite the close proximity of the blaze. An inspection by the ICC’s security team and Zimbabwe Cricket as well has cleared the venue for continued use in the tournament.Around six hours after Zimbabwe completed a six-wicket win over Netherlands, there were flames seen at the southern end of the ground. ESPNcricinfo understands that the material which caught fire consisted mainly of the thatched roofing at Castle Corner, the area usually occupied by the Zimbabwe Cricket Supporters Union. It is not known what caused the initial spark but on an open field with highly combustible material, the blaze grew quickly. One video showed flames reaching about as high as the trees outside the ground and coming very close to the stands.