Rangana Herath, however, is still being monitored after a finger injury in Galle, according to manager Asanka Gurusinha

Sa'adi Thawfeeq30-Jul-2017Dinesh Chandimal is expected to return to lead the Sri Lanka team in the second Test against India at the SSC next week, after recovering from a bout of pneumonia that kept him out of the first Test in Galle. Rangana Herath, who suffered an injury to his finger in the first Test, is being closely monitored, ahead of the match which starts from August 3.”Dinesh should be fit, he actually played this (Sunday) morning and he has batted the last couple of days,” Asanka Gurusinha, Sri Lanka’s cricket manager and selector, said.”We have to see how he is going to come up in the next couple of days because his finger is pretty sore,” Gurusinha said of Herath’s condition. “We will give him till the last minute to make sure that he is fit.”The day before the Test we will see whether he can drift the ball, it will come down to that. If he can without pain he will play, otherwise we will have to look at different options. The finger is not swollen but it’s sore and painful.”Danushka Gunathilaka, who made his Test debut in Galle, is likely to be left out once Chandimal returns, while Kusal Mendis is expected to return to the No. 3 slot. Mendis had batted at No. 4 in Galle, dropping one spot as the team played Gunathilaka.”It’s for just one game, we pushed Kusal to four. Danushka was in form and you can’t bat him in the middle order,” Gurusinha said. “We couldn’t get him to open either because the openers were already there, that’s why we got Kusal to four for this Test. When Chandimal comes back, he will go back to No. 3 straight away. He is our No. 3 and we are grooming him for that position definitely.”Sri Lanka also have another slot to fill after the injury to Asela Gunaratne, who has been ruled out of the series with a broken thumb.”We have Dhananjaya (de Silva) in the squad and we have Danushka as well,” Gurusinha said. “We haven’t looked at whether this is the squad we are going to have for the second Test. We will have a chat later today and see whether we will need someone from outside or what combination we are going to play. It comes down to whether we are going to play six or seven batsmen, we will have to decide on that after looking at the wicket.”Sri Lanka will look to recover some ground after losing the first Test by 304 runs. Gurusinha pinned that defeat on the batsmen, who did not execute their plans well. The hosts managed scores of 291 in the first innings, in response to India’s 600, and 245 in the second innings while chasing an improbable 550.”Getting 600 runs it always affects which is a difficult thing, but our batsmen on that track I don’t think they handled it well because it wasn’t a track to get 291 in the first innings. That was a 400-run track,” Gurusinha said.”Even on the fourth day, it wasn’t doing much, it wasn’t difficult when you see the way everyone batted. When you are playing the No. 1 side, they are very patient they’ll bowl a good line and length and wait. They tested our patience and they won. They were good in that and we took more risks. Batting overall, when you look at it, we didn’t handle it well.”Gurusinha said the pace at which cricket is played today made it difficult to draw Test matches. “These days in Test cricket, the game has changed a lot because of T20. They are playing it at a very fast rate getting 300-350 in a day is nothing new in Test cricket. Sometimes if you try to bat long, you can go into a negative frame of mind. You need to play positively but positively is not hitting every ball, it is playing according to your plans. Our execution of plans was the main problem.”Nobody scored a hundred from our side in the last two Tests, even against Zimbabwe. That’s what we need. We need one of the top four batsmen to get 150 or 160 and a couple of others to get 70s and 80s. As soon as that happens it will give us a 400-plus total.”

The former Pakistan fast bowler will work to develop the young pace bowlers in the franchise, including Haris Rauf, who was signed on for ten years after an impressive trial in Gujranwala

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2017Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been signed on as a mentor by the Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars.Akhtar, one of the fastest bowlers in the world during an international career that spanned 14 years, has been roped in primarily to work with the young fast bowlers in the Qalandars’ squad, alongside another former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed, who is the franchise director.Last year, Qalandars signed on Yasir Jan, a promising fast bowler who can bowl with both arms, on a ten-year contract. This year, they brought on board another young fast bowler, Haris Rauf, on a ten-year contract. The franchise signed on Rauf after spotting him at a talent hunt in Gujranwala, where he reportedly bowled at 92 miles per hour (approximately 147 kph). Rauf will travel to Australia with the Qalandars’ development squad for matches against Sydney Thunder, Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes.”I’m honored and privileged to be a part of Qalandars,” Akhtar said. “Extremely excited and thrilled. Haris is from Pindi and he is the find of Aaqib Javed. Aaqib knows a talent when he sees one.”

Mashrafe Mortaza set up the win with a six in the last over of the chase as Rangpur consolidated their position at fourth place in the table

The Report by Mohammad Isam28-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Raton Gomes/BCB

Rangpur Riders once again left it late in a chase, as they beat Sylhet Sixers by four wickets with two balls to spare. Mashrafe Mortaza was their slog-overs hero this time, hammering a six off the second ball of the final over with his team needing eight to win. The win was set up by Brendon McCullum’s 43 at No. 3, and his 59-run partnership off 30 balls with opener Ziaur Rahman (36). Allrounder Ravi Bopara chipped in with 33 at No. 5 as Rangpur overcame the impact of Sylhet’s near-ten-runs-per-over carnage in the last 12 overs of their innings after after being put in. Sylhet’s sixth defeat more or less puts them out of the competition.Nazmul Islam, the left-arm spinner with the quirky celebration routine, removed Nurul Hasan, Nasir Hossain and Andre Fletcher by the eighth over. Nurul was adjudged lbw when he missed a sweep, while Nasir was stumped when he needlessly hoicked at one. Fletcher was caught in the deep for a 17-ball 26. Babar Azam and Sabbir Rahman then added 74 runs for the fourth wicket, with Azam reaching his first BPL fifty. He made 54 off 37 balls with four fours and a six, while Sabbir struck five fours in his 44 off 37 balls. Ross Whiteley and Tim Bresnan struck one six each in the last five overs as Sylhet posted a competitive total.After Chris Gayle’s early departure, Ziaur and McCullum, batting at No. 3 for the first time in the tournament, added 59 runs in just five overs. Ziaur hit five fours and two sixes in his 18-ball 36, while McCullum batted till the 15th over for his 43 off 38 balls.Sylhet took regular wickets after that stand, removing Mohammad Mithun, McCullum, Samiullah Shenwari and Ravi Bopara, to reduce Rangpur to 146 for 6 in the 18th over. Bopara – who was dropped twice – and Shenwari were both run out.Nahidul Islam struck two fours in his unbeaten 14 off seven balls, while Mashrafe kept his cool at the other end as the two combined to make the last 31 runs in only 2.2 overs.

A combined effort from Rangpur Riders’ bowling attack ensured a successful defence of 142, in a match that was decided off the last ball

Sreshth Shah21-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball updatesChris Gayle launches into a big shot•Raton Gomes

Rangpur Riders’ bowlers combined magnificently in the end overs to defend 142 against Dhaka Dynamites at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Mashrafe Mortaza, Sohag Gazi, Thisara Perera and Rubel Hossain took two wickets each to bowl Dhaka for 139 off the last ball of the game. Dhaka needed 32 to win off 33 balls – with five wickets in hand – at one stage, but a late rally from Thisara and Lasith Malinga ensured a result in Rangpur’s favour.With ten needed off the last over and Kieron Pollard at the crease, Thisara managed to bowl five dot balls, including the wickets of Pollard – who had briefly threatened with a six off the third ball – and Abu Hider. Earlier, Rangpur scored 142 courtesy an early blitz from Chris Gayle, whose 28-ball 51 was the only half century of the game.Dhaka’s late crumbleDespite the frequent wickets, Dhaka’s prospects of a win were bright when Jahurul Islam and Shahid Afridi were at the crease. Jahurul had helped Dhaka recover from two early wickets, after which Afridi kept the scoreboard moving and threatened to break free with the end overs approaching. Afridi, however, was bowled in the 15th over, attempting a wild heave, and that wicket brought the run-scoring to a screeching halt. The next four overs yielded only 21 runs and two wickets – Mehedi Maruf out for a sluggish 15 off 24 balls, and Nadif Chowdhury falling to Malinga in the penultimate over. Entrusted with the final over, Thisara bounced back from Pollard’s six in the over to deliver three consecutive yorkers.Five-star Shakib keeps the target downHis 5 for 16 made Shakib Al Hasan only the fourth bowler with three or more five-fors in T20 cricket. Brought on to bowl in the ninth over, he dismissed Shahriar Nafees and Mohammad Mithun in his opening spell, before taking three wickets in Rangpur’s final over. At the start of that over, Rangpur were 140 for 6 and with Ravi Bopara at the crease, would have been eyeing a few quick runs. Instead, Bopara was run out off the first ball and Shakib went on to take three wickets off the next four deliveries. First, Ziaur Rahman holed out to Pollard at midwicket, two balls later Sohag Gazi was clean bowled and the next ball saw Rubel Hossain was caught behind. Rangpur added only two runs to their tally and Shakib’s 5 for 16 in 3.5 overs had shifted the momentum towards Dhaka at the break.Gayle comes good againRangpur raced to 71 for 1 in seven overs after being put in to bat and much of that was due to Gayle’s big-hitting. He cautiously saw off the first over and was given a reprieve in the second over, bowled by Sunil Narine, when a simple chance was put down by the short third man fielder. He capitalised on that immediately, smacking Mohammad Amir in the third over, followed by 15 runs in Narine’s second over. By the time he was out for 51 in the eighth over, after his second consecutive fifty, Gayle had smacked five fours and four sixes; in hindsight, that was just about enough for Rangpur in the end.

Ben Stokes is preparing to play his first game of competitive cricket since he was arrested in September following a street brawl in Bristol

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2017The Mainpower Oval in Rangiora, on the outskirts of Christchurch, is braced for the highest-profile contest in its history on Sunday, as Ben Stokes prepares to play his first game of competitive cricket since he was arrested in September following a street brawl in Bristol.Stokes, who caused a sensation last week when he was spotted at Heathrow Airport with his full cricket kit, has agreed terms to represent Canterbury in their domestic competitions, starting with a 50-over game against Otago in the Ford Trophy.He was granted a No Objection Certificate by the ECB on November 24, leading to speculation that he was being primed for an England recall as soon as the third Ashes Test at Perth, starting on December 14.However, Avon and Somerset Police last week confirmed that they had passed their completed file over to the Crown Prosecution Service, to seek advice as to whether Stokes should be charged for his actions on September 25 – a development that has made his prospects of featuring in the Ashes ever more remote.Nevertheless, he has settled in with his new team-mates at Canterbury, and spoke briefly to reporters at a nets session at Rangiora on Saturday morning, hours before his England team-mates embarked on the second Test against Australia at Adelaide.”I’d been working hard back home as well so it’ll be good to put that into practice,” Stokes told the Daily Telegraph. “I think it’ll be good for the club as well, so I’m looking forward to getting out there and hopefully winning.”It’s the first time I’ve met quite a few of them [Canterbury team-mates] today,” he added. “I knew a few of the younger guys because they’d been coming over to Durham on an exchange programme, so it’s nice to know a few faces because it is always hard coming into a new team when you’re meeting them for the first time. So it was nice to see a few friendly faces.””Ben is just desperate to play cricket,” said Gary Stead, Canterbury’s director of cricket. “He really reminded me of a young kid just wanting to get out there and play.”I can’t remember a time where there’s been more interest in any match I’ve ever played in or been involved with in New Zealand,” Stead added. “There’s been interest from all over the world.”Some have questioned Stokes’ signing in the circumstances, including Peter Fulton, Canterbury’s former captain. However, for Brendan Donkers, the club’s one-day coach, his arrival comes with spin-off benefits.”We’re a young group with an average age of 23 or 24, so to have a guy of Ben’s experience and quality is really going to lift our standards,” said Donkers. “Some people are saying we’d be foolish if we didn’t play him and some say we’d be foolish to play him – but from a cricket perspective it is fantastic.”This is the first time I have been standing with four microphones in front of me,” Donkers added. “If our guys have got international aspirations, this is the norm so this is a good experience for them.”

Middlesex have made Dawid Malan club captain and that begged the question whether a man with leadership ambitions might one day fill the most demanding role of all

David Hopps01-Feb-2018Dawid Malan did not break into England’s Test side until shortly after his 30th birthday, but what odds that one day – even if just fleetingly – he might captain England?That thought might have crossed the mind of more than a few people when Middlesex announced that he had been appointed as their new club captain. Here is the chance he has long yearned for to make an impression.The need to find Joe Root occasional rest periods will exist as long as he remains a multi-format player, the vice captain Ben Stokes is facing charges of affray and the player who stepped into that role in Australia, James Anderson, is approaching the end of his career.Malan, one of the few figures to emerge in credit after England’s 4-0 Ashes thumping, struck a maiden Test hundred in Perth and showed resilience throughout, gaining a reputation as a tough cricketer with an appetite for the challenge. Even if he just steps in for a day, his odds have tightened considerably compared to only six months ago.Middlesex have been heavily reliant upon overseas players to lead the club in recent seasons as Angus Fraser, their managing director of cricket and also an England selector, testified.But Malan’s stock has risen and, with a certain irony, he has been entrusted with the job just as England can be expected to make more demands on his time.Malan takes over the captaincy of the club in all formats, with Sam Robson appointed as his four-day vice-captain. Middlesex will appoint a stand-in captain in T20 and 50-over cricket only if should that prove necessary.It has taken almost 350 appearances for Middlesex across all formats, with him amassing more than 14,000 runs in the process, including 23 centuries, before he was appointed – although he did lead Middlesex in the NatWest Blast in 2016 and also led the England Lions to a tri-series win against Pakistan-A and Sri Lanka-A in the same year, impressing Andy Flower along the way.Fraser said: “In recent years Middlesex Cricket have looked at overseas players and new signings to captain the club but I now feel the time is right for players from within to take on major leadership roles.Dawid Malan slugs one to the leg side•Getty Images

“Since my return to Middlesex there have been a number of players who have developed from promising youngsters into high quality and highly-respected figures in domestic cricket. No player has done this more than Dawid Malan and that is why I am delighted he has taken up the offer to be club captain.”Dawid has always held the desire to captain teams and we have for some time believed he has had the potential to captain the club, hence his appointment as T20 captain in 2016. Along with the belief I have that he will become an excellent leader, Dawid stands out because he is somebody who we believe will do the job for several years.Fraser conceded that England absences complicated the issue but said that such considerations should not prevent Malan from gaining his rightful rewards. It is a view recently taken by Yorkshire with Gary Ballance and, somewhat controversially, by Kent with Sam Billings, a decision that will see Sam Northeast leave the club.”England commitments – and I hope Dawid continues to thrive as an international cricketer – may mean we do not see him for periods of the season but, in my mind, that should not stop the right man from holding the position he deserves to hold,” Fraser said.”In light of this Middlesex Cricket have made Sam Robson vice-captain in County Championship cricket. Sam is another player that has been developed by Middlesex and is a cricketer that is ready to take on further responsibility and new challenges. The pair of them will bring fresh ideas and energy to the County Championship cricket we play.Fraser also had warm words for the outgoing captain James Franklin, the New Zealand allrounder, who he said had “selflessly stepped in to fill a leadership hole.”So Malan as an England captain, however briefly? It might be seen as a bizarre suggestion, but there was a time when people would have scoffed at the thought that Paul Collingwood, by then pushing 34, would be the man to lead England to their only success in a major ICC tournament.

The board’s proposal to shift its headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru has met with both support and objection alongside calls for creation of zonal headquarters

Arun Venugopal08-Feb-2018BCCI acting president CK Khanna’s proposal to shift the board’s headquarters from Mumbai to a new facility in Bengaluru has met with a mixed response from different state associations. While the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) staunchly opposed the suggestion, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) welcomed the proposal and called for the creation of zonal headquarters. It is understood the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association haven’t firmed up their positions on the matter yet.Meanwhile, even as the Cricket Association of Bengal stated it did not wish to divulge its stance, the association’s joint-secretary Avishek Dalmiya said Kolkata wasn’t a “bad location” either for the BCCI’s headquarters to be moved to. “Whatever views we have we will disclose it whenever the issue is deliberated by the BCCI at its general body meeting,” Dalmiya told ESPNcricinfo. “In fact, even Kolkata does not prima facie seem to be a bad option because it will be logistically easier for a lot of units from the north-east as well as the east.”Khanna had sent two letters dated February 6 and 7 to state associations seeking their views on shifting the BCCI’s base. He stated that the 40 acres of land in the vicinity of the Bengaluru airport – originally acquired for the relocation of the National Cricket Academy from its current premises – could be used “optimally” as a multipurpose facility. “This whole land can be used optimally if along with NCA, BCCI also uses a part of this land to build a new state-of-art headquarters as its exclusive administrative office along with provision of allied and ancillary services infrastructure,” Khanna wrote.He also pointed out that the present headquarters, situated inside the premises of the Wankhede Stadium, was a rented facility, and urged that the BCCI shift to its own property. Outlining the other ways in which the proposed new headquarters could be used, Khanna wrote: “In these premises of BCCI, auditorium, conference rooms and meeting rooms for meetings with all the facilities could also be made,” he wrote. “An exquisite club house for visiting guests, cricketers with all dining facilities for their convenience, space for recreational facilities, indoor games, a cricket library, swimming pool and a cricket museum. It should also have adequate storage facility for BCCI documents for future reference and consultation.”Khanna, however, referred to clause 2 of the rules and regulations of the Lodha Committee report that warrants that the board’s headquarters remain in Mumbai. “In light of this fact, it is requested that the proposal of the members be kindly considered by the Hon’ble Committee of Administrators keeping in view the above said clause as enshrined in the rules & regulations,” he wrote in his second letter on February 7. “In case the Hon’ble Committee of Administrators deem it necessary, the proposal may be brought to the kind attention of the Hon’ble Supreme Court they may guide the way forward. It is reiterated herein that the proposal to shift the BCCI Headquarters to Bengaluru is based on the intention to develop a state-of-the-art headquaters for the board to enable it to cater to the growing organisational needs.”The MCA decided to inform the BCCI about the opinion of its managing committee that the board’s headquarters should stay at Wankhede Stadium. “The managing committee met a few days ago and is of the opinion that the BCCI office should remain on our premises,” MCA joint-secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar said. “Since the time of its inception, the BCCI’s office has been located on the premises of the MCA and the managing committee feels it should continue.”The SCA, in its reply to the BCCI, noted that the idea of moving the headquarters out of Mumbai had been floated many times in the past. However, the Cricket Centre at the Wankhede Stadium was found to be most “suitable and appropriate.””We understand that [the] lease agreement between Mumbai Cricket Association and Government of Maharashtra is coming to an end by February 2018 and our agreement with MCA will also end,” SCA joint-secretary Madhukar Worah wrote in a letter, which is in the possession of ESPNcricinfo. “We understand [the] MCA has already applied for extension of the lease agreement. We are confident that MCA will have same terms and conditions as per earlier lease agreement, which have [has] been very suitable to BCCI. Only if MCA comes up with unreasonable demands for renewal of agreement, we should think of shifting BCCI headquarters.”HCA secretary T Shesh Narayan, though, felt there was nothing wrong in moving the headquarters out of Mumbai. “As you know, Mumbai is a congested place and it has been there [as the headquarters] for 70-80 years,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Everybody should be given a chance. My proposal would be that each zone should have a zonal office and, by rotation, the board should function from that zone. Suppose, if the president is from south zone, then the south zone office shall become the headquarters. This is decentralisation that the Lodha [Committee] has talked about. But one logistical problem which will arise is it will be difficult for the staff to move. Since the funds are available in abundance, we can afford to have five offices. Decentralisation is there.”

BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary says the Committee of Administrators is against divergent opinions

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Mar-20184:23

Ugra: CoA’s approval of player contracts first step in this transfer of power

A day after the Committee of Administrators (CoA) annulled all the powers of the BCCI’s office bearers, the board’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary has challenged the decision, questioning whether the committee had the legal powers to issue such directives. In an email sent on Friday, Choudhary has accused the CoA of attempting to “gag” the office bearers of their fundamental rights while granting itself “cardinal” rights to “supplant” the board’s administrators.Choudhary said it was “praiseworthy” of the CoA to list excerpts from the court order “purportedly” concerning its appointment on January 30, 2016, on reasons why it was equipped with powers to issue the fresh directives on Thursday. The CoA promptly responded to Choudhary, saying it would stick to the directives issued two days back.Choudhary said, as per his reading of the twin court orders from last January, that it was clear that the CoA was appointed to carry on an “expeditious” implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations and hence had been assigned supervisory powers of the management and administration of the board.”The supervision part was only for the interim period and what is cardinal to the whole scheme is that the Hon’ble Apex Court was clear that the office bearers not only existed while you thought and believed they did not, they must discharge their responsibilities,” Choudhary said in his email.According to Choudhary, when it appointed the committee, the court was clear that the CoA had a “very limited and defined” role while the BCCI would “function” through its office bearers. Choudhary chided the CoA, saying it was attempting to “undermine” the role of the office bearers despite the court having blocked such a move in the past.”The scheme does not even remotely suggest that the CoA could supplant the office bearers or the General Body of the BCCI. Yet right from day one, as has been demonstrated, the entire effort seems to be directed at ousting the office bearers, preventing the office bearers from functioning and repeatedly enjoining the court to do away with them which further strengthens the view that rather than implementation of the reforms your interest lies elsewhere.”One of the directives issued by the CoA was that the office bearers could not utilise board money to pay for individual petitions in the court concerning the ongoing hearing on the BCCI implementing a new constitution which would include the reforms finalised by the Lodha Committee.By “suppressing” the office bearers, the CoA, Choudhary said, was only wanting to eliminate all contrary opinion in the BCCI. The timing of the CoA’s latest diktat also bothered Choudhary, considering the court is likely to resume the hearing soon.”There is now a further confirmation of your long standing effort to continue to run down the office bearers by going so far as even preventing them from appearing in Court through their counsels effectively gagging even their fundamental rights and ensuring that there is no contrary viewpoint before the Hon’ble Court,” the email read.PTI

The relationship between the CoA and the three office bearers comprising CK Khanna (acting BCCI president), Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer) and Choudhary has always been tense. The differences have been so entrenched that the CoA has already twice asked the court to remove the office bearers in its seven status reports. In the latest report, the CoA told the court that the tenure of all three office bearers had expired on March 2 as per the existing constitution of the board and they should be replaced with immediate effect.In the past month both Choudhary and the CoA have been involved in a bitter to-and-fro. The CoA chairman Vinod Rai took strong exception to Choudhary initiating a dialogue on India playing their inaugural day-night Test, potentially during the home series against West Indies later this year. Rai asked why the CoA was bypassed and placed the issue on hold until further deliberations were held between all stakeholders.Last week Choudhary challenged the CoA’s decision to approve the new player contracts despite not having the consent of the board’s finance committee, the primary authority as per the board’s rules. Choudhary said the office bearers had not been taken into confidence during the process of finalising the contracts.Choudhary said in its attempt to take “ownership” of the board, the CoA had even ignored the general body, which so far had been the main decision-making body in the BCCI, while taking several decisions which could have huge financial implications. “The clear thought of the COA is of having ownership of the organisation with its assets and liabilities dehors (foreign to) the members who actually form the Board,” Chaudhary said in his email. “Several decisions having huge financial implications on the BCCI, which under the rules and regulations of the BCCI can be taken only by the general body of the BCCI have been taken by the CoA and thus in effect the CoA has even supplanted the general body of the BCCI.”The player contracts and the media rights for Indian cricket, which are set to be sold via an e-auction for the first time, were among the examples Choudhary cited in his email of the CoA taking unilateral decisions without consulting the office bearers and while bypassing the BCCI general body. “Revision of salary of the BCCI staff, grant of increments to the staff even before they were due, new categorisation of players and finalising the players contracts, change of procedure for auction of media rights, are only of few of such decisions which were entirely within the domain of the general body of the board.”

“I get to 20 and I think I’m like Bradman, that’s the problem,” the fast bowler joked after he staged a significant fightback for England along with Jonny Bairstow on the opening day in Christchurch

Andrew McGlashan in Christchurch30-Mar-2018Mark Wood praised the role played by Jonny Bairstow in making batting “fun” as the pair staged a significant fightback for England on the opening day in Christchurch.Wood, recalled for this match in place of Craig Overton, joined Bairstow with England tottering on 164 for 7 with seemingly a longer tail having also dropped Chris Woakes. He proceeded to make his maiden Test fifty, dominating an eighth-wicket stand of 95 in 18 overs which, at the very least, have given England a foothold in a match that appeared to be slipping away.”I had loads of fun but the worrying thing is I’ve got a fifty before a five-for, so I’ve done that the wrong way round,” he said. “I loved batting with Jonny, a lad I’ve played with and against since I was about 11 years old. So nice to do it with him at the other end.”When I went out to bat we were in a bit of trouble. Jonny knows I like to have a bit of fun out there, so it made it easier – just having a laugh and seeing how it goes. It just put my mind at ease and you forget the situation you are in.”Wood’s first-class average of 21.10 shows he has some ability and he has previously given glimpses in his short Test career, but after this innings, he has made a strong case to be No. 8 ahead of Stuart Broad. However, Wood believes he should already have scored more runs than he has managed and has to remember not to get carried away.”I worked hard in the nets this week thinking I might play this game. I get to 20 and I think I’m like Bradman, that’s the problem, I try too many shots. It was nice having Jonny there, he kept it fun, kept it calm whereas sometimes I think I get a bit ahead of myself and try too much. [Neil] Wagner was bowling a lot of bouncers more often than not I knew where the ball was going to be. Me and Jonny talked about a plan and we could set up. When I first got in, [Tim] Southee had done a lot of the damage and was nipping it around so it was harder.”Wood defended England’s top order after another poor display, saying there was significantly more help for the bowlers in the first part of the day.”Maybe there was panic stations at one point but New Zealand bowled really well this morning…maybe it felt like we just changed the momentum a little bit and brought it back in our favour. We rotated the strike well, that’s one of things Jonny does – he runs well between the wickets.”Southee, who finished the day with 5 for 60 to move level with Chris Cairns at No. 4 in New Zealand’s all-time list on 218 scalps, conceded the day had taken a different turn after the post-lunch spell of 3 for 1 in nine balls by him and Trent Boult.”That little burst after lunch was good for us with three quick wickets then England dug deep and that partnership was a crucial one for then,” he said.”One thing to come out of it, it shows that once you get in and the ball gets a bit older the wicket is reasonably good. I think it’s pretty even, it would have been nice to finish them off this evening but credit has to go to the way the lower [order] of England stuck in. The way that Jonny has played all summer so we know he’s a big wicket and a dangerous player which he showed at the end.”

After being benched from Bermuda’s first two matches for disciplinary reasons, Kamau Leverock blasted 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur02-May-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsICC/Ian Jacobs

After being benched for Bermuda’s first two matches at the WCL Division Four for disciplinary reasons, star allrounder Kamau Leverock reminded Jersey of his talent with a devastating 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey at Kinrara Oval.Returning to the scene of Saturday’s training-session tirade that earned him a two-match ban, Leverock punished Jersey’s bowling attack after they had sent Bermuda in at the toss. Leverock, and his opening partner Okera Bascome, each hit a four and two sixes off Cornelis Bodenstein and Anthony Hawkins-Kay to take Bermuda to 32 for 0 in two overs. Leverock brought up a 28-ball fifty in the 10th over, off Charles Perchard.Leverock’s onslaught against Jersey’s bowlers was reminiscent of a similar shellacking two years ago, at the last Division Four in Los Angeles, when he smashed 137 off 111 balls.Elliot Miles eventually ended the opening stand at 52, but Leverock and captain Terryn Fray put on another 58 for the second wicket to take Bermuda to a commanding 110 for 1 in 15 overs.Bermuda’s scoring rate fell dramatically after Leverock’s dismissal, going at under four an over the rest of the way, until they were bowled out for 242 in the final over. The left-arm spin trio of Miles, Ben Stevens and Nat Watkins combined to take eight of the ten wickets.On what has been a good batting surface at the Kinrara Oval through the tournament, Jersey stuttered in reply, falling to 32 for 3 inside the Powerplay. Stevens once again provided a major contribution with the bat to give Jersey hope, top-scoring with 42 off 52 balls at No. 3. But Jersey were hurt by a number of batsmen failing to convert their starts in the middle and lower order.Offspinning allrounder Dion Stovell, who took the new ball and dismissed Peter Gough in the fourth over, came back to spin out the tail, finishing with 4 for 33 as Jersey were bowled out in the 43rd over for 184.