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Sri Lanka have named legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay as Lasith Malinga’s replacement, after a knee injury ruled the fast bowler out of the tournament on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Mar-20161:49

Match Day: SA’s class should show against Afghanistan

Sri Lanka have named legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay as Lasith Malinga’s replacement, after a knee injury ruled the fast bowler out of the tournament on Friday. Vandersay had been one of the two players who were withdrawn from the squad, 24 hours before the team left to India.His inclusion now strengthens Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling stocks, with Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake already in the squad. There are only three specialist seam-bowling options following Malinga’s departure, however, with Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Kulasekara and Suranga Lakmal the only frontline quicks on tour.Vandersay made his T20I debut last July against Pakistan and has picked up one wicket in four T20Is so far. He was included for the Asia Cup recently but was unused, thanks partly to the the seamer-friendly nature of the pitches in that tournament..

Mohammad Asif is this week expected to become the second of three Pakistan cricketers jailed for spot fixing to be released

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2012Mohammad Asif is this week expected to become the second of the three Pakistan cricketers jailed for spot-fixing to be released. Asif will have completed half of his one-year sentence and becomes eligible for release from Canterbury Prison under British law.The disgraced Pakistan trio – Asif, his fellow fast bowler Mohammad Amir and captain Salman Butt – participated in a betting scam involving the deliberate bowling of no-balls for financial gain during a Lord’s Test match between England and Pakistan in 2010.Asif and Butt were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November 2011 of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. All three lost an appeal that their sentences were “manifestly excessive” to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who upheld the sentences later in November and said that widespread corruption could “destroy the game”.Amir, the youngest at 18, pleaded guilty before the trial and was released from a young offenders’ institution midway through his six-month sentence earlier this year. Butt will not become eligible for release until next February, when he has served half of his 30-month sentence. Mazhar Majeed, the agent who was accused of setting up the deal, received a 32-month jail term.Asif is 29 and his Pakistan career could be over unless he overturns a seven-year ban (the last two of which are suspended) imposed by an ICC tribunal in February last year. Butt was banned for 10 years (five of them suspended) and Amir for five years.Mohammad Haroon, who described himself as “a friend and cricketer” told the AFP news agency that Asif still intended to go through with his appeal against the ICC ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “Asif has already appealed against the 12-month sentence and he will also appeal against the ICC ban,” Haroon said.Amir has no plans to appeal and has taken part in an anti-corruption video produced by the ICC.

James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman, will captain England Lions on their tour of Bangladesh in January

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2011James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman, will captain England Lions on their tour of Bangladesh in January and Tymal Mills, the Essex pace bowler, has earned his first Lions call up.The 16-man squad includes a number of players, including Taylor, who have already played for the full England side. Jonny Bairstow, Scott Brothwick, Stuart Meaker, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales were all part of the one-day series against India during October.Mills, 19, is a left-arm quick who has been fast-tracked into the Lions set up after just four first-class matches for Essex but has already caught the attention of the selectors with his natural pace.

England Lions squad

• James Taylor (capt), Jonathan Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Jack Brooks, Nathan Buck, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Simon Kerrigan, Tom Maynard, Stuart Meaker, Tymal Mills, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince

The tour, which includes five one-day games and two Twenty20s against Bangladesh A, is geared towards equipping England’s young players with the skills to succeed on the subcontinent; both in terms of playing and bowling spin. Alongside Borthwick, the Durham legspinner, Simon Kerrigan from Lancashire and Hampshire’s Danny Briggs are included. Last season Kerrigan took 9 for 51 against Hampshire in the County Championship.Jason Roy and Tom Maynard, the Surrey pair, are among the batsman making the trip as is Yorkshire’s Joe Root. All the players selected are currently involved in the performance programme squad, with the batsmen and spinners at a training camp in India while the quick bowlers are in South Africa. Boyd Rankin, the Ireland and Warwickshire fast bowler, will join the Lions tour after playing for the ICC Associates and Affiliates team against England in Dubai.David Parsons, the performance director, said: “We have selected a young squad for this tour which is in line with our strategy of looking ahead to the 2015 World Cup and identifying and working with players who may be able to go on and play a role for England in the future.”These players have worked extremely hard over the last couple of months with a strong focus on limited-overs cricket,” he added. “This tour presents a good opportunity for these players to continue to develop their skills in subcontinent conditions on what will no doubt be a challenging tour of Bangladesh as well as push for selection for future England squads.”

Graeme Smith paid tribute to his team for a “dominant performance” after their innings-and-25-run win over India in the first Test in Centurion

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park20-Dec-2010Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, paid tribute to his team for a “dominant performance” after their innings-and-25-run win over India in the first Test in Centurion. “We controlled the game throughout the five days,” he said. “We were ahead of the game the whole time.”South Africa put in a superior performance and there was only one passage of play in the Test where they felt under threat – during Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni’s 172-run seventh-wicket stand on day four. “That was the one time that we really put in the yards. The wicket flattened out a lot, it was hot and windy and the guys showed a lot of character in that situation, especially Dale’s spell at the end,” Smith said. Steyn clocked close to 145kph to remove Dhoni late in the afternoon and swing the advantage firmly in South Africa’s direction, a position they held from the first session of the first day.MS Dhoni, India’s captain, placed a lot of importance on the toss and the way the pitch played during the first two sessions on day one but Smith thought it was a case of too much hype. “I don’t think the wicket actually did that much. For a wicket that was under covers for four days, I thought it would do a bit more.” He added that the expectation of a bouncy wicket, and not the wicket itself, may have been what undid India. “In my mind, I think India expected more from the wicket than what actually happened. They were tentative and were on the back foot a lot of the time.”Although the pitch was thought to have played a big role on first day, with India losing nine wickets in 38 overs, Smith said most of the credit belonged to his bowlers. “Our bowlers bowled well. When you bowl on a wicket that you think is going to do a bit, you’ve got to get the ball in the right place. We were very controlled.” Lonwabo Tsotsobe was the only bowler that India could pick on but Smith did not label the left-armer the weak link. “He’s inexperienced, he has to grow as a cricketer and we have to give him the tools to do that.”The main battle of this No. 1 versus No.2 ranked Test teams has centred on South Africa’s bowling against India’s batting and after the first match, it’s clear that South Africa won the tussle by some stretch. South Africa have not forgotten about the lesser clash, between their batsmen and India’s bowlers and Smith said it’s important that the line-up doesn’t take for granted that India did not manage to bowl them out once.”Who knows how the wicket will play in Durban? There’s been a lot of rain there around this period also. We’ve got to be realistic,” Smith said. Kallis talked up the Kingsmead pitch as the one that offers “the most bounce in South Africa” and it’s also become known for its swing. With Zaheer Khan likely to spearhead the line-up, South Africa will face a different threat to the one they had in this match. Smith thinks they have done a good job at adapting to bowlers on various pitches over the years. “We’d like to think we are a strong, powerful batting unit and we can cope with conditions wherever we go.”India will look to prove they too have a similar batting unit after a match in which everyone except Tendulkar and Dhoni underperformed. Dhoni said the focus will be on levelling the series in Durban, before entertaining any thoughts of how they are going to win it from this position. Smith had said India were under pressure from before the first Test, now he thinks they face even more strain. “When you go 1-0 down in a three match series, there’s always extra pressure. The build-up to the next Test becomes crucial – the decisions you make, how you train, the selection, how the squad moves to the next Test. I know the Indian team always plays under pressure, and there are high expectations on them.”

Dhruv Jurel, meanwhile, is likely to take the keeping gloves from Ishan Kishan

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2024KL Rahul is likely to open alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran in India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A, which begins on Thursday in Melbourne. With India likely to be without Rohit Sharma at the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahul and Easwaran seem set for a direct face-off to be selected as Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening partner for the first Test in Perth, which starts on November 22.ESPNcricinfo understands that Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, who departed for Australia before the rest of the Test squad to gain game-time playing for India A, will both feature in the Melbourne four-day game. With Rahul partnering Abhimanyu at the top, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who opened in the first unofficial Test in Mackay, is set to drop down into the middle order, with Jurel taking the wicketkeeping gloves from Ishan Kishan.Related

• Rahul, Jurel to leave early for Australia and play second A game

• Rohit: 'More comfortable' with match simulation than practice match

• Abhimanyu, Harshit Rana, Reddy picked for India's tour of Australia

• Rohit Sharma in doubt for India's first Test against Australia in Perth

India captain Rohit’s participation in the early part of the Australia tour is in doubt for personal reasons. There is still some uncertainty around this, and on Sunday, at the end of the 3-0 home-series defeat to New Zealand, he said he “wasn’t too sure if I’ll be going to [Perth]”.If Rohit is unavailable, India’s team management will have an interesting choice to make at the top of the order. Abhimanyu was called up to the Test squad for the Australia tour as the designated third opener, and at the time of selection had scored centuries in each of his four most recent first-class games. In all first-class cricket, Abhimanyu has 27 centuries in 100 matches, and averages 49.40.Rahul, meanwhile, was originally a candidate for the middle order. Since the 2023-24 South Africa tour, Rahul has batted exclusively in the middle order in Test cricket, scoring 339 runs in 10 innings at an average of 37.66 – higher than his career figure of 33.87 over 53 Tests – including a century at Centurion and two fifties.Rahul, however, has plenty of experience of facing the new ball overseas, and is one of only two Asian openers to have scored Test centuries in England, South Africa and Australia. Those high points, however, have come against the backdrop of a less-than-spectacular overall record as opener: 2551 runs in 75 innings at 34.94.Dhruv Jurel could put pressure on Sarfaraz Khan if he scores runs in the second unofficial Test•AFP/Getty Images

If Rahul does return to the top of the order, it will be something of a reprise of the 2021 England tour, which he began having stated his intention to bat in the middle order. Injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, however, created a vacancy at the top, which Rahul filled on the course of a successful tour that included a century in a memorable win at Lord’s.By the start of the 2024-25 home season, Rahul’s career had gone through several further twists, and he was now established as India’s first-choice No. 6. He was left out of the first XI after the first Test against New Zealand, however, with Sarfaraz Khan – who had replaced the injured Gill in India’s XI – moving above him in the pecking order with a second-innings 150. Five visits to the crease during India’s home season brought Rahul scores of 16, 22*, 68, 0 and 12.Sarfaraz, for his part, does not start the Australia tour as a certainty in the XI. After that 150, he failed to get past 19 in four innings against New Zealand, and has never previously played Test cricket outside India. Given the pacy, bouncy conditions expected in Perth, India may yet be undecided on whether to pick Sarfaraz at No. 6, or play Rahul there – in which case Abhimanyu opens if Rohit is absent – or, in a left-field move, pick both Jurel and Rishabh Pant and play one of them as a specialist batter.With Pant unavailable while recovering from knee injuries sustained in his December 2022 car crash, Jurel made his Test debut in the home series against England earlier this year, and impressed both behind and in front of the stumps. He scored 190 runs in four innings at an average of 63.33, and his innings of 90 and 39* in a tense victory in the fourth Test in Ranchi won him the Player-of-the-Match award.Jurel has not played any Tests since Pant’s return, but has cemented his spot as India’s reserve keeper and an exciting future prospect.Given all the possible permutations in Perth, the selectors and team management will likely pay as much attention to Jurel’s displays in Melbourne with both bat and gloves as they do to those of Rahul and Abhimanyu against the new ball.

Opener slams 66 off 32 and then picks up 2 for 25 to put home side top of North Group

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2024Lancashire 176 for 8 (Wells 66, Hasan 3-47) beat Birmingham Bears 168 for 6 (Hain 59, Wells 2-25) by eight runsEarly pacesetters Lancashire Lightning beat Birmingham Bears at fortress Emirates Old Trafford to stay top of the embryonic Vitality Blast North Group table, with Luke Wells to the fore.Lightning just defended a 177 target to win by eight runs, sealing their third victory in four games as Wells opened with a career best-equalling 66 off 32 balls, then returned 2 for 25 with his legspinners and added two catches.Bears missed the chance to leapfrog their hosts to the group’s summit, losing for the first time in three matches as they replied to 176 for 8 with 168 for 6 despite Sam Hain’s 59 off 44.Lancashire are now unbeaten in 23 group fixtures at Emirates Old Trafford since the end of summer 2020, excluding matches where not a ball was bowled. Surrey did, however, win here in last summer’s quarter-final.Wells clattered five early sixes before bowling Chris Benjamin to put the skids under Birmingham at 56 for 3 in the seventh over of their chase.The tall left-hander, playing his 48th T20 match, lit up the first half of Lancashire’s innings with his flurry of sixes, including three successively over midwicket off Pakistan pacer Hassan Ali at the start of fourth over, which went for 27.That gave Lightning, invited to bat on a used pitch, valuable momentum at 47 for 1 having only taken eight runs from the first two overs.Wells only scored one off his first six balls yet reached his fifty off 22, taking Lancashire to 73 for 1 after six.He dominated an 80-run stand inside six overs with captain Keaton Jennings from 18 for 1 in the third over. But Bears fought back superbly with four wickets for 30, starting with Jennings stumped off a leg-side wide from left-arm wristspinner Jake Lintott.As spin put the squeeze on, Lintott also had Wells stumped by captain Alex Davies to finish with 2 for 29, while Danny Briggs got Tom Bruce and a brilliant George Garton throw running in from deep midwicket ran out Matty Hurst – Lancashire 128 for 5 in the 14th.Hasan returned to get three wickets in the final over – Steven Croft, Chris Green and Luke Wood caught in the deep – as the hosts lost momentum.But their score was still very competitive courtesy of Wells’ early fireworks, which felt like the exception rather than the norm on this sluggish surface.Lightning quicks Mitchell Stanley and Luke Wood removed openers Davies and Rob Yates caught at third and deep square-leg respectively in the space of three balls to leave Bears 23 for 2 in the third over. Benjamin was then bowled trying to slog sweep Wells, and Bears were struggling.They reached 76 for 3 after 10 overs, needing 101 more. England fringe quick Saqib Mahmood, playing his first T20 match in just over a year following injury, then had Dan Mousley caught at long-leg by action-man Wells – 76 for 4 in the 11th.Bears then hit back, as they had done with the ball. Hain and Jacob Bethell shared 62 inside seven overs, the latter contributing 33 before falling caught behind off Wells.At 138 for 5 in the 17th, Bears needed 39. But Hain, with a season’s best score in all formats to his name, then drilled Wood to Wells at mid-off – 147 for 6 with 11 balls left. That proved decisive, leaving Mahmood defending 24 off the last.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-20232:53

Have England failed to plan well for this World Cup?

—Fixtures | Squads | Points table | Tournament Index

Top Story: England’s title defence suffers another crushing blow as Sri Lanka coast to victory

England’s World Cup defence is not dead yet. And more’s the pity, to judge by this latest hollow-eyed display from Jos Buttler’s ex-worldbeaters. The humiliations are coming so thick and fast that they are losing their shock factor but, suffice to say, this latest crushing loss – by eight wickets and in just 59 overs of the match’s 100 – was neither the largest nor the most shocking of an abject campaign.It was, however, the one that confirmed beyond any lingering doubt that this team of genuine England greats no longer has any miracles left within its dressing-room. The match-up was nominally eighth versus ninth in the tournament standings, but by the time Pathum Nissanka had slammed Sri Lanka’s winning six over long-on with a massive 148 balls remaining, you were left to wonder whether this England team, in this miserable mood, could even have matched their conquerors’ achievement of making out of the qualifying tournament in July that did for the likes of West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland.Click here to read the full report

Match analysis: England’s lurching between attack and defence leaves them in no man’s land

There was more gloom heading Jos Buttler’s way who once again fell for a low score•Associated Press

The light at the end of the tunnel was a train. England have spent the last four weeks travelling around India talking about responding to setbacks and awaiting the statement performance that has never arrived. If their defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa were bad, this might have been the worst of the lot.The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was a venue that should have suited England perfectly. In the first of five effective must-win games, they chose to bat first on a flat pitch with short boundaries, rattled along to 44 for 0 after six overs and could finally afford to dream big: would 350 be enough to flatten Sri Lanka, or should they eye 400?Click here to read the full analysis from Matt Roller in Bengaluru

Must Watch: Shane Bond on England’s unwillingness to adapt

2:23

Bond: England showing no willingness to adapt

News headlines

• Jos Buttler said that England’s performance at the World Cup has been “a huge disappointment” and “a shock to everyone” within their set-up, after an eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in Bengaluru left them on the brink of elimination with four group games remaining.
• Shakib Al Hasan returned to Bangladesh’s World Cup camp in Kolkata on Thursday evening, cutting short his three-day Dhaka trip to two days. Shakib had gone to Dhaka on October 25 to have a nets session with his childhood mentor Nazmul Abedeen Fahim.

Match preview

Pakistan vs South Africa, Chennai (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT2:59

Bavuma: There is a temptation to chase in Chennai

As one campaign unravels, another gathers full steam. It’s a familiar theme for Pakistan and South Africa across much of ICC tournament history. While South Africa have often looked among the most formidable sides in the early stages of these tournaments, Pakistan stutter and stall until they’ve left themselves with no margin for error, and then they roar into life. This fixture, timed to coincide with that point of crossroads in the World Cup group stages, gives that narrative the extra thrust for South Africa to be that little bit warier, and Pakistan slightly more optimistic.But South Africa are looking to make history at this World Cup, while Pakistan are in danger of being consigned to it. The ferocious brilliance of South Africa has combined with clinical effectiveness, lending that side a steel and ruthlessness they have often been accused of lacking. The team might always look a batter light with Marco Jansen in at seven, but with nearly all of the top six in such glistening form, no side bar Netherlands have been able to burrow their way deeper into that line-up until explosive damage has already been done.Click here for the full previewTeam newsPakistan: (likely) 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Usama Mir, 9 Mohammad Wasim Jnr, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris RaufSouth Africa: (likely) 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Tabraiz Shamsi, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Lizaad Williams

Analysis: How Heinrich Klaasen bosses spin with a destructive quasi-pull

A rendition of the pull that has brought Heinrich Klaasen so much success against spin•ICC/Getty Images

When is a pull no longer a pull? If you’re the kind of person who spends an unhealthy amount of time dwelling on the precise meanings of cricketing terms, you might find yourself pondering this when you watch Heinrich Klaasen play the pull.Defined most simply, the pull is a horizontal-bat shot hit across the line of a short-pitched ball. Klaasen’s pull, particularly against spin bowling, routinely fails to check all three of those boxes.Read the full analysis from Karthik Krishnaswamy

Buttler pounds 162* as Malan and Salt also notch tons and Livingstone adds rapid 66

Valkerie Baynes17-Jun-2022If the Netherlands needed to enhance its long-held reputation as a prime party destination, it had only to look to Jos Buttler and his mates who strode in, set the records spinning, tore the place up and left their hosts wondering what on earth had just happened here.An ODI world-record total of 498 for 4, built on Buttler’s brutal 162 not out and further centuries from Dawid Malan and Phil Salt before Liam Livingstone smashed 66 from just 22 balls, left Netherlands facing an implausible target after winning the toss on an exceptional surface.It beat England’s own record for the highest ODI total of 481 for 6, made against Australia in 2018, and, despite spirited knocks from Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, who helped them come within two balls of seeing out their 50 overs, Netherlands lost by 232 runs.Following Jonny Bairstow’s jaw-dropping example to win the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, Buttler plundered his score off just 70 deliveries with no part of the VRA ground or its surrounds safe as he launched the ball into trees, onto the Pavillion roof, over the commentary tent and onto the neighbouring hockey fields.Buttler scored England’s second-fastest hundred in ODIs, smashing his way to the mark off 47 balls. He now holds his side’s top-three fastest, his 46-ball effort in 2015 and 50-ball knock in 2019, both against Pakistan, bookending this one. In all, he struck 14 of England’s world record-breaking 26 sixes for the innings.Jos Buttler acknowledges the applause for his hundred•Getty Images

A warm, fine day began brightly enough for the hosts, when Jason Roy fell to his cousin, Shane Snater, on the seventh ball he faced, bowled through the gate by a fuller delivery that caught the inside edge before rattling the stumps and England were 1 for 1.Salt, playing his fourth ODI, scored his maiden international century with an assured knock, reaching 122 from just 93 balls. He signalled his intentions with a gorgeous cover drive to the boundary off Logan van Beek then launched him for six over midwicket.He should have been out for 40 when he hit Bas de Leede straight to deep backward point, where Snater shelled the chance, and he rammed home the mistake by cracking de Leede for four over wide long-on two balls later.Malan survived an lbw decision attempting a reverse-paddle off Pieter Seelaar on 25, his review showing that while the ball struck the front pad low and in line with middle stump, it was tracking past the top of leg.Salt took the lead role, bringing up his second ODI fifty off 39 balls with a four off Seelaar fine of long-off and he powered to 71 with six off van Beek over cow corner.Malan was somewhat becalmed after the powerplay but he raised the tempo by striking Aryan Dutt for four through point and Phillippe Boissevain for six down the ground. His subsequent six off Seelaar hit a tree over long-on and bounced back into the ground, unlike the one he struck in the ninth over that had to be fetched from the woods. He ended up sharing a 222-run stand with Salt, who finally fell top-edging van Beek to Boissevain at point.No matter for England as Buttler arrived at the crease and proceeded to reduce the Netherlands attack to cannon fodder.Buttler was virtually trading in boundaries alone as he reached a 27-ball fifty, including five sixes and two fours. Three of his maximums came within four balls from Seelaar, the first just clearing the rope after Vikramjit Singh had moved in from long-on followed by two more – increasing in distance – over the same area.To make matters worse for Netherlands, Buttler struck the next ball down the ground only for it to pop out of the hands of Musa Ahmed. And, of course, his half-century came up from another six as he muscled a Snater slower ball over long-off.Malan became only third English player behind Buttler and Heather Knight to score a century in each format when he dabbed a leg-side single off Boissevain. Malan’s innings ended when he eventually holed out to deep backward square leg off Seelaar, having notched up 125 off 109 balls and added 184 runs with Buttler, who contributed 139 of those.Liam Livingstone slammed 66 off 22 balls•Getty Images

Eoin Morgan then fell to a first-ball duck, lbw off Seelaar who managed to overturn his initial not-out decision and continue a lean run for Morgan, who has been troubled by injuries this year and managed just one international half-century in 18 months.Livingstone saw off the hat-trick ball nurdling a single through midwicket and, as another renowned heavy hitter in the England line-up, he completed Netherlands’ demoralisation, pummelling 32 runs off the next over from Boissevain.Livingstone raced to 46 off just 13 balls and was within reach of AB de Villiers’ 16-ball record for fastest ODI fifty but he managed just two runs while being dropped by Boissevain at deep square leg off Snater then faced two dot balls. He sent Snater’s next delivery into the sightscreen for six to reach the milestone from 17 balls, narrowly missing de Villers’ mark but claiming the England record for fastest ODI fifty.With the mystical 500-run mark still in England’s sights in the final over, Buttler took them past their world-best score with six off Snater’s third ball. But when Livingstone could only manage four off the penultimate delivery the well-oiled crowd groaned, realising it was now out of reach. Livingstone launched the final ball for six over deep midwicket, leaving them just two runs shy.When cameras panned to masses of schoolchildren at hockey practice next door, it was somewhat reassuring that Netherlands were batting by that stage. That was before O’Dowd got in on the act and became the first player to smash something other than a record when his straight six off Adil Rashid torpedoed into the press box window.O’Dowd was assertive in reaching a run-a-ball 55 but he fell charging at Reece Topley, who pinged the top of off stump. O’Dowd had helped steady the innings with an 80-run stand alongside Ahmed after Netherlands lost Singh in the third over.And so it was that as Netherlands batters made a starts, England’s bowlers plucked them out, sharing the wickets. Edwards was another exception, compiling an unbeaten 72 off 56 balls.Sam Curran made encouraging steps in his return from a back stress fractures, claiming two wickets from his nine overs. Livingstone, meanwhile, left the field twice during Netherlands’ reply suffering from some calf tightness and it fell to Malan to bowl the final over of the match – his first in ODIs. Malan secured his maiden wicket when he had last man out Boissevain caught behind by none other than Buttler.

“We will rather make sacrifices today and survive tomorrow,” says Zimbabwe Cricket chairman

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2020Even as they pushed for a first ever Test win against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe’s cricketers did so knowing their salaries would be cut after the two-Test series. Zimbabwe had been defeated in the first Test by 10 wickets, though they fought well in the first half of the match.Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said “it can’t be business as usual” given the financial crunch the team faced, and indicated that this was being done to ensure better long-term financial health.”It’s an on-going process,” Mukuhlani was quoted as saying by Associated Press. “But yes, we will have to cut back. It can’t be business as usual.”Obviously it’s a bit of a touchy subject. But I will assume that everyone will accept it. We will rather make sacrifices today and survive tomorrow. It’s bring and take, a bargaining process.”Zimbabwe have faced monetary troubles for several years. On occasions, these have led to players threatening strikes, while more regularly, several promising cricketers have left Zimbabwe to carve out cricket careers elsewhere.Last year, the ICC had banned all Zimbabwe teams from participating in any international competitions citing government interference in running the national board. During the ban period, the ICC had also stopped all funds to Zimbabwe Cricket. The government had fired the board amid allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, sparking the ban. The cricket board was later reinstated and the ICC lifted its ban in October 2019.However, the ban stopped Zimbabwe from playing in the qualifiers for the T20 World Cup that will be held this year in Australia.ALSO READ: ‘The smaller teams want to play more, but they can’t because the cash is not there’ – Alistair CampbellFormer Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell had recently told ESPNcricinfo in an interview that playing the Test series against Sri Lanka would leave a big hole in the budget for Zimbabwe Cricket.”That’s going to make a big hole in the budget,” Campbell had said. “But it’s a sort of catch-22 isn’t it? You know that you’re making a loss, and it might impact some of your further tours, but you’re eager to play Test cricket. These opportunities don’t arise [often], so you can’t cancel it. You have to go ahead and try to make a plan.”Zimbabwe were allotted a grant of USD 94 million from the ICC for an eight-year period from 2017. But Mukuhlani, who is part of the ICC board as a representative of a Test-playing nation, said there has been reduced financial help from the ICC in other areas for many countries and that’s exacerbated the problems in Zimbabwe.

Hope was struck on the helmet during his unbeaten 108, while Roach hurt his right hamstring while bowling

Mohammad Isam in Sylhet14-Dec-2018Shai Hope and Kemar Roach were ruled out of the third ODI against Bangladesh in Sylhet mid-way through the game. Both were put under observation after they were injured on the field during the match.Hope was hit on the helmet with the ball deflecting off his bat as he tried to pull the first ball of the 50th over. It initially appeared to have not been much of a blow as he only called for the physio after facing two more Mohammad Saifuddin deliveries. He continued batting and remained unbeaten on 108 at the end of the innings but didn’t come out to field. In his absence, Shimron Hetmyer assumed the wicketkeeping duties.Roach, meanwhile, bowled only three overs in the Bangladesh innings before walking off holding his right hamstring. Roach’s hamstring spasms are being monitored by the team physio. Roach is not part of the West Indies T20I side and will be returning home after the third ODI. Hope is, however, part of the T20I squad. The series begins in Sylhet on December 17.”Kemar Roach is not in the T20 squad, so he gets time to heal,” captain Rovman Powell said after the match. “His foot is a little bit sore. Shai Hope is a little bit dizzy from the ball that he got struck in the head. Hopefully, overnight into tomorrow he can recover. He will be a vital part of the T20s.”