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India’s attempts to host a day-night Test has gained further ground with Eden Gardens set to host the country’s first pink-ball multi-day cricket match in June

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2016India’s attempts to host a day-night Test has gained further ground with Eden Gardens set to host the country’s first pink-ball multi-day cricket match.The final of the Super League, a local tournament in Bengal to help identify players for the state’s Ranji Trophy team, is expected to be played under lights from June 18 to 21. Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, hoped the “experiment” would help India host a day-night Test “in the near future”.”Pink-ball cricket indeed is the way forward,” he told the . “Test cricket’s popularity has been steadily declining and we must do something to arrest the slide. The pink-ball Test in Australia last year received an overwhelmingly positive response and we must embrace the change. The Super League final under lights is an experiment with an eye to hosting day-night Tests in the near future. I think it would be a very good experience.”Ganguly is also the head of the BCCI technical committee that recommended the Duleep Trophy, an inter-zonal first-class tournament, be played with pink balls soon after then board secretary and current board president, Anurag Thakur, had announced plans to play a floodlit Test against New Zealand later this year. NZC, however, said a number of factors needed to be finalised before going through with the match.Though cricket in India is usually played with the SG ball, the Super League final will be played with a pink Kookaburra, which requires a specific set of conditions to last.There had been complaints that it deteriorated quickly and became difficult to pick up, from both batsmen and fielders, when it was trialled in the Sheffield Shield, Australia’s first-class tournament, before it was approved for the day-night Test in Adelaide in November 2015. The pitch for that game had to have a more-than-normal coating of grass to help delay the wear and tear of the ball, and it resulted in exaggerated lateral movement. Another concern with hosting a floodlit match, especially in India, is dew.”Certain conditions are required for the pink ball to hold up for a substantial period,” CAB secretary Abhishek Dalmiya said. “We have spoken to Kookaburra’s subcontinent head and will follow the advice.”

“Everyone backs everyone, it doesn’t matter which XI is playing”

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2021On a high after their emphatic series win at Edgbaston on Sunday, New Zealand will now have plenty of selection headaches to deal with for the World Test Championship final against India starting June 18 in Southampton. With a combination of injuries and their decision to rest a few players, New Zealand made six changes to their playing XI for the second Test, and still showed enough depth in both batting and bowling to beat England by eight wickets.If most or all of their injured players recover, New Zealand will have numerous options for only a few spots available. How are some of their players on the fringe of a permanent spot in the playing XI coping with that competition?”I try not to put any pressure on myself,” spinner Ajaz Patel, one of the six inclusions for the second Test, said. “Faith is a big factor for me, which allows me to stay grounded and be comfortable with whatever is thrown at me. I make sure I’m still working hard, developing my game and continuing to grow so when the opportunity does come, I make the most of it.Related

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“There is no added pressure, whenever I put the cap on, I look at it as a privilege. [I] try and have fun because that’s why we play cricket. It’s still reliving a childhood dream, representing New Zealand and putting that black baggy on. We take a lot of pride and privilege in that. Every time I get the opportunity, I try to put out there what I’ve been working on while I’ve been away. Sometimes you have to take a back seat, and sometimes you’re thrust in the front.”New Zealand’s incredible discipline on the field, and subsequent success, has roots in the culture that the team has bought into over the last few years.”It was probably six or seven years ago, the leadership group sat down and thought we want to play a brand of cricket that was true to us as Kiwis,” New Zealand’s stand-in captain Tom Latham said. “Something that we could hold our head on. The change came around that World Cup time in 2015. To try and enjoy cricket, enjoy each other’s company. That’s something we hold true to this group.”Patel also alluded to that culture as an influential reason in New Zealand’s recent success. “The culture around this team is very good. Everyone is quite positive, there is no negativity, and that breeds so much success we have. Everyone backs everyone, it doesn’t matter which XI is playing. Everyone has been putting in a 100% and it was from the guys that weren’t playing to the guys that were in the playing XI.”I was carrying drinks last week, there was a different group carrying drinks this week. We had a lot of seniors players carrying drinks and they still did the job for the team and I think that shows our team culture and how we go about our cricket, and what it really means to be a part of this team for everyone. There’s no ranks in here and everyone does what they need to which is a great environment to be in.”Even though the Ageas Bowl in Southampton favours spin as the match progresses, New Zealand will probably have to choose between Mitchell Santner and Patel for the WTC final. “We have some good conversations about spin, a lot of in-depth analysis and tactics that we can use while we’re out there. We have a good healthy competition but at the same time, we work well together as well. Competition is always good, we’re growing together,” he said.”I’ve done my part, my preparation. Now it’s up to the selectors. My foundation of faith allows me to be at peace with whatever happens. For me, it’s about preparing and whatever happens from there, happens from there. I wouldn’t want to be a selector right now because there are some pretty tough decisions. It has been highlighted in the last couple of games how much depth we really have.”Patel took four wickets at Edgbaston, while also performing the role of a holding spinner. He bowled eight maidens in 23 overs with an economy rate of well under three in both innings, and chipped in with the bat as well in the first innings with 20 useful runs at No. 10 which helped New Zealand in taking an 85-run lead.”I tried to make use of whatever was out there. Being able to bat, that was fun. Mark Wood bowling some serious pace, trying to take your block off isn’t the most amusing. It’s something I’ve been working on, it was nice to showcase that. But also doing a job in the second innings where conditions start favouring you a bit more.”

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on January 3, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2016

Highlights of the day

After losing their first game of the season against Services, Karnataka bounced back by holding on for a one-run win against Mumbai in Cuttack. Karnataka, after being inserted, were boosted by a 38-run blast from Stuart Binny, which lifted the team to 162. Binny then struck with the ball, accounting for the crucial scalps of Shreyas Iyer and the captain Aditya Tare to peg Mumbai’s chase back. However, Abhishek Nayar stayed firm, stroking 49 off 32 balls, to reduce the equation to 19 needed off 10 balls, with two wickets in hand. Nayar got Mumbai to within two runs of victory, but was caught behind off Vinay Kumar in the penultimate ball of the match, leaving the final pair of Pravin Tambe and Dhawal Kulkarni to collect the winning runs. Tambe, though, was run out off the final ball, putting Karnataka on the board.Tamil Nadu posted their second win on the trot, after compiling a total of 151 and then bowling Bengal out for 82 in Nagpur. Rahil Shah was the pick of Tamil Nadu’s bowlers, collecting 5 for 12, while M Ashwin chipped in with 2 for 9.Harbhajan Singh shone with the ball for Punjab, his 3 for 8 setting up a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Jammu & Kashmir. Harbhajan dismissed Mithun Manhas, Parvez Rasool and Zahoor Sofi in successive overs, restricting J&K to 105. Punjab then gunned down their target in 14.3 overs, thanks to an unbeaten 45-ball 58 from Mandeep Singh.Delhi‘s Nitish Rana was the star of the show in Vadodara, smashing 97 off just 40 balls to fire the team to a 111-run win against Andhra. Rana drilled eight fours and sixes each during his blitz, and shared a 119-run stand with Milind Kumar (58) as Delhi compiled a total of 236 for 9. Andhra failed to gather any momentum in the chase and were shut out for 125, with Suboth Bhati, Pawan Negi and Shivam Sharma snaring two wickets apiece.

Other brief scores

Manchester Originals crash out after failing to complete tall chase inside 72 balls

Joe Boaden31-Aug-2022Oval Invincibles qualified for the Women’s Hundred final in style, racking up the highest score of this year’s competition as they brushed Manchester Originals aside by 32 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.Invincibles’ score of 163 for 2 was powered by an unbeaten 79 from captain Suzie Bates, and they can now look forward to the showcase match at Lord’s on Saturday against either the Southern Brave or Trent Rockets.In reply, Originals never got close, with the defeat ending their slim chance of qualification for the latter stages of the competition, despite 64 from Lizelle Lee in what could be her last match for the team.Seventeen-year-old Sophia Smale and Marizanne Kapp, who enjoyed a good day with bat and ball, were the pick of the bowlers, both finishing with two wickets as the Originals were restricted to 131 for 6 in a dominant display for the London-based side.Sophia Smale’s two early wickets extended Oval Invincible’s advantage•ECB/Getty Images

Knowing that a victory would guarantee them top spot and an automatic berth to the final, the Invincibles won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision justified by the fluent start provided by the experienced opening pairing of Bates and Lauren Winfield-Hill.The pair had raced to 62 in just 43 balls when Winfield-Hill was caught by Erin Burns in the deep of Emma Lamb for 25 but New Zealander Bates was undeterred, bringing up an impressive fifty off 33 balls, before Alice Capsey was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone for 18 trying to keep the runs flowing.That brought Kapp to the crease, returning to the team after missing the last two outings, and she and Bates played powerfully around the ground to elevate their team to an impressive 163 with an unbroken partnership of 67 from just 36 balls.Bates’ innings of 79 featured nine fours and two sixes, while Kapp’s 36 contained five boundaries, including one maximum.That total was just short of the overall record team total for the Women’s Hundred – 166 set by Southern Brave last year – but Invincibles will take satisfaction from knowing that their victory, coupled with the Brave’s shock defeat to Northern Superchargers earlier in the day means they will avoid having to play in Friday night’s Eliminator at Brave’s expense.Related

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Originals had an academic target to chase the runs down in 72 balls for a spot in the play-offs, which seemed unlikely when Emma Lamb was bowled by Smale without scoring. Bates and Kapp then combined again, as Amy Satterthwaite was caught by the former off the latter’s bowling for just two.Lee’s lone hand was set against the wickets that tumbled around her. Burns was bowled by Smale for five, Sophie Ecclestone was caught by Capsey off Kapp for one, and Daisy Mullan was run out for nine on her Hundred debut.Lee reached her fifty off 34 balls before finally perishing for 64 off 41, caught on the boundary off Eva Gray, to a warm ovation from the appreciative home crowd.Ami Campbell restored some pride in Originals’ performance, striking a couple of boundaries in a run-a-ball 23, but it wasn’t enough to save her side from elimination.

A round up of Ranji Trophy Group B matches on October 9, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2015
Scorecard File photo – Tamil Nadu’s frontline offspinner Malolan Rangarajan scored his maiden first-class hundred•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Maiden centuries from J Kousik and Malolan Rangarajan took Tamil Nadu’s score past 500 after resuming the day on 225 for 5 in Indore.Kousik and Malolan put on 196 runs for the seventh wicket, after Prasanna was caught behind for 70 off Udit Birla in the 17th over of the day. Kousik, playing only his second first-class match, scored 151 off 272 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes. Malolan, who remained unbeaten on 124 at close, faced 226 balls and hit seven fours and three sixes.Kousik, who reached his century with a six off offspinner Jalaj Saxena, said the first hour and a half was “uncomfortable” to negotiate . “I was getting beaten a lot of times early on today,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “But then the wicket eased out a bit and runs started coming a little more freely. My partners [R Prasanna and Malolan] were very helpful.”I was a little anxious in the 90s and eager to get to my 100 quickly as they were bowling tight. Thankfully, I got the right ball to hit,” Kousik said.Malolan said the innings was particularly challenging as he played through high fever. “The pitch still has a nice covering of green on it,” he said. “We [he and Kousik] were constantly talking to each other, [urging each other to take it] one ball at a time.”Malolan also praised Kousik’s temperament. “It was unbelievable how calm he was for his second match,” he said. “We played for Vijay CC together about two years back. Kousik has just gone from strength to strength. It was a green wicket and he had to stand up today. He showed excellent composure,” Malolan said.
Scorecard Deepak Hooda’s third first-class hundred led a dominant batting display from Baroda, giving them a 282-run first-innings lead over Railways. Resuming with the score on 118 for 1, opener Kedar Devdhar and captain Aditya Waghmode stretched their second-wicket stand to 113, after which Waghmode and Hooda added another 124. Hooda faced 179 balls for his 122 and hit 20 fours and two sixes. Railways were at the receiving end of a third successive century stand when Hooda combined with Yusuf Pathan for a 111-run partnership. Seamer Anureet Singh picked up four wickets but Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 41 set Baroda’s sights on a 300-run surplus, with four wickets still remaining.
Scorecard Andhra replied strongly to Gujarat’s 308 in Vizianagram, opener Srikar Bharat’s century helping them reach 196 for 1 at stumps. After his opening partner Prasanth Kumar departed for 12, Bharat put on an unbroken 159 with his captain Mohammad Kaif. Bharat, who had become the first wicketkeeper previous season to make a triple-hundred in the Ranji Trophy, hit 18 fours and a six to reach 119 off 176, while Kaif had six fours in his 44.Bharat said he had to negotiate “brilliant spells” from RP Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, before finding his rhythm. “They are quite opposite – RP gets it into the right hander and Jasprit is little quick off the wicket with short pitch stuff,” Bharat told ESPNcricinfo. “RP was bowling [from] round the wicket with a short leg and a short midwicket and a long leg, attacking me both with the short ball and the one that comes in.”Bharat said he took an off stump guard on Kaif’s advice, and things became easier. “I made sure, I will play close to the body and anything short I will leave it,” he said.Earlier, Baroda resumed on 250 for 5 and were bowled out for 308. Left-arm seamer CV Stephen took three of the five wickets to fall, including two in two deliveries in the 92nd over, when he dismissed Niraj Patel to break a 61-run sixth-wicket stand.Mumbai v Punjab – Iyer double-hundred puts Mumbai on top

“With this group of players, the sky’s the limit but we could probably go further than that”

Alan Gardner14-Jun-20226:35

#PoliteEnquiries: CARNAGE!

Ben Stokes has seen and done some incredible things during his international career, but England’s Test captain said that they had all been “blown away” by the experience of leading his side to victory on day five at Trent Bridge, as England completed a pursuit of 299 in a scarcely believable 50 overs, in so doing achieving the fifth-highest successful run chase in their Test history.Stokes hit the winning runs, carving Trent Boult through the covers for a four that evoked the dramatic denouement at Headingley three summers ago, to finish unbeaten on 75 from 70 balls. But on this occasion his was the support act, after Jonny Bairstow had demolished New Zealand’s hopes of escape during the final session with a thunderous 136 from 92.It completed a remarkable Test, the eighth-highest scoring of all time, as England found a way to win despite seeing New Zealand rack up 553 after being asked to bat. Although they conceded a narrow first-innings lead, the rate at which England’s runs came ensured that all results remained possible going into the final day, with New Zealand 238 runs ahead and seven wickets down.”I’m struggling to find words for what we witnessed out there today, it was just phenomenal,” Stokes said, after England’s second rousing win in as many Tests to mark the start of his partnership with new coach, Brendon McCullum.”That blows away Headingley, it blows away Lord’s and the World Cup final. Just emotionally and the enjoyment of every minute I had on that field, it was incredible. In the field, it sounds stupid after 150 overs in the dirt but how everybody was just trying to come up with different plans how we were going to change the course of this game to put it back in our hands was just so enjoyable. It was it was just amazing. The whole vibe this week has been awesome. And then to come out and perform the way that we did today…”I just can’t quite wrap my head around how we’ve chased 299 with 20 overs left on day five of the Test match when we had to bowl 15 overs this morning. That’s never going to happen again. But if it does, it is probably us who are going to do it.”Related

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Having bowled out New Zealand just over an hour into the final morning, England were left needing 299 in a minimum of 72 overs. Alex Lees struck the first two balls of the chase for four, but their hopes took a dive with the dismissal of Joe Root – who scored 176 in the first innings – to leave them 59 for 3.Their momentum was further checked when Lees fell for a spirited 44. But rather than dig in, England continued to attack, Stokes hitting his tenth ball for six and then twice reverse-sweeping Michael Bracewell’s offspin for four. England were 139 for 4 at tea, needing 160 from 38 overs, before Bairstow launched his extraordinary assault.”Something we say in the dressing-room – he had his ‘Jonny eyes’ on today and when he gets those eyes on you know you’re on to something,” Stokes said. “We were hardly speaking out there to be honest. That was one of the best things I’ve ever seen, to do it in the fourth innings, chasing a big total, game in the balance, to play the way he did once he got past fifty was just mind-blowing. Phenomenal to watch.”Bairstow and Stokes added 179 in 20.1 overs, as New Zealand’s faint hopes of forcing a win disintegrated. Had they managed to break the stand earlier, England’s plan was to just keep swinging to the end, Stokes said.”The message just was run into the fear of what the game was rather than stand still or back away from it. I’ll say it quite simply, we were either winning this game or losing it. That was the mentality that we wanted all the batters coming in to have. It’s obviously paid off. When you have the backing of the coach and myself saying what I say about how we want to go about things, it obviously rubs off on the players in a very, very positive way. So you’re not fearing failure, if anything you’re just going out and doing what you want to do.”This Test match will probably all be about today but you don’t win Test matches in the last session of day five without all the hard work you put in on day four. The way we bounced back with the bat after being in the field for a long time, them getting 560 or 570, the way we went about it with the bat, the rate that we scored, really allowed us to be in this position on day five. Even bowling them out for 270 on a very flat wicket was a serious effort and I couldn’t be any more proud of the way that everybody stuck at it.”Ben Stokes scored a 55-ball half-century and added 179 with Jonny Bairstow•Getty Images

England’s victory was witnessed by packed stands, after Nottinghamshire provided free entry on the final day, and the enterprising approach chimed with McCullum’s stated intentions on taking up the Test coaching job of wanting to help revive the format.”It’ll be hard for people not to enjoy what they’ve witnessed today, and everything over the last five days,” Stokes said. “A lot of credit has to go to Notts for what they did today, allowing free tickets and for people who had already bought tickets getting their money back. Having a full house here at Trent Bridge really does help the atmosphere.”You can really feel the home crowd and it’ll make the opposition feel the whole world’s on top of them. If we had a half-full stadium today, it wouldn’t have felt how it did out there. It’ll be nice if some other counties take a leaf out of what they did here today, it was really cool to be a player with a full crowd.”On the startling turnaround in fortunes, with England having won just one of their previous 17 Tests before the New Zealand series, Stokes suggested that there remained room for improvement and reiterated the commitment to aggression that has seemingly been key to unlocking the talent within a largely unchanged group of players.”Things like this do not happen overnight,” he said. “But this couldn’t have been a better start in terms of the new way we want to go forward. We know we’re still working towards a lot of things. We’re never going to be happy with where we are. There is going to be some bad days. We’re yet to really see the bad side of the game at the moment because obviously we’ve had two results go our way, but there will be days that affect us and we’ll probably lose a game with this mindset.”That’s probably going to be the biggest challenge for us, how we respond to adversity, how we respond to things not going our way. Now we go to Headingley 2-0 up, won the series, but with World Test Championship points to play for. We’re going to be even more positive as I said after Lord’s. I don’t know how we can be more positive than this week but we will probably try.”With this group of players, the sky’s the limit but we could probably go further than that.”

Hampshire hot on Surrey’s tail despite Miles Hammond’s efforts on dramatic final day

Paul Edwards22-Jul-2022
“Catches win matches” say the coaches and the club bores. The former know the saying is merely useful but the latter invest the words with such profundity that one might suppose they have been plucked straight from Wittgenstein’s . Rhyme has got a lot to answer for.Runs win matches, too. (See D G Bradman, J B Hobbs and S R Tendulkar etc.) And so also do wickets. See D M Muralidaran, C A Walsh and on this remarkable Friday in Cheltenham K J Abbott, whose five wickets in 12 balls set up a Hampshire win that James Vince and his cricketers will recall contentedly should the pennant be flying over the Ageas Bowl in September. Abbott’s devastating burst either side of lunch included the second hat-trick of his career and it ensured that Hampshire would be chasing a modest 82 to win the game and thereby trim Surrey’s lead at the top of Division One to 14 points.As though paranoid about the approach of thunderstorms from the south-west, Hampshire’s batters moved into full T20 mode and knocked the runs off in 9.3 overs for the loss of four wickets, three of them to Ryan Higgins, whose 115-run partnership with Miles Hammond had earlier appeared likely to delay their opponents’ victory, if not scupper it altogether. Indeed, until Abbott placed his size 13 boots on his opponents’ necks, most of the morning had been dominated by Higgins and Hammond, with the latter being dropped three times in as many overs in a bizarre passage of play. It was, in short, a quiet old day at the College Ground.Related

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The morning had begun more or less as Hampshire might have wished. In the fourth over of the morning Graeme van Buuren half-drove at a ball outside his off stump and edged a shoulder-high catch to Vince at first slip. Not for the first or last time, one was quietly amazed at the ease with which county cricketers snaffle balls that are travelling at 80mph/130kph. The professionals may view such catches as regulation; many of their club counterparts certainly don’t.But no cricketers, regardless of their level of expertise, regard keeping wicket to spinners as straightforward, so there may have more understanding seven overs later when Ben Brown dropped a feathered chance from Hammond off Dawson when the Gloucestershire left-hander had already reached a career-best 124. Five minutes later, the left-arm spinner had his head buried in his hands once again after Vince had put down Hammond at slip, the sharp chance going waist-high to the skipper’s left.Those errors, though, were merely preludes to the absolute dolly put down in Dawson’s very next over, when Hammond top-edged a reverse-sweep and Felix Organ at backward point muffed a gentle, lobbed catch to which he had to make little ground before diving comfortably forward. The fielder was plainly aghast, the bowler frustrated beyond words. It was a chance which most serious club players would have taken. But two balls later, Nick Gubbins trotted across from short leg to console Organ and pat him on the hip. Such simple acts of encouragement often mark out successful sides from the rest. They are also a good way of identifying decent people.For an hour or so afterwards, Hammond and Higgins batted as if fate could not touch them. Hammond continued to stroke the ball around with classical ease, reaching his 150 off 235 balls with 23 fours and three sixes. “It’ll come, it’ll be better when it does,” shouted Hampshire’s fielders but by now there were strains of doubt in their yells. At the other end, Higgins played in a manner antithetical to his irresponsibility on Thursday. Of course there were attacking shots – seven fine boundaries in his 79-ball 50, indeed – but there was balance and judgement as well. Runs came easily and a lead that had once seemed impossible grew: twenty, thirty, forty…Miles Hammond works into the covers•Getty Images

On the stroke of lunch Hampshire got the wicket they craved. Hammond drove at a pitched-up ball from Abbott but only edged a catch to Vince at slip. He led the players off having made 169 off 278 balls. It had been a chance-littered innings to be sure but one that was revelatory of character and studded with fine strokes.Over lunch there was talk of rain in Bristol. On the resumption Abbott bowled as if half a dozen of the plagues of Egypt were about to descend on Cheltenham. His first ball was slanted across Zafar Gohar but compelled the shot; the batter nicked the catch to Brown. Abbott’s next ball was full and straight and quick. Tom Price missed and Graham Lloyd’s tumultuous week drew to a close with an easy decision. Abbott was mobbed by his team-mates and this in itself was a fine effort; in case you have not noticed, there is rather a lot of Kyle Abbott to mob.Suddenly Gloucestershire were 316 for 8. As though refusing to display such grim tidings, the scoreboard conked out. Cheerily undaunted by such mechanical non-compliance, Abbott continued his merry dance. In his next over Higgins swung him to deep square leg and was caught by James Fuller for a fine 63; ten minutes later Josh Shaw swiped him to Gubbins at midwicket.Even in a place as strange as the College Ground, the only threat to Hampshire was now the weather. Vince came out to open but watched as Organ drove Higgins for three fours in the first over. Organ eventually fell for an eight-ball 17 but Vince hit 24 off 16 deliveries in what became a race against the approaching elements. That was a sprint Hampshire won and they now go to Scarborough on Monday after the sort of week that defines a season.

BJ Watling felt the pacers’ inconsistency resulted in New Zealand being run ragged on the opening day at the Gabba

Brydon Coverdale at the Gabba05-Nov-2015BJ Watling, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, felt New Zealand’s inability to build pressure with the ball contributed to their dismal opening day at the Gabba, where Australia finished at 2 for 389. That Australia scored at 4.42 per over was indicative of New Zealand’s lack of consistency, and it was a disappointing result for them after Tim Southee started the morning with three maidens with the swinging new ball.”It was a tough day’s cricket,” Watling said. “They played extremely well. There were two very good innings that hurt us. We just didn’t quite manage to control the innings like we would have liked. I thought Tim bowled some outstanding spells today. We just didn’t quite back it up in good partnerships with the ball.”We’ll look to rectify that tomorrow, come back and look to take some early poles in the morning. We just missed our lengths at times. There were some good spells but we didn’t quite hang in there for long enough. It was a tough day but they played well.”Australia’s new opening combination of David Warner and Joe Burns were able to move to 161 before the first wicket fell, and apart from a missed run-out chance, there were no other close calls before Burns edged behind. Warner said he believed the New Zealanders had erred by bowling too short to make the best of the conditions.”We had to try to negate the swing early on and obviously getting through that first session, which we know is always challenging at the Gabba,” Warner said. “As an opening pair I think we found they were bowling a fraction too short. It didn’t allow us to drive many balls early, which is nice as a batsman.”The lopsided scorecard at the end of the first day – Southee and Jimmy Neesham were the only wicket takers and Australia’s first two partnerships both passed 150 – means New Zealand have plenty of work ahead of them to fight their way back into the Test. Watling said they had expected day one to be hard work in the field.”There’s a lot of cricket to be played,” Watling said. “We’re obviously not in the ideal situation. But Test cricket is a long game. If we hang in there for long enough, and take this game deep, we’ll see where it goes. The first hour was good. We asked a lot of questions and then they got through that. Good start, but we didn’t build pressure up for long enough on that wicket.”

The hosts begin a busy period of ODI cricket by welcoming a somewhat battered opposition for a pair of matches in Malahide

The Preview by Alan Gardner15-Jun-2016

Match facts

Thursday, June 16
Start time 10.45 local (0945 GMT)William Porterfield and Angelo Mathews pose with the series trophy•Getty Images

Big picture

Ireland begin what they hope will be a busy period of ODI cricket by welcoming a somewhat battered Sri Lanka across the Irish Sea for a pair of matches in Malahide. The series will provide a useful test of their progress after John Bracewell’s first year in the job of head coach.Although Ireland have theoretically been given a pathway to reaching the 10-team 2019 World Cup, a lack of fixtures means they face an uphill struggle to reach the top eight and secure automatic qualification (West Indies, currently ranked No. 8, are 52 points clear of Ireland in 12th). But the visit of Sri Lanka, ahead of a five-match series against England, will allow Ireland to return their focus to the format that has given them greatest exposure on the world stage after a disappointing World T20.It is only by playing the top sides that Ireland can be expected to progress and these two ODIs will be their first against a Full Member since a one-off game with Australia last August; Pakistan will also visit later in the summer, with a five-match series against fellow Associates Afghanistan in between. This all represents vital competitive game time for Ireland.As they look for a first major victory in Dublin, Ireland might be tempted to view Sri Lanka as wounded prey. Heavily beaten in the Tests against England, they have brought in several new faces (and some not so new) for the ODIs and their first challenge will be in working out a first-choice XI. Since Sri Lanka played five one-dayers against New Zealand in December-January, injuries, withdrawals and a change in selectors mean that only five of the side that played at Mount Maunganui are available here.Sri Lanka have a reputation as hardened Associate-beaters, however, as well as experience of playing Ireland in Dublin, having won with reasonable comfort in 2014. Graham Ford will be hoping a change to white-ball cricket can bring out some of their native belligerence once again.

Form guide

Ireland: WLLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLLW

In the spotlight

Boyd Rankin‘s last ODI appearance came in an England shirt, at the end of the ill-fated Ashes tour of 2013-14. His time as an England-qualified Irishman was not the happiest but he remains a classy bowler, reliably effective with his county Warwickshire and set for a first home appearance in green in almost four years. The last time Rankin played at Malahide, he took 4 for 46 – but that was for England against his countrymen.Upul Tharanga has 13 ODI hundreds to his name but has played only nine matches in the last two years (one of which was against Ireland in Dublin). His last significant contribution was even further back in time, an unbeaten 174 against India in 2013 that stands out like a lighthouse amid the rocky returns of the latter half of his career. Recalled after strong domestic form at the age of 31, he will add vital experience to a transitional side.

Team news

Ireland lost Niall O’Brien, due to a calf strain, and Stuart Thompson (personal reasons) from their original squad of 13, while Craig Young was not considered due to injury. Durham seamer Barry McCarthy looks set for a debut, unless Max Sorensen is preferred. John Anderson provides another batting option but played the last of his three ODIs in 2014.Ireland (possible): 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Gary Wilson (wk), 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Stuart Poynter, 7 George Dockrell, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Boyd RankinTillakaratne Dilshan made himself unavailable for the tour but Sri Lanka do have Kusal Perera back after his now-rescinded doping ban. Kusal Mendis could make an ODI debut, with Lahiru Thirimanne struggling for runs – although ODIs are his strongest format. Sri Lanka have several all-round options, including the uncapped (in ODIs) Dasun Shanaka, Danushka Gunathilaka and Farveez Maharoof, whose last international appearance came in 2012.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Lahiru Thirimanne/Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dasun Shanaka/Danushka Gunathilaka, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 Shaminda Eranga, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Pitch and conditions

The surface is unlikely to be chock-full of runs, with 250 the par score in recent years and some assistance likely for seam bowling. There has been some rain around but the forecast is reasonably good for Thursday

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka and Ireland have met four times in ODIs, with two wins for Sri Lanka and two abandonments.
• Ireland’s lowest all-out ODI total came against Sri Lanka during the 2007 World Cup, when they were dismissed for 77 in Grenada.

Quotes

“There’s a big opportunity for us to get a series win against one of the top-ranked sides. There’s no reason why we can’t come away from this with a 2-0 win.”

Pakistani opener scores 201* from 271 balls, shares unbroken third-wicket stand of 236 with Wayne Madsen

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2022A career-best unbeaten double century from Derbyshire’s Shan Masood dominated the opening day of the LV=Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Sussex at Derby.The Pakistani opener scored a brilliant 201 from 271 balls and shared a third-wicket stand of 236 with Wayne Madsen, who was 88 not out at the close.An injury-weakened Sussex attack failed to take a wicket after lunch as Derbyshire closed on an imposing 327 for 2.Masood had already impressed with two half centuries in the opening match at Lord’s last week when he narrowly missed out on a hundred in the first innings.He made no mistake this time against a largely inexperienced attack after Derbyshire won the toss and batted first on what looks to be a benign pitch.Related

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With the exception of Steve Finn, the bowling lacked the consistency to apply any sustained pressure and Mahmood took advantage to reach 50 from only 60 balls.Sussex stuck to their task but the only wickets to fall in the first two sessions were down to batting errors with Billy Godleman tickling a leg-glance to Mohammad Rizwan and Brooke Guest bottom-edging a pull.But the wicket Sussex dearly wanted was Masood and, a couple of false strokes against the left-arm spin of James Coles apart, he gave them little encouragement.At lunch he was 74 from 88 balls and after the interval he moved to his century with a succession of imperious, at times dismissive, strokes on both sides of the wicket.Sussex probably realised it was not going to be their day when Tom Haines struck Masood on the back pad but his impassioned appeal left umpire Paul Baldwin unmoved.There were few other alarms as Masood and Madsen cruised to a 100 stand in 28 overs and by tea Derbyshire had scored at a quicker rate than any other team in the country.Madsen has now shared century stands with 29 different batsmen, breaking the Derbyshire record of 28 held by Kim Barnett, and he reached another milestone when he completed his 100th first-class score of 50 or more.Although he was content to play the supporting role, he was also largely untroubled apart from when a throw struck him a painful blow on the back of the right knee.Sussex switched Finn to the Racecourse End at the start of the final session but the runs kept flowing with Masood reaching 150 from 191 balls.The elegant left-hander will face more challenging attacks in the weeks to come but even at this early stage, head of cricket Mickey Arthur looks to have completed a very shrewd piece of business in bringing him to the club.The visitors at least applied the brake towards the close of a long, hard day in the field but could not prevent Masood and Madsen passing Derbyshire’s previous highest third-wicket stand against Sussex of 215 set by Les Townsend and Albert Alderman at Eastbourne in 1938.