Both the Indian and overseas players will arrive in the UAE by the third week of October

Annesha Ghosh30-Sep-2020The third edition of Women’s T20 Challenge is set to take place between November 4 and 9 in the UAE. The tournament, which the BCCI had said in August would be played during the IPL playoffs’ week, will feature a total of four matches played between three teams.ESPNcricinfo understands that both the Indian and overseas players will arrive in the UAE by the third week of October. All the three squads would be put up at one hotel, which will be part of a bio-secure bubble. Just like the eight IPL franchises, the women’s contingent, too, will undergo a mandatory six-day quarantine at the team hotel during which tests would be carried out on days one, three and five. Once they clear all three tests, they would be allowed to start training.It is understood that the tournament is likely to be preceded by a stipulated number of training sessions, most likely four, for each team, though the BCCI has not made any formal announcements on the tournament, fixtures and the squads’ make-up since August 2.ALSO READ: Covid-19 has made picking WT20C squads challenging – Neetu DavidIn September, the BCCI announced the IPL schedule, but only for the league phase, though the IPL final is slated to be held on November 10.Currently, the Indian board is understood to be finalising the overseas players, and with a new selection panel for the women’s national team now in place, the pool of Indian participants is also close to being confirmed.The T20 Challenge’s clash in scheduling with the WBBL, which begins on October 25, has rendered participation of most top-flight Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa players close to impossible. At least two England stars – Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt – would also be missing out on the Indian competition as they have been roped in by the Meg Lanning-led Melbourne Stars for the sixth edition of the Australian domestic T20 tournament.However, representation from England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka is expected in the T20 Challenge, with several first-time participants likely to feature. Last year, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side Supernovas had defeated the Mithali Raj-led Velocity in Jaipur to win their second straight title, with Smriti Mandhana’s Trailblazers eliminated in the league stage.

Lancashire openers take command but ECB ruling gives table-toppers hope

Paul Edwards08-Sep-2020
Barring a second epic run-chase in six weeks and a change of mind by the ECB, Derbyshire will not win the Bob Willis Trophy, but the next know-nowt pundit who patronisingly groups them among the “smaller” counties should be put in the stocks at Buxton and pelted with pies.Rather more usefully, perhaps, he or she could be made to watch the four-day cricket played by Billy Godleman’s side this season. That would include a memorable run-chase at Trent Bridge, a fine victory at Grace Road and two enterprising displays in rain-affected draws at Headingley and The Riverside.It would also feature the marvellously determined attempt to earn a batting bonus point on this third day at Aigburth, a venture that only ended when Dustin Melton’s swipe at a straight ball from Danny Lamb failed to connect and the Derbyshire’s last man had his middle stump knocked back with his team five runs short of its goal.That dismissal mattered, so we thought, because it effectively ended the visitors’ hopes of reaching the final at Lord’s. But late on Tuesday evening the ECB announced that its technical committee would adjudicate as to which teams would play in that game once the final round of matches had been completed.The governing body had left itself this option to take account of a Covid-19 outbreak and it was just such an event that caused the abandonment of Sunday’s game between Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire at Bristol. Logic and natural justice would suggest that Essex will still be in the final against Somerset or Worcestershire – Tom Westley’s players celebrated their success at Chelmsford when Melton was castled – but if Derbyshire chase down well over 300 tomorrow there remains a possibility that the criteria for qualification will change from most wins to run-rate.This idea was being mooted just after tea at Liverpool. These are strange times and nothing is being ruled out, certainly not Godleman’s batsmen chasing down a tall target against an inexperienced Lancashire attack.But the cricket that was played at Aigburth mattered too and it would be a pity if the resilience of Derbyshire’s middle and lower order batsmen went unnoticed amid all the announcements and possible rethinks. Not the least admirable factor about Derbyshire’s cricket this season is that their players have been virtually peripatetic – the County Ground has been used by Pakistan and by women’s teams – but their fightbacks are now more expected than surprising.This one began on Monday evening when the visitors had slumped to 61 for 7 in reply to Lancashire’s 219 and Harvey Hosein was joined by Mattie McKiernan. That pair continued their resistance on a heavy-clouded bowlers’ morning at Liverpool with Hosein in particular looking to get down the pitch to Lamb and George Balderson in an attempt to negate movement and maximise the opportunities to drive the ball.The hundred partnership came up and Derbyshire were only 37 runs short of that crucial point when McKiernan played across a straight ball from George Burrows and was leg before wicket for 31, his runs being scored in seven minutes over three hours of concentrated effort.Fifteen runs later Hosein went too and his dismissal was a line of poetry. Six young players have made their first-class Lancashire debuts in the Bob Willis, two more than Sussex, the next most enterprising county. Against Derbyshire, Lancashire picked Jack Morley, a 19-year-old left-arm spinner from Rochdale, and his classical delivery brought Hosein forward but not quite to the pitch of the turning ball. George Lavelle, a 20-year-old who plays for Ormskirk in the Liverpool Competition, took the catch.And so we had this:
Hosein c Lavelle b Morley 84
Both the innings and the dismissal will warm the winter.Derbyshire now needed 22 runs and one way of getting them was to whack the ball as hard and far as possible. When Lamb pitched the ball up Melton borrowed a shot from Ashford-in-the-Water’s Sunday XI and thrashed it over midwicket. About five minutes before lunch he tried it again…But let us return to our one-eyed critic who believes that the number of first-class counties should be reduced. We will give him the initials CG. He might ignore the cricket played by Derbyshire for most of this season and point only to the afternoon session when Godleman’s dispirited bowlers conceded 126 runs to Keaton Jennings and Alex Davies. Lancashire’s fifty came up in the 13th over, their hundred in the 20th. Davies pulled and cut with the ferocity of a bantamweight cheated out of his prize money. After tea he lifted one of McKiernan’s leg spinners into the car park to the right of the bowling green and looked set for a century when he drove Matt Critchley, Derbyshire’s second leggie, straight to Anuj Dal at short extra cover.That dismissal began a fine evening for Derbyshire who claimed five further wickets before the close. (Perhaps they were reinvigorated by the news from St John’s Wood.) Critchley took four of them, including that of Jennings for 81 when the Lancashire opener toe-ended a reverse sweep to Godleman at cover. However, the leg-spinner’s 26 overs cost 126 runs, figures which give some idea of the enterprise shown by Lancashire’s batsmen.An even clearer idea of that approach was given by Balderson, who reached his maiden first-class fifty in the final over of the evening session and hit the last ball of the day for a straight six. One hopes that ends Lancashire’s batting in this game. A target of 336 would be very fair and Vilas will learn a lot about his young attack if he declares overnight and trusts them with the task of winning the game.

Test captain hails team-mate as ‘most complete’ white-ball player ever for England

George Dobell23-Oct-2020Joe Root has hailed Jos Buttler as the “most complete white-ball batsman” England have ever had, but feels Virat Kohli is the “most complete” player in the world at present.While Root, England’s Test captain, is sometimes referred to as one of the “big four” batsmen in contemporary international cricket alongside Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, he admitted he wasn’t sure he would “put myself in their bracket”. Instead, talking in The Analyst’s Virtual Cricket Club – an initiative set-up by Simon Hughes to support the Professional Cricketers’ Trust – he accepted he could learn from all three of them.And Root also tipped Buttler to convert his dominance in the white-ball game to Test cricket, comparing him to AB de Villiers in his ability to “demoralise” bowling attacks.”I try not to measure myself against other players,” Root said. “But I do watch a lot of how they go about constructing different types of innings across the three formats. You’re looking at three of the greatest players the game has seen. They’re three brilliant people to watch play and learn from. I’m not sure I’d put myself in their bracket, to be honest.”I look at how late Kane plays the ball, how still and correct he is. How, under pressure, he finds a way to trust his defence on any given surface. That’s a great quality to have.”You look at Smith and at times he’s just awful to watch. It’s horrible on the eye. But you’d pay to have him in your team. He’s a fantastic run-scorer. The way he thinks about the game and manages passages of play is exceptional. He makes bowlers bowl where he wants them to and his self-confidence you can see by the way he leaves the ball and some of his idiosyncrasies.”He’s always trying to find a way to get on top of the opposition. His hunger for big, big scores is fantastic.ALSO READ: England players accept 15% pay cut“Virat is probably the most complete player out of the three of them across formats. His ability to chase things down in the limited-overs format and to pace it as well as he does as often as he does and be not out at the end is extraordinary. He’s got a very good all-round game but you wouldn’t say he’s weaker against spin or pace.”He obviously struggled on his first tour to England, but he scored really heavily when he came back. And similarly, elsewhere in the world, he’s put in massive performances. All that with the weight of India on his shoulders, as well.”While Root accepts that Buttler, at this stage of his career, has not dominated in Test cricket as he has in the white-ball game, he believes his improved Test batting in England’s 2020 summer could act as a springboard. Buttler averaged 52.00 in England’s six home Tests with one century and two high-class half-centuries.”Jos has been the most complete white-ball batsman we’ve had ever,” Root said. “The way he can play a number of different scenarios. He can just demoralise attacks and very quickly swing games massively in your favour.”I think he’s a phenomenal player and I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. Hopefully this summer in Test cricket can unlock doors for him. I saw a piece about AB de Villiers and he said it took him 50 Tests to work out his Test game. I think it’s very similar to Jos, to be honest.”After 50 Tests, de Villiers averaged 42.41 with eight centuries. This grew to 52.14 with 21 centuries after 100 Tests. Buttler has currently played 47 Tests and averages 33.90 with two centuries.Meanwhile, Root confirmed England would return to training in a couple of weeks. As revealed by ESPNcricinfo, the ECB plan to erect a large marquee at their performance centre in Loughborough to enable to players to practice on turf wickets. And Root hopes the benefit of video analysis of his recent dismissals will enable him to rediscover his best form.”Teams quickly find trends in ways you get out,” Root said. “If you get out in similar fashion on three or four occasions, teams will be using that as a weapon to get you out.”So, I sent an email to our analyst at the start of the week and said, ‘can you please send me all my modes of dismissal over the last two years.’ I want to look for trends within that and know if there’s any patterns between 0-20 and 50-80. If there are elements of my game that seem to be constantly worked over, I can look at that and find ways to improve for the future.”

South African quick’s blistering new-ball burst set tone for Thunder’s dominance in final

Andrew McGlashan28-Nov-2020Sydney Thunder quick Shabnim Ismail went to bed on Saturday night plotting how she would dismiss Australia captain Meg Lanning in the WBBL final. For a brief moment it looked like it could become a nightmare, but very soon the dream came true.Overall, Ismail produced a blistering four-over spell off the reel to spearhead the Thunder’s title victory, but it was her seven-ball contest with Lanning that was utterly compelling.At the end of her opening over, she had Lanning dropped at point by Tammy Beaumont. “I just dropped it. I should have taken it. Oh well,” was Beaumont’s matter-of-fact response as the player on the TV mic, perhaps a window into the Thunder’s calmness. But revenge came a short while later when, given her fourth and final over by Rachael Haynes, Ismail found Lanning’s outside edge and with put one hand on the trophy.”We said how we wanted to take wickets in the Powerplay and last night I was lying in bed thinking how I would get Meg Lanning out,” she said. “It’s a very key wicket for the Stars and I thought if I come out there and just bowl heat, change a few things, I could take wickets.”You don’t want to be dropping big players like that, they can haunt you, but I thought just stick to my guns and still bowl what I think will keep us in the game.”HIGHLIGHTS: Thunder limit Stars to lowest-ever WBBL final score (US only)In combination with Sammy-Jo Johnson, whose darting away movement was equally impressive as she had Elyse Villani poking at fresh air, they put in one of the most complete Powerplay performances of the tournament.”You could see that we had it under control all the way, when the first three wickets [fell] we had the game in hand,” Ismail said.Johnson, who joined from two-time champions Brisbane Heat in pre-season, has been key to the Thunder’s performances at both ends of the innings – forming a powerful death combination with Hannah Darlington – and was delighted to be able to bowl first. “We were quite surprised they wanted to bat first so we were really happy. The wicket was seaming around a fair bit: myself, Shabs and [Sam] Bates up front we set the tone,” she said. “We spoke about it during the last few games that if we could work in a partnership and put the top batters under pressure that hopefully we’d come out with the result.”Like the Thunder, Ismail saved her best for the competition run-in to finish with 14 wickets at 20.28 and an economy rate of 5.56 which also included 3 for 10 in the final group match against Hobart Hurricanes that booked a spot in the semi-final.”Today we saw Shabhim at her best, some real pace, the areas she was hitting,” Thunder coach Trevor Griffin said. “I think we also need to remember for her it’s been a different year: she’s not played any cricket since the World Cup, so it took time to get back into playing and she’s certainly peaked at the right time.”We’ve been looking at the impact charts and areas the girls have been hitting. We talk about hitting the stumps consistently and when we looked at the detail today, they were [all] hitting those areas consistently and creating chances. That’s certainly some of best bowling I’ve seen us do.”

Starc’s bowling will provide ample rough stuff outside the right-handers’ off stump, a key consideration given India lack the left-handers Lyon has feasted on of late

Daniel Brettig14-Dec-2020Nathan Lyon will welcome Mitchell Starc’s return into the Australian camp on Monday following compassionate leave ahead of the Test series against India. More specifically, he will welcome the return of Starc’s heavy boots to the bowling crease.The pair have been close over many years, underlined by how Starc stood up for Lyon back in 2012 when there was talk of a Shane Warne comeback. But there is also a very solid cricket reason: with the benefit of bowling into Starc’s footmarks at the other end, Lyon’s record in Tests they play together at Adelaide Oval is supreme.Over five Adelaide Tests since 2015, four of them day-night affairs, Lyon has plucked 26 wickets at 24.11 with a wicket arriving every 52.4 balls, as against his career average of 31.58 and strike rate of 62.9. Each time, Starc’s bowling has provided Lyon with ample rough stuff outside the right-handers’ off stump, a key consideration given India’s touring side lacks the left-handers he has feasted on in recent years in reaching the cusp of 400 Test wickets.”I’ve been working quite hard on bowling to right-handers, there’s so many of them in world cricket so it isn’t a new challenge for me, but we’re really just looking to compete against both edges, and try to bring both edges into play with catchers around the bat,” Lyon said. “So it’s going to be a challenge but very lucky to have Mitch Starc joining the squad tomorrow and I love his footmarks, so it should be good fun.”He’s one of my best mates and we talk every day. Forever talking to him, probably annoying him to be honest, but he’s pretty pumped, pretty excited. We’re really looking forward to having him back around the squad, we all know firstly the quality of bloke he is but also the quality of cricketer he brings to the table as well. Absolutely exciting to have Mitch join us.”If there were any doubts about Starc’s readiness to return to the heavy lifting of Test cricket after he missed one T20I with a minor side issue and then left the squad on compassionate leave, Lyon allayed them by revealing Starc had kept up bowling in Sydney, pink ball and all, in the SCG nets.”Mitch has played a lot of cricket already, he played two Shield games and bowled well down here in Adelaide, then played during the white ball series that he was available for, so I’m not worried about Mitch at all,” Lyon said. “He said he bowled with the pink ball the other day in at the Sydney nets before anyone got there and he said it was where he left off with the pink ball, so that’s exciting to know how good he is with the pink ball. He’s more than comfortable and more than confident and he’s got all our support as well, so looking forward to it.”We’ve got a few things lined up which are exciting, there’s a great vibe within the Australian cricket team at the moment, so I think we’re in such a better place than we were two years ago, it’s exciting and this is the tightest Australian team I’ve ever been a part of, so to have that opportunity come Thursday to get back out there and play some Test cricket, it’s going to be pretty exciting. But we’ve done a bit of homework and we’re ready to go.”Lyon’s own bowling has evolved considerably in recent years, making a major breakthrough against India in India in 2017 and seldom looking back since. Like the rest of the bowling attack, he is keenly aware of the opportunity to beat India now that the hosts will be bolstered by the extra runs of Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and, when fit again, David Warner.”It’s obviously disappointing when you lose guys to injuries and we all know what quality of player David Warner is, but I think both sides have superstars in each lineup, both got very good bowling attacks, so it’s going to be a massive challenge for both teams coming out to Australia.”We know what happened last series against India out here, we know how well they played, so I know as bowlers we’ve already spoken about that and we’re coming up with a few different plans to hopefully challenge the batters’ defence for longer periods of time this time around. We’re in a such a better place as a team right now, this team is probably the closest I’ve ever been a part of, it’s exciting, it’s a great feeling amongst the team, so it’s pretty exciting about the challenges that lie ahead.”Especially over the last five years my bowling’s gone to a new level and I’m very confident with where my bowling’s at. But they’re a very attacking side so they always want to try to attack a spinner, which is fantastic, I love that challenge.”

Melbourne Stars looked to be cruising but now their hopes of qualifying to the playoffs have taken a hit

Matt Roller20-Jan-2021An extraordinary, unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 63 in just 25 balls between Mackenzie Harvey and Beau Webster dragged Melbourne Renegades to only their third win of the season and put a dent in their cross-town rivals’ qualification hopes.Shuffling up and down the order, Harvey had struggled for any rhythm or form this season, and arrived at No. 6 with 71 needed off 37 balls in a chase of 159. But with licence to free his arms, he pumped three fours and a six in the Power Surge before punishing some shoddy death bowling with Webster for company to seal an improbable win.Melbourne Stars looked to be cruising to a four-point victory which would have taken them second after securing the Bash Boost thanks to a tight start with the ball, but instead their playoff chances are now in jeopardy. They sit third with 24 points, but have played a game more than the four teams hot on their heels, and play the in-form Perth Scorchers in their next fixture on Saturday.Mackenzie Harvey put on quite a show•Getty Images

For the Renegades, this was a happy homecoming after a 359-day stretch without playing at Marvel Stadium. They were already mathematically out of contention for the finals, but after their top five had contributed a combined 84 runs off 88 balls, they sent a 14,208-strong crowd home happy thanks to Harvey’s heroics.Harvey the heroThere was little in Harvey’s BBL career to suggest that he was capable of such a heist from the middle order. A slight, 20-year-old left-hander and the nephew of former Australia international Ian, he had managed only 268 runs in his 18 previous innings in the competition, at a strike rate of 118.58.He had generally been used as an opener rather than in the No. 6 role he played tonight, but his cameo of 29 off 17 in Sunday’s reverse fixture turned out to be a sign of things to come.Harvey arrived at the crease during a turgid innings of 14 off 18 balls from Jack Prestwidge, who had been promoted to No. 5. The Renegades had attempted to take the Power Surge ahead of the 14th over, but told the umpires too late and instead pushed it back until the 16th. When it was taken, Prestwidge was bounced out by Nathan Coulter-Nile’s third ball, but Harvey slapped the fourth through extra cover and hammered the fifth for six over backward square.He added two more boundaries off Adam Zampa’s final over, the second of the Surge, steering through third man and muscling over mid-on, before Liam Hatcher was taken for three fours as he sprayed the ball around in the 18th, with dew making it difficult to grip.With 25 needed from 12 balls, Harvey clubbed a juicy full toss from Coulter-Nile into the second tier, before Webster steered another through point then carved six over midwicket to leave six required off the last. After three singles, Webster smashed the winning boundary through mid-on to seal the win.Finch’s nightmare continuesAaron Finch’s BBL season has contained enough unfortunate dismissals for a 10-minute YouTube compilation, and his luck did not change tonight. He got down to sweep Zahir Khan in the final Powerplay over of the chase, but could only deflect the ball onto his stumps via the thigh pad. After his 10 tonight, he has managed only 169 runs in 11 innings.With Shaun Marsh falling to a perfect Coulter-Nile offcutter in the first over and Sam Harper and Jake Fraser-McGurk struggling to adapt to a slowish pitch, the Renegades were 3 for 53 at the halfway stage, 11 runs short of the Bash Boost target, and looked like they would come nowhere near chasing 159.Zak attackAfter winning the toss and choosing to bat, the Stars struggled for early rhythm, with Andre Fletcher soaking up a first-over maiden from Josh Lalor. Lalor bowled him with a slower ball in the third over, but Marcus Stoinis looked in fine touch, crashing six early boundaries as he looked to drive the Stars’ innings.When he fell in the ninth over to Zak Evans – playing after Kane Richardson was ruled out for the season with a quad strain – the Stars decided to shuffle things around. Hoping to maximise their 10-over total in order to secure the Bash Boost point, the Stars promoted Coulter-Nile – fit again after a calf injury – to No. 4, but the experiment was short lived.Shaping to work an Evans slower ball down to fine leg, Coulter-Nile managed to play on via the pad, and was out first ball. With Nick Larkin struggling for early rhythm, the Stars were 3 for 63 at the halfway stage.Larkin, the Stars’ fillipWith Larkin on 14 off 21 balls heading into the 12th over, Glenn Maxwell decided he needed to take Imad Wasim on, after managing just two dots and a single from the first three balls of his innings. But, shimmying outside leg, he skied a slog-sweep straight down deep midwicket’s throat, leaving the Stars in a spot of bother at 4 for 77.Nic Maddinson forced the pace with two heaves over midwicket and a slap through extra cover, but miscued to mid-off immediately after calling for the Power Surge at the start of the 17th over for 21 off 18 balls. Peter Hatzolgou, the idiosyncratic legspinner, picked up his second Surge wicket – and his fifth of the season – soon after, with Hilton Cartwright chopping on when cramped for room.After eking out 29 off his first 35 balls, perhaps trying too hard to hit boundaries, Larkin finally cut loose in the second Surge over with a slog-swept six and a slash through point for four off Wasim.Three streaky fours through third man and a carve through cover in the final two overs dragged the Stars up to 6 for 158, with Larkin finishing on 61 off 47. Thirty of those runs came between point and third man, including several thick edges, while ESPNcricinfo’s data suggested he was in control of only 62% of the balls he faced.

Tevyn Walcott and Zachary McCaskie have replaced them in Barbados’ squad

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2021West Indies batsman Shai Hope, and his brother Kyle Hope, have withdrawn from the Barbados squad ahead of the the Regional Super50 Cup after testing positive for Covid-19. The brothers are among three players who returned positive tests, alongside Guyana’s Trevon Griffith.The players were tested on Sunday, January 24, ahead of the tournament which is scheduled to begin from February 7 in Antigua, and run until February 27. A press release from Barbados Cricket Association said that Shai and Kyle would be placed in isolation in accordance with Barbados government protocols.They have been replaced in the 15-man squad by Tevyn Walcott and Zachary McCaskie, who will both be tested before the team departs for Antigua at the end of this month.The Super50 tournament will be the first round of domestic cricket in the West Indies for the year, after the Caribbean Premier League in September 2020, which happened to be the last form of competitive cricket that Shai played. He was dropped for West Indies’ tour of New Zealand following prolonged failures in Test cricket, and wasn’t part of the T20 plans. While Shai has been among the best batsmen in the world in 50-over cricket over the last few years, the West Indies are waiting on him to show that spark in Test cricket, where he averages 26.27, about half his ODI average.Kyle, the older brother, last played competitive cricket in March 2020, before the Covid lockdowns, for Trinidad & Tobago.

Cornwall the hero once again as West Indies claim their first overseas series win since 2017

Debayan Sen14-Feb-2021A total of 17 wickets fell across two innings, Tamim Iqbal made a stroke-filled 44-ball half-century, and West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite turned out to be one of the unlikely bowling heroes on a day dominated by spinners, as West Indies held on for a 17-run win to seal the series 2-0.However, that West Indies were able to wrest control of a middling 231-run chase for Bangladesh was largely down to the superb exploiting of the turn and bounce on a deteriorating Dhaka pitch by Rahkeem Cornwall, who led the charge as West Indies claimed the Test in an extended final session, wrapping up their first overseas series win since 2017.The win was sealed almost 35 minutes past the scheduled close of play, with Jomel Warrican spinning one sharply from a length outside off as Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who had started a late attack when he was running out of partners, shaped to defend. The edge was travelling low to the right of Cornwall – who else – and the big man dived to his right to pluck out a catch, sparking off big celebrations in the away camp.Iqbal had raised visions of a Bangladesh win with his half-century, hitting eight of the nine boundaries struck in an opening stand that raised 59 off the first 12 overs of the chase. He drove fluently against seam, and chipped down the wicket against Cornwall, and swept Warrican with ease. Sensing the need for a change, Brathwaite brought himself on, and removed Sarkar off his first ball, tempting him into a poke outside off, that took wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva’s pads and fell to Cornwall at slip. Four overs later, the captain tempted Iqbal into a lofted shot towards cover, and on the stroke of tea, Cornwall got one to jump off a length to Najmul Hossain Shanto, taking his glove and then his body before dropping to short leg.After the tea break, the captain Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim briefly appeared to have taken charge of the chase, putting together 23 runs and eschewing risks while facing up to the spin of both Cornwall and Brathwaite. An inspired bowling change came in the shape of Warrican, who got the second ball of his spell to draw Rahim forward, spin across, taking a feather edge through to Da Silva. Bangladesh were left at 115 for 5 when Mohammad Mithun, who had spanked a six by chipping down the wicket, was picked up at leg gully off Cornwall to a ball that turned and bounced across him.Mushfiqur Rahim edged one from Jomel Warrican through to Joshua Da Silva•AFP/Getty Images

Joined by Liton Das, Haque was able to bring the target down to double figures, but appeared anxious to increase the scoring rate, going down the wicket and lofting the ball into vacant spaces on the on side on a couple of occasions. Eventually, he fell to a catch at leg gully as well, Warrican claiming two of three wickets for the day. When Das was smartly caught by Da Silva for 22, and Taijul Islam misjudged a quicker one fired in straight at him, both to Cornwall, the end seemed near at 163 for 8.Miraz and Nayeem Hasan, though, put in a dogged effort, with Miraz beginning to show signs of aggression as the 200-mark neared. Brathwaite brought himself on for another spell, and after firing two down the pads for eight runs as byes, he bowled one fuller and straighter, and Hasan played it with the pads and was given out leg before. With No. 11 Abu Jayed for company, Miraz opened up, striking a six over mid-wicket and then a reverse-sweep for four off successive Cornwall deliveries to bring the target down below 20. Unfortunately for him and Bangladesh, he couldn’t get the team over the line.The day began with West Indies still over 150 ahead and the first over from Jayed to Bonner suggested a long toil ahead for Bangladesh, with the seamer erring in both line and length, allowing Bonner to whip him towards deep midwicket and deep-backward square leg, besides driving towards deep cover.Jayed, who was quick to correct his line and length after the wayward opening over, delivered the first wicket of the day when he pinned nightwatchman Warrican in front of the stumps. That brought Kyle Mayers to the crease, and he punched a short ball first up through the gap between mid-on and mid-wicket for an emphatic four. Mayers later played around his pads against Jayed, operating around the wicket, and departed for 6. Jermaine Blackwood showed early intent, casually lofting the third ball he faced from Jayed over long-on for six. However, on 9, he fell to Islam, wheeling away economically from one end. Islam tempted him to stretch forward, spun the ball across his edge, and Das whipped the bails off with the batsman’s back foot still on the line.Da Silva walked in and set about disturbing the length of the spinners by pulling out a sweep against Islam for four to get moving. He appeared at ease through the rest of his stay, with a slog sweep against Nayeem Hasan, and a cover drive against Jayed taking the West Indies lead beyond 200. However, he fell to the ninth ball after lunch, with Islam getting one to spin across his front foot defensive prod, and took the edge through to slip. Alzarri Joseph struck a massive six over mid-wicket, but fell for 9, when a leading edge off Islam took a deflection off silly mid-off and was gratefully accepted at cover by Najmul Hossain Shanto.Hasan then struck twice in what turned out to be the final over of the West Indies innings, getting Bonner to lose his patience in attempting an awkward reverse-swipe, and going through his legs to rattle the stumps.Cornwall was the last man out, holing out to Rahim at deep mid-wicket, completing a remarkable collapse of four wickets in just 21 balls. The 117 posted by West Indies was their second-lowest ever against Bangladesh, but there has been something different about this West Indies team in the Test series, despite them missing a number of more experienced players. There have been crucial batting contributions from almost all of their players, and captain Brathwaite’s bowling changes and field placements have also been spot on. On the day that mattered, though, it was Cornwall and Warrican who came to the party and made the most of the conditions to seal a famous series win.

The head coach is confident after Pakistan’s fighting effort in the second ODI even though they lost the match

Umar Farooq06-Apr-2021Pakistan’s fighting performance in the second ODI, even though they lost the match, has given head coach Misbah-ul-Haq the confidence that his team can win the three-match series. If Pakistan manage to do so, Misbah feels, that will be a “remarkable achievement” for the side.Since 2010 and before the ongoing series, Pakistan had a 6-7 win-loss ODI record in South Africa, and in 2013-14 became the *first side from the subcontinent to have won a bilateral ODI series in the country. This time, Pakistan came with a relatively inexperienced squad but managed to keep the series level at 1-1 going into the third match. Now they seem to have the upper hand as five of South Africa’s first-choice players – Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Lungi Ngidi – have left for the Indian Premier League.”The way we played the first two games, and won the first ODI, the team is confident,” Misbah said in a video released by the PCB ahead of the third ODI. “This team has now started to believe they can win or reach a winning position out of nowhere and the previous game was one big example. I have always said that it’s a young team and for them, every win is important. Now it is a decider in South Africa’s conditions and if we win, it will be a remarkable achievement not only in the series but in another perspective. It’s really important for the sake of team confidence.”Fakhar Zaman’s 155-ball 193 almost took Pakistan over the line during their 342-run chase in the second ODI. In the opening ODI, Babar Azam’s century set up the win that Pakistan secured dramatically, on the final delivery of the match. Misbah urged the under-firing middle order to take inspiration from those two and capitalise on the starts provided by the top order.”If you look at the Wanderers and Centurion pitches, they are purely South Africa conditions,” Misbah said. “They have bounce and pace and if your batsmen from top order score hundreds and dominate the opponent, it surely going to inspire the other players in the team. They all look up to them as an example and it gives them confidence going forward.”In the top order, Babar contributed and then Fakhar in the second ODI did great but moving down in the middle, we need to improve and capitalise on the good start. Looking at the team performance overall, it’s quite good but in certain areas, we need some improvement.”Pakistan bowlers, Misbah said, are putting in good efforts with fast bowlers – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain – troubling the South Africa batsmen with pace and bounce. While Pakistan conceded 341 in the second ODI, Misbah backed them to come strongly in the final match.”If you talk about the first game our bowlers bowled really well. In Centurion, the average total is 300 or plus but we restricted them to 270-odd. In fact, we could have stopped them around 225 but one good partnership changed that. Overall, it was a good effort by our bowlers though in the second ODI we gave away a little more because we didn’t get the early breakthrough. The credit should be given to the other team as well. They played well too but I think two big overs were the difference, which actually dented us. This bowling is fine with a blend of match-winners who have done well and you can’t judge them with just one or bad day. They will come hard in the next game.”*April 7, GMT 0237 The story earlier stated, erroneously, that Pakistan were the only subcontinental team to have won an ODI series in South Africa. India have done so as well, in 2018.

He is the fourth player from the KKR camp to test positive

Nagraj Gollapudi08-May-2021India and Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has tested positive for Covid-19. Krishna becomes the fourth player from the Knight Riders camp to test positive after Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier and Tim Seifert.It is understood that Krishna had cleared all the tests before coming out of the IPL bubble in Ahmedabad, where the Knight Riders were playing the second leg, before returning to his home in Bengaluru. ESPNcricinfo understands Krishna flew business class on a commercial airline from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru on May 5, and got a test done on May 6 after feeling uneasy. It was in Bengaluru where Krishna tested positive, but it is believed to be a mild case.On Friday, the BCCI had named Krishna among the four standbys for the World Test Championship final and the Test series in England.Krishna, 25, made his India debut earlier this year in the ODI series against England in Pune and picked six wickets in three matches.Chakravarthy and Warrier were the first two players to test positive for Covid-19 in the bubble not just from the Knight Riders camp but in the 2021 IPL, which was postponed indefinitely. It later emerged that Wriddhiman Saha of the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Amit Mishra of the Delhi Capitals had also tested positive among players.On Saturday, NZC announced that Seifert had also tested positive and would stay back in India before flying back to New Zealand.Krishna played seven games for the Knight Riders in the 2021 IPL, picking up eight wickets at an economy rate of 9.16.Krishna will hope to recover in time to be in a bubble with the Indian side, which is expected to leave for the UK on June 2. Krishna, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Avesh Khan and Arzan Nagwaswalla were among the four standby players named by the selectors as part of the enlarged squad that will remain in the UK from June to September.