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Newcastle United will hope to boost their Premier League survival chances when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

The Magpies looked to be moving four points clear of the relegation zone when they were leading Bournemouth 2-0 with 10 minutes left on the clock at the Vitality Stadium last weekend, but they conceded twice to draw 2-2 which has left them two points above 18th-placed Swansea City.

Rafa Benitez’s men could find themselves in the bottom three by the time they kick off on Saturday evening, and they face a difficult task to get anything against the Merseyside outfit with Jurgen Klopp’s men in imperious attacking form.

The electric front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all got on the scoresheet as they beat West Ham United 4-1 last weekend, taking their combined tally for the season to 63 in all competitions.

Benitez will know that his tactics need to be spot on and his players will need to be at their best if they are to take anything back to Tyneside, but they will certainly take some solace from the fact that Liverpool still often look suspect from a defensive point of view.

The 57-year-old stuck with the same XI that beat Manchester United 1-0 for the visit to the south coast last weekend, but given the tough task they look to have he may well be considering making some alterations against the Reds.

Here is how Newcastle must line up against Liverpool on Saturday, ahead of Martin Dubravka in goal…

Defence

Benitez understandably went with the same back four that kept a clean sheet against Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium last weekend, and the quartet of DeAndre Yedlin, Jamaal Lascelles, Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett are likely to continue at Anfield.

The only change the Spanish boss could consider making would be to bring Ciaran Clark in for Lejeune, but he should choose to go with the settled backline he has used for the last few matches on what could be a difficult afternoon.

The Magpies will need their captain Lascelles to be at his best and giving plenty of instructions against the Reds if his team are to pick up at least a precious point.

Midfield

There may well be changes afoot for Newcastle in the middle of the park at Anfield considering Jonjo Shelvey is said to be a doubt after he picked up an injury during the draw against Bournemouth, which he was visibly struggling with in the closing stages.

Shelvey has formed a strong partnership with Mo Diame in the centre in recent weeks but if the former is absent then Mikel Merino should replace him, while Benitez should also consider bringing in Isaac Hayden in place of Ayoze Perez to ensure the Magpies have that defensive solidity.

Matt Ritchie and Kenedy should once again both start on the flanks.

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Attack

While Mo Diame has been excelling in a central midfield role in recent weeks, he is also capable of playing in a more attacking role through the middle and that would mean that he is the best player to start behind the striker against Liverpool.

The Senegal international would be able to use his strength to bring the ball forward, while dropping in to make a five-man midfield when the Magpies are defending, leaving Perez to drop to the substitutes’ bench.

Dwight Gayle is a doubt after scoring a brace against Bournemouth and while he must start if he is fit, Benitez will have a straight choice between Perez and Joselu for the striker spot if not.

Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.

Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Daley Blind. These are just some of the big names that have joined the Louis van Gaal bandwagon at Manchester United after a miserable 2013/2014 under the guidance of former Everton gaffer David Moyes. Looking at the players that the Dutchman has recruited, as well as the players already at the club, it’s safe to say that scoring goals won’t be a problem for the Old Trafford side.

However, on the basis of the start of the 2014/2015 campaign, a panic stricken backline has been the fundamental reason why the Red Devils have dropped vital points. After losing valuable experience in the shape of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra to QPR, Inter Milan and Juventus respectively, the likes of Jonny Evans, Rafael and youngster Tyler Blackett have been exposed at the back on several occasions.

Although the club are in a transitional period, winning one game in six in all competitions, conceding 12 goals in the process is not the ‘Manchester United way’. With a mega spend on the frontline, splashing the cash on a world class defender should be the priority in order for the 20 times Premier League champions to at least bring Champions League football back to the red side of Manchester.

One notable centre half that would fit perfectly into the heart of the defence is Mats Hummels. The Borussia Dortmund centre back is your all round, complete defender. As well as revelling in the tackle and reading the game, the Germany international has the capability to compose players around him and play from the back. Strong in the air, and a decent target man from set pieces, the strong defender can also provide the occasional goal. In the 2012/2013 season, the Dortmund centre back made more tackles than any of his teammates and committed the second fewest fouls in the side. With reported interest already rife for Hummels, van Gaal should make the German signing on the dotted line at Old Trafford his main priority in January.

An alternative to Hummels, one of the best defenders in the world, is Atletico Madrid’s Brazilian defender Miranda. Probably a surprise to many not to be selected for Luis Felipe Scolari’s World Cup squad, the centre half had a magnificent 2013/2014 campaign, that included aiding Atletico Madrid win the La Liga title and reaching the Champions League final. Also being courted by Premier League rivals, the 30-year-old can bring vital experience to a youthful United defence that includes 18-year-old £27m left back Luke Shaw and youth prodigy Tyler Blackett. Despite not being the tallest centre half at 6”0, Miranda has an incredible leap, as well as good awareness and a quiet aggression.

United’s leaky backline is something that teams will look to exploit. However, despite the lack of experience, the potential is there for the likes of Shaw, Blackett and Rojo to establish themselves as players that can be relied upon. Nevertheless, with the undoubted quality of the forward line causing havoc in the Premier League, a world class and experienced centre half is desperately needed.

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star Mikel Arteta assures fans that their frustration is mirrored by the anger felt in the dressing room at the Emirates in light of the team’s recent poor form.

The Gunners are yet to pick up a win in four games after their 2-0 win at home to Montpellier in the Champions League, whilst their last Premier League game brought about a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Michael Laudrup’s Swansea.

Facing one of the toughest periods of Arsene Wenger’s reign as manager, Arteta declares that a change “has to come from us,” to move forward in the league. The comment reflects Wenger’s statement earlier in the week when he said that change needs to come from “within the squad” rather than a view to the January window.

Arteta continued to say that “People are hurting, people are upset with themselves, the players are angry. I think that’s a good thing. It’s not like players couldn’t care less, they know what they need to do.”

“At Arsenal you have a group of players who want to give 100 per cent and that makes things so much easier. I always see that in the dressing room. Always,” adding emphasis.

“You feel that disappointment from the fans because they expect better. We need to turn it round as quickly as we can because we’ve got a good period around Christmas where we can create a different atmosphere, everyone’s happy on holiday and there’s a lot of games,” said Arteta.

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One of those games sees Arsenal up against high-flying West Bromwich Albion at home, and the Argentine wants a “big reaction” against the Baggies, as do the fans.

Tahmid said switching between formats quickly is something the pair worked on

Mohammad Isam28-Dec-2024On the night before the Boxing Day Test, Sam Konstas told his batting coach Tahmid Islam that he would only play the scoop against Jasprit Bumrah after he reached 150. But, after a number of early plays and misses against the champion fast bowler on debut at the MCG, Konstas brought forward his plans for the scoop. It hardly surprised Tahmid, Konstas’ 29-year-old batting coach.Tahmid said as much in a conversation with Bangladeshi journalists on Saturday, a chat arranged by Prime Bank Cricket Club, Tahmid’s team in a short stint in the Dhaka Premier League several years ago. The news of Tahmid being Konstas’ batting coach has made headlines in Bangladesh.Tahmid, speaking via Zoom, said Konstas’ instincts took over on Test debut. “We were having dinner the night before when he told me that the plan was to only scoop once he got to 150,” Tahmid said. “It wasn’t really part of the plan [to play the shot so early]. But he is someone that plays on instinct. He plays with a lot of freedom. He doesn’t really think of the consequences of what people are going to say if he gets it wrong. I think it is his biggest skill and asset. Whereas loads of players think about the consequences like ‘what if I fail doing it’ or ‘what if I get out playing it’ or ‘the media and coaching staff will have a go at me’.”Related

• Konstas arrives at the Test arena like a supernova

• Konstas on taking on Bumrah: 'Beauty of being young and naive'

“Sam is quite assured in his game. After playing and missing six times in his first ten or 12 balls, he thought that the best way to put pressure on Bumrah was to try to put him off his length. He threw a different challenge at Bumrah, which was really good for Sam. It really shell-shocked India. They weren’t expecting a 19-year-old to come out and play with that sort of freedom.”Tahmid, who works with Elevate Cricket Coaching, said that he was hardly surprised by Konstas’ choice of shots against a bowler of Bumrah’s class.”It isn’t a surprise. The reason Australia picked him was to throw India a different challenge. Sam took on the Indian bowling attack, minus Bumrah, during his century for the Prime Minister’s XI against India about three weeks ago. He played with a lot of freedom. He played the reverse-scoop. He ran down the wicket to play back over the bowler’s head.”Sam is someone who will play some shots and put people off their lengths, as opposed to the traditional approach. It was a bit of a gamble. It paid off for Australia. Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith were talking about how Sam’s innings gave them the opportunity to go out and express themselves as well. It was the freedom which they probably lacked in the first three games.”Debutant Sam Konstas obliges fans at the MCG•Getty Images

Tahmid, who first took up coaching when he was playing in the Yorkshire Premier League in 2013, said that he first met Konstas when he was 14 years old, at Cranbrook School where Konstas was on a cricket scholarship. “Five years ago, I took up coaching at Cranbrook in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. That’s where Sam got a scholarship to go to school. That’s where we initially met. He was 14 years old. We had this really good connection from the first couple of sessions that we did in school.”Tahmid narrated the story of how he formulated a plan for his cricketing future with Konstas’ father. “I was having dinner with his dad one night. We had some Greek food, which is their heritage. I put together a bit of a programme for him to try to target for the next phase of his life, which was to play Under-16s cricket in the New South Wales (NSW) system. It was where it all started for him. It was about his technical, mental and tactical game.”As the journey evolved, we were lucky enough to have Shane Watson involved in the mindset side of things. I worked quite closely with Shane over the last few years. I worked with him in Major League Cricket (MLC) with the San Francisco Unicorns.”Konstas added power to his game in the last 18 months when, alongside Tahmid, he worked on his white-ball skills. “He was always a technically sound player growing up. He had the fundamentals of the game. He wasn’t a very powerful player though,” Tahmid said. “He didn’t score very quickly growing up, so he focused a lot on his white-ball cricket in the last 18 months.”He made his BBL debut two weeks ago. The focus was to make him a better T20 player. He was contracted last year but didn’t play any games. That’s where his white-ball game really started to develop and come along.”Tahmid said that his friendship with England batter Harry Brook helped him mould Konstas’ cricket. “Someone that we use [as a reference] is Harry Brook, with whom I was lucky enough to play in Sydney. He is the No. 1 [currently No. 2] Test batter in the world. He is a fantastic all-format player, with whom I am really good friends. I get a lot of information from him, which I relay on to Sam, on how to transition between formats.Sam Konstas debuted in the BBL earlier this month, and a baggy green followed quickly•Getty Images

“It can be quite challenging but nowadays, you have to switch between formats. Sam plays Big Bash five or six days before the Boxing Day Test. If you don’t have the ability to switch between formats, you will get left behind.”Of course Konstas also didn’t just come out with the scoops, reverse-hits and ramps overnight. He has worked hard at these shots in the nets. But, Tahmid said, to execute the same shots in a high-profile match at a packed MCG takes a lot of confidence, which remains a defining feature of Konstas. “He has been doing reverse-ramps for five or six years in the nets. It doesn’t happen by mistake. They need a lot of preparation to go out and execute in a game. And when you have clarity from your captain and organisation, it helps you to go out and express yourself. You don’t have the fear of getting dropped.”I think he was always a confident person. He always wanted to be the best player in the field. He used to tell me after training, ‘what celebrations do you want from me when I get a century tomorrow?’ That’s what he told me before the Boxing Day Test too.”

Sanctions handed out for the abuse directed at Australian players during the Lord’s Ashes Test

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2023One MCC member has been expelled from the club, and two further individuals have been handed lengthy suspensions, following the confrontations in the Long Room at Lord’s in the wake of Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping in this summer’s Ashes Test.The sanctions were handed out more than three months after the incidents on the final day of the second Test, on July 2, which Australia eventually won by 43 runs to take a 2-0 series lead. The flashpoint occurred as the players left the field for lunch, shortly after Bairstow had been dismissed by Alex Carey as he walked out of his crease at the end of an over, having allowed the delivery to pass through to the keeper.Footage emerged of several MCC members heckling Australian players as they walked through the Long Room at the lunch interval, with Usman Khawaja and David Warner caught in heated exchanges on their way to the away dressing room. At the time, sources told AAP that at least one person attempted to trip up Warner and Steve Smith as they walked up the stairs.Related

• The Test documentary reveals Cummins' role in controversial Bairstow stumping

• Jonny Bairstow reignites Ashes stumping row

• Stokes: 'I wouldn't want to win a game in that manner'

• Usman Khawaja condemns 'disrespectful' behaviour from MCC members

• Ashes finds its flashpoint as Bairstow stumping ignites England

Such was the febrile atmosphere within the pavilion, MCC chief executive Guy Lavender was forced to address the members at the interval to remind them to respect the visiting team. An official “unreserved apology” was issued to Cricket Australia, who subsequently requested MCC to launch their own investigation, stating their players and staff had been “verbally abused, with some being physically contacted”.While details of the disciplinary process are to remain “confidential”, Thursday’s update from MCC revealed sanctions for life, four-and-a-half years and 30 months, respectively.”The actions of the three individuals in the Pavilion on the day in question fell well below the behaviour expected from our Members,” read the statement. “The penalties set out above are the consequences of breaching the Club’s Code of Conduct.”An appeal process has already been concluded.

“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

• Ben Stokes charges up his learning curve as England Test captain

• Jonny Bairstow blitz leads England to memorable win and 2-0 series lead

• Jonny Bairstow on stunning England run-chase: 'It was do or die, so you've got to do'

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.”

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.

England batsman joins a new-look Perth Scorchers squad following the retirement of Michael Klinger and the exit of Shaun Marsh

Alex Malcolm09-Nov-2019Perth Scorchers have signed Lancashire batsman Liam Livingstone as their first overseas player for the upcoming Big Bash League season.Livingstone, 26, played two T20 internationals for England in 2017 but has been become a highly sort after commodity on the global T20 circuit after his exploits for Lancashire in the T20 Blast in England.He played in the Pakistan Super League for the Karachi Kings earlier this season and also played four games for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.He is currently playing for Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League in South Africa alongside Melbourne Stars recruit Dale Steyn.The Scorchers have had to reshape their batting line-up following the retirement of Michael Klinger and the exit of Shaun Marsh to the Melbourne Renegades. Livingstone will add some much-needed power and explosiveness to the top order.”He has performed really well in T20 cricket all around the world over the past 12 months,” Scorchers coach Adam Voges said.”Liam’s a great all-round package. He’ll give us some aggression at the top of the order, he’s a handy spinner and a fantastic fielder.”Livingstone is well known in Perth having played a season of grade cricket for Willetton in 2015-16. He played alongside Scorchers batsman Cameron Bancroft at club level and showed his tremendous hitting ability with some dazzling T20 innings.He said he has watched the BBL closely for many years and was keen to be part of it.”I’m so excited to have signed with the Scorchers for the upcoming Big Bash, it’s a tournament I’ve always wanted to play in so I can’t wait to get to Perth,” Livingstone said.”I’ve spent a winter in Perth, I know the place well and I’m looking forward to getting back there.”The Scorchers have one more overseas slot to fill on their roster after opting not to renew the contracts of David Willey and Usman Qadir.

The opener’s unbeaten 73 took India to victory by nine wickets with 30.1 overs to spare after Sri Lanka had been bowled out for just 98

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2018Smriti Mandhana smashes the ball down the ground•SLC

India’s bowlers shot out Sri Lanka for only 98 in 35.1 overs at the Galle International Stadium before Smriti Mandhana stroked an unbeaten 73 off 76 balls to bring up victory in 19.5 overs.Opting to bat, Sri Lanka were in trouble early, with Mansi Joshi having Prasadani Weerakkody caught behind in the sixth over with the score on just 8. Sri Lanka had started slow, and were consistently hindrered by the new-ball tandem of Jhulan Goswami and Joshi, who returned to international cricket after 14 months, recovering from a knee injury sustained during the limited-overs home series against Bangladesh A in December last year. The duo reduced the hosts to 18 for 3 in the Powerplay, and the spinners mounted further pressure thereafter.Goswami snared No. 3 Nipuni Hansika in the ninth over, for her 300th international wicket, the first woman to get that many. Goswami, who called time on her T20I career ahead of the tour, would later return to get No. 9 Udeshika Prabodhani, and now has 40 wickets in Tests, 205 in ODIs and 56 in T20Is.Joshi ended with the best figures on the day, 3 for 16 in 6.1 overs, while Goswami took 2 for 13 in eight. Poonam Yadav, who became the third-fastest Indian to 50 ODI wickets, finished with 2 for 13 in four. Save for Harmanpreet Kaur, who bowled only one over, every Indian bowler had at least one wicket, including debutant D Hemalatha.For Sri Lanka, the only notable contributions came from captain Chamari Atapattu, who made 33 and was seventh out at the score of 78, and No. 8 Sripali Weerakkody, who scored 26.Coming off a prolific run at the Kia Super League in the UK, where she finished as the leading run-getter and the Player of the Tournament, Mandhana took the lead in India’s chase, getting into her stride quickly and finding the fence regularly. At the break, India had already reached 43 without loss in in seven overs, with Mandhana on 31 off 29.The lunch interval didn’t hamper Mandhana’s momentum, with two fours hit in the first over on resumption. She reached her half-century – her fifth in last six ODI innings – in only 42 balls, with a six off Sripali Weerakkody.India looked set for a 10-wicket victory before Punam Raut miscued an inside-out lofted drive to backward point off Inoka Ranaweera to end the opening stand at 96 in 18.4 overs. Mandhana, who appeared to be in visible discomfort against offspinner Shashikala Siriwardene, escaped at least three edges in what turned out to be the last over of the chase. She then hit a boundary off the fifth ball of the 20th over – off Siriwardene – to seal the chase.Mithali Raj faced only two balls and didn’t score off them, but this was still a landmark match for her. She went past Charlotte Edwards (117) as the most-capped captain in women’s ODIs with her 118th appearance. Raj also equalled Edwards with her 72nd ODI win as captain, which is second overall behind Belinda Clark’s 83 wins from 101 matches.

The left-arm spinner warned that batting last at Khettarama ‘won’t be easy’ and suggested Sri Lanka should have done better with the bat

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo15-Jul-2017Sri Lanka ended the first day of the Colombo Test against Zimbabwe 63 runs adrift, with only three first-innings wickets in hand, and their own lead spinner has sounded out a warning: batting fourth on this track “won’t be easy”.Khettarama is not a venue where Tests are often played – the most recent one was four years ago. As both sides attempt to read an unfamiliar surface, perhaps Rangana Herath’s assessments should be given greater weight than those of anybody else. Not only did he claim five wickets in the first innings, Herath had also taken 12 wickets against Bangladesh in that 2013 Test.So, if Sri Lanka do not come charging back into the game on day three, they may leave themselves with too much to do in the final innings.”If we can get to 350 or 400 – even get a first-innings lead of about 50, that would be good,” Herath said. “But if we can’t manage that, we have to get them out cheaply in the second innings. Batting fourth on this track won’t be easy. We’ve got two spinners in the XI, so I think we’ll be able to get them out for an average score or below. But right now, I think we should have been in a better position than this.”After Herath had wrapped up a 30th five-wicket haul in the morning, Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer took the lead spinners’ baton, and finished the day with figures of 3 for 100 from 30 overs. All three of his victims – Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella – fell to big-turning legbreaks.”If you take yesterday and today, the pitch is drier now than it was,” Herath said as he explained the increased purchase for the spinners. “I think that’s the nature of the surface – that will be there tomorrow and the day after. The next three days will be good for the spinners, I think.”We got a good start, but after that Cremer bowled really well. The balls to get Kusal and Chandimal were very good balls. When you get those kinds of deliveries, the chances of getting out are high.”Sri Lanka’s plight was also made more difficult by the hamstring injury picked up by Asela Gunaratne, while fielding in the morning. He came in at No. 8 in the batting order, instead of No. 6 or 7 as he usually might, and was clearly struggling to run between the wickets. Gunaratne had claimed two wickets in the first innings, but Sri Lanka’s attack may be weakened in the second, Herath said.”With the state his hamstring is in, I don’t think Asela will be able to bowl or field tomorrow. We are also trying to keep him fit for the India tour that’s coming up soon. If he is unable to bowl, it’s me, Dilruwan Perera and the two quicks who are left in the attack. Kusal Mendis has also taken a wicket in a Test in Zimbabwe, so he might be an option for the captain as well.”That Sri Lanka even find themselves in such a difficult position may also be testament to particular troubles the team has faced in 2017. They had taken large leads into the second innings in each of the Tests they played in Zimbabwe last year, but have since lost four of their last five matches, not to mention a host of ODIs. Despite those results, Herath believed there was quality in the side.”It’s not like we don’t have the talent. We do. But we haven’t been able to showcase those skills over a long period of time. After the Australia tour last year, we lost the South Africa series. Later, we lost to Bangladesh. It’s that lack of consistent performance. We’ve got a young team with only three or four experienced hands, and we can’t expect the older players to do everything. We have to give the young players experience, and they should also know how to make use of those opportunities.”