The fast bowler did not think the early exit was the lowest point of his career, but admitted that he had slipped up with his execution during the tournament

Sharda Ugra at Lord's24-Jun-2019Having taken just six wickets in seven games at an average of 50.83, Kagiso Rabada has been far from the spearhead South Africa had expected him to be at the World Cup. The fast bowler has admitted that his performances at the tournament have only been “okay”.”These [World Cups] are the tournaments you really want to stand out in… In this tournament I would have like to have done better,” Rabada told reporters on Sunday, after South Africa’s exit-confirming loss to Pakistan at Lord’s. “I have just done okay. I think there have been times where we have been really unlucky, and some times where we have kind of let ourselves down.”Rabada, who is playing in his first World Cup, said he would not call the early exit the lowest point in his career, which began in the aftermath of South Africa’s heart-breaking semi-final defeat in the 2015 World Cup. “I wouldn’t say it was the lowest point in my career – this is what comes with the game. All of us, we don’t go to a game looking to lose. We go to a game prepared. We try to prepare, we do our analysis, and we come in with a good mindset.”He however cited his own case in failing to bridge the gap between planning and on-field performance.”Execution is just one thing that you know that has been a question mark for us, and especially for myself at times,” he said. “And you can’t just do okay.”Rabada said he had at times tried to “take it it upon myself to really stand up. I thought I played just okay. I don’t think it’s the lowest point. The next time this happens, it’s a challenge really to come out on top.”In comparison to his captain Faf du Plessis, whose media briefing was marked by the heaviness of his team’s failure, Rabada’s response to the defeat against Pakiatan reflected his relatively baggage-free World Cup experience and the fact that he was not the man carrying the load of the team’s leader.Of the match against Pakistan he said, “I think Pakistan turned up and we didn’t.” South Africa’s bowlers, he added, had slipped up at key moments in the match. “I think we knew we had them in the field and we let it slip and then they outbowled us. They got our batsmen out.”According to Rabada, the fourth-wicket partnership between Babar Azam and Man of the Match Haris Sohail – 81 in 11.2 overs – was “where they really got momentum with their batting, and I think their bowlers really bowled well to restrict our batters, so I think we were just outplayed, simple as that.”The defeat was to give to Rabada “plenty of learnings and that’s how we play this game. It’s not easy.”He then spoke not as a philosophical young man dealing with defeat but a young cricketer grappling with the lessons he had been given by the game. “As much as you want to be at the top. you’ll never find it smooth sailing. It’s extremely tough. When you are playing out there you experience all of this. And all these feelings, highs and lows, and that’s what comes with it.”South Africa’s last two World Cup group matches, dead rubbers as far as they are concerned, are spread over the next ten days, the first against Sri Lanka in Chester-le-Street on Friday, June 28, and then Australia in Manchester on July 6.So while Rabada did say that “the key is to bounce back and plan forward and stay positive”, he will find the empty time on his hands far tougher to deal with than he realised today. Just ask du Plessis.

News from around the counties in the 2019 Championship season

David Hopps27-Jun-2019Assumptions that Reece Topley’s cricketing career is over appear to be premature. There is at least a possibility that he will revive his professional career with Sussex in this summer’s Vitality Blast as he tries to pull off a remarkable recovery against the odds.Topley has suffered four stress fractures to his back in recent years (two separate breaks that then reoccurred) and has not bowled a ball in competitive cricket since last July but following brief periods training with the Melbourne Renegades and Middlesex, he has pitched up at Hove.”Reece has had some injury issues over the last 12 months and there was no guarantee that he’d ever play again,” said Sussex’s head coach, Jason Gillespie. “So we came to an arrangement whereby, with no pressure at all, he could come here, do some training and build his bowling back up.”We’ve got the gym and we’ve got medical support and we said that if he was in a position to play some cricket later in the summer then we would explore that possibility. It’s very early days, he’s just building himself up and he’s going to play a little bit of club cricket but if he’s fit and firing, we know what a fine bowler he is.”Topley is a free agent since leaving Hampshire after playing only 21 games in three years. Just to fulfil even a white-ball contract last season he had to inject a hormone in his stomach daily and once a month had an anaesthetic in his spine. But England Lions still took a look at him before he broke down and his 10 ODIs and six T20s for England are a reminder of his potential.Sussex have kept faith with another left-arm quick, Tymal Mills despite a back condition that restricts him to T20 only. Mills’ life was changed with a £1.4m IPL deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017, but he went unsold in the subsequent seasons and had a disappointing Blast campaign in 2018, taking only seven wickets in nine matches.***Another player once billed as possessing England potential has an uncertain future, at 27. Less than three months ago, Adam Riley was talking optimistically about how the retirement of James Tredwell and flatter Division One surfaces might give his offspin more of an opportunity at Kent. But after taking only two expensive wickets in two Championship matches, he has left the county by mutual consent.Riley was mentioned in despatches in the general panic about English spin-bowling resources when Graeme Swann abruptly retired during the 2012-13 Ashes series. He broke through as Kent’s first-choice spinner in four-day cricket in 2014, taking 48 wickets in 15 County Championship appearances, and made his England Lions debut against South Africa A in Bloemfontein in February 2015.But England spin specialists tried to quicken his pace through the air and he was plagued by attempts to tweak his action.***Surrey’s Tasmanian head coach Michael di Venuto was flummoxed briefly at a members’ forum this week when he was asked whether Jason Roy should open for England in the Ashes. “Do you want the answer from me as Jason’s coach or from an Australian point of view?” he replied.That answer pretty much gave away his thoughts, but di Venuto proceeded to articulate them anyway. “If I was England, and I am certainly not, I think the captain [Joe Root] should put his hand up and bat at No 3 and Jason would be a very good No 4 in Test cricket,” he said.”I get where they are coming from – he is an exceptionally talented cricketer – but opening in Test cricket is extremely different to opening in one-day cricket. People make the comparison with David Warner, when Warner has been opening all his life. Jason is a middle-order player.”Di Venuto thinks England should heed what he described as “the Aaron Finch experiment.” Finch, who will return to Surrey for the Blast this season, underlined his quality as a white-ball opener on Tuesday with his World Cup hundred against England. But he averaged a modest 27.80 in five Tests going in first against Pakistan and India last winter.”The results could be the same,” Di Venuto warned. He would certainly be surprised if both Roy and Finch, whose World Cup form has also encouraged Ashes speculation, won the opportunity to open the innings when August comes around***This should have been the summer that Joe Clarke’s transfer to a big county helped him catch England’s eye ahead of the Ashes. Instead he has three ducks in his last four games and a top score of 29 in that time and Nottinghamshire are adrift at the foot of Division One without a Championship win for a year.The fallout is still evident after a court case in which Alex Hepburn, a former Worcestershire team-mate, was found guilty of oral rape and jailed for five years in April. Clarke was not on trial, and neither was another former Worcestershire batsman, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, but they were both named at Worcester Crown Court as fellow members of a WhatsApp messaging group which boasted about sexual conquests. The judge called the sexual contest “pathetic, sexist and foul”.Now the ECB has charged both Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore with bringing the game into disrepute, and England are in no rush to forgive.There is always a question about when it is appropriate for a sport’s governing body to play the role of moral arbiter. But sports stars are role models whether they want to be or not and the ego-centric environment of professional sport clearly needs an element of intervention. Few will chide the ECB for taking this particular matter further and for the players to understand that would be a further stage towards redemption.***Warwickshire will feel they deserve a good result against Essex next month after long hours spent finding a venue for the Championship fixture between the sides. Ironically, the outcome announced this week of switching home and away meetings was their first-choice solution when a clash of scheduling with the World Cup became apparent last year.Edgbaston will host a World Cup semi-final on July 11 and it is reserve venue for the final three days later, meaning the Essex game from July 13-16 must be staged elsewhere. Warwickshire were told initially that a swap with Essex was not possible and even asked about giving up reserve status for the final on the basis that it almost certainly won’t be needed.Eventually, they chose Worcester as an alternative home, only for the latest heavy flooding of New Road to leave the ground unfit. So, with no other plausible option, what might well be viewed the best solution will prevail after all: July 13-16 at Chelmsford, September 10-13 at Edgbaston. Assuming, that is, Chelmsford avoids fire, plague or pestilence over the next three weeks.Meanwhile, Surrey have reiterated their position to the ECB that The Oval should be used for part of the county’s 50-over competition next season, even though it is a venue for The Hundred in the same calendar block. “We will make sure we are not thrown out for the entire time period,” Richard Gould, the chief executive, said.

Lasith Embuldeniya struck vital blows for Sri Lanka before the wicketkeeper-batsman rallied with the lower order

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu16-Aug-2019
Lasith Embuldeniya did his best Rangana Herath impression on a wearing Galle track that raised puffs of dust, but BJ Watling combated his left-arm threat and put New Zealand right back into the game. While both Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were out cheaply, playing a long way in front of their body or away from it, Watling was immovable. He simply did his thing: played close to his body, defended stoutly, and even read some of Akila Dananjaya’s googlies out of his hand. From 81 for 4, he rallied New Zealand to 195 for 7 and a lead of 177 at stumps on day three. Watling is now just 35 runs away from surpassing Brendon McCullum as New Zealand’s top run-getter among wicketkeepers.When Watling entered, Sri Lanka’s spin trio and the close-in catchers were circling around him like vultures around their prey. And when Mitchell Santner swatted a long-hop from Embuldeniya straight into the lap of deep midwicket, New Zealand were 124 for 6 at the stroke of tea. Sri Lanka threatened to ambush Watling and Tim Southee too with spin, but they weathered multiple bursts in a 54-run seventh-wicket partnership. Sixer Southee made way for blocker Southee as New Zealand slowly but surely built their lead. Southee was dropped twice, but Watling’s innings was chanceless.ALSO READ: Why isn’t BJ Watling a bigger deal than he is?He did have a nervy start, though, given out lbw by umpire Richard Illingworth when he was on 1. However, a review detected a thin nick and Watling bedded in. He wore down the spinners and once Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara were swapped into the attack, Watling eased into his shot-making stride. Kumara was cracked for back-to-back boundaries in the 71st over: a rasping straight drive followed by a less violent ramp over the cordon. Southee’s vigil, however, had ended in the previous over when Embuldeniya tricked him with a delightful cocktail of drift, dip, and turn.William Sommerville, too, displayed a tight defensive technique and earned Watling’s trust, helping swell New Zealand’s lead towards 200.The narrative was different when Embuldeniya had nabbed both Williamson and Taylor in successive overs in a marathon spell, leaving the visitors gasping in the face of relentless pressure from the spinners. The New Zealand captain wound up playing a long way in front of his body, yanking his bottom hand off the bat, and skewing an overhead catch to mid-on while Taylor’s panic-stricken advance down the pitch resulted in a simple catch to slip. New Zealand were 25 for 3 at this point, but Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls then put on 56 for the fourth wicket in 11.2 overs to give the innings a leg-up.Niroshan Dickwella lifts one into the leg side•AFP

Latham was the enforcer, sweeping flat and hard and even dashing down the track to launch Embuldeniya over the midwicket boundary. However, the stand was nipped in the bud when Akila found sharp turn to scratch Latham’s outside edge. Nicholls then jabbed at Dhananjaya de Silva and similarly nicked off, but Watling saved the day for New Zealand.In the morning, it was the other wicketkeeper-batsman, Niroshan Dickwella, who made a statement after being ignored for the World Cup and then the ODI series at home against Bangladesh. Dickwella, on 39 overnight, finished with 61 off 109 balls, ushering Sri Lanka to a 18-run first-innings lead.Resuming on an overnight 227 for 7, Sri Lanka added 40 to their tally in the morning session before being bowled out, with Trent Boult and Somerville taking the remaining three wickets and ending the innings about an hour before lunch.The new ball was available at the start of the day’s play, and New Zealand took it immediately. Boult pushed the batsmen back with a barrage of short balls, and while Lakmal was struck flush on his right elbow, Embuldeniya copped a glancing blow on the helmet. Two balls after being hit, Lakmal stood deep in the crease to a ball that wasn’t short enough and dragged it back onto the stumps to be dismissed for 40.At the other end, Dickwella was more competent against the short stuff, often rolling his wrists to keep the ball down. He moved to a rousing half-century with a dink to the leg side off Ajaz Patel, but Somerville dangled an offbreak wide outside off and had him slapping a catch to Williamson at short cover.Watling headlined New Zealand’s batting effort in their second innings before fading light forced early stumps.

Steven Smith makes 23 from 38 balls before heading to nets for extended session

Daniel Brettig at Derby30-Aug-2019Steven Smith batted in a match for the first time since his concussion diagnosis during the Lord’s Test with the air of a cricketer impatient for the Ashes to resume or, at least, to face better bowling than the modest spin being twirled down at him by Derbyshire on a low-key second day of the tour game.He indicated as much by following a brief, 38-ball innings of 23 that ended in a skewed slog to cover by immediately taking up a far longer stint in the nets. There, still in his creams, he faced up to speedier deliveries with newish balls being sidearmed at him by the assistant coach Sridharan Sriram and the resting David Warner – his habitual throw-downer Graeme Hick being spelled from coaching duties this week.Perhaps Smith was still getting used to dealing with the hemmed-in feelings he has complained about when wearing a protective stem guard on the back of his neck – the place where Jofra Archer struck him at Lord’s. “I just feel claustrophobic,” Smith has said of the stem guards. “I compare it to being stuck in an MRI scan machine.”But certainly this sequence indicated that for Smith at least, the Derbyshire attack was far from his preferred way of preparing for a Test match; not that other team-mates of his took the same view with rather less open-and-shut cases for selection at Old Trafford.Steve Smith returned to the middle for the first time since his concussion•Getty Images

Marcus Harris glided to an attractive 64 before he was run out when Usman Khawaja, who went on to 72, declined his call for a quick single. While Khawaja initially set off and so may be seen to be at fault for changing his mind, the speed with which Dustin Melton’s throw from cover was fired back to hit the stumps direct was a good indicator that the senior man’s judgment was the soundest of the two.That wicket cleared the way for Mitchell Marsh to play decently on his way to 74, equal parts watchful and powerful, though only likely to take part in this series if one of the two remaining pitches is prepared to be a flat surface requiring the Australians to consider a fifth bowler. Marsh has flagged that after spending the past two years or more prioritising Test cricket, he is now growing impatient to return to the Twenty20 circuit with all its attendant riches.Another brief and distracted-looking innings was played by Matthew Wade, granting Cameron Bancroft and Marnus Labuschagne the chance to add an unbeaten 76 together, speckled with boundaries against the second new ball. Khawaja’s declaration left the Australians with about 80 minutes in which to bowl, enough time for Mitchel Starc to send down an encouraging new-ball spell in his last chance to press for selection at Old Trafford.Clean bowling Billy Godleman with a ball of full length, he went on to pin Anuj Dal lbw. Peter Siddle followed up by coaxing an edge from Luis Reece that was pouched by Wade in the slips, and beat the bat several more times in the closing 20 minutes to underline that he, too, is eager for Manchester and all that will unfold there.

Spinner admits he thought he would be watching series at home – but now keen to prove his worth as a bowler

Matt Roller26-Aug-2019Vishwa Fernando’s 6, Monty Panesar’s 7, Clive Eksteen’s 4… and now Jack Leach’s 1.The list of the greatest unbeaten single-figure innings in Test history is not a prestigious one, but its members all share cult-hero status. In no other sport are players so prominently exposed for their inability in one facet of the game – Neymar wouldn’t make much of a centre-back, but he doesn’t ever have to spend 30 minutes trying to rescue a point there – and while those who fail are mocked, success as a tailender can turn an unremarkable player into a legend.ALSO READ: From Vishwa to Panesar – six great single-figure inningsLeach’s 60-minute, 17-ball epic in a remarkable last-wicket stand of 76 with Ben Stokes to haul England across the line at Headingley could so easily have been forgotten. Stokes offered a difficult catch to Marcus Harris at third man, repeatedly cleared fielders on the rope by the finest of margins, and would have been lbw but for the absence of DRS; if any of those had turned out differently, Leach’s efforts would have been an irrelevance.Instead, he found himself exalted.”I don’t know what it is,” he said. “It’s probably because I look like a village cricketer out there in my glasses, the bald head – maybe people think ‘that could be me!’ All the others look pretty professional.”The support’s been amazing, the support today for all of us was incredible. The noise was insane, and I’m just enjoying playing for England.”While wiping his glasses before facing each ball made him a subject of amusement, Somerset’s former strength and conditioning coach Daz Veness paid tribute to his “outstanding mental strength”.”Bat down, gloves off, helmet off, glasses off, glasses cleaned, everything back on in reverse order,” he tweeted. “You’ll bowl when I’m ready and my mate has caught his breath. And not before.” In the manner that county team-mate Marcus Trescothick has done in the final years of his career, Leach – who cannot wear contact lenses because he suffers from astigmatism – managed to dictate the pace of the game throughout his stay at the crease.”I just have to make sure they are clean every time they were facing up because I would really regret it if it had been smudged,” he said, “and then they zoom in on the glasses and say ‘he didn’t clean his glasses’.”I just had to stay calm and do the job at hand. I felt good out there, I was really focused on what I needed to do.”Generally left to face a ball or two at the end of an over, Leach left, ducked, weaved and defended his way out of trouble. “I got on with it,” he said, “and it [the target] quite quickly seemed to go down. Suddenly it’s eight to win, and you’re like ‘oh my God’.”It is all a bit of a blur to be honest. I didn’t want to get in Stokesy’s bubble when he was doing really well, hitting those sixes. I didn’t want to say too much but I also wanted him to just focus on the next ball, especially when we got close.”He said in the changing room that he got nervous when it was down to eight. It seemed so close but the way we were playing it was still quite far away. I just wanted him to focus on every ball, and if it was there he would hit it for six.”Jack Leach wipes the sweat from his glasses during his innings of one not out•Getty Images

There was, of course, the run-out-that-wasn’t. If Nathan Lyon had managed to gather the ball as Leach found himself stranded halfway down the pitch, the narrative around his innings would be starkly different.”That was not a nice moment,” Leach said. “There were two balls left so I thought [Stokes] might squeeze a single so that I could face one and he’d have the next over. But it’s all good. I don’t want to focus on that moment – I want to focus on running down to Stokes when he hit the winning runs.”And so he might. If his team-mates’ hardships rarely seem to extend beyond a bad run of form, it is worth reflecting on the multiple setbacks that Leach has overcome on his ascent to the Test side.He suffers from Crohn’s disease, a bowel condition that is often triggered by stress. In 2015, he fractured his skull after fainting on his way to the toilet in the middle of the night. The next summer, his hopes of an international call-up were twice set back; first by comments from his county captain Chris Rogers that he was not “emotionally” ready, then by the news that routine tests at Loughborough had revealed an illegal kink in his bowling action.Last summer, he found out he had broken his thumb the day before he was set to be announced in the Test squad to play Pakistan. A concussion suffered after being hit by a Morne Morkel bouncer then cost him the chance to prove his form ahead of the India series, and he was again left out.Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that Leach revealed he thought he would “be watching at home” during this series.Childhood friends Jos Buttler and Jack Leach celebrate England’s win•Getty Images

“I wanted to be ready to play and not presume anything,” he said. “It’s been a tough lead-in because obviously the county cricket has been all T20 stuff, my last long bowl was the Australia A game [for the England Lions in July] which was quite a while ago. That’s been a challenge but I’ve tried to stay ready through training, and my opportunity has come about so I’m trying to make the most of it.”If those comments are damning on the suitability of the county fixture list, they also serve to add to Leach’s status as a normal bloke. To stay match-fit between the Ireland Test and his Ashes debut at Lord’s, he went home to play for his club side, Taunton Deane. Once part of the Cardiff MCCU production line under Mark O’Leary, he is an example to every club, university, and county cricketer as to what can be achieved with sheer dedication.It is important, too, to remember that Leach has bowled well in his two opportunities this series. Since Graeme Swann’s retirement, England have longed for a spinner who can tie down an end at home; for all Moeen Ali’s mercurial talents, he has generally been a wicket-taker rather than a defensive option.So Leach’s economy rate of 2.64 in this series has been just as important as his five wickets. Moving into the final two Tests, at the traditionally more spin-friendly venues in the country, he will be expected to play a role of increasing importance.”I think I have more to offer with the ball,” he said, “and hopefully I’m able to show that over the next couple of games. Obviously the last couple of times I’ve been doing media stuff at the end of games it’s been for my batting, which is mad! I want to be helping the team out with the ball primarily, and I’m looking to bring my best to Old Trafford.”

Amazon Warriors have finished runners-up four times in the past, while Tridents won the CPL back in 2014

The Preview by Peter Della Penna12-Oct-2019

Big picture

When most of us think of CPL star power on the domestic player front, the first names that roll off the tongue are of Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine and the like. But this year’s tournament has suggested that a change of guard maybe on the cards, with none of those big names taking part in the final, to be played between perennial bridesmaids Guyana Amazon Warriors and a resurgent Barbados Tridents.In past years, the Amazon Warriors have fallen short after building their team around overseas stars like Rashid Khan, Martin Guptill and Chris Lynn. Most of their additions during draft time in 2019 may have flown under the radar, but coach Johan Botha has cultivated incredible chemistry to produce the most remarkable winning streak in CPL history, currently standing at 11 matches.Yes, the Amazon Warriors have their share of established talent. Captain Shoaib Malik has provided metronomic consistency in the middle order with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. Imran Tahir’s manic sprints have shown few signs of slowing down with each wicket celebration, leading the team with 15 scalps. Chris Green has been miserly and incisive with his new-ball offspin. Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford and Shimron Hetmyer have provided the muscle and flair to give them the late kick when needed.ALSO READ: Amazon Warriors’ perfect ten, and other remarkable T20 streaksBut their improbable record is equally due to the contributions from a number of unheralded and often underappreciated players. Brandon King was taken in the ninth round of the 2019 draft in the traditional US$ 15,000 slot but he is the tournament’s leading scorer with 453 runs. Romario Shepherd was taken a round later in the US$ 10,000 position but has needled opposition batsmen with 12 wickets to stem momentum in the middle overs. Chandrapaul Hemraj lasted until round 13 in a US$ 5,000 slot, yet has been a handy foil for King at the top of the order and has also chipped in with key overs of left-arm spin in the powerplay, like the 3 for 15 to plough through the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders.The Tridents’ record has a few more blemishes, but their formula to reach the final has not been much different. Johnson Charles, discarded by West Indies in 2016, has powered their starts with a team-leading 376 runs. In the same vein as Malik, Tridents captain Jason Holder has been a source of inspiration not just with his 14 wickets, third-highest in the tournament, but for shrewd bowling changes and some special fielding, especially at long-on and long-off in the slog overs.Though the management misfired with their first overall selection at the draft in the form of Alex Hales, who has yet to score a fifty, coach Phil Simmons has made wise decisions in his choice of replacement players after the draft. Shakib Al Hasan’s nuggety knocks and tidy spells have been a late-season bonus. JP Duminy has been a reassuring presence in the middle order and fired the tournament’s fastest fifty against the Knight Riders. Harry Gurney’s variations have thrown big-hitters out of sync at the death.The Tridents’ bargain shopping has trumped the Amazon Warriors’ by some distance too. Raymon Reifer, who iced the semi-final against the Knight Riders by trapping Seekkuge Prasanna for his tenth wicket of the season, was taken in round 14 for US$ 5000. The Tridents mined a diamond in the final round with their US$ 3000 ICC Americas pick, taking USA’s Hayden Walsh Jr., who is not only the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 21 in eight matches, but has been the event’s most electric fielder. Just ask Pollard, who fell victim to a momentum-shifting run-out by Walsh Jr. on Thursday night.Saturday night might not be as raucous an occasion at the Brian Lara Academy without the host franchise involved. But there’s no doubt it will be a memorable one as the Amazon Warriors pursue perfection while the Tridents try to pull off an upset.Jason Holder has been hugely influential for Barbados Tridents•CPL T20/ Getty Images

Form guide

Guyana Amazon Warriors WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Barbados Tridents WLWWL

In the spotlight

Coming into CPL 2019, 24-year-old Brandon King had just one fifty and 267 runs in 14 career T20 innings. But he has four 50-plus scores in his last seven matches. He broke Russell’s record on Sunday for the highest score in CPL history, bashing an unbeaten 132 off 72 balls with 11 fours and ten sixes. It was an innings that brought coach Botha to tears, but the tournament’s most improved batsman was restrained in his celebrations, an indication that he may have bigger plans in store for the final.Hayden Walsh Jr. entered the season as the back-up legspinner to Sandeep Lamichhane, the same role he served when the pair was together in 2018 at St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. But when Lamichhane left after the sixth match for national duty with Nepal, Walsh Jr. got an opportunity to come back into the line-up and exploded with a five-wicket haul against the Knight Riders. Walsh Jr. now has a CPL-best 21 in eight matches, has never taken fewer than two wickets in any game, and is a spark plug at backward point.

Team news

The only reason the Amazon Warriors may change the line-up that beat the Tridents in the qualifier is if they feel they need another variation bowler at the death. Ben Laughlin is a candidate if so, but if it ain’t broke, they are unlikely to fix it.Guyana Amazon Warriors (probable XI): 1 Brandon King, 2 Chandrapaul Hemraj, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Chris Green, 9 Romario Shepherd, 10 Odean Smith, 11 Imran TahirThe Tridents leadership will be sweating over Duminy’s fitness after he had to retire hurt with what appeared to be a hamstring injury during his innings on Thursday against the Knight Riders. If he can’t go, the most likely alternative is Justin Greaves, who scored a half-century earlier this season when Hales left temporarily for the T20 Vitality Blast final.Barbados Tridents (probable XI): 1 Alex Hales, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 JP Duminy/Justin Greaves, 6 Jonathan Carter, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Raymon Reifer, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Hayden Walsh Jr., 11 Harry Gurney

Pitch and conditions

The Tridents fielders looked like they were on ice skates at times in the outfield, which had excessive dew after Thursday’s qualifier playoff was pushed back to 8.15pm local time due to transportation problems the Tridents experienced making the drive south from Port-of-Spain to Tarouba. But the final is scheduled for a 5pm start, making the dew less of a factor. The Brian Lara Academy pitch has regularly been challenging for batsmen, and scoring more than 150 batting first hasn’t been easy.

Stats and trivia

• The Tridents’ only CPL title came in 2014, when they beat the Amazon Warriors in the final in St Kitts by eight runs (DLS method). Current Amazon Warriors captain Malik was Man of the Match in the final for the Tridents, scoring an unbeaten 55 off 42 balls. That loss by the Amazon Warriors was the second of four runner-up finishes, including last year.
• The tournament’s leading wicket-taker has been a part of the champion squad on three occasions: Krishmar Santokie (16) for Jamaica Tallawahs in 2013, Dwayne Bravo (28) for Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in 2015, and Fawad Ahmed (22) for the Knight Riders in 2018. Only once has the tournament’s leading scorer played for the champion team: Colin Munro (567 runs) in 2018 for the Knight Riders.

Quotes

“If you start thinking about going into a bigger game then you add extra pressure on you. Since we have so many youngsters, my message is still the same. When you come to the ground, whatever responsibilities you get, just try to handle them not thinking about how this is a final because then your brain is only working towards a trophy.”
“The beauty of our performances so far in this tournament is we’ve held on in close games. We also lost some close games but the majority of our games we held our nerve and been able to come out on top.”

Three-wicket star Mitchell Santner praises hosts’ all-round improvement

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2019New Zealand plan to carry the momentum of a 21-run victory over England into their third T20I after a tough run for the host nation’s sporting teams.Questions about the All Blacks’ semi-final defeat to England in Japan last weekend come heavily laden with apology in recognition of the fact that New Zealanders live and breathe rugby like nothing else. But Mitchell Santner, the star of Sunday’s triumph in Wellington, offered a reminder that his country’s World Cup defeat was still smarting as he reflected on the Black Cap’s first win over England in any format since their innings victory in the rain-affected day-night Test in Auckland in March 2018.”Before or after the World Cup final?” Santner laughed when asked what kind of relationship New Zealand had with the England side. “Nah, pretty good. They’re nice guys off the field, and on, I guess. It’s obviously a younger team they’ve got there for the T20s but also a dangerous team so we’ve got to not take that for granted but they’ve got some superstars in their team as well so it was nice to get the win today.””They’ve had the rub of the green on us a little bit lately but I think after the last performance, we were a little bit off, it was nice to get that win today. As a unit we just wanted to be a little bit better in all three aspects and I think today we were so I guess that’s the pleasing thing. You can take that momentum into the next game as well.”Also read: Santner leads NZ bowlers to defend 176Santner’s 3 for 25 was pivotal in an improved all-round New Zealand performance compared to their seven-wicket loss in the first match of the series and included the wicket of Chris Jordan, whose 36 off 19 balls formed a rearguard that gave England some hope of overhauling the target of 177.The old adage “catches win matches” was rightfully applied as England put down four crucial chances while their opponents held theirs.”Our fielding was pretty key, some good catches there, and as a bowler if the fielding group is up it’s a good feeling,” Santner said. “We did pretty well to get to 170 on a pretty good surface and bowled pretty well to defend it.”With the five-match series level at 1-1, Santner said New Zealand would look to replicate their Wellington performance when the sides meet again in Nelson on Tuesday.”We adjusted pretty well coming from Hagley where it’s a big ground all-round to here,” he said. “We’ve got to adapt again. It’s a slightly different ground that can be short depending on where the wicket is but it’s more a ground like Hagley where boundaries are pretty even all the way round and the pitch in the past has been a little bit slow so we’ve probably got to adjust again.”But I think that’s a credit to what happened today, we adapted pretty quickly to the surface and the dimensions. The team that can adapt the fastest usually comes out on top.”England captain Eoin Morgan said the visitors must learn form their errors ahead of the next match.”We didn’t bat or field anywhere near what we did the other day,” Morgan told Sky Sports. “On this ground in particular, you probably take a little more risk than usual because of the dimensions, but I thought New Zealand bowled well and made us hit to the longer side.”We need to continue a positive, aggressive mindset. It’s important to make mistakes – the most important part is to learn from them. If young lads can continue to do that early in their international career, they’ll do well.”

‘If I feel he is one of your best players, why wouldn’t I want to have a conversation with him?’

Firdose Moonda14-Dec-2019Mark Boucher, South Africa’s new head coach, would welcome the availability of Kolpak players and recent retirees, including AB de Villiers, as he plots the national team’s way forward.Having worked in the franchise system for the last four seasons, Boucher has first-hand knowledge of the calibre of players available to the national side and acknowledged that the country’s talent pool could do with deepening. Asked whether he would like to be able to select players based abroad, Boucher said: “If I can answer from a coach’s perspective, absolutely. If you look at rugby, the way the Springboks won the World Cup, the experience they got from players playing overseas was invaluable. From a coach’s perspective, I’d love to have the opportunity to deepen and strengthen the squad. It will keep everyone on their toes and will bring more excellence into the game in this country.”While Boucher is not in control of the regulations around Kolpak, he may be able to have a say among recent retirees, especially those whom he has a close relationship with. Boucher played with de Villiers and currently coaches him at the Tshwane Spartans, who will play in the Mzansi Super League final on Monday. De Villiers is fourth on the tournament run-charts and has demonstrated strong strokeplay and innovation throughout the tournament. His white-ball form remains consistent and his ability unmatched.De Villiers retired from all formats of international cricket in May 2018, citing a heavy workload, but with a T20 World Cup 10 months away, Boucher was not averse to trying to convince de Villiers to come back. “When you go to a World Cup, you want your best players playing for you,” Boucher said. “If I feel he is one of your best players, why wouldn’t I want to have a conversation with him? I’ve only just got into the job, I might have conversations with quite a few players and see where they are.”He also indicated players may be allowed greater flexibility if they can add value to South Africa cricket. “You want your best players playing in the World Cup and if there’s a couple of issues you need to iron out, with media, with team-mates, and if it’s for the good of South Africa, why not, let’s do it.”

Cummins and Pattinson struck early in New Zealand’s innings after Australia made 467

The Report by Andrew McGlashan27-Dec-2019The ball may be a different colour, and the playing hours back to normal, but the MCG Test was taking on alarmingly similar proportions to what happened in Perth for New Zealand as Australia exerted their control. First, it came through Travis Head, with his second Test hundred and a stand of 150 with captain Tim Paine, before the extra pace of the home attack removed two wickets before the close.In reply to 467 – and after more than five sessions in the field – it was the loss of Kane Williamson that will have hurt New Zealand the most. Having driven James Pattinson sweetly through the covers, he was lured into pulling a ball well wide of off stump which he skied behind square where Paine continued his fine day with a solid running catch. For Pattinson, it was his first Test wicket in Australia for nearly four years.James Pattinson struck the huge blow of removing Kane Williamson•Getty Images

Pat Cummins, whose seven-over spell included barely a ball off target, had already done for Tom Blundell, who was opening in Tests for the first time, when he edged a drive having shown some initial promise. Tom Latham, battling through 57 balls for his 9, and Ross Taylor – saved by the DRS when he was given lbw to Pattinson on 1 – hung on until stumps.In the lead-up to the Boxing Day Test, Head did not appear fully secure of his place with Australia contemplating five bowlers. Two days into the match and, even if a rejig to the side is discussed, Head’s name will not be up for debate. He resumed on 25, did not find the going easy throughout the day – occasionally becoming more expansive when offered width – and only really freed himself up after passing three figures after tea, but he did not give it away, and that was the standout.He had been kept in the 90s for 45 minutes before the break, including a maiden against Trent Boult which meant he sat on 98 at the interval, and in total needed 41 balls to navigate his way to three figures, which was brought up with his tenth boundary, driven behind point from his 222nd delivery. During the innings, he passed 1000 runs and, with potentially one knock left for 2019, went to 714 runs for the year – moving back above David Warner as Australia’s third-highest scorer – a period that brought him a maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka in Canberra and then saw him left out of the final Ashes Test, partly for sake of team balance, which appeared could happen again this week.However, while Head’s century was hugely significant both from a personal and team perspective, arguably the most important innings of the day came from Paine, whose positive intent ensured Australia moved the game forward after taking four sessions to secure their superiority.Tim Paine and Travis Head enjoyed an excellent partnership•AFP

Once again, Neil Wagner had produced the most compelling moment of the morning session when he bounced out Smith for the third time in three innings. Smith, who drove the first ball of the day for three, could only manage eight off 50 balls having resumed on 77 following his battle with the short ball on the opening day. It was a brute of a delivery that removed him, rising towards his throat which was gloved to gully where Henry Nicholls held a superb fingertip catch above his head.For a brief period after removing Smith, New Zealand sensed a chance to get back into the match, but that quickly vanished as Paine played a superbly-judged proactive hand either side of lunch. The Australia captain pulled and drove with confidence, one of his best strokes – a pull that bisected deep square-leg and long leg off Tim Southee – taking him to his half-century off 72 balls. He went to tea on 77 with a chance to push for a maiden Test hundred, more than nine years after his debut, but was pinned lbw by the herculean Wagner after New Zealand successfully reviewed.Paine’s dismissal sparked a late collapse of 5 for 33 as Australia’s lower order threw the bat – including Mitchell Starc picking out mid-off when Head was sat on 99 – which handed Wagner and Southee late reward for the toil. Few would have begrudged Wagner a five-wicket haul, but instead he took the catch to end the innings when Nathan Lyon top-edged a hook.Wagner (38 overs) and Southee (33.1) followed their Perth workloads with more hard yards, while Trent Boult (31) and Colin de Grandhomme (30) were not far behind. In the end, Mitchell Santner bowled 20 overs, but only after Australia had passed 400 was he entrusted with more than a three-over spell and he struggled to exert control. The sight of Blundell, a wicketkeeper by trade, bowling three overs of offspin straight after lunch did not speak volumes for the spin-bowling resources. It is something New Zealand will need to assess for Sydney, where the pitch is expected to aid spin, although before then their aim is to try and ensure the series is at least alive.

Coach Mickey Arthur felt Kusal would be better served training for the white-ball formats at home

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jan-2020Suranga Lakmal returned to Sri Lanka’s Test squad after missing the tour of Pakistan due to dengue fever, while Kusal Perera has been dropped.Despite having lost 1-0 in Pakistan, Sri Lanka made no other changes to the 15 that toured Rawalpindi and Karachi in December. This means that Lahiru Thirimanne remains in the squad, despite seemingly having lost his place in the XI to Oshada Fernando, while offspinner Dilruwan Perera also retains his place after having gone wicketless during the Pakistan series.Young fast bowler Asitha Fernando, who was Lakmal’s replacement on the tour of Pakistan, could not find a place. Pathum Nissanka, the highly-rated domestic opener for Nondescripts Cricket Club, has been overlooked as well.Chief selector Asantha de Mel said his committee had dropped Kusal after consulting with new coach Mickey Arthur, who felt it was better for Kusal to remain in Sri Lanka and train for the white-ball series against West Indies in February, rather than tour Zimbabwe without getting a game.”Most probably we will go with the same batting lineup [as we did in Karachi], with Angelo Mathews at four, Dinesh Chandimal at five, Dhananjaya de Silva at six and Niroshan Dickwella keeping,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Kusal has an issue with his hamstrings where he can’t run around the field as much. And because Dickwella is the main keeper, we thought there was no point taking another keeper.”Kusal had struck Sri Lanka’s innings of the year in 2019, his 153 not out in Durban earning global plaudits, but had had a poor series against New Zealand in August and September last year, in which he made 1, 23, 0 and 0. He was in the squad, but did not play a Test in Pakistan.”Yes, Kusal can make 150s, but we needed someone who can occupy the crease, which is why we chose Thirimanne,” de Mel said. “Thirimanne can also bat in the top order or as an opener.” Thirimanne’s batting average, however, is 22.64 after 68 innings.The selection of 37-year-old Dilruwan was also informed by conversations with coach Arthur, de Mel said. Dilruwan had gone wicketless during the tour of Pakistan, and averaged 112.80 in 2019, taking only five wickets in seven innings. He had been the equal-fastest Sri Lanka bowler to 150 Test wickets (taking 36 Tests to get there, the same as Muttiah Muralitharan), and this, essentially, is why the selectors are giving him another opportunity.”We have the England series at home coming up, and this Zimbabwe series is the test to see if he can still do the job,” de Mel said. “If we dropped him now, we can’t even look at him for the England series, so we’ll see how he does in this series. In terms of offspinners, there’s also no standout options aside from him.”Dilruwan will have left-arm orthodox spinner Lasith Embuldeniya and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan to compete with in the squad. On the fast bowling front, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando have all been picked, in addition to Lakmal.The first Test is set to start on January 19, and the second on January 27. Both matches are scheduled to be played in Harare.Sri Lanka Test squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya De Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal