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Nida Dar’s half-century in vain as defeat now sets up crucial clash against India

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2022
Half-centuries from Hayley Matthews and Kycia Knight helped Barbados open their Commonwealth Games campaign against Pakistan with a 15-run win in Birmingham on Friday.Having been asked to bat, Barbados scored 144 for 4, riding on the duo’s 107-run partnership for the second wicket after they had lost explosive opener Deandra Dottin for 8 off 5 balls. Kycia, Barbados’ wicketkeeper-batter, top-scored with an unbeaten on 62 off 56 balls, hitting nine fours in her second T20I half-century. Matthews played cautiously, scoring 51 off 50 balls, which included four fours and a six. It was her fifth T20I fifty.Related

• Hayley Matthews-led Barbados show they're not just in Birmingham to make up numbers

Pakistan medium pacer Fatima Sana broke the century stand by having Matthews caught behind in the 18th over. Sana also removed Kyshona Knight in the final over of the innings to end with the figures of 2 for 41.Chasing a target of 145, Pakistan lost a first wicket off the first ball of the chase, when Iram Javed was caught behind off Shamilia Connell. Pakistan went on to lose opener Muneeba Ali and Omaima Sohail inside the nine overs, and captain Bismah Maroof’s laboured innings of 12 off 28 balls came to an end when she was run out in the 11th over.Coming in at 40 for 3 in the ninth over with Pakistan desperately needing momentum, experienced allrounder Nida Dar raised the tempo with an unbeaten 50 off 31 deliveries, her fifth T20I half-century. However, with Aliya Riaz struggling at the other end – she made 14 off 24 – Pakistan couldn’t keep up with the required run rate and eventually fell short by 15 runs. Connell, Aaliyah Alleyne, Matthews and Dottin took a wicket each for Barbados.Pakistan play India next on Friday, while Barbados will face Australia on Sunday.

Bangladesh captain gutted as crucial no-balls cost team a berth in Super 4s

Mohammad Isam01-Sep-2022Among Bangladesh’s several errors, Shakib Al Hasan rued Mahedi Hasan’s no-balls the most in their two-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka that knocked them out of the Asia Cup.Mahedi’s first no-ball allowed Kusal Mendis, who was reprieved on four occasions, to bat beyond the seventh over. Kusal, who opened the innings, top scored with a 37-ball 60 to lay the foundation for Sri Lanka’s chase of 184.Related

• Report: Mendis, Shanaka and Asitha put Sri Lanka in Super 4s

• Luck Index – How giving four lives to Mendis cost Bangladesh

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His second no-ball came in the last over when Sri Lanka needed three runs off four deliveries. In a somewhat tragicomical turn of events, as soon as Asitha Fernando and Maheesh Theekshana ran two, they heard the buzzer that pointed to Mahedi’s no-ball. Soon enough, the giant screens flashed the replay and Bangladesh knew their fate had been sealed. This incident was particularly disappointing for Shakib as he reflected on the team’s performance under pressure, and their early exit from the competition.”No captain wants no-balls from their team,” Shakib said. “It is a big crime when a spinner bowls a no-ball. We bowled a lot of wides and no-balls today. We were not disciplined. We didn’t know what to do when we were under pressure. We knew Kusal (Mendis) plays spin really well, so if we could get him early, it would have set platform for our spinners to come into the game.”But till he was there, it was hard for our spinners to bowl. He was dropped on two, and then when he was out, it was a no-ball. The spinner bowling a no-ball is a big no-no. Our spinners usually don’t bowl no-balls, but today it was proven that we break down under pressure. We are losing in crunch moments. If we won 50% of the close matches, we would have a better record in this format.”What also hurt Bangladesh was T20I debutant Ebadot Hossain’s inconsistency in his final two overs, which went for 38. The penultimate over of the chase, especially, turned the tide Sri Lanka’s way as he conceded 17, including a no-ball and a wide. This undid all his earlier good work; at the end of his first two overs, he had unreal figures of 3 for 13.Ebadot Hossain had mixed returns on T20I debut•Getty Images

“Ebadot has never played a pressure game like this,” Shakib said. “He has a lot to understand. He brought us into the game after his first two overs. We thought it was going to be his day. You expect a bowler to have good rhythm and be positive when he has taken three wickets in his first two overs. It wasn’t to be. He can learn a lot from this game.”Our plan was to get their batsmen out. That’s exactly what we did. They needed 25 or 26 [25] in the last two overs. Eight [seven] wickets down, you back your main bowlers to defend those runs against their tail.”Looking ahead to the T20 World Cup, Shakib underlined the importance of having to identify the best fast bowlers. “This was an eye-opener to see how we bowl in pressure situations,” he said. “You can expect good 10-12 overs of fast bowling on this type of pitch. Only those who can deliver will be in the team.”It is simple math. We looked at four fast bowlers here, and we will look at more in the tri-series in New Zealand so that we have a clearer idea who can do well in Australia.”Shakib also spoke of the few positives from the tournament. Like how the move to bump up Mehidy Hasan Miraz to open the innings, in his first T20I in nearly four years, worked.Mehidy responded with a 26-ball 38, hitting two fours and as many sixes. Shakib said this was something they had contemplated against Afghanistan too, before going with regulars Mohammad Naim and Anamul Haque.”He has done well in our domestic tournaments, so we had faith in him,” Shakib said of Mehidy’s promotion. “Even in the first game, he was in the mix to bat in the top order. He didn’t play the first game. He showed his character today. He wasn’t nervous. He was playing after [more than] three years, so it wasn’t easy for him. You have to give him a lot of credit, the way he handled the pressure in the first six overs.”Shakib also asked for a bit of patience from everyone as his team tries to work out plans going into the T20 World Cup. For starters, he said, he was encouraged by the team’s attitude and body language.”I have returned to T20I captaincy with these two matches. We have a lot in mind when we make a new beginning. Our planning started with the game against Afghanistan, so there will be right and wrong.”We have a plan in place. We want to reach a goal slowly. But if you notice our attitude and body language in these two games, despite the poor approach in batting in the first game, I think we have improved from our last three or four series.”

Batters in good place after promising four days in Antigua, as off-field matters overshadow

Cameron Ponsonby04-Mar-2022The image that summed up a confused and subdued day at Coolidge Cricket Ground was the sight of injury doubt Mark Wood warming up to bowl at lunchtime as captain Joe Root spoke to the media about Shane Warne’s unexpected death on the boundary’s edge.Things that matter and, you know, things that actually matter.”We’re just really shocked and sad to hear that such a legend of the game has passed so suddenly,” Root said.”We had just started the game and it sort of filtered through the dressing room. It’s been quite a quiet dressing room off the back of it, it’s hit everyone quite hard if I’m being brutally honest.”The news dramatically overshadowed the start of the day’s play as an already diminishing contest finally broke from its illusion of being a competitive fixture and was replaced by the reality of a practice session.Resuming on 77 for 3, England batted a further 17 overs and cantered along at almost a run a ball with Dan Lawrence slashing his way to 48 off 42. When Lawrence’s fun came to an end, it was Craig Overton batting at No.6 who replaced him in the middle. It was a day to make sure that everyone got a go.England will be pleased, therefore, that Ben Foakes gained some time in the middle as he scored 43 not out. It means that, of England’s top eight, only Ben Stokes hasn’t spent any substantial time batting going into the first Test, with five of the likely starting XI having passed 50 in the match and both Foakes and Chris Woakes registering unbeaten 40s.As England declared on 164 for 4 and set the President’s XI a notional 366 to win, eyes turned to whether Wood and Stokes would be able to bowl.Speaking at the close of play yesterday, interim head coach Paul Collingwood said that Stokes had done “everything possible” to be fit to bowl in Tuesday’s first Test and that there was a chance he could “play a small part” with the ball next week in Antigua. A marked improvement from earlier in the match, where word had been that any bowling Stokes would do in this game would be solely focused on preparing for the second Test.The temptation for England to bowl Stokes next week will have only increased after his showing here as he claimed a wicket with his very first ball before clean bowling Shane Dowrich in his following over. Stokes with the ball is currently the late-night kebab of England’s selection dilemmas as they seek to balance short-term reward with the risk of long-term damage.Having undertaken precautionary blood tests yesterday, it was announced at the start of the day’s play that Wood would be fit to take the field and he too impressed with the ball as he managed nine overs across the day, all of which were of good pace as he was able to extract life from a surface that was the very epitome of “docile”. Whether England will deem it sufficient preparation for Wood to be included in the XI for the first Test, however, is another question altogether.Amidst the breaking of bad news and managed bowling loads, a game of sorts did reach a conclusion as the President’s XI batted out the remainder of the day to finish 123 for 7 with Overton the other contributor of note with the ball, finishing with 2 for 12 from his eight overs.In all it has been a useful exercise for England. Batters have batted and bowlers have bowled against a more than competent opposition. And while the pitch being as docile (ibid) as it was was without doubt a considerable downside, overall it was a positive start to Operation Red-Ball Reset.

Both batters under scrutiny for lack of big scores in Tests of late; Pandya backs out to focus on comeback in white-ball cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2022The experienced duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are set to feature in the upcoming Ranji Trophy after being under the scanner in Test cricket for the last couple of years. Pujara was named in Saurashtra’s squad, to be led by Jaydev Unadkat, and Rahane in Mumbai’s squad to be led by Prithvi Shaw.Pujara and Rahane have been under scrutiny because of lack of big scores of late. Rahane last scored a century in December 2020, against Australia in Melbourne, whereas Pujara last reached triple-figures against the same opposition, but over three years ago in Sydney.Since then, Rahane has averaged only 20.25 to score 547 runs in 27 innings, with three half-centuries and a high score of 67. In this period, his average has dipped from over 43 to under 39. Rahane last played the Ranji Trophy in 2019-20 when Mumbai won only one of their eight league games and failed to make the knockouts.Related

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Pujara’s fall hasn’t been as steep, but his recent scores, including ducks in consecutive Tests against England and South Africa, didn’t help his case much. Since his last century, Pujara has averaged 27.38, while scoring 1287 runs in 48 innings with a high score of 91 against England. His career average, in this period, has fallen from nearly 47 to 44.25. Pujara last played the Ranji Trophy in the 2019-20 final when his patient and gritty 66 helped Saurashtra win the game on account of taking a first-innings lead against Bengal to win the title.Saurashtra and Mumbai are placed together in Group D, along with Odisha and Goa, and will play their league matches in Ahmedabad.The selectors will have an eye on both batters getting back to domestic cricket ahead of India’s next Test series, against Sri Lanka starting February 25. The Ranji Trophy is set to start on February 16.The Ranji Trophy was not played last season because of the Covid-19 pandemic and will be held in two phases this time, before and after the IPL. It was originally scheduled to begin on January 13 but was postponed because of the third wave of infections across the country.Hardik Pandya last represented India during the 2021 T20 World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Hardik Pandya to skip Ranji Trophy
India and Baroda allrounder Hardik Pandya has decided to skip the upcoming Ranji Trophy in order to focus on his comeback in white-ball cricket. Baroda announced a 20-member squad to be led by Kedar Devdhar, with Pandya backing out so that he can continue rehabilitation for a long-standing back injury.A centrally contracted player, Pandya hasn’t been involved in any cricket since the 2021 T20 World Cup. He wasn’t part of last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s or the Vijay Hazare 50-overs competition, and his last red-ball game dates back to December 2018. Pandya is expected to return for the IPL though, where he is set to lead the new Ahmedabad franchise. Hardik’s brother Krunal Pandya remains a part of Baroda’s Ranji Trophy squad.Mumbai squad: Prithvi Shaw (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aakarshit Gomel, Arman Jaffer, Sarfaraz Khan, Sachin Yadav, Aditya Tare (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shivam Dube, Aman Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Prashant Solanki, Shashank Attarde, Dhaval Kulkarni, Mohit Awasthi, Prince Badiani, Siddharth Raut, Roystan Dias, Arjun TendulkarSaurashtra squad: Jaydev Unadkat (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani, Kamlesh Makwana, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya, Prerak Mankad, Vishvarajsinh Jadeja, Harvik Desai, Kevin Jivrajani, Kushang Patel, Jay Chauhan, Samarth Vyas, Parthkumar Bhut, Yuvrajsinh Chudasama, Devang Karamta, Snell Patel, Kishan Parmar and Aditya JadejaBaroda Squad: Kedar Dhevdhar (capt), Vishnu Solanki (vice-capt), Pratyush Kumar, Shivalik Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Abhimanyusingh Rajput, Dhruv Patel, Mitesh Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Babasafikhan Pathan (wk), Atit Sheth, Bhargav Bhatt, Parth Kohli, Shashwat Rawat, Soyeb Sopariya, Kartik Kakade, Gurjindersingh Mann, Jyotsnil Singh, Ninad Rathwa, Akshay More

Virat Kohli “enjoys” playing Pakistan and would not mind being part of more contests, but made it clear that he has no opinion or influence on the resumption of bilateral ties

Nagraj Gollapudi05-Jun-2017India’s dominant recent record might have something to do with it, but captain Virat Kohli “enjoys” playing Pakistan and would not mind being part of more contests. But, in an indication of how thorny an issue bilateral ties between the two countries are, Kohli made it clear he has no influence or opinion on a resumption of cricketing ties.Kohli was speaking after one of India’s more crushing wins over Pakistan in recent years, in Edgbaston. It continued India’s recent dominance over Pakistan as well as their historic hold over them in ICC events. But though the competitiveness of the rivalry is fading, its popularity has not yet dulled. The absence of regular cricket between the countries has added a layer of importance to matches like that played on Sunday: Edgbaston was sold out months in advance.”This one’s done and dusted,” Kohli said, when asked if he enjoyed the contest. “We’ve played the game. It’s been completed fully. And as cricketers, those things are not in our hands. We come here to play the sport. And that’s all we focus on. It’s not my place to speak of any other decisions. The higher officials take care of those decisions. My opinion does not matter and should not matter.”As a player, Kohli said, his job was to enjoy a contest, something he has always done against Pakistan. “But regardless of who you play, you just want to play cricket. At the end of the day, for us, it’s just playing the sport we love. It’s not preferences over opposition. And that’s all I can say to this. You do enjoy playing against them. They’re a very competitive side. The atmosphere is great. From that regard, as a cricketer, we really enjoyed this game, that’s all I can say.”The two countries have not played a full bilateral series – of Tests and limited-overs games – since Pakistan toured India at the end of 2007. Pakistan did travel to India for a limited-overs series at the end of 2012, but it is a far cry from the early years of this century, when there were four series in just over four years. But as political ties have deteriorated, bilateral cricketing contests have been put on hold. And they are unlikely to start anytime soon.Last month, the BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary met PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan in Dubai to resume talks. The BCCI was compelled to attend the meeting after the PCB filed a dispute notice claiming the Indian board had not fulfilled an MoU, signed in 2014, for bilateral series in the 2015-23 cycle. A vague media statement was issued by both the boards, which indicated no headway had been made.The BCCI repeated the same line it has for the past five years: without the Indian government’s clearance no bilateral cricket against Pakistan was possible anywhere. Even as Choudhary and Shaharyar were talking in Dubai, the Indian government made it public that no cricket with Pakistan was possible outside of the global tournaments.

Matt Milnes leads Kent attack as 170th Canterbury Festival gets underway

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2022Northamptonshire 303 (Gay 112, Rickelton 55) vs KentNorthamptonshire were all out for 303 against Kent, after a fluctuating first day in the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury.Emilio Gay hit 112 after the visitors lost Ricardo Vasconcelos to the first ball of the day and Ryan Rickelton was the next highest scorer with 55, but having reached 205 for two, they lost their next eight wickets for 98 runs.
Matt Milnes had Kent’s best bowling figures with three for 47, while Joe Denly took two for 31 and Matt Quinn two for 51.The 170th Canterbury Festival began with the temperature already over 25 degrees in the shade and in the day’s least surprising development, Northamptonshire chose to bat after winning the toss.The pitch, however, didn’t look benign early on. Vasconcelos went for a platinum duck when he was caught behind off Quinn and Rickelton and Gay then endured a torrid hour, during which they struggled to score at over two an over. Both survived, however, and as the session ground on, the runs came more freely, leaving the visitors on 95 for one at lunch.An elegant cover drive off Milnes took Rickelton to 50 just after the restart, but he then edged the same bowler behind.It was otherwise a session of few chances. Luke Procter was dropped at leg slip when on 12 off Linde and Gay reached his century with a glanced two off George Linde, but he fell in the penultimate over before tea. Kent skipper Sam Billings threw the ball to occasional red-ball spinner Denly and his second ball was pulled to Linde at midwicket, leaving Northants on 206 for three at the interval.Denly struck again soon after the resumption, getting Procter caught and bowled for 33 and Jack Leaning then bowled Rob Keogh for six.The new ball accounted for Josh Cobb who went for nine. He tried to cut Milnes and was caught by Ben Compton at point.Milnes then splayed Jimmy Neesham’s off and middle stumps, bowling him for 33, before Quinn bowled Lewis McManus for four.Ben Sanderson made 23 from 18 balls before he edged Grant Stewart and fell to a juggling catch by Billings and George Linde wrapped up the innings by bowling Simon Kerrigan for seven with the final ball of the day, leaving Jack White unbeaten on six.

The BCB’s disciplinary committee is awaiting a report on the incident, which is said to have taken place during a National Cricket League game last week

Mohammad Isam28-Dec-2017Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman faces possible punishment after he reportedly assaulted a fan during a first-class match in Rajshahi last week. The incident is said to have taken place on the second day of Rajshahi Division’s National Cricket League game against Dhaka Metropolis.According to reports, after a supporter made a noise directed at Sabbir during one of the innings breaks, Sabbir took permission from the on-field umpires to leave the ground and then went behind the sight screen to physically abuse the young boy, who had apparently been brought into the playing area by an acquaintance of Sabbir’s.The incident was supposedly first seen by the reserve umpire who reported it to the match referee, who in turn reported it to the BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan, who then forwarded it to the board’s disciplinary committee. This was as per procedure, since Sabbir is being investigated for a level-4 offence. According to sources, Sabbir was also quite “aggressive” with match referee Showkatur Rahman, when he called him in on the third day of the game to investigate the incident.Sheikh Sohel, vice-chairman of the disciplinary committee, said that Sabbir would be subjected to heavy punishment if found guilty. In the case of level-4 offences, penalties include multiple-match bans in addition to a fine of Tk 5 lakh (US$6,000 approx).Sohel told the newspaper: “The moment I get the report, we will call him. But after seeing the report if we feel we don’t need to talk to him, we will quickly mete out the punishment.”Sabbir has faced disciplinary action a number of times in the past, the most severe case of which was in 2016 when the BCB fined him Tk 12 lakh (US$14,000 approx) for “serious off-field disciplinary breaches” during the Bangladesh Premier League.

Australia will look to close out a successful home season with another victory over Pakistan in the fifth ODI at the Adelaide Oval

The preview by Brydon Coverdale25-Jan-2017

Match facts

January 26, 2017
Start time 1350 local (0320 GMT)

Big Picture

The series is decided, and this Adelaide Oval one-day international thus becomes a low-pressure celebration for Steven Smith’s men on the national holiday – Australia Day. Bigger tasks lie ahead in the coming weeks, for eight members of this ODI squad are part of the group heading to India for a four-Test tour that starts in late February. But for now they will hope to finish off the home summer with another win, to take the series against Pakistan 4-1 after also sweeping them in the Test series. True, it is not Australia’s last home match of the summer – three T20s against Sri Lanka will be held in mid-February – but it is the last featuring anything like a full-strength XI. Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc are just a few of the men who would normally be certain starters in the T20 side, but who will instead be in India ahead of the Tests.Pakistan, meanwhile, have little to play for except pride. Having lost the Tests 0-3, and now the one-day series – albeit they won the second match in Melbourne – they will want to head home with a consolation victory to make the series score look a little closer. But to do so they will need not only bigger scores from their batsmen, but a vastly improved fielding effort. Their catalogue of fumbles, dropped catches and overthrows in the fourth match in Sydney would have been comedic had it not cost them the series. It means plenty of work for the fielding coach Steve Rixon ahead of Pakistan’s next international series, in March-April against West Indies.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia: WWLWW
Pakistan: LLWLW
Pakistan’s fielding in the fourth ODI would have been comedic had it not cost them the series•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

In the spotlight

Usman Khawaja is the one member of Australia’s top order who has failed to manage a half-century in this series, and he will be keen for a big score in Adelaide to secure his position at the top of the one-day order. Khawaja is heading to Dubai early for Australia’s training camp ahead of the Test tour of India, and he is not therefore part of the Chappell-Hadlee squad heading to New Zealand for next week’s series. That means Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh will have the chance to make their cases for a permanent place at the top of the ODI order in Khawaja’s absence.Sharjeel Khan‘s scores have been building throughout this series: 18, 29, 50, 74. And he scores at such a rate that if he maintains his momentum through a long innings, it could be enough to set Pakistan on the path to victory. In Sydney, he smashed his 74 off 47 deliveries, but could not maintain it sufficiently to turn it into a big hundred as David Warner had for Australia earlier in the day. And while Sharjeel’s batting can turn a match, his fielding had an unfortunately high impact at the SCG, where he dropped two important catches.

Team news

Billy Stanlake has not travelled to Adelaide and instead will fly to New Zealand with Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh a day ahead of the rest of the Chappell-Hadlee squad. That means Australia are choosing from a squad of 13, and an unchanged XI from their win in Sydney is feasible.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Peter Handscomb, 5 Travis Head, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.Having lost the series, Pakistan might take the opportunity to make changes. Rahat Ali has not yet appeared in this series, while Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Nawaz have sat out since playing the first match. Or they might choose the same XI. Junaid Khan took 0 for 82 in the previous game, but would be unlucky to be axed on the basis of those figures, given two catches were dropped off his bowling.Pakistan (probable) 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim/Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Junaid Khan/Wahab Riaz/Rahat Ali.

Pitch and conditions

The Adelaide Oval pitch is always good for batting. The forecast for Thursday is for a sunny day with a top temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have not played an ODI at Adelaide Oval since the 2015 World Cup match that featured a memorably feisty Wahab Riaz spell against Shane Watson
• Adelaide Oval is comfortably Australia’s worst home ODI venue in recent times: in the past six years, they have played seven ODIs there and won only three
• Glenn Maxwell needs 76 runs to reach 2000 in ODIs. No batsman currently above the 2000-run mark has a strike-rate as high as Maxwell’s 125.91

That Gujarat Lions have managed to take only one wicket in two games has prompted the management to rethink their strategy of playing four overseas batsmen

Arun Venugopal in Hyderabad09-Apr-2017Gujarat Lions might rethink their strategy of playing four overseas batsmen after a nine-wicket thrashing by Sunrisers Hyderabad condemned them to their second defeat in two matches. Coach Brad Hodge has hinted at a change in tactic, admitting that the team management had been tempted to beef up the bowling with either James Faulkner or Andrew Tye in place of one of the overseas batsmen ahead of the Sunrisers game.In the absence of the injured Dwayne Bravo, Lions’ overseas contingent has comprised Jason Roy, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and Dwayne Smith. While the batting unit clicked in the first game to post 183 against Kolkata Knight Riders, it came unstuck against Sunrisers’ disciplined bowling and wilted to 135 for 7 in 20 overs. On both occasions, the team has been let down by the bowling department: Lions have taken only one wicket in two games.”I think we need to analyse a few areas of our game,” Hodge said after the match. “I think we need to improve and understand that, ‘look your last year was a great season and it is going to take some hard work and effort to repeat that.'”Yeah, we were tempted [to play either Faulkner or Tye], yes. I guess it is one of those 50-50 calls where either you can make that change, or back those guys again to be successful. Unfortunately it didn’t work. And we’ll look at that combination again. I guess the good thing is that we are still searching for answers and it is only early in the tournament. So it’s good we really have the opportunity to knuckle down, have a look at the particular areas and I am sure that selection criteria [of picking an overseas bowler] will come into play.”It was legspinner Rashid Khan who set the Lions back irreversibly. He struck in his first over to trap McCullum in front, and went on to have Finch and Raina lbw as well in each of his next two overs. Hodge said Rashid was identified as a threat before the game, but that the Lions batsmen had actually read him well.”We clearly didn’t post a big enough total,” he said. “We lost three quick wickets to Rashid. That pushed us on the back foot, and we were never going to be able to post a big enough total. I think they read him, they just said they didn’t play him that well. He’s a good bowler and we identified that before the game that he was going to be a threat. We just lost three consecutive wickets back to back and all pretty good players too.Brad Hodge on Tejas Baroka: “I think he’s got good skills, good control and I think when you see the game on the line, he’ll be a real tough proposition for few teams.”•BCCI

“Whenever that happens in T20… I thought we did a pretty good job to post a total which might’ve been challenging. I thought Dwayne Smith played well at the end. Dinesh Karthik put on a good performance. Reality is, with that batting line-up, 130 is probably not good enough.”In this tournament, we’ve plenty of time to regroup. You’re going to lose matches – that’s part of the IPL, that’s part of any cricket theme…Yeah, but it will be nice for us to start getting some wins on the board.”Hodge also rued the absence of injured left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who he reckoned was irreplaceable. Raina had earlier indicated that Jadeja was expected to return for Lions’ next game against Rising Pune Supergiant on April 14.”Without Jadeja, it’s probably hurt us a little bit there. He’s a player you can’t actually replace,” Hodge said. “He bats, bowls and fields and these guys are getting opportunity for that reason. Hopefully we get Jaddu back in, it might make a difference.”Lions had fielded two IPL debutants in legspinner Tejas Baroka and seamer Basil Thampi on Sunday. Hodge was particularly impressed with Baroka, 21, who played his first representative game. After being clubbed by David Warner for boundaries off his first two deliveries, Baroka came back well to finish his over with four consecutive dot balls. Hodge saw his bowling as a takeaway from the game.”This is his first game. What we saw was some real courage, coming on in the fourth [fifth] over and bowling to David Warner in the Powerplay as a young legspinner was pretty challenging, I’d have thought,” Hodge said. “I reckon he did a good job. There’s a couple of things we picked up… I think he’s got good skills, good control and I think when you see the game on the line, he’ll be a real tough proposition for few teams. He’s got a good wrong ‘un. I don’t think he really bowled a bad ball today. There’s a good upside to him I think.”

Chris Woakes has been recalled by England as they hunt a fourth victory in a row and one that would wrap up the series against West Indies

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan24-Aug-20173:41

England see Woakes as part of best XI

Match facts

August 25-29, 2017
Start time 11.00am local (1000 GMT)

Big Picture

If West Indies are looking for inspiration in Headingley, they probably don’t want to cast their eyes at their last two visits to the ground. In 2007, they were beaten by an innings and 283 runs (albeit with Ramnaresh Sarwan unable to bat), an even heftier drubbing than last week at Edgbaston and their biggest-ever innings defeat. In 2000, the match – a few weeks after what remains their last Test victory in England – didn’t see a third day as West Indies were skittled for 61 in their second innings as Andrew Caddick took four wickets in an over.A lot of water has passed under the bridge since both those games and a lot of players – from the 2007 fixture only Alastair Cook will be on show this time. That series in 2000 marked a huge swing in the fortunes of the two teams against each other and the gulf has rarely looked wider than last week in Birmingham.The scenes at Edgbaston provoked much talk about the future of the Test game – from whether day-night Tests have a long-term place to if the format can survive such contests without a new structure. Those decisions, though, are out of the players’ hands (although they are not without influence and can play a significant part in buying into new ideas) as their focus remains on scoring runs and taking wickets.Both those aspects, as well as others, West Indies have to do considerably better to even push England close. Stuart Law mentioned their recent fightback against Pakistan to win in Barbados, but a horrendous overseas record spanning nearly 20 years does not offer much promise of better days coming soon even given England’s ability to go off the boil.Edgbaston did not tell us anything new about this England side which, with the Ashes looming, means concerns remain. One, and ideally two, of the vulnerable batting positions at two, three and five need to produce a century over the next couple of Tests to at least allow the selectors to pick for Australia with a few numbers in their favour.However, England’s strengths – two very fine batsmen, their allrounders and the new-ball attack – can overpower opponents. Further landmarks are looming for James Anderson (500 Test wickets) and Stuart Broad (400 wickets), and with Anderson needing just eight for his next century – on a ground where he took 10 for 45 last year against Sri Lanka – that could happen over the next few days.

Form guide

England WWWLW (last five matches, most recent first)
West Indies LLWLW

In the spotlight

In the seemingly never-ending search for an opening partner to join Cook, the recent candidates have generally been given a run of at least six games. By that reasoning, Mark Stoneman will open at the Gabba come what may. In reality, it’s far from that simple. Stoneman was unfortunate to get the best ball West Indies bowled at Edgbaston and if he scores significantly then it will buy the selectors some time, but as Sam Robson, Adam Lyth and Keaton Jennings have shown, an early century can have little bearing on whether they end the Curse Of The England Opener (the film that has yet to be made).Jason Holder has one of the toughest captaincy gigs going. A huge amount rests on his shoulders at a young age. Still, he had a very poor Test at Edgbaston and West Indies need their captain to lead from the front. He didn’t look very fit, made the bizarre decision not to take the second new ball as soon as it became available under the floodlights on the first evening and was insipid with the bat – the facet of his game that has often been the most impressive. Part of the issue for Holder – and West Indies – is that he struggles to hold the role of a specialist third seamer, which means balancing the side is an issue. Although at Headingley, it should give him as good a chance as any.

Teams news

Chris Woakes, who suffered a side injury during the opening match of the Champions Trophy, has been recalled in place of Toby Roland-Jones as the only change to the England side.England: 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Mark Stoneman, 3 Tom Westley, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Dawid Malan, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Stuart Broad 11 James AndersonHolder did not offer much indication towards West Indies’ thinking but Shannon Gabriel and Devendra Bishoo will come into the mix. Law talked about showing faith in the XI from Edgbaston, but the attack needed something extra – either Gabriel’s pace or Bishoo’s spin.West Indies: (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Kyle Hope, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jermaine Blackwood, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Miguel Cummins/Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and conditions

There was rain in the build-up which meant the pitch was covered for considerable time but the forecast is promising for the duration of the match. Headingley is a ground where it’s as important to look down; cloud cover and it can be a bowlers’ delight, sunshine and runs can come apace.

Stats and trivia

• The last time England won four Tests in a row was in 2013 when they beat New Zealand 2-0 before going 2-0 in the Ashes series.
• If James Anderson reaches 500 wickets in this Test, it will happen on the same ground where he reached 400 – against New Zealand in 2015
• A half-century for Joe Root would mean he equals the world record held by AB de Villiers for the most consecutive Tests (12) with at least a fifty
• Jason Holder needs six runs to reach 1000 in Tests

Quotes

“We know they’re a side that are capable of some strong performances and we expect them to come back hard. We have got to make sure that our game is the best it can be and we follow up what was a really good win last week.”
“We can only control what we do on the field and take individual responsibility for performances. We can’t control what people have said about us or think about us”