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Warwickshire produce unbroken opening stand in response to Kent’s mammoth 585 for 7 declared

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2019Injury-hit Warwickshire mounted a spirited response on day two of their Specsavers County Championship match with Kent played out on featherbed pitch in Canterbury.After seeing the hosts post a mammoth 585 for 7 declared – courtesy of a Championship best 166 from Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson’s season’s best 161 – the visitors countered with an unbroken opening stand worth 142 in the 47 overs through to stumps. Will Rhodes hit an attractive 70 and Dom Sibley provided able support with an unbeaten 60 allowing Warwickshire to cut the first-innings deficit to 443 runs at the mid-point of the match.Kent, resuming on their overnight score of 338 for 2, batted on until an hour after lunch in adding 247 in 48.1 overs for a season’s best total. Third-wicket partners Bell-Drummond and Dickson scored at a healthy lick in the opening exchanges to extend their stand to 197.Dickson’s nicely-timed cover drive against Toby Lester for his 17th boundary raised his individual 150, but Dickson’s 390-minute vigil ended with his score on 161 after a mistimed pull to midwicket off the bowling of James Wainman.The wicket gave Warwickshire their only bowling bonus point and very brief respite before Kent cantered past 400 for maximum batting bonus points and Bell-Drummond notched his maiden century of the Championship summer. Bell-Drummond’s cover drive, again off Wainman the left-armer, dissected the cover field for a 13th four and bring up his 181-ball century. It was Bell-Drummond’s first Championship hundred since April 2016 against Leicestershire.In attempting to plunder quick runs, Kent’s acting captain Heino Kuhn gifted Wainman another scalp when, with his score on 17, he clipped a wide short one straight to backward point.Just before lunch, Bell-Drummond reached his 150 from 236 balls with 21 fours and a six and soon went past 153, his previous best in Championship cricket scored against Hampshire in 2014. The right-hander, who turns 26 next month, eventually went for 166 after 300 minutes at the crease after edging an ambitious drive against Wainman to the keeper.”It’s been a while since my last Championship hundred so it’s been a great day for me personally,” Bell-Drummond said “I want to move forward from here, take all the positives and keep going in this format. I’ve been doing really well in white-ball cricket but it’s been a tough few years for me in this format, which annoyed me quite a bit, because I prefer red-ball cricket to the others. It’s never too late to learn things in this game and I’ll hope to keep looking forward and put these past three years behind me.”I’ve still got the hunger, even more so after today, so I’ll be looking to kick on to enjoy and improve in the four-day game.”After Bell-Drummond’s demise, Ollie Robinson kept the board ticking with a sprightly 78 before his top-edged pull gave Lester a wicket caught in the deep, then Jeetan Patel, having sent down 43 overs of offspin, had Darren Stevens caught off a skied slog sweep to spark Kent’s declaration and finish with 1 for 135.Wainman posted creditable figures of 3 for 112 for a makeshift Warwickshire attack that had toiled manfully for the opening nine hours of the game.

His 115 off only 109 deliveries was key to overhauling a target of 255 with four wickets and 32 balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2019Paras Khadka struck both his and Nepal’s maiden ODI century as he led the team to a memorable four-wicket victory over UAE in Dubai. His 115 off only 109 deliveries was key to overhauling a target of 255 with four wickets and 32 balls to spare.Nepal were actually struggling in the chase at one point. From 81 for 1 in the 15th over, they slipped to 129 for 4 in the 26th as spinners Imran Haider and Ashfaq Ahmed took control in the middle overs. The series was tied at 1-1. The game was starting to drift away. A big innings was needed and as is often the case, the captain stood up.Khadka batted through to the 39th over, acting as both the sticky-tape that held his team together, and also a source of rapid runs. He struck 15 fours and a six, ensuring that Nepal were never too far behind the asking rate. He finally fell with only 40 runs needed, which proved an easy ask for Sompal Kami and Aarif Sheikh as they raced to the target.The fireworks at the end were in stark contrast to the start of the game, when UAE’s openers were dismissed for ducks even though they faced a combined 28 deliveries. Kami removed Ashfaq and KC Karan took out Chirag Suri as the score stuttered to 2 for 2 in the sixth over. It took some insane hitting by the middle order to get to a decent total, with Shaiman Anwar coming in at No. 6 and hammering 87 off 70 balls and Mohammad Boota scoring his maiden ODI fifty and a blistering one at that – 59 off only 31 balls. UAE were 47 for 5 in the 21st over but somehow they managed to get to 254 and would have had high hopes of defending it. But Khadka just wouldn’t give in.

A round-up of the ninth round of Sunfoil Series matches that ended on January 15, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2017A mammoth second-wicket partnership of 355 runs between Senuran
Muthusamy and Vaughn van Jaarsveld – the fourth-highest for the wicket in first-class matches in South Africa – was the highlight of a high-scoring drawn game between Knights and Dolphins in Kimberley.Muthusamy’s 181 and van Jaarsveld’s 203 – his highest first-class score – helped Dolphins pile up 538 for 7 declared in response to Knights’ score of 487 for 7 declared. The pair came together in the 17th over of Dolphins’ innings, after the wicket of Divan van Wyk, and stayed at the crease for 86 overs; Dolphins’ entire innings lasted 141 overs. Van Jaarsveld brought up his century first – off 145 balls – while Muthusamy took 190 deliveries to reach his sixth in the format. Van Jaarsveld took only 86 more deliveries to get to his double century, hitting 27 fours and three sixes in his 237-ball knock, which was ended by Theunis de Bruyn. Muthusamy was out ten overs later, also dismissed by de Bruyn, having hit 20 fours and two sixes in his 348-ball stay. Knights used ten bowlers, and the most successful ones – de Bruyn with two and Rudi Second with 4 for 105 – were also the players who had struck centuries for them earlier in the match.De Bruyn and Second added 258 for the fourth wicket, pulling Knights out of trouble after they were struggling at 85 for 3 by the 28th over, having been put in to bat. The pair came within six runs of the partnership record for the fourth wicket in the competition, held by Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp. De Bruyn slammed 19 fours and four sixes in his 249-ball 182 while Second scored 125 off 170 balls with 14 fours. Knights were 364 for 5 by the time both batsmen were dismissed and managed to move past 450 with solid contributions from Keegan Petersen (65*) and Marchant de Lange (42).Dolphins took 8.07 points from the game, the most in the round, to grab a slender lead over Titans at the top of the table.Cape Cobras and Warriors remained in the bottom half of the points table as poor weather, bad light and a wet outfield truncated play in the draw in East London. Both teams saw half-centuries from their top and middle-order batsmen while offspinner Dane Piedt impressed with 4 for 64 on the last day after the third day didn’t see any play.Once Warriors opted to field, Cobras were in some trouble, at 200 for 6, after opener Andrew Puttick fell for 85. However, Aviwe Mgijima’s second straight fifty led them to a more respectable 291 as Basheeru-Deen Walters and Sisanda Magala finished with three wickets apiece.Warriors’ batting did not impress much either as they conceded first-innings lead after only Colin Ackermann (89) and Yaseen Vallie (94) scored more than 30. They were 175 for 5 at the end of the second day and Piedt claimed four wickets in the space of eight overs on the last day to restrict Warriors to 260. Cobras batted for 23 overs in the second innings to post 71 for 3, collecting 7.82 points compared to Warriors’ 7.2.Lions had the upper hand in their draw against Titans, who batted their way to safety after being set a fourth-innings target of 405 in Benoni.Lions scored 347 after being put in to bat, largely due to the efforts of Nicky van den Bergh (99), Devon Conway (66) and No. 10 Nono Pongolo, who struck an important 49 not out. Van den Bergh and Conway shared a 128-run partnership to pull Lions to 238 for 3 before seamer Malusi Siboto’s strikes left them in danger of being bowled out for less than 300. Van den Bergh and Pongolo added 80 for the ninth wicket.The Lions bowlers, particularly Ayavuya Myoli and Bjorn Fortuin, ensured a 96-run first-innings lead, with the pair taking four wickets each. The Titans batsmen got starts, but the top score in their innings was an 80-ball 39 from Chris Morris at No. 8.Morris’ three strikes, in a space of two overs, had threatened to keep Lions’ lead to manageable proportions, leaving them 61 for 4 in their second innings after they were 59 for 1. However, Dominic Hendricks and Mangaliso Mosehle struck centuries and added 163 runs for the sixth wicket to swell Lions’ lead. Mosehle struck a brisk 123-ball 100, with ten fours and three sixes, while Hendricks finished the innings unbeaten on 103, ensuring the side’s lead had passed 400.Aiden Markram struck a fifty at the top of the order for Titans n their second innings, which eventually closed at 143 for 2.

England have brought back several white-ball regulars for the one-off T20 against Pakistan at Old Trafford next week, with Liam Dawson – who took 3 for 27 on debut against Sri Lanka – among those to miss out

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-20161:08

Stokes, Wood back in England T20 squad

England have brought back several white-ball regulars for the one-off T20 against Pakistan at Old Trafford next week, with Liam Dawson – who took 3 for 27 on debut against Sri Lanka in July – among those to miss out.Joe Root, Alex Hales and Moeen Ali all return after being rested for the Sri Lanka fixture, while Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are back after recovering from injury. Stokes is in line to play his first T20 international since being hit for four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the final of the World T20 in April.James Vince, who played against Sri Lanka but was dropped for the one-day series with Pakistan in order to try and find some form in red-ball cricket after a tough introduction to the Test side; Jonny Bairstow, and the uncapped Dawid Malan were the others omitted from England’s 14-man squad.The availability of Moeen as a spinning allrounder, as well as Stokes’ return to bowling after a calf tear, may have counted against Dawson, who is currently with the ODI squad but has yet to feature against Pakistan.Wood has only played one previous T20 for England, taking 3 for 26 against New Zealand last year, but has impressed with the one-day side after recovering from ankle surgery. Alongside Tymal Mills, the Sussex left-armer who also made his debut against Sri Lanka at the Ageas Bowl, and Liam Plunkett, England have the option to field a trio of pace bowlers who can hit 90mph.The strong squad is another sign of England’s commitment to limited-overs cricket. Root has played more games than any other England player in 2016, with 31 appearances so far across the three formats, while Hales and Moeen are not far behind with 29 – seven more than the next most-selected.”It is excellent to see the progress we are making in white ball cricket across both formats,” England’s national selector, James Whitaker, said. “The IT20 international against Pakistan will give the squad another opportunity to measure their development.”The squad has an exciting feel with exceptional talent throughout. We are delighted to welcome back Ben Stokes and Mark Wood into the squad. Both are world-class players and are an important part of our long-term plans to become the best side in the world. It is testament to the excellent work being nurtured in the county structure and through the England Lions, that there is a depth of quality pushing the nucleus of the current group.”England have also announced that Steven Finn has been training with Middlesex after a hamstring injury suffered during the Oval Test against Pakistan and could be fit to play a part in next week’s Championship game against Nottinghamshire.England T20 squad to play Pakistan: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Mark Wood

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth match of the tri-series between West Indies and India in Port-of-Spain

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria04-Jul-2013

Match facts

Friday, July 5
Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)A different ball game: The Indian team has found the going tough on the slower pitches in the Caribbean•AFP

Big Picture

India arrived in the West Indies with their confidence rocketing sky-high but in just over a week, the engines have come off. The two losses in Kingston mean they now find themselves in a position where even two wins won’t be enough to guarantee their progression. Both Sri Lanka and West Indies have the cushion of a bonus point and India will need to find at least one to improve their position. A loss won’t totally obliterate India’s chances either but will leave them hoping for the remaining results to work in their favour. West Indies, on the other hand, are sitting comfortably with nine points from two games and a win will confirm them as one of the finalists.India were rightly being showered with a lot of praise after their success in the Champions Trophy which was built on the energy the young shoulders brought. Since then, the players, as well as the captain, have proudly talked about them being the No. 1 side in the ODIs in a manner reminiscent of India’s Test team a couple of years back. But there are lessons to be learnt from the nosedive India took in Tests after that.Top sides are not dependent on a couple of players to pull them through every tricky situation. Top sides have attacks that are not neutralised by conditions. Top sides do not let everything through in the field all day after proclaiming themselves as the best fielding unit. Till India can bring the consistency to deliver in a variety of conditions, their hold on that No. 1 ODI ranking will remain slippery. One thing in their favour, however, is that they have a young team which has shown the right facets to be successful in the longer term.India’s free-flowing batsmen found the going tough on the slowish pitches at Sabina Park and with the conditions not likely to be too different in Port-of-Spain, the lesson for them is that once you are in, make it count. Chris Gayle did that in the first match, then Johnson Charles followed that route in the second and in the third, Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga proved how effective it can be. Rohit Sharma did the tough part in the first match before taking a wrong turn when the freeway beckoned.

Virat Kohli fined for slow-over rate

India captain Virat Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka. The rest of the India players have been fined 10% of their fees after the side was found to be one over short.

India’s bowling remains a bigger worry and it remains to be seen how they regroup after the battering they received in the previous match. Shami Ahmed lacked rhythm and at times, his run-up reminded of Munaf Patel’s slow amble to the crease. Despite him being as guilty of leaking runs as anyone else, he could be the first head to roll, and the onus could be back on Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bring the bowling unit’s confidence back.West Indies’ bowling has thrived in home conditions. Their fast bowlers were the only ones who managed to make use of the moisture in the Sabina Park pitch and their medium-pacers and spinners have been tough to score off. With their long batting order in good nick, they are finally showing signs of extending their Twenty20 form to ODIs.

Form guide

West Indies WWTLW (most recent first, last five completed matches)
India LLWWW

In the spotlight

His claim to fame maybe T20s, but after six years and 80 matches, you would expect Kieron Pollard to crack the ODI code. But he hasn’t. His average throughout his career has stayed below 30 and his underachievement in the format can be likened to how West Indies themselves have fared in ODIs – replete with talent, but nothing to show for it. Pollard has been generally found out by quality quick bowlers around the world, but in this series, he has two of the slower attacks in cricket, and in India, one of the weakest too. After scoring 0 and 4 in the series, it is high time he takes the advantage.In a line-up full of generous bowlers, R Ashwin boasts of an economy of less than five but for a lead spinner, he doesn’t buy his captain many wickets. After 55 ODIs, his best is 3 for 24. His numbers suffer further when he bowls outside the subcontinent. Two days ago, when Ashwin was introduced to rein in the Sri Lanka openers, he had no answer. India’s weakness in pace is well-known, but it’s the ineffectiveness of their spinners in this series that is worrying.

Team news

West Indies made one change to their squad for the Trinidad matches, bringing in fast bowler Jason Holder in place of the injured Ravi Rampaul, but they are likely to keep their pace combination of Kemar Roach and Tino Best to hustle the India batsmen. Dwayne Bravo, who was rested in the previous match as a precautionary measure following a groin strain, will return to lead the side at his home ground.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Tino BestIndia felt Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s absence in their previous game as the first wicket that usually comes early took 39 overs to come. He could replace Shami Ahmed in the XI.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 M Vijay, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav

Stats and trivia

• West Indies’ win-loss record against India at Queen’s Park Oval stands at 7-4
• In this series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the most economical of India’s frontline bowlers. He is No. 15 on the list
• Chris Gayle has four centuries against India, his most against any country

Quotes

“The wicket last time was really slow and I just had a look, it has a bit of grass this time around, but it seems to be the same as the last time. I don’t think there is much of an adjustment needed as far as the conditions are concerned.”
“It’s like a dream come true for me. It’s always good to play in the Oval. But to be the captain of the West Indies team is something special.”

Farhad Reza, a pace-bowling allrounder, is the only new inclusion in an otherwise settled 15-member Bangladesh squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka

Mohammad Isam16-Aug-2012Farhad Reza, a pace-bowling allrounder, is the only change in an otherwise settled 15-member Bangladesh squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. Farhad replaced Nazmul Hossain in the team that will also be touring Trinidad and Tobago in early September for a four-nation tournament, though it will play under the name of Bangladesh Cricket Board XI.Chief selector Akram Khan said Farhad’s all-round abilities led him to be picked. “We said ahead of the Zimbabwe tour [in June] that 90% of the team would be the same,” Akram told ESPNcricinfo. “We made one change to the squad that toured Europe by bringing in Farhad [Reza] in place of Nazmul [Hossain]. Farhad gives us a batting option down the order apart along with his role as a seamer.”Nazmul went wicketless in the two games he played during Bangladesh’s tour of Europe last month. Abul Hasan, who also didn’t pick a wicket in Ireland and the Netherlands, was preferred due to his extra pace. Farhad could have been chosen as a backup for Ziaur Rahman as it is unlikely for the team management to pick more than two seamers in Sri Lanka.Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe in June and Europe in July and played ten matches against Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands, giving the selectors ample opportunity to assess the T20 side. They picked new faces like Ziaur, Hasan and Anamul Haque while the team management also experimented with the batting order.Ziaur, who bowls fast-medium, was promising with his ability to play as a big-hitting floater in the middle order, as he showed during a quickfire 40 against Ireland. Mohammad Ashraful’s strike-rate – 91.20 in four matches in Europe – remains a worry but he did score enough runs to convince the selectors to retain him as an opener alongside Tamim Iqbal.

Bangladesh squad for World Twenty20

Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Junaid Siddique, Jahurul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Ziaur Rahman, Elias Sunny, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shafiul Islam, Farhad Reza, Abul Hasan.

Bangladesh’s fortunes will depend heavily on Shakib Al Hasan, who will continue to bat at No. 3 as he had done during the Europe tour. Shakib is currently recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him from the SLPL. He has started bowling in the nets and will be working closely with Saqlain Mushtaq, who has joined the Bangladesh coaching staff for four months as the spin-bowling consultant.Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny will be facing his first major Twenty20 challenge, having made a record-breaking debut against Ireland last month while Mashrafe Mortaza will have a key role to play as the most experienced seamer in the bowling attack.Bangladesh will take on New Zealand on September 21 before meeting Pakistan on September 25. Both matches will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Durham MCCU have been bowled out for 18, the lowest innings total in first-class cricket anywhere in the world since 1983

George Dobell08-Apr-2012Durham MCCU have been bowled out for 18, the lowest innings total in first-class cricket anywhere in the world since 1983. It equals the tenth lowest score in first-class cricket since 1900.In a scoreline that will renew the debate over whether such encounters should retain their first-class status, Durham UCCE, missing the injured allrounder Luke Blackaby, were bowled out by Durham in just 101 deliveries. Having been set an improbable 392 to win, it meant the students lost by 373 runs.The entire game was something of a mismatch. Durham MCCU had been 18 for 6 in their first innings before a late rally lifted them to 117, while Durham declared in both their innings. Ben Stokes, the allrounder who made his debut in England’s limited-overs teams last summer, claimed four wickets for three runs in Durham MCCU’s second innings as the students collapsed from 15 for 3 to 18 all out.”It’s the worst day we’ve ever had,” Graeme Fowler, the Durham MCCU coach and former England opening batsman told ESPNcricinfo afterwards. “It was dreadful. But, while we’ve had a nightmare, I hope people remember the good we do for the game. You know Michael Schumacher has the odd car crash: he’s still a pretty good driver.”Don’t get me wrong: we were not good enough today. The pitch couldn’t have been designed to help the Durham attack any more than it did – the ball was moving all over the place – but we played some soft cricket and the guys have left under no illusions that they have not performed well enough. They are mortified by their performance.”Durham MCCU has an outstanding record of producing cricketers. Their former graduates include Andrew Strauss, James Foster, Ben Hutton and Will Smith and, since their formation in 1997, 53 players have passed through their system and into the professional county game.Nor are they funded by the ECB. Instead the six MCCU sides – Oxford, Cambridge, Loughborough, Durham, Cardiff and Leeds/Bradford – are funded by the MCC, with each receiving around £75,000 per year. Around 20% of current England-qualified county cricketers have passed through one of the six centres of excellence, with Durham accounting for 8% of them.”At the time we started, I never thought we should have been given first-class status,” Fowler admitted. “It just seemed like we were producing a rod for our own back to judge us by first-class results. That is not really what we are about. I wanted us to play against the counties – that is important – but I didn’t see why those games had to be defined as first-class.”There was already debate about whether Oxford and Cambridge should have first-class status but then they added us to the list and last winter they added Leeds/Bradford and Cardiff, too. I’m not convinced that is the right approach.”The problem is that if we lose the first-class status we may well lose the funding, too. I just hope that, because of one nightmare performance, people don’t forget all the good things we have done for England cricket. Give us half a chance and we’ll keep producing players, really good players, and we’ll do it on a pretty small budget. Days like this don’t help but they shouldn’t obscure the bigger picture.”

Shahid Afridi has been named as the captain of the Pakistan teams for the Asia Cup ODIs to be held in Sri Lanka from June 15, as well as the Test tour of England where Pakistan will play the hosts and Australia

Osman Samiuddin25-May-2010Shahid Afridi has been named Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain ahead of a busy summer which takes in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and then six Tests, five ODIs, as well as four T20Is, in England against Australia and the hosts. Pakistan’s board and selectors also opened the door on a possible return for Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, two men only recently banned by the board for indiscipline. Another old hand at the indiscipline game, Shoaib Akhtar, has been called up in a 35-man list of probables, which will be culled down before the two events.The squad announcements were among the most eagerly-awaited in some time, given the chaos that followed since the tour to Australia. Pakistan effectively have been without a Test and ODI captain since then and had punished seven leading players – including four former captains – over disciplinary issues. But in recent days, speculation had grown that Afridi, already the Twenty20 captain, would be appointed.Once he had publicly announced that he would be available to play Tests, a format he had left four years ago, the decision was all but sealed to once again unite the leadership of all three formats under one man: “We requested Afridi to take on the Test captaincy and he very graciously accepted,” Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, told reporters, flanked by Afridi and Mohsin Khan, chief selector. Today Afridi spent in meetings with Butt and the selectors to finalise a probables list.Afridi now becomes the 27th man to lead Pakistan in Tests and the fourth captain since the start of 2009.The decision remains a risky one, given that Afridi played the last of his 26 Tests almost exactly four years ago on Pakistan’s last tour to England. Until recently he has appeared unsure about a return to the format, but it is believed the appointment was part of an agreement to become the Twenty20 captain before the World Twenty20.Afridi asked for patience in what he accepted will be a challenging role. “As a challenge I have accepted this,” Afridi said. “Pakistan needs a senior player right now to lead them and that is why I accepted this. I don’t think we should have too many expectations for Test cricket right now but I will try to get our ranking up to where it should be.”The other big decisions were recalling the two former captains Younis and Malik back into the squad. Their return is dependent on their appeals against the ban being overturned by an independent arbitrator, but having been selected it seems unlikely their bans will now stay. In any case the PCB has thawed in recent days, Butt telling reporters yesterday that he will review the punishments and praising Younis in particular. Younis was handed an indefinite ban by an inquiry committee after the Australia tour earlier this year and Malik was given a one-year ban; neither’s indiscretions were specified, only a vague reference made to acts of indiscipline and unsettling the team.But their potential return and that of Shoaib [Akhtar] was insisted upon by Afridi, who said the summer would require experienced heads at the helm. Shoaib last played an international for Pakistan in May 2009 and his last Test back in December 2007, but has this season turned out in domestic cricket in a bid to prove his fitness; he was particularly impressive in the Pentangular ODI cup in Karachi recently.”It will be good if we can get back Younis and Shoaib because the team will be stronger with them in it,” Afridi said. “England is always a difficult challenge as a tour and you need experienced players on it. The mix has to be right between juniors and seniors.”Afridi revealed that he had also spoken to Mohammad Yousuf in a bid to get him to take back his retirement and return to international cricket. Yousuf had walked away from the game earlier this year after also being handed an indefinite ban by the board and he is the only one of the seven players punished not to have appealed against his punishment. But Afridi said Yousuf was unwilling to change his mind.Misbah-ul-Haq has been dropped once again, following disappointing results on his recall for the tours to New Zealand and Australia. Though he was picked for the World Twenty20 also, he didn’t make any significant contribution towards Pakistan’s semi-final run. The bigger surprise is perhaps the retention of Kamran Akmal; though he did well enough in the Caribbean with the bat, he remains as a result of this probables announcement, the likely first-choice wicketkeeper for the Test side. That is some achievement in itself given his performance in the last Test he played at Sydney (where he dropped four catches and fluffed a run-out), his behaviour in the aftermath of his subsequent axing and his generally shaky form with the gloves in Tests for a number of seasons now.The 15-man squad for the Asia Cup will be decided in the first week of June after a short, five to six-day training camp in Karachi. The squad for England will be decided soon after that.Probables: Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hassan, Azhar Ali, Azeem Ghumman, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Hasan Raza, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Aamer Sajjad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Tanvir Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal (wk), Zulqarnain Haider (wk)

Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable because of a groin injury, while Mohammed Shami had not yet regained full fitness

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-202411:45

‘Bold move to pick two youngsters in Reddy and Harshit’

India have named three uncapped players – opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, fast bowler Harshit Rana and allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy – in their squad of 18 for the five-Test tour of Australia starting on November 22.Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who hasn’t regained full fitness since his ankle surgery earlier this year, was not included while wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav was also not available for selection because of a “chronic left groin issue” according to a BCCI release. Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed are part of the travelling reserves.Rohit Sharma leads the squad with Jasprit Bumrah as his vice-captain. But with Rohit set to miss one of the first two Tests for personal reasons, it’s likely that Abhimanyu, 29, will make his Test debut on the tour. He has been part of India’s Test squad previously – in Bangladesh in 2022 – and has been in superb form this domestic season, scoring two hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, another century in the Irani Trophy, and beginning the Ranji Trophy season with a ton for Bengal.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India have picked three spin allrounders R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who marked his return to the Test team after more than three years with a ten-wicket haul against New Zealand in Pune. Reddy, 21, is the only seam-bowling allrounder in the squad for Australia. He will have extra time to acclimatise considering he is part of the India A team that will be playing two four-day games in Mackay and Melbourne. Reddy made his T20I debut against Bangladesh earlier this month and was a reserve player in the Test squad for the home series against New Zealand; he is already in Australia. He is seen by India’s selectors as a promising allrounder who could improve with more experience and exposure.Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Rana are the other fast bowlers in the squad apart from Bumrah. Prasidh, who has played two Tests previously, has just started playing again after recovering from a serious back injury, while 22-year-old Rana has played only nine first-class matches. Rana, who represents Delhi, took two four-wicket hauls for India D in the Duleep Trophy in September and has 36 wickets at an average of 24.75 in first-class cricket. With Khaleel in the reserves and no Yash Dayal, India don’t have a left-arm quick in the main squad.India begin their tour with a warm-up match against India A in Perth from November 15 to 17, after which they play the first Test against Australia at he Perth Stadium from November 22 to 26. They then travel to Canberra for a tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI on November 30 and December 1, before heading to Adelaide for the second Test, a day-night fixture from December 6 to 10. The third Test in Brisbane is from December 14 to 18, followed by the traditional Boxing Day Test in Melbourne starting December 26 and the New Year’s Test in Sydney from January 3.India are the holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and have won their two previous tours of Australia by a 2-1 margin, in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

India squad for tour of Australia

Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington SundarReserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed

Rishabh Pant is set to play in front of his home crowd for the first time since his return to action

Abhimanyu Bose19-Apr-20241:49

Kuldeep vs Klaasen – A match-up to savour?

Match details

Delhi Capitals (P7 W3 L4 6th) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (P6 W4 L2 4th)
New Delhi, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Delhi Capitals’ homecoming

After setting up base in Visakhapatnam for the first half of the season, Delhi Capitals are back in the national capital for their first game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this season. Capitals played two games in Vizag this year, winning one and losing the other.For Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, it will be his first appearance in front of the Delhi home crowd after his return to competitive cricket since his horror car crash in December 2022. Pant, after a slow start to the season, has found his rhythm, scoring 210 from seven games with two fifties. His strike rate of 156.72 is also his best in an IPL season since 2019. He has been excellent behind the stumps as well, and was named Player of the Match in Capitals’ last game primarily for his wicketkeeping.Related

• Ponting: 'Attacking batting and not defensive bowling will win this IPL'

But Capitals’ homecoming could easily end up not being a happy one as they go up against a rampaging Sunrisers Hyderabad side that has not once, but twice broken the record for the highest total in the history of the IPL.How Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma go in the powerplay against Sunrisers’ explosive left-handed opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma could be the deciding factor in how the match shapes up.

Form guide

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Team news and Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals
Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting was optimistic about opener David Warner returning from a finger injury. Ponting said Warner was “85-90%” fit on the day of their last match in Ahmedabad, but a final call on his availability for Saturday will be taken after he trains on the eve of the match against Sunrisers. If Warner returns, he could slot in directly for Sumit Kumar, as Capitals played their last match with just three overseas players. But one of Shai Hope or Jake Fraser-McGurk could also make way, if they don’t want to mess with their batting order too much.Probable XII: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Jake Fraser-McGurk/Shai Hope, 4 , 5 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Sumit Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Mukesh Kumar, 12 .Pat Cummins has a terrific record against left-hand batters, so watch out, David Warner and Rishabh Pant•BCCI

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers have a fully fit squad and will likely field the same side they did in their last match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While Travis Head has been the player subbed out when they have batted first and subbed in while chasing, they will likely start with, or bring in, Mayank Markande depending on the toss. However, if they are batting first and are facing a collapse, Rahul Tripathi is an option as well.Probable XII: 1 , 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 T Natarajan, 12 .

In the spotlight – Kuldeep Yadav and Heinrich Klaasen

With Sunrisers boasting of two powerful spin-hitters in Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, Kuldeep Yadav with his left-arm wristspin could be key for Capitals. An injury earlier in the season meant he has only played four games so far in IPL 2024, picking up six wickets, but he has been difficult to get away. He has achieved an economy rate of 6.06, and has only gone for more than a run a ball once, against Rajasthan Royals.With Kuldeep and Axar Patel in Capitals’ ranks, Heinrich Klaasen‘s ability to take down spin will be of great importance to Sunrisers. Among batters with more than 200 runs, only Dinesh Karthik has a better strike rate this season than Klaasen’s 199.21. He is also the most prolific six-hitter not only in this year’s IPL but in all T20s in 2024.

Pitch and conditions

It’s the first game in Delhi this season, and Ponting said the pitch looked good with more grass cover on the square than last year, and he expects it to play better than it did in 2023, when Capitals lost five of their seven home games.

Stats that matter

• Sunrisers have the two fastest scorers in the powerplay this season in Head and Abhishek, who have struck at 207 and 206 respectively in the first six overs in IPL 2024.
• Pat Cummins has a superb record against left-hand batters this season: five wickets at an average of 14.00, and an economy rate of just 6.56. He could come up against three Capitals’ left-handers on Saturday in David Warner, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel.
• Capitals have won four of their last five matches against Sunrisers. The one defeat came at the Arun Jaitley Stadium last year.

Quotes

“I think our batsmen are going great. We don’t mind having a shootout tomorrow. If it’s a high-scoring game against Sunrisers, so be it. We know and expect that they’re gonna play the way that they played so far in the tournament, which has been, you know, going really hard at the top of the order with the bat and trying to post a big first-innings total. So we’re happy to try and match them in that. We think we’ve got as good a batting line-up if not a better batting line-up than theirs, so we’ll see how things work out tomorrow.”