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Three teams will contest the event this year, with Jaipur to host all four matches

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Apr-2019Jaipur will host four women’s T20 exhibition matches on the sidelines of the IPL playoffs. The round-robin matches will be played on May 6, 8 and 9 before the final on May 11.Unlike last year when two teams, Supernovas and Trailblazers, had contested a one-off exhibition match, this season a third team, Velocity, will take part. Senior India players Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will captain the three teams.This is the second year in a row that the BCCI has decided to conduct women’s matches during the IPL playoffs, and this season the format will be a single round-robin rounded off with a final.As reported earlier, overseas players from half-a-dozen countries will be part of the exhibition matches, which are an attempt by the BCCI to test the strength and popularity of women’s T20 in India where the IPL has taken deep roots since its inception in 2008.ESPNcricinfo understands all four games are likely to be telecast live, with the BCCI set to finalise the timings in consultation with the host broadcasters. Last year, the Supernovas and Trailblazers contested a one-off match that ended up as a last-ball thriller. The match was played before Qualifier 1 of the men’s IPL at the Wankhede Stadium. The match was broadcast live, but was played in the middle of the afternoon with a 2 pm start time that did not enthuse too many fans to turn up, leaving the stands mostly empty.

India will want to treat it like any other match, because viewing it through the prism of history might just play into Pakistan’s hands

Danyal Rasool15-Jun-20195:01

Can Pakistan break their World Cup jinx against India?

Big picture

Must we succumb to building this game up beyond the point of hyperbole? Despite the fact that one side so heavily outguns the other in just about every department imaginable? Despite the fact that India and Pakistan have never played a World Cup game that has produced a finish to match the needle? Despite the fact that the game might not even happen, with an unfavourable forecast in Manchester beginning to take a turn for the worse?Yes, we must. There’s no avoiding it, and perhaps no reason to. This contest may not have produced as many high-quality cricket matches as you might expect from a rivalry of this intensity, but, with more eyeballs on this match than the final itself, cricket can ill-afford to turn its nose up to the casual fan base that tunes in to India vs Pakistan. It was the most anticipated game of the tournament when the fixtures were announced – perhaps indeed when the tournament format was announced – with Steve Elworthy revealing that the ICC had had 400,000 applications for tickets, and that they “could have packed out Wembley four times over”.But now to the cricket itself. India might have begun the tournament late, but they haven’t exactly been eased in, with their first three games scheduled against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The third was washed out, but resounding wins in the other two mean they have cemented their position as co-favourites for the title, perhaps even edging ahead of England given the dominance of their displays. They have a pace attack that would be the envy of Pakistan – imagine saying that at any other point in these two countries’ histories – combined with the twin spin threat of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to keep the middle overs tighter than any other team does. They front up to a Pakistan who haven’t quite figured out their best eleven yet, and will go into this game having to make a decision that potentially leaves them a batsman light.There is no escaping the fact Pakistan are unpredictable, and India will be professional enough to be cognisant of that. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side have lost 12 of their last 13 completed ODIs, but it is notable that the win came last week against England when it really mattered, having been blanked by the same side in a bilateral series last month. The top three all average above 50 – though Fakhar Zaman’s recent form is a mild concern – and while the pace attack isn’t quite the threat they would like it to be, a resurgent Mohammad Amir may look to torment India’s top order once more. Shadab Khan, set to return after being dropped against Australia in a move that didn’t quite work out, is one of the few that matches his Indian counterparts for ability, and the two sides’ last meeting at an ICC tournament in England, which produced the heaviest-ever win in a game between these two teams, is one Pakistan will look to seek inspiration from.For India, the challenge will be to rise above the emotions of a derby game, while Pakistan must try and frame it as such. Stripped bare of emotions, the gulf between the two sides is a gaping chasm. With the balance tipping towards India each time the two sides play – India hammered Pakistan in the recent Asia Cup twice, which is more reflective of the trend than the Champions Trophy final – Virat Kohli’s men will look to approach this as just any other match, because the pressure of viewing it through the prism of history will only play into Pakistan’s hands. But then again, the mental baggage swings the other way, too; Pakistan have never once beaten India in a World Cup match, even in the years they were unquestionably the better of the two sides. Were they to turn all that on its head in a year when it looks less likely than ever before, this World Cup might just find the spark it has so plaintively awaited in its opening fortnight.

Form guide

India WWLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: LWLLL

In the spotlight

Much is made of Rohit Sharma‘s third-ball lbw to Mohammad Amir in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, and his second-ball dismissal to the same bowler in the same fashion in Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in 2016. What isn’t mentioned, however, is that on the other three occasions that the two have met since Amir’s return, Rohit has scores of 91, 52 and 111*. To say he’d be apprehensive about facing Amir is a product borne out of selective memory, but there’s no overstating the importance of that battle. India, who rely on a gun top order, are without Rohit’s usual opener Shikhar Dhawan, making his wicket even more prized for Pakistan. It will matter not a jot to them if Amir takes it or not, but on current form, he looks like the bowler Rohit – and indeed India – should be most wary of. Rohit, however, started off the tournament with 122* and 57, so perhaps it is Pakistan who should feel forewarned.Rohit Sharma curbed his natural instincts to finish the job for India•Getty Images

The most gushing – and at the same time damaging – compliment Pakistan fans can pay to Babar Azam is some sort of favourable comparison with Virat Kohli. The numbers suggest he could be on track to become Pakistan’s greatest batsman ever, but he isn’t nearly in a position where such comparisons are helpful or accurate. India will be well aware that his average against them drops from his career figure of 50.96 to 27.50, and he is yet to cross 50 in four matches. The contest against Australia, where he looked gorgeous for the all-too-short time he was there, will latch itself into YouTube clips for glorious immortality, but a longer, grittier, uglier innings would have won Pakistan the game – the sort of game Kohli would have won for India. Old Trafford is another chance for Babar to show he isn’t just a big player but also one who can rise to the big occasion.

Team news

India’s biggest concern is the unavailability of Shikhar Dhawan owing to a hand injury sustained against Australia. KL Rahul will be promoted to open the batting, with Vijay Shankar looking likeliest to take the middle-order slot vacated as a result.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedhar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit BumrahPakistan are wrestling with the balance of their side, and whether to play five specialist bowlers or stick with the extra batsman at seven. There’s uncertainty about the personnel, too, with Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali, both of whom had difficult outings against Australia, potentially in for a demotion. Haris Sohail looks primed to take one of those two places.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Haris Sohail, 7 Shoaib Malik/Asif Ali/Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Hasan Ali 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is flat, with almost no sign of green, which should suggest a high-scoring game. However, there is inclement weather predicted for the evening, meaning whoever wins the toss will look to put the opposition in.

Strategy punt

• Bring Kedar Jadhav on early, and give him a long spell. Against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final, India brought him on when starved for wickets, and he struck early, removing Babar Azam in his three-over spell. In the Asia Cup last year, his figures read 9-0-23-3, his career-best figures to date. Mohammad Hafeez gave his wicket away to Aaron Finch loosely in the previous game, and Pakistan are just the sort of team who might get frustrated by the bowler’s unorthodox action and nagging line.
• Open the bowling with Shadab. It worked, don’t fix it. Jason Roy was dismissed in Shadab’s second over, and the ploy will be suited even more with a new opener in India’s ranks. If Amir’s job is to target Rohit Sharma, Shadab plotting against Rahul at the other end with the new ball is likely to disrupt the batsmen’s rhythm, and may bring the early wicket Pakistan crave.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan and India have only ever played one ODI at Old Trafford, the venue of the clash tomorrow. That came in the Super Six stage of the 1999 World Cup, with India winning by 47 runs.
• Jasprit Bumrah’s figures in the Champions Trophy final read 9-0-68-0. They remain his worst ODI figures.
• Shadab Khan is one wicket away from 50 in ODIs, and should he get there tomorrow, will become the fourth Pakistan legspinner to do so.

The tournament involves six teams and will run from August 30 to September 22, with matches taking place in Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Dublin

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2019Several prominent current and former players were drafted into the six teams that will make up the inaugural Euro T20 Slam in London on Friday.The six teams – two each based in Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands – each have one designated ‘icon player’ and one ‘marquee player’. The identities of the icon and marquee players had been set beforehand but not which teams they would represent.Amsterdam Knights got Shane Watson as the icon player and Imran Tahir as their marquee player. Similarly, Belfast Titans got Shahid Afridi and JP Duminy, Dublin Chiefs had Eoin Morgan and Babar Azam, Edinburgh Rocks got Martin Guptill and Chris Lynn, Glasgow Giants had Brendon McCullum and Dale Steyn, while Rotterdam Rhinos had Rashid Khan and Luke Ronchi.The draft system meant there was a lucky draw to determine who got the first pick, with the subsequent rounds following the reverse order.The first player to be picked was Ben Cutting, by Knights. Others who were picked up in the first two rounds included Mohammad Amir, Fakhar Zaman, Ravi Bopara and Matt Henry. Shaheen Afridi was the first pick in the third round, that also saw Colin Ingram, Tymal Mills and Hasan Ali being picked.Morgan, fresh from becoming the first England captain to win the World Cup, will have a homecoming of sorts playing for his city’s franchise, Chiefs. “I am proud and delighted to participate in the inaugural Euro T20 Slam,” Morgan said. “You only have to look at the calibre of international and local stars who have been selected to see that it’s going to be an electrifying tournament across three new T20 locations in northern Europe. It’s going to be incredibly competitive and I can’t wait to get going.”The tournament has Anil Kumble, the former India captain and coach, as one of the board members on the league’s advisory committee.”It is encouraging to see the growth of cricket worldwide, and I am excited to witness teams from Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland competing against each other,” Kumble said. “It will be a great opportunity for local talent to rub shoulders with some of the best cricketing talent worldwide.”The matches will take place in three cities – Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Dublin – and the competition will run from August 30 to September 22.Amsterdam Knights: Shane Watson (icon player), Imran Tahir (marquee player), Ben Cutting, Ahmed Shehzad, Sikandar Raza, Varun Chopra, Hasan Ali, Alzarri Joseph, Saad Bin Zafar, Tobias Visee, Roelof van der Merwe, Brandon Glover, Ben Cooper, Paul van Meekeren, Phillipe Boissevain, Wesley Barresi, Sikandar Zulfiqar, Tonny Staal.
Belfast Titans: Shahid Afridi (icon player), JP Duminy (marquee player), Luke Wright, Colin Ingram, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Ilyas, Aaron Summers, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson, Mark Adair, Boyd Rankin, Shane Getkate, Craig Young, Andy McBrine, Stuart Thompson, Greg Thompson.
Dublin Chiefs: Eoin Morgan (icon player), Babar Azam (marquee player), Mohammad Amir, Harry Gurney, Daniel Christian, Robbie Frylinck, Corbin Bosch, Andy Balbirnie, Kevin O’Brien, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker, Josh Little, Simi Singh, Tyrone Kane, Gareth Delaney, Harry Tector.
Edinburgh Rocks: Martin Guptill (icon player), Chris Lynn (marquee player), Corey Anderson, Matt Henry, Tymal Mills, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anton Devcich, Dwaine Pretorius, Waqar Salamkheil, Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, Mark Watt, Michael Leask, Craig Wallace, Gavin Main, Adrian Neill, Dylan Budge, Oliver Hairs.
Glasgow Giants: Brendon McCullum (icon player), Dale Steyn (marquee player), Ravi Bopara, Moises Henriques, Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, Usman Shinwari, Qais Ahmad, Richie Berrington, George Munsey, Alasdair Evans, Safyaan Sharif, Matthew Cross, Tom Sole, Scott Cameron, Hamza Tahir, Michael Jones.
Rotterdam Rhinos: Rashid Khan (icon player), Luke Ronchi (marquee player), Samit Patel, Peter Trego, Fakhar Zaman, Hardus Viljoen, Shaheen Afridi, Anwar Ali, Max O’Dowd, Pieter Seelaar, Scott Edwards, Fred Klaassen, Shane Snater, Stephan Myburgh, Saqib Zulfiqar, Vivian Kingma, Bas de Leede.

The Australia batsman was able to resume his innings shortly after a sickening blow from Jofra Archer but it would have rekindled some awful memories

Daniel Brettig at Lord's17-Aug-2019Fewer than 1000 people were at the SCG a little less than five years ago when Phillip Hughes was hit on the neck, paused a few moments on his feet, and then collapsed. At the time we did not quite know what we were watching, the full horror of the moment only emerging in the subsequent minutes, hours and days.It was impossible for the mind not to flash back to that moment when, in front of 28,000 spectators and many many more following the broadcast, Steven Smith was also hit on the neck and instantly fell to the ground. For a few terrible, interminable moments, cricket stood still.First to reach Smith was Jos Buttler from short leg, then the non-striker Pat Cummins and the England slip cordon. Jofra Archer, author of a spell of rare speed and hostility that had already seen Smith struck on the forearm, kept his distance. As it emerged that Smith had remained conscious, and that he would soon return to his feet to be assessed by the team doctor Richard Saw, there were even a few awkward smiles and nervous laughs cracked among the hosts.”You kind of get a feel as a player when someone gets hit by the noise as much as anything, you could hear it was more fleshy, around the neck sort of area and when that’s the case you’re immediately worried as a player,” Chris Woakes said. “There were guys that were close to the action, Jos being at short leg he knew straight away and was straight on to him to check he was okay, which was nice to see. You don’t wish that on anyone.”There were none, however, on the Australian balcony. Among their number were Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, David Warner and Travis Head. All played in that November 2014 Sheffield Shield game, where on the first day everything changed. In public view, their faces wore looks of concern but also masks against emotion – the mess of emotions all experienced in 2014, but had to hide after a while to return to the game. The former captain Michael Clarke has reflected that his career was more or less over once he had thought about it all.The England players crowd round Steven Smith after he was hit•Getty Images

“I shouldn’t have played another game. My career should have stopped then. It was too hard for me,” Clarke said in 2017. “It took me a lot longer to grieve his loss than it should have, or that I would have liked. I didn’t allow myself to grieve at the time because I had responsibility to his family, firstly, but then also as Australia’s cricket captain to my team-mates and getting us back out onto the field. My greatest strength as a small boy growing up and all through my career was that I was never scared.”The faster they bowled, the easier it would be to score. I liked batting without a helmet on occasions; they’d bowl at your head and I’d love playing the hook or the pull shot. Even if it was just my subconscious, when I lost one of my best mates playing the game that we love, I think my subconscious worked out that you can actually die playing this sport. Even if it was the smallest bit of fear, you can’t play at the highest level like that.”It’s a fear that many have had to push to the back of their minds in the ensuing years, some better than others. For Smith, who did not play in that match but had to do his own share of grieving and reflecting in private, the contemplation of the moment needed to share headroom with working out whether or not he had been concussed – something that would have forced him out of the Test match – or merely hit a stunning blow to the back of the neck. Speaking to Saw, he mouthed the words “I feel great”, though with an expression that indicated the opposite.At length, the decision was made to get Smith off the ground. For further treatment and to take stock. There were boos from some quarters of Lord’s, uncharitable in the extreme, but mostly applause and relief that he was okay. A little over half an hour later, the television cameras that had beamed Smith’s hit around the world found a close-up of him in the Australian dressing room, watching the game through the window. He looked pensive, sore but also reflective. So too were we all. In 2014 we did not know what we were watching. In 2019 we did, and a repeat was too dreadful to contemplate.Steven Smith is struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer•Getty Images

Tellingly, though, Smith was still in his whites. And at the fall of Peter Siddle’s wicket, his unmistakable gait could be seen re-emerging through the Lord’s pavilion doors. Surely not, many thousands seemed to say. But there he was, smiting boundaries from his second and third deliveries back, and moving into the 90s. The official word about what had taken place indicated that Smith had passed the bar set for concussion tests.”Steve was hit on the neck below the left ear,” a Cricket Australia spokesman said. “He was assessed lying on the pitch at the instructions of team doctor Richard Saw. Dr Saw made the precautionary decision to remove Steve from the field of play to have him further assessed under Cricket Australia’s head impact protocol. Steve then passed his assessments and will now be monitored on an ongoing basis, as is routine.”Concussed or not, Smith’s return to the middle was to be as brief as it was stirring. It ended with the sort of misjudgment he almost never makes – lbw shouldering arms to a Chris Woakes delivery that nipped back at him. Archer, meanwhile, had warmed back up but was not required to bowl again. This little postscript was odd, and will raise a few more questions about exactly how much Smith had recovered from the earlier blow.”I suppose it is strange because he hasn’t left anything on the stumps all series so far,” Woakes said. “Whether he was … he’d just come back out, he hoyed me over midwicket for one bounce four, whether he was at that point trying to get to three figures as quick as possible not too sure, but it’s a tough one to answer. He hasn’t left one like that so far.”But for the most part it was proof that, as horrible as the moment was, it was nothing on what we saw in 2014, when we did not quite know what we were watching. Cricket stood still at Lord’s, but we are endlessly grateful that it was soon moving again.

Twenty-six wickets fell on the third day in Canterbury as Essex recovered a first-innings 114 to secure a vital win

Daniel Norcross at Canterbury20-Aug-2019Running a casual eye over the scorecard from this chaotic match you would be forgiven for assuming that the pitch was a snake pit on which batting was impossible.Let us begin with the raw facts from day three: 275 runs scored for the loss of 26 wickets. Kent bowled out for the fourth-lowest County Championship total in their history. Two top-order Essex batsmen dismissed for a pair in a day. Twelve batsmen adjudged lbw. No one reaching double-figures in Kent’s innings despite the country’s leading wicket-taker, Simon Harmer, not even coming on to bowl. Even Jamie Porter was required to deliver only 13 balls, which was enough for him to pick up Kent’s last wicket.These facts tell a part of the story, but not all of it by any means. Some of the batting was shambolic. Dan Lawrence shuffled across his stumps twice, was correctly given out and twice looked bemused at his perceived misfortune. Twice Ravi Bopara decided attack was the best form of defence. Twice he got a nick, plunging his side into disarray.That Essex survived to register a vital win that keeps them top of the Division One and places enormous pressure on Somerset to chase down 258 runs to beat Warwickshire at Edgbaston on the final day was down in no small part to Adam Wheater and Harmer. Their partnership of 57 was the highest of the day and it rescued Essex from the depths of 84 for 6 to bring them within 12 runs of victory.A feature of this match-winning effort was Harmer’s willingness to bat out of his crease, advancing on the trio of Kent seamers and negating what was on offer from the pitch. It came as something of a huge surprise when he was trapped lbw as, unlike his more garlanded team mates, he actually seemed to have a plan, and the technique to pull it off.The more worrying story of the day was the almost complete absence of nous on show from any of the other batsmen, Alastair Cook and Wheater excepted. All too often batsmen shuffled across their stumps pushing at deliveries that either shaped ever so slightly away from groping bats on to the edge and into the grateful hands of slips and wicketkeeper, or cut ever so slightly back past the inside edge on to pads placed demonstrably in front of stumps.One former Test cricketer was beside himself with frustration as front-foot defensive qualities appeared almost entirely absent from the day’s proceedings.Credit must be given to Sam Cook, whose 7 for 23 in Kent’s second innings was a model of remorselessly consistent line and length bowling. He was ably and poignantly assisted by Mohammed Amir, playing in perhaps his last first-class match. He produced the ball of the day, a true snorter that lifted on Sam Billings, giving the Kent captain no chance as he feathered an edge through to Wheater.The match had resumed with Essex on 32 for 1 in their first innings and most people were expecting a tight finish late on day four. Kent confounded those expectations the moment evergreen veteran Darren Stevens, 43, trapped Cook bang in front with the score on 40. Thereafter it was a procession. Stevens sent down 15 overs for his three wickets, conceding just 17 runs, while Harry Podmore was an able foil bowling down the hill. That they were both made to strap on their bowling boots again two hours and 20 minutes after dismissing Essex – which included the 40-minute break for lunch – didn’t help Kent’s cause as the match went deep into the final session.Perhaps that lead of 112 that Kent took into their second innings encouraged a approach; each batsman expecting someone else to score the 30 or 40 runs that would have been enough to build an impregnable position. If so, this would be uncharacteristic from a side that has shown great resolve this season, and largely refused to be rolled over. Perhaps there was more in the pitch than any of us could see up in the commentary box, but it would be hugely surprising if Kent get sanctioned for this surface.Rather, we might best dwell on Essex’s extraordinary resilience. Since their return to Division One three seasons ago they have played 38 matches (not counting the total washout at Headingley last season). They have won 25 of them. Somerset are going to have to respond strongly or the title will likely be heading back to Chelmsford for the second time in three years.

Spinnner was the raw face of Australia’s gut-punched emotions after Headingley defeat

Daniel Brettig in Leeds25-Aug-2019A distraught Nathan Lyon was the raw face of Australia’s gut-punched emotions after seeing their chances of winning the Ashes in England in the minimum three Tests go up in smoke or, more accurately, Ben Stokes, on an unforgettable afternoon at Headingley.Having missed a certain run out when he dropped Pat Cummins’ return and then been denied an adjacent lbw appeal against Stokes within the space of three balls, all with Australia still one run ahead, Lyon sank to his knees when the winning runs were struck, and needed consoling by numerous teammates for a prolonged period after the conclusion of the match.ALSO READ: Mistakes haunt Australia as Headingley hoodoo strikes againLyon started the day in celebration, dismissing Joe Root via a superb catch from David Warner to surpass Dennis Lillee’s mark of 355 Test wickets. But he ended it in a state of desolation, and captain Tim Paine admitted he had tried to cajole Lyon into picking himself up to set an example for the younger members of the squad, given the fourth and fifth matches of a now-tied Ashes rubber are still to play out at Old Trafford and The Oval.”It was just about getting Gazza up,” Paine said. “He’s a really important player in our side and I said to him that if our players see him dealing with it really quickly and moving on then our younger players are going to do the same thing and we turn up to Manchester or our next training session in a much better frame of mind, rather than have guys sulking or whatever you want to call it. It hurts, deal with it, move on.”Gazza is obviously extremely disappointed, but no one’s perfect, people make mistakes and that happens. The important thing is that when it happens you cop it on the chin, you hold your head up and you stick together as a team and you walk off together. We’ve got two more Test matches, we’ve been doing a lot right, instead of being caught up in the emotion of it we need to be able to deal with it.”Talk about where we went wrong, where we can do things better and turn up to Manchester full of confidence because we have been in a position to win every Test match and that’s a great position to be in. Yes, those losses hurt and you are allowed to show that but I don’t think you can get caught up in it, it’s right in the middle of a series.”Nathan Lyon looks dejected ater fumbling the ball and missing a chance to run out Jack Leach•Getty Images

Paine himself had plenty of questions to answer for the way he had managed the tactical side of the day, most notably when he surrendered virtually all his catching men to boundary defence when Stokes was joined by the last man, Jack Leach, with 73 runs still required. Looking at the mayhem created by Stokes, lapped up by a raucous Sunday crowd in Leeds, Paine denied his men had been “rattled” by it all.”I wouldn’t say we were rattled,” he said. “No doubt there was pressure, that’s Test cricket, and it was close, tight, the crowd was loud, that was as hard as it gets for a touring side. Sometimes people make mistakes and we made a couple today. In the end it cost us the Test match. That and an unbelievable innings – that can happen. We have time now to make sure we stick together, bounce back. We’ve got a tour game against Derby. As I said to the boys before I got in here, if we get caught up in the emotion of it all and get too down on things the series can be taken away from you really quickly.”We think we’ve got some pretty good plans. If we can continue to execute on skill and not get caught up on emotion we think the next two Tests will be the same. We’ll be in a position to win them if we continue to do what we do, then it comes down to taking your opportunities. Today, we missed a few and a guy played out of his skin to take a Test match away.”The beauty of the Ashes is it’s a series. We’ve played good enough cricket to this point to be in all games to win. Going forward if we stick to that hopefully we’ll be in those positions again and next time we take those chances – but mistakes happen.”He stressed, too, that he did not want his team to wallow in such matters, with the benefit of a few days to settle down via a tour game against Derbyshire that will also see Steven Smith’s return from concussion.”Instead of worrying and wasting time on a missed run out or a dropped catch or a referred lbw let’s put our energy into what we are doing wrong and the things that we are doing to get ourselves into winning position and if we do that we will take that chance and we will win that Test match,” Paine said.”I just think we are playing some really, really good cricket. Sure, we can get better in certain areas, we won the first Test, we drew the second, we just lost the third by a wicket and we had opportunities to win it.”We need to address some areas and we are not going to paper over the cracks and not talk about it – we will have some honest conversations about where we think we can get better but we’ve got to keep focusing on the process we have got in place, the things that have been helping us to get into winning positions.”Perhaps aided by the perspective he had gained from coming close to finishing his cricket career entirely in 2017, before an international recall led to the unlikely inheritance of the Australian captaincy after the Newlands scandal, Paine was able to reflect on the greatness of the drama in which his team had been a part. Even if he conceded it would not be until all the players are long retired that they will be able to look upon events without a wince.”I thought it was an amazing game of cricket. We finished up on the wrong side of it. In terms of an advertisement for Test cricket, I think that was bloody exciting,” he said. “It was great to be involved in so I can only imagine what it was like to watch. At times you have to give credit to some pretty good play. I thought Ben Stokes was unbelievably good, it was one of the great innings. I thought Joe Denly and Joe Root yesterday were excellent.”I thought our bowling yesterday afternoon was as good as it gets. I thought it was really high quality Test cricket. I thought those two played it extremely well, got through it and gave their team a chance leading into today. A bit of individual brilliance today from a world-class player, they were just too good.”

After beating Pakistan 3-0 in their own backyard, Sri Lanka’s T20I team is in buoyant mood ahead of series against Australia

Madushka Balasuriya18-Oct-2019With the T20 World Cup less than a year away, Sri Lanka believe this month’s tour of Australia – where the World Cup will be held – will prove the ideal testing ground for their crop of youngsters to prove themselves in conditions Down Under.”I’m happy [that such a young team] managed to beat the number one team [Pakistan] in the world,” T20I captain Lasith Malinga said at Friday’s media briefing in Colombo. “It’s important to show Sri Lanka’s depth of talent. But the conditions and wickets [in Australia] will likely be different.”If we perform well in those conditions, then it will bode well for our preparations for the World Cup. And if you perform well on this tour, there will be a good chance of those players making it to the World Cup as well.”That said, Sri Lanka will also be touring India for a T20I series before the World Cup, where conditions will be markedly different from those expected in Australia. For Malinga, while identifying form players is important, equally as important is identifying a set of players capable of making the right decisions under pressure.”In T20 cricket it’s important to understand that decisions need to be taken quickly on the field, more so than in 50-over cricket or Test cricket,” Malinga said. “You can win a match solely on one decision that a player makes. Because of that, just as important as talent is a player’s decision-making in matches, the way a player thinks in the middle of a game. So we’re looking for intelligent players capable of winning a game.”We need around 11-12 players of this calibre in our squad, and that way we can always have about six to seven at the very least in a game, players capable of winning matches in key moments.”From the new faces that were included in the squad that toured Pakistan, the selectors have retained the two standout performers in Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando. Making their way back into the squad, meanwhile, have been Malinga, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Janith Perera.For interim head coach Rumesh Ratnayake, the hope is that the returning players will make a winning combination even stronger.”Australia is a huge challenge, regardless of the level you play them at that,” Ratnayake said. “In cricket, they have been among the best in all formats for the past 20 years. And the four players coming into the squad will certainly strengthen us. It’s a stronger team. And we’re very confident that we can challenge Australia.”In terms of selecting the final playing XI, Chief Selector Ashantha De Mel admitted that it would be a challenge considering that some of the returning players hadn’t played cricket in quite some time. Eventually, he said, form would be the deciding factor.”I think winning is important but what we’re looking at more is form,” de Mel said. “In Pakistan some of the players showed that they were in good form, so when we go to Australia it’s a challenge for us [the selectors] also. We’ll have to discuss with the captain and see.”Then we’ll also have to see what the form is of the new players that are coming in, because they haven’t played cricket for a month, we’ll also have to take that into account when we’re selecting the final XI.”Sri Lanka play Australia in three T20Is with the first game taking place in Adelaide on October 27.

A Special Investigation Team has been instituted within Karnataka Police’s Central Crime Branch to probe the allegations of match- and spot-fixing in the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2019The 2020 edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), including its player auctions, will not be held until the police completes its investigation of alleged match- and spot-fixing.”We will definitely not conduct the KPL tournament matches till the investigation is completed and the final report from the police comes out,” Vinay Mruthyunjaya, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) treasurer, told IANS.”The entire activity regarding the KPL will only start after the investigation is completed,” Mruthyunjaya said. “The next edition of the tournament is around nine months away and hopefully, the investigation should be completed by then.”ALSO READ: KPL – Karnataka cricket’s problem child?Karnataka Police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) has, meanwhile, set up a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case, in which former Karnataka Ranji players CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi were arrested on November 7. The police are also looking at the possibility of the players being honeytrapped into breaking the law.”Today there are many non-playing cricketers involved [other] than those playing on the field, and it has become a business for them as they travel to Dubai, West Indies and other foreign countries and stay at five-star hotels,” Bhaskar Rao, the Bengaluru Police commissioner, said. “They have also indulged in blackmailing of players through honeytraps. The game has become insignificant and the activities of these betters have only increased.”The Bengaluru Police has also served a notice to the KSCA, seeking extensive information on the various aspects of day-to-day running of the league and the background of players participating in it.ALSO READ: CM Gautam, Abrar Kazi arrested on spot-fixing charges“The police asked for a lot of information pertaining to KPL tournament, teams, scorecards, video footage of all the matches, details of all the players, phone numbers,” Mruthyunjaya said. “We will check up, we did not have any formidable information in this regard. Let me discuss with our officers also.”According to Mruthyunjaya, the KSCA is not privy to the recruitment procedure of cheerleaders, who are suspected to be involved in honey-trapping some of the players.”We would not know; [the] police would be knowing. KSCA never employs cheer girls, the teams employ them,” Mruthyunjaya said.The 2019 edition of the KPL, the first state-run adaptation of the IPL format that began in 2009, was held from August 16-31. The tournament is hosted in the second half of the year, and typically lasts just over two weeks, but has been pushed to three weeks on occasion.

Pakistan seam bowler expected to be available for duration of T20 competition as overseas player

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2019Shaheen Afridi will play for Hampshire in next year’s Vitality Blast.Shaheen, who has become an important part of Pakistan’s seam attack in all formats over the past 18 months, is expected to be available for the duration of the T20 competition as an overseas player.”I am delighted to sign with Hampshire for the upcoming Vitality Blast competition,” Shaheen said. “I have always enjoyed playing in England in front of the fantastic fans and I look forward to joining this historic club for my first experience of county cricket.”The 19-year-old Shaheen had a particularly enjoyable time on English pitches earlier this year, claiming the best figures for Pakistan in a World Cup with 6 for 35 against Bangladesh at Lord’s in July. Those figures were also the best of the tournament as he finished with 16 wickets at an average of 14.63.An imposing and accurate left-arm paceman, Afridi burst onto the international scene in April 2018 when he earned a T20I call-up for Pakistan’s series against West Indies. He also made his Test and ODI debuts last year. In 29 limited-overs internationals, Shaheen has taken 54 wickets at an average of 21.02, including 14 wickets from 10 T20Is at 20.57.Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White, said: “A lot of the best sides in T20 cricket possess a very good bowling attack and Shaheen adds an extra dimension to the group we have, offering excellent accuracy, pace and lots of variations. He’s an emerging young talent in world cricket so we’re delighted to have him on board for next summer’s Vitality Blast.”

The teams return to the venue where West Indies knocked India out of the 2016 World T20

Deivarayan Muthu in Mumbai10-Dec-20192:49

Simmons: Let’s see who wins the Kohli-Williams contest in Mumbai

Big picture

March 31, 2016, Mumbai. West Indies outgunned India in the semi-final and went onto become World T20 champions. They have fallen off the perch since and are currently No. 10 on the ICC T20I rankings , but don’t let that fool you. More than three years after knocking India out at the Wankhede Stadium, West Indies are back at the venue, preparing for their title defence in Australia next year.Their two CPL 2019 stars – batsman Brandon King and legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr.- have gelled in nicely while Lendl Simmons has proved that he still has it. Kieron Pollard has been inventive with his captaincy and the seamers Kesrick Williams and Sheldon Cottrell have impressed with their canny variations in pace and length.ALSO READ: Simmons does an RKO on India, out of nowhereHowever, it is West Indies’ power-hitting that could be their biggest strength on what’s likely to be a familiar, flat Wankhede track. Let’s not even bring up the short boundaries. The likes of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Simmons kept clearing the longer boundaries in Thiruvananthapuram with considerable ease. And ahead of the series opener in India, West Indies had trained at full tilt in Mumbai before heading to Hyderabad. Plus, Simmons, Evin Lewis and Pollard himself have spent enough time with Mumbai Indians to crack the winning formula at the Wankhede Stadium: just keep hitting sixes.Lendl Simmons and Nicholas Pooran celebrate victory•BCCI

West Indies, though, will have to contend with the absence of finisher Fabian Allen, who still hasn’t recovered from a knee injury.India have issues of their own to deal with. They need to tighten their catching and fielding, particularly under lights, and they probably need more from their lower middle order against West Indies, who, in contrast, are armed with a variety of six-hitters. With the series on the line in Mumbai, India might not experiment with their XI, but on the eve of the game India’s white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma didn’t rule out the possibility of the hosts being flexible with their batting line-up.

Form guide

India LWWWL (last five completed games, most recent first)
West Indies WLLLW

In the spotlight

Washington Sundar is under some pressure after dropping multiple catches in this series, but he has been quite accurate with his new-ball offspin. After Lewis carted him for a brace of sixes in the second ODI, Washington bounced back to have the opener stumped and ended with 4-0-26-1. Washington will also have fond memories of the Wankhede Stadium, where he grabbed 3 for 16 in four overs for Rising Pune Supergiant against Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier during IPL 2017.ALSO READ: Powerplay bowling is tough but it excites me, says Washington SundarGuyana Amazon Warriors’ Brandon King can be brutal against pace if he gets going at the Wankhede Stadium. He has played useful cameos for West Indies against both Afghanistan and India, and a starring role on Wednesday could push him up the pecking order in the West Indies set-up as well as in the wishlist of IPL franchises.Virat Kohli’s agility comes in handy when he’s on the outfield•BCCI

Team news

With the series up for grabs, India are likely to retain the XI that played the first two games of the series. This means that Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami might have to wait for their T20I comebacks.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.With the injured Allen sidelined from the third T20I too, West Indies might stick to their twin-spin attack and are likely to field an unchanged team as well in Mumbai.West Indies (probable): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Brandon King, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Khary Pierre, 9 Kesrick Williams, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Hayden Walsh Jr.

Pitch and conditions

“They are still doing a lot of rolling on it but I do not think twice about a Wankhede wicket, for every game it has been a brilliant wicket and brilliant matches,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said of the pitch. In all likelihood, Mumbai is likely to roll out another belter. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the match.

Stats and trivia

• Legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal needs one wicket to surpass R Ashwin as India’s top wicket-taker in T20Is
• Pollard is the third-highest run-getter in T20s this year, with 1136 runs in 57 innings at an average of 35.15 and strike-rate of 147.95. He needs 55 runs to surpass his current Trinbago Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum as the second-highest scorer overall in T20 cricket. Chris Gayle (who else?) is on top of the pile with 13152 T20 runs.

Quotes

“Pollard has played a lot at this venue, the others have not played that much. I think the experience which they have got from here is invaluable and especially the captain [Pollard], as he has been here [with Mumbai Indians] for 10 years.”
“They [West Indies] are very unpredictable as a team, you never know what they can come up with on that given day, like we saw the other day. Even the first game, they played very well and it was Virat Kohli’s brilliance that got us over.”