Jos Buttler’s stunning century and a composed all-round effort with the ball helped England clinch the ODI series with two matches to play

The Report by Melinda Farrell21-Jan-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJos Buttler’s stunning century and a composed all-round effort with the ball helped England clinch the ODI series with two matches to play. Although Marcus Stoinis kept Australia in the hunt until the final over, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes closed the game out with another smart display of death bowling.England had been struggling on 6 for 189 when Buttler and Woakes came together but they put on an unbroken 113-run stand to take the total beyond 300. Buttler reached his fifth one-day hundred from the last ball of the innings as England made far more than had looked likely. He then took a contentious catch to dismiss Steven Smith at a key point in the chase as England held on to go 3-0 up.Buttler started steadily but dismantled Australia’s pace attack in the final overs, at one point effortlessly heaving back-to-back sixes off Pat Cummins before following up with consecutive boundaries later in the over. Such was the Midas nature of his touch that even when he dug out a Mitchell Starc yorker it yielded four runs.Buttler, on 97, was almost denied a century when umpire Chris Gaffaney raised his finger for an lbw shout from Starc but the replay left no doubt the ball had ricocheted off the bat before hitting the pad. In an eventful final over, Woakes brought up his half-century with a pull for six before Buttler reached his century with a hard run two off the final delivery of the innings.

Australia hit by over-rate fine

Australia have been fined for a slow over-rate after being ruled two overs behind at the SCG. It leaves captain Steven Smith one repeat offence away from a suspension.
Smith has been fined 40% of his match fee, while his players have received 20% fines.
Australia took 27 minutes more than allocated to bowl their 50 overs as England made 302 for 6, but were not judged to be as far behind as may have been feared after the umpires took time allowances into account.

Set 303 for victory, Australia were stifled by an England bowling attack that rallied after Liam Plunkett was struck down with an injury.Plunkett left the field with a hamstring problem that caused him to pull up just before his delivery stride in the 12th over of Australia’s innings. His departure from the field in his second over left England’s attack a bowler short and forced Eoin Morgan to turn to Joe Root’s part-time spin to make up the overs.But Australia’s chase had stuttered early on with the loss of David Warner, out chipping Woakes to extra cover, and Cameron White, who feathered a Wood delivery to Buttler.That left the responsibility of steering the initial chase to Aaron Finch, who top-scored for Australia with 62 off 53 balls but was unable to reach his third century of the series. Finch pre-meditated a sweep shot to an Adil Rashid delivery that deceived with its extra pace and rapped the pads and after his departure the run rate required gradually increased.As was the case with England earlier, the Australian batsmen made starts but found it difficult to convert those to big totals or to score quickly on a slowish pitch. Stoinis attempted to lift the run-rate in the latter stage of the innings with a brisk half-century but he fell heaving Woakes to deep square leg in the final over.The match wasn’t without controversial moments, particularly when Wood claimed the coveted wicket of Smith. Smith edged the ball low and to the right of Buttler, who took a one-handed grab. But the decision was sent to the third umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, to judge whether or not the catch was taken cleanly. After a lengthy period examining the replays, Dharmasena was unable to find conclusive evidence to overturn the soft signal of out and the on-field decision was upheld. Smith, clearly unhappy with the decision, walked back to the pavilion amid a loud chorus of booing from the crowd.During the match, television footage was also widely shared on social media that showed Smith shining the ball after touching his lips but the umpires did not appear to have any issue with the condition of the ball. After the match Smith said he was not wearing any lip balm.England had won the first two matches chasing down Australia’s totals and perhaps that was on Smith’s mind when he elected to bowl after winning the toss.First-choice quicks Cummins and Josh Hazlewood returned in place of Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye and, despite toiling on a slowish pitch and bowling several wide deliveries early on, their impact was evident in the opening stages of the innings.England finished the first ten overs with 47 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets, by far their worst Powerplay figures of the series – they were 2 for 87 and 1 for 60 at the same point in the first and second ODIs, respectively. After losing early wickets, Jonny Bairstow and Root batted for more than ten overs without scoring a boundary as Australia’s fast bowlers applied consistent pressure.Cummins’ first over was a maiden that pinned Jason Roy to the crease and in his next over Cummins got his reward when Roy slashed a full delivery outside off stump to Finch at extra cover. Alex Hales’ time in the middle was brief and ended with a similarly soft dismissal, a mistimed drive off Stoinis lobbed directly to Adam Zampa at mid-on.Australia had gone into the second ODI in Brisbane without a specialist spinner and, while a growing number of commentators and former players have questioned the absence of Nathan Lyon in the 50-over format, Zampa returned to the team in place of Travis Head and claimed the wicket of Bairstow with a well-executed googly.Apart from Hales, England’s top order made starts but Australia’s bowlers were patient and struck regularly just as the batsmen seemed set. Root, who was presented with his 100th ODI cap by England and South Sydney rugby league player Sam Burgess, played on against Hazlewood for 29, while Morgan departed for 41, edging the same bowler behind just as he had started to accelerate the run rate.Morgan was given a life on 19 when he was dropped by Smith, who put down a difficult chance while diving to his left at midwicket. But the dubious honour of the biggest howler of the innings went to White, who watched a skied ball from Moeen Ali off Mitchell Marsh drop between his hands and chest. Moeen had been dropped in a strikingly similar fashion by Hazlewood at the SCG during the fifth Ashes Test but, as in that match and throughout a disappointing tour, he was unable to capitalise and was out dragging a Marsh delivery on to his stumps soon after.But England’s much-lauded depth in batting gave them a late surge, with Buttler and Woakes combining brilliantly as the shadows lengthened for a rollicking partnership that lifted England to a total that had seemed well out of reach.

The offspinner has been included in the Karun Nair-led Rest of India side after Jadeja was ruled out with a side strain

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2018R Ashwin has been included in the Rest of India squad for Irani Trophy as replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, who has suffered a side strain and has been advised a week’s rest. Ashwin, who was ruled out of the recently-concluded Deodhar trophy due to a ‘niggling issue’ just a day after he was named captain of India A squad, has now been declared fit to play.The Karun Nair-led squad also included his Karnataka team-mate Mayank Agarwal, who has scored over 2000 runs in the domestic season this year. Other notable selections in the squad were Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Prithvi Shaw, Haryana offspinner Jayant Yadav and fast bowlers Siddarth Kaul and Navdeep Saini.Rest of India will face Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha in Nagpur from March 14 to 18.Rest of India squad: Karun Nair (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, R Samarth, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Ankit Rajpoot, Navdeep Saini, Atit Sheth

ESPNcricinfo suggests five county players to keep an eye on

Subhankar Bhattacharya12-Apr-2018ESPNcricinfo suggests five county players to keep an eye onJoe Clarke (Worcestershire, 21)
“He could be the new Joe Root,” said Worcestershire’s head coach Kevin Sharp about Joe Clarke and considering England’s lack of Test runs they could do with another one. Clarke has got age on his side and his 920 runs last season helped Worcestershire win promotion. Could Clarke play under Root’s captaincy this summer?
Alex Davies (Lancashire, 23)
Another youngster who made waves in 2017 was Alex Davies. Lancashire’s keeper-batsman was the county’s highest run-scorer in the Championship and became the county’s first keeper to score 1000 first class runs in a season. Competition is rife for the England keeping spot, with Ben Foakes the next in line, but Davies can add himself to the shortlist with another strong season.

Jamie Porter (Essex, 24)
If Essex were to credit one player for their remarkable Division 1 triumph in 2017, it would probably be Jamie Porter. Porter and Simon Harmer shared 147 wickets, Porter a shade ahead of the offie with 75 wickets at 16.83 apiece. Porter does not bowl at express speeds – he remains within the 80mph mark – but he can move the ball both ways with surgical accuracy. England’s James Anderson will inevitably have to call it a day and, with options limited, Porter will not have abandoned hopes of Test honours.
Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire, 20)
Matthew Fisher’s career has encountered more injury speedbumps than he would like, but Yorkshire need a strong showing from this lanky pace bowler to offset absences elsewhere. His Yorkshire teammate Tim Bresnan famously predicted: “I think he is going to be an unbelievable bowler” and if he remains injury free he can begin to prove it.
Hamidullah Qadri (Derbyshire, 17)
When he made his debut for Derbyshire in June last year, Hamidullah Qadri became the first county cricketer to have been born in the 21st Century. Besides this unique accolade, Qadri also made headlines for bowling Derbyshire to victory in his very first game. The Afghanistan-born off spinner claimed 5 for 60 against Glamorgan in the second innings. More chances are bound to come as the season progresses.

Sana Mir, Nashra Sandhu, Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar returned combined figures of 15-0-41-3 as Pakistan, defending 113, restricted Sri Lanka to 75 for 8

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2018International Cricket Council

Pakistan wrapped up their first T20 series win since 2015 courtesy a constricting display from their spin quartet at the SSC. Defending 113 in the deciding third T20I, Pakistan contained Sri Lanka to 75 for 8 in their 20 overs, with Sana Mir, Nashra Sandhu, Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar returning combined figures of 15-0-41-3.Sri Lanka weren’t helped by their running between the wickets; by the middle of the tenth over they had slipped to 36 for 7, with four of their batsmen run out. They only lost one more wicket after that, but they scored at a crawl, which meant the target kept slipping further and further away. Imalka Mendis, their No. 5, remained unbeaten on 25 off 49 balls, having managed to hit only one four during her stay.Sent in to bat, Pakistan made a measured start with Sidra Ameen and Nahida Khan adding 33 for the first wicket in seven overs. Ameen added a further 30 for the third wicket with Javeria Khan, who went on to top-score with a run-a-ball 38. Javeria and Dar (16-ball 22) gave the innings what eventually proved a match-winning run-rate boost by putting on 41 in 34 balls for the fourth wicket. Dar would also finish as Pakistan’s most economical bowler, only conceding six runs in her four overs of offspin.

Former Australia legspinner Peter Sleep will be working with spinners, while Timothy McCaskill will be a consultant for the fast-bowling unit

Madushka Balasuriya 10-May-2018Sri Lanka Cricket has enlisted the services of Australian spin and fast-bowling consultants, Peter Sleep and Timothy McCaskill, ahead of their upcoming tour of the West Indies. The pair, who have been hired on a short-term basis, will join the squad at the two-week training camp which started on Wednesday in Pallekele, Kandy.”Peter Sleep, the former Australian legspinner will work with the spinners, while Cricket Victoria’s High Performance Manager Timothy McCaskill will work with the squad’s fast bowling unit,” an SLC release said.”Both were hired as short-term consultants under the recommendation of Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Sleep will work with the squad for 15 days, while McCaskill will work for 10 days.”With the pair also slotted in to conduct a workshop for 50 National High Performance and Club coaches on May 18, their appointments can be seen as Hathurusingha attempting to redress deficiencies he has identified in the national pool.Hathurusingha has long been an advocate for the effectiveness of wristspinners in shorter formats of the game, highlighted by recent call-ups for Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeevan Mendis, while the likes of Jeffrey Vandersay and Lakshan Sandakan have also been in and out of the side. Hathurusingha will likely be looking at Sleep to help improve the effectiveness and consistency of such talent.Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling contingent, while talented, has been struggling in terms of maintaining fitness. McCaskill is known for his work in remodelling the actions of bowlers following lengthy injury layoffs, most notably with Australia’s James Pattinson. With the likes of Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal at constant risk of injury, SLC will be hoping McCaskill’s expertise will help keep their frontline pacemen fit leading up to next year’s World Cup.

The Australia coach backed Glenn Maxwell to find form, although admitting that he faces some tough selection decisions before the first ODI

Andrew McGlashan10-Jun-2018Australia coach Justin Langer is confident Glenn Maxwell is close to “a very big score” despite two single-figure innings to start the tour of England which follow on from a lean IPL, but admitted he faces some tough selection decisions before the first ODI at The Oval.Maxwell made 1 and 3 in the two warm-up matches against Sussex and Middlesex, falling to spin on both occasions, but Langer called his work behind the scenes as “literally outstanding” as he aims to cement a return to the ODI set-up. Maxwell did play the final ODI against England at Perth in January – making 34 – having been left out of the original squad, and after his omission then captain Steven Smith said that Maxwell needed to train smarter. Since then there has been upheaval in Australian cricket.Smith and David Warner are serving suspensions that run till just before next year’s World Cup while Mitchell Marsh is currently nursing an ankle injury which means there is a chance for others to stake claims for long-term berths.However, early in the England tour, Maxwell has been the least convincing of Australia’s batting options that have been given a chance. Langer admitted the lack of runs was a concern but believed that he will come good.”He is [a worry] but that said I have been super impressed with Glenn Maxwell, his preparation has been literally outstanding. I would be very surprised if he doesn’t get a very big score very soon.”There’s been a lot of talk about Glenn Maxwell but I have been incredibly impressed with the way he goes about his business and even the way he has been batting in the nets. He played at Whitgift School a week ago [an inter-squad match] and he was the man of the match that day. I am sure a big one is not far away from him.”Langer also hoped that the imminent arrival of Ricky Ponting, Maxwell’s IPL coach at Delhi Daredevils, to join up with the coaching team – he arrives on Monday and will work with Australia between commentating commitments – will be a boost to him.”To have the influence of someone like Punter is gold…so if he keeps preparing well and keeps trusting his preparation it is not far until he becomes an absolute star, I think. He’s got so much talent. He’s working as hard as anyone,” Langer said.Despite Langer’s strong endorsement of Maxwell, there could yet be significance in his excitement over the potential of having Marcus Stoinis and Shaun Marsh at No. 3 and 4.Different combinations of the top order were used across the two warm-up matches and Langer hinted that Aaron Finch’s role at No. 5 against Middlesex – where he made a run-a-ball fifty – could yet be his role against England as a solution is sought for Australia’s middle-order issues. Travis Head, who took Finch’s position at the top, also scored a century. All of that could leave a choice between D’Arcy Short’s potential as an opener and Maxwell’s in the middle order.”I love the idea of Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis batting at three and four. They’re like two gladiators aren’t they, they’re big strong boys, we know they can get hundreds, we know they can bat for a long time,” he said.Michael Neser took a sharp caught-and-bowled•Getty Images

“Aaron Finch’s record opening the batting for the last five or six games for Australia, and against England, is just brilliant. It’s hard, but the way he batted [at Lord’s], one of the areas we need to get better at over at least the last year or so is in that middle order. Particularly against spin. We’re all aware of it. He’s as fast as anyone between the wickets, which is a key focus for our one-day cricket. He’s fearless. He actually changes momentum of the game. There are plenty of options and I’ll have bags under my eyes by Wednesday trying to work out the best.”Then there’s the make-up of the attack. Langer was encouraged by the experiment of going with an extra bowling option in the warm-up matches which could tip the balance towards those who offer a little extra batting ability. The uncapped Michael Neser, a late call-up to the squad to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood, is a chance for a debut after two promising warm-up outings.”I’ve always seen having that extra bowling option work well in domestic cricket, particularly if your seven and eight can bat a bit and we’ve seen that with Ashton Agar and Michael Neser, they can bat a bit. I think Jhye Richardson has got some talent as well with the bat. They’ve all made our job as selectors really hard. It’s a headache.”I’ll guarantee now I am not going to sleep for the next two nights working out what the best XI is going to be for the first game.Nathan Lyon and Alex Carey, the reserve wicketkeeper, are the only two members of the squad who weren’t given a chance in the two tour matches and Langer confirmed it was unlikely either would feature at the start of the series unless The Oval suggested a pitch that would significantly favour spin – which would give Lyon a chance of starting.

Nottinghamshire strengthened their overall advantage on the second day of their day-night pink ball Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2018Worcestershire 215 for 7 (Gurney 3-60) trail Nottinghamshire 499 for 9 dec (Wessels 75*, Moores 56) by 284 runs
ScorecardNottinghamshire strengthened their overall advantage on the second day of their day-night pink ball Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge.The home side closed their first innings on 499 for 9 declared and then made steady inroads to leave the visitors on 215 for 7. Joe Clarke top-scored with 40 and the remainder of the top order all reached double figures before falling, with Harry Gurney taking three for 60.Earlier, Riki Wessels scored an undefeated 75 for Notts, joining first day batting heroes Chris Nash, Jake Libby and Samit Patel in registering their highest score of the summer. Steve Magoffin, who bagged his three wickets within the space of five deliveries, late on the first day, ended with figures of three for 70 for the New Road side.Wessels’ runs came from 127 balls faced and contained nine boundaries. Tom Moores made a typically punchy 56 but fell when going in search of the runs needed for a fifth batting point.Resuming from their overnight score of 336 for 5, Notts showed a marked acceleration in their run-rate, with Moores hitting left-arm spinner Ben Twohig away for two huge sixes, the second of which took him to a 60-ball half century. Stuart Broad and Luke Fletcher both fell to Brett D’Oliveira during the early part of the second session, as the tempo increased further but their dismissals, as well as that of Matt Milnes, prompted the declaration.Martin Guptill made a flying start to the Worcestershire reply but then cut Gurney to point for a run-a-ball 28. Either side of the tea break Daryl Mitchell was also removed by Gurney and Tom Fell was athletically caught by ‘keeper Moores off Fletcher’s bowling.With the shadows lengthening – and the floodlights starting to have an effect – Notts then picked up the key wicket of Clarke, pinned lbw by Fletcher for 40.Two more Worcestershire batsmen scraped into the 20s but fell in quick succession; Ben Cox appeared to play down the wrong line and had his off peg snapped by Gurney and a fired-up Broad had captain D’Oliveira smartly pouched by Chris Nash at slip. Broad then put the finishing touches to a fine day for the hosts by removing Twohig to leave the Worcestershire first innings in some disarray and still 135 runs away from saving the follow-on.