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Nottinghamshire’s recent signings made a good impression, but Yorkshire’s seamers found late inroads

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge04-Sep-20181:56

Burns piles on the runs after England snub

ScorecardIf Ben Slater’s motivation for leaving Derbyshire for Trent Bridge was to improve his conversion rate for fifties into hundreds then so far it has been 100 percent successful. The busy left-hander completed 25 half-centuries in a little over five seasons at the County Ground but turned only three into centuries, the last one more than two years ago; on his home debut for Nottinghamshire, he achieved his objective at the first attempt.Slater and the West Indian Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 71 on what is his home debut also, put on 182 for the first wicket, comfortably the most productive partnership of Nottinghamshire’s season, although Yorkshire mounted something of a fightback late in the day.

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Ben Duckett, coming in at No. 4 rather than his familiar position at the top of the order, marked his first appearance since his move from Northamptonshire with a bright 80 from 89 balls, but four wickets claimed for 39 runs redressed the balance a little for Yorkshire in may yet be a crucial fixture in the final equation at the bottom of the Division One table.The first half of the day, though, belonged squarely to Nottinghamshire, and Slater especially. Apart from one major aberration when he had made only 6, his hundred was a fine one, with boundaries flowing freely as his confidence grew. He worked the ball well off his legs in particular, although some of Yorkshire’s bowling made boundaries a little too easily had at times.There might have been some nerves as he moved into the 90s, but then Josh Poysden, the legspinner, obligingly lobbed him a rank full toss on 99. He pulled it gleefully between mid-on and mid-wicket for four – his 18th – and raised both arms in the air, the home spectators responding by rising to their feet all round the ground.Leaving Derbyshire has meant passing up the chance to work again with Dave Houghton, who was batting coach at the County Ground as Slater was breaking into the senior side.  Then again, Peter Moores is not a bad substitute.  If there is another level Slater has yet to reach, the former England coach will steer him towards it.Nottinghamshire’s 182 without loss before the first wicket fell was clearly not a score Yorkshire expected to be staring at bleakly on the first afternoon after assessing a thick layer of cloud cover and deciding to bowl. Not too much grass had been left on the pitch but it seemed like a good decision when the first few overs turned into a series of plays and misses by the opening pair.There seemed to be movement through the air and off the pitch but luck eluded Jack Brooks and Tim Bresnan.  Brooks in particular came up with some testing deliveries and it was he who suffered the exasperation of seeing Slater dropped off a miscued pull.  Matt Waite, at square leg, seemed to pick the ball up late and it was on him before he was set, a good chance gone begging.Matthew Waite celebrates•Getty Images

Waite, a pretty sharp 22-year-old right-arm bowler making only his third first-class appearance, made some amends for his error later by claiming three wickets in the space of 20 deliveries, Slater’s being the last of them when he was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall.He had paid a heavy price, nonetheless, although one that was hard to envisage after an hour, with Nottinghamshire 21 without loss and Slater and partner Brathwaite obliged to take a cautious approach.The mood changed rather abruptly after Waite, who had bowled well after coming on first change for Brooks, undid five pretty tight overs with a wayward sixth, from which Brathwaite took four boundaries. That was followed by a fairly awful one from Mathew Pillans, making his Yorkshire debut after his move from Surrey, who never found a consistent rhythm all day. Suddenly 30 runs had been added in just two overs and with it the balance tilted to Nottinghamshire.After Waite’s mid-afternoon burst, though, it began to shift back towards  Yorkshire, more so after they were able to claim the second new ball, when Brooks took out Steven Mullaney’s off stump before Bresnan had Duckett caught behind flashing outside off stump and Tom Moores taken at cover in consecutive overs.Yorkshire, next to bottom of the table after last week’s heavy defeat to Somerset, will draw some encouragement – and they need it in what are tough times. The team picked here showed six changes, although three were down to injuries – the bane of their season – and another due to Kane Williamson’s return to New Zealand. Jack Leaning, though, is dropped.Nottinghamshire have made three changes. Luke Fletcher has a niggle and Billy Root steps aside for Mullaney’s return. The more surprising omission is Riki Wessels, left out to accommodate Duckett, although it will presumably have been a close call between him, Samit Patel and Jake Libby, whose stats have been broadly similar.

When the match was called off because of bad light, they needed four off the last over with just one wicket in hand. This, after slow over rates from both sides had dragged the match to 6pm

Deivarayan Muthu02-Oct-2018The 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy game between Bengal and Jharkhand ended in controversial fashion amid fading light at the TI-Cycles Ground in Chennai, with Jharkhand declared as the winning team via VJD method, with one over left in their chase. This, after slow over rates from both sides had dragged the match to 6pm after it had started at 9am.After Jharkhand opted to bowl, they took four hours and 18 minutes to bowl their 50 overs. The 45-minute lunch break was subsequently reduced to 30 minutes and the chase began at 1.48pm when it was supposed to start at 1.15pm.Bengal’s over rate was slow as well and the light had faded to such an extent that the on-field umpires Sai Darshan Kumar and Rajesh Timaney, and match referee Sanjay Sharma called off the game at 6pm, when Jharkhand needed four off the last over with just one wicket in hand in pursuit of 268. Ultimately, Jharkhand were declared as the winning side by two runs via VJD method.”If they had waited that long till 6, then it was just one over [to be bowled],” Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule told ESPNcricinfo. “The board has to look into certain rules and it is in the discretion of the umpires to see if the compulsory 30-minute break could have been reduced. Jharkhand bowled 45 minutes overtime and that has to be considered. If that one over could have been played, we could have got a proper result – whether they win or we win.”Certain rules are debatable. Also, Anand Singh (the Jharkhand opener who made 118) was cramping and we gave him the time he needed. He went out [retired hurt] and then came in – it [such breaks] were happening.”Jharkhand’s Shahbaz Nadeem, who had been dismissed for a duck in the 37th over, said the light was too poor to continue playing and finish the last over. No. 10 Varun Aaron, who was unbeaten on 4 from 14 balls, agreed with Nadeem and said: “It was too dark and I could hardly see the ball.””The light was too bad to keep playing and it was so bad that spinners also could not be bowled,” Nadeem said. “Actually, the umpires took a reading on the light meter at the 46th over and told them only spinners could bowl. We pushed on for three more overs, but then the light had dropped further and it was called off in the end.”Nadeem put down Jharkhand’s slow over rate to the oppressive heat in Chennai and ball changes in the first innings.”The over rate was slow because it was very hot in Chennai and too many people suffered from cramps. Anand, in particular, in the second innings had cramps and in the first innings the ball was lost a couple of times and it had to be changed. So, that took some time. The players were trying to make up with the over rate but it was very hot and we could not in the end.”Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan were both fined, with Bengal particularly smarting, having been stuck in the mid-table muddle in Group C with 12 points in six matches. Jharkhand are currently sitting pretty at the top with 22 points in six games.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra, Hyderabad and Bihar had already qualified

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2018Haryana and Jharkhand grabbed the final two quarter-final spots in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Tuesday. Four teams from group C were in contention for two remaining spots, but Haryana’s victory over Tamil Nadu and Services’ loss to Rajasthan render the last three matches redundant and mean that Haryana and Jharkhand would progress to the quarter-finals. What remains to be seen is which one of them tops their group. Both teams are tied on 28 points and Haryana have the better net run rate, while Jharkhand still have a match in hand.Tamil Nadu, on 20 points, needed to beat Haryana by a big margin and other results to go their way to remain in the race, but a 77-run loss eliminated them. That result also made the equation clear for Services, who then needed to win both their matches – against Rajasthan and Jharkhand – to qualify. But they suffered a seven-wicket loss to Rajasthan, leaving them on 22 points and leading to their exit, albeit with a match in hand. Even if they beat Jharkhand in their final encounter, they will reach 26 points, which won’t be enough against the 28 of Jharkhand and Haryana.From the 18 teams that were jostling for five spots from Elite groups A and B, Mumbai led the way, followed by Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra and Hyderabad. Except Mumbai, who were already through with 28 points, and Hyderabad, who had played all their matches, accumulating 22 points, and had their fate hinging on other results, the other three teams went into the last day with 22 points each.Among them Delhi had the best net run rate, which meant that even if they lost to Chhattisgarh in their final encounter, they were likely to pip Hyderabad and Maharashtra – had the latter lost the virtual shootout to Baroda who would have then moved to 24 points, leaving Hyderabad and themselves tied on 22.But both Delhi and Maharashtra won, ensuring not only their but also Hyderabad’s entry into the quarter-finals. Hyderabad’s qualification was also helped by the abandonment of two Punjab matches. Punjab, who were unfortunate to finish with 20 points as a result, looked set to win at least one of them against Goa where they had posted 359 before rain washed the possibility away. Andhra, too, beat Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets to finish on 26 points and qualify.In the plate group, Bihar and Uttarakhand were the dominant teams. Both won seven of their eight matches, but eventually Bihar’s five-wicket win over Uttarakhand earlier in the tournament proved decisive, as they, with the help of a washout, finished with 30 points, two more than Uttarakhand’s 28.

Test team remains far from the finished article, in spite of ‘great result’, says head coach

Andrew Miller26-Nov-2018Trevor Bayliss has warned that it is too soon to say whether Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings can be considered England’s answers to their long-term problem at the top of the Test batting order, in spite of the key contributions they made to a memorable 3-0 series whitewash against Sri Lanka.Speaking in the aftermath of England’s 42-run win on the final day in Colombo, Bayliss admitted that the Test team remains far from the finished article, in spite of what he described as a “great result” in achieving the team’s first overseas clean sweep since 1963.And, despite praising his players for the manner in which they bought into the positive strategy that, as a former Sri Lanka coach, he felt was required for success on their spin-dominant pitches, he insisted that “statistics will tell the story” as to whether Jennings and Burns can forge long-term futures in the side.Of the two, Jennings produced the most memorable performances, compiling a match-defining century in the first Test at Galle while excelling himself under the helmet at short leg with a succession of world-class interventions in all three games. However, he also came into the series under the greater scrutiny, having averaged just 18.11 in five Tests against India last summer.Burns, meanwhile, made a key pair of contributions to the second Test at Kandy, including a maiden Test half-century in the second innings in which he shelved his natural game to give England a brisk start in overturning a first-innings deficit. But he still finished the series with a middling return of 155 runs at 25.83 in the three matches.”I probably don’t think so,” Bayliss told Sky Sports when asked if the pair had done enough to cement their places in the longer term. “Obviously statistics will tell a story there, they are still both fairly young in the Test game, and have shown some good character in the way they’ve gone about it. It’s been exceptional at times, but in the end, for every one of the 11, runs and wickets count.”On the subject of England’s overall strategy – one which clearly paid dividends in the course of the series – Bayliss admitted that there had been times, not least in the first innings at Galle, when they had veered on the side of reckless, but reiterated his belief that positivity and aggression were the way to go in conditions he knew well from his four-year stint with the Sri Lanka team from 2007 to 2011.”In the past, teams have come here and decided to bunker down, wait for the bad ball and bat for a long time,” Bayliss said. “But quite simply, with the spin over here, eventually there’s going to be a ball with your name on it, so we decided to take the attack to them. Don’t let them dictate to us, we wanted to dictate to them. We thought it was the way to go, and certainly panned out that way in the first two games.””We said after that first day in Galle [when England went to lunch on 113 for 5], that first session we were a bit frenetic. There’s a fine line between being busy and looking to score, being mentally positive, and going over the top and trying to hit good balls for runs. You still have to defend well and hit the bad ball for four. With that mental approach, if you are in the right frame of mind, your feet move well and you make good decisions.”Bayliss did, however, concede that the demands of England’s fast-paced strategy had put particular pressure on Jennings, Burns and Ben Foakes, the eventual Man of the Series, but a player who – by his own admission at Galle – is more comfortable with grinding his runs than blazing them in the manner of his more expansive batting colleagues.”Foakes, Jennings and Burns are three guys who probably haven’t got as many shots as the other boys,” said Bayliss. “But they went about their game in a positive manner as well, they were able to rotate the strike and put pressure on the opposition by playing their game, and when they got a bad ball, they put it away for four.”In spite of his own success, Foakes in particular will be under pressure going into the West Indies tour, and ultimately the 2019 Ashes, from his rival for the wicketkeeper’s role, Jonny Bairstow, who made it clear after his comeback century at Galle that he would not be satisfied at playing as a specialist batsman.Asked if that burgeoning rivalry was one to keep an eye on, Bayliss said: “The short answer is yes, we don’t want to put any undue pressure on other people. But it does keep the guys in the team on their toes and, in the long run for England, that’s a good thing when you’ve got competition for places and depth to select from. Even Jos Buttler wants to keep, but the way Foakesy has gone in this series, he’ll definitely be in for the next one.”Since I’ve been here, every time there’s been a challenge thrown to Jonny, he’s been able to come out and score some runs,” Bayliss added. “The trick for us is to try to come up with a challenge for him every time he comes out to bat. He’s got the goods, and the challenge for him will be at home on seaming wickets, but he’s got the talent to master that as well.”In keeping with his reserved judgment on England’s overall series performance, Bayliss also mixed praise for his captain, Joe Root, with mild criticism of his personal contribution of 229 runs at 38.16, as he challenged the side to get better and better in all departments.”He’s probably disappointed with the amount of runs he’s scored, even though he’s scored a great hundred up in Kandy,” said Bayliss. ” I think more so from a captaincy point of view, he’s really been in charge, you can tell in the changing room he’s in charge, and some of his decisions out in the field have been pretty good. I still feel there’s a lot of improvement in these guys yet, which is an exciting thing for England cricket.”

Sri Lanka will take heart from their batting in the first match, but they need wholesale changes if they hope to be contenders at the World Cup

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Jan-2019

Big Picture

The first ODI was the kind of match from which both teams may feel they have emerged with credit. New Zealand because it was a comfortable victory in the end, and because Martin Guptill and James Neesham – players who had been out for nine and 18 months respectively – rode fearsomely back into ODI form. Sri Lanka because chasing 372, they were not completely annihilated, with bat in hand at least.And yet, it was a game from which Sri Lanka learned very little about themselves, and in which familiar weaknesses were again readily apparent. The visitors lacked wicket-taking capability through the middle overs, and their batting order failed to fire as a unit.Take the comparison with New Zealand. While through their middle overs, Guptill struck up a 163-run stand with Kane Williamson, then an 88-run stand with Ross Taylor – Sri Lanka’s two spinners unable to claim a wicket between them – the legspin of Ish Sodhi and the seam bowling of Neesham accounted for five wickets between overs 17 and 41. And although Sri Lanka had had the better start, their middle order failed abysmally – four batsmen not only failing to reach 20, but striking at less than 100 as well.That the teams only have 48 hours to recover and regroup might suit New Zealand just fine. There may have been one or two minor worries for them from Thursday – Matt Henry’s figures of 1 for 87 among them. But these are fine-tuning issues. Sri Lanka still have wholesale changes to make before they can even hope to be contenders at the World Cup in June.

Form guide

New Zealand WLWLW (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri LankaLWLLL

In the spotlight

Kusal Perera was never expected to be a reliable run-machine, but it was hoped he would eventually learn the difference between good hitting and good batting, which would in turn see him make substantial scores more consistently. On Thursday, Perera batted as well as he ever has in ODIs, consistently taking good options, and sensing when to knock the ball around for a couple of overs, rather than throwing his powerful arms at everything that fell in his hitting arc. One innings isn’t enough to suggest he is now a mature player, but there were glimpses in that innings of the type of batsman Sri Lanka want him to become.Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme… even Mitchell Santner – James Neesham has a lot of competition for that allrounder’s position, and before this series, he was well back in the queue. So he produced a performance that could not have possibly commanded more attention. During his 47 not out off 13, he rattled an opposition death bowler who had been good until then (Thisara Perera had 2 for 46 from nine overs before Neesham clobbered him for 34 in his final over). Then with the ball, Neesham made breakthroughs at a crucial stage of the innings to pick up stellar figures of 3 for 38. Another couple of all-round displays such as this, and he might just have a shot of playing himself into New Zealand’s best XI.

Team news

Given Matt Henry’s troubles, New Zealand may opt to give Doug Bracewell a run in the second game. They are unlikely to make too many changes while the series is still live.New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tim Seifert (wk), 7 James Neesham, 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Lockie FergusonSri Lanka may toy with dropping Asela Gunaratne for Dasun Shanaka, who had produced a few good innings in the recent series against South Africa an England. They may reflect that they need another specialist bowler as well.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Lakshan Sandakan, 9 Lasith Malinga (capt) 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

A slower track is expected for Saturday’s match, which means that although it should still have plenty of runs, it may not be as high-scoring a game as the first ODI. The weather is expected to be good, with temperatures hovering around the mid 20s in the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have now lost their last seven live ODIs. Their three most-recent wins all came in dead rubbers, in matches in which the opposition fielded a weakened XI.

• James Neesham’s strike rate on Thursday was 361.53 – the second highest for any ODI innings worth 25 runs or more. The highest strike rate was recorded by James Franklin, who hit 31 not out off 8 balls against Canada in the 2011 World Cup.
• Although Thisara Perera conceded the third-equal most expensive over in ODI history, he has actually been the benefactor of the second-most expensive over, when he struck Robin Peterson for five sixes and a four in Pallekele in 2013 (Peterson also bowled a wide, which meant 35 runs came from the over).
  

Farhad Reza does the star turn with the ball against Khulna with his maiden T20 four-for

The Report by Mohammad Isam22-Jan-2019How the game played outRangpur Riders picked up the pace in their Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) campaign with a six-wicket win over Khulna Titans. Chasing 182 for victory, Rangpur had Alex Hales giving them a sound start with a quick 55, while his opening partner Chris Gayle ensured there was no wobble during the middle overs.Rilee Rossouw’s six over midwicket off Yasir Shah with three balls remaining completed Rangpur’s win.Najmul Hossain Shanto had earlier held the Khulna innings together with 48 off 35 balls, with three sixes, before David Wiese hammered an unbeaten 15-ball 35 towards the close. Farhad Reza, playing his 88th T20 game, finished with his first four-wicket haul in the format.

Turning points

• David Wiese smashed two sixes and three fours in the last two overs in which Khulna got 30 runs, lifting them from a modest 151 for 5 to 181 for 6.
• Hales and Gayle added 78 runs in 7.4 overs for the first wicket, giving Rangpur the perfect start in a steep chase.
• Khulna were still in the contest after 16 overs with Rangpur needing a further 42 runs, but Gayle settled his team’s nerves with three sixes in the 17th over.

Star of the day It was only a matter of time before Gayle got going in the tournament, and he chose a good time to shoulder the responsibility. He took a backseat as Hales and AB de Villiers swung it around, and only brought out his own big-hitting when things got tight.The big missWith six runs required off the last over, Mohammad Mithun went down the track to Yasir Shah but missed the delivery to put Rangpur in some bother. However, Rossouw got them across the line.Where the teams stand Rangpur moved up to third place after their fourth win in eight games; Khulna haven’t added to their solitary win in the competition.

West Indies on the back foot for a rare moment this series

The Report by Valkerie Baynes11-Feb-2019
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIf spectators at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium thought they could hear the refrain, “if only” emanating from England’s dressing-room, they may not have been mistaken.If only this match was not a dead rubber, a commanding day with the bat might count for much more than the tourists’ pride. If only Joe Root’s century had come in Barbados or Antigua, West Indies might not hold an unassailable 2-0 series lead. If only Joe Denly had converted his maiden half-century into a ton, he might have gone a long way towards locking down an Ashes berth after playing just two Tests.But, with England holding a 448-run lead to put themselves on track for a consolation win and with Root playing himself into form in his final innings of an otherwise lean series, incremental gains were the order of the third day in St Lucia.Root found his touch to reach 111 not out after his scores of 4 and 22 in Barbados (which saw his average drop below 50 for the first time since 2014) were followed by knocks of 7, 7, and 15. He gritted his teeth through a difficult period against the new ball late the day and was richly rewarded, closing his eyes and punching the air after he brought up his 16th Test hundred with a four thumped down the ground off Alzarri Joseph.He put on a century stand with Jos Buttler, who scored back-to-back fifties for the match, racking up a second-innings 56 off 115 balls before he was bowled by a pearler from Kemar Roach that went straight through the batsman, who couldn’t help but offer a look of admiration.Denly, playing just his fourth Test innings, capitalised after being dropped by Shimron Hetmyer at third slip off the bowling of a livid Shannon Gabriel when he was on 12 to deliver an otherwise composed 69 – until his dismissal midway through the second session.Had Denly managed a ton in England’s penultimate Test before hosting Australia from August 1, he would have well and truly staked his claim for an Ashes berth. But his dismissal, caught behind off a bottom edge by Shane Dowrich while attempting to cut was welcome reward for a hard-working Gabriel and left England’s summer selections as uncertain as ever ahead of the remaining one-off, four-day match against Ireland in July with four months worth of County Championship matches between now and then.That said, Denly looked fluent in his more familiar position at No.3, having opened on debut in Antigua in place of Keaton Jennings, who failed to make the most of his recall in this Test.Having resumed after lunch on 45, Denly brought up his 50 with a four, the 11th of his innings, before he was out three balls later.Joseph snared the wicket of under-pressure Jennings with a ball that was missing everything before it jagged the thigh pad and curled behind the batsman onto leg stump. Jennings grinned ruefully after the freak end to his innings. With scores of 17, 14, 8 and 23 in this series, having been dropped in favour of Denly for the second Test, he perhaps realised that his time as an England Test batsman could be over.West Indies played out their own “if only” dialogue after a bright start when Keemo Paul had Rory Burns (10) out to a regulation catch at square leg by Joseph on the first ball of the day to put England at 19 for 1.If only Paul had not suffered a quadriceps injury chasing a Denly cover drive that had him prostrate on the grass just outside the boundary rope in agony, they would not have had to toil with a handy bowler down.Paul – who had come into the side to replace suspended captain Jason Holder and claimed two wickets in England’s first innings, including that of Jennings with his first ball of the match – ended up having to be stretchered away and taken to hospital for scans.For the rest of the day he remained off the field, where West Indies were already missing Darren Bravo, also sent for scans, on a finger he injured earlier in the match.Despite appearing to be in some discomfort with a hamstring problem in the morning session, Gabriel soldiered on to resume his verbal battle with Ben Stokes, who came to the crease late in the day and seemed to enjoy picking up the banter which started in the second Test.Stokes shared an unbroken 71-run partnership with Root to be 29 not out at stumps.

The Mumbai captain had carried niggles even during the league phase of the tournament

Nagraj Gollapudi06-Mar-2019Mumbai’s preparations for the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy have suffered a jolt with their captain Ajinkya Rahane declared unfit.Ajit Agarkar, Mumbai’s chairman of selectors, said Rahane had “pushed through” the group stage but he needed rest to recover.In the league stage, Mumbai topped the Group C table, winning five out of six matches, but Rahane made just 58 runs at an average of 9.67. Agarkar felt Rahane’s experience would have been the key during the Super League stage.”He was carrying niggles even during the league phase, which he kind of pushed through when we were in a bit of trouble. But he would not be 100% (for Super League),” Agarkar said.Suresh Raina is set to be another notable absentee from the Super League phase of the tournament. The Uttar Pradesh batsman wasn’t at his best before being ruled out, aggregating 80 runs in six matches, with just one fifty and four single digit scores.Closely watching Rahane and Raina’s recovery will be their IPL franchises Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, where Rahane is the captain and Raina the most prolific run-getter. The IPL will start on March 23 with the Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore. Royals will start their campaign in Jaipur against Kings XI Punjab on March 25.

Rohit had batted mostly at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 last season for a combined 12 innings out of 14 and managed only 286 runs in all, his poorest tally in an IPL season

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai19-Mar-20197:26

‘Team composition allows me to bat at the top’ – Rohit

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is going to open in all their games in the coming IPL. Speaking at the team’s pre-season media interaction, Rohit said that this move was partially because he opens for India and the World Cup follows immediately after the IPL.”I have in the past batted in the middle order and I’ve opened also in a few games so wherever the team requires me to bat I have to bat to get the right balance,” Rohit said.”But this year, I will open the batting for all the games, that is for sure. That (World Cup) is one of the factors but also keeping in mind that this is where I bat, that is my position when I play for India and that is where I have got a lot of success off late. The team does understand that, and as a team also the composition of the players we have right now, we’ve got some experience in the middle order so that allows me to go and bat at the top of the order. This season I’ll try and do that – open in every game possible.”Rohit had batted mostly at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 last season for a combined 12 innings out of 14 and managed only 286 runs in all, his poorest tally in an IPL season. His best knock in IPL 2018 – 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore – came when he batted at No. 4 but he had effectively opened that day because Mumbai were 0 for 2 after the first two balls of the match.It is well established that Rohit is a relatively slow starter and that once he faces 30-odd balls, he shoots up his strike-rate with seemingly effortless strokes to script match-winning knocks.Apart from Rohit’s poor form last season, Mumbai’s failure to make the playoffs was also a result of their inability to close out tight finishes, as six of their eight losses came in the last over. One reason was their top names not performing when it mattered, and this time they have also added the experienced names of Lasith Malinga, who returns from the support staff to the playing squad, and 37-year-old Yuvraj Singh, who has had unimpressive runs in the last few IPL seasons. Zaheer Khan, Mumbai’s director of cricket operations, said having Malinga back on the field could make a “huge difference” in “decision-making” and “pressure situations”.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“The kind of experience he (Malinga) brings to the table is immense not only with his bowling, but also in the game situation,” Zaheer said. “It’s a relief for Rohit also and for the other bowlers who trust the experience and the valuable advice he brings. Because as a coaching staff you can plan things but when the game is happening and you’re in a real-time situation and someone is pro-active, it makes a huge difference in terms of decision-making.”What is going to be crucial for us this season is to have emphasis on decision-making which decides the outcomes of matches in the pressure scenarios.”Malinga was Mumbai’s bowling mentor last season and then went on to make an impressive international return, particularly as Sri Lanka’s captain in ODIs and T20Is, which could help Rohit on the field.About Yuvraj, his former India team-mate, Zaheer said: “Bringing in Yuvraj in the squad has been a boost because of the match-winning ability he has. In our discussions leading up to the auctions, we had identified that we need experienced batsmen who can control the game in the middle. Since Rohit has decided to open, we need that experience in the middle order and who’s better than someone like Yuvraj Singh.”Kieron Pollard is another 30-plus player in the squad whose place Rohit and Zaheer were asked about especially because Pollard didn’t bowl at all in the IPL last year and managed only 133 runs in eight innings. His only fifty – off 23 balls against Kings XI Punjab – came a bit too late in the season in which he played nine of Mumbai’s 14 matches. Zaheer, however, insisted that Mumbai were keeping their “faith” in Pollard.”He (Pollard) has been playing a very influential role as far as MI’s success is concerned,” Zaheer said. “Anyone who understands the game knows how difficult that position of batting is where people have been identifying and searching for players who can contribute with that kind of power at that scenario which can change the game. A 20-run difference is also huge in this format. So keeping that value and the faith in mind, which we’ve shown in Pollard, is going to be reciprocated for sure. It’s something that as an individual also he recognises that how critical his role is going to be this IPL and we’re just looking forward to him also providing that impact this season because we have faith in him.”He’s been in good form recently, in the recently-participated tournament (PSL) by him, he has been in form.”With Rohit and Zaheer backing so many experienced players in the T20 format, there could be one concern though. Are they losing their own identity and trying to follow the unorthodox template defending champions Chennai Super Kings followed last year?Two of Super Kings’ top three scorers last season – Shane Watson and MS Dhoni – were over 35 and the third, Rayudu, was 32. Their second-highest wicket-taker, Dwayne Bravo, turned 35 a few months after they lifted the title. If Mumbai do decide to use all their 35-plus players consistently, they’ll have to do it shrewdly.

With his 27-ball 52 in the final, Mosaddek made a strong case for the No. 7 position in Bangladesh’s World Cup opener on June 2

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2019Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain decided that they had to attack when West Indies’ Fabian Allen came on to deliver the 22nd over, in the final of tri-nation series on Friday. Bangladesh were chasing a revised target of 210 in 24 overs in a rain-curtailed match, and when they needed 27 to win from 18 balls, they saw Allen come back into the attack.Mosaddek had already struck two sixes and a four by then during his 26 off 18, and Mahmudullah, the designated big hitter for Bangladesh, was on 15 off 16 balls. With a title on the line and having not won one in international cricket, the pair knew Allen’s left-arm spin – largely bereft of variations – was their chance to push West Indies back.ALSO READ: Mosaddek’s 20-ball fifty seals historic win for BangladeshMosaddek hammered three sixes and a four on the first four balls of the over that cost West Indies 25 runs and the match was all but over, with Mosaddek finishing on a 27-ball 52. After the match, Mosaddek said that they knew there were batsmen capable of hitting sixes waiting in the dressing room but since they were the last remaining specialist batsmen, it was their responsibility to take Bangladesh home.”With 27 needed from the last three overs, we targeted that [Allen] over,” Mosaddek said. “We wanted to keep ourselves ahead by using this over. [Mohammad] Saifuddin, [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz and Mashrafe [Mortaza] were there after me. Mashrafe can play the big shots. Our plan was to bat till the end. I think everyone understood that we had done the job after that over. It was the turning point.”A turning point it could also be for Bangladesh and Mosaddek himself. With a World Cup coming up, and hosts England having already set a benchmark for big scores, Bangladesh seemed to have been lagging behind on that front, despite winning quite regularly since 2015. Their lack of a big-hitter down the order has often made the difference between a 320-plus score, and a middling 280.With Soumya Sarkar giving them good starts – he scored three consecutive fifties – in this tri-series, and now Mosaddek also revealing himself as a lower-order hitter, it potentially adds a missing piece to Bangladesh’s puzzle.Before Friday, Mosaddek had made only one ODI fifty in 21 innings, but with his quickfire half-century in the final, he made a strong case for the No. 7 position when Bangladesh take on South Africa in their World Cup opener on June 2. He has never had a reputation for six-hitting, but has been regarded as one for the future since his breakout season in the Dhaka Premier League six years ago.”I had to play positive cricket in that tough situation. I tried to play to the merit of the ball,” Mosaddek said of his willingness to bat with similar aggression in the future. “I think we will be playing on better wickets in England. I will try to play these knocks from down the order, which would be helpful to win games.”Mosaddek added that during the 10-minute innings break, the senior players told the rest of the team that if they simply bore in mind their confidence from the previous three matches, they had a good chance of chasing down the target.”After we returned from fielding, Mashrafe and the rest said that we have the batting ability, as we have shown in the tri-series, we would be able to chase down this target if we bat till the end.”Mosaddek signed off underscoring that winning their first title was important but the four wins in a row will play a bigger part in their preparation for the World Cup. “It is pleasing to win a final, especially against a good opponent. It is a big thing for us with the World Cup’s preparations in mind,” Mosaddek said.