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Old Trafford offers ideal preparation for Asian pitches, as England turn to World Cup defence

Andrew Miller10-Sep-2020Eoin Morgan has challenged his world-beating ODI players to adapt their dynamic brand of cricket to the slow, low pitches on which they will be defending their World Cup title in India in 2023, and believes that three matches against Australia at Emirates Old Trafford offer the perfect opportunity to start putting some new plans into action.Traditionally, the surface at Old Trafford has been among the more rapid on the English circuit, offering good carry to the quicks and sharp turn and bounce for the slow bowlers. However, the venue has already hosted six internationals in the summer’s bio-secure circumstances, the majority of them on sluggish surfaces exacerbated by the chilly Manchester weather, and Morgan was both confident on what to expect in the coming days, and grateful for what it could mean for their preparations.”It’s a huge benefit to us playing at Old Trafford,” he said. “Hopefully it will be slow and take a lot of turn. That’s very useful considering that’s both our weakest point, and it’s more than likely what we will play in India in 2023. If we had a choice of grounds to play at for the next period of time, this would be one of them.”ALSO READ: Aaron Finch seeks winning formula as Australia reset ODI recordEngland’s preparation for the 2019 World Cup was notable for their belligerent attitude to wickets that did not favour their expansive strokeplay, with Morgan himself happy to defend his batsmen even after scorelines of 20 for 6 against South Africa at Lord’s, or 8 for 5 against Australia at Adelaide – the logic being that it was better to absorb the lessons while maintaining a positive attacking mindset, rather than let doubt seep into their game-plans on the odd surface that misbehaved.With India on the horizon, however – both for 2023 and for next year’s T20 World Cup – Morgan acknowledges that England will now need to be upfront about their adaptability.”Going away from what we’re strong at will do us some good for a period of time,” he said. “It allows us to focus on things that are our weaker side, so creating another dynamic well-rounded game in that manner is important. We need to get better at playing on those types of surfaces, because over the course of the last four-and-a-half years, we had to wait either to play in Cardiff, or Old Trafford, or go away on winter tours to experience [spinning] conditions.”It is probably a bigger challenge for our seamers than our batters, because our batters have gone through this for the last couple of years,” he added. “So hopefully we’ll learn more, and upskill what we need to do to get better at playing those types of pitches.”With Morgan himself now fit again after his finger dislocation during the T20Is, and Jason Roy restored to the top of the order following his side strain, England look set to field as many as nine of the 11 men who triumphed at Lord’s in that extraordinary World Cup final 14 months ago – and as the captain himself acknowledged, success on that scale creates a pressure to perform like nothing else.”I think the expectation outside of our own group is probably higher than it’s ever been,” Morgan said. “And it should be. We’re an incredibly talented group of guys and collectively if we perform together, we’re a hard side to beat.”I’d much rather go in with a weighted level of expectation than none at all. We’ve grown into being comfortable with that expectation over the last few years, and slowly it’s crept into our minds as well, just through levels of performance.”Eoin Morgan swings down the ground•Getty Images

However, speaking on his 34th birthday – a milestone that highlights England’s onus on succession planning in the coming months – Morgan acknowledged that there had been room for “huge improvements” during their 2-1 win over Australia in the T20Is, not least in the fielding department which he described as “second-rate”, particularly during their five-wicket defeat in the final fixture.The fact that Morgan himself missed that game through injury seemed to suggest that his continued presence as England’s chief motivator and tactician is pivotal to the team’s success. However, he insisted that no-one is “irreplaceable”, and that the close-knit circumstances of England’s bio-secure summer had made it even more apparent who are the leaders within England’s dressing-room.Morgan’s obvious successors within the white-ball squad are Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes – currently absent on compassionate leave – while Moeen Ali stepped in for the final T20I last week. With Joe Root, the Test captain, also back in the ODI squad, there is no shortage of senior players for England to lean on.”Jos operates in a different manner [to me],” Morgan said. “The energy that he exudes might come across more passionate and more vocal in the field. Same with Ben. Joe is probably a bit calm and more reserved as well. So you’ve different attributes that he might see at different stages, and we had a glimpse into what it might look like with Moeen as captain and Chris Jordan as his vice-captain.”One of the huge benefits of having the same group of 17 players together for an extended period of time is that the guys go through many different experiences together,” he added. “The longer that journey, different leaders evolve. Some guys stand up at different times, and recognising when they step into the game is important because it is an area that we’ve neglected over the years.””Towards the back end of the World Cup and definitely the semi-final and final, the guys who were leaders within our group stood up both vocally and performance-based when they needed to. So, the age-old saying that you don’t really think about the captaincy until you are given it, we’re trying to get rid of that stigma and build, not just one leader to be the next captain, but a group that will support that leader as well and drives things forward.”

Fifty for No. 3 gives Sussex useful total after choosing to bat first at Radlett

ECB Reporters Network22-Aug-2020Harry Finch’s battling half-century meant Sussex just had the better of an absorbing first day in their Bob Willis Trophy encounter with hosts Middlesex at Radlett. Finch batted for more than three hours to hit 12 fours in a top score of 69 out of the visitors’ total of 293 all out.Delray Rawlins weighed in down the order with a run-a-ball 46, but Sussex’s day was marred by a back injury to opener Tom Haines, who returned late in the innings with a runner, but looked in great discomfort.For Middlesex, there were four wickets for allrounder Martin Andersson and Blake Cullen, making his debut for the county, aged 18, returned figures of 2 for 51.The morning session was a story of a missed opportunity for England hopeful Phil Salt. The opener battled through testing overs from Tim Murtagh and Miguel Cummins, surviving a scare when he lifted the former just over the head of the latter at mid-on.It was the cue for Salt to push on and he produced a gorgeous shot to loft left-arm spinner Thilan Walallawita back over his head for a straight six. Another maximum followed when he pulled a short one from Cullen over the square leg fence, but his good early work was undone when he attempted to hook Andersson’s first-ball bouncer and only succeeded in top edging it to Cullen at fine leg to depart for 42.It proved to be Middlesex’s only success pre-lunch as fellow opener Haines steered the visitors to 80 for 1 at the interval. However, Haines hadn’t added to his tally after the resumption when he propped forward to play a defensive shot against Walallawita only to suffer a back spasm. He was briefly treated on the field before heading back to the dressing-room for intensive physio.His replacement Tom Clark struck two sweet boundaries before becoming the first first-class victim for Cullen, edging a ball which left him off the pitch to a diving John Simpson behind the stumps.That brought Sussex skipper Ben Brown to the crease, another man who historically has flourished against Middlesex. He and Finch played nicely through much of the afternoon, each producing some sweet cover drives. They both survived scares, Brown almost turning a ball from Walallawita into the hands of short leg, while Finch drove loosely at Murtagh, the ball flying wide of the grasping hands of Sam Robson at slip.It was something of a surprise when Brown fell to the last ball before tea, mistiming a pull at Murtagh and spooning the ball gently into the grateful hands of Robbie White at midwicket.Finch found fluency after tea, plundering three fours from one Cummins over as he and new batsman Aaron Thomason raised the 200. However, it would all end in disappointing fashion for Finch as he fenced at a straight one from Cullen, giving Simpson the simplest of catches.Thomason meanwhile had taken 30 balls to get off the mark, but then only made 10 before Andersson pinned him lbw.Rawlins and Ollie Robinson stabilised matters again with a stand of 35 before Cummins returned to trap the latter lbw to one which looked a little high. If there was doubt about that Jack Carson was stone dead to the next delivery, but Mitchell Claydon survived a lifting hat-trick ball.Rawlins cut loose with an enormous six over the old pavilion off Walallawita and three successive fours from the returning Andersson. The young allrounder gained revenge when Rawlins holed out to Nick Gubbins on the fence, but his swashbuckling effort had edged Sussex ahead of the game once more.The limping Haines returned with a runner, but Andersson had Claydon taken at slip before Murtagh scattered Will Sheffield’s stumps to end a fascinating day.

India have named an unchanged squad for the final two Tests against South Africa, in Nagpur from November 25 and in Delhi from December 3

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2015India have named an unchanged squad for the final two Tests against South Africa, in Nagpur from November 25 and in Delhi from December 3. They lead the four-Test series 1-0 after winning in Mohali and the Bangalore Test being washed out.The selection panel met on the final day of the second Test in Bangalore, where no play was possible on the last four days, and named the same 17-man squad. Of the 17, seamers Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar, and batting-allrounder Gurkeerat Singh, had been released ahead of the Bangalore Test so that they could play the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy.Squad Virat Kohli (capt), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Stuart Binny and Gurkeerat Singh.

Captain, however, was pleased with debutant offspinner Akeal Hosein, who claimed 3 for 26

Mohammad Isam20-Jan-2021West Indies captain Jason Mohammed said that their batsmen need to be more patient in the middle overs. The visitors were bowled out for only 122, which Bangladesh chased down with 16 overs to spare as they won the first ODI in Mirpur by six wickets.West Indies had slumped to 56 for 5 in the 19th over with Shakib Al Hasan, playing his first international game after serving his one-year ban and finishing with 4 for 8 in the match, posing the biggest threat. Mohammed, who was stumped off Shakib, said West Indies need to come up with a better plan, mainly by being patient against the old ball.”We have to give ourselves a little bit more time,” he said. “It is difficult to score in the middle overs with the spinners, so negotiating that part of the innings is going to be crucial for us. Obviously, we need to play that period of bowling a little better. I think we are going to discuss things and see what the best plan is to come up with.”Related

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A 59-run stand between Rovman Powell and Kyle Mayers gave West Indies hope, but once it broke they collapsed again, losing their last five wickets for just seven runs and in the space of 20 balls. Pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud, who was making his debut, were among the wickets, while offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled tidily as well.”We have to try to put little bit more runs on the board,” Mohammed added. “We are inexperienced in terms of batting, but I think they [the batsmen] are capable of doing the job. It was our first outing. Wicket was a little bit difficult. Hopefully [in the] next game, we can put up a better batting performance.”Mohammed felt that his bowlers did well, particularly Akeal Hosein – who was among six debutants in the match for West Indies and who finished with returns of 3 for 26 from his quota of ten overs.”I think the bowlers put up a good performance. Akeal was a standout on his debut,” he said. “He took three crucial wickets for us. He was economical too. I am very happy with the bowlers today.”Hosein, who was instrumental in the Trinbago Knight Riders’ fourth CPL title last year with ten wickets in seven matches, was pleased with his performance, although he would have preferred to have a bigger total to bowl at.”I was happy with my performance. But having said that, not being able to take my team to victory will always be in the back of your mind,” he said. “It was a good experience. We went out there, gave it our all. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result. So hopefully we can bounce back strongly in the next game. I think we definitely need to put on a bigger score. We bowled well, so it is just to give the bowlers something to work with. Hopefully that happens in the next match.”

Siddle played 67 Tests taking 221 wickets at 30.66, his last match coming in the final Test of this year’s Ashes series in England

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2019Peter Siddle has announced his retirement from international cricket after a career that spanned 11 years.Siddle, 35, played 67 Tests taking 221 wickets at 30.66, his last match coming in the final Test of this year’s Ashes series in England. He was brought back into the squad for the current Test against New Zealand and told coach Justin Langer on Boxing Day that he was bringing the curtain down on his Australia career before informing his team-mates of his decision before play on the fourth day.In white-ball cricket he played 20 ODIs, earning a surprise recall earlier this year, and two T20Is.”It’s always hard to know what the right time is, it was sort of the Ashes – that was the main goal – to try and get on that touring party and be a part of that series,” Siddle told Fox Cricket. “Once I’d ticked that off, I’d been chatting with JL and Painey throughout that series, I could have done it there, but the chance of maybe getting one last crack if it came up in Australia, do it at home would have been nice. But I can be content, 67 Tests, to think as a young kid that I wouldn’t get a chance I’m very happy and a bit sad.”As a young kid I wasn’t super talented so I had to work hard for it. Just to wear baggy green, walk out with it, represent Australia. Chatting to three fast bowlers who are playing this Test, I played in all their debuts so to see all them go about it now, that’s part of the reason, they are a lot younger than me and you see how good they are. Every time I stepped out was amazing.”Tim Paine, Australia’s Test captain, said: “Sids has been the heart and soul of the team for a long time. I remember coming up through with him through the academies and even back then he was one of the great team men, something he has continued to this day.”He has a massive heart and is a fantastic bowler. He’ll be very much missed around the group. He’s been unbelievably good for our younger fast bowlers over the last 18 months and been a great support for me during that time, as well.”Siddle started out as a tearaway, turning heads in the 2008 Sheffield Shield final for Victoria, hitting Gautam Gambhir on the helmet and dismissing Sachin Tendulkar on his debut at Mohali later that year, and taking his famous birthday hat-trick at the Gabba against England in 2010. Around this time he was one of then captain Ricky Ponting’s go-to men – they were both vocal supporters of the North Melbourne AFL club, too.Peter Siddle celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

But Siddle needed to add subtlety and consistency to his game. Something he did alongside Craig McDermott around the time he also changed his lifestyle, giving up alcohol and meat, in 2011-12. From then until 2014, he was one of the best and most challenging bowlers to face in world cricket, claiming 110 wickets at 27.77 and a strike rate of 57.80 over a 30-match period. During the 2013-14 dual Ashes series, he was consistently successful against Kevin Pietersen.After that season, Siddle was dropped on account of losing pace, and one of the most unfair periods of time for him was being ignored by selectors during 2015 Ashes until it was too late. But not to be deterred by that or subsequent injuries, Siddle took up a deal with Essex, proving himself as a highly effective seamer with the Dukes ball, and when Australia were desperate for experience after the Newlands scandal, he found his way back.And while he did not play every Test, suffered from dropped catches and was injured in the final match at The Oval, Siddle’s expertise and experience were critical to Australia retaining Ashes in England for first time since 2001. His spell on the final day of the first Test at Edgbaston, piling on pressure from one end while Nathan Lyon cut through England at the other, was described by Langer as “the best wicketless spell I’ve ever seen”.After news of Siddle’s retirement was confirmed, Langer said: “The year after I retired from playing, Matty Hayden and Ricky Ponting were raving about this guy called Peter Siddle. If it came from them, you knew it was right and so it proved throughout his brilliant international career.”He is an unbelievable bloke and an extremely good cricketer. He is the everything of what a team player is. He has given his heart and soul to the Australian team and the game of cricket.”We’ll always be thankful to him for what he’s given to the national team, and for the critical role he played in helping us retain the Ashes in England this year. He’s going out when he’s still playing well which, in a perfect world, is something every athlete wants to do.”As for the future, Siddle has already set that up. Often pigeonholed as a red ball specialist, he is now one of the most skilful and effective BBL pacemen, helping the Strikers to the 2018 title and proving an expert closer this season in a tight victory over the Melbourne Stars. He has also indicated he will keep playing for Victoria and Essex.

Spin was the way to go on the night, and the visitors got it right

Sidharth Monga27-Jan-20231:27

Mitchell: ‘Santner is one of the best white-ball spinners at the moment’

New Zealand were put in on a pitch that turned, and were then expected to bowl in the dew, but they managed to score what turned out to be enough off India’s fast bowlers. Half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway and an early burst from Finn Allen took New Zealand to 176 after which they went to spin straightaway unlike India who didn’t have the headstart of knowing it was turning.While New Zealand got only 56 off the 10 overs bowled by the spinners, they managed 119 off the 10 overs of pace. The sharply cut grass perhaps did the trick for New Zealand as the ball didn’t quite become a bar of soap and kept gripping for their spinners.Captain Mitchell Santner displayed his guile and skill, taking a wicket first ball, bowling a maiden in the powerplay and then coming back to take Deepak Hooda in the 16th over to seal the game. The one big difference in two sides was that pacer Jacob Duffy bowled his first two overs for 10 and a wicket, and once the asking rate started creeping up, this pitch just proved too difficult for Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.

Finn Allen blazes away

Coming off successive ducks in an ordinary ODI series, Allen enjoyed the freedom this format affords batters. He started off with a mis-hit, but then began smacking the ball around with only two fielders out. In 4.1 overs, New Zealand were 43 for 0 thanks to his 35 off 22.

Washington Sundar applies the brakes

Among those four overs was one bowled by Washington Sundar. The ball gripped for him, and he refused to give the batters anything full. Only three came off that over, and even though Allen managed to slog-sweep him for a six at the start of the next, he ended up dragging the next slog-sweep to deep midwicket, which was placed squarer than usual.

Watch Ind vs NZ on ESPN

You can watch the first T20I between India and New Zealand on ESPN Player in the UK and on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi in the USA.

In the same over, Washington played around with Mark Chapman before taking a spectacular one-handed return-catch diving full length to his right. India quickly went to more spin, bringing on Deepak Hooda even if it meant bowling inside the powerplay. It now became 54 for 2 in seven overs.1:29

Is Devon Conway New Zealand’s best all-format batter?

Devon Conway carries on

Somebody needed to bat well for New Zealand during the middle overs because they were still going to need a big score because of the dew expected. Conway, who hardly got any strike during the Allen fireworks, was just the man. He got going with the reintroduction of pace, taking 16 off the eighth over, bowled by Umran Malik.Conway’s strong wrists and a whole array of sweeps helped him find placement against the spinners. Even as Glenn Phillips, and later Mitchell, struggled to go at a run a ball, Conway kept scoring the runs in the middle overs. In the end, he and Mitchell chose to play out Kuldeep Yadav and Washington to set themselves up for the death overs.

Two good overs, two ordinary ones

That description above will remain the definition no matter which side’s point of view you take. Mitchell took a decent 17th over from Pandya for 16 by hitting the first and the last balls for sixes for down the ground. Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Mavi made excellent comebacks in overs 18 and 19, conceding just ten runs for the wickets of Conway, Michael Bracewell and Santner.In the 20th, though, Arshdeep missed his yorker and even overstepped once. Mitchell took full toll: 23 runs off the first three legal balls. Arshdeep came back with three yorkers, but still New Zealand had got to a good total provided the dew didn’t prove to be a big handicap. Mitchell, 17 off 16 at one stage, ended with 59 off just 30.

India lose early wickets

Bowling in the second innings, the plan was clear: get spinners on early before it becomes difficult with the dew. Bracewell bowled Ishan Kishan with a beauty with the new ball, but Duffy proved to be the bonus. He was difficult to get away, and also took out Rahul Tripathi.When Santner brought himself on, India were 15 for 2 in three overs. India possibly recognised this wasn’t quite a match they could take deep and then rein in the asking rate and finish it off. Shubman Gill didn’t give himself a sighter of Santner. He saw the first ball pitch short of a length, set himself up for the pull, but was defeated by massive turn which resulted in an easy catch off the top edge.Santner’s control of his craft, aided by the gripping pitch, was on full display when he bowled a maiden . India, 33 for 3 after six.

Mitchell Santner swings middle-overs tussle NZ’s way

An array of sweeps from Suryakumar, and Pandya’s hits down the ground, kept India in the hunt. They even took 41 off the nest four overs, but they still needed 103 from the back ten. Santner once again pulled India back with a one-run over. He had conceded just five off 12 to Suryakumar.That over meant risks needed to be taken against Ish Sodhi in the next over. One came off, but then Suryakumar just timed a chip shot too well, sending it too straight for a catch to long-on. With 89 required off the last eight, Pandya tried a big hit off Bracewell, but the ball didn’t turn, took the edge, and India were left needing a miracle.The towel started making more frequent appearances, Hooda and Washington managed to score just enough to keep India alive in the game. With 67 required off the last five, though, Santner played around with Hooda with changes of pace and trajectory before getting him stumped.Washington was defiant in his 50 off 28, but he had too little support left and too much to do.

Rain brought an early finish to the first Twenty20 and England edged home by one run so South Africa need a victory to level the short series

Preview by Andrew McGlashan14-Nov-2009

Match facts

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Start time 14.30 (12.30GMT)Plenty to smile about: Eoin Morgan has proved a revelation in England’s limited-overs batting line-up•Getty Images

Big picture

A highveld thunderstorm put paid to a potentially gripping finish to the opening Twenty20 but the action before the rain was still thoroughly entertaining in ideal conditions for quick scoring. With Albie Morkel and AB de Villiers in the middle, South Africa would still have fancied their chances of chasing down more than 10-an-over to win, while England’s bowlers were clawing back their figures are severe punishment from Loots Bosman.Not that England were short on boundaries. Eoin Morgan gave another display of his huge talent and Paul Collingwood showed there is plenty of life in the old(ish) dog yet. The tourists’ new-found freedom in limited-overs cricket is certainly the way forward. There will be days when it fails spectacularly, but as they learn how to adapt their aggression to conditions it will serve them well.So South Africa are left needing to win the second Twenty20 to square the series and finish the first phase of this long head-to-head on even terms. They will want to sharpen their bowling skills after they tended to feed Morgan’s leg-side strength, but Centurion should offer more high-scoring conditions. The main concern for England is the number of niggles the players are already picking up with James Anderson and Graeme Swann missing training along with Collingwood.With this being a day-game, it will hopefully mean that the full match is possible before any evening thunderstorms bubble up. However, it’s always worthwhile to keep the D-L sheets to hand.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa – LLWWW
England – WLWLW

Team news

If South Africa stick to their pre-series talk of giving all the squad a game it means some shuffling of the pack. Heino Kuhn is in line for a debut – Mark Boucher could be rested – while Jacques Kallis will return, although purely as a batsman, and Yusuf Abdulla, the left-arm seamer, is another pace option.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Albie Morkel, 6 Heino Kuhn (wk), 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Yusuf AbdullaEngland are carrying a number of players with minor niggles. Collingwood (back), Anderson (knee) and Swann (side) all missed training as a precaution and face morning fitness tests ahead of the game. With Stuart Broad still recovering from his shoulder injury, Kevin Pietersen not due to return until Tuesday and Andrew Strauss opting out of Twenty20 the squad could be stretched. Adil Rashid and Graham Onions are the two players who didn’t appear in the opening match.England (possible) 1 Joe Denly, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Sajid Mahmood, 11 James Anderson

Watch out for

Dale Steyn took a bit of a hammering on Friday, firstly at the hands of Trott, who took him for four consecutive boundaries, then from Morgan’s onslaught. It is still early-season for Steyn, but he doesn’t appear quite on top of his game. However, it would be foolish to read too much into his form so far and it won’t take a lot for him to turn it around. He’ll want to make a mark ahead of the contests to come and his record shows a match-winning performance is not far away.England have found something a little special in Morgan – and he likes facing South Africa. His thrilling effort at the Wanderers followed on from his display at the Champions Trophy, when he helped knock out the hosts. England’s batsmen have been criticised for their lack of sixes, but Morgan is quickly putting that right and one blow in the first match landed comfortably outside the ground.

Stats and trivia

• Joe Denly has been dismissed first ball in both his Twenty20 international innings after being trapped leg before by Charl Langeveldt at the Wanderers to following his golden duck at the hands of Brett Lee at Old Trafford.
• England’s 202 for 6 was their highest Twenty20 total while Morgan’s 85 was also their best individual effort.

Quotes

“It was just that the wicket happened to be good and I didn’t think he bowled particularly well. We don’t target any bowlers at all.”
“From my perspective, it’s a realisation that it is going to be a tough series, it’s going to be good and exciting – England have come here to play.”

The left-hander re-aggravated his quad injury on the opening day against Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2019Kurtis Patterson’s hopes of forcing his way into the selectors’ thoughts for the opening Test of the summer have taken another blow after he re-injured his left quad on the first day against Tasmania.Patterson missed the opening round of Sheffield Shield matches after picking up the original injury playing grade cricket although his absence from the game against Queensland was viewed as precautionary.He replaced Nick Larkin in the New South Wales side to face Tasmania but limped off before lunch after chasing a ball towards the boundary. He was receiving treatment with the hope he would be able to bat later in the match.Patterson made a century in his second Test, against Sri Lanka in Canberra, last February but missed the cut for the Ashes after struggling on the Australia A tour.Of contenders for a middle-order position against Pakistan in Brisbane next month, Mitchell Marsh has already been ruled out after the self-inflicted broken hand from punching the dressing room wall at the WACA.Meanwhile, Aaron Finch has been left out of Victoria’s match against Western Australia a week before the T20I series against Sri Lanka starts following the back spasms he suffered against South Australia.Finch injured his back while running between the wickets during his half-century on the second day at the Junction Oval and did not field for the remainder of the match. He travelled to Perth but was left out of the XI as a precaution although is expected to play the Marsh Cup game against WA at the WACA on Wednesday ahead of leading Australia in six T20Is in the space of 12 days against Sri Lanka and Pakistan from October 27.Matt Short replaced Finch in the middle order. Peter Siddle returned for his first game since injuring his hip flexor in the final Ashes Test.

From leading wicket-taker in Sri Lanka to unused bowler, spinner experiences England highs and lows

Andrew Miller06-Feb-2019Jack Leach admits that his experience of spin-friendly conditions on last year’s England Lions tour of the Caribbean had led him to believe he would play a bigger role in the Test series against West Indies.On a tour that has confounded pre-series expectations – with England proving ill-prepared to compete with a pumped-up West Indies pace attack on spicy pitches – Leach has gone from being the joint-leading wicket-taker in a series whitewash in Sri Lanka before Christmas, to drinks waiter in the Caribbean.Leach had claimed 18 wickets at 21.38 in Sri Lanka in November – including his maiden five-wicket haul in Pallekele, and the whitewash-sealing wicket of Suranga Lakmal in the final match in Colombo – as England arrested a run of 10 overseas defeats in their previous 13 Tests by claiming an impressive 3-0 victory.But his return to the sidelines has coincided with England’s reversion to type in Barbados and Antigua, where they were thrashed by 381 runs and ten wickets respectively to extend a record of just one series win in the Caribbean in 51 years.”I’m four Tests into my career and it’s been two extremes,” Leach said. “That’s been interesting to experience, the highs and lows, and how more experienced players go about dealing with that. It’s about dusting yourself down to go again. That would be the main thing I have experienced.”It’s been about helping the guys and learning as much as I can, working on my game to keep improving,” he added. “The results haven’t been good but I have been excited with what I have done with my own game. I don’t feel I have wasted time, I feel like I have made improvements, definitely. I have found I’ve been down after the defeats even though I’m not playing and that’s a real positive thing.”With one Test remaining in the series, the scoreline of this latest tour is panning out much the same as Leach’s last trip to the Caribbean, a 3-0 defeat against West Indies A with the Lions last winter.However, the method of England’s dismemberment has been markedly different. The Lions repeatedly succumbed to West Indian spinners 12 months ago, not least the slow left-armer Jomel Warrican, who claimed 11 wickets on a turning pitch in Antigua but – like Leach – has been an unused squad member throughout this year’s Test series.Jack Leach juggles during a training session•Associated Press

The experience of that Lions trip almost certainly informed England’s selection for the first Test in Barbados, where Leach was the unlucky spinner to miss out as both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were chosen instead. Rashid went on to bowl just nine overs in England’s second innings, as it became clear that they had badly misread the conditions, and he was dropped in favour of Stuart Broad for Antigua.All of which has left Leach on the outside looking in, especially after Moeen bounced back from a grim display in the first Test with a half-century and three economical wickets in the second. The chances of him earning a berth in St Lucia seem remote.”I’m ready to go but I was so impressed with Mo in Antigua,” Leach said. “We have a good relationship and his last game he bowled a serious spell and scored some runs – that showed great character after his game in Barbados. So for me he’s doing a great job and I’m learning a lot from him.”With my role I have to be patient and know when I am going to be involved or not,” he added. “I came here last year on the A tour and it ragged square, so I came here thinking I’d be more involved. It just shows they can prepare whatever wickets they want here, I guess, and these two games I wouldn’t have expected to play.”Leach admits that his situation on the England tour is not dissimilar to that of his Somerset team-mate, Dom Bess, in the County Championship. Bess showed great resolve in his maiden Test series against Pakistan last year – earning his selection after Leach broke his thumb early in the season – but, with English conditions rarely favouring one spinner in a side, let alone two, he has since admitted he may need to move counties to enhance his prospects of remaining in England contention.”It’s a difficult situation,” Leach said. “I felt for Dom last year, from playing Test cricket, we were suddenly both in the second team. Then I was first team in the Championship and he was 12th man a lot. It’s very difficult.”The thing with Dom is he’s young and spinners develop later. He can go away and play, and that could be good for his cricket, or he could stay and try to get past me as No.1 spinner, which could also push him further. There is that healthy competition, we help each other but know we’re both going for one spot at times.”With the Antigua wicket reportedly under scrutiny from the ICC following the three-day finish to the second Test, Leach recognised a similar refrain to the one he and his Somerset team-mates have been hearing for several seasons now, given the uniquely spin-friendly conditions that prevail at Taunton.”We look at spinning pitches negatively but, if it’s seaming around, we’re not too bothered,” he said. “That needs to be addressed, how they mark pitches. We need to challenge people to be better at cricket rather than complain about pitches.”I think the surface at Antigua, we’d have not come up against it in county cricket – that might not be possible. I don’t know if that comes from the top, but I think it’s a big thing.”There’s also very few times where you spend 150 overs in the field and it’s a batting paradise … then you’re looking to spin them out on the final day. So as much as I think spinning pitches are important, I think playing on flat ones is too.””You can’t do things you haven’t practised before. For me, we need players to experience different surfaces. It’s important to change attitudes. That would strengthen our international teams in years to come.”

An unbeaten 146 from Keaton Jennings helped propel England to a virtually unassailable position on day three of the first Test in Galle

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle08-Nov-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOn the third day of a Galle Test that has defied most predictions, Keaton Jennings produced an exceptional, unbeaten hundred, Ben Stokes provided a half-century and Ben Foakes and Jos Buttler made middling contributions to propel England to a virtually unassailable position. The visitors were 446 runs ahead at stumps, with Sri Lanka’s having had to bat seven overs following a declaration, as the day waned.England will hardly be bothered that they didn’t get a wicket before the close – there are two more days to play, and this is a notoriously treacherous surface on days four and five. No team has ever successfully chased more than 99 at this venue. No team has ever batted out more than 114 fourth-innings overs. Sri Lanka’s situation, in short, is bleak in the extreme.Jennings’ 146 not out off 280 balls was not quite flawless. There were mishits and plays-and-misses through the day, as Sri Lanka’s spinners – Dilruwan Perera in particular – repeatedly tested his outside edge. He should also have been out for 58 off the bowling of Dhananjaya de Silva, but the umpire turned the lbw appeal down, and Sri Lanka declined to review. But as many who have made second-innings hundreds on turning pitches in Asia will attest, you need such pieces of good fortune to build the kind of mammoth innings Jennings produced.What he did especially well was to resolutely defend the balls that threatened his stumps, and his pads, and let the turning deliveries spin past his blade. On the many occasions he was beaten, the close-in fielders would yelp and gesticulate, but Jennings refused to be shaken out of his calm. His defensive strategy had worked thus far. Why let the unplayable balls panic him into a different method?It was on the off side that Jennings prospered most, partly because Sri Lanka had two offspinners in their attack, but also because his most profitable strokes in the innings were the reverse sweep, the cut and the back-foot punch through the cover region. Of his first hundred runs, a full third came behind square on the off side. More than two thirds came on the off side in general.Sri Lanka attempted to curb the reverse sweep via various means, initially putting a man deep, then pulling him into the circle to try and tempt a mistake, and later even briefly posting a gully, in addition to a slip, to try and block off that area. Jennings continued to reverse sweep despite this, and just kept scoring runs. It wasn’t until later in the day, especially as England strove for quick runs ahead of the declaration, that Jennings began to play more expensively to leg. Of his nine fours, seven came on the off side.Sri Lanka had given themselves a glimmer of hope in the first session when they claimed three wickets for 14 runs, but through Jennings’ 107-run stand with Stokes, England virtually ground the opposition into the dust. Stokes was the aggressor, making 60 off 93, striking three big blows down the ground off the spinners, while Jennings pottered along at his own steady pace. By the time the pair were parted, England were 320 runs ahead, and batting had begun to look quite easy.Neither Buttler nor Foakes had much trouble beginning their innings, both going on to half-decent thirties, and sticking around for 77 and 61-run stands respectively. Foakes fell one ball before Joe Root declared the innings, holing out to deep midwicket in his attempts to make quick runs.Sri Lanka’s openers were largely untroubled as they took the team to 15 for no loss. Many hopes rest on Dimuth Karunaratne, who was not only Sri Lanka’s top-scorer in their most recent Test series, but has a reputation for playing long innings, against good opposition, in spinning conditions. Dinesh Chandimal is the other batsman who has recently produced marathon knocks with any deal of consistency, but he was off the field the entire day, still suffering from the groin strain he picked up while fielding on day one. It is likely to hamper his batting as well, and in any case, he cannot come in higher than at No. 7.For the hosts, a difficult day was made tougher by the fact that the retiring Rangana Herath could not prove effective against an England top order packed with left-handers. In his final innings with the ball, he removed Joe Root for the second time in the game, having him caught behind with a gripping delivery. Later, he removed Buttler, caught excellently at silly point by a diving Kaushal Silva.Herath led the team off the field after England declared, with 433 wickets to his name, which for now places him eighth equal on the all-time list, though he is sure to slip to ninth soon enough, when Stuart Broad, who is not playing in this Test, takes another scalp.