While Akmal and Anjum have held selection roles before, this is Butt’s first appointment with PCB since returning from a ban after the spot-fixing scandal of 2010

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2023The PCB has appointed former international cricketers Kamran Akmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum and Salman Butt as consultant members to chief selector Wahab Riaz.The trio will take up their role in the selection panel with immediate effect. Their first assignment as consultant members begins with Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand that gets underway from January 12 after the conclusion of their Test tour to Australia.The PCB said that when the trio are not engaged in selection duties, they might be given additional tasks such as conducting skill camps.Both Akmal and Anjum have had selection responsibilities before. Akmal, who represented Pakistan in 53 Tests, 157 ODIs and 58 T20Is in a career spanning 15 years before retiring from all forms of cricket this February, was named chair of PCB’s Junior Selection committee earlier this year. He was also appointed chair of an eight-member selection committee, which would conduct Under-13, Under-16 and Under-19 trials for the selection of regional and district teams.Related

• Wahab Riaz is Pakistan's new chief selector

• Hafeez to serve as Pakistan head coach for tour of Australia and NZ

• Akmal, Sami, Hameed part of Rasheed-led men's selection committee

Anjum played one Test, 62 ODIs and two T20Is for Pakistan, and was part of a three-man committee when Shahid Afridi was named interim chief selector of the Pakistan men’s national team alongside Abdul Razzaq later last year.However, this is the first time former captain Butt will be assuming an official role with the PCB since his return from a long ban for his role in the spot-fixing scandal of 2010. He played 33 Tests, 78 ODIs and 24 T20Is, and was the captain when he was handed the ban. Butt never returned to Pakistan colours after that, though he did play first-class cricket and was also offered a commentator’s job by the PCB in 2020.The appointments will raise some eyebrows. Butt was banned and has served time for his role in the 2010 scandal, but both Wahab and Akmal were questioned in and around that same episode. Akmal was sent a notice by the ICC after the T20 World Cup in 2010 – much before the spot-fixing incident broke out that year – though he was later cleared to be selected by Pakistan. Akmal did not play another Test after the episode at Lord’s, though he did feature in Pakistan’s white-ball sides.Wahab was also questioned by Scotland Yard in the immediate aftermath of the Lord’s Test that year, but was never charged with any offence. He was appointed the new chief selector of the senior men’s team two weeks back after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from his position in the wake of conflict-of-interest allegations.Much later in the day, the PCB put out a statement to say that the consultants would not have any independent decision-making powers. “Consultant members assist the chief selector by providing recommendations, collecting feedback and identifying top-performing talent in domestic cricket,” it said. “Their role is to present this information to the chief selector and the selection committee for consideration in their decision-making process. The Consultant Members do not have any independent decision-making powers.”Amid the raft of changes, Mohammad Hafeez was also appointed as team director, and will also serve as Pakistan’s head coach in Australia and New Zealand.The squad for the three-match Test series in Australia was picked on November 20. The series will be Shan Masood’s first as Pakistan captain after Babar Azam stepped down from the position in all formats last month.

The allrounder will return to the UK for further assessment on the problem

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2024Tom Curran has been ruled out of the remainder of his BBL stint with Sydney Sixers due to a knee injury and would appear in doubt for his ILT20 deal with Desert Vipers.Curran picked up the injury in Sixers’ previous match against Melbourne Stars and will now miss the final two regular-season games as the team attempt to lock in a finals berth. He wasn’t due to be available for the BBL finals because of his ILT20 commitments. Vipers begin their campaign on January 21.Related

• Curran's appeal dismissed by BBL with four-game ban upheld

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“The full extent of the injury is currently not known with Curran set to return to the UK in the coming days and undergo further assessment at home,” a Sixers statement said.It has been a disrupted BBL tournament for Curran who was banned for four matches for intimidating fourth umpire Muhammad Qureshi when he continued to practice pre-match run-ups on the pitch in Launceston despite being told not to. He appealed the sanction but it was upheld.”I am genuinely sorry that I chose to continue to practice my run up in the direction of Umpire Qureshi and if he ever thought I sought to make physical contact with him,” Curran said.Curran’s best performance of the season came in that game against Hobart Hurricanes when he claimed 3 for 19.His absence could open the door for Hayden Kerr to return to the side depending on the balance they go with although Sixers will have Steven Smith available against Sydney Thunder on Friday. They will also lose James Vince for the finals as he has an ILT20 deal with Gulf Giants.

Rangpur were propelled to 185 by Jimmy Neesham’s 97* after they were 66 for 4, but their bowling faltered in the defense

Mohammad Isam26-Feb-2024Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy launched Comilla Victorians into the BPL final through a six-wicket win against Rangpur Riders in Qualifier 1 in Dhaka. The pair struck attractive fifties as the defending and four-time champions chased down 186 with nine balls to spare.James Neesham’s T20 career-best of an unbeaten 97 from 49 balls had propelled Rangpur after they were 66 for 4, but their bowling faltered in the defense.Neesham, Litton and Hridoy’s innings seemed to be a just reward for a 25,000-plus crowd at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, which had witnessed a relatively one-sided Eliminator match earlier in the day.Hridoy struck 64 off 43 balls with five fours and four sixes, while Litton smacked nine fours and four sixes in an innings of 83 from 57 deliveries. The pair added 143 for the second wicket after Sunil Narine’s first-ball dismissal.Hridoy and Litton got Comilla’s steep chase going almost immediately, the former hammering Hasan Mahmud for 22 runs in the fifth over. Litton then went after Neesham, hitting him for a four and a six, to end the powerplay. Hridoy hit two more sixes, while Litton also got a six in the next four overs.Hridoy struck the ball strongly through the leg side, while Litton kept up the pace with three fours off Neesham in the 13th over. The partnership ended in the 15th over when Shakib Al Hasan held on to Hridoy’s swipe down the ground.But Litton continued to keep the chase on track with more boundaries before falling with 13 runs required to win, which were knocked off in the next four legal deliveries.Earlier, Rangpur’s innings had changed its course when Neesham walked in to bat in the fifth over. Rangpur had already lost Shakib, Shamim Hossain and Rony Talukdar before Neesham and Mahedi Hasan added 39 for the fourth wicket.Mahedi fell in the ninth over, before Neesham added another useful 38 with Nicholas Pooran for the fifth wicket. Pooran, who arrived in Dhaka only on Monday morning, made 14 off nine balls, before Neesham was joined by captain Nurul Hasan to stabilise Rangpur’s innings.That is when Neesham opened up, as he and Nurul added 53, with Neesham climbing into the Comilla bowlers. He struck most of his seven sixes over midwicket, at times shuffling to the off side to fetch the ball and hit the bowlers on the leg side.Neesham struck three sixes and two fours in the last over of Rangpur’s innings as Comilla’s youngster Musfik Hasan conceded 27 – the other run was from a bye – with the total of 28 being the most in an over in this season’s BPL. Musfik’s four overs cost 72, and turned out to be the most expensive spell in BPL history.But it didn’t cost Comilla, although Rangpur now have a second shot at the final as they take on Fortune Barishal in Qualifier 2 in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Having shackled CSK on a slow pitch, Sunrisers breezed to their target with 11 balls remaining

Deivarayan Muthu05-Apr-20242:59

Did CSK get their batting order wrong?

Sunrisers Hyderabad sussed out the conditions quicker than Chennai Super Kings on a black-soil surface and cruised to their second successive win at home. In the absence of Mustafizur Rahman, who had returned to Bangladesh to sort out his US visa for the upcoming T20 World Cup, and Matheesha Pathirana, who is nursing a niggle, a depleted CSK side slid to their second successive defeat on the road.Last week, Hyderabad had rolled out a red-soil pitch that produced a 277 for 3 vs 246 for 5 contest. Friday’s pitch was a whole lot slower and Sunrisers’ seamers used it to their advantage by bowling one cutter after another into it. After Pat Cummins and Co limited CSK to 165 for 5, Sunrisers smashed 78 for 1 in just the powerplay, with Abhishek Sharma clattering 37 of those runs, off just 12 balls.Related

• Abhishek: 'We knew we had to take the powerplay on'

• Gaikwad, the anchor at the top weighing CSK down

• Live Blog – SRH trump CSK on slow Hyderabad pitch

CSK had scored 30 runs fewer in their powerplay and their batting machine was shut down in the slog overs too.Sunrisers eventually completed their chase with six wickets in hand and nearly two overs to spare, Aiden Markram doing the heavy lifting with a 36-ball 50.

Dube does Dube things

Rachin Ravindra was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 12 off nine balls in the fourth over. Ruturaj Gaikwad got off to a start, but Shahbaz Ahmed, the left-arm fingerspinner, had him swiping a catch to long-on for 26 off 21 balls.Ajinkya Rahane hit Cummins and Bhuvneshwar over the top for boundaries in the powerplay, but he struggled to get the ball away once it became softer and the field was spread out in the middle overs.Shivam Dube took down Sunrisers’ spinners but the rest of CSK’s batting struggled on a slow pitch•AFP/Getty Images

Shivam Dube, though, got cracking immediately against spin. He launched the third ball he faced, from Shahbaz, for six and scored 25 off his first ten balls, from Shahbaz and legspinner Mayank Markande.Dube also lined up T Natarajan, who was returning from injury, for back-to-back sixes before Cummins stopped him on 45 off 24 balls. The Sunrisers captain hid a slower short ball away from Dube’s swinging arc and had him popping a catch to backward point.

SRH pin down CSK

CSK could score only 50 runs in their last seven overs. Cummins, Natarajan and Unadkat kept taking pace off the ball. CSK’s power-hitters failed to manufacture pace for themselves on the night.Rahane was undone by a 105kph slower delivery while Mitchell fell to an on-pace Natarajan delivery that stopped in the pitch. Ravindra Jadeja’s down-the-track swatted four off a 111kph cutter from Unadkat was only an aberration.The decibel levels soared when MS Dhoni came out to bat at No.7, ahead of Moeen Ali, with just three balls left in CSK’s innings. But even he could manage only one off two balls.Abhishek Sharma played 12 balls and hit seven of them for fours or sixes•AFP/Getty Images

Head, Abhishek tear up the powerplay

With the target in front of them and the knowledge that the pitch would become even slower later in the night, Sunrisers maximised the powerplay.According to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, Sunrisers attempted to hit 16 balls in the powerplay to the boundary. CSK, on the other hand, had looked to hit only eight balls to the boundary during that phase.Travis Head stayed leg-side of the ball and cracked Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande through the off side. He finished with 31 off 24 balls. He could have been dismissed on 0 in the very first over had Moeen not dropped him at slip.Abhishek faced only half as many balls as Head did, but produced a bigger impact, pumping 37 at a strike rate of 308.33. Twenty-seven of those runs came in the first over from left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary, who bowled like someone who was playing his first competitive game since December 2022.After Head and Abhishek departed, Markram controlled the chase with a half-century. Moeen trapped Markram (50) and Shahbaz (18) lbw with the old ball, but it was too late for CSK. Sunrisers had already inflicted irreparable damage in the powerplay.

The match between RCB and CSK in Bengaluru on Saturday will decide the final playoff spot

Ashish Pant17-May-2024The weather in Bengaluru could impact the crucial IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday night.It’s a game that will likely decide the final qualifier for the playoffs, but it’s not impossible that the game could be affected by rain.The Indian Meteorological Department has said “heavy rain/thundershowers associated with gusty winds (40-50kph) are very likely” in some parts of Bengaluru on May 18.Related

• What RCB did right after it began so horribly wrong

• The RCB vs CSK virtual knockout could be the game of the season, weather permitting

• Hussey hopes Dhoni keeps going for 'another couple of years'

• IPL 2024 scenarios – RCB vs CSK for final playoff spot

The city has received consistent rainfall over the last couple of weeks after a spell of uncharacteristically hot weather. While it was relatively dry on May 15 and 16, central Bengaluru, where the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is located, had overnight rain that continued into the morning on Friday. It was cloudy all morning on the eve of the match and the forecast had rain and thunderstorms in the evening. But, as it turned out, the promised rain did not arrive with the clouds giving way to relatively clear skies in the evening. Both the teams had long nets sessions without any disruptions.The forecast for Saturday does not look promising either with accuweather.com saying there could be thunderstorms in parts of Bengaluru, accompanied by showers, in the evening. The temperature around 7.30pm, the match start time, is expected to be around 23°C with a 100% cloud cover.It should be noted that the Chinnaswamy Stadium has an excellent drainage system. It is one of the few grounds in India with a subsurface aeration system, which allows play to begin 30 minutes after rain stops.A washout will end RCB’s chances of making the playoffs. Having lost seven of their first eight games, they have won five matches in a row to remain in contention. They currently have 12 points and a net run-rate of 0.387, while CSK are on 14 with an NRR of 0.538. To go past CSK’s NRR and make it to the playoffs, assuming a score of 200, RCB need to beat CSK by 18 runs or chase down the target with about 11 balls to spare. A truncated game will make that task tougher.For CSK, the equation is simple: a win, a washout, or even a narrow defeat is enough for them to join Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final four.”The weather and these kind of things we don’t have control over,” Dwayne Bravo, the CSK bowling coach, said on the eve of the game. “We don’t try to bring up things that we don’t have control over. It’s another game for us to push for a playoffs spot and we’re really looking ahead to the challenge against a very good team tomorrow.”

“You saw the number of tight finishes we had in last year’s IPL. So, you know, it has made a big difference”

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-202411:03

Impact Player rule – should it stay or should it go?

The Impact Player rule in the IPL has not gone down too well with some current players and coaches, but former India coach Ravi Shastri is in favour of it, saying it has contributed to a number of thrilling finishes.”The Impact Player [rule] is good. You have to evolve with the times,” Shastri told R Ashwin on his Youtube channel. “You know, it happens in other sports as well. It’s got tighter finishes. You have to evolve with the times and I think it’s a good rule. You saw the number of tight finishes we had in last year’s IPL. So, you know, it has made a big difference.”While some – like India captain Rohit Sharma – feel that the rule is detrimental to the development of allrounders, Ashwin cited the example of Dhruv Jurel, who began his IPL career as an Impact Player in IPL 2023 and went onto make his Test debut for India within a year.”You know when any new rule comes in, there will be…people will try and justify why that’s not right,” Shastri said. “But in time when you see the scores – 200 and 190 – and then like you mentioned individuals grabbing that opportunity and making the most of it, people will start re-looking at how they think about it.”Related

• Kohli not in favour of Impact Player: 'Not every team has a Bumrah or Rashid'

• Stuttering Royals look to find their form and firm up top-two spot

• Shah on Impact Player rule: 'Not permanent, but not saying that it will go'

• Ponting on the Impact Player: A 'nightmare' for coaches, a 'spectacle' for fans

• Rohit on Impact Player rule: 'I'm not a big fan'

Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, said last week that the Impact Player rule is “not permanent” and that a call on its use in subsequent editions of the IPL will be taken after a discussion with stakeholders after the 2024 T20 World Cup.”Impact Player is like a test case. We have implemented it slowly. The biggest advantage of it is that two Indian players are getting a chance [in each game], which is the most important,” Shah had told reporters at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday. “We will consult with the players, franchises, broadcasters [and take a call]. This is not permanent [but] I am not saying that it will go.”[We’ll see] if it’s making the game more competitive or not. Even then, if a player feels that this is not right, then we will talk to them. But no one has told us anything yet, so it will be decided after the World Cup.”Rohit was the first high-profile Indian player to criticise the rule, which came into the IPL in 2023 after being trialled in the domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, allowing teams to bring in a 12th player at any point in a match to replace a player from the original XI announced at the toss.Among others to speak out against the rule were Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar of Delhi Capitals (DC).DC head coach Ricky Ponting, however, had said he was happy for the IPL to retain the Impact Player if it was making the tournament a “better spectacle”. But from his perspective as a coach, he admitted he wasn’t too keen on the rule, calling it a “nightmare”.

Winner goes through to the final four, loser goes out

Firdose Moonda22-Jun-20241:26

Bishop: WI batters have to play freely against South Africa

Match details

West Indies vs South Africa
North Sound, Antigua, 8.30pm local

Big picture – Semi-final spots up for grabs

It isn’t actually called a quarter-final, but for all intents and purposes, it is. West Indies and South Africa meet in the T20 World Cup 2024 with the winner set to go through to the final four and the loser set to go out.

Tickets still available for crunch game

Additional tickets have been made available for the T20 World Cup game between West Indies and South Africa. They are priced at US$ 45 and can be purchased online at tickets.t20worldcup.com or at the counter at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

What may be lurking in the back of South Africa’s mind is how close five of their six games so far have been. They have snatched victories from the unlikeliest of scenarios and seem to be riding a wave of good fortune that they have failed to catch in tournaments past. They will be the first to admit that they are yet to put together the perfect game, but they boast a perfect record. Six out of six wins means they are once again being spoken of as champion material. Could this be the year South Africa finally win a T20 World Cup? West Indies might have something to say about that.The co-hosts were unbeaten through the group stage too. Though they lost to defending champions England in the Super Eight after that, they are still on track to achieving what they set out to: re-establish West Indies as a powerhouse by competing strongly and (hopefully, for them) winning a third T20 World Cup. If they score 160 and win by 52 runs, they could even go past England and top Group 2. For now, it all hinges on how they do in this match and though West Indies may take heart from sweeping South Africa 3-0 before the tournament, it’s worth remembering that that was a second-string South Africa side. The real test is now.

Form guide

West Indies WLWWW
South Africa WWWWW1:44

How can West Indies contain Quinton de Kock?

In the spotlight – Alzarri Joseph and Marco Jansen

Alzarri Joseph has the same number of tournament wickets as Anrich Nortje – 11 – at a slightly higher average (13.81 compared to 12.90) but a slightly better strike rate. Joseph has taken a wicket once every 11 balls at the tournament – and Nortje once every 13 balls – and is rightly seen as West Indies’ biggest threat with the ball.Joseph has only played two T20Is against South Africa, and in the last one took a series-winning 5 for 40 to seal a seven-run win. Four of the five batters Joseph dismissed in that match – Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen – have been part of South Africa’s XI in every game at the World Cup thus far. On his home ground, Antigua, he will have even more motivation to attempt to repeat the feat.Related

• 'We like making them tight' – Stubbs relishes experience from South Africa's close wins

• Chase admits WI need to improve their middle-overs batting

• Maharaj: South Africa have found a way to win 'small moments'

• Shai Hope silences strike-rate critics, with bat and words

With Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Ottneil Baartman all shining at different stages of the competition, Marco Jansen has flown under the radar despite being an important part of South Africa’s progress. The economy rate of 5.90 includes bowling mostly in the powerplay and is South Africa’s second-lowest after Baartman (though Jansen has played one more game). Though he has gone wicketless in all but one match, Jansen has been match-winning in other ways. Against England, he was tasked with the game’s penultimate over and conceded just seven runs, leaving Nortje 13 to defend. Crucially, he has adapted to conditions when some of his team-mates have not, and he is yet to be given a chance to show what he can do with the bat.

Team news – West Indies have choices to make

Shai Hope’s unbeaten 39-ball 82 opening the batting against USA may mean West Indies do not have immediate cause to bring in Kyle Mayers, who has replaced the injured Brandon King in their squad. It’s an interesting call to make because Mayers has the advantage of knowing the South African players well, from his time at the SA20, and of being West Indies’ second-leading run-scorer in the pre-World Cup series played against South Africa last month. Their other decision will be in the make-up of the bowling unit – whether to include an extra seamer in Romario Shepherd or stick to the offspin of Roston Chase.West Indies (probable): 1 Shai Hope/Kyle Mayers, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 4 Rovman Powell (capt), 5 Andre Russell, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Romario Shepherd/Roston Chase, 8 Obed McCoy, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Gudakesh MotieThe last time South Africa played in Antigua, they opted for two spinners and left Baartman out, and may consider that combination again. However, Tabraiz Shamsi was expensive against USA, which could open the door for the other left-arm spinner in the squad: Bjorn Fortuin, who has not had a game thus far. It’s more likely South Africa will stick to what they like best, with an unchanged batting line-up and one of Shamsi or Baartman.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi/Ottneil Baartman, 11 Anrich Nortje1:43

Will Kyle Mayers open against SA?

Pitch and conditions

From South Africa’s match against USA earlier in the week, North Sound seemed good for run-scoring. That was a day game and this is a night fixture, though, so there may be a slight difference. There have been two night games played at this venue in the tournament: Australia chased down 73 against Namibia inside six overs and scored 100 runs inside 12 overs when they beat Bangladesh in a rain-affected game on Friday. Rain, in fact, may be the biggest concern for the teams with the forecast not great during the day on Sunday, but the precipitation probability decreases to 17% in the evening.

Stats and trivia

• The head-to-head record between these two teams is equal: Played 22; West Indies won 11; South Africa won 11. In T20 World Cups, they have met four times, and South Africa have won three. West Indies’ only victory came in 2016
• There have only been three totals of over 200 at the T20 World Cup so far and West Indies have one of them. They scored the highest total of the tournament with their 218 against Afghanistan in the group stage. South Africa have batted first four times in six matches and average 146
• Nicholas Pooran is the tournament’s top run-scorer at the moment with 227 runs; Quinton de Kock is in third place, 40 runs behind

Quotes

“It’s important for us to continue in this vein because we see what’s at stake now.”
“This team believes that we can be really great as a unit. Obviously, with the last World Cup [in India] bowing out in the semi-finals… it’s both the character and there’s a lot of hurt. So, we just take it one game at a time and focus on trying to get the results to go our way and not looking at the negatives, just trying to highlight the positives as much as possible.”

Jordan has joined the squad, and will take part in Wednesday’s training session

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2024Fast bowler Jeremiah Louis has been ruled out of the final Test between West Indies and England due to a hamstring injury, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced in a statement. The visitors have opted for a like-for-like replacement, bringing Akeem Jordan into the squad.Louis, who did not feature in the first two Tests, picked up the injury during the second Test at Trent Bridge. He will remain with the squad for further treatment. Jordan, who was playing cricket in the UK at the time of his call-up, has already joined the squad and will take part in Wednesday’s training session at Edgbaston.Jordan is yet to make his Test debut but has featured in 19 first-class games, taking 67 wickets since 2022 at an average of 24.10. His performances include two five-wicket hauls with a best innings haul of 5 for 44.Apart from Jordan, West Indies already have Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales and allrounder Jason Holder as their seam-bowling options in the squad. The visitors are 2-0 down in the series, having conceded the Richards-Botham Trophy with one game still to go, after losing at Lord’s by an innings and 114 runs and then at Trent Bridge by 241 runs last week. The third Test gets underway on Friday, July 26.

Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey have also signed new deals with Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2024David Warner will be available for a full BBL season for the first time in his career after signing a new two-year deal with Sydney Thunder while Steven Smith could play the competition beyond his Test career as part of a new three-year contract to remain at Sydney Sixers.It comes as Test team-mates Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey re-signed with Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers respectively ahead of the tournament’s 14th edition.The Test stars are set to be available between the end of the Sydney Test against India and their departure for the Sri Lanka tour on January 21 next year, also the first day of the BBL’s knockout stage.Related

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But with Warner having ended his international career he has a clear run at the BBL. Over the last two seasons, he has played eight games for Thunder after a gap of ten years, including the match where he arrived at the SCG by helicopter last summer.”Davey is popular wherever he plays, right around the world, particularly in India and I know the South Asian communities in Sydney’s west will get right behind him at Thunder,” Trent Copeland, the Thunder general manager, said.”In Davey we get a world class talent with almost 20 years of T20 experience and now that he has retired from international cricket, we can count on his full focus and commitment for the entire tournament, including the finals.Smith is set to be available for as many as four Sixers games – including a potential derby with Warner’s Thunder – while Labuschagne’s Heat and Carey’s Strikers each have three games in that window.Smith would theoretically be free to play a full BBL season, rather than just a cameo, if he chose to retire from Test cricket over the next three years but he continues not to put a timeline on his Australia career.Steven Smith could get four games for Sydney Sixers•Getty Images

“I don’t have any plans,” Smith said. “I’m just enjoying playing at the moment, I’m pretty relaxed and looking forward to this summer. India’s going to be a great challenge, they are a very good side, think we are probably the two best Test teams in the world going head-to-head over five Tests. I’m excited by that.”Smith is currently one of Australia’s incumbent Test openers after replacing Warner earlier this year although whether that remains the case will continue to be a debate.”The conversations I’ve had so far is that we’ll go to England…I’m there for the one-dayers then make a decision after that. There’s conversations happening in the background. Guys like Usman [Khawaja] has said he likes me down at No. 4, think Marnus is of a similar thought pattern. We’ll wait and see. I’m happy to bat anywhere.”Smith was a member of the Sixers side that won the first edition of the BBL in 2012 but had been only sporadically available in the years after making a blistering cameo two summers ago. He became the first male Sixers player to score a century, achieving the feat twice in a five-game run.Left out from the squad for Australia’s T20 World Cup squad over the winter, Smith played cricket for the Ricky Ponting-coached Washington Freedom in the Major League Cricket this July where he captained them to the title.Meanwhile, Labuschagne will return to Heat, the reigning champions and his long-term BBL franchise, after India’s Australia tour concludes on January 7.”His game sense is exceptional and that is a huge asset to us on and off the field,” new Heat coach Johan Botha said.Carey has signed a four-year deal with the Strikers, with whom the Test wicketkeeper has played all 56 BBL games of his eight-year career in the league. Strikers will be coached by his predecessor as Test wicketkeeper, Tim Paine, from this season.None of the big three quicks – Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins – have signed with BBL sides to date and are likely to take breaks from bowling before Sri Lanka.

New Zealand captain believes the batting collapse on the third morning was the definitive portion of the match

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Sep-2024New Zealand tend not to do especially well in Galle. Of their five Test defeats from as many games at the ground, one has been by an innings, another by ten wickets, and one more by 202 runs. Their latest Test at the venue, which ended in a 63-run defeat to Sri Lanka on Monday, when they went into the fifth morning with an outside shot of victory – 68 more runs to win, with two wickets remaining – represents their closest result here.But two players, in particular, stuck out. In his first outing in steaming conditions, and on a dry deck, seamer Will O’Rourke was frequently menacing – often touching 140kph – while sending down short deliveries on a pitch not especially conducive to short bowling. Vitally, for a bowler in his third Test, there were also no hugely loose spells. His takings were 8 for 104. Six of those dismissals were of top- or middle-order batters. Captain Tim Southee was suitably impressed by the 23-year-old.”Will’s had a very short Test career so far, and he’s certainly announced himself,” Southee said after the match. “We saw in New Zealand how dangerous he can be. He’s got the skills to have a very good Test career. For him to come to his first Test in the subcontinent and walk away with a very impressive eight wickets for the match is nothing short of special. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, and he’s a big guy. So there’s a lot to like about Will O’Rourke.”Related

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On the batting front, 24-year-old Rachin Ravindra produced his second-highest Test score – a characterful 92 on a treacherous fourth-innings pitch – as New Zealand pursued a tall 275. Ravindra is not quite so new to internationals, of course, having lit up last year’s ODI World Cup in India. But he remains a batter still finding his feet at the top level, and the clear-headed approach he took on day four – pouncing almost unnerringly on errors of length, while endeavouring to keep the score ticking – was especially impressive in his third Test in Asia.”Rachin kept us in the hunt with that chase,” Southee said. “We knew it was [a] tough ask, and that it was going to take something special, with the wicket taking a lot of turn in these last couple of days. It was a great knock in those conditions.”It’s not easy to bat – the ball was spinning, and doing all sorts [of things]. For a young guy without a lot of experience in this part of the world to go out and get 90-odd was great signs for him as well. He’s another one that’s an exceptional talent, and he’s had a little taste of international cricket as well, and done exceptionally well. He’s a great young kid with a good head on his shoulders.”Tim Southee called Rachin Ravindra an “exceptional talent” after the Galle Test•AP

For Southee, it was New Zealand’s batting collapse on the third morning that was the definitive portion of the match. They had been 255 for 4 in their first innings overnight, only 50 runs adrift of Sri Lanka’s total. But they then lost six wickets for 71 runs, as the middle and lower orders succumbed to finger spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis. In the end, their lead was only 35, when it had threatened to be much more.”I guess the position where we got ourselves in, in the first innings, was good. But the last four or five fell for not many, and there was an opportunity to get a bigger first-innings lead,” he said. “We knew that that second new ball was going to be tough given the nature of the wicket and the quality of the Sri Lankan spin bowlers.”If you look at those moments, if we were able to press on and get more of a lead, things could have been different. It was still a good Test match. There’s plenty of good things we can take into the next couple of days.”