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‘X-factor’ quick could hardly have done more in training to show he’s ready to return from injury as Jofra Archer remains in doubt

George Dobell in Port Elizabeth13-Jan-2020Mark Wood would appear to have given himself an excellent chance of playing in the third Test with a blistering bowling performance in the nets on Monday.Wood, who has not played a match since the World Cup final on July 14, bowled with outstanding pace as he attempted to prove his fitness for selection. Required to demonstrate that he could back up Sunday’s equally impressive display for a second successive day, Wood bowled a long, hostile spell without any obvious difficulty. He could hardly have done more to convince the England team management of his readiness to return.His performance came in contrast to that of Jofra Archer. Also required to bowl at full speed as he recovers from an elbow injury, Archer looked considerably slower than Wood in the nets. As a result, Archer looks unlikely to be considered ready for selection in the third Test starting on Thursday.ALSO READ: Harris backs Maharaj to rise to the occasion if Port Elizabeth spinsAhead of the session, it appeared England may opt for Chris Woakes to replace James Anderson in the side. For while the team management are understandably keen to include a bowler of Wood or Archer’s pace, they are even more keen not to recall them too quickly and risk further lay-offs. They seem particularly cautious over the recall of Wood, who has not played a first-class game since February, when he bowled England to victory over West Indies in St Lucia.Woakes remains very much in contention. A final decision will not be made until Wednesday, or perhaps even Thursday morning. The squad are not due to train on Tuesday – they have been given a rest day – and will have a light session ahead of the Test on Wednesday at which it will be clear if Wood has suffered any reaction to his recent exertions. Archer now looks the least likely of the three to play.With the Port Elizabeth pitch expected to be fairly slow and dry, England are keen to include a point-of-difference bowler within their line-up. And as Wood showed in St Lucia – or at various times during the World Cup, when he delivered the fastest ball of the tournament – he can generate the sort of pace that can unlock even international quality batting line-ups on decent batting surfaces. Woakes, for all his all-round qualities, cannot necessarily do the same thing.Selecting a man with no recent match action is not ideal. The England management had attempted to find some sort of competitive game for Wood to play over the last week or two, but nothing appropriate was available. Certainly unleashing Wood in Monday’s form on club batsmen may have proved unwise.”I’ve got no qualms he could come in this week and be successful because of what he’s done in the past and what he can draw upon,” Paul Collingwood, one of England’s assistance coaches, said. “He’s got the skills to go out there and make an impact.”Here at Port Elizabeth it’s generally a slower pitch so sometimes having that kind of X-factor bowler would be great. We have enough bowlers in and around the county circuit who can bowl at 82 to 85 mph and try to nip it around. You want the likes of Wood and Archer to give you that X-factor.”Ideally we would have loved Woody to go out and get some competitive games in. We had a look around but it’s not as easy as it sounds. So we’ve tried to replicate the amount of hours on his feet with running and walking. All you can do is get the overs under their belt and make sure they can come back for second and third spells and get the miles in the legs.”England also received encouraging news in a swift return from sickness for Joe Root. The England captain missed training on Sunday due to illness, but took a full part on Monday. The team management insist his absence on Sunday was mainly precautionary with a view to preventing further contamination.While a first look at the pitch on Monday may have seduced England into thinking they could field an all-seam attack, they seem intent of retaining Dom Bess, who made a favourable impression in Cape Town. The last Test on the ground, in January, lasted three days with Sri Lankan off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva claiming five wickets in the match.”If you look at the data, spin tends to play a bit more of a part here than the other grounds,” Collingwood said. “But we’ll gauge it. There’s no point looking today. These pitches change so quickly over 24 hours. We’ll have a good look on Wednesday and see which combination is best to take 20 wickets.”On the evidence of the last two days, it’s hard to leave Wood out of that combination.

PCB chairman Ehsan Mani went so far as to say there was “nothing that happens in Pakistan cricket that this committee cannot look at”

Danyal Rasool26-Oct-2018A new cricketing committee will be given wide-ranging powers to oversee the state of all aspects of Pakistan cricket. It will be chaired by Mohsin Khan, and includes among its members Wasim Akram, Misbah-ul-Haq and Urooj Mumtaz. Three other former cricketers – Mudassar Nazar, Zakir Khan and Haroon Rasheed – will provide functional and administrative assistance to the committee as it carries out its work.The committee, while not allocated any decision-making power, has been handed a wide remit and will meet thrice in a year. PCB chairman Ehsan Mani went so far as to say there was “nothing that happens in Pakistan cricket that this committee cannot look at”. Subhan Ahmed, the board’s chief operating officer, said the committee will evaluate and make recommendations on the state of pitches and balls used in domestic cricket. Further duties include overseeing grade-level and women’s cricket and meeting with the head coach at least three times a year to “assess their performance and understand what their plans and goals are and guide the PCB in these aspects”. It will also oversee the performance of the national selectors and national coaches.A key power invested in the committee will be the authority to appoint members to the selection committee, but Ahmed insisted it wouldn’t be allowed to interfere in day-to-day selection matters. “The selection committee will continue to function independently from this cricket committee. They have separate roles to perform. The cricket committee has been given a remit to independently oversee various aspects.”Mohsin promised that the committee would function “without any favouritism”. “I would like to thank chairman Mani for the opportunity,” he said. “The chairman told me he wanted to form a committee that included some of the best cricketers in Pakistan’s history, and you can see that in the presence of Wasim, Misbah and Urooj Mumtaz. We will all work together on issues ranging from domestic cricket to international cricket, be it about selection, captain or coaches. We will make all our decisions on merit, without any favouritism. That is my goal, and I’m glad the chairman has given me such a fine team to work with.”Wasim Akram also thanked Mani, and said the main idea was to find the best way to help Pakistan cricket. “People have often asked me why I haven’t got involved in coaching, especially with my experience of the past 8-10 years. But it’s about finding the best way to improve Pakistan cricket, which involves improving the first-class structure. It won’t happen overnight, but with the experience of all of us, we can make a difference.”Urooj Mumtaz, the only female cricketer on the panel, said she was honoured Mani had “considered her worthy” of the appointment. “I can easily say I’ve been there from the inception of women’s cricket in Pakistan,” she said. “I feel I have a lot to offer, with how much women’s cricket I’ve played and watched. I’ve been the captain and a selector for the team at various times. We can make significant improvements to women’s cricket because there’s a great scope for improvement in that department. We want to become a force to be reckoned with, and the upcoming women’s World T20 – the first standalone women’s World T20 – signifies it’s time for us to leave our mark on the game.”The most recently retired player to be part of the committee, Misbah-ul-Haq, who is still active in the domestic circuit, said he felt he understood the problems facing domestic cricket. “It’s a good opportunity for all of us to share our ideas and make suggestions to the board. There’s a great need for improvement.”Misbah had shared video footage of squalid dressing rooms at the LCCA ground in Lahore during the first round of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy this year, sparking nation-wide criticism. It triggered a wider conversation about the need to invest in the first-class game, for which Misbah has been an ardent spokesman for several years.”The first-class cricketers are the only ones we have that will go on to represent Pakistan at international level. So we need to provide them with the requisite facilities and make domestic cricket competitive, otherwise you can never improve the standard of cricket in your country.”That I am still playing enables me to get a first-hand account of the current problems facing first-class cricketers. This speeds up the implementation process, because you don’t need to ask anyone else about the realities on the ground. We want to have a significantly improved
domestic system by the time the next Quaid-e-Azam trophy season rolls around.”It was telling most of the talk about the functioning of the committee concerned first-class cricket, the plight of which has begun to receive increasing attention over the past few years. It may be suggestive of the area most of the committee’s attention will be devoted to. The problems range anywhere from substandard pitches and the wrong types of balls used to poorly thought-out schedules that see the Quaid-e-Azam trophy pushed to the margins of the cricketing season in Pakistan. This year, the tournament began on September 1 in searing heat, the earliest it has begun since 1969.As ever with Pakistan cricket, there are motifs of a power struggle in the background. Exactly what the committee will discuss with the head coach – who they must meet at least three times a year – is not yet clear, but what is obvious is some bridges will have to be built if those discussions are to be productive. Just last week, the committee’s chair Mohsin Khan was contemptuously withering in his assessment of head coach Mickey Arthur, calling him a “stupid donkey”. Whether he can offer more constructive advice than that, or indeed whether Arthur and his coaches are willing to take it on board, will be fascinating subplots to watch out for over the coming months.

The last time these two sides met in a T20, Carlos Brathwaite wrote himself a place in West Indies cricket history

Preview by Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2017

Big Picture

“Remember the name,” was the immortal line from Ian Bishop when these two sides last met in a T20 as Carlos Brathwaite smoked four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to steal the World T20 crown from under England’s noses. It’s doubtful they have forgotten.England have been reunited with Brathwaite since then – in the one-day series earlier this year – but this is the format that gave him a place in West Indies cricket history. Sadly, the controversial decision to rest Stokes for his home ground game has robbed the match of its strongest themes; a chance to take on Brathwaite and the latest chapter against Marlon Samuels.Samuels is one of the senior players back in the mix following the thawing of tensions between the players and the board. He, Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor played against India earlier this year and the potential power in West Indies’ batting line-up is eye-watering when Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis are also considered. None of the 13-man squad for the one-off T20 were involved in the Test series.Tom Curran and Dawid Malan were England’s biggest gains from their 2-1 series win over South Africa earlier this season. Malan made 78 off 44 balls on his debut, an innings that played a key part in his move to the Test side even though the formats are polar opposite, but whether he retains his spot will depend on how the batting is shuffled with Joe Root available again.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWLL
West Indies WWWWL

In the spotlight

Adil Rashid has been overtaken in England’s Test legspin pecking order by Mason Crane (despite Crane still being uncapped) but returns to the T20 line-up having missed the South Africa series where Crane made his international debut. He had an impressive T20 Blast campaign with 15 wickets in 12 matches and an economy rate of 7.10, but will need to show a strong nerve if any of West Indies’ hitters get going.Chris Gayle’s previous two T20 innings against England have been from opposite ends of the spectrum. At the start of the World T20 in Mumbai he smashed an unbeaten 100 off 48 balls, then in the final in Kolkata he fell second ball for 4 against Joe Root. His international comeback innings was a relatively sedate 18 off 20 balls against India but he is entering this tour on the back of being the third-highest-scorer in the CPL with 376 runs at a strike-rate of 127.02.

Teams news

England will need to decide how many spin options they require for a mid-September evening match. Curran made a good impression against South Africa so could retain his place. Jake Ball and David Willey are also in the squad.England 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Liam Dawson, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Tom Curran, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Liam PlunkettAshley Nurse was recalled to the T20 squad after a gap of more than two years and could take Samuel Badree’s place in the side as a second spinner. Alternatively, Ronsford Beaton could earn his first cap if an extra pace option is preferred.West Indies 1 Chris Gayle 2 Evan Lewis, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Chadwick Walton (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jerome Taylor, 10 Keswick Williams

Pitch and conditions

Scores in the T20 Blast were less daunting at Chester-le-Street than at most venues during a high-scoring tournament. Late in the season, there could be some assistance for the seamers especially with it being an evening game. The start time also means that spectators may want to take an extra layer with them. The forecast says the odd shower is possible but the game should get through.

Stats and trivia

• Three players have scored two hundreds in T20Is and two of them will be playing in this match: Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. The other is Brendon McCullum
• Jos Buttler needs 16 runs for 1000 in T20Is – he would be the fourth England batsman to that mark behind Kevin Pietersen, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan

Quotes

“We’re a very young side and we have a long way to go in T20 cricket. Our consistency levels have been up and down so it’s all to play for tomorrow.”
“It isn’t something that will be forgotten for a little while but I know it probably will never happen again so it’s about me being as consistent as I can now.”

West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2016West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia. Hope replaces Rajendra Chandrika, who made scores of 16, 31, 5 and 1 in the first two Tests, and saw his Test average drop to 14.00, the worst by any West Indies opener who has played 10 or more innings.Hope, a right-hand batsman who is also capable of keeping wickets, has played six Tests so far, scoring 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He has been in excellent form in recent months, with two hundreds in his last four matches in the WICB Professional Cricket League four-day tournament, and a century for the WICB President’s XI in the Indians’ first warm-up match in St Kitts.The selectors have made no other changes to West Indies’ 14-man squad. India lead the four-Test series 1-0.West Indies squad for third Test: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels.

Half-centuries from captain Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana helped India Women complete a comfortable eight-wicket win over New Zealand Women with 34 balls to spare in the fourth ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHalf-centuries from captain Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana helped India Women complete a comfortable eight-wicket win over New Zealand Women with 34 balls to spare in the fourth ODI in Bangalore. The teams will go into the fifth ODI on July 8 with the the series tied 2-2.Needing 221 to win, India ensured there were no early jitters, with Thirush Kamini and Mandhana raising 49 runs for the first wicket. After Amy Satterthwaite sent back Kamini, Mandhana joined hands with Raj to add 124 runs in 22.5 overs. Raj, during the course of her unbeaten 81 off 88 balls, her 37th half-century, became the second player after Charlotte Edwards to score 5000 runs in Women’s ODIs.After Mandhana was dismissed by Anna Peterson in the 38th over, Harmanpreet Kaur smashed an unbeaten 25-ball 32, including four fours and two sixes, to bring an early finish to the game.New Zealand, after electing to bat, didn’t enjoy a good start, losing Rachel Priest in the third over. Sattherthwaite and captain Suzie Bates, however, rebuilt the innings with a 65-run stand before Bates perished to Poonam Yadav. Three overs later, the visitors’ momentum was dented further when Satterthwaite, who scored 43 off 55 balls, was bowled by Kaur.But, New Zealand fought back again through Sophie Devine, who scored 89 off 102 balls, including 10 fours and three sixes. She put on 58 runs for the fourth wicket with Maddie Green, and proceeded to rally the middle and lower order around her. Devine was the last batsman out off the penultimate ball of the last over.For India, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Niranjana Nagarajan picked up three wickets each.

India’s captain MS Dhoni identified Monty Panesar, the England left-arm spinner, as the main difference between the sides

Sidharth Monga26-Nov-2012MS Dhoni has admitted to being disappointed “to an extent” with his own spinners, but he insisted Monty Panesar was a touch above everyone else, making the big difference. India finally got the square turner they wanted, played three spinners, won the toss, posted a first-innings total that many thought was surplus in these conditions, but squandered it through some ordinary spin bowling.In helpful conditions, Panesar and Graeme Swann took 19 wickets between them in 121.2 overs. India’s three specialist bowlers bowled 113.1 overs for just nine wickets. To say the Indian spinners were outplayed will be an understatement. This is one of the most disappointing performances by an Indian spin unit in favourable home conditions.It can be granted that Panesar’s natural pace is more suited to bowling on such pitches, but Swann adjusted well too, unlike the Indian bowlers. R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh were especially friendly on a surface where spinners had no business being friendly. Especially disappointing was their tendency to bowl short, not making the batsmen drive, which was where most of the mistakes happened. That is what, according to Dhoni, was the bigger flaw than not being able to adjust to the pace required on the surface.”There is a particular style of bowling,” Dhoni said. “We also tried to bowl fast. We didn’t get the same purchase. It’s the same as two different batsmen. Some conditions suit you, some don’t. I felt the only thing we could have done better is make them drive more than we did. If you bowl short on a wicket that has a bit of bounce, you give them time. Especially the fact that we were getting more purchase when we were bowling a little slow.”However, Dhoni was fulsome in his praise of Panesar. “The way Monty bowled, he was different from other bowlers,” Dhoni said. “All the other bowlers were getting bounce and turn, but Monty bowled at real pace. He bowled at 90-95kph and even above that, and still he got real turn. He had a big impact on the game.”The other spinners got the bounce, but they never looked to trouble the batsmen as much a Monty did. Big credit goes to him. If you get performances like this, margin of defeat can be big. Credit also goes to Pujara from our side, who batted really well. Pietersen and Cook batted really well. They batted off the back foot really well. I wish we were a bit fuller, and made them drive more.”However, Dhoni stood by his demand for exactly the kind of pitch this Test was played on. “I think this was a very good wicket,” he said. “Tests in the subcontinent should be played on such wickets. The toss wasn’t that vital. It started turning from the first day.”Dhoni insisted he would love to get such pitches more often, regardless of the result here. “Of course I will want a similar wicket,” he said. “That’s what our speciality is. What’s the point of playing on a flat track and winning the toss and batting for three or four days over the Test? You want to face challenges in test cricket. These are the kinds of wickets that push you. Definitely all the wickets should be like this.”However, Dhoni’s reasoning for such pitches calls for a much better show from the players in Kolkata. “The best thing about these conditions is, no side is guaranteed a win,” Dhoni said. “You have to play well to win.” If India do get another turner, they will “have to play well to win.”

Dean Brownlie, who made his Test debut for New Zealand today in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, has said he would like to cement a place in the squad ahead the tour of Australia next month

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2011Dean Brownlie, who made his Test debut for New Zealand today in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, has said he is confident his first-class performances would translate into Test cricket. He forced his way into the side by making heaps of runs for Canterbury and New Zealand A during the winter, and believes he is ready for the challenge of Test cricket.”I’ve got lots of advice from the senior players and they’re all telling me not to change anything, to do what I did to get selected,” he said. “I think that’s the key.”I try not to think too much about outside pressures and just try and take it ball by ball, like I always do.”Brownlie was born in Australia and only moved to New Zealand in 2009, qualifying to play for them through his Christchurch-born father, Jim. So he would like nothing more than to cement a place in the squad ahead of the tour of Australia next month.”It would be good, but not just because it’s Australia and I was born there and grew up there,” Brownlie told the . More so my [Perth-based] friends and family can watch me play, and a lot of the coaches I had growing up.”While he is keen to play one-day cricket and has already played two international Twenty20 matches, Brownlie said succeeding in Test cricket was his greatest ambition. “That’s the pinnacle, isn’t it? That’s the hardest test of cricket and of your ability.”A calf injury ruled Jesse Ryder out of the Test and Brownlie could be called upon to bowl a few overs to support the frontline bowlers. He did that in the tour game, picking up the wicket of Malcolm Waller, but didn’t think it would lead his Canterbury coach, Bob Carter, to throw him the ball more often in domestic cricket.”They’ve seen me bowl, and they’re about as unimpressed with it as I am.”

While they are capable of the occasional flash of brilliance, Bangladesh’s problem has been their inability to build on the winning momentum

The Preview by Nitin Sundar07-Oct-2010

Match Facts

Friday, October 8, Mirpur

Start time 9:30am (03.30 GMT)Ross Taylor stands out in an off-colour middle order•AFP

The Big Picture

While the cricketing world had its eyes firmly focused on the riveting action from Mohali, Bangladesh were quietly adding a chapter to their own history in overcast Mirpur. Their victory against New Zealand in the first ODI was their 13th against top opposition. Seven of those wins have come in the last two years and, though the list includes three wins against a depleted-by-dispute West Indies, it indicates a progressive improvement in Bangladesh’s consistency.While they are capable of the occasional flash of brilliance, Bangladesh’s problem has been their inability to build on the winning momentum. Barring those three games in the West Indies, they have never managed to string two upsets on the trot. The euphoria of their other famous win this year, against England in Bristol, quickly evaporated when they were squarely thumped in the following game. Can Bangladesh buck that trend and hold on to their early lead in this series?Heavy rain is forecast over the next few days in Bangladesh, so much so that the National League matches scheduled to start on Sunday have been rescheduled. Even though Bangladesh haven’t managed to string together two wins on the trot against strong opposition, the weather could help them enter the third match of the series with a 1-0 lead.This is not the first time New Zealand have started a bilateral series in Bangladesh with defeat. In 2008-09, they managed to reverse the scoreline with convincing wins in the two remaining games. This series, being a five-match affair, gives them even more elbow room, but that does not mean Daniel Vettori will take Tuesday’s defeat lightly. Despite his singling out Shakib Al Hasan as a threat, New Zealand seemed without a plan against Bangladesh’s talisman allrounder in both departments. Vettori has said the tour of the subcontinent will give his side an advantage when the World Cup comes, but another defeat here will only create self-doubt ahead of tougher tests in India.

Form guide

(five latest completed matches, starting with most recent)
New Zealand: LLLWW

Bangladesh: WLWLL

Watch out for…

Despite their middle order’s stumble against spin, New Zealand were in the game as long as Ross Taylor was at the crease. Bangladesh did well to deny him boundaries, and his dismissal, going for his favourite slog-sweep, tilted the balance in the hosts’ favour. Taylor is unlikely to perish twice on the trot to his pet shot, but can he find a way past the spinners’ stranglehold to make it productive?Shahriar Nafees returned to the ODI side after over two years, but his touch and timing at the top of the order suggested he had never been away. With 1892 runs in 61 ODIs, Nafees is sixth in the list of highest run-scorers for Bangladesh, but of all their batsmen to have scored over 1000 runs, he has the highest average. Bangladesh can do with stability at the top, and Nafees, along with the currently-injured Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, can give them a formidable top three.

Team news

Bangladesh will be without their first-choice seamers, Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hussain, who picked injuries during the first match. The squad is, however, not short of fast-bowling options. Left-arm seamer Syed Rasel will expect to make the cut, while the remaining spot could be a toss-up between Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Rubel Hossain / Shafiul Islam, 11 Syed RaselGrant Elliott, BJ Watling and Shanan Stewart contributed two runs between them, in a passage of play that cost New Zealand the opening game. Kane Williamson should expect a call-up, but he is coming off a forgettable streak himself. Daryl Tuffey could be in line to replace Andy McKay whose nine overs went for 51 in the opening game.New Zealand (possible): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Grant Elliott, 5, 6 Kane Williamson / BJ Watling / Shannan Stewart, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Daryl Tuffey

Stats and trivia

• Mahmudullah has become the 15th Bangladesh batsman to reach 1000 runs
• Kyle Mills, with 27, has taken most wickets in clashes between these two sides. Vettori comes second with 25. Shakib is the first Bangladesh player in the list, with 17
  

  Quotes

  “We had a reasonable start and to restrict them to less than 230 was a good effort. We expected to win, but we let ourselves down in the second half of our batting effort. “

Gary Kirsten wasn’t about to push any panic buttons after a poor day, though he admitted that a slightly more vigorous wag from the tail would have been handy

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009
After a good first day, there was little for India to celebrate on Tuesday•Associated Press

After finishing the first day as much the happier side, day two at Motera was one of hard toil for India. Having lost the last four wickets for 37 runs, the bowling line-up was then slammed to all parts as Tillakaratne Dilshan scored yet another century in his annus mirabilis. It was only impetuous shot selection from Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara that allowed India a route back into the game.Apart from Zaheer Khan, who bowled a tremendous second spell [5-2-4-2], none of the bowlers looked especially threatening on a surface that remained placid and slow. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, wasn’t about to push any panic buttons, though he admitted that a slightly more vigorous wag from the tail would have been handy.”I think we would have liked a few more runs,” he said. “But I think it was a tremendous effort to get from 32 for 4 to 426. The Sri Lankans batted well. For me, the game’s pretty even at the moment. It’s a good wicket to bat on, we know that, and hopefully it’ll start taking more and more turn as the game goes on. Bowling last on that pitch will suit us.”The pick of the bowlers was undoubtedly Zaheer, returning to the squad after a shoulder injury he picked up during the IPL. After his first 10 overs had cost 41, he came back to restrict the scoring and take the wickets that India were so desperate for. And all that without any hint of the prodigious reverse swing that was such a feature of India’s series victory over Australia 12 months ago. “It’s good to have him back,” Kirsten said. “He’s a very experienced and very clever bowler. For his first time back, I thought he bowled exceptionally well. Hopefully, he can continue to use his skill throughout this match and into the next ones.”Reverse swing is the biggest of those skills and Kirsten admitted that they were “hoping for a bit more”. “In conditions like these, it does help to get the ball to reverse. In the second innings and maybe tomorrow as well, we’ll get a bit more. It’s not an abrasive surface and the outfield’s pretty good. The table around the pitch is pretty green so the ball stays in good condition.”There were encouraging words too for the spinners, though both struggled at times on a pitch where the batsmen had oodles of time to play shots. Zaheer apart, every other specialist bowler in the match has conceded more than 3.5 runs an over, the best indication of how batsmen-friendly the conditions have been. “I thought Harbhajan bowled really well, as good a rhythm as I’ve seen him bowl for a while,” Kirsten said. “He was very happy with his performance today.”Again, let’s bear in mind that it’s a good wicket for batting. And Amit [Mishra] hasn’t bowled for a while. He hasn’t had much game time. He would like his rhythm to have been a little bit better, but that’s going to happen. I’m pretty confident that both of them are going to be a real factor in this Test match.”Mishra was part of the squad for the seven-match one-day series against Australia without getting a game, and his position as national reserve also prevented him from turning out for the first two games of the Ranji Trophy season. “It’s always difficult,” Kirsten said. “You need to have subs. You need to have people around and available if someone does an ankle on the morning of a game. We’ve released two players [Murali Vijay and Pragyan Ojha] to go play Ranji Trophy, so we’ve got 13 players here, which is about as little as you can have. Amit didn’t play at all in the one-dayers, but we needed him there just in case someone picked up an injury.”With no viable all-round options after Irfan Pathan’s fall from grace, and no queue of fast bowlers breathing down the incumbents’ necks, this is pretty much the best XI that India can put on the park. On pitches like this, the fifth-bowling option is always a welcome luxury, but Kirsten was pretty content with the status quo. “We’ve gone in with four bowlers since I’ve been part of this team,” he said. “That’s what allows us to have the best balance. We’ve had a successful run with four bowlers and there’s no reason why it should change. The biggest issue is whether we play the extra spinner of the extra seamer.”In New Zealand, we played the extra seamer. In India, we play the extra spinner. A lot of teams have played successful cricket over many years with four frontline bowlers. We’ve got Yuvraj that can do a job for us, and Veeru who can.”Unless the second new ball can provide quick breakthroughs on the third morning, both may yet be needed over the coming days, with wickets at a premium on a pitch that’s diametrically opposite to the one on which South Africa romped to an innings success 18 months ago.

Only 31 overs were possible in which Nyamhuri picked up his maiden Test wicket

Himanshu Agrawal29-Dec-2024Rain had the final say on the fourth day in Bulawayo as only 31 overs were possible with the first of two Tests between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan headed to a draw. Zimbabwe managed to end the mammoth 364-run third-wicket partnership between Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi – both of whom batted the entire third day – with the former falling on 234. He added just three runs to his overnight score before left-arm quick Newman Nyamhuri, on debut, managed to have him caught at gully.Shahidi was still batting on 179 while Afsar Zazai was in sights of his maiden Test half-century, finishing unbeaten on 46 as the pair added an unbroken 87 for the fourth wicket.Rahmat fell in the second over of the day, when he drove at one far away from his body and edged it to Ben Curran after adding just three to his overnight tally. Nyamhuri bowled it from around the stumps and floated it wide; Rahmat could not resist. That ended what is the eighth-highest third-wicket partnership in men’s Tests.Both Nyamhuri and Blessing Muzarabani got seam movement – and at times even extra bounce – but Shahidi and new batter Afsar Zazai remained watchful. Each time the line was wide, neither batter shied away from lofting or slashing at the ball. Shahidi reached 150 in the 131st over, when he clipped Nyamhuri wide of fine leg. Largely, both quicks kept it tight.The first boundary of the day came only in the 137th over. Trevor Gwandu angled one across to Shahidi, who played a lovely drive to bisect cover and mid-off. Thereafter, it was Zazai who kept finding the boundary, while Shahidi looked much calmer at the other end.Three overs later, Zazai hit his first boundary through midwicket when Sean Williams pitched one short. In the 141st over, Zazai threw his bat at a full and wide one outside off from Gwandu, only for the ball to fly for four over gully. After two overs, Zazai cut Gwandu for another boundary just after his partnership with Shahidi had crossed fifty.Zazai picked up his only six by pulling Williams over square leg. Sensing he was picking up pace, Zimbabwe slowed things down through Muzarabani, Brandon Mavuta and Brian Bennett. Afghanistan managed only 14 runs from the next seven overs, and that ended the morning session.Shahidi drove the second delivery after lunch for four to deep extra cover, but only two overs were possible in the afternoon. Seeing ominous grey clouds form, the umpires stopped play at 12:53pm sensing a heavy downpour, which arrived soon.The rain eased an hour later with the ground staff starting to peel the covers off. But that effort proved futile with another downpour starting. That spell of rain was relentless and stumps were called at 4:35pm.