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James Franklin fell one run short of becoming the first Gloucestershire player this season to hit a County Championship century

29-Jun-2010

ScorecardJames Franklin fell one run short of becoming the first Gloucestershire player this season to hit a County Championship century as his side took control of the game against Middlesex at Bristol. The New Zealand allrounder was caught off a top-edged pull shot for 99, his third score in the 90s this summer. But it set up a first-innings total of 404 for 8 and a lead of 168 going into the third day. Hamish Marshall contributed 68, Alex Gidman 61 and Chris Dent 53.It was a tough day in the field for Middlesex, who were without Owais Shah for much of it because of a back problem. Pedro Collins also suffered a back injury when diving for a ball, but was able to take the second new ball after treatment. Gloucestershire began on 81 for 2 and progressed sedately as overnight batsmen Marshall and Dent consolidated with half-centuries. Marshall was first to his fifty off 75 balls, with seven fours and a six.England Under-19 player Dent has played some valuable innings in his first season of championship cricket and the left-hander again showed good temperament in facing 112 deliveries for his half-century, which featured six fours and a six. The partnership of 126 was broken when Dent fended a chest-high ball from Toby Roland-Jones to Scott Newman at short square-leg.That brought in skipper Gidman, who helped take the total to 193 for 3 at lunch. Marshall then fell to the second ball of the afternoon session, bowled pushing forward to Neil Dexter without addition to the score. When Chris Taylor was also bowled, shouldering arms in Dexter’s next over it was 199 for 5 and Gloucestershire were still 37 behind.But Gidman was well set and reached his fifty off 86 balls, with eight fours as he and Franklin produced a partnership of 76 to put their side 39 runs ahead. It ended when the captain played across a topspinner from Dawid Malan and departed lbw. Middlesex immediately took the second new ball, but neither Collins nor Tim Murtagh could force another breakthrough.At tea it was 319 for 6, with Franklin on 45. Jon Lewis made a valuable 30 and by the time he was run out by bowler Tom Smith attempting a suicidal single Gloucestershire’s lead was 88.Franklin hit five fours in a composed 87-ball fifty and then added two sixes. He looked sure to reach three figures when miscuing a short ball from Dexter and watching in horror as Smith claimed a good catch at deep square. Gloucestershire still went on to maximum batting points and look well placed to boost their promotion challenge.

Sri Lanka captain and debutant revive team from early collapse, but England unbeaten at close

Andrew Miller21-Aug-2024England 22 for 0 (Duckett 13*, Lawrence 9*) trail Sri Lanka 236 (de Silva 74, Rathnayake 72, Woakes 3-32) by 214 runsDhananjaya de Silva justified his own decision to bat first with a gutsy 74 from 84 balls, while Milan Rathnayake followed his captain’s lead with a startlingly composed knock of 72 from 135 balls, the highest by a debutant at No.9 in Test history. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, however, even those exceptional efforts couldn’t quite atone for a dreadful top-order collapse that had handed England control of the first Test by stumps on day one at Emirates Old Trafford.By the time Vishwa Fernando was last man out, run out for 13 from 61 balls in an innings that echoed his famous tail-end defiance in partnership with Kusal Perera at Durban in 2019, Sri Lanka had been bowled out for 236 in gloomy half-light that had caused England to rely exclusively on spin bowling for the final hour of their bowling stint – an early challenge for Ollie Pope’s tactical acumen on his first day as Ben Stokes’ captaincy stand-in.And, even though that total was seemingly below-par on a hard and dry surface that Pope anticipated would stay true for the first half of the match at least, it was riches compared to what had been anticipated after the first half-hour of the contest. At that point, Sri Lanka’s innings had been in tatters at 6 for 3 after seven overs, with all three wickets falling in the space of ten deliveries to Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes.Related

• Dhananjaya: Sri Lanka wanted extra warm-up but were denied

• Pope vows to lean on Stokes as he begins stand-in captaincy reign

• Lawrence accepts his top billing even as middle-order wait goes on

• What does Bazball without Ben Stokes look like? We're about to find out

• Jayasuriya: 'Karunaratne is a strong-minded player. He can do something major on this tour'

The first blow was landed by Atkinson, who had limited Dimuth Karunaratne to a solitary scoring stroke in his first 17 deliveries, only for the batter to fluff his first shot in anger, a swish across the line to a well-directed lifter. Four balls later, Nishan Madushka’s early discipline also deserted him as Woakes served up a juicy outswinger that he could only scuff straight to Joe Root at first slip, who clung on in the heel of his palms.And with the final ball of the same over, Woakes had his second courtesy of a ghastly misjudgement from Angelo Mathews. The hero of the 2014 series win was gone for a five-ball duck, burning a review in the process as he offered no stroke to an inducker that was shown to be hitting the top of middle.Kusal and Chandimal showed some gumption in a limited counterattack, with the first five boundaries of the innings all coming in the space of 12 balls, four of them to Kusal off Matthew Potts, whose wide angle into the stumps offered the chance to free the hands through the off-side, and who would finish as the attack’s weakest link with 48 runs from his nine overs.But, after limping to drinks on 37 for 3, there was another challenge waiting for the second hour. Wood tore into his opening spell with typical gusto, and struck with his seventh ball – a gruesomely quick lifter to Kusal that crashed into his left thumb and looped to Harry Brook at second slip. Much like the snorter that broke Kevin Sinclair’s wrist in the West Indies series, Kusal left the crease wringing his hand, and looking in urgent need of an ice-pack at the very least.Out came de Silva to shore up the listing innings, but with lunch approaching, his measured stand of 32 in seven overs with Chandimal was undone in cruel and unusual fashion. Shoaib Bashir entered the attack for an exploratory pre-lunch spell, and struck in his second over with an unplayable daisycutter, reminiscent of Nasser Hussain’s viral moment against Carl Hooper in Trinidad in 1998. Though Chandimal gambled on the review, hoping against hope that he’d been struck outside the line, Bashir’s sheepish appeal and celebration could have told him everything he needed to know.That would, however, be the nadir of Sri Lanka’s innings. De Silva himself grew into his role either side of the lunch break, farming the strike well in between a diet of eight well-struck boundaries, each of them showcasing his sharp footwork and delicate balance, not to mention his pre-toss faith in the surface’s true nature.Though there would be some more guileless dismissals to come – with both Kamindu Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya snicking off with uncertain footwork after Woakes and Atkinson had varied their lines and lengths – Rathnayake would not prove quite so gullible in his shot selection.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Despite channelling a bashful schoolboy while being presented with his Test cap by Kumar Sangakkara before the start of play, Sri Lanka’s debutant was more than man enough to withstand England’s eager attempts to dislodge him. His first role was to act as de Silva’s doughty sidekick, which he did to superb effect, picking off the first of his four fours in an eighth-wicket stand of 63.And then, when disaster had seemingly struck just before tea, with de Silva fencing a Bashir offbreak to Lawrence at leg slip to leave his team on 176 for 8, Rathnayake took up the cudgels for his team with impressive results. Despite boasting a previous best of 59 in 52 previous first-class innings, he picked the perfect moments to cut loose, first with a lusty swing over long-on to reach his half-century, and then a sweet drill over long-off to move along to a new career-high.England did at one stage attempt to bring Wood back into the attack to break up his burgeoning 50-run stand with Vishwa, but with his jumper halfway over his shoulders, the umpires stepped in to insist that the light was too poor for the pace bowlers. And though it took a while, Bashir eventually did the needful, tempting Rathnayake into one lofted launch too many, as Woakes back-pedalled at mid-off to end his fun.With half-an-hour to the close, Sri Lanka also turned instantly to slow bowling as the reply got underway, with two spinners sharing the new ball in a men’s Test in England for only the second time since 1970. With Lawrence opening the batting in place of Zak Crawley, he and Ben Duckett showed the probable riches still on offer in the surface, in clattering along to 22 for 0 in four overs.Prior to the start of play, both sides lined up on the outfield for a tribute to the late Graham Thorpe, who died on August 4, aged 55. England will be wearing black armbands throughout the match in memory of an England great who averaged 44.66 in a 100-Test career, and went on to play a key role as a batting mentor to many of the current team, including Pope, Root and Stokes.

Kagiso Rabada and Temba Bavuma win Test player of the year and ODI player of the year awards respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2023Quicks Anrich Nortje and Shabnim Ismail were named South Africa’s men’s and women’s cricketer of the year respectively at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) awards that were held in Midrand on Friday. The pair had previously won big at the CSA awards in 2021. In all, this was the third time that Ismail had taken top honours.The recently-retired Ismail had picked up eight wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 5.86 in South Africa’s run to a home T20 World Cup final in February. Nortje has been a strike force for South Africa across formats while his partner-in-crime Kagiso Rabada was named men’s Test cricketer of the year. Temba Bavuma scooped up the men’s ODI player of the year award while the men’s T20I award went to Reeza Hendricks who had struck back-to-back half-centuries against West Indies at home in March.Related

• Shabnim Ismail retires from international cricket

Nonkululeko Mlaba was named women’s T20I player of the year while Laura Wolvaardt claimed the women’s ODI player of the year award. Mlaba, 23, often fronts up to bowl in the powerplay in T20Is and in the home T20 World Cup earlier this year, she came away with six wickets in as many games at an average of 24.16 and a strike rate of 6.59.The MLC-bound Gerald Coetzee was adjudged men’s newcomer of the year. Coetzee had made both his Test and ODI debuts in March this year. In only his second Test, the 22-year-old fast bowler bagged a match haul of six wickets to cap South Africa’s home Test summer and their World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a 284-run victory over West Indies in Johannesburg. Coetzee was also Faf du Plessis’ go-to bowler at Joburg Super Kings during the inaugural SA20 earlier this year.”On behalf of Cricket South Africa, I would like to congratulate all the winners on their awards,” Chief Executive Officer Pholetsi Moseki said. “There were so many strong performances and outstanding candidates for awards over the past season; it really made the task of the judges exceptionally tough.”We have seen a real improvement of all our national teams over the past season, the proof of which are in the results.”

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS: NATIONAL

SA Women’s Player of the Year: Shabnim Ismail
Women’s T20I Player of the Year: Nonkululeko Mlaba
Women’s ODI Player of the Year: Laura Wolvaardt
Women’s Players’ Player of the Year: Nonkululeko Mlaba
SA Men’s Player of the Year: Anrich Nortje
Test Player of the Year: Kagiso Rabada
ODI Player of the Year: Temba Bavuma
T20I Cricketer of the Year: Reeza Hendricks

International Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Gerald Coetzee

SA Men Players’ Player of the Year: David Miller

SA Fans’ Player of the Year: Sinalo Jafta
Best Delivery Fuelled by KFC: Kagiso Rabada

The first-class competition will resume after the IPL in a bio-bubble, with the final scheduled for June 20-24

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2022Bengaluru will host the Ranji Trophy knockouts from June 4, with the final scheduled to run from June 20-24, in a bio-bubble.It is understood that there will be no mandatory quarantine, but all teams will have to arrive with a negative RT-PCR test.Forty-one-time Ranji champions Mumbai will face Uttarakhand while Karnataka are pitted against Uttar Pradesh. Bengal will face Jharkhand and Punjab will run into Madhya Pradesh in the other two quarter-finals. Both the semi-finals are then scheduled for June 12-16 following three days of rest.The first phase of the Ranji Trophy, which consisted of the league phase and one pre-quarter final, was held before the start of IPL 2022. The Ranji Trophy was shelved in 2020-21 because of the pandemic. It was the first time that India’s premier first-class competition had not featured in the calendar since its inception in the 1934-35 season.

Ranji knockouts schedule

June 4-8, First quarter-final: Bengal vs Jharkhand
June 4-8, Second quarter-final: Mumbai vs Uttarakhand
June 4-8, Third quarter-final: Karnataka vs UP

June 4-8, Fourth quarter-final: Punjab vs MP
June 12-16, First semi: Winner of QF1 vs QF4
June 12-16, Second semi: Winner of QF2 vs QF3
June 20-24: Final

He also isn’t too perturbed about talks around having to deal with the short-pitched stuff from Australia’s quicks

Shashank Kishore22-Nov-2020Rohit Sharma is all but likely to partner Mayank Agarwal at the top of the order should he be cleared to fly for the Tests in Australia, but he isn’t too fussed over his batting position.”I will tell you the same thing that I have told everyone all this while. I will be happy to bat wherever the team wants me to, but I don’t know if they would change my role as an opener,” Sharma told PTI.Having started his career in the middle order, Sharma transitioned to become a Test opener during India’s home series against South Africa last year and found immediate success. He topped the series charts with 529 runs in four innings, including three centuries.The combined tally of 525 runs between Sharma and Agarwal across both innings of the first Test in Vizag is a national record, bettering the 414 by Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan. Along the way, Sharma also became the first Indian to score two centuries in his first Test as an opener, having slammed 176 and 127.After that, he opened just twice in the subsequent series against Bangladesh before an injury ruled him out of India’s most-recent Test series in New Zealand, which they lost 2-0 in February.”I am sure the guys already in Australia must have figured out what are the options when Virat [Kohli] leaves and who are the guys who will open the innings,” he said. “Once I reach there, I will probably have a clearer idea of what’s going to happen. I will be okay to bat wherever they want.”Sharma wasn’t included in the original Test squad for Australia due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the recent IPL in the UAE, which forced him to miss four games for the Mumbai Indians. He was, however, added to the Test squad once it emerged that his injury wasn’t that bad. He is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation. On Saturday, he said the “hamstring is feeling absolutely fine, just started the process of getting it nice and strong”.ALSO READ: Ian Chappell: Australia-India series might hinge on who makes better selectionsSharma had featured in just two of the four Tests on India’s previous tour to Australia in 2018-19, scoring a highest of 63 not out with India looking for a declaration in the first innings of the third Test in Melbourne. But having been on every tour to Australia since 2008 – where he first burst into the ODI scene with a match-winning partnership with Sachin Tendulkar in the first of the tri-series finals in Sydney – he felt the surfaces are a lot more batting-friendly now.”We talk about bounce, but except for Perth, over the past few years, the other grounds (Adelaide, MCG, SCG), I don’t think have that much bounce,” he said. “Nowadays, especially while opening the batting, I will have to think about not playing the cut or pull shots and focus on playing in the ‘V’ and as straight as possible.”Among the better players of the pull shot currently, Sharma isn’t too perturbed about talks around having to deal with the short-pitched stuff from Australia’s pace attack of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.”We talk about bounce on Australian tracks. But tell me how many people got out on bouncers during the last series?” he asked. “When we played in Perth in 2018-19, it was Nathan Lyon who got eight wickets including a five-for. In Australia, half the job is done if you can start well upfront.”With new ball, whoever bowls – whether it’s Starc, Cummins or Hazlewood – they will obviously pitch it up, swing the ball and the bouncer would be used sparingly. They would try to ensure with the new ball that they would get some movement off the air or off the pitch. With the new ball, everybody in the world loves to bowl up and send down one odd bouncer here and there. So majority of the deliveries will be up and towards the bat and not short.”Sharma admits playing red-ball cricket after more than a year would be a challenge, but the key is to not think too far ahead.”It’s going to be challenging. In general, international cricket is never easy, whichever format it is,” he said. “When you had such a long layoff [from international cricket], it becomes all the more difficult. So I would be focusing on basics of red-ball cricket and then you can top up with other things. That’s how I would like to take it forward. You can’t just jump the gun and think too far ahead.”

Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh have been added to the squad for Sunday’s four-day game at Canterbury

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2019Australia have wasted little time in turning their thoughts to next month’s Ashes series after yesterday’s semi-final defeat against England, adding three players from their World Cup party to the squad to play the Lions at Canterbury on Sunday.Peter Handscomb, who was bowled by Chris Woakes for 4 yesterday in his only appearance of the tournament, is joined by Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh – who had joined the squad as injury cover for Marcus Stoinis – in the 15-man squad that will now play as ‘Australia XI’ rather than ‘Australia A’.Handscomb struggled throughout his brief stay at the crease against England, and former Australia bowling coach Craig McDermott questioned his selection ahead of Wade on Twitter.ODI captain Aaron Finch played down the impact that Thursday’s defeat would have on the Ashes.”There’ll be a high turnover of players I imagine,” he said. “I don’t think the guys carry too much baggage when [they are] going between formats. If we rolled up and played a one-dayer tomorrow, there might be a few scars, but in terms of the Tests, I don’t think so.”Pat Cummins said that while Australia did not need much extra fuel, the defeat “gives us a little bit more”.”We’re back here in two or three weeks,” he said. “I feel like I’ve played here now, know what to expect from the crowd.”The tourists’ squad for the game includes 12 players with 196 Test caps between them. The only members without experience at that level – Michael Neser, Will Pucovski, and Chris Tremain – have all previously been named in Test squads.The squad includes Joe Burns and Marcus Harris, who are in direct competition to partner David Warner at the top of the order in the first Test at Edgbaston on August 1. Both men hit hundreds in a 10-wicket win against Sussex this week.Tim Paine, who will captain the side, said he expects the tourists to increase their focus in Sunday’s game. “It’s not that we weren’t at 100 percent intensity,” he told cricket.com.au, “but next week’s game is against an English team and we expect to be right in the contest.”Potentially, there’s going to be guys in [the Lions’] team that play in the first Test, so any opportunity we get to put some doubts in their mind we’ve got to take.”Following their game against the Lions, Australia play an intra-squad first-class game at the Ageas Bowl on July 23.James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood are both expected to be rested for the game at Canterbury, with both likely to be named in the Ashes squad.England Lions, meanwhile, go into the game with only three players with Test caps – Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, and Sam Curran, who received a late call-up to the squad after Saqib Mahmood withdrew due to injury.They will be captained by Lewis Gregory, the Somerset allrounder, and also include Dom Sibley, the leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship this summer.Australia XI squad: Tim Paine (captain), Jackson Bird, Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Kurtis Patterson, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Chris Tremain, Matthew WadeEngland Lions squad: Lewis Gregory (captain), James Bracey, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Sam Hain, Jack Leach, Sam Northeast, Jamie Porter, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley

Mumbai are in dire need of a change of fortune, but Chennai Super Kings may not be in an obliging mood

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit27-Apr-20184:43

Agarkar: Rohit needs to bat a bit higher

Form guide (most recent matches first)

Chennai Super Kings: Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs, beat Rajasthan Royals by 64 runs
Mumbai Indians: Lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 31 runs, lost to Rajasthan Royals by three wickets, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 46 runs.

Big Picture

Since playing the tournament opener in Mumbai, the two most successful teams in IPL history have had contrasting journeys in the last 20 days. Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings have most bases covered and are dominating the league with only one loss so far whereas defending champions Mumbai Indians are languishing at the bottom with only one win to their name.Mumbai’s ride hasn’t been as bad as Delhi Daredevils’ but when they were bowled out for 87 by Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, they had moved one step closer to pressing the panic button. Two more losses and they will virtually be out of the playoffs race. But their next opponent is a team that has only become stronger in the last week. Super Kings’ batting order looks solid, opening bowlers move the ball around, Dwayne Bravo delivers with bat and ball in the death overs, and MS Dhoni’s six-hitting during his 70* off 34 against Royal Challengers Bangalore is surely not going to soothe any Mumbai bowler’s nerves.Mumbai’s bowling has not stuttered much though. Their middle order has been the main weakness and even though individual efforts have stood out sporadically, the entire unit hasn’t been able to come together to clinch the crucial moments, especially in the dying moments of their close losses. Mayank Markande continues to strangle the opposition, one of their top-order batsmen scores runs in nearly every game, Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t leak too many runs, but something is still amiss. Mumbai need to plug their holes quickly because time is running out.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Imran TahirMumbai Indians: 1 Suryakumar Yadav, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Rohit Sharma (capt), 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Mitchell McClenaghan, 9 Mayank Markande, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Previous meeting

Who knows how different Mumbai’s season could have been had they beaten Super Kings in the opening match. Mumbai had them at 118 for 8 in the 17th over after scoring 165 for 4 before Bravo turned Mumbai’s music down and made them dance to his own tunes.

Strategy Punt

Mumbai need to make some changes, be it in personnel or shuffling of the batting order. Learning from their only win so far, they could open with Rohit Sharma, who scored a majestic 94 off 52 at No. 4 against Royal Challengers, but had effectively opened after they were 0 for 2 in the first over. Rohit’s slow starts and late flourishes are not a secret anymore. His strike rate in the IPL Powerplays since 2015 is 127.3 so if Evin Lewis can do the hitting initially and Rohit later on, they may have a better chance to utilise his batting style.

Stats that matter

• Ambati Rayudu has scored 283 runs this season at a strike rate of 159 and average of 47.2. He needs 113 more runs to make this his most prolific IPL season. He also needs 84 runs to reach 4000 runs in T20s.
• Super Kings’ economy rate in the middle overs stands at 8.57, only behind Rajasthan Royals’ 8.59. Imran Tahir has been crucial in that phase with six wickets.
• Tahir has enjoyed bowling at the MCA Stadium in the IPL. The legspinner has 15 wickets from eight innings at the ground, with an average of 17 and economy rate of 8.2.
• Dwayne Bravo has an enviable record against two of Mumbai bowlers in T20s. He has scored 30 runs off 16 balls against Jasprit Bumrah and 40 off 18 balls against Mitchell McClenaghan.
• Expect Mustafizur Rahman to bowl as soon as Ravindra Jadeja comes out to bat. The allrounder has scored only 16 runs off 18 balls against him in all T20s, and has been dismissed four times.
• Kieron Pollard could draw inspiration from his record against Dwayne Bravo to turn his form around: 182 runs off 111 balls with a strike rate of 164.

Fantasy picks

Krunal Pandya and Shane Watson. Picking allrounders is the safest bet in fantasy for obvious reasons. Krunal has been the most economical Mumbai bowler (7.04) this season, has taken four catches and six wickets in 15 overs. He also bats at No. 5 nowadays, above Kieron Pollard and Hardik, which allows him time to score more runs. Watson has struck a century, boasts of a strike rate of 162 this season and is their joint second-highest wicket taker, with an economy rate of 8.23. He could well be one of the most valued allrounders this season.

Kusal Mendis’s unbeaten 166 helped Sri Lanka to post a comfortable 321 for 4 on the first day in Galle

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle07-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:35

Fernando: No-ball scare gave Mendis focus

How sweet homecomings can be. Having failed to score 300 in any of their six Test innings in South Africa, Sri Lanka rode Kusal Mendis’ suave 166 not out to a score of 321 for 4 on the first day in Galle. Along the way, Mendis signed up Asela Gunaratne for a sidekick, forging with him a dominant 196-run fourth-wicket stand, of which Gunaratne’s share was 85.This Galle pitch deserves a first-innings total of at least 400, so although Sri Lanka’s position is strong for now, it is certainly not an unassailable one. Bangladesh, though, will rue their falling away towards the end of the day. Their first three hours had been disciplined and energetic, the quicks squeezing a little movement from a reluctant surface in the early overs, before the spinners dealt almost exclusively in tight lines and lengths at their initial introduction. Their initial reward for this stretch of good bowling was a scoreline of 92 for 3, but then their pep waivered. The last dismissal came after several hours, not long before the close of play.

Mendis-Gunaratne’s record

• 2 Centuries for Kusal Mendis at home from nine innings. Mendis scored 176 against Australia last year and is currently unbeaten on 166. This is also his third first-class century.

• 166 Runs scored by Sri Lanka from 35 overs in the third session of play. Mendis scored 86 of those runs.

• 196 Runs added by Gunaratne and Mendis – the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh

That late scalp was well-deserved by Taskin Ahmed, though – he was Bangladesh’s most consistent operator through the day, and it was appropriate that he have at least one scalp to show for his toil.Mendis’ innings was not without its flaws, but the mistakes came in the early going. He was assured through the middle of the day, and by the end: sublime. The worst shot had been his first. Mendis flashed at a short ball outside off stump from Subhashis Roy, to send an under-edge to the keeper. Bangladesh were celebrating and he was trudging off when the umpires sought to run a no-ball check, with replays showing the bowler had overstepped. Though visibly relieved, the experience was enough to scare Mendis into early reticence – only 22 came from his first 60 balls.There had been a little juice in the pitch in the early overs, too – a modicum of sideways movement, and just a hint of zip off the pitch. When this disappeared in the day’s relentless heat, Mendis began to prosper. First he parsed the mild spin of Shakib Al Hasan and the moderate turn of Mehedi Hasan. He then withstood Taskin’s intense second and third spells. Eventually Subashis tried to unsettle him with a short-ball assault, but though the occasional bouncer beat his hook shot, and another ball took the splice of his bat, he retained his wicket, and soon enough, began to score off the rib-high balls as well. As always with a good Mendis innings, there was that flicked on-drive, but on this occasion it was the swat-pull that defined his progress through the middle of the day. His first fifty took 101 deliveries but, in the company of Gunaratne – who was also scoring smoothly – Mendis hit his second off 64 balls.As the day grew long, and Bangladesh began to visibly wilt, Mendis only grew more dominant. He slinked down the crease to hit Shakib over long-on in the 76th over, then slog-swept Mehedi over deep midwicket soon after. He sailed past 150 in the final overs of the day. This innings was not nearly as impressive as his maiden ton – 176 against Australia last year – but he has, nevertheless, already displayed a thirst for big hundreds.Gunaratne, his partner for 43 overs, rarely appeared troubled at the crease, and was quick to punish anything short. Against the spinners he deployed his favoured sweep and reverse sweep. He glided to a half-century in 85 balls, and rarely failed to find gaps to release the pressure when a few dot balls had built up. This was his third fifty-plus score in five Test innings.Before Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal had produced a long, fruitless stay at the crease. It was not tortured exactly – the ball rarely beating his bat or causing him strife – but it was unambitious in the extreme. Why he embraced this ultra-conservative approach is unclear, particularly as he had just clattered 190 off 253 against the same attack in the tour match last week. Whatever the case, he only succeeded in taking time out of the game. Midway through the afternoon, a sudden burst of energy overtook him: he attempted to flay Mustafizur Rahman through the covers, then tried to slash him a little squarer next ball. The first shot was mistimed, and yielded no run. The second attempt sent a thick outside edge directly to gully, who gobbled up the catch. Chandimal ended with 5 runs to show for 54 balls and 71 minutes at the crease.The first session had been Bangladesh’s best, as Subhashis, Taskin and Mustafizur delivered impeccable spells to corner Sri Lanka into conservatism. Subhashis had made the first incision, darting a ball back off the seam to rattle Upul Tharanga’s stumps. Mehedi had Dimuth Karunaratne cutting too close to his body to make the second breakthrough. Sri Lanka were 61 for 2 at lunch, and there seemed a chance, at that stage, that their unusual decision to field only six batsmen for this Test would immediately hurt them.Mendis ensured that would not be the case.

Ravi Shastri, India’s team director, has put the onus on the bowlers to learn their lessons and in particular, he has defended the batsmen against charges of selfishness

Sidharth Monga19-Jan-20162:05

‘An opportunity for youngsters to learn’ – Shastri

Ravi Shastri, India’s team director, has thrown his weight behind his batsmen and has asked the bowlers to learn their lessons. India have scored 309, 308 and 295 in the first three ODIs of the series against Australia, but have failed to defend any of those totals. In particular, Shastri has defended the batsmen against charges of selfishness.India have so far scored 67, 67 and 60 from overs 31 to 40. These have been the overs when their set batsmen have approached their hundreds. In Perth, Rohit Sharma took 24 balls from 83 at the start of the 31st over to reach his hundred. Similarly in Brisbane, between the 30th and the 40th overs, Rohit took 21 balls to move from 86 to 100. Virat Kohli took 15 balls to score the last 16 runs of his century between the 38th and 43rd overs in Melbourne.This has reignited a belief held by some Australians that Indian batsmen slow down near a milestone, costing their team crucial runs. Matthew Hayden said so 10 years ago, and it has begun resonating in the Australian media again.MS Dhoni calmly said “no” when asked if he thought Indian batsmen were milestone-driven, but Shastri had a more colourful answer. “If they were focusing on milestones, Virat Kohli wouldn’t have been the fastest to 7000 runs; he would have taken another 100 games. If that was the case, Rohit Sharma would not be having two double hundreds, and a score of 264.”Shastri also said there wasn’t much more the batsmen could have done even though they were playing probably a third-choice Australian bowling attack. “I don’t think so,” Shastri said. “If you look at the skills of those bowlers, there is skill there. You might say inexperience. They have played a lot of cricket, a lot of domestic T20s, a lot of one-days. So the skill factor is very good.”The Indian attack is far more experienced, but a mix of conditions and poor bowling has let them down. Shastri said the bowlers needed to learn fast. “Finishing touch is better bowling, and being more consistent as a bowling unit. As MS mentioned, there were too many easy boundaries. It is not like the batsmen had to earn it, they were given. That should be eliminated. Even if you cut that by 60%, we will have tighter games. Those are the areas. Attention to basics. If we do that right, who knows…”With the series lost and expectation reduced, Shastri said he wanted the bowlers to show him they had learned their lesson. “What you want to see is the bowlers learning from what has happened in the first three games,” he said. “If that happens, that will be the biggest plus irrespective of the result. That is what I said last year when we played cricket in Australia. We might have lost the series 2-0, but deep inside I knew the way the boys played there was only going to be improvement.”Shastri did mention the tough schedule and injuries (one, to Mohammed Shami) as a mitigating factor. “It is a young side, there have been three debutants, we have been plagued by injuries,” Shastri said. “No excuses, I am not giving any excuses here, but it is an opportunity for the youngsters to learn. In Australia nothing comes easy. It’s one of the hardest places to play. You are playing against the world champions. The fact that you are competing, and they have competed right through this one-day series, is very good.”We need bench strength, this is one of the toughest tours. And I have been to Australia many many times. I tell you why. Because if you look at the last six days we have been in three time zones. It is not often you go through that. You play in Perth, get on a flight to Brisbane where the time is different, then to Melbourne where the time is different. All in a matter of six days. When you consider all that, I think the boys have done extremely well.”Shastri said he will ask the BCCI to send a 16-member squad for such tours.

Cricket South Africa will interview three candidates, including former ICC chief Haroon Lorgat, for the chief executive’s job next week

Firdose Moonda10-Jul-2013Former ICC boss Haroon Lorgat is one of three candidates who will be interviewed by CSA for the position of CEO next week. The body has been without a permanent replacement for Gerald Majola since he was sacked last October although its leadership position has been fluid for the last 16 months, since Majola was suspended in March 2012.CSA has been through one acting boss, Jacques Faul, who is now in charge of the Titans franchise and are currently on their second. Naasei Appiah, the organisation’s CFO has been heading it since March this year as the timeline for appointing a CEO continues to shift.Initial talk out of CSA’s offices was that it would appoint its new CEO by April this year. In May, it announced that the process was still “running on schedule,” and the seat would be filled by the beginning of July. This has now been moved a third time.ESPNcricinfo understands one of the reasons for the delay was caused by difficulties in drawing up a shortlist. Despite receiving over 200 applications, CSA’s board was not satisfied with the overall calibre of the people who expressed interest in the job and extended the process to see if they could attract other candidates.Some of the contenders who are up against Lorgat are believed to be Bheki Shongwe, MD of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa’s current football champions, university professor Denver Hendricks and head of Kagiso media Murphy Morobe. Previously Lorgat was understood to be competing with CSA’s cricket operations manager Mike Gajjar, Border Cricket CEO Thema Lupuwana and CSA’s transformation manager Max Jordaan and the concern was that the majority of candidates lacked significant business experience.Now, Lorgat remains the favourite but for a different reason: he could be the only one with extensive cricketing knowledge. Lorgat has been involved with South African cricket in the past, as convenor of selectors, ran the ICC for four years and has been involved at consultancy levels with Sri Lanka and Pakistan in recent months.The biggest obstacle to his challenge for the job appears to be from another cricketing country – India. The BCCI has made clear its preference that CSA does not appoint Lorgat because of the Indian board’s acrimonious history with him. Lorgat is believed to have irked the BCCI in his time at the ICC. As a result, India threatened to pull out of the upcoming tour to South Africa if Lorgat was given the job, according to CSA’s lead independent director Norman Arendse, who revealed the BCCI’s stance in March.CSA has since made public the fixtures for India’s tour to South Africa between November and January, which includes seven ODIs, two T20s and three Tests. India have objected to the itinerary, saying CSA released the schedule without the BCCI’s consent and that they would prefer fewer ODIs to give their players time off before they head to New Zealand.While the BCCI claim to have notified CSA of its grievances, CSA say it has not received any formal complaint. The already tense relationship between the two boards, who were previously on excellent terms, may only escalate as Lorgat moves closer to the top job.