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Former World Cup winning captain backs Buttler and Mott as captain-coach combo to lead England’s defence in the T20 World Cup next year

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2023Eoin Morgan has described the idea he should replace Matthew Mott as England’s white-ball coach ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup as “a bit far-fetched” and said that Mott should be given the chance to put things right at next year’s tournament.Morgan, who captained England to their first men’s ODI World Cup in 2019, has been working on the 2023 tournament as a broadcaster, either side of a trip home for the birth of his child. Since returning to India last week, he has been highly critical of England’s performance, which has left them on the brink of elimination after five defeats in six games.Mott coached England to the T20 World Cup last year and on Sunday, he denied Morgan’s implication that there are issues in the dressing room. He has come under growing scrutiny from the English press and after England’s 100-run defeat to India in Lucknow, one column in the argued that Morgan should take over in the event that the ECB decide Mott’s time is up.Related

• Stokes to undergo knee surgery after World Cup and 'hopefully be fine' for India Tests

• Mark Wood targets 2025-26 Ashes after securing three-year ECB deal

• England turn focus towards Champions Trophy qualification

• Matthew Mott dismisses Eoin Morgan suggestion of squad rift as England hit rock-bottom

Speaking on Sky Sports, Morgan said that the column was “a bit far-fetched” and said that he had no intention of becoming a coach in the near future. “Everybody’s entitled to interpretate [sic] my comments,” he said. “I was very clear in what I thought might be a cause to the performance that the England team have produced throughout this World Cup.”Nobody in the changing room – captain or captain, any of the players – can explain the situation that they find themselves in. But I’m very happy and cemented, hopefully, in what I’m going to do for the future. I spend a lot of time at home now with my young family, which is great, and I love watching on.”Eoin Morgan: “The players have to look at themselves and take a bit of responsibility”•Getty Images

Morgan believes that the short turnaround before next year’s T20 World Cup in June will play in Mott and captain Jos Buttler’s favour. “I actually think talk of replacing captain and coach is not a good idea at the moment, simply because of the high turnover of World Cups,” he said. “They’re double world champions for a reason: they’re not a bad team by any stretch.”Matthew Mott is going through his biggest challenge of his England coaching career at the moment, and it’s one that he should be given time to put right, certainly towards the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA,” he added.Mark Wood became the latest England squad member to defend Mott on Wednesday, saying that the players themselves need to take more responsibility for their underperformance. Asked by the BBC if there is still support for Mott among the players, Wood said: “For a [T20] World Cup-winning coach? Support for a World Cup-winning coach? Absolutely.”As a player you have everything you need… you cannot pin everything on the coach. Sometimes, the players have to look at themselves and take a bit of responsibility. I have not performed well enough in this World Cup… I don’t think you can pin it on the captain or the coach. Sometimes you have to look at yourself and say you haven’t been good enough.”England still have plenty to play for in their final three group games, starting against Australia in Ahmedabad on Saturday before fixtures against the Netherlands and Pakistan next week – not least qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The ICC confirmed last week that hosts Pakistan will be joined by the other seven-highest finishers at this World Cup, and England sit 10th as things stand.Morgan said that failure to reach that tournament would leave the ECB and men’s managing director Rob Key in a difficult position. “If the England team don’t qualify for the Champions Trophy, the likes of Rob Key and the board at the ECB will come under increasing pressure surrounding his [Mott’s] job,” he said.

“There is less pressure when you have guys like Pollard, Narine, Pooran and Russell in the dressing room,” head coach says

Deivarayan Muthu09-Sep-20222:07

Abhishek Nayar: Akeal Hosein will serve WI in all formats for a long time

Abhishek Nayar isn’t feeling additional pressure in his first stint in the CPL, as Trinbago Knight Riders’ head coach, and likens the experience to overseeing a “state or a country side”, thanks to the presence of a number of senior players. Nayar, the former India allrounder, is also part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ support staff as assistant coach and is often credited for unlocking Dinesh Karthik’s potential as a finisher in T20s. CPL 2022, however, is his first high-profile head-coach job on the T20 franchise circuit.”I can assure you that I’ve enjoyed it [the head-coach role] a lot,” Nayar said during a virtual media interaction. “There is less pressure when you have guys like Polly [Kieron Pollard], Sunny [Sunil Narine], [Nicholas] Pooran and [Andre] Russell in the dressing room. There is less pressure because they handle most of it. You know when you have a bunch of experienced cricketers and people who have played at the highest level for a long time and have been great performers, I think it’s just about making sure you give them what they need to perform.”When you’re part of a franchise, you just want to make sure that the players get what they want to perform and that’s a mindset as a coach and it continues to be so [for me]. So, in terms of pressure, not [much] really, but there’s a lot of excitement and for me personally, it has been absolutely enjoyable because it’s a great bunch of boys and I almost feel like I’m working not with a great franchise but a state or a country side that plays together all the time. You don’t have to worry about getting the guys together or team bonding. Everyone has bonded and the mood in the dressing room is absolutely electric, funny and [we have] a lot of laughs all the time.”In their most recent game – a rain-hit one in St Lucia – Knight Riders lost seven wickets in seven overs during their pursuit of 195 and eventually lost the game by 80 runs via DLS method to the table-topping Barbados Royals. Nayar brushed that aside as an off day and said that he would take such a defeat now rather than during the knockouts.”I look at it as one bad day that came at the right time,” Nayar said. “I feel you rather have a game like that early in the tournament and I believe that when you have a bunch of professionals who are legends in their own right, sometimes a wake-up call early in the tournament is better than later on. We always believe in a tournament that is so long in a period of a month, you want to peak at the right time and I feel that the way things are going we will end [well].”There is less pressure when there are senior players like Andre Russell in the dressing room, Nayar says•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Earlier this week, Knight Riders women had clinched the inaugural women’s CPL title after beating Royals in a low-scorer. Nayar said the men’s side hasn’t had a discussion on doing the double this season, but believed that Pollard and co. have the experience and pedigree to do the job.”I think we are a very process-driven franchise and yes the eventual goal is to always win the championship,” Nayar said. We’ve always been a team that has played for gold. The mindset is to win, but like I said it’s a process and it’s a long process and you just to focus game-by-game and day-by-day and see what we need to do to get the guys in great space and eventually win the title. We haven’t spoken about it, but it’s something that everyone is determined to do for sure.”Nayar also said Akeal Hosein, the fingerspin-bowling allrounder, is on the road to recovery after he had injured his groin while diving in the infield during Knight Riders’ opening fixture, against St Lucia Kings. Hosein has since missed Knight Riders’ next two games, but Nayar hinted that he could return to action soon.”Akeal Hosein is recovering well. He had a very minor strain on his groin. Hopefully he will be fit soon. We’re trying to get him some time at the nets before he is match-fit after his injury. He is looking good and he’s in great shape and should be back on the field.”Not sure yet [about his availability for Knight Riders’ next match]. Because of the rain we haven’t been able to practice yet and he hasn’t tested himself yet on the field post his injury, so hopefully we can get a good session in and we can assess from that.”Abhishek Nayar is also part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ support staff in the IPL•BCCI

Nayar was particularly enthused about Hosein’s rise as West Indies’ premier spinner – with or without Narine – and predicted that he would be a long-serving all-format player. Hosein had first attracted Nayar’s attention when had travelled to the Caribbean in 2019 along with Karthik, who was the captain of KKR at the time, to scout for talent. Nayar then worked with Hosein at Kolkata Knight Riders, where the latter got a gig as a net bowler.”I think it [Hosein’s growth] has been terrific,” Nayar said. “I remember coming here in 2019, prior to Covid when Baz [Brendon McCullum] took over. “I remember Khary [Pierre] being our lead left-arm spinner then and Akeal got a game or two towards the end and the following year is when his resurrection started. I feel he’s grown leaps and bounds not only as a bowler but also as a batsman. I think he’s become a very capable allrounder now for West Indies.”I think a lot of credit needs to go to the way he has carried himself and his will to become a better cricketer. I think the one thing that stands out about Akeal is his determination and his willingness to learn. That shows in how he’s grown as a cricketer through and through and I have no doubt that in the future he will be someone who is going to serve West Indies for a really long time in all formats.”Nayar also said that USA quick Ali Khan has been sidelined from the entire CPL with injury and that Sri Lanka mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana is still awaiting a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to link up with Knight Riders after the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE.”In terms of Ali Khan, he has been unfortunately ruled out and had a minor surgery,” Nayar said. “He [Theekshana] still hasn’t received his NOC, so we’re kind of hoping for the board to eventually give his NOC and then we will have further updates on that.”

Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj are new entrants, while Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur have earned promotions

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2021Wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were a crucial part of India’s white-ball plans in the lead-up to the 50-over World Cup in 2019, have suffered demotions in the BCCI’s list of centrally contracted men’s players for the October 2020 to September 2021 period.Kuldeep was among the core group of Grade A players in the 2019-20 contracts list, while Chahal featured in Grade B. Both have now dropped down to Grade C.Shubman Gill is one of three new players on BCCI’s men’s contracts list for 2020-21•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A spate of injuries has also led to a demotion for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade A to B), while Hardik Pandya (B to A) and Shardul Thakur (C to B) have earned promotions in the new contracts list.Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj, who made impressive Test debuts during the 2020-21 season when India overcame an injury crisis to beat Australia 2-1 away and England 3-1 at home, all entered the contracts list as Grade C players. Patel returns to the contracts list for the first time since 2017-18, when he was a Grade C player, while Gill and Siraj have been contracted for the first time.Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey, who have lost their place in India’s white-ball squads over recent months, have dropped out of the contracts list.India captain Virat Kohli, white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma and fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah remain the only three players in the Grade A+ category. Apart from Pandya, the Grade A players include wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, fast bowler Mohammed Shami, Test specialists R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, and white-ball openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul.There is no change in the pay structure for the players, with the Grade A+ players earning INR 7 crore per year, Grade A earning INR 5 crore, Grade B INR 3 crore, and Grade C INR 1 crore.The demotions of Kuldeep and Chahal coincide with fallow periods in both players’ careers. Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Chahal averages 37.12 in ODIs and Kuldeep a worrying 58.41, with both returning economy rates north of six an over. Kuldeep has played only three T20Is since the World Cup, while Chahal has only picked up 16 wickets in 17 games while conceding 9.13 runs per over.Kuldeep’s Test-match stocks have fallen away too. Talked up by India coach Ravi Shastri as their No. 1 overseas spinner in Test cricket after the 2018-19 tour of Australia, he has only played one Test match since.

Buttler says England must learn from New Zealand’s approach to first Test

George Dobell in Mount Maunganui24-Nov-2019Jos Buttler believes England must learn from New Zealand’s approach in the first Test in Mount Manganui.While England were kept in the field for more than 200 overs as New Zealand amassed more than 600 runs, Buttler felt it was England’s batsmen who had most to learn from New Zealand’s disciplined approach to the game. England were dismissed for 353 in their first innings; a score that looks ever more below par the longer the match progresses.”If we’re really critical, it’s the first-innings runs with the bat [which have cost us],” Buttler said. “New Zealand played a very patient game with the bat. They showed the value of that patient game of batting on flat wickets and setting your sights very high. BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner really set their stall out and batted for a long time. They put a lot of overs into our legs and built that score.”We have to learn to be able to do that. You look at the top sides around the world on flat wickets and they get very, very big scores and bat for a very, very long time.”That’s a big learning point for us. With the bat, just when you think you’re getting to a place where you need to be, there’s a lot more hard work to come to build those big scores.”You can’t fault the bowlers’ efforts. I thought the effort of everyone was outstanding.”Also read: Watling knock raises questions on England’s gameWhile Buttler accepted England had struggled to adapt from the “fast-forward cricket” played in England in recent times, he rejected the suggestion the Kookaburra ball should be adopted in Championship cricket. Instead he insisted the Dukes ball, which generally provides bowlers with more assistance, created more entertaining cricket but suggested the pitches in county cricket should be improved.”Test cricket with a Dukes ball in England is fantastic,” he said. “It’s very watchable. It’s a good contest between bat and ball. I think most people talk about introducing a Dukes to the rest of the world as opposed to the other way around.”The product we have with Test cricket in England is up there with the best product in the world so I wouldn’t want to tamper with that very much.”One thing potentially we can do in England is play on better batting wickets. The Dukes ball still offers the bowlers enough, especially in England if you get the overhead conditions. But we could look at playing county cricket on better batting wickets.”But we have played a lot of Test cricket in different conditions over the past year where it’s been fast-forward cricket. We have to be adaptable. There’s some education for all of us as batters.”What had looked a docile pitch when New Zealand batted suddenly looked full of danger when England began their second innings. But Butter suggested that was a reflection of the match situation and the pressure England were under as much as it was anything to do with the pitch. And, he said, it was another area England had to learn from New Zealand.”We have to learn about scoreboard pressure as well,” he said. “If you have got those runs on the board, if you have put miles into the legs of batsmen who have to field for 200 overs, it puts those guys under a lot of pressure when they come out to bat 10 minutes later.”Scoreboard pressure is massive. If we had made 450-500-plus in the first innings, it would have been a completely different outlook for the team batting second.”Buttler also defended Jofra Archer from any criticism, providing a reminder that he is only five Tests into his career.”I think you all forget Jofra is very new to international cricket,” he said. “It’s his first overseas tour and the first time he’s bowled with a Kookaburra ball. He is a very special talent but he is only five games into his Test career. You can’t ask too much of him too soon.”He’s a very special talent and we’ve got to look after him. He’s a fantastic guy and has a great attitude as well. He’ll learn from this and he’s a great attribute to us.”

South Africa didn’t find any more answers to their batting woes in the final group game, but they found a relatively big win to close their tournament

The Report by Varun Shetty19-Nov-2018It was the same old story for Bangladesh as their bowlers strangled South Africa and restricted them to 109, but their batting couldn’t stretch the score past 80 for the fourth time this tournament. Thirty runs was a relatively huge win for South Africa, who didn’t leave the tournament with any more answers about their struggles with the bat than they had before the game began.

South Africa’s Dane van Niekerk on…

The atmosphere in St Lucia on Sunday: “I think it was brilliant. And I heard the game [between West Indies and England] was sold out. To get in there and see the atmosphere… 10,000 really excited fans, each and every person has rhythm, it’s quite exciting to see. The women’s game deserves a fan base like that. I hope the whole world saw how much fun the fans had tonight, and all credit to two very good sides that put up a very good show for them.”
On having a standalone Women’s World T20: “I think we need to create our own brand. As women cricketers, we can’t shy behind the men anymore because I think that’s where people make the mistake of comparing women’s cricket to men’s cricket. And our skill is just as good in our own right. So we need to shy away from being labelled, I guess, the same as the men, because I think that’s when people get their expectations all mixed up. I think it’s the way to go and hopefully it will stay.”

South Africa left out Laura Wolvaardt in favour of Sune Luus, which meant Dane van Niekerk was pushed up to a more natural role as opener. She joined Lizelle Lee who had her best outing of the tournament, hitting three fours as the new opening pair struck at more than eight per over. That was until she called for a single at short-third man and was run out sliding the back of the bat into the floor with a dive. This meant that despite having crossed the crease, the curve of the bat meant it wasn’t grounded. It was somewhat unfortunate, but it was yet another run-out for South Africa in a tournament marked by them. This was further emphasised later on with Mignon du Preez’s run-out in the 18th over, which was purely her own doing and cost South Africa runs at the end of the innings.In the middle, they were kept quiet by a very disciplined spin attack that pulled Bangladesh back from a Powerplay in which they had conceded 48. Van Niekerk was forced into a shell, and Marizanne Kapp was stunningly caught at deep midwicket by Fargana Hoque, diving to her left. From there, a series of ordinary shots against straight balls translated into a massive collapse and slowdown. Niekerk, Luus, Chloe Tryon, and Masabata Klaas were all bowled with the ball sneaking between bat and pad. Salma Khatun and Khadija Kubra were often the bowlers inflicting such damage.Dane van Niekerk clobbers one into the leg side•Getty Images

Neither team had incentive as far as progressing in the tournament was concerned, but at the halfway stage, Bangladesh had opened up one prospect – if they had chased 110 down in about 13 overs, they would have finished above South Africa on the table and sealed direct qualification to the next edition of the tournament.But that was never in the plan, it turned out, as they prodded through another unproductive batting Powerplay, making 13 for 1 in the first six overs. The boundary shots, it seemed, was limited to the sweep, which meant they had to wait till the eighth over to pick up their first four. But even with a largely spin-heavy attack through the middle overs, South Africa didn’t face too much by way of aggression. Bangladesh seemed resigned to the fate that they didn’t have sufficient big-hitters in the squad and the required rate had seemed too steep for them before even the halfway mark. Hoque and Rumana Ahmed batted nearly eight overs for their fourth-wicket stand of 27. It was the most significant one of the innings, and the underlying theme of the chase.

A year ago there were tears in the pavilion for Middlesex’s title win. This year the need is only for survival and the most valuable fizz is on the field

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's20-Sep-20171:18

Kumar Sangakkara’s staggering record leads our Championship round-up

There is something oddly beautiful about a relegation scrap, even here, with only Middlesex in danger. Lancashire, safe, dismayed the race to the top was settled so soon, with a million excuses to have mentally checked out of the 2017 season, are playing their part in a back-and-forth tussle that started with brass knuckles and will be settled by brass balls. That this match, on an unpredictable pitch which has created more errors than excellence, is being played at Lord’s is a quirky filter that provides a wonderfully distorted picture.Oh, the wonders this ground has seen. You only need to go back to the end of last summer when the 2016 season was brought to such a thrilling conclusion for Middlesex’s title win. There were tears in the Pavilion, champagne on the outfield and, after 23 years, a trophy in the cabinet.A year on, barring a handful of interruptions for bad light, the sun shone brightly and the members ensured the best seats in the house didn’t go to waste for the last match of the season. And while the fizz still flowed, the cricket on show was gritty rather than golden. It had to be.No batsman has come in and looked comfortable. Sam Robson was the most at ease with a battling half-century brought up off 96 balls in a Middlesex’s second innings in which his 56 was top score, one of three in double figures, was the top scorer.Luckily for Middlesex, they went into the second innings with the benefit of a 68-run lead, having taken the final five Lancashire first innings wickets for just 52 runs. To do so with a bowler light – Toby Roland-Jones, unable to take to the field with a stiff back, will play no more part in this match after an inconclusive back scan today – spoke volumes of the dirty work that needs to be done.Middlesex fans would rather it did not have to be this way, but they should be proud that their side have rediscovered the grimy qualities that sometimes four-day cricket requires. Traditionalists might see the defending Champions embroiled in a dog fight at Lord’s to stay in the division as unbecoming. And sure: you wouldn’t fork out £1,615-a-night for the Piccadilly Suite at the Ritz only to raid the discount aisle at Tesco for your dinner.But needs must and Middlesex discarded whatever baggage that might have been holding them back this summer – selfish goals, England ambitions and whatever else – to fight together as they did last summer.After 15 wickets fell on day one, 15 more fell to leave Lancashire a target of 221. By stumps, they had made it to 46 for the loss of Alex Davies. They need 175 tomorrow but rather less than Middlesex need those nine wickets.Sam Robson compiled a vital half-century•Getty Images

The day’s end came just as the hosts were starting to lose focus. Tim Murtagh, excellent in the morning to remove a dangerous-looking Steven Croft and Jordan Clark (his third and fourth of the innings), lost his usually unerring accuracy to give Haseeb Hameed the four boundaries that currently make up his unbeaten 22.Whatever bruises Lancashire took in the morning in being dismissed for 165 were avenged by Tom Bailey, who collected his second five-wicket haul of the match. His match figures of 10 for 98 are a new career best. He profited most from bounce: pushing Nick Compton back before finding his edge with a fuller delivery and then pinning Stevie Eskinazi on the hand in a set-up that finished with knocking over the right-hander’s off stump. His third kept Lancashire in the match when Robson felt compelled to hook out to deep square leg, where Kyle Jarvis leapt superbly to his right to take one of the catches of the season. The same combination of bowler, fielder and athleticism did for John Simpson, this time at cover, allowing Bailey to claim his maiden ten-for in a match when he trapped Ollie Rayner in front for five.Neither Rayner, nor Roland-Jones, who was able to bat but walked like a man who had forgot to take the hanger out of his shirt, were able to recreate their opening-day blitz of 102 in 20.5 overs.Lancashire will entertain a similar approach when they arrive for the third day. Liam Livingstone is timing the ball nicely. Never mind that a match winning turn on this pitch could grant him a seat on that plane to Australia next month – tomorrow brings a battle and Livingstone is not one to retreat.

Cricket Australia has named an 18-man National Performance Squad for the upcoming quadrangular one-day series in Queensland, featuring teenage carrom-ball spinner Arjun Nair

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2016Cricket Australia has named an 18-man National Performance Squad for the upcoming quadrangular one-day series in Queensland, featuring teenage carrom-ball spinner Arjun Nair.New South Wales allrounder Sean Abbott is the most experienced member of the group, which will take on Australia A, India A and South Africa A in a tournament in Townsville and Mackay during August.Nair, 18, is an emerging spinner who played two matches for New South Wales last summer but is particularly notable in Australia for his varieties. Although yet to make his List A debut, he will have the chance to show off his short-form talent in the four-team series.In May, a 24-man Australia A squad was named for a winter campaign set to include four first-class games against South Africa A and India A as well as the one-day series, although specific groups for the one-day and four-day matches were to be confirmed closer to the games. Three men named in that squad – Matthew Renshaw, Sam Heazlett and Mitch Swepson – will play for Australia A in the first-class games and for the NPS in the one-day series.”All of these players have some degree of state experience as part of the Australian Cricket Pathway and this is just another step up in their development,” Greg Chappell, CA’s national talent manager, said of the NPS group. “Selection in this squad pays tribute to the hard work that these players have put in and acknowledges that performances are noted and rewarded in the current Pathway system.”The squad will be coached by Graeme Hick and Ryan Harris. Hick said the quadrangular series would provide valuable experience for the players, many of whom have had just a taste of state cricket.”Although the team’s success won’t be measured by win-loss ratio, we still expect this side to be competitive and with the talent in the team, a victory along the way isn’t out of the question,” Hick said. “Alongside the Australia A squad, these players are the future of Australian cricket and we are excited to see the progress they make in this important tournament.”National Performance Squad Sean Abbott, Hilton Cartwright, Kyle Gardiner, David Grant, Sam Grimwade, Sam Harper, Sam Heazlett, Clint Hinchliffe, Josh Inglis, Caleb Jewell, David Moody, Arjun Nair, Tom O’Donnell, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Swepson.

Sri Lanka felt their commanding lead of 376 should provide a straightforward victory, but a combination of the pitch flattening out, an inexperienced spin bowler and Younis Khan pulled the rug from under their feet

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallekele07-Jul-2015Sri Lanka did not imagine they could lose the match at lunch on day four, Angelo Mathews admitted after Pakistan strode to a seven-wicket win in Pallekele, to complete a 2-1 series victory. Mathews had been instrumental in Sri Lanka’s third-innings 313, which set up a lead of 376. However, Pakistan chased down this target with ease, inside four sessions of batting.Sri Lanka’s seamers had claimed two early wickets in the Pakistan chase, but could not separate Younis Khan and Shan Masood for 66.4 overs, during which the pair added 242. Offspinner Tharindu Kaushal’s waywardness fetched him figures of 1 for 153 from 31 overs.”I actually thought after we made 376 that we were sitting pretty,” Mathews said. “This will definitely take a lot of time to digest, this defeat. We never expected this sort of performance from our team as well as the Pakistanis. We obviously played three seamers because there was a little grass in the pitch and we had to go with three [of them]. But then on the fourth and fifth day in Sri Lanka, you can’t expect a lot of help from the wicket for the seamers. Unfortunately, Tharindu Kaushal didn’t bowl that well and we couldn’t put the pressure on them. We fought really hard to get to 376 and we never thought we would lose from there.”Pakistan, having made only 215 in the first innings, made the game’s highest total of 382 in their chase. Mathews said the pitch had flattened out by the fourth and fifth day, but added that his attack’s indiscipline remained a key cause for the loss.”The ball didn’t turn that much in the last couple of days,” Mathews said. “It turned a little bit in patches. It turned in the third session yesterday and then settled down. In the first couple of sessions of their innings, it barely turned. For the seamers, there was no hope at all. They bowled their hearts out. Hats off to them, they’ve been brilliant throughout the series. I thought Dhammika Prasad was brilliant, as were Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal. Even Dushmantha Chameera was excellent in the last game. I thought there was no help from the wicket.”But you can’t really blame that when you’ve got 376 to get them all out. Kaushal has played a lot of matches in A team cricket, which is why we chose him. But we need to think about the pressure of being the only spinner. He’s not an experienced Test bowler.”In the fourth innings, Sri Lanka appeared to miss the control usually provided by Rangana Herath, who was dropped from the side for the first time since 2010. Herath had taken only two wickets in three innings in the first two Tests and Mathews described his omission as a ‘tactical decision’.”It was a tough call to leave him out and it was just a tactical decision because he is our No. 1 bowler. Unfortunately, we had to leave him out because they [Pakistan] were playing Rangana really well in the first couple of matches and Kaushal was troubling them in the second Test. We thought that’s the way to go in this particular Test. Rangana is our top spinner still.”The third Test also marked the return of two older batsmen for Sri Lanka. Upul Tharanga returned to the Test side after almost a year’s hiatus, and Jehan Mubarak played his first Test since 2007. While neither of them managed a substantial score, Mathews suggested they had both done enough to retain their place in the side.”Upul and Jehan are older cricketers with a bit of experience. Even if they haven’t played many Tests, they have played a lot of domestic cricket. In the second innings they dealt with the pressure they [Pakistan] put us under well. They didn’t go past 50, but the partnerships they put up helped us get to 376. Both of them are playing a Test after a long time. They gave their best to the team according to the context of the game.”Lahiru Thirimanne, meanwhile, had a wretched series with the bat. He had a high-score of 44 not out from six innings at an average of 18.”It does happen as a cricketer. You do run into poor form,” Mathews said. “We are backing Thirimanne because we know that he is a very good player. We can’t really expect the guys to be Kumar Sangakkaras and Mahela Jayawardenes right now because the guys are still finding their way in Test cricket. A lot of them haven’t played much Test cricket. When a batsman is having a rough time you’ve got to deal with it carefully. You can’t blame it on him. But I think he will definitely take responsibility in the future.”Over 15 years we’ve seen Mahela and Kumar play, but we can’t measure the young players on their scale. In the past years, if one misses out, the other scores a hundred most of the time. We have to be patient with this side. We’re all learning.”

Ricky Ponting reflects on his 17-year career after playing his final Test, against South Africa in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2012.Ricky Ponting: “Even out of today, just being at the crease for 20-odd balls, it’s a pretty special time, and anyone who’s retired has felt that as well.”•AFP

The finality sinking in: That it’s [career] over has sunk in. It’s been a pretty long, tough week I guess, I know I’ve been more nervous this game than any other game that I’ve played. Just for the reason how much it means for me to play for Australia and wanting to finish the right way. So it has been a hard week and we haven’t got the result we were after and I haven’t got the result I was after. Looking back it’s been a special week as well, having my whole family here’s been great, unbelievable support from them, and great support from the fans and from my team-mates, so it’s been a special week.Why it was time to finish: Excluding Brisbane and the start of Adelaide, when I got a pretty good ball, I just think I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to perform knowing that I had to, or feeling within myself that I had to. Also knowing where the series was at, it’s always been about big games and big series for me, and getting off the start I did with those two innings just had me under pressure again, and I haven’t been able to deal with it as well of late as I’d have liked to. Normally for me when those big moments come around, I’ve been able to find something within and go out and score runs and make it all go away, but I haven’t been able to do that for a while now, and that was when the alarm bells started to ring.The guard of honour and the final ovation: I got my big ovation today, but Graeme’s gesture and the South African team’s gesture, that sort of stuff will remain with me forever, and I told him that on the field today. So that was special. I was pretty pumped up for the moment, I just felt there was one last big push from me, and the game and the day was set up for it, and it didn’t last long enough. Even out of today, just being at the crease for 20-odd balls, it’s a pretty special time, and anyone who’s retired has felt that as well. It just would’ve been nice to have a few next to my name coming off.On the supreme batsmen of his era: I felt Sachin was the best player I played against, and that’s coming from more of a captain’s point of view as well, knowing he had so much success against us in our conditions and their conditions. But the other way to look at it is, I probably lost more sleep on the eve of games against Lara, because I knew he could singlehandedly win games for his team. The way I judge players has always been on their ability to win games, and win games by themselves. Lara could certainly do that and he did it probably more than what Sachin’s done for India. It’s hard to separate the class of player – you’ve got to put Kallis in that bracket as well. You put his wickets on top of what he’s done with the bat. He came out the other day to bat and I looked at the board and he was averaging 57 in Test cricket. That’s remarkable considering the amount he’s had to bowl and all that sort of stuff. I’ve been pretty blessed to play in the era I’ve played with so many great batsmen, and if my name gets mentioned among them, then that’s great.On the best bowlers he faced: I think Curtly Ambrose and Wasim Akram were probably the two outstanding quicks that I faced, and for different reasons. Ambrose for his ability to just make you feel like you couldn’t score off him for long periods of time, never felt like he was going to bowl you a bad ball. Akram for the exact opposite, you could get a few runs off him, but you just knew there was an unplayable ball around the corner, be it with an old ball or with a new ball. And thankfully for me I probably got both of those guys towards the end of their careers as well. Those two, and Harbhajan’s probably the other one who caused me as much grief as anything. He got me out a lot of times, and caused me a lot of grief. Those guys through their careers can all put their hand up and say they had my measure.On what he’ll miss: I’ll miss the mateship, I’ll miss the dressing room. That’s the stuff that’s irreplaceable in your life I guess. There’s a lot of guys in there I’m very close to, and a lot of the guys I’ve been closest to over the years are no longer around the dressing room either. I guess that’s the upside, I’ll probably get to spend a bit more time with those guys who I’ve played most of my cricket with, but the get-up attitude and find a way to make yourself better and try to find a way to make your team-mates better is what I’ll miss.

Bangladesh A took a slender first-innings lead after bowling West Indies A out for 129 on a rain-shortened day in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2011
ScorecardPlayed was delayed until 2:30 p.m. in St Lucia and only 34.3 overs were possible on the second day, but that was enough time for Bangladesh A to bowl West Indies A out for 129, giving them a lead of 26, which their openers then extended to 66 by the close of play.The No. 9, Sunil Narine provided the main resistance, adding 38 with opener Rajindra Chandrika, who was only able to add 10 to his overnight score of 30 before falling lbw to Robiul Islam. Narine then added another 31 with Shannon Gabriel (14) for the tenth wicket to at least ensure West Indies A reached triple figures after the hosts had slumped to 60 for 7 on the first day. Narine was left stranded on 40 when Sohail Gazi bowled Nelon Pascal first ball to wrap up the innings.The Bangladesh A openers began steadily, in stark contrast to the procession of wickets on day one. They successfully negotiated 15 overs without losing a wicket. Jahurul Islam, on 24, and Nasiruddin Faruque, on 14, will look to extend Bangladesh A’s advantage on the third day.