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Plays of the day from the first day of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Hobart

Cricinfo staff14-Jan-2010The truth, at last
For 10 years Justin Langer has denied he edged Wasim Akram during his
amazing escape with Adam Gilchrist in Hobart in 1999-2000. Needing 369, Australia
were 5 for 126 when the pair came together and orchestrated a stand of
238 that was brave, unbelievable and controversial. Until now Langer has
sworn, even to his father (his Dad, not the Almighty), that his bat handle
broke when he aimed a drive at Akram and survived a caught-behind appeal.
But a decade on he has changed his plea. “I absolutely smashed it,” Langer
told Nine at tea on the first day.That was also the match of the
“can’t bowl, can’t throw” jibe at Scott Muller, which was eventually
claimed by “Joe the Cameraman”. The finger was also pointed at Shane
Warne, but Nine’s Joe didn’t do a Langer, and still maintains it was
him.To pull or not to pull?

The debate over Ricky Ponting’s favourite shot has run through much of the summer. He has
insisted all along he would continue pulling, despite questions over
whether he is as good at it as he once was. After a first-ball dismissal
to the stroke in Sydney, he went for it again here, off his fourth ball, only to
pop it straight up in the air to Mohammad Aamer at deep fine leg. It
looked more difficult to drop than it did to catch it and yet somehow it
was spilled. Ponting went on to his first hundred of the summer and a few less questions about the pull.A genuine headache
Ponting also copped a blow to the helmet when he misjudged a hook and it required some paracetemol to deal with “a pretty bad headache”. There have been few times when Ponting has been hit in the head, and he thinks the last time was in the 2005 Ashes series when Steve Harmison struck him. “I was talking to Mohammad Yousuf out there today just after it happened and he said ‘that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you get hit’,” Ponting said. “Mohammad Sami actually hit me on the cheek in Sharjah without a helmet on years ago, I actually ducked into one without a helmet on. I’ve been hit a few times but luckily no real bad ones.”On the crest of something new
Ponting has scored 39 Test centuries but today he did something new: kissed the crest of his helmet in celebration. “I haven’t done it before,” he said. “It’s the first time today, because it meant a lot to me today, to battle away the way that I did and then get through and make a hundred in front of my home crowd. My parents and my sister and everyone is down here as well, watching the game, so they would’ve had some anxious and nervous moments early on through my innings today.”He’s caught it!

It was only a thin edge from Michael Hussey’s bat and a straightforward
take, but given the events of Sydney, relief would have descended over
all of Pakistan when Sarfraz Ahmed, the man who replaced Kamran Akmal, held on to his
first Test catch behind the stumps.Missing man of the moment

Aamer was Pakistan’s stand-out bowler in Melbourne and though he
wasn’t missed so much in Sydney, he was eagerly welcomed back for this
Test. Pakistan were on top in the first session and Aamer had just
started getting his lines right. More pressure was expected to be applied
straight after lunch, but Mohammad Yousuf chose to open with Danish
Kaneria instead. Michael Clarke, a champion against spin, settled in
easily and Aamer, Pakistan’s rising star and their quickest bowler, wasn’t
seen at all between lunch and tea as Australia took the game away.
He wasn’t injured and the Pakistan camp, at one stage, mumbled something
feeble about over-rates. It was most likely just another sign of the lack
of intent that has cost them the series.Ponting knows the score
The Australian players have had such trouble getting from the nineties to
triple-figures this summer that Ponting’s path to a century seemed somehow
appropriate. On 94, he launched Danish Kaneria over long-off and the
umpire Asoka de Silva signalled six. But Ponting, ever astute, wasn’t
convinced and instead of celebrating, stood there waiting for confirmation
from the third umpire. His judgment was correct: the ball bounced inside
the boundary and his 100 became 98. Three balls later, he swept and made
the extra two.

The tour kicks off their quest to qualify for the Women’s ODI World Cup for the first time in their history

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2025Zimbabwe will begin their quest to qualify for the Women’s ODI World Cup for the first time in their history when they tour New Zealand for a white-ball series in February-March 2026.The three ODIs on the tour, scheduled for March 5, 8 and 11 in Dunedin, will be Zimbabwe’s debut in the ICC Women’s Championship, the primary pathway for World Cup qualification. Zimbabwe’s inclusion has expanded the Women’s Championship from 10 to 11 teams. The 2025-29 cycle, the fourth edition of the competition, will determine qualification for the 2029 World Cup.During the 2025-29 cycle, Zimbabwe are scheduled to play four three-match ODI series at home – against South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland – and four overseas – in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, apart from the one in New Zealand.Related

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This will be the first time Zimbabwe face New Zealand in Women’s ODIs. Zimbabwe have played ODIs against six teams so far, of whom three – Bangladesh, Ireland and Pakistan – are Full Members.Before the three ODIs, Zimbabwe will also face New Zealand in three T20Is on February 25, February 27 and March 1 in Hamilton. These matches will also be Zimbabwe’s first against New Zealand in Women’s T20Is.”It is a proud and exciting moment for us as Zimbabwe Women prepare to compete at the highest level of the global game,” Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) managing director Givemore Makoni said. “This is not only a testament to how far our women’s cricket has come, but also a strong endorsement of our vision and investment in developing the women’s game.”With Zimbabwe’s inclusion, the Women’s Championship features 11 of the 12 Full Members of the ICC, with one notable exception in Afghanistan – whose fledgling women’s cricket program was cut short when the Taliban took control of the country’s administration in August 2021.

He copped a blow to little finger of his right hand during the sixth over of Australia’s second innings on third day

Tristan Lavalette16-Dec-2023Australia No. 3 Marnus Labuschagne has avoided serious injury after copping a blow to his finger during a withering short-ball assault from Pakistan’s quicks late on day three of the first Test in Perth.During the sixth over of Australia’s second innings, Labuschagne was whacked on the little finger of his right hand from a rearing delivery by debutant quick Khurram Shahzad that jumped off a length. He sought medical attention immediately, but resumed batting after several minutes.A seemingly rattled Labuschagne fell shortly afterwards for 2 in an ungainly dismissal when he top-edged a pull shot that was caught by wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed. Labuschagne was captured during the broadcast receiving treatment from medical staff in Australia’s team room.Related

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Labuschagne, who has played 39 Tests in a row since becoming a permanent member of the team during the 2019 Ashes series, went for a scan after play but was back in the nets on Sunday morning.A spokesperson said: “An x-ray taken last night did not demonstrate any visible fracture. Marnus was able to bat unhindered in the nets this morning.”If Australia do need a replacement batter during the series, the door would likely open for allrounder Cameron Green to return.”He was with the doc and physio for the last hour just chatting through it and doing a few tests on the finger…dare say he might be pretty sore,” Australia quick Josh Hazlewood told reporters after the third day’s play.Australia’s top order faced a thorough examination on an Optus Stadium surface that had more bite as the day wore on. Steven Smith copped several blows on his arm during a short-ball barrage from spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi.Smith needed medical attention just before the close of play after an Afridi delivery whacked into his forearm. But Smith and opener Usman Khawaja survived as Australia reached stumps at 84 for 2 with a lead of 300 runs.”He’s incredibly brave,” Hazlewood said of Smith. “I think it’s probably going to be tougher to play the short ball than in the first innings.”Batting looked really tough there in the end. I think as the game goes along the cracks will come more into play. It’s another hot day tomorrow.”

UAE play Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia in the first round, aiming to qualify for the tournament proper

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2022UAE have dropped former captain Rohan Mustafa – their most-capped player across formats – from the T20 World Cup squad. The team will be led by CP Rizwan, who was named UAE’s T20I captain only last month. Ironically, Mustafa had hit the winning runs for UAE against Ireland in the final of the qualifying tournament for the World Cup.Mustafa’s axing means he cannot achieve his target of becoming the first from his country to play three World Cups, having earlier represented UAE at the T20 World Cup in 2014 and the ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year. His last appearance for UAE came only a few weeks back, while playing Kuwait in the T20 Asia Cup Qualifier.UAE squad for T20 World Cup 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“It was the dream for me, as it would have meant me becoming the first UAE player to play at three World Cups,” Mustafa was quoted as saying by The National News.”It will be a sad moment for me, and I feel like they are going to miss me a bit. I felt like I had been doing well in T20Is, and was No 8 [in ICC’s allrounder rankings in T20Is] before I stopped looking at these things. I will miss them – and do believe they will miss me too – but I will definitely sit down and watch their matches and pray for them to win.”Vriitya Aravind will be Rizwaan’s deputy for the World Cup, where UAE will compete in the First Round, the precursor to the tournament proper. Aravind was the leading run-scorer in the qualifiers held in February this year, with 267 runs at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 154.Related

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“This team has a solid representation of experience and youth,” Robin Singh, Director of Cricket and National Teams’ Head Coach, said. “To represent your country is of great pride, and our [coaching] team has complete belief in the maturity and skills of this group of players, and we expect them to surprise a few teams with their performances.”UAE have been placed alongside Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia in Group A of the First Round, from where the top two teams – alongside the best two from Group B – will make the main round. They play their first match against Netherlands in Geelong on October 16, the opening day of the event.UAE will also play Bangladesh in two T20Is on September 25 and 27 in the build-up to the World Cup.UAE squad: CP Rizwan (capt), Vriitya Aravind (vice-capt), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Ahmed Raza, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu and Aayan Khan

Visitors up to third in Group Three with Sussex unable to exert pressure on chase

ECB Reporters' Network30-May-2021Northants took just 65 minutes to beat Sussex by seven wickets to register their third victory in Group Three of the LV=Insurance County Championship at the 1st Central County Ground. In doing so they made it a double over Sussex, having beaten them by an innings and 120 runs in Northampton earlier in the month.At the start of play on the last day the main question was whether the match would survive until lunch. But the interval was still a long way away when Northants crossed the line, mainly because of an aggressive and unbeaten 47 from 43 balls from Saif Zaib, who had shown his liking for the Sussex bowling in the earlier match, but also because of Rob Keogh, who made 60 not out from 112 deliveries.Northants resumed on 131 for 2, with Luke Procter 47 not out and Keogh unbeaten on 24. They needed another 87 for a victory that would take them up to third in the group.The odds were always against a young and inexperienced Sussex side, particularly on a pitch that appeared to flatten out as the match progressed. And batting conditions were never more benign than on the fourth morning, when there was hardly a cloud in the sky.Sussex opened up with Delray Rawlins’ left-arm spin from the Sea End and the bouncy pace of Jamie Atkins. Procter reached his fifty when he worked Rawlins through midwicket for two. He had faced 149 balls and hit five fours. But he had added just one run to his score when he was out, flailing at a wide delivery from Atkins for Aaron Thomason to take a good catch low down at first slip.The Sussex team did well to celebrate the wicket because it was to be their only success of the morning. But this young and inexperienced side did well to keep the match in the balance until the final hour of the third day, when Procter and Keogh moved the match decisively in the direction of Northants.The game ended with a flurry of blows, mostly from Zaib, who showed his intentions when he took a step down the wicket and clouted Rawlins over wide mid-on for six. There was another six, and also five fours.

Australia’s all-time leading wicket taker joins the cause as the disaster continues to ravage large parts of the country

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2020Australia’s all-time leading wicket-taker Shane Warne has announced that he would be auctioning off his baggy green cap, which he wore throughout his 145-match Test career, to raise funds for the bushfire appeal as the disaster continues to ravage large parts of the country.According to the auction site, all funds raised by this effort will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. The item would also contain an autographed certificate of authenticity from Warne. Australia is in the midst of one of its worst-ever bushfire seasons which has led to loss of life and property, and a number of cricketers, including Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell, have come forward to support the cause. The Australia team had also auctioned off signed shirts from the Boxing Day Test and helped raised over AUD$40,000. Earlier, Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts had also said that he was open to the idea of staging a charity match to raise funds for the bushfire appeal, adding that the ODIs between Australia and New Zealand in March will be used to raise money.

Ireland will begin their first overseas Test match on St Patrick’s Day – March 17 – when they take on Afghanistan in India

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2018Ireland will begin their first overseas Test match on St Patrick’s Day – March 17 – when they take on Afghanistan next year, in what will be a second Test outing for both of the game’s newest senior nations.The Test will be the culmination of a nine-match itinerary, which will also include three T20Is on February 23, 24 and 26, and five ODIs on March 2, 4, 7, 9 and 12 – all in the northern India city of Dehradun, Afghanistan’s home from home.Both teams made their Test debuts in 2018, with Ireland taking on Pakistan in Malahide in May, before Afghanistan played India at Bangalore in June.”Afghanistan are a quality side with world-class players – it’ll be a great challenge in their ‘home’ conditions,” said the Ireland batsman, Andrew Balbirnie.”The Afghanistan series is a major step forward for Irish cricket as the tour is the first one as a Full Member.””It will no doubt be a test for the entire squad – taking on Afghanistan in subcontinent conditions will require a level of adjustment by both our batting and bowling units.For Afghanistan, the limited-overs leg of the tour will form part of their preparations for next year’s World Cup – a tournament for which they qualified in remarkable circumstances in Zimbabwe last year.Ireland missed out on that showpiece event, but their highlight of 2018 promises to be a maiden Test match against England at Lord’s in July, a four-day affair that will form part of their hosts’ preparations for the Ashes which get underway on August 1.”The level and regularity of top-quality international cricket in 2019 will be exciting for Irish cricket fans,” said Balbirnie.”The year will start with this Afghanistan series, and will involve a busy home schedule of matches involving multiple Full Member nations – starting with an ODI against England at Malahide in May.”There’s also the Lord’s Test against England in July, and the year will end with the T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in October.”

The left-arm spinner took six-fors in both innings to consign West Indies A to a heavy defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2017
ScorecardWICB Media/Athelstan Bellamy

Left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara ripped through the West Indies A line-up, with six-fors in both innings, to seal a 280-run win for Sri Lanka A in the second unofficial Test in Jamaica. The win helped Sri Lanka A bounce back from an innings defeat in the first match to level the series, with the third match set to start from October 26.Set a fourth-innings target of 425 on the third day, West Indies A were bowled out for 144 in 54 overs. Pushpakumara first prised out the top order, dismissing opener John Campbell, captain Shamarh Brooks and middle-order batsman Vishaul Singh for single-digit scores to leave them at 27 for 3, before returning to wipe out the lower order. That West Indies A scored 144 from a position of 80 for 7 was largely due to the lower-order partnerships led by Sunil Ambris (41).West Indies A’s first innings had followed a similar route against Pushpakumara, with the frontline batting order quickly reduced to 69 for 7. On that occasion Rahkeem Cornwall’s 46 carried West Indies A past 100 before Sri Lanka A bowled them out to take a first-innings lead of 157. Pushpakumara had returns of 6 for 52 in the first innings, and followed it up with 6 for 46 in the second.Sri Lanka A were not without a few batting stutters of their own, either. They had lost their openers by the 11th over of the first innings after electing to bat first, but Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka added a steadying 92 for the third wicket. Once the partnership ended, however, there was another slump and Sri Lanka A were struggling at 137 for 5 before they were boosted by Dasun Shanaka’s unbeaten 102. Shanaka added 105 with Roshen Silva for the sixth wicket and then took the lead with the lower order to help Sri Lanka along to 294. His 102 came off 108 deliveries and was his fifth first-class ton.Silva and Shanaka put together another crucial partnership in Sri Lanka’s second innings, adding 106 for the sixth wicket after the side had stumbled to 86 for 5. Silva made 86 off 159 deliveries, while Shanaka scored 60 off 85 deliveries, before an unbeaten 50 off 62 balls from Wanidu Hasaranga helped Sri Lanka put up 267 for 9 and stretch their overall lead to 424.

The excitement gathering around Nottinghamshire’s trip to Twenty20 finals day on Saturday is being tempered somewhat by the growing likelihood that they will playing their four-day cricket in Division Two next season

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge16-Aug-2016
ScorecardBrad Wheal took a career-best 6 for 51•Camerasport/Getty Images

The excitement gathering around Nottinghamshire’s trip to Twenty20 finals day on Saturday is being tempered somewhat by the growing likelihood that they will playing their four-day cricket in Division Two next season after the fleeting vision of a highly unlikely victory proved to be a mirage.It may be a destination that Hampshire will also have to contemplate but this victory, only their second of the season, in which Brad Wheal, the 19-year-old pace bowler, claimed his maiden five-wicket haul gives them at least a chance to stay up. Surrey’s victory over Warwickshire does not help them in that respect but Warwickshire themselves as well as Durham suddenly look more vulnerable than before.Nottinghamshire, whose batting has been brittle for much of the season, reached 243 for 3 after Steven Mullaney and Brendan Taylor put on 162 for the fourth wicket, which made a record fourth-innings target at least theoretically possible.But the loss of Mullaney and Samit Patel to consecutive balls from Wheal sparked a collapse that saw five wickets fall for 17 runs in the space of 49 balls, after which effectively only Imran Tahir and Harry Gurney stood between Hampshire and victory, neither of whom was ever likely to present a lasting impediment.Will Smith, the Hampshire captain and former Nottinghamshire batsman, hailed what he hopes will be a turning point in the club’s fortunes.”While Mullaney and Taylor were going well there was even a slight chance they could push for a win but on day four things can happen very quickly and credit to Mason Crane and Brad Wheal that they did, with quality spin and fast bowling,” he said. “But everyone in the attack bowled exceptionally well to set things up.”We knew too with the old ball as we had it, soft and pretty scuffed up, reversing a little bit and skidding through, that it would be hard for anyone coming in. There was always a sense that if we got one wicket we could get a few.

Russell available for Blast Finals Day

West Indies allrounder Andre Russell is available for Nottinghamshsire on NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day, leaving the county with a choice of which two players to field between Russell, Dan Christian and Imran Tahir.
Russell had a four-match stint with Notts in the group stages and coach Mick Newell said: “It’s too good an opportunity to miss.”
Notts had to wait to see if Russell was available because West Indies have two T20 internationals against India in Florida the following week.

“It has been a hard season with the tragic passing away of Hamza Ali and what’s happened to Michael Carberry, plus all the injuries to the bowlers, but there is a sense that we are getting some momentum at the right time and we have to take positives from last year, getting three wins in the last four games or whatever it was, and believe that we can still do it.”Chasing 468 to win, which required them to exceed the county record for a successful fourth-innings run chase, Nottinghamshire they began the final day at 42 for 2 thinking only about survival, yet after Hampshire managed to prise out only one wicket in the morning session, Mullaney and Taylor began to enjoy a sense of gathering impetus in their fourth wicket partnership.Although Taylor, who has been out of form much of the season, was hardly fluent, with Mullaney very much the opposite, readily picking out the balls he could hit and usually despatching them efficiently, there was a moment with around 60 overs remaining that the required rate was only a touch more than five an over.Yet in the steaming heat the possibility vanished almost in the blink of an eye.Wheal, who had accounted for Michael Lumb in the morning session as the former England batsman drove loosely outside off stump, surprised Mullaney with a delivery that climbed off a length, the ball looping into the air off the leading edge, to which Gareth Berg responded by running in from mid-off to take a good diving catch.Then Smith’s one-wicket-brings-another theory paid off as Samit Patel fell first ball, caught behind down the leg side. Crane, the legspinner and another 19-year-old, had Taylor caught low down at slip and as tea was taken Nottinghamshire’s comfortable position had gone, 245 for 3 rapidly transformed to 259 for 6.Two balls after tea, Crane claimed his third of the innings as Luke Wood flicked a ball off his hips straight to Ryan McLaren at leg slip and when Wheal thudded one skiddily into Jake Balls pads there was no way back. In the event, Tahir survived as Chris Read shouldered arms to another delivery that kept low and Gurney lasted three balls before his off stump was flattened.Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, was typically blunt in his assessment, with his side now 30 points adrift of seventh-placed Durham, who have a game in hand.”If we keep playing as poorly as that we will get what we deserve,” he said.”To say we might have been distracted by Saturday would be an easy cop-out. The truth is that this is just the continuation of some pretty ordinary four-day form, we haven’t suddenly produced a poor performance out of nowhere. And one fifty and one hundred from the top six on a pretty flat wicket is pretty ordinary.”It was a game neither side could afford to lose and by doing so we have put ourselves under a lot of pressure in the last four matches.”Stuart Broad is expected to be available for at least a couple of Nottinghamshire’s remaining matches, but Yorkshire, Durham and Somerset away, with Championship leaders Middlesex the only side still to come to Trent Bridge, look daunting fixtures.Hampshire, with Somerset and Surrey away, Yorkshire and Durham at home, hardly face an easy run-in and there is still a gap to close. Yet, given the chance, Nottinghamshire would certainly swap.

Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu said Lasith Malinga’s lack of penetration, and the bowlers’ failure to execute plans has paved their path to decline, though the plans themselves remain robust

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo23-Jul-2015Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu said Lasith Malinga’s lack of penetration, and the bowlers’ failure to execute plans has paved their path to decline, though the plans themselves remain robust.Sri Lanka had run hot in the first six months of 2014, winning all of their limited-overs tournaments, including an Asia Cup, a World T20 and an ODI series in England. However, they have been much poorer since January this year, losing bilateral series against New Zealand and now Pakistan, in addition to losing a quarter-final at the World Cup.

‘Shehzad played exceptionally’ – Azhar

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali lauded the consistency of his batsmen, as they chased down 252 with ease, to win their first ODI series in Sri Lanka since 2006. Pakistan’s top order has made runs all through the series. On Wednesday, Ahmed Shehzad hit 95 and Mohammad Hafeez scored 70.
“Shehzad played exceptionally,” Azhar said. “He played very positively and put the bad balls away. When Hafeez came, he played a crucial knock as they were putting a lot of pressure on us. He played like a senior player would play. We had a 100-run stand between them.”
Pakistan’s batsmen have also scored quickly throughout the series, notching run rates higher than six in each of the last two innings. “Once you have confidence that all the batsmen are in good form, you suddenly have a leverage to play fluently and take a few risks as well.”
The victory had been set up by Pakistan’s bowling, which has consistently been menacing through the tour. “When we got wickets we knew they lack a little bit of experience after Mathews – they didn’t have a lot of in form batsmen,” Azhar said. “When the wickets did come we knew that we can keep them to about 250 or 260.”

The team’s strategy has been brought into question through their limited-overs forays in 2015, as they have persisted with a substantial number of allrounders instead of fielding specialist bowlers. In this series, Pakistan’s bowlers have claimed 33 wickets to the Sri Lanka attack’s 15. Malinga, meanwhile, averages 37.50 this year.”I don’t think there’s a hell of a lot of issues with our planning and what we want to do with the ball,” Atapattu said. “Executing under pressure is something that concerns us. Plus we have played on good wickets. We’ve played on really good tracks starting in January this year when we started playing New Zealand in New Zealand.”We got six wickets in Kandy, but we haven’t got the wickets quite regularly as you would expect from Lasith Malinga. That’s something that we have missed. That’s one of the reasons we’ve lost the series.”Sri Lanka hit 252 for 9 batting first in the fourth ODI, but the ease with which Pakistan chased this total down suggested the target was at least 20 runs light. Atapattu said the absence of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had left a considerable void in the side, but urged the young batsmen to begin converting their chances.”A lot of the batsmen getting starts and not going on to get a big score on basically flat wickets is disappointing. Most of them got starts and we needed a big one off one of them to get a big score or chase a big score. We got one when Kusal Perera got a 50 off 17 balls in Kandy. We haven’t had that frequently, and that is something people have to be responsible at the top of the order.”The exit of the two senior players has not just impacted the team’s batting, Atapattu said. “Missing two knowledgeable experienced players like that is going to be a bit difficult at the start, but life goes on. The young players have to take responsibility. Their capabilities and their thinking only surfaces when players like Mahela and Sanga leave. It’s a learning curve in terms of tactics and so on, but they are the ones who have to take Sri Lankan cricket forward. “Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep bowled only 2.2 overs on Wednesday, before leaving the field with a hamstring complaint. He will be assessed before the team can decides on whether to draft another player into the squad, Atapattu said.