All posts by n8rngtd.top

The Sri Lanka offspinner was officially banned from bowling in international cricket in December last year

Madushka Balasuriya18-Feb-2019Spinner Akila Dananjaya has had his bowling action cleared by the ICC and has been included in Sri Lanka’s squad for the five-ODI series in South Africa.Dananjaya’s action had been reported during England’s tour of Sri Lanka late last year. He was then officially banned from bowling in international cricket in December after an independent biomechanics assessment found that he was flexing his arm beyond the allowed 15-degree limit, when bowling the offbreak, his stock ball.After working on his action, Dananjaya was tested in Chennai and the results declared his bowling action to be legal.The return of the 25-year old will be a major boost for a depleted Sri Lankan attack ahead of what promises to be testing ODI and T20I series against South Africa in the coming weeks.As the ban allowed him to bowl in domestic cricket, Dananjaya turned out for Colts CC earlier this year and the SLC has been impressed with what they have seen.Dhananjaya has been one of Sri Lanka’s main threats in limited-overs cricket in recent times, taking 28 ODI wickets at an average of 23 in 2018, and a further 27 wickets at 24.25 in Tests.

The captain was also disappointed that his players could not take advantage of playing at home

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-20194:28

Thought we had enough runs on that surface – Fleming

Chennai Super Kings had a lot of things in their favour in Qualifier 1. They were at home. They won the toss. And they had a strong core of experienced players that has been there and done that in the backend of the IPL. But a problem that’s followed them all through the 2019 season hit them once again – top-order frailty. MS Dhoni laid the blame for the defeat to Mumbai Indians squarely on his batsmen, who failed to utilise all the advantages at their disposal.”It didn’t really go our way,” he said at the presentation. “Especially the batting. Especially when you know home conditions. You have to assess very quickly how the wicket is playing. That’s the bonus of playing at home, you’ve already played six games or seven games, so you know how the wicket has played, whether it is a bit tacky, whether it is coming on or not coming on. What is a good score that we should put on the board. Those are the things I felt we didn’t do well in this game because of which we were not able to put something that would have been good to defend. I think the batting needs to get slightly better.”The pitch at Chepaulk was a turner and there was a high degree of risk in hitting against the spin. Yet two veterans – Suresh Raina and Shane Watson – tried to do just that and lost their wickets, leaving CSK 33 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay. Still, Dhoni continued to defend his misfiring batting line-up, but was disappointed with some of the shot selection on show.”Yes, they’re the best that we’ve got. On and off, they’ve done well. If you look at [them] when they bat, they’ve done well, But on and off, in some game, they’ve pulled out a shot that’s really not on in that particular game or in that situation or in that condition. So, those are things that you need to assess. Especially, when you have experienced players in the side, that’s what you bank upon them. You’re not banking on them for extraordinary fielding. It’s just that they have to use their experience slightly more. Hopefully we’ll crack the code.”MS Dhoni warms up ahead of the toss•BCCI

CSK’s defence of 131 began well, but they couldn’t stem the runs well enough to put pressure on Mumbai’s long batting-line up.”I feel once you don’t have enough runs on the board, every boundary, it actually hurts you,” Dhoni said. “I feel we got off to a good start, Rohit [Sharma]’s wicket early was good, after that we kept giving boundaries, which you can’t really afford to do. It was an off game for us and it’s bad to have this kind of a game at this stage of the tournament but still the good thing is you’re top two so you get another chance. So rather than going over the wicket now you have to round the wicket. The journey becomes slightly long.”

On a pitch where none of his team-mates crossed 20, Prabhsimran scored a 65-ball 103 to secure two crucial points for Kings

Alagappan Muthu13-May-20232:09

Muzumdar: Prabhsimran has come through the grind of U-19 and U-23 cricket

A special century from Prabhsimran Singh knocked Delhi Capitals out of IPL 2023 and pushed Punjab Kings up to sixth place, well within reach of a playoff spot.In demanding batting conditions, the Punjab opener, who had begun the season with a highest IPL score of 16, found ways not just to survive but to keep scoring quick runs in a way nobody else managed to. It felt like a coming-of-age innings.

How it started

When there is pace in the pitch, it’s easy to hit through the line and keep scoring runs steadily. When it is not there, it’s hard to even get the ball off the square. So you get your runs in fits and spurts.Kings suffered 22 balls for no runs in the powerplay, but hit seven others for 32 runs (5×4 and 2×6).A lot of this work was the result of Prabhsimran’s enterprise. His role in the team is to do whatever is necessary to maximise the field restrictions. And he performed admirably, switch-hitting spin for sixes and moving around all over the batting crease, just to throw the bowlers off their plans.But then his role changed. From being the guy who could not place any price on his wicket, he became the guy who simply could not get out. So he settled in. Got used to the pitch. And by around the 11th over or so, he was finding ways to hold his shape and exert complete control over his shots.Prabhsimran was 53 off 44. Then he was dropped on 68. Then he was 102 off 61.Prabhsimran Singh soaks in the applause as he walks back after his ton•BCCI

That’s 49 in 17 balls. On a pitch where none of his team-mates crossed 20, and only two others managed to score at better than run-a-ball. This was a spectacular display of perseverance, even if he did have a tiny bit of help.In conditions where the ball isn’t coming onto the bat, all you have to do is take pace off, hit a hard length and, most importantly, target the stumps. Do not let the batter free his arms.Prabhsimran though was basically invited to free his arms. According to ESPNcricinfo’s data, a majority of the balls he faced (33) were either outside off stump or worse, wide outside off stump. And he took 60 runs from them including seven fours and three sixes.Capitals should have known better. The chance they created – the catch that Rilee Roussouw dropped – was the result of a mis-hit to a ball that arrived in line with this body. They didn’t learn. And they were punished.

How it ended

Capitals had a great start to the chase. They came out knowing 168 was a tricky target, and that they had to knock off a significant portion of it within the powerplay. David Warner helped them accomplish that goal, taking them to 65 for 0 in six overs. He cruised to a 23-ball fifty, scoring 42 of those runs in boundaries. But the thing is, Capitals only faced six balls of spin in that period.It didn’t make sense why Kings would have let any of that happen on a pitch where the ball was both stopping on the batters and turning more than a fair bit.Eventually, Shikhar Dhawan turned to spin and the game changed.Cornered by Harpreet Brar (4 for 30) and Rahul Chahar (2 for 16), Capitals lost three wickets for two runs between the ninth and the 11th overs. ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster quantified this swing in momentum – in a mere eight balls, Kings went from a lowly 20% chance of winning this game to 78% favourites.By the end, Capitals needed seven players to combine just to reach the total they allowed one batter to get. These were not the conditions to give away a century.

Shanaka on chat with Dhawan: “We get advice from our former players too, but this was a chance to hear from a current player with a lot of experience”

Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Jul-2021Among the themes of India’s tour of Sri Lanka was the chumminess of the two sides even in difficult bio-bubble situations. Hardik Pandya went viral in Sri Lanka when he was seen singing their national anthem. He had also given fellow seam-bowling allrounder Chamika Karunaratne – who describes Pandya as a role model – one of his bats. At another point in the series, India coach Rahul Dravid was seen having a brief conversation with Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka.And finally, ahead of the third T20I, Shikhar Dhawan was addressing a whole bunch of Sri Lanka players as they huddled in the outfield. After his team had sewn up the series against a depleted India side, Shanaka revealed a little of what he had hoped to get out of the interaction with Dhawan.”Shikhar is a player who has played [for] 10 years, and has a lot of experience,” Shanaka said. “What he has to say about making game plans, and situation handling is something that’s important for all of us to hear – for me as a captain, and the rest of the team.Related

• Kusal Perera tests positive for Covid-19, to isolate for at least ten days

• Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and K Gowtham return home after testing negative for Covid-19

• Stats: Hasaranga's birthday bash, and SL break 13-year duck

• Hasaranga leads the way as SL claim 2-1 series win

“He’s someone who’s mastered even his breathing pattern. I thought if we could speak with a player like him, our players would get some sort of knowledge about how to raise our game. We get advice from our former players too, but this was a chance to hear from a current player with a lot of experience. I’m grateful to him for that chance.”But Shanaka mentioned that the conversation with Dravid earlier on in the series was more general.”I talked with Dravid about how the India players approach their innings,” he said. “They are really positive from the moment they get into the ground, and I asked him a lot of the questions we also asked Shikhar.”Sri Lanka were ultimately able to win the T20I series 2-1, thanks in no small part to legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who claimed seven wickets and maintained an economy rate of 5.58 across his 12 overs in the series. During the course of the past week, he also became the second-ranked T20I bowler in the world.”He’s a player who has matured really quickly,” Shanaka said of Hasaranga. “I don’t think No. 2 is enough for him, he’s someone who should be at No. 1. I think he’ll get there quickly.”

Al Jazeera’s latest documentary has claimed that up to 15 international matches in the 2011-12 period had been subject to spot-fixing

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2018The ICC has appealed to Al Jazeera to share evidence with it, after the broadcaster released its second documentary on alleged corruption in cricket. The documentary has claimed that up to 15 international matches in the 2011-12 period had been subject to spot-fixing.Al Jazeera has claimed to have obtained recordings of a person identified as Aneel Munawar – who is said to work for the crime syndicate D Company – revealing details of fixed matches to an Indian bookmaker. Munawar was also at the centre of Al Jazeera’s previous documentary on corruption in cricket, which alleged that the Chennai Test in December 2016 and the Ranchi Test in March 2017 had been subject to spot-fixing by England and Australia players.In response to those claims, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) had said there was no credible evidence linking any of their players to corruption.The ICC had then asked Al Jazeera for its cooperation in investigating these allegations, including sharing “un-edited and unseen evidence” – which it later said the broadcaster had refused to hand over. It had also sent out a public appeal to help identify Munawar.The ICC has now made another appeal to Al Jazeera.”The ICC is committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket,” Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, said in a statement. “As you would expect we will again take the contents of the programme and any allegations it may make seriously and will investigate fully.”However, I must refute the assertion that cricket does not take the issue of corruption seriously, we have more resources than ever before working to rid our sport of corruption.”The investigation into these allegations has already commenced and will run alongside a number of other live unrelated investigations. When considering the claims, we will work with professional independent betting analysts.”As with the first programme we have, and will continue to ask for the cooperation of the broadcaster. We have made repeated efforts to engage with the broadcaster as it can play such a crucial part in the full and thorough investigation it has called for.”We do welcome the commitment from the broadcaster to share the files with Interpol and, I hope, other law enforcement agencies who can act upon the information and support us in ridding the sport of these criminals.”Of the 15 matches Al Jazeera claimed were subject to spot-fix attempts in the 2011-12 period, seven involved England, five Australia, and three Pakistan. Among the matches mentioned were all three Tests of Pakistan’s series against England in the UAE in January-February 2012.The ECB called Al Jazeera’s information “poorly prepared”, but said it had looked into the allegations and found no evidence against any England player.”ECB takes its responsibilities on anti-corruption and preserving the integrity of cricket very seriously,” an ECB spokesperson said. “Whilst the limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera is poorly prepared and lacks clarity and corroboration it has been properly assessed.”Analysis of this by the ECB Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former.”The materials we have been given have been referred to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption unit and we will continue to work with them, as is the correct procedure for protecting the game. We are also working closely with the PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association) and keeping them informed.”On Monday, a day after the release of the documentary, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a statement* responding to the allegations, terming them “unsubstantiated”.”The PCB is committed to its fight against corruption in cricket. It has and continues to cooperate, assist and coordinate with the ICC’s Anti Corruption Unit in respect of investigations related to international cricket.”The recent allegations of corruption emanating from a documentary released by a broadcaster are under review jointly by ICC and PCB’s Anti Corruption Units. The broadcaster has not been forthcoming with provision of any evidence whatsoever in the absence of which their allegations remain unsubstantiated.”PCB in the recent past has been proactive in uprooting the menace of corruption and has charged and banned numerous cricketers for failing to abide by the Anti Corruption Code. It stands by that resolve.”CA, meanwhile, had been aware of Al Jazeera’s plans to release a second documentary, and of the Australia matches mentioned in it. James Sutherland, CA’s then chief executive, had said a CA integrity unit investigation had been conducted into the claims.”Although not having been provided an opportunity to review any raw audio or footage, our long-standing position on these matters is that credible claims should be treated very seriously, and investigated,” Sutherland said in late August. “Cricket Australia’s Integrity Unit have conducted a review of the latest claims by Al Jazeera, from a known criminal source, and, from the limited information provided by Al Jazeera, our team have not identified any issues of corruption relating to current or former Australian players.”We have handed all material over to the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit to enable them to fully investigate and we will continue to cooperate with the ICC.”There was one game involving New Zealand among the 15 named by Al Jazeera and NZC also requested the broadcaster to share information. “New Zealand Cricket takes anti-corruption extremely seriously and has no wish to undermine its integrity by commenting on unsubstantiated allegations,” said NZC public affairs manager Richard Boock. “We would, however, join the ICC and Cricket Australia in urging Al Jazeera to make all information relating to the allegations available, in the interests of natural justice and good journalism.”*October 22, GMT 1450 The story has been updated to include the PCB’s response

Currently on eight points from five matches, Mumbai need three outright wins to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the knockouts

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai17-Dec-2018With the Ranji Trophy clash between Mumbai and Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium ending in a draw, Mumbai’s stand-in captain Siddhesh Lad is now wishing for only two things: result-oriented seaming pitches, and the return of frontline quicks Dhawal Kulkarni – also captain – and Shardul Thakur.With Mumbai’s chances of making the knockouts hanging by a thread, Lad’s desperation was understandable. Currently on eight points from five matches, Mumbai need three outright wins to give themselves a chance of qualifying.While two of those matches, against Saurashtra and Chhattisgarh, are at the Wankhede, Mumbai have not been particularly prolific playing at home this season, only managing a high-scoring draw against Baroda after suffering a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat. But despite that earlier loss, Lad is hopeful that the surfaces for the upcoming matches are more like the one against Gujarat, where the quicks took 26 off the 31 wickets that fell.”Our bowlers are back in form, they are bowling well, if we get a good seaming wicket in the next game we will definitely win,” Lad said.”It’s not in our hands because we have a neutral curator but we believe that at least the wicket like we had during the Mumbai-Gujarat game, if we have that, our bowlers are bowling really well now.”Lad should know the fate of his other wish over the next couple of days when the team for the Saurashtra clash is announced. Shardul had sustained a thigh injury during the second Test against West Indies which required him to undergo rehab for at least seven weeks, while Dhawal had injured his ankle, ruling him out of Mumbai’s previous two matches. That Dhawal rolled his arm over on the sidelines after day three against Baroda indicated that the swelling on his ankle had reduced, if not completely subsided.”I’m hoping that Dhawal and Shardul will be back in the next game or maybe in the Nagpur game,” Lad said.”The team will be selected maybe tomorrow or day after once we get the update from Dhawal, Shardul and Tushar (Deshpande), but Tushar might not be fit before the next game, mostly Nagpur.”

“I feel so assured of myself right now knowing someone like Belinda Clark has my back”

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2023Shikha Pandey, the India allrounder, has credited former Australia captain Belinda Clark for making her feel “worthy” and “special” during her time away from the national team.In September 2022, Clark facilitated a three-week stint for Pandey in Brisbane, where she played club cricket. That stint nearly paved way for a maiden Women’s Big Bash deal with Brisbane Heat, but Pandey had to turn it down due to her commitments with Goa, her state team.Four months since a memorable stint in Australia, Pandey’s immediate future looks a lot brighter now. She is set to make a comeback after 15 months, having been included in India’s squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series in South Africa and the T20 World Cup next month.Related

• India pick Shikha Pandey for 2023 Women's T20 World Cup

• Belinda Clark statue adds to cricket greats at the SCG

“The one thing that I like about Belinda is that there was less sympathy and more empathy,” Pandey told Scroll.in. “She listened to my story and then worked with me to set different goals – not just cricket related, but outside the game as well.”We worked on my leadership traits, we discussed different podcasts, we worked on how I could make a difference by being in the state side and she made me feel worthy; special, even.”Pandey highlighted a significant shift in mindset as one of her major takeaways from being mentored by Clark. It helped develop a “squad mentality” by promoting a “more inclusive culture” within the teams she turned up for while being away from the national team.”The sessions that I had with her helped me immensely to bring in changes in my team environment. We brought in the squad mentality, started believing more in positive reinforcement, we understood the importance of creating a psychologically safe environment in which players feel valued, and we also started to celebrate our differences and tried to create a more inclusive culture.”Belinda Clark’s statue at the SCG is the first of a female cricketer anywhere in the world•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

“I remember in one of the early sessions, Belinda said something on the lines of how the situations we are facing don’t define us, but what we choose to do in reply to those situations and the decisions that we take to come out of those situations, define us. She kind of made me realise that I had so much more to offer to the game and giving up was not an option.”Pandey believes those conversations helped her embrace her vulnerabilities and accept her struggles.”She told me that it was okay to be different,” Pandey explained. “As long as I was being me, it was fine. As a professional athlete sometimes you are so scared of struggles and low phases you try not to do anything that could risk your ‘safety’ in a sense.”But she explained that you should be willing to experiment, and you need to understand that you will be vulnerable and that’s okay. It’s okay to fail in the pursuit of excellence, that’s how we grow. We need to learn to own our mistakes. Those conversations opened up a lot of things for me.”I feel so assured of myself right now knowing someone like Belinda Clark has my back. I have kept in touch with her throughout and after I got selected I sent her a message and spoke to her the next day. I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ because she was with me at a very low phase and gave me huge confidence to help build myself back up.”Sometimes when things like non-selection happen you start doubting yourself and your abilities so much that you become your own enemy. Knowing that she is in my corner, that she feels I am really good, helped me more than I can say.”

Kane Williamson, meanwhile, felt New Zealand’s bowlers could have been more disciplined against Pakistan’s openers

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2022Coming into their semi-final against New Zealand at the SCG, Pakistan had one of the worst powerplay records of any batting team at this World Cup, with a scoring rate of just 5.93 in that phase – only Zimbabwe and Netherlands had done worse. Their openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were under pressure both individually and as a combination, with numerous experts including ESPNcricinfo’s Robin Uthappa suggesting that one of them move down the order, with Mohammad Haris promoted to open.On the big day, however, Babar and Rizwan delivered, scoring brisk fifties and putting on 105 off 76 balls to put Pakistan on top in a chase of 153. They scored 55 of their runs in the first six overs – it was Pakistan’s best powerplay of the tournament, bettering their 42 for 3 against South Africa by a fair distance.Related

• Two first-over slips shape New Zealand's forgettable semi-final

• Babar Azam struggling inelegantly? Is this for real?

• Mumtaz: Shaheen Afridi back to his best in the semi-final

• Near-perfect Pakistan make light work of New Zealand to storm into final

Rizwan was the early aggressor, hitting five fours in the first five overs to race to 26 off 13 balls. While receiving the Player-of-the-Match award for his 43-ball 57, Rizwan said it had been a deliberate ploy from Pakistan to go hard in the powerplay, with the awareness that batting would get harder against the older ball on this used pitch at the SCG.”When we crossed the boundary line, me and Babar decided that we can attack the new ball, because we knew that the pitch was tricky, a little bit difficult, and 150 [153] was a good target on this pitch,” Rizwan said. “We decided we’re going to do hard work and attack these guys, and when we finish the powerplay, one of the guys will go deep, because obviously pitch was tricky, and , Allah helped us and we succeeded.”Kane Williamson felt New Zealand’s bowlers could have been more disciplined with their lines to Babar and Rizwan•AFP/Getty Images

There was clear aggressive intent in a number of Rizwan’s early boundaries, most notably when he swung across the line to belt good-length balls from Tim Southee into the leg side. But some of Pakistan’s early running was also helped by loose bowling from New Zealand’s quicks. Trent Boult, in particular, had an off day – he found Babar’s edge early, only for wicketkeeper Devon Conway to put down a diving chance, but he also offered the batters width on several occasions.New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted that his bowlers could have made it harder for Pakistan’s openers.”Fielding was okay,” he said, when asked about New Zealand’s uncharacteristic lapses on the field. “Yeah, look, Babar and Rizwan, at the top of the order, put us under pressure and played really nicely. If we’re honest with ourselves, we wanted to be a little bit more disciplined with our areas, and make that a little bit more difficult to get away on, if we were able to just keep it nice and straight.”Having said that, there’s always different parts of the game you want to touch on to do a little bit better, but at the end of the day Pakistan certainly deserved to be the winners.”Like Rizwan, Williamson also felt New Zealand had posted a fairly challenging total given the conditions.”I thought we were put under pressure early,” he said. “Pakistan bowled really nicely, and we managed to sort of wrestle back some momentum. Unbelievable knock from Daryl Mitchell [53 off 35 balls], and at the halfway stage we were all feeling like that’s a competitive total.”We knew the wicket was a little bit tough, a used surface, and yeah, very disappointing to not make Pakistan work a lot harder for that. They were outstanding, we were outplayed today. Credit goes to their quality – they certainly deserved their win. A tough pill for us to swallow, we certainly pride ourselves in a number of areas, strengths of ours, and didn’t quite do that today.”

With Ed Smith and the selectors currently pondering England’s squad to play India in the first Test, we take a look at who could be in contention

Alan Gardner25-Jul-20180:33

Gale plays down chance of red-ball return for Rashid

Top order
Alastair Cook confirmed his readiness for consecutive Test No. 155 by scoring 180 for the Lions against India A last week, and he is likely to be joined at the top of the order by Jennings, who batted once for 29 on his return at Headingley, but has been in productive form this season for Lancashire, with three Championship hundreds. That would mean no room for Surrey’s Rory Burns, currently the leading run-scorer in the country, unless the selectors wanted to shuffle Joe Root back down to No. 4. What seems more likely is Dawid Malan retaining his place at four, having scored twin fifties for the Lions – Burns, who captained the team, made 5 and 38 – above England’s multi-faceted lower-middle order engine room. Malan’s Middlesex team-mate Nick Gubbins, who made 73 against India A, might be a contender as the summer wears on.Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings run between the wickets•AFP

Allrounders
Injury kept Ben Stokes out of England’s last Test, and he will miss the second match of the India series due to his impending court appearance, but he is a default pick at No. 6 and proved his bowling is in good order by taking 8 for 118 in Durham’s Championship match this week. If England stick with the blueprint used against Pakistan, Stokes will have Jonny Bairstow above him and Jos Buttler below. While it might make sense to give the gloves to the man lower down, Bairstow has been bullish about his ability to keep and bat at No. 5, while Buttler seemed to thrive on the freedom of coming in lower down, and has so far managed to maintain the purple patch of form that caught Smith’s eye during the IPL. Sam Curran, the debutant who came in for Stokes against Pakistan, could also be included with an eye towards Lord’s.Seam
Although the senior new-ball pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been managing injuries over the last few weeks, both seemed to come through Championship games – for Lancashire and Nottinghamshire, respectively – without any issues. The same can’t be said for Mark Wood, who bowled only six overs at Cheltenham before complaining of pain in his heel; he went for a scan on Tuesday, with Durham coach Jon Lewis saying “it could be something and nothing”, but England may not want to risk him. Chris Woakes, the third seamer at Headingley, subsequently missed six weeks with a thigh problem and only managed match figures of 2 for 139 for Warwickshire over the past few days at Lord’s, but a record of 46 wickets at 23.76 in home Tests stands in his favour. Other candidates might include Jake Ball, who played his last Test during the winter’s Ashes; Essex’s Jamie Porter, the leading wicket-taker in the Championship last season; Somerset’s Overton twins, with the oft-injured Jamie showcasing some impressive pace in their ongoing match at New Road; and even Matt Fisher, Yorkshire’s former England U-19 who was part of the Lions team that thrashed India A by 253 runs.Positive spin: Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid impressed in the opening match against Australia•Getty Images

Spin
If Smith wants to roll the dice, then this is perhaps the most likely department for a gamble. Talk swirled last week about a possible recall for Adil Rashid – after he left Virat Kohli goggling at a sharp-turning legbreak during the third ODI – but he has not played a first-class game since September, and Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale said on Tuesday there had been no signs of Rashid pushing for a comeback. Bess impressed with his all-round ability against Pakistan, but was left out this week by Somerset in favour of Jack Leach, whose broken thumb initially gave Bess a shot with England. Left-armer Leach might offer a more probing line of attack against India’s battery of right-hand batsmen, and if England want an offspin option as well, that could open up a way back for Moeen Ali. Dropped for Leach in New Zealand, Moeen seems to have rediscovered his bowling confidence with England’s white-ball teams, and this week claimed 8 for 170 against Somerset – including his first Championship five-for since 2013. India, against whom he took 19 wickets at 23.00 in 2014, would surely be wary of a repeat.

Derbyshire unable to prise out five more wickets for victory after final-day declaration

ECB Reporters Network08-Sep-2022Derbyshire 306v (du Plooy 82, Came 78, Dal 56, Rushworth 3-60) and 214 for 9 dec (Madsen 58, Raine 5-43, Trevaskis 3-81) drew with Durham 223 (Jones 87, Conners 4-55) and 176 for 5 (Trevaskis 42*)Durham’s Liam Trevaskis and Paul Coughlin denied promotion hopefuls Derbyshire victory in a dramatic end to the LV=Insurance County Championship match at the Incora County Ground.The sixth-wicket pair batted through the final 17 overs to steer Durham to a fighting draw after they had been set 298 in 87 overs. Trevaskis faced 57 balls for an unbeaten 42 and Coughlin was 19 not out off 53 as Durham closed on 176 for 5 from 53 overs.Mark Watt took 2 for 37 in 13 overs but Derbyshire could not force the win that would have taken them to second in Division Two.Durham paceman Ben Raine claimed two more wickets to finish with 5 for 43 in 22 overs before Derbyshire declared on 214 for 9. Derbyshire had batted on for seven overs, adding 29 runs for the loss of Anuj Dal and Nick Potts before the declaration came.With showers forecast in the afternoon, they needed to make early inroads but Michael Jones again started positively, taking three fours from the second over from Nick Potts. Jones had scored 24 out of 26 when he tried to leave a ball from Ben Aitchison and got a bottom edge into his stumps.Aitchison should have had a second when Sean Dickson on 11 edged him low to first slip where Watt spilled the chance at the second attempt. But Derbyshire had a second breakthrough in the next over when Scott Borthwick played across a low dipping full toss from Conners and lost his middle stump.At lunch, Durham required a further 237 in 67 overs but their hopes took another blow when Dal removed Dickson. The allrounder thought he had the opener caught behind earlier and when Dickson missed a big swing and lost his off stump, he gave him a loud and visible send-off.Durham’s chances now rested with Nic Maddinson who drove Watt for consecutive fours before rain stopped play for 20 minutes with the loss of five overs.When play resumed under threatening clouds, Watt broke through in the first over when Maddinson pushed forward at a ball that went on with the arm and was caught behind. Watt struck again in his next over, tempting Jonathan Bushnell into a drive which he edged low to Wayne Madsen at slip.It was now a question of whether the rain would stay away but as the players were leaving the field for bad light, a storm broke over the ground, holding up play for two hours.The umpires decided the match could resume at 4.50pm, which gave Derbyshire 17.1 overs or 103 balls to take five wickets. And there was drama immediately with Coughlin put down at second slip on 1 as he pushed forward at Watt.Trevaskis and Coughlin showed application and good judgement to frustrate Derbyshire who, with seven overs left and the light deteriorating, were unable to use their pace bowlers. With spinners on at both ends, Derbyshire had every fielder in a catching position but the pair stood firm and the home side called off the hunt with one over remaining.There was a touching finale as the players and coaching staff applauded umpire Nick Cook off the field in his last appearance at Derby before he retires at the end of the season.