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The 21-year-old impressed at the T20 World Cup earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2020The Adelaide Strikers have moved swiftly to fill the void left by Sophie Devine’s departure by signing South Africa batter Laura Wolvaardt for the Women’s Big Bash.Wolvaardt, 21, was one of the stars of the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year despite only batting twice in the competition as she made unbeaten scores of 53 and 41 against Pakistan and Australia.ALSO READ: Sophie Devine joins Perth Scorchers in major WBBL signingShe has previously had two seasons with the Brisbane Heat although struggled to make an impact with 99 runs in 15 innings, but having had more success in one-day than T20 cricket her game in the shortest format has developed significantly of late.”We’re extremely pleased to have secured the signing of Laura who we think is an exceptional young talent and will fit into our group nicely,” head coach Luke Williams said. “We were very impressed by her standout performances on the biggest stage of them all, the T20 World Cup, and we’re excited for what she will bring to the Strikers batting order, and her versatility in that order.”Cricket Australia remains hopeful that overseas players will be able to feature in the WBBL season despite the travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19.There is another potential clash for Wolvaardt, and other South African players, with the BCCI having recently said they are looking at staging a series against South Africa in October although no dates are yet confirmed. The WBBL is set to begin on October 17.

Retained Trent Rockets captain Lewis Gregory expects “quite a few teams” to take interest in Somerset team-mate

Matt Roller03-Feb-2021Lewis Gregory has backed his Somerset team-mate Tom Lammonby to be signed in the Hundred draft this month following his breakout season in county cricket last summer.Lammonby, a former England Under-19 captain, struggled in his first season in Somerset’s T20 side in 2019 but flourished in the abbreviated 2020 season when he was handed an unexpected opportunity as an opener in the red-ball side.His three Bob Willis Trophy hundreds – including 116 in the final against Essex and 107 not out against Worcestershire in a must-win group game – impressed those involved in England’s pathway selection, while he maintained a strike rate of 177.94 in the T20 Blast, the third-highest in the competition out of batsmen with more than 100 runs.And Gregory, who has been retained as Trent Rockets’ captain on a contract worth £80,000 (plus a captaincy bonus), suggested that his team-mate was likely to attract attention from teams in the Hundred as a potential long-term pick thanks to his value as a finisher in the middle order and his left-arm medium pace.”I think there will be quite a few teams after him, if I’m honest,” Gregory said. “He’s a brilliant kid, who works his absolute socks off. To see him contribute in the manner that he did last year – in both red-ball and white-ball cricket – was great.”He’s got a very, very high ceiling and he’s going to keep developing and keep growing. He’s got a very bright future and it won’t be long before we’re seeing him in an England shirt, [so] I’ve no doubt that there will be a few teams interested in him.”Gregory, Somerset’s T20 captain, has spent his entire professional career at the club and admitted that he would find it “weird” to miss five weeks of the 2021 county season while playing in the Hundred. Those involved in the new tournament will miss the Royal London One-Day Cup next year, which will instead take on the role of a “development competition” between July and August.”It will be weird, but you get used to playing in franchise competitions and developing as a team quite quickly,” he said. “Naturally I’ll see that Somerset are playing games in the 50-over comp and miss being around, but equally [the Hundred] is a new opportunity to go out and play on the global stage.”That’s an exciting prospect for anyone that’s going to be involved in the competition. I think it will become the norm and something that we’re used to very quickly.”Gregory’s Trent Rockets side are one of three teams – alongside London Spirit and Southern Brave – who will make only two picks at the draft, which will take place between the second and third India vs England Tests later this month. They opted to retain the vast majority of the players they signed at the initial draft in October 2019, including their three overseas signings: Rashid Khan, D’Arcy Short and Nathan Coulter-Nile.Gregory has been a regular contributor for Brisbane Heat in the BBL•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Gregory said he has been involved in “a few conversations” regarding the Rockets’ strategy but has largely left things to Stephen Fleming and Mick Newell, the side’s head coach and general manager respectively. The two players they released were Harry Gurney – who was offered a new deal but opted to enter the draft instead – and Luke Fletcher, and they appear likely to sign two seamers in the draft as a result.”It was a no-brainer, really,” Gregory said of his decision to stay with the Rockets. “Trent Bridge is a place that I’ve really enjoyed playing cricket, so when the opportunity comes about to call that your home ground, I don’t think you have to think about it too much.”There’s a lot of talent around English cricket at the moment and a lot of good county cricketers are going to miss out. There will be a lot of talent that’s not playing in the Hundred, which shows that the standard of the competition will be one of the strongest across the world.”Related

• The Hundred – full 2021 squad lists

• Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc released as the Hundred teams finalise retentions before draft

• Lammonby seizes chance with record-breaking first impression

• 'When we say data, we don't just mean the numbers'

• The Hundred teams set to finalise retentions ahead of draft

Gregory was speaking from his hotel room in Canberra, ahead of Brisbane Heat’s fixture against Perth Scorchers on Thursday night, with the winner progressing to the Big Bash final. Having grown used to the competition’s new rules this season, he suggested that the Hundred could look to incorporate the Power Surge – with the powerplay split into two blocks – and a bonus-point system in future years.”I don’t think it will be used initially but [the Power Surge] could easily be brought in. I’d be fine with that, as long as I’m not bowling in it. I’ve [also] enjoyed the Bash Boost point, which brings in a game within a game – you’re not just looking at the final target but also the 10-over score. They’re nice innovations and it’ll be interesting to see how they develop over the next year or so. I can definitely see them being tried and tested around the world.”I think four [powerplay] overs up front is potentially not long enough in a T20. I think you could either have five up front and one over at the back end, or even a five and a two. But it’s created different perspectives on things, and brings a different dynamic. You stay in the game a little bit longer when you’re chasing, knowing that there are two overs to capitalise on with only two men out, and you can make a charge a little bit later.”

Pakistan have shown glimpses of quality, particularly with the ball, but need to show a greater breadth of limited-overs skill to stage a comeback in the second ODI in Napier

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Napier27-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 28, 2016
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)1:12

Pakistan look to stop the rot

Big Picture

Pakistan hoped to pose a stiffer challenge to New Zealand than Sri Lanka did, but with two matches to go, their tour is threatening to go the same way as the previous one. The most recent loss was perhaps the most disheartening of their three on tour. Having held New Zealand by the collar at 99 for 6, Pakistan eased their grip – introducing spinners to hasten the over-rate – and the New Zealand lower order shoved them to the ground. Even with Mitchell McClenaghan in hospital, New Zealand eased to their eighth limited-overs victory in ten games.As ever, there is an edge to this Pakistan attack, but they have also lacked the full breadth of limited-overs skill, at times. They had broken New Zealand’s batting open with swing, seam and pace, yet have had struggles with containing throughout the tour. There was also a seeming dearth of intent with ball and bat. With six wickets down by the 23rd over, they opted to reserve the quicks for later in the innings, instead of hunting for those last four scalps. Then the chase of 281 began slowly – only 33 coming from the Powerplay.New Zealand have scrapped, jived and thrived despite everything that has been thrown at them. Four top players are ruled out of the next match, but such is the depth in their cricket at present that they have a bowler of Doug Bracewell’s quality to replace McClenaghan. Their middle order had seemed a weakness, but on Sunday it was Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner who revived the team with their seventh-wicket stand.The weather may play a role in shortening this match, but the rains are forecast to clear by afternoon.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)


New Zealand: WWLWW
Pakistan: LLLLW

In the spotlight

The latest in New Zealand’s production line of exciting young players is Henry Nicholls, who on Sunday played virtually the perfect rebuilding innings, notwithstanding an edge to slip that was shelled early in his stay. Nicholls punished short balls as he established himself at the crease, then slipped into low-risk accumulation mode when the team lost more wickets. His talents have been noticed internationally as well – the Sydney Thunder picking him up for a two-match stint towards the end of the Big Bash League.Ahmed Shehzad averages 32.28 in ODIs since the start of 2015, but of more concern might be his strike rate of 75.22. A hitter of flashy boundaries atop the innings, his ability to keep the scoreboard moving during the tougher periods has sometimes limited his game. After four low scores in the tour now, Shehzad will want to make an impactful contribution on what has traditionally been the best batting track in the country.

Team news

Luke Ronchi is rested for the last two matches, and BJ Watling replaces him.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultPakistan will probably keep their attack intact, but Shoib Malik is likely to come back into the middle order, having recovered from his injury. Sohaib Maqsood seems likeliest to make way.Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt.), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The McLean Park surface is usually full of runs, but the weather does not look promising. The forecast suggests there will be rain until the early afternoon, and cloud thereafter. A strong southerly wind is also expected.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand struck 369 and won by 119 runs when these teams last played in Napier, in February 2015
• Trent Boult became the top-ranked ODI bowler in the world ahead of the the first match of the series. Matt Henry is seventh on that list, while Mohammad Irfan is tenth.
• Babar Azam has struck a fifty in half of his eight ODI innings so far

Quotes

“The New Zealand fast bowlers seem to be going really well. They’ve got a few options up their sleeve and they’re rotating the guys. It’s exciting to be back in the mix.”

Victoria batsman one of three players with Australia domestic cricket experience in 15-member squad

Alex Malcolm13-Dec-2019Victoria batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk is one of three players with domestic experience to be named in Australia’s 15-member Under-19 World Cup squad.

Squad

Cooper Connolly, Oliver Davies, Sam Fanning, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Lachlan Hearne, Corey Kelly, Liam Marshall, Todd Murphy, Patrick Rowe, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Bradley Simpson, Connor Sully, Matthew Willans

Fraser-McGurk, 17, made half-centuries on Sheffield Shield and List A debut for Victoria earlier this season, and has been named alongside fellow Victorian batsman Mackenzie Harvey, who played in the Melbourne Renegades’ BBL triumph last season, and allrounder Liam Scott, who made his Shield debut for South Australia against Western Australia recently.The squad also features New South Wales batsman Oliver Davies, who made headlines last summer after hitting six sixes in an over while scoring the first double-century in the history of Australia’s boys’ Under-19 championships.Australia’s squad will be coached by former Test opener Chris Rogers, with former Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris as his assistant.Australia face West Indies, Nigeria, and England in their pool at the World Cup in South Africa. Australia have not won the Under-19 World Cup since 2010, which was their third triumph after the inaugural edition in 1988 and 2002.

Board said the fast bowler had reported the incident immediately to the authorities

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2023Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has imposed a five-year ban on a “fan” for making a spot-fixing approach to fast bowler Luke Jongwe in August last year. ZC said that Jongwe had immediately reported the approach to the authorities.”Edward Walter Mupangano, a 27-year-old cricket fan from Harare who in the past also had playing trials with a local club, received the sanction after he approached Luke Jongwe on 4 August 2022 and sought to introduce him to an Indian bookmaker who allegedly wanted the player to bowl in a pre-arranged manner during an international match in return for a payment amounting to US$7000,” ZC said in a statement.”The facilitator himself would allegedly receive US$3000 if the planned corrupt activity was successful.”The board said Mupangano had accepted the charge of violating the anti-corruption code and that he had been banned from all ZC-affiliated events, activities and venues for five years.In the wake of this incident, ZC called for Zimbabwe to make “fixing and any other sporting corruption a criminal offence” under the country’s law.”It is our view that harsh sanctions, including custodial sentences, will go a long way in helping cricket to curb one of the biggest threats to its credibility,” ZC chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani said. “Criminalising match-fixing and spot-fixing will send a strong warning to offenders and would-be offenders that corruption has no place in cricket and those who engage in it should be jailed or put out of the game.”ZC said it would “intensify its anti-corruption education drive within its structures and continue working with the ICC to ensure that cricket locally and globally is not tainted”.”The integrity of ZC and the game itself is of paramount importance and, therefore, the need to maintain high levels of honesty and professionalism at all levels of the game cannot be overemphasised,” ZC managing director Givemore Makoni said. “Let me take this opportunity to place on record our thanks to Luke Jongwe for reporting the approach – this is what is expected of all participants in cricket if we are to keep our game clean.”Jongwe, 28, has played one Test, 37 ODIs and 45 T20Is for Zimbabwe since making his debut in 2014.

Foxes’ four-run loss hits chances of sealing spot as one of the third-placed sides chasing qualification

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2020Leicestershire Foxes suffered a setback in their bid to reach the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast as Derbyshire Falcons pulled off a first victory of the season in a low-scoring North Group affair at the Fischer County Ground, Leicester.Having restricted the Falcons to 147 for 8 from their 20-over allocation, seamer Gavin Griffiths taking a career-best 4 for 35, the Foxes fancied their chances of cementing their position as one of the third-placed sides chasing qualification, especially after defeat for Birmingham Bears in the Central Group earlier in the day.But despite an unbroken stand of 68 for the fifth wicket between Harry Dearden and George Rhodes, building on a useful 32 on home debut from Nick Welch, the Foxes fell short of their target, some tight and intelligent death bowling from Dustin Melton and Michael Cohen pinned them down over the final three overs, when neither batsman could find the rope.Having opted to bat first, the Falcons were 42 for 1 after the Powerplay overs, largely down to Wayne Madsen, who had made 26 of them off 16 deliveries but was almost out without scoring, backing away a little to a ball from Callum Parkinson, the left-arm spinner, that missed leg stump by a whisker and was given as four after evidently taking a deflection off the bat as it sped past wicketkeeper Lewis Hill. The same over had seen Luis Reece dismissed as Parkinson read the batsman’s intention to step down the pitch and turned the ball away from him to facilitate an easy stumping for Hill.Madsen made the most of his good fortune with boundaries of a more authentic nature off Griffiths and Will Davis, including the night’s first maximum as he lofted the latter over long-on, and though a bowling change at both ends stemmed the flow of runs a little, Madsen looked well set at 33 off 22 balls in the 10th over when Billy Godleman’s poor decision to take a single as George Rhodes swooped to field at short extra gave his experienced colleague no chance to make his ground, leaving the Falcons 64 for 2 at the halfway stage.It was a scratchy innings by Godleman, who loosened his arms to launch Parkinson over long-off in the 13th over but was out next ball as the left-armer beat him in flight and enabled a second stumping for Hill. Matt Critchley and Leus du Plooy kept the board turning over but at 101 for 3 after 15, Derbyshire needed to build some momentum to post a competitive score.It did not help that Du Plooy, having helped one round the corner for his second boundary, was out to the second ball of the 16th over, his steepling drive dropping for Davis at long-on, and when leg-spinner Gareth Delany bowled Critchley in the next over the Falcons were looking at a relatively modest total, even though Anuj Dal announced his arrival with a six muscled over wide long-on.A slower ball from Griffiths accounted for Dal at the start of the final over of the Falcons’ innings and after Alex Hughes swelled the total with six over the bowler’s head, new batsman Mattie McKearnan and Hughes were caught in the deep off the last two balls as Griffiths claimed three wickets in the over.The Falcons’ 147 for 8 left the Foxes needing to score at 7.4 runs per over to register a third win of this truncated season, a rate of which they were quickly ahead as openers Delany and Nick Welch helped themselves to half a dozen boundaries in the first three overs. Welch, the 22-year-old Zimbabwean making his home senior debut, picked up two in the same over off his compatriot, Dustin Melton, and dispatched him for a towering six over deep mid-wicket, clearing the roof of The Meet.But the left-armer Michael Cohen struck back for the Falcons, dismissing Delany via a swivel-pull scooped up at short fine by Hughes and Arron Lilley, whose uppercut turned into a catch taken low down by Melton at third man as the Foxes completed the Powerplay overs only marginally in front and with two important batsmen lost.Colin Ackermann found his range immediately, lifting Matt Critchley’s leg spin for six over long and slog-sweeping four in the same over before repeating the feet in Critchley’s next. Welsh pulled Cohen to the rope and the Foxes seemed to be back on track until Hughes entered the attack to remove the threat of Ackermann, taken by wicketkeeper Brooke Guest standing up.The Foxes had now slipped marginally behind the required rate at 72 for 3 after 10 and suffered another setback when Critchley produced a lovely ball to bowl Welch for 32, leaving Harry Dearden and George Rhodes with a rebuilding job.Although the two found boundaries hard to come, they kept the total building with intelligent placement, yet entered the final five overs of the contest with still 42 required. Hughes and McKearnen, the other leg-spinner in the Falcons side, kept the pressure on and though the left-handed Dearden picked up a boundary off each the Foxes still required 20 from the last two overs, which came down to 10 off the final six balls.It proved too much, Melton coming up with an excellent final over to leave the Foxes five short of their target. Rhodes could have won the match with a six off the last ball. He failed and although he was dropped in the attempt Derbyshire’s joy was not diminished.

Harris scores unbeaten 52 in front of selectors but Smith waits in wings after bowling one over in comeback match

Daniel Brettig29-Aug-2019Not even present for the tour game at Worcester, Australia’s coach Justin Langer underlined the impending pointy end of this Ashes series by intently watching day one of the encounter with Derbyshire from behind the wicket, accompanying the selection chairman Trevor Hohns for long segments of play at the county ground in Derby.What they saw, joined at various junctures by the captain Tim Paine, the resting David Warner and the former New Zealand coach John Wright, was more or less as might have been expected, save for the curious initial decision to field rather than bat first on a straw-coloured pitch.Michael Neser claimed two wickets in as many deliveries with the brand new ball and later added a third, Mitchell Starc went wicketless for 12 overs before blasting out three Derbyshire batsmen in his 13th, two by splaying the stumps, and Peter Siddle bowled eight overs for 11 runs while accounting for the hosts’ top scorer, the elegant Leus de Plooy.Wrapping up Derbyshire’s innings shortly after tea, the acting captain Usman Khawaja and the opener Marcus Harris then got comfortable against modest bowling, taking their time in the knowledge that only one of them is likely to play in the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Khawaja, as the senior player of the two, appears more certain of retaining his place, and one or two of Harris’ signature airy cut shots through a gully area not overly staffed by Derbyshire did not inspire a great deal of confidence.Nonetheless, he scored more freely of the batsmen, and in staying undefeated to the close, Harris and Khawaja ensured that Steven Smith’s return to the middle following his concussion substitution at Lord’s and subsequent absence from Headingley would be delayed by another day.”He’s always looking to score,” Paine said of Harris. “I think if you bowl a bad ball to Harry he puts it away and I think that puts guys under pressure. He’s just an attacking opening batter and he keeps the scoreboard moving, but as he’s shown in Shield cricket he’s got the ability to bat for a long time and score big hundreds when he gets in, we know that Harry’s got Test runs in him, and when he gets set hopefully he starts well tomorrow, gets a big score and he can continue putting runs on the board like he has for the last 18 months.”Steve Smith is going to come back in and play. So obviously someone from the last Test is going to miss out. There’s no doubt about that. You have the best player in the world coming back into your line-up. I suppose this tour game is important for guys to make sure that you’re keeping your name up in front of the selectors. And so far a few guys have done it, which is very pleasing. That’s what we want. We want to have depth and we want our selectors to have to make difficult decisions.”Steven Smith had an over before lunch on his return to action•Getty Images

In fact Smith’s only involvement was a single over of ropey off-spin, including one practice delivery that sailed over the head of a startled Siddle at mid off. Neser, Starc and Siddle all bowled better than that, demonstrating what the selectors could expect should they choose any for Manchester. Paine said that Starc’s bowling was steadily on the improve in terms of what the team needed him to do in English conditions.”I think if anyone’s stops trying to get better, that’s a problem,” Paine said. “We know what Starcy can do in terms of blowing teams away. We also know that coming to England in the past that hasn’t worked. So he’s been working really hard on getting his length right more so than anything. I think his opening spell today was really good. I thought he bowled in very good areas.”He bowled with good pace on a wicket that was very slow. So I thought the signs that he showed with the new ball were really good. And then, like we saw again at the end, when he can go back to what his strengths are, attack the stumps and use his short-balls, he’s a handful for the tail as well.”He’s been working on his length and I think he showed some really good control in his first spell. He bowled a long spell too [seven overs and eight overs] which he doesn’t do a lot when he plays for Australia. I thought he controlled pretty well and, the areas he has been trying to improve so he can be important for us in English conditions, I thought he showed today he’s going really well with that.”Rather less of a chance to figure in Lancashire is Cameron Bancroft, who must have been informed of a fairly lowly posting in the batting order after heading, at change of innings, for an extended practice session in the Derby nets. Langer, meanwhile, kept both eyes firmly on the middle.

Their fifties and Pujara’s vigil helped India trim their deficit to 154 after Australia were dismissed for 326 on the second morning in Perth

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Dec-2018
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane led India’s riposte to Pat Cummins’ tour de force to help the visitors cut their deficit to 154 at stumps on an absorbing second day at the new Perth Stadium. After Australia were dismissed for 326, India lost both M Vijay and KL Rahul to hooping inswingers, but Kohli got cracking with three boundaries off Josh Hazlewood in the 10th over. Enter Cummins and then Nathan Lyon. Their combined genius and relentless accuracy meant Kohli and India had to wait 22 more overs for their next boundary.This was the passage of play that defined the day. Cummins first attacked Kohli’s off stump and then shifted his lines wider to tease the India captain’s outside edge. At the other end, Lyon found sharp turn and bounce to remind India what they were missing: a frontline spinner. A biting offbreak, which Kohli left alone, nearly trimmed the bails while a non-turning ball drew a leading edge to point. In the 10 overs Cummins and Lyon bowled in tandem during the post-lunch session, India managed only 12 runs. Kohli, though, weathered the storm and reached his first fifty of the series, with his first boundary off Cummins this series.He ground out 74 for the third wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, who also played his part in keeping Australia’s attack at bay till tea. His duel with Lyon in particular was intriguing, again. While Pujara often took trips down the pitch and even hid his bat behind pad, like he had done in Adelaide, the loose ball did not come from Lyon here.Cummins then returned after the break to trouble Pujara with incoming deliveries. One of them skidded off the pitch and pinged the back thigh when he was on 23. The on-field decision was not-out but Tim Paine gambled on a review and lost it because the ball was always bouncing over the stumps.Virat Kohli pulls•Getty Images

After Lyon and Cummins had built up all the pressure, it was Mitchell Starc who made the incision when he snaffled Pujara down the leg side for 24 off 103 balls. It was Starc who had produced the first breakthrough, too, when he blazed through the weak defences of Vijay off what turned out to be the last ball before lunch. Rahul, the other opener, was bowled by a sharp inswinger as well. It was the 11th time that he had been dismissed bowled or lbw in his last 15 Test innings.All of that disappeared into the background when Kohli took centerstage, hitting Hazlewood for four rousing boundaries in a mere nine deliveries, the pick of them being a checked on-drive. After seeing off two immaculate spells from Cummins, he brought up his half-century with an adventurous upper-cut over the slip cordon.Rahane showed greater attacking enterprise and eased the pressure off Kohli in an unbroken 90-run stand. He hooked Starc over backward square leg for four and then ramped him over third man for a six, evoking memories of his more famous battles with Mitchell Johnson in the country. Once the bowlers adjusted their lengths, Rahane unfurled serene front-foot drives to keep India ticking.Lyon and Cummins ended with combined figures of 39-7-74-0. On another day they could have run through the opposition with the irresistible pressure they applied, but on Saturday both Kohli and Rahane were immovable.The day had started more promisingly for Australia with Paine and Cummins taking the hosts past 300 with a nuggety 59-run stand for the seventh wicket. However, they lost their last four wickets for 16 runs to be bowled out about 25 minutes before lunch. Kohli and Rahane then thrilled a crowd of 19,042 and seized the day for India.

Fast bowler believes he is one of five bowlers vying for a single spot in squad, as countdown continues to showpiece tournament

George Dobell in Colombo22-Oct-2018Mark Wood admits he is battling “against the clock” if he is to win a spot in England’s World Cup side.Wood returns to the England side for the final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday but, having not played a game in the series to date, fears he may have fallen behind several others in the race for selection.Now, with only one more ODI series to come (the five-match series in the Caribbean in February and March) before England pick their World Cup squad, he feels he is one of five men competing to complete the 15-man party.”In my mind, there’s one spot in the squad for five of us,” Wood said. “Liam Plunkett is going to play: he’s been our best bowler for a while. Chris Woakes has been so consistent. He is a great bowler and he is going to take the new ball. And Ben Stokes balances the team.”So you’ve got one spot between me, Tom Curran, who feels he has got his slower ball back, Olly Stone, who bowls rockets and is ahead of me at the moment, Sam Curran, who can bat, and David Willey, who had a good summer. We’re all probably vying for that one spot.”It’s hard to disagree with Wood’s assessment. With England’s tactic of playing two spinners in most circumstances working well for them, and the management understandably keen to have some left-arm variation – provided by either Sam Curran or Willey – in their attack, it may well prove that Wood is now an outside bet for that final place.With the World Cup having been a focal point of England’s cricket for the last four years – and Wood having been a regular part of the ODI side in that period – it would heart-breaking to miss out at this stage. As a result he is hoping to improve his game in the final months before the tournament, both by lengthening his run-up in order to avoid some of the stress he puts on his body and by developing a new slower ball.”It can be frustrating when you are just on the outside with a World Cup around the corner,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have one eye on that. I know that, if I don’t do well here, I am one tour away from not making that World Cup squad. And that’s something we’ve been building up to for over four years. Ever since the last one. So I’ve got to do the business.””I’ve managed to swing the new ball out here so that has been a plus. And I have been trying to work on a few new slower balls. I feel I can get better with a few slower balls.”But I’m against the clock a little bit. Everyone is fighting for that one spot so it is not like I can keep working on a slower ball for the next three years.”While such competition for place could disturb the equilibrium in the squad, Wood insists it will not be allowed to do so in this England camp. With Eoin Morgan having confirmed he would drop himself from the team if his form was not up to scratch – he may rest himself on Tuesday to provide opportunity elsewhere – the mood in the camp is, Wood says, selfless and positive.”We’re one team,” he said. “We’re all together. I want my friends to do well. I’m an England fan and I want England to win.”You don’t win nine series on the bounce [a statistic that excludes the one-off defeat against Scotland]. It’s good to have healthy competition without being all bitter or sour. That doesn’t help anyone. And I don’t think Eoin Morgan would have you around if you weren’t behind the team.”Some of the net sessions have been pretty hairy as all the bowlers have been charging in trying to get a spot in the side. I’ve just got to prove myself and get better. And if I can do that, hopefully I should get my spot back.”Meanwhile Chris Jordan, who has recently arrived in Sri Lanka, trained with the squad on Tuesday. Jordan has been added to the squad with a view to playing in the one-off T20I match that follows the ODI series.But while Jordan took part in the warm-up football, there was no sign at training of Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow’s ankle injury remains a concern and it is doubtful that he will be fit to play in the first Test.England may well call up Ben Foakes, the uncapped Surrey keeper, within the next day or two. Olly Stone and Joe Denly, who could make his first ODI appearance this decade on Tuesday, also sat out the football section of training.

The culture of togetherness within the squad was the main reason for the upturn in fortunes, Sri Lanka’s captain has said

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2019Sri Lanka have made history in South Africa, becoming only the third team overall – after England and Australia – and the first from Asia to breach the fortress in a Test series.It came against all calculations. After all, Sri Lanka have had very few reasons to cheer on the cricket field – or off it, for that matter – in recent months. Not to forget they had a new captain in the form of Dimuth Karunaratne for the series, with Dinesh Chandimal getting the axe after two huge defeats in Australia. The sword was hanging over coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s head too, and more than one key player picked up injuries and dropped out.”Beating South Africa two-nil isn’t easy. When we came here, we were underdogs. But we learnt a lot of things on previous tours, and the players executed really well in these conditions. That’s why we are here. It’s a great achievement for us,” Karunaratne gushed after Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando struck unbeaten half-centuries to take Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket win in Port Elizabeth for a series sweep.Just how big was the result? Karunaratne admitted that even when, at various stages, there were words of positivity and hope thrown about in the dressing room, “we didn’t take that seriously”.”I think we never expected to do it,” he said. “But when we started winning, we had the faith. We wanted to compete. Winning is the ultimate goal, but if we do the right things, the result will definitely be good for us. Most of the guys said that but we didn’t take that seriously, because when we have additional pressure, it’s not easy.”Cut to Saturday, which started with Sri Lanka 60 for 2 in their chase of 197, and “we said when you go out there, you play your natural game; if you can score, if you can hit over the fielder, go for it. That’s what in the first hour Mendis and Oshada did … when we played like that, South Africa were on the back foot.”Kasun Rajitha is pumped up•Getty Images

Karunaratne stressed on “keep smiling” and “keep enjoying” as the main mantras for the players. After over two months on the road – with very little joy – the words proved useful.”The tour (in New Zealand) started in December, so we are out of the country for three months. If you don’t enjoy and if you can’t free your mind, you can’t give your best,” Karunaratne said. “I know the talent we have, so we wanted to get those out. If you’re enjoying yourself, you can definitely get those out.”With Mendis, who hasn’t had his best run with the bat while on the road, the new captain had to work extra hard. “He was really feeling the pressure, he was thinking about the social media and everything,” Karunaratne said. “But I said, ‘When you get a good knock, you’ll forget about it and we’ll keep supporting you. It’s high time you do it.’ And he did it for me.”Mendis and Oshada pulled it off in the end, but Sri Lanka had many other heroes in Port Elizabeth after Kusal Perera had done it all almost single-handedly in the first Test in Durban.South Africa only scored 222 and 128, and that was because the pace trio of Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha picked up 13 wickets between them and Dhananjaya de Silva, the lone spinner after Lasith Embuldeniya dislocated his left thumb, provided crucial breakthroughs in conditions not too suited to his brand of offspin.And no, comments from South Africans like Keshav Maharaj didn’t serve to spur the players on, according to the new captain, who now looks set to hold the job at least for the foreseeable future.”We had a few discussions, what I expect, what the management expects, and after that, we kept hanging together, we ate dinner together, we were together,” he said of the team culture he has tried to put in place. “When you make that culture, when you come overseas, only the squad will stay here … I wanted them to give their best and stay in the game all the time. They enjoyed a lot, still they are enjoying. It’s really a great feeling, when we are playing together, and my job becomes easier.”When we came here, no one thought we can win a series here. But if we back ourselves, we can win those matches. We wanted to do something good for the team, for the Sri Lankan fans. End of the day, we did a really good job.”