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A round-up of the Momentum One Day Cup matches on February 5, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2016Alviro Petersen continued his fine form in the Momentum One Day Cup, stroking his fifth century of the season to guide Lions to an eight-run win against Dolphins at Senwes Park. Petersen now has 594 runs from six innings, at an average of 118.80. Lions, after being inserted, rode on a 116-run partnership between Petersen and Temba Bavuma (42), which lifted the team to 276 for 7. Petersen hit seven fours and three sixes during his 92-ball 107; no other batsman managed a half-century.Dolphins were struggling at 56 for 3 in their chase before Ryan McLaren (62) and Kyle Nipper (55) led a recovery, sharing a 117-run partnership for the fourth wicket. However, both batsmen fell in the space of two overs, and despite an 18-ball 27 from Calvin Savage, Dolphins could only muster 268 for 7. Matt McGillivray was the pick of Lions’ bowlers, taking 4 for 49. Victory took Lions to second place in the table.Cape Cobras strengthened their position at the top of the table, cruising to a 113-run D/L win against Titans in Benoni. Cobras, batting first, lost two early wickets, but Omphile Ramela (53) and Justin Ontong (65) both hit fifties, and Dane Vilas provided a late surge, slamming a 23-ball 41 to take the team to 237 for 5 in 42 overs.Titans failed to gather any momentum in their chase, with only Graeme van Buuren (40) managing a score of note; nobody else made more than 14. Beuran Hendricks collected 5 for 31 to run through Titans’ line-up in 30.4 overs, as the team folded for 133.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle

The Preview by Andrew Fernando16-Nov-2012

Match facts

November 17-21, 2012
Start time 1000 local (0430 GMT)Chanaka Welegedara will want to re-establish himself as Sri Lanka’s pace-bowling spearhead on return from injury•Getty Images

Big Picture

The rains have relented slightly since the end of the ODI series, but during the monsoon that only means that the showers have been restricted to the afternoons in Galle. The teams will already feel they have seen more covers than the Bob Dylan back catalogue on this tour, but as November is still far from over, the weather is likely to remain a major factor during the first Test.Sri Lanka will want nothing less than a 2-0 repeat of New Zealand’s last Test tour, and their formula for victory in Galle has been a simple one over the years: bat first, bat big, and then let the spinners loose on one of the fastest-wearing Test surfaces anywhere. Each team has a slew of Test specialists arriving, and with Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene bolstering Sri Lanka’s middle order, New Zealand’s bowlers will know they are no longer facing the “top heavy” batting unit they were up against in the limited-overs matches.The hosts will also see this match as the first outing in the lead-up to their tour of Australia – their biggest Test assignment in a while. Given that they are unlikely to encounter anything like the Galle pitch there (at least, not until they reach Sydney for the final Test) this match will probably be less of a test of their technique, as it is an opportunity for Sri Lanka’s Test side to build some momentum before they encounter the bouncier pitches at the P Sara Oval and beyond.New Zealand meanwhile, will hope that the rain around will give their fast bowlers more to work with than a Galle surface would typically offer them. If this is the case, the toss will become less important, as the team batting first may have a difficult first session to negotiate. The evening rains might also freshen up the surface for each morning, and as fast bowling is the only area in which New Zealand outgun the hosts, the weather may give them the opportunity they need to cause an upset.Their batsmen however, will need to show more mettle than they did in India, if they are to compete. Ross Taylor has spoken of Sri Lanka’s attack as an obvious weakness, but they underestimate Rangana Herath at their peril, and 31 wickets to Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin in their last Test series suggests New Zealand are not as comfortable against spin as Taylor seems to believe.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: DDWLW (Most recent first)
New Zealand: LLLLD

Player to watch

Chanaka Welegedara has been out with injury since March this year, but he will want to re-establish himself as the pace-bowling spearhead in this series. His Test average remains above 40, but his returns in 2011 were more encouraging, and suggest that he is an improving cricketer. Sri Lanka need him to build into some form and have a good few months, if they are to compete in Australia.Jeetan Patel had played only two Tests in two years before New Zealand’s tour of India – a tour in which he performed creditably, particularly in the first Test. Thanks to Daniel Vettori’s continued absence, he will again be New Zealand’s frontline spinner, and with conditions likely to suit him later in the match, the visitors will look to him for breakthroughs. He will have to overcome the memory of a poor record in Sri Lanka though: in two matches there, he averages 55.6.

Teams news

Tillakaratne Dilshan has not recovered from his back injury, which means left-hand batsman Dimuth Karunaratne has been brought into the squad, and will get a Test debut. Sri Lanka’s major selection conundrum is who their second seam bowler will be. Nuwan Kulasekara had a decent return to Test cricket against Pakistan, but Shaminda Eranga seems the better long-term option for Sri Lanka, as he has both height and speed over Kulasekara, though he cannot swing the ball as prodigiously.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara/Shaminda Eranga, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Chanaka WelegedaraNew Zealand also have decisions to make around their attack, having shipped five specialist Test bowlers in to join Tim Southee and Trent Boult, who played in the ODIs. They have uncapped legspinner Todd Astle in their ranks, but they will not hesitate to play to their strengths and name only one spinner in their XI if the pitch appears to offer anything for the seam bowlers. Among the quicks, Southee is an almost certain starter, meaning Neil Wagner, Chris Martin, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell will compete for the remaining two spots. Bracewell and Boult are the obvious frontrunners, but Martin provides experience on a potentially difficult pitch.Martin Guptill returns to the team, after being rested for the ODIs.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Daniel Flynn, 6 James Franklin, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 Trent Boult/Chris Martin

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have won 11 matches, lost four and drawn five in Galle
• Mahela Jayawardene has made over one fifth of his 10,540 runs in Galle, and averages 75.60 there
• New Zealand last won a Test in Sri Lanka in May 1998

Quotes

“We don’t have to contend with Muralitharan and it’s always a nice thing to not have to contend with him. We’ve still got to play well ourselves and concentrate on what we can do well. But definitely their bowling line-up is an area we can target.”
“It looks like this pitch will only become helpful for the spinners on the last two days. Until then, it should be a good surface and it should have something in it for the fast bowlers as well.”

An ECB statement said that he is expected to bowl in the fourth innings, but it is unclear whether he will be fit to bat

Matt Roller13-Jul-2025England are sweating on the fitness of their offspinner Shoaib Bashir after he damaged the little finger on his left hand on the third day of the Lord’s Test against India.Bashir sustained the injury when bowling to Ravindra Jadeja, who hit a powerful low drive straight back at him. While technically a caught-and-bowled chance, Bashir was struck firmly on the hand and immediately signalled up to the home dressing room that he had been injured, sustaining what appeared to be a dislocation. Joe Root completed his over.The England camp were initially hopeful that Bashir would be available to bowl in the evening session, but he instead sat along with their substitute fielders and did not take the field. He bowled on a practice strip ahead of the fourth day’s play, with heavy strapping on his fourth and fifth fingers, but it is unclear whether he will be fit to bat.An England statement on the fourth morning said: “Following his left little finger injury, Shoaib Bashir continues to be monitored and is expected to bowl in the fourth innings of this Test. A decision on whether he will bat in the third innings will be made in due course. His involvement in the fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford will be assessed at the end of the match.”Bashir has taken nine wickets at 59.44 in this series, including the wicket of KL Rahul on the third day at Lord’s. If he is not deemed fit to play in Manchester, England’s alternative spin options include Liam Dawson, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed; Brendon McCullum has confirmed that Jacob Bethell is seen as a spare batter rather than a potential No. 8.

Seamer takes five-for as Northants battle to limit first-innings deficit

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2024Half-centuries from Sam Robson and Leus du Plooy gave Middlesex the upper hand on the second day of their Vitality County Championship game against Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ School.Robson enhanced his impressive record at the Northwood venue, which includes four first-class centuries, by grinding out a vital 58 while Du Plooy hit an unbeaten 66 as the home side reached 250 for seven, a first-innings advantage of 43.However, Ben Sanderson kept Northamptonshire right in contention with figures of five for 58, regaining his status as Division Two’s leading wicket-taker after being briefly displaced by Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones.Northamptonshire were dismissed for 207, with Roland-Jones taking a season’s best of five for 49 – and the visitors’ hopes of restricting Middlesex to a lower total were not helped as Prithvi Shaw shelled a trio of slip catches.Sanderson and Lewis McManus, who had hauled Northamptonshire out of difficulties the previous evening, did enough to usher the visitors beyond the key landmark of 200 as they extended their partnership to 83.Sanderson unfurled a pair of classic drives to the boundary off Tom Helm and thoughts of a maiden first-class half-century must have entered the veteran seamer’s mind as he overtook McManus to reach 40.However, those thoughts were dashed when Henry Brookes bowled Sanderson around his legs and, although debutant Dom Leech cracked a cover boundary to raise the visitors’ 200, Roland-Jones quickly wrapped up the innings by capturing their last two wickets in three balls.In reply, Middlesex’s opening pair both survived close calls during the hour prior to lunch, although they made it to the interval unscathed on a surface with variable bounce and pace.With just a single to his name, Robson edged a rising delivery from Justin Broad through the slips, while Mark Stoneman offered a tricky slip chance off the same bowler and Shaw, going low to his left, was unable to hang on.Sanderson made the breakthrough soon after the resumption, getting the ball to swing and uprooting Stoneman’s off stump for 36, but Robson and Max Holden dug in for an afternoon of laborious progress.Robson cut the seamers with authority to keep the scoreboard moving and passed 50 from 118 balls with a sweet cover drive for four off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, whose change of ends then bore immediate fruit as he trapped Holden leg before.Northamptonshire might have removed Robson as well in the next over, with Shaw – who had also put down Holden – fumbling another opportunity, but Sanderson made amends immediately after tea with two wickets in as many deliveries.With Robson lbw to one that kept low and Stephen Eskinazi succumbing in identical fashion, Middlesex were suddenly wobbling at 129 for four but a bristling partnership of 72 between Du Plooy and Fernandes was exactly what they needed.Leech eventually brought the stand to an end with his first Northamptonshire wicket, having Fernandes taken at second slip, but Du Plooy remained to nudge his side into the lead with a crisp off-driven boundary.However, Sanderson returned with the new ball and promptly claimed two more wickets in quick succession, completing his third five-for of the summer before Roland-Jones launched a late flurry of boundary-hitting.He took two fours from successive Sanderson deliveries and had just cracked Broad to the fence to earn Middlesex a batting bonus point when the deteriorating light brought play to a close.

A maiden T20 hundred from Ben Stokes moved Rising Pune Supergiant to their sixth win of the season in a seesawing contest against Gujarat Lions

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy01-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:29

Bangar: Stokes picked his bowlers at the right time

A maiden T20 hundred from Ben Stokes moved Rising Pune Supergiant to their sixth win of the season in a seesawing contest against Gujarat Lions. Battling cramp, frequent wicket losses at the other end, and the demands of a testing asking rate, Stokes steered Rising Pune home with a ball to spare.Sent in to bat, Lions ran away to 55 for no loss inside the Powerplay, but lost their way thereafter to get bowled out for 160. Supergiants’ chase inverted the pattern: the flurry of wickets came in the beginning, leaving them 42 for 4 at one point, before Stokes, with a bit of help from MS Dhoni and Daniel Christian, took the game away from Lions once again.Tahir stalls Lions after bright opening standHaving been sent in to bat, Lions got off to an excellent start, Brendon McCullum and Ishan Kishan finding the gaps and putting away the short ball clinically to race to 55 in just 5.5 overs. Then Kishan, having already hit Imran Tahir for two fours in the sixth over, sliced the last ball of the Powerplay into the hands of short third man.What followed was a puzzling slump. With Dwayne Smith coming in for the injured Andrew Tye, Lions had batting depth all the way down to James Faulkner at No. 8. But this was to be one of their bad days.Suresh Raina fell to a harebrained run-out before Tahir struck with successive balls – Aaron Finch sending back a return catch off the leading edge and Dwayne Smith playing all around a googly – to leave Lions 94 for 4 after 10 overs. McCullum fell soon after. Then, from 109 for 5, came a brief revival, with Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja adding 26 in 19 balls, before another slide. Struggling to put away the slower ball, Lions did not score a boundary between the fourth ball of the 14th over and the fifth ball of the 19th. Eventually, they were bowled out with one ball still left in their innings.Sangwan, Thampi shock Pune top orderWithin nine balls of the Rising Pune innings, a middling target became a daunting one. Pace was the catalyst in this transformation. Pradeep Sangwan, playing his first game of the season, produced a classic inswinger from left-arm over to trap Ajinkya Rahane lbw (with some help from Marais Erasmus, who did not notice that the ball had pitched outside leg stump) and bounced out Steven Smith. Then Basil Thampi made Manoj Tiwary pay for being stuck on the crease.Stokes looked in ominous form right from the time he punched his fifth ball for four past the stumps at the other end, and raced away to 25 off 17 to keep the required rate in check. But a mix-up sent back Rahul Tripathi in the sixth over, and Rising Pune were back in deep trouble.Spinners tie down DhoniBefore this match, Dhoni had scored 111 off 79 balls against pace this season, and only 62 off 64 balls against spin. His struggles against spin continued here. Against Ankit Soni and Ravindra Jadeja, who began bowling in tandem as soon as he walked in, he scored 12 off 20 balls, facing 14 dots.Soni’s legspin caused Stokes a few problems too – he didn’t seem to pick the slider out of the front of the hand, angled across him, and on a few occasions ended up playing down the wrong line. But successive sixes over long-on off Jadeja and a sliced four past point off Dwayne Smith kept Pune in touch with their asking rate, just about. After 14 overs, they needed exactly two a ball – 72 from 36.Hobbling Stokes seals the dealDespite being tied down by them, Dhoni did not take any chances against the spinners, and couldn’t afford to take too many, given Pune’s situation at that stage. He had to target the quicks, and he pulled the first ball he faced from James Faulkner, in the 15th over, beyond the square leg boundary. Stokes clattered Dwayne Smith for six and four in the next over, and Rising Pune were left needing 44 off the last four.They still didn’t have too much batting left in the hut, though, and when Dhoni holed out to long-off, first ball of the next over, the balance seemed to swing Lions’ way, particularly with Stokes struggling with cramps.Christian showed just the calmness a new batsman might need in that situation; he chopped Faulkner away past point when he got a loose ball, but otherwise kept bringing Stokes on strike – there would be no dots in his eight-ball innings.Stokes’ hitting down the ground, crucially, wasn’t hampered by his cramps. With Rising Pune needing 25 off 12, he hit Thampi for two sixes – one just clearing a leaping Brendon McCullum at long-on, one just clearing a leaping Aaron Finch at long-off – before collapsing at the non-striker’s end after taking a single off the last ball. A bit of assistance from the physio, and he was back on his feet.By then, Pune only needed eight off the last over, and a flat-bat clatter through the covers off the first ball of the last over halved their ask and moved him from 98 to 102. It eventually came down to one off two balls, and with the field brought in, Christian mowed Faulkner into the stands behind the square leg boundary.

Australia’s stand-in coach Justin Langer was full of praise for David Warner’s newfound professionalism and focus, after he steered Australia home against West Indies with an unbeaten fifty

Daniel Brettig07-Jun-2016So single-minded a Test cricketer was Justin Langer that team-mates have often spoken of the almost monastic fanaticism with which he pursued team and individual success for Australia. So it was telling that he spoke with enormous admiration for the cricketer David Warner has become, epitomised by his busy intensity in Australia’s victory in their tri-series opener against West Indies.The past week in New York and Guyana has been the first time Langer was able to get a look at Warner up close since he resigned as Australia’s assistant coach to take up the head coach role with Western Australia in November 2012. At that point, Warner’s performances were strong enough, but he was on a spiral of bad behaviour that led to his suspension from part of the 2013 Ashes tour for throwing a punch at Joe Root in a Birmingham nightclub.Three years on, Langer speaks of Warner in the same way as he does about former team-mates and close friends Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden – an unlikely scenario in the past, and a measure of how far the teetotal and focused Warner has come. This applied not only to the national team, but also to his work for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, where Warner played a large part in securing the trophy for his side.”I just admire David Warner so much, it’s not just his performances on the field but his actions off the field,” Langer said ahead of Australia’s second match against South Africa on Tuesday. “He’d probably be the first to admit that a few years ago he was pretty hard to manage; he liked to do things his way. But really he looks super-focused at the moment. He’s super-fit, you see his running between the wickets, he’s an elite athlete now and that takes great discipline.”He’s been rewarded for that, he’s been rewarded for his discipline and he should be really proud of the fact he has become a great role model for our young Australian cricketers and cricketers around the world. He’s become so fit and disciplined in what he’s doing and he’s so consistent, that’s what great players do. I really respect David Warner’s career, but I really respect his last year or so, because you can really tell, like a lot of great players do, there’s a trigger moment where he really switched on and he’s now cashing in on that.”Expanding on this theme, Langer said he was delighted by the Australian players’ willingness to adapt to foreign conditions without so much as a warm-up match, a mindset vital for bigger battles ahead, notably next year’s Champions Trophy in England.”What I feel is it’s a fantastic team of young men,” Langer said. “There’s no trouble-makers. They’re all really good blokes. They all work hard, they’re all hungry. We had two things [to focus on before the match against the West Indies]; the first was to adapt and the second was to look after each other. We all get on well, we’ve got good camaraderie and they’re really good people.”I was nervous, particularly about some of those big fast bowlers coming back. They’re all fit and they’ve got some bowling under their belts, but not match practice. I always get nervous when we don’t have match practice. Having said that, I thought one of our main themes was being able to adapt. We’ve got a different coaching staff, we’re in a different country, we’re playing on different wickets. Our main theme was adapting to the conditions and we did that very well.”Looking after each other is a lot easier – I always maintain – when you have that good camaraderie in the group. It’s like the glue that keeps things together when you’re under pressure. I like coming into a team that gets on well and everyone’s good mates.”Langer, never one to take the game or success for granted, was aware South Africa could well be in a fighting mood following their opening defeat to West Indies. Warner’s professionalism and the team’s good spirit should only help Australia’s cause as they seek to notch up another win.

Having been spun out in their opening match, India are under pressure to hit back and immediately lift their World T20 campaign when they face Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu18-Mar-2016

Match facts

Saturday, March 19, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)

Big picture

The build-up to the India-Pakistan clash began once Dharamsala was named as the venue on December 11 last year. Political tensions and security concerns in the weeks preceding the World Twenty20, however, left the administrators and fans in a limbo: ‘Will they, won’t they?’On March 9, a day after the start of the tournament, the impasse was finally over and the match was tipped over from Dharamsala to Kolkata. On the eve of the game in Kolkata, R Ashwin revisited clichés and told a horde of reporters that the India-Pakistan rivalry was “probably bigger than the Ashes”.India and Pakistan had provided a precursor during the Asia Cup last month when Mohammad Amir’s fire was countered by Virat Kohli’s ice. India grooved to the Asia Cup title; Pakistan suffered a pre-mature exit and were in chaos, with some barbs even directed at captain Shahid Afridi.Both sides have played just a match in the World T20 so far, but have had vastly different results. The pressure is now on India who had custard pie smashed on their faces by the largely unheralded spin trio of Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, and Nathan McCullum. Currently placed fourth in a group of five, India need to win, or they will have to rely on other results going their way. Things seem to be falling in place for Pakistan at the right moment: the top order delivered on Wednesday against Bangladesh, as did Afridi. Once-upon-a-time finisher, Shoaib Malik is back to slip in to a similar role, and can also bind the innings if there is a (familiar) implosion.The Kolkata pitch has been on the sluggish side, but Pakistan’s penchant for pace is their way of life. India’s middle order, which has been shielded by Kohli’s imperious form, was brutally exposed by New Zealand, and Dhoni conceded the batsmen lacked adaptability. Can the middle order produce a better riposte if Kohli’s bubble is burst again?

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
India LWWWW
Pakistan WWLWL

Watch out for

Yuvraj Singh had spent 144 minutes in the middle with the bat on considerably green pitches in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. Three Saturdays earlier, he had to deal with the high-speed bustle of Amir and Mohammad Irfan. Yuvraj will have to contend with it again, and the stakes will be higher this time.Before the tournament, Rohit Sharma had played down the Amir threat, calling the quick a “normal bowler”. In January, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said: ” I still feel Amir is not at his best… he’s getting there.” He got there, or nearly got there with seven wickets at 11.57 in the Asia Cup. Slow pitch or not, normal or extraordinary, Amir will be Pakistan’s . Rohit v Amir will perhaps set the match up.

Team news

MS Dhoni fiddles with the XI only once in a blue moon. Ashwin remained coy on Pawan Negi’s inclusion in a high-pressure game against Pakistan. Ajinkya Rahane is available as a middle-order option, but India are likely to stick to the same XI unless Mohammed Shami comes in for Ashish Nehra.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan 2 Rohit Sharma 3 Virat Kohli 4 Suresh Raina 5 Yuvraj Singh 6 Hardik Pandya 7 MS Dhoni (capt &wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja 9 R Ashwin 10 Ashish Nehra 11 Jasprit BumrahWith the team finding some rhythm and opening its campaign with a big win, Pakistan may not disturb their combination either.Pakistan (probable) 1 Sharjeel Khan 2 Ahmed Shehzad 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Umar Akmal 5 Shoaib Malik 6 Shahid Afridi(capt) 7 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) 8 Imad Wasim 9 Wahab Riaz 10 Mohammad Amir 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The Kolkata track for the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka match offered the spinners grip and slow turn. The quick fizzers and googlies from Rashid Khan, a legspinner in the mould of Afridi, also skidded on and tied down the opposition. A similar pitch is in the offing and the weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the game.

Stats and trivia

• The last time Pakistan played a T20 international in India, in 2012, Yuvraj clattered 72 off 36 balls.
• Afridi needs two wickets to surpass Lasith Malinga as the overall leading wicket-taker in the World T20.
• India have played Pakistan 10 times in the 50-over World Cup and the World T20, and have won nine matches. The Durban T20 in 2007 was tied, after which India prevailed in the bowl-out.

Quotes

“We felt [the Kolkata crowd’s backing] in the last game. Probably after the statement of Afridi – which was brought into controversy and brought into newspapers and all over – we felt that we were very welcome, the crowd was really behind us against Bangladesh. I know it is not going to be behind us against India, but yes that is the positive we are going to take and we are going to try to play the best cricket.”

Sri Lanka and Pakistan are not so much waging a high-octane battle in the five-ODI series, as conducting experiments

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Jul-2015

Match facts

Saturday, July 11, 2015
Start time 1000 local (0430 GMT)A young Sri Lanka side will be boosted by the presence of Lasith Malinga and Tillakaratne Dilshan•Getty Images

Big picture

Pakistan have recently been whitewashed in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka’s last ODI outing was that traumatic Sydney World Cup quarterfinal against South Africa. Both teams have lost key men. Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi have stepped off the one-day planet. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have disappeared over the horizon. These teams are not so much waging high-octane battle in the five-ODI series, as conducting experiments. Is Kusal Perera a viable long-term opener, for example? Or can Sarfraz Ahmed learn to transplant his knack of playing vital Test innings, into his ODI game, and where should he bat? What is each team’s top attack? Which batsmen will take the middle order into the future.The stakes are much higher for Pakistan, though. Presently ninth in the ODI rankings, they must defeat Sri Lanka to displace West Indies, and move up a spot. A proposed ODI triangular in Zimbabwe has added uncertainty to Champions Trophy qualifications, but a healthy margin of victory in this series would put a small buffer between them and the next team.The hosts are coming off a dispiriting Test series, but have often rebounded in the limited-overs formats. Lest we forget, Tillakaratne Dilshan still plays one-dayers, and Lasith Malinga leads the attack. Along with Angelo Mathews, they are capable of rallying a young team to at least present a challenge to transitional Pakistan.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)Sri Lanka: LWLWWPakistan: WWLLL

In the spotlight

With Rangana Herath omitted from the squad, Mathews said Sachithra Senanayake was Sri Lanka’s premier limited-overs spinner. Senanayake appeared to have returned successfully following the remodeling of his action, in the series against England at home last year. His returns in Australia and New Zealand, however, were less encouraging. With Nuwan Kulasekara’s experience also overlooked for this squad, pressure mounts on Senanayake to prove he remains a high-quality one-day bowler.Who else but Yasir Shah? They tried to attack him in the Tests, and Yasir took wickets. They tried to block him in the Tests, and Yasir still took wickets. They tried a mix of both, Yasir’s wickets still came. In the end, Sri Lanka only succeeded by tiring him out, at Pallekele. They will not be able to do that in an ODI. Even the batsmen who made big scores in the Test series didn’t have him worked out. He is the hosts’ top threat.

Team news

With Tillakaratne Dilshan back at the top, Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne are likely to slot in at No. 3 and 4.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Upul Tharanga, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga LakmalAsad Shafiq suffered a groin strain in the third Test, but has now recovered. He will likely face off with Babar Azam for his middle-order spot however.Pakistan (likely): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Azhar Ali (capt.), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Mukhtar Ahmed, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Babar Azam/Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Anwar Ali, 10 Mohammad Irfan, 11 Rahat Ali

Pitch and conditions

With a little bit of rain around all across the island, there is likely to be a little seam movement at Dambulla. This doesn’t mean the spinners are out of it either. The weather is expected to be fine.

Stats and trivia

• Sarfraz Ahmed’s average as opener is 43. This is roughly twice his average in the middle order.
• Pakistan were blasted out for 102 the last time they played in Dambulla, in August last year.
• Angelo Mathews averages 53.69 from 42 innings at no. 5. This is again much higher than his average in other positions.

AB de Villiers compliments his bowlers for their aggression that skittled Sri Lanka, and says that he and his team will be ready for sterner tests ahead

Firdose Moonda at Boland Park12-Jan-2012South African eyes had to be rubbed and blinked, skins had to be pinched and photographs had to be taken to make sure it was real. 21 for 9 is not something you see on a scoreboard every day. Or any day, except November 10, 2011.It has been two months and a day since those figures appeared on the scoreboard and already an arguably more incredulous feat has been achieved. When Sri Lanka teetered on 13 for 6, 24 for 7 and even 33 for 8, they were at risk of being bowled out for the lowest total in ODI history.It would have been an ironic twist if they were, because they have inflicted the three current lowest totals on their opposition. Zimbabwe, who were skittled for 35 in 2003-04, have the lowest total, Canada, who managed 36 right here in Paarl in 2002-03 have the second lowest and Zimbabwe feature again, this time with 38. Sri Lanka now find themselves next on the list with their 43, a feat that will have them hanging their heads in shame.AB de Villiers had a teasing glint in his eye when he was asked about seeing those numbers appear in lights but tempered his response when describing what it felt like looking at them. “It was good, the plans came together,” he said. “I asked the boys to come in with the new ball and to strike. They really ran in as a force and it worked out well.”South Africa had not seen the Paarl pitch before they arrived to play the match, having chosen to train in Cape Town the day before. In scorching heat, they quickly worked out that an already dry, flat surface would need more than just an ordinary effort.”We knew that we’d have to run in and hit the deck hard,” de Villiers said. “That’s the key on these kinds of tracks, then you can get out of it what you want. We did have a bit of seam movement, which we didn’t expect, but we also saw Dale not clocking in below 140 kph. It was aggressive and we had intent all the time.”Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe put Sri Lanka out of the match faster than a rush of cold air does a candle and they did so using basic principles of bounce and seam. Morkel raced to career-best figures, a welcome turn-around from his sketchy summer form that has seen question marks arise around his role in the team.”I started off slowly this season but I knew in the back of my mind that a special performance was around the corner,” Morkel said. “[It came on] On AB’s debut [as full-time one-day captain] and he a close friend of mine, so it was a special feeling to be able to do it now. We had simple plans that we wanted to execute and I think we did that well.”Morkel was not the only member in the team who was motivated to give that little bit extra for the new captain. Centurion Hashim Amla also had a welcoming gift for de Villiers, with the ninth hundred of his career. “He [Amla] is a rock,” de Villiers said. “We made a joke before we started, when he came to me and said congratulations on the captaincy. I said to him, ‘You will make a lot easier if you score a hundred’. Obviously he took that to heart.”With a squad that is firing with bat and ball, de Villiers’ introduction to leadership was as smooth as they come. Instead of relishing that, he admitted to being a little let-down – he had expected more of a challenge. “It wasn’t the test I was hoping for, I wasn’t tested at all,” he said. “It was all attack, from the beginning to the end. My real test will come when we under pressure. Tonight was really easy, but I know it will get a lot harder.”De Villiers could easily get lost in the euphoria of a crushing win, but he is making a conscious effort to keep his feet on the ground and make sure the rest of his squad does so as well. “I have played this game long enough to know that this is not the time to get excited,” he said. “We’ve got another ODI coming up soon and we have a lot of work to do.”

Stand-in captain Joe Sayers did his best to make up for the absence of Jacques Rudolph but familiar batting frailties left Yorkshire struggling on 254 for 8

31-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Stand-in captain Joe Sayers did his best to make up for the absence of Jacques Rudolph but familiar batting frailties left Yorkshire struggling on 254 for 8 against County Championship title hopefuls Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Rudolph’s departure to South Africa for a training camp meant Sayers captained the county for the first time in the championship and Adam Lyth earned a recall after a six-week break. Together they held off Warwickshire for almost half the day, putting on 134 in 45 overs after Sayers had lost the toss, but from 181 for 1 they lost 7 for 72 to leave their slender hopes of retaining top-flight status looking ever more tenuous.If the home side expected a repeat of their crushing win when the two counties met at Headingley last week, they were to be disappointed. Indeed, title rivals Lancashire batted first at nearby Worcester and still beat them to a bowling bonus point by mid-afternoon. At that stage Warwickshire had taken only one wicket – Rikki Clarke bowling Joe Root for 18 – as their seamers laboured to get anything out of a sluggish pitch.There was a hint of swing and the occasional edgy shot, but in the main it was plain hard work as Yorkshire’s batsmen addressed some of the issues raised by last week’s defeat by an innings and 58 runs. Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket, said it was “embarrassing” and Andrew Gale, the injured captain, used Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s knock of 193 for Warwickshire as an example of the ruthless streak that had been missing from Yorkshire’s batting.The response to criticism was promising but too much ground was conceded as Warwickshire fought back with left-arm spinner Chris Metters claiming the two top scorers in a spell of three for 45. Sayers, having worn down the seamers, went for 84, edging to the keeper as he pushed forward to Metters.For the most part, the disciplined left-hander thrived on his new responsibility in making his fifth half-century since missing the second half of last season because of post-viral fatigue syndrome.His innings, spanning nearly four hours and containing 13 fours, lit a beacon for his side until Warwickshire discovered the resolve of potential champions through the seam-and-spin combination of Chris Wright and Metters.They removed Anthony McGrath and Jonathan Bairstow with catches at second slip by Clarke – and Metters secured the bigger prize when Lyth, having made 74 from 178 balls, was trapped on the crease, playing back.The slump continued with the new ball. Keith Barker and Chris Woakes each took a wicket but Ajmal Shahzad eked out a second batting point with Ryan Sidebottom before he edged Clarke to second slip.