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Tillakaratne Dilshan has confirmed he will play his final ODI in Dambulla on Sunday, and his last T20 international in Colombo on September 9

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Aug-20160:53

Quick Facts: Tillakaratne Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan has confirmed he will play his final ODI in Dambulla on Sunday, the third of the series against Australia, and his last T20 international in Colombo on September 9.His retirement comes in the wake of significant pressure from Sri Lanka’s selectors. Dilshan’s own performance has been outstanding over the past few years – he averages 49.18 in ODIs since the start of 2013, and had his most successful ODI year in 2015, when he scored 1207 runs at an average of 52.47. But with Angelo Mathews and the selectors now seeking to build a team for the 2019 World Cup, Dilshan was persuaded to retire. He had also been Sri Lanka’s top scorer in this year’s World T20 campaign, and remains, at 39, one of the team’s best fielders.Dilshan had missed the England tour earlier this year due to personal reasons, and was seen in discussion with chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya ahead of the ODI series against Australia. He is understood to have expressed a reluctance to retire, but having scored 22 and 10 in the first two matches, has since changed his mind. Sri Lanka already have opening batsmen vying for his place. Both Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka have opened the batting in this series, and Dhananjaya de Silva, who has so far batted down the order in ODIs, has opened the batting for his club through the most recent domestic season.Dilshan was a late bloomer at the top level. Having batted largely in the lower middle order for almost a decade since his debut in 1999, he blossomed as a limited-overs batsman when he became a consistent opener in 2009. Dilshan scored 1000 or more ODI runs in a calendar year four times since being sent permanently up the order, and never failed to amass fewer than 800 runs between 2009 and 2015. He was the fourth Sri Lanka batsman, after Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, to cross 10,000 ODI runs.He has also been one of the premier T20 players over the past six years. Dilshan top-scored in the 2009 World T20, where Sri Lanka made the final, before going on to become the second-highest run-scorer overall in T20 internationals – playing in two more World T20 finals, one of which his team won. He is one of a handful of batsmen to have hit centuries in all three formats. The sole T20 hundred came in 2011 against Australia in Pallekele – a favourite venue at which he will appear one more time, in the first T20 of the two-match series.Once promoted to the top of the order, Dilshan became reputed for the dynamism he brought to the opening role. In addition to the cover drives and pull shots – all hit with a rapid swing of the bat – Dilshan was also an innovator of the lap scoop, and began to regularly slog-sweep medium-pace bowlers. He alone plays the shot colloquially known as the ‘Dilscoop’, in which a length ball is uniquely deflected over the keeper, rather than over short fine leg.Dilshan captained Sri Lanka across formats between May 2010 and January 2012, and though their first Test win under him came against South Africa at the tail end of that period, the team had endured a lull during his leadership. He has, however, been an effective bowler in the limited-overs format. His offspin has brought him 106 ODI wickets at an average of 44.84.

Surrey have signed Azhar Mahmood for this year Friends Life T20 competition

George Dobell19-Apr-2013Surrey have signed Azhar Mahmood for this year Friends Life T20 competition. Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who now qualifies as a non-overseas player, represented Surrey between 2002 and 2007 and is currently with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.Aged 38, Azhar sustains Surrey’s recent policy of signing ‘mature’ players: Vikram Solanki (37), Gary Keedy (38) and Ricky Ponting (38) are also among the new additions to the club, joining the likes of Zander de Bruyn (37), Gareth Batty (35) and Jon Lewis (37).Azhar is certainly experienced. Only seven men have played more than his 170 T20 games and only three men have taken more than his 190 wickets. He is also 17th on the run-scorer list. He represented Kent between 2008 and 2012.”From what I gather, Azhar has been sorely missed since he left and should never have been released in the first place,” the Surrey team director, Chris Adams, said. “Come the start of the FLt20, to have such a high-skilled player of his quality to fill a number of roles with bat and ball is a great bonus for us. He comes with a wealth of experience, a great record behind him and we’re really, really pleased.”Mahmood said: “It feels very special to be coming back to Surrey. I enjoyed my time with Kent but, ever since I left Surrey in 2007, I was always getting messages from Surrey fans and supporters asking when I was coming back, so I say thank you especially to Chris Adams and Alec Stewart in bringing me home.”Obviously it’s a very different set up to when I was last at Surrey and Twenty20 cricket has also gone from strength to strength so it’s exciting times ahead. I like the squad Surrey have for Twenty20. It looks strong and a real mix of youth and experience, and I look forward to catching up with the guys when I get back from India.”Surrey, who came bottom of the South Group in last year’s competition, have also announced Octopus Investments as a new FLt20 sponsor.

England Lions beat Bangladesh A comfortably by four wickets in Chittagong

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2012
Scorecard
England Lions beat Bangladesh A comfortably by four wickets in Chittagong in the first match of their tour. The Hampshire left-arm spinner Danny Briggs bagged four wickets and seamer Jack Brooks took three in a strong bowling display.Only four Bangladesh batsmen reached double-figures; opener Roy Talukder made a half-century, supported by captain Mahmudullah’s 46. Shuvagato Hom chipped in with 31 but the others never really got going and the hosts were bowled out for 186 in 43.2 overs.A collective batting effort by the England Lions side, which included five players who have already played for the full team, helped them seal victory. There was no stand-out performer with the bat, but there were a series of steady contributions. Openers Jason Roy and Joe Root added 76 in just 11 overs and though wickets fell at regular intervals from there on, the visitors were always in control. Jos Buttler made a quick 28 and England were home in the 37th over.

Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back to inflict a comprehensive defeat on Royal Challengers Bangalore and keep their own hopes alive in the Champions League

The Report by Siddhartha Talya29-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Brad Haddin delivered a blistering start to the chase•Associated Press

Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back to inflict a comprehensive defeat on Royal Challengers Bangalore and keep their own hopes alive in the Champions League while making survival difficult for their opponents. A delightful cameo from the home captain, Daniel Vettori, seemed to have set up a close encounter, but the Knight Riders dominated the chase, reminding the Royal Challengers top order of what they should have done with the bat on a good pitch. Brad Haddin, replacing Shakib Al Hasan, did full justice to his role by delivering a flier at the start while Jacques Kallis anchored the reply with support from Gautam Gambhir.The Knight Riders were left angered and frustrated by Vettori’s crafty batting at the death in the Royal Challengers’ innings, but didn’t let that affect them in the chase. A spate of misfields and fumbles drew ire from Gambhir, but the batting was calm and clinical in its approach. Haddin gave the initial push by stepping up in the second over to smack the left-arm seamer S Aravind, who’s won a call-up to the India squad for the ODIs against England, for three consecutive fours as the bowler struggled with his line.Haddin’s approach came with risks but it wasn’t mindless aggression. He used his feet well against spin, charging out to J Syed Mohammad and dispatching him over long-on, and waiting patiently for Vettori to slip in a bad ball – and he did – before punishing it past point. He was unforgiving against a clutter of length deliveries from a struggling Aravind, carving them for sixes over midwicket and the bowler’s head, interspersed by a slog for a four. When he fell with the score on 62 in the eighth over, the platform had been laid.The rest of the innings seemed meticulously planned. Kallis ceded the floor to Gambhi after launching a six over long-on early in the innings, and the Knight Riders captain played his role superbly. The Royal Challengers had faltered in the field in their previous defeat, and a half-chance that went down was perhaps the one big opportunity they had of a comeback. Saurabh Tiwary failed to latch on to a catch from Gambhir at the long-off boundary, lost his balance and crashed into a member of the support staff in the dugout. Gambhir was on 2 then.As the field spread out, plenty of singles were on offer and the pair rotated the strike comfortably, the required rate in control all through. The timely bursts were provided by Gambhir, who hammered Syed to the straight boundary and past point and clipped an off-the-mark Dirk Nannes past short fine leg. The Royal Challengers didn’t help their cause by doling out extra runs, either by way of overthrows or wides. Nannes was singled out for punishment in the final surge, Kallis reaching his fifty, albeit with a streaky bottom edge, while Gambhir smashed him for two massive sixes over long-on and square leg. That over, the 16th, fetched 24, the win was completed shortly after.A spirited performance from the Knight Riders bowlers had given them the advantage for 14 overs of the hosts’ innings, the early assault from Chris Gayle being the only highlight with the bat until then. Kallis’ stirring reply after being hit for six – a yorker that knocked out Gayle’s leg stump – backed up by Brett Lee’s extra bounce that dislodged Virat Kohli, made up for the early damage.The Royal Challengers didn’t make use of their line-up’s depth, losing wickets after their batsmen got partnerships going, holing out needlessly while an uncharacteristically quiet Tillakaratne Dilshan was stumped smartly by Haddin. With his sly shuffles to the off and the use of those powerful wrists, Vettori, kept company by Syed and Raju Bhatkal, sparked a recovery that left the hosts with the momentum at the end of the innings. It would not be with them for long.After the game, Gambhir was fined $3000 while the rest of the the Knight Riders were fined $1500 per player for being two overs behind the required over rate. The penalty for a slow over rate is $1500 per over for the captain and $750 per over for each of the other players in the starting XI.

The visitors sensed victory before rain wiped out 17 overs and they ran out of time

AAP26-Nov-2024Cameron Bancroft produced a breakthrough Sheffield Shield century but rain and a stubborn knock from Liam Scott ended Western Australia’s bid to secure victory against South Australia.Bancroft struck an unbeaten 105 off 255 balls as WA set South Australia a victory target of 364 off 90 overs. They were precariously placed at 170 for 5 after 60.1 overs – with debutant Keaton Critchell taking three wickets – when a rain break wiped out 17 overs.Related

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The loss of Harry Nielsen in the first over after the rain break meant WA needed just four more wickets with 12.2 overs remaining. But Scott (33 not out off 106 balls) and Ben Manenti survived before the game was deemed a draw with three balls remaining.There was unexpected drama late in the match when Hilton Cartwright was forced off the field after being accidentally struck in the head by the ball. Cartwright wasn’t looking when Bancroft tossed the ball to him from five metres away, but luckily the impact was only minor.Bancroft started the season as a genuine chance to win the vacant opener’s spot in the Test side following two mammoth years with the bat. But his form turned to mush so quickly over the past two months that critics even started questioning whether he deserved to keep his spot in the WA side.Bancroft opened the Shield campaign with scores of 0, 0, 8 and 2. In his two matches for Australia A, which effectively doubled as a bat-off for the vacant top-order spot in the Test team, Bancroft scored 0, 16, 3 and 0.Nathan McSweeney ended up winning the Test call-up, and Bancroft went on to make 12 and 11 in his next Shield match against Victoria, before opening the current Shield clash with a first-ball duck, despite not appearing to have edged the ball.It continued a rotten run of luck for Bancroft, with a number of his dismissals this season appearing to be umpiring errors. But his luck finally changed.Bancroft made it to stumps on Monday unbeaten on 71, and he had one edge fall short and another edge fly too high for the fielder on Tuesday on the way to reaching his 30th first-class century.The 32-year-old raised his bat and helmet to the sky upon reaching triple figures, with the knock an important step in his bid to get back in the conversation for a Test call-up.WA young gun Jayden Goodwin was named player of the match for his scores of 139 and 69.

Tourists make two changes for second Multan Test with spin expected to play bigger role

Matt Roller14-Oct-2024Ben Stokes will return to captain England in Multan this week after two months sidelined with a torn hamstring. Stokes has stepped up his recovery in the past week and will replace Chris Woakes in one of two England changes from the first Test, with Matthew Potts also coming in for the rested Gus Atkinson.”I feel good. I’m looking forward to getting back on the field,” Stokes said ahead of his return. “I’ve worked really hard at the back end of my rehab period at home and throughout the last Test match as well. I’ve put myself through a fitness test, pretty much, over the last couple of days, and come through that pretty well.”England are braced for a lower-scoring second Test, with the match set to be played on the same strip as the one used for their innings win last week. The pitch has been heavily watered but has dried out in the sun during two practice days, and the used surface could bring both teams’ spinners into the game.Stokes has been bowling in training and will be England’s third seam option behind Potts and Brydon Carse, his Durham team-mates. It is a rare example of England picking three seamers from the same county. “It’s going to be a proud moment for the club,” he said. “Durham have a great record of producing England cricketers, and in particular fast bowlers.”On his own fitness to bowl, Stokes said: “I’ve obviously got to be sensible. Playing on a used wicket made the decision a little bit easier… We’ve got two workhorses in the team in Carsey and Potts who just keep going and going and going. But I’m available to bowl, and when I sense the time is right for me to come on and make an impact, there won’t be any doubts in my mind.”Related

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England’s seamers all had a heavy workload in the first Test, despite their innings win: Atkinson bowled 39 overs, Carse 38 and Woakes 35. Atkinson and Woakes both played all six Tests of England’s home summer and have been rested, with a short turnaround between matches, while Carse should be much fresher after spending June, July and August serving a ban.”You’re looking at the last seven Test matches being pretty gruelling – in particular, the last one,” Stokes said. “Looking at the seamers we’ve got out here, this is a good time for them to have a rest and refresh the body. They’ve had a really big summer and put in really good performances, bowled a lot of overs. It’s a good time for them to get their feet up and have a break.”Ben Duckett retains his place at the top of the order after recovering from a dislocated thumb sustained on the second evening of the first Test, while Jamie Smith will shuffle back down to No. 7 to allow Stokes to return in his favoured role at No. 6.England have stuck with the same spinners – Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir – despite Bashir’s quiet first Test, in which he returned match figures of 1 for 156. Rehan Ahmed is the other spin option in their squad, while the Warwickshire and England Under-19s legspinner Tazeem Ali is on holiday in Pakistan and has been bowling in the nets this week.England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Matthew Potts, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir

In the absence of Rashid and Farooqi, Afghanistan’s attack lacked some intensity but they did not have much to work with after the batting blunders

Firdose Moonda22-Sep-2024South Africa earned a consolation win to end their three-match series against Afghanistan 2-1 as they completed their ninth successful chase in 22 matches since 2021. After being outplayed in the first two games, South Africa finally arrived in the contest via their bowlers and fielders who dismissed Afghanistan in 34 overs and left their batters a small total to chase.Aiden Markram scored his first ODI fifty in 10 innings and shared a 90-run fourth-wicket stand with Tristan Stubbs. Stubbs’ ODI career is only four matches old and importantly for him, he was able to bat time and finish the match.In the absence of Rashid Khan, who tweaked his hamstring in the second match, and Fazalhaq Faooqi, who was rested, Afghanistan’s attack lacked some intensity but they did not have as much to work with as they would have liked after the batting blunders. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the only member of Afghanistan’s top eight who scored more than 10, once again holding their innings together. He fell 11 short of a second successive ODI century and extended his lead at the top of the series run-scorers charts. AM Ghazanfar, batting at No.9, contributed 31 off 15 balls to give South Africa a target of 170. They got there in 33 overs.South Africa’s energy came from a good new-ball combination of Lungi Ngidi and Bjorn Fortuin, and in the field. Run-outs accounted for three of the first five Afghanistan wickets and gave South Africa an edge they lacked in the previous two matches.Ngidi was excellent upfront, with his range of cutters and slower balls and got an early breakthrough when debutant opener Abdul Malik played all around a straight delivery and was pinned on the pad. Arguably, Ngidi made a more important breakthrough in his next over, when Gurbaz drove him aerially, he stuck out his right hand and the ball clipped his finger and ricocheted off Rahmat Shah and onto the stumps. Rahmat, at the non-striker’s end, was short of his ground.While Rahmat was sloppy in getting back in time, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s lack of urgency was worse. He hit Markam behind square and called for two but ran the second too slowly and veered off a straight line to give Stubbs enough time at sweeper cover to throw to Kyle Verreynne and run the Afghanistan captain out. Things got worse in the next over when legspinner Nqaba Peter bowled Azmatullah Omarzai.Rahmanullah Gurbaz waged a lone battle at the top•ACB

By then, Gurbaz had already brought up a 47-ball 50, laced with his characteristic clean hitting down the ground and on the leg side. He dealt with the wickets by batting as normally as possible, even as he grew frustrated with his partner’s mistakes. Ikram Alikhil was next to misjudge when Gurbaz bottom-edged a pull off Markram to midwicket, leaving no time for a single. Alikhil was halfway down the wicket when Gurbaz sent him back but Temba Bavuma was onto the ball and ran Alikhil out.Mohammad Nabi was Afghanistan’s last recognised batter and South Africa kept him quiet and should have him out for 5 when he missed a Bjorn Fortuin arm ball. South Africa didn’t review but replayed showed he would have been out lbw. In Fortuin’s next over, he got his own back when Nabi edged him to Verreynne and Bavuma reviewed successfully.Gurbaz’s push for a century ended when he tried to hit Andile Phehlukwayo over extra cover and was well caught by Reeza Hendricks diving forward to leave Afghanistan 133 for 7. Phehlukwayo took a second wicket in three balls before Ngidi and Peter got rid of the tail. Afghanistan left 16 overs out there and will be disappointed with their capitulation after two dominant performances earlier in the week.South Africa’s batting has been their downfall throughout the series and although improved, did not always look convincing. Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi were tentative against left-armer Naveed Zadran at first and Bavuma almost chopped on in the third over. But when they got hold of the 19-year-old, they capitalised. De Zorzi smashed him past mid-off for the innings’ first boundary and Bavuma pulled him through mid-wicket later in the same over. He also took on Ghazanfar to suggest South Africa had done some work on their approach to spin, but de Zorzi underlined the old problems. He hit a sweep off Nabi straight to Hashmatullah at square leg and the captain put it down and then sent the next ball to cover, where Omarzai could not hold on.In the next over, Bavuma played Ghazanfar down the wrong line and was bowled and the over after that, de Zorzi gave Ghazanfar a return chance but the ball bounced just in front of him. Just when it seemed de Zorzi’s charmed life knew no end, he stayed back in his crease against Nabi and was trapped lbw.Reeza Hendricks’ lean run continued when he top-edged Fareed Ahmad to depart for a third score under 20 this series. In his last 15 white-ball internationals, Hendricks has only gone past 20 three times.Markram took it on himself to anchor the rest of the chase and also provided experienced counsel for Stubbs. The pair built slowly at first and minimised risk but also picked their moments to attack. Markam scored the first boundary in 10 overs when he slog-swept Nangeyalia Kharote and then drove him through the covers. Then it was back to singles until Stubbs pulled Fareed behind square. Markram’s aggression against spin came out when he hit Nabi for two sixes in an over. He brought up 50 off 54 balls and ended unbeaten on 69 off 67 balls. Stubbs reviewed successfully when he was given out lbw to Fareed on 18 and saw South Africa through to the end.

Rob Key confirms hopes that fast bowler will be in contention for T20 World Cup

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Apr-2024Rob Key is hopeful Jofra Archer will be fit enough to play in England’s T20I series against Pakistan next month in a bid to prove his readiness for the T20 World Cup in June. England’s managing director of men’s cricket also stated that Archer will not be considered for Test cricket until 2025.Archer is currently back in Barbados, where he is due to play club cricket as he steps up his return to competitive action after 11 months out following a recurrence of a long-standing right elbow injury. The fast bowler, who turned 29 on Monday, was able to join Sussex’s pre-season build-up, including on a tour to Bangalore, with head coach Paul Farbrace declaring earlier this week that Archer was “bowling with exceptional pace”.Despite making just seven limited-overs appearances for England since March 2021, the ECB awarded Archer a two-year central contract in October. There is a strong belief he can emerge from a nightmarish few years, in which he also suffered a back stress fracture, as sharp as he was when he burst on to the international scene in 2019.Related

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Archer’s 2023 was blighted by setbacks, both at the IPL while with Mumbai Indians and on England duty later in November during a week-long stint as a travelling reserve for the ODI World Cup. As a result, England have opted for a slower, more controlled management of his return to action.Key pulled Archer out of this year’s IPL to better supervise his rehabilitation, and there is optimism about his progress so far. The four-match series with Pakistan begins on May 22, giving Archer time to get back up to speed – although an ICC provisional squad deadline of May 1 means he may already have been named in the World Cup squad by then.”Absolutely,” Key told Sky Sports News when asked if Archer is a consideration for the World Cup squad. “Jofra, he’s been out on Sussex’s pre-season out in India. He bowled quickly out there, he bowled really well.”He’s now just gone back in the Caribbean, where he is going to play a little bit of club cricket, stuff like that – all about getting himself ready for that World T20. He’ll play hopefully the Pakistan series. But it’s always fingers crossed at the moment with Jofra.”Key also outlined a return to Test cricket in 2025, with high-profile series against India at home followed by an away Ashes later. Archer, who has 42 Test wickets at 31.04, earned the last of 13 caps in February 2021. Such is the rarity of someone who can deliver the ball consistently above 90mph, England are hopeful that, with a bit of patience, Archer can make a full return with the red ball.”What we’re going to do is take it slower than trying to go too quickly so that we get him back for not just a short period, we get him back for a long period. And the whole plan with Jofra is he’s going to play white-ball cricket for this summer and going into the winter.”Then hopefully next summer, when we play India, then into the Ashes, we get him back for Test cricket. It’s a slow process just to get him back for all forms.”

While his future opportunities after this tour remain uncertain, he hopes to use early success to get better

Andrew McGlashan07-Mar-2023Surreal. Daunting. As good as it gets. Those are just three ways Todd Murphy described his first experience of Test cricket amid the series in India, where he has been lauded for his maturity and ability to slot into the side despite limited experience.Murphy had played seven first-class matches when he was called in to debut at Nagpur where he claimed seven wickets. All told he has taken 11 wickets at 21.81 with a miserly economy of 2.61, the latter particularly coming to the fore in the second innings in Indore when his wicketless 14 overs went for just 18 runs. He was praised by Daniel Vettori for playing a role in ensuring another India collapse.Related

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Among that he has claimed Virat Kohli three times; the first owed a bit to luck when Kohli was caught down the leg side but the other two, especially the dismissal in Indore, came about through terrific skill.”It’s been awesome,” Murphy said of that battle. “When I look back to Nagpur when he walked out to bat, I was at the top of my mark thinking this is as good as it gets getting to bowl to a guy like that. So to be able to have that for the first three Tests has been awesome, a really enjoyable battle and no different to bowling to a lot of their guys. When they stand there it is daunting at times.”Murphy was modest about the set-up to Kohli in Indore. “It’s always nice when it looks like that,” he said. “And I think the plans for [coming from] around the wicket is always to challenge both sides of the edges, for that to work out the way it did was nice and to get him out again was awesome.””At the start of the season we both weren’t in the state sides and to be here now playing Test cricket together is pretty surreal”•Getty Images

Murphy has been part of a rare Australian spin trio in the last two Tests with Matthew Kuhnemann, with only a little more experience under his belt, also hastily drafted into the side for Delhi, then claiming his own maiden five-wicket haul in Indore to bundle out India for 109.”It’s something I’ve never really experienced, playing with two other frontline spinners,” Murphy said. “Steve [Smith] talked about it before the last Test, it’s about putting your ego away and knowing you’re going to bowl short spells at times. It doesn’t mean you’re not bowling well, it’s probably just accepting that and knowing that at certain times you’re going to be playing different roles. It’s been enjoyable and we’ve been able to work off each other very well and we’re quite different.”While Murphy’s relationship with Nathan Lyon was strong before the tour – the latter being a mentor during his young career – a strong bond has been formed with Kuhnemann after their similarly rapid elevation to the Test arena.”It’s been really cool,” he said. “We spoke about it after Kuhny debuted. At the start of the season we both weren’t in the state sides and to be here now playing Test cricket together is pretty surreal. It’s happened a lot faster than we both probably expected. We’ve just tried to enjoy it and the relationship is building nicely. We can talk about spin bowling, what works and what doesn’t.”Quite when Murphy’s next Test opportunity comes after Ahmedabad, providing Lyon remains fit, is uncertain. It is unlikely that conditions in England for the World Test Championship final and the Ashes will call for two spinners and it remains a rare route on home soil, although Ashton Agar did partner Lyon against South Africa at the SCG this season. Australia’s next subcontinent tour is not until early 2025 when they visit Sri Lanka for two Tests.Murphy is set for a spell in county cricket ahead of the Ashes and should be well-placed to be the second spinner in that squad.”I haven’t thought too far ahead but when you look, Gaz [Lyon] is still bowling as good as he ever has so when this series does come to an end it is going to slow down a little, it’s quite rare other places in the world to play two spinners,” he said. “To have this taste so early, it will drive me to get better and what it even more when hopefully it next does come.”