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Western Australia’s pacers took all ten wickets with McAndrew’s fifty taking the visitors close to 200

Tristan Lavalette15-Nov-2023Left-arm quick Joel Paris tormented South Australia again as Western Australia’s pace attack relished a livelier WACA surface on day one of the Sheffield Shield.After South Australia were bowled out for 192, openers Cameron Bancroft and Sam Whiteman survived a difficult period in the last hour. Bancroft, the leading run-scorer this Shield season, was dropped by Ben Manenti at second slip on nine off seamer Brendan Doggett to cap a grim day for the Redbacks.Having starred with 11 wickets during WA’s recent 200-run victory at the Adelaide Oval, Paris was unplayable at times and finished with 3 for 32 from 16 overs.He has taken 16 wickets at an average of 12.31 since returning from a hamstring injury sustained during Australia A’s contest with New Zealand A in August.The 30-year-old Paris, who played two ODIs against India in 2016, has had a history of injury problems and is often overlooked amid WA’s star-studded quicks, but looms as an intriguing prospect for the national selectors.”My main focus is playing continuous cricket. I feel like guys who play really good, consistent domestic cricket for a number of years are always a chance [of higher honours],” Paris said.After their remarkable three-run victory over Queensland, South Australia entered with confidence and faced a WA team looking to rebound from a nightmare Sydney trip where they were thrashed by NSW in the Shield and Marsh Cup.South Australia were out to erase the painful memories of an innings defeat in the corresponding fixture from 12 months ago when their batters crumbled on a hostile WACA surface.WA’s opening home Shield matches this season against Victoria and Tasmania had been played on sluggish surfaces with the renowned pace-bowling ground feeling the effects of Australian rules football being played on it during the off-season.The pitch during the drawn Tasmania match was particularly lifeless with WA officials displeased with it. Unsurprisingly, a grassy and hard surface was rolled out for this fixture and beaming WA skipper Whiteman, who lambasted the surface after the Tasmania match, had no hesitation to bowl first.Amid sunny and warm conditions, it almost felt like the WACA of lore with Paris bowling a back of length and the ball moved menacingly off the surface.Paris threatened on almost every delivery and was adamant he had opener Henry Hunt caught at short leg in the third over. He was left frustrated when his raucous appeal was turned down, but Paris’ disappointment was short-lived as he trapped Hunt lbw on the next ball.Hunt, who last summer had been seen as a Test prospect, had hoped to build on his century against Queensland after a slow start to the season.The Redbacks slid further when Daniel Drew edged a pitched-up delivery from seamer Aaron Hardie to Bancroft in the first of his five catches at second slip.South Australia were in danger of succumbing to Paris, whose first spell yielded 1 for 8 from six overs. But opener Jake Carder and Nathan McSweeney withstood the onslaught as the Redbacks crawled to lunch at 56 for 2.Speedster Lance Morris, who unleashed deliveries nudging 145 kmh before lunch, was rewarded for a terrific spell after the break with a spectacular delivery to knock the top of McSweeney’s off-stump.Paris dismissed Jake Lehmann with Bancroft again taking a sharp chance at second slip before Hardie and seamer Charles Stobo took over.Only a rapid unbeaten half-century from Nathan McAndrew defied WA’s attack as he totally dominated the 44-run last-wicket partnership with Jordan Buckingham, but South Australia have much work to do on day two.The teams are playing for the Rod Marsh Cup, which was unveiled before the day’s play. WA cricket legend Marsh, a combative wicketkeeper-batter who played 96 Tests for Australia from 1970-1984, was the director and coach of the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide after his playing career. He died, aged 74, in March 2022.

Sri Lanka captain was dismissed twice by Nathan Lyon in the first Test, but insists he is “not going to change” his methods after just one match

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Jul-2022Don’t panic. Keep things simple. And you don’t necessarily have to sweep (if you don’t want to). This, Dimuth Karunaratne said, was his advice to Sri Lanka’s batters ahead of the second Test in Galle. They had stumbled to 212 and 113 in the first Test, while Australia made 321 in their first innings.With a slightly better batting pitch expected for the second match, Karunaratne hoped his batters could put up a total that would give an inexperienced spin attack something to bowl at.”When we’ve won matches here, it’s not generally on tracks that turned from ball one,” Karunaratne said. “It’s when we batted well and used that scoreboard pressure to give the spinners a cushion – that’s when we’ve won here. We don’t have Rangana Herath or Dilruwan Perera anymore, so the spinners have to do what they can.Related

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“But as a batting unit, we need to put up a big first-innings score. That’s where you set the tone for the bowlers to build that pressure.”How to put up those scores when the opposition spinners are all over you, though? Nathan Lyon claimed nine wickets in the first game, Mitchell Swepson took five, and even a rank part-timer in Travis Head took four second-innings wickets.Half of Sri Lanka’s batters had fallen attempting to sweep or reverse sweep in that second innings, with new head coach Chris Silverwood suggesting after the match that mastering that stroke was crucial to Sri Lanka’s success on turning tracks. Karunaratne, though, did not put such an emphasis on the sweep in his chats with team-mates.”The sweep is just one option against spin. If you’re batting well, there are a lot of options there for you,” he said. “Everyone’s game plan has to be different. Not everyone can sweep well. Everyone’s got a unique method, and I’ve told everyone to play in their own unique way, without putting much pressure on themselves.”Without trying too many new things, what’s important is to improve the things you already know how to do. We’ve had separate training sessions for the batting unit. We know where we failed.”Karunaratne had a poor Test personally as well, making 28 in the first innings and 23 in the second. He was dismissed by Lyon on both instances, the first as he came down the track, and the second as he attempted to sweep. He is a vital part of Sri Lanka’s top order, having hit match-winning innings in Galle over the past several years. But he won’t let the battle with Lyon play on his mind too much.”I’ve got a very simple plan for myself. I’m not going to change what I’m doing based on what happened in the last match,” he said. “This is a new game. Perhaps the pitch will be better for this game than the last one. I’m going through the routine that has brought me success.”I have a plan for the first 15 overs, and then what I need to do to build an innings. As a senior batter, I’m trying to take as much responsibility as possible.”

Spinners share seven wickets as England stumble to 205 all out on first day

Alan Gardner04-Mar-20214:20

Bell: Siraj could be effective with the Dukes ball in English conditions

England fought the conditions, a well-tuned India attack, and the internal momentum of their own fading batting fortunes to try and stay in contention on the first day of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad. The best that could be said of England’s total of 205 was that it was more than they had achieved across two innings on the same ground last week; the worst, that there is no team more adept than India at making such hard graft look inadequate.Having won the toss and chosen to bat, there was no doubt that England had left runs on the table. Only Ben Stokes managed to fashion a half-century, and the highest partnership of the innings was 48. Since piling up 578 in benign conditions at the outset of the series in Chennai, England’s batsmen have yet to produce another fifty stand.Arguably things could have been worse. With Axar Patel continuing his fine debut series by claiming four more wickets – taking his tally to 22 at 10.81 – and Joe Root falling cheaply to the bristling Mohammed Siraj early in the day, England’s middle and lower order, strengthened by the presence of the recalled Dan Lawrence at No. 7, staved off complete collapse. James Anderson then struck with his third ball, Shubman Gill trapped lbw, to ensure that India had to plot a watchful course through to the close.England had drastically altered the balance of their side, picking an extra batsman and bringing back Dom Bess to support Anderson and Jack Leach – though the evidence of the first part of the day was that seam would play a greater part than it did in the day-night Test, as Siraj in particular probed away. Stokes took the new ball, for the first time in his Test career, before giving way to Leach, but Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara experienced few alarms as the shadows lengthened.Related

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Anderson’s immediate intervention during a spell of 5-5-0-1, and the fact that they managed to creep past 200 for the first time in six innings, perhaps gave England a little to feel encouraged about after heavy defeats in the previous two Tests. Again there were signs of turn on day one, though fewer puffs of dust than at Chepauk and without the lacquer-ish all sorts that made the pink ball so hard to combat.For the third time in four Tests, Root won first use of the surface, but despite positive talk about looking to find a way to score in these conditions, England were quickly in trouble as they slipped to 30 for 3. Patel’s mesmeric hold could not be broken, as he removed Dom Sibley with his second delivery after coming on in the sixth over – forewarned was not forearmed against Patel’s arm ball, Sibley playing for turn only to be bowled off his inside edge.It was two in two overs when Zak Crawley, who had just stroked four through mid-off, tried to come down once again but did not get to the pitch, lofting tamely to mid-off; Crawley has now been dismissed by the left-arm spin of Patel and Lasith Embuldeniya seven times out of seven on England’s tours of India and Sri Lanka.When the bustling Siraj jagged one back to rap Root on the back pad straight after the drinks break, England’s innings was threatening to go into another tailspin. But Jonny Bairstow overcame a jittery start, carving six fours before the lunch break as he and Stokes repelled all borders for a period. Stokes had faced 24 balls by the time R Ashwin was introduced to the attack, and he promptly pumped his 26th over long-off to signal that he would not go meekly.Axar Patel grabbed 4 for 68 in England’s first innings•Getty Images

With Virat Kohli happy to play a waiting game, rotating his bowlers regularly, it was again Siraj who provided the breakthrough shortly after lunch, winning an lbw decision against Bairstow that returned a verdict of umpire’s call on DRS. But Stokes had seemingly discovered his groove, seeing off his nemesis – of Ashwin’s initial eight-over spell, Stokes faced 41 balls (and soaked up 38 dots) – before he began to open up, slog-sweeping Washington Sundar for six, and then going to his fifty by reversing Patel for four.England, however, were left with a sense of what might have been. Stokes, Ollie Pope and Lawrence all showed flashes of what was needed to succeed, but India’s quality and depth presents an unrelenting challenge. Sundar found the right line with his offspin to befuddle Stokes, beaten by another non-turner to be lbw, and Ashwin removed Pope for the third innings in a row, Gill reacting smartly to an inside edge that went through the batsman’s legs before deflecting up off the back pad flap.Ben Foakes was lured into a furtive prod to slip by Ashwin, and although Lawrence struck several pleasing boundaries in reaching 46, he became Patel’s third victim after unsuccessfully giving the bowler the charge. With Bess trapped lbw in the same over, it required Leach and Anderson to pilfer enough runs for the last wicket to breach 200. Australia, watching on hopeful of an England win to edge out India for a spot in the World Test Championship final, won’t be booking their charter flight just yet.

South Africa haven’t picked up a single point yet, but the fast bowler feels the results will come if they focus on the processes

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2019South Africa’s position at the bottom of the World Test Championship is a reality they don’t need to confront just yet, according to Kagiso Rabada. Instead, the fast bowler and his team-mates are focused on rebuilding as they prepare for a home series against England, where they are looking to break their run of five consecutive Test defeats and begin a new era.Speaking at the team’s training hub in Pretoria, Rabada indicated South Africa may not be as far behind the pace as they look. “The ICC Test Championship can put unnecessary pressure on us right now,” he said. “We shouldn’t really be looking at that. Yes, we don’t have any points and it does look quite bad. But if we can focus on what we want to do, that should look after itself.”We hadn’t been thinking about it, but when you mention it and you think about where we are on that table, it can get you into the mindset where you need to catch up on a lot of things. But at the moment we need to focus on the product and the byproduct will look after itself.”This insular kind of talk is commonplace among teams but essential for this South Africa side that is reeling from weeks of administrative chaos, which culminated in the overhaul of the coaching staff. Just seven days ago, the team did not know if they would have what was being termed a director. Now, they have several.Graeme Smith’s appointment as acting director of cricket brought with it Mark Boucher as head coach and Jacques Kallis as batting consultant. While Boucher and Kallis are household names in cricket circles, their playing days preceded Rabada’s, and the current camp is his first interaction with either of them. So far, so good.”It’s amazing to have someone like Jacques Kallis in. I’ve never worked with him. He’s a great of the game. So is Mark Boucher,” Rabada said. “To hear their knowledge, it doesn’t even have to be skill-based, but mentally how you want to approach certain situations. So it’s great to have them around because they almost speed up your learning process. Everything is well-drilled and well-oiled. There’s no hesitation. They have a plan, they’re really decisive on what needs to happen.”But at the same time it’s not very strict. There’s an expectation on every player to do the minimum of what is required, and the rest is up to you. As a player, you can liberate yourself.”Graeme Smith, Enoch Nkwe, Mark Boucher and Linda Zondi at the unveiling of South Africa’s new coaching structure•AFP

The excitement of new mentors is balanced with the familiarity of old hands such as Charl Langeveldt, the new bowling coach, who was last with the side under Russell Domingo, a tenure that ended in August 2017. Rabada has not had a specialist bowling coach since then (Ottis Gibson combined the role with his head-coach duties) and has enjoyed reconnecting.”It’s also great to have Charl Langeveldt back,” Rabada said. “I really enjoy working with him. He’s in the same light as Mark and Jacques. They know what they’re talking about. They played at this level for a very long time.”The presence of a trio of former international superstars could easily leave the former interim team director and now assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, who took the side to India, in the shadows. But Rabada hauled Nkwe into the light with high praise for how he has handled the transition from being the man in charge to being a supporting actor for players he has coached over many years.”Enoch is someone I’ve worked with since I was at age-group level, along with guys like Quinny [Quinton de Kock] and Temba [Bavuma]. The guys who’ve worked with him, they know his quality. He’s no doubt a valuable person to have in the change room,” Rabada said. “He would have had to make a decision about whether he was going to walk away or stay, and he stayed.”I’m really glad that he did because I’ve got a relationship with him and so do the other players. Especially the young players who are in the T20 format; guys like Rassie [van der Dussen] and Dwaine [Pretorius], they know him well and they know the value he can bring. I certainly know that, too. He’s made a decision to invest in the team and I’m really glad that he’s done so.”Now, the collection of expertise South Africa have assembled needs to pay dividends. South Africa have not had a Test win since January and their marquee players have made little impact on the global stage. De Kock is the only batsman to have scored more than 500 runs in 2019 and while Rabada lies 10th on the global Test wicket charts, he has had his leanest year since he became a regular in red-ball cricket. His 26 wickets – half of what he took in 2018 and 20 fewer than his first full calendar year of Test cricket in 2016 – have come at a bloated – by his standards – average of 28.19, and he has looked off his best. He was down on pace, accuracy and perhaps motivation, which has somewhat symbolised South Africa’s decline; he will want to stand for the opposite as it unfolds.”We’ve got a challenge now as we’re going through a transition phase, and we need to see if we can step up. We believe that we can,” Rabada said. “We spoke about where we want to go and where we’re at right now, and I think everyone is on the same page, which makes things a lot clearer. We are still trying to do define roles for each player to execute but it’s a process and at the moment it’s important for each player to buy into the mindset. Then, it’s up to each player to pull a rabbit out the hat.”

The former captain smashed 144, including a last-wicket stand with Tamim Iqbal who came out to bat with a broken hand, to lift Bangladesh to a winning total

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Sep-2018
1:01

Maharoof: SL need specialist batsmen, not allrounders

Mushfiqur Rahim’s sublime 144 hauled Bangladesh kicking and screaming to 261, then a fired-up Mashrafe Mortaza set in motion a Sri Lanka collapse, and the first match of the Asia Cup soon turned into a thrashing – Bangladesh claiming victory by 137 runs, after Sri Lanka crashed to 69 for 7, then 124 all out.A third Bangladesh senior had also played an impressive role in the victory. Tamim Iqbal faced only four deliveries in all, but he had crucially come out to bat again with a broken wrist – which he had sustained in the second over – with nine wickets down. Mushfiqur made spectacular use of his teammate’s bravery, hitting a further three fours and three sixes, as 32 runs were added to the team total, lifting Bangladesh from a modest score to a competitive one.Though his contribution was eventually drowned out by those of Bangladesh’s experienced players, one Sri Lanka old-timer also had an outstanding outing. Lasith Malinga, playing his first international in a year, shook off the rust, struck twice in his first over, and finished with 4 for 23 from 10 overs, to suggest that his one-day career was far from done yet. Had his teammates held all their catches, Malinga might have wreaked even more damage. He should have had Mohammad Mithun – who went on to make 63 in a 131-run stand with Mushfiqur – caught at mid on for one, if Angelo Mathews had held the catch while diving forward. In general, Sri Lanka were woeful in the field, spilling no fewer than four catches, including two off Mushfiqur, who was reprieved on 10 and 85. For the umpteenth time in the last three years, their catching can be said to have cost Sri Lanka a one-dayer.Though perhaps it is their batting that was the worse suit on this evening (it’s often difficult to work out which discipline was the worst with this Sri Lanka ODI team). Kusal Mendis – opening in place of Danushka Gunathilaka – was Bangladesh’s first victim, when he got himself trapped in front of the stumps the first ball he faced. Upul Tharanga had been storming away at the other end, and looked good for a big innings, until, typically, he suddenly played a poor shot. Attempting to steer a Mashrafe delivery to third man, Tharanga only managed to play it on to his stumps. Mashrafe would have a second important wicket soon after – nailing Dhananjaya de Silva in front of the stumps for a duck, with de Silva going on to waste Sri Lanka’s review. The review could potentially have saved Kusal Perera later on.Mushfiqur Rahim celebrates after reaching his sixth ODI century•ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images

In general, this was not an evening of good decision-making from Sri Lanka’s batsmen. Kusal Perera’s lbw (he had actually got a thin inside edge to that ball from Mehidy Hasan) left the team 38 for 4, not long before Angelo Mathews compounded Sri Lanka’s woes by running out Dasun Shanaka as the pair attempted a painstaking recovery. Thisara Perera holed out soon enough, and Mathews was himself dismissed for 16 off 34 balls – trapped lbw by Rubel Hossain. That Sri Lanka even survived into the 36th over and made as many as 124 was down to a plucky tail, who hung around, despite the target being clearly out of their reach. Even the tail’s efforts were not enough to prevent a record though – this victory was Bangladesh’s biggest in terms of runs, away from home.Although Mushfiqur had a little luck early on – having been dropped in the 10th over – his was nevertheless a terrific innings. He had begun slowly, playing out a maiden against the red-hot Malinga, before later producing Bangladesh’s first boundary of the match, off the last ball of the eighth over. He built steadily alongside Mithun, taking an especial liking to Sri Lanka’s finger-spinners, often venturing down the track to them, sometimes to hit boundaries.Although after Mithun fell, Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain followed in quick succession, Mushfiqur batted efficiently with the tail, looking for boundaries at the start of each over, and singles towards the end. Despite his best efforts, the lower order batsmen continued to perish, however, and Bangladesh found themselves nine down in the 47th over, which should have been the end of their innings given one of their batsmen had suffered a fractured wrist earlier in the innings.Tamim, though, made the courageous decision to bat again, with his bottom hand in a cast. He hid that injured left hand behind his body, and rode out a Suranga Lakmal ball at his ribs, to hand the strike over to Mushfiqur, who didn’t disappoint. Mushfiqur moved expertly around the crease to smoke a spate of valuable late boundaries, moving past his previous best ODI score of 117, while twice making sure to take a single off the last ball of the over, to ensure Tamim did not have to face another ball. Mushfiqur had hit successive sixes off the first two balls of the final over, bowled by Thisara Perera, before he holed out attempting a third six. His valiant hand would turn out to be more than enough for Bangladesh to claim an important first victory in the tournament.