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The Sri Lanka captain said that using five bowlers – to aid in taking 20 wickets in the match – and staying energetic in the field through the Test was important against Pakistan and will remain so in India

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata15-Nov-2017When India went to Sri Lanka in July-August and beat them 3-0, they won by some staggering margins: 304 runs, an innings and 53 runs, an innings and 171 runs.Just over a month later, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan 2-0. What changed in between? What did Sri Lanka learn about themselves from those three massive defeats to India that allowed them to go to the sapping heat of the UAE and beat a team that had never lost a series there?”The one thing is, we just tried to play five bowlers, because if you’re playing against a good team you need to take 20 wickets to win,” Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s captain, said on the eve of the first Test of his team’s return series against India. “That’s the one area we looked at, and our fielding – we need to
keep our energy levels up for five days, so those are the areas we improved on as a team, and looking forward to implement those things in this series.”Kolkata in mid-November, with overcast skies and persistent rain, will be rather different to the UAE at any time of the year. The Eden Gardens pitch also promises to be very different: green and likely to help the quicker bowlers. Even so, Chandimal suggested Sri Lanka would want to continue playing five bowlers.”Especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we all know the weather – it’s really hot and that’s why we used five bowlers and six batters, so, you know, that’s the combination we’re looking at, especially if you want to win a series you need to get 20 wickets. We haven’t decided anything. We need to see the pitch first and decide tomorrow morning who’s going to play. We saw the pitch yesterday – it was green and hard, so maybe the seamers will come into play in this game.”By deploying the offspin-bowling allrounder Dilruwan Perera at No. 7, Sri Lanka managed to play two seamers and three spinners in the first Test against Pakistan, and three seamers and two spinners in the second.The pitch and the overhead conditions at Eden Gardens are likely to favour playing three seamers, and Sri Lanka could approach this in two ways. The first would be to continue batting Dilruwan at No. 7, and play three specialist quicks in Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage and Vishwa Fernando.Dilruwan Perera struck in his first over•Francois Nel/Getty Images

Chandimal, however, had said in an earlier press conference that the quality of India’s bowling could make them think of playing an extra batsman. In that case, Sri Lanka have the option of playing Dasun Shanaka, a middle-order batsman who bowls seam-up, instead of one of the three main quicks.If he wasn’t so dogged by injury, Angelo Mathews could have offered them that option, but he will play this series as just a specialist batsman. Chandimal expected the former captain to return to batting form after a difficult couple of years.”If he’s bowling, it gives us more confidence, and we can balance the side really well, but unfortunately, with his injuries, he can’t bowl, especially in Test cricket,” Chandimal said. “But to be having his experience, you know – he was unbelievable in 2013 and 14, so I’m sure he will put his hand up and do his best in this series, and for the batting unit, it gives us very good confidence.”He also indicated that Mathews would move up one spot from his usual No. 5 position.”He’s going to bat at No. 4,” Chandimal said. “That’s [what] we are looking at, because he’s got all the experience. It’s better to send him top of the order and get the maximum out of him.”

The framework for USA Cricket, American cricket’s new governing body, was cleared not long after USACA was expelled by the ICC in June

Peter Della Penna20-Dec-2017American cricket is a step closer to having a firmer foothold on its administrative future after a final constitution was approved for USA Cricket, the new governing body that is taking over in the wake of USACA’s expulsion at this year’s ICC annual conference.”This is an extremely important development and I would like to thank the Advisory Group for their enormous contribution to the development of this Constitution,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said in a press release. “They have led a process that has been incredibly thorough and we think they have developed a best practice Constitution that gives the new national governing body in USA the best possible chance of success.”The framework for the constitution was cleared not long after USACA was expelled, and contains many of the guidelines which were rejected by USACA that became the final straw before the ICC voted them out in June as the board representing the USA as an Associate Member. Among them are term limits for board members, three independent directors, athlete representatives on the board and an independent chairman. Any proposal to make changes to the constitution will require a two-thirds majority from the wider membership.One new guideline not previously revealed by the ICC’s sustainable foundation advisory group is that the same person cannot run for multiple positions on the board. The scenario played out on numerous occasions at USACA elections, including one instance in which Kenwyn Williams ran for president, vice president and executive secretary. Williams eventually won a spot as executive secretary in 2012 but lasted less than a year in the role.According to the constitution, voting eligibility has fairly liberal guidelines taking into the consideration the fact that a sizeable portion of the cricket-playing community are non-citizens. Voting in elections is open to anyone who is a US citizen, permanent resident or a lawful resident. However, board members must be either US citizens or permanent residents, also known as green card holders.”This is an excellent constitution that reflects the diversity and strength of the USA cricket community,” said Jagan Jagannathan, a member of the sustainable foundation advisory group who has also served as the board chairman of the American Cricket Federation, the rival governing body to USACA. “Of course, cricket operates in a dynamic environment and we have built in mechanisms that enable the constitution to evolve with the growth of the game in the USA under the leadership of the future directors and the membership”.The election process for USA Cricket’s inaugural board is expected to begin in January, with the board seated by April.

The South Africa batsman has said that he is in a ‘good space’ physically and mentally after series-turning contributions against India

Sidharth Monga in Johannesburg18-Jan-2018South Africa coach Ottis Gibson was asked in the lead-up to the series if the Indian pace attack had enough in it to make them reconsider the usual policy of batting first in Cape Town. This was, after all, not the usual Cape Town pitch; it had more grass than usual on it. Gibson said it would depend on the overheads on the morning of the Test. The morning was bright with no clouds, and South Africa thought about putting India in, but went ahead and took the challenge of batting the first session out.Three overs in, South Africa were in crisis. Dean Elgar nicked behind while Aiden Markram was pinned lbw. The ball did a lot, and Hashim Amla would soon perish to make it 12 for 3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took three wickets in each of his first three overs. Batting seemed treacherous. South Africa were pretty close to their gamble of a spicy pitch backfiring on them.AB de Villiers, though, batted as if on a different plane. He was helped by Mohammed Shami bowling the first ball to him on his pads. The score didn’t matter, the situation didn’t matter; the ball was there to be hit, and he hit it. Soon he hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for four boundaries in one over. In crisis he scored 65 off 84 balls, benefitting from some loose bowling along the way, to take South Africa to a total they could win the Test with.In Centurion, South Africa didn’t get the pitch they wanted. It was slow, it didn’t have much bounce, and it turned on day one. Morne Morkel said it felt “100%” like bowling India. South Africa won the toss again – a big advantage this time – but let India back in by not scoring over 400. There was some ordinary running, some loose shots, that let India off the hook. They took a lead of 28 in the first innings, but the third innings was now important. This pitch seemed to now favour India’s bowlers whose default mode of operation is to attack the stumps. Two early wickets fell to balls that stayed low and were at the stumps.South Africa were now 31 for 2 effectively, and it was anybody’s game. It was de Villiers’ game. Once again he scored 80 at the rate of two runs per three balls to pull South Africa out of trouble. These were two crucial innings in the context of the series even though none of these got him the Man-of-the-Match award. They were played at strike-rates you would be proud of in crisis in ODIs. These were what you would call counterattacks, but to de Villiers these are normal innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Not at all,” de Villiers said when asked if he consciously made an attempt to hit South Africa’s way out of trouble. “I watch the ball and I just play. I have always said that I don’t feel there’s a big difference between the three formats. It is just a mindset applying yourself to the wicket and conditions, and that’s always been the way that I have played. So no definitely it’s not something that I force.”That is how de Villiers bats. He sees the ball early, gets into attacking positions, and defends or leaves only if he must. In an interview to ESPNcricinfo in 2015, he said: “My mindset in all three formats, in any situation, is exactly the same. I just want to get myself in, get myself a nice foundation to hopefully attack and dominate the bowlers. After a period what I call – let’s say a period when you have got to earn the right to dominate the bowling. In some innings it takes one ball, sometimes it takes 10 overs, sometimes five overs…”It hasn’t all been smooth of late for de Villiers, with injuries keeping him out of Test cricket. It must feel great to come back and immediately make such a big impact on a grudge series. “Test cricket is the ultimate challenge,” de Villiers said. “It was very enjoyable to be a part of a really important and good series win. I think it was a great team effort from everyone, from the fielding to the bowlers with big pressure moments with the bat in hand, just an all-round really good team performance. I am obviously enjoying my cricket and loving it out there with the boys. And it has been a great couple of Test matches.”These might not have been big hundreds, but these have been match-turning, and consequently series-turning, innings. And de Villiers has never felt better about his game. “I feel like I am in the best form of my life right now,” de Villiers said. “I am never guaranteed results, never guaranteed five hundreds in a row, I could get five ducks in a row but I am happy where I am at. And I am playing well, and I am doing my preparation well, and I am meeting the ball well. It’s just up to the day to take care of itself. I feel at the best phase of my life right now.”AFP

Physically, too, de Villiers said he felt he was in a good space. “It feels like my debut back in 2004 when I started as an opening batsman then a keeper at no.7 and back to opening, and up and down,” de Villiers said of his body. “It’s funny with my comeback now similar to back in the day. But it has been very enjoyable. I feel very fresh, and I have said it on numerous occasions in the last few months that I just feel like just getting out there and playing, and that’s what a good break does to you.”I am feeling in a good space, and the energy is good, and my body is feeling right at the moment. I do have niggles but that is part of Test cricket. You never get up feeling a 100%. The back is still there, the ankles and knees, everything is hurting at times but to be playing the ultimate form of the game again has been a great challenge.”De Villiers is not done yet with India. He will laugh about the last series in India, where some of the best batsmen in the world lost confidence playing on tracks that Faf du Plessis said bordered on the “extreme”, but they are gunning for 3-0.”I can’t remember what happened,” de Villiers joked. “What happened in 2015? Oh we won the ODI series, yeah. It would be great, India have really impressed me and surprised us in terms of the bowling department so they have shown lot more skill and definitely there is lot more pace than we expected. So we know we are going to have to be watchful in that last Test. They will come out fighting and wanting to finish well in the Test series, and wanting to take that confidence into the ODIs, but obviously we would love to beat them 3-0. But you are never guaranteed of a result. We know we are going to have to dig deep again and make sure that like in the last two Tests we adapt to the conditions and put in our best type of cricket in the conditions.”

Essex have secured a return for Neil Wagner, the New Zealand left-armer who played a key role in their 2017 Championship title

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2018Essex have secured a return for Neil Wagner, the New Zealand left-armer who played a key role in their 2017 Championship title. Wagner has signed for an initial spell from May until July, with the possibility of it being extended depending on his international commitments.Although Wagner’s 31 wickets came at 35.32 last season, he sent down more than 300 overs – behind only Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter – and added experience to a youthful seam attack. His aggressive style complimented the nagging lines provided by Porter, and his best figures of 6 for 48, at Taunton in April, helped set up Essex’s first win in what was to become a memorable season.Currently ranked the No. 7 Test bowler in the world, Wagner will take over from Peter Siddle as Essex’s overseas player in May, after a five-match Championship stint for the Australian. Wagner is set to play in all formats until the end of July.”Once I knew there was an opportunity to come back to Essex, I was very keen to get back to Chelmsford and build on the hard work and success of last season,” Wagner said.”Everyone at the club made me feel welcome last year, from the members to the commercial team, and I absolutely loved my time there. The squad and coaching staff were brilliant with me and I am looking forward to catching up with the friends I made and bringing more success to such a special club.”Wagner was Essex’s main overseas signing in 2017, joining for a second stint later in the season after Mohammad Amir returned to Pakistan. As well as helping Essex to their first Championship in 25 years, he claimed 14 wickets in the Royal London Cup before their semi-final exit. The 31-year-old has also played county cricket previously for Lancashire and Northamptonshire.He claimed his best Test figures of 7 for 39 against West Indies in December and should play a key role in New Zealand’s two-Test series against England starting next month. New Zealand are then due to have a six-month gap before touring the UAE to play Pakistan in October.Anthony McGrath, Essex’s head coach, said: “We have been working hard on bringing Neil back for a while. His performances were excellent last season and he offers something to the squad with both bat and ball.”Off the field he was very much a popular member of the squad and he brings international experience to our exciting group of young bowlers. He showed great commitment to the club last year and was integral to what we achieved. From the minute he joined he understood exactly what Essex is all about, and we are looking forward to welcoming him back this year.”

The allrounder hit seven sixes in a 30-ball 68 to snatch victory from what had been a dominant Mumbai Indians side for most of the match

The Report by Varun Shetty07-Apr-20181:44

Coach’s Diary: CSK need explosive openers

Mumbai Indians didn’t account for the possibility that Chennai Super Kings, who were coming back from a two-year ban, could also come back from the dead.After managing to overcome a poor start with the bat, putting up an above-par score, throwing their superstar at Super Kings’ top order and unleashing a starlet to dismantle the middle order, Mumbai should have won this. Having then had Super Kings needing 48 off 21 balls with one wicket remaining, they should have won big. With Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan and Mustafizur Rahman all available to bowl during that period, they’d have had to try hard not to.But they didn’t account for the might of Dwayne Bravo who, after conceding only 11 off his last three overs, returned to blitz seven sixes in a 30-ball 68 that put Super Kings within seven runs of a victory that Kedar Jadhav sealed on one leg.The punt that set it up Every captain who won the toss in a night match at the Wankhede had elected to bowl last year, and MS Dhoni said he didn’t see a reason why Super Kings shouldn’t do the same on a grassy pitch. Only two of those captains had ended up on the winning side in six games.Mumbai chose to open with Evin Lewis and Rohit Sharma, a move that would have either brought them big runs up front or exposed an untested middle order to the new ball. As it turned out, the new-ball duo of Deepak Chahar and Shane Watson brought about the latter.Keeping the target downTwo half-century stands lifted Mumbai to 165 after a poor start, but they could have had a lot more.The Pandya brothers, led by Krunal, managed to extract 45 runs from Mark Wood’s last three overs. The fast bowler who had gone for three off his first over had a sour ending to his IPL debut. But Super Kings found padding at the other end through Bravo, who laid the work for a big chase much before he knew it.While Wood had trouble switching abruptly from a predominantly short length to a yorker length – bowling either too short or too full in his endeavour – Bravo executed his yorkers expertly, while sneaking in the occasional dipper. He bowled the 16th, 18th and 20th overs that were worth 11 runs in total even as a combined 36 came off the 17th and 19th overs; a particularly good return against Hardik and Krunal, who boast Smart Strike Rates of 155.63 and 204.78 respectively since IPL 2015.The fears and the turnaroundSuper Kings had left out their specialist openers M Vijay and Sam Billings, who were expected to fortify a batting line-up that was considered a glaring weakness following the auction in January.Those fears were first put under examination by Hardik, who got Watson to flick a knuckle ball to deep square leg before cramping Suresh Raina on the pull in his next over. What seemed like a decent start – seven runs per over with the loss of one wicket in 5.5 overs – quickly became a slippery slope. Extracting every bit of that reality was debutant legspinner Mayank Markande, who slipped a googly through Ambati Rayudu to trap him in front next over. He could have had Jadhav two balls later, but could convince neither umpire Chris Gaffaney nor his captain that this ball – also a googly – was hitting leg stump. A significant moment in hindsight.Mumbai did, however, take the review when Dhoni was trapped on the back foot and had the not-out decision overturned to leave Super Kings tottering at 51 for 4. When Jadhav retired hurt with a strained hamstring, a swift end was in sight.But once again, Bravo took charge of the final phase of the innings to lift Super Kings. Between the start of the 18th over – with Imran Tahir for company – and the end of the 19th, Bravo anticipated the blockhole lengths McClenaghan and Bumrah were looking for and got deep in his crease to pick up five sixes – three over midwicket and two over long-off.He seemed to have thrown it away, when he sliced Bumrah’s last ball to extra cover. What he did manage, however, was to cross over to the other end. This meant that Jadhav, returning to the crease, had the strike in the last over.Jadhav’s mobility seemed severely impeded as he tried initially to dab Mustafizur’s offcutters fine on either side of the wicket; but a surge of adrenaline made up for his injured hamstring, allowing him to get down one knee and ramp one over fine leg to bring the equation down to one off three balls. All the fielders moved into single-saving positions, but that couldn’t prevent Jadhav from sealing this astonishing comeback, with a ball to spare, with an insouciant drive to the cover boundary.

Australia dominated again, thanks to Beth Mooney’s 45, two wickets each from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner, and India’s inability to prop up Smriti Mandhana’s third successive half-century

The Report by Annesha Ghosh at Brabourne Stadium22-Mar-2018BCCI

A familiar script that had underpinned the one-sided ODI series between the teams in Vadodara played itself out in the T20I tri-series opener, too. Australia romped to a six-wicket win over India, thanks to Beth Mooney’s 45, two wickets each from Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner, and India’s inability to prop up Smriti Mandhana’s third successive half-century.Resuming momentum from her 67 and 52 in the last two ODIs, Mandhana earned herself the distinction of India’s fastest T20I half-centurion. The innings transpired after Australia captain Meg Lanning sent India in, and a maiden over from Megan Schutt greeted Mithali Raj and the 100-odd spectators on Thursday morning at an otherwise empty Brabourne Stadium.Mandhana started off in a manner starkly different to Raj’s. She stepped out to Gardner off the second ball of her innings, and followed it up with a late glide past the wicketkeeper for a second four in three balls in the nine-run over. By the end of the Powerplay, Mandhana had tonked six fours and a six for her 20-ball 33 to help steer India to 47 for no loss, with Raj on 13 off 16.Mandhana brought up her half-century off 30 balls, even as Raj’s bid to break the shackles led Healy breaking her stumps for 27-ball 18 in the tenth over. Soon after, debutant and left-arm spiner Sophie Molineux nearly had Mandhana chop on on the fourth ball off her second over, but the inside edge would only trickle to short fine leg. However, five balls later, she sent Mandhana back for a 41-ball 67 with a catch at mid-on off Gardner.Her dismissal in the 14th over triggered a familiar Indian middle-order wobble and helped Perry snipe out Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur within the first three balls off the next over.India’s labour at 100 for 4 would have soon resulted in an even worse capitulation, had it not been the ingenious striking of allrounder Anuja Patil. During her 21-ball 35, Patil hooked and swept Perry to hammer 14 runs off the 18th over that spoiled Perry’s figures to 4-0-31-2.Patil added 14 more off her next four balls, before a back-of-the-hand full ball on middle from Delissa Kimmince had Molineux pick out Patil at deep midwicket. Veda Krishnamurthy then struck a four and a six in the last over to hoist the hosts to 152 for 5.During Australia’s chase, it took Jhulan Goswami all of five deliveries to make an impact upon her return to the squad from a heel injury after she missed the ODI series. After getting hit for two fours, a seam-up back-of-a length inswinger took the top of Alyssa Healy’s middle stump.Goswami snared Australia with a similar template in her next over. Gardner flayed Goswami through the point region for two back-to-back fours but a missed pull on the next ball cost her the middle stump and ended her eight-ball 15 cameo.Mooney and Elyse Villani subsequently took Australia to 57 for 2 after six overs, after suffering two scares courtesy Patil. Introduced as the first-change bowler, Patil collected a Mooney drive and darted it straight back through the batsman’s legs into the stumps. The replays, however, showed Mooney’s back toe back just in time.Mooney then struck three fours in the next over off Shikha Pandey during her 32-ball 45 and anchored the 79-run third-wicket stand with Villani. The duo, however, fell in consecutive overs, as Mooney holed out to Pandey, handing Goswami her third while Villani offered a return catch to Poonam Yadav in the 14th over.With 41 needed from as many balls, Lanning walked in at No. 5, and hammered four fours and a six. Her 44-run unbeaten stand with Rachael Haynes lent a degree of eventuality to India’s chase with a flurry of fours.The most incisive one came off Rodrigues, as Lanning bisected a near-non-existent gap between point and cover point. Equally authoritative was her lofted drive off Poonam that brought up Australia’s 150th run, before she hit the winning runs off Rumeli Dhar, in the penultimate over, en route to her 35 off 25 balls.

The West Indian great, who coached Bangladesh in the late 1990s, was in Dhaka this week, meeting with old friends in Bangladesh cricket

Mohammad Isam16-May-2018Gordon Greenidge, the West Indies great who was one of Bangladesh’s earliest foreign coaches in the late 1990s, always knew Bangladesh cricket would one day overcome their difficult start in the quest for international cricket. Even now, he is proud of what they have achieved, having seen first-hand their more fallow days when he was appointed coach in 1996.Greenidge, who later guided Bangladesh to their first World Cup appearance in 1999, was accorded a reception by the BCB on Tuesday, with many cricketers from his time meeting him after nearly two decades. In a rare reunion, the likes of Akram Khan, Minhajul Abedin, Mohammad Rafique and Khaled Mashud, among others, shared hugs, laughs and stories with Greenidge, whom many considered a father figure during his four-year tenure as head coach.”I did believe Bangladesh cricket would grow,” Greenidge said. “It always had the potential to grow. It is difficult to measure the quality of Bangladesh cricket. Before, we were only playing one-day cricket. It was nice to see the players meeting the demands of the highest standards and more extensive games at the international arena. It was always going to be a difficult task to rise to the international standard.”I am happy to say that they have done it exceptionally well. It is not always the case that you have continuous success. I can see Bangladesh cricket actually keep its head high and be able to compete credibly at the international stage.”The BCB also presented Greenidge with a Bangladesh jersey, a tie and a watch. It also donated Tk 500,000 for the Gordon Greenidge Primary School and library in Barbados.Greenidge said that while his departure was “disappointing” – he was unceremoniously discharged soon after Bangladesh’s famous win over Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup – he has moved on. “The parting was disappointing. I would have liked to spend more time with Bangladesh cricket, but it wasn’t to be. I have no ills. These things happen.”Greenidge said that he hoped to stay in touch with old friends in Dhaka. “I cherish all my memories here in Bangladesh. I just met [Gazi Ashraf] Lipu after some time. I believe [Tanjeeb Ahsan] Saad is not well. I had a good communication channel, which was lost. Now that we have met again, I sincerely hope that we can renew that relationship and continue where we left off.”

The event to mark a year until the 2019 World Cup was a call to rally round and support an event that is returning to these shores for the first time in two decades

Andrew Miller30-May-2018It wasn’t hard to determine what the theme of next year’s World Cup is set to be, given the ICC’s choice of venue for its event to mark the tournament’s one-year countdown.A bar and courtyard in East London’s iconic Brick Lane, the heart of the capital’s Bangladeshi community, was jam-packed with legends of tournaments past, as well as fans and kids representing all ten of the competing nations. It amounted to a call to arms to the myriad cultures that make up the British Isles, to rally round and support an event that is returning to these shores for the first time in two decades.It will do so, according to the tournament organisers, with appetites whetted and lessons learnt from the two ICC events that took place in England last year – the Champions Trophy and Women’s World Cup. Both passed off without a hitch, allowing David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, to breathe a sigh of relief at once again working with the ECB, a board which has “a culture of doing things well in advance, as opposed to other parts of the world where there is a culture of leaving things to last minute”.On one key aspect of the World Cup strategy, however, the ICC and ECB haven’t seemed quite so aligned in recent weeks. In spite of their shared commitment to participation, particularly among Asian communities, the recent comments of the ECB chairman, Colin Graves, that young people “are just not attracted to cricket”, prompted a diplomatic response from Richardson, who clearly hopes that next summer’s events will provide a more thorough refutation of that claim.”That is very much an English viewpoint,” Richardson said. “Globally we are seeing in our sport, compared to other sports, the average age of the fan is lower than even football and certainly rugby. Market by market, it varies widely – in England, I think, there is a bit of a challenge making sure we re-engage with the youth and grow the game from a participation point of view – but elsewhere in the world, it is quite positive.”That implication was borne out by ticket sales for last summer’s Champions Trophy. According to the ECB’s own figures, supporters of a South Asian heritage accounted for 40 percent of the total sales, boosted no doubt by the presence of three Asian teams alongside England in the semi-finals. For standard bilateral events featuring England and a touring team, however, that figure has been just 3 percent.Nevertheless, Steve Elworthy, the tournament director, accepts that there is still room for improvement, in spite of a 90 percent attendance figure during the Champions Trophy, particularly in reaching beyond cricket’s traditional supporters and engaging those for whom the World Cup may yet be their first glimpse of the sport.Cricket fans in East London gather at an event to mark one year until the 2019 World Cup•Getty Images

“The criticism [last year] was that it didn’t necessarily break out of the cricket bubble,” Elworthy said. “But 55 percent of the people who came to the Champions Trophy hadn’t been to cricket in the last five years or so – there was a huge Asian support base for it – we want to build on that.”Plans to extend the World Cup’s reach could include a bespoke opening ceremony on the eve of the tournament, while the notion of Fan Parks and “inner-city take-overs” – “from Durham right down to Taunton” – are also being discussed.”We have stated ambitions to engage with a million kids between now and the end of the tournament,” Elworthy added. “We have 100,000 tickets earmarked for under-16s for the World Cup. We have an opportunity to re-engage and drive huge participation.”And that message will doubtless be music to the ears of the ECB hierarchy, whose bid to reboot the sport’s popularity in England and Wales has been dented in recent weeks by a hostile reception to their proposed 100-ball format.And Richardson himself wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the notion of a fourth format for a sport that is already struggling to balance the competing demands of Tests, 50-over and T20s.”Our strategy is clear in that we’ve got three formats of the same game, which is challenging in itself to keep them from cannibalising each other,” he said. “But what it does do is provide us an opportunity to provide an offering to everybody, every type of cricket fan, from the traditional old Test cricket fan to a youngster who wants something to be happening every ball.”And the 50-over version, I think, is that perfect fit between Test and T20. It provides a perfect day’s entertainment, we’ve seen that around the world – it is very popular elsewhere in the world — and the World Cup has got that prestige which I think will help cement 50-over cricket’s popularity well into the future.””But certainly there isn’t an appetite to increase and create another format.”Asked if the ECB needed help from the ICC to frame their message, particularly in the form of a successful staging of the World Cup, Richardson responded: “We don’t need to hold their hand or do anything [like that]. They are quite capable themselves, I’m sure.”But the bottom line is that this does present a huge opportunity – and we saw it with the Women’s World Cup – to attract a new audience to get people enthused who weren’t necessarily going to cricket matches season after season. I think there is a huge opportunity in having an event in your own country.”

Dale Steyn registered his first five-wicket haul for near;ly two years and then left it to Jimmy Adams to advance Hampshire’s advantage

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2018
ScorecardJimmy Adams battled to his first Specsavers County Championship century for almost a year as Hampshire fought back into a strong position against Yorkshire.Veteran left handed opener Adams was forced to rebuild after quick wickets with a gritty and sensible ton.His runs backed up Dale Steyn’s first five wicket haul since August 2016 as Yorkshire were bowled out for 350 – their highest total of the season.Adams, who is considering retiring at the end of the season, hadn’t reached three figures in the Championship since a 144 against Surrey last July – but never looked in danger against the pink ball.Opening partner Joe Weatherley fell in just the fourth over when he was lbw to Jack Brooks – a delivery which nipped back late and would have gone on to hit the right hander’s off-stump.James Vince had destroyed Yorkshire’s bowling in an outrageous 171 earlier in the week in his side’s Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final victory.But despite a glimpse at his exceptional shot making, in a 54-run stand with Adams, the Hampshire captain was castled by a Brooks with the fourth ball after the tea interval.An over later Sam Northeast, on his first Championship innings since fracturing a finger in his hand, stroked a delicious straight drive down the ground, before he had his middle stump uprooted by Steven Patterson.That brought Alsop to the crease and saw a rear-guard and hard-working stand with Adams.Adams reached fifty in 96 balls, moved to with a forceful cut, as he was quick to punish anything off line.Meanwhile, Alsop was taking his chance having been handed the wicket-keeping gloves from Lewis McManus for this match by starting a marathon – which saw his pass 50 in a glacial 151 deliveries.Adams then reach three figures with another cut backward of square from his 182nd ball.He ended the day unbeaten on 132, with Alsop on 62, having shared a 177 for the unbroken fourth wicket.Earlier, Hampshire wrapped up the Yorkshire tail – although the visitors managed to grab a fourth bonus point for the first time this season.The hosts had looked set to wrap things up quickly as Tim Bresnan and Brooks both fell within the first three overs of the day.Bresnan was bowled by a Fidel Edwards yorker, before Brooks followed him back when he edged Steyn to Ollie Rayner at second slip.The Brooks scalp handed Steyn a deserved five wicket haul, as his fitness ahead of South Africa’s Test series with Sri Lanka next month continued to move in the right decision.The fast bowler ended with figures of 5 for 66 from his epic 29 overs – his first five-for since the Centurion Test against New Zealand nearly two years ago.Captain Patterson guided his side to an additional bonus point, taking them to four with the bat, with 37 runs, before Kyle Abbott celebrated his first wicket since early May when he had Patterson caught scooping to mid-off.

Veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga found himself excluded from Sri Lanka’s T20I squad, while Binura Fernando got a first call-up in three years

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2018Lasith Malinga’s heroics for the Montreal Tigers in the Global T20 League in Toronto haven’t been enough to secure a first international call-up since September last year. The fast bowler was ignored as Sri Lanka announced a 15-man T20I squad for the one-off game against South Africa on August 14. Malinga, who still harbours hopes of playing for his country, was the third-highest wicket-taker in Canada, and had the best average (11.84) and economy rate (6.41) among all bowlers in the tournament with more than five wickets.Left-arm fast bowler Binura Fernando could be in line to play his first match in over three years after being called up. The 23-year old played two T20Is in 2015 against Pakistan, but hasn’t played any international cricket since.Dhananjaya de Silva has been called up to the T20I squad, having last played an international in that format in January 2017. A string of impressive performances against South Africa have been rewarded after the 26-year old has stood out as one of the best performers of the tour.Angelo Mathews returns to the T20I side having missed the home tri-series, that also included Bangladesh and India, because of injury. It ended in disappointment for Sri Lanka, after they were dramatically knocked out before the final at the hands of Bangladesh in the final over.Squad: Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Akila Dananjaya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Binura Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Shehan Madushanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Dasun Shanaka, Upul Tharanga, Jeffrey VandersayStandbys: Dimuth Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Niroshan Dickwella, Kasun Rajitha