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Mumbai have won a formidable 41 out of 45 Ranji finals, but this will be Gujarat’s best chance after waiting more than six decades to have a shot at the title

Shashank Kishore in Indore09-Jan-20172:26

Kishore: Gujarat used to batting big, batting long

India had not yet recorded their first Test win when Gujarat last had a shot at Indian domestic cricket’s biggest prize a lifetime ago, in 1950-51. Polly Umrigar was their captain then. Chandu Sarvate, Jamshed Bhaya, Madhavsinh Jagdale and Syed Mushtaq Ali, after whom stands are named at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, the venue of the 83rd Ranji Trophy final starting Tuesday, were in the opposition camp. Deepak Shodhan, who until May last year was India’s oldest living Test cricketer, played in the game which they lost to Holkar. Multiple generations of cricketers from Gujarat don’t know what it is to feature in a Ranji final.In comparison, Mumbai have converted 41 of their 45 finals appearances into championship wins. The last time they lost in the summit clash was to Haryana in 1990-91, a game where Dilip Vengsarkar was inconsolable after Mumbai lost by two runs. Since then, they have qualified for the finals on eleven occasions, and have won every single time, the last of which was against Saurashtra, who were crushed in little over two days last year in Pune.

Teams (likely)

Mumbai: Aditya Tare (capt, wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Nayar, Siddesh Lad, Tushar Deshpande/Akshay Girap, Vijay Gohil, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Sandhu
Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt, wk), Samit Gohel, Priyank Panchal, Bharghav Merai, Manprit Juneja, Rujul Bhatt, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria, RP Singh, Mehul Patel/Chintan Gaja, Hardik Patel

Yet, this is Gujarat’s best possible chance at glory, for they have shown more than just glimpses of old Mumbai in the way they have set up games, by batting big, batting long and then using the scoreboard pressure to skittle opponents. It was this tactic that worked when the sides last met in Hubli in November. But Jasprit Bumrah, whose five-for snuffed out Mumbai’s quest for a lead there, will be missed; he has been named in India’s limited-overs squad for the England series.That puts the onus on RP Singh, fresh from a nine-for in the semi-final, to spearhead the young bowling attack.They will be buoyed by the return of Rush Kalaria, who didn’t bat or bowl in the second innings during the semi-final, because of a shoulder injury. One of Mehul Patel or Chintan Gaja is in line to replace Bumrah.It’s the batting, however, that is more formidable. Priyank Panchal is on the cusp of an all-time Ranji record – he needs 146 more to beat VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a season, achieved in 1999-00. With 1270 runs, he’s miles ahead of other batsmen for runs this season.Among batsmen from in this match, Samit Gohel, his opening partner, comes a distant second with 889 runs. Parthiv Patel, the captain, can be a thorn to any bowling attack. The domestic veteran’s grind for more than a decade now cannot be understated. Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi, both of whom played key roles in building a substantial second-innings lead in a crisis during the semi-final, have shown the ability to adapt at different times.Priyank Panchal and Gujarat are both in line to break records of high standing•Sunny Shinde

That Mumbai are a step away from the title without having a single batsman or bowler in the top 10 list this season is as much due to their typical ‘khadoos’ mentality symbolized by Abhishek Nayar. The veteran, who has been a part of five title-winning teams, has often rescued the sides with telling contributions lower down the order – none more important than at the semi-final in Rajkot, where he made 58 and struck vital partnerships with the tail to not just take the lead but also stretch it past 100, which proved decisive. In the quarter-final too, against Hyderabad, he picked nine wickets in a low-scoring game which Mumbai won by 30 runs.The emergence of a young 17-year old opener in Prithvi Shaw, a schoolboy wonder, who stroked an under-pressure century on debut in the semi-final, has given Mumbai a fresh look. He will be partnered by Akhil Herwadkar, who missed the previous four games because of a foot injury. That means Praful Waghela could miss out. Herwadkar, Mumbai’s second-highest run-getter last season, was given an extended workout at an optional net session on Sunday. Shreyas Iyer – Mumbai’s highest run-getter this season without being the intimidating batsman he has been in his first two seasons – Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, the captain, and Siddesh Lad complete a formidable batting set that has shown capability of rising to the big occasions in the past.On a red-soil surface that promises bounce and has a green cover, Mumbai could possibly have a healthy headache: do they go in with two frontline seamers in Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu alongside Nayar’s more-than-useful seam-ups, or do they play a third seamer? If they decide the latter, Tushar Deshpande is likely to come in. After the debut season he has had, there can’t be much doubt over the place of left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil, unless he is injured. That means the recalled Vishal Dabholkar, who has tweaked his action after being reported earlier in the season, could sit out.The numbers favour Mumbai – they have lost just two out of the 61 matches against Gujarat, the last of which was in 1977-78. But in a crunch game, where both sides have shown why they deserve to be here, both captains insist no one had the edge over the other. That can’t be a bad thing after all.

Jasprit Bumrah’s best, Punjab’s aggressive scoring rate and Madhya Pradesh’s lead highlights on the final day of the seventh round Group A matches in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2016Shreyas Iyer, on 191 overnight, stood between Gujarat and a first-innings lead. His early dismissal for 194 on the final day meant Mumbai fell 15 short of taking three points, despite Shardul Thakur’s half-century at No. 9. Mumbai were bowled out for 417, having begun the day on 328 for 6.The second innings was reduced to a mere formality as Gujarat’s openers scored 82 without loss in 45 overs when the captains shook hands in Hubli. Priyank Panchal, the opener who made 232 in the first innings, was unbeaten on 56. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was named Man of the Match for a career-best 6 for 71.Mandeep Singh struck a brisk century, and medium-pacer Manpreet Gony hammered an unbeaten 66 off 26 balls, in the drawn game between Punjab and Tamil Nadu in Nagpur.Punjab had conceded the first-innings lead thanks to Kaushik Gandhi’s career-best 164. In the second innings, they scored at 4.74 runs per over, before declaring for 375. Mandeep Singh’s 128 off 160 balls anchored the innings in which Uday Kaul (65) and Gurkeerat Singh (55 off 45) also got runs, before a promoted Manpreet Gony hit eight sixes.However, the timing of Punjab’s declaration left Tamil Nadu only 37 overs to negotiate in a chase of 306. They lost only one wicket, as Abhinav Mukund (67*) and Gandhi (21*) put on 78 for the second wicket and took them to stumps.Saurabh Wakaskar scored his second fifty of the game as Railways settled for a point after conceding the first-innings lead to Madhya Pradesh at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. MP took the lead early in the day, having begun on 356 for 5, just 15 behind Railways’ 371. Overnight batsmen Devendra Bundela and Shubham Sharma continued their remarkable partnership for the sixth wicket, taking it past 200 and finally being separated with the score on 406, having come together on 164 for 5.Shubham scored 119, his maiden first-class century, while Bundela scored a career-best 188. MP added 104 runs in the last 21 overs, before declaring on 510 for 8. In reply, Railways reached 150 for 1 at the end of play. Wakaskar was unbeaten on 71, after putting on 100 for the opening wicket with Shivakant Shukla, who scored 57.

Bangladesh are confident Shakib Al Hasan will be fit for the Asia Cup final against India on Sunday after the allrounder suffered a blow on his right thigh while batting in the nets on Friday

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur05-Mar-20160:57

‘Still room for improvement in T20Is’ – Mashrafe

The Bangladesh team management is hopeful Shakib Al Hasan will be fit for the Asia Cup final against India on Sunday after the allrounder suffered a blow on his right thigh while batting in the nets on Friday. The team physio, Bayejidul Islam Khan, said Shakib had suffered bruising on the hip flexor near the thigh muscle.Shakib batted in the nets during an optional training session at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Saturday before returning to the dressing room. Bayejidul said an injury of this kind normally takes 48 hours to heal and is hopeful this will be the case with Shakib.”Shakib got this injury during training on Friday,” Bayejidul said. “We call it a contusion, after he was struck on the hip flexor of his thigh muscle. He is quite well now. It was optional training today and we had asked him not to train. But he still went at it for a while though he didn’t practice much. He will recover before tomorrow’s match. Normally it takes 48 hours to recover, and we are hoping that it is the case.”Bangladesh have bigger worries ahead of the final, particularly India’s batting line-up. In the league-stage match, Bangladesh managed to put them under pressure in the first seven overs but late-hitting from Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya got India back in the game and they eventually won by 45 runs.Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said the team would focus on curbing runs in the Powerplay and slog overs, when the likes of Rohit and MS Dhoni can do maximum damage.”There is no doubt that India’s batting order has six world-class batsmen in all formats,” Mashrafe said. “You can’t get them out thinking of a particular way or area. You need to bowl well throughout; they will charge, but you have to minimize that. In this format generally the damage happens in the first six overs and towards the end so we have to keep an eye on those two periods.”Mashrafe said that Mustafizur Rahman, who was ruled out due to a side strain, will be sorely missed but was pleased that Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain had taken up the responsibility well, as was evident against Pakistan.”We are playing without our best bowler [Mustafizur Rahman] to be honest but Taskin and Al-Amin bowled well in the last game,” Mashrafe said. “This is a good sign for a team that’s growing. When your best payer isn’t there still you are performing. This is a good sign.”Mashrafe admitted the side was missing a big-hitter down the order, to back up a strong top and middle-order: “I do believe we have some good players like Tamim, Soumya, Sabbir, Shakib and Mushfiqur. They can change the game for us, I do believe.”Obviously in T20, I feel there is another area that the game can change and that’s the batsman at No 7 or 8. We don’t have a world-class player there at the moment but we have some of those in the rest of the batting order.”

leem Dar, the Pakistani umpire, has been drawn into a row involving one of Britain’s oldest cricket clubs, after his sons were persuaded by a rogue club official to pretend to be Scottish in order to play in a league fixture

Andrew Miller and Umar Farooq29-Apr-2016Aleem Dar, the Pakistani umpire who recently officiated in his 100th Test, has been left embarrassed by a row involving one of Britain’s oldest cricket clubs, after his sons were persuaded by a rogue club official to pretend to be Scottish in order to play in a league fixture.Kilmarnock Cricket Club was this week thrown out of the first division of the Western District Cricket Union in Scotland after it emerged that Ali and Hassan Dar, aged 18 and 16, had circumvented eligibility rules by falsely claiming to have been born in Glasgow.The pair were encouraged by Kilmarnock’s vice president, Muhammad Saleem – who has since resigned – to register under the pseudonyms Umer Mustafa and Saleh Mustafa to compete for Kilmarnock during the 2015 season, including one fixture, against Stenhousemuir in August, which was watched by Dar himself.The umpire’s trip to watch the contest in question arose after England’s three-day victory over Australia in the third Test at Edgbaston, which had left him with a free weekend to attend what he believed to be a friendly fixture at Stenhousemuir’s Tryst ground.”I do confirm that I, along with my wife, went to watch the game but it was a friendly game I thought,” Dar told ESPNcricinfo. “I went there to watch my sons and nephew Azeem, but I didn’t know that my sons were playing with different names.”My sons are too young to tamper with the personal details,” Dar added. “Both have Pakistani passports and they are proud to be Pakistanis. We have no doubt about that at any level. This entire story seems to be some kind of misunderstanding”Although no official documents were involved in the subterfuge, Kilmarnock have been punished with relegation to the second tier of the Western District Cricket Union, after it emerged that “Umer” and “Saleh” had actually been born in Pakistan and had not spent enough time in the UK in the preceding months to qualify as full-time residents.A Western Union official declared: “We received information regarding possible breaches of league rules and our investigation proved this to be the case.”It was found that two players were registered with improper details and one, or both, participated in a number of matches during the 2015 season.”The CMC [Cricket Management Committee] has decided to follow precedent by deducting all the points gained by Kilmarnock in the matches in which the two illegally registered players participated.”Kilmarnock have therefore been deducted 49 points and are now relegated.”In a statement posted to the club’s website, Kilmarnock accepted the punishment, but insisted it had been misled by “the fraudulent actions of a single committee member”.In his resignation letter, in which he also withdrew as a member of the club, Saleem apologised for the “distress and harm” he had caused to Kilmarnock CC and to the WDCU for bringing the game into disrepute.However, he claimed in mitigation that the practice had been rife among several teams during the preceding six years, and asked that the WDCU committee tighten its policy to avoid such controversies in the future.”The club denies in the strongest terms that we knowingly provided false and misleading information in the registration of the two players,” Kilmarnock’s statement continued.”Whilst this has been a hugely stressful and ultimately disappointing period in the history of the club, we have fought back from fire, flood and countless other setbacks since 1852.”The strength of any club is its members, and whilst it is galling that the fate of the club and its members has been influenced by the misguided efforts of a few, we as a club can push on again if everyone sticks together.”Kilmarnock, who won the league on seven occasions between 1949 and 1970, were replaced in the top flight by St Michael’s, who had previously been relegated at the end of the 2015 season.Dar, who is presently in Lahore, agreed that the fault for the controversy lay with the club officials.”They should be enquired about this,” he said. “If the club was relegated then that happened for a good reason. One son is 16 and the other is hardly 18. They did play the league matches there, but they had played many friendly games as well.”7.50pm BST: This story was updated with Aleem Dar’s response

9pm BST, May 1: Further updated to reflect Muhammad Saleem’s resignation

Callum Ferguson will captain a South Australia squad lacking experience during this year’s Matador Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2016Callum Ferguson will captain a South Australia squad lacking experience during this year’s Matador Cup. The Redbacks lost the final to New South Wales last year but this year will be without several key players – captain Travis Head, legspinner Adam Zampa, and fast bowlers Daniel Worrall and Joe Mennie – who are part of Australia’s ODI squad in South Africa.As a result, South Australia’s 14-man group for the one-day campaign includes five uncapped players. Fast bowler Wes Agar, the brother of Australia spinner Ashton Agar, is a chance to make his debut for the Redbacks having signed a rookie contract with them this year, while there could also be one-day debuts for Jake Weatherald, Michael Cormack, Cameron Valente and Nick Benton.The only players with significant one-day experience in the South Australia squad are Ferguson, Tom Cooper, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross and Tim Ludeman. The tournament will mark the return to cricket for Ferguson after he suffered a serious knee injury in December. Remarkably, he has only captained South Australia once before – in a solitary one-day game in 2007.”The team loses significant experience due to four Australian players being absent and we will look to Callum and other senior players to lead the way on and off the ground,” South Australia’s general manager of high performance Tim Nielsen, said. “We couldn’t be more pleased about having our players represent Australia, and it’s a huge opportunity for our squad to compete hard and continue their development from last season.”South Australia squad Callum Ferguson (capt), Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Nick Benton, Alex Carey, Tom Cooper, Michael Cormack, Alex Gregory, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald.

Steven Smith will captain Australia with Michael Neser making his Test debut

Andrew McGlashan16-Dec-2021Australia captain Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide after being deemed a close contact of a Covid-19 case at a restaurant on Wednesday night. Steven Smith will lead the team in the day-night contest.First reported in newspapers, Cummins was dining at an Adelaide restaurant with his brother and Adelaide Strikers’ bowler Harry Conway when a patron on an adjoining table was identified as a Covid positive case. Cummins immediately left the restaurant and alerted authorities. He has since returned a negative PCR test but is required to isolate for seven days.Cricket Australia said that Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were at the same restaurant as Cummins but at a separate table outdoors. South Australia Health deemed them casual contacts and they are free to play.Players have not been in strict bubbles for the start of the series in Brisbane and Adelaide and Cummins did not break any protocols.Discussions between CA and health authorities went on throughout the night but there was no way that Cummins could be cleared for the match.”Gutted to miss this Test but really excited to see Neser finally get his chance in the baggy green,” Cummins tweeted. “He has done the hard yards and is a seriously skilful player. Super frustrating but COVID has thrown us all some curve balls over the last couple of years. Will be cheering along!”This is the most significant impact Covid-19 has had on a professional cricket match in Australia. Earlier this season Victoria allrounder Will Sutherland tested positive which resulted in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales being delayed by a day.
“Not only [are we] taking the advice of the authorities but also having in mind what it means for the continuity of the tour, what we do know is that Pat was a close contact and we want to make sure we can continue with the tour,” Nick Hockley, the CA chief executive, said. “The steps we’ve taken are consistent with anyone else in the community so a prudent approach to keep the tour going. People are quite philosophical that this is the world we are in. There were no other options.”Hockley said that he was comfortable with the protocols in place around this Test regarding what players are allowed to do but they are under constant assessment and will likely be tighter in Melbourne and Sydney where there are higher cases.”We’ve got protocols that flex according to the risk level so we are looking at it every single day. The protocols include players needing to dine in small groups,” he said. “They are designed to mitigate the risk that we’ve seen unfold here. We are all devastated that Pat is unable to play but it is the protocols working to have only one player taken out.””What we don’t want to do is we don’t want to completely lock down the players. We’re very conscious of taking a precautionary approach. We’re very conscious of their mental wellbeing.”Certainly our chief medical officer and our medical team will be working with the playing group, with the ECB and their medical staff to make sure over the course of the rest of the Test match and over the rest of the tour, that we’re mitigating the risk. I spoke to my counterpart this morning and everyone wants to see both sides with their full strength best side out on the park. I think dining outside is a great way to further mitigate the risk.”Michael Neser will make his Test debut as Cummins’ replacement while Travis Head has been named vice-captain. It means an extraordinary return to the captaincy for Smith who was named Cummins’ deputy following the resignation of Tim Paine last month.South Australia health rules stipulate that a fully vaccinated close contact of a Covid positive case must get tested immediately and isolate for seven days, as well as undergo tests on day 6 and 13 after the contact.CA expects Cummins will be available for the third Test in Melbourne which starts on Boxing Day.Casual contacts only need to isolate until they return an initial negative test. But they do require further tests at day 6 and 13 and must wear a surgical mask at all other times.There has been a rise in Covid cases in South Australia in recent weeks following the opening of the state border. There are varying testing requirements for people arriving into South Australia depending on where they are travelling from. Anyone required to get a test on arrival does not have to isolate while waiting for the result.Australia were already without Josh Hazlewood for the second Test due to a side strain with Jhye Richardson coming into the team.

Decision taken after emergency virtual meeting with franchises on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2021The remainder of the 2021 Pakistan Super League has been postponed, following news on Thursday morning that three more players had tested positive for Covid-19. The decision was taken after an emergency meeting between the PCB and the franchises. The three new cases on Thursday brought the tally of total positives in the tournament bubble to seven, of which six were players.The PCB said that the decision to postpone was taken “following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and well-being of all participants”. The board’s immediate next step is to focus on the “safe and secure passage of all participants, and arrange repeat PCR tests, vaccines and isolation facilities to the six participating sides”. Fourteen out of the scheduled 34 matches in the tournament have been completed.The PCB had said the three most-recent cases are from two different teams. They were tested on Wednesday afternoon after reporting symptoms. The board said the new cases were not from any of the teams who played in Wednesday’s double-header matches, which rules out players from Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Sultans or Quetta Gladiators.Related

• Bangladesh Emerging Team vs Ireland A game called off after player tests positive for Covid-19

• PSL could resume in May, clashing with the IPL

• PSL blame game begins with independent investigation on the horizon

• A timeline of how Covid-19 forced PSL 2021 to be suspended

• PSL: After Fawad Ahmed, three more test positive

The first case reported by the PCB was on March 1, when Islamabad United’s Australian legspinner Fawad Ahmed tested positive for the virus hours before the 12th match of the season. The following day, the PCB said that two more overseas players, along with one local support-staff member – Kamran Khan of Kings – had tested positive. It was later revealed by Gladiators’ Tom Banton on his Twitter handle that he was one of those who were among the positive cases.Before the postponement was announced, the PCB was considering cancelling the Lahore leg of the season and playing all the matches in Karachi. The PCB had also offered every member of the PSL bubble Covid-19 vaccine shots if they wish to take them.

This is now a four-match series after the abandonment at the Wanderers left everyone kicking their heels

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan21-Nov-2009

Match facts

Sunday, November 22, 2009
Start time 10.00 (08.00GMT)James Tredwell could leapfrog Adil Rashid for a place in the England side•Getty Images

Big picture

This is now a four-match series after the abandonment at the Wanderers left everyone kicking their heels. The significant development in the last couple of days has been the news of Jacques Kallis’ absence from the series due to a rib fracture, so his partnership with Graeme Smith will be a non-starter.England’s injury situation remains unchanged with Stuart Broad (shoulder) and Graeme Swann (side) already ruled out of the match, but the delayed start to the series will have helped Paul Collingwood and James Anderson recover from their niggles. With the forecast more promising for Sunday’s game, Collingwood should finally have the chance to become England’s most capped ODI player with his 171st appearance, overtaking Alec Stewart’s record.Really, though, it’s as you were in the build-up to the opening match although the rain has taken some of the sting out of the hype. Andrew Strauss won’t mind that, having refused to be drawn into any mind games with the South Africans but, when the action does finally start, the attention will still be on Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott.With one match already gone from the schedule, there is less room for error and therefore even more important to hit the ground running. At least on Saturday the teams were able to train outdoors, and whichever side clicks into gear the quickest after a frustrating few days will be in prime position to take control of the series.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa – WWLWL
England – LLWWW

Team news

With Kallis out of the series, Hashim Amla is set to be given another chance to open alongside Smith, a position he has filled with decent results. South Africa will also have to decide whether to go with a full hand of seamers or play one of their spinners. Without the services of Kallis’ fast bowling and the recent wet weather, the former could be the preferred route.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Alviro Petersen, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Dale SteynEngland may hand an international debut to James Tredwell, who has been called up as cover for Graeme Swann. Quite what Adil Rashid, the second spinner in the original squad, will make of that remains to be seen but Tredwell has the advantage of spinning the ball away from South Africa’s clutch of left handers. However, they too may decide on a full hand of quicks, especially with Collingwood’s troublesome back. The other question is how many batsman to play, and if one misses out it is likely to be Joe Denly.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Jonathan Trott, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Graham Onions, 11 James Anderson

Watch out for

Kevin Pietersen was called back into action a couple of days early when England were hit by injuries ahead of the second Twenty20, but looked in decent fettle for his 29. The 50-over warm-up against South Africa was more of a struggle as he scratched 4 from 17 balls, but he looks eager to make up for lost time. His three ODI tons in South Africa four years ago are still talked about and England would dearly like to see a return of that free-flowing, care-free Pietersen rather than the mentally strained and restrained figure that has been on show for much of 2009.JP Duminy‘s international numbers are already impressive and an ODI average of 37.57 indicates his talent. However, against England, he has struggled to make a mark with 88 runs in six matches with a best of 24. The South African management are giving him the chance to build an innings by promoting him to No 4, and with the absence of Kallis now is the time for Duminy to repay that faith.James Anderson…but not for his bowling. If he gets his turn to bat, Anderson will use the Mongoose bat which made much fanfare last season. It has a shorter blade and longer handle – meaning, in theory, better striking power – and Jimmy has got his hands on one. Without being too harsh, it might be a little wasted.

Stats and trivia

• Collingwood, as well as being one away from an England cap record, also needs three wickets to reach 100 in ODIs

Quotes

“I was actually organising a trip to India for the start of December, so they had to tell me pretty sharpish so that I didn’t put my passport in for a visa.”

Tymal Mills and Dawid Malan have been named in England’s T20 squad to face Sri Lanka next month while Jonny Bairstow has been included for both the ODIs and T20 but there is no place for Stuart Broad

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2016Tymal Mills, the Sussex left-arm fast bowler, and Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan have been named in England’s T20 squad to face Sri Lanka next month. Jonny Bairstow has been included for both the ODIs and T20 but there was no place for Stuart Broad.Alex Hales, Joe Root and Moeen Ali were rested for the T20, which takes place at the Ageas Bowl on July 5. There was no place in either squad for Jake Ball, who was part of the Test squad through the series against Sri Lanka.Mills, who was forced to retire from first-class cricket last year after being diagnosed with a congenital back condition, is limited to the four-over workloads of T20 cricket but has the ability to bowl above 90mph. Prior to his diagnosis he was already on England’s radar because of his extreme pace – he was used as a net bowler during the 2013-14 Ashes tour – and continued to be involved in the fast bowling programme during last winter.”The guy can bowl quickly. It’s a shame his back has robbed him of first-class cricket, but he seems to have thrown all his efforts into becoming a really skilful one-day bowler,” Alastair Cook, England’s Test captain, said. “He’s obviously worked on his skills: he can change-up from a 93mph thunderbolt to a slower ball. There’s no substitute for pace. I’ll be very excited to watch him bowl.”In a recent televised T20 Blast match against Somerset, Mills was clocked at 93mph when he gave Chris Gayle a working over before shattering his stumps, and also showed his variety of slower balls he often uses at the death. On Friday he claimed 3 for 15 from his four overs against Kent.Earlier this month he told ESPNcricinfo about his ambitions to be a T20 specialist for England. “In a perfect world I could make a career doing this for a long time. I’ve just got to stay fit,” he said. “Everything I do is aimed at being a top T20 player. I want to play for England even if it’s just in T20 cricket.”Malan was rewarded for impressive form against Pakistan A in the UAE, where he scored 253 runs at 50.60 and a strike rate of 131.77 in the five T20s, alongside 211 runs in four one-day games. He will likely open the innings alongside Jason Roy, with Hales given a brief break after the five-match ODI series. Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder who was part of the World T20 squad but did not make his debut, retained his place.”Tymal Mills has been one of the standout performers with the ball in the NatWest T20 Blast competition this season and deserves his chance,” James Whitaker, the national selector, said. “Dawid Malan has made great strides as an attacking batsman, both with Middlesex and the England Lions. We were particularly impressed with his three fifties during the winter tour of the UAE against Pakistan A.”The 14-man one-day squad had a familiar look except for the enforced absences of Ben Stokes (knee injury), Reece Topley (back injury) and James Taylor. Liam Plunkett, the Yorkshire fast bowler, retained his place with the other pace bowlers being David Willey, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes and Steven Finn. Moeen and Adil Rashid again offer the option of a twin-spin attack.”We have made good progress over the past 12 months in all white ball cricket, which has been very encouraging,” Whitaker said. “The six matches coming up against Sri Lanka will give the players a good test of their credentials. It is important for this group of players to make a mark this summer as we continue to improve ahead of hosting the ICC Champions Trophy tournament this time next year.”ODI squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Chris WoakesT20 squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey

Australia’s decision to rest Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood might have contributed to their being thrashed 5-0 in the one-day series in South Africa, but Hazlewood is confident that he will be better for the break this Test summer

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2016Australia’s decision to rest Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood might have contributed to their being thrashed 5-0 in the one-day series in South Africa, but Hazlewood is confident that he will be better for the break this Test summer.While Steven Smith and his men fly home from their disappointing tour of South Africa, Hazlewood is in Sydney preparing to play in the later stages of the Matador Cup for New South Wales. Friday’s game against Victoria will be his first competitive outing since Australia’s one-day series in Sri Lanka in late August.Australia used three previously uncapped fast men during the South Africa campaign – Chris Tremain, Joe Mennie and Daniel Worrall – and although they all showed promise at times, overall it was a major step up for the trio. But despite the 5-0 result in the ODIs, Australia must now hope the decision to rest Hazlewood and Starc pays off in next month’s Test series against South Africa.”Sri Lanka was a long tour physically and mentally,” Hazlewood told reporters in Sydney on Thursday. “And with a lot of cricket coming up I think the rest was valid.”However, the absence of Starc and Hazlewood did not help Australia’s cause in the ODI series, during which Scott Boland and John Hastings were the senior fast bowlers in the side. Tremain finished as Australia’s leading wicket taker with seven at 36.42, Mennie had a poor debut but bounced back with 3 for 49 in the final game, and Worrall went wicketless in his two ODIs against South Africa.”It is an opportunity to see some younger guys,” Smith said after the final game in Cape Town. “I think with the schedule these days and the amount we play, it’s impossible particularly for fast bowlers to sustain bowling at good pace for long periods of time.”We’ve chosen to give Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood a rest for this series. It’s given an opportunity for a few younger guys to come in and try and impress. It’s been a very tough series for everyone, but I’m sure they’ll learn a lot out of it.””I’ve never played in a one-day series where we’ve lost all five games. It’s been a difficult task. We’ve been outplayed. But the group has stuck together well. We’re always looking at ways we can improve … We just haven’t been able to go out there and do the business. We’ve had a pretty inexperienced side, to be fair.”Smith also highlighted the lack of runs from the batting order, aside from David Warner, as a key reason Australia were unable to win a match. Warner finished as the leading run scorer from either side, with 386 at 77.20 including two centuries, and he is comfortably top of the ODI run list from all countries for the 2016 calendar year, in which he has made five hundreds.”We just haven’t been able to put enough partnerships together,” Smith said. “We’ve had guys who have had starts and not been able to go on with it. Having said that, Davey was magnificent today. To score 170 out of our 290 was remarkable. The rest of us weren’t good enough.”