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The Indian batting machine is in prime form, but the shoddy fielding has captain MS Dhoni worried

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009

Dhoni defends flat tracks

After a glut of runs in the Tests and Twenty20s against Sri Lanka, the first one-dayer in Rajkot also turned out be a bowler’s nightmare raising questions over the quality of pitches in India, but MS Dhoni defended the curators.
“Wickets are not easy to prepare. You try to get a good wicket and it turns out to be a flat one,” he said. “The Kanpur Test the wicket was flat but still the game ended one and a half days’ before schedule. In the last four games the wickets have been consistent and batter-friendly. It’s easy to criticise preparation of wickets.”

The Indian batting machine is in prime form, but the shoddy fielding has captain MS Dhoni worried. Three chances were grassed by India during Sri Lanka’s spirited pursuit of 415 in the first ODI in Rajkot. That added to some appalling fielding in the two Twenty20s took the dropped catches’ tally to 12, over 90 overs of limited-overs cricket in one week. And then there were the missed run-outs.”We were fielding well in patches and not dropping catches at the international level,” Dhoni said in Nagpur ahead of Friday’s second ODI. “You may drop the odd difficult catch but straightforward chances need to be taken. In the last three-four games we have dropped a lot of regulation catches. Of course it bothers me.”At the same time it will be solved at some point because of the effort that we are putting in. We are hoping we don’t drop catches in this game.”India did hold their nerve in the field towards the end of the Rajkot game, when Sri Lanka needed only 15 runs in the final two overs. Two run-outs in the penultimate over and a Sachin Tendulkar catch off the third-last delivery helped India edge home by three runs.The bowling from Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra at the death, another facet where India haven’t excelled, came in for praise from Dhoni. “It was one of the best in the past year. I have always said we had not been very consistent with the death bowling,” he said. “In the last game, in the last five overs we gave away only 27 runs. It was a very good effort.”Ashish bowled five overs in a row. There was a bit of reverse-swing going, which actually helped us a bit.”Dhoni said that on superb batting tracks like in Rajkot, the key is to stop singles. “Normally you don’t get wickets like that. It was not a big ground with the straight boundary not more than 60-65 yards. Since the wicket was so nice, it was easy for the batsmen to clear the field. It’s important not to give easy singles.”Looking ahead to the second one-dayer in Nagpur, Dhoni said he expected another run-fest. India racked up 354 when they played Australia in an ODI last month, and 401 runs were scored in the Twenty20 against Sri Lanka last week. “In the last T20 game here there was good bounce. The wicket for the match looks like good and flat. I had a conversation with the curator.”

Australia took firm control of the second Test with a pair of outstanding centuries as Sri Lanka’s attack struggled

Tristan Lavalette07-Feb-2025Seemingly having a ball experimenting with the reverse sweep, Steven Smith’s mastery in Asia continued and he combined with a dashing Alex Carey to defy a sharp-turning, deteriorating Galle surface as Australia grabbed firm control of the second Test.The game was in the balance when Australia were 91 for 3 just after lunch on day two in reply to Sri Lanka’s first-innings of 257. But stand-in skipper Smith and Carey produced an unbroken 239-run partnership to deflate a Sri Lankan team staring down the barrel of a hefty series defeat.Carey was fluent from the get go and motored past a tiring Smith by stumps as Australia build a sizeable first innings lead on a very dry surface.Smith reached his 36th Test century in style with a boundary in the final session on day two and raised his baggy green before nodding several times to his team-mates in the terraces. He broke a couple of Australian records in Asia along the way having overtaken Ricky Ponting for most runs and his seventh ton lifted him past Allan Border.Steven Smith brought out the rarely-seen reverse sweep during his faultless hundred•Getty Images

After a few modest years by his lofty standards, Smith has rewound the clock in recent months having now scored four centuries in his last eight Test innings. Always looking to add to his repertoire, Smith dusted off rarely used reverse sweeps and, while not always effective, it did give Sri Lanka more to think about.Smith might have been inspired by watching Carey, who swept – orthodox and reverse – almost flawlessly as he sped to his second Test century. Fittingly, Carey reached his ton with a sweep to the boundary as he raised his arms aloft to cap his strong form in recent months.It was a significant moment for Carey, who had previously in Sri Lanka and India come under scrutiny for his compulsive use of the sweep. His sublime innings also included quick footwork and brute power as he repeatedly thumped the spinners straight down the ground.Carey batted for the first time in his Test career at No. 5 with Josh Inglis having spent a significant period off the field in Sri Lanka’s innings because of back spasms. But Carey was more than comfortable in a position he occupies for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.It was a major disappointment for Sri Lanka, who went wicketless for almost the entirety of the final two sessions. Their spinners occasionally produced sharp turn, but were unable to sustain the pressure and appeared out of answers as the day wore on.Alex Carey celebrates his second Test century•Getty Images

Offspinner Nishan Peiris was their most threatening bowler in a good bounceback after he was ineffective in the first Test with 0 for 189 off 41 overs and deemed fortunate to retain his spot over legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay. He turned the ball square at times and almost clean-bowled Smith just before tea with a fizzing offbreak that narrowly missed the top of the stumps.But Sri Lanka perhaps will rue not selecting Vandersay after his promising performance in the first Test, while talisman Prabath Jayasuriya lacked bite after a promising start and he resorted at times to a defensive leg-stump line to Smith.Sri Lanka had begun with optimism at the start of Australia’s innings. There was intrigue over whether Sri Lanka’s spinners would take the new ball, but lone quick Lahiru Kumara started and opener Travis Head enjoyed the pace with three early boundaries. Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva surprisingly decided to share the new ball having not bowled in the first Test due to a side strain.Head rattled along at a run-a-ball until on 21 he used his feet to Peiris but was outdone by turn, and a thick edge was taken at slip.All eyes were then on Marnus Labuschagne, who only made 20 off 50 balls in Australia’s massive 654 for 6 declared in the series-opener. Having not scored a Test century since the 2023 Ashes tour, pressure is mounting on Labuschagne with his spot for this match attracting some attention.He started well with a first-ball boundary through the covers, but he didn’t add any further runs and fell in the next over when he was trapped lbw by Jayasuriya in a decision overturned on review. Jayasuriya slid a fuller delivery that beat a tentative Labuschagne on the back foot. Labuschagne looked despondent when his fate was sealed and he trudged off the field.Smith, wearing his baggy green, had a nervous start with a big lbw shout from Jayasuriya turned down as Sri Lanka burnt a review. But Smith countered the sharp spin by skipping down the pitch while Usman Khawaja unfurled the reverse sweep just like he did in his double-century last week.Nishan Peiris had Usman Khawaja lbw and the game was in the balance at 91 for 3•Getty Images

They blunted the spinners as Australia reached lunch well placed at 85 for 2. The game sparked to life on resumption with Smith given out lbw by umpire Joel Wilson after a low Peiris delivery struck him under the knee roll. But Smith quickly reviewed and his confidence was justified with the ball hitting him well outside the line.Moments later, Wilson was again quick to raise the finger but this time he was vindicated with Khawaja plumb lbw on 36 after he tried to pull Peiris only to misjudge the line and length.But Sri Lanka’s bid for more inroads came to a halt and they failed to put enough pressure on Carey, whose confidence grew as he slog swept offspinner Ramesh Mendis for six.Smith brought up his half-century in style with a boundary as the runs continued to flow through to tea apart from when Jayasuriya restored to a leg-stump line. After the interval, Smith and Carey continued to score at ease as they tapped the ball around for singles with the field well spread as if it was the middle overs of an ODI.After reaching his century, Smith appeared to be flagging amid the oppressive humidity and he dropped anchor as Carey took over to reach his landmark in fine fashion.Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka finished with what appeared a competitive first-innings total after Kusal Mendis and No. 11 Kumara added 28 runs in the first 30 minutes of the day’s play. Mendis was left stranded on 85 but had spearheaded Sri Lanka’s recovery from 150 for 6.Australia’s three specialist bowlers Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann did the bulk of the heavy lifting and picked up three wickets apiece.

India legspinner displaces Rashid Khan at the top on the back of a Player-of-the-Series show against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2023Ravi Bishnoi is the new No. 1 bowler in T20I cricket, on the back of his Player-of-the-Series show against Australia. He had claimed nine wickets in five games in that series at 18.22. That capped a meteoric rise in T20I cricket for the 23-year-old legspinner: since debuting in February 2022, he has 34 T20I wickets at 17.38, with a strike rate of 14.5 and an economy just over 7.Bishnoi displaces Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan at the top, and also pushes Wanindu Hasaranga, Adil Rashid and Maheesh Theekshana down a spot to complete the all-spin top five. There were no other significant changes in the rankings.In the series against Australia, India gave Bishnoi a fair amount of bowling the powerplay, and it paid off – both in terms of wickets and controlling runs. They will hope Bishnoi, who bowls more googlies than legbreaks, can keep his form going as they prepare for the T20 World Cup which will be played in the West Indies – where spinners can come in particularly handy – and the USA in June next year. India have only six T20Is scheduled from now till that showpiece event, so there’s not much room for experimentation, but they will take confidence from the 4-1 result over Australia.

This will be her first gig as coach of a professional cricket team, but a 15-year career at the top-flight will have prepared her well for it

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2022Former New Zealand captain Amy Satterthwaite has joined the Adelaide Strikers support staff as their new assistant coach for the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League season.This will be Satterthwaite’s first gig as coach of a professional cricket team, but a 15-year career at the top-flight will have prepared her well for it. She has also served as a mentor to the Canterbury team back home.Satterthwaite retired from international cricket in May earlier this year. She is New Zealand’s most capped women’s ODI player with 145 matches and has made 6,423 runs and picked up 76 wickets for her country.Satterthwaite has been a regular at the WBBL as well. She scored almost 1,500 runs and claimed 44 wickets, including a memorable hat-trick for Hobart Hurricanes in the second year of the competition. The allrounder was also voted Player of the Tournament in 2017-18.”The WBBL is such a quality competition, and one that I have been fortunate to play in over the years,” Satterthwaite said in a press release that the Strikers put out on Friday. “I absolutely loved my time on field playing with and against some of the best in the world, and I know the standard of the local talent is extremely high.”I have always had a great respect for the Adelaide Strikers; they have always been a competitive franchise and the squad looks strong again this season after a brilliant performance last year.”Hopefully I can bring a fresh perspective to the coaching group and lean on my experience to help the team go that next step this summer.”The eighth season of the WBBL will begin on October 13 with the Strikers kicking off their campaign two days later against Sydney Sixers in Mackay.

The summer will include four Tests, three ODIs and 15 T20Is in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2021Cricket West Indies has announced a packed home schedule for the 2021 season, which includes visits from South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. In all, West Indies will play four Tests, three ODIs and 15 T20Is from June 10 to August 24.The T20I-centric nature of the summer will help the teams prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is currently scheduled to be held in India in October-November 2021. The series against Pakistan was originally scheduled to include three Tests and three T20Is, but CWI and the PCB have mutually agreed to replace one Test with two additional T20Is.The first part of the home summer will see West Indies face South Africa in two Tests in St Lucia (June 10-22) followed by five T20Is in Grenada (June 26 to July 5). This will be South Africa’s first bilateral tour of the West Indies since 2010.West Indies will play 15 T20Is at home in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This will be followed by a white-ball-only visit from Australia, who are scheduled to play five T20Is in St Lucia (July 9-16) followed by three ODIs in Barbados (July 20-24).Pakistan will play their T20I series over two legs – the first two matches in Barbados on July 27 and 28 followed by the last three in Guyana from July 31 to August 3. They will then move to Jamaica where they will complete their tour with a two-match Test series (August 12-24).”Following the successful hosting of the all-format series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, we are delighted to announce that we are set to welcome South Africa, Australia and Pakistan to the West Indies,” CWI CEO Johnny Grave said. “To host three international teams back-to-back in five territories is unprecedented, and putting these fixtures together was an enormous Covid-related logistical challenge.”We must thank the visiting teams for agreeing to travel at this challenging period for world cricket and we are especially grateful to our regional Governments who are playing such a vital role in partnering with CWI to ensure that International cricket can be hosted safely, while providing entertainment for our loyal fans and income for our cricketers and cricket communities.”The entire summer will follow biosecure safety protocols, with players and team officials undergoing regular tests for Covid-19. A CWI release said it is yet to be decided whether fans will be allowed at the stadiums.

Opener’s half-century leads England to solid score on slow surface

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2019Amy Jones’ half-century set up England for a comfortable win in the first T20I at Kinrara Oval, as Pakistan were dismissed for 125 despite a valiant innings from captain Bismah Maroof.Maroof was last woman out after making 60 from 58 balls, as Pakistan fell 29 runs short with eight balls unbowled. Sophie Ecclestone claimed a three-wicket haul, after Freya Davies had removed both Pakistan openers in the first over of the chase, as England produced a solid showing ahead of February’s T20 World Cup.Aside from Maroof, only Umaima Sohail and Sidra Nawaz managed to reach double-figures, with Sarah Glenn bowling tidily on T20I debut and Nat Sciver picking up 2 for 12.”It’s not an easy pitch to score quickly on, and I think the opening few overs are probably the best time to bat,” Jones said. “Pakistan were disciplined with the ball and they didn’t make it easy so I think we did well to get up to 160, but we perhaps would have liked a few more.”The wickets in Australia at the World Cup won’t be too similar to this but the important skill is adapting and hopefully adapting to these wickets will stand us in good stead for the World Cup.”Having been asked to bat, England lost Danni Wyatt inside the Powerplay before a partnership of 58 between Jones and Tammy Beaumont provided the platform. Jones was next out, having made 53 from 39, and Beaumont was unable to really get going, but Heather Knight hit three consecutive fours in Diana Baig’s final over to lift England above 150.

Tremain made use of the unusually green MCG surface before his team-mate Marcus Harris scored an unbeaten 51

The Report by Alex Malcolm25-Oct-2018Getty Images

Chris Tremain continued his stellar start to the Sheffield Shield season claiming his second successive five-wicket haul to put Victoria in a very strong position on day one against New South Wales at the MCG. Tremain made use of the unusually green surface after his captain Peter Handscomb elected to bowl.He scratched the outside edge of Daniel Hughes from around the wicket and also claimed Moises Henriques in a lengthy opening spell. Scott Boland provided tremendous support bowling Nick Larkin and later trapping Jack Edwards in front after a 50-run partnership with Kurtis Patterson had arrested the momentum.Tremain then had Peter Nevill caught behind cheaply before breaching the defence of Jason Sangha with an offcutter. Patterson, who played a lone hand with 63, was Tremain’s fifth wicket. It was a carbon copy of his first, angling in from around the wicket and darting away off the seam to take the outside edge and give keeper Seb Gotch his fourth catch. Tremain has 14 wickets in three innings so far this season after taking 51 last summer. Fawad Ahmed cleaned up the tail taking 3 for 18 to leave the Blues all out for just 159.Victoria’s reply started terribly with Trent Copeland producing an equally skillful spell to remove Travis Dean and Eamonn Vines early and leave the home side 2 for 6. But Marcus Harris and Handscomb steadied with a 92-run stand. Handscomb fell late in the day for 48. He edged a short and wide delivery from legspinner Daniel Fallins to slip. Harris remained unbeaten on 51 at the close alongside nightwatchman Boland.

Hashan Tillakaratne has joined the Sri Lanka team as temporary batting coach, and will be with the side until at least the end of the Test series against India

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Jul-2017Hashan Tillakaratne has joined the Sri Lanka team as temporary batting coach, and will be with the side until at least the end of the Test series against India. Sri Lanka have been without a permanent batting coach since Marvan Atapattu was raised to the position of head coach in 2014.”Hashan has been with us since the recent Test match against Zimbabwe, actually,” Sri Lanka Cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha said. “At this stage, for all the Tests he will be batting coach. Most probably after the Indian series we’ll discuss with coach Nic Pothas and see what’s happening from there. With all his experience, there is a lot the batsmen can learn from him.”Tillakaratne has been a coach in the SLC system since December last year, largely working with the sides that feed into the national team. He had also previously served as a national selector, between January 2013 and April 2015.A former captain, having led Sri Lanka in 11 Tests, Tillakaratne had hit 11 Test centuries across 83 matches. His is the latest in a spate of recent appointments in the Sri Lanka set-up. Chaminda Vaas replaced the outgoing Champaka Ramanayake as bowling coach on Friday, Pothas replaced Graham Ford in June, and Gurusinha himself was brought in as cricket manager ahead of the Bangladesh series in March.

Mohammad Amir and Yasir Shah have been rested for Pakistan’s second warm-up match against Sussex ahead of the opening Test against England at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2016Mohammad Amir and legspinner Yasir Shah have been rested for Pakistan’s second warm-up match against Sussex ahead of the opening Test against England at Lord’s.Both bowlers impressed against Somerset at Taunton, Amir taking 3 for 36 in the first innings with some dangerous swing at good pace while Yasir enjoyed a lengthy bowl in the second innings as he finished with 4 for 107.Rahat Ali has also been left out as Pakistan bring in Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan and Zulfiqar Babar.The batting, though, remains unchanged which, barring injuries, confirms the top-order line-up for the opening Test. Most of the batsmen spent decent time in the middle against Somerset, although Mohammad Hafeez (20 and 10), captain Misbah-ul-Haq (0 and 19) and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed will hope for a more productive outing at Hove.”We had a pretty decent outing against Somerset. I would expect everyone shall maintain and improve on standards on display at Taunton in batting, bowling and fielding,” Mickey Arthur, the head coach, said. “We have to keep up with the benchmarks we have achieved so far, with the same intensity. Slacking off at any point would not be acceptable”.

22-May-2015International cricket returns to Pakistan for the first time since March 2009, when terrorists had attacked the vehicles carrying the Sri Lankan team and match officials to the Gaddafi stadium.