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The Pakistan captain has had some time to reassess his career and he is looking forward to leading the team during the three Tests in the Caribbean in April

Umar Farooq18-Feb-20171:11

‘Enjoying the game again’ – Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan tour of WI 2017

1st T20I, March 31, Port of Spain
2nd T20I, April 2, Port of Spain
1st ODI, April 7, Providence
2nd ODI, April 9, Providence
3rd ODI, April 11, Providence
Tour game, April 15-17, Trelawny
1st Test, April 22-26, Kingston
2nd Test, April 30-May 4, Bridgetown
3rd Test, May 10-14, Roseau

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan Test captain, has said he is “most likely” to be on the tour to West Indies in March with the PCB open to his playing another series before taking a call on his retirement.Misbah has been under immense scrutiny having led the team to six successive defeats in Test cricket, although it was under him that Pakistan were ranked No. 1 in the format last year. A dip in his batting form and his being 42 years old added to the drama that reached its peak after the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne last year when Misbah admitted to being unsure about his future as a cricketer. He has since had time to reassess and is in a better frame of mind.”It was tough on me recently with my form but now overall everything is going well so far,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “I am spending time in middle, hitting the ball pretty well. Played practice matches before the PSL started and had sessions of range hitting so getting confidence with every passing game.”I am also enjoying the game so it’s most likely that I am going to the West Indies. I always believed if had to go [and play cricket] then I have to go with form and confidence otherwise there was no point of going.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq are putting plans in place for a smooth transition by which Pakistan can move on from the senior players like Misbah and Younis Khan. Recent meetings between the board and the selection panel have indicated their preference for having one captain for all formats but Shaharyar Khan, who has the constitutional right as PCB chief to appoint the captain, is happy to leave the call with Misbah himself. “We will respect Misbah’s decision, whatever it is. But if he is willing to play then he is my captain.”Misbah has led Pakistan in more Tests than any other player, and the 24 wins in his tenure is a national record as well. However, in comparison with some of his peers – Imran Khan or Javed Miandad – he has also lost a lot more matches. Misbah’s contribution as batsman has been significant. Since he took charge of Pakistan in 2010, he averages 50.55 which is on par with the best in history.Head coach Mickey Arthur has been in talks with Misbah as well regarding his future. Both of them are currently in the UAE for the Pakistan Super League. “I am scheduled to have another chat with Misbah next week and we will see how that all transpires. The one thing that for certain is Misbah has been fantastic for Pakistan cricket. He has been a great leader and he has been a great servant and he deserves all the accolades that he will get eventually whether that is now or whenever he does go. So I can’t shed any more lights on that because I don’t know and I am not even sure that Misbah knows it himself.”

Middlesex batter to move on season loan ahead of permanent deal

Matt Roller02-Jul-2021Nick Gubbins, the Middlesex top-order batter, is close to completing a move to Hampshire which will see him join the club on loan for the rest of the season as a precursor to a permanent deal.Gubbins, 27, was Middlesex’s leading scorer in their County Championship-winning season in 2016 with 1,409 first-division runs at 61.26 including four hundreds. He has been part of several England Lions squads across formats in the years since, but struggled to score consistently in red-ball cricket, averaging 24.15, 34.41 and 22.08 in the three Championship seasons between 2017 and 2019.His form has improved in the last two years, with a first-class average of 37.56 since the start of last summer’s Bob Willis Trophy, and he made a brilliant fourth-innings 124 against Surrey at The Oval in May from No. 3. But with his contract up at the end of the season, he has decided to turn down an extension at Middlesex and join Hampshire instead.Gubbins has made three appearances in the T20 Blast this season but dropped out of the squad for Friday night’s game against Somerset, and it is anticipated that his move will be confirmed in the coming days, with a loan for the rest of the season preceding a multi-year contract. Middlesex are also expected to confirm extensions for a handful of out-of-contract players in the next few weeks.Gubbins will be Hampshire’s replacement for Sam Northeast, who, as revealed by the on Friday, is set to leave the club despite signing a contract at the start of this season that was due to run until the end of 2022. Northeast will initially move to Yorkshire, who are missing several senior batters on England duty or to injury, on a short-term loan deal.Northeast, considered by some to be the best uncapped batter in the country, joined Hampshire from Kent ahead of the 2018 season and has performed solidly, averaging 36.92 in first-class cricket and 51.62 in List A cricket. But his T20 returns have tailed off significantly, and he was dropped after the first game of this season’s Blast. He has been left out of their matchday squads for the past two weeks while weighing up his options, and his departure is expected to be confirmed by the club shortly.

Wahab Riaz’s spell at Essex has been cut short by two games after he was required to join up with Pakistan’s training camp ahead of Test series against England

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2016Wahab Riaz’s spell at Essex has been cut short by two games after he was required to join up with Pakistan’s training camp ahead of Test series against England. The news is a further blow to Essex’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign, after Adam Milne’s involvement in the second half of the group stage was ruled out by injury.Wahab had signed as Essex’s second overseas player – alongside Jesse Ryder – for the first seven games of the Blast, with Milne expected to replace him for the final seven. New Zealand quick Milne suffered a hamstring tear during the IPL, in which he played one game for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and subsequently required surgery on a shoulder injury.Essex are currently bottom of the South Group, having won one out of five games in the Blast, and have been looking for a replacement overseas signing.Although Wahab only managed to take four wickets in five matches, at an average of 46.50 and with an economy of 9.45, he said he had enjoyed his time at Chelmsford. He could return if Essex manage to turn things around and reach Finals Day.”Wonderful to be a part of the Essex team,” he said. “I have enjoyed it a lot there, it’s been fun with these guys, everyone really supportive and treated me well. I’ve learnt a lot about how to bowl in these conditions, so hopefully the experience I am taking from Essex I will try to put into my Test bowling.”Pakistan’s Test squad are currently based at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, where they will undertake a two-week conditioning camp before the first tour game against Somerset on July 3.Essex’s coach, Chris Silverwood, added: “It is a shame Wahab’s spell has been cut short. Obviously we understand that his international commitments come first and that is the risk you take when signing international quality players. We thank Wahab for his efforts and his commitment to the club during his spell.”

Fast bowler also “mindful” of not wanting “to go searching too much” with the Dukes ball

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2021New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will have “conversations” with his fellow quicks about the Duke ball and be “mindful” of how it behaves during the upcoming tour of England.One big reason for New Zealand’s consistency in Test cricket over the last few years has been the battery of pacers they have built, including their latest recruit Jamieson. On his first England tour, Jamieson has for company the experience of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry, who have combined to play 14 Tests in the country.”Their experience [will be really helpful] – from the guys like Tim, Wags, Doug and even Henry as well, who’s played a lot over here,” Jamieson said. “There’s so much experience around English conditions and what the Dukes ball can do. So I’ll try and look [and] lean on for the next few weeks.”Related

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Like most sides that tour England, the talk among the visiting bowlers is expected to be around the Dukes ball, which tends to aid a lot more swing than both the Kookaburra – used in New Zealand – as well as the SG ball. But Jamieson first wants to get used to the Dukes ball and its challenges, already wary of expecting it to do a lot.”It’s is certainly a bit different – it’s a bit darker and harder as well, [and] the seam is a little bit more narrow. So it’s just [about] trying to get used to that and the hands,” he said. “There have been conversations around what the Dukes ball can do, but whilst being mindful of the fact that you don’t want to go searching too much and try to move the ball too much, and then getting caught on the bounce a little bit. So I’m sure over the next few days we’ll have a few more conversations on what it looks like and then go from there.”New Zealand’s scheduled warm-up fixture was replaced with a two-day intra-squad practice game instead to begin on Thursday. This will now facilitate an extra day of training outdoors, with the first Test against England set to start next Wednesday at Lord’s before the second Test at Edgbaston from June 10. The World Test Championship final against India will be starting on June 18 in Southampton.

An unbroken partnership of 167 between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, the highest of the series so far, put India in control at the end of Indore’s first day of Test cricket

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:29

Agarkar: Kohli batted according to the merit of the ball

An unbroken partnership of 167 between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, the highest of the series so far, put India in control at the end of Indore’s first day of Test cricket. Kohli ended the day on 103, his 13th Test hundred. It was by no means his most enthralling innings, but it was utterly dominant in that he gave New Zealand no inch on a largely attritional day. Rahane, less certain, gutsed it out to stay unbeaten on 79 and India were 267 for 3.Having come together at 100 for 3, with the match in the balance, Kohli and Rahane gradually asserted India’s dominance in front of an enthusiastic crowd numbering over 18,000. Having started watchfully – they added 48 in 20 overs before tea – they grew increasingly fluent, scoring 119 in the final session in 34 overs, at exactly three-and-a-half runs an over.All five of New Zealand’s bowlers were disciplined and had well-thought-out plans, but there was little help for them off a pitch that wasn’t the greatest to look at, with cracks all over its surface, but played more or less true on the first day, if a little slow. The offspinner Jeetan Patel was their best bowler, but his figures – 1 for 65 off 24 overs – told a story: he frequently beat the batsmen in the air, but they usually managed to adjust since it didn’t turn all that much or all that quickly once it landed.Kohli came into the match with scores of 44, 3, 4, 9, 18, 9 and 45 in his last seven Test innings, but the last of them, in Kolkata, had been a superb display of footwork and judgment on a pitch with uneven bounce. It suggested he wasn’t really out of form.Again, in Indore, he avoided the extravagant shots that had got him out in his first three innings of the series, and accumulated steadily, blending into the background for most part. He didn’t offer any clear chances, and the two times he edged the ball, it eluded the fielders: on 39, drift caused him to edge Patel between keeper and slip; on 69, he reached out at a wide-ish length ball from James Neesham, and edged through a vacant first slip.Otherwise, New Zealand could see no way past him and, every now and again, he roused the crowd with his strokeplay. There were a couple of his trademark extra-cover drives, but his most breathtaking shots on the day came on the leg side: a checked pull off Trent Boult, when he adjusted to the ball staying lower than expected; a back-foot whip to the right of midwicket, against the turn, off Mitchell Santner; a clip off the legs, off Boult, that bisected square leg and long leg. All three times, the ball sped away effortlessly, testament both to the quickness of the outfield and to Kohli’s timing.Rahane endured a few nervous moments against the short ball. Twice – on 3 by Matt Henry and on 25 by Neesham – he lifted his hands instinctively to protect his face, and was lucky the ball hit his arm guard on both occasions rather than his glove. On 7, he top-edged a pull as Boult went around the wicket and angled a short ball into his body, and saw the ball fall inches wide of Henry rushing in from the square leg boundary. On 41, he kept his gloves and bat out of the way of a Henry bouncer, but couldn’t move his upper-body across quickly enough to evade it, and took a blow to the back. There were a number of other times when he ducked or swayed awkwardly, with eyes off the ball, as well.Ajinkya Rahane endured a few nervy moments against the short ball•BCCI

But a good batsman makes runs even in discomfort, and Rahane did not let these moments affect him. His defence was solid, and he got his head right on top of the ball while striding forward to the spinners – a failure to do so had cost him his wicket twice in Kanpur. Occasionally, he served up a reminder of his timing, such as when he lofted Patel back over his head and when he drove Santner inside-out to the cover boundary. He went past fifty with a six, stepping out to Patel, not quite reaching the pitch of the ball, but adjusting by playing with an almost horizontal bat to swat the ball over wide long-on.Given the look of the surface, India seemed to gain an early advantage when they won their third toss of the series and their eighth in a row in home Tests. Batting, by general consensus, would be easiest on days one and two. But India didn’t really press their advantage in the first two sessions, despite their batsmen looking fairly comfortable in the middle.The crowd was treated to an entertaining start as M Vijay drove Boult on the up for two fours through the covers in the third over of the morning, and Gautam Gambhir, returning to the Test side after two years to replace the injured Shikhar Dhawan, pulled Henry for successive sixes in the fourth over. Kane Williamson, back in charge of New Zealand after missing the Kolkata Test with illness, brought Patel on in the fifth over, and he struck with his fifth ball, getting it to dip on Vijay, who looked to flick a long way in front of his body and gave Tom Latham the chance to pull off a juggling reflex catch at short leg.There was little turn on offer for Patel and Santner, who bowled from both ends till the 11th over, and Cheteshwar Pujara and Gambhir settled down nicely before Boult and Henry came back into the attack. The quicks changed their lengths to Gambhir in their second spells, bowling noticeably fuller and trying to exploit the left-hander’s tendency to shuffle across his crease. He grew quieter against this mode of attack, scoring only two runs in 20 balls before he was lbw to Boult, bringing his bat down at an angle to a full one that nipped in slightly.Pujara looked serene through to lunch, using his feet to the spinners, getting nicely on top of the rising ball against the quicks, putting the bad ball away, and showing more willingness than in Kolkata – given the lack of turn or seam movement off this surface – to change the angle of his bat face to look for singles on both sides of the pitch.After lunch, however, both he and Kohli had to work hard for their runs as Patel settled into a good rhythm. He caused both batsmen problems, bellowing out an lbw appeal after Kohli went back to a quicker one on a good length – the ball striking his pad just outside the line – and throwing his hands up in the air when Pujara came down the track, failed to cover for drift, and edged a defensive push through backward point.It was Santner, though, who gave New Zealand the breakthrough, in the second over of a new spell. Firing one in just short of a good length, he caused indecision in Pujara, who pressed half-forward, and then went halfway back and ended up caught on the crease as the ball spun sharply past his defensive bat and hit his off stump.

Faf du Plessis wants South Africa to pull of a whitewash that proved elusive in Australia

Firdose Moonda11-Jan-2017There are ways of saying things and then there is the Faf du Plessis way of saying things. It’s considered rather than clichéd and direct without being dismissive, an especially important quality in a series like this.South Africa have dominated to the extent that Dale Steyn’s “quietly confident,” pre-series prediction that a 3-0 whitewash could be on the cards now seems a certainty. Apart from the first day of the first Test, Sri Lanka have failed to put up a concerted challenge to South Africa in any department and the sting of this series has long left the bee.Despite that, du Plessis did not disrespect the opposition and offered a measured explanation for their lack of fight. “We don’t see them as weak, we just see them as not being as good in our own conditions as we are,” he said.At the Wanderers, that will only be highlighted more. Even though the groundsman Bethuel Buthelezi, has said, “there won’t be as much in the wicket as there was for Stuart Broad last year,” he has promised bounce and carry and Sri Lanka’s batsmen will need to find a way to cope.Du Plessis’ advice to Sri Lanka is to be patient, because that is the only way to prosper on seamer-friendly surfaces. “In the batting department, they just haven’t had guys anchoring the crease and applying themselves for long enough. We also find the conditions challenging but we’ve just been more patient in waiting for the bowler to make a mistake,” he said.Sri Lanka’s pace pack, though, could have more to look forward to. Du Plessis remains wary of an attack that have made barred their teeth on occasion and that he thinks are not far away from biting. “They’ve got the seam bowlers in these conditions to challenge us, but they just haven’t done it consistently. If they start doing that then they can do exactly what we’ve done with them,” he said.South Africa’s aim is a whitewash, which they were not able to achieve in Australia as Australia showed up well to win the floodlit Test in Adelaide by seven wickets.”You don’t get opportunities like this very often so for me that becomes the focus – to try and make sure that we dominate a team we are on top of at the moment,” du Plessis said. “We had an opportunity in Australia, we didn’t take it – the pink ball is something the Australian team are quite successful with – but it’s another opportunity for us to try and go 3-0.”Apart from the unknown of a first day-night Test, South Africa’s quest for 3-0 Down Under was derailed by the distraction surrounding du Plessis’ ball-tampering hearing and ultimate conviction. Then, du Plessis was disappointed that took away from the team’s achievements.A similar thing has happened now, with Kolpak signings making the headlines and South Africa’s series win relegated to inside pages. Du Plessis has admitted he does not enjoy seeing performances brushed aside for bigger issues and would like to try and bring the actual cricket to the forefront again.”In this series, once again, we’ve played amazing cricket, we’re 2-0 up, dominating a team and there’s other stuff that influences and takes the shine off the performances and that is draining. In a perfect world, you don’t want that,” he said.”But it is what it is. We respect Kyle’s decisions. It’s now time for us to focus on this next Test match and look forward to how we can build a new bowling unit and see who are going to be the guys who will lead our attack in the next five years.”Wayne Parnell has been confirmed as Abbott’s replacement and du Plessis is looking forward to seeing his progression first-hand but he is also excited about the prospect of Knights’ quick Duanne Olivier, who may have to wait to make his debut but who is definitely in the long-term plans.”I’m excited to see how much Wayne’s game has improved. He played one Test for us last time and did really well, and I think he’s a better player than he was then,” du Plessis said.”Today was the first time I faced Duanne and there is just something there. I really like what I see. I also like a guy coming to the nets, picking up an old ball and starting to bowl with it. Generally you get guys wanting a new ball – obviously you want to impress – but he took an old ball straight away and was just getting stuck into his areas. It’s nice that he is 24 as well, there’s a future there. I am excited about the talent.”

The series isn’t without context, as there are World Cup Super League points up for grabs

Deivarayan Muthu22-Mar-20217:01

Will the toss be decisive in the ODIs? And, Rahul or Pant? Or both?

Big picture

In the year of the T20 World Cup and the inaugural World Test Championship final, most bilateral ODI series are expected to fly under the radar and this India-England series is no different. After being close to their full-strength in the T20I leg of the India tour, England will be without three of their 2019 World Cup heroes – Joe Root (rested), Jofra Archer (injured) and Chris Woakes (rested) – for the three-ODI series. It’s not an entirely context-free series, though, with World Cup Super League points up for grabs.This is a chance for England to take their first steps towards prepping for their 50-over World Cup defence in 2023 in India and test out the likes of Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone and Reece Topley, who didn’t feature in the T20I series at all. In the absence of Root, their second-highest scorer behind Eoin Morgan in ODIs, England need to choose between Ali, Billings, Livingstone and Ben Stokes for the No. 3 spot.Livingstone, who is uncapped in ODI cricket, looks a decent bet, having opened for Lancashire and more recently for the Perth Scorchers in their run to the Big Bash League final. But then again, England could bump Stokes up to No. 3 and slip in Billings as a finisher, something that Dinesh Karthik suggested on during the T20I series.Related

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Matt Parkinson, Livingston’s Lancashire team-mate, has been in England’s bubble since January for the subcontinent tour of Sri Lanka and India, but hasn’t got a game yet. Sure, Parkinson is a legspinner who doesn’t have too many attacking variations like Adil Rashid, but is he good enough to be England’s second spinner?Likewise, Kuldeep Yadav has got very limited game-time since the last IPL in the UAE – eight matches to be precise, including a tour game in Sydney. Yadav hasn’t played together with fellow wristspinner Yuzvendra Chahal since Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow picked them apart when England and India last met in this format, in World Cup match at Edgbaston.Since then, MS Dhoni has retired from international cricket and Kedar Jadhav has been axed from the set-up. The absence of a Jadhav-like player – a batsman who can pitch in with the ball – proved a thorny issue for India in Australia. The selectors and the team management have addressed it by bringing Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya into the mix. Hardik Pandya bowled short, sharp spells in the T20Is, but India may manage him more carefully as far as the longer formats are concerned in a T20 World Cup year.Suryakumar Yadav, who made stellar contributions with the bat in the T20Is and impressed Virat Kohli with his “X-factor”, could be the latest entrant in India’s middle-order roulette in ODI cricket.

Form guide

India: WLLLL
England: LWLLWAfter a quiet T20I series, Sam Curran will look to hit form in the ODIs•Surjeet Yadav/Getty

In the spotlight

T Natarajan‘s ability to nail yorkers, often on demand, makes him a compelling white-ball prospect, but this ODI series and the following IPL will be a test of his fitness more than anything else. Having emerged from a tennis-ball background, Natarajan hadn’t played as much with the cricket ball on the bounce as he did in 2020-21. R Ashwin revealed on his YouTube channel that the left-arm seamer had a tibia issue on his knee during the Australia tour and has since returned to the side after undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Sam Curran batted as low as No. 9 in the T20I series decider, with Morgan putting it down to a tactical move to perhaps break up the bevy of left-handers in the England line-up. On the whole, Sam Curran was under-utilised by Morgan – both with ball and ball. He got to bat in two other innings, scoring 3 and 6* from No. 7, and got to bowl just ten overs in five outings. In the absence of Archer and Woakes, Sam – or his elder brother Tom Curran – could potentially be given greater responsibility in the ODIs.

Team news

In the deciding T20I on Sunday, India left KL Rahul out to “bring in a good balance with bat and ball”. He could miss out again if they lean towards a sixth-bowling option for the ODI series opener. Kohli has also confirmed that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan would start the ODI series as openers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is set to lead the seam attack in what will be his fourth ODI since the 2019 World Cup.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 KL Rahul/Krunal Pandya/Washington Sundar, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, 11 T NatarajanMorgan hasn’t guaranteed a return for Ali and if he doesn’t make the cut, Livingstone may make his ODI debut on Tuesday. Billings, who has excelled as a finisher since his return to the ODI team in 2020, is likely to play his first match of the tour.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Sam Billings, 7 Moeen Ali/Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam Curran/Tom Curran, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Reece Topley, 11 Mark WoodT Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav tune up for the ODI series opener•PTI

Pitch and conditions

The MCA Stadium in Pune has traditionally rolled out pitches that favour batsmen. The venue has hosted only four ODIs so far, with 300 having been breached thrice. The last time England faced India in Pune, Jadhav and Kohli cracked centuries to hunt down 351 in January 2017. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the match. All three ODIs will be played behind closed doors.

Stats and trivia

• Stokes is set to play his first ODI since his starring role in the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s.
• Both India and England come into this series on the back of 2-1 ODI series defeats at the hands of Australia.
• Among teams that have played at least ten ODIs since the last World Cup, India have the poorest record in the powerplay with the ball: six wickets at an average of an average of 144.16 and economy rate of 5.76. During this period, England’s bowlers have taken 17 wickets in the powerplay at an average of just under 23 in nine games.
• Since 2010, India have lost only three bilateral ODI series at home. They had suffered defeats to Pakistan in 2012, South Africa in 2015 and more recently to Australia in 2019.

Quotes

“Even though we didn’t pick up the trophy, we learned a huge amount. It has been an extremely productive tour so far in white-ball cricket. The biggest picture always being the World Cup in both white-ball formats. You don’t always have to win every series in order to win a World Cup. You continuously need to get better, need to be tested as a side, need to fail in order to learn. That involves losing, which isn’t fun, but it is part of the journey.”
“Along the way, scheduling and workload is something everyone will have to be very aware of and keep an eye out for, especially in today’s day and age where you just don’t know where restrictions might come in.”

Several performers against Bangladesh, including Kyle Mayers, retain their place in the side

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2021West Indies have named their first Test squad since their captaincy swap, with outgoing leader Jason Holder and Darren Bravo both featuring in the Kraigg Brathwaite-led side.Though they return, the squad announced by Cricket West Indies for the first Test against Sri Lanka also retains several “second-string” players who starred in West Indies’ series win in Bangladesh, including the hero of the first Test, Kyle Mayers. Ten players had pulled out of that tour due to concerns over travelling during the pandemic.Jermaine Blackwood is the vice-captain. The first Test will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium from March 21 to 25.Speaking on the squad, chief selector Roger Harper said: “It is good to be able to put together a Test squad with a number of players coming off very good performances in their last series in Bangladesh. It is a fantastic opportunity to build on the good work that was done in Bangladesh. It is very important to continue the process of working hard, playing with great passion, playing with determination and a great desire to succeed. Doing that consistently will bring us the right results.””A number of players seized the opportunity that the tour of Bangladesh presented and booked a place for themselves in the Test team for this series. This now means that there is keen competition for places which should drive better individual performances and that of the team. I also think that these players are looking forward to displaying their skills on home soil.”Sri Lanka play two Tests in Antigua, with the second Test starting from March 29.West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin will be part of Australia’s coaching team for the one-day tour of New Zealand next year

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2016Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin will join Australia’s coaching staff for the Chappell-Hadlee Series in New Zealand early next year, with batting coach Graeme Hick and bowling coach David Saker instead flying to India ahead of time to prepare for Australia’s four-Test tour.Australia play three ODIs in New Zealand from January 30 to February 5, and the first Test against India begins in Pune on February 23. Head coach Darren Lehmann will be with the one-day squad in New Zealand but Hick and Saker will be part of an advance party to India with their focus on the longer form of the game.Harris, who retired on the eve of the 2015 Ashes series, will serve as bowling coach, having previously performed that function during this year’s one-day tour of South Africa. Haddin, whose official retirement was announced in September last year, will serve as a fielding mentor during the New Zealand trip, having also coached during this winter’s Australia A series.”It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to have ex-players of the calibre of Brad and Ryan on board for this tour and continue their involvement in Australian cricket,” Lehmann said. “Both these guys have worked hard on their coaching since leaving the game and thoroughly deserve their opportunityHaddin said: “It is going to be great to be back in Australian colours again, albeit as part of the coaching group . I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with Australia A in Townsville recently and am grateful that coaching has given me the opportunity to remain involved in cricket.Harris said: “South Africa was a great learning experience for me and it was fantastic to be back with the team again. Coaching is something I really enjoy and to be able to continue to be involved with the Australian team is something I can’t wait to be a part of again.”

Nation was stretchered off while Taylor was hit on the helmet and suffered concussion

Firdose Moonda03-Feb-2022West Indies lost Chedean Nation and Stafanie Taylor to on-field injuries during the third ODI against South Africa, who won the fixture by 96 runs. The four-match series is level at 1-1, with one game to play.Nation was stretchered off the field in the 40th over of the South African innings after tumbling while trying to stop a Mignon du Preez boundary. She was at midwicket as du Preez swiped, Nation ran in, slipped and fell head over heels. She was unmoved as the ball crossed the boundary and required 12 minutes of on-field treatment before being taken off.Earlier, in the 36th over, Nation had jammed her shoulder into the ground as she attempted to stop the ball and though she appeared to recover quite quickly, it may have been the initial blow which forced her off the field. She was taken to hospital “out of an abundance of caution”, according to the West Indies media manager.A little more than 90 minutes later, Taylor copped a blow to the helmet off a Nadine de Klerk bouncer. That was at the end of the 13th over and by the first ball of the 14th, Taylor, at the non-striker’s end, stood hunched over with her hands on her knees, shaking her head. She faced another delivery, took a single and then decided she could not continue. She received on-field assistance but walked off the field, pointing to her neck. Taylor was found to be concussed, and eventually replaced for the remainder of the game by Aaliyah Alleyne.South Africa posted their highest total against West Indies in a bid to level the series. Laura Wolvaardt scored her third ODI century and first against a top-eight rated team and shared in a 141-run third-wicket stand with Sune Luus to set South Africa up for their highest total against West Indies.”I felt like I wasn’t getting great starts,” Wolvaardt told the television broadcast after her innings. Her previous three knocks have not progressed past 25. “We focused on building a partnership that took up a lot of time and faced a lot of overs. It’s very nice to see what we can do if we actually do what we are supposed to and get it right.”Luus contributed 56 but the innings’ impetus came from Chloe Tyron, who smashed a 24-ball 43 to put South Africa in touching distance of 300. With South Africa scoring at a shade under six an over, Shakera Selman’s return of 0 for 39 in 10 was the most miserly of the bowling. Shamilia Connell, who conceded only 54 runs in her 10, finished with four wickets.The South Africa innings ended a ball short due to an umpiring error, which denied them the opportunity to bring up only their third total over 300. Still, it was too much for West Indies who started the innings without Nation and lost soon Taylor. By then, the series’ leading wicket-taker, Ayabonga Khaka, had removed both openers in her first two overs, making use of swing through the air on a humid Johannesburg evening.Kycia Knight’s 69 kept West Indies in the hunt but she holed out to long-on to become offspinner Raisibe Ntozakhe’s first victim since making her ODI comeback in this match. Ntozakhe was cleared to bowl again in September last year after being reported for a suspect action in September 2018. She finished with 1 for 53.Shabnim Ismail took two wickets in two balls to leave West Indies 170 for 7 in the 37th over. Alleyne batted to the end but was left with too much to do. With Nation unable to bat, South Africa only needed nine wickets and took them before West Indies had faced their full quota of overs.The series finale will be played on Sunday at the same venue, the Wanderers. South Africa will wear an all-black kit to show their support for victims of gender-based violence and West Indies will wear black armbands for the same cause.