He will stay with the team for the T20 matches against India which follow the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2021Shane Bond will be part of New Zealand’s coaching set-up for the T20 World Cup and T20 matches in India which follow the tournament.Bond, a former bowling coach with the national side, will be in the UAE at the IPL with Mumbai Indians prior to the World Cup and New Zealand hope he will be able to provide valuable insight along with the group of players returning to their franchises.”Shane’s been in our environment before and understands what we’re about,” head coach Gary Stead said. “Being in the UAE immediately prior to the World Cup … he’ll hopefully bring some tactical insight into what’s been happening in the competition.”He’ll be an extra set of hands especially around the bowlers, working with the spin and the pace bowlers and developing their plans in a tournament that moves pretty quick – so we need to be one step ahead of other teams.Related

• From Hong Kong to New Zealand via Dubai: Mark Chapman ready for his third T20 World Cup

• Gary Stead on T20 WC: Main goal is to get to the semi-finals

• Ben Sears, the latest New Zealander in the fast lane

• Kyle Jamieson hopes to fine-tune 'T20 skillsets' in IPL ahead of T20 World Cup

• Bond leaves Sydney Thunder to spend more time at home

“Shane’s been working away with New Zealand players for a long time and he’s been involved in our recent camps so it’s been good for him to reacquaint himself with our guys. He’s held in high regard and I know he’ll bring a lot of knowledge and opinions to the group.”Bond, who stepped down as Sydney Thunder coach in the BBL earlier this year, has been working with both the New Zealand men’s and women’s squads at their winter camps preparing for the upcoming tours.He will join Stead, Shane Jurgensen and Luke Ronchi as the coaching staff for the World Cup and India T20s.New Zealand were the first team to confirm their World Cup squad last week and will head into the tournament with tours of Bangladesh and Pakistan although will be without their IPL players for those series. Stead will also miss those two tours with Glenn Pocknall stepping in alongside assistants Graeme Aldridge and Thilan Samaraweera.

Dahiya played two Tests and 19 ODIs for India between November 2000 and April 2001

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2021Former India wicketkeeper-batter Vijay Dahiya has been appointed Uttar Pradesh’s head coach ahead of the upcoming Indian domestic season, which sees the return of the Ranji Trophy. He takes over from Gyanendra Pandey who has stepped down from the post.”We look forward to a fantastic journey for achieving all our dreams under his proven mentorship,” UPCA posted on Twitter.Dahiya brings with him the experience of coaching Delhi and being part of IPL backrooms in the past. He had worked with the Kolkata Knight Riders as an assistant coach and more recently performed a similar role for Delhi Capitals in the league.Dahiya played two Tests and 19 ODIs for India between November 2000 and April 2001. Dahiya had a more successful domestic career, effecting 159 dismissals in first-class cricket for Delhi. Only Surinder Khanna (171) and Punit Bisht (216) have claimed more victims among Delhi keepers in first-class cricket.UP will open their 2021-22 domestic campaign with a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 fixture against Chandigarh in a Group E clash on November 4.

The three games will all be day-night fixtures as part of the Super League, and will be held in Kandy

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2021Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are set to begin 2022 with three ODIs as part of the ICC Super League, with Sri Lanka hosting the series. The three games will be day-night fixtures scheduled for January 16, 18 and 21, and will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.Zimbabwe are currently placed bottom of the Super League table with two wins from their nine games, while Sri Lanka are sixth in the 13-team league, with four wins from 15 games. The Super League is a qualification path to the 2023 ODI World Cup, with the top eight teams qualifying directly, while the remaining five will be pooled with five Associate teams in a qualifying tournament. Two teams will go through to the World Cup from that tournament. By virtue of hosting the 2023 World Cup, India have automatically qualified, effectively making the Super League a battle for the next seven spots.Zimbabwe are currently tied on 25 points with the Netherlands, but have played five matches fewer.”Every game is very important for us because Super League games will decide who can qualify automatically, hence it is important that we prepare well and start well,” Zimbabwe head coach Lalchand Rajput said. “I am a very confident person and always believe that we can beat Sri Lanka, considering that we have had good game time playing the Pro50 tournament [Zimbabwe’s domestic List A competition].”Zimbabwe’s last ODI in the Super League was part of a three-match series against Ireland in September, which ended 1-1. The teams split points in the washed out second ODI. Sri Lanka also last played in the Super League in September, beating South Africa 2-1 in a home series.”We have not started off well in the Super League, but I am confident that with the players in form during the Pro50 matches, we will do well against Sri Lanka,” Rajput said. “If we play our best cricket and to our potential, with our best players, there is every chance that we can qualify directly.”

He was the only one of the five Mohammad brothers to not play for Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2022Raees Mohammad, the only one of the five Mohammad brothers to not play for Pakistan, died on Monday in Karachi. He was 89.Sadiq Mohammad, his younger brother who opened the batting in 41 Tests and 19 ODIs, confirmed to that Raees had died after an illness.The Mohammad brothers who represented Pakistan all the way from their inaugural Test in 1952, in which the great opening batter Hanif made his debut, to 1981, when Sadiq played his last Test.Wazir Mohammad, the oldest of the brothers, is currently Pakistan’s oldest living Test cricketer at 92. Hanif died in 2016 at 81. Mushtaq, the most capped of the Mohammads with 57 Tests, and Sadiq are 78 and 76 respectively.Raees, the second-oldest brother, did not contribute to the siblings’ combined 173 Tests – Shoaib, Hanif’s son, added a further 45 to the family’s count in the 1980s and 90s – but was 12th man for the Dhaka Test against India in January 1955. He played 30 first-class matches, 17 of them for Karachi or Karachi B. Batting right-handed, he made 1344 runs at 32.78, including two hundreds, and he also picked up 33 wickets at 31.27 with his legbreaks.In an interview with , Wazir said of Raees that he was “the most stylish batsman among us five brothers”. Hanif, meanwhile, wrote in his autobiography that Raees was “the unluckiest of us all to have missed out on representing his country. In my opinion, had he played, he would have proved himself to be a better allrounder than even Mushtaq.”

Nervy four-run victory set up by classy 124 from Quinton de Kock

Deivarayan Muthu23-Jan-20223:00

Cullinan: ‘de Kock toyed with the India bowlers, there are few who can do that’

Three-nil, and job well and truly done for South Africa. Their clean sweep over India in the ODIs was completed on the back of a chanceless century from Quinton de Kock and a chancy but classy half-century from Rassie van der Dussen, which carried the hosts to 287 despite a late collapse of 7 for 73. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli then set up India’s chase with fifties, but neither could convert it into a big one. And though No. 7 Deepak Chahar threatened to flip the script with a barrage of boundaries in a knock of 54 off 34 balls – his second successive fifty in ODI cricket – South Africa’s seamers held their nerve and closed out the match.Dwaine Pretorius, picked in place of left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, was tasked with defending five off the last over, with India’s last-wicket pair of Yuzvendra Chahal and Prasidh Krishna in the middle. After Prasidh pinched a single first ball, Chahal went for the glory hit and spliced a catch to cover-point, India losing by four runs with four balls unused in their chase.Chahar had entered in the 38th over, at the fall of Shreyas Iyer’s wicket, with India still needing 93 off 77 balls. Two overs later, Suryakumar Yadav spooned a leading edge to mid-off and Jayant Yadav holed out soon after, but Chahar gave India enough reason to hope.Chahar has opened the batting for his state team Rajasthan in India’s domestic 20-over tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and is rated highly for his batting by his Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming. At the Premadasa Stadium in July last year, he pulled off a heist from No. 8, helping India overhaul Sri Lanka’s 275.At various points on Sunday, Chahar looked like he could pull off another heist. After being on 20 off 17 balls, he sized up Pretorius’ cutters and walloped him for back-to-back sixes. When Lungi Ngidi missed his yorkers, Chahar carved him for back-to-back fours. He notched up a 31-ball fifty, but just when the target was seemingly within India’s grasp, he was undone by Ngidi’s slower ball in the 48th over. India needed ten off 17 balls at that point, but they blew it under pressure.

India penalised for slow over rate

India have been fined 40% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over rate against South Africa in the third – and final – ODI in Cape Town on Sunday.

 On-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Bongani Jele, TV umpire Allauhudien Palekar, and fourth umpire Adrien Holdstock levelled the charge.

Captain KL Rahul pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

That India made a decent fist of the chase was also down to a 98-run partnership between Dhawan and Kohli. Dhawan had a rickety start, failing to latch onto three full tosses from Pretorius in his first over, but found a way to manufacture scoring opportunities by taking regular trips down the pitch. He stepped out to slam Pretorius for six over mid-on and went onto score 24 off 25 balls from the seamer.Kohli, too, often stepped out or across his stumps to inject more urgency into the innings. However, once the ball grew older, the likes of Sisanda Magala and Andile Phehlukwayo regularly took pace off the ball and exploited the Newlands track. So, Kohli cut out risks and accumulated his way to 65 off 83 balls. Left-arm fingerspinner Keshav Maharaj, the most economical bowler on the day, then coaxed a leading edge from Kohli that was pouched by Temba Bavuma running back from cover-point.Iyer flickered briefly, as did Suryakumar, and Chahar caught fire at the end, but South Africa’s seamers eventually extinguished India. Phehlukwayo had a major role in India’s slide, snagging both Dhawan and Rishabh Pant (a first-ball duck) in his second over. He returned to have Jasprit Bumrah caught by Bavuma in the penultimate over.Related

• India let down by shaky middle order and lack of wicket-takers

• de Kock, Phehlukwayo signal SA's rise back to the top

• 'We didn't play smart cricket' – Dravid admits India given 'eye-opener'

With the series already conceded and no Super League points up for grabs, India had started the day well, taking two wickets in the powerplay, but de Kock was his breezy self, claiming 34 of the 53 the hosts had scored in the first ten overs. By the time de Kock had got to his fifty in the 18th over, South Africa were 93 for 3. Jayant, playing his second ODI in place of R Ashwin, found biting turn and bounce to challenge South Africa. de Kock, however, messed with the offspinner’s length – and head – by launching a six over his head and reverse-sweeping a four past slip.van der Dussen, too, got into the act when he cracked Jayant to the right of point for four and then shovelled Chahal’s wrong ‘un past mid-on for another four. Prasidh, in particular, peppered van der Dussen with short balls in the lower 140 kph range, but he survived that burst and then attacked the spinners.The absence of Venkatesh Iyer meant India had only five bowling options, and ever-lurking presence of both de Kock and van der Dussen left them scrambling for a sixth bowler. So, Shreyas came on to bowl some spin in the 31st over and ended up leaking 21 runs in three overs filled with loose balls. After spending six balls on 99, de Kock reached his 17th ODI ton – and sixth against India – with a drive off Shreyas. Among wicketkeeper-batters, only Kumar Sangakkara (23) has more ODI hundreds than de Kock.de Kock threatened to hit full-tilt when he took Chahal for back-to-back fours in the 35th over, but Bumrah returned to the attack in the next over and had him holing out for 124 off 130 balls. It snapped a 144-run fourth-wicket partnership that came at the rate of over six an over. The stand could’ve been cut short much earlier had Pant, the wicketkeeper, not dropped van der Dussen twice – when he was first on 12 and then on 48.It needed a spectacular sliding catch from Shreyas at deep midwicket for India to remove van der Dussen for 52 off 59 balls. It was the first time that they had dismissed van der Dussen – after 288 balls – since the first innings of the third Test at this venue.Shreyas was also involved in the run-out of Phelukwayo (4), which added to the flurry of late wickets. It didn’t cost South Africa in the end as they capped their home summer with a dramatic victory.

Plans being formulated to renovate a total of eight venues around the USA

Peter Della Penna18-Mar-2022The organizers of Major League Cricket, USA’s officially sanctioned T20 franchise league anticipated to launch in 2023, announced on Thursday the next phase of their venue development plan, in which they intend to spend approximately $110 million dollars on building or renovating a total of eight venues around the USA.Aside from five venues already in existence earmarked for upgrades, MLC is in negotiations to secure land and build new venues at Marymoor Park in the eastern Seattle suburb of Redmond, Washington; as well as two California venues – one proposed for the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, and the other in Orange County south of Los Angeles.”This array of venue developments in areas with significant cricket-passionate communities comes as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has identified the United States as its primary target market to expand the game with the award of co-hosting rights to the 2024 T20 Men’s World Cup,” Sameer Mehta, co-founder of Major League Cricket, said. “MLC is committed to supporting that vision alongside its long-term partner USA Cricket and we’re excited to work together to transform the landscape and opportunities for cricket to rapidly develop across the country with this infrastructure investment.”The announcement comes following the first venue acquisition made by MLC and its parent American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in November 2020 of AirHogs Stadium in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Grand Prairie. The former minor league baseball facility was originally due to have renovations completed for its opening as a cricket venue in 2022.But according to multiple sources, administrators experienced logistical difficulties securing permits to begin construction work on making necessary design changes to the facility to make it suitable for cricket. As a result, MLC still has yet to break ground on any construction work, but officials have stated that construction is now anticipated to begin in April 2022. When it opened as a baseball facility in 2008, seating capacity was 5,445, but MLC has stated that once renovations are completed it will have 7,000 permanent seats with a total capacity of 15,000, though it may be expanded to 20,000 with temporary seating for large-scale events.The other venues currently in existence which MLC has committed to making upgrades to are Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, as well as two venues in the Houston metropolitan area: Moosa Stadium, located about 25 miles south of downtown Houston in the suburb of Pearland; and Prairie View Cricket Complex, which is located 50 miles northwest of Houston in the university town of Prairie View. Church Street Park is anticipated to have the most significant changes, with broadcast facilities and up to 3,500 permanent seats added to the facility making total capacity expandable up to 5,000. According to an MLC spokesperson, changes to each of the existing facilities will cost upwards of $3 million per venue.Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida is the only ICC ODI accredited venue in the USA•Peter Della Penna

At the moment, the three most likely venues to have successful bids for USA’s half of co-hosting the 2024 Men’s ICC T20 World Cup would be AirHogs Stadium, Church Street Park and Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida. The 10,000 capacity Broward County Stadium is currently the only ICC certified ODI and T20I venue in the USA and MLC says it is also in discussions with local officials to invest in making upgrades to the facility.However, MLC has announced they are in negotiations with city officials for three new west coast venues which could not only open up doors for staging venues for the franchise league ahead of its anticipated launch in 2023, but could also serve as potential venues for the 2024 T20 World Cup with each design plan for the three venues projecting a capacity between 10,000 and 20,000. An MLC spokesperson says that the projected cost for each of the venues in Seattle, San Jose and Orange County will be approximately $30 million.None of MLC’s plans include a venue in the New York metropolitan area. However, a group unaffiliated with MLC is trying to rally support for securing land to build a possible venue. Their proposed plan involves securing land at one of three potential sites: Marine Park in Brooklyn; Spring Creek Park just west of JFK Airport along the Belt Parkway in Queens; or repurposing the south parking lot at Aqueduct Racetrack, also in Queens. Businessman Chubb Bedessee, who has longstanding ties in both the New York and West Indian cricket communities, is spearheading the initiative in the hopes that New York can be a host venue for the 2024 Men’s ICC T20 World Cup.Bedessee’s NYC stadium project is also being supported by former ICC events manager Eddie Fitzgibbon, Jamaica Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller, USA Cricket board member Ajith Bhaskar and former USA Cricket Association executive secretary John Aaron, among others. In the four weeks since an online petition went live on February 22 soliciting signatures in support of the project, a source told ESPNcricinfo that 830 people have signed the petition.

It’s the first time the two sides match up in IPL 2022

Hemant Brar28-Apr-20222:30

Have Punjab Kings found the ideal playing XI?

Big picture

For how long do you trust a high-risk process if it doesn’t produce high rewards? Punjab Kings face that question as IPL 2022 moves into the second half.Even before they got up from the auction table in February, it was clear how they would approach the season: Go hard or go home. But with four wins and four losses after eight matches, they are currently in the bottom half of the table.

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In the last couple of games, they made tweaks to their XI and approach to find the optimum point where they can operate. Against Delhi Capitals, they picked five frontline bowlers but were bundled out for 115. In their next game, against Chennai Super Kings, despite going back to an allrounder at No. 7, their batters didn’t unleash an all-out attack. They teed off but not recklessly – to borrow a phrase used by the late Shane Warne – and posted a match-winning 187 for 4. Kings’ batting consultant Julian Wood has also talked about being “aggressively smart”. So is this the approach we will see from them in the upcoming matches?On Friday, Kings will be up against Lucknow Super Giants, who are currently fourth with ten points from eight games. A side brimming with allrounders, Super Giants are showing there are many ways to ace this format. With the likes of Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda in the XI, they have depth in batting as well as bowling.The main architect of their success, though, has been captain KL Rahul. With 368 runs, Rahul is the second-highest run-getter this season. More importantly, those runs have come at a strike rate of 147.79. Quinton de Kock, Super Giants’ next best batter, is 143 runs behind, which also shows Rahul alone has been doing the hard yards – something that could come to haunt him against his former team.Mayank Agarwal took over as Punjab Kings’ captain after KL Rahul left for Lucknow Super Giants•BCCI

In the news

There has been no update on the availability of Avesh Khan, who missed Super Giants’ last game with what captain Rahul described as a “small niggle”. If fit, Avesh should replace Mohsin Khan in the XI.

Likely XIs

Lucknow Super Giants 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Avesh Khan/Mohsin KhanPunjab Kings 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Strategy punts

• If Kings want someone to play more of an anchor’s role, Shikhar Dhawan could be that batter. Super Giants, though, can counter that move somewhat with Dushmantha Chameera. Chameera has dismissed Shikhar twice in 25 balls while conceding only 30 runs.In the middle overs, Super Giants can keep Shikhar quiet by pairing him against Pandya. Even though Pandya turns the ball in to Dhawan, the batter has managed only 29 runs off 26 balls against him. On the other hand, Shikhar has taken Ravi Bishnoi, a legspinner who mostly bowls sliders and googlies, for 36 runs off 19 balls. Neither spinner, though, has dismissed him so far in T20 cricket.
• Manish Pandey has been struggling for runs. In six innings this season, he has scored only 88 runs at a strike rate of 110. Super Giants have a couple of options in front of them. They can replace him with Manan Vohra, who can bat at No. 3. Or they can even bring in K Gowtham and move Ayush Badoni up the order.
  

  Stats that matter

  • Rahul is one of only three batters to have struck at more than 145 against both pace and spin (minimum 100 runs against each type). Jos Buttler and David Miller are the other two.
  • Against Kagiso Rabada, de Kock has scored 89 runs off 61 balls without any dismissal, but Arshdeep Singh has got him out twice in 14 balls while giving away only 14 runs.
  • Among those who have bowled at least five death overs this season, Arshdeep has the best economy (5.66).
  • Rahul has scored only 36 runs off 35 balls against Rahul Chahar with one dismissal but Stoinis has taken the legspinner apart, plundering 32 runs off 12 balls without getting out.
  • Out of eight, Kings have lost seven tosses in this season.

Both scored 52 and staged a third-wicket stand of 91 in 20-run victory over Western Storm

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2022Amy Jones and Abigail Freeborn registered impressive half-centuries as Central Sparks made a winning start to their Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign, beating Western Storm by 20 runs in their Group B fixture at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.Both scored 52 and staged a third-wicket stand of 91, while Ami Campbell smashed an unbeaten 30 from 17 balls as Sparks posted 156 for 4 from their 20 overs after being put into bat on a used pitch.Storm looked to be in with a chance while Sophie Luff and Georgia Hennessy held sway in a second-wicket alliance of 57, but pace bowler Issy Wong crucially removed the former for 43 and claimed 2 for 28 from four overs to swing the contest in favour of the visitors.Former England batter Fran Wilson finished on 22 not out, only for Storm to come up some way short on 136 for 6.Having won the toss and elected to field, Storm effectively starved Sparks of the oxygen of early runs, removing openers Eve Jones and Wong in quick succession to put the visitors firmly on the back foot. In an eventful first over, Danni Gibson served up four wide balls down the leg side, conceded a straight-driven four to Jones and then atoned by inducing Sparks’ captain to chip to cover.Rising star Wong departed in the next over from the Cathedral Road end, attempting to evade a Lauren Filer in-swinger, only to glove a catch behind with the score on 13.Back in the fold after missing the majority of last season, off-spinner Claire Nicholas sent down two naggingly accurate overs from the River end to tighten Storm’s stranglehold on the game as their opponents were restricted to 35 for 2 in the powerplay.Storm then allowed an opportunity to further tighten their grip on the game to quite literally slip through their fingers, Wilson dropping Freeborn on 10 at point off a cleverly disguised slower ball from Georgia Hennessy. Sensing an invitation to escape the shackles imposed hitherto, Freeborn and Jones played with increasing freedom, finding gaps in the field to score both sides of the wicket and keep the board ticking over.Permitted width, Jones in particular thrived, cutting and pulling to good effect, while Freeborn proved adept at rotating the strike in a restorative partnership which realised 50 in seven overs.Storm skipper Luff deployed six different bowlers in a bid to break the stand, but there was no stopping Jones, who harvested six fours on her way to a 42-ball half-century. At the point where she was required to go on and post a really imposing score, the 28-year-old permitted Storm much-needed respite, driving a length ball from Hennessy straight to Filer at mid-on and departing in the 16th over.An alliance of 91 in 12 overs nevertheless provided Sparks with an excellent platform from which to take risks during the closing stages of the innings, and Freeborn assumed responsibility for guiding the visitors to a challenging total, raising the tempo to reach 50 from 46 balls, with three fours.Yet it was new batter Campbell who took centre stage in a blistering knock, the experienced left-hander plundering three boundaries in one over from Filer to seize the initiative in a hugely productive alliance of 41 in 3.5 overs with Freeborn for the fourth wicket.Freeborn hit Gibson to Luff at cover in the penultimate over, but Campbell finished with a flourish, helping herself to a fourth boundary and adding a further nine runs in the final over, sent down by Hennessy.If containment was the name of the game for Sparks, they were initially disappointed. Wong bowled too short, Potts tended to over-pitch and openers Fi Morris and Hennessy took full advantage amid a barrage of boundaries to propel Storm to 34 in 4.5 overs and afford the chase a flying start.But Sarah Glenn’s leg breaks slowed progress dramatically, Morris pinned in the crease and departing for 18, and Hennessy and new batter Luff forced to exercise a degree of caution against the England bowler, who sent down three overs for 16 runs.Storm’s second-wicket pair prospered following Glenn’s withdrawal, with the busy Luff, in particular, forcing the issue against the seamers. At halfway, the hosts were well-placed at 66 for 1, needing a further 90 runs at nine an over, but with crucial wickets in hand.When Eve Jones elected to take the pace off and threw the ball to off spinner Davina Perrin, Luff and Hennessy cashed in, plundering 17 runs from a lucrative twelfth over, which served to put Storm back on the front foot.But the entire complexion of the game changed in a trice as Storm lost three wickets in the space of just six balls for the addition of four runs. Hennessy miss-timed a drive off Hannah Baker and was brilliantly caught by Eve Jones at mid-off for 27 as Sparks opened up one end. Wong then returned from the River end to strike a double blow, having the talismanic Luff held at short fine leg for 43 and then removing the hard-hitting Gibson in similar fashion two balls later.Coming together with the score on 95 for 4 in the 14th over and with the asking rate having risen to above 10 an over, Wilson and Nat Wraith had their work cut out to make up lost ground. It proved too big an ask, Wraith offering a catch behind off Potts and Katie George being run out by Amy Jones as Sparks turned the screw and the chase fizzled out.

“Tamim and Litton were fantastic, but fifties and forties won’t give you enough runs”

Mohammad Isam25-Jun-2022It was another case of one step forward, two steps back for Bangladesh. They were bowled out for 234 in the first innings in St Lucia, a vast improvement from the same position in Antigua a week ago, but still not enough to put a dent in West Indies’ confidence. The home side raced to 67 for no loss in reply, courtesy openers John Campbell and Kraigg Brathwaite. Their run rate of 4.18 was much higher than that of their partnership, which is 2.74 on an average, underlying the pitch’s quality for batters.Batting coach Jamie Siddons therefore, wasn’t too impressed with his charges, particularly those who got out after getting good starts. Litton Das top scored with 53 but in a bid to farm the strike with No. 9 Ebadot Hossain, holed out to mid-on. Tamim Iqbal got off to a quick start, hitting nine boundaries, but was undone by Alzarri Joseph’s extra bounce shortly before lunch.Related

• Fluent Kyle Mayers provides yet another rescue act for West Indies

• Why is Bangladesh's batting on the decline in Tests?

• Pacers, openers put WI ahead after Bangladesh fold for 234 despite Litton's half-century

“(West Indies openers) were aggressive today but I don’t think we bowled well in the first ten overs,” Siddons said. “Tamim (Iqbal) too was aggressive. It probably says a bit about the pitch but once you have seen couple of balls you feel quite comfortable. Tamim felt very comfortable but got one that bounced on him a little bit.”Tamim and Litton were fantastic, but fifties and forties won’t give you enough runs. They need to go on when they get their starts. Couple of the younger players were really impressive but again, they got out. Couple of umpiring decisions were very close but it didn’t go our way. But (after making) 230, we are struggling at the moment.”Siddons said that the top four showed a lot more discipline with deliveries outside the off stump, which was the real improvement from the first Test. But the visitors lost five for 60 from a comfortable 105 for two. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the last recognised batter for Bangladesh on the day, fell with the score on 165. The tail wagged after a long time, taking them to a respectable total.”We were a lot more patient today. I thought we left the ball really well. We worked on it over the last week. We played at too many balls in the first Test. They bowled really well, but we didn’t bat as long as we would have liked. I don’t think 230 is good enough on that wicket.”When you bat first there’s a bit of pressure to get the game underway. We handled that okay. Our opening partnership was good. We were 2 for 100, staring at a total of 400, but at 230 we are well short of what we should have achieved today,” Siddons said.He stressed on the need to bat for time, which Bangladesh have failed to do for all but one Test match in 2022. In overseas Tests, their only 300-plus this year was in the miraculous Mount Maunganui Test. They also haven’t got a 300-plus score in the West Indies in the last nine innings spanning back to 2014.”We just need to bat longer,” Siddons said. “In Test cricket, you have to bat for a long time. You have to be there at the end of the day. Then we have to be looking to bat on tomorrow. We are failing to do that at the moment.”

Middlesex suffer first defeat of campaign in rain-affected chase at Hove

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2022Ravi Bopara’s captain’s innings of 54 not out off 36 balls at Hove helped Sussex Sharks to inflict a first defeat of the Vitality Blast campaign on Middlesex.Bopara was joined in a decisive sixth-wicket unbroken stand of 58 in 6.5 overs by Harrison Ward as Sussex won a rain-affected contest by five wickets with three balls to spare to draw alongside their South Group opponents with a third victory – albeit having played one match more than Middlesex.Ward hit Toby Roland-Jones over long on off the back foot for six in a 14th over costing 16 and in which both Ward and Bopara also collected legside fours.And a crowd of more than 4,000 at the First Central County Ground lapped it up when, with 10 needed from the last over, Bopara swung Martin Andersson’s fast-medium high over long on and followed it next ball with a leg-glanced four to complete the win.West Indian left-arm seamer Obed McCoy, meanwhile, claimed 4 for 30 in Middlesex’s 163 all out, in which Joe Cracknell hit two sixes and eight fours in a 49-ball 68.Rain delayed the start of Sussex’s chase, leaving them to score 146 from 17 overs to win on Duckworth Lewis Stern regulations, and Roland-Jones struck with his first ball to have Luke Wright caught for 5 at deep mid wicket.The Sharks were 20 for 2 when Jason Behrendorff bowled Ali Orr for 10 and an even shakier 37 for 3 as Roland-Jones returned to have Tom Alsop caught in the deep for 8.New Zealand keeper-batsman Tim Seifert played attractively for a 21-ball 35 on his Sussex debut, with six fours and a six pulled off Luke Hollman’s leg spin, but he was leg-before to a Martin Andersson near-yorker and two overs later, in the 10th, Delray Rawlins was pinned lbw for 10 by Chris Green having just smeared the off spinner for six.But Bopara and Ward made an equation of 46 from the last five overs look relatively simple, with Bopara finishing with a six and seven fours and Ward unbeaten on 22.Earlier Steven Finn took 3 for 29 against his former county, striking with his first ball of the evening when Max Holden lifted a square drive straight to the fielder on the cover boundary to go for 5 in the second over.Stevie Eskinazi also played well for 31, from just 18 balls, but after slashing Finn and driving Rawlins for sixes he fell to the last ball of Middlesex’s powerplay – making room to hit Finn away for what would have been a third four of the over but thin-edging instead to keeper Seifert.Middlesex were 101 for two at the halfway mark of their innings, but instead of pushing on to something intimidating they fell away in disappointing fashion, losing their last eight wickets for 56 runs in 9.1 overs.McCoy began the slump, picking up the wickets of Jack Davies and Andersson in his second over, the 11th. Left-hander Davies went for 14, slashing high to deep cover, and Andersson edged behind for 1.Finn, with his first ball back, then made it 113 for 5 at the start of the 13th over when John Simpson, slicing a back-foot force, was spectacularly caught right-handed by a diving Wright at short third man to go for 2.Cracknell did pick up Tymal Mills for six behind deep square leg, having earlier plundered three fours from McCoy’s opening over to take Middlesex racing past 50 in the fifth over, but later in that same 16th over the 22-year-old skied an attempted big hit against a slower ball and Mills accepted the caught and bowled.McCoy removed both Hollman (5) and Roland-Jones (1) when recalled for over number 17, Rawlins catching them both, first on the cover ropes and then running in from deep mid wicket respectively.Thilan Walallawita fell to Mills for a duck in the next over, weakly chipping to cover and Middlesex were still well short of par despite Green (22 not out) driving Mills for six and also pulling him for four in a final over in which the bowler later ran out non-striker and last man Behrendorff for 2 after stopping another Green drive – to leave two balls of the Middlesex innings unbowled.