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The BCCI’s plans to stage India’s first-ever day-night Test in October is mired in a power struggle between the two power centres that currently run the board

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Feb-2018The BCCI’s plans to stage India’s first-ever day-night Test in October is mired in a power struggle between the two power centres that currently run the board. A sharply worded mail from Vinod Rai, chief of the Committee of Administrators, to Amitabh Choudhury, the board’s acting secretary, placed the proposal on hold and criticised what Rai called the “cavalier way of taking policy decisions”.In his mail, Rai said that discussions on the issue needed to go beyond India coach Ravi Shastri, who had been consulted, and should include the players, the administration and the fans, “your greatest stakeholder”. It laid down several conditions that needed to be met before the plan could be discussed again.India is the only major cricket-playing country to have not hosted or played a day-night Test. This, despite apparent openness to the idea from India captain Virat Kohli, who had called the inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand in 2015 a “landmark” moment. The game’s administrators, including the ICC, have urged member countries to support day-night cricket as a means of boosting audience figures across the Test world.The issue had its origins last week, when Choudhury emailed Shastri, asking for his help in “finding remedies to the ever diminishing” interest of fans in Test cricket. In his email, dated February 17, Choudhury said that even popular venues like Kolkata could not reverse the “alarmingly poor figures of attendance”. He said that to counter such a challenge, the BCCI needed to apply “innovative” thinking, and the day-night Test – provided the dew factor was managed – was a “natural” option.In his response, Shastri said that another option to attract a big audience was to play Test matches against “tier 2” opponents “like West Indies” in tier-two cities. “As far as day-night cricket goes, it can be tried out as an experiment with a game starting at 12 and where the last session is played under lights. It will be interesting to see how much part dew will play.”Against a team like West Indies, it has to be played in a tier 2 city without a doubt. To get in the crowds it doesn’t matter if it’s a day game or day-night game. What’s important is a tier 2 city.”Choudhury then placed Shastri’s suggestions at a discussion table at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, in a meeting with the board’s management team led by Rahul Johri (the BCCI’s chief executive officer) and Saba Karim (general manager, operations), and the national selectors.The following day, February 21, Choudhury emailed details of that meeting, along with the discussions he had with Shastri, to the BCCI’s two other office bearers – CK Khanna (acting president) and Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer). “Under the circumstances, we will go ahead with the proposal [of] choosing one of the two Windies Test matches for the first ever day-night game on Indian soil,” Choudhury said.The email was forwarded to Rai, whose reply leaves the plan in limbo. Rai told Choudhury that if he felt taking the views of “four persons sitting in cricket centre [the BCCI headquarters]” constituted “all stakeholders”, then it was a “very misplaced viewpoint”.According to Rai, the “greatest stakeholder” was the public, and they needed to be factored in too. “This issue is placed on hold,” Rai told Choudhury in an email, copying in the rest of the board’s office bearers along with Johri and Karim.He said the idea could not be taken forward till the specifics of the proposed day-night Test were worked out, including the venue, timings, security arrangements and costs to the BCCI. He also said the visiting team would have to be consulted to “factor in their viewpoints”.”Ravi may have been consulted, but I would like to consult the players whose body clock over five consecutive days [and] will have to get accustomed to a new timing,” Rai said.Once all these things were looked into, Rai said the BCCI would put forth the view in the media for a “consultative process”.Choudhury responded to Rai on February 23, saying “the effort was only to impede the fast disappearing spectator support for Test cricket.”

Primary among them is the top three of Dhawan, Kohli and Rohit himself, which faltered more often than it did not

Shashank Kishore18-Jul-2022Rohit Sharma isn’t too worried yet, but does think the form of India’s top-order batters is “something we need to look into”.Shikhar Dhawan finished with scores of 1, 9 and 31* in the three ODIs in England, while Virat Kohli aggregated just 46 runs in those games, along with the 11 and 1 he made in two T20Is. Rohit himself made scores of 0 and 17 after opening the ODI series with an unbeaten 76 in a ten-wicket win.Related

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“Not really,” he said if it was a concern. “But we do understand that it is something we need to look into. To be honest, the wicket [at Old Trafford] didn’t have much. We played some not-so-good shots and that’s what cost us wickets. But I still back those guys to come out good because they have done it for a long time. I’ve got nothing more to say since I understand the quality they bring to the team.”Despite the lack of runs at the top, India won the series 2-1.After the canter in the first ODI, India were 29 for 3 in pursuit of 247 in the second. In the series decider, they slipped to 38 for 3 by the ninth over in their chase of 260. While Dhawan was out driving to point on Sunday, Rohit nicked to slip and Kohli was caught behind, in near-identical fashion to his dismissal in the second ODI at Lord’s.On Sunday, a 133-run stand for the fifth wicket, at better than a run-a-ball, between Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant helped India overcome that stutter to win by five wickets. While Hardik made 71, Pant was unbeaten on 125 – his maiden ODI century – when the winning runs were hit.”[We were] quite pleased chasing 260 – it was a good pitch, but we knew it won’t be easy if we lost wickets early,” Rohit said. “We didn’t want it to happen, but if you look at the positive side, a lot of these guys haven’t batted a long period in the middle overs, and we got to see that from Rishabh and Hardik. Both of them were clinical with the bat – at no point did we feel they were panicking. They backed themselves, played great cricketing shots, which was good to see.”It meant a second straight series win for Rohit as full-time ODI captain since being elevated to the role last November.”Very pleased,” Rohit said of the series outcome. “We came here wanting to achieve something as a group in white-ball cricket, and I thought we achieved a fair bit. Obviously, moving forward there are a lot of things we need to improve as a group, but quite pleased with the effort from the boys in the entire white-ball leg.”We were here last time, and we were beaten, I remember that. It is not an easy place to come and win games, but the way we played the entire white-ball leg was fantastic. It’s something we wanted to do for a long period of time, to finally come and achieve was a great effort from the entire unit.”Yuzvendra Chahal had an excellent tour, picking up seven wickets in the ODIs at an economy rate of 5.35•Getty Images

Rohit was effusive in his praise for Hardik, who returned as an allrounder to the ODI set-up after more than a year. He finished with six wickets in three matches, including a career-best of 4 for 24 at Old Trafford on Sunday, to go with his contributions with the bat: 29 in 44 balls and 71 in 55 balls.There were also good words for Yuzvendra Chahal, who underlined his significance to India’s white-ball plans again, after being left out of last year’s T20 World Cup. He finished the ODI series with seven wickets in three games, at an economy rate of just 5.35.”He is a critical member for us,” Rohit said. “He has got so much experience, bowling in all sorts of white-ball formats. It was very unfortunate that he missed the last T20 World Cup, but I’m pleased with how he has come back after the World Cup and gone from strength to strength.”Hardik as well, he used the dimensions of the ground pretty well. One side of the boundary was pretty long, he kept bowling those bouncers and got the rewards for it as well. I’m very pleased for him.”

“I can proudly say I can bowl four overs now as a third seamer or a fourth seamer”

Deivarayan Muthu03-Aug-20223:18

Hardik Pandya – ‘When I bowl it gives a lot of balance to the side’

After having started his international career as a back-up bowling option, Hardik Pandya now believes that he can do the job as a frontline seamer. Apart from Arshdeep Singh, Hardik is the only India seamer to have bowled his full quota of four overs in each of the three T20Is so far in the Caribbean. On Tuesday, on a used Basettere pitch, Hardik handcuffed West Indies’ big hitters with a mixture of slower offcutters and on-pace deliveries.”Obviously, I’ve enjoyed bowling,” Hardik said after India secured a 2-1 series lead. “Again I’ve mentioned multiple times, that was the reason I felt I should take some time off to make sure my bowling comes off because I’ve realised when I bowl, it gives a lot of balance to the side; it gives a lot of confidence to the captain.Related

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“Yes, I used to bowl before. I used to be a filler in between when someone is not bowling well. I can proudly say I can bowl four overs now as a third seamer or a fourth seamer where I can contribute equally as I do with the bat.”When Hardik was introduced into the attack in the third T20I, West Indies were 32 for 0 in four overs, with Kyle Mayers dominating the early exchanges. After seeing Mayers swat his on-pace short ball over midwicket with the strong wind, Hardik shifted his lines wider, varied his pace more regularly, and challenged the batters to hit against the wind.Hardik sent Brandon King’s leg stump cartwheeling with a slower offcutter into the pitch and then beat Mayers three times in a row in the tenth over by taking his cutters away from the left-hander’s reach with his sharp angle from over the wicket. He finished with figures of 1 for 19, and after India wrapped up a seven-wicket victory, even Mayers conceded that Hardik and India had used the conditions better than West Indies.”For me, it’s the approach that I’m following,” Hardik said. “I understood that if you enjoy life and be in a frame of mind where you are positive, eventually a lot of the time the result goes your way. So, for me, it’s not about the result. It’s about how I take the game on, how smart I’m thinking and how I can make sure I use the situation and condition[s] which is offering me something with the bat or the ball.”1:04

Hardik on T20I vice-captaincy: ‘I enjoy responsibility, it adds flair to my game’

India captain Rohit Sharma was impressed with how Hardik and R Ashwin operated in the middle overs to keep Nicholas Pooran and the other middle-order hitters in check.”How we bowled in the middle overs [was pleasing],” Rohit said. “I think that was very, very crucial because they were about to get that big [opening] partnership and with few of their experienced players batting in the middle and I thought we used the conditions really well. We used our variations pretty well and then how we chased the runs, I thought it was quite clinical.”‘Responsibility adds more flair to my game’
Being appointed T20I vice-captain for the West Indies tour has raised his game to a new level, Hardik has said. Earlier this year, he captained Gujarat Titans to IPL glory in their first season and then oversaw India’s 2-0 sweep of a spirited Ireland side in Malahide.”I’ve always enjoyed responsibility and it has added more and more to my game,” Hardik said. “Whenever I’ve taken the responsibility, it has added some more flair to my game because it makes me think more and when I think more it just adds more value to my cricket.”Hardik also lauded Rohit for building a team environment that gave players – even those on the bench – security, echoing Dinesh Karthik’s comments from the T20I series opener in Tarouba.”Obviously, very privileged to get the opportunity to be vice-captain,” Hardik said. “When the captain gives you a lot of flexibility and lot of freedom, which is his strength throughout his captaincy stint, whenever I’ve played with him… and here as well a lot of credit goes to him on how they’ve got the team together and making sure that a lot of positive mindset comes in and at the same point of time players are feeling secure. They’re not looking over their shoulder, making sure they’re getting ample chances, and they are being told as well if they’re not playing.”

Bad light meant the visitors only had to face one over in the evening which raised a few questions over Pakistan’s tactics

Tristan Lavalette05-Mar-2022
Veteran Azhar Ali hit a brilliant 185 as an unwavering Pakistan batted a weary Australia further into the ground during a dominant second day to gain a firm stranglehold of the first Test in Rawalpindi.Azhar’s marathon 361-ball vigil ended midway through the final session when he fell seeking quick runs as Pakistan declared on 476 for 4 about an hour before stumps. Under the floodlights amid gloomy skies, Pakistan had to resort to spin to keep playing but only a solitary over from Sajid Khan was bowled before players left the field and stumps were called shortly after with Australia at 5 for 0.Pakistan might have been wiser to declare a little earlier considering the deteriorating light, which ultimately reprieved Australia openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner, but they should remain well satisfied after another commanding performance.After winning a crucial toss and electing to bat, Pakistan had three big partnerships at the top as their meticulous approach never gave Australia a sniff in the favourable batting conditions. It was a slow burn but they turned the screws in similar fashion to their success over Australia in the UAE in 2014 and 2018.In contrast, Australia toiled for 162 overs without little reward on a flat pitch and have almost been batted out of the contest during a sombre day, as the spectre of cricket legend Shane Warne’s shock passing overshadowed proceedings.A minute’s silence was observed before play in memory of Warne and victims of the terror attacks in Peshawar as players from both teams wore black armbands.The weary tourists, in their first overseas Test tour since 2019, face the daunting prospect of having to summon a rousing batting effort to stay afloat in the series opener. They will hope the pitch doesn’t start to wear after sole specialist spinner Nathan Lyon was unable to conjure rampant turn on day two that he produced early on day one. But Marnus Labuschagne found a bit of spin late on to whet the appetite of Pakistan’s spin heavy attack.It was a disciplined batting effort from Pakistan led by centurions Azhar and opener Imam-ul-Haq who combined for a second-wicket partnership of 208. Thwarting menacing short-pitched bowling from Pat Cummins, who was unsurprisingly the pick of Australia’s bowlers and the only quick to take a wicket, they stonewalled during a sedate first session yielding just 57 runs in 25 overs.After unwavering patience, as he crawled towards his 19th Test ton after lunch, Azhar went for broke on 97 and skipped down the pitch only to miscue Lyon over the leg side but safely into the boundary to trigger jubilation in the terraces, which filled towards capacity later in the day after only a smattering of spectators early, some of whom were holding placards honouring Warne.Pat Cummins was the only quick bowler to take a wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Cummins was rewarded for his persistence when he had the indefatigable Imam trapped lbw to end his brilliant maiden Test century of 157 from 358 balls. In a breakout performance, after a modest previous 11 Test output over four years, Imam reviewed in vain and trudged off but his superb knock provided Pakistan with the perfect platform to switch gears.Pakistan’s bid to accelerate suffered a setback after tea when skipper Babar Azam, who had shared a brisk 101-partnership with Azhar, was spectacularly run out by a direct throw from a pumped-up Labuschagne, who sought to lift Australia’s sagging spirit.Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhkar Ahmed were promoted up the order in a clear sign of Pakistan’s intentions after it had seemed the hosts were intent on extending Australia’s misery in the field into a third day.After eye-catching captaincy on the opening day, where he deployed eight bowlers and tapped deep into his bag of tactics, Cummins mostly stuck with his frontline bowlers although occasionally unveiled inventive fielding placings, including two fielders either side of square leg and a short mid-on to combat Azhar late in the first session.He finally turned to Labuschagne, who bowled four overs on day one, and his nice spell after tea was rewarded with the wicket of Azhar. His handy bowling further shone the spotlight on Cummins’ baffling decision to use the docile offspin of Travis Head early on day one, which sparked a slow-starting Imam into action.With the quicks being rebuffed by Pakistan’s stout batters, there was a heavy burden on Lyon who finished with 1 for 161 off 52 overs.After enduring criticism during the Ashes, wicketkeeper Alex Carey’s struggles behind the stumps continued throughout the innings marred by two dropped catches, including reprieving Rizwan on naught off Lyon in the final session.A flagging Australia will have to shrug off their tough start to the tour, their first in Pakistan in almost 24 years and with no warm-up matches, otherwise they are staring down the barrel of falling behind in the three-match series.

Foreign nationals ejected from domestic T20 for “using their mobiles in a suspicious manner”

Madushka Balasuriya27-Aug-2018A group of foreign nationals were ejected from an ongoing SLC T20 League fixture, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed, after “suspicious individuals” were reported to the board’s Anti-Corruption Unit. Though no approaches are believed to have been made to players, SLC has since taken steps to tighten anti-corruption measures at match venues and team hotels.”Sri Lanka Cricket has also notified the team managers and the players taking part in the tournament to inform SLC, immediately, of any approach by those suspicious individuals,” a SLC release said. “In the meantime, the Anti-Corruption Unit of the SLC has already taken steps to refresh the players on the Anti-Corruption Code of Sri Lanka Cricket.”While SLC was unable to confirm the exact numbers or nationalities of the individuals in question, it is understood that they were from the subcontinent. The suspicious use of mobile phones is what is believed to have led the tournament director flagging the individuals to SLC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, who then asked police to eject those under suspicion.”There were a few – we think Indian nationals – at the ground, who had been using their mobiles in a suspicious manner. Immediately we brought them to the notice of the police, who proceeded to eject them from the stadium,” SLC CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo.While it is unclear what exactly constitutes using mobiles “in a suspicious manner”, it is understood that officials have been told to keep a look out for excessive use of mobiles, while de Silva noted that officials are particularly vigilant in the case of foreign nationals.”When there are foreign – South Asian – spectators at the matches you’re always a bit more suspicious,” he explained. “And during domestic matches, when matches are not being broadcast terrestrially, we’re especially cautious. We don’t know for sure if they were match-fixers, we were only suspicious and we didn’t want to take any chances.”While these games are not being broadcast terrestrially, they are on local cable and are being streamed on YouTube, which means they are accessible to a global audience. That global availability would make the tournament more attractive to bookies.Also, de Silva said the number of spectators at the ground for the game during which people were ejected stood around 600. Given the number is usually significantly smaller at domestic games in Sri Lanka, this too could have piqued the interest – and subsequently the suspicion – of officials.The SLC T20 League features four teams representing Galle, Colombo, Dambulla and Kandy, and is set to conclude on September 9 in Colombo.

Steven Smith insisted there were no excuses for his side’s unsuccessful campaign

Melinda Farrell at Edgbaston10-Jun-2017It was a disappointing finish to a frustrating tournament for Australia but, after a 40-run loss to England in yet another rain-interrupted match, Steven Smith insisted there were no excuses for his side’s unsuccessful campaign.After washouts against New Zealand and Bangladesh, Australia’s destiny was in their own hands in their final group match with a win ensuring they would progress to the semi-finals and, while late rain curtailed the match, by then England had comprehensively outplayed an Australian side which collapsed in the final overs with the bat and then wilted in the glare of a Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan onslaught.Australia failed to capitalise on a decent start in which they added 136 runs for the loss of just one wicket but Smith and Aaron Finch were unable to convert half-centuries into big scores and Travis Head, who made a doughty 71, was left stranded as the middle- and lower-order crumbled around him.”I thought we let ourselves down a little bit today,” said Smith. “We got ourselves in a pretty good position early with the bat, probably 2 for 150, or wherever we were there.”We kept losing wickets through the middle, and someone in the top four probably needed to go on and make a hundred. We weren’t able to do that.”We lost 5 for 15 at one point as well, which you can’t afford to do against an opposition like England.””I thought we started reasonably well with the ball. To get three early wickets was quite crucial, and then it seemed like there was a bit of a momentum shift after that rain delay.”You know, Stokesy and Morgy came out and played very positively. We were off a bit with the way we were bowling. We gave them a lot of freebies, but they did play exceptionally well.”Australia’s bowlers weren’t helped by lapses in the field, most notably when Morgan, on 12, was dropped by Matthew Wade after miscuing a pull off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood. It was a pivotal point in the innings – Morgan went on to make 73 and his 159-run partnership with Stokes broke the back of England’s successful chase.”It certainly hurt,” said Smith. “After that, Morgy got going and played particularly well. So could have had them 4 for 30-odd or wherever we were there, and Jos [Buttler] in with a reasonably new ball, which he’s probably not used to that much. So, yeah, it probably hurt a little bit.”Australia’s batsmen, in particular, were deprived of match time thanks to the previous two washouts but Smith insisted their preparation should have been sufficient.”You say that we only had one hit, but that should be good enough for the players that we’ve got on our team,” Smith said. “You know, we’ve got some good players in our line-up. We just weren’t able to get those partnerships together today and get ourselves a score up over 300.”Australia’s campaign has been carried out under a cloud of off-field uncertainty, with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and Cricket Australia at loggerheads over a new Memorandum of Understanding. The current MoU runs out at the end of June and there is a danger that, if a new deal isn’t struck, the players will, effectively, be unemployed. But Smith remains confident that Australia’s tour of Bangladesh will go ahead as scheduled in September and refused to use the ongoing dispute as an excuse for Australia’s early exit from the tournament.”When you’re playing in a big tournament for your country, you need to step up and get the job done,” said Smith. “We weren’t able to do that on this occasion, unfortunately.”We had some frustrating games throughout and just haven’t been able to find any momentum, I guess. And today, yeah, it was disappointing.”

The former Pakistan captain said the hectic schedule of the tournament had led to the quality of pitches being substandard

Umar Farooq15-Oct-2017The 2017-18 Quaid-e-Azam trophy had attracted attention for its hectic schedule, with each team having to play seven four-day games in just 41 days. On Sunday, it attracted its most prominent critic, with former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq bemoaning the quality of the pitch, claiming the heavy schedule meant it was difficult to prepare good pitches.On the first day of the fourth round of QeA fixtures, 93 wickets fell across eight games, with the LCCA ground in Lahore alone seeing 17 wickets tumble. In the previous round, a game between WAPDA and Islamabad saw 24 wickets fall on the opening day.Some attributed the bowler-friendly nature of the games to the Duke ball – introduced to the Pakistan domestic circuit for the first time – but Misbah – who continues to play domestic cricket despite retiring from international cricket in May – laid the blame on the pitches being overused. “I have been playing with these players [on the domestic circuit] all my career, and I feel good. But there is some disappointment as well after watching the state of pitches in domestic cricket,” Misbah said. “This is supposed to be the most prestigious form of cricket after international cricket, but the standard of the tournament is very low.”I always have been insisting that these concerns need to be heeded and these problems addressed. You cannot produce better cricketers until you don’t improve the standard of the pitches. We take a lot of time to get here, players invest a lot of time to play but this isn’t the standard that should be in place. When 20-24 wickets are falling in a day, then it is a concern. Wickets are uneven, the ball keeps low and it is obvious that the pitches are underprepared It’s difficult for players.”Fifteen venues have been chosen to host the 69 matches. Just 86 days have been set aside for the entire tournament, with the final to be played from December 16. The group stage has been especially compressed, with each team afforded only 13 rest days if their games last all four days. That is a reduction on an already packed schedule: teams were given 18 and 15 days off in the group stages in the last two seasons. A National T20 Cup has been squeezed within this tournament, with a three-week window allocated after the group stage of the QeA, which ends on November 5, and the next stage – the Super Eight – starting from November 25.There have been several rounds of talks over the last decade regarding the improvement of Pakistan’s domestic cricket, with the circuit revamped every other year. But the players have often complained about the quality of pitches, the standard of the tournament and the uncertain schedule.The PCB has also struggled to find a permanent resolution to the quality of the cricket ball being used in domestic cricket. This year, they got the manufacturers that produce the Duke balls to prepare a custom-made ball to withstand the extreme heat in Pakistan. This is the third time the PCB has changed the maker of the ball over the last five years, with the Grace and the Kookaburra also used.With all the back-to-back games at venues, the pitches will inevitably take inevitable strain, and Misbah said domestic cricket needed to be taken seriously, instead of simply playing it as a compulsion. “It will happen when you play back-to-back games with only a two-day gap, and it will be difficult to maintain a pitch. It takes time to prepare a good pitch for a game and nobody can make it in two days. Organising the first-class tournament only for the sake of obligation shouldn’t be the purpose; it should be played at a high standard. It should prepare us for Test match pitches.”

Pakistan Under-19s were once again tormented by offspinner Mujeeb Zadran, who took 5 for 13 in the final to bowl them out for a mere 63

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2017
ScorecardACC

Ikram Faizi’s unbeaten 107 and a five-for from offspinner Mujeeb Zadran clinched the maiden Asia Cup title for Afghanistan Under-19s, with a 185-run win over Pakistan Under-19s in the final in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.Mujeeb came into the final having taken six wickets against Nepal Under-19s in the semi-final and a six-for against Pakistan in the side’s first match of the tournament. His domination over the opponents continued – having dismissed Pakistan’s openers by the fourth over, Mujeeb returned in his second spell to pick up three lower-order wickets without conceding a run. His 5 for 13 took his overall wicket tally in the tournament to 20. Mujeeb was well-supported by legspinner Qais Ahmad, whose three wickets included Mohammad Taha – the leading run-getter in the tournament – and wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir. Taha and captain Hasan Khan were the only two Pakistan batsmen to score in double-figures in an innings that lasted 22.1 overs.Earlier, having been put in to bat, Afghanistan’s top three did the bulk of the scoring. The openers, Rahman Gul (40 off 53 balls) and Ibrahim Zadran (36 off 76), began with a 61-run opening partnership before Faizi took charge of the innings, smashing 10 fours and two sixes en route to his 113-ball 107. He anchored two fifty-plus stands with Darwish Rasooli (18) and Qais (14) for the third and sixth wickets respectively, negating much of the impact of the strikes from Muhammad Musa and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took five wickets between them. Having hit only 14 off his first 50 balls, Faizi accelerated quickly – he brought up his century with a six in the penultimate over, while smashing 18 runs in a 26-run over bowled by Munir Riaz.

Several senior players including Angelo Mathews will return into the Sri Lankan fold in coach Mickey Arthur’s final Test series

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Nov-2021

Big picture

Chris Gayle made a triple-hundred in Galle, Brian Lara hit 351 runs in one match in Colombo, and 688 in that three-match series, but this has to be one of cricket’s more surprising facts: West Indies have never won a Test in Sri Lanka. Partly this is down to their not having played on the island in their roaring 1980s – Sri Lanka too weak to attract them then perhaps, and too volatile geopolitically to have had a consistent touring schedule anyway. But still, since 1993, these teams have met eleven times in Sri Lanka; they have drawn just four of those games – three on a severely rain-affected tour in late 2010.Related

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On paper, this doesn’t seem like the West Indies team to improve that record, but it is clear this is an improving team. Their batting, for one, looks better than it did in 2016, when they last toured Sri Lanka. On their most-recent trip to South Asia, West Indies had pulled off a chase for the ages, debutant Kyle Mayers hitting 210 not out as West Indies hunted down 385 in Chattogram. They won the second Test, in Dhaka, too. In the next series, against Sri Lanka, in the Caribbean, they established substantial first-innings leads in both matches, even if they would eventually peter out to draws.Sri Lanka aren’t quite ripe for the plucking; Tests are still probably their safest format. But there is a little instability around this outfit that could hypothetically make them vulnerable. This series sees the return of several senior players – including Angelo Mathews – who had felt slighted during the months-long contracts standoff the players were involved in, with the board. This is also Mickey Arthur’s final Test series as coach, and the likes of batting coach Grant Flower, and bowling coach Chaminda Vaas, aren’t guaranteed their positions into next year either.As both matches are due to be played in Galle, spin is likeliest to decide the series. How will these flawed teams use it? How will they play it? On that front, Sri Lanka would seem to have a significant edge, particularly after West Indies’ tour match in Colombo was rained out.

Big picture

(completed matches, most recent first)West Indies LWLLD
Sri Lanka WDDDL

In the spotlight

Kyle Mayers may have created more buzz this year, but West Indies’ most consistent batter, by a slim margin, has been their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite. In 2021, he has hit 556 runs at 34.75, and given most of his 16 innings have come against the brand new Dukes ball, these are laudable numbers. But does he struggle against spin bowling, on turning tracks? He had one outstanding tour of the UAE in 2016, but even with his 328 from that series, his numbers in Asia (average of 28.87), lags behind his career stats. If he can spend substantial time at the crease (in his trademark shades-and-helmet), West Indies will likely make a bigger impact than they did in 2016, when they lost 2-0.66, 118, 244, 75 – so read Dimuth Karunaratne‘s last four Test knocks. The problem is, the most recent of these came way back in May, so it’s not as if you can say he comes into the series in form. Rarely does a home Test series pass by without a serious contribution from him, however, and he is especially good at Galle, where he has produced exceptional innings on tough pitches. West Indies’ bowlers will be desperate to neutralise him early.Dimuth Karunaratne has been Sri Lanka’s most consistent batter in recent Tests•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

The surface is likely to be spin-friendly, but with the amount of rain that’s been around in all parts of the country, the pitch is unlikely to start out very dry. Given the northeast monsoon is still in operation, expect frequent rain interruptions, particularly in the afternoons.

Team news

Sri Lanka had thought about giving Charith Asalanka a debut, but it appears that they will go in with a bowling-heavy side instead, fielding two legspinners – Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama, in addition to offspin-bowling allrounder Ramesh Mendis (Dhananjaya de Silva is also there to contribute with his offbreaks).Dinesh Chandimal is likely to keep wickets, with Niroshan Dickwella suspended for a year over breaking Covid protocols in England.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt.), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Oshada Fernando, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Ramesh Mendis, 8 Suranga Lakmal, 9 Lasith Embuldeniya, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Praveen Jayawickrama.Jeremy Solozano, the Trinidad opening batter, could also be in line for a debut, as Brathwaite’s opening partner. With Roston Chase capable of delivering half-decent offspin, West Indies will also have to decide which of their other spin options – offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall, or left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican – plays. They could field them both, but that would mean their only serious seam options are Kemar Roach and Jason Holder.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt.), 2 Jeremy Solozano, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Kyle Mayers, 7 Rahkeem Cornwall, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Joshua da Silva (wk), 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jomel Warrican/Jayden Seales

Stats and rivia

• This is West Indies’ second World Test Championship series in the new cycle. They had won one Test and lost one against Pakistan in August, giving them 12 points. For Sri Lanka, this is their first series in the new cycle.
  
• Kraigg Brathwaite averages 25.75 in four innings in Sri Lanka – his third worst average in host countries, after India (where he averages 19.91), and Bangladesh (21.16).
  
• Dimuth Karunaratne averages 51.36 in Galle, and averages 47.52 as captain. His career average is 38.62.
  
• Across conditions, West Indies have won just one of the seven most-recent Tests between these sides. Sri Lanka have won three of them.

In ESPNCricinfo’s poll on India’s 13-Test-long home season, the readers agreed with an expert panel on five of seven questions

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2017Ravindra Jadeja has been voted the best player of India’s home season by both ESPNCricinfo’s readers and an expert panel consisting of ESPNCricinfo staff and three former India Test cricketers, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Agarkar and Aakash Chopra. Jadeja, who averaged 22.83 with the ball and 42.76 with the bat over the 13 Tests India played at home between September and March, got 65% of the 20,500-plus votes cast by readers. He fared similarly in the vote by the panel, with six out of 10 members voting for him. Cheteshwar Pujara, who got 12% of the readers’ vote, had two votes from the panel, while R Ashwin and Virat Kohli got one each.Umesh Yadav was the readers’ support act of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The panel’s decision was consistent with the readers’ on five of the seven questions asked in the poll. Both chose Umesh Yadav as the best support act of the season, England’s Haseeb Hameed as debutant of the season, the second Test in the India-Australia series, in Bengaluru, as the Test of the season and Steven Smith as the visiting player of the season. Smith’s selection was emphatic – all ten of the panel members voted for him, and 92% of 17,900-plus readers who voted on the question agreed. Wriddhiman Saha and KL Rahul pushed Umesh for the title of best support act, getting 29% and 31% of the readers’ vote respectively, while Umesh got 37% (7000-plus votes). The ESPNCricinfo panel decision was not as close, with Umesh getting seven out of ten votes.Sanjay Manjrekar selected Virat Kohli as his player of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Hameed edged out Kuldeep Yadav in the best debutant category in the reader vote, but it was Jayant Yadav who was closest competition in the panel’s vote, getting three votes to Hameed’s five. The Bengaluru Test and the final one of the season, in Dharamsala, were separated by less than 1000 votes in the readers’ poll, but Bengaluru won easily among our panel, with seven members picking it. Two picked Dharamsala and one went for the Test against New Zealand in Kolkata.Ajit Agarkar thought Umesh Yadav’s 3 for 29 in Dharamsala was the bowling performance of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The two categories the readers and panel disagreed on were innings of the season and bowling performance of the season. The readers selected Pujara’s marathon 202 against Australia in Ranchi as the best innings, with Pujara’s 92 in the second innings in Bengaluru coming a close second. For our panel, though, Steven Smith’s 109 on a turning pitch in Pune was the best knock. Pujara’s 92 got two votes, while Virat Kohli’s innings of 235 in Mumbai and 81 in Visakhapatnam, both against England, got a vote each.Virat Kohli’s double-century in Mumbai was the innings of the season for Aakash Chopra•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Another Australia player won the panel’s vote for best bowling of the season – Nathan Lyon, for his 8 for 50 in the first innings in Bengaluru. Lyon’s performance got just 13% of the 19,500-plus votes in the reader poll. That was won by Jadeja’s 7 for 48 against England in Chennai.