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India had plenty of positives to take from their warm-up game; Bangladesh not so much

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Jun-2024Having endured a difficult IPL season on multiple fronts, Hardik Pandya served up a reminder of his elite all-round skills as India warmed up for the T20 World Cup with a 60-run win over Bangladesh in New York.Hardik scored an unbeaten 23-ball 40 and took 1 for 10 off his first two overs before conceding 20 in his third. But it was heartening for India to have their main allrounder influence the game as he did, in conditions – the pitch was two-paced and the outfield slow – that helped his bowling but not necessarily his batting. The other headline acts came from Rishabh Pant, who retired out after scoring a breezy 32-ball 53, and Arshdeep Singh, who took two wickets in a spell of incisive new-ball swing.

No Kohli, no Jaiswal either

Virat Kohli only landed in New York on the eve of this match, so it was expected that he wouldn’t play the warm-up fixture. It wasn’t expected, though, that Yashasvi Jaiswal – the other candidate to open alongside Rohit Sharma – didn’t play any part either. India opened, instead, with Rohit and Sanju Samson.It could have been an audition for first-choice wicketkeeper. On the day, Samson scored 1 off 6, and was lbw in the second over to a Shoriful Islam in-ducker. There seemed to be a chance that this ball may have gone on to miss leg stump, but DRS was not in use so Samson had to go.

Pant fires at No. 3

Pant replaced Samson, and proceeded to play the most fluent innings of the day. India were 33 for 1 in five overs when he began their acceleration with three sixes off Shakib Al Hasan in the sixth. He hit four fours and four sixes in all, and targeted the area behind the wicket with aplomb, using the reverse-sweep and his trademark no-look scoop over short fine leg to telling effect.Pant kept wicket too, rather than Samson, and by the end of the day it seemed fairly certain that he would take the big gloves on Wednesday, when India begin their tournament proper against Ireland.Arshdeep Singh took two wickets with the new ball•ICC via Getty Images

Allrounder watch

Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik were the other major contributors to India’s total of 182 for 5, scoring a combined 71 off 41, while Shivam Dube, who batted between them at No. 5, struggled with the conditions. Dube swung at the spinners repeatedly, but only made one true connection, a massive six over wide long-off, while scoring 14 off 16.Then, having only bowled just the one over in 14 games during the IPL, he proceeded to bowl three here and pick up two wickets, though Bangladesh were already 42 for 5 when he came on.Ravindra Jadeja batted at No. 7, but Axar Patel, India’s other left-arm fingerspinner, bowled before him and picked up a wicket. It remains to be seen which of the two feature in India’s first XI, or if they go with both and leave out the wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.India play three of their four group-stage games in New York, and if conditions remain broadly similar, they may be able to get quite a bit of bowling out of their four allrounders – Hardik, Jadeja, Axar and Dube.

Arshdeep vs Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah is the first name on the bowling end of India’s team sheet, but who partners him with the new ball? On this day, Arshdeep made a serious case for himself, swinging the new ball prodigiously and getting Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das out in Test-match manner.Mohammed Siraj was excellent too, getting the ball to behave awkwardly from a hard length, and dismissing Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto with one such delivery that cramped him for room. On the evidence of their displays here, India will have a hard task picking just one of these two, assuming they go with two frontline quicks and Hardik as the third seamer.

Problems for Bangladesh

For Bangladesh, who came into this match on the back of a shock series defeat to USA, the result reinforced major worries going into the World Cup, chiefly their long-standing lack of power-hitting. India hit ten sixes in their 20 overs, and Bangladesh just one. Of the four batters who faced at least 10 balls in their chase of 183, only one – Mahmudullah, who top-scored with a 28-ball 40 – went at above a run a ball.Mahmudullah also bowled two tidy overs and dismissed Rohit, and took the catch of the day to send back Dube, sprinting to his right from long-on and juggling the ball expertly while stepping out of and then back into the field of play. All in all, it was a good day for the 38-year-old.Bangladesh suffered an injury scare when left-arm quick Shoriful left the field five balls into India’s final over when he attempted to stop a straight hit from Hardik and took a painful hit to his left hand. The extent of his injury wasn’t clear by the time the game ended.The margin of India’s victory, however, may have been inflated by the resources available to the two teams. India’s quicks did the bulk of their early damage, picking up four wickets between them to reduce Bangladesh to 41 for 5. Bangladesh, however, only bowled five overs of genuine pace – and one of gentle medium-pace from Soumya Sarkar. This was because they rested both Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, both of whom could have caused India problems on this pitch.

Being overlooked for central contract left retiring bowler feeling like “a third wheel” on tournament eve

Matt Roller11-Nov-20233:29

Harmison: England squad for WI will have fresh faces

David Willey signed off from his international career by taking his 100th ODI wicket in England’s win over Pakistan in Kolkata – then revealed he had considered pulling out of the World Cup as late as the day that the team flew to India at the end of September.Willey announced before England’s defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad last week that he would quit international cricket after this tournament at the age of 33. He was told in September that he had not been offered a central contract for 2023-24, then learned that he was the only member of the World Cup squad without an offer.He was incensed, and soon decided that he was no longer interested in feeling like “a third wheel” as a fringe player. He said that constant uncertainty over his schedule had taken its toll on him, his wife and their two children, and has therefore opted to “take control”.Related

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Willey started the World Cup running the drinks for England but replaced Sam Curran for their fourth match, a 229-run loss to South Africa in Mumbai, and has played every game since. He finished the tournament with 11 wickets at 23.54, second only to Adil Rashid in England’s squad, and signed off with 3 for 56 in his 10 overs.”It was mixed emotions,” Willey said. “My time is done… but it’s with deep regret. Anybody looking in has probably looked at the way I’ve gone about my business and [seen that I am] probably playing the best cricket of my career. I’m 33, as fit as I’ve ever been.”One of the reasons that I wasn’t offered a contract was them going in a different direction after the World Cup – I don’t know why [they are]. It’s been a period for some time now… not knowing quite where I stand with England and it’s just taken its toll, and becomes very tiring.”David Willey was Player of the Match in his international swansong•AFP/Getty Images

Willey believes he would have been able to play a valuable role for England at the T20 World Cup next June, had he been offered a contract. “[If there is] an injury or two, they’re going to be calling on someone with very little to no experience in World Cups,” he said.”Never say never, but right now, I’m very confident [in] my decision that today was my last game of cricket for England. Do I want to go to the Caribbean and run drinks, and not know where I stand, and just feel like a third wheel again – which is very much what I felt like when I turned up at Lord’s, being the only one without a contract? Probably not, so I’m done.”Willey said he had doubts over whether he should travel to India after learning that he was the only squad member without a central contract: “I wasn’t sure whether I was going to come to the World Cup, even to the 11th hour. The morning that we were joining up at Lord’s, I still wasn’t sure whether I’d make the trip or not.”He added: “From then on, it [retirement] was something that was on my mind. It’s not just that I haven’t been offered a contract; it’s how I feel valued as an England player, when I look down that list of other guys that have got contracts… I came to the decision that the time was right for me to call it a day.”Willey removed both Pakistan openers – Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman – in his new-ball spell on Saturday, then returned to have Agha Salman caught at mid-on to become the 15th Englishman to reach 100 ODI wickets. He also became the second England men’s player after Alastair Cook to win the Player of the Match award in his final international appearance.”On the phone to my wife this morning, she said, ‘Go on – just get to 100 wickets. It’d be a nice way to finish,'” he said. “To do that was a nice way for me personally [to sign off].”He said he wanted to leave international cricket on his own terms, and hoped that he had proved Rob Key – who, as managing director, was ultimately responsible for central contract offers – wrong. “Keysy said to me, ‘I hope you can prove me wrong.’ Maybe I’ve done it over the last few games,” Willey said.”The timing [of his retirement announcement], people may have looked at it and frowned upon my timing there. But for me personally, there’s not many opportunities you get to walk away from [international] cricket on your terms, and I wanted to really enjoy my last three games of cricket [for England] and play without looking over my shoulder, thinking, ‘One bad performance and I’m out of the side.'”Willey will continue to play domestic and franchise cricket. He captains Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast and has a contract with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for the ILT20 in January-February. He is also likely to be retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and by Welsh Fire in the Hundred.

Peshwar Zalmi lose a second straight game after posting 240 or more on the board

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2023Rilee Rossouw brought jaws – and PSL records – down with an unbridled display of power-hitting, turning a chase of 243 into a cakewalk. Along the way, he made the joint-fastest fifty of the tournament, converted it into its fastest ever hundred – going past himself – and pushed the Multan Sultans into the PSL playoffs.Peshawar Zalmi – still not sure of their place in those playoffs – have now lost two straight matches despite posting 240 and more on the board. They were ambushed by Jason Roy a few nights ago and now it was Rossouw’s turn as the South African powerhouse clattered eight sixes and 12 fours to mastermind the second-highest chase in all of T20 history, with five balls to spare.The longest Rossouw went between boundaries in his innings was six balls. His first five scoring shots were all fours or sixes. And he kept going. By 17 deliveries faced, he had a fifty to his name. He only ran two of those runs. T-w-o. That detour into English county cricket via Kolpak had taken one of the biggest and brightest stars in South Africa away from the spotlight. But he’s back now and he’s got numbers that are scarcely believable. Over 297 T20s, he’s maintained an average over 30 and a strike rate over 140. Some of the other people who’ve managed to do that are Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, David Warner and AB de Villiers.Rossouw had a strong support cast helping him. Pollard chipped in with 52 off just 24 balls. Their third-wicket partnership – 99 off 43 balls – formed the bedrock of this chase. A little while earlier, when Sultans were bowling, 21-year old seamer Abbas Afridi, picked up 4 for 39. Three of those wickets came in the space of nine deliveries where he gave away only eight runs. In a game where where they were scored at the rate of two a ball, that was noteworthy.So too were Babar Azam (73 off 39) and Saim Ayub’s (58 off 33) fifties. Zalmi’s two openers were incredibly fluent at the start of the game, setting up such a strong platform that they could keep hitting despite the speed bumps that Afridi’s spell had put in front of them. At the halfway point, they would’ve felt fairly pleased with their work. The rest is now history.

Success in familiar conditions is all very well, but World Test Championship hopes may rest on spin attack

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Durban14-Feb-2019South Africa are ranked No. 2 in Tests, have the most fearsome phalanx of quicks on the planet, a serviceable top order, and are, in general, an outstanding fielding side. Despite a regular loss of wickets late on day two at Kingsmead, they have imposed themselves on Sri Lanka, and have achieved a strong position in the match.This is roughly how this Test was supposed to go, so no real surprises, right? Except maybe a minor one. South Africa’s dominance has been achieved without significant bowling intervention from left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. On his home ground – the most spin-friendly Test venue in the country – Maharaj’s bowling has largely been irrelevant in the first innings. Compare this to the last time Kingsmead hosted a game. Maharaj bowled 33.4 first-innings overs, and took 5 for 123.It’s no big deal in the context of South Africa’s home summer, because it was performing quicks that have kept Maharaj out of the Test XI for two matches against Pakistan, and performing quicks who trussed Sri Lanka up for 191 between them and effectively made Maharaj surplus to requirements.But that is only in the context of the home summer, in which South Africa have been desperate to remind everyone just how good they are, following that 2-0 away thrashing in Sri Lanka.There is, perhaps, also an unsaid undertone of retribution in this particular series. “Yah, you can beat us in your dustbowls, but check us back in our own patch. We’ll show you what we’re really all about over there.” In fact, while South Africa had been in Sri Lanka last year, Faf du Plessis had spoken of reciprocating Sri Lanka’s “streetsmart” tactics, when South Asian teams next toured them.So instead of a regular Kingsmead surface – the kind on which Maharaj might have been needed for more than three overs in the first innings – what South Africa had requested was pace, bounce, and if possible, movement. What they got was a surface on which even Sri Lanka’s vastly under-strength seam attack could dismiss them for 235. A track on which 19 wickets have fallen to fast bowling on the first two days, with reverse swing never having to come into the reckoning.This, into an important year for South Africa, on the Test front. They have a three-Test series in India coming up in October, where Maharaj will clearly be required. Have South Africa done enough to develop their promising young spinner, given they have requested uniformly fast-and-bouncy tracks over the last few months? Probably not.That India series will also be South Africa’s first taste of the World Test Championship – a four-year league that rewards away victories. Though it may be a surprise to some, Maharaj has actually been South Africa’s best bowler away from home since 2016 (against the top nine teams), sporting an average of 26.3. It is not just in Asia that he stands to be a force – the more he plays, the better chance there is he will trouble batsmen in England and Australia as well.If there was a need for a cautionary tale – a reminder that of the danger that lays in ordering uniform tracks – South Africa need only look at their present opposition. Sri Lanka have largely refused to field more than one frontline seam bowler at home since roughly mid-2016, because they believed rank turners to be their surest route to victory. That strategy has not been altogether unfruitful. In 2016 they whitewashed Australia – a team they almost never beat – and then last year, they of course pummelled South Africa as well.But look at them now. They are in the middle of a sequence of terrible away series, having lost three of four Tests on the road. Overall their team is in more disarray than ever. Made-to-order pitches are great for short-term results, but it has also prevented Sri Lanka from developing the promising young quicks in their own ranks. Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara had starred in a Test win in Barbados in June last year, then didn’t play a Test again until December, when the next away tour came around. Unsurprisingly, they were both rusty in those New Zealand Tests, and had added no new skills to their bowling during the layoff.If this sounds like nitpicking, that is because it probably is. South Africa are an excellent team. They will almost certainly be among the contenders for that World Test Championship crown. But they are, presently, in the grip of some serious pace worship – a philosophy that is not without its rewards. But in the long term, giving their spinner as much Test exposure as possible, may prove more rewarding.

Officials in both boards have confirmed informal discussions about the tour, which will likely continue during the historic Test between the two countries later this week

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2018Ireland are open to the prospect of touring Pakistan according to Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive. Ahead of the historic Test between the two countries inDublin on Friday, this news will come as a welcome boost to the PCB, though Pakistan’s home schedule this season means any tour may struggle to happen anytime soon.”We’ve seen West Indies’ recent tour which went well,” Deutrom told Pakistan’s . “We’ve also seen that some PSL matches were held in Lahore and Karachi and went off well. Before taking any decision we will definitely discuss the situation with ICC security and take input from Pakistan itself, but I can see that in the near future, a tour to Pakistan is possible.”How near in the future is open to question. Officials from both boards have suggested that very brief, informal and preliminary communications have been had on the subject, potentially leading to a formal invite from the PCB chairman Najam Sethi, who will be in Dublin for the game.But Sethi insisted that a busy year ahead meant there was simply no room for a tour. “There is no such item for discussion on my Dublin trip agenda,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “The fact is that Pakistan has no slot available outside our FTP for the next twelve months.”Pakistan’s home season this year includes an Asia Cup in the UAE, tours by Australia and New Zealand and then the PSL. In between they travel to South Africa.Nearly four years ago, Ireland were on the verge of touring Pakistan. Cricket Ireland were keen at the time for a series of three ODIs, but a terrorist attack on the Karachi airport scuppered those negotiations.Pakistan has since begun hosting a number of high-profile games, including internationals in both Lahore and Karachi. Since the beginning of 2017, two PSL finals have been staged in the country, as well as two T20I series against a World XI and West Indies, and a solitary T20I against Sri Lanka.The PCB has also extended an offer to New Zealand Cricket to play one of their T20Is later this year in Pakistan.Beyond security and the schedule, there could be another hitch if such a tour does materialise. There have been indications that Irish players may look for a deal similar to West Indies players when they toured Pakistan – where they were effectively offered the incentive of a separate fee on top of their regular match fees to tour.In 2015, the PCB paid Zimbabwe players extra to tour, and it was the PCB who paid players from the World XI for their series last year. But that is something the PCB is actively trying to move away from now, reasoning that the more high-profile cricket that is played in Pakistan, the more it should be seen as a safer venue not requiring them to pay extra money to lure teams in.

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford

ECB Reporters Network16-Aug-2017Jos Buttler guided the chase with an unbeaten fifty•Getty Images

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford, winning by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare.The lowly Rapids were stifled by spin as they posted only 127 for 8 on a pitch used for a Women’s Super League game earlier in the day. Lancashire’s quartet of spinners returned 4 for 66 from 13 overs combined, with in-form leggie Matt Parkinson the pick of them with 1 for 14 from four.Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone then shared a third-wicket stand of 76 in eleven overs. Livingstone hit 36 off 37 balls without a boundary, while Buttler finished unbeaten on 52 off 40 with four fours and two sixes. Offspinner Arron Lilley struck twice and later hit a brisk 31.The Lightning move up a place to sixth with their fifth win. They have 13 points from as many games and host Birmingham Bears on Friday. They must win and hope other results go their way to qualify.Parkinson’s economy rate was much-talked about even before this game having returned 4 for 23 in defeat to Yorkshire last Friday. Here, he bowled Daryl Mitchell with a big-spinning leg break in his latest miserly spell.Of all bowlers who have bowled more than three overs in this season’s Blast, the 20-year-old’s economy rate of 5.78 runs per over is the best. He has 13 wickets from eight appearances.Left-armer Stephen Parry opened the bowling and struck in the seventh over to get Mitchell Santner caught at deep midwicket. Pakistan overseas seamer Junaid Khan also claimed two-for.Only captain and opener Joe Leach, who fell to a brilliant one-handed diving catch by Buttler off Ryan McLaren, and Brett D’Oliveira made it into the twenties for the Rapids, with 24 off 17 balls and 30 off 33 respectively.Josh Tongue got rid of Jordan Clark courtesy of a fine tumbling catch at short fine-leg by debutant Patrick Brown four balls into the Lightning chase.Lilley then hit three fours in a row off Tongue at the start of the fifth over to take his side to 34 for 1 and ahead on Duckworth Lewis Stern with rain threatening the Manchester area. He had hit five fours by the time he was trapped lbw by legspinner D’Oliveira as the score fell to 47 for 2 in the seventh.Livingstone and Buttler took the score to 68 for 2 after 10, and when the latter hit Alex Hepburn’s medium-pacers for six over long-on to take the score to 90 for 2 in the 14th, it was the first boundary in almost eight overs. The half-century stand came up off 45 balls in the next over before, with net run-rate in mind, the last 30 runs came in double quick time for the loss of only Livingstone.

Hampshire, the FLt20 holders, are through to the quarter-finals. Surprisingly beaten at the Ageas Bowl by Kent last weekend, they managed to defeat a stronger side, Essex, after choosing to bat in the floodlit twilight

Ivo Tennant at the Ageas Bowl26-Jul-2013
ScorecardMichael Carberry continued his impressive run of scoring in the FLt20•Getty Images

Hampshire, the FLt20 holders, are through to the quarter-finals. Surprisingly beaten at the Ageas Bowl by Kent last weekend, they managed to defeat a stronger side, Essex, after choosing to bat in the floodlit twilight. Michael Carberry, overlooked by England for the time being, struck 54 off 41 balls.Essex again undermined their efforts by bowling their overs too slowly, suffering a six-run penalty just as Hampshire’s chase reached its critical stage. Although Sean Ervine was bowled by Reece Topley and Adam Wheater went next ball against his old county, caught behind attempting to strike the winning runs, only two were required off the last over. These were duly achieved with four balls remaining.Carberry does not need to resort to slogging. He can drive through and over mid-off, cut backward of point and collect runs off his legs as effectively as any opener in the limited-overs game. As he did here. Two sixes off Graham Napier during an opening stand of 60 with James Vince were followed by squirting the same bowler for four backward of point.Jimmy Adams, conceivably batting too high up the order in this form of the game, was held at long-on off Topley but Carberry promptly drove the same bowler for four past deep mid-off, the shot of the night, and then hit David Masters to the midwicket boundary to reach his half-century before James Foster sensibly brought Shaun Tait back. The upshot was a catch at the wicket.Neil McKenzie, by now at the other end, is too much of an old pro when it comes to keeping the asking rate within bounds – helped, it must be said, by a succession of wides bowled by Tait and Topley, who struggled with his line against left-handers. Ervine, who pulled the Australian fast bowler for four and Napier for six, provided the necessary impetus.Hampshire would just about have settled for restricting Essex to 182 for 5, given that Owais Shah was imperious in making 68 from 49 balls. It seemed not to matter to him that he batted on one leg and with a runner for the bulk of his innings, having been winded before he had found his stride. Dimitri Mascarenhas is retiring at the end of the season, and was granted a warm reception when he came on to bowl, yet was not treated kindly.Shah struck him for two sixes in one over, then a third flicked over square leg to reach his half century, off 34 balls and with five fours besides. A fourth followed off Danny Briggs before he drove Mascarenhas too uppishly to midwicket. There had been no obvious reason for Hampshire to put Essex in, but no one else in the upper order batted with any conviction.Carberry brought off a stunning one-handed catch on the cover boundary to account for Hamish Rutherford and Ravi Bopara was bowled aiming to sweep Liam Dawson. Only a couple of sixes belted by Ryan ten Doeschate off David Griffiths enabled Essex to reach a competitive total. It proved to be not sufficient.

Brian Langford, a former Somerset captain and one of the most respected players the county has ever produced, has died at the age of 76

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2013Brian Langford, a former Somerset captain and one of the most respected players the county has ever produced, has died at the age of 77. No-one has played more than his 504 first-class games for Somerset and only Jack White and Arthur Wellard have taken more than his 1,390 first-class wickets for the club.Langford was born in Birmingham, but he moved west to Bridgwater when he was just four and made his Somerset debut in 1953 as a 17-year-old off-spinner. Somerset were a weak side in those days and his debut Championship appearance – against Lancashire at Bath – saw his side succumb to an innings defeat in a single day.He fared far better in his next game, claiming 14 wickets to help Somerset to victory over Kent. Until James Harris, then with Glamorgan, beat the record in 2007, he was the youngest man to take a ten-wicket haul in the Championship. He claimed another 11 wickets in his next game, against Leicestershire, to underline his rich promise.Langford never quite pressed for England recognition, but over a 22-year career of great reliability, he went on to play a substantial part in improving the fortunes of the club. He captained between 1969 and 1971 and, as well as helping bring the likes of Brian Rose and Peter Denning into the side, saw Somerset develop into a top-ten team. He claimed 100 first-class wickets in a season on five occasions, with his best year coming in 1958 when he took 116 wickets including career-best figures of 9 for 26 against Lancashire at Weston super Mare.His most famous performance came in the first year of the Sunday League in 1969. Langford delivered his eight overs – the maximum allowed to an individual bowler in the competition at the time – without conceding a run, his figures of 8-8-0-0 setting a record for economical limited-overs bowling that can never be bettered.Upon retirement he remained involved with the Somerset committee and was the chairman of the club’s cricket committee in the tumultuous 1986 season, when Sir Ian Botham, Sir Viv Richards and Joel Garner all left the club in acrimonious circumstances.”Langy was a very fine off-spin bowler and, for a number of seasons, was the almost the county’s lone bowler,” former team-mate Peter Robinson, who often travelled with Langford to games, told Somerset CCC’s website. “At the time that he was in his prime there were a number of good offspinners on the county scene, but if he had played in another era he could well have played for England.””Brian’s contribution to Somerset County Cricket Club was enormous,” the club’s chief executive Guy Lavender said. “He was a remarkable player, an outstanding leader and a charming individual. He will be sorely missed by all of Somerset’s members and supporters and we would like to extend our sincere condolences to Brian’s wife Maureen and all of his family at this immensely sad time.”

Hosts flounder in pursuit of 164 to finish 88 short – the largest margin of victory in the history of The Hundred

ECB Media17-Aug-2025London Spirit 164 for 6 (Chathli 69, Harris 34, Arlott 3-25) beat Birmingham Phoenix 76 (Lamb 23, Gray 2-13, Dean 2-16) by 88 runsA cracking partnership of 47 from just 21 balls between Spirit’s breakout opener Kira Chathli and the megastar Grace Harris took the game away from Phoenix, who floundered badly in pursuit of 164, losing three wickets inside the first 33 balls to eventually finish 88 short – the largest margin of victory in the history of The Hundred.The result propels Spirit to joint-top of the table with a slightly superior run rate to Southern Brave, and leaves the Phoenix down and virtually out, on just four points from five matches.The hosts will be disappointed with their campaign. Just a single tournament half-century, to Emma Lamb, and little to show for the efforts of their Australian pair, the great Ellyse Perry and the national team’s new star opener, Georgia Voll.Both made single-figure scores here as Phoenix stuttered up top against some disciplined new-ball bowling from Spirit’s left-arm spinner Bex Tyson and the rejuvenated Issy Wong, who yet again burnished her credentials as one of the best young seamers in the English game.Reigning champions Spirit, under Charlie Dean, who bowled beautifully to pick up two wickets including that of England team-mate Amy Jones, are again building at just the right time.Chathli in particular has been a revelation. Her 35-ball 69, containing 13 fours, is her most impressive knock to date in the tournament, while Harris is the heartbeat of their middle order, a woman in the form of her life who’s now plundered 199 tournament runs this term at a ferocious strike rate of 180. Her knock today may have occupied just 15 balls, but she still planted four of them over the rope.They needed it too, after losing Georgia Redmayne and Cordelia Griffith in the powerplay and then Charli Knott soon after, the impressive Phoenix seamer Em Arlott picking up three more wickets to draw level, on 10, with Lauren Bell as the most prolific wicket-taker of the tournament so far.Chathli, named the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “In The Hundred that’s definitely my best performance to date. They bowled really well up top – as did our bowlers as well – but the key is to give yourself a few balls, and after that it got a little easier.”We just focus on what do really well as a team, which is to play positive cricket and there’s no doubt in my mind that every member of our team backs each other to deliver their skill.”

Both sides could potentially field three spin-options each, but for a result to be possible, rain has to stay away

Madushka Balasuriya17-Sep-20241:24

Phillips: ‘SL is a tough place to come and win’

Big picture: Shades of 2019 in 2024

A lot has happened since New Zealand last toured Sri Lanka. Back then, in 2019, the world was yet to be introduced to Covid-19, while the Lankans were only just recovering from Rangana Herath’s retirement. Fast forward to the present, the pandemic is firmly in the rearview while Herath is gearing up to for duty as New Zealand’s spin-bowling coach.That said, similarities also abound from that last tour. For one, like then, Sri Lanka enter buoyed by a historic result overseas – then it was a momentous series win in South Africa, and in 2024 it’s a consolatory Test win in England to cap off a hard-fought tour. The 2019 series was also held in a presidential election year, though that one was not nearly as imminent as the one set to interrupt the first Test with a rest day.Related

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This is also still, largely, that same New Zealand outfit – barring a few retirements, a few new faces and a bit more grey hair. It’s also one that might be a little undercooked in terms of where they might like to be in preparation for their run at this cycle of the World Test Championship.A washed-out Test against Afghanistan earlier this month means the last time New Zealand played a Test was in March, while they haven’t had a competitive fixture since the World Cup in June.They’re still nominally well-placed in the WTC standings in third place, with three wins and three losses, but two Tests in spin-friendly Galle – where they’ve never won – followed by three more in India reads a fairly tall task.As for Sri Lanka, they’ve had a fairly rollercoaster year. Good performances in the early part of the year against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were juxtaposed by a horror T20 World Cup showing, which was then followed by a quite excellent ODI series win against India at home. In England too, they were in danger of being embarrassed but a splendid display in the third Test ensured they would come into this home series with that winning bounce.That last win could still prove pivotal in their quest for an unlikely WTC final berth, with four of their next six Tests at home. The weather, however, might be following the visitors over from Greater Noida in India, with rain expected across the first Test.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WLLWW (last five Tests, most recent first)

New Zealand: DLLWWPrabath Jayasuriya has 53 wickets in 12 innings at Galle•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Jayasuriya and Ravindra

When it comes to Galle-related threats, there’s nowhere else to start than Prabath Jayasuriya. Of his eight home Tests, six have been at Galle, where he boasts a preposterous record of 53 wickets across 12 innings. In half of those innings, he’s grabbed at least five wickets, while only once has he picked up less than a three-for. Jayasuriya was sidelined for the tour of England, not even playing in the final Test, and he’ll be keen to seize the spotlight once more.Rachin Ravindra has already made his mark in white-ball cricket but his Test career is still fledgling. Even so, with a double-ton to his name and batting in that crucial number four position, he is undoubtedly an integral cog in New Zealand’s setup – for the present and the future – but where he might be of particular use is in the subcontinent. Five of his seven Tests have been played at home, and so he is relatively untested on Asian tracks, but his combination of left-arm orthodox spin and strong batting fundamentals means he has all the ingredients to translate that strong home form into away returns.

Team news: Who will be NZ’s second seamer?

Oshada Fernando is back in the Test squad for the first time in over the year, but Sri Lanka have opted not to change up a winning combination, at least in terms of the batting. Kusal Mendis will take the gloves but as a result, will not bat at no.3. This will see Dinesh Chandimal pushed up the order, while Mendis will move lower down the order to no.7. Spin will be front and centre, so Ramesh Mendis will offer support to Prabath Jayasuriya.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru KumaraMuch of New Zealand’s playing XI picks itself, with part-time spin options aplenty to support Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel. There are only question marks over the second seam option alongside Tim Southee.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Matt Henry/Ben Sears/Will O’Rourke, 11 Ajaz Patel.

Pitch and conditions: Rain on the horizon

There’s rain expected across all five days of the Test, including the rest day on day four. With the Galle surface usually deteriorating by days four and five, winning the toss and batting first is almost mandatory.

Stats and trivia

• Only on five occasions has the side winning the toss opted not to bat first in Galle, they’ve won on two of those.
• Lahiru Kumara is four wickets away from becoming the eighth Sri Lankan to 100 Test wickets.
• Henry Nicholls is 27 runs short of 3,000 Test runs.
• New Zealand have lost all four Tests they’ve played in Galle.
• Tim Southee’s 64 wickets is the highest by an active player against Sri Lanka, though only 19 of those have come away.

Quotes

“Chandimal took up the gloves and played in the middle order for the sake of the team, but he won’t be keeping in this Test, which means he will move up to number three. Whoever takes up the gloves will bat in the lower middle order.” – “Having just his experience and knowledge of conditions here in this part of the world, and particularly a ground that he had a lot of success on, has been great. Our guys have been working closely with him and it’s nice to have that knowledge floating around the changing room.” – New Zealand captain Tim Southee is grateful for Rangana Herath’s expertise as spin-bowling coach.