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The topic of Smith leading again came up when Aaron Finch was injured during the T20Is against India

Andrew McGlashan10-Dec-2020Steven Smith has indicated that the topic of him captaining Australia again came up when Aaron Finch was injured in the T20I series against India, but is not yet fully aware of the steps that would need to be taken for him to have the role again.When Finch was ruled out of the second T20I in Sydney, Matthew Wade stepped up to captain Australia for the first time, in the absence of vice-captain Pat Cummins, with coach Justin Langer saying there was “a process” that needed to be gone through before Smith could lead again following his loss of the captaincy after the ball-tampering scandal in 2018.The success Tim Paine has had with the Test side, and the indications he wants to take the team through to at least next year’s Ashes series, plus the improvements in Australia’s white-ball cricket under Finch mean there is no rush for the selectors and the Cricket Australia board to make a ruling.”There were discussions sort of taking place,” Smith said. “I think JL [Langer] answered the question when asked about me and captaincy and stuff. There’s obviously a process that needs to be done. For me I just said I’m happy to do whatever is best for the team and that’s the same going forward.”Right now Tim and Finchy are doing really good jobs in both the formats of the game. I’m comfortable where I’m at right now but as I’ve always said I’ll do what’s best for the team.”I think whenever there is a captain chosen, I think you go through a process where you go to the board and things like that, so I’m sure it won’t be too dissimilar. It’s probably more of a question for someone a bit higher up. That’s all that has been said to me and, yeah, we’ll let it rest for now.”One of the challenges Australia could face when replacements for Finch and Paine are eventually needed is the relative lack of captaincy experience among possible replacements other than Smith.Current vice-captain Cummins has not had any chance to captain at state level and would be unlikely to get it given the limited number of games he plays for New South Wales. Marnus Labuschagne, who has been touted as another option, also has yet to have any captaincy experience.Travis Head, who recently lost the joint vice-captaincy position, leads South Australia and captained Australia A in the recent tour match against the Indians. Alex Carey will lead the side in the second match at the SCG starting on Friday.

The pandemic has meant there’s no defending champion, with teams pruned from ten to six

Peter Della Penna07-Feb-2021After a four-month break since the end of the CPL, the first West Indies regional tournament of 2021 kicks off on Sunday when the Super50 Cup begins in Antigua. The lingering impact of Covid-19 means a stripped back version of the event. But in some ways, that means the competition may actually be more intense than in recent years. Here are five things to keep an eye on during the three-week tournament.Ten teams have been reduced to six Beginning with the 2013-14 tournament, it became customary for guest teams outside the Caribbean to be invited to participate. Over the next seven editions, numerous Associate sides were invited including Ireland, USA and Canada, as well as English County sides during the northern hemisphere winter such as Kent and Hampshire. The presence of developmental sides from around the Caribbean – Combined Campuses and Colleges, West Indies U-19 and West Indies Emerging – had also formed part of the draws in recent years.

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But the difficulty of border crossing restrictions for overseas guests during the pandemic nixed any possibility of USA or Canada returning this year. Budgetary constraints also contributed to the disappearance of any CCC side for the first time since 2007. As a result, instead of the teams split into two groups playing a double round-robin format, this year’s event will be a single round-robin league stage before a pair of semi-finals and the final.A different champion will be crownedLast year’s winners were the West Indies Emerging Team, a group comprised mainly of current and recent West Indies U-19 players who hadn’t yet forced their way into their regional senior representative sides. The leading scorer in that champion unit was Joshua Da Silva, whose 310 runs helped spur them to an initial shock upset of Trinidad & Tobago in Group B before a further upset of Barbados in the semis, and set the stage for a 205-run demolition of Leeward Islands in the final. It also helped Da Silva build a case for inclusion into the West Indies side, making his first touring squad to England in the summer of 2020.West Indies Emerging Team took over the mantle from the CCC squad, who claimed their first ever title in the 2018-19 tournament. The absence of both West Indies Emerging and CCC opens the door for one of the traditional representative squads to take back control of the regional limited overs cup.Traditional sides closer to full strengthIn recent years, many teams have been stripped of their best local talent due to conflicts with overseas West Indies tours or the T20 franchise carousel. The intensity of life in bio-bubbles and risks of travelling abroad in the Covid-19 era mean many players are preferring to stay close to home. A consequence is their availability for the Super50 Cup for the first time in years.Among the biggest beneficiaries are Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. Jason Holder comes back to captain his home island, having not played in the Super50 Cup since February 2018, and is joined by Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase. An uncharacteristically understrength Trinidad & Tobago team from last year was highlighted by the captain and vice-captain spin duo of Imran Khan and Yannick Ottley. This year’s version looks much closer to the juggernaut of yesteryear with the return of Kieron Pollard as captain as well as Nicholas Pooran, Denesh Ramdin, Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Khary Pierre and Ravi Rampaul. Even though many of these names have been playing in the UAE T10 League, T&T’s first match isn’t until February 11, giving them a few days to return in time.Covid-19 positive tests impacting squad selectionA reminder of the threat of Covid-19 to the players involved came during the West Indies ODI tour in Bangladesh last month when legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr had to go into quarantine before the first match after returning a positive test. Though he has since recovered and has been named in the Leeward Islands squad, others have subsequently been ruled out.The Hope brothers, Kyle and Shai, both produced positive tests prior to entering the tournament bio-bubble in Antigua, and were both ruled out of the Barbados squad as a result. They have been replaced by Tevyn Walcott and Zachary McCaskie. Guyana also had a player ruled out due to Covid in batsman Trevon Griffith, who has been swapped out for Kemol Savory.No Associate teams doesn’t mean no Associate playersNitish Kumar, the former Canada captain, raised the antennae of talent evaluators in the region courtesy of a match-winning century in a win over then defending champions CCC in last year’s event. Kumar previously appeared in the Super50 for a combined ICC Americas squad, where his performances got him drafted by St Lucia Zouks in the 2016 CPL.Despite Canada’s absence in this year’s event, Kumar was invited to take part in squad trials for Leeward Islands. Not only did he make the cut for their 15-man squad, but it would not be surprising to see him play a prominent role in the middle order. Kumar is also a top-notch fielder and is classified by some coaches as a genuine allrounder thanks to his handy offspin that has claimed 29 List A wickets.

Funds will also be used to encourage more female coaches and coaches with a disability

George Dobell20-Jan-2021The ECB are introducing bursaries to enable under-represented demographic groups to gain coaching qualifications.The bursaries, which are understood to be worth around £94,000 a year in total, are aimed specifically at encouraging more coaches from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background into the game. They will also be used to encourage more female coaches and coaches with a disability.The idea for the scheme came from John Neal, the ECB’s head of coach development, after he realised how poorly such groups were represented.Neal joined the ECB in 2017 at a time when very little data existed to reveal such disparity. Having conducted research, he found that fewer than six percent of qualified coaches were female or from a BAME background. At the highest level of qualifications, that fell to around four percent.His aim now is to ensure the percentage of coaches from each demographic reflects the percentage of registered players in the same demographic. That would mean around 20 percent of coaches should be female and around 30 percent should have Asian heritage.To that end, around £45,000 a year will be made available to help those wanting to take the Foundation level course – which usually costs around £150 a time and is, broadly, what used to be known as Level 1 and 2 – with around £15,000 committed to the Advanced course (broadly translating to the old Level 3 qualification) – which cost around £1,500 each. A further £21,000 has been allocated for the Specialist course (which roughly translates to the old Level 4) with funding ranging from full grants, help with travel or gaining access to online elements of the courses.At the same time, the National Asian Cricket Council has been given £13,000 to allocate towards the scheme as they see fit, while the counties – who already have their own budgets for such things – will be encouraged to ensure they have more equitable representation on the courses.The idea for the bursaries is understood to have pre-dated the growth of interest in the Black Lives Matter movement and a greater understanding of the under-representation of people from BAME backgrounds in the sport. While some funding had already been diverted to ensure greater opportunities, the pandemic has understandably delayed such plans and resulted in cuts across most departments at the ECB.The first bursaries are already in place. Around 26 percent of candidates on the most recent course are from BAME backgrounds.

Babar Azam to lead, Sarfaraz Ahmed included and Yasir Shah out for all three formats

Umar Farooq12-Mar-2021Sharjeel Khan’s PSL form has been rewarded with a recall to the national side for the first time in over four years, as he was included in Pakistan’s T20I squad for the tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe next month.Sharjeel was the third-highest corer in this year’s curtailed PSL season, finishing only behind Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, but at a fantastic strike rate of 170.94, well ahead of what the other two recorded. Sharjeel, playing for the Karachi Kings, was the only player to score a hundred in this edition, against the Islamabad United.The recall capped an eventful four years for the left-handed opener, who was out of the game altogether for two and a half of them, banned for his part in the 2017 PSL spot-fixing scandal.There have, however, been question marks about Sharjeel’s fitness. “Fitness isn’t the only criteria for selection – at the end of the day, a player has to play cricket. We are already working on reviewing the fitness testing levels and will introduce a new strategy [to gauge fitness],” Mohammad Wasim, Pakistan’s chief selector, said in a press conference. “I didn’t comment on Sharjeel’s fitness earlier as his performances [last year] were patchy, but now we have to look at anyone who performs, whatever the fitness they have.”Yes, I understand there is still a lot work that needs to be done on his fitness and he will improve with time, but at the moment he can win us big games with his bat.”The view on Sharjeel’s fitness marked something of a U-turn for the PCB. As recently as a year ago, PCB CEO Wasim Khan, not normally known for singling out players for criticism, had made an exception for Sharjeel, bemoaning his inability to remain fit while serving his ban, and said there was “a long way to go” before he could be considered for national selection.The other significant development was the absence of Yasir Shah from the Test side as he continued to nurse a left knee injury.The senior legspinner has been a regular in Pakistan’s Test squads for much of the past seven years, but has also experienced a form dip in recent times. The emergence of spinners like Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood and Nauman Ali – all included in the expanded Test squad – have also meant that Pakistan can afford to look beyond him. Shah’s performances in the southern hemisphere have been particularly underwhelming, with an average of 87 in that part of the world over the years.Shahnawaz Dhani, the Multan Sultans fast bowler who was something of a feel-good story during the PSL, was also called up for the Test series against Zimbabwe, with the chief selector saying that his performances during the tournament showed he could perform under pressure.Dhani took nine wickets in four PSL matches this season – the second-most among all bowlers, and while an economy rate of 10.33 needs work, there was enough for Mohammad Wasim to suggest he could be a white-ball prospect.”We basically saw him playing red-ball cricket in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and in the PSL he exhibited that he can handle the pressure,” the chief selector said. “He has the quality, the way he is bowling with control and pace… if we were playing Tests against South Africa, we would have reconsidered it, but we picked him because we are playing Zimbabwe.”Also, we are lacking fast bowlers in red-ball cricket. In white-ball cricket, we have more options than him. He is presently our future in red-ball cricket and we are trying make a pool and attract players in this format. He is definitely going to be considered for white-ball cricket in future.”Pakistan play three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa before moving to Zimbabwe, where they are scheduled to play two Test matches and three T20Is.Test squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan.ODI squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali.T20I squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal.

Punjab Kings captain says the ability to intimidate with pace is something the team was missing the last few seasons

Vishal Dikshit08-Apr-20212:23

Do top-heavy Punjab have finishing firepower?

Captain KL Rahul is excited to watch the Punjab Kings’ new speed sensation Riley Meredith bowl with “proper pace”, something Rahul believes his team has been missing for a few years to “intimidate the opposition”. The Kings bought Meredith, who made his T20I debut for Australia against New Zealand last month – for INR 8 crore (US$ 1.1 million approx.) at the IPL 2021 auctions. He joins a pace attack that also includes Jhye Richardson this time, apart from Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Arshdeep Singh and Ishan Porel.”I’m really looking forward to watching Riley Meredith bowl,” Rahul said on Red Bull’s podcast Decoding Athletes earlier this week. “I watched him in a couple of games in New Zealand, he could bowl some proper pace, that’s something that I’ve felt we were missing for three or four seasons that I’ve been with the Kings…someone with sheer pace, someone who can intimidate the opposition. So I’m looking forward to watching him bowl from behind the stumps.”Related

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Set to play his maiden IPL season, Meredith can push the speed gun towards 150kmh, and had pinned Kane Williamson lbw twice in three innings, including for a first-ball duck in the fifth T20I of the recent series. Before that, Meredith was among the top three wicket-takers for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, with 16 wickets in 13 games at an economy rate of 7.82.After leaking a few too many runs towards the death overs last season, the Kings spent a combined INR 22 crore (US$ 3 million approx.) on the Australian duo of Richardson and Meredith this time, who could play the role that Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje did for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020. But that would mean the Kings can play only two out of Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Dawid Malan, Fabian Allen and Moises Henriques for the other two overseas players’ spots.Rahul, who topped the run-scoring charts in IPL 2020, also said that not being able to close out a few games cost the Kings a playoff spot last year. The Kings had finished sixth in the last IPL, only two points behind the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished third and fourth respectively.”I generally believe that we were a tad bit unlucky last time,” Rahul said. “We did play some really good cricket. A couple of games we really couldn’t close for different reasons. It did hurt a little, but I’m hoping that the change of name, change of jersey – there’s been a whole lot of changes – can bring us some good fortune.”An animated KL Rahul addresses his team ahead of play•BCCI

Rahul further said he had been in touch with Anil Kumble (director of cricket operations) and Andy Flower (assistant coach) even when he was in quarantine to discuss “what kind of combinations” to play and to decide which “player plays in what position”.Rahul’s own form had been under scrutiny during the recent T20Is against England at home in which he scored 14, 0, 0 and 1. Even though he was dropped for the fifth T20I, captain Virat Kohli and batting coach Vikram Rathour backed him publicly, and then played him in the three ODIs, in which Rahul scored an unbeaten 62 and 108 in three innings.Speaking on how he pulled himself out of the pits of low scores and how he dealt with the pressure, Rahul said: “I won’t lie, it does get to you sometimes and it’s hard sometimes. Especially in the last [T20I] series when I wasn’t getting runs after having done well for a couple of years, and then a few bad performances and there are questions being raised and a lot of talk outside, it does get to you sometimes.”But again you try and shift your focus back to what you’ve been doing well all your life and that is what has gotten you here so far so try and go back to the basics and try and find a way to enjoy the process. And I’ve always been somebody who’s tried to remain balanced in whatever the game gives me. So I’m grateful and I respect that, and I don’t want to start questioning myself when I start doing badly. So I’ve always tried to remain balanced and tried to take the game as it comes every day and what is in my control is to train hard, to prepare well, do my homework for the opposition and try and understand and assess the conditions as quickly as I can and try and do the best that I can for my team.”Every time I’m in that sort of mindset I always tend to do better. Every time I’ve done badly is when I start thinking about myself and I quickly snap out of it and try and focus on the challenge which is winning games for the team and that’s always seemed to helped me.”The Kings will start their IPL campaign on April 12 against the Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai.

Abid Ali also gained for Pakistan, while Regis Chakabva and Blessing Muzarabani advanced for Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2021Pakistan bowlers Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi andNauman Ali have achieved their career-best rankings in the ICC men’s Test bowling rankings after their match-winning performances in the second Test against Zimbabwe, when they became the first trio from the country to take five-fors in the same match.Right-arm quick Hasan advanced six places up to 14th position after picking up 5 for 27 in the first innings, while left-arm pacer Afridi’s 5 for 52 helped him jump nine places up to 22nd and left-arm spinner Nauman getting 5 for 86 – both of them in the second innings – pushed him up to 46th position from 54th, as Pakistan completed a 2-0 sweep in Harare.Related

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It was the first time three players registered five-wicket hauls for Pakistan in a Test and also just the sixth instance of three players from the same team picking up five-fors in a Test.Among batters, Pakistan opener Abid Ali’s 215 not out in the first innings helped him move 38 spots to 40th, while Azhar Ali vaulted to 16th position after his 126. Nauman, who hit 104-ball 97, also gained in this list, moving 35 places to 116th spot.Regis Chakabva, Zimbabwe’s best batter in the match, moved 16 places up to 81 after scores of 33 and 80, while his team-mate Blessing Muzarabani’s 3 for 82 helped him advance to 51st position in the bowlers’ list.

Green replaces Mujeeb Ur Rahman, whose stint has been delayed to second half by visa, travel issues

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2021Chris Green, the offspinning allrounder, will join Middlesex for the first half of the T20 Blast as a replacement for Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Mujeeb’s stint with the club has been delayed until the second half of the competition because of “unforeseen visa issues” quarantine-related travel constraints, Middlesex said in a statement.”Mujeeb is not alone in having to quarantine in a country outside the UK prior to arriving and continued uncertainty over the timescale of these delays has caused Middlesex to make the decision to push back Mujeeb’s arrival,” the statement said. “As a consequence Green will have an increased number of games to play in. Mujeeb is expected to be with the club and available for the last seven group matches.”Green has vast T20 experience around the world, including the BBL with Sydney Thunder, the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders, the CPL with Guyana Amazon Warriors and in the 2019 Blast with Birmingham Bears. He was part of the Thunder side that won the title in 2016 and played for Guyana when they lost the 2018 CPL final to Trinbago Knight Riders.Green said: “I have really enjoyed my previous experiences playing in England and I am looking forward to playing at Lord’s for the first time.”The 27-year-old Green has 87 T20 wickets from 108 appearances, with best bowling figures of 4 for 14 and a highest score of 49.Middlesex head coach Stuart Law said: “Chris is an experienced performer in T20 cricket and has played in tournaments all over the world. He has had a huge impact at Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash for a few years now and I look forward to him bringing that wealth of experience here to Middlesex.”Dealing with Covid has caused us a few headaches, but Chris will slot in nicely to cover for Mujeeb until his arrival.”Middlesex’s second overseas slot for the Blast will be shared between Paul Stirling, who is due to play the first five games of the tournament, and Daryl Mitchell, who will link up with the club after the World Test Championship final.

James Bracey set to debut behind stumps, as England call up Billings, Hameed

Andrew Miller26-May-2021Ben Foakes has torn his left hamstring in a dressing-room accident and will miss the two-Test series against New Zealand, starting at Lord’s on June 2, with James Bracey set to debut in his place as wicketkeeper.Foakes, who had been in line to play his maiden home Test series after finishing the recent tour of India as England’s incumbent keeper, sustained the injury after slipping in his socks while walking through the Surrey dressing-room following their drawn LV= County Championship fixture against Middlesex on Sunday.Foakes’ assessment and rehabilitation will be managed by the Surrey medical team. However, in a statement, the ECB said that he was expected to be out of action for at least three months, meaning he is unlikely to play any part in the five-Test series against India that starts at Trent Bridge on August 4.In Foakes’ absence, Bracey is in line to take over the keeper’s role for his Test debut. Bracey has been a part of England’s bio-secure bubble since the home series against West Indies last July, and was already widely tipped to make his debut as a batter at some stage in the series.However, the other established wicketkeepers in England’s ranks – Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow – are both missing from the current squad, having been rested following their involvement in the IPL, which was postponed earlier this month due to India’s surge in Covid cases.As a consequence, Sam Billings has been drafted into the Test squad as cover. Though he was also at the IPL, as a non-playing squad member at Delhi Capitals, Billings’ winter was interrupted by a shoulder injury, sustained during his solitary ODI appearance at Pune. He returned to action as Kent’s captain last week, making 11 against Glamorgan in his first County Championship appearance of the season.James Bracey is expected to keep wicket on debut after a long period in the England bubble•AFP via Getty Images

Given that Bracey was effectively covering for two roles in England’s squad, the coach Chris Silverwood has also recalled the Nottinghamshire opener Haseeb Hameed, who played each of his three Tests against India in 2016-17, before breaking his hand and suffering a subsequent loss of form for his former club, Lancashire.Hameed, however, has started the 2021 season impressively, making 474 runs at 52.66 to help Nottinghamshire end a three-year win drought with three victories in a row. He is due to play in the forthcoming Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, starting on Thursday, before linking up with the England squad at their London base on Sunday night.The timing of Foakes’ injury would be cruel for any player, but it is particularly unfortunate given how long he has had to wait to be given an extended run in England’s Test squad. He was first selected for England’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2018-19, and immediately impressed with a matchwinning hundred on debut in Galle. However, he was squeezed out of the XI after an ill-balanced team slumped to two Test defeats on England’s subsequent tour of West Indies.Related

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Despite being widely considered the best gloveman in English cricket, Foakes was made to wait another two years for his next Test opportunity, when Buttler flew home for the final three Tests of England’s tour of India, as part of the management’s rest and rotation policy. His wicketkeeping immediately stood out in tough conditions, as he pulled off three stumpings in the second Test at Chennai, although he was unable to better the unbeaten 42 that he made in the first innings of that match.Speaking to London’s Evening Standard in the build-up to the Lord’s Test, Foakes admitted he was looking forward to his home England debut after eight overseas appearances (as well as a one-off ODI against Ireland in Malahide and a T20I in Cardiff in 2019), but said that he recognised that opportunities at the highest level could be few and far between.”You can preoccupy with the external stuff that’s not in your control,” he said. “I am not wondering how many games I might get. I just want to get picked, and treat it for what it is – a game. I’m not worried about any add-ons. I would like to get runs and catch well, but I wouldn’t say I’m trying to put reminders in peoples’ minds or anything like that. I’m just trying to do well.”

Batting coach Grant Flower and team analyst GT Niroshan were described as being in a “stable” condition

Andrew Fidel Fernando11-Jul-2021Sri Lanka’s men’s cricketers will be allowed to come out of isolation on Sunday, after everyone remaining in the national squad returned negative PCR results. This only goes for the players however; coaches and support staff will have to remain in isolation until Wednesday, as they are considered first contacts of batting coach Grant Flower and team analyst GT Niroshan, who tested positive for the virus over the past few days.Related

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The fact that Sri Lanka’s players will gradually begin training over the next few days – with outdoor practices likely to start on Tuesday – is good new for the series against India, which has already been postponed five days due to the infections in Sri Lanka’s camp. Provided no one else tests positive, team doctors are optimistic the first ODI can be played on July 18 as per the revised schedule.When training does resume, however, Sri Lanka will likely be using the facilities at Khettarama stadium, while the India team trains at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC). The teams are also in separate hotels.Flower and Niroshan, meanwhile, were described as being in a “stable” condition, after having been moved to an intermediate healthcare facility. Niroshan’s infection is understood to be asymptomatic at present. Doctors believe they had picked up the infections during the recently-concluded tour of England, though the team was supposed to be in a bio-bubble through the last stages of that tour. Seven members of the England squad – including four support staff – tested positive for the virus.India’s preparation in Sri Lanka has been free of Covid-19 scares. They have been in a bio-bubble since their arrival.The teams are set to play three ODIs, followed by three T20 internationals.

“I batted like in a Test match for the first 20-25 overs. The situation wasn’t in our favour”

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2021Bangladesh’s basic batting plan for the last six years, at least, has been to ask one of their top three batters to anchor the innings till the 40th over at a steady pace, by letting the batters at the other end bat around him. Tamim Iqbal has mastered this approach, particularly since 2015 when they had an upturn in this format. It is firmly believed that one of the reasons for their rise is this plan of the anchor’s role. Bangladesh don’t have big hitters in the lower order so they believe that they can get the best out of the death overs by having set batters at that time of the innings.After his 102 helped the visitors to a massive 155-run win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI in Harare, Liton Das said that he followed those orders to the tee. The blueprint helped the Bangladesh opener as he needed a big innings to return among runs after a poor recent patch in ODIs.Das saw Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain fall at the other end, but batted on till the 42nd over.Related

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“The weather and their bowling made batting tough in the first 20 overs for us,” Das said. “I was under a bit of pressure as I haven’t scored runs in ODIs for a while. Wickets were falling at the other end too, so it was my responsibility to take my team to a good position. I batted like in a Test match for the first 20-25 overs. The situation wasn’t in our favour.”I realised that I can reach the next stage only with wickets in hand. Riyad (Mahmudullah) changed the momentum, plus when they brought on the spinners, it became easier to bat. During the team meeting, we discussed that one of the top five has to bat till the 40th over to take us to a big score. I kept that plan in mind, that I should bat at least 30 overs.”Das’ first boundary came in the 16th over, when he was on 16 off 36 balls, and he raised his strike rate once he reached the eighties in the 37th over. By the time he got out, Bangladesh were in a position for the lower order to get them to a 250-plus total. Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz cashed in on Das’ platform, scoring 58 off 42 balls in their seventh-wicket partnership.As much as Das’ innings was a comeback for him in ODIs, it was a continuation of his recent form after he made 95 in the one-off Test last week. Das said that he realised during that innings how to bat in the Zimbabwean conditions.”I missed the last ODI due to an injury. I only came back to play the last five matches in the DPL T20s to get back my batting rhythm,” he said. “When I got some runs in the Test match, I realised that one has to spend time at the crease here to get a big score.”Das said that his struggle for runs after cricket returned after a long gap during the pandemic was in stark contrast with how he felt before March last year. He was in prolific form then, having scored an unbeaten 126 and 176, the highest score by a Bangladeshi in ODIs, in a span of three innings against Zimbabwe in Sylhet.”I had good form before the pandemic, so if cricket continued normally I could have done well using that momentum,” Das said. “I had a lot in my mind when cricket resumed during the pandemic. I think that’s how I spent eight innings in this way.”But I always tried to do something for the team. I got a lot of support from the seniors in the team and my wife.”