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The New Zealand captain emphasised that conditions could not be used as an excuse for the side’s fielding lapses

Sidharth Monga in Delhi02-Nov-2017Three nights after a heart-breaking loss, New Zealand experienced another defeat they will hate. Kane Williamson, their captain, said in Kanpur that they had to accept the result and move on, but it will be difficult to move on from this one. In the first T20I of the series, in Delhi, they lost primarily because of their fielding, which is a matter of pride for them. Three catches went down, and all three batsmen – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – went on to hurt New Zealand bad.”We were outplayed in all the areas, fielding included, which is something we pride ourselves on and something we need to be much better at in Twenty20 cricket,” Williamson said. “That made the difference as we saw today. That proved to be vital in a lot of ways. Guys went on to score big scores for their side in the Indian team, and 200 on that surface was a very big total.”The conditions underfoot were wet even in the first innings. It seemed the fielders struggled to adjust to the dew, but Williamson refused to accept that as an excuse. “They [these conditions] are tough to prepare for exactly but given the experience within our side we’re certainly not using that as an excuse,” he said. “Most of the time when you come here and play in the evening, there’s dew as there is on a number of other grounds that guys have played at. Not going to sugarcoat it but we were below par and came up against a what is a very good Indian side that played very well in all the areas.”It’s hard to put your finger onto one thing [for catches going down]. Often, it’s a flow and effect from other areas that perhaps aren’t going so well. We were put under pressure with the ball, and I suppose that’s the frustrating thing. But you do want to make a difference in the park when our bowlers were struggling against guys that were in good form and hitting the ball really well. That will be a focus for us. It’s what we pride ourselves on. We were disappointing today in the park. Dew is part of the challenge. Guys have experienced dew many times, so, it’s not an excuse. It’s something that you’re aware of and you need to adapt just like I suppose the batter on a surface that’s going to be variable. Something we are aware of and need to be better.”
Mitchell Santner, whose bowling has been impressive all tour long, was one of the fielders who missed catches in Delhi. Even in the first ODI, he had reprieved Kohli, who went on to score a hundred. The fielding has not been the usual top-class variety you associate with New Zealand. It can be difficult to make the adjustments required on a non-stop tour, but Williamson felt this was more about the mental set-up.”The one-dayers I think we were fairly good in the field,” Williamson said. “We weren’t good tonight. You don’t become a bad fielding unit overnight, so I suppose it’s a mindset when guys are engaged every ball. And that is challenged when you are under pressure on the field as we were tonight but we need to be better than that to be able to improve what’s happening on the scoreboard and iron your position, so I suppose when the opportunity comes it makes a difference.”The message for his team was clear: it is when the bowlers are under pressure that the fielders are really tested, and that they can’t afford to keep failing like they did in Delhi.

That safe, warm, fuzzy, home-like feeling was back for India as their two most valuable batsmen in recent times reunited to keep others blissfully unaware of any dangers there might have been of the new ball or the fresh bowlers or scoreboard pressure

The Report by Sidharth Monga25-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
That safe, warm, fuzzy, home-like feeling was back for India as their two most valuable Test batsmen in recent times reunited to keep others blissfully unaware of any dangers there might have been of the new ball, fresh bowlers or scoreboard pressure. That M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, now the second-most prolific second-wicket pair for India, would grind the Sri Lankan bowling was predictable, but it wasn’t as straightforward as expected. Sri Lanka tested India at the start of the first two sessions, their front three bowlers arguably fared better than they did in Kolkata, but Vijay and Pujara preyed successfully on the other two, forcing the main bowlers to come back for new spells sooner than they would have liked, and then milking them. Both got hundreds, and once Vijay got out, Virat Kohli drove home the advantage further with a quick unbeaten 54 before stumps.Dasun Shanaka and Dilruwan Perera released all the pressure built on the pair as the first 18 overs of the day went for just 36 runs. Dilruwan conceded 117 in his 21 overs, and despite a late comeback, Shanaka went at 3.3 an over. The two had bowled just nine of the first 54 overs, which meant Dinesh Chandimal had to ask Suranga Lakmal, Rangana Herath and Lahiru Gamage to keep coming back. The overs in the legs showed when Lakmal went for 21 in four overs in his mid-afternoon spell despite reverse swing on offer. By the time he took the second new ball, Lakmal had lost all sting and discipline.The loose balls were almost absent in the first hour of the day. In particular, Vijay, making a comeback into the Test side, had to endure a testing time. As openers do, he needed a little bit of luck going his way, but his discipline otherwise was good. Pujara, at the other end, hardly made an error.Forced to defend, defend and defend, Vijay looked to manufacture a shot. He was 19 off 60 when he skipped down to Herath, got an inside edge to offer a half chance at short leg and also a full chance for a run-out because he had stepped out too far. Wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella, who seemed to have left his station to attempt a rebound off the short leg’s body, could have completed the run-out had he stayed put. As it turned out, a direct hit was needed, and Sadeera Samarawickrama missed from short leg.In the next over, Vijay bat-padded a short-arm pull, but wide of short leg. Three overs later, Herath played with his inside and outside edges without creating a chance. Two overs later, Vijay fended at a short ball but the leading edge fell short of point. All this happened during a spell of four maiden overs, which was broken not with a rash stroke – as the Sri Lanka batsmen did on day one – but with a single to deepish mid-on.The introduction of Shanaka brought two cover-driven boundaries for Vijay. He began with a plum half-volley, which got dispatched too. Fifty runs came in the next 13 overs, which took India to lunch. False strokes almost went out of India’s game, and the field looked prone. There was another concerted effort from Sri Lanka after lunch but another 26-ball barren spell was broken calmly by singles from these calm batsmen.As the mileage grew in those legs, the intensity dipped, the run rate increased and the milestones began to arrive. After the tough start, Vijay scored 102 off the last 135 balls he faced even as Pujara maintained a more moderate acceleration. Vijay brought up his 10th hundred, Pujara his 14th, and the pair its 10th hundred and third double hundred together.Vijay provided Sri Lanka some respite when he top-edged a full toss he was sweeping to short fine leg, but the respite was momentary. While Pujara’s gradual acceleration continued, Kohli went faster than even Vijay had been. He even stole a bye with the ball in the wicketkeeper’s hand. In Test cricket. By stumps the two had added 96 in 22.3 overs with Kohli repaying the hard work done by those before him, through quick runs that should give India enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out the second time around.

Andrew Ingleton, an executive with Cricket Australia, will replace Tony Dodemaide, who stepped down in August, following controversy over the mooted changes to the state association’s constitution

Daniel Brettig13-Dec-2017Andrew Ingleton, a senior executive at Cricket Australia (CA), will make the short stroll down Jolimont Street to become the new chief executive of Cricket Victoria (CV), replacing Tony Dodemaide, after the former Test bowler spent a decade in the role.Dodemaide announced his resignation at the start of August, following a difficult period of infighting among Victorian Premier clubs over mooted changes to the state association’s constitution, with his own club Footscray among Cricket Victoria’s most vocal opponents.Ingleton, meanwhile, has been CA’s executive general manager of game and market development for five years, and will arrive at CV well-placed to oversee the state’s drive to build its playing talent base in sharp competition with Australian rules football, while also managing the move to the long-awaited AU $40 million cricket centre at St Kilda’s Junction Oval.”After a thorough and extensive process, we are delighted to have secured Andrew as the organisation’s next CEO. He brings a wealth of consumer and commercial expertise to our business,” CV’s chairman Russell Thomas said of Ingleton, who before CA had worked as an executive with Dulux and also for Orica Mining in Latin America.”In addition to being a proven business leader in both the sporting and commercial sectors, Andrew has an excellent strategic understanding of the challenges ahead of us from his time with Cricket Australia. We are confident Andrew is the right person to lead us through the next phase of our strategic plan and our settling into the Victorian Cricket and Community Centre in St Kilda.”Ahead of his commencement in March 2018, Ingleton said that building bridges with the wider Victorian cricket community would be a key part of his job. “This is a tremendous opportunity at a key point in Cricket Victoria’s history,” he said. “I look forward to building relationships with our local community at our exciting new headquarters and with the broader Victorian cricket community in general.”Cricket Victoria has a crucial role to play at every level of our game – from building our grassroots facilities, clubs and participation through to successful Big Bash franchises and producing more Australian cricketers. I’m looking forward to working with the dedicated Cricket Victoria team to deliver on our objectives in the years ahead.”The move to CV means Ingleton joins individuals like Mike McKenna and Kate Banozic in recent departures from CA’s executive team.

Cheteshwar Pujara has become the most familiar India international in county cricket and returns for a fourth stint ahead of the England Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2018Cheteshwar Pujara will warm up for India’s Test series in England by playing county cricket for Yorkshire.Pujara will share overseas duties with New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, and he is so intent upon making a good impression that he is due to arrive in the UK in time for a pre-season friendly against Leeds Bradford MCCU fixture on April 7.There was little to delight Pujara in the IPL auction. He went unsold and he was one of the players whose name was not even read out.In contrast, his stock in Test cricket remains as high as ever: he stands sixth in the ICC Test rankings, his average top side of 50. In Johannesburg last week, he went 53 balls before scoring his first run, the most by any top-order international batsman since 2001, but his half-century provided some of the ballast required for an India victory on a dubious pitch.Despite a deal for Pujara being struck several weeks ago, Yorkshire delayed their announcement until the results of the IPL auction were confirmed.The BCCI has also scheduled a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, from June 14-18, with Pujara set to depart for India after a Royal London 50-Over clash at Lancashire, but with Yorkshire hoping he will return in time for an away trip to Hampshire, in the Specsavers County Championship, on June 20.India play five Tests in England between August 1 and September 11.The addition of a second overseas batsman means Yorkshire will have three of the top six Test batsmen on their staff in 2018, with Joe Root ranked at three, despite his frustration at his low conversion rate of fifties to hundreds, and Williamson at four.Yorkshire came out well from the IPL auction as Root, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett, David Willey and Adil Rashid all went unsold, but just because the ECB was fully supportive of the presence of England players in the IPL auction, recent history suggests it will not automatically follow that they release their centrally-contracted players for Championship duty.There is also potential for Pujara to stay on after the India’s summer Test tour for Yorkshire’s final two Championship fixtures of the season.”I’m really excited to be able to have the opportunity to represent Yorkshire once again,” Pujara said. “It’s always nice to be able to come over here and play some County Cricket and I love the passion the people of Yorkshire have for the game. Each time I’ve played county cricket it has improved me as a player. That’s the plan again in 2018. I just want to score as many runs as possible for Yorkshire and soak up as much as I can from the whole experience.”Pujara, who delivered a record-breaking 12th double century of his 12-year career towards the end of 2017, averages 56.68 in first-class cricket. His County Championship record stands at 816 runs with three fifties and as many hundreds. One of each came in Yorkshire colours in the early stages of the club’s second successive Championship winning year.”It goes without saying that Cheteshwar is a highly-driven individual and very skilled batsman,” said Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon. “We’re delighted to have him on board. The plan is for him to relieve some of the pressure on the top order that we struggled with at times in 2017. Just as he did in 2015, Pujara will relish the challenge of performing in English conditions.”Pujara had two spells at Nottinghamshire last season and has also played county cricket for Derbyshire as he has become the most common India player on the county circuit.

Morne Morkel, Farhaan Behardien, Stephen Cook, Wayne Parnell and Aaron Phangiso have been left out of the 18-player contracts list

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2018South Africa have awarded national contracts to Aiden Markram and Lungi Ngidi for the 2018-19 season, while dropping Farhaan Behardien, Stephen Cook, Wayne Parnell and Aaron Phangiso. Morne Morkel, who will retire after the ongoing Test series against Australia was also excluded from the list.The total list has been cut from 21 players to 18 and applies to away tours to Sri Lanka and Australia, home series against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the 2019 World Cup.Chiefly, the new contract list provides some certainty over the futures of South Africa’s senior players, many of whom were thought to be considering retirement at the end of current Australia Test series. AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have been re-contracted along with Dale Steyn, who only played one match in the previous contract period.Steyn spent 13 months recovering from a shoulder injury between November 2016 and January 2017 before making his comeback in the New Year’s Test against India. He did not complete the match after picking up a heel injury and has been recovering since. He is expected to return for the third Test against Australia later this month but there remains uncertainty over his white-ball role. Coach Ottis Gibson had earlier suggested Steyn needed to play franchise limited-overs cricket before he would be considered for the World Cup squad.

Ins and outs

In: Aiden Markam, Lungi Ngidi
Out: Farhaan Behardien, Stephen Cook, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso

South Africa’s contracted player list appears to be focused on the tournament with Imran Tahir and JP Duminy likely to use it as a swansong. Behardien has not been given that same guarantee, both on paper and the field. He only played one of the six ODIs against India despite featuring among the top run-scorers in the domestic one-day cup, has not been contracted and it is unclear what his role may be going forward. His replacement, Khaya Zondo, was also not contracted.Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo are the only two white-ball allrounders contracted with Parnell seemingly completely out of the picture. He has not played international cricket since the series against Bangladesh in October last year and has not featured at franchise level since January 12, almost two months ago.In Test terms, Dean Elgar and Vernon Philander are the only two contractees who feature in the longer-format only, though both have indicated they would like that to change. Temba Bavuma is also considered a Test player only, though he has played two ODIs.Markram, with seven caps to his name in both Tests and ODIs, makes up one half of South Africa future investment, with Ngidi the other. The pair both debuted in the 2017-18 summer and have enjoyed early success. Markram is being touted as a future leader across all formats, has three centuries in his first seven Tests and led South Africa in ODIs against India, while Ngidi has been tipped to take over from Morkel in Tests.Contracted players: Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Imran Tahir, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn.

Shivnarine and Tagenarine on playing professional cricket together in the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2018Imagine you were a professional cricketer. Now imagine you had to share your dressing room with… your father. And, on top of that, your dad is a legend of your sport. A lot to handle? Doesn’t quite seem to be the case with Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who shares the Guyana dressing room with his father Shivnarine. Chanderpaul junior, 21, jokes that Shiv, 43, “knows how I am, so he’s kind of free up with that”.Tagenarine says he knows enough to make good use of the vast experience of his father – the most capped player for West Indies in Test cricket – but does not let his record put unreasonable pressure on himself. “I just try and be myself. I can’t be him, you know,” Tagenarine said, according to the . “[But] most of the training, I use him to get some help. He gives me a few pointers.”Shivnarine, not unexpectedly, had plenty of advice for his son: “He’s been around [the domestic circuit] for a while. He had a good season in the [first-class] Regional Four-Day tournament. It’s the first time he had a full season, but that’s just the beginning.”He needs to keep going. He’s young and he needs to learn as quickly as possible and take it a distance because, whenever you get an opportunity, you have to grab it sometimes.”That said, the equation was not all work and no play between father and son. “We still have our fun and have our jokes,” Shivnarine said. “In any team sport, you need to have fun. That’s the only way to keep going.”When I went into the Windies team, we had people who used to give us a lot of jokes – guys like Kenneth Benjamin, Amby [Curtly Ambrose]. Those are the guys who keep you going on tour. I know how important that is. You need people like them around to keep you going. So yeah, there’s a time when you make your jokes and a time to get serious and down to business.”Guyana are currently in Antigua, to play the semi-final of the Regional Super50 List A tournament. They take on Windward Islands at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Thursday afternoon.

Abahani now have to beat Legends of Rupganj in the Super League match on April 5 to become champions

Mohammad Isam02-Apr-2018Abahani Limited remained on course to clinch their 19th Dhaka Premier League title after a crushing 127-run win over Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity. Abahani now have to beat Legends of Rupganj in the Super League match on April 5 to become champions.However, if they lose and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club win against Khelaghar on the same day, it will leave Abahani, Rupganj and Dhanmondi Club on 22 points each. The winner will then be decided by most wins, head-to-head between teams on equal points and then net run-rate.At the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Abahani made 241 in 46.3 overs batting first, a competitive score given that they had slipped to 156 for 8 in the 35th over. Mehidy Hasan and Taskin Ahmed added 49 runs for the ninth wicket; Mehidy made 50 off 44 balls with five fours and three sixes while Taskin thumped two sixes in his 22-ball 26.Nazmul Hossain Shanto was Abahani’s top-scorer with 54 off 56 balls that included six fours and a six. Seamer Abdul Halim took 4 for 10 but captain Nazimuddin didn’t use him after Halim removed Mosaddek Hossain in the 25th overAbahani then went on to bowl out Khelaghar for 114 runs in 27.3 overs. Mashrafe Mortaza took three wickets while there was two each for Taskin, Nasir Hossain and Sandip Roy.Substitute fielder Tanbir Hayder fails to stop a boundary•Associated Press

Shiekh Jamal Dhanmondi Club kept themselves in the title hunt after a 10-run win over Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in a low-scoring game at the BKSP-3 Ground.Batting first, Dhanmondi Club were bowled out for 183 runs in 38 overs. Zakaria Masud took three wickets while there was two each for Farhad Reza and Sharifullah.In reply, Doleshwar were shot out for 173 runs in 48.2 overs. They were kept in the hunt by the tenth-wicket stand between Arafat Sunny and Salauddin Sakil, who added 67 runs after they had slipped to 106 for 9 in the 34th over. Seamer Robiul Haque had Sakil caught and bowled in the 49th over to complete their 10th win. Tanbir Hayder took four wickets to go with his unbeaten 43.Mohammad Shahid celebrates, Gangnam style•Raton Gomes/BCB

Legends of Rupganj beat Gazi Group Cricketers by eight wickets at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.Batting first, Gazi Group were bowled out for 152 in 45.4 overs with Mohammad Shahid picking up four wickets.Rupganj reached the target in 22.5 overs with Avishek Mitra top-scoring with 57 off 61 balls that had five fours and two sixes. He added 63 runs for the second wicket with Mohammad Naim, who struck five fours and two sixes in his 34-ball 45. Avishek then added 78 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand with Mushfiqur Rahim who was not out on 30.

The chief selector says the decision to omit Fawad Alam was based purely on merit

Umar Farooq16-Apr-2018Unfazed by the severe criticism concerning the omission of batsman Fawad Alam, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq insisted he has seen “better players in the last three years”. He has been passed over for national selection, and this time, it ignited nationwide anger.Alam’s selection – or lack thereof – has been an enigma for years. Despite the mounds of runs he accumulates year upon year in domestic cricket – his average in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy over the past four years has been 40.71, 55.54, 56 and 71.90 – the left-hander has been overlooked for Tests by various selection committees and captains over the past eight years. He made his Test debut in 2009, scoring 168, and played a further Test against New Zealand later that year, but was subsequently dropped, and hasn’t played Test cricket since. During the intervening years, he made it into the limited-overs squads occasionally and went on to play 38 ODIs and 24 T20Is until 2015. But it is Test cricket he is best suited to, his average in the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy consistently well over 50.He was called up by Inzamam among the 25 probables in the fitness camp ahead of the Ireland and England tour, only to be overlooked yet again.”Fawad Alam is an outstanding player but in the last three years there are others at the top of the list,” Inzamam told ESPNcricinfo. “We got him here in the nets but we found Saad Ali to be better, and the decision to prefer Saad was unanimous, with input from all the coaching staff and captain. Fawad is a good player and we obviously can’t ignore his career average; that is why he was brought into the camp. During my tenure, I have given 12 to 14 players an opportunity and none of them have disappointed us. If you look back in the past three seasons, there are players who have scored more runs than Fawad Alam.”Dropping any player doesn’t mean we are disregarding them. It’s easy to pick players following scorecards or statistics, but there are many more things we take into consideration. I am not sure why Fawad wasn’t picked in the past before me but if you ask me about my tenure as chief selector, I have seen better players.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Alam was last picked in a Test squad in 2015 that played three matches against England, but he never made it into the playing XI. He sat out for several years because of a settled middle order comprising Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq. But with the exit of Misbah and Younis, Alam’s prospects looked bright. Instead, the selectors opted to bring in younger players , recalling left-hand batsman Harris Sohail, investing in Sami Aslam, and now Usman Salahuddin and Saad Ali – who scored 957 runs at an average of 68.35 in last year’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.”I am not taking away anything from Fawad, as he has scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket at a great average. When there is a competition, some players get left out, but that doesn’t mean their career ends there,” Inzamam said. “We haven’t ignored him, we have actually given an opportunity to a few others we thought were more suited to English conditions. Last season, we had tough bowling conditions in the QeA, and Saad Ali was a stand-out performer, and that is why he was preferred. I have spoken to Fawad on many occasions and given him the confidence to keep on working hard.”I know people are very critical about his non-selection but we need to see things in perspective. People have expectations and they want to see their team win every game which brings a lot of responsibility on us. I have nothing against any player. We have a responsibility and what is important is we do not fail it. We must select players on merit. I am lucky that most of my picks so far are paying off well, and we now have a bigger pool of players.”Talk of merit invariably raises the uncomfortable topic of Imam-ul-Haq in the team. Imam is Inzamam’s nephew, and his selection for the tour of England raised eyebrows, particularly because he had a slightly worse average than Alam in the 2016-17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the last season both of them played the competition together. Imam was, however, the third-highest run-scorer that year in the competition, and was picked for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, and ended up scoring a century on debut.”Picking Imam is a tough decision but this is one decision I didn’t take,” Inzamam said. “People might be cynical about this but the head coach [Mickey Arthur], batting coach [Grant Flower] and other selectors made the decision to select Imam. I am the part of the discussion group, but I didn’t say anything about it. The report given by trainers and coaches about him showed a significant improvement in his skill and fitness levels. He was already in the system even before my becoming selector, so associating me shouldn’t be a point of discussion.”

Moeen Ali returned to his first home at Edgbaston with runs and wickets to take Worcestershire into the semi-finals and bring heartache for his former county

George Dobell07-Jun-2018
ScorecardWhen Moeen Ali left Warwickshire a dozen or so years ago, the club made a point of confirming that he would always be made welcome on his return.But they probably didn’t mean like this. For here Moeen, with three wickets and a century of the highest class, guaranteed his ‘new’ side,
Worcestershire, a home semi-final and at the same time sentenced Warwickshire, their local rivals, to the exit.In what became, effectively, a knock-out match – Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire both leapfrogged Warwickshire with their victories – Moeen
helped Worcestershire withstand a blistering opening spell from Olly Stone on the way to his first List A century in domestic cricket for
five years. The previous one was also against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. There’s no place like home.In truth, a wonderful game – full of moments of youthful brilliance – deserved better than the moment that sealed it: Keith Barker skidding
on a dewy outfield and allowing a single to become a boundary. That tied the scores and meant there was no way Warwickshire could
progress. Worcestershire’s home semi-final was guaranteed moments later when Ed Barnard, admirably calm amid the mounting drama, forced one through the off side field for four.It is often said there is no pace in county cricket. But here Warwickshire – even without the injured Chris Woakes – fielded two
young men capable of generating 90 mph. Both Stone – who was timed at 91.4 mph at one stage – and Henry Brookes – who was timed at 89.6 – hurried and harried the Worcestershire batsmen and shared seven wickets between them. To see an international batsman, Callum
Ferguson, beaten for pace by Stone was heartening. To see 18-year-old Brookes – who beat Brett D’Oliveira for pace – lose little by
comparison will have had selectors taking note. To see Brookes relishing the responsibility and rising to the moment was to see a
special talent start to blossom. Warwickshire – and probably England – may well have unearthed a gem here.Only Moeen appeared to enjoy the extra pace. Upon a surface on which Worcestershire’s attack had relied on cutters, Warwickshire’s somewhat unsophisticated approach – if fast doesn’t work then bowl faster – played into his hands a bit. Moeen equalled his own record (Joe Leach shares it) for Worcestershire’s fastest List A half-century: a 25-ball affair that included three sixes; the best of them a drive over
long-on off Stone.He hasn’t been in much form since returning from the IPL. His last three innings had produced 10 runs and two ducks. But here, presented with a relatively big occasion – there was a time such a game would have generated a crowd in excess of 10,000 – and a chance to put one over on Worcestershire rich neighbours, he looked imperious.With nobody else in the top five able to make 20, Moeen was grateful for the arrival of Ben Cox. The pair added 95 in 12 overs, with Moeen
negating the threat posed by Jeetan Patel and punishing Warwickshire for their absence of a fifth bowler. Aaron Thomason, who has a side
strain, was missed.It’s probably churlish to find fault in such an innings. But, by the time Moeen mistimed a rare slower ball to mid-off – Dominic
Sibley making a tricky catch appear straightforward – Worcestershire needed 105 from 24.4 overs; a rate only a fraction over four-an-over.
The hard work had been done. It seemed an unnecessary stroke.The same might have been said for Cox. Having just seen Ross Whiteley superbly caught at short third-man, Cox’s well-paced innings ended
when he attempted to pull one too full for the stroke and played on. It left Worcestershire, with seven wickets down, chasing 19 more runs.Sam Hain has had an excellent tournament•Getty Images

That set-up a nerve wracking finale. With Patel forced to go all-in in the search for wickets – Worcestershire were miles ahead of the
run-rate and had more than 10 overs to score those 19 runs – Brookes, Stone and Barker bowled out their allocation. Time and again, ball
beat bat but, though Brookes yorked Leach, Dillon Pennington – on first-team debut – somehow survived for 23-balls in helping Barnard
add nine runs. It doesn’t sound much, does it? But every one had to be chiselled from granite and, by the time Barker trapped him leg before,
just four were required for the tie.Earlier Warwickshire’s batsmen appeared to struggle for fluency on a pitch that may have been a little slower than they wished. Despite
Worcestershire being without Josh Tongue, who was ruled out with a foot injury, and soon losing their skipper, Leach, to a back injury – he was required to come back out and field for a few overs before George Rhodes arrived from a second XI match in Stourbridge to lend
support – Warwickshire were unable to progress as they would have like against a disciplined attack.It took a stand of 133 in 25 overs between Tim Ambrose and Will Rhodes to drag Warwickshire to respectability. The pair helped their side
plunder 103 in the final 10 overs of their innings – and 66 from the final five – as Worcestershire started to wilt in the field. Twice balls that should have cost a single – at most – were allowed through legs and to the boundary, while there were four wides in the final two overs; one of them going down the legside for four.For a while it seemed Warwickshire’s superior fielding may prove the difference. But if the highlight was Patel’s direct hit from mid-off to run-out Daryl Mithcell, it was all forgotten when Barker’s slip let through the ball at a crucial moment.As an aside, it will never be Trott’s fault again. The result confirmed that this was the final List A match of his career. The game has, in many ways, moved on in recent years but Trott’s record – the 23 List A centuries, the ODI average of 51.25 – remain exceptional. But for a few minutes of madness at this ground in the Champions Trophy final of 2013, he would have been part of a side that won England’s first global List A trophy. It wasn’t to be but, for a while, England went to No. 1 in the world and he won many games – and a few trophies – for club and country.Worcestershire need not worry about that. For a second year in succession, they have earned themselves a home semi-final. To have done it with a largely home-grown squad – and Moeen didn’t have to come too far, either – provides an excellent example to many richer rivals.

The South African spinner described the Sri Lankan’s consistency as “phenomenal” and said he wanted to incorporate how the older man could turn and slide the ball at will

Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Jul-2018When Keshav Maharaj first saw Rangana Herath at close quarters, Herath was unable to impose himself on the series. Although in the lead up to Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa in 2016-17, Maharaj had identified Herath as one of his leading spin-bowling influences, he wound up with better returns than the senior man across the three Tests – taking seven wickets at an average of 30.28, to Herath’s six at 48.South Africa had gone out of their way to neutralise Herath on that tour, stating publicly that they had asked for pitches that would not crumble, which partly explain Herath’s modest performances. But now, in Sri Lanka, where tracks are designed to have the opposite effect – to exacerbate Herath’s threat, Maharaj has a chance to watch the master left-arm spinner in his natural habitat, and perhaps pick up a few tricks.”I think Herath’s consistency in phenomenal,” Maharaj said. “Left-arm spinners are known to control the game, but he does something special – he turns the ball at will and slides the ball on at will. It’s something that I’d love to learn in my trade and get some knowledge from him. I did speak to him in South Africa, and he did give me some insight, but I’d like to pick his brain more about playing in subcontinent conditions, because he’s the best in the world at what he does.”What Herath does on Sri Lankan pitches, Maharaj felt, was consistently put balls in good areas. Maharaj had been modest in the first innings in Galle, going wicketless in 17 overs, but seemed to gain some confidence in the second innings, in which he took 4 for 58, dismissing four of Sri Lanka’s top five. “I think on these wickets, as long as you’re putting the ball in the right area with energy on the ball, what happens on the wicket you have no control over,” Maharaj said. “We don’t know when the ball is going to spin excessively or not. You’ve basically got to put the right ingredients into the wicket and whatever happens from there is in God’s hands.”Wherever you play in the world, you want to be consistent in your lengths and cause the batter to be uncomfortable when you’re bowling at him. That’s something I had to pick up after the first innings. Obviously I didn’t have a bit of rhythm, but then I found it in the second innings, and I put the ball in much better areas than I did.”Now that Maharaj’s spin partner Tabraiz Shamsi has returned to the squad, after attending to a family matter at home at the start of the week, South Africa have the option of fielding the same five bowlers at SSC. The five-bowler combination does put a little more pressure on the lower order, however, who will be expected to score runs. At Galle, Sri Lanka’s tailenders had batted well alongside a senior partner to change the complexion of the match, the last two wicket stands adding 111 to the team score.”I put more pressure on myself than anyone else does to score runs,” Maharaj said. “I need to contribute in the lower order. We saw the partnership of Suranga Lakmal and Lakshan Sandakan towards the end – they put on a 100-run partnership and it makes a difference in the Test match. In terms of game plans I’m just trying to keep it simple. I like attacking spinners, but I’ve got to back my defence against them at the same time.”