All posts by h716a5.icu

Kolkata Knight went to the top of the points table with the first one-wicket win in IPL history, off the penultimate ball against Kings XI Punjab

The Report by Abhishek Purohit09-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:47

O’Brien: KKR the best form team

Kolkata Knight Riders went to the top of the points table with the first one-wicket win in IPL history, off the penultimate ball against Kings XI Punjab. In their final league game of IPL 2015 at home, Knight Riders completed the second-highest chase of the tournament at Eden Gardens to finish the season with a 5-1 scoreline in Kolkata.Kings XI’s spinners had them 83 for 4 in the 11th over in pursuit of 184, but a partnership of 53 in 4.1 overs between Andre Russell and Yusuf Pathan revived the chase. After Pathan fell for 29 off 19, Russell went on to blitz 51 off 21. After Russell fell with 25 needed off 19, Piyush Chawla leveled the scores before the last pair scrambled a leg-bye.Robin Uthappa had kick-started the chase with smooth timing against the seamers and Manish Pandey had taken over from him before the spinners slowed things down.Pandey, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav fell to the part-time offspinner Glenn Maxwell and Gurkeerat Singh. The asking-rate had gone past 12 by the end of the 12th over when Knight Riders began their fightback.Russell powered a couple of pulled boundaries off Anureet Singh before he and Pathan launched straight hits off Axar Patel in a 24-run over. Beuran Hendricks, playing his first game of the season in place of Mitchell Johnson, took some punishment as well but removed Pathan with a short ball in the 15th.Undaunted, Russell swung Anureet repeatedly over midwicket for 19 more in the 16th. Axar had the allrounder caught behind in the 17th but Chawla hit Hendricks for successive fours in the 18th. With seven needed off the last five balls, Chawla heaved Anureet for six over deep midwicket. He was caught behind next ball, but his 18 off 11 had sealed it for Knight Riders.The hosts had been responsible for having to chase such a big total in the first place. They put down M Vijay thrice and Manan Vohra twice at the start of the Kings XI innings to let the openers put on 45 inside six overs. Maxwell and Wriddhiman Saha then added 65 for the third wicket in 5.4 overs. Maxwell belatedly found some form as he connected with some reverse-sweeps and slogs, going past 100 runs for the season in his eighth innings with 43 off 22.Both Saha and Maxwell went to Sunil Narine in the 17th over, the offspinner ending with figures of 4 for 19, his best performance of the season tripling his wicket-tally.Narine out of the way, David Miller slammed Russell for two sixes and two fours in the last over to set the hosts a daunting target. It consumed almost all their resources, but they scraped through in the end.

Former Test opener Phil Jaques has been named as the new coach of Queensland

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2015Former Test opener Phil Jaques has been named as the new coach of Queensland. Jaques has taken the role previously occupied by Stuart Law, who parted ways with the Bulls in January.Jaques retired from first-class cricket last year and joined New South Wales as an assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. He played 11 Tests for Australia and averaged 47.47, but his later career was affected by back injuries that contributed to his not playing more matches for his country.”Queensland were always amongst my toughest opponents when I was playing, but also good company off the field, and I am thrilled about the prospect of now playing a role in that culture,” Jaques said. “It goes without saying that I am grateful to Cricket NSW for giving me the chance to move into coaching last year and I will always appreciate their support over my career.”But the challenge of taking on my first senior coaching role with the Bulls is incredibly exciting and it is a journey I am very eager to begin. I was able to combine coaching and playing at grade level with Sutherland before taking on the pathway and assistant coach roles with Cricket NSW and the Blues and it has always been where I wanted to go with my post-playing career.”I have good memories of the Gabba. I made my first-class debut in a game where the Bulls had NSW under the pump, and later representing my country in a Test match there where I was able to score my first Test century. The Bulls have an exciting squad, with probably the most potential of any group in Australia, and I am sure there will be many rewarding opportunities awaiting our players in the future.”Queensland’s high-performance manager Brett Jones said: “He was still achieving at a high level in first class cricket mid-way through 2014 so he is very much a person who is attuned as to what is required to be successful as a player in the Sheffield Shield and beyond. Phil is comfortable in a high-performance environment and we will certainly be working hard to support him.”

All must live in a post-Phillip Hughes world, where the protection of the head and the region around it is given far greater attention due to the unimaginable events of last summer. As a result, Chris Rogers has been ruled out of the first Test in Dominic

Daniel Brettig in Roseau02-Jun-2015Chris Rogers complained of a headache the morning after his blow to the head, but had felt worse. Peter Brukner had certainly seen worse, including when Rogers himself was struck in the back of the helmet when fielding close to the bat at the Gabba last year. Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann want to choose their best XI, and for the past 19 matches that has included Rogers as the steady, calming presence at the top of the order.On Monday morning before training at Windsor Park, these four men debated Rogers’ availability for the first West Indies Test in Dominica. It was a lengthy and at times animated exchange, with plenty of arm waving evident from a distance. The final result had Rogers ruled out of the match due to signs of concussion after the impact from a local net bowler that momentarily stunned him on Sunday.Once upon a time, this dialogue would have gone another way. As the player protested his readiness, the coach and captain would have allowed him to continue batting in the nets and let him take his place in the side unless there was major evidence of trouble. The advice of the team doctor – or physio in earlier years – would have been just that.In the extreme case of Justin Langer, he fought through repeated blows to the helmet until 2006, when a particularly sickening hit from Makhaya Ntini in Johannesburg left him badly shaken and set him on the road to retirement within a year. Nevertheless, in the second innings Langer was physically blocked from leaving the dressing room in his batting gear by the captain Ricky Ponting and team manager Steve Bernard, as Australia stuttered through a nervy fourth innings chase.Now, however, all must live in a post-Phillip Hughes world, where the protection of the head and the region around it is given far greater attention due to the unimaginable events of last summer. Brukner, of course, had flown instantly from Melbourne to Sydney upon word of Hughes’ injury reaching him, and stood ashen-faced alongside the family as they dealt with the pain of a loss that will forever influence thinking about the dangers inherent in the game.”I think there’s probably a few players that wouldn’t have played as many Test matches as they did if that was the case long ago,” Clarke said of changing times. “But, I think there’s obviously a lot of research done by the experts in all sports. You know, it is spoken about a lot – certainly when I spent some time at home before coming here – in the AFL and in the rugby league in particular.”There’s been a lot spoken about with concussion and as hard as it is on Chris, I think credit needs to go to Peter Brukner, our team doctor. He’s an expert in this field and he believes Chris has those symptoms and it wouldn’t be smart form him to take the field. So, look, I always want to win, I always love seeing Australian cricket have success. But at the end of the day I’d rather see the health and safety of the individual come first and foremost, and in this case that’s exactly what we’re doing and I think it’s a really smart decision.”The smartness or rightness of the decision will be of only scant solace to Rogers, who finds himself out of the Test team at the outset of dual tours that have been billed well in advance as his final cricketing lap of the world. Ruled out for medical reasons is not the same as being dropped, but now the opportunity passes on to others, likely Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges, to seal their places in the Test team. Brukner said that Rogers tried to talk him around “as they do”, and Clarke placed himself in the opener’s shoes.”Oh, look, I think Chris is exactly like me,” he said. “He wants to play, as I want him to play, but he also understands and respects that there is a lot more to it than just walking back out onto the field and playing again, as I’m sure the doc would have said, if he gets hit again who knows what the consequences are, and I don’t think anybody wants to see that happen for the sake of missing one game. You know, that’s the way it is.”In some ways, it appeared as though Rogers knew he was in trouble from the moment of the ball after he was hit. He had shrugged off the blow in the nets, as is traditional, but a wild haymaker at the next delivery drew a self-recriminatory scythe at the stumps. Rogers has been so prolific for so long it can be easy to forget there is a fragility to him common to all batsmen, and whether he appreciates it or not, some time to take stock before returning in Jamaica may not be a bad thing.Meanwhile, Australia will try to go on without him in Dominica, much as West Indies will battle without their own left-handed limpet Shivnarine Chanderpaul. They will do so because they never again wish to feel the way they felt on November 25, 2014, a day that ensures no doctor’s opinion will ever be taken lightly.Asked about this episode in light of that one, Nathan Lyon conveyed its scarring by saying very little at all. “You know the answer to that,” he said. “So I don’t really need to go into that over here, sorry.” Australia never want to go back there, and so Rogers must sit out this match.

A seven-wicket haul from Yasir Shah helped Pakistan run through Sri Lanka’s second innings and romp to a 10-wicket win in Galle

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:15

Arnold: Sri Lanka’s approach after lunch was a shocker

A seven-wicket haul from Yasir Shah completed an emphatic turnaround from Pakistan, who took the Galle Test by 10 wickets after recovering from a precarious position at the start of the fourth morning. Pakistan had been five down and 182 behind Sri Lanka’s first-innings total at the time; few could have predicted then that their openers would waltz to a target of 90 at eight runs an over a day and a half later.The revival, sparked by Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq’s sixth-wicket partnership and carried forward by Yasir’s fizzing legbreaks on the fifth afternoon, also vindicated Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision to bowl first. With the first day washed out, Pakistan’s best chance of winning lay in batting just once. As it happened, they almost pulled off an innings win; Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad only needed 11.2 overs to polish off the chase.Last year, in a Test match between the same sides at the same ground, Sri Lanka took an 82-run first innings lead. At the start of the final day, Pakistan were 4 for 1 in their second innings. A draw looked the likeliest result, but Rangana Herath spun Pakistan out for 180 before Sri Lanka galloped to their target of 99 at a run a ball, with rain lurking around the corner.Now, the circumstances were neatly reversed, and Pakistan needed someone to step up and match Herath’s performance. Yasir showed the earliest possible sign that he would be that man; his first ball of the morning was a perfectly pitched topspinner. Dilruwan Perera, the nightwatchman, didn’t pick it, and shouldered arms. It went through with the angle and pegged back his off stump.From that point until lunch, Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne dealt with Yasir’s threat comfortably enough to suggest that the turn and bounce that had been in plentiful evidence on the second and third days had slowed down considerably. But their comfort level at the crease didn’t translate into easy runs. The bowling was probing throughout, and Zulfiqar Babar and Hafeez tightened the screws by giving away only 10 runs in seven overs as lunch approached.This spell of constriction may have had something to do with the shot Thirimanne attempted as soon as Wahab Riaz came on for his second spell of the morning, an ambitious on-the-up drive that resulted in an edge to first slip. Wahab produced extra bounce with that ball, but it was still an unwise shot under the circumstances.That became a theme during the second session. There was some controversy in the manner of Angelo Mathews’ dismissal, but it was the shot selection of the younger batsmen that hurt Sri Lanka the most. Karunatne gritted it out for 173 balls before getting stumped attempting an atrocious heave against Yasir. Trying to hit himself out of the vice-like grip exerted by the spinners, Kithuruwan Vithanage holed out at deep square leg. Had they stayed in for a further 20 overs, cumulatively, and scored an extra 50 runs, Pakistan’s fourth-innings task may have been a lot more challenging.But the Mathews wicket was still pivotal, both in terms of importance and timing. Wahab had dismissed Thirimanne minutes before lunch, and had broken a 69-run fourth-wicket stand; now Mathews was facing the second ball after lunch.Mathews was done in by the limits of two-dimensional replays to determine what happened in a three-dimensional world. The ball from Yasir slid on with the angle and as Mathews pressed forward to defend, it either brushed his inside edge or slid past it, before bouncing off his front pad into short leg’s hands.Umpire Richard Illingworth gave it out, and Mathews immediately reviewed. Split-screen replays suggested Mathews might not have edged it, with the ball appearing to have passed the bat while viewed from the square-on angle when bat and ball were closest together from the front-on angle. Whether that was conclusive evidence or not is debatable; the third umpire thought not, and Illingworth’s decision stood.Sri Lanka were now 144 for 5, effectively 27 for 5. Yasir, who had looked a little flat since dismissing Dilruwan with the first ball of the day, was re-energised. The zip was back, the ball was dipping on the batsmen when they came down the track, and ripping past their edge when they pressed forward to defend.Dinesh Chandimal was finding ways to score runs at one end, defending solidly and using his feet well when the ball was tossed up, but the lower order gave him no support. Dhammika Prasad ran down the track to Zulfiqar Babar, slogged, and missed by a mile. Herath slogged Yasir straight to deep midwicket.Eventually, Yasir produced one that was too good for Chandimal, drawing him out with flight and defeating him with dip and sharp turn. Chandimal groped in front of his body and tried to whip against the turn, to no avail. Sarfraz completed his third stumping of the innings, Yasir had picked up his first seven-for in first-class cricket.

Steven Smith has conceded the top spot in the Test batting rankings after an underwhelming display in the first Ashes Test against England in Cardiff

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2015Steven Smith has conceded the top spot in the Test batting rankings after an underwhelming display in the first Ashes Test against England in Cardiff where he made twin scores of 33 in Australia’s 169-run defeat.He is replaced in the No. 1 position by AB de Villiers, who is skipping South Africa’s forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh for paternity leave, while Joe Root has moved into the top five for the first time in his career – as has Stuart Broad in the bowling list – after a Man-of-the-Match display in Cardiff where he scored 134 and 60.Root, who since returning to the Test side in June last year has made 1512 runs at 84.00, is just seven points behind Hashim Amla in third position and 24 behind de Villiers’ mark.Smith twice got himself settled in the opening Test, but fell to Moeen Ali in the first innings, getting into a tangle against a delivery angled down the leg side and looping a catch to short mid-on, then edging Broad to second slip in the second innings.The top of the bowling rankings remains unchanged with Dale Steyn having a significant advantage on James Anderson in second position, but Broad has achieved a career-best figure after taking five wickets in Cardiff including a defining burst on the fourth day when he removed Smith and Michael Clarke after lunch.The other two spots in the top five of the bowling rankings are taken by Pakistan’s Yasir Shah and New Zealand’s Trent Boult.For the full rankings click here.

Their Super 10s opener against Pakistan is a special opportunity for the Bangladesh side, that will play at Eden Gardens for the first time since 1990.

The Preview by Mohammad Isam15-Mar-2016Match factsWednesday, March 16, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930 GMT)2:01

Chappell: Afridi is all over the place

Big PictureAsk the Bangladesh players and many of them will tell you that playing at Eden Gardens has been a lifelong dream. Several generations of Bangladeshi cricketers missed out on that opportunity but on Wednesday, Mashrafe Mortaza will lead his side to their first match at the ground since 1990.They are unlikely to be in for an easy ride against a Pakistan side that has too many things to prove after a disastrous Asia Cup and the subsequent criticism back home. Pakistan will bank on the batting form of Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal but they would also desperately want their top three – Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez – to fire.The bowling attack will rely largely on Mohammad Amir, though Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz will look to keep Bangladesh’s top-order quiet. Shahid Afridi, Malik and, perhaps, Imad Wasim – Pakistan’s spin attack – will have a tough battle against the middle-order.Bangladesh would be worried about the formation of their bowling attack. Taskin Ahmed is set to play; Taskin and Arafat Sunny went to Chennai on March 14 to have their actions tested after they were reported last week. Mustafizur Rahman’s fitness, as a result, would be very important if Bangladesh are to field a strong bowling attack. The bowler will be assessed prior to the match on Wednesday. Mushfiqur Rahim’s batting form is another worry but so far Tamim Iqbal has spoken loudly with his bat with knocks of 83* and 103* in the qualifier stage.Bangladesh will also be pleased with Shakib Al Hasan’s rediscovery of his timing with the bat and contributions with the ball. Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah have also been in good form. Al-Amin Hossain has risen to No. 6 in the T20 bowling rankings and will have to come up with the goods for Bangladesh in the last few overs.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWLWW
Pakistan WLWLLWatch out forSabbir Rahman has been Bangladesh’s go-to batsman in the top-order in 2016 with 388 runs in 12 T20I innings at an average of 43.11, including two fifties. He can look to Tamim for lessons on building a T20 innings, as he has shown a tendency to throw it away after getting set.In his last ICC event, Shahid Afridi’s leg spin and big-hitting down the order will be in focus, as he looks to steer the team out of their recent run of poor form.Team newsIf Mustafizur Rahman is declared fit, it will be a straight swap between him and Abu Hider.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mohammad Mithun, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Al-Amin Hossain, 10 Mustafizur Rahman/Abu Hider, 11 Taskin AhmedPakistan might opt for the extra spinner in Imad Wasim. They will pitch Ahmed Shehzad in the opening slot while Wahab Riaz is likely to play ahead of Mohammad Sami.Pakistan (probable): 1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad IrfanPitch and conditionsThe Kolkata pitch offered turn to the spinners in the warm-up match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on Monday, though there was also moderate bounce. The weather is forecast to be good for this game.Stats and trivia Bangladesh have played Eden Gardens only once previously, in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 1990. Bangladesh have won the last two T20I encounters between the two sides, most recently in the Asia Cup earlier this month. By playing this game, Pakistan will equal Sri Lanka’s record of most matches (31) in the World T20.

Eoin Morgan says that England’s inexperience in India could be an advantage as they arrive for the World T20 with no preconceptions.

Andrew Miller09-Mar-2016A year ago to the day, during the 2015 World Cup in Adelaide, Eoin Morgan experienced what must surely rank as one of the lowest ebbs in the often moribund history of England cricket captaincy.Defeat to Bangladesh – and a duck to boot, Morgan’s fourth in nine innings since taking over from Alastair Cook at the start of that year – condemned England to a first-round exit from a tournament specifically designed to protect the big boys from such an ignominious fate.It was, Morgan admitted, as his side touched down in Mumbai at the start of their latest global campaign, an experience that would live with him for the rest of his career. And yet, all the signs of the past 12 months seem to indicate that England, finally, have learned the lessons that their countless short-form shortcomings have been screaming out to them for a generation. Whether they have learned them quickly enough to challenge at the World T20 in India, however, is a moot point.”I think it will always be there,” Morgan recalled. “That World Cup in particular, not necessarily that day, but the whole trip was a huge learning curve for me. Particularly as a captain going through such a significant loss and such a down period in your career does make you enjoy any sort of success down the line. I think that’s been quite significant in the turnaround that we’ve had, the different attitude, the different group of players and, to a certain extent, the results that we have had.”The upsurge in England’s attitude since the World Cup has been startling to behold, even if their results don’t quite tally with the intent that they have shown in the past 12 months. A flaccid finish to their recent tour of South Africa – where a 2-0 lead in the ODI series turned into a 3-2 loss, swiftly followed by a humbling finale in the two-match T20I series – undermined many of the gains made in the second half of 2015, not least a rousing limited-overs leg of their tour of the UAE in November.Nevertheless, a steadfast commitment to youth, best exemplified by the explosive Jos Buttler and the unflappable Joe Root, has enabled Morgan to settle into an elder statesman role and build a team that might well be capable of great feats in the future. For now, however, he is happy for his young squad to fly under the radar, and embrace the learning curve that is about to get very steep very quickly.”We are reasonably confident,” Morgan said of his team’s chances. “We have a lot of talent and a lot of match-winners, but one of the things we talked about after the [South Africa] trip was ‘are we playing in the right way?’ and ‘are we being beaten in the right manner, doing the things we said we would do?’ and we are. The attitude within the group is still a really positive mindset, and that’s very important for us coming into this major tournament.”A gung-ho attitude is all well and good, but at some stage in this campaign – maybe as soon as next Wednesday, when they face a dangerous West Indies team in their opening match in Mumbai – England may well rue the lack of situational experience that most of the other big teams will be able to bring to bear at the crunch moments.Morgan, with a grand total of eight international appearances in India, is the most experienced player in the England squad, and the only one so far to have sampled the hothouse environment of IPL cricket. Ten of their 15 players have never so much as set foot in India for a senior tour. But far from seeing it as an impediment, Morgan has challenged his players to embrace their naivety and turn it to their advantage.”I think it just becomes a different challenge,” he said. “Not only have our guys not played the IPL, a lot of our guys have never been to India. But we have guys who have toured Sri Lanka quite a lot, been on a recent tour to Dubai and Abu Dhabi where we had a little bit of success.”And I think sometimes, having experience, particularly in India – because a lot of sides come here, including Australia, and get hammered – can almost scar your perception and [style of] playing within the tournament. Having a little bit of naivety with a huge amount of talent isn’t a bad thing.”That’s not to say, however, that England wouldn’t crave a bit more experience if it was available, and the loss of Steven Finn to a calf strain last week was a particularly grievous blow. His extra pace and aggression has provided a cutting edge on previous one-day tours of India, not least in 2011, when he was a lone shining light in a 5-0 defeat, but Morgan was confident that the recalled Liam Plunkett would prove a worthy replacement.”Losing any fast bowler before a major tournament is a blow,” said Morgan. “I think the benefit we have in that is Liam was fit off the back of it. They seemed to be on rotation at the moment – him and Steven, which is quite a weird thing. At the back we have other guys who are out as well – Mark Wood is coming back from injury, so similar instance – but the fact that we have one fit fast bowler is a really good sign for us.”England’s opening warm-up match takes place against New Zealand at the Wankhede on Saturday, and Morgan backed his team to launch their preparations as they mean to continue.”It’s the most expressive we’ve been in a long time,” he said. “We have a lot of talent within the side, we encourage our players to go out and be as brash and aggressive as they can, and take the game to the opposition.”

Rangana Herath wants to cap his 17-year international career off by becoming the third Sri Lankan bowler to take 300 wickets in Tests

Sa'adi Thawfeeq23-Apr-2016While Rangana Herath may have retired from limited-overs cricket to extend his Test career, there may still be doubts over how much he could put his 38-year old body and those surgically repaired knees through. The Sri Lanka left-arm spinner, though, wanted to secure 300 Test wickets and be part of his team’s next 10 Tests before taking a call on his future.”I have not set any goals for myself. Whenever I have played for my country, I have always wanted to see how best I could contribute to win,” he said. “That has been my approach all the time. It would be a big achievement if I can get to 300 Test wickets, but after that, I don’t see any goals that I can pursue.”There are about ten Tests lined up for this year and I’ve decided that I can manage myself and my knees playing in that format rather than the hustle and bustle of one-day cricket,” he said.Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas are the only Sri Lankans with 300 or more Test wickets. Herath is three short of the mark and could get to it this May in the first of three matches against England at Headingley, the venue where he played a starring role in a famous win for Sri Lanka in 2014.With three Tests at home, against Australia, to follow the England tour and three Tests in South Africa in December, Sri Lanka would want to retain Herath’s services for as long as possible. He has been the team’s leading wicket-taker since Muralitharan’s retirement in July 2010. Overall, only James Anderson and Stuart Broad have taken more wickets than Herath’s 226 in this period.The problem, though, is his fitness. In 2012, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to have the cartilages of both knees repaired.”It was fine for the first few years or so, but with the extra workload of playing international cricket, the pain in both knees started to come back, especially when I am running,” Herath said. “I have managed to continue playing by taping my knees. I was not 100% certain of being fit to play in all three formats, that’s why I decided to stick to Test cricket, a pace at which I can manage my legs. I am lucky that I didn’t end up as a fast bowler because my career wouldn’t have lasted this long.”Herath’s retirement would leave another hole in a Sri Lankan side that is struggling to cope with the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. But Herath expressed faith in the youngsters coming through. “You don’t need one bowler to run through the entire opposition,” he said. “We still have quality fast bowlers and spinners who can take 20 wickets to win a Test match.”We have plenty of good spinners around, like Dilruwan Perera, Tharindu Kaushal, Sachithra Senanayake and Jeffrey Vandersay, but they need to be given a consistent run in the national team. That is how they will gain the confidence to bowl under pressure and under different conditions and situations and win matches for us. I will certainly want to share my experience and help young spinners and contribute in whichever way I can.”Herath made his Test debut as a 21-year old in 1999, but it took him over a decade to find a permanent place in Sri Lanka’s XI. “When I was dropped from the side, I never gave up hope. I knew I had the skill to play for the national team and kept on performing at domestic level,” he said. “The national selectors thought that I was good enough and persisted with me for virtually all the matches played by the Sri Lanka A team. That gave me hope that one day I would be considered to play in the senior side.”A tours, however, were infrequent at that time and Herath had been playing in the Staffordshire League in England in 2009, when he was summoned to the national squad to replace an injured Muralitharan for the home Tests against Pakistan. He took 15 wickets at 26.93 and helped Sri Lanka win the series 2-0.Although Herath played 71 ODIs and 17 T20Is, he never played in a World Cup final until 2014 when Sri Lanka beat India to lift the World T20 title in Bangladesh. His 5 for 3 against New Zealand in a virtual quarter-final at that tournament is widely regarded as the best bowling performance in the shortest format.Herath had helped his team enter World Cup finals on two other occasions, but was left out for the summit clashes. In the 2011 World Cup semi-final, he took 1 for 31 off nine overs against New Zealand, and in the 2012 World T20, he returned his second-best figures of 3 for 25 against Pakistan, both at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.Herath has not thought of life after cricket yet. “I am still employed with Sampath Bank and have some years to serve with them,” Herath, who is presently their business promotions manager, said. “I am lucky to have an employer like Sampath Bank who has never questioned my position even on occasions when I had not been part of the national team.”

Goal takes a look at the most prolific marksmen from across Europe's top 5 leagues this year, including Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Son Heung-Min

Getty=15) Rony LopesAS Monaco | 15 games | 9 goalsAdvertisementGetty Images=15) Florian Thauvin Marseille | 17 games | 9 goalsGetty Images=15) Son Heung-MinTottenham Hotspur | 18 games | 9 goalsENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Emilio Andreoli=13) Gonzalo HiguainJuventus | 13 games | 10 goals

Who is each Premier League club's first-choice penalty converter, and who is on spot-kick duty if there is no designated taker?

Riyad Mahrez stepped up to the penalty spot in the absence of Sergio Aguero, who had already been substituted, and had the chance to clinch a last-minute 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Premier League.

The Algeria international was involved in a tiff with Gabriel Jesus over who should take the penalty, and he took to the spot – only to send it sky-high into Row Z of the Anfield Road end of Anfield.

So who is each club's designated penalty-taker, or are duties rotated?

Getty Images1Wolves | Ruben Neves, Jota

Wolves do not have a designated penalty-taker with the role expected to be shared between some members of their attacking force, including Ruben Neves and Jota.

AdvertisementGetty Images2West Ham | Marko Arnautovic

Marko Arnautovic is the Hammers' first-choice penalty-taker this season and convereted from the spot in the early season fixture against Bournemouth, beating Asmir Begovic.

In the 2017-18, however, spot-kick duty was on rotation – with the likes of Mark Noble, Andre Ayew, and Manuel Lanzini all assuming the role.

Getty Images3Watford | Troy Deeney

Troy Deeney is Watford's premier penalty-taker but missed his last two spot-kicks of the 2017-18 season, though scored three – including a last-minute effort against Arsenal at the death of regular time that won the game 2-1.

Deeney netted three penalties in the 2016-17 season, and six spot-kicks the campaign prior.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images4Tottenham | Harry Kane

The Tottenham forward is the designated penalty-taker for both club and country, with two of his 30 goals scored in the 2017-18 coming in the form of a spot-kick.

Kane's strike from the spot against Brighton in September took his tally to 13 top-flight penalties since August 2015 – making him the highest-scoring penalty-taker in the Premier League, while he has failed to find the net with just two of his 15 efforts in that time.