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Sri Lanka, who were clinical in the first game, will look to stretch Bangladesh’s losing streak in T20Is to nine

The Preview by Mohammad Isam05-Apr-2017

Match Facts

Thursday, April 6, 2017
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)Mashrafe Mortaza will play his final T20I on Thursday•Associated Press

Big picture

The second T20 international against Sri Lanka will be Mashrafe Mortaza’s last, and Bangladesh will be keen to farewell their captain with a victory. If Bangladesh come back from Tuesday’s thrashing and win, the T20I series will end in a draw, like the ODI and Test series did.Sri Lanka, who were clinical in the first game, will look to stretch Bangladesh’s losing streak in T20Is to nine.It was the returning Kusal Perera who led Sri Lanka’s charge in the first match with a 53-ball 77. He found little support from the other end, but that did not stop Sri Lanka from acing a chase of 156. Lasith Malinga, predictably, was Sri Lanka’s most effective bowler with two wickets. Vikum Sanjaya’s swing, Asela Gunaratne’s dibbly-dobblers, and Seekugge Prasanna’s accurate legspin ably complemented Malinga.Mosaddek Hossain and Mahmudullah played cameos to rescue Bangladesh’s innings, but the side will need more from the top order, especially Soumya Sarkar who has a tendency to throw away starts.To give Mashrafe the perfect send-off in this format, Bangladesh will have to improve their fielding, and they also must find a way to absorb pressure. That is how they won at the P Sara Test and Dambulla ODI.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLWWW (completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLLL

In the spotlight

Kusal Perera‘s renewed vigour enabled him to make a match-winning half-century in the first game, and now will look to blend that vigour with consistency.All eyes will be on Mashrafe Mortaza, who had announced his retirement from T20Is at the toss in the previous game. Will it turn out to be a happy ending for Mashrafe?

Team news

Sri Lanka are likely to retain their winning combination from the first T20I.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Upul Tharanga (capt), 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Dilshan Munaweera, 4 Chamara Kapugedara, 5 Asela Gunaratne, 6 Seekkuge Prasanna, 7 Milinda Siriwardana, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Vikum SanjayaBangladesh, on the other hand, might consider replacing Taskin Ahmed with offspinning allrounder Mehedi Hasan, who is uncapped in T20Is.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt.), 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin Ahmed/Mehedi Hasan

Pitch and conditions

The second T20I will be played on the same pitch that was used for the first one. It is expected to be good for batting, but is likely to assist the spinners as the game wears on. Showers have been forecast for the day but the chance of rain in the evening is small.

Stats and trivia

• Mashrafe Mortaza will finish his T20I career as Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers.
• Bangladesh have now lost eight T20Is in a row, their second-worst run in the format

Despite the eliminator ending at 1.27am, Muttiah Muralitharan’s wits were intact as he broke down Sunrisers Hyderabad’s season and the loss against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru

Shashank Kishore in Bengaluru18-May-2017The city where they were crowned IPL champions last year was the same city which wrecked their hopes this year. Sunrisers Hyderabad arrived in Bangalore late last month and saw a potential win against a struggling host slip away because of rain. Now, in the Eliminator, they were 20 minutes away from having a shot at Qualifier 2 and perhaps even defending their crown as it rained for a better part of three hours immediately after they posted 128, numbers-wise a sub-par score at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. But then it stopped, making way for a six-over chase in which Kolkata Knight Riders had to get 48.To not get there, Knight Riders needed a serious meltdown, and they almost had one when they lost three wickets in the first seven deliveries, but the advantage of a truncated game always favours the chasing team. Gautam Gambhir demonstrated as much with his unbeaten 19-ball 32, which helped Knight Riders home with four balls to spare. Muttiah Muralitharan, Sunrisers’ bowling coach, said it was his team’s “destiny” to not progress.Asked if prior playing experience on this surface, which they were denied because of rain during the league phase, might have helped approach their batting better this time around, Muralitharan said with a laugh: “Had we played and won [against RCB], we would have been in Mumbai [for Qualifier 1]. It’s destiny. Twenty more minutes and we would have gone through. It’s all about destiny. It’s part and parcel of the game.”Muralitharan isn’t a stranger at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, having spent two seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore. But he may have well been mistaken into believing it was his first time here, upon looking at the 22 yards for this game. The ground where Royal Challengers nearly chased down 209 to beat Sunrisers in the final last year was now throwing up vastly different conditions. The reasons attributed to the sudden change in the nature of the square are many.A change in composition of the soil and a reduction in thickness of clay to aid bounce hasn’t worked because of the dry heat, according to the ground’s curator. This has also caused the tracks to break down faster because of cracks opening up. Unlike last year, where five totals of 200 or more were scored, the average first-innings score here this season was 148, something Sunrisers were targeting upon being put in to bat.Muttiah Muralitharan: ‘The batsmen played well, the bowlers who we picked at the auction did well. Overall we are satisfied with the performance’•AFP

Knight Riders’ Nathan Coulter-Nile kept bowling cross-seam and got the ball to stop on the batsmen. Manufacturing strokes was hard as David Warner and Kane Williamson found out. It was only when the bowlers pitched short did they have any leeway. Despite having seven wickets in hand, Sunrisers could only manage 30 off their last five.”The wicket was not great to play shots, we would’ve been bowled out for 70-80 if we tried to play shots,” Muralitharan said. “We were thinking of 140 and finished 10 short because they bowled well. We had the bowling to defend it across 20 overs. Had we taken two or three wickets early, they would have struggled. We’ve seen how teams have defended 130-135 here. It’s unfortunate. They won the toss and so they deserved to win.”Muralitharan chose not to focus on the playing conditions. A regulation cut-off time for this match – the cut-off time for play to begin in the playoffs is one hour more than the cut-off time for the league-phase games – would have meant Sunrisers would have qualified. Asked whether a reserve day, instead, would have been the way to go, he laughed it off.”We all prefer 20 overs. We didn’t expect it to rain. Anyone can win or lose, but we had a great season,” he said. “The batsmen played well, the bowlers who we picked at the auction did well. Overall we are satisfied with the performance – eight wins and five losses before this. It doesn’t always go your way.”We are all disappointed not getting through, but we had some great performances. Unfortunately you can’t win every time. We made sure we gave our best and our best was not good enough. We have to take it on the chin. Let’s see, hopefully if we can get the same team next year – I don’t know what the rules are going to be – we can once again try and win.”

A rush of wickets followed by a last-wicket stand brought excitement but the match remained well balanced at Chester-le-Street

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2017
ScorecardChris Rushworth was part of a spirited last-wicket stand•Getty Images

Signs of a positive result when Durham lost five wickets for six runs proved misleading as only four more wickets fell in the two sessions of play against Glamorgan at Chester-le-Street.After thundery storms play began an 1.10 on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match and when Glamorgan were faced with a deficit of 107 and 42 overs to bat after tea they reached 92 for 2.After the collapse Durham’s last-wicket pair, Chris Rushworth and Barry McCarthy, put on 68 to achieve maximum batting points with two balls to spare.McCarthy was then unlucky to take no wickets in a spell of 8-3-5-0 as Jacques Rudolph survived a searching examination from Durham’s four seamers until two overs from the close, when he was strangled down the leg side for 43.It was a deserved reward for academy boy Matty Potts, who also took the other wicket when he had Nick Selman lbw for 16.Rudolph twice edged Potts for four through the vacant third slip area and the youngster conceded only eight more runs in his eight overs.When Durham resumed on 281 for four, Paul Collingwood and Ryan Pringle added 47 in the first 12 overs. Pringle hit Michael Hogan for three fours in four balls, but he fell lbw to the next to start the slide.Graham Wagg had Paul Coughlin caught behind first ball, then Collingwood departed for 92 when a steeply-bouncing ball which Marchant de Lange lobbed off a glove to Aneurin Donald at gully.An inswinger from Wagg had Stuart Poynter lbw before de Lange banged another one in to have Potts caught at short leg.Durham still needed 16 for the fourth batting point when Rushworth joined McCarthy. But they were relatively untroubled once de Lange rested after a 12-over spell, in which his two for 30 took his overall figures to five for 95.McCarthy was on 30 when Rushworth fell for 38, chipping Hogan to mid-on with the total on 402.

Zimbabwe bowled with venom, fielded with pep and batted with intelligence to win the deciding fifth ODI in Hambantota and stun Sri Lanka 3-2 for their first away series win since 2009

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:46

Fernando: SL have lot of soul-searching to do

They came to Sri Lanka ranked 11th, having been defeated by Scotland in the previous month, and having lost a series to Afghanistan earlier in the year. But bowling with venom, fielding with pep, and batting with intelligence, helped Zimbabwe win the deciding fifth ODI by three wickets in Hambantota, and stun the hosts 3-2. It is their first away series victory since 2009, and one of Zimbabwe cricket’s finest moments ever.Though their quartet of miserly spinners had trussed Sri Lanka up for 203 in their 50 overs, and though their openers slammed 92 for the first wicket, victory still had to be prised from their opposition on a slowing, turning deck. Zimbabwe were 137 for 1, when a Sri Lanka surge, led by Akila Dananjaya, claimed six wickets for 38.But as long as Sikandar Raza was at the crease, Zimbabwe’s chances of victory remained good. He survived the last of Dananjaya’s overs, and alongside Graeme Cremer, saw out a burst of swinging Lasith Malinga yorkers. Having been such a high-impact player over the past nine days, perhaps it was also fitting that Raza made the series’ final play. With six to get, he ran down the pitch and deposited Wanindu Hasaranga over the straight boundary to spark elation in the dressing room. His 27 nerveless runs followed an excellent turn with the ball, with which he captured 3 for 27 – two of those wickets having come in the tone-setting first 10 overs.Hamilton Masakadza capped an outstanding series with an 86-ball 73, Solomon Mire and Tarisai Musakanda made useful batting contributions, and the other spinners – Cremer, Malcolm Waller and Sean Williams – all made important breakthroughs as well. So many in this Zimbawe outfit can take credit for the series triumph – almost every batsman has produced an impactful innings, Tendai Chatara has been reliable, and they have outfielded Sri Lanka too – though that is not the compliment it once was.Sri Lanka will be left to rue their timidity with the bat – which was brought into sharp relief by Zimbabwe’s openers – and their lack of ambition with the ball in the early overs. Where Raza had been immediately menacing, slowing the ball down, and tossing it tantalisingly up, Sri Lanka’s spinners bowled too quickly through the early overs, when Mire and Masakadza were mowing them down. Even Dananjaya, who later found rhythm and wound up with 4 for 47, went wicketless in his first four overs and conceded 25 runs. In their defence, three of the six main bowlers in this match had played less than 15 ODIs.For the third time in the series, Chatara took the first Sri Lanka wicket, but it was through Raza’s calculative first spell that Zimbabwe truly applied their tentacles to this innings. He got Kusal Mendis to chip a ball to short midwicket after drawing him down the pitch, then ripped a perfectly-pitched ball past Upul Tharanga’s forward defence to rattle off stump. Where in each of the previous two matches, Sri Lanka put up opening stands in excess of 200, they were 34 for three after 11 overs in this game. Raza had bowled six of those overs, and his two wickets had cost only 11 runs.No Sri Lanka batsman appeared fluent, but Danushka Gunathilaka was the best of them in the early overs, using his long stride to smother some of the spin that foxed his teammates. Even so, his 47-run fourth-wicket partnership with Angelo Mathews was stilted. Mathews had picked up what seemed to be a groin strain early in his innings, and was unable to take the tight singles and twos that are perhaps at a premium on a pitch such as this. When he was caught at slip for 24, playing a tired drive to Graeme Cremer, Sri Lanka were 78 for 4, and already in serious trouble.Gunathilaka passed fifty for the fourth time in the series, but then lost concentration, and his wicket. Before long, Sri Lanka were 126 for 7 in the 35th over, and it took an intelligent 59 not out from Asela Gunaratne to help them bat through to the 50th over and put up a serviceable score. He had gelled well with No. 10 batsman Dushmantha Chameera. Together, they mustered 34 off the last four overs – Gunaratne shuffling around the crease to hit square boundaries. Their unbeaten 50-run stand was the best of the innings.Each of Zimbabwe’s openers survived close calls early: a Lasith Malinga slower ball missing Hamilton Masakadza’s off stump by centimetres, before Solomon Mire successfully overturned an lbw decision against him off Nuwan Kulasekara. But if there were early nerves, they would soon be clobbered into submission.Sikandar Raza took three wickets before making a vital contribution with the bat to see Zimbabwe through in a tense chase•AFP

Mire biffed three fours and a six off the fourth over – bowled by Kulasekara – and once Zimbabwe were off, it was more or less a Powerplay boundary binge. The batsmen would hit one six apiece, and nine fours in total by the end of the 10th over, many of those hits coming down the ground. At that stage, Zimbabwe had knocked 62 off the total. Though Mire would soon lose his stumps, trying to paddle sweep Gunaratne, a further 40 would come off the next six overs, and Zimbabwe would be halfway to the winning score.Malinga’s dismissal of Masakadza in the 24th over seemed a mere bump at the time, with so much batting to come, but bowling to left-handers now, flight, dip and rip returned to Dananjaya’s game, and he threatened to derail the chase. He first had Craig Ervine lbw, had Williams caught at short midwicket soon after, had Musakanda holing out to long on, and in his final over, had Peter Moor caught at leg gully. Malinga supported him with a tight spell and the wicket of Waller at the other end, but Zimbabwe could almost taste victory by now.Raza and Cremer tiptoed onwards through the last of these bowlers’ spells, and saw the team through to a famous victory. Much will be made of Sri Lanka’s failures in the series, but Zimbabwe played some clever and courageous cricket to overturn their hosts.

The spoils were shared in Cardiff where the match was abandoned after 17.2 overs of Glamorgan’s innings

ECB Reporters Network15-Jul-2017
ScorecardJacques Rudolph was leading Glamorgan to a hefty total•Getty Images

The spoils were shared in Cardiff where the match was abandoned after 17.2 overs of Glamorgan’s innings which was set to leave a demanding target with Jacques Rudolph unbeaten on 65 off 37 balls.Despite a 35-minute delay because of rain before the start there was no reduction in overs and, after winning the toss, Somerset, who had lost their previous nine games in the competition, elected to bowl first.They quickly gained success when Lewis Gregory, with the second ball of his first over, had David Lloyd caught behind. Aneurin Donald, however, was soon into his stride, pulling Craig Overton for four, before sweeping him over the wicketkeeper for six.Colin Ingram, who scored a 46-ball century against Sussex last week, then struck Tim Groenewald for fourteen runs in an over, which included a huge six fourteen rows back into the members enclosure.Somerset took their second wicket when Donald skied Gregory to mid-on after scoring 24 from 13 balls, but Ingram kept attacking, hitting Allenby for another six, before he was caught on the midwicket boundary for 39 from 21 balls.Glamorgan were 92 for 3 at the halfway stage, but then lost their fourth wicket when Andrew Salter was well held by Max Waller off his own bowling.Rudolph and Chris Cooke maintained the momentum with a rapid partnership of 52 in 4.2 overs, which ended when Cooke struck a full toss from Groenewald to mid-off.Rudolph then reached his fifty from only 28 balls, which included four fours and two sixes, with Glamorgan reaching 158 for 5 after 16 overs but after eight deliveries the rain returned.

The Sri Lanka captain has pinned his hopes on the inexperienced quicks to deliver in the absence of injured seniors Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallekele11-Aug-2017Sri Lanka are willing to try just about anything to win. There was the “high altitude” training camp at Pallekele before the Champions Trophy, the high profile appointment of Allan Donald ahead of the same tournament, three trips to Kandy’s Temple of the Tooth over the past 13 months, a fast-bowling workshop with Wasim Akram, the appointment of a cricket manager, the appointment of a number of supplementary coaches and the elbowing out of Graham Ford.In this series alone, they have tried to beat India on a flat deck. They have tried to beat India on a dry track. Now, they appear to be pinning their hopes on fast bowling, with what appears to be a seam-friendly surface unveiled at Pallekele. The only problem is that with both Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal unavailable for this Test, Sri Lanka are forced to rely on a seam attack even greener than the pitch they will play on. The most experienced frontline quick in the battery is Lahiru Kumara, who has played all of seven Tests. Dushmantha Chameera has played six Tests, Vishwa Fernando has played one, and Lahiru Gamage is uncapped in this format.Despite the inexperience, Dinesh Chandimal did his best to appear upbeat ahead of what could be another rough Test match. Kumara and Chameera have both had impressive outings on such surfaces before, and they will need to recapture that form to end India’s batting dominance in this series. Chameera, in any case, may not play ahead of Vishwa Fernando, who has been in the squad since the start of the series. Chameera was only added to the squad on Thursday.”Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando are bowling really well these days,” Chandimal said. “As the two senior bowlers are not in contention, it’s a good opportunity for them to put their hands up, put us on track to a win, and show us what they’ve got. I think they’ll take that opportunity. It’s a big challenge for both of them, and for me as a captain.”Among the other things Sri Lanka have tried is trimming their training hours – partly also due to the prevailing bad weather in Pallekele. Though it seems counterintuitive for a losing team to practice less, Chandimal believed refreshed minds could put his team in better stead for this game than further sweating in the nets. In any case, Sri Lanka had had an extensive training schedule ahead of the first two Tests, and that approach had not prevented two thumping defeats.Sri Lanka’s practice two days out from the Test was optional. There was no training at all on the eve of the game.”We did practice yesterday (Thursday) at the indoor nets because it was raining, but certain batsmen are not that keen on batting in indoor nets,” Chandimal said. “Today, we were going to practice in the morning, but it rained and we lost the opportunity. The trainers gave us some exercises and we did them. We also thought it’s good to come for tomorrow’s game with a bit of a rest to the mind as well.”While the team has searched for creative solutions to their many problems, SLC has also intervened, having requested the team to attend a “recoup and regroup” meeting on what would have been the fifth day of the second Test, in Colombo. With SLC’s top coaches also in attendance, presentations had been made and motivational speeches delivered. As is often the case, it is difficult to tell where the PR stunt ends, and where the cricket value of such an event begins. In any case, Chandimal said the meeting, which had also featured a pep talk by Aravinda de Silva, had helped raise spirits.”That was a very important meeting. All the players were there and we discussed how we could take our game forward, and how we’re going to win games. All the players also contributed their ideas to that. A lot of positives came out. At the end of the meeting, all the players were in a bit of an upbeat mood and that looks really good. After Aravinda talked to us, the players also felt confident.”

David Warner scored the slowest hundred of his career in an uncharacteristic manner and says it gave him the confidence to score more runs in Asia

Brydon Coverdale06-Sep-2017If you were told that one of Australia’s openers had spent six hours at the crease for 123 runs, painstakingly accumulated from 234 balls, with only seven boundaries, you would have complete confidence in declaring that the man in question would be Matt Renshaw. But you would be wrong. This was David Warner posting most un-Warner-like numbers in the first innings in Chittagong, where he put Australia into a strong position with two days to play.This was Warner’s 20th Test century – more than were made by Mark Taylor, or Michael Hussey, or Doug Walters, or Bill Lawry, or Ian Chappell, or Michael Slater, or Adam Gilchrist, all of whom played more Tests than Warner’s current tally of 66. It was also the slowest hundred of his Test career, completed from his 209th delivery, and in extreme heat. And his patience has brought Australia back into the series.”You pretty much felt in from ball one with the fields that they set, they didn’t really have any attacking men around the bat compared to last game,” Warner said after the day’s play. “It allowed me just to rotate the strike and not really have any need to leave your crease all the time.”At the end of the day, they try and shut down the scoreboard. They try and cut your boundaries out and play that way, try and get you caught around the crease and obviously look for that lbw dismissal or bowled through the gate. If you can negate that and you can manipulate the field, you’re going to be facing a lot of balls and you’ve got to be prepared to bat long periods of time.”It was also Warner’s second consecutive century, after his fourth-innings 112 in Mirpur last week, which he described at the time as his best innings. But for sheer single-mindedness and adaptability from his usual verve, this hundred must also be up there. “I think from a patience point of view, definitely,” Warner said. “I always talk about trying to bat long periods for time in these conditions and by far that’s the hottest I’ve ever played in. It was quite challenging to be out there. Coming off yesterday, it was every minute that I was out there.”We were out there for 100 overs the day before. A lot of credit has to go to the two fast bowlers as well. The amount of work that they’ve put in, I think they’ve both bowled 20 overs apiece in this heat. It takes someone with some good fitness to bowl through that, definitely.”Warner’s productive tour has boosted his record in Asia – he arrived for this series with only one century from 26 previous Test innings on the continent. Now, Warner believes that he might finally have found a method that can bring him success in Asia more generally.”It’s a tough environment to come out and try to play your shots and play your natural game,” he said. “You have to find a way and for me it’s taken almost 16, 17 Tests in these conditions to work out what my game plan is and stick to it. As I said before, they play on your ego a little bit, they shut down your runs, they shut down your boundary options, and you’ve got to milk the ones.”You’ve got to be prepared to bat time and you’ve got to have the fitness edge as well to do that. That’s probably the thing that’s going to keep motivating me more now to show to myself that I’ve done that, and now moving forward I can achieve the same success that I’ve had so far over here moving down the line.”Warner’s innings helped Australia gain a 72-run lead by stumps on the third day, though with only one wicket in hand they will aim to bump that advantage up a little further on the fourth morning. There remains plenty of work if Australia are to achieve the victory needed to level the series 1-1, but the batting work led by Warner has at least given them hope.”It’s crucial that we try and put as many runs on the board as possible,” he said. “I wouldn’t say the wicket is deteriorating, there’s a little bit of rough out there created from the bowlers. The middle of the wicket is still nice and true. But as the spinners do, they’ll work out what they need to do and hit those rough areas.”

The board is preparing for a net loss of US $25 million from the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, an amount that accounts for more than half its current cash reserves

Firdose Moonda06-Oct-2017Cricket South Africa is preparing for a net loss of US $25 million (approx R342.58 million) from the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, an amount that accounts for more than half its current cash reserves.In its 2016-17 integrated report, CSA reported a bank balance of $47.8 million (approx R655.44 million) at the end of April but the costs of running the tournament with reduced revenue and stadium upgrades of $25.5 million (approx R350 million) spread over three years, means the glamour competition will initially cost much more money than anticipated.While CSA had always predicted it would take at least three seasons before the T20 Global League turned a profit, much like the Big Bash League, the extent of the losses was alarming. Cricket Australia incurred similar losses over the first two years but offset that with revenue from the Champions League T20, a luxury that CSA don’t have. With the broadcast deal and sponsorship yet to be sewn up, there could be more bad news to come for South. Africa.Revenue from television rights and sponsorship has been reduced from what CSA hoped for, as acting CEO Thabang Moroe explained in Bloemfontein. “The numbers have changed, not as drastically as has been reported. Initially we were looking at a total net revenue of $32 million (approx R438.50 million) as far as broadcast and central sponsorship is concerned. At the moment it will be in its 20s.”Moroe expected the broadcast deal, which was due to be completed on Thursday but has still not been signed, to be worth between US $17 and 18 million dollars (approx R233.35 million and R247.09 million). At the same time, Moroe and his team are also seeking out a title sponsor and cutting costs on everything from the opening and closing ceremony to marketing, to cushion the blow.”We have cut down, but it’s not to wane the quality of the tournament. We are making sure our members don’t get hurt the most. As CSA, we have decided to absorb some of the losses that our members would have incurred, but we’re doing so because when we look at our numbers, we’re pretty confident that we can help them regain them in the following year,” Moroe said. “We as CSA and the team owners will still suffer losses. Hopefully, depending on how well we negotiate with all the broadcasters, the team owners will break even in year three. Our model is pretty watertight, it’s now just a matter of making sure that we deliver operationally.”Morne Morkel, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis at the inaugural player draft of the T20 Global League•T20 Global League

The team owners, of whom all but one are from overseas, were aware that losses were expected. Moroe said the “bigger teams,” referring to those owned by IPL franchises, for example will have to incur a loss of $1.5 million (approx R20.5 million). Despite that, Moroe, who has had meetings with the owners, was reassured they were all on board. “All owners are committed to staying in the league. The owners are happy to accept those losses for the first two years.”While that may buy CSA some time to make the T20 Global League financially viable, it does not decrease the pressure to produce a product that can be profitable. For that, a broadcast deal must be secured and Moroe understood the seriousness of that. “Obviously everything is tied to the broadcast deal,” he said. “When you go and see a sponsor the first thing they ask is, ‘Where is my brand going to be seen?”CSA has been in protracted negotiations with Africa’s biggest sports broadcaster, , for months and while all indications are that they will air the tournament, a sticking point is the price. Former CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat is believed to have turned down previous offers while also excluding CFO Naasei Appiah from meetings, but CSA has been forced to go back to their long-time television partners and will likely have to accept a lower deal.CSA President Chris Nenzani did not blame Lorgat for the current predicament, and said Lorgat’s failure to sign the broadcast deal was not the only reason he and CSA parted ways last week. Nenzani would not go into detail over why Lorgat’s relationship with the CSA board had become untenable but would only say the issues began in January and came to a head at a board meeting on May 13. Though Nenzani himself believed the relationship could be saved, the board did not.CSA is in the process of negotiating a payout with Lorgat, which is believed to be between $218,823 and $437,646 (approx 3 to 6 million rand), small change compared to the other losses.Ironically, the initial idea behind the creation of the T20 Global League was to enable CSA to become financially self-sufficient, so it would not have to rely on incoming tours from India, England or Australia to make money. Now, this summer’s visit by two of those teams, India and Australia, will bring in much-needed money to pump up the depleted reserves.*One US dollar = 13.71 Rand as on October 6, 2017

Needing to win all three T20Is to claim the Ashes, England are facing a complication with the uncertainty around Anya Shrubsole’s fitness and if she is unfit, the visitors could look to field a markedly spin-heavy attack

Adam Collins in Sydney16-Nov-20171:01

‘We’ve got to be fearless’ – Knight

“He’s a very busy man,” Australian captain Rachael Haynes said after Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited her team. He sure is: taking a curtain call yesterday after the successful same-sex marriage survey, this morning honouring the men’s football team for qualifying for the World Cup, then straight to North Sydney Oval for this photo-op with the women who can retain their Ashes silverware with a victory on Friday in the opening T20I.The binary state of the multi-format series – England needing to clean sweep the three T20Is to snatch a come-from-behind win – makes it simple. Haynes, however, stressed she will not be satisfied with a win in the first match alone. “We’re not just thinking it’s one game away,” she emphasised. Instead, they enter the final leg of the Ashes wanting to hammer the visitors.There isn’t much of love lost between the sides, highlighted by Australia coach Matthew Mott stating after the drawn Test – at the same venue on Sunday – that England batted in a way that showed they never much cared about winning. Valid or otherwise, it was punchy.”We had a little bit of a chuckle about it,” responded Mark Robinson, his opposite number. “There’s not much you can really say. Sometimes coaches are frustrated at the end of the day when it doesn’t quite go how you want it to do. I’ve been there myself. But I don’t really take much notice.”England captain Heather Knight believes her charges have claimed some timely momentum by salvaging a split result after Ellyse Perry’s majestic double-hundred. “We fought really hard to get those points in the Test after Australia batted really well,” she said. “Everyone is really looking forward to playing T20, getting a red stripey kit on and going out and expressing ourselves. It is the form of the game where you try and play your shots.”To help with that, she has Sarah Taylor in glittering form after stroking an unbeaten 93 off 76 balls on Thursday in a tour game against the Australian Governor-General’s XI. “It was really nice to see her in the runs being her usual innovative self,” Knight said. “One shot she hit over backward point reverse-sweeping, which is a new one from her.”Robinson quickly added that she has been “outstanding” with the gloves as well. One of the highlights of the Test was her sharp catch to dismiss Elyse Villani up to the stumps off the seam of Anya Shrubsole. “I think it was 140 overs before she let a bye go in that Test Match,” he said, “which is incredible.”Knight also pointed to England’s record in must-win fixtures – including their successful World Cup run – as proof that they can hold nerve when it matters most. “We have got to concentrate like a knock-out game and take confidence from the fact that we have performed really well in knock-out games over the last year,” she said.A slight complication for the visitors, however, is the fitness of opening bowler Shrubsole, who picked up a hamstring niggle at training on Monday. “Anya is a proven international bowler with a great record, so it is going to be a big decision if she didn’t play,” Robinson said. The decision on her will be taken after a medical assessment closer to the toss.Getty Images

Her omission would open the door to a markedly spin-heavy England attack, doubly so given that the T20 will be played on the same drab surface as the Test, where only six wickets fell in the final two days. Both captain and coach declared the most likely scenario is the two Danielles in the squad – Hazell and Wyatt – will both get their first opportunities on tour. The former is currently ranked third in the world for T20 bowlers in the ICC ratings.”She keeps it simple and she nails what she does,” Knight said. “I know they have both been desparate to get out there and contribute to this tour and they want to make an impact and do well and T20 is their preferred format, where they are bankers.”Robinson noted that given 18-year-old left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone’s excellent tour to date, she might be hard to leave out – much in the way as World Cup champions Laura Marsh and Alex Hartley. When asked if all four frontline spinners could feature in the XI, Robinson said: “Possibly. And we haven’t really used [Wyatt] for the last year as a bowler but she bowls off-spin and the captain has a pretty decent record herself. So, there could be seven spinners at some point.”Haynes, however, is less inclined to make a flurry of changes to her side. “I don’t think that we will take four spinners in to be honest,” she said. “We’ll pick a balanced team and that team will be based on the conditions.” She will have plucky Victoria offspinner Molly Strano as a new option, brought into the squad after the Tests.Australia are yet to finalise their XI in part due to forecasts of rain that could hit Sydney at the worst possible time. But what does appear likely is that 20-year-old excitement machine Ashleigh Gardner will return after being left out for the Test. “She’s a really dangerous player in this format and she’s been very successful in WBBL batting up the order,” Haynes said. The bulk of Gardner’s 414 runs in the Women’s Big Bash League last year came at No.3 and that could give Haynes the freedom to “play around with our order.”England are expected to adopt a similar approach with Katherine Brunt, recast as a T20 blaster in addition to new ball duties in this year’s Kia Super League, where she was the sixth-highest run-getter in the tournament batting from second drop in the Yorkshire list. She batted at No. 5 in the tour game, and Robinson hinted she may again in the main event.From Sydney, the series will move to Canberra, the nation’s capital, for the last two T20Is. If the hosts finish off the job between in the first T20I, they can expect an invite to join PM Turnbull at his place of work.

Middle order rally keeps Railways in the hunt for first innings points over table toppers Karnataka; Assam eye consolation win

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2017Kulwant Khejroliya and Vikas Mishra picked up three wickets apiece to put Delhi in a position from which they could possibly enforce the follow-on against Hyderabad in Uppal. Hyderabad endured a full-blown collapse that saw them slip from 107 for 2 yto 170 for 8. They finally finished on 194 for 8 at stumps in response to Delhi’s 415, with only Tanmay Agarwal offering any sort of resistance in top scoring with 63.Earlier in the day, Delhi added 79 for the loss of their last five wickets, with Vikas Tokas’s unbeaten 28 helping them cross the 400-mark. New ball bowler Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehedi Hasan picked up three wickets each for Hyderabad.A middle-order rally from Arindam Ghosh (70 not out) and Mahesh Rawat (86 not out) brought Railways to within 193 runs of Karnataka’s 434 in New Delhi. Shreyas Gopal (44 not out) and No. 11 Abhimanyu Mithun added 46 to take the visitors past 400.In reply, Railways wobbled at 83 for 4, with Mithun and K Gowtham, the offspinner, picking up two wickets each. Shivakant Shukla (28) and Pratham Singh (35) were guilty of frittering away strong starts to hand the advantage to the visitors on a platter. But that was only until the fifth-wicket association of Ghosh and Rawat, the captain, kept the bowlers at bay for a better part of Sunday afternoon. Their stand was worth 158 when stumps were drawn.A four-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Rahul Singh raised Assam’s hopes of finishing the season with a win. After pocketing a first-innings lead of 26 after skittling Maharashtra for 253, their top order carried them to 101 for 3, their overall lead at 127 when stumps were drawn on the second day in Pune. Their hopes of stretching that past 250 will hinge on Gokul Sharma, the captain, and Sibsankar Roy – two of their most accomplished batsmen – who made half-centuries in the first innings.Maharashtra’s middle order has been riddled with inconsistency all season. The story was no different on Sunday. Resuming on 64 for 3, they quickly slipped to 160 for 6 before lunch. It needed two lower order contributions – Shrikant Mundhe (27) and Pragyan Bhati (31) – to lift bring Maharashtra to within 30 runs of Assam.