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The USA has an abundance of natural talent but its development and cricketing future face several roadblocks, says ICC’s Americas Development Performance Officer Andy Pick

Peter Della Penna13-Oct-2010The USA has an abundance of natural talent but its development and cricketing future face several roadblocks, including funding, that need to be addressed more effectively by the USA Cricket Association (USACA). That’s the opinion of Andy Pick, the ICC’s Americas Development Performance Officer, who is working with the association to streamline things.”I think they have an abundance of natural talent, which is one of the things that is leading to them winning,” Pick told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. “If I’m brutally honest, they have at the moment little framework beneath it to continue providing and developing their best players. That is part of my role, to try to work with the US to see if we can help rectify that situation.”Pick, who worked for the ECB for 10 years prior to taking up his current position and also coached Canada at the 2007 World Cup, says that while the USA faces many logistical roadblocks to get players together to train, not much is being done by USACA to deal with them.”My concern would be when that natural talent retires and some of the older players aren’t playing – how they are going to look to replace those players? I went to the Under-19 World Cup and they’ve got some talent in their Under-19 team, a couple of 19-year-olds but also three or four under-17s who will be available for the next World Cup, and it’s disappointing in a way that nothing has been done to develop those players. USACA itself is not doing anything to help develop those players. There are no coaching courses. There are no elite player programs. It’s down to funding.”Pick is concerned that the window of opportunity for developing several of USA’s players for the next U-19 World Cup is closing. Five players who were part of the 2010 squad in New Zealand are eligible to participate in 2012: Salman Ahmad, Abhijit Joshi, Greg Sewdial, Hammad Shahid and Steven Taylor. Joshi played league cricket in England this summer while Taylor spent time training in Jamaica before joining the senior team in Italy for WCL Division 4. However, Pick feels not much else has been done to chart anyone’s progress through a programme.”I don’t doubt for a minute that they won’t put together a programme,” said Pick. “I would imagine that Don [Lockerbie, the chief of USACA] has probably got a draft programme ready to go because he will have given it some thought, because it’s reliant on funding. But you can’t afford for nothing to be happening while you’re chasing the funding. How long has it been since the World Cup, seven or eight months? The young players who starred at the World Cup, especially the Under-17s who could be stars at the next World Cup, have had no coaching. So depending on what they’re getting from home, wherever they live and whatever coaches are available to them there, invariably they could be standing still.””That’s where the USA will lose out next time because in other countries, those 17-year-olds that played in the previous World Cup will have developed and come through and be really dominant players at the next one,” said Pick. “If you don’t do anything to improve your dominant players over that two year period, that’s when you don’t make the progress. That experience in New Zealand will count for nothing unless some work is put in in the meantime.”Pick is also hoping that more of the U-19 players are able to graduate into the senior team in the near future. Opportunities need to be presented to them or else he fears there could be a drastic drop off once the current group of senior players start to exit.The victorious USA team at the World Cricket League Division 4•International Cricket Council

“If they go to the World Cup in 2015, how many of these players will be there? They need to have a timeline and look to start drafting some people in.” The perfect example, he said, was Ryan Corns, who beat Ireland’s Paul Stirling to be named Player of the Tournament at the 2009 U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Canada. While Stirling has a contract with Middlesex and is a regular in Ireland’s senior squad, Corns has never played for USA’s senior team. In September, the 20-year-old posted the highest score of anyone at USACA’s 2010 Senior Conference Tournaments with 119 off 77 balls.”Ryan was talked about to me as if he was the next great player coming through yet it worries me to see that he doesn’t make it on the trip to Bermuda and not made it [to Italy]. If he is a quality player, then he should at least be able to find his way into a 14-man squad. You’ve got to play and got to develop because you won’t always have this naturally talented bunch of players and USA, they only have to look as far as Bermuda to see what can happen if a large part of your team all come to the end of their careers at the same time.”Another major issue peculiar to the USA – and Canada – is the geographical spread, making travel difficult and expensive. “Geographically it’s huge and financially to cover that amount of area, if you want to get players together, you’ve got to fly players. It’s not like in England where they get in a car and drive for two hours and everybody gets together. So that’s difficult.”Pick met with USACA CEO Don Lockerbie and the vice-president of operations Manaf Mohamed over the summer in Toronto and says he stressed the importance of outlining and implementing plans to make sure players get the training they need. While there aren’t too many opportunities to bring a team together all at once for a training camp, he feels there are equally effective ways to do it on a regional basis.”If you’ve only got seven players in a region, but they’re all in with a chance of hopefully developing into players that will play at national level, you have to provide them with development,” said Pick. “If you don’t, then you’re just leaving them and they’re not going to develop. So instead of thinking in terms of the bigger picture, where you’ve got to get a camp of 20 players down to Florida, let’s look at it differently. Look at doing the work in the regions initially. By all means, if you can get them to Florida once a year for a camp, great. But because you can’t get everybody down there, that’s not a reason to not do anything.”Pick is hoping to set up two pilot projects in America for this winter, as part of which the ICC will help USACA run an elite player program in two separate regions, based upon which regions are able to supply the most players for the program, making it cost efficient.The junior and senior nationals next month in Florida will provide key preparation for USA’s upcoming international fixtures. USA will be participating in the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Hong Kong next January while an U-19 team will be selected to begin the path towards qualification – for the second successive time – for the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup by playing at the Americas Qualifier.As USA aims to qualify for WCL Division 2 on their rise towards potential World Cup qualification, Pick is hopeful that the team can continue the success they’ve had in 2010 after winning the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 title in Bermuda as well as WCL Division 4 in Italy. However, they need to be prepared to meet the demands of the increased level of competition that they will encounter going forward.”It could be a really exciting time for US cricket. They’ve got a talented bunch of players at the moment who are getting cricket on the map,” said Pick. “As they get bigger and they get to a higher level, they will eventually come up against teams where they’ll get beat more often than they win and that’s when having a structure and a framework underneath it to support it will be critical.”

India are in a positive frame of mind ahead of the final Test. The uncertainty, if any, could be on one front: the absence of Gautam Gambhir, who opted to attend a family obligation

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Dec-2009India go into this game 1-0 up in the series, having secured a record innings win in the previous match in Kanpur and eyeing a leapfrog over Sri Lanka and South Africa to the No 1 spot. Yet there is one gaping hole they must contend with – the absence of Gautam Gambhir, India’s form player of the year and of this series too.MS Dhoni did not comment on Gambhir’s decision to place his sister’s wedding ahead of a crucial encounter, saying only it was an “individual’s decision”. But Dhoni knows only too well that the opener’s absence has given Sri Lanka a toehold in the game.Such has been Gambhir’s impact over the last two years that he has converted half his starts into hundreds. In the 14 games he’s played since the end of 2007 – he only played one Test that year – he has scored seven hundreds to tally 1869 runs at an average of 72. Gambhir’s figures are staggering considering the next batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, who averages 54 in 27 Tests since the start of 2007, has just one more century to his name.Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was also keen to take advantage of the situation. “The absence of a quality player like that leaves a gap, but it also means that the new guy coming in will be really hungry to make a mark. To exploit it is our responsibility.”However, Dhoni believed Gambhir’s replacement Murali Vijay, who had a solid debut last year in Nagpur against Australia, would be up for the challenge. “The last time he [Vijay] played he did well for us,” Dhoni said. “In the domestic games also he has done well so we are hoping that he gets off to a good start and gives us a good start as well.”A good beginning is crucial, as demonstrated in Kanpur, when the belligerent opening stand between Gambhir and Virender Sehwag helped India raise a 400-plus total on the first day and put Sri Lanka immediately under the pump, from which they never recovered. Luckily, despite the slow nature of the Green Park pitch, Sreesanth bowled with purpose to force the visitors into meek surrender.Even if 11 of the 17 Tests played at the Brabourne Stadium have yielded no result, the pitch this time around looks promising, with both captains describing it as lively. Dhoni was confident that if his bowlers could prosper on unhelpful pitches in Ahmedabad and Kanpur, they could definitely take advantage of the helpful Brabourne track. “The first session would be crucial, as well as the evening one (where) the fast bowlers, If they maintain the ball, would be able to swing in the last half hour.”So far in the series, India have been lucky on a few fronts: Dhoni has won the toss twice, Sehwag was dropped twice early on and made the visitors pay for their errors with a fifty on the first occasion and a breathtaking hundred in Kanpur. But India had done the hard yards to make those breaks count, and they will have to repeat it one more time in Mumbai to claim their place at the top of the Test pile.

He also spoke about taking over Rohit’s seat on India’s team bus, and what he’s learning from Jadeja

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2025Kuldeep Yadav has been “spending a lot of time” with fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja, both on and off the field, picking his brains ahead of India’s five-match Test series in England.Kuldeep has played only one Test in England so far, at Lord’s in 2018. He conceded 44 in nine overs and failed to pick up a wicket in England’s only innings. Since then, however, he has grown into a more rounded bowler, and currently has 56 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 22.16 and a strike rate of 37.3, which is bettered by no spinner in Test history with a cut-off of 50 wickets.Related

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Jadeja’s all-round value makes him the frontrunner to be India’s first-choice spinner on this tour, but Kuldeep is likely to come into the picture if conditions allow them to pick a second spinner. Kuldeep’s left-arm wristspin was instrumental in India’s comeback from 1-0 down to beat England 4-1 at home in early 2024 – he picked up 19 wickets in four Tests at an average of 20.15.”Playing alongside Jadeja is such a great honour for me,” Kuldeep said. “Obviously, Jadeja and [R] Ashwin have been brilliant over the last few years. When I made my debut in India, they helped me a lot. And even now, we have been having a lot of chat about how to bowl to certain batters, given the way the England batters are batting at the moment.”I’m actually spending a lot of time with him, not only on the field, but also outside as well. So it has actually helped me a lot in terms of tactics and the field placements, and he has given some tips as well.”In the team bus, Kuldeep has been sitting next to Jadeja, taking over a seat previously occupied by Rohit Sharma, now retired from Test cricket. When asked about it, Kuldeep laughed.”I can never take Rohit ‘s place,” he said. “It’s just that I’m spending a lot of time with Jaddu bhai. It’s obviously very important for me as a spinner, because Ash [Ashwin, also retired] isn’t there, and I’ve learned a lot from Ash , and now that he isn’t there, [I’m looking to learn from] whichever senior player is there.”Kuldeep on Gill: ‘As a leader, he’s very motivated and he’s been playing an active role in lifting the team’•Gareth Copley/Getty

India are currently playing an intra-squad match in Beckenham. Sunday is the third day and, with the sun out, Kuldeep expects the pitch to start taking turn. With England transitioning away from green seamers, over recent years, towards flatter pitches that suit their ultra-aggressive style of batting, there is a chance spin could play a role in the five Tests should the matches last longer.”It seems like there will be good wickets for spinners,” Kuldeep said. “The wicket for the practice match was good for batting. There was some light moisture on the first day, and the seamers got some help, but as the game went on, I felt there was some bounce for the spinners, and while I didn’t get much turn during my first spell on the first day, it’s day three today and I’ll get to know how the wicket is now when I get to bowl, but whatever practice sessions I’ve had so far, the ball has been turning a bit. It’ll be really nice if it remains this way during the [Test] matches too.”If the conditions are warm, as they have been over the last three-four days, and if the wickets are like this, spinners can get help. I don’t worry that much about conditions, but yes, it feels good to bowl if you get a slightly helpful wicket.”When asked what the players looked to achieve from an intra-squad match, Kuldeep said: “We’ve played a lot of T20 in the last four-five months, so volume is very important, and all the bowlers are instructed to bowl as many overs [in practice as they would in a match]: the fast bowlers will bowl at least 15 to 20 overs so they can build up fully for the Test match, and it’s the same for the spinners – the more they bowl, the better it will be.”In the wake of Rohit’s retirement, India have handed the Test captaincy to Shubman Gill. Kuldeep felt Gill was “fully ready to lead” the side.”Shubman knows how to lead a team,” Kuldeep said. “He has worked under the seniors in the last couple of years. In the last one year, you’d have seen him in a lot of discussions with Rohit – not only in Tests but even in ODIs. I’m sure he has learned a lot, but as a leader, from what I have seen so far, he’s very motivated and he’s been playing an active role in lifting the team.”I have seen over the last three-four sessions that Shubman has the same qualities that I’ve seen in our previous leadership groups. He’s fully ready to lead us.”

Captain says his team “found out some really good things” ahead of T20 World Cup defence next year

Cameron Ponsonby22-Dec-2023Jos Buttler has said that despite England’s T20I series defeat to West Indies, he considers the tour to have been a success. “It’s hard to say when you’ve lost, but I think we’ve found out some really good things,” he said after his side were beaten by four wickets in the decider in Trinidad.England had made no secret of this five-match series against the 2016 T20 World Champions being as much a fact-finding mission as it was a pursuit of victory.After falling to two defeats in a row to start the series, England had a team meeting where they pledged a change of approach where they would “fight fire with fire” against a West Indies team who had hit 13 more sixes than them across the opening two fixtures.Two wins followed, both of which were defined by superb centuries by Phil Salt, and despite then letting it slip in the fifth and final game, the turnaround and better understanding of conditions means for Buttler and co it is considered a job well done.Related

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“Yeah I think so,” Buttler said. “You want to win and we all wanted to win the series. It’s hard to say when you’ve lost but I think we’ve found out some good things.”Obviously some players have stood up and done really well. We’ve obviously had five games out here in the Caribbean and had a really good look at what conditions will be like for the World Cup only six months away. So yeah, it’s been a good series.”Nevertheless, it is a concerning trend for an England team that have won just four of their 12 T20s this year and none of the three series they have played. The group is still considered to be exceptionally talented and genuine contenders for the World Cup in June, but the winning habit has deserted them.”Not really, [but] I’ve had some low moments for sure,” Buttler said, reflecting on his own 2023 and whether he had ever considered giving up the captaincy. “It was a huge disappointment in my career that [ODI] World Cup just gone, but after you let the dust settle there’s huge motivation and determination to have another crack and keep going. So that desire still burns strongly.”There is a tangible difference between the public message of positivity and the private sentiment of irritation after this latest defeat. As England gathered for their post-series drink in the hotel, the TV in the corner was showing the highlights of their loss. Then Buttler arrived and turned it off.There have, of course, been positives. Salt has been a revelation, Adil Rashid has further proved his world-class status, Reece Topley was superb on return from injury and Liam Livingstone’s promotion to No. 4 looks a perfect fit.England fell to another defeat in the deciding T20I•Getty Images

There is also no shame in losing to a West Indies team that has defeated South Africa, India and now England in consecutive series.”I hope so,” Buttler replied when asked whether this series had contained two of the world’s best T20 teams. “Two really good teams and we had a fantastic series.”We don’t play together as a team now [until May] but everyone’s going to be playing lots of T20 cricket in different tournaments around the world so that’s a plus. Hopefully we can come here and look forward to a really good World Cup.”Buttler highlighted death bowling as an area of particular improvement that England will look at, with the potential return of Jofra Archer a major cause for optimism.”It’s been good to be in these conditions and [to] have a look at what might work in those scenarios. I think if you can execute your yorkers they’re still the best ball in T20.”I haven’t spoken to Jof. Obviously I saw him in Barbados, it was good to see him back in training with us and bowling well. I know the medical team and staff have got a good plan for him and I think I speak on behalf of all England cricket fans and cricket fans around the world that we want to see Jof back and back for good. So I think it’s important that he takes his time.”In the final two T20s, Buttler opted against wicketkeeping, with the gloves handed over to Salt. Mott had said he expected Buttler would return behind the stumps for the decider, but the captain remained in the outfield and appears open to the option of staying there for the World Cup.”I’ll probably take a few days to reflect on that. It’s nice sometimes during the over to be closer to the bowler, but when you’re keeping wicket you can always run down and run back. It’s just a sort of stereotypical thing from the outside that it’s slow or it doesn’t look right. So, I don’t know. I like the view as a wicketkeeper behind the stumps, to be able to see exactly what’s happening, but I enjoy fielding as well. So I don’t really have any huge preference either way to be honest at the moment.”

He promised himself he would have an unforgettable year, and now he has earned a national call-up

Shashank Kishore05-Oct-2022Rajat Patidar’s journey from Indore to the Indian team has been swift. In February, he went unsold at the IPL auction. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, he picked himself up and promised to have an unforgettable year. It is this promise he has delivered on, as he finds himself on the cusp of the India cap.Currently part of India’s second-string ODI squad led by Shikhar Dhawan, Patidar is fighting for a middle-order berth. If and when he gets picked in the XI, it’ll be a spot well deserved.”It’s a dream come true for me,” Patidar told BCCI.tv of his call-up. “The IPL was the turning point for me. But I feel I have the ability to play all three formats. I am trying to focus on the processes [of the formats] differently. I want to keep myself in the present, and play to the demands of the team.”Related

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At 29, Patidar understands selection and snub are two faces of the same coin. As much as that boring cliche goes, in Patidar’s mind, it is as simple as being able to control the controllables – and for him, that is to score runs.A week after his IPL snub, Patidar hit twin fifties in a game Madhya Pradesh won against Gujarat. He finished the Ranji Trophy league phase with 335 runs at 83.75, with no score below 53. Those runs translated into a knockout berth for MP.After he helped MP to the Ranji quarter-finals, came a phone call from Mike Hesson in early April, asking of his availability because Royal Challengers Bangalore needed a replacement.Patidar was in the midst of finalising his wedding preparations in May, but it was something he happily postponed to be a part of the IPL.Within 24 hours of the phone call, he was on the plane to Mumbai, and a few weeks down the line, he became the first uncapped Indian to hit a century in a playoff game. That knock at Eden Gardens against Lucknow Super Giants was followed by a half-century in Qualifier-2 against Rajasthan Royals.Patidar finished his second IPL season with 333 runs at a strike rate of 152.75. It marked his coming of age. Having played for nearly seven years in relative anonymity, he was firmly in the national consciousness.Rajat Patidar recently struck two centuries in three first-class games against New Zealand A•Manoj Bookanakere/KSCA

It is this form he has built on. A week after IPL ended, he was part of MP’s march to their maiden Ranji title. He made 323 runs in the knockout stages, including a century in the final; on the way, he had crossed a half-century in every knockout game.Most recently, he struck two centuries in three first-class games against New Zealand A. It was made special even more because it was his first stint with India A. This dream run that started in February culminated with his India call-up last week. Much of this run-scoring spree is down to how he “feels”; and it is not only about technique.”Especially if you talk about batting, but I also don’t judge myself on performance,” he had said after the Ranji final. “I need to get that batting feel – the shots are good, the balance is there, the head is in the right position. Till I don’t get that feel, I don’t feel I’m in good form. Obviously it is every batsman’s job to score runs, but for me, if I feel good about my batting, the runs come automatically.”The feel he speaks about is something he has learnt from watching AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik from close quarters.”Virat, AB – they were all my idols; experienced international players,” he said. “I felt a little overawed meeting them for the first time. It was a great moment to speak to them for the first time. Watching them all train and bat in the nets, I learnt a lot on how they approach their cricket.”Fast forward to this Monday, when he had his first full training session with the senior national team. He was welcomed in a huddle by stand-in coach VVS Laxman, who underlined why he had gotten this far. Laxman is believed to have appreciated Patidar’s big-match temperament and hunger for runs. Dhawan, the captain, then spoke to Patidar about his potential.”Legendary players, if they welcome you in the huddle, it feels motivating,” Patidar said with a smile, as he reflected on his first day in office. “It felt good, I know a lot of the guys. But this is the first time I’m playing with Shikhar [Dhawan] bhai; in fact, I had a chat with him the first time over here itself.”I thought how it would be when I talk to him, [and] how I can talk to him, but he himself came up to talk to me. It was nice talking to him, he appreciated my performances and wished me well for my future.”

Jamaica seamer was part of a training camp in St Lucia, ahead of the home season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2021Jamaica seamer Marquino Mindley, who had been picked in West Indies’ 30-man squad for the high-performance training camp in St Lucia, ahead of the home Test series against South Africa, has tested positive for Covid-19. The 26-year old, who is currently asymptomatic, will isolate himself in his hotel room under the supervision of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) medical team until he returns back-to-back negative results.All the other members of the camp, including the coaches, were re-tested and returned negative tests, with training being called off for the weekend. The three-week long camp had gotten underway on May 16 in a bio-secure environment and will now resume on May 24, with the players set to train in smaller groups at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia.”CWI continues to work with all the regional governments and CARPHA (Caribbean Public Health Agency) to encourage and assist all squad members to get vaccinated, the board said in a statement. “To date, 43 members of West Indies Men’s playing and coaching staff have received vaccination doses.”Related

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Mindley, who made his first-class debut in 2014, has played 35 games matches so far, taking 84 wickets to add to scoring 394 runs. More recently in the 2019-20 first-class season, he was the highest wicket-taker for Jamaica, with 24 strikes in six games at an average of 22.66.West Indies’ bumper home season will kick off with the first Test against South Africa at the Daren Sammy Stadium from June 10.

Legspinner heads to Nepal for an ODI series while they await confirmation of Haris Rauf’s return

Alex Malcolm26-Jan-2020The Melbourne Stars have been dealt another major blow on the eve of the BBL finals with legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane unavailable because of international duty while they also face a nervous wait on Haris Rauf’s availability.Lamichhane was believed to be available for the whole season, but he informed the Stars last week that he would not be around for the finals as he heads home to Nepal for a tri-nations ODI series with Oman and the USA which forms part of the qualification pathway for the 2023 50-over World Cup.Rauf is currently playing for Pakistan in a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Pakistan which concludes on Monday and was expected to be back in Australia for the Stars’ BBL qualifier on Friday at the MCG. He has missed the past four games of which the Stars have lost three. However, the Stars believe there is a chance Rauf could be held back in Pakistan to potentially play in the first Test which starts on February 7 in Rawalpindi although he was not named among the probables for that series.The Stars will also be without opener Hilton Cartwright for the finals due to a broken finger. They won 10 of their first 11 matches of the tournament to guarantee a double chance at reaching the final but have lost three in a row including to the Brisbane Heat on Saturday.The Stars were confident on Friday that Rauf would return but coach David Hussey conceded after the loss to the Heat that it is not guaranteed.”He might get picked to play Test cricket [but it’s] not confirmed as yet. We’d like him back,” Hussey told reporters. “We’ll see what happens there. We’re still working behind the scenes.”It’s great that he started off his journey playing for the Melbourne Stars and now he’s representing his country. I’m rapt for him, great person, and hopefully, we do get him back for the qualifier.”Whatever he does, I hope he actually represents Pakistan for 100 Tests and 400 T20s and 150 one-day internationals. He’s brought a different dynamic to our group, he’s tried every game he’s played, he fields his butt off and he’s just fitted in the group perfectly.”Lamichhane’s loss is an even bigger blow to the dynamic of the Stars attack. He took 1 for 16 from four overs against the Heat and the Stars have bowled more spin than any other team in the BBL. The Stars spinners have bowled 25 more overs and taken 20 more wickets than the Melbourne Renegades who are second on that list but Lamichhane’s exit will force a rethink.”I’m always a big believer that spin is going to your friend throughout the tournament,” Hussey said. “It’s a fantastic strategy that we have that we might have to rejig a little bit. I must admit I didn’t deal with it too well when he told me he was leaving because he’s a quality person, a quality player and a big part of our plans to go deep into the tournament.”But when you get called up to international cricket, it should be celebrated. It was a couple of days of kicking cans about losing a great player but I’m pretty happy for him.”The Stars took a punt on unknown Pakistan quick Dilbar Hussain against the Heat and it backfired with the Lahore Qalandars development player conceding 56 runs from his four overs. But Hussey was prepared to stick with him and he will stay on as Lamichhane’s replacement even if Rauf returns.”It’s his first time at the MCG in front of a decent crowd representing a new team, his English is not great, he’s only arrived with the Stars in the last couple of days,” Hussey said.”Foreign conditions. I thought there was a lot to offer – 145kph away swingers, good slower ball, good fast bouncer, good control, good yorker. I think he’s got a pretty good future in the game. I think he’s going to ruffle a few feathers later on in the tournament.”

Aside from a Trent Boult spell and an indifferent slog-overs bowling performance in the first ODI, Pakistan have been on top of the visitors through the series

The Preview by Danyal Rasool10-Nov-2018

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With Pakistan finally showing how difficult they can be to play when they extend their T20 quality over the length of an ODI, we have a delicious series decider to savour. Pakistan applied the squeeze against New Zealand for the best part of 30 overs on Friday, something they have struggled to do in the middle overs against quality opposition. The visitors never found any momentum, and when they attempted to launch in the final overs, it was too little, too late.The levity with which they approached yesterday’s chase suggests most of the problems Pakistan have had in that department might be mental. While New Zealand didn’t bowl as well up front as they had during the first ODI, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq’s shot selection was judicious, measured and sensible. They made the bowlers ineffective when the wickets needed early on didn’t materialise. With the sting taken out of the attack, the pair, and then Babar Azam, calmly maneuvered the innings, extending the opening partnership to the point where Pakistan never felt an pressure whatsoever.New Zealand, good as they have been recently, haven’t played great cricket this series, and Pakistan must feel they are there for the taking Sunday. The top order shows no signs of firing yet; George Worker struggled for timing while Munro has been unable to get out of T20 mode so far. That has reduced Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to rebuilding jobs when they could be lethal if they arrived at the crease with their side in a comfortable position. Indeed, at the moment, the visitors have much to thank Taylor’s grit for, but they will need assistance from the top order if a strokemaker like him is to completely loosen up.Pakistan, meanwhile, must feel they have been on top of New Zealand almost all series. It is one explosive burst by Trent Boult and an indifferent death-overs performance that permitted New Zealand to go into the last game 1-0 up. Shaheen Afridi has been their best bowler and looks like taking the next step in what is still the gestation phase of his cricketing evolution. Shadab Khan has been almost regimental in his middle-overs discipline, with Mohammad Hafeez a more than capable sidekick. Hasan Ali’s form is a bit of a concern, as is the potential fitness of Imam-ul-Haq after a blow to the helmet on Friday, but most of the side is fit and firing, and should feel confident of mounting a stern challenge for the trophy.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)Pakistan WLLLW
New Zealand LWLWL

In the spotlight

Hasan Ali was arguably the best limited-overs bowler in the world last year, and the Player of the Tournament in Pakistan’s run to the Champions Trophy title. Across formats, he took 63 wickets in 29 matches at 18.85, with an ODI economy rate of 5.03. For a bowler that was often on during the death overs, this was almost superhuman. This year, though, his ODI numbers are far more sobering. With 19 wickets in 14 matches, his ODI average is a hardly eye-catching 34, with his economy rate up at 5.70. Three ODIs against Zimbabwe still flatter those figures – without them, the economy rate goes up above six and the average over 40 – and thus the general trend is that of a disappointing year. Pakistan will hope it’s a temporary blip for one of the country’s most popular cricketers. A performance on Sunday would be a fantastic way to close up an indifferent limited-overs season with fond memories.These are the sorts of matches that Kane Williamson should thrive upon. On track to becoming New Zealand’s greatest ever batsman, his team increasingly looks up to him for a talismanic role in big games. After a couple of quiet games for the visiting skipper, the stage is set to dust off the off-season cobwebs and get a busy season going with a big score. He was majestic in an ultimately losing cause in the final T20I last week, but hasn’t replicated that performance in the 50-over format yet this series. The right-hander has a fantastic ODI record against Pakistan, with an average 10 runs higher than his career average of 46.28. With Taylor in some of the best form of his career, a leading role from Williamson would go a long way towards ensuring New Zealand’s grip on Pakistan extends to yet another series.

Team news

Imam is in doubt after his helmet blow against a Lockie Ferguson bouncer. With competition for places in the fast bowling ranks fierce, Hasan Ali could pay the price for his recent dip, which could bring Usman Khan into play.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5, Mohammad Hafeez 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt. & wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Hasan Ali/Usman Khan, 11 Shaheen AfridiGeorge Worker may be under pressure for his place after an indifferent first two games. Latham would be the option at the top of the order in that case, but without a solid replacement in the middle, Williamson may decide to go with an unchanged side.New Zealand (possible): 1 Colin Munro 2 George Worker 3 Kane Williamson (capt.) 4 Ross Taylor 5 Tom Latham (wk) 6 Henry Nicholls 7 Colin de Grandhomme 8 Tim Southee 9 Trent Boult 10 Lockie Ferguson 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

It continues to remain hot in Dubai this time of year. Both sides have been vocal up to now of their desire to bat first, and that is likely to remain unchanged.

Stats and trivia

• Williamson had three ducks to his name after his first 5 ODI innings. In 118 innings that have followed, he has been dismissed without scoring on only two occasions
• Pakistan’s record in bilateral series deciders since 2003 has been quite poor. In 15 series-deciding final matches, they have lost 12 and won just 3 – two against Zimbabwe and one against West Indies

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 team that wins on Tuesday will be guaranteed of a spot in the final, but while West Indies will have a second chance against South Africa, Smith’s men face elimination if they lose

Brydon Coverdale20-Jun-2016

Match facts

Tuesday, June 21
Start time 1300 local (1700GMT)

Big picture

The wash-out between Australia and South Africa in Barbados on Sunday has left all three teams still in with a chance of reaching the tri-series final. Two round-robin games remain – West Indies against Australia on Tuesday and West Indies against South Africa on Friday. Should Jason Holder’s men defeat Australia on Tuesday, the final will be settled – West Indies would play South Africa, and Australia would go home.But if Steven Smith’s team prevails, Australia will be guaranteed of a place in the final and West Indies and South Africa would play off for the other spot on Friday. And despite South Africa’s two bonus points, it would be a straight shoot-out, because the tri-series rules state that number of wins takes precedence if teams are equal on points. A West Indian win on Friday would put them level with South Africa on points, but with one more win.The upshot is that this game is must-win for Australia, but not for West Indies. Like all three sides in this tournament, Australia have been up and down throughout. The likely presence of Mitchell Starc is a potential key – his workload has been managed throughout the series and Australia have only lost the matches in which he did not play. His ability to swing the white ball could well turn a chase – West Indies’ preferred option is always to bat second.

Form guide

Australia LWLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LWLWL

In the spotlight

It has been a tough tour so far for Glenn Maxwell, who made 0 and 3 in the first two games before being dropped. Maxwell was recalled against South Africa in Bridgetown on Sunday. He is expected to retain his place and Australia need something from him, not only with the bat, but also in the field. Their fielding was sloppy in St Kitts, and Maxwell might be just the man to lift that with his sharp work.Nearly 16 years ago, Marlon Samuels first played Test cricket against Australia. He was still a teenager, and was viewed as a young man of great potential. Say what you will about Samuels’ career, one thing is undoubtedly true: he has rarely shown his best against Australia, averaging 21.06 against them across formats. But if the old cliché is true, that you’re only as good as your last innings, the Australians had better watch out, for Samuels plundered 92 against them to help West Indies to a win in St Kitts. It was Samuels’ highest score against Australia in any format.

Team news

In Sunday’s wash-out, Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland came in for Travis Head, Adam Zampa and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Maxwell and Starc are likely to retain their places but Boland, with little cricket behind him, is expected to make way for this must-win clash. Australia’s selectors must decide whether to go for pace and bring Coulter-Nile back, or perhaps more likely, recall the impressive young legspinner Zampa, who was left out against South Africa only because of the wet conditions.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodThe West Indies selectors have dropped Jerome Taylor from the squad, forcing at least one change to their XI. Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel and offspinner Ashley Nurse both must be hoping for an ODI debut in this match. Including Nurse would leave Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite as the only pace options, so Gabriel would appear the more likely debutant.West Indies (possible) 1 Andre Fletcher, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon Gabriel / Ashley Nurse

Pitch and conditions

The Kensington Oval surface is generally good for batting, but was a little tacky on Sunday, when there was rain around. The forecast for Tuesday does suggest that there is the possibility of rain again, although it looks more promising than Sunday’s weather.

Stats and trivia

• Denesh Ramdin needs 14 runs to reach 2000 in ODIs, and he would be the first West Indies wicketkeeper to reach that milestone
• Marlon Samuels needs 67 runs to reach 5000 in ODIs, and he would be the 10th West Indies batsman to reach that milestone
• Mitchell Starc needs five wickets to reach 100 in ODIs, and if he does so in his next three games he will be the quickest man in history to the milestone

Quotes

“It’s good to see guys under pressure, and this is a little bit more pressure than a normal one-day international, on Tuesday”