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Mashrafe Mortaza has warned his batting unit against relying too much on Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan following Bangladesh’s 10-wicket loss to Sri Lanka

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur25-Jan-2018The 10-wicket drubbing by Sri Lanka has served as a wake-up call for Bangladesh, their captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said. He hoped the middle order could do better in the final in the event that both Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, the two in-form batsmen, fall cheaply again.Between them, Tamim and Shakib had scored five half-centuries in Bangladesh’s first three matches of the tri-nation series. On Thursday, both fell for single-digit scores as Bangladesh collapsed to 82 all out. The middle-order trio of Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain made 7, 10 and 3 respectively, and Mashrafe warned his team from relying too much on Shakib, whose promotion to No 3 has opened up opportunities for the rest of the batting line-up.”It is a nice wake-up call,” Mashrafe said. “We have found out how poorly we can play on our bad day. There’s no guarantee of not losing Shakib and Tamim early in the final, so now we have an idea. [Mahmudullah] Riyad has handled these situations in the past. Sabbir played his 50th ODI today. They have the ability.”I think the top-order’s failure today exposed the middle-order but this wasn’t the extent we had expected. There was no need to rush after four wickets fell. Strike-rate of 50 could have been pushed up to 75 or 80 later on. We have to discuss whether this was thought about, in the middle. Shakib has played at No 5 for the last 10-11 years. It is now up to the middle-order to take responsibility. We can’t keep playing around Shakib.”According to Mashrafe, Nasir and Sabbir are perhaps having finding it difficult to curtail their free-scoring approach when the situation demands it. With his side 57 for four in the 17th over, Sabbir charged Thisara Perera and toe-ended an attempted big hit to mid-on. Nasir, meanwhile, tickled a Dushmantha Chameera delivery that was way down the leg-side. His failure in this game left him with only five runs from his last three innings.”Possibly they are not able to absorb the pressure,” Mashrafe said. “Maybe they like to score runs quickly rather than spend time in the middle. In our first-class cricket, they have 100 strike-rate after early wickets. It is possibly beyond our nature to slow down after the fall of few wickets.”I think they are feeling guilty, probably more than me. I would want them to think about it before the final, but they should also remain positive.”Anamul Haque remains a cause for concern as well. He was the first wicket to fall in this game, dragging a wide delivery back onto his stumps, giving him a total of 55 runs in four innings thus far in the series. He hasn’t managed to replicate his domestic form upon his return to international cricket after two years, which has coincided with plenty of social-media clamor calling for his selection.”There has been a lot of talk about [Anamul] Bijoy, that he is scoring runs in all levels,” Mashrafe said. “I think more than us, you have exposed him more, which is true. But we have full faith in him, which is why he is still playing continuously.”

West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite will fly back home after playing Sydney Thunder’s next match

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2017Carlos Brathwaite will exit the Big Bash League after defending champions Sydney Thunder’s final league match against the Adelaide Strikers on Wednesday. Brathwaite will return to the Caribbean to represent Barbados in the Regional Super50 domestic one-day tournament.Brathwaite said he will leave Australia on Thursday morning for Barbados, where the hosts will play their first Super50 match against Guyana on January 24. “Unfortunately, I still have to go home on [Thursday] morning to play in the Super50 tournament,” Brathwaite told the Australia.Brathwaite was hired by the Thunder as a replacement for fellow West Indies allrounder Andre Russell, who suffered a combination of hamstring and knee injuries. In the two matches he has played so far in the BBL, Brathwaite has taken five wickets: 2 for 31 against Hobart Hurricanes and 3 for 21 in the Saturday Sydney derby against the Sixers. He batted only against the Hurricanes and scored 6. He had become an instant hit in the tournament with his ‘dab’ celebrations.Currently, the Thunder are placed sixth on the table and a win against the Strikers would keep them in contention for the knockouts.

Australia had lost their first choice for short leg with the dropping of Joe Burns, meaning Marsh went in there for the spinners while Usman Khawaja went “under the lid” for the pacers

Daniel Brettig in Perth03-Nov-2016Shaun Marsh’s dive to catch a bat and pad chance from Temba Bavuma was a significant moment for Australia for a few reasons, quite apart from being a terrific piece of fielding.Short leg to a spinner is arguably the hardest position in the game in terms of courage and skill, leaving the fielder open to all kinds of punishment and danger when slow bowlers pitch short or the batsman opens his shoulders to slog sweep. As Chris Rogers has recounted in his new book .”I’ve always hated the position. I fielded there a lot as a younger player, particularly for Beau Casson. He mixed great deliveries with loose ones, meaning the short leg could be peppered. During one match at Adelaide Oval for Western Australia, I was struck on the full on my ankle and the ball then ricocheted all the way to midwicket, who proceeded to take the catch. All the players ran to the fielder except for Beau, who ran straight to me, where I lay writhing in pain on the ground.”After numerous blows, I started to dislike playing and would hardly speak when positioned close in. It’s a terrible spot to field and those who criticise these fielders would be better served to keep their mouth shut until they’ve experienced what it is like in there. The best ones are those who don’t fear it and I wasn’t one of them – Rob Quiney is possibly the bravest I’ve seen.”Australia had lost their first choice for short leg with the dropping of Joe Burns, meaning Marsh went in there for the spinners while Usman Khawaja went “under the lid” for the pacers. The intervention to catch Bavuma ended a pesky partnership for South Africa.At the same time it provided a nice bit of nostalgia for Shaun’s father Geoff Marsh, watching from the stands. A decade or three ago he fielded there for Australia in Tests, once claiming a particularly fine catch from the bat and pad of one Ian Botham at the SCG. This take, though, was better.

India allrounder R Ashwin said his promotion up the order had induced a conscious change of approach with the bat

Karthik Krishnaswamy in St Lucia 11-Aug-2016R Ashwin has a career strike rate of 55.35 with the bat. But in his first three innings at No. 6, he has scored his runs at 40.90. Speaking to the media after scoring his second hundred of those three innings, and becoming only the fourth allrounder ever to score two hundreds and take two five-wicket hauls in the same Test series, Ashwin said his promotion up the order had induced a conscious change of approach with the bat.”It’s difficult to try and think too far ahead [at No. 6],” Ashwin said. “That’s easily possible if you are batting at No. 7 or 8, which has happened to me before when I have batted at No. 8. When I have batted at No. 8, you think like a bowler at times and want to get a few extra runs. So I used to play a few more shots.”Thankfully I had a very good preparation one month before the series. I batted quite a lot and devised a gameplan if and when I got a chance to bat at No. 6. The idea was to knock as many balls as possible. My goal is very simple. If I get a good start, if I get to 20 runs then I’m going to capitalise on it. Then I’m going to play percentage cricket. It’s all about trying to play the percentages and trying to string together a partnership and not look too far ahead in the game.”One thing I try to do is to bat sessions. There have been times when I’ve scored hundreds in two sessions or less than two sessions. This is kind of different, but I do enjoy it. It’s time-consuming and concentration-consuming but it’s enjoyable.”Ashwin came in to bat at 87 for 4, and was joined by Wriddhiman Saha at 126 for 5. They added 213 for the sixth wicket, allowing India to post a first-innings total of 353. Ashwin said his 118, which lasted 297 balls and was his longest Test innings – could prove a “series-defining” effort.”It is indeed,” he said, when asked if he considered it a special hundred. “I mean if we look at the scenario in hindsight later on, this could very well be a series-defining knock because we were in some trouble yesterday and there was every chance that we could be skittled out and also I thought it needed a bit of application.”It was not like making a hundred back home or anywhere in the world. I’m sure about that because it was definitely not a wicket where you could just plonk your front foot and play through the line. It was a hard-fought day yesterday and it was no different today. We just hope we can capitalise on the rearguard action later tomorrow.”Given West Indies’ bowling discipline, a bit of help from the surface, and a slow outfield, Ashwin only hit six fours and a six in his innings. While Saha played his shots after negotiating the first hour of the morning session, he too went through periods of almost pure defence. Ashwin said it had been “very difficult to score” at times.”When we got together we were in quite a bit of trouble and it was one of the wickets, I don’t know whether it’s improving any bit, where you are not in at any time,” he said. “There was a good chance that you might be nicked off or you might get a good ball any time. It was very difficult to score.”So we went and bit the bullet quite hard and wanted to just stick in there even if the runs weren’t quite coming. Obviously, the results came later on. It was a good partnership and both enjoyed each other’s company to be very honest.”Having batted with Saha in the past and watched him in first-class cricket, Ashwin knew what to expect from him.”I think we’ve batted a few times in the past,” he said. “Even [in Sydney] we put together a gritty partnership. The thing with Saha is he puts a price on his wicket and he’s a damn good player of spinners. He can tonk the ball, that I know from having played first-class cricket with him.”I know Saha pretty well and the communication was sticking around rather than look for avenues to score. It was just that even if we played a couple of maiden overs, we wanted to tell each other that we need to keep going and it was not about the maiden overs they keep bowling.”During the partnership, Ashwin said he and Saha had also picked up clues that might help India’s bowlers later on.”When Saha and me were batting, we were communicating about which way the ball was swinging, what the bowler was trying to do. There was a lot of help when the bowlers bowled cross-seam, and we’ve communicated to the bowlers and we hope they will find their rhythm tomorrow as well.”West Indies began strongly in their reply, ending the second day 107 for 1, with Kraigg Brathwaite batting on 53. Ashwin said India would need to stay patient and try to capitalise whenever a new batsman was at the crease.”Long partnerships came in, one breakthrough and somebody gets into a spell. That’s what we’re looking at. If and when a couple of wickets fall, we can squeeze and jam them in.”The thing is that [West Indies] did get some momentum, I believe, from the Jamaica Test, but that’s how Test cricket is like. We didn’t come over here thinking or expecting to roll them over. They’re also a Test team, and in their home conditions, it’s going to be hard and we expected it.”

India A completed a clean sweep in the one-dayers over New Zealand A though they faced much stiffer competition in the final game

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ashok Menaria needed only 26 balls to reach his half-century•BCCI

India A completed a clean sweep in the one-dayers over New Zealand A though they faced much stiffer competition in the final game after the visitors put up 290. India A were in trouble during the chase at 79 for 4 before quick half-centuries from Ashok Menaria and Kedar Jadhav, and a calm cameo from Mandeep Singh helped pull off a tight two-wicket win.India have hardly been troubled in the previous two games, as their solid top order set up comfortable chases, but this time a rejigged order didn’t provide a strong start. Unmukt Chand, who hit half-centuries in both previous matches, and Sanju Samson fell attempting the ramp shot, before Robin Uthappa and Sachin Baby were dismissed in the space of four deliveries.The required rate was touching seven at that stage, before the spinners allowed India back into the chase. Menaria clubbed three sixes and a four off a wayward over from legspinner Todd Astle and Jadhav hit two sixes and two fours off the other legspinner Ish Sodhi as 66 runs came in six overs. Menaria needed only 26 balls for his fifty, while Jadhav was a bit more watchful, taking 53 deliveries.At 207 for 4 after 37 overs, India were in control of the chase. Scott Kuggeleijn, though, put New Zealand ahead with a double-wicket maiden, removing both the set batsmen. It was left to Mandeep, batting at an unfamiliar No. 7 position, to ensure the clean sweep, helped by crucial contributions from Jalaj Saxena and Rahul Sharma. Things were so tense that words were exchanged between Rahul and Mark Gillespie after the pair collided when the former took off for a run.With three overs to go, and only three wickets remaining, India still needed 25, but Kuggeleijn undid his earlier good work by leaking 18 off the over. “My aim was to bat till the end,” Mandeep said after finishing unbeaten on 37. “One good over could change the whole scenario, I was waiting for that over.”India were made to work so hard for the win due to a solid effort from New Zealand’s batsmen. Luke Ronchi got a duck, but Carl Cachopa was the only other batsman in the top five to miss out on a half-century. Anton Devcich completed a successful tour by top scoring with 66, while the youngsters Corey Anderson and Tom Latham also helped themselves to fifties. It still wasn’t enough to prevent a second-string India A team from winning 3-0.

David Warner can take a lesson from Michael Slater as he aims to find the balance between aggression and care at the top of the order

Daniel Brettig in Hobart13-Dec-2012In October 1996, Mark Taylor and Michael Slater walked to the middle of the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi for the second innings of a one-off Test match against India. They faced a deficit of 179. Within minutes, Slater was making his way back to the ground’s then rickety pavilion, having swung at a ball he could barely reach from the modest medium fast of David Johnson and been acrobatically held at slip by Mohammad Azharuddin.That heedless stroke hastened the tourists’ heavy defeat, cost Slater his Test place – he would not return until 1998 – and remains one of the great cautionary tales for imprudent opening batsmen. At the time, Slater was averaging 48 in Tests, and was only three matches removed from his highest score, 219 against Sri Lanka in Perth. Whether the “lesson” of his dumping was ever truly learned remains a matter for debate, and there was to be collateral damage. Without his regular opening partner, Taylor would slide into the slump that very nearly cost him the captaincy.Australia’s captain Michael Clarke had Slater’s poster on his wall back then, and his admiration for the former opening batsman’s derring-do shone through again in his defence of David Warner. In Perth against South Africa, Warner was out to a stroke almost as inappropriate to the match scenario as Slater, an angled bat swish at Dale Steyn’s first ball of the second morning the catalyst for Australia’s tumble from a strong first-day position to a fourth-day defeat. While Slater paid dearly for his error, Clarke has avoided criticising Warner for his indiscretion, reasoning that hesitance is an even greater enemy of the left-hander than impulsiveness.”The one thing we need to understand with Davey is the same ball he got out on in Perth, we’re all standing and clapping in Adelaide when it went over cover or went over slips for four,” Clarke said. “That’s the way he plays. The only thing I continue to say to Davey is make sure you’ve got that good intent, and by that good intent I mean more in his mind than the actual shot. Because when Davey’s intent’s right, his defence is better, his attacking shots are better. He plays his best when he’s looking to score runs, there’s no doubt about it.”Yes we all have to work on shot selection at certain times in your innings, but I think Davey for the start of his Test career, three hundreds he’s scored now, he’s doing pretty well. Like all of us, we’d love to be more consistent and score runs every time we walk out to bat. Sometimes he doesn’t look great when he gets out, but the other side is he’s got that x-factor. He can take a game away from any team in the first session of a Test match really. Not too many players in the world have that talent. At the moment I’m really happy with how he’s going, he was disappointed with the way he got out. But more than ‘don’t play the shot’, it’s about working in the nets to execute that shot better.”Warner’s development has become all the more critical now that Ricky Ponting has exited Australia’s dressing room. He is an aggressor on the field and a livewire off it, striving to be liked by team-mates even as his motor-mouth and customary brio have preceded him. In the middle, Warner is known to be a far more nervous character than he lets on, muttering incessantly about his technique and the opposition in between deliveries. He seems at his surest when in the act of hitting the ball, something he does with startling power, if imperfect judgement.When Clarke was presented with the view that no batsman can be at liberty to play the same strokes on the pacy WACA ground as he had been on the more docile Adelaide surface, he cited a meritorious century against New Zealand at Bellerive a year ago to outline the balance of aggression and thoughtfulness he expected from Warner’s batting.”That’s what you learn as a young player don’t you,” Clarke said. “The conditions in Perth are different to Adelaide, and what we’re going to see here. I think one of Davey’s greatest innings was the hundred we saw here in really tough batting conditions, but he still had that great intent. On a wicket that was doing a lot he was looking to score runs, but his shot selection was spot on and perfect that innings. In a perfect world you’d love to bottle that and say play like that every time, but there’s got to be a bit of give and take with Davey.”So long as Clarke is captain and selector, there is likely to be more give than take for Warner, as his destructive potential and natural spark are highly valued. But he would not want to charge too hard, too early at the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara in this series, lest he find himself emulating Slater’s harsh lesson.

Northamptonshire have confirmed that Jack Brooks has been allowed to utilise a get-out clause in his contract to further his international ambitions

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2012Northamptonshire have confirmed that Jack Brooks, the pace bowler, has been allowed to utilise a get-out clause in his contract to further his international ambitions.Brooks, who made a late start to his professional career having come through Minor County cricket, played for England Lions against the West Indians this season on his home ground. In the Championship he took 23 wickets at 35.69 in a campaign disrupted by injury and overall has 118 first-class wickets at 28.95″I’ve taken this decision to leave Northants because I want to compete at the highest level possible,” Brooks said. “The opportunities being offered to me are too good to turn down, and I owe it to myself to explore all avenues as I continue my quest for international honours.””I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Northants and fully appreciate the support I’ve been given by all at the club. Hopefully, I’ll be remembered for my performances and wholehearted approach to the game.”Head coach David Ripley said: “I am saddened by Jack’s departure, we will miss him both on the field and in the dressing room as he is a real character. He is striving for international honours and domestic trophies, which I believe are both achievable here, but I fully understand and respect his decision to leave. We wish Jack all the best in his future.”David Smith, the chief executive, added that this was a situation clubs are becoming used to these days. “Jack leaving us is a reflection of our more mobile cricket society and of more flexible employment laws that allow players to move between county cricket clubs on a more regular basis than in the past.”The club wants to place on record its appreciation of Jack’s service over the past four years and wish him all the very best for the future. Jack has been a very popular member of our dressing room.”