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Dasun Shanaka, the appointed captain, is yet to join the team because of a delay in obtaining a US transit visa

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2021Angelo Mathews has been named as Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain for the T20I series in the West Indies as Dasun Shanaka, the appointed captain, is yet to join the team because of a delay in obtaining a US transit visa. Mathews has previously led Sri Lanka in 34 Tests, 106 ODIs and 13 T20Is.As it stands on Sunday, Shanaka is yet to receive the visa, and as such seems likely to miss the entire T20I series – his first assignment as the new T20I captain. He will hope to make the ODI leg of the tour at least, which starts on March 9.Shanaka did have a proper US transit visa – valid for five years – on a previous passport. But as he had lost that passport two years ago, visa officers told him they must do additional checks, meaning they were not able to greenlight the visa for this tour in time for him to make the flight.This news is the latest setback for Sri Lanka, who also lost the services of Lahiru Kumara for this tour after testing positive for Covid-19 in the days before departure for the West Indies.Sri Lanka’s multi-format tour of the Caribbean kicks off on March 3, with the T20I series.

Acknowledges errors, says “I will hold myself in check” with respect to reviews

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2021R Ashwin was one of the star performers for India in the back-to-back Test series wins in Australia and against England at home. But, even as he picked up 44 wickets at 18.56 in seven Test matches, his expertise (or lack of it) with DRS did raise an eyebrow or two. He knows it, and – tongue firmly in cheek, wide smile in place – shifts the blame to Rishabh Pant for the poor success rate with reviews of late.”I think we need to change the lens with which people are looking at me with the DRS,” Ashwin, a guest at the , said. “Sometimes what people are telling us might not be true, because before this series against England, my DRS was extremely good. Because when you take DRS, you need to rely on the keeper’s resources.Related

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“Because I ask valid questions in terms of saying… I know whether the ball has struck in line or not, but with respect to the line from the angle that I am bowling and the bounce, the keeper really needs to help.”And then came the light-hearted blame game: “And Rishabh is actually letting me down on a lot of occasions. I took him aside and I said, ‘we need to sit together on a crash course with DRS, because Ravi (Shastri) has a few complaints with me going for DRS’.”Cue a lot of laughs, as expected. Jokes aside, Ashwin does want to fix the issue. “So, honestly, yeah, if there is one improvement I would like to make it’s go for better DRS in the future series, I will hold myself in check.”Since the start of 2018 till the start of the England series, in the 19 Test matches Ashwin played, 20 reviews were asked for by the Indians when he was bowling. Of those, four were overturned upon appeal, five were deemed to be umpires’ calls, and 11 reviews were squandered. In the four Tests against England, India got one review right when Ashwin was bowling, while nine were lost and one was an umpire’s call.Next up for Ashwin, who is not a part of India’s white-ball teams, is the IPL, where he will be a part of the Delhi Capitals again, with Pant as well. There’s something for the two of them to chat about.

Tom Lace makes light work of 90-run chase to seal fourth win in five

Andrew Miller08-May-2021Gloucestershire 93 for 3 (Lace 31*) and 273 (Bracey 75) beat Middlesex 210 (White 76*, Payne 5-31) and 152 (Gubbins 52, Payne 6-56) by seven wicketsDavid Payne has been an under-sung asset in Gloucestershire’s ranks for more than a decade now, but he chose quite the stage, and the circumstances, in which to produce the finest performance of his career. With Sky’s commentators looking on for their impromptu feature match at Lord’s, Payne followed up his first-innings five-for with another haul of 6 for 56 – 11 for 87 all told – to cement his side’s table-topping form with a crushing seven-wicket win over Middlesex.It was Gloucestershire’s fourth win in five, with a draw against Hampshire completing the set, and once again, their batters sealed the deal with ease in the fourth innings – the easiest chase of the lot this time, as Tom Lace, the ex-Middlesex man, completed their pursuit of 90 with a fluent unbeaten 31.It would have been with some foreboding that Middlesex assessed the rain radar as the third day dawned to dank skies across London. It is one of the curses of playing their cricket at Lord’s – a venue that has had drainage like a sieve since the outfield was relaid almost two decades ago – that play was inevitable at some stage of the day, even as the rest of the country’s first-class cricketers were able to peep through their curtains and hit the snooze button on their alarms.And so when play resumed after an early lunch at 1.10pm, the challenge for Middlesex was plain. Get a lead, any lead, before an innings that had already been crippled by three wickets late last night caved in completely. Such is the lack of confidence in a line-up that had already been bowled out for less than 150 in all four of its completed matches this season. In that sort of company, their eventual total of 152 was arguably a sign of progress.What credit Middlesex deserved for their signs of life belonged mainly to Nick Gubbins, who gave himself some sighters in Payne’s opening over of the day, before taking it upon himself to climb into the remaining deficit with three fours in his second – a thick outside edge for four followed by two fuller swings of the bat, through point and long-off respectively, as he aped the proactive approach that Gloucestershire, through James Bracey and Ian Cockbain, had taken in tricky conditions on day two.Gloucestershire, though, reasserted themselves immediately. Ryan Higgins extracted Ethan Bamber, the nightwatchman, before he could open his account, and with a new man now in his sights, Payne dealt Robbie White – Middlesex’s first-innings resistor – an early sucker punch. White’s fifth delivery was a pinpoint inswinger on an off-stump line that he could neither leave nor play, and ended up chopping onto his own stumps for 1.Related

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John Simpson, however, arrived with the right mindset, as he and Gubbins carried Middlesex into credit before doubling down to give their bowlers something to defend in an assertive counterattack.Gubbins climbed into Matt Taylor’s second over of the day with another trio of boundaries, including a blistering drive through extra cover, and as the pair brought up their fifty stand from exactly 50 balls, Gloucestershire’s captain Chris Dent was forced to change tack and bowl dry rather than chasing the magic balls in the helpful conditions.Sure enough, the ploy worked, though with a touch of good fortune. Moments after bringing up an excellent fifty with a flick off the pads, Gubbins was sent on his way for 52 as Payne thudded another swinger into his front pad. It would have been hitting the stumps for sure, but as for the line, DRS would have been in business had Gubbins had recourse to a review. Sadly for him, Sky had only brought their skeleton resources to HQ.At 109 for 6, with a brittle lead of 46, there was only one option left for Middlesex. Simpson sounded the charge with back-to-back fours off Higgins, and Martin Andersson responded by crunching Payne down the ground twice in three balls as he used his reach to cover the movement with a pair of big strides.But when Simpson took the same approach in Payne’s next over, he merely plopped a return catch straight back to the bowler, and three balls later, James Harris had been served his marching orders too, via another perfect full-length inswinger that was far too good for his as-yet static feet. It was Payne’s fifth wicket of the innings and tenth of the match, and the simple but deadly method summed up the consistency of his menace throughout this contest.All that remained was the mopping-up. Andersson attempted to take Payne down before he could get stuck into the tail but flashed a sharp chance to Brathwaite at a solitary slip, who clung on well with a juggle. Thilan Wallalawita then landed some late lusty blows, including a pulled six into the building works that caused a replacement ball to be brought out, but Tim Murtagh couldn’t emulate his young team-mate as he snicked to slip while trying to dump Dan Worrall into the top tier of the new Edrich Stand.Gloucestershire’s reply was as serene as it needed to be in awkward conditions. Dent made the early running before his off-stump was sent cartwheeling by the ever-eager Bamber, while Bracey will perhaps rue an impetuous lofted drive on 13 that plopped into the hands of mid-on – after his excellent 75 on day two, it rather ruined the impression of a man striving for an England berth.Lace, however, didn’t miss a beat. His six boundaries, including a series of sparkling drives, snuffed out any prospect of jitters, as he quickly overhauled a labouring Brathwaite, who barely hit it off the square in a dour 21 from 61 balls. West Indies’ captain, however, seemed to have done enough for a red-inker until Harris slammed an inswinger into his knee-roll, but it mattered not. Gloucestershire are top of the league, and they are looking a very serious outfit right now.

Needing to win nearly every game for play-off contention, Imran Tahir also plays starring role

Shashank Kishore10-Jun-2021Needing to win almost every game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Multan Sultans began their UAE leg with a 12-run win over the second-placed Karachi Kings.On a slow surface, Rilee Rossouw and Khushdil Shah made a pair of match-turning 40s to prop up the Sultans after a brief stutter that led to them finishing with 176 for 5, at least 30 fewer than they looked like getting at the halfway mark.But the Kings never got going in their reply. Not even Babar Azam’s presence until the final over of the chase made a difference to the end result. He made 85*, an innings that never really got out of second gear until he got to a 45-ball half-century in the 14th over. Then, even a sensational acceleration towards the end was not enough to get them over the line.The Maqsoods make an early splash
Walking in to bat in the very first over, Sohaib Maqsood didn’t take long to get sighters as he went after Imad Wasim. With the knowledge that the ball wasn’t going to turn or even skid through on a slow deck, he used his height and muscle to keep backing away to pepper the off-side boundaries in a sequence of 4,4,6,4 in Wasim’s second over, the third of the innings, to give the Sultans a power boost.Waqas Maqsood, the left-arm medium pacer, wasn’t spared either as Sohaib slapped the first delivery he faced off him to the point boundary. But Waqas would have his man four balls later as Sohaib chopped on trying to run one down to third man. At that point, the Sultans were 40 for 2 in four overs.Rizwan and Rossouw rev up
Mohammad Amir’s search for swing was unsuccessful, which meant easy pickings for both Mohammad Rizwan and Rossouw. Off the third ball he faced off Amir, Rizwan nonchalantly flicked him over fine leg to get going. And when Amir went shorter, Rossouw backed away to muscle a pull as if he was swatting a mid-120s bowler. This was some kind of a message that the Sultans were going to counter-punch. The pair raised their half-century stand off just 28 deliveries as the Sultans were well-perched at 107 for 2 in ten overs.Perera applies the brakes, Shah the finishing touches
Then came the brakes. The Sultans didn’t score a boundary for 38 deliveries – from the middle of the tenth over till the start of the 16th – and lost both set batsmen in Rizwan and Rossouw in the space of three deliveries. Thisara Perera dictated terms, as he stuck to a simple wicket-to-wicket approach with excellent variations in pace. Perera would bowl just three overs, his 2 for 12 going a long way in restricting the Sultans in the middle. Having lost 4 for 21 going into the death overs, the Sultans found a saviour in Shah. Perhaps realising the need to bat till the end, he delayed his slog before suddenly coming alive by clouting Amir for two fours and a six in a final over that went for 19. Shah’s contribution by then was a neat unbeaten 32-ball 44.Azam left high and dry, as Tahir leaves imprint
The Kings had an early setback when Sharjeel Khan was run out backing up too far at the non-striker’s end in the fourth over. Thereafter, Martin Guptill did little to enhance his reputation in Asia, totally foxed by a Tahir googly for a painstaking 16-ball 11 in the tenth over, by which time the asking rate had spiralled to 11.50. Only Azam stood in the way of victory for the Sultans.He found an ally in Chadwick Walton as the pair offset the mounting asking rate with some cheeky strokes by looking to use the pace rather than muscle the ball big. With 72 needed off 29 deliveries, Tahir was denied a third wicket when Rizwan missed a stumping to reprieve him on 61. Azam immediately put the pressure back by shellacking the second ball he faced after that for a six.Going into the final three overs, the Kings continued to mount a final assault, eventually bringing it down to 36 off the last two. But you got the sense they were one big shot or a run out away from losing the game, which is what eventually happened. Azam was stranded in the end on 85, perhaps wondering if he’d just miscalculated a bit.

The problem CA has is they have tried to sweep it under the carpet and not come out with the full story, says Michael Clarke

Daniel Brettig17-May-2021Cricket Australia’s integrity unit has contacted Cameron Bancroft to ask whether he has anything to add to his recent comments suggesting wider knowledge of the 2018 Newlands ball-tampering plot.Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia’s head of national teams, confirmed on Monday that the integrity unit, which is currently headed by Rebecca Murray, had reached out to Bancroft to see if he was willing to speak further about the affair that led to him being banned for nine months, while Steven Smith and David Warner were both suspended for a year.Related

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“There was obviously a thorough investigation into that, to that incident,” Oliver said. “There were actions taken on the back of that and then since that time, everyone who’s been involved in the team has worked incredibly hard to rebuild confidence and to ultimately sort of aspire to make Australians proud of the Australian cricket team. So from that point of view that processes have taken place.”I think we’ve maintained all the way through that if, if anyone had any new information relating to that incident that we’ve encouraged people to come forward and discuss that with our integrity unit. In this particular case, our integrity team have reached out to Cam again extending that invitation to him if he does have any, any new information. We’ll wait to see his response on that, we haven’t had had a response. But in saying that we’re operating on different time zones.”Earlier on Monday, Michael Clarke had spoken plainly about the unresolved elements of the episode. “If you’d played the game of cricket, you would know more than three people know what was going on in there,” Clarke told . “The problem Cricket Australia has is the fact they’ve tried to sweep it under the carpet and not come out and tell the full story.”They go and do that Netflix or whatever it was [Amazon] and show all that, come inside the change room and let’s talk about what happened after Sandpapergate, but the public want to go ‘hang on a second, take me through the few months before Sandpapergate, what led up to that, what happened in South Africa, there’s a TV show for you Netflix, give us that information. It will continue because it hasn’t been finished, so much is left unsaid from the players and even what happened with staff.”You don’t have to have played cricket at the highest level. If you know anything about the game of cricket, you know on that day, on that field, what went down, more than three people had to know about it. Impossible not to… that’s why there’s going to be finger-pointing until, I think until someone writes their book and tells the complete, honest truth. I don’t think Cameron Bancroft should be smashed for what he’s come out and said, he’s tried to say nothing but he’s doing an interview.”Adam Gilchrist had also stated that he felt the issue was not resolved properly because it had not been fully investigated, particularly in terms of global “ball management” in the period leading up to Newlands.”There was an opportunity for CA if they were going to make such a strong statement they needed to do a more thorough investigation to work out where the root of the problem was,” Gilchrist said on . “Anyone would be naïve to think people were not aware with what was going on about ball maintenance. I don’t think Cricket Australia wanted to go there. They did not want to go any deeper than that superficial example of ball-tampering.”They did not investigate to see whether it was systemic had it been going on and on and on. Around the cricketing globe it was widely accepted a lot of teams were doing it. You haven’t seen any reverse swing since that incident as a general statement across world cricket. Very minimal reverse swing. The positive that has come out with that punishment is it seems to have been eradicated from the game because it was getting out of control around the entire cricket world, not just the Australian cricket team.”

Bavuma, Khawaja and Pooran also part of the drafts ahead of the second season’s kick-off on July 30

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2021 • Updated on 04-Jul-2021Shakib al Hasan, Usman Khawaja, Sherfane Rutherford and Rilee Rossouw are among the leading names to have registered to compete in the Lankan Premier League, Sri Lanka’s premier T20 franchise competition. The LPL is scheduled to begin from July 30 this year and run for three weeks, and despite concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic derailing plans, several top T20 cricketers from around the world are set to take part.James Faulkner, Ben Cutting, Temba Bavuma, Brendan Taylor and Nicholas Pooran have also made themselves available for the draft, as are former Indian all-rounders Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan. Pakistan, too, are well represented, with Haris Sohail, Mohammad Irfan, Shan Masood and Mohammad Hasnain having registered.Sri Lanka Cricket vice-president Ravin Wickremaratne said: “Last year’s success has certainly made a difference with more players from many cricket playing countries looking forward to play in the LPL, which is a very good sign for the League and Sri Lanka cricket.”The inaugural edition of the LPL was won by the Jaffna Stallions last year, one of five teams that took part in the tournament. According to SLC, 135 million viewers across television and digital platforms tuned in to watch the final between the Stallions and the Galle Gladiators, with fan engagement throughout the tournament generally quite high.SLC will be hoping for similar numbers this time around, though Sri Lankan fans hoping for live action will have to wait a little longer, with the tournament likely to once again be held behind closed doors in Hambantota.Concerns over the LPL being hosted in July-August first arose following the postponement of the Indian Premier League earlier this year. Despite SLC’s successful hosting of the inaugural LPL, there were growing doubts over SLCs ability to guarantee a secure bio-bubble for players and staff amidst the growing number of cases.”It’s definitely going to be a challenge, there’s no question,” head of SLC’s Medical Committee Prof. Arjuna de Silva had told ESPNcricinfo. “Last time we were in the middle of the second wave, but this time it’s a totally different ball game.”SLC, for their part, have remained firm in their stance, assuring player safety citing the success of several inbound international series in the past year. De Silva also added that SLCs intention to hold all matches at a single stadium, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, and the fact that it was close to a scarcely used airport in Mattala, meant the LPL was less likely to suffer the same pitfalls as the IPL.Bangladesh: Shakib-ul-Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mehdy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Liton Das, Soumya SarkarAustralia: Usman Khawaja, Ben Cutting, James Faulkner,Ben Dunk, Callum FergusonWest Indies: Sherfane Rutherford, Nocolas Pooran, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit, Ravi Rampaul, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin, Johnson Charles, Rowman PowellPakistan: Haris Sohail, Waqas Maqsood, Muhammed Hasnain, Mohammed Irfan, Shoaib Maqsood, Shan Masood, Anwar Ali, Ammad Butt, Usman ShinwariSouth Africa: Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese, Jon Jon Trevor Smuts, Morne Morkel, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Hardus ViljoenAfghanistan: Asghar Afghan, Mohammed Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen Ul Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad

The teams had also faced off earlier in the year when Sri Lanka played two Tests in South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2021South Africa have confirmed their tour to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is during September. All six matches will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the series starting with the first ODI on September 2 and ending with the third T20I on September 14.”We are delighted to have another tour confirmed for the Proteas men’s team with the ICC T20 World Cup just around the corner,” CSA’s acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “Playing against quality opposition in the sub-continent is the best way for our team to prepare for this event and we are grateful to Sri Lanka Cricket for accommodating us during this time of the year where schedules are highly condensed.”

South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka

• First ODI: September 2

• Second ODI: September 4

• Third ODI: September 7

• First T20I: September 10

• Second T20I: September 12

• Third T20I: September 14

The last time South Africa played a bilateral series in Sri Lanka was in 2018, which included five ODIs and a solitary T20I apart from two Tests. While South Africa had won the ODI series 3-2, Sri Lanka took the only T20I on the tour. This time, they would be playing three T20Is, which would mean better preparation for the T20 World Cup in the UAE in October.”With an ICC white-ball world event in each year of the next three, game time is golden for every team and we are looking forward to watching our team play as they continue to add to the building blocks of their 2021 T20 World Cup preparation”, Moseki added.The teams had also faced off earlier in the year when Sri Lanka played two Tests in South Africa, where the hosts triumphed in both matches in Centurion and Johannesburg.

Damp spot on a length caused problems after rain washed out the opening session

Alex Malcolm23-Nov-2021Travis Head and Usman Khawaja’s audition for Australia’s last Test batting spot has been delayed, with day one of the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Queensland abandoned after 50 overs due to concerns over the Karen Rolton Oval pitch.The players left the field at 4.30pm after Queensland batter Marnus Labuschagne raised concerns with the umpires over balls rearing from a length. A damp spot had developed on a difficult length at the southern end while the pitch was under the covers in the morning after rain had washed out the opening session of play.Labuschagne copped a blow on the gloves and survived a ball ballooning off the shoulder of the bat. He even called for an arm guard to wear on his left forearm that was significantly larger than the normal sweatband he wears, which does have some protective padding.Labuschagne and Head spoke with the umpires while Khawaja spoke to match referee Steve Davis on the sidelines. The players then left the field before Davis, the two umpires, and head curator Trent Kelly convened in the middle to inspect the surface. After that meeting, it was decided that play would be suspended for the day with Kelly and his ground staff to do seven minutes of work to flatten the damp spot with a heavy tool and the roller before letting the sun dry it out in the afternoon. Play will resume at 10am on day two.”Ground staff began immediate remedial work and officials will inspect the wicket tomorrow morning ahead of a scheduled re-commencement,” a statement said.Labuschagne had come to the crease after Queensland had lost Joe Burns to a ball that exploded from that damp spot and ballooned off the shoulder of the bat to second slip. David Grant’s delivery caused a chunk of the pitch to come up, and Burns walked off in disbelief after facing 105 deliveries for 17.Bryce Street was 45 not out from 147 balls when play was called off. The left-hander, who is preparing for his first Australia A assignment, was not as affected by the damp spot, given it was outside his leg stump. Scoring was painstakingly slow for Queensland as South Australia’s attack made life difficult on the unusual surface.

The second tour will make up for the matches lost when NZ called off the tour this year because of security concerns

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2021New Zealand are set to tour Pakistan twice next season, the two boards confirmed on Monday.The two teams will first face each other between December 2022 and January 2023 for two Tests, which will be part of the World Test Championship, and three ODIs, which will be part of the ODI Super League (for qualification for the World Cup). New Zealand then return to the country in April 2023 for five ODIs and five T20Is – the ODIs, in this instance, will be solely for ICC rankings points and not part of the ODI Super League.Related

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The first visit will be a part of the Future Tours Programme, while the second was agreed to make up for the matches lost when New Zealand called off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan in September this year minutes before the scheduled start of the first ODI, citing security concerns. The limited-overs tour in April 2023 will have two additional ODIs being played, along with those scheduled in the 2021 series.”It’s good to be going back,” NZC chief executive David White said in a statement. “Our respective chairmen, Ramiz Raja and Martin Snedden, had very fruitful and constructive discussions while in Dubai, further strengthening the bond between the two organisations.”After being especially critical of the NZC’s decision when they abandoned the tour this year, Ramiz said that the board was “pleased with the outcomes of our discussions and negotiations”. “This reflects the strong, cordial and historic relations the two boards have, and reconfirms Pakistan’s status as an important member of the cricket fraternity,” he said.

Jhye Richardson is the frontrunner to come into Australia’s XI in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2021Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide due to the side strain he picked up in Brisbane with Jhye Richardson, the Western Australia quick, favourite to replace him.Hazlewood bowled on the fourth day at the Gabba, having been held back for a large part of the innings, after scans had shown a “very minor” strain but it was always unlikely he would be risked for the day-night Test.He returned to Sydney on Sunday rather than head to Adelaide with the focus now on being ready for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Like all the Australian attack he came into the Ashes without any long-form match practice.Hazlewood has taken 32 wickets at 19.90 in seven day-night Tests. The series now includes a second match under lights following the relocation of the Perth fixture to Hobart.Richardson is the frontrunner to come into the pace attack having enjoyed an impressive Sheffield Shield season where he has claimed 23 wickets at 13.43.He played his previous two Tests against Sri Lanka in 2019, his debut coming in a day-night match at the Gabba where he claimed match figures of 5 for 45.However, the uncapped Michael Neser produced a timely reminder of his credentials by taking seven wickets against England Lions including 5 for 29 in the first innings.Australia have not made any additions to the squad for the second Test. David Warner did not field during England’s second innings in Brisbane or bat in the small chase after a blow to the ribs against Ben Stokes but is expected to be fit. Usman Khawaja is the spare batter.