This time, Sri Lanka appear prepared to send what will be very close to a full-strength team, for two Tests

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Oct-2019Sri Lanka are likely to become the first team to resume Tests in Pakistan, in December. This time, they appear prepared to send what will be very close to a full-strength team.Two Sri Lanka Cricket officials described progress on the tour as “very positive”. Board CEO Ashley de Silva also said that players – even the seniors who had pulled out of the recent limited-overs tour – have “consented” to touring, following internal discussions. The feedback from the senior players themselves is that while one or two have not fully committed to the tour yet, they are all open to being convinced.The tour does have one, potentially two, significant hurdles to overcome before SLC confirms it. First, it must be approved by the board’s executive committee, which is likely to make its decision “in about a week” according to de Silva. Then, SLC may send another security delegation to sign off on the arrangements. Although the board had commissioned reports on security plans for matches in Karachi and Lahore, ahead of the recent limited-overs series, they had not sent a delegation to Rawalpindi, where one of the Tests is scheduled to be played. Rawalpindi is the Pakistan military’s headquarters.While all SLC officials stressed that the board wanted to be sure of the security arrangements for themselves, de Silva also described the security plans sent over by the Pakistan Cricket Board as “quite convincing”.Although 10 senior Sri Lanka players had withdrawn from the recent limited-overs tour of Pakistan, almost all of those players are also understood to now be satisfied with the security situation. In addition to the reports provided by both boards, positive feedback from the players who did tour Pakistan last month is understood to have helped win the senior players over.More than one player did express apprehension about being confined to hotel rooms for the duration of their stay in Pakistan. But they did not believe that to be a substantial enough reason to refuse to tour.If the tour goes ahead as per the PCB’s plans, these will be the first Tests played in the country in 10 years. Sri Lanka were also the last team to play Tests there; it was the ambush by terrorists on their team bus in Lahore in March 2009 that effectively ended international cricket in Pakistan. Several members of that team were injured in the attack, with Thilan Samaraweera the most seriously hurt among them, taking a bullet to the thigh.No international cricket was played in Pakistan in the first half of this decade, but cricket has gradually begun to return over the last few years. The return of Test cricket to the country, however, will be the biggest sign that Pakistan is ready to resume normal cricketing relations, instead of having to play their home matches in the UAE.If the tour goes ahead as currently pencilled, Rawalpindi will host the first Test beginning on December 11 and Karachi will host the second, starting on December 19.

On the last day in Rawalpindi, the partnership between Babar Azam and Abid Ali ticked along at 4.2 runs an over

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Karachi17-Dec-2019On the last day in Rawalpindi, the partnership between Abid Ali and Babar Azam skipped along at 4.2 runs an over. Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur would like his bowlers to contain the Pakistan batsmen a little better in the second Test in Karachi.Rawalpindi’s surface offered little to the bowlers on the final day, in which only two wickets fell. With only 167 overs bowled through the course of the Test, the surface behaved more like a day two surface on day five.Sri Lanka’s spinners, however, were unable to check the scoring rate of Babar in particular. His 102 came off just 128 balls. Dilruwan Perera, Sri Lanka’s lead spinner, traveled at an economy rate of 3.54 in the 24 overs he delivered, while Dhananjaya de Silva – the second-best spin option – conceded 4.36 an over. The Karachi surface is expected to favour batsmen as well.”It doesn’t surprise me how well Babar and Abid did, and we needed to bowl well at them. The thing we’ve been talking about is controlling a run rate a little bit more,” Arthur said. “I feel they scored a little bit too quick. It was a day-two wicket so there was nothing in it. Building some pressure is the way to create opportunities.”Among those who will be charged with keeping the run rate down is fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, whom Arthur had previously singled out as being capable of becoming one of the best in the world. Arthur had also picked out Kusal Mendis, from among the young batsmen, as a player with a high professional ceiling.Sri Lanka’s new head coach Mickey Arthur at a press conference in Colombo•AFP

“Lahiru Kumara bowls 150kph, he runs in, he’s strong, and he’s athletic,” Arthur said ahead of the Karachi Test. “And I’ve always looked at Kusal Mendis and watched him play and just seen what a good player he is. If we can get him doing things consistently, these guys are going to be very good players.”We’ve got to give them the environment so they can grow. I always use the phrase we give them the roots to grow and the wings to fly. The roots is their technique – it’s their base and their reference point. The “wings to fly” is them playing within their own characters. They’ve all got that skill and that talent.”Arthur has had only one match in charge, but with Sri Lanka set to play at least five Tests in the next four months (two against Zimbabwe and two against England, in addition to Karachi match), he has limited time to settle in. Sri Lanka are currently third on the World Test Championship table after three games played with 80 points, behind India (360) and Australia (216).”I’m still getting to know the guys. I’m still looking to find out how they play,” Arthur said. “I’m looking at each guy in their role, just to see how they go about their stuff. I’m just hoping we can go from strength to strength and reel Australia and India back in, so we can put ourselves in the reckoning for that ICC World Test Championship final.”

He was charged for allegedly indulging in corrupt practice during the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2020The ICC’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) has suspended Oman’s Yousef Abdulrahim Al Balushi with immediate effect for allegedly indulging in corrupt practice during the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, played in the UAE. The ACU filed the charges on Thursday against Al Balushi, who is also know as Yousuf Mahmood, finding him guilty on four counts including match-fixing. Al Balushi has two weeks to respond to the charges.Al Balushi has not been an active player for Oman for a few years after being named among the reserves for the 2016 T20 World Cup. ESPNcricinfo understands Al Balushi, who was not even part of the national squad, was attempting to influence players in the Oman squad during the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier and was stopped by the ACU. It is understood that Al Balushi was allegedly involved with more than one corruptor who was attempting to carry out betting-related activity on the matches in the T20 World Cup Qualifier.Oman, who finished second in Group B, qualified for the first round of the T20 World Cup which will be played later this year in Australia.The ACU has charged Al Balushi for breaching its code on the following four counts:Article 2.1.1: Being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of matches in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.Article 2.1.4: Attempting to solicit, induce, entice, persuade, encourage or intentionally facilitate a Participant to breach Article 2.1.Article 2.4.4: Failing to report the approaches or invitations that you received from three different individuals to be a party to an agreement or effort to fix matches in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.Article 2.4.7: Obstructing or delaying an investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code, including by concealing or tampering with information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence of or lead to the discovery of evidence of Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

The youngster battled cramps, an injured hamstring and a fever to script a memorable innings

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2020Vijay Merchant, Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Wasim Jaffer, Rohit Sharma … and now Sarfaraz Khan, members of the Mumbai triple centurions’ club in Ranji Trophy cricket, after the 22-year-old hit an unbeaten 301 to help Mumbai take the first-innings honours despite conceding 625 against Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium.While questions could – and should – be raised over the playing surface, where 1313 runs were scored over four days for the loss of just 15 wickets, it should take nothing away from the knock that has just about managed to keep Mumbai’s stuttering campaign alive. They are currently 12th in the combined Group A and B table, and are potentially just a win away from entering the top five. While the position they find themselves in isn’t ideal, they would be encouraged by the recent upswing in fortunes.ALSO READ: ‘I was determined to make this one count’ – Manoj Tiwary on historic tripleLast week in Chennai, they recovered from 129 for 5 on the first morning to post 488 on the back of a superb century from Aditya Tare, the stand-in captain. This set the tone for them to walk away with three points after they secured a lead against an equally deflated Tamil Nadu side.This time, they saw Uttar Pradesh notch up a big score after they had removed half the side with just 281 on the board, with wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav making a fifth of his career runs in a single innings alone from No. 7 (203 not out).Sarfaraz walked in to bat on the third day with Mumbai tottering on 128 for 4, 497 behind. He later admitted to walking out to a lot of chirp from the UP team. After all, three years ago, Sarfaraz was part of Wankhede’s away dressing room, playing for UP against Mumbai, the side that nurtured him from age-group cricket. Lack of assurance from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in terms of his place in the side played a hand in Sarfaraz’s move to UP, his home state. His performances there weren’t inspiring, and issues with his fitness and discipline led to him being sidelined.”I was just delighted and would like to thank MCA for giving me another chance. It [century] was due for a long time. I am glad I scored my first century for Mumbai,” Sarfaraz told . “It was daddy’s [coach Naushad Khan] decision [to play for UP]. I still remember when I was leaving for UP and packing my Mumbai Ranji team’s clothing, I was literally crying because of my love for Mumbai. I never thought I would play for Mumbai again. I still can’t believe I came back and played for Mumbai. It’s like a dream.”This time in the home dressing room, after serving a cooling-off period, he was trying to give his career another push with his team in trouble. He had just made one half-century in three innings prior to the UP game, and shook off any signs of nerves by playing the way he does. He put together stands of 210 with Siddhesh Lad, 179 with Tare, and then 150 with Shams Mulani to give Mumbai a lead. It was a special effort given Sarfaraz battled cramps, a wonky hamstring, and a bout of fever during the course of the two days he batted.”Actually I wasn’t going to come out to bat,” Sarfaraz said. “Adu (Tare) was going to come in my place. I was having fever and cough, I wasn’t well for the last two or three days. Last night (Tuesday), I was okay-okay, but the fever returned during the lunch break. But I felt I should go out to bat, I felt I was the kind of player who could change the game if I remained in the middle.”Sarfaraz said the bouts of pain from his hamstring just prior to the tea interval was a result of cramping. “I hadn’t eaten anything since morning, I don’t eat usually while I’m batting,” he said. “I was tired. During the tea break, I said ‘ (that’s it, I’ve had enough)’. When I got to 250, I thought I must walk off, but the team kept backing me.”Sarfaraz’s return to form bodes well for a side that is without designated captain Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur, all of whom are either away in New Zealand or preparing to fly out to join the national team. Tare, who is currently leading Mumbai, felt Sarfaraz had matured as a player since he had last played for them.”He has a better head on his shoulders now than when he last played for us,” Tare said. “He was young, used to play a lot more shots then. He has matured a bit now. He is more selective, but still with the range of shots he has, he can bat at No. 5 and 6 and win matches for us.”

India and Pakistan have identical numbers and performances in the tournament so far as they prepare for a second consecutive U-19 World Cup semi-final meeting

Sreshth Shah in Potchefstroom03-Feb-2020

Big picture

India’s highest score this World Cup is 297. Pakistan’s is 294. India have taken 40 wickets in four games. Pakistan have taken 39. And that might’ve been 40 too, had their group stage game not been abandoned with Bangladesh at 106 for 9.Pakistan captain Rohail Nazir has beaten an Indian team before. He did it as a teenager while captaining the U-23 side at the ACC Emerging Cup last year, where Pakistan knocked India out in the semi-final.Among the 11 Pakistan players who will take the field on Tuesday, Nazir is the only player to have featured in the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat against India. Nazir said he dropped a catch early on in Shubman Gill’s innings that allowed him to score a hundred and take the game away from Pakistan. This time, he vows to not make that same mistake.As for India, “process” is the one word that rings through the camp. Despite being pushed into a corner against Australia’s bowlers, their allrounders dragged them out of a difficult situation by looking to bat through till the 50th over. The last time both sides faced, once again at an ACC Emerging Cup competition – although this was for U-19s – it was India who won by 60 runs last year. Barring that batting wobble, there’s nothing else that’s gone wrong for the side in the World Cup.There’s not much to separate both sides, so the flimsy ground on which India have an edge is evidence from past World Cups. Pakistan’s U-19s haven’t beaten India at a World Cup since 2010 and as a unit have come together far later than the current India U-19s.And then there’s the bowling departments. Like India, Pakistan have a left-arm seamer, a right-arm quick and a handy left-arm orthodox bowler within their ranks. But what they lack is a frontline wristspinner, which India’s Ravi Bishnoi is. On a used and tired Potchefstroom pitch, that may be the difference between the two sides.It’s expected to be the most-watched World Cup game so far. It will probably have higher a viewership than the final. In recent history, India-Pakistan games have not lived up to their hype. Here’s hoping 2020 is different.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWL

In the spotlight

India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, is by far, their most successful batsman in this tournament, scoring three fifties at an average of 103.50. His wicket will be key for Pakistan, since India’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament – Diyaansh Saxena – has made only 89 runs. If Jaiswal can anchor through, then the remainder of India’s batting order can play around him. If he fails, the pressure shifts to a relatively untested Indian batting order.Pakistan’s left-arm quick Tahir Hussain is an unknown quantity for India. He was a late replacement for Naseem Shah in the squad and was discovered just months before the tournament, after being spotted by coach Ijaz Ahmed while he was a net bowler to the U-19 national team. The left-arm seamer can move the ball to move both ways – both in the air and off the deck – and poses a danger both with the new and old ball.

Team news

Both sides are injury-free and are likely to go unchanged from their quarterfinal wins.India (likely): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Divyaansh Saxena, 3 Tilak Verma, 4 Priyam Garg (capt), 5 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 6 Siddhesh Veer, 7 Atharva Ankolekar, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Sushant Mishra, 10 Kartik Tyagi, 11 Akash SinghPakistan (likely) : 1 Haider Ali, 2 Mohammad Huraira, 3 Rohail Nazir (capt, wk), 4 Fahad Munir, 5 Qasim Akram, 6 Mohammad Haris 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Abbas Afridi, 9 Tahir Hussain, 10 Amir Ali, 11 Mohammad Amir Khan

Pitch and conditions

Potchefstroom receives showers nearly everyday, and tournament rules say India will go through – because of more group stage wins – in case the game is washed out, but the chances of rain are only 20%. The pitch is a tired one, and team totals have fallen as the tournament has progressed. Batting conditions are tricky with the new ball and spinners get considerable purchase with the older ball.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan last beat India at the U-19 World Cup in 2010
• Among games between nations that have senior Test teams at the 2020 U-19 World Cup, the highest score at Senwes Park is 261. The average first-innings score in games between such at this ground during the tournament has been 193.5 (completed matches only)
• Jaiswal needs 52 more runs to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer

Seamer suggests Sri Lanka series could be ‘tagged onto’ England’s tour of India in early 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2020Stuart Broad has backed the “very tough, but necessary” decision made by the ECB to postpone England’s tour of Sri Lanka over fears about the COVID-19 pandemic.The ECB announced on Friday that the two-Test series had been postponed indefinitely, stating that “the physical and mental wellbeing of our players and support teams is paramount”, and the touring party were due to fly home this weekend.Writing in a column, Broad admitted that the players were “sad to be leaving”, but stressed that he supported the call to put the squad and the fans first.ALSO READ: Root admits ‘relief’ after postponement of Sri Lanka tour“It was quite an eerie feeling on Friday when Joe Root addressed us as a squad to let us know that the tour of Sri Lanka was off,” Broad wrote. “Out there we felt quite a long way from the levels of worry in England.”Obviously we had been kept up to date with what was happening back home via social media and it was quite surreal to see people fighting over loo roll in the supermarkets.”The atmosphere has been quite different in Sri Lanka because there have not been as many cases of coronavirus, so although as a squad we have instigated social spacing, and have been very careful, we have not witnessed any of the changes in daily life that have perhaps occurred here.”Broad said that there were several “what ifs” from the players’ perspective, with fears that if one member of the touring party tested positive for the illness then everyone else would have to go into self-isolation for two weeks.”What would happen if a family member fell ill at home, and we had been in quarantine overseas? That would have meant no way of getting back to them.ALSO READ: County pre-season tours affected by coronavirus pandemic“What would happen if one of our supporters got it and it then started spreading through the rest of the fans? There were an estimated 3,000 set to travel. Over the past couple of days it has almost been as if the world has started to realise how serious this really is, and started shutting down things.”The call came from the top, whether from Tom Harrison, or Ashley Giles, or others in the hierarchy at the ECB. They made a very tough but necessary decision and credit to them for putting the players and the fans first.”It can’t have been easy, with all the financial aspects of a tour like this, and ultimately we want to be playing cricket for England so we were sad to be leaving. Despite the disappointment, though, the right decision has been made and we all look forward to coming back and completing this series at some stage.”England head off the field after the postponement of their Test series is confirmed•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

As for when that is, Broad accepted that the busy nature of the Future Tours Programme seemed to leave very limited room for manoeuvre, but speculated that the planned two-Test series could be stuck onto the end of England’s tour to India in early 2021.”Cricket schedules are already pretty densely populated with fixtures and squeezing it in somewhere will not be easy,” he wrote. “It might not be possible to return for a whole month to fit the two Tests in as we had planned at this time, but they could possibly be tagged onto the end of the tour of India in early 2021.”Theoretically, they would need to be completed by around this time next year to count towards the final standings of the World Test Championship, the final of which is scheduled for June. Arguably, we could come back to play back-to-back matches. That would make seven huge Tests for England at the start of 2021.”Broad wrote that he is anticipating a “very strange” few weeks in the UK, but agreed with the line used by the ECB in their statement regarding the postponement of the tour: that “decisions like this go beyond cricket”.”Today we are flying back into a country that is quickly going to realise what life is like without sport,” he wrote.”It’s going to be very strange for a few weeks, as it affects a lot of people, but sometimes things are bigger than sports. This is a worldwide pandemic that needs acting upon very quickly.”

Surrey offspinner outlines challenges faced by cricketers from Asian backgrounds

Matt Roller27-Jun-2020Amar Virdi, the Surrey offspinner, has said that club cricket in the UK is full of untapped talent from ethnic minority backgrounds and encouraged counties to be proactive in helping young players understand how to break into professional set-ups.Speaking from England’s bio-secure bubble at the Ageas Bowl, Virdi detailed the challenges faced by cricketers from Asian backgrounds trying to play professionally, and said that it could be “very daunting” for players from minority backgrounds to play for bigger clubs.”I started at Indian Gymkhana Cricket Club [in Osterley], which is a majority-Asian club, and I found it daunting moving to Sunbury which I did at about 12 years old,” Virdi said. “But it was the best move for my cricket, because it’s important to play at a standard where it’s recognised and you’ve got ex-pros at the club and you’ve got a lot of support.”It’s changing now, but a maybe a lot of kids from minorities don’t go to private schools. Maybe they’re first or second generation here, maybe they might not be able to afford those opportunities. That also can be a problem because maybe they’re not being seen by people in the county set-up.”ALSO READ – Virdi hoping to jump to front of England spin queueVirdi emphasised the role that his own parents had played in his career to date, but said that one of the main stumbling blocks for young Asian players is that their families do not know how the county set-up works. His comments demonstrate that the lack of ethnic diversity at county clubs is a deep-rooted structural problem: Vikram Solanki became the first British Asian head coach at a county this month when he was appointed at Surrey, and Mark Alleyne remains the only black British man to do so this century.”A lot of people don’t understand how much commitment it takes from a parent,” Virdi said. “If you’re at a private school, you’re getting cricket there on a weekly basis or a few times a week, but my school didn’t even play cricket, so that’s another avenue.”I’m really lucky because my parents were really supportive. A lot of people’s parents are busy making ends meet, and they don’t have time necessarily to take their kids to practice, but I’m so thankful to my mum and dad that they took time to support me, driving me up and down the country, and without that I wouldn’t be here.”A big thing, I think, that should be done is more education for the minority communities and for parents to know how the actual county system works. A lot of people I speak to don’t even know how to start. There’s so much talent, from so many different communities, it definitely needs to be tapped into.”Virdi also suggested that a major stumbling block for a lot of Asian players in the UK was that they had grown up supporting a subcontinental side rather than England.”A lot of it is to do with your mindset and definitely your upbringing,” he said. “Growing up a lot of people’s parents support India, for example, so you grow up supporting India or wherever you’re from or where your family background is. What’s fundamental is that even from a young age I’ve always supported England and that’s important to have that mindset firstly.”If Virdi makes his Test debut this summer, as he thinks he can, he would become only the third Sikh to play for England after Monty Panesar and Ravi Bopara. The ECB’s South Asian action plan, devised in 2018 to help engage South Asians in the UK who feel there are barriers to entry within the game, stresses the need to “celebrate heroes”, and Virdi said that seeing someone who “looks very similar” in the England team growing up had spurred him on.”Growing up I watched Graeme Swann and Monty [Panesar] bowling and that was very inspirational to me,” Virdi said. “Obviously with Monty as well because he looks very similar to me, especially being from the community that I am. We’re in a minority in a lot of industries so when you do see someone progressing and doing well in that particular field that you’re in, it really motivates you and shows you that can do it if they’re doing it as well.”

Team effort with the bat leaves visitors needing a further 310 with nine wickets remaining

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2020Essex’s batsmen failed to convert starts into half-centuries but their combined efforts set Surrey 337 to win their Bob Willis Trophy contest.
Sir Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Varun Chopra, Paul Walter and Adam Wheater all scored between 33 and 46 to help Essex push on in the match but not add to their personal fifty tallies.Surrey’s bowlers toiled away in 33-degree heat at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford, and Amar Virdi and Worcestershire loanee Adam Finch were eventually rewarded for their graft with four-fors – 4 for 85 and 4 for 38 respectively.Having bowled Essex out for 261, Surrey batted out 16 evening overs, for the loss of Mark Stoneman – with a further 310 runs required from the final day.Essex paid tribute to much-loved lifelong member Peter Meggs, who passed away on Sunday. The players wore black armbands, the club flag was lowered to half-mast and two Essex tops were draped over chairs on the boundary edge, one had his name printed on it and the other “bowling Napes” – a catchphrase of Meggs during Graham Napier’s time at the club.Unrelatedly, a cardboard cut-out of legendary wicketkeeper James Foster watched over proceedings from the top tier of the Tom Pearce Stand – a special request from Alastair Cook.Foster, who spent 18 seasons in the Essex first-team before retiring in 2018, would likely have been happy with his old side’s efforts to capitalise on a first-innings advantage of 77.Nick Browne was a rare exception in the batting line-up as he departed for 4 in the third over of the morning – the opener tentatively edged Finch behind to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.Cook and Westley put on 47 together, with former England captain drove and cut nicely as he matched his first innings score of 42.But he couldn’t better it as he was lbw to debutant Gus Atkinson – a memorable wicket for the 22-year-old who didn’t bowl during the 2019 season due to injury.Westley had endured a tricky start to batting since becoming Essex’s red ball captain, with scores of 13, 0 and 10. He seemed to have shaken off the pressures with a confident 34 before he clipped Virdi around the corner to Scott Borthwick at leg slip.Rikki Clarke hadn’t bowled in the morning session, having slung down 23 overs in the first two days, but struck with just his third delivery when he was introduced after lunch. Feroze Khushi was his victim, as the first innings fifty-maker was drawn into an inviting full-pitched ball, only to edge to Ryan Patel at second slip.Varun Chopra, who had collected 36 runs with Westley, took the batting baton and added a further 45 with Paul Walter before he diverted Finch to Patel at point.Walter, playing in his 11th first-class match since signing a professional contract in 2016, has found himself as the heir apparent to the currently injured Ryan ten Doeschate’s No.6 spot – despite formerly being seen primarily as a left-arm fast bowler. Having scored a useful 33 in the first dig, Walter proved his high-quality all-round capabilities with a patiently made 46.But on the brink of a second career 50 he was bowled by off-spinner Virdi, having played his part in a 42-run stand with Adam Wheater, who kept things ticking with Simon Harmer and Aaron Beard, accumulating 28 and 18 with them, before fast bowler Finch and Virdi ripped through the tail.Harmer was lbw to the impressive Virdi, before Finch had Wheater caught by Borthwick and pinned Sam Cook. Virdi then wrapped up the innings when Beard was caught behind – the last three wickets falling in seven balls.Stoneman and Patel eased through Porter and Sam Cook’s new ball before being tested by Harmer – who struck with the final ball of the day when the former was trapped leg before.Meanwhile, Surrey announced that fast bowler Conor McKerr would miss the rest of the season due to a tear in the cartilage of his right knee – for which he will undergo an operation on Thursday.

Throwback fifty from veteran seamer sets stage for England attack to prosper

The Report by Valkerie Baynes25-Jul-2020A throw-back performance with the bat and a more modern turn with the ball from Stuart Broad had England in control of their destiny after the second day of the deciding Test against West Indies.James Anderson weighed in heavily as part of an enviable England seam attack in favourable conditions at Emirates Old Trafford to leave West Indies 137 for 6 – still 33 short of avoiding the follow-on – when bad light stopped play.England’s position was not nearly as promising after a mini-collapse sent them from 258 for 4 at the start of play to 280 for 8 inside the first hour.The scene was set for Ollie Pope, resuming on 91 not out, to reach his second Test century and Jos Buttler, unbeaten on 56, to convert a confidence-boosting knock into a statement-making big score. But neither of the protagonists from the previous day featured and nor did the rain that was expected to wipe out all of Saturday’s play, but which didn’t make an entrance at all.Shannon Gabriel ignited West Indies’ charge with the second new ball – which was only 3.4 overs old before bad light had stopped play the previous evening – when he had Pope out without adding to his overnight score in an eventful spell.Gabriel twice over-stepped while hitting Buttler on the pad, with replays also suggesting he’d found an inside edge both times. He then had Pope put down at slip by Rahkeem Cornwall, who had taken a blinder there the previous day and whose slips fielding is highly rated. On this occasion, Cornwall got both hands to an outside edge from Pope at waist height but shelled it to hand the batsman a life.With the first ball of his next over, however, Gabriel got his man when Pope aimed to whip a straight ball into the leg side, but it whizzed past his bat and crashed into middle and off.Kemar Roach then claimed his 200th Test wicket when he had Chris Woakes out, chopping on. Having waited the best part of 11 months and 521 deliveries before breaking his wicket drought in last week’s second Test, Roach became the ninth West Indies player to reach the milestone.Gabriel had Buttler out for 67 to a sharp, low catch by Jason Holder at second slip, then and Roach and Holder combined to dismiss Jofra Archer, Holder taking another good slips catch.That brought Broad to the crease and it was the Broad of old, the one known for his batting ability and regarded as a genuine all-round talent before he was struck by a Varun Aaron bouncer on this ground in 2014. On this occasion, he raced to fifty off just 33 balls – equal third-fastest by an England batsman.He sent a thunderous six off Roach high over midwicket and drove Gabriel intently for four, but Broad took a particular liking to Holder’s bowling, picking off three fours from one over and two consecutive fours off his next. Broad also brought up his half-century with a blazing stroke over backward square off Holder.It was Roston Chase who got rid of him, Broad sending a low full toss straight to Jermaine Blackwood at deep midwicket, but not before he had put on a very handy 62 from 45 balls. It was Broad’s 13th Test half-century but his first since 2017.In keeping with the nostalgic theme, old heads Anderson and Broad opened the bowling for England. Broad, 34, may object to being put in the same age category, having recently stated his intention to emulate Anderson, who turns 38 this month, and keep taking wickets well into his late 30s.Broad started well, enticing an edge from Kraigg Brathwaite that went to Joe Root at slip with his fourth ball, the 10th of the innings.Anderson then watched as Ben Stokes produced a rare fumble to put down John Campbell at second slip. The outside edge reached him at a decent height but Stokes went low and dropped it as the under-pressure opener, on 10, survived.It was a while before England made another breakthrough, but they did it in style with Archer setting Campbell up with a series of full-length balls before unleashing a short one at his ribs, the ball flying off the bat handle and looping to Rory Burns at gully. Campbell was gone for 32.Anderson got his rewards with an excellent delivery that straightened late to have the struggling Shai Hope caught behind just before tea, and he removed the in-form Shamarh Brooks three balls after the resumption, this time finding the inside edge to give Buttler another catch.Broad had Chase out lbw to match Anderson’s figures of 2 for 17 and when Woakes flattened Jermaine Blackwood’s middle stump, West Indies were left needing a big partnership from captain Holder and Shane Dowrich.

CSA conducted tests on 50 players and support staff members

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2020Two South Africa men’s team players have tested positive for Covid-19, CSA said in a release on Thursday. CSA had conducted 50 tests on players and support staff overall. CSA did not disclose the names of the two players.The tests were carried out before the men’s team culture camp comprising 32 players in Skukuza from August 18 to 22. The two players who tested positive will miss the camp as they have begun isolation protocol.”The testing is in line with fulfilling the organisation’s obligation and commitment to control the spread of the virus,” the CSA statement said. “There were no replacements made for the two players who tested positive. All those unable to attend the camp will join the proceedings virtually.”Faf du Plessis was unable to attend the camp “due to the imminent birth” of his second child, and Theunis de Bruyn, who was to initially miss the camp due to family reasons, has now joined the team in Skukuza.The culture camp was being held against the backdrop of increasing racial polarisation in South African cricket. The group was to have a workshop around the team’s identity and environment and outline performance goals.CSA had conducted similar tests before the training camp for South Africa women’s team in July, when three members out of the squad and support staff had tested positive out of 34 tests overall.The following players were to participate in the camp: Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Daryn Dupavillon, David Miller, Dean Elgar, Dwaine Pretorius, George Linde, Glenton Stuurman, Heinrich Klaasen, Janneman Malan, Jon-Jon Smuts, Junior Dala, Kagiso Rabada, Keegan Petersen, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Verryenne, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Pieter Malan, Pite Van Biljon, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Rudi Second, Senuran Muthusamy, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi, Temba Bavuma, Zubayr Hamza.