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Offspinner also talks about importance of getting rid of tailenders quickly in Test cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jun-2022The long spells in which ball after ball lands on the same spot. Flighting it up, keeping it on a string, putting work on the ball, over after over. In Australia, maybe, but on South Asian tracks, it’s about mixing it up a little, says Nathan Lyon. Here, it’s about “bowling ugly”.Lyon claimed 5 for 90 on day one, accounting for Sri Lanka’s best batters in Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews, before dismissing Niroshan Dickwella – their highest scorer of the innings – and two lower-order batters.”I have fallen in love with the shape of the offbreak bowling in Australia,” Lyon said. “But coming to the sub-continent that phrase of ‘bowling ugly’ is something that I say to myself to make sure I am using my different variations and bowling at the right speed.”It’s about me asking different questions by different variations. Whereas in Australia I will probably stick to my strength which is my stock ball and trust in that. When you come over here you have about three or four different variations that you are able to trust and know you’re going to get some assistance off the wickets.”His first ball of the day had taken off from a length to spin past a defensive shot. And he seemed dangerous throughout all his spells.”Look at my first ball today, that was on the quicker side of things, and you saw how much that turned and bounced. Every bowler is different, but if you are able to go up and down the gears I think that’s only going to help you as a spin bowler in these conditions.”Related

• Cameron Green stars as Australia build strong lead on truncated day

• Five for Lyon as spin dominates action-packed first day

• Another mad Dickwella day

Lyon was instrumental in Australia taking the last four Sri Lanka wickets for 19 runs, dismissing Dickwella, Ramesh Mendis, and Lasith Embuldeniya through that period. When Dickwella and Mendis had been batting together through the course of their 54-run stand, a total of around 250 did not seem outlandish for Sri Lanka. However, they ended up 212 all out, which Lyon felt was a “massive” difference in these conditions.”We always talk of the importance of trying to knock over the tails as quick as we can and you look at the way Dickwella played, he played an incredible innings, he put the pressure right back on us as bowlers. I was really proud the way we came back after tea and stuck to our plans and we were able to get the late rewards and knock them over.”Thanks to this five-wicket haul, Lyon has now moved past Richard Hadlee on the all-time wicket-takers’ list, having taken 432 to Hadlee’s 431. He now sits 12th on that list, just behind Herath, who has just one more wicket than him.”The top end of the wicket-takers’ list – there’s some amazing names there,” Lyon said. “To overtake a few guys, and to join a few guys on whatever number that may be, is something I’m very proud of, there’s no doubt about that.”For me it’s always been about what I can do to help the Australian team. The numbers are something im proud of, but will look at in more depth at the end of my career. But that’s a long way off.”

Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja got the nod, Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh just missed out, but there was also plenty of discussion about the veteran Michael Klinger in Australia’s selection meeting ahead of the first Test against New Zealand

Brydon Coverdale30-Oct-20151:03

‘Just happy to be playing again’ – Khawaja

Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja got the nod, Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh just missed out, but there was also plenty of discussion about the veteran Michael Klinger in Australia’s selection meeting ahead of the first Test against New Zealand. At 35, Klinger seemed unlikely to be seriously considered for the start of a rebuilding process after a number of post-Ashes retirements.However, his double-century for Western Australia in the first round of Sheffield Shield matches was timely as the younger contenders around the country failed to have an impact in the last innings before the squad was chosen. It was Klinger’s 14th century across all formats in the past year, and head coach and selector Darren Lehmann said his name had been part of the discussion.”We spoke about him quite a lot, to be perfectly honest,” Lehmann said on SEN radio in Melbourne on Friday. “He was very, very close. It’s a tough one isn’t it. His experience is there. He’s 35, we’ve already got Adam Voges who is 36. Do we want to go down that path?”Age is not too much of an issue, but when we’re looking at players over a period of time – he averages 38 in first-class cricket, Khawaja averages 40 for example and he’s seven or eight years younger. Sometimes you just have to go with a gut feel. It’s a tough call sometimes. But we certainly looked at him.”National selector Rod Marsh was blunt when asked about Klinger, declaring that although he had been discussed, his long-term performance had not been such that he warranted jumping ahead of the younger men.”Of course we’ve looked at Michael Klinger,” Marsh said. “He’s got to keep making runs. “Have you looked at Michael Klinger’s batting average in first-class cricket? It’s not as good as the other boys. Part of our selection policy is if you’ve got two blokes that are absolutely equal you go for the younger bloke, and I think that’s very fair.”If one bloke is noticeably better and is more likely to influence the outcome of a game, then you pick the old bloke. But if they’re not noticeably better and they’re not likely to influence the outcome of a game, then you must always go with your youth. That’s our policy, and whether you agree with it or not, it’s irrelevant.”Although Klinger’s long-term figures might appear slightly underwhelming, he has enjoyed a productive period in his thirties. In the past two years he has averaged 45.95 in first-class cricket, with 11 centuries, but even if Burns and Khawaja fail to grasp their chances against New Zealand it would appear more likely that younger men such as Bancroft would be the next contenders.Michael Klinger’s recent double-century for Western Australia was his 14th century across formats in the past year•Getty Images

Bancroft had been part of the squad named for the abandoned tour of Bangladesh, and would likely have opened with Burns had that trip gone ahead, with David Warner out of action due to a fractured thumb. Burns debuted in Test cricket at No. 6 but now has the opportunity to become Warner’s new opening partner, having thrived as an opener for Queensland – he averages 46.58 as a first-class opener for the Bulls.”I guess my last two years for Queensland has been as an opening batter and I feel really comfortable and confident in that role,” Burns said. “I’ve had some consistent success there, so it is very easy to just slide in and I guess the fact that the first game is at the Gabba, my home ground, makes it a little bit easier as well. So, it is a challenge that I’m really looking forward to; I’m excited about the prospect of opening the batting for Australia”Burns averages 40.86 at the Gabba, which is also the adopted home ground of the now Queensland captain Khawaja. It has been an especially productive venue for Khawaja, who averages 67.46 from nine first-class matches there, and now has a chance to play his first home Test in nearly four years.Khawaja’s return to the side is all the more impressive given that last December he suffered a serious knee injury that put him out of action until the middle of this year. He said there were times during his lay-off that he wondered if his career might have been over, but now he has the chance to build the solid Test career that he has promised since his debut in 2011.”It’s massive, I’m just happy to be playing cricket again,” Khawaja said. “I was thinking about it this morning and at one point I thought – with the knee injury my career might have been over. And then obviously I did a ton of work to get back. I’m just happy to be playing cricket again, it’s a lot of fun. So yes it’s a big bonus I think.”

Only 3.3 overs possible in Bengaluru after South Africa opted to bowl

Firdose Moonda19-Jun-2022No result The deciding day of this series started with the teams locked at 2-2, and 2-2 it remained after rain had the final say. Persistent drizzle in Bengaluru delayed the start of the fifth match by 47 minutes, and initially reduced the contest to 19 overs a side, but only 3.3 overs were bowled. Despite the Chinnaswamy’s stellar drainage system, the rain did not abate long enough for mop-up operations to begin for even a five-over shootout.South Africa may be the more disappointed of the two sides after Lungi Ngidi, playing in just his second T20I in almost a year, removed India’s openers in successive overs. Ngidi spent the whole of IPL 2022 on the bench but used the time to hone his craft and has developed a particularly good slower ball. He used it to remove Ishan Kishan, who was through his drive by the time the delivery arrived. It was full on offstump and took it out with Kishan perhaps still contemplating the 141kph ball that had been called wide just before. In his next over, Ngidi stuck to the offcutter. Ruturaj Gaikwad advanced down the track and tried to clear the inner ring but hit the ball off the toe-end of his bat, to Dwaine Pretorius at mid-on. Only one more ball was bowled when the rain returned and the players left the field.The capacity crowd chanted “RCB” as they waited but not even the chant of their IPL franchise could bring their adopted home-town hero Dinesh Karthik to the crease. Karthik had scored his first T20I half-century in Rajkot and was keen to play in front of the Bengaluru crowd.Doubtless so was Keshav Maharaj, who was captaining for the fourth time in his 13-match T20I career, after Temba Bavuma was ruled out of the match with an elbow injury. South Africa made three changes to the XI that lost two days’ ago, one forced by Bavuma’s absence.Reeza Hendricks was brought in to open the batting, Kagiso Rabada recovered from a groin niggle to return to the attack in place of Marco Jansen and South Africa included Tristan Stubbs as an extra batter while dispensing with the second specialist spinner, Tabraiz Shamsi. Stubbs has yet to bat in international cricket after making his debut in the series opener in Delhi, where South Africa won the game without requiring him.India played the same XI throughout the series, lost every toss and had to defend in all five matches. After losing the first two, they hit their stride and won the next two. If they had been victorious in this match, they would have become the first team to win a bilateral T20I series from 2-0 down. Instead, it’s South Africa, who have held on to a record. They have never lost a T20I series in India, and have not lost a white-ball series in the country since 2010.

Darren Bravo’s third ODI century and Shannon Gabriel’s three-wicket haul set up West Indies’ 100 run-win over South Africa, which secured their spot in the final against Australia on Sunday

The Report by Firdose Moonda24-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWest Indies pulled off a coup to beat South Africa for the second time in the triangular series and book a place in Sunday’s final against Australia. The hosts, ranked eighth in this format, were only given an outside chance of making it to the last match, ahead of the tournament, but they ended with as many wins as top-ranked side Australia.At 21 for 4 in the fifth over, West Indies looked out of the reckoning but Darren Bravo’s third ODI century led the recovery after Kagiso Rabada’s searing opening spell. Bravo and Kieron Pollard, who scored a ninth ODI fifty, shared a record 156-run stand for the fifth wicket to drive West Indies to 285.Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, playing only his second ODI, then made sure South Africa could not get there. He reduced them to 28 for 3 and South Africa failed to find a batting hero. Farhaan Behardien was the only batsman in the top seven to get past 16 and only South Africa’s last pair put on a stand over 31 as they were dismissed for 185 in 46 overs.Earlier, it seemed West Indies would be in danger of folding in a similar fashion. They were flattened by Rabada’s raw pace and blistering accuracy on a surface with good carry. After Wayne Parnell had Andre Fletcher caught behind, Rabada dismissed Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels off successive balls. He was unable to emulate his bowling coach Charl Langeveldt and claim a hat-trick, but an over later he set Denesh Ramdin up by hitting him on the shoulder with a bouncer and then going full to remove his middle stump and leave West Indies reeling.Things could have got worse for them when Bravo, who was on 11 at the time, top-edged Morne Morkel but Parnell misjudged the catch and parried it over for six. Three balls later, the light drizzle that had hung around turned into a downpour and the 20-minute break allowed West Indies to catch their breath and plot a comeback.They returned to face spin for the first time in Imran Tahir but Bravo dealt with him with authority, so much so that Tahir went wicketless for the first time in the series. Pollard led the assault against the seamers and took on Morkel and Chris Morris, both of whom struggled to find their lengths.Bravo and Pollard scored at more than six runs an the over to force AB de Villiers into making constant bowling changes, all to no avail. Not only was the South African attack unable to find a way through the pair, but they were untidy in their efforts and bowled 19 extra deliveries.They had a brief respite when Pollard tried to clear long-on and Faf du Plessis took a sharp catch running back from the inner ring but with 20 overs left in the West Indian innings, Bravo read the situation well and pressed on. He was in the 80s when Pollard was dismissed, and entered the nineties with a four off the bottom edge off Morris and brought up his most important hundred in this format off the same number of balls.Holder took 17 balls to get his first run but he could afford to be circumspect. After settling in, he scored a vital 40 and shared a 54-run stand for the seventh wicket with Carlos Brathwaite.Having watched Australia chase down 283 on Tuesday, South Africa would have been confident of their chances but their line-up let them down, despite several let-offs.Hashim Amla should have been out off the fifth legitimate ball he faced, when he chased an awayswinger from Gabriel but Ramdin shelled the chance. He made up for it two overs later when Quinton de Kock got a bottom edge and Ramdin took a one-handed catch.Du Plessis should have been run out when Amla set off for a risky single, but Andre Fletcher missed a direct hit from point. Five balls later, Gabriel sliced du Plessis into half with a sharp inducker and appealed for the lbw. Amla coaxed du Plessis into a review, but it went in vain.De Villiers offered a chance, when he chased a wide one from Gabriel, delivered at 144.4kph and Ramdin did not miss out. He fell on his injured right shoulder to take the catch but it ensured the South African captain ended the series without a single fifty. Amla’s luck ran out when Sunil Narine trapped the opener in front with his second ball to expose South Africa’s middle order.Jason Holder, having recovered from a hamstring strain to play this game, bowled an uninterrupted ten-over spell and found reward when he had Duminy popping a leading edge to gully. Holder should have had another wicket when Behardien top-edged to fine leg but Gabriel dropped it. By then, South Africa were 65 for 6 and West Indies were not left to rue their missed chances.Gabriel did not bowl again in the match and went off the field to tend to an injury, which allowed Behardien and Wayne Parnell to mount a brief fightback. With the required run rate climbing, the only purpose South Africa’s tail served in keeping West Indies in the field was to frustrate them and Sulieman Benn was particularly irked. He searched for a wicket without success, but that would not take the gloss off West Indies’ win.

Crouching behind the stumps at the Wankhede on Wednesday, Jos Buttler had a bat’s eye view of Chris Gayle at his brazen best

Andrew Miller in Mumbai17-Mar-2016Crouching behind the stumps at the Wankhede on Wednesday, Jos Buttler had a bat’s eye view of Chris Gayle at his brazen best, as he watched England’s hopes of an opening match victory disappear into the Mumbai night on 11 contemptuous occasions.For a man whose next assignment after this tournament will be a maiden stint with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Gayle’s performance was an education for Buttler in both the short and the medium term. But the rough treatment that he doled out, in particular to the spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, will have long-term implications for England’s tournament hopes if they fail to bounce back with victory on Friday night against their most familiar recent foes, South Africa.”We came up against a great innings from someone who can do that,” said Buttler. “We weren’t the first side and we certainly won’t be the last, either. I think it highlights that you really have to be 100% on your game against someone who’s capable of that sort of innings, but we have to park that game. We know it’s gone now, and to advance in this tournament we need to focus all our energy on the next game.”England, understandably, opted against a practice session this morning – a period of quiet contemplation by the hotel pool is more than enough prep for a team whom England have faced in 11 matches and three formats since December. And it is not as if West Indies’ methods left anything to the imagination where the Wankhede is concerned either. The pitch is full of runs, bowling is fraught with danger, and Buttler knows that forewarned will be forearmed.”Against these top players you have to execute your skills,” he said. “You can have as many plans as you like, but if you can’t execute a skill to that plan then you’re stuffed anyway. If you need to be able to bowl a yorker in front of thousands of people to one of the world’s best batters, then you’ve got to be able to do it or they’re going to hurt you like we saw last night.”Gayle’s brilliance implied that no total would have been safe, and yet Buttler admitted that England had let their chances slip earlier in the match, by failing to press on to a total that could have given their bowlers the protection that they needed.In particular, Buttler suggested, the opening partnership of Jason Roy and Alex Hales failed to press on in the way that might have been hoped after negotiating a promising platform in the Powerplay. And he was critical of his own finishing as well, as a threatening effort of 30 from 20 balls ended with a tame miscue to square leg off a low full-toss from Dwayne Bravo.”With the bat we were probably par at best,” Buttler said. “I think probably in the first six [overs], those two guys who have been so consistent in getting us off to good starts, when they catch fire they could put on even more. And then again at the end, we finished the innings well. Myself or someone else could have had a couple of really big overs, and instead of getting a 30, we could have make it a 60 and taken us up to that 200 score.”Overall, Buttler was eager to remain phlegmatic. Tournament cricket invariably serves up precarious scenarios on the back of untimely defeats, but such is the structure of this year’s World T20, England could once again be leaving the party before it has started if they cannot turn their fortunes around immediately.”You come to these tournaments, they’re hard games,” said Buttler. “Especially the format, to go to the semi-finals you’ve got to win games. But that’s tournament cricket. If we lose one game and win five in a row and win the World Cup, we’d be happy with that.”You just have to take it as it comes,” he added. “You do the same things. It’s still a game of cricket, you still have the same emotions and the same thought processes – it’s still 20 overs, it’s still 22 yards. We’ve got to focus on that and learn from what happened last night because playing against good teams, you’ve got to be right up there on your game to win these matches.”South Africa, Buttler conceded, will offer few surprises coming into the contest. England know their methods from claustrophobically close analysis over the past few months, and doubtless recognise that Friday night’s showdown could be a trial by rapier rather than broadsword if AB de Villiers follows Gayle’s big show with his own unique stylings.But, as their errors in the West Indies contest comprehensively demonstrated, England’s focus has to be on self-improvement rather than worrying unduly about what their opponents have to throw at them. It has, after all, been the mantra of their recent upturn in white-ball cricket. Fear is the enemy when one’s natural game is the aim, and Buttler admitted that nothing that happens in the next few days will come close to the misery of their colourless capitulation at the World Cup.”I think we need to put a bit of perspective on it,” he said. “Ten months ago at the World Cup was some of the worst feelings I’ve ever had on a cricket field. But you still come back from them, you just dust yourself down and go again.”Guys who are inexperienced are loving the thought of playing the World Cup and playing these big games, especially in India where cricket is just so high-profile,” he added. “The only way you can get more experienced is by playing, so they’ll have learnt from that and grow from that. And of course, if anything was a shock to anyone last night, or was different, then of course it’s not going to be tomorrow night.”De Villiers, with his recent record at the Wankhede, might have something to say about that. But it is hard to fault the optimistic sentiments from a team that is still learning on the hoof.

England’s all-time leading wicket-taker says he has had no feedback after being controversially omitted for Caribbean

Matt Roller11-Apr-2022James Anderson says he has “stopped trying to make sense” of his omission from England’s Test squad for their series defeat against West Indies and that he remains unclear “what the reset thing actually means” after minimal contact from the ECB.Anderson, along with his long-term team-mate and close friend Stuart Broad, was left out of the squad that travelled to the Caribbean last month and has kept a low profile since, only addressing his non-selection briefly in appearances on his podcast and in a BBC radio show.Discussing his England future in-depth for the first time since being left out, Anderson said that he had not heard anything from Joe Root, Paul Collingwood or Andrew Strauss since the squad left the UK in February and said that he still failed to understand the decision.Related

• Anderson, Broad dropped from England Test squad for West Indies

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• Broad on being dropped by England: 'It has hit me pretty hard'

• Root: 'No-one says this is the end for Anderson and Broad'

“Absolutely not,” Anderson said. “I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it and just put it to one side. It was completely out of my control. I’ve got to focus on what I can control and that is bowling as well as I possibly can.”It feels a bit strange at the minute. I’m still centrally contracted but I’ve not had too much feedback from them because a lot is up in the air in terms of director of cricket and head coach. I have just been working with Glen [Chapple, Lancashire’s head coach] and Sam [Byrne, physio] here, just trying to figure out what the best way forward is.”For the last few years, I have been thinking about that [life after cricket] anyway; it is just natural to think about that when you get to a certain age,” he added. “People keep asking you the question of how long you are going to go on for. I don’t think that has changed much really.”My focus has always been, if I can still perform and my body is up to the challenge then I will keep doing that. I’ll have to take it season-by-season. If the England call doesn’t come, I will still play here this season. I have never looked too far ahead in my career. It’s always game-by-game and series-by-series and season-by-season.”Anderson’s situation is complicated by the fact he is employed by the ECB as a centrally-contracted player, rather than by Lancashire, but he said that there had been no meaningful contact with any decision-makers since his omission.”I’ve spoken to the head physio,” he said. “There’s nobody in those positions permanently so I’m presuming that is why I’ve not heard anything. As I said, when those positions are filled, we’ll see.” Asked if he hoped the new managing director would speak to him once in post, he replied: “That would be nice.””They [England] just need a really good coach,” he added. “It’s not about me [but] the team needs a coach in place ASAP. It’s not that far until the start of the international summer so I think the sooner the better.”It’s been a difficult time for everyone. After an Ashes defeat, everything comes under scrutiny. There’s lots going on – people losing their jobs and stuff. I would have loved a sit-down, face-to-face, but obviously that’s not always possible in these situations. I would have loved more than a five-minute phone call, but again, that’s not always possible in these situations. It is what it is.”Strauss, the interim managing director and one-third of the selection panel that picked the squad along with Collingwood and James Taylor, has launched a high-performance review into red-ball cricket following England’s recent winless run and has spoken in general terms about launching a “red-ball reset” which will transform the Test team’s fortunes.That phrase, coined by Root after Australia thrashed England at the MCG to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes, has been used throughout the winter but remains nebulous to Anderson.”I still don’t really know what that means, really,” he said. “I think after an Ashes defeat there is always a lot of focus on Test cricket. It is always the way but to be honest our Test form has been poor for two years.”So it’s not a sudden Ashes defeat and it’s ‘we have to do something about it’. It has been a tough few years for us as a Test team. I think it is a natural thing that everything comes under scrutiny. I’m not too sure what the reset thing actually means.”Root has publicly insisted that Anderson and Broad have a route back into the England set-up, starting with early-season wickets in the County Championship, but suggested that his side had “definitely made big improvements” in their attitude in the Caribbean after their defeat in Grenada.The implication was that Anderson and Broad had been disruptive members of the dressing room, with both bowlers writing newspaper columns after England’s Ashes defeat in Adelaide refuting Root’s suggestions that they had bowled too short with the new ball.”I don’t know. I didn’t hear that,” Anderson said, asked about Root’s comments. “I’m not sure. If that’s the case then… I dunno. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the summer.Anderson said he had not heard from Joe Root since being dropped for the Caribbean tour•AFP/Getty Images

“Not really,” he added when asked if he thought he was difficult to captain. “It depends… in terms of what? I’ve done what I did for quite a long period of time, I feel like I know what I’m doing. I don’t think I’m extremely stubborn. I will take advice and feedback from people. You’d have to ask Joe what he means by that.”Anderson has not been made available for Lancashire’s first Championship fixture against Kent on Thursday but expects to play four of their six games before England’s first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2.He is revered at his county – Chapple described him as “the best bowler in the country, end of” on Monday – and does not expect any awkwardness with Saqib Mahmood, who made his Test debut in the Caribbean in Anderson’s absence.”He is my team-mate so I want him to do well,” Anderson said of Mahmood. “I will help him out. I’m not going to two-foot him if we play football. It’s not between me and Saqib for an England place. I don’t see it that way; we are different bowlers.”I feel good. I had a bit of time off and then got back into training. I’ve been in the gym quite a lot. My bowling has been limited outside so I am just trying to build that up as much as I can ahead of the start of the season.”That first Test is in our minds. Being centrally contracted, that is how we should be thinking. It is trying to find a balance of playing enough but not being overworked before that first Test. If I think of how I build up to a Test series, I want to be in as good form as possible going into that series.”The best way of doing that is performing for Lancashire, trying to win games of cricket. That’s been my mindset forever really: performing as well as I possibly can here and hopefully those performances will lead to a call-up and if not then at least we will get off to a good start to the season.”