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Afternoon and evening sessions belonged to Sri Lanka with their top four producing best collective effort

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Dec-2024Kyle Verreynne’s manic sprint to a third Test century lit up the second morning and sent South Africa speeding to a total of 358. But the afternoon and evening sessions belonged to Sri Lanka. Their top four produced their best collective effort in the series so far, with Pathum Nissanka hitting 89 off 157 balls, forging a 109-run second wicket stand with Dinesh Chandimal.With Angelo Mathews not out on 40 at stumps, and Kamindu Mendis unbeaten on 30, Sri Lanka have seven wickets in hand, and are well-placed to take a lead in the first innings. They have for the first time in the series, put serious pressure on a South Africa attack that seemed short of options on a flattening Gqeberha deck.Kagiso Rabada was the most menacing of their bowlers, conceding only 40 and taking the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne for the third time in the series, in his 15 overs. He’d also had Nissanka dropped by David Bedingham at second slip, on 22. Sri Lanka negotiated Marco Jansen with much more confidence than they had in the first Test, in which he’d claimed 11 wickets. By stumps, Jansen had given away 75 off his 18 overs, and was the only frontline bowler without a wicket.Though there were occasional plays and misses against Rabada in particular, Nissanka was largely watchful, scoring only eight runs off his first 50 deliveries. He eventually began to attack the shorter deliveries, and it was the pull shot that he favoured through the remainder of the innings, taking to Jansen’s shorter balls in particular. Most of his run-scoring came square of the wicket, and he raised his batting tempo in Chandimal’s company, settling into accumulation mode against the spin of Keshav Maharaj in particular.That he got out to Maharaj, whom he had early clubbed for six over deep midwicket, will particularly rankle, especially as he was nearing a century. He merely ran at the bowler, attempted a cross-batted shot to a ball that was full, and essentially yorked himself, the ball going on to clatter into leg stump.Pathum Nissanka brought up his ninth 50+ score in Tests•AFP/Getty Images

Still, the stand between him and Chandimal had provided Sri Lanka a platform. Chandimal was looser with his strokeplay than either opener had been, and collected edged fours behind the wicket early on. He nevertheless stuck at it alongside Nissanka, until a tentative prod against Dane Paterson ended with him being snaffled behind the stumps.Mathews was also somewhat tetchy at the beginning of his innings, but found some boundaries down the ground, and settled into a rhythm later. Kamindu Mendis appeared assured from the outset. The two put on 43 runs together before stumps.The morning, however, had been reigned by Verreynne. Having lost Keshav Maharaj without South Africa adding to their overnight score, Verreynne put on 66 with Rabada, as Sri Lanka turned almost solely to bouncers and short deliveries to blast the final two wickets out. Verreynne crashed three boundaries between deep backward square leg and deep midwicket in one Asitha Fernando over to really get his engine roaring, before venturing even bigger hits when Rabada was bowled by Asitha, and he was left with the No. 11 for company.With 19 runs still to get for his hundred, Verreynne yanked the throttle with even more intensity, first smashing Prabath Jayasuriya over cow corner for six, before mowing Asitha into the banks to get within one strike of a 100. He reached triple figures with another mighty pull in that same over, sending the ball sailing over fine leg’s head.The milestone sparked wild celebrations, a bow from Verreynne to the dressing room, and a bear-hug from Paterson. Verreynne himself likely did not anticipate that a century would be on the cards when the morning’s play began, but finished unbeaten on 105 off 133 balls, having reaped 58 off 50 balls on day two.Lahiru Kumara claimed the last South Africa wicket, and ended with 4 for 79. Asitha and Vishwa Fernando shared five wickets between them.

They have not played a bilateral series against each other in any format since 2004, with cricketing relations severed at one point due to political issues

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2023England will host Zimbabwe in May 2025 for a four-day Test, marking the first Test match between the sides since June 2003. The game will be played from May 28 to 31 but the venue is yet to be confirmed.In all the two have played each other in six Tests, Zimbabwe hosting England in the long format in 1996 and touring the UK in 2000 and 2003 for two games apiece. The teams have not played a bilateral series against each other in any format since 2004, with relations between the two boards severed due to political tensions stemming from issues in Zimbabwe under the Robert Mugabe government.England forfeited points in the 2003 World Cup after refusing to travel to Harare to play Zimbabwe, and the ECB suspended bilateral agreements with Zimbabwe on government advice in 2005. Relations between the two countries have improved in recent years, leading to a resumed dialogue between the two cricket boards.This will be Zimbabwe’s second four-day Test match – they played South Africa in a day-night four-dayer in Gqeberha in December 2017. England have played two four-day Tests, both against Ireland, in 2019 and 2023.ECB chief executive Richard Gould said of the development: “We are delighted to be able to host Zimbabwe for a Men’s Test match for the first time in two decades. Zimbabwe has a proud cricket history and have produced world-class players and coaches who have enriched the game across the world.”We are committed to developing a closer relationship with Zimbabwe Cricket and the announcement of this Test against our England Men’s team is a step in that ambition.”Kevin Pietersen made his England debut in their most recent bilateral series against Zimbabwe, in 2004•Clive Rose/Getty Images

ZC managing director, Givemore Makoni, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be playing bilateral cricket in England for the first time in over two decades after we agreed to play a Test match in May 2025.”The significance and magnitude of this tour cannot be over-emphasised, and I would like to say a huge thank you to the ECB for committing to the resumption of cricketing relations between our countries that date back to the introduction of the game in Zimbabwe in the 1890s.”The experience of playing a Test match against a top team like England is massive for the current generation of our players, coming at a time when our game as a whole is on an upward trajectory.”England were due to be the only one of the 12 ICC full members not to play Zimbabwe in an bilateral series as per the 2022-2027 future tours programme. For the ECB, the move is part of a concerted effort to re-position itself as an ally to full member nations who had previously been overlooked for Test cricket.England also have five home Tests against India scheduled for the 2025 home summer, while Lord’s is due to host the World Test Championship final.

Visitors overcome top-order wobble to beat Netherlands 2-0 in three-match series

Ashish Pant02-Jun-2022West Indies 217 for 5 (King 91*, Carty 43*, de Leede 2-46) beat Netherlands 214 (Edwards 68, O’Dowd 51, Hosein 4-39) by five wicketsBrandon King and Keacy Carty’s career-best efforts of 91 not out and 43 not out, respectively, in an unbeaten 118-run stand for the sixth wicket, rescued West Indies from 99 for 5 and led them to a series win against Netherlands in Amstelveen. King backed up his unbeaten 51-ball 58* from the first ODI with another half-century, and found excellent company in Carty as the duo chased down a target of 215 with five wickets in hand.West Indies would have hoped for a much easier chase after Akeal Hosein’s career-best 4 for 39 helped bring about a Netherlands collapse of 10 for 113. However, fast bowlers Logan van Beek and Bas de Leede fashioned a collapse of their own to threaten an upset in the second ODI.King and Carty, though, resurrected the chase well. While King was more adventurous in his shot-making, Carty, playing just his second ODI, took his time to settle in before opening up his shoulders as the visitors eventually cruised home with 27 balls to spare.Earlier, opting to bat first, Netherlands openers Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd laid a solid platform in a 101-run opening stand. Both batters went toe-to-toe with each other in their run-making. Vikramjit got the boundary counter running for the hosts as he ramped Alzarri Joseph over the slip cordon in the fourth over before driving the same bowler through mid-off. O’Dowd, initially sedate, picked Kyle Mayers through the backward square leg region for a four and then drove him down the ground in his next over. It didn’t help that West Indies dropped both openers thrice inside the first 15 overs as Netherlands kept a steady run-rate going.Netherlands brought up their 100 in the 21st over, but it all went downhill for them thereon. As was the case in the first ODI, the spinners, Hayden Walsh and Hosein, brought about their downfall. Vikramjit was the first to depart when he pushed an innocuous, tossed-up ball straight back at Hosein for 46. While O’Dowd reached his fourth ODI half-century, he was soon undone by a short-of-a-length Hosein delivery that crept very low to bowl him.With both set batters dismissed, Netherlands lost their way. Hosein sent back de Leede for 0 before Nkrumah Bonner claimed Musa Ahmed for 7. Hosein then claimed his fourth wicket, getting rid of Teja Nidamanuru for 4, with Netherlands suddenly finding themselves 159 for 5.Scott Edwards, batting at No. 3, did his best to take his side to a respectable total but did not get much support. He struck 68 off 89 balls and was the last wicket to fall as the hosts failed to bat out their 50 overs. For West Indies, Hosein was the pick of the bowlers, while Joseph picked up two wickets at the end.West Indies’ chase got off on the wrong foot with Shamarh Brooks and Shai Hope falling inside the first ten overs. While van Beek had Brooks caught at first slip for 6, de Leede left Hope’s stumps in a mess with a stunning in-dipper for 18. de Leede then struck again, trapping Bonner for 15, while Nicholas Pooran dragged Aryan Dutt back onto his stumps, having hit him for a six a few deliveries earlier.King and Mayers forged a bit of a fightback for the visitors, but once the latter fell on 22, with the team score on 99, Netherlands would have a sniffed an upset. King, though, made sure he did not lose focus. At no stage did he let the Netherlands bowlers bowl too many dot balls, and even when Carty failed to rotate the strike, King kept the boundaries flowing. Netherlands fluffed a couple of run-out attempts, but apart from that, there was little the two West Indies batters offered in terms of chances.King, who smashed nine fours and three sixes during his knock, was named Player of the Match for his effort.

Extended time away from home ended Test career early, but former opener ready for new role

George Dobell01-Mar-2021
Marcus Trescothick has confirmed he is “ready to jump back” into touring life, but accepts he is still “building up” to the long trips usually undertaken by England players and support staff.Trescothick was named as the ECB’s elite batting coach on Monday. As a result, he is expected to spend time on tour with various England teams as well as working with players throughout the talent pathways during the English summer.But Trescothick, whose international career as a player was curtailed by issues with anxiety and depression that appeared to be exacerbated by periods away from home, admits adapting to the touring lifestyle is part of “an ongoing process”. As a result, he expects to spend no more than five weeks away from home on each individual trip.”It’s an ongoing process for me,” Trescothick said when asked about the issue. “I think I’ve learned to adapt and progress where I’ve gone. I’ve gradually built it from a couple of days in Spain, to then going to Spain for a week. Then I did two weeks in Abu Dhabi.”I’m gradually cutting my teeth on it just to get more confident. Every trip that I do, the more I realise how much I enjoyed the touring life. But that’s not to say I’m ready to jump back in and do six weeks or two months or three months away. That’s not what I’m ready for yet. And we’ve discussed that.”Trescothick’s role is not quite the same as previous batting coaches. While Mark Ramprakash, for example, was with the senior England teams nearly all the time – which could mean three months on tour in a single stretch – Trescothick is also is also expected, at times, to work with players at U19 and Lions level as well, and with those identified for attention in county cricket. The likes of Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood will remain regular faces on England tours, with Trescothick utilised for shorter spells as required.”Do I know how much touring I will do? Not exactly,” Trescothick continued. “We have discussed it and I’m ready to jump back on and do bits and pieces.”Do I want to do three months in a row? No, I don’t. I’m building up to that sort of point. The little journeys I’ve done for a couple of weeks here or a month there: that works really well.Related

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“I said I would do three, four, five weeks, I’m open to all that. It’s gradually getting easier for me. My kids are growing up and are less dependent on me and I’ve grown more and more confident to deal with it.”While Trescothick was due to arrive in India last week with the England limited-overs party, he was obliged to pull out due to a family bereavement. But he has dipped his toe in the water of his new role already. He was part of the support staff on the limited-overs tour to South Africa just before Christmas and found that, without the pressures that plagued him as a player, he was much better placed to enjoy the experience. But while the anxieties may be diminished, he says the thrill of representing his country – albeit it in an indirect way these days – remains undimmed.”I’ve loved it,” he said. “I know South Africa is a great place, but I really enjoyed my time doing those tours again. And it reminded me of the good bits that I did.”It felt different because of the stresses and strains of playing the game and the intensity that goes with it [had gone]. As a coach, you work hard but in a different way. And that’s what I’ve really enjoyed. It’s given me the opportunity to be there, enjoy it for the right reasons in comparison to what I did before.”I remember going to South Africa and walking out at the Wanderers with your [England] kit on. It feels so special. You dream of it. You look forward to it all your career. That’s not changed from being a player to being a coach.”I was given an England helmet the other week and I took it home and I was like, ‘Oh, wow’. Just small things like that. The appreciation of what a special environment you are involved in. It’s still no different for me.”

Can the bottom two teams from last season make a push for the title?

Alex Malcolm08-Oct-20191:01

Six young guns to watch out for this Shield season

Tasmania

Last season Fifth (League stage: 3 wins, 5 defeats, 2 draws)
Captain Matthew Wade
Coach Adam Griffith
2018-19 statsOverviewGeorge Bailey stepping away from the captaincy early last season and the shoulder injury he sustained during the BBL certainly disrupted Tasmania’s attempt to try and go one better than 2017-18. They started the season with a superb win in Queensland but were very inconsistent thereafter. There was a heavy reliance on Matthew Wade in the middle order. He had an extraordinary season scoring over 1000 runs and moved from No. 6 to No. 4 midway through the year to firstly try and arrest Tasmania’s batting issues but also push his Test case. He did the latter but could do nothing about the former and his potential absence during the Tests this summer will severely challenge Tasmania’s young players. Jordan Silk and Alex Doolan battled manfully at the top of the order on a difficult new-ball pitch at Bellerive. Charlie Wakim announced himself at No.3 last year but they need the likes of Jake Doran and Ben McDermott to take the next step in the middle order. One of those two is likely to keep wicket when Tim Paine and Wade are unavailable while Silk is set to captain. The attack will be strong again. Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell are a formidable new-ball duo in the heavy Hobart air and Riley Meredith adds speed at first change. Tasmania opted to go without a specialist spinner quite often last year, particularly at home, but young offspinner Jarrod Freeman could well get further opportunities after debuting last season.Player to watchJordan Silk made a century in Tasmania’s last Sheffield Shield final triumph back in 2012-13. He was the youngest of the six players that season to make multiple Shield centuries at just 20, and he achieved it in just three games. He was selected to play for Australia A on a tour of England in 2013, but after 50 first-class games, and 97 innings, he’s only managed to score four more centuries. Bellerive Oval has been a very difficult place to open the batting and so his overall average of 31.67 is better than it appears. At 27, he is stepping into the captaincy when Wade is absent and Tasmania would love for that added responsibility to help him thrive with the bat.Young gunThere is a lot of hype around Riley Meredith in white-ball cricket but Tasmania are excited about his development in all three forms. At 23, he is still arguably a little while away from becoming a fully-fledged international prospect but he has shown a lot of promise. He had a good Shield season last year as the first change option behind the new ball pairing of Bird and Bell as he took 27 wickets at an average of 28.96, without a five-wicket haul. Tasmania have some solid bowling all-rounders which allows Meredith to be used in shorter bursts to maximise his pace. His development will be interesting to follow.Alex Carey cuts the ball watched by wicketkeeper Peter Nevill•Getty Images

South Australia

Last season Sixth (League stage: 0 wins, 6 defeats, 4 draws)
Captain Travis Head
Coach Jamie Siddons
2018-19 statsOverviewSouth Australia are desperate to improve this season after two disastrous years. They failed to win a game last season after winning just two the year before. There were some injury issues with 2016-17 Player of the Year Chadd Sayers missing half the season due to a knee injury, Ashes hopeful Daniel Worrell played just four games due to back and hamstring problems and Alex Carey missed eight games due to national duty. But coach Jamie Siddons is desperate to see his established players like Callum Ferguson, Tom Cooper, Jake Weatherald and Jake Lehmann step up. Captain Travis Head will also be eager for big runs to regain his Test place after failing to post a century last year despite reaching 50 five times in 13 Shield innings. The batsmen are still coming to terms with the new drop in surface at Adelaide Oval, which has become a seamer’s playground after previously being a batsman’s paradise. The bowling depth will be tested again. Sayers is still working back to full fitness, Worrall will miss the first part of the season and Joe Mennie, who took 37 wickets at 19.72 last season, is also sidelined. Young legspinner Lloyd Pope got a taste last year and may well play a little bit more this season depending on Adam Zampa’s availability depending on T20I selection.Player to watchAlex Carey only played two matches last season and it remains to be seen how much he plays this season but at this stage, he is guaranteed to play three of the first four matches and looks set to be available for five of the first six. He broke the record for the most dismissals in a season in 2016-17 and is all but inked in as Paine’s successor in the Australia’s Test team, but the selectors will want more runs from him. He made a Shield century last season but he only has two first-class hundreds in 55 innings. He is a better player than that and some continuity in playing a string of first-class games should give him the chance to prove it.Young gunLloyd Pope has developed a cult following after bursting onto the scene in the Under-19 World Cup, but he found his first experience in Shield cricket difficult, as many young legspinners do. Western Australia’s Shaun Marsh took a liking to him in a fourth-innings run chase last season and Pope learned some valuable lessons from the experience. He is expected to continue to develop over the coming seasons but patience will be required from all involved.

Woakes marked his England Test recall with 57 off 23 balls to revive a stuttering Birmingham innings

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2018
ScorecardChris Woakes celebrated his call-up to the England squad for the second Test against India by making a match-winning career-best 57 from 23 balls for Birmingham Bears as they beat Northamptonshire by 17 runs at Wantage Road.After winning the toss, the Bears’ innings stuttered along until Woakes struck six fours and four sixes in a cameo that steered the visitors to 187 for 7. Josh Cobb made a career-best 103 from 62 balls in reply but found no support as Northants slumped to their ninth defeat in ten matches.The Bears innings was initially hard work as only 38 came from the Powerplay for the loss of Ed Pollock and Adam Hose before Ian Bell continued his excellent form. He flicked the day’s first boundary through midwicket, swatted four more past mid-on and lifted Richard Gleeson elegantly over cover.Hose, having edged a boundary from Nathan Buck over the wicketkeeper’s head, tried to scoop the same bowler over short-fine leg and was caught at the wicket. Pollock fell for just 1, skying a pull stroke to mid-on where Seekkuge Prasanna took a solid catch.Bell swung Ben Sanderson over mid-off and gracefully went in-to-out to lift Prasanna wide of extra-cover but he and Sam Hain, who added 64 for the third wicket, fell within three balls. Bell drove Buck straight to extra-cover for 43 after Hain, who lifted a low-full toss from Sanderson over long-off for the innings’ first six, holed out to long-on off Prasanna.At 128 for 5 after 16 overs, the innings was listing but Woakes ensured the Bears had plenty to defend. He survived a tough dropped chance on 12 as Gleeson couldn’t hold on running around from long-off and the miss proved costly.He pulled the Gleeson for four through cover point and midwicket before top-edging a six as 16 came from the 17th over. Prasanna was swung over long-on for six more and Woakes found two more sixes in the final over that brought 17 as the Bears finished with a flourish, scoring 59 runs in 24 balls.Northants also found the going tough in the Powerplay as Ben Duckett was superbly yorked by Olly Stone for 2 and with only 45 runs scored, the required rate was quickly into double figures.Cobb was struck a blow to the head by a Stone bumper but warmed to his work with a punch off Woakes past mid-off and then through midwicket before driving Aaron Thomason down the ground for four and pulling a slower ball out of the ground over deep-square leg. He put a ball through a similar region for his second six and flicked Thomason wide of short-fine leg for four, passing fifty in 35 balls.But it was a lone chase as Ricardo Vasconcelos made 18 before driving Grant Elliott to long-off where Thomason took an excellent catch running to his right, Alex Wakely holed out to deep square for 3 and Steven Crook, Charlie Thurston and Prasanna only made single-figure scores.Cobb was left to chase the target himself and he went down on one knee to put another ball out of the ground and swung Woakes over long-on for six more.With 64 needed from 24 balls Cobb heaved Thomason out of the ground over midwicket and past short-third man for four to leave 42 required from 18. He drove Stone for four and charged back for a second off Woakes to reach his first T20 hundred in 58 balls and become the fourth T20 centurion for Northants.But Stone’s final over only cost seven and with 27 needed from the last over, Cobb ran himself out coming back for a second run and a wonderful innings was consigned to a losing cause.

It seems a pretty safe bet to assume that neither Haseeb Hameed or Jos Buttler will be in the England squad for the first Test against South Africa when it is named at 9am on Sunday

George Dobell at Edgbaston28-Jun-2017
ScorecardIt seems a pretty safe bet to assume that neither Haseeb Hameed or Jos Buttler will be in the England squad for the first Test against South Africa when it is named at 9am on Saturday.Both were in the side the last time England played a Test series – December in India, though Hameed missed the final Test through injury – but, for various reasons, it seems neither will retain their place.Haseeb Hameed has simply not scored enough runs. In 15 first-class innings this season, he has failed to make a 50 and only reached 25
three times. He’s been out for a duck four times.By the time the India series finished, it seemed unthinkable that Hameed would not be retained for England’s next Test. But, whether
it’s a case of county bowlers learning how to bowl at him after a successful first season in the game, or whether he is struggling
mentally with the new levels of expectation with which he is confronted, is hard to say. His balance at the crease might also be a factor; his movements certainly don’t seem as sharp as they did in India with a prop onto the front foot perhaps leaving him exposed when
he has to play back.Butter was promoted to open in the second innings here. It was a tactical decision based upon the hope that he might enjoy the pace of
the harder ball and also soften it more quickly. Worcestershire enjoyed success with similar tactics against Durham.It was selfless of Buttler to agree to such a ploy. But whether it’s what he needs at this stage of his career is debatable. Rather than
bringing his undisputed white ball skills to play in red (or pink) ball cricket, he might be better served developing his long-form skills.He hasn’t had much chance to do that. Since the end of the 2014 season, he has played just two Championship games and scored 45
Championship runs. He has played 15 Tests, it is true, but few learn their trade at the top level without an apprenticeship. It is asking a
lot of him to do so.It would be understandable if Buttler didn’t continue to pursue a future as a red ball player. He doesn’t need to: his status as a white
ball player – and his earning potential – is strong. If he helps England win a World Cup, he can retire with a proud record.He has always said, however, that he is keen to make it as a Test player and he clearly has the raw ability to do so. But, as John
Lennon put it, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. And the down side of England’s new prioritisation of
white ball cricket – the decision to play in the IPL rather than County Championship; the decision to allocate a window in prime summer
to a new-team T20 competition – is that there is simply no time for players like Buttler to learn their red-ball trade. It’s no-one’s fault, it’s just a reflection of the modern world.Haseeb Hameed has done nothing to retain his England place•Getty Images

Anyway Buttler, having attempted a lavish swipe outside off stump, soon departed to a catch at mid-wicket as he tried to clip one through
the leg side. And Hameed, who survived a strong leg before shout on 15, was then trapped by a little away swing as he shaped to play
through mid-wicket and was beaten by one that looked as if it were heading on to his pads, but straightened towards middle and off.Both might have learned a thing or two from Andy Umeed’s innings. While both Hameed and Buttler paid for playing across the line, Umeed played resolutely straight and demonstrated remarkable patience in adding 100 for Warwickshire eighth-wicket with Jeetan Patel.It has emerged – courtesy of Robert Brooke, co-founder of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians – that Umeed’s
century was the second slowest (in terms of minutes; records in terms of balls have only been reliably kept since about 1987) in the history of the County Championship after Jason Gallian’s 453 minute effort for Lancashire against Derbyshire at Blackpool in 1994. It took Umeed 429 minutes to reach three-figures, which was nine minutes slower than WH ‘Billy’ Denton’s 420-minutes century for Northants against Derbyshire in 1914.Warwickshire’s management have been asking for their batsmen to show some fight for a few weeks; in Umeed they found an old-fashioned battler. It is not a fashionable quality, but then nor are good manners or driving on the inside lane on a motorway and those things have value, too.The most fluent batting on day three of this game came from Alex Davies. Driving, cutting and pulling with more freedom than anyone
else has managed all game, Davies helped Lancashire wipe off the first innings arrears of 48 and gain a lead of 130 going into the final day.But when he fell top-edging an attempted pull and Steven Croft laced another pull to mid-wicket where Umeed took an excellent catch – it
seems he can move pretty fast when required – Warwickshire clawed their way into the game once more. If the weather holds, we might yet
have a terrific finish here.

Moeen Ali has admitted he lost confidence in his batting after moving down the order for England

George Dobell13-May-2016Moeen Ali has admitted he lost confidence in his batting after moving down the order for England.Moeen made his name in county cricket as a top-order batsman. He opened the batting in his first international match – an ODI against West Indies in Antigua in 2014 – and then batted at No. 3 in the T20 side and at No. 6 when he first came into the Test side.But, as his international career has developed, so his spin bowling has taken priority over his batting. He fell behind Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in the Test line-up and, despite making two centuries as an ODI opener – one of them a 72-ball effort against Sri Lanka – he lost his position at the start of the summer of 2015 when the selectors left him out of the ODI team so he could work on his red ball bowling.Alex Hales and Jason Roy subsequently established a dynamic partnership in his place and, since his return to the side in the lower middle-order, he has not passed 21 in ODI cricket. Only once in his last eight T20I innings has he made double-figures; four times in that period he has been dismissed for a duck.He did have a brief spell as Test opener in the UAE, but was left more confused than ever by what was required of him in a team that, in successive Tests, batted him at No. 9, No. 8 and No. 9, before three Tests at opener were followed by a move back down to No. 8.While Moeen understands the reasons for his position in the line-up, he has found it challenging to retain his identity as a batsman.”If you want to be good at something, you have to believe,” Moeen said. “And I went through a phase where I probably didn’t believe I was a top-order batter.”I didn’t practise it as much, because I felt like my bowling was keeping in the team. I definitely haven’t done myself justice with the bat at Test level. I have shown glimpses in all three formats, but I have not done as well as I want. I know I can do better.”Part of the problem comes with being required to bat with the tail. Reasoning that he may not have time to play himself in, Moeen has often felt the need to attack from the start. While that has, at times, had positive results – most notably in the Ashes – it has seen him turn into something of a lower-order slugger rather than the classy player he once threatened to be. It is understandable from the perspective of the team’s needs, but the suspicion remains that England are not getting the best out of him with the bat.Certainly he has, at times, looked a long way below the standards he set in making a high-class century in his second Test. That innings, played against Sri Lanka almost exactly two years ago, took England to the brink of a memorable – and unlikely – draw.”I was more confident then,” he said, “because I’d come back from a couple of years of county cricket where I’d scored well.I just remember telling myself I wasn’t going to get out the night before. I’ve done it for Worcester. I was actually surprised we did it for so long. It was a good effort. But I’ve not been batting that much or that well since.”The hardest thing is obviously batting at No. 8. If you’re batting with Jonny Bairstow, you can play normally, and Stuart Broad is batting quite well at the moment. But then you get lower down…”On your marks: Joe Root, Perri Shakes-Drayton and Moeen Ali at the launch of the NatWest T20 Blast•Getty Images

Moeen feels that a return to Worcestershire for the start of this season has helped him rediscover his confidence. He has batted at No. 3 in three Championship matches and, in scoring a century and two half-centuries, goes into the Investec Test series against Sri Lanka averaging 91 so far this season.”Going back to Championship cricket, batting at three, I feel like I’m back to how I was,” he said. “I do feel that I’m ready again. I feel like a proper batter again. The batting and the bowling are coming together.”That return to Worcestershire almost didn’t happen. He originally entered the IPL auction only to withdraw after Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, asked him to.”I’m actually glad I didn’t go in the end,” Moeen said. “England just said ‘we’d rather you played red-ball cricket’. It made sense in the end. I had a bit of a break and then played three Championship games. I obviously wanted to get ready for the Test matches.”He is talking to publicise the new NatWest T20 Blast season that beings – ridiculously – on the second day of the first Test next week. Moeen, like the rest of England’s top players, may well be limited to just one or two games in the group stages with the ECB announcing that, fitness permitting, every contracted player will be available for Blast action from June 15 to June 18.While he talks with great passion about the Blast, he is among many of the England players who feel that a city-based competition would improve the standard and spark new interest.”We’d love to be playing the T20 Blast as much as we can,” he said. “I played a bit last year, and I absolutely loved it. We miss a big chunk of it, and that’s a bit disappointing. But it’s the way it is.”It would be sad [if Worcestershire disappeared from a city-based competition], but personally I would love a franchise system. The standard would improve and although not everyone in domestic cricket would play – that’s the biggest shame about it – I think it would be good for the league and good for England.”To find out more information and buy tickets for this season’s NatWest Blast games, please visit: www.ecb.co.uk/natwestt20blast

Sunrisers Hyderabad face the problem of finding the best eleven and in Kolkata Knight Riders they have a side that has started to put together clinical performances

Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Apr-20151:56

Agarkar: Sunrisers should get Williamson back

Match facts

Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

Big picture

Before the start of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad seemed to have stitched together a fairly good-looking squad on paper, with excellent overseas additions in Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan adding to their core of David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Dale Steyn. Trouble is, you can only play four overseas players at the same time, and Sunrisers have struggled to find their best eleven.In that struggle they have lost three of their first four games, while winning the other convincingly enough – against Royal Challengers Bangalore – to suggest there’s definite potential for improvement. But potential only means so much, and they will have to start stringing together actual performances right away, starting with their home game against Kolkata Knight Riders, to climb out of the crowded bottom of the table.It won’t be easy. Knight Riders’ win over Delhi Daredevils on Monday was a performance that distilled their strengths so clinically – expert constriction with the ball, despite an uncharacteristically expensive spell from Sunil Narine, followed by a sensibly constructed chase – it was a little boring to watch. Knight Riders won’t mind being called boring if they keep playing like that, though. They know their strengths, they know their best eleven, and pride themselves on the standards they set. Unless they have a rare bad day, Sunrisers will have to be at or close to their best to beat them.

Watch out for…

Eoin Morgan came into the IPL on the back of perhaps the worst form slump of his career, and came into the Sunrisers XI in place of a massive name in Kane Williamson. He’s there for a reason – Williamson fits best in the top three, where Sunrisers have a decent number of options, while Morgan is a number five or six, where they have a hole to fill – but he hasn’t really convinced in his two innings so far. A match against his old team might be a good starting point for him to turn his form around.After a seemingly never-ending streak of 40-plus scores last season, Robin Uthappa‘s form has dipped, and he’s made scores of 9, 35, 13 and 13 this season. He’s played some sparkling shots in the brief time he’s spent in the middle, suggesting he isn’t in particularly bad touch, and his run of scores hasn’t really affected Knight Riders’ performances too much, but he will certainly want to contribute more to their cause.

Stats and trivia

• Sunil Narine has been his usual economical self this season, conceding only 6.81 runs an over, but his wicket-taking ability seems to have diminished: he’s only taken two wickets in four matches, at an average of 54.50.
• Yusuf Pathan is the only batsman to score more than 100 runs in matches between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• No Sunrisers batsman has scored a half-century against Knight Riders.

Opening batsman Martin Guptill has claimed the top honour at the New Zealand Cricket Awards in Auckland, winning the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2012Opening batsman Martin Guptill has claimed the top honour at the New Zealand Cricket Awards in Auckland, winning the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for 2011-12. Guptill was also named ODI and Twenty20 player of the year, based on performances between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012. Young fast bowler Doug Bracewell picked up the other big award of the evening, being named Test Player of the Year.

Full list of award winners

• Martin Guptill: Sir Richard Hadlee Medal

• Doug Bracewell: Test Player of the Year

• Martin Guptill: ODI Player of the Year

• Martin Guptill: Twenty20 Player of the Year

• Amy Satterthwaite: International Women’s Player of the Year

• Frances McKay: Women’s Domestic Player of the Year

• Gareth Hopkins: Men’s Domestic Player of the Year

• Simon Hickey: Gillette Young Player of the Year

• Cran Bull: Bert Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding services to cricket

• Doug Bracewell: Fans Choice for Outstanding Individual Performance

• Doug Bracewell: Winsor Cup for best bowler in first-class cricket

• Martin Guptill: Redpath Cup for the best batsman in first-class cricket

Batsman Amy Satterthwaite, who averaged 51.75 in five ODIs during the judging period, was named Women’s Player of the Year.Guptill scored 681 runs in 11 Tests in the same period. He was one of the few bright spots for New Zealand on their tour of the Caribbean, where they lost in all three formats; he made 97, 67, 71 and 42 there, top scoring in three of the four innings. In ODIs, against Zimbabwe home and away, his sequence of scores read 74, 105, 70, 77 and 85. In all, he scored 579 runs in 13 matches in the format. In 13 Twenty20s, he scored 454 at 45.40 with strong showings against South Africa and Zimbabwe.Bracewell, who debuted in November last year, took 40 wickets in 11 games at 28.02. His best of 6 for 40 came in New Zealand’s famous 7-run win against Australia in Hobart, where he claimed the wickets of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey with the score on 159 to upend their chase of 241. For that performance, Bracewell also picked up the Fans Choice for Outstanding Individual Performance award.The winners were decided by an independent selection panel headed by former New Zealand Cricket president Don Neely, and included former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith and veteran radio commentator, Bryan Waddle.