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The trio were inducted in a ceremony in London on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2019Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar, former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald and former Australia Women’s fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick have become the newest additions to the ICC Hall of Fame. The trio were inducted in a ceremony in London on Thursday.Tendulkar, cricket’s most prolific run-getter, was inducted immediately after becoming eligible: the ICC rule requires that a player should have played his last international match at least five years before and Tendulkar had retired in November 2013. He is the sixth Indian to be part of the ICC’s Hall of Fame, following Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.The only player to feature in 200 Test matches, Tendulkar scored 15921 runs in the longest format and 18426 runs in ODIs, both run tallies standing as records. He is also the only player to have scored 100 centuries in international cricket (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs) and was part of India’s World Cup winning side in 2011.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“It is an honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, which cherishes the contribution of cricketers over generations,” Tendulkar said. “They have all contributed to the growth and popularity of the game and I am happy to have done my bit.”Donald, who retired from all formats in 2004, was one of South Africa’s greatest fast bowlers, and the first bowler from the side to take 300 Test wickets and 200 ODI wickets. Donald ended with a wickets tally of 602 wickets in an international career that spanned more than a decade.”The biggest shock when you open an e-mail like that – it says congratulations Allan Donald, you have been inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame! It hits you, it hits you quite hard because it is a prestigious award and something that you can’t take lightly. I thank the ICC for the huge honour.”Allan Donald was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in London•IDI/Getty Images

Fitzpatrick, the eighth woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, was the fastest bowler in women’s cricket over the course of her 16-year international career. Her tally of 180 ODI wickets was the highest in women’s cricket, until it was surpassed by India seamer Jhulan Goswami in May 2017. Fitzpatrick helped Australia lift two Women’s World Cups – in 1997 and 2005 – and was coach of the side between May 2012 and May 2015, in which time Australia Women won a World Cup and two World T20 titles.”To gain recognition alongside many of the games’ giants is a huge honour. I look at the list of past inductees and what stands out most is not only their outstanding talent, but that they were game changers. They took the game on and changed the way it was played.”ICC’s chief executive Manu Sawhney said the three were among the finest players to have ever graced the game. “It is a great honour for us to announce the 2019 inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Sachin, Allan and Cathryn are three of the finest players to ever grace our game and are deserved additions to the Hall of Fame. On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate all three players, who enrich the list of all-time greats already members of this select club.”

Sam Hain and Sam Curran drafted into squad after injuries to Ben Duckett and Saqib Mahmood

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2019Lewis Gregory, the Somerset allrounder, will captain the England Lions in their four-day game against Australia A which starts at Canterbury this Sunday.Gregory, who was called into England’s first ODI squad after the 2015 World Cup but did not make the final XI in the one-off game against Ireland, is the leading wicket-taker among Division One seamers this year, with 44 wickets at 13.88 in his eight games.He has some captaincy experience, having skippered England’s under-19s back in 2011, and will again lead Somerset in their upcoming Vitality Blast campaign after taking over from Jim Allenby last year.Gregory is realistically an outside bet for Ashes selection given England’s catalogue of seam-bowling allrounders, but can hope to force his way into their T20I plans ahead of this winter’s tours to New Zealand and South Africa.There are also late call-ups for Sam Curran and Sam Hain.Curran, who has taken 18 wickets in his four Championship games for Surrey since returning from the IPL, replaces Saqib Mahmood, after the Lancashire fast bowler suffered an abdominal problem during their game at Northampton this week.Hain’s call-up comes immediately after his twin hundreds for Warwickshire secured a draw against Hampshire. He is included after Ben Duckett’s groin injury in Nottinghamshire’s defeat at Somerset.Jack Leach, Ben Foakes, and Curran are the three Test players in the squad, and all will look to press cases for Ashes selection.Australia A warmed up for this game with a ten-wicket thrashing of Sussex at Arundel, in which both openers – Marcus Harris and Joe Burns – made centuries. Both men are in contention to open the batting with David Warner this summer.England Lions: Lewis Gregory (captain), Jack Leach (both Somerset), Sam Hain, Dom Sibley (both Warwickshire), Sam Curran, Ben Foakes (both Surrey), Sam Northeast (Hampshire), Jamie Porter (Essex), Zak Crawley (Kent), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex).

After their win over Pakistan in UAE, New Zealand have a chance to scale Test rankings’ summit if they topple Sri Lanka

The Preview by Madushka Balasuriya13-Aug-2019

Big Picture

Sri Lanka won their last Test assignment – it was a historic one too – in South Africa, but so much has happened since. New Zealand have had a different kind of high, and a heartbreak to boot, at the World Cup, but are determined to move on and make a fresh start in Sri Lanka, with the Tests part of the World Test Championship.What’s certain is they won’t underestimate the hosts, even though they are yet to emerge from their forever-rebuilding state, under another interim coach. In Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and Henry Nicholls they have a middle order more than capable of batting Sri Lanka out of the game. To bolster their batting unit, they have also recruited former Sri Lanka batting coach Thilan Samaraweera for the duration of the series.Sri Lanka are coming into the series on the back of a comprehensive ODI series whitewash over Bangladesh. Prior to that, they finished a World Cup campaign that was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. All of it has taken place in the midst of constant backroom turmoil, culminating in head coach Chandika Hathurusingha being replaced in the interim by fast-bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake.Yet, this Sri Lanka side under Dimuth Karunaratne has shown considerable mental resolve in recent months, especially with their batting, and while most teams would be unsettled by the loss of a coach days before a series, not many sides are as practiced at compartmentalising such chaos as Sri Lanka.All things considered, though, New Zealand certainly have the edge. Yes, Sri Lanka have beaten South Africa and Australia at home in recent years, but that was with the assistance of the now retired Rangana Herath, and the injured Dilruwan Perera. Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling future in Tests still has heavy question marks around it. New Zealand meanwhile are coming on the back of five consecutive series wins, and it would take brave man to bet against them making it six.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWLDL (last five completed matches, most recent first)New Zealand WWWDW

In the spotlight

This will be Sri Lanka’s first Test at home since Rangana Herath’s retirement. There had been a succession plan in place in the shape of Dilruwan Perera, but with him also out injured, Sri Lanka have suddenly lost some 378 wickets worth of spin-bowling experience on home soil. This puts the pressure squarely on Akila Dananjaya to carry Sri Lanka’s spin attack on what should be a fairly accommodating Galle surface. While Dananjaya only has 27 Test wickets to his name, 17 of which have come at home, they have come in just five Tests. This will be his first outing in the longer format of the game since he remodelled his action earlier this year.Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was instrumental in New Zealand’s away series win against Pakistan last year, and despite having just the five Tests under his belt, he impressed in the warm-up game, where he walked away with a five-for on the only day play was possible. Visiting spinners have also had a fair bit of success in Sri Lanka recently, and Patel and co. will have studied closely.

Team news

Sri Lanka are set to welcome back Dinesh Chandimal, dropped for the series in South Africa because of poor form, and Angelo Mathews, who missed the South Africa tour because of an injury. New Zealand, meanwhile, could field three frontline spinners, with Todd Astle missing out.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Dhananjaya De Silva, 8 Lasith Embuldeniya, 9 Akila Dananjaya 10 Lakshan Sandakan 11 Suranga LakmalNew Zealand (probable): 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Ajaz Patel, 9 Will Somerville, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Tim Southee

Pitch and conditions

Galle pitches usually favour spin, so expect the same this time too. Given rain is forecast right through the Test, there’s every chance of a five-day affair, unlike recent Tests that have finished early. If it does go there, both sides will want to be bowling on a deteriorating deck, so winning the toss and batting first would be the obvious choice.

Stats and trivia

• If New Zealand win this series 2-0 they will become No.1 ranked Test side in the world for the first time in their history
• Teams winning the toss have batted first in 27 of the 32 Tests played here
• Kane Williamson’s 968 runs against Sri Lanka at 80.66 is the most he has scored against a single opponent
• Galle is one of only four venues where a single bowler has more than 100 wickets (Lord’s the only non-Sri Lankan venue in the list).
• Tim Southee is six wickets from becoming the second-highest wicket taker in bilateral Tests between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest.

Quotes

“We were too attacking perhaps in our last game here. We couldn’t for example stop the flow of runs. Now we have plans to move forward and all the spinners are in good shape.”
“The guys that are here were part of a fantastic series in the UAE where spin bowling was the dominant art. They are really looking forward to the opportunity in another country where the conditions will be slightly different again.”

Tshwane Spartans assistant coach admitted that the 17-year old new recruit from Afghanistan was a mystery to them as well

Liam Brickhill04-Sep-2019Not many South Africans would have heard of Waqar Salamkheil, the youngest new recruit for the second season of the Mzansi Super League. Indeed, Tshwane Spartans assistant coach Mandla Mashimbyi admitted that Salamkheil “is a mystery to us as well” after the 17-year-old left-arm wristspinner was signed up for R180 000 (US$12,000) at the MSL draft on Tuesday.He has played just 12 first-class matches, one of which was a Test match – against Ireland, earlier this year. Salamkheil picked up four wickets in the match as Afghanistan won by seven wickets. Besides that, he has played in eight T20 matches, seven of which were in the Afghanistan Premier League. Salamkheil played seven games for Kandahar Knights, claiming ten wickets, and a video featuring a few dismissals of those got the Spartans’ team management excited.”We saw a couple of videos, and we really liked what we saw,” Mashimbyi said. “He is similar to [Tabraiz] Shamsi. He is going to bamboozle a lot of guys. Hopefully, he can do his job properly. It’s nice to have that mystery factor. We don’t know what he will bring, but no one else knows either.”Head coach Mark Boucher called Salamkheil’s signing a “brave” decision, and one that was part of a broader strategy to cover all bases after Spartans’ poor showing in the inaugural MSL.While Salamkheil has no prior knowledge of South African conditions, many of his team-mates will know exactly what to expect from the SuperSport Park pitch. Nine members of the squad, including Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe, are either still playing their cricket in local South African teams or have been part of teams that have been based in Tshwane.”Our squad this time has got cover for everything,” Boucher said. “It’s massive to have guys who’ve played there before. They are comfortable in the surroundings, have good memories and have won a lot of trophies. That will play to our advantage.”Boucher added that the Spartans would remain on the lookout for a new captain, with AB de Villiers vacating that role this season. “AB won’t be captain, we’ve discussed that. He’s a fantastic player but he must go out there and play and perform like he’s been performing in the last while.”We have a few leadership options, we’ll talk to them and see how they feel. I don’t think AB needs that burden, he’s in that stage of his life where he must enjoy his cricket and that’s probably when he plays his best.”

The South Africa opener proved he can not only play spin, but dominate it as he scored 160 runs in Vizag

Firdose Moonda04-Oct-2019Dean Elgar does not usually need a reason to be all determined, but he went into this series with a few very good ones. At 32 years of age, with a Test career in its seventh year, the South Africa opener is now a senior member and wanted to set the tone for his team’s innings and an example for his younger team-mates to follow. Especially on a tour as tough as India.

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Elgar said his 160 in Visakhapatnam was “maybe” his best for South Africa and it was easy to see why.”You are always up against it and they [India] are always coming at you,” he said at the end-of-day press conference. “But I felt with previous experiences of playing against them that if you apply yourself and give yourself opportunity you can get there. If you allow yourself time, you give yourself the best opportunity with your defensive game, your attacking game will come naturally.”The ability to grind out a score has always been a feature of Elgar’s game but here, he switched gears and took on the spinners. The proof lies in the numbers that are sometimes among the least looked-at in Test cricket: boundaries. Elgar struck 18 fours and four sixes in his 160, the most by a South African in a Test innings against India, including a slog sweep of R Ashwin to bring up his century.”It was me putting my stamp on my innings, not allowing them just to bowl to me which has happened in the past,” Elgar said.Dean Elgar drives through the off side•BCCI

History has to come up on this tour bus because of how poorly South Africa performed the last time they were in India. In 2015, they only totalled 200 once, as a team, and had no centuries between them. They left defeated, not just in the scoreline but also in morale, with the conclusion that they could not take on the turning ball more firmly entrenched. Though Elgar told he considered the pitches used in that series a “farce”, it was still important to him to show that the stereotype about South African batsmen and spin is not entirely true.”I’ve learnt over the last few years that I can play the spinning ball. I’ve played a lot of cricket around the world and developed my game in the county circuit and that’s why I ultimately go and play, to develop. It’s nice to see the results and all the hard work I have put in overseas pay off on days like today.”Since the 2015 tour, Elgar spent a season at Somerset and two at Surrey and credited the domestic scene in the UK with improving his skills, especially against spin. “In county cricket, you face a lot of spin. The ball actually spins in England now because it’s so dry, which is a good experience.”But he also learnt other, non-technical and even non-cricket-related things about himself. “You learn more as a person. You get to know yourself a little bit more when you have to do your own washing. Back home, we are fortunate, because we don’t have to do that. When you are in England, you have to do your own washing. As a person you learn; as a player, you grow.”Elgar’s personal development has also brought him to the realisation that South Africa need him for more than just runs. In their current “building phase”, the team is relying on him, captain Faf du Plessis and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock to be mentors. And all three made significant contributions to South Africa’s first innings.Faf du Plessis acknowledges the applause on reaching fifty•BCCI

“We’ve lost quite a few senior heads and our side needs some leadership and a few old faces to stand up because we’ve got some young faces here.” Elgar said.Despite all this effort, South Africa still face the possibility of not being able to save the Test. They will have to bat last, on a surface that will deteriorate and will need the younger players, as well as the seniors, to stand up again. Whatever happens though, Elgar is hopeful that South Africa can be a world-beating force again and asked the fans to keep the faith.”We’ve got some experienced heads who have played a lot of domestic cricket back home and they know the environment and then you’ve got a lot of young guys who are immensely talented. They need time to grow and they are going to fail. That’s a foregone conclusion that young guys are going to fail but it’s how you as a senior group allow them to fail and allow them to grow.”I’d like to see things moving in the right direction. I’d like to see today particularly as having a huge influence within our structure and within our squad and I know the young guys will always feed off the energy that the older guys are giving off. I’d like to see today as being an inspirational day and hopefully, we can build on it.”

About six dozen balls will be supplied by SG to BCCI considering both India and Bangladesh would want to start training with the ball

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Oct-2019The SG pink ball is set to debut when India and Bangladesh play their maiden day-night Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November. Immediately after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had accepted the BCCI’s request on Tuesday to play the second Test of the Bangladesh series under lights, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that the SG pink ball would be used for the match, as the first Test of the series would be played with the SG red ball, in Indore.”Hopefully SG because the first match will be with SG so the second Test will also have to be with SG,” Ganguly told on Tuesday.Although majority of players from both India and Bangladesh have not played with the pink ball, both boards have said the Eden Test was a positive development, with Ganguly calling it the beginning of “something special” and a “huge step forward” for Indian cricket.Despite using the SG red ball in first-class cricket, the BCCI stuck to Kookaburra when it came to pink-ball cricket in the domestic circuit in the last few years. The first experiment with the pink ball was tried out by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) when Ganguly was the president. In 2016 the Duleep Trophy was played with the Kookaburra pink ball too.Asked why the BCCI did not want to use the Kookaburra pink ball for the Test, Ganguly said two different makes in one series was not permitted. “No, it can’t be because the series has to be played with same ball. It can’t be two different balls in the same series.”ESPNcricinfo understands the BCCI has placed an order with SG for the pink balls to be sent over by November 6, with the Test set to begin on November 22. About six dozen balls will be supplied by SG to BCCI considering both India and Bangladesh would want to start training with the ball at the earliest opportunity.Paras Anand, marketing director at SG, confirmed the BCCI order. “We have to send the balls by November 6,” Anand told ESPNcricinfo. “They asked us if we were prepared to supply the pink balls on time. And whether we could get the pink ball as close to the red ball used in Test matches in India.”Anand admitted about being anxious, but he was confident about the SG pink ball withstanding the weather and ground conditions, after having tested it in-house extensively. “We have been working on the pink ball for almost three years now. And we have tested the ball for the longer format, if it can last 80 overs,” he said. “The ball has been put under a tremendous amount of stress and the results have been pretty good. We tried to simulate the match conditions to check on the colour, the shape, the seam, the core of the ball.”Suresh Raina tosses the pink ball to Ashok Dinda during the 2016-17 Duleep Trophy•AFP

Most of the Indian domestic players had given a thumbs down to the Kookaburra pink, which they said mostly favoured batsmen as the seam softened too quickly, with fast bowlers barely managing to impart swing – conventional or reverse.Even the SG ball drew flak last year during the home series against West Indies, when India captain Virat Kohli said the red ball gets scuffed up too early, barely after five overs. However, Anand said SG has since worked extensively on the ball after receiving first-hand feedback from Indian players.ALSO READ: Questions facing the first day-night Test in India Anand and his team has met the likes of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Cheteshwar Pujara to understand the challenges they faced with the ball. “In the last 12 months, we have really worked hard on the seam of the ball. The players told us how the SG seam was a lot more prominent in the past. So our focus again for the pink ball has been on the seam. We are trying to ensure the seam is good enough even if it is, say, 75 overs old both spinners and seamers can grip.”One reason why Anand is confident the pink ball will swing is because the seam on the SG red ball in India’s home series against South Africa remained firm, aiding the fast bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav. “You saw how good they were. It had to do with both the seam of the ball being good and how good they were at preparing at the ball. We are confident they will be able to extract more swing from SG pink.”The biggest challenge for the ball manufacturers in Indian conditions is the lacquer on the pink ball, which is lost swiftly. Jaydev Unadkat, the Saurashtra and India fast bowler who has played in the Duleep Trophy under lights for two years, said the pink Kookaburra lost its sheen quickly and the ball became greyish.Anand conceded that, in fact, was the challenge, but said the key for the ball to retain its polish is to have favourable ground conditions. By that, he meant a good grass cover – not just the pitch, but the outfield, too. “The processes have changed drastically. Previously the ball would get dark quickly. But now we are confident that the ball will keep its shine for a long time. But we need support from the ground conditions. If the conditions are good the top surface of the ball – the area which has the lacquer – will not be damaged.”Anand said that he would be present at Eden Gardens for the Test and will keep his fingers crossed over the dew factor, which he said remained the biggest challenge for a ball regardless of its colour. Although the match timings for the day-night Test in Kolkata are yet to be announced, it is likely the BCCI will advance it by at least an hour. Generally day-night matches have started in India at 1.30pm, but to counter the dew, the match might start earlier.Ganguly was confident the dew would be dealt with, while Anand was hopeful it would have the least impact. “We will make sure there’s no dew. After all, day-night one-dayers are played here. There’s this dew treatment spray and all. Nothing will happen,” Ganguly told .”The colour, the seam, the hardness of the ball as compared to the red ball is pretty much manageable,” Anand said. “It is just the dew because it will have an impact on the (pink ball’s) performance.”

Former board member claims English cricket faces “financial crisis” if new tournament fails

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2019Senior figures at the ECB have been grilled by MPs on the budget for the Hundred at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, amid fears that projected costs for the new competition have grown significantly.In an oral evidence session that formed a key part of the DCMS inquiry into the future of English cricket, Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, repeatedly failed to give specific answers to questions regarding the budget for the new tournament.Former Somerset chairman Andy Nash – who resigned from the board of the ECB 18 months ago citing “standards of corporate governance… falling well short of what’s acceptable,” and a “move to promote eight counties as the first among equals” – gave evidence citing figures from an ESPNcricinfo article which demonstrated that the expected cost of the Hundred has risen significantly since the tournament was initially proposed.ALSO READ: ECB deny downplaying Blast amid fears for Hundred’s ticket salesJo Stevens, the Labour MP for Cardiff Central, questioned why the ECB had chosen to introduce a fourth format, asking “what’s wrong with T20?”Colin Graves, the ECB’s chairman, claimed that “the rest of the world is looking at it [the 100-ball format]. There’s at least four countries out there that are looking at how it develops, and they are certainly interested in it.”But the tensest exchange came between Stevens and Harrison on the subject of the budget for the Hundred, with the competition set to start in July 2020.”You presumably had a budget for it when you started the Hundred,” Stevens said. “What was the budget, and how much has it cost? How are you doing against your budgeting?”Unhappy with Harrison’s initial answer, Stevens repeated: “Can you answer the question I’m asking? What was the budget and what have you spent?”Harrison replied: “That is three years ago, the budget has obviously moved from that point as the development of the concept comes to light and there are costs… we actually added a women’s tournament…”Stevens continued: “Mr Harrison, it’s a simple question. What was the budget and how much have you spent?”In total, Stevens asked six times what the budget was for the new competition, and how the ECB’s costs had compared to expectations. Harrison said: “The budget is in line with the game’s expectations. I’m not going to reveal what that is.”We have a valuation which was met in the process of the broadcast budget, and the tournament budget which is… the tournament hasn’t happened yet. It’s happening next year. We’re in the budget-planning process. We’re planning the budget now for next year which will go through the board, through the proper governance structures and will be revealed… will effectively be confirmed in time for next year. We haven’t done budgets for any part of our business next year yet.”The budget is in line with the expectations of the Hundred board, and the ECB board.”In the second part of the session, Nash described the introduction of the new tournament as “an almighty punt and a reckless gamble” with “the potential to split and bankrupt the game”.”It will clearly will damage the other three formats,” he said. “We’ll be left with a financial crisis.”Andy Nash expressed concerns about the ECB’s financial position at a DCMS select committee oral evidence session•Getty Images

Nash claimed the first year of the Hundred would see the ECB lost £20m, and said that it “is going to cost about £60m a year to put on. So if no new fans come it will have cost £200m to cannibalise the existing game.”In fact, the first-year lost is likely to be closer to £7.5million. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the ECB is set to claim that the Hundred will make a profit in its first year. The board projects that it will gross £51million in its first year against costs of £35million – but those costs exclude the £1.3m fee guaranteed to each county. With those included, the competition is not projected to make a profit in its first five years, though it could break even in year five. For the 2020 edition, the costs including payments to the counties are projected to be around £58.6million.T20 leagues around the world have similarly struggled for profitability until several years after their inception. Harrison later claimed that he could not provide full budget figures as they are not yet fully agreed and signed off by the board.Nash later claimed that “fans feel as though the game is being taken away from them”.”[The ECB] really are betting the farm that the next TV deal will pay back the investment on the Hundred,” he said. “We have here the germ of a major financial crisis for the game. This year was a fantastic success for cricket. Why put it all at risk? A lot of people in the game are completely baffled.”We’ll be left with a financial crisis. Where’s the justification for such a high-risk route?”Nash reasserted his support for a T20 competition split between two divisions of nine counties, as proposed by a working party he chaired when at the ECB. The plan was initially backed by the CEOs of the first-class counties.”You’d have nine teams in each division and, hey presto, you have an English Premier League in the top division,” he said. “That option is still there. It’s still what fans would like. It would cost nothing like as much as The Hundred. It would present far less of a risk.”

It was a day for the record book at the Adelaide Oval as Warner struck a triple century

The Report by Danyal Rasool30-Nov-2019If the opening day was wretched for Pakistan, the adjectives to describe the second are best left unprinted. There was no humiliation spared, no skillset left unexposed as Australia’s batsmen – led by David Warner’s epic unbeaten 335 – did what they liked to Pakistan for the first half of the day, with the bowlers cutting in on the action in the final session.Warner will grab tomorrow’s headlines, and cement a place in Australian cricketing folklore for his innings, becoming the first triple centurion in the Adelaide Oval’s history, and surpassing Donald Bradman’s 334 which Mark Taylor equaled in 1998. That was when Tim Paine finally took mercy on the hapless visitors, calling his side in just as the cricketing world was settling in to see a serious challenge to Brian Lara’s record 400 not out.Moment of history: David Warner brings up his triple century•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

If that tempted you to decry the pitch a mundane road, the final session would have had you reaching for the emergency brake. Mitchell Starc was one wicket away from a five-fer, while Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins swarmed all over Pakistan early. Regular breakthroughs meant there was never any chance of a partnership building that so much as hinted Pakistan might challenge Australia’s 589 enough to force them in to bat again at some point this Test. When it was time to wind up, Pakistan were 493 runs behind, with the tail already exposed. Babar Azam, predictably, was the lone source of resistance from the other end, but when the umpires called stumps, they might as well have been calling a halt to a boxing match.Pakistan were still seven overs away from the new ball becoming available when the day began, but the signs were ominous in that early half hour. Instead of being able to rein Australia in during that initial spell, Yasir Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed operated ineffectually, with Australia piling on 65 in nine overs of the old ball, scoring more freely than they had across the entirety of the first day. Any pressure they might have felt at the start was already well off when the new pink ball was called for, and the records were quickly stacking up.The 361-run partnership between Warner and Marnus Labuschagne was the second-highest second-wicket stand for Australia in Test cricket, with the pair joining an elite group to have scored 150 in consecutive innings. By the time Shaheen Afridi – again Pakistan’s best bowler – castled Labuschagne’s offstump with a genuinely delightful inswinger, he had amassed 162. Australia were 2 for 369, with Steven Smith walking in. Hardly a sight for sore bowling shoulders.Warner would continue to bring up milestones. He reached 200 and celebrated with the steel of a man only halfway through his journey. Moments later, it seemed, he was raising his bat for 250, which is when he really cut loose as Australia looked to wring every last run out of their innings. Pakistan didn’t help themselves when debutant Muhammad Musa had Warner caught at fourth slip from a no-ball, the second time a Pakistan debutant reprieved Warner in this way this series after Naseem Shah’s overstep in Brisbane.Tim Paine took a brilliant catch to remove Iftikhar Ahmed•Getty Images

Pakistan’s bowling might have been consistently listless, but the extent of Yasir’s nightmare may yet have career-affecting consequences for him. His struggles in the southern hemisphere are well-documented, particularly his record in Australia. But here it almost seemed safer to have Iftikhar bowling instead. He was, after all, “only” going at five per over, while Yasir conceded 197 in his 32 at more than a run-a-ball, unable to keep himself from dragging the ball down several times every over, or feeding them faithfully into the left-handers’ hitting arcs. If, in these past three years, Yasir worked on how to manage a game where wickets come at a premium, it did not show today.After Smith edged a wild hack, Warner and Matthew Wade combined for a breezy 99-run partnership which saw Warner bring up 300 with a pull off Mohammad Abbas – who still wasn’t targeting the stumps – and brought out a celebration so emotive it moved his wife, sitting in the stands, to tears. After that he was even more unconfined, and when he took Abbas for 17 in an over, it really appeared that 400 was going to be given a shot. But when a single to extra cover took him past 334 – to stand second behind Matthew Hayden’s 380 for Australia – Paine emerged from the dressing room and called them in, a cue for Adelaide to stand as one as its most prolific scorer walked off.It is perhaps no coincidence that was the precise moment when the wicket decided to change character as the lights took hold. Shan Masood was given out in the first over, and though he had it overturned, the breakthrough was never far away. Imam-ul Haq nicked off to Warner – who else? – in the slips in the fifth over, and it wasn’t long before Cummins found Azhar Ali’s outside edge after the dinner break, allowing Smith to take a sharp catch diving forward at second slip.It was, more or less, the way every Pakistan batsman was dismissed. Each one of the six that fell would have their outside edge tickled, with Starc doing much of the damage in the final half an hour. Asad Shafiq fell to one he could do little about, while poor shot selection from Iftikhar and Mohammad Rizwan meant Pakistan were making Australia’s task much easier than it needed to be. Sunday might be affected by rain, but it appears little can impact the outcome of this match.

Kasuza had been cleared of concussion via scans on Tuesday, but the doctor has confirmed a delayed onset

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2020Zimbabwe’s debutant opener Kevin Kasuza has suffered a delayed concussion after sustaining a blow to the helmet at short leg on day three of the first Test in Harare. Although Kasuza had been cleared of concussion via scans on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s team doctor has confirmed that concussion has set in on WednesdayThe hosts have now named a like-for-like concussion substitute under the ICC’s new rules, bringing in 24-year old opener Brian Mudzinganyama into the XI. Mudzinganyama has impressed in recent domestic matches, hitting 127 for Rangers in late December. The substitution means he will now be make a Test debut.Kasuza, who made 63 in the first innings, had not immediately felt the effects of the blow, when a full-blooded Kusal Mendis pull caught him flush on the helmet in the first session of day three. After a few seconds, however, he took his helmet off, and suddenly appeared groggy. He was able to continue standing, partly with the support of his teammates, and after the Zimbabwe team doctor came out to assess him, he left the field before another ball was bowled. Despite being cleared of an immediate concussion by scans, Kasuza did not return to the field of play .The recently introduced concussion substitution protocols dictate that the team’s medical representative – usually the physio – must run standardised tests and submit a report to the match referee. On this occasion, match referee Javagal Srinath has accepted that Kasuza is suffering from concussion. It seems likely that Kasuza will be unavailable for the second Test as well, which starts on Monday.

Set 290 to win, NSW lose Larkin before shaving 41 runs off the target

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2020A stunning unbeaten century from Nic Maddinson has set up a tantalising final day between Victoria and New South Wales at the SCG.Maddinson clubbed 105 not from just 90 balls with nine fours and four sixes as Victoria declared their second innings closed at 1 for 168 after just 30 overs, having earlier bowled out New South Wales for 310 to gain a lead of 121. Marcus Harris also made 54 not out but was mainly a spectator as Maddinson assaulted his former team.Harry Conway made an early breakthrough in Victoria’s second innings, trapping Travis Dean in front, but that was the only joy for the Blues as Maddinson teed off.His century was his second of the season and his fifth for Victoria in just 11 matches since moving from New South Wales in 2018. It followed on from 95 in the first innings to give him 648 runs at 92.57 in Sheffield Shield cricket this year. Incredibly, he made more runs in this game than the entire BBL, where he contributed just 143 runs at 10.21 for the Melbourne Stars.The declaration left New South Wales needing 290 to win with ten overs and a full day to bat. They started the chase brightly moving to 41, but just prior to stumps, Peter Siddle made a breakthrough with Nick Larkin picking out Will Sutherland at square leg with a flat pull shot to leave the Blues with nine wickets in hand on the final day.Earlier, the Blues began the day at 4 for 201 in their first innings but folded for 310. Debutant Wil Parker continued his fairytale start to first-class cricket by claiming a third wicket with Dean taking a stunning catch at short leg to remove Daniel Solway. Will Sutherland breached the obdurate defence of Blues skipper Peter Nevill before Chris Tremain and Siddle cleaned up the tail.