According to a statement released by NZC on behalf of his wife Lady Dianne Hadlee, he has undergone surgery to remove a tumour, and ‘has made an excellent recovery’

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2018Sir Richard Hadlee has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. According to a statement released by New Zealand Cricket on behalf of his wife Lady Dianne Hadlee, he has undergone surgery to remove a tumour.”Last month, Richard had a routine, 3-year colonoscopy, and we discovered that he has bowel cancer,” the statement said. “He has since had an operation to remove the tumour. This operation went extremely well and he has made an excellent recovery from surgery.”As a safeguard, further treatment in the form of chemotherapy will commence shortly and last for a few months. It is expected that, in time, he will have a full recovery.”Hadlee, 66, is widely considered New Zealand’s greatest ever cricketer, and was one of the four great fast-bowling allrounders of the 1980s alongside Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Kapil Dev. He took 431 Test wickets – a world record at the time of his retirement – in 86 matches at an average of 22.29, and also contributed 3124 runs at 27.16.His performances were central to New Zealand’s rise as a serious cricketing power, as match figures of 7 for 130 and 10 for 100 in their first ever wins over Australia and England, respectively, would suggest. In all, he took 173 wickets at 13.06 in New Zealand Test wins.During his last tour of England, in 1990, he was knighted for his services to cricket.

Australia’s captain admitted his own position will come under scrutiny after the 5-0 defeat but retained belief in the future of the one-day side

Melinda Farrell at Old Trafford24-Jun-20181:40

Australia a long way off, but know where we’re going – Paine

Tim Paine said Australia’s senior players had let the side down in their fifth straight loss as England sealed their first series whitewash in any format over Australia and admitted his side had “folded” under pressure throughout the series.After setting England a target of 206 for victory, Australia fought their way back, thanks largely to the sharp pace of Billy Stanlake, and gave themselves a shot at victory when they reduced England to 114 for 8. But they were unable to dislodge a rampant Jos Buttler or deprive him of a batting partner.”That one stung,” Paine told . “Not as difficult as Trent Bridge but we’ve certainly been taught a lesson by a world-class outfit.””I thought we were in trouble to be honest at the half-way mark. But our bowlers came out and committed to what we spoke about really well in that first hour we were out there.”But once put under pressure whether with bat, ball or in the field, we’ve folded a bit, if we’re completely honest.””We could have got a couple more wickets. That would have been nice. I thought we had them under pressure. Rashid and Jos played really well but we didn’t get enough balls in the right areas at those two in particular and they batted well. And when we’ve been under pressure in this series we haven’t responded as well as we would have liked so that’s a lesson we’ve got to learn.”Paine’s own form has come under scrutiny in his first ODI series as Australia captain. He has averaged just 7.20 from five matches and admitted his ODI captaincy role will be up for discussion after this series.”I haven’t thought about it to be honest,” he said. “All I know is I was coming here to do this series and I’ve said a few times before when you are my age it’s a bit foolish to look ahead. Certainly I am really looking forward to captaining the Test team and continuing how I have been playing in that format. But where I go with the rest of my cricket is something we will discuss in the coming weeks.”If I’m honest, I’ve probably let the pressure get to me a bit this series. When you’re not performing things are hard at international level.”Travis Head’s half-century and solid contributions from Alex Carey – who would likely take the gloves in the ODI side should Paine step down or be dropped – and D’Arcy Short were among the bright spots for Australia on what has been a testing tour.”Even today we see Carey and Short – two really good young players – play really well after our senior players probably let us down,” said Paine. “Billy Stanlake and Ashton Agar… there’s some real talent in this group. If we can get our best team on the park with some of these young players, anything is possible.”I’ve heard a few times that this team doesn’t have a plan, or it doesn’t know where it’s going, but we have a clear direction. We know we are a long way off the mark at the moment but the World Cup is not for 12 months and we know when we get our best team on the park, playing our best cricket, we are going to be right in the thick of it.”

Josh Poysden will only play Championship matdhes on loan for the rest of the season but stays with Birmingham Bears as long as their T20 season continues

David Hopps16-Aug-2018Yorkshire have announced the signing of Warwickshire legspinner Josh Poysden on a three-year deal but have stressed that they are still trying to thrash out a new deal for Adil Rashid to stay at the club.Suspicions that Poysden has been brought in as a ready-made replacement for Rashid, whose call-up by England for the India series when he was on a white-ball only contract caused so much vexation in the Broad Acres, would be wide of the mark because negotiations were well advanced before that thunderbolt left Yorkshire’s plans in chaos.Yorkshire had initially envisaged that Poysden would be their go-to Championship spinner when Rashid was, by his own choice, unavailable and then could potentially bowl in tandem with Rashid in Twenty20. (The future of Azeem Rafiq, the offspinner who Yorkshire gave a second chance to make the grade two years ago, is yet to be announced).Now that situation is complicated. England’s national selector, Ed Smith, has indicated that next season all Test players must be available for red-ball cricket, leaving Rashid’s future availability for Yorkshire (or, indeed, any other county) in all competitions no longer as clear as it once appeared.Yorkshire want to keep Rashid, recognising that he is an important role model, especially in the South Asian communities.But with finances tighter than ever after Yorkshire committed to the building of a new dual purpose stand for cricket and the rugby operation on the other side of the ground, negotiations will be far from straightforward.Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon said: “”We are still in negotiations with Adil Rashid regarding 2019 and our complete spin bowling squad will be announced in due course.”Adil Rashid during a practice session•Getty Images

What does seem certain is that Rashid will not play any Championship cricket for Yorkshire this season, enough also to persuade Yorkshire to bring in Poysden, an England Lions legspinner, on loan for Championship fixtures only until the end of the season.He has already spent one match on loan when he played for Yorkshire in the Roses fixture at Old Trafford after Rashid – rumours about his potential England summons already beginning to swirl – turned down the opportunity.Poysden will remain available for Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast for as long as they remain in the competion – and marked his new deal by producing one of the best deliveries of his career at Edgbaston on Wednesday night, bowling Lancashire’s Steven Croft with one that turned sharply to strike off stump.Birmingham’s win mean they will carry hopes of reaching the last eight into their final North Group match against Worcestershire at Worcester on Friday night. Poysden will join Yorkshire after the match.Moxon said: “We are delighted that Josh has signed a three-year contract at Yorkshire and will join us on loan until the end of the season. Following on from Josh’s previous loan move, we believe that his skillset will complement and strengthen our bowling attack in our remaining six championship fixtures.”Poysden’s chances at Warwickshire – or their T20 alias Birmingham – have been limited despite that Lions recognition. At 27, he has played only 12 Championship matches, taking 27 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls. With the white ball, Poysden has played 47 matches across both formats, but although he has impressive economy rates of 5.96 in List A cricket and 7.53 in T20s his limited opportunity is seen in a total of only 38 wickets.That has had much to do with the fact that Jeetan Patel, one of the most inspirational figures in the county game, has led the attack at Edgbaston. Poysden now has the chyance to grow away from Patel’s shadow.Ashley Giles, Sport Director at Warwickshire, said: “Josh is a great lad and every member of the cricket management team wishes him every success in his career. He’s very ambitious and, with opportunities being very limited for him in Championship cricket, this is a fantastic opportunity for him to take with Yorkshire.”Having been a Bear for five seasons, he leaves Edgbaston with winners’ medals of two major trophies and many friendships in the dressing room.”Poysden said: “It is massively exciting to be joining Yorkshire, a club with a massive history and lots of top class players. I really enjoyed the one game loan. Most importantly, getting a win in the Roses game was a great way to start my Yorkshire career.”Poysden will be eligible to play from Sunday when Yorkshire host Worcestershire at Scarborough in the Specsavers County Championship. A ground, incidentally, and against Warwickshire, where Rashid’s career began amid such excitement 12 years ago.

Alex Milton scored a maiden Championship hundred last month but the runs he squeezed out in Southport could be worth a lot more

Paul Edwards30-Aug-2018
ScorecardAsk a county batsman which of his innings is his favourite and you will not always be told of jewelled centuries on ivory stages. Quite frequently you will hear instead of the knock that made a difference. Last month Alex Milton scored a century on his County Championship debut but he did so in a losing cause, albeit it included a 136-run last wicket partnership with Steve Magoffin. On the second day of this match, Milton’s third in Division One, he made a mere 37 but shared the 61-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ben Cox that has probably tipped this game decisively in Worcestershire’s favour.Milton was fortunate that Cox was his batting partner. The Worcestershire wicketkeeper is one of the most underestimated cricketers on the circuit and his 40 took a little of the pressure off his younger colleague. But the pair came together when their team were 56 for 4 and their lead over Lancashire was a mere 117. Their stand sucked much of the venom out of Lancashire and it was the best of six significant alliances which all but filled an absorbing last two sessions at Trafalgar Road.

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Six overs before the end of the day Worcestershire were finally dismissed for 252 and the home side opened with a nightwatchman, Toby Lester, and Haseeb Hameed, who remains on a pair. Lancashire still need a further 306 runs to win and no one with a full complement of marbles fancies their chances.The pitch did not ease greatly throughout the day. It has never been a desperately difficult pitch but Brett D’Oliveira’s dismissal to a magnificent ball from Graham Onions which landed on middle and off before seaming away showed that there has always been a wicket in this surface. But both Milton and Cox adapted to the conditions in the manner of old pros; the balls they kept out or let go were just as important as those they cut or clipped to the white fences around this great ground. Cox, in particular, was prepared to wear a few on his body and to bat through a fine spell by Lester. As for Milton, when he considers how his life has been spent, he may well conclude that the two-and-a-quarter hours he took gritting it out at Trafalgar Road have been among the most valuable.It certainly set the tone for the rest of the innings. Tom Bailey, who had taken three early wickets, was not as effective as the ball got older, and later batsmen found batting a slightly more agreeable task than Worcestershire’s top order. Ed Barnard batted well once again, albeit for a mere 24 and Josh Tongue’s 20 helped him add yet another 26 for the last wicket with Dillon Pennington.Wayne Parnell contributed vital runs•Getty Images

But the applause of this good-natured and knowledgeable crowd greeted the batting of Wayne Parnell, who made 50 off 74 balls and hit Keshav Maharaj for a straight six into the media tent, where most of the inhabitants were watching the cricket. Parnell’s excellent choice of shot throughout his innings revealed his pedigree and showed how he has bought into Worcestershire’s appealing ethos of hard work and great enjoyment.And as the afternoon progressed, bowlers toiled for the first time in this match. Maharaj’s spell from the Grosvenor Road End claimed three wickets but it did not change the pattern established by Cox and Milton. Likewise, Graham Onions removed Barnard and Ben Twohig but not before they had strengthened Worcestershire position. Lancashire’s bowlers and fielders became quieter even as the noise from the marquees increased. Perhaps they were considering the size of the task facing them; perhaps some of those thoughts could not be voiced in the changing room. Even as Worcestershire’s players view the prospect that they might beat Yorkshire and Lancashire in the space of nine glorious days, Dane Vilas and his players are pondering a different fate.Of course the home side’s task would not be so formidable had not D’Oliveira’s bowlers secured a 61-run first innings lead. Thus the Worcestershire bowlers could be pleased with their effort in taking the last five Lancashire wickets for 65 in little more than an hour’s graft. Josh Tongue, who has the ability to extract bounce from the blandest surface, took the first and last wickets to fall on Thursday, and finished with 5 for 53.Once again, though, Lancashire dug their own graves before obligingly interring themselves and pulling the turf across the plots. Josh Bohannon, for example, had played with purpose and intent for his 13 before he turned blind and was run out by Barnard’s throw when thinking of a third run. But this is a game which has never been short of gallows humour and it is the season when the light is dying, and with it, the green hopes of springtime.

James Fuller has left Middlesex as Hampshire become his third county in four years

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2018Hampshire have signed Middlesex’s fast-medium bowler James Fuller on a three-year contract. It is Fuller’s third county in four years and continues his search for a club where he can make a lasting impression across all formats.Having started out with Otago in New Zealand, Fuller utilised a British passport to join Gloucestershire, where he claimed 89 wickets in 35 first-class appearances. He moved to Middlesex in 2016, making his debut against Hampshire that year and picking up a five-wicket haul.Fuller has claimed 141 first-class wickets in total at an average of 33.06 and, now 28, joins a Hampshire squad short on English-qualified seam-bowling resources. They have already recruited Keith Barker, the veteran left-arm seamer, from Warwickshire.Fuller has been a strong white-ball contributor throughout his career, helping Gloucestershire to win the 2015 Royal London Cup. He has claimed 70 List A wickets at 29.74, as well as 94 in T20 to go alongside a batting strike rate of 149.04.He also earned England Lions call-ups in 2016 and 2017, when he featured against Sri Lanka A and the UAE alongside Hampshire wicketkeeper-batsman, Tom Alsop.Hampshire’s director of cricket Giles White said: “James is a talented all-round cricketer with the ability to make an impact across all formats.”

Wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty and fast bowler Shabnim Ismail missed South Africa’s recent series against West Indies, but will return to a largely settled squad

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2018South Africa have named their squad for the first ever standalone ICC Women’s World T20 taking place in the West Indies in November. There is a familiar feel to the group and the selectors have kept the bulk of the squad that recently completed a limited-overs tour of the West Indies, including the rookie trio of Tumi Sekhukhune, Robyn Searle and Saarah Smith who will make their World Cup debuts.Fast bowler Shabnim Ismail and wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty will also return to action for the tournament. Neither had been part of the recent West Indies tour, with Chetty ruled out with a back injury while Ismail, who is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 72 dismissals in 69 matches, stayed at home to be with her ailing father.While South Africa have been boosted by the pair’s return, they will be without fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka who has not sufficiently recovered from her shoulder surgery and was not considered for selection. The South Africans were also struck a further blow when offspinner Raisibe Ntozakhe, originally named in the squad of 15, was suspended from bowling in international cricket due to an illegal bowling action.As expected, Dané van Niekerk will captain the squad as well as performing pivotal roles with bat and ball. Van Niekerk is South Africa’s leading T20I runscorer with 1,505 runs. Just behind her is Mignon du Preez with 1,400, while both Lizelle Lee and Trisha Chetty have over 1,000 runs in the format.

South Africa’s squad

Dané van Niekerk (captain), Chloe Tryon, Lizelle Lee, Suné Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Zintle Mali, Robyn Searle, Tumi Sekhukhune, Saarah Smith, Trisha Chetty (wk)

While her top-order runs are undoubtedly handy, it is van Niekerk’s legspin that could make a real splash at a tournament in spin-friendly conditions. She has 49 wickets in the format for South Africa and also flourished at last season’s WBBL. She led the wickets tally for most of the season before leaving for national duty, picking up 20 dismissals with a strike rate of a wicket every 13 balls and an economy rate of just 5.57.Van Niekerk was part of the squad that reached the semi final of the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh, and captained them to the semi final of the 2017 fifty over World Cup. During that time, she has been part of a squad that has stayed remarkably settled in selection, as well as playing more limited overs cricket than anyone else. Since the last Women’s World T20 in 2016, when they crashed out in the first round, South Africa have played 18 T20Is, winning eight.In the same time, they’ve also played 53 ODIs. With largely the same squad in both formats, South Africa have gained white-ball experience rapidly and earlier this month they held reigning champions West Indies to a 2-2 series draw in the Caribbean.”Good luck to our Proteas Ladies as they head for the West Indies with high expectations for the ICC Women’s World T20,” said Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Thabang Moroe. “They reached the semi-final of this tournament in Bangladesh in 2014 and came agonisingly close to a first appearance in a Final in last year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in England.”The time has now arrived for them to take that next step forward and get into the championship match.They can take a lot of justifiable confidence out of their recently completed tour of the West Indies where they drew both the ODI and T20 Series against their hosts who are the defending champions for the ICC World T20. They also had to make do without a number of key players.””From CSA’s perspective we have left no stone unturned in our support for Dané and her team to put them on the same level of preparation as our Proteas’ men’s team,” concluded Moroe.South Africa were automatic qualifiers for the sixth edition of the Women’s World T20, and the second to be held in the West Indies, who also hosted in 2010. South Africa will play in Group A in St Lucia against defending champions West Indies, England, Sri Lanka and World Cup Qualifier winners Bangladesh. Group B comprises Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland.

The opener will will see a doctor before any decision is made on whether he would resume batting for New Zealand A

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2018Hamish Rutherford falls over while batting•Getty Images

Opener Hamish Rutherford , who copped a blow on his helmet, will see a doctor before any decision is made on whether he would resume batting for New Zealand A in the four-dayer against India A in Hamilton. Rutherford was struck by fast bowler Mohammed Siraj when he was on 9, and following an assessment, he sat out of the rest of the day. Will Young, the captain, though, made an unbeaten 117 as New Zealand A went to stumps at 221 for 5.Young, who was among the top performers for New Zealand A in the UAE, extended his form and hit 12 fours and two sixes. India A’s seamers, though, kept chipping away at the other end, reducing the hosts from 75 for 1 to 141 for 5. Young and Theo van Woerkom then put on an unbroken 80-run partnership to close out the day without any further setbacks.Siraj and Rajneesh Gurbani claimed two wickets each while Navdeep Saini took one.

Gesture possibly directed towards head coach who left him out of the limited-overs setup on fitness grounds

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Wellington18-Dec-2018In what was probably another dig at the decision to cut him from the ODI team in September, Angelo Mathews performed 10 push ups upon reaching an outstanding rearguard hundred in Wellington. He then flexed his biceps in the direction of the dressing room, from where coach Chandika Hathurusingha – who had been involved in the decision to drop him – was no doubt looking on.Mathews had been axed as ODI captain then dropped from Sri Lanka’s limited-overs teams entirely based on what Hathurusingha and the former selectors said were fitness grounds. Mathews had had several injury layoffs over the past two years, with his hamstrings and calves giving him particular trouble.Following Mathews’ omission from the limited-overs sides, Hathurusingha had also called into question Mathews’ running between the wickets, describing the number of run outs he had been involved in a “world record”.In late September, Mathews had publicly given voice to the sense of betrayal he had felt at being suddenly cut from the limited-overs teams, and had carried that hurt through to his next international outing – the Tests against England last month. Through the course of that series, Mathews struck three fifties, and at least twice made a gesture toward the dressing room, pointing to his bat and making a yapping motion with his gloves, to signal that he was letting his bat do the talking.The push-ups though, were the most colourful message yet. Mathews batted out testing spells on the third evening and all through day four, to finally reach triple figures off the 248th ball he faced. Having raised his bat, he immediately dropped to the ground, performed 10 quick push ups, got up, pointed to his head, then flexed a bicep. Partner Kusal Mendis, with whom he had put on Sri Lanka’s biggest ever stand against New Zealand, watched on, grinning.Although the celebration was ostensibly a jab at Hathurusingha, Sri Lanka’s coaches may reflect that dropping Mathews achieved exactly the results they were after. He has been a fitter and more productive player over the past six weeks, and has even begun bowling in internationals for the first time in nearly two years, sending down four overs in the first innings of the ongoing Test.”We’ve seen a re-igniting in Angelo now, which was not there in the last year,” bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake said after stumps on day four. “Even though we saw a hundred against India, in the past six or seven months we’ve something entirely different. We’re seeing a different Angelo now. It’s brilliant.”Mathews had also top-scored for Sri Lanka in the first innings, with 83. This was his first Test century in over a year.

For Joe Burns, too, it was an emotional occasion as his fourth Test century came after a roller-coaster couple of seasons

Daniel Brettig in Canberra01-Feb-2019Australia’s vice-captain Travis Head raised his eyes to the heavens upon reaching his first Test century, and later spoke tearfully of how he had dedicated the innings to the late Phillip Hughes, his mentor and teammate until his death in 2014.Head played a classic counter-attacking innings in the company of opener Joe Burns to turn a wobbly Australian start against Sri Lanka into a dominant day one of the inaugural Canberra Test match, as their stand of 308 led the hosts to a commanding 4 for 384 by the close.In reaching three figures after several near-misses so far in his brief Test career, Head’s thoughts turned to Hughes, who had died after being struck by a short ball during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG a little more than four years ago.”Yeah [I dedicated it to] a few, but Hughesy as well, a little bit emotional to be honest,” Head told SEN Radio before breaking into tears. “It was a little bit about trying to get the momentum back, it was a little like last week where we lost quick wickets and were a little bit under the pump, it was trying to get that momentum back. Last week I started my innings really well, left the ball really well, just tried to get that momentum back and get it to swing back our way. I felt like Burnsy and I were able to do that again.ALSO READ: Australia’s last resort Joe Burns makes their first hundred of the summer”To go out there and continue from last week, personally and as a team we put ourselves in a great position to get hundreds and weren’t able to, that was the disappointing part, but it was really good today to get out there, and once we got our chance, to make it massive.”At the other end, Burns said the emotion in Head’s celebration was certainly moving, leaving him to feel that all he wanted to do was offer his team-mate a long, strong hug to mark the moment.”He was very emotional for his first hundred, out in the middle you don’t ask how someone’s feeling [but] I was just over the moon for him,” Burns said. “To see a bloke, the hard work he’s done all summer and for a number of years playing against him, you knew how good a player he was.”It’s one of those innings today that’ll get him started in his Test career, get that first one out of the way and open the floodgates. I just wanted to hug him as hard as I could for as long as I could and just keep batting with him. It was really enjoyable.”Full credit to Trav, he comes out with great intent, puts the bowlers off their mark, and turns three early wickets into straightaway pressure back on the bowlers. And you could sense out there the left-hand/right-hand combination and being able to score in different areas and keep the scoreboard ticking all day meant their bowlers couldn’t get that build-up of pressure. That’s the key to a good partnership and really satisfying to do that for a long period.”Burns had plenty of his own reasons for being emotional, a little more than two years after a strong start to his Test career had been blown off course by none other than Sri Lanka on a troubled 2016 tour.Joe Burns kisses the badge on reaching his century•Getty Images

Since then, he has appeared at times to struggle to win the favour of the selectors, not least when twice picked then dropped immediately, in Hobart in late 2016 and then after the Johannesburg Test immediately following the Newlands scandal.”Look, it can be tough,” Burns admitted of how he had tried to process those episodes. “Two very different circumstances, both extreme the way they unfolded, but that’s not just cricket, that’s life sometimes, you can’t plan too far ahead, take the good with the bad. It makes days like today – when you get to kiss the badge on your helmet – bloody good, that’s for sure. It makes you really appreciate the good days because you never know when’s your last Test match or when you’re going to be out of the team.”You can’t take anything for granted, just have a responsibility to play as hard as you can and as best you can and what will be will be. It’s just one of those times where you appreciate a good day. You’ve got to do that in this game because you have a hell of a lot of bad days as well, so appreciate the fact it’s a good day and we’re just eager to come back tomorrow and do it all again hopefully and make tomorrow an even better day.”Coming into the day’s play, we knew the first hour was going to be pretty tough. Bit of grass on the wicket, bit of overheads, so despite losing the three wickets we knew we had to absorb that pressure they posed to us and we were also aware they were an inexperienced bowling attack that were going to present scoring opportunities if we could get through those tough periods. Last time I played Sri Lanka we got thumped, so I’ve got a hell of a lot of motivation to get out there and get a series win, that’s for sure.”Perspective, too, had come from the team’s visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra two days out from the start of the match. “I had that sense of your country and how lucky we are to play cricket for Australia,” Burns said, “And how much you just want to make runs for the Australian people and get the chance to get to a hundred and have the crowd applaud you like that, there’s nothing better.”

The left-arm spinner expects Ireland to push Afghanistan much harder in the ODIs – “a format that suit us” – than they did in the T20Is

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2019Andy Balbirnie was the star of the Ireland show as they trumped Afghanistan by four wickets in the third ODI in Dehradun, his 145 not out helping the Irish go over the line with an over to spare to level the series. But Balbirnie needed support, and it came from somewhat unexpected quarters: George Dockrell, who has made his name as a left-arm spinner, added 143 runs for the fifth wicket with Balbirnie.”I obviously came into the team as a bowler, but these days it is important to keep improving all aspects of your game. I was a batter at under-age level, and I’ve been encouraged to keep working on my batting over the years, but the way I see it now is that all three aspects – my batting, my bowling, my fielding – they all have to be as good as they can possibly be at all times,” Dockrell told Cricket Ireland after hitting only his second half-century in 80 ODIs.”The game definitely has developed in the last number of years – you look at teams around the world and you see there are guys coming in lower down the order winning matches. That’s what you have to have – a batting line-up that bats deep. There’s not too many bowlers around the world these days who can’t play a little cameo with the bat, so it is more and more important these days that bowlers coming into the team are looking to add value with the bat as well as the ball.”At their new ‘home’ in the northern part of India, the Afghans would have backed their chances of going 2-0 up after three games – the second one was abandoned by rain – when Najibullah Zadran’s 104 not out and Asghar Afghan’s 75 helped them put up 256 for 8. Batting was expected to get tougher after that, but as Balbirnie and Dockrell showed, it was mainly a matter of application and approach.”There’s a different challenge here in India where we have a slightly bigger pitch, and the pitch has spun a little bit,” Dockrell said. “The wickets here in Dehradun are changing as the series is going on. Because the series is being played at the one stadium, we are reusing wickets, which has meant that they have tended to become a bit slower and a little bit lower.”The pitches have also seemed to offer a little more spin in the last couple of games, so it’s been about trying to deceive batsmen more with lateral movement than with depth.”And though Afghanistan swept the preceding series 3-0 and were tipped to outperform Ireland in the ODIs quite comprehensively, expect the Irish to put up a strong show in the format they are best at.”In the T20s the Afghans showed some pretty incredible power-hitting that we weren’t able to keep up with, it was a huge challenge trying to minimise their batsmen and their ability to strike the ball. We went in to those games with our plans – and back-up plans – to counteract their attack, but the biggest learning we had was the need to be able to adapt quickly,” Dockrell said.”The ODIs are definitely a format that suit us – there’s always good games when we play the Afghans in ODIs, and there has indeed been some good games so far in this series.”The fourth ODI will be played on Friday, and the fifth is scheduled for Sunday, with a Test to follow later this month.