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Martin Guptill, the New Zealand opener, has said his team will have to “show some aggression” in the two-Test series against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2011Martin Guptill, the New Zealand opener, has said his team will have to “show some aggression” in the two-Test series against Australia beginning on December 1 in Brisbane. New Zealand have only toured Zimbabwe since the 2011 World Cup and the Australia series will Ross Taylor’s first major assignment as captain.”They’ve [Australia] been the top dog over the last few years,” Guptill told the . “We’re going to have to show some aggression over there, we can’t really back off. They’re going to bring the fight to us and we’re going to have to take it back to them.”Guptill is going to Australia for his first international tour in good form, having scored a century in the only Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo after which he made an unbeaten 195 for Auckland in the Plunkett Shield.”We just have to do our jobs right,” he said. “If everyone can do that then we’re going to go very well in this Test series.”Australia just completed a closely contested Test series in South Africa, which finished 1-1. They bounced back from a hammering in Cape Town to win the Johannesburg Test by a two-wicket margin. There were questions over the places of several senior Australian players, but Taylor said they remained competitive despite the turbulence.”They haven’t played as well as they would have liked in recent months but they’re still a very good side and they’re still a team that sets the benchmark,” Taylor said. “Australia’s always tough in their own conditions, people say they’re down but I don’t think they are.”We’re under no illusions. We’re going over there to win. I always enjoy playing in Australia and I’m looking forward to it. If you score runs and get wickets against Australia then you’ll be remembered as a good player.”New Zealand will have a new challenge to face when they take the field at the Gabba: Pat Cummins, the 18-year-old fast bowler who made a sensational Test debut at the Wanderers, taking a six-wicket haul and hitting the winning runs.”We haven’t seen too much of him [Cummins] but … we’ll be ready for him,” Guptill said. “He looks pretty quick, but we’re going to put some plans in place to be able to counter that. I don’t feel too bad at the moment but I’m sure, getting closer to the first Test, I’ll start getting a bit nervous and a few butterflies in the stomach.”New Zealand kick off the tour with a warm-up game against Australia A, beginning on November 24, and Taylor had a theory about why visiting sides were made to start at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.”The wicket is very flat and Australia put a lot of touring teams there to tire the bowlers out,” Taylor said. “So we’ll be going there to conserve the bowlers’ energy as much as possible.”There’s probably going to be the talking point of whether we go in with four quicks, or three quicks and Dan [Vettori] batting at No 6. Trent Boult has had an outstanding start to the season. He’s been to Australia before and not played so I’m sure he’s hurting a little bit there … [but] even if he bowls well, he still might not make the [test] team. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

The ICC has announced that the ICC Intercontinental Cup will return to being a single-division, biennial eight-team, first-class tournament.

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2010The ICC has announced that the ICC Intercontinental Cup will return to being a single-division, biennial eight-team, first-class tournament, and at the same time has scrapped the less-than-popular Intercontinental Shield.The sixth staging of the tournament is scheduled to run from May 2011 until December 2012 with the top six Associate and Affiliate teams with ODI status from 2009-2012 automatically included, namely Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland.The remaining two places will be determined by the ICC Development Committee from the top four teams of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 event which is scheduled for April 2011 in Dubai.WCL Division 2 is currently made up of Bermuda, Namibia, UAE and Uganda with two qualifiers to proceed from WCL Division 3 (scheduled for 22-29 January 2011). The Cup will again be played on a round-robin basis with the top two teams progressing towards the final.ICC Global Development Manager Matthew Kennedy said: “Due to the Zimbabwe XI no longer participating, it has been decided to revert to the previous Intercontinental Cup structure of eight teams with more guaranteed games for all. In making this decision, consideration was given to the international cricket opportunities now provided to all 95 Associate and Affiliate Members across all three formats of the game.”With balancing these formats in mind, it is important to offer the best non-Test-playing nations the opportunity to compete in meaningful multi-day cricket. And as a result of this expanded I Cup, the second division that was the ICC Intercontinental Shield is no longer required.”In addition, the ICC Development Committee has allocated the staging of two Pepsi ICC WCL events to Malaysia (Division 6 in September 2011) and Singapore (Division 5 in February 2012).It has also been decided that the first 16-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, which will determine the six teams to join the ten Full Members at the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September 2012, will be staged in the UAE in the early part of 2012.Following the conclusion of WCL Division 4 in Italy in August and the subsequent global rankings, the Development Committee has confirmed that the regional Twenty20 qualification systems through 2011 will provide the ten teams that will join the six ODI nations in the WT20 Qualifier. The teams would be drawn from Asia (3), Europe (2), Africa (2), Americas (2) and East Asia – Pacific (1).

Shane Warne doubts Australia’s Test future includes Michael Hussey

Cricinfo staff12-Dec-2009Shane Warne doubts Australia’s Test future includes Michael Hussey and believes the batsman should have asked for a move last month to help out the team. The side is under intense scrutiny after they were outplayed by West Indies in the draw in Adelaide and Hussey has looked scratchy even though he has scored 66, 41 and 29 in the series.”He should have put his hand up to open, so Shane Watson could bat in the middle order where he belongs,” Warne said in the Herald Sun. “He’s on his last legs, and it might be time to inject some youth into his spot.”Watson has done well at the top of the order since replacing Phillip Hughes during the Ashes but the selectors want him eventually to slot in at five or six. Hussey is currently at No. 4 and has scored 619 Test runs at 34.38 for the year, even though his one-day form is strong.John Benaud, the former selector, said he would have dropped Hussey for next week’s third Test in Perth. “It’s time for Hussey to go,” Benaud said. “His footwork is terrible. He is totally out of touch. It is not his average that matters when you analyse his form, it’s the direction of his form graph. It has been going down for some time.”

Wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum has been handed her first call-up for the three-match T20I series in late March

Tristan Lavalette26-Feb-2025Australia captain Alyssa Healy will miss next month’s T20I tour of New Zealand, but there is “no doubt” over her status for the ODI World Cup as she rehabilitates after a wretched run of injuries.With Healy absent as expected due to a foot injury, Melbourne Renegades wicketkeeper-batter Nicole Faltum has been called up in Australia’s 14-player squad for the three-match series starting in Auckland on March 21.Tahlia McGrath will captain with Ashleigh Gardner to be her deputy, while Beth Mooney will again take the gloves in Healy’s absence.Related

• Wilson bides her time in Australia's tight wicketkeeping race

• Plimmer and Tahuhu out of Australia ODIs with injuries, James earns maiden call-up

• When Alana King did a Shane Warne

• Healy to miss WPL 2025, remains coy about future beyond ODI World Cup

Faltum, 25, has yet to play international cricket but is coming off a strong season for WBBL champions Renegades and captained the Governor-General’s XI against England in January. She beat out Tahlia Wilson and Maddy Darke for the New Zealand tour.”We just see Nic slightly ahead of the others, particularly for the T20 format,” Australia chief selector Shawn Flegler told reporters. “It’s really unlikely that she will play. Obviously, Beth will take the gloves for this tour and she did a really good job during the Ashes replacing Alyssa.”But we just thought it was a great opportunity for Nicole to come in and be around the group, train with them and get to see the environment first hand.”Healy, who turns 35 in March, was not named in the squad due to the stress fracture in her right foot. She missed the T20I portion of the Women’s Ashes and had to prove her fitness for the MCG Test before playing as a specialist middle-order batter.Healy had ruptured her plantar fascia in her foot at the T20 World Cup in October last year which saw her miss Australia’s final group match and the semi-final against South Africa. She also suffered a knee injury in the early stages of the WBBL which meant she missed the remainder of the season and the subsequent ODI series against India.Healy had to skip the ongoing Women’s Premier League, but a return to the field could take place at the women’s Hundred ahead of an ODI series in India in September that runs straight into the World Cup.”My understanding is that there’s no doubt that she’ll get through to the World Cup, that’s for sure,” Flegler said. “She’s had a complicated last couple of years with some different injuries that’s been related to foot…some Achilles and stuff.Nicole Faltum will be part of her first Australia tour•Getty Images

“We certainly don’t want to rush it. As far as I’m aware, there’s no risk that she’ll miss out on that World Cup.”Allrounder Sophie Molineux will continue to be on the sidelines as she recovers from a knee injury that ruled her out of the multiformat Ashes series. “We want to make sure that she’s right for that World Cup, we think she’ll be an important member of that side,” Flegler said.”When she came back into the team, she played a really good role for us across all formats. We’re not going to rush her back. It’s a bit of a complex injury, but we want to make sure that she’s good to go in September.”But there is no set timeline for Tayla Vlaeminck, who dislocated her bowling shoulder just moments into Australia’s T20 World Cup match against Pakistan last October. She is hoped to return at some stage next summer.Australia will enter the T20 series against New Zealand in high spirits after their historic 16-0 Ashes triumph. But Australia should feel extra motivated facing the reigning world champions on their turf in what will be rare matches in the format ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in England.”We were really disappointed with how the T20 World Cup ended for us, and New Zealand did extremely well to win that World Cup,” Flegler said. “It’s a great chance for us to go up against them. There’s always a great rivalry against New Zealand and I’m sure they’ll be keen to play well against us.”We don’t have that many T20s leading into the next T20 World Cup, so every opportunity we get is really important to keep trying those different combinations and getting players used to those positions that they are now in.”

Australia squad for New Zealand tour

Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (capt), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

The BCB will be talking to Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal about their futures ahead of the New Zealand Tests, and Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz are captaincy candidates for that series

Mohammad Isam09-Nov-2023Bangladesh cricket is facing a possible all-round overhaul in the weeks following their forgettable 2023 World Cup campaign, ranging from a new captain for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand to Shakib Al Hasan having to take a call on his future. While Shakib had announced in a pre-World Cup interview that he would quit the ODI captaincy after the World Cup, the BCB isn’t taking it as an official word.”He had not informed us about leaving captaincy before the World Cup. We believed that [the interview] was not an official thing,” Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said.Shakib, who is also Bangladesh’s Test captain, was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to a fractured finger he sustained while batting against Sri Lanka. As a result of that injury, he will also be missing the two home Tests against New Zealand.Related

• 'I have left them in a good space with a good platform' – Donald to sign off as Bangladesh fast-bowling coach

• How Bangladesh became a shadow of themselves at the World Cup

• Hathurusinghe: Our batting let us down with 'high expectations'

• Khaled Mahmud unhappy with role as Bangladesh team director

The BCB is keen for a full-strength squad for those Tests – the series starts Bangladesh’s World Test Championship cycle for 2023-25 – but is not leaning towards naming Litton Das captain. In fact, the board seems unhappy with Litton, who took two breaks while the World Cup was being played.He had first returned home to Dhaka a day after Bangladesh played Pakistan in Kolkata on October 31, before doing the same after the Sri Lanka game in Delhi on November 6. Litton was back in Pune, the venue of Bangladesh’s match against Australia, only three days later.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the general view among influential BCB directors is that Litton lost focus during the World Cup, although he was given both breaks on “humanitarian” grounds.That potentially leaves Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz as captaincy candidates. Shanto, who had led Bangladesh when Shakib had missed their World Cup game against India due to a quad injury, is also set to stand-in as captain for their final match against Australia, to be played on November 11.As for Shakib’s future in both Tests and ODIs, the BCB will be discussing it with him soon. Ahead of the World Cup, the comments on the ODI captaincy aside, he had even outlined his retirement plans, saying he would announce his retirement “after the 2025 Champions Trophy”.Meanwhile, there’s also a lack of clarity about Tamim Iqbal’s future in the Test side. He had missed the World Cup due to concerns with his back, and hasn’t played in any of the four rounds of the ongoing National Cricket League, which is Bangladesh’s premier first-class competition.Thus, with Shakib and Tamim potentially absent against New Zealand, it would leave Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque as the only experienced batters, despite the BCB wanting to play a full-strength squad. The bowling unit’s availability will largely depend on their fitness updates after the World Cup.

Opportunity for Babar Azam to get back among the runs after a string of low scores; both sides likely to rest key bowlers

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Sep-2022

Big Picture

Both economies are on the verge of collapse – Sri Lanka’s, it might be argued, is collapsing already; both nations are straining under outsized external debt; and both are negotiating with the IMF for relief. It is the first of two Pakistan vs Sri Lanka matches to finish the Asia Cup off. Welcome to the first Debt Trap Derby.On their way here, both teams have done a lot of high-class chasing. Sri Lanka set a Sharjah ground record when they ran down 176 against Afghanistan.Pakistan chasing 182 against India with one ball to spare was perhaps even more impressive, before Sri Lanka also defeated India with one ball to spare soon after.Related

• Naseem Shah – wunderkind from Lower Dir who conquered Sharjah

• Sri Lanka are discovering new heroes, one match at a time

• Nawaz thrives on 'positive pressure' to give Pakistan all-round edge

Although Pakistan’s middle and lower orders collapsed against Afghanistan, leaving No. 10 Naseem Shah with the task of hitting big blows to get them across the line, this batting order has a decent body of work behind it, and will arrive at these last two matches with some confidence.Sri Lanka’s batting has only clicked more recently and, even then, almost exclusively while chasing. However, between Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, they have got destructive batters in form. Pakistan have relied a little more heavily on Mohammad Rizwan, who is one of only two batters with more than 200 runs in the tournament so far, with 212 at an average of 70.66.On the bowling front, Pakistan perhaps have a clear advantage. But then, both teams are likely to rest key bowlers for this dead rubber.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWLL
Babar Azam has been having a poor stretch this Asia Cup•Associated Press

In the spotlight

Four innings, 33 runs, a strike rate of 117: Babar Azam, arguably the best batter in the tournament, is having a poor stretch. There is no obvious reason for the low scores, so perhaps it is a mixture of confidence and luck. Either way, you don’t expect him to stay down for long. If Sri Lanka opt for a weaker bowling attack for this match, perhaps he will have the chance to bounce back.If you think Babar’s stretch is bad, Charith Asalanka has made 0, 1, 8, and 0 so far, eating up 21 balls for those nine runs. He had been Sri Lanka’s find of the T20 World Cup on these very pitches last year, but has seemingly hit a wall, having also failed to put up notable scores in a domestic T20 competition shortly before this tournament. Sri Lanka will likely give him one more game to get it right. But the likes of Ashen Bandara, who had done well in that same domestic competition, is breathing down his neck.If Sri Lanka rest Wanindu Hasaranga, they may bring Jeffrey Vandersay in•AFP

Team news

Sri Lanka might swap Asitha Fernando, who has been expensive, for one of the younger quick bowlers Matheesha Pathirana or Pramod Madushan; the latter, if he plays, would be making his debut. There is also a chance of Sri Lanka resting Wanindu Hasaranga so as to not give Pakistan a look at him ahead of the final, and bringing in Jeffrey Vandersay.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Mendis (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Dasun Shanaka (capt,), 6 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Jeffrey Vandersay, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Dilshan MadushankaPakistan may give Naseem a break for Hasan Ali. There is also a chance that Shadab Khan might be rested, with Usman Qadir coming in.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Khushdil Shah, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Shadab Khan/Usman Qadir, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain

Pitch and conditions

As usual, the Dubai pitch is expected to favour the team batting second, with dew perhaps forming in the second innings to hamper the bowlers. It will be the same surface as the one used by India and Afghanistan on Thursday and so, as such, will be worn.

Stats and trivia

• Sixteen of the last 18 matches in Dubai – not counting the result between India and Afghanistan on Thursday night – have been won by the chasing side. The only teams who have lost batting second are Hong Kong and Scotland.
  
• Overall, Sri Lanka have lost 13 and won only eight T20Is against Pakistan. They won the last three in a row, but that was back in 2019.

England star gets back to action at Hove, but only with the bat so far

Andrew Miller04-May-2021These were circumstances that, ordinarily, make cricketers question their life choices. A biting, blustery day on the South Coast, with a ragged wind harassing the bowlers in their run-ups and the batters in their stances. The first-team squad went through their paces for a while in the nets behind the square, but not a soul in the flats overlooking the 1st Central County Ground bothered to poke their heads out to observe the twos going about their business – Sussex versus Surrey in the Second XI County Championship.The sun made infrequent appearances, but only of the “look what you could have won” variety. Slip fielders stood stiff-limbed in the cordon, hands jammed deep into pockets, When people talk of four-day cricket being pushed to the margins of the summer, these are the clichéd conditions that the mind’s eye conjures up.And yet, these were also the conditions in which one of the most sought-after cricketers on the planet was making his comeback from injury. For a man who spends most of his professional life on the road – or, in the current climate, in hotel-rooms of varying degrees of solitude – home, aka Hove, is most definitely where Jofra Archer’s heart is.