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Sam Hain’s 63 off 39 balls rescued Rockets from 54 for 5 against Southern Brave

ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2023Defending champions Trent Rockets kicked off their Men’s Hundred campaign with a six-run victory over 2021 winners Southern Brave in a low-scoring contest at Trent Bridge, Daniel Sams and Lewis Gregory taking three wickets each.Sam Hain’s 63 off 39 balls rescued the Rockets from 54 for 5 with support from Imad Wasim – a last-minute substitute after Rashid Khan’s 11th hour withdrawal – but with Chris Jordan’s 3 for 18 the stand-out performance in a solid bowling display, 133 from 100 looked below par.Yet, on a slow pitch that was offering the bowlers some help, it was too much for Brave, who were 41 without loss from 37 balls but lost five wickets for 32 in the next 28, a position from which they never recovered, despite some late heroics with the bat from Jordan, bowled out for 127 from 99 balls.Related

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Asked to bat first, Rockets lost their top three batters for 25 inside the powerplay. Alex Hales miscued Craig Overton to mid-wicket and Dawid Malan sent up a steepler off the same bowler that James Vince had plenty of time to get under. In between, George Garton produced a beauty to bowl Tom Kohler-Cadmore.Neither Colin Munro nor Gregory fared any better at imposing themselves, the former skying one from Tymal Mills that was comfortably caught at mid-off, with skipper Gregory hit squarely in front by Jordan to perish for two as Rockets reached the 50-ball mark at a miserable 54 for 5. Scoring chances were generally scarce as the Brave attack kept their discipline, backed up for the most part by some excellent fielding.Hain at last gave a subdued home crowd some excitement when Overton returned for his final set to be hit for three boundaries in a row, the middle one a falling-over scoop that carried over the rope and he and Imad were able to put together something of a recovery.They added 78 in 49 balls – 48 of them in the last 25 – before both fell in a dramatic finale to the innings that saw Jordan run out Hain then bowl Imad and Matt Carter with his next two deliveries before Luke Wood survived the hat-trick ball.The priority for Brave in the chase would have been to lose no early wickets and though they were merely level with Rockets for runs after their opening 25, the difference was that the wickets fallen space on the scoreboard still showed zero.Things looked much less comfortable at halfway. Devon Conway’s top edge off Gregory pinged off his helmet to point, then Imad entered the attack with two wickets in eight balls. His first delivery did for Vince, stumped going down the pitch to one that spun away, before Finn Allen, who had looked the man most likely to carry Brave home, holed out to long-on, leaving Brave 51 for 3 from 48 balls.As panic set in, Garton skewed Matt Carter to short fine leg and Tim David, looking to ease the pressure, picked out Hales at long-on, before another slightly freakish delivery saw James Fuller caught behind off glove and pad to leave Brave six down for 89, needing 45 from 22 balls.Leus du Plooy was caught behind in a scoop attempt, Jordan pulled Wood for six, was dropped at short third on 16 – a gallant one-handed effort by sub fielder John Turner – but was yorked by Sams for 22 off 11 with nine needed from three before Overton was run out and Mills leg before.

Steve Rixon is likely to fill-in as interim head coach for the T20Is in South Africa

Madushka Balasuriya 14-Mar-2019Sri Lanka Cricket is once again moving to remove a head coach, with CEO Ashley de Silva headed to South Africa for crisis talks with Chandika Hathurusingha.An SLC release also confirmed that Hathurusingha will be required to return to Sri Lanka following the ongoing ODI series in order to “discuss the Sri Lanka team’s preparation for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup”. Fielding coach Steve Rixon will be the acting head coach of the side during the three-match T20I series.Although the board wants to remove Hathurusingha, its hands are somewhat tied by Hathurusingha’s contract, which runs up until the end of 2020, and requires a substantial compensation to be paid in the event of early termination. As such, de Silva and the boards are expected to broach the possibility of Hathurusingha working for SLC in a limited capacity back in Sri Lanka in the short term.”[The board is] trying to give Hathuru a break to see how Rixon fares in the team,” an SLC official told ESPNcricnfo.Since taking over at the beginning of 2018, Hathurusingha has overseen a modest string of results, winning just 16 of 49 international matches in charge. His predecessors, however, had fared worse. In fact, Sri Lanka’s win rate in 2018 was better than it had been in 2017, if only marginally.While the historic Test series win over South Africa last month did buy him a short reprieve, the ensuing succession of ODI defeats, in what is Sri Lanka’s final series before the World Cup, has seen the board become emboldened to move against Hathurusingha.The board’s concerns are also thought to be only partially performance-related. According to the SLC source, Hathurusingha is said to have uneasy relations with some players and staff, while it was a prolonged spat with the new selection committee that culminated in him being removed from the role of selector-on-tour last month.Ahead of the South Africa tour, Hathurusingha had voiced concerns over the wholesale changes being made to the limited-overs squad just months out from a World Cup, one of which was the axing of Dinesh Chandimal – someone he had earmarked as central to his limited-overs squad. Hathurusingha is also said to have been unhappy at Lasith Malinga’s installation as ODI captain, a player who had until then only been at the periphery of his plans.”The board is not happy, not only with his performance, but his attitude as well. This has been coming for a while, to be honest,” the SLC official said.The current set of administrators at SLC, however, are largely the same people who had hired Hathurusingha in the first place, pursuing him for at least several months before finally convincing Hathurusingha to leave his job in Bangladesh early, in order to join the Sri Lanka team. Roughly the same group of administrators had also hired Graham Ford at the start of 2016, then elbowed him out of the job in mid-2017.No Sri Lanka coach has lasted more than two years this decade. Sri Lanka have had nine head coaches (including interim appointments), since 2011 – Ford serving the longest, across two different stints.In terms of preparation for the World Cup, this is far from ideal for Sri Lanka, with neither the selectors, the board, Hathurusingha nor the fans any closer to identifying a final squad. As a final throw of the dice, SLC are expected to hold a provincial tournament next month, consisting of four teams comprising all the players vying for a World Cup spot.”We want every player to play in each game to ensure they are fit enough to go for the World Cup. The teams will be captained by Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo [Mathews], Upul Tharanga, and maybe Malinga or Chandimal. They will have to prove themselves to be in contention for the World Cup,” the source confirmed.

“I simply don’t understand, what is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed?”

Shashank Kishore25-Jun-20232:22

Has Cheteshwar Pujara played his last Test?

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Cheteshwar Pujara has been made a “scapegoat” for India’s batting failures, most-recently at the World Test Championship final which they lost to Australia by 209 runs.Pujara is the only batter to be left out for the upcoming Test series against West Indies, from the core group that featured in that match. With the new WTC cycle beginning with the the two-Test tour of the Caribbean in July, the selection panel, led for now by SS Das, have picked uncapped Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 17-member squad. This means India will potentially have a debutant at No. 3, unless Shubman Gill drops down one position.Related

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“Why has he been dropped? Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket,” Gavaskar told . “But because he does not have millions of followers on platforms who will make a noise in case he gets dropped, so you drop him. That is something beyond my understanding. What is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed? I do not know because nowadays, there is no media interaction with the selection committee chairman, where you could ask these questions.”Pujara managed scores of 14 and 27 at The Oval. Overall, in the 2021-23 WTC cycle, he was India’s second-highest scorer with 928 runs in 32 innings at an average of 32 with one century and six half-centuries. Virat Kohli is at the top but he was only marginally better – 932 runs in 30 innings was 32.13, with one century and three half-centuries.Gavaskar believes Pujara can still offer a couple of years to Indian cricket, but the road back to the team could be very tough, especially if India’s injured regulars Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer return. For now, Ajinkya Rahane, their top-scorer in the WTC final, has been named vice-captain to Rohit Sharma.Gavaskar – “Apart from Rahane, the batting completely failed. Why Pujara has been made the fall guy is something the selectors need to explain”•AFP/Getty Images

“He has been playing county cricket. So, he has played a lot of red-ball cricket, so he knows what it is about,” Gavaskar said when asked if Pujara can make a comeback. “Today, people can play till they are 39-40. There’s nothing wrong, they’re all very fit; as long as you are producing runs and taking wickets, I do not think age should be a factor. Clearly only one man has been singled out, while the others who have failed…to me, the batting failed. Apart from (Ajinkya) Rahane, the batting completely failed. Why Pujara has been made the fall guy is something the selectors need to explain.”Gavaskar also questioned the value of the Ranji Trophy especially in the wake of Sarfaraz Khan’s exclusion. The 25-year-old has stacked up mountains of runs over the past three seasons, His first-class average (79.65) is second only to Sir Don Bradman, among batters who’ve played at least 50 innings. However, Sarfaraz had a modest IPL in 2023 and wasn’t a regular starter for the Delhi Capitals, leading Gavaskar to wonder if the IPL had been a hindrance to his selection.”You do well in the IPL and you get to be picked even in Test cricket. That seems to be the situation,” Gavaskar said. “Even if you look at the selection of the team, you have four opening batters for two Test matches. It’s not the old fast West Indies attack where you needed six opening batters.”Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the [Test] squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team. Tell him that his performances are being recognised. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red-ball game as well.”

Sri Lanka team manager submits report on the incident, board to investigate further

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2018Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay could face further punishment from the Sri Lankan board in wake of a disciplinary breach over a night out in St Lucia.Vandersay’s tour of the Caribbean was cut short on June 23, when he was sent home due to the incident, which was in breach of his contract. Sri Lanka team manager Asanka Gurusinha has submitted a special report on the matter to the board, which will investigate further and take action as needed.”Once we [review] the manager’s report, we will decide the next course of action,” Kamal Padmasiri, the Competent Authority in charge of Sri Lankan cricket at present, told . “But there will definitely be an inquiry and if found guilty, he will be punished.”Padmasiri and SLC CEO Ashley de Silva are both currently at the ICC meetings in Dublin, and the matter is likely to be taken forward only when they return to Sri Lanka.

Ballance is 57 not out after rookie Robinson scores his second century of the season

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2019Gary Ballance posted Yorkshire’s first half-century of the game to keep his side in contention against a Kent side buoyed by a second County Championship century of the season by rookie keeper-batsman Ollie Robinson.Having conceded a first innings deficit of 86 runs, Yorkshire closed on 166 for 3 after 46 overs of their second innings to lead by 80 runs going into the third day of this finely poised Division One game in Canterbury.Ballance, who won the last of his 23 Test caps in July 2017, went in at the close unbeaten with 57 and having added 27 with fourth-wicket partner Jack Leaning, who was not out 11.After dismissing Kent for 296, Yorkshire started their second innings shortly before tea but soon lost Harry Brook, caught behind when prodding outside off at one from Fred Klaassen.Left-handed pairing Adam Lyth and Ballance took their total through to 82 before Lyth, well set on 44, nibbled at a Mitch Claydon leg-cutter to be caught at the wicket.Tom Kohler-Cadmore became the final casualty of the day when he attempted to force off the back foot against Daniel Bell-Drummond to be held in the gully.Kent, who had earlier resumed on their overnight score of 130 for 4, only had themselves to blame for missing out on a third batting bonus point by only four runs.Robinson and Zak Crawley batted on for half an hour without alarm to extend their partnership’s value to 86 before Crawley fell for 81 to Steven Patterson’s fourth ball of the day. In aiming to work a length ball to mid-wicket, the willowy right-hander found a leading edge to loop a comfortable return catch to the bowler.Robinson, Kent’s 20-year-old understudy keeper, drove nicely all morning to his first 50 at Canterbury from 103 balls with six fours and with only three scoring leg-side shots.After a sticky start, Alex Blake cover drove Patterson for four to raise Kent’s 200 and a batting bonus point, then the left-hander’s backward cut through point against Dom Bess also went to the ropes to level the scores.With his score on 22, Blake took a hefty blow on the head after ducking into a Duanne Olivier bouncer but continued after treatment and replacing his helmet. He swayed out of the way nicely when Olivier followed up with another bumper.Olivier maintained his aggression and was unlucky not to remove Robinson on 71 when an edged glance flew behind to Jon Tattersall, only for the Yorkshire gloveman to spill the chance.Robinson and Blake added 50 before Blake, having been dropped at short leg the previous delivery, edged to slip to give Kohler-Cadmore the fourth of his six out-field catches – equalling the Yorkshire record set by Ellis Robinson against Leicestershire at Bradford in 1938.With Kent’s Robinson edging toward three figures, Harry Podmore miscued to mid-on to gift Bess a wicket, then Matt Milnes nicked off against Olivier.Robinson finally reached his 177-ball ton with a scampered single to mid-off, but holed out soon after enabling Yorkshire to polish off the home tail.

Kohli also hoped India could sort out their middle-order issues in ODIs over the course of the six white-ball games they play on their tour of England

Nagraj Gollapudi in Manchester02-Jul-20181:35

Lovely to watch Buttler continue his IPL form – Kohli

The challenge of beating England in their own den and then walking away with the spoils is “exciting” and not daunting. The thought actually makes India captain Virat Kohli more relaxed than nervous.On Monday, Kohli walked into his first media conference of the two-month-plus-long tour of England with one hand in his pocket. He was calm, not the busybody, full of intent as he is on match day or training. Up front, Kohli was asked whether India were ready for the “stern” test posed by England, who had recently blanked out Australia 6-0 in white-ball cricket.Kohli admitted he understood England would “come hard”, but felt the vastly experienced Indians had enough know-how to challenge England in the limited-overs leg. Later on, he would go on to throw the challenge to England who, he reminded, had lost in all three formats during their 2016-17 tour of India.”Playing against a good team in their conditions and at their home, to get the opportunity to be able to beat them in their home conditions, it is a point of excitement for us and not pressure,” Kohli said. “Because when they came to India last time, we won the series and the trophy is with us, and now they are on home soil and they need to play well to win it back. We will play fearless cricket and literally we have nothing to lose.”Two weeks ago when he left India, Kohli wanted to take a walk on the streets and enjoy a coffee. Kohli wanted to do simple things like that so he and the rest of India’s players would remain in the right mindset ahead of the gruelling tour, which will last just under three months.Just over a week into their trip, the Indians have been taking advantage of an unprecedented toasty beginning to the English summer – not limiting themselves to just sipping coffee but drinking in the pleasant sights and surroundings.Now that they are relaxed in the mind, Kohli says India are more than ready for the England tour which comprise three T20s, an equal number of ODIs followed by a five-Test series that begins in August and will run into mid-September.Kohli is clear that India need to replicate the mindset and game they displayed on a tough tour of South Africa where they bounced back to win the final Test even though they lost the series 2-1. Subsequently, India won both the ODI and T20I series.And this what Kohli wants to go home with: the desire and intent to win every session of play. “Takeaway from this tour obviously will be the way we play our cricket and the mindset and the attitude that we maintain for the length of the tour that we are here. No one can guarantee results, but just wanting to win every session and every ball that we play, if we can carry that on for the length of the tour, I will be really proud as a captain and we will be really proud of ourselves as a team.”This is what we did in South Africa till the last day of the tour: we continued the mindset from day one, even though we lost some games, but we knew we were in the games for us to be able to turn it around very quickly and that is why those results followed after.”Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli address a press conference•Associated Press

Maintaining such high, competitive spirit over such an extended period of time will never be easy especially if things do not go as India intend. In such circumstances, it would be vital to maintain mental balance and team spirit, Kohli pointed out.”If the mindset is not right after a few days or a couple of weeks then things can get more difficult, but if we can stay positive and enjoy each other’s company and just look forward to being here for that period of time and just look forward to being on the field and play competitive cricket, I think we will be able to space it as a team and certainly take a lot from this tour when we go away.”India are happy that the six-match limited-overs phase allows them to settle nicely into English conditions before the Test challenge. But the six matches will also allow India to figure out answers to some of the questions they have before the team thinktank and selectors sit down to shortlist the group that will participate in the 2019 World Cup which will be held in England.Without delving too deep into the issue Kohli said one area India would be keen to fix is the middle order in ODIs. Although Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli and MS Dhoni pick themselves, the rest of the top six remains undecided. KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav are the contenders.”Looking at the World Cup, we will try a lot of players in the shorter formats,” Kohli said. “The middle order in the ODIs has been something that we have been looking for, so we have a few things that we want to try out and address there as well. This next phase is going to be really important to figure all those things out and have the best balance that we need going into that big tournament, but that’s quite far away but we have a vision for it.”

“In those big moments, it could be a wicket that wins you the game or loses the game”

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2022Sam Curran has indicated that the consequences involved in a World Cup match would likely see England take a different approach to Matthew Wade’s apparent obstruction of Mark Wood during the first T20I in Perth.When Wade got a top edge against Wood in the 17th over, with Australia needing 39 off 22 balls, he blocked the fast bowler’s attempt to reach the catch with an out-stretched arm in what appeared to be a clear case of obstructing the field. However, England captain Jos Buttler, who said he had not been watching Wade, declined to appeal, later saying it was early days on a long tour.Buttler, himself, intimated that he would probably consider a different approach in a match with more riding on it and Curran was of a similar view.Related

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“Maybe in a World Cup game…it might have been a bit different,” Curran told reporters in Canberra, the venue for the second and third T20Is. “It’s a great little bit of niggle starting a series against Australia, there’s always that competitive edge.”When you play a game versus Australia and at a World Cup for instance, your competitive edge will be out there and there will be wanting to win at all costs. In the moment, you’d hope they take it upstairs and the best decision is made because Woody bowled a nice ball there and he probably deserved a wicket and he’s kind of got a little bit in the way”Probably the right thing in the end was what Jos said, we’ll be here for a long time…it’s a bit of fun, but maybe it’ll be a bit different further down the line.”Curran also suggested that there may be scope for such decisions not requiring an actual appeal from the players, with the umpires just able to make a ruling.”As players, you’re watching the ball go up and we’re looking at that rather than maybe the actual movements of the players involved,” he said. “Maybe that’s the easiest way, just go straight to the third umpire, it’s probably tough for the umpires in the field because they’re probably watching the ball as well.”Hopefully it doesn’t happen too often, [but] in those big moments, it could be a wicket that wins you the game or loses the game as well so maybe that’s the best way.”Overall, though, neither side appeared to be taking the incident especially seriously with Mitchell Marsh also making light of it.”Would I appeal? If it was ‘Wadey’, yes I would. Anyone else? Probably not,” he said.In the end, Wade was dismissed in the final over of Australia’s chase, and England won the first T20I by eight runs.

Warner will be able to apply to a three-person review panel to have his lifetime leadership ban modified

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2022David Warner can now formally apply to have his lifetime leadership ban modified after Cricket Australia’s board amended its code of conduct policy.Warner was previously unable to hold a captaincy position in Australian cricket after being handed a lifetime ban as a result of 2018’s ball-tampering scandal and under the previous code of conduct, players do not have the right to have a sanction reviewed once it has been accepted.But the CA board requested a code of conduct review at the October board meeting to be conducted by CA’s head of integrity Jacqui Partridge.CA released a statement on Monday outlining that the recommendations of that review have been accepted and granted formal approval, with Warner now able to apply to have his ban modified.Related

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“Under the changes, players and support staff can now apply to have long-term sanctions modified,” the statement said.”Any applications will be considered by a three-person Review Panel, comprising independent Code of Conduct Commissioners, which must be satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to justify modifying a sanction.”These circumstances and considerations will include whether the subject of the sanction has demonstrated genuine remorse; the subject’s conduct and behaviour since the imposition of the sanction; whether rehabilitation programs have been completed undertaken (if applicable) and the length of time that has passed since the sanction was imposed and whether sufficient time has passed to allow for reform or rehabilitation.”The code of conduct states this process: ‘Acknowledges that Players and Player Support Personnel are capable of genuine reform or rehabilitation and is intended to provide the Player or Player Support Personnel with an opportunity to resume their previously held positions or responsibilities in specific circumstances.'”The hearing of an application is not an appeal, or a review of the original sanction imposed.”Warner, 36, has been keen on returning to a leadership role having captained in the IPL since his CA leadership ban. He spoke recently about being keen to help Sydney Thunder in a leadership capacity on his return to the BBL.Warner also hinted that he was keen to play international cricket through until the 2024 T20 World Cup, with Australia likely to need a new T20I captain for that tournament.

Legspinner says his love for the BBL remains strong in light of “the whole David Warner story”

Matt Roller06-Aug-2022Adam Zampa has refused to entertain the possibility of playing in the new franchise T20 leagues in the UAE and South Africa and insisted that he is focused on representing Australia for as long as possible.Several Australian players, most notably David Warner, have been actively courted by new teams in the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE, which clashes with the second half of the Big Bash League (BBL). But Zampa ruled out the possibility that he would consider playing another league during the Australian season, as long as he is playing international cricket.”It’s great that there’s so many competitions but that’s probably a long-term thing for me, to be honest,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I’m 30 years old and while you’re contracted with Australia, I think – well, I know that guys won’t get NOCs [No-Objection Certificates] to play those competitions.”Playing cricket for Australia is my priority and then obviously BBL is a bonus over the summer. As long as I’m doing that, those other competitions aren’t really in my calculations. I think the players have been pretty open about their feedback towards the BBL – I definitely have.”I still love the BBL. It’s been a huge part of my career and the [overseas player] draft brings something new to it. Obviously there’s the whole David Warner story that’s going on in the background but if we can somehow get the best players playing in it, it’s obviously best for the competition.”Related

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Over 150 overseas players have been nominated for this month’s player draft but a number of them will only be available for the first seven or eight games of the season before leaving for the UAE or South Africa. But leading Australian players are due to be available for a greater proportion of the tournament than usual this year, while several Test players – including Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Steven Smith – are in talks about the possibility of signing deals.Zampa himself, meanwhile, has a year left on his Melbourne Stars contract and is in talks about an extension. “There’s a little opportunity for those guys to play BBL this year,” he said. “If we can somehow get the best players playing as many games as possible, you’ll get kids interested and you’ll get people watching it on TV, which is the reason we’re doing it.”It’s just the way of the world now with franchise cricket. If we can get some of the best players in the world coming in even for half of it, you’re going to get people watching it. In an ideal world, you’d have certain players available for the whole competition but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”[Administratiors] have played their cards with the length of it. We played 14 games over the space of seven or eight weeks: I don’t mind the 14 games part of it but sometimes two months can kind of drag out. When you’re trying to get the best players in the world to come over and play a whole competition, it’s probably a little bit too much to ask. I don’t have an issue with the number of games but if they can condense it down into a five or six-week period where you’ll get the best overseas players coming for the whole time, I think that would make a lot of sense.”Adam Zampa is playing for Welsh Fire in the Hundred•CSM

Zampa, speaking at KP Snacks’ summer cricket roadshow at St. David’s Shopping Centre in Cardiff, is in the UK for the first five games of the Hundred, before leaving for Australia’s ODI series against Zimbabwe. He took 0 for 20 in 15 balls in the season opener on Wednesday night as Welsh Fire were hammered by Southern Brave, his first appearance in nearly four months after missing the tour to Sri Lanka on paternity leave.”It’s a good opportunity for me to play in a new competition,” he said. “We missed last year due to our series against Bangladesh and it’s a good chance for me just to play some cricket because I’ve been away from work for a while now.”The standard of the competition is good. There’s great depth and you have these guys who are coming out of county cricket and are really fearless in the way they play. I haven’t played for a little while so it’s nice to be back and I’m loving being part of this competition and the innovation of it.”Next year, we don’t really have any clashes with the Hundred and it would be nice. It’s really hard playing franchise cricket, getting relationships quickly and then having to leave. Obviously international cricket is first and foremost but hopefully next year it lines up and we can play all of the Hundred.”Fire play their first home game of the 2022 season against Southern Brave in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon “We had a packed house the other night at Southampton and it just felt good to be among that atmosphere,” Zampa said. “I’m excited to play a home game: obviously it was a really tough start the other night for us, so it would be great to turn that around in front of the Welsh fans.”KP Snacks, Official Team Partner of the Hundred, are touring the country this summer to offer more opportunities for people to play cricket as part of their ‘Everyone In’ campaign. Visit everyonein.co.uk/about.

Maxwell’s 37-ball 52 gave Australia a glimmer of hope, but another top-order failure meant that Pakistan took an unassailable lead

The Report by Danyal Rasool26-Oct-2018It will take something truly special to put an end to this purple patch Pakistan are basking in as far as T20I cricket is concerned. As another top-order collapse saw Australia fall short by 11 runs, it became patently obvious this particular visiting side aren’t that special someone.Pakistan, again, weren’t at their very best with the bat, and it was only a string of medium-sized scores that took them to 147. But it was in the field that their swagger was on full display, with an exceptional bowling performance – and at times an even better fielding one – snuffing out Australia’s chances.It was a final result that made the game look closer than it really was. It wasn’t until the last five overs that Glenn Maxwell and Nathan Coulter-Nile finally took control of the chase and started finding the boundaries with regularity, and it was then that Pakistan found themselves under pressure in the field. They had, however, done enough during the first half of the innings by way of controlling the runs and taking regular wickets to ensure Maxwell’s late salvo wouldn’t imperil their inexorable path to sealing the series -their tenth in a row – at the earliest opportunity.Chasing a target similar to the one they were tasked with on Wednesday, Australia didn’t make quite the calamitous start that saw them lose six wickets on that occasion. That, unfortunately, was all that could be said for it, with the top three falling for a combined 12 runs, and as Mitchell Marsh and Maxwell tried to rebuild, they fell far behind the asking rate.It is when Pakistan have teams on the rack in this very fashion that they’ve sculpted their T20I fortunes on. Imad Wasim was teasingly accurate, conceding eight runs in his allocated quota, while Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Hafeez almost queued up to torment Aaron Finch’s men. In the field, Pakistan were taking flying catches and inflicting miraculous run-outs. One from Fakhar Zaman may arguably be the best run-out inflicted all year, with Zaman diving forward while throwing backwards at the non-strikers end without even looking at the stumps. He hit middle, with a non-plussed Ben McDermott finding himself trudging back, victim to two sensational run-outs in as many games.Australia were arguably unfortunate at the start of their innings in the manner D’Arcy Short was dismissed. When Finch drove Imad back to the bowler, he got a finger on it as the ball hit the stumps. The third umpire deemed Short to have his bat in the air, but no one could be sure; indeed, certain angles seemed to imply he had it grounded all along.That began a furious and prolonged remonstration from Finch against the umpire that may yet see him part with a portion of his match fee. Australia’s sense of being against it intensified, while Pakistan began to constrict them as the asking rate soared. Soon enough, Maxwell -who had managed to hang around as the rest of his teammates found their stays at the crease prematurely curtailed – realised he’d have to do it all by himself. For the briefest moment, it appeared he’d make a match of it. Twenty-seven came off a couple of overs bowled by Shadab and Hasan, and for the first time Pakistan began to lose their rag slightly. Hafeez dropped a sitter at the cover, and the young Shaheen Afridi lost his bearings and bowled a couple of wides to send the jitters through everyone involved with Pakistan. But when Maxwell – who scored a gutsy half-century – fell in the final over, Australia’s fate had been sealed.Pakistan’s first-innings total was once more set up by Babar Azam and Hafeez, a 70-run partnership between the two taking Pakistan to 99 with six overs still to remain. Neither, however, pushed on to provide Pakistan a flourishing finish, and Australia picked up wickets at regular intervals as they dented Pakistan’s march towards a big total. Coulter-Nile, who was the most disappointing of the three seamers in the first game, was the pick of Australia’s bowlers here: his three big wickets for 18 an instrumental factor in containing Pakistan to under 150.But it is the innings too short to even count as cameos that have made enormous differences in both games. In the first, it was Hasan Ali whose big-hitting meant Paksiatn smashed 17 in the final over to undo much of the good work the visitors had done to seize the initiative. Here, Faheem Ashraf played that role in the final over, with Andrew Tye clobbered for 15, once again robbing Australia of the uplifting finish that would enable them to carry over the momentum to the second innings.It isn’t merely a matter of fortune, though. Winning these small moments has enabled Sarfraz – still unbeaten in a T20I series – to win some big matches over the past two years. Once the final ball had been bowled, Sarfraz raced to the middle of the pitch and let out a roar that was part elation, part relief. Judging by the captain’s reaction, this T20I felt as big as any he has won in the green of Pakistan.