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Eoin Morgan “is the single biggest factor” in England’s success in white-ball cricket over the last two years, according to the team’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace.Morgan, the side’s captain, could easily have been sacked after leading England through a dismal World Cup campaign at the start of 2015. Not only was the team knocked out at the group stages, but Morgan himself suffered a run of form in which he scored just two runs from four ODI innings at one stage and five ducks in 11 innings at another.Instead, the team management recognised that he had inherited the position in far-from-ideal circumstances – just a few weeks before the tournament when Alastair Cook was sacked just before Christmas – and retained faith in his leadership.It is a decision that has paid off. While the England team are only No. 5 in the ICC’s ODI rankings, their white-ball cricket has been revolutionised. They were the first team in this tournament to qualify for the semi-finals, they reached the final of the World T20 last year, and they have – among an array of broken records – set the highest ODI total in history: 444 for 3 against Pakistan in Nottingham last August. It is all a far cry from the stuttering mess of the World Cup campaign.”I think Eoin Morgan is the single biggest factor in England’s success in white-ball cricket over the last two years,” Farbrace said. “Andrew Strauss took a lot of credit in that he talked about the emphasis being on white-ball cricket. And Trevor Bayliss has come in as a very experienced coach, and been very successful in white-ball cricket.”But for me, Eoin Morgan is the single biggest factor.”The resurgence started at Edgbaston, the scene of Saturday’s Group A showdown with Australia. Coming out of a World Cup campaign in which New Zealand had thrashed England in Wellington with embarrassing ease – there were an eye-watering 226 deliveries of the New Zealand innings remaining when they completed an eight-wicket victory – you might have expected confidence to be low.But Morgan revived flagging spirits, welcomed in new faces and insisted that – come what may – England should look for the positive option. Despite losing a wicket to the first ball of the match, and another in the eighth over, Morgan attacked from the start and, with Joe Root and Jos Buttler contributing centuries, helped lay the platform for a total of 408.So, as England return to the ground to take on Australia, it was only natural that Farbrace’s mind should look back on the seeds of the recovery.”We all thought we were doing the right thing at the World Cup,” Farbrace said. “And quite clearly we weren’t.”We made some mistakes, we didn’t play with much confidence. We were all part of it, and I was fortunate I was one of the ones that continued.”At the time the thought was that Australia and New Zealand were the first two games, we should get them out of the way. Then win the rest of our games and qualify for the quarter-final and build momentum for the semi-finals.”But I don’t think we ever recovered from those two games. I think the mauling we took from Australia in Melbourne, and then the absolute hammering from the Kiwis, it knocked the confidence of all of us, players and staff. Then it became a very tough few weeks.”In the build-up to that game here at Edgbaston, where we got 400, Eoin talked to the players about going and playing their own way and backing themselves to play their own way. His words at that stage were ‘go and play, go and back yourself to play. We’re right behind you and there’ll be no one getting stuck into you if you come out having played an ordinary shot’.”Then he went out and did exactly that in the first game. And then he continued to do so throughout the series. I think players started saying ‘It’s okay to do it … not only is he saying it, but he’s actually living it, doing it’.

Shai Hope got an inside edge on to his stumps in the first innings and was lbw in the second•Getty Images

Kyle Hopec Stokes b Anderson 25, feisty, rearing off a length, clips the shoulder of the bat and flies to gully! Hope has been blasted out by an absolute ripsnorter from Anderson! Stokes this time holds on without drama, it was a straightforward catch after the ball had kicked like Buckaroo and taken Hope completely by surprise. He battled through admirably last night but couldn’t do too much with thatlbw b Roland Jones 12, full, straight and given lbw! After a long talk, Hope calls for the review out of, well, hope. It has angled back in a little, Hope plays around it, but it’s umpire’s call on clipping leg stump. Not plumb, but out enough with it being given on the field by S RaviKieran Powellrun out (Anderson) 20, angled in and tapped down towards mid-on, Powell calls for the single – but it’s a risk, direct hit! Gone, run out by a yard! Calamitous stuff from West Indies and they’ve lost two in two overs… It was a good throw from Anderson but Powell really misjudged thatc Cook b Anderson 10, edged and taken at first slip! Anderson nips out the first again, maybe could have been left on length but it veered away as Powell pushed stiffly from the crease and sent a fast nick straight into Cook’s bucket handsRoston Chaseb Anderson 0, bowled ‘im! Precision stuff from Anderson, decking back in off a perfect length, Chase can’t get his bat down quite in time and edges on to his stumps… The pink ball pops the bails and England are right amongst ’em, herelbw b Broad 24, shoots on low, into the pads – Chase has been done! Easy decision for Marais Erasmus, Broad gets his wicket and moves within one of levelling up Ian Botham… Chase might have come forward but couldn’t then get his bat down as it seamed in at himShai Hopeb Roland-Jones 15, timber! Hope plays on, Roland-Jones breaks the (brief) resistance and West Indies are five down… An ill-advised shot, given the circumstances his team were in, trying to drive on the up and there was enough seam movement to mean the ball ended up cannoning into the stumps off the inside edgec Root b Stokes 4, edged, sharp catch at second slip! Stokes has found some good rhythm in this spell, but it’s a loose poke outside off, really. Was just short of a good length, but quite wide, Hope hangs his bat out and the edge is grabbed by the captainThe West Indies captain Jason Holder was another who went twice in the day•Getty Images

Shane Dowrichlbw b Roland-Jones 4, that’s stone dead lbw! Gets it full and straight, that actually straightens off the seam and beats the outside edge as Dowrich shapes to play towards mid-on and that’s clattering off stump.b Broad 5, bowled him, neck and crop! That went through Dowrich like a battering ram, seaming in to smash the top of off stump – and it moves Broad clear of Botham as England’s second-leading Test wicket-taker! Anderson and Broad are together at the top of the pileJason Holderc Bairstow b Moeen 11, caught behind after a review! Another one past the outside edge, and Bairstow is convinced he’s nicked it! The review is called for. Moeen certainly wasn’t sure. There are spikes on Ultra Edge – although did they quite match up? – and this is overturned! Holder isn’t impressed. Bat was nowhere near the ground or the pad. Noise can’t have been anything elsec Cook b Broad 0, gone first ball! Broad is off and running again, no need to check with the umpire this time… A beauty holding its line on off and Holder can only steer it low to first slip! He’s level with Botham and on a hat-trick!Kemar Roachb Broad 5, that’s through him! Full at off stump, Roach goes for the drive and this spears past the inside edge to take out off stumpb Anderson 12,that does the job, full and straight. Very similar to the first-innings dismissal, Roach misses his drive and the stumps are clatteredAlzarri Josephlbw b Broad 6, fired in at the stumps, hits the pads and up goes the finger! Joseph misses playing across the line, pinned like a gigantic butterfly on the crease… That looked plumb and S Ravi agreed with Broad, who was off and running in familiar fashion before glancing round to have it confirmed. West Indies still have two reviews left but Joseph doesn’t even bother to burn onec Stokes b Roland-Jones 8, edged to slip, and that’s the win to England. In the channel outside off, excellent line, the outside edge carries low to Stokes who grabs it down to his right

Jamie Porter leads Essex off after his matchwinning display•Getty Images

It was a few minutes after Essex had completed another resounding County Championship win. On a radiant afternoon, spectators were on the outfield taking selfies with Jamie Porter. Then, one asked him: “Is it in the bag?” Porter laughed: “As close as you could ask for, really.”For Essex fans, the team and Porter himself, this was the day when the notion of a first Championship pennant since 1992 moved from being a tantalising promise to an expectation.September arrives with Essex cushioning a 36-point lead over second-placed Lancashire. Avoid defeat at Old Trafford next week and Essex will be on the brink of becoming the first Championship winners for a decade not to be a Test match hosting ground.Should they indeed manage that, there is no cricketer Essex will be more thankful to than Porter, their totem all summer long. He is, most fundamentally, relentless in his line and length, unerring accuracy underpinned by a smooth, muscular action and fitness that allows him to bowl long spells, increased pace.Marry these attributes with increased pace – strength and conditioning work over the winter has lifted Porter’s regular speed to not far off 85mph – the ability to seam the ball both ways, a propensity for obtaining awkward bounce, ease bowling either over or around the wicket and skill using the crease to locate an awkward angle, and the upshot is a tremendous fast bowler.The delivery that carved open left-hander Edward Byron from over the wicket, slanting away while rearing up to catch a sliver of the bat, was in itself worth of touring Down Under this winter, albeit that Porter will almost certainly do so with the England Lions. But continue his sterling improvement there, and an England Test cap will surely soon be forthcoming.This was a day when Porter recorded the statistical feats that his unstinting excellence all summer has demanded. As he led Essex to the 10 wickets they had 59 overs to get, Porter did more than merely win Essex the match.He claimed a five-fer in the innings, his first ten-wicket haul in a match, vaulted past 50 Championship wickets for the summer – 50 first-class wickets were already secure, for the third straight summer – and didn’t stop until he had taken a career best 7 for 55, and 12 for 95 in the match. As Porter led Essex off the field to hug his mum, Chelmsford was united in buoyant applause, both celebrating the achievements of the summer so far and in expectation of what is to come.Once again Porter found a wonderful ally in Simon Harmer, the pair combining so brilliantly that the absence of Mohammad Amir, who had a back spasm, was scarcely noticed. It fell to Harmer to seal victory, when Craig Overton played on. Harmer once again provided unstinting control and stamina, bowling a 15.5-over spell straight through from the River End while Porter polished off Somerset from his favoured Hayes Close End.And so Essex had a fifth straight Championship win to toast during their remarkable summer. Essex have not merely outscrapped their opponents; they have positively eviscerated them. Consider Essex’s margins of victories in this period: eight wickets, an innings and 164 runs, an innings 34 runs, eight wickets again and, here 179 runs.For Somerset, all that was left was envy. A year ago they entered September with brilliant dreams of lifting their inaugural title. Now, their aspirations are altogether more modest: retaining their Division One status.While head coach Matthew Maynard lambasted their fielding and bowling in the morning as the “most sluggish we’ve seen from a Somerset side this year”, the greatest reason for their demise is porous batting, highlighted again by being bundled out in just 38 overs.Only two of Somerset’s frontline batsmen this season average more than Steve Davies’ 27.81. The first, overseas player Dean Elgar, will not return in 2017 – and Fakhar Zaman, his intended replacement, never made it to Taunton either. The second, Adam Hose, left in mid-season for relegation rivals Warwickshire, allowed to leave on loan after agreeing a three-year deal from next season.What is left? Not enough. Marcus Trescothick played on to a sharp delivery from Porter, second ball of the innings; a little unlucky, perhaps, but Trescothick, for all his sterling service to this club, is only averaging 21.50 in the Championship this year – he might be grateful that negotiations for his return in 2018 have already been concluded.Still, Trescothick’s numbers remain better than those of Tom Abell – even if Abell had a right to lament his dismissal today, lbw not playing a shot to Harmer for a duck when the ball had to spin appreciably to hit offstump.Middle order fortitude should be provided by Davies and James Hildreth. Both have played the occasional fine Championship innings in 2017, but these have been too rare. If Davies was snared by an outstanding delivery from Porter, who showcased his penchant for left-handers by squaring him up from round the wicket, Hildreth would not have attracted much sympathy for his airy waft outside offstump, which only succeeded in bringing forward Essex’s victory party.Far greater celebrations beckon within a few weeks.

Australia squads for the 2017-18 Ashes

ODI squad: Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Nicole Bolton, Lauren Cheatle, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes (capt), Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington
Test squad: Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Nicole Bolton, Lauren Cheatle, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes (capt), Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Australia have named near-identical squads for the ODI and Test legs of the 2017-18 Ashes, with Lauren Cheatle and Tahlia McGrath recalled to the 50-overs team after missing out on World Cup selection. Cheatle and McGrath are among six uncapped players in the Test squad, the others being Belinda Vakarewa, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner.”I’m really excited about the final squad that has come together,” captain Rachael Haynes said on Tuesday. “I think it is really well-balanced and it’s going to be pretty hard to pick the final XI on the day… I think we’re coming into the Ashes series in some really good form.”Haynes is not overawed by the task of leading Australia in the absence of superstar and regular captain Meg Lanning.”I feel very confident in my ability to lead the team and it’s great that there are so many good senior players around the group as well, who can contribute in that environment,” Haynes said.”The likes of Ellyse Perry and Alex Blackwell who will be vice-captain, Alyssa Healy, Elyse Villani who is captain for WA, I think there is a really great balance in the team and I will draw on that experience as well.”Fresh from scores of 103* and 83 for New South Wales, Haynes is confident the Australians can step up to replace the Lanning-shaped hole in the batting order.”Meg is obviously a world-class player, she is the best batter in the world, so she’d be a loss to any team she was part of… but I feel very confident that we have the depth in our team,” Haynes said. “It’s a great strength of Australian cricket and we’ll be really well-placed heading into the series.”England have shown that they are really going to bring an aggressive brand of cricket and we’re very much prepared for that, but we have very different conditions over here and we’re looking forward to using that to our advantage.”The 15-strong Test squad will be reduced to 13 players at the conclusion of next month’s three-day clash with an ACT XI. National selector Shawn Flegler believes the game in Canberra will provide vital pink-ball experience to the players.”There is always a couple of positions up for grabs,” Flegler said. “We have to have a look at the conditions for the Test match in North Sydney. It’s a pink ball as well, a day-night Test match, the girls haven’t played that before, so it’s a good opportunity during that three-day practice match in Canberra to see how the girls perform with the pink ball and under lights.”The Women’s Ashes is decided through a multi-format points system. Following the ODIs and day-night Test, Australia will announce another squad for the three T20Is which could decide who takes the trophy home.The three ODIs will be played on October 22, 26 and 29. They will be followed by the day-night Test from November 9 to 12, and three T20Is on November 17, 19 and 21.

Steven Smith, the Australia captain, believes players on this tour are likely to face competition from those playing the domestic one-day tournament back home. This is in sharp contrast to his views ahead of the second ODI in Kolkata, where he said the current squad represented the country’s best one-day talent.Having lost the series 4-1 and serious defects emerging, Smith is looking towards the JLT one-day cup for new talent. Although it is an old hand, Shaun Marsh who has scored a century and a fifty in his two innings so far and is currently leading the run-charts.”Some guys are back playing the domestic one-day domestic competition at the moment and yeah, there’re some guys there that can put some pressure on the guys that are here,” he said after the seven-wicket defeat in Nagpur. “Obviously the results haven’t been good enough and we want our guys to perform consistently. We will have a good look at the one day competition back home and hopefully a few guys can jump out of the pack and score big runs and bowl really well as well.”Having won the toss on a re-laid surface, Australia were 100 for 1 in the 20th over. But with the field spreading and the spinners coming on, India were able to regain control. Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav got through 30 overs for 134 runs, taking four wickets. Smith said his team had discussed a plan for the middle overs, one that revolved around hitting gaps and taking singles. But to do so at the VCA stadium, they had to think on their feet a bit.”We had a chat after our second game about the spinners, particularly hitting the ball down the ground and things like that and hitting the men in the deep and I thought we did that for a couple of games,” he said. “But today, I thought Virat [Kohli] set some good fields and stopped us from hitting and I don’t think we adapted well enough. Today was probably a day to use softer hands and played a bit squarer and hit the balls into the gaps instead of hitting down the ground.”The old grouse of set batsmen not going on to make big scores made a comeback. “The top four need to stand up and really take control,” Smith said. “We did it in a couple of games, or last game in Bangalore in particular, but we’re not doing it consistently enough to go hard in the back end of the game and getting the partnerships in the middle.”Only Australia had the comfort of both their openers following a century with a fifty this series. Aaron Finch (250) and David Warner (245) feature in the top three run-getters across the five matches but the middle order offered very little support. The only player below No. 3 to make a fifty was Marcus Stoinis, whereas India had Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav shoring up their middle order in tough situations.”We’re just not taking our words out in the middle and doing it with action, unfortunately,” Smith said when asked about the issues with his team’s batting. “We have glimpses of it, we play well in periods and then we get ourselves in trouble, probably from poor decision making under pressure, that’s probably what you’ve got to put it down to most of all. it’s something we need to improve on because it’s not good enough.”On his own performance -142 runs at 28.62 – Smith said: “To be honest, I wasn’t feeling great at the start of the series, I wasn’t holding the bat the way I liked to and I was having a few issues there that I was working on. But I think I’ve slowly found a nice tempo which I’m after. I would have loved to score a lot more runs.”I’ve got myself in on a few occasions and not gone on to get the big runs that I previously have been. From that aspect, as the leader of the team, it’s been disappointing. But I guess sometimes that’s cricket. You have those periods where you’re not playing or getting the scores you really like. Something hopefully I can turn it around and hopefully contribute in the T20s.”

Karnataka 348 for 4 (Agarwal 169*, Pandey 74, Samarth 58) v Delhi
ScorecardMayank Agarwal cuts•Getty Images

Mayank Agarwal followed up his colossal triple-century against Maharashtra with a resolute 169 not out to underpin Karnataka’s dominance over Delhi on the opening day of their fifth-round clash in Alur. Agarwal’s innings, a veritable mix of daring and determination, was constructed around two century-stands – first with R Samarth, his on-and-off opening partner, and then with a more lively and aggressive Manish Pandey, who hastened Karnataka’s march towards 300.Delhi’s bowlers tried hard, but were defeated by Karnataka’s ruthlessness.The damp and gloomy weather of the past few weeks made way for clearer skies and scattered clouds. It made for pristine batting conditions, and R Vinay Kumar had little hesitation in electing to bat.The surface did have some spice for the first hour-and-a-half or so. Delhi’s pacers tried to make optimal use of the bounce and carry by hitting the deck hard, but Karnataka’s openers buckled down, scoring just eight off the first six overs. KL Rahul signalled a change in that intent when he threw hard hands at a couple of deliveries. But impatience got to him as he tried to pull a short ball that climbed onto him quickly, and top-edged to midwicket.Karnataka’s batsmen left impeccably outside off for much of the morning; it was just to the short ball that they occasionally played the needless shot. Mayank and Samarth raised their fifties within an over of each other; Samarth to a single behind point off a short ball, and Mayank with a neatly-driven four through the covers off Manan Sharma, the left-arm spinner.Delhi persisted with the short ball for perhaps longer than they should have, and Samarth settled nicely into the pull. Strangely though, Agarwal, the less capable of the two batsmen against that delivery, wasn’t tested as much.It took the scheduled lunch interval to disturb Samarth’s concentration as during the second ball after the break, he stayed back to a ripping length ball from left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra that bounced considerably to take the outside edge on its way to Gautam Gambhir at first slip.Three-quarters of an hour into the second session brought the first cheers from a small but substantial crowd that had steadily built up, when Agarwal stepped down to Mishra and whacked him for a clean and straight six. Mishra pitched it up within Agarwal’s arc and was punished for two more straight sixes in his next over.Contrary to the norm, Agarwal sped up rather than slow down as he approached the century. He raised it off his 136th ball by slashing his favoured late cut through backward point off Manan and followed it up with a Warner-esque celebration, whipping the helmet off and elatedly leaping.Karun Nair, who had taken a backward seat in the 48-run partnership, perished on the sweep but perhaps to a harsh call, umpire Stephen Harris upholding Delhi’s appeal despite the ball appearing to be heading down leg.Pandey walked out to rousing cheers from the crowd that had considerably swelled up by then. He had Delhi briefly excited during his electric innings, but soon sent them into a shell with punishing strokes on either side.Delhi’s left-arm spinners, seemingly not learning from their mistakes, continued to pitch it up. Pandey crunched a six over long-off against Manan, whose second spell read 3-0-34-1. The fifty-partnership between him and Agarwal took just 58 minutes coming.The duo kept at it for over an hour after tea, Pandey raising his half-century off 71 balls with a pulled four through midwicket. Agarwal continued to kick down milestones, a short-arm jab to midwicket giving him his 150.Pandey fell with less than nine overs left in the day, belatedly adjudged caught-behind off Saini. On a day when Delhi’s lack of noise on the field was unmissable, their excited celebrations at the end of the 136-run stand made for a rare sight.

Joe Root has called on his England team to “stand up and be counted” ahead of “one of the biggest games of our lives”.England go into the third Test at the WACA – a venue where they have lost their last seven Tests – needing at least a draw to keep alive their hopes of retaining the Ashes. But, after a week in which his team’s reputation has again been dragged through the mud, Root feels they need a good performance not just to claw their way back into the series, but to win back the respect of the general public.”Frustrated” is a word that crops up a lot with Root right now. He is “frustrated” that his team are 2-0 down despite having shown, in patches, that they could do better. He’s “frustrated” that he is spending his time talking about boozing rather than batting. And he is “frustrated” that a couple of players could add fuel to the flames by behaving foolishly when they knew the eyes of the media were upon them. He used the word seven times in his brief chat with members of the UK media on Tuesday. His expression screamed it.But while he accepts a couple of his players have been guilty of “a little bit of naivety” and they “have to be smarter” in the way they go about their private lives, he insists recent reports do not accurately portray the character of his team.”We, as a group, will not brag or boast about stuff we do away from the game or stuff we do to help other people because they’re good blokes, they’re good people,” Root said. “But unfortunately incidents like that let us down and lead people to believe otherwise.”The majority of things have been done right for the majority of the time by the majority of the group. And the one thing I’m really proud of and one of this group’s big strengths is we do look after each other. That’s proof that we are good blokes and good human beings. We care about each other and, though the lads may have done some stupid stuff, we are all in this together and we are only going to win if we stick together.”It’s frustrating that, in the circumstances we’re in, guys have made silly mistakes that are going to get blown out of proportion. So we have to be smarter as a group. The guys have to learn very quickly.”[The way we’re being portrayed] It’s not us as a team. A lot of the stuff that’s been spouted is giving ammunition to stuff that isn’t us. I think there has been a little bit of naivety. And that’s frustrating.”It’s annoying that a lot of the talk is about stuff off the field. I’m fed up of talking about stuff that isn’t cricket.”Ultimately the only way we can change that is by winning games of cricket. We have to make sure we perform well this week and win. We have to get people talking about the cricket. And if we win this week and go to Melbourne with the score 2-1, then the whole dynamic of the series changes and we’ve proved to ourselves that we’re right in this contest.”We still believe we can win the series but we now need to prove that to everyone else. The only way we’ll do that is by winning.”To that end, Root hopes his entire squad will be able to put off-field distractions out of their minds so they can focus on their cricket. For England’s task was tough enough even before Butt-gate and Duck-gate. In particular, Root knows England have to improve on a batting record that has seen the side reach 250 only once in their four innings in the series.”We have to score more runs as a batting group,” he said. “It’s easy to single out individuals but ultimately it’s about doing it as a collective.”Nathan Lyon has been a big threat in the first two games where it has spun. It might be slightly different here. But if it is the same, we have to know how we are going to play it and how are we going to break him down.”So it’s time to stand up and be counted. We’re going into one of the biggest games of our lives. If we can stand up in the face of adversity and put in a big performance, that’s what people want to see.”It’s about winning. That’s what’s going to really get people back on side. We have to get it right on Thursday.”That’s the opportunity that’s in front of this group: to go and win here at the WACA for the first time in a long time. And if we get that right then there is no reason we can’t be sat here 2-1 next week.”

Angelo Mathews has resumed Sri Lanka’s limited-overs captaincy less than six months after he resigned from the position. Following a year in which Sri Lanka’s ODI captaincy has been in flux, it is hoped Mathews will take the team into the 2019 World Cup, and perhaps beyond.Dinesh Chandimal retains the Test captaincy, meanwhile, and has also reclaimed a place in the ODI squad.The reinstatement of Mathews as captain is partly a reflection of the paucity of leadership options but is also among a raft of changes proposed by new coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Hathurusingha had worked with Mathews between 2008 and 2010, first as coach of Sri Lanka A team, and later as the shadow coach of the national team. Back then, he had been among the coaches who earmarked Mathews for a long international career.Mathews confirmed that Hathurusingha’s return to Sri Lanka as head coach helped draw him back to captaincy.”When I stepped down I never thought of taking over the captaincy again,” Mathews said. “But as soon as we came back from India, the president had a discussion with me. Also Hathu , and the selectors spoke to me and asked me to consider taking up the captaincy again. I took a few a few days to think about it, and because of a few reasons I decided to accept.”I’ve also known Hathu for a long time and I know how he operates. He’s not here just to survive. It’ll be very easy to work with him. When you have a coach like him that other countries are desperate to have, it’s a great thing. Cricket has given me a lot. If I turn my back in the hour of need I’ll not have done right by cricket.”The major worry for Mathews now becomes remaining fit through Sri Lanka’s heavy schedule. Over the past eighteen months, he has missed 20 of Sri Lanka’s 39 ODIs thanks to a slew of serious leg injuries. Most recently, a hamstring strain ended his tour of India early.Hathurusingha said team management and the selectors had taken Mathews’ injury situation into account, but nevertheless felt he was the best leadership option.”My thought was that he’s the best person to lead the ODI team because he warrants a place on his own performance,” Hathurusingha said. “The only concern we had was his physical fitness and we have a plan in place to help him.”

Andy Balbirnie in action at the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe•Getty Images

Ireland opened their World Cup qualifiers campaign with a 93-run win against Netherlands in a rain-affected game in Harare. After a fifty from Andy Balbirnie – who anchored the full 50-over innings despite being struck on the helmet by Ryan ten Doeschate – Netherlands fell nearly nine overs short of batting 41 overs in their hunt for a revised target of 243. Seamers Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin were Ireland’s most effective bowlers.Balbirnie said he was struck fairly early in his innings – “I must have been on 30” – but continued batting and finished with 68 off 75 balls. But once he returned to the change room, things started to go wrong. “I didn’t field. I obviously got hit in the head while I was batting. Didn’t feel it that much batting. Came off. Sat down. Had a break, and then got a bit dizzy and a bit of blurred vision. So saw the doctor, did a concussion test, it was okay, but he wanted me to get a scan. Scan was clear so it’s gradually got better as the day’s gone on.”Ireland began with a series of contributions from their top order, most notably a 101-run stand for the fourth wicket between Balbirnie and Niall O’Brien. Their partnership followed stands of 59, 35 and 24 respectively for the first three wickets before Netherlands staged a comeback in the slog overs, picking up 4 for 49 in the last 7.2 overs.Netherlands, meanwhile, did not find partnerships from their top order. Inside 16 overs, they’d lost five wickets and any chance of recovery was regularly thwarted by Ireland’s bowlers. Timm van der Gugten’s 33 off 25 at No. 9 was their most significant contribution as they folded for 149.

Courtney Walsh has been named Bangladesh’s interim head coach for the Nidahas Trophy as the BCB is yet to narrow in on a replacement for Chandika Hathurusingha.Walsh joined the Bangladesh coaching group in September 2016 as a bowling coach on a three-year deal. He is currently the senior-most coach in the group and was an obvious candidate.Meanwhile, Khaled Mahmud will no longer be a part of the support staff. Formerly the technical director, he is now expected to return as team manager. The former Bangladesh captain made public his displeasure at the function of the team earlier this month, calling the environment “dirty.””Since I will be going to Sri Lanka, a lot of the directors also will come with me. I personally feel that [Khaled Mahmud] Sujon should go as team manager,” said BCB president Nazmul Hassan. “We still haven’t talked to him about it. We have finalized on the other roles like we have also decided to give the batting duties to someone which we will announce on Tuesday.”Hassan is also likely to have a more hands-on involvement in the team’s affair. “I didn’t bother about playing XI selection in the last series. I left it to everyone else, including players and management,” he said. “This time we have made a squad after considering who will play in the playing XI. So since there is a final decision being taken, there is obviously a direct involvement.”