Kent have signed New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne who will take up his stint after the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2017Kent have signed New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne who will take up his stint after the Champions Trophy.ESPNcricinfo revealed that Milne had been in talks about a deal for the NatWest Blast and he will also be available for County Championship cricket in a significant boost to Kent’s bowling attack.Milne, 25, recently played his first international in more than a year, against Ireland, during the tri-series in Dublin having completed his season at the IPL where he made four appearances for Royal Challengers Bangalore.He was recalled to New Zealand’s squad for the Champions Trophy following a series of injuries which sidelined him from all cricket for almost a year.The condensed nature of county cricket, particularly now the four-day game is part of the deal, will be a challenge for Milne but he is excited by the prospect.”I’m delighted to be joining Kent and working with such a talented squad pushing for promotion,” he said. “The County Championship is one of the best first-class competitions in the world and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and taking some wickets. I also can’t wait to experience the atmosphere at The Spitfire Ground in the NatWest T20 Blast.”Kent’s chairman of cricket Graham Johnson said: “Adam is capable of bowling in excess of 90mph and will add even more penetration to our attack in red-ball and white-ball cricket.”It’s a long season so we will need to rotate the bowlers and we hope Adam’s arrival will add impetus with the ball.”

Zimbabwe must now win both remaining matches, if they are to avoid a series defeat, but a newly inspired Sri Lanka top order stands in their way

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Jul-2017

Match Facts

July 8, 2017
Start time: 0945 local (0415GMT)Can Graeme Cremer tighten up things on Saturday?•Peter Della Penna

Big Picture

Who would want to be a limited-overs bowler? For so long, Sri Lanka had been the home of the lower-scoring ODI, but in the past week, two totals of more than 300 have been mowed down, which suggests the island’s tracks are also beginning to conform to a global trend. As with so many of the pitches during the recent Champions Trophy, two of the three pitches in this series have afforded virtually no seam movement, and no menacing turn.While the bowlers have been defanged – Zimbabwe especially having failed to take more than five wickets in any of the three innings so far – Sri Lanka’s batsmen appear to be in a good rhythm. Chief among them is Upul Tharanga, who, batting in an unfamiliar no. 4 position, has scored 198 runs in the series without having been dismissed. The openers have been in strapping form, and virtually everyone else in the top six has contributed a score as well.Zimbabwe must now win both remaining matches, if they are to avoid a series defeat, but a newly inspired Sri Lanka top order stands in their way. The key, for them, is the discipline in their spin bowling; on Thursday, the hosts’ openers were fed too many wayward deliveries in the middle overs, and found it too easy to work the ball around.Both sides’ catching is under the microscope too. On batting-friendly surfaces, wicket-taking opportunities are at a premium, and bowlers need their team-mates to convert every chance that comes their way.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLWWL

In the spotlight

While Asela Gunaratne‘s batting has been required only once in the series, he has contributed nonetheless with the ball, breaking substantial stands in each match. His presence in the attack is vital. While Sri Lanka wean young spinners at the top level, Gunaratne has been sort of an insurance policy – a bowler to fall back on when the front-liners are having an off day. Where Lakshan Sandakan went for 73 runs on Thursday, for example, Gunaratne returned 2 for 53 from his 10 overs, and prevented Zimbabwe’s total from getting completely out of hand.Graeme Cremer came into the series with some form from the Scotland tour, and also the Pro50 at home, but is yet to make a substantial contribution in this series. Partly this is down to indiscipline. On Thursday, there were five wides down the leg side in his first over, and errors of length in most of his overs after that. As Imran Tahir has repeatedly proved this year – this Sri Lanka top order does not enjoy accurate legspin. If Cremer can tighten up his bowling, he could find himself among the wickets. It might also help if he could win a toss on occasion – by his own count, he has lost nine on the trot so far.Nuwan Kulasekara might replace Nuwan Pradeep in the fourth ODI•AFP

Team news

Nuwan Pradeep, who had left the field with a thigh strain on Thursday, has been ruled out of the rest of the series. This means a spot may be open for either Nuwan Kulasekara, or 19-year-old quick Asitha Fernando, who have been drafted into the squad.* Lahiru Kumara is the other seamer in the squad. Sri Lanka may want to keep the top order and the spin attack intact.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Upul Tharanga, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Wanidu Hasaranga, 8 Dushmantha Chameera, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Nuwan Kulasekara/Lahiru Kumara/Asitha Fernando, 11 Lasith MalingaRyan Burl had been unavailable for the third ODI after being briefly admitted to hospital, having unwittingly consumed food he was allergic to. Though he comes back into contention for this game, Zimbabwe may be tempted to stick with his replacement Tarisai Musakanda, who hit 48 from no. 3. Tendai Chatara had an indifferent outing in the last match, but as he remains Zimbabwe’s top wicket taker in the series, will likely retain his place. Carl Mumba may also get another run as the second seamer, having returned an economy rate of 5.68 in 6.2 overs.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Solomon Mire, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Tarisai Musakanda, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sikander Raza, 8 Peter Moor (wk), 9 Graeme Cremer (capt.), 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Carl Mumba

Pitch and conditions

There is likely to be more of the crosswind that was seen on Thursday, though apparently there is also some chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. The pitch may not be quite as batting friendly, but is expected to have plenty of runs in it.

Stats and trivia

• Thursday’s century was the fifth of Hamilton Masakadza’s ODI career. He now sits at fourth on Zimbabwe’s century-makers’ list, behind Brendon Taylor (8), Alistair Campbell (7) and Grant Flower (6).
• Since his return to ODI cricket following a 19-month layoff, Lasith Malinga has taken five wickets at an average of 63.60, with an economy rate of 6.25
• If Sri Lanka win either of their remaining games, this will be the first ODI trophy they have won since November last year, when they beat Zimbabwe and West Indies in a tri-series.

Quotes

“There’s not much you can change in one day. We will take the positives and try and and restrict them.”
“What we need is consistency. We can lose one or two games, but if we bat well every day that’s great. Some days we don’t do well. If we want to improve we need to be consistent.”
*13.57 GMT, July 7: The story has been updated to reflect the inclusion of Nuwan Kulasekara in Sri Lanka’s squad.

Leicestershire remain the only county without a victory in Division Two after rain intervened on the final day at Canterbury

ECB Reporters Network31-Aug-2017Mark Cosgrove played an eye-catching one-over cameo•Getty Images

Two lengthy rain showers ensured Kent’s entertaining Specsavers County Championship clash with Leicestershire ended in a draw when a tea-time deluge put paid the fourth day’s play.The result means the Foxes will go into a 12th game looking for their first win of the Division 2 campaign, moreover, a fifth draw in 10 starts for Kent, will put a severe dent in their hopes of winning promotion to the top tier.Having secured a modest first-innings lead of 17, Leicestershire wobbled badly when batting second time around and had limped to 135 for 6 and a lead of 152 when the players left a floodlight field of play in light drizzle for the tea interval.The rain intensified thereafter, leaving umpires Martin Saggers and Russell Warren with no choice but to abandon the match as a draw with Kent banking 11 points to Leicestershire’s 12.Batting for a second time with a modest first-innings lead of 17, Leicestershire lost both openers in the space of seven overs. Harry Dearden shouldered arms to a Darren Stevens inswinger to depart lbw then Michael Carberry’s unhappy return to Canterbury continued when he was snared full in front by a shooting off-cutter from Adam Milne.Foxes’ skipper Mark Cosgrove appeared to treat his innings like a T20 Blast net session, spanking 34 off 19 balls – including 24 from five successive deliveries from Matt Coles – before top-edging an attempted paddle off Coles to the keeper.Then, on the cusp of the lunch break, Ned Eckersley went back and across his stumps in aiming to leg to also go leg before, this time to Mitch Claydon.Rain during the interval led to the loss of an hour’s play and 19 overs but Kent were soon back amongst the wickets when Colin Ackermann (34) swept across a quicker one from left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum to become the 11th lbw victim of the game.Foxes’ first-innings top-scorer Lewis Hill soon departed to the same bowler without scoring. Seemingly troubled by a man in at silly point, he drove hard only to miscue to Joe Denly at cover as the Foxes went in at tea on 135 for 6 – an overall lead of 152.The final day started with Kent batting on in search of a fourth batting bonus point only to fall 17 runs short despite an eye-catching career best 39 by Imran Qayyum and 22 from Adam Milne. Qayyum was the last man to go, edging an attempted steer to third man to the keeper, while Neil Dexter was the clear pick of the Foxes attack with figures of 5 for 76.Kent’s rookie spinner Qayyum, who continued his steady progress with three wickets in the match, summed up the dressing room mood as disappointed. “It is a shame because we were in the game with Darren’s eight wickets and batted reasonably well on that second day, but the rain on that third day really hurt us. We needed a win in terms of our promotion push, and although we’ve got four games left, it’s bitterly disappointing that we’ve only come out of this with a draw.Leicestershire skipper Cosgrove also found it a frustrating last day. “There was possibly a very good game building up here so it was disappointing that we lost that third day to rain.”We could have set up a game and had a really exciting day, but it wasn’t to be. It was always going to be hard to bowl them out on that pitch, we needed time, but they didn’t let us get going with the bat.”Explaining his own 19-ball cameo, he added: “I was just trying to get rid of some frustration. That and Matt Coles got the better of me in the end – I guess he’ll be happy with 1 for 24 in the over!”

Karn Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem took four wickets each to bowl New Zealand A out for 147 on the first day in Vijayawada

The Report by Shashank Kishore in Vijayawada23-Sep-2017Karn Sharma made the most of his opportunity with four wickets•BCCI

Players coming off a blustery New Zealand winter found themselves in a cauldron of heat and humidity in Vijayawada. New Zealand A, having had barely three net sessions on the current tour of India, failed in their first trial-by-spin bout, having been bowled out for 147.R Samarth, the India A opener, drove home that point. He overcame a testing new-ball burst of genuine pace and late swing from Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry, to ease the nerves. But Priyank Panchal and Sudip Chatterjee’s dismissal in the last hour to Ish Sodhi helped New Zealand A pull things back.New Zealand A’s decision to bat first should have negated India’s spin threat, and at 72 without loss, it looked like the hosts would be challenged. But jittery footwork, which India A capitalised on through attacking fields and well thought-out plans, left New Zealand A shortchanged. Barring three batsmen – Tim Seifert, who top-scored with 35, Jeet Raval and George Worker – none of the others gave themselves time to grind the bowlers down.India A’s relentless attack that involved having slip catchers and close-in fielders to spin throughout the day, left Seifert struggling to rotate strike. Seifert, unbeaten on 33 when the seventh wicket fell, could add just two more with the lower order in the next 10 overs.Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, was India A’s bowling lynchpin, snuffing out two wickets either side of lunch to leave the visitors at 81 for 6 after openers Raval and Worker laid the strong foundation. Karn Sharma, drafted in to the squad on match eve as a replacement for the dropped K Gowtham, continued his Duleep Trophy form – he picked two five-fors in consecutive matches – by scything through the lower order, finishing with 4 for 58.Jeet Raval is a picture of concentration•Getty Images

Raval’s first big knock in the subcontinent promised much more. Barring an early reprieve behind the stumps by Rishabh Pant when he fished at an away-going delivery, he was solid. Worker, slightly more flamboyant, was happy to force his way through some runs, at times even looking to hit on the up against the moving ball. But their dismissals in the second hour resulted in a meltdown.While Worker was caught at short leg, Raval was bowled attempting to pull a ball that came back in to cramp him for room. Henry Nicholls was beaten by Nadeem’s turn and was out lbw while Will Young, who trained for a week on dustbowls In Chennai in preparation, didn’t give himself an opportunity to be tested as an ill-judged leave to an in-dipper from Mohammed Siraj flattened his off stump.In contrast to New Zealand’s efforts, India were much more serene. In the two hours he batted after tea, Samarth showed exemplary judgment against the short ball. This was a direct consequence of his ability to pick lengths early against two new ball bowlers capable of cracking over 145 kph. His pull shot to deep square leg off Henry was a stand-out. This even as Panchal fought to survive, taking 20 deliveries for his first runs that came through a thick outside edge to third man.Where India’s spinners were relentless in their attack, New Zealand’s slower bowlers were short and wayward to begin with. When they finally got it right, they had a wicket as Ish Sodhi had Panchal nicking to the slips. He was to be rewarded for a second time when Chatterjee played down the wrong line to be adjudged lbw.

The visitors will play three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is over 37 days in November and December

Arun Venugopal02-Oct-2017Sri Lanka arrive in India next month for a cramped tour that will have them playing three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is in 37 days, with the first Test likely to begin in Kolkata on November 16, and final match to be played on December 24.

India v SL fixtures

1st Test: November 16-20, Kolkata
2nd Test: November 24-28, Nagpur
3rd Test: December 2-6, Delhi
1st ODI: December 10, Dharamsala
2nd ODI: December 13, Mohali
3rd ODI December 17, Visakhapatnam
1st T20I: December 20, Cuttack
2nd T20I: December 22, Indore
3rd T20I: December 24, Mumbai

Nagpur and Delhi will host the second and third Tests, before the limited-overs leg kicks off with the first ODI in Dharamsala on December 10. Mohali and Visakhapatnam complete the ODI fixtures, after which the T20Is will be held in Cuttack, Indore and Mumbai. While the BCCI hasn’t made an official announcement yet, ESPNcricinfo verified the schedule with most of the hosting centres.The second Test will be Nagpur’s first Test since the ICC gave the Jamtha surface a ‘poor’ rating during the series against South Africa in 2015. The pitch in Nagpur has since been relaid, and it hosted the fifth ODI between India and Australia on October 1.Indore and Mumbai will be staging their second international games in the space of a few months, both hosting T20Is against Sri Lanka. Indore hosted an ODI against Australia, and Mumbai will host a New Zealand ODI. Thiruvananthapuram, which had been initially allotted a T20I against Sri Lanka, will now host a T20I against New Zealand on November 7 after swapping fixtures with Cuttack.”We were initially supposed to host Sri Lanka in December and Odisha [Cuttack] were supposed to host the New Zealand game in November,” Kerala Cricket Association secretary Jayesh George told ESPNcricinfo. “But, there is a festival in Odisha in November, so we are now hosting the New Zealand game instead.”This will be the second bilateral series between the two teams in the space of a few months. In July-August, India traveled to Sri Lanka and thumped the home side 9-0 across all formats.

Colin Ingram’s refashioned career as a specialist white-ball cricketer will come with leadership duties at Glamorgan

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2017Devastating South Africa batsman Colin Ingram and veteran Australian seamer Michael Hogan will share Glamorgan’s captaincy duties next season.The decision comes in the wake of Jacques Rudolph’s retirement. Rudolph stood down in the Championship in May, with Hogan stepping in on an interim basis, but he led Glamorgan to Finals Day in the NatWest Blast before his career came to an endIngram has turned himself into a white-ball specialist after a prolific limited-overs season fired his ambition to play in more global T20 tournaments worldwide.The standout performer of any county in limited overs cricket over the last two seasons, Ingram struck 1,026 runs and five centuries in white-ball competitions during 2017 and was named the PCA MVP award winner for the T20 Blast in 2016 and One-Day Cup in 2017.Ingram will feature for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash later this year but his only experience in the IPL came with the Delhi Daredevils before he joined Glamorgan at the end of 2014.Hogan will now continue to lead the side in red-ball cricket next term, while Ingram will have the captaincy duties in the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast competitions.In the first two games under Hogan’s leadership Glamorgan secured back-to-back victories against Durham at Swansea and at New Road over Worcestershire, the eventual Division Two champions, before finishing seventh in Division Two with a line-up featuring up to eight Academy graduates towards the end of the season.Glamorgan Chief Executive Hugh Morris, said: “We are very fortunate to have two excellent leaders within the squad and the decision to appoint Michael and Colin was unanimous by our Committee. By splitting the captaincy during a busy season both players can bring fresh impetus across the different formats.”

Anya Shrubsole has achieved what England’s men have found beyond them by being shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017Anya Shrubsole has achieved what England’s men have found beyond them by being shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Shrubsole won the accolade for an outstanding spell of five wickets in 19 balls, and 6 for 46 in all, against India at Lord’s – the best bowling figures in a Women’s World Cup final.As well as pulling off one of the greatest feats in England women’s cricket history, she became the first female cricketer to receive the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award, for the manner in which she consoled South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk after England’s semi-final win, and also helped Western Storm win the Kia League title.”Humbled to be named amongst some incredible athletes!,” Shrubsole tweeted. “Top of the list of things I never expected to happen!”The latest honour is an indication of how England Women’s cricket is creeping into public consciousness, but as the men celebrate her success they will also ruefully wonder what they have to do.Ian Bell was the last male cricketer to be nominated, his stock never higher than when England won the 2013 Ashes.But two years later, as England won the Ashes once more, Joe Root and Stuart Broad missed out to general consternation, even though Root had established himself as one of the top batsmen in the world and Broad bowled out Australia in a single session at Trent Bridge with 8 for 15, with his look of amazement going viral.

Cricket’s SPOTY winners

1956: Jim Laker
1975: David Steele
1981: Ian Botham
2005: Andrew Flintoff

This year, England’s record was more prosaic, although Root did win his first two series as Test captain and James Anderson became the first England bowler to take 500 Test wickets.The relevance of the Sports Personality of the Year list – once eagerly awaited – is now widely debated as it is influenced by many factors, including the availability of BBC sports rights and the desire to ensure the shortlist serves all demographics.But Shrubsole will rightly be delighted at her recognition, for all that, as she joined a list that includes the likes of Mo Farah, Lewis Hamilton and Harry Kane.The fact is that cricketers have never done very well (neither, for that matter, have footballers). Only four have ever won and all of them after outstanding Ashes performances.It would probably take an England World Cup win on home soil in 2019 to change that.In the meantime, England’s women have set the example.Shortlist: Mo Farah (athletics), Chris Froome (cycling), Lewis Hamilton (F1), Anthony Joshua (boxing), Harry Kane (football), Johanna Konta (tennis), Jonnie Peacock (Paralympic athlete), Adam Peaty (swimming), Jonathan Rea (superbikes), Anya Shrubsole (cricket).

Either side of a stop-start hour in which the focus of the Delhi Test shifted to the quality of the city’s air, India extended their dominance over Sri Lanka with bat and ball

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy03-Dec-20172:11

Chopra: ‘Kohli’s hunger for runs is insatiable’

Either side of a stop-start hour in which the focus of the Delhi Test shifted to the quality of the city’s air, India extended their dominance over Sri Lanka with bat and ball. Virat Kohli brought up his sixth double-hundred and carried on to post his highest Test score, and, following a declaration in bizarre circumstances at 536 for 7, India’s bowlers took over, reducing Sri Lanka to 131 for 3 in their reply. An unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 56 between Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal raised Sri Lanka’s morale towards the end of the day, but they still ended it trailing by 405 runs.Sri Lanka’s fielders came out wearing face masks after lunch, and play was twice held up in smoggy conditions, with the air pollution in the vicinity of the Feroz Shah Kotla going up to “very unhealthy” levels. The two fast bowlers, Lahiru Gamage and Suranga Lakmal, went off the field midway through their overs, and eventually, with Sri Lanka struggling to put 11 players on the park, Kohli declared, signalling pointedly that his team was happy to bowl in these conditions.When Sri Lanka began their innings, it was their offspinning allrounder Dilruwan Perera rather than Sadeera Samarawickrama – who had been off the field since being struck on the helmet at short leg on day one – who walked out to open alongside Dimuth Karunaratne.India’s fast bowlers, with a total of 536 behind them, charged in at full tilt in the half hour that remained before tea, and blasted out two wickets. Karunaratne fell to the first ball of the innings, done in by Mohammed Shami, who angled one into the left-hander from around the wicket, hit the pitch hard on a shortish length, and got it to seam away from him. Forced to play by the angle, he feathered an edge through to the keeper.Then Ishant Sharma, going wide of the crease, did the No. 3 Dhananjaya de Silva for length. Shuffling across the crease, and neither coming forward nor going back, he jabbed uncertainly at the ball, playing well outside the line, and was struck on the back leg in front of the stumps.In the first four overs after tea, India dropped two catches at second slip. First, it was Shikhar Dhawan moving in front of Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip, shelling a chest-high chance when Dilruwan drove away from his body at Shami. Then it was Kohli, falling to his left when Mathews poked uncertainly at an Ishant delivery that straightened in the corridor.Dilruwan, who had looked fairly comfortable since his reprieve, timing his cover drives particularly well, then fell at the end of a 61-run stand with Mathews, sent on his way after India successfully reviewed a not-out lbw decision from Nigel Llong. A straighter one from Ravindra Jadeja struck him in line when he stepped out of the crease, and ball-tracking suggested the ball would have hit the stumps. Dilruwan, however, could have survived had he stretched out a little further; it turned out that the ball had struck his pad 2.99m from the stumps – at 3m, ball-tracking cannot reverse the umpire’s decision.Mathews looked extremely shaky in the early part of his innings, camping deep in his crease and poking away from his body on numerous occasions. In an effort to bowl fuller at him, however, the fast bowlers occasionally overpitched, and he put those balls away, a straight drive off Ishant particularly eye-catching. Slowly, he grew in confidence, enough to greet R Ashwin’s belated introduction – he came on in the 28th over – by hitting him for successive sixes to bring up his fifty.In fading light, Mathews and Chandimal survived a testing period before stumps, against Shami’s reverse-swing and the accuracy of Jadeja and Ashwin. With a few overs under his belt, Ashwin began looking particularly dangerous, finding the right pace for this pitch and threatening both edges from over and around the wicket. Bad light brought the examination to a halt three minutes from time, but it will begin all over again when Sri Lanka resume their innings.India began the day’s play on 371 for 4, and Sri Lanka, having picked up two quick wickets late on day one, may have harboured some hope of clawing their way back into the Test match. If they did, Kohli and Rohit Sharma quelled it with a fifth-wicket partnership of 135. It came to an end off what was to be the second-last ball before lunch, when Rohit fell for 65, bottom-edging a square-cut to the keeper off Lakshan Sandakan.India lost two more wickets after lunch. Gamage got one with the first ball after the first pollution break, R Ashwin reaching out at a wide one without moving his feet and steering it to gully – it wasn’t the first time he had been dismissed in this manner in the recent past.Then, in the midst of all the breaks in play, Sri Lanka finally found a way past Kohli. It was Sandakan’s fourth wicket, another good ball amidst an otherwise inconsistent mix, and another reminder of the talent that Sri Lanka will need to nurture with care. Kohli went back to a flat one bowled from left-arm around, perhaps playing the trajectory rather than the length. It skidded on – slow-motion replays indicated it may have been a flipper – and rapped him on the back pad, in front of the stumps. Kohli reviewed, but the ball didn’t have far to travel, and ball-tracking suggested it would have hit a good chunk of leg stump.If the 87 runs Kohli scored on Sunday didn’t come with quite the same ease as his first 156 on Saturday, it had little to do with Sri Lanka’s bowling, which remained unthreatening and inconsistent. Kohli, instead, had to fight his own body, which was beginning to show the toll taken by scoring three successive Test hundreds. A stiff back slowed him down between wickets, and brought India’s physio onto the field, but Kohli just kept batting.Sri Lanka persisted with spin for the first six overs of the morning, hoping for Sandakan to conjure up a wicket or two, but neither he nor Dilruwan made any impact on the pair in the middle. Rohit, on 6 overnight, took no time settling in, and launched Sandakan over long-off in the fourth over of the day before picking up two more fours in the next two overs.On came the second new ball, and Kohli clipped Lakmal’s first ball to the midwicket boundary. It turned out to be the first of six fours – the pick of them a Rohit pull off Gamage, hit just wide of mid-on – in six overs from which Lakmal and Gamage conceded 32. Kohli soon swept past the 200 mark, getting there with a pulled double off Lakmal, after which Rohit reached his fifty with a straight six off Dilruwan.

The allrounder wasn’t a frontunner to play in this series, or in Tests at all; but he made a valuable contribution on the first day

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg24-Jan-2018Andile Phehlukwayo was considered to have only an outside chance of playing in this Test. As a bowling allrounder whose speeds peak in the mid-130s but who does not move the ball with the same magic as Vernon Philander, and whose long-format batting average has only peeped over 20, Phehlukwayo could easily have been confined to the shorter formats, where his ability to take pace of the ball, his death bowling and hard-hitting have proved to be match-winners.But when the South Africa summer started and the squad had none of Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi or Chris Morris available, Phehlukwayo made his debut against Bangladesh. He played both Tests in that series and the one against Zimbabwe; but when India arrived, the big guns were brought out and Phehlukwayo was confined to drinks duty. In the lead-up to the Wanderers match, he only emerged as a contender when it was revealed that Chris Morris would need the week off on paternity leave.Instead of wondering when he his turn would come, Phehlukwayo used the time on the sidelines to get ready for a return by watching his team-mates’ success.”Being on the sidelines, you’ve got to keep yourself motivated. It’s such a good environment that you want to perform. I’ve kept myself motivated by watching the performance of the guys, learning about myself and the game. At a young age, I have been able to learn so much,” Phehlukwayo said.One of the bowlers Phehlukwayo has taken the most from is Philander, who bowls a similar pace as him but makes the ball talk, almost every time. Phehlukwayo was particularly in awe of Philander’s opening spell of eight overs, seven maidens, one run and one wicket, and wants to be able to emulate that. “Vernon showed his class again. Being on the field with him was unbelievable. When I watch him bowl, I get goosebumps,” Phehlukwayo said. “To imagine how consistent he can be on a length: I really look up to the type of bowler like that.”Another player Phehlukwayo admires is Ngidi, who he grew up playing against. Both Phehlukwayo and Ngidi are the children of domestic workers and both have enjoyed enormous success, both on the field and in uplifting their families and inspiring their communities.”When I watch Lungi and his parents at the game, it reminds me a lot of how we grew up. I’m really proud to see him. I am planning on bringing my parents to a few games too,” Phehlukwayo said.Ngidi flew his parents to Johannesburg for this Test and tweeted a photograph of them enjoying their first night in a hotel room on the eve of the match. Ngidi’s parents were in attendance on the first day and were spotted on television several times. Perhaps soon, Phehlukwayo’s parents will join them.

The batsman said that while he would enjoy captaining an IPL team again, the focus was on performing the role of a senior professional in the set-up

Gaurav Kalra25-Jan-20182:00

Agarkar: A team like Delhi Daredevils will bid for Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir feels at home in Kolkata. So much so that he once went around the city in search of a house he could buy. No surprise really. Kolkata has embraced him with open arms since the city’s IPL franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders, paid an astronomical sum of USD 2.4 million to bring him on board in 2011 after three middling seasons. Over the last seven years, Gambhir has led the team to a couple of titles, in 2012 and 2014, been its leading scorer, and helped forge one of the league’s most formidable outfits.Gambhir is in Kolkata these days, playing for the city of his birth, Delhi, in India’s domestic T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. He isn’t sure, though, if he will return to the KKR set-up. In a move that not many IPL observers saw coming, the franchise decided against retaining him in January, forcing Gambhir back into the auction.There was speculation that Gambhir and the owners couldn’t agree on his price point. There is also talk that KKR envisage keeping Gambhir in house by using one of their three Right to Match cards (RTM) at a lower price point than retention would have cost them. Gambhir, at least publicly, isn’t interested in the nitty gritty, insisting he understood the decision made by the franchise.”I get where they are coming from,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo. “Above all, the communication between the KKR management and myself has been superb. We spoke in a very cordial atmosphere and I respect their call.”The speculation will end this weekend of course and Gambhir will find out whether he will stay in Kolkata or head to another city. On reputation alone, he makes a compelling case to attract a substantial bid. Only three players – Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made more runs in IPL history than Gambhir. While his strike- rate hovers around a none too collar grabbing 125, Gambhir catches the eye on several other indices. His 35 half-centuries are second most in IPL history after David Warner and he sits on top of the list of the most fours in the tournament with 484, comfortably ahead of Raina’s 402.Recent experience would suggest reputation alone no longer counts towards frenetic bidding at IPL auctions. Gambhir’s T20 form of late has been patchy with scores of 1,1,7 and 21 in his last four games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. However, he was the second-highest scorer in last season’s IPL, with 498 runs at an average of nearly 42 with four 50+ scores, playing a key role in another appearance in the knockout stages for KKR.His form in last season’s Ranji Trophy, where Delhi made the final, was also quite impressive. He scored 683 runs, including three centuries, and finished as the sixth-highest run-getter. At 36, Gambhir remains convinced he can continue to contribute to teams he is part of, and isn’t fazed at the prospect of having to compete with much younger players.”I won’t have been playing the format if I was not convinced about my abilities,” he said. “I am feeling strong physically. Fitness and motivation have never been a challenge. When I turned 30 I promised myself that I needed to up the ante fitness wise as the game was changing, I was moving on and there is that thing called self-pride which you never want to dent. So, I do extensive gym training with my personal trainers, cross country in the ridge area behind my house in Delhi, yoga, kickboxing and also play badminton to stay in shape.”Besides his pedigree as a batsman, Gambhir is sure to be on the radar of franchises for his leadership abilities. Only M S Dhoni has more wins as captain in IPL history with 83 wins from 143 games while Gambhir has won 70 of his 123. In his time at the helm at KKR, players such as Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav have pressed their claims for India call-ups while the likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russel have grown in stature. Now, as this next phase of his IPL career beckons, Gambhir said that while he would enjoy captaining a team again, the focus was on performing the role of a senior professional in the set-up.”I’d prefer both but the dynamics of the sport are such that each phase of a professional sportsperson’s career comes with responsibility,” he said. “The way I played in 2011 or 2012 is different to how I play now. Bowlers don’t bowl in my areas, as a senior member it is my duty to curb my game as per the situation. At the end of the day it is about a balanced approach because a team sport has to be played with a team’s interests in mind and not an individual’s.”