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South Africa batsman also believes they have got an opportunity to make a strong statement in the series against India and bounce back from the World Cup debacle

Liam Brickhill11-Sep-2019Rassie van der Dussen believes Quinton de Kock will “lead by example” in the upcoming three-match T20I series against India. With regular captain Faf du Plessis rested, de Kock has been given the chance to lead the T20I side, as South Africa trial leadership options ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.”Quinton is one of those guys who leads by example,” van der Dussen said. “He doesn’t always say a lot, but when he speaks he says really valuable things. You get some guys who talk a lot, and some guys who don’t. Quinny is one of those guys who prefers to lead from the front in terms of action. Everybody respects him for that.”De Kock, 26, is a regular starter for South Africa across formats and has lead the team twice before in ODIs in du Plessis’ absence during South Africa’s trip to Sri Lanka last year. He will be in charge of a fairly young side post a World Cup shake-up.”We obviously know what he is as a player and how many games he’s won for South Africa, and what he brings to the team in terms of cricketing capability. I think having the leadership band around his arm is just going to bring more out of him. He really wants to do well in India, always. We as a team really want to walk away with a series win. Everything we do is gearing up to that.”The South African squad has been put through their paces during the course of two “very tough” training sessions since their arrival in Dharamsala, where they will play the first of three T20Is on Sunday. Van der Dussen said the conditions there were “just a bit worse in terms of humidity and heat” compared to that of Durban’s.”The boys have really worked hard. But we’re playing against India, so we know we have to be at our best and put the hard yards in,” van der Dussen said. “A few years ago, the Proteas played here and we beat India by seven wickets, chasing down 200. So it’ll be a very good wicket to bat on. It will be challenging for the bowlers. The boundaries are about 65 metres all around, which is not very big. We know what India is going to throw at us, and we’re preparing accordingly.”Just two members of South Africa’s squad – David Miller and Kagiso Rabada – were part of the playing XI that beat India at this venue the last time South Africa visited, but de Kock also has extensive experience of Indian conditions from his several IPL stints.”Wherever you go, you’ve got to look at the conditions and the guys who know the conditions.”Guys like Quinton and David Miller have played a lot of cricket here, so all of us that are having our first experience in T20 cricket here will look to feed off them and talk to them, and ask a lot of questions about how the conditions will play, the different bowlers. We’ve got to use everything we can to our advantage against a very strong Indian side, so we’ll definitely look to do that.”The upcoming T20Is will mark South Africa’s first international engagement since the World Cup in England earlier this year. Van der Dussen said that the games will allow South Africa to bounce back from their disastrous run at the tournament and also begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.”We had a disappointing World Cup campaign, so now we’ve got the opportunity to make a really strong statement and bounce back from that,” he said. “There’s a T20 World Cup in just over a year. We’ve got 20 T20 games before that, so this will show us exactly where we are, playing against one of the strongest teams in the world. If we win, we know we’re on the right track. If we fall short in one or two of the games, we’ll know exactly what we need to work on.”India is one of the strongest teams in the world. They’re in their home conditions. For us, it’s going to be a massive challenge. They’ve been together and played some cricket recently against the West Indies. That will give us the advantage of seeing who is in their squad and what they’re likely to do.”

The decision to retire from international cricket became much easier once he had made peace with the fact that his career wouldn’t be defined by not winning a World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2018When AB de Villiers announced his surprise retirement from international cricket in May, he left the question of playing overseas in any form vague. De Villiers has now confirmed that the IPL will be part of his post-international retirement plans, while reiterating that he also hopes to play for his domestic franchise, Titans, for a while.”I will keep on playing IPL for a few years, and I would like to play for the Titans, and help some of the youngsters. But there are no set plans. I haven’t been able to say that for a long time,” de Villiers told . “There are some offers on the table from around the world, but it will be nice to wake up and wonder what to do; to be normal.”When he had retired, de Villiers had stated he had “no plans to play overseas, in fact, I hope I can continue to be available for the Titans in domestic cricket”, likely referring to taking up a Kolpak deal the way several of his South African team-mates did.The timing of his retirement also meant that de Villiers would end his career without a World Cup winner’s medal, but he said he had made peace with that fact.”For a long time, the World Cup was a massive goal,” de Villiers said. “But, in the last few years, I have realised that it isn’t realistic to measure yourself purely on what you achieve in that tournament. That will not be the be-all and end-all of my career.”Yes, I would have loved to win it, but I have great memories from World Cups. The 2007 tournament – my first – was very special. We fell short against Australia, when we tried to play too much cricket too soon, but that shift in mentality probably helped us to go over there and win the Test series we then won over there. Personally, I scored my first ODI century in that 2007 tournament, and I loved the whole experience of being in the Caribbean.”The same goes for the others, in 2011 and in 2015. India has always been close to my heart, because of the passion for cricket, and then obviously 2015 was an amazing game,” he further said about the classic semi-final against New Zealand in which South Africa fell agonisingly short. “We fell on the wrong side of it, but we gave it everything.”De Villiers said that his decision to retire was made simpler when he accepted that the World Cup wouldn’t define his career, and that he didn’t want to pick and choose when he would be playing for South Africa in an effort to carry on until the 2019 event.”I guess that once I acknowledged to myself that I didn’t have to measure my career on one tournament, place so much emphasis on it, it became easier to make my decision,” he said. “I also didn’t want to be picking and choosing my way through fixtures from now until then. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Rahul Tewatia, who picked 2 for 18 in his first game this season, and Mohit Sharma applied the choke in the last five overs as Kolkata Knight Riders went down by 14 runs

The Report by Shashank Kishore09-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:25

Bangar: Tewatia’s introduction turned the match

A sensational display of end-overs bowling from Mohit Sharma and strangulation by legspin from Rahul Tewatia, playing his first game this season, helped apply the choke on Kolkata Knight Riders. By securing one of three wins they needed, Kings XI lived to fight another day.In what was an engaging last five overs off which Knight Riders needed just 50, Mohit brought out all his slower variations – the knuckleball, back-of-the-hand slower deliveries and offcutters – and delivered them with precision to deny Chris Lynn, who wiped out half of Knight Riders’ 168-run target off just 52 balls, and Manish Pandey. The pair’s dismissal off successive deliveries off the 18th over helped close out a tight game, with the Sharmas – Mohit and Sandeep – defending 29 off the 12 deliveries to ensure three playoff spots were still up for grabs.Knight Riders’ productive first sixKings XI made four changes, two of those being forced. One of them – Hashim Amla – had just smashed a 60-ball 104, his second century of the season, in the previous game. Even so, the rest of the batsmen stuttered as they finished with just 189 when they should’ve posted 210. Now, without Amla, who along with David Miller was unavailable because of national duty, Kings XI needed a robust beginning from the openers. Manan Vohra, who had earlier in the tournament shunted up and down the order to accommodate both Shaun Marsh and Martin Guptill, sparkled briefly, but his dismissal brought about a restrained approach. The first six overs fetched just 41 for the loss of the openers. Knight Riders had begun well.Maxwell, Saha keep the innings aliveOn a surface where the ball was deviating just about enough to keep the medium-pacers interested, Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme bowled six overs in tandem, conceding just 22 off the first four immediately after the Powerplay. Kings XI limped to 63 for 3 in the first half. They went 17 deliveries without a boundary after Shaun Marsh’s dismissal in the ninth over, before Maxwell cut loose – hitting de Grandhomme for two successive sixes off legitimate deliveries to trigger a surge. Maxwell’s picking of lengths was impressive as he played the pull effectively against the pacers. Wriddhiman Saha, on 10 off 17 at one stage, pinched crucial boundaries to move to a run-a-ball 26. At 115 for 3 with five to play, Kings XI needed big back five overs. But they were denied.Kuldeep Yadav, returning in place of Piyush Chawla, was rewarded for his willingness to flight the ball as he had Maxwell caught at wide long-off in an attempt to hit him for a third successive six. In his next over, he had Saha stumped after being biffed across the line one ball earlier. A cameo from Tewatia lifted them to 167, not underwhelming but not match-winning either.Getty Images

Narine tees off, Lynn consolidatesTwo quiet men, who don’t believe in intimidating opponents with words, let their blades talk. Sunil Narine’s no-frills approach fetched him four fours in a 10-ball 18. Lynn, playing in only his second game after returning from a shoulder injury that kept him out for three weeks, didn’t show signs of “not being a 100 percent” as he revealed during a flash interview. Time and again, he was tested against the short ball, only for the deep midwicket and wide long-on boundaries to be peppered with regularity.The best shot of his knock – a flat-batted swat off Matt Henry which he fetched from outside off – showed how brutally effective he can be even if not at full tilt. Yet, this wasn’t as brutal a knock as the one against Royal Challengers Bangalore. By bringing up a half-century off just 29 deliveries, Lynn ensured Gautam Gambhir’s struggle against spin – he scratched around 17 deliveries for 8 before mistiming a slog to deep midwicket – didn’t deeply disturb the asking rate.Tewatia spins a webOne ball after sending back Gambhir, Rahul Tewatia, playing his first game this season, saw off Robin Uthappa, but to not give any credit to Axar Patel would be doing injustice to his efforts. Running around from straight deep midwicket, he covered quick ground before putting in a dive to catch the dipping slog sweep inches from the ground near deep square leg. Now, the choke was on. Axar followed it up by conceding just three in his next over. The spinners – Tewatia along with Axar and Swapnil Singh – at that stage had combined figures of 2 for 30 off six overs. Knight Riders needed 86 off 54 balls.Maxwell’s punt on Mohit pays offBy leaving two overs of Mohit in the last five, Maxwell gambled. Considering the form Lynn was in, it was a tough proposition. But the pressure applied by the spinners left Knight Riders with a steep task against a bowler, who justified the INR 6.5 crore investment, at a crunch moment when the game was on the line and Kings XI’s chances of staying alive was hanging by a thread. That he bowled just three overs may have been a decision Kings XI could have rued, but on the night, it was his experience that prevailed.

Pakistan’s batting line-up, which had mis-fired frequently in recent matches, finally came together in their first match of the World T20 2016 to overpower Bangladesh by 55 runs

The Report by Mohammad Isam16-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:28

Chappell: Afridi looked relaxed when he came to bat

Pakistan’s batting line-up, which had misfired frequently in recent matches, finally came together in their first match of the World T20 2016 to overpower Bangladesh by 55 runs. Fifties from Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, and Shahid Afridi’s 19-ball 49 propelled Pakistan to 201 for 5, a total which proved too steep for a side that had beaten them in their last two T20I encounters. This was only the second time Pakistan scored more than 200 in a T20 international, and the previous instance – in April 2008 – was also against Bangladesh.Pakistan opted to bat first and, right from the start, kept their foot on the gas. They took 18 runs in three separate overs and failed to hit a four or a six in only two overs in their innings – the 9th and 14th – bowled by Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman. Pakistan’s opening pair of Shehzad and Sharjeel Khan was the fourth the side have tried out in T20Is this year, and Sharjeel set the tone, smashing two sixes and a four off Al-Amin Hossain in the second over.Sharjeel fell in the next over to Arafat Sunny but Hafeez walked in and found his groove immediately, with a straight six down the ground off his second ball. Shehzad, who had struck a serene cover drive off Taskin Ahmed in the first over, then pushed the same bowler through midwicket, before pasting Sunny over extra-cover. His first three fours were pleasing shots, even as Hafeez blasted boundaries down the ground.By the end of the Powerplay, Hafeez and Shehzad had similar scores before the latter pulled away and raced to his fifty off 35 balls. Shehzad fell in the 14th over, pulling Sabbir to the deep midwicket fielder for 52 off 39 balls with eight fours. His wicket ended a 95-run, second-wicket partnership that, through a combination of big hits and clever strike rotation, did not let the Bangladesh fielders relax.Afridi promoted himself to No 4 to take advantage of the start. After Hafeez had reached his fifty in the 15th over, bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza, Afridi smacked two fours and a six off consecutive balls to produce an 18-run over. The pair took another 18 runs off Al-Amin’s next over, with Hafeez striking two fours and Afridi a straight six.Hafeez fell for 64 off 42 balls, immediately after striking his seventh four. He was caught brilliantly by Soumya Sarkar at the deep midwicket boundary. The fielder grabbed the ball close to the boundary rope; the momentum took him over the line so he lobbed the ball in the air, came back on to the field and completed the catch. The agile effort was the only solace for Bangladesh in the first innings.Afridi unfurled the big shots in the overs that followed, including a four and a six off Shakib in the penultimate over. He went into the last over on 49 off 18 balls, on the brink of the record for the fastest fifty by a Pakistan batsman in T20Is, but he holed out to the deep square leg fielder and, in the process, also missed his first T20I half-century since June 2012.Sarkar’s joy from that smart catch was short-lived as Mohammad Amir uprooted his off stump on the third ball of their chase. Sabbir Rahman, who started off with a sweetly timed four past point, made sure, however, that Bangladesh didn’t fall off quickly. He struck fours off Amir and Wahab Riaz through the off side, but fell in the final Powerplay over, bowled by an Afridi delivery that came on with the arm.Tamim had sent the first ball of that Afridi over for a six into the stands beyond midwicket and in the next over, he lifted Malik over extra-cover for another six. His third attempt at clearing the boundary, however, ended up as a simple catch to Imad Wasim at midwicket. Tamim has been Bangladesh’s best batsman in the tournament so far and his dismissal for a 20-ball 24 snuffed out most of Bangladesh’s hopes of chasing 202.Bangladesh have never made more than 87 runs in the last ten overs of a successful T20I chase, so getting 133 today was well beyond their reach. The pressure of an asking rate of over 13 got to Mahmudullah, who played a slog-sweep to Sharjeel at deep square leg in the 11th over, and Bangladesh slid further.Shakib was still at the crease but from a position of 71 for 4, he had to tackle the Pakistan attack as well as Mushfiqur Rahim’s frustrating batting at the other end. Between the 11th and 17th overs, Mushfiqur played and missed plenty of times. In two separate overs, Shakib struck a four off the first ball but Mushfiqur couldn’t score off the remaining deliveries. Mushfiqur also did not turn as much of the strike over to Shakib and the required run rate soared out of their reach. Mushfiqur became Amir’s second wicket in the 17th over.Shakib had been dropped by Shehzad at midwicket on 33 and he went on to reach his sixth T20I fifty in the last over.

Ajit Chandila has been granted bail by a Delhi court in the IPL spot-fixing case after finding the prosecution to have some “missing links” in their case

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2013Ajit Chandila has been granted bail by a Delhi court in the IPL spot-fixing case. According to , the court took the decision after ruling that the prosecution had “missing links” in their case.Chandila and his Rajasthan Royals team-mates Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan had been arrested, along with 11 bookies, on May 16 and charged under the Indian Penal Code section 420 and 120B, which deal with fraud, cheating and conspiracy. Sreesanth and Chavan had successfully made bail and were released on June 11.The court also directed the Delhi Police Commissioner to examine the issue of the missing links within a month. “It is very surprising,” the judge said. “There are some missing links in the case. I am sending the full file to the Commissioner of Police to let the case be examined.” The court also fixed October 7 as the date for hearing the prosecution’s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to the three cricketers and the others arrested.Chandila was named as one of the accused in a 6000-page charge sheet issued by the Delhi police, along with Sreesanth and Chavan. In June, the police had invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a special law passed by the Maharashtra state government to tackle organised crime syndicates and terrorism, against all three cricketers. But after the police failed to provide adequate evidence to support the addition of the MCOCA charge, a court in Delhi had upheld Sreesanth and Chavan’s plea for bail. The two of them were released from custody on June 11, while Chandila had not applied for bail then.Chandila had later submitted that he had been falsely implicated and said the police had “mischievously added” provisions of the MCOCA to the charges to keep him from getting bail. His counsel Rakesh Kumar had said Chandila had no connections to Dawood Ibrahim or his aide, Chhota Shakeel, who are among India’s most wanted criminals. Both of them are also charged in the case and the police allege that they control the betting syndicate in India.

Nottinghamshire hit their highest-ever score in 40-over cricket to defeat Durham by 43 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Trent Bridge

19-Aug-2012
ScorecardNottinghamshire hit their highest-ever score in 40-over cricket to defeat Durham by 43 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Trent Bridge.Led by a blistering 84 off 51 balls from opener Michael Lumb and an unbeaten 71 from skipper Chris Read, Nottinghamshire raced to 294 for 8 after being put in to bat. Despite the in-form Mark Stoneman hitting his second successive century in the competition, Durham were unable to keep up with the hefty run-rate required and were bowled out for 251.Fast bowler Andy Carter claimed 4 for 45 – his best figures in List A cricket for Nottinghamshire – while medium-pacer Steven Mullaney accounted for Stoneman for 102, Paul Collingwood and Dale Benkenstein to finish with 3 for 44.Both sides were all but out of the semi-final places in Group B before the match started but ICC World Twenty20 winner Lumb looked like he had a point to prove ahead of the announcement of England’s final 15-man squad to defend their title in Sri Lanka.The left-hander hit three fours off the fourth over, delivered by Ben Stokes, and launched Chris Rushworth and Mitch Claydon for six as he raced to 50 off 31 balls. Nottinghamshire had reached 77 without loss at the end of their first eight overs and although they lost Alex Hales for 22, bowled by Claydon, Lumb and Riki Wessels smashed 40 off the bowling powerplay that followed.That Powerplay finished with Lumb hitting Claydon for four consecutive boundaries, before the 32-year-old was then bowled by the Australian-born paceman having struck 14 fours and two sixes in total. Wessels kept up the momentum with 43 from 28 balls, hitting three sixes and four fours, before he holed out to long-on attempting to lift Gareth Breese over the ropes.Scott Elstone, Samit Patel and Mullaney all fell in the teens as the run-rate dropped but a terrific late assault from Read boosted the score once more – with 69 coming off the last six overs, Read hitting six fours and three sixes.Durham had a decent start despite losing Phil Mustard to Carter in the third over, and the muscular power of Stokes briefly threatened to keep the visitors in touch.Stokes reached 34 off 23 balls when he holed out to long-on after Patel and no Durham batsman was then able to give Stoneman – who had hit his first Championship century of the season against the same opposition earlier in the week – the support he needed.Stoneman slog-swept Mullaney to deep midwicket to end his 90-ball innings, having hit 13 fours, and Carter then returned to mop the tail.

MS Dhoni has been fined 60% of his match fee as India maintained a slow over-rate in the second Test against West Indies in Barbados

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2011MS Dhoni has been fined 60% of his match fee, while the rest of the team lost 30% of their fees as India maintained a slow over-rate in the second Test against West Indies in Bridgetown. Match referee Chris Broad imposed the fines after ruling that India finished three overs short of their target.The ICC code of conduct stipulates that the team’s captain should be fined 20% of his match fee for every over the side fails to bowl, double what other players in the XI lose. Three offences in the same format of the game within a 12-month period will lead to an immediate suspension of the captain from the next match in that format.This is Dhoni’s second over-rate fine in Tests this year, having been docked 60% of his match fee after the Cape Town Test against South Africa in January. If he is pulled up one more time in any Test till the first week of January 2012, he will miss the subsequent Test India play.The Barbados Test ended in a draw, after rain and then bad light held up play to leave India three wickets away from victory and West Indies 79 short of the target. India lead the series 1-0 with one Test remaining. The final Test starts in Dominica on July 6.

Hampshire opening batsman Jimmy Adams scored his second Friends Provident t20 century of the season to help crush Glamorgan by 54 runs at the Rose Bowl

02-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Jimmy Adams’ second Twenty20 hundred of the season included 16 fours•Getty Images

Hampshire opening batsman Jimmy Adams scored his second Friends Provident t20 century of the season to help crush Glamorgan by 54 runs at the Rose Bowl. Adams, who scored a century against Surrey earlier in the campaign, hit an unbeaten 100 as Hampshire eased to a comfortable victory.Hampshire rattled up 199 for 5 from their 20 overs with Adams reaching his century in the final over. Adams struck 16 fours and faced 61 balls after his captain, Nic Pothas, decided to bat first.
Adams lost opening partner, Michael Lumb, on 33 but then featured in a stand of 90 for the second wicket in only 8.5 overs with promising talent James Vince. Vince fell with the score on 123 after hitting a six and three fours in his 39, but his loss failed to halt Hampshire’s surge.Sean Ervine was third out to leave the hosts 163 for 3 and Neil McKenzie fell two balls later, but there was no denying Adams. When Huw Waters began bowling the final over of the innings Adams was on 94 and he almost immediately lost Dominic Cork, who was run out by David Brown.But he kept his composure to reach his century with two balls to spare having put the hosts in a commanding position. Waters was the pick of the Glamorgan bowlers finishing with three wickets for 30 from his four overs while veteran Robert Croft conceded only 24 from his four.Glamorgan needed 10 an over to win and they never looked like reaching their target. They lost Jim Allenby with the score on 24 but there was always an outside chance with big-hitting Australian Mark Cosgrove at the crease.Cosgrove thumped three sixes in a quick-fire innings of 33 but from the moment he hit Chris Wood to a diving Cork at the start of the sixth over, Glamorgan rapidly faded as a steady procession of wickets followed.Left-arm spinner Danny Briggs sent back Gareth Rees, Croft and Chris Ashling first ball to finish with 3 for 27. Glamorgan were 116 for 9 at the start of the 17th over but a late flurry of runs from Mark Wallace and last man Waters at least ensured they batted out their overs.The last wicket pair put on 29 over the final four overs with Wallace finishing as top scorer with an unbeaten 42 off 26 balls having hit two sixes.

Australia report clean bill of health, but weather around Lord’s may influence contest

Alan Gardner26-Sep-2024

Big Picture: Ashes comeback redux?

Here we go, then. After finding themselves 2-0 down through a combination of hubris, inexperience and self-sabotage, Harry Brook’s bucks got themselves on the board up in Durham – from here on it’ll be Bazballs to the wall as they look to emulate last summer’s rip-roaring Ashes comeback (with the potential for a similarly underwhelming final outcome if the weather forecast holds true).Or perhaps not. Certainly, there won’t be the accompanying levels of interest, even if England can prove victory at Chester-le-Street to keep the series alive was not a flash in the pan. But there was undoubtedly something invigorating about the performance, with England’s one-day cricket perhaps at its lowest ebb since the disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign.Brook was to the fore as stand-in skipper, and one of the batters expecting to carry the side forward, scoring his maiden ODI hundred to make a chase of 305 look relatively straightforward (even if the rain meant England didn’t quite get to knock off the requirement themselves). With England seemingly floundering again at 11 for 2, the 156-run stand between Brook and Will Jacks was not only timely but demonstrated their ability to go through the gears in a format that requires stickability as well as crash, bang, wallop.It helped, of course, that Australia were missing their two best performers, in Travis Head and Adam Zampa – as did Brook winning the toss for the third time in a row. While England’s bowlers could not fully capitalise on useful seam-bowling conditions early on, as Alex Carey again lifted Australia clear of trouble, the pitch became more conducive to buccaneering strokeplay as the day wore on.For Australia, the end of their 14-game winning streak – second only to that put up by the legendary class of 2003 – will unlikely be cause for much lamenting. Steven Smith gave a reminder of his old-school qualities with his first fifty of the tour, while Aaron Hardie’s late-order cameo provided a glimpse of the future for this Australia side. The bowlers were not at their best but they have the experience and knowhow to saddle up and go again in a bid to seal the series at Lord’s.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLLLW
Australia LWWWW

In the spotlight: Will Jacks and Alex Carey

While Brook took the headlines, Will Jacks was equally important to the Chester-le-Street turnaround. Although he was unable to press on to a maiden hundred, an innings of 84 from 82 balls was, by his own evaluation, his best international performance to date. Following his half-century at Trent Bridge, it suggested he is beginning to acclimatise to the format and his role at No. 3. Curiously, despite a body of work in T20 that dwarfs his List A experience (186 appearances to 32), it is in ODIs that he has currently had more of an impact with England.There was weather around as the teams trained at Lord’s•PA Photos/Getty Images

Alex Carey may have arrived back in the UK with a touch of trepidation, given his turbulent experience during last summer’s Ashes, but after being handed an unexpected opportunity with the ODI side after Josh Inglis’ injury he has seized it with both hands. Showing absolutely no ring-rust despite having not batted in a competitive scenario since March, Carey has top-scored for Australia two matches running while continuing to be an assured presence behind the stumps. It has, in the words of head coach Andrew McDonald, created a “good problem” for the team as preparation for the Champions Trophy gears up.

Team news: Archer set to play

Jofra Archer is expected to play back-to-back games so England could well be unchanged. Reece Topley has left the squad after suffering from illness.England: (possible) 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jamie Smith (wk), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Jacob Bethell, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Olly Stone, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Matthew PottsAfter the illness issues that dogged the start of the tour, Australia have reported a clean bill of health, which includes Adam Zampa, whose absence was significant at Chester-le-Street. The only issue is whether Inglis is yet match-fit, though Carey’s form makes that academic.Australia: (possible) 1 Travis Head, 2 Matthew Short, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Steven Smith, 5 Marnus Labuschagne, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Aaron Hardie, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

Lord’s is not foremost among English grounds when it comes to playing like a billiards table, although England did put up 311 in their previous ODI in north London against New Zealand last September. Given the amount of rain around recently, it could well be another seamer-friendly track – that’s if the weather relents enough to get a game, with showers forecast for the morning and early afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• With two wickets in Durham, Starc overtook Mitchell Johnson to go clear in fourth on Australia’s ODI wicket-takers’ list. He has a bit of a climb to reach Shane Warne in third.
• Brook’s hundred was only his second in the 50-over format – and first since 2019, when he scored 103 off 105 balls for Yorkshire against Leicestershire. In the intervening period, he made 13 first-class centuries (five in Tests) and three in T20.
• Australia have a strong record at Lord’s, winning six of their last seven ODIs against England at the ground – including their 2019 World Cup group stage encounter.
• England have only played three ODIs at Lord’s since the 2019 World Cup final, winning all three.

Quotes

“We said once we were 2-0 down, we’re going to stay true to how we play. And I think we’d done that at Durham and backed everyone to play their own game. It paid off at Durham, so I don’t see there’s any reason [to change].”
Matt Potts says England are on the comeback trail again“None of the blokes are training, we’re only here for lunch.”

Already without Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal was ruled out for the hosts on the eve of the game

Mohammad Isam13-Jun-2023

Big picture

A Test match between two nations will be played in one of the premier cricket stadiums, and in front of a live TV audience. If this is considered as enough of a context, then the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan one-off Test is relevant. Otherwise, sandwiched between the World Test Championship final and the upcoming Ashes, this contest in Dhaka, being held bang in the middle of Bangladesh’s monsoon season, struggles to gain significance for their fans.The Future Tours Programme originally had this series scheduled as a two-match affair, before one Test was cut off. That, perhaps, is an indication that even the solitary Test seems out of place, not least when both sides will be rather more keenly looking forward to the ODI World Cup, which is less than four months away.In fact, Bangladesh have played just one Test this year – the one-off game against Ireland in April – with their next matches in the format scheduled only for November, shortly after the World Cup.Related

• Hathurusinghe: Forget WTC, winning Tests for your country is motivation enough

• Litton Das: Test experience gives us advantage over Afghanistan

• Litton to captain Bangladesh in Afghanistan Test in Shakib's absence

• Rashid Khan rested for Afghanistan's one-off Test against Bangladesh

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s last Test had come a long time ago – against Zimbabwe in March 2021 – although one of their six games in the format so far has featured a 224-run win against Bangladesh, even as it came further back in 2019.Nevertheless, the hosts enter the Test against Afghanistan on the back of an A series against West Indies in May, where an impressive show by uncapped batter Shahadat Hossain helped him earn a call-up to the national side. Bangladesh will be without regular Test captain Shakib Al Hasan – he is out with a finger injury – and Tamim Iqbal, who was ruled out on the eve of the game due to a lower back pain.However, the visitors will be taking some positives into the game: allrounder Karim Janat, who hasn’t made his Test debut, was the highest run-getter in the last Ahmad Shah Abdali four-day tournament – he also had 18 wickets at an average of 20 – while Amir Hamza had topped the wicket-taking charts. There were several other performers in that competition among those who are part of the squad for the Test against Bangladesh, including left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan and legspinner Izharulhaq Naveed, who is also yet to play a Test.Ibrahim Zadran averages 44 after four Tests, where he has three half-centuries•Abu Dhabi Cricket

Form guide

Bangladesh WLLLLL
Afghanistan WLLWW

In the spotlight

The green pitch in Mirpur would put the onus on Bangladesh’s fast bowlers to come up with a match-winning showing. Taskin Ahmed is considered the leader of the pack, which also includes Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and the uncapped Musfik Hasan. A three-man pace attack is most likely against Afghanistan, although coach Chandika Hathurusinghe hinted that Bangladesh might even consider fielding four pace bowlers.Ibrahim Zadran is the in-form batter for Afghanistan. The tall, graceful right-hand opener averages 44 after four Tests, where he has three half-centuries – including an 87 against Bangladesh – and enters this solitary Test on the back of a match-winning 98 in an ODI against Sri Lanka earlier this month. He has the fourth-highest runs for any Afghanistan batter in Tests, and with only 84 runs separating him from the topper, Zadran has the chance to get right on top in Dhaka.

Team news

Bangladesh will be forced to make at least two changes, with Shakib and Tamim out. On Monday, Litton said that he would like to go with five bowlers although it is unlikely that Taskin Ahmed will be brought back so soon after recovering from a side strain.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Ebadot HossainAfghanistan last played a Test two years ago, with only four players from that side part of the squad to face Bangladesh. Rashid Khan has been rested. Thus, Abdul Malik is likely to open the innings with Zadran, while middle-order batter Bahir Shah, Janat and Naveed could be the debutants.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Ibrahim Zadran, 2 Abdul Malik, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Bahir Shah, 6 Karim Janat, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Amir Hamza, 9 Yamin Ahmadzai, 10 Izharulhaq Naweed, 11 Zahir KhanMehidy Hasan Miraz is one away from 50 wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

There was a surprising tinge of green on the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch when the ground staff unveiled it amid the rain breaks two days before the game. And if the forecast turns out to be true, there is likely to be a number of rain interruptions throughout the five days. Not much pace and bounce is expected at the venue.

Stats and trivia