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Asela Gunaratne has been described by his school-cricket coach Aubrey Kuruppu as a “confident” but “reluctant cricketer” in his youth

Sa'adi Thawfeeq24-Feb-2017Sri Lanka batsman Asela Gunaratne has been described by his school-cricket coach Aubrey Kuruppu as a “confident” but “reluctant cricketer” in his youth. Kuruppu, a Sri Lanka cricketer of their pre-Test era, who coached Gunaratne in the basics of the game, said he had the batsman pinned as a long-format player but was glad to see him proving him wrong by performing in the shorter formats too.”It was not that he was not interested in cricket, he used to play in the paddy fields a lot, but he never pushed himself to attain goals,” Kuruppu said. “Initially I thought that his approach to cricket was only suited to the five-day game, but he has proved me wrong. He has shown that he is as good playing in all three formats. The first match he played against Trinity [College], I sent him at No. 9 and he made 12. In the next game against St Aloysius Ratnapura I was short of an opener and I promoted him up the order. He responded with a magnificent 158.”Gunaratne, 31, made his mark in international cricket on the tour to Zimbabwe last October where he scored a fifty on his Test debut and followed it up with a maiden hundred in the next Test. On the recent tour to South Africa, Gunaratne scored his maiden ODI hundred in the fifth match of the series, and in the recently-concluded T20 series in Australia, he played two eye-catching innings to give his team a 2-1 win – their third successive T20 series victory in Australia.All this after he began to seriously play cricket only at the age of 16. He went on to become the first player from his school Rahula College, Kandy, to play at the international level. For Rahula, Gunaratne played for the first XI from 2003-04 to 2005-06, and captained in the final year. Solid though he was, he never made enough runs nor took enough wickets with his right-arm medium pace to draw the attention of the national selectors.”Asela was a good player and the good thing about him was that he was confident about his ability,” Kuruppu said. “He batted at No. 4 at school and bowled medium pace. From what I’ve seen of him lately, he has worked hard at his game to attain the level he has and he now bowls cutters.”Following his career at school, Kuruppu got Gunaratne to play for his former club Saracens CC in the division III tournament, and he scored a hundred in his first match. He went on to join the Sri Lanka Army and play for them. “I think the five years of cricket he spent playing for the Army in the company of Sri Lanka cricketers like Ajantha Mendis and Seekkuge Prasanna has improved his cricketing skills greatly,” Kuruppu said.”He has been a consistent run-scorer in domestic cricket for Army, getting 700-800 runs regularly each season, but he never got the opportunity to showcase his talent at a higher level until now. Once he gets going there is no stopping him.”

Anna Peterson took the first international hat-trick by a New Zealand women’s bowler in more than 20 years to help her side level the series against Australia 1-1 in Geelong

The Report by Brydon Coverdale in Geelong19-Feb-2017
ScorecardMolly Strano claimed 5 for 10, the best figures by an Australian in a women’s T20 international•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Anna Peterson took the first international hat-trick by a New Zealand women’s bowler in more than 20 years to help her side level the series against Australia 1-1 in Geelong. The Australians seemed well-placed at the change of innings, having been set 102 for victory, but the match turned as the New Zealanders claimed early wickets and then managed to defend a Duckworth-Lewis target of 70 after heavy mid-innings rain.Still, Australia were in the hunt in the late stages and needed 11 runs off the final over, which was the first of the match for the offspinner Peterson. She began by having Jess Jonassen caught skying an attempted slog, followed up with Alyssa Healy, who was also caught trying to clear the field, and completed the hat-trick when Megan Schutt slogged a catch to midwicket. It left Peterson with the remarkable figures of 0.3-0-0-3.It was the sixth hat-trick taken in women’s T20 internationals and the first by a New Zealander; last time a New Zealander claimed an international hat-trick was February 1996, when Emily Drumm achieved the feat in an ODI against Australia in Adelaide. Peterson’s strikes left Australia needing 11 off three balls, which was far too tall a task for tail-enders Amanda-Jade Wellington and Molly Strano.Strano herself had been especially impressive with the ball earlier in the day, collecting three wickets in the final over of New Zealand’s innings – not to mention having a catch dropped off the last ball of that over – to finish with 5 for 10, the best figures by an Australian in a women’s T20 international. New Zealand’s innings had started reasonably, with a 38-run opening stand between Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest.But Strano broke that partnership by having Priest stumped for 20, and regular wickets after that affected New Zealand’s momentum – particularly the loss of Bates for 30, sharply caught and bowled by Wellington. However, Australia’s chase stuttered from the outset, with the loss of Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner and Meg Lanning within the first six overs, before the rain arrived.At the time, Australia needed 67 off 72 with seven wickets in hand; the revised target left them requiring 35 off 30 balls when play resumed. But they struggled to gain any real traction, especially when Alex Blackwell was caught behind swiping at Holly Huddleston for 14, and Elyse Villani was caught off Amy Satterthwaite for 14 in the next over. Peterson did the rest.

A bowler conceded 92 runs off just four legal deliveries as one of cricket’s strangest scorecards emerged from Bangladesh’s domestic cricket this week

Mohammad Isam13-Apr-2017A bowler conceded 92 runs off just four legal deliveries as one of cricket’s strangest scorecards emerged from Bangladesh’s domestic cricket this week. Sujon Mahmud, playing for Lalmatia Club in the Dhaka league’s third tier, gave away 65 wides and bowled 15 no-balls in an over that eventually lasted 20 balls. It meant Axiom Cricketers chased down their 89-run target in less than an over, in an innings that lasted 17 minutes, at the City Club ground in Dhaka on April 11.Mahmud’s bowling, it later emerged, was a form of protest against what Lalmatia alleged to be biased umpiring during the game and throughout this season’s competition. Lalmatia were bowled out for 88.”It started at the toss,” Adnan Ahmed, Lalmatia’s general secretary told . “My captain was not allowed to see the coin and we were sent to bat first and as expected, the umpires’ decisions came against us. My players are young, aged around 17, 18 and 19. They could not tolerate the injustice and thus reacted by giving away 92 runs in four deliveries.”This is not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, the daily reported a scorecard from the same tier of the competition that was manipulated to reflect fewer lbw decisions during a relegation play-off match between Kathalbagan Green Crescent Club and North Bengal Cricket Academy at the Jahangirnagar University ground. According to screenshots from the BCB’s official scoring site, there were four lbws at 11.55am, six at 12.39pm, and five at 1.32pm in the game on April 4.Screenshots of the scorecard from the match between Kathalbagan Green Crescent and North Bengal, at 11.55am (left) and 12.39pm (right)•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There have been several more complaints about poor umpiring in the Dhaka league system this season and in the last few years, including in the 2016 Dhaka Premier League which is Bangladesh’s main domestic tournament, given List A status.Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) chairman Gazi Golam Mortaza said on Tuesday that his proposal of letting CCDM appoint umpires to each league match wasn’t taken into consideration.”The only solution is for the CCDM to take charge of the umpires during the league. I also proposed that we pick umpires through a lottery, which will take place in front of both team officials the day before their game,” Mortaza told the Bengali daily . “But these proposals weren’t approved.”We don’t get any response from the umpires committee despite repeated calls. We have also requested them several times but to no avail. They insist that appointing umpires is in their jurisdiction, but this is not going to solve anything. CCDM has to decide which umpires will stand for each match.”The Dhaka league system consists of four tournaments, with the Premier League at the top, and the First, Second and Third Divisions below it. The top two teams in each division are promoted and the bottom two relegated.

Headingley’s future as an international venue has been secured after Leeds City Council formally approved an emergency deal to ensure a major £35m refit could go ahead

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2017Headingley’s future as an international venue has been secured after Leeds City Council formally approved an emergency deal to ensure a major £35m refit could go ahead.Mounting dismay that the ground’s status was under threat has hurried the council into brokering an agreement with a private financial services firm which will provide most of the funding for a new stand with a dual purpose for the cricket and rugby stadiums.Although no council funding is involved in the new solution, it is effectively underwriting the deal, without which the development would have collapsed as unaffordable.The council will lease the new facilities from the investor and Yorkshire and Leeds Rhinos will then take sub-leases from the council to cover the cost of the development in full. Both clubs will have to provide adequate security should there be any default in their rent.The deal follows the council’s sudden withdrawal of a promised £4m loan to Yorkshire to part-finance the construction of a new rugby stand, which encouraged fears that the development would collapse and see Headingley lose Test status as well as hosting rights for the 2019 World Cup.There was cross-party support at a meeting of the council’s executive board. Final agreements can now be signed between the four key parties, and work can start in early June to prepare for construction from September onwards.

The scenario for Australia to stay in the tournament beyond the group stage is pretty simple according to captain Steven Smith, with a win needed over England to qualify for the semi-finals

Alan Gardner at The Oval 06-Jun-20172:14

What do Australia and Bangladesh need to do to qualify?

“I guess we’ve just got to beat England.” That was Steven Smith’s matter-of-fact conclusion after Australia were denied an almost-certain victory over Bangladesh at The Oval by the English weather. Having been saved from a potential defeat to New Zealand at Edgbaston in their previous match, Australia were left with two points from two games – but with destiny still in their own hands ahead of their last Group A fixture against England on Saturday in Birmingham.Smith was frustrated but understanding after rain ruined Australia’s attempts to chase a target of less than four an over, which was set up by Mitchell Starc’s four-wicket haul that saw Bangladesh dismissed for 182 in 44.3 overs.”Disappointing not to get a result but we can’t do much about the weather,” he said. “The equation is pretty simple for us now. We have to beat England and I think then we’re through.”This fixture was the first day-night match of the tournament but rain was forecast to arrive during the evening, which it duly did with Australia four overs short of the 20 required to constitute an officially completed game. Although the showers did relent long enough to allow the umpires, Nigel Llong and Chris Gaffaney, to inspect at 8 pm and schedule a restart for 8.30 pm – with seven overs lost – rainfall returned almost immediately, causing the groundstaff to cover the pitch again, to desultory cheers from the remaining Bangladesh fans in The Oval.Australia’s sense of frustration was compounded by the fact that at 83 for 1, they were well ahead of the 20-over Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score of 48 despite having only batted 16 overs. Smith had blocked five balls from Mashrafe Mortaza with rain falling as he tried to hurry the innings through but, with the umpires appearing to signal for drinks, the downfall intensified and the players were taken off for the first time.Although the Bangladesh innings finished early, at around 4.40 pm, play couldn’t restart until 5.30 pm due to drizzle during the interval. The umpires then took the players off at 6.43 pm, meaning Bangladesh were only slightly behind the required rate of four-minute overs. The rain then stopped for around 45 minutes later in the evening but Llong and Gaffaney felt there was too much mopping up required to get the game going straight away and any chance to get in the four overs required slipped by.”A little bit frustrating,” Smith said of that missed opportunity. “The groundsmen perhaps could have shown a bit more urgency, being a big tournament, but I think they did the best job they could and the umpires said it was an 8.30 pm start, so you’ve got to do what they say.”Of course I didn’t want to go off, I was happy to keep batting through the rain. But the umpires are there to make a decision and I think drinks was at the end of that over, which probably didn’t help. If the game had just carried on, perhaps they may have had a different opinion. But to be fair it was raining reasonably hard when we came off.”The no result means that Australia will likely have to beat England to go through to the semi-final, although they could still theoretically go through with as little as two points – if England win all of their games and New Zealand-Bangladesh is washed out – either on net run rate or due to having a higher seeding than the other teams in the group. The high chance of rain affecting the England-New Zealand match in Cardiff on Tuesday may add to the intrigue.The computation for Bangladesh is slightly simpler, with a win required against New Zealand at Cardiff on Friday in their final match to stay in the hunt for a semi-final spot. A win over New Zealand combined with a pair of England wins over Australia and New Zealand would guarantee Bangladesh a place in the semis. Yet, Bangladesh could still miss out on the semi-finals on three points, having suffered a hit to their run rate in defeat to England last week. They would also miss out, regardless of a win over New Zealand, if England beat New Zealand on Tuesday and Australia beat England on Saturday in which case both England and Australia would end the group stage on four points.Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s captain, was nevertheless happy that his team remained alive in the tournament and referenced the point gained from a similar abandonment against Australia in the 2015 World Cup – when they qualified from the group stage at England’s expense – as reason to be optimistic.”I can remember in the 2015 World Cup, we got one point from Australia and it really helped us go through,” he said. “This time we’ve got a straight chance, even though we have to beat New Zealand. So our job is to play hard against New Zealand and you never know.”If you look at today’s match, I think Australia was far ahead of us. But in the last match, against New Zealand, I think Australia were in the same position. You can’t do anything with the weather so, as I said, both teams are now in the situation where Australia has to win against England and we have a great chance to beat New Zealand and go through.”

Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris have earned call-ups to West Indies’ one-day international squad for the final three ODIs of their ongoing home series against India

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2017Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris have earned call-ups to West Indies’ one-day international squad* for the final three ODIs of their ongoing home series against India. The duo came in at the expense of Jonathan Carter and Kieran Powell in Cricket West Indies’ 13-man squad named on Tuesday.

West Indies squad

Jason Holder (capt), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Kesrick Williams

Hope, the 28-year old top-order batsman and brother of incumbent national wicketkeeper Shai, captains Trinidad & Tobago in domestic cricket, while Ambris, a 24-year old wicketkeeper-batsman, plays for Windward Islands. Both players are uncapped at the international level.Hope opened the batting for West Indies A on the one-day leg of their tour of Sri Lanka last year, and turned in good performances with a century and an 81 in three matches. He was also one of the stars of T&T’s campaign in the WICB Professional Cricket League Regional 4 Day Tournament (PCL) in 2016-17, finishing second only to Yannic Cariah on the tournament run charts.Ambris was the seventh-best run-scorer in that tournament with 608 runs at 43.42. That included a double-century against Leeward Islands, when he cracked a 256-ball 231, with the help of 27 fours and five sixes, to set up Windward Islands’ seven-wicket win.”Sunil Ambris and Kyle Hope are two very promising young batsmen who have been selected on the basis of strong performances in our competitions,” Courtney Browne, Cricket West Indies’ chairman of selectors, said. “Kyle opened on our last A team one-day tour to Sri Lanka and had some very good performances. In addition, he also had a good showing opening the batting for the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force franchise in this year’s PCL competition.”Sunil did well in our Regional Super50 One-Day tournament and also had a good showing in this year’s PCL first-class tournament for Windward Islands Volcanoes, and therefore will fit within our middle order. They will be up against a good Indian team and they have an opportunity to show their skills and contribute to a stronger team performance.”The third ODI takes place on Friday in Antigua, which will also host the fourth game, before the teams head to Kingston for the fifth and final match and a one-off T20 International. India lead the one-day series 1-0, having picked up a 105-run win in Port of Spain after the first match ended in a washout.*15.40 GMT The story has been updated to reflect Kesrick Williams’ presence in the squad, per a WICB media release pointing out a correction in the squad they had sent out.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-20171. Statement in support of cricket
Players resolved first and foremost to express their highest respect for the game of cricket and its fans, and for the great honour of being a professional cricketer in Australia. Players expressed their desire to be on the field playing the game they love, interacting with the fans and supporters of cricket and representing their states and countries as soon as possible.2. Response to the behaviour of CA: players will support their team-mates
Australia’s male and female cricketers expressed disappointment at the conduct of CA during the MoU negotiations. And were concerned that 20 years of good faith partnership had been disrespected and disregarded by CA. The players noted with great pride that the efforts by CA to divide them has had the opposite effect. That across domestic and international lines and between men and women, resolve and unity had grown even stronger. And that for CA to have thought otherwise was to misunderstand what it means to be a member of a team as an Australian cricket player.3. Fair remuneration
Not all players reach the top level of cricket. If they do, players have a relatively short career at that level. As such it was important for all players, men and women, domestic and international to be fairly remunerated for their efforts. The Executive noted in relation to CA’s March offer, that with the removal of accounting tricks and with more realistic assumptions, the overall funding to the players is significantly less than how it has been presented to the players.4. Players to stay united as a matter of principle
The players have resolved that, unless contractually obliged, no male or female players intend to play for a Cricket Australia (CA) team whilst fellow players remain unemployed due to the absence of an MoU. This is an outright rejection of CA’s attempts to divide and rule. It is a resolution which will be revisited at the next and subsequent ACA Executive meetings, since the players remain hopeful that common sense will prevail and a new MoU can still be agreed on fair terms.In terms of contractual obligation:
The Executive noted that all players with valid and enforceable contracts (such as multi-year State or BBL deals) will continue to honour them, and will expect their employers to do the same. This includes an expectation of the players sharing in revenue as contained in those contracts. If this is not honoured by their employer, then the enforceability of these contracts will also become questionable.The Executive noted legal advice that a State Player may “accept” or reject an offer to participate on a Tour with CA, such as the proposed Australia A Tour of South Africa.
Australia’s Women’s World Cup Squad will continue and complete their Tournament as they agreed to do in good faith prior to the expiration of the MOU. The ACA wished them the best in their endeavours.5. Upcoming Australia A Tour of South Africa by CA
All Australian professional cricketers are not obliged to and are unavailable to Tour South Africa as a part of the Australia A team without an agreed MoU. This decision has been made consistent with resolution 4 above that, unless contractually obliged, no player intends to Tour for a Cricket Australia team whilst others are unemployed courtesy of the expired MOU. And is done in possession of legal advice examining the MOU and mandated player contracts that:The players cannot be contractually required by CA to participate and play in an international Tour, including the Proposed Australia A Tour, beyond 30 June 2017 because:
(a) in the case of CA Contracted Players, their contracts with and obligations to CA will all have expired on 30 June 2017.
(b) in the case of the more than 50% of State Contracted Players, their contracts with and obligations to CA (and their State Associations) will have expired on 30 June 2017.
(c) in the case of the remaining State Contracted Players on multi-year contracts extending beyond 30 June 2017, their State Player Contracts and the MOU acknowledge that a player can either ‘accept’ an offer by CA to Tour or not; there is no compulsion to do so. Also for the period beyond 30 June 2017 there are many important issues that are not agreed in the State Player contract, such as the form of Tour Contract that would apply if no MOU is in place, the applicable Squad, Team and Tour Payments and any applicable list of CA protected sponsors.This decision not to Tour in the absence of a renewed MoU has been discussed and endorsed by the Australia A squad in solidarity. The Australia A squad wishes to represent Australia, and is willing to give CA another opportunity. They will gather in Brisbane on Monday to prepare for the Tour, in a gesture of the players’ continued good faith and in hope that CA will reciprocate by agreeing an MOU on fair terms as soon as possible.6. Tours of Bangladesh and India
Players expressed a strong desire to Tour both Bangladesh and India and urged CA to support them by renewing an MoU on fair terms, allowing the Tours to proceed.
However, due to the fact of unemployment and the resolution above, absent an MoU there are no professional cricketers presently obliged or available to Tour.7. The Summer of Cricket
All players expressed a strong desire to participate in the Australian Summer of Cricket and urged CA to support them by renewing an MoU on fair terms so the Summer can proceed.8. Rescuing tours and the Summer of Cricket should there be no MOU: the Employment rights of players
To rescue the Tours and the Summer of Cricket referenced above, if there was no agreed MoU, the ACA will be discussing with the players the assignment to the ACA of an exclusive option to employ or second them.’In contract’ players will also participate in the discussion regarding assigning rights to the ACA to allow them to Tour. This means the ACA could offer to facilitate the availability of players on the right terms to assist those games and series that we all wish to see played.This may extend to the ACA offering the players back to CA on the right terms for the purposes of rescuing the Summer of Cricket. This would be best achieved by an agreed MOU.This option is available to the ACA and could be exercised absent an agreed MOU.
It should be regarded as an option for rescuing tours and the Summer of Cricket absent an agreed MOU which remains the clear preference.9. Restraint of Trade
Players have resolved to support any out-of-contract players who are restrained from post-employment professional cricket opportunities. This would apply to any refusal to provide an out-of-contract player with a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
It would also apply to any threat to lock players out of future employment opportunities if they engage in an ‘exhibition game’ to raise money for their unemployed team-mates.10. Intellectual Property of the players and The Cricketers’ Brand
The ACA Executive noted that with the passage of the June 30 deadline The Cricketers’ Brand was now looking to sign Sponsorships and arrange Player Appearances on behalf of Australia’s greatest players, now unemployed, and in consultation with player agents.The Cricketers’ Brand has been given approval to work with agents to commence the process of signing Sponsors and to deal with Broadcasters wanting to use these players’ attributes.*Those State players with multi-year State Playing Contracts will continue to honour those agreements, including to attend player Appearances as directed.
**CA retains some rights to use out of contract players’ attributes for game promotion and development.11. WaMCAP (Women and Men Cricketer Assistance Plan) funding distribution to players in need
The ACA Executive approved the making of payments to players who need financial assistance from the WaMCAP fund.12. Revenue sharing for all men and women who play professional cricket
The players have affirmed their commitment to all male and female players at both international and domestic level receiving a ‘fair share’ of the revenue they generate for the game. And again, expressed a willingness to make sensible changes to the current model to reach agreement.13. Mediation is still the right process
The players affirm their view that third party mediation at CEO level remains the right process to resolve the current impasse.14. Grassroots Cricket Investment
The ACA Executive continued its call for a review into the current under investment in grassroots cricket and for recommendations to be developed for increasing grassroots investment.And noted that the current level of underinvestment seemed incompatible with the CA decisions to:
– Almost double the number of CA employees over the last five years;
– Grow CA cash reserves to the current level of approximately $70 million; whilst
– Allowing grassroots investment to stagnate at the level of only approximately 12% of revenues.

Defending champions Northants must win one of their last two matches to reach the quarter-finals after a heavy defeat against Leicestershire

ECB Reporters Network11-Aug-2017Mark Cosgrove set a new Leicestershire record•Getty Images

Mark Cosgrove’s best T20 score for Leicestershire help keep their NatWest T20 Blast campaign alive with a commanding 48-run win over champions Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.Cosgrove’s 76 from 48 balls helped Leicestershire make 193 for 5 – their highest total in the fixture – and it was easily defended with only Adam Rossington showing for Northants with a season’s-best 67 in 46 balls.Northants failed to seal a quarter-final spot and will now need to beat Yorkshire at Headingley or Durham at home to reach the last eight.They were well beaten here and Cosgrove and Luke Ronchi did the damage. The pair shared 72 for the second wicket before Cosgrove accelerated in the final half of the innings. He struck two sixes swung down the ground off Saif Zaib’s left-arm spin and another over midwicket from Azharullah in passing fifty in 32 balls and threatened to steer Leicestershire over 200.They fell marginally short as Cosgrove was run out trying to keep the strike in the final over. An earlier run out chance to Steven Crook at midwicket when Cosgrove had just 3 was a moment Northants were left to rue.Cosgrove finished the work began by Ronchi, who got the innings underway with a well-timed flick over midwicket for six and jammed out a yorker to fine leg to take 12 from the first over. He found another boundary to the final ball of the Powerplay that brought 58 runs.Cameron Delport also played his part with 26 in 15 balls. He punched Rory Kleinveldt for his first boundary over mid-on and then lifted two sixes over square leg and midwicket as 17 came from the fourth over of the innings. But trying to swing Ben Sanderson’s first ball down the ground, was splendidly caught by Rob Keogh running back from point, taking a whirl of a top edge over his shoulder. But it was the only wicket Northants took until the 13th over.Outside the Powerplay, Ronchi whipped his hands to lift Crook’s first ball over deep square leg on his way to fifty in 30 balls and struck a third six over long-off as Keogh proved expensive, three overs for 30, as Leicestershire built an excellent platform at 117 for 1 after 12 overs.Ronchi eventually fell trying to heave a Sanderson slower ball over midwicket and only found Crook running in from the fence. His 59 from 36 balls was his second half-century in the competition this year and helped set a target far beyond the reach of Northants.The chase was knifed inside the first three overs as two cheap wickets fell – Richard Levi for just 12 top-edging a sweep off Callum Parkinson to deep midwicket and Ben Duckett lbw to Clint McKay for just 1. Rossington tried to stem the bleeding with his best effort of the season to ignite the chase, stepping to leg to take boundaries over the off-side with the field up and then sweeping Parkinson.Rossington’s 31-ball fifty momemtarily patched up the early wound as he and Alex Wakely added 85 for the third wicket to leave the home side in touch at 87 for 2 after 10 overs. But Delport’s crafty seamers – he finished with 3 for 19 from his four overs – proved a turning point. With the required rate climbing over 11-an-over, first Wakely holed out to midwicket for 20 and then Rossington to long-on. The damage to Northants chase proved terminal.

Stuart Law has suggested West Indies could show leniency in their selection policy towards senior players such as Chris Gayle because of the experience they bring

Nagraj Gollapudi06-Oct-2017West Indies coach Stuart Law is open to showing “leniency” towards selecting Chris Gayle as long as veteran opener can fulfil certain “guidelines”. Law said he had seen enough during the limited-overs leg of the England tour last month to convince him that Gayle had earned the right for the management to relax certain selection norms.Gayle played his first ODIs since the 2015 World Cup, having also made a T20 comeback earlier this year. Two instances in particular, during the T20 international at Chester-le-Street and the fourth ODI, at The Oval, assured Law of Gayle’s commitment.”There are certain players you give leniency to,” Law told ESPNcricinfo, during a wide-ranging interview. “Chris is one of our greatest-ever players. You have got to pay respect to that. Not saying it is an open draw, but there have got to be certain guidelines, which I am still trying to work out. What I saw in the T20 game in Durham and what I saw in the ODI at The Oval was a guy who was committed to the cause.”Gayle played the catalyst for the first time when he checked the emotions of his opening partner Evin Lewis in the T20I, which West Indies won. “In Durham he slowed the play down for a bit while Evin was batting at the other end,” Law said. “Evin was a bit twitchy facing Joe Root. Three dot balls. Chris realised Evin was going to try and hit the next ball for a six. Chris just stopped the play, walked down, had a quick chat and calmed Evin down.”During the Oval ODI, which West Indies lost on DLS in a rain-affected match, Gayle was busy helping his captain Jason Holder setting fields in addition to motivating the bowlers.Law agreed that seniors like Gayle and fellow Jamaican Marlon Samuels were expected to perform, but the two most experienced players could also prove effective by mentoring team-mates during a match, which was the best form of coaching.Although Samuels has been struggling in the past few years, Law was certain he was committed to the job just like Gayle. “I have not spoken to them at any length about their involvement in the future, but as far as I am concerned, if they are not committed, why are they here? If they are just playing for the sake of playing, I don’t think that is Marlon or Chris. They are here to play because they want to be here. They have got to perform, yes. But imparting knowledge to the youngsters is invaluable. It is tough to build a team without that experience together out on the ground, talking through situations. We can send messages from the sideline, but those don’t have the same impact.”Law took over as West Indies coach in January and in the last eight months, the team has won 11 out of 34 matches under his watch. Among the victories were two Test wins: against Pakistan at Bridgetown and then the thriller at Headingley against England. Law, along with the selectors and director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, have a lot of trust in the young Test unit, whose average age is 23.However, Law’s priority is to make sure West Indies reach the 2019 World Cup. Having lost out on the direct entry route, West Indies will need to finish among the top two at the World Cup Qualifiers next March. With the amnesty put in place by Cricket West Indies recently opening up the potential for some of the best limited-overs players to return, Law is optimistic he will have the services of the likes of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Carlos Brathwaite.Law also agreed with the relaxed criteria put in place by Adams and CWI chief executive, Johnny Grave, in order for the players to qualify for selection for the ODIs. “I want the best players available,” Law said.”I am not a selector, but yes, I do sit in on the selection process. There are some qualification criteria that the players have to adhere to. Now the number of games [in domestic cricket] they have to play to qualify has been significantly reduced. That gives them the best of both worlds: they can go out and play certain [T20] tournaments they are already contracted to, but it also gives them time to come back and play the quota [of domestic cricket] they have to be eligible to play ODI cricket.”The Pro50 finishes about a week before the World Cup Qualifiers, so it would be good to have players play our domestic tournament. They would be playing 50-over cricket before the World Cup Qualifiers, which is essential.”

Mark Stoneman admitted life was likely to get “a hell of a lot” tougher next week after registering his first century in an England shirt

George Dobell in Townsville16-Nov-2017Mark Stoneman admitted life was likely to get “a hell of a lot” tougher next week after registering his first century in an England shirt.Stoneman, who has passed 50 in every innings of the tour, dominated an inexperienced Cricket Australia attack on an easy-paced deck in recording England’s first hundred since they arrived. With Alastair Cook he posted an opening stand of 172 and, with Joe Root and Dawid Malan also cruising to untroubled centuries, England enjoyed something approaching a perfect day.But there is, Stoneman insists, no chance England will be lulled into a false sense of confidence. They know that the opposition – and the pitch – in Brisbane next week (where the Ashes begin on November 23) will be vastly more demanding and they are preparing for it accordingly.To that end, each of the England batsman is facing a barrage of short balls in the nets. Mark Rampakash, the batting coach, is hurling yellow balls – the sort used for indoor cricket in Australia – with a sidearm from around 18 yards to replicate (or even exaggerate) the level of ferocity they envisage.”It’s been well documented and everyone is critical of the opposition we’ve faced in the warm-up games,” Stoneman said. “We’re going to be tested a hell of a lot more next week, that’s for sure. There’s no doubts about that and everyone’s aware of it.”Obviously there’s going to be more pace and bounce from the attack and the pitch in Brisbane. But we’re playing here against a different team so all you can do is go through the processes that stand you in good stead.”It’s going to have to be enough. We can’t change the preparation we’ve been given. That’s where self-awareness and knowing where you are within your own game is key. We’re being tested as much as we can by Ramps [Ramprakash] and his yellow balls, so from the opportunities we’ve had, we’re happy with where we are.”

Moeen Ali, meanwhile, is using a tray on the pitch to help exaggerate the bounce he anticipates in the series. He took a blow on the helmet during training on Thursday but was unscathed.”It’s up to the individual to take that practice a bit further knowing that what we face in these games isn’t going to be the level we get next week,” Stoneman continued. “Ramps is fast with the sidearm. He throws from a lot closer [than a bowler would deliver] because we all know we’re going to be facing a lot of pace.”We’ve put in the work we can against the opposition and worked hard in the nets. We’ll be ready for the Gabba.”