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An independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal found Lokuhettige guilty of three offences

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2021Former Sri Lanka allrounder Dilhara Lokuhettige has been found guilty of three offences under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.An independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal has found Lokuhettige guilty of:

• Article 2.1.1 – for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match.
• Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1.
• Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code.

Lokuhettige had been slapped with three corruption charges – by the ICC’s own Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) – in April 2019, five months after the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) had also charged him.Concerns over Lokuhettige had initially been raised by an Al Jazeera documentary on cricket corruption in Sri Lanka. In that piece, both Lokuhettige was seen to be in the room when another former Sri Lanka cricketer was talking to an alleged fixer, as well as an Al Jazeera journalist posing as a prospective bettor.Lokuhettige was provisionally suspended by the ICC in November when the ECB laid its charges. The November allegations relate to the 2017 T10 tournament, to which Sri Lanka had sent a team. Former Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Zoysa was also found guilty of three corruption-related offences to do with that T10 tournament, in November.Lokuhettige played 11 white-ball internationals for Sri Lanka, picking up eight wickets to go with 101 runs with the bat. His last competitive game was a first-class fixture for Moors Sports Club in February 2016.As Lokuhettige lives in Australia and held no positions with Sri Lankan cricket, he’d not faced any sanctions from SLC at the time.Lokuhettige is the fourth former Sri Lanka player to be found guilty of corruption-related charges over the past few years, along with Zoysa, Jayananda Warnaweera, and most notably Sanath Jayasuriya, who served a two-year suspension that ended last year.

There will be plenty of players heading overseas in a few weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2021The Australian season still has another month to run, with the Sheffield Shield final due to conclude on April 19, but by then a number of players will be overseas at the IPL with plenty more then heading to the UK for a county season and the Hundred – Covid-19 and travel permitting. Here is a rundown of where Australian cricketers are due to be during the winter. It will be updated as further deals are confirmed.

Indian Premier League

(April 9-May 30)
Jason Behrendorff – Chennai Super Kings
Dan Christian – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Nathan Coulter-Nile – Mumbai Indians
Ben Cutting – Kolkata Knight Riders
Pat Cummins – Kolkata Knight Riders
Moises Henriques – Punjab Kings
Chris Lynn – Kolkata Knight Riders
Glenn Maxwell – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Riley Meredith – Punjab Kings
Jhye Richardson – Punjab Kings
Kane Richardson – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Daniel Sams – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Steven Smith – Delhi Capitals
Marcus Stoinis – Delhi Capitals
Andrew Tye – Rajasthan Royals
David Warner – Sunrisers Hyderabad
Adam Zampa – Royal Challengers Bangalore

County cricket

(starts April 8)

CC = County Championship, RLC = Royal London Cup (50 overs), T20 = T20 Blast
County Championship fixtures
Royal London Cup fixtures
T20 Blast fixtures
Sean Abbott – Surrey (CC, T20)
Cameron Bancroft – Durham (CC)
Jackson Bird – Lancashire (CC)
Ben Dwarshuis – Worcestershire (T20)
Peter Handscomb – Middlesex (CC, RLC)
Marcus Harris – Leicestershire (CC, RLC)
Travis Head – Sussex (all formats)
Josh Inglis – Leicestershire (T20)
Marnus Labuschagne – Glamorgan (CC, RLC)
Mitchell Marsh – Middlesex (T20)
Ben McDermott – Derbyshire (RLC, T20)
Michael Neser – Glamorgan (CC, RLC)
Billy Stanlake – Derbyshire (all formats)
Peter Siddle – Essex (CC, RLC)
Daniel Worrall – Gloucestershire (all formats)

The Hundred

(July 21-August 21)
Men’s Hundred fixtures
Women’s Hundred fixtures
Nicola Carey – Northern Superchargers
Nathan Coulter-Nile – Trent Rockets
Aaron Finch – Northern Superchargers
Ash Gardner – Birmingham Phoenix
Rachael Haynes – Oval Invincibles
Alyssa Healy – Northern Superchargers
Meg Lanning – Welsh Fire
Chris Lynn – Northern Superchargers
Glenn Maxwell – London Spirit
Sophie Molineux – Trent Rockets
Beth Mooney – Welsh Fire
Ellyse Perry – Birmingham Phoenix
Jhye Richardson – Welsh Fire
D’Arcy Short – Trent Rockets
Marcus Stoinis – Southern Brave
Annabel Sutherland – Trent Rockets
Elyse Villani – Trent Rockets
Georgia Wareham – Welsh Fire

David Warner – Southern Brave
Adam Zampa – Birmingham Phoenix

The allrounder withdrew from the Australia tour but is in line to be part of the Victoria-Queensland title showdown

Andrew McGlashan26-Mar-2021Allrounder Annabel Sutherland, who was ruled out of Australia’s tour of New Zealand with a stress reaction in her thigh, could make a surprise return to action for Victoria in the WNCL final against Queensland.It had been assumed that Sutherland’s season was over when she withdrew from the national squad, but on Friday she was named in Victoria’s 15-player squad having recently resumed training.Sutherland’s availability would be a significant boost for Victoria who are without six other Australia players for the title decider.Victoria captain Elyse Villani would not expand much on Sutherland’s inclusion except to say: “Everyone in the 15 is a chance to play.”The state made a request to Cricket Australia about delaying the final until after the tour of New Zealand to enable full-strength sides to take part but that was declined. Queensland will be without Beth Mooney and Jess Jonassen.Related

• Sutherland ruled out of NZ tour, Molly Strano called up

• NSW miss WNCL final for first time, Queensland cling onto second

This is the first WNCL final (or finals series) in the tournament’s history not to have New South Wales taking part. Victoria booked their spot with two games of the group stage remaining while Queensland nervously watched ACT beat South Australia which secured their spot.”[It was] very nerve wracking, the momentum swayed a number of times throughout that game and we had severely noise at our hotel because we were having many cheers for the ACT girls,” Queensland captain Georgia Redmayne said. “Last year we were on the wrong side of that, waiting for another game, that atmosphere in that when they hit that winning run was really special.”Victoria are chasing a third title, and their first since 2004-05, while Queensland have never won the competition but have been runner up on five occasions.Villani shapes as one of the key players in the final, particularly with Victoria missing so many big names, after enjoying a prolific tournament with 593 runs at 98.83 which sees her 37 runs shy of setting a new record for a WNCL campaign. However, she is not putting an extra pressure on herself despite Victoria having lost their last two matches against Western Australia in Perth.”If you fall into that trap you get yourself into trouble,” she said. “We’ve just to commit to playing a really positive brand of cricket knowing that it may come off some people and may not come off for some but if we all commit to that we are giving ourselves the best opportunity”I’m just really enjoying my cricket, there’s secret formula. I’m really happy on and off the field, really enjoying myself, loving the company of the girls and feel like I’ve rediscovered my love for the game over the last 18 months.”Victoria squadMakinley Blows, Lucy Cripps, Sophie Day, Bhavi Devchand, Elly Donald, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Zoe Griffiths, Ella Hayward, Anna Lanning, Courtney Neale, Annabel Sutherland, Elyse Villani (capt), Amy VineQueensland squad Meagan Dixon, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Mikayla Hinkley, Ellie Johnston, Ruth Johnston, Laura Kimmince, Charli Knott, Lilly Mills, Georgia Prestwidge, Georgia Redmayne (capt), Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll

England have “full FTP schedule” from June onwards, says Ashley Giles

George Dobell10-May-2021England’s centrally contracted players are unlikely to be available for the completion of the IPL wherever and whenever it is rescheduled.While the England management were happy to allow up to a dozen English players to miss the Test series against New Zealand at the start of June due to their involvement in the IPL, any rescheduling of the event is likely to clash with series in the Future Tours Programme (FTP). And that, according to England men’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles, means they will be viewed differently.The IPL was postponed last week due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in India. With BCCI president Sourav Ganguly having accepted the competition cannot be completed in India this year, various dates and venues have been mooted. Those include the second half of September, before the T20 World Cup, and from mid-November, after it.Related

• BCCI mulls September-October window for remainder of IPL 2021

• England counties offer to host remainder of IPL in September

• Could Sri Lanka potentially host the remainder of IPL 2021?

• India to play three ODIs and five T20Is in Sri Lanka

• England considering 'new faces' for New Zealand Tests – Giles

But England’s top players will be in action at both times. And with very little space in the schedule until their Caribbean tour ends at the end of March 2022 – just ahead of the next season of the IPL – it is increasingly probable they will play no part in any rearranged tournament.Giles dismissed the suggestion that this signals any change of approach from the ECB. While the series against New Zealand was a late addition to the schedule – it was only finalised in the early part of this year and does not feature as part of the World Test Championship – most of England’s remaining obligations have been in the FTP for a long time.”We’re planning on the involvement of England players in England matches,” Giles said. “We’ve got a full FTP schedule. So if those tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh [in September and October] are going ahead, I’d expect the players to be there.”The New Zealand scenario was very different. Those Test matches were formalised at the end of January, by which time all those contracts and NOCs [no objection certificates] were signed for full involvement in the IPL.”None of us knows what a rearranged IPL looks like at the moment; where it’s going to be or when. But from when we start this summer against New Zealand, our programme is incredibly busy. We’ve got a lot of important, high-profile cricket including the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. And we’re going to have to look after our players.”England are currently scheduled to depart for a six-match limited-overs tour of Bangladesh on September 16. They are then due in Pakistan in mid-October and, while that tour is not strictly speaking part of the FTP, it’s an important one for various reasons and will mark England’s first to the country in 16 years.Even before the T20 World Cup finishes, some of England’s touring party for the Ashes are likely to have arrived in Australia ahead of a series that is likely to start on December 8. England then have a limited-overs tour to the Caribbean at the end of January 2022 – days after the completion of the Ashes – before a Test series to the same destination in March.Meanwhile Giles expressed a hope that players would be allowed “a bit more freedom” from bio-bubbles as the England summer progresses. The Test squad are likely to enter their latest bubble from around May 28. For those who play all formats of the game, it could seem the start of a daunting period.All of England’s home fixtures in 2020 were played in biosecure environments•Pool/Getty Images for ECB

“We think it’s probably unreasonable to expect that our players could be in bubbles all summer,” Giles said. “We want to keep them in safe environments, obviously. But we are really aware of the importance for these guys, their time with loved ones, families in particular. That’s the balance we are trying to strike.”We are hopeful this year that as we see society move a certain way, that we can move with it. It could be the case that we may start tighter, as society is right now, and look to release, as everything else does.”Despite the hectic schedule, Giles remains keen to see the England players appearing in the Hundred. The event starts on July 21 – the day after England’s men play a day-night T20I in Manchester – and runs until August 21. England’s Test series against India is scheduled to start in Nottingham on August 4.”We’d love them to be involved in the Hundred at some point and the launch of that competition,” he said. “It would be great to have our best players playing in it.”But we’ll have to look at workloads very carefully. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up so it’s a difficult juggling act but I know the players are also looking forward to that tournament and would love to be involved at some stage if they can.”

South East Stars stutter to below-par total in face of Vipers’ spin threat

ECB Reporters' Network31-May-2021Charlotte Taylor maintained her place as the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy’s craftiest bowler by taking 4 for 21 to help the Southern Vipers to a seven-wicket victory over the South East Stars.Spinner Taylor, who was last year’s top wicket-taker, bamboozled the Stars’ top-order batters with her arm-balls to restrict Stars to 137. England’s Danni Wyatt made sure there were no nerves in the chase with her second half-century in as many matches, to continue her run of reaching the milestone in every RHF Trophy match she has appeared in.Wyatt scored 64 not out, with international team-mate Georgia Elwiss notching 45, as Vipers maintained their 100% RHF Trophy record – which now stretches to nine wins across two seasons.The Stars were stuck in and found themselves on the end of Taylor immediately, her first three overs returning an incredible 3 for 1.It was the movement away from the bat which accounted for Alice Davidson-Richards, who prodded to Georgia Adams at first slip. Sophia Dunkley, on the back of a sublime unbeaten 104 against Sunrisers, only lasted two balls before she nicked behind, and Taylor then found Alice Capsey slashing to Charlie Dean at point to leave the Stars slumped on 24 for 3.Bryony Smith and Grace Gibbs rebuilt with a 41-run stand, with the former smashing 41 off 38 to continue her early season form. They both fell as they were bowled, the former while going back to Dean and the latter by a Wyatt half-tracker.Aylish Cranstone scored 31 but was stumped off Wyatt, before the England allrounder had Rhianna Southby caught top-edging to fine leg and Kirstie White skied Adams to midwicket.Taylor returned to pick up Tash Farrant mistiming to mid-on, before Dean completed the spin-bowling masterclass by pinning Danielle Gregory. In total the Vipers’ spin bowlers took 10 for 73, with Taylor’s four-for joined by Wyatt’s 3 for 19, Dean’s 2 for 22 and Adams’ 1 for 11.England fast bowler Freya Davies temporarily ended the spin dominance when Adams wafted outside her off stump to first slip. Maia Bouchier followed as she worked Smith to Dunkley midwicket – but Wyatt remained risk-averse as she embarked on an 87-run stand with Elwiss.Dunkley, following her duck, continued her poor day as she put down Elwiss and Wyatt in consecutive deliveries at deep midwicket.Wyatt continued to a 71-ball fifty, her 26th in List A cricket, but it was Elwiss who accelerated towards the winning post with 45 from 43. In trying to win the match in one big blow Elwiss offered a simple catch to mid-off, before Dean did crash the winning runs soon after, with 128 balls to spare.

Ben Stokes rested after stand-in role in ODIs, as Buttler returns alongside other senior players

Andrew Miller14-Jul-2021Saqib Mahmood and Lewis Gregory have been rewarded for their stellar performances in England’s 3-0 ODI series win over Pakistan with recalls to the T20I squad, as Eoin Morgan returns to lead the side alongside eight others who were required to self-isolate following a Covid-19 outbreak during the Sri Lanka series earlier this month.Mahmood was named Player of the Series in the Pakistan ODIs, after claiming nine wickets at 13.66 in the three matches. He impressed throughout with his pace, accuracy and hostility, particularly in the powerplay, and is in line to play his first T20I since Pakistan’s last visit to England in September last year.Gregory meanwhile was barely any less influential, with vital runs and wickets across all three matches, including a Player-of-the-Match display in the second game at Lord’s, and a crucial 77 from 69 balls at Edgbaston, as England chased a ground-record 332 to complete their series clean sweep. He too has not played T20Is since the Pakistan series last summer.Jos Buttler, England’s vice-captain, is also back in the reckoning after missing the Sri Lanka series with a calf tear that had, at one stage, seemed likely to keep him sidelined for the entire white-ball leg of the summer.There is, however, no place in the 16-player squad for England’s interim captain, Ben Stokes, who was recalled ahead of schedule to lead the makeshift squad, having initially been expected to continue working on his form and fitness with Durham, following the broken finger he sustained at the IPL in April.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Chris Silverwood, who had to cancel a family holiday when the Covid outbreak caused England’s squad upheaval, is set to go back on leave with Paul Collingwood returning to oversee the team’s fortunes as interim head coach.Notable absentees from England’s last T20I squad, against Sri Lanka in June, include Sam Curran, who was named player of the series in the 3-0 clean sweep, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, all of whom are likely to feature in England’s Test plans for the series against India next month, as well as Sam Billings, who was also part of the Test squad against New Zealand last month.Tom Banton, who was unlucky not to feature in the Sri Lanka series, returns to the squad in place of Phil Salt, who impressed as an understudy with two forceful innings in the ODIs, but there is no immediate return for Sussex’s left-arm seamer, George Garton. Jake Ball, who featured in the rejigged squad for the ODIs but did not play a match, is also included in the squad, as is the legspinner Matt Parkinson, who impressed as Adil Rashid’s understudy with five wickets at 28.00.An ECB statement confirmed that all 16 players and support staff returned negative Covid-19 tests to clear them for the series, which gets underway at Trent Bridge on July 16.”The Royal London Series success against Pakistan showcased the exciting depth of talent we have developed in men’s white-ball cricket,” Silverwood said.Related

• Babar Azam consolidates top spot among ODI batters after career-best 158

• Saqib Mahmood channels the moods of his makers to confirm himself as a complete England package

• Ben Stokes says England players ready to 'make sacrifices' as bubble life looms once again

• James Vince trumps Babar Azam's 158 as England seal stunning 332 chase

• James Vince on his matchwinning century: 'I didn't know if this moment was ever going to come'

“We have selected a T20 squad that sees the return of many of our most experienced players after their period of isolation. Additionally, we have rewarded some of the players involved in the 50-over series win with selection which allows us to manage multi-format players as we prepare for the much-anticipated Test series against India.”I would like to express my thanks to Ben Stokes and the players for their efforts over the last week, and the counties for their support in getting this series on.”England Men’s T20I Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey.

Visitors win by 74 runs as Glamorgan’s bowlers struggle at both ends of the innings

ECB Reporters Network16-Jul-2021Somerset sealed a place in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals as they hammered Glamorgan by 74 runs at Sophia Gardens.New Zealand run machine Devon Conway batted Somerset’s full 20 overs for an unbeaten 70 from 52 balls as Glamorgan’s bowlers struggled at both ends of the innings.In between, Roman Walker impressed with 3 for 15 from his four overs but Glamorgan’s batsman were nowhere near as good as they were bowled out for just 107 with First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford watching on.Somerset – who were without England pair Lewis Gregory and Tom Banton – won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bat on a stunning evening in the Welsh capital.Conway struck two leg-side boundaries from Andrew Salter’s first over, but Glamorgan’s poor bowling gave their opponents a flying start. Dan Douthwaite’s first over went for 16 and included a ball which went for five wides. Two more wides and a six struck by Steve Davies followed.Timm van der Gugten dismissed Davies, caught behind by Chris Cooke for 22, but it was a rare good delivery as Glamorgan strayed on to leg stump far too frequently.Somerset were 55 for 1 after six overs and 84 for 2 at the halfway stage, but Walker dragged Glamorgan back into it with the wickets of Will Smeed and veteran James Hildreth.Lewis Goldsworthy smashed Marnus Labuschagne for six down the ground, but Walker showed him how it should be done with his third wicket of a superb spell.Conway watched the wickets fall at the other end until Tom Lammonby joined him and smashed Van der Gugten for four, four and six from the first three balls of the 17th over.Conway went past 50 and then joined in the fun by hitting the struggling Douthwaite for six although the Glamorgan seamer did dismiss Lammonby for 34 thanks to a smart Salter catch.Kiran Carlson smashed Jack Leach for six on the second ball of Glamorgan’s response but was caught and bowled by the England spinner on the fourth. Colin Ingram carted a six over midwicket but he too went caught and bowled, this time at the hands of Craig Overton for 19.Glamorgan were 36 for 2 after the first powerplay. David Lloyd hit Goldsworthy’s first ball to Overton at cover and it left Labuschagne and Billy Root needing 122 from the final 10 overs. Glamorgan didn’t get close. Labuschagne pulled Marchant de Lange to the mid-wicket boundary where Roelof van der Merwe took a stunning catch and from there the Welsh side folded. Somerset’s spinners were far too good with Goldsworthy finishing with 3 for 14 and Van der Merwe 3 for 20.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the venues in the UAE were rendered unavailable because of the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2021The three-match ODI series between Afghanistan and Pakistan will be played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota, Sri Lanka instead of in the UAE, as originally planned. The series, which is the first bilateral contest between the two sides, will be played between September 1 and 5, and ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the venues in the UAE were unavailable because of the second leg of IPL 2021, which has been tentatively scheduled to begin on September 20.Earlier this month, the schedule for the CPL was tweaked to avoid an overlap with the IPL, and the next edition of the PSL, in 2022, has also been slotted into a January-February window to avoid a clash with the Indian T20 league, expected to be played in April-May.Related

• Afghanistan's series with Pakistan to go ahead despite Taliban's takeover of the country

• Avishka Gunawardene appointed Afghanistan batting coach for Pakistan ODIs

• Afghanistan selector steps down citing 'interruption' from 'non-cricketers' in the board

• PSL 2022 to be played in January-February to avoid clash with IPL

• Farooqi, Noor in Afghanistan squad for Pakistan ODIs

The Pakistan-Afghanistan series will count towards points in the ICC Super League, where Pakistan currently sit in fifth with 40 points from nine matches, and Afghanistan are eighth with 30 points, having won all three their matches so far. Afghanistan have played four matches against Pakistan previously, two of them in the UAE, one in Fatullah, and one more in Leeds during the 2019 World Cup. Aside from having never played a bilateral series against Pakistan, they are also yet to beat them.The Hambantota stadium last hosted an ODI in February 2020, when Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 161 runs. This will be the second instance of the stadium being a neutral venue; the last time also involved Pakistan, when they faced Kenya back in the 2011 World Cup.Pakistan are currently gearing up for the start of their tour of the West Indies, which will begin on July 27 with a five-match T20I series, before a two-Test series that will end on August 24. Afghanistan’s last bit of cricket was in March, when they swept Zimbabwe 3-0 in a T20I series, after drawing the Test series 1-1. Their last ODIs were against Ireland in January this year, where they had sealed a 3-0 series win.

Southee’s 5 for 69 keeps India to 345 despite Iyer’s debut century

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Nov-20213:38

Jaffer: Iyer a No. 5 candidate for all conditions

Tim Southee delivered one of the great Test-match spells by a visiting fast bowler in India to drag New Zealand back into the Kanpur Test, before Will Young and Tom Latham put on a resolute and unbroken 129 to ensure all four results were still in play after two engrossing days.Having been bowled out for 345 shortly after lunch, India probed from every conceivable angle for 57 overs, but their five bowlers couldn’t separate New Zealand’s opening pair. While the ball occasionally gripped and turned square, and more often kept low, the slowness of the surface allowed the batters to adjust and survive.

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For all their frustrations over the last two sessions, India’s five-man attack bowled with control throughout – particularly in the post-tea session, in which they conceded just 57 runs in 31 overs – ensuring that the scoring rate was kept down, and New Zealand went to stumps still trailing by more than 200 runs.Young and Latham, however, showed the rest of New Zealand’s line-up a template to survive. Knowing that the pitch wasn’t going to rush them, they let the ball come to them, meeting it right under their eye as far as possible, and didn’t go looking for scoring opportunities outside their comfort zones. Against the spinners, Latham waited for the line to shift outside off stump so he could sweep while minimising the risk of lbw. That shot was his primary scoring option aside from leg-side flicks and nudges.Young, meanwhile, reached his fifty with a flurry of drives against the spinners before tea. But he was content to remain scoreless for long periods in the final session, when R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel began to find their rhythm and the ideal pace and seam positions for this surface.As the day neared its close, all three spinners began to beat the bat more often. Ashwin thought he had Latham caught behind in the penultimate over of the day, and the umpire agreed, only for a review to indicate it was bat brushing pad rather than an edge. It was Latham’s third successful review; he had twice been adjudged lbw off the inside edge before tea, once against Umesh Yadav and once against Jadeja.The first half of the day belonged to Southee. Having nursed a groin strain that took him off the field for parts of the first day’s play, he recovered sufficiently – or bowled through residual pain – to pick up four wickets in an unbroken spell of 11 overs on the second morning to complete his 13th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his second in India.Tom Latham profited from the sweep in Kanpur•BCCI

Starting the day at 258 for 4 with two half-centurions at the crease, India were bowled out for the addition of only 87 runs. The bulk of those runs came from Shreyas Iyer, who became the 16th India batter to score a century on debut, and Ashwin, who made a counterattacking 38 at No. 8.Kyle Jamieson was New Zealand’s most impactful performer on day one, but he began day two completely out of rhythm, and Iyer, resuming on 75, hit him for five fours in his first three overs of the morning to hurry into the 90s. He brought up his hundred in Jamieson’s next over, with a sliced drive for two backward of point.By then, though, Southee had already made a crucial incision. He began the day with four balls wide of Jadeja’s off stump, delivered from around the wicket, and the left-hander shouldered arms to all of them. He followed it with one that swung sharply into the stumps, and Jadeja, stuck in his crease, played down the wrong line and was struck on the back pad, with an umpire’s call verdict on height saving him after New Zealand reviewed the initial not-out decision.Southee didn’t have to wait long to get his man, though. A similar delivery in his next over drew a similar, leaden-footed response, and this time the ball rattled into the stumps via the inside edge.The wickets kept coming. A pair of full outswingers that weren’t quite full enough to drive prised Wriddhiman Saha and Iyer out; the first, delivered from wide of the crease, drew an off-drive down the wrong line, and the second, delivered from closer to the stumps and swerving away to scramble the batter’s shape and causing him to spoon the ball to cover point.Then, in his eighth over of the morning, Southee alternated inswingers to the left-handed Axar with scrambled-seam balls that straightened off the pitch. Axar played and missed at the first scrambled-seam ball, and hung his bat out and edged the second to the keeper. India were 313 for 8.By then, Ashwin was already on 20 off 22 balls, having come in and taken on Southee’s outswingers and hit him for three fours through the off side. Southee kept going for three more overs in the quest to finish the innings off, but Ashwin farmed the strike, refusing singles to keep Umesh away from the strike as much as possible.Ashwin could have been dismissed for 16 when he stepped out to Ajaz Patel and missed an attempted lofted hit, with the ball scooting through low. The ball, however, narrowly missed off stump and bounced off Tom Blundell’s pad before he could react. It could have been the first wicket to fall to a spinner in this Test match, but as on day one – when he missed reviewing an lbw decision against Shubman Gill – the luck wasn’t quite with Ajaz.It turned after lunch, though, as he spun one out of the footmarks and past the outside edge to bowl Ashwin, and got one to skid through with the arm to trap Ishant Sharma plumb in front.

Ireland stay in the hunt courtesy Balbirnie and Tector, but fall short by 24 runs in the end

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2022
Shamarh Brooks hit 93 off 89 on ODI debut as West Indies recovered from a shaky start to beat Ireland by 24 runs in the first ODI of a three-match series.Choosing to field at Sabina Park in Kingston, Ireland’s bowlers had the home team in early trouble, with West Indies slipping to 62 for 4 in 19 overs. They had started steadily, being 59 for 1 at one point, though the run rate dawdled at the three-and-a-half mark. But three wickets fell in the space of 2.2 overs, and captain Kieron Pollard strode out to join the debuting Brooks, who had come in at No. 4.Together, the two put on 155 runs in just 136 balls, having begun cautiously given the rush of wickets, but opening out as the partnership progressed. Brooks reached his half-century in 61 balls at the end of the 36th over, and Pollard hit a hat-trick of sixes against Andy McBrine to go from 41 off 49 to 59 off 52. The over went for 23 runs, Brooks also finding the boundary later on.

Ireland fined, docked points

Ireland have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their loss to West Indies in the first ODI, and have been fined 40% of their match fees as a result. Ireland were adjudged to be two overs short of the target in the game and, therefore, were also docked two points from their Super League tally.

Pollard had begun his acceleration earlier, but eventually fell for a 66-ball 69, caught at long-on in an attempt to hit his fifth six.Brooks fell seven short of his hundred, missing out on becoming only the second West Indies player to score a century on ODI debut after Desmond Haynes, when he was trapped lbw by Mark Adair in the 45th over. Some meaty hits by Odean Smith pushed West Indies past 250, but wickets continued to fall and they were bowled out in 48.5 overs.Ireland lost former captain William Porterfield for a duck in the second over, but captain Andy Balbirnie, the other opener, and Harry Tector, at No. 4, did well to keep Ireland on track. Ireland did have another hiccup before the two got together, though, as McBrine was forced to retire hurt when he and Balbirnie had got a good second-wicket partnership going. McBrine copped a blow on the helmet from Smith in the 16th over, and went off at the end of the next. He had a concussion and Ireland had to bring in Neil Rock at No. 9 as a substitute.Balbirnie and McBrine had added 61 in 91 balls before McBrine went off, looking set on 34 off 50. However, Ireland’s momentum didn’t stall as Tector allied with Balbirnie for an even bigger stand.Ireland were well in control at 165 for 1 in 36 overs, with 105 needed in 84 balls and both batters having passed half-centuries, but Romario Shepherd then had Balbirnie edging behind for 71 off 94. In the next over, Smith had Tector caught at third man off a slash for a 68-ball 53, and Ireland had two new men at the crease.The wickets fell in a heap after that, and although George Dockrell (30 off 25) and Mark Adair (21* off 9) hit out, no other batter got into double-digits.Ireland were eventually bowled out in 49.1 overs.