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Sri Lanka squad

Upul Tharanga (captain), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando
In: Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Thisara Perera, Vishwa Fernando
Out: Asitha Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lahiru Kumara

Sri Lanka have recalled allrounders Thisara Perera and Milinda Siriwardana to their ODI squad for the five-match series against India. They have also included the left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara and the left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando, who were part of their bowling attack in the just-concluded Test series against India, but are yet to make their ODI debuts.Apart from the injured pair of Nuwan Pradeep (hamstring) and Asela Gunaratne (thumb), Sri Lanka left out fast bowlers Asitha Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lahiru Kumara, who were all part of their squad in their most recent ODI series against Zimbabwe in July.Thisara has not featured for Sri Lanka’s ODI team since the Champions Trophy in June, and has since then been playing for Gloucestershire in the Natwest T20 Blast. Siriwardana last played an ODI in the home series against Bangladesh in April.The series against India will be Upul Tharanga’s first as Sri Lanka’s full-time ODI captain. Tharanga took over following the resignation of Angelo Mathews. The series will start on August 20 in Dambulla.

After two low scores, and perhaps more pertinently two similar dismissals, it had seemed like West Indies were zeroing in on a weakness in Virat Kohli’s game. The Indian captain fell for 3 and 11 in North Sound, fending and hooking at short balls in an attempt to take the attack to the opposition before he was settled. Such tactics might well succeed on good pitches but not so much on the slow tracks of the Caribbean where the ball does not always come onto the bat.In Kingston too, Kohli was welcomed to the crease with a few bouncers, but the conviction not to get out in the same tame manner for a third successive time helped him make his 28th ODI century – an unbeaten 111 to seal India’s chase of 206 and the series 3-1.Kohli’s celebration – a resounding roar heard around Sabina Park – as he secured his 18th hundred in a chase, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s record, was an expression of joy at overcoming a challenge.”I don’t like to get out in similar fashion more often,” he said at the post-match press conference. “The reason you succeed at international cricket is that you have to stretch the gap between your mistakes and I think a couple of mistakes from me, getting out in the same manner is something that I don’t really like.”So it was more of being a little strict on myself and getting the team across the line, which I knew the victory was inevitable when I got the hundred and it was all about the satisfaction of actually planning the innings out and executing it well and that always feels nice and something that I like to be hard on myself, not getting out in the same manner too many times”So how did he go about addressing this perceived weakness? Practice in the nets? Meditation to control those natural instincts that were leading him astray? Soft, soothing music?As it turned out, the key to Kohli returning to his run-machine ways was quiet contemplation. Before the match, he had simply told himself to avoid the bouncers while getting his eye in and attack them only after “reaching 30 or 40”.”I think the planning starts from your room. You need to sit down and think positively about the shots you want to play. If there’s a bit of hesitation, then you take the route of leaving the ball on one particular shot. But if you get into a clear mindset back again and give yourself targets – after reaching 30 or 40, I’m going to start pulling the ball or I’m going to start taking on the short ball and targets become easier. You have a clearer picture as to when to take on that particular shot.”For that you need to build your mindset first, when you’re sitting all by yourself. If you don’t have a clear mind then about a particular shot, then you’ll find it difficult executing it in the game no matter how many times you practice it. You first need to have a positive intent, then you practice and then you can execute it in the game That’s what I feel and that’s the sort of pattern that I follow.”Virat Kohli told himself to play the pull shot only after ‘scoring 30 or 40 runs’•AFP

Where did this innings rank then, if it was the culmination of a plan coming together?”When you are not too happy with how you are getting out and then you end up convincingly scoring a century and remaining not out and taking the team across the line, I think it’s a complete package,” Kohli said.”For a batsman you can’t have an ideal scenario, when you have a chanceless knock as well, you haven’t given any half-chances either. From that point of view, I felt it was a complete knock from a personal point of view and for the team as well.”But it’s difficult to rate centuries. I would say the last one [against England] was still more special because the total was more massive and we were 63 for 4. In hindsight, when you look at those things, you understand the importance of those knocks. Maybe the 49 in Bangladesh against Pakistan [in the Asia Cup T20 2016] was the best I’ve played in the last couple of years. It was only 49, it wasn’t even 50, so I think the quality of the knock, you can think of it only later, when you play in different conditions when you understand how difficult the previous conditions were.”While a series victory – India’s seventh on the trot in bilaterals against West Indies – was cause to celebrate, there was a slight issue to address as well.The visitors’ only loss came while chasing a meager target of 190, despite MS Dhoni, one of the best finishers in ODIs, being at the crease for the better part of 50 overs. Kohli was asked if he was troubled by his wicketkeeper batsman’s form after an innings of 54 off 114 balls and he said, “I think we get too impatient after just one game or one know. That can happen to anyone. Any batsman can struggle and any batsman can get stuck on the crease. Even if you’re in top form, it can happen to you, so I don’t think there’s any issues, because if you see the knocks around it, he’s been striking the ball really well and the strike-rate is close to 100 if not over 100. So not bothered with anything at all.”I think it was only the last game where he couldn’t rotate strike. Before that he got a brilliant 70 or 80 not out, in the Champions Trophy as well, against Sri Lanka, he played a brilliant knock, and in the first game as well, he played a brilliant knock, when it wasn’t rained out and we won the game. He’s striking the ball beautifully. You don’t need to tell him anything in terms of how to play a situation or how to build an innings.”Finally, from the outside, this five-match ODI series against the ninth-ranked team was seen as a chance India might capitalise on to blood new players and perhaps assess the existing ones in more senior roles. But Kohli defended the lack of experimentation saying, “you can’t take any series lightly.”You can’t make a Hardik [Pandya] or Kedar [Jadhav] bat at No. 3 and 4 and make your top-order batsman bat lower down. It’s still international cricket and you have to be respectful towards oppositions and whatever games that you play and its very important to understand what works for you as a team and you’ve got to keep sticking to it. We keep giving them confidence and both guys are very eager to make dents, which they have in the past, and we’re very confident of their abilities and we’re actually delighted to have found two lower order batsmen who can play that explosive cricket.”Kedar’s knock, if you saw in that low-scoring game the other day, he made the difference when he came in the end, and Hardik’s knock in the Champions Trophy final and in the first game as well. So these guys can play impact innings for you. That won’t happen every now and then because of the strength we have in our batting. When they do get an opportunity, as I said they’ve been waiting for a while, they will get their opportunities, ideally we wouldn’t want them to get many opportunities early, but with 10-15 overs to go, I’m sure they’ll come up with the goods.”

When a 23-year old Mithali Raj captained the India women’s team for the first time at a World Cup, in 2005, little would she have imagined of leading the side to their best finish – runners-up to Australia – in a global tournament till date. Twelve years, three World Cups, a stockpile of records and a belated central contract later, Raj continues to have her mind hinged on the elusive encore with hopes of “destiny repeating itself…hopefully, for the better” in the eleventh edition of the World Cup, starting June 24 in England.Even as a personal milestone beckons – she needs 212 runs to overtake Charlotte Edwards as the leading run-scorer in women’s ODIs – in what will be her last World Cup, Raj’s opening words at the team’s departure press conference in Mumbai on Saturday offered a glimpse into what the attempt to winning the trophy means to her. “We want to win the World Cup because it would be a revolution kind of a thing for Indian women’s cricket,” she said. “It would give a big impetus for young girls to take up the sport.”For India to get anywhere close to accomplishing their first objective – “to get into the semis” – or “showcase the brand of cricket the girls have been playing for the past couple of years”, much will rely on the efficacy of their pace contingent, as will on its durability.However, with only three genuine quick bowlers in the squad – Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey and Mansi Joshi – for conditions that have traditionally favoured seam and swing bowling, India have opted to go into the World Cup with a pace attack quantitatively weaker than all other seven teams. Raj, though, isn’t fretting over it; she believes India’s persistence with spin irrespective of conditions have borne fruit.”The three fast bowlers have done well in the last two series,” she explained. “We can’t really predict that anybody would get injured during the World Cup. But, yes, it’s important that all three are fresh and they are at their fittest. So, I am sure that we’ll not have any kind of an injury in the World Cup for the pacers or, for that matter, for any player from the side.”Honestly, everybody prefers to have extra fast bowlers in the side. But India have always banked on spinners, irrespective of the wicket that we’ve played on. Whether it’s Australia or South Africa [or elsewhere], spinners have done exceptionally well.”Raj was unambiguous in her assertion of the role she expects the seniors – not only her and Goswami but also others like vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Pandey and Veda Krishnamurthy – to play in the tournament.”There are a few seniors already aware of the expectations and the pressures that one faces during the World Cup,” she said. “But the youngsters are the ones that we, as seniors, always make sure we can be there for them during the pressure situations because for all the first-timers playing the World Cup, I’m sure the expectations and pressures are huge for them as youngsters.”India seem to have more options for openers’ positions now as compared to the past•Getty Images

Ironically, though, over the past 15 months, during which India scripted 16 successive victories – equalling the second-longest winning streak in women’s ODIs – it is the side’s younger crop of players that has eased pressure off Raj. Much of this is due to the steadfastness of youngsters as much as it has been because of Raj’s inimitable batting prowess.Winning the quadrangular series in South Africa last month “made a lot of difference” to the team’s mindset, according to Raj, particularly for “comeback player” Punam Raut, who forged a record 320-run partnership with the 19-year old Deepti Sharma.”It sorted a lot of issues for us, because India has always struggled with the opening pair. But, in that series, and even in the [World Cup] Qualifiers, we had very good starts,” she said. “So, I guess in the last two series we’ve seen the openers doing their bit, giving us the right kind of start, whether posting a total or chasing a huge total like 270. And South Africa is a side which has a good bowling attack and playing them, beating them at home is exceptional.”The one area India have struggled with in recent times is to find a wicketkeeper who can contribute with the bat. Sushma Verma, who has featured in 40 internationals, has a high score of 4* in eight ODI innings and 12 in six T20I innings, batting mostly at No. 8 or 9. The inclusion of Nuzhat Parween, the second wicketkeeper, is an attempt to plug this gap.While emphasing the need for the middle order to step up and close out games, Raj underlined the value of the under-utilised, and mostly under-rated batting acumen of 28-year old allrounder, Shikha Pandey. To Raj, it is the security that Pandey offers as an aggressive accumulator, with the flexibility of playing second fiddle to the set batsman at the other end, that makes her an important cog.”She can open with the new ball and even come in and bat in the lower-middle order,” Raj said. “She can be a good support for a batter out there, for someone like Harman or Veda, if they are around. With Shikha there, we can still think of a victory, needing 70-80 runs.”It is of significance that Raj made mention of Pandey, for the last time India recorded a victory in England – albeit in a different format – it was Pandey who had hit the winning runs in Raj’s company to seal the Test win in Wormsley. The picture of Pandey holding her bat aloft in utter delight after hitting the winning four, remains one of the most defining images in the history of Indian women’s cricket.It is a moment that Raj and the rest of the team would want to remind themselves of when they take on hosts England in the tournament opener on June 24, and a tableau they will hope to recreate in coloured clothing probably on July 23 too, at Lord’s.

India’s dominant recent record might have something to do with it, but captain Virat Kohli “enjoys” playing Pakistan and would not mind being part of more contests. But, in an indication of how thorny an issue bilateral ties between the two countries are, Kohli made it clear he has no influence or opinion on a resumption of cricketing ties.Kohli was speaking after one of India’s more crushing wins over Pakistan in recent years, in Edgbaston. It continued India’s recent dominance over Pakistan as well as their historic hold over them in ICC events. But though the competitiveness of the rivalry is fading, its popularity has not yet dulled. The absence of regular cricket between the countries has added a layer of importance to matches like that played on Sunday: Edgbaston was sold out months in advance.”This one’s done and dusted,” Kohli said, when asked if he enjoyed the contest. “We’ve played the game. It’s been completed fully. And as cricketers, those things are not in our hands. We come here to play the sport. And that’s all we focus on. It’s not my place to speak of any other decisions. The higher officials take care of those decisions. My opinion does not matter and should not matter.”As a player, Kohli said, his job was to enjoy a contest, something he has always done against Pakistan. “But regardless of who you play, you just want to play cricket. At the end of the day, for us, it’s just playing the sport we love. It’s not preferences over opposition. And that’s all I can say to this. You do enjoy playing against them. They’re a very competitive side. The atmosphere is great. From that regard, as a cricketer, we really enjoyed this game, that’s all I can say.”The two countries have not played a full bilateral series – of Tests and limited-overs games – since Pakistan toured India at the end of 2007. Pakistan did travel to India for a limited-overs series at the end of 2012, but it is a far cry from the early years of this century, when there were four series in just over four years. But as political ties have deteriorated, bilateral cricketing contests have been put on hold. And they are unlikely to start anytime soon.Last month, the BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary met PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan in Dubai to resume talks. The BCCI was compelled to attend the meeting after the PCB filed a dispute notice claiming the Indian board had not fulfilled an MoU, signed in 2014, for bilateral series in the 2015-23 cycle. A vague media statement was issued by both the boards, which indicated no headway had been made.The BCCI repeated the same line it has for the past five years: without the Indian government’s clearance no bilateral cricket against Pakistan was possible anywhere. Even as Choudhary and Shaharyar were talking in Dubai, the Indian government made it public that no cricket with Pakistan was possible outside of the global tournaments.

Gujarat Lions might rethink their strategy of playing four overseas batsmen after a nine-wicket thrashing by Sunrisers Hyderabad condemned them to their second defeat in two matches. Coach Brad Hodge has hinted at a change in tactic, admitting that the team management had been tempted to beef up the bowling with either James Faulkner or Andrew Tye in place of one of the overseas batsmen ahead of the Sunrisers game.In the absence of the injured Dwayne Bravo, Lions’ overseas contingent has comprised Jason Roy, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and Dwayne Smith. While the batting unit clicked in the first game to post 183 against Kolkata Knight Riders, it came unstuck against Sunrisers’ disciplined bowling and wilted to 135 for 7 in 20 overs. On both occasions, the team has been let down by the bowling department: Lions have taken only one wicket in two games.”I think we need to analyse a few areas of our game,” Hodge said after the match. “I think we need to improve and understand that, ‘look your last year was a great season and it is going to take some hard work and effort to repeat that.'”Yeah, we were tempted [to play either Faulkner or Tye], yes. I guess it is one of those 50-50 calls where either you can make that change, or back those guys again to be successful. Unfortunately it didn’t work. And we’ll look at that combination again. I guess the good thing is that we are still searching for answers and it is only early in the tournament. So it’s good we really have the opportunity to knuckle down, have a look at the particular areas and I am sure that selection criteria [of picking an overseas bowler] will come into play.”It was legspinner Rashid Khan who set the Lions back irreversibly. He struck in his first over to trap McCullum in front, and went on to have Finch and Raina lbw as well in each of his next two overs. Hodge said Rashid was identified as a threat before the game, but that the Lions batsmen had actually read him well.”We clearly didn’t post a big enough total,” he said. “We lost three quick wickets to Rashid. That pushed us on the back foot, and we were never going to be able to post a big enough total. I think they read him, they just said they didn’t play him that well. He’s a good bowler and we identified that before the game that he was going to be a threat. We just lost three consecutive wickets back to back and all pretty good players too.Brad Hodge on Tejas Baroka: “I think he’s got good skills, good control and I think when you see the game on the line, he’ll be a real tough proposition for few teams.”•BCCI

“Whenever that happens in T20… I thought we did a pretty good job to post a total which might’ve been challenging. I thought Dwayne Smith played well at the end. Dinesh Karthik put on a good performance. Reality is, with that batting line-up, 130 is probably not good enough.”In this tournament, we’ve plenty of time to regroup. You’re going to lose matches – that’s part of the IPL, that’s part of any cricket theme…Yeah, but it will be nice for us to start getting some wins on the board.”Hodge also rued the absence of injured left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who he reckoned was irreplaceable. Raina had earlier indicated that Jadeja was expected to return for Lions’ next game against Rising Pune Supergiant on April 14.”Without Jadeja, it’s probably hurt us a little bit there. He’s a player you can’t actually replace,” Hodge said. “He bats, bowls and fields and these guys are getting opportunity for that reason. Hopefully we get Jaddu back in, it might make a difference.”Lions had fielded two IPL debutants in legspinner Tejas Baroka and seamer Basil Thampi on Sunday. Hodge was particularly impressed with Baroka, 21, who played his first representative game. After being clubbed by David Warner for boundaries off his first two deliveries, Baroka came back well to finish his over with four consecutive dot balls. Hodge saw his bowling as a takeaway from the game.”This is his first game. What we saw was some real courage, coming on in the fourth [fifth] over and bowling to David Warner in the Powerplay as a young legspinner was pretty challenging, I’d have thought,” Hodge said. “I reckon he did a good job. There’s a couple of things we picked up… I think he’s got good skills, good control and I think when you see the game on the line, he’ll be a real tough proposition for few teams. He’s got a good wrong ‘un. I don’t think he really bowled a bad ball today. There’s a good upside to him I think.”

One of the quirks of international cricket can be the pitting of two players from the same state for the same role even though the pair may take on quite different posts in domestic ranks. Throw in an argument within the same state over who should bat where and the identity of Australia’s new No. 6 batsman becomes even more fascinating.Ahead of the pivotal third Border-Gavaskar Test in Ranchi, Australia’s selectors seem to be pondering one of the Victorians Marcus Stoinis or Glenn Maxwell for the No. 6 batting position in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh and ahead of the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade – another Bushranger. While Maxwell has the advantage of being part of the touring squad for the entire trip so far, Stoinis seems a smoother replacement for Marsh given his all-round skills and strong seam bowling.Maxwell was not even in the Victorian Shield side at the start of the summer, having been dropped seemingly as a result of his unsuccessful attempt to move north to New South Wales during pre-season. When he did return, runs were not so easy to come by, though one innings of 81 illustrated his qualities. A tally of 129 runs at 25.80, batting largely at Nos. 6 and 7, underwhelms.Stoinis, meanwhile, has been the Bushrangers’ preferred choice at No. 3 for several seasons and has done so with some distinction – until this season. In seven matches he has tallied a mere 197 at 17.90, making his highest score of 46 in his most recent match against Western Australia in Alice Springs. Much has been made of Stoinis’ improved bowling in the past 12 months, but as a batsman only his breakout 146 in an ODI against New Zealand at Eden Park last month has provided a reminder of the composure and power that led Victoria to pick him at first drop in the first place.Wade, Victoria’s captain, has watched Stoinis closely over several seasons. “He has developed beautifully,” Wade said. “He has batted at No. 3 for Victoria over a three or four-year period now and averaged quite high in first class cricket. I think he’s only got improvement, I said that to him before he got picked in the one day team in New Zealand and we saw what he did there.Marcus Stoinis got Matthew Wade’s vote of confidence•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“He’s not a finished product that’s for sure. He’ll come in and play a really strong role for us if we need him but he’ll improve playing each game at international level. No one expects people to come in and start dominating international cricket from ball one, but he’ll improve from game to game that he gets at international level.”In terms of roles, Wade acknowledged that Stoinis’ use in the top order had been devised partly to help his chances of international selection. “I think he’s a very strong batter. Obviously batting No. 3 in Shield cricket has placed him in a really good spot to play an allround role for Australia,” Wade said. “He can bat anywhere in the order.’But the last couple of years we’ve seen improvements from his bowling. [Playing for] Australia A he really, really took the pace off. He knocked off a couple of their big players in that series so I think the last couple of years that’s probably what the selectors have seen a bit more in him. They always knew he was a really strong batter, but his bowling has improved out of sight the last few years.”Stoinis and Wade, of course, have been two of the batsmen coming in earlier in the Bushrangers’ order than Maxwell, a point he raised earlier in the season and was subsequently fined as a result. At the time, Steven Smith said Maxwell’s comment that it was “painful” to be batting below Wade in the Bushrangers order had been highly disrespectful.”I think probably batting below the wicketkeeper is also a bit painful as well,” Maxwell had said. “I think the wicketkeeper should be batting at seven unless you’re trying to squeeze an extra bowler into your line-up.”That same week, the coach Darren Lehmann had retorted to questions about Maxwell’s possible Test selection with the words: “Are you going to pick a bloke who hasn’t made a hundred in two years?”Given all that history, it was perhaps not so surprising that Wade was unsure how Maxwell would bat if given the nod to rejoin the Test team in Ranchi.”In Test cricket, you’ve got to show defence first, obviously,” he said. “But I’ve got no idea how Glenn’s going to come out and play if he gets the opportunity, that’s probably a question you would have to ask him. But in Test cricket, your game is built around defence at times, but I’m not sure how he’ll play if he comes out.”As it stands, the selectors seem left to choose between Maxwell, and an alternative in Stoinis who hasn’t made a Sheffield Shield half-century this season. The apparently least likely option is to recall Usman Khawaja, a player with far more recent runs behind him.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHolly Huddleston removed Elyse Villani for a duck•Getty Images

New Zealand routed Australia for their lowest Twenty20 score to complete a comeback series victory in the decisive match at Adelaide Oval.After being comfortably beaten in the opening match at the MCG, the visitors roared back in the second and third fixtures to complete a memorable boil-over against Australia, rounded off by the second biggest-ever margin of defeat for the three-time World champions in the shortest format.Chasing 114 to clinch the match and the series, the hosts tumbled to 66 all out in 16 overs, with only the vice-captain, Alex Blackwell, offering any sort of resistance with an unbeaten 34-ball 30. A pair of run-outs topped and tailed a disastrous innings, as Lea Tahuhu, Holly Huddleston, and Amelia Kerr shared six wickets between them.Huddleston picked up the critical wicket of captain Meg Lanning in the fourth over of the Australian pursuit, coaxing an edge behind that was well held by Rachel Priest. Australia caved in dramatically thereon – reeling at 5 for 9 in the fifth over – a hole from which there was to be no escaping.By contrast, New Zealand’s innings had been underpinned by firm starts from Priest, Amy Satterthwaite and captain Suzie Bates. The tourists lost much of their early momentum in the face of a fine spell of leg breaks from Amanda-Jade Wellington, who finished with figures of 4 for 16 from her four overs.Bates’ all-round performance earned her both the Player-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series honours.Australia and New Zealand now move into 50-over mode for the Trans-Tasman Rose Bowl series. Ellyse Perry is expected to make her return in this series following a hamstring strain, ahead of the ODI World Cup in England later in the year.

Scorecard
File photo – Peter Fulton and Andrew Ellis played key roles in Canterbury’s triumph•Getty Images

Peter Fulton surged to the fastest century in New Zealand List A cricket as Canterbury ended an 11-year wait for one-day silverware with a 28-run victory in the Ford Trophy final at Rangiora.After steady drizzle throughout the morning, the match was reduced to a minimum 20 overs per side. If a game had not been possible – and when rain returned midway through the chase, it appeared a chance – Wellington would have won the trophy by virtue of finishing top in the group stages.Initially they were well in the chase as Hamish Marshall sped to a 20-ball half-century, but legspinner Todd Astle took two wickets in an over and despite continued strong hitting down the order, it was too tough an ask.

Andrew Ellis on claiming the title

“It’s been a long time between drinks and it’s been tough. Hopefully some of these new guys will start imprinting new memories. I didn’t think we’d play at all, so all credit to the groundstaff. The physio asked me yesterday who would get runs and I said it would be Fults. It was meant to be. Wellington put us under pressure, they are a fantastic team, but credit to our young players.”

Instead it could be remembered as Fulton’s day. The former New Zealand batsman turned what was an innings struggling to gather speed – both personally and team-wise – into a surge to 199 for 3.Fulton’s 50-ball century beat the precious domestic List A record of 52 balls held by Brendon McCullum from the 2007-08 one-day final. He initially nudged to 13 off 20 deliveries, then reached fifty off 34 balls before hurtling to his century from just another 16 deliveries. That included taking 24 off five balls of an Anurag Verma over which involved three sixes in a row.Fulton added 117 for the third wicket with Henry Nicholls – the batsman who has recently lost his place in the New Zealand ODI side, who played a sensible supporting role with 31 off 25 balls.Michael Papps found mid-on early in the chase, but Marshall and Tom Blundell, showing all the skills that earned him a New Zealand call-up, scorched through the early overs as Wellington cantered along at more than 12 an over. However, spin has played a key role in Canterbury’s campaign and it did so again.Offspinner Tim Johnston had Blundell caught behind from a cut and after the captain Andrew Ellis had removed Scott Borthwick to an under-edged pull, the leg-spin of Astle snared Marshall and Matt Taylor in four balls.Wellington did not go down without a fight, as Luke Woodcock and Jeetan Patel swung hard, but Ellis showed all his experience and Kyle Jamieson produced an impressive array of slower balls. Eleven years ago, when Canterbury last won a one-day trophy, Ellis was 12th man. In 2017 he finished with four wickets and was able to hold the trophy aloft as captain.

There’s a secret behind Faf du Plessis’ success in snatching balls one-handed out of the sky to send batsmen on their way and after his second one against Sri Lanka, he was willing to share it.”Someone once told me that if you fear getting hit on the finger or if you fear what happens when you fall, that’s when you are going to get hurt because you go into it 50-50. But if you go into balls-to-the-wall, if I can say that, then you are going to be okay,” du Plessis said in Durban, where he enabled South Africa to pick up their first wicket by running to his left from cover, leaping in the air and pulling off a one-handed catch in effortless fashion.Du Plessis had put in a similarly stunning effort in the slips to dismiss Angelo Matthews in the Test at the Wanderers. The Sri Lanka captain flashed hard at a ball that looked destined to clear the cordon but du Plessis timed his leap perfectly and his right hand did the rest. He rated the Test catch a little higher, because of the force with which the ball was hit.”The Test one will be hard to beat. The ball was traveling very quickly and it was a lot higher than this one was today,” du Plessis said. “Today, my legs were just too tired, I couldn’t jump up off the ground so I had to save it with my hand. It will take a lot to beat that catch I took at Wanderers.”In the ODI, which South Africa won by 121 runs, du Plessis’ time in the field came after he spent two hours and 44 minutes in the middle, crafting a Man-of-the-Match worthy century and sharing in a 117-run stand with David Miller. Du Plessis’ innings included 53 singles, six twos and two threes, which meant a lot of running between the wickets in high humidity.He expected to feel the effects of his exertion in the lead-up to the third ODI on Saturday but does not anticipate having to miss it. “I feel when you get older your body gets more sore after a game after you’ve done it so the next two days will be a write off for me and then we’ll come back for the next game and I will do it again.”‘Two brilliant catches that you very seldom see get taken and then an outstanding run out, real Jonty-style. That killed us’ – Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford on South Africa’s fielding•AFP

Du Plessis is not the only one who can pull off those kinds of moves in this South African team. “We are very lucky. If you look at the guys in the ring – they are all brilliant fielders. There’s not any fielder there that’s a bowler. It’s all quality fielders, who field at point or cover for the different franchises,” he said. “We’ve got the right personnel and with that you can obviously make sure you train hard and then you can change games with them. New Zealand have been a great example of that for many years and we are right up with them now.”The Durban match provided ample proof of that statement. AB de Villiers took a catch running backwards to dismiss Upul Tharanga and a direct hit from JP Duminy at backward point did Asela Gunaratne. Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford had to concede that apart from being out-batted and out-bowled, his side were also out-fielded.”I am not too sure there’s any other side in world cricket that can field as brilliantly as they do. If there is, hopefully we don’t have to play against them. Their fielding is electric,” Ford said. “They have got some amazing athletes in that fielding group. South Africa are very lucky that Jonty Rhodes set such a great example years ago. These kids, when they were young, all they wanted to be was be like Jonty. So from a very young age, really worked on their fielding and enjoyed their fielding and it shows. They must have saved plenty of runs and then two brilliant catches that you very seldom see get taken and then an outstanding run out, real Jonty-style. That killed us.”More so, because Sri Lanka put down what could have been a match-defining catch. South Africa were 118 for 4 and du Plessis on 63 when he edged left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan to slip but Dhananjaya de Silva could not hold on. They also grassed two more chances. Hashim Amla was dropped on 6 by the bowler Suranga Lakmal, although he barely had any time to react and and David Miller, the other centurion, was reprieved on 67, when a very thick edge eluded Dinesh Chandimal standing up to the stumps.Overall, Ford was not too unhappy with what he saw from his players. “It was one of the best ground fielding performances I have seen some Sri Lanka for quite a while. The commitment, the energy, the effort in the field, in fairly tough conditions was amazing,” he said. “We so easily could have had a different day. We had a chance to have them 120 for 5 with two bowling all-rounders to come after that. The game could have been very different if we’d managed to take that chance.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details23:20

Sourav Ganguly and Jonathan Trott discuss India’s emphatic victory over England in the Mumbai Test

With a victory over England by an innings and 36 runs, India have secured their fifth consecutive series and regained the Anthony De Mello trophy. R Ashwin picked up his second five-for of the match, and the 24th of his career, to make sure the formalities were complete by the first half hour on the fifth day. He took his first wicket when the visitors were 180 for 4. They were all out for 195. It was only the third time in Test history that a team had made 400 in the first innings and then lost by an innings.The end was very quick and very messy. Jonny Bairstow was sent packing in the second over and Chris Woakes in the fourth. Their dismissals provided a simple little summary of the difference in skill between the sides in subcontinent conditions.Ashwin flicked a carrom ball on middle and leg with the intention of making Bairstow play across the line and the batsman obliged. Bairstow failed to pick the variation, was squared up when the ball turned the wrong way, and sharply, and was plumb lbw. Woakes, in the next Ashwin over, went for a loose cover drive, but the ball dipped on him and stormed through the gate to hit the stumps. Reading the ball out of the hand is key to playing on turning tracks, as is avoiding strokes that have a high degree of risk, like hitting against the break.Adil Rashid gave an example of the other thing batsmen weren’t supposed to do: throw their wicket away. He lobbed a catch to deep midwicket off Ashwin’s third over. James Anderson came out and was promptly pulled into some polite conversation by the close-in fielders after his criticism of their captain. He popped a catch to midwicket to give Ashwin his sixth wicket and the best match figures by a spinner at Wankhede stadium – 12 for 167.With the win in Mumbai, India were unbeaten for 17 matches in a row – equalling their longest such streak in Test cricket.