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Thilan Samaraweera helped rescue Sri Lanka from 34 for 3, and improved his chances of securing a place in Sri Lanka’s 2011 World Cup squad

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo24-Nov-2010Thilan Samaraweera wouldn’t have done his chances of securing a place in Sri Lanka’s 2011 World Cup squad any harm when he scored a well-paced 80 off 170 balls against West Indies on the second day of the second test at the R Premadasa Stadium. With Sri Lanka struggling at 34-3, Samaraweera joined his captain, Kumar Sangakkara, to pull the side out of trouble, and at the end of another rain-hit day, Sri Lanka were sitting pretty on 294-5.He was eventually out caught pulling a short ball from Dwayne Bravo down long leg’s throat to end a record 170-run fourth wicket stand with Sangakkara, who was unbeaten on 135 when rain stopped play. With a leg gully, short leg, square leg and long leg in place, Bravo peppered Samaraweera with the short stuff, hoping the batsman would fall for it, and Samaraweera was all too happy to oblige.”On this type of wicket you will be playing and missing a lot outside the off stump,” Samaraweera said. When you try to be too defensive also that happens. At the end of the day I missed another hundred. It was lack of concentration. I am really disappointed because I fell into their trap.”Yesterday (first day) when I came at the close everyone appreciated my knock of 25 not out. That gave a lot of confidence for me. We knew if we could survive the first hour today we could dominate the bowling, and that is what happened.”Samaraweera was the more enterprising of the pair, beating his captain to his half-century. When questioned whether he was trying to prove a point that he could score fast and be in contention for a place in the World Cup squad, he replied, “This year my one-day average is 49, I don’t why I didn’t go to Australia. My duty is scoring runs. I am hoping for the best.”Samaraweera was confident that weather permitting, Sri Lanka had the bowling armoury to win the Test. “We have to bat well tomorrow and if we can get 400 plus it is a big score on this wicket. After that the new ball bowlers and two spinners should be able to do the job.”

Asim Butt, the Scotland left-arm seamer, has died in his sleep aged 42 in Lahore.

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2009Asim Butt, the Scotland left-arm seamer, has died in his sleep aged 42 in Lahore.He played five ODIs for Scotland in the 1999 World Cup, performing strongly against Australia, the eventual winners, taking 1 for 21 from 10 overs.Butt was born in Pakistan in 1967 and played first-class cricket for Lahore before settling in Scotland in the 1990s. He soon won his first Scottish cap, against Yorkshire at Boghall in May 1998, taking 3 for 42 in the Benson & Hedges Cup, on his way to 106 wickets for Scotland at an average of 24.86.He played in all of Scotland’s World Cup games and remained a consistent performer, taking 6 for 42 in the first innings against MCC at Lord’s in August 2000 and 5 for 47 in the second innings against Ireland four years later.He won the last of his 71 caps in the National League game against Somerset in May 2005.

Apart from both England and Afghanistan’s semi-final spots being on the line, Buttler acknowledged the result on Wednesday could come with wider implications for his future

Danyal Rasool25-Feb-20253:17

Knight: ‘England’s best batter’ Buttler should bat up the order

There were barely enough spin bowlers in the nets to go around. Ben Duckett was first to the practice pitch on the edge of the main square. A left-arm fingerspinner operated in tandem with a right-arm leggie, with Duckett keen to use his feet or clear his front leg at the slightest opportunity. Perhaps it’s easy to do that to net bowlers, but Duckett had scarcely shown more respect to Adam Zampa three days back; this match-up had produced 50 runs in 36 balls as Duckett ran up a Champions Trophy record score. Here, under the lights, it looked as if his form hadn’t deserted him.It is perhaps how he shapes up around this time of evening on Wednesday, the floodlights having set in and the first signs of dew emerging, that determines England’s fate.England were vocal about the disadvantage dew had put them at in the dying stages of Australia’s romp to victory on Saturday after Australia won the toss and made sure England would bowl second. Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted earlier that Afghanistan have a greater chance of winning when they bat first; indeed, it was a game model they executed to perfection in Delhi at the 2023 World Cup, posting a par total before squeezing England out by 69 runs. Perhaps, when they meet at the toss, both sides’ interests will align.Related

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“In the Australia game, the dew did come in and second innings skidded on a bit better,” Jos Buttler, speaking ahead of the game, said. “Each game is individual. You’ve got to play well, and the toss doesn’t guarantee a result either, so whatever happens at the toss, we need to put in a level of performance to win the game.”While it is just one individual result that puts England in the precarious position of needing to win tomorrow to keep elimination at bay, their collective performances under Buttler’s full-time captaincy makes England’s situation unsurprising. The defeat to Australia was England’s 21st ODI reversal under Buttler against just 12 wins.Since the start of the 2023 World Cup, their form has been even more dismal, with seven wins against 17 losses. Defeat to Afghanistan tomorrow wll guarantee first-round elimination in two consecutive ODI events after England were the format’s best side between 2015 and 2019, making official that title when they lifted the World Cup on home soil in 2019. With the 2027 World Cup on the horizon, it is unlikely to strengthen Buttler’s case to lead England into one more ODI ICC event.Buttler acknowledged the result tomorrow could come with wider implications for his future. “I think any time as an England captain, you want to perform, you want to perform well, and you want to lead your team to winning games of cricket. We haven’t been doing that enough in the recent past. But as soon as you catch yourself thinking about any negative things, you just try and completely forget that and focus on all of the positive things that could go right and where you can take the team.”Jos Buttler and Brendon McCullum have a chat•Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Shortly after Duckett was done, the England captain took his place in the nets. This was altogether a more circumspect performance: the confident stride out followed by tentative pushes down the ground, more defensive blocks than the nonchalant pickups over midwicket. And though he had a bit of a hit against the spinners, Jamie Overton had a bowl against his captain, while the coach threw several down at pace.For, despite Afghanistan’s prodigious spin ability, they may find targeting Buttler with pace the cannier move. While Buttler has enjoyed pace outside Asia, the slower conditions through the middle overs in the subcontinent have seen his performances degrade sharply. He averages 22.75 in Asia in ODI cricket since 2017 at just under 98, his average and strike rate 40 and 11 points down respectively. No batter since 2023 has been dismissed by pace in the first ten balls as frequently; it has happened to him in five of his last 13 innings, with a particular susceptibility against hard lengths.If there is consolation, though, Afghanistan may be the side you’d want to face if you’ve got Buttler’s specific set of vulnerabilities. Afghanistan’s spinners were uncharacteristically off-colour against South Africa in Karachi in the opening game, with Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed combining for 3 for 175 in 29 overs. It included a wicketless day out for Rashid, the first time that has happened to him in nine games.1:44

Should Afghanistan play an extra spinner against England?

Shahidi put it down to the Karachi pitch offering “no support” for spinners and said “even one ball didn’t turn”. Should conditions in Lahore be similar on an overcast day tomorrow, facing spin shouldn’t be one of Buttler’s problems. The England captain has struck at 107.46 against spin in Asia since 2023 at an average of 36. Given Afghanistan’s proclivity for using spin to asphyxiate sides in the middle overs, this could provide an opportunity for Buttler to turn the tables on them, and the tide around for his side.As his stint in the nets drew to its conclusion, Buttler was facing spin once more. He picked length early, transferring weight back every time it dropped short and launching it into the netting that prevented it from flying to cow corner. Some of the fuller deliveries were met with reverse sweeps – a few out of the middle, a handful that flew up. In these circumstances and in his form, it is a brave shot, but from the player that perhaps epitomises this England white-ball generation, you would expect little else.”From the start of the tournament, we knew pretty much every game is a must-win,” Buttler said. “We’ve got two games left and to progress further, we know we have to win those games. So that’s a very clear situation for us to be in. There’s little areas we want to improve and chase that perfect game.”England’s confidence under Brendon McCullum means they always keep the faith they will find the lock to such perfection. Buttler, however, has been around long enough to know if they are to find it under his stewardship, it probably has to be tomorrow.

England greats join camp heavy on spinners and allrounders, following success of summer involvement

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Nov-2023Andrew Flintoff and Graeme Swann will reprise their mentorship roles with the ECB as part of the England Lions’ upcoming training camp in the United Arab Emirates.Flintoff and Swann, regarded as two of the country’s most talismanic cricketers, were both in attendance at Loughborough on Thursday, working with the 20-strong playing group that will fly out on November 17 for a three-week trip, primarily focussing on red-ball skills. It is a distinctly green-tinged party, with 10 players involved in the programme for the first time, and skewed towards spinners and all-rounders, making the presence of the two modern greats in those roles all the more valuable.Both Flintoff and Swann have been involved with the England pathway over the last 12 months. Flintoff recently completed an unpaid stint with the ODI squad during their series against Ireland, presenting fellow Lancastrian Tom Hartley with his maiden international cap in Nottingham. The series was Flintoff’s first public appearance since a serious car crash while filming an episode of Top Gear last December. He has since been compensated a reported £9 million by the BBC.The hero of the 2005 Ashes, who scored 3,845 runs and took 226 wickets across 79 Tests, has also worked with the Under-19s, and attended Ashes Tests during the 2023 summer alongside close friend Rob Key, England’s managing director. Key has been integral to Flintoff’s return to the game.Swann, who retired in 2013 as England’s leading off-spinner with 255 dismissals at an average of 29.96, accompanied the corresponding Lions tour in 2022. He was subsequently drafted as a coach for their tour of Sri Lanka at the start of this year. His input, both around spin and tactics, was such that the ECB have been keen to get him more involved between his existing commitments as a commentator and spin coach of Trent Rockets in the men’s Hundred.The pair will assist a coaching team headed by men’s elite bowling coach Neil Kileen, alongside Jim Troughton (Surrey) and Paul Tweddle (Somerset). Performance director Mo Bobat, who will be in the UAE for the duration of the trip ahead of leaving the ECB in February to take up a director of cricket post at Royal Challengers Bangalore, lauded the continued involvement of Flintoff and Swann.”He’s got a huge passion for helping people,” Bobat said of Flintoff. “He is going through a bit of a journey himself. He wants to give back to the game. He has a lot to offer, and there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm from him, and we have a desire to get him involved. It’s not often you get players of his calibre and experience wanting to get involved as proactively as he does. You have to really take that seriously.Swann and Flintoff (alongside Darren Maddy and Matt Windows) were contemporaries of Rob Key (right) during their playing days, including a tour of Zimbabwe in 1999•Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

“We got him around the U19s, and he was brilliant with them. We got him around the England lads, which I know Jos [Buttler] and Motty [white-ball head coach Matthew Mott] really enjoyed. I started speaking to him in the summer, saying I’d love you to come on this camp, and he said he’d love to.”At the moment, we have agreed that he will come for the whole camp, but he’s in demand and we will see. He also has a few medical things he is still working through which we have to be respectful of. The plan is that he’s there for the full camp.”We had Swanny with us last winter and he was amazing. He was even better than I thought he was going to be around the group – brilliant tactically, brilliant mentoring the spinners, great for the captains. He’s trying to bring that into the environment, and I’m sure Fred will be similar from what I’ve experienced of him so far from this summer.”Test players not involved in the ODI World Cup will also feature. Seamers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson will drop in, while wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who was dropped this summer, will be with the Lions for the duration until December 7. Ollie Pope (shoulder) and Jack Leach (back) will also travel out to continue their rehabilitation from injuries sustained last season. Brendon McCullum will also be in attendance for a portion of the tour, accompanied by a handful of Test coaches along with Key, and will work separately with the Test group while he is out there.It will also be an opportunity for McCullum to run the rule over some of the Lions contingent ahead of the five-match series in India which commences in January. While quicks Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue and legspinner Rehan Ahmed are known quantities as far as Test cricket is concerned, it could present an opportunity for Hartley to impress.The tall left-arm spinner has been earmarked for this Test tour and, at the very least, will be in India on a Lions tour due to run parallel with the main event. That particular group will feature more senior fringe players playing a two-day warm-up followed by three four-day matches against India A – ideally first-class – pending confirmation from the BCCI.It is also likely some players will be pulled away from the Lions training camp for the white-ball tour of West Indies, which begins on December 3. England’s dire performance in the ongoing World Cup has put the onus on using the eight-match tour – three ODIs and five T20Is – as a chance to blood the next generation.Rehan, Potts, Tongue, Hartley and Hampshire’s young quick John Turner could be in contention. Brydon Carse, who has not featured for England since being drafted into the World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Reece Topley, has been stood down from attending the UAE camp, given what lies ahead.

The India batter makes his comeback against Pakistan on Sunday and says that he is “feeling light” after his break

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-202222:42

Virat Kohli on Ind vs Pak: ‘Atmosphere on the outside very different to any other game’

Virat Kohli has opened up about his recent struggle to cope with expectations, workload and mental fatigue, saying he came to the realisation that he had been “trying to fake intensity a bit” in his determination to keep playing. India’s first Asia Cup match against Pakistan on August 28 will mark Kohli’s return to international cricket after a 42-day break following the conclusion of the tour of England in July.”This is the first time in ten years that I have not touched the bat in a whole month,” Kohli told Star Sports during an interview with Jatin Sapru. “When I sat down and thought about it, I was like I haven’t actually touched a bat for 30 days, which I haven’t done ever in my life. That’s when I came to the realisation that I was kind of trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. ‘No, I can do it’… being competitive and convincing yourself that you have intensity but your body is telling you to stop. Mind is telling you to just take a break and step back… You can neglect it by saying you are fit, you are working hard on yourself, and you will be fine because you are fit mentally.”I have been looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong, and I am, but everyone has a limit, and you need to recognise that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. So this period actually taught me a lot of things that I was not allowing to come to the surface. When they did, I embraced it. , there is much more to life than just your profession. And when the environment around you is such that everyone looks at you through your professional identity, somewhere you start losing perspective as a human being.”Related

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On Sunday, Kohli will play his 100th T20 international, and become only the second cricketer after New Zealand’s Ross Taylor to play 100 matches in every format of the game – an indicator of the workload he has shouldered since his debut in 2008. And since 2020, no other Indian cricketer has played more internationals than Kohli’s 62 matches.Kohli said that the demands of his schedule had affected his love for training, something that “disturbed” him and made him realise he needed “to step away” for some time. “I have always been a guy who followed his heart from day one… I never wanted to be or tried to be someone else, which in this recent phase I have been. I have tried to keep up to the demands and the expectations, not really felt my inner being completely, which this phase [away from the game] allowed me to do. I was experiencing that I was not excited to train, I was not excited to practice, and that really disturbed me because this is not who I am, and I literally needed to step away from that environment.”Virat Kohli: “I was experiencing that I’m not excited to train, I wasn’t excited to practice, and that really disturbed me”•Getty Images

Kohli said taking this break helped him rediscover his excitement for training and cricket once again. “When you are involved in such an environment, you are unable to see anything. When you remove yourself from there, then you realise what was happening… This has been an amazing break. I have never had this long a break, and the first thing I realised was that I was getting up in the morning excited to go to gym. It was not a thing like, ‘Oh I have to keep up with this.’ So that was my first mark.”You can tend to get carried away with so many demands nowadays… You have seen the results of what happened to Ben Stokes and Trent Boult… Moeen [Ali] retiring from Test cricket. These aren’t abnormalities; it’s a very normal practice for people who are in touch with themselves and know what they want in life.”As Kohli prepares to make his comeback, his form will once again come under scrutiny. He hasn’t scored an international century since November 2019, and his T20 form hasn’t been great either. Kohli has played only four T20 internationals since the World Cup last year, and he scored only 341 runs from 16 innings for RCB in IPL 2022 at a strike rate of 116. While elaborating on his mindset, Kohli said he had been trying to push himself “into a zone of competitiveness” because it “was not happening naturally” and that he was feeling better after the break.”I’m feeling light now for sure, and it wasn’t just about the workload of cricket,” Kohli said. “There were many other factors on the outside as well, which contributed to me going into that space.”You get to learn a lot of things. Things you are looking at from a certain lens because you are playing with passion, with heart, but on the outside, people don’t perceive it like that and they don’t understand the value of those things. They don’t look at you from that lens. That gives you a reality check that this is how things are and you can’t expect everyone to think and be like you. I got to realise that too.”And intensity, as you said, I didn’t even realise I was faking it. I was trying to push myself into a zone of competitiveness. But it wasn’t coming naturally to me. I am a person who wakes up and feels like, ‘Okay, let’s see what the day has for me,’ and be part of everything that I am doing doing through the day with absolute presence and involvement and happiness. And that’s who I have always been.”People ask me a lot about how do I do this on the field, and how do I carry on with so much intensity. I just tell them I love playing the game, and I love the fact that I have so much to contribute every ball and I would give every inch of my energy on the field and for me it never felt abnormal. A lot of people who on the outside watched me, and even within the team, they asked me how do I keep up with it? And I just say one simple thing: I want to make my team win at any cost and if that means that I’m gasping for breath when I walk off the field, so be it.”That was not happening naturally. I was having to push myself but I didn’t know it because I had become this ideal kind of a sportsperson to look up to. I am very grateful for the fact that so many people get inspired because of me, but you can’t stop being a human being because of that. You also have to understand why people love you and support you. It’s because you were yourself always, and even in these moments, I’m not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down and this is a very normal thing to feel.”I mean I’m a human at the end of the day, and that should be a thing or a space for people to say, ‘Hold on, if he can go through this, if he can experience the same, relax. It’s normal to feel this way; it’s not abnormal.’ Talk about it, discuss with people. No one is going to think you are weak, people will actually feel compassionate for you, and you will get help from sources you didn’t even imagine. But we don’t speak because we are hesitant. We don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak, or weak people. Trust me, faking being strong is far worse than admitting to being weak. And I have no shame in saying that I mentally feeling weak.”.

Nottinghamshire opener ends day not-out in follow-on as Worcestershire keep pressing

Paul Edwards24-Apr-2021
Haseeb Hameed is long past the time in his life when he accepts cricket’s assurances at face value. While the rest of us are free to view the perfectly timed push through the off side that brought him to his first hundred in over two years as marking a further confirmation of his return to form after haunted late seasons at Lancashire, the batter himself will now want more, for both himself and for Nottinghamshire. He was plainly irritated to be caught behind by Ben Cox off Joe Leach for 111 when trying to angle the ball to third man. In the manner of all professional batters his attention will have shifted to the next innings.That opportunity was not long in arriving. Hameed had been one of the last five Nottinghamshire batters dismissed in little more than ten overs and his side’s concession of a 160-run first-innings lead was followed quickly afterwards by Leach exercising his option of enforcing the follow-on. This was a surprise in itself: unless time is clearly pressing, asking a side to bat again sometimes seems to belong to the same era as pressing button B, buying a postal order or listening to the Third Programme on a wireless receiving set.Nevertheless, barely 40 minutes after he trooped off New Road, slapping his pad in annoyance, Hameed was walking out again to face an attack clearly set on keeping the pressure on Nottinghamshire’s cricketers. Like the April sunshine on this chilly afternoon at Worcester, his century was to be enjoyed but not yet unconditionally trusted. There was more work to be done. And despite the fact that he had already batted 400 minutes, Hameed will have relished this fresh responsibility just as he welcomed being appointed Nottinghamshire’s vice-captain at the start of this season. For one thing, fresh labours will replace some painful memories…In 2016 watching Hameed bat might have been prescribed for people needing to find calm in their lives; three years later, a disordered relic of that gorgeous technique had itself become enough to cause anxiety among spectators. A player who had once invested the act of leaving the ball with natural grace suddenly found he was incapable of performing the act with even functional efficiency. Hameed was lbw or bowled letting deliveries go; he nicked catches off balls he should have left. A barely launched career that had been a statistical wonder became a repository of oddities. Lovers of the game who had derived deep joy from Hameed’s batting sat in the stands like John Steinbeck’s farmers: thinking, figuring, but never quite losing hope. After all, this was ‘Has’ and they had been through a lot together.Early in 2019 there had been a quite lovely hundred against Middlesex at Lord’s but that summer brought him only 341 first-class runs and in late August the player seen two years previously as the future of English top-order batting was released by Lancashire. The news broke during an Ashes Test in which, so it had once been blithely assumed, Hameed was likely to be playing. Some thought Old Trafford’s decision premature but it was actually helpful. In order to revive the gift he valued most of all, Hameed needed to free himself from connections that had outlived their usefulness. Trent Bridge and the coaching of Peter Moores seemed the place to go. It still does.In such a broad context it is easy to imagine the quiet pleasure Hameed might have derived from helping his fellow opener, Ben Slater, bat out the remaining 35 overs of this day. Nottinghamshire reached the close on 87 without loss after the third evening’s cricket at New Road bore a remarkable resemblance to the second. But Nottinghamshire’s coaches will hope that is where the comparisons end.Related

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And, of course, one sees their point. Resuming on 99 without loss this morning, the visitors progressed carefully to 115 before Slater attempted to drive a ball from Brett D’Oliveira and was well caught by Daryl Mitchell at slip. After a similarly fine snare by Ed Barnard at point off Alzarri Joseph had ended Ben Duckett’s brief innings on 5, the rest of the session was dominated by a high-quality six-over spell by Charlie Morris that removed Joe Clarke, Lyndon James and Steven Mullaney.Morris bowled beautifully this morning: compelling the shot, nipping it around and nagging like the taxman. He fully deserved to take three wickets in 14 balls. Clarke was bowled by one that squirmed between bat and pad; James was leg before to one that came back; Mullaney was castled when he opted to not even hoist the drawbridge. (Incidentally this has so far been a lousy match for middle-order batters. Clarke’s 27 is the best any of them have managed and he was badly dropped by Leach at mid-on off D’Oliveira when he had made only 8.)Recovery of a sort was mounted by Tom Moores who scored 62 of the 89 runs in his sixth-wicket partnership with Hameed. However, after pulling two sixes and taking 24 runs off the first five balls of a D’Oliveira over, Moores tried to smack the sixth ball into New Road but only skied it to Leach at long-on. It was an extraordinarily ill-conceived shot, especially given that patting the ball down the pitch would have been equally wounding, albeit in a different way. That began the late collapse that brought Hameed back to the middle rather sooner than he or probably his colleagues had envisaged.Given that they were perhaps expecting to be asked to save the game on Sunday, the composure displayed by the Nottinghamshire openers bodes well for their side’s hopes in the final sessions of this game. The pitch is not yet helping the bowlers to an extent that will cause alarm and the odds are surely on a draw. Only a repeat of the general frailty displayed on this third day will lead to this game ending with the unexpected denouement of a home win.However, another mystery has already been solved in a most heart-warming fashion with the note from cathedral authorities informing local media that the flag of St George was not flying atop the tower on April 23 because two peregrine falcons were nesting there and no one was allowed near them. Quite right, too. Falcons are rare birds. Batters of Hameed’s ability and composure are pretty scarce as well and the strange arc of his career has not yet reached his apogee.

Seales and Forde shared seven wickets between them to bowl Australia out for 179

Sreshth Shah in Kimberley18-Jan-2020Jayden Seales and Matthew Forde shared seven wickets between them to bowl Australia out for 179, after which allrounder Nyeem Young dragged West Indies out of a precarious position to seal a win in the first Group B game of the 2020 U-19 World Cup.After legspinner Tanveer Sangha took four top-order wickets, West Indies seemed to be in plenty of trouble in their chase, but then Young combined in a 78-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Forde to stabilise their chase.The game had begun an hour late after a drizzle delayed the toss. It was reduced to 49 overs a side and West Indies chose to field. While opener Jake Fraser-McGurk was at the crease in the first innings, Australia looked set for a competitive first-innings total despite an early wobble, but his dismissal for a 97-ball 84 triggered a batting collapse that saw them lose their last six wickets for only 21 runs.There were two freak run-outs in their innings when their captain Mackenzie Harvey and Lachlan Hearne were dismissed at the non-striker’s end caught napping outside their crease. Both times, the on-strike batsman’s straight drive took a touch off the bowler before crashing into the stumps at the bowlers’ end.At that stage, Australia were 67 for 4, but Fraser-McGurk continued to pile on the runs at a healthy rate and added 91 for the fifth wicket in combination with wicketkeeper Patrick Rowe (40), but the former’s dismissal began Australia’s rapid slide.Forde, who bowled without any success in his first spell with the new ball, caused the most damage at the back end, bowling uncomfortable lengths to the Australia lower-order who ended up lobbing soft dismissals towards mid-on and midwicket. His wickets of Todd Murphy and Sangha – the last Australia wicket to fall – left him with figures of 3 for 24.Seales, who had his family cheering him on from the stands, capped his solitary wicket in his opening spell with three more in his second spell, dismissing the set Fraser-McGurk who holed out at mid-on. After that, his pace in the late 130s troubled the remaining Australian lower-order batsman, finishing with 4 for 49 in his eight overs as the first innings ended in the 36th over.West Indies’ chase began in a swift manner with Leonardo Julien smashing three fours and a six in the first five overs. That pushed West Indies’ run-rate beyond six but he couldn’t carry on, dismissed for a 22-ball 20. His opening partner and the captain Kimani Melius was out soon too, caught by the wicketkeeper off Sangha’s legbreak. Sangha went on to dismiss the next three batsmen as well, bowling out in a single spell with figures of 4 for 30 leaving West Indies at 92 for 5. He found the ball to turn, and Antonio Morris and Matthew Patrick fell.With Australia no longer having an attacking spin option, West Indies’ No. 6 Young saw off Corey Kelly’s offspin with not much trouble, occasionally finding the boundary to keep the required run-rate in check. He reached his half-century by drilling a drive through the hands of the fielder at cover and raised his bat towards the tiny West Indian contingent on the grass banks.With the score at 170 for 5, it looked like Young and Forde would see West Indies through to a five-wicket win, but both their dismissals at the same score briefly brought the game back to life. Unfortunately for Australia, they could not penetrate further, and West Indies’ No. 8 Joshua James and No. 9 Kirk McKenzie got the final ten runs needed. McKenzie finished the game off in style, cracking a six over extra cover to seal the win in front of a 1600-plus crowd.

Ben Stokes will bat at No. 3 and Jos Buttler at No. 5, with Jonny Bairstow left out despite returning to fitness

George Dobell in Pallekele13-Nov-2018England have confirmed an unchanged team for the second Test in Pallekele. Ben Stokes will bat at No. 3 in place of Moeen Ali, who endured a poor Test with the bat in Galle and will drop to No. 6.Stokes’ technique – and, increasingly, his temperament – are rated highly by the England management. While there was some consideration to his workload, given he will be expected to inject some pace into the England bowling attack and also field in the cordon to the seamers and at slip to the spinners, he was ultimately considered more suited to the No. 3 position than Jos Buttler, who will bat at No. 5.Joe Root has stressed, however, that the batting order should be viewed as somewhat flexible. Buttler was scheduled to come in at No. 3 in Galle if England had bowled first in order to provide Moeen with a break. It’s not impossible he could yet do so.”Ben’s game is in good shape and he is more than capable of batting at No. 3,” Root said. “We are in a fortunate position that many in the side could bat in that position. Ben’s technique is sound and he will be able to adapt to this role. He is one of the fittest guys in the side, so the intensity of batting in the top order and bowling as one of our three seamers will not faze him.”If we feel that he has done a tremendous workload with the ball, then we can adapt and alter the order if it’s necessary, but I don’t expect that to happen. Ben is relishing the added responsibility of doing the job.”Perhaps more significant is confirmation from the England camp that Jonny Bairstow was considered fit and available for selection but has not been recalled.