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Where in the past Sri Lanka sides have sworn that positivity and fearlessness mark their route out of a bad stretch of results, it is smarts that has produced improvements, according to bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo09-Mar-2018It is not aggression that Sri Lanka has recently prioritised, but cricketing wit. Following an extremely disappointing year in limited-overs cricket, Sri Lanka has begun 2018 brightly, winning the tri-nations series and their three T20 internationals in Bangladesh. Instrumental to those victories has been a resurgent top order. The likes of Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera have all struck important innings, while Thisara Perera has been unusually consistent from lower down in the batting order. Where in the past Sri Lanka sides have sworn that positivity and fearlessness mark their route out of a bad stretch of results, it is smarts that has produced improvements, said bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake.”As I always say talent was aplenty in our team, it’s just that the mindset of the boys – and I think coach Hathuru [Chandika Hathurusingha] has come in taken maximum part in that – I would say he has changed their mindset by letting them do things on their own. It’s all about smart options.”

Taskin wants lower-order batsmen to do more

As Bangladesh experiment with a five-bowler strategy, it is up to lower-order batsmen to hone their batting skills, fast bowler Taskin Ahmed said. Mehidy Hasan batted at No. 7 for Bangladesh on Thursday, with Taskin himself coming in at No. 8, with 3.2 overs remaining in the innings. Partly because the lower order was in so early, Bangladesh mustered only 32 runs from their last five overs.
“We bat in the nets but it all depends on the extra training for lower-order batsmen,” Taskin said. “To be honest, it has to come from within, for each individual. Most bowlers nowadays bat well around the world. Even I want to bat better, and become a bowling allrounder.
“The bowlers are still batting a lot. We have to slog towards the end. We will try to keep improving.”

The victory against India on Tuesday was perhaps the strongest indication yet that a corner has been turned. Though it is a depleted India side that has arrived for the Nidahas Trophy, it is at India’s hands that Sri Lanka suffered most in 2017 – their rampant tour of the island having been particularly traumatic for the hosts.”For us it’s not about being ruthless – it’s about playing a smarter game and playing to the best of our abilities,” Ratnayake said. “In the last match against India, it wasn’t just about winning one part of the game, it was many parts. Your chances are enhanced by making those parts bigger and bigger.”Many players have reported a palpable change in the Sri Lankan dressing room since the arrival of Hathurusingha – particularly with regards to the freedom players have had on his watch. Where in 2017 there was substantial uncertainty about one’s place in the team, and a muddled, disjointed strategy devised by coaches whose own position in the set-up was often under threat; Hathurusingha has been credited with providing stability.”I think Hathu lets people take smart options,” Ratnayake said. “And even if the player fails he will say: ‘Well, that was good enough, let’s try again next time’. For an example, you tell someone to go and play some shots but if he gets out you can’t ask him: ‘Why did you play that shot?’ So he’s a man of his word. We have given the players that confidence. If it has shown in the boys, that’s good. But consistency is what we’re looking for in the future.”While Sri Lanka’s batsmen ran down India’s 174 of 5 with five wickets and nine deliveries to spare, Ratnayake believed the bowlers fell some way short of their best performances. Three bowlers conceded more than 30 runs.”We still need to look at our bowling. I personally thought we gave 15 runs too many against India. We have scrutinised that a little bit and we’ve also looked at instances when an Indian bowler went off for a big over, how well they came back as bowlers. So comparing those things, comparing ourselves as well, and we will what we can do better in the next game. There is lots to learn even though we won.”

Pakistan will be looking to maintain the winning form they showed at the MCG

Daniel Brettig18-Jan-2017

Match facts

January 19, 2017
Start time 1120 local (0320 GMT)

Big picture

Pakistan find themselves in the unfamiliar position of trying to capitalise on a win down under – their first in any format against Australia in Australia for more than a decade. In Melbourne they won in a fashion that emphasised the strength of their bowling attack, by allowing the batsmen a target within their reach. Perth and the WACA Ground offer the opportunity for a similar result, as the Perth Scorchers have demonstrated in mastering the defensive elements of the Twenty20 format in building an enviable record in the west. The left-armers Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan should enjoy the pace and bounce on offer, provided they find the right length for the conditions. Equally intriguing will be whether the stand-in captain Mohammad Hafeez can utilise his spin bowlers on a surface not likely to be as sluggish as the MCG was.Australia’s mixed priorities – win this series but also keep an eye on the looming tour of India – mean a changing team for Steven Smith to lead. Peter Handscomb is following up his richly successful early Test matches with an ODI debut in place of Mitchell Marsh, while Mitchell Starc did not even fly west in order to rest up. This means another opportunity for Billy Stanlake, who could manage only three overs on debut in Brisbane.

Form guide

Australia: LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: WLWWW

In the spotlight

Following his barnstorming century before lunch on the first morning of the SCG Test David Warner  has made a quiet start to the limited-overs portion of the summer, seeming strangely subdued by his naturally aggressive standards. Perth affords the chance for fast-scoring conditions, and the hosts will want a better display from Warner to help underpin a more substantial top-order display after the false starts of Brisbane and Melbourne.Returning to the team at the MCG, Junaid Khan demonstrated his quality to help put Pakistan in a position to win. His intelligence and tightness as a bowler should serve him well in Perth, where consistency and subtle movement can be rewarded. An Australian top-order lacking in certainty after a pair of poor displays will also be a strong reason for Junaid to approach the bowling crease with plenty of intent.Mohammad Amir should enjoy the pace and bounce that may be on offer in Perth•Getty Images

Team news

Mitchell Starc has been rested from the ODI, with Billy Stanlake returning in his place. Peter Handscomb is in for his ODI debut in place of Mitchell Marsh, while Chris Lynn has been ruled out of the remainder of the series with a neck complaint.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Peter Handscomb, 5 Travis Head, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Billy Stanlake.Pakistan will consider recalling Wahab Riaz for the WACA Ground, but should otherwise try to preserve the combination that won so well in Melbourne.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali/Wahab Riaz.

Pitch and conditions

The WACA Ground surface is not as swift as it used to be, but should afford decent pace and carry to bowlers prepared to bend their backs. The forecast is for a fine and warm, somewhat overcast day.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won four of six ODIs between the two teams in Perth, though Australia’s two victories came in the most recent meetings in 2010
• Peter Handscomb will become Australia’s third ODI debutant of 2017 after Chris Lynn and Billy Stanlake. There were seven – Scott Boland, Joel Paris, Adam Zampa, Travis Head, Daniel Worrall, Joe Mennie and Chris Tremain – in 2016

Shaun Marsh, who will make his fifth comeback into the Australian team in five years at the Day/Night Test in Adelaide, has worked with Chris Rogers to sort out his technical issues

Daniel Brettig18-Nov-20151:41

Marsh happy to bat anywhere in line-up

When Shaun Marsh returns to the Australian team in Adelaide next week, it will be the fifth time in as many years he has resumed his Test career after being dropped or absent injured from the XI. As an increasingly patient selection panel and increasingly impatient public sit down to watch, each will have the same question. ?Empirical evidence that he does is slim. In three Sheffield Shield matches this summer, Marsh has tallied scores of 15, 1, 2, 92, 64 and 33, a total of 207 runs at 34.50. That leaves 17 Australian batsmen ahead of him on the seasons’ first-class aggregates, plus two New Zealanders.In his most recent Test appearance, Marsh failed twice on a seaming pitch at Trent Bridge. His two firm feet and rigid bat edges symbolised the utter failure of the touring batsmen to cope with English conditions. Never mind that he was nervously called up on match morning, or that conditions have been described as uniquely difficult after rain moistened the surface in the 10 minutes before play began – Marsh was the unacceptable face of Australian batting.”To be honest I’ve tried to get it out of my mind,” he said. “It wasn’t a very good Test match – personally and for the team. Getting no runs and losing the Ashes. It couldn’t get any worse than it did. I guess you learn from lessons like that, hopefully I’ve learned some valuable lessons I can take into this next Test match and try and do the best I can for the boys.”The lesson was that Marsh had to change, and fast. There was the anguish of losing the Ashes to England in the most humiliating manner possible. Then he was dropped from the next Test at the Oval. In need of guidance, Marsh sought out Chris Rogers.Now here was a contrast. Marsh is viewed by most who watch him bat as a talent, and for years, Rogers fought the perception he was an ugly player. Marsh has had a surfeit of opportunities without yet taking them, whereas Rogers got one Test in 2008 then waited six years for his next one. Marsh had just endured one of the worst matches of his life, Rogers was in the middle of his most successful series.In Northampton, ahead of a county match made near enough to irrelevant by events in Nottingham, Marsh asked Rogers for advice on how to deal with the moving ball in England. More generally, he wanted to know why he always seemed to edge into the slips and Rogers so seldom did. It was a conversation Rogers had been waiting to have.Taking the younger man to the nets at Wantage Road, Rogers grabbed a bunch of tennis balls and worked on changing the angle of Marsh’s defensive blade. For years, Marsh’s firm and straight bat had won the admiration of selectors, but its angle from side-on had been a source of great hope for bowlers.By offering an almost vertical bat to the bowler, Marsh would offer edges great and small, invariably carrying to catchers. Rogers countered that by angling his bat further down, and playing the ball later, under his eyes, Marsh would greatly reduce his chance of offering catchable nicks. He would also likely prosper from edges running along the ground to third man – a tendency often cited as lucky but turned into something like an art form by Rogers and Justin Langer.Marsh walked away from these Northants sessions feeling like he had unlocked a secret to the game that had eluded him for most of the past decade. It is one shared by numerous top-level batsmen, not least Kane Williamson, he of the near mythical lack of slips catches. Like any change, this one is taking time to bed down, and may explain Marsh’s indifferent statistics so far this summer. But he still has Rogers’ advice very much in mind.”Definitely Bucky [Rogers] was really good, over probably the last few months,” Marsh said. “During the Ashes, I went away with Buck and just worked on a few little things on my game. He was fantastic to talk to – his record speaks for itself. He’s scored so many runs, so if I could learn as much as I could in that last little period in the Ashes I thought it was going to help my game.”I’m just trying to hit the ball a little bit later. I’ve worked on a few little bits and pieces. I’ve felt really good over the past month in Shield cricket and feel like I’ve got a better game now to hopefully be successful at Test cricket. I’ve been a little bit inconsistent with my Test career so far, so hopefully I can really take this opportunity now and build some consistent scores. I’m looking forward to that challenge.”When Marsh bats against Trent Boult and Tim Southee under the Adelaide Oval lights, with the pink ball potentially swinging around, there are likely to be edges and lots of them. If they scurry along the ground or fall short of slips, many spectators will throw their heads back and mutter about Marsh’s good fortune.But in the ABC commentary box at the top of the Southern Stand, Rogers will see that as a vindication of their work together, and a sign that Marsh has, at last, begun to make his own luck. Square of the wicket, the selection chairman Rod Marsh and coach Darren Lehmann may notice Marsh’s angled bat, and share a look of recognition. !

Gloucestershire are not in Championship action next week. They need a week off too after ending this match with four substitute fielders and their coach, John Bracewell, out of the country

Alex Winter in Bristol11-May-2013
ScorecardWill Gidman tried to battle through injury but broke down again•Getty Images

Gloucestershire are not in Championship action next week. They need a week off too after ending this match with four substitute fielders and their coach, John Bracewell, out of the country. But they will regroup satisfied with their first four matches of 2013.Money is being ploughed into the facilities at Nevil Road and Gloucestershire need a team more suiting to an international venue. Hiring Michael Klinger as captain was step one and so far he has led performances that suggest Gloucestershire can compete more regularly this season.”Northants completely outplayed us but the other games we’ve been on top,” Klinger said following the draw with Hampshire. “I’ve asked the boys to maintain that intensity and discipline from this week and we’ll have opportunities later in the season to push for the full points.”Piecing back together the bowling attack is Gloucestershire’s main target ahead of the trip to New Road on May 22 – a match they will be targeting to win if they are to move up the table this season. Will Gidman’s ankle is the biggest concern. Having been told he was not going to bowl in the remainder of the match he tried to open the bowling in Hampshire’s second innings. He lasted two balls. It will not look good for the Gloucestershire backroom staff if Gidman now faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines.But despite the problems – Jack Taylor picked up a shoulder problem, Hamish Marshall was ill and wicketkeeper Cameron Herring caught conjunctivitis – Gloucestershire got the better of Hampshire, who finished third last year and are widely tipped for promotion this season. The four days were a fillip for Klinger’s developing side. They will be hoping their season follows a healthier pattern to last year – after winning at the Ageas Bowl in the second match of 2012, Gloucestershire went on to claim the wooden spoon.The three results outside the defeat to Northamptonshire suggest that progress has been made. The wickets at Bristol are now friendlier for batting and Gloucestershire’s batsman have more chance of setting up more matches for their bowlers. It’s also so far so good regarding Klinger’s form.”I thought we did a fantastic job in two and bit days of cricket,” Klinger said. “Full credit to our bowlers on day one I thought they were excellent. They started things for us and allowed us to control the game.”Hampshire have a bit of head scratching to do after a third failure in as many innings from the batsman. Jimmy Adams carried his bat in the first innings here – a knock that saved his side from being rolled for under 150. His coach was understandably delighted.”Jimmy continues to lead from front,” Giles White said. “He’s the form horse in the County Championship. He’s impressed again, played an innings that saved us and he does that time and again. He’s mentally strong and is held in such high regard by the lads. He’s grown into the captaincy from last year and done a really good job.”We’re disappointed here but we’ve got a make sure it’s a blip rather than a dip. It’s a long season and we’ll have phases when we’re not at optimum.”Hampshire would have raised an eyebrow to Michael Carberry being selected for England Lions – the player himself surprised at a call-up at 32-years-old – but it allowed Michael Roberts, a 24-year-old right-hander who signed a one-year deal last October, to make his Championship debut and prove his ability with an attractive 44 in 82 balls that led his side out of trouble, beginning the third innings 126 behind.His dismissal, though, was disappointing, pulling a short ball from Craig Miles down the throat of deep square leg. The wicket briefly reignited Gloucestershire’s faint victory hopes. They did all they could. No time was wasted in bringing up maximum batting points, the additional 116 was made in 24 overs, and a declaration 15 minutes after lunch gave them 61 overs to try and put Hampshire under pressure.

Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann has said his side “bowled poorly and fielded diabolically” against Rajasthan Royals

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2012A visibly annoyed Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann has come down heavily on his side after their five-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. Lehmann said the Chargers “bowled poorly and fielded diabolically” while defending 196 in a final-over defeat.”We fielded like an Under-14s side,” Lehmann said. “They are professional cricketers they should be able to catch. They should be able to stop the ball going through their legs.”The Chargers dropped three catches in the field, with Anand Rajan grassing Royals opener and the tournament’s highest run-getter Ajinkya Rahane in the fifth over, then Dale Steyn dropping Owais Shah in the 15thover, and Bharat Chipli spilling Johan Botha in the 18th over.The Chargers are yet to register a win in the IPL this season, and their coach said, that the team has to work hard if they want to succeed in the tournament. “For us it’s a disappointing start, considering we played really well against Mumbai [Indians] and should have won that game, so we have a bit of work to do,” Lehmann said. “Our [team] meetings are a waste of time at the moment because the players aren’t listening.”Deccan’s fielding compounded their problems against the Royals, but their bowlers too were expensive. Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian and Anand Rajan all went for over ten runs an over. “It should have been 2-1, we should have beaten Mumbai [on April 9] and Rajasthan today, but we bowled really badly with the new ball. Steyn also did not bowl well,” Lehmann said. “When you get nearly 200 in a Twenty20 game, you shouldn’t lose a game.”Deccan Chargers will play Delhi Daredevils in their next match on April 19.

Pune Warriors went up against Murphy’s Law at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and came a distant second-best, as they hurtled to their fifth successive defeat

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar29-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli scored 40 runs off the last 16 balls he faced•Associated Press

Pune Warriors went up against Murphy’s Law at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and came a distant second-best, as they hurtled to their fifth successive defeat. Everything they tried backfired spectacularly: they included Kamran Khan to add an extra dimension to their attack, and Tim Paine for solidity at the top. As it transpired, Kamran bled 47 in three overs, allowing Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli to unleash a rain of sixes that lifted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 181. In the reply, Paine ended up providing more solidity than was bargained for, sleep-walking to 8 off 17 balls as the chase lost steam early.Paine’s problems, and Manish Pandey’s after him, meant Jesse Ryder struggled to roll at his usual pace. Pune dawdled listlessly to 63 for 1 by the 10th over, with their two best batsmen still waiting for a hit. By the time Yuvraj Singh took guard, Pune needed 103 off 51 balls. Had he left it for too late?Pandey continued to struggle, and Yuvraj took it upon himself to pull off the unthinkable. He began to target left-arm spinners Daniel Vettori and Syed Mohammad, and carted them for three sixes and a four with the spin to reduce the equation to 55 needed off the last four overs. Zaheer Khan, who had struggled in his first spell, came on and produced exemplary lengths to force Yuvraj into a mis-hit. Vettori and Gayle followed that up with two unhittable overs to close the game out.Earlier, Bangalore played the typical IPL innings: keep out the good bowlers, and go after the weakest link. They did not have to wait long to capitalise on Pune’s hit-me bowler. Kamran ran in for the third over, slipped in his delivery stride and lay sprawled on the turf. He managed to recover from that fall, but was soon floored once again by a murderous assault from Gayle. Pune kept slipping from the moment Kamran slipped.Kamran’s lengths were straight out of Chris Gayle heaven. He began with a short-of-a-length delivery. Gayle pranced out of his crease and carved through the covers. Kamran went fuller with the third ball, and Gayle launched him over long-off. Kamran promptly dropped short, and Gayle swung him almost onto the roof of the stadium. The next one was too full, and Gayle scythed through the off side. Twenty off the over, and the home crowd was dancing in joy.Two more quiet overs followed before the carnage resumed against Kamran. The length did not seem to matter anymore, as Gayle just looked to get behind the line and lash at everything. Two length balls were mowed through the leg side, before a very full delivery outside off was knifed over the point boundary, as Bangalore soared to 57 off the Powerplay.Rahul Sharma pulled things back by zipping a quicker one past Tillakaratne Dilshan’s pull, before winning a dodgy lbw appeal against Gayle when he was on 49. Only one boundary came in the next five overs – a six off who else but Kamran – as Kohli and AB de Villiers coiled up for the closing assault. Rahul’s first three overs went for 13 as he bowled clever lengths and kept varying the pace. His last over, however, was the start of Bangalore’s final fling.Kohli, who had moved to 27 off 26 balls by the end of the 14th over, went berserk thereafter, looting 40 off the last 16 balls he faced. The shot that stood out in his closing blitz was the swat-flick off the front foot through wide mid-on, with the bottom hand imparting unreal power. He redirected Rahul through the leg side twice in the 15th over before driving Ryder on either side of the wicket for elegant fours.Jerome Taylor was too full in the 18th over, and Kohli pummelled him for another six over square leg before mis-hitting him for six more over third man. In the meantime, de Villiers thumped Ryder straight for the biggest six of the day. As if that violence wasn’t enough, Saurabh Tiwary slugged Taylor into the midwicket stands as Bangalore’s total soared out of control. That, despite Rahul and Alfonso Thomas bowling out of their skins to pick up 4 for 50 off their eight overs. It’s fair to say it just wasn’t Pune’s night.

Suresh Raina will lead a weakened India for the ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe and the Twenty20s which follow, with Virat Kohli as his deputy

Cricinfo staff09-May-2010Suresh Raina will lead a second-string India squad for the ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe and the Twenty20s which follow, with Virat Kohli as his deputy. Among the first-choice players who are either rested or injured are regular captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Praveen Kumar.The selection committee’s decision to leave out experienced players provides an opportunity for youngsters to get a taste of international cricket. Those getting a look-in include seamers Pankaj Singh and Ashok Dinda, and Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper Naman Ojha.Dinda did reasonably well in the IPL, picking nine wickets in seven games, at an economy rate of 6.56, and Pankaj grabbed the limited opportunities he got with Royal Challengers Bangalore. This is the first call-up for Naman Ojha, whose 377 runs in the IPL was one of the silver linings of Rajasthan Royals’ disappointing campaign.Three Indian spinners who had outstanding IPL campaigns – legspinner Amit Mishra, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and offspinner R Ashwin – have also been picked. Legspinner Piyush Chawla, who was chosen ahead of all three for the World Twenty20, is not part of the one-day side but will join the squad for the Twenty20s.The tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka, kicks off in Bulawayo on May 28, with the Twenty20s on June 12th and 13th.Squad: M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suresh Raina (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman OjhaNote: Piyush Chawla will join the squad for the Twenty20s.

Defending champions will start T20 World Cup against Scotland on strip used for Namibia’s low-scoring shoot-out against Oman

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2024England will begin their defence of the T20 World Cup against Scotland on the same Kensington Oval surface which threw up a 218-run shoot-out between Namibia and Oman on Sunday night. They are heavy favourites against their British rivals but were beaten when the teams last met, in a 2018 ODI, and this slow, low surface could make life difficult for their batters.Jos Buttler, England’s captain, said on Monday that he will encourage his players to adapt and judge conditions for themselves and react accordingly, rather than heading into Tuesday’s match with “too many preconceived ideas”. But the evidence from Sunday’s match is that there could be variable bounce on a sticky surface on which wickets fell in clusters.Related

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Namibia emerged as winners, but needed a Super Over to do so after reaching 109 for 6 in pursuit of 110. Their fingerspinners, Bernard Scholtz and Gerhard Erasmus, both trapped batters lbw with balls which kept low, while Oman seamer Mehran Khan bowled Jan Frylinck in the final over with a grubber which deflected off his pad.David Wiese, Namibia’s match-winner in the Super Over, said the pitch was “a difficult wicket to start on the whole time… once you got wickets, you got wickets in clusters.” Zeeshan Maqsood, Oman’s ex-captain, suggested that Saturday’s rain in Barbados had impacted the pitch: “There was a little bit of stopping and coming, because a little wetness was there.”England and Scotland will use the same surface that Namibia and Oman did on Sunday•Getty Images

Buttler said he saw “bits and pieces” of Sunday’s match, but suggested that England should be accustomed to conditions in Barbados. They played a five-match T20I series held entirely at Kensington Oval in early 2022, and also played an ODI and a T20I there when they toured the Caribbean in December last year.”We’ve played some games here, so we know what conditions can be like,” Buttler said. “But it’s important not to have too many preconceived ideas and assume the pitch will play in a certain way. We’ve got to be prepared. That’s where communication and assessing conditions quickly – with bat or ball – will be key to the game.”He told the BBC: “We are trying not to play the game before the game has been played. It’s good to be here and get a feel for conditions, but on each day, you have to be ready to adapt… it is not in the batters’ favour all of the time in T20 cricket. We need to be able to adapt and communicate well as a team, and work out what will be a winning score.”England have been joined in Barbados by Kieron Pollard, who has been enlisted as a consultant coach for this World Cup and has spoken to the players about the impact that stiff crosswinds can have in the Caribbean. “That’s part of selection discussions and team discussions, being aware of the wind and right-hand/left-hand combinations,” Buttler said.”[Pollard] has fitted in really well. Some of the guys have played with him, or played lots of cricket against him, so have a nice relationship to start from. Obviously, he’s got a wealth of T20 knowledge and everyone should have been tapping into that, sponging up any really good information that he’s got for us.”And obviously, [he knows about] local conditions. He knows everything about the Caribbean, and he’s got that winner’s mindset. I think that’s something that we’re really tapping into. He’s won a lot of competitions around the world… it’s great to have guys like that around the group.”Kieron Pollard will assist Matthew Mott during the T20 World Cup•Gareth Copley/Getty

England come into the World Cup after beating Pakistan 2-0 in a rain-affected series, and Buttler said there is “a really good vibe” around their squad. “We had some good performances there, but we’re fully focused on the game tomorrow. We need to make sure we bring 100% intensity to that, first of all.”He acknowledged that England will be expected to beat Scotland comfortably, but said: “It’s a great game: our first of the World Cup. We’re all excited for that and we expect a tough challenge. They’ve come here to try and win games, and they want to beat us; we want to beat them. It’s pretty straightforward.”Buttler also declined to give any clues as to England’s XI for the opening match, saying: “I think we’ve got lots of really good options, from No. 1 to 15. We picked a squad with a lot of different options, and we’ve got to work out what we feel is the best combination for the first game.”

Babar, 28, becomes the youngest person to ever receive the Sitara-e-Imtiaz

Danyal Rasool23-Mar-2023Pakistan captain Babar Azam has received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third-highest civilian honour in Pakistan. It was conferred onto him at a ceremony in Lahore on Pakistan Day, which is a national holiday in the country. Babar, 28, becomes the youngest person to ever receive the honour, beating out another cricketer, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Sarfaraz was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz in Karachi in 2018, when he was 31. Former Pakistan women’s captain, Bismah Maroof, meanwhile, has been awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, the fourth-highest honour. Masood Jan, a former blind cricker for Pakistan, received a Pride of Performance Award.The Pakistan government announced last year on August 14, Pakistan’s Independence Day, that it would give Babar the award for his achievements in the field of cricket. He joins a number of former cricketers who were given this award, with Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Misbah-ul-Haq also honoured in this way.Babar called the award “an immense honour” dedicating it to “his parents, fans and the people of Pakistan”. He was congratulated by a host of cricketers past and present, including Kamran Akmal, Ajmal, Shahnawaz Dahani, Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris.