All posts by n8rngtd.top

Angelo Matthews remains under an injury cloud and must undergo a fitness test on Wednesday before he can be cleared to play in the second ODI against England at Edgbaston on Friday

Melinda Farrell22-Jun-2016Angelo Mathews remains under an injury cloud and must undergo a fitness test on Wednesday before he can be cleared to play in the second ODI against England at Edgbaston on Friday.The Sri Lanka captain hobbled from the field suffering stiffness in his left hamstring after bowling six overs during Sri Lanka’s tie with England in the first ODI of the five-game Royal London series at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.The hamstring failed to improve overnight and Mathews saw a doctor in Birmingham on Wednesday to undergo further assessment.His absence would be keenly felt by Sri Lanka on several levels; in the first ODI Mathews’ steadying innings of 73 was the highest of any batsman in his side and he then took 2 for 22 with the new ball before injury forced him from the field.Sri Lanka may also have benefited from Mathews’ experience as captain as England chased down 286 to draw level with Sri Lanka – particularly in the final two overs when Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett plundered 30 runs, culminating in Plunkett’s six off Nuwan Pradeep’s final ball.Sri Lanka’s pace attack has been gradually depleted since the start of the tour, with the loss of Dushmantha Chameera, Dhammika Prasad and Shaminda Eranga and, in the remainder of the squad, there is no like-for-like replacement for the all-rounder Matthews.Sri Lanka’s team management has told ESPNcricinfo they were already preparing to draft a replacement for Eranga from the Sri Lanka A squad, which arrives in England on Wednesday night ahead of a series of matches against Pakistan A and England Lions. If Matthews fails to recover in time for Friday’s game, Sri Lanka may need to call in further reinforcements.

Middlesex overturned Yorkkshire again in a remarkable innings win at Scarboriugh to assume the leadership in Division One of the Specsavers Championship

ECB Reporters Network06-Jul-2016
ScorecardMiddlesex’s players celebrate a win that took them top of the table•Getty Images

Middlesex gained a sensational win by an innings and four runs at Scarborough to jolt Yorkshire’s ambitions of a hat-trick of Championship titles.A match seemingly destined for a draw was reawakened by a torrent of runs from Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh in the first 40 minutes of play, which secured an unexpected first innings lead of 171 at Scarborough.It was Yorkshire’s first defeat of the season and a stunning victory for Middlesex which pushed them to the top of the Division One table.Yorkshire have lost only three Championship matches since the start of the 2014 season – and remarkably Middlesex have been their destroyers on each occasion.This was also the only time that Yorkshire have lost by an innings in a Championship match at North Marine Road.Yorkshire began their quest to save the match at 11.50am and in the end Middlesex were comfortable winners, the last wicket going down at 167 with 15 overs remaining.A magnificent effort in the field by Middlesex resulted in three wickets apiece for the unstoppable Roland-Jones and Murtagh and two each for Steven Finn and Ollie Rayner.Adam Lyth and Alex Lees began convincingly with a 41 stand in 12 overs but when Lyth was turned round by Roland-Jones’ first ball and edged a catch to James Franklin at third slip, Yorkshire were on the slippery road to defeat with wickets going down at regular intervals.The chief resistance came from Tim Bresnan but when he was skittled by a low one from Murtagh for 39, Yorkshire were 144 for 7 and fading fast.Andrew Gale suffered a rare Championship defeat as Yorkshire captain•Getty Images

Rarely in circumstances that have not been contrived can more runs have gushed from the first 40 minutes of a day’s play than Middlesex managed after resuming on 470 for eight with a lead of 64.The plan had been to score as many as possible as quickly as possible but the visiting dressing room could never have envisaged that Roland-Jones and Murtagh would thrash 107 in 9.4 overs.It all became possible nine runs into the day when Roland-Jones, on 18, hooked at Jack Brooks and was dropped by Steven Patterson at fine leg.The first five overs brought 41 runs and when off-spinner, Azeem Rafiq, replaced Bresnan, his first over went for 20 with two sixes to Murtagh and one to Roland-Jones.Warming to his task, Roland-Jones slammed Brooks for three consecutive leg-side sixes and at one stage 50 runs came off 13 balls in 10 minutes with six sixes raining down off seven balls.The century stand for the ninth wicket – the only one ever recorded by a visiting team on the ground – used up just 67 deliveries and there were eight sixes in the first half hour’s play when 94 were scored.In desperation, skipper Andrew Gale turned to Lyth’s off-spin and he immediately brought the carnage to a close with two wickets in two balls. He took a low return catch to dismiss Murtagh for 47 from 38 deliveries with four fours and two sixes and had Finn giving a simple catch to cover.The ninth wicket stand was worth 123 in 13.2 overs and Roland-Jones was left unbeaten on 79 off 51 balls with six fours and six sixes.Middlesex’s 577 was their highest against Yorkshire, beating their 573 for 8 declared at Lord’s last September when Roland-Jones plundered his maiden century.Roland-Jones said: “This was a hell of a win. We had it in our minds to make it tough for Yorkshire but to win by an innings was pretty exceptional.”A little bit of luck went our way with the bat and we rode this luck and made the most of the small boundaries. We thought we would be positive and we got a bit of a flow early on.”I think we knew it would be a tough fight and that we would have to stick at it but we found a wicket at the right time to break the partnerships.”It is a big achievement going up to Yorkshire and winning and I am delighted we have done it. A couple of wins has put us right in the hunt for the title and I hope we still have something to play for in the last game of the season against Yorkshire at Lord’s.”Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, said: “Obviously we are disappointed to lose. We played a decent game for the first three days but there was a massive momentum shift this morning.”On reflection, we are all agreed that we didn’t adapt quickly enough to the situation and they got away from us.
“There were no devils in the pitch and we just didn’t score enough runs. Middlesex outplayed us and we have no excuses, they deserved to win.”

KL Rahul, who completed his third Test hundred and went on to score a career-best 158, reckoned that West Indies’ bowling discipline on day two had made it difficult for India’s batsmen to score quickly

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kingston01-Aug-20163:25

‘I am in a good space’ – Rahul

India had ended day one of the Sabina Park Test 126 for 1 in reply to West Indies’ 196. They had scored at a run rate of 3.40 per over. On day two, India added 232 to their overnight total, at a scoring rate of 2.64 an over, to go to stumps 162 ahead with five wickets in hand. KL Rahul, who went on to score a career-best 158, reckoned that West Indies’ bowling discipline on day two had made it difficult for India’s batsmen to score quickly.”Well look, you probably have to give a little credit to the West Indies bowlers as well,” he said. “They came in with a set plan this morning, to keep it tight and not give away easy runs. They tried to bowl the fourth-fifth stump channel. The wicket obviously isn’t the easiest to bat on. It is a little spongy sometimes, and two-paced. So you couldn’t play through the line or go after the bowlers when they bowled those channels.”It’s a Test match, you have all the time in the world. We have bundled them out for 180 (196), and we still had four days to go. We were in no hurry, so we could take our time and wait for the loose balls. I think we played really well in the first session. We gave the West Indies bowlers and the lengths and lines they were bowling the respect it demanded. At the end of the day, we have still gotten the amount of runs we wanted to get. We are very happy as a batting unit.”In the first session, Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara scored 59 runs at 2.27 an over, and denied West Indies the early breakthroughs they must have hoped to make. Having moved to 46, Pujara was run out in the tenth over after lunch, continuing a sequence of innings in which he has failed to convert starts into bigger scores. Rahul said Pujara was “doing all the processes right”, and was confident a big innings was around the corner.”I think he’s batting really, really well,” Rahul said. “I think his judgment outside the off stump was fabulous and his discipline was really good. When the bowler keeps bowling the fourth-fifth stump channel, the easiest thing to do is to try and place down to third man or try and go over cover or point. You may connect one or two, but you could give a catch to the slips.”He did the hard thing [by leaving as many balls as he could]. He did the hard yards, but unfortunately he got out at the wrong time. Had he stayed till the end, he would have scored 100 more runs in the next two sessions. It’s unfortunate, but I think he’ll be happy that he is doing his processes right. The outcome is sometimes not in our hands.”We know how much of a run-hungry guy he is and it will make him hungrier and I’m sure big runs are coming his way in the third and fourth Tests.”Rahul’s hundred was his third in Test cricket, and had come in only his sixth match. He has had to wait for his opportunities, with M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan established as India’s first-choice opening combination, but he came into the match with form behind him, in the shape of a breakthrough IPL season and an ODI hundred on debut.”The last couple of months, I’ve been performing well,” he said. “I’ve been consistent in all the three formats and that’s what I want to do as a cricketer, to be consistent in all the three formats. Go out there, and play to the best of my abilities, and play my roles and responsibilities for the team.”Right now I’m in a good space. I’m only watching the ball and trying to judge the ball and if I think the ball is there to be hit, I’m hitting the ball. That doesn’t change. That’s the only thing that doesn’t change with T20, one-day or four-day cricket – when the ball is there to be hit, you hit the ball. That’s the only thing that runs in my mind. I’m very happy with the space I’m in and the focus levels have been great.”

Amad Butt, the uncapped 21-year-old fast bowler, has been included in Pakistan’s 13-man squad for the one-off T20 against England, at Old Trafford, next week

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2016Amad Butt, the uncapped 21-year-old fast bowler, has been included in Pakistan’s 13-man squad for the one-off T20 against England, at Old Trafford, next week.The match will be Sarfraz Ahmed’s first as T20 captain after he was named in April as Shahid Afridi’s replacement following the World T20 in India.Butt, who was part of the recent Pakistan A tour of England, has 12 wickets in six T20 matches. He played in the Pakistan team that knocked out England in the semi-final of the 2014 Under-19 World Cup in the UAE.The top-order batsman Khalid Latif is also included alongside left-arm pace bowler Sohail Tanvir. Mohammad Irfran, who was a late addition to the one-day squad after Mohammad Hafeez was injured, is retained for the T20.From the one-day squad current playing in England, Sami Aslam, Yasir Shah, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali and ODI captain Azhar Ali are not included.Squad Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Amad Butt

With the Champions Trophy nine months away, South Africa will see their five-match ODI series against Australia as the start of their preparation for the event

The Preview by Firdose Moonda29-Sep-2016

Match facts

September 30, 2016
Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)1:21

‘Important to win away from home’ – Smith

Big Picture

It’s not even October and the headline series of South Africa’s summer is already beginning. No disrespect to Sri Lanka, who are the only touring team to visit later this year, but the fans will regard Australia as a bigger draw, and even though they are playing ODIs, the series will generate significant interest.The Champions Trophy is nine months out but this will be the start of South Africa’s planning and, worryingly, it does not include AB de Villiers. The regular captain has been ruled out of the series with an elbow injury which leaves a hole in the leadership, in the batting line-up and in the field. It will be up to Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy to step up as senior players, while David Miller and Farhaan Behardien will need to find form with the bat and light up the fielding effort. South Africa’s squad as a whole must show they can cope in the absence of one of their biggest names. The bowling will be bolstered by the return of Dale Steyn, who was rested for the West Indies tri-series in June. He will have Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo for company.Australia have not packed their pace pack with the same power, leaving several frontliners at home while giving opportunities to a younger crop. They have brought their captain along for the trip, which is certain to provide fodder for some off-field banter – Steven Smith was sent home from Sri Lanka to prepare for the summer and among those critical of the decisions were South Africans. Steyn and Graeme Smith had a few things to say on social media and, given the tension between Steyn and former Australia captain Michael Clarke in the past, this could be episode two.Episode three, of course, will take place in November when what some will consider the real battle begins. South Africa travel to Australia for three Tests. For now, enjoy the opening act.

Form guide

South Africa WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWWL

In the spotlight

De Villiers’ absence for the next two months leaves Faf du Plessis in charge. Du Plessis has not been shy about expressing his desire to captain more and especially to lead from the front. With scrutiny over his scoring rate, this is the format in which he may feel he needs to prove himself. The middle overs are where South Africa don’t want to let the game drift and it will be up to du Plessis to push their cause.Mitchell Marsh struggled for consistency in length on his return to the ODI side against Ireland, after having been rested for the Sri Lanka series last month. None of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner or Nathan Coulter-Nile are in the touring party, so it will be up to Marsh to play his part in filling those roles. He has taken more ODI wickets in 2016 than in any other year but has also been expensive, with an average of 34.13 compared to his 2015 average of 23.35. He will want to tighten up against South Africa.

Teams news

With Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir back in the squad, Andile Phehlukwayo and Aaron Phangiso are likely to be the two casualties from the Ireland victory. In the absence of Chris Morris, both Wayne Parnell and Dwaine Pretorius are likely to keep their places. Hashim Amla was sick and he rested a day before the match, but du Plessis was “99% sure” the opener would be fine on Friday.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Dwaine Pretorius, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirAfter Usman Khawaja’s unbeaten 82 in the Ireland match, Australia will be hard-pressed to choose between him and Aaron Finch. They may look to change their bowling attack with Chris Tremain coming into contention.Australia (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch/Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Mathew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Chris Tremain/Daniel Worrall, 11 Scott Boland

Pitch and conditions

Unlike Benoni’s tacky and, at times, two-paced pitch, SuperSport Park is expected to produce a pristine surface packed with runs. There should be something in it for the quicks too. Summer has arrived on the Highveld and a warm day is forecast, with temperatures close to 30 degrees. There is also the possibility of an afternoon thunderstorm which may interrupt briefly.

Stats and trivia

• In the last two years, South Africa and Australia have played eight ODIs against each other. Of those, Australia have won five and South Africa two, with one no-result.
• Faf du Plessis has led South Africa in four ODIs, of which they have won three. The only defeat came in his captaincy debut against New Zealand in Kimberley in January 2013.

Quotes

“Pretoria and Wanderers are generally wickets that don’t offer too much spin, but there is always a role for a spinner to contain the game. So I definitely see the role of a spinner, not much attacking, but by doing a holding job. For the first three games, we won’t see too much spin.”
“Both of our top orders play the same pretty much all around the world. Their job is to go out and play the way they play and be nice and positive. You can’t really ask David Warner and Aaron Finch to go block it around. It’s not the way they play and it’s not the way I want them to play either.”

Moeen Ali has said that England’s batting approach in the second ODI against Bangladesh was similar to how they played before their surge in limited-overs cricket

Mohammad Isam11-Oct-2016Moeen Ali has said that England’s batting approach in the second ODI against Bangladesh was similar to how the team played before their surge over the last 18 months in limited-overs cricket. He said that the team would rather lose while playing with their new-found, aggressive method than take a step back.On Sunday, in the second ODI, their innings run rate was 4.56 per over, their third-lowest in a completed innings over the last 18 months. They also struck only 17 fours and single six, while they have had at least seven matches during this time when they struck at least 10 sixes. But a disciplined bowling effort from Bangladesh and a sluggish pitch slowed them down in the 44.4 overs.”I think the most disappointing thing was that we batted a little bit like the old England for the first time in a couple of years,” Moeen said on the eve of the series-decider in Chittagong. “That’s more disappointing, the way we lost. We would rather lose the game playing the way we played in the last two years. So hopefully tomorrow [Wednesday] we can play the way we have been batting and not just throw our wickets away. It was a decent pitch to bat on.”Since their early exit in the 2015 World Cup, England have won four of the six bilateral ODI series. Fourteen of their 48 300-plus scores have come in the 32 matches during this period. Twice they have gone past 400 runs, a score they never touched earlier, and their overall run-rate in this period, 6.27 runs per over, is the highest among all teams.Eight of their batsmen have 100-plus strike-rates, making this one of the most aggressive England limited-overs line-ups in history. Another major indicator of their batting improvement is the increase in their historic run-rate, from 4.71 to 4.78, in these 18 months.Moeen said that they were not too concerned by the sudden downturn in their batting aggression, but admitted the team needed a quick turnaround.”We just took a small step back, it wasn’t as bad as probably the way Bangladesh batted in the first game. But these things can happen when you are chasing. We didn’t play the way we can play,” he said. “We played like we played almost back in the day.”England’s practice session was also affected by the heavy rain in Chittagong. The visitors could only finish their warm-ups in the morning session on Tuesday, and most of their net session was held at the indoor facilities.”We are used to this weather. Some of the guys had a hit, some guys have gone indoors,” Moeen said. “It is more of a mental preparation. Some guys batted well last game so preparation-wise, we are fine.”Moeen said that Bangladesh probably took their foot off the pedal towards the end of the first game, which allowed the visitors a dramatic win, but he felt England had not yet played their best game in the series.”We are a different side now than we were before. I know the last game we didn’t bat well,” he said. “Bangladesh are good at home anyway, any ground at home. It just eggs us on to score big runs and win.”It’s going to be a tough game for us we know that, they should have probably won the first game they let us off a little bit. We still have our best to come.”

Unlike the recent past, there is no No. 1 Test ranking on the line for Australia and South Africa but that is unlikely to have an impact on what is expected to be an enticing series

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale02-Nov-2016

Match facts

November 3-7, 2016
Start time 1030 local (0230 GMT)

Big Picture

So often in recent years, series between Australia and South Africa have been heavyweight title fights. Two of the most successful Test nations of the past two decades, they have more than once met with a No.1 ranking on the line. When they last played, in 2014, Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson bowled Australia to a series triumph in Cape Town that resulted in South Africa losing top spot and Australia gaining it when the ICC recalibrated its rankings a few weeks later. In fact, only once since the Test rankings were introduced in 2003 have these teams started a series with neither of them holding top spot. That was the two-Test battle in South Africa in 2011, when Graeme Smith’s men were No.2 and Michael Clarke’s side held No.4.This year, it is more of a middleweight bout, with Australia sitting at No.3 and South Africa having slipped to No.5, an unprecedentedly low combination of rankings for these two teams at the outset of a campaign. And yet it remains an enticing contest. How could it not, given the history? One remarkable feature of Australia-South Africa battles is that the home advantage means almost nothing. In fact, of the past six series between these two sides, the away team has won five and the other was drawn. Not since 2005-06 in Australia – the era of Warne, McGrath, Ponting, Gilchrist et al – has the home side won an Australia-South Africa or South Africa-Australia series.The odds might look to be stacked in favour of Australia breaking that drought this summer. South Africa have won only two of their past 12 Tests, and are without their captain and arguably best player AB de Villiers. Australia, meanwhile, have not lost a home Test series since the last time South Africa visited, in 2012, and last summer crushed New Zealand and West Indies such that by the end of February they were – albeit briefly – top of the rankings again. But facing Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and co will be a very different challenge, as will keeping the likes of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis quiet. Bear in mind too that Australia’s strike bowler, Mitchell Starc, is coming off a nasty leg injury and has just one fairly underwhelming innings of first-class bowling to his name since then.And then there is the venue. For more than two decades Australian Test summers have started in Brisbane, and such has been their dominance at the Gabba – West Indies in 1988 were the last to beat Australia at the ground – that it has been nicknamed the Gabbatoir. But this year, to allow for the Gabba hosting a day-night Test later in the season, the summer opener has been moved to the WACA. And that holds no fears for South Africa, who have played three Tests at the WACA for two wins and a draw. Australia have never beaten South Africa at the ground. And as many as seven of South Africa’s likely XI – Steyn, Amla, du Plessis, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Dean Elgar – have experience of winning WACA Tests.Who cares if it’s not a heavyweight bout this time? Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta were all pretty good to watch. Middleweights, all of them.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia: LLLWW
South Africa: WDWLD
Peter Siddle has been preferred as Australia’s third fast bowler•Getty Images

In the spotlight

South African readers may wish to look away now. Put your hands over your eyes and scroll down to the next paragraph because you don’t want to see these figures. David Warner‘s Test average at the WACA: 95.85 (from four Tests). Warner’s Test average against South Africa: 68.09 (from six Tests). Warner’s last innings against South Africa: 173 (in a Cape Town ODI last month). Warner’s last first-class innings: 134 (in the Sheffield Shield last week).Welcome back, South Africans. You will be happier to read this section. Australians? Yeah, you might want to flick ahead to the team news. Faf du Plessis‘ Test average against Australia: 63.37 (from five Tests). Du Plessis’ Test average in Australia: 146.50 (from two Tests). Du Plessis’ score in South Africa’s last warm-up game in Adelaide: 102 (retired).

Team news

Australia confirmed their XI on the eve of the match, with Peter Siddle preferred for the third pace-bowling position. The uncapped Joe Mennie has been named 12th man.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.South Africa’s main question is whether to include Morne Morkel as a fourth fast man alongside Steyn, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada, or whether to pick a specialist spinner. The left-arm orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj would seem to have the front-running if the selectors want a spinner, but Morkel’s experience would be tempting them. However, having missed the series against New Zealand with a back injury, Morkel would need to convince the selectors he is ready to get through five days.South Africa (possible) 1 Stephen Cook, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 Temba Bavuma, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Keshav Maharaj/Morne Morkel.

Pitch and conditions

The WACA provided a disappointing high-scoring draw last summer, and the curator is hoping to avoid such a road this year. He has left a little extra grass on the surface, which he hopes will also have more pace in it. The forecast for the whole Test is sunny with temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s.

Stats and trivia

• Dale Steyn needs six wickets to go past Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s all-time leading Test wicket taker
• Australia have won only five of their 10 most recent Tests at the WACA
• South Africa have never lost a Test in Perth

Quotes

“They will take comfort in the fact that they are playing in home conditions. When we went to India and we lost there, we were a little bit scarred and we took comfort in going home but it took time. Guys needed to find form.” “

Paul Franks, the Nottinghamshire allrounder, has been promoted from his role as second-team captain and academy coach to become Peter Moores’ first-team assistant

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2016Paul Franks, the Nottinghamshire allrounder, has been promoted from his role as second-team captain and academy coach to become Peter Moores’ first-team assistant.Franks, 37, whose playing career at Trent Bridge began in 1997, retired from the first-class game as a player in 2015, and went on to take his ECB Level 4 coaching qualification.He won the Second XI Championship in 2015 before furthering his experience with stints coaching the United Arab Emirates.”Paul has been taking steps into coaching for a number of years,” said Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, Mick Newell. “We’ve encouraged him in that and now we feel he’s ready for this extra responsibility.”Not only is Paul an impressive young coach, he’s also part of the fabric of the club, having achieved so much during his time as a player.”Nottinghamshire will start the 2017 season in division two after a disappointing campaign last summer that led to relegation and brought about the end of Newell’s 14-and-a-half year tenure as head coach.Moores, who joined the club as a batting consultant in the wake of his departure from the England job in May 2015, stepped into the vacancy in September. And now Franks steps into the assistant role vacated by Wayne Noon, the former wicketkeeper who announced last week that he was ending his 23-year association with the club.”Peter has worked with lots of coaches in both county and international cricket – and he’s very been very impressed with what he’s seen from Paul,” said Newell.”Having played alongside our senior players, and been hugely involved in the development of the younger generation, he’s well placed to get the best out of that group of players.”

It has been a horrid two Tests for Sri Lanka, but Suranga Lakmal’s performances have provided some relief

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Jan-2017Sri Lanka have lost the series inside nine days of cricket, been rolled for 110, failed to muster a single triple-figure partnership let alone an individual century, and have, in general, failed to compete in South Africa, but for one player at least, it has been something of a breakthrough tour.Suranga Lakmal came to the country with a reputation for bowling long and controlled, but ultimately wicketless, spells. His bowling average of 47.65 at the time of arrival was perhaps slightly uncharitable, given the support he has provided to bowlers at the other end. However, it was also difficult to suggest that it was completely undeserved – so flat have some of his performances been, albeit on tracks unsuited to his work.For the first time since his third Test – played in March 2011 – that average has now dipped below 45. He has 12 wickets at 24.08 in the series, having claimed 5 for 45 in the first innings at Port Elizabeth and 4 for 69 in the second innings at Newlands.”I think this is my most successful series,” Lakmal said. “I had a big challenge when I came here, because there was a little pressure from the selectors and the board. I’ve been in this team as the senior bowler for a while, and I don’t just want to live off that reputation. That’s not fair to the younger bowlers in Sri Lanka either. I thought that if I didn’t do well in this series, maybe I wouldn’t be in the Test team anymore.”Lakmal’s most-successful series before this had been in the UAE in 2013-14, where he took 12 wickets on pitches that were a little less kind to the quicks. He now has the opportunity to surpass not only that tally, but also the series record for any Sri Lanka seam bowler, which is currently held by Chaminda Vaas, who claimed 16 scalps in the 1995 two-Test series in New Zealand.”As a goal I’d set myself 15 wickets in the series before I came here. I told the coaches that as well, and thought I would have had a successful tour if I could achieve that. Now I’ve got 12 already, so I’ve raised my target to 18 or 20 wickets. Maybe it’s a bit of luck – but I’ve managed to do well so far.”Perhaps a little luck has helped – no catches have been spilt off his bowling this series, which is not something a Sri Lanka seamer can ever take for granted. However, the definitive area of improvement has been the generation of movement – both in the air and off the seam. Lakmal has bowled in friendly conditions in New Zealand and England before, but has never tested batsmen as consistently as he has on this trip.”There is more support from these surfaces than in Sri Lanka, but also, I’m in good rhythm these days, and I made a small change to my action,” he said. “I watched a few of my old videos with the coach and analysed it in Sri Lanka. I practiced the change at home and when I came here, I found I could swing the ball more. That’s the difference.”My arm had been coming round-arm a little earlier. I’ve worked on that and straightened it up now. The ball hits the seam more often now, and it can go either way from there.”If you compare with Sri Lanka we also have to pitch it up about a foot further, because of the bounce. Once you do that, you give it more of a chance to swing as well, and the wickets come a bit easier.”The bowlers in general, have also shown mild improvement with the bat, usually hanging around at the crease for longer than has been the case in previous away tours. Lakmal hit 19 not out in Port Elizabeth – an innings which featured three controlled boundaries off Vernon Philander in the space of six balls. He said there has been a renewed focus on tail-end batting within the team, over the past few months.”In Sri Lanka there’s a big challenge because in the media and everywhere, they say that in all the other countries, the last few batsmen score a few runs and it’s only in Sri Lanka that we don’t. Our coaches also had a challenge there, because that was a criticism of them as well. Before we came to South Africa, we did additional sessions with the batting coaches and the bowling machine for 90 minutes or two hours. I think the improvement in my batting is a result of that.””Hopefully that will improve over the years as well. We shouldn’t just be happy with 10 or 15 runs. If the last few batsmen can provide 100 or 150 runs together, the four of us can help the team out. Even if the top order is out cheaply, we can maybe still aim to get to 300.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening one-day international between South Africa and Sri Lanka

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan27-Jan-2017

Match Facts

January 28, 2017
Start time 10.00am local (0800GMT)

Big Picture

There has been a shift in mood for Sri Lanka’s tour over the last few days. Despite losing Angelo Mathews they impressively secured the T20 series – their first piece of silverware in South Africa – with a heart-stopping chase at Newlands. A trip that was threatening to be forgettable has been given a new lease of life.However, this one-day series could be a significantly greater challenge. After AB de Villiers’ return for the final T20 – where it looked like he’d never been away, despite Russell Domingo saying he was as nervous as on debut – a host of other big guns are back following their post-Test-series break.A side that includes Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada – alongside de Villiers – has a daunting look about it. The last time they played ODIs, they steamrollered Australia 5-0 who earlier in the year had managed to upend Sri Lanka at home. Such is the batting strength now available that stand-in T20 captain Farhaan Behardien is unlikely to make the starting XI.Sri Lanka will hope that their mixture of spin and medium-pace can have a similar impact as it did in the T20s where they managed to keep a leash on South Africa’s batting. Left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan remains a trump card, while Nuwan Kulasekara brought his experience to show.For both these sides, this series marks the start of serious preparations for the Champions Trophy and they meet in their opening match of the tournament at The Oval on June 3. Time to lay down a marker.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa WWWWW

Sri LankaWWLWL

In the spotlight

Once Kagiso Rabada found his range in the Test series he was too much for the Sri Lanka batsmen to handle. The South Africa management is wary of his workload, without wanting to wrap him in cotton wool, and he has had a couple of weeks to recharge his batteries. He went for over 80 in his last two ODIs against Australia so he’ll be keen for a more thrifty display. It is a shame we won’t get to see him operate alongside Lungi Ngidi after he was ruled out of the series.Sri Lanka will have their third captain of the tour after Upul Tharanga was handed the armband ahead of Dinesh Chandimal following Mathews’ injury. It is a role Tharanga performed in Zimbabwe last year when Sri Lanka won the tri-series. It feels as though Tharanga has been around forever – his debut came in 2005 – and while he has frustrated Sri Lanka supporters as much as thrilled them he has an impressive 13 ODI hundreds. He was used in the middle order in Zimbabwe, but opened in the deciding T20.Quinton de Kock is one of a host of big names to return after a short break•AFP

Team news

Ngidi will not be replaced in the South Africa squad so that leaves 14 to pick from. Chris Morris’ recall adds another all-round option and de Villiers said that the rain that was around Port Elizabeth on Friday ruled out the chance of a second frontline spinner.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Andile Phehlukwayo, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirSri Lanka made some late changes to the squad that was originally announced. Despite his heroics in the T20, Seekkuge Prasanna has been replaced by legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay while Isuru Udana, the left-armer, also makes way. They will need to decide whether to use Tharanga in the opening position where he has had most of his one-day success. If they want some extra pace, Lahiru Kumara is an option – he has yet to play any List A one-day games.*Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella, 2 Dhananjaya de Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Upul Tharanga (capt), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Chaturanga de Silva, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Jeffrey Vandersay/Lahiru Kumara

Pitch and conditions

Sri Lanka had high hopes in the Test series that Port Elizabeth would be the surface to suit them best, but it was left well-grassed on orders from the home side. The pitches do, however, tend to be on the slower side for one-dayers. There are some showers forecast for the first part of the day.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have not played an ODI at Port Elizabeth since their 2003 World Cup semi-final against Australia
• In the last ODI South Africa played, against Australia in Cape Town, Rilee Rossouw scored 122. He has since joined Hampshire on a Kolpak deal.
• Such is the inexperience in Sri Lanka’s squad that Kulasekara is the third-highest run-scorer behind Tharanga and Chandimal

Quotes

“Even though we feel that we are a more talented and a more skillful and a better group of players than Sri Lanka, we know they are very dangerous at the moment, being very motivated with lots of young talent that can come good at certain times. We are very aware of that.”
*January 27, 1300GMT: This story was updated to reflect Sri Lanka’s squad changes