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Dismissals of Moeen Ali and James Vince epitomise a team that can’t help but look for the aggressive option

George Dobell at Headingley21-Jun-2019England were 170 for 5. They required 63 more runs to win and they had five wickets and 70 deliveries in hand. Their remaining batsmen had 12 Test and 54 first-class centuries between them. They had one foot in the semi-finals.But then Moeen Ali took a chance. He must have seen the fielder on the long-off fence, but he backed himself to clear him. Instead his lofted drive was well taken by Isuru Udana and Sri Lanka were thrown a lifeline. It was a dismissal that precipitated a slide in which four wickets fell for the addition of 16 runs. Suddenly something relatively simple was almost impossible.We have to be a bit careful criticising England’s limited-overs batting. You don’t set the records they have – the total of 481, the 17 sixes in an individual innings, the 46-ball hundred – without taking a certain amount of risk. It would be unfair to praise that bold approach one day and decry it the next. It is absolutely inevitable they will fail sometimes.But this was a run-chase. And a relatively small one at that. So there was no need for the high-risk strokes. Simple rotation of strike and calm heads would have sufficed. And, as admirable as England’s bravery and aggression has been, you do wish it was combined with a bit of common sense just a little more often. Adapting to surfaces and situations is key to success across formats and this was Moeen’s 100th ODI. With all that talent and all that experience, it really does seem fair to expect a bit better than this. It was, in its own way, just a little reminiscent of Kevin Pietersen’s dismissal in the second innings of the Perth Test of 2013. And we all remember how that was received. One hopes Moeen did not whistle at any point afterwards.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Highlights of Sri Lanka’s remarkable victory over EnglandMoeen might claim, with some justification, that the wicket was challenging. So he might claim, with some justification, that if he could smash a quick 20 or so more runs, he could have put the game beyond doubt. But that’s the logic of the get-rich-quick scheme; the mentality of the gambler. There was a simple single on offer here and Moeen, who had hit a six the previous delivery, showed a lack of composure in not taking it. It was a key moment in a defeat that puts England’s World Cup progress in jeopardy.To be fair, Jofra Archer’s dismissal – caught at long-on – was every bit as grim as Moeen’s. But he is a 24-year-old playing his ninth ODI. And he is batting at No. 10. Moeen is 32 now and playing in his second World Cup. More is expected of him.Moeen Ali leaves the field after holing out•Getty ImagesWas it relevant that, the previous day, Moeen had spoken of the internal – and good-natured – competition within the England dressing room over who could hit the most and biggest sixes? It seemed a light-hearted chat at the time. And Moeen is no doubt right when he talks of the importance of keeping the environment light and positive. But just because you don’t want them to over-think situations doesn’t mean you don’t want to think at all. And the balance here was more towards reckless than responsible.It would be simplistic to single out one man for England’s defeat, though. Just as it would be wrong not to acknowledge the fine performance of Sri Lanka. Angelo Mathews’ innings raised some eyebrows while it was in progress – he had made 34 from 80 balls at one stage – but in retrospect it appears an intelligent contribution from a man who adapted to the conditions better than most on the home team. He gave his bowlers a chance and, with Lasith Malinga nailing every yorker and his team-mates providing decent support, it was a chance they grasped. This upset was every bit a result of Sri Lanka playing well as it was England playing poorly.READ MORE: The monster they call MaliBut that doesn’t mean England didn’t play poorly. Or bat poorly, at least. It doesn’t mean that Jonny Bairstow didn’t play round a straight one or that Jos Buttler didn’t waste a review having done the same. And if Joe Root – who was batting masterfully well – was a bit unfortunate to be caught down the leg side, the best sides don’t trust to luck. They make sure.And then there’s James Vince. He did receive a decent ball that left him a little while inviting the drive. But it was an invitation he could have declined. Or at least an invitation he could have accepted with his foot to the pitch of the ball. As it was, that foot barely moved. It was a dismissal as soft as it was familiar.What do England do with Vince? He continues to look a million dollars. But increasingly he appears to be the sports-car which spends more time with its bonnet up than its roof down; the beautiful partner who can’t stop straying; the cigarette you’ll regret in the morning. He promises pearls and delivers pewter.He has now batted 10 times in ODI cricket with a top score of 51 (which came the first time he batted, back in July 2016) and 40 times in international cricket without making a century. And while it is true he has rarely enjoyed a run in the side – he has always been looking over his shoulder and never quite able to relax – that is the nature of much of professional sport. Jason Roy, by comparison, has passed 50 five times in his last six ODI innings. Suffice to say, his return cannot come soon enough for England. One wonders, too, if there is any part of the England management pining for a replacement opener with six ODI centuries. They have made their bed with Alex Hales, however, and must lie in it.This defeat does not ruin England’s World Cup hopes. Their fate is still very much in their own hands. Two victories from their final three games should ensure their progression; one might even be enough.But it does make life much more tense than it might have been. And it might well compromise their chances of resting key players – especially the fast bowlers – ahead of the semi-finals. Their opposition in those next three games – Australia, India and New Zealand – are fine sides who will sense blood. England really have made life much more difficult for themselves.Most of all, this result will do nothing to decrease the nerves in the England camp. And judging by the performances against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, those nerves are quite a factor.

Kane Williamson is the spine of New Zealand’s batting, and the glue in the middle-order, but he can’t always be the solution

Melinda Farrell in Cardiff06-Jun-2017It may be unusual for teams to breath a sigh of relief after losing a vital match in a major tournament but New Zealand can take some comfort out of their loss to England: at least they’ll have their captain for their final group game against Bangladesh, a game they now must win to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals.Kane Williamson narrowly avoided suspension for a slow over-rate but was fined 40 percent of his match fee after officials ruled New Zealand were two overs short of the target. Considering they had bowled just 45 overs by the stipulated interval, it was hardly surprising that, immediately after the match had finished and before the ruling was announced, Williamson admitted to having his “fingers crossed” and joked he would “avoid the umpires for a couple of days”.Should New Zealand progress, Williamson must also avoid another slow-over offence in this tournament; a second will be met with a two-match suspension. He was fortunate there were enough time allowances in this match – which included a minute’s silence for the victims of Saturday’s terrorist attack in London – to reduce the offence to two overs.While Williamson’s team-mates were fined 20 percent of their match fees, it’s easy to imagine they would rather take a hit to the hip pocket than lose their best batsman, leader and talisman. With a well-rounded bowling attack, sharp fielders and ODI batsmen of the calibre of Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor, no one could accuse New Zealand of being a one-man team. But the fact his dismissals in both matches have precipitated a batting collapse (7 for 37 against Australia and 8 for 65 against England) shows just how important Williamson is to a batting line-up where the middle order appears somewhat brittle.Partly because of injury, partly because of form, New Zealand have shuffled and tinkered with their batting line-up in the past six months – in the 12 ODIs leading into the Champions Trophy, eight different players have batted at five, six and seven – and the overall batting order has changed for virtually every match, hardly an ideal lead-in for a major tournament.And in fairness to players such as Neil Broom, Jimmy Neesham and Corey Anderson, it was fiendishly difficult to get in as England’s bowlers exploited variable bounce in the pitch with some excellent cross-seam bowling.It was this very combination that accounted for Williamson: Mark Wood, hitting the deck hard and catching the edge of the seam, extracted extra bounce and the ball grazed the glove of a surprised Williamson as he tried to adjust his shot.When Taylor departed three overs later, picking out midwicket when he tried to take on Jake Ball, a difficult chase quickly became impossible.”It would have been nice for Ross and myself to be able to take it further and maybe sort of bring it down to that 10-an-over mark where anything can happen,” said Williamson. “A credit to the way England bowled. They got a lot out of the surface. They bowled a very good area, very consistent, and made life difficult for us with the bat.”It looked difficult, even for the sublime talents of Williamson, who could probably make a dirty slog look handsome enough to ask out on a date. The batsmen were not only contending with a bowling attack offering little respite on a challenging wicket – both Williamson and Taylor were struck on the helmet in one Liam Plunkett over, the ball to Taylor spitting up off a back-of-a-length delivery – the blustery winds added another level of discomfort. A bail blew off the stumps twice, the boundary rope was blown askew in two corners of the field and, several times, the electronic advertising hoardings clattered over, one by one, like cascading dominoes.But no matter the conditions, New Zealand will struggle to go all the way in this tournament if the middle-order topples in a similar fashion. Williamson may be the glue, he may be the spine, but he can’t always be the solution.”I guess that’s kind of what Kane comes with,” said Corey Anderson. “Obviously he can do his thing and he’s one of the best players in the world but, if he has that day when he does fail, then we’ve got to make sure we stand up as a team and try and get around him.”Even though it’s great to have Kane scoring runs, we’ve got to make sure we stand up on the day if he doesn’t as well. It gives other guys the chance to step up as well.”Of course, even if the entire team performs brilliantly against Bangladesh, and wins easily, it may not be enough to go through to the semi-finals. New Zealand would then have to rely on England beating Australia in their final group match at Edgbaston on Saturday.But thoughts of that match are premature. Bangladesh are the first obstacle to overcome, a team that beat New Zealand – albeit without several key players – in Ireland last month.There could hardly be a more opportune time for New Zealand’s middle-order to click into place behind their captain.

R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have taken the bulk of India’s wickets against South Africa, but Amit Mishra has played an important role too, chipping in with key strikes at important junctures

Sidharth Monga in Delhi01-Dec-2015On pitches straight out of spinners’ fantasies, the record book shows that Amit Mishra has taken only seven wickets in the series, which is only two more than South Africa’s opening batsman Dean Elgar, and puts him fifth on the list of wicket-takers so far. Mishra is not getting fooled by cold numbers, though. In the four innings he has been used in, he has taken out the South African innings’ top-scorer three times, and the best-looking batsman on the other occasion. He has bowled only half the overs sent down by Ravindra Jadeja, who has taken two more than double Mishra’s wickets. There is a role for him in the team, and he is quite aware of it.Mishra’s wickets are: AB de Villiers twice in Mohali, JP Duminy in the first innings in Nagpur, and both Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis at the end of South Africa’s longest partnership of the series. On pitches where flight and guile in the air hasn’t been mandatory, teams rely on bowlers who can spear the ball in accurately. That R Ashwin has been just as effective while continuing to flight the ball speaks volumes of the form he is in, but the pitches have led Virat Kohli to be judicious with using Mishra. He is usually called upon when more is required than just the misbehaviour from the pitch.Mishra is proud he has delivered. In Mohali he bowled de Villiers with a legbreak that was flat, giving him the impression it might be pitched short and sending him back into the crease, and turned little, enough to beat the bat but not too much, thus not missing the off stump. It is a variation he has developed in his time outside the team. He says one big legbreak is not enough at Test level. You need those less-turning legbreaks to take the edge or hit the stumps.”In the second innings in Mohali when I bowled AB de Villiers, that was the best wicket I took,” Mishra said, two days before the start of the last Test of the series. “At that time we had a small total to play with, and they had wickets in hand.”Mishra was actually asked if the Amla wicket in Nagpur was his best. “That was my second-best. If we hadn’t taken that wicket we could have lost the match or it could have been drawn,” Mishra said. Drawn? Perhaps Mishra has taken to heart team director Ravi Shastri’s comments of “to hell with five days” and thought it was a three-day Test.Kohli had said earlier how Mishra had asked to bowl him when India were struggling to find a way past Amla and du Plessis. “Virat came to me and asked me what we should do,” Mishra said. “I said let me bowl, I feel like I can get a wicket here. He said okay. I was already confident, I knew we needed to get a wicket there and I felt I could use my variety.”Mishra then got the wickets, Amla with a legbreak that took the shoulder of the bat, and du Plessis with a wrong’un that shot along the surface. That he has been striking at key moments has given Mishra satisfaction despite being left out of the side when the team management felt it needed just two spinners in Bangalore. “It is more important to take wickets when it matters,” Mishra said. “When you take important wickets and your team wins, it gives you more satisfaction rather than bowling 15-15, 20-20 overs [for more wickets]… If in short spells you bowl well, say six to seven overs and take one or two wickets, it helps the team a lot.”Mishra says he understands his role in his team, a smaller team of three spinners within the big team. That is one of the big reasons why India have done so much better than South Africa in the series, he said. “Not only are we bowling well, we are bowling well at the same time,” Mishra said. “We have a great combination going. We understand each other’s games and game plans. We are sharing our knowledge and our ideas. It is important for any team to win matches and series, for bowlers to trust each other, to keep talking to each other and helping each other.”There has been one big disappointment for Mishra, though: that with all the talk around the kind of pitches prepared for the series, the success of the spinners is not being celebrated as much as it would have been otherwise. “If the spinners are bowling well then the talk should be that spinners are bowling well,” Mishra said. “Rather than focussing on the pitches. We can bowl well outside too.”

After their first seven games in IPL 2014, Kolkata Knight had only two wins. Their recovery and charge to the title is a story of belief, assured decision-making, and man management

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Jun-2014On May 5, Kolkata Knight Riders were cruising to victory against Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad: they were 121 for 0 and needed 50 in six overs. Gautam Gambhir’s dismissal, however, triggered one of the worst collapses in the IPL. Six wickets tumbled for two runs and Knight Riders eventually lost by 10. It was their fourth successive loss and their fifth in seven matches.In the dressing room, no one spoke but there was no recrimination. People were angry but did not lose hope. “Everyone was hurting bad,” Robin Uthappa, the Knight Riders batsman, says. “It was a morose atmosphere. Everyone’s self respect was hurt. We could see it in every player’s eyes: each wanted to play for his own pride and wanted to make the most in every subsequent match. There was a different energy post that defeat.” Uthappa finished the IPL wearing the Orange Cap given to the tournament’s highest run-maker.Vijay Dahiya, one of Knight Riders’ assistant coaches, remembers the defeat as a huge disappointment. “It was unacceptable. I would be lying if I don’t say it was a big, huge disappointment. I remember Trevor Bayliss (head coach) saying it was good to see players hurting. They were angry that they could not finish it. That shows the character of this team.”Dahiya says it was not a case of the opposition winning convincingly; Knight Riders who were not playing smart cricket. A week before the Ahmedabad collapse, they had lost to Royals in Abu Dhabi, where they had needed 16 off 12 balls with six wickets in hand before tying the game and the Super Over but going down on boundary count.”Nobody was willing to leave it for the other guy from then onwards,” Dahiya says about the 6 for 2 debacle.Joy Bhattacharjya, the team manager, says Knight Riders did not let the pressure get to them, even when they had to win six of their last seven matches to qualify for the playoffs. The players did not look too far ahead.”The best part of the story would be the team stayed calm throughout,” Bhattacharjya says. “It was always about the next match. If we win it, we have a chance. It was never about the tournament. KKR kept it shape despite pressure.”Knight Riders did not fall over even when on the edge of the precipice. Instead they bounced back with a record nine-match winning streak, all the way to the title.***Like all teams, Knight Riders had also started their campaign at the player auction in February. They had a well-defined strategy. Venky Mysore, their chief executive officer, says the focus was to create a strong stable of bowlers with emphasis on buying high-quality Indians.Legspinner Piyush Chawla, and fast bowlers Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav, were bought to complement overseas players such as West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, South African quick Morne Morkel, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and young Australian quick Pat Cummings. “All of these people have played at the international level so they have the experience, skill and temperament to perform under pressure,” Mysore says. “And that is why it was not a case of hell for leather with us chasing big totals.”The success of those selections, Mysore says, can be gauged from the consistency of the Knight Riders attack, which almost always restricted the opposition to a manageable target. “The one common thread in all matches, even in the five games we lost, we contained the opposition which put us in a position to win.”Despite the pervading influence of technology in the sport, cricket is a lot about communication between people, about man-management. Mysore says one of the biggest factors behind Knight Riders winning their second title was the return of Wasim Akram, who had been absent from the coaching staff in the 2013 season.”He is a tremendous influence on the team. We missed him last year,” Mysore says. “I have to come to the conclusion that ultimately it is about being in the right frame of mind, creating the right environment and creating opportunities for conversations. When someone can facilitate it with integrity and credibility it goes a long way. Someone like Wasim is very unique: anybody from a youngest member like Kuldeep Yadav, who follows him around everywhere, to a great player like Jacques Kallis, who could have a one-on-one conversation, can easily strike a conversation with him.”***Leaders have always been the fulcrum of champion IPL teams – Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, MS Dhoni, and Gautam Gambhir in 2012. When Knight Riders retained Gambhir, questions were raised because he was not part of the Indian team anymore. Mysore and his think tank, however, believed in Gambhir, in his hunger and leadership.That faith was tested immediately, when Gambhir began the season with three consecutive ducks and Knight Riders lost more than they won. It looked ominous from the outside but within the team no one was perturbed. “To conclude he [Gambhir] was not in form when he had just faced five or six balls is not fair at all,” Mysore says.The highlight for Mysore was how Gambhir did not let his slump affect his leadership. “I never saw any difference in the way he approached the game, the way he led the side, the conversations he had during team meetings,” Mysore says. “I do not see him taking pressure on his captaincy by virtue of his batting – whether he is doing well or not doing well. That was a big thing.”Yusuf Pathan, a senior player at Knight Riders and a three-time IPL winner, is of the same opinion. “He never let his bad form in the first four matches have any effect on the team. That is a very big thing,” Yusuf says. “If a batsman gets out without scoring runs it is easy to get irritated, but he never let that have any impact on his captaincy and the team. He has been a champion in the past and he always held that belief. A good captain can make the team stand out and take it to a different level. Gautam has done that at KKR.”Yusuf also had a lot of critics after his bad form from last season continued into the early stages of 2014. He managed to turn it around, though, and struck the fastest fifty of the IPL in Knight Riders’ final league match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Yusuf credits his form to Gambhir, who supported his elevation to No.4 in the batting order.”In the first part of the tournament I was batting lower down and was not getting too many overs to settle down,” Yusuf says. He did not ask for a promotion, but considering Yusuf performed well in the middle order in domestic cricket, Gambhir decided to send him in earlier. “In the second half of the tournament he (Gambhir) said he knew I would win a few matches. And that did happen. So he supported me and remained confident about my role.”Gautam Gambhir had a terrible start to the season as a batsman, but he did not let his struggle affect his leadership•BCCIThe Knight Riders environment was such that tough decisions, such as dropping Jacques Kallis after he played eight games, were possible. According to Dahiya, Kallis was forthright during the meeting where he was dropped. “He said I will sit out if the selection panel thinks it would benefit the team combination for certain pitches,” Dahiya says. For Dahiya, Kallis set the benchmark in terms of team spirit. “He had the option of staying back at the hotel but he came for every match and was involved in our strategies. On training days he would move around and have a one-on-one with everyone. You don’t need team meetings. You need such interactions to help learn and build confidence.”Immediately after the final, Mysore said on Twitter that Kallis was the heart and soul of the team. “I have the greatest respect for Jacques. He did not play the final. But he was the most excited and happiest after winning the championship,” Mysore says. “He could have easily caught a flight and gone back home but he said he was staying back for the celebrations in Kolkata. In 2012 he had missed it due to FTP commitments.”***On the day of the final, immediately after a team meeting at the hotel, Mysore asked co-owner Shahrukh Khan to speak to the players. “Initially he was reluctant, but Shahrukh eventually spoke about the opportunity at hand. He told the players that this is what we live for, an opportunity to compete. He told them to enjoy the moment, not take any additional pressure, cherish it and whatever happens, happens.”There are many moments that contributed to Knight Riders’ march to the title. For Mysore, it is Yusuf’s blitzkrieg against Sunrisers, when he reached fifty off 15 balls and finished on 72 off 22. The innings led Knight Riders to a second-place finish in the league. “It changed the entire complexion of the knockouts. It gave us two bites at the cherry by virtue of finishing No. 2,” Mysore says. “It also allowed us to play the playoff against Kings XI Punjab in front of a home crowd at Eden Gardens. We got a couple of days to relax before the final. In this format every mini break always helps.”For Yusuf it was “one of the most memorable innings”, one that also brought him one of his favourite compliments. “Wasim told me he had played 20 years of cricket and has been doing commentary on TV for more than a decade but he had never seen such an innings,” Yusuf says.Uthappa says to finish as champions was a dream. It was his fourth title of 2013-14, having won three domestic trophies with Karnataka. “To have our backs against the wall at the start and then to finish as the winner is mind boggling.”Piyush Chawla, whose timely boundaries denied Kings XI in the final, recollected the words of Mike Horn, an adventurer hired by the franchise to help the players. “He would say in his game he does not lose his wicket. He loses his life. That kind of statement makes you put your body on line and play to win,” Chawla says. “At the halfway stage we were on the edge of falling out of the tournament. So we had to put our body on the line.”This was the first time Chawla has won the IPL, having previously played for Kings XI. He cannot forget what Shahrukh told him. “Shahrukh said many things but the one that stood out was when he told me in all the four matches I played against Kings XI, my previous franchise, I had delivered. That to him was incredible.”Knight Riders had been trying hard to “solve the jigsaw” in the first half of the season, according to Bhattacharjya, and the last piece slotted in once the Uthappa-Gambhir partnership took off. They had five fifty-plus opening stands this season, the most by any pair, and are one of only three opening pairs to hit two century partnerships in a season. “The rest were all good pieces, but the last one we were searching for desperately to solve the jigsaw came in the form of the success of that opening partnership.” Bhattacharjya says. “That is when the juggernaut started to roll.”***Immediately after Knight Riders had won their maiden IPL title in 2012, their coach Trevor Bayliss closed the dressing-room door to address the team. “He said, ‘This is it. Mission accomplished. Let us spend some minutes with ourselves and savour the moment before everyone else comes in,'” Bhattacharjya recollects.This time, when Bhattacharjya asked Bayliss if he wanted the door closed, the coach said there was no need. “The way we treated the 2014 campaign was like it was a job that needed to be done. It was not that we were scaling impossible heights [this time],” Bhattacharjya says. That is a terrific illustration of knowing, as a team, that we were not over-reaching to win.”

From Vipul Gupta, India I do not think that many people would have been surprised by Symonds conduct

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Vipul Gupta, India
I do not think that many people would have been surprised by Symonds conduct. As I am sure not many people would have been shocked when Harbhajan slapped his ‘younger brother’ Sreesanth in an IPL match last summer. The one trait that is comman to all these 3 gentlemen is that they are of a ‘slightly’ volatile temperament and believe me I am trying my best to put it very mildly.All three have been involved in on field controversies on numerous occasions in their careers. Things had already started to heat up in India itself and it came to a head with Roy alleging that Bhajji had passed a racist comment against him in the very eventful Sydney Test Match. Unfortunately the only person who displayed any grace and dignity in this entire unsavoury episode which threatened to derail the series was Kumble, the Indian skipper who personally requested Ponting to withdraw his appeal. But the Aussie skipper was adamant and he felt that he could not let his ‘mate’ Roy down by withdrawing the appeal and it was his stand which put both the CA and the BCCI on a collision course which threatened to fracture the entire cricketing fraternity.Come to think of it, the crazy juvenile antics of these players was about to bring this great game to its knees. Such mavericks are found everywhere and it is up to the people who are occupying the positions of power to control them and not allow the events to get out of hand. I am afraid that the subsequent events have only put a big question mark on Ponting’s wisdom and judgment and by that token of logic even the CA cannot be spared. I am sure that by the end of his career Ponting will be regarded as a great batsman and a good captain, but as a Statesman, not at all, which Anil Kumble proved that he was in that series.One also cannot help but wonder that things might have been different for the unity in the Aussie dressing room were it not for the IPL’s Twenty20 tournament held in India. I am sure that the salary offered to Roy must not have gone down well with some of the greats in the Aussie team because compared to them he was just a toddler starting out in the Test arena. It was amusing to see the sensitive Symonds lament the fact that how the CA had bowed in to the BCCI’s financial power when he himself did not think twice of accepting the Deccan Chargers offer, which itself is a brain child of the BCCI.It might be argued that it is in the nature of the beast that such players have serious temperamental flaws and although they might be adorning this great game as jewels it is very important for the authorities concerned to recognize this particular breed of players and to understand that they cannot be allowed to hold the game of cricket as hostage by their actions and any incident should be nipped in the bud itself before it snow balls into anything major. Surely, as a die hard cricket fan this is not asking for much , or is it?

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the World Cup, Group A match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Pallekele

Osman Samiuddin in Pallekele14-Mar-2011Decision of the day
Overcast conditions, worried about a top order that has performed in just one game so far, against a side with a dangerous pace attack but a potentially wonky batting order; what do you do when you win the toss as captain of one of cricket’s weaker sides? You don’t bat Elton.Catch of the day
Never has a straightforward edge behind to the wicketkeeper brought as much relief to the XI on the field and millions back home as that held by Kamran Akmal in the very first over of the game. Brendan Taylor had timed one through the covers beautifully, but off Abdul Razzaq’s fifth ball of the innings he stepped out and nibbled at one. Kamran moved to his right easily to pouch it; it was probably one Taylor too late, but there you go. It set up a near-flawless performance behind the stumps.Dismissals of the day
One day a thesis will be written: “Ego and bluster – A history of Pakistan batting failure against left-arm spin.” Who knows what goes on in their heads the second a left-arm spinner comes on? Clearly not much, given what has gone on in the past. Kamran Akmal has already done it twice in this tournament and you just knew way back when the schedules were drawn up for this shebang that the moment Ray Price came on, some young, brash kid would charge down the pitch, hit only air and be stranded halfway down the pitch, close enough to hear Price giggling away. It took ten balls on this occasion for Ahmed Shehzad to meet that very fate. And Shahid Afridi? Well, the only surprise was he wasn’t charging down the pitch.Surprise of the day
Pakistan v Zimbabwe in Pallekele you say? Wouldn’t have thought that to be in many people’s plans for a rainy Monday evening 15km outside Kandy? You would think wrong. Nearly ten thousand people turned up for this rain-interrupted, and to be honest, fairly predictable game at this spanking new stadium. If that doesn’t seem a lot, it certainly sounded a lot through a day with heavy showers and more than two hours playing time lost. They didn’t get bored easily either, only attempting the Mexican Wave once.Cheer(s) of the day
The charismatic Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was greeted by rapturous cheers every time he did, well, anything: when he was introduced as a bowler, as batsman, or when shown randomly hanging around in the dressing room on the big screen.Stat of the day
This was Pakistan’s first successful chase in a World Cup match since the 1999 semi-final against New Zealand in Manchester. They have won six World Cup games in that time, but all while batting first.

With Irish cricket at a crossroads, Cricinfo talks the CEO Warren Deutrom about the next steps for the game

Andrew McGlashan25-May-2007

Warren Deutrom: ‘There’s a golden chance for us capitalise’ © Martin Williamson
Irish cricket is at a crossroads. Their trouncing of Canada in the Intercontinental Cup final brings the curtain down on the most successful period of international cricket in the country’s history. In the last three months they have beaten two Test nations and tied with another at the World Cup and retained the Associate four-day crown. But the hard work starts now.The Irish Cricket Union certainly can’t be accused of a lack of ambition. It realises that if the game is to grow and become a serious contender in the country – and the national side to become a consistent performer on the world stage – it has to grab this opportunity. The initial post-World Cup excitement has already started to dissipate and the challenge is to keep cricket in the headlines.Since returning from the Caribbean there have been indications of the difficulties which lie ahead. Three of the leading players – Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin and Niall O’Brien – have county contracts and haven’t been available for Friends Provident Trophy matches, although Morgan was released for the Intercontinental final. Another, Ed Joyce, was lost to England last year. Currently there is no way for a player to earn a living by playing cricket in Ireland. However, plans are being developed to bring a professional structure to the game, soon enough for the country’s current generation of leading players to be enticed back to their homeland.”There’s a golden chance for us to capitalise and make sure the team continues to perform at the highest level,” Warren Deutrom, the ICU’s chief executive, told Cricinfo during the Intercontinental Cup final. “The best way to do that is by making sure we have some form of keeping them loyal to us. We need to look at whether the plan is to have a great team per se or are we aiming at the World Cup in 2011 which means we need to target the qualifiers in 2009.” If we believe central contracts are the best way forward, which I believe most people in Irish cricket do, then we need to work out how we’ll pay for it and the best model to use “If those are our objectives what are the best ways to achieve that. If we believe central contracts are the best way forward, which I believe most people in Irish cricket do, then we need to work out how we’ll pay for it and the best model to use. What may be right for Boyd Rankin, Niall O’Brien and Eoin Morgan who have country contracts may not be right for the other players who won’t have other careers to look forward to.”For a country like Ireland to move from amateur to professional cricket is a massive undertaking and Deutrom is aware decisions can’t be made lightly. “What we don’t want to do is rush into it, get it wrong and waste money that has been provided to us by commercial outlets, the ICC or Irish Sports Council,” he said. “But conversely we can’t take too long over it because it’s a World Cup year, and what better time to take advantage. Also, the likes of Boyd, Eoin and Niall won’t be making decisions about their contracts in March or April but in the middle of this year.”Sadly for the ICU money doesn’t grow on trees, so the major challenge will be find funding. This is one of the main reasons behind the decision to host the India-South Africa series in June, which has upset the ECB and means Ireland are likely to discontinue their participation in the Friends Provident Trophy. The three-match series, however, will provide vital revenue and allow the national team ODIs against both teams. In July they will also play West Indies during a quadrangular event including Netherlands and Scotland .

Somehow Ireland need to keep hold of the likes of Boyd Rankin © Getty Images
“As a full member of ICC we have the right to raise our own revenues and this is way we can see it in the short term,” Deutrom said on the decision to stage the ODIs. “We have brought on board a professional TV sales person to help sell the rights on our behalf and are keen for some sort of broadcast into the UK and Ireland . But we are also keen to make as much money as possible, not just for the sake of it, but to invest in the players. There hasn’t been any formal notice from ECB as yet but from the ICU point of view we would need a lengthy discussion about whether we’d want to continue in the FP Trophy in any event.”This is a clear sign that the health of Ireland’s future lies in playing international and top-level Associate cricket. Already this year they have played 23 ODIs, but it is vital that they can continue playing a high volume of matches outside of World Cup years.”The key thing is, if we were to have a professional structure, would there be enough cricket for them [the players]?” said Deutrom. “We’d be looking to move into an arena where we could participate in overseas tours to other Full Member countries. Whether we play their A teams or the full side for a couple of full ODIs is yet to be seen. Then there’s the domestic programme. We want to have as many ODIs as possible and a situation where we continue to play as many of the top Associates as possible.”Deutrom concedes that he has a tough task ahead of him to enable Ireland to build on their recent success. “At the moment the Irish Sports Council, who are an enormously generous supporter of the game, are our biggest source of funding and commercial revenues very small. We need to reverse that trend and it is one of my key jobs to enable us to stand on our own two feet through sponsorship and broadcasting.”Given what has been achieved in the last few months you wouldn’t say it’s beyond Ireland, but the next challenge is greater than anything before.

There’s passion in everything Marizanne Kapp does on the cricket field. When she bats, you simply cannot breathe easy until the moment she is out. And when she bowls, she runs in with a fierce look on her face, eyebrows in a slight furrow, and gives it her all, ball after ball. She is always in the ears of the captain or has a hand around a youngster’s shoulder. She has put South Africa at the right end of a result many times, not least in the Women’s World Cup last year and the T20 World Cup last month.But it took a while for Kapp to get up to this level in the Women’s Premier League. It wasn’t until her fourth game for Delhi Capitals that she showed she had truly arrived, picking up the first five-for of her T20 career to demolish Gujarat Giants.Kapp has an economy rate of 5.29 in the powerplay in the WPL. It is the second best after Nat Sciver-Brunt among bowlers who have bowled at least 50 balls in the first six overs. She has picked up eight wickets in this phase, which are the most by any bowler. Her overall tally of nine is the third-best by a seamer in the WPL behind Capitals team-mate Shikha Pandey and Giants’ Kim Garth.On Monday, another two-wicket burst in the powerplay from Kapp, who was as disciplined and penetrative as ever, punctured Mumbai Indians and helped Capitals top the table with two games left in the league stage. It was Mumbai’s second successive loss in the WPL after five straight wins.In front of a DY Patil stadium crowd that was decked out in blue, Kapp began with three successive dots to Yastika Bhatia. On the third delivery, after the ball was pushed back to her, she passed the ball to mid-on and ran towards captain Meg Lanning at slip to have a quiet word.Marizanne Kapp picked up 2 for 13 to restrict Mumbai Indians to 109 for 8•BCCI

What the talk was about is anybody’s guess, because no immediate field changes followed. But when she began her second over, a deep backward square leg was in place for Bhatia, instead of the fine leg in the opening over. The short one was coming. Or at least that’s what she wanted the batter to think. And it worked.Bhatia was caught on the back foot to a ball that was pitched up and moving across her. It took her outside edge and landed safely in the mitts of the wicketkeeper.Kapp was delighted. Lanning was delighted. Bhatia knew she had been outsmarted.Kapp then used the nip-backer off a length to get the better of Nat Sciver-Brunt. She bowled it around off and got it to move in past Sciver-Brunt’s mow across the line to castle her. A first-ball duck for the Mumbai allrounder. Capitals had managed to rock the ‘home side’ early.Bhatia and Sciver-Brunt had combined for almost 39 percent of the runs Mumbai had scored in the competition in the first six games. In fact, about 84 per cent of all Mumbai’s runs before Monday were scored by their top four batters. And in eight balls, Kapp had managed to see the back of two of them. In doing that, she had figures of 3-0-10-2 in the first six overs.The past couple of years have really tested Kapp and her partner Dane van Niekerk. While Kapp reached the heights of success, winning the women’s Hundred, twice, the Women’s Big Bash League, once, and being part of the first senior South African cricket team to ever play a World Cup final, her partner van Niekerk was snubbed by not one but two teams who had initially appointed her as captain. The Oval Invincibles left her out in 2022 and South Africa left her out in 2023. All of it led to her retiring from international cricket at age 29.Kapp admitted it was “a struggle” to keep her focus through all this but she still managed to churn out match-turning performances one after the other.”The day that I actually took my fiver [five-wicket haul] here, I was crying in the bus on my way here [DY Patil Stadium] because I knew Dane was retiring,” she said in the presser after her second Player-of-the-match award in the WPL. “It’s been tough but again, I think it’s my religion. Jesus Christ has been so good to me especially through those hard patches. I have to mention my team as well. They make it so easy for me to be here.”I have always been a very shy person but I felt like I am so comfortable with these girls and management. I’ve just fitted in and they make me feel at home.”On the same pitch she picked up the five-wicket haul, Kapp might not have the volume of wickets to show. But the impact of the two wickets she picked up upfront were on level with, if not more than, those five against Giants. But as has been her nature – of deflecting praise directed at her towards others – she spoke highly of Shikha Pandey’s penultimate over that went for just four with hard-hitting Issy Wong and Amanjot Kaur in the middle.”Always nice to contribute, especially with the new ball. That’s my job,” Kapp told the broadcaster during the innings break. “I told Shikha [Pandey] that was one of the best death overs I have seen in a long time. So credit to the bowling attack.”While each of Kapp, Pandey and Jess Jonassen picked up two wickets to keep Mumbai to a paltry 109 for 8, it was clearly the Kapp show at the start that set the tone for Capitals’ nine-wicket win.

Randal Kolo Muani closed in on a Juventus return as Paris Saint-Germain and the Italian giants edged towards sealing a €60 million transfer agreement.

• PSG and Juve finalising €60m deal
• Striker set for long-awaited Serie A return
• Move marks Juventus’ major attacking boost

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Juve are edging closer to sealing Kolo Muani’s long-term return from PSG in a deal worth around €60 million (£51m/$65m). After months of negotiations, the two clubs appear to have reached common ground on a deal that will see the French striker initially return on loan with an obligation to buy. Kolo Muani, who scored 10 goals and provided three assists in 22 games during his short loan spell in Turin last season, has already expressed his desire to continue with the Bianconeri. PSG, meanwhile, are keen to cash in on a player who never truly settled in Paris under Luis Enrique.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  This deal would represent one of Juventus’s key transfer outlays in recent years, underlining their intent to rebuild a sharper, more mobile attack. The club have long sought a striker who can stretch defences and bring versatility up front, qualities that Kolo Muani demonstrated during his first stint in Serie A.

  For PSG, this is another clear step in their summer strategy by offloading high-wage players who don’t fit Luis Enrique’s system, while balancing the books after years of heavy spending. The move also reaffirms how Serie A’s elite are willing to invest heavily again, despite broader financial caution across Italian football.

• TELL ME MORE

  The structure of the deal has been a sticking point for weeks, where PSG initially raised their asking price to €70 million (£59m/$76m), which Juventus were unwilling to pay outright. The compromise now looks set at a €5m paid loan followed by a €55m (£46m/$59m) mandatory purchase clause, spreading the cost across seasons. For Juventus, this comes with financial strain as Kolo Muani is expected to earn around €8m net per year.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR JUVENTUS?

  If the deal is finalised, Juve will not only secure a striker tailor-made for their new project but also set off a domino effect in the market. For PSG, this agreement could help finance their ongoing squad overhaul and allow Enrique to continue building a younger, more balanced squad. All eyes now turn to whether Juve can wrap up the final details before rivals swoop in or PSG change course. Juve is set to play against Genoa on Saturday.

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw has officially been handed Manchester City Women’s iconic No.9 shirt, which is worn by Erling Haaland for the men's team, as she prepares for the 2025-26 season. The prolific Jamaican forward, who has worn number 21 since joining City in the summer of 2021, will now carry a shirt number steeped in the club’s history.

• Shaw switches to squad’s iconic No.9
• Miedema announced as new No.10 
• WSL campaign starts September 5 vs Chelsea

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Shaw's switch to No.9 highlights her status as City Women’s most lethal striker. She has scored 91 times in just 106 appearances, earning back-to-back WSL Golden Boots and shattering the club’s single-season goal record with 31 strikes in 30 matches during 2022-23. 

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  In a parallel squad update, Dutch star Vivianne Miedema has been designated as City’s No.10 for the upcoming campaign. She previously wore the No.6 jersey during her debut season, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances. She steps into the No.10 role previously occupied by Jill Roord. 

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Shaw becomes the fourth official City women’s squad player to claim the No.9 shirt since the professional era began in 2014. Previous holders include Toni Duggan, Pauline Bremer, and Chloe Kelly, each leaving their mark through outstanding contributions.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SHAW?

  City Women will kick off their season on September 5 with a high-profile home match against Chelsea in the WSL. However, before that, they will play a friendly against eternal rivals Manchester United on August 9.