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The BCCI has expressed hope that the ongoing series against West Indies will not be affected by the dispute between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board, while revealing that it had played the role of mediator when the situation reached crisis po

Amol Karhadkar09-Oct-2014The BCCI has expressed hope the ongoing series against West Indies will not be affected by the dispute between the players and the WICB and the West Indies Players Association, while revealing it had played the role of mediator when the situation reached crisis point before the first ODI in Kochi.The West Indies players were mulling a strike before the first match due to concerns over a payment agreement between the WICB and the WIPA. ESPNcricinfo understands the BCCI’s assurance to the West Indies players, to stand by them during their fight, was the key factor in the team’s decision to play.”I spoke with the boys and assured them the BCCI will discuss their problems with the WICB and help arrive at an amicable solution at the earliest,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told ESPNcricinfo. “We are hopeful that the series will not be affected.”It is believed WICB chief Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron thanked Patel for playing the mediator’s role in an email sent a day after the game. The BCCI secretary also denied rumours the Indian board had sanctioned a loan to the WICB to pay its players.”I have been told that some of the regional media houses are running stories to this effect, even quoting the amount. Let me make it clear – nothing of this sort has been even discussed in the BCCI since the rules don’t allow us. No financial transaction has taken place,” Patel said.During the last year’s series in India, which was also Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series, the BCCI had borne the daily allowance expenses of the West Indies players.

The third ODI in Hamilton began under overcast skies, and in the 31st over of the game the drizzle had got heavy enough to take the players off. They never came back on

The Report by George Binoy26-Oct-2014Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by ball detailsThe weather in Hamilton allowed only 30.4 overs in the third ODI•Getty ImagesAfter two matches blessed with fair weather in Mount Maunganui, the third ODI in Hamilton began under overcast skies, and in the 31st over of the game the drizzle had got heavy enough to take the players off. They never came back on. South Africa had been well placed in challenging conditions, though, because Quinton de Kock ended a run of five poor scores with a brisk half-century.Both teams had made changes for the dead rubber. Despite needing to sweep the series 3-0 to stay the No. 1 ranked team in ODIs, South Africa rested Dale Steyn, while Imran Tahir and Faf du Plessis were also given a break because of niggles. New Zealand benched Daniel Vettori and Trent Boult, as they continued to search for a settled combination in their build-up to the 2015 World Cup.New Zealand’s attack had plenty of assistance, which backed up Brendon McCullum’s decision to bowl. The pitch had bounce, and the ball swung and seamed in the gloom. The fast bowlers – Tim Southee apart – were inaccurate, though, and unable to prevent South Africa scoring freely despite dismissing three of the top five batsmen cheaply.Matt Henry, playing his second ODI nine months after taking a four wickets on debut, began with two deliveries on the pads that de Kock flicked and drove for boundaries to fine leg and midwicket. Henry’s morning improved, though, and he dismissed Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw with balls that seemed to grip the surface, making the batsmen play early as a result. Amla lobbed a catch to midwicket, while Henry dived across the pitch himself to catch Rossouw, who suffered his fourth duck in six ODI innings.There were boundary balls on offer often and de Kock freed his arms to slice through point and drive through cover when Henry gave him width. David Miller, competing with Rossouw for a spot in South Africa’s World Cup XI, was promoted to No. 4, a rare opportunity for him to build the innings as opposed to finish it. He began brightly, with three powerfully struck boundaries, before yorking himself by stepping out to Jimmy Neesham.At 70 for 3 in the 17th over, New Zealand were beginning to take a grip on the game, but de Kock and AB de Villiers put on 87 runs at more than a run a ball. De Kock thrived on leg-stump lines and nine of his 11 fours came on the on-side through glances, flicks, pulls and on-drives. He moved past 50 off 67 balls and looked set for a sixth ODI century before the innings was curtailed. De Villiers wasn’t at his best but still managed to tick along and just under a run a ball.While Neesham and Henry struggled with wides, and McClenaghan was no-balled twice for knocking over the bails during his delivery stride, Southee was the pick of the bowlers. He had troubled Amla with swing in both directions, and in the 31st over Southee harried de Villiers with successive bouncers in slippery conditions. The first one hit the top edge of de Villiers’ attempted pull and the second hit his helmet. The umpires asked for the covers to be brought on immediately, and the rain did not stop, leaving South Africa the No. 1 ranked side after a 2-0 series victory.

Shaun Marsh has been added to Australia’s squad for the first Test, which will begin in Adelaide on Tuesday

Brydon Coverdale04-Dec-20140:51

Shaun Marsh added as Clarke cover

Shaun Marsh has been added to Australia’s squad for the first Test, which will begin in Adelaide on Tuesday. Australia’s cricketers were due to assemble in Adelaide on Thursday afternoon, after Wednesday’s emotional farewell for their team-mate Phillip Hughes at a funeral in Macksville.Marsh’s inclusion comes as uncertainty surrounds the fitness of captain Michael Clarke, whose hamstring injury had been likely to rule him out of the first Test when it was due to be played at the Gabba. The revised fixture means the season now starts five days later, but naturally Clarke has been unable to complete his recovery programme over the past week.Shaun Marsh has made two Sheffield Shield hundreds so far this season•Getty ImagesOn Friday, the Australians will train as a group for the first time since the death of Hughes, who was struck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG last Tuesday. Hughes was on 63 not out at the time and would have been a strong contender to be called in as cover for Clarke for the Gabba Test.On the same day, Marsh scored an unbeaten 134 for Western Australia against Victoria at the MCG, his second hundred from four matches this Shield season. He made 111 at the WACA against Queensland in the second game of the summer, and now has a chance of playing his first Test since the tour of South Africa in February this year.The inclusion of Marsh brings Australia’s Test squad to 13 members for the Adelaide match. It remains to be seen whether all of the players will feel ready for five days of Test cricket by next Tuesday, so soon after farewelling Hughes, and the coach Darren Lehmann said he would understand if any player chose to withdraw from the Test against India.”I was there 10 years ago when my close friend David Hookes was killed in a tragic incident,” Lehmann wrote in a column in the on Thursday. “It’s something I think about every day of my life. Phillip’s death has revived a lot of memories of that time. Both were freakish incidents. I guess the Hookes family have had a hard week, too.”Hookesy’s death brought it home to me that life has to be joyful and sport the same. We are only playing a game after all. Our existence is too fragile and lifespan too short to worry about stuff that doesn’t matter. I think I played cricket about seven or 10 days after Hookesy died. It was something I felt I had to do and it was something I wanted to do, but that was me.”We hope the boys can find the inner strength to play the game in the way Phillip would have wanted in Adelaide next week and that they can honour what he had done. We want to hold his values close to our heart and that means playing cricket the way he did, with a love of the game and a smile.”It’s going to be hard and if somebody is struggling Michael and I understand. There is no pressure on them. We will look after them and we will help them get back to the place where they can play. We left a bit of heart in Macksville yesterday.”

Sri Lanka discovered that at Hagley Oval what goes for New Zealand’s Test team goes for their ODI outfit as well: the hosts’ seamers are deadly dangerous, their top order is daunting and their lower-middle order can turn matches on their own too

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Jan-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahela Jayawardene was at his calculating best, but his 107-ball 104 was in vain•Getty ImagesSri Lanka discovered that at Hagley Oval what goes for New Zealand’s Test team goes for their ODI outfit as well: the hosts’ seamers are deadly dangerous in the early overs, and while the New Zealand top order is daunting, their lower-middle order can turn matches on their own too.Brendon McCullum’s fast bowlers made Sri Lanka regret choosing to bat on a pitch sporting grass, reducing the visitors to 82 for 4 in the 23rd over. Mahela Jayawardene held the bones of a lethargic batting effort together with his masterful 104 off 107 balls, but a total of 218 always seemed at least 30 runs too light.Then, although Sri Lanka had New Zealand by the collar when the chase slipped to 101 for 5, Corey Anderson showed he had composure to go with his cow-corner clubs. He composed a steady 81 off 96 balls, enlisting the help of Luke Ronchi and Nathan McCullum to take his side to within 10 runs of victory. Anderson’s dismissal made for some late jitters, but the hosts got home with seven overs and three wickets unused to take a 1-0 lead in the series.While New Zealand lost four top-order wickets for 38 runs, at no stage were they under pressure to score quickly – partly because Sri Lanka had made so few, but also thanks to McCullum’s 22-ball 51 to kick off the chase. He smote three sixes and six fours in his in all, targeting the square boundaries in particular.McCullum was also fond of launching the offspin of Sachithra Senanayaka down the ground and equalled his and Ross Taylor’s record for fastest New Zealand fifty, when he deposited Senanayake high over long-on off the 19th ball he faced.McCullum, though, fell on his sword in the same over as Senanayake continued to flight the ball, made it dip and turn sharply to have the New Zealand captain stumped. Tom Latham and Kane Williamson were undone by spin too, and Grant Elliott was bowled by a Nuwan Kulasekara indipper, but Anderson worked his way steadily into the innings.Playing out plenty of dot balls before attempting to even begin collecting the singles, he slammed Kulasekara through cover to collect his first boundary off his 17th ball. He remained choosy with the expansive strokes and the heave across the line that sent Thisara Perera to the boundary, or the mighty pull off Shaminda Eranga that deposited the ball into the crowd were in contrast to the risk-free innings Anderson strove to play.Anderson added 48 runs for the sixth wicket with Ronchi and an additional 60 more with Nathan McCullum. Neither of his sidekicks looked comfortable at the crease, but they did enough to support a largely-secure Anderson. Nathan McCullum remained unbeaten on 25, hitting the winning run with Adam Milne at the other end.It was fitting that Milne was at the crease to see the match won, because it had been he who cut the Sri Lanka top order open in the morning. He bent the ball in to strike Dimuth Karunaratne’s front pad in the fourth over, then dismissed Kumar Sangakkara in the eighth, as his full, seaming delivery collected the outside edge and flew to point. Milne occasionally pipped 150kph on the speed gun, but it was the movement he gleaned off the seam that made him threatening.Those early gains were not squandered by New Zealand, who were rarely loose with the ball, and kept attacking fields to every batsman throughout the game. Mitchell McClenaghan began a little waywardly, but was quickly hitting the back-of-a-length that Sri Lanka’s batsmen found difficult to score off, and he and Nathan McCullum controlled the run rate through the middle overs.McClenaghan was rewarded for his economy in the 47th over, when he claimed three wickets in four balls. Jeevan Mendis and Jaywardene were both out trying to lift short deliveries over the leg side, and Thisara Perera was snaffled at slip for a golden duck. McClenaghan finished with 4 for 36 from his 10 overs, while Milne claimed 2 for 37.Jayawardene overcame early-innings inertia with an upper cut over the slips, followed by a breezy drive through the covers off successive McClenaghan deliveries, but then settled into a rhythm of singles and twos into the outfield, while wickets continued to fall at the other end. He didn’t hit a boundary between the 19th and 32nd over, but rarely did his strike rate dip below 85. The fours resumed with a ramp over the keeper that took him past fifty, and Jayawardene began to look for the boundary more often as the death overs approached.Lahiru Thirimanne had been a firm ally, after Angelo Mathews had been run out, but did little for the run rate during his 50-ball 23. Jayawardene, meanwhile, was lofting the quicks over cover and mid-off, as McCullum kept the field in, and it was only his positivity that prevented New Zealand from crowding the bat even further. He completed his 18th ODI ton in the 46th over, but was out shortly after, effectively sinking Sri Lanka’s hopes of eclipsing 240.

Chris Gayle has launched a scathing attack on the West Indies Cricket Board and the Clive Lloyd-led selection panel for dropping the senior pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the ODI series and the World Cup

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Jan-20152:23

‘It’s a ridiculous selection’ – Gayle

After hammering a match-winning 90 that helped West Indies win the Twenty20 series against South Africa, Chris Gayle launched a scathing attack on the West Indies Cricket Board and the Clive Lloyd-led selection panel for dropping the senior pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the ODI series and the World Cup. Repeatedly labelling the move as “ridiculous”, Gayle felt it was a case of “victimisation” against the two Trinidadian allrounders.”How can those two guys not be in the team?” Gayle, who is the first current player to raise his voice against the omissions, said during the post-match media conference at Wanderers. “To me it got to be like victimisation when you look at it towards those two guys. Come on, guys. It is just ridiculous. Come on. Ridiculous. Really hurt. Ridiculous. Honestly, it throw me off. We can only talk. We can express our feelings, which I’m doing at this point in time. The squad already is announced. It is just sad.”It is a big batting line-up when you look at our team. But it’s just disappointing when you look at the 50-over format – we won’t be at our strongest,” Gayle said. “We don’t have our strongest team without Pollard, nor Bravo. So that is actually sad for us. It is a really big blow for us to actually lose two key players, two key allrounders as well, very good in the outfield. I don’t know what’s the history behind it, but it is a ridiculous selection from my point of view.”On Saturday, the WICB announced the 15-man World Cup squad to be led by Jason Holder with Marlon Samuels as vice-captain. There was no mention about Bravo and Pollard, who had been earlier been ignored for the ODI series against South Africa. Gayle, whose blazing starts were instrumental to West Indies chasing big totals in successive matches, including the highest successful Twenty20 chase on Sunday, said he was glad he could dedicate the series victory to Bravo and Pollard.”I don’t know where our cricket is actually going to …where we are heading with this sort of situation. But it is really sad. Actually we won the [Twenty20] series with our best team and now there will be changes, with two of our biggest players in ODI cricket not involved in the 50-over format and the World Cup. It really hurts but I’m really, really glad that we won the series for Pollard and Bravo.”Gayle’s blunt attack came a day after the WICB released a list of 12 players granted central contracts. That list did not include Gayle, who said he could only express disillusionment over the the omissions at this stage, but smelt Bravo and Pollard paying a price. Although Gayle did not mention it directly, he was referring to the India tour last October when Bravo, as ODI captain, led the boycott against the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association over a contracts dispute and pulled out of the tour.What astonished Gayle further, he revealed, was when Bravo told him that the selectors’ vision was focused on re-building the team. “Bravo said to me, to be honest with you, the team they selected for the World Cup is actually to re-build for the next World Cup, which I can’t understand. Basically what they are telling us: we are not going to win the World Cup [but] build for the next World Cup which is really ridiculous.”

Though he hasn’t bowled a delivery in competitive cricket since September last year, Lasith Malinga said he was unfazed by the expectations thrust on his shoulders going into the World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Feb-2015Lasith Malinga had arrived in New Zealand with a strapped-up ankle and a bum knee. He has not bowled a delivery in competitive cricket since September. Even before the hiatus, he had been some way from his best; low on pace and wayward, with a stomach bulging out ahead of him.All this would make for a low-key return, you would think, but Malinga has earned a reputation as Sri Lanka’s major tournament performer. The gold tinge in his hair rejuvenates ahead of each big event. The yorkers begin to fly fast and free, stumps wrecked, hat-tricks collected, toes bruised, and that aeroplane celebration dusted off with unusual intensity.On Saturday, Gary Ballance labeled Malinga “probably the best death bowler there has ever been”, and the man himself is meeting the attention with his usual bluster. Saddled now with transforming the Sri Lankan attack’s fortunes in New Zealand, Malinga said the expectations on him are nothing new.”I don’t know what pressure means,” he said. “I’m always used to pressure situations, so I wouldn’t even know what pressure is to talk about it. I want to have a free mindset and do what I can do. Throughout my career I haven’t been looking out where I’m playing or what are the conditions. We know it will be bouncy here, but I always trust my skill.”Malinga’s absence from international cricket had been forced by a long-term ankle complaint that had deteriorated to the point of requiring surgery. He had suffered a setback in his rehabilitation in December, but has gradually been increasing his bowling workload through January. Every step is still painful, Malinga said, but he is expected to be fully fit for the warm-up matches, against South Africa and Zimbabwe, and for the curtain-raiser against New Zealand on February 14.”In the last few days, I’ve been bowling with my full run up, and I feel like I have good rhythm. I don’t know about the pace, so we’ll find that out in the matches. Before the World Cup, I have to use these two warm-up matches to the maximum.”I haven’t had much skills preparation in the last few months, but I always do my mental preparation. I watched all my footage in the last two months and figured out what I needed to do.”Sri Lanka’s major-tournament fortunes have fluctuated with Malinga’s, to some extent, but on this occasion, his team-mates are quick to suggest they have other match winners in their attack too. Kumar Sangakkara said Rangana Herath was the best current spinner, while captain Angelo Mathews believed Sri Lanka were not totally reliant on Malinga.”You can’t write off the rest of the bowlers that we have,” Mathews said. “We’ve got fairly experienced bowlers, but Lasith is the X-factor. It’s just that in a one-off game, the others can also come into the party. We all expect Lasith to do well but I’m pretty sure with the amount of talent that we’ve got in the side, anyone can do the job for us.”Mahela Jayawardene took a similar view, emphasising the threat of the collective, but added that Malinga’s return boosted the know-how within the attack. Malinga had been the architect of the wide-yorker plan that brought Sri Lanka success in the World T20 final last year.”The others will feed off him,” Jayawardene said. “You saw in the World T20 how his ideas, and his management of the bowling unit in that situation was fantastic. Because of his experience, his presence will give us that extra 10 per cent to win the matches we had been losing. We’re a small nation, so it’s important we get everyone on the park.”Sri Lanka’s approach to the World Cup has been marred somewhat by a 2-4 loss to New Zealand. Mathews said his team had “found ways to lose matches rather than win them” in that series, and called for more consistency in all departments, but was unperturbed by the lowered expectations of his side.”We’re happy to walk into the World Cup as underdogs. No one really expects us to win.”

Sachin Tendulkar has condemned the ICC’s decision to reduce the number of teams in the 2019 World Cup as “a backward step” in the global expansion of cricket

Melinda Farrell04-Mar-20154:23

Kimber: Having Sachin on board is a massive thing

Sachin Tendulkar has called the ICC’s decision to reduce the number of teams in the 2019 World Cup “a backward step” in the global expansion of cricket and described the lack of consistent matches available to Associate sides as “unfair”.Tendulkar, an ambassador for the World Cup on behalf of the ICC, told an audience at an exclusive dinner in Sydney that the ICC should instead be exploring ways to expand the next World Cup to as many as 25 teams.He also suggested Full Member nations should regularly play their ‘A’ sides against Associates and strive to provide a “fair platform” for smaller cricketing countries.”I found out the next World Cup would only be ten teams,” said Tendulkar. “Which is slightly disappointing because as a cricketer I want the game to be globalised as much as possible and, according to me, this is a backwards step.”We’ve got to find ways of encouraging the lesser teams.”Tendulkar also contradicted the views of ICC chief executive David Richardson, who defended the planned reduction of teams from 14 to 10, by suggesting, “The World Cup itself, the premium event, without exception should be played between teams that are evenly matched and competitive.”Richardson’s statement has been widely challenged, with only one match so far between Full Member nations – New Zealand’s one-wicket victory over Australia – considered to be competitive. In stark contrast, some of the matches between Associates have provided the most keenly fought contests, Ireland scored a notable result by defeating West Indies and Afghanistan capped off their remarkable rise in qualifying for the World Cup by overcoming Scotland in a final-over thriller.”The lesser teams have, in each and every World Cup, they always surprise top teams,” Tendulkar said. “And they can do it on a consistent basis only if they’re given a fair platform to express their talent.”Right now, they get up after four years on the cricket world’s biggest platform and they’re expected to play and compete with the likes of Australia, South Africa, India, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, so many top sides. It’s unfair to them.”Since the 2011 World Cup, Ireland has played only 11 ODIs against Full Member nations and their captain William Porterfield has been joined by his Scotland counterpart – Preston Mommsen – as well as a host of players and officials from both Associate and Full Member sides, in calling for a “level playing field”.An online petition asking the ICC to reverse the decision to cut the number of World Cup teams has, at the time of writing, gathered more than 15,000 signatures.Tendulkar said he believes cricket’s global fan base will only grow if the Associates improve to the level where they can be consistently competitive and he believes the first step is to schedule regular matches against second-string sides from the Full Members nations.”Why not get Australia A, England A, New Zealand A, South Africa A, New Zealand A, India A, everyone, to go and visit these countries and play them on a regular basis,” Tendulkar said. “And see, not just 14 teams, but how can we get to 25 teams participating in the next World Cup?””It is not just about the top six or seven sides. If we are to globalise this game we have to get more and more people excited about cricket and the fan following only follows the result.”If the results are good then you have more fans, so it’s important that they play good cricket consistently for a longer period, not just one good performance and then suddenly they go underground for four years and then turn up if they do well in those qualifying rounds.”So I would say it’s something the ICC needs to look into and I hope they look into it.”Sachin Tendulkar has called for attempts to expand rather than shrink the World Cup•Indian Link FacebookWhile calling for an expansion of the World Cup, Tendulkar also spoke about his concerns for the 50-over format and said he had suggested to the ICC about splitting ODIs into two 25-over innings.”I think Test cricket definitely will survive and T20 is definitely going to survive,” he said. “There is a big question mark over one-day cricket because I think it is getting monotonous. I have sort of casually suggested to the ICC that they need to look at the format. Can we change the format a little bit so that it’s not predictable?”Right now when it comes to batting from the 15th over onwards to the 35th over you know exactly how the batters are going to bat and that is something that is possibly boring the spectators.”Can we change that? Can we look to introduce something that is not quite as predictable, which is slightly out of the box?”Tendulkar proposed a split-innings format, which he said could encourage more exciting matches and fairer results when games were interrupted by rain. It is the type of format that was trialled during the 2010-11 Australian domestic season when the 45-over Ryobi Cup was split into two innings although the experiment only lasted one season after it was determined the international game would remain at 50 overs.”I suggested that it be 25 overs and then the other side comes in and they bat 25 overs and then you go back again and bat 25 overs and then you finish the game with 25 overs but in the entire match you have only ten wickets,” he said.”I felt there was a huge disadvantage in certain venues when the sides had to go in second because there is so much dew. Spinners are virtually out of the game and fast bowlers don’t get any movement.”They’re bowling straight and the batters are thinking, well, where am I going to hit the next boundary? The game doesn’t go ahead like this. We need to find the right balance.””It just adds to the excitement, whether you want to lose seven wickets in the first 25 overs and score 270 runs because it’s going to rain later, or have wickets in hand because later on there’s going to be dew and batting’s going to be easy and you can attack the bowlers.”When asked about the reaction of the ICC, Tendulkar replied, “They haven’t reacted. I’m still waiting.”

Otago batsman Aaron Redmond has announced that the Plunket Shield game against Auckland will be his final professional match

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2015Otago batsman Aaron Redmond has said that the Plunket Shield game against Auckland will be his final professional match, becoming the third New Zealand cricketer in two days to announce his retirement, after Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills. Redmond, 35, played 128 first-class matches during his 16-year career, scoring 7202 runs at 34.29, with 15 centuries. He also played 21 matches for New Zealand across all formats, but was unable to become a permanent fixture in the team.”I’ve been taking my family to and fro from England to here and it has got to the point where I need to put family first,” Redmond told . “‘We toyed with the idea of doing another season but I think I need a change, as well.”In 2008, Redmond received a surprise Test call-up for the tour of England, and made his debut at Lord’s. However, he failed to make an impact, scoring just 17 runs in the match, including a seven-ball duck in the first innings. Redmond would play six more Tests that year, but his indifferent form – just two half-centuries from 12 innings – meant he wouldn’t play again in the longest format till 2013, when he was picked for the Dunedin Test against West Indies, which was also the last time he played for New Zealand. Redmond also played six ODIs and seven T20Is, but none since 2010.Redmond, though, enjoyed a far more prolific career for Otago, for whom he scored 4750 runs from 73 first-class matches, including 11 hundreds, putting him sixth on the list of the team’s highest run-scorers. He also played 78 T20 matches for them, and was a part of the side that won 14 successive games between December 2012 and September 2013.

ESPNcricinfo previews the one-off ODI between Ireland and England at Malahide

Alan Gardner07-May-2015Match factsMay 8, 2015
Start time 10.45am (0945 GMT)3:20

We want to play with freedom and confidence – Porterfield

Big pictureThe UK is going to the polls but the outcome is likely to be weeks of uncertainty and procedural wrangling. Although we will have an idea of the results by the time Ireland and England begin their match in Dublin on Friday morning, the bargaining to form a government and choose a Prime Minister will have only just begun. If only it were as simple as a small committee of people identifying and appointing the right man for the job.Then again, maybe that isn’t such a straightforward process. A year ago, Peter Moores was about to take charge of England for the second time, starting with a bedraggled ODI in Aberdeen, having been declared “the outstanding coach of his generation” by Paul Downton, then England’s managing director. Now, with Andrew Strauss reportedly being measured up as Downton’s replacement in a new role as director of cricket, Moores has been forced to appeal for more time to finish the job; he might have some sympathy for David Cameron.Defeat to Ireland will probably not swing things either way for Moores, particularly as England have picked a young and experimental squad, but after a harrowing World Cup and the failure to win in the West Indies, his ratings are once again dangerously low. According to some, the votes may already have been cast. Nevertheless, Moores has flown straight from Barbados via Gatwick to take charge of things in Dublin.England’s squad is one for the future while Ireland are about to begin life under a new regime. John Bracewell will not take his place at the dispatch box across from Moores, as he is awaiting a work permit, but the New Zealander will be there in an observational capacity as Ireland target a first home win over England. The squad is much the same as that which did markedly better than England at the World Cup and, should the weather cooperate, there is the prospect of another big crowd to barrack from the back benches.Two years ago, England needed centuries from Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara to secure victory at Malahide, after Ireland had reduced them to 48 for 4 in pursuit of 270. This time both are at the IPL – where Morgan, England’s captain that day and at the World Cup, has just made his first significant score for Sunrisers Hyderabad – and Niall O’Brien has gone as far as to suggest Ireland are favourites. In Friday’s tightly contested marginal, England might rue the absence of their big beasts; whatever the result, Moores could still be short of a majority.Form guideIreland LLWLW (most recent first)
England WLLWL
In the spotlightIreland’s XI is so settled that they are likely to field nine players who took part in their famous World Cup win in Bangalore four years ago. Less has been seen of Andy Balbirnie but the elegant Middlesex batsman looks likely to become another fixture in the middle order. He made his maiden ODI half-century against South Africa at the recent World Cup and then helped set up victory over Zimbabwe with 97.England have selected a clutch of talented tyros for this match and the sight of James Vince, Sam Billings and David Willey in one-day colours will enthuse many. Perhaps more significant than the debutants will be a return to international competition for Adil Rashid, who is likely to win his first cap since 2009. With current spin resources severely depleted, a bright display from Yorkshire’s one-time future star would strengthen England’s hand for the challenges to come.Team newsThe loss of Tim Murtagh to injury is a blow – he took 3 for 33 two years ago – but Ireland will otherwise be able to send out their best XI. Whether that includes Craig Young or the more all-round talents of Stuart Thompson – or even another spinner in Andy McBrine – may depend on the pitch. William Porterfield, meanwhile, is set to captain Ireland for the 200th time.Ireland (possible) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Niall O’Brien, 5 Andy Balbirnie, 6 Gary Wilson (wk), 7 Kevin O’Brien, 8 John Mooney, 9 George Dockrell, 10 Alex Cusack, 11 Craig Young/Stuart ThompsonJames Taylor is set to lead England for the first time and there will be at least five ODI debutants in the side. Jonny Bairstow was named as wicketkeeper in the original squad but Billings is more than capable of playing as a specialist batsman. Zafar Ansari could miss out if Rashid, as expected, fills the spinner’s brief, while Somerset’s seam-bowling allrounder Lewis Gregory is the other option in the 13.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 James Vince, 4 James Taylor (capt), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 David Willey, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Mark Wood.Pitch and conditionsThe surface at Malahide has previously provided a good contest between bat and ball, although this is the first time an ODI has been played there in May. A green pitch would not be surprising, although the sun has been shining in Dublin. That might change, however, with rain forecast for Friday afternoon.Stats and trivia Ireland and England have met six times previously in ODIs, with Ireland winning once, at the 2011 World Cup England have played four times in Ireland – twice in Belfast and twice in Dublin – and never lost The last time England played five debutants in an ODI was against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 1996; their record, other than in the first-ever ODI, is the six fielded against West Indies at Headingley in 1973 (courtesy of Ask Steven) Tim Bresnan is the most experienced member of England’s squad, with 84 caps; the rest have 94 between them. Ireland’s 13 men have played in a combined total of 609 ODIs.Quotes”A lot of these guys thought they probably should have been at the World Cup – and to be honest, when you look at the strategy that was needed there, a lot of them perhaps should have been. They’ve got some big points to prove, and justify their case. So I don’t think they’ll be a soft target, that’s for sure.”
“It is an important game for everybody, not just Peter Moores. The whole team are right behind him, and it’s up to the individuals now to put in a match-winning performance in the middle.”

Soumya Sarkar’s longest ODI innings before today was 58-balls long. Today, once he survived that period, he knew he had to make it big

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur22-Apr-2015Tamim Iqbal smiled as he turned away from Soumya Sarkar. The two Bangladesh batsmen had met in the middle after Soumya had jabbed Umar Gul over midwicket in the fourth over. He had mistimed the previous ball through the same area for a boundary but this one had come off the middle. Tamim’s reaction suggested just that.Soumya might have been worried after making just 20 and 17 in the first two matches. But he passed through his danger period in this game with ease. When he played the 37th delivery in this game, a single down to mid-off, it became his longest innings of the ODI series.After being dropped in the 18th over by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, when he played the next ball – the 59th, it was his longest ODI innings. By this point he knew he had to stay, make it big. That’s what Tamim told him.”I played today like I always do,” Soumya said. “I slowed down in the forties. I made fresh plans after talking to Tamim . He told me, ‘Make it big and stay till the end. Finish it, and you will see the pleasure will be something else’.””I was getting out in 20s and 30s. I was thinking about this. I was concerned. I talked to my seniors who told me to play my way. When I first saw the score, I was on 18. I thought that it had been done smoothly so I didn’t do anything differently today. I just started and ended the job.”Soumya sped away after his fifty, which came off 63 balls. The next 50 came off 31 balls, with five fours and three sixes. The hundred came off a six too, pulled into the deep midwicket boundary after which he cramped a little and then celebrated.”It is a habit. I don’t celebrate too much when I do anything big,” he said. “The shot I played it, didn’t go far and I didn’t understand if it would go all the way. Apart from that I had cramped immediately after hitting that shot.”When I saw that it was six, I think the cramp went away. At the end of the day, the celebration I did was from my heart,” he said.His final act was to lay into Umar Gul in the 38th over, after he was dropped in the same bowler’s previous over at deep square-leg. After Mushfiqur gave him strike, Soumya clattered it past the bowler, struck a majestic pull shot and then hammered one over long-on.Soumya is on five months into his international career, and he has now played ten ODIs. He was Bangladesh’s most impressive newcomer in the World Cup, although he struck only a single fifty in the competition. But Soumya’s game never wavered; his aggressive shotmaking was the biggest gain.Soumya feels that the support of the dressing-room, particularly his captain, made a huge difference to his outlook before and during the World Cup. He is reaping the rewards now.”My captain told me from the very beginning to play my way,” he said. “Play freely, don’t be afraid of anything. I was successful because the seniors supported me so much. I have only tried to be myself. The six World Cup innings went well for me. I tried my best in those innings and though I couldn’t make them big, it helped my confidence.”When he had ended the innings and taken the short victory lap thanking the full house in Mirpur, Soumya looked lost momentarily in the crowd that gathered in front of the dressing-room. He had just completed the interview with the broadcasters. But he towered over the rest around him, and when he was done with the photos and the hugs, he bowed his head as he strode back to the Bangladesh dressing-room.