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England selector Mick Newell praised the unyielding virtues of Haseeb Hameed and predicted a Test future as Lancashire held out at Trent Bridge

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge06-Jul-2016
ScorecardHaseeb Hameed’s unyielding style won a new fan in England selector Mick Newell•Getty Images

Lancashire’s resilience secured them a draw that is enough to take them back level on points with Warwickshire and ahead by virtue of having won one match more, although now behind Middlesex following their win at Scarborough. Nonetheless, at the halfway stage of the season, it is a position with which they are understandably delighted.They were helped by a docile pitch that was of little real help to any of the bowlers, to the frustration of the legspinner Imran Tahir, to whom Nottinghamshire were looking in particular to lift them out of the doldrums. They are without a win since the opening match of the season.Nonetheless, for all that conditions were not as testing as they might have been, Lancashire still had to pass a test of patience and concentration to come through. Five down at tea and only 51 in front, they lost their sixth wicket soon afterwards as Tahir winkled out Karl Brown for his only success but Steven Croft and Jordan Clark used up another 20 overs before Nottinghamshire made another breakthrough. Lancashire had a lead of 108 and 11 overs remained when handshakes were offered.Croft’s 141-ball 34 was a gutsy, captain’s effort, although it was the opening partnership between Tom Smith and Haseeb Hameed that was the key factor in saving the game. Nottinghamshire needed to part them early but it was almost an hour before Harry Gurney found some extra bounce to have Smith caught at first slip off the shoulder of the bat and there were no further losses before lunch.By then there had been confirmation that their young opener, Hameed, has the attributes required for such circumstances in abundance as he completed a second hundred in three matches.The 19-year-old from Bolton, who delivered an innings of similar match-saving qualities against Surrey in only his third appearance last season, continued until he had batted for almost six and a half hours for a career-best 122, his dismissal coming not until mid-afternoon, more than 24 hours after the innings began on Tuesday.Until that point he had made barely a mistake, certainly nothing that would offer much encouragement to the opposition. But then, faced with a change of bowler and possibly beginning to tire, he was drawn to play a good ball outside off stump and was caught behind.It was his second century in three matches, with an 89 in between. Only Alviro Petersen has made more Championship runs for Lancashire. Mick Newell, momentarily swapping his duties as Nottinghamshire spokesman for his England selector’s cap, described him as a player “born to open the batting in Test cricket.””He is a throwback,” Newell said. “An old fashioned type of cricketer who looks like he was made for Test cricket.”He’s gone out to bat 200 runs behind against bowlers of the quality of Stuart Broad and Imran Tahir and played exceptionally well. I thought he was absolutely terrific. I just hope that Test cricket lasts long enough for him to play!”The young right-hander admitted that taking on two such accomplished international bowlers was as tough a test as he has faced, revealing as he was asked questions that as well as batting with a maturity beyond his years he is as thoughtful and eloquent in his self-assessment, too, as someone much older.”It was a real challenge today against international players but to have that challenge motivates you and gives you that hunger to score runs because they mean more if it is against better opposition,” he said.”You could see how good they are in the spells they bowled. Broad came back with the new ball and got two quick wickets and we have seen in the past that once he gets a couple of wickets he can go through a side.”His patience and ability to concentrate for long periods come naturally, he says. “It is not something I’ve worked towards, it is the way I have always played,” he said.Taking the new ball at lunch, when Lancashire had eradicated their first innings deficit but only just, Nottinghamshire’s hopes were raised when Broad dismissed Luke Procter and Alviro Petersen in the space of four balls to leave Lancashire effectively 15-3 and when Brett Hutton followed up his dismissal of Hameed by having Liam Livingstone caught at mid-on they were five down and just 35 ahead.Time was always against Nottinghamshire achieving a win, even after a stunning catch by Brendan Taylor at short leg helped Tahir remove Brown just after tea.Yet Newell, switching to his Nottinghamshire director of cricket perspective, saw encouraging signs.”There have been parallels with last season in that we have reached the halfway stage looking back at games in which we haven’t batted well enough and not been able to fight back when we have been under the pump,” he said.”But I can’t fault us for effort and commitment and the skill we have shown over these four days. I can’t think of a dropped catch and in terms of batting and bowling we dominated the game.”Now we have to maintain this standard. That’s our challenge because we’ve only got six games left and others have more, and we’re in the bottom three. We do need quite a lot more points.”

The PCB has nominated former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas for the ICC presidency, a day after Najam Sethi, the head of the board executive committee, withdrew his candidature for the post

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2015The PCB has nominated former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas for the ICC presidency, a day after Najam Sethi, the head of the board executive committee, withdrew his candidature for the post. Abbas was principal advisor to Sethi when he was the PCB chairman.The ICC had asked the PCB to nominate an ex-cricketer last year in September but Pakistan had came up with Sethi’s name. Sethi was slated to take over from Mustafa Kamal as the ICC president for a period of 12 months from July 1. In April, he had offered himself as the interim president after Kamal resigned and was willing to fill in for two months before taking a full-fledged role from July.Sethi’s decision to withdraw came after the ICC in its previous board meeting, it is understood, discussed encouraging former cricketers for the post from 2016 after what would have been Sethi’s one-year term.The post of the ICC president is merely a ceremonial and ambassadorial one and there was a sense prevailing after Kamal’s fall out that this post should be held by an iconic cricketer for the image and popularity of the game.

What prompted Gautam Gambhir and Kolkata Knight Riders to bat second, under the lights, in South Africa, is unclear. And the plan clearly did not come off

Mohammad Isam13-Oct-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDaredevils’ pace-attack cut through Knight Riders’ line-up with ease•AFP

What prompted Gautam Gambhir and Kolkata Knight Riders to bat second, under the lights, in South Africa, is unclear. And the plan clearly did not come off; it went horribly wrong on a track that had unreliable bounce, which the Delhi Daredevils’ four-man pace attack used wisely after 60 overs were played out on the pitch. The Knight Riders were not only outplayed by 52 runs, five of their batsmen got struck, including the team’s batting mainstay Jacques Kallis. Their top-order had an outing they’d do well to forget.Out of 168 day-night limited-overs internationals in the country, only 27 teams have won the game after deciding to bat second. At the SuperSport Park, only one team has won in ODI cricket while none have done so in Twenty20 internationals. And against an attack that includes the towering Morne Morkel, the Knight Riders were swimming against the tide willfully. The uneven bounce confused them further and by the time the first ten balls of their innings were done, Daredevils had done enough damage.It started with the captain Gautam Gambhir, when Irfan Pathan removed him for a duck off the third ball, having the left-hander chip one to mid-on. Off his sixth ball, he brought one back into the other opener, Manvinder Bisla, who was trapped leg-before. Irfan had one of those better evenings, when he looked like bringing the ball back whenever he pleased. It got worse for the Knight Riders when Brendon McCullum cut one to Chand at point off Morne Morkel’s first ball, the seventh of the innings, for a duck.Jacques Kallis was the next man to walk off when Morkel rapped him on the fingers of his right hand while trying to fend off an awkward delivery. He had to retire hurt and did not come back to bat, but X-rays revealed that there was no fracture. The very next ball struck the next batsman, Yusuf, on his arm, as he attempted to leave a rising delivery. At the end of the fifth over, he was put out of misery when Daredevil’s first-change bowler Umesh Yadav had him deflect one back at the stumps. By this time the ball started keeping low too. Manoj Tiwary and Rajat Bhatia added 47 for the fifth wicket but it was only a face-saving exercise.Irfan, Morkel and Yadav took two wickets each and Ajit Agarkar got one; except for the left-arm swing bowler, the other three struck the batsmen and kept them pinned on the backfoot.Daredevils too were in trouble when they batted, but the recovery was prompt. The 63-run fourth-wicket stand between Unmukt Chand and Ross Taylor put them in a strong position, especially after a 30-run 17th over from L Balaji.Chand played some attractive shots to start off his innings and survived a chance on 14 at midwicket, where Tiwary dropped a skier. He cracked two sixes and two more boundaries to finish on a 27-ball 40. It ended when he completely missed an off-break from Sunil Narine. The versatile spinner took three wickets while Brett Lee and Kallis bowled well too. But it would be the costly overs from Balaji that they could pinpoint for conceding more than the average score at the venue.Following Daredevils’ resounding win, Pietersen will be off to London to meet with England team director Andy Flower on Sunday. He is likely to be back in time for Daredevils’ second game, on Friday in Durban, against Auckland Aces.

Boeta Dippenaar, the former South Africa batsman, thinks Jacques Rudolph can become “the Michael Hussey of South African cricket,” after playing against him on the weekend

Firdose Moonda04-Oct-2011Boeta Dippenaar, the former South Africa batsman, thinks Jacques Rudolph can become “the Michael Hussey of South African cricket,” after playing against him on the weekend. Dippenaar, who last played for South Africa in 2007, still turns out for the Knights franchise and was in the field for both of Rudolph’s brisk half-centuries for the Titans in their SuperSport Series opener.”He looked like a batsman that is worlds apart from the rest and that includes some national players,” Dippenaar said. “The Jacques Rudolph that I played with [for South Africa] and the Jacques Rudolph that I saw last weekend are two very different players.” Rudolph and Dippenaar played 13 Tests together and shared in a 429-run third wicket partnership against Bangladesh in 2003. Both their international careers simmered without ever exploding and although Dippenaar, at 34-years-old, is unlikely to stake a claim for a national place again, he believes Rudolph will.Rudolph returned to South Africa last year, after spending three years with Yorkshire in England. He topped the SuperSport Series batting charts in his first season back for the Titans. His time in county cricket appeared to have revolutionised his game and Dippenaar said the difference was noticeable. “I sense that Jacques knows his game inside out. He plays with lots of confidence, he is so calculated, there are no risks and he takes the game to the bowlers in a very clinical way.”Although Rudolph could not convert either of his half-centuries into hundreds in the last match he played, he was pleased with the way he performed on a challenging Centurion pitch. “It was the kind of wicket where I felt I had to play attacking cricket and it worked for me until I got out,” Rudolph said. “The two months I spent back in Yorkshire this winter was very good for me, it was the right move to have a bit of a pre-season.”Rudolph has been putting pressure on Alviro Petersen for a slot as opener in the South Africa Test side. Petersen started the domestic season with 186 and 64 for the Lions, but Dippenaar still sees room for Rudolph in the Test team. With AB de Villiers’ finger injury, Dippenaar feels Rudolph could even be moved down the order to slot in at No.5 and prove himself. “I will bat anywhere from one to six,” Rudolph said. “I just want a foot in the door again.”Dippenaar has some insights into what the coaching staff may be thinking, having served on the six-man panel that interviewed applicants earlier this year. Gary Kirsten was given the job in June and chose Russell Domingo and Allan Donald as his assistant and bowling coach respectively.According to Dippenaar, the selectors would do well to include Ryan McLaren in the Test XI. McLaren had a Man-of-the-Match performance with a century and four wickets for the Knights. Dippenaar said he would be an ideal No. 8, would lengthen the batting line-up and be the third seamer, a role that has been occupied by Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Dippenaar thinks McLaren’s all-round abilities will be better for the balance of the side. “His seam bowling is very accurate and he reminds me a bit of the great Glen McGrath of Australia.”Dippenaar is also in favour of JP Duminy at No. 6 instead of Ashwell Prince. “Not that Ashwell has done anything wrong. But Duminy will be able to bowl as well and that would give South Africa three seamers, a legspinner [in Imran Tahir] and an offspinner. And Duminy can do the job of containing as well.”Hashim Amla, who scored the third double-hundred of his career three days ago, also gave Dippenaar reason to be cheerful. “He is one of those players that never gets tired of batting. I am always very nervous of players like that, particularly when you play against them, because if you don’t get them out quickly, you will be spending a long time fielding.”

A round-up of the third day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010S Badrinath’s unbeaten half-century gave Tamil Nadu a third consecutive win, as they comfortably beat Hyderabad by six wickets at the Gymkhana Ground.Medium-pacer C Ganapathy had started positively for Tamil Nadu by bowling Hyderabad captain Ravi Teja in the second over. Tamil Nadu kept striking regularly throughout the innings, reducing Hyderabad to 72 for 6 in the 15th over. Akshath Reddy – who was part of the India squad for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup – took Hyderabad past 100 before he was bowled by L Balaji for 34 in the 18th over. Rain intervened at that point and the target was revised to 101 from 17 overs.Hyderabad medium-pacers Pagadala Naidu and Ashish Reddy ran through the Tamil Nadu top order, leaving them struggling at 57 for 4. But Badrinath stood firm, hitting three sixes and as many fours in his unbeaten 51 off 40 deliveries as Tamil Nadu won in 15 overs.P Prasanth’s all-round performance took Kerala to a four-wicket victory against Karnataka, in another rain-hit match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Karnataka’s spinners had Kerala in trouble at 76 for 6, chasing a rain-adjusted target of 110 from 14 overs. However, Prasanth came in at No. 8 and smashed four fours in his unbeaten 21 off 11 deliveries to take his side home with an over to spare.Prasanth’s left-arm spin had restricted Karnataka to 149, after Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa added 80 to take them to 110 for 1 in the 14th over. Pandey made 49 off 45 while Uthappa – who also had three dismissals behind the stumps later – was more aggressive in his 38 off 26. However, both fell to Prasanth who finished with 3 for 20.Goa won their first game of the tournament at the Gymkhana Ground, scraping home by three wickets to hand Andhra their third consecutive defeat.Fast bowler Saurabh Bandekar led a disciplined performance by Goa’s bowlers in a match shortened to 16 overs-a-side, as Andhra lost half their side for 44 runs. Hemal Watekar ensured Andhra would have a modest total to defend, top-scoring with 41 off 29 deliveries.Sagun Kamat, the Goa captain, led the chase with 37 off 28 after fast bowler Syed Sahabuddin had jolted Goa with two early wickets. Left-arm spinner Shankara Rao struck repeatedly to leave Goa reeling at 86 for 7. However, No. 8 Robin D’Souza hammered 19 off 10 to bring up victory with two balls to spare.

Fast bowler will travel with the squad on Friday having been forced to miss a UAE training camp

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2025Saqib Mahmood has finally received his visa for England’s upcoming limited-overs series in India, meaning he will be able to travel with the team to Kolkata on Friday ahead of Wednesday’s first T20I.Mahmood, who is of Pakistani heritage, had encountered a delay in obtaining the travel document, forcing him to miss an England training camp in the UAE. Two other members of the T20I squad of similar background – Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed – had received their visas earlier.The Lancashire seamer had encountered similar issues in the past when, in 2019, he was replaced for an England Lions tour of India following a drawn-out visa process. In 2024, he sat out Lancashire’s pre-season tour having anticipated the same problem, months after England offspinner Shoaib Bashir missed the first Test against India in Hyderabad due to the slow processing of his visa.Mahmood was supposed to attend a pace-bowling camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the India tour, led by fast bowling consultant James Anderson, which featured the likes of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood. Those plans were scuppered by the fact the Indian Embassy still had his possession of his passport, with Mahmood having originally intended to travel to the UAE with the group last Thursday.The 27-year-old has been on something of a comeback trail, overcoming consecutive lower-back stress fractures to return to the international fold last year, and was named player of the series during England’s T20I series in the Caribbean in November, taking nine wickets at 10.55. With 29 appearances in all formats, including two Test caps against West Indies in 2022, Mahmood will be keen to impress head coach Brendon McCullum who is now in charge of England’s red- and white-ball sides.

The final schedule, where six teams will play a total of 34 games, is expected soon

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2023The second edition of the ILT20 is set to run in the window between January 19 and February 18 next year. The six teams – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals, MI Emirates, Sharjah Warriors, Desert Vipers and defending champions Gulf Giants – will play a total of 34 games across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah within that 30-day period.Recently, the likes of David Warner, Mark Wood, Shadab Khan and Ambati Rayudu signed up for the second season. Warner and Wood, rivals at the Ashes recently, will play at Capitals, while Shadab joins Pakistan team-mates Shaheen Shah Afridi and Azam Khan at Vipers. Rayudu, who retired from all Indian cricket after IPL 2023 and is currently playing in the CPL, has been signed up by MI Emirates, while Martin Guptill and Maheesh Theekshana will play for Warriors alongside Lewis Gregory.The schedule will clash with the five-match India vs England Test series that begins on January 25 in Hyderabad; Wood and Joe Root, who are both part of the ILT20, are expected to be part of the England squad there. Warner, meanwhile, is expected to fulfil his BBL commitments with Sydney Thunder – the tournament will end on January 24 – before hopping across to the UAE to be part of the ILT20. He will require a No-Objection Certificate from Cricket Australia to play in the league.The second season of the ILT20 will also run more or less concurrently with the second season of the SA20 league in South Africa, which is expected to be played from January 10 to February 10. This was the case last year too. And while the dates for the PSL and the BPL haven’t been announced yet, there could be some overlap there too.The last stage of the squad-building process will involve selecting the UAE players, details of which will be “announced shortly” according to an official release.In February this year, less than a week after Gulf Giants were named inaugural champions at the first edition of the ILT20, it was announced that ILT20 2024 would kick off on January 13 2024. That has now changed. The ILT20 was one of two new men’s franchise leagues added to the calendar last year, along with the SA20, with a crossover of team owners in both leagues and the IPL.

Steven Smith says he and Usman Khawaja have moved on following their mix-up in the first Test in Sri Lanka, with the pair chilled over Smith’s on-field reaction.

AAP06-Jul-2022Steven Smith insists there is no lingering fallout from his mid-wicket mix-up with Usman Khawaja after his fiery first Test dismissal against Sri Lanka.Smith created headlines last week when he gestured back at Khawaja and stormed off the field after being run out for six in Galle. The incident drew criticism back home in Australia, including from former captains Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell.Chappell in particular was harsh on the right-hander, claiming he should have been in better check of his emotions as a vice-captain on the field. But Smith insisted he and Khawaja had immediately moved on, and he was more frustrated at his own dismissal.”I hate getting run out. I think anyone does,” Smith said on Wednesday when asked if he had reflected on the situation. “Particularly given the [tough] conditions and gifting them a wicket. As one of the most experienced players I was pretty upset.”That happens in the game. I got over it pretty quickly. I had to keep moving forward and that is part of the game.”I spoke to Uz straight after and he was pretty chilled. Mix-ups happen, we keep moving on.”What Smith is desperate for is more time in the middle. He missed the final three one-day internationals in Sri Lanka with a quad injury and only faced 11 balls in his one innings in Galle before his run out.The former captain batted through another lengthy net session on Wednesday, working hard on facing left-arm spin with throwdowns from former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori.Smith employs a different approach to most Australians against the spinners, only using the sweep when the ball spins back into him. He was Australia’s leading run-scorer on the last tour of Sri Lanka, relying on a fast-feet method to try and unsettle the bowlers.”I’m not a huge sweeper so I prefer to run down the wicket and get them off their lengths that way or come back into my crease,” Smith said. “Really it’s about not getting stuck on the crease with the ball spinning into me.”If I’m doing that well and fast on my feet, I usually feel pretty good.”Australia expect the wicket to spin just as much in the second Test in Galle starting Friday, with Sri Lanka adding more spinners to their squad.Smith had attempted to lead a more positive team with the bat when he captained Australia’s 3-0 loss in 2016, only for the side to be tentative in defeat. But that approach has been put into far better effect on this tour, as Australia scored at a rapid rate in the first Test.”It’s about having courage in the way guys are playing,” Smith said. “It’s good we all play a little bit differently.”There’s not the same continuity, so bowlers have to change their lengths a bit and when they’re doing that in a partnership you can cruise along quite freely.”

Some members feel umpire’s call is too confusing for the public, want a simple ‘out’ or ‘not out’ decision

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Feb-2021The MCC’s World Cricket Committee will send the ICC a mixed bag of opinions on the ongoing debate about the umpire’s call aspect of the DRS, which was in the spotlight once again after Joe Root was not given out on review off an Axar Patel delivery during the second India-England Test in Chennai last week. In the first meeting of the MCC Committee – made up of former international captains, match officials and coaches – this year, some members thought the umpire’s call was “confusing to the watching public”. Others, however, said they were satisfied with it and these opinions will now be passed on to the ICC’s Cricket Committee for further discussion.

The MCC Cricket Committee

Mike Gatting – Chairman
John Stephenson – MCC Assistant Secretary (Cricket)
Suzie Bates
Sir Alastair Cook
Kumar Dharmasena
Sourav Ganguly
Tim May
Brendon McCullum
Ricky Ponting
Ramiz Raja
Kumar Sangakkara
Ricky Skerritt
Vince van der Bijl
Shane Warne

The committee also deliberated imposing a permanent ban on rubbing saliva on the ball in the virtual meeting, a safety measure introduced into the game as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.There remain a range of opinions on the umpire’s call within the committee and in and around the game. That much was evident when Root was adjudged not out. On the fourth and final day of the Test, Root survived a close lbw decision against Patel. On-field umpire Nitin Menon, who is on the ICC’s Elite Panel, ruled the impact was not in line. Hawkeye validated the umpire’s call, but India remained far from convinced.India’s dissatisfaction is not an isolated stance, mirrored by members of the MCC Cricket Committee. “The committee debated the use of ‘Umpire’s Call’ for LBW decisions made via the Decision Review System, which some members felt was confusing to the watching public, particularly when the same ball could either be Out or Not out depending on the on-field umpire’s original decision,” the MCC said in a media release on Monday. “They felt it would be simpler if the original decision was disregarded on review, and that there was a simple Out or Not out, with no Umpire’s Call.”What is the umpire’s call?
The protocols around the umpire’s call have undergone several tweaks, and currently allow for teams to not lose their reviews in case of an umpire’s call, though they are no longer able to top up their reviews after 80 overs in Test cricket. Currently, under the interim playing conditions during the pandemic, teams are allowed three reviews per innings.The umpire’s call is used in cases of the ball’s impact with pad and then the stumps, reliant on ball-tracking technology and as a concept is rooted, essentially, in the on-field umpire’s original decision retaining the benefit of doubt. Under the current protocols, according to the ICC, for “a Not Out decision to be overturned more than half the ball now has to be impacting the pad within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps), and the ball needs to be hitting the stumps within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps and the bottom of the bails (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps, and the bottom of the bails).”Those members of the committee who argued for change “felt it would be simpler if the original decision was disregarded on review, and that there was a simple Out or Not out, with no Umpire’s Call,” the release said. “The ‘hitting zone’ of the stumps would still be retained, which had to be hit by at least 50% of the ball for an Out decision. If such a protocol was introduced, they felt it should also include a reduction to one unsuccessful review per team, or for the relevant review to be lost irrespective of its outcome.Other members of MCC’s cricket committee) were “satisfied” with the umpire’s call, feeling it was important to retain the human element of the on-field umpire’s decision, which takes into account the ‘benefit of the doubt’ that has existed in umpires’ decisions for many years. They felt that supporters did understand the concept of ‘Umpire’s Call’.”The MCC said it would “share the various opinions” with the ICC Cricket Committee. The MCC Cricket Committee once again reiterated that the ICC should take complete ownership of the DRS system, which currently is paid for by the host country.Another recommendation was for the on-field umpires to make an “unsighted” signal while making a decision on inconclusive catches in the outfield, “The committee felt that the soft-signal system worked well for catches within the 30-yard fielding circle, but that catches near the boundary often left the umpires unsighted. It was proposed that, for such catches, the on-field umpires could give an ‘unsighted’ instruction to the TV umpire, rather than the more explicit soft-signal of Out or Not out.Permanent ban on use of saliva on the ball
The MCC cricket committee also discussed whether to make the interim ban on using saliva to shine the ball a permanent one. The measure has been in place since last year, after the ICC’s medical advisory board recommended it due to the “elevated risk” it posed in transmitting Covid-19.Consequently, the ICC approved the Cricket Committee’s recommendation of using only sweat to polish the ball, a move that that the fast bowling fraternity accepted grudgingly. Now, some of the members of the MCC’s Cricket Committee want to make it a permanent change.”The committee debated prohibiting the use of saliva on the ball on a permanent basis and whilst there was a significant level of support for such a recommendation, some members felt that eliminating the use of saliva on a permanent basis is premature, and that it may be possible to allow its use once again in a post-Covid world,” the MCC release said.The MCC has said it would consult “current” players on the no-saliva ruling before making a Law at a “later stage”.”Such a Law change would have the dual benefit of being more hygienic whilst also eliminating the grey area of players using sweets and chewing gum to make their saliva more sugary.”

Of the issues the hosts must sort, the top-order problems seem the most pressing

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Oct-2019

Big Picture

Yes, even the first-string Sri Lanka had lost their four most-recent T20I series, and sure, Pakistan topped the rankings, but there are no two sides that revel quite as much in chaos as these two, so in some ways, a comfortable series victory for the underdogs is not a huge surprise.The two matches so far have followed a remarkably similar script. Sri Lanka have got a half-century and a big partnership from their top three, and then a strong finish. Their quicks have then struck early blows, and despite the occasional good partnership from Pakistan, Sri Lanka have managed to keep the required rate climbing through the middle overs. In the first match, Pakistan’s last seven wickets fell for 33. In the second, their last five went down for 20.The two players catching the most heat so far have been Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, who have produced four awful innings between them. Akmal’s successive golden ducks have basically been an invitation for a punchline. Shehzad has arguably been even worse, chewing up 25 Powerplay deliveries for his 17 runs across the two games. Babar Azam’s rare failures haven’t helped either, nor has the fitful form of the rest of the middle order.A whitewash will be a coup for Sri Lanka, and a significant early obstacle for the new lord commander of Pakistan cricket, Misbah-ul-Haq. Of the issues the hosts must sort, the top-order problems seem the most pressing.

Form guide

Pakistan LLLWL (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWWLL

In the spotlight

Part of Pakistan’s good T20I form in 2018 had been down to the bowlers, and Mohammad Amir had as good a year as anyone, going at 6.57 in nine appearances last year, taking 14 wickets at 15.50. He had not gone wicketless in eight previous T20Is before this series but has now failed to take a wicket through the first two matches in Lahore. With a confident opposition top three to contend with, Pakistan need their quicks to fire in the last match.In all four of Sri Lanka’s innings on tour, Dasun Shanaka has played good knocks befitting the situation, finding late boundaries when Sri Lanka are looking to finish fast, and rebuilding when they have lost early wickets. He had been disappointed to miss out on a World Cup spot but has perhaps now done enough to firm up a place in the first-choice XI in both limited-overs formats.

Team news

Iftikhar Ahmed may come in for the run-less Akmal. Perhaps Pakistan will also consider Haris Sohail instead of Shehzad.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Ahmed Shehzad, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad HasnainAlthough ordinarily a team might be tempted to trial inexperienced players once a series has been sewn up, a whitewash will mean a lot to this Sri Lanka team, and they are unlikely to change their side.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Shehan Jayasuriya, 5 Minod Bhanuka (wk), 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

There has been a little dew around in Lahore, but not so much that it has had a substantial effect on the game. The pitch is expected to be decent for batting again.

Stats and trivia

• Amir’s 0 for 40 on Monday were his worst figures since the 2016 T20 World Cup.
  
• Seven members of Sri Lanka’s XI had played fewer than ten T20s at the start of the series.
  
• Sri Lanka have never won a T20I series 3-0.