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Head coach suggests England camp read conditions incorrectly ahead of toss

Matt Roller29-Dec-2019England head coach Chris Silverwood has defended captain Joe Root’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss against South Africa, despite the decision backfiring as South Africa sealed a 107-run win at Centurion.On the first morning of the game, Root admitted that he faced a “tricky decision” at the toss but said England had a “great opportunity” to dismiss South Africa for a low first-innings total. In the event, the hosts rallied from 111 for 5 to reach 284 all out, and made use of excellent bowling conditions on the second day to bowl England out for 181.”It was pretty simple really,” Silverwood told Sky Sports. “When we got here, the wicket was a little bit damp, and we suspected it would do a little bit with the new ball, which it did. It did something for most of the day, and we suspected that days two and three would be the best days to bat, and [the pitch] would deteriorate. As it turned out, day three was the best day to bat.”Root said he maintained the decision was “a 50-50 call” and blamed the defeat on a collapse of 7 wickets for 39 runs in the first innings, rather than his choice to bowl first.”It’s very easy to stand here now and say that, but [when] you get a side 111 for 5, you really think you’ve got ahead of the game if you like. Maybe [that was] a slight opportunity missed, but ultimately you have to give credit to South Africa.”That [collapse] was the real crux of it – that’s where the game was won and lost. It’s really disappointing, but in the same sense it’s really pleasing to see us very quickly put a better performance [in the] second innings.”While there may have been some logic to Root’s decision to bowl, the record of visiting teams who choose to bowl first in recent Test history is extremely poor.In the past two-and-a-half years, there have been 13 occasions on which an away captain has won the toss and inserted the home team, and only once has that resulted in a victory – Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera-inspired win in Durban in February. Similarly, only once has a visiting team won after winning the toss and choosing to bowl at Centurion, in the infamous 2000 Test between these teams which saw both sides forfeit an innings.ALSO READ: South Africa end Test drought with 107-run winSilverwood also defended the decision to field an all-seam attack for the second consecutive Test match, despite the fact that Keshav Maharaj, South Africa’s left-arm spinner, made two crucial breakthroughs in dismissing Dom Sibley on the third evening and Ben Stokes on the fourth afternoon.”It was a gameplan that we had,” he said. “We looked at the wicket, and it was a direction that we decided to take. There’s plenty of parts of the game you could pick to pieces and say ‘if we’d done better there’ or ‘if we’d made a different decision there’, but we decided to go that way.”We went for it, and when you stick a team in you expect to bowl them out in a day and we did [South Africa were 277 for 9 at the close]. Obviously then to concede a 100-run deficit in that first innings was hard.”Asked if he would feel confident throwing Matt Parkinson, the young legspinner, into the side for the Cape Town Test assuming Jack Leach remains unwell, Silverwood said: “Obviously we’ve got Parky here, we’ve got [Dom] Bess here, and we’ve got to see how Leach recovers first.”We’ll be working closely with the medical staff, but we have got some good spinners here, so if we’ve got to play one then yes, I’m confident.”

ITN secured local terrestrial rights, with tournament to be broadcast throughout much of South Asia and the UK

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Nov-2020Sony, Sky Sports, and PTV have bought the rights to broadcast the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL), with Sri Lankan channel ITN securing the local terrestrial rights.Sony will broadcast the tournament throughout much of South Asia, particularly in India where Sri Lanka Cricket hopes desperately the tournament does well. PTV, meanwhile, will show it in Pakistan, while Sky Sports will broadcast it in the United Kingdom. Several Pakistan and England players have been drafted in the tournament, and two former India players – Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel – have also been picked up by LPL teams. At least two of the five LPL teams have owners in India; the Galle Gladiators franchise is headed by Pakistani owners; and Jaffna Stallions have owners based in the UK.ALSO READ: Sohail Tanvir, Canada batsman Ravinderpal Singh test positive for Covid-19“LPL’s broadcasting partner’s – Sky, Sony, Geo, and PTV – global reach will help the League grow in stature and will help the league connect with millions of fans across the globe,” tournament director Ravin Wickramasinghe said.The formalisation and announcement of broadcast partnerships comes as a boost to the tournament, which saw several high-profile player withdrawals this week, before two foreign players also tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving on the island.The LPL is set to begin on November 26 and runs until December 16. All matches will be played at the Sooriyawewa stadium near Hambantota.

Rested seamer reflects on Test success in Pakistan, Ben Stokes’ captaincy and ball to Mohammad Rizwan

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Dec-2022At 40 years of age and with 177 caps, missing Test matches is not something James Anderson has time for. Yet as he sits in Karachi’s Movenpick hotel on Friday, a day out from the third and final Test against Pakistan, he is at peace with the fact he is sitting this one out.The series is won, with only the scoreline left to sort. Anderson’s eight wickets at 18.50 have ticked off a ninth frontier in the format, 17 years after he accompanied England on their last tour to the region without getting on the park (for the Tests). The career dismissals were 35 then, 675 now as Anderson’s 20th year as an international comes to an end. Nevertheless, his rest has been well-earned.”It’s been brilliant from start to finish really,” Anderson says. “I think we’ve just really gone about things the right way, we’ve worked really hard concentrating on the right things. We wanted to keep that same mentality we had in the summer, the same style of cricket.”We knew it was going to be slightly different out here. Just from one to 11 it’s been outstanding. Everyone’s chipped in, whether it’s with runs or wickets in the field, and we deserve to be two-nil up.”Related

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That Anderson “completely understands” the reasons for being rested is as much personal contentment as it is the environment he is in. He felt he could have played, and said as much to Ben Stokes. The captain, however, was thinking further ahead. “It’s only four or five weeks before we go to New Zealand,” says Anderson of the two-Test series in February. “It’s not a huge amount of time.”What the break does do is give Anderson scope to assess how the last couple of weeks have been on a personal level. It speaks volumes that he regards the job done here as the most satisfying of his career.”I feel proud of the work I’ve put in over here: forty overs [46] in the first Test, 22 I think on the last day of the game. That’s as good as I’ve bowled and as important a role as I’ve played in any team, I think, especially in these conditions.”And I think to be honest, we all feel like that as bowlers. The seamers have put in a lot of work to try and get something out of the wickets.”We’ve managed to find some reverse swing which helps. But I think generally we have just thought outside the box with fields as well. Just trying everything we can to get 20 wickets and thankfully we’ve managed to do it in both games.”More specifically, there is pride at the delivery in Multan that did for Mohammed Rizwan: moving in with that reverse, then nipping away and clipping the top of off stump. The video of that dismissal is still doing laps on social media. Many used it as an excuse to trawl through Anderson’s archives to compare it to other pearlers. The man himself is certain it is one of the best deliveries to have left his hand.”I think it probably is up there, just because of where I’ve done it. I’ve bowled similar deliveries in England where you get that seam movement. And it happens more regularly than it does in Pakistan.”So to get that little bit of reverse swing in and it definitely hit a crack, but it looks great on telly. For me it’s right up there with one of the best balls I’ve bowled.””I guess that’s part of the skill out here when you know certainly towards the back end of the game the wicket might break up. The wicket out here looks exactly the same – there are going to be cracks there as the game goes on and it deteriorates. And the skill for the bowlers then is to hit it as often as you possibly can. [It’s] not always that easy just to land it on it. That’s the thing: you’ve got to bowl it with some decent heat on, you can’t just put it there or bowl within yourself. You’ve got to mean every ball. It can take its toll, but it’s really satisfying when you get those rewards.”In many ways, it is remarkable Anderson finishes 2022 with 36 wickets at an average of 19.80, the first time the latter has been under 20 in a calendar year since 2017. The spillover of the Ashes and the end of Chris Silverwood’s tenure as head coach was such that Anderson and Stuart Broad were omitted from the tour of the Caribbean, which was Joe Root’s last engagement as Test captain.But it is clear Anderson is enjoying a new lease of life under his eighth full-time Test captain. He is currently the leading wicket-taker under Stokes, a statistic which has a very clear correlation to the manner in which the captain and new head coach, Brendon McCullum, are approaching things on the field.The batting may grab the headlines, but the bowling has been a model of consistency through relentless pressure, administered through attacking fields with accompanying lines and lengths. England have taken 10 wickets in all 17 innings so far under Stokes and McCullum through this approach, something which aligns with Anderson’s own theories while also opening his eyes to doing this a different way.”I love thinking about the game, thinking about plans, and Ben is that sort of captain. All he thinks about is taking wickets. He’s not bothered about trying to dry the run rate up or control the game. He wants to take wickets. You see that with the fields he sets. That then rubs off on you as a bowler.Ben Stokes and Anderson plot their tactics•AFP/Getty Images

“I can’t remember the amount of times I would have bowled in previous years with a leg slip. I had one quite a lot throughout the summer, had one quite a lot in this series. Funnily enough, that Rizwan wicket, I did have a leg slip in at the time and Rooty thinks maybe that position made him stay slightly leg side of the ball. Those little things can actually make a big difference.”When we were successful in 2010, it was a run-rate thing, control the rate, and it worked for that group of players. We did that again in ’17, ’18, ’19, it didn’t quite work for us. This seems to be working for this group of bowlers, and we’ve got a nice mix of bowlers, especially with Woody [Mark Wood] coming back in. So I’ve found it refreshing thinking differently, even though I’ve played a lot of games.”As long as you’re getting hit in the right areas, they don’t care if you go for the odd four, trying to go a bit fuller, so that gives you confidence to bowl, knowing that you don’t have to fret about how many runs you’re going for, or whether you’ve been hit twice down the ground. If that’s the way you’re trying to get people out, with catchers in front of the wicket as they have been out here, then they’re completely fine with it.”As for where things go from here, the spectre of Australia and a home Ashes looms large. Given the constant calls from within the group to play more engaging, more entertaining cricket and push past the previous achievements, predicting where this side will be by next summer is anyone’s guess. “I’m sure over the coming months the messages will be the same,” Anderson says. “With the talent we have got, we should just keep getting better so that by the time the Ashes does come around, we’ll be in a good place.”Given how accustomed he is with Australia ahead of what will be his 10th series against them, there is maybe no better person to ask. Does he think Australia will be intimidated of this free-wheeling juggernaut fuelled by vibes and a relentless approach to positive results?”It’s an interesting one,” he muses. “I texted Tim Southee the other day to congratulate him on the NZ captaincy and he was like ‘I’m not sure I can keep up with you guys’.”Maybe the Aussies might be more brash than him but there might be something deep down, where they’re not sure how they’re going to approach it against us. Having played against them a lot, I’m sure they’ll try to come back just as hard as they can. It seems a long way away at the minute, but hopefully we can keep enjoying ourselves and keep playing the way we are because it’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Bairstow’s unbeaten 99 extends England’s lead before Wood’s pace is again the x-factor

Andrew McGlashan21-Jul-2023Another brilliant, high-octane spell from Mark Wood cracked open Australia’s second innings after Jonny Bairstow’s blitz continued England’s batting rampage at Old Trafford as they did all they could to buy themselves enough time to beat a poor weekend weather forecast and level the Ashes series.After Bairstow’s unbeaten 99, with 50 coming from his last 31 balls, had extended England’s lead to 275, Wood’s pace was again the x-factor in their attack. He had removed Usman Khawaja in his first over before returning deep in the final session to bounce out Steven Smith (claiming him for the second time in the game) for his 100th Test wicket and Travis Head to leave Australia tottering on 108 or 4.Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh survived through to the close, but it had been a chastening two days for Australia who will need all the help they can get to retain the Ashes here and avoid a decider at The Oval next week, for which they surely wouldn’t be favourites.Bairstow had been stranded one short of a rollicking century when James Anderson was trapped lbw by Cameron Green to end a barnstorming last-wicket stand of 66 which left Australia ragged and rattled. The ‘big three’ quicks – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins – returned a combined economy rate of 5.22 and for just the second time in Tests together all conceded over 100.In theory, England had two-and-a-half days to make it count after scoring at an eye-watering 5.49 through their 107.4 overs. In reality, though, they looked sure to have far less time than that to secure the win they need to take the series down to the wire and remain on course to be only the second team to come back from 2-0 down to win. The forecast for Saturday remained exceedingly bleak while Sunday was not good – they will hope that, not for the first time, it proves wrong.England batted longer than many thought likely – they were 189 ahead at lunch and 209 when the ninth wicket fell – but clearly valued as big a lead as possible and with Bairstow carting the ball around the overs were being used effectively. Bowling time, though, will likely be at a premium but the four wickets they have taken means they may not need a huge window in the weather.They got through Australia’s opening pair either side of tea. Khawaja and David Warner had progressed reasonably comfortably against the new ball before Wood, in his first over, grazed Khawaja’s outside edge. Khawaja went for the DRS after talking to Warner and the spike was confirmed.Related

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Warner fell for another middling score when Chris Woakes claimed him for the second time in the game. After fizzing a delivery past the outside edge, he then had Warner in two minds and he deflected down into his stumps.Smith came close to falling second ball when he edged Woakes low to Joe Root at first slip. Root did not celebrate the catch at all, but indicated to the umpires he thought it was out and it was sent to the TV official, Kumar Dharmasena. After much rocking and rolling Dharmasena determined that Root had not got his fingers under the ball in what was another borderline decision in a summer where there have been numerous examples.Smith and Labuschagne worked hard to navigate their way through the final session on a surface showing signs of some variable bounce, which had been on display for Root’s wicket the previous day.But, once again, Wood made the difference as he got Smith into difficulties with a short ball that he attempted to pull and could only get a glove through to Bairstow. Unsurprisingly, England went at Head with the bouncer straight away and it only took seven deliveries to pay dividends when he fended a glove into the gully, unable to get out of the line.England had resumed on 384 for 4 after their Zak Crawley-inspired rampage the day before. They did not quite find top gear during the morning session, although these things are all relative and 122 runs still came from 24 overs. Australia delayed taking the second new ball and the softer, older version made strokeplay tougher work.Stokes had signalled his intent early by charging down and hoicking Starc over midwicket, but he and Harry Brook didn’t completely throw caution to wind. Stokes went to his half-century from 72 balls before playing around a delivery from Cummins to give the forlorn Australia captain his first wicket of the innings.Brook’s fifty came from 80 deliveries before he fell shortly after Australia opted for the new ball after 90 overs, the first time they had taken it in the series, when he top-edged Josh Hazlewood to long leg. Starc judged the catch expertly near the rope and as he ran in to his team-mates, mimicked scraping it along the ground in reference to his denied catch at Lord’s.Hazlewood added Woakes (England’s first duck of the series) and Wood before lunch, then claimed what will likely sit among his least-decorated five-wicket hauls when Stuart Broad skied a return catch.Jonny Bairstow launches another six over deep square leg•Getty Images

Stokes could have considered calling an end to the innings, but to roars from his home crowd Anderson came to the middle for what might have been his final Test innings on the ground. He played his part by fending off numerous short deliveries, but also managed one crunching pull against Cummins. There were chaotic scenes, too, during the partnership as he and Bairstow three times stole byes to Alex Carey, whose underarming at the stumps was less accurate than it at been at Lord’s.Bairstow went to his fifty with a trademark whip-pull for six off the hip against Starc – and that was just the start. He had now flicked to one-day mode (if that’s even a thing with England’s Test batting) and one of his sixes over the leg side endangered the windows of the new hotel complex. Even Stokes was seen mouthing ‘wow, that’s huge’ from the dressing room.Having got to 98 with a ferocious swat through the covers, a stolen bye at the start of the next over got him back on strike. Two balls later he drove firmly towards long-off and Anderson was ready to sprint back for the second, but Bairstow told him to stay put. Next delivery, Anderson went too far across against Green.It heralded the start of the third innings that will decide this match. England could not have done any more to set up their position; now all they can do is hope they get enough time to make it count. Australia, meanwhile, will be praying for two days of rain. It’s been a remarkable turnaround.

South Africa, who will be playing their first Test in more than seven years, should “apply themselves over long periods of time,” she says

Firdose Moonda23-Jun-2022South Africa will need to develop a patience game with both bat and ball as they embark on their first Test in eight years when they take on England in Taunton next week. That’s the assessment of vice-captain Chloe Tryon, one of only five members of the current squad to have played a Test before.While recognising that they are coming up against a vastly more experienced side – England have played 97 Tests compared to South Africa’s 12, and three in the last three years – Tryon is hopeful South Africa will be able to apply themselves over long periods of time to compete in this encounter.”Our concentration has to be a bit higher [than usual] because it’s a really big mental game,” Tryon told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve got to be able to bat for longer, with the ball, you’ve got to be okay with bowling the same length all the time and as a fielding side, we also have to be really awake. When an opportunity comes and when you are playing a team like England, you can’t drop world-class players and then they go on to make hundreds. It’s important to be really switched on, and for us to use this opportunity for girls to make big scores and take plenty of wickets”.Related

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The dearth of Tests in women’s cricket – no team other than England, India or Australia have competed in Tests since 2015 – means that South Africa don’t have a lot of historical knowledge to go on. Tryon, Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp played in the 2014 Test against India in Mysore, which South Africa lost by an innings and 34 runs.”India batted for about two days and we just tried to survive,” Tryon said of that match. “It was a really good memory because I always wanted to play a Test match.”Still, she called it a “different and weird” experience but one she is “excited” to try again. Other than the trio, Shabnim Ismail was part of South Africa’s previous Test, seven years earlier, against Netherlands in 2007, while Trisha Chetty is the only member of the current squad to have played in both those matches.South Africa’s domestic set-up does not include a red-ball programme for women, or any multi-innings or time cricket matches, which means that none of these five players have played any competitive long-format cricket since their respective last Tests while the rest have never played anything other than limited-overs cricket. That means South Africa will have to field at least six debutants against England next week, and all of their squad have almost no red-ball experience other than the occasional match at school.Still, Tryon believes they have had as much preparation as possible with intra-squad matches at a training camp in Pretoria last month, though those who were part of the FairBreak Tournament, like Ayabonga Khaka and Laura Wolvaardt, had to miss it. A three-day warm-up match against England A at Arundel is ongoing. From the latter, South Africa have an example of how to approach Test cricket in Wolvaardt, who scored a century in the first innings against England A, and Tryon expects big things from the top-order batter. “Laura has adapted really well to the situation,” she said. “It looks like she is enjoying it and the rest of the batters are taking up the roles.”Given the lack of familiarity in the format, does Tryon think South Africa’s participation could be farcical? It seems not. “As players, the game has evolved and we want to grow it as much as we can. While ODI and T20I cricket is growing, we should also be able to grow the Test matches. It can be an exciting way for us to develop.”However, not even the most important decision-makers in the game think so. In an interview with BBC’s earlier this month, ICC chair Greg Barclay said he didn’t see women’s Tests “being any part of the landscape moving forward to any real extent at all,” and cited lack of resources and structures in most countries and the push for white-ball cricket to be the future as justification for his views.England’s coach Lisa Keightley was disappointed with that analysis and England’s captain Heather Knight also came out in support of long-format cricket, and now Tryon has added her voice to the discussion as well. “I’ve always been a person that’s loved Test cricket. I grew up watching Test cricket and I love Test cricket now,” she said. “It would be great for us to be able to play a few more Tests.”

Jack Leach, Mark Wood make way after England’s 28-run victory in first Test

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-20241:32

Miller: Bashir debut another ‘no fear’ pick from England

Shoaib Bashir, the 20-year-old Somerset offspinner, will make his Test debut at Visakhapatnam on Friday, after being named as Jack Leach’s replacement in England’s XI.Bashir linked up with the squad midway through their 28-run victory in Hyderabad last week, after suffering complications with his India visa, but will slot straight into the team as a replacement for Leach, whose impact in that match was hindered by bruising to the left knee, sustained while fielding on the first day.Ben Stokes, England’s captain, confirmed one other change on the eve of the Test, with James Anderson returning to the team as the lone seamer, in place of Mark Wood, who went wicketless in the same role at Hyderabad.Related

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It will be Anderson’s 184th Test cap, and his first of 2024, and will complete one of the most lop-sided Test attacks ever fielded, with the rest of England’s specialist bowlers in a spin-heavy attack boasting a total of three Test caps.Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Stokes said he was confident that Bashir’s complicated passage to India would not impact on his performance, adding that his chance to sit in the dressing-room during the latter stages of the Hyderabad Test had allowed Bashir to assimilate with the team environment.”He was just taking it all in to be honest, landing [from the UK] that early, then coming in and seeing what had gone on,” Stokes said. “I think he really enjoyed being in that dressing-room [on day four]. There’s no worries and no issues for me that he’s been away from the group for a period of time, then coming back in to make his debut. It’s not like he’s forgotten how to bowl.”Stokes added that it had been left to Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, to break the selection news to Bashir. “I went up to him [afterwards],” Stokes said. “I knew that he knew, and he just gave me a big hug. I told him I was going to tell the media so he didn’t have to keep it quiet. He looked very excited.”Shoaib Bashir is set to replace the injured Jack Leach•Getty Images

Rehan Ahmed, the legspinner, retains his place after a limited role in Hyderabad, having debuted in Karachi in December 2022, while Tom Hartley will receive his second cap, having claimed second-innings figures of 7 for 62 to seal England’s first-Test victory.Neither Rehan nor Bashir was born when Anderson made his Test debut at Lord’s in May 2003, while his own Test cap number – 613 – is a full 100 caps shy of the 713 cap that Bashir will receive before the start of play on Friday. At the age of 41, Anderson is about to enter his 22nd year as an international cricketer, but Stokes had no qualms about bringing him back into the fray.”Jimmy’s experience, the class that he has, is great and I think it also goes under the radar how good his record in India is,” Stokes said. “Considering what Jimmy is known for – ‘the swing king’ and all that – it just proves how good a bowler he is. He has different skillsets that I will be able to exploit in Indian conditions.”It’s not just picking Jimmy for the new ball, it’s the other stuff he possesses as well. It’s great that Jimmy is doing good things for the old boys out there. It’s huge credit and lots of people should look up to Jimmy considering he is where he is at 41.”On the Vizag pitch itself, Stokes predicted that it might be a good wicket for “maybe a day or two”, but expected it to take more and more spin the deeper the game gets.”It might play a little bit better initially than it did last week, but we don’t like to go in with too many pre-conceived ideas, we like to have some kind of idea because, obviously, that’s how we pick the team. Then we just play what’s in front of us.”I think we always knew what we wanted. We looked at the pitch yesterday and again today just to see what change would happen after a day. If anything it just looks a little drier than yesterday.”Obviously the forced change, Bash coming in for Leachy, was a simple one: one spinner out, one spinner in.”England XI 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Rehan Ahmed, 9 Tom Hartley, 10 Shoaib Bashir, 11 James Anderson.

Not to forget the big question: will this be MS Dhoni’s IPL farewell if CSK fall short?

Sruthi Ravindranath17-May-20242:35

Aaron: Santner gives CSK a lot of options

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) (7th; 6W, 7L) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (4th; 7W, 6L)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – RCB vs CSK, the match of the season?

Is the hype around this encounter justified?The results over the years have been rather one-sided in favour of CSK. RCB have won only once in their last five meetings and only 31% of the all the matches in the IPL against them.So maybe not.But this time, there is a lot at stake – it’s a virtual quarter-final. RCB are in roaring form, with five wins in a row; CSK have been up and down. Scenarios-wise, it’s easier for CSK to get through. Just win, or hope the game is rained out – not unlikely, considering the weather in Bengaluru. RCB, however, have to win and win by a certain margin – assuming a score of 200, they need to win by 18 runs or chase the target down with about 11 balls to spare – to get into the top four.There are sentimental reasons for the hype too. Is this the last we’ll see an MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli encounter on the field? Will it be Dhoni’s last game for CSK? (Nobody knows, not even CSK’s batting coach Mike Hussey.)Dhoni and Kohli may grab all the headlines, but some subplots mean much more. The two most powerful spin-hitters this season will come up against each other: Shivam Dube, who rocked it for CSK in the first half, and Rajat Patidar, who turned the fortunes around for RCB in the second. It will also be the battle of the Indian quicks, who have played key roles in their sides’ wins in the last few games. M Chinnaswamy Stadium might be a batter-friendly surface, but it may all come down to which pace unit performs better on the day.In terms of the venue, RCB have won both their recent matches at the Chinnaswamy after being relentlessly bashed by oppositions earlier in the season. CSK, however, have won only two of their six away matches. For CSK to gain an advantage at the Chinnaswamy, their batters must come together.Does all of that make this the match of the season? It could very well be. Unless rain plays spoilsport.Related

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Form guide

RCB WWWWW
CSK WLWLW

Previous meeting

It was the season opener, at Chepauk. Mustafizur Rahman ran through the RCB top order but a late lift from Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik took them to 173 for 6. In reply, CSK chased down the target with eight balls remaining, with Dube and Ravindra Jadeja posting an unbeaten 66-run stand. In many ways, that result set the tone for the first half of the season for the two sides. But it all changed since then.One last time?•AFP/Getty Images

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB are likely to bring back Glenn Maxwell for the game in place of Will Jacks, who has left for England duty. Patidar for Yash Dayal or Swapnil Singh will likely be the impact swap again.RCB probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Yash Dayal, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Lockie Ferguson 12 Swapnil SinghChennai Super Kings
Moeen Ali has left, so Mitchell Santner is likely to get a place in the XI. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also back to opening with Rachin Ravindra. In the last game, Daryl Mitchell was subbed out during the chase to get Sameer Rizvi in at No. 7. Considering Rahane’s poor form, and with Moeen out, will they consider starting with Rizvi and have Mitchell at No. 3?CSK probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Sameer Rizvi, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Tushar Deshpande, 12 Simarjeet Singh4:26

How do RCB make best use of Maxwell?

In the spotlight – Faf du Plessis and Shivam Dube

Faf du Plessis is yet to make a big impact with the bat. He has three fifties, but has struggled for consistency overall, having scored just 367 runs at 28.23 in 13 games. He averages just 27 in the powerplay this year compared to 120 last year, when he had a great time. While he’s not got the big scores, he’s been striking at 205 in RCB’s last seven games compared to 140 in the first six games. RCB will be hoping for a big score from their captain in the crucial game to go with another big hand from orange cap-holder Virat Kohli.Shivam Dube‘s superb run in the first half of the season earned him a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, since then, his form has dipped. Following ducks in back-to-back games against Punjab Kings, he scored 21 and 18 in the next two matches. He was taking spinners apart when the going was good. In three out of the last four games, he’s gotten out trying to go after spinners.

Pitch and conditions

It was cloudy all day in Bengaluru on Friday, and there’s a 78% chance of rain on Saturday, with the forecast saying there could be thunderstorms accompanied by showers in the evening. The average first-innings score at the venue this season is 193. The day before the game, there was no grass on the centre pitch, which will be used for this match, so expect it to be a belter.

Stats that matter

• Kohli has upped his powerplay game, from striking at 131 at an average of 62 in the first six matches to 193 at 98.50 in the last seven
• RCB are Dhoni’s favourite opposition – he has scored 413 runs at an average of 82.6 against them at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most against any team for him in the IPL
• Ruturaj Gaikwad averages 71 this season, which is the best for an opener in IPL 2024

Quotes

“He’s a bowler that basically bowled the fastest in our group. Every team will like a bowler like Simar because he bowls with a lot of pace and he’s very aggressive by nature. Even against our own batsmen in the nets, sometimes I get scared with the way he bowls. Very happy to see that the work that he’s put in to finally get an opportunity to play and he’s performing well.”

Tourists will use Pope-Buttler partnership as evidence their batting line-up can succeed in Australia

Matt Roller08-Dec-2021England have no choice but to cling to the positives. A chastening opening day of the Ashes series at the Gabba saw them bowled out for 147 in 50.1 overs, which represented a recovery of sorts from 11 for 3, 29 for 4 and 60 for 5, but they will use Ollie Pope’s partnership with Jos Buttler as evidence that their batting line-up can be successful in Australia, so long as their top order can make it through the new ball.Pope and Buttler combined for a 52-run stand for the sixth wicket, which represented the only hour of the first day during which England controlled the pace of the game. Pope was typically busy, making it hard for Australia’s seamers to set him up by scampering through for sharp singles, while Buttler’s innings encapsulated the “fearless” approach he had pledged to take in this series, lofting over the infield and capitalising on width.Neither batter kicked on, Buttler top-scoring with 39, but if England are to retain any hope of winning – or even drawing – this series then they must see the partnership as proof that there will be opportunities for big runs against the old ball and put their top order’s struggles down to poor preparation and opening-day nerves.Related

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Rory Burns’ tally of ducks in 2021 – six, the record for an opening batter in a calendar year – reflects the fact he is vulnerable early in his innings but he would surely expect to clip Mitchell Starc’s leg-stump half-volley away for four more often than not, but for the pressure of the first session of an Ashes series. Dawid Malan’s success in the 2017-18 series indicates that he should adapt to the extra bounce on Australian pitches once he has had the chance to bat on them, while Joe Root and Ben Stokes are their two best batters and will not fail consistently throughout the series.India’s top order demonstrated in 2020-21 that batting for long periods to set the game up for an attacking middle order is a method that works for touring teams in Australia, not least against a side that relies heavily on three frontline quicks. England lost their fifth wicket after 26.4 overs on Wednesday; at the same stage last winter, India lost more than two wickets only twice in eight innings, one of them in their freak 36 all out at Adelaide.”If we had managed to get through that first two hours one down, for example, I think we could have made the most of it with a softer ball and a slower pitch,” Pope said. “We’ve just got to execute better, particularly in the first two hours of the game.”Personally I like to come out with a lot of intent. I always want to move the scoreboard along, especially if the ball is in my area, and a situation like that lends itself to that as well. You need to get your runs on the board. The ball got a little bit softer – the seam wasn’t quite as pronounced, so maybe the ball didn’t nip around as much.”Jos came in and took the pressure off. Obviously it’s frustrating that neither of us could go on and push for a bigger score. It would have been nice for us to both extend our innings and make 70s, 80s or 100s, but we weren’t able to today. At the time, he took the pressure off nicely, took the pressure off me and suddenly the scoreboard was ticking along pretty well. He’s ridiculously talented and reads the situation of the game and if he feels that he puts his best foot forward by doing that, that’s what he’ll do.”Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope counter-attacked after lunch•AFP/Getty Images

There is too much on the line for England in this series for them to rip up their blueprint after a single innings, however poorly they batted: Root has accepted that it will “define my captaincy” while Chris Silverwood highlighted winning back the urn as his top priority when he was appointed two years ago.There is no doubt that their confidence will have been hit, but Pope insisted that a tough start would not be a “massive dent”. Instead, he stressed that the crucial question was how they will react to a disappointing day, and whether their seamers can make early inroads on a helpful pitch.”We’re going to keep fighting,” Pope said. “We’ve got to see both sides bat on this wicket. We don’t know how it’s going to react tomorrow but we’re going to come back stronger and hopefully get a good score on the board second dig after knocking them over.”Our preparation from the mental side has gone well. We’ve spoken about everything, obviously we haven’t performed as well as we would have wanted today but both teams have got to bat on it. We’re not going to get too down about today now and we’ll come back hard tomorrow.”

Club hope to give long-serving coach “send-off he deserves” after seven years in the role

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2025Hampshire hope to give Adi Birrell “the send-off he deserves” by winning the T20 Blast and Metro Bank Cup double after announcing he will leave the club at the end of the season. Birrell, 64, joined Hampshire ahead of the 2019 season but will complete his tenure later this month and return to his native South Africa to spend time with his family.After a convincing win at Durham in the quarter-finals, Hampshire head to Edgbaston on Saturday targeting a record fourth Blast title ahead of their semi-final against Northamptonshire. They will then face Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in the Metro Bank Cup final the following weekend, eyeing a first List A trophy since 2018.Hampshire have been competitive across formats under Birrell, winning the Blast in 2022 and finishing runners-up in the County Championship on three separate occasions. They have struggled in the Championship this year in the absence of James Vince, but have still thrived in both white-ball formats.Birrell also deputised as Southern Brave coach in the men’s Hundred this year, but is now unlikely to return to that role next summer. Hampshire are expected to lean on the global network developed by the GMR Group – their new Indian owners, who co-own Delhi Capitals – in recruiting his successor.”All good things come to an end, and we are sad to see Adi go,” Giles White, Hampshire’s long-serving director of cricket, said in a club statement. “It’s been a fantastic seven years at the club, during which he has become a hugely popular figure and overseen a successful period across all formats.”Under his leadership, the team has reached numerous finals, come close in Championships, and lifted the Blast title in 2022. His contribution has left a lasting mark, and he will be deeply missed by players, coaches, and fans alike at the Utilita Bowl.”We hope to give him the send-off he deserves, with two pieces of silverware still up for grabs in the next two weeks and important days ahead in the Championship. Everyone at Hampshire Cricket and the Utilita Bowl wishes Adi the very best as he looks forward to spending more time at home on the farm.”

Seamer suffered injury during Warwickshire’s Bob Willis Trophy opener

George Dobell06-Aug-2020Olly Stone is expected to be out of action for up to a month after sustaining a side strain.Stone, who was part of England’s training party ahead of the Test series against West Indies, sustained the injury during Warwickshire’s Bob Willis Trophy match against Northamptonshire last week. He subsequently underwent a scan, which confirmed a low grade left side strain.Stone bowled with pace and control in that game against Northants. He claimed 4 for 39 in the first innings but, having experienced some pain after bowling three overs in the second innings, left the field as a precaution. He has now started an injury rehabilitation programme at Warwickshire.ALSO READ: Forgotten man Stone hopes to ‘terrorise’ batsmen in Ashes pace trioThe news extends a period of wretched fortune for Stone. The match against Northants was his first first-class game since he made his Test debut against Ireland last July. He subsequently suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture in the back which ruled him out of contention for the tours of New Zealand and South Africa.England recognised Stone’s potential in giving him one of their three new pace-bowling contracts at the start of the year and there is not much doubt that, at his best, he could be a considerable asset in Test cricket on flat pitches, in particular.Warwickshire hope to have Stone back in time to play some part in the Vitality T20 Blast campaign.