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The former New Zealand has asthma and needed more than the usual dose of his medicine while playing in Delhi during IPL 2016, which had triggered scrutiny

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2018Brendon McCullum has cleared the air about a positive drug test during his time with Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016.The former New Zealand captain has asthma and, in light of heavy pollution in Delhi at the time, he needed more than the usual dose of his medicine. As a result, McCullum’s urine sample was found to have exceeded the allowable limit for salbutamol, a drug that is part of inhalers used to treat asthma. The BCCI approached McCullum with these findings following which he secured a retroactive therapeutic use exemption from a panel of independent medical experts in Sweden to close the matter and clear his name.”There was a bit of a process to go through to make sure they had all the information and ticked off the areas they wanted to see, but we went through it all and [the BCCI] were actually pretty good to work with in the end,” McCullum told .”I certainly don’t see it as a failed drug test. It was just a case of we just need to seek clarification and apply for this. I have no ill-feeling about [the process] and I also have no guilt or remorse about it because I needed a puff of my inhaler at that time.”McCullum hit 60 off 36 at the top of the order in a one-run win for the Lions against Delhi Daredevils in the game that day. But a test after the game resulted in an “adverse analytical finding” because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules state any dosage that is not consistent with therapeutic use will be considered a violation.McCullum’s doctors and legal team then prepared his defence, which had proven successful last January itself, but he chose to go public with the information now because he wanted to quash the rumours.”I’ve heard this sort of rumbling around in the background for a while and I actually said to my wife, ‘I don’t know why we don’t just deal with this now, I’ve got nothing to hide and it is better off just talking about stuff rather than having other people talking about it’. Otherwise it just grows and festers.”As far as I am concerned it was just a matter of making sure we got everything signed off properly, rather than it being a failed drug test.”McCullum, who has had asthma since childhood, found the going particularly tough in Delhi whose pollution levels have touched dangerous levels in recent years. In November 2016, a first-class match between Gujarat and Bengal had to be abandoned due to smog, and in December 2017, a Test between India and Sri Lanka was severely affected by pollution, with several Sri Lankan players taking ill.

The Storm were guided home by England captain Heather Knight in a high-scoring match which also featured a century opening stand by Yorkshire Diamonds

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2018
ScorecardWestern Storm continued their march towards Kia Super League Finals Day with a fifth win from six matches, this time by seven wickets chasing 173 against Yorkshire Diamonds at Scarborough.The defending champions, replying to 172 for 5, were fired once more by Indian star Smriti Mandhana, with the 22-year-old continuing a sparkling run of form with 56 off 36 balls. She shared an unbroken opening partnership of 101 inside 10 overs with Rachel Priest.Mandhana added to scores of 48, 37, 52 not out, 43 not out and 102 last time out against Lancashire Thunder.The Storm, seen home with four balls to spare by captain Heather Knight’s unbeaten 45 off 37, are now level on 23 points with Loughborough Lightning at the top of the table, albeit ahead on net run-rate.Diamonds openers Beth Mooney and Lauren Winfield also shared 119 inside 14 overs, with Australian Mooney leading the way with 69 off 42 balls after the hosts won the toss. Winfield added 48 at a fast scoring North Marine Road.After conceding only four runs from the first two overs, bowled by Anya Shrubsole and Claire Nicholas, the Storm were punished by Mooney and Winfield as they erred in length.Mooney posted the Diamonds record individual score and Winfield backed her up as the hosts reached 100 in the 12th over before being bowled by Knight’s offspinners in the 14th.Mooney, who had earlier reached 50 off 34 balls, was then one of three batsmen run out going for two as the score fell to 128 for 2 in the 15th.Chamari Atapattu was another. In the last over, the Sri Lankan was run out coming back to the non-striker’s end following a direct hit from Shrubsole running around from long-on. The previous ball, Shrubsole had run out Thea Brookes from the same position to the striker’s end.That meant only Knight and left-arm seamer Naomi Dattani struck with the ball for the Storm.Priest and Mandhana flew out of the blocks in reply. Priest hit three fours off the first over from Beth Langston and hoisted Delissa Kimmince over deep midwicket for the first six of the match as the visitors moved to 41 without loss in the third over.Mandhana skied a tough return catch to Atapattu running back, which went down on 17, and you felt Yorkshire had to take any half opportunity to dismiss the left-hander.Later in the fifth over, Mandhana lofted two sixes over long-on and then pulled Katherine Brunt over wide long-leg as the score moved to 69 without loss after six.Mandhana reached her latest fifty in 29 balls immediately before the Storm reached 100 in the 10th, although Priest holed out off Katie Levick’s legspin later in the over.Mandhana had her share luck. Prior to being bowled around her legs by Atapattu’s offspin she had aerially landed a few balls short or wide of fielders.With the run out of West Indian Stefanie Taylor, things got tighter than once looked likely at 127 for 3 in the 15th. But Knight saw them home, needing four from the last over, as the Diamonds were hurt by conceding 18 wides.Yorkshire have now lost four of six and face an uphill battle to finish in the top three places to qualify for Finals Day.

Worcestershire captain Moeen Ali heaped praise on his young bowler after a masterful display of skill on Finals Day

David Hopps16-Sep-2018Pat Brown was hailed by Moeen Ali as possessing England quality after completing an outstanding breakthrough season in the Vitality Blast by helping Worcestershire to their first T20 title.Brown was barely known, even in the tight-knit community of county cricket, in April, but he finished the Blast season with 31 wickets, a figure only exceeded by Alfonso Thomas – the Great Alfonso as they dubbed him in Somerset – who took 33 wickets in 2010.Brown had a great start to Finals Day when he took four wickets in a semi-final win against Lancashire. He missed his chance to surpass Thomas’ record, in what would have been two fewer matches, when he went wicketless in the final, but he attracted great recognition nevertheless as he conceded only 15 runs in four overs with Sussex becoming the latest county to be baffled by his variations.

Talking T20 Podcast

Cox pips Sussex as T20 Finals Day turns Pears-shaped: Dan Norcross anchors from Edgbaston where Pat Brown announced himself as a T20 superstar in waiting

It was all ample reward for his ambition two years ago when he showed the ambition to travel from Lincolnshire to Wellington School in Somerset to attend a Cricket Strength Pace Factor trial day run by Ross Dewar, Worcestershire’s strength and conditioning coach, and the former county fast bowler and coach, Steffan Jones.Moeen, relishing his role as Worcestershire captain despite a tough England schedule, said of Brown, a slightly-built 20-year-old seamer from Lincolnshire. “From game one this season, I felt he was getting better game by game. The quality he is showing is international standard. I’ve not seen anybody in county cricket get hold of him yet.”It’s not just what he bowls. He has the character and the guts to go a long way. I don’t want to get too carried away but he has a bright future, hopefully for England.”I don’t face him that much. I just get a few underarms from time to time. Even in the nets it is difficult. No-one can pick him at the moment. It’s not just that. He is very smart with the lengths and lines he bowls.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Brown’s stock ball is his knuckle ball, which he utilises about 65% of the time. Added to that is an off-cutter and a quicker ball which now regularly is clocked above 80mph. Add accuracy and changes of length that at his best have felt almost telepathic and he has made quite an impression.Moeen does not feel that talk of England is over the top. “I think after today he is very close,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets something in the winter. I can see him getting a chance in T20 or one-day matches or something.”If we keep winning, and on big stages like this, I’m sure people will raise eyebrows about some of our players. But that’s a long way away. Today is about celebrating Worcestershire’s success.”James Anderson, who was part of the BBC commentary team at Finals Day, also did not stint with his praise. “Pat Brown is possibly the find of the tournament,” he said. “It is a phenomenal effort for a 20-year-old.”He has had a good tournament but to come to Finals Day, when the pressure is on and show such amazing maturity, was superb. He looks as good as anyone I have seen in T20 cricket. He has got all the skills.”Brown went to the Wellington School pace trial primarily to see if he could increase his pace, but his potential was immediately appreciated by several counties. He opted for a cricket scholarship at the University of Worcester, a path favoured in the past by Worcestershire players such as Daryl Mitchell and George Rhodes. His T20 debut came in a handful of matches in 2017 and he also made his Championship bow in the final game of Worcestershire’s promotion season.Kevin Sharp, Worcestershire’s head coach, stressed that Brown’s development had been very much a team effort, not just with Dewar but also the previous coach and bowling coach, Steve Rhodes and Matt Mason, both of whom have now left the county. Most closely of all throughout this summer, Brown has struck up a strong relationship with Alan Richardson, the county’s bowling coach.”I think it is also about having a good support network for a player,” Sharp said. “Pat has a fine bowling coach in Alan Richardson, that’s for sure.”He is a good learner and a good listener and he has a big heart. He really is the sort of lad who is really up for the occasion. He is quite aggressive at times with his bowling but he has developed a fantastic array of deliveries.”So which deliveries were devised by Brown and which by Richardson? “It’s a secret between them two,” Sharp smiled. “I just let them get on with it.”

The South Africa coach said that his team has moved on from the mishappenings of their previous series, and hoped their opponents would be able to do the same

Liam Brickhill30-Oct-2018Amid the soul-searching around the results of Australia’s Longstaff review, visiting South Africa coach Ottis Gibson pointed to something that was lost in the unfolding uproar since the cataclysmic ball-tampering incident at Newlands in March. When all eyes are focused on events happening off the field, no-one’s talking about the actual cricket.”It’s disappointing when cricket gets lost among all the other stuff, because at the end of the day that’s why we’re all here: to play some cricket,” Gibson said. “When you look at the cricket that was played in that series, after every game there was some sort of incident and the standard of cricket never got mentioned. I thought in the first Test in Durban, [Mitchell] Starc was fantastic and bowled really well. In Port Elizabeth, we were backs against the wall and AB de Villiers makes a brilliant hundred, then you had another incident at the end of that game.”The independent review has suggested that a bullying corporate culture within Cricket Australia contributed to the errant player behaviour that came to a head during a bad-tempered series. Gibson also pointed out another truth that doesn’t fit within an ultra-competitive, win-at-all-costs mindset: ultimately, it’s just a game.”Guys are making friends and playing together in other teams around the world. So when it comes to playing for the national team, you don’t expect them to take that friendship onto the field, but obviously, you don’t want it to boil over into some of the shoulder brushing and all the stuff that happened in South Africa. It’s just a game,” he said, repeating: “It’s just a game”.Gibson refuted the suggestion that there had been especially intense scrutiny of Australia’s handling of the ball during that series, saying that South Africa were well aware that the ball “is being followed all the time”, even before the infamous Cape Town Test. “The international game now, the way cricket is going even in the IPL and other leagues, there’s so much television and so much coverage that the ball is being followed all the time, is what we’ve been told, even before the Cape Town [Test]. So it just seemed like a silly thing to do, bearing in mind the number of cameras and the number of eyes that are on the game at the moment.”We moved on a long time ago. It happened many months ago now. Obviously, it shouldn’t have happened, we all accept that it shouldn’t have happened.”While South Africa might have moved on, that hasn’t been possible for their hosts. The Australian Cricketers Association has reiterated its call for a reconsideration of the harshness of penalties handed down to Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in light of the findings of the review. Gibson said that hindsight might have changed perceptions about the players’ bans, adding that culpability must fall to CA to decide whether the punishment still fits the crime.”What happened called for strong action and, I guess, that’s what the people who made the decision at the time thought was strong enough,” Gibson said. “Now we’re six months down the road, and everybody has had a bit of time to step back and see what’s going on, and obviously, some people think that it has been too harsh. But was that their same opinion six months ago when it all unfolded? Hindsight gives us the opportunity to step back and look at things, but what happened shouldn’t have happened, and therefore, it called for an action and that’s the action that was taken. It’s up to those people to decide whether it’s too harsh.”Gibson empathised with Australia coach Justin Langer, and admitted that the team South Africa will face in three ODIs and a T20I over the next two-and-a-half weeks have “had their issues”.”It’s been well-documented, and still being documented even now. I’m sure Justin Langer and his coaching team would like to put it all behind them and focus on cricket, and that’s what we’ll be focusing on.”Gibson’s squad has been in Australia preparing for nearly a week, and their tour match against a Prime Minister’s XI will be their first – and only – opportunity for some time in the middle before the opening ODI in Perth on Sunday.”We have had a couple of good days in Perth and we are looking forward to this game,” he said. “It is our first actual match, the guys get tired of net sessions, so we want to get out in the middle.”South Africa are without the experienced pair of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy for this series, with both recovering from injuries, and while they used their limited-overs games against Zimbabwe earlier this month to field-test new options, these ODIs against Australia signal the start of an important next phase of their preparation for the World Cup.”We are halfway to our preparation for the World Cup, that is what we are focusing on,” Gibson said. “This is the next step on that World Cup journey. We have been trying to play a certain brand of cricket, a little bit more positive and aggressive, and we would like to test that out.”The team that Australia has put out, despite what is going on off the field, we have to respect them. They still have quality players. This will be an opportunity for us to test ourselves against them and to see where we are.”

Anrich Nortje and Dale Steyn shared five wickets to seal the 62-run win as Stars were bowled out for 136 in 17.4 overs

The Report by Liam Brickhill24-Nov-2018Quinton de Kock sets off for a run•Associated Press

Cape Town Blitz extended their unbeaten run in the Mzansi Super League with a ruthless 62-run win over Jozi Stars in Johannesburg. Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock set up Blitz’s 198 for 5 with a 99-run opening stand that immediately put the hosts on the back foot. The visiting pace attack then shut down the chase with repeated strikes that kept the home side’s batting in check. Anrich Nortje, Dale Steyn and Andile Phehlukwayo shared seven wickets and Stars were bowled out in just 17.4 overs.Dane Vilas put Blitz in after winning the toss, and though their innings started and ended tamely, there were runs aplenty in between. Just three runs came from the first over, and only four from the last, but the fourth umpire had to make two trips to the middle to deliver replacement balls as first de Kock, and then Malan, smashed shots out of the stadium, and 70 runs flowed in the Powerplay to kick-start the innings.De Kock raced to a 24-ball fifty in the sixth over with two sixes and a four off successive Kagiso Rabada deliveries. Malan played an efficient second fiddle and turned the strike over as his partner went on the charge. De Kock collected his fifth six with a slog sweep off Eddie Leie but then fell attempting a sixth, skying Duanne Olivier to Rassie van der Dussen at long on.Malan and Farhaan Behardien added a further 67 for the second wicket in quick time, with Malan bringing up his second fifty of the tournament in the 16th over as Blitz set a solid platform. Malan struck two more sixes off Rabada, but Stars’ pace attack struck back with Olivier and Beuran Hendricks combining to take three wickets in three balls.The dismissals meant that Blitz couldn’t quite top 200, but their total proved more than enough as Steyn and Nortje blew the Stars top order away. Nortje beat Reeza Hendricks for pace with his fifth delivery, and Steyn then struck in consecutive overs as Stars slipped to 32 for 3.Vilas and Pite van Biljon had just started to repair the innings when Phehlukwayo rattled van Biljon’s stumps, and with the required-rate escalating every ball, the pressure was heaped upon Stars’ lower order. Nortje returned to remove Vilas, and went on to end Rabada’s cameo with a top edge easily caught by Kyle Verreynne in the deep.Left-arm spinner George Linde completed a clinical display by the Blitz, trapping Dan Christian lbw and then luring Hendricks and Leie out of the crease for consecutive stumpings that brought the match to a swift end. With four wins in four games, Cape Town Blitz have solidified their position at the top of the table, and on current form they are early frontrunners for the inaugural MSL title.

The wicket of Angelo Mathews minutes before an early close gave England the advantage in a twisting, turning fourth-innings battle

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallekele17-Nov-2018
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAt tea, this was shaping to be a classic. Sri Lanka needed 82 to win, with five wickets in hand, and Angelo Mathews was batting like the colossus he used to be several years ago. But in the 20 deliveries bowled after tea, England took two monumental strides, and the game’s outlook was transformed.The first blow after the break was struck by Moeen Ali, who had bowled beautifully just before the break as well. Third ball, he trapped Mathews in front of the stumps for 88 – the second occasion in the series in which Mathews has been out in the over after tea. The next wicket went to Jack Leach, who looped one into Dilruwan Perera’s boot and raised a successful lbw appeal, the batsman having just plain missed it.When the rains came to wash out the remainder of the day’s play, Sri Lanka had Niroshan Dickwella at the crease on 27, but only had Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal and Malinda Pushpakumara to come. A difficult 75 runs were still needed.The pitch? A tough one. The occasional ball still took off from a length for the spinners, but it seemed to have slowed down quite a bit, meaning that batting was still difficult, but perhaps not as arduous as it had been on days two and three. Dananjaya and Lakmal were involved in partnerships worth 56 and 28 in the first innings, but on this occasion, they will be batting with a less secure senior batsman in Dickwella, and also have to contend with the intense pressure of a run chase.England had taken three wickets in the first session, to seize the initiative, and resumed after lunch with another piece of fielding magic – the likes of which has kept them in the game more than once. Dimuth Karunaratne was batting well – even better than Mathews at that stage – but when on 57, he went for a lap sweep off Adil Rashid. He could barely believe how he had been dismissed after playing that shot so well.Keaton Jennings, fielding at short leg, began to move, anticipating the shot and snatched at the ball, which had come off the bat at some speed. He didn’t quite snaffle it himself, but parried it to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who was in the perfect position to complete the catch. Sri Lanka’s two senior-most batsmen had been parted. With 198 left to get, the hosts were four wickets down.Keaton Jennings took a blinding catch at short leg•Getty Images

Mathews, though, stepped up through the middle of the second session, making fuss-free runs into the well-spread outfield, while Roshen Silva worked himself slowly into the innings, as he had done in the first dig. As for every other batsman who has spent any time at the crease in this Test, there were edges that dropped short, and plenty that spun past the bat; lbw appeals as well. Mathews got his reverse-sweep in good working order, which was important against the finger spin of Leach and Moeen especially. Against Rashid, who had a tendency to pitch short, he sat back and cut him to the cover sweeper. There were a couple of occasions on which Rashid’s googly was not read by the Sri Lanka batsmen, but they eventually began to pick it.Roshen, though, departed before he and Mathews could truly make the game secure, caught at slip off Moeen, to end their 73-run stand. Mathews would only add 20 further runs to his own score before himself being dismissed. His stand with Dickwella was worth 45, with the wicketkeeper-batsman playing a typically high-risk brand of cricket through that period, sweeping and reverse-sweeping with abandon, and almost getting caught when he miscued an attempted lofted cover drive.In the first session, Leach had struck three times in successive overs to dismiss Kaushal Silva, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis for single figures, leaving Sri Lanka gasping at 26 for 3. The wicket of de Silva was again thanks largely to the excellent work of Jennings at short leg, who was wrong footed, but managed to stick out his left arm and snatch the low chance after de Silva had looked to work the ball to leg. Karunaratne and Mathews then instilled a bit of calm into the chase with their 77-run stand, but again did not bat long enough together to put Sri Lanka into a comfortable position.Before that, England’s last-wicket pair, Foakes and James Anderson had added 22 to the overnight score. Anderson was bowled by Dilruwan Perera immediately after Sri Lanka took the second new ball, leaving Sri Lanka a target of 301 to win.

The 20-year old is coming to terms with a year in which he compiled a monumental double ton, stood out of the game with mental health issues, made a return with a new outlook

Daniel Brettig09-Jan-2019Had Will Pucovski simply played out the remainder of the Sheffield Shield season with Victoria, 2018-19 would have already been an exceptionally momentous summer for him, given its rich mixture of experiences good and bad, great and small.As it stands, however, he is coming to terms with a year in which he compiled a monumental double century against Western Australia, stood out of the game for six weeks with mental health struggles, made a return to the fold with a refreshed outlook and coping strategies, and has now been rushed into the Australian Test squad to face Sri Lanka.If this seems a lot to digest, then Pucovski is taking solace from the fact that in those weeks between the 243 at the WACA Ground in October and his return to make scores of 1 and 67 also against Western Australia at the MCG in December, he learned an enormous amount about himself, his mental state and the tools he needed to manage himself and his cricket in the best ways possible. At the age of 20, Pucovski has been considered a talent of note for some time; he is hopeful the rapidity of his entry into Test calculations has coincided with critical life lessons.ALSO READ: How do Australia fix their batting before the Ashes?“I’m feeling really good, as good as I have felt in a really long time,” Pucovski said in Melbourne. “I’ve met some people along the way who have helped me turn things around. There is probably no better time to get exciting news like I have in the last 24 hours. It’s not every day you get called up to represent your country, so it’s been a very exciting couple of days.”Quite a bit sooner [than expected] to be honest. It’s every kid’s dream and to think in two weeks’ time there’s a chance I could be playing for your country is just amazing. You can’t even use words to describe it. It is one of those things … even the joy on your family and friends’ faces when you’ve told them or they’ve got the news, it makes you proud to make a lot of other people proud as well.”A lot of the messages I’ve received today is you’ve got there for a reason, so just try to play your way and embrace that as much as you can. My challenge if I do get picked is to do that, and just try to bat the way I bat, prepare the way I prepare. If things work out, that’s great, but for a 20-year old, it’s just super exciting either way.”A history of concussions had been one complicating factor for Pucovski on his journey through junior ranks into the Victoria side, but it was the spectre of mental health problems that overcame him even as he was embarking upon the innings in October that put his name clearly in the sights of a national selection panel so transparently desperate to find the next great talent as opposed to merely good ones. At first, he confided in Victoria coaches Lachlan Stevens and Andrew McDonald, before linking up with Emma Murray, the mindfulness coach so valuable to the 2017 premiership success of Richmond in the AFL.”They’ve been amazing throughout the whole process,” Pucovski said of the batting coach Stevens and head coach McDonald. “I actually told them what had been going on in Perth, and they’ve been super supportive along the whole pathway back to cricket and then playing that Shield game. As a young man, you can’t really ask for much more than two coaches who are super supportive of you. They basically said ‘mate just sort all that stuff out and your cricket will take care of itself’.”I met a lady called Emma Murray who has worked quite a bit with Richmond, and had a bit of attention with how they have turned things around. She has been a mentor in that space. I have added things like I am meditating every morning, which I honestly never really believed in until she got me on to it and things like that have helped me turn things around. I speak to her regularly and am seeing another woman who helps me with a few different things. Having that team together makes me feel really supported and in a good space to deal with that kind of stuff.”Much of Murray’s work revolves around keeping athletes in the moment, and teaching them ways to return to a state of focus and concentration as quickly as possible following distractions. For Pucovski, these were valuable lessons for someone who had already shown an innate ability to score centuries – exactly what Trevor Hohns’ panel have been crying out for this summer, as they watched the Australian Test team fail to make a single score higher than 79 across four Tests against India.ALSO READ: Will Pucovski is on the cusp of great thingsBy the time Pucovski returned in December, he was far better equipped to manage his own expectations and thoughts, at the same time as he returned to familiar and comfortable surroundings with Victoria. “I think it was just that knowledge that I had enough strategies in place that whatever came across from a cricketing perspective in those four days, that I’d be able to deal with it,” Pucovski said.”That well and truly proved to me that I’m able to do that in a four-day period, and then as I said, dealing with a few things outside of cricket has really helped, and Emma has really helped me with that stuff. It’s been a really positive experience over the last couple of months.”I’ve just always tried to bat for as long as I can. If that comes off sometimes, then that’s great and if it doesn’t, that’s part of the game. Probably just trying to take a more relaxed outlook on it has helped me especially in the last couple of years. I try and follow my process as closely as I can and hopefully the results take care of themselves. It’s one of those sports where, as an individual, you are going to fail quite a bit. Getting better at dealing with that has probably helped me quite a bit.”Given the level of scrutiny placed on the Australian Test team in the season after the Newlands scandal, it is natural to wonder how Pucovski may cope with a spotlight that will be squarely on him over the next two weeks, whether turning out for a Cricket Australia XI against the Sri Lankans in a Hobart day-night tour game, or assembling with Tim Paine’s team in Brisbane for their final series prior to the most prestigious of all – an Ashes tour of England later this year. Asked whether there is any danger of a Test call-up clouding the work he has steadily done with Murray and others, Pucovski was optimistic.”It comes to mind but I don’t think so,” he said. “I feel like I am in a really good space, and the people I am working with think so too. It’s one of those things where it is a day-by-day proposition for me that I have to manage. I think it is a good thing to invest time in. I feel like I have done quite a bit of work over the past few months and was able to play that Shield game and loved every minute of it. I feel like I am back in action.”One of the favourite sayings of the selector Greg Chappell is that “talent is a bit like fruit – if you don’t pick it when it’s ripe, it goes rotten”. Both Australia’s selectors and Pucovski are earnestly hoping that the moment of his picking for Test match duty is not a moment too soon.

Rohit Sharma to captain India in Kohli’s absence

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2019India captain Virat Kohli will not play the last two ODIs of the New Zealand series, and the T20s that follow; he has been rested for those games, the BCCI said on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma will captain India in his absence. No replacement player has been named for Kohli.This will be the first time this decade India will be playing an ODI outside Asia (excluding Zimbabwe) without Kohli. However, the decision to rest Kohli should come as no surprise since the selectors and the Indian team management have stressed in the last year the need to manage workloads of key players, to keep them fit for the World Cup which will be played in England from May 30. In March 2018, Kohli had skipped the Nidhas Trophy T20 series in Sri Lanka, he sat out the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June, and then took time off during the Asia Cup.Strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah had also been rested for the limited-overs legs of the Australian and New Zealand series.In a media release, the BCCI said that Kohli would be back for limited-overs series at home against Australia in March. “Considering his workload in the last few months, the team management and senior selection committee is of the view that it would be ideal for him to get adequate rest ahead of the home series against Australia,” the BCCI release said.

The Hurricanes have not lost a match at Blundstone Arena this season and will back their chances against a team they have had the wood on so far

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan13-Feb-2019

Big Picture

It had looked likely from a long way out that Hobart Hurricanes would top the Big Bash ladder as the dominant team of the group stage. However, such is the nature of the tournament – and the lack of a second chance for the table-topping team to reach the final – that one bad day can undo all the good work of the season.Blundstone Arena has become a fortress for them this season with five victories in five games, and another in the semi-final would mean they get to host the grand final on Sunday. Their season has been driven by the prolific opening pair of Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short, backed up by consistent contributions by George Bailey and Ben McDermott in the middle order.The bowling has benefited from the resurgence of James Faulkner, who has recovered from a niggle to be available for the semi-final, as part of an attack that has all bases covered – especially since the signing of legspinner Qais Ahmad for the closing stages of the competition. However, Riley Meredith’s recent struggles may have created a bit of a headache.Melbourne Stars left it late to book their place in the knockouts – they had three chances to secure the last lot of points they needed, and it took them until the last of those to get there. And then, too, it needed a special innings from Glenn Maxwell against Sydney Sixers. It had been a slightly quiet season for Maxwell until then, but if he has timed his form right then anything is possible for the Stars who can call on a host of international names.

What happened in the group stage

December 24, Hobart:
January 14, Melbourne:

Run to the finals

Hurricanes: LWLWL
Stars: WLLWW

In the spotlight

James Faulkner sat out the final group match against Sydney Thunder as a cautious approach was taken over a troublesome knee and his absence was noticeable. He has been a key part of the Hurricanes’ success, leading their wicket-takers’ table with 18 strikes while bowling at the toughest stages of the innings. Against a batting line-up that boasts Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Peter Handscomb, Faulkner’s four overs could have a huge say on the outcome.Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane has become a globe-trotting T20 star, so much so that the Stars had to manage without him for the middle phase of the season as he went to the Bangladesh Premier League. After the BBL finals, he’s off to the Pakistan Super League. For the next few days, however, he could be the trump card for the Stars. When these two sides previously met in Hobart, he took 3 for 24, but was unable to stave off defeat. It will be interesting to see whether Maxwell uses him early against the Hurricanes’ powerhouse top two of Wade and Short.

Squads

The fit-again Faulkner returns in place of Tom Rogers.Hobart Hurricanes Matthew Wade (capt), Qais Ahmad, Jofra Archer, George Bailey, Alex Doolan, James Faulkner, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Simon Milenko, David Moody, Clive Rose, D’Arcy ShortNick Larkin has been approved as an injury replacement for Travis Dean and comes into the squad in place of Jackson Coleman.Melbourne Stars Glenn Maxwell (capt), Jackson Bird, Dwayne Bravo, Ben Dunk, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Sandeep Lamichhane, Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Marcus Stoinis, Dan Worrall, Adam Zampa

Stats and trivia

• The 810 runs scored between Wade and Short is already the second-best by any pair in any T20 series or tournament (minimum 13 innings). The only pair with a higher aggregate is Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who had added 939 runs in 13 innings in the Indian Premier League 2016.
• The Hurricanes’ two victories over the Stars this season boosted what had been a poor head-to-head. In their 10 meetings, the tally is now 6-4 in favour of the Stars.

The Delhi Capitals coach said they would have ideally liked Shikhar Dhawan to score quicker

Sidharth Monga in Delhi27-Mar-20194:03

We over-attacked a bit with the ball – Ponting

In the last IPL, it took 16 matches for a team to choose to bat after winning the toss. It is a trend that was established last year: when the tournament and pitches are fresh, bowl first and win; when pitches get slower, it becomes a more even game. In this season, though, Delhi Capitals decided to bat in as early as the fifth game of the season, and despite losing it they are not discarding defending totals as their strength. Not on a dry Feroz Shah Kotla square at any rate.At 118 for 2 after 15 overs, Capitals looked good for a total of around 165 with Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan at the crease, but they lost their way to end up with 147. In reply, Chennai Super Kings’ experience showed in how they attacked the new ball and took 58 off the Powerplay because they knew this dry track was going to get difficult to bat on. In the end they won with just two balls to spare. Despite the result, don’t be surprised if Capitals bat again should they win their next toss in Delhi. Part of the reason is, they don’t expect the pitches to be any different from the dry surface they played on.Capitals coach Ricky Ponting has the numbers to support that plan. “Batting looked difficult at the end,” he said when asked if batting first might be the way to go despite this result. “[And] through the middle parts of the innings. If we hadn’t given away so many runs in the Powerplay, I think CSK would have found that target really hard to chase down. Through history, 165 is our average score here. Last year, our average score here was about 190. So, we are a long way off from what we wanted to achieve today. If we had posted even 165, I reckon it would have been a really tough run-chase.”To Ponting it was no risk to bat first even though it goes against the usual early-season trends in IPL. “We won batting first in Mumbai,” Ponting said. “It worked for us there. So, whatever you do first, you just have to do it well. We know at the toss [MS] Dhoni said he would have bowled first. That doesn’t worry us. [At the] end of the day, every team has to do what they think suits their team the best. With that wicket looking as dry as it did before the game started, we thought it would be a lot harder to bat in the second innings. If we had got a few more runs, the wicket would have looked even harder to bat on.”The thinking and the planning wasn’t off, but the execution was. Dhawan went a majority of his innings – despite starting against the new ball – at a strike rate of under 100 before getting dismissed for 51 off 47, and the middle order proceeded to fall in a heap around him. This is a big test of a coach. While Ponting refused to divulge what sort of role Dhawan has been asked to play, it seems like he has been asked to be the glue to bind the more explosive batsmen together. But should he have scored slightly quicker while doing so?”Ideally,” Ponting said. “Yes you’d like that. Obviously, it wasn’t an easy wicket either for anyone to come in and strike, especially at the end of the Powerplay. There’s a certain role we want Shikhar to play in this team. Even by his own admission, he probably would have liked to score a little bit quicker today.”This is often when you look at the batsman’s intent. If he is doing his best and is still finding it difficult, chances are it will be even more difficult for the next batsman in. Ponting suggested as much. “In an ideal world, yes we would like Shikhar to score quicker but it was difficult for him. He did his ankle while he was batting as well so his usual running between the wickets was a little bit hampered tonight.”We need to sit down in the next couple of days and talk about how we are going to bat better on that surface. The wickets we are going to get right through the season are going to be quite similar to the one we got tonight. We need to get a little bit smarter on that wicket.”