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Shoaib Malik threatened a late jailbreak for Multan Sultans, with a 24-ball fifty, but they eventually lost by seven runs

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Feb-2019
How the game played out
A record PSL stand between debutant Liam Livingstone and the No.1 T20I batsman Babar Azam followed by Mohammad Amir’s expertise at the death fashioned a tight seven-run opening win for Karachi Kings.How did this even get this tight after Livingstone and Babar struck up a 157-run opening stand – the highest for any wicket in the league? After the fireworks at the top, Karachi’s innings fizzled out in the end as they lost 6 for 26 to be limited to 183 for 6.Multan Sultans’ captain Shoaib Malik blitzed a 24-ball fifty – headlined by 4,4,4,4,6 off Ravi Bopara in the 14th over – and then former Karachi King Shahid Afridi and Hammad Azam threatened a late jailbreak in the chase. But Amir’s bag of slower cutters and rapid yorkers, combined with sharp catching in the outfield sealed Multan’s fate.Babar Azam chops one down to third man•PCB/PSL

Turning points

• Livingstone and Babar teed off against the new ball on a pitch that got slower as the match progressed. They ran up 53 in the Powerplay and never looked back. Multan then managed only 38 for 1 in their first six overs.
• When Multan needed 20 off the last two overs with five wickets in hand, they were in with a strong chance to script a come-from-behind win. But Amir got rid of Afridi and Azam in a four-run penultimate over to set Multan up for a narrow defeat.

Star of the dayThe new kid on the block: Livingstone. He’s a star for Lancashire in the T20 Blast in England and even had an IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals before he forayed into the PSL. He regularly ventured down the track and upset the lines and lengths of Multan’s bowlers. The highlight of his 43-ball 82 was the breathtaking one-handed six off Mohammad Ilyas in the 14th over. When the seamer pitched one up on off, Livingstone’s bottom hand flew off the bat, but he still generated enough power to launch it over the long-off boundary with the top hand.And oh, he even dared to step out against Afridi’s fizzing arm balls. One such advance down the pitch saw him drill Afridi over the sightscreen.The big missKarachi’s collapse of 6 for 26. After the rollicking opening stand, they were well-placed to notch up a 200-plus total, but their middle order faltered against Chris Green’s offbreaks and the change-ups from Junaid Khan and Andre Russell. On another day, such a collapse might have cost them the game. However on this day, Amir saved them.Where the teams standThis is only the second game of the season. Karachi slotted in behind Islamabad United, who top the table by virtue of a superior run rate. Multan are right behind Karachi while Lahore Qalandars are at a familiar position: rock-bottom.

Unless West Indies win their final match of the tour in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday, they will return home empty-handed

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu02-Jan-2018

Big picture

Much like Jay Gatsby pining for the light at the other side of the dock, West Indies must be aching for the comfort of a win. On this trip to New Zealand, they have lost six internationals, not to mention a practice match as well. Unless West Indies win their final match of the tour in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday, they will return home empty-handed, a fate they last suffered in this country in 1999-00.T20s may be West Indies’ favourite format but they presently have access to only six members from the title-winning squad in 2016 – Chris Gayle, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Fletcher, Samuel Badree, Ashley Nurse, and Jerome Taylor. Along with that handicap came the challenge of bowling with a wet ball on New Year’s Day and the result just wasn’t pretty. The forecast for Wednesday isn’t promising either, with rain predicted in the afternoon. A truncated game might bridge the gulf between the two sides and possibly work in West Indies’ favour.New Zealand, like West Indies, have missed or rotated key players, but their depth has been has been impressive. First-choice fast bowler Trent Boult will be available to play at the Bay Oval and fringe players Seth Rance, Tom Bruce and Anaru Kitchen will be keen to press for longer stints.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LWWWW

In the spotlight

Seth Rance doesn’t have express pace but his ability to move the ball laterally should not be underestimated. After delivering a hooping inswinger to leave Michael Pollard’s stumps an utter mess in the Super Smash, the medium-pacer found himself on the brink of a hat-trick on T20I debut. Cloudy overhead conditions on Wednesday could suit his style of bowling.West Indies’ best chance of squaring the series is through a Chris Gayle assault. After blowing hot in the Bangladesh Premier League knockouts, he has blown cold in New Zealand, managing only 38 runs in three innings so far.

Team news

After being rested for the first two T20s, Boult is set to return to the team, possibly in place of Doug Bracewell.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Glenn Phillips (wk), 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Anaru Kitchen, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Seth Rance, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Ish SodhiWest Indies, on the other hand, might consider bringing back Taylor for Kesrick Williams, who has leaked 76 runs in five overs.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Chadwick Walton (wk), 3 Andre Fletcher, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Sheldon Cottrell, 10 Kesrick Williams/Jerome Taylor, 11 Samuel Badree

Pitch and conditions

All three completed T20Is at this venue have been won by the team batting first. But the possibility of rain and early swing could tempt the captain into bowling first, as Carlos Brathwaite did on Monday.

Stats and trivia

• If New Zealand win the series 2-0, they will leapfrog Pakistan to become the top-ranked T20I team
• Martin Guptill and Colin Munro have hit 130 sixes between them in T20Is. Gayle alone has struck 103 sixes.

Virat Kohli has said he was involved in a discussion with Cheteshwar Pujara over his strike rate in Test cricket during India’s recent tour of the West Indies

Sidharth Monga in Kanpur26-Sep-20162:59

‘He absorbs pressure well, but the time comes when the team needs a few runs’

Virat Kohli, India’s captain, has said he was involved in a discussion with Cheteshwar Pujara over his strike rate in Test cricket during the recent tour of the West Indies. Sandeep Patil, who recently ended his term as the chairman of selectors, told on Sunday that Kohli and coach Anil Kumble had spoken to Pujara expressing concern over his scoring rate, when he was dropped in the West Indies. Pujara, who scored 16 off 67 balls and 46 off 159 in the first two Tests, was left out for Rohit Sharma in St Lucia. This resulted in Kohli’s promotion to No. 3, from where he scored 3 and 4. Both Pujara and Rohit have featured in the two Tests that India have played since.After the West Indies tour, Pujara played in the Duleep Trophy, scoring 166 off 280 balls, 31 off 35, and 256 off 363. Back in the Test side, Pujara scored at a strike rate of more than 50 in both innings of the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, scoring 62 and 78. His career strike rate before the Test began was 48.2.”Pujara is someone who absorbs the pressure really well but after a certain stage in the innings there comes a time when the team needs runs,” Kohli said at the end of the Kanpur Test. “That’s where we felt that he has the ability to capitalise. It was just about conveying that to him. He has worked hard on his game. He scored at a good strike rate in the Duleep Trophy. Even on this wicket he was scoring at 65, almost 70 strike rate.”Which for me was a revelation, to see Pujara bat that way. Because he used to bat that way initially. Especially at home. If you see his double-hundreds against England and Australia, he will dominate spinners. That’s exactly what we wanted him to do. We didn’t want him to go into a shell. We want Pujara to bat to his potential. Once he starts scoring runs to go with the composure he already has, it becomes very difficult for the opposition to have control of the game. That’s all we wanted to convey to him.”He’s someone who understands what the team wants. He has worked hard on his game. He has come back, and he is playing more positively. Which we appreciate as a team and me personally as a captain. That he has actually gone and worked hard on his game. He has not told us this is my comfort zone and I am not going to get out of it. That is the kind of characters we need to win games and series.”In another context, speaking about handling different characters, Kohli spoke of cricket that didn’t care too much about individual records. “If you have honesty in the change room, if you have an environment that is relaxed, they will be able to express themselves better on the field,” Kohli said. “They will understand, they will listen to you. They will have the trust. They trust you are not saying anything that will harm them. It’s only for the benefit of the whole team. Once you have that environment in the change room, it becomes very easy as a captain to ask anything of any player. And everyone is ready all the time.”One thing we have spoken about is we want to play a certain brand of cricket. Along those lines, personal performances will happen or won’t happen. If they happen, yes you feel good about them, but the eventual target is to win games and win series. We want to be a high-quality team for a long time. It’s just to get them rid of those pressures of individual performances. Once you take pressures of your own performance things can flip very quickly. You will not be able to play the way the team wants you to play. And you will not be able to perform on a personal level as well.”

Former USA vice-captain Timroy Allen, who top-scored in the first trial match, and fast bowler David Pieters were the standout players during Sunday’s trial matches at the ICC Americas Combine in Indianapolis

Peter Della Penna21-Sep-20153:15

‘A rare opportunity to work with Walsh’ – Allen

Former USA vice-captain Timroy Allen and fast bowler David Pieters were the standout players during Sunday’s trial matches at the ICC Americas Combine in Indianapolis. Allen top-scored in the first T20 trial match, which was played on the main turf wicket at the Indianapolis World Sports Park, before following it up with a fiery opening spell as his team defended a total of 102 to win by six runs.”In every trial scenario, they’re always going to look at techniques and all that but on the other hand you have the match situation and the position you have been put in. You have to do whatever it takes to get your team through,” Allen said.Allen also spoke highly of the talent at the trial and was impressed with the level of competition on display. “There’s a lot of potential here. For there to be these many guys here, and the amount of cuts they’re making, there’s going to be a lot of potential that get bypassed.”Pieters, who hails from San Diego, was the leading wicket-taker in the opening match with 3 for 15 in his four overs and also executed a run-out in the field. He gave credit, particularly, to being able to work with Courtney Walsh on Saturday during the skills assessment rotations.”That was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Just being in that personal space with him and having him actually challenge you. He wasn’t an easy coach. He wasn’t taking it easy on us at all. He wanted to push and get the best out of us and that’s exactly what he did. Just the way I ended with that session yesterday, hitting the cones that he wanted me to hit and getting a clap from him, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”The 66 players will have another day of trial matches on Monday before final selections are made for phase two beginning on Friday.

Shikhar Dhawan stroked his way to a breathtaking century, its 85-ball duration the swiftest ever by a Test debutant

The Report by Daniel Brettig16-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShikhar Dhawan’s century was the fastest by a Test debutant•BCCI

Shikhar Dhawan could possibly have been out before he had faced a ball in Test matches. The first delivery of the innings slipped out of Mitchell Starc’s hand and landed on the stumps with the debutant out of his ground at the non-striker’s end. There was no appeal, but if made it would have sent many running for the law book and coming back with varying interpretations of two laws: mankading and dead ball.Dhawan, though, felt he was out, and took full advantage of what he felt was Australian generosity with a breathtaking century, its 85-ball duration the swiftest ever by a Test debutant. By the close he was still there on a commanding 185, looking utterly impassable while gathering runs with the kind of rare ease that invoked memories of Mark Waugh’s debut against England at Adelaide Oval in 1991.*Australia’s tally of 408 had been swelled by Mitchell Starc’s 99, but it was made to look laughably puny by how Dhawan set about his task in the company of the neat and tidy M Vijay. They formed a beautifully balanced union that did not take long to become plainly disdainful of the visiting bowlers, and by the close it was comfortably India’s best opening stand against Australia.On the way to what was also the highest total by an Indian debutant, Dhawan’s stroke range was awe-inspiring, no fewer than 33 fours and two sixes streaming from his bat to all parts of the PCA ground. He was most savage through cover, piercing gaps no matter how many fielders Michael Clarke employed to patrol the region.In doing so, Dhawan laid waste to a touring attack that should have been feeling quite haughty about prolonging Australia’s innings on the third morning. The worst punishment was saved for Moises Henriques, Nathan Lyon and most of all Xavier Doherty, who in one over conceded an eye-popping 18, all to Dhawan’s impudent blade.Among the liberties taken in that over was a reverse sweep, conveying just how little Dhawan thought of the visiting spin bowlers. At the age of 27, Dhawan had been made to wait 81 first-class matches, 5679 runs and 16 centuries for this chance, coming in at the expense of Virender Sehwag. The flourish with which Dhawan took it was supreme, and indicated that India have not given up hope of forcing a victory over the remaining two days.Vijay meanwhile constructed another innings entirely suitable to the occasion, settling in quietly and safely in Dhawan’s slipstream but never becoming so tied down as to suggest the Australians had him covered. He too attacked the slow bowlers for a pair of sixes, and it was possible to imagine India have found an opening partnership to last for some time.Clarke exhausted all of the bowling options except his own, though this is at least partly to spare his problematic back. At no point were his bowlers able to deliver spells consistent enough to create pressure, despite the fact that both Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc extracted reverse swing and there was enough bounce and spin for Lyon, Doherty and Steven Smith.Most of all Australia missed James Pattinson, their most dangerous bowler in the first two Tests and an absentee here for punitive disciplinary reasons. Mitchell Johnson, another suspended bowler, has enjoyed success on this ground in the past, and it is difficult to imagine Clarke not wondering who else he might have called upon had team management not chosen to rule out four players for failing to follow the instructions of management.Only once did Dhawan give the ghost of a chance, a thick edge on 94 flying through the hands of Phillip Hughes in the gully from Peter Siddle’s bowling.The Australians might have had some inkling of how swiftly the runs might flow when India batted after watching their own tail wag furiously. Starc assembled a brave 99, Smith managed 92, and in all 157 runs were added for the final three wickets.For most of his innings Starc played nervelessly, hitting with power and pushing through gaps with finesse, while also defending when necessary. But he tightened up noticeably with one run to get for a hundred, beaten twice outside off stump by Ishant Sharma then edging an attempted drive behind after MS Dhoni brought the field in.In that moment Australia were denied their first centurion at No. 9 since Ray Lindwall in 1946-47, and a rare chance to feel a rush of shared jubilation on this tour. So even during a session in which India were dominated, the hosts still managed to deny the tourists a feeling of achievement.Smith’s innings reached a similarly flat conclusion after he had also played with great assurance at No. 5, demonstrating a steadier approach and straighter bat than he had shown in his earlier Test match appearances in 2010 and 2011. It was a chanceless innings, and took a practically perfect ball from Pragyan Ojha to dislodge him.*07.00pm GMT, March 16: The copy has been updated after reviewing the laws of the game.

East Zone surged to their maiden Duleep Trophy title in less than eight sessions in Indore

The Report by Abhishek Purohit in Indore14-Feb-2012
ScorecardWriddhiman Saha flayed the Central Zone medium-pacers during his 170•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

East Zone surged to their maiden Duleep Trophy title in less than eight sessions in Indore, their fast bowlers ripping through a spineless Central Zone line-up with a succession of short deliveries. Despite trailing by 237 runs after the first innings in a five-day game, Central tried to pull and hook their way out of trouble, but only managed to top-edge catches.Central Zone had caved in for 133 in the first innings. Take out the opening partnership of 79, and they managed 138 in the second – they were minus opener Vineet Saxena, who wasn’t able to bat after fracturing a finger. The Holkar Stadium pitch had eased out on day two going by the way Wriddhiman Saha had flayed the Central Zone medium-pacers for 170. But Shami Ahmed and Ashok Dinda showed that there was still help from the surface for those who had the ability and the intent to extract it.Bengal fast bowler Shami was outstanding, consistently getting bounce and zip from just short of a good length. Dinda, whether he was running in during his first over or his 25th, leapt into his delivery stride with the same effort to end the first-class season with a staggering 59 wickets.The only sore point in an otherwise dominant performance was East Zone’s slip catching. Shami alone had at least a couple of catches put down and at one point shrieked at his blundering team-mates in frustration, “” (What are you guys doing?). It also led a spectator to wryly shout, “” (You should hold your catches at times as well).Central Zone, though, were in no mood to put up any sort of fight, despite national selector Narendra Hirwani’s presence. Central Zone began the day trailing by 189, and had to go for quick runs if they were to come back into the game. Saha had said yesterday that East Zone would look for wickets in the first session on day three, and their fast bowlers were relentless in that quest today. That Naman Ojha and Jalaj Saxena were able to last for almost nine overs today was down more to their good fortune than their survival skills.Jalaj had resisted through a mix of inside edges, slashes, slogs and lofted shots. On 46, he steered Dinda straight to gully, where Shahbaz Nadeem juggled and put down the catch. Two balls later, Dinda produced a searing bouncer, Jalaj went for the hook, but could only top-edge to fine leg. It was to become a pattern.Before that, though, Shami served more notice of his ability to get the ball to rear from just short of a length. Ojha could only fend the snorter to Saha. Mohammad Kaif, who is usually a jittery starter, seemed like getting out at any moment, edging through the cordon a couple of times. He chose to pull a short Shami ball from outside off stump, and fine leg was in business again.The Ranji Trophy’s highest run-getter, Robin Bist, fluffed another opportunity to push his case at the zonal level. Dinda sent one at his throat, Bist hooked, and Saha ran behind square leg to take the offering.
The bouncers to the batsmen before him made Parvinder Singh try to play even a good length Shami delivery from the crease, only to be trapped plumb in front. Parvinder fell off the last ball before lunch, and the talk during the break was about how soon the innings-defeat would arrive.It arrived just over an hour into the second session. If the specialist batsmen had not held back on the pull, there was no question of Piyush Chawla doing so. Another bouncer. Another top-edge to fine leg. Another tame dismissal.Mohnish Mishra played some big strokes during his 44, but he was put down three times in the cordon – two of the chances were straightforward. Anustup Majumdar finally held on to a chance to end Mishra’s stay and give Dinda his third wicket.The end came soon with TP Sudhindra holing out to deep midwicket, setting off celebrations among the East Zone players, who took back all six stumps as mementos. Three wins in three games, two of them outright. No longer were they pushovers in the Duleep Trophy.

As if Virender Sehwag’s batting strike-rate of 102 over a decade in one-day cricket wasn’t enough to frighten bowlers, he has now set his sights on batting long during the World Cup

Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore11-Feb-2011As if Virender Sehwag’s batting strike-rate of 102 over a decade in one-day cricket wasn’t enough to frighten bowlers, he has now set his sights on batting long during the World Cup. During his astonishing double-century against Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan in the Galle Test in 2008, Sehwag carried his bat but he is yet to bat out the full quota of overs in one-dayers, something he hopes to achieve.”I think I never played 50 overs in one-day cricket, maximum I faced is 42-44 overs,” a relaxed Sehwag said in Bangalore. “This time I’ll try to bat 50 overs if I can. I have been trying for 10 years, I’m still trying.” Emulating Sachin Tendulkar, who made the first and only double-century so far in the format when he played out 50 overs against South Africa last year, wasn’t a target for Sehwag though. “Sachin has played 50 overs many times, not just once, but he could make 200 only once because it is not easy to make 200 in a one-dayer.”Nearly a third of Sehwag’s innings have been single-digit efforts, a proportion he aims to reduce with a more measured approach early in the innings. “I have Yuvraj [Singh], MS Dhoni, [Suresh] Raina, [Virat] Kohli and Yusuf [Pathan] in the middle order, so I can go after the bowling straight from the first ball, but nowadays I’m a giving a little bit of respect for first 4-5 overs,” he said. “Then I can take on the bowlers to make sure I give a good start so even if I get out the middle order can take their time and then go after the bowling.”This will be the first World Cup since Twenty20 become a big-money phenomenon, and Sehwag says the rise of cricket’s newest format will mean teams batting first will have to set bigger targets to feel safe. “If you get a good batting track, 320 or 300 will be a par score in the World Cup,” he said. “IPL changed a lot of batsmen’s mindsets, because batsmen now think we can chase 10 run an over anytime. Before teams thought you have lost the game if they needed to chase 10 an over, but now with the power-hitters in the team, they will chase it and that will be very exciting to see in the World Cup”Injuries and the team management’s decision to rest him from some recent series has meant Sehwag goes into the World Cup not having played a one-dayer in more than five months. He missed the recent series against South Africa due to a shoulder problem, and though he is satisfied with his recovery, he is yet to start bowling. “I’m taking regular treatment, so hopefully it will be fine when the match comes,” he said. “I don’t want to bowl in the nets and get injured again, so when I feel my shoulder is better I can start bowling.”Shoulder trouble ruled Sehwag out of the past three global ICC tournaments – the Champions Trophy in 2009, and the previous two World Twenty20s – and India have had early exits in each of those, despite entering as title contenders. This World Cup, too, India are one of the front-runners. What lessons has the team learnt from past failures? “The only thing we learnt is that we are not favourites.”

Cricinfo’s preview of the first Twenty20 between Australia and West Indies in Hobart

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale20-Feb-2010

Match Facts

Last time the Australians saw Chris Gayle in a Twenty20 he launched Brett Lee onto the roof at The Oval•Hamish Blair/Getty Images

Sunday, February 21, Bellerive Oval

Start time 1835 (0735 GMT)

The Big Picture

The one-day series has been one-sided but Twenty20 tends to close the gap between teams and Australia are yet to beat West Indies in the format. The prospect of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, David Warner and Shane Watson striking, and Shaun Tait and Kemar Roach blitzing them at 150kph-plus does hold some appeal.For West Indies, the aim is to finish the tour with some positives ahead of their home series against Zimbabwe and Gayle believes the format gives them their best chance of success. “We’ve got a lot of allrounders in our team so the shorter form of the game definitely can suit us,” he said. “We can be a bit more dangerous in the T20 games.”For Australia, the plan is to see some new players in action ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. Steven Smith, Travis Birt and Daniel Christian should feature either in Hobart or in the second game in Sydney, and there will be Caribbean trips up for grabs if they perform well. They are also aiming to move one step closer to an unbeaten home summer across all three formats.The match is a milestone for Bellerive Oval, which is hosting a night international for the first time after having floodlights installed during the off-season and unlike the ODIs, this game is already a sellout. There is also a curtain-raiser Twenty20 to be played between the Australia and New Zealand women’s teams, part of which will be broadcast in Australia in the lead-up to the men’s match.

Form guide (most recent first)

Australia WNLLL

West Indies WLWLW

Watch out for…

How can you not watch out for Chris Gayle in a Twenty20 match? He is the only man to have scored a Twenty20 international century and last time he faced Australia in the format, he mauled them with 88 from 50 balls in an innings that won him Cricinfo’s award for the best Twenty20 performance of the year. In the past year he has launched balls onto the roof at The Oval and the WACA and into someone’s backyard in Napier. Bellerive residents should make sure their home insurance policies cover not only acts of God but also acts of Gayle.Travis Birt‘s Twenty20 international debut against Pakistan earlier this month was a forgettable occasion as he was bowled trying to paddle sweep his second ball. He will have learnt from that experience and will feel more comfortable in the quieter surrounds of his home ground in Hobart rather than a busy MCG. He is also coming off a wonderful 93 this week that surged Tasmania in to the FR Cup final.

Team news

Australia are fine-tuning their team ahead of the World Twenty20, which starts in late April. There are several fresh faces in a squad that does not feature Ricky Ponting, who has retired from the format, or Michael Hussey, who appears to be out of favour in Twenty20. The allrounder Daniel Christian is hoping to make his debut but in a squad of 14, he may have to wait until the second match in Sydney for his first appearance.Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Travis Birt, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Steven Smith, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.West Indies are using the same squad as they had for the ODIs, which means that their options are limited. Travis Dowlin hasn’t covered himself in glory in the 50-over games but the gritty back-up batsman Brendan Nash will find it hard to dislodge him. Kemar Roach should return to the line-up having been out of the past three ODIs.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Travis Dowlin, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Wavell Hinds, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Dwayne Smith, 9 Darren Sammy, 10 Nikita Miller, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

Bellerive Oval usually provides a good batting surface and in the two Big Bash matches this summer, the first-innings totals were 194 and 167. The forecast for Sunday in Hobart is fine and 25C.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies and Australia have met in only two Twenty20 internationals and West Indies won them both, in Barbados in 2008 and at The Oval last year
• Australia’s recent record in the format is miserable; until their win over Pakistan a fortnight ago they had lost their previous five completed Twenty20s
• Michael Clarke is one of 24 men who have played at least 20 international Twenty20 games; of those, only Umar Gul, Lasith Malinga and Mark Boucher have hit fewer sixes than Clarke, and only that trio have lower high scores than Clarke’s 37
  

  Quotes

  “We’ve got a good record against Australia, we’re two and zip. The guys are pretty confident. The shorter version of the game we’ve got guys that can destroy any attack – Pollard, Smith and Chris Gayle – so it’s going to be good fun.”
  
  David Williams, the West Indies coach”If you look at the balance of our team and the balance of their team, you’d probably still think that we’ve got a fair advantage over them.”
  
  Ricky Ponting has retired from Twenty20s but will be in Hobart to watch his colleagues

Chief executive John Stephenson believes Chelmsford redevelopment can earn hosting rights for 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup

Andrew Miller18-Apr-2024John Stephenson, Essex’s chief executive, says that the club now has a chance to “future-proof” itself through a significant redevelopment of its home ground at Chelmsford, and could even target the hosting of a Men’s World Cup fixture in 2030, following the ECB’s decision to name the county as one of eight Tier 1 clubs in the new professional structure for women’s cricket.Essex’s bid, which was made in conjunction with the University of Essex, drew support from the cricket boards of Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, so enabling the club to be preferred to other local bids in the South East of England – most notably Middlesex, but also Kent and Northamptonshire – and join Surrey in securing Tier 1 status in the London region.”For Essex to be chosen as one of the eight is huge for us, just in terms of perception,” Stephenson told ESPNcricinfo. “The partnership with the University will enable the team to make use of their expertise in sports science, and also use their facilities to train, and that takes a little bit of pressure off us financially.”It just amplifies the region really, because you go from East London all the way to Norfolk, it is huge. East London’s a massive catchment area for us, as is East Anglia. It will make sure that we have a really strong player pathway, with a big pool of players to choose from. It also allows us to focus on making Essex the No.1 region in England for women and girls cricket, and for sports in general.”Aside from Somerset, whose home ground at Taunton has had long-standing connections with women’s cricket, Essex are the only non-major match venue of the eight Tier 1 clubs, with Chelmsford’s current capacity of approximately 5,000 being comfortably the smallest.Stephenson, however, believes that the ground’s intimate nature will be a virtue in the short term as the club seeks to grow alongside the women’s game, but in the longer term, he expects the announcement to kickstart their redevelopment plans. Consultation has already begun with local residents and Chelmsford City Council, with the aim of doubling the capacity to 10,000 by the time of the men’s T20 World Cup in 2030.”I did think that most of [the bids] would go to the international venues, but to be picked out on the strength of our bid, it really shows the strength of the club,” Stephenson said.”It will link into our development plans because what’s held the club back has been the lack of investment in the ground,” he added. “There’ve been a lot of stop-starts, but we’re confident in our masterplan, and the commercial possibilities relating to the women’s game are huge. It is an ideal ground for women’s cricket, but we do need to develop the ground for future-proofing, and also to diversify our income stream.”This will allow us to build up-to-date facilities for players and officials, while making it a hub of the region. Our partners and sponsors have already expressed an interest in getting involved, so it’s really a good opportunity.”Chelmsford’s infrastructure has remained largely unaltered since the club first moved into the ground in the 1960s, and given that it is boxed in on three sides by the River Can, a major road and a housing estate, the opportunities for expansion are limited to the southern corner around the pavilion and indoor school.Nevertheless, the club’s ambition was piqued last season by its successful hosting of an Ireland-Bangladesh ODI series, which drew enthusiastic support particularly from East London’s Bangladeshi community. With their Tier 1 Women’s status locked in until 2028, and with the Women’s World Cup due to be held in England in 2026, Stephenson is confident that the ground can be ready to host more major matches in the near future.”If we can get a spade in the ground next year, by 2030 the women’s game will have grown exponentially, and hopefully we’ll be ready to host a World Cup match for the men in 2030. But our immediate focus obviously is the Tier 1 women’s team. We just want to make sure that we build the facilities that ensures we can give them the best possible experience.”In recent seasons, Essex’s reputation had been clouded by allegations of historic racist abuse, which were upheld in December in a report by Katherine Newton KC, after the club had been fined £50,000 by the ECB in 2023. But whereas Yorkshire’s bid for Tier 1 women’s status has been deferred until 2027, in part as a consequence of their own high-profile racism scandal, Stephenson said he felt the success of Essex’s bid was a vindication of the action the club had taken to confront the mistakes of the past.”It is pleasing that the ECB recognise that we have dealt with the situation that we were confronted with,” he said. “I think they feel satisfied at the actions we’ve taken, and now we can focus absolutely on the future. Now the club is moving in a great direction, and that is particularly satisfying.”

The visitors lost 10 wickets on day three across two innings, with Australia piling up 199 for 6 declared in 31 overs in between

Alex Malcolm10-Dec-2022A stunning three-wicket maiden from Scott Boland has put Australia on track for a 2-0 series sweep following a day where the game accelerated dramatically at the Adelaide Oval. Boland’s bedazzling spell reduced West Indies to 38 for 4 at stumps on day three chasing an improbable fourth innings target of 497.The visitors lost 10 wickets on day three across two innings, with Australia piling up 199 for 6 declared in 31 overs in between after the hosts opted against enforcing the follow-on as they did in Perth. Instead, they declared at sunset and asked West Indies to face 22 overs under lights with Boland ripping through their top order taking three wickets in his first over to leave the visitors reeling at 15 for 3.Having gone wicketless in the first innings to see his Test bowling average reach double-figures, Boland dropped it back under 10 as he nicked off Kraigg Brathwaite, pinned Shamarh Brooks lbw, and had Jermaine Blackwood caught superbly at gully by Cameron Green in six perfect deliveries.Related

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Three wickets soon became four when Tagenarine Chanderpaul attempted to glance Mitchell Starc down the leg side. Australia’s half-hearted appeal was turned down but their review showed a tiny spot on his bat and the decision was overturned.Devon Thomas and Jason Holder dug in valiantly for 13.3 overs to prevent further losses but pushing the game beyond a fourth day looks improbable.Earlier, West Indies lost six wickets in the morning session for 112 to be bowled out for just 214 in their first innings, having started the day at 102 for 4, to concede a first-innings deficit of 297. The morning was highlighted by two calamitous run-outs of West Indies’ two top scorers in the innings with Chanderpaul and nightwatchman Anderson Phillip falling to needless mix-ups.Nathan Lyon also extracted sharp spin to pick up two wickets and finish with three in the innings as West Indies were bowled out on the stroke of dinner. Starc bagged two in an extended session that lasted longer than it should have after Australia missed three catches behind the wicket.West Indies’ day started with Chanderpaul run-out in the opening over without adding to his overnight score of 47. He defended a ball close into the off side and wanted a quick single but Phillip did not respond leaving Chanderpaul scrambling to return to safety. Starc, having delivered from around the wicket, raced across to his right and opened his body superbly to fire with his left hand and hit the middle of middle from close range with Chanderpaul’s full-length dive not enough to save him.Holder was out two overs later edging a full ball from Starc that tailed away and Alex Carey took an excellent catch low to his right.Phillip and Joshua Da Silva then mounted a positive rearguard putting together a brisk 60-run stand in 13 overs. The strokeplay was aggressive despite the running between the wickets remaining questionable. Playing in just his second Test match, Phillip had only reached double-figures in ten of his previous 30 first-class innings with a highest score of 36 not out.Mitchell Starc’s direct hit found Tagenarine Chanderpaul short•Getty Images

He struck five boundaries and a six to post his highest first-class score while Da Silva looked secure and rotated the strike well and was only threatened by Phillip’s lackadaisical running. Da Silva could have been run out at the striker’s end after Phillip made a very late call to take a single to mid-off but the throw from Michael Neser was wide of the stumps.Phillip nearly ran himself out having lazily grounded his bat short of his ground when Marnus Labuschagne missed an attempt to break the stumps after gathering a wide throw. It would have been no surprise given he was penalised for running one short earlier in the partnership.Da Silva was trapped lbw by Lyon playing deep in his crease to a ball that spun back sharply. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena initially shook his head but Australia’s review overturned the call as it was hitting the top of middle. Lyon would later snare Alzarri Joseph with an identical dismissal.Phillip finally ran himself out when Roston Chase ignored a needless call for a single after a misfield at cover. The ball ricocheted to Labuschagne at mid-off. Phillip came halfway down before turning back after Chase called no. Labuschagne’s throw at the striker’s end missed but Carey had time to collect and underarm onto the stumps as he was still running up from his keeping position.Chase and Marquino Mindley frustrated the Australians with a last-wicket stand of 43. Mindley fought admirably given he was batting with a hamstring injury flicking Starc for six over backward square. Carey, David Warner and Labuschagne all missed chances behind the wicket off sharp edges with Cameron Green denied twice.Australia’s batters enjoyed a centre-wicket in the second session twilight with Usman Khawaja in particular cashing in on a tiring West Indies attack top-scoring with 45. Warner looked less fluent but the pair added 77 before both fell Chase in the same over.Labuschagne and Steven Smith feasted on the spin of Chase and Brathwaite thereafter with a relentless array of sweeps and reverse sweeps before tea. Labuschagne become just the second Australian batter to pass 500 runs in a two-Test series but fell in the last over before the break for 31. Travis Head came out after tea and clubbed 38 not out off 27 balls to set up a declaration. Green and Carey were the only ones failing to make 28 or more, both falling unselfishly in pursuit of quick runs with Green’s lack of time in the middle this summer remaining a concern.