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Konstas is set to be on the bench for the second Test against Sri Lanka too but head coach McDonald has suggested the WTC final line-up will have a different look

Andrew McGlashan04-Feb-2025Travis Head has backed Sam Konstas to regain his place as opener for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s where Australia are likely to face a batting squeeze given the recent success of their debutants.Konstas burst into international cricket against India at the MCG and was named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year at last night’s Australian Cricket Awards. But he was left out of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, and won’t feature in the second starting on Thursday with newspapers reporting he will head back to Australia for Sheffield Shield cricket, after the selectors opted for the horses-for-courses approach they had long planned by using Head alongside Usman Khawaja.Former captains Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke had been among those to push for Konstas to retain his place in Sri Lanka with an eye to the future given the WTC final had been secured, but selector on tour Tony Dodemaide stressed it was not a development trip.The move was vindicated with Head’s 57 off 40 balls setting the agenda in what became one of Australia’s most dominant overseas batting displays as they piled up 654 for 6 which was their highest total in Asia.However, using Head as opener will only remain a realistic option for Australia in certain subcontinent conditions with coach Andrew McDonald already flagging a very different looking batting order against South Africa.Adding to the selectors’ options was the sparkling debut of Josh Inglis who sped to a 90-ball century, which followed Beau Webster’s strong entrance against India in Sydney, while Cameron Green remains on track to be available as a batter for the WTC final following his back surgery.”Most likely I’d go back in the middle order and Sam would open,” Head told reporters in Galle. “But I’m glad I’m not a selector. Josh has had an amazing start, the guys are playing well, Greeny’s going to be fit. So it’s going to be hard to fit [them all] in. I think that’s what we want. We want an Australian cricket team that’s tough to get in.Josh Inglis scored a century on debut•Getty Images

“I think that’s all we’ve ever known is players that are unlucky and players that are in the team and expecting good performances. And that’s where the pressure comes [from], it’s trying to hold your spot every Test, knowing that there’s people behind you. We’re in a strong position. It’s better having seven or eight batters talked about than three or four.”When it emerged that Konstas was likely to lose his spot, stand-in captain Steven Smith stressed the value that could be gained from still being on tour. As it transpired, Konstas spent much of the opening match ill at the team hotel but was back training with the squad on Tuesday.”I know there was a little bit of talk around whether he might play or not, whether there’s a series that, I guess, you can blood [him]. But whether he played or not played, it’s great to have him here and great to have him experience the conditions.”I don’t think there’s been a Test match in the history that they’ve blooded someone or thought there was a free hit. We’re here to win 2-0, and Sam’s a big part of where we’re going. There’s no doubt about it.”For someone to come in and take the game [on] the way he did in Melbourne, the confidence he’s got, it’s a good thing to have a young kid around that’s a bit naive and just plays the game the right way. He’s got a huge future for Australia. It’ll just be how he, over the years, deals with adversity. At this stage, he looks like he deals with it really well.”Head, named the Allan Border Medalist on Monday night after a dominant 12 months, reflected with a degree of satisfaction at being able to play the role asked of him in the opening Test, which included taking three boundaries off the opening over, although added there had not been a preconceived plan to attack from the outset.”It was not by design to go out and score as quick as I did,” he said. “If they present an opportunity to score, I want to score. Probably disappointing [was] the fact that the one risk I took did end up being the one [that got me] out. The percentages, I still felt like I was a chance, but I did flirt with danger and was out.”But sometimes you’ve got to take those risks and sometimes you’ve got to try and push the game. I felt that was the right moment to really try and put the foot down. I guess that’s hard to say in Test cricket, but I felt like I played well, I played positively, I played what the team needed at the time. It goes different ways in terms of what they offer and how they bowl. It was nice I was able to take the opportunity at the start of the Test.”

Her 26-ball 51 gives stellar Originals bowling attack something to defend in low-scoring game

ECB Media17-Aug-2025Manchester Originals 117 for 5 (Dottin 51) beat Northern Superchargers 112 for 7 (Litchfield 31, Kerr 2-20, Ecclestone 2-21, Bryce 2-26) by five runsAn inspired performance in the field from Manchester Originals held off the Superchargers in one of the games of the tournament.In front of a bumper crowd of 11,952 – a record for the women’s competition at Emirates Old Trafford – the home side held their nerve and took their catches to clinch a potentially season-defining victory.Defeat here to the high-flying Superchargers would have put the Originals’ campaign in jeopardy; yet they finished the day on level points with their opponents, in joint second, and with the table wide open.The catching was spectacular. The hinge point of the run-chase came from the 61st ball of the innings, when the in-form Australian southpaw Phoebe Litchfield, having just unfurled a stunning switch-hit for six, climbed into a conventional sweep against Kathryn Bryce. She got a lot of it, but Fi Morris, running full tilt not far from the boundary rope, leapt to pluck it out of the skies.Morris then took another good tumbling catch to remove Annabel Sutherland, before Deandra Dottin flung herself full stretch at cover to grab a fingertip-catch and remove Bess Heath with just seven balls remaining. That gave Sophie Ecclestone her second wicket.Left-arm spinner Ecclestone – working in tandem with the brilliant wrist-spinner Amelia Kerr, who also claimed two wickets – applied a further clamp to the Superchargers’ momentum which had began with an excellent new-ball spell from Mahika Gaur, who conceded just 10 runs from her 15 deliveries.After Ecclestone, the final set of five was coolly delivered by Lauren Filer to spark huge celebrations.Beth Mooney, Originals captain, later acknowledged that her team’s depth of bowling was crucial to the outcome.”It’s a huge result,” she said. “We’ve got to win these scrappy games and sometimes it looks a little bit ugly, as it did at times today for us, but it puts you in good stead at the back end of tournaments like this. I’ve got six international bowlers that I’m working with and they’re great at executing their skills. To have Sophie Ecclestone and Amelia Kerr, two of the best spinners in the world, in our team, certainly makes my life easy.”The Meerkat Match Hero award went to Dottin, who registered just the second fifty of the Originals’ tournament. It was her intervention, coming to the crease with just 42 balls left in the innings after the openers Mooney and Bryce had both fallen for single-figure scores, that changed the course of the match and perhaps the Originals’ season.Her unbeaten 51 was vintage Dottin, especially lethal on the pull to anything short, and clumping three sixes in her 26-ball stay. The momentum generated from Dottin’s knock carried over to the second innings, keeping the Originals very much alive in the tournament.”It was a really good game,” said Dottin. “So exciting and we’re just so pleased to get over the line. After the feedback and the info from the players who’d already been in the middle, the main thing for me was to see what it was actually doing and then taking it as deep as possible. It’s a big win but we’re not too overconfident.”

Shabika Gajnabi and Rashada Williams return after having missed the cut for the T20 World Cup earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2024West Indies will be without veteran allrounder Stafanie Taylor for their upcoming white-ball tour of India. The 33-year-old is currently rehabilitating from an injury, according to a CWI release, and will not be available for the three T20Is and three ODIs in India.Deandra Dottin, who returned to West Indies’ squad for the T20 World Cup earlier this year in the UAE, two years after announcing her international retirement, is set to make her ODI comeback during this tour.Dottin had last played an ODI in March 2022 but her recent white-ball form is encouraging. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, she was among the most impactful players in the 2024 T20 World Cup and in the WBBL earlier this month, she had smashed an unbeaten 46 off 18 balls at a strike rate of 255.55 to secure Melbourne Renegades’ win against Adelaide Strikers in Adelaide.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Seamer Shabika Gajnabi and wicketkeeper-batter Rashada Williams are back for both the ODI and T20Is after having missed out on the T20 World Cup squad. This is a chance for them and other players to impress the Women’s Premier League scouts.”We want to get more girls involved with franchise cricket moving forward and looking toward India, it’s always good to play in front of the Indian IPL teams,” Shane Deitz, the West Indies coach, said. “It is good for our ladies to start getting their names in front of those people, to hopefully open some opportunities in the future.” ​Deitz also drew confidence from the T20 World Cup where West Indies qualified for the semi-finals. “We want to take the good momentum we gained at the T20 World Cup into this series,” he said. “We showed that we can compete against the top teams, which was pleasing.” ​Mumbai will host the three T20Is before the series ends with three ODIs in Vadodara. West Indies will arrive early in India and will tune up with a ten-day acclimatisation camp. The ODI leg carries crucial points for the ICC Women’s Championship. ​West Indies last played a white-ball series in India in 2016. They won the T20Is 3-0 and lost the ODIs 0-3.

West Indies ODI and T20I squad

Hayley Matthews (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Nerissa Crafton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Rashada Williams

The England opener has opened up a controversial episode in his career saying it was ‘a really, really tough time’

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2024Ben Duckett has lifted the lid on the incident that saw him sent home from Australia during the 2017-18 Ashes after pouring a drink over James Anderson, revealing Anderson threw a drink over him first before feeling bad and encouraging Duckett to return the favour.Duckett was part of the Lions tour at the time, desperate to add to four Test caps picked up from tours of Bangladesh and India at the end of 2016. The indiscretion ended up setting him back as he was sent home with a fine and suspension from the ECB. He eventually returned to the Lions set-up at the end of 2018.The incident took place before the third Test against Australia, at Perth’s Avenue Bar, with England 2-0 down and subject to intense scrutiny of their off-field behaviour. The venue had already gained notoriety on the tour after Jonny Bairstow “greeted” Cameron Bancroft at the bar by butting heads ahead of the series, a story that emerged with falsely malicious undertones during the culmination of England’s loss at the Gabba in the first Test.Related

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The ECB was already on high alert heading to Australia after Ben Stokes was charged with affray in September of that year, before being found not guilty in 2018. Duckett’s misdemeanour ended up being the final straw, prompting a midnight curfew instilled following the Bairstow-Bancroft episode to be made permanent, though it has been relaxed intermittently since.At the time, head coach Trevor Bayliss could not contain his anger, telling reporters: “It’s a fairly trivial incident but, in the current climate, it’s just not acceptable”. Anderson used his column in the to downplay what he regarded as “a pretty silly incident”.Both Bayliss and managing director Andrew Strauss – who had to insist England players were not “thugs” after losing the first Test in the wake of the Bairstow’s “headbutt” – put their foot down as allegations of a booze culture prevailed. England ended up succumbing to a 4-0 series defeat. By then, Duckett had already returned home as part of the collateral.Seven years on, Duckett is an established international, and with Anderson now retired – though he remains part of the Test set-up as a bowling consultant – he is comfortable clarifying that he was not the instigator on that fateful night in Perth, and that he feared his England career was over.”Jimmy actually threw a drink on me, but no one knows about that,” Duckett told podcast. “And then said, ‘oh, we’re just messing around. You can just lob one on my head. That’s fine.’ Genuinely. So then I just poured one on his head and the security guard saw me from the ECB, who looks after us, and it filtered back.”That was kind of basically the story. We carried on the rest of the night together, getting on well. That’s the story that’s got blown up. Then obviously when things start getting out in the media and everyone’s saying all this stuff, then everyone believes that like that. And as soon as a story or a headline’s out there, ‘well that’s what happened then’.”But then you can’t really come out and say what I’ve just said, because I’m a young lad trying to break into the England team. It’s one of the best ever England players, you know? And people didn’t really want to hear me.The 2017-18 Ashes tour was largely a miserable one for England•Getty Images

“It was actually a really, really tough time. People look back and it’s probably funny and stuff like that. But when you’re in Australia and you’re kind of being told you can’t go to training, you can’t play – it’s a lonely place for a 22-year-old.”And being in Australia, you’re not getting much sympathy from any anyone out there, are you? But yeah, it was one of those things where… it feels like your world’s ending. The time difference, you’re not speaking to family much. The lads around me in that group at the time were amazing.”Duckett’s subsequent emergence as an England regular across has allowed him to put a positive spin on that period of his career. Only Joe Root (2250) has more than Duckett’s 1980 runs since returning to the Test side as an opener at the end of 2022, at a strike rate of 88.55, with four centuries.The left-hander was one of just three batters to average over 50 in the recent 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan. He is also set to be a vital cog in the rejuvenation of the limited overs set-up, led by Test head coach Brendon McCullum who will assume control of England’s white-ball sides in the new year.While Duckett feared for his future after that 2017-18 winter, he believes the resolve it bred has been integral to developing as a mainstay across all three formats.”It’s not that moment that was the issue. It was, you know, for the next 12 months, it was, ‘you’re basically on hold now for a little while’. Which for a 23 [year-old]… that’s kind of a bad time to basically get told you’ve got no chance here.”It does make you grow up a little bit faster and stuff and dealing with what I had to deal with probably made me a little bit more resilient as a person and probably a bit tougher.”All these things now, in a really weird way, I wouldn’t change much of it because, where I am right now, when I play for England, it’s like I don’t want to give that shirt to anyone else.”I’ve probably not made things easy at times. I’m not a saint and an angel, and I probably was an easy target at the time. That would be the only thing I’ll say – whether it was dealt right or wrong, that’s for people to make their own mind up.”

He became only the third bowler in men’s T20 cricket to take seven in an innings

Mohammad Isam02-Jan-2025Taskin Ahmed became only the third bowler in history to take a seven-wicket haul in men’s T20s, claiming 7 for 19 in Durbar Rajshahi’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match against Dhaka Capitals. It is also the best bowling figures in the BPL’s history, beating Mohammad Amir’s 6 for 17 for Khulna Tigers in 2020.Taskin continues to be consistent in all formats after he finished 2024 with 63 international wickets at 19.23, Bangladesh’s biggest haul in the year.He emulated Colin Ackermann, who was the first bowler to take seven wickets in a T20 – in a Vitality Blast game in 2019 – and Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus, who took seven for Malaysia against China in 2023.After Dhaka decided to bat at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Taskin removed both openers Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan in his first two overs. He bowled a ripper to Litton, who fended the short ball towards first slip, before Tanzid was caught behind chasing a wide one.Dhaka recovered in the middle overs before Taskin returned with the wicket of Shahadat Hossain in the 17th over. Beaten by a slower ball, Shahadat holed out to Ryan Burl who took a sharp catch at long-on. Taskin had Chaturanga de Silva later in the same over, before a triple-wicket final over. Alauddin Babu was the first to go in the 20th, skying one to mid-off, before Taskin yorked Mukidul Islam. He missed out on the hat-trick but got Shubham Ranjane next ball to finish with 4-0-19-7.The glut of wickets in the last four overs slowed Dhaka down significantly, leaving Rajshahi with a moderate 175 to chase. They reached the target in the 19th over, with seven wickets in hand.Taskin said it was a proud moment for him, becoming the bowler with the best figures in the BPL. “I have always thought about taking a lot of wickets. If you don’t visualise it, you can’t make it happen. Obviously you need luck to take wickets. I am happy that I could execute my plans… It is a great feeling that I could deliver whenever my captain brought me into the attack.””It is always special to take a five-wicket haul in every format,” he added. “I have taken three or four wickets plenty of times. You need luck to get five. I am really happy. It’s a big deal for me. I am from Bangladesh so I will remember holding this BPL record.”Taskin said that he was happy with the type of pitches on offer at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, with the surfaces mostly sporting. “I think there is little margin for error. We can’t get away with any lose deliveries. Pitches are great for batters, who face a bit of challenge only against the new ball. I think such pitches will help us in the Champions Trophy [in February] where we will play on mostly good batting tracks in Pakistan and UAE.”

The visiting quicks made outstanding use of the new ball, which had been the most difficult period to bat in this game

Andrew McGlashan06-Jul-2025Australia made swift work of securing a 133-run victory on the fourth day in Grenada, and with it retained the Frank Worrell Trophy which they have held since 1995, as West Indies’ batting crumbled to 143 all out midway through the afternoon session.Australia’s last three wickets were able to add only 22 runs to the overnight total, but despite positive talk the previous evening, a target of 277 was always going to be a tall order for West Indies. In the end, it barely appeared as a dot on the horizon as they lost four wickets in less than 13 overs before lunch, including another Hall of Fame delivery from Pat Cummins to take Brandon King’s off stump.Related

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Mitchell Starc’s 3 for 24 left him on 395 wickets heading into his 100th Test in Jamaica, and Nathan Lyon ended the match with a superb catch over his shoulder from his own bowling to finish within one of Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 as the second-most for Australia.The visiting quicks made outstanding use of the new ball, which had been the most difficult period to bat in in this game. Deliveries leapt to take the gloves regularly, while there was always the fear in the back of a batters’ mind that one would scuttle low. Roston Chase and Shai Hope briefly counterattacked after lunch, but it would have needed something extraordinary to turn the game around. In all, 13 wickets fell in 41.3 overs on the fourth day.The pattern had been similar to Barbados: West Indies had stayed with Australia across the first two days but couldn’t sustain the challenge. In this instance, it was the runs of Cameron Green and Steven Smith in the second innings which made a key difference.The Grenada pitch played into Josh Hazlewood’s hands•Associated Press

Josh Hazlewood, who has been outstanding in this series on pitches ideally suited to his hammering of the back-of-a-length, set the tone as Australia set about defending their total, pinning John Campbell lbw with his second delivery.Further wickets never felt far away. Keacy Carty was handed a life on 5 when Beau Webster couldn’t haul in a high chance at second slip – given how brilliant he is in the cordon, he would probably have expected to gather it – and Carty was given a painful working over with numerous blows on the hand and body. At one point, Australia had two short legs.Starc ended Carty’s difficult stay with an outside edge from around the wicket, and former captain Kraigg Brathwaite, in his 100th Test, fell for his fourth single-figure score of the series when he nibbled at one in Webster’s first over.Briefly, King defied the conditions, getting off the mark first ball with a blistering cover drive against Starc before repeating the dose to Hazlewood. He added a straight drive off Cummins to suggest a repeat of the first innings could be possible but, having seen Green drop a very tough chance at third slip low to his left, could do nothing to keep out Cummins.The delivery after the ball was changed – a frequent event in this match as it was in Barbados – Cummins angled one in towards off stump which straightened, skimmed past the edge and smashed off stump. It brought back memories of Joe Root at Old Trafford during the 2019 Ashes.Roston Chase made a counter-attacking 34•Associated Press

With nothing much to lose, Chase and Hope played their shots after the interval with numerous deliveries flying in the air but away from fielders. Chase emphatically sent Webster down the ground for six, too. But it was a high-risk strategy that wouldn’t last long, and Hope fell to a top-edged pull when Hazlewood returned in place of Cummins.Chase produced a magnificent flick for six over midwicket against Starc, which left even the bowler impressed, but was given out lbw four deliveries later to bail-trimmer from around the wicket. In his next over, Starc trapped Justin Greaves with one that shot through at ankle height.Alzarri Joseph had launched his first two deliveries for six against Lyon but was well held by Green running around the midwicket rope when he attempted another. As he had done in Barbados, Shamar Joseph also hit out and collected three sixes before finding long-on after Lyon had changed ends. Lyon was taken for six sixes in less than six overs, but had the final say.The final Test in Jamaica, which will be a day-nighter at Sabina Park, begins on July 12.

Sri Lanka never had enough as Bangladesh chased 133 in just 16.3 overs

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2025Career-best contributions from Mahedi Hasan and Tanzid Hasan powered Bangladesh to a series-winning eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka. The home side had blown away Bangladesh in the first game in Pallekele, but the visitors fought back in the second game in Dambulla, before this win in Colombo. Bangladesh have previously only once turned around from 1-0 down to win a three-match T20I series, against West Indies seven years ago.Mahedi took 4 for 11, in a spell that never let Sri Lanka change gears due to constant wickets. This was an apt reward for a bowler who had been out of the side for Bangladesh’s previous four T20Is. By the time his spell was over, Bangladesh were in control, and they seldom looked in trouble thereafter.Tanzid cracked an unbeaten 47-ball 73, ensuring Bangladesh strolled through their 133-run chase. He struck six sixes, all of them with a bit of class and nonchalance.Sri Lanka had earlier chosen to bat at the toss – an unusual decision given the lopsided results for sides batting first at the R Premadasa Stadium. After the quick boundaries Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis hit in the match’s first over, captain Charith Asalanka may have thought he had made the right call. As it turned out, by the end of the evening, the home side has lost every time they decided to bat first at this ground in night matches.The Sri Lanka innings never got going•AFP via Getty Images

Mahedi makes a comeback statement

The game began at top speed. Shoriful Islam removed Kusal Mendis in the first over, caught at the deep backward square leg boundary. Mahedi, who had replaced Mehidy Hasan Miraz for this game, jumped into action from the other end. He had Kusal Perera caught at slip for a duck.Chandimal, returning to the T20I side after more than three years, survived two out of three chances in the space of six balls – Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman dropped catches off his bat. Soon after, Chandimal top-edged Mahedi with a slog and was caught at point.Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka was next to go, on the receiving end of what might have been the ball of the series. Mahedi got the ball to turn just enough to beat Asalanka’s backfoot push, flattening the off-stump.Nissanka was dismissed for 46, Mahedi completing a simple caught-and-bowled chance to claim his fourth wicket. Sri Lanka were 66 for 5 in the 11th over.Mahedi Hasan celebrates a wicket en route to his four-for•Associated Press

Shanaka’s last-gasp blast

Bangladesh kept picking up Sri Lanka’s wickets through the middle and death overs, but could not dislodge Dasun Shanaka. He unleashed his shots in the last over, taking 22 off Shoriful, who finished with 1 for 50 from his four overs.Shanaka hammered two fours and two sixes – one of which was hit out of the stadium – as the packed Khettarama crowd finally cleared their collective throats. The big-hitting bumped up Sri Lanka’s total to 132 for 7 in 20 overs, which had looked unlikely for most of an otherwise placid innings.

Litton, Tanzid topple Thushara’s early blow

Nuwan Thushara gave Sri Lanka what they needed to defend 132: a wicket off the first ball. Thusara trapped Parvez Hossain Emon lbw with an in-dipper, which he perhaps telegraphed with his slinging action, but it dipped late on Emon. Litton Das survived another lbw appeal with a review in the next over, but he was constantly looking for boundaries.Bangladesh’s counterattack came to the fore with Tanzid hitting Maheesh Theekshana over extra cover for the first six. Litton clattered Fernando over square-leg in the next over, before Tanzid launched Asalanka for two straight sixes. Tanzid’s fourth six was a slog against a Jeffrey Vandersay floater.By the eighth over, Bangladesh had sped to 71 for 1.Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan ensured Bangladesh were never in trouble•AFP via Getty Images

Tanzid leaves Sri Lanka in disarray

Kamindu Mendis ended the second-wicket stand worth 74 runs when he had Litton caught at the deep square-leg boundary. Litton made 32 off 26 balls with two fours and a six – an excellent supporting act for the marauding Tanjid.Tanjid didn’t let Litton’s dismissal – against the run of play – slow him down, as he struck a fifth six. He then followed it up with a tickled boundary to reach his fifth half-century in T20Is. Tanzid’s attack had Sri Lanka in disarray, who were guilty of several misfields. Theekshana dropped Tanzid on 60 – a straightforward chance he fluffed trying to run in too hard.But the over ended with Tanzid hammering Kamindu for his sixth six. Hridoy also struck a maximum of his own, before taking the winning run in the 17th over.Tanzid let out a loud yelp, although it was in front of a quiet home crowd.

New Zealand batsman “surprised” to be included in the 13-member squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan

Cricinfo staff21-Nov-2009Peter Fulton, the New Zealand and Canterbury batsman, has said he was “surprised” to be included in the
13-member squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan. Jesse Ryder’s absence through injury has given Fulton a chance to cement his place in the middle order a day after he helped Canterbury beat Otago in the Plunket Shield.”It’s a nice surprise to get, especially after a game like that,” Fulton told the . “When I missed out on the [New Zealand Invitation] team to play [Pakistan] down in Queenstown, I was obviously pissed off. At the back of your mind, you always sort of know that if you score enough runs you can force your way into contention, and that’s how it’s worked out.”Missing out on Queenstown was obviously an indication that I wasn’t really in the frame last week, but the runs I’ve scored this week has helped push my case.”Fulton made 172 in the first innings against Otago to help Canterbury post 440 and then hit 77 as they declared on 265 for 5 in the second, setting Otago a massive 471 to win. They were bowled out for 355.”I was really pleased with how I batted, actually,” said Fulton. “Just the amount of time I was able to spend at the crease and the tempo that I batted with. It was quite even all the way through.”Fulton, 30, has not played a Test since December 2008 and was eager to improve on improve on a batting average of 24.72 from eight matches. “The last nine to 12 months have obviously been pretty disappointing selection-wise, and missing out on a [New Zealand Cricket] contract,” he said. “I’ve had time to reassess where I’m at, and Test cricket is where I want to be, and I worked pretty hard over the winter.”

Beth Mooney will take the gloves for the three-match series but the opening match is threatened by the weather

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2024Australia captain Alyssa Healy’s niggling knee will prevent her from keeping wicket in the ODI series against New Zealand.But she is hopeful she can play as a batter in all three games to ready herself for the Ashes in January. Beth Mooney will continue filling in for Healy behind the stumps, starting in Thursday’s series-opener at Basin Reserve in Wellington.”I won’t be wicketkeeping this series … but there’s not a lot of cricket leading into the Ashes, so for me, it’s an opportunity to try and get back on the park, as a batter, and try and find some runs more importantly,” Healy said on Wednesday.”I feel like I’ve hardly played any cricket for the last eight or nine months and there’s a good opportunity to do that. The knee’s tracking well, it’s just a day-by-day thing, and we’ll just assess as we go.”Healy’s frustrating run with injury opened the door for Australia to debut Georgia Voll in the recent home series against India. Voll, who hit scores of 46 not out, 101 and 26 in her first three ODIs, is set to be the unlucky player to drop out with Healy returning.”We’ve been transitioning for a little while, getting some youth in the side,” Healy said. “But obviously forced hand with some injuries at the moment. I think we’re in a really great space, the depth in Australian cricket is really strong.”And everyone who keeps stepping in, to take my job in particular, seems to make my runs or take wickets, so we’re in a good space at the moment.”New Zealand will enter the battle for the Rose Bowl on a high after winning the T20 World Cup in October with this their first home cricket since that historic moment. However, they have not beaten Australia in a bilateral one-day series 1999 or in an ODI since 2017.”I just remind them we pumped them in the round game, but they’re okay to have the trophy,” Healy said. “There is an air of disappointment around our group after the World Cup, I don’t think there is any way to beat around that.”I think the discussions that have come post that have been really promising, and where we want to take our cricket moving forward and how we want to play our style of game, as sad as that may seem.”New Zealand are in danger of missing direct qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup with this three-match series their last of the current Women’s Championship. They are currently sixth in the table with two automatic spots to claim alongside hosts India and already-qualified Australia, England and South Africa. Bangladesh and West Indies, who are below them, still have matches to play.A crowd of 4000 is expected at the Basin Reserve on Thursday although the forecast is poor before being more promising for the matches on Saturday and Monday.”It’s well overdue [beating Australia], but we also know the challenge we’re up against and we know that we’re going to have to be at our best to win at least two games to get that cup back,” New Zealand captain Sophie Devine said. “This is our first opportunity to play back up at home as T20 world champions…so now we just need the Wellington weather gods to play ball as well.”

Nishan Madushka, Kasun Rajitha and Nisala Tharaka make way from the group that toured England

Madushka Balasuriya16-Sep-2024Top-order batter Oshada Fernando has returned to Sri Lanka’s Test fold following an 18-month absence, but this means there is no room for opening batter Nishan Madushka in Sri Lanka’s 16-man squad for this month’s two-Test series against New Zealand at home. Of those that toured England, fast-bowling allrounder Nisala Tharaka and seamer Kasun Rajitha are the other two to be left out.Oshada’s return follows an impressive showing with the A team, who are currently touring South Africa. The 32-year-old batter, who has played 21 Tests, struck 122 and 80 on the way to a Player-of-the-Match showing, as Sri Lanka A won the first of two unofficial Tests in Kimberley. The performances were enough for the selectors to curtail his time in South Africa and shoehorn him into a Test squad for the first time since March 2023.Madushka was unsurprisingly the odd man out, following a difficult tour of England where he accumulated scores of 4, 0, 7 and 13 over the first two Tests before being dropped for the third. His replacement at the top of the order, Pathum Nissanka, struck a match-winning century in the final Test, which now means there is no natural spot in the playing XI for the 25-year-old wicketkeeper.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Neither Tharaka nor Rajitha played a game in England, and with the seamers that did – Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando and Milan Rathnayake – impressing, Sri Lanka’s seam contingent was already overstocked considering the spin-friendly conditions expected in Galle.Despite his recall, though, Oshada might find it difficult to secure a spot in what is a fairly settled batting order. Dimuth Karunaratne, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis are all likely to retain their places in the XI, while Ramesh Mendis might slot in at No. 8 to bolster both the batting and spin-bowling ranks. There is also Sadeera Samarawickrama waiting in the wings.Related

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With the remaining three slots going to lead spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and two others – likely two seamers, or possibly even an extra spinner in Jeffrey Vandersay – it’s hard to see where Oshada fits in unless one of the senior men in Mathews or Karunaratne makes way.Both Tests will take place in Galle with the first Test beginning on September 18.

Sri Lanka Test squad against New Zealand

Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake