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Imam-ul-Haq’s century goes in vain as Adam Zampa leads disciplined bowling attack to tie Pakistan down

Tristan Lavalette29-Mar-2022Travis Head smashed a 72-ball 101 and capped his ODI return with two wickets to lead a short-handed Australia to an impressive 88-run victory over Pakistan in the series-opener in Lahore.Chasing 314, Pakistan rued a slow start and struggled against Australia’s spinners in dewy conditions under lights to be bowled out for 225 in the 46th over in what was a return to the format for Australia and Pakistan since July.Australia had only 13 players to choose from, and handed debuts to legspinner Mitchell Swepson and quick Nathan Ellis. Pakistan had fresh faces, too, with 34-year-old legspinner Zahid Mahmood and young quick Mohammad Wasim making their ODI debuts.Despite missing their first choice pace attack, along with Ashton Agar, who tested positive for Covid-19 on the morning of the game, a disciplined Australia tied down Pakistan in the middle overs through Swepson and Adam Zampa in a rare occurrence of the tourists playing two frontline spinners. Swepson claimed the key wicket of captain Babar Azam for 57, while Zampa tore through the lower-order to finish with 4 for 38 from his ten overs.Pakistan’s chase was held together by Imam-ul-Haq, who averaged 74.6 in the Test series, with the opener hitting 103 off 96 as he accelerated towards his century after a sedate start. But he fell to a cracking yorker from Ellis in a terrific maiden ODI wicket as Australia’s unbeaten tour of Pakistan continued.Imam and Babar paid the price for a cautious 96-run second-wicket partnership, off 118 balls, where they appeared to be in cruise control only for the run rate to keep increasing.Adam Zampa bagged four wickets in the match•Associated Press

In the first ODI in Lahore since 2015, which was Babar’s debut, the Pakistan skipper became the second-quickest after Hashim Amla to reach 4000 ODI runs and he achieved the milestone in style with a boundary off Swepson amid fans chanting his name while waving their lighted smartphones.Eyeing the long haul, Babar knocked the ball around and hit the odd boundary through masterful precision. After a gorgeous square drive off Swepson, he survived a shout for lbw with the decision upheld much to the chagrin of skipper Aaron Finch, continuing Australia’s poor use of DRS from the Test series.But Swepson, finding a groove he lacked during his Test initiation, would not be denied with a first ODI wicket when he trapped Babar lbw in the next over with a full legbreak that was unsuccessfully reviewed.With the ball skidding on the surface, Head’s terrific match continued with a handy spell mid-innings, and his nagging offbreaks accounted for Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed. It capped a commanding performance for Head, who played his first ODI since November 2018.After being sent in, Australia appeared on course for a big total through Head’s pyrotechnics at the top, only to be pegged back by Pakistan’s spinners before Cameron Green gave them a late spark with an unbeaten 40 off 30 balls.Having struggled during Australia’s historic Test series victory, averaging just 22.67, Head was in sparkling form from the get-go as he dominated a Pakistan attack desperately missing the speed and skill of spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was rested after a heavy workload during the Test series.Imam-ul-Haq played cautiously for the most part•Associated Press

It was Head’s second ODI century – both have been against Pakistan – and he showcased his liking for the top of the order to boost his average as opener to 45.69 from 13 matches, which is well above his overall mark of 36.He dominated a 110-run opening stand with Finch and may have heightened the pressure on the struggling Australia captain’s long-term place at the top. Having laboured through the Australian summer with a knee injury, Finch once again lacked fluency in his first ODI since December 2020 to make an unconvincing 23 off 36.No. 3 Ben McDermott, however, made his case with a calm 55 off 70 until he needlessly ran himself out after a misfield. The BBL MVP has struggled in ODIs and T20Is but mostly played sensibly in his maiden ODI half-century.It was a tale of two halves for Australia in their batting innings, as they scored around seven runs an over in the first half only to be tied down in the second, with Zahid producing sharp turn while left-arm orthodox Khushdil Shah bowled an excellent spell at the back-end.Their total appeared par for the course but it proved more than enough as Head completed his comeback in style to lead Australia to their tenth straight ODI win over Pakistan.

Shashikala Siriwardene, the Sri Lanka women’s captain, has injured her thumb and has been advised four weeks of rehabilitation

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015Shashikala Siriwardene, the Sri Lanka women’s captain, has injured her thumb and has been advised four weeks of rehabilitation. She was struck on the hand during the third, of five, ODIs against New Zealand in Lincoln.”A delivery crushed her right thumb resulting in a displaced fracture. As advised by the doctor she will be immobilised for 4 weeks,” an SLC press release said. Opener Chamari Atapattu will lead the side for the remaining matches, and Oshadi Ranasinghe, who was part of the three stand-by players on tour, has been drafted into the main squad.The first three ODIs, which Sri Lanka have lost to concede the series, contributed to the ICC Women’s championship. They are already the bottom-ranked team with nine losses in 12 games.The fourth and fifth ODI are not part of the championship. The tour also includes three T20s.

Batter has been out with injury since May; Central Zone squad also named

PTI24-Aug-2022A fit-again Ajinkya Rahane will lead a powerful West Zone side in the Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled to be played in Tamil Nadu from September 8 to 25.It was reported by PTI last Sunday that Rahane, who is recuperating from a groin injury, will make a comeback to competitive cricket at the Duleep Trophy.Rahane has not played competitive cricket since May, when he picked up an injury while turning out for Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL. He missed the Ranji Trophy knockouts for Mumbai due to injury.Mumbai eventually finished runners-up, and several members of that squad, including internationals Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur, have been picked. Others from Mumbai in the squad include Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shams Mulani, Hardik Tamore and Tanush Kotian.From Saurashtra, veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat and Rahul Tripathi, who recently made it to national squad for the Zimbabwe ODIs, make it to the West Zone squad.Central Zone also announced their squad, with most of the stars of Madhya Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy winning squad in the side, including Yash Dubey, Shubham Sharma and Kumar Kartikeya. Venkatesh Iyer, who last played first-class cricket in 2020, has also been included.West Zone squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt; Mumbai), Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai), Hardik Tamore (wk; Mumbai), Shams Mulani (Mumbai), Tanush Kotian (Mumbai), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Rahul Tripathi (Maharashtra), Satyajeet Bachhav (Maharashtra), Het Patel (Gujarat), Chintan Gaja (Gujarat), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra), Chirag Jani (Saurashtra), Atit Sheth (Baroda)Central Zone squad: Karan Sharma (capt; Uttar Pradesh), Shubham Sharma (vice-capt; Madhya Pradesh), Himanshu Mantri (wk; Madhya Pradesh), Yash Dubey (Madhya Pradesh), Priyam Garg (Uttar Pradesh), Rinku Singh (Uttar Pradesh), Ashok Menaria (Rajasthan), Akshay Wadkar (wk; Vidarbha), Gaurav Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Venkatesh Iyer (Madhya Pradesh), Deepak Dhapola (Uttarakhand), Aniket Choudhary (Rajasthan), Kumar Kartikeya (Madhya Pradesh), Aditya Sarwate (Vidarbha), Ankit Rajpoot (Uttar Pradesh)

If England were downcast after a 405-run drubbing in the second Investec Test at Lord’s, you would not have known it from their demeanour as they reconvened at Edgbaston after a few days downtime

Will Macpherson at Edgbaston27-Jul-2015If England were downcast after a 405-run drubbing in the second Investec Test at Lord’s, you would not have known it from their demeanour as they reconvened at Edgbaston after a few days downtime.Before practice, the squad larked and joked around and England’s now traditional game of football to warm up took on greater proportions than ever before, as Stuart Broad chased Joe Root almost all the way round the Edgbaston outfield and the recalled Jonny Bairstow reprised his role as goalhanger-in-chief. Bearing in mind that it was on this ground a decade ago that Glenn McGrath trod on a cricket ball while playing rugby and altered the course of a series, that may not have been sensible.Root’s press conference was conducted in much the same chipper fashion. England, he insisted, have such belief and confidence that bouncing back from heavy defeats is not an issue; downtime is crucial in a long series; and England’s order and personnel changes – with Bairstow in for Gary Ballance and Ian Bell and Root himself bumped up a place in the order – would be seamless, and that they would continue “to play their own game.”Of his old Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow – who is averaging 108.88 with five centuries in the County Championship this season, Root said: “Jonny will be so excited and he couldn’t be in better form right now. He’ll be determined to emulate that on the highest stage. It’s never easy to come in to such a big series but he’s averaging 100 with five hundreds under his belt. He’ll be desperate to carry on the great form he’s shown this season so far.”Certainly in the nets, where England used two left-arm net bowlers – admittedly not of either Mitchell’s pace – to get in the groove, Bairstow looked in fine touch, compulsively hooking the short ball – a perceived weakness in the early part of his international career – with his tweaked, higher backlift. Mark Wood, who passed a fitness test on Monday morning, bowled without obvious discomfort.Bairstow is charged with shoring up a batting order that has continually struggled in recent times, finding itself three wickets down for less than 52 eight times in their last seven Tests, and Root was quick to play down the changes in the order that have come with Bairstow’s recall.”Ian’s played a lot at three and I’ll go up to four so not a lot will be changing. Every international player is playing for their place at all times. Ian’s record is fantastic and he’s playing at his home ground. Last time the Ashes were in England he was outstanding and I’m sure he will want to out a marker down and get form that he will stay in for the rest of the season.”The top order just have to go out and play their own game. It’s not gone to plan so far but we’ve got some really talented players out there and it’s about looking after their own games and going about their business in the same way as when they’re successful. It’s about making sure we do everything we can to build big partnerships and put them back under pressure.”Throughout this summer we’ve always come back from heavy defeats well. There’s so much confidence in the camp and we’ll be looking to put them back on the back foot on Wednesday.He could not, however, offer much insight into England’s startling inconsistency which has seen three strong victories – Grenada, Lord’s and Cardiff – followed by equally thumping defeats.”It’s hard to put my finger on it. We’re just not as consistent as we’d like to be. It’s not through lack of effort. We’ve got a few young players finding their feet and it will come with time.”All, then, according to Root at least, is well in England’s garden. But with a splash of grass on the Edgbaston pitch – in more ways than one – and Mitchell Starc goading England into leaving it that way, quite how deep the psychological scars of Lord’s are, will soon become clear.

New Zealand offspinner Mark Craig has said that he hopes bounce will be a key weapon in his first Test in Australia

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane02-Nov-20151:40

‘Looking forward to exploit bouncy Australian pitches’ – Craig

Shane Warne took 68 Test wickets at the Gabba, more than he claimed at any other venue. The Gabba is viewed as a fast bowler’s pitch, but Warne’s theory was that if it seams, it spins. Nathan Lyon has carried on the tradition, with 20 Gabba Test victims at 23.30, his best average of all Australian venues. It is a ground that foreign spinners therefore approach with some buoyancy, only to soon find themselves sinking.Consider this list of Gabba carnage: Graeme Swann, four wickets at 94.00; Muttiah Muralitharan, two wickets at 85.00; R Ashwin, two wickets at 64.00; Harbhajan Singh, one wicket at 169.00. Notice a theme? Right-arm finger-spinners all. In the past 20 years, the only foreign frontline spinners to average sub-45 at the Gabba have been left-armers: Daniel Vettori, Ashley Giles and Sulieman Benn.The understated Mark Craig will walk into this Gabbatoir on Thursday, a right-arm offspinner hoping to be more Nathan Lyon than Graeme Swann. Craig hopes that bounce will be a key weapon in his first Test in Australia, and the likely presence of three left-arm fast bowlers in the match – Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult – may offer him some useful footmarks as well.”One good thing you get in Australia, being a spinner, is you get bounce no matter what wicket,” Craig said. “It might not turn as much but as long as you’ve got some bounce – Nathan Lyon has shown he’s a world-class spinner and does very well here in his home conditions.”The past has shown it’s a bouncier wicket with plenty of carry in it. I don’t think this will be any different. The bounce, a couple of lefties, so hopefully there’s some footmarks to get into later on as the Test wears on, but the main thing is a bit of bounce.”Craig has not exactly spun his way into the headlines since New Zealand have been in Australia, with an aggregate of 1 for 271 from the three tour matches over the past fortnight. But he knows that Australia’s naturally attacking batsmen might provide him with some opportunities if their eyes light up at the sight of Craig’s tweakers after facing the swing of Trent Boult and Tim Southee early.”With the big boys running up and bowling there, no doubt they’re going to come pretty hard at me,” Craig said. “With that brings opportunities to get a few wickets. It’s a matter of holding your nerve and hanging in there and I think we’ll be right.”The same will perhaps be true of the third seamer, whether Matt Henry or Doug Bracewell, who Australia’s batsmen may well view as the weaker link in the three-man pace attack. However, Craig said the “thoroughbreds”, as the New Zealanders like to nickname their fast men, had all shown in the past few weeks that they would be hard to get after.”Those two are world-class, Timmy and Trent,” Craig said. “The other seamers that we’ve got, I suppose batters will look to target them in a way. But the boys we’ve got at the moment, both Henry and Dougie Bracewell are bowling exceptionally well. Good luck to them.”

India captain Virat Kohli has said that the attack’s second-day performance at the P Sara Oval was “easily” their best bowling effort in the last two years

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo24-Aug-20152:08

‘Ashwin has been a champion bowler for us’ – Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli has said that the attack’s second-day performance at the P Sara Oval was “easily” their best bowling effort in the last two years. India had bowled tightly to the Sri Lanka top order on day two, restricting Sri Lanka to 116 for 3 from the first 45 overs of the innings. The visitors then endured a wicketless session against Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne on the third morning, but claimed the last seven Sri Lanka wickets for 65 runs.”The session we had in the first innings where we squeezed them was one of the best bowling sessions I’ve been part of with this Indian cricket team,” Kohli said. “In the past two years, that was easily our best bowling effort as a group, especially in terms of partnerships.”I’m more pleased with the bowlers taking 20 wickets rather than guys getting hundreds. If you look at Ishant Sharma today, he was helping to take wickets by creating pressure. I think that’s the understanding they are creating amongst themselves. I’m really happy for them and in a game like today, we actually closed it off very convincingly.”India’s spinners had been instrumental to the victory, claiming 14 wickets between them to dismiss Sri Lanka for 306 and 134. R Ashwin drew particular praise from his captain after claiming 5 for 42 in the second innings. He is the series’ top wicket-taker so far with 17 scalps at an average of 16.35. His offspin has troubled Sri Lanka’s left-handers, including Kumar Sangakkara, who was out to him all four times in this series.”Ashwin has been taking wickets for us everywhere,” Kohli said. “Even in the tour of Australia, he was more aggressive with the ball. He wants to improve on his cricket and he has certainly done that. Even in his mindset, he’s bowling in a more aggressive manner. It’s almost impossible to get him away.”Even for the right-hander – with the ball spinning into you it should be an easier angle – even those players he is confusing at the moment. I’m glad to see him with this kind of mindset: attacking the batsmen all the time, bowling attacking lines all the times. He’s an asset any captain would love to have in his team.”Kohli said India would look to “keep to the same batting line up” for the SSC Test, save for the two injury replacements. M Vijay’s spot would be taken up by Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli said, while Wriddhiman Saha will be replaced by Naman Ojha, who flies into Sri Lanka on Monday night.”Pujara is pretty solid, and with the new ball, he has opened in the subcontinent before,” Kohli said. “If we had three-four Tests, then you have to think of a proper opener. I feel Pujara has done the job in the past, and we are very confident he will be able to do the job in the next game.”Pujara had batted at No. 3 and No. 6 in the Melbourne Test before being dropped from the XI. He is unlikely to remain as an opener beyond the next Test.”Our main aim is to win a Test match,” Kohli said. “If someone has to chip in for one game and then miss out for the next, it is understandable. Whatever is done is for the betterment of the team. If a Pujara is asked to open in the next game because the team demands him to do so, he is pretty happy to do it. I certainly believe that you need to play the best XI possible for a particular game and play guys at positions that will give you the best chance of winning a Test match. Shuffling, chipping and changing, cutting and changing, I don’t really mind doing that.”India have already made changes to their top order this series, with Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane switching positions, and Vijay coming back for one Test, having missed the first through injury. Kohli said the quality in the wider batting group made for a versatile, future-proof unit.”I believe all these seven or eight of us are the ones who are going to play for a long time and we are getting confident. They are guys who can be shuffled up and down the order according to what the game demands. Even when I am padded up at No. 4, I feel, I know these guys when they get a partnership going you feel that belief in them when you watch them bat. As a batsman sitting outside you feel like you can be at ease because these guys know what they are doing. When you know that you can count on six or seven batsmen that are playing for you, as a bowling unit also it gives you a lot of confidence.”

Lancashire chase derailed in gutsy final over from Scrimshaw despite David’s 42 not out

ECB Reporters Network24-Jun-2022George Scrimshaw bowled a superb final over to give Derbyshire Falcons a five run victory over Lancashire Lightning in the Vitality Blast game at Derby.The fast bowler had gone for 48 from his first three overs but conceded only five off his last as the North Group leaders came up short on 183 for 5, chasing 189.Tim David smashed an unbeaten 42 off 23 balls but could only watch from the other end as Scrimshaw kept the Falcons quarter-final hopes alive.Shan Masood with 75 from 50 balls and Wayne Madsen, 70 off 30, drove the Falcons to 188 for 8 but Steven Croft’s 47 from 29 balls put the Lightning on course until Scrimshaw had the final word.After the Lightning elected to bowl, the Falcons were restricted to 44 from the powerplay for the loss of Luis Reece who sent a return catch to Tom Hartley off the fifth ball of the innings.The ball crossed the ropes only four times during the first six overs, four of those overthrows, and Hayden Kerr’s attempt to break the shackles two overs later ended in the hands of cover.That brought together Madsen and Masood who accelerated with a mixture of orthodoxy and improvisation.Masood lofted Luke Wells down the ground before Madsen scooped Tom Hartley over the wicketkeeper for four and then drove the left-armer to the cover boundary.Masood hammered Danny Lamb back over his head for four on his way to his fifth 50 of the competition, a record for Derbyshire, and Madsen powered to his half-century off only 23 balls.He pulled Wells over midwicket for the first six of the innings as 19 came from the 14th over and Masood tore into Lamb in the 16th, driving and pulling the seamer for two sixes before lifting a full toss to mid off.But Madsen was striking the ball with power and precision, taking 18 off four balls from Richard Gleeson before he was lbw to the next.The pair had plundered 64 from four overs but the Lightning recovered well with Luke Wood and Gleeson conceding only 20 from the last three overs.Even so, it left the Lightning with a tough chase and they lost Phil Salt in the third over when he was superbly caught by Leus du Plooy diving at deep square leg.Wells pulled Mark Watt for two sixes in the next over and Croft dispatched Scrimshaw for another six with 19 coming off the fifth.The powerplay ended with the Lightning 64 for 1 and Scrimshaw came in for more punishment in his second over with Croft pulling him for six before Wells called for a new bat and promptly struck two fours.Croft was dropped on 33 at short fine leg off Alex Hughes but du Plooy took another good catch to remove Wells who pulled the off-spinner to deep midwicket.The Lightning needed 91 off 10 overs but the Falcons were stemming the run flow and Dane Vilas was caught behind cutting Matt McKiernan in the 12th over.Croft launched Hughes over long on for six but was brilliantly caught at backward point off Watt in the 14th over.David responded by pulling and driving McKiernan for two sixes and another six off Scrimshaw left the Lightning needing 33 off 24 balls.Kerr and Watt conceded only 10 off the next two overs and although Rob Jones pulled Kerr for four, the Lightning needed 11 off six balls.Scrimshaw delivered when it mattered, trapping Jones lbw with his fifth ball before Lamb missed a wild swing at the last to end another T20 thriller.

From taking on England as a youngster to winning a World Cup and reaching an Ashes ton with a six

Andrew McGlashan15-May-2022

108*: Queensland vs England, 1994

Just a few months into his first-class career, Andrew Symonds gave notice of his talent as he flayed the England attack around Heritage Oval in Toowoomba with 108 off 127 balls in an unbroken 205-run stand with Jimmy Maher. “He reached his century with a pulled boundary from Angus Fraser, a back-foot punch behind point which landed on the terraced hillside for six and a sweetly driven cover boundary – 14 runs from four deliveries,” the reported. When Symonds was asked whether he would ever consider a future with England, he said: “I’m an Australian citizen, a dinky-di Aussie.”

254*: Gloucestershire vs Glamorgan, 1995

When Symonds scored that hundred against the touring England side, he had already signed a contract with Gloucestershire for the following season. It became a memorable summer which ended with the England selectors testing his loyalties. The high point of a County Championship campaign that brought 1438 runs – starting with an unbeaten 161 against Surrey – was this spectacular double century against Glamorgan which included what was then first-class record of 16 sixes. It remained the most in the Championship until just two weeks again when Ben Stokes launched 17. Selection for the England A tour of Pakistan followed which Symonds declined.Andrew Symonds’ maiden ODI hundred at the 2003 World Cup set Australia on their way•Getty Images

143*: Australia vs Pakistan, 2003

The international career he wanted for Australia was threatening not to transpire. There had been glimpses, but not yet enough to cement a place. That all changed at the beginning of the 2003 World Cup when he backed up Ricky Ponting’s faith in him in tournament-defining style. Australia were in crisis heading into their opening game following Shane Warne’s drugs ban along with Darren Lehmann being suspended and Michael Bevan injured. They were 86 for 4 when Symonds walked in at No. 6 and he transformed the match. When Ponting was dismissed, Symonds had 34 off 50 balls. His next 109 runs (out of 164 further scored by Australia) came off 75 deliveries “We saw his talent and we’ve known it for a long time,” Ponting said. “It was about time it started coming out.” Later in the tournament, Symonds would make an equally important 91 in the low-scoring semi-final against Sri Lanka.

112: Kent vs Middlesex, 2004

If there was a cricketer built for T20 it was Symonds. It took him all of one innings to make that point when he struck an unbeaten 96 off 37 balls against Hampshire at Beckenham on his debut in the format during the first season in 2003. The following year he went one better. At Maidstone he hammered 112 off 47 balls with his century coming from 34 deliveries as Kent chased 157 in 13 overs. It was the fastest hundred in the format until Chris Gayle’s 30-ball ton in 2013.Andrew Symonds elated as he scores an Ashes hundred•Getty Images

156: Australia vs England, 2006

Symonds had shown glimpses early in his Test career – notably a brazen 72 against South Africa at the MCG which included five sixes – but had lost his place during 2006. Recalled midway through the Ashes his breakthrough innings came in glorious fashion at the MCG (the game most remembered for Warne’s 700th wicket) with one of his best mates, Matthew Hayden, at the other end as they tore into an England attack that had briefly threatened to make a game of it. He brought up his hundred with a straight six off Paul Collingwood. From that innings onwards, Symonds would average 60.42 for the remainder of a Test career that only tallied 26 matches.

162*: Australia vs India, 2008

His Test match career-best would come two years later, but it was a moment that would also signal the final phase of his international career. Symonds first-innings effort transformed Australia from 134 for 6 after he survived an edge behind which was not spotted by Steve Bucknor. In the second innings he would go on to add a further 61 as Australia built a strong lead – and he later claimed two wickets as the home side won thrillingly in the dying moments of the game – but by then match had descended into acrimony after Symonds alleged that Harbhajan Singh used a racial slur. Harbhajan was initially banned but that was overturned with Symonds believing there was a lack of support from Cricket Australia under pressure from the BCCI. His international career lasted just another 18 months amid run-ins with CA. In later years, during the IPL, Symonds and Harbhajan would make amends.

117*: Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, 2008

The Sydney flashpoint did not damage Symonds standing in India and just three weeks after that Test he became the most expensive overseas signing in the first IPL auction when he was bought by Deccan Chargers. In his third match for them, he scorched 117 off 53 balls in Hyderabad although, remarkably, ended on the losing side against Warne’s Rajasthan Royals. And it was the two Australians who faced off at the end. With 17 to defend off the last over, which became 14 off four balls, Warne hammered Symonds for four and two sixes. “I’ve probably bowled the worst last over in Twenty20 history. Twenty20 is good for the game but not for the ego,” he said.

Australia overhauled their target in the 37th over to send an ominous warning ahead of the upcoming World Cup

Tristan Lavalette08-Feb-2022All-conquering Australia crushed England by eight wickets to complete an unbeaten Ashes triumph in the third and final ODI at the Junction Oval.Having restricted hapless England to an underwhelming 163, a confident Australia overhauled the target in the 37th over to send an ominous warning ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Captain Meg Lanning, coming off a duck, struck a commanding 57 not out off 70 balls to again underline her chasing prowess.Australia shakily chased down a paltry 130 in the second ODI but showed intent from the get go here with opener Alyssa Healy smoking a boundary off the first ball. After a scratchy display on Sunday, Healy was in a belligerent mood and smashed a trio of boundaries off left-arm quick Tash Farrant in the sixth over.She received a life on 24 when dropped by wicketkeeper Amy Jones off seamer Freya Davies’ first delivery and Healy made her pay with a thundering pull to the boundary two balls later. But Davies got her revenge when she dismissed Healy for 42 to end the 74-run opening stand, and then Rachael Haynes fell in the next over to provide England with a glimmer of hope.But Lanning and No. 4 Ellyse Perry, who made a fluent 40 two days ago, shut the door on England’s unlikely attempts at a consolation victory. Perry started aggressively and then was overtaken by Lanning, who sealed Australia’s dominant Ashes campaign in style with a six.Having claimed the Ashes outright after a five-wicket victory in the second ODI at the same venue, Australia won the multi-format series 12-4 to ensure England – like their male counterparts – endured a barren Ashes campaign.Australia, who have lost just one of their last 30 ODIs, swept the three-match ODI series and gained another psychological edge ahead of the World Cup, where the teams meet on March 5.In a familiar tale of woe, England struggled after electing to bat in sunny conditions and were bowled out for a meagre 163 in the final over. They crawled for much of the innings and were unable to break the shackles with only an 88-run partnership between opener Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver offering any resistance.The pair had given England hope of mustering a competitive total but suffered a shocking collapse of 8 for 56 after Beaumont fell for 50. In a major headache for England, their batting frailties resurfaced with only three batters reaching double figures.A ruthless Australia took full advantage and their relentless bowlers shared the wickets with young quick Annabel Sutherland finishing with her first ODI four-wicket haul. Australia’s seamers tortured England with menacing full-length deliveries while Perry continued her rejuvenation after a starring role on Sunday with 1 for 18 off eight overs.England were dealt a blow when quick Kate Cross was ruled out of the series finale with a wrist injury sustained in the field on Sunday. It was a precautionary measure ahead of the World Cup, where England will go into their title defence short on confidence after a miserable Ashes campaign.

The ICC has denied that Sri Lanka Cricket had asked that the costs involved in the Kusal Perera doping case be reimbursed, and it said it had not agreed to compensate the board

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-May-20163:42

Perera and SLC must be compensated

The ICC has denied that Sri Lanka Cricket had asked that the costs involved in the Kusal Perera doping case be reimbursed, and it said it had not agreed to compensate the board. Hours before the ICC’s denial, a SLC official claimed the ICC had said verbally that it would compensate the board.”The ICC can confirm that it has not received any request for compensation from SLC or Mr Perera and it has not agreed (verbally or otherwise) to any such reimbursement,” the ICC said. “Whilst the circumstances of this case are unfortunate, the ICC does not accept that it is responsible for the finding of the WADA-accredited Qatar Laboratory or the consequences that flowed from such a finding, and the ICC will be considering its own position in respect of who should bear the costs incurred by the ICC in its additional efforts and investigation that ultimately resulted in the Laboratory agreeing to withdraw the original finding.”The statement contradicted SLC secretary Mohan de Silva, who had said: “The ICC has agreed to compensate us, but there is nothing in writing. In any case we will be making an appeal for that. I’m quite confident that they will oblige us.”De Silva had said it was SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala who was in direct contact with ICC about the reimbursement. Speaking on the amount SLC had spent on the case, Sumathipala had said on Thursday that SLC “definitely have to get our costs back.”SLC had said it spent over 13 million Sri Lankan rupees (USD $92,000 approx) on clearing Perera’s name, though the board did not quite need the 15 million it had set aside to fight the case.In addition to fees paid to Perera’s UK-based lawyers Morgan Sports Law, SLC also helped fund a polygraph test and separate urine test conducted in London, as well as a hair analysis conducted in a Paris lab. Each of these measures is said to have helped give Perera leverage with the ICC.Perera himself suggested he was not dwelling on the suspension’s personal cost to him, but board president Sumathipala had said the “indirect cost” to Perera had been “colossal”. In addition to missing a full tour of New Zealand, a bilateral series against India, and two major tournaments in the Asia Cup and World T20, Perera was also ineligible for the IPL auction. He had been fixture in all three formats for Sri Lanka prior to the suspension.SLC’s executive committee had not made a firm decision on further legal action, but de Silva confirmed discussions were ongoing in the board about “how to compensate Kusal”.The Qatar-based lab, whose findings were deemed “unsustainable” for “scientific and technical reasons” by the independent expert hired by the ICC, may come under scrutiny. However, that expert had also stated the lab had “correctly identified 19-Norandrostenedione in the samples” taken from Perera.Perera has resumed his training with SLC coaches at Khettarama, after five months of being barred from doing so. He may be in the fray for the limited-overs leg of Sri Lanka’s tour of the UK and Ireland.1400 GMT, May 16: The story was updated with the ICC’s response to the SLC official’s comment