Dushmantha Chameera’s pace and Tharindu Kaushal’s turn was raw, but exciting, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said, after his team completed a seven-wicket win at the P Sara Oval

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo29-Jun-2015Dushmantha Chameera’s pace and Tharindu Kaushal’s turn was raw, but exciting, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said, after his team completed a seven-wicket victory at the P Sara Oval. Chameera – on debut – and Kaushal – in his second Test – shared nine wickets between them, each playing a central role in Pakistan’s lower-order collapses.Chameera consistently clocked the highest speeds in the match, though Wahab Riaz was out of action for most of the game, and Kaushal impressed with the turn he obtained from a first-day surface, on his way to 5 for 42. Both of them play for the same Colombo club, but while Kaushal was picked after three years of domestic excellence, Chameera made his way to the Sri Lanka side largely on promise.”Those two are players who can do a lot for Sri Lankan cricket,” Mathews said. “We have to manage them very carefully – especially Chameera. I haven’t seen a faster spell than he bowled in this Test match. He’s very quick. He clocked 149.9 kph which is extraordinary for a Sri Lankan but also for any bowler around the world.”Tharindu Kaushal turns the ball. I understand that he’s raw, but he’s got more than 200 wickets in first-class cricket and we have to be positive with him. Test cricket is completely different, but unless we give them opportunities, we won’t know what they can do. It wasn’t a gamble to select them.”Rangana Herath has only taken the wicket of Azhar Ali (twice) in the series, raising some concerns over his form, but Mathews said it was pleasing to secure victory without a major contribution from Sri Lanka’s primary match-winning bowler. Herath ordinarily excels against Pakistan, but has figures of 2 for 218 in the series so far.”What Rangana Herath usually does was shared around by all four bowlers,” Mathews said. “We didn’t expect too much from him. At some occasions Rangana does well, and on other occasions other players step up. We’re not looking to load anyone up with unfair expectations. Sometimes a bowlers doesn’t do huge service to the team, but even if he’s not getting wickets, he’s preventing batsmen from getting quick runs. He did a lot of that this Test.”Dhammika Prasad, meanwhile, has 10 wickets at 23.60, having helped shape the second Test with his bowling on the fourth day. “Dhammika bowled brilliantly throughout the Test match. He showed maturity throughout the last two years – helping us win that second Test in England, and also here. There are good signs as far as the fast bowlers are concerned.”We’ve got a set of good fast bowlers where they can change modes, they can attack or they can stick to line and length. Bowling coach Champaka Ramanayaka has been doing a great job. They’ve been showing a lot of maturity.”Mathews conceded that Sri Lanka’s first-innings batting effort was “short a few runs”, but lauded top-scorer Kaushal Silva, who made 80 from 218 balls.”Kaushal Silva goes at his own pace,” Mathews said. “We don’t want him to change his game. All the others are batting around him, which is our strategy as a team. We just want him to rotate the strike, and keep doing the things he’s been doing for many, many years. He’s played a lot of first-class games and has a lot of first-class hundreds. So he knows his game and is very well equipped. Most of the guys want to bat around him.”

Mohammad Shahzad cracked 74 off 37 deliveries to set up an eight-wicket win for Afghanistan over United Arab Emirates

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Shahzad cracked 74 off 37 deliveries to set up an eight-wicket win for Afghanistan over United Arab Emirates. Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari shut out UAE completely with an unbeaten 69-run stand in seven overs as Afghanistan chased down 165 with 16 balls to spare.Shahzad and Nawroz Mangal put Afghanistan on their way with a 43-run opening stand in four overs. By the time Shehzad holed out to long-off in the 11th over trying to hit his sixth six, Afghanistan had raced to 99.UAE’s batting had crumbled in their opening match against Scotland, but this time, they posted a competitive 164 for 6 after winning the toss. It was their bowling that proved no contest for Afghanistan.Shahzad powerfully cut the first ball of the chase, a short and wide one from Mohammad Naveed, for four. UAE’s seamers continued to bowl short and provide width, and Shahzad punished them for boundaries. He then slog-swept and stepped out repeatedly to lift the spinners for sixes. UAE’s fielding failed to support their bowlers, with misfields and a dropped chance off Stanikzai adding to the pressure.Stanikzai and Shenwari took over after Shehzad’s departure. Stanikzai kept the sixes coming to end on 44 off 33, while Shenwari carved fours through off to finish with 30 off 23.UAE’s openers Faizan Asif and Mohammad Shahzad had given them a solid start with a stand of 63 inside seven overs. But the introduction of Mirwais Ashraf sent back the openers and also slowed down the scoring. Swapnil Patil ran himself out cheaply and Shaiman Anwar fell to Hamid Hassan in the 17th over after looking good for his 35 off 25. Despite some late hitting, UAE finished on a par score when they could have managed more.

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.

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.”

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group A matches on October 11, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2015

ScorecardThe Assam players get together after their innings win•PTI

Pacers Arup Das and Krishna Das shared 10 wickets between them to shoot Rajasthan out for 84 and lead Assam to a massive innings win. Krishna Das ended with impressive match figures of 10 for 55. Rajasthan endured a collapse for 37 for 7 on the final day with only four of their batsmen passing double-figures and none managing over 21. Captain Ashok Menaria was trapped lbw by Arup in his first over of the day and the procession continued with only little resistance from Ajay Singh and Deepak Chahar. Assam now lead Group A with 10 points.

ScorecardOdisha and Maharashtra settled for a draw in their Group A game at the Brabati Stadium in Cuttack, but the visitors took three points by virtue of a first-innings lead.Resuming for an overnight score of 156 for 3, Maharashtra rode on a 113-run fourth-wicket partnership between Kedar Jadhav and Ankit Bawne. Jayant Behera brought an end to the partnership when he had Bawne caught behind for 44, after which Maharashtra declared on 289 for 4, with Jadhav getting to 100 not out.Odisha needed 304 for an outright win, but Anupam Sanklecha had both Natraj Behera and Govinda Podder caught behind for single digit scores inside eight overs, leaving the home team on 26 for 2. Swapnil Gugale then dismissed Anurag Sarangi for 28 and ran out Girija Rout for 31, as the match headed for a draw. Odisha lost another wicket before finishing on 129 for 5. For his spell of 31-10-62-6 in the first innings, Shrikant Mundhe was adjudged the Man of the Match.
ScorecardDelhi wrapped up a bonus-point ten-wicket win after their bowlers demolished Vidarbha for 98 in the second innings. Vidarbha resumed on a shaky 47 for 4 and lasted only 30.1 overs into the day. Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan and Manan Sharma picked up three wickets each, with Ishant’s six-for in the first innings giving him nine for the game.Aditya Shanware (25) was the only one to offer some resistance in the morning and the highest partnership Vidarbha managed was 32 for the sixth wicket.The Delhi openers Unmukt Chand and Gautam Gambhir took only 14.1 overs to knock off the target of 95. Chand hit nine fours and a six in his 51 off 41 while Gambhir finished on 45 off 44 with seven fours.Karnataka v Bengal – Tiwary, Naved and rain seal draw for Bengal

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.”

The costly drops and missed run-outs in the Galle Test have spurred West Indies to renew their focus on fielding in the approach to the second Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Oct-2015The costly drops and missed run-outs in the Galle Test have spurred West Indies to renew their focus on fielding in the approach to the second Test, captain Jason Holder said. The visitors had reprieved Sri Lanka batsmen on at least six occasions – the costliest of which was the drop off Dinesh Chandimal on 11. The batsman went on to hit 151.After that match, Holder had suggest Sri Lanka’s total of 484 would have been significantly reduced if his team had held their chances. It is the area they have focused primarily on, during the four-day gap between games, he said.”In the last few days we’ve done a lot of analysing – we’ve looked at a lot of footage. We’ve come in the practice sessions in the last few days and paid a lot of attention to our fielding.”From my point of view, I think practice does a lot for fielding. When you get in the habit of doing something repeatedly it becomes the norm. That’s something we try to stress in the dressing room – to practice properly and do it in a sense that fits a game scenario. We try to replicate a match scenario in our fielding drills. We’ve picked up the volume of our fielding over the last few days, so hopefully we’ll be in better stead for this game.”West Indies batting had also faltered in Galle, with only two batsmen passing fifty across two innings. The visitor’s first-innings performance had been particularly disappointing, partly because each of the top 10 moved into double figures, but only Darren Bravo went on to hit a half-century. Holder said his top order had been urged to improve their shot selection.”We’ve done a lot of talking in the dressing room and different of batsmen come up with different things. I think it boils down to guys just digging a little deeper. We saw that we all got starts. It’s an opportunity for guys to put their heads down and dig a little deeper. I think that’s needed in the second Test match.”I think we’ve got to be selective and just to play to your personal game plan. Just said to the guys, ‘Be positive, but be selective.’ Once you’re selective and you’re patient enough you will get runs. It’s all about occupying the crease and spending as much time as possible.”Among those who did not spend time at the crease was Marlon Samuels, who collected 11 and a first-ball duck from his two innings in Galle. Samuels was also reported for a suspect action after the Test. Holder said Samuels’ role as a top order batsman who bowls offspin does not change for this Test, and backed him to come good with the bat. All reported bowlers can bowl in internationals until their action is found to be illegal.”Marlon’s just had a bad game – that’s Test cricket,” Holder said. “What’s important is for Marlon to come back stronger. He’s one of the guys who digs deep when his back is against the wall. I’m not saying that his back is against the wall now, but he obviously got two low scores in the last Test match. He’s quite eager to get in this second Test match and get a score for the team.”Garfield Sobers has arrived in the country ahead of the second Test, and will attend the match alongside former Sri Lanka captain Michael Tissera. The series trophy is named for both men. Holder hoped Sobers’ presence would spur his side.”I personally saw Garfield Sobers yesterday in the hotel lobby. It was inspiring to see him come all this way just to watch the series. I’m sure most of the guys know of his presence and know that he’s here. I hope we can go ahead in this Test match and win it for him.”

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.

Round-up of the Ford Trophy matches played on December 27,2015

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Dec-2015Centuries by Colin Munro (110) and Glenn Phillips (101) set up Auckland‘s two-wicket win over Otago in a thrilling inaugural match at the Molyneux Park in Alexandra.Chasing 314, Auckland lost two wickets in the 12th over to Mark Craig after a solid start. Phillips, who is a member of New Zealand’s U-19 World Cup squad, and Munro then kickstarted Auckland’s chase with a 121-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Phillips and Munro both smashed ten fours in their centuries while Phillips managed to clear the boundary four times and Munro, five. After Phillips was dismissed in the 29th over, Munro took Auckland’s score to 258 in the 40th over before he was dismissed by Michael Bracewell. Auckland then huffed and puffed their way to the target with three balls to spare, thanks to valuable contributions from Robert O’Donnell (27) and Tarun Nethula (16).Choosing to bat, Otago were driven to 313 by Neil Broom’s 99-ball 101 and Bracewell’s 63 at the top of the order. Broom laid down anchor for Otago and was part of three half-century partnerships that took the total close to 300 before he fell in 47th over. Lachie Ferguson was the pick of Auckland’s bowlers with returns of 4 for 68.Central Districts began their Ford Trophy title defense in disastrous fashion after Canterbury completed an easy six-wicket win in Napier on the back of fine all-round displays from Todd Astle and Ronnie Hira. Chasing 168, Canterbury were in trouble at 59 for 4 before Astle (41 off 75) and Hira (70 off 92) got together to put on an unbeaten 109-run stand to help Canterbury romp to the target with 50 balls to spare. Seth Rance had done most of the damage to Canterbury’s top order with figures of 2 for 29 from 10 overs.Earlier, Central Districts opted to bat and Jesse Ryder (28) provided a brisk start but lost wickets regularly. Josh Clarkson and Will Young formed a 49-run fourth-wicket stand, and Dane Cleaver and Marty Kain combined for 57 for the seventh wicket but a clump of wickets on either side meant Central Districts could only post 167 after they were bowled out with 45 balls unconsumed. Ed Nuttall and Astle picked up three wickets each while Hira and Andrew Ellis claimed two apiece.Craig Cachopa and Stephen Murdoch produced contrasting fifties to ace Wellington‘s chase of 268 by five wickets against Northern Districts at Basin Reserve in Wellington. Northern Districts lost Dean Brownlie and Daryl Mitchell early after being inserted in to bat, before Daniel Flynn (69) and Corey Anderson (25) steadied the ship with a 63-run partnership.However, ND lost wickets in regular intervals thereafter, temporarily stalling the momentum. Anton Devcich provided the required impetus with a run-a-ball 64 before Brent Arnel, who was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 45, had him caught by Anurag Verma. The lower order strung together 59 off the last 45 balls to take the total to 267.Wellington lost their openers within the first 10 overs of the chase, before Cachopa and Murdoch came together for a 160-run third-wicket stand. Murdoch played the role of anchor, with a patient 83 whereas Cachopa struck 10 fours and four sixes in his 84-ball 95. Luke Woodcock, playing his 100th Ford Trophy game for Wellington, smashed a quick 31 to take Wellington past the target with 26 balls to spare. Devich and James Baker took two wickets each.

For the first time in more than 25 years, two consecutive Test days were washed out in Australia without a ball being bowled, as heavy rain continued in Sydney on Wednesday

The Report by Brydon Coverdale06-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFurther heavy rain in Sydney led to the abandonment of the fourth day’s play•Cricket Australia

For the first time in more than 25 years, two consecutive Test days were washed out in Australia without a ball being bowled, as heavy rain continued in Sydney on Wednesday. Only 68 balls had been bowled on the second day before days three and four were completely abandoned, leading Cricket Australia to declare free entry for day five, in addition to refunds for tickets on the second, third and fourth days.The forecast for the fifth day is for a possible shower, although only two millimetres of rain were expected by the Bureau of Meteorology, which would likely mean play was possible if the outfield was in a fit enough state. Australia will lift the Frank Worrell Trophy at the end of day five regardless of what happens on the field, having earned a 2-0 lead from their wins in Hobart and Melbourne.Only 86.2 overs had been bowled in the entire match by the end of day four, with West Indies still 7 for 248 in their first innings. Last time two straight days were washed out in Australia was also in Sydney, against Pakistan in 1989-90. The first two days of that Test were rained out without a ball being bowled, which led to a sixth day being added, though further rain throughout the Test meant a draw was inevitable.