From Root’s role to the search for a viable batting line-up, England know that they’ve got more questions than answers right now

Alan Gardner at The Kia Oval11-Sep-2019That was the summer of cricket that was. Well, almost. England won the World Cup and lost failed to regain the Ashes, but there is still business to be concluded amid the mellow fruitfulness of an autumnal Kennington Oval.For Joe Root, the final Test of the series offered the opportunity to give a rallying cry, of sorts. “It should be seen as a successful year,” he said. “But we’ve got a chance to level this series and make it slightly better than it looks now.” England’s Test cricket under Trevor Bayliss has been the proverbial curate’s egg, and Root suggested that he wanted to take the good parts and use them in a recipe for future success – in particular targeting the next Ashes series, in Australia in 2021-22.There is also a desire to give Bayliss a send-off with, as Root put it, “a real big bang” after four years in charge. Victory at The Oval would enable to England to preserve their unbeaten record in home series dating back to 2014, as well as provide a potentially useful clutch of World Test Championship points.”We are fully focussed on doing everything we can to finish the series 2-2,” Root said. “In terms of my own captaincy, I know the direction I want to take this team and it is about starting that now and not after this series. It is important we win this game and have a really strong winter and move forward as a group.”So, with an opportunity for one last hurrah, and the chance to help Root produce his blueprint for winning back the Ashes in two years’ time, what are the key issues for England to resolve (and do they stand a chance of resolving them)? Let’s take a look.Top order
The omission of Jason Roy, ostensibly due to Ben Stokes’ shoulder injury limiting his ability to bowl, could well put a full stop on his Test ambitions. An average of 8.85 as an opener succinctly tells the story of his failure to transfer ODI belligerence into the longer format and while he could come again in the middle order, Root’s appraisal was on the perfunctory side: “Jason has had an opportunity to come in and play Test cricket and get a feel for it and it has not gone quite how he would have liked. But I’m sure he will go away and work extremely hard and come again.”Rory Burns, on the other hand, has all but proven himself as steady hand at the top of the order, but who he is partnered by in New Zealand later this year may depend on whether Joe Denly can produce a significant score to back up his dogged showings against Australia so far (although they could, of course, shuttle him back down to No. 4).Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Joe Root warm up at The Oval•Getty Images

Core players
In some ways, it feels as if the Test team is still in transition from the point Alastair Cook handed over the captaincy in 2017. The pillars of the team remain the same – Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, James Anderson – although Burns and Jofra Archer might soon shoulder their way into that category.With the possibility of players being rested for New Zealand (and a new coach unlikely to be in place), the four-Test tour of South Africa in December and January might well provide more significant pointers for the 2021-22 Ashes. “I think in terms of personnel, things might change as they have done for a while but we have to focus on the core group of players that can lead this team forward, both home and away, then build from that,” Root said. “Build towards winning in Australia and use the next two years to focus on putting in a winning tour Down Under. That’s a real incentive for everyone, to be part of something special down there.”Pitch battles
On the point about building a team that can win “both home and away”, Root might need to discuss next summer’s strategy with Ashley Giles. While Anderson described the surfaces used for this series as favouring Australia, and suggested more could be done to push home advantage, it is unlikely that a strategy of prevailing on green seamers is going to set England up for a winning Ashes tour.Root, who has averaged 28.00 across the Tests against Ireland and Australia, admitted that the pitches had “not been pleasant to bat on” and indicated his team would have to be adaptable. “It’s not always as simple as ‘produce this perfect wicket for Test cricket’,” he said. “You can look at that but ultimately whatever you play on you’ve got to win. That’s the fundamentals. Whatever you play on you’ve got to find a way to win the game.”‘Total cricket’ and all-round strength
While the last 18 months of Root’s captaincy have been characterised by a fluid (or is that chaotic?) batting order, and a reliance on runs from lower down thanks to a glut of talented allrounders, a change of tack might be required to produce more consistent success. Burns, Archer and, to a lesser extent, Jack Leach have shown the benefits of picking players based on a specialist skill – while the extra pace of Mark Wood or Olly Stone, for instance, may pay dividends in South Africa or Australia.Can England afford to continue overlooking Ben Foakes’ claims as wicketkeeper, while Bairstow – who will bat at No. 5 at The Oval – averages in the 20s? How many more opportunities will Jos Buttler be granted? Ironically, it will be another allrounder who gets the chance to restate his case, a year after being named Man of the Series against India, with Sam Curran coming in for a maiden Ashes appearance.Root’s role
Root remains adamant about his ability to lead England, even as he juggles the demands of being the premier Test batsman, an automatic pick in ODIs and aspiring to further his T20 opportunities. “I have a clear direction of how I want to take this team forward and I’m fully focused on doing just that,” he said. Root described himself as having “thrown everything into [the captaincy] and given absolutely everything I can” and it certainly looks like could do with a rest come the conclusion of the Oval Test. One thing that might help straighten out his Test game is a move back down to No. 4. Asked if he saw himself continuing at three he said, “I am going to this week.” And in future? “We’ll see.”Who comes after Bayliss?

It’s not one that can be resolved this week, admittedly, but England’s World Cup-winning coach has reached the end of his tenure, and the identity of his successor will be integral in how all of the above comes together.When told that Bayliss himself had marked himself as a 5 out of 10 for his time as England coach, Root laughed and said he would give him a “slightly higher mark” than that, before praising his revamp of the limited-overs sides in particular and saying the Australian would be “sorely missed”.”I think that sums him up really,” Root said, “quite a modest bloke, sort of wants to slip under the radar, doesn’t like any fuss or attention and tries to put it back on the players. What he has done for all teams – he has been a part of some very special wins in Test matches, some series home and away which he should be extremely proud of as a coach, and then the way he has transformed white-ball cricket and been a part of that journey is incredible really.”He has really rejuvenated how we look at the white-ball game in this country and laid some really solid foundations for us to kick on and develop. He has had a massive influence in his tenure here and he will be sorely missed by all the players that have had a chance to work with him.”

Three days ago, they were on the brink of elimination. Now, they’re within touching distance of their first final since 2015

The Report by Peter Della Penna03-Oct-2019After finding themselves in a do-or-die match against St Lucia Zouks on Sunday, Barbados Tridents kept their hopes of a top-two finish alive after completing a rare sweep of Trinbago Knight Riders. Back-to-back wins over the Zouks and Knight Riders – by seven wickets at Queen’s Park Oval – vaulted Tridents from fifth into second place on 10 points, holding a net run rate edge over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots.Another superb night from the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Hayden Walsh Jr. and Player of the Match Harry Gurney – who bowled brilliantly at the death – to pick four wickets together and another via a run out restricted Knight Riders to 134 for 8 after they elected to bat. Then, Johnson Charles piloted a cool chase with 55 off 47 balls.The defending CPL champions have gone ice cold after starting off with four straight wins. Knight Riders now must beat the undefeated Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence in the final match of the league phase or else they’ll be forced into an elimination playoff match against Patriots.American success at Queen’s Park Oval
A year after USA fast bowler Ali Khan sparked the Knight Riders run to a second straight CPL title, legspinner Walsh Jr left his mark. After ripping through Knight Riders in the first match-up between the two sides at Kensington Oval with 5 for 19, Walsh Jr. was at it again.Brought on in the seventh over, he. struck with his first ball in the ninth to break up a 52-run stand with a lovely flighted googly to dismiss Colin Munro for 23. The ball to dismiss Darren Bravo in the 11th was just as good. Set up the ball before with a flighted delivery that had him in two minds, he followed it up with a flatter one that skidded through to cramp him for room and crash into the stumps off an inside edge.Walsh Jr.’s night wasn’t done though. After missing a clear run-out chance off Lendl Simmons in the fourth over from backward point, he wouldn’t blow another opportunity from the same position in the 18th, firing a direct hit at the non-striker’s end after Javon Searles was slow responding to a call from Denesh Ramdin. This came on the back of Gurney dismissing Kieron Pollard.The double-strike killed momentum at the end of the Knight Riders innings after Simmons had set them up with 60 off 45 balls. Gurney struck again on the penultimate ball of the innings, trapping Ramdin lbw as part of a marvelous five-run 20th over that left Knight Riders flummoxed.Charles in charge
The opener scored his third fifty off the season with a show of restraint, not typical of him. He started briskly though, slapping Ali Khan twice through cover and then slashed one over the slips for three boundaries in the second over of the chase.From then on he was content to let Alex Hales take charge in the Powerplay. The England star has struggled through most of CPL 2019 but produced his best score of the season, making 33 off 27 as part of a 54-run opening stand with Charles before driving Mark Deyal’s offspin to Searles at extra cover.Charles picked up his pace once Hales departed. After being given not out gloving a short ball off Jimmy Neesham to the wicketkeeper on 38, he rubbed salt into the wound in the same bowler’s next over by clubbing six and four off the first two balls to go to 50 off 41 deliveries. He was finally yorked by Chris Jordan in the 16th over, but by that stage he had put Tridents on course for victory.Good night, Nurse
TV commentators have frequently debated Ashley Nurse’s spot for Tridents because he hasn’t bowled much. Here, he had a job to do with the bat, and although he struggled, saw his team home. Coming in with 25 balls remaining, at No. 5, he failed to time the ball. But with seven needed off the final over, he struck Pollard for a crucial boundary over midwicket off the second ball of the 20th over to bring the equation down to three off four balls. A single and a two by JP Duminy through wide long-off clinched victory.

ESPNcricinfo’s live updates on the Indore Test

Alagappan Muthu14-Nov-2019

The openers’ century stand built on the momentum from Oluoch’s triple-wicket maiden going into the break

Peter Della Penna23-Oct-2019Irfan Karim and 19-year-old debutant Aman Gandhi propelled Kenya’s chase with a 110-run opening stand at ICC Academy Oval 2, setting the platform for a seven-wicket win over Singapore to keep Group A wide open.Karim was named Man of the Match for his chanceless unbeaten 71, but Lucas Oluoch was an unsung hero on the day, giving Kenya a huge momentum lift into the break with a triple-wicket maiden in the final over of Singapore’s innings. All of Singapore’s No. 2-6 batsmen crossed 20 in a fine composite innings from the squad. Tim David provided the early momentum with a series of sweeps for boundaries in his 29 off 19 balls before he was second man out to make it 36 for 2.Surendran Chandramohan carted Nelson Odhiambo for a six and two fours as part of a 20-run 11th over to put Singapore in the ascendancy at 84 for 2 before he fell to Shem Ngoche, driving to long-off for a top-score of 40 off 30 balls in the innings. Manpreet Singh replaced him at No. 5 and provided an excellent knock scoring off his first 16 deliveries, pinching a series of well run twos through midwicket along the way to keep the pressure on Kenya in the field as Singapore entered the final over on 156 for 6 and Manpreet on 24.But the wheels came off against Oluoch at the death. Sidhant Singh was bounced out edging a pull through to the keeper off the first ball. After a bye was stolen next ball to get Manpreet back on strike, he failed to get bat on ball on the third delivery before hooking to deep square leg on the fourth. Captain Amjad Mahboob missed a wild slog on the fifth ball before he was bowled missing another heave off the last ball to give Oluoch his third, ending one of the overs of the tournament.Karim and Gandhi started off the chase in brisk fashion. The pair swept Vinoth Baskaran’s left-arm spin for a boundary each in the fourth over before Gandhi flicked Sidhant’s medium pace for six over midwicket in the sixth to end the Powerplay at 50 for 0. Karim scored at least one boundary in seven of the first 10 overs, taking command after the Powerplay as he brought up his 50 off 32 balls in the 12th over.MCCU-Cardiff student Gandhi took a bit longer, reaching his half-century off 45 balls to end the 14th over. It was the last run in their partnership as Gandhi began the 15th over slogging a catch to long-on off Mahboob. As Karim began to tire in the stifling heat, his new partners took care of the lusty hitting to get Kenya across the line. Dhiren Gondaria slammed a straight six off Tim David as part of a 15-run 16th over before he was run out in the 17th by a direct hit from midwicket by Rezza Gaznavi.Singapore’s last hope of a turnaround disappeared when Aahan Achar spilled Collins Obuya over the rope at deep third man for six on Obuya’s first ball. Another six was straight driven off Mahboob in the 18th over before he fell at cow corner with the target in single digits. Rakep Patel ended the match on the fifth ball of the 19th over, scooping Janak Prakash over fine leg. The result moves Kenya level on points with Singapore but ahead of them in fourth place on the net run rate tiebreaker, with two matches left to go in Group A.

Only 47 overs were possible due to several interruptions. Will Pucovski made 82 and Peter Handscomb 54 as Victoria took a first innings lead.

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2019New South Wales 0 for 7 & 294 trail Victoria 7 for 307 dec (Pucovski 82, Maddinson 59, Handscomb 54, O’Keefe 5-80) by 6 runsNew South Wales spinner Steve O’ Keefe took five wickets but Victoria claimed a first-innings lead on a rain-affected third day at the MCG.Only 47 overs were possible due to several interruptions. Will Pucovski made 82 and Peter Handscomb 54 as Victoria declared shortly after taking the lead late in the day in the hope of getting nine overs at New South Wales’ openers but they only managed one in bad light before stumps was called.Pucovski and Handscomb weren’t able to add much to their overnight totals in a slow opening session. Handscomb reached his half-century but fell shortly after, while Matthew Short added 40. Pucovski batted for 35 overs and only added 20 runs while taken several blows on the body as the ball seamed around. His patient 257-ball vigil, which only featured four boundaries, came to an end when he advanced at O’Keefe and was stumped by a large margin, undone by some turn and drop from over the wicket.O’Keefe prized out two more for his 13th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin negotiated Jon Holland’s sole over in the fading light.

While not yet fully fit from injury, England quick knows he can step up when his time comes again

George Dobell11-Jan-2020Mark Wood is used to sitting on the sidelines. Injury has been such a regular companion during his career that, here we are on his 30th birthday, and he has played fewer first-class or T20 games than Sam Curran, who is 21.But this time, at least, the frustration is abated by the satisfaction of achievement. Whatever happens in the remainder of his life, Wood will always be a World Cup winner. And with 18 wickets in the tournament – only Jofra Archer took more for England – he knows he played a significant part in the victory.More than that, he has also proved his value at Test level. Last February, he produced a blistering spell of pace bowling – the Telegraph’s Scyld Berry, who may well have watched more days of England Test cricket than anyone in history, reckoned it was the fastest he had seen by an England bowler – to claim a maiden Test five-for and put England on course for victory over West Indies.The problem is, Wood has not played a Test since. And his last game at any level was the World Cup final on July 14. Knowing he had sustained a side strain during the game, he took the decision to complete his spell – his team needed him and the game was on a knife-edge – in full knowledge that by doing so he risked exacerbating the problem. The fact that, six months later, he has yet to return demonstrates the consequences.ALSO READ: Du Plessis finds himself in the spotlight for third TestIt’s still not 100 percent. Which is disappointing bearing in mind another Test starts on Thursday and England know they will be without James Anderson. There’s no certainty that Archer, who missed the last match with a sore elbow, will be ready to return, either. So if Wood was fully fit, he could probably be confident of playing.Wood hasn’t yet built up the volume of overs required to be confident of getting through another Test. And, given that he has also had knee surgery since the World Cup and his ankle has been operated on so often it should be fitted with a zipper, it seems unlikely the England management will take any risks with him. For that reason, it may be that his return is postponed to the final Test in Johannesburg at the earliest.”I wouldn’t say that I’m 100 percent because I haven’t bowled the full amount of overs that I should have,” Wood said from Port Elizabeth on Saturday. “I got through 35 overs last week, which is probably similar to a Test match week, but having not bowled competitively since the World Cup, I have to keep building.”Jo’burg might suit me better. It is at altitude and it is a bit of a bouncier pitch. But Port Elizabeth does reverse swing so that could bring me to the fore. Hopefully I’ll be ready if needed.”If I’m honest I think Jofra and Chris Woakes are ahead of me in the pecking order. Jofra got five wickets in the first game and Woakesy did really well in the warm-up games and out in New Zealand.”Despite this frustration, Wood says he is “much happier within myself”.”I’m not even in the team at the minute but I feel much happier within myself,” he says. “I feel I’m an England cricketer rather than just someone that’s always pushing to try and get into the team. I feel a slightly different cricketer to what I did before.”I have the World Cup and the St Lucia Test under my belt. The West Indies was a huge trip for me. I really felt I was in the last chance saloon; I’d had a lot of injuries.”I have felt that if I get fit then there’s no reason why I can’t do that again. The St Lucia Test is lodged in my mind as one of the best days I’ve had. If I can replicate that I’ll be pretty happy.”And confidence is a massive thing. Now I know that I can do it. There’s been games where I’ve played for England where I shouldn’t have played and that’s affected my record and my confidence. With those good performances and having some success under my belt, it means that I can go into rehab knowing how it feels when it’s good.”It’s not just potential now. I know I can perform. I know now I can deliver if called upon.”The prospect of Wood and Archer bowling together in Test cricket is mouthwatering. During the World Cup, with both keen to bowl the fastest delivery, they seemed to spur each other on. And while Archer bowled more deliveries over 90 mph, it was Wood who bowled the fastest single deliveries. Albeit, with consequences.”I do like the idea of the two of us operating together in a Test match,” Wood said. “As long as he’s not at mid-off asking me if I’m just warming up when I’ve bent my back.”Playing alongside him did spur me on so maybe it will help. We have a friendly rivalry over the speed gun. In the World Cup when I put one up on the speed gun that was quite quick I’d just look over to Jofra and give him a little wink. Then he’d do the same to me.”In the World Cup final I knew that I’d pipped him. I was clocked at 95.7 mph and he was 95.6 mph and as we came off the field and into the dressing room I was dying to tell him.”I said to him as he walked in ‘Jofra! I’ve got you! I’ve done you on the speed gun’ and he strolled past fresh as a daisy and looked me up and down with an ice pack on my side, an ice pack on my knee and an ice pack on my ankle and just said ‘yeah but I think I’d rather be me’. I was like ‘yeah, fair enough mate.'”Deep down he’s trying to prove that he’s the meanest, toughest fast bowler out there. And so am I. We both want each other to do well, but we both want to be the quickest guy on show. But he’s more talented than I am.”He may well be. But the possibility of the pair of them in tandem is something every England cricket lover – perhaps even every cricket lover – would love to see. They might even prove to be the fastest pair of England seamers ever to bowl together in a Test.

The Brisbane Heat, and former Australia, coach was taken ill on the Gold Coast on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2020Darren Lehmann will undergo bypass surgery on Saturday after being taken ill on the Gold Coast on his 50th birthday.Lehmann, who was there to watch his son Jake play for the Cricket Australia XI against England Lions, suffered chest pains on Wednesday morning.On Wednesday evening he was resting in hospital ahead of his surgery in three days in Brisbane.”I would like to thank everyone in the Australian cricket family for their concern,” Lehmann said in a statement put out by Cricket Australia. “I am receiving the best of medical care and am confident I’ll be back on my feet soon.”Lehmann is currently coach of the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash and is due to coach the Northern Supercharges in the new Hundred competition during the English season.

IPL return appears to be off the table as ECB outline fast bowler’s rehabilitation programme

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2020Jofra Archer is on course for a comeback in England’s Test series against West Indies in June, but would appear to have been ruled out of any involvement in this season’s IPL, following a further MRI scan on the elbow stress fracture that curtailed his involvement in the recent tour of South Africa.Archer was said to be “progressing as expected” after his latest scan in London had been reviewed by the ECB medical team, and he will undergo a further scan in mid-April before a return to competitive cricket.However, in a statement outlining Archer’s rehabilitation programme, there was no mention of the bowler’s own desire to make himself available for Rajasthan Royals in this year’s IPL, a tournament which begins on March 29 and concludes on May 24, a fortnight before England’s Test summer commences.”Archer’s focus will be playing for England, starting with the West Indies Test series, which commences in early June,” an ECB statement said. “He will play County Championship cricket in May for Sussex to ensure his preparation is optimal for Test cricket.”His current rehabilitation will progress to a full gym programme and continued running work over the next two weeks.”His back-to-bowling programme will commence towards the end of March working closely with ECB Young Lions coach and seam bowling specialist Jon Lewis and Sussex bowling coach James Kirtley.”The unequivocal nature of that update is at odds with Archer’s own assessment of his progress, with him telling Sussex’s website that he had his “fingers crossed” for an IPL return before the end of the tournament.”The elbow is fine,” he said. “I haven’t felt it for the last few weeks now so I think it’s making good progress.”Speaking on England’s tour of Sri Lanka, Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, played down any concerns about Archer’s disappointment at missing the IPL.”My priority is getting him right for England and our international summer,” he said. “Sussex will play a big part in that and we will work very closely with them to make sure he gets the best preparation possible.”The only things we have been talking about are what’s best for England and what’s best to get him right for that. We just want him to be fit full stop. We want him to be 100 percent ready, 100 percent fresh and 100 percent fit for the international season.”The update follows Friday’s confirmation that Chris Woakes, another key member of England’s Test line-up, has been withdrawn from this season’s IPL, despite being signed by Delhi Capitals for INR 150 lakh (£160,000) at December’s auction.Archer was signed by Rajasthan for INR 7.2 crore (£800,000) in 2018, and retained in 2019 and again this year. He has taken 26 wickets at 23.69 apiece in 21 appearances.

Jayawardene’s 120 trumps Hick’s 126* as Sri Lanka hunt down 303 with two balls to spare

The Retroreport by Andrew Miller10-Apr-2020 #RetroLive
Once again, all eyes were on Muttiah Muralitharan. Just as they had been at the beginning of a foul-tempered and engrossing contest, and again during a seminal mid-innings stand-off – one in which Adelaide witnessed scenes of mutiny seldom seen on a cricket field since the Bodyline series reached its boiling point at this same venue in January 1933.But this time, for Muralitharan, it was with a bat in hand. With men camped all around him, with the scores tied, and with just his wicket remaining if Sri Lanka were to pull off a victory that – even allowing for their seminal triumph at the 1996 World Cup – would count as one of their most hard-fought and cathartic of all time.ALSO READ: How the cricket world reacted to Muralitharan’s chucking controversyIn the end, there was only one way to take on the moment, head on, as Sri Lanka had been doing all evening. A scuffed slog off Vince Wells fell inches out of the reach of Adam Hollioake at cover, for a scampered single, to prompt scenes of rare jubilation. On the face of it, the shot merely secured another two points to draw level with Australia in the Carlton & United Series. But in the minds of all Sri Lankans, the moment was vindication after a night in which their champion bowler had been subjected to treatment that was little short of victimisation.On an ordinary night, all the plaudits would have been heaped on Sri Lanka’s latest batting protégé, the 21-year-old Mahela Jayawardene. His vast appetite for runs has already been showcased on his home grounds in Colombo and Galle, but his rare stomach for the fiercest of battles has now been seen in all its glory, as he anchored a daunting 303-run chase with a gutsy and classy 120 from 111 balls, his first overseas hundred.But this was a contest dominated by pettiness, bitterness, spite and bile – not least in the fraught closing overs, when – with wickets and runs being traded like a run on the bank, Darren Gough feigned a headbutt at Upul Chandana after feeling, with some justification, that he had been barged off the ball while attempting a run-out.Chandana clearly dropped his shoulder while setting off for a quick single, but Gough’s appeal for obstruction was turned down by the umpires, Tony McQuillan and, not least, Ross Emerson – a man whose focus on the minutiae of the contest was by that stage already miles away, as he had already shown in failing to turn to the third umpire for a clear run-out opportunity in the 18th over, when Jayawardene had just 33 to his name.For if Muralitharan was the focus of the fury, then umpire Emerson and Sri Lanka’s captain Arjuna Ranatunga were the grandstanding lead actors. It was Emerson who tripped the contest into anarchy in the 18th over of the day by no-balling Muralitharan for throwing, just as he had done on the last occasion he had stood in a Sri Lanka fixture at Brisbane in 1995-96. But it was Ranatunga’s response – at once magnificent and malignant – that conferred the night’s events with the sort of grotesque beauty that will only be truly appreciated in hindsight.Ranatunga proved to be a key player in the chase. He made a belligerent 41 in a vital fifth-wicket stand of 86, one that helped Jayawardene keep his composure as England threatened to turn the screw in the middle overs, but moreover contributed to England losing theirs – at one stage, an incensed England captain, Alec Stewart, was overheard denouncing Ranatunga’s behaviour as “appalling” after getting his ample body in the way of another shy from the outfield.But that role was nothing compared to the brinksmanship that Ranatunga instigated after Emerson’s interjection. Sri Lanka had been on a war footing from the moment they won the toss and chose to bowl, with their captain scotching any suggestion that Muralitharan might be rested to avoid the impending controversy. “He has been cleared the world over,” he told Channel 9’s Ian Chappell. “Why should I worry about one or two umpires?”Why indeed? And for the opening 17 overs of the contest, it seemed as though the pre-match chat might be lost in the midst of a fiery batting display, as Stewart came swaggering out of the blocks with a 33-ball 39, an innings that was cut short by a sharp low catch from Ranatunga himself, intercepting a fierce clip at short midwicket off Chaminda Vaas.Despite the premonitions, Muralitharan’s first over, the 16th of the innings, passed without alarm, as Emerson watched the bowler’s elbow from square leg as closely as the world seemed to be watching and waiting for his outstretched arm. But to widespread relief, he kept his counsel for a succession of offbreaks, as Nick Knight was limited to a solitary single with a punch into the covers.However, after drinks had been taken at 87 for 1, Emerson torched Adelaide’s tranquility with what appeared to be an arbitrary interjection, four balls into Murali’s second over. His loud cry of “no-ball!” was accompanied, moments later, by a point and an unequivocal tap of his forearm, leaving the crowd in little doubt about what he believed had just transpired.Whether the delivery was a chuck was clearly a matter for the umpire’s opinion, but whether the delivery had been noticeably different to anything that had come before was a question that left Muralitharan nonplussed, and Ranatunga incensed. Sri Lanka’s captain strode up to Emerson, finger wagging like Mike Gatting versus Shakoor Rana 12 years earlier, and after a lengthy and robust discussion, he then turned to England’s batsmen, Hick and Knight, gesturing that he was taking his players from the field.For the next 12 minutes, Adelaide Oval was the centre of a diplomatic stand-off, as hasty phone calls were made on the outfield, including to Thilan Sumathipala, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, while Peter van der Merwe, the ICC match referee, joined the melee in a bid to get the contest restarted. England’s batsmen, meanwhile, just stood and waited on the edge of the square, baffled bystanders in a situation had ballooned way beyond their remit.After what had seemed like a terminal delay, Muralitharan did eventually resume his over, apparently with the instruction to bowl legbreaks only – a mode of delivery that restricts any flex in the elbow. But when, just two balls into his resumption, he served up another offbreak that Emerson declined to call, what remained of the umpire’s authority gave way beneath him. “So what is it, just guesswork for the umpire?” interjected Ian Botham on commentary.That same delivery brought up England’s hundred, with Hick now settling into another stately innings, following his scores of 108 and 66 not out in his previous two games. But any hope that the focus might begin to return to the cricket soon evaporated when Ranatunga, displaying the sort of diplomacy of which Lord Palmerston might have approved, signalled to Muralitharan to mark out his run-up for a switch to Emerson’s River End of the ground.Getty Images

What followed was childish, demeaning, and engrossing, as Emerson first refused Muralitharan’s request to stand closer to the stumps to allow him to come round the wicket to Hick. He then carried the quarrel into the start of Muralitharan’s subsequent over, as Ranatunga came marching back into the thick of things, scratching the umpire a new mark behind the stumps, and informing him “You are in charge of umpiring, I am in charge of captaining.”By now it was turning into a public humiliation for Emerson, but Muralitharan wasn’t having the easiest day of it either. In consecutive overs, Hick reminded the Sri Lankans where their true adversary lay, as he clouted a brace of sixes over midwicket, the second a monster that bounced off down the walkway and out into the parklands beyond the perimeter fence.It took a run-out to drag Sri Lanka’s focus back onto their opponents, as Knight’s serene innings ran into a run of dot-balls from Jayasuriya, the fourth of which induced a suicidal single to mid-on, where Muralitharan himself was on hand to fling down the stumps. Knight was dismissed for 45 from 74 balls, another tale of what might have been from a player who has made starts in five of his six innings this series without producing the big one.Nasser Hussain didn’t last long, falling a touch unluckily on the paddle sweep to hand Jayasuriya his 150th ODI wicket, but Neil Fairbrother’s canny eye for a gap was just the foil that Hick needed as England began to accelerate into an imposing finish. The pair added an unbroken 154 in 21.2 overs, a supreme acceleration that encompassed Hick’s second century of the week, completed with a nudge into the covers from 109 balls, and a grandstand finish in which Vaas in particular was taken to the cleaners. After conceding 38 runs in his first eight overs, he leaked that many again in his final two, including consecutive sixes, launched by Fairbrother over the picket fences at midwicket.With Wickramasinghe getting the treatment as well, England had added 53 runs in their last three overs, to turn a tricky chase of 270-odd into a teeteringly challenging one. That looked doubly daunting when Adam Hollioake ran out Romesh Kaluwitharana without facing a ball, and triply so when Marvan Atapattu slashed Alan Mullally to slip for 3. And after Jayasuriya’s familiar top-order onslaught had been sawn off by the ever-ebullient Darren Gough, Robert Croft’s timely extraction of Hashan Tillakaratne with the arm ball left Sri Lanka’s hopes resting on their oldest stager and his youngest apprentice.But on some nights, the context counts for everything. And after everything they had stood for in facing down an existential threat to their champion bowler, Sri Lanka – battling on in the image of their captain – weren’t about to give this one up in a hurry. And, for all that England were mere bystanders in the evening’s most bitterly fought contest, the identity of the game’s final matchwinner could hardly have been more exquisite. RetroLive

With teams having played an unequal number of matches and the lockdown extended, ZC said no winner could be announced

Firdose Moonda04-May-2020Zimbabwe Cricket have voided the 2019-20 domestic season and will not declare winners in either the first-class competition or the 50-over tournament. Cricket in Zimbabwe has been suspended since March 18 and the country has been on lockdown since March 30. The stay-at-home order was due to end on May 3, but has been extended for a further two weeks.At the time that cricket was stopped, Eagles were on top of the first-class points table, five ahead of Mountaineers, while Tuskers were leading the 50-over tournament, with Mountaineers in second place. Each team was due to play eight first-class matches and eight List A matches and at the time of the suspension, the teams had not played the same number of matches. In the first-class competition, Eagles, Tuskers and Rangers had each played six matches while Mountaineers and Rhinos had played five. In the List A tournament, Rhinos had played four matches and the rest five. As a result, ZC deemed it unfair to declare a winner.”We were looking forward to the conclusion of our season, but seeing what is happening in our country and elsewhere across the world, we realised it was not realistic for us to expect our competitions to resume anytime soon,” Hamilton Masakadza, ZC director of cricket said. “ZC therefore decided to void the 2019/20 season with immediate effect and we will not declare a winner or award any of the trophies as teams had not played an equal number of games when the season was curtailed.”Zimbabwe also had their home series against Ireland, scheduled for one Test and five T20Is in March-April, postponed. They now enter their off-season with their next fixtures due to be three ODIs in Australia in June followed by three ODIs against each of India and Netherlands at home at the start of the next season in September-October. Zimbabwe have not qualified for the T20 World Cup and are not part of the World Test Championship. Brendan Taylor believes they could be among the hardest hit cricket countries as the effect of the pandemic starts to take hold.