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England name 15-man squad for two-Test series in February

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2022Stuart Broad has been recalled to England’s Test squad following the birth of his first child, while Matt Potts and Dan Lawrence are also back in the set-up for the two-Test tour of New Zealand in February.Potts, who made his Test debut in the first match of the 2022 summer, also against New Zealand at Lord’s, impressed with his 20 wickets at 28.00 in the first five matches under Ben Stokes’ captaincy.However, he did not feature in the final two matches of the summer against South Africa following the return to action of Ollie Robinson, and was a surprise omission from England’s squad for the Pakistan tour.Lawrence, meanwhile, is back in the set-up for the first time since the tour of the Caribbean last March, on which his spirited batting displays – including scores of 91 and 41 in Barbados – proved to be an early indication of the team’s future direction of travel. However, he suffered a dip in form for Essex in 2022, exacerbated by a pair of hamstring injuries.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The 15-man squad also includes Olly Stone, the Warwickshire fast bowler who featured in the recent ODI series against Australia but has not played a Test since New Zealand’s tour of England in June 2021.He has a chance to be England’s pace spearhead on the trip, following the decision to rest Mark Wood in the wake of his key roles in the second and third Tests against Pakistan this month.Wood, who was also a major factor in England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign, is due to take a break from all international and franchise cricket in January to fully recover after a busy winter in all formats. He is expected to tour Bangladesh in March, where England play three ODIs and three T20Is, and is likely to be available for the IPL too.Rehan Ahmed, England’s 18-year-old matchwinner in Karachi last week, has not been included in the squad, as part of his management for the winter. He is instead set to play for Gulf Giants in the ILT20 in the UAE in January, and could be in the frame for the Bangladesh white-ball tour too.Of the remainder of the squad that toured Pakistan, Liam Livingstone misses the tour while recuperating from the knee injury that he suffered during the Rawalpindi Test, while Jamie Overton and Keaton Jennings, unused squad members, are also omitted.Related

• Archer to step up injury comeback at England Lions training camp

• Lawrence itching for Lions opportunity after summer on the Test sidelines

• McCullum admits Ashes 'a big carrot' – but tells England to 'enjoy' Pakistan success first

With another year of competing demands looming for England’s multi-format players, Joe Root has been included in the tour, but will be limited to a handful of games for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 between now and then, with England seeking to manage his workload ahead of the defence of the 50-over World Cup in India in November 2023.Four members of the squad will fly directly to New Zealand from South Africa, including Harry Brook, who was this morning a big-money signing in the IPL auction. Ben Duckett and Stone will also have been playing in the three-match white-ball series against South Africa, while Will Jacks is due to play a longer stint at the SA20.England Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Olly Stone

The pitch looks even greener than the one at Hagley Oval, but rain could play spoilsport

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Mar-2023

Big picture: Last Test of New Zealand summer

At a venue they had previously been decked in, in Christchurch, this Sri Lanka team pushed New Zealand close. Heading into the Wellington Test, there is likely to be some confidence in Sri Lanka’s seam attack, in particular. Kasun Rajitha delivered some excellent new-ball spells, Lahiru Kumara hurried batters up with his pace, and Asitha Fernando was Sri Lanka’s best bowler on the match-defining fifth day.New Zealand will still back themselves, of course, with Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell in outstanding form, and others in the top order frequently contributing. But there will perhaps be more respect for the Sri Lanka attack among them, than when the series started.Often Sri Lanka bowlers are easier to hit off their lengths, and do not move the ball for as long or as prodigiously as New Zealand seamers. In Christchurch, all three frontliners created both catching and lbw chances.Related

• How an unfancied Sri Lanka attack got the better of New Zealand's top order

• If you need someone to scramble, who better than Kane Williamson?

• Southee lauds 'world class' Williamson, Mitchell after thrilling win

• How Williamson looks at big moments and takes their power away

Compared to Hagley Oval, Wellington is a venue at which Sri Lanka have been frequently competitive. Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis batted out an entire day and a session to save a Test in 2018. Way back in 2006, Sri Lanka even won here.For New Zealand, this is the last Test of their summer, and they have none on the horizon until December. A 2-0 series victory here would help salvage some pride, if little else, from what has been a disappointing World Test Championship cycle for them as defending champions.

Form guide

New Zealand WWLDD (last five Tests, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LWLWL

In the spotlight: Henry Nicholls and Asitha Fernando

It’s been over a year since Henry Nicholls last crossed 50 in this format. He has played 15 innings since. There doesn’t seem to be a serious technical flaw there – more just a string of lapses in judgement, and the loss of confidence that accompanies such spells. Having started out lower down the order, Nicholls is now batting at No. 4 position, which New Zealand have had trouble making stable since the retirement of Ross Taylor.Asitha Fernando almost bowled Sri Lanka to victory in Christchurch•Getty Images

For a bowler who was playing his eighth Test, and just his second in non-Asian conditions, Asitha Fernando put together a surprisingly high-quality spell on the fifth evening in Christchurch. He is not a bowler with a lot of height, nor is he especially quick. But he does have a mean yorker, and a decent bouncer, both of which can unsettle even set batters. He has played mostly in unhelpful conditions, but so far averages 23.66, with 27 wickets to his name.

Pitch and conditions: Rain could play spoilsport

On the eve of the Test, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said the surface for this match was looking even greener than the one at Hagley Oval, and that pitch had been almost indistinguishable from the outfield. There is some serious rain predicted for Wellington over the next few days, however, with Friday, Monday and Tuesday looking especially wet.Usually, Basin Reserve pitches start off very seamer-friendly, before flattening out substantially as the Test goes on.

Team news: Will Sri Lanka field a four-man seam attack?

New Zealand will likely just swap Doug Bracewell for the injured Neil Wagner. This will be Doug’s first Test since 2016.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Matt Henry, 11 Blair TicknerSri Lanka seem to be seriously considering going in with a four-man seam attack, which would mean that left-armer Vishwa Fernando comes into the side, likely at the expense of left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya. This will leave Dhananjaya de Silva as the primary spinner in the XI.There is also a chance that wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella will be omitted for Nishan Madushka, who would debut. Madushka is in the squad after having struck a century and a double-century against England A at home. He didn’t keep during that series, however, and had opened the batting. If he plays in Wellington, he will take the gloves and likely bat in the lower middle order.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Oshada Fernando, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathew, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Nishan Madushka (wk), 8 Kasun Rajitha, 9 Vishwa Fernando/Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara

Stats and trivia

• After 17 innings at No. 4, Nicholls averages 21.62. At No. 5 – the position he has most often occupied for New Zealand – he averages 39.76.
• If Sri Lanka win in Wellington, they will finish fourth on the WTC table, behind finalists Australia and India, and South Africa.
• If New Zealand win, they climb to sixth from their current eighth, and Sri Lanka slip to fifth.
• So far in his career, Asitha has not gone wicketless in any innings in which he’s bowled more than six overs.

Quotes

“They’re a quality side and we saw that over the five days in Christchurch. A number of those guys have had a number of tours to New Zealand now and have that experience. We’re seeing the benefit of that. They’ve had a great two-year period in the World Test Championship cycle, and would like to finish strong.”
“We challenged the Kiwi top order with our bowling. Even some of their players came up to me and said they hadn’t expected that kind of pressure from the Sri Lanka bowlers. I’ve toured New Zealand a few times, but this is the first time I’ve seen the Kiwis struggling like this against our fast bowlers.”

Ireland have nine uncapped players in the squad while Taskin has been ruled out. Tamim may miss the Test as well

Mohammad Isam03-Apr-2023

Big picture – lack of experience a worry for Ireland

Ireland have nine uncapped players in their Test squad. Three of them have never played first-class cricket. They also have just four survivors from their last Test, back in 2019. Opposite them are Bangladesh, with 473 caps in their Test squad. They were also quite dominant in the white-ball leg of the series in Sylhet and Chattogram, so the Dhaka Test has the potential to be an uneven contest.The seven-wicket in the final T20I in Chattogram should, however, give Ireland some confidence. It was their first win on tour, with the batting, bowling and fielding finally coming together. One of the big stars of the show, Paul Stirling, has gone back home as he is not part of the Test set-up. but they will have regular captain Andy Balbirnie back at the helm after taking a break from the T20Is.The Ireland party also has PJ Moor, the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batter who is now an Ireland cricketer. He has played eight Test matches. Ireland have played only three in all these years. He also has experience playing in Bangladesh. His last Test was also in Dhaka, in 2018.Related

• Balbirnie praises 'game-changing' England approach as Ireland prepare for Test return

• PJ Moor: 'I missed out on World Cups for Zimbabwe but I'm hoping I can play for Ireland at the next one'

• Shakib and Litton Das picked in Bangladesh squad for Ireland Test

Mark Adair will lead the bowling attack with Graham Hume, Fionn Hand and Thomas Mayes in the pace department. Andy McBrine is the most experienced spinner in the side that also has legspinner Ben White, who was impressive in the T20Is, and left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys.Ireland have two Tests in Sri Lanka to follow, this game will give them a chance to get used to the conditions and figure out their brand of Test cricket.Bangladesh were at full strength, but a late announcement that Taskin Ahmed has been ruled out with a side strain has marred that. “Taskin underwent an MRI today which confirmed that he has a left side strain (grade 2), ” national team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said. “Such injuries take about four weeks to recover from.” There is also uncertainty surrounding Tamim Iqbal’s availability.*Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das make up the leadership duo, while Ebadot Hossain have returned to the side after they missed the India Tests in December. Zakir Hasan is the big miss after his successful Test debut, with a left thumb injury keeping him out. Shadman Islam has returned in his place.Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque and Shakib will bridge the top and middle-order, with Tamim at the top and Mushfiqur Rahim coming in after that. But who will partner Tamim – Shadman or Mahmudul Hasan Joy?

Form guide

Bangladesh LLLLL
Ireland LLLThe Dhaka pitch is expected to assist spinners, but there should be runs on offer early on•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight – Litton Das and Curtis Campher

Litton Das found a high gear in the T20Is against Ireland, ending with the highest strike rate (minimum 100 runs) by a Bangladesh batter in a T20I series – 198.52. Litton was also Bangladesh’s highest Test scorer last year, despite mostly batting in the lower-middle order. Russell Domingo had predicted that it wouldn’t be long before Litton got a more central batting role in the Test team. It may not be in this Test, but is certainly around the corner.Stirling aside, Curtis Campher was the only Ireland batter who showed a bit of form in the T20Is. Campher is expected to take the attacking options even in the red-ball format. But in his only first-class match, for Ireland A in Chattogram two years ago, he spent more than four hours in the middle across two innings. Maybe he can play the long game if needed too.

Team news

Will both Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Shadman Islam start, with Tamim perhaps missing? Taskin Ahmed’s late withdrawal also means that Khaled Ahmed is likely to take his place. Uncapped paceman Rejaur Rahman Raja has been added to the squad as Taskin’s replacement.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal/Shadman Islam, 2 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Ebadot HossainThere has to be a call between Matthew Humphreys and George Dockrell, who might lose out since he doesn’t bowl anymore.Ireland squad (probable): 1 Murray Commins, 2 James McCollum, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 Harry Tector, 5 PJ Moor, 6 Curtis Campher, 7 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 8 Mark Adair, 9 Andy McBrine, 10 Graham Hume, 11 Matthew Humphreys

Pitch and conditions

Despite the notion that the Shere Bangla National Stadium only caters to spinners, the average first-innings total here in the last seven Tests is 446. The weather will mostly be dry, though Dhaka has seen the odd spell of rain recently.

Stats and trivia

Stunning run-spree notwithstanding, host venue gives off air of camping holiday

David Hopps31-May-2023Glamorgan 238 for 3 (Cooke 113*, Ingram 92*) beat Middlesex 209 for 5 (Cracknell 77, Eskinazi 59) by 29 runsMiddlesex’s captain Stephen Eskinazi had finished the first match at Merchant Taylor’s School two days earlier, incandescent about how a seemingly straightforward run-chase had coagulated when victory seemed certain. This time runs came in a torrent at the end of an innings, just as they are meant to. The only problem for Middlesex was that they belonged to Glamorgan.Glamorgan set their highest T20 score, 238 for 3, as they pulverised 72 from the last three overs on the same ground where Middlesex – with Gloucestershire the grateful opposition – had failed to get nine from the last two on the same pitch: a stark comparison that might well have entered Eskinazi’s consciousness on the journey home.Either Chris Cooke or Colin Ingram, both South African-born, could have reached their hundred with a couple more prodigious blows as Glamorgan’s innings entered its final over – by that time it largely depended who was on strike – but it was Cooke who made 113 from 51 balls while Ingram had to settle for 92 from 66. Staggeringly, Cooke moved from 50 to 100 in only 12 balls, a sequence including five sixes and four fours.John Simpson, Middlesex’s experienced wicketkeeper, and one of the two senior players at the crease as Middlesex failed to beat Gloucestershire, had been dropped for this game. Ryan Higgins, the other culprit, might have wished he had been too as his wayward four overs disappeared for 62. The all-rounder’s much-heralded return home from Gloucestershire has been followed by good Championship returns but is yet to bear fruit in the Blast.Blake Cullen was the only bowler to escape the carnage, returning 2 for 23, most of his overs bowled as Glamorgan wandered to 51 for 3 in 6.5 overs, but Tom Helm was flayed to the tune of 0 for 69, his last two overs going for 25 and 27 respectively, the worst figures ever by a Middlesex bowler in the format.Ingram already has four T20 hundreds; this was Cooke’s first and, 37 now, he celebrated the achievement as only a player who feels the shadows lengthening on his career can. Helm, Middlesex’s most potent T20 bowler, began the last over with Cooke still 12 short, but he deposited two full-length balls, the first one a slower ball, over deep midwicket with the sort of repetitive clean hitting that had characterised an increasingly out-of-control partnership of 187 in 79 balls.”It’s the first time I’ve played here, so hopefully I can come back as it’s a great place to bat,” Cooke said. “We had 180 as a par score which wouldn’t have been enough. I’d like to think I’ve hit the ball close to as good as that before, but I didn’t really have a T20 hundred in my career on my radar, with me batting at five or six, so it’s amazing to get it.”Middlesex would have had to achieve a record score batting second to overhaul Glamorgan’s total – the highest is Sussex’s 233 for 6 last summer, and even they lost at Chelmsford – but Eskinazi and James Cracknell provided a platform with a stand of 146 in 12 overs before both fell reverse-sweeping. They needed one more innings of substance, but instead delivered a meek mish-mash of half-baked strokes as Glamorgan’s bowlers proved far more resilient.Cracknell, like so many white-ball specialists in county cricket, deserves great credit for early-season success. Preparation time can be limited as the switch is made from the Championship format in which he takes no part. “It’s been a really odd season,” he conceded. “I’ve had one red-ball innings in the 2s so to go from that and be told you are opening the innings in the white-ball stuff with little practice and middle time has been strange. But I’ve been given the backing and this is the format I’ve had most success in so I’m feeling good.”Most eye-catching was Peter Hatzoglou, the “accidental cricketer”, whose background in risk consulting presumably helped him put Middlesex’s response into perspective. Hatzoglou approaches like a conjurer – all ball tosses and feverish arms – and it was enough to delude Cracknell as he tried to reverse-sweep a long hop that had strayed wide outside off stump and his lifted foot enabled Cooke to complete a stumping. Hatzoglou’s second wicket was Pieter Malan, Middlesex’s sole overseas player, who was bowled by a faster delivery as he attempted a leg-side heave. Prem Sisodiya turned in another good shift on a good night for Glamorgan’s spinners.The Blast is never more rural than the week or so when Middlesex temporarily abandon Lord’s for the delights of Merchant Taylor’s School and Radlett. It feels as if the tenants of a stately home have suddenly upped sticks and gone on a camping holiday, exchanging the silver service and an attentive butler for a soggy beefburger on a plastic plate.The runs flow, so much so that it puts some tired county squares to shame, the settings are delightful and its all jolly nice, reminiscent of some of the outgrounds used when 40-over cricket saved county cricket from financial disaster half a century ago. It has its place, but it would be counter-intuitive, at best, to argue that it is what the Blast needs if it is to retain its status as a global T20 tournament worthy of attention.It also puts the financial position of Middlesex into focus. With the club’ assets last quoted as down to £179,000, a fall from around £2m in two years, they even invited questions from the ECB about what was going on. In terms of perentage of income, no county is subsidised more heavily.Playing at Lord’s gives Middlesex an air of privilege, but they are more in tune with the average millennial in that it’s hard to see how they will ever afford their own home. Whenever they play at Lord’s, MCC get £16,000 as the cost of staging the game and 30% of whatever proceeds remain. Play on an outground and a convivial crowd of a few thousand is not about to transform the finances unless a hedge fund manager gets tipsy in the bar after the game and agrees a sponsorship deal. They have to cut their cloth to suit – appropriate enough on the cricket ground of a school founded by a group of craftsmen tailors. Those tailors might have warned that going out of fashion is a very dangerous thing.

India and Australia have been hit with big fines for maintaining slow over-rates during WTC final

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-20231:37

Was Green’s catch to dismiss Gill clean?

Shubman Gill has been fined 15 percent of his match fee for criticising the TV umpire’s decision in the World Test Championship final against Australia. India, meanwhile, have been fined their entire match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate while Australia have been docked 80% of fees for the same reason.Gill was on 18 in the second innings in India’s chase of 444 when he edged Scott Boland low to the left of gully where Cameron Green dived to take the catch extremely close to the ground. Gill didn’t walk off immediately and the on-field umpires went up to the third umpire without a soft signal as per the new protocol. Third umpire Richard Kettleborough looked at the replay from various angles before ruling it out.Related

• Australia and England docked WTC points for slow over-rates

• Shubman Gill facepalms TV umpire's decision in Cameron Green's favour

• Rohit on Green's low catch: 'The third umpire should have seen more replays'

• Rohit: 'There was no lapse of concentration; we wanted to bat in a different way'

Gill then took to social media and tweeted a screenshot of a zoomed front-on photo of Green taking the catch and captioned it with a couple of magnifying glass emojis and a facepalm emoji. He also went on to post a story on Instagram with emojis of clapping hands.The ICC charged him for breaching Article 2.7 which relates to “public criticism or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an international match”. Gill accepted the sanction so there was no need for a formal hearing.With respect to slow over-rate, India were ruled to be five overs short of the target while Australia were found to be four overs short after taking time allowances into consideration.India lost seven wickets on the fifth morning to crash to a 209-run defeat in their second successive WTC final. At the post-match press conference on Sunday, India captain Rohit Sharma also expressed his disappointment at the process followed to rule Gill out.”I just felt disappointed. I mean, the third umpire should have seen a little more replays, a little more of, you know, how the catch has been held,” Rohit had said. “I think it was three or four times he saw, and he was convinced with it. It’s not about whether it was given out or not out, you need to have a proper and clear information about anything. It’s just not about the catch, it can be about anything.”

Jonny Bairstow removes one of two pitch invaders from playing surface

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2023The first morning of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s was briefly disrupted by two climate change protesters from the activist group Just Stop Oil, who invaded the pitch carrying orange powder paint but were prevented from reaching the strip by players and security staff.Before the start of the second over, the two men wearing Just Stop Oil t-shirts ran on from the Grandstand, past perimeter security and towards the playing surface. One was prevented from reaching the strip by a combination of Ben Stokes and David Warner before being jumped on by stewards, while the other was picked up and lifted off the pitch by Jonny Bairstow, then taken away by police.MCC groundstaff swept up and blew off the powder paint that had spilled on the outfield, while Bairstow ran to the dressing room to change into a fresh set of whites. Play was delayed by around six minutes in total.A third protester, who did not make it onto the pitch, was also arrested. An MCC spokesperson said: “Following the earlier pitch incursion, three people have been arrested for aggravated trespassing and taken into police custody and it is now a Metropolitan Police matter.”Related

• Warwickshire prepare spare pitch in case of Just Stop Oil protests

• ICC preps back-up pitch for WTC final in case of protestor disruption

Just Stop Oil, a coalition of environmental action groups, have disrupted several high-profile sporting events in the UK over the past 18 months including Premier League football matches, the final of rugby union’s Premiership and the World Snooker Championship.Speaking after play, Warner termed the situation “confronting” and said the priority for the players was protecting the pitch.”We’d been warned beforehand that it might happen,” he said. “In that instance we want to protect our wicket. We saw it in the billiards [snooker] a month or so, so we just wanted to protect the wicket. It’s a touchy situation, you don’t want to be involved in that. But you want to stop them from getting on the wicket.”It’s quite confronting because you don’t know what to do in that situation. Normally you just let [the situation] run its course, but because they could potentially damage the wicket, we felt like we could intervene and not let get them as close as possible.”Josh Tongue, the England seamer, said: “My back was turned at the start so I didn’t see it. And then I think I heard Jonny [Bairstow] shouting, ‘no!’ and saw him running after him. What he did was obviously a good thing, because if they had put the powder onto the wicket, who knows where the game would be now?”