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Tom Abell plays support role in century stand to ease visitors home

ECB Reporters Network19-Jun-2022Somerset 194 for 2 (Rossouw 85*, Abell 62*) beat Essex 188 for 5 (Pepper 86*, Walter 58) by eight wickets Rilee Rossouw surged to the top of the Vitality Blast run-scoring charts as Somerset stayed on course for a home knockout tie, thrashing Essex by eight wickets at Chelmsford.Rossouw plundered 85 not out with seven sixes and five fours to move ahead of Northamptonshire’s Chris Lynn in the standings as the visitors made light work of chasing down 189 to win, though Eagles were left to rue giving him a life, spilling a regulation chance when the match-winner had made just 4. Tom Abell provided great support, reaching his own half century in 39 balls.All this came after Michael Pepper, with 86 not out, and Paul Walter were the mainstays of the hosts’ 188-l for 5. Jack Brooks was the pick of the Somerset attack with 2 for 23.On the same pitch which yielded 477 runs in Friday’s encounter with Sussex, Essex initially struggled for fluency after being put in. Adam Rossington gloved one from Peter Siddle through to Tom Banton and Feroze Khushi flowered briefly before lofting Ben Green to midwicket.Pepper spiced things up, sweeping Roelof van der Merwe over backward square for six, but when the in-form Matt Critchley missed out Eagles were 78 for 3.It was Walter who changed the complexion of the innings, clearing his front leg and striking the ball cleanly to all parts, one of his five sixes threatening the residents of flats on the old hospital site. The allrounder raced to 50 in 26 balls and the stand reached 87 from 47 before he holed out in the deep, one of two wickets in as many balls for Brooks.Pepper though, whose 50 came in 31 balls, dinked Siddle for six over third man as 20 came from the final over.Even so, 188 looked light, all the more so when Will Smeed plundered three sixes from the opening over, but having raced to 22 he edged Daniel Sams through to Rossington.Banton briefly picked up the baton, only for Pepper to send him on his way courtesy of a stunning catch, running in from the fence and diving full length to cling on inches above the turf.If that was stunning, Sams dropped a sitter by comparison to reprieve Rossouw later in the same Ben Allison over. The groans from a big crowd suggested it was a pivotal moment and Rossouw reinforced the view by lofting the luckless Allison for successive sixes in his next over, before plundering another maximum off spinner Simon Harmer.Two more mighty blows off Aron Nijjar took him to 50 off 19 balls with five sixes and three fours, and with Abell providing wristy elegance from the other end the 100-stand took just 52 balls as the Cidermen coasted home.

Iyer said it was a welcome relief to get back to training after five months of lockdown

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-20203:04

Ricky Ponting: ‘Will make sure we don’t overtrain’

“Go easy, not lazy”.These were the first words from Ricky Ponting, head coach of the Delhi Capitals, as the squad assembled for their first training session in Dubai over a week back. He instructed this over a video call, according to captain Shreyas Iyer, as he was restricted to reviewing footage of the team’s training session for the first few days because of quarantine restrictions.”When we finally got the go-ahead for our very first training session of the season, the excitement was palpable,” Iyer wrote in a column for the Capitals. “Ricky was still in quarantine, which means his opening talk of the season was going to be over a Zoom call. ‘Go easy, not lazy,’ he told us. “‘Slow and steady, short and sharp sessions to start with. And more intense as we go along.’ It’s amazing how much energy he manages to put into us even from across a computer screen.”Iyer felt just being out on the field made him nostalgic after he had spent a better part of the last five months indoors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the seven days of quarantine and the wait to train and play had made him “absolutely restless”, but once he hit the nets, the wait for his turn to bat made him an “impatient child, full of energy.” With Ponting still in quarantine, the Capitals began training under supervision of assistant coaches Vijay Dahiya and Mohammad Kaif.ALSO READ: Shikhar Dhawan: Experience, batting depth of Delhi Capitals spinners a huge advantage“I can’t tell you how much I waited for the day of our first training session,” he wrote. “Before that, we were locked in our rooms for a week. I kept myself occupied with room workouts, as Rajinikanth, our strength and conditioning coach monitored me over a video call. In the evenings, I turned to Netflix.”On the first day of training, I was ready a whole hour before schedule. And once I stepped out, nostalgia hit me. The sight of the green outfield, and the white picket fence at the ICC Academy, our training venue, was a sight for sore eyes. How much we’d all missed this for the past few months.”Kaif , and Vijay had reached before us. And before we knew it, it was officially season time. I am frankly finding it hard to describe the feeling when I put my pads, gloves and helmet on, and walked into the nets. As I heard the sweet, sweet sound of bat hitting ball, I waited for my turn like an impatient child, full of energy.”Iyer admitted to feeling a little uneasy to suddenly train at full intensity in the hot and humid conditions. He said it took him a while to get into the groove but wouldn’t have it any other way after missing out on cricket for the majority of the year.”It wasn’t easy to get into the groove, to be honest,” he wrote. “And the humidity made things worse. But I’d pick this over the hotel’s air-conditioning any day. Two sessions in, I started finding my rhythm back, slowly but surely. You could see the intensity in the nets and the outfield.”The batters tonked the ball all over the park, the fast bowlers steamed in, the spinners got their trick deliveries out. It would be safe to say it was a case of ‘Absence makes the heart fonder’ for all of us. All this time away from the game only made us realise just how much we love it.”

Lasith Malinga and Isara Udana conceded just 17 runs in their last four overs as South Africa were forced to win the contest via a one-over eliminator

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Mar-2019Super Over
Sri Lanka’s spinners squeezed and throttled and tugged down the opposition run rate in defence of a modest score, but it was the best slow bowler on show – Imran Tahir – who saw South Africa through a tense Super Over situation, and suggested that whatever his team-mates are like, he is capable of keeping his cool in tough circumstances.Not choking is important for South Africa. They are in a World Cup year. They have a history of wilting in the heat of a close finish. But in conceding only five runs in the Super Over, Tahir suggested there are players in South Africa’s ranks who can thrive in tense circumstances. So too David Miller, who had earlier top-scored with 41 off 23 balls, before hitting a six and a four off Lasith Malinga’s Super Over to set the opposition a target of 15. With Tahir in South Africa’s ranks, that target always seemed unlikely for Sri Lanka.Even before the Super Over, though, this was an intriguing low-scoring thriller, during which each team had its moments, even if South Africa were ascendant for the majority. When they had restricted Sri Lanka for 134 for 7 on a slow-ish but not unplayable Newlands surface, the hosts may have expected to cruise to victory. Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya and Jeffrey Vandersay, however, took a wicket apiece and conceded only 81 in their 12 combined overs.Although the spinners were excellent, Malinga was the real star of the Sri Lanka bowling innings. He conceded a four off his second ball – and that only off an outside edge off Quinton de Kock’s bat, that flew to the third-man boundary. He did not allow the opposition a boundary thereafter in regular play, bowling an especially outstanding pair of death overs, in which his figures were three runs for two wickets.Thanks to Malinga, Isuru Udana still had five to defend off the last over of the innings. He conceded a single to JP Duminy – the last recognised batsman – first ball, then delivered two slower-ball dot balls to Dale Steyn to make the equation four from three balls. Duminy was run out soon after, but then off the last ball of regular play, perhaps, came the key moment of the innings.South Africa had two to get, with No. 10 batsman Tahir on strike. He bottom-edged the last ball of the innings to keeper Niroshan Dickwella, who should have easily run out non-striker Steyn and won Sri Lanka the match. Dickwella, though, failed to take his glove off, and his shy at the strikers’ end missed – Steyn comfortably out by a couple of metres had Dickwella hit at least one of the stumps. His team-mates’ annoyance at Dickwella’s mistake was plainly obvious in the break between regular play and the Super Over.Getty Images

Tahir’s final over was perhaps the most dramatic performance of an intense T20 match, but Miller’s performance was also key to South Africa’s victory. Not only did he eventually pummel Malinga – who had figures of 2 for 11 from his four overs in regular play – he had also led South Africa past 100 in the chase.Miller had arrived at the crease with the score on 52 for 3 and South Africa tracking at less than a run a ball – Sri Lanka’s spinners having tied the hosts down. He was immediately aggressive, however, slapping Vandersay for four through cover first ball, before slog sweeping him to the boundary in Vandersay’s next over.It was against Udana, though, that Miller truly accelerated, and swung the match in favour of South Africa. In the 15th over of the innings, with South Africa needing 52 off 36 balls, Miller smoked three fours, a six and a two, single-handedly taking 20 off that over.Malinga’s outstanding death overs would later see Miller dismissed, and push Sri Lanka to a position where they could dream again with South Africa’s tailenders now in residence at the crease. Slower-ball specialist Udana did deliver an excellent final over, in which the only real pockmark for Sri Lanka was Dickwella’s game-defining missed run-out.Earlier, Kamindu Mendis had been the only Sri Lanka batsman who looked halfway fluent on this pitch, even if he did score all but one of his boundaries – three fours and two sixes in total – off the first eight deliveries that he faced. In that initial period, he hit his first six by top-edging Kagiso Rabada over third man, before ramping him over the same boundary next ball. Kamindu scored 41 off 29 balls, but none of his team-mates could cross 20.Andile Phehlukwayo was the best of South Africa’s bowlers, taking 3 for 25 from his four overs. Lutho Sipamla was the next best, claiming 1 for 19. All South Africa’s bowlers took at least one wicket apiece.

Ashantha de Mel was appointed as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup and had clashed earlier with the coach over selection choices

Madushka Balasuriya02-May-2019Sri Lanka Cricket believes that coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Ashantha de Mel will have no issues working together in the Sri Lankan dressing room, after the pair is said to have “thrashed things out” prior to the latter’s appointment as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup starting at the end of this month. Since de Mel took the reins as chief selector ahead of Sri Lanka’s tour to New Zealand, the pair had clashed over several selection choices – most notably the exclusion of Dinesh Chandimal and Lasith Malinga’s captaincy.

Other decisions taken by SLC’s executive committee

• Chandima Mapatuna appointed as the logistic manager of the team for the World Cup. Mapatuna, who is also the head of international cricket of SLC, will travel with the team for the World Cup

• In the wake of recent tragic incidents in the country, SLC will take additional measures to strengthen the security of the team at the World Cup. SLC is working on it in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and the ICC

• Roy Dias appointed as coach of the ‘A’ team for the upcoming tour of India, in May, while Chaminda Mendis has been appointed as team manager. Mendis will also continue to function as a national selector

• Avishka Gunawardena appointed coach of the emerging team for the tour of South Africa, in June. Hemantha Wickramaratne appointed team manager and will continue to function as a national selector

• SLC has decided to donate Rs. 2 million to the Relief Effort Fund set up by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith The Arch Bishop of Colombo, to support the victims of the affected areas and parishes following multiple attacks on Easter Sunday

“Before the appointment we got the both of them together to talk things through,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “They eventually thrashed things out and now we’re very confident that they’ll work quite well together.”De Mel’s appointment, which was rubber-stamped by SLC at an executive committee meeting on April 30, had been mooted for some time, but speculation had been rife over whether he and Hathurusingha would be able to get along over the course of the six-week tournament.It was a spat with the new selection committee that culminated in Hathurusingha being removed from the role of selector-on-tour in February. And since then Hathurusingha’s job security has only become more tenuous.In March, he was given “a break” during Sri Lanka’s T20I series against South Africa after rumours surfaced of him having fallen out with certain players and staff. The situation was so dire that SLC CEO Ashley de Silva flew over personally to hold crisis talks, following which Hathurusingha returned to the island for further mediation. During this period, there were also reports of SLC seeking legal advice over possible options with regard to prematurely terminating Hathurusingha’s contract which will only run out in 2020.However, following clear-the-air talks with the board, Hathurusingha is understood to have agreed to rein in his methods as a “total dictator”, much of which de Silva believes had manifested during the course of the nine-month SLC power vacuum, when the governing body was run by a sports ministry-appointed competent authority.”We were in two minds whether to discontinue him or not,” de Silva said. “We needed to know if he was amenable to our way of thinking and whether he would change his attitude. Because to be quite honest, he had become a total dictator after we left, and that’s also one of the reasons that the selectors were gunning for him.”But he has now promised to toe the line with the administrators and the selectors, because to be honest his thinking in terms of the national team has been good, although the results haven’t followed unfortunately.”Sri Lanka will begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Cardiff on June 1.

Ed Smith discussed plan with Joe Root to bring Roy into Test fold after World Cup months ago

Daniel Brettig in Canterbury17-Jul-2019Nothing underlines how much England’s World Cup focus has grown to dominate the national team’s thinking quite like the emergence of Jason Roy as the selectors’ choice to open the Test match batting order a matter of weeks before the start of the Ashes.Look for a rationale to choose Roy based upon his red ball numbers for Surrey and England Lions and it is hard to discern one – he has played just three first-class matches since the 2017 county season, and not played more than five first-class matches in a northern summer since 2016.But the undeniable power of his ODI displays, culminating in a World Cup where he was nothing less than essential to England’s victories, have vaulted Roy into a role that England have found problematic for quite some time. In the words of the England selector Ed Smith, the national set-up has been waiting for the right moment to unleash him at Test level, and forecast quite some time ago that the Ashes series following a successful Cup campaign would be ideal.”It’s no great secret the selectors have long been admirers of Jason,” Smith said in Canterbury. “The big question with Jason Roy was when was the ideal time if he was going to make the move into Test cricket? He was injured at the back end of the ODIs against India last summer and then also when he went back to play for Surrey. So he had two injuries then.”Joe Root and I spoke at length months ago about the scenario in which Jason Roy finished the World Cup confident, full of runs and went straight into the Ashes and that’s what we’ve done. It feels like a really good time for Jason to join the Test team as an opener. He’s in and has our full backing.”Jason Roy of Surrey receives treatment from the medical team•Getty Images

Plenty of cricketers have made their way into Test cricket via the limited-overs pathway in the past. Some with great success, like David Warner, others rather less so. Certainly Roy will be hoping to avoid the journey of Aaron Finch last year, as he spiralled into a state of confusion during Tests against India that led momentarily to questions about whether he would be worth his place in the Australian World Cup squad. Smith said that Roy’s evolution as a more three dimensional batsman had been going on for some time, even if his first-class appearances have been few.”It’s a mixture of him as a player, him as a person, him as a performer in all formats actually,” Smith said. “So when he did play at the very back of end of last summer in red-ball cricket he did well for Surrey and then I was keen on him playing a Lions game when again he carried on his good form in red-ball cricket.”I think we’ve all seen him grow and improve as a player in white-ball cricket. He’s a more complete player than he ever has been. There’s never been any doubt about his talent, audacity or his presence at the crease – it’s fantastic . All those things are very clear. He’s also gained improved mastery and adaptability. I think he’s a more complete player now than he ever has been. It just felt like absolutely the right time for Jason to make his Test debut.”Actually where the [World Cup] pitches ended up, it was often a pretty even contest between bat and ball. We all saw, not just in those crucial four effectively knockout games when Jason came back, but also a much longer period of time that Jason is growing as a batsman all the time. That was just one manifestation of a much wider development, I think.”Also read: Morgan has earned the right to decide his own future – StraussOf course there is another tale of an England cricketer riding the coat-tales of his ODI audacity to a Test debut during an Ashes summer, that of Kevin Pietersen in 2005. Asked for a parallel, Smith preferred to look at how Jos Buttler was gradually eased into Test cricket after first making his name as a limited-overs operative. That exposure arguably aided Buttler in becoming an even more effective ODI batsman than he was already.”I suppose the analogy I’ve thought of a little bit would be Jos Buttler. Both different people and different players but there is that sense of trying to catch the right time,” Smith said. “Going back to that first decision last May when coming in as selector it just felt like exactly the right time for Jos to come back into the Test team.”Although I wouldn’t compare them because they are very different players and different people, in the same way it feels like the right time for Jason. He’s playing very well, growing and developing all the time and it’s an exciting prospect for us.”Jos Buttler drives through the covers•Associated Press

The question of whether Roy can adapt to the demands of Test matches and the spotlight of the Ashes speaks to a wider one about England. How, having invested so much time and effort into a four-year ODI campaign, might the team led by Joe Root find the right technical gears and mental reserves to succeed in the longest form of the game, against an Australian squad that, with a few World Cup exceptions, has enjoyed a far longer, more directed preparation.”Occasionally there is a real grand strategy and Andrew Strauss put in a good strategy when he came in in 2015,” Smith said. “We saw an incredibly unpredictable finale to a very thorough worked out strategic plan. It is not often a national sport organises itself to such clarity with a particular end. There is a challenge to build and grow on that rather than to say that is the full stop on the end of the sentence.”One thing we really want to do is develop this end of English cricket and not let it peter out but to push on from here. It is hard if you are moving things around as Andrew did, obviously certain things like the scheduling of the Championship has been bookended to the beginning and end of the season and that brings challenges for selectors.”However the same degree of attention, clarity and rigour we tried to bring to World Cup selection, we have also brought to Ashes selection. The balance is different because people are coming out of the World Cup with some injuries and tiredness and you are also looking at six Test matches in a short period of time in the second half of the summer, so that is a unique combination but that is part of the fun.”Should Roy fare anything like Pietersen 14 years ago, then the fun will be all England’s.

Ahead of New Zealand tour, the high altitude and cold weather, and the pace, bounce and movement, offered conditions they are likely to face there

Madushka Balasuriya23-Feb-2023Sri Lanka’s cricketers and coaching staff provided a glowing endorsement of the country’s latest training facility in Radella, Nuwara Eliya, following a week-long training camp at the newly renovated ground.Located some 4000 feet above sea level, the Radella Cricket Ground – home to Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club – is among the most picturesque in the world; its immediate surroundings comprise the trademark greenery and mountainscapes of Sri Lanka’s hills, with waterfalls and tea estates aplenty, ready to greet those who venture further out.But more than the scenery, it was the conditions at the ground which most pleased those in attendance. Ahead of the team’s departure to New Zealand – where they will compete in two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is – the combination of high altitude and cold weather, along with the pace, bounce and movement present at Radella, offered the players as close a facsimile to the conditions they are likely to face in the coming month.Related

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“The wickets we’ve been playing on have been excellent,” Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood said on the sidelines of the training camp. “Decent pace, good bounce, little bit of movement, and obviously the climate has suited us as well as training at high altitude; very similar to what we may face in New Zealand.”The renovation work has been headed by Godrey Dabrera, Sri Lanka Cricket’s manager of international venues and facilities. Having started on the work towards the end of last year, Dabrera headed a 20-member team in relaying four centre-turf wickets as well as installing five practice wickets, all of which was completed in a span eight weeks.”The work that Godfrey and the team have done here has been absolutely fantastic, to get this place up and running, to give us the conditions and the facilities we have here,” Silverwood said. “They’ve done a great job in such a short period of time as well.”Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne echoed his coach’s thoughts, and was particularly pleased at his bowlers being afforded extra time to get used to colder climes.”I think the bowlers benefitted quite a bit. For the fast bowlers, it’s not like bowling in warm conditions; bowling in colder conditions is a little harder,” Karunaratne said. “Even for the spinners, gripping the ball can be difficult in a colder climate. So things like that were very useful. We also have a lot of young players in the squad who haven’t played in New Zealand, so this was a very useful experience.”Sri Lanka completed their training camp on Thursday, and will now head back to Colombo to continue their preparations. The tour of New Zealand begins with the first Test from March 9 in Christchurch.

The first two rounds have thrown up some mixed results for Australia’s Test incumbents and contenders

Alex Malcolm22-Oct-2019Who’s going wellMitchell Starc probably made the biggest statement this week. On a Drummoyne Oval surface that is typically batsmen-friendly he tore through Tasmania, taking 10 for 60 in 44.2 overs across the match. He bowled with serious pace after making some minor technical adjustments with New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams and looks to be coming together nicely for Brisbane. The other quick who has put himself back in the mix is Jhye Richardson. He has bowled superbly for Western Australia taking nine wickets in three innings at an economy rate of under two. He is bowling as quickly, if not quicker than prior to his shoulder injury. On a batting front no one is hammering the door down. Shaun Marsh‘s double hundred will inevitably spark the almost annual debate over his career while Tom Cooper and Nic Maddinson also cashed in with doubles on the flat Junction Oval pitch but are some way from the Test mix. Marnus Labuschagne has scores of 69, 52, 32 and 72 not out which on the surface doesn’t jump off the page, but given the difficulty of the batting conditions at the Gabba they have been impressive returns.Who’s doing enoughDavid Warner will be in Brisbane after an outstanding century on a difficult surface against Queensland at the Gabba. There will be dissenting voices claiming he has two other low scores but that is part and parcel of opening the batting in Shield cricket in October. Marcus Harris could claim to have done enough to retain his place with a hundred and a half century in three innings. The century will have an asterisk next to it, however, given it came at the Junction Oval where 12 wickets fell in four days. He was also dropped twice in the innings. Of the genuine contenders, Will Pucovski is doing enough to keep his name in the mix. Like Harris he has a century and a half century to his name on the same pitches. He has four Shield hundreds now in 13 matches at an average of 54.45. There will be a lot of public support for his inclusion. Tim Paine’s spot was never in jeopardy but he quietened any murmurs with his first Shield century in 13 years, on the same day Alex Carey produced a century in Melbourne. James Pattinson‘s figures don’t leap out but he bowled some outstanding spells against South Australia and Western Australia without much luck. He deserves to be in contention to play in Brisbane. Michael Neser was part of the Ashes squad and has done his chances to debut in Australia no harm with 10 wickets in four innings, including 5 for 56 against South Australia. He’s doing enough to stay in the frame although conditions in Brisbane have certainly favoured the bowlers.Who needs to do moreYou could mount an argument Matthew Wade has done enough to be picked for Brisbane. Scores of 40, 20, and 40 suggest he’s still playing well but he knows there are no guarantees, despite two Ashes centuries. Usman Khawaja is under pressure. Scores of 1, 24, 2, and 0 have done nothing to push his case for a recall, although his failures in the last match against South Australia need deeper scrutiny from the selectors as he appeared to be the victim of not one but two questionable umpiring decisions. He has also batted in the toughest conditions in Australia, although Labuschagne’s success makes those mitigating circumstances harder to argue for. Travis Head made a painstaking and unconvincing 51 against Victoria but butchered a golden chance to make a monstrous century as Cooper did on a road at the Junction Oval. He followed that with a 25-ball duck and 12 against Queensland, falling to two loose shots. Cameron Bancroft‘s form has dropped off quite significantly since his impressive performance in the Southampton practice match prior to the Ashes. He has scores of 30, 0, 10 and 6 not out so far this season and isn’t in the Test frame at this stage. Joe Burns was a man to watch but he probably hasn’t done enough to dispel whatever doubts that continue to surround him as a Test player, despite batting on some tough tracks. He has reached 20 in three of his four innings at the Gabba but his highest score is only 52. Peter Siddle, who played in Australia’s last Test, has been injured but did not set the world alight in his first game back against Western Australia.

Carsen, Kasperek and Kerr took two wickets each to restrict Sri Lanka to a modest score

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2023New Zealand 107 for 5 (Bates 44, Kerr 34, Priyadharshani 3-17) beat Sri Lanka 106 for 9 (Gunaratne 26, Kerr 2-18, Carson 2-20, Kasperek 2-21) by five wicketsNew Zealand’s spinners Eden Carson, Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek combined to take six wickets and restrict Sri Lanka to 106 for 9 to set up a five-wicket win in the opening T20I of the three-match series in Colombo.Opener Suzie Bates and No. 3 Kerr then knocked off 78 runs between them from the 107-run target to ensure New Zealand had scored enough before a middle-order stutter to win with seven balls to spare.New Zealand cashed in on their decision to bowl by getting the big fish Chamari Athapaththu first ball, castled by offspinner Carson. The second-wicket stand of 37 between Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama was the only good sign for the hosts before Kerr took a return-catch to send Gunaratne back for 26. Sri Lanka never recovered from that and lost five wickets for just 35 runs to stumble to 72 for 6 in the 15th over. Returning to T20 internationals after nearly two years, offspinner Kasperek had Samarawickrama stumped and trapped Kavisha Dilhari lbw to finish with 2 for 21.Anushka Sanjeewani and Oshadi Ranasinghe revived Sri Lanka’s innings briefly by stitching a stand of 29 for the seventh wicket to take them past 100 but Sanjeewani’s run out broke the partnership before Kerr ran out Udeshika Prabodhani and took Ranasinghe’s return-catch as well, on the last ball of the innings, to finish with 2 for 18. New Zealand had used as many as eight bowling options.The visitors lost Bernadine Bezuidenhout early in the chase before Bates and Kerr put them in command with a 58-run stand, scoring 44 and 34 respectively. New Zealand withstood a wobble when offspinner Inoshi Priyadharshani struck twice in three balls and then in her next over as well to send back Kerr, Sophie Devine for a duck and Maddy Green for 5. With 30 required off 38 balls, New Zealand were still in command and Bates nearly took them all the way home before falling for 44. Georgia Plimmer knocked off the winning runs not long after.

Stoinis and Hilton Cartwright added a BBL-record stand of 207 against Sydney Sixers

Alex Malcolm12-Jan-2020Marcus Stoinis set a new BBL record with a staggering 147 not out as the Melbourne Stars sent a statement to their rivals with a crushing win over the second-placed Sydney Sixers at the MCG.Stoinis smacked 13 fours and eight sixes in an extraordinary display, eclipsing D’Arcy Short’s previous record of 122. His 207-run stand with Hilton Cartwright was also the highest in BBL history overtaking the previous record of 172 held by Stars duo Luke Wright and Rob Quiney from 2012. He also faced 79 balls, the equal highest ever in a T20 game.Stoinis told Channel Seven after his innings: “That’s just the most fun you can ever have in the world.”Marcus Stoinis walks off after his breathtaking innings of 147•Getty Images

It meant the Stars’ in-form captain Glenn Maxwell faced just two balls for the innings as they posted the third highest total in BBL history. Hilton Cartwright played a critical hand making 59 from 40 in a supporting role that won high praise from his skipper for holding his nerve given Stoinis dominated the strike.Ben Dwarshuis broke an unwanted record for the Sixers, conceding 61 runs from his four overs, the most by any bowler in the BBL.The Sixers were never in the hunt in the chase despite scoring quicker than the Stars through the first 10 overs. Moises Henriques made a classy 41 but his departure in the 11th over snuffed out all hope. Clint Hinchliffe, who had never previously taken more than one wicket in a T20 match, finished with career-best figures of 3 for 20.A slow burnNeither Stoinis nor Cartwright exploded out of the blocks. Stoinis admitted after his innings that he was as nervous as he had ever been following a duck in his last game. They made 78 runs in the first 10 overs, absorbing 26 dot balls in the first 60 deliveries and struck just two sixes. Jackson Bird and Steve O’Keefe were particularly effective a really good batting surface, not allowing the batsmen to free their arms.No Maxwell, no worriesThere were concerns at halfway that Maxwell might be wasted sitting on the sidelines as Cartwright was 25 from 24 balls, but they had laid the perfect platform to target both Dwarshuis and Tom Curran in different ways. Stoinis sat deep in his crease and the Sixers failed to get their length full enough. Time and again he sat back and clubbed shorter length balls to and over the rope. Cartwright then punished the full balls, thumping them through the line down the ground. Stoinis reached his century off 60 balls in the 16th over but with four overs remaining the score was just 158. The last 24 balls were carnage as the Stars struck six fours and four sixes to all parts of the MCG. There were ramps, uppercuts, off drives, pull shots and an outrageous bottom-handed flick from Stoinis that cleared the long boundary at midwicket. Dwarshuis conceded 24 runs in the 19th over. Stoinis hit the last ball of the innings for six over square leg and the Sixers were fortunate it was not judged a no-ball for being a full toss above waist-high.The price of doing businessOnly once had a side ever chased more in the BBL, when the Hobart Hurricanes mowed down 223 against the Melbourne Renegades. That night the Hurricanes lost two wickets in the powerplay, including Short, in an attempt to stay with the required rate early. The Sixers went via the same route in the powerplay losing two wickets attempting to go all guns blazing. Josh Philippe skied one straight up in the air and Daniel Hughes holed out at deep square. James Vince also should have fallen but was dropped by Hinchliffe at deep square. They had two boundary-less overs in the powerplay, delivered by the wicket-takers Daniel Worrall and Haris Rauf. They managed to score 54 in the first six, which was higher than the Hurricanes’ 2 for 48 in that record chase, with both Vince and Henriques set.Scoreboard pressureHenriques was the biggest threat for the Stars. He thumped back-to-back boundaries in the seventh over and then a huge slog sweep for six off Sandeep Lamichhane over wide long-on. Vince rode his luck having been dropped twice, the second a sitter to Worrall at mid-on, but he didn’t survive the third chance he offered off Hinchliffe, picking out Maxwell. The Sixers were ahead of the Stars after 10 overs but the scoreboard pressure did for Henriques as he fell for a well-made 41. Maxwell was ruthless from there identifying Curran’s weakness against spin and he was stumped off Lamichhane. The Sixers never got close although Dwarshuis exacted some revenge with the bat smashing 42 not out from 17 balls.