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A bowler with a Test average of 10.36 could lose his place with the selectors facing one of their biggest calls

Andrew McGlashan19-Dec-2022Australia’s selectors are potentially facing one of their toughest calls for Boxing Day: in one corner you have Josh Hazlewood, 217 Test wickets at 26.16, and in the other you have new cult hero Scott Boland who has an average of 10.36 from five matches with a stunning record at the MCG.With Hazlewood confident in his recovery from the side strain which has kept him out of the last two Tests, allowing Boland to come in having missed out in Perth, the final XI to face South Africa in Melbourne could give an indication of whether the pecking order of Australia’s quicks has been changed.On one hand, how do they leave out Boland? He is a wicket-taking machine who five times in five Tests has taken multiple scalps in an over, the most recent on the helter-skelter second day at the Gabba.Related

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But then there’s Hazlewood, a world-class fast bowler with an outstanding record, albeit one whose Test career has stuttered over the last two years due to injury and conditions-based selection. Perhaps relevant will be Hazlewood’s first-class record at the MCG, where he averages 35.69, which is significantly higher than his career mark. Boland averages 24.35 at the venue.It’s the second time in two summers that a player initially outside the XI is making the case that he cannot be left out. Usman Khawaja returned last season, when Travis Head missed the Sydney Test with Covid, and his twin centuries meant room had to be found for him so Marcus Harris was left out two games after top-scoring on a devilish pitch at the MCG.This time there is not another potential fall guy in the XI to accommodate both Boland and Hazlewood assuming everyone else is fit.”It’s a good problem to have. I can’t state it any other way,” national selector George Bailey said. “Couldn’t ask for anything more…and effectively Uzzie was in the same position last summer. Travis gets the nod in the first Test. Uzzie waits, gets his opportunity and grabs it. And that’s a really important part of what this team is at the moment, that when that opportunity is there you grab it, you come in, there’s a really clear role you can perform. Barrell [Boland] is doing it, he’s been fantastic. Hoff [Hazlewood] has obviously done it for a very, very long time as well.”The South Africa Test will mark a year since Boland’s stunning arrival into the format when he claimed 6 for 7 to roll England on the third morning. At the time he was viewed as something of an MCG specialist, but subsequent success in Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide has reinforced that he is a mighty fine bowler in most locations.”He was on the radar for the MCG last year because of exactly what we’ve seen him do,” Bailey said. “He bashes a length, I think his ability to take multiple wickets in the same over speaks to how consistent he is and the questions he asks of the batter right from ball one. He’s going fantastically. [Josh will] keep building and clearly we’ve got a decision to make. I’m really glad that it is a tough decision to make.”When Hazlewood spoke on Sunday, he admitted it had been a frustrating period of his Test career and conceded being a three-format bowler, having established himself as one of the leading T20 performers, had brought challenges. However, although it is the second summer in a row where Hazlewood has suffered a side injury it has been described as a different problem and the medical teams are not concerned about a pattern emerging.”Let’s be honest, fast bowlers face injury more than any other type of cricketer,” Bailey said. “So they’re constantly under pressure with it. It’s a challenge trying to get [the balance] right. The flip side of that is I think Josh giving himself the opportunity through the IPL has seen him become the T20 bowler [he is]. He’s just a phenomenal bowler. It’s hard work.”Not that it can be a serious selection criteria, but how would the Melbourne locals react to Boland being omitted? Mitchell Marsh was booed during the 2018-19 Test against India after being picked in place of Victoria’s Peter Handscomb whose numbers then were far less compelling than Boland’s.”It’s very important to have two Victorian selectors on the panel,” Bailey joked. “Tony Dodemaide and Andrew McDonald will be in charge of that.”

Elsewhere, Bengal chased down 349 against Baroda, and Parvez Rasool’s ten-wicket match haul gave J&K a comfortable win over Puducherry

Sreshth Shah20-Feb-2022

Elite Group A

Chasing 195, Gujarat were rolled over for 88 in the fourth innings by Madhya Pradesh, led by left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya’s five-wicket haul. Gujarat had rattled Madhya Pradesh from an overnight score of 202 for 4 to 251 all out on the back of Chintan Gaja’s six-for in the morning, but with a batting display where only one player (Karan Patel) crossed the 20s, they fell 106 short.MP are now second on the points table in Group A, with Kerala at the top after their innings win over Meghalaya on Saturday.Shahbaz Ahmed struck an unbeaten 71 as Bengal chased down 349 against Baroda•BCCI

Elite Group B

All out for 88 in their first innings, Bengal‘s batters turned it around on the final day to successfully chase down 349 against Baroda in Cuttack. The 79 from opener Abhimanyu Easwaran had given them a leg up on day three, but they needed an unbeaten 108-run seventh-wicket partnership between allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed (71*) and debutant wicketkeeper Abishek Porel (53*) to cross the line.In the other Group B game, Ravi Teja ran through Chandigarh‘s batting line up to give Hyderabad a 217-run win. Hyderabad had set Chandigarh a 401-run target on the back of Hanuma Vihari’s 106. Teja then proved too hot for Chandigarh on the final day with a six-for, taking his match haul to 9 for 94. Chandigarh opener Arslan Khan made 68 while Raj Bawa, the Player of the Match at the U-19 World Cup final, was left unbeaten on a 47-ball 35 with the side losing their last four wickets for just one run.Parvez Rasool’s ten-wicket match haul gave Jammu & Kashmir a comfortable win•BCCI

Elite Group C

Jammu & Kashmir began their campaign with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Puducherry. Puducherry were 113 for 9 overnight on the back of offspinner Parvez Rasool’s five-for, and he added a sixth in the morning. J&K needed to chase only 42 and their Ian Dev Singh finished the game off with a six on the very first delivery he faced. For Rasool, it was the fourth time he took ten wickets in a match.J&K now lead Group C after Karnataka and Railways played out a draw. Karnataka declared their second innings on 223 for 9 after seamer Amit Mishra (4 for 58) and legspinner Karn Sharma (3 for 47) shared seven wickets, leaving Railways chasing an improbable 279 in the afternoon. Even though Railways were reduced to 26 for 3, they eventually finished on 69 for 4 at the close of play.After his first-innings duck, Cheteshwar Pujara struck a counter-attacking 83-ball 91 in the second dig against Mumbai•Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty Images

Elite Group D

Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani’s seven-wicket haul had put Mumbai within one wicket of victory going into the last hour against Saurashtra but Jaydev Unadkat (32*) and Chetan Sakariya (10*) batted out 17.2 overs to deny them in Ahmedabad. Following on, Saurashtra openers Harvik Desai (62) and Snell Patel (98) provided a 163-run start but both fell in consecutive overs. Despite Cheteshwar Pujara’s counter-attacking 83-ball 91 with 16 fours and a six, Saurashtra needed the last-gasp partnership to save the day. Sarfaraz Khan was named the Player of the Match for his 275 in Mumbai’s first innings.Odisha held on to a draw in the other Group D game after Goa could take only seven of the ten wickets on day four. Opener Shantanu Mishra’s 267-ball 103 helped Odisha hold up one end for 96.3 overs while wicketkeeper Rajesh Dhuper made 52 from No. 6.

Elite Group E

Needing 39 more in a chase of 133, Uttarakhand wrapped up a nine-wicket win inside nine overs on the final day against Services. Jay Bista struck a run-a-ball 87 not out. Uttarakhand allrounder Dikshanshu Negi was Player of the Match for his match haul of five wickets and 68 in their first innings.Andhra lost their last six wickets in less than 25 overs on day four as Rajasthan‘s bowlers wrapped up a 158-run win in the other Group E fixture. Chasing 368, Andhra were restarting on 100 for 4 but left-arm spinner Shubham Sharma took 4 for 32 and Aniket Choudhary finished with 3 for 50 to bowl Andhra out for 209.Jayant Yadav’s six-for ensured Haryana took the first-innings lead in a drawn game against Tripura•PTI

Elite Group F

Group F saw both fixtures in Delhi finish as high-scoring draws. At Palam, Tripura posted 436 in response to Haryana‘s 556, and Haryana could bat only 20 overs in the second innings before the teams shook hands. The 222-run third-wicket stand between Bishal Ghosh (159) and Samit Gohel (122) lifted Tripura from 56 for 2 on the third day, but Jayant Yadav’s six-for ensured Haryana took the first-innings lead and pocketed three points.At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Himachal Pradesh batter Akash Vasisht made 140 on the final day to follow up on his first-innings 87, but their game against Punjab ended in a drab draw. After Punjab scored 526 in response to HP’s 354, they had a 172-run lead and a chance to register an outright victory. But Himachal batted 118 overs to finish on 402 for 8.

Elite Group G

Uttar Pradesh held on for a draw against Vidarbha after Rinku Singh (62*) and Saurabh Kumar (81*) rescued them from a precarious position. Trying to overcome a 247-run first-innings deficit, UP were 126 for 6 on the final day, but Rinku and Saurabh put on an unbeaten 154-run seventh-wicket stand to deny Vidarbha’s bowlers. Before their stand, overnight batter Priyam Garg made 56 but Akshay Wakhare’s three-wicket haul briefly rattled UP.Rinku Singh (above) and Saurabh Kumar helped Uttar Pradesh eke out a draw•BCCI

Maharashtra‘s left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav finished with 7 for 45 to secure an innings win over Assam in Rohtak. Riyan Parag made 56 for Assam, but Bachhav picked up the last three wickets in one over as Assam folded for 160, seven short to make Maharshtra bat again.

Elite Group H

Delhi‘s Yash Dhull became only the ninth batter in first-class cricket to score a century in each innings on debut as he struck an unbeaten 113 to follow up on his first-innings 113 against Tamil Nadu in Guwahati. Dhruv Shorey struck an unbeaten 107 to take Delhi to 228 for no loss as the match ended in a draw. On day three, Tamil Nadu had taken a 42-run lead on the back of Shahrukh Khan’s 148-ball 194 and Baba Indrajith’s 117.Both Tamil Nadu (3 points) and Delhi (1 point) are behind Chhattisgarh on the points table in this group after they beat Jharkhand by eight wickets inside three days.Sakibul Gani’s 341 on debut could not earn Bihar an outright win against Mizoram•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Plate Group

Nagaland successfully chased down 174 with six wickets in hand, after Sikkim were bowled out for 283 in their second innings. Shrikant Mundhe’s half-century saw them through to the win. Chetan Bist was named Player of the Match for scoring 115 in the first innings and taking eight catches in the game.Sakibul Gani’s first innings score of 341 could not earn Bihar a win as Mizoram lost only four wickets in their second innings after being asked to follow on. Taruwar Kohli’s unbeaten 101 ensured Mizoram had one senior batter holding the fort from one end, while Uday Kaul also made 56. Bihar, though, took three points for their first-innings lead.Manipur are currently leading the Plate Group table. They had completed an innings win over Arunachal Pradesh on day three.

After leading South Africa women to a 2-2 draw against the world champions at their home, Chloe Tryon hoped the team would be battle-ready at the World T20

Liam Brickhill11-Oct-2018South Africa women have reached two semi-finals in world tournaments in the last four years, and allrounder Chloe Tryon believes they are good enough to go a step further and become the first South African cricket team to claim a world title when they go to the Caribbean for the Women’s World T20 in November.”We know that we are good enough to win the tournament and we are hoping to prove to the world that we are that strong,” Tryon said. “We want to go there and win the competition. But we are not going to get carried away – we’ll take it one game at a time.”South Africa just got home after a promising tour of the West Indies, in which they shared the one-day series 1-1 and fought back from 2-0 down to hold the reigning world T20 champions to a 2-2 draw in the T20s. Tryon captained South Africa in the T20s, after Dane van Niekerk rolled her ankle, and reckoned the experience had been a valuable one in the lead-up to the World T20.”We learnt a lot on our trip now, which is going to be important come the World Cup,” she said. “There is obviously a lot we need to work on, but we have a good idea of what we need to do at the competition in order to do well, having recently experienced the conditions.”I felt that in the ODIs we did lose it a bit,” she admitted. “We were doing a lot of the basics wrong. Yes, it is a bit slow here, but we know we should be better. But, overall, I think we learnt a lot from being here. The team has grown a lot from the ODIs and coming back from 2-0 down to level the series, so I’m really excited to go home, work on those things and come back ready for the World Cup.”Looking back at the ODIs, we were unlucky with the one game that got rained out. I felt we were in a position where we could win that game, and unfortunately, conditions are something you cannot control. It was a bit of a challenge, but the way we went about it was really good. It’s just a few things to work on, but it’s nice to go home with the series shared.”Her rapid 31 in the final T20 tipped that match decisively in South Africa’s favour, but Tryon’s returns from the series were middling, and she said she would spend the two weeks until South Africa’s departure for the World T20 honing her role as the team’s finisher.”I still feel that I can finish off games more,” she said. “I do want to be the match-winner for the team. Obviously, there’s still a lot to work on. I still feel that I lose a bit of concentration now and then, but I need to be more focussed if I want to be there for the team at the crucial stages in the end.Apart from acclimatising the team to conditions they are hoping to prosper in next month, the trip to the Caribbean also allowed the coach and selectors a good look at some of South Africa’s rookies. Three of them – Tumi Sekhukhune, Robyn Searle and Saarah Smith – could make their World Cup debuts as a result.”I felt they did really well,” Tryon said of the new players. “I’m very impressed with Tumi, Saarah stood up when we needed her the most. Robyn and Faye [Tunnicliffe] did really well in the last game, so it’s nice that these girls got some opportunity in the middle. I hope they can now take it back home and know what it means to be here and the level we play at.”

The left-arm spinner pulled up with a stiff back in the second Test and will stay in Colombo to receive treatment. Two players will be added to Sri Lanka’s squad for the third Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Aug-20170:57

Quick facts – Herath, Sri Lanka’s MVP

Rangana Herath will be rested for the third Test at Pallekele after pulling up from the second Test with a stiff back. Two players will be further added to Sri Lanka’s squad to replace Herath and the already-injured Nuwan Pradeep.Though there is no injury to Herath as such, he has had a heavy workload over the past three weeks, in which he bowled 71.1 overs in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, as well as a combined 91 overs in the two Tests against India. Considering his age, and the fact that Sri Lanka will have to play a Test series against Pakistan over the next two months, the selectors have made the decision to leave him out.”This is where our player management comes in, because we don’t want to break anyone,” SLC cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha said. “We made the call not to risk Herath because he’s also bowled close to 200 overs in the three Tests. That’s a lot for his body.” Herath also confirmed he will stay in Colombo and receive treatment, rather than traveling to Kandy with the team.Though he has had a modest series against India so far, Sri Lanka’s attack will nevertheless be significantly weaker in his absence. He was the best of their bowlers at the SSC, taking 4 for 154, and had also taken 11 wickets in the difficult victory against Zimbabwe at Khettarama. Dilruwan Perera will now be the senior spinner, with left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan also in the squad.Herath is the fourth Sri Lanka player to become unavailable during the India series, after both Asela Gunaratne and Pradeep picked up injuries in the first and second Tests respectively, and Suranga Lakmal was ruled out by a back complaint. Herath is not in the habit of missing Tests, however. The last Sri Lanka match he missed had come more than two years ago – against Pakistan in July 2015 – and that was because he was dropped from the XI. The last Test for which he was unavailable was the 2014 Boxing Day Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, when he was nursing a leg injury, and also attended the birth of his second child.The Pallekele Test is scheduled to begin from August 12. It is, however, a dead rubber, with India having already won the series 2-0.

Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series against India after chasing down 309 for victory in the second ODI in Brisbane.

The Report by Brydon Coverdale15-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:00