All posts by csb10.top

If you had glanced at the weather forecast for Kingston last Friday, you might have been forgiven for wondering if the city had any business hosting a Test match. There was rain expected across all five days, with dry spells in between. When Misbah-ul-Haq looked at it, he knew there was only one plausible path to victory, which his team achieved shortly after lunch on the fifth day.Misbah himself played no small part. Having contributed 99 not out to stretch the first-innings lead, which eventually proved decisive, he came out to biff two successive sixes to seal the game. Soon after, Misbah said the thought of this being his final series hadn’t prevented him from playing without having fun.

Holder disappointed with batting show

Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, felt losing four wickets in the first session on the opening day didn’t do them any favours for the rest of the Test.
“We didn’t get enough runs in the first innings. Never really got a partnership going. Credit must go to Shane Dowrich and Roston Chase, but unfortunately we couldn’t get in excess of 300 runs, which we needed to do.
“Yasir Shah did bowl well in the second innings but we could have batted a lot better. From the position we were in last evening, if was always going to be difficult to come out on the fifth day and try to survive Yasir.”

“If you’re not enjoying yourself, then there’s no point of playing. I’m not the kind of person who would linger on if I wasn’t having fun,” he said. “These wins are special, and this is one more Test match that the team has given to me as a gift.”While the batsmen’s role in giving a first-innings cushion can’t be overstated, it was the bowlers who ensured victory was possible despite losing almost all of the second day to rain. “With tricky weather, the idea was to win the toss and bowl first,” he said. “We just had one chance to get them out quickly and then play one good innings. Otherwise it wasn’t going to be possible.”We knew that it was going to be tough batting on the fifth day. I think the bowlers did very well. In the first innings (Mohammad) Amir, especially, his spell was crucial. In the second innings, again Amir and especially Yasir’s spell was incredible. Getting six wickets this morning in no time was the game changer.”The one worry Pakistan could have is that going in with just one spin bowler risks overworking the faster bowlers. This concern, however, did not manifest itself during the game, with West Indies lasting just 147.4 overs across both innings.With 19-year old Shadab Khan, who impressed during the limited-overs leg of the series, waiting in the wings, Misbah admitted that playing a second legspinner was a possibility, but said a call would only be taken after assessing the conditions.”Our combination will depend on the conditions we get, and especially how the pitch looks before the Test match,” he said. “This pitch had a lot of moisture and that is why we opted to bowl first and go with three seamers. With our combination, it’s difficult, it’s difficult to sneak in the fifth bowler, especially since we have six specialist batsmen, so having three fast bowlers and two spinners becomes tricky.”

Match facts

March 25, 2017
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)1:02

Shakib Al Hasan’s reign at the top in the ICC rankings is longer than not only all cricketers but also the best from a few other sporting disciplines

Big picture

Bangladesh have exulted, the Sri Lanka team have been verbally flagellated, and after Sunday’s result, a tour that had been flying under the radar on the island has suddenly sparked widespread interest.While Bangladesh’s second major Test victory in the space of a few months has been interpreted as a another sign of the team’s arrival at the top level, Sri Lanka’s loss has split opinion at home. Some have suggested Sri Lankan cricket has entered a death spiral; others have argued that while there is cause for significant concern, there is hope yet. Whatever the case, the limited-overs series have become doubly important for Sri Lanka now. If they lose here as well, there may not be many rushing to defend this team.What will worry Sri Lanka is that ODIs have recently been Bangladesh’s strongest format. They did lose to England at home last year, but have beaten India, Pakistan and South Africa in bilateral series in 2015.Sri Lanka meanwhile, can probably reflect that ODIs have been their weakest suit. Save for series against West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe – all of whom have failed to qualify for this year’s Champions Trophy – Sri Lanka have lost bilateral series against England, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand (twice) since the start of 2015.The hosts are still without their two best limited-overs players – Angelo Mathews remains injured, and Lasith Malinga is also unavailable, thanks to a slow recovery from a major ankle injury.Bangladesh, meanwhile, will not only be buoyed by their Test win, they are also boosted by the arrival of their charismatic limited-overs captain: Mashrafe Mortaza.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLLW

In the spotlight

Upul Tharanga’s captaincy has yielded mixed results – a 0-5 thrashing in ODIs in South Africa, to go with a 2-1 win in the T20 series in Australia – but his own form has been largely encouraging. In addition to having scored heavily in the Galle Test, Tharanga had also struck a 90-ball 119 in an ODI in Cape Town last month. At 32, Tharanga is intent on retaining his place in the team until he retires, but he still needs to score more consistently to convince the many doubters.Mustafizur Rahman‘s fourth day spell at the P Sara may have broken open the match for Bangladesh, but it didn’t feature many trademark cutters. Switching now to the format in which he made his name, Mustafizur has plenty of form behind him – having also taken two wickets in each of his ODI outings in New Zealand, in December. On Asian tracks better suited to his bowling, there is a chance the series is defined by how well Sri Lanka’s batsmen defuse his bowling.

Team news

With Kusal Perera out of the first two ODIs, left-arm spinning allrounder Milinda Siriwardana has been named in the squad for the Dambulla matches. Also returning to the fray are Danushka Gunathilaka – who had missed the South Africa series – and Thisara Perera, who had been dropped. Niroshan Dickwella is unavailable for this match, however, thanks to the suspension he picked up in Australia. Tharanga and Gunathilaka are likely to open together.*Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Upul Tharanga (capt.), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Sachith Pathirana, 8. Thisara Perera, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Vikum Sanjaya, 11 Lakshan SandakanBangladesh could make at least two changes to the XI from their last ODI, in New Zealand. Mushfiqur Rahim will return to the line-up as wicketkeeper in place of Nurul Hasan while Tanbir Hayder isn’t in the current squad. Mehedi Hasan’s late call-up suggests he could be handed an ODI debut. Sunzamul Islam may also earn an ODI cap if they decide to play only two seamers.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Taskin Ahmed/Sunzamul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

The Dambulla track has generally been slow, with 300 having been breached only twice there. The weather is expected to be fine.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh have won only four ODIs and lost 33 against Sri Lanka. One of those wins and 14 losses have come in Sri Lanka.
• Mustafizur has failed to get two wickets only twice in his 11 ODIs so far. He has 30 wickets at an average of 13.83 in the format.
• Sri Lanka lost their last home series 1-4 to Australia.

Quotes

“We started well in New Zealand but couldn’t finish off those games. So every game becomes important, not just at the start or end of a series.”
“After the Test series, we had four training sessions, and in all those four sessions, we dedicated lot of time for fielding. I think we are doing quite okay in practices when it comes to fielding, but when we go into thee middle, we fail to concentrate.”
*This article originally had Dickwella among Sri Lanka’s possible XI. He is, however, suspended for this match.

Peter Richardson, the former Worcestershire and Kent batsman who played 34 Tests for England, has died aged 85.Richardson was brought into the England side at opener in 1956 after the retirement of Len Hutton and made scores of 81 and 73 on debut against Australia. His maiden hundred came in the fourth Test at Old Trafford as England retained the Ashes.He went on to score five hundreds in his first 16 Tests but lost his place after a poor tour of Australia in 1958-59 and only featured sporadically thereafter.In the 1957 Trent Bridge Test against West Indies, he played alongside his brother, Dick – they were the last brothers to represent England before the Hollioakes in 1997. Their other sibling, Bryan, also played occasionally for Warwickshire.An amateur with Worcestershire, where he was named one of ‘s Cricketers of the Year in 1957, he moved to Kent in 1959 and took up professional status. He made 1000 runs in a season on 11 occasions (four times passing 2000) during a 16-year career.Richardson was also known as a dressing-room prankster and was fond of sending pseudonymous letters to the .

ScorecardDinesh Chandimal ended a poor run of form with a century•AFP

Dinesh Chandimal has made a strong return to runs, while Bangladesh seam bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman made promising starts to their tour of Sri Lanka as well, in the two-day practice match in Moratuwa.Chandimal’s 190 not out off 253 balls followed a chastening tour of South Africa in which his highest score in 12 international innings was 36. He had been omitted from the ODI XI towards the end of that tour, and was later told by chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya that he should “go back to club cricket” in order to “work his game out”.Though there was little doubt he would feature in the Test XI – especially in a series with Bangladesh, whom he averages 128.33 against – this long occupation of the crease will have Sri Lanka feeling much happier about what remains an inexperienced top order. Chandimal struck seven sixes and 21 fours in the innings, after he had kept wicket the previous day. Despite Niroshan Dickwella’s presence in the Test squad, Chandimal is likely to bat at No. 6 and keep wickets in the first Test as well.Mustafizur was the most economical of the Bangladesh bowlers, conceding only 28 runs from his 12 overs, while claiming the scalps of opener Ron Chandraguptha and Leo Fransisco. Taskin was more penetrative: he took two new-ball wickets in his second over of the day, then returned later on to dismiss the highly-rated Roshen Silva. He finished with figures of 3 for 41 from 11 overs.Twenty-year-old Tamil Union allrounder Chamika Karunaratne also hit an unbeaten fifty late in match, after he had claimed three wickets on day one. The SLC President’s XI ended the day on 403 for 7 compared to Bangladesh’s 391 for 7 declared.Both teams scored their runs at more than four an over – an indication that this had been a particularly batting-friendly track. The surfaces awaiting Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at Galle and the P Sara Oval are almost certain to be more treacherous.

South Africa’s newest Test cap Duanne Olivier’s 11-wicket match haul helped Knights regain the top spot in the Sunfoil Series, with a 121-run win over Warriors in Bloemfontein. Olivier also remains the leading wicket-taker in the competition, 13 ahead of his nearest challenger, team-mate Marchant de Lange, who took five wickets in the match.The pace pair’s performance came after Knights piled on 431 in the first innings, built on Rudi Second’s 151. Second, who is also a keeper, now lies fifth on the run-charts and has put himself in prime position to travel as a reserve glovesman, should South Africa take one to New Zealand. Second and Rilee Rossouw shared a third-wicket stand of 118. Rossouw scored 83, but Simon Harmer’s 4 for 90 ensured Knights did not top 500.In reply, Warriors were in trouble at 159 for 7. A 119-run eighth-wicket stand between Harmer and Sisanda Magala saved them from the follow-on. Both batsmen scored half-centuries, before Olivier removed them. Oliver and de Lange shared all 10 wickets in Warriors’ first innings, which ended on 299.After taking a 132-run lead, Knights were sloppy in the second innings and lost wickets frequently. Second top-scored with 37 as Knights were bowled out for 189, setting Warriors a gettable target of 322 with more than a day remaining. Warriors closed out the third day on 73 for 3, 249 runs behind, but the target proved too big. With only Lesiba Ngoepe crossing 50, Warriors were bowled out for 200. Despite the loss, they remain in contention for the title in fourth position, 14.58 points behind table-toppers Knights.In Centurion, Cobras’ stirring second-half-of-the-season comeback continued as they beat Titans by nine wickets. The victory has lifted them from last place and put them ahead of Lions, and they are 16.52 points behind Knights.Titans chose to bat first and were looking solid after openers Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar put on 86. Both batsmen were dismissed off consecutive balls by Tsepo Moreki, which triggered a collapse. From 86 for no loss, Titans lost all 10 wickets for 109 runs to be dismissed for 195. Heinrich Klaasen brought some respectability to the scorecard with 52. Wickets were shared among all four of Cobras’ frontliners, with Moreki the most successful with 3 for 37.Cobras’ replay began with Rowan Richards dismissing the openers cheaply before David Wiese got rid of Stiaan van Zyl to leave Cobras on 37 for 3. But a combination of old and new put them in a position to take the advantage. Justin Ontong and Jason Smith put on 148 for the fourth wicket. Ontong brought up his 25th first-class century, and when he was dismissed, Cobras were well ahead on 285 for 6. They added 41 more for the last four wickets. Wiese claimed a five-for, but could not prevent Cobras from taking a 131-run first innings lead.Markram and Heino Kuhn, who opened in the second innings, started well again and shared a 61-run partnership, but Titans’ top-order collapsed for the second time as they lost five wickets for 30 runs. Klaasen again scored a half-century, and it saved them from an innings defeat, but only just. Rory Kleinveldt rolled back the years and finished with 5 for 45 as Titans were bowled out for 168. It left Cobras with just 38 to win, which they did with nine wickets in hand.

USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake has picked the team’s batting as the area in need of the biggest improvement, heading into their first match at the World Cricket League Division Four – the ICC’s 50-over tournament for Associates and Affiliates – in Los Angeles. USA lost the first two games in the recently-concluded Auty Cup against Canada, before chasing down 222 to win by two wickets in the final match. Dassanayake said they could have performed better with more consistency in the batting.

Santhanam doubtful for WCL Division Four

USA allrounder Srini Santhanam is likely to be ruled out of the WCL Division Four, after a recurrence of the right shoulder injury that has plagued him over the last three years. Santhanam re-injured the shoulder at the five-day national camp in Indianapolis last month. He was fit enough to bowl six overs in USA’s 34-run loss to Canada in the Auty Cup opener, but aggravated the injury when firing in a throw from the boundary, and missed the final two games.
“Srini is definitely injured and he’s not going to be 100% before the tournament, but we are taking medical advice from the physio and Srini’s family doctor,” USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake said. “We are going to wait for those reports and how they advise us, but it looks it’s very doubtful that he’s going to be 100% fit.”

“It’s always good to get a win going into the World Cricket League against Canada, but, overall, we could have done better in the first two games,” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo. “Especially in the second game, we had a chance at winning. Overall, we were improving every game. First game, we were very low, did lots of mistakes. Second game, we were better, and [last game] I think bowling and fielding were up there. We want some good performance in the batting, but there are lots of areas to improve.”The batting still needs to settle down. We have a very decent bowling attack. I’m happy about that. Fielding, there’s a few things we need to fix, but I’m not that nervous because the guys are putting a lot of effort, and I’m pretty sure we’ll get there. Batting, when you take the seven batters we have in the squad, they are quality, they can do the job. But, coming out from club cricket to this level may have made a huge impact.”Opening batsman Fahad Babar topped USA’s scoring charts in the Auty Cup with 148 runs, including two half-centuries. But, apart from him, Akeem Dodson was the only member of the original squad to score a fifty in the series. Ravi Timbawala, who came in as a replacement player for Sunday’s match and is currently not a part of USA’s squad for WCL Division Four, had USA’s best score with an unbeaten 73 in Sunday’s win. Incidentally, Elmore Hutchinson, a left-arm medium pacer, topped the batting averages at 59, albeit with two unbeaten knocks of 21 and 37. Dassanayake said the players are still adjusting to the rigours of 50-over cricket, given most of their local leagues are 40-over competitions.”They are used to playing a lot of 40-over cricket, so that mentality has to change. I think they’re working hard towards that, but I would still say that we are slightly behind on those areas. Next 10 days, we’re going to work hard and come to the level we want to be to win this tournament.”Dassanayake also said the team was affected by the absence of Timroy Allen and Ali Khan during the Auty Cup. Allen withdrew to attend to a personal matter, while Khan was nursing a left hamstring strain sustained at a five-day national camp in Indianapolis. Both are expected to return for Division Four, and Dassanayake was sure they’d make an impact.”Timroy is going to be one of the most important players in this tournament for us. The last three games, after Srini [Santhanam] got injured, it was tough for us to balance the team. On Friday, we went with an extra bowler and were a batsman short. [Sunday], we played an extra batsman and were a bowler short. When you go like that, it’s kind of a risk where we don’t know how we’re going to end up. I would say, on Friday, if we had that extra batsman, maybe we would have won that game in that 20 runs.”So, Timroy coming into the team is going to solve a lot of issues. As a top allrounder, he can even bat early in the order, and he can contribute 10 overs. Ali is always, when somebody bowls at 135-plus at this level, is always going to be very effective. In these types of wickets and conditions, he is capable of picking up early wickets and then very good bowling in the death overs. I’m sure both of them are going to make a huge impact by coming into the XI.”Half of the USA squad secured enough time off work to stay on in Los Angeles after the Auty Cup, while the rest went home. They will return to Los Angeles on October 23 for five days of training ahead of their first Division Four game, against Bermuda on October 29. USA will also have a warm-up match on October 25 against a Southern California Cricket Association XI. Dassanayake is hopeful that he can maximise the time he has with the players and translate it into positive results.”Even though we could have done better in the last three games, I’m confident with the talent and ability that I have with these 14 players, and I’m confident going into the tournament,” Dassanayake said. “But in saying that, this team has to do certain things well to win that tournament, and I’m just trying to have time with these players. That’s my toughest job.”

ScorecardSean Dickson made a steady fifty but Kent were dismissed for 230•Getty Images

Northamptonshire are easily branded a team of white-ball specialists. Yet for all their excellence in the limited overs games – T20 champions twice in four seasons, and denied a Royal London Cup semi-final berth only by the majesty of Kumar Sangakkara – the club feel that they have not given the best of themselves in the County Championship.Chances of a tilt at promotion went in the dying embers of spring, never mind the onset of autumn. But an evisceration of Glamorgan last week hinted at Northants’ potential over four days, especially when the end of their white-ball season means that David Ripley does not have to preserve his side’s vitality for limited-overs.The return of the schools in September feels like no time for outground cricket. For Northants, this sepulchral day allowed their seamers to embrace the role of wreckers, intent on ending Kent’s hopes of promotion back to Division One.Jokes about Rory Kleinveldt’s girth are trotted out often, yet Kent would have felt in no mood for them after his skilful swing with the second new ball prevented a score more substantial than 230. Ben Sanderson was relentlessly accurate, and Steven Crook in unyielding mood too.Yet it was Azharullah who left the greatest mark on Kent. First, Sam Northeast, the totem of his side’s batting all season, was induced to give an outside edge behind. Next ball, Darren Stevens’ edge found Rob Keogh at third slip, a dismissal for which the batsman could not be considered culpable.An odd feature of Beckenham is the Kent team analyst occupies the same tent as the media. As a result, batsmen often pop in to watch how they were dismissed. When he did so, Stevens could only rue his bad luck: the delivery had swung in, seamed away and squared him up, the sort of ball to render his outstanding form meaningless.After the end Sean Dickson’s austere 63, an innings in keeping with the sombre mood of the day, Kent slipped to 122 for 6, a position from which they feared not even gaining a single batting point. That they did so owed everything to a contrasting pair of half-centuries.It is only two years since Will Gidman was one of the most sought-after county cricketers in the land. Yet he has spent much of the intervening period marooned in 2nd XI cricket, seemingly a man too good for Division Two but not good enough for Division One. Kent still reckoned that he could assist their attempt to return to Division One for the first since 2010, and in July enlisted him on loan from Nottinghamshire.Gidman’s reputation in Division Two was built on his parsimonious seam bowling, but it is as an unobtrusive middle-order batsman that he has been most valuable for Kent. He plays the ball late, prefers to hit along the ground, and is skilled in working the ball around adroitly – so much so that, when Gidman chipped Graeme White to midwicket for 51, where Kleinveldt took a neat catch, it was the first time that he had been dismissed for Kent in the County Championship. Four innings have brought four half-centuries, an average of 283 and enough, surely, for Kent to be keen to sign him permanently should Gidman be released from the final year of his contract at Trent Bridge.Matt Coles, who could be considered the anti-Gidman, is not the sort to escape notice in anything he does. On this gloomy day, Coles briefly restored a little of the festival feeling that is supposed to be inherent to outgrounds with a sparkling 41-ball half century that was a distillation of Coles’ power, bravado and considerable skill. All were in evidence in an astonishing reverse-sweep for six over midwicket off Rob Keogh’s offspin, the sort of shot to startle any indulging in a late-afternoon nap.Yet when Coles failed to take a wicket in his opening burst, memories of this bravado were overtaken by Kent’s frustration with their opening-day batting. “Wish it was this easy when we batted,” chuntered a Kent member as the evening session meandered to a conclusion with Kent’s promotion ambitions cooling – at least for now.

Match facts

August 20, 2016
Start time 10.45am local (0945GMT)

Big Picture

Well, at least things can only get better for Ireland. It would be hard to go worse than a 255-run shellacking and they will be aiming to narrow the appreciable gap between the sides when the rematch gets underway with only 48 hours in which to recover their composure.Pakistan have had their difficulties against Ireland in the past but, on the back of Sharjeel Khan’s mighty hitting, they breezed to a confidence-boosting victory to start off the limited-overs leg of their tour. There is not much to be gained in the way of rankings points by beating Ireland but winning has yet to become a habit for Azhar Ali’s ODI side.Azhar did not gain any respite from his own trough of 50-over form but Pakistan appear to have a better balance to their side, with several allrounders and a blend of youth and experience. Mohammad Nawaz enjoyed his debut, with fifty and a key wicket, while a successful comeback for Umar Gul was also encouraging.It would be in Pakistan’s interests to come up against a stiffer test ahead of their five-match series against England. Ireland have stuttered through their busiest-ever home season but the incentive of a Full Member scalp remains on the table; they will certainly want to finish without chants of “Pakistan Zindabad!” ringing in their ears.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland LWLWL
Pakistan WLLLL

In the spotlight

With only one fifty in 12 innings, William Porterfield has come in for increasing scrutiny at the top of the order. The long-serving Ireland captain moved down to No. 3 for the first match against Pakistan – though he was at the crease inside the first over after Paul Stirling’s two-ball duck – and he will need to draw on a decade of experience to lift a side that has just posted its lowest total at home.Sharjeel Khan became the seventh opening partner for Azhar Ali since he was made ODI captain after the World Cup and, at a stroke, the most successful. Having scored fifty on debut in 2013, Sharjeel failed to nail down a position and spent two years out of the side. He won a recall in T20s after an impressive PSL and, having swelled his ODI average from 17.63 to 28.83 in one boundary-filled innings, has earned an extended crack.

Teams news

Ireland are likely to stick with most of the team that were so ignominiously manhandled the other day but Peter Chase – whose seven overs cost 70 – could make way for Craig Young.Ireland (probable) 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Ed Joyce, 3 William Porterfield (capt) 4 Niall O’Brien, 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Gary Wilson, 7 Stuart Poynter (wk), 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Tim Murtagh, 10 Barry McCarthy, 11 Peter Chase/Craig YoungYasir Shah and Wahab Riaz were rested after their Test exertions but may want a white-ball game to tune up for the resumption of competition with England. Mohammad Amir could be in line for a break.Pakistan (probable) 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Imad Wasim/Yasir Shah, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Hasan Ali

Pitch and conditions

Porterfield said the surface for the first match “wasn’t a 330-all-out pitch, but it wasn’t an 80-all-out pitch either”. It should provide something for everyone, provided the teams can get on – rain is forecast for much of the day in Dublin.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan’s 255-run win on Thursday was their biggest in ODIs; Ireland’s total of 82 was their second lowest
• Sharjeel Khan’s 61-ball hundred in the first ODI was the fourth fastest for Pakistan
• Niall O’Brien needs 34 runs to become the fourth Ireland player to 2000 in ODIs

Quotes

“It’s a tough learning curve for the younger lads coming into the team – it is a tough school coming in to bowl at the best players in theworld.”

Rahul Dravid believes batsmen in T20 cricket have benefitted from having the “freedom to develop” and the willingness of team managements be “more accepting of failure” than in any other format.Speaking on the second episode of to be aired on Friday night on SONY ESPN, the former India captain said batsmen feel increasingly secure about playing risky shots such as reverse sweeps and paddle sweeps because a dismissal caused by such shot selection isn’t frowned upon. He also highlighted how this freedom to “practice and experiment” with shots has made batsmen get much better at executing them in match situations.”We are more accepting of failure, I think, in T20 cricket than we are in any other form of the game,” Dravid said. “When a batsman takes risks and plays a paddle sweep or a reverse sweep or all the kinds of shots that they play, you’re more likely to view it with a certain degree of acceptance than you would, say, in a Test match or in one-day cricket. This has given batsmen freedom to try and experiment with these things more and they’re getting better and better at it.”Citing the example of AB de Villiers, who has been part of all the nine IPL seasons so far, Dravid said that while he was a batsman of “rare gifts”, de Villiers too had gained from the freedom to experiment.”He’s also had so many opportunities to fail, to learn from them and to keep refining his batting technique for T20,” Dravid said. “Apart from the IPL, he gets other opportunities to practice and experiment with that, and if you keep trying something and you keep failing and learning from it, you are going to get better at it, and that’s what happened with batting techniques. People have been allowed to take a few more risks. They keep doing that over and over again and they get better and better at it.”Dravid, who has been involved with the IPL as player, captain and team mentor over the last nine years, believes that while skill sets have improved dramatically over this time, the batsmen are “slightly ahead” of bowlers on the curve. Though he insists the bowlers are “catching up”, they are restricted by the amount of time they can spend on honing their skills in practice as compared to batsmen.”I think the very nature of bowling is such that you are limited physically in the amount you can do,” he said. “It’s not that you can go on. You hear a batsman batting for an hour, two hours. They can set up bowling machines to mimic certain kinds of balls and they can go on practising. You can’t obviously go on bowling for two hours, two-and-a-half hours, three hours every day because you’re going to get injured or you’re going to break down at some time. So, the opportunities for bowlers to work on their skills is limited physically, by the physical demands and the nature of the job that they are doing. Whereas batsmen, I think, have a little bit of a leeway because they are able to push themselves physically and practice a lot more.”Having observed the strides made by batsmen, in particular power hitters, Dravid also had a word of caution for the administrators as T20 cricket continues to grow. In his view, it is crucial to maintain the “balance between bat and ball” to ensure that the format isn’t reduced to a big-hitting contest.”I see that as one of the major challenges of T20 cricket,” he said. “What we don’t want is every score to become a 200, 200-plus score, where it’s always about power-hitting skills. We want to bring the skills of cricket. We want them on show even in a T20 game. We want somebody to, even if it’s for two overs, you want somebody to negotiate a difficult spell, you want to see someone’s ability against the turning ball and how he negotiates that and how he’s still able to score at seven-eight runs an over against a good spinner on a track that assists the spinner as well. So, I think we need that balance. I think otherwise you just might put up bowling machines and see who hits it further.”Watch with Rahul Dravid at 9.30 pm (IST) on July 15 (Friday) on SONY ESPN

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:34

WATCH – Highlights of the third day’s play

Nearly 10 years have slipped by while Alastair Cook has been a permanent fixture at the top of England’s order in home Tests. His absence at Lord’s was only temporary, the result of a hospital scan on a bruised knee, but in that time England had an unnerving vision of the future as Sri Lanka made them sweat in the final Investec Test.Four down by the close of the third day, England still held a healthy lead of 237, with six wickets – Cook included – and remain overwhelming favourites to win but shorn of his presence for the first time on these shores since Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss opened against Pakistan at The Oval in 2006, their shortcomings were stripped bare.There was another failure for Nick Compton, moved up from No. 3 to fill an emergency opener’s role, that will surely end the second phase of his Test career, his footwork again leaden as Shaminda Eranga brought one down the slope to have him caught at the wicket. There was a first-ball duck, too, for James Vince, who has failed to secure a maiden Test half-century in this series, and who naively left a delivery from Nuwan Pradeep which skipped back down the hill to hit his off stump. So far he has been a player of style rather than substance.”No thoughts of retirement for a while yet” will be England’s exhortation to Cook, a CBE freshly to his name in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. With Pakistan lying in wait later this summer, there will be relief that the x-ray – the result of a blow from Kusal Perera while fielding at silly point – revealed nothing sinister.Pradeep’s zestful display brought him three wickets in all, a shooter accounting for Joe Root, who risked ricking his back on his return to the pavilion as he turned round frequently to watch his demise on the big screen, and a hack across the line by Jonny Bairstow that was a throwback to earlier times. Alex Hales, 41 not out, stood firm but Pradeep would have removed him as well, on 19, if Dimuth Karunaratne had clung to a low chance to his left at second slip and again on 39, shortly before the close, when he glanced Pradeep down the leg side only for Dinesh Chandimal to grass the chance.A Lord’s Test Saturday had swung loyally towards England in the morning, as a place of such ingrained traditions must presumably feel obliged to do when they are Trooping the Colour a few miles down the road for the Queen’s 90th birthday.Sri Lanka’s visions at start of play of conceding more than 400 in the first innings and then winning the Test, as they did at The Oval in their Muttiah Muralitharan-inspired 1998 victory, would have been encouraged by reaching the close on the second day 162 runs to the good and Karunaratne the only casualty.But by lunch, they were obliterated: six down and still trailing by 198, Kusal Mendis, Kaushal Silva and Angelo Mathews all dispatched in the first 7.3 overs as England’s pace attack regained the initiative.Chris Woakes had been the most insistent of England’s attack on the previous evening and that was enough for him to start the day alongside Stuart Broad. There was enough in the air to encourage the bowlers that it would be a more even contest and they pounded a good length – a fuller length than on the previous day – from the outset.Woakes’ first ball of the previous day had brought about the Bairstow howler – and more critical examination of his wicketkeeping role. This time Woakes enjoyed immediate success, winning an lbw as he rammed a delivery down the slope into Mendis’ pads.Silva failed to add to his overnight 79, his edge to Bairstow in Broad’s third over of the morning extending a remarkable record in which he has been caught at the wicket in all nine of his Test innings in England. Repetition around off stump has rarely been more obviously rewarded.England’s energy also extended to Bairstow. When Mathews thick-edged Broad to third man, Hales and Root, giving chase, were shocked to find a red-headed retriever tearing past them and diving full-length in wicketkeeping pads to save the boundary. Such chases are part of Bairstow’s make-up and his pleasure in mildly embarrassing two of his team-mates was evident.Mathews’ pugnacity was needed to restore Sri Lanka’s ambition, but he was defeated by extra bounce from Woakes, going wide on the crease, and Root, quite close at second slip, held a good catch. It was a delivery that encapsulated Woakes’ improvement, a bowler of good habits and decent action now capable of something a little more unsettling.Chandimal was equally uncertain, beginning with an inside-edged four against Woakes and almost scooped up at second slip by Root when Anderson made an unaccustomed late arrival into the attack.It was not long before Chandimal fell, too, lbw to a fullish delivery from Steven Finn and unsuccessfully reviewing in the hope that the ball might have faded down the slope past leg stump. Finn also looked more eager than on the previous day and the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne completed a satisfying England morning, a poor uppish-drive which gave Root another catch.Root, England’s stand-in captain, endured a merry stand of 71 in 17 overs, against old ball and new, by Sri Lanka’s seventh-wicket pair of Perera and Rangana Herath. Perera, back in the Sri Lanka side after overturning drugs allegations, produced some typically emphatic blows and Herath offered good support, chancing his arm and indulging in some puffed-out cheeks fist-pumping with his partner with an air of mild relief.Root’s star fast bowlers were also having a wild mustang moment. Root wisely resisted a headstron g appeal from Broad to review a refused lbw appeal against Herath, and then was spoken to by the umpires regarding Anderson, who indulged in some behind-the-hands muttering at slip (always a sign of trouble afoot).Around the time Cook collected his diagnosis, Sri Lanka’s lower order crumbled. Broad caused Herath to chop on, Perera was caught behind off a bottom edge, attempting to pull, Suranga Lakmal edged Anderson low to second slip, and Woakes, who had followed his highest Test score with a stand-out bowling display, took his third wicket when Eranga edged the first ball of his spell to Vince at third slip.When Anderson dismissed Perera the Anderson-Broad new-ball combination became the most prolific opening partnership in history, overhauling the 493 collected by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and ahead of other notables on the list: Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, and Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.Those wickets have come at five-runs more per wicket – roughly 26 to 21 – but they are all in the book, Anderson and Broad both stand in the top three in the ICC Test bowling rankings and how England will miss them when they are gone. Of Cook, the same was evidently true.