Glamorgan looked set to win before three dropped catches in last three overs came back to haunt them

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2024Gloucestershire 142 for 8 (J Taylor 70, van der Gugten 2-8) beat Glamorgan 140 for 6 (Northeast 46*, M Taylor 3-21) by two wicketsGloucestershire completed a superb win over Glamorgan with Jack Taylor’s 70 setting up a remarkable comeback from 45 for 5 to secure a two-wicket victory.Glamorgan looked certain to claim the win before three dropped catches in the last three overs came back to haunt them as Josh Shaw hit the last ball for six to take the visitors past their target.Runs for Sam Northeast and an excellent spell from Timm van der Gugten had put Glamorgan into a winning position before Taylor’s 70 from 48 balls set up the victory for Gloucestershire.Gloucestershire looked to be heading for a large defeat before Taylor’s innings allowed them snatch the win from the very last ball.The Glamorgan innings was characterised more by touch than by power with their top three looking to work the ball around in very bowling friendly conditions. Kiran Carlson tried some early innovation and was dismissed as a result. He attempted to scoop a ball from Shaw over the keeper and was caught at backward point by Matt Taylor.With the early wickets of Carlson and Labuschagne, Northeast was happy to soak up the pressure that the Gloucestershire seamers applied, and he was going at under a run a run a ball for much of his innings. Northeast finished on 46 not out from 42 balls, the lowest not out score by an opener in a full 20-over innings in the competition’s history. Colin Ingram looked to be more aggressive and fell when he attempted to on drive down the ground off the bowling of Matt Taylor for 25. When Chris Cooke fell to the next ball Glamorgan were 76 for 4. When Ben Kellaway was caught at deep square leg in the next over off Marchant De Lange that became 81 for 5.Dan Douthwaite and Northeast put on the biggest stand of the Glamorgan innings but that was broken after the pair had added 37. Northeast added 22 in the final overs with van der Gugten to get Glamorgan to 140 for 6 from their 20 overs.The Gloucestershire innings got off to a poor start with the new ball once again causing serious difficulties for the batting side. They were 29 for 3 at the end of the powerplay and really struggling to get going.Van der Gugten bowled four consecutive overs from the Cathedral Road end to finish with figures of 2 for 8 in a spell that included a maiden and just one boundary.The introduction of the very first over of spin in this match brought immediate rewards for Glamorgan when Marnus Labuschagne took a spectacular one-handed catch while diving full length off the bowling of Mason Crane to dismiss Ben Charlesworth as Gloucestershire stumbled to 53 for 5 after 10 overs.Jack Taylor batted brilliantly throughout but benefited from some sloppy fielding after he had passed fifty with both Carlson and McIlroy putting him down off the bowling of Crane.Taylor was run out in the last over to seemingly end Gloucestershire’s hopes but Northeast dropped Shaw off the penultimate ball to give him the chance to win the game with his six off the final delivery.

He played four Tests between 1964 and 1967 and was the first Pakistan batter to score a century on Test debut

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2024Former Pakistan allrounder Billy Ibadulla died on Friday at the age of 88. He had a short, but notable international career, playing only four Tests for Pakistan between 1964 and 1967, but became the first from his country to score a hundred on Test debut.Ibadulla made his Test debut against Australia in Karachi in 1964, one of six Test debutants in that game as Pakistan regenerated after their early years of success. Ibadulla had been drafted into the side at the insistence of the captain Hanif Mohammad and he immediately repaid that faith, with 166 in the first innings.He was part of a 249-run opening partnership with fellow debutant, and wicketkeeper, Abdul Kadir. It remains the highest partnership between two debutants for any wicket in Test cricket, and was a national record for the first wicket until Aamer Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed broke it in 1997.He would only go on to play three more Tests though, instead building a fine career with Warwickshire. He was one of the first Pakistanis to play county cricket (AH Kardar had played for Warwickshire for three seasons when Pakistan were not a full member and Khan Mohammad played one game for Somerset), after being overlooked for Pakistan selection for the 1954 tour to England. Unhappy, he came to England to forge a career as a professional cricketer and did so successfully, playing for nearly 18 seasons.That included key roles in two limited-overs cup titles in three years; he took 3-25 and scored 28 in Warwickshire’s four-wicket win in the 1968 final.After he finished at the county, he became a coach at a school in the UK, a sign of things to come. Soon after he moved to New Zealand to play for Otago (and some games for Tasmania in Australia) as well as do some coaching, He played a key role in the early development of Glenn Turner, one of New Zealand’s greatest batters.He ended with a prolific first-class career, scoring 17,078 runs at 27.28 and picking up 462 wickets at 30.96. Of his 417 first-class outings, 377 were for Warwickshire, for whom he played for more than a decade.”He was a special cricketer, one of the greatest, and we had lots of fun times together,” Warwickshire president Dennis Amiss, who played alongside Ibadulla at the club, wrote in a tribute to his former team-mate. “He could be really naughty at times, lots of mickey taking and he gave as good as he got. We loved him at Warwickshire.”In 64 List A matches, Ibadulla scored 829 runs and took 84 wickets. He also stood as an umpire in 20 first-class matches and 12 List A games. He also ran a private coaching clinic in New Zealand.His son, Kassem Ibadulla, also played 31 first-class games and 19 List A games for Gloucestershire and Otago.

Jeffrey Vandersay, who played his lone Test back in June 2022, has also been included

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2024Sri Lanka have named uncapped right-arm seamer Milan Rathnayake and fast-bowling allrounder Nisala Tharaka in an 18-member squad for the three-match Test series against England later this month.The squad also marks the return of Pathum Nissanka in the longest format. Nissanka made his Test debut in March 2021 but has not played a Test match since the middle of 2022, having since been displaced by Nishan Madushka at the top of the order.Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who played his lone Test back in June 2022 against Australia, has also been brought back after an impressive showing in the second ODI against India where he picked a career-best 6 for 33.This is a first call-up for 33-year-old Tharaka, a veteran of 107 first-class games in which he has picked 257 wickets and scored 2358 runs with a highest score of 107. His most recent performance of significance was for Sri Lanka A against Afghanistan A in May when he took six wickets for 42 runs in the second innings.Rathnayake, 28, had been selected in Sri Lanka’s Test squad earlier, most recently for a one-off Test against Afghanistan but is yet to get a game. He has played 39 first-class matches and picked 79 wickets and also scored 633 runs with a highest score of 59. Rathnayake has been a consistent performer in the Sri Lanka A side.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Dhananjaya de Silva will lead the side with Kusal Mendis as his deputy. Sri Lanka have gone with a pace-heavy squad which includes Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Tharaka and Ratnayake as the fast bowlers. Angelo Mathews, who has had occasional success with his seam bowling in England, is also in the squad.Vandersay, Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya are the main spin options. Ramesh and Jayasuriya have been Sri Lanka’s primary Test spinners over the past 18 months.Although many of the players named in this squad are currently involved in the ODI series against India, six Test specialists flew on Saturday to England to begin training. Vishwa also played three County Championship matches for Yorkshire as part of his own preparation.The first Test between Sri Lanka and England gets underway on August 21 in Manchester before the teams travel to Lord’s for the second Test on August 29. They will finish with the third Test at The Oval on September 6.

Sri Lanka squad for Tests vs England

Dhananjaya De Silva (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (vice-capt), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake

New Zealand batter also touches on the importance of learning to play differently in the subcontinent

Alagappan Muthu07-Sep-20241:08

Williamson: We’re going to be challenged in a number of ways

New Zealand are about to embark on a period where they will play six Tests in two months. That’s rare, on two counts. First, it’s almost a whole year’s work for them – like in 2020 and 2021, when they went on to become the inaugural World Test Champions. And second, all of those matches are in Asia. In the last decade, they have never played more than three subcontinent Tests in a single year. This eight-week trip, starting with the one-off game against Afghanistan on Monday, then the two against Sri Lanka, and finally the three against India, is essentially uncharted territory.Kane Williamson acknowledged it when speaking to the media on Saturday. “You know such a volume of Test cricket that we don’t usually get, and obviously in this part of the world,” he said in Greater Noida.New Zealand’s record in Asia is underwhelming, with 16 wins from 90 Tests. They have found it even harder to succeed in India – 2 wins in 36 Tests. Lots of effort is being made to improve on this. Domestic teams have been touring the country for a good while now. The next generation of New Zealand batters and bowlers have put in a lot of time trying to expand their game to succeed in conditions where spin plays a huge role. Allrounder Rachin Ravindra and fast bowler Ben Sears joined the Test squad in Uttar Pradesh after a four-day training camp in Chennai with their Wellington team-mates.Related

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Williamson highlighted the importance of New Zealand learning to play differently in Asia and touched on the difficulty of playing long-form cricket in just staccato bursts.”I think it’s absolutely about trying to adjust your game,” he said, “because we’re not here consistently in this format. We go through quite long intervals of not playing here. So you know it is trying to sort of familiarise yourself again and for us, our last Test match was sort of six or eight months ago. So you know, as a team it’s really connecting with that again as a red-ball group and looking to apply our skills, our plans as well as we can.”0:32

Williamson: Root has been something else for a period of time

Williamson, himself, a veteran of over 100 Tests and a leading member of the Fab Four, is yet to fully crack batting in India and Sri Lanka. In 22 innings, he averages 31.36 and has managed only five fifty-plus scores. One of them was his debut innings, back in 2010, when he was at the crease for 299 balls to score 131. Since then, however, only five of his knocks have lasted 100 balls or more. The defensive skill which sets him apart, and enables him to shape so much of New Zealand’s fortunes on their own turf, is severely tested by the quality of the bowling and the nature of the conditions here.Williamson was looking forward, though, to facing that challenge again, starting with New Zealand’s first ever Test match against Afghanistan. “It’s really important that we look to grow as a unit,” he said. “It’s nice and clear on how we want to play over here. We always know that it’s a tough challenge whenever you play in these parts of the world, slightly different from back home. But you know always a great experience and playing against a really, really strong side.”New Zealand have bolstered their support staff, on a short-term basis, with the additions of Sri Lankan spin legend Rangana Herath and former India batting coach Vikram Rathour as they push for a better result in the 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship. They finished sixth out of nine teams last time. This time, they occupy third place, behind India and Australia.”In some ways it’s like tournament sport, isn’t it?” Williamson said. “Even though it’s over a longer period of time in the Test Championship, but the value of games is high. The context around Test cricket with the Test Championship is really key and it’s brought out a lot of really exciting games. And so naturally having six Test matches together is a big part of our Test Championship calendar and one that we’re excited about.”

McMullen scored his third half-century in four matches against Australia, but once again it went in vain

Abhimanyu Bose07-Sep-2024An all-round display from Cameron Green, coupled with some excellent fielding, helped Australia complete a 3-0 sweep against Scotland at Edinburgh.Green first registered his career-best figures to help restrict the hosts to 149 for 9 before anchoring the chase with his highest score as Australia overcame the challenge of losing their openers early and completed the chase with 23 balls to spare.Brandon McMullen scored his third half-century in four matches against Australia, but once again, it wasn’t enough as he and opener George Munsey were the only batters to make significant contributions for Scotland.

Currie gets Australia’s openers again

Unlike in the first match of the series, where they blitzed 156 inside ten overs, Australia got off to a nervy start in their chase. McMullen took a blinder, diving low to his left at backward point, to dismiss Jake Fraser-McGurk off Brad Currie for the batter’s second duck of the series.In his next over, Currie had Head hole out to long-on to account for both Australia openers in his first two overs for two matches in a row.Brad Currie dismissed the Australia openers for the second straight match•Getty Images

Green, Marsh bring the chase under control

But Mitchell Marsh, back at No. 3 after demoting himself down the order in the second game, and Cameron Green stitched a 61-run stand that put Australia in control.Currie was given a third consecutive over in the powerplay as Scotland looked to make the most of the early movement on offer. But Marsh and Green took on the left-arm quick in the sixth over, with both batters hitting him for sixes between long-on and deep midwicket.Marsh then pulled Chris Sole for a six before getting a boundary off Safyaan Sharif. When Mark Watt entered the attack, Green drove him down the ground for four before launching him for a six over long-on.Jack Jarvis then got a breakthrough for Scotland when Marsh chopped on trying to pull a length ball that stuck in the pitch.But Green and Tim David continued to attack, hitting a six in each of the next three overs, the best of which came off Watt’s bowling as Green reverse-swept him over backward point.Green then drove Jarvis down the ground before getting to a 33-ball fifty with a single.David, who hit two fours to end that Jarvis over, holed out off Sole’s slower short ball to deep-backward square leg, but by then Australia just needed 19 off 34 balls.Green continued to take on Watt, hitting him for another six, before Aaron Hardie hit the winning runs with a square drive for his second boundary.Brandon McMullen scored his third fifty in four T20Is against Australia•SNS Group/Getty Images

Munsey drives Scotland’s good start

An injury to Michael Jones brought Ollie Hairs back into the side, and he was the one who gave Scotland the early momentum after Australia chose to bowl. He hit Hardie over covers for four before pulling Sean Abbott for six. But Hardie then had him chopping on to give Australia their first breakthrough.Munsey, who was struggling till then, ended the third over with a six whipped over midwicket with fast hands. Debutant Cooper Connolly was given the ball in the powerplay and was greeted by McMullen with a six over long-on. In the next over, McMullen hooked Stoinis for four.Green was entrusted with the sixth over, and drew Munsey’s inside edge that went past the stumps for four. Munsey deposited the next ball over cow corner but Green then cramped him for room and had him steering a catch to backward point.

McMullen stands tall for Scotland

The scoring slowed down after the fielding restrictions were relaxed. Green then bowled Richie Berrington through the gate with one that jagged in from outside off. But McMullen continued his excellent form against Australia, hooking Green for a six. When Cross was bowled by Adam Zampa three overs later, McMullen responded by lofting the legspinner over long-on.McMullen held steady even as Michael Leask holed out to a good diving catch by David at long-on off Abbott. He hit Connolly for a four to bring up his half-century off 32 balls.But Head took a stunning catch at short fine leg to end McMullen’s innings. McMullen looked to scoop a short ball around off over his shoulder and it was timed well, but Head moved to his right and plucked it.Scotland managed just 11 runs for the loss of three wickets in the remaining 20 deliveries, with Green dismissing Mark Watt in the final over to register his first three-wicket haul in all T20s.

The umpires replaced the ball before the start of the final day in Mackay

Andrew McGlashan03-Nov-2024Ishan Kishan will not be charged with dissent despite an on-field argument with an umpire on the fourth day in Mackay after India A were unhappy with the ball being changed.Before the first ball of the final day, umpire Shawn Craig told the Indian players the ball was changed because it was scratched, which raised the spectre of ball tampering, but a Cricket Australia statement later said it was due to “deterioration”.”You scratch it, we change the ball. No more discussion, let’s play,” Craig was heard saying over the stump microphones.That led to a heated exchange with Kishan who replied: “So we are going to play with this ball…that’s a very stupid decision.”Craig responded: “Excuse me, you’ll be on report for dissent. That’s inappropriate behaviour. Because of your actions we changed the ball.”Under the CA playing conditions, umpires are able to change the ball without awarding a five-run penalty, which is part of the laws and playing conditions for altering the condition of the ball, if there is uncertainty over how the damage occurred.CA playing condition 41.3.4 reads: “If the umpires together suspect, but are not certain, that the condition of the ball has been unfairly changed, or that its condition is inconsistent with the use it has received, the umpires may: Change the ball forthwith. The umpires shall choose a replacement ball for one of similar wear and of the same brand as the ball in use prior to the contravention; Bowler’s end umpire shall issue the captain with a first and final warning.”Three hours after the match finished, CA issued a statement saying the ball had been changed because of “deterioration” despite what was heard over the stump microphones on the coverage.”The ball used in the fourth innings of the match was changed due to deterioration,” a CA spokesperson said. “Both teams’ captain and manager were informed of the decision prior to the start of play. No further action is being taken.”Kishan will also escape any punishment despite his exchange with Craig.Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney was at the crease when play resumed but was involved in what went on.”I was at the striker’s end when the umpires said they’d changed the ball, I’m not sure what quite for, I didn’t notice any change in the ball personally,” he said.Kishan is not part of India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and neither is India A captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, from the XI which featured for the first game Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna will stay on for the Test series.The scenes at the start of play added unexpected drama to the closing stages of the first four-day game which saw McSweeney make a strong claim for a place in Australia’s Test squad as he finished unbeaten on 88 in the chase. He added an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 141 with Beau Webster who also produced a very controlled innings.Once India A didn’t make early breakthroughs on the final morning they started to go through the motions with Sai Sudharsan sending down six overs of rather friendly spin.

Regular captain Shanto continues to miss out due to a groin strain

Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2024Mehidy Hasan Miraz will continue to lead Bangladesh in regular captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s absence in the ODI series against West Indies. Mehidy was named captain for the ongoing two-Test series in the Caribbean, which the hosts are leading 1-0, with Shanto missing out due to groin strain. Shakib Al Hasan, who has not played for Bangladesh since the Tests in India, continues to miss out, with BCB president Faruque Ahmed saying the senior allrounder was not “in a mental state to play for the country”.Middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy also misses out due to a groin injury which he picked up while playing football recently. Mushfiqur Rahim also misses out as he recovers from finger injury, while Mustafizur Rahman has opted out of the series due to personal reasons. Left-handed opener Zakir Hasan, meanwhile, has been dropped. Litton Das, who missed the ODIs against Afghanistan in November, returns to the side, while Parvez Hossain Emon, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Hasan Mahmud and Tanzim Hasan Sakib have also been included.Shakib, who retired from Tests and T20Is in September, missed the ODIs against Afghanistan last month too. He was part of the Abu Dhabi T10 where he played seven matches for Bangla Tigers. He had not traveled to Dhaka to play his farewell Test, against South Africa, in October because of protests against him after being named in an FIR for an alleged murder during the political unrest in the country.BCB president Ahmed said Shakib remained in contention for selection in ODIs, adding that he needed sufficient preparation to get back into the national side.”Right now, he [Shakib] is still in the list,” Ahmed said. “We hope that the issues get solved in the way he wants. Definitely, he still possesses the capability to play for the national team. Playing for a franchise and playing for the country is not the same thing. You need preparation and also you really need to gel with the team. Since he can’t do those things, I don’t think he is in a mental state to play for the country. Because of that, we have left this thing up to him.”The players named for the ODIs will leave Dhaka on Monday to link with the rest of the players in St Kitts to play the three ODIs on December 8, 10 and 12.

Bangladesh ODI squad vs West Indies

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Litton Das (wk), Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Parvez Hossain, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Afif Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan, Nahid Rana.

In Multan, WI knew they had to get their runs before the ball with their name on it came and they did that

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2025West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said that batters had to be brave and trust their plans to succeed on the difficult pitches in Multan, after they won the second of two Tests to level the series and also create a little bit of history. This 120-run victory was their first in Pakistan for 34 years.Brathwaite led by example. After being part of a collapse that left West Indies 38 for 7 in the first innings, he chose a far more aggressive approach in the second. In fact, he made his fastest fifty in Tests, consciously taking chances against the Pakistan spinners. This approach earned West Indies a lead of 254 and it proved plenty more than enough.”Both Test matches the pitch was tough to bat on and we knew that so as I said I just wanted us to be brave, to do whatever plans we have, to go there and execute them as good as possible, because regardless of what there will be a ball with your with your name on it on this pitch,” Brathwaite told reporters after the second Test in Multan on Monday.Related

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“I mean it was a difficult pitch to bat on so it was good to see the confidence we went about doing it and you know as I said very proud of this team.”It was just for the batsmen to be brave you know. I mean as batsmen, as I said everyone’s going to have their plans. Be brave in whatever you want to do as batsmen,” Brathwaite said about West Indies’ strategy. “Bowling wise bring forward the batsmen as much as possible and there will be 20 balls that you will get 20 wickets because as I said the pitch is a difficult pitch so there’s no second guessing.Brathwaite maintained that the pitch was “very, very difficult” but had no complaints about PCB preparing spinning tracks.”I would say Pakistan could prepare the pitch how they want. What I’ll say is batsman will not be averaging high on these pitches. You would average 15-20 and obviously the spinners will do well. and as I said it’s a difficult Test pitch to score runs. You’re going to get out regardless, it’s just a matter of when. So you know as batters we had to come up with a plan of how we want to score and put runs on the board.”Jomel Warrican finished the series as the leading wicket-taker•AFP/Getty Images

Brathwaite also heaped praise on Jomel Warrican. The left-arm spinner finished the series with 19 wickets – the most by a visiting bowler in a two-Test series in Pakistan.”Jomel was outstanding. To see how he went about his bowling and the pressure he built from from ball one, I mean it was amazing,” Brathwaite said.Warrican also put in a crucial contribution with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 36 in the first innings, with his 68-run stand for the last wicket with Gudakesh Motie key in reviving West Indies from being 38 for 7 after they won the toss and chose to bat.”With the bat you can’t count him out, I think he did a fantastic job with the bat as well. But bowling wise I know he’s worked hard over the years. He’s been in and out of the team but it’s good to see him get the chance and he grabbed it. very very proud of him uh he was outstanding.”West Indies’ triumph in Multan came almost exactly a year after Gabba 2024, and Brathwaite said it showed their ability to adapt to different conditions.”It’s a very important win for us it just shows that we can get it done in any conditions once we believe and always have a plan,” he said. “It’s right up there with some amazing Test wins because coming here, playing here in Pakistan, it’s never easy to win a test match you know so coming up with a win is fantastic.”

This is the second time Gill is at the summit; the last time was during the 2023 ODI World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2025Shubman Gill and Maheesh Theekshana have become the new No. 1 men’s ODI batter and bowler respectively in the ICC rankings update released on the opening day of the Champions Trophy. Gill has gone past Babar Azam on his list, while Theekshana has gone past Rashid Khan on his.Gill had an excellent time of it in the home ODI series against England, which India won 3-0, with scores of 87, 60 and 112, which made him the top run-getter in the series, his 259 runs coming at an average of 86.33 and a strike rate of 103.60. The next highest scorer, Shreyas Iyer, was 78 behind Gill with 181 runs.This is the second time Gill has gone to the top of the pile in ODI cricket – the previous occasion was during the ODI World Cup in 2023.

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Gill’s rise has pushed Babar to second place. Gill has 796 rating points, while Babar has 773.They are followed in the top five by Rohit Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Daryl Mitchell, who has moved up two places after the tri-series in Pakistan where he scored 81, 10 and 57.Following the two-ODI series against England, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka has moved up eight spots to No. 8, while Mohammad Rizwan, the Pakistan captain, has reached 15th place.Maheesh Theekshana became the seventh Sri Lanka bowler to bag an ODI hat-trick during the Australia series•Getty Images

Sri Lanka are not a part of the Champions Trophy, having missed out on qualification, but along with Asalanka, Theekshana made the most of the two-ODI series at home against Australia, returning 4 for 40 and none for 11.Rashid, who hasn’t played an ODI since last December, has slipped to the second spot, but isn’t too far behind Theekshana – he has 669 ratings points to the table-topper’s 680, and a good Champions Trophy campaign can take him back to the top.Behind Theekshana and Rashid on the bowlers’ table is Namibia’s Bernard Scholtz, followed by India’s Kuldeep Yadav and Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi in the top five. Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand captain, has made big moves too, his five wickets in the three ODIs in the Pakistan tri-series giving him a five-spot boost and putting him at No. 7.

The visitors struck early in the final innings to leave Zimbabwe at 38 for 3 chasing 292 in Bulawayo

Ekanth08-Feb-2025Ireland are well placed to complete a hat-trick of Test wins after setting Zimbabwe a target of 292 and reducing them to 38 for 3 at stumps. Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker struck fifties with contributions all the way down the order helping them take control of the game in Bulawayo.Richard Ngarava, who took three of the last four wickets to fall, finished with a four-four; but it was the part-time spin of Wessly Madhevere that removed Balbirnie and Andy McBrine – Ireland’s top scorers of the second and first innings respectively.Balbinie started the day with Campher and the duo grew their partnership from 37 to 75 with relative ease. There were nicks – like in the first over of the day – that weren’t carrying, the funky fields from Jonathan Campbell weren’t forcing batters into shots, and Blessing Muzarababi’s five-over opening spell was seen off without loss.Campher picked up two boundaries off Trevor Gwandu – a stylish whip and a technically sound straight drive – before the bowler found his length to quieten the batter and then nick him off after drinks.Ireland were 121 for 2 – a great entry point for Harry Tector, who got off a pair and got into his innings cautiously. Balbirnie, meanwhile, coasted along at his own pace to bring up a 106-ball fifty. He nearly dragged one on in the 34th over and weathered an examination by spin to take the lead up to 142 at lunch.The spin of Campbell and Madhevere took hold after the break; first with the former ripping a legbreak to beat Tector’s full-faced block and trap him lbw, then the latter ripping an offbreak to beat Balbirnie’s flick to do the same.Paul Stirling, who was more generous in peppering attack with defence, swept Madhevere over square leg for six and heaved Campbell wide of mid-on for four. He was out caught down leg, trying to pull Muzarabani fine, but was unhappy with the decision.Tucker was off to a quick start too. He swept Campbell for two fours in the 59th over and consolidated after Stirling fell. He stitched handy 39-run and 23-run stands with McBrine and Mark Adair as Zimbabwe kept at it with spin before the second new ball became available.Trevor Gwandu had Curtis Campher caught behind•Zimbabwe Cricket

McBrine was troubled by Madhevere, who beat his outside edge first (71st over) then snagged it for Nick Welch at slip to complete the catch (75th). Adair slogged a six off Madhevere and was comfortable against the old ball but edged two of the five he faced against the new ball, the second of which went to Takudzwanashe Kaitano’s hands at slip. It left Ireland 261 for 7 at tea.Ngarava toyed with Barry McCarthy before knocking him over with a well-executed slower ball. Gwandu got a shortish ball to skid past Craig Young’s defences but that inconsistent bounce might be something that comes back to haunt Zimbabwe soon. Tucker and Matthew Humphreys, the last pair to bat, did run and walk along the danger area of the pitch a couple of times, but they were not pulled up by the umpires.Tucker brought up fifty by pulling Ngarava and then flayed him over extra cover. But when he charged and tried to slap him over the off side two overs later, the top edge took the ball straight to cover. Ireland, who had conceded a seven-run lead, were all out for 298.Zimbabwe came out to bat with an hour left in the day and McCarthy induced an edge from Ben Curran in the sixth over to have the opener caught behind for the second time in the game. A length ball that went away was set up by a few coming in to find the edge.Adair ended Kaitano’s promising start, which included three boundaries, with another set-up. This time with outswingers before slowing up a fullish ball to beat the inside edge and hit the stumps.Humphreys trapped Welch, Zimbabwe’s top scorer in the first innings, lbw with an arm ball that beat his flick. It brought Gwandu for nightwatch duty and he survived 12 balls to stumps. Brian Bennett, in at No. 4, had a close shave in the final over.The highest successful chase in the fourth innings in a Test hosted by Zimbabwe is 192. So, the hosts will need to break that record if they are to win.