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South African leads way to down Surrey and keep Lightning in Finals Day contention

ECB Reporters Network15-Aug-2019Mignon du Preez struck a majestic unbeaten half century as Loughborough Lightning crushed hosts Surrey Stars by seven wickets at Guildford.The former South African captain made 70 off just 41 balls, sharing an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 92 with Georgia Adams, meaning Lightning made short work of a below par target of 121.Earlier, Surrey Stars had struggled to muster 120, their efforts strangled by tight bowling from Hayley Matthews and Kathryn Bryce in particular.Jenny Gunn, standing in for Georgia Elwiss as Loughborough skipper won the toss and chose to field, and the decision initially looked questionable as Lizelle Lee launched four boundaries off the second over bowled by Tara Norris to give the Stars some early impetus.Bryony Smith attempted to follow suit, hitting the game’s first six off Gunn, but skied the next ball to Chaman Attapattu at cover.Lee was given a life when she pulled a short one from Hayley Matthews behind square, the ball going through the hands of Glenn and away to the boundary, but fears it would be a costly were erased later in the over when Matthews lured Lee down the pitch and she was expertly stumped by Amy Jones.Marizanne Kapp and Stars’ skipper Nat Sciver attempted a rebuild, the former striking a six which just cleared mid-on. However, in attempting to repeat the shot in the next over, the South African all-rounder picked out Norris on the fence.With the pitch slow and Gunn rotating her bowlers cleverly, even the usually free-scoring Sciver struggled to get the ball away, eating up 27 balls for 23.Frustration ultimately got the better of her as she missed an ugly heave to cow corner off Matthews and over-balanced, giving Jones her second stumping of the day.Thereafter, only Dane van Niekerk, who hit a huge six into the car park, briefly broke the shackles as Stars limped to 120-7.The hosts needed early wickets and Mady Villiers delivered when Matthews hoisted her into the hands of Kapp at deep mid-wicket with just eight on the board.Kapp was in the action again next over ball in hand, though the wicket of Jones owed much to a stunning catch from Lee, who flung herself full length at point to take the ball inches from the ground, and when Aylish Cranstone clung on to a top edge from Attapattu off Van Niekerk, Lightning were wobbling at 31 for 3.Their hopes appeared to rest on the duo of du Preez and Georgia Adams and the former struck four early boundaries as 50 came up in the eighth over.The former South African skipper punished both Laura Marsh and Sciver as runs came quickly helped by several fumbes in the field from Stars. Adams caught the mood, sweeping Villiers to the fence to raise the fifty partnership in just 38 balls.Du Preez raced to 50 in just 33 balls courtesy of her ninth four and three more followed as Lightning romped home with 31 balls to spare.

Memphis Depay hit out at criticism over his new look as he claimed his girlfriend adores his appearance.

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Depay hits out at criticsSporting a new look on the fieldNetherlands beat Iceland 4-0WHAT HAPPENED?

The former Manchester United and Barcelona forward played an important role in the Netherlands' 4-0 win over Iceland in their final international friendly on Monday ahead of Euro 2024. Depay had found the back of the net in the game but his goal was ruled out due to a handball.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The 30-year-old's new on-field look, where he was seen sporting a headband, has been a subject of criticism among a section of fans in the Netherlands. On Monday, however, he defended his new appearance while speaking to the press after the game.

WHAT MEMPHIS DEPAY SAID

Speaking to reporters, Depay said: "The previous match I made twenty minutes of time for the press in the mixed zone. And I haven't had any questions about it. Who cares? Who cares? It looks great on me and helps me sweat.

"My girlfriend likes that sweatband. Amazing, right? It's a new look and I feel good about it. I'm already thinking about what colour I'm going to wear in Germany."

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR NETHERLANDS?

After registering back-to-back thumping wins over Canada and Iceland respectively, Ronald Koeman's side will begin their Euro 2024 journey in Germany on Sunday against Poland.

After taking 7 for 22 in the last ODI between the sides, Australian all-rounder says the stage is set for an exciting Test

Valkerie Baynes17-Jul-2019Having had a full week to reflect on her remarkable bowling feats in the third ODI against England, allrounder Ellyse Perry was as humble as she had been while receiving the Player of Match award in front of her team-mates and – very humbled – rivals two Sunday evenings ago in Canterbury.Perhaps it was the fact she was still surrounded by her fellow Australian players on the team bus as they made the journey to Taunton for the Ashes Test starting on Thursday, perhaps there was something in the fact it sounded like she had just been awoken from a nap when she picked up the phone. But a modest, understated, team-first attitude seems simply to be Perry’s style.”I think it did come out of the blue, to be honest,” Perry said of her career-best 7 for 22 which routed England, bowled out for 75, and sealed a 3-0 ODI series victory, worth six Ashes points. It was also the the best ODI bowling performance ever by an Australian woman.Ellyse Perry picked 7 for 22, the best by an Australian woman in ODIs•Getty ImagesShe credited Australia bowling coach Ben Sawyer, who is also head coach of Perry’s WBBL side Sydney Sixers, with helping her – and, of course, her fellow bowlers – since he joined the national team last September.”I’ve been really fortunate to work with Ben Sawyer for a number of years now and we just always try to keep developing and progressing things as a bowling unit,” Perry said. “For whatever reason the other day it was just my day and it went my way and I guess you have those days every now and then when you play. It was just one of those ones that I can’t really explain but it was nice.”Perry had another one of those days the last time Australia played England in a Test. Her unbeaten 213 in the drawn match at North Sydney Oval in November 2017, is the third-highest in a Test innings by any woman.An elite athlete, Perry takes a keen interest in many sports, having gone to watch Roger Federer play Kei Nishikori and Novak Djokovic against David Goffin in the Wimbledon quarter-finals and kept tabs on the FIFA Women’s World Cup, having made 18 appearances for Australia’s national team, the Matildas, in her previous career as a football player.”It feels like a long, long time ago now but I certainly, like anyone else, absolutely love the Matildas and enjoy following their progress and how they’re going,” Perry said. “But personally I think football feels like a whole other career ago, I guess. With England making it to the semi-finals there was a lot of buzz over here. It was really big news and I kept a bit of an eye on it.”But back to cricket, and the team. Perry, who has played all of her seven career Tests against England, expects the hosts to come out firing, given they must win the match to keep alive any hope of wrenching the Ashes from Australia.”The situation has set up a really exciting Test match because I know as a team we’re really eager to play an exciting, enjoyable brand of cricket to watch and part of that is trying to push for a result and be successful in the Test match,” Perry said. “England are in a position now where they need to win the Test match, so from that point of view, it means there’s going to be some really great cricket played.”England are an incredibly capable side with a number of very, very good players. I know they’ve been disappointed with how they’ve performed in the series so far but I think we’re all incredibly wary of them and what they’re capable of doing and given the pressure that they’re under to be aggressive and play well and win this match coming up it’s going to be a really good fight for us.”

Napoli are proving stubborn in Paris Saint-Germain's pursuit of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, despite the Ligue 1 side agreeing personal terms with the star.

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Kvaratskhelia on PSG's radarFrench outfit facing life without MbappeNapoli still need convincing WHAT HAPPENED?

Ligue 1 giants PSG, facing a future sans Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe, are keen to sign Kvaratskhelia, who has made waves since signing for Napoli in 2022. According to , Luis Enrique and PSG sporting director Luis Campos believe the 23-year-old can be a star on the left side of the attack at the Parc des Princes.

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Kvaratskhelia, set to star for Georgia at Euro 2024, won't come cheap. An opening offer of €100 million (£85m/$109m) was denied by PSG, but it's obvious that the winger will cost a sizeable sum. He was named in the Serie A Team of the Season in 2022-23 and, at the age of 23, is still far from his prime. As a result, Napoli are well within their right to wait for a club to truly splash the cash.

NAPOLI WON'T MAKE IT EASY

Napoli aren't, however, ready to grant Kvaratskhelia his wish to leave. go on to claim that PSG will need the Italians to lower their valuation of the player, and are ready to stick to their own estimation of around €60m (£51m/$65m).

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR KVARATSKHELIA?

The transfer drama can wait for Kvaratskhelia, who is about to represent Georgia at their first ever major international tournament. The Crusaders will take on Turkey, Portugal and Czech Republic in Group F of the competition, which gets underway on June 14.

The Dutchman has done an excellent job at Feyenoord, but his arrival at Anfield has underwhelmed pundits and supporters

Finding a replacement for Jurgen Klopp that would excite Liverpool fans anywhere near as much as the incredibly charismatic German was always going to be tough. From the moment Xabi Alonso ruled himself out of the running, though, it became impossible.

The Spaniard was an Anfield icon during his illustrious playing career. Now even Klopp considers him the outstanding young coach of his generation because of the sensational job he's doing at Bayer Leverkusen. So, anybody other than Alonso was going to feel like a little bit of a letdown. However, the sense of deflation surrounding Arne Slot's arrival from Feyenoord has still been staggering, no matter how much Klopp has tried to change that with his show of support from the Anfield halfway-line as he himself bowed out.

It's not just that Liverpool fans and followers are underwhelmed; they're also confused. Former forward John Aldridge didn't even think that the Dutchman was in the running. Worse still, Robbie Fowler was so unfamiliar with Slot and his achievements that he had to Google him – and was horrified to learn that his team weren't even top of the Eredivisie.

Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, felt that the appointment proved there is a "dearth of real top managers out there" at the moment, which only made him lament the loss of Klopp even more.

"If Jurgen was in charge next season, Liverpool would move forward and challenge again at home and in Europe," the ex-Reds defender wrote in . "With Slot, that absolute belief will give way to hope." And even fear among some supporters, who are already scared stiff that Liverpool are bringing in their very own Erik ten Hag.

Getty ImagesUnjust comparisons

The comparisons with Ten Hag were inevitable, but also unfair. Indeed, it feels like much of the scepticism around Slot is rooted in the fact that he is also Dutch, and also bald. For those reasons alone, he is seemingly destined to struggle as much on Merseyside as Ten Hag is in Manchester.

It's a ludicrously reductive argument, of course. There are unquestionably parallels between their respective coaching careers and both were shaped by their nation's rich footballing heritage, including the 'Total Football' of the 1970s played by Netherlands and Ajax, with whom Ten Hag won three Eredivisie titles before moving to Old Trafford in 2022.

"Arne was influenced by Johan Cruyff's philosophy and loves to set his teams up on the front foot," former Dutch international Johnny Rep explained.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesGuardiola links

There's also a Pep Guardiola connection. Ten Hag worked at Bayern Munich during the Catalan's spell in charge at the Allianz Arena and was nicknamed 'Mini-Pep' because of his similar style of play with the Bavarians' B team between 2013 and 2015.

Slot, meanwhile, has never hidden his admiration for Guardiola, whom he previously described in an interview with as "a control freak just like me". He's also admitted that watching Manchester City is "the ultimate joy in football" and that his Feyenoord side is loosely modelled on the Premier League champions.

"It is not my intention to compare us with them," Slot said, "[but they] have a similar style of play to how we want to play with Feyenoord: 4-3-3, building up from the back, wanting to apply pressure quickly."

Getty'Own vision'

However, while it's clear that Slot has been greatly influenced by the Cruyff-ian principles of play that Guardiola learned as a player at Camp Nou and has arguably since taken to a whole other level as coach, it's not as if he isn't married to one approach.

"He's always studying other teams and thinking about how his team can improve and evolve," former Feyenoord and Liverpool attacker Dirk Kuyt told . "Tactically, he’s very strong. What people like most in Holland, where his reputation is so high, is that he has his own vision, his style of play…

"What struck me about Arne was his ability to make the players believe in what he believes in. I talked to some of them when I was there and they all spoke so highly about him. They love how he organises the training sessions and how he gets his ideas across. Watching Feyenoord in recent years, you can see his signature on the team in how he wants football to be played. He gets the best out of people…

"The news that Liverpool had decided to go for Slot came out of the blue. I was surprised because since Jurgen said he would be leaving at the end of the season, other names had been mentioned as possible contenders. But it makes a lot of sense."

(C)Getty ImagesBest coach in the Netherlands

Certainly, nobody who has followed Slot's coaching career is in any doubt Anfield will enjoy the offensive brand of football he has successfully implemented at not only Feyenoord, but also AZ Alkmaar on shoe-string budgets. Indeed, it's worth noting that before Covid-19 curtailed the 2020-21 Eredivisie season, Slot's AZ were level on points with Ten Hag's Ajax at the top of the table.

Furthermore, when the latter won the title again in 2022, it was Slot who won the Rinus Michels Award for coach of the season having led Feyenoord to a surprise third-placed finish at the end of his first campaign in Rotterdam.

He claimed the prestigious prize again after masterminding a stunning league win the following year. It was Feyenoord's 16th title triumph, but one of their most surprising, given they had nothing like the same resources or strength in depth as traditional rivals Ajax and PSV, and had been forced to cash in on several key players before the season had even begun.

Captain Dimuth Karunaratne has told his team to forget about the first half of their World Cup campaign and pick themselves up for the second half

Alan Gardner in Leeds20-Jun-2019So far in this World Cup, Sri Lanka have been following the English blueprint. Unfortunately, it is not the one that has made the host nation one of the favourites to lift the trophy; rather, they appear to have channelled the spirit of various England campaigns between 1996 and 2015, in which last-minute changes to captaincy and personnel paved the way for predictably underwhelming results.At the last two tournaments, England’s defeats to Sri Lanka were particularly symbolic. In 2011, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga raced each other to hundreds and, almost as a pleasing byproduct, knocked England out at the quarter-final stage. Four years later, Joe Root’s first World Cup century was upstaged by one apiece from Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne delivering a similar punchline in a nine-wicket win.Sri Lanka have, in fact, won four of their last five World Cup encounters against England. At Faisalabad in 1996, Sanath Jayasuriya’s 44-ball 82 signposted how the game had changed – but now it is England who are bending the white-ball game into new shapes, having just broken their own world record for the number of sixes in an ODI while crashing their way to 397 against Afghanistan on Tuesday.Asked how his side planned to tackle England’s ebullient batting line-up, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne suggested they had come up with some plans that involved “thinking out of the box”. He said the initial target was to try and limit England to less than 300, a score they have surpassed in eight of their last nine innings.”England are a good side, they have a good batting line-up,” he said. “We have to give them less than 300, so we have a couple of plans against the batters. Those are the things were are trying to do. In [our] batting line-up, the middle part have to take some responsibility, if they have scored more than 300 then we have to go for that. Those are the key things we discussed before the match.”If we don’t have pace, we have to think out of the box. That’s what we did the last few days, [work on] what we have to do with England’s batsmen. We played a home series before against them, so we have a couple of ideas.”Only six of the 16 players who took on England in October stand a chance of being involved at Headingley – a marker of how turbulent Sri Lanka’s build-up to the World Cup has been – but the strength of their opponents’ batting has become a common talking point. As well as describing each member of the England line-up as “dangerous… explosive batsmen”, Karunaratne called them best players of spin in the world.The precise nature of Sri Lanka’s tactics to counter them – inventing a new kind of delivery? Moonwalking to the bowling crease? – remains under wraps, but the sight of Nuwan Pradeep practising his slower-ball variations during training may have been instructive. Lack of pace is one of Lasith Malinga’s deadliest weapons, while Isuru Udana enjoyed some success by mixing things up at the death against Australia.

“If we don’t have pace, we have to think out of the box. That’s what we did the last few days, [work on] what we have to do with England’s batsmen.”Dimuth Karunaratne

With one win from five games (albeit two of them being washouts), Sri Lanka face a difficult route to the last four. Although they had a decent crack at chasing 335 in their last match, Karunaratne leading the way with an ODI-best 97, once again they struggled for contributions from the middle order. According to the captain, a change of mindset is what is required from the likes of Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews.”We have to mentally prepare,” he said. “They have lots of talent, they only do good things for Sri Lanka in the past. The only thing we need to come up with is a good mindset, that’s a key area if you’re playing against a good team. No point talking about the past matches, we know what happened and what are the key areas. There are four games left and we have to play positive cricket with a good mindset.”The middle order has lots of experience, they have proven enough for Sri Lanka and did well. The only thing is unfortunately everyone couldn’t get a start. If you take the middle order, they couldn’t get a start in the matches we played. That’s why they struggled and don’t have confidence. So that’s why I told them, forget about the last four games we have another four games to go so they have to put their hands up and play a big role here. Make sure they have a good mindset, go and enjoy the game, that’s it.”Karunaratne also clarified the role of Dhananjaya de Silva, who has batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 9 in Sri Lanka’s ODI side. Against Australia, he dropped down to No. 8 and also delivered eight overs with the ball, while Milinda Siriwardana came in to provide greater firepower in the batting.”Dhananjaya is playing as a bowler right now in the side,” Karunaratne said. “Milinda is playing as an allrounder, he’s a much harder hitter, that’s why we brought him in. If someone can’t bowl the ten overs, then he can cover [as well]. We were trying things, we want to make sure we give everyone a chance.”

When asked what was going on, Ashwin’s response was: “I just play with passion, so does he”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-20190:18

We just play with passion – Ashwin on Kohli send-off

Did Virat Kohli mock R Ashwin’s controversial mankading of Jos Buttler earlier in the season after he caught his Test team-mate at the long-on boundary? Paul Collingwood, former England captain and a staunch critic of the Buttler run-out, certainly thought so.

Love @imVkohli reaction catching @ashwinravi99 Great entertainment @RCBTweets and @IPL !! Mother cricket always gets you!! #mankad

— Paul Collingwood (@Colly622) April 24, 2019

With 27 required off the last over against Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab captain Ashwin hit the first ball for a six. The next only made it as far as Kohli at the long-on boundary. Kohli gesticulated after catching the ball before moving his right hand – which held the ball – behind his body, an action not too dissimilar to flicking the bails off behind you when you effect the mankad.Virat Kohli is over the moon as a Kings XI Punjab wicket falls•BCCIAshwin walked off, and proceeded to fling his gloves in anger upon reaching the dugout, which may or may not have been a reaction to Kohli’s antics. He was later asked about what had been going on between him and Kohli – Ashwin has been animated whenever his side has got Kohli out – and replied, “I just play with passion, so does he. That’s it. As simple as that.”No current India cricketer has openly come out in support of Ashwin – or made any comment one way or another – on the run-out debate, whereas current England cricketers – and others – have taken to Twitter to criticise him. The support for Ashwin has only come from former Indian cricketers.Ashwin did pull out of his delivery during his match against Delhi Capitals with Shikhar Dhawan, the non-striker, not leaving the crease. When Ashwin ran in to bowl the next ball, Dhawan danced outside the crease but with the bat inside it. Kohli reacted similarly when Sunil Narine pulled out of his delivery stride in another match, but that wasn’t with the intention of running the non-striker out. Kohli squatted low to send the message that he was doing all he could to keep his bat inside the crease.

Arsenal legend Paul Merson says he will get a Tottenham tattoo if Spurs beat Manchester City to help the Gunners win the Premier League.

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Arsenal top of Premier League after Man Utd winManchester City face Tottenham in midweekMerson to get Spurs tattoo if City drop pointsWHAT HAPPENED?

City went top of the Premier League on Saturday after thrashing Fulham 4-0, only for Arsenal to leapfrog them again after beating Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday. The Gunners have one match left but Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand, a trip to Tottenham in midweek. Ahead of that clash, Merson made a wild bet, insisting that Spurs have little chance of getting a result that would essentially hand the title to their bitter rivals.

AdvertisementWHAT PAUL MERSON SAID

He said on Sky Sports: "Arsenal are probably going to finish second. If you're relying on Tottenham to win or draw a football match… yeah… no. If they win that, I will have a Tottenham tattoo. I will. I'll put it where you can't see it!"

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Arsenal are looking to win their first Premier League title since 2004 whereas City are aiming to win a fourth straight crown. For the former to come out on top, they will need Guardiola's side to slip up but whether that happens remains to be seen.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

City finish off their league season away to Tottenham on Tuesday, before hosting West Ham next Sunday. Arsenal, on the other hand, host Everton on the same day – looking to pip their rivals to the trophy.

Jorginho revealed Mikel Arteta had been a huge admirer of him for nearly a decade and tried to get him since he was in Napoli in the mid 2010s.

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Jorginho signed an extension with ArsenalSet to stay until 2025Believes Arteta will sign an extension as wellWHAT HAPPENED?

As his contract approached its conclusion this summer, Jorginho opted to prolong his stay, penning a short-term deal believed to span 12 months, with the possibility of an additional year. The 32-year-old midfield maestro has become a mainstay in Arteta's squad as the Gunners challenge for the top crown in England. Notably, Arteta's interest in the Italian dates back to his time at Napoli between 2014 and 2018, with the Arsenal manager making multiple attempts in the past to secure his signature.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT JORGINHO SAID

"When he (Arteta) was at City and I was in Naples, that was the first time (he tried signing me) and then he tried twice when he was here and it didn't happen," Jorginho said after signing the new deal.

"But now fortunately it happened. I am here, happy, having the opportunity to work together with him and learning a lot from him."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

With one year remaining on Arteta's contract, speculation surrounding his future has been rife. However, Jorginho remains confident in Arteta's commitment to Arsenal, citing the transformative impact the coach has had on the club.

"I feel that he could stay way longer," he said.

"I feel he feels good here and I honestly don't see him going. It is really important for the club for him to stay because him with Edu and the board, the whole club, they created something special. I don't believe he wants to go as well."

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR JORGINHO?

As Arsenal prepare for a crucial fixture against Manchester United on Sunday, Jorginho will aim to maintain the momentum garnered from recent successes. A victory against their rivals would bolster Arsenal's position at the top of the table, leaving Manchester City no room for error against Tottenham on Tuesday night.

Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane06-May-2019The Australians, including Steven Smith and David Warner for the first time in more than a year, had to scramble for a one-wicket victory against a New Zealand XI including just five of the World Cup squad after suffering a batting collapse on the first of three practice matches at Allan Border Field.Having earlier restricted the New Zealanders to 215 they stumbled from 2 for 122 to 9 for 205 leaving the final pair of Jason Behrendorff and Adam Zampa to edge them across the line as darkness fell and save the blushes of a middle order that produced some poor shot selection.For all the excitement at the end, the result of this match won’t be hugely significant in the bigger picture but it was the latest milestone in the comeback story of Warner and Smith, pulling on the Australian colours for the first time since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. They are likely to face more hostile crowds over the next few months than the 1000-plus of friendly local support that gathered on a public holiday. “Welcome back, Smithy” came a lone voice as the Australians took the field in the morning and both were greeted by warm applause as they walked to the crease. In England, however, things are expected to be a bit different.One of the more intriguing aspects of the day was a small message in how Warner was used: it doesn’t matter how good your form is, you may have to take on a new position in the team as he was slotted in at No. 3 despite only once in 104 ODI innings having not opened.As it was, Warner arrived at the crease in the first over of the chase when Usman Khawaja was bowled by Matt Henry playing an expansive drive and, after an iffy start where he was dropped at gully before scoring, cantered his way to 39 off 43. Smith, who earlier took a terrific one-handed diving catch that will have given the troublesome elbow a good test, got himself settled before falling for 22 and the innings stuttered.Marcus Stoinis was caught behind from a loose drive, Shaun Marsh slashed to gully and Alex Carey nicked a wild shot to leave it to the bowlers. Nathan Coulter-Nile tried to muscle the Australians over the line but was lbw to Todd Astle with 11 still needed.David Warner takes the field•Getty ImagesIn the weeks leading up to Warner and Smith returning, Australia strung together eight consecutive ODI wins. One of the key parts of that was the success Khawaja and Aaron Finch had together at the top of the order. What the top order looks like at the World Cup remains one of the questions Australia need to answer. In all likelihood various combinations will be used during the three matches against New Zealand, and the odds still favour Warner opening come the tournament, but the fact he didn’t get first crack was a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.Warner didn’t quite middle everything from the off, perhaps still adjusting to the change in conditions from the IPL to Brisbane. He almost spooned his first ball close to backward point then nearly offered a return catch to Henry, who should have had him in his next over when Daryl Mitchell spilled a chance at gully, but was soon dispatching deliveries to the boundary. He took a particularly liking to anything Doug Bracewell dropped short before trying something a little too inventive off Astle and top edged a reverse sweep.Smith had been given a tough net session by the Australian quicks yesterday but looked reasonably assured in the middle, one straight in particular standing out, until he was caught behind off Henry as Australia’s collapse was set in motion.The player who was a shining light for the men’s team during a difficult home summer, Pat Cummins, had got the day off to a lively start when he struck twice in the opening over to send back George Worker and Henry Nicholls.From there, the New Zealanders recovered impressively through a third-wicket stand of 137 between Will Young and Tom Blundell. Young, recently handed a central contract, is the next in line behind the incumbent batsmen while Blundell earned the final spot in the World Cup squad when he was preferred ahead of Tim Seifert as back-up wicketkeeper.After laying a foundation following the early losses both started to expand their strokeplay; Blundell launched Behrendorff into the grandstand over deep square and Young later peppered the same area. However, when Young clubbed Coulter-Nile to deep midwicket and Blundell fell four overs later and the innings went into a nosedive as the New Zealanders lost 8 for 78.Cummins, Behrendorff and Coulter-Nile each finished with three wickets while Adam Zampa nipped out Mitchell with a stumping. Kane Richardson, who is one of the standby pacemen for the World Cup along with Josh Hazlewood, and would be in line for a call-up if Jhye Richardson doesn’t recover from his dislocated shoulder, went wicketless and will hope for another chance in the next two matches. Australia will hope to bat better.