Adam Sandler continued his Premier League tour as he was in attendance at Tottenham Arena after visiting Chelsea earlier in March.
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There was no famous farewell at Galle but Rangana Herath was happy it was “the right time” for him to retire from international competition
ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2018
Rangana Herath was chaired around the outfield•Getty Images
Rangana Herath finished his final Test sliding on his front in one last effort to make his ground. It was not quite enough – his run-out capping a 211-run defeat for Sri Lanka – but although there was no famous farewell at Galle, his favourite venue, Herath was happy it was “the right time” for him to retire from international competition.”As always, losing is not a good result but this is part of the game,” he said. “We [wanted to] have played much better cricket, as we used to play. Hopefully the guys will come back strongly for the second and third.Herath had taken Test cricket series-by-series for about two years now, but it was the realisation that he had not been fit enough to play a three-Test series right through over the past 18 months that prompted his decision to retire after the first Test. For several years he has been nursing knee injuries, and had also picked up a back complaint more recently.”It’s an emotional situation, but all in all everybody has to take a decision at the right time. I’m thankful for all those years that I have played, all the people behind me, especially team-mates, Sri Lanka Cricket, I must thank every single person who’s behind me.”It’s been a privilege and honour to play for my country, because in Sri Lanka we have 22 million people, so very few get the opportunity to play for Sri Lanka, so that’s a remarkable achievement and honour for any player.”Herath finished with 433 Test wickets, the most by a left-arm bowler, putting him eighth on the all-time list. He waspresented with a plaque from his team-mates, as well as a shirt and a trophy, and a coin to commemorate being the first slow left-armer to 400 Test wickets.Although he has hung up his boots for Sri Lanka, Herath is still planning to turn out for his club in domestic cricket – once he has worked out arrangements with his employer, Sampath Bank, of course.Asked if he would miss it, he said: “Of course, playing cricket, yes. I wish to play some first-class cricket, but we’ll see how it goes in the coming months. Firstly I need to go back to where I work and have a bit of a chat, but I wish to play more cricket, not full time.”I’m so proud for Sri Lanka, especially playing for this team, with the people, we get to know each other. The game has given me a lot so I have a lot of respect for the game.”His captain, Dinesh Chandimal, finished the game nursing a grade 1 groin strain that could make him a doubt for the Pallekele Test, where Sri Lanka will also have to contemplate how to re-balance the side in the absence of Herath.”It’s a very hard day for us, we all know how much Rangana has done for the team and Sri Lanka cricket,” Chandimal said. “It’s a very emotional day today and we wish him a really good future. We’ll have to say sorry to him, we couldn’t give him a good farewell in his last game.”Rangana was a really big part of our test team. He has done so much for the team, especially when it comes to off the field, when we have a problem we go to him. He gives good advice, a tremendous man and one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever seen.”Despite a heavy defeat, one that saw England end a two-year run without a victory in away Tests, Herath was confident that Sri Lanka had the capacity to hit back. “I’m 100% confident in the talent we have,” he said. “If you take the recent past, against South Africa and Australia, we have had a very good winning mindset, so we need to get that back.”
South Africa still haven’t quite figured themselves out in international Twenty20 cricket. They have lost more often than they have won in the last two years, cycling through four captains and no less than 28 players. While Vision 2019 is taking shape, South Africa’s perspective in the shortest format has perhaps been less than 20/20.The placement of T20Is in the international schedule, too often an apparent afterthought tacked on to the end of a tour, hasn’t helped in the past, but that is beginning to change. South Africa have played three three-match T20I series since the World T20 in 2016 – with just two one-off games against New Zealand and Sri Lanka – and they will now add a fourth against Zimbabwe, with the opener in East London followed by matches in Potchefstroom and Benoni.While the format is different, the World Cup in England next year nevertheless looms on the horizon, and the upcoming games might well be seen as an audition for further white-ball honours. The tone of T20 cricket will certainly suit South Africa’s general push towards sustained aggression in their one-day plans, and the hosts’ batting will be bolstered by the return of Quinton de Kock and David Miller, who were both rested for the ODIs.With Faf du Plessis back at the helm and JP Duminy included, there is a much more experienced look to the batting line-up, as well as some fresh new faces looking to break into the team. There are two potential debutants in batsmen Gihahn Cloete and Rassie van der Dussen, while Junior Dala gets another opportunity with the ball and Dane Paterson and Robbie Frylinck return after missing the trip to Sri Lanka in August.For their part, Zimbabwe put in their best all-round performance of the tour in the third ODI, and they won’t mind a change of format that should bring the teams closer together. Zimbabwe don’t have much of a record to speak of in T20 cricket, but took games against formidable Pakistan and Australia sides into the last over during the tri-series in July. These upcoming matches could be their best chance to spring a surprise and secure their first T20I win in two years.
South Africa LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLLLL
There are a few new names in South Africa’s squad, and one that stands out is Rassie van der Dussen. Only Lendl Simmons scored more runs than him at the Global T20 Canada and van der Dussen capped a fantastic tournament with 44 in the final to help the Vancouver Knights lift the title. He clearly impressed Vancouver’s coach, Donovan Miller, who also coaches St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the CPL and took van der Dussen with him to that tournament. He has got three T20 hundreds and experience in multiple roles: opening the batting for Lions alongside Reeza Hendricks, and playing a middle-order finishing role for the Knights and the Patriots.Solomon Mire is the only real dasher in a Zimbabwe top order composed of players who like to take their time, and whether or not he comes off could be vital to their success in a format that demands rapid scoring from the get-go. He’s not had a good tour so far, with scores of 0, 2 and 7 in the ODIs, but T20 suits Mire’s game. Before he was sidelined by gluteal tear in July, he had enhanced his reputation with a rapid fifty against Australia and came within one shot of becoming the first Zimbabwean to score a T20I hundred with 94 against a Pakistan attack that is one of the best in this format.
Quinton de Kock’s return presents South Africa with something of a middle-order conundrum. He will replace Heinrich Klaasen as wicketkeeper, but Klaasen could retain his place purely as a batsman based on recent form. If that happens, JP Duminy could be the man to miss out. With Reeza Hendricks playing for his first-class team Lions, it is likely Gihahn Cloete will make his international debut.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Gihahn Cloete, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 JP Duminy/Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Robbie Frylinck, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Junior Dala, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Imran TahirZimbabwe may well have a new opening pair for this match, with Chamu Chibhabha coming into the squad, and Tarisai Musakanda replacing Craig Ervine in the middle order. Tendai Chatara had a horrid time with the ball in the third ODI and could make way for Chris Mpofu, and Tendai Chisoro’s left-arm darts should be preferred to Wellington Masakadza’s.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Solomon Mire, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 4 Brendan Taylor (wk), 5 Tarisai Musakanda, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Tendai Chisoro, 9 Brandon Mavuta, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Chris Mpofu
East London’s Buffalo Park hosted nine games during last month’s Africa T20 tournament, including both semi-finals and the final, won by Temba Bavuma’s Gauteng side. The scores during those matches suggest decent conditions for T20 cricket, with an average first-innings score of 153. Namibia breached 200 against against Mpumalanga, and almost throughout, the top-order batsmen enjoyed themselves. Expect another good batting pitch, and a temperate, coastal evening.
“There are a lot of guys in the team who are quite new. Looking at their performances at the domestic level, they’re really deserving of their caps.”
Liverpool target Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that he has no plans to sign a new contract at Brighton amid talk he could replace Jurgen Klopp.
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De Zerbi refuses to commit future to BrightonWants more clarity on the Seagulls projectTipped to take charge at AnfieldWHAT HAPPENED?
Amid speculation linking him to both Liverpool and Bayern Munich, De Zerbi's future at Brighton hangs in the balance, with talks with club owner Tony Bloom set to determine his next move. De Zerbi's impressive tenure at Brighton, which has seen the club qualify for European football for the first time, has attracted attention from top clubs across Europe, including Chelsea and Barcelona.
AdvertisementGOALWHAT DE ZERBI SAID
In response to questions about his future, De Zerbi emphasized the importance of aligning with the club's vision and targets.
"I have a different way to decide my future," he told Sky Sports. "I want to speak with my club, I have a contract but the problem is not the contract – the problem is to find the same plan, the same target, the same vision for the future. For me, I have not decided yet what is my future, because I have the contract, but anyway I want to speak with (owner) Tony (Bloom), my club, to understand their plan, to understand his plan, the Tony plan. Then we take the decision together, without problems.
"The future I want to keep my ambition, my motivation, I live for football 24 hours a day, I want to know what is the plan, what is the project, what is the future because if I don't feel comfortable, I don't feel the right motivation, I can't stay any longer."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
When De Zerbi was further pressed about whether he is considering signing an extension with the Seagulls, he replied: "At the moment, no. We didn't find the agreement. The contract is a part of the future. It's important for me, it's important for everyone but it's a small part, the big part is the plan. We have to speak with the club.
"My relationship with my players, my fans, I think it can't change depending on the future. What we did is history and we can't forget it."
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It has been reported that Brighton could demand at least £12 million (€14m/$15m) from any potential suitor for De Zerbi as he has a contract with the club until 2026. It is worth noting that Brighton previously pocketed £21.5m (€25.1/$27.1m) in compensation from Chelsea for the transfer of former manager Graham Potter.
Mohammed Shami was left out of the 15-man squad
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2018India’s frontline pace bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been added to the ODI squad for the remaining three matches against West Indies, after being rested for the first two games. Mohammed Shami was left out of the squad, which had no other changes.Allrounder Kedar Jadhav had missed the first two matches with a hamstring injury he picked up during the Asia Cup; he was expected to be back for the remaining ODIs, according to chief selector MSK Prasad, but wasn’t named in the squad of 15. Jadhav scored an unbeaten 41 off 25 for India A against India C in the Deodhar Trophy on Thursday and bowled a few overs too.Shami played the first two ODIs but was the most expensive India bowler in Guwahati, where he took two top-order wickets in his figures of 2 for 81. He bettered his performance in Visakhapatnam by finishing with 1 for 59 from 10 overs, but could not retain his place for the remainder of the series even though Umesh Yadav has so far conceded 142 runs in the two matches, compared to Shami’s 140, with only one wicket to his name.The remaining three matches will be played in Pune, Mumbai (Brabourne Stadium) and Thiruvananthapuram on October 27, 29 and November 1.Squad: Virat Kohli (cap), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey
Their fifties and Pujara’s vigil helped India trim their deficit to 154 after Australia were dismissed for 326 on the second morning in Perth
The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Dec-2018
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane led India’s riposte to Pat Cummins’ tour de force to help the visitors cut their deficit to 154 at stumps on an absorbing second day at the new Perth Stadium. After Australia were dismissed for 326, India lost both M Vijay and KL Rahul to hooping inswingers, but Kohli got cracking with three boundaries off Josh Hazlewood in the 10th over. Enter Cummins and then Nathan Lyon. Their combined genius and relentless accuracy meant Kohli and India had to wait 22 more overs for their next boundary.This was the passage of play that defined the day. Cummins first attacked Kohli’s off stump and then shifted his lines wider to tease the India captain’s outside edge. At the other end, Lyon found sharp turn and bounce to remind India what they were missing: a frontline spinner. A biting offbreak, which Kohli left alone, nearly trimmed the bails while a non-turning ball drew a leading edge to point. In the 10 overs Cummins and Lyon bowled in tandem during the post-lunch session, India managed only 12 runs. Kohli, though, weathered the storm and reached his first fifty of the series, with his first boundary off Cummins this series.He ground out 74 for the third wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, who also played his part in keeping Australia’s attack at bay till tea. His duel with Lyon in particular was intriguing, again. While Pujara often took trips down the pitch and even hid his bat behind pad, like he had done in Adelaide, the loose ball did not come from Lyon here.Cummins then returned after the break to trouble Pujara with incoming deliveries. One of them skidded off the pitch and pinged the back thigh when he was on 23. The on-field decision was not-out but Tim Paine gambled on a review and lost it because the ball was always bouncing over the stumps.Virat Kohli pulls•Getty Images
After Lyon and Cummins had built up all the pressure, it was Mitchell Starc who made the incision when he snaffled Pujara down the leg side for 24 off 103 balls. It was Starc who had produced the first breakthrough, too, when he blazed through the weak defences of Vijay off what turned out to be the last ball before lunch. Rahul, the other opener, was bowled by a sharp inswinger as well. It was the 11th time that he had been dismissed bowled or lbw in his last 15 Test innings.All of that disappeared into the background when Kohli took centerstage, hitting Hazlewood for four rousing boundaries in a mere nine deliveries, the pick of them being a checked on-drive. After seeing off two immaculate spells from Cummins, he brought up his half-century with an adventurous upper-cut over the slip cordon.Rahane showed greater attacking enterprise and eased the pressure off Kohli in an unbroken 90-run stand. He hooked Starc over backward square leg for four and then ramped him over third man for a six, evoking memories of his more famous battles with Mitchell Johnson in the country. Once the bowlers adjusted their lengths, Rahane unfurled serene front-foot drives to keep India ticking.Lyon and Cummins ended with combined figures of 39-7-74-0. On another day they could have run through the opposition with the irresistible pressure they applied, but on Saturday both Kohli and Rahane were immovable.The day had started more promisingly for Australia with Paine and Cummins taking the hosts past 300 with a nuggety 59-run stand for the seventh wicket. However, they lost their last four wickets for 16 runs to be bowled out about 25 minutes before lunch. Kohli and Rahane then thrilled a crowd of 19,042 and seized the day for India.
Allrounder will not travel to New Zealand for the three one-dayers in December
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2018
Hardik Pandya won’t be a part of the India A squad for the three one-dayers in New Zealand as he is yet to fully recover from a back injury that he picked up at the Asia Cup in September. Selected in the India A squad last month in a bid to give him game time before the second half of the Test series in Australia, Pandya has now instead been asked to rest and continue regaining strength by the medical staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Pandya’s next competitive fixture is likely to be the sixth-round Ranji Trophy clash for Baroda against Mumbai starting December 14. Meanwhile, the selectors are likely to pick Pandya’s replacement from the four-day squad that is currently on tour, with the third unofficial Test starting November 30 in Whangarei.Pandya last played a first-class match for his state, Baroda, against Gujarat during the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season.
Yuvraj Singh, who had initially relinquished his spot in the Punjab side to make way for youngsters, has returned to the squad for their clash against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla. In the absence of Yuvraj, Punjab ended up conceding the first-innings lead in both their drawn matches, against Andhra and Madhya Pradesh. Yuvraj is also set to be available for Punjab’s next two matches against Himachal Pradesh (December 6-9) and Tamil Nadu (December 14-17).Yuvraj was released by Kings XI Punjab ahead of the IPL auction in January. He recently featured in Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, aggregating 264 runs in seven innings, with a best of 96.
Twenty-year-old Armaan Jaffer, the nephew of former India batsman Wasim, has forced his way back into Mumbai’s squad for their next game against Gujarat at home. Armaan earned his spot back with an unbeaten 300 off 367 he scored against Saurashtra in the Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy at Wankhede Stadium nearly ten days ago. His knock, studded with 26 fours and ten sixes, helped Mumbai to an innings-and-230-run victory.Armaan made his first-class debut for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu in October 2016 and played only two more matches that season before being dropped. He missed most of last season because of a knee injury that kept him out of action for more than a year.Mumbai continue to be without Shreyas Iyer who is in New Zealand as part of the A squad for three one-dayers to be played next month.
Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar, who had missed the team’s previous match against Mumbai in Belgaum because of a neck injury, will return to lead them against Maharashtra in Mysuru. Allrounder Stuart Binny, however, has been dropped after managing only 53 runs in four innings and taking one wicket in two Ranji games this season.
Half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Sam Curran swept England towards a competitive total before Jack Leach struck late in the day
The Report by George Dobell in Pallekele14-Nov-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIf there was any doubt how much assistance the surface in Pallekele would provide for spinners in this match – and there really wasn’t very much – it was banished within a few minutes of the start of the second Test.The first and final balls of the second over of the innings, bowled by offspinner Dilruwan Perera, fizzed past the outside edge of Rory Burns’ bat. By the close, 10 of the 11 wickets to fall had been taken by spinners with few more dramatic than the last – Kaushal Silva being bowled by a beauty from Jack Leach that drew him forward, gripped and turned past the outside edge to clip the top of off stump. Not many are expecting to be here on Sunday.Certainly Joe Root would have been delighted to win his seventh toss in succession in Test cricket. England’s theory – and they are probably right – is that batting (or at least run-scoring) on this unusually dry surface will become more difficult throughout the game. While it is possible that the pitch will, instead of the pitch crumbling – there is little if any precedent for that here – simply lose pace, scoring runs is unlikely to become any easier.That England were able to set something around a competitive total in such circumstances was largely due to half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Sam Curran. Both men owed their success to the use of calculated aggression, confidence in their own ability and abundant natural talent.There was a time when batsmen would have reacted to the turning ball and pressure that Sri Lanka built with careful defence and hours of concentration. Not any more. Buttler’s first response was to attempt to sweep (either reverse, conventional or lap) almost every delivery he received – at one stage he swept five balls in an over and 51 of his 63 runs came from different variations of the stroke – while Curran thumped six sixes, all of them before he had hit a four, in a remarkable late-innings blitz. The modern game has lost some qualities it used to have – some rigour, some grit, some attrition – but it might never have offered more entertainment.Both Buttler and Curran started their innings in fairly conventional fashion. But Buttler soon abandoned that after just recovering his ground to avoid being stumped before he had scored and instead reasoned that his best method of combating the turn was to sweep. Sometimes he swept through extra-over, sometimes he swept just past the keeper’s left hand and, at one stage, Akila Dananjaya was swept for three fours in succession.While the shot eventually brought his downfall – he top-edged a reverse to backward point – his innings had helped revive England just as they appeared to be falling away. Burns, who batted nicely in making 43, was the only other man in the top seven to reach 20.Curran’s contribution was every bit as impressive. England were 225 for 9 when James Anderson joined Curran but, so well did he strike the ball and farm the strike that the final pair added 60 in 11 overs in a stand – the highest of the innings – that seemed to dishearten an increasingly ramshackle Sri Lanka.Curran thrashed six sixes – he has now brought up all three of his Test fifties with a six, and has hit more sixes than anyone else in Test cricket this year – while Anderson contributed just seven runs in the partnership. Five of those sixes were off the unfortunate Dananjaya- twice he was driven over long-off, once over long-on, once he was pulled and once, impossibly, he was swatted over extra cover when the bowler delivered a wide one in an attempt to thwart him – while Perera was also lofted over mid-off to help England progress from an adequate total to, perhaps, a dangerous one. Anderson was also reprieved on review after he had been given out lbw first ball.Sri Lanka will rue a couple of missed opportunities, though. Curran was reprieved on both 1 – when Niroshan Dickwella whipped off the bails just before Curran overbalanced and fell out of his ground – and again on 7 when he edged the deserving Dananjaya through the left hand of a diving slip fielder.He was dropped on 53, too. On that occasion Malinda Pushpakumara, who came into the side in place of the retiring Rangana Herath, was back on his heels on the long-on fence and subsequently put down a relatively straightforward chance driven straight into his midriff. It summed up the latter stages of an increasingly untidy performance in the field by a somewhat demoralised Sri Lanka side.For all the talk of spin, it remains seam – or at least pace – that appears Keaton Jennings’ weakness. Here he fell jabbing at one he could have left from Suranga Lakmal; the only man to fall to seam bowling all day.Burns was the most comfortable of England’s batsmen. Three times he swept Dilruwan to the boundary; on another occasion he cut him there. He also picked up an early boundary off his legs from the seam of Lakmal. It was some surprise when he was drawn forward and edged to slip by a fine delivery in Dananjaya’s first over.While Burns might be forgiven for wondering how he could play such a delivery, Root might be forgiving for wondering how he missed the one that bowled him. Lunging forward to the left-arm spin of Pushpakumara, Root left a gate so large you could reverse park a caravan in it and simply missed a straight one. It was the third time in the series he has been dismissed by left-arm spinners. Shades of Kevin Pietersen, perhaps?Ben Stokes started his first innings at No. 3 in typically positive style. He was down the pitch to his first delivery, bowled by Lakmal, and flicked his third through square leg for four. But while there was another flowing drive to the boundary off the seamer, life against spin proved harder. He survived a reviewed appeal for lbw on 10, on the basis of umpire’s call, but fell in almost identical fashion shortly afterwards, back when he should have been forward and struck on the back pad by one that turned and beat his outside edge.For the second match in succession, Adil Rashid contributed valuable runs, too. England were 171-7 when he came to the crease but, so well did he strike the ball that England added 45 – the second-highest partnership of the innings – for the eighth-wicket.England may yet regret a couple of somewhat soft dismissals, though. Moeen Ali simply missed a short ball he had tried to turn into the leg side, while had Ben Foakes called for a review, he would surely have won a reprieve after being adjudged to have edged to slip. Replays suggested the ball brushed both his front and back leg but at no stage touched his bat. In a low-scoring game, such moments could yet prove crucial.
Leah Williamson roared that she feels "10 times stronger" in the Lionesses shirt after her first international outing in a year against Ireland.
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Opener Tamim Iqbal’s return to the Bangladesh side is likely to be delayed further, after he had picked up a side strain during training on Tuesday. Tamim, who had fractured his wrist in the Asia Cup, had hoped to return to action for the first Test against West Indies, which begins on November 22 in Chittagong, but chief selector Minhajul Abedin has now said that he is in doubt.”We are still awaiting a doctor’s report on Tamim to know the extent of his injury but it now seems difficult [for him to be available for the first Test],” Minhajul told ESPNcricinfo.Tamim had returned to batting against the cricket ball in the nets earlier this week, after undergoing rehabilitation for the wrist injury. Tamim injured himself while batting during the Asia Cup opener in September.He then left to London for check-up before returning to Dhaka for rehabilitation. The Bangladesh selectors will also assess Shakib Al Hasan’s recovery from a long-standing finger injury, before naming the squad for the opening Test against West Indies.