Allrounder had missed World Cup Qualifiers owing to commitments with Otago

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2018Michael Rippon returned to the Netherlands squad as the KNCB named 13-man contingents for the T20 triangular series involving the Marylebone Cricket Club and Nepal at Lord’s, as well as the two-match ODI series against Nepal, who will be making their debut in the format.Rippon had missed Netherlands’ World Cup Qualifier campaign owing to commitments with Otago in the Plunket Shield, New Zealand’s domestic first-class competition. However, while Netherlands have secured the services of Rippon, they will miss two other key players – Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe, who are both tied up with county commitments.The squad for the T20 matches at Lord’s contained three fresh faces – Hidde Overdijk, Clayton Floyd and Tonny Staal. Overdijk was also picked for the ODIs. Floyd is originally from South Africa, but holds a Dutch passport.Also included in the ODI squad was right-hand batsman Dan ter Braak, who played his only first-class match for Netherlands against Ireland in an Intercontinental Cup clash in Dublin last year. He made 32 and 23 opening the innings as Netherlands drew the match. Should he make the XI, this will be ter Braak’s ODI debut.Pieter Seelaar will lead the team in both series. The T20 tri-series is scheduled to take place on July 29, opening with MCC v Netherlands. That will be followed by MCC v Nepal, before Netherlands clash with Nepal. The last of those matches has been granted T20 international status. Nepal will then begin their initiation into ODI cricket with twin matches against the Netherlands on August 1 and August 3.Squad for tri-series: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Wesley Barresi, Scott Edwards, Clayton Floyd, Frederick Klaassen, Bas De Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Max O’Dowd, Hidde Overdijk, Michael Rippon, Shane Snater, Tonny Staal, Tobias ViseeODI squad: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Wesley Barresi, Dan ter Braak, Ben Cooper, Scott Edwards, Frederick Klaassen, Bas De Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Hidde Overdijk, Shane Snater, Michael Rippon

Major contributions from almost every player in the team helped Jamaica Tallawahs complete a comprehensive win before their three-game Florida leg

The Report by Peter Della Penna16-Aug-2018Ross Taylor swats the ball away•Getty Images

Arguably the most well-rounded team performance of the season for Jamaica Tallawahs helped them maintain their perfect start to CPL 2018 as they ended their two-game home stretch at Sabina Park with a 47-run win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, spoiling a return for native son Chris Gayle.Three batsmen – Glenn Phillips, Kennar Lewis and Ross Taylor – contributed 40-plus scores to set a stiff target of 179 after the Tallawahs lost the toss. In response, the Patriots crawled out of the gate at 2 for 1 in three overs and were three down by the end of the Powerplay. They never recovered as six different Tallawahs bowlers took wickets to keep them to 131 for 9.Patriots pay for fielding errorsTwo of the three high scorers on the night for the Tallawahs received reprieves early in their innings. The first came to Phillips on 11 in the sixth over. Substitute fielder Hayden Walsh Jr., who was on after Gayle exited in the fourth over with a thumb injury, charged in from deep square leg after Phillips miscued a pull off Carlos Brathwaite. But Walsh was distracted by Jeremiah Louis running toward him from midwicket and, despite getting two hands to the ball, couldn’t hold on. Phillips went on to make 41 off 38 balls.The second came to Taylor, who skied a chance which was snapped up easily at extra cover when he was on 6, off the bowling of Anton Devcich in the 10th over. However, the third umpire called Taylor back to the crease after replays showed Devcich had overstepped the line. The free hit was swatted for six by Phillips, who up to that stage had scored a sluggish 15 off 21 balls before finishing with 26 off his last 17.The two sides of LamichhaneIn an innings where Tallawahs scored at a run rate of 8.9 per over, the lone bowler who kept Patriots in the match during the first half was the 18-year-old legspinner from Nepal, whose end economy was 5.25. It didn’t start that way though.Lamichhane’s first seven balls were hit for 16 runs, including two sixes by Man of the Match Kennar. But after the first ball of the 7th over was hit straight for six, Lamichhane dragged his next ball to a sixth stump line outside off and Kennar struggled to reach out with the result a skied catch to Tom Cooper on the boundary at long-off.Two balls later, Lamichhane trapped Andre McCarthy with a googly. Off his final 17 deliveries, he conceded just five runs. Taylor struggled most of all, beaten repeatedly outside off stump to go scoreless in four deliveries against Lamichhane. At the end of his four-over spell, Tallawahs were 113 for 3 and Taylor on 11 off 20 balls.Cottrell gets shelledThe momentum shifted drastically once Lamichhane left the attack as Tallawahs plundered 65 off the last five overs. Taylor in particular played with a newfound freedom once Sheldon Cottrell entered in the 16th over. In the first four balls after Lamichhane’s spell ended, Taylor went 6, 6, leg bye and 6. Taylor scored 40 off his final 15 balls, including 28 off 8 against Cottrell during the 16th and 19th overs that featured two fours and three sixes by the New Zealand batsman. Cottrell ended with 0 for 44 on the night as Taylor provided a big lift heading into the innings break.In Lew of runsEvin Lewis’ dramatic form drought continued at Sabina Park on Wednesday night. After Gayle played all 12 balls over the first two overs and managed to come away with just one run, Lewis buckled under the mounting pressure when he finally got on strike, fending at back of a length ball angled across by Oshane Thomas for a second-ball duck. It’s his second straight duck and he has scored just 1 run off 10 balls this season.Cooper’s struggles continued as well after coming in at No. 3. Krishmar Santokie, who bowled a maiden to Gayle in the second over, snared Cooper thanks to a caped crusading effort by captain Andre Russell flying through the air at mid-off for a spectacular catch in the fourth over to make it 9 for 2.Gayle, who had been dropped on 1 at backward point by Kennar off Thomas, started to stir in the fifth with a pair of sixes off Thomas but offspinner Steven Jacobs struck in his first over of the season, getting Gayle to slash to short third man to end the sixth over. Ending the Powerplay at 39 for 3, spinners continued to tie down the Patriots. Adam Zampa and Imad Wasim each collected a pair of wickets. When Imad had Brathwaite skying to long-on to make it 93 for 8, Patriots were in the process of being blown out, before Cottrell made cosmetic adjustments to the final scoreline with some late hitting. But the result was never in doubt for the Tallawahs.

Powar’s term will include the Sri Lanka tour in September, followed by a T20I series and the World T20 in the West Indies

Annesha Ghosh14-Aug-2018Ramesh Powar’s tenure as India women’s interim head coach has been extended till the World T20 in November in light of a time-crunch ahead of India’s next assignment – in September – and a dearth of clarity regarding the Cricket Advisory Committee’s (CAC) role in the selection process.Powar, the former India offspinner, will remain coach till November 30, 2018. During this period, the team will tour Sri Lanka for three ODIs and five T20Is, followed by a T20I series and the World T20 in the West Indies.With the side scheduled to depart for Sri Lanka on September 5, ESPNcricinfo understands that the extension of Powar’s interim role comes as the most feasible stop-gap arrangement on the part of the BCCI. This, especially in light of the Supreme Court mandating the CAC’s involvement in the appointment of the head coach of both the men’s and women’s national teamsPowar was handed the job on July 16, a week after former head coach Tushar Arothe resigned from the post in the aftermath of a fallout with some of the high-profile regulars. Soon after his appointment, Powar took charge of the national camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, where all India regulars – save for T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana – participated between July 25 and August 5, while several uncapped players also featured in the mix.Powar’s appointment in the interim post had coincided with the BCCI inviting applications for the full-time role. On August 10, a panel comprising Diana Edulji, the former India captain and member of the Committee of Administrators, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, and general manager (cricket operations) Saba Karim interviewed 20 applicants for about ten minutes each in Mumbai. While some flew down to the BCCI headquarters, a majority of them joined in via Skype.Following the initial screening process, six applicants had been shortlisted. Powar had made the cut alongside former India women’s captain Mamatha Maben, former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, batsman Atul Bedade, India men’s U-19 team bowling coach Sanath Kumar, and Rajkumar Sharma, who formerly coached Delhi’s junior teams and India captain Virat Kohli in his formative years.Maben, ESPNcricinfo understands, was among at least the five female candidates to have applied for the job. Others included former India wicketkeeper-batsman Kalpana Venkatachar, former New Zealand batsman Maria Fahey, former India women’s assistant coach Suman Sharma, and Gujarat women’s coach Rituparna Roy. Suman was also in charge of the Kerala women’s team last season.”I haven’t received any official word from the BCCI,” Maben told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s only been the newspapers where I have been getting the updates from. But I feel if the selection panel chooses Ramesh to travel with the team to Sri Lanka, it only makes sense that he accompanies them to the WT20. There’s not much time at the team’s disposal, so Ramesh continuing from the Sri Lanka assignment to World T20 makes sense because eventually, it’s the results that count.”Most of the India players are part of the three-team Challenger Trophy which is currently underway in Alur and are scheduled to assemble for a preparatory camp in Chennai in the last week of this month. They will be joined by Harmanpreet and Mandhana who are set to return from the UK next week following their Kia Super League stints.

It took Surrey little more than a session to wrap up a handsome innings victory

ECB Reporters Network31-Aug-2018
ScorecardGiant fast bowlers Conor McKerr and Morne Morkel led the way as Surrey completed an innings and 125-run thrashing of Nottinghamshire at the Kia Oval by dismissing them for 149 three overs after lunch on the third day.Morkel had figures of 3 for 39 while 20-year-old McKerr, just as tall at 6ft 6in and just as hostile, took 4 for 26. For McKerr, who represented South Africa Under-19s before joining Surrey three years ago and qualify to play for England, this was just his seventh first-class match – but he already looks a fine prospect.Surrey’s 23-point win is their eighth victory in ten Specsavers County Championship matches and – with four games still to be played – strengthens their already dominant position at the top of the Division One table.As Surrey began this round of matches with a 32-point lead over second-placed Somerset, their only real challengers, they have taken another significant step towards a first Championship title since 2002. For Nottinghamshire, however, it was a second abject batting collapse of the match as they lost their last eight wickets for 40 runs.Tom Curran, who took six wickets in the match for Surrey, his first County Championship appearance of the season, said: “It’s good to be playing four-day cricket again and to be able to contribute. It’s felt like a stop-start summer since I got back from the Indian Premier League in May, and being sidelined with injury in July didn’t help. I’ve had a few little niggles, but now I’m back fully fit and being able to help the team win another game makes it all the sweeter.”Nottinghamshire’s head coach Peter Moores said: “That’s twice Surrey have beaten us by an innings now this season, and they’re a very good team who are playing some excellent cricket. But I don’t think in either match that we’ve played our best and that’s disappointing.”Nottinghamshire began day three on 83 for 2, after following on 274 runs behind, and the promise of their late resistance on the second evening – when opener Kraigg Brathwaite, in particular, stood firm after they had been skittled for 101 first time around in reply to Surrey’s 375 – proved merely a pause in the overwhelming superiority of Rory Burns’s team in this game.Brathwaite and Samit Patel took the total to 109 with a number of early boundaries, although some of them were decidedly streaky – such as the carve high over third slip and then the thick edge through the gap between the slips and gully which helped Brathwaite to go to his half-century.Patel, however, was then pinned leg-before for 15 by a Morkel off-cutter and, next ball, left-hander Billy Root edged a ball angled across him to keeper Ben Foakes. The hat-trick ball, a wicked leg-cutter, missed the edge of Riki Wessels’s defensive bat by a whisker as it climbed sharply into Foakes’ gloves.From 109 for 4 the innings fell away quickly. McKerr, replacing Morkel at the Vauxhall End, soon had Wessels caught at the wicket for a duck with a sharp delivery that shaped away and Brathwaite’s resilience was tested by a nasty blow on the helmet when he ducked into a short one from McKerr – requiring a ten-minute delay while he underwent concussion protocols – before, on 60, he gave Foakes another catch as he drove optimistically at the same bowler.Luke Wood threw down his bat in pain after being hit on the hand by a Rikki Clarke lifter – again, there was delay while the unfortunate Wood received on-field treatment – and the left-hander did not last long afterwards before flashing to Ollie Pope in the gully off Morkel. Pope dived to his right to bring off a fine catch.A comic mix-up with his partner, Tom Moores, led to Luke Fletcher being run out for 1, to leave Notts 135 for 8. The bowler, Morkel, even had time to fumble Tom Curran’s gentle throw before breaking the stumps, with Fletcher stranded near the other end and already resigned to walking off.Moores fell in the second over after lunch, edging Curran low to Foakes, who dived to pull off an excellent catch inches from the turf, and last man Harry Gurney soon gave McKerr his fourth wicket of the innings – and seventh of the match – when he skied to Amar Virdi at mid-on to depart for 1.

Having returned the best figures – 4 for 35 in his ten overs – in Pune, the returning fast bowler said the defeat in the third ODI shouldn’t be deemed as lack of depth in the Indian lower order

Varun Shetty in Pune28-Oct-20181:35

‘No guarantees in death bowling’ – Bumrah

Four of India’s five bowlers went at more than five per over, and no one from No. 6 in the batting line-up could make a score greater than 20 during India’s loss in the third ODI. But that wasn’t a full indication of India’s depth, said returning fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who was by far the best bowler of the match with 4 for 35 in his ten overs.”In Indian cricket, you don’t get an off season because we are playing continuous cricket,” Bumrah said on being asked if players were training for secondary skills. “Some of our players are injured and some are coming back from injuries. Right now, we are trying some combinations. You’ve got to take that into consideration as well. Players who can [both] bowl and bat are not available. Maybe once they are available, we will have more bowling options. The balance will be better.”Bumrah himself has had fitness concerns after transitioning into an all-formats bowler over the last year, and as such is one of the few players who has often been rested, as he was at the start of this series. But the fast bowler had no problems bringing his form from last month’s Asia Cup to Pune.”I was on a break so I was focusing on building the strength levels back up. When you [don’t] play continuously, the strength level goes down, so you have to bring that up because long tours are coming up. You have to put something in the time; that was my main thing. I was practising at the nets too, with match-like situations. Match feel is different, but if you could replicate that practice, that leaves you in a good space.”Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on the other hand, didn’t have quite the same success on his return, ending up going for 70 in his ten overs as West Indies’ lower order took India on in the final 15 overs. As opposed to India’s lower half, West Indies’ lower-order batsmen put on 92 runs between them, led by Man-of-the-Match Ashley Nurse’s 22-ball 40 that helped them post 283 after being five down for 121. Bhuvneshwar was especially targeted, being taken for 36 in his last three overs.”Bhuvi had a good start, but at times, things (go a bit off) towards the end. It happens. Bowling at the death is difficult. It is not like every bowler will have a good day. He gave runs in the end, but they batted well.
“We bowled well till 35-40 overs. We gave away runs towards the end, but that’s part of the game. In the position we bowl [death overs], there’s no guarantee of success. Some days it will go well, some days it won’t. He was clear in his plans but the batsmen were in a better place. We will be better prepared now,” Bumrah said.

Bangladesh opener yet to have full net session after wrist fracture, but has started facing spin and throwdowns

Mohammad Isam08-Nov-2018Tamim Iqbal hopes to mark his return to competitive cricket when West Indies tour Bangladesh later this month for a full series. He had originally targeted the second Test against Zimbabwe in Mirpur.Tamim has only now returned to batting against the cricket ball this week, after undergoing rehabilitation for a wrist fracture. Tamim injured himself while batting during the Asia Cup opener in September, a game remembered for his heroic return to bat with one hand, with Bangladesh nine down.”I think I will be fit for the first Test [against West Indies],” Tamim said. “I always wanted to play the second Test against Zimbabwe, at least that was the plan three or four weeks ago. I am not ready. I don’t think the physio will even permit me. It has just been three days of batting against spin bowling and the dog-stick. It is actually semi-batting what I am doing right now. Unless I start full-fledged nets, it won’t be fair for the team to declare myself fit.”Tamim still had some discomfort while playing certain strokes. “Today [Thursday] is probably the third day that I am batting. I haven’t had a full net session. There’s a lot of difference between playing 130-140kph and playing against spin and the dog-stick. As of now, things are looking very positive. In the next three days, there’s going to be a full net session, after which I can tell where I am at.”Batting and net sessions aside, Tamim had words of encouragement for Bangladesh despite their loss in Sylhet. According to him, while there remains room for improvement in the longest format, the loss wasn’t a reflection of the progress they’ve made in Tests over the last two years, particularly at home where they’ve beaten England and Australia.”They will bounce back. I know that we didn’t play our best cricket. We are a much better team than this,” he said. “It is a fact that we haven’t performed in Tests, like we have done in ODIs. I don’t think any of our team members said that we have become a very strong Test team.”But it is also true that we have started to play better Test cricket than five years ago. We have defeated two of the best sides in the world. But our West Indies Test series wasn’t good at all. Our graph in Test cricket hasn’t gone as high as we’d liked.”

Justin Langer hopes it will provide a genuine contest between bat and ball, but there is no guarantee it will prove much livelier than the one that was rated poor last year

Melinda Farrell at the MCG24-Dec-20182:06

‘Won’t be like Perth, but will have pace’ – MCG curator

Australia coach Justin Langer is hopeful the MCG pitch will provide a genuine contest between bat and ball, something he believes could secure the future of Test cricket.The nature of the MCG pitch is under intense scrutiny ahead of the Boxing Day Test, with a distinctly green tinge two days out, giving some hope but no guarantee it will prove much livelier than the dull surface that was rated “poor” after last year’s draw against England.”It’s great to see some grass,” Langer said. “I’ve played Shield cricket here over last six or seven years, seen the Test here, and I’ve said forever the most important thing in Test cricket – international cricket – are the pitches.”If you have great pitches you’ll have contest between bat and ball, then Test cricket will be alive and well. If we play on flat wickets then it becomes a really boring game and that’s from someone who loves Test cricket.”Hopefully it’s a contest between bat and ball because it’s really important, not just for this series but also for world cricket.”ALSO READ: Don’t judge MCG pitch by its grass cover – Marcus HarrisAfter the Ashes Test last summer the MCG curator, Matt Page, oversaw some changes to the block, including the addition of a layer of sand to allow better drainage of moisture and encourage the pitch to become more spin friendly on the later days of the Test.But Marcus Harris, who made 250 for Victoria at the MCG in a Sheffield Shield match, had earlier told ESPNcricinfo he expected any early liveliness provided by the grass would give way to a slow scoring surface that largely held together.Meanwhile, Langer, a native of Western Australia who played much of his domestic cricket at the WACA ground, claimed the pitch used for the second Test was the quickest he had ever witnessed in Perth.The ICC rated the Perth Stadium pitch as “average”, a decision that puzzled the Australia coach.”I was really surprised actually,” Langer said. “I guess a couple stayed low. But I thought it was such entertaining Test cricket – that was the fastest pitch I’ve ever seen in Perth and I’ve been there a long time.”I thought it was really exciting Test cricket, got a result on the fifth day. From a personal point of view I love seeing cricket played like that.

The pair batted all of the fourth day and 12 overs on the fifth before weather intervened to give Sri Lanka a draw that didn’t look possible at 13 for 3

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Wellington19-Dec-2018They had less than half a session to see out due to rain on day five, but Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews stayed firm as they had all through Thursday, playing out 12 wicketless overs, to secure a draw.Through the course of the morning’s play, which had begun 90 minutes after the scheduled start time, the pair were largely unbothered by Tim Southee and Trent Boult’s fuller lengths, and even less troubled by the shorter stuff which they have negotiated with supreme confidence right through their partnership. Rain later returned to wash out the remainder of the day.

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During the roughly 52 minutes of play that was possible, though, Mendis fetched himself 25 further runs. He struck four boundaries – two of them sublime straight drives – and moved eventually to 141 not out. Mathews, who seemed intent on remaining in stonewall mode, added only three runs to his overnight score, and ended on 120. The partnership was ultimately worth 274, and Sri Lanka were only nine runs in arrears, when the rains returned.There were very minor scares for each batsman. Mathews was pointedly beaten outside his off stump by a good-length Boult delivery that curved away slightly before pitching. Mendis was close to gloving a waist-high Southee short ball down the legside. But so de-fanged is this surface now, that the bowlers barely had the opportunity to capitalise on those slight errors. Almost immediately, the ball began finding the middle of the bat again, and normal service resumed.The most exciting exciting period of the morning came when Mendis hit 19 runs in the space of seven deliveries, hitting two fours apiece off both Boult and Southee – a period that featured those two straight drives, in addition to a glorious pull to the square leg fence. That flurry of scoring prompted Kane Williamson to bring Neil Wagner and Ajaz Patel into the attack, but although a couple of maidens followed, there was no visible toruble for the batsmen.

Despite having won eight out of their last ten Tests, England’s selection problems seem as persistent as ever

George Dobell in Antigua30-Jan-2019It is amazing how quickly things change. Just over a week ago, Trevor Bayliss said it felt as if England had made progress nailing down positions in their side that had looked problematic for some time.His optimism seemed justified, too. England were ranked No. 3 in the world, after all, and had won eight of their last nine Tests, including a series victory over the No. 1-rated team, India, and a rare clean-sweep in Sri Lanka. It looked, very much, as if things were on an upward curve. But one defeat can cast a different light on things. Well, one defeat of the magnitude inflicted by West Indies in Barbados, anyway.Suddenly, it appears as if England have made very little progress over the last few years. Suddenly it appears as if they are in a state of something approaching chaos.If that seems over the top, consider this. There is every chance two men who played in the Barbados Test – Keaton Jennings and Adil Rashid – will not play Test cricket again. Meanwhile the seam attack is reliant upon a 36-year-old who has now bowled more deliveries than any seamer in Test history (and his 32-year-old sidekick), while the man who scored his first five Test centuries at No. 6 or 7 is now at No. 3; the man who was brought in to bat at No. 7 is at No. 6; and the man who looked so good at No. 6 has been moved to No. 5. Oh and the No. 9 thinks he’s a batting allrounder but was asked to open the bowling in Barbados. All are out of position. All are compromised because of it.Meanwhile the search for an opening batsman seems to have gone on since the dawn of time. England have now taken a punt Joe Denly, who hasn’t opened in three-and-a-half years in the Championship and has played most of his recent cricket in Division Two. He is, for sure, a talented player who may prove a useful legspinner, too. But he faces a huge challenge trying to negate Shannon Gabriel and company.Interestingly, while previous openers have been assured they will have several Tests in which to prove themselves, Joe Root made it clear Denly had until the end of this series. Realistically, if he can make 200 runs across those four innings, he has an excellent chance of playing in the Ashes.We have to keep the Barbados result in perspective. It was one game, after all. And it came from the first match of a series for which England might not have been perfectly prepared. Perhaps Antigua will provide a more accurate reflection of their abilities. They have never won here, though, and do not have the best record on the flat surface anticipated.Tom Harrison and Ed Smith, ECB chief executive and selector•Getty Images

But every new day seems to brings news of an England side’s defeat from somewhere in the world. Whether it’s the Lions, the Young Lions or the senior side, this vital year has started with a barrage of reminders of England’s struggles against spin bowling, fast bowling and touring.Again and again, we are given cause to ponder whether our own domestic first-class game – now largely played in spring and autumn in conditions which will rarely be replicated in international cricket – is providing the best environment in which cricketers can develop. It can’t be, can it, if it has struggled to provide opening batsmen for so long?That England, with such issues, are No. 3 in the Test rankings speaks volumes for the challenges faced by other cricket boards around the world. Almost wherever we look, we see countries struggling to sustain the domestic red-ball competitions which breed Test teams. Almost wherever we look, we see young players developing outrageous limited-overs skills, but failing to develop the more prosaic skills – the discipline, the denial, the technique – that could serve them well in the first-class game. Almost wherever we look, we see the shorter formats favoured and the longer format compromised. Players such as Cheteshwar Pujara, with his old-school approach, have become fantastically valuable.So, might England be No. 3 because the decline in the standards of county cricket is slower than the decline in the standard of domestic first-class cricket in other parts of the world? It seems quite possible.Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by the result in the first Test, anyway. West Indies have won three of the five most recent Tests between the sides (including two of the last three) and have been beaten once in a series by England in the Caribbean in the last half-century. In that context, the result in Barbados – where England have won twice in the last 80 years – does not seem such a shock.It also leaves West Indies’ insistence that they remain underdogs a bit hollow-sounding. Certainly there was nothing fortunate about their victory, with the depth of their batting – Jason Holder became just the third double-centurion from No. 8 in the order – complementing a seam attack that was both skilful, unrelenting and, at times, hostile. And if Roston Chase was flattered a little by his eight-wicket haul, it is only because he was the beneficiary of the pressure built up by his team over the previous days.Either way, the first Test result sets up the series intriguingly. If West Indies can repeat their Barbados performance, we might finally be able to believe that Caribbean cricket is on an upward curve. And if England repeat theirs, we may have some indication of the true progress they have made in recent months.

New Zealand will be buoyed by the return of Guptill from injury and the 2-1 T20I series win over India

The Preview by Mohammad Isam in Napier12-Feb-20190:57

We have a point to prove against Bangladesh – Astle

Big picture

Bangladesh have never lost to New Zealand in ODIs at home since 2010 while New Zealand have never lost to Bangladesh at their backyard. In their previous ODI, at a neutral venue in Cardiff in 2017, Bangladesh stunned New Zealand with an epic come-from-behind win.

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Ahead of the ODI series opener in Napier, many felt that this was Bangladesh’s best chance to win games in New Zealand. However, Shakib Al Hasan’s injury has created a gaping hole in the line-up.But nonetheless, it promises to be an exciting contest. New Zealand themselves have a few holes to plug after their 4-1 series defeat against India. The only game they won was when they bowled out India for 92 in Hamilton, but in the other four games they couldn’t sustain the pressure for longer periods.Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham were among the runs while Trent Boult and Matt Henry had one good outing each during the ODI series against India. The home side will also be buoyed by the 2-1 T20I series win over them.Tim Southee hasn’t found much swing in white-ball cricket, but New Zealand can fall back on the extra pace of Lockie Ferguson. How Bangladesh tackle New Zealand’s pace attack could have a big say in which way the series swings. If Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das can complement Tamim Iqbal, it will ease the pressure on Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah in the middle overs. Can Sabbir Rahman then fulfill his potential and finish the innings?Bangladesh pace attack, too, will have to step up. Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin will all have to play key roles, particularly in the slog overs. In the absence of Shakib, there is extra pressure on the inexperienced spinners Mehidy Hasan and Nayeem Hasan.

Form guide

New Zealand: LWLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: WLWWW

In the spotlight

Matt Henry‘s four-wicket haul in the last ODI against India could help him retain his spot for the series opener against Bangladesh, who haven’t been comfortable against rapid pace away from home.Soumya Sarkar‘s unbeaten 80 against West Indies, in Bangladesh’s last ODI in Sylhet, ensured that they won the series in style. Now, he has to adapt to quite different conditions as he looks to put behind a tough BPL campaign

Team news

Martin Guptill is fit again, and is set to open with Henry Nicholls. Colin Munro has been left out of the squad for the first two matches.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Henry Nicholls, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Todd Astle, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultBangladesh may be tempted to bring in Mohammad Saifuddin instead of Rubel Hossain, particularly in Shakib’s absence.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Liton Das, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mohammad Saifuddin, 9 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

The home side will be wary of the Napier pitch, having been bowled out for 157 by India, in the previous game here last month. Weather-wise, it is likely to be a pleasant day in McLean Park.

Stats and Trivia

• Bangladesh have lost both their previous ODIs in Napier, by big margins, during the 2007 and 2010 tours.
• Ross Taylor is 109 runs short of becoming the second New Zealander to 8,000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“We know it is going to be difficult in New Zealand but we like being the underdog. I think New Zealand know they have to play very good cricket to beat us.”
“Bangladesh are a quality side and they showed it in the Champions Trophy when they beat us in that last game.”
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill