A recap of the best of the action from the second weekend in the WBBL

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2019South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp took a hat-trick to set up a big win for the Sydney Sixers over the Melbourne Stars at Hurstville Oval. Kapp bowled Madeline Penna and Nicola Hancock before trapping Holly Ferling lbw to complete her three-in-three as she claimed overall figures of 3 for 16. There was a strong South Africa flavour to the first half of the match as Mignon du Preez (44) top-scored for the Stars while Dane van Niekerk struck with her first delivery and collected 2 for 18 in her first appearance of the season for the Sixers. The chase was completed with nearly three overs to spare as Ellyse Perry eased to an unbeaten 39.The Adelaide Strikers dug deep to defend 113 against the Hobart Hurricanes at Allan Border Field. It came down to the Hurricanes needing five off two balls with Nicola Carey, whose 39 was the highest score of the match, on strike against Sophie Devine. Carey connected well into the leg side, but didn’t quite have the distance to get over Katie Mack who took a well-judged catch near the rope. Legspinner Amanda Jade-Wellington, who received an on-ground wedding proposal last week, took two key wickets including an excellent delivery to remove Fran Wilson. In the first innings, Australia quick Tayla Vlaeminck had stood out with a rapid display as she claimed 2 for 18, but in the end Sarah Coyte’s late surge to hit 24 off 13 balls where most others struggled to hit a run-a-ball proved vital.Amy Jones and Meg Lanning almost beat their own record in a commanding opening stand against defending champions Brisbane Heat as Perth Scorchers cantered to a nine-wicket in the second game of the day at Allan Border Field. Jones (60*) and Lanning (56) added 129 for the first wicket and had looked set to earn the win themselves which would have overhauled their 144-run stand against the Adelaide Strikers last season as the record in a 10-wicket chase. Beth Mooney had led the Heat’s innings with 67 off 55 balls but after Maddy Green fell at the end of the 15th over the last five overs brought just 40 runs.Hannah Darlington pulled off a crucial final-ball catch to deny Jess Duffin who had played a terrific captain’s innings of 69 which almost carried the Melbourne Renegades to victory over the Sydney Thunder at Blacktown. Duffin and Courtney Webb (32) added 88 for the fifth wicket after the Renegades had fallen to 4 for 25 chasing 133. It came down to 15 needed off the last over bowled by Rene Farrell and then four off the last with Duffin on strike but she could only loft the ball in the air towards long-off where Darlington took an excellent catch.

Steven Smith’s lack of sleep during a Test has become legendary, but is it a key factor behind his diminishing returns across a match?

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide28-Nov-20190:34

Australia bowlers enjoy bowling with the pink ball – Paine

Australia’s captain Tim Paine insists that it will take an awful lot for him ever to send an opposition side into bat after twice seeing his men struggle against England when he did so at Lord’s and The Oval. Perhaps this is just as well, because his talismanic No. 4 Steven Smith becomes a far more human batsman whenever he does not get the chance to bat first.Smith has long complained of sleeping poorly during a Test match, as his brain goes into visualisation overdrive and he struggles to switch off and then nod off. But there is strong statistical evidence to suggest that Smith’s fraught sleep patterns contribute to a deterioration of his performance across the four innings of a Test.In the first innings of a Test, Smith averages a truly Bradmanesque 93.64 from 39 innings, and has scored 16 of his 26 hundreds there. In the second, this drops to 63.67 from 29 innings with six centuries, and then 51.68 from 36 innings with four centuries in the third. Worst of all is the fourth, where Smith averages just 30.68 from 21 innings and has never reached three figures.ALSO READ: ‘Coachability’ pushed Labuschagne to front of queuePut in the context of his lack of sleep across a match, this is unsurprising. Take Smith’s admission after the most recent day-night Test at Adelaide Oval, the Ashes Test in late 2017, where England fought back into the game after Smith declined to enforce the follow-on as captain: “I had to have a sleeping pill last night. It has been a pretty tough 24 hours if I’m being honest, it’s all part of being captain of your country, you have to make difficult decisions and sometimes you’re going to make the wrong decision.”Members of the Australian set-up have recalled how drained and washed out Smith was to look in the aftermath of the Perth Test, where the Ashes were retained later in December. The following March, of course, the Newlands scandal occurred, ruling Smith out of captaincy and sleepless Test match nights for the next 12 months. Before his return to Test cricket in England this year, Smith spoke again about his sleeping troubles.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I am an awful sleeper. In Test matches, I reckon I average 15 to 20 hours throughout the whole five days,” Smith told Sky Sports before the Edgbaston Test. “It’s all positive stuff – who’s bowling at me, where I am going to hit them, how I’m going to play, where I’m going to look to score. I don’t very often get many of those negative thoughts. When I do, I shut them out pretty quickly.”More recently, Smith has spoken of the various methods he is using to try to improve his sleep in a game, particularly using a rain sounds app on his phone to simulate the gentle patter of raindrops and help quieten his active mind. For Paine, there is an acknowledgement that Smith’s brain is part of what makes him one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen, but also an area where, the older and more mature he gets, improvement can still come.”That is just how he is, but at the same time I know he’s working with people at Cricket Australia and elsewhere on trying to find a better night’s sleep,” Paine said. “It’s not a great endorsement for his Koala mattress company, but he’s working on trying to get better at that and trying to relax a bit more during games. But he performs in first innings, which all good players want to be able to do when the game’s up for grabs, and big first innings runs more often than not will win you Test matches or certainly put you well in front of the game.”If you asked him would he rather score his runs in the first or the second innings he’s going to take the first every day of the week and his record is second to none. He’s plugging away at trying to get a better nights’ sleep, but I don’t think it’s an easy fix for someone who’s wired the way Steve is.”Something Paine noted about sleeping habits was the fact that fatherhood can provide a great simplifier. “I sleep okay, the bed in Adelaide’s a bit soft, but I’m a pretty good sleeper I must admit,” he said. “It’s changed a bit since I’ve had children, I’m up a bit earlier these days, so I tend to crash a bit earlier as well.”Sleep or no sleep, Paine has his own issue to address in Adelaide this week – that of backing up after a victory. Two of Australia’s six Test wins under his captaincy so far have been followed by defeats in the next match, with the Lord’s draw also an uncomfortable result. Only once, against Sri Lanka in January and February, were two wins strung together.”I wouldn’t say we’ve had a problem with it, I’d say we haven’t won a lot of cricket games over the last 18 months,” Paine said. “But as I’ve touched on before Brisbane, now we’ve got a team together, we’re turning up to Test matches expecting to win, whereas in the last 18 months it was probably a bit unsure and I think most teams would be the same had you taken their two best players out.”Now we’ve got some consistency around our group, but we were certainly disappointed with the way we played the fifth Test [in England] and one of the things we’ve spoken about as a group since that is we’ve called it ‘winning after winning’, making sure we can back up a performance which we were really happy with last week, but coming to Adelaide now knowing that last week’s performance means nothing and we have to be at our best again starting tomorrow afternoon.”A well-rested and relaxed Steven Smith will go a long way towards ensuring Australia start to pile the wins up into a longer sequence, particularly in terms of winning games where they haven’t made the perfect start to proceedings.

The allrounder last played international cricket in 2016 but late last year said he was available for T20Is again

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2020Dwayne Bravo is set to play his first international since 2016 after being recalled to the West Indies T20I squad for the series against Ireland.Bravo, 36, confirmed in December that he was coming out of T20I retirement with the hope of securing a spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.His last international was a T20I against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in September 2016. Despite announcing his retirement in October 2018, he was included among West Indies’ reserves for last year’s World Cup, but when he officially made himself available again he said it would only be for T20Is.

West Indies T20I squad v Ireland

Kieron Pollard (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Khary Pierre, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd Lendl Simmons, Hayden Walsh jr.

“Once selected I’ll be fully committed to represent the region again in T20 cricket, which I think is exciting for West Indies cricket and fans, with the young talents around,” he said.Bravo has had an extensive T20 career, amassing 450 matches – currently the second-most behind Kieron Pollard – with a host of franchises and leagues. He has played 66 T20Is, scoring 1142 runs and taking 52 wickets and it’s with the ball that he is being earmarked for a key role by the West Indies selectors.”Dwayne Bravo was recalled with the specific intention of bolstering our ‘death’ bowling which was identified as an area that really needs improving,” Roger Harper, CWI’s lead selector, said. “His record in this department speaks for itself. He will also be able to act as a mentor to the other ‘death’ bowlers and lend his experience wherever needed.”Jason Holder is being rested for the three-match series as part of workload management while allrounders Fabian Allen and Keemo Paul were unavailable due to injury. Paul suffered a back problem during the ODI series against Ireland.There is also a recall for allrounder Rovman Powell and on Monday Romario Shepherd, who has played five ODIs but has yet to be capped in T20Is, was confirmed as the 14th player in the squad.”Rovman Powell is a genuine all-rounder who we believe can add impetus and up the strike rate at the back-end of the innings,” Harper said. “He was excellent in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup – where he scored two excellent centuries and a 96 and also had some other good performances.”

Is it a “ridiculous” idea or is it necessary “for this day and age”? Listen to the players’ opinions and decide for yourself

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2020The ICC is exploring the idea of regular four-day Test cricket, to the point of possibly making it part of the 2023 Test championship. The argument for the move is that it could free up a calendar that is currently clogged with too many fixtures. But there is also a worry that without the fifth day, chances of a definitive result might reduce. Here’s what the players think.Joe Root, England captain: I think here’s a place for it in the game.”I do,” he told . “Whether that’s across the board or can it be flexible – we’ve obviously played one against Ireland. I’m sure that pitch would’ve been fit for a three-day game. I think it’s worth trialing. I do think it’s worth trialing and it might not always make sense for England to play especially if its against Australia or some of the bigger sides but it might draw a bit more interest with some of the countries who struggle to get people in the ground.”ALSO READ: ECB gives ‘cautious’ backing to four-day proposalFormer England captain Nasser Hussain prompted Root about the possibility of spin going out of the game if there isn’t enough time for a pitch to deteriorate, especially outside Asia. “If you don’t try it you don’t know,” Root replied. “You should be open minded enough to at least try it and see how it goes. I think the most important thing is not making a definitive decision. I love playing five days of cricket personally. I think it’s the best format. The extra day, like you say, it really does make [sure], majority of the time, 99% of the time, the best team’s won the game.Joe Root rallies his team before the start of play•Getty Images

Nathan Lyon, Australia offspinner: I hope ICC aren’t even considering it“Ridiculous. I’m not a fan of four-day Test matches,” he told “I believe you’ll get so many more draws and day five is crucial.”One, there’s the weather element. But the wickets these days are probably a lot flatter than they have been in the past, so it allows teams to bat longer and to put pressure on sides. You need time for the pitch to deteriorate and bring spinners in more on day five as well.ALSO READ: One day too many? Early finishes point to new possibilities for Test cricket“It’s a challenge You’re challenging yourself in different ways – physically and mentally. It’s not just a walk in the park. Five-day Test matches, they are hard work especially if the conditions aren’t in your favour. You want to challenge yourself. I’m all against four-day Test matches.”Nathan Lyon holds the ball up after his five-wicket haul•AFP

David White, New Zealand Cricket Chief executive: It demands serious attention“Given the congested schedule, four-day Tests demand serious consideration in order for us to accommodate an increasingly packed calendar – ICC world events, bilateral arrangements, and domestic leagues,” he told .Glenn McGrath, former Australia fast bowler: Hate to see it get shorter“I’m very much a traditionalist I like the game the way it is. To me five days is very special and I’d hate to see it get any shorter. The introduction of pink Tests, day-night Tests is a great way to continue keeping our game fresh and moving forward. In respects to changing how many days its played, I’m actually against it. I like the way it is.”Jos Buttler, England wicketkeeper: In this day and age, we have to consider it“Test cricket is the pinnacle but you have to be open to change,” Buttler said. “I think the game has changed and if four-day Test cricket could preserve and potentially improve Test cricket I think it has to be looked at. I think we all love a five-day finish with all three results possible on the last day but can four-day cricket be a success? I think if it’s done properly it can be. In this day and age we have to consider all the opportunities to see how we can do what’s best for Test cricket.”The scoreboard reflects Glenn McGrath’s best Ashes figures•Hardy’s

Vernon Philander, South Africa fast bowler: I am a purist“I hope five-day Test cricket doesn’t come to an end,” he said. “There is only one format and that’s Test cricket. T20 cricketers come and go and the names come and go, Test cricket is the ultimate. Hopefully we can still see five-day Test matches. I know there has been a lot of talk about having four-day Test matches but I am a purist when it comes to cricket and I would like to see Test matches survive for five days.”Tim Paine, Australia captain: Merit in trying it out for the odd Test“I think it should be taken into consideration,” he said. “I dare say going back six or seven years if you let the players decide on pink ball that probably wouldn’t have happened. There is always going to be some give and take. I think there is some merit on it being in the odd Test like we did with England and Ireland. But I think the big marquee Test series, the Test championship stuff has to stay five days.”Vernon Philander celebrates the wicket of Joe Root•Getty Images

Rassie van der Dussen, South Africa batsman: Pitches will change to force results“I’ve never played a five-day match in my life,” he said. “It’s difficult to say. In terms of over rate, we were a bit slow [in Centurion], England were also a bit slow, so there is definitely scope to fit in more overs in the day. We were coming off at 5.30 and there was bright sunshine on most days and you can definitely squeeze in half an over there and make up another eight overs. In the calendar these days, it’s definitely something that you have to consider. The pitch does deteriorate enough in four days to get a result and I think that will also make groundsmen prepare pitches that will force results in four days, like we had at Centurion. We’ll also probably have it at Wanderers where the cracks open up. It’s something to consider.”Keshav Maharaj, South Africa left-arm spinner: I just want to play“I just want to play Test cricket, whether its five days, four days, two days,” he said. “I just want to bowl and hopefully get some runs when I bat. I’ve got no issues with the duration of the Test match, I just want to play Test cricket.”

Waqar played more than a decade and a half of first-class cricket, and also served as a national selector

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2020Waqar Hasan, the last surviving member of Pakistan’s inaugural Test team, which played India in Delhi in October 1952, has died in Karachi at the age of 87.A middle-order batsman, Waqar’s first outing in Test cricket wasn’t too auspicious, as he scored 8 and 5 in an innings defeat, but he ended the five-Test series as Pakistan’s highest run-maker, with 357 runs at an average of 44.62, including three half-centuries. Waqar went on to play 21 Test matches during the course of a first-class career that spanned more than a decade and a half, from 1948-49 to 1965-66.He finished with 1071 runs in 35 Test innings, an average of 31.50, and hit a century and six half-centuries. His first-class average was 35.64.”Waqar Hassan was an attractive strokemaker, who was ideal in a crisis and and a fine field either at cover or further out,” Christopher Martin-Jenkins wrote of Waqar in .ALSO READ: ‘Pakistan’s first tour of India was my most memorable’“It gives me immense satisfaction to have achieved many firsts for Pakistan: first to score a half-century in each innings of a Test [Bombay, 1952-53], first Test half-century in England [Lord’s, 1954], first Test half-century at home, and first to score two half-centuries in a home Test [Dacca, 1954-55], first century partnership [with Hanif Mohammad, Bombay, 1952-53], first double-century partnership [with Imtiaz Ahmed, Lahore, 1955-56],” Waqar recounted in an interview with in November 2012, by which time he had started splitting his time between Karachi and London.Originally from Lahore, Waqar shifted to Karachi in 1945 after being offered a job with the Public Works Department, and by the early 1960s, he launched a textile machinery business. The reason, as he explained, was financial. “I had lost my regular place in the Test team but my main reason for quitting cricket after the 1959-60 season was financial,” he said. “I opted out at the age of 27 to establish my business. I had seen the likes of Amir Elahi and Wazir Ali living not-so-happy lives in their later years.”He did, however, return to the game for a brief fling as a player. “In 1963-64, after being out of first-class cricket for four years, on the insistence of the officials of the Karachi cricket association, I agreed to captain the team,” he said. “I played only three more first-class tournaments in two years but we achieved remarkable results. We won all the three first-class tournaments – the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy [twice] and the Ayub Trophy.”In the 1963-64 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, my second-string Karachi Blues defeated the Karachi Whites, who had in their line-up five Test captains of the past and future. I played for fun with no ambition of making a Test comeback.”Waqar also served as a national selector, in spells during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.