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“In the slips, the ball hits your hand so hard it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball.”

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2019Fielding, rather than batting, could be the biggest challenge faced with the pink ball, according to Virat Kohli. The India captain spoke about adjusting to how quickly the ball travelled, and getting used to its feel on the eve of India’s first day-night Test, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.ALSO READ: ‘Wanted to play in our own conditions first’ – Kohli on pink-ball change of heart“Catching the ball, we felt like how you feel like with the white ball in the afternoon,” Kohli said of India’s fielding session on Thursday. “You don’t know how far the ball is and then it hits your hand very quickly. In the slips, the ball hits your hand so hard it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball, or those synthetic balls we’ve played with when we were younger. It really felt like that on the hand, and it’s definitely because of the extra glaze of the ball.”It’s definitely much harder, and it felt a little heavier. Obviously, it can’t be a difference of weight, but for some reason it felt heavier. Even the throws took a lot more effort than the red ball to reach the keeper. And again, the dip perception was very difficult when the ball went up in the air. During the day, high catches will be very difficult. We had to watch the balls straight into our palms more often than not. With red ball and white ball, you catch with the idea of how fast the ball is coming down, but this time if you don’t look down at the ball in your palms, it’s gone. So, I think the fielding session for me was far more challenging than batting. People are going to be surprised by how challenging fielding with this ball can be.”ALSO READ – Fashionably late, India and Bangladesh join the pink parade
As for batting, Kohli said earlier practice sessions had helped tune up the batsmen, and the ploy against the pink ball was merely to keep things tight.”I think in general, if you haven’t played with the pink ball before, it’s going to be challenging throughout the game,” Kohli said. “It’ll require more concentration, more solid technique. A more compact game compared to the red ball, purely because anyway in the longer format, the ball does a lot more than the white ball. Add not having great visibility or the ability to pick that colour, and it makes it even more difficult. As you can imagine, decision-making will have to be very precise. Your idea of off stump… I think that’s going to be the most crucial thing. Because even yesterday when we practiced, we felt that the ball could be closer to you but it’s not actually that close to the off stump. So I think that channel, one will have to be careful.”Batting is something we were focussing on. As a batsman, invariably you end up thinking a lot more about cutting down those errors when you’re playing with a different coloured ball. As batsmen, we were in the mindset of solidifying our games and our techniques. It’s going be a challenge, it’s going to be something which should excite everyone. Sometimes you need to change the template and be excited for new things and new challenges that you’re going to try out. I think we’ll have to be very precise and our skills will be tested.”Kohli also said that India were particularly excited about playing in front of a packed Eden Gardens and described their first pink-ball Test as a “landmark occasion”.”It’s a nice occasion. We were already excited about this Test, like I said, it’s a challenge for us,” he said. “I think before this, we had this much excitement and buzz in Eden when we played against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. Even then there had been big names and there was a felicitation ceremony and there was a packed stadium. So, I think that type it’ll be that kind of atmosphere. It can be daunting or intimidating, but it’s also very exciting.”When a batsman goes out, he’ll have a lot of support. When a bowler is standing at his mark and 80,000 people are cheering for him with the new ball, which is not easy to play with, he will be boosted. The first session, the first hour, I think will be very exciting, because the energy will be high. And the people will enjoy it a lot. So, obviously this is a landmark occasion and like I said before, we’re lucky that we’re starting this new trend. It’s a matter of honour.”

Eoin Morgan, who rested himself for the final ODI of the series, labelled his team’s attitude as “very poor” after they were thrashed by Sri Lanka

George Dobell in Colombo23-Oct-2018England were “extremely poor” in defeat against Sri Lanka in the fifth ODI, according to their captain, Eoin Morgan.But while Morgan, who left himself out for the match so England could take a look at Sam Curran, also labelled his team’s attitude as “very poor”, he felt the overall experience could prove beneficial for the side ahead of the World Cup campaign.He promised there would be no “papering over the cracks” when they reviewed what went wrong, having lost by a record margin of 219 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.”It can be extremely helpful,” Morgan said. “For 50 overs today we were under serious pressure and we didn’t have a lot of answers. That gives us a good opportunity to go back and look at everything from preparation right down to the end result. That’s always better when you’ve been put under a lot of pressure.”We didn’t take our game forward today. There were areas it went backwards. Our fielding was extremely poor, our attitude was very poor and that has to be addressed. We’ll have to break down everything from yesterday’s practice. Did we do too much the day before the game? Did we overcook ourselves? We might have been a little bit fatigued. I don’t know.”We will break it down and find an answer because otherwise we’re just papering over the cracks which is not what we want to do.”Sri Lanka hit 366 – their highest ODI score against England – in the first innings of the game, plundering a bowling attack that included both Sam and Tom Curran for the first time in an international game.But Morgan defended the changes England made to their line-up on the grounds that some of these players – notably Sam Curran – could come into the World Cup squad as injury replacements.Sam Curran bowls during the fifth ODI•Getty Images

“Sam has only played his second ODI today,” Morgan said. “If we’re going to be serious about considering him as a potential replacement if David Willey is injured for the World Cup squad we need to know more about him.”Today we learned more about him. If Sam Curran’s name goes down on that paper we know what his strengths and weaknesses are now, and we try to improve them as we go along. He needs games under his belt.”When you leave yourself out the one thing you don’t want to compromise is winning the game. That’s the best environment to learn from. But on the other hand you want to see the players who come in be challenged and put under pressure. That’s one thing we definitely saw today.”People will say you don’t want to see your bowlers hit all over the place, hit back over their head, but I think it’s necessary to learn. When we go into the World Cup and play against the better teams they perform like that on a regular basis.”It’s not that you want to get used to it but you want them to get used to the situation, and experience refocusing for the next delivery.”The time for experimentation is now over, however. England have only two full ODI series to play before embarking on their World Cup campaign – against West Indies in the Caribbean and at home to Pakistan – and have to select their squad before meeting Pakistan in May.”Today we played five out-and-out batters,” Morgan said. “We normally play six, but the balance of the team changed. I’d like to think we’ll go back to our strongest suit and strongest balance consistently going to the West Indies and then against Pakistan and Ireland in World Cup year.”

Philander was only able to bowl five overs on the second day at The Oval and was later sent for tests which revealed a possible viral infection

Firdose Moonda at The Oval28-Jul-2017Vernon Philander will be kept in hospital overnight on Friday, with a suspected viral infection, and a call will be taken on his availability for the ongoing Oval Test on Saturday morning. Philander was only able to bowl five overs on the second day and spent most of it off the field. As his condition worsened, was sent for tests to ascertain if it was something more serious was causing him to feel unwell.Philander first experienced symptoms on the morning the match began but was included in XI with the hope it was a minor concern that would improve as the Test progressed. He bowled four overs upfront and then spent time off the field in the morning and afternoon sessions, then returned for spells of five overs and three overs. He was said to be feeling much better on the second morning, and bowled a further five overs, but then suffered a recurrence of the stomach problem and was forced off the field. It was not until the afternoon session that he was taken to hospital and will remain under observation for the night.South Africa will be desperate for Philander to return as soon as possible, because they need him as much with bat as they will with ball. At 126 for 8, Philander, if passed fit, will be the last man to bat and could prove crucial to avoiding the follow-on. Currently, Morne Morkel is batting with Temba Bavuma, the last recognised specialist batsman.Philander will also be a key to keeping England in check, should they bat again. The impact of his absence was clear through the second day, when Chris Morris struggled to find rhythm and South Africa had to turn to their spinner Keshav Maharaj earlier than they may have wanted to.”A guy like Vernon, we know his wicket-taking abilities especially on a wicket like that with grass and assistance,” Neil McKenzie, South Africa’s batting coach said. “Yesterday he went passed the bat on numerous occasions. We miss his control. If you look at his economy rates, it’s not just about wickets – but that control and the economy rate – and I think on that wicket today and yesterday, the economy just shows we didn’t land enough balls in the right areas and ask enough questions.”Hopefully he’ll be back and we can try and get close to the score – lessen the deficit and then we know how important he is with the ball. If it is going to be overcast tomorrow like the forecasts predict he’s going to be vital for us to get back into this contest.”Philander has already scored two fifties in the series and was named Man of the Match after South Africa’s win at Trent Bridge. This is his second ailment of the tour, after an ankle injury sustained during a county stint pre-Tests threatened to keep him out of the opener. Philander missed the warm-up match in Worcester but was declared fit to play at Lord’s.

A group of 14 players began training last weekend under West Indies’ head coach Phil Simmons, at the High Performance Centre at the Three Ws Oval in Barbados

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2016Seven West Indies Test players are part of a 14-member squad named for a week-long training camp focusing on spin bowling and batting under head coach Phil Simmons, at the High Performance Centre in Barbados.West Indies are slated to play four Tests at home against India in July and August, after which they will take on Pakistan in three away Tests in September and October.”The camp is specifically for batsmen and spin bowlers. At this stage, we want the batsmen to focus on getting better against the slow bowlers,” Simmons said. “We want bowlers to look at ways to improve their art of spin bowling. In the coming months we will have Test matches against India and Pakistan – two higher-ranked teams – so we know we will face a lot of spin and we will play against players who are good players of spin.”The list of players for this camp does not mean that they have already been selected to play the Test matches. The squads for the India and Pakistan matches will be named at a later date. We have chosen players to work on certain specific areas and to have a closer look at their techniques and skill sets, as we look to prepare for what is ahead of us.”WICB is also expected to organise a camp ahead of the 50-over tri-series against Australia and South Africa, starting June 3.List of players: Kraigg Brathwaite, Rajendra Chandrika, Shai Hope, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, Leon Johnson, Vishal Singh, Roston Chase, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Imran Khan, Gudakesh Motie, Damion Jacobs, Jomel Warrican

Cricket South Africa will be holding a spin bowling camp next week at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria ahead of upcoming tours of Bangladesh and India

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2015Cricket South Africa will be holding a spin bowling camp next week at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria ahead of upcoming tours of Bangladesh and India.Batsmen JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks, and spinners Aaron Phangiso and Dane Piedt are the internationals who have been invited for the camp. A host of Under-19 players will also be involved as South Africa prepare to defend their junior World Cup title next year in Bangladesh.Former internationals Nicky Boje and Paul Adams will be the spin-bowling coaches while HD Ackerman and Neil Johnson will be the batting ones.”This annual camp has particular significance this year,” said Vinnie Barnes, CSA High Performance manager. “If one looks at our international fixture list for the second half of the year, we have away Test Series in both Bangladesh and India while South Africa A will be playing both four-day unofficial Tests and a triangular one-day series in India.”Spin bowling obviously plays an important part on the subcontinent so it is important that we prepare players properly, particularly those who have little or no experience of playing in that part of the world.”The camp will also be attended by some of our less experienced batsmen who will be representing these various squads. Some of our (senior-team) batsmen have also asked to attend in preparation for the tour of Bangladesh.”Our Under-19 squad struggled during their recent tour to Bangladesh where they will be defending their world title next year so we are also involving players at this level.”Spinners Aaron Phangiso, Ruben Claassen, Bjorn Fortuin, Tshepo Ntuli, Dane Piedt, George Linde, Shaun von Berg, Sean Whitehead, Nduduzo Mfoza, Tshepiso Ndwandwa, Lizo MakhosiBatsmen Temba Bavuma, Rudi Second, Theunis de Bruyn, Omphile Ramela, Gihahn Cloete, JP Duminy, Reeza Hendricks, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Dean Foxcroft, Wiaan Mulder, Dayyaan Galiem

James Pattinson, the Australia fast bowler, may have broken down again with serious injury after he complained of side pain when taking the second new ball on the third morning of the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval24-Nov-2012James Pattinson, the Australia fast bowler, has broken down again with a serious injury after he complained of side pain when taking the second new ball on the third morning of the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide.Having bowled the first ball of the 84th over, Pattinson, 22, spoke to his captain Michael Clarke and walked off the ground. After speaking with the team physio Alex Kountouris it emerged that he was troubled by pain in his left side. Pattinson left the ground to have scans which confirmed a left side injury, though its exact severity is yet to be known.To that point Pattinson had bowled only nine overs out of the first 83, as Clarke sought to preserve him in the Adelaide heat on a largely unhelpful pitch.The most hostile and aggressive of Australia’s crop of young fast bowlers, Pattinson has battled a succession of injuries since he first toured for the national side in India in 2010. A brilliant start to his Test career last summer was curtailed by a foot injury during the Sydney Test against India in January.It was later revealed that Australia’s selectors chose to play Pattinson in the SCG Test despite medical evidence that he was at high risk of suffering an injury due to his bowling workload up to that point. They preferred to keep him in the team due to his strong bowling form, and he duly suffered from a stress injury in Sydney.Pattinson then returned to action during the West Indies tour, but while playing in the Trinidad Test suffered a back injury while throwing off balance from the outfield and was sent home. His lead-in to this summer’s home Tests was carefully managed, affording him a quartet of Sheffield Shield matches and no Twenty20 cricket.Before the match, Pattinson said he did not want to be rested, as his body felt free of niggles. “At the moment I’ve got no soreness in my body, so I want to keep playing, I don’t want to get rested,” he said. “But I suppose there’ll come a time when I’ll have a high workload and it’ll look like I’m going to get rested as we’ve spoken about.”I’m happy for that, I put the faith in the medical staff’s hands and if they think it’s a good idea for me to get rested one Test then so be it. We’ve got to want what’s best for the team and if that’s best for the team then so be it.”

A round-up of the action from the Coca-Cola Pro50 Championship 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2011An all-round team performance helped Mid West Rhinos to a five-wicket win against Mountaineers at Kwekwe Sports Club in the Coca-Cola Pro50 Championship.Mountaineers chose to bat and were dented early by medium-pacer Richard Muzhange, who claimed three quick wickets to leave Mountaineers 27 for 3 in the ninth over. Opener Jethro Maudzi , though, prevented a collapse with a fluent half-century. He hit 77 off 85 balls with seven fours, and put on 115 for the fourth wicket with his captain Timycen Maruma. A couple of handy cameos followed from Ned Eckersley and Gary Chirimuuta, which carried Mountaineers past 200. Muzhange eventually picked up Mawudzi to finish with 4 for 45.Chasing 222, Rhinos lost Bothwell Chapungu early, but a 70-run stand between Steve Marillier and captain Gary Ballance got the innings back on track. Apart from Chapungu, Rhinos’ top order batsmen all managed between 35 and 48, with Riki Wessels top scoring. Fast bowler Tendai Chatara picked up three wickets, but it was not close to being enough as Rhinos got home with all of 11 overs to spare.The result, Rhinos’ first win in three games following a loss and a tie, put them at No. 2 on the points table, while Mountaineers are languishing in last spot after their third straight loss.Mashonaland Eagles consolidated their position at the top of the points table with a 38-run win against Matabeleland Tuskers at the Harare Sports Club.Eagles’ top order came good after they were inserted. Three successive half-century partnerships – 95, 59 and 87, the last one at a run-rate of over nine an over – set up their total of 278. Cephas Zhuwao and Ryan Bishop both hit half-centuries, with Zhuwao top scoring with 71. Glen Querl was the pick of the Tuskers bowlers, claiming 4 for 49. Bradley Staddon also snagged four wickets, but was expensive, going for 6.54 an over.The chase was dotted with regular wickets. Tuskers’ captain Gavin Ewing made 50 off 60 balls but, as the others scratched around and then got dismissed, his team slumped to 116 for 6 in the 30th over. Steven Trenchard showed some purpose with a rapid 60 – it included six fours and one six, and came off 43 balls – but after the early listlessness, even the late surge could not lift Tuskers to a win. Mark Mbofana finished with the best figures for Eagles: 3 for 26 in 6.1 overs.

Alex Blackwell posted the second-highest score in WNCL history to push the New South Wales Breakers to a record-breaking 5 for 395 against Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2010New South Wales 5 for 395 (Blackwell 157, Poulton 86, Sthalekar 75) beat Tasmania 160 (Burns 51, Perry 4-10) by 235 runs

Scorecard
Alex Blackwell posted the second-highest score in WNCL history to push the New South Wales Breakers to a record-breaking 5 for 395 in the 235-run victory over Tasmania. The total comfortably beat the previous best of 3 for 309, which was set by ACT against South Australia last year, and the victory was sealed when Tasmania fell for 160.Blackwell, the captain, raced to 157 off 111 balls, with 17 fours and a six, while Leah Poulton (86) and Lisa Sthalekar (75) also joined the fun. “I was quite determined once I got to 100 to see if I could push myself to 150,” Blackwell said. “I’ve never done that before. I didn’t have any records in mind but as a personal milestone I just wanted to make sure I kicked on.”She said as the game wore on the team was aiming for 400. “All the way through our innings we had our goals,” she said, “and in the end we fell just short of that.”Tasmania lasted until the 37th over, with Erin Burns top scoring with 51. Ellyse Perry did the damage with the ball by taking 4 for 10 from 7.4 overs.

The battle lines between Cricket NSW and the SCG Trust have again been drawn, with Blues chief executive Dave Gilbert suggesting Sydney’s next Ashes Test could be staged at ANZ Stadium

Cricinfo staff11-Nov-2009The battle lines between Cricket NSW and the SCG Trust have again been drawn, with Blues chief executive Dave Gilbert suggesting Sydney’s next Ashes Test could be staged at ANZ Stadium, the main venue for the 2000 Olympics. Cricket NSW and the Trust were involved in a similar stand-off five years ago during negotiations over the existing tenancy agreement, and Gilbert has again flagged the possibility of moving cricket from its traditional home at the SCG to the 80,000 capacity stadium in Homebush.The last agreement, signed in 2004, expires at the end of 2010, creating an air of uncertainty over where the New Year’s Test of 2011 against England will be staged. The very notion that major international fixtures could be relocated from the SCG will dismay the cricketing purists of Sydney, but Gilbert said he would keep all options open when negotiations with the Trust begin next year.”ANZ is focused on getting a major cricket match to its venue,” Gilbert said. “I know Test cricket will be a difficult one to do at this stage – and you have to weigh up tradition and history and the drama at the SCG – but when I was a kid growing up at the SCG, rugby league Test matches and union Test matches were only ever at the SCG. Not anymore.”If you’re a 15-year-old kid, you’ve only ever known big sport events to be played at ANZ Stadium – that’s not meant to be an inflammatory comment, it’s a fact. If you take the heat and emotion out of it, as CEO of Cricket NSW, I have to do what is best for cricket to generate revenue to keep this game going, and this is what this process is about.”This is what our negotiations will be about the next few months. It has to be recognised SCG and ANZ Stadium run a ground and we run a sport, we need each other and it’s about working out the best deal moving forward.”Simon Katich, the Australian opener and NSW captain, said it would be a “huge surprise” if the decision was made to break with tradition and relocate Test cricket from the SCG to the larger-capacity ANZ Stadium. NSW have staged 20- and 50-over matches at the Olympic venue for several seasons, but as yet no internationals have been played there.”We’ve played a lot of one-day cricket out at ANZ Stadium,” Katich said. “The game is always developing and changing, who knows where it could head now with where we play, but it would be a shock if we moved from the SCG.”I think the only issue might be that the wicket at ANZ is a drop-in wicket and people are always worried about losing the characteristics of all the five different [Ashes Test] venues in Australia,” he added. “That would be an issue, but in terms of attendances out there, we obviously get great crowds for the Blues and being a big stadium, who knows what a Test match could draw out there?”A spokesman for ANZ Stadium said the venue’s primary focus was to attract ODI and Twenty20 international cricket, but would not rule out a bid to poach Test matches from the SCG.

The two matches will provide Australia’s preparation for the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2025An extra ODI has been added to Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka which will provide the visitors additional preparation for the Champions Trophy.The two matches will now take place on February 12 and 14 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and will be day games.The first of the games begins just two days after the scheduled fifth day of the second Test in Galle so it remains to be seen how many players featuring in that match can turnaround for the one-dayer if the Test goes the distance.However, Australia have nine players in their preliminary Champions Trophy squad who aren’t part of the Test series, including captain Pat Cummins and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood.But Cummins’ participation remains uncertain as he is carrying an ankle injury which he played with during the India Test series.Australia’s ODI players are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka around the start of the second Test. Their first match in the Champions Trophy is against England on February 22 followed by South Africa on February 25 and Afghanistan on February 28.The first semi-final will take place in Dubai on March 4 with the second in Lahore on March 5 following confirmation of the hybrid model due to India not traveling to Pakistan. The final will be on March 9, in either Dubai or Lahore depending on whether India qualify.