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Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour, and will almost certainly miss Sri Lanka’s two Tests in Australia as well early next year, after scans revealed a grade two strain in his left hamstring.Mathews picked up the injury while completing a run late in the afternoon session of day four of the Christchurch Test, immediately pulling up lame, and having to hop between the wickets on his right leg for the remainder of the session. He then retired hurt at tea and did not take the field again.”Angelo had a scan last night, and it’s a grade two hamstring strain,” captain Dinesh Chandimal said after the match. “The physio said he’s out for four weeks.”The injury not only substantially weakened Sri Lanka’s chances of drawing the Christchurch Test – which they have since gone on to lose – it is also a major blow to their hopes in Australia in particular. Mathews was Sri Lanka’s best batsman in New Zealand, hitting 258 runs with only one dismissal against him in the series. His 120 not out in Wellington was especially outstanding, as he batted alongside Kusal Mendis through the entirety of day four to save that Test.And as Mathews having sustained multiple calf and hamstring injuries over the last two years, four weeks might even be a slightly optimistic timeframe for recovery. It has often been the case since 2017, that Mathews has required a few extra weeks to regain full fitness than the team had originally announced.The first Test in Australia begins on January 24, with the second Test due to start on February 1. A more realistic goal may be for Mathews to return in time for Sri Lanka’s first Test of the South Africa series, which starts on February 13.Looking further down the track, Mathews’ latest injury may also affect Sri Lanka’s World Cup plans. In limited-overs cricket, Mathews has generally been a reliable and effective bowler. But although he had just begun to return to the bowling in international cricket following the previous round of injuries, the Sri Lanka think-tank may now decide that Mathews should play purely as a batsman, in order to minimise the risk of a further injury.

The second double-century opening stand of the season from New South Wales pair Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin dragged the Blues back into the game against South Australia at the SCG.Just three weeks after piling up a 251-run stand against Queensland in Canberra, the pair again made twin hundreds to leave the Blues just 157 runs behind in the first innings with 10 wickets in hand.Both men showed extreme patience. Larkin struck just four fours and two sixes in his third first-class century. Hughes absorbed 254 balls for his 105 not-out and only found the boundary seven times, in his fifth first-class century.The Redbacks cycled through seven bowlers without making the breakthrough.Earlier, Alex Carey made his second Sheffield Shield century. He finished 110 not-out as the Redbacks were bowled out for 380. Tom Cooper wasn’t able to make his third hundred of the Shield season falling for 89 early in the morning. He was caught brilliantly down the leg side by Peter Nevill from a regulation leg glance.Carey didn’t get much support from the Redbacks tail but they hung around long enough for him to reach his century with a powerful strike down the ground off Steve O’Keefe. Blues debutant Greg West finished with 3 for 88.

Anya Shrubsole said she’s “not sure” how she got her hat-trick at Gros Islet and instead turned the spotlight on her team-mate Natalie Sciver, as the duo played key roles in bowling South Africa out for 85 and knocking them out of the Women’s World T20Shrubsole, Player of the Final at last year’s World Cup, became the second England bowler after Sciver to take a T20I hat-trick, claiming the wickets of Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas and Moseline Daniels in the last over of South Africa’s innings. However, it was Sciver who had set up the game earlier, bowling 20 dot balls and finishing with incredible figures of 4-1-4-3.”I’m not sure how (I got the hat-trick),” Shrubsole said. “A couple of slow balls came off for me, and then when they hit the stumps, it’s something that’s pretty special. But I think credit has got to go toward all the bowlers, and in particular, Nat [Sciver], who was outstanding today.Anya Shrubsole bagged a hat-trick against South Africa•ICC

“I think the bowlers seem to have had the best thing so far here in St. Lucia. The way they came out and played really put us on the front foot.”The pair’s contribution on the whole read 6 for 15 to hand as England cruised into the semi-finals with their third win of the tournament. They are now are set to take on West Indies and the clash will decide who finishes top of the table in Group A.”We’ve got a great game to go yet. I think we can’t overlook that,” Shrubsole said. “I think momentum is a huge thing in Twenty20 cricket. It’s nice to have one foot in the semi-finals, but we want to come out here and put in a really good performance against West Indies on Sunday, and then we’ll start to look to Antigua and adapting to how things might be different out there.”Meanwhile, South Africa were left to rue yet another poor batting display, with a spot in the knockouts on the line. Just two nights after losing 9 for 28 against West Indies, South Africa collapsed from 55 for 4 to 85 all out against England. It left their captain Dane van Niekerk morose and their coach Hilton Moreeng annoyed.”We’re so frustrated because some of the players got in a muddle, they just changed their game plan and approach,” Moreeng said. “For us, it’s when you look at the entire batting line-up, actually, since we got to our game against the West Indies, it hasn’t been good. When you look at application, even simple things like rotation is something that’s not happened like it’s supposed to.”So for us, I think, in the changing room, we need to sit down again and go back to the drawing board because it’s been a really disappointing World Cup for all of us. With the talent we have on the team, it’s really tough. For supporters back home to us, I think for us, it’s unacceptable.”

England 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.”

Fast bowler Mansi Joshi returns to India’s squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in September after a long injury layoff. Joshi, who has played no top-class cricket in 2018 due to an injury to her right knee, made it to both the ODI and T20I squads for the Sri Lanka series. She had caught the eye at the Women’s World Cup in England last year, where she claimed figures of 2 for 9 against Pakistan, before injury sidelined her in late 2017.Tanya Bhatia, meanwhile, takes over keeping duties in both limited-overs formats, with Sushma Verma being left out from the ODI squad.Twenty-year-old allrounder Arundhati Reddy was picked for the T20Is, her maiden India call-up. The T20I team will of course be without the experienced Jhulan Goswami, with the veteran India quick having called time on her T20I career earlier today.Missing from both squads is batsman V Vanitha, who did not make the tour despite finishing second on the runs chart at the just-concluded Women’s Senior T20 Challenger Trophy. She had finished second to only Punam Raut in that tournament, with 128 runs at 25.60 and a strike rate of 102.40. Raut, who got 135 runs at 33.75 with a strike rate of 81.81 in that tournament, made a comeback to the ODI squad after missing their last ODI assignment, the home series against England in April.Uncapped allrounder D Hemalatha, who was called up for that England series but did not get a game, was picked in both squads here.India play three ODIs in Sri Lanka, starting on September 11, which count towards points in the ICC Women’s Championship. That is followed by five T20Is, between September 19 and 25. The T20s will be of particular significance for both teams, as they build up to the Women’s World T20 in November in the Caribbean – conditions that are largely likely to be similar to the slow, low surfaces of Sri Lanka.ODI squad: Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt), Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, D Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tanya Bhatia (wk), Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Shikha PandeyT20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, D Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil, Tanya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi

Hardik Pandya wants to be Hardik Pandya. He wants to stop being compared to the India’s greatest allrounder, Kapil Dev.Pandya took his maiden five-wicket haul within 29 balls on the second day at Trent Bridge, breaking England’s spine as they conceded 168-run lead, which was extended to 292 by the close with India having eight wickets in hand. Pandya is now the second-highest wicket-taker for India with eight and has the best average.Ever since Pandya smashed a 50 on debut and then made a century in his third Test during last year’s tour of Sri Lanka, the question has been asked if he can perform the role that Kapil did for India for about 15 years.Last week, the former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding told ESPNcricinfo that Pandya is not yet completely performing his role as a bowling allrounder convincingly. Holding had heard Pandya was being compared to Kapil during the South African Test series this January. Based on his own observation Holding said Pandya was “nowhere near” Kapil and India needed to find “somebody” who could contribute more.After his performance on Sunday, which turned the match firmly in India’s favour, Pandya said he is tired of the comparison and wants to put a stop on the talk.”The problem with this is you compare yes, but all of a sudden something goes wrong and they are like he is not that [Kapil Dev],” Pandya said. “I have never wanted to be Kapil Dev. Let me be Hardik Pandya. I am good at being Hardik Pandya, reached here till now, I have played 40 ODIs and now 10 Test matches being Hardik Pandya, not Kapil Dev. They are great in their era. Let me be Hardik Pandya. Stop comparing me with anyone. I will be happy if you don’t.”Talking to former England captain Nasser Hussain on Pandya said he does not care what the critics think. “For sure not. I will simply say one thing. Let’s not worry about me. I know what I am exactly doing. My team backs me. That’s what matters. And to be honest I don’t care what people say.”Pandya told Sky Sports the focus of the bowling group in the second session was to bowl full. “I tried to swing the ball and if you try to swing the ball you go little full. You tend to get driven. I am not afraid of getting driven because if the wickets come runs does not matter.”Pandya added that he did not want the batsmen to read him and one way to do that was to vary his release points, bowl from different parts of the popping crease, use the seam in different angles and create doubts in the their mind.”I feel that if I keep on bowling the same way they might get used to it,” he said. “So I always focus on using the crease or even the line where I am bowling because it is very important, it makes a huge difference. If I go wide and I bowl the same ball the batsman thinks it is coming in with the angle, but if goes out you get the opportunity of getting him out.”In the later press conference, Pandya revealed Ishant Sharma had jokingly told him to talk about his role in the five-for. Jokes apart, Pandya acknowledged Ishant did play a “big role”. Having played against most of the England batsmen in international and county cricket, Ishant has the knowledge of their weaknesses which he shared with Pandya.”Ishy [Ishant] was telling me the same thing: don’t go for the wickets, if you keep bowling at the rights areas, you have the talent to get them. That’s the same thing I tell him and same thing which we tell other bowlers. Keep it tight, let’s see what they do, let’s check their patience and once again we saw the result what happens.”Last year, in Pallekele, Pandya raised his bat to celebrate his maiden Test century. Today, in Nottingham, he flashed the ball to relish the maiden five-wicket haul. Which did he enjoy more? “I am happier with taking five-wicket haul than scoring a hundred. I have taken very few five-wicket hauls, I think this is the second of my life. and it has come at a very important place so I am very happy.”

Ed Smith, the England national selector, has defended the selection of Adil Rashid for next week’s first Test against India at Edgbaston, in spite of his unavailability for Yorkshire in red-ball cricket, saying that the decision was taken with the full approval of both his fellow selectors and England’s Test captain Joe Root, with Yorkshire kept informed at every step of the process.Smith took over from James Whitaker as the head of England’s selection panel in May, and was not therefore privy to the decisions that led to Rashid’s withdrawal from red-ball cricket, in the wake of his omission from last year’s Ashes. His first Test selection, for the Pakistan series in May, had also featured a notable recall on the strength of a player’s white-ball form, when Jos Buttler was successfully reintroduced to the side after starring in the IPL.”I believe strongly in the county game’s value,” Smith told reporters at The Oval. “In no way is there any sense that I would do anything to damage county cricket. However, in these circumstances where the context pre-dated my involvement as England selector, the panel unanimously felt that the right selection was Adil Rashid in the squad.”

Broad backing for Rashid

Stuart Broad has said Adil Rashid’s recall was testament to the spinner’s increased confidence from a successful spell in England’s limited-overs sides, and backed him to produce “wicket-taking balls” in the Test series with India.
“He’s bowled beautifully in the one-day series,” he said. “I know it’s easy to say it’s a very different format with different strategies and all that sort of thing but you can see he has got wicket-taking balls in him and he’s come through a couple of years of wonderful white-ball bowling which will give him a lot of confidence at the top level.
“I know Moeen [Ali] has said it’s different bowling with a Dukes and a Kookaburra red ball but I’m sure he’s building up for a big week’s prep in Birmingham. We training three days before Wednesday, so that’s quite a lot of prep time to get used to it.”

Smith revealed that he had sounded Rashid out about a Test recall prior to the ODI series against India. It was, he added, “a general chat about whether it was in his heart to play Test cricket for England again, what his aspirations were. At no stage did I give him any assurances about selection, even if he was available.”One thing that did not change, however, was that Rashid opted not to make himself available for Yorkshire’s Roses match at Old Trafford last week. Yorkshire chose to play on-loan legspinner Josh Poysden instead, and club officials were outspoken in their annoyance in the wake of a call-up that will now limit Rashid’s involvement in their Vitality Blast campaign.”We are pretty disappointed with both the ECB’s and Adil’s decision,” Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s Director of Cricket, said, while Mark Arthur, the chief executive, added: “I hope that England know what they’re doing to Adil, and the county game.”Smith, however, was unrepentant for picking a player whom he believes will help England to win a high-profile Test series. “I’m not party to the relationship between Adil and Yorkshire,” he said. “I am very sympathetic to Yorkshire’s position in terms of their planning. I’ve spoken with Martyn Moxon all the way through so it’s been no surprise to Yorkshire, they have been kept informed every step of the way.”I’m aware it will prompt discussion, but moving forward it’s been made clear to Adil that if he wishes to be eligible for selection in the 2019 summer, he must have a contract to play red-ball cricket.”I am tasked to put the best available squad together to give to the captain and the coach to pick the XI on the day. That’s the extent of my job. Given the circumstances, I feel very comfortable that, after a unanimous decision, we have picked Adil Rashid in the squad.”That unanimity, Smith reiterated, included the blessing of Root, whom he said he “did more than consult”.”The decision was a unanimous one, the decision makers being myself, James Taylor and coach Trevor Bayliss, and also round that table was Joe Root,” Smith said.”The number one question was ‘Joe, what do you need?’. I know Joe wishes to give Adil and Moeen [Ali] the best environment to thrive in the Test team, as they thrive in the one-day side. When it came to the final decision, I asked all four if it was the right thing to do and the answer was ‘yes’ from all four.””The decision involved quite a lot of context,” he added. “We are fully aware of the summer we are having and the likelihood or possibility that the pitches are going to turn. Secondly, in the event of needing two spinners, how would we get people into the side who turn the ball in different directions?”It would be quite eccentric to play two offspinners and Joe Root. In that context as part of that decision, obviously Adil’s form in white-ball cricket, his confidence, his touch, the fact that he has evolved so much as a bowler and is in the form of his life, and never felt more at home in an England one-day or T20 jersey.”

ScorecardTwenty wickets fell on a highly dramatic opening day at Tunbridge Wells, with Specsavers County Championship Division Two leaders Warwickshire dismissing second-placed Kent for 197 before themselves crumbling to 125 in reply after tea. In two overs’ batting before the close, Kent made 4 without loss in their second innings and lead overall by 76.Joe Denly’s classy 59 on a seam-friendly pitch kept Kent afloat in the first two sessions, despite Keith Barker’s 5 for 32, which included a skilful spell of 4 for 13 in 5.1 overs to finish off Kent’s first innings.But then Warwickshire’s batsmen – Jonathan Trott, with a calm 51 not out from 81 balls, apart – had no answer to a home attack in which Matt Henry and Darren Stevens made the new ball incisions and Harry Podmore, who has shot to form in Kent;s charge to the Royal London Cup final, took four wickets in his first five overs to record a career-best 4 for 26.Henry returned to polish off the tail, after Henry Brookes had helped Trott to add a valuable 54 in 12 overs for the ninth wicket. Henry had 19-year-old Brookes caught at third slip for an excellent 28, and then saw Oliver Hannon-Dalby snick his first ball to the keeper as the Kiwi paceman finished with 4 for 54 and take his remarkable season’s championship haul to 47 wickets.Warwickshire were 34 for 4 after Henry and Stevens each took two early scalps, before sliding further to 71 for 8 in glorious late afternoon sunshine as Podmore sent back Tim Ambrose, Barker and Jeetan Patel in quick succession.Trott, watching impassively from the non-striker’s end, had come in at No 4 when Ian Bell fell second ball for 4 to Henry, well held in the gully by Adam Riley. Bell’s first ball had been top-edged to the third man boundary.The rampant Henry, who began this match with 43 championship wickets at an average of 11 runs apiece, made the first strike too when he bowled Will Rhodes for 11 in the fifth over.The New Zealander has been one of the best overseas player signings in recent county history, but the veteran Stevens is still proving highly effective himself in English domestic cricket with 21 wickets at 14 before this game began.And the 42-year-old all-rounder was soon into the action with the wickets of Dom Sibley and Adam Hose in an opening spell of 8-3-18-2. Sibley nibbled at an outswinger and was caught behind for 1 while Hose was leg-before for 5.Then came Podmore, with the 23-year-old former Middlesex seamer producing a beauty to have Ambrose taken at second slip, pinning Barker lbw for 0, seeing Patel edge a drive at his second ball to go for 4 and then bowling Chris Wright for 8 with another terrific ball that clipped off stump.Kent, put in when Warwickshire captain Patel opted not to contest a toss, were in almost immediate trouble when Sean Dickson was bowled by Barker for 1 and Daniel Bell-Drummond, pushing forward, edged Wright to the keeper to go for 7.From 15 for 2, however, Denly and Heino Kuhn counter-attacked spiritedly and there were seven sparkling fours in the in-form Kuhn’s 39 as 51 runs were added for the third wicket.But Kuhn and Zak Crawley were both leg-before in three balls from Hannon-Dalby, and at 66 for 4 the home team were wobbling again.Stevens, with a punchy 27, helped Denly to add another 51 either side of lunch before edging Wright to second slip, and Adam Rouse had scored only 10 when he edged Brookes into the slip cordon.Barker then returned to wrap up the Kent first innings, snapping up the key wicket of Denly at 174 before bowling Henry for 2, trapping Podmore leg-before for a useful 22 and also winning an lbw shout against Ivan Thomas to send the No 11 back for 3. Riley finished 13 not out but the tail just failed to earn Kent a batting point.Soon, however, any thoughts of underachievement with the bat were put in perspective as Kent’s bowlers shattered Warwickshire’s reply in what has so far been a remarkable top-of-the-table contest. A good-sized crowd of 1,500 certainly got their money’s worth, too, but it remains to be seen if the pitch flattens out enough on day two to take this game into Friday, when a bigger attendance is forecast, let alone Saturday.

A week after sustaining a finger injury that sidelined him from the IPL final, India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha is still unclear about whether he will recover in time for Afghanistan’s inaugural Test, which starts on June 14 in Bengaluru.Saha is currently being monitored by the BCCI and is awaiting an X-ray report next week that will ascertain whether he will need surgery on his right thumb. He picked up the injury when he was struck by a Shivam Mavi bouncer during the IPL’s second qualifier.”The BCCI is keeping a track of my injury on a day-to-day basis. The decision lies with them,” Saha was reported as saying by . “To be honest, I might not be fit for that game. It’s not in my hands.”Saha had previously missed six games in the IPL with a shoulder niggle before the thumb injury. As things stand, he is the only specialist wicketkeeper in India’s 15-man squad for the Test; KL Rahul is the only plausible back-up option in the squad. If Saha is ruled out, he will likely be replaced by one of Parthiv Patel or Dinesh Karthik, who were both part of India’s last Test squad in South Africa when Saha had to be withdrawn from the tour with another injury.

With 252 runs in four matches this season for Kings XI Punjab, Chris Gayle has rediscovered the form that made him such a force for Royal Challengers Bangalore over the years, before he was released by the franchise ahead of the 2018 IPL.Gayle, however, revealed he’d been told RCB would retain him, only to not hear from the franchise again. “I was their biggest draw. It was disappointing from that end, because they had called me. They wanted me in the team and I was told that I will be retained,” Gayle told . “But they never called back after that. So that gave me the impression that they didn’t want me, and it’s fine.RCB let Gayle go after he scored only 200 runs at a strike rate of 122.69 in nine innings in the 2017 IPL, but between then and now the batsman had found T20 form.In the 2017 CPL, Gayle was the highest scorer for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He bettered that in the BPL, where he topped the tournament run charts by a distance and scored 146 not out with 18 sixes in the final.”I think I had a wonderful CPL and BPL – where I scored two centuries for my side Rangpur Riders. The stats don’t lie: 21 centuries, most number of sixes. If that doesn’t put a stamp on brand Chris Gayle, I don’t know what will.”Gayle nearly didn’t make it to this IPL entirely. Having gone unsold when his name came up for bidding the first time during the player auction in January, he was eventually bought at base price by Kings XI towards the end of the auction’s second day.”I’ll be honest in admitting that it was very surprising for me to not get picked by any team,” Gayle said. “I don’t know what went behind closed doors, but I also understand that these things happen,” he said. “It’s just the way it is. But it’s fine, I’ve moved on from it. Like I said, it’s a great opportunity to be playing for King XI Punjab, and so far I’ve had a great time. Perhaps it was supposed to happen, you know. King Gayle: destined to be playing for Kings XI Punjab.”After finally being picked at the auction, Gayle did not have a smooth start to the season either: he was benched for Kings XI’s first two games. However, after overseas batsmen Aaron Finch and David Miller had poor starts themselves, Gayle was given a go at the top of the order. He scored a 33-ball 63 against Chennai Super Kings and then followed up with a hundred and another half-century, forming a prolific opening partnership with KL Rahul, another player RCB let go.”Even though I was selected in the very last round of the auction, I wasn’t really worried about it,” Gayle said. “At some stage, you are going to walk away from the IPL and other forms of cricket. This is how I’ve always been: living in the present. But, given the sense that I was picked up and playing for a new franchise, it was very pleasing. And the way I have played in the first three games, I think it has been fantastic. I’m very happy with where I’m at.”