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Their spinners were excellent last season while there are high hopes for import Tom Abell

Tristan Lavalette05-Dec-2021Captain Jimmy Peirson
Coach Wade SeccombeSquad
Tom Abell (England), Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Ben Duckett (England), Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Mark Steketee, Connor Sully, Mitchell Swepson Jack Wildermuth, Matt Willians, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)In Tom Abell, Ben Duckett, Michael Neser (Strikers), Connor Sully
Out Joe Burns (Stars), Lewis Gregory, Ben Laughlin, Dan Lawrence, Simon Milenko, Morne Morkel, Jack WoodLast season Challenger

Another underwhelming season appeared to be on the cards for Heat after winning just one of their first five games as they lost skipper Chris Lynn to a hamstring injury. But with Jimmy Peirson taking the reins, the rejuvenated Heat lit a fuse and headed into the playoffs as an outside title threat boosted by the dazzling return of Test star Marnus Labuschagne. They lived up to the billing with impressive wins over Strikers and Thunder, where their explosive batting order calmly chased down totals. But they were blown away in the challenger by a rampaging Perth Scorchers to fall short of the final and cap off an inconsistent season.Related

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International impact
Heat could be hit hard by key absences, testing their depth and resolve. Lauschagne will miss most of the tournament due to the Ashes while prized recruit Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson and Mark Steketee are set to miss at least the start of the season due to Ashes and Australia A selections. Tom Abell will be absent at the start due to commitments with England Lions while hard-hitting English batter Ben Duckett will make his BBL debut after starring in the Hundred and is likely to be available for the entire tournament, so too Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Player to watch
BBL10 started slowly for destructive batter Chris Lynn, a headline act over the years and two-time Player of the Tournament. After being sidelined by a hamstring injury, the 31-year-old relished a move to the top of the order and finished with 458 runs at a strike rate of 154.73. With Peirson enjoying success as stand-in skipper, Lynn decided to step aside from the captaincy duties in the off-season after three years at the helm to focus on his batting. He was patchy in the Hundred, but a return to his favored BBL – and without the strains of captaincy – could fuel a resurgence for the six-hitting machine.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)
With a bowling average of 17.81 Brisbane Heat’s spinners were the best in the competition last time around by a mile. Mujeeb, Swepson, Labuschagne stole the show taking 33 wickets among them although they may need Matt Kuhnemann to fill some of the holes this season.

Broad will miss a home Test for the first time since 2012

George Dobell07-Jul-2020English cricket could be witnessing a changing of the guard with Stuart Broad set to miss out on a place in the first Test against West Indies.Broad, a veteran of 138 Tests and taker of 485 Test wickets, has not missed a home Test since 2012, a run of 51 matches in succession. The last time he missed one – the Edgbaston Test against West Indies – he was rested with the series already won.But England, and their stand-in captain Ben Stokes, are thought likely instead to opt for the pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood with James Anderson back with the new ball after suffering injury in South Africa. Chris Woakes is the other player set to be left out from their 13-man squad.England had originally planned to name their Test team on Tuesday evening. But although it is understood the players have been notified of the final XI, the team management reasoned that, with poor weather around and the possibility a bowler could sustain an injury in the lead-up to the match, there was no need to commit to anything at this stage.If Broad is, indeed, left out, there may be a temptation to write his career obituary, but that would be premature. England are set to play six Tests in little more than seven weeks and some rotation of the seam attack is inevitable. There is a decent chance he could return as soon as next week for the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford. He could still become just the fourth seamer to claim 500 Test wickets.ALSO READ: ‘Do it your way’ – Root’s message to StokesHe has been left out before, too. At the end of 2018, he played only one of the Tests on England’s tour of Sri Lanka while he was also omitted from the side for the first Test of the series in the Caribbean 18 months ago. He demonstrated his undimmed enthusiasm for the challenge, though, by tinkering with his technique – in particular, he shortened his run-up and bowled a fuller, more probing line and length – and enjoyed personally successful series against Australia (in which he claimed 23 wickets at a cost of 26.65 apiece) and South Africa (in which he claimed 14 at 19.42). It would probably pay not to write him off now.But this is another sign that England are looking to the future. And while Broad might have struggled to retain his status as a first-choice bowler in overseas conditions, this is the first time in the best part of a decade that he has not been considered among the first-choice attack in England.It is, perhaps, also an indication that the England management are looking to Wood and Archer, in particular, as the nucleus of the attack that they feel can help them win the Ashes in Australia in around 18 months’ time. Both are blessed with sharp pace and would appear well-suited to the hard wickets anticipated in Australia. Wood also claimed a nine-for in his most recent Test – against South Africa – and took his maiden Test five-for the last time England and West Indies met. Wednesday’s first Test will be their first in the same XI.It might also be relevant that, for the first time in many months, England are blessed with a surfeit of fit, fast bowlers. By the end of the South Africa tour, England were without Anderson and Archer due to injury. Perhaps, had all been available, this decision may have come earlier.Stokes admitted on Tuesday that having five seamers fit and ready to go had presented him with “an absolute nightmare”, and said he would be “dreading” delivering the bad news to the two players that missed out.Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have yet to play a Test together•Getty Images

“You can only pick so many but it’s a great place to be,” Stokes said. “To have so many to pick from is great as a team, I’d rather be in this position. With the amount of cricket we’ve got coming in the next seven weeks I think all the guys will get opportunities. That’s a hell of a workload especially taking into consideration the time we haven’t been on the field. You’ve got to realise there’s no cricket behind anybody.”To play six Tests in seven weeks would be a huge ask for any bowler, but if we are going to rotate it’s not going to affect the standard. The guys we’ve got here are all unbelievable and they’ve all put a good case forward.”I’ve been dreading it for the last two or three days, telling the unfortunate guys. It’s not a nice conversation to think about and I can’t wait to give Joe the armband back for that reason, but that is leadership. It’s great to tell guys they’re playing but with that comes the fact that you have to deliver the bad news. It’s never nice.”Stokes also said that the prospect of Wood and Archer bowling together was “exciting”, adding that it would be difficult to leave Wood out given his “transformation” in the past two years.”The transformation of Mark Wood, more from a mental side, has been phenomenal. He’s obviously had his troubles in the past with injuries. I’m so excited with where he’s at with everything – all the worries and troubles that he would have had two or three years ago about his body seem to have just disappeared.”The skills that he possesses are very, very rare to have in a bowler. There’s been a lot of thought put into the team that we’re going to select.”England were also set to confirm that Joe Denly will bat at No. 3, with Zak Crawley at No. 4.Probable England XI for first Test: 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Rory Burns, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Zak Crawley, 5 Ben Stokes (captain), 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Dom Bess, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson

A full-strength Australia ramp up World Cup preparations next week against a shadow New Zealand team with fringe players looking to impress

Andrew McGlashan03-May-20194:42

Smith and Warner’s year in cricket wilderness

It is now less than a month until the World Cup starts and with the IPL nearing a conclusion thoughts are turning seriously to the tournament. A full-strength Australia squad have gone into camp in Brisbane to begin their run-in and they will face a shadow New Zealand team, with a number of key players still at the IPL, in three one-day games. Here are a few things to keep an eye on.Australia’s top threeAmong the things that came together for Australia’s one-day side against India and Pakistan was the opening combination of Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja. David Warner’s return means there is now another world-class opener available so that partnership looks set to be split – it is surely a no-brainer that Warner opens. All the indications are that it will be Finch alongside him – the pairing that took Australia to the 2015 World Cup – with Khawaja either moving to No. 3 or, potentially, out of the side altogether, which would be harsh given his recent form.Smith’s fieldingWhile Warner looks primed for his international return, Steven Smith has faced a trickier path due to his elbow injury being the more serious. He found some form with the bat in the latter part of the IPL after being named Rajasthan Royals’ captain, but remained restricted in the field. He said he is another couple of weeks away from full fitness – concern that a diving catch to remove Warner last week damaged the troublesome elbow were downplayed – so it will be interesting to see how much he pushes himself in the field in Brisbane.Fitness of Australia’s quicksThere were a couple of asterisks in Australia’s World Cup squad with Mitchell Starc and Jhye Richardson named subject to fitness. Starc hasn’t played since the Sri Lanka Test series due to a pectoral injury but has returned to full training and Richardson dislocated his shoulder in the UAE although he avoided needing surgery that would have ended his World Cup hopes. The pair will be put through their paces over the next week – but how much Richardson takes part remains to be seen. Kane Richardson and Josh Hazlewood (the latter ruled out of the World Cup with his back injury) are the stand-by bowlers if needed.Mitchell Starc chats to Aaron Finch•Getty Images

Which spinner?During the matches in India and the UAE, conditions meant Australia fielded both Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon in eight of the ten matches. Earlier this week Aaron Finch said he expected spin to play a big role in the World Cup, but it could be difficult to find room for both frontliners in the attack, especially with Glenn Maxwell able to provide a more-than-useful option, so there will be a decision to make for the selectors. Sides are very keen to have a legspinner in one-day cricket to try and strike in the middle overs, but Lyon would be a steady presence. It will also be worth seeing whether Finch takes the opportunity in practice matches to use them in different situations of an innings.Nicholls’ new roleGiven the weakened nature of New Zealand’s squad there is less at stake, but that does not mean there is no significance. During the home season Henry Nicholls usurped Colin Munro at the top of the order and is now the preferred man alongside Martin Guptill. He has only done it on four occasions to date so, against a strong Australia team, the three matches are a good chance for him to further bed into his new position.New Zealand’s depthBy nature of this being a second-string side, the week in Brisbane is an opportunity to assess the bench strength of New Zealand. The non-World Cup players are now those in line for a call-up should injury strike. Doug Bracewell would likely lead the way if another allrounder was needed, while Todd Astle narrowly missed out on the World Cup squad. For Will Young it is a chance to cement his position as the next batsman in line and for George Worker a chance to make a point to the selectors having lost his central contract.

The chase was on with PNG at 140 for 2 in the 55th over, but they collapsed to 185 all out

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2018ScorecardFaisal Jamkhandi runs in to bowl•ICC/Getty Images

Akash Gill held Canada together with a splendid century – at better than a-run-a-ball – to see off Papua New Guinea in the Under-19 World Cup match in Lincoln. Gill was the first Canada player to score a hundred at a Under-19 World Cup.He took a scoreline that read 82 for 4 in the 18th over – with their captain and in-form batsman Arslan Khan back in the pavilion – and dragged it all the way to 247 before he was dismissed. His 120 off 115 balls with 15 fours and two sixes as well.Set a target of 266, PNG struggled to mount any sort of challenge. At one end, opener Simon Atai fought hard, making 81 off 117 balls with six fours, but the other one was a revolving door. There were six single-digit scores as PNG fell from 140 for 2 in the 35th to 185 all out. The damage was mostly done by fast bowler Faisal Jamkhandi, who took 3 for 48, and left-arm spinner Aran Pathmanathan, who finished with 3 for 23.Gill, the Man of the Match, said: “I didn’t really know about that record [the first Canada batsman with a century at the U-19 World Cup], but it’s honestly a great feeling. When I got to that milestone, I was just overwhelmed. It still feels surreal to me, I’m just letting it sink.”

The eight Associate countries with T20I status will take part in a round-robin tournament that is being viewed as a strong signal that the 2018 World T20 will be approved by the ICC

Peter Della Penna22-Nov-2016The eight Associate countries with T20I status are set to take part in a round-robin tournament planned for the start of the new year, multiple sources have told ESPNcricinfo.Although a 2018 World T20 is yet to be confirmed by the ICC, a source said that this tournament is being viewed as a strong signal that the 2018 World T20 will be approved. The tournament would also be separate from a possible World T20 Qualifier involving other Associates advancing out of their regional tournaments that could be held later in 2017 or early 2018 pending ICC approval of a World T20 in 2018.In addition to the top six Associates with dual ODI and T20I status – Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland, Hong Kong, UAE, Papua New Guinea – the two other participating countries are Netherlands and Oman, who each secured T20I status by qualifying for the 2016 World T20 in India. The tournament is tentatively scheduled for January 6 to 20 at the ICC Academy in Dubai.According to one source, both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have also been invited, but their participation is not confirmed. For Afghanistan, Scotland, Netherlands, and Oman, this would be their first T20Is since the 2016 World T20 in March. Ireland hosted Hong Kong for a T20I series in September. For UAE, these would be their first T20Is since reaching the main draw of the Asia Cup in February, while PNG’s last T20Is came in February when they lost a series 1-2 to Ireland in Townsville.

Victoria enjoyed a thoroughly dominant day as they gained the ascendancy on the second day of their Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Marcus Stoinis and Rob Quiney stitched an unbroken 149-run stand off 215 balls•Getty Images

Victoria enjoyed a thoroughly dominant second day as they gained the ascendancy against Western Australia in Perth. Victoria first dismissed the hosts for 186, to take a 136-run first-innings lead, and then added 149 in the second innings for the loss of Travis Dean.The Western Australia openers, Cameron Bancroft and Will Bosisto, started well and even put up a 54-run stand before the wicket of Bancroft triggered a match-turning collapse as they were quickly reduced to 88 for 5.Sam Whiteman and Ashton Agar offered brief resistance with a 48-run stand, but another clump of wickets meant Western Australia were staring at a huge deficit. Michael Hogan, batting at no. 11, struck four boundaries in his nine-ball stay but Victoria needed only 68 overs to bowl out the opposition for 186. Chris Tremain was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 4 for 48.Western Australia responded in positive fashion as Joel Paris had Dean caught off the first ball of the second innings, but Rob Quiney and Marcus Stoinis played out the rest of the day without further loss. Stoinis went on to hit his second fifty of the game and remained unbeaten on 86 off 113 balls while Quiney was more patient, scoring 62 off 102 balls.

Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors coach, has said that his players were “scared” after the thunderous assault from Chris Gayle, which set up an enormous 130-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Apr-2013Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors coach, has said that his players were “scared” after the thunderous assault from Chris Gayle, which set up an enormous 130-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore. A day after the demoralising defeat, Donald admitted that he feared the “mental damage” the innings might have caused his players and said his biggest challenge was to keep them positive for the remaining eight matches.”We came across a bloke yesterday who was just devastating,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo in Bangalore. “I have never seen hitting like that in all my life. To see our guys getting pummeled like that was unbelievable. When I walked out for the first strategy break, I just saw people scared, really scared. I just mentioned to the players that if we don’t pull this back here, he is going to take us down big time, which he did.”Donald realised that the bowlers were clueless and if he did not deliver a stern message, Gayle could play havoc, which he eventually did with ease. “When I looked at their faces and no one said a word, the only way for me was to be very firm in my message; we had to find a way,” he said. “We also discussed in the meeting on the morning of the match that we had to bowl out batsmen who were not going to give up their wicket. We needed someone to stand up and do something special and stop the flow of runs.”As a response Donald observed blank faces. By the second timeout, in the 16th over, Gayle had doubled the team score, taking it past 200 and Donald was frustrated. “To me that plan was about how we were going to limit the damage in the next four overs. The plan was to go full into his pads and also vary the pace,” Donald said.The mental scarring Gayle has inflicted on his players has left the coach worried. “How much damage has this done to us mentally? My job becomes even harder now and I have to make sure these guys are ready against another team that is struggling (Delhi Daredevils) on a ground we have never played (Raipur),” he said. “This group now needs to rally together.”Barring the pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-23-0) and Luke Wright (4-0-26-1), at the start and end of the Royal Challengers’ innings, Gayle attacked the rest mercilessly. Donald was not shy to take the blame. He said the bowlers lacked consistency and the team was one experienced strike bowler short.”We haven’t been brilliant,” he said. “We have been okay in certain games and really off the boil in the others. And that is one area where we have let ourselves down. We do not have an attack that is express pace; we don’t have a Dale Styen or a Shuan Tait, though, we have fair bit of class in Kumar and Ashok Dinda.”At the same time, Donald pointed out, Gayle was unstoppable and intimidated the bowlers. “There were times during that knock where he just went ballistic, and then he took a little timeout and then he went again,” Donald said with a chuckle.After the match, he asked Gayle, “Why us?” Gayle said he was in the mood. “He has just said that is the best he has ever hit the ball in his life,” Donald said.After their confident victory against Chennai Super Kings, Warriors let the following two matches slip out of their hands against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home and then in Mohali against Kings XI Punjab. The erratic form has left even Donald confused.”I can’t find a solution as to why we are not responding,” he said. “I cannot fault the squad that we have got this year. Is it the failures of the last two years that is playing on everyone’s minds or the losing streak that we are on at the moment? Is it affecting everybody?”The failure of marquee players has made matters worse for Donald. Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor, Angelo Matthews and Robin Uthappa have not played any innings of impact. Acting captain Aaron Finch has been the only batsman to score a half-century, striking up three fifties in six games.”The whole team has been hot and cold,” Donald said, expressing his frustration. “If you look at Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, they win the RCB games. The same goes for teams like Super Kings.”The absence of a stable captain at Warriors has been a point of fierce debate. The first-choice captains – Mathews and Ross Taylor – have been battling for form, forcing the team management to appoint Finch, who has led in the Big Bash, as a stand-in leader. “We never had a captain in three years leading us solidly,” Donald said.In their debut season in 2011, Warriors finished eighth out of nine teams in the season. Last year, they slid to the last position. This season they are ahead of last-placed Daredevils. According to Donald, there is no place to hide for Warriors. “We can’t fault our preparations or our planning and strategies, we have been on the money,” he said. “We just haven’t been unable to put it together on the field. There are no excuses, there are no explanations and we have got to turn it around.”

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is almost ready to return to competitive cricket, standing shoulder to shoulder with the man who broke his forearm

Sharda Ugra13-Apr-2012New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is almost ready to return to competitive cricket, standing shoulder to shoulder with the man who broke his forearm. Taylor said he is “probably 95% fit” two days ahead of Delhi Daredevils’ fourth match of IPL V, against Mumbai Indians on Monday. Daredevils is his third team in his fifth IPL season, and he will now share a dressing room with Morne Morkel, the bowler who broke his arm on the fourth day of the Wellington Test between New Zealand and South Africa.Taylor, whose left arm is free of a cast but still strapped, said his current level of fitness was what he had worked towards. “I said I’d be available for the game on the 16th,” he said. “Whether I’m picked or not is obviously up to the coaches, but obviously I’m doing everything I can possible to try and play.”After being hit by Morkel, Taylor had surgery on his broken arm the day after, and had rushed back to the ground in case New Zealand needed him to bat as they battled for a draw. He had the stitches from the surgery removed last week, before arriving in Delhi late on Wednesday. “They [the doctors] were happy with the way things were going,” he said. “It [the arm] has improved every day since I’ve been here and I’m sure it will continue to improve over the next few days as well.”Surgery, he said, helped speed up his recovery. “I think the operation helped. I don’t think I would have been able to be here if it hadn’t been for the operation. The body is a funny thing. I was fortunate that I recovered quicker than perhaps I, or other people, thought [I could].”In his 60-odd hours in Delhi, Taylor has been chatting with his newest IPL team-mates, including Morkel. “I’ve played for Rajashtan Royals and Royal Challenger Bangalore, and now Delhi. So I’ve only got a few more teams to go and I think I’ll have played for everybody,” he joked. When asked whether he agreed with the IPL rule that restricted the number of foreign players in the playing XI to four, Taylor said, “You would rather that four or five internationals vie for one spot rather than [there be] four automatic selections.” Taylor has played 34 IPL matches over four seasons, including 22 for Royal Challengers between 2008 and 2010, and 12 for Royals in 2011.So what is his preferred batting slot in a Twenty20 game? “My preference is to be picked in the side and I’ll bat wherever the coach and the captain want me to bat,” he said. “At Rajasthan, I was the designated finisher, so No. 4 or 5 is probably my spot.”Taylor pointed out that while the IPL teams were sprinkled with New Zealand players, only Daredevils had two – allrounder Doug Bracewell, apart from Taylor. “All New Zealanders will be [rooting] for Delhi now,” he said, before adding on a more serious note that the IPL had not really caught on in his home country because of the lack of live television coverage, as well as the difference in time zones. There were, he said, a lot of people in New Zealand who didn’t know anything about the tournament.”You can only [judge] from what you see. Reading things [about a match] on the internet, and seeing the scoreboard … you don’t get an indication that someone getting 20 off eight balls can be better than 20 scored off 30,” he said. “Last year the IPL wasn’t live [in New Zealand] and I don’t think even the highlights were [on television]. The time slots are a little bit different, it’s little bit tough to watch. The games are live now. I think every year the New Zealand cricket public will grasp it a little more. I’m sure in two years’ time, if it is live, the New Zealand public will have a better perception of it. Once it comes live on TV, the New Zealand public will get in behind it.”What do his fellow countrymen ask him the most about the IPL? “They ask me, ‘Is it as mad as it looks?'”The IPL he said would help the New Zealand players prepare ahead the World Twenty20, which is scheduled for September in Sri Lanka. “The IPL will help us look at different tactics for sure. Spin also becomes a lot more [important] in subcontinent. We are quite a young side, but I’m sure Dougie and a lot of our other guys will get a lot of experience being here. The balance of our side [in the World Twenty20] will be very similar to what happens over here as well.”

Kumar Sangakkara has said that there is no point in saving Muttiah Muralitharan for the final, and that if he regains fitness, he will play tomorrow’s semi-final against New Zealand

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo28-Mar-2011For the second match in succession, Sri Lanka are sweating over the fitness of Muttiah Muralitharan who is nursing a leg injury ahead of the semi-final against New Zealand tomorrow. “Murali and everyone around him is trying to get him as fit as possible and fit enough to play,” Kumar Sangakkara said.”It’s no use thinking about the final and saving him for other games, this is the crunch game and if he can play tomorrow that’ll be great for us, but if that doesn’t work out, we’ve got enough cover to make sure that we are still a solid winning side.””At the same time its two different injuries. He knocked his knee at Mumbai and he’s just aggravated a quadricep muscle – a very slight strain – in the game before so it’s not the same injury. We’ll just have to monitor how he goes and hope he is fit enough to play.”Sangakkara said that with injuries, it was crucial to see that both the team and the player were comfortable with him taking part in the match, especially a big one like the semi-final. “If Murali is not fit it’s something that we have to accept and get on with.”Having thrashed England by ten wickets in the quarter-finals, Sangakkara said that complacency is the last thing on Sri Lanka’s radar. “There’s no chance of that happening in anyone’s mind. You understand the gravity of the situation, you understand the challenge that’s going to come your way, you got to accept it and you got to enjoy it.Muttiah Muralitharan is in doubt for the semi-final with a leg injury•AFP

“The guys have done pretty well and tomorrow is not going to be any different. You can’t play too much to the crowds, or too much to show off, it’s a question of playing good solid cricket, concentrate on doing the best. We have set ourselves small goals to achieve, if we keep our heads and we perform as well as we can, we can turn it into a solid performance.””The expectations are always there, that’s not something that we can control, what we really want to do is to make sure that when we go out tomorrow, we are realistic. We stay in the moment and make sure we concentrate on what we have to do and make sure our focus is 100 per cent on tomorrow.”Sangakkara said the win over England was made to look easy because the openers – Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga – came up with a magnificent batting performance. “Those kinds of partnerships don’t come very often and that kind of overshadowed the contest as such. But England is a side that we were very wary of and we expected nothing less than their strong performance. In the light of that tomorrow it’s a new game for us. It’s nothing to do with England, we are starting from square one and we want to make sure that we understand that.”Sangakkara said that his team was building up momentum towards the final and that they were improving by the day. “In a tournament like this, there’s never a point when you think over where you are the best. It never happens in cricket. Also in big tournaments it’s always a question of gradual and continuous improvement for us. There are lots of areas we have to make sure we cover, we’ve done pretty much in the two days leading upto tomorrow. The guys are much focussed they are pretty confident but at the same time they understand that it is the performance that counts and that’s what we are trying to deliver tomorrow.”Sri Lanka were second-placed in Group A in the league stage which was considered relatively easier compared to Group B but Sangakkara didn’t think that was the case. “It’s hard to say that we got lots of breaks in the group stages and very few breaks this time. That’s not something that we can control, the schedule was set long before and we are happy that we have got here. Ours is to go one step further tomorrow.”Sri Lanka used three specialist spinners plus the occasional spin of Dilshan against England, but Sangakkara did not indicate what their plans were against New Zealand. “We thought that was the best combination to play against England. It was a very good track and it stayed true throughout. At the same time we have to consider other options as well. We have fast bowlers, especially Nuwan Kulasekara, who has done exceptionally well against New Zealand. So we got to make sure we play the right combination.”

Leicestershire celebrated their first away victory in the County Championship for four years when they won for the second time this season despite a defiant century from Derbyshire opener Wayne Madsen

18-Apr-2010
ScorecardNathan Buck added three second-innings wickets to his four in the first to take Leicestershire to victory•Getty Images

Leicestershire celebrated their first away victory in the County Championship for four years when they won for the second time this season despite a defiant century from Derbyshire opener Wayne Madsen.The South African made 109 but highly promising fast bowler Nathan Buck took 3 for 35 and former Derbyshire seamer Andrew Harris also collected three wickets as Leicestershire dismissed the home side for 199 to win by 203 runs with 11.2 overs to spare.Leicestershire won only two Championship matches last season but they now have a 100% record under the leadership of new captain Matthew Hoggard, who took two crucial wickets when Derbyshire looked capable of holding out for a draw.Derbyshire went into the final day needing a notional 390 runs to win but, with their prolific opening batsman Chris Rogers already out, it was a question of trying to bat out time. They could not have hoped for a better first session as Madsen and Paul Borrington denied the Leicestershire bowlers any success before lunch.Borrington faced 94 balls before he hit his first boundary but he did an excellent job for his team and had survived for 167 minutes before he was lbw playing across the line at Hoggard.Leicestershire were convinced they had Madsen caught behind on 71 four balls later, but Hoggard did strike again when Garry Park edged to slip. Hoggard had taken two for 21 in an eight-over post lunch spell but Greg Smith helped Madsen use up 12 more overs until Harris revived his team’s hopes.He had struggled with his line but he got one through Smith’s defences in the 64th over and then tempted Dan Redfern to play at his first ball and edge a catch to the wicketkeeper. When Robin Peterson skied a sweep at Claude Henderson to deep square leg, Derbyshire had lost three wickets for one run in three overs and Leicestershire should have snared another when Lee Goddard was dropped at silly point in the last over before tea.Derbyshire had to survive 34 overs in the final session but Goddard went in the second of them, bowled off stump for a duck as he stretched forward to Henderson. Madsen, who spent 11 overs on 89, reached his first hundred at Derby off 214 balls and was steering his side towards safety when Buck landed a double blow with 17 overs remaining.The teenager got the wicket Leicestershire needed when Madsen was caught at short leg off bat and pad after battling away for two minutes short of five-and-a-half hours, and two balls later Steffan Jones edged low to first slip.Two Derbyshire old boys then sealed victory when Tim Groenewald, having occupied 63 balls in making 12, edged Harris low to Wayne White at third slip to give Leicestershire a 21-point haul and Hoggard another memorable day in his new career at Grace Road.