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The Sri Lanka captain, who has come under fire, following the team’s poor showing in Tests in South Africa, has said he is ready to continue as a player even if he is removed as captain

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2017Angelo Mathews, who is nominally in charge of Sri Lanka until after the 2019 World Cup, has said that he would have no protests if he was sacked from the captaincy following his side’s horrendous Test showing on their tour of South Africa.Sri Lanka lost all three Tests by heavy margins, leading for calls for Mathews to resign even though the limited-overs leg of the tour is barely underway.Mathews, who became Sri Lanka’s youngest Test captain, at 25, left the tour after the second T20 in Johannesburg on Sunday after suffering a sprained ankle but he dismissed suggestions that he had given serious consideration to stepping down after four years in charge.”I haven’t thought about it,” he said in an interview in the Colombo . “I will not run away from pressures. Anyone can say anything. If I feel this is the time or if the selectors say, I’m open to it. Whatever others say, I’m not bothered.”It’s not in my control. If the selectors or Sri Lanka Cricket think they need a change and believe someone else is ready to do the captaincy, it’s not at all a problem for me. As long as I enjoy the game, I will keep playing. I just want to try and perform well as a team and I will always help whoever is captain in the future as well.”Sri Lanka Cricket’s CEO Ashley de Silva also stated that prior to the tour Mathews had indicated he might need time off for family reasons. His wife Heshani is expected to give birth to the couple’s first child shortly. Injury had brought the date of his departure forward a little.After a third T20 in Cape Town on Wednesday, with the series tied at 1-1, Sri Lanka and South Africa embark upon a five-ODI series, with Upul Tharanga taking over from Mathews. A stronger performance over 50 overs would leave Sri Lanka in better heart ahead of the Champions Trophy in England later this year.”I know I am answerable but, as captain, I have done the best possible,” Mathews said. “I worked closely with the coach [Graham Ford]. I always discussed with the selectors when it came to the team. It has been a collective effort. But if someone wants to put the blame on me, so be it.”Mathews’ early experience of the job was a good one. He led Sri Lanka to a first Test win against England and had support from players of the calibre of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Those senior players have gradually retired from view, leaving him to lead a largely inexperienced side which struggled to compete in the South Africa Test series.”Players like Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva have not played much Test cricket, forget about playing outside Sri Lanka,” Mathews said. “So, we need to give them opportunities. Let everyone blame me, it’s fine. I can take it but let’s not blame the other players. They need support and encouragement and not to be put down.”For the moment, he continues to lead in typically pugnacious style, tries to win matches and awaits his fate in philosophical fashion.”I’m not here to be captain forever and I will never be captain forever,” he said. “This is just a passing cloud. I am not afraid to lose it and I don’t need it forever. I’m not afraid to step down or lose it or to keep it. I can play under any captain no matter who he is. As long as I perform, I have a lot more to give to the team and the country.”

Steven Finn may well have bowled himself into the England team for the first Test against South Africa after an impressive display on the first day against South Africa A in Pietermaritzburg

George Dobell in Pietermaritzburg20-Dec-2015
ScorecardSteven Finn may well have bowled himself into the England team for the first Test against South Africa after an impressive display on the first day of the tour match at Pietermaritzburg.On a sluggish pitch and against strong opposition with genuine international aspirations of their own, Finn bowled with pace, control and rhythm to claim four wickets to help England enjoy an almost perfect day. A post lunch spell of three wickets in nine balls was especially impressive and knocked the stuffing of the South Africa A middle order.While Chris Woakes, who has impressed in white ball cricket and in training, was probably pencilled in to play in the first Test before the start of this game, Finn has taken the chance offered with a style that will surely prove hard to ignore. With just two days between the first and second Tests, it bodes well for England to have a group of seamers in decent form.

Finn sees value in injury break

As if his bowling had not made the point eloquently enough, Steven Finn said he felt he was ready for a return to international cricket ahead of the Durban Test on Boxing Day.
Finn, who was drafted into the tour party only a week ago having proved his recovery from injury on the Lions tour to the UAE, bowled with pace and control in taking 4 for 34 against a strong-looking South Africa A side and afterwards suggested he was disappointed not to be included in the original squad.
“I was disappointed to be left out of the squad in the first place because I know my body and thought I had very good chance to be fit for the Boxing Day Test,” he said. “But the selectors obviously didn’t think that, I had to accept it and it made me work doubly hard.
“I’d like to think I’m ready for a Test match, but it depends how I pull up over the next day or so because I haven’t spent this long on my feet for the last three months. But I had two weeks with the Lions in Dubai building up to this point and there has been no bad reaction in my foot.
“I was on crutches for two and a half weeks. And I had the surgical boot on for a little longer so it was a steady amount of time to be off my feet and parked on the sofa. I did a lot of upper body and trunk strength work before building up my rehab with Watford FC, which I’m very grateful for, and at the moment everything is falling into place.
“Sometimes these things happen for a reason and to have seven or eight weeks of not using certain parts of my body that I use for bowling was a break I’ve not had for five or six years.”

Stephen Cook offered South Africa A’s only consolation as they succumbed for 136 in 56 overs. By carrying his bat for an unbeaten 53 in four-and-a-quarter hours, the uncapped 33-year-old demonstrated the patience, discipline and hunger required to prosper at Test level.Finn, who was forced to pull out of England’s Test series in the UAE in October after suffering a bone-stress injury in his left foot, was drafted into the squad as a late addition last week after impressing for England Lions in two Twenty20 comeback appearances against Pakistan A in Dubai.Despite having played just three Tests in the last couple of years, Finn made a strong case to be considered a first-choice selection during his comeback game at Edgbaston during the Ashes. Bowling with the familiar pace of old, but also with an ability to swing the ball which he had developed during his spell out of the Test side, he claimed 6 for 47 in the first innings and looked to have recovered the form and confidence that rendered him such an exciting prospect at the start of his career.It took him only three deliveries to strike here and, if his first wicket owed something to batsman error – Quinton de Kock edged a lavish drive outside off stump – his next three were the result of well-directed fast bowling that exposed the batsmen’s frailties around off stump. Omphile Ramala sliced a drive to point, Khaya Zondo fenced to slip and Dane Vilas appeared to be beaten for pace when he missed a straight one.It is still slightly premature to state for certain that Finn will play in the first Test. The England support staff will monitor how he recovers from his exertion in the morning. But, presuming that nothing untoward occurs, it would be a surprise if he does not play in Durban now.The selection of third seamer was the only dilemma left for England, but this was a pleasing day in other respects. Despite the heat and humidity, England clung on to some fine catches, with James Taylor’s effort at point – diving forward to snatch the ball up just off the turf – a highlight. Joe Root also held a couple of good chances, leaping above his head to hold on to an edge offered by Chris Morris, while Alex Hales, the new man in the cordon at third slip, also held a sharp chance.The only real blemish came when Ben Stokes, at slip to Moeen Ali’s off-spin, put down a sharp chance offered when Cook edged an arm-ball on 41. It is likely that James Anderson will return to fielding at slip off Moeen in the Test series, however, so Stokes’ blemish need not provoke any lasting concern.To complete England’s day, Alex Hales batted with much greater assurance and unveiled some typically elegant strokes in helping his captain reach stumps without loss. Hales took one blow to the left hand courtesy of the distinctly hostile Marchant de Lange, but generally emerged with some credit from a tough examination. Barring injury, he is certain to open in Durban.There is nothing untoward in Anderson’s omission from the XI for this game. He is at the stage of his career where he knows what he needs in terms of preparation and also knows that, whatever cricket he has left, is best played on the pitch and not in the nets. He only bowled 12 overs ahead of the Pakistan series in the UAE.Stuart Broad looks fine, too. Experienced enough to know this was not the game to try to rediscover those Ashes-winning spells, he bowled tidily and generated some decent bounce upon occasions. Stokes, too, was controlled and proved too good for the tailenders.Steven Finn appeals unsuccessfully for lbw•Getty Images

Mark Footitt, while not quite as consistent as his colleagues, also bowled pretty well. But while he produced a fine delivery to account for Reeza Hendricks – on off stump and demanding a stroke – he also went off the pitch one over into his second spell before lunch suffering from cramp. England are unlikely to take a chance on him in the immediate future.Cook was the one batsman to play with the application required on a slightly two-paced surface offering some seam assistance. While he looked fortunate to survive two big leg before appeals against Finn, both times when he had scored 27, and has a tendency to play across straight balls, it is far from impossible he may win his chance at Test level before the end of the series.The struggles of his teammates suggested that, whatever the strength of their Test XI – and the No. 1 Test ranking tells its own story – there is some doubt about the depth in quality of the game in South Africa.

Pakistan captain Misbah-Ul-Haq took a harsh view of Denesh Ramdin’s actions during the last ball of the ninth over at The Oval, labelling the wicketkeeper’s ruse “not in the spirit of the game”.

Andrew Fidel Fernando at The Oval07-Jun-2013Pakistan captain Misbah-Ul-Haq took a harsh view of Denesh Ramdin’s actions during the last ball of the ninth over at The Oval, labelling the wicketkeeper’s ruse “not in the spirit of the game”.Misbah bottom-edged a Kemar Roach delivery to Ramdin, who initially seemed to have snaffled the chance, but lost control of the ball falling forward, and it slipped out of his gloves onto the turf. But instead of making his mistake obvious to the umpire or his team-mates, Ramdin simply picked up the ball and threw it in the direction of the square leg umpire, before joining his team-mates in the celebratory huddle.Misbah turned to the dressing room, but square leg umpire Nigel Llong alerted the third umpire, and the replay revealed the chance had been dropped. The batsman, who had not scored at the time, went on to make 96 not out.”What can I say about that?” Misbah said when asked about the catch after the match. “I think he should have told them what happened, but I don’t know what he was thinking at that time. I would not be very happy if my wicketkeeper did that.”If we don’t know anything, then it’s fine, but if you know clearly that it’s not a catch, you should not claim that because it’s not in the spirit of the game.”West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo vouched for and defended his wicketkeeper, whom he says, does not feel he acted dishonestly. According to MCC’s Law 32, a batsman can only be caught if the fielder obtains complete control over the ball and his movement.”Denesh honestly thought he had control of the ball,” Bravo said. “By rights the umpire had another look and the replay showed he did not. So we don’t play the game like that. History shows we’ve never had anything negative against us unlike other teams.”Unfortunately, he did not catch it. He’s a very honest player, and as I said, history shows if you check the records that we don’t have any stigma or negatives around us as a team. We have been true in our cricket careers and history has shown that we play the game in true spirit of the way it should be played. I don’t think we did something like this deliberately.”Roach said he had also thought it was a clean catch, but was philosophical about the lost chance, which would have given him his fourth wicket of the morning, and left the opposition 17 for 4.”I thought he caught it. I really thought he caught it,” Roach said. “But the square umpire thought differently. That’s an issue for them to deal with, and we’ll see what plays out from here. You make mistakes. No one goes to drop a catch, but it happens, so you just have to accept it and move on and be professional about it.”

Yorkshire’s match with Hampshire fizzled out on the final day as rain ensured a draw

Myles Hodgson at Headingley19-May-2012
ScorecardMitchell Starc made his first appearance for Yorkshire while on duty as 12th man•Getty Images

Yorkshire may well have made a public declaration of their desire to play attacking cricket in the aftermath of last week’s stunning victory at Bristol but sometimes even the most cavalier of intentions are defeated by the weather and their draw against Hampshire resulted in a more old-fashioned finish.As final days go, there could not have been a bigger contrast between the thrills and spills of Yorkshire’s successful chase of 400 and the sedate close to play at Headingley, with both sides seeming to accept little chance of a positive result almost as soon as bad light and drizzle delayed the start until 12.30pm, losing 24 overs from the day’s allocation.The time lost ensured a traditional final-day’s fare without the prospect of either county winning, and both sides were happy to go through the motions once Hampshire resumed 49 runs ahead on 21 for 1. Yorkshire did make some impression on the scoreboard, Iain Wardlaw finding Jimmy Adams’ edge shortly after a delayed lunch, but otherwise both teams played out time.Hampshire grumbled about the timing of Yorkshire’s declaration the previous day, with captain Adams claiming: “It could have kept more options open if they had declared earlier, but we had to concentrate on our own game to bowl them out and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.” What sort of target Hampshire would have been comfortable setting after the pyrotechnics of Bristol is also open to speculation.Yorkshire were happy to rotate their bowlers, and indeed used seven in total during a day’s play which must have been frustrating for the handful of spectators, who at least had the chance to witness Jonny Bairstow’s maiden Test innings from the Long Room as a result of the delayed start.Once play did resume, Michael Carberry set the tone by taking 35 minutes to hit his first runs of the day and batting for nearly three hours to finish unbeaten on 61, when both sides accepted the draw with Hampshire 219 runs ahead on 191 for 2.At least those present got their first chance to see Mitchell Starc, the Australia left-arm fast bowler, in a Yorkshire sweater for the first time. Denied the opportunity to make his debut earlier through a visa irregularity, he made his first appearance on 12th-man duties having been discounted from making his debut in this match after a gruelling spell of 14 flights in 12 days.”Mitchell has been training and we just thought it was too much of an ask to play him against Hampshire after all the issues and the amount of travel he’s done,” Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s head coach, said. “It wouldn’t have been fair to the lad to come in when you want to try and impress for a new team. I don’t think picking him for this match would have given him the best chance to succeed.”He’s a great lad who works incredibly hard and brings that X-factor. He has genuine pace and he can bowl 90mph and swing the ball and anyone who bowls that pace and swings it is going to be a dangerous customer.”Instead, 22-year-old Starc will make his debut in Sunday’s CB40 match against Derbyshire Falcons at Headingley – the first of three such matches in the next week – before making his first Championship start at home to Northamptonshire in a fortnight.Yorkshire are still to determine how long Starc will be at their disposal following his call-up to the Australia A squad to tour England later this summer. Assuming he is not also required for a pre-tour training camp, Starc will definitely miss three Championship matches, up to four CB40 games and a T20 quarter-final, should Yorkshire qualify, so he is keen to maximise his involvement with Yorkshire while he can.”It’s been a bit of back and forth but I’m glad to be here now,” Starc said. “I’ve had a few sessions with the seconds and hopefully I can get out there and play a bit of cricket tomorrow. When I finally got here and got settled the sleeping patterns weren’t too bad. I’m a little bit fatigued but sleeping wise I’m pretty good. I’m just glad to be here, running around and I’m raring to go.”

Sri Lanka’s batting coach Marvan Atapattu has said there is a big gulf between the batting ability of senior batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and remaining batsmen in the national side

Sa'adi Thawfeeq17-May-2011Sri Lanka’s batting coach Marvan Atapattu has said there is a big gulf between the batting ability of senior batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and remaining batsmen in the national side.”Just because a batting coach has been given to a national side it doesn’t mean you are going to be No. 1 tomorrow, “Atapattu told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve got to work ourselves up and at the same time the batsmen that we have, the two senior-most are one hundred times better than the others. They have been the best for a number of years in the top five.”Atapattu’s first assignment with the team is the tour of England and while he acknowledges there is still “room for improvement” within the Sri Lankan side, he says will look at giving “options” to batsmen to help make them “better players” and work towards “getting their contribution” which is best suited to the team. “What I am focusing on is not to put myself under too much of pressure and more importantly not put too much pressure on the players,”Atapattu, who played 90 Tests and 268 ODIs for Sri Lanka, said it was important to keep a fresh inflow of ideas and constantly innovate to get the best out of the players. “As a unit we’ve got to make the best use of the individuals, to get the best we want and then try and improve the individuals to get the best out of them by way of technique, mental plus skill.”Coaching is not all about how to play a back foot or a forward defence or a cover drive but about knowing somebody’s routines and what is best suited for the individual.”Sri Lanka beat Middlesex by four wickets, in their first tour match. They next play the England Lions in a four-day tour match that begins on Thursday. The first Test against England starts on May 26 in Cardiff.

A season’s-best unbeaten 181 by Darren Stevens took Kent into a strong position
before rain and lightning arrived at Tunbridge Wells to halt play with the hosts
on 478 for 6

06-Jun-2010

ScorecardA season’s-best unbeaten 181 by Darren Stevens took Kent into a strong position
before rain and lightning arrived at Tunbridge Wells to halt play with the hosts
on 478 for 6.Responding to Nottinghamshire’s first-innings 462, Kent moved into a 16-run
lead courtesy of a Nevill Ground sixth-wicket record stand worth 270 between
Stevens and James Tredwell (115) before umpires Nigel Llong and Jeff Evans
abandoned play for the day just after 5pm.By 3pm the Kent pair had already beaten the 58-year-old ground record
partnership of Dickie Mayes and Bill Murray-Wood worth 233, scored here against
Sussex in 1952, and had eased Kent into their slender lead on a dry and docile
pitch. In hot, humid conditions, the visiting attack struggled to find a cutting edge
as pacemen Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson failed to add to their respective
wicket tallies from Saturday.Stevens, 80 overnight, scorched to his fourth hundred of the championship
campaign from 105 balls and with 17 fours, then Tredwell joined him in three
figures from 194 deliveries for his first ton of 2010. Stevens, strong on the drive and cut, also pulled two sixes over the ropes at mid-wicket both off the bowling of Nottinghamshire’s England one-day international spinner Samit Patel.Tredwell also took liberties against the left-armer, hitting him for two successive boundaries to sprint through the 70s towards his third career
hundred. In all, Tredwell found the ropes 19 times but the partnership came to a
surprise end in the 121st over when the left-hander, advancing down the pitch to
drive at Nottinghamshire’s debutant spinner Graeme White, clipped a return catch
to the bowler.Storm clouds and heavy showers arrived soon after to drive the players from the
field for an early tea to leave former Leicestershire batsman Stevens just 19
short of the second double hundred of his career. Having already hit three championship hundreds in 2010, Stevens now has more than 700 runs to his name at an average of 89.25.

England seamer starts to see rewards of revamping her action while playing on the international stage

Valkerie Baynes03-Jul-2024Tears, drama and disagreements… but it all felt worth it as Lauren Bell claimed her maiden international five-wicket haul to help seal a 3-0 sweep for England in their ODI series against New Zealand.Speaking after her figures of 5 for 37 from nine overs had helped contain an improved White Ferns batting performance, Bell went into detail for the first time about the difficulties of remodelling her bowling action while playing on the international stage.”It’s been a tricky few months, so yeah, it was nice to come out of today with some real success, it was a great day,” Bell said, after half-centuries from Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones had helped ensure her efforts did not go to waste. “I got back from the series in New Zealand and we just thought to push my career on, make me a better bowler, we’d changed a few things with my action.”But obviously when you bowl a certain way for however long, it has been tricky. I don’t really have a training block, I’ve just been playing, but it’s definitely for the best in the long term and I guess today shows that it is going to push me forward. But yeah, it is obviously hard doing it on an international stage.”Related

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Bell returned from England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year with a remit to bowl more upright, and an emerging by-product of that has been an ability to swing the ball both ways.Hints were there during successful her white-ball series against Pakistan at the start of the English summer and Heather Knight, England’s captain, lauded Bell and others for their bravery in trying new things in match situations.And while Bell’s wickets on Wednesday – her first five-wicket haul since she played at Under-15 level – largely came from a back-of-a-length, top-of-the-stumps approach, the tall seamer said she had felt immense support from her team-mates and England’s coaching staff throughout the process.”I fell away a lot, and so we thought if we could get me more upright, it’d be safer. It means I can bowl more and it means I should be quicker and from being taller I get more bounce,” she explained. “So it came from that point of view initially, to add pace to my bowling, pace and bounce, and leading me to be more upright allowed me to then be able to swing it both ways.Key among her supporters has been England Women’s fast bowling coach Matt Mason.”I think he would’ve felt like a proud dad today,” Bell said. “There’s been tears, there’s been drama, there’s been disagreements. We work really closely and he’s put in a lot of time to get me here.”I think my bowling coach knew that one thing was going to lead to another,” she added. “I guess it got really exciting and now it’s just honing in on the consistency of being able to swing it both ways and bowl a wobble-ball obviously. It’s something I’m just going to learn, but hopefully in the long run will be really exciting.”The breakthrough, lightbulb we’ve had in the last couple of weeks has been a lot to do with the mental side of it and how I approach it in a game. Training’s been great, but you get to a game and it’s a totally different story, so I’ve done a lot of work on my focus and my concentration. I think I’ve gone in two-feet, I’m in now, there’s not really any turning back. So I’m committed to it and I know it’s for the best.”I’ve gone a long time not really having to think much about how I bowl. Now, my change in action, I very much have to concentrate on it, so I’ve learned that I need to focus and I’ve got a couple of cues that help me with that. I reset every ball and I focus in on my cues. It is a bit of a routine that I’ve picked up in the last couple of months that I think will take me a long way, especially in pressure situations.”Bell, who is just 23, made her England debut in the 2022 Test against South Africa at Taunton, where she was presented with her cap by Anya Shrubsole, the World Cup-winning seamer who had just retired at the time and for whom Bell was seen as a replacement.Since then, she has played three Tests, 14 ODIs and 20 T20Is and is seen as a linchpin of England’s seam attack, which has made it all the more difficult for her see beyond the short-term effects on output, and focus on long-term benefits – until now.”I definitely haven’t been used to having a few games in a row not quite going my way,” Bell said. “But everyone I’ve spoken to has said, unfortunately that is what professional sport is, whether it’s because you’ve changed something or you just go through a tough patch of form, it’s going to happen and it’s probably going to happen again, and it happens to the best players in the world. It’s another experience I’ve got under my belt that should push me forward in the future.”

English batter gets INR 2.8 crore deal with Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan already ruled out for the franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2023Kolkata Knight Riders have signed up England batter Jason Roy as a replacement player with two of their big names Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan already out of the tournament. Knight Riders signed Roy for INR 2.8 crore (USD 341,000 approx.); his base price listed at the pre-season auction was INR 1.5 crore (USD 183,000 approx.).Most English players are only permitted to sign replacement deals at the IPL before a cut-off date of March 1, in order to help their counties plan for the early months of the County Championship season. However, players with ECB central contracts or incremental deals are eligible to be signed after that date. Roy lost his central contract in October, but still has an incremental deal.Roy last played the IPL in 2021, having opted out last year – after being bought by Gujarat Titans in the auction – while taking an indefinite break from cricket. In 2021 he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored 150 runs from five games, averaging 30 and striking at 123.96.In 2020 too he had opted out of the IPL because of personal reasons, when he was with Delhi Capitals.Knight Riders have played just one game so far, which they lost to Punjab Kings by seven runs (DLS method) in Mohali. They play their second game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday at their home ground Eden Gardens.They have lost Iyer to a lower-back injury for which he needs surgery, and Shakib has opted out of the season for personal reasons.

All the stories and reaction following the death of one of the game’s greatest

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2022March 30
As it happened – Shane Warne’s state memorial service
News – Shane Warne Stand unveiled as MCG crowd bids their hero an emotional farewell
March 29
Interviews – Tendulkar, Lara, Dravid, Jayawardene, Younis, Kirsten and Bell on the magic of facing Shane Warne
Video – Tendulkar: Warne could spin the ball from day one on Australian surfaces
Video – Lara: ‘Warne never gave up, he always produced that miracle delivery’
Video – Dravid on Warne: ‘What amazed me was the amount of time he spent discussing cricket’
Video – Shastri: ‘Warne’s knowledge of cricket was unreal’March 21
Video – Ponting: ‘Warnie would’ve said don’t sit back and do what you love’March 20
News – Shane Warne’s funeral takes place in MelbourneMarch 12
Shannon Gill – Warne’s magic was made for televisionMarch 10
Osman Samiuddin – What Shane Warne’s greatest deliveries tell usMarch 9
Photo feature – Goodbye, Hollywood: pictures of Warne’s life off the fieldMarch 7
Mark Nicholas – Warne gave us so much and he had so much more to give
News – ‘Dad, this doesn’t feel real’ – Shane Warne’s family speak of their pain and loss
March 6
Brydon Coverdale – In praise of Shane Warne, cricketing genius
News – Warne had chest pains before leaving Australia – Thai police
Ian Chappell – ‘People put down their beer every time Warne came on to bowl’
Reactions – Matthew Hayden – ‘Shane Warne mesmerised the best of the best’
Reactions – Brett Lee: ‘Every young kid that watched Test cricket wanted to be Warne’March 5
News – Great Southern Stand at MCG to be named after Shane Warne
Andrew Miller – Shane Warne: the showman who could do hard graft
Alex Malcolm – Everyone wanted to be ‘The King’
Mark Nicholas – ‘Warne never gave us someone he was not
Ian Chappell – Warnie was a generous, honest champion
Feature – Shane Warne’s greatest hits: bossing World Cups, to blindsiding England
Reaction – Border: Warne is the Bradman of legspin
Reaction – Kumble: ‘Next generation will miss experience he had to offer’
Reaction – Jadeja: ‘Thankful to Warne for providing me the IPL platform in 2008’
March 4
News – Shane Warne dies aged 52
As it happened – Tributes and reaction
Reactions – Warne’s death leaves cricket fraternity ‘shocked and gutted’
Timeline – The highs and lows of Shane Warne’s cricketing career
Stats from the archive – A magician and a match-winner
In photos – Remembering Shane Warne
Reaction – Cummins: ‘Rest in peace, King’
Reaction – Root: Warne ‘loved the game of cricket and was a joy to be around’

Chigumbura – who has past personal success in Pakistan to draw from – also says Super-League points are on Zimbabwe’s mind

Danyal Rasool21-Oct-2020For much of the first decade of his career, Elton Chigumbura was among the first names on the Zimbabwe team sheet. Known for his power-hitting at a time when Zimbabwe lacked players with that attribute, and crucial to balancing the side thanks to his ability to bowl medium pace, Chigumbura seemed to be the full package. But, over the past five years, people’s patience with the 34-year-old, no matter how decorated his CV, has seemingly begun to run thin.There was forensic scrutiny in Zimbabwe after Chigumbura kept his place in the side for the upcoming tour to Pakistan. For one, he’s no longer a bowler, just a middle-order batsman. And one who has scored a grand total of one half-century in ODI cricket in the past five years, and managed a T20I score higher than 35 in just one innings since May 2015.Speaking to the media after the Zimbabwe team landed in Pakistan to play three T20Is and three ODIs, and having begun a six-day quarantine period, Chigumbura said injuries had played a part in the drop in his performance, but he was raring to go once more.”I have struggled with my form,” he said. “I had a couple of injuries that put me away for quite some time. So it was down to my injuries I was out for almost a year, not playing international cricket. And when I came back again, I got another injury, for which I had to go and get surgery done. Right now, I’m looking forward to this series, hopefully to get back to where I was. And these wickets in Pakistan are good wickets to bat on. So hopefully I can carry on from last time when I was in Pakistan.”I am fully fit now. I got an Achilles injury last year. When I was about to just start playing again, then the Covid-19 pandemic happened. So I’m happy to be back in the squad. Hopefully we get a chance to enjoy every moment.”Chigumbura has reason to be optimistic about his prospects in Pakistan. When Zimbabwe became the first side to visit the country after the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team, the-then 29-year-old was the star of the visiting side. He struck a career-best 54 in the first T20I, before going on to smash a 95-ball 117, also a career high, in his only ODI innings as the visiting side posted 334 in their 50 overs. He would carry on that form, making it back-to-back hundreds by hitting an unbeaten 104 against India six weeks later. He was in the form of his life, before it all suddenly slipped away.But when you’re around the Zimbabwe set-up for as long as he has been, you’ll likely have seen enough rough times to understand there is a way to come out of it.Elton Chigumbura winds up for a big hit•AFP

“We have to try and start winning games. Everyone is really focused. It’s not just the series that will determine our future – every game that you play in the [ODI] Super League is very important for the team so that we qualify for the next World Cup overseas. And we take it one game at a time, but everyone in the team is very ready and eager to go.”It’s important that we have to play to win, not to just compete. So all those mindsets are things that we have spoken about in training and everyone is aware of what we need to do as a team and as individuals when it comes to these international games. And hopefully we start on a good note.”I believe we can be competitive. We came here to win. Everyone, they’re willing to go out there and express themselves. Everyone is raring to go, especially after being out of cricket for almost six, seven months.”Chigumbura insisted the absence of their head coach, Lalchand Rajput, would not have an adverse effect on the side. Rajput, a former Indian cricketer, pulled out of the tour of Pakistan after the Indian High Commission in Zimbabwe wrote to Zimbabwe Cricket requesting he be exempted from touring Pakistan. As a result, bowling coach Douglas Hondo took over full coaching duties for the tour, and Chigumbura said the side would be in regular touch with Rajput online.”Nothing’s going to change. The same system, same system coaches that were under him are the ones that are leading the team. So all the values of the team are still the same. We’re having a meeting over a conference call and I’m sure he’ll be part of the strategy. So it’s just a matter of us as players to carry on and make sure that we implement what he always emphasised to us.”Chigumbura said the mood in the camp this time was worlds removed from when they last visited in terms of Zimbabwe’s outlook on security in Pakistan. “Obviously it’s good to be back in Pakistan. The first time we came here five years ago, everyone was a bit scared. But I think the way they hosted us last time, we are confident that we are in safe hands and so far everyone is comfortable. And after having our first training session today, we are looking forward to the matches.”Much has changed in Pakistan and elsewhere in the five years since Zimbabwe arrived on these shores in May 2015. But when he steps out in the middle, Chigumbura will be hoping things go back to the way they were when he last felt ball on bat in Pakistan.