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Fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu and wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Carters will be part of the Cricket Australia XI to take on New Zealand in a tour match in Sydney starting this Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2015Fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu and wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Carters will be part of the Cricket Australia XI to take on New Zealand in a tour match in Sydney starting this Thursday. Ashton Turner will captain the side in the three-day match and due to its clashing with the opening Sheffield Shield round, the CA XI will be shorn of much of the talent that took on the New Zealanders at the weekend.Whereas in Canberra the CA XI looked like a strong Australia A side, boasting Test hopefuls such as Usman Khawaja, Cameron Bancroft and Joe Burns, at Blacktown this week it will more resemble the CA XI that took part in the Matador Cup. Carters, Sandhu and Turner form the experienced core of the side, with the talented young New South Wales batsman Kurtis Patterson also included.There will also be several men who played for the CA XI in the one-day competition, including Hilton Cartwright, Matthew Short and Mitch Swepson. The match will be New Zealand’s final warm-up game ahead of the first Test at the Gabba, and CA’s national talent manager Greg Chappell said the three-day fixture would be a good opportunity for some of Australia’s young talent.”New Zealand has been one of the most successful international teams in recent years so it will be a great experience for this CA XI, which includes some of the most exciting young cricketers in the country,” Chappell said. “This will be a great leadership opportunity for Ashton Turner. He has performed admirably when captaining at this level in recent years and this will allow him to build on that experience.”West Australian all-rounder Hilton Cartwright was particularly impressive with the bat during the recent Matador BBQs One-Day Cup. He was unlucky to miss out on his maiden List A century against Queensland, but he definitely held his own against formidable opposition.”We have been very pleased with Gurinder Sandhu’s progress over the last 12 months. His consistent performances earned him his international debut and he performed well under pressure on the big stage. He was also impressive for Australia A in tough conditions in India earlier this year and also showed his diversity of skills with the introduction of his spin bowling.”Cricket Australia XI Ashton Turner (capt), Riley Ayre, Jake Carder, Ryan Carters (wk), Hilton Cartwright, Sam Heazlett, Kurtis Patterson, Jake Reed, Liam Hatcher, Gurinder Sandhu, Matthew Short, Mitch Swepson.

Mohammad Nabi was thrilled that he was part of cricket history after Afghanistan recorded the first instance of an Associate Nation beating a Full Member in a bilateral ODI series

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2015Mohammad Nabi claimed his maiden ODI hundred in this series. He was named Man of the Series as well, with 223 runs from five matches. And he seems to have found purpose in the Afghanistan batting order again since being promoted to No. 3. But very little compared to the high of a series victory over a Test-playing nation.”We made history. It’s the first time in 200 years of cricket that we [an Associate team] has beaten a Full Member in a series, I think. I’m very happy with my team’s performance and my performance. After a very long time I have performed very well. It’s very good for me and also for my team.”Newly appointed coach Inzamam-ul-Haq’s decision to promote Nabi up the order not only shook the batsman out of his dismal spell of form, it also afforded Afghanistan a stronger team combination. “There was a big change in the batting order. I was at No. 6 and the coach put me in the top order, at No. 3. Credit goes to the coach Inzamam-ul-Haq for supporting me,” Nabi said. “It improved our top-order batting and that was a big change in the series.”Afghanistan were able to put 245 on the board after being inserted in Bulawayo. They had batted the entire 50 overs and Nabi had been out there for 28 of them to score 53 off 70 balls. Having spent that much time on the pitch, he knew his team had put up a “big target”.”When we batted first, we decided that if we scored 250 it would be difficult to chase on that pitch. That’s why the boys played very well. The openers and then the middle-order batsmen, they played very well.”That the target was so ably defended was thanks to Dawlat Zadran’s spell of 4 for 22 in eight overs, his career best figures in an ODI.”It was my best performance against a Full Member and hopefully in the upcoming matches I can also continue my good bowling. I’m very excited and happy and satisfied with my performance in the series,” Zadran said. “The coach and captain have given me simple plans to follow. ‘With the new ball, you should just go for the dot and if the batsman makes mistakes you will get wicket. So just get us one or two wickets with the new ball.’ And yes, definitely I have the skills to reverse the old ball, so I bowl better with the old ball than the new ball.”The team manager, Shir Agha Hamkar, ensured the achievement’s context was not lost. “You cannot imagine the celebrations back home because they are following each and every ball wherever we play. Even club matches and trial matches, they are following their heroes. Cricket has really brought change in Afghanistan. It’s not just a game, it has turned into [a medium that brings] peace and stability to Afghanistan. It brings more people together. It’s very famous and leading sport in Afghanistan. You cannot imagine the welcome they are preparing for this team.”Looking forward, we are a good team. Just need a couple of more series with Full Members to stay on track because with one or two matches you can never decide who is a good team but a series can give you a clearer idea. We are a good team, and now our goal is to become a Test nation and we are trying all we can.”

Punjab recover from 80 for 5 to end the opening day on 248 for 8 at Green Park in Kanpur

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Kanpur23-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Gitansh Khera (in pic) and Mayank Sidhana revived Punjab with a 138-run stand after UP pacers ran riot in the opening session on Day 1 in Kanpur•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There isn’t much going on in Kanpur to suggest a match involving international stars such as Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar is underway. You could experience a mash-up of several DJs in the evenings as marriages take place in wholesale amounts. You could also inadvertently be involved in arguments in tea shops over what the newly-elected government will do, or not do, in neighbouring state Bihar. Or you could try to estimate the size of the massive hoardings that have been up all over the city to celebrate Mulayam Singh Yadav’s birthday that was on Sunday.Amidst all this, low-profile batsmen Mayank Sidhana and Gitansh Khera led Punjab’s fight back at Green Park, where Uttar Pradesh had reduced the visitors to 80 for 5 just after lunch on the opening day. The pair combined to revive Punjab with a 138-run stand that saved the side from being bundled out for another paltry score. Sidhana was playing a first-class match for the first time in nearly two years, but his batting showed otherwise.

Sidhana makes hay in Gurkeerat’s absence

Punjab’s top-scorer Mayank Sidhana (85) last played a first-class match in December 2013 and would have sat out of today’s match it not been for one of his team-mates’ injury. Punjab had to make one change once allrounder Gurkeerat Singh was called up to join India’s Test squad, but his original replacement was not Sidhana.
“Now you can call it fate or anything that the player who was going to play had a stiff back and only five minutes before the toss I came to know that I had to play,” Sidhana said after the match.
“Taruwar Kohli was going to play initially. He was not in the squad originally but Gurkeerat Mann left to join the Indian team so Kohli was brought in. He bats and bowls some medium-pace, but he got a stiff back just before the toss.”

Punjab’s wickets fell thick and fast once they were put in on a green pitch. The UP bowlers made full use of the conditions early on by making the batsmen play most of the deliveries, even if they conceded the odd boundary. Praveen swung the ball both ways in trademark fashion with four slips, and Ankit Rajpoot used the corridor with back-of-length deliveries that reaped benefits.Even though Praveen started with a huge lbw appeal against Manan Vohra on the first ball of the match, it was Rajpoot who removed the openers. Rajpoot trapped Jiwanjot Singh lbw with an inswinger, and had Vohra caught behind with an outswinger off his next over. Praveen then got into the act and was rewarded after a brief stand of 35 runs between Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh. Uday had nudged the ball around for his 16 runs, but lost his off stump when he played down the wrong line in Praveen’s second spell.The Kanpur crowd was then treated to a short bout between Praveen and Yuvraj. Praveen sent down a bouncer to welcome Yuvraj before the left-handed batsmen unleashed his symbolic flamingo flick to the midwicket boundary that drew big cheer. Praveen then resorted to an outside-off-stump line and the crowd “oooh”ed when an outside edge from Yuvraj fell just short of first slip. Four overs later, Praveen erred on the pads again and Yuvraj was happy to flick one more for four.Like a replay of the first edge, Praveen went back to outside off and Yuvraj got a faint edge for the wicketkeeper this time. Mandeep Singh had survived till now by defending plenty and pulling Imtiaz Ahmed for fours when he pitched the ball short. But the same bowler accounted for Mandeep off the 12th ball after lunch when he reached out for a widish delivery outside off to be caught behind.That brought together Sidhana and Khera. The two batsmen played out the rest of the second session with hardly any trouble. The ball was nearly 40 overs old, the sun was out and the pitch was being labelled a ” (fake) green top” by the locals. Sidhana and Khera are very similar batsmen – both are tall, right-handed, play the ball late and use the pace of the ball to steer it into gaps.In the second session they took minimal risk and started by pushing the ball for singles and doubles, did not hesitate to put away the loose balls for fours, and punished the spinners with hardly any turn on offer. Unlike the batsmen who preceded them, they scored at more than three runs per over and grew in confidence after tea. Soon after Sidhana brought up his ninth first-class fifty, Khera danced down the track to launch left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar over long-on to reach 50, and take the stand past 100. Sidhana also joined in by dispatching Piyush Chawla for six from the other end to approach the 80s.UP finally got some relief when part-time medium-pacer Akshdeep Nath broke the stand. Sidhana, too, paid the price for poking outside off and gave wicketkeeper Eklavya Dwivedi his fourth catch of the day. Two overs later Saurabh held on to an excellent catch running backwards from mid-on to dismiss Harbhajan. UP took the second new ball immediately and Rajpoot drew an edge from Khera’s bat but he was dropped on 61 at first slip. Two overs later, Rajpoot trapped Siddharth Kaul lbw and Punjab ended on 248 for 8 with Khera on 73 as bad light cut the day short by three overs.

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the third Test between Australia and West Indies in Sydney

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale02-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 3-7, 2016

Start time 1030 local (2330 GMT)4:05

Brettig: Too much professionalism in Australia to let WI win

Big Picture

New year, same old story? Maybe, maybe not, for it is worth noting that over the final two days in Melbourne, West Indies put up more fight than they had at any point in the series. If they can bring that to the start of the Sydney Test then the gap between the teams might close up just a little bit. Much like New Zealand earlier in the summer, West Indies took until midway through the second Test before they started to look comfortable in the Australian conditions. At least, their batsmen did. Their bowling has remained lacklustre throughout, and taking the 20 wickets required to win a Test might be a bridge too far, bearing in mind they have so far taken only 10 for the series.The conditions they will be confronted with in Sydney might be slightly different to the first two Tests, with curator Tom Parker expecting some of the traditional SCG turn. Australia have chosen two spinners with Steve O’Keefe to join Nathan Lyon, but there should also be plenty of runs in the wicket. The Frank Worrell Trophy has already been retained and Australia’s task now is to finish off the summer with a 3-0 series win, before they look ahead to ODI matches against India, a Test tour of New Zealand and the World T20. For Jason Holder’s men, the next five days in Sydney is a chance to build on what they showed in Melbourne, and display the consistency they crave.

Form guide

Australia: WWWDW (last five completed matches, most recent first)


West Indies: LLLLL

In the spotlight

Adam Voges will be over 40 by the time Australia next play West Indies in a Test, so this should be his last chance to plunder more gold from the Caribbean. Voges has played four Tests against West Indies for scores of 130*, 37, 269* and 106*, and since he has been dismissed only once he has the incredible average of 542.00 against them. The next highest average by any Test batsman against a single opposition is 293.00, from Jacques Rudolph’s two Tests against Bangladesh.Darren Bravo is the only West Indian in the top six run scorers this series, his 214 putting him equal second on the list with Steven Smith. He has stood up in the first innings in both Tests, with 108 in Hobart and 81 at the MCG, and while West Indies again need a strong display from him in Sydney they also require some greater support to allow him to build a really big innings.

Team news

Australia’s XI has been confirmed, with left-arm spinner O’Keefe to play his second Test in a twin spin attack with Lyon. Peter Siddle was left out after struggling with an ankle problem in Melbourne.Australia 1 Joe Burns, 2 David Warner, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Steve O’Keefe, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan LyonAustralia’s decision to include two spinners might have encouraged West Indies to do the same had legspinner Devendra Bishoo been fit, but he has not recovered from a shoulder injury suffered during training in Melbourne. It is hard to see how Kemar Roach can be retained after his bowling struggles over the first two Tests: his pace and confidence have been down, and he has series figures of 0 for 218. Perhaps the selectors will view this as a chance to see what fast bowler Miguel Cummins has to offer at Test level.West Indies (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Rajendra Chandrika, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Jomel Warrican, 11 Miguel Cummins

Pitch and conditions

Curator Tom Parker said it was a traditional SCG pitch, extremely hard but with a little bit of grass. “I think there will be some turn, the pitch has been turning in the Shield games this year and also during the Sixers matches,” Parker said. The forecast is for showers across the first four days, so the teams could be in for more than a few interruptions.

Stats and trivia

• The chasm between the two sides in this series is shown by the average runs per wicket lost: Australia have scored 131.30 to West Indies’ 24.31
• The five leading wicket takers in the series are all Australians; Jomel Warrican tops the West Indies list with three at 106.00
• Last time Australia played two specialist spinners in a Sydney Test (not counting Steven Smith’s legspin) was 2006, when Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill played together against South Africa

Quotes

“It’s going to spin and it gives us an opportunity now to see Steve and see how he goes. They have bowled well together. Hopefully they can do that this week.”

A fractured left thumb has ruled Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the T20 series against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2016A fractured left thumb has ruled Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the T20 series against Australia. Rishi Dhawan, who is part of India’s ODI squad, will stay on in Australia as Bhuvneshwar’s replacement.Bhuvneshwar picked up the injury while trying to stop a David Warner straight drive off his own bowling during the fourth ODI in Canberra. The injury forced him out of the fifth ODI in Sydney, with India picking the debutant Jasprit Bumrah in his place.Ajinkya Rahane also sat out the Sydney ODI with an injury, having split his webbing while fielding in Canberra. Gurkeerat Singh has been named as cover for Rahane in the T20 squad.The three-match T20 series will begin on Tuesday in Adelaide.

Bangladesh will be keen to carry on their form from the tournament into the semi-finals against a resurgent West Indies outfit

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit10-Feb-2016

Match facts

Thursday, February 11, 2016
Start time 0900 local (0300 GMT)Bangladesh will bank on their middle order, led by the in-form Nazmul Hossain Shanto, on a slow pitch•ICC

Big picture

West Indies’ ability to surprise made sure that it wasn’t going to be an all-Asian last four at the Under-19 World Cup. While Bangladesh reaching the semi-finals wasn’t unexpected after they started the tournament with a resounding win against the defending champions, West Indies’ journey has been more topical.Unlike the hosts, West Indies started their campaign with a loss and then showed their batting firepower against Fiji. They entered the knockouts in controversial circumstances and jolted the Pakistan line-up with impressive fast bowling. Alzarri Joseph’s ability with the ball will be vital to a start that could prove to be decisive.Challenging Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla Stadium is going to be a tough task. Bangladesh are unbeaten but have faced only one Full Member so far – South Africa. They have put up strong totals batting first, strangled oppositions with their spin attack, and also chased a 200-plus target against Nepal under pressure. However, their pace attack is not as menacing, and they would also be under pressure on Thursday while playing their first World Cup semi-final. They will have an edge over West Indies, though, having beaten them 3-0 in a bilateral series just before the World Cup began.

Form guide

Bangladesh WWWWW
West Indies WWWLL

Strengths

Bangladesh’s power lies in their middle-order batting. It shone against South Africa to post a stiff 240, scored 256 against Scotland and rescued the team in the quarter-final against Nepal. The West Indies bowlers’ biggest challenge will be to find a way to curb the batsmen in the middle overs.West Indies, too, were led by their batsmen – opener Gidron Pope’s attacking mindset at the top and Shamar Springer producing scores in the middle order – until pace bowler Chemar Holder arrived. But now the new-ball pair of Alzarri Joseph and Holder have given their team a new dimension to topple any opposition by taking the pitch out of the equation.

Star performers

Nazmul Hossain Shanto has been the hosts’ middle-order mainstay. He has fallen for only one single-digit score so far in the competition and is their leading run-scorer with an average of 104. If the top order crumbled, Shanto is the player the middle order revolved around as he rotates strike with ease and doesn’t rely on the big shots.With his pace and troubling lengths, Alzarri Joseph has always struck with the new ball in the World Cup so far. He showed against Zimbabwe that he can be a force in his second spell too and West Indies will come to Mirpur depending on him quite a bit.

Key players

Mehedi Hasan Miraz, the Bangladesh captain, has struck two quick fifties so far and is one of the main players in the middle order. What is also key is his offspin. Once the opposition builds their platform for a strong finish, Miraz brings himself on to thwart their plans. He hasn’t failed so far, picking up seven wickets with an economy rate of 3.47. He will hope to do the same against a team that is not the best against spin bowling.Holder flew to Bangladesh as a replacement after his team had already reached the knockouts. He was drafted into the XI on recent form and lived up to expectations with a stellar new-ball show against Pakistan. West Indies will hope for him to be the X-factor on Thursday too.

Underperformers

Saif Hassan has already been criticised for his defensive approach, although that is the role given to him. Since Joseph and Holder will come out all guns blazing with the new balls, Saif’s ability to soak up the pressure and play them out will be crucial.Shimron Hetmyer, the West Indies captain, is the only player in their squad who played the previous Under-19 World Cup. He has enough experience behind him, but not as many runs. He started the tournament with low scores but showed good signs in the chase against Pakistan. He scored a positive fifty and will look to stretch his form against the hosts’ spin attack.

Pitch and conditions

The Mirpur pitch has helped the pace bowlers a lot so far in the morning. It might be overcast on Thursday too, but don’t expect another pace-friendly track in the second semi-finals. It won’t come as a surprise if a much slower and spinner-friendly pitch is on offer with more than 10,000 fans expected to cheer for the Bangladesh.

Quotes

“We are playing them at home so it’s going to be a tough game for us. And possibly I would say a grudge match for us.”
“If we are happy already, we will have to end our tournament here and now. We are not entirely satisfied with our performance. We are taking it one game at a time. We are not taking it as a semi-final, rather a match that we have to win.”
.

New Zealand’s now former ODI captain Brendon McCullum has praised his team for the way they responded to a batting collapse in the first innings and staged a 55-run win to retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-20164:49

‘Lively, exciting, and seemingly indestructible’

New Zealand’s now former ODI captain Brendon McCullum has praised his team for the way they responded to a batting collapse in the first innings and staged a 55-run win to retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.McCullum, playing his final ODI innings, smoked a 27-ball 47 to set New Zealand up nicely, but the hosts lost their way towards the end of the innings, losing six wickets for just 23 runs to muster a below-par 246.If New Zealand were feeling low immediately after that slide, they certainly did not show their disappointment when they took to the field, as McCullum revealed that he had urged his players during the break to not get bogged down.”The team performance today, especially after losing six for not many, I think lesser teams would have folded,” McCullum said. “And one thing we pride ourselves on is making sure that if we are going to get beaten, we’re going to make it hard for the opposition to do so.”That was the mentality we try to take out to fielding and bowling and also just stress to the guys, it doesn’t matter what we get, it’s a matter of what they get. If we were capable of losing six for not many, it was a wicket that was tough to start on, so that was the message that was stressed at halftime.”McCullum’s words clearly lifted the team, as excellent spells from Doug Bracewell, Ish Sodhi, Corey Anderson and Matt Henry suffocated the Australia batsmen on a slow pitch, and New Zealand bundled their opponents out for 191 inside 44 overs. McCullum, who now has just two more Tests left in him before he quits internationals all together, could not think of a better way of signing off from limited-overs internationals.”To beat the world champions in the Chappell-Hadlee series, which means so much to us, is a fitting way to step away from the game. For us to be able to still step out and beat the best team in the world is testament to the depth that we’ve been able to create over a period of time.”That was a pleasing aspect of it and I thought the way the guys responded was phenomenal. Doug Bracewell, he was on the the sidelines for the last little while, and the way he came in and seized that key moment, kept it tight, started building some pressure.”And that allowed Ish, another wonderful story of a guy who’s come back in after a long time out of the side, and he bowled with confidence and he bowled beautifully. He was able to apply some pressure and get wickets.It’s great when you can see guys come in and perform in pressure situations.”

MS Dhoni has said it was very important for India to not trip up in the final of the Asia Cup to hold the critics at bay, and to keep the team’s momentum intact leading up to the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-20161:26

MS Dhoni on the Asia Cup final

MS Dhoni has said it was very important for India to not trip up in the final of the Asia Cup to hold the critics at bay, and to keep the team’s momentum intact leading up to the World T20. The unit is a balanced one ahead of the showpiece event, he said, with the only question mark hanging over seamer Ashish Nehra who might have to make way for Mohammed Shami.”India losing a final is a bigger headline than India winning a final,” Dhoni said after sealing an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in Mirpur with a six over midwicket. “It’s like putting in a lot at stake: if you win then they say ‘nothing really’; if you lose to Bangladesh, say people ‘oh, you lost to Bangladesh?'”You’re supposed to win. It’s like a game where a lot is at stake but when you win, you actually don’t take anything forward.”However, Dhoni added, Bangladesh’s recent top form at home – including a 2-1 ODI series victory over India in June 2015 – translated into this victory meaning a lot more. “Things have changed. It’s not like the 2004 Bangladesh team. They have a fantastic squad right now. They have improved a lot, and that’s what is showing in their performance on the field. So it was an important one to win.””As far as staying in the present is concerned, it always helps. If you start thinking about what happened when the last time we were here… of course you feel hurt, but what’s important is to forget all of that and concentrate on the present. You can’t do much about the past, you can only take the learnings from the past and that’s what we did today.”Dhoni said the focus now turned to the World T20 for his team, which is already “in the groove” for the tournament. “If you see the kind of performances that the team has given, they will carry a lot of confidence into the World T20. They know what has been really going well for them, what their strengths are.”While he is satisfied with how the XI is looking, Dhoni said, he is also still waiting to see how Shami’s recovery progresses; Nehra has “done very well” for the team but might be replaced by Shami if the latter can get fit in time. Shami was initially part of the Asia Cup squad, but was ruled out of the tournament after it was found he had failed to fully recover from a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the limited-overs series in Australia in January.”Whether Shami is fit or not, we’ll see. He still has a bit of time,” Dhoni said. “The only reason he was picked was because, he is someone who can deliver with the old and new ball, yorkers being his strength.”I think it’s very difficult to replace [Jasprit] Bumrah. He has the strength of bowling yorkers at will, and with the new ball also he has contributed. Nehra has also contributed. Few games ups and downs happen in T20. Hardik Pandya, he’s a fast-bowling allrounder. If Jadeja or him can bat No. 8 and they can give me three or four overs, then it looks like a better balanced side.”For Shami to replace [someone], it would be Ashish. Ashish is the only slot, but to replace Ashish would be very tough. The reason being he has done very well for us, he has moved the ball around. But Shami will have to prove his fitness in the warm-up games. If he does, he will stay ahead with the team.”Nehra was India’s joint second-highest wicket-taker at the Asia Cup, with six wickets at an average of 16.50. He was the most expensive of their specialist bowlers though, conceding 7.07 runs per over, with his poorest returns coming in the final where he took 1 for 33 in his three overs.

John Blain, the former Scotland seamer, has been added to Scotland’s performance coaching team and will be responsible for the development of young fast bowlers in Scotland

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2016John Blain, the former Scotland seamer, has taken on a part-time role to groom the country’s young fast bowlers. Blain had previously worked with Yorkshire in English county cricket and is currently the head coach of Eastern Knights in Scottish domestic cricket.”I’m delighted to accept this role and be a part of the newly formed performance coaching team,” Blain said. “To be given the responsibility of developing the next generations of pace bowlers in Scotland excites me. I see this as an opportunity to put into practice my experiences at both playing level and my formative years at Yorkshire as club bowling coach and through my Level IV. “The 37-year-old will combine the role of lead pace bowling coach with overseeing the Eastern Knights and coaching at Grange CC and Loretto School, near Edinburgh.Andy Tennant, the Cricket Scotland performance director, welcomed Blain’s appointment. “We are delighted to have John on board in a coaching capacity,” he said. “He is an outstanding young coach and we are looking forward to putting his skills to work in identifying and developing our best young pace bowlers, while supporting the development of the Eastern Regional Performance Programme as head coach.”Blain made his Scotland debut as a 20-year old in the 1999 World Cup against Australia. He took 41 wickets at an average of 28.60 in 33 ODIs and 143 wickets in 102 List A matches, as well as more than 80 first-class wickets in England during spells with Yorkshire and Northamptonshire.His international career spanned a decade but came to an abrupt end when he walked out on Scotland on the eve of the 2009 World T20 following a serious fallout with then captain Gavin Hamilton.

Virat Kohli said that better belief in his ability to clear the boundary and pick gaps has been at the forefront of his consistency in Twenty20 cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2016Virat Kohli, who struck his third century of IPL 2016, against Gujarat Lions in Bangalore on Saturday, said that better belief in his ability to clear the boundary and pick gaps has been at the forefront of his consistency in Twenty20 cricket.Kohli blasted 109 off just 55 balls in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 144-run rout of Lions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. While the numbers were staggering, it was the manner in which he reached his century that left onlookers stunned. Until the start of the 18th over, Kohli had scored a sedate half-century – 52 off 41 balls – and played second fiddle to a marauding AB de Villiers, before launching a sensational assault in the final three overs. It took the Royal Challengers captain just another 12 balls to steamroll from 52 to 103.”I see that they [teams] have plans outside the off stump for me and they keep two fielders on the boundary straight away. They want me to do something stupid. At that point, you need to understand that they want you out. They would rather not have you batting on 15 off 20 balls because they know that once you get in you will cash in later,” Kohli told . “But I have come to terms with that. I don’t mind playing run-a-ball for the first 20-25 balls because I know that I can get 40-45 runs in the next 15 balls. Now I believe more in my ability to hit sixes or pick gaps for boundaries in the final overs.”Kohli switched gears with 13 runs off the first four balls of the 18th over, bowled by Dwayne Bravo, but it was in the next over, against Shivil Kaushik, that he went beserk, launching the chinaman bowler for four sixes and a four. “When the ball is turning a bit, he (the bowler) will start to bowl back of length and won’t give you anything up because he knows that you can step out and hit him for a six – it was something that Jadeja was doing today,” Kohli explained. “That’s when you need to stay on the backfoot.”But when the chinaman bowler (Kaushik) came in later on, I knew he was not going to have a lot of control with his length. So I was ready on the front foot. But I didn’t step out because I didn’t want to give him a chance to adjust and bowl back of length and turn the ball. If there is no turn in the pitch, even if it’s a flat ball, I would go for a six straight over the bowler’s head or over covers. Otherwise I try to stay as still as possible.”Kohli has had a remarkable 2016 in the shortest format and has taken the IPL by storm, crunching 677 runs in 11 matches at 75.22 and striking at 148.14. But one of the most remarkable and constant aspects of his batting has been the absence of unorthodoxy. “It [persisting with his methods] is a conscious effort, to be very honest. It is more like ‘Eat, sleep, train, repeat’. If you want to be consistent, you need to be boring with your training, your food and your batting habits,” Kohli said.”You cannot take the sport for granted. During the last match [against Mumbai Indians] I told Dan [Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers head coach] that I felt like I could hit every ball of the first over from Tim Southee for a six. But I stopped myself because I don’t want to disrespect the sport. I want to build my innings in the same way every time I go in to bat. Sometimes I will get out, like I did in the last game. But as long as I know that I wasn’t getting ahead of myself, I am okay. Once you start taking the sport and your form for granted, a bad patch comes in and it makes you chase after every single run.”Kohli and de Villiers shattered several records in their 229-run partnership – the highest in T20 history. The two have complemented each other well, run hard between the wickets and matched each other stroke for stroke, making Royal Challengers one of the more destructive batting sides in the competition. “There doesn’t have to be any conversation when batting with AB. More so because we think very alike about how we want to bat and approach an innings. All we do is keep giving each other confidence and assuring each other,” Kohli said.