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New Zealand’s demolition of Sri Lanka in Cardiff was a powerful display by a team that always seems to figure at the pointy end of World Cups

The Report by Daniel Brettig01-Jun-2019
As it happenedYes it was a good toss to win. Yes it was a green pitch. Yes it was a beautiful morning on which to bowl. All that said, New Zealand’s demolition of Sri Lanka in Cardiff was a powerful display by a team that always seems to figure at the pointy end of World Cups, demonstrating too that the climes of an early English summer (albeit in Wales this day) will only add to the their prospects of progressing to the final four.Equally, Sri Lanka’s meekness – apart from a doughty innings by their captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who was the 12th cricketer and second Sri Lankan to carry his bat in an ODI – underlined the somewhat listless state of their cricket presently. A few months after the horrific Easter terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, the island nation would have hoped for some good news; instead Karunaratne’s men looked overwhelmed by their opponents, the conditions and the occasion.This was also the third match in a row at the World Cup to finish well ahead of schedule with a yawning gap between the sides. On that evidence, notions of a 10-team format reducing the number of “mismatches” and increasing “competitiveness” are already looking shaky.Watch on Hotstar (India only): All the wickets the New Zealand bowlers tookOpportunity often brings discovery, a point underlined by how Matt Henry responded to keeping his place ahead of a not-yet-fully-fit Tim Southee. Taking the new ball, Henry struck with his second ball to put Sri Lanka off balance from the start, and his command of line and length set a strong example for others to follow – something recognised by the match award.Lockie Ferguson’s undoubted pace also turned heads, scything through the Sri Lankan middle order to ensure that Colin Munro and Martin Guptill had only a modest chase to gobble up. Gobble they did, sprinting home with a whopping 203 balls remaining.Matt Henry appeals for the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne•PA Images via Getty Images

There was a time, after Henry’s initial breakthrough, where Sri Lanka looked capable of more. As Karunaratne dropped anchor, Kusal Perera flayed a quartet of boundaries through the cover and gully regions with the axeman’s relish of a latter-day Sanath Jayasuriya.At 46 for 1 after eight overs they were well and truly in the game, but Perera’s eagerness to get to grips with the New Zealand pacemen got the better of him when consolidation may have been wiser, skying Henry to open up an end. When Henry got his areas exactly right for Kusal Mendis’ first ball, squared up and edging to a diving Guptill at second slip, the game was more or less up.Some may argue that Karunaratne might have tried to exert more of an influence, but he largely played the kind of sensible innings that needed only to have been mirrored at the other end to allow the Sri Lankans to wriggle their way to a tally beyond 200. As it was, only the Pereras, Thisara and Kusal, made it as far as double figures, while a trio of ducks were registered.ALSO READ: Fernando: Cricket can’t undo the horror, but it can be a balmFerguson’s sheer speed to beat Dhananjaya de Silva was one of the more arresting moments of the remainder, and when New Zealand were briefly denied the final Sri Lankan wicket due to hesitance to rule that Mitchell Santner had cleanly caught Karunaratne, the fast bowler responded by rattling Lasith Malinga’s stumps the very next ball.There were a couple of edgy moments at the start of New Zealand’s pursuit, but they were brief. Sunshine and warmth had helped calm the surface and Malinga slipped obligingly into the driving and hooking zones of Guptill and Munro. While a packed Cardiff crowd were able to fill the ground with plenty of time to see the majority of the match, they were left only with memories of New Zealand dominance and Sri Lankan struggle. Some closer games, please.

Sophie Devine swept both ODI and T20I awards in the women’s category while Ross Taylor and Colin Munro took home the men’s ODI and T20I awards

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2018Trent Boult was the biggest winner at the 2018 NZC Annual Awards, where he was named Test Cricketer of the Year and awarded the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for best International player of the year.

Full list of winners

Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for Player of the Year: Trent Boult
Men’s Test Player of the Year: Trent Boult
Men’s ODI Player of the Year: Ross Taylor
Women’s ODI Player of the Year: Sophie Devine
Men’s T20 International Player of the Year: Colin Munro
Women’s T20 Player of the Year: Sophie Devine
Winsor Cup (First-Class Bowling): Neil Wagner
Redpath Cup (First-Class Batting): Ross Taylor
Men’s Domestic Player of the Year: Ajaz Patel
Super Smash Player of the Year: Anton Devcich
Ruth Martin Cup (domestic batting): Maddy Green
Phyl Blackler Cup (domestic bowling): Holly Huddleston
Bert Sutcliffe Medal for Outstanding Services to Cricket: Pat Malcon

Boult took 77 wickets across all formats during the period under consideration, during which he became the sixth New Zealand bowler to take 200 Test wickets and also became the sixth-fastest from anywhere to take 100 ODI wickets.Other big winners included batsmen Ross Taylor and Colin Munro who took home the awards for ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Year respectively. While Taylor averaged 78 in ODIs during the period, Munro averaged 57 (at a strike-rate of 182) in T20Is.Sophie Devine, opener and vice-captain of the New Zealand women’s team, collected awards for both ODI and T20 Player of the Year. During the same period, she averaged 55 in ODIs and 31 in T20s while also taking a combined 15 wickets across the two formats.Taylor also won the Redpath Cup for best first-class batting while left-arm pacer Neil Wagner clinched the Winsor Cup for best first-class bowling. Ajaz Patel, the left-arm spinner and lower-order batsman from Central Districts, took home the award for Best Domestic Cricketer while his team-mate Anton Devcich, the hard-hitting opener, won the Super Smash Player of the Tournament.In women’s domestic cricket, Maddy Green and Holly Huddleston collected awards for best domestic batsman and bowler, and were given the Ruth Martin and Phyl Blackler Cups respectively. Seventy-one-year old Pat Malcon was awarded the Bert Sutcliffe Medal for Outstanding Services to Cricket.

The Preview by Sidharth Monga18-Jan-2017

Match facts

Thursday, January 19, 2017
Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)

Big picture

With so much cricket happening these days, you don’t get to savour incredible performances for long. Two days later, you are again staring at the prospect of a gruelling ODI. They are gruelling on the players because so much is packed into those 100 overs. Teams are mentally stronger than they used to be, and hardly carry negative momentum from defeats, but England have got to wonder after Pune what more they need to do. They scored 350, had India at 63 for 4, and didn’t really bowl awfully, but still lost with 11 balls to spare.India will enjoy that England might be worried now. Remember Virat Kohli’s statement after Pune? He said he told Kedar Jadhav that England would panic if India reached 150 for 4. Part of England will be doubting themselves, but another part will be telling them that the kind of chase India put up is not as repeatable as England’s performance in the first innings. England had almost everybody performing for them; India relied on individual brilliance, that too batsmen stretching themselves. Kohli had to play a game he doesn’t like: take risks early by stepping out and premeditating. England will tell themselves they at least made India play low-percentage cricket.Both sides will have identified areas of improvement. India will want more from the other batsmen. England wanted to start their final surge around 36th over, but Hardik Pandya bowled a good spell, taking the wicket of Jos Buttler, and India conceded just 40 in the next seven overs. Both batting units will be looking to iron out these kinks, and bowlers will have to find new ways to stay in the game.

Form guide

India WWLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England LWLWL

In the spotlight

Since last February, in the 14 limited-overs matches that he has played, R Ashwin has not been called upon to complete his allotment on eight occasions, including in Pune where he went for 63 runs in eight overs, his economy rate of 7.88 his worst when he has bowled five overs or more. Ashwin had decided to bowl defensively, and never veered off that plan. These are important matches: at a time when finger spinners are generally struggling to stay relevant in limited-overs cricket, Ashwin has to figure out what he wants to do to buck the trend. India need wickets in the middle order, and Ashwin took the place of a man who took five wickets in the last ODI India played. Of course the pitch was different when Amit Mishra took five, but generally wrist spinners are more effective in current limited-overs cricket. It will be interesting to see how Ashwin approaches the rest of the series. Does he still look to just contain or go for wickets proactively?This might be the era of wrist spinners in limited-overs cricket, but India’s turnaround began when they took 26 runs off Adil Rashid‘s first three overs. It was just the time England needed magic from their legspinner, their highest wicket-taker by some distance in 2016, and also second-highest overall. Rashid had a bad night, which can raise self-doubt after a disappointing Test series. How well Rashid bounces back could determine if England come back into the series.After conceding 0 for 63 in Pune, will R Ashwin still look to just contain or go for wickets proactively?•Associated Press

Team news

India generally aren’t fickle with their batsmen. All four who failed should retain their spots. It’s with the ball that India will debate whether Amit Mishra should replace Ashwin.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 MS Dhoni (wk), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin/ Amit Mishra, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Jasprit BumrahDid England play one spinner too many considering the flat pitch and the psychological hold the India batsmen have on them after the Test series? Should they go for the tall Liam Plunkett instead of Rashid? The answer will be in whether Rashid feels confident of bouncing back. England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Eoin Morgan (capt.), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid/Liam Plunkett, 11 Jake Ball

Pitch and conditions

Another high-scoring match will not be a surprise, considering the small boundaries at the Barabati Stadium. There was a thin layer of grass on the pitch on the eve of the match; there are chances it could be trimmed further. Dew could be a factor too, and the toss could play a decisive role.

Stats and trivia

• India have achieved three of the seven successful chases of 350 or more.
• Kohli has scored centuries in six of India’s nine successful chases of 300 or more since his debut.
• Ben Stokes’ 33-ball fifty in Pune was the fastest by an England batsman against India.
• In the last match in Cuttack, the venue for the next ODI, India scored 363 against Sri Lanka.

Quotes

“As a batsman I wouldn’t complain if both teams are getting runs. We try to put a great show for the crowd.”
“He’s probably one of the first revolutionary players for England and that probably shows in the group, in the way the people look to him, the way he’s taking his career forward and the way he champions guys to play.”

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.

South Africa captain AB de Villiers has said there is a “good chance” Dale Steyn will be in the playing XI for their semi-final against England on Wednesday

Firdose Moonda at The Oval18-Jun-2013South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn’s participation in the Champions Trophy semi-final against England is in some doubt due to fitness concerns. The team management will take a late call on his inclusion on the morning of the match on Wednesday.The fast bowler missed a day’s training and did a lighter than usual load on subsequent days because of “stiffness in the groin area” according to team manager Mohammed Moosajee. However, South Africa captain, AB de Villiers, was confident of Steyn’s inclusion in the playing XI on Wednesday.”It looks like we’ve got a good chance [of playing him tomorrow],” de Villiers said. “He’s taking another day off just to make sure we rest him really well. I said before that I don’t believe we’re lost without him. We can definitely beat England without him.”De Villiers conceded they are managing his workload as they have been playing a lot of cricket of late.”He’s got a few niggles around, which is very worrying, but we’re going to do all we can to get him on the park tomorrow,” he said. “He’s close to 100%, he’s running around. We didn’t want to run him too much today because we knew he’s one of the best in the world and he’s got the skill to just rock up and do the business. He’s working on his rehab making sure we give him the best chance to play tomorrow.”De Villiers discounted the fact that Steyn’s absence would be a big psychological factor and said the team has enough to do well without him, which they have in the past.”I don’t think it’s got anything to do with mental games, anything like that,” he said. “He’s good against any team in any format. We’re still a very good ODI unit. We’ve won games without him and with him. It’s a big knock-out game, and there will be a lot of pressure around, a lot of hype. Not having him on the side will be big for us, but then again, like I said, we’re playing good cricket.”In case Steyn is declared unfit on Wednesday morning, South Africa will have the option of bringing in an extra batsman and play with a seven-four combination for the first time in this Champions Trophy, or give another chance to left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso. They may also consider playing four seamers with one spinner.If Steyn is unavailable and South Africa still want to field four seamers, Rory Kleinveldt will be recalled to the starting XI. The other option would be to include Aaron Phangiso to give South Africa an additional tweaker or to bring in an extra batsman in Farhaan Behardien.Steyn was said to be struggling a little after their last league game against West Indies on Friday. Moosajee also confirmed that the new concern for Steyn’s fitness is not related to the side strain which kept him out of the first two matches against India and Pakistan.Steyn bowled six overs in a rain-affected match and finished with 2 for 33 from six overs in a tied game which secured South Africa’s place in the semi-final from Group B along with India. He has been under the careful watch of physiotherapist Brandon Jackson as South Africa hope to do all they can to ensure he plays.

Luke Wells withstood gale-force winds and all Surrey had to offer on his way to 127 that set up a sizeable first-innings lead for Sussex at Horsham

Sahil Dutta at Horsham08-Jun-2012
ScorecardLuke Wells withstood gale-force winds and all Surrey had to offer on his way to 127 that set up a sizeable first-innings lead for Sussex at Horsham. In the six overs of play possible on day two the home side lost four wickets, yet Surrey needed the best part of 93 more overs to prise out the final four as Sussex wrestled firm control of the match.The leaden skies and swirling winds made for grim conditions that were at odds with the cheery efficiency of Sussex’s innings. It was led by Wells, whose 277-ball knock spanned three days, and supported stoutly by the tail. For a batting side that has struggled of late, 87 for 6 to 351 all out was some comeback.The recovery pivoted on Wells’ second hundred of the season. That first also came against Surrey, but in defeat in the opening match of the summer. Since then his form had tailed off badly and he was dropped when Luke Wright returned. His recall for this game came in place of Murray Goodwin. It is a sizeable role to fill but with his fifth first-class century, he looked perfectly capable of doing so.Wells is everything Surrey’s youthful batsmen are not and, while he may not stir the Twenty20 scouts any time soon, he gives off an air of permanence Surrey’s top-order could never establish. He is still willowy but his height and calm demeanour will draw regular comparisons to Alastair Cook.Despite his lengthy stay at the crease it is difficult to recall him even playing and missing. There was one chance, though, when on 88 he edged Murali Kartik to slip but Gareth Batty couldn’t hold on and that was as close as Surrey got until he was finally dismissed.Meaker, so destructive amid showers on the second day, strained and was pacey throughout but could not find a regular length between pitch-up yorkers and pound-down short balls. Jade Dernbach was off-colour and irritable, yelling at himself on more than one occasion. Rory Hamilton-Brown looked the part – chest puffed out as always – but could not find a combination to nullify Wells and the Sussex tail. The pitch was no help, lacking both pace and the seam movement of the opening two days. But he did not try himself or Zander de Bruyn at any stage.After Wells fell, edging an expansive drive behind to give Kartik a fourth wicket, Surrey’s thoughts would have turned to batting. Instead they were subjected to an unexpected, but wholly delightful, 80-run stand for the last wicket. The sun even came out and together, James Anyon and Monty Panesar finally brought some festival lightness to the game. Anyon slugged the ball sweetly for his highest first-class score – an unbeaten 64 – while Panesar attracted cheers from everyone, including Kartik after one six down the ground in boundary-filled 31. It was not the first time this season Surrey have burst through the opposition’s top order only to be thwarted by the tail.A tough, all-day spell in the field was hardly the preparation Mark Ramprakash needed in his attempt to regain form. He struggled manfully – making 3 from 24 balls – but at least remained intact. Jason Roy was fluent, as he often is, but on 35 received a lifter from Steve Magoffin that he could only fend off to point.Panesar, sufficiently buoyed by his fun with bat in hand, threatened with turn, bounce and fielders around the bat during his three overs before the close. With the forecast promising for Saturday, Sussex have every chance of forcing a result.

Shaun Marsh has said he wants to claim the Australian Test opener’s berth left vacant by the removal of Simon Katich.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2011Shaun Marsh, the West Australian batsman, has said he wants to claim the Australian Test opener’s berth left vacant by the removal of Simon Katich from Cricket Australia’s contracts list.The man most likely to get the first chance to open alongside Shane Watson is Phil Hughes, who replaced Katich for the final three Tests of the Ashes summer, without success.He is to tour Zimbabwe with Australia A next month, while Marsh cools his heels after the Indian Premier League.”I’m sure Phil Hughes will get the first crack. He played in the last Test match in the Ashes, so I’m sure he will get another crack there and try and cement his place,” Marsh told .”But if they wanted me to open, I’m ready. I feel as though my game’s at a really good stage now. I’ve been really consistent over the last few seasons in all formats. If I get the opportunity, I feel as though I’m ready to go.”I’m pretty versatile in the batting order. I’ve shown I can open the batting and I can bat down at No.6 as well.”Though he has seldom opened the batting for his state in first-class cricket, 27-year-old Marsh has done the job for Australia at limited overs level, and over the past four summers has slowly improved his Sheffield Shield record, which has lagged well below the level generally required of Test batting aspirants.Since the 2007-08 season that saw his first elevation to the fringes of the Australian limited overs squad and ensured stop-start Shield appearances since, Marsh has tallied 1,721 domestic first-class runs at an average of 52.15 (as against a career mean of 37.97), generally batting in the top four.He has also been severely hampered by hamstring injuries during that time, but believes he is now ready.”It is tough. I’ve probably had three major injuries now, all playing for Australia in the one-day series,” Marsh said.”It does take a lot out of you. I thought after I did the last one, my opportunity was slipping away, but I’m back on the contract list now and I’m really looking forward to the next 12 months.”I know if I can stay on the park and play some good cricket, hopefully I’ll get an opportunity back in the green and gold and grab it with both hands.”

Mal Loye made his first century since returning to Northamptonshire as the
hosts’ batsmen put them in charge on the first day of their County
Championship Division Two encounter against Surrey at Wantage Road

24-May-2010

ScorecardMal Loye led Northamptonshire’s recovery with a century•Getty Images

Mal Loye made his first century since returning to Northamptonshire as the
hosts’ batsmen put them in charge on the first day of their County
Championship Division Two encounter against Surrey at Wantage Road.Loye made his ton off 203 balls on his way to a magnificent 121 not out, as he
and former captain Nicky Boje made 161 between them, with Boje making an
unbeaten 77 and opener Stephen Peters also claiming a half-century.Surrey had threatened a revival after lunch in reducing Northants to 169 for
5, with Championship debutant Tom Jewell taking the scalp of their skipper
Andrew Hall. But Loye’s century was the cornerstone as the hosts reached the close on 330
for 5.Surrey won the toss but chose to bowl in glorious conditions as they looked for
their first Championship win in 17 matches. Northants wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien was given an early let-off when he was dropped by his Surrey counterpart Steven Davies off Andre Nel in only the third over.The Ireland international went on to make an explosive 44 off 54 balls before
Tim Linley forced him to edge to Davies, who this time made no mistake, to end
an opening stand of 90 with Peters.Peters went on to reach his fifty off 86 balls with a four smashed through
cover off Jade Dernbach as Northants went into lunch on 115 for 1. Linley struck again in the fifth over after the restart when Peters (61) went cheaply by launching him straight to Chris Schofield at extra cover.David Sales went for a duck when he was well and truly bowled by Nel, with all
three of his stumps toppled. Northants were starting to look less assured at the crease and they lost their fourth wicket when Rob White (8) nudged to Davies.Hall made just five before he gave 19-year-old Jewell, playing in just his
fourth first-class game, his first wicket by slashing wildly at his short
delivery to give Davies an easy catch. Loye then reached his fifty off 114 balls, including a six smashed over square leg off Linley.Boje, who resigned as skipper last week, became the third batsman to go past 50
after tea, doing so off 87 balls after being dropped on 29 by Schofield at
mid-on.His and Loye’s partnership put Northants back on top as Surrey’s bowlers began
to toil in the sun as they had done in the morning, with Loye making his century
with a four through square leg off Dernbach. The sixth-wicket pairing then comfortably batted out the rest of the day without alarm.

Fast bowler marks return from injury in style to set up four-wicket win

ECB Reporters Network10-Jul-2024Northern Diamonds 111 for 6 (Burns 35*, Coppack 3-35) beat Sunrisers 109 (Langston 6-24) by four wicketsSix-time England fast bowler Beth Langston made a dream return from her injury nightmare with a stunning six for 24 as Northern Diamonds continued their march towards the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy semi-finals with an enthralling four-wicket win over Sunrisers at York.Langston had – prior to this fixture – only played once for the Diamonds since the end of July 2022 and hadn’t take a 50-over wicket since the previous September following a ruptured ACL (knee) and resulting complications.However, she returned at Clifton Park to put the skids under the Sunrisers, who were bowled out for 109 inside 31 overs to pave the way for a home victory which saw Diamonds slip to 32 for four chasing. Australian overseas Erin Burns sealed the win with an unbeaten 35.Diamonds leap-frogged their fellow contenders into second place in the table with a seventh win in nine to all but seal a semi-final place with five games still to play.Sunrisers lost their third game in nine but remain handily placed inside the top four.Langston, 31, was part of England’s triumphant World Cup-winning squad on home soil in 2017 without actually playing in that campaign.She ruptured her right ACL during the 2022 Hundred (Northern Superchargers) and has struggled for fitness since.She played only one T20 match last season. But this was a seamless return, with her wickets spread across spells of six overs and four overs from the Pavilion End.After Hollie Armitage elected to bowl on a muggy, wicket-ladened Minster City day, Langston made the most of helpful conditions – sideways movement was obvious – to set her team up for their fifth straight 50-over win.After fellow pacer Lizzie Scott bowled visiting captain Grace Scrivens in the second over, Langston came into the attack to bowl the fifth.She was quickly into her stride and had opener Jo Gardner caught behind in the ninth for 21 and Jodi Grewcock lbw in the 11th, leaving Sunrisers at 43 for three.Mady Villiers was run out following a mix-up with Lissy MacLeod as they thought about three out to deep cover before MacLeod was caught behind off Phoebe Turner’s seam.And then Langston really turned the screw en-route to the best figures by any bowler in regional cricket this summer.Late away swing did for Flo Miller caught behind before Amara Carr was bowled next ball offering no shot – 54 for seven in the 15th over, the last of Langston’s first six-over spell, which yielded four for nine.But she wasn’t out of the attack – or the wickets – for long.Armitage brought her back to bowl the 23rd, by which time Sunrisers were 85 for seven.She bowled Eva Gray, offering no stroke, and then Amu Surenkumar, leaving the Sunrisers at 90 for nine in the 25th.Sunrisers limped beyond 100, with only opener Gardner passing 20. Along with seamers Scott and Turner, off-spinning all-rounder Burns also struck once as the Diamonds sparkled.But spirited Sunrisers weren’t done. Like Langston, their seamer Kate Coppack impressed.She claimed three of four wickets as Diamonds fell to 32 for four inside nine overs of their chase, removing openers Lauren Winfield-Hill and Emma Marlow, added to Rebecca Duckworth’s scalp.Armitage and Burns settled the ship by sharing 43, the former making 33 before clubbing Sophie Munro’s seam to mid-on – 75 for five.Langston also fell for eight, but the presence of experienced Burns was telling. She completed victory with 25.2 overs remaining.

“Huge difference in a right-armer and a left-armer bowling a couple of inches outside the wide line to a right-hand batter,” argues the RCB quick

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Mar-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore strike bowler Harshal Patel is not convinced the use of DRS to review wides and over-the-waist no balls this IPL will increase the accuracy of decisions. While he admits he will use a review for a tight umpiring call, especially in the death overs, Harshal argues that technology might not be definitive in determining a wide or an over-the-waist no-ball, and suspects those calls will fall in a “grey” area.”Technology can definitely be helpful in situations where you can separate black and white. But these balls are always going to be grey, especially wide-ball lines. Because you can’t really judge how much the batter has moved, whether the ball was within his reach, the angle of the delivery…,” Harshal said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo before joining the Royal Challengers camp for the IPL.”There’s going to be a huge difference in where the ball finishes between a right-hander bowling the same [ball] a couple of inches outside the wide line and a left-hander bowling from over the stumps a couple of inches outside the wide line. When the [right-hand] batter tries to reach, it’s always going to be wider when he plays the left-hander, [and] it’s always going to be closer when he plays the right-hander.Related

• Harshal Patel: 'I'm always thinking about how I can offer my team more value'

• 'Home-and-away is what makes the IPL what it is'

• Why has BCCI allowed teams to use DRS for wides and no-balls?

• WPL and IPL: Players can use DRS for wides and no-balls

“I don’t know how many of these factors will be taken into account when making decisions. Obviously, they can’t take a lot of these factors into account because that will consume a lot of time. In my humble opinion, this doesn’t solve the problem. You have to call it the human factor in the game and move on.”Harshal’s fears came to the fore last Sunday in the final of the inaugural WPL, for which the BCCI had trialled the new playing condition of using DRS for wides and over-the-waist no-balls. The WPL final, between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, witnessed high drama early in the match when Shafali Verma was given out caught off an Issy Wong full toss which fell in that “grey” area Harshal described. Wong was celebrating with her Mumbai team-mates when on-field umpire Vrinda Rathi sent the matter to the TV umpire Pashchim Pathak, who took a few looks at the replay before ruling Shafali out.Such reviews will be a part of the two unsuccessful reviews each team will have per innings in the IPL, just like it was in the WPL. So, while it might not always go the way of your team, the option is there for the teams, but to use it smartly.”The other thing is you get only two reviews, right? Do you really want to use a review on a marginal call, which may or may not go in your favour, as opposed to use it in a situation where you can get the batter out,” Harshal said in response to that question. But if you have a review in hand and you are bowling at the death, a phase where fast bowlers tend to bowl wide yorkers outside the off stump?”For sure – 100%,” Harshal said, that in such a scenario he will press his captain to use the review.Incidentally, Harshal’s thoughts match that of former ICC Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel, who last year told ESPNcricinfo why he disagreed with having wides and height no-balls being reviewed by technology.”With wides, for example, and here we’re going to, potentially according to you, or according to the player or the debate, take a wide call and throw that back to the third umpire for them to judge on something that might be marginal and is still a judgement call,” Taufel had said. “Are you going to be able to over-rule as a third umpire what a leg-side wide might look like? That’s a really interesting proposition to throw to a third umpire and say: I definitely think you got that wide wrong.”If you look at a ball that cuts across a right-hander from a left-armer [fast bowler], that cuts the wide guideline – that’s a pretty big call to over-rule. Can you clearly define for me what conclusive evidence is to overturn a wide both leg side, off side and height? And where do you then draw the line as to what a wide is? Because with wides, for example, you still got this opinion around: either could the batsman have played a shot? Has the batsman brought the ball sufficiently within reach? And you are putting them [under] a lot more stress and pressure around those definitions. Of course, if the ball has flicked the bat or the pad, and an umpire’s called a wide – yeah, that’s quite clearly an error. [But] I worry about where this is going to end up. Is everything that an umpire does likely to fall under the Decision Review System?”