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Sri Lanka Cricket has revised its stance on ICL cricketers playing domestic cricket after a meeting with the sports minister Gamini Lokuge. The board clarified that the approval, given by the interim committee, to ICL players last week to play domestic matches was limited to the “upcoming Premier League Cricket Tournament 2008 only”.”All ICL contracted cricketers will not be permitted to represent teams at district, provincial and international level,” SLC said in a statement.On September 19, in an unexpected move, the SLC allowed five cricketers and an umpire, who had signed up for the unauthorised ICL in 2007, to take part in domestic cricket. Marvan Atapattu, the former Sri Lanka captain, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardene, Saman Jayantha and umpire Ranmore Martinesz were the players who benefited from the decision.However, at the meeting, Lokuge stressed the importance of working together with the Indian board, which has had a close relationship with the SLC for a long time. The BCCI had expressed its disappointment at the news of lifitng of the ban on the ICL players.Lokuge also requested SLC’s interim committee to negotiate with the England board so that Sri Lanka’s IPL players can take part in the Twenty20 league next year. The tour, as of now, clashes with the IPL and Lokuge asked the committee to work out alternative dates and proceed with the tour. He is also yet to ratify Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation 20/20 in Ontario from October 10 to 13.

Cricket Australia remains non-committal about the defending champions attending next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan. The ICC was due to discuss the tournament, scheduled for September 12-28, at a meeting in Dubai on Wednesday, with a move to Sri Lanka being considered as one possible outcome.Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said they were keenly awaiting the outcome of the meeting which would ensure greater clarity. “We have considerable reservations, as do our players and the Australian Cricketers’ Association,” he told on Wednesday. “The ICC understands the considerable reservations that Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa and perhaps some others hold. We’re hoping the ICC will give us some advice. We expect some sort of certainty within the next 24 hours about what the next step in this process is.”We will not put Pakistan in a situation if we get specialist advice that tells us that it’s not safe to travel,” he said. “The security advice however, does not give us any great encouragement at the moment.”Even as the ICC said the tournament would proceed as planned, Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the ACA, didn’t believe it was safe to travel to Pakistan. “The ACA has discussed the situation with its executive and our position is we can’t recommend to our players they should tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy,” he had told the . “We feel for the Pakistan Cricket Board and the people of Pakistan but it is the job of the ACA to make recommendations to our members based on whether it is safe to tour. Unfortunately in this case we don’t believe it is safe.”The news from Australia came shortly after Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, addressed a press conference in London and said safety and security in Pakistan was “satisfactory” and the tournament would proceed as planned next month.Lorgat was speaking after talks with the ECB as part of the ICC task force that has been travelling around the world. On Sunday the group met with the England players and their representatives in Edinburgh and now the ECB has received a detailed briefing, following similar discussions in Australia and New Zealand led by David Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of cricket. ICC officials, including the president David Morgan, are due to talk about the results at Wednesday’s meeting.The ECB had also held a board meeting on Tuesday afternoon, where they were expected to come to a decision on their participation in the tournament after consultation with other boards around the world.

“What we have done is to very clearly outline to each of these stakeholders the plan that we have in place for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” Lorgat said. “Understandably there are safety concerns and that’s what we are engaged in and we are dealing with.”The ECB has received a briefing from us and have gone into a board meeting. They will consider our briefing among other reports that they may have on whether they will participate or not. But that is a decision for the ECB, as far as the ICC are concerned the safety and security is satisfactory for hosting the tournament in Pakistan.”However, while admitting that the final decision on participation lay in the hands of the ECB, CA, New Zealand Cricket and Cricket South Africa – whom Lorgat will meet later in the week – he refused to rule out ICC sanctions for countries that didn’t take part or send weakened teams.”It’s a complicated legal process,” he said. “It’s something I would not be able to tell you at this point. I would like to think that the member boards would not send weakened sides because no life is lesser than another. Either you send your best side or you decide the advice tells you differently. But having said that I think it’s a position the ICC will have to deal with when they see the extent of weakened teams, again it’s speculative at this time.”Recent political developments in Pakistan, with Pervez Musharraf resigning as president, continue to present an uncertain landscape, but Lorgat said that as far as the Champions Trophy is concerned nothing has changed in the last 24 hours.The Champions Trophy is due to start on September 12 after it was pushed back a day following concerns of starting on the anniversary of 9/11. The tournament has already been reduced to a two-venue event after construction work at Rawalpindi failed to be finished on time. All the matches will now be staged in Lahore and Karachi, but the future of the entire tournament is still far from certain.

Paul Millman, the Kent chief executive, is adamant his club will participate in the Champions League later this year. Despite reaching the final of the Twenty20 Cup, Kent have been denied entry to the inaugural competition owing to the inclusion of two players who were part of the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL).However, Millman says he will be “outraged” if Kent’s replacements, Pakistan’s Twenty20 champions Sialkot Stallions, are allowed in: they too have ICL players, namely Rana Naved and Imran Nazir.”This whole affair has been a moving feast from the time it was first mentioned but there is a potential impact from all this on 15 other counties, not just Kent,” Millman told . “We are only in the firing line so to speak because we managed to reach the final, but any other of the first-class counties could be going through this and, instead of us, facing up to the implications of what appear to be pretty major inconsistencies.”Despite his frustration at the situation, Millman remains uncertain how he can help Kent into the League, but vows to fight on. “The matter is not yet closed as far as we are concerned. We are in constant touch with the ECB who are sympathetic to our case and we are still trying to salvage something for Kent cricket out of it all.”I’m not even sure when this event is going to take place because the goalposts keep moving in terms of timing, but the last I heard is that it won’t now start until December.”

ScorecardCanada’s bowlers gave their side the advantage on the first day of the Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda by dismissing the visitors for 237. Steven Outerbridge’s 79 was the only substantial contribution for Bermuda as Canada’s new-ball attack wrested the initiative with early breakthroughs before left-arm spinner Sunil Dhaniram’s four wickets helped wrap up the tail.Henry Osinde gave Canada the perfect start by trapping Chris Foggo lbw for a duck off the third ball of the match. It got better when Eion Katchay, opening the bowling in the injured Umar Bhatti’s absence, struck in his first over as well: Oronde Bascome was lbw for another duck and at 1 for 2, Bermuda’s decision to bat had backfired.James Celestine and Outerbridge combined to add 77 runs for the third wicket, a partnership which helped Bermuda recover to a certain extent through its aggressive approach. It was broken, however, by Dhaniram who had Celestine lbw for 47, off only 56 balls, as he tried to play across the line.Outerbridge held the middle-order together but although Irving Romaine, Rodney Trott and Jekon Edness got starts, none of them carried on to make substantial scores. Romaine was snared by Osinde, who induced an edge with a full ball outside off stump after bowling a couple of off cutters. Osinde later pulled out of the attack because of a hamstring problem.The turning point, however, was Outerbridge’s dismissal, which was brought about by an athletic leaping catch by Ian Billcliff at cover. Bermuda were 180 for 5 and their position deteriorated in the first hour after tea. They lost three wickets during that period and Dhaniram had a hand in all of them: he had Trott lofting a catch, caught and bowled Ryan Steede, and ran out Stefan Kelly. The last pair, Dwayne Leverock and George O’Brien, managed to add 21 in quick time before Dhaniram had O’Brien caught at the boundary.Canada’s openers, Geoff Barnett and Abdool Samad, played the seven overs remaining in the day with caution and finished on 14 without loss.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

For the second day in succession, a target of 309 was overhauled without much trouble. Each of India’s batsmen played their part as India reached the final with a convincing six-wicket win over Sri Lanka. Muttiah Muralitharan was the only bowler to unsettle the batsmen but, with little support from the rest, India triumphed with 19 balls to spare.In contrast to their bowling effort, four of Sri Lanka’s top six made significant contributions to help them post an imposing total. However, having already qualified for the final, they rested the experienced Chaminda Vaas as well as their new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, a decision that worked in India’s favour.Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided their now-familiar blazing start as India started their chase in earnest. It wasn’t an all-out assault from them. Runs were scored with a combination of well-timed boundaries and a host of sharp singles – even Sehwag’s six over midwicket was an effortless pick-up off his pads. In fact, the only shot in the first Powerplay, based on brute force, was an on-drive from Gambhir off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 10th over.With little in the pitch for the fast bowlers, the openers were only troubled when taking some ill-judged singles. Gambhir demonstrated his confidence level by repeatedly charging the fast bowlers while Sehwag nonchalantly pulled even length deliveries to midwicket. Though India had raced to 71 in the first 10 overs, Jayawardene decided to take the second Powerplay. The decision seemed to backfire as 21 runs came off the next nine balls but the breakthrough came when Sehwag tapped a slower ball down leg side to Dilhara Fernando at short fine leg.Suresh Raina started off with a confident pull to midwicket but was fortunate to see a lofted drive dropped by substitute Jehan Mubarak at cover. He and Gambhir took India to 135 before Gambhir was trapped lbw for 68, failing to pick a straighter one from Murali. Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh probably to ensure two left-handers didn’t have to deal with the wiles of Murali.Dhoni hardly showed any effects of having kept in back-to-back matches and playing a long innings yesterday as he and Raina scampered quick singles and twos. He started out cautiously before opening out after the 30th over – four fours (including a powerful, fine paddle-sweep off Murali) and a six came in the next four overs as the required-rate dipped to manageable levels.

Raina was run out soon after when going for a tight third and Dhoni was foxed by a quicker one from Murali to leave India with two new batsmen at the crease, and 56 runs in the arrears. Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma, though, settled India’s nerves with a composed partnership and set up a rematch in Sunday’s final.Unlike the Sri Lankan bowlers, India started off well as the new-ball bowlers turned in a much-improved performance, so much so that the first convincing boundary came only in the seventh over.Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers, exploiting the variable bounce in the pitch and effectively using the slower ball to trouble the batsmen. In one of cricket’s typical quirks, amid an excellent spell, Ishant got his wickets off two of the worst deliveries he sent down – both short and down the leg side.His opening partner RP Singh was also economical and Sri Lanka were limited to 39 for 1 after eight. The introduction of Irfan Pathan, though, let them off the hook as 26 came off his two overs. Sanath Jayasuriya had just switched to fifth gear before gloving one to Dhoni off Ishant. With the pitch easing up, Jayawardene and Kapugedera collected the singles against the spinners while punishing the loose deliveries from the faster bowlers to put on 78. Kapugedera, in particular, was impressive with a series of classical off-driven boundaries early on.Risk-free batting took Jayawardene on to his half-century but he perished soon after as he stepped out and chipped Pragyan Ojha straight to long-off. Kapugedera was next to go, trapped lbw by Praveen, but not before he added 68 with Chamara Silva. Silva used the cut and sweep shots well against the spinners to make a well-deserved fifty and cameos from Kaushalya Weeraratne and Thilan Thushara pushed Sri Lanka beyond 300.India’s cause wasn’t helped by their fielding, which has been below par right through the Asia Cup – catches were misjudged, dives at the boundary rarely saved the fours and several run-out opportunities were spurned. Ultimately, though, their batting covered up the deficiencies in the other departments to take them to the final at the expense of Pakistan.

First Division

Dale Benkenstein and Will Smith added 205 in 49 overs as Durham took a lead of 87 against Sussex at Hove and once again made inroads into the top order. Their partnership rescued Durham from 11 for 4 after Neil McKenzie had gone early in the day and there was precious little else around them. For Smith it was a notable return to the side, his initial first-team outing of the season after replacing Kyle Coetzer, as he brought up his first Championship century for Durham. He made Sussex pay for dropping him on 9 at slip, a simple chance by Carl Hopkinson. Benkenstein is a more familiar rock for Durham and reached his century off 152 balls, in a stand which fell 17 short of equalling the team’s fifth-wicket record. Ben and Steve Harmison shared a useful last-wicket stand of 34, pushing Durham to another batting point, then Steve struck early by removing Chris Nash. Harmison also had Michael Yardy dropped at short leg, but Callum Thorp removed Hopkinson to cement Durham’s strong position.Centuries from Justin Langer and Ian Blackwell put Surrey to the sword at Whitgift School and left Somerset well-placed for a important lead. The match was finely balanced when the pair came together at 134 for 4 in reply to Surrey’s 326. However, Langer had already been given one life when he was dropped on 0 by Mark Butcher. Blackwell, too, was put down at slip on 76 and reached his hundred, which included three sixes, off 111 balls. Langer took 141 deliveries as Surrey struggled to make an impact following earlier success for Jade Dernbach and Pedro Collins.Darren Stevens led Kent out of early trouble against Hampshire, as the action finally got under way at The Rose Bowl following a further delay for a wet outfield. Hampshire soon took advantage of winning the toss, reducing Kent to 44 for 3 with Shane Bond and Chris Tremlett both among the wickets. However, Stevens responded with a forthright innings although he had plenty of fortune, dropped three times on 4, 5 and 51 before reaching three figures off 129 balls with a drive off Bond. Martin van Jaarsveld set anchor in the fourth-wicket partnership and their alliance worked wonders for Kent, adding 210, with van Jaarsveld progressing to his first Championship century of the season.For John Ward’s report of Yorkshire against Lancashire at Headingley click here.

Second Division

Worcestershire are in a strong position against Essex, holding a lead of 288 after batsmen slowly began to prosper after 17 wickets fell on the first day at New Road. Ben Smith followed his vital 60 yesterday with 71, while Daryl Mitchell – dropped twice before reaching 20 – hit 70 then became Danish Kaneria’s second victim. Simon Jones wrapped up Essex’s first innings for a measly 116 with his first two balls of the day. It leaves him on a hat-trick in the second innings after he proved too quick for David Masters and Kaneria. Jack Birkenshaw, the pitch liaison officer, cleared the groundstaff of any blame for the previous day’s clatter of wickets, agreeing that the dampness was unavoidable given the recent heavy rain.Chris Taylor’s 104 and an incisive early burst from Jon Lewis put Gloucestershire in charge against Warwickshire at Gloucester, but half-centuries from Ian Westwood and Jim Troughton kept the visitors afloat. The fourth-wicket pair added 100 after Warwickshire slipped to 32 for 3 against Lewis and Anthony Ireland. But Westwood was run out by William Porterfield’s direct hit shortly before the close. Taylor carried his overnight 72 to a valuable century, while solid lower-order contributions pushed Gloucestershire over 400.It was another good day for South Africans as Leicestershire took control at Grace Road, where Glamorgan suffered another batting collapse. HD Ackerman’s fourth Championship century of the season lifted the home side from a tricky 172 for 5 to an imposing 390. Jason Gillespie made two early breakthroughs, but Ackerman was well supported by Paul Nixon (36) and Jacques du Toit (64). Leicestershire’s attack was soon causing problems, especially Dillon du Preez, who claimed three wickets in his opening spell. Jim Allenby’s gentle medium-pace was also too much for the middle order and Boeta Dippenaar held three brilliant catches at slip.For a report on Middlesex against Derbyshire at Lord’s click here.

Pakistan have thrashed England by 111 runs to make it to the final of the 2002 Blind World Cup.In the morning, after Pakistan won the toss, wicketkeeper Tariq Samuel made 76, Ashraf Bhatti 83 and Amir Ishfaq 87 as their team made 393-8. For England, Timothy Guttridge was the most successful bowler, claiming 2-68 off eight overs.When England replied, they got off to the worst possible start losing one their openers Heindrich Swanepoel with no score on the board. With the other opener and their most prolific batsman Nathan Foy also failing to make an impact, making just 40, they were going to struggle from there on.Guttridge made a determined effort, thrashing 104 off just 64 balls, before the enormity of the task at hand led to his fall. Adam Benjamin, the England skipper, hung around for a while making 43 off 49, but by then Pakistan were well on top.The men from the sub-continent, then, managed to seal the emphatic win and ensured that they went into the final high on confidence. The match which will be played at Chennai’s MA Chidamabaram stadium on December 14 pits them against defending champions South Africa in a reprise of the final of the inaugural edition of the World Cup.

The Standard Bank Cup, the premier South African Domestic limited overs competition, got off to a flyer with 975 runs being scored in the two opening matches played on 8 November.Easterns, the recently crowned first class champions, were beaten by North West in Potchefstroom with Arno Jacobs walking away with the man of the match award after scoring 118. A 123 run partnership with Davey Jacobs set the Dragons up for a total of 259/8 in their allotted 45 overs.In reply the Easterns ended 22 runs short after starting off well. Two quick run outs, that of Zander de Bruyn and Derek Crookes, put a stop to the flow of runs with Easterns finishing on 237/9.In Bloemfontein the home team was set up for their 59 run win, and a bonus point, with Morne van Wyk becoming one of only a hand full of players to score 150 runs in a domestic limited overs match. A partnership of 146 with Jimmy Adams, ending on 64, allowed Free State Eagles to reach 249/4.A good start from Adam Bacher (54), Daryll Cullinan (30) and 28 from Warren Dugmore was all that Gauteng could offer in resistance eventually bowled out for 210.With a shortened season bonus points are going to play a major roll in finalising the semi-finalists come January 2003. Free State will be well pleased to have started on a good wicket.

When the subject of Australian pacemen is raised, three names immediately spring to mind – Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and, of course, Glenn McGrath. Yet this talented trio is but the tip of the iceberg.Sitting just below the surface is a plethora of talented pacemen biding their time, primed and ready to step up at any opportunity. Perennial wicket-takers like: Brad Williams, Andy Bichel, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Matthew Inness, Ashley Noffke and Damien Wright, are but a few who would no doubt represent their country with distinction, but who are perhaps destined to end their careers not having played a fraction of the senior Australian matches that their talent would demand in a different era.Dig a little deeper still and you will find an emerging crop of youngsters who are set to burst onto the Australian domestic scene at any given time. Names like Mitchell Johnson, Damien MacKenzie, Brett Geeves and Aaron Bird may not be household names just yet, but all of these boys have got talent to burn and may head the Australian attack well into the next decade.Johnson (20) is the most well known of this group. He is a potential express paceman of rare ilk, one who can hurl a cricket ball at speeds of around 150km/h, is tall at 1.91m (6 feet 3 inches) and is also a left-armer. Johnson was clocked at 138km/h at the Australian Cricket Academy when he was 18 but he was on the road back from injury and was operating off only a few paces.Last year in interview Johnson said: “When I get stronger and reach my peak, I want to be the fastest bowler in the world, there’s no two ways about that.”For many, such a statement may seem like the words of a cocky kid but the softly spoken Queenslander is far from a braggart. A couple of years ago an official from the Academy told me that Johnson was faster than Lee at the same age, and last year in Dennis Lillee’s regular weekly newspaper column, he described Johnson as a “once-in-a-lifetime talent”.Injuries, particularly spinal related, have held Johnson back in recent seasons. But as his body matures and strengthens, he should start to string together periods of injury-free speed and given the opportunity he will wreak havoc on the Australian domestic circuit.A fellow Queenslander who is gaining a reputation as one of the fastest guns around is MacKenzie. MacKenzie (22) has been in the shadow, or should I say blur, of Johnson for a couple of years now, but MacKenzie is a fast-man in his own right and is ripe and ready to burst onto the Australian domestic scene like no paceman has done since 1999, when the 23-year-old firebrand Lee emerged.With all the hype surrounding some of the young ‘fast men’ in international cricket of late, it’s easier to get a gauge on where a guy like MacKenzie stands in the matter of bowling speeds.When Shane Bond came to Australia last season and played his debut Test, his fastest ball of that match was 142km/h. MacKenzie’s current speed could be placed slightly higher than this mark, with the potential to emulate Bond and take his speed up to, and over, the 150km/h mark. MacKenzie was clearly Queensland’s fastest bowler against NSW in the recently completed ING Cup one-dayer and looked to be a clear 5km/h faster than Kasprowicz who is regularly clocked around 138km/h in his international matches.Watching MacKenzie’s action from various angles in frame-by-frame shots it was noticeable just how similar in action he is to Bond, even down to the customary dragging of his back foot. His action is uncomplicated and explosive, with a strong shoulder element. MacKenzie does, however, tend to fall away a little in his action, and in striving for that extra yard of pace perhaps doesn’t gain the maximum benefit from his height.At close to 1.93m (6’4″), MacKenzie is well-built for a youngster and his delivery is so smooth and uncluttered. It is not until you see him next to the likes of Kasprowicz and Andrew Symonds that you realise what a large man he really is.The problem immediately confronting MacKenzie and Johnson is that they are playing for a state which has undoubtedly the most powerful domestic bowling attack in world cricket.Queensland has at its disposal 10 bowlers who would walk into any state/provincial team in the world, but they can only field six of them at any given time. Both pacers for varying reasons played only one Pura Cup match last year. If this figure does not increase all but tenfold this season then the talented duo may follow Shane Watson’s lead and defect to another state, where their talents can be showcased as they deserve to be.Whenever these two men are fit then they should be honing their skills in the first-class arena and not biding their time in grade cricket, waiting for their next break-down.One youngster who is close to the complete package is Geeves (20) of Tasmania. Geeves stands at around 1.85m (6’1″), generates good pace from a smooth, high, front-on action and comes from the McGrath/Lillee school of hostility and intimidation. Geeves was ready and, no doubt, would have played almost every game for Tasmania last season but for an osteo-pubic injury.Geeves’ action is very similar to that of Lee although Geeves is a little less explosive at this stage. Still, he is deceptively sharp and when he’s fit and firing, Geeves would be bowling around 140km/h. His pace and hostility are not his only weapons as he possesses fine line and length and can swing the ball both ways, a la McGrath.In August of this year, Geeves played for the Cricket Academy side against touring teams comprising of the cream of South Africa’s youngsters and a side from the New Zealand Academy. Geeves ended the mini-tournament with the best bowling averages of any player in both forms of the game. He played two matches and took 10 wickets at 14.70 in the longer game and took 4 wickets at 10 apiece in his two one-dayers.If Geeves can get himself fit and stay that way for an extended period of time, then he could well do as did Paul Rofe last year, and find himself amongst the top wicket-takers in Australia’s domestic competition. A national call-up to the senior squad or the A side may be close behind.One young man who performed brilliantly at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year was Bird. He was one of the leading wicket-takers in the competition with 15 wickets @ 14.33 runs apiece. Bird (19) is lithe in stature standing 1.85m (6’1″) and earlier this year was listed as weighing only 70kg, yet from a slight frame his whippy action can generate serious speed.Although Bird performed admirably for Australia in the Under-19 competition, it was one single ball whilst playing for Bankstown which temporarily catapulted the youngster into the public eye. His hostile bouncer catapulted into the side of Michael Slater’s forehead, above the eye, causing blood to stream and Slats to leave the field in a fit of rage. The story ran in every major news service in the country and everyone wanted to know who was the youngster who had felled one of our best all-time opening batsmen. Bird was quickly signed up on a rookie contract by New South Wales and his career seems to be somewhat fast-tracking.As Bird grows in strength and stature, an extra 10kg may well add an extra 10km/h to his already impressive pace. The name Aaron Bird does not quite instil fear into many senior batsmen at the moment but this cagey customer may soon be soaring with the eagles and preying on batsmen the world over.All four of these boys possess the potential to be world-beaters, but talent can be a poisoned chalice. Whether all, or none, of these youngsters grow to represent Australia with distinction will be seen in time, but with rising stars such as these on the horizon the future of Australia’s pace stocks has never looked so bright.

Rachin Ravindra had fairly a low-key return to the scene of his first Under-19 World Cup from more than five years ago, falling for a golden duck in New Zealand’s drubbing in the first T20I against Bangladesh. Two days later, Ravindra claimed 3 for 22 – his best T20 figures – to stall Bangladesh’s progress after their openers had struck up a 59-run stand.At first, Liton Das unleashed a slog-swept six to unsettle Ravindra, but the left-arm fingerspinner responded by shortening his length, finding some turn and having the batter playing on for 33 off 29 balls. Next ball, he tricked Mushfiqur Rahim to such an extent that a master of these conditions was stumped for a duck. The hat-trick ball was darted into the surface, stopping on it so much that Shakib Al Hasan almost spooned a return catch.Ravindra had success bowling at the death too, sliding one away from Mohammad Naim’s swinging arc and having him dragging a catch to long-on. “Yeah, it was nice,” the up-and-coming allrounder said as he recalled the spell. “I think it was good to be able to break up partnerships a little bit and contribute a bit; ultimately lead to a few poles and a couple of dots. It was good to have those comms, especially Tommy [Latham]; just discussing with them [about] how to go about it and I think that sort of helped me a lot in being able to bounce off those senior guys.”Ravindra said that pushing the ball quicker through the air and bowling into the pitch is his default mode of operation in T20 cricket. The other left-arm fingerspinner, Ajaz Patel, reaped 1 for 7 in his four overs in the first match with a similar bowling style.”That’s usually how I look to bowl in T20s – trying to bowl a little bit back of a length that sticks hard and in these conditions. It works quite well [here] because the odd ball can skid or turn and it’s quite hard to hit down the ground using that pace.”Related

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Adapting to Dhaka’s pitches as a batter though is an entirely different proposition. Ravindra has made only 10 runs in two innings. It had been a similar struggle at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where he managed 58 runs in five innings at strike rate of 54.20.Ravindra understands he needs to do more. “It’ll be nice to bat a little bit longer and hopefully contribute a few more runs towards a win,” he said. “I think it’s about hitting good cricket shots on these sort of wickets. You play good cricket shots, you’re going to get that boundary eventually. You don’t necessarily need to manufacture too much, but seeing the way he [Latham] played to his strengths and hit his sweeps, [it] looks like he was well-prepared.”Despite suffering back-to-back losses and facing a must-win situation so early in the series, Ravindra said the mood in the camp was upbeat and that New Zealand weren’t too far away from clicking in unison.”As I said, the improvement between game one and game two is incredible, maybe on a slightly better surface, but it showed in our batting, especially the way we were able to adapt. I think that’s great signs coming up for our next three games. We can look to take learnings from here and we are still not firing on all cylinders. Hopefully, we can get it right next game and get our combinations right and hopefully [get] a win.”