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Mitchell Marsh is a good chance of keeping his place for the final Test against India in Sydney despite a lean series with the bat while his lack of overs continues to be attributed to the nature of the matches rather than any fitness issues.Uncapped Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster is in the squad along with spare fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Sean Abbott if Mitchell Starc is unable to recover after suffering a back problem at the MCG or the selectors decide on other changes.Related

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Coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins both admitted Starc was carrying an issue and bowling through pain, but believed he should be right to play in Sydney.However, Starc’s issue, and his workload across the series alongside Cummins, has highlighted the lack of contribution from Australia’s fifth bowler in Marsh. He has bowled just 33 overs across seven innings in the series (discounting the brief second innings in Brisbane), and since claiming 2 for 12 in the first innings of the series he has figures of 1 for 127 from his last 28 overs.Travis Head provided a vital match-winning breakthrough for Australia in the fourth innings at the MCG as Marsh did not bowl at all in the final two sessions despite periods where Australia’s quicks needed a rest. But McDonald insisted he has no worries about Marsh’s contributions with the ball.”No, there’s no concern,” McDonald said after the memorable victory at the MCG. “And I think people have probably been reading too much into that. We haven’t required him with the ball as often as what we would have thought. He bowled again today. His speeds are up in the high 120s [kph]. There are no injury concerns there.”I think to sort of head that down that angle is a little bit unfair. We just haven’t required him at certain times for whatever reason, so that’s more a tactical implementation, as opposed to a body. I think the amount of overs that we’ve bowling across the series is probably going to be to a benefit to us.Mitchell Marsh has had a lean series but appears likely to keep his place•Getty Images

“Across the entirety of the series, it’s been relatively light, so I’d expect both attacks to be in decent shape to be able to press [in the final Test]. So does that mean you need a fifth bowler? I think you still need a fifth bowler. But are you going to put a huge demand on the fifth bowler, potentially not.”However, Marsh’s limited contributions have further exacerbated his lean returns with the bat. The reigning Allan Border Medalist was Australia’s best Test batter last season with match-winning half-centuries in four of Australia’s six wins across series against Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand. But in this series he has scored just 73 runs at 10.42, with 47 of those coming in the second innings in Perth when the game was long gone. Nathan McSweeney scored 72 at 14.40 before he was dropped for the fourth Test.Despite the poor series and a history of self-doubt, McDonald believed Marsh was in a good frame of mind.”Would he like better performances? There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “Over four Test matches, he hasn’t been able to deliver at the level that he would like and we would like, but yeah he’s up and about. We just won a Test match. He’s in a pretty good headspace.”McDonald was confident his trio of quicks could handle the short turnaround to Sydney despite Starc’s soreness.”Anytime you get through the game, it’s always a good indicator that you’re a chance at the next game,” McDonald said. “It didn’t stop him. Clearly, there was a little bit of discomfort early on in spells, but once he got warm, it seemed as though he was pretty free. [His] ball speeds were good.”We’ll see how everyone recovers. Bowling last, it was a pretty attritional game, something that we’re not used to in the last few years. Clearly Starcy’s carrying something of some description. We’ll assess that. But other than that, it looks as though we got through pretty unscathed, but [with a] short turnaround recovery is important, and we’ll assess what the team looks like in Sydney based upon the surface, as we always do.”Australia released Richardson to play a BBL game for Perth Scorchers in Adelaide on New Year’s Eve but he will return to the squad on Wednesday and McDonald was confident, despite his injury history, that he could be called upon to play if needed.”Very confident,” he said. “He’s here for a reason. So if we weren’t confident, he wouldn’t be here. He’s had a heavy week with us in the nets. All indications are he’d be capable of bowling 40-plus overs if he was called upon.”Sean Abbott’s there as well. We feel like, [the] SCG is his home ground, so he will be serviceable if called upon as well. It’ll be about assessing our frontline quicks and then making decisions from there.”Josh Inglis, who has been a reserve batter throughout the series, was withdrawn from the squad after picking up a calf strain while substitute fielding on the second day at the MCG. It has yet to be confirmed if a replacement will be named.

By the time Josh Hazlewood fronted the cameras for his press engagement, the sun finally emerged over Optus Stadium in a welcome sight for the ground staff after unseasonal damp weather hit Perth just days before the first Border-Gavaskar Test.WA Cricket head curator Isaac McDonald has been striving to produce a fast and bouncy wicket that emulates last summer’s Australia-Pakistan Test, where the pitch deteriorated as the match wore on with rearing deliveries contrasted by balls that crept low on big cracks.But McDonald’s plans have taken a turn due to intermittent rain in recent days. Up to 5mm of rain is also forecast on Thursday – match eve – although clear conditions are expected through the Test match.”Yesterday, we pretty much lost the whole day of prep with it [pitch] being under cover,” McDonald told reporters on an overcast Wednesday morning. “We saw the forecast early on, and we started prep a little bit earlier than we normally would.”Related

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Wet weather in Perth this deep into spring is unusual, with the famously warm Western Australia capital usually almost totally dry from November through to April. But the unexpected rain has forced McDonald to adapt.”It’s been quite conditions-based,” he said. “At the moment, we’re leaning towards rolling it a bit more on top to get that firmness, and that happy medium between bat and ball. [It] would be nice if the sun pops out, but we’re really comfortable as a curating team.”McDonald said 8-10mm of grass would be left on a pitch that he didn’t believe would deteriorate like last year’s surface.The Optus Stadium pitch has been under cover because of unseasonal rain in the lead-up to the India Test•Getty Images

“I don’t think this weather is going to make this pitch fall apart,” he said. “There’ll be some deterioration. Grass will stand up during the game and offer that variable bounce. But in terms of big-snake WACA cracks, unfortunately, I don’t think the weather’s going to get us there.”Hazlewood had been almost unplayable against Pakistan last year, as he relentlessly targeted the cracks late on day four to finish with 3 for 13 from 7.2 overs in the second innings. Pakistan were routed for 89, and that capped off Australia’s fourth win in as many Tests at the 60,000-seater ground.”I love playing in Perth. The wicket is always a nice one to bowl pace… [it’s] bouncy and a few cracks potentially,” Hazlewood told reporters amid the sunshine on Wednesday afternoon. “I think the conditions suit us. We’re probably more used to it with that bounce and pace.””I love playing in Perth. The wicket is always a nice one to bowl pace… [it’s] bouncy and a few cracks potentially” – Josh Hazlewood•Getty Images

With Australia’s XI settled after the selection of new opener Nathan McSweeney, the focus in this prolonged series build-up has shone on India, whose line-up is largely unknown despite them having started their preparations in Perth over a week ago.”There are no real secrets behind those closed doors. We have seen a lot of them, we play with them all the time, [and] we play against them,” Hazlewood said. “It’s going to come down to bowling in that area, and batting with patience and trying to outlast them.”While the make-up of India’s batting order remains to be seen, Hazlewood and his fellow bowlers won’t have to come up against the formidable presence of Cheteshwar Pujara, who ground down Australia’s attack in India’s famous series victories in 2018-19 and 2020-21.”I’m pretty happy that Puj isn’t here. He’s obviously one that bats time, [and] makes you really earn his wicket every time,” Hazlewood said.”[But] there’s always young, fresh guys coming into the Indian team that they’re under so much pressure to perform with so many guys nipping at their heels all the time. Whoever they pick in that XI, they’re unbelievable players. It doesn’t really matter who they pick; they’re all great players.”Australia had last won a Test series against India in 2014-15, when Hazlewood had made his debut in the second Test in Brisbane. He underlined the length of Australia’s barren run against India in the format, and said his side were looking forward to end that.”There’s only a couple of us from that series when we won 2-0…. everyone’s really determined [to win this time],” he said. “It’s one that we need to tick off as a group. I think the added fact that it’s a five-Test series, it’s going to be a bit more gruelling. If you win a series against India, in any part of the world, you know you’ve earned it.”

Sydney Sixers have been handed a major boost with Australia captain Alyssa Healy having recovered from her T20 World Cup-ending injury to now be available for the WBBL.Healy, who ruptured the plantar fascia in her right foot against Pakistan in Dubai, which forced her to miss the final group game and semi-final where Australia were eliminated, is available for Friday’s match against Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval where she will come up against Meg Lanning.Related

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Speaking after Australia’s semi-final loss against South Africa, Healy admitted she had wrestled with the call over whether to try and play.”It was a really hard decision to make last night as to whether or not we’re going to give it a punt or not,” she said. “I tried to make the ‘team decision’ and sat myself down, instead of taking the risk.””I ruptured my plantar fascia – completely ruptured one and partially ruptured the other. So it was just a matter of function and pain and what I could handle, and, ultimately, I probably only had one game in me, and probably took the wrong risk.”After returning to Australia, Healy hinted that there may have to be some workload management during a season that includes the WBBL, ODI series against India and New Zealand then the Women’s Ashes in January.”There’s a lot of cricket to be played this summer,” she told the podcast, “And with regards getting myself through that, it’s going to be about managing what I can and can’t do and that could be disappointing for me at times throughout the summer because I want to play every single game but there’s potential that might not take place so we’ll just have to see.”Sixers were beaten by defending champions Adelaide Strikers on Tuesday having opened their tournament with an impressive victory over Melbourne Renegades where the winning runs were hit by 15-year-old Caoimhe Bray after Ellyse Perry crunched 81 off 38 balls.Scotland’s Sarah Bryce has been the other standout batter for Sixers with a matchwinner 36 not out against Renegades followed by 62 off 44 balls against Strikers. She retains her place in the squad with Sixers missing New Zealand allrounder Amelia Kerr who is doubtful for the entire competition after picking up an injury in India.

How did Mumbai Indians (MI) manage to retain their core group of four superstars in Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav – as well as Tilak Varma – within INR 75 crore, the minimum retention amount assigned by IPL for five players?ESPNcricinfo has learned that while MI’s senior management, including Mahela Jayawardene, who recently returned as head coach, was thinking of paying Rohit, Bumrah, Hardik and Suryakumar equal amounts, the players decided the retention order themselves.But the details, as well as the individual amounts, were far from finalised when Jayawardene, along with Mumbai’s senior management including owner Akash Ambani, met the players in early October to review what was a poor IPL 2024, where the five-time champions finished last.Related

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The players and the management met twice during this period. The idea was to talk openly about how the previous season had gone. Part of the conversations involved everyone opening up on what they felt had worked and what hadn’t. The players in question were also asked to seek clarity on whatever they wanted before the retentions were finalised.It is understood that Suryakumar wanted to know what plans the franchise had for him for the future. Having replaced Rohit as the India T20I captain after the T20 World Cup, Suryakumar is keen to lead MI, too, at some point. The franchise has told him that when Hardik replaced Rohit as captain ahead of the 2024 season, the plan was to see him continue in that position at least for the foreseeable future.The franchise is believed to have asked Suryakumar if he had any conditions before retention and also that they wouldn’t be able to promise him anything. Suryakumar told the franchise, later, that he wanted to stay with MI. He is also believed to have told the franchise that he does have captaincy aspirations. This was on October 4, about four weeks before the retention deadline.1:01

Hardik to continue as Mumbai Indians captain

It is understood that the senior group was told at these meetings that the franchise would retain Hardik as the captain as it would be unfair to judge Hardik on last season’s performances where he struggled with form both with bat and ball and made questionable strategic calls in the field. The understanding was that if the right sort of environment was created, it would help both Hardik and Mumbai succeed. The players agreed.Rohit, along with Hardik and Suryakumar, agreed that Bumrah deserved the top retention as well as the top price. Rohit also said he was happy to be the fourth retention behind Bumrah, Suryakumar and Hardik considering he had retired from the T20I format.At the meetings, it was agreed that if the team’s fans were not given clarity about the future the franchise was headed in, there was a danger of the team losing its support base. At one of the meetings, Suryakumar is understood to have said: ” [I will create the atmosphere].”

Kamran Ghulam’s second century in three outings, backed by three wicket-hauls from Mohammad Imran and Salman Agha handed Markhors their third consecutive win, as they beat Dolphins in Faisalabad. The win helped them consolidate their lead at the top of the points table.It was an all-round show from Markhors with Ghulam making 113 off just 110 balls, which included a 122-run third wicket stand with Mohammad Rizwan. That helped Markhors pile up 284 for 9 in their 50 overs. In reply, Dolphins lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 192 with Markhors winning by 92 runs.After Dolphins decided to field, Mir Hamza removed Markhors openers Bismillah Khan and Mohammad Faizan inside five overs. But Ghulam, fresh off a 115 against Panthers last week, continued his good form. He stabilized the innings with Rizwan, who also scored a half-century.Faheem Ashraf picked four wickets for Dolphins but Markhors managed to put up a big score on the board.Dolphins never really got going in the chase. Opener Mohammad Hurraira fell for a 12-ball duck while Muhammad Akhlaq was dismissed by Naseem Shah. Captain Saud Shakeel tried to hold his end up with 41, but got little support from the others.Asif Ali hit a quick 43-ball 50, but the Dolphins batters failed to stitch a solid partnership. Eventually, they were bowled out in 43.5 overs. Markhors employed six bowlers, and each one of them managed to pick at least a wicket.This was Dolphins’ second defeat of the tournament and they are now the only side to not register a single point on the table.

Mark Wood is likely to miss England’s second Test against Sri Lanka and could be a doubt for the remainder of the series due to a right thigh muscle injury sustained late on day three of the first Test in Manchester.Wood experienced discomfort after bowling his second ball of his 11th over, before aborting his run-up for the third. He immediately left the field and was replaced in the attack by Joe Root, who took the wicket of Milan Rathnayake with the fourth delivery – Root’s second – of the 56th over.An ECB statement on Saturday morning before the start of day four said that Wood would not take the field. Around half an hour into play, he left Emirates Old Trafford for a scan to determine the full extent of the damage. England are hopeful the issue is a strain rather than a tear.It seems certain Wood will miss the upcoming Test match at Lord’s, which begins this Thursday, regardless of the results of the scan. And given the 34-year-old’s unique standing as the fastest bowler in the world, England may be reluctant to risk Wood for the final Test at the Kia Oval, which gets underway on September 6.Related

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Olly Stone, the spare fast bowler in the squad, is likely to replace Wood in the XI, and was released to play for Nottinghamshire in their Division One County Championship match with Durham.In terms of squad reinforcements, Sam Curran could come into the reckoning. The allrounder is turning out for Surrey against Lancashire at the Kia Oval – his first red-ball match in over a year – and took 1 for 21 in the first innings. Picking Curran would allow England to operate with the allrounder they are lacking after captain Ben Stokes was ruled out of the rest of the summer with a torn hamstring sustained during the men’s Hundred.The loss of Wood was apparent as stand-in captain Ollie Pope oversaw a wicket-less start to day four. Sri Lanka batted past drinks, and through to a rain interruption shortly before lunch without losing a wicket, as Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal, who brought up his half-century, extended the lead to 153.

At 101 for 5, Sri Lanka were on the verge of an all-too-familiar collapse against India, but they somehow found a way to stay in the contest both with bat and ball and ended up tying the match. Leading Sri Lanka for the first time in ODI cricket, it was Charith Asalanka who sealed the dramatic result by dismissing Shivam Dube and No. 11 Arshdeep Singh off successive balls on a slow, dry Khettarama turner, with the crowd jiving and grooving to his tunes.With India needing five off 18 balls with just two wickets in hand, it was anybody’s game. Dube was threatening to switch into his IPL spin-hitting mode. He had just picked a legbreak from Wanindu Hasaranga and whacked it over wide long-on for six. Asalanka had the option to bring on Asitha Fernando or debutant Mohamed Shiraz, but he took the responsibility upon himself on a surface that had already been used for Qualifier 2 in the LPL last month, and delivered for Sri Lanka.After playing out the first two balls of the 48th over, Dube flayed the third through the covers and tied the scores. Asalanka pinned Dube lbw next ball with a slider from around the wicket for 25 off 24 balls. Dube was originally given not out, but a successful review from Asalanka overturned the on-field decision and brought the crowd alive. Asalanka then put Colombo in party mode when he also had Arshdeep lbw for a duck next ball. Asalanka had darted in another slider from around the wicket, and Arshdeep missed a slog sweep and was trapped in front.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sri Lanka’s seam attack has been ravaged by injury and illness – no less than five of their fast bowlers are unavailable – but their spin attack is so well stocked that they could afford to leave out Maheesh Theekshana and still field four spinners, including Asalanka. Wristspinner Hasaranga, mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya and left-arm fingerspinner Dunith Wellalage also played their roles with the ball in the win.It was Wellalage who triggered India’s slide by snagging Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma in successive overs after they had forged a 75-run opening stand off 76 balls. Dananjaya, who turned the ball sharply both ways, accounted for Washington Sundar, who had been promoted to No. 4, ahead of both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. As for Hasaranga, he came away with three wickets, including the big one of Virat Kohli for 24 off 32 balls.Related

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Hasaranga kept Kohli to five off ten balls before he trapped him with a fizzing skidder. Rahul then repaired India’s innings with a 57-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Axar Patel. After having played risk-free cricket for the most part of his innings, Rahul tried to slog-sweep Hasaranga only to miscue it to midwicket for 31 off 43 balls. Axar then looked to helm India’s chase of 231, but Asalanka had him nicking off with a sharp offbreak for 33 off 57 balls. Dube played a late cameo, but it was not enough for India to get across the line.India were on track when Rohit, fresh out of T20I retirement and returning to ODI cricket for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup, dominated the powerplay. He charged out of the crease second ball and smashed Asitha over midwicket for six and went on to hit nine more boundaries in the first ten overs. He was responsible for 54 of the 71 runs India had scored in that phase.One of those boundaries – a slog-swept six off Dananjaya – took Rohit to a 33-ball half-century. However, when he looked good for more, Wellalage dislodged him for 58 off 47 balls.In contrast, Sri Lanka had a more sedate powerplay in which they played out 45 dots and scored just 33 runs. Mohammed Siraj and Dube made early inroads for India, but Pathum Nissanka blunted them, and India’s spinners, with a 67-ball half-century. India could have cut his innings short on 20 had Siraj not dropped a difficult chance at fine leg in the powerplay.Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill got India off to a quick start•Getty Images

Wellalage then rallied with the lower order, adding stands of 41 with Janith Liyanage, 36 with Hasaranga and 46 with Dananjaya. Wellalage, who was promoted to No. 7 ahead of Hasaranga, countered Washington’s offspin, hitting him for 20 off 21 balls. He even got inventive, reverse-sweeping Washington over the two slips and ramping Siraj fine of deep third for fours. When Arshdeep pitched one in his arc, Wellalage showed glimpses of his power, too, clearing Siraj at wide long-on. He proceeded to bring up his maiden ODI fifty, off 59 balls.Washington – picked ahead of Riyan Parag, India’s second-most used bowler in the T20I series – though continued to pose a threat with his turn and bounce, as did Kuldeep Yadav. After ripping a couple of deliveries past the outside edge of Asalanka, Kuldeep had the Sri Lanka captain guiding his stock ball straight to Rohit at first slip for 14 off 21 balls.It was Axar who had set the scene for the day when he found immediate turn and bounce to have Nissanka checking his drive to extra cover. Axar then got his fifth ball to kick up and rag away past the outside edge like Rangana Herath used to back in the day in Sri Lanka. With the pitch offering plenty of purchase to the spinners, Axar didn’t go searching for the magic ball and simply tossed the ball up into the footmarks created by Arshdeep.Sri Lanka’s spinners, though, bested India’s and forced an unlikely tie, leaving the visitors needing a strong response if they are to win the ODI series.

Batters will have to learn to “suck it up,” and accept the difficulties of run-scoring at Nassau County, according to one of T20s most prolific run-scorers: Heinrich Klaasen. The South African middle-order batter, who is reputed for his six-hitting ability, put aside his personal preferences and stuck to the team line that they “don’t mind,” having a little spice in the surface for bowlers, especially their seamers.After South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out of for their lowest T20I total – 77 – at the first T20 World Cup match played in New York, and took 16.2 overs to chase the score, Anrich Nortje said he didn’t “think there’s anything wrong with the wickets,” and that they are just “different,” to the kinds of surfaces players have become used to in the recent past, especially at the last IPL. Klaasen agrees.”At the IPL, no one really complained about 270 plays 270. Now the bowlers are getting conditions a little bit more in their favour, so I think it’s just getting the balance right,” Klaasen said from New York, where South Africa will play three of their four group matches. “The batters need to suck it up as well. It’s not always going to be a 200 wicket, and you have to play a little bit smarter cricket to get over the line. We don’t mind if the bowlers got something in it; that makes some good entertaining cricket and you have to use your cricket brain a little bit. It’s just getting the balance right, too flat and too bowler-friendly. That’s obviously why the groundsman gets paid the big bucks.”But at this early stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, with two matches played in Nassau County and six to come, the curator has got more criticism than anything else for a surface with inconsistent bounce that Andy Flower told ESPNcricnfo’s Timeout is “bordering on dangerous.”The pitches at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York have been the subject of debate•ICC via Getty Images

Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain and former England coach, was speaking in between innings as India dismissed Ireland for 96 and two of their batters, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, were hit by Irish quick Josh Little in response. “You saw the ball bouncing from a length, both ways, so skidding low occasionally but in the main bouncing unusually high and striking people on the thumb, the gloves and the helmet and making life very, very difficult for any batter,” Flower said.Klaasen conceded that the strip South Africa played Sri Lanka on was “a little bit too much on the bowler’s side,” but regards it “part of the game,” which players have to adapt to. “Sometimes you get the wickets too flat, and now it’s just as bad and you need to suck it up a little bit. Hopefully we get a better wicket in the next game.” The other concern is the outfield. It is heavy and sandy, which meant even balls that were timed well didn’t always travel very far.Related

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There are four drop-in pitches at the ground and it is still unclear whether moving will produce a more even contest. While Klaasen said the pitch used for the India-Bangladesh warm-up match last week facilitated a “decent” score in the first innings (182), it didn’t when India met Ireland on it on Wednesday. Whichever surface they get, Klaasen is convinced South Africa can fare better because they have some idea of what to expect. “We’ve got experience playing in these types of conditions now, so we just need to go back into the memory bank and take some responsibility that it might not be a wicket that we can just tee off and hit boundaries,” he said. “We need to play some clever cricket and need to make peace with that.”All that said, Klaasen still thinks it’s possible to clear the ropes. “You can still hit boundaries. If you play on one side of the field it’s not that big and so you can still hit boundaries.”But not, perhaps, boundaries the size of what the South Africans saw on an excursion to Yankee Stadium. “That’s quite a big hit. We worked it out and it’s 120 metres. It’s a long hit, but we as batters had a nice chat and we reckon we can give it a go. We will find a batting cage somewhere and try to see what we can do.”The upshot from their visit was Klaasen’s conclusion that baseball batters are doing something “completely different to what we do,” and that he thinks “cricket is more entertaining than baseball,” even though those who enjoy higher totals may disagree.South Africa’s next match is against Netherlands – who have beaten them in their previous two World Cup meetings – on Saturday in New York.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has threatened players of the men’s national team and support staff with “a formal review” if they leave the ongoing Pakistan tour over security concerns. Several team members had asked to return to Sri Lanka, following the suicide bombing in Islamabad – the city they are staying in – on Tuesday. Players’ families in Sri Lanka had expressed their concerns over safety, in particular.”The support staff were very clear that we wanted to stay and complete the tour,” said Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s head coach. “But as the team management on tour, we heard the players concerns, and made sure we addressed them at length.”Deliberations went late into the night on Wednesday regarding the future of the tour, with players, team management, SLC officials, and Pakistan security officials, all involved in the discussion. PCB chair and Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi himself is understood to have come to the team hotel to reassure Sri Lanka’s players, with other officials from Pakistan’s security establishment also assuring the team their security arrangements remained rigorous. In addition, they had provided assurances that safety protocols around the team hotel would be tightened, with a separate elevator and restaurant area likely to be set aside for the team.With these talks concluding late and other logistics being thrown off by uncertainty, the two remaining ODIs in the series have now been pushed back a day. Naqvi announced that the matches will be played on November 14 and 16, when they had been scheduled for November 13 and 15. The first two matches of the T20I tri-series (featuring Zimbabwe) that follows the ODIs, have also been postponed by a day. That series will now also be entirely be played in Rawalpindi, when some matches had previously been scheduled for Lahore.SLC said the board had assured players of their safety, and instructed the team to continue playing matches as scheduled. The board also laid out consequences for any member of the touring party who defies their instruction.”If any player, players, or member of the support staff return despite SLC’s directives, a formal review will be conducted to assess their actions, and an appropriate decision will be made upon the conclusion of the review,” the board statement said.Through the course of the day, SLC is understood to have stood firm against player requests to return home. Sri Lanka have only played one of the three ODIs that are scheduled, and also have a T20I tri-series to play in Pakistan immediately after. Nevertheless, pressure from players had forced another meeting.SLC’s statement said the board had worked quickly to allay fears.”Following this development, SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party.”Naqvi is understood to have decided to meet Sri Lanka’s players to reassure them regarding their safety and encourage them to continue the tour. Earlier on Wednesday, he met with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan, Fred Siriweera. The PCB released a statement saying a detailed briefing on the security provided to the Sri Lankan team was provided, and that Siriweera expressed his satisfaction over the arrangements.A Sri Lankan team had suffered a terrorist attack in Pakistan in 2009, in Lahore. Sri Lanka had been among the first teams to resume tours to Pakistan after the long exile, however.

India head coach Amol Muzumdar has said leaving Jemimah Rodrigues out of the World Cup clash against England on Sunday was “one of the toughest decisions” the team has had to make, and one dictated purely by combination and conditions.”To be fair, Jemi [Rodrigues] has been a very important player, an integral part of this side we have built,” Muzumdar said. “Sometimes you just have to take those tough calls. That game, particularly against England, required the sixth bowling option, given the ground of Indore and the [high-scoring] conditions over there, we thought six bowling options would be a better call on that particular day and for that particular match.”Rodrigues, who has managed just 65 runs from four innings this tournament, including two ducks, made way for seamer Renuka Singh in the weekend.”It was a tough call, there is no doubt about it,” Muzumdar said. “One of the toughest decisions, but sometimes tough calls do need to be taken. She took it really nicely and very sportingly.”Related

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Ahead of India’s crucial clash against New Zealand, Rodrigues had an extended net session, closely working on her drives, though Muzumdar said the decision to bring her back into the XI will be taken only on match day.India have now lost three consecutive matches, to South Africa, Australia, and England, all after getting into promising positions. Muzumdar conceded that the pressure of playing a home World Cup is being felt, but backed the squad, including young pacer Kranti Gaud, who’s gone for runs in her second spell in all three games, to bounce back.”I think a home World Cup, of course, there has to be some kind of pressure. But this side, this particular side is well-equipped to handle that. We’ve built a side around it and I think all the players are well-equipped to handle pressure.5:13

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“[Gaud] had not much of experience in international cricket, but that’s the stage we are in. She’s been the spearhead of the fast bowlers in the team. And we’ve had several discussions, we’ve not left any stone unturned with regards to discussion and taking the load off her.”While six Indian batters have crossed fifty in the tournament so far, none has reached three-figures, something Muzumdar said the team is actively trying to address. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur had laid the platform in the England game with a 125-run stand but were dismissed for 88 and 70 respectively.”We are well aware that a three-figure mark hasn’t come this World Cup. But if you look at the past year-and-a-half, the 18 months that have passed before the World Cup, we’ve had definitely a lot of hundreds that we’ve seen than ever before. I don’t think there is a lot of load on anyone. But we’ve had honest discussions about it. And the players also have been honest that, ‘Yes, instead of a fifty, we could have converted that into a hundred’. They are aware of it. And I’m hopeful that it will come in the next couple of games.”Muzumdar also said there was no burden on either Harmanpreet as captain or on Richa Ghosh to finish games single-handedly.”As a batting group, we’ve discussed we need to get into a certain stage where we can have that, that kind of a liberty for Richa to go out there and play her shots.”