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Defending champions and hosts Bangladesh eliminated after their final league game was washed out

Sreshth Shah11-Oct-2022Thailand have confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup for the first time, after Bangladesh’s last league game against UAE on Tuesday morning was washed out. Bangladesh – the defending champions and hosts – needed two points to finish fourth and take the last available semi-final spot, but they got only one point from the abandoned game and ended in fifth place.While Bangladesh won only two out of six games, Thailand won three: they defeated UAE, Malaysia, and most significantly Pakistan by four wickets to finish on six points.Thailand’s success at the Asia Cup has been powered by their openers Nannapat Koncharoenkai and Natthakan Chantham, and the captain Naruemol Chaiwai who usually make up the top three in their batting line-up. With the ball, left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong is among the top five wicket-takers with eight scalps.Until 48 hours ago, Bangladesh looked set for a semi-final place to try and defend their Asia Cup title. They needed two points from their last two matches, but they lost to Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened match, where they failed to chase 41 in seven overs. With two overs left in the chase, Bangladesh were 27 for 2, needing 14 to win off 12 balls, but they lost four wickets in the penultimate over bowled by Inoka Ranaweera and eventually suffered a four-run defeat. On Tuesday against UAE, Bangladesh had the opportunity to bounce back and earn two points but rain ruined their chances.Thailand will now play table-toppers India in the first semi-final on Thursday morning, while the second semi-final will be played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Thursday afternoon.

The allrounder admits white-ball cricket has taken a backseat in the last 12 months but believes he can shine in the format

Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2025Beau Webster is keen to push his credentials as a one-day cricketer ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup although concedes the white-ball formats have taken a backseat in recent times amid his rise to Test cricket.Webster will feature at the start of the One-Day Cup for Tasmania this week when they begin their campaign against New South Wales in Sydney on Tuesday before facing Victoria in Brisbane on Friday ahead of the Sheffield Shield early next month.Webster’s List A record with the bat is middling – an average of 30.31 and strike rate of 77.10 – with his only century coming back in 2017 for a Cricket Australia XI when they fielded a development side in the one-day competition.Related

• Maxwell named for 50-over return for Victoria despite ODI retirement

• Webster happy to scrap for Ashes spot with Green's return to bowling on track

• Doggett 'definitely ready' if Ashes reinforcements needed

Having made 315 runs at 52.50 in the 2023-24 season he managed just 31 in three innings last summer, although impressed with the ball as he claimed 16 wickets at 9.56 including a career-best 6 for 17 against Western Australia at the WACA when the home side suffered an astonishing collapse of 8 for 1.”I’d love to play white-ball cricket for Australia,” Webster told ESPNcricinfo. “Probably more so one-day cricket than T20 at this stage. It just feels a bit like I haven’t played it for a long time.”The last 12 months I’ve been solely focused on red-ball cricket and that’s in county cricket, Shield cricket and Test cricket. It feels like I’ve hardly hit a white ball and the things that go along with training for white-ball is a lot different than they are for red-ball.”I feel like my red-ball game’s in a really good place and I’ve got my preparation down to a tee. I suppose that I haven’t really thought too much about it [white-ball cricket] but obviously if the opportunity came and they needed what I do, I’d absolutely jump at it and love to represent the country in the colours.”The next men’s 50-over tournament is the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia which will be held in October and November of that year. Webster’s brisk medium pace and batting strength against pace bowling could be suited to conditions in Southern Africa.Australia’s 50-over side is going through something of a transition, especially in the batting, following the retirements of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. Aaron Hardie struggled in the No. 7 role in his recent opportunities against South Africa. Webster’s Tasmania team-mate Mitchell Owen had been due to feature in the series before suffering concussion.”I hope I’m in the conversation if I can continue to score runs in the One-Day Cup for Tasmania and Test level”•AFP/Getty Images

“I think if you’re scoring runs and taking wickets in Test cricket, you’re always going to be seen as an option,” Webster said. “If you’re doing it at that level…there are a lot of transferable skills across from Test cricket to one-day cricket. So I hope I’m in the conversation if I can continue to score runs in the One-Day Cup for Tasmania and Test level. I hope my name gets thrown around for a potential debut.”Webster plans to play most, if not all, of Tasmania’s cricket before the start of the Ashes – where he potentially faces a selection squeeze depending on how the team is balanced – although may have his bowling workload managed as the first part of the season progresses.”I think I’ll try and definitely play all four of them [the Shield matches] and try and get Tassie off to a good start and get us to the top end of the table,” he said. “Then the bowling side of things we just might have to manage a little bit if we end up bowling a little bit too much. Those last two games might be managed a little bit, but I’ll be at all four.”On the theme of white-ball cricket, Webster has moved home to defending champions Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL although if he is part of the Ashes series he may not feature until after the final Test and he’s realistic that it will be a challenge to get into the line-up.”I think it’s going to be a hard-fought top six to get into,” he said. “We’ve kept the majority of the list from the title-winning team there and everyone wants to bat at Bellerive. It’s a great place to bat and we’ve got some world-class batters in that XI. Hopefully I can be with the Ashes series for all five Tests and then come back to the Hurricanes and play a role if they need me.”

“I still really love the game and love being involved at the moment”

AAP04-Oct-2022Alyssa Healy has revealed Meg Lanning’s personal break and Rachael Haynes’ retirement made her start considering her own cricketing future.Australia’s all-conquering women’s team face something of a changing of the guard this summer, with Shelley Nitschke the new coach and a new captain also likely.Healy is among the favourites to take on the leadership if Lanning does not return in time for the T20 tour of India in December, with the wicketkeeper-batter confident she is ready if called upon. But it comes as the 32-year-old said she had recently been jolted into thinking about her own plans.”Meg taking a break and Rach retiring, it hit me like a tonne of bricks,” Healy told AAP at the Men’s T20 World Cup trophy event in Sydney. “It made me sit back and think about what I’ve been doing and what it looks like for me.Related

• WBBL warned not to be complacent as T20 leagues grow

• Nitschke's inbox: Haynes' replacement, new leaders and sustaining success

• Healy, Gardner, McGrath: who could be Australia's next captain?

“The beauty is I still really love the game and love being involved at the moment. I’m just going to just keep plugging along and doing what I’m doing and continue to enjoy it.”One factor keeping Healy going is what remains on the horizon. After reclaiming the 50-over World Cup and winning Commonwealth Games gold this year were originally seen as the final frontiers, Australia now have their first Test in India in 39 years scheduled next December.”Mitch jokes all the time at home that I’ve changed my mind about three or four times on continuing playing,” Healy said. “But it’s simply because of the fact that there continues to be new opportunities that pop up that I want to be a part of.”I’ve got mad FOMO when I’m just watching cricket. We haven’t really toured India that much over the little period of time. So the fact that we’re going there twice in the space of 12 months is exciting.”Meanwhile, Healy could serve as the answer to Australia’s captaincy question, following vice-captain Haynes’ retirement and with Lanning’s future still in doubt after opting out of the WBBL.Healy has stated publicly there could be better candidates, with Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Tahlia McGrath the other likely options.But her history as one of Australia’s most experienced players, along with her time captaining NSW, would make her an obvious choice.”I’ve taken a lot out of captaining NSW,” Healy said. “The beauty of our [NSW] squad over the last few years is leading a really young, inexperienced team. That’s been a really enjoyable job for me: Being able to talk cricket with young players.”So I guess in a sense, it correlates across to the Aussie team. We’re in a similar sort of boat at the moment. I’ll take a lot of confidence and some experience out of that if it comes my way.”

The former Pakistan quick is particularly concerned about the form of Shaheen Shah Afridi

Andrew McGlashan23-Dec-2023Waqar Younis has voiced his alarm at the lack of pace in Pakistan’s Test attack as they search for a way back into their Test series against Australia.During the first Test in Perth, Pakistan’s pace bowlers – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Khurram Shahzad, Aamer Jamal and Faheem Ashraf – rarely broke the 140kph mark although they did give the Australia batters some uneasy moments in the second innings as cracks emerged on the Optus Stadium surface.Pakistan were comprehensively beaten by 360 runs, bowled out for 89 in their second innings, and to compound their woes have lost Shahzad, who impressed on debut, to a series-ending rib injury. It will mean an enforced change at the MCG with either Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr or Mir Hamza coming into the attack, but Waqar remains unconvinced.Related

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• Pakistan change tack as Rizwan replaces Sarfaraz for Boxing Day

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“Another thing that I’m worried about is that always when we come to Australia, one thing that excites is the fast bowling and this time around I’m not seeing that,” he said on ESPN’s show. “I’m seeing medium-pacers or slow-medium-pacers, allrounders, there’s no real pace. People used to come and watch Pakistan pace bowlers really running in hard and bowling 150 clicks [kph], and that’s what I’m not seeing there.”That’s my worry and issue because I have not seen it at the domestic level also. There are a few injured, I can understand, but in the past you would always see a battery of fast bowlers that they could always bring on, but unfortunately that is not there and I’m really worried about that.”Shaheen Afridi was below his best in Perth•Getty Images

Naseem Shah, who was also ruled out of the World Cup with injury, was a big loss while Haris Rauf opted to play the BBL for Melbourne Stars instead of the Test series. Pakistan will need much more from Afridi, who claimed 2 for 172 in Perth, if they are to challenge Australia but Waqar had particular concerns about his loss of pace.”I’m not really sure what’s wrong with him,” he said. “If he’s not fit, if he’s got some issues, he needs to go away from the game and fix that because if you are going to carry on like that you are going to become a medium-pacer. He used to bowl 145-150kph and used to swing that ball. What I’m seeing now, yes there’s a little bit of swing but his pace is way down… and that is not going to get him wickets.”Watching the first Test match was painful. We had moments, we had opportunities where we could have pulled the game back a bit but we didn’t take the opportunities. When Pakistan come to Australia they have to make sure their fielding is spotless… because Australia batsmen, if you give them opportunities, they’ll take it with both hands and make it big and that’s what we saw in Perth.”

The match will be played on a different pitch to the one that hosted SRH vs Mumbai, but don’t bet against another run-fest

Shashank Kishore04-Apr-20241:29

Can Klaasen take down CSK’s bowlers in Hyderabad?

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture

The euphoria of watching their bat may have taken the sting out of their defeat to Delhi Capitals in Vizag three nights ago, but Chennai Super Kings will be the first to admit morale wins only count for so much. In Hyderabad, they will be up against one of the most explosive batting sides in the competition, in conditions where 277 didn’t seem safe enough, just over a week ago.They’ll potentially be without one of their gun bowlers, Mustafizur Rahman, who knows a thing or two about bowling on these tracks. In 2016, Mustafizur starred in Sunrisers’ march to their maiden IPL crown, picking up 17 wickets in his maiden IPL season. Eight years on, he continues to be just as effective despite a few run-ins with injuries.Related

• Mustafizur a doubt for CSK's game against Sunrisers on Friday

• How CSK put opposites together to become an IPL batting behemoth

However, if there’s a batting line-up capable of combating anything that is thrown at them, it’s the Sunrisers. Abhishek Sharma has set the tempo at the top and Travis Head has already shown how dangerous he can be in that game against Mumbai Indians. Then there’s Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in unbelievable six-hitting form.CSK too have a prolific six-hitter in Shivam Dube, who has struck at 177.09 against spin since last year’s IPL while they also see Daryl Mitchell warming up to a similar role, one of the reasons why they broke the bank for him at the auction.One team likes data and match-ups, the other believes in gut feel and vibe. It’s a contest of contrasts in that sense, but what unites them is the thrill their power-hitters can generate.Can Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen set Hyderabad alight once more?•BCCI

Form guide

Sunrisers LWL (most recent match first)
CSK LWW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad
There’s no Wanindu Hasaranga yet for the Sunrisers. The legspinning allrounder has consulted a podiatrist in Dubai for a heel problem that appears more severe than earlier thought to be. Sunrisers have largely based their Impact Player strategy on conditions with three different pairs engaged in the first three games.Head coach Daniel Vettori expects Friday to be high-scoring even though it’s a different surface to the one that hosted Sunrisers vs Mumbai Indians. Dube’s floating presence may just tempt Sunrisers to bring in Umran Malik’s pace to try and rough him up. If this happens, one of Mayank Agarwal or Abhishek Sharma could be subbed out when the team bowls.Likely XII: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Travis Head, 3 Abhishek Sharma, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed/Washington Sundar, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Jaydev Unadkat, 12 Umran Malik.Chennai Super Kings
There’s a likelihood of Mustafizur arriving in Hyderabad on Friday afternoon after a quick trip home to sort out his USA visa issues. If he doesn’t play straight off a flight, CSK will likely bring in Mahesh Theekshana. If they bat first, expect them to play Shivam Dube and swap him out for Matheesha Pathirana in the second innings.Likely XII: 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Sameer Rivzi, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Maheesh Theekshana, 12 Matheesha Pathirana.Shivam Dube has struck at 177.09 against spin since the start of IPL 2023•Associated Press

In the spotlight

For two straight games now, Mayank Agarwal has struggled to force the pace in the powerplay, scoring a total of 27 off 30 balls. There has also been a pattern to his dismissals in each of Sunrisers’ three games so far, with bowlers digging the ball into the pitch on a length or short of a length to tuck him up. In a batting line-up bursting at its seams with firepower, Agarwal needs to come good soon to ward off any imminent threat to his spot.Ravindra Jadeja won CSK last year’s final alright, but his overall batting returns have diminished since IPL 2022, with a strike rate of 133.90 and a highest score of 26* in 25 innings in the tournament. His numbers against spin have been particularly worrying, with 77 balls bringing him just 83 runs. His struggle against Capitals in Visakhapatnam, and Dhoni’s late fireworks, have raised the prospect of a batting-order shuffle, but CSK aren’t known to change things drastically. Can Jadeja repay their faith?

Stats that matter

• Klaasen’s strike rate of 200.00 against spin is the highest among those who have made 200 or more runs against spin since the start of IPL 2023.
• Ajinkya Rahane has been dismissed six times in 16 T20 innings by Bhuvneshwar Kumar while scoring 90 off 103 balls.
• Bhuvneshwar vs Dhoni has gone the batter’s way, though: 94 runs of 57 balls without being dismissed.
• Since the start of IPL 2023, Klaasen has ransacked left-arm orthodox spinners for 104 runs off 49 balls without being dismissed. Will this change CSK’s use of Jadeja in any way?

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch will be used for Friday’s fixture. It’s a black-soil pitch that Daniel Vettori, the Sunrisers head coach, believes will behave far differently to the red-soil pitch on which Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians played out a record run-fest. Michael Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, believes it looks “slightly dry” but expects it to be full of runs nonetheless.

Quotes

“Because scoring rates are so high, you can’t be timid. We understand we have to be aggressive. That’s been the messaging from Pat and me. To take on the bowlers, not be reckless but understand what sort of bowlers you can take down.”
“He’s still exactly the same person. That’s what I’ve been looking for, to see if it’s changed him as a person or character.”

There is a serious rain threat over the entire game, with bad weather forecast for the whole week

Ashish Pant15-Oct-2024Persistent and occasionally heavy rain in Bengaluru has forced the cancellation of India’s training session the day before the first Test against New Zealand at the city’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The session, originally slotted for 9.30am, was first postponed by an hour and then cancelled altogether with the rain showing no signs of relenting.New Zealand ‘s training session, slotted for 1.30pm, did take place*, but in the indoor facility at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy, also in the Chinnaswamy premises.The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast rains for the rest of the week, which could seriously affect the Test match. There is a 70% to 90% chance of rain on the first and second days of the Test, and a yellow alert has also been issued for many places in the state of Karnataka (of which Bengaluru is a part).Bengaluru has experienced a lot of rainfall for the past week. It rained on Monday as well, two days before the game, but both teams managed to finish their respective training sessions. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma also had time to get a good look at the surface, which was followed by a long discussion with the pitch curator.There was rain in Bengaluru all through Monday night and Tuesday morning, and the covers at the Chinnaswamy stayed in place. There was some activity when the rain stopped for a bit around 1pm, and the covers were being moved a bit, but within half an hour the clouds opened up again and the covers were back in place.