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England’s 2019 World Cup-winning coach will not return in 2025

Matt Roller03-Dec-2024Trevor Bayliss has left his role at London Spirit in the Hundred after his men’s team finished bottom in 2024. Bayliss replaced the late Shane Warne as men’s coach ahead of the 2022 season, when Eoin Morgan captained them to the play-offs, but his team have won only three games and lost 11 in the last two years since Morgan’s retirement.Bayliss’ side were particularly poor in 2024, losing seven of their eight matches with a scrappy three-wicket win over Welsh Fire the only exception. Their top picks at the draft, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell, managed 216 runs between them, and Dan Lawrence was unable to get them out of a rut as captain.The Spirit’s struggles in the men’s Hundred were only emphasised by the success of their women’s team, who won the title for the first time under Heather Knight and Ashley Noffke. Noffke has since signed an extension for the 2025 edition, though has lost assistant Ali Maiden to Birmingham Phoenix.”We’d all like to thank Trevor for his considerable efforts across the last three seasons,” Fraser Stewart, London Spirit’s general manager and the MCC’s head of cricket, said in a statement. “He initially joined us in difficult circumstances and led the side to a strong finish in 2022, but the team hasn’t been able to replicate that success since.”As a group, we’re desperate to see London Spirit competing at the right end of the table and we think a new approach may be of benefit to our chances. Trevor leaves Lord’s with our best wishes and our gratitude.”Related

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Bayliss’ stock has fallen as a coach of late, five years on from his England side’s triumph in the 2019 50-over World Cup. He was replaced as Punjab Kings coach by Ricky Ponting earlier this year, though has been retained as Sydney Thunder coach for the upcoming Big Bash League season despite overseeing their last-placed finish in 2023-24.London Spirit have already advertised for Bayliss’ replacement, with a first-round deadline of December 11. James Foster and Paul Collingwood are both potential contenders, having spent time working under Bayliss as assistant coaches, and an appointment appears likely to take place before the completion of the Hundred’s ongoing sales process.The second-round deadline for bids from private investors (for 49% stakes in the Hundred’s eight teams) is December 9, with London Spirit expected to attract the highest offers. Interested bidders for the Spirit are understood to include at least two IPL franchises in Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, as well as the Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer.

A flat-looking MCG surface on Boxing Day could hand a Test debut to Michael Neser

Andrew McGlashan in Melbourne24-Dec-2019Justin Langer has kept the door ajar for Australia employing the rare tactic of playing five frontline bowlers should they be confronted by a flat-looking MCG surface on Boxing Day which could hand a Test debut to Michael Neser.James Pattinson will fill Josh Hazlewood’s role, but Langer is conscious of the toil Australia’s attack has faced in the previous two Boxing Day Tests against England and India. The final decision may be taken as late as the morning of the game with Travis Head the most likely to make way should the bowling unit be bolstered by Neser’s inclusion.There has been much discussion on what the nature of the MCG pitch will be following the abandoned Sheffield Shield game earlier this month, but groundsman Matt Page has promised a decent covering of grass and two days out there was still a good layer on the surface.ALSO READ: James Pattinson awaits favourite opponents on Boxing Day returnIn the previous two Melbourne Tests Australia have had Mitchell Marsh in the team but he was out of contention after breaking his hand punching the dressing room wall earlier this season.While the change would give Australia a lengthy lower order – with Tim Paine elevated to No. 6 – Pattinson, Neser, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are all handy with the bat; Neser has a first-class average of 25.13 (plus a domestic one-day hundred) and Pattinson 23.07.Peter Siddle, who was added to the squad after Hazlewood’s injury, is the other bowler available but Langer has made clear he favours consistency in selection and rewarding those who have previously been around the squad.The last time Australia fielded five genuine bowlers at home (as opposed to an allrounder in a five-man attack) was January 2013 against Sri Lanka, at the SCG, when Matthew Wade batted at No. 6 and Mitchell Johnson was used at seven.”We’ll work out what the set-up of our team is going to be, whether we play an extra bowler,” Langer said. “We’ll have a look at the wicket, it looks pretty good two days out.”The only reason we’d do it is if the wicket looks anything like it has the last few years here on the Boxing Day Test because you have to get 20 wickets. The Australia cricket team doesn’t usually go down that path of the extra bowler, but if we are to play on wickets like we have the last two years at the MCG we’ve certainly got to find a way of taking 20 wickets.”There’s been so much discussion about the wicket we are hopeful that’s not the case, but if we were to turn up on Boxing Day and it looks really flat we have the flexibility to be able to do it. In most circumstances you don’t need it which is why we don’t do it.”Australia have not needed a great deal from their middle order so far this season with Marnus Labuschagne filling his boots at No. 3 and David Warner being prolific against Pakistan. Wade and Head have a fifty apiece – with Head’s coming in the previous Test in Perth – and it is a curious fact of the summer that the one member of the top six who has yet to reach a half-century is Steven Smith.”Great, isn’t it,” Langer said. “If you are playing good cricket, the team is winning, and Steve Smith isn’t doing well it puts a smile on everyone’s face because you know it’s not far away. He loves the big stage, looking forward to watching him bat.”Smith twice fell to Neil Wagner’s short ball in Perth – one of the few overall successes for New Zealand in the match – and has worked on combating that angle of attack ahead of the Melbourne Test where he has a formidable record. Prior to missing last year due to his ban, Smith had made hundreds in his previous four Boxing Day Tests dating back to 2014 against India.His twin dismissals in the opening Test continued a little bit of a trend against New Zealand having also fallen in that manner during the World Cup match at Lord’s.”I’ve changed a little bit in that I’ve been facing a fair bit of short stuff in the nets because I’m expecting a bit,” he said of his preparation. “It’s going to be completely different with the red ball as opposed to the pink ball, especially the second innings in Perth when it was a bit up and down, that’s never easy at any time, so it will be different but I’m looking forward it.”In the first innings, think I was 40 off 160 rocks, I got underneath them for a while there, and it got to a point where it was about moving the game forward a little quicker and I just didn’t execute [the shot] very well. The second innings was a bit harder, but we’ll see what happens out here. Certainly looking forward to the red ball.”

There are signs of recovery on and off the pitch from the scandal that rocked the game, but there remain unanswered questions

Andrew McGlashan23-Mar-20194:42

Smith and Warner’s year in cricket wilderness

The build-up

Australia arrived in South Africa on the back of a 4-0 Ashes victory, but there were already questions about their confrontational style of play and the manner in which the game was being run off the field. Not unexpectedly, given the history between the two teams, it was a heated series from the outset: David Warner exploded when running out AB de Villiers; Nathan Lyon was fined for dropping the ball near de Villiers; Warner and Quinton de Kock nearly came to blows in the Durban stairwell; Kagiso Rabada touched Steven Smith’s shoulder, was banned, then had the ban overturned. At the end of all that, the series was level at 1-1 as the teams arrived in Cape Town.

The incident

On the third day at Newlands, with the series on a knife-edge, Australia conceded a lead of 56. Not defining, but it left them needing early inroads. They managed one, when Dean Elgar fell to Pat Cummins, before South Africa steadily built on their lead through Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla and de Villiers.Cameron Bancroft cuts a sombre figure•Gallo Images/Getty Images

The first sight that something significant was developing came at the end of the 43rd over when the umpires, Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong, came together. This is how ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary recorded the moment:

Tea came five overs later, by which time the TV footage was becoming ever clearer with Australia’s 12th man, Peter Handscomb, delivering a message to Bancroft that his attempts to stuff the object (later proved to be sandpaper) down his pants had been broadcast on the big screen.

Cameron Bancroft shows a black piece of cloth to the umpires•Gallo Images/Stringer

The play during the final session of the day became almost an afterthought as TV pictures were scrutinised and Australia’s dressing room knew they had been sprung. When bad light brought an early close, the controversy continued to escalate as Bancroft and Smith fronted the media. The truth was not forthcoming to begin with, though.Bancroft said he had used tape on the ball. “I saw an opportunity to use some tape, get some granules from the rough patches on the wickets and change the condition, it didn’t work, the umpires didn’t change the ball. I was sighted on the screen and that resulted in me shoving it down my trousers.”Smith admitted he had seen the plans being hatched earlier in the day but had done nothing about it. “I won’t consider stepping down,” he said. “I still think I am the right person for the job.”

The aftermath

Australia had largely been asleep during the unfolding chaos and when the country – and the cricket board – awoke, the situation had developed, and escalated, rapidly.

• Smith and Warner were stood down by CA as captain and vice-captain
• Tim Paine took over as captain for the remainder of the Newlands Test and the next one in Johannesburg
• Smith was banned for one Test by ICC, Bancroft fined 75% of his match fee
• Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had his say

Australia subsided to a 322-run defeat on the fourth day in Cape Town.Steven Smith gave an emotional press conference on returning to Australia from South Africa•AFP

The fallout

CA’s investigation was launched and James Sutherland, the CEO, flew to South Africa. Four days after the initial incident, it was confirmed that sandpaper had been used on the ball. Smith and Warner were handed one-year bans and Bancroft a nine-month suspension. Warner, who emerged as the ringleader in the plan, was barred from any leadership role for the remainder of his career and Smith for a further 12 months after the completion of his ban.Smith, Warner and Bancroft flew home, each giving emotional press conferences on their return to Australia. Smith and Warner lost their IPL deals for the upcoming season and Bancroft was dumped by Somerset. Darren Lehmann, who denied knowing anything about the plans and had said he would stay on, soon stood down as coach. Australia were thrashed in the final Test in Johannesburg.After suggestions that the severity of the bans would be challenged, the trio accepted their sanctions and began their time away from Australian professional cricket, although they were still eligible for overseas leagues and grade cricket. Smith and Warner would both end up playing in Canada, the Caribbean and Bangladesh plus also facing each other in a grade game, before undergoing elbow surgeries.Paine took on the captaincy full time, initially with the one-day side when they toured England and then with the Test team – handing over the one-day role to Aaron Finch. Justin Langer was named the new coach.The events in Cape Town led to a full cultural review of Australian cricket, with hard-hitting outcomes that exposed a toxic environment and win-at-all-costs mentality, leading to multiple resignations and sackings at board and management level:

• Sutherland stood down after 17 years as CEO (although it was said to be not related to the ball-tampering incident)
• David Peever quit as chairman after initially trying to cling on
• Mark Taylor resigned from the board
• Pat Howard left early as high performance chief

Steven Smith and David Warner shake hands at the end of a club match•Getty Images

The present

The bans for Smith and Warner expire on March 29 – they recently met with the Australia squad – and they are expected to make their international returns at the World Cup. Bancroft returned to playing at the end of December and is pushing his claims for a spot on the Ashes tour. However, questions remain unanswered as to who else knew about the plans and whether tampering had happened before despite repeated denials.On the field, Australia are emerging from a tough run of results since the scandal with a notable comeback against India in the recent one-day series. Off the field, there have been a significant number of new appointments, headed by new chief executive Kevin Roberts, as the board tries to rebuild its image. The next 12 months will give a clearer indication of whether there remains significant long-term damage from the last 12 months.

Avon and Somerset Police have reissued their appeal for two witnesses to come forward in the wake of the incident in Bristol last month that led to Ben Stokes’ arrest

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-20171:20

Stokes promises to give his story

Avon and Somerset Police have reissued their appeal for two witnesses to come forward in the wake of the incident in Bristol last month that led to Ben Stokes’ arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.Stokes, 26, was last week withdrawn from England’s Ashes squad pending further police investigation into the events that took place outside Mbargo nightclub in the Clifton area of Bristol in the early hours of September 25.Video footage, released by The Sun, purported to show Stokes throwing punches at two men, one of whom appeared to be armed with a bottle. The kit supplier New Balance has since withdrawn its sponsorship of the player, which was believed to be worth approximately £200,000 per year.Stokes’ England team-mate, Alex Hales, who was present at the time of the incident, has also been made unavailable for selection by the ECB, although his lawyer last week said he would be “surprised” if he faced further action.Stokes last week issued a statement, through his agent Neil Fairbrother, in which he promised to give a full explanation of his actions “when the time is right”.It is understood Stokes has claimed, both to the police and to the ECB in their internal investigation, that he was coming to the aid of two men who had been subjected to homophobic abuse prior to the incident.And now, following a previous appeal on September 28 for two key witnesses to come forward, Somerset and Avon Police have reiterated their appeal in a follow-up post on their Twitter feed.The two men in question were seen leaving the nightclub at 2.19am, according to the police statement, and were walking in the direction of Queens Road with two other men.”One of the men is described as white, of slim build, 5ft 9in tall and aged in his early 20s. He had short dark brown hair, was clean shaven and wore a white T-shirt with a sleeveless jumper, jeans and trainers,” the statement continued.”The second man is also white, 5ft 9in tall and aged in his early 20s but is of a slightly larger build. He had short light brown hair, was also clean shaven and wore a long-sleeved round neck T-shirt, dark/black skinny jeans and trainers.”

Mason Crane marked his maiden England Test call-up with three wickets as Hampshire closed the gap on Glamorgan at the top of the NatWest T20 Blast South Group

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2017Hampshire 119 for 2 beat Glamorgan 118 for 6 by eight wicketsMason Crane marked his maiden England Test call-up with three wickets as Hampshire closed the gap on Glamorgan at the top of the NatWest T20 Blast South Group.Legspinner Crane was picked for the Test squad to face the West Indies later this month before leaving Glamorgan in a twist. James Vince then completed the thrashing with his 21st T20 fifty to ease Hampshire to an eight-wicket victory.Glamorgan won the toss and chose to bat on a slow pitch which had seen the Western Storm struggled to 70 in their Kia Super League defeat to Southern Vipers earlier in the day.Liam Dawson put aside his disappointment of failing to return to the England fold by bowling Aneurin Donald third ball of the match. And the left-arm spinner bagged the huge wicket of danger man Colin Ingram, who had smacked Gareth Berg over the fence, in the following over as Chris Wood held on at long-on.The visitors were struggling as they only reached 34 in the Powerplay and it was only going to get worse as Crane then came into the attack and proved why he has been called upon by the England selectors.The 20-year-old showed off his incredible googly to bowl opener Nicholas Selman to further pin Glamorgan.Crane then dragged Chris Cooke down the track to sky a top-edge to Gareth Berg at cover before snatching a third scalp a ball later on his dream day by having former South Africa Test star Jacques Rudolph stumped.The home grown leg-spinner ending with figures of 3 for 21, to boast a combined analysis of 5 for 36 with spin twin Dawson. Another Hampshire academy graduate, keeper Calvin Dickinson, again impressed with his quick hands on debut to stump Craig Meschede off the wily Shahid Afridi – leaving the visitors 65 for 6.Pakistan legend Afridi chalked up returns of 1 for 16 – although a dropped caught-and-bowled tainted his evening slightly.The Welsh side were heading for a sub-100 total before Andrew Salter crashed his highest T20 score of 37 – which included a huge six over long on – to help his side score 16 from the final over and set Hampshire 119 to win.Isle of Wight-raised Dickinson opened on his first professional appearance but departed in the first over as he was lbw to Ingram, while attempting a hoicked sweep.But from there Vince and Tom Alsop looked in fantastic nick pummelling the ball to all angles of the Ageas Bowl in a 68-run stand for the second wicket.Alsop in particular punched back-to-back powerful on-drives straight down the track.But after reaching 28 he picked out Marchant de Lange off Ingram on the long-on boundary to end an entertaining knock.At the other end, skipper Vince was caressing the ball through holes in the field with pure guile and appeared unstoppable as he reached a 32-ball fifty – eventually reaching an unbeaten 60.At the half way point Hampshire only required 26 – and they reached the target with 37 balls to spare to go second and within a point of Glamorgan.

David Willey, the left-arm seamer, has been ruled out of England’s ODI series against Pakistan after suffering a hand injury on T20 Blast Finals Day

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2016David Willey, the left-arm seamer, has been taken out of England’s squad for the ODI series against Pakistan after suffering a hand injury on T20 Blast Finals Day. He will be replaced by Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball, but Willey still hopes to play a part at some stage.*Willey was struck by a fierce return drive from Mark Stoneman in his second over of the semi-final against Durham. Although he completed his four overs, and then opened the batting, he was clearly in significant pain.An X-ray on Sunday “has not excluded a significant injury” an ECB statement said and he will undergo a further scan on Monday as well as being assessed by a consultant with the statement adding Willey had been “withdrawn from England’s ODI squad until a clear diagnosis has been established.”Willey later tweeted: “Not actually ruled out of this series yet, waiting for diagnosis on hand. Hopefully just a bruise!”Willey has become a central figure in England’s limited-overs team, making 18 ODI appearances and 11 in T20Is since making his international debut in May last year. He has 29 ODI wickets at 27.82 and has often provided early breakthroughs with his new-ball swing. In his most recent ODI, against Sri Lanka in Cardiff, he took a career-best 4 for 34.Ball, meanwhile, earns his first call-up to the one-day side having made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s last month.The England squad meet up in Southampton on Monday ahead of the opening match of the series at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.*20.30BST, August 21: This story was updated with David Willey’s comment

Misbah-ul-Haq’s team has another chance to live up to expectations, and he was clear about what they need to do

Firdose Moonda in Centurion21-Feb-2013Exactly a month ago, Misbah-ul-Haq addressed the South African media for the first time. There were a few rays of sunshine in his voice. He made eye contact with the home journalists, and appeared genuinely convinced that his side could achieve something special.Two Tests matches have passed since then. Pakistan have lost both, and the little sense of humour Misbah had, has gone with it. At his pre-match press conference, ahead of the Centurion Test, he spoke in ice blocks. His eyes were fixed on a point in the distance, and his tone defeated.The reason for the turnaround is obvious, but the seriousness of it is not. This is not his first series loss. He was in charge when they were beaten by Sri Lanka, although he did not play the match they were beaten in because he was suspended for a slow over-rate.But this is Pakistan’s second series loss in succession, and it is the most number of consecutive Test defeats that Misbah has led his side in. There is no shame in losing to the No.1 ranked Test team, and there is even less in going down to them in their own conditions, which are also widely acknowledged as the most difficult to bat in.That Misbah is so unhappy illustrates the disappointment that comes when expectations aren’t met. His team has another chance to live up to those expectations, and he was clear about what they need to do. “We need to improve our batting. We need some consistency,” Misbah said. “It’s not about one innings in Test cricket. You have to post big totals in every innings.”Pakistan’s biggest challenge is facing the new ball, and that may not ease on a seamer’s pitch in Centurion. With the quick turnaround between Tests, there has not been much time to work on that skill, and Misbah was resigned in his assessment of how they will front up to it this time. “Everybody is trying and working hard to cope with the new ball, especially in the first 10 overs. We can only hope they will get better.”Perhaps it’s something that can be shelved as a real concern because it is unlikely to trouble Pakistan until they tour South Africa again. Misbah noted that it is the only place his team have struggled this much to adapt. “These pitches have more pace and bounce whereas all over the world wickets are getting slower. Even in Australia nowadays. So it’s a matter of spending time and playing more cricket here. Lack of experience and lack of playing Test cricket is why we collapsed in the other matches. Once you play on a regular basis, you get better and better.”But the reverse applies as well. Pakistan’s bowling attack may not enjoy conditions elsewhere as much as they have in South Africa. With an attack that is as promising as it is potent, Graeme Smith believes Misbah has reason to be a little cheerful. “They are a much better team than what the results showed, especially because their bowling attack is really good,” Smith said. “With the seamers and Saeed Ajmal, it can be quite challenging.”For that reason, Smith is looking at the Centurion Test as a way for South Africa’s batsman to spend more time sizing up the Pakistan pack, before the return leg of the tour in October. Misbah is not even thinking that far. He only wants a positive result in this match so that he can take something out of the series, something that he can look back on with some satisfaction.”You have to get teams out twice, not get them out once, take an advantage and then let it slip. Everybody knows the importance of every game, and every team wants to win each game. It’s not about [winning] series all the the games.” Compartmentalising the Centurion Test is the best way for Pakistan to defrost the chill from Misbah’s voice.

Robert Chance, the Texas lawyer hired to oversee the compliance review for all of the USA Cricket Association’s member leagues, has requested that the date of the regional elections be extended by one more week

Peter Della Penna18-Nov-2011Robert Chance, the Texas lawyer hired to oversee the compliance review for all of the USA Cricket Association’s member leagues, has requested that the date of the regional elections be extended by one more week. In a memo to the USACA board, Chance says he has not been able to properly finish his assessment of which leagues are authentic and eligible due to the leagues’ “systemic failure to provide all of the requested information”.USACA announced last month that regional elections were due to be concluded by November 19. That deadline was then extended by USACA to November 22 after USACA issued a notice last week stating that leagues in the North East area were “affected by the recent weather conditions”. A rare October snowstorm came through New York and New Jersey at the end of the month and caused considerable damage.According to Chance’s memo, six leagues did not submit any information whatsoever. He also wrote that “very few have provided tax returns or documentation of non-profit status”. The failure of many leagues to provide the kind of documentation that Chance is seeking could put an end to the practice of bogus leagues popping up across the USACA landscape, something which many observers feel has been a major problem in the past. Since each league gets a vote in the USACA elections, eliminating such leagues may drastically affect how the next election will play out.Nominations for the national election were supposed to begin after the completion of the regional election process. The national election is supposed to be completed one month after the conclusion of regional elections with the national election results announced on December 21. It is unclear if the national election will now be pushed back to accommodate for a delay in the regional election process.The USACA national elections were due to be held in March according to the USACA constitution, but in that same month it was announced that national elections would be held on October 15. That date passed, after which USACA announced the new December deadline.

Chennai Super Kings can expect a tougher encounter against Wayamba

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya14-Sep-2010

Match facts

Wednesday, September 14
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)
Mahela Jayawardene will want to make up for his duck in Wayamba’s opening game against Warriors•Manoj Ridimahaliyadda

Big Picture

There were a couple of surprises in the first phase of the Champions League Twenty20, but Chennai Super Kings emerged with their reputation unblemished after a clinical victory over Central Districts in Durban. Chennai’s opponents for Wednesday’s clash in Centurion, Wayamba, have been quite understated in the build-up to the tournament but promise to present a stronger challenge to the IPL champions. They were beaten by Warriors in their opening game but not before overcoming a horrid start with the bat and creating several chances in the field. Some of their experienced crew, including Mahela Jayawardene and Farveez Maharoof, however, failed to perform, and they’ll be the focus in their attempt to stay in the hunt in this competition.Chennai’s ruthlessness with the ball, on show against Central Districts, will be hard to replicate. Muttiah Muralitharan and R Ashwin shared four wickets in miserly spells. But how they cope in this tournament against a side more accustomed to handling such variations remains to be seen. For Wayamba, the worry remains their pace attack comprising Maharoof, Chanaka Welegedera and Thisara Perera; they conceded 82 in 8.2 overs between them, a performance that does not augur well for a contest against a power-packed batting line-up.

Team news

Wayamba have pace allrounders Isuru Udana and Shalika Karunanayake in their squad and they could feature in the team’s calculations should they choose to replace any of their seamers. Legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi had an off day against the Warriors, conceding 25 in two overs, and could prompt the team to revisit its pre-match plans.Wayamba (possible): 1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Jeevantha Kulatunga, 3 Mahela Udawatte, 4 Jehan Mubarak (capt), 5 Kushal Perera (wk), 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Farveez Maharoof,, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Shalika Karunanayake, 10 Isuru Udana, 11 Ajantha Mendis.Given their comprehensive win against Central Districts, Chennai could go in with the same XI.Chennai (possible): 1 M Vijay, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 6 S Anirudha, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Doug Bollinger, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 L Balaji.

Watch out for…

The success of Doug Bollinger has been one to savour for Chennai.
He was one of their star performers during their IPL triumph with 17 wickets in eight games at 17.25 and is a huge asset with his persistence and combativeness with the new ball. He picked up 2 for 10 in his team’s tournament opener and will target the Wayamba top order with some of its bigger names searching for form after the first game.Mahela Jayawardene fell for a second-ball duck against the Warriors, a rarity in his stint for Wayamba as well as Sri Lanka in the opening slot. He remains best-equipped to handle Chennai’s pace arsenal up front as well as their spin threat. Watch out for his face-off, if we come to that, against the other half of one of the most successful bowler-fielder combinations in cricket.

Key contests

Bat v Spin: Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath conceded just 43 in eight overs against the Warriors while Murali and Ashwin tasted success in Chennai’s opening game. Wayamba will be relying heavily on their slow bowlers given the lackluster show their seamers put forward against the Warriors. But against a bunch of batsmen with a penchant for finding the ropes, the ability of Mendis and Herath to contain the scoring faces a stern test.

Stats and trivia

Jeevantha Kulatunga is Wayamba’s highest run-getter in Twenty20 cricket with
686 in 23 games at 40.35. His average is the best in the team followed by Mahela Jayawardene with 31.28. Thisara Perera is the highest wicket-taker with 28 in 23 games at 17.84. Isuru Udana averages 14.12 for his 25 wickets in 15 games.Albie Morkel will be playing his 129th Twenty20 game on Wednesday, keeping him tied with Victoria captain David Hussey for the most Twenty20 matches played.

Quotes

“Most of our boys know how to handle him”
Jeevantha Kulatunga backs the Wayamba batsmen against Murali.

Kiran Carlson, Chris Cooke add fifties as Cheltenham sees 432 runs, five wickets in the day

ECB Reporters NetworkBilly Root fell two short of a century as Glamorgan blitzed their way to maximum batting points on the second day of the LV= County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.Kiran Carlson (76), Root (98) and Chris Cooke (86 not out) smacked 41 fours and two sixes between them to help the visitors extend their first innings from an overnight 152 for 2 to 450 for 6 declared on the fast-scoring College Ground.Paul van Meekeren was the pick of a Gloucestershire attack, who found it hard to extract any help from the true batting surface. The Dutch seamer’s figures of 3 for 92 from 21 overs were reward for sustaining impressive pace on his first Championship appearance for the hosts.By the close, Gloucestershire had moved to 134 for 1 in their second innings, Chris Dent leading the way with 61 not out. With bad weather forecast tomorrow, the match already seems to be heading for a high-scoring draw.The day began well for the home side. With only a run added to the Glamorgan total, Colin Ingram edged the fourth ball of van Meekeren’s opening over to first slip where Ben Charlesworth took a waist-high catch.The lively van Meekeren struck again in the seventh over of the morning, squeezing a delivery through Sam Northeast’s defence to bowl him for 28. At 183 for 4, Glamorgan were in danger of undoing their first-day efforts with the bat.But Root had other ideas, getting off the mark with a sumptuous square driven four off van Meekeren. Soon Carlson was square cutting the same bowler for four before bringing the 200 up with a boundary through extra cover off Dom Goodman.It took the pair just 17 overs to complete a century stand, Carlson reaching a run-a-ball fifty with a lofted shot that almost saw him caught at mid-on off Josh Shaw. The partnership was worth 113 when he pulled van Meekeren to square leg where Dent took a smart low catch.Root also reached an entertaining half-century, off 63 balls, before lunch, which was taken at 311 for 5. Glamorgan had added 159 runs a session prolonged by ten minutes to help make up for overs lost to rain on day one.Cooke had also begun to enjoy himself on a pitch offering consistent bounce and a quick outfield providing full value for shots. He and Root put together a 50-stand in 69 balls before the second new ball was taken at 361 for five.On 29, Cooke appeared to survive a chance to Ollie Price at second slip off Tom Price, but it was a rare moment of alarm as he and Root progressed their partnership into three figures with a succession of well-timed strokes.Root had struck 14 fours and a six during a fluent innings when, on the verge of what would have been his eighth first-class ton, he edged left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar to Ollie Price at slip.Cooke had moved imperiously to fifty off 73 balls and was still there when a fifth batting point was secured, having taken his boundary count to 15 fours and a six. The declaration came immediately and by tea Gloucestershire had replied with 15 for no wicket.The final session saw runs continue to flow, this time for the home side. Dent and Charlesworth had put together an opening stand of 39 when the latter was bowled off an inside edge by leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson for 15.It was a first and last success of the day for the Glamorgan bowlers as Dent moved to a comfortable half-century off 113 balls, with seven fours, finding an equally assured partner in Ollie Price, who was unbeaten on 49 at stumps, having hit eight elegant boundaries.A decent sized Festival crowd, including a host of past players from around the counties attending a Professional Cricketers’ Association lunch, had witnessed 432 runs and only five wickets in the extended day’s play.