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CWI president admits the players and fans will have several “sleepless nights” following the 3-0 defeat to Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2025Cricket West Indies (CWI) has extended invitations to three former players – Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards – to take part in an emergency meeting following West Indies’ 3-0 series loss at home to Australia. The West Indies greats will join Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Desmond Haynes and Ian Bradshaw on the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee to review the team’s “deeply disappointing” performances over the past few weeks.West Indies folded quickly in the first two Tests too, but they saved the biggest ignominy for the very last, folding for 27 in 14.3 overs in Kingston. The total was just one run better than New Zealand’s Test-record low of 26 in 1955 but it was 20 runs short of West Indies’ previous worst total of 47. It was the first time in Test history a team recorded seven ducks in an innings and the six runs made collectively by West Indies’ top-six batters was the lowest in any innings in Test history.Related

• After 27 all out, West Indies come face to face with deepening Test crisis

• Ten days in the Caribbean: WI batters hit new lows, questions remain around Australia's top three

• 'Heartbreaking' and 'embarrassing' – Chase laments West Indies batting woes

• Starc six-for, Boland hat-trick consign West Indies to 27 all-out and 0-3 defeat

• Stats – WI post second-lowest Test total; Starc takes five in 15 balls

Dr Kishore Shallow, the president of CWI, said that the entire West Indies cricket community will have several “sleepless nights” following the losses, but called for patience as they look to “rebuild and start investing in the next generation”.”Like every West Indian cricket fan, I felt the pain of our recent Test defeat to Australia,” he said. “There will be some sleepless nights ahead for many of us, including the players, who I know feel this loss just as heavily. But while disappointment is natural, we must not allow this moment to define our journey. We are in a rebuilding phase, steadily investing in the next generation, and reigniting the spirit that has long made West Indies cricket a force in the world.”Progress is rarely straightforward. It takes time, perseverance, and belief, especially in our most difficult moments. The road ahead will test us, but I have faith in the talent and commitment of our players when they apply themselves. We have already seen encouraging signs, particularly with the ball. Our batters are keen, but now must be even more deliberate as they work to improve.”Shallow said the involvement of Lara, Richards and Lloyd wasn’t purely “ceremonial”, and that they would be actively involved in West Indies’ “next phase of cricket development”.”These are men who helped define our golden eras, and their perspectives will be invaluable. We intend for this gathering to result in tangible, actionable recommendations.”Consistent with my message over the last weeks, this is a moment that calls for collaboration, not division. We need everyone on board: fans, players, coaches, legends, and administrators, if we are to truly move forward. There is much work to be done. But we must do it with purpose, and we must do it together.”West Indies will next take on Australia in a five-match T20I series starting July 21, before hosting Pakistan for a white-ball series in August.

Heat ended their 11-year title drought to earn redemption with an upset victory over Sixers

Tristan Lavalette24-Jan-2024In-form opener Josh Brown provided the spark before fast bowler Spencer Johnson claimed four wickets as Brisbane Heat earned redemption with an upset victory over Sydney Sixers to capture their second BBL title.Defying a 43,153 crowd at the SCG, where Sixers had won 12 of their last 14 matches, Heat ended their 11-year title drought in dominant fashion.Heat made an imposing 166 for 8 with Brown backing up from his record century against Adelaide Strikers in the Challenger by blasting 53 off 38 balls on a tricky surface. He threatened another outrageous knock before falling in veteran spinner Steve O’Keefe’s last over of his professional career.Heat had been unable to defend 175 in last season’s epic final against Perth Scorchers, but their attack was unstoppable with Johnson finishing with 4 for 26 in the best figures recorded in a BBL final. It was sweet redemption for Heat, who all season have been spurred by the heartbreaking loss to Scorchers. They were the form team through the season and finished on top of the ladder before exacting revenge over Sixers, who had easily won the Qualifier on the Gold Coast.It was a bitter disappointment for powerhouse Sixers, who were hoping to provide O’Keefe with a fairy-tale finish. But their hot late-season form came to a screeching halt as they fell well short of winning a fourth title.After four straight victories, Sixers had entered as favourites and they surprisingly elected to bowl given their expertise at defending on the slow and low SCG surface. But batting proved difficult in overcast and humid conditions with Heat restricted to just 16 runs in the powerplay.Seamer Sean Abbott, named in Australia’s white-ball squads against West Indies, produced menacing late swing and nicked off elevated opener Jimmy Peirson in the first over.All eyes were on Brown, who became the talk of the cricket world after his extraordinary 140 off 57 balls against Adelaide Strikers in the Challenger. It was the third-highest score in BBL history marked by a record 12 sixes. But he was forced to be watchful against the seaming new ball and scored just three runs off his first 10 deliveries.Josh Brown made 53 off 38•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

It was only a matter of time before Brown went for broke and just before the powerplay ended he was fortunate when Ben Dwarshuis missed a tough chance diving forward at deep square. Brown made them pay by smashing the first ball after the powerplay for six and he combined well with close mate and skipper Nathan McSweeney, who pounced on uncharacteristically wayward Sixers bowlingBrown took a liking to Hayden Kerr’s modest pace and clubbed him for consecutive sixes before bringing up his half-century with a gorgeous cover drive. Heat moved into a strong position at 90 for 1 before the reliable Dwarshuis had McSweeney hitting to deep fine leg then O’Keefe trapped Brown lbw in a decision overturned on review.O’Keefe received a standing ovation from the Sixers’ crowd after finishing his typically miserly spell as Heat slowed down considerably after Brown’s dismissal.But they reignited with Max Bryant and Matt Renshaw clubbing 31 runs in the power surge across the 17th and 18th overs as Heat finished strongly. Heat’s momentum continued with the ball when spearhead Michael Neser had opener Daniel Hughes caught at slip in the first over.Johnson was expensive before bowling Jack Edwards off the inside edge on the last ball of the powerplay. Sixers slowed to a crawl as Johnson returned in the ninth over to dismiss opener Josh Phillipe as the home team slumped to 56 for 3.Heat remained wary with memories of last year’s final still fresh with Scorchers 54 for 3 before storming home. But Heat were not to be denied with recalled legspinner Mitchell Swepson producing a fizzing legbreak that befuddled Jordan Silk and he was superbly stumped by Peirson.Sixers’ faint hopes rested with skipper Moises Henriques, who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week but played amid protocols. He had produced remarkable clutch batting just eight days ago against Scorchers in Perth, but his dismissal on the third ball of the power surge effectively ended the contest.It wasn’t long before Heat celebrated with gusto to banish the ghosts of Optus Stadium.

England captain has not played a County Championship game since 2018

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2022Jos Buttler, England’s white-ball captain, will remain a Lancashire player at least until the end of the 2025 season after signing a three-year extension to his contract.Buttler, 32, is currently in Australia preparing for England’s T20 World Cup campaign, and while his new deal extends a relationship with Lancashire that began when he joined the club from Somerset in 2013, it is unlikely that the club will see much of him in the foreseeable future.His ECB central contract restricts his availability during the English season, as does his marquee status as one of the most sought-after overseas batters in the IPL – he was last season’s MVP and Orange Cap winner after scoring 863 runs in 17 matches, including four centuries – and his role as Manchester Originals’ captain in the Hundred.Buttler played a solitary T20 Blast match for Lancashire in the 2022 season, making 42 from 29 balls against Worcestershire in July. He has not played a County Championship game since the Roses match in July 2018 and his most recent List A appearance for the county was even longer ago, also against Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford in 2016.Nevertheless, he played a key role in Lancashire’s first T20 Blast title in 2015, with important runs in both the group stage and knock-outs, and said that he looked forward to further appearances when the opportunity arises.”I am really pleased to commit my county cricket future to Lancashire, the club which provided me with an opportunity to achieve my ambitions when I joined from Somerset back in 2013,” Buttler said.”Whilst I have not had the opportunity to come back as much as I would have liked in recent seasons, it is always a privilege to represent the Red Rose and play at Emirates Old Trafford in front of our Members and supporters.”I will always look to help the club wherever I can and hopefully there are plenty of opportunities for me to able to do so during the next three seasons.”Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance added: “We are delighted that Jos has signed a new three-year contract with Lancashire Cricket.”We are all aware of the limitations within the schedule for a cricketer in demand such as Jos, however, as England men’s white-ball captain and a World Cup winner, the value of the experiences that Jos, when available, can impart into our dressing room cannot be underestimated.”Jos is one of the most feared white-ball batters in world cricket and to have the option to include him in our side, when the schedules allow, is something which can only make us stronger and benefit our younger players to learn from such an elite performer.”

All squads will be revealed at the CPL draft that will take place on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2021Chris Gayle has returned to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for CPL 2021. The 41-year old adds more experience and firepower to a Patriots side that had already secured trades for Dwayne Bravo and Sherfane Rutherford from Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors respectively.Gayle was supposed to turn out for the St Lucia Zouks in CPL 2020 after an acrimonious fallout with the Jamaica Tallawahs, but he eventually opted out of last season for personal reasons.Notably, Gayle had captained the Patriots to their first final in 2017, when they lost to the Knight Riders at the Brian Lara Stadium.Related

• CPL 2021 schedule tweaked to avoid clash with remainder of IPL season

• Shakib Al Hasan not to get NOC to play remainder of IPL 2021

• Andre Russell retained by Jamaica Tallawahs

• Mohammad Amir to play for Tridents

• CPL 2021 to be played entirely in St Kitts

Faf du Plessis, too, will return to the CPL after being snapped up by the Zouks. He had been part of the Patriots in CPL 2016, when he scored 179 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of less than 100. This season, however, he brings with him strong form, having rattled up 320 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 145.45 for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021, which was indefinitely suspended earlier this month after after a number of players and staff tested positive for Covid-19 amid a second wave of the pandemic in India.Meanwhile, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has re-signed with the Jamaica Tallawahs for the forthcoming season. He had been part of the franchise in 2016 and 2017 before moving to the Barbados Tridents in 2019 and winning the title with them.All squads will be revealed at the CPL draft that will take place on Friday. The tournament is scheduled to begin on August 28, with the final on September 19. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all games will be held in St Kitts & Nevis.

Kohli has indicated that India will be looking to tinker with their XI with the series already decided in their favour

The Preview by Ankur Dhawan30-Jan-20206:10

Bangar: Jadeja has worked well on varying his pace

Big Picture

Are New Zealand the new South Africa? Luck has deserted them in close finishes and Super Overs and, much like big-ticket semi-finals for South Africa, such games are becoming a portent of national heartbreak for New Zealand. They have lost tie-breakers with alarming consistency: three across formats in the last seven months, and six out of seven overall.Although, as Kane Williamson admitted later, the match probably shouldn’t have gone into the Super Over at all.On the upside for New Zealand, they played their best game of the series, even outplayed India for most part. On the downside, they still lost. It goes to show the narrow margin for botch-ups in T20s compared to the longer formats. It also goes to show the gulf between the two sides.India always had the better hand, even if they didn’t always play their cards right in Hamilton. Eventually, their depth came to the fore as they broke out of jail not just once, but twice, through the efforts of Mohammed Shami and Rohit Sharma. With the series in the bag, experimentation is on the cards starting in Wellington. While India would want to give the likes of Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav some game time, they may equally want to rest someone like Shami who has by far bowled the most number of overs by an Indian quick since the start of the home season in 2019: 192.3 overs, followed by Umesh Yadav who is more than hundred overs behind.For New Zealand, barring the possibility of an odd change, the onus is likely to be on continuing the good work they put in in Hamilton, and trying to get across the line if they get close again.Virat Kohli is pumped after India forced the match to a Super Over•Getty Images

Form guide

New Zealand LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWW

In the spotlight

Mitchell Santner, who played a key role in New Zealand’s World Cup win over India last year, hasn’t had the best series with the ball so far. With just two wickets and an economy rate touching nine, he needs to step up. The one thing in his favour going into the fourth T20I in Wellington is his excellent record at the venue: nine wickets in five matches at an economy rate of under six. He will hope to feed off past success and rediscover his best with New Zealand’s bowling unit struggling to tie down the Indian batsmen.Jasprit Bumrah was miserly as ever•Getty Images

Only four times in 47 innings has Jasprit Bumrah been taken for more than 40 in a T20I, and Hamilton was one of those rare occasions. In addition to the 45 he conceded in four overs of the tied match, he also went for 17 in the Super Over. Most of these runs came from Kane Williamson’s bat, as he cracked the Bumrah code. How Bumrah responds in Wellington will make for compelling viewing, as this match-up gathers momentum ahead of the ODIs and Tests.

Team news

Virat Kohli has already indicated that India will be looking to change things up with the series decided in their favour. The possible changes could include Navdeep Sani coming in for Mohammed Shami and at least one of Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav replacing either Yuzvendra Chahal or Ravindra Jadeja. While there may not be too many changes on the batting front, there’s always a chance that India might tinker with the batting-order to give the likes of Manish Pandey a proper go.India: (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami/Navdeep Saini, 11 Jasprit BumrahFor New Zealand, the one possible change could be the inclusion of seam-bowling allrounder Daryl Mitchell. He could be a near like-for-like replacement for Colin de Grandhomme, who was only available for the first three matches, and had an ordinary series.New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Daryl Mitchell 6 Tim Seifert (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn. 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Hamish Bennett

Pitch and conditions

The team batting first has won four of the last five at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The average score of the team batting first in the last five matches is 178. Pacers have taken more wickets at the venue since January 2018 but spinners have been marginally more economical.A typically blustery but clear day is in the offing, although that’s usually more of a factor at the open Basin Reserve.

Stats and trivia

• Rohit Sharma has played in 99 T20I innings in 107 matches. Only Shoaib Malik, with 105, has played more T20I innings.
• New Zealand have won their last six T20Is at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, a run dating back to 2014
• New Zealand’s eight wins at this venue is their most at any ground in the world

While gate receipts have been lukewarm, the TV numbers spell out hope for Cricket South Africa

Liam Brickhill26-Nov-2018The Mzansi Super League attracted a live television audience in excess of 3.4 million South African viewers during it’s opening weekend that featured four matches. The league is only just starting to gain traction and attract fans to matches as summer sets in, but TV figures suggest the league has already struck up significant interest from viewers watching at home.Iffy weather, a cold snap on the opening weekend and the introduction of new teams perhaps resulted in the tournament failing to attract huge number of fans to the ground. Only around 7000 fans turned up for the first match between Cape Town Blitz and Tshwane Spartans at the 25,000 capacity Newlands, while 4896 were at Wanderers for the game between Jozi Stars and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants. At the same time, the match attracted 16,65,546 unique TV viewers in South Africa alone.An audience analysis carried out independently by Nielsen Sport revealed that a unique TV audience of 34,18,594 viewed the first four matches in the league. The Saturday night fixture between the Jozi Stars and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants drew the biggest audience, with all four matches going beyond the 1.3 million mark.SABC-3, the channel the games have been broadcast on in South Africa, typically attracts around 21 million South African viewers in a month. The top rated show on the channel is the soap opera Isidingo, which has been running for 20 years and attracts around a million viewers per episode, to which MSL’s viewership figures compare favourably.For further comparison, the T20I against Zimbabwe on 12 October attracted 6,07,948 viewers to the channel. Outside of South Africa, a broadcast deal with Sony means that the MSL is also being screened in India on the channels Sony Six and Sony Six HD. CSA also have a deal with UK-based channel FreeSports, which is available in 18 million homes in the UK. FreeSports also aired live coverage of the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League.”This fully justifies our decision to take the SABC on board as our domestic host broadcast partner,” Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Thabang Moroe said . “This is truly a product for the people and has helped us achieve one of our key objectives not just to attract traditional cricket fans but to open up a new market as well.”It is a win-win situation for all our stakeholders whether they be administrators, players, coaches, fans or our commercial partners. The MSL can only go from strength to strength as it will continue to grow while establishing itself alongside various T20 leagues around the world. The most watched sporting event in South African television history was the opening match between South Africa and Mexico during the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, with a combined 10,146,793 viewers watching the match on SABC 1 and SuperSport 3 on the satellite DSTV network.While figures for match attendances are starting to rise, with the game between Cape Town Blitz and Paarl Rocks last weekend close to sold out, the television viewing figures are an even more positive sign for CSA after their initial attempt at a homegrown league – the defunct T20 Global League – failed.

Decision to play taken at SLC’s executive committee meeting in Colombo; Tharanga likely to skip the match

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2017Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday confirmed their decision to send its team to Pakistan for the third T20I in Lahore on October 29. The board deliberated on the issue at its executive committee meeting in Colombo, before coming to the conclusion, which came only two days after Sri Lankan players had expressed strong reluctance to travel to Lahore by signing a letter requesting the match to be moved to a neutral venue.ESPNcricinfo understands Upul Tharanga, Sri Lanka’s limited-overs captain, has pulled out of the match. A squad of 22 will be announced on Tuesday and the list is expected to be pruned to 15 by October 20. It remains to be seen if the selectors will name a full-strength squad or a second-string side as 40 contracted players had signed the letter.”SLC have over the past two months conducted a thorough evaluation with the assistance of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of Pakistan, the PCB and independent Security experts,” an SLC release stated.”The Executive Committee evaluated the reports obtained together with the recommendation of the International Cricket Council – which successfully conducted the Independence Cup tournament in Lahore fielding a World XI Team – and having been fully satisfied with the stringent security measures in place, the SLC ExCo unanimously decided to play the third T20 in Lahore on October 29.”SLC said its president Thilanga Sumathipala will accompany the team to Lahore. The board officials had also stated earlier that Sri Lanka’s players had been promised the same level of security afforded to the World XI team in September, and that the ICC was also willing to send its match officials to Pakistan.Sri Lanka’s batting coach Hashan Tillakaratne said it was the board’s duty to help Pakistan, who had aided the country during the 1996 World Cup. Following withdrawals by Australia and West Indies at the time due to security concerns, India and Pakistan had sent a combined team to play in Sri Lanka.”SLC has already announced that we will tour Lahore. In 1996, Pakistan helped us by forming the combined India-Pakistan side, and now it is our duty to help them,” Tillakaratne said.The PCB, which successfully hosted three T20Is against a World XI squad last month in Lahore, has been confident of hosting the game despite initial fears. Thisara Perera, currently part of the ODI squad in the UAE, was Sri Lanka’s only representative in those matches.The T20I on October 29 will mark the return of high-profile bilateral cricket back to Pakistan as only Zimbabwe and World XI have played international matches in the country since the Sri Lanka team bus was attacked in Lahore in March 2009.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third One-Day International between England and Pakistan

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan29-Aug-2016

Match facts

August 30, Trent Bridge

Start time 1400 (1300GMT)

Big picture

The results of the opening two matches of the series were rarely in doubt. Whenever England were under a modicum of pressure, for example when Sarfraz Ahmed has been at the crease or at 35 for 2 in the chase at Lord’s, they have had the depth and confidence to overcome Pakistan convincingly.There will have to be a considerable reversal at Trent Bridge if the series is not to be decided after three matches. There is a chasm between the one-day cricket of these two teams far greater than the current rankings of five and nine would suggest. Pakistan can, at least, look at the middle order and see a few chinks of light. Sarfraz has performed superbly, Babar Azam appears to have a lot of time to play his shots and Imad Wasim is a versatile cricketer.For England, they have rarely had it so good in the one-day game. That Jonny Bairstow can’t find a starting spot highlights their abundance of options. Eoin Morgan has shown signs of regaining his form, which would remove the only real potential for a distraction, while there are other reserves eagerly waiting for their chance.However, they will want to be ruthless. The fielding has been a weak point in the opening two matches – notwithstanding Liam Plunkett’s fantastic grab at Lord’s – and England continue to be poor at hitting the stumps, despite having an urge to throw at them at any opportunity.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWW

Pakistan LLWLL

In the spotlight

Do England stick or twist with Alex Hales? It has been a difficult couple of weeks for the opener who endured his worst match in an England shirt in the final Test at The Oval and has failed twice at the start of this series. Trevor Bayliss’ mantra is to give a player “one game too many than too few” but that, arguably, does not carry as much weight in this scenario because it is well known what Hales can do in one-day cricket. He looks a cricketer with a bit of scrambled mind at the moment.Mickey Arthur has put his entire squad on notice, but made particular reference to those “over 30”. One of those, Mohammad Hafeez, is now out of the series so the spotlight turns to another in Shoaib Malik. He has twice made starts in this series without kicking on, although his numbers since his post-World Cup recall – 741 runs at 61.75 albeit boosted considerably by six matches against Zimbabwe – may buy him a little more time. His bowling, too, helps balance the side although he only sent down two overs at Lord’s.

Team news

Ben Stokes is available to bowl again after his calf injury which gives Morgan another frontline pace option. That suggests both spinners will keep their spots although Morgan is keen on a left-arm seamer so David Willey, who bowled two spells in the nets, will come into the equation. Hales’ form is a worry, but England’s winning form may work in his favour.England (probable) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Mark WoodPakistan could juggle their pack again, but it’s debatable what difference it will make. Mohammad Irfan, the giant left-arm paceman, has replaced Hafeez in the squad.Pakistan (possible) 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Azhar Ali (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

The forecast is for a warm, dry day so the decision at the toss will come down to whether the captain wants to chase or defend under lights. Trent Bridge is one of the most favourable grounds in England for swing bowling although recent matches have produced some astonishing batting: earlier this season England fought back for a tie against Sri Lanka and last year they chased down 350 against New Zealand with six overs to spare.

Stats and trivia

• A few England batsmen are approaching milestones: Jason Roy needs 61 runs for 1000, Jos Buttler needs 18 for 2000 and Joe Root 107 for 3000
• Root has four consecutive ODI half-centuries: the best run for England is five by Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart, Jonathan Trott and Alex Hales.
• Yasir Shah is struggling to make an impact in one-day cricket: in four matches against England he has taken 2 for 227 at an economy rate of 5.89
• The two sides have met six times at Trent Bridge with the head-to-head standing at 3-3.

Quotes

“We need to improve, we feel we need to get a bit better, we all agree on that, and we’re still trying to take it up a notch.”
“Obviously we’re No. 9 in the world. But with the talent we’ve got, I don’t think it’s a No. 9 team. We have to show that in big matches like tomorrow. I believe we can come back.”

England are confident that Moeen Ali will be fit to play in the second Investec Ashes Test despite the spinning allrounder suffering a side strain

George Dobell15-Jul-2015England are confident that Moeen Ali will be fit to play in the second Investec Ashes Test despite the spinning allrounder suffering a side strain*. Moeen had a scan on the injury, which did not reveal a tear, and was able to bowl in the nets on Wednesday.Provided he does not suffer a reaction overnight, he will take his place in an unchanged XI at Lord’s. England have Adil Rashid in their 13-man squad but he has sustained a finger problem, leaving Alastair Cook to hope that Moeen can make it through five days. No back-up spinner has been called upon.Moeen did not take part in net practice on Tuesday but batted and bowled on Wednesday, with a final assessment on his fitness to be made in the morning. At the captain’s press conference, Cook said he expected Moeen to be okay and that his lack of training was “precautionary”.Rashid, the Yorkshire legspinner who is uncapped at Test level, would have been in line to replace an unfit Moeen but he has also picked up an injury and did not bowl in the nets on Wednesday. Rashid had been told to be ready to play by the England management but reported a minor abrasion to his spinning finger that he felt could compromise his performance.The uncertainty threatens to disrupt England’s attempts to take a grip on the series. Moeen played a key role in England going 1-0 up in Cardiff, scoring 77 in the first innings and following up with five wickets in the match. He has become England’s No. 1 spinner since the retirement of Graeme Swann, despite some attempts to paint him as a “part-time” bowler.Cook said a decision would be made on Thursday morning but he was hopeful that Moeen would be passed fit. Moeen missed England’s first Test in the West Indies earlier in the year because of a side strain and Cook said the medical staff were monitoring him closely with the quick turnaround from Cardiff to Lord’s.”He felt his side a tiny bit after the last game and, with his previous history, the medical team were wrapping him in cotton wool,” he said. “We’ll make a final call tomorrow but it was more precautionary yesterday.””I don’t think it’s the same injury. It’s like always when you’ve got two games back to back, you’re a little bit careful with training. But unless he gets a reaction overnight I expect him to be in our side.”*18.30 BST – This story was updated with new information

A round-up of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy’s Group A matches on December 9, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2012
Scorecard
On a day when Ravindra Jadeja got his first call-up to the Indian Test squad, he extended his purple patch in the Ranji Trophy by troubling Bengal with bat and ball to put Saurashtra in command in Rajkot. He had already top scored with 70 on the first day, and he backed that up with a four-wicket haul to reduce Bengal to 112 for 9. The only Bengal batsman to resist was Manoj Tiwary, who made a battling 55 before being forced to retire hurt due to a muscle pull. Jadeja was not done yet. On a track where pretty much everyone else found it difficult to score, he walked out and slammed an unbeaten 57-ball 67 to increase the lead to 231, with six wickets still in hand. It leaves Bengal needing to score the highest total of the match to win the game.
Scorecard
Rajasthan captain Hrishkesh Kanitkar’s 28th Ranji Trophy century was the cornerstone of the first-innings effort of 294 against Gujarat. It was his second ton in two matches and it left him only behind Ajay Sharma and Wasim Jaffer in the list of most hundreds in the tournament. Gujarat’s left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurve took six wickets to restrict Rajasthan, before Gujarat’s top order provided a solid start to the chase. Smit Patel, who was India’s wicketkeeper when they won the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, and Samit Gohel, who was closing in on his third first-class half-century in three matches, put on 45 for the first wicket. Then, Gohel and Bhargav Merai stayed together till stumps, adding 59.
Scorecard
Madhya Pradesh held the advantage after the second day in Bhubaneshwar, as their bowlers nipped out three early Railways wickets. MP extended their first-innings total to 377 thanks to 22-year-old Rameez Khan’s maiden first-class hundred, and Anand Rajan’s first half-century of the season. The pair put on 94 for the sixth wicket, lifting MP from a slightly troublesome 210 for 5. Sanjay Bangar was the most successful of the Railways bowlers, taking four wickets, but his side will need him to contribute substantially with the bat as well if they are to get within MP’s first-innings total.