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Pakistan huffed and puffed through a chase of 237 but they made it in the end thanks to the composure of their captain

The Report by Danyal Rasool12-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:35

Agarkar: Sarfraz’s calmness crucial in guiding his side

The Champions Trophy might have been damp and lifeless on the English shores this year, but it was on a Welsh detour that it finally roared to life. In the game which had the most riding on it all tournament, Pakistan and Sri Lanka provided a spectacle befitting the magnitude of the occasion, and Pakistan sneaked across the line with a thrilling three-wicket win. But that’s only half the story. The rest centered around how madly the momentum of this game swung as two obviously flawed teams battled tooth and nail.

Pakistan fined for slow over rate

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been fined 20% of his match fee, while his team-mates were fined 10% of their match fees, for maintaining a slow over-rate during the match against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan were found to be one over short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration. A second minor over-rate offence in the tournament could result in a one-match suspension for Sarfraz.
Sarfraz pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction; a formal hearing was not required as a result. The charge was laid by on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Ian Gould.

Qualification to the semis was the prize riding on this game that was a quarter-final in all but name, and it was clear both sides wanted it desperately. Sri Lanka started impressively but a brilliant spell midway from Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan restricted them to 236. Pakistan made the chase look harder than it was but captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Amir were there at the end to see their side home. Though the prospect of facing England on Wednesday will be daunting, it will be the last thing on their minds right now.From the moment Pakistan’s seventh wicket fell – with 75 still to win – two antsy sides were hoping they could do just about enough to pip the other. Sri Lanka were the favourites at that point, but their fielding let them down badly. Thisara Perera dropped a sitter at mid-on in the 39th over. Substitute fielder Seekkuge Prasanna shelled another chance – albeit a more difficult one – in the 41st. And Sarfraz, the reprieved batsman, the last of the specialists, took the game away.Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s great talisman, had created both chances and if this is to be his final ICC tournament, it was a cruel way to go. He watched, helplessly, as his team began to gift overthrows, and little by little, the belief as well to the Pakistan batsmen. By the time a dispirited Malinga was brought back for his final over, the fielding had disintegrated to amateurish level. Eventually, Sarfraz dabbed him over third man for the winning runs, and a shocking last half hour for the Sri Lankans met the end it deserved.Sarfraz Ahmed’s composure helped Pakistan overcome an untimely collapse•Getty Images

Before the nerves got hold of them, Pakistan were cruising. A dropped catch and a run-out opportunity in the first two overs aside, Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali set about their task masterfully.Fakhar, comfortable in his role as the designated aggressor up front, hit three boundaries in the third over against Malinga. He didn’t mind riding his luck at times, an outside edge burst through slips for four while a top edge flew for six, and when he was dismissed – caught at long leg – he had scored 50 off 36 and Pakistan were sitting pretty at 74 for 1 in 11.2 overs.But with this being Pakistan, there was the inevitable feeling they would take the Rolling English Road to victory. Two wickets fell quickly as Babar Azam clipped Nuwan Pradeep straight to short midwicket and Hafeez chipped one to mid-on next over. Opener Azhar Ali was done in by the extra bounce of Suranga Lakmal soon after, edging a sharp catch to first slip. Pakistan were at 110 for 4, and the game was anything but a foregone conclusion.Sri Lanka were quietly climbing into a position of ascendancy, but Pakistan almost appeared not to notice the early signs of danger. It certainly couldn’t be ignored when Shoaib Malik gloved a short ball from Malinga to the keeper. When Imad Wasim fell five balls later, Pakistan were 6 down with 100 runs still to win.Debutant Faheem Ashraf’s short-lived stay at the crease was fraught with danger as the bowlers peppered him with short deliveries, several of which caught his top edge but managed to evade the boundary riders. For all the risks he was taking on strike, he was run-out at the other end, a ricochet off the bowler’s hand finding the stumps before his bat hit the ground.There were no such errors from Pakistan with the ball though. In fact they were so good that Sri Lanka, despite dominating large parts of their innings, were bowled out well below the par score.A sensational four-over burst from Amir and Junaid ripped the heart out of the Sri Lankan middle order as they went from 161 for 3 to 167 for 7. It was superb fast bowling, evoking comparisons with some of the greats of Pakistan cricket and that it came soon after the innings’ second drinks break spoke either to some kind of strategy, or an especially rousing team talk from the captain Sarfraz. Either way, it was match-turning.Sri Lanka were setting up effectively for the final flourish, with Niroshan Dickwella and Angelo Mathews locked in a settled partnership, before Amir dismissed Mathews off the second ball of the 32nd over, the batsman dragging onto his stumps. Junaid followed up next over with a length delivery that seamed teasingly away from newcomer Dhananjaya de Silva and took his outside edge. Sarfraz then pulled off a superb reflex catch to get rid of Dickwella for 73 and Thisara was caught at slip next over. Sri Lanka’s position of strength was decimated in mere minutes.If it appeared that passage of play would be the solitary turning point of the match, Pakistan and Sri Lanka showed that when they take on each other, it is never quite that simple.

A look at Australia’s batsmen and bowlers at each Ashes venue in England over the years

S Rajesh29-Jun-2009Lord’s hasn’t always hosted the first Test of an Ashes series, but the Australians have been understandably miffed about the decision to have Cardiff host the first match this time. Lord’s has traditionally been Australia’s strongest venue in England, and the only ground where they won a Test in that historic series in 2005. Ricky Ponting went as far as to say that England had deliberately switched venues this time to ensure the series doesn’t start at Australia’s stronghold.That’s a debatable point – Lord’s didn’t host the first Test in 2001 either, when the series started at Edgbaston – but what isn’t debatable is Australia’s overwhelming dominance at the venue. In 33 Tests against England there, they’ve won 14 and lost only five, giving them a win-loss ratio of 2.80, easily their best among all venues in England. The last time Australia lost there was way back in 1934. Since then, in 18 Tests, they’ve drawn and won nine times each.Trent Bridge is next best, but unfortunately for Australia, that’s not on the fixtures list for the five-Test series. Edgbaston and The Oval are the two venues where Australia have lost more than they have won, and they’ll be playing at both grounds, in the third and fifth Tests. The Oval has been a particularly poor venue for them – they’ve won six and lost 15 in 34 matches. In the last nine Tests, Australia have only won once and lost three times, though two of those defeats, in 1993 and 1997 were in dead-rubber games, after the series had been won.

Batting and bowling stars at each venueDon Bradman is obviously a name that is among the top of the list in terms of batsmen who’ve done well at a specific English venue, but he doesn’t lead the table (for batsmen who’ve played at least three matches at a venue). The leader of the pack is Steve Waugh, whose three innings at Headingley read 177 not out, 157 not out and 4, for an aggregate, and an average, of 338. His stats were obviously helped by a couple of not-outs, but Don Bradman had only one of those in six innings at Headingley, and yet finished with an average of 192.60. Between them, they topped fifty six times at the venue and they made it count each time, going on to a three-figure score.Bradman and Waugh share the next two spots too, for performances at The Oval and Lord’s, before allowing David Boon to take fifth spot. Waugh makes another appearance lower down the table, in eighth place, thanks to an average of 99.25 at Old Trafford, where he scored two centuries and two fifties in five innings. Allan Border is the other batsman with more than one appearance in the top ten: he is in seventh and tenth place due to his performances at Lord’s and Old Trafford.The top ten in the table below covers only four venues, though. The best at Trent Bridge was Stan McCabe, who averaged 79.50 in six innings, including a cracking knock of 232 out of a team total of 411 in 1938. He is closely followed by Mark Taylor, who averaged 79.20 from five innings. The best at Edgbaston is Mark Waugh, with an average of 63.50 in five innings.

The bowlers’ list is headed by the irreplaceable Glenn McGrath, who, in just three Tests at Lord’s, took 26 wickets at an incredible average of 11.50, with a five-for in each match. Those stats include figures of 8 for 38 in his first innings at the ground, a performance which sparked an Australian revival in the 1997 series after they had lost the first Test at Edgbaston. Fred Spofforth was equally impressive in his three Tests at The Oval, with 20 wickets at an average of 12.50.In fact, The Oval dominates the top ten list, which is slightly surprising considering Australia’s poor record at the venue. Ray Lindwall, Dennis Lillee, Hugh Trumble and McGrath all enjoyed bowling at this ground. Shane Warne, though, preferred Trent Bridge and Lord’s – averaging less than 20 at each of those two venues – and Old Trafford, where his average barely exceeded 20.Warne is the only bowler in the top ten list three times, while McGrath makes an appearance twice. Edgbaston and Headingley aren’t represented in the top ten list, but Warne top the Edgbaston chart as well, with 25 wickets in four Tests at an average of 21.76. Clarrie Grimmett, the legbreak bowler from the 1920s and 1930s, leads the way at Headingley, with 20 wickets in three matches at 22.20 each.

Former Zimbabwe umpire Ian Robinson has died of lung cancer at the age of 69, in Harare on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2016Former Zimbabwe umpire Ian Robinson has died of lung cancer at the age of 69, in Harare on Sunday. Robinson made his international debut as an umpire in the 1992 World Cup and his Test debut in Zimbabwe’s inaugural match, against India in Harare, in October 1992. He officiated in 28 Tests, 90 ODIs and three World Cups – 1992, 1996 and 1999.He began his umpiring career in 1975, and was appointed to Zimbabwe’s first-class panel in 1978. In 2004, he was sacked by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union without being given a reason. Apart from his umpiring duties, Robinson served as a ZCU board member for 14 years and an employee of the board for nine. He also served as the board’s international cricket manager.Robinson was appointed to the first international panel of umpires established by the ICC in 1994. In 2008, he announced his retirement from top-level umpiring to focus on his role as ICC Regional Umpires’ Performance Manager (RUPM) for the Africa region.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag revealed his plan for unlocking Antony's threat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

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• United face Forest at City Ground
• Ten Hag looking to get best out of Antony
• United hope to build on victory against Aston Villa

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ten Hag has explained that he is hoping to exploit space in behind the Forest defence to make the most of his Brazilian winger's threat in behind. Antony has struggled for form since his blockbuster move to United last season and has struggled again this term.

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  WHAT TEN HAG SAID

  Speaking to before the match, Ten Hag said: "[Antony] will have a good feeling. It is also a good opportunity for him to show that we have coached a lot and trained a lot about runs in behind, and we expect that from all [players] but especially the front line."

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Antony is yet to score a single goal or register an assist this season. However, he may feel more positive today given his last goal for the Red Devils came away at Forest in April.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ANTONY?

  After facing Forest, United make the short trip away to Wigan in the FA Cup third round in what is the final chance for Antony and Ten Hag to win silverware this season.

‘He is the most in-form batsman in Australia at the moment,’ says Western Australia team-mate

Mohammad Isam and Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-2017Cameron Bancroft will be the first Australian opener to debut in an Ashes Test since Michael Slater in 1993, but his Western Australian team-mate Michael Klinger believes he has “the fire in the belly” to make a success of his elevation.Bancroft, who was previously selected for the postponed tour of Bangladesh last year, has ousted Matt Renshaw, the Queensland opener, after he endured a torrid start to his domestic season having shown promise early in his Test career.Bancroft’s numbers, which included an unbeaten 228 against South Australia, became impossible for the selectors to ignore and the main question as the squad approached was whether he would bat at No. 6 or become David Warner’s latest opening partner.Klinger has watched Bancroft’s development at close hand for WA and also recommended him to Gloucestershire as an overseas player in 2016. He has seen the player become more attuned his game and learn what sort of a batsman he wants to be.”I have been lucky enough to have a lot to do with Cameron,” Klinger, who is currently at the BPL, told ESPNcricinfo. “I batted quite a lot with him in the first couple of years in first-class cricket, I have spent a lot of time talking to him about cricket and just feeding off each other. I think he has learned a lot in the last two years.”I think he probably went through a period when he tried to over-score too much. He has gone back to batting long periods of time. He knows he has developed enough shots and skills. He knows if he bats for long periods of time, he can score freely. Mentally he has the fire in the belly to bat long periods.”While his double century in Perth earlier this month is the headline number from his season, it was a pair of half-centuries (76 not out and 86) against a New South Wales side boasting Australia’s Test attack that could well have done just as much to propel him to his first baggy green.”Last year he probably didn’t have as good a year he would have liked,” Klinger said. “He started this year brilliantly in the one-day competition and certainly in the Sheffield Shield to come and score, I think, 70 and 80 against an attack that had Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon was a super effort. To finish off with a 200-odd not out sealed the deal. He deserves his spot. He is the most in-form batsman in Australia at the moment.”And Klinger had no doubt that he would be able to handle the pressure that comes with not only a Test debut, but in an opening Ashes Test.”I think he has been waiting for a while now. You won’t find a harder trainer than him, certainly. He is very astute. I am looking forward to seeing him how he will cope with the pressure. There’s no doubt he will cope really well. He will make sure he will have everything in place and ready to go.”

Thomas Tuchel is plotting a sensational Premier League return, as he eyes a move to Manchester United when he leaves Bayern Munich in the summer.

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• Tuchel to step down from Bayern role
• Previously led Chelsea to UCL glory
• Now wants PL return at United

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Bundesliga giants revealed in a shock announcement that their German boss would be stepping down at the end of the current campaign. Pressure had been ramping up on Tuchel amid a disastrous spell and there had been suggestions he could be let go mid-season. However, with the former Chelsea boss set to be free in the summer, journalist reports that he is keen on a return to the English top flight.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  According to journalist Falk, United is a club Tuchel has "always" been interested in, and he is willing to take on that "new challenge" after leaving Bayern. Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag has been far from convincing during his near 20 months in the role, largely flattering to deceive with the most expensive squad ever assembled.

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  TELL ME MORE

  United aren't the only team on Tuchel's radar. reports that the German is keeping an eye on the situation at Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp set to leave in the summer and Bayern keen on their number one target Xabi Alonso. Tuchel is also a potential candidate for the England international job if Gareth Southgate steps down after Euro 2024, although he has hinted he will stay on.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  If the move goes through, Tuchel managing elsewhere in the Premier League will no doubt be a sore sight for Chelsea fans. The German is still revered at Stamford Bridge after leading them to their second-ever Champions League triumph and successfully navigating a difficult period following sanctions to then-owner Roman Abramovich.

Arsenal forward Beth Mead spoke about her ACL injury recovery process alongside her team-mate and partner Vivianne Miedema.

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• Mead opens up on featuring in Arsenal documentary

• Opens up on ACL injury and recovery process

• Women's football plagued with ACL injuries

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Arsenal duo recently battled their way back to fitness after sustaining ACL tears last year. They recently featured in a documentary released by the Gunners where the players share anecdotes from their experiences of suffering such a serious injury and how they recovered from the setback.

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• WHAT BETH MEAD SAID

  Speaking to , Mead revealed that they felt important to spread awareness regarding ACL injuries, which is quite prevalent among women footballers.

  The striker, sitting alongside her partner said, "We felt important to kind of share our journey, make everyone a little bit more aware of what that journey looks like. If we could kind of figure out a little more as to why it's happening or the factors that go towards it happening or is there anything that we can do within the game to present it? At least minimise the risk of ACL injuries.

  "There's been quite a pandemic of this specific injury so we owed it to the next generation to try and figure out a better solution, a better plan that could minimise the risk of this nasty injury."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  According to a report from , women footballers are six times more likely to sustain ACL injuries compared to men. Female footballers are also 25 per cent less likely to fully recover and return from such injuries.

  In recent times, women's football has been plagued with ACL injuries with several big names being ruled out of action due to knee problems.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BETH MEAD?

  Since her return to action, the 28-year-old has made seven Women's Super League appearances where he scored thrice for her club. She will be next seen in action after the winter break when Arsenal face Watford in a FA WSL Cup clash on January 14.

India have finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2017India have finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series. As a result of being No. 1 by the cut-off date of April 1, India will be presented with a cash award of $1 million by the ICC.India had gone into the home series against Australia needing to win one Test to guarantee their No. 1 ranking. The series victory also meant that India currently hold Test titles against all other teams, a feat previously matched only by Australia (twice) and South Africa.
Virat Kohli received the Test mace and cheque at the post-match presentation ceremony in Dharamsala. “The longest format of the game really tests a team’s character and I’m proud that we have proved ourselves to be the best,” he said.The race to No. 2 is still on. It will be decided on the fifth day in Hamilton, where South Africa need to come away with at least a draw against New Zealand to hold on to the No. 2 ranking and claim the prize money of $500,000. If they lose, Australia will pip them to second place.The ICC also announced that India offspinner R Ashwin will be awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2016. Ashwin, who was also named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year for 2016, took 48 wickets and scored 336 runs in the eight Tests he played during the period under consideration – September 14, 2015 to September 20, 2016.

After leaving PSG, the young striker has hit form with OL Reign this year and will hope to translate that onto the biggest stage in Australia

Jordyn Huitema's name has been in the headlines ever since she was 15 years old. A lot of the time, that has been for football reasons, such as when she became the third-youngest player ever to represent Canada’s senior team, its second-youngest goalscorer and the Golden Boot winner in the qualifying tournament for the 2021 Olympics, at which she'd help her nation win the gold medal.

But there’s always been an extra element of attention on the talented forward. Over time, her long-term relationship with Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and current romance with baseball star Julio Rodriguez have prompted dumbed-down headlines for showbiz-style articles introducing you to this Olympic champion, a player who has won league titles in two different countries.

Huitema has been one of the most exciting young talents on the planet for several years now, though, and this Women’s World Cup feels like an opportune moment to really show everybody why. This young prodigy has been playing on big stages for over six years and, still just 22 years old, she appears primed and ready to make her mark on the biggest of them all in Australia.

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  A promising talent

  The hype around Huitema has been ripe ever since she stepped onto the pitch for Canada’s senior team in early 2017 at just 15 years old – and even before that in some circles, with the forward shining in the youth teams, too.

  Named Canada's Under-17 Female Player of the Year in 2017 and picking up its U20 award 12 months later, she was a regular contender for Golden Boots in the CONCACAF tournaments while still being eased into the senior set-up. Indeed, in 2017, she became the first Canadian to score for the U17, U20 and senior national teams in the same calendar year.

  Within 18 months of her debut for the latter, she was playing for Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly tournament and, after weighing up offers from some of the top college soccer programmes in the United States, she would forgo that chapter and instead sign for the French giants at the age of 17.

  At that time, it was an extreme rarity for a young talent in North America not to pass through the college system. It only added to the excitement of what she could go on to achieve with the ability she was already showing that she had.

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  Historic achievements

  What Huitema would continue to add to her CV as a teenager was incredible, with her going to the World Cup in 2019 and winning the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship’s Golden Boot in 2020.

  Shortly after celebrating her 20th birthday, the milestones got even bigger, too. That year, she was part of the PSG team that won its first-ever league title on the women’s side and, just a few months later, also a member of the Canada squad that won Olympic gold.

  Still so young, Huitema wasn’t playing a leading role just yet, but the experiences she was collecting were incredibly valuable.

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  Time to make her mark

  Now 22 years old, the pressure has grown on Huitema to make that jump and become a key figure, to assert herself on the biggest stages in a way that she’s not quite done yet.

  After three years, her time with PSG came to an end last summer, with her final stats reading as 67 games played and 18 goals scored in the centre-forward position. It must be mentioned that a large number of her appearances came as a substitute, but many expected her to become a regular starter over time and she just didn’t seem to make the impact in the chances she was given to make that happen.

  There’s no doubt that Huitema has big, big talent, but she’s starting to near the age where we don’t talk about potential as much anymore and start to expect results. It’s time to prove she can deliver.

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  Finding form

  After leaving PSG, Huitema signed for NWSL side OL Reign as the second half of the season in the U.S. prepared to get underway. Joining a new team midway through the campaign, judging her on the first few months of her time in the north west would’ve been harsh as the forward found her feet in a new environment and began to build relationships with her new team-mates.

  That she managed to get off the mark and score a couple of goals before the season's end was a positive, and it feels like she is now starting to find some form, entering the World Cup having scored four times for her club since netting for Canada against France in the April international break.

  “As a forward, everybody knows that you have a monkey on your shoulder at the beginning of a season and once you get it off, it's when the gates open,” she said in early May, after netting in a 2-0 win over the Houston Dash. “I think that everybody struggles with it at times. Getting that first one felt great and I think even just the one with Canada started that off, to come back confident and progress out of that.”

  In the same post-match press conference, team-mate Veronica Latsko praised the forward’s work on the training pitch and the qualities she can bring to a team. “You look up, you see Jordyn Huitema at the back post, you get the ball to the back post. It's kind of self-explanatory,” she said, having done exactly that in the match to assist her goal.

  It’s clear that she brings some top traits to the role as a centre-forward and we’re really starting to see those on a consistent basis now as she settles well into life as a Reign player.

The Zimbabwe coach, however, took confidence from the side’s historic 3-2 series win in Sri Lanka in July last year

Mohammad Isam13-Jan-2018Heath Streak, the Zimbabwe coach, has said that his team is the underdog in the tri-series, which also involves hosts Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe are the lowest ranked team among the three in ODI cricket – they are placed tenth with 52 rating points. Sri Lanka are placed eighth with 84 rating points while Bangladesh are placed seventh with 92 rating points.Streak, however, took confidence from Zimbabwe’s historic 3-2 series win in Sri Lanka in July last year. Zimbabwe have not played an ODI since, and need to shake off the rust quickly.”I think we still have a long way to go,” Streak said. “We are the underdogs in this series. But I still feel that we have got the quality of players we need to take Zimbabwe cricket forward. We showed against Sri Lanka last year that we can compete against other countries outside our home territory. It was very pleasing but we have a long way to go as a team.”[The Sri Lanka ODI series win] will give us the belief and the confidence to compete. We haven’t played a lot of one-day cricket of late. We have played more Tests while SL have played 13 ODIs since we last played them. We haven’t played any. We have prepared well and hopefully we can get into the series as quickly as possible and then get some good results early on. I feel we have the players with the skills, and give them Sri Lanka and Bangladesh a good challenge. I know our team is capable of winning.”Streak, who was Bangladesh’s bowling coach when Chandika Hathurusingha was in charge of the side between 2014 and 2016, said he was looking forward to the challenge of facing his former team and colleague.”These days a lot of coaches are part of a team and become opposition, he said. “I had a good relation with Chandika [Hathurusingha] and Khaled [Mahmud] Sujon, the technical director. I think it will be a good challenge for all of us.”We know the conditions and players, so does Chandika [Hathurusingha]. I think a lot of these Sri Lankan and Zimbabwean guys play in the BPL. There aren’t many secrets out there anymore. It is about coming up with good plans and technical advice for the teams and making sure you execute those skills well.”