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The series against West Indies is done now. Six days of cricket yielding a 2-0 result that takes India to a record-equaling ten successive series wins at home. The focus now shifts to Australia and it looks quite likely that the 18-year old opener Prithvi Shaw and the fast bowler who rarely plays overseas – Umesh Yadav – are a part of the plan.Virat Kohli wants to make India’s bowling their strength. And he wouldn’t mind a batting line-up that can take it to Mitchell Starc and company when the Tests begin in Adelaide. He felt Umesh gave India the pace a bowling attack needs to be effective in those conditions and Shaw…well here are the exact words from the India captain: “I don’t think any of us were even 10 percent of what he is at 18-19.””The guy has grabbed his chance beautifully. He looks like someone that can get you off to the kind of start that you require, especially to make the first mark in any series that you play. So from that point of view it’s great to have a guy who’s so fearless. And he’s not reckless. He’s very confident about his game. You might feel like he’s going to nick off one now. But he hardly nicks the ball. That we saw in England as well when he was batting in the nets. He was really attacking but in control throughout which is a very rare quality against the new ball. To play so many shots and be in control of all of them is a great sign.”Praise for Umesh, who became only the third fast bowler to pick up a ten-wicket haul at home, flowed just as freely. “It’s good to have all guys confident and raring to go because four Tests in Australia can be brutal because the ball doesn’t do much like England. You have to come in and run in all day, bowl in the right areas, with pace. So I think from that point of view, Umesh is right up there to be featuring in Australia because he’s got the pace. He’s got the fitness levels to run in all day to pick us wickets at crucial times and he gets good bounce as well.”Not many people realise but he’s a very very talented bowler. He can bowl you unplayable deliveries every now and then. He’ll bowl a ball which you feel like you couldn’t have done anything else apart from getting out. It’s just that he’s gaining more confidence about his own game, especially in Test cricket, I think he’s come a long way and he understands his bowling really well.”It’s a great sign, as I said, to have four guys bowling so well who can pick up wickets. That’s something we want to keep as a consistent part of our team. Obviously the batting is something that we’re learning from the last tour we want to improve on collectively. But bowling is something we need to keep as a major strength in order for us to feel like we have a chance to win a series when we travel away from home.”The two top-scorers from the series for India were aged 18 and 20 and Kohli took that as a positive as well. “We were looking at the youngsters playing with a lot of freedom. Prithvi was outstanding. Rishabh was really fearless. Areas that they need to work on, they’ll obviously be spoken to in that regard. Overall both those guys are really good, solidifying their place in the team and understanding how to play at this level. I know the conditions might not be as challenging as they might get in future. But in Test cricket the first and most important thing is confidence and understanding that you can score runs in Test level. I think from that point of view we’re very happy that they’ve taken their chances so well. Getting Man of the Series [like Prithvi Shaw] in the first series regardless of where we play or how you play, its an outstanding achievement.”

ScorecardMiddlesex put forward an inspired bowling performance to ruin Paul Collingwood’s final match for Durham, defeating the home side by 57 runs in their Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash at Emirates Riverside.Dawid Malan’s men added 100 runs to their total overnight total, despite losing a flurry of early wickets. Martin Andersson notched 34 valuable runs to guide his team into a lead of 167 as Mark Wood claimed a five-wicket haul to skittle out the tail.Durham lost wickets at regular intervals in their reply as the Middlesex bowlers worked well as a unit to bowl the home side out for 109 to secure the victory, ending their season on a high note. Collingwood’s final bow did not end in the victory the home side looked capable of producing on day one, but his effect on the county will not be easily forgotten.Collingwood said: “It was not quite the fairytale ending I was hoping for. It’s 23 years, I do feel a little bit sad. It’s the right time. I’ve put all my efforts into it and everybody only has a certain shelf life. I’m very satisfied and content with what I have achieved in the game. Hopefully the club will keep moving forward.”Middlesex deserved their win in the end. The partnership between Stevie Eskinazi and Nick Gubbins got them ahead of the game and we weren’t quite good enough. It has been a really surreal week. All the good luck messages and thank you messages, it takes your breath away. Not the fairytale ending I was hoping for, but I can still have a smile on my face going into retirement after putting all my effort into it.”The visitors began the day 255 for 2, but were to immediately lose Nick Gubbins, who was only able to add one to his overnight score of 90 before falling lbw to Chris Rushworth. The opener’s dismissal spark a collapse of the middle order as Max Holden and Robbie White quickly followed him back to the pavilion, while Collingwood notched his second wicket of the innings when Dawid Malan clipped a delivery straight to Michael Richardson.Andersson and James Harris offered resistance to take Middlesex’s lead beyond the 100-run mark. However, their stand was ended when Harris was struck on the head by a bouncer from Barry McCarthy. Harris was removed from the field as per concussion protocol, and was later taken to hospital after it was confirmed that the bowler had indeed sustained a concussion.Drama ensued on the pitch as there was deliberation on whether Middlesex could name Ollie Rayner as a replacement for Harris, despite arguably not being a like-for-like replacement: a bowler of similar batting pretensions but a spinner not a seamer. Umpires Steve O’Shaugnessy and Michael Gough made the decision to allow Rayner to enter the field as the substitute. After the restart, Wood clean bowled Anderson for a solid knock of 34. The England man found his rhythm, racing in with speed from the Lumley End.Wood cleaned up the tail to claim his second five-wicket haul of the season. His pace was too much for James Fuller to handle, returning a simple catch to the bowler. The 28-year-old bowled Rayner before Murtagh was caught by Rushworth, wrapping up the Middlesex innings for 355 and a lead of 166.Alex Lees made quick runs at the start of the innings, but his knock came to an end on 22 when he was adjudged lbw to Murtagh. Gareth Harte and Michael Richardson were unable to provide the resistance needed, both edging behind to Robbie White. Collingwood came to the crease for his final innings. He made 10 before Andersson’s short delivery failed to rise off the pitch and bounced under Collingwood’s bat to end the 42-year-old’s last innings at the crease.The pressure appeared to be getting to the home side, resulting in the suicidal run out of Ryan Davies. Cameron Steel played a patient knock of 23 from 104 deliveries, but he fell edging Ethan Bamber to Rayner at second slip. Durham’s lower order collapsed as Wood and Matt Salisbury fell without troubling the scorers.Stuart Poynter was undone by the low bounce from a Murtagh delivery to put the visitors on the brink. Fuller claimed the final wicket when Rushworth chipped into the deep and was caught by Gubbins, allowing Middlesex to successfuly spoil Collingwood’s final act at Emirates Riverside.

South Africa fast bowler Gerald Coetzee was docked 50% of his match fee and handed a demerit point after being found to have shown dissent in the fourth T20I against India in Johannesburg on Friday.Coetzee was noted to have made an inappropriate comment to the umpire in the 15th over of India’s innings after one of his deliveries was deemed a wide. He admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction, which also included an official reprimand. India had won the series 3-1.Netherlands captain Scott Edwards and Oman seamer Sufyan Mehmood also faced sanctions for breaching the ICC code of conduct during the third T20I between the two teams in Al Amerat on Saturday.Edwards was found guilty of two breaches – Article 2.8 and 2.2, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match”.After being given out lbw, he showed his bat to the umpire. Then, while returning to the dugout, he threw his bat and gloves on the field, copping two demerit points in all. He was also fined 10% of his match fee.Mehmood was also fined 10% of his match fee and given one demerit point for giving a send-off to Netherlands batter Teja Nidamanuru. Since both players admitted to their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid, there was no need for a formal hearing.Netherlands went on to win the series 2-1.

Kusal Mendis is in outstanding form, Pathum Nissanka has had fantastic outings, Avishka Fernando has been spectacular, and Kusal Perera has made a strong comeback. On top of which, Kamindu Mendis seems in good touch too.This is all on based on Lanka Premier League (LPL) performances, that new Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka regards as the gold standard in T20 cricket on the island.The LPL concluded only on Sunday, with Asalanka’s Jaffna Kings side taking home the trophy. Top order batters flourished in that competition. Asalanka has suggested that Kamindu – who also bowled with both arms during the LPL – has sewn up the No. 4 spot, having hit 287 runs at a strike rate of 157 through the tournament.Related

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But then there are still four batters vying for the top three spots. As Asalanka said: “There are four openers in the squad, and the way I’m thinking three of them will make up the top three. One of them will have to miss out.”Those four:

England completed a comprehensive win on the final day of the second Youth Men’s Test at Cheltenham, beating Sri Lanka by an innings and 53 runs.Resuming their second innings on 246 for 7 and facing an impossible task in terms of saving the game, the tourists required a further 78 runs just to make their opponents bat again. Needing to take a further three wickets to wrap up victory in the match and the series, the Young Lions needed only 10.5 overs to finish the job at the College Ground.Eschewing the new ball, captain Hamza Shaikh instead trusted in his spinners, Farhan Ahmed and Charlie Barnard finishing the job without recourse to pace. Nottinghamshire off spinner Ahmed proved especially effective, claiming impressive figures of 4 for 59 from 26.5 overs with seven maidens as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 271.Having summoned stiff resistance the previous evening to carry the contest into a fourth day, Vihas Thewmika fell for a 38-ball 18 in the fourth over of the morning, offering a straightforward return catch to Lancashire slow left armer Barnard, who finished with figures of 2 for 55 from 21 overs.Manuja Chanthuka came and went quickly, falling lbw to Ahmed for one as the home side closed in on an inside-the-distance victory. Ahmed then finished things off, pinning last man Sheshan Marasinghe on the front foot in his next over.Determined to prove a point after having been held to a frustrating draw in a rain-affected contest in the first Test at Wormsley, the Young Lions dominated every aspect of this game to stamp their authority and complete a thoroughly-deserved one-nil series win at one of English cricket’s most iconic festivals.

Essex Eagles claimed their third successive Vitality Blast victory after overcoming Middlesex by 16 runs in their heavily rain-affected South Group game at Lord’s.The visitors reached 129 for 4 after 12.4 overs, with Jordan Cox unbeaten on 31 from 19 balls when a heavy downpour enveloped the ground.Middlesex’s target was revised to 143 from 12 overs – and subsequently 80 from six after another rain stoppage, but that unlikely equation proved beyond their reach.Despite a valiant effort by Max Holden, who hammered an undefeated 41 from 24, the home side fell short on 63 for two.After an initial 25-minute delay due to earlier showers, Adam Rossington immediately set about Middlesex’s bowling in the powerplay with two sizzling cover boundaries off Tom Helm.Rossington bludgeoned his way to 20 before slicing Noah Cornwell into the hands of deep third and the young left-armer, who took 2 for 29, also castled Michael Pepper (23 from 12), swinging across the line.Dean Elgar (28 from 17) was next to depart, with Luke Hollman taking a skier off his own bowling, but Cox looked assured straight away, dispatching his first ball for four with a classy straight drive.Although Ryan Higgins bowled Walter around his legs, pinpoint placement brought Cox successive boundaries off Blake Cullen and he also launched Hollman into the grandstand before rain returned, resulting in a delay of more than an hour.When the pitch covers were eventually removed, Holden and Stephen Eskinazi had barely taken guard when another heavy shower descended and the players left the field without a ball being bowled.The equation morphed into 80 from six overs when the game’s final instalment began and Eskinazi did his best to sustain Middlesex’s pursuit, hitting successive Shane Snater balls for four and six.However, Walter effectively settled the contest by capturing the wickets of Eskinazi and Higgins during his first over, which went for just four runs – and, although Holden kept the battle going, it was not enough.

As a spinner, dew can be your biggest nightmare. And when the opponents are cruising at 107 for 2, needing 62 off 48, the challenges are that much greater.R Sai Kishore had bowled three wicketless overs for 19 up until this point. Rohit Sharma was set on 43, and another few overs of him would have all but closed the door on the Gujarat Titans. It’s at this point that Sai Kishore made his mark.”I was actually expecting dew to play a major role,” he said later. “The ball was wet, but for some strange reason, the ball was still holding on the wicket. Usually it slides on, but I was surprised by the amount of purchase I was getting. So I tried to go into the wicket and mix my pace, and go slower through the air.”Related

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Sai Kishore hadn’t featured for Titans all of last season due to team-combination considerations. Even his five appearances prior to that, in 2022, had been staggered. He needed to conjure something special to keep Titans alive, and he did, by simply pulling his length back a touch, and getting the ball to dip.Rohit fell over attempting a sweep and was trapped plumb in front. Sai Kishore had brought the game back on an even keel. His figures of 1 for 24 played a key part in Mumbai’s slowdown, particularly in the second half of their chase, where Titans varied their lengths and bowled into the pitch to deny the batters.”Because the wicket was two-paced, we tried to go into the wicket a lot more, trust our length a lot more than directly going for yorkers,” Sai Kishore said. “That resulted in getting a lot of wickets. It was attacking bowling even if the situation was otherwise.”At Titans, Sai Kishore has had to adapt to being the second spinner to Rashid Khan. In the TNPL or for Tamil Nadu, he’s used as a trump card in the Powerplay. This change of role can be tough, but for someone longing for opportunities, it was the opening he needed.”In the other teams where play I usually do the lead role. To do the second role makes it even more exciting,” Sai Kishore said. “Most people are going to play off Rashid and come after me. That makes the challenge more exciting.”That sync [with Rashid] is there, we discuss the game very well. One of the strengths of this team is everyone sticks together. Jayant [Yadav, the offspinner] also used to come in [as a reserve player] and say ‘do this, do that, it’s going good.’ The communication is always there, which is superb.”Sai Kishore picked up the all-important wicket of Rohit Sharma•BCCI

Sai Kishore felt Titans were at least 10 short of where they’d hoped to be with the bat. The plan all along was to remain in the game for as long as they could and then seize key moments, like they did in the death overs with Mohit Sharma and Rashid building on Sai Kishore’s work.”We felt we were 10 short, but the thing about this whole team and how it has been run over the last two years is we give a lot of emphasis to competing. Whether we win or lose, we’re proud of the way we play. We competed really well. That was the talk given by [head coach] Ashish Nehra as well.”All credit to the culture he has set up over the last two years. People are not thinking about the result [alone], they’re focusing about competing and staying in the game.”Sai Kishore is coming off a sensational Ranji Trophy season, which he finished as the highest wicket-taker. He left his imprint as a captain too, backing young players who thrived because of role clarity.At Titans, Sai Kishore is relishing any opportunity he gets to play, prepared to do the tough job without fearing the consequences. “When you bowl four overs on the trot, it’s like a one-day game, you can be in rhythm a lot easier.”With the Impact Player rule, we’re playing six bowlers. I’m getting the role where I’m bowling four overs on the trot in the middle. I’m open to bowling one-over spells. In [the Syed] Mushtaq Ali [Trophy] or TNPL, that’s how I use my overs but with the quality of bowlers we have, am getting to bowl four overs which I’m enjoying.”

Tamim Iqbal has opted out of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s central contracts list for 2024. Among the 21 cricketers who were handed national contracts, Shoriful Islam and new captain Najmul Hossain Shanto got the all-format deals.Taskin Ahmed, who had the triple contract last year, now has the ODI and T20I deal with the BCB. He had reportedly sent a letter to the BCB recently, asking to not be considered for Tests. Taskin is managing a shoulder injury that he suffered during the World Cup in India last year. He missed the home Tests against New Zealand thereafter, as well as the white-ball tour to New Zealand in December. He is currently playing in the BPL for Durdanto Dhaka.Tamim had retired from international cricket in July last year but it lasted less than 24 hours, with the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina talking him out of the decision. He resigned from captaincy and made himself available for the World Cup, but not before falling out with the BCB.Related

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Tamim’s relationship with the board, though, has been mostly amicable in the past few months. He has said he will make an announcement about his status as an international cricketer during the BPL.Meanwhile, Ebadot Hossain, Afif Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain have been left out of the central contracts list. Among the new entrants for 2024 are Towhid Hridoy, Tanzim Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Naeem Hasan and Nurul Hasan.Also, the BCB has approved the first-class cricketers’ salary contract for 2024, with 85 players receiving contracts.

2024 Bangladesh central contracts

All formats: Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shoriful IslamTests and ODIs: Mushfiqur RahimODIs and T20Is: Taskin Ahmed, Towhid Hridoy, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan MahmudOnly Tests: Mominul Hoque, Taijul Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Khaled Ahmed, Naeem HasanOnly ODIs: Mahmudullah, Tanzim HasanOnly T20Is: Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan

Afghanistan will be topping up their Test-match experience in double quick time by facing Sri Lanka and Ireland in February 2024.With most of the focus on the two limited-overs formats, Afghanistan ended up playing just one Test match over a better part of the last three years. Now, however, they’ve found space in the calendar and have announced two separate all-format series taking place between February 2 and March 18.The busy period begins with their first-ever Test match against Sri Lanka in Colombo, which will then be followed by three ODIs and three T20Is. Seven days after the end of their tour of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan will be in the UAE hosting Ireland for a one-off Test match between February 28 and March 3. This series also includes a limited-overs leg as Afghanistan build towards the next T20 World Cup due to take place in the West Indies and the USA in June.Afghanistan’s tour of Sri Lanka was always going to feature a Test match and three T20Is. “The addition of these three ODIs,” ACB chief Mirwais Ashraf said, “is a significant move to ensure a complete and comprehensive tour which not only provides good exposure to Afghanistan Cricket but will also foster stronger relations between the two nations. Playing Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka is always tricky but is a challenge that Afghan Atalan can easily embrace.”Prior to all this, Afghanistan will play their first-ever bilateral series against India this month and their chief executive Naseeb Khan was hopeful that all these games would set the team up for the challenges ahead. “The upcoming tours of India, Sri Lanka, and then the home series against Ireland will help us to prepare the team for the much-important T20 World Cup. Eagerly looking for the multiple series upfront.”Along with announcing schedules for these tours, the ACB also modified the sanctions that they placed on Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi for wanting to forego their national contracts. All three players were initially barred from playing in any T20 leagues for the next two years but now the board has had a change of heart.

Afghanistan tour of Sri Lanka

February 2-6, 2024 One-Off Test, Colombo
February 9, 2024, 1st ODI, Colombo
February 11, 2024, 2nd ODI, Colombo
February 14, 2024, 3rd ODI, Colombo
February 17, 2024, 1st T20I, Dambulla
February 19, 2024, 2nd T20I, Dambulla
February 21, 2024, 3rd T20I, Dambulla

Afghanistan vs Ireland in the UAE

February 28-March 3, 2024 One-Off Test, Abu Dhabi
March 7, 2024, 1st ODI, Sharjah
March 9, 2024, 2nd ODI, Sharjah
March 12, 2024, 3rd ODI, Sharjah
March 15, 2024, 1st T20I, Sharjah
March 17, 2024 2nd T20I, Sharjah
March 18, 2024, 3rd T20I Sharjah

Embracing T20 leagues as a feeder system for international cricket, instead of viewing franchise tournaments and bilateral matches as being in conflict with each other, will benefit both forms of the game, according to South Africa wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi.Speaking after South Africa beat India by five wickets in Gqeberha, with both teams fielding experimental XIs, Shamsi emphasised that leagues can help to create more players who are ready for international cricket and allow for skill sharing.Related

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“When the leagues first started, they were seen in a bad light in the sense that it was all about players wanting to earn money. But when you play in different leagues, you pick up little bits of golden nuggets,” Shamsi said. “We are so used to doing things a certain way in South Africa, as are other countries, so you pick up bits and pieces of what other other people do slightly differently and you try that for yourself. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t and you improve as a player. Guys go and get more experience, and it gives other players and it widens the pool.”The best example of that is Shamsi himself. He was playing in the second tier of South Africa’s domestic system in the early 2010s when he was recruited by the Kitts & Nevis Patriots for the 2015 CPL. He finished as their highest wicket-taker and a year later made his debut for South Africa in an ODI series in West Indies, and said the experience of the CPL helped him make the transition to the national team.”As a youngster playing in the CPL before I made my debut for the Proteas in West Indies helped me feel so relaxed because I had been in those stadiums and I had done well on those pitches. So when I eventually did play for South Africa, I felt at home,” he said.He believes other players have benefitted from similar experiences in leagues around the world, particularly Indian players in the IPL.”Over the years, we’ve seen what the IPL has done for Indian players and Indian youngsters in particular. When they come to the international scene they have already played in front of huge crowds, they have had their disappointments and bad games in front of huge crowds, so they have learned how to deal with that, and they’ve had success in front of good crowds so they know how to deal with that too,” he said. “When they come to international cricket, it’s just business as usual.”From India’s current squad, Yashavi Jaiswal is a case in point. He moved through the ranks in Indian domestic cricket and the Under-19 side before being picked up by Rajasthan Royals. He plays alongside Jos Buttler there and holds the record for the fastest IPL fifty, off 13 balls, before he made his international debut and he was more than ready for the big time. In 14 T20Is, he already has one hundred and two fifties to his name.”After the IPL, when the Indian players come to international cricket, it’s just business as usual”•AFP/Getty Images

Shamsi doesn’t think it will be too long before South Africa will have a success story similar to this, of their own.”The SA20 is brilliant for our country – in giving exposure to players. We’ve just had one season so we may not see it now, or in the near future but in the years to come we will see how much more prepared our new generation and guys that are in the system will be when they do play for the Proteas,” he said. “It won’t be a thing that they are playing international cricket. They will just let their natural talent shine.”All players in South Africa’s current T20I squad have SA20 deals, and South Africa will rely heavily on performances in that tournament to select their T20 World Cup squad. That’s because they only have one more pre-World Cup series – in West Indies, just before the tournament – and they will travel there with their final 15.That gives fringe players such as opening batter Matthew Breetzke, allrounder Donovan Ferreira and left-arm seamer Nandre Burger an opening to force their way into the T20 World Cup squad, and they’ll know many eyes will be on them.”The SA20 is huge in terms of preparation for the (T20) World Cup. It will be in different conditions but it’s T20 cricket and it’s good to play as much cricket as you can play,” Shamsi said. “And not only to have good games. I am a big believer that when you have bad games you learn a lot and you improve your game a lot. You’ve just got to be playing. It gives you another 10 fixtures to play high quality cricket.”The SA20 takes place from January 10 to February 10 and will clash with South Africa’s two-Test tour of New Zealand which starts on February 4. CSA has confirmed that all Test players with SA20 contracts will be unavailable for their Tests as they are obliged to play for the franchises and so a makeshift Test side will be sent to New Zealand instead.