All posts by csb10.top

Big picture

The Mike Hesson era in Pakistan cricket began just about as well as could be expected, Pakistan’s complete performance giving them a straightforward victory over Bangladesh. More than the result, it was the mindset Salman Agha’s side took into the game that suggests it may be the start of something promising. Despite the loss of two early wickets and a sluggish start, the Pakistan batters continued to attack, and Nos. 3-6 produced scores between 31 and 56. Crucially, all of them boasted strike rates between 164 and 200, when traditionally an anchoring role in the middle may have chipped a chunk off their total.Topping it up was a complete bowling performance, too. Bangladesh were never allowed to keep pace with the asking rate as Pakistan continued to bruise them with regular wickets. The returning Hasan Ali continued the form he produced in the PSL, his career-best figures of 5 for 30 the cherry on top of a perfect Pakistan start.For Bangladesh, the picture is significantly less rosy. A bright start with the ball was a false dawn as the visitors found themselves outplayed through much of the rest of the game. Most notably, it was their spinners – a skillset Bangladesh rightly take pride in – who found themselves rendered ineffective, Mahedi Hasan and Rishad Hossain leaking 91 in their eight overs.With Pakistan adopting a big-hitting power game, Bangladesh will also be aware of how unfavourably their own appears to compare. Pakistan’s bowling attack is by no means the most economical, but tellingly, Bangladesh appeared unable to take the attack to them early, consequently easing pressure off the bowlers. Flashes from captain Litton Das and Jaker Ali weren’t nearly substantial enough and received little support from their team-mates as Bangladesh crumpled to defeat.However, Pakistan’s new system is still finding its feet, with the variance between a good performance and a poor one likely significant. Bangladesh’s game style offers a more stable level of baseline performance, one that, should they reproduce in either of the remaining games, could see them give Pakistan trouble.

Form guide

Pakistan WLLWL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLWW

In the spotlight

The only downside for Pakistan during a fairly complete performance was Haris Rauf’s figures of 0 for 36 in three. The Lahore Qalandars fast bowler had a difficult PSL in terms of economy, a poor run that appears to have continued into this series. Even when he bowled towards the tail-end of the game with the jeopardy taken out, he found himself being targeted by Jaker, and ended up as the most expensive fast bowler on either side. At his best, Haris has offered precious control in the middle and later overs of T20 innings, and for a more rounded bowling attack, Pakistan need him to rediscover that prowess.Jaker Ali is one of the few in-form batters for Bangladesh•Randy Brooks

Jaker Ali struck some meaty blows on Wednesday, once more confirming his growing stature as a gritty, aggressive cricketer. His penchant for refusing to give up in difficult situations has seen regard for him improve within Bangladesh cricket circles, and in a side where big hitting is in short supply, Jaker fills a crucial hole. He is also one of the few in-form batters in the side, and it would not be a surprise if he earns a promotion up the order.

Team news

While Pakistan may use this series to try things out, they may not want to tweak much after a well-rounded performance in the first game. If anything, Abbas Afridi may come in for Haris Rauf.Pakistan (probable): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Mohammad Haris (wk), 4 Hasan Nawaz, 5 Salman Agha (capt), 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Haris Rauf/Abbas Afridi, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Abrar AhmedBangladesh may want to bring Najmul Hossain Shanto back into the XI, but it isn’t who played and who didn’t that resulted in Wednesday’s defeat so much as a flat performance across the board.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Parvez Hossain Emon, 3 Litton Das (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Jaker Ali (wk), 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Shoriful IslamTowhid Hridoy rebuilt slowly for Bangladesh•Associated Press

Pitch and conditions

The weather conditions are unlikely to change, with hot and dry weather expected throughout the series. A fresh pitch will be used, but expect the same old batting-friendly conditions.

Stats and trivia

• The 201 Pakistan posted on Wednesday was their highest T20I total at the Gaddafi Stadium
• Bangladesh have only once won a T20I series where they lost the first game, against West Indies in 2018

Quotes

“I’d like to dedicate this performance, above all, to myself. The amount of hard work I’ve done, I should give credit to myself, too.”

Jamie Porter helped wrap up a nervy first Rothesay County Championship victory of the season for Essex on the final day against Worcestershire with the 22nd five-wicket haul of his career.The 31-year-old pace bowler, the leading wicket-taker in Division One last season, added three more wickets to the three he had taken the day before as Worcestershire were bowled out for 266, 28 runs short of their target. Porter finished with 6 for 52 from 24.4 overs.However, the victory was not achieved without some belated anxiety. The 23-year-old allrounder Ethan Brookes, patience personified earlier in his innings, threw caution to the wind when the ninth wicket went down and launched a one-man pyrotechnic show that included seven sixes in a scintillating 88 from 105 balls before becoming Porter’s final victim.”When we got them two wickets down early on I thought we’d get it done before the second new ball,” Porter said. “But that was one hell of an innings by Ethan Brookes. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about Worcestershire, it’s they don’t give in. They push you all the way to the end. So a lot of credit to them to a) get into the position they were at this morning, where it felt we were slight favourites, and b) literally from the jaws of defeat to put themselves in a position where they almost won it.”With Jacob Duffy blocking at the other end for 0 not out off 12, Brookes helped Worcestershire add 64 for the tenth wicket. His dismissal was not without controversy, too, as Brookes initially stood his ground after Porter rushed in to take a caught-and-bowled right under the batter’s nose.”He was within his rights to question the wicket, but I was 100 percent certain I’d taken it,” Porter said. “I’ve never claimed a catch that wasn’t clean in my career, not that I’ve been in that position too often. But I’m 100 percent certain it carried and the umpire at point confirmed it.”He’s [Brookes] obviously disappointed because he felt like he deserved to be on the right end of that result, and I agree the way he played he did deserve to be on the winning side. But that’s the way it goes.”Both teams arrived on day four believing they not only could win but would win. Worcestershire needed 110 more runs and Essex required four wickets. They also needed to get it completed before forecast rain arrived during the afternoon.That Essex had dug themselves out of a hole after being dismissed for 179 in the first innings and being able to set a target of 295, was largely due to Paul Walter’s century, the highest score on a hybrid wicket that was a seamer’s paradise.To prove that point, Porter extracted some extra bounce from the pitch to claim his fourth wicket of the innings with the second ball of his second over of an overcast morning. Worcestershire had only added a quickly scampered single to their overnight 185 for 6 when Matthew Waite played on to depart for 27 after a painstaking two-hour stay.Worcestershire were still 103 runs away from celebrating their own first win of the campaign when Tom Taylor got a thick edge to another lifting delivery from Porter and was caught at first slip by Walter. Kasun Rajitha, replacing Porter in the attack, then knocked out Ben Allison’s leg stump to leave Worcestershire on the precipice.Once the game was all over bar the shouting, Brookes decided to have some fun, smashing Simon Harmer for six over cow corner and then scooping and sweeping Rajitha for maximums off successive balls. His fourth six, again off Harmer and over Snater’s head on the square-leg boundary, took him to a 73-ball fifty.Another six, his fifth in five overs, landed in the Tom Pearce Stand at the River End before Porter returned to take the new-ball with Worcestershire still requiring 53 to win.A sixth six, this one hit back over Snater’s head, brought up the fifty partnership for the last wicket, in 38 balls, of which Duffy had contributed exactly nought. Even Porter came in for some treatment when Brookes deposited him over fine leg for six No. 7. But next ball, Brookes lobbed the ball up and Porter dived forward to claim the catch.Worcestershire head coach, Alan Richardson, said: “It was a remarkable innings from Ethan. It just showed the skill level he has and the ability. It was amazing to watch from a position where for love and money it didn’t look like we were going to get so close. For him to produce something like that should give him a great deal of confidence.”The coaching staff here have known Ethan for a long time so when he left Warwickshire we knew there was something there. He got his maiden first-class hundred against Hampshire last year on a spin-friendly wicket was also an amazing innings, and very similar to that in the tempo he played. We believe we’ve got an exciting cricketer.”Yes, he did throw the kitchen sink at a few but the way he conducted himself and the fact Jacob [Duffy] faced so few balls was real testament to an intellect cricketer, someone who knew how to go about it. You talk about throwing caution to the wind, I think there was an element of freedom about how he went about it. He’s an excellent cricketer.”

The scheduling of the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in two different countries has meant both teams that have qualified from Group B – Australia and South Africa* – will travel to the UAE this weekend.An ICC official said the decision had been taken to allow the side that plays the semi-final in Dubai on March 4 the maximum time to prepare for that contest. However, it does guarantee one side will find themselves in the sub-optimal position of leaving Pakistan for Dubai, only to have to return to Pakistan soon after. While the Lahore semi-final is one day later on March 5, the way in which this tournament has been scheduled means that one team will travel and train at a venue they do not need to be at for a day.Australia shifted to Dubai on Saturday, having qualified after their game against Afghanistan was abandoned in Lahore on Friday. South Africa, who sealed qualification on Saturday evening with a thumping win over England, will depart Karachi for Dubai at noon on Sunday.The actual match-ups and venues of the two semi-finals will only be confirmed after India and New Zealand play the final group game of this tournament on Sunday. India will play in Dubai regardless of their group position, which means the two teams of group B will find out where they play their semi-final only after India have played New Zealand.Related

• Rohit: 'Dubai not our home, it's new for us as well'

• Van der Dussen: 'Don't have to be a rocket scientist' to know India have advantage

• Champions Trophy 2025: Dubai to host all India matches, including the knockouts if India qualify

• Hybrid model agreed for Champions Trophy and ICC events from 2024-27

Such a scenario was all but inevitable given the necessity of India playing their games outside Pakistan, despite the country officially being the sole host of the tournament. The PCB spent several months trying to get India to visit Pakistan, at one stage proposing hosting all their games in Lahore. However, the BCCI said the Indian government did not grant the team permission to play cricket in Lahore. There is significant political tension between the two countries.The uncertainty concerning venues will extend right to the final as well. If India win their semi-final, the final will take place in Dubai. However, should they lose the semi-final, it will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.*

Alyssa Healy leaves some big shoes to fill, but Chinelle Henry is ready to step in for UP Warriorz and make an unexpected WPL debut she hopes will be the start of something huge.Henry, the powerful West Indies middle-order batter and handy fast bowler, received a late call-up to the tournament as a replacement for Australia captain Healy, who is recovering from a stress injury in her foot, and while she is yet to play a game, she wants to make her inclusion count.”This is a really huge, huge opportunity for me,” Henry told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. “My only other franchise league would’ve been the CPL, so to be a part of one of the biggest franchises around in female cricket in the WPL is a really big thing for my career going forward. Next year maybe I could secure a place to be actually a part of a team permanently coming in the next edition of the WPL, so this year is definitely kind of like a test run, a trial run, for me.Related

• Sutherland, Kapp hold nerve to keep sloppy Warriorz winless

• England's mental and physical resilience under the scanner

• WPL 2025: Chinelle Henry replaces Alyssa Healy at UP Warriorz

• Athapaththu to leave WPL early to play for Sri Lanka

“Coming in has a replacement, that’s a huge set of responsibilities on me, huge shoes to fill. The atmosphere playing along with some of the best in the world from their respective regions is going to be huge. This will be a lot of learning this year and I’m hoping that I can actually go there and deliver on the field when called upon, because that’s the reason why I’m here. Obviously they saw something. Healy, unfortunately the team lost to injury, and to be that replacement is a huge honour.”It only takes a glance back to December to see why UP Warriorz reached for Henry’s number when Healy succumbed to the injury she has been battling on and off since last year’s T20 World Cup.A 16-ball 43 plus one wicket in a losing cause during West Indies’ third T20I against India at Navi Mumbai and 61 off 72 balls in the third ODI, which India won in Vadodara, indicated some serious good form on Henry’s maiden tour of India.Now she is hoping to follow in the footsteps of team-mates Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin in making her first foray to the WPL and, along with Stafanie Taylor, branching out into more global franchise competitions.”A lot of people have been talking about it, that I have been in form lately, and that’s something that I actually want to continue to do because obviously the pressure of the WPL is different from everything else,” Henry said. “Being here in the WPL, I’m not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous at first, but after coming back here, adjusting to the atmosphere, it’s just about getting to know the girls a little bit better and just picking up where I left off the last time I was in India. It’s just about continuing that confidence, continuing to play with that freedom and to know that I have the backing of the coaches and team.”At the age of 29 and with 111 international caps across both white-ball formats, any lessons Henry can take back to the younger members of the West Indies squad will be a bonus as they look to build on the success of reaching last year’s T20 World Cup semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champions New Zealand.West Indies will need all of those components to come together again in April when they face five other teams vying for just two qualifying places at the 50-over World Cup, to be played in India later this year.”When you talk about West Indies, we always want to be at the big stage, big competitions, we always want to be competing,” Henry said. “The same amount of confidence, the same amount of enthusiasm that we play the T20s with, that’s something we are trying to go out there and play the longer version with. The longer version of the game is something that we are going to have to take more responsibility for as a person, as a team, and know that to avoid these situations [going through the qualifier] this is what we have to do.”We won the T20 World Cup once and definitely the ODI World Cup is something that we talked about. We just don’t want to keep dwelling on the past that, ‘hey, we won the 2016 T20 World Cup’. Teams are evolving, teams are getting better, players are getting better. We know that we have to get better and these are things that we have to do in order to be better at the longer version of the game.”