With about 24 hours left for squad to be finalised, ESPNcricinfo has listed the key names the WCI selection panel will deliberate on.

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Apr-2019With just a day to go before the Tuesday deadline set by the ICC, West Indies remain the only team yet to announce their squad for the upcoming World Cup.ESPNcricinfo understand Cricket West Indies (CWI) will submit the 15-man squad to the ICC on Tuesday, but will announce the squad only on Wednesday afternoon in Barbados (1.30 pm local time).The squad will be picked by the freshly appointed interim selection panel chaired by Robert Haynes, along with Jimmy Adams (director of cricket) and West Indies’ newly appointed coach Floyd Reifer.Although Jason Holder will continue to be the captain and Chris Gayle will almost certainly play his fifth World Cup, questions remain over the participation of the country’s other superstars, who have been successful in the last five years in domestic T20 leagues around the world.Will Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, and even Dwayne Bravo, who opted to retire from international cricket last year, find a spot? Will Marlon Samuels, who has recovered from his knee injury, get the opportunity to play his fourth World Cup?The hope comes from a new administration taking charge at CWI. Ricky Skerritt, the newly elected president of CWI, who was also once the manager of the West Indies team at the turn of the millennium, had said that the selectors will be looking at all available options.The key questions for the selectors concern the two allrounders that would feature in addition to Holder. Will it be Russell and Carols Brathwaite? Who will be Gayle’s opening partner, Evin Lewis or John Campbell? Who among Devendra Bishoo, Ashley Nurse and Fabian Allen will be part of the spinners’ group? Who among Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell and Shannon Gabriel will accompany Kemar Roach in the fast bowling group? Will Nicholas Pooran make it as the back-up wicketkeeper?With about 24 hours left for squad to be finalised, ESPNcricinfo has listed the key names Haynes’ selection panel will deliberate on.

Mushfiqur Rahim picks up a forearm injury in the nets courtesy a Mustafizur Rahman short delivery

Mohammad Isam in Taunton15-Jun-2019The Bangladesh batsmen had a major homework to get through in the lead-up to their next game, against West Indies in Taunton: deal with the short ball. Looking at the way the West Indian pacers have gone so far at the World Cup, Bangladesh are expecting a barrage of short balls, particularly with the newish ball.West Indies took seven wickets with short or short-of-good-length deliveries against Pakistan and five against Australia. In the abandoned match against South Africa, both their wickets came courtesy short balls.ALSO READ: Does Mashrafe Mortaza deserve the criticism?It’s not something Bangladesh are unaware of. Back in the Caribbean in July last year, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder mixed the short and length ball brilliantly in the Test series to blow them away. Only five wickets came from the shorter deliveries, but it forced the Bangladesh batsmen on to the back foot, leaving them expecting bouncers, and 15 wickets fell to full and length deliveries.While Bangladesh handled the short ball better in the ODI series that followed as well as last month in Ireland, the pitches were far slower than what is expected in Taunton.So, two days off from the contest, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan first, and then Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar, were given a roughing up by the net bowlers as well as batting coach Neil McKenzie, who had the side-arm thrower.Mostly it was ducking and weaving, and getting behind the line of the ball. Soumya was aggressive, hitting a few out of the ground as well as top-edging some. Shakib, Tamim and Mushfiqur, the most experienced men in the line-up, handled it with a mix of aggression and solid defensive play. Mahmudullah tried to get behind the line, before choosing to either duck or drop it near his feet.They paid a price too, thankfully not too big – Mustafizur Rahman struck Mushfiqur on the right forearm with a shorter one, forcing the batsman to walk off and not return.Tamim also felt the full brunt of McKenzie’s hurls, as he got little time to react. But the South African also sent in a few full tosses and half-volleys, which Tamim laid into with relish. After all, as Tamim pointed out, while the West Indians would go for their throats in the first 15 overs or so, there are likely to be some loose deliveries too.Mushfiqur Rahim walks off after being hit by a Mustafizur Rahman delivery•Raton Gomes/BCB

“We normally try to simulate in the nets what our opponents are likely to do,” Tamim said. “They usually target us with the short ball but they do the same against all sides in the first ten to 15 overs. They also give run-scoring opportunities. We have to prepare for both, that’s why we are working hard in practice. We want to make sure it is not a surprise for us.”We have an idea about their batsmen and bowlers, but I have noticed their different planning in the World Cup. It is not the same thing that we faced in Ireland or West Indies. They are focusing heavily on the short ball, but if you handle it well, there’ll be opportunities to score runs. They have been bowling this way against all sides.”Tamim said that the familiarity with the West Indies fast bowlers would give Bangladesh a bit of an edge, although conditions might have a say in the way things pan out.”The first three bowling attacks I played against in this World Cup [South Africa, New Zealand and England], all were more or less equal,” he said. “West Indies have pace, three bowlers who bowl above 140. The good thing is we have played all three in the last year-and-a-half.”So there won’t be anything new for us. Yes, if the conditions are different then that might be something. But if we can bring our A game day after tomorrow, then we have a good opportunity to win.”Tamim was also prepared to call Bangladesh “favourites”, particularly due to their recent record in ODIs. Bangladesh have won seven out of their last nine games against West Indies, having won two bilateral series as well as the tri-series in Ireland where they beat West Indies on all three occasions.”Of course, why not? We have won more than them in the recent past. We can be favourites, of course,” Tamim said in response to a question. “In Ireland, we won all three matches against them. It does not matter to me who are favourites and who are not. Cricket is such a game that whoever brings the A game has a chance on that particular day. That is the case for any team in this World Cup.”It is not important who has that tag, it’s about whoever plays well. If you see West Indies’ first two matches, they looked a different side than what they were six months back. Then again, if you look at how we played our first two matches, we also looked a different side. We were challenging the top teams in these conditions. One went in our favour, one didn’t. It will be a good match I think; we just need to see who brings the A game on the given day.”For that A game to really take shape for Bangladesh, they will need to have their best anti-bouncer plan in place and execute it right.

Beard grabs four top-order wickets with first 15 balls, Jamie Porter chimes in with five-for

David Hopps24-Jun-2019<Hampshire rounded up for 118 last week; Somerset sent packing for 131 this. Essex's bowlers have made such light work of the Championship's top two that the most optimistic phrase of all, "Fortress Chelmsford", was uttered around the ground on the second day. They have not seen off Somerset yet but if the muggy weather continues to favour the pace bowlers then a lead of 249 with four wickets left is a considerable one.It was an airless, decaf sort of day, but Essex claimed a sizeable advantage when their young pace bowler, Aaron Beard, grabbed four top-order wickets with his first 15 balls with Somerset crumbling from 63 for 2 to 73 for 6 in the process.Not since his eye-catching first-class debut against the Sri Lankan tourists as an 18-year-old three years ago has he had such a memorable day and he surpassed those figures with a career-best 4 for 23 in only five overs. Jamie Porter, not to be outdone by the young buck, dealt with the tail to collect 5 for 51, his best figures of the season, and Essex had an 85-run lead. Essex took the chance to announce that both had agreed new two-year contracts.Before bad light trimmed the last nine overs from the day, Essex consolidated well enough with Alastair Cook again the bedrock with 47 from 94 balls. Continuing a first-class career after international retirement does not suit everybody but he has looked addicted enough to batting in this match.Tim Groenewald produced a good delivery to dismiss him, turning him round with one that left him and having him caught at first slip. Ravi Bopara's dismissal eight balls from the end of the day as he clipped Jamie Overton forcefully to short midwicket gave Somerset just a glimmer of a chance.Fortress Chelmsford was a term coined by Ronnie Irani during his days as Essex captain. He was a gregarious soul and had probably been watching too many football matches, but it suited the rise of Twenty20 and somehow it caught on, even for those who uttered it with tongue firmly in cheek which was nearly everybody else.As Fortresses go, this one was a sedate one. The Essex and Somerset flags hung limply, gratefully even, at half mast, out of respect for Somerset's chairman Charles Clark, and during the tea interval a spectator twanged his braces so wearily that there was no certainty they would have the energy to hit his chest on their return trip.For the past four years, Irani has been chairman of Essex's cricket committee and, in the committee rooms, there won't be much talk of Fortress Chelmsford, which sounds a bit like a second-rate American actress or maybe a greyhound trailing in last on an evening meeting in Romford.But they are relishing the season in the committee room and in front of Anne's gourmet burger bar (aren't they all these days?) because if Essex go on to win it will be their fourth home win out of four. Can a side win the title without ever winning away? We might yet find out.Somerset, who appeared to be better equipped to deal with the offspin of Simon Harmer, who took remarkable match figures of 12 for 61 against Hampshire, instead capsized against swing and seam. The captain, Tom Abell, handled his promotion to opener well with 36 from 78 balls before Porter had him lbw – his 300th first-class wicket – but George Bartlett was the only other batsman in the top seven to reach double figures.That was largely down to the whippersnapper Beard, about 5ft 10ins but a little stockier these days with gym-toned biceps that bulge in defiance of his stature. He dashes in from a wide angle and achieves a decent amount of pace and was only playing because of a side strain suffered by Sam Cook in the previous Championship win against Hampshire, but if he keeps playing like this then A Change is Gonna Come.Beard's arrival tempted the nightwatchman Groenewald, who had resisted 52 balls for six, to fancy that a release might be at hand, but all he managed was an edged drive. In his second over he then picked up James Hildreth, a brilliant run and dive behind square by Nick Browne to retrieve a botched pull.Tom Banton should have gone to the fifth ball he faced when Ryan ten Doeschate dropped a straightforward in-out chance at short leg in Harmer's first over of the day, but he failed to take advantage and edged a wideish outswinger he had no need to play at.When a slower ball caused Steven Davies to pop up a catch to mid-off, Beard danced around with the delighted realisation that it was a day when he could do no wrong. But the daftest dismissal was that of Jamie Overton who was suckered by Porter into a pull to deep square. His late-order terrorising is always hit-or-miss but this was a waste.

ESPNcricinfo’s live updates and analysis on India v Sri Lanka

Varun Shetty06-Jul-2019

With Phil Simmons pulling out of the race, the shortlist has shrunk from six candidates to five

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2019India are gearing up to announce their next head coach. Former captain Kapil Dev and his Cricket Advisory Committee made up of former coach Anshuman Gaekwad and former women’s captain Shanta Rangaswamy are conducting meetings with the candidates and are expected to make a final call on Friday evening. ESPNcricinfo understands that the shortlist shrunk from six candidates to five on Friday, with Phil Simmons pulling out of the race.Of the candidates appearing in front of the CAC, Shastri, who is in the West Indies with the India squad, was the last to take his interview. Here’s a quick look at everyone still in the running.Ravi ShastriThe incumbent and the favourite. Shastri has been on the job since the end of the Champions Trophy in 2017 and received strong and public endorsement three weeks ago when India’s captain Virat Kohli backed him to keep the job. India were ranked No. 1 in Tests and ODIs at various times during Shastri’s last tenure, made it to the World Cup semi-final and beat Australia in Australia for the first time in Test history.Mike HessonThe strategist. You might have noticed him on cricket broadcasts explaining how teams could go about getting players like Kane Williamson out. Well, imagine that info going directly to the Indian dressing room. Hesson coached New Zealand to the World Cup final in 2015 and is widely considered to be quite astute at reading conditions and helping his players adapt to them. New Zealand showed that during the World T20 in 2016 when they went into their opening game on a rank turner without their two best bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee and bowled India out for 79.Tom MoodyThe franchise heavyweight. Moody’s been everywhere. He led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first IPL title in 2016. He’s been with Rangpur Riders in Bangladesh, Multan Sultans in Pakistan, Melbourne Renegades in Australia (as director of cricket) and has been sought after in international cricket as well. He was coach of Sri Lanka for a while and was in line to take charge of England before losing out to Trevor Bayliss.Robin SinghFour-time IPL champion. He’s been with Mumbai Indians for nearly a decade and that trophy cabinet keeps getting bigger. Robin has also worked with the Indian team previously – he was the fielding coach when they won the inaugural World T20 in 2007. Outside of that he’s had stints with India’s Under-19 and A teams, the Hong Kong national team, USA’s women’s team, CPL side Barbados Tridents and domestic teams in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Lalchand RajputThe outsider. But, he was India’s manager when they went on that fairytale run in the 2007 World T20 followed by the tri-series win in Australia. As a player, he was one of those opening batsmen that was very hard to get out. And as a coach, he’s had brief stints with Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and India A.

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The Kapil-led CAC was formed after the previous panel, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, had to be disbanded owing to the BCCI Ethics Officer finding the last two subject to conflicts of interest under the new constitution of the board. Incidentally, a conflict complaint has been lodged against all three members of the Kapil-led CAC with the BCCI’s ethics officer DK Jain yet to give a verdict.In fact, the former India women captain, Diana Edulji, who sits on the three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), the supervisory authority of the BCCI, was against the formation of the Kapil-led CAC saying the CoA did not have the powers to appoint the ad-hoc panel. However, her two other CoA colleagues, Vinod Rai and Ravindra Thodge, approved the Kapil-led CAC even though Jain has not yet given his clearance.GMT 1055 The article was updated with the news of Simmons pulling out.

Next year’s edition will be the fourth time Bangladesh women will participate in the T20 World Cup after 2014, 2016 and 2018

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2019Thailand women made history on Thursday by qualifying for their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup, to be played in Australia next year. They did so with an emphatic eight-wicket win by chasing 68 against Papua New Guinea in Dundee, where Thailand dominated the game with an all-round display that saw a frugal bowling performance, two run-outs and a convincing batting show.Thailand’s feat was achieved in the 18th over with 15 balls to spare when left-handed Nattaya Boochatham flicked a full toss from medium-pacer Ravina Oa to midwicket where a fumble helped the batsmen complete a quick single. As soon as Boochatham and her partner Nannapat Koncharoenkai completed the winning run, their team-mates burst on to the ground, some with arms raised, some running joyously towards the pitch, and eventually all of them huddled around the two unbeaten batsmen. After the necessary handshakes with their opponents and match officials, the entire team came together once again to form a line and thank the crowd with their hands pressed together and a slight bow, before breaking out into wilder celebrations.Thailand’s journey to the 2020 T20 World Cup first saw them winning the seven-team T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier at home in February this year, which was part of a 17-match winning streak in T20Is from July 2018 to August 2019 that saw them qualify for the main qualifiers in Scotland. In this tournament, they topped Group B with three wins out of as many matches to set up semi-final clash with PNG. The winners of the two semi-finals were to qualify for the T20 World Cup and Thailand did so along with Bangladesh, who beat Ireland earlier in the day.Thailand’s chase was led by No. 3 Naruemol Chaiwai, who scored 32 runs out of their total of 68. She scored briskly in the two substantial partnerships for Thailand, of 31 and 33. Thailand were only four runs away from the historic moment when Chaiwai lobbed a simple catch to mid-off in the 16th over, before Boochatham scored the winning runs nine balls later. Chaiwai struck two fours whereas her opening partner Nattakan Chantam scored three during her 31-ball 18. PNG used as many as seven bowlers but their total wasn’t big enough to provide a fight.PNG had opted to bat but their battling line-up stuttered to 27 for 4 in the tenth over and then 46 for 6 in the 16th. Only three batsmen, including opener Sibona Jimmy, were able to score in double-digits as their biggest partnership could put together only 16 runs, for the seventh wicket. Kaia Arua’s unbeaten 16 stretched the score past 50 with Chanida Sutthiruang’s medium-pace fetching her two wickets, and two run-outs denting PNG further. Sutthiruang is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker so far with an impressive tally of 12 from four innings, averaging only 3.91 and conceding 3.52 runs per over.In the end, Thailand won their fourth straight match and made history by chasing down a total for the first time in the tournament.ACC

Bangladesh sealed their berth for the T20 World Cup, with a four-wicket win against Ireland in the first semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Dundee. Next year’s edition will be the fourth time Bangladesh women will participate in the T20 World Cup after 2014, 2016 and 2018.Bangladesh chased down their target of 86 with nine balls to spare after bowling out Ireland for 85 in 20 overs. Ireland couldn’t build much on their decision to bat as their top three batsmen scored only eight runs in all. Jahanara Alam, Nahida Akter and Salma Khatun made the early strikes. Captain Laura Delany steered the innings after they were reduced to 44 for 5. Delany’s innings of 25 and her partnership of 30 for the sixth wicket with the experienced Eimear Richardson, who struck a quick 25 off 17, helped Ireland along but legspinner Fahima Khatun dismissed both of them within the space of three balls in the 18th over. From 75 for 7, Ireland managed another ten runs in the last two overs as Fahima struck again to finish with 3 for 18.Bangladesh were also led by their No. 4, Sanjida Islam, whose unbeaten 32 off 37 balls saw them home. They were given a scare when they were 30 for 4 in the ninth over before Sanjida and Ritu Moni stitched together a stand of 38 runs for the fifth wicket. Bangladesh lost two wickets to run-outs from there but Sanjida sealed their win.

Play was briefly interrupted on the opening day by a small fire caused by an air conditioning unit

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2019Marcus Stoinis responded to his omission from Australia’s T20I squad by top-scoring for Western Australia and Tasmania debutant Lawrence Neil-Smith claimed three wickets on a closely-contested opening day at the WACA that was briefly interrupted by a small fire.Stoinis’ 61 was the only half-century in Western Australia’s 337 as five other batsmen fell between 30 and 48. Neil-Smith finished with 3 for 81 while Jackson Bird and Riley Meredith also took three wickets apiece before Tasmania’s openers survived five overs to the close.Western Australia were in some early bother after winning the toss, losing Sam Whiteman and Shaun Marsh cheaply to be 2 for 19. Cameron Bancroft and Mitchell Marsh steadied the innings until Bancroft was caught in the gully short before lunch.The interval was called a few minutes early in unusual circumstances when there was smoke spotted behind the pavilion. Firefighters were called and the fire, caused by an air conditioning unit, was soon under control although WACA employees were pictured receiving treatment for smoke inhalation.WACA staff members were treated for smoke inhalation after extinguishing an electrical fire behind the players pavilion•Getty Images

Mitchell Marsh soon departed on resumption and at 4 for 99 the innings was in the balance. Then came Western Australia’s most dominant period of batting as Stoinis and Josh Philippe added 120 in 23 overs which included a pulled six onto the grass bank by Philippe.The breakthrough came from 20-year Neil-Smith who claimed his maiden first-class wicket when he removed Philippe shortly before tea and Stoinis followed in the next over from Bird as Tasmania went into the break on a high.In the evening session Western Australia’s lower provided useful contributions as runs continued to come at a healthy rate. Josh Inglis (42) and Ashton Agar added 51 for the seventh wicket before both fell to Neil-Smith. The home side’s total was boosted by 39 extras which included 14 no-balls, 11 of them from Sam Rainbird.

Gus Logie remains interim head coach, while Rayon Griffith is also part of the support staff

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2019Former fast bowler Courtney Walsh is part of a new interim management appointed for the West Indies women’s team. Walsh will be assistant to Gus Logie, who has been head coach since last month. Cricket West Indies (CWI) is still looking for a for a full-time head coach.The interim management also includes former Guyanese batsman Rayon Griffith, who was an assistant coach with the West Indies men at the 2019 World Cup and during the subsequent home series against India. He was also with runners-up Guyana Amazon Warriors at the CPL.”We’ve had some of the best minds and coaches in the region working with the players. Courtney and Rayon have been working really hard with the ladies at training and we are hoping to see the results on the field,” Logie said.CWI’s director of cricket Jimmy Adams was also pleased with the composition of the team’s technical support unit. “I am confident that our entire support staff, under Gus’ leadership and direction, is capable of driving our women’s cricket forward whilst we begin the search for a permanent head coach,” he said. “Gus has been involved with the program for the past two years and both Rayon and Courtney bring with them a strong working knowledge of what it takes to be successful at the elite level.”Walsh was most recently the bowling coach of the Bangladesh men’s team and has also served as a West Indies selector in the past.”My function is to focus a lot more on the bowlers and the cricket in general to get the ladies together,” Walsh said. “I’m just happy to be able to work with Gus – we haven’t had a chance to be on the same team since we were players and we just want the women to play the type of cricket we know they can play.”The ladies have been very warm and receptive and listened to what I’ve got to say. They are not afraid of trying and implementing what I’ve been telling them. I think one of the advantages I have, is that I was involved in women’s cricket before as a selector and I was part of a couple of their training camps, so they know me and they’ve seen me around. They know I want the best for them and they appreciate that, so for me it’s a plus coming back into the fold of the women’s team now.”CWI also named Evril Betty Lewis as the team’s interim manager, who will lead the new team management along with Logie, according to a board release.

New-look seam attack restrict New Zealand to sub-par 153 for 5 in series opener

The Report by George Dobell01-Nov-2019England 154 for 3 (Vince 59, Santner 3-23) beat New Zealand 153 for 5 (Taylor 44) by seven wickets
A maiden T20I half-century from James Vince helped a new-look England get their New Zealand tour off to a winning start in Christchurch.Despite taking the opportunity to look at three debutants – Sam Curran, Pat Brown and Lewis Gregory – England ensured the reign of new head coach, Chris Silverwood, got off to a winning start in sealing a sixth successive T20I victory. For a side experimenting with fringe candidates a year out from the T20 World Cup, it was a satisfying performance.There were some dissenting voices when Vince, now 28 and playing his 35th international game across formats for England, was recalled. But when he bats like this, combining composure with an ability to time the ball that few can match, it is easy to see why the selectors have
found it so hard to cut him adrift.James Vince pulls through the leg side•Getty Images

Here, demonstrating a range of conventional strokes, Vince controlled the run-chase perfectly. From the moment he hit his first delivery for
four, a classy square drive of Mitchell Santner, he batted with a fluency no other batsman in the game could replicate. Using his feet to pace and spin alike, he made it hard for New Zealand’s bowlers to settle on a length and hit as many fours – seven – as their batsmen managed in their entire innings.But while Vince may dominate the headlines, this was a result set up by a skilful display from England’s bowlers. Maintaining immaculate lines and lengths, they varied their paces cleverly to keep New Zealand to a total perhaps 20 under par on a surface that was a little sluggish – understandably, too: this is the earliest date an international game has been played in New Zealand’s South Island – but which offered bowlers little.The opening pair of Sam and Tom Curran conceded just seven from the first three overs of the match – Tom Curran started with a maiden – to ensure New Zealand were unable to make full use of the Powerplay. And while Sam Curran’s figures were dented by a third over that cost 21 – Colin Munro punishing Morgan’s decision to extend the bowler’s spell with two successive sixes – he had already snared the key wicket of a frustrated Guptill, playing-on as he looked to force the pace.It was a decent start from Brown, too. Bowling at the death, he showed both his skills and his composure, conceding two sixes but no fours,
and claiming a notable maiden international wicket when Ross Taylor mistimed a slower ball to deep midwicket. The third debutant, Lewis
Gregory, was not required with bat or ball, though looked just a touch nervous in the field.Pat Brown made his England debut•Getty Images

But perhaps Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers. While Tim Seifert may have been unlucky with his dismissal – replays suggested the full toss he scooped to mid-wicket was perilously close to waist height – Jordan demonstrated a good range of pace, good control and a willingness to bowl both in the Powerplay and at the death.That New Zealand were able to set anything like a competitive target was largely due to a fifth-wicket stand of 56 in 38 balls between Ross
Taylor and Daryl Mitchell. Mitchell hit the ball as hard as anyone but, coming in at 93 for 4 in the 14th over, had been left too much to do to get New Zealand up to a match-winning total. Only four overs in New Zealand innings realised more than 10 runs; only one realised more
than 13.Any hopes that New Zealand may have enough were quickly banished. Jonny Bairstow may have taken eight balls to get off the mark, but he then took 18 – three fours and a six – off Scott Kuggeleijn’s first over. So while Santner, with his changes of pace, troubled England with three wickets, the support bowlers – Kuggeleijn and Ish Sodhi – were unable to maintain the pressure.When Bairstow, brilliantly caught by Martin Guptill at deep mid-wicket after he had been drawn into slog-sweeping one well outside off stump, and then Vince, mistiming a long-hop in the same direction, fell New Zealand may have harboured hopes of a dramatic fightback. But Eoin
Morgan was too experienced to allow that and sealed the result with a heave over midwicket off Tim Southee with nine deliveries remaining.
The result puts England one-up in the five-match series.At the post-match press conference, Mitchell conceded that New Zealand were about 10 short of a par score. “We would’ve liked to have done better but I think England probably adapted better to the pitch than we did. It was tough to start on, was a bit two-paced and a bit slow. We lost a few wickets straight after the Powerplay there which halted our momentum a bit and we had to play catch up but fair play to England. They might have been a bit more match-fit having played a couple of warm up games and hopefully we’ll learn from this and be ready for the next one.”The match was preceded by a minute’s silence for those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack of March 15 in the city. All proceeds from ticket sales at the match are to be to donated to a fund to encourage the participation of ethnic minorities in sport.

Daniel Brettig13-Dec-2019A nearby grass fire wafted the unmistakable odour of smoke across Perth Stadium early on another enervating day in the west. By the close the only fire was that being breathed by Mitchell Starc, as Australia cornered New Zealand’s batsmen under lights despite the damaging loss of Josh Hazlewood to a left hamstring strain.Two grinding sessions in daylight saw Australia eke out 416 following the loss of early wickets before the pitch and the match burst into furious life in the third, floodlit session. Starc and Hazlewood blasted out Tom Latham and Jeet Raval in their opening overs, only for Pat Cummins to be drafted into early service when Hazlewood pulled up lame before delivering his ninth ball of the Test match.Ross Tayor and Kane Williamson threatened to form a pivotal stand with Australia’s bowling resources shorn by a quarter, only for Starc to coax an edge from New Zealand’s captain that was intercepted by the flying right hand of Steven Smith diving into where third slip might have been. Henry Nicholls and Neil Wagner were swiftly accounted for, and Starc had a hat-trick ball bunted away by Taylor before the close.Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head had earlier looked capable of dominating for the hosts, but both were dismissed in circumstances they would have been disappointed by as part of eight wickets shared between Wagner and Tim Southee.That meant the remainder of the innings was something of a slog for the Australians, as the captain Tim Paine forged partnerships with Cummins and Starc in an effort to not only advance the scoreboard but also ensure that New Zealand’s innings would commence in the harder batting conditions under lights at day’s end.Latham certainly looked to have trouble finding the Starc short ball that lobbed off the shoulder of the bat and back to a grateful bowler to the delight of a crowd of 20,018, and Raval was even further away from a Hazlewood in-dipper that clattered his stumps after several deliveries angled across him towards the slips.Williamson was fortunate to survive early on when a thin edge – picked up by snicko – evaded the attention of every Australian but Smith, whose strangled appeal and brief attempt to call for a review was ignored by Paine, who did not enjoy an entirely pleasant evening with a couple more painful blows to his troublesome right index finger. The early loss of Hazlewood from the attack even had Paine resorting to Matthew Wade’s speculative right-arm mediums inside the first 10 overs.Nathan Lyon’s extravagant turn out of a day two pitch pushed Taylor into a thrilling counter-attack, and at 2 for 77 the visitors had a toehold on the match. But Starc returned and beat Williamson with one superb delivery moving away from him, and then the New Zealand skipper fenced at a wider ball to give Smith the chance to make what is now a trademark full length dive to his right for a spectacular catch.Nicholls, never entirely comfortable, touched one of Starc’s few ordinary deliveries for the evening down the legside to Paine, and next ball Wagner was too crooked and late on a yorker that he dragged onto the stumps. Taylor and BJ Watling did well to survive the day’s remaining deliveries, but they will be starting the third afternoon with a yawning deficit of 307.Labuschagne had begun the second day with designs on a third consecutive score in advance of 150, after a fluent start, as he and Head asserted themselves. But he was left annoyed and confounded by Wagner, who found another way past an international batsman of strong repute when he angled a fullish ball into Labuschagne from around the wicket and snaked it behind the No. 3’s pads and into leg stump. Wagner’s celebration was prolonged, indicating that like most of his wickets, this was no accident.Head was then left with the responsibility for building the innings, but on 56 he leaned back to hammer Southee through the off side and picked out the fieldsman at cover. Head threw his head back in disgust at the dismissal, as did the former captain and sometime Australian team mentor Ricky Ponting in the commentary box.Paine, who had made a circumspect start, was joined by Cummins, and the pair worked their way to the long break in the hope of adding plenty more to the total. They re-emerged with a clear plan to bat for as long as possible, even to the exclusion of scoring, to keep New Zealand in the field and also to ensure that the home side’s bowlers would get to use a new ball once the sun had gone down.This made for some absorbing if not exactly pulse-quickening cricket, as the partnership soaked up 135 balls for 38 runs. Cummins was teased out by the part-time leg breaks of Jeet Raval, bowled around his legs trying to sweep after the bowling had convinced Kane Williamson to bring the deep backward square leg in from the boundary. The arrival of Starc brought a rise in the scoring rate, but Australia’s 400 was still their second slowest in a home Test since 2000.Starc ultimately fell when an attempt to hit Southee out of the stadium finished in Williamson’s hands, and Nathan Lyon hooked a couple of boundaries before picking out fine leg to hand Wagner his fourth wicket. Paine hooked Southee into BJ Watling’s gloves to end the innings on the stroke of the tea break. Fireworks would follow.