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Women’s cricket is often derided but it’s a showcase for the sport’s more subtle and elegant skills

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai30-Jan-2013After a day’s play on England’s tours to Australia or New Zealand, Rachael Heyhoe-Flint would take the score sheets, go to her hotel, compose a match report and dictate it over the phone to the ‘s office in London. Nothing out of the ordinary for a touring reporter in the 1960s and 70s. Except that Heyhoe-Flint was also England Women’s captain. She knew that no publicity meant no sponsorship, and no sponsorship was bad for any sport, particularly one such as women’s cricket, forever hamstrung by comparison to its male counterpart. But Heyhoe-Flint’s toil bore fruit when businessman Jack Hayward helped sponsor the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1973, a couple of years before the men’s event.It has been forty years since then. The ICC-backed tenth edition of the Women’s World Cup begins tomorrow in Mumbai – and later in Cuttack – when India take on West Indies under lights at the historic Brabourne Stadium. The game will be live on television. The teams are staying in a luxury landmark hotel, accompanied by a variety of support staff. Several journalists are chasing players for interviews. Forget 1973, even in the 1997 edition, held in India, the players themselves had to move the sightscreen. The world of women’s cricket today is unrecognisable from Heyhoe-Flint’s struggle to bring it some attention. Or is it?’David Warner would have hit that one for six.’ ‘With such shortened boundaries, even I can hit more sixes.’ ‘Not one six so far in the game? How boring!’ ‘I would have stopped that four in my sleep.’ These are some of the typical reactions from fans and even cricket journalists to the women’s game. To one’s mind, cricket has to be the only game where the women’s side of the game is seen consistently through the prism of the men’s version. Tennis never paid scant attention to Victoria Azarenka’s Australian Open win because she didn’t have to beat Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.On the eve of India’s tournament opener against West Indies, Mithali Raj, India Women’s captain, was asked whether any of the senior Indian male players had given inputs and what difference would it make to her if any of them turned up to watch. Imagine MS Dhoni being asked the reverse.Raj believes there is no escaping from the “comparisons” which “are bound to happen because we play the same sport.” However, she reminds it is not exactly comparing apples to apples. “People should realise that at the end of the day, it is different sexes,” Raj said. “And there is one big issue about physical ability. When it comes to the mind game or the technique, I think everybody would agree that we are on par with them. [The rest] is nature. We can’t really do much about it.” It is something people would do well to keep in mind over the next three weeks when changing channels in disappointment after watching a few deliveries of a women’s game, because it doesn’t confirm to what they have to come to believe, or have been led to believe, is “entertaining cricket”.Raj says the advent of Twenty20 and the Indian Premier League has further skewed the balance against women when it comes to perceptions. “The power point has come into the picture with the IPL. But otherwise if you see the one-dayers and the Tests I am sure earlier it was more of technique. Basically it is T20 which is more entertaining and when you see those soaring sixes… with the inception of T20, things have definitely changed.”Things haven’t been too much better when it comes to administration. One of only two stadiums from where matches were to be broadcast on television, Wankhede Stadium, was lost to the local association’s demand of having their team play the Ranji Trophy final there. As telling as the muted opposition to and criticism of the demand was the fact that it was actually made in the first place. Whoever heard of a marquee World Cup venue being lost to a domestic final? Not in the men’s game anyway.So what do these women have to offer us that we have so far refused to warm up to? “It is always curiosity that pulls people to come and watch women’s cricket and when they do, they always acknowledge the elegance of the strokeplay and the kind of effort put in by the players,” Raj says.”I must admit I have seen some of the most amazing shots played by the West Indies players. I am sure you will get to see that during the tournament. They definitely match the men’s standard.””Deandra Dottin [who holds the record for the fastest T20I hundred, across the men’s and women’s games] would definitely clear the boundary,” adds Charlotte Edwards, the England Women captain.Since most of them can’t resort to power like the men do, timing, and the resulting elegance, is a given in the women’s game. Raj is one of the best examples of grace with a bat in hand. Because it is not easy to blast your way out of trouble, most women batsmen have very fine techniques. There is also cultured hitting that is making its way into the women’s game, with the likes of Australia and England leading the way. Women spinners still actually flight the ball generously in one-dayers, and they are met with dancing batsmen who drive such deliveries through the covers with high elbows and full followthroughs. The fielders sprint and dive as well as their bodies allow them to.Starting tomorrow, the cricketing world has another chance to watch all this, and appreciate it for what it is, women playing international cricket. And leave the comparisons with the men out.

The fast bowler spent the last many weeks recovering from a fractured forearm at the NCA

PTI29-Mar-2021Mohammed Shami is “absolutely fine and ready to go” for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 after spending time at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) recovering from the fractured forearm he suffered during the first Test in Australia in mid-December.”The injury while batting was unfortunate as I have not had any fitness issues for a long time, but this was something I couldn’t do anything about but it is part of the game,” Shami, who left the NCA on March 20, told . “I always look at the positives. The last season was good for me and hope I can carry that form into the IPL. Because of the injury, I got more time be ready for a big tournament like the IPL.

On life in the bubble

“It is very tough as you can’t meet your friends and family they way you usually do. That helps take your mind off the game, which is very important. But, right now, it is the need of the hour. It is better to have the bubble than not having the event at all.”

“I was at NCA most of the time. I could have gone back home but because of the current Covid environment, I decided to spend more time at NCA as the facilities are much better and you can follow the Covid protocols.”The 2020 season, played in the UAE, was Shami’s best – after his first go in 2009 – on all markers: he got 20 wickets from 14 games at an average of 23.00 and strike rate of 16.10, with an economy rate of 8.57, all superior to his numbers in previous seasons. His IPL best of 3 for 15 also came last season.But with Ravi Bishnoi the only other bowler to have an impact, the Punjab Kings [Kings XI Punjab till last year] failed to make the playoffs. They have bolstered the bowling department ahead of the upcoming season, buying Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Jalaj Saxena, Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen at the auction earlier this year.”We can’t change the past,” Shami said. “I tried my best last season and also helped the fellow pacers whenever I could. We got good overseas players now. It is a stronger squad so we should do better this time.”Your mind has to be absolutely clear in the shortest format. As a unit, we did good work, but lost close matches we should have won. The support staff and players were frank with each other about that. Our death bowling seems better compared to last year, so we should do better.”

Veda tested negative after visiting her family a few weeks ago; has not been able to visit them since then

Annesha Ghosh06-May-2021India Women batter Veda Krishnamurthy, whose mother died of Covid-19 on April 23, has been bereaved a second time in a fortnight with her elder sister succumbing to complications caused by the virus on Wednesday.Krishnamurthy’s sister, Vatsala Shivakumar, who was admitted in a hospital in Chikmagalur, around 245 kilometres from Bengaluru, is understood to have shown decided signs of improvement earlier this week, but she breathed her last around 5.45pm on Wednesday.It is learnt that Vatsala, 42, had suffered severe lung infection as a result of Covid-19-induced pneumonia and was put on a ventilator the same day her mother, Cheluvamaba Devi, 67, died in Kadur, around 40 kilometres from Chikmagalur.”With the help of the hospital staff, Veda’s sister had even begun FaceTiming with Veda and some of her other near and dear ones earlier this week. It is shocking to learn that after losing aunty, we couldn’t save either. I can only request everyone to give Veda and her family the time and privacy they need to bear this immense loss,” Reema Malhotra, the former India cricketer, told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday. Malhotra has been close to Krishnamurthy’s family for a long time. Both Malhotra and Krishnamurthy are employed with the Western Railways and represented the Railways side on the domestic circuit for several seasons. According to Malhotra, several other members of Krishnamurthy’s family, including her father, brother and her second sister, who live in Kadur, began showing Covid-19 symptoms last month and later tested positive for the virus. Krishnamurthy, 28, had visited her family a few weeks ago and returned to Bengaluru by the time the first symptoms of infection among her family appeared. She had gone into self-isolation upon returning to the city and returned a negative test. She has not been able to visit her family in Kadur since.A day after her mother’s passing, Krishnamurthy had put out a tweet about her family, and her negative test. Several cricketers and coaches, including former Pakistan captain Sana Mir, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, former India bowler Snehal Pradhan, and former India head coach Ramesh Powar, had offered condolences.India is currently grappling with a devastating second wave of Covid-19, with families of several other cricketers like MS Dhoni and R Ashwin also having tested positive for the virus. Sachin Tendulkar, S Badrinath, Yusuf Pathan and Harmanpreet Kaur are among the group of players who have contracted the virus in the past two months and recovered since.Krishnamurthy has played 48 ODIs and 76 T20Is for India. Her most recent appearance in competitive cricket came during the inter-state Women’s Senior One Day Trophy quarter-finals in March in Rajkot, where she represented Karnataka.

The team are set to spend more time on the road due to Covid-19 but the captain is happy to do whatever is needed to keep the season going

Andrew McGlashan20-Feb-2021Through necessity Victoria are giving a number of young players a chance this season so the result at the SCG, where they overturned a strong New South Wales side, brought plenty of satisfaction for captain Peter Handscomb.In the off-season experienced quicks Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain departed to new states while Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell have seen their red-ball chances reduced to zero by Australia duty and the impact of Covid-19 bubbles. Added to that, on the resumption of the competition this week Will Pucovski has been ruled out for the season due to a shoulder injury.Over the last three days in Sydney, two players with a combined age of 38 played central roles in a tense four-wicket victory on a tricky surface that offered something for the bowlers throughout with Nathan Lyon a considerable danger in the last innings.Mitch Perry, the 20-year-old seamer, claimed match figures of 5 for 39 which included the scalp of Steven Smith in the first innings (Smith fell to 21-year-old Will Sutherland in the second, although was far from happy with the decision) and then Victoria’s run chase was lifted from a rocky 5 for 87 by an unbeaten 38 from 18-year-old Jake Fraser-McGurk who is regarded as one of the most exciting batting talents in Australia.Related

• Six players to watch as the Sheffield Shield returns

• Perry makes his mark by removing Smith as Victoria dominate

• Fraser-McGurk helps Victoria survive Lyon threat to secure victory

“Playing against a strong New South Wales team, we’ve got a few boys who grew up watching these blokes,” Handscomb said. “So to come out and have the chance to play against them was one thing and to walk away with the win, it’s even better.”.”Mitch, it’s only his third Shield game and we had a couple of things for him after his first two, he was a bit pretty, maybe bowled a bit too wide and didn’t make the batters play enough.”For him to turn that around so quickly and ask questions of some of the best batters in the world was just awesome. He’s come along in leaps and bounds in a couple of months, I’m pretty excited to see what he’s going to do for the rest of the season”Then obviously Rooster [Fraser-McGurk] at the end there, [he had a] pretty calm head, maybe it helped he was young and didn’t have any demons or anything, he just went out and batted the way he batted, he’s an exciting talent. I’m pretty pumped to see what he’s going to do.”While all teams have had challenges thrown at them this season due to the impacts of the pandemic, that has been more acute for Victoria. They had to do two weeks quarantine in Adelaide, with very limited training, before the hub earlier this season and ahead of this game had to abide by stay-at-home orders having flown into Sydney due to the recent outbreak in Melbourne.They have now had their next match, also against New South Wales, relocated to Bankstown in Sydney due to border restrictions in Melbourne but Handscomb was more than happy to take the pragmatic view.”We were quite lucky to play this game,” Handscomb said. “With everything that was going on, Covid playing its role in everything, I think we’re all pretty aware there are going to be mini-outbreaks and they are going to force border closures and whatnot. So to still be able to have this competition running and moving forward is awesome and a great credit to everyone who did that.”We love playing at home, we know our conditions pretty well and in a year where we’ve spent a fair bit of time away from home, it would have been nice to go back. But to keep the competition going and make sure everyone can keep the schedule as planned, we’re pretty happy to stay up here. We’ve got a couple of days off in Bondi so that’s not the worst spot in the world either.”

The left-handed opener leads the LPL run charts by 173 runs

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Dec-2020Danushka Gunathilaka’s Lanka Premier League form has been astounding. In eight innings, his lowest score was 30 not out off 15 balls, in a rain-shortened match. In the remaining seven innings, he has passed fifty four times, and eclipsed 80 twice. He averages 77 and is the tournament’s highest run-scorer by a mammoth 173 runs, which means his tally of 462 is a 60% improvement on that of the next-best batsman.Captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa was full of praise, ahead of Gladiators’ semi-final against Colombo Kings on Sunday.”I’ve never seen a player being so consistent throughout a T20 tournament. He’s been a big plus point for us. He was the lone fighter from the batting department who took us into the semi-final. He’s also been a finisher for us in the last two games. He’s given the whole batting unit confidence. We have big hopes for him in the semi-final, and may he continue his good work.”Gunathilaka’s flood of runs also hasn’t come at the cost of a strong strike rate. But although his strike rate of 145 is impressive, there is a quirk to these stats – he has struck only eight sixes to his 64 fours. Each of the next three batsmen on the run-scorer’s list have hit 14 or more sixes. Meanwhile, only one batsman in the whole tournament has hit even half of the number of fours Gunathilaka has managed.Gunathilaka is generally an effortless hitter of sixes, but said that he made a conscious effort to keep the ball on the ground through the LPL.”I think from ground to ground you have to change the way you play as a batsman, and everyone must have seen that on this ground, the outfield is incredibly fast – I knew that as soon as I watched the first match,” Gunathilaka said. “The moment you hit the ball in the gap it travels very quickly. So I thought that rather than trying to hit sixes, I can reduce the risks I’m taking by hitting the ball along the ground. There are a lot of fours on offer when the ground is this hard.”While Gunathilaka has almost certainly been the player of the tournament so far, his team had struggled badly for most of it. Gladiators lost each of their first five matches, before finally getting themselves on the points table with a victory over one of the tournament favourites – Colombo. They’ve since been more competitive, sneaking into the semi-final on the back of a strong win over Kandy Tuskers in what was essentially a quarter-final. It had been their fielding that had let them down, before the win against the Kings, Gunathilaka said.”We thought that at some point our middle order will come right, but then I felt that the major problem was our fielding. There was not enough effort. I thought we were giving an extra 20 runs in each of the first four matches. So we thought we had to field well first, before anything. And that’s what changed in the match against Colombo Kings. We took our catches and our ground fielding was good. We won that match with our fielding. I think across the tournament, a few teams have lost matches with their fielding, and we’re trying to catch up.”

After meandering along for nearly four months, the CB40 is finally nearing the semi-finals. Lancashire are the one county assured of qualification. Hampshire, Kent and either Sussex or Warwickshire are likeliest to join them

Tim Wigmore20-Aug-2012After meandering along for nearly four months, the CB40 is finally nearing the semi-finals. Only the top side of the three seven-team groups is guaranteed to qualify, while the best runner-up also progresses.Lancashire are the one county assured of qualification. The most likely scenario is that Hampshire, Kent and either Sussex or Warwickshire will also consist the semi-finals, although there is much still to be decided.Here is how the groups are shaping up:Group ALancashire are the only side who have already qualified for the semi-final stage, having won eight of their ten games. If they win at either Chelmsford or New Road, they will be guaranteed a home semi-final.Their success has been built around their bowling attack. Gary Keedy and Ajmal Shazhad have claimed 17 wickets each, while Stephen Moore’s six half-centuries have underpinned their batting.No other side can qualify, even as a best runner-up: Middlesex are second but they cannot match Warwickshire’s number of victories in Group C, because victories are used as the tie-breaker between runners-up.Netherlands’s initial success – they won five of their first six matches – caught attention, but their form has since subsided.Group BThis is the most complicated group, with three sides retaining hopes of qualification as winners. Hampshire, with Michael Carberry and James Vince consistent run-scorers, lead with 15 points, but face a tricky final game at Chester-le-Street, where Phil Mustard has smashed centuries in his last two CB40 games. If Hampshire lose, they will need neither Warwickshire nor Kent to gain any more points.Despite grim form with the bat – top run-scorer Steven Davies averages under 28 – Surrey also retain an outside chance of qualification, owing to the quality of their spin attack. But they must win both their final two games, at home to Glamorgan in tomorrow’s Tom Maynard Celebration game and then at Taunton.Somerset, led by Peter Trego’s all-round contribution, also have unconvincing qualification hopes – which is remarkable considering they picked up only one point (from a washout with Glamorgan) from their first five games.If Hampshire win their final game, the task for Somerset and Surrey becomes harder. They would then require Kent to lose both their remaining games and Warwickshire to lose their final one to have a chance of qualification.Group CThree sides can still claim top spot in this group, which is by far the most likely to be the source of the best runner-up.Sussex, for whom seamers Chris Liddle and Amjad Khan have been outstanding, are currently top with 16 points, despite the frustration of four washouts.They face a crunch match at Canterbury, the winner of whom is certain to progress to the semi-finals. But if Sussex lose, then would be out unless Warwickshire also lost.Kent’s mix of youth (Matt Coles and Sam Bilings) and experience (Darren Stevens and James Tredwell) has been formidable, with six wins and only one defeat (to the Unicorns) so far.One more victory – either against Yorkshire on Wednesday or Sussex on Monday, both of which are at Canterbury – will almost guarantee them qualification, because their run rate is by far the best of all sides who could end up on 17 points.Should Kent win both games they are guaranteed to be top, and with a home semi-final; if they lose both they are certainly out.If Warwickshire, whose seven wins have been built on a powerful seam attack, win their final game, against Yorkshire at Scarborough, they will qualify – unless Kent beat Yorkshire and Sussex beat Kent, because no other second-placed side would be able to get up to 17 points.Should they lose, they would probably be out – they would need Kent to suffer two heavy defeats, and also for runners-up in other groups to suffer dips in their run-rate.ConclusionIt could not be simpler.

A round-up of the fourth day’s action of Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Odisha kept their cool and completed their first outright win in four years by defeating Haryana in Bhubaneswar. Haryana were expected to roll over after their first-innings implosion for 66, but they fought hard over the next three days to make sure it was not all one-way traffic for Odisha. Chasing 148 to win, Odisha were 60 for 3 overnight, and lost Abhilash Mallick early on. Their experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Halhadar Das followed soon after, and at 81 for 5, it was anybody’s game. No. 3 Govind Podder and Deepak Behera, however, put on 43 runs to take Odisha close to victory. Podder fell after a crucial half-century, but Behera and Lagnajit Samal made sure Odisha’s winless run didn’t extend any longer. The result puts Odisha on seven points after three matches, while Haryana are yet to get their first point having lost both their games so far.
Scorecard
Tamil Nadu completed a dramatic victory over Maharashtra in Chennai – their first outright win of the season. Needing only two more wickets to finish off a thrilling match, Tamil Nadu took only 8.5 overs to confirm six points. Their spinners Aushik Srinivas and Malolan Rangarajan took a wicket each as Maharashtra folded for 88 on a pitch that was providing plenty of help to both the quicks and the spinners. The win takes Tamil Nadu to eight points after three matches, and Maharashtra are still stuck on one point after two games.
ScorecardUP gave themselves 91 overs on the final day to bowl out Karnataka and were well on course but a dogged ninth-wicket stand between CM Gautam and KP Appanna that lasted more than 10 overs denied them six points. UP, however, floated to the top of the Group B table with ten points.Declaring the innings at their overnight 343 for 5, UP set Karnataka a target of 446 overs on the last day and then struck early to remove the openers within the first 10 overs. Manish Pandey and Ganesh Satish resisted for 30 overs with a 122-run stand and both completed half-centuries, but well-set Pandey’s run out opened the gates for the home side. UP’s bowlers – led by Bhuwaneshwar Kumar’s 4 for 67- kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals and were close to finishing the job when they took the eighth wicket with ten overs to go. However, Gautam, who scored 26 off 109 balls, and No. 10 Appanna, who scored 4 off 26 balls, survived the last hour as the match ended in a frustrating draw for UP.
ScorecardAfter four centuries and six half-centuries and nearly 1100 runs in four days, all Delhi and Baroda could do was to get a point each from their third round Ranji Trophy encounter at the Kotla. Replying to Baroda’s 561, Delhi scored 505 for six, largely due to the twin centuries from Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia along with an entertaining half-century by Sumit Narwal towards the end.

Five-match series set to be first internationals staged in Europe in November

Matt Roller22-Oct-2020Ireland and Scotland women will return to international cricket in November after a 14-month break, with a five-match series in Spain comprising two 50-over matches and three T20Is.Neither side has played a full international fixture since the T20 World Cup qualifier in September 2019, with both teams missing out the main event earlier this year.The fixtures will be held at La Manga, a resort in Murcia that has become a regular host for county clubs on pre-season tours as well as European Cricket League games. It is believed that they will be the first international fixtures to be staged in Europe in November.Players on both sides have been involved in some cricket this summer: Ireland held an eight-match Super 50 Series, and while Scotland’s regional series was cut short by the imposition of tighter Covid-19 restrictions, their ‘A’ team also played six fixtures against English sides.Ireland go into the series missing four players in Lara Maritz, Una Raymond-Hoey, Eimear Richardson – all awarded retainer deals this week – and the centrally contracted Mary Waldron, all of whom are in Australia.In their absence, there are maiden call-ups for Zara Craig, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter and Jane Maguire.”We’re delighted to finally see some international action return,” said Ed Joyce, Ireland’s head coach. “Our last matches were at the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Scotland last year, so this series is very welcome for all involved.”The absence of a few of our senior players, while unfortunate, has opened up an opportunity for several young players to come in and get a taste of international touring life. I have no doubt they’ll benefit immensely from the experience, which may be crucial as we move into what will likely be a big 12 months for Irish women’s cricket.”Steven Knox, Scotland’s head coach, said: “The squad are both delighted and excited that they will be playing an international series in Spain against Ireland this November.”It will give the players a great opportunity to show that all the hard work they’ve done in training over the past ten months, and in the A team games that were played in August and September, will hopefully pay off against a team that are ranked above us in T20I cricket.”Scotland’s key players will be the Bryce sisters, Sarah and Kathryn, both of whom will go into the series on the back of impressive seasons in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, where they finished as Lightning’s leading run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively.Meanwhile, both nations’ men’s teams could return to action in December in the UAE. The reported last week that a four-nation T20 tournament involving the hosts, Ireland and Scotland and one other side is due to be held before the end of the year. It is understood that discussions are still ongoing, but it is hoped the series will be ratified soon.Ireland squad: Laura Delany (capt), Zara Craig, Rachel Delaney, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Shauna Kavanagh, Gaby Lewis, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Jane Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Celeste Raack, Rebecca StokellScotland squad: Kathryn Bryce (capt), Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Sarah Bryce, Priyanaz Chatterji, Ikra Farooq, Katherine Fraser, Becky Glen, Samantha Haggo, Ailsa Lister, Abtaha Maqsood, Megan McColl, Katherine Mills, Charis Scott, Ellen Watson

Jos Buttler’s international career finally came alive at Edgbaston and in an instant his stock has rocketed

David Hopps16-Sep-2012Even in the instant world of Twenty20, it takes some believing that a single over can change the mindset of a team, never mind the player involved. But the 32 runs that Jos Buttler took off one over from Wayne Parnell in the final dregs of the English summer has become emblematic for an England squad seeking proof that they have the capacity to win the World Twenty20.Before his Edgbaston escapade, Buttler was just another skilful young player seeking to justify the faith shown in him. After one brief but violent assault he has instantly become one of the most talked-about players in town. “Which one is Jos Buttler?” is now a contender for the top ten questions in the hotel lobby, proudly ranked alongside other essentials like “is my room ready yet?” and “can you give me some change for the tuk-tuk driver”.For more than a year, Buttler’s T20 career was stillborn. He had 10 caps, but in six innings had reached double figures only once. Those who had watched him at Somerset yearned for his ability to overflow. But he got out twice in Dubai to his signature ramp shot and as well as enquiring of the batting coach, he even asked the team psychologist, Mark Bawden, if he should keep playing it. Bawden told him to trust his instincts as sports psychologists tend to do.Buttler, as he did in the aftermath of Edgbaston, spoke in Colombo of the confidence this has brought him, that he “feels calmer, more myself, more relaxed,” that his ability to repay the faith has given him a greater sense of belonging. A few days before the biggest tournament of his life it could not be better timed.”After the first one I hit, I thought ‘this is good fun, I can enjoy this’,” he said. “It was just one of those overs: he bowled it where I guessed and it just came off. I’m excited about gaining a bit of recognition or getting noticed. That can only be a good thing; it means you must have done something right for sides to know who you are.”But it is the positive impact that Buttler’s innings has made upon the England team that is so striking. England admittedly are defending champions, but they do not play much T20 and have little involvement in IPL. As one of the last sides to arrive in Sri Lanka, they could easily feel like visitors rather than contenders.Eoin Morgan, who in the absence of Kevin Pietersen is the batsman with IPL-cred, enthused about the wider impact of Buttler’s innings. “It was absolutely brilliant,” he said. “It gives everyone else around them belief that he can perform at any given time especially when it is to that extremity.”I’ve been watching Jos train for nearly a year now, and he’s phenomenal. We’ve all been waiting for this to evolve. The fact it has now is awesome for his own confidence, knowing that he can pull out a performance like that, and it is also great for the team.”It wasn’t easy for him in Dubai where it was reverse swinging, and it was among his first couple of innings. There were a lot of contributing factors to why he didn’t have a chance to go out and play the way he could. It is very timely he has now. Like anything, until you go out there and prove to yourself and you know inside you can perform, all the reassuring words run off your shoulders really.”The value of Buttler’s assault is even more important if you accept Morgan’s assertion that T20 is evolving so quickly that experience is often passed in the reverse manner, from young to old, rather like teenage sons showing fathers how to download an App. Morgan might pass on advice in team meetings about how to keep things simple, but he gets a lot back in return.”Everyone that comes through, you learn a hell of a lot more from,” he said. “You’re always a generation behind when you’re passing on experience. The way the game’s going, people are always bringing in new things.”England play the first of two warm-up games against Australia in Colombo tomorrow, at Nondescripts CC, a club with a name that Buttler need no longer fear sums up his international career. Pakistan follow on Wednesday before Group A matches against Afghanistan on Friday and India two days later.”I’ve played Afghanistan before, when I played for Ireland, and have been on a losing side against them, so I won’t be taking them for granted at all,” Morgan said. “They have a lot of up-and-coming players, and it’s a potential banana skin for us. If we don’t perform, there’s a chance they could sneak over the line.”But survive that and England move to Pallakele for the Super Eights, to face – barring shocks – West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand and with the October monsoon approaching a little unsettled weather might help their cause, if not assist the batsman-friendly tournament for which the ICC must yearn.”Pallekele is similar to English conditions – it does do a bit,” Morgan said. “Research suggests it nips around which I’m not sure will be the most attractive Twenty20 cricket. But there’s every chance of these conditions, especially with the rain around – which we’re more used to after the summer we’ve had.”As for Pietersen-watch, he is about to arrive in Sri Lanka as an expert pundit for ESPN Star Sports. “I’d no idea he was coming,” Morgan said. “I look forward to seeing it. It could be quite funny.”The Pietersen imbroglio, he said, was not a dressing room obsession, but neither was it a banned topic of conversation. “No, it’s not like Voldemort, it’s alright,” he said.As Stuart Broad, England’s T20 captain, has occasionally been compared to Malfoy, this raises interesting possibilities. Harry Potter fans will tell you that Voldemort gives Malfoy a hug – an awkward, unfeely hug, but a hug nevertheless – in the final edition of Harry Potter. The first time he bumps into Stuart Broad, England’s T20 captain, in the hotel lobby could be quite touching.

The Decision Review System (DRS) will be used for the upcoming two-Test series between Sri Lanka and England but the Hot Spot technology will not be available

Sa'adi Thawfeeq 13-Mar-2012The Decision Review System (DRS) will be used for the upcoming two-Test series between Sri Lanka and England but the Hot Spot technology will not be available, leaving the Snickometer as the only tool to aid decisions on catches. The ball-tracking technology will be provided by Hawk-Eye, Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga has said.The version of the DRS used in the series will be the same as the one used in Sri Lanka’s previous home series, against Australia in August-September last year. There had been doubts before that series over whether SLC would be able to afford the technology required for the system, given their financial crunch, but the DRS was used then, though without the expensive Hot Spot, and will be used again for the series against England. The ICC, in October last year, removed the mandatory requirements for the DRS, leaving the decision of what technology to use to the participating boards in a series.The last time the DRS was used in Sri Lanka, Hawk-Eye admitted there had been a tracking mistake that led to Phil Hughes being adjudged lbw during the first Test, in Galle. There was a visible discrepancy between Hawk-Eye’s graphic and television replays for Hughes’ dismissal, the umpires referred the incident to the ICC, and Hawk-Eye admitted there had been a mistake, mainly due to the small distance between where the ball pitched and the point of contact with the pad.The absence of Hot Spot also became an issue during that series when, in the second Test, wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was convinced Tharanaga Paranavitana had gloved a ball down the leg side to him, but was denied due to a lack of evidence. “It’s pretty hard with those ones in general for umpires where it comes off the glove or the hip or the bat. It’s pretty hard with no Hot Spot as well; it’s hard to make a decision. I was pretty confident then that we got some glove,” Haddin had said of the incident.England, though, have had issues with the Hot Spot technology. During their home series against India last summer, Stuart Broad suggested Hot Spot does not show faint edges, after England were convinced VVS Laxman had edged a ball but survived a referral, at Trent Bridge.There were also a couple of flashpoints surrounding the DRS during England’s recent Test series in Pakistan in the UAE. In the second Test, a not-out lbw decision against Mohammad Hafeez was overturned despite the fact that Hot Spot appeared to show a faint inside edge, and an lbw against Stuart Broad in the third Test, when he had got his front foot well down the pitch, raised the question of whether the DRS had swung things too much in favour of the bowlers.While Hawk-Eye will be used in Sri Lanka, its rival ball-tracking provider Virtual Eye was called into question by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell after the Dunedin Test. Virtual Eye threatened to pull out of the series due to the criticism but were persuaded to stay on by the ICC.Edited by Dustin Silgardo