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He has been among the runs as well as wickets in the Major League Tournament, Sri Lanka’s domestic first-class competition, this season

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Feb-2025Ramesh Mendis has been added to Sri Lanka’s squad for the second Test against Australia, while seamer Vishwa Fernando and top-order batter Lahiru Udara have been released from what had been an 18-member squad. Sri Lanka team manager Mahinda Halangoda confirmed the changes, and said Ramesh had joined the squad on Monday.Ramesh had been dropped both from the Test XI, and later from the squad entirely, on account of what Sri Lanka’s team management believed to be a sub-par bowling performance against New Zealand in November.But having conceded 654 for 6 in the first innings of the first Test against Australia in Galle, Sri Lanka have brought back Ramesh. Partly this is down to his bowling form in the ongoing first-class competition – the Major League Tournament – in which he has claimed 24 wickets at an average of 21.91 plus scored 260 runs at an average of 52 from six innings.His bowling returns among the top Test teams has been more modest, however, though he has played all 15 of his Tests so far in Asia. Against Australia, for example, he has seven wickets at an average of 40.85 from two matches that were played in Galle in 2022.Sri Lanka will seriously consider him for a spot in the XI given the inexperience in their spin attack. In the previous match, in which Sri Lanka slipped to their worst Test defeat in history, Sri Lanka had two frontline spinners playing their second Test.The second Test starts in Galle on Thursday.

India are expecting their T20I captain to be back for the Asia Cup in September

Shashank Kishore04-Aug-2025Suryakumar Yadav, the India T20I captain, had his first batting session at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru late last week following a surgery for sports hernia in Germany in July.Suryakumar is currently under the supervision of BCCI’s medical staff as he recovers from surgery on his lower right abdomen. His workload will be increased progressively over the next few weeks and he’s believed to be on track for the Asia Cup beginning on September 9 in UAE.ESPNcricinfo understands his rehabilitation was planned with a likely return for the T20I leg of the Bangladesh tour in late August – a series that was deferred to 2026.Suryakumar’s most recent outing was for Triumph Knights Mumbai North East in the Mumbai T20 League in June, soon after the completion of IPL 2025. He hit 122 runs in four innings. He was also in consideration to be named in the West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy but will probably miss that tournament.India’s squad is likely to fly to the UAE in the first week of September for the Asia Cup, and West Zone don’t play until September 4 after being given a direct entry to the semi-finals. As part of his build-up to the tournament, Suryakumar might play a few practice matches and undergo simulation exercises organised by the CoE in the final week of his rehab.The Asia Cup marks the start of India’s runway to next year’s T20 World Cup, which they co-host with Sri Lanka. If he plays, it will be Suryakumar’s first multi-nation tournament as T20I captain since taking over the leadership in the shortest format from Rohit Sharma following their T20 World Cup win in 2024.

The visitors went to the break at 72 for 2

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2025

Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill chat in the middle•Getty Images

A sudden downpour in London forced India and England back into the changerooms early after 23 overs of play at The Oval. Shubman Gill, having lost the toss yet again, was in the middle dealing with challenging batting conditions but profiting thanks to a drop in the quality of bowling among the opposition. The visitors went to the break at 72 for 2.Gus Atkinson, one of four changes for England, acquitted himself very well, playing his first Test two months. He provided the first breakthrough, trapping Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw in the fourth over of the day. The on-field decision was not-out prompting stand-in captain Ollie Pope to review and finally get one right. He had not had any luck with his previous 14 calls but this one was perfect. Atkinson finished the session with figures of 6-1-7-1.KL Rahul was solid again but fell for 14 off 40. With 8mm of grass left on the pitch and most of the session taking place under overcast skies, the batters were very careful when the ball was pitched up in the 4-6m area but anything either side they knew they had to attack. Chris Woakes bowled short but not wide enough for the cut. Rahul went for the shot because of the pressure that had been built – England had given only five runs in the previous six overs – and was bowled off the inside edge.That brought Gill to the middle and he ticked past 732 runs, which means he has the most runs by an India captain over a Test series. Sai Sudharsan was at the other end, looking solid as well and exposing the drop offs between Archer and Stokes, who couldn’t play this game, and Josh Tongue (11 runs in wides in his first over) and Jamie Overton (3-0-16-0) who replaced them. A portion of the bowlers’ struggle was also because the landing area didn’t seem sturdy enough after the overnight rain.

“If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is not conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire’s on-field decision”

Alagappan Muthu03-Nov-20241:16

Manjrekar: ‘With Pant, the word genius came to mind’

Rishabh Pant’s dismissal in India’s fourth-innings chase has emerged as a potentially match-turning moment in the Mumbai Test. He was given out caught bat-pad, with DRS overturning the on-field umpire’s decision, and India captain Rohit Sharma is not sure if that was the right call. Pant stood between New Zealand and a historic 3-0 series sweep with 64 off 57 balls, and before his dismissal India were 106 for 6, their target 41 runs away. New Zealand eventually won by 25 runs.”About that dismissal, I honestly, I don’t know,” Rohit said after the match. “If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is not conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire’s on-field decision. That is what I have been told. So I don’t know how that decision was overturned, since the umpire didn’t give him out.Related

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“The bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don’t know if it is the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about. Have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind.”New Zealand had already missed a chance to review an lbw shout against Pant earlier in the day, when India were 59 for 5. Replays returned three reds on that incident. Then, in the 22nd over, Ajaz Patel twice went up in appeal against Pant. Once for a catch at slip. The on-field decision was not-out, and DRS upheld it.Two balls later, Ajaz spotted Pant charging out of his crease, pulled his length back, and forced the batter into a defensive prod. Pant had enjoyed a lot of success when he had come down the track in this innings, often hitting the ball straight and hard to the boundary. Here he had little choice but to try and adjust, and the ball lobbed off him, into the keeper’s gloves. Ajaz and the close-in fielders thought there had been an inside edge onto his front pad. Umpire Richard Illingworth didn’t. New Zealand captain Tom Latham sent it upstairs for a review.Rishabh Pant walks back, unhappy with the third umpire’s decision•AFP/Getty Images

A spike appeared on UltraEdge when the ball seemed to pass the bat. But the bat and pad were also in close proximity at the same time, which meant the spike could have come from the bat brushing the pad.When the replays came up on the big screen, New Zealand began celebrating. Pant looked completely unflustered until this point – he’d performed a double glove-touch with his batting partner Washington Sundar as soon as New Zealand went up to review; it was their last remaining review. Now he walked over to the on-field officials with his hand extended.Third umpire Paul Reiffel, in making his judgment, noted that the spike could have been from bat hitting pad. But then, after further replays and rocking-and-rolling of the moment where bat, pad and ball were close together, he changed his mind based on what he thought was a deflection at the moment the ball passed the bat.Latham explained New Zealand’s thinking about the dismissal at the post-match press conference. “A few of us heard two noises, and I guess when you review in that situation you leave it up to the umpire’s hands,” he said. “We can’t necessarily see the footage that the third umpire gets so that’s certainly out of our control in terms of what that may look like. We obviously heard a couple of noises and decided to take the review and obviously it fell on the right side for us so that’s obviously up to the umpires. It’s out of our control.”New Zealand had reduced India to 29 for 5 on a rank turner and looked heavy favourites to win. But Pant managed to turn the tide for a while and Rohit felt his wicket had a huge impact on the game. “That dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was really looking good at that point. And it felt like he will take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal. Got out and then we were bowled out right after that.”

Durham keeper will come into contention for second Test in New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2024Ollie Robinson, the Durham wicketkeeper, has been called up for England’s Test tour of New Zealand to replace the injured Jordan Cox.Cox was ruled out of the tour after sustaining a fractured right thumb on Sunday ahead of the second day of England’s warm-up match against a Prime Ministers’ XI in Queenstown.The uncapped Cox had been primed to take the gloves for the duration of the series with Jamie Smith away on paternity leave. Ollie Pope subsequently took the gloves for the first Test, which got underway in Christchurch on Thursday, with Jacob Bethell handed his maiden Test cap.Related

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• Latham wants NZ to switch focus to England challenge

• Cox ruled out of New Zealand Tests with fractured right thumb

Like Cox, Robinson began at Kent before taking his talents to Durham where he has thrived. Since moving to the north-east, he has averaged 53 in the County Championship, with five centuries among 1,802 runs – at an impressive strike rate of 86.22 – helping Durham achieve promotion in 2023, then stabilise as a Division One side this summer. He has also 92 dismissals behind the stumps to his name in the previous two seasons.Robinson, who turns 26 on Sunday, was unlikely to make it to New Zealand in time for the first Test in any case, but will only arrive in Christchurch on Saturday – the third day of the first Test – because he had begun the process of renewing his passport when he received the call up. A regular in the Lions set-up since 2019, he was due to tour Australia at the start of next year.He will immediately come into consideration for the second Test in Wellington, which begins next Friday (December 6). Robinson was unlucky to miss out to Smith at the start of the summer when England went searching for a new wicketkeeper but could get an opportunity to state his case in the next three weeks.Bizarrely, he is the second player with the same name to win an England call-up in the last three years. He is no relation to the other Ollie Robinson, though both players were born in Kent and share a birthday, December 1.

Warwickshire have chance to put big total on the board after inducing a slump from visitors

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 23-Jun-2025Careless batting and missed opportunities in the field cost Somerset a position of dominance against Warwickshire on the second day of their Rothesay County Championship clash at Edgbaston.On a pitch which is excellent for batting, Somerset were 407 for three (Tom Lammonby 133, 196 balls) but collapsed to 498 all out – a total that insures against defeat but does not apply the major scoreboard pressure that beckoned.Warwickshire closed the second day on 157 for one with Alex Davies (63 not out, 152) and Tom Latham (65 not out, 142) having added 125 in 43 overs. Both were reprieved as Davies, on 36, survived a high chance to Archie Vaughan at point and Latham, on 28 escaped a missed stumping by James Rew off Jack Leach.On such a batter-friendly pitch, offering seamers nothing and spinners only very slight turn, near-flawless cricket is required to craft a victory. Somerset’s was that on the first day, but on the second they relieved the pressure on the hosts to leave the match already 99.47% certain to end in a draw.After Somerset resumed on the second morning on 327 for three and overnight pair Lammonby and Tom Abell (48, 103) took the total past 400, the platform was there for a mammoth total for Craig Overton’s side. Instead of showing the required ruthlessness, however, they succumbed to collective carelessness.The collapse began when Abell, seeking to accelerate towards another batting point, hit Corey Rocchiccioli for three successive fours then pulled a short ball to mid-wicket to supply the Australian’s first wicket for Warwickshire. Lammonby had batted beautifully to turn his ninth first-class century into a career-best but chipped Ethan Bamber tamely to mid off.Warwickshire’s part-time spinners Rob Yates and Jacob Bethell then shared the last five wickets in 15 overs. Tom Banton skied Bethell to mid off and Vaughan missed a sweep and was lbw to Yates who quickly had Migael Pretorius caught at slip. Leach conjured up another way to get out when he reverse-swept Bethell to slip. When Matt Henry slogged Yates to long off, Somerset were left with 498 – a tall total but not the intimidating score which would have forced Warwickshire to bat very long even to avoid the follow on.The moment that Warwickshire avoid the follow-on figure – 349 – this match will be doomed to a draw. Yates perished in infuriating fashion, caught down the leg side by Rew off Pretorius, but Davies and Latham reined in their attacking instincts to ensure it was an isolated early wicket.Davies reached his half-century from 109 balls and Latham followed to his from 95. As the shadows lengthened, Somerset’s bowlers gave very little away, so did the batters and so did the pitch and something truly remarkable has to happen if this 148th Championship meeting of these teams is not to conclude in a 68th draw.

It is understood that Haider was arrested in Beckenham where the Shaheens were playing

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2025Haider Ali has been arrested by the Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of rape and bailed pending further enquiries. The Pakistan batter, who was with the Shaheens squad, the de facto ‘A’ team on a tour against of England, remains in the UK. A Shaheens squad, which includes a number of players on the England tour, has flown to Australia to take part in a multi-team T20 series. Haider was part of the squad due to go to Australia, and has been replaced by allrounder Mohammad Faiq”After receiving a report on Monday 4 August 2025 of a rape, we have arrested a 24-year-old man,” a statement from Greater Manchester Police confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. “It’s alleged that the incident occurred on Wednesday 23 July 2025 at a premises in Manchester. The man has since been bailed pending further enquiries. The victim is being supported by officers.”It is understood that Haider was arrested in Beckenham where the Shaheens were playing the last of their five games of the tour. Haider played each of the five games, including the first two on 22 and 25 July, between which the incident he was arrested for is alleged to have occurred in Manchester on 23 July. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in the UK.Related

• Manchester police drop all charges against Haider Ali

• Haider Ali under criminal investigation in the UK, suspended by the PCB

On Thursday, the PCB issued a statement confirming Haider was under criminal investigation in the UK and suspended him pending the results of that investigation. It affirmed that the board “fully respects the legal procedures and processes of the UK” and were providing the player with legal support.Haider, 24, has played two ODIs and 35 T20Is for Pakistan. Initially feted as a destructive power hitter, his reputation burnished with standout performances in the PSL with Peshawar Zalmi in 2020, when he scored 239 runs at a strike rate of over 157. He was called up to the national side later that year, his international debut coming in a T20I game in Manchester, where he scored a 33-ball 54 as Pakistan won by five runs.Inconsistency has dogged him since, and he has repeatedly found himself in and out of the side. However, his talent and explosiveness have kept him in international contention, and the current Shaheens tour was widely viewed as an opportunity to reintegrate a player whose batting approach aligns with the aggressive style Pakistan’s current T20 set-up has made no secret they want to pursue.The PCB has said that they intend to make no further public comment until legal proceedings are complete.

Mitchell Johnson has spoken for the first time of the personal turmoil that led to his stunning meltdown during the Lord’s Test

Alex Brown23-Nov-2009Mitchell Johnson has spoken for the first time of the personal turmoil that led to his stunning meltdown during the Lord’s Test. In a frank and revealing interview, Johnson – the ICC’s player of the year – conceded that a tabloid spat between his mother and fiancee played on his mind throughout the match, culminating in a performance so awry as to convince him he would be demoted for the ensuing encounter at Edgbaston.Johnson’s match return of 3 for 200 from 38.4 overs in the second Test played a significant role in Australia’s eventual 115-run defeat to England. At the time, team-mates and staff sought to play down the link between Johnson’s delicate family situation and his errant bowling, however he has moved to set the record straight on the eve of this week’s Test against West Indies.”I’m probably going back on myself a little bit,” Johnson said. “I said in the past that I’d blocked things out. I guess it started off with the personal side of things. That probably really did get to me. I was denying it at the time, and copping it from the crowd didn’t help, but mentally I’ve probably learned to be a lot stronger and just concentrate on what I’m doing out in the middle. This is what I have to do for a living and I have to leave everything behind me when I’m out there.”I think that I block things out pretty well normally. It was just the Ashes: the whole hype of it and the personal things that came out. It was mostly through Lord’s where I felt that pressure. Obviously I was a little bit disappointed in some of the games I played in. I’m not always going to be at my best. I think I probably put a bit too much pressure on myself with how well I did in in South Africa. Coming into that series I probably relaxed a little bit as well.”Johnson flirted with the selectorial axe after Australia’s shock defeat at Lord’s, their first at the venue in 75 years. Stuart Clark’s precision appeared the ideal alternative to Johnson’s waywardness, but Andrew Hilditch’s panel pulled a major surprise by instead dropping Phillip Hughes and installing the relatively untried Shane Watson at the top of the order.The move to call-in an allrounder provided Ricky Ponting with insurance in the event of another Johnson blow-out, and underlined the lengths Australia’s selectors were prepared to go to accommodate their fragile fast bowler. That unexpected show of faith, Johnson said, went far to restoring his confidence for the final three Tests of the Ashes series and beyond.”I definitely thought I wasn’t going to play the Edgbaston Test,” he said. “I was quite nervous about it. I’m glad I got that opportunity again. You just can’t take anything for granted. I am glad I got that opportunity because who knows, I could have been back playing state cricket, which might not have been a bad thing. I could have been working on different things with my bowling. I’m glad I’ve been given that chance. I don’t know what the selectors were thinking, I don’t know what Ricky was thinking, if they were going to drop me or not. Just in my mind, I just thought that was going to happen.”For those guys to have that confidence in me just gave me confidence as well. It made me think a lot more positively about what my role was in the team, so it definitely helped. I had a lot more confidence in Egbaston and then Headingley. I think sometimes I think a bit negatively with my bowling, and it can get me in a bit of trouble, obviously.”Johnson also admitted to mechanical problems during the Ashes series – low arm height and awkward wrist position among them – but insisted all could be attributed to a clouded state of mind. “It got technical because I was thinking about it, but in the end it was more of a mental thing,” he said. “I had to concentrate on my bowling – where I wanted to bowl the ball and what I wanted to do, how I wanted to get these guys out. I just wasn’t doing that. Definitely in the Lord’s Test I was thinking about everything possible – I was thinking about my front arm, release point, swinging the ball, just everything. I probably concentrated more towards the end of the tour. I just forgot about off-field stuff.”The Australians are gearing for their first Test series since their Ashes disappointment, and Johnson is expected to headline an attack similar, if not identical, to that which slumped to defeat at Lord’s. He is convinced the chastening experiences of four months ago have hardened the resolve of Australia’s youthful bowling unit, all of whom are determined to re-establish themselves as an international force against West Indies from Thursday.The first Test at the Gabba represents an unusual homecoming for Johnson – he originally hails from Queensland, but these days makes his home in Perth. He hopes his previous experiences of the Gabba wicket for Queensland and Australia will convince Ponting to restore him to the new ball role taken away from him in England earlier this year.”I’m playing for my country, I’m a fast bowler and I’d love the new ball,” said Johnson, who has taken 13 wickets at 12.69 in two Tests at the Gabba, including a nine-wicket haul against New Zealand last summer. “That’s one of my goals: to open the bowling for Australia.”Hopefully I can bowl a little bit fuller than I probably have in the past if I get the new ball or whatever it may be. You’ve got to be a touch fuller, just like the WACA. That’s when you get your nicks and your lbws.”

Dillon Pennington called into England Lions squad after three-day defeat in Brisbane

ECB Reporters Network16-Jan-2025Cricket Australia XI 176 (Hearne 106, Cook 4-15) and 261 for 3 (Ward 115, Handscomb 57) beat England Lions 223 (Davies 54, Gannon 5-27) and 213 (McKinney 94, Bell 3-32) by six wicketsA Tim Ward century led a Cricket Australia XI to a six-wicket win over England Lions in their opening tour match at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane.Ward struck 115 before he retired out, while captain Peter Handscomb added 57, as the hosts coasted to their victory target of 261 on the third day. Hampshire duo John Turner and Sonny Baker claimed the only two wickets to fall after Shoaib Bashir had made a late breakthrough on day two.Opener Ward paced the home innings to reach his century from 195 balls and shared a 110-run third-wicket stand with Handscomb to steer his side to their win.Baker claimed the opening wicket of the day when Henry Hunt edged behind to James Rew but the Lions were made to sweat by Ward and Handscomb as they took the game away. Turner ended the partnership when Handscomb top-edged a hook and was caught by Hamza Shaikh on the rope before Ward retired out for Lachlan Hearne and Jack Clayton to steer the CAXI home.The Lions have called up Nottinghamshire seamer Dillon Pennington, currently with an ECB training camp in the UAE, for the remainder of the tour to bolster the fast-bowling group.The Lion will play a second tour game against a CAXI in Brisbane next week before the unofficial Test, which will hold first-class status, against Australia A in Sydney which starts on 30 January.

Australia’s women’s T20 world champions want to pile on the runs in Brisbane before heading “into the unknown” to defend their title in Dubai

AAP23-Sep-2024Australia have banned the pre-game activity that threatened to derail Ashleigh Gardner’s T20 World Cup as the allrounder challenged her side’s batters to fill their boots in the third T20I against New Zealand in Brisbane on Tuesday.Gardner missed the series opener against New Zealand in Mackay last Thursday after colliding with team-mate Georgia Wareham attempting to catch a soft “Vortex” ball in a warm-up drill.The reigning Belinda Clark Medallist initially laughed off the incident before leaving the ground in tears, fearing an eighth career concussion as she was ruled out of the contest.Related

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She was cleared though and returned on Sunday with a Player-of the-Match effort, her 3 for 16 the headline act of a disciplined bowling performance in a 29-run win over New Zealand.The 27-year-old saw a neuropsychologist in 2018 after suffering four concussions in the space of 20 months.”It’s been nice to get back out there after a weird occasion, a head collision in a warm-up,” she said. “It was weird to wrap my head around, but I’ve felt really good the last couple of days.”I’ve had a lot of head knocks in the past; I know when I am concussed and when I’m not.”There was no sign of the Vortex before Sunday’s game, Gardner confirming their pre-match routine had been tweaked.”That’s the end of the Vortex for the rest of the tour,” she said.Ashleigh Gardner returned three wickets after missing the opening game due to a concussion scare•Getty Images

Usually happy to chase, captain Alyssa Healy opted to bat first on Sunday and force her team to set the pace ahead of next month’s World Cup defence in Dubai.Healy (38 off 25) got off to a flyer but Australia’s innings stalled, the hosts recording their worst collapse in the format when they lost their last seven wickets for 28 runs as Amelia Kerr returned career-best figures of 4 for 20.A total of 142 proved more than enough thanks to Australia’s bowlers. But Gardner wants to see improvements in their final hit-out in Brisbane on Tuesday before flying to the UAE.”There’s still a lot left in the tank; hopefully in this last game if we do bat first we can put a massive total on the board,” she said.She said there were no excuses given the side’s incredible batting depth meant Annabel Sutherland entered at the fall of the sixth wicket.”Sutherland at eight is pretty ridiculous,” she said. “Going into conditions like Dubai, we haven’t played there before [for Australia] so we’re kind of going into the unknown a little bit.”But knowing we have a defendable total like 140, we know our bowling unit is good enough to restrict them”The skill we possess, in all facets… it was pretty clinical.”