Rohit, Rahul and Dhawan to miss first two England Tests

India are missing three major batsmen – openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan, and Rohit Sharma – because of injures for the first two Tests against England. Allrounder Hardik Pandya has been included in the Test squad for the first time in his career.Fast bowler Ishant Sharma returned to the 15-man squad after missing the Test series against New Zealand because of an illness. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered during the second Test against New Zealand but was not picked because he had not played a first-class game since.Rohit sustained an injury to his upper thigh during the ODI series against New Zealand, and is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks, and might need surgery too. That put him out of the series. There was no like-for-like replacement for Rohit, which could mean a debut for Karun Nair or Pandya in Rajkot unless India play five specialist bowlers.Gautam Gambhir, who scored a second-innings fifty in his comeback Test against New Zealand in Indore, was set to continue as the opener for the first Test at least. He had returned to the Test squad because of the injuries to Rahul and Dhawan. Rahul missed the last two Tests and the ODIs against New Zealand because of a hamstring injury, and Dhawan was ruled out for the third Test and the limited-overs contests because of a thumb injury.Fast bowler Shardul Thakur was dropped from the squad after coming in as a replacement during the Tests against New Zealand. That he would concede his place once Ishant regained fitness was expected.

India’s injured

  • Rohit Sharma – injured thigh during fifth ODI against NZ. Out for six to eight weeks

  • KL Rahul – injured hamstring during first Test against NZ. Missed the remaining two Tests and ODIs.

  • Shikhar Dhawan – dropped for the first Test against NZ, fractured thumb during second Test, missed the third and the ODI series.

  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar – recovered from hamstring injury suffered during the second Test against NZ, but not selected because he has not played first-class cricket since

What was not expected was the selection of Baroda’s Pandya, who has played just 16 first-class matches and taken 22 wickets at an average of 33. He has already played four ODIs and 16 T20 internationals. He featured in the 2016 World T20, and was the Man of the Match on his ODI debut.MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, saw Pandya bowl on India A’s tour of Australia, a tour that first paved his way into the ODI side and now into the Test squad.”Pandya’s pace has increased, he is moving the ball, his batsmanship has improved,” Prasad said. “And he has mellowed down as a person. He is one allrounder we thought is an equally competent bowler and batsman. And a good fielder too.”Rahul Dravid has worked hard on the mental side of his game. Now Anil Kumble is guiding him. We have three allrounders – Stuart Binny, Hardik Pandya, Rishi Dhawan. In this particular series, he scores ahead of Binny. Much quicker and better bowler than Stuart. With form and fitness, Hardik is a better option.”India are presently the No. 1 ranked team in Tests, following their 3-0 victory against New Zealand. The first Test against England is in Rajkot from November 9, and the second in Visakhapatnam from November 17.Squad Virat Kohli (capt.), R Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammad Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, M Vijay, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav

Composed Brathwaite leads West Indies' recovery

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKraigg Brathwaite was a study in concentration during his 12th Test fifty•Getty Images

Pakistan rebounded from being bowled out for 281 to reduce West Indies to 38 for 3, but had to work much harder for their subsequent breakthroughs as Kraigg Brathwaite led his side back into contention with a gritty, unbeaten 95. Supported first by Roston Chase and then by Shane Dowrich, Brathwaite helped West Indies close on 244 for 6 after two hard-fought sessions.Confronted with a probing bowling effort, a slow outfield and horrid start from his top-order team-mates, Brathwaite maintained his composure and patience throughout his 206-ball vigil. Unlike the more free-flowing batsmen at the other end, he seldom tried to force the pace, content to play the ball late whenever he could. Nine of his ten fours came behind the wicket, the sole exception being a loft over mid-on off Zulfiqar Babar.After the three early wickets, Jermaine Blackwood briefly looked promising after lunch. However, his attacking instincts, and his seeming refusal to rein them in, soon led to his downfall. Having driven Mohammad Amir on the up for a boundary through cover, Blackwood tried to repeat the shot a few balls later. Only, this time, the delivery was slightly shorter and not quite there for the drive; Blackwood edged it to gully and departed for a run-a-ball 23.Chase was the next to keep Brathwaite company. In a productive period leading to tea, Chase hit a number of lovely cover drives, moving to 43 off 82 by the interval. He did have a few awkward moments against spin, though, with legspinner Yasir Shah luring him into some injudicious shots against the turn.Chase kept taking the bait and creamed Yasir for a big six over long-on to reach his fifty shortly after tea. Like Blackwood, however, he perished after one indiscretion too many. With left-armer Amir angling the ball across him from over the wicket, Chase went for an extravagant drive and only managed a thick edge to Younis Khan in the slips. That brought to an end an 83-run fifth-wicket partnership, but West Indies were still vulnerable at 151 for 5.Next, it was Dowrich’s turn to complement Brathwaite’s marathon knock. Dowrich hit several attractive boundaries during his 90-ball 47, and was particularly strong square of the wicket on the off side. But he had two major strokes of luck early in his innings.The first, with Dowrich on 15, came via a recurring theme – a Wahab Riaz no-ball. The bowler had enticed the batsman into chasing a full, wide delivery and edging it to Asad Shafiq at gully. But he had overstepped – for the 15th time in the series – and Dowrich lived on. A few overs later, Dowrich attempted to sweep Azhar Ali, and the ball hit the back of bat before looping to Younis at slip, who put down the chance after an elaborate juggle.It was around this time that things seemed to be slipping away from Pakistan. Leg-side deliveries were helped on their way to the fine-leg boundary. Dowrich unfurled some cracking strokes. The odd mis-hit landed safely. Wahab received two warnings for following through in the danger area. As the partnership ticked along past 60, then 70, then 80, West Indies seemed to be regaining the upper hand.But, against the run of play, Dowrich dragged an innocuous ball from Wahab onto his stumps, ending an 83-run stand. West Indies closed out the day 37 short of Pakistan’s first-innings total, with four wickets in hand.That was a markedly better outcome than they might have expected after a tumultuous morning session in which five wickets fell for 64 runs. Alzarri Joseph took the last two Pakistan wickets to bowl them out for 281, just 7.5 overs into the day, before Pakistan struck back through early breakthroughs.Amir troubled Leon Johnson in the first over by swinging the ball away from the left-hander, before Wahab dismissed him for 1 with a straight ball that trapped him in front.Then, towards the end of the first session, Darren Bravo miscued a cross-batted swing off Babar in the air towards cover, where Amir took a screamer of a catch. Soon after, Yasir trapped Marlon Samuels plumb in front and the batsman departed, but not before wasting a review. By lunch, West Indies were sinking deep into a hole.It was Brathwaite’s resolute knock that helped them steadily work their way out of it by the time the day was over.

Dassanayake appointed USA national coach

Former Sri Lanka and Canada wicketkeeper-batsman Pubudu Dassanayake has been appointed USA’s coach by ICC Americas. The ICC regional body also appointed Eric Parthen as the new Project Manager to oversee the strategic plan to grow cricket in the USA.”I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to coach USA, especially at what is an exciting time for USA cricket,” Dassanayake said. “I believe there is a great deal of talent here; it will just require hard work from everyone involved to get the best out of these players and hopefully see US cricket progress to higher honours.”Our initial focus is on preparing the senior team for the WCL Division 4 event in LA next month. That is the first step on what I hope will be a successful journey.”Dassanayake played 11 Tests and 16 ODIs for Sri Lanka in 1993 and 1994. He moved to Canada in 2001 and represented the Canada national team in 2005 and 2006, captaining them in the Intercontinental Cup. After retiring, he served as Canada’s national coach from 2007 to 2011, and Nepal’s national coach from 2011 to 2015. Along with captain Paras Khadka, Dassanayake has been credited with lifting Nepal’s fortunes in their rise from WCL Division Four to the top flight of Associate cricket in the WCL Championship.Nepal also qualified for their first major ICC tournament during Dassanayake’s tenure, reaching the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh where they recorded wins over Hong Kong and Afghanistan. He stepped down from the Nepal role in October 2015, citing personal reasons. He moved back to his home base in Canada but briefly returned to Nepal in a consultancy coaching role for the team’s WCL Championship wins over Namibia in April and their tour of England in July ahead of WCL Championship fixtures in the Netherlands in August.Dassanayake was shortlisted as a finalist for the USA coaching job in July and confirmed his interest in the role to ESPNcricinfo during a USA 30-man national squad camp in Florida, where he attended in a guest coaching capacity during a series of training sessions as well as two 50-over intrasquad matches to familiarize himself even more with the team ahead of his anticipated appointment. “Nepal, they were from Division Four to Division One and played a World Cup and I want to do the same for USA,” he said.Dassanayake also traveled to St Vincent in August where he coached an ICC Americas combined U-19 squad in the WICB Regional U-19 tournament. He is expected to be in New York this weekend where a New York invitational XI, which includes ten USA national squad players, will be playing two 50-over matches against a Marylebone Cricket Club touring side on September 10-11. He will also be in place to lead USA’s five-day national team camp in Indianapolis from September 17-21, which includes two 50-over matches against the same MCC tourists as well as three days of intrasquad training and trial games.Parthen, who has previously served as Executive Director of USA Boxing and Chief Executive of USA Taekwondo, will be tasked with overseeing the implementation of plans to expand cricket in the USA. Since July 2013, Parthen served as the executive director of the El Pomar Youth Sports Park in Colorado Springs, where the ICC Americas office recently shifted from its prior location in Toronto.”I am thrilled to be joining ICC Americas at such a pivotal point in its history,” Parthen said. “My focus will be on working with the whole cricket family here in the US and creating a sustainable structure to allow cricket to flourish at all levels.”

Hope replaces Chandrika in West Indies Test squad

West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia. Hope replaces Rajendra Chandrika, who made scores of 16, 31, 5 and 1 in the first two Tests, and saw his Test average drop to 14.00, the worst by any West Indies opener who has played 10 or more innings.Hope, a right-hand batsman who is also capable of keeping wickets, has played six Tests so far, scoring 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He has been in excellent form in recent months, with two hundreds in his last four matches in the WICB Professional Cricket League four-day tournament, and a century for the WICB President’s XI in the Indians’ first warm-up match in St Kitts.The selectors have made no other changes to West Indies’ 14-man squad. India lead the four-Test series 1-0.West Indies squad for third Test: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels.

West Indies seek revival at result-inducing Sabina Park

Match facts

July 30-August 3, 2016
Start time 1000 local (1500 GMT)West Indies are expected to bolster their pace attack for the second Test•Associated Press

Big Picture

West Indies last beat India in Test cricket in 2002, at Sabina Park in Jamaica. They have had three close Tests since. Two of these three Tests were played in Jamaica. It is the venue that gives them the best chance to compete with India. In the last three Tests between the two sides in Kingston, only once did a team go past 300 and only one of the three Tests entered the fifth day, that too to complete formalities of three remaining wickets. Eighteen years and 15 Tests have gone since a Test was drawn of its own volition in Jamaica.Sabina Park’s bowler-friendly pitch bridges the gap between the hosts’ attack and India’s; it also draws them out of their bunkers. On both of India’s last visits to the West Indies, only Sabina Park produced a result. The endeavour has been to stay safe at other venues, and then sneak one up on India in Kingston. This year, though, the Test side has slipped so far it registered its biggest home defeat on a fairly good batting surface in the series opener in Antigua.The plan was from the template: a track with no terrors, a side stacked up with batsmen, go to Jamaica 0-0 and then see how India fare against the seaming ball. It’s a sound plan against a better team, but the problem with defensive cricket is that you have to play it excellently for long periods of time. Neither their batsmen nor their bowlers could do it for nearly long enough; not having a defensive option in Jamaica can only do them good now.India’s batsmen came through way better when they were stalled through defensive lines in Antigua. This will be a different test. While not a scary proposition, West Indies have reinforced their attack, adding Under-19 sensation Alzarri Joseph to the squad. The pitch looked neon green two mornings before the Test. India won their last two close Tests here thanks to Rahul Dravid masterclasses; if West Indies bowlers turn up, India might need something similar from their batsmen.

Form guide

West Indies LDLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWDW

In the spotlight

During the Antigua Test, Darren Bravo became only the 24th West Indies batsman to reach 3000 career runs. By the end of this series he will have played 46 Tests. Given Marlon Samuels’ indifferent Test career, Bravo should be considered the batting mainstay of this West Indies side. In the Antigua defeat, he happened to play two irresponsible shots: laze angled-bat pushes to short-of-a-length balls well away from his body. West Indies need much better from him.If it is going to be a green seamer at Sabina park, it might just be time to dial Ajinkya Rahane, who has been scoring tough runs for India through his career. He was one of India’s two specialist batsmen to fall to legbreak long hops in Antigua. There might not be room for such concentration breaks in Jamaica, especially if he is India’s last specialist batsman again.

Team news

Even if West Indies had managed to draw Antigua through defensive tactics, it was always expected they would strengthen their attack, which had only two specialist bowlers in Antigua. That the ploy failed has only reinforced the need for a change in strategy. Either Miguel Cummins, who was in the squad for the first Test, or Joseph, or both, should make it to the XI. Carlos Brathwaite or Jermaine Blackwood or both could sit out. Brathwaite, though, bowled with discipline and scored a valiant half-century in the second innings.West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Rajendra Chandrika, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jermaine Blackwood/Leon Johnson/Carlos Brathwaite, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt.), 9 Shannon Gabriel, 10 Miguel Cummins/Alzarri Joseph, 11 Devendra BishooM Vijay has been ruled out with the thumb injury he sustained when he was dismissed on the first morning of the first Test. He played no further part in the match. KL Rahul will slot into the XI in his place. A testing-looking pitch may have sown thoughts of playing an extra batsman at No. 6, but Virat Kohli indicated India would continue with their five-bowler strategy, and said a second spinner may still be required for India to take ten wickets in the second innings.India(probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

The pitch had a healthy covering of grass on the eve of the Test match, and Virat Kohli welcomed what he referred to as a “result wicket”. While the fast bowlers would normally be expected to do the bulk of the bowling and take the bulk of the wickets, he felt the spinners could also come into play, particularly in the second innings, given the amount of bounce expected. A moderately heavy shower hit Kingston soon after India’s practice session had ended on Friday afternoon. Rain is forecast for all five days of the Test as well.

Stats and trivia

  • Since 2006, Sabina Park has clocked the best numbers for fast bowlers among venues that have hosted at least five Tests: best average (22.12) and best strike rate (48.8). Overall too the bowlers have registered the best average here since 2006: 24.74.
  • Ishant Sharma averages 19.21 in the West Indies. He played a crucial role in India’s win in Kingston last time around, taking six wickets in the match.
  • R Ashwin needs 17 wickets in next three Tests to join Clarrie Grimmett as the fastest man to 200 Test wickets, in 36 matches.

Quotes

“In the last Test we got starts but couldn’t carry on. Both our batsmen and bowlers need to be more consistent.”
“When you win there’s not that much room for change unless the conditions are drastically different, which they are not. There’s pace and bounce here, and I think this will help the spinners in the second innings as well.”

Rashid feels he is winning the mental battle

Adil Rashid believes he is becoming a mentally stronger bowler after a year back in England’s limited-overs sides and continues to pick the brains of Shane Warne over the art of legspin.Rashid has made an impressive start to the one-day series against Sri Lanka, conceding 70 runs from 20 overs in the opening two matches, to continue the positive impression he has created since being recalled at the beginning of last summer. He has played all of England’s white-ball matches since his return to the side.Against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, he has twice bowled his 10 overs straight through, keeping the batsmen on a leash during the middle stage of the innings, and on Friday was rewarded with the wickets of Angelo Mathews and Seekkuge Prasanna.In the modern one-day game, Rashid knows there will be times when batsmen will get hold of him – as has happened on a few occasions since his return – but is learning how to handle the pressure on the international stage.”I’ve just got to look to keep improving day by day and game by game,” he said. “I feel I’m getting better mentally and with my skills. But you can always have a bad day, a bad game or a bad series. So you have to be strong mentally.”It’s been a good 12 months for me, especially in the white-ball stuff. Every series that has gone by I’ve looked to improve. I’ve got experience as well and got more confident. I’ve looked to adapt to different conditions and teams, too. I’ve looked to study individual players, studying the strengths and weaknesses of individual players I’ve got a lot better that way.”As well as studying the players he has come up against, he has again been tapping into the vast knowledge of Warne after the pair briefly worked together during England’s series against Pakistan in the UAE last year. Warne was in Dubai on a promotional trip and attended net sessions in Sharjah where he worked with both Rashid and Pakistan’s Yasir Shah. Their paths crossed again this summer.”We had a general talk about legspin,” Rashid said. “He gave me tips and stuff. It was good to see him and good of him to give me a few tips. It was about the basics. Keeping it simple, bowling the same ball, ball after ball after ball and letting natural variation to take over from the hand and the pitch. It was about a positive mindset and keeping it simply, not really a technical thing.”While the one-day and T20 game has been good to Rashid in an England shirt, he had a tougher introduction to the Test game against Pakistan in the UAE – eight wickets in three matches at 69.50. He did show some of his mental toughness when he bounced back from a record-breakingly expensive wicketless debut innings to take 5 for 64 in Abu Dhabi and almost conjure a final-day England victory.England return to Asia later this year for Test series against Bangladesh and India with Rashid expected to be part of the touring squads. He said his Test ambitions remained “quite strong” but was not thinking too far ahead. “That’s a long way away. At the moment, I’m just trying to concentrate on the ODIs and the T20 game; whatever is in front of me. Hopefully that will take care of itself down the line.”

Ryder's hundred guides another Essex run chase

ScorecardJesse Ryder’s hundred saw Essex home•Getty Images

Jesse Ryder scored his ninth List A hundred as Essex pulled off a successful run chase for the second successive day to make it two wins out of two in the Royal London One-Day Cup.Having overhauled a target of 310 to beat Hampshire on Sunday when Ryder made 71, they beat South Group rivals Sussex by five wickets with six balls to spare under the Hove floodlights after being set 272 to win.Sussex were still left without a List A win since August 2014.Ryder accelerated after scoring his first 50 off a relatively sedate 71 balls, reaching his hundred from a further 38 deliveries with six fours and three sixes.With nine overs left and 80 needed the odds favoured Sussex, but Ryder and Ryan Ten Doeschate plundered 83 in 9.3 overs and when Ryder was yorked by Chris Jordan for 100 Ten Doeschate, who finished unbeaten on 48, got the job done, hitting Ajmal Shahzad for four and six at the start of the penultimate over before former Sussex player Ashar Zaidi struckk successive boundaries to seal an impressive victory.Left-armer George Garton and leg spinner Will Beer were the pick of the Sussex attack. Garton, 19, impressed on his List A debut. He took a simple return catch off a leading edge from Tom Westley (32) and had Dan Lawrence (25) caught at long on while Beer enjoyed a pitch where the odd ball gripped and turned. Nick Browne (44) was expertly stumped by Ben Brown after he was beaten by a ball that spun past his outside edge and Essex captain Ravi Bopara (12) was caught at short third-man off a top edged sweep.Earlier, three Sussex batsmen made half-centuries but neither Ed Joyce (73), Luke Wright (50) or Ross Taylor (50) were able to go on and play the sort of innings Ryder would produce on a pitch which played well despite being used for the third time in five days.Joyce once again looked in superb touch, sharing a stand of 108 with skipper Wright for the second wicket during which Wright passed 4,000 List A runs and Joyce brought up his 50 and Sussex’s 100 with a six over mid-wicket off Matt Dixon. Wright’s half-century came off 58 deliveries (3 fours) but two balls later he was stumped off a wide outside off stump by Zaidi.It was the first of three wickets to fall in four overs. Joyce mis-timed a drive to wide mid-on and Matt Machan was bowled by Zaidi trying to reverse-sweep his third ball.Taylor was put down by Ryder at backward point on five and made the most of his reprieve, putting on 59 in 12 overs with Brown.The former New Zealand skipper scored 50 off 58 balls (4 fours) only to hole out to long on and it needed a cameo from Jordan to take Sussex to a competitive total. The England international cleared the ropes three times in his 36 off 22 balls before becoming one of four victims for Matt Quinn.

Marshall makes light work of tricky conditions

ScorecardHamish Marshall hit the only fifty of the match•Getty Images

Gloucestershire overcame a tricky pitch and fading light to pull off a deserved seven-wicket NatWest T20 Blast win over Kent with four deliveries to spare.Having won in Beckenham by nine wickets last season, Gloucestershire served up another spanking in Metropolitan Kent courtesy of an impish half-century from Hamish Marshall.Responding to Kent’s seemingly modest 144 for 7, Gloucestershire’s wily openers Michael Klinger and Marshall posted the only half-century stand of the night to ease their side to 54 without loss after the Powerplay.Klinger, who hit an unbeaten 69 here in last season’s corresponding fixture, made a useful 27 but struggled once Kent took pace off the ball, miscuing to long-on against James Tredwell with the score at 66 for 1.In fast fading light Marshall tucked in to Tredwell to land the first six of the night and keep his side ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis asking rate. He then posted the only 50 of the game from 31 balls with five fours and a six as he visitors continued to make light work of tough task in tricky conditions.After 14 overs the umpires discussed the gloom and allowed paceman David Griffiths to continue, at which point Ian Cockbain’s eyes lit up as he rocked back to launch a glorious cut over the ropes at deep point as the visitors plundered 13 off the over.Cockbain was caught behind down the leg-side soon after to gift Ivan Thomas a wicket, then with only 13 required to win Marshall, in aiming to work a straight one to leg, was bowled by Darren Stevens for a match-winning 56 from 42 balls with five fours and a six.With six needed for a Gloucestershire win and with Matt Coles out of the attack due to the bad light, Stevens bowled the final over of the night, but it lasted only two deliveries when Chris Dent launched a straight six for victory.Spitfires, batting first on a tricky surface at the Worsley Bridge Road Ground, suffered their first casualty in the second over from Liam Norwell who had Joe Denly comfortably pouched at mid-off following a mistimed drive.Kent countered through in-form opener Daniel Bell-Drummond who plundered four boundaries in Norwell’s next over which sparked Gloucestershire’s move to introduce spin in the shape of Tom Smith.In a double switch, Australian IPL seamer Andrew Tye came on at Crystal Palace End and bamboozled Bell-Drummond with only his fourth delivery. As the right-hander aimed to cut hard, he could only sky a top edge to keeper Gareth Roderick to depart for 25 from 21 balls as Kent ended the Powerplay on 41 for 2.Sam Billings suffered his second poor score since returning from the IPL when he skied to short third man off Benn Howell to go for seven and leave the hosts struggling on 69 for 3 at the innings mid-point.Kent beneficiary Stevens marched in to up the tempo with a brace of trademark straight-driven boundaries but, in attempting to make room to cut, left his off stump exposed to Tye who duly pegged it back to make it 83 for 4.Seven runs on Sam Northeast, top-scorer with 35 including at a run-a-ball, became the latest Kent batsman to mistime and send a steepling catch to long-off and give Howell a second scalp.Spitfires limped into three figures in the 16th over, but even big-hitting Alex Blake and Fabian Cowdrey struggle for timing on a two-paced surface.Soon after Cowdrey checked his drive against Tye to chip a comfortable catch to wide long-off and Coles was run out of the final ball of the innings leaving Blake unbeaten for an unusually stilted 24 at a run-a-ball.Tye showed all his experience with an excellent four-over stint of 3 for 18, while Howell ended with 2 for 25 as the hosts failed to clear the ropes and mustered only 11 fours in their innings.

Madushanka back in SL squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka has returned to Sri Lanka’s ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh, having been unavailable for the Australia series in February due to injury. He replaces the now-injured Lahiru Kumara in the ODI squad.Also in the 16-member ODI squad is allrounder Milan Rathnayake, who has played five Tests but is uncapped in white-ball internationals. His involvement depends on fitness – he is out of the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh with a side strain, but is expected to have recovered by the time the ODIs begin, on July 2.Making a return on the batting front is wicketkeeper-batter Sadeera Samarawickrama, who last played for Sri Lanka in November 2024, and was dropped due to modest form. He essentially replaces Nuwanidu Fernando in the squad.Seamer Eshan Malinga also keeps his place, having had a good run with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2025. Asitha Fernando is the other fast bowler in the 16-member squad.The remainder of the squad is largely on expected lines. Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana lead the spin contingent, which also features legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and left-arm spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage. The likes of Avishka Fernando and Nishan Madushka are also competing for top-order spots, having been named in this squad.The first two ODIs will be played in Colombo, before the series moves to Pallekele on July 8. A three-match T20I series follows, with the first match on July 10 in Pallekele.

Sri Lanka’s ODI squad

Charith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranaga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake, Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga

Bumrah five-for helps India eke out six-run lead despite Brook 99

Harry Brook threw his head back in anguish after picking out long leg on 99 but his free-scoring innings and some lower-order hitting cut India’s first-innings lead to just six at Headingley. They were led off by their spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, who mopped up the tail to finish with 5 for 83 after three vital breakthroughs on the second afternoon.Brook had three reprieves but made India pay for their profligacy. He was caught miscuing an ugly pull to midwicket in the final over on Saturday night before he had scored, saved by Bumrah overstepping, and was dropped twice on Sunday: Rishabh Pant put him down off Ravindra Jadeja on 46, and on 80, Yashasvi Jaiswal made a mess of a simple chance at gully.He played a freewheeling innings, taking down Mohammed Siraj who tried to goad him into a verbal battle after being hit for consecutive boundaries; instead, he was slapped back over his head for a towering six into the lower tier of the Football Stand. There was an outrageous falling paddle-sweep off Jadeja too, emulating a shot Pant had played off Shoaib Bashir.Jasprit Bumrah finished with five wickets•AFP/Getty Images

But like Jamie Smith before him, Brook fell into Prasidh Krishna’s short-ball ploy and holed out to one of the leg-side boundaries riders. Smith’s brisk 40 ended when he hooked Prasidh to deep backward square leg, where Jadeja and B Sai Sudharsan combined for a relay catch; Brook tried to keep his pull down, but top-edged it straight down Shardul Thakur’s throat.Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse added 55 for the eighth wicket in just 7.2 overs as India grew ragged, Woakes reached 2,000 Test runs by clubbing Prasidh for consecutive sixes. But Siraj bluffed Carse with a yorker and Bumrah cleaned up Woakes and Josh Tongue to complete his third five-wicket haul on English soil.England trail by just six runs, and we have a one-innings shoot-out in store.

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