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Regardless of it coming in a warm-up match, KL Rahul’s century against Bangladesh has likely put him in the front of the queue for the No. 4 slot in the India middle order, with captain Virat Kohli saying the batsman’s form was the “biggest positive” India would take into their first match of the World Cup, against South Africa on June 5.Although Vijay Shankar was nominated by MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, as the choice for the No. 4 slot, Kohli hinted that the team management would be open to thinking of Rahul for that position.”The biggest positive to come out of this game was the way KL batted at four,” Kohli said after the outing in Cardiff. “All the other people know their role pretty well, so it was important that KL gets runs because he is such a sound player. He can get the scoreboard ticking and you saw that – a great example of the skillset that he has.”Although Vijay would have been the favourite to bat at No. 4, he hurt his right forearm on the eve of the first warm-up match against New Zealand and missed out. He recovered quickly and played the whole match against Bangladesh, but did not get a start with the bat and went wicketless. He is bound to feel unlucky if Rahul trumps him for a slot in the middle order.PLAY: Who will win the World Cup? Play Cricket Picks to have your sayRahul himself was more composed, albeit happy that he might be in contention to play his first World Cup match. Asked if he was ready to bat at No. 4, Rahul chose to be diplomatic.KL Rahul cuts during his century•AFP

“It is a team game and you need to be flexible and be ready to bat wherever, or as a player you need to be ready to take up whatever role is given to you,” Rahul said. “Every batsman who has played at this level knows how to handle pressure and knows how to handle the roles and responsibilities given to him.”And it is a team game and everybody has been prepared for the last couple of years in a way where anything, any role can be given come a big game. All of us are prepared that way and nothing that is given to any individual now will come off as a surprise. Everybody has been tried and tested in different positions. As individuals, we have got a fair hit and know how to perform if a different role is given to us.”ALSO READ: KL Rahul stakes his claim for the No. 4 slotIt has been a challenging 18 months for Rahul, who has struggled in Test cricket since the South Africa tour last year. Even in ODIs, the team think tank had preferred the likes of Ambati Rayudu for the No. 4 slot until as recently as March.Rahul then had to endure the embarrassment of being recalled from the T20I series in Australia in January after the BCCI suspended him along with team-mate Hardik Pandya for breaching the code of conduct after the pair made offensive and derogatory remarks on an Indian television chat show. Both players accepted their guilt allowing the board’s ethics officer to let them off with a monetary fine.Rahul accepted that he was humbled by the incident. Rahul Dravid, the former India captain and now India A coach, provided help when Rahul was part of the ‘A’ series against England Lions where he struck good form. He carried that forward in the IPL where he was the best batsman for his franchise Kings XI Punjab. And then, in April, he was picked in the World Cup squad.”Time-out from the game gives a player an opportunity and time to reflect on himself and his cricket. It wasn’t any different for me,” he pointed out. “I got some time to spend with friends and family, which was so important because I’ve been on the road for a long time. Given the situation, that’s not what I wanted to get some time off. Anyway I tried to make the best use of it, I felt like there were a few things with my batting and technique I needed to fix.”I worked with my coach back home in Bangalore and the India A games gave me a little time with Rahul Dravid to just speak to him about mental preparation and how to handle pressure and how to handle low confidence and low form. The best way to get back to scoring runs is to find that form in the middle and I got that opportunity. So from there I just carried on and I knew that my batting was fine and I was very hungry to come back and score runs for whatever teams I played.”

Lancashire 304 for 4 (Jennings 96, Vilas 70*) beat Middlesex 284 (Harris 117, Simpson 74, Mahmood 4-38) by 20 runsThere is, in case you missed it, quite a kerfuffle at present about the sudden availability of a genuinely quick new-ball bowler, a man with the potential to add a new level of pizzazz to England’s World Cup attack. But not even in his wildest dreams could Jofra Archer hope to hoover up 25 wickets at 18.88 in his first nine matches of the tournament, to propel his team into the semi-finals.Saqib Mahmood has done just that for Lancashire in the Royal London Cup. In spite of a startlingly heroic fightback led by James Harris, whose maiden List A hundred included a sixth-wicket stand of 197 with John Simpson that carried a spirited chase deep into the penultimate over, the ferocity of Mahmood’s new-ball burst was an intervention that could not be patched over in the final analysis.It was, nevertheless, the most improbable sporting thriller since … well, the midweek Champions League fixtures. Somehow, Middlesex clawed their way back from oblivion at 24 for 5 in the tenth over, as a batting line-up that had been denuded by injury and international call-up – with Paul Stirling, Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan all missing from their first-choice XI – instead found itself relying on a makeshift No.6 whose previous highest List A was a paltry 32.Harris arrived in the middle with his side in freefall and Mahmood enjoying the ultimate Master-and-Apprentice learning experience alongside the ageless Lord of Lord’s, Jimmy Anderson, who produced yet another Pavilion End masterclass, and even topped and tailed his day with a pair of direct-hit run-outs.Screaming to the crease with the biomechanical purity of Brett Lee, allied to a splayed-limb final flourish that evoked Waqar Younis in his pomp, Mahmood blew away Sam Robson and Stevie Eskinazi – the latter to a rabbit-in-the-headlines hook that spiralled to square leg – before producing an off-stump snorter that a batsman with the class and form of Ross Taylor could only steer to slip.The game was a goner – and long before half-time this time – so Harris decided to trust both his eye and his partner, and enjoy the rare opportunity to set out his stall for the bulk of a 50-over innings.For a full 30 overs, he thrived – bossing the change bowlers, not least the legspinner Matt Parkinson, on a pitch that Lancashire’s own batsmen had already demonstrated was full of runs. Without ever exerting themselves, Lancashire had eased to a total of 304 for 4, with Keaton Jennings’ 159-run stand with Stephen Croft providing the backbone before Dane Vilas’ 70 not out from 67 had applied some late urgency.However, it seemed for a long while that Lancashire would regret not getting more of a wriggle on against a Middlesex attack lacking the senior statesmen, Steven Finn and Tim Murtagh, and which at times seemed to be relying on a combination of bluff and guts to stay in touch. No-one had epitomised that better than the medium-pacer George Scott, whose early diving catch at midwicket to remove Liam Livingstone was the outstanding fielding moment of the day, and whose looping leg-stump yorker somehow wriggled into Jennings’ timbers to extract him for 96 and complete a notable maiden List A wicket.But Harris simply kept his composure, and once Mahmood and Anderson had been withdrawn after six overs each, he correctly ascertained that by batting through the overs, the runs would have to come on a pitch as true as Lord’s. He brought up a superb century from 90 balls, with nine fours and two sixes in consecutive overs off Parkinson and Graham Onions, and the increasing frequency of Lancashire’s brains trust gatherings was a clear indication of their mounting doubts.But then, in the 41st over, everything changed again. Swinging across the line to Parkinson, Harris let his back foot twitch fatally as his toe strayed out of the crease, and then two balls later, calamity struck, as the new man, Scott, slapped an inside-out drive to mid-off, and sold Simpson a dummy as Anderson’s dead eye pinged down the stumps at the far end.Though Scott made amends as best he could, with Toby Roland-Jones also digging deep in an eighth-wicket stand of 45, Mahmood would not be denied. Back he came at the death, finding his yorkers at will to strangle the scoring rate, before earning a somewhat fortuitous fourth wicket, as Scott was pinned on the knee-roll by an inswinger, albeit outside the line.With the situation getting frantic, Nathan Sowter ran himself out with a suicidal single to the keeper, before Roland-Jones picked out deep midwicket one ball later to end Middlesex’s spirited campaign. It’s been 31 years and counting since they last won a List A title – but there has been much to admire in their white-ball endeavours this year.Lancashire, meanwhile, march on to face Hampshire in the semi-final on Sunday, and with a world-class strike bowler bubbling up in their ranks, they may yet believe that this hard-fought win was but a dress rehearsal for their own overdue return to trophy-winning ways at Lord’s.

16.1 Bumrah to Samson, 1 run, short on the hips, glanced away to long leg16.2 Bumrah to Smith, no run, shortish and outside off, run away to point16.3 Bumrah to Smith, no run, short and skidding into the body of Smith. He pulls, misses, and cops a glancing blow on the mid-riff16.4 Bumrah to Smith, 1 run, dug in short on middle, Smith hastily pulls the ball to deep square leg16.5 Bumrah to Samson, OUT, full and straight at 142.1ks, Samson shuffles a fair away across off, plays across the line, and wears it on the front pad in line with middle and leg. Samson has been given out lbw, he chats to Smith and calls for a review. The tracker returns umpire’s call on leg stump and Samson has to goSV Samson lbw b Bumrah 31 (26b 2×4 1×6) SR: 119.23Tripathi. A slip in place16.6 Bumrah to Tripathi, 1 run, on a length and around off, dabbed to third manJasprit Bumrah delights in dismissing Virat Kohli•BCCI

17.1 KH Pandya to Tripathi, OUT, tossed outside off, Tripathi holes out to deep midwicket. He drags a slog-sweep against the turn and across the line. Caught Hardik Pandya bowled Krunal Pandya. What’re you doing, Rajasthan Royals?RA Tripathi c HH Pandya b KH Pandya 1 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00Livingstone on IPL debut17.2 KH Pandya to Smith, no run, dropped short and wide, cut off the back foot but can’t get it past point17.3 KH Pandya to Smith, 1 run, flatter and shorter outside off, hauled away to wide long-on off the back foot17.4 KH Pandya to Livingstone, 1 run, chopped from off stump to short third man17.5 KH Pandya to Smith, 1 run, slower and spinning away outside off, chipped down to long-off17.6 KH Pandya to Livingstone, OUT, Oh dear, the Royals continue to tumble. Drifts in on middle, full and straight. Livingstone drops down to one knee. He goes for an almighty slog-sweep like Tripathi had done earlier this over. He can’t touch it. And Krunal rattles the stumps. Six runs and three wickets off the last two oversLS Livingstone b KH Pandya 1 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00Alzarri Joseph gets a hug from Krunal Pandya after taking a wicket•BCCI

18.1 Bumrah to Smith, OUT, Has Smith nicked off? The finger goes up and Smith walks off. Bumrah ventures wide of the crease, angles a length ball into Smith and then gets it to straighten away. Smith has a flat-footed waft and feathers it behind to KishanSPD Smith c Ishan Kishan b Bumrah 12 (15b 1×4 0x6) SR: 80.00Gowtham18.2 Bumrah to Gowtham, 1 leg bye, 141ks yorker from wide of the crease, Gowtham falls over. This yorker is just too good for him. But, this seems to be heading down the leg side. Not given, Rohit challenges the on-field not-out decision.18.3 – Bumrah to Gopal, 2 runs, back of a length and outside off, punched on the up straight of Joseph at mid-off. Joseph chases hard and slides at the edge of the boundary. He jams his right shoulder into the turf and writhes in pain. The Mumbai team doctor is out to tend to Joseph18.4 – Bumrah to Gopal, no run, short and bursts in from wide of the crease, Gopal backs away. Wafts and does not make contact. Was there a tickle on that? Nope18.5 – Bumrah to Gopal, FOUR, 144.8ks short and outside off, the extra pace of Bumrah works against him. Gopal manufactures some swinging room and scythes it away fine of deep third man for a crucial four18.6 Bumrah to Gopal, 1 run, edged and dropped by Kishan to his right.Sharp chance. Gopal makes room again, this is much fuller and swerving away. Draws a healthy outside edge, but Kishan can’t cling onShreyas Gopal kept his calm to take Royals over the line•BCCI

Royals need six off six balls with four wickets in hand. Hardik Pandya to bowl it19.1 – HH Pandya to Gopal, 2 runs, Mid-off runs back, dives, but this skier eludes him. Fuller on off, Gopal swings for the hills, slices it in the end and gets away19.2 HH Pandya to Gopal, no run, banged in short on middle, backs away. Swings again and misses19.3 HH Pandya to Gopal, FOUR, full and outside off, Gopal backs away, manufactures swinging room and scythes it up and over mid-off. He wins it for the Royals.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIf spectators at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium thought they could hear the refrain, “if only” emanating from England’s dressing-room, they may not have been mistaken.If only this match was not a dead rubber, a commanding day with the bat might count for much more than the tourists’ pride. If only Joe Root’s century had come in Barbados or Antigua, West Indies might not hold an unassailable 2-0 series lead. If only Joe Denly had converted his maiden half-century into a ton, he might have gone a long way towards locking down an Ashes berth after playing just two Tests.But, with England holding a 448-run lead to put themselves on track for a consolation win and with Root playing himself into form in his final innings of an otherwise lean series, incremental gains were the order of the third day in St Lucia.Root found his touch to reach 111 not out after his scores of 4 and 22 in Barbados (which saw his average drop below 50 for the first time since 2014) were followed by knocks of 7, 7, and 15. He gritted his teeth through a difficult period against the new ball late the day and was richly rewarded, closing his eyes and punching the air after he brought up his 16th Test hundred with a four thumped down the ground off Alzarri Joseph.He put on a century stand with Jos Buttler, who scored back-to-back fifties for the match, racking up a second-innings 56 off 115 balls before he was bowled by a pearler from Kemar Roach that went straight through the batsman, who couldn’t help but offer a look of admiration.Denly, playing just his fourth Test innings, capitalised after being dropped by Shimron Hetmyer at third slip off the bowling of a livid Shannon Gabriel when he was on 12 to deliver an otherwise composed 69 – until his dismissal midway through the second session.Had Denly managed a ton in England’s penultimate Test before hosting Australia from August 1, he would have well and truly staked his claim for an Ashes berth. But his dismissal, caught behind off a bottom edge by Shane Dowrich while attempting to cut was welcome reward for a hard-working Gabriel and left England’s summer selections as uncertain as ever ahead of the remaining one-off, four-day match against Ireland in July with four months worth of County Championship matches between now and then.That said, Denly looked fluent in his more familiar position at No.3, having opened on debut in Antigua in place of Keaton Jennings, who failed to make the most of his recall in this Test.Having resumed after lunch on 45, Denly brought up his 50 with a four, the 11th of his innings, before he was out three balls later.Joseph snared the wicket of under-pressure Jennings with a ball that was missing everything before it jagged the thigh pad and curled behind the batsman onto leg stump. Jennings grinned ruefully after the freak end to his innings. With scores of 17, 14, 8 and 23 in this series, having been dropped in favour of Denly for the second Test, he perhaps realised that his time as an England Test batsman could be over.West Indies played out their own “if only” dialogue after a bright start when Keemo Paul had Rory Burns (10) out to a regulation catch at square leg by Joseph on the first ball of the day to put England at 19 for 1.If only Paul had not suffered a quadriceps injury chasing a Denly cover drive that had him prostrate on the grass just outside the boundary rope in agony, they would not have had to toil with a handy bowler down.Paul – who had come into the side to replace suspended captain Jason Holder and claimed two wickets in England’s first innings, including that of Jennings with his first ball of the match – ended up having to be stretchered away and taken to hospital for scans.For the rest of the day he remained off the field, where West Indies were already missing Darren Bravo, also sent for scans, on a finger he injured earlier in the match.Despite appearing to be in some discomfort with a hamstring problem in the morning session, Gabriel soldiered on to resume his verbal battle with Ben Stokes, who came to the crease late in the day and seemed to enjoy picking up the banter which started in the second Test.Stokes shared an unbroken 71-run partnership with Root to be 29 not out at stumps.

Jason Holder dedicated West Indies’ stunning victory in the second Test in Antigua to Alzarri Joseph and his family, after the young fast bowler played on despite the overnight death of his mother, Sharon, to help deliver a 10-wicket victory over England, and with it, an unassailable 2-0 series lead.Holder once again led from the front with figures of 4 for 43, including the first-ball wicket of opener Rory Burns, as England shipped all ten of their second-innings wickets for 97 runs to leave West Indies to knock off a desultory target of 14 in the space of 13 balls.But, speaking at the end of a hugely emotional day, Holder admitted that the death of Joseph’s mother, who had been ill for some time with a brain tumour, had forced his team to come together and put on a show in support of their bereaved team-mate.”It’s difficult to describe the feelings,” said Holder. “We started the day with a daunting task, trying to push on our lead, and then we got the news about Alzarri’s mum so we all wanted to rally around one another and we wanted to do it for her.”Joseph, who had claimed the wicket of Joe Denly in the first innings with the first ball he had ever bowled in a Test on his home island, took a full part in the team’s warm-ups, and was then given a long and sympathetic ovation by the crowd when he came out to bat at No.10 in West Indies’ first innings. He scored 7 from 20 balls to help stretch their lead to a precious 119, with players from both sides wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.Joseph then delivered a searing seven-over spell to help devastate England’s prospects of a fightback, bowling Joe Denly with an inducker before having Joe Root caught behind on review, and also having Ben Stokes dropped at slip for what would have been a second-ball duck.”Alzarri was exceptional. It took a lot of heart for him to be on the field today, I think a lot of people wouldn’t have been able to, but credit to him,” said Holder. “The way he ran in this afternoon was exceptional and with a bit more luck he could have got three or four more wickets and could have put in a man-of-the-match performance.”I just want to say condolences to him and his family, it is a tough loss. I came here two or three years ago and visited his mum, she wasn’t doing well at that stage but fought through, so I felt it personally this morning when I got the news that she had passed away.”To see him in tears this morning was even harder, and we came together in the huddle and we just wanted to do it for him and we dedicate this day to him, his mum and his family.”It was up to him if he played. I didn’t want to deprive him of the opportunity to take the field. If he felt he could manage and take the field for the West Indies and perform then I wasn’t going to deprive him of that.”For sure I knew he wanted to do something special for his mum and credit to him, he held his hand up high and did an exceptional job for us.”Although the off-field news helped to galvanise West Indies on a crucial day of the series, the scale of their victory had been hard-earned by their efforts throughout the first two days of the Antigua Test and all throughout their win in Barbados.And Holder, who rose to become the No.1 allrounder in Test cricket on the back of his double-century in the first Test, said that a triumph of this magnitude was richly deserved after the manner in which the team had grown together under his leadership.”I think were hungry for success,” he said. “We’ve been together for a year and a half, two years, and we’ve done some exceptional things, so credit to the boys for sticking to the task.”I wasn’t in Bangladesh [where West Indies lost 2-0 before Christmas] but the boys had a really long hard talk in the dressing room, and it was really needed. We wanted some honesty and to touch on a few areas where we’ve probably shied away in the past.”It’s been an up and down journey, but one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed,” he added. “It’s been challenging but I’m not one to shy away from challenges, I’m proud of myself for the way I’ve stuck it through, because there’ve been some very, very tough days, but credit to my team-mates for helping me get through it. I can’t be here without them. They deserve the credit, and hopefully we can stay together in the years to come.”

England XI 379 (Bairstow 98, Burns 68) v WI President’s XI
ScorecardJust under four years ago, Jonny Bairstow made an eye-catching 98 at the start of an England tour of the Caribbean to signal a new phase in his career.In that match, Bairstow unveiled his new, shoulder-high backlift; a technical change that helped improve his balance and bring his bat down straighter. By the end of 2016, he had set a new record for the most Test runs by a wicketkeeper in a calendar year.This time he is facing a different challenge. Having lost the gloves, for a while anyway, to Ben Foakes, he has been forced to reinvent himself as a specialist batsman. And with the middle-order positions taken, he knows that he must establish himself at No. 3 if he is to retain a place in the side.It’s not his ideal position; he makes no secret of his desire to reclaim the wicketkeeping gloves. And there may be, he warns, a “bedding-in period” as he adapts to the mental and technical demands of the position.But the early signs are that the challenge may bring the best out of him. Having ended the Sri Lanka tour with a century in Colombo, he made another 98 here that suggested he could yet develop into the man England have been looking for since the decline of Jonathan Trott.There are, of course, some caveats. This pitch – while better than the surface used in the first warm-up match – is slower than those anticipated in the Test series (in Barbados and St Lucia, in particular) while the attack, despite containing two bowlers with Test experience, is nowhere near as demanding.The fact that England scored nearly 400 in the day – and that they took 19 wickets against the same opposition the previous day – tells you much about the chasm in quality between these two sides.Still, this was a much-improved effort from Bairstow after a loose dismissal in the first warm-up game. England have been struck by how much this version of the Duke’s ball has swung and for how long it has remained hard. As a consequence, top-order batsmen have had to leave well and ensure they remain as compact as possible. His driving and sweeping, in particular, were very impressive.”I just want to be playing,” Bairstow said afterwards. “At this moment in time I’m batting at three; who knows what will happen down the line. Down the line you want to be doing something you’ve done the last 10-15 years.”It’s a case of going out and doing what I need to do and trying to adapt again to a different role in the side. You’re probably going to be facing the new ball, fresher bowlers on fresher pitches, so there will be a bedding-in period and you might not get it right every time. It will be different to batting at No. 5, 6 or 7 and coming in later in the day.”Underlining the low-key nature of this match, Bairstow fell – caught on the midwicket fence – attempting to reach his century with a six.Moments earlier, when he had 94, he had been reprieved after it transpired Miguel Cummins had over-stepped when having Bairstow caught at mid-off.But such ‘milestones’ hardly matter. Not only will none of the scores from these games count towards the players’ career statistics – these matches do not carry first-class status – they are more about gaining form and fluency ahead of the serious business ahead. Bairstow, at least, should go into the Test series with confidence high.So should Rory Burns. Having seen off the new ball with admirable ease, he appeared every bit as fluent as Bairstow in making a 65-ball 50 with eight fours. Especially punishing against the short ball – be it from pace or seam – he also put away anything over-pitched. He was eventually stumped attempting to drag one from outside off through midwicket.There were runs for Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid, too. Taking full toll of a tiring attack and some support bowlers, all three looked in fine form and underlined the impression that England’s lower middle-order may well prove vital once again.Where once there may have been concerns about Jos Buttler missing out – he fell to an outside edge as he attempted to guide one down to third man and goes into the Test series having had just one bat on tour – these things are viewed differently these days. England will take comfort in the form he showed in the BBL and trust to his training and temperament to ensure he is ready for the first Test. Ben Stokes and Joe Root were both rested, though Stokes may bowl on Friday.Moeen Ali, meanwhile, was unable to take advantage of a let-off on 1 – Jermaine Blackwood, who is having a grim few days, dropped a straightforward chance in the slips – while Keaton Jennings again fell early as he prodded half forward to the admirable Raymon Reifer.Reifer, a left-arm swing bowler somewhat in the style of Keith Barker, was the pick of the bowlers, though Cummins and Chemar Holder also had their moments. Alzarri Joseph was rested in the hope he might be fully fit for the first Test.

Three UAE cricketers – Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza and Rameez Shahzad – who were suspended last month, were asked by the Emirates Cricket Board to issue formal apologies to the Pakistan Cricket Board for criticising ground facilities in Karachi during the Emerging Teams Cup. In a statement, the Emirates board confirmed that the apologies had been “received and accepted” by the PCB.The players had each been handed eight-week suspensions from international cricket for violating the ‘Player’s Code of Conduct’ and requirements for the use of social media. The players had tweeted criticising the ground facilities in Karachi after rain wiped out their hopes of a semi-final spot in the Emerging Teams Cup. They had also been fined and the Emirates Cricket Board has said the collected fines will be donated to a Karachi-based charity. The three players, although unavailable for selection, have been training alongside the national squad, which is preparing for the upcoming series against Nepal.”Following the recent disciplinary sanctions imposed on three of its professional players, Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has today confirmed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has received and accepted formal apologies made to them by the players,” a statement by ECB said. “As a gesture of good will, ECB will donate the fines imposed on the players to a Karachi-based charity. All three players continue their training and, although ineligible for selection, are currently involved in an intense training programme alongside players that will represent the UAE in the upcoming UAE v Nepal series.”In December, the UAE captain Mustafa, left-arm spinner Raza and middle-order batsman Rameez had taken to Twitter to express their frustration after their match against Hong Kong was abandoned due to rain, wiping out their hopes of a semi-final spot.In a match played at the Southend Stadium in Karachi, UAE had restricted Hong Kong to 87 for 4 in 31 overs before a spell of rain lasting about half an hour interrupted play. However, the venue had inadequate tarpaulin covers to protect the pitch, and water leaked onto the square. Despite several hours of using sponges, the ground staff failed to dry the pitch. As a result, the match was abandoned, with the teams sharing points. A win would have boosted UAE’s prospects of playing the semi-final.The PCB, however, has not made a statement and on the fitness of the venue for future games. ESPNcricinfo understands the Pakistan board is aiming to host women’s international games at the venue in the near future.

Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican credited his team-mate Shannon Gabriel for bringing West Indies back into the game on the first day in Chattogram after Bangladesh had reached a “commanding” position earlier. The hosts were cruising on 222 for 3 after opting to bat, but Gabriel’s third spell broke the back of Bangladesh’s innings with four quick wickets.Gabriel dismissed Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan single-handedly to reduce them to 235 for 7 before Bangladesh’s lower order “put the momentum back” in their innings.”Obviously Bangladesh were in the commanding seat from the morning until the tea break,” Warrican said. “I think Shannon bowled very well to get those four quick wickets. He brought us back in the game. But unfortunately they finished well as a team and put the momentum back in Bangladesh’s hands.”Warrican had an eventful outing on the first day, finishing with 2 for 62 from 21 overs, but it could have been better. He dismissed Imrul Kayes for 44 at the stroke of lunch but he could have removed the batsman earlier for 16, had he not overstepped when Imrul swept a catch to deep square leg earlier in the morning session.West Indies dropped two clear chances too. The first came in the fifth over when Imrul was on 3 and Roston Chase dropped him at second slip. Later, wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich put down centurion Mominul Haque on 67 off Devendra Bishoo.”I won’t say we were unlucky. I think we create our own luck,” Warrican said. “As a team you don’t want to drop catches or get wickets off no-balls. I don’t think it is luck. It comes down to discipline and doing the right things.”Amid all this, Gabriel produced a brilliant spell at the start of the third session, in which he took 4 for 26, sparking the middle-order collapse. Warrican said that Gabriel’s advantage is his pace that he extracts from his height, that adds to his discipline.”I think Shannon’s pace really works for him. He is very tall, so pace with height is very crucial,” Warrican said. “He bowls good areas as well. He is just not someone who bowls quick, but he is also very disciplined. It is very important as a fast bowler.”Warrican said that West Indies were aware of the dangers of the Chattogram pitch as it already started to turn, adding that the batsmen must be wholly alert.”It is very good for batting but assists the spinners,” he said. “I think the spinners can get something out of it if they bowl in the right areas. Also, the ball is coming on well for the batsmen but the bounce is inconsistent. You have to watch it closely.”

The northeast monsoon is in operation, more rain is on the way, and with further interruptions likely, spinners may again be asked to rush through the overs so that enough have been completed to constitute a game. This was what transpired in the second ODI in Dambulla. England’s quicks had reduced Sri Lanka to 35 for 4 at the end of nine overs, and in doing so had got their team miles in front of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score.With clouds gathering to the south, Eoin Morgan threw the ball to his spinners. Their mandate: to get through 11 overs as quickly as possible, so the minimum 20 could be completed. But in rushing through, England did give Sri Lanka a faint glimmer of hope, Dhananjaya de Silva forging recoveries with Kusal Perera initially, and then Thisara Perera. Having been allowed to ease themselves in through a period in which England’s priority was not on maintaining optimal pressure on the opposition, Dhananjaya and Thisara were approaching half-centuries when the rain did eventually come, and wash out the remainder of the match.England were still comfortable winners, but they have nevertheless taken stock of the fact that they were not as clinical through those 11 overs as they would have liked to be.”You’ve got to rush through the overs but not rush through your bowling,” said Moeen Ali, who delivered five of those 11 overs. “You’re rushing through field placings, and your thinking’s not as clear. I think once we got the 20 overs out of the way we took our time a little bit as usual. We’ve spoken about that and we’ve got to counter that and take that into the equation. There may be a time when the situation gets like that again, and we’ve got to be a bit smarter.”Batsmen have often spoken of being frustrated by rain interruptions, which serve sometimes to break concentration and sap their innings of momentum. Bowlers also have to adjust to shortened games, Moeen said, though with the rise of T20, defending a total over a fewer number of overs is perhaps not the challenge it once was.”With so much T20 around now it does help a little bit to adjust, because you know about the shorter game. Field restrictions are different. I think it’s more about staying in the moment. Each over that you bowl is very, very important.”Though England played no fewer than three frontline spinners on Saturday, with left-arm spinner Liam Dawson joining the more-established pairing of Moeen and Adil Rashid, England will be without Dawson for the rest of the series, after he suffered a side strain during that second ODI. As a result, England’s XI is likely to look more like the team they field at home, with a third seamer likely to enter the side in Dawson’s place.”We’ll just probably go back to the balance of the team we’ve had over the last few years,” Moeen said. “It’s a shame for Daws. It would have been a great opportunity to play regularly. I think that’s something he’s been wanting for a while. Unfortunately it hasn’t happened for him.”

Pujara returns with half-century after ‘stiff neck’
Fresh and well rested after a stiff neck forced him to retire hurt on 30, Cheteshwar Pujara returned to bat on the second day in Rajkot to make a half-century in Saurashtra’s first-innings total of 475 against Chhattisgarh. Pujara returned to bat after the fall of the fifth wicket and added a 65-run partnership with Sheldon Jackson who top scored with 147. Chhattisgarh were solid: 88 without loss in response with two days remaining.R Ashwin with a bagful of wickets
After toiling hard to pick up just one wicket in 21 overs on the first day in Dindigul, R Ashwin was rewarded for his persistence. He picked up three wickets on the second day to finish with figures of 4 for 85 as Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 393 after being handily placed at 359 for 4 at one stage. In all, Ashwin sent down 38.4 overs, with five maidens. Ashwin was complemented by fast bowler M Mohammed, who picked up a hat-trick to trigger MP’s collapse. At stumps, M Vijay had faced six deliveries and was yet to get off the mark.