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Sussex captain Luke Wright has said that they are ready to give Mustafizur Rahman some time off before his stint with the county next month

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-20163:40

Nannes: Great opportunity for Mustafizur to grow

Sussex captain Luke Wright has said that they are ready to give Mustafizur Rahman some time off before his stint with the county next month. Reports suggest that they expect him to make his debut on June 10 in the NatWest T20 Blast game against Kent in Hove.Given the progress of the Hyderabad Sunrisers in the ongoing IPL, it is likely that he will be busy till May 29, after which he is supposed to join Sussex for the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup.But he has recently informed people close to him in Dhaka that he is eager for a break after the IPL. But the general view in the BCB is that they want Mustafizur to play in the UK, which they feel will set him up strongly in his career.Wright was confident that Mustafizur, who has already missed their first NatWest T20 Blast match against Gloucestershire on Friday, would play a number of games for Sussex whenever he arrives in Hove.”Fizz is definitely coming but we are just clarifying the number of games he is going to play,” Wright told the . “We have to understand he is a young lad who has been away from home for a long time in an environment where he doesn’t speak the language. He’s also played a lot of games so we want to give him enough time to rest so that when he does come over we get the best out of him.”We always knew he was likely to miss the first two games so it is a case of whether he misses an extra game or not. Obviously we’d like him for as many games as possible as he is in such great form but either way he’ll still be available for a large chunk of the matches.”Wright said that they would wait for Mustafizur to arrive, given the reputation he already carries. He has so far taken 15 wickets in the IPL, after performing exceedingly well for Bangladesh against India, South Africa and Zimbabwe last year, and in the World T20 this year.”When we did our research on him people told us what a big player he was going to be. When someone like Kumar Sangakkara says he is a special talent then you sit up and take notice.”He’s proving how good he is out in India at the moment so we’ve done very well to get him on the deal we have as I don’t think he’ll be quite so cheap in the future,” he said.

Warwickshire ultimately decided that much as they might have liked to leave Headingley with a win it was the long game that they were really interested in. Thus not losing became the priority that dictated their tactics on the final day

Jon Culley at Headingley29-Apr-2015
ScorecardAndy Hodd made a half-century to secure a draw for Yorkshire•Getty Images

Warwickshire ultimately decided that much as they might have liked to leave Headingley with a win it was the long game that they were really interested in. Thus not losing became the priority that dictated their tactics on the final day, when captain Varun Chopra delayed his declaration just long enough to hand control of the outcome to Yorkshire, who after being on the back foot for much of the contest were content to emerge with a draw.The long game is the 2015 Championship, in which Warwickshire have ambitions to topple the incumbents, to whom they lost twice by an innings last season. This was an obvious chance, given Yorkshire’s long list of absentees and injured, to exact some revenge. But at the back of Chopra’s mind was the thought that, come September, he would not want to be dwelling on the defeat in April that cost him the title.Yet it was a negative approach that hardly helps when Championship cricket so wants to be exciting. They had Yorkshire on the back foot, the home side avoiding the follow-on but still trailing by 132 runs on first innings. Ian Westwood, with his second substantial innings of the match, turned that into a position from which his side could dictate.With an ace up his sleeve, too, in Jeetan Patel, the country’s best offspinner, it was a position from which they could have backed themselves, given Yorkshire’s belief in playing positive cricket. Dangle a carrot, and Yorkshire invariably go for it.To that end, the obvious moment to declare would have been lunch, when Yorkshire would have needed 303 from 76 overs. But how often, these days, does a captain set a team 300 at four an over? Chopra decided he could not take the risk. So the target instead grew to 352 and the time shrank to 68 overs, which interested Yorkshire for a while, less so once they lost four wickets.Patel did his stuff, a strong crosswind adding to the hazards facing his opponents, and he took three wickets in the space of 43 balls. But they included Cheteshwar Pujara and Andrew Gale in quick succession and that was enough to set Yorkshire’s thoughts towards defending. Although Jack Leaning was dropped on 21, there were no other scares and he and Andrew Hodd were able to negotiate the remaining overs successfully.Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s first-team coach, was clearly frustrated, although he accepted that Warwickshire’s tactics were their prerogative. “They played with a safety first element, trying to bat us out of the game and that’s fine,” he said. “That was the tactics they wanted to adopt and I’m not having a go at them. It was our fault that we were in that position in the game, that they were calling the shots.”But you would not see Yorkshire playing like that, we would look to be a lot more pro-active. We were going to have a crack even at the target we were set but it meant that we were comfortable enough if we lost a few wickets to be able to save the game. Once they set us that target, losing was not really on the cards for us.”It was indicative, perhaps, of the kind of tactics likely to waylay Yorkshire all season in their bid to defend their title. “There is something in that, yes,” Gillespie said. “But we will just have to find a method to counter it.”Tim Bresnan’s bowling was a pleasing feature for Yorkshire, but his contribution was eclipsed by the other offspinner in the game, James Middlebrook, who came out of retirement to dismiss Westwood twice, finishing with 5 for 82 and eight wickets in the match. But there will be no change of heart from the 37-year-old about his future. “It was great to know that I can still perform at this level and I was chuffed to make a contribution but there will be no change in my plans,” he said. “I’m focussed on umpiring now but it was fitting to be able to end my career here, and on a high note.”

The defending champions find themselves in a state far different from the one they left the tournament in last year

Siddhartha Talya13-Oct-2012The defending champions find themselves in a state far different from the one they left the tournament in last year. For a franchise considered to be the richest among the IPL teams, with plenty of star value, they finished a disappointing fourth in the 2012 IPL. Had the Champions League retained the same format as last year, Mumbai Indians would not have earned a direct qualification for this edition. But the rules have been changed, and they have a chance to defend the title, albeit not as favourites.Among the teams in this competition, their fortunes will be followed more closely than most others and will attract a significant proportion of the Indian television audience that the tournament so badly relies on for its success. Equipped with plenty of firepower in the batting, and the services of Lasith Malinga with the ball, Mumbai offer lots of entertainment value. And unlike last year, when an injured Sachin Tendulkar watched his team’s games from the sidelines, with adequate television time reserved exclusively for his reactions to compensate for his absence from the XI, his fans will be able to see him take the field this time.Mumbai were in the news a fair amount off the field as well: injuries to several Indian players in their squad led them to convince the tournament organisers to allow the team to field five foreign players instead of the usual four. One of those injured players, Suryakumar Yadav, smashed a century in an Under-22 game shortly after being declared unfit, returned to the squad to the embarrassment of the franchise. The build-up so far has been relatively low profile, the tournament taking place almost immediately after the World Twenty20. But once it kicks off, the tournament’s most high-profile team won’t escape close scrutiny.

How they qualified

Thanks to a change in qualification rules. The change was made in July this year, allowing the fourth IPL team – in this case, Mumbai Indians – a direct entry in the main competition. Kolkata Knight Riders, who had finished fourth in the fourth edition of the IPL, had to compete in a qualification round in the Champions League last year.

Key Player

Apart from the obvious Tendulkar and Malinga, Kieron Pollard has been a key player for Mumbai. He had a good game against Australia in the semi-final of the World T20 but the tournament, otherwise, was a relatively quiet one for him, barring the celebrations that followed West Indies’ title triumph.Munaf Patel played in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy recently, but hasn’t played enough competitive cricket since the IPL. He was expensive in the IPL, but picked up 15 wickets at 24.46 in 12 games. He isn’t the swiftest mover in the field, but can bowl tight and vary his pace well. He’s not played for the national team for more than a year, and each game he plays is a chance for him to make an impression on India’s new selection panel.

Surprise package

Mitchell Johnson missed the whole of the 2012 IPL due to a toe injury he picked up in South Africa last year. He made his return to international cricket in July this year and last played in August-September against Pakistan in the UAE. Though he was outshone by the other Mitchell, Starc, he was economical and picked up four wickets in three games.Also a capable lower-order batsman, Johnson could form a strong opening bowling combination with Malinga, and the progress he’s made since his comeback will also be closely watched.

Weakness

Mumbai had issues with their opening combination during the IPL this year – they tried as many as eight. It’ll be interesting to see who opens with Tendulkar. They have the choice of playing Richard Levi, but he’s struggling, or Dwayne Smith, who gives an additional bowling option. The tinkering was not confined to the top, and the lack of a settled line-up was one of Mumbai’s big problems in the recent IPL.

Captain Alex Gidman came to Gloucestershire’s rescue on the opening day of the
County Championship match with Leicestershire at Bristol

07-Sep-2011
ScorecardCaptain Alex Gidman came to Gloucestershire’s rescue on the opening day of the
County Championship match with Leicestershire at Bristol. Leadership was needed when the hosts slumped to 82 for 5 after losing the toss. Gidman provided it with an innings of 81, sharing a stand of 121 with Ian Cockbain who reached 46 not out, as his side reached 235 for 6.Matthew Hoggard was the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with two for 30 from
22 overs, while Nathan Buck claimed 3 for 61 from 16. Fourteen overs were lost to rain in the afternoon and in the end both sides could feel satisfied with their efforts.Hoggard and Buck exploited excellent seam bowling conditions after the 10.30am
start and Hoggard made the first breakthrough with the total on 23 as Chris Dent
edged a catch to third slip. Buck then removed Kane Williamson and Chris Taylor in quick succession before having the obdurate Richard Coughtrie caught behind for 30 to make it 72 for
4.Lunch was taken with three runs added, at which point Buck had three for 30
from nine overs. When Hamish Marshall failed to move his feet to a delivery from Hoggard and
departed lbw for three Gloucestershire were in deep trouble and could see their
last flickering hopes of promotion slipping away.But Gidman was in a defiant mood and found an equally determined partner in
Cockbain. The skipper moved solidly to a half-century in 83 balls, with seven
fours. Cockbain collected five boundaries as the century partnership was brought up in
22 overs.Gidman played and missed occasionally on the drive and Cockbain was caught off
a Buck no-ball, but both batsmen also produced some attractive shots to take the
score to 200 and earn a first batting bonus point. Rain then forced the players off at 2.55pm and an early tea was taken.Play resumed at 4.40pm, with 14 overs lost, and with just three runs added
Gidman appeared to be beaten in the flight by off-spinner Jigar Naik and gave
wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley his third catch. Gidman had faced 114 balls and hit 12 fours. He was replaced by brother Will, who is in sight of the double of 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in his first season with Gloucestershire.He and Cockbain were extremely watchful under heavy grey skies as they
painstakingly built an unbroken stand of 32 by stumps. Cockbain was four short
of his half-century, having been in for just over three hours.

Medium-pacer Hamid Hassan single-handedly ended Kenya’s resistance on the fourth and final day to give Afghanistan a 167-win

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Hamid Hassan starred with 11 wickets•International Cricket Council

Medium-pacer Hamid Hassan single-handedly ended Kenya’s resistance on the fourth and final day to give Afghanistan a 167-win and take them to the top of the Intercontinental Cup table. Just 8.1 overs were needed as Hassan bowled Nehemiah Odhiambo and James Ngoche, and trapped Ragheb Aga and Elijah Otieno lbw, to finish with match figures of 11 for 157.Kenya’s lower-order collapse followed a string of determined starts from the top order that enabled them to make a decent fist of chasing 512. Opener David Obuya made a patient 79 while his top-order colleagues, Collins Obuya and Steve Tikolo, played around him. Both scored fifties, adding 90 and 99 respectively with David. Unfortunately for Kenya, none of them were able to kick on and make the big score that was needed if they were to have any chance of victory.Afghanistan took control of the match after making 464 in the their first innings, built around captain Nawroz Mangal’s maiden first-class century, before bowling Kenya out for 160. The 23-year-old Hassan, who was the first Afghanistan cricketer ever to play at Lord’s when he represented the MCC against a select Europe XI in June, 2007, did the damage early, taking five of the first six wickets to leave Kenya reeling at 90 for 6.Kenya’s bowlers had rallied on the third day to bowl Afghanistan out for 207, with offspinner James Ngoche picking up his first five-wicket haul, but the result was never in doubt.Afghanistan will take on Scotland in the final next month, having won five of their six matches in the league phase. Scotland’s only loss in the league came against Afghanistan, who beat them by 229 runs. Hassan was the bowling star in that match as well, with almost identical figures of 11 for 154. He is the leading wicket-taker in the Intercontinental Cup with 35 wickets at an average of 21.17 and a strike-rate of 33.8. His teammate, Mohammad Shahzad, is the top run-scorer, having made 736 runs at an average of 81.77.

The series could provide match practice, or serve as an audition, for a couple of back-up players likely to be picked in the Test squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2024 • Updated on 25-Oct-20247:07

What India A squad for Australia tour indicates about Border-Gavaskar Trophy selection

Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the India A squad on their tour of Australia later this month.Gaikwad, who has begun his Ranji Trophy season with scores of 86, 0 and 145 for Maharashtra, is one of the contenders for the role of reserve opener for India’s five-Test tour of Australia, which will closely follow India A’s tour. That role has gained extra significance with India captain and opener Rohit Sharma set to miss one of the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series for personal reasons.Apart from Gaikwad, the 15-member India A squad also includes two other candidates for that role in Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been named vice-captain, and Sai Sudharsan.The matches against Australia A could provide match practice, or serve as an audition, for a couple of other back-up players likely to be picked in the Test squad. Devdutt Padikkal, B Indrajith and Ricky Bhui are set to be the middle-order batters in the India A squad; Abishek Porel and Ishan Kishan the wicket-keepers; Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar the allrounders; and Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Prasidh Krishna, replacing the initially picked Yash Dayal, the fast bowlers.Abhimanyu, 29, has been part of India’s Test squad previously – in Bangladesh in 2022 – and he has been in superb form this domestic season, scoring two hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, another century in the Irani Trophy, and beginning the Ranji Trophy season with a ton for Bengal. Sudharsan, 23, made a first-class hundred for English county Surrey in August, before scoring a century in the Duleep Trophy and a double-hundred in Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy match in Delhi.Having recovered from a hernia, 21-year-old allrounder Reddy made his T20I debut for India against Bangladesh earlier this month and is currently a reserve player in India’s Test squad for the home series against New Zealand. He is seen by India’s selectors as a promising allrounder who could improve with more experience and exposure.

India opt for intra-squad warm-up

India A are scheduled to play Australia A in two four-day matches in Mackay from October 31 to November 3 and in Melbourne from November 7 to 10. They will then play the India squad in a warm-up match in Perth from November 15 to 17 before the first Test against Australia begins on November 22.India have opted for this intra-squad game as their warm-up to the Test rather than a practice match against an Australian domestic side. This is a departure from their preference on their last two tours of Australia. They began the red-ball leg of their 2020-21 tour with a three-day game against Australia A, and played a four-day game against a Cricket Australia XI before their Test series in 2018.19.

India A squad for tour of Australia

Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-capt), Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna

Needing 292 in 37.1 overs, Afghanistan came agonisingly close thanks to Nabi’s 65 off 32

Madushka Balasuriya05-Sep-20231:43

Were Afghanistan unaware of the permutations?

Afghanistan won hearts and minds, but it was Sri Lanka who won the contest, in a game for the ages in Lahore. The scorecard will say Sri Lanka won by two runs – and in the process recorded their 12th straight ODI win – but that barely scratches the surface in a game that could’ve gone either way.After their heavy loss to Bangladesh, Afghanistan knew at the toss that any chase would have to be completed in around 37 overs for them to get their NRR to qualification standards. Adding a bit of spice to this scenario was the fact that, if they succeeded in doing so, Sri Lanka’s NRR would then drop below that of both Bangladesh’s and Afghanistan’s, thus eliminating the defending champions.As it transpired, with Sri Lanka ending on 291 for 8 – courtesy an 84-ball 92 from Kusal Mendis and a late stand between Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana – Afghanistan needed to reach their target in 37.1 overs. For much of the chase Sri Lanka had the game in hand, but then Mohammad Nabi’s 32-ball 65 lit the fuse of belief that spread through the Afghan camp.Rashid Khan sinks to his knees after Afghanistan crashed out of the Asia Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Nabi walked in in with 171 required off 110, and by the time he fell, the equation had dropped to 91 from 64. In between, he had pulled, swatted, cut and slapped Sri Lanka’s bowlers all over the Gaddafi Stadium in an innings that included six fours and five sixes.Related

• Is Sri Lanka's tame finish in ODIs a cause for concern?

• Trott admits Afghanistan were unaware of NRR permutations

• Last leg of Asia Cup matches to be played in Colombo as scheduled

Such was the impact of Nabi’s innings that the rest of the batters – the same ones that had struggled to maintain a high strike-rate against Bangladesh two days prior – would find the boundaries when required to keep up with the run-rate.In the end though it was left to Rashid Khan, who would strike three boundaries in the final four balls of the 37th over to leave Mujeeb Ur Rahman needing to score three off one. Mujeeb would hole out at long-on, but that wouldn’t be that.As the math would have it, Afghanistan could have still qualified if they were to get their score up to 295 in 37.5 overs – essentially with a single six. But incredibly, it appeared this wasn’t communicated to the Afghan players. And so, Farooqi, as the No. 11, would play out two defensive strokes, before being trapped lbw while attempting a third block. Rashid at the other end cut a forlorn figure as Sri Lanka secured an improbable win to finish atop Group B.Until Nabi’s intervention though, Sri Lanka were comfortably in control, more so after the powerplay. Kasun Rajitha, who finished with 4 for 79, was the early enforcer with wickets of top-order batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. Gulbadin Naib, pushed up the order, would briefly counter in a 16-ball 20 that included four boundaries, but Matheesha Pathirana would trap him lbw first ball.Fastest fifties in Asia Cup (ODI editions)•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A 71-run stand between Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah then kept the Afghans in the game, but it was only once Nabi entered the fray that Sri Lanka truly began to fear. No one was safe in this period, not on the field nor in the stands, as Nabi found the gaps with ease. He would strike at 244 against Pathirana, 160 against Rajitha, 366 against Shanaka and 233 against Wellalage. Only against Theekshana did he even slightly struggle, but even so he struck at 128 against him. It would be fitting then that Theekshana would be the one to dismiss him.Prior to his nearly match-winning hand, Nabi had played his role in keeping Sri Lanka to a sub-300 total in what was another great batting surface in Lahore. His 10 overs went wicketless but for just 35 runs, which meant he was the only bowler to go for less than six an over across both teams. This would prove crucial in keeping the Lankans to a chaseable target of 292. Doing the damage with the ball were Naib and Rashid, who would end on figures of 4 for 60 and 2 for 63 respectively.Dunith Wellalage struck crucial runs for Sri Lanka•Associated Press

In their batting innings, Sri Lanka threatened to put the game beyond Afghanistan’s reach at various points but not all the way. The opening stand of 63 off 62 between Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne looked threatening until Naib struck. He would get two more shortly after to leave Sri Lanka on 86 for 3.Then once Mendis and Charith Asalanka put on 102 for the fourth wicket, Rashid would strike to break the stand. He would later effect a run out of Mendis – albeit rather fortuitously – after a dropped return catch from Dasun Shanaka would deflect onto the non-striker’s stumps. He would have Shanaka as well, castling the Lankan skipper around his legs to leave Sri Lanka at risk of not completing their 50 overs.But it was here that Wellalage played the knock that, in hindsight, won Sri Lanka the game. Having entered 227 for 7 in the 40th over, Wellalage would put on a stand of 64 with Theekshana at a touch over run-a-ball to take Sri Lanka to their eventual winning total. He’d make 33 in 39 while Theekshana contributed 28 in 24.

Former India coach wants Jammu and Sunrisers fast man to get BCCI contract ‘straightaway’

Nagraj Gollapudi and Raunak Kapoor18-May-20224:40

Ravi Shastri: ‘Central contract straightaway for Umran Malik’

Umran Malik needs to be given a central contract “straightaway” by the BCCI, in the opinion of Ravi Shastri, who also believes Malik will be “a handful” in first-class cricket and has the potential to even be part of the Indian Test set-up subject to him being put on the development pathway by Indian cricket authorities.Malik, who recently clocked 156.9 kph, possibly the fastest ball in IPL history, is also the fourth-highest wicket-taker this IPL with 21 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 20 and economy rate of 8.93. Playing his first full IPL season, Malik has already bagged a five-for [the second-best figures so far this season], but it is his raw, uninhibited pace that has troubled batters, brought fans to the edge of the seats and excited pundits like Shastri.Related

• Kings' high-risk approach fails to click; Malik, Tripathi shine in Sunrisers' dull season

• Shastri: Jadeja as captain 'looked a fish out of water'

• SRH v MI: Tripathi, Malik keep Sunrisers alive

• Scenarios: All eyes on Capitals and RCB

• Moody on Sunrisers' dream fast-bowling line-up

“Central contract straightway,” Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out after Malik put on another impactful performance with a three-wicket haul in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s win against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. “And keep him in the mix, don’t let him float around. Keep him in the mix with the main players and then he learns seeing (and) being around with the [Mohammed] Shamis and the [Jasprit] Bumrahs, and see the way they train, see the way they manage their workload.”Of course, there’ll be the team management there, support staff, that’ll help him do that, but don’t let him stray at the moment. Get him into the mix, and keep him there and groom him.”While Malik has rattled the best batters in the IPL – on Tuesday, Malik hit Rohit Sharma in the helmet – with his extreme pace as well as uprooted stumps, someone like Shami has called on him to focus on combining “pace with accuracy”.”He’ll get better and better,” Shastri said. “You see his bowling once he takes a wicket. Look at the lines he starts bowling as opposed to when he has not got a wicket – that’s when he is trying everything, his lines are all over the place. You don’t want him to cut down on pace. The last thing you would tell him looking for control, cut down on pace. What you want him to do is get his lines right: if he can bowl that stump line, attack the stumps on a constant basis, varying his lengths, he will trouble [batters].”If he gets a wicket and new guy comes in, he can really rattle him because he has got the pace, he can keep the bloke on his toes, but it’s that line – if he gets into that channel, without cutting his pace it will make a huge difference.”Shastri: ‘Get him into the mix, and keep him there and groom him’•BCCI

And if Malik could stick to that plan, Shastri said he would not be surprised if Malik is soon be part of the Indian Test squad. “I promise you, this guy is going to be a handful in red-ball cricket. Handful, really. If he is part of an Indian pace battery that (already) has Bumrah, Shami, you add this bloke in (as) a fourth guy, it’s going to be a serious attack.”Shastri’s views are similar to that of Sunrisers’ head coach Tom Moody, who had said Malik was like a “Ferrari” and there was no point asking him to cut down his pace and focus on line and length.At 22, Malik is enjoying the best time of his life, doing something that comes naturally to him: bowling fast. But you can sense he is also hearing what the experts are saying. After the win on Tuesday, Malik was keen to understand how his senior Sunrisers team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar had bowled a maiden in the penultimate over of Mumbai’s chase.Bhuvneshwar pointed out that he had worked out delivering yorkers was the “best option” based on the behaviour of the pitch, and he managed to pull it off. Malik then wanted to know what was the key to bowling successfully in death overs, the most difficult phase in T20 cricket. “The most necessary thing in death bowling is to keep yourself calm because what happens often is the pressure comes as soon as a boundary is hit,” Bhuvneshwar told Malik in a chat on . “So the only thing I will say is how much you can keep calm and have a calm mind then it will help you.”

He was a reliable and gutsy presence at the top of the order for Australia through the 1950s

Daniel Brettig11-Jan-2021Colin McDonald, Australia’s lone resister during Jim Laker’s world record 19-wicket haul in the 1956 Old Trafford Ashes Test, has died at the age of 92.In a lengthy and reliable stint at the top of the order for Australia for the best part of the 1950s and early 1960s, McDonald was a key part of the team in the era spanning the captaincies of Lindsay Hassett, Ian Johnson, Ian Craig and Richie Benaud, playing the last of his 47 Tests on the 1961 tour of England that saw the debut of his fellow Victorian opening batsman Bill Lawry.Batting with a range of partners, McDonald was at his best during the 1955 West Indies tour and the 1958-59 Ashes series at home, the scenes of four out of his five Test hundreds and plenty of cut shots and leg-side deflections with a technique that was dominated by the bottom hand.But McDonald’s most enduring efforts were arguably his run of scores in the Laker-led defeats of the Australians by both England and Surrey during the 1956 tour: scores of 89, 45, 32 and 89 out of team totals worth 259, 107, 84 and 205 represented high skill and no little determination against the turning, spitting ball.Related

• 'I got sick of being called courageous'

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Asked in later years by Gideon Haigh about how he viewed the 1956 Ashes, McDonald offered an unvarnished view of the conditions and how they had been prepared. “England cheated: if by cheating you include the practice of preparing wickets to suit your own purpose,” he said in .”I mean, we wouldn’t have minded so much if the pitches had played true to character. But we’d played Lancashire at the start of the tour and it seamed like a normal Manchester wicket. Then the Test pitch was like Bondi Beach when it was dry and a mud-heap when it was wet. In truth, though, Australians were poor at playing off-spin on slow turning wickets. They tended to thrust at it with firm hands, where the way to do it was play side-on, close to your body, bat inside pad. They bowled well. We batted very badly.”McDonald’s traditional, “take the shine off the new ball” approach to opening served his country well as Benaud fashioned them into the world’s pre-eminent team, culminating in the memorable 1960-61 series against West Indies at home and then the retention of the Ashes in England in 1961.”Colin will forever be remembered as a legend of Victorian and Australian cricket,” Cricket Australia chair Earl Eddings said. “He was fearless against the fast bowlers and skilful when playing the spinners both in Australia and across tours of England, the Caribbean, South Africa, India and Pakistan.”Australian cricket is a better place for Colin’s many years of outstanding service at international and state level, as well as his club career with Melbourne University, Melbourne Cricket Club and Brighton. Our sincere condolences and best wishes go out to Colin’s family.”

The fast-bowling allrounder had missed the first Test, which West Indies lost by 318 runs, due to an ankle injury

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2019Keemo Paul has recovered from his ankle injury and has been drafted back into the West Indies squad straightaway for the second and final Test against India in Kingston, replacing Miguel Cummins, the man who had filled in for him in Antigua.

WI squad for second Test

Squad: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.

That was the only change to the squad for the first Test, which India won by 318 runs. Shai Hope kept wickets then, and might continue to do so with first-choice Test wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich back in Barbados continuing his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, even though back-up keeper Jahmar Hamilton is among the 13 in Jamaica.Cummins didn’t have a particularly good time of it in Antigua, conceding 69 runs in 20 wicketless overs across two innings, as India piled up 297 and 343 for 7 declared while bowling West Indies out for 222 and 100 to earn 60 World Test Championship points.While batting was West Indies’ weak link in the first Test, the bowling unit did let India off the hook somewhat after having the visitors down on the mat at 25 for 3 – Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli among the batsmen out – on the first morning. “We got the early wickets we were looking for but I thought that we tried a bit too hard, we didn’t stick to coming down the channel, we tried a bit too hard with the short-ball plan and stuff like that,” Roston Chase, the only spinner in the XI for the first Test, had said of that performance.West Indies will hope that changes in the second Test. With Cummins out and Paul in, that might be a straight swap in the XI at Sabina Park, unless the conditions call for an international debut for Rahkeem Cornwall, the 26-year-old offspinning allrounder from Antigua.