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Glenn Maxwell has been suspended for disciplinary reasons for the second time in a year after Victoria sanctioned him for failing to appear at a recovery session following the Bushrangers’ victory against New South Wales on Sunday

Daniel Brettig19-Oct-2015World Cup-winning allrounder Glenn Maxwell has been suspended for disciplinary reasons for the second time in a year after Victoria sanctioned him for failing to appear at a recovery session following the Bushrangers’ victory against New South Wales on Sunday.Like other Cricket Australia-contracted players in Sydney for the Matador Cup, Maxwell was booked in for a day of media duty for rights holders on Monday, and said that he thought he was thus free of any commitments before then. However the Bushrangers’ new coach David Saker insisted Maxwell should have been at the recovery session and duly suspended him from the game against Tasmania on Tuesday. Maxwell will be available for the Elimination final on Friday if the Bushrangers qualify.”I understand that I broke team rules by missing recovery and I have accepted the consequences,” Maxwell said. “It was an oversight on my behalf where I thought I had a free morning before some Australia team commitments. I’m extremely disappointed to be missing a game, but I will continue to do everything possible to help the Bushrangers win the Matador Cup.”Saker said Maxwell’s standing as a senior player in the Bushrangers squad was a factor in his penalty. “We’re disappointed that Glenn let down his teammates and missed a recovery session this morning,” he said. “We have high expectations of all our players and as a senior player, Glenn should be taking a leadership role. As a result he will not be playing in tomorrow’s match against Tasmania.”In July, Maxwell was left out of the team for Yorkshire’s final Twenty20 fixture for behaviour the coach Jason Gillespie described as “unprofessional”. “It was just unprofessional behaviour and I don’t wish to add anything further,” Gillespie had said. “It has been dealt with and we have moved on and the slate is clean. As soon as the decision was made, we cracked on.”Maxwell was a part of the Australian Test squad for the postponed tour of Bangladesh and has hopes of breaking into the five-day team on a more regular basis this summer.

A round-up of matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on March 26, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2013Group A
Kerala chased down Delhi’s formidable total of 195 for 4 with six wickets in hand and two overs to spare in Indore. Rohan Prem, batting at No. 3 for Kerala, set the pace and stayed the course, finishing unbeaten on 92 off 51 balls. The propulsion at the finish was provided by Sachin Baby, who blitzed 48 off 19 balls. Every Delhi bowler conceded nine or more runs per over; four of the six used went at more than ten. Kerala’s efforts overshadowed that of Unmukt Chand, who had scored his maiden domestic T20 century to lead Delhi’s innings. Opening the batting, he made 105 off 67 balls and was dismissed off the penultimate delivery of the innings.A collective performance from their batsman helped Gujarat inch past Odisha by three wickets and two balls to spare. Chasing 152, Gujarat kept losing wickets regularly but they ensued the chase did not lose momentum completely. Niraj Patel top-scored with 40, and Rohit Dahiya was unbeaten on 14 when the winning runs were scored. Basant Mohanty took 3 for 27 for Odisha. Gujarat had dismissed the Odisha openers off successive deliveries to hinder their progress after they won the toss. The Odisha middle order made useful contributions, the highest of which was Govind Podder’s 40. Subhrajit Sahoo made 37 off 17 balls to prop up Odisha to 151 for 6.Group B
Sayan Mondal took 3 for 19 to set up Bengal’s four-run win against Baroda in Indore. Defending 149, Mondal dismissed three of the top five batsmen, and Baroda then slipped from 81 for 2 to 84 for 5. Sanjib Sanyal struck off successive deliveries to reduce Baroda to 124 for 7, and they eventually finished on 145 for 9. Bengal’s score had been set up by contributions of 48 and 50 from Shreevats Goswami and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who hit five sixes in his 23-ball innings.Karnataka‘s middle and lower-order batsmen chased 130 in the last over with two wickets to spare against Punjab. After their top three batsmen scored only 16 runs together, Manish Pandey (31) put on 25 with Stuart Binny (17) and 31 with CM Gautam (31). 75 for 5 when Pandey was dismissed, Gautam and Karun Nair (16) took them till 117 when they lost two wickets in two balls. Ultimately, Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun took them home.When Punjab had batted, Ravi Inder Singh fired at the top with 60 off 44 but he did not get any support. Only three other batsmen reached double figures as they lost their last seven wickets for 24 runs to be dismissed in 18.1 overs and Binny finished with 3 for 26.

Stuart Law, the new Bangladesh coach, has said his aim is to build a self-reliant Bangladesh team that can help each other and rely less on the natural talent of individuals

Mohammad Isam18-Jul-2011Stuart Law, the new Bangladesh coach, has said his aim is to build a self-reliant Bangladesh team that can help each other and rely less on the natural talent of individuals. Having arrived in Dhaka on Monday morning, along with new fielding coach Jason Swift, Law told his first press conference as coach that he needed to work with the team before identifying areas where they needed improvement, but felt a little more professionalism would help.”I’ve seen Bangladesh play a lot of good cricket. They’re very talented,” Law said at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Monday. “The captain [Shakib Al Hasan] was rated No. 1 all-rounder in the world not long ago; Tamim Iqbal is a destructive top-order batsman. Maybe there are areas away from cricket in which they need to improve. A little bit more professionalism maybe, but I haven’t seen them up close to see what makes them tick.”Maybe it’s not about natural talent but a bit more mental toughness, self-belief. That’s what I can impart. The bigger you are the harder you fall. We are a minnow which is a good thing because we go into every game as an underdog and there’s nothing to lose.”Law has played against both Shakib and Tamim; he represented Lancashire and MCC against Bangladesh A in 2008. He will start work on July 20 when Bangladesh play a practice game in Mirpur and his first assignment will be to prepare the team for their tour of Zimbabwe which starts with a tour game on July 30. He said his approach to the side would be to initially observe and see what made the players tick.”I like to observe rather than sit down and tell them what to do. I have a 9-year-old son and he doesn’t like to do what I tell him either. I’ve learnt over my time, the more the players want to do it, the better for the team. It’s not about what I want, it’s about what they want. The tour of Zimbabwe should be a good one, in conditions that we are comfortable playing on. It should be a good way to get into the role.”In the first weeks, the job will be to put names to faces. Once we get into that, we want to make Bangladesh cricket team a team they think they should be. It’s about what they expect from themselves. If they believe they should be the seventh, sixth or fifth best team in the world, that’s where we should aim at first. If they all perform at their optimum, the sky could be the limit for this team.”Law played the role of interim coach for Sri Lanka on their recent tour of England but chose to join Bangladesh after the ODI series ended as they were offering him a permanent job. “Sri Lanka were not in a position to offer an extension in the contract. So there was no job on the table from them. Bangladesh had contacted my management company to seek the possibility of joining. Having been here and knowing the passion that Bangladesh people have for cricket and their team, I saw it as a great opportunity for me while I’m still young as a coach.”Hopefully I can impart the knowledge that I’ve gathered from my 31 seasons of cricket and make the players as good as they can be.”

Paul Collingwood has admitted that his Test future is on the line, and recognises the need to make a big contribution in the final Test of the Ashes series at Sydney

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2011Paul Collingwood has admitted that his Test future is on the line, and recognises the need to make a big contribution in the final Test of the Ashes series at Sydney, after a troubling run of form in which he has made 11 or less in eight of his last ten Test innings.Collingwood’s last Test innings of note was his 82 in the first innings against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in July, in which he formed a matchwinning partnership with the centurion, Eoin Morgan, who is now his chief rival for a permanent berth in the middle order. In the current Ashes campaign he has made 70 runs at 14.00, with a top score of 42 at Adelaide.”My form during this series and most recently my latest failure in the fourth Test in Melbourne means the subject of my Test future was bound to be raised sooner or later,’ Collingwood was quoted as saying by the Mail on Sunday.”I am obviously disappointed with the series I have had with the bat so far. I can’t get away from the fact that scoring runs is my job in the side, so I won’t hide away. I have still got a lot of fight left in me. I honestly feel as fit as I have ever been. I am enjoying Test cricket and playing for England more than I ever have done and our success, and if you are enjoying it why would you give it up?”But on a personal level, this is a big week for me in Sydney,” he added. “I am at the crossroads and what happens in the final Test may well determine what direction I go in. I am sure by the end of this Test, I will know more myself and be better able to judge what the general feeling is in terms of where I am as a Test player and the contribution I can still make to the England team in future and what is the best way forward.”Collingwood has barely missed a Test in four years since he secured a permanent spot in the middle order on the tour of India in March 2006, and he is an integral member of the limited-overs squad as well, particularly the Twenty20 team which he captained to victory in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in May. However, at the age of 34, and with the World Cup in the subcontinent looming as his next big challenge, the time may be nigh to step down from the longest form of the game.”The desire within me to go out and score a hundred against Australia in Sydney, help the team to a 3-1 win and crack on is still strong,” he said. “Yet, at the same time, I understand the arguments 100 per cent and I understand there are other batsmen after my spot. And the bottom line is that, at my age, if you are not scoring runs yourself you do not deserve a place in the side.”

Ricky Ponting has had some tough experiences as Test captain, but it’s hard to recall an Australian team under his leadership enduring a worse day than this

Brydon Coverdale at Headingley21-Jul-2010As the dark, gloomy weather descended on Headingley late in the afternoon, the Australians drifted from the ground thankful to see the end of one of their grimmest days. Ricky Ponting has had some tough experiences as Test captain, but it’s hard to recall an Australian team under his leadership enduring a worse day than this.In terms of significance, decisive Ashes occasions like the second day at The Oval last year or the first at Edgbaston in 2005 are at the top of the list. But for a single, self-contained day of Test cricket, this was terrible. Australia were all out for 88, their lowest Test total in 26 years, and Pakistan passed the score with one wicket down.Yes, the Australians can say they have a chance. At the SCG in January they were in a remarkably similar position and somehow Pakistan handed the match back. To expect the same result again is to anticipate predictability from Pakistan, and that’s never a wise move.The Australians will be left to wonder if they made the wrong decision to bat first. Ever since Ponting infamously sent England in at Edgbaston five years ago with a McGrath-less attack, batting first has been almost a Pavlovian response when the coin falls his way.Even when logic dictates – as it did on a Sydney greentop in January or February 2009 on a Johannesburg pitch described by Michael Hussey as having branches growing off it – that bowling first is the logical move. Even when it means playing into the hands of the opposition.The Australians never like to cede control of a Test and they feel that by bowling first, they are doing just that. They often speak of focusing on their own plans and not concerning themselves with their opponents. It’s an approach that looks pigheaded when it fails.Against a Pakistan team whose strength clearly is swing bowling, batting first under overcast skies after overnight rain defied common sense, especially given the inexperience of the Pakistan batting line-up. As Ponting himself said two days before the Test, “in Pakistan you don’t generally see the ball seam around and swing around like it did last week”.So why not subject their batsmen to those hardships? Umar Gul said he was surprised at Ponting’s decision, and that the Pakistanis were ready to bowl first had they won the toss. Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen said the idea of sending Pakistan in was discussed, but they felt the pitch would deteriorate later in the week. The match might not get that far.Perhaps the coin-flip didn’t matter. Truth be told, Australia were outplayed in every department. When their bowlers were given a chance in the afternoon they did not display the guile and skill shown by their Pakistan counterparts. Whereas Mohammad Asif had deceived batsmen with a sequence of outswingers followed by an inswinger, the Australians possessed no such patience.They tried to take a wicket every ball, without building to a plan. Ben Hilfenhaus bowled too straight and often saw the ball whipped through leg, while Mitchell Johnson was erratic. The bowlers say the right things about working in England – they know they must pitch it up and allow the ball to swing – but too many deliveries were banged in short of a length.Nor did the batsmen handle the conditions with complete composure. They reached forward against the swinging ball, hoping to negate the movement but at times that exacerbated the issue, as they allowed themselves no time to adjust when the ball swerved late.The innings was over in less than three hours, and not since 1984-85 had Australia scored so few. That was against a vintage West Indian attack at the WACA, on a day when Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall were so fearsome that Courtney Walsh didn’t even have to bowl. You can bet on that occasion they weren’t pitching it up and searching for swing.Australia’s SCG memories will sustain them into the second day at Headingley. They know the sun will rise again – they just hope there’ll be plenty of clouds as well.

Victory in just over two hours on final day, as Broad and Patterson-White make inroads

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2022Nottinghamshire needed seven minutes over two hours to take the seven Durham wickets they needed to be confirmed as Division Two champions on the final day of the LV= Insurance County Championship season at Trent Bridge.England’s Stuart Broad, in his first appearance for his county since May, finished with three for 36, left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White took three for 41 and South African seamer Dane Paterson two for 27.Durham, for whom David Bedingham was unable to bat because of a dislocated shoulder, were dismissed for 114 to lose by 462 runs.Barring defeat here, Nottinghamshire were effectively champions already after seven first-innings bonus points meant they could no longer be overtaken in the Division Two standings, yet they had wanted to end on a winning note and gave spectators free admission to witness their triumph.Resuming on 14 for two after Nottinghamshire, who stacked up a formidable 662 for five declared, had declared their second innings on 121 for two, Durham suffered their first loss in the fourth over of the day as Broad angled one in to have Scott Borthwick leg before.Skipper Steven Mullaney, one of four centurions in the first innings, sprang something of a surprise when he did not enforce the follow-on after Durham were dismissed 455 behind on first innings, yet his decision seemed to be justified as a rested attack made life difficult for their opponents in conditions freshened up by overnight rain.Patterson-White claimed the second scalp of the morning in his first over as Liam Trevaskis’s top-edged sweep looped gently to slip.Chris Benjamin, the wicketkeeper on loan from Warwickshire, took a positive approach, hitting five boundaries in his 33, but came a cropper when Broad returned for his second spell, edging to second slip.Patterson-White bowled Ben Raine, Paterson had Matthew Potts edging to second slip, where Matt Montgomery, whose magnificent 178 had been the largest component of Nottinghamshire’s 662, took his second catch of the innings. Patterson-White then enjoyed the decisive moment as Jonathan Bushnell, sweeping off balance, was leg before.Nottinghamshire began the season as favourites to win the division, not on the basis of their form the last time the Championship was played in two divisions, pre-Covid, in 2019, when they were relegated without a win, but on their performance in 2021, the campaign of the conference format, when they were in contention for the outright title right up to the last round.They felt slightly miffed that this year’s divisions were configured on the basis of what happened three years ago, but the ECB quite reasonably felt they had to maintain the integrity of their competition.In any event, they have clearly justified their short odds, winning more matches and more bonus points than any of their rivals. The only defeats suffered were against Glamorgan in their first home match in April, and at Worcester last week, a shock that left them with something to do in this fixture.The stand-out performer with the bat has been Haseeb Hameed, who has bounced back from the low point of a chastening Ashes winter to enjoy his most productive season, amassing 1,235 runs at 58.80, including four hundreds and seven other fifties.Ben Duckett also topped 1,000 runs in the Championship, while skipper Mullaney missed that mark by seven runs, but had his best campaign with the bat since 2016.Among the bowlers, Luke Fletcher was unable to scale the heights of 2021, when he chalked up 67 first-class wickets, but Paterson improved in his debut-season haul of 51 wickets by adding a further 56. Patterson-White, the 23-year-old who has been tipped for a big future in the game, confirmed the promise of his first two seasons by finishing on 41 wickets as the most successful spinner in the division.Durham’s bad day was worsened shortly after the end of play, when they were hit with a ten-point penalty by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC), after Nic Maddinson admitted to using a bat which failed a bat-gauge test during their match against Derbyshire earlier this month.The breach of ECB Directives 3.2 and 3.3 means that Durham are now likely to slip below Derbyshire into sixth place in the final Division Two standings.

Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has been selected but ankle injury is a concern

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Aug-2022Left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka has been named in a Sri Lanka men’s T20 squad for the first time, while Dinesh Chandimal, seamer Asitha Fernando and middle-order batter Ashen Bandara make their return to the squad for the Asia Cup. Also making comebacks are allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay who was not part of the squad that played Australia in June. Round-arm seamer Matheesha Pathirana has been picked as well.Chandimal was part of the T20 squad that toured Australia and India earlier this year, but was then dropped for the T20Is at home against Australia in June. He returns for the Asia Cup largely on the back on strong performances in Test cricket against Australia and Pakistan.Left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, fast bowler Nuwan Thushara, and allrounders Ramesh Mendis and Lahiru Madushanka were left out of the squad.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Seamers Binura Fernando and Kasun Rajitha, who were strongly considered for the squad, were ruled out by injury. But even among those who have made the squad, there is one major injury concern: key fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera’s ankle is understood to not have completely recovered from a recent injury. He will likely be given as much time as possible to regain match fitness at some point in the tournament.The names of Asitha Fernando and Pramod Madushan have been sent to the Sports Minister of Sri Lanka for approval as replacements for Binura Fernando and Kasun Rajitha.The injuries mean there will be additional pressure on what is an inexperienced seam bowling unit. Aside from the uncapped (in T20Is) Fernando, the 21-year-old Madushanka and the uncapped 19-year-old Pathirana, Sri Lanka have only allrounders Chamika Karunaratne, and Dasun Shanaka as seam options. Fernando, however, did top the wicket charts with 10 dismissals while maintaining an economy rate of 6.87 in the recent SLC Invitational (domestic T20) tournament.Related

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The spin department appears more settled, with Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Praveen Jayawickrama being joined by Vandersay. While Vandersay did not play in the T20Is against Australia in June, he had been in decent bowling form in the ODIs, and claimed 3 for 12 in a recent domestic match.Bandara, meanwhile, gets back into the squad on the back of good performances in that domestic tournament. Batting at No.5, he hit 134 runs across four innings, albeit at a strike rate of 117.54. He last played for Sri Lanka in July 2021.On the batting front, there is no room again for Niroshan Dickwella, who had a decent run in the domestic tournament, and Kusal Mendis (who topped run charts), Danushka Gunathilaka, and Pathum Nissanka will vie for the top-order spots. Bhanuka Rajapaksa is likely to appear in the middle order.

West Indies’ newly appointed Test captain has hailed his predecessor for doing a “superb job”

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2021Kraigg Brathwaite has taken over from Jason Holder, who led West Indies in 37 Test matches•Getty Images

Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies’ newly appointed full-time Test captain, has said it’s a “privilege” to take over from Jason Holder.Holder, who became captain in 2015, led West Indies in 37 Tests before opting out of the recent tour of Bangladesh amid concerns over Covid-19. Brathwaite led a depleted West Indies side to an unexpected 2-0 Test series win, following which CWI gave him the captaincy full-time, with lead selector Roger Harper contending that he “was able to motivate his players to play to a very high level and create the culture we are looking to establish where the team showed a collective determination to fight and a real hunger for success.”Related

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Ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins on March 21 in Antigua, Brathwaite hailed his predecessor, who remains a key member of the West Indies side as one of the world’s premier allrounders.”I just want to thank god for giving me this opportunity, and also want to say I thought Jason Holder did a superb job leading the Test team for the last five years, so obviously taking over from him is a privilege,” Brathwaite said. “I was very happy [to be made captain], obviously very proud, and I look forward to the challenge.”Speaking about the Bangladesh tour, Brathwaite said he had tried to help the young players in the West Indies team back their own ability.”Well, I really enjoyed that tour,” he said. “For me, I just made sure I let the guys know, to believe in themselves and believe in their ability. I’ve played youth cricket with most of those guys, and if not, first-class cricket for a number of years, so I know the ability they have. Just assured them that they can do it.”Just trust in your plans and believe in them, and prepare well. The word attitude is always key, and I thought we did that well, and it’s important for us as a team to continue that same attitude.”On his own batting, Brathwaite said he had been working on his balance against fast bowling in the lead-up to the Sri Lanka series.”The more you’re balanced, the better your shots, and that was something important for me,” he said. “I also went about planning even better, in terms of how I want to go about my innings, and topping up on power. But mainly getting my balance in order, and backing yourself. You always have plans, and it’s to really trust them, that was the key for me. Planning was very very important.”

“We all are really desperate because we have only been prepping mentally,” says Shubman Gill

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2020As the Indian contingent of the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up reached the UAE and settled into their team base at an Abu Dhabi hotel, Dinesh Karthik, the captain, promised “to give it all” despite the players – like others from India and many other parts of the world – not having played any competitive cricket in recent memory.”This IPL will be different. What has happened in the world has pained us deeply and it is surely a challenge to play cricket. But we understand that when we play the game, we bring happiness to our fans,” Karthik was quoted as saying by the Knight Riders website. “Yes, there will be a bio bubble. Yes, we haven’t played or trained extensively for the last few months. Yes, the road ahead may be full of obstacles. But we promise to give it all.”There will not be any practice sessions straightaway, as the squad complies with the quarantine requirements and SOPs and protocols put in place by the IPL Governing Council, but the players sounded gung-ho about getting down to business at the earliest opportunity.”Initially, it was very tough to adjust when the lockdown was imposed, because we were unable to practice outdoors. But I am completely ready now,” left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav said. “In fact, I will be happy if there is a match in the next seven days! I can’t wait to get back in action.” “I think we all are really desperate (to play) because for a long time, we were in our houses and we have only been prepping mentally. We all are really excited. I’m very excited to go out there and express myself,” Shubman Gill, the 20-year-old batsman who coach Brendon McCullum has marked as a part of the leadership group in the team, said.The IPL will start on September 19, with last year’s finalists Mumbai Indians, the defending champions, and Chennai Super Kings facing off, but the final list of fixtures, to be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, has not been made public yet.

Having drubbed Sri Lanka in the first two ODIs, New Zealand are primed to wrap up the ODI series against Sri Lanka, despite Brendon McCullum’s injury

Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Dec-2015

Match facts

December 31, 2015
Start time 1100 local (2200 GMT, previous day)

Big Picture

After Monday’s Hagley Oval drubbing, Sri Lanka’s interim coach called the match “humiliating” for his team. Of the many blows suffered by Sri Lanka so far in the ODI series, the fact that such a substantially depleted New Zealand side has still thrashed them, might be the most troubling. Tim Southee may return to the XI for this match, but Trent Boult remains unavailable. Kane Williamson and Adam Milne had also been left nursing injuries. Brendon McCullum, however, is unlikely to play the third ODI, having aggravated a back injury in the previous game.Matt Henry, Mitchell McClenaghan and Martin Guptill have so far been the hosts’ key performers, but matches have finished so quickly that the others have hardly had a chance to leave their mark. Henry Nicholls has not been put through a thorough test yet, and Ish Sodhi was needed only for three overs with the ball in the second match.Sri Lanka are being hit by bad news almost on a daily basis now. They had just learned overnight that Lasith Malinga will not make the trip to New Zealand at all, thanks to a bone-related knee condition. This means Nuwan Kulasekara may be charged with leading the attack in a tour where he himself is straining to rediscover the swing and subtlety that once envenomed his medium pace. Meanwhile, the others in the attack are having their inexperience exposed. Dushmantha Chameera’s short deliveries were a little predictable in Hamilton, and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay was forced to bowl inside the Powerplay on debut, with a still-hard ball.The New Zealand bowlers have simply had to hit the seam on a good length and await mistakes, with which the opposition have been lavishly forthcoming. The hosts keep saying that the visitors are due a good score soon. Increasingly, it seems like only a good start from Tillakaratne Dilshan would dig the top order out of trouble and help Sri Lanka stay alive.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)


New Zealand: WWLWL
Sri Lanka: LLWWW

In the spotlight

Ross Taylor had been in terrific form during the mid-year ODI series in England and Zimbabwe, but Sri Lanka sometimes seems a bogey team for him. He has played 23 ODI innings against them, and averages only 24.71. His nemesis Rangana Herath is not in the ODI squad, so Taylor will hope he can make his first substantial score of the tour in Nelson. That is if he gets the chance to bat.Angelo Mathews‘s tactics have sometimes drawn criticism, but throughout his tenure at the helm, his batting has been exemplary. In the two years since taking the reins, he has been Sri Lanka’s rock in the middle order – as capable of providing bruising finishes, as he is of sober recoveries. On this tour, New Zealand have kept tugging at a leg-side loophole in his game. They send balls at his ribs or his pads, and Mathews keeps being caught down the legside. The seamers will probably try that plan again in Nelson. Mathews’ response will make for intriguing viewing.

Teams news

With Danushka Gunathilaka having perished cheaply in both matches (though he was far from alone in this), Sri Lanka may consider pushing Kithuruwan Vithanage into the middle order, and displacing Gunathilaka from the side by opening with Lahiru Thirimanne. Sri Lanka may also opt to play with only one spinner on a fresh Nelson pitch as well. Vandersay is likeliest to miss out.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka/ Kithuruwan Vithanage , 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Chamara Kapugedara, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Suranga LakmalHaving picked Matt Henry for only the first two ODIs, New Zealand have opted to keep to that original plan instead of allowing their best bowler of the series so far continue in the ODIs. Henry now finds himself playing for Canterbury. Kane Williamson is expected to play after missing the two previous games with a knee problem. In all likelihood, he will captain the side. Tim Southee comes back into contention, and Adam Milne appears to have sufficiently recovered from his bruised heel.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan/Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

The Saxton Oval pitch has been somewhat slower than the others in the country, but was still good for batting during the World Cup. The weather is expected to be fine, though a little cloudy. Temperatures are forecast to be in the low 20s.

Stats and trivia

• In the five ODIs at Saxton Oval so far, the team batting first has crossed 275 on every occasion.
• Milinda Siriwardana (78 runs) is the only batsman to have hit more runs for Sri Lanka than Nuwan Kulasekara (77 runs), so far in the series.
• Matt Henry had 8 wickets at an average of 10.25 in the two matches. Yet he is no longer in the squad

Quotes

“We’ve put the ball in demanding areas and made them have to make some tough decisions. We build up dots and pressure. Kudos goes to our fielders being able to build up that pressure; stopping ones and making the batsmen second guess that quick single.”