Sports
Holland in the mix but Aussie weapon could be negated
Australia’s selectors face a tough call heading into the Test series opener at Galle on Wednesday
A return to Test cricket for Jon Holland, a prospect that seemed far-fetched not long ago, may hinge on the state of his injured spinning finger that has put a spanner in the works of the major selection call for Australia.
Not for the first time, Holland has arrived underdone in the seaside city of Galle where the left-armer was also rushed to six years ago for his Test debut when Stephen O’Keefe injured his hamstring in the series opener.
Ahead of Australia’s first Test in Sri Lanka since that tour, Holland is now back in the mix to add to his four Tests with Ashton Agar sidelined with a side strain and a question mark over whether Mitchell Swepson’s wrist spin will be accurate enough in the conditions.
Holland did not bowl at training on Monday, two days out from the series opener, but coach Andrew McDonald insisted a final decision has not been made on either his or Travis Head’s availability.
Head was again put through his paces at training on Monday as fitness staff test out the hamstring he hurt last week, with Glenn Maxwell on standby if required.
But the decision on Nathan Lyon’s spin partner shapes as the more important call.
The dry Galle pitch has been baking in the sun in recent days, yet curators have been ensuring the rest of the square has been kept well-watered.
If the surface plays as expected, the pitch will offer considerable turn but the less abrasive wicket table will likely negate Australia’s ability to find reverse swing.
That was a major weapon for Mitchell Starc in his dominant 24-wicket campaign in Sri Lanka in 2016 and also for both Starc and Pat Cummins in their series win over Pakistan earlier this year.
It would be a remarkable return if Holland, who played the last of his four Tests four years ago in the UAE against Pakistan, gets the nod to play.
The Victorian was on an Australia A tour of England in 2019 and suggested then that his last chance at a Test recall would likely be the ensuing Ashes campaign, which he was overlooked for.
Matthew Kuhnemann was picked over him for the recent Australia A tour of Sri Lanka but McDonald, who conceded Holland is still bowling himself into full fitness, said selectors had never forgotten about one of domestic cricket’s leading spinners over recent years.
“We know what Jon can do, hence why he was brought into this squad,” said McDonald. “I wouldn’t read too much into the A (squad non) selection. He’s always been there and thereabouts, purely through his domestic performances.
“He got called in late. Was he a little underdone when he got into the A series? There’s no doubt about that. But we feel as though he can bowl his way into the form we potentially need.
“He’s got a bit of an (injury) issue but we’re working through that.”
Agar was the first-choice left-arm spinner initially picked for this tour and appeared in line to play, which he could still do if fit for the second Test at the same venue.
For now, McDonald said selectors had not made a call yet between Holland and Swepson.
“What we’re talking about is the direction the ball is spinning and the value of accuracy versus the wrist-spin, which at times can be a little less accurate,” he said.
“Traditionally finger spin has done well here … but also there hasn’t been a hell of a lot of leg-spin played here either. By no means am I indicating it’s Jon Holland over Mitchell Swepson.”
Mitchell Starc bowled on Monday without tape on his left index finger having recently had stitches removed, while Steve Smith was back batting in the nets after missing the previous day’s session with a minor illness.
Zimbabwe nosed ahead of Bangladesh after the second day’s play of the first Test in Sylhet with half-centuries from Brian Benett and Sean Williams Their lower order and tail also resisted to add 80 runs for the last four wickets that got them a lead of 82. They finished the day by breaking Bangladesh’s opening stand, and the hosts are still 25 runs behind.
Bangladesh’s solace came in the form of Mehidy Hasan Miraz ‘s first five-wicket haul at home in nearly two-and-a-half years. He finished with 5 for 52 after speedster Nahid Rana picked up three wickets, including those of the openers. Zimbabwe strung together small partnerships after the opening stand of 69, often dominating periods of play.
Bangladesh lost Shadman Islam in the evening for 4 in the fourth over, when a superb Blessing Muzarabani delivery had him edging to second slip. His opening partner Mahmdul Hasan Joy got a reprieve on 6 in the following over when wicketkeeper Nyasha Mayavo dropped a regulation chance to his right.
Mahmudul finished the day unbeaten on 28, while Mominul Haque was on 15 when play was called off at 5.33pm.
Rana earlier gave Bangladesh their first breakthrough when he banged in a bouncer towards Ben Curran’s chest. The left-hand opener only managed to tap it to short leg where Mominul completed the catch diving forward. It ended Zimbabwe’s impressive opening stand that lasted 16.5 overs.
Rana then bowled a fuller delivery to get rid of Bennett, the other opener. Bennett was piercing the off-side field regularly, hitting eight of his ten boundaries in the range between backward point and cover. But when he looked to cut another ball square, it led to his downfall as he edged one behind on 57.
Hasan Mahmud joined in the act with a peach of an inswinger against No. 3 Nick Welch, who was bowled through the gate for 2. Captain Craig Ervine and Williams, Zimbabwe’s most experienced pair, steadied things for the next hour. They added 41 runs in 15 overs, before Rana had Ervine caught behind for 8.
It was another short ball that reared up high on Ervine, who couldn’t get his bat out of the way. The ball brushed the face of his bat and he was caught behind by Jaker Ali. Williams forged another promising stand, this time with Wessly Madhevere, in the course of which Williams reached his fourth Test fifty. He did that in style too, sweeping Taijul Islam for a six and a four to reach the landmark.
The 48-run partnership however ended when Madhevere played on to a Khaled Ahmed delivery, on 24. Williams too couldn’t kick on, mistiming a straight hit against Mehidy, caught by a tumbling Mahmudul running back from mid-off. Williams bent down in disbelief as he looked very well set, having scored 59 off 108 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.
Despite all their frontline batters back in the pavilion, Zimbabwe continued to fight. Mayavo made an enterprising 35 off 54 balls, including five fours, but he fell shortly after tea when Mehidy trapped him lbw. Wellington Masakadza played out 42 balls for his 6, and became Mehidy’s third victim, caught at cover.
The tall pair of Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava then took on the Bangladesh bowlers in a 36-run ninth-wicket stand. Muzarabani struck two fours and a massive six, over long-on, during his 17 off 16. Ngarava was unbeaten on 28 off 44 balls, including a lovely straight hit for a six off Mehidy. The offspinner finished things off when he had Muzarabani stumped and Victor Nyauchi caught in the covers, to complete his five-for.
Brief sores:
Bangladesh 191 in 61 overs and 57 for 1 in 1 overs (Mahmudul Hasan Joy 28*, Mominul Haque 15*, Blessing Muzarabani 1-21) trail Zimbabwe 273 in 80.2 overs (Sean Williams 59, Brian Bennett 57, Wessley Madhevere 24. Nyasha Mayavo 35, Richard Ngarava 28*; Nahid Rana 3-74, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 5-52) by 25 runs
[Cricinfo]
Despite losing the last time they batted first, Gujarat Titans (GT) stuck with their tried and tested method of starting calmly, assessing the conditions and minimising risk. The result this time was a total of 198 for 3 on a tricky surface, a total they defended with ease against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to consolidate their lead at the top of the table.
Led by Shubman Gill’s 90 off 55, the GT top three again did the bulk of the scoring, scoring 183 runs among them, after the second-slowest powerplay of this IPL for a side not losing a wicket. On a pitch that had just enough to discourage fluent stroke-play, Gill and Bhardwaj Sai Sudarshan relied on rotation of strike and the occasional onslaught. They added 114 for the first wicket before Jos Buttler provided the finishing touches with 41 off 23.
There were still doubts if GT had left a few runs out in the middle, but their relentless bowling extracted enough from the pitch to vindicate the batting approach and set up a big win by 39 runs.
In their young existence, GT have always played like peak Chennai Super Kings (CSK), trusting their batters to make decisions in the middle and investing in bowlers who reduce the need to take high risks when they are batting. They are the second-slowest team in the powerplay this IPL, but also the quickest overall. Part of it is their top order taking its time and then cashing in later. On the night, it meant no boundary in the first 11 balls, only one aerial shot in the powerplay and just 45 runs when the field was up.
He didn’t do much when the field was up, but once he felt he was in, Gill took on the deep fielders immediately after the powerplay. He started with 6 off 11, then used the pace of Harshit Rana to reach 22 off 19 before hitting Moeen Ali for six, four and four in consecutive balls. Again, though, he chose a touch of caution when facing Sunil Narine.
Sai Sudharsan took the load off him by attacking fellow Tamil Nadu player Varun Chakravarthy and then Harshit, who was getting purchase from the pitch with his offcutters. He even outpaced Gill to the fifty: in 33 balls to Gill’s 34. The orange cap followed soon after.
Sai Sudharsan’s wicket to Andre Russell’s extra bounce would have given KKR hope, but Buttler crushed their joy by hitting three consecutive fours in the same over. Gill now took on the responsibility of attacking the two main spinners, taking 12 and 11 in the 16th and 17th overs. It was a big win for GT that the spinners bowled 11 overs for no wicket and 96 runs without frenetic cricket.
Gill missed out on the century as he hit a full toss straight to deep midwicket, but Buttler and Shahrukh Khan made it 85 off the last eight overs.
KKR rang in the changes in this match hoping for better returns, but they also went in confident chasing anything under 210. This is where the GT way comes in. They might sometimes fall ten or so short of a perfect chase, but they hardly ever were 50 short because they went too hard. Lucknow Super Giants might have put in a perfect chase last game . KKR were far from perfect.
Mohammed Siraj started with an unplayable ball to get Rahmanullah Gurbaz: an outswinger that pitched and nipped in to give him no chance. Ainkya Rahane was the only KKR batter who looked fluent, but Narine and Venkatesh Iyer got stuck at the other end. Narine still managed 17 off 13, but Venkatesh’s 14 off 19 left them needing nothing short of a Russell special.
Rahane scored a fifty off 36 balls but a clever Washington Sundar wide ball had him stumped immediately after. Russell started with a four and a six off Washington, but canny spin bowling from Sai Kishore tied him down before Rashid Khan capped off his return to good results with the wicket of Russell. The ask was already in the realms of the impossible by then.
Towards the end, Prasidh Krishna extended his lead at the top of the purple cap charts with figures of 4-0-25-2 taking him to 16 wickets.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 198 for 3 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 90, Bhardwaj Sai Sudharsan 52, Joss Buttler 41*, M Shahruk Khan 11*; Vaibhav Arora 1-44, Harshit Rana 1-45, Andre Russell 1-13) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 159 for 8 in 20 overs (Sunil Narine 17, Ajinkya Rahane 50, Venkatesh Iyer 14, Rinku Singh 17, Andre Russell 21, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 27*; Mohammed Siraj 1-32, Ishant Sharma 1-18, Prasidh Krishna 2-25, Rashid Khan 2-25, Washington Sundar 1-36, Sai Kishore 1-19) by 39 runs
[Cricinfo]
With their record breaking throws delivered in March, Sumeda Ranasinghe and Rumesh Tharanga will be the selectors’ easiest picks in the Sri Lanka team for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships.
The bienniale championship will be held from May 27 to 31 in Gumi, South Korea. Unlike at the previous editions Sri Lanka’s javelin throwers are in uncharted territory. The massive early season throws have placed the two Sri Lankan throwers in the second and thrid places in the world’s top list this year behind USA’s Curtis Thompson. In the fourth position in that list is India’s Olympic medallist Niraj Chopra who has a throw of 84.52 as his best effort this year.
Olympian Ranasinghe regained the national record with a throw of 85.78 metres at the trial held on March 9 at Diyagama. That was within a fortnight after Tharanga threw a world leading distance of 85.41 metres in Perth, Australia.
Sri Lanka Athletics is yet to announce the team for the Asian Championship. But the two throwers are almost certain to get the nod as they are in a historic top spot which is difficult to ignore.
In the women’s category too, javelin thrower Dilhani Lekamge is a top contender to book a ticket to Gumi as her best distance of 56.26 metres this year rank within the top 29 in Asia.
The men’s 400 metres had been the country’s most productive medal winning event at the Asian Athletics Championships. Currently, sprinter Aruna Dharshana and Kalinga Kumarage are ranked in the fourth and fifth positions in Asia. Both are yet to clock sub 46 seconds in the one lap discipline. Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba and Ammar Ismail Yahia Ibrahim and Japan’s Fuga Sato who won the silver at the last edition are the only Asians to have run the distance under 46 seconds this year.
Dispite not faring well at the recent Asian Indoors, Sri Lanka will field a 4×400 metres relay team to defend the gold in May. Dharshana and Kalinga are likely to be joined by two junior athletes as two of the gold winning members have produced below par performaces this year.
Sri Lanka Athletics has received a quota for 18 members after country’s outstanding performaces at the last edition in Bangkok. Sri Lanka won eight medals, three golds, two silvers and three bronzes. They were ranked fourth behind Japan, China and India according to the medal tally
by Reemus Fernando
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