Pakistan  have recalled Shaheen Shah Afridi for their Super Eight fixture against England in Pallekle at the expense of Faheem Ashraf, and will bat first after Salman Agha won the toss on a fresh pitch.

Afridi’s nine overs at the T20 World Cup have cost 101 runs and he has been left out for consecutive matches after Pakistan’s heavy defeat to India in Colombo, including their no-result against New Zealand to start the Super Eight stage. But he has been recalled to face England, perhaps due to their top order’s perceived vulnerability against left-arm seam.

Ashraf rescued Pakistan in their opening group-stage match against the Netherlands, hitting 29 not out off 11 balls to secure a three-wicket win. But he has only bowled two overs in the tournament and has been batting down the order.

“It looks like a good pitch,” Agha said at the toss. “We want to put up an above-par score and defend that total.”

England will qualify for the semi-finals if they win either of their remaining Super Eight fixtures, but Brook said that he would rather get the job done this evening than face a must-win match against New Zealand on Friday. “That would be lovely, wouldn’t it? But you never know in T20 cricket, it’s such a fickle game,” he said.

Brook said that he would have chosen to bat first if he had won the toss, but expects a better surface than the one that England played on at Pallekele two days ago in their low-scoring win over Sri Lanka. “Hopefully, it’s going to be a little bit better,” he said. “We haven’t had our perfect game yet. Hopefully, it’s just around the corner.”

England have picked the same team for the fifth consecutive match at this World Cup, and have carded their batting line-up in the same order despite some calls for Brook to be promoted from No. 5.

The fixture is a rematch of the 2022 T20 World Cup final, which England won by five wickets at the MCG, and there are nine survivors across the two teams.

England:  Phil Salt,  Jos Buttler (wk),  Jacob Bethell,  Tom Banton,  Harry Brook (capt),  Sam Curran,  Will Jacks,  Jamie Overton,  Liam Dawson,  Jofra Archer,  Adil Rashid.

Pakistan:  Sahibzada Farhan,  Saim Ayub,  Salman Agha (capt), Babar Azam,  Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan,  Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz,  Shaheen Shah Afridi,  Salman Mirza,  Usman Tariq.

(Cricinfo)

One day they were kings of the hill, brushing aside mighty Australia with two overs to spare and sending the faithful into raptures. The next, they were brought crashing down to earth, unable to bat out their 20 overs as England handed them a sobering reality check. Cricket, as ever, proved to be the great leveller, lifting you to the heavens on Monday and reminding you of your frailties by Sunday.

The same fans who had burnt the midnight oil celebrating Australia’s exit turned restless when Sri Lanka ate humble pie. The wheel turns quickly in this fickle game. Applause morphs into angst in the space of little time.

Kandy’s supporters, passionate as they are, must tread carefully. Their behaviour in recent years has not always been up to scratch and the last thing the city needs is a clampdown on international cricket. Disappointment is part and parcel of sport. But hurling abuse and worse, objects onto the field, crosses the boundary rope of decency. That is simply not cricket.

There were positives amid the rubble. A depleted bowling attack did a commendable job to restrict England to under 150, no mean feat given modern T20 batting excesses. On another evening, that total might have been hunted down with calculated aggression. Instead, Sri Lanka’s chase never quite got out of second gear.

The over-reliance on Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis is becoming glaring. Once the top order’s twin pillars are dislodged early, the middle order appears to play catch-up cricket, swinging between caution and desperation. It is a dangerous tightrope.

Conditions, too, played their part. After incessant rain in Kandy, the pitch had been under covers for more than 48 hours. Surfaces suffocated that long tend to wear a different face once unveiled, gripping, stopping, turning. The return catches that accounted for Kusal and Kamindu Mendis told their own tale. They weren’t able to get the timing right.

Selection, meanwhile, has raised more than a few eyebrows. The omission of seasoned campaigner Kusal Janith Perera after two outings begs explanation. The recall of Kamil Mishara has left many scratching their heads. And Charith Asalanka, arguably one of Sri Lanka’s more assured players of spin, remains on the sidelines as the team grapples with slow surfaces. At this level, such calls can make or break campaigns.

Questions, too, swirl around leadership. Sliding down the batting order while wickets tumble is rarely the hallmark of strong captaincy. When the ship is taking on water, the skipper must be seen on deck. Leaders shoulder the burden; they do not pass the parcel.

Now Sri Lanka face a classic Hobson’s choice. Win their remaining two games and book a ticket to Calcutta for the semi-finals. Slip up once more, and it will be curtains. In tournament cricket, there is no room for half-measures. It is time to either hold their nerve or pack their bags.

by Rex Clementine

‎Sri Lanka Women took a 2-0 lead with another tight victory over the West Indies at St George’s on Sunday (February 22).

‎The second ODI carried a script similar to the first game: West Indies chasing a sub-250 total, an exact 50 by Jannillea Glasgow from No.7, and a narrow win for Sri Lanka.

‎The West Indies, who fell short by 10 runs in pursuit of 241 in the first ODI, had a smaller total to chase this time, bundling out the tourists for 208. At 166-4 in the 36th over, Sri Lanka looked set for much more, but lost their way, even as Vishmi Gunaratne kept one end occupied with a fighting fifty.

‎In response, West Indies, just like in the first ODI, had their top five sent back inside 100, leaving the lower order to push them close to the finish.

‎The talking point, though, was Deandra Dottin’s dismissal, out obstructing the field.

‎The incident occurred in the 30th over, with West Indies needing 94 at that point. Facing Chamari Athapaththu, Dottin went for a sweep, but missed the wide ball. It ricocheted off the keeper’s pads and flew back towards Dottin, who bizarrely tapped the ball with her bat and caught it with one hand. The Sri Lanka fielders went up in appeal straight away, claiming obstruction.

‎After consultation between the umpires and a referral upstairs, Dottin was given out. Next over, Aaliyah Alleyne was caught at backward point, pushing West Indies further into trouble.

‎But Glasgow stayed put, briefly finding company in Shawnisha Hector, but the partnership was broken by a brilliant diving catch in the deep by Nilakshika Silva, falling inches from the boundary.

‎Glasgow kept finding boundaries, targeting the area down the ground, forging a crucial stand with Afy Fletcher for the ninth wicket. With 18 needed off 22 though, Fletcher perished trying to take on Inoka Ranaweera, succumbing to another sharp catch by the Sri Lankans.

‎Even as she ran out of partners, Glasgow kept them in the hunt. However, off the last ball of the 48th over, her resistance ended, slapping one straight to cover, where Kavisha Dilhari took a fine catch on the second attempt. Glasgow crouched in despair, held up by her bat and consoled by Ramharack, even as the Sri Lankan fielders around celebrated the series win.

‎Sugandika Kumari took a three-wicket haul, as did Ranaweera, adding to her four wickets in the first game.

‎It’s the second bilateral ODI series win in a row for Sri Lanka over West Indies, having broken a streak of four straight series defeats to them until 2024.

‎Brief scores:

‎Sri Lanka 208 all out in 47.1 overs

(Vishmi Gunaratne 58, Harshitha Samarawickrama 35; Karishma Ramharackh 3-26)

‎West Indies 194 in 48 overs

(Jannillea Glasgow 50, Sugandika Kumari 3-38, Inoka Ranaweera 3-44)

(Cricbuzz)

‎