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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Andy Balbirnie’s unbeaten 85 was Ireland’s first middle-order fifty in the series•Associated Press

Ireland’s hankering for a resistant middle order was finally satisfied by Andy Balbirnie, as the right-handed batsman struck his fourth half-century – an unbeaten 85 off 74 balls – to take them to a six-wicket victory in the third ODI. It was their first victory of the tour and kept the series alive at 2-1 with two ODIs to go.At least two of Ireland’s top three had scored fifties in the first two ODIs. That pattern was quickly erased by Dawlat Zadran who dismissed Ed Joyce and William Porterfield off consecutive overs to reduce Ireland to 24 for 2 by the end of the sixth. But Paul Stirling continued to stand in their way, cutting out the risks early as he dug in to put on 96 for the third wicket with Niall O’Brien (30), and got to his third-consecutive ODI fifty in the process. He put on a further 59 with Balbirnie for the fourth wicket, before falling one run short of another hundred. This time, he missed a straight one from Mohammad Nabi and lost his off stump. His wicket, however, wouldn’t bring another collapse. On the contrary, Ireland lost no further wickets. Gary Wilson’s run-a-ball 28 did enough to complement his younger partner, who spearheaded the unbroken 86-run stand as he scored Ireland’s first half-century from the middle-order in this series. Afghanistan dropped three catches to help Ireland along in the chase, but the neutralization of legspinner Rashid Khan, who went wicketless, will have made them feel most vulnerable. They did have Rashid to thank, however, for keeping them in the game in the first place.A ten-ball first over from Peter Chase belied the start to come for Afghanistan. Chase and Tim Murtagh made run-scoring difficult for Afghanistan’s top order on a slow pitch. By the 11th over, three of them had fallen playing away from the body, and one had swiped across the line. Mohammad Nabi was given the marching orders when Stuart Thompson got a finger on the ball before Samiullah Shenwari’s straight drive broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Afghanistan were reduced to 67 for 5 after electing to bat. Shenwari and Gulbadin Naib’s painstaking 30-run stand for the sixth wicket ended nine overs later, leaving Afghanistan’s lower order nearly 24 overs to contend with. Rashid and Naib played 16.1 of those and put on 97, getting fifties before falling in the space of four balls. Ireland wouldn’t have minded that fight at 193 for 8, but Shafiqullah, who would’ve come in at No. 7 normally, struck a 28-ball 50 at No. 9 to set Ireland a target of 265.

ScorecardFile photo – Hilton Cartwright smashed his highest first-class score•Getty Images

Hilton Cartwright plundered an unbeaten 170 at nearly a run a ball to give Western Australia a fighting chance of jumping from fifth place on the Sheffield Shield table into the final against Victoria.Cartwright’s innings was key to the Warriors setting New South Wales a hefty target of 403 at the WACA in what is a must-win game for both sides. By stumps, the Blues had already lost Nic Maddinson, who was bowled by David Moody for 4, and after only two overs of their innings New South Wales were 1 for 6.The day started with New South Wales at 5 for 242 in their first innings, but they lost their final five wickets for 67 runs and were dismissed for 309, with Jason Behrendorff collecting 4 for 70. That left the Warriors with a 127-run first-innings advantage, but they needed to use their second innings to set up a result in order to have any chance of reaching the tournament decider.Trent Copeland claimed both openers cheaply, but Cartwright then set about producing his highest first-class score to lift Western Australia to 4 for 275 before Adam Voges made the declaration. Cartwright struck 16 fours and five sixes in his 173-ball innings and by the day’s close he was second on the Shield run tally for this season, with 861 at 53.81, behind only Ed Cowan.

England’s Visually Impaired cricketers have booked their place in the T20 Blind World Cup semi-finals after beating the West Indies by six wickets in Bangalore.After a tricky start to the tournament, in which they lost three of their first four games – against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – England have now won five in a row to finish fourth in the table, meaning they will face Pakistan in the last-four.England didn’t have it all their own way as West Indies racked up 232 for 4 from their 20 overs. Dennal Deboya Shim smashed his way to 106 from 61 balls with an impressive 15 boundaries.Ed Hossell led the reply with 64, sharing stands of 56 with Matt Dean and 48 with Peter Blueitt, the man of the match, who continued his incredible run of form with an unbeaten 74 to see the side home with five balls to spare.Justin Hollingsworth provided able support with a quick-fire 47 in a stand of 79 that broke the back of the run chase.

World Cup knockout fixtures

• Feb 10 Ind v SL, semi-final, Hyderabad
  Feb 11 Pak v Eng, semi-final, Bangalore
  Feb 12 final, Bangalore

“It feels fantastic,” said England’s captain, Luke Sugg. “We knew what we needed to do today. The boys are in a good mood and are ready for the semi-final on Saturday.”We knew they [West Indies] would be a strong side with the bat. They’ve scored a lot of runs in the tournament and they showed that again today. It was great preparation for the semi to be pushed like that. Pakistan won’t be easy but we know now that we can chase big scores.”We’ve talked about how we can adapt to their strengths and really take the game to Pakistan. We can’t wait.”England are an outside bet to reach the final given the strength of Pakistan’s team – they won their opening encounter of the tournament by 95 runs. However, England’s coach, Ross Hunter, is happy that his side have fulfilled their expectations so far.”I’m really pleased that we are in the knockouts,” said Hunter. “It’s where we wanted to be at the start of the tournament.”We’ve had a culture shift in trying to play a different brand of cricket. We have a nice mix of batters and the recipe is there to score 270-300 – we just have to put it into practice now.”Pakistan will be a huge challenge but we’ve learnt a lot this week and if we play well we will give ourselves an opportunity.”Tomorrow is all about how we prepare our players to be ready to compete on the big stage. The semi-final will be a day they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

Match facts

Monday, January 30, 2017
Start time 1100 local (2200 GMT)

Big Picture

After nearly six years without a standalone Chappell-Hadlee series, Australia and New Zealand are about to embark on their third in 12 months. Last February, New Zealand won at home. In December, Australia swept their own home series 3-0. And now, they are in New Zealand to defend the trophy two months later. It is all a bit of a whirlwind, for Australia in particular. On Thursday, they were in Adelaide wrapping up a one-day series win against Pakistan. On Monday they will play New Zealand in Auckland. And straight after this series, several of their squad members head off for a Test tour of India.Amid such a hectic schedule, it is perhaps not surprising that the selectors chose to rest the vice-captain David Warner, who they hope will be a key player in India and who has not missed an international in any format since the middle of last year. But an ankle injury suffered by captain Steven Smith in the Adelaide ODI last week threw a spanner into Australia’s plans, forcing the hasty appointment of a stand-in skipper for these three games in New Zealand. Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was given the honour, and will lead a squad that is at least full strength in the bowling department if not in the batting order.New Zealand will see this series as a prime opportunity to regain the trophy, given the absence of Australia’s two best batsmen. Warner in particular has been in breathtaking ODI form of late, his six hundreds in the format this summer – including two against New Zealand – propelling him to the No.1 batting ranking. Kane Williamson’s men were disappointing in the series in Australia in December – the margins of 68 runs, 116 runs and 117 runs indicate just how disappointing – but on their home turf they will be a much greater threat.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: WWWLL
Australia: WWWLW

In the spotlight

Luke Ronchi’s adductor injury meant a wicketkeeping question mark for New Zealand. The uncapped Tom Blundell is in the squad, but New Zealand have instead opted to hand the gloves in the first game to Tom Latham. To prepare for the role, Latham kept wicket during a Ford Trophy game on Saturday and completed two stumpings. Latham has previously kept wicket for New Zealand in three ODIs and four T20s, though he has not done so since 2013.Australia are coming off a record opening partnership in their previous ODI, the 284-run stand between Warner and Travis Head against Pakistan. But a different opening pair will take the field in Auckland. Head might get the job again, but it is also possible that Australia will turn to Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh, whose 246-run partnership against Scotland in 2013 made them the previous record-holders. Finch is keen to make himself a first-choice ODI player again after a lean patch led to his axing, while Marsh will be happy to be back in the national setup in any format for the first time in nearly three months, after recovering from a finger injury.

Team news

Ross Taylor returns to the ODI side having missed New Zealand’s two series in December due to eye surgery. By giving Latham the wicketkeeping duties, the selectors have also opened up another middle-order spot that could either go to a specialist batsman or an allrounder.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Colin Munro, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Matt Henry/Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult.The absence of Smith and Warner will mean a minimum of two changes to Australia’s XI from the side that beat Pakistan on Thursday. Whether or not Head opens again after his hundred in that match remains to be seen.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Peter Handscomb, 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Matthew Wade (capt & wk), 7 James Faulkner, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

Eden Park’s tiny boundaries often tempt batsmen, though as the low-scoring thriller between these sides during the 2015 World Cup showed, that does not necessarily equate to high totals. The forecast for Monday in Auckland is for a fine day and a top of 24C.

Stats and trivia

• Wade will be the third wicketkeeper to captain Australia in ODIs; Adam Gilchrist led the team in 17 matches and Ian Healy stood in as captain eight times
• New Zealand have won their past four ODIs at Eden Park, and two of those were against Australia
• It is nearly four years since Australia have played an ODI without Smith, Warner and George Bailey – the last time was against West Indies at the MCG in February 2013

Quotes

“We know we weren’t at our best. We probably didn’t have the resources that we’ve got available now.”
“Steven and David have put their stamp on the team; it’s just about me keeping driving those messages through to the players. We’ve performed really well in one-day cricket over a period of time, so it’s not about trying to change too much, it’s about keeping the ball rolling.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDawid Malan top scored with a 33-ball 56•BCB

Barisal Bulls beat Rajshahi Kings by 17 runs to break a six-match losing streak. The result came as a dampener to Rajshahi, whose chances of qualifying for the play-offs suffered another setback.Dawid Malan and Fazle Mahmud set the game up for Barisal, before the bowlers, led by Rayad Emrit, put together a combined effort to choke the runs, increase pressure and eventually seal the game.The 100-run second wicket stand between Fazle Mahmud and Dawid Malan set up Barisal for a big score, but they ended up adding only 54 runs in the last 6.3 overs. Malan struck his second fifty in the tournament, making 56 off 33 balls with six fours and three sixes.But the manner of his run-out was farcical – he lazily tried to complete a leg-bye without noticing Nazmul Islam getting quickly to the ball and aiming at the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Mahmud, who struck four boundaries and two sixes in his run-a-ball 43, was dismissed in the same over after completing his best day in BPL. Eventually they finished with 161 for 4 when a total of 180 looked a possibility.Thisara Perera and Shahriar Nafees tried to give Barisal a final flourish. Perera struck four boundaries in his unbeaten 22-ball 29 while Nafees struck two sixes in the last over. Mohammad Sami was Rajshahi’s best bowler with figures of 1 for 16 in four overs.Rajshahi never felt settled in their chase. Nurul Hasan fell in the third over when he was lbw to Monir Hossain. Sabbir Rahman gave a simple catch to mid-on in the following over before Mominul Haque gave offspinner Enamul Haque a simple caught-and-bowled in the eighth over. When Raqibul Hasan skied Thisara Perera in the 11th over, as Rajshahi stuttered to 68 for 4.The absence of boundaries to go along with a flurry of wickets – they didn’t hit a four from the sixth till the thirteenth over – made it tougher. Samit Patel and James Franklin kept the chase afloat with 44-run stand for the fifth wicket, but Franklin’s dismissal for a run-a-ball 18 set the back.When Samit fell for a 51-ball 62, Rajshahi’s chances were as good as gone. Darren Sammy was on strike in the final over off which they needed 28. He smashed a six over cover, but eventually the task was too steep to pursue.

Match facts

Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Start time 7pm local time (0600 GMT)Bangladesh will hope the low scores in the second and third ODIs were blips in Shakib Al Hasan’s batting•Getty Images

Big picture

The 0-3 defeat to New Zealand in the ODIs has taken some confidence away from the Bangladesh side but the visitors have a chance to salvage their tour in the three-match T20I series, which starts from Tuesday in Napier.Bangladesh will bank on a settled line-up in the format, similar to their ODI team, and Mashrafe Mortaza will hope the side can avoid repeating the mistakes they made in the 50-over format. Their inability to build on a good start has become a recurrent problem. Tuesday’s match offers a chance for Bangladesh to address their weaknesses in batting and start anew.Bangladesh have included Shuvagata Hom and Taijul Islam in the squad for the first T20. The visitors would also hope their continued belief in Soumya Sarkar pays off, given the batsman’s lack of runs for more than a year. Rubel Hossain, who did not play the ODIs, could also find a spot in the T20 line-up, having done well in the BPL recently.The home side, meanwhile, have a strong line-up to pin Bangladesh. The uncapped batsman Tom Bruce, who has a strike rate of 156 in T20s, is expected to bolster the middle order with Corey Anderson and Colin Munro. New Zealand allrounder Ben Wheeler, who played six ODIs between June and August 2015, has been picked in the squad, along with Neil Broom, who was brought in as a replacement for the injured Martin Guptill.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand LWWWW
Bangladesh LLLLW

In the spotlight

Two low scores don’t quite put pressure on Shakib Al Hasan but he will look to quickly regain consistency. As the team’s most experienced T20 player, Shakib will have a major role to play in reviving their performance in the three-match series. Neil Broom‘s successful ODI comeback made him an automatic replacement for the injured Guptill. Broom scored his maiden hundred in the second ODI and nearly got another one in the third match. His fielding, too, could have an impact, given that he changed the course of the third ODI with his catching.

Team news

With Trent Boult rested for the first match, New Zealand could play both Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry. Henry hasn’t played in the format since January last year.New Zealand (probable) 1 Kane Williamson (capt), 2 Neil Broom, 3 Colin Munro, 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Jimmy Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Matt HenryHis prolific ODI comeback made Neil Broom an automatic choice to replace Martin Guptill in the T20I side•AFP

Like New Zealand, Bangladesh last played a T20 at the World T20 in March and are missing a few players from that squad. Mohammad Mithun and Al-Amin Hossain are not in the touring party while Mushfiqur Rahim is recovering from a hamstring injury. Taskin Ahmed and Imrul Kayes could take the place of Al-Amin and Mithun, while Mosaddek Hossain is likely to play ahead of Shuvagata Hom in the XI.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk) 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Rain is forecast for Tuesday, though the weather is expected to clear in the evening. This will be the first T20 played at McLean Park and the first international match after three years. Usually, pace bowlers have had an advantage with the extra bounce and, on occasion, the wind.

Stats and trivia

• Tuesday’s will be Mashrafe Mortaza’s 50th T20I match, making him the fifth Bangladesh player to reach the landmark.
• McLean Park in Napier will become the sixth venue in New Zealand to host a T20 international.

Quotes

“We can clear boundaries here since they are not really that big. It is more important to make sure that we extend our innings after making a start.”

Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson have been thrust into the firing line as debut batsmen for an embattled Australia amid a drastically changed squad for the third Test against South Africa.The interim selection chairman Trevor Hohns also included Chadd Sayers as an Adelaide Oval specialist for the day/night match alongside Jackson Bird, with Matthew Wade to retake the gloves in a Test for the first time since the 2013 tour of India.Six changes from one Test squad to another is a figure not seen in Australian cricket history since 1984, when the same number was made between back-to-back Test series against the fearsome West Indies team that ultimately broke Kim Hughes’ captaincy.Joe Burns, Adam Voges (concussion), Callum Ferguson, Peter Nevill and Joe Mennie are the casualties of the innings defeat in Hobart that handed the series to South Africa and also triggered the resignation of the selection chairman Rod Marsh. Hohns spared a thought in particular for Ferguson, dropped after his debut Test.”We were given the charter to revamp the Test match side,” Hohns said. “Sure it may sound harsh but Callum like all of our players except for our bowlers went back to Sheffield Shield cricket, had their opportunity to press their claims for inclusion in this side. Some have, some haven’t and I would suggest that Callum is not discarded by any means. Doesn’t mean the end of the road and we would love Callum to continue to score a lot of runs and belt the door down and demand selection again.”There may have been another change too if not for a calf injury to the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who had up until Saturday been favoured to oust the incumbent the spin bowler Nathan Lyon, who has struggled notably for wickets or impact so far this summer.”Stephen was in serious contention there’s no doubt,” Hohns said. “Nathan as we all know, has over 200 Test wickets, he’s our best off-spinner that we’ve had ever, so it might not be that he’s not taking wickets at the moment, but there’s no indication that he’s bowling poorly. I’m sure if he continues to bowl well as we say in cricket, the wheel always turns.”Hohns spoke strongly of Renshaw as an occupier of the crease, and of Handscomb and Maddinson as aggressive players in the classic Australian mould. Maddinson’s inclusion was somewhat surprising ahead of his fellow New South Welshman Kurtis Patterson, but he has been highly regarded for some time – even playing for Australia A in England in 2013 on the day Darren Lehmann was appointed coach in place of Mickey Arthur. Maddinson is also close to the captain Steven Smith, who will fancy his chances of extracting the left-hander’s best.”We see him as a player of enormous potential,” Hohns said of Maddinson. “He is definitely a game breaker and if we can get the best out of him at that level as I think we can, he could be a very, very important player for us down the track.”Form on the first two [Renshaw and Maddinson] were very important, there was always an area at the top of the order that was in contention. And Peter Handscomb getting 200, he’s been there and thereabouts for a good couple of years now. He’s always been spoken about in our selection meetings, hasn’t quite made the cut recently but now his form can’t be ignored.”Sometimes you do of course go with your gut, as they say. It’s all very well looking at statistics all the time but sometimes, particularly right now, we were asked to go with some players. And we decided to do that of course, because we obviously need to, go with some players that we thought could play for Australia and hold us in good stead for years to come.”Bird and Sayers were included primarily as support bowlers for Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Both had been chosen for the tour of New Zealand earlier this year. “Chadd’s a very good performer, and a very good performer in Adelaide and that’s why he’s been chosen for this Test match,” Hohns said. “He bowls very well here as we all know, it was only two Sheffield Shield games ago he took 11 or 12 wickets here. Hopefully, if he plays, he can continue to perform well.”Wade’s inclusion marks a significant change in philosophy for Australia, rewarding his batting ability and fighting demeanour ahead of the neater gloveman in Nevill. Lyon in particular will have to get used to the change. “[Nevill] very unlucky, there’s no doubt about that, but we consider Matthew Wade’s wicketkeeping has improved to the extent that we’ve gone in that direction,” Hohns said. “There’s no secret Matthew Wade’s batting is very, very good, in fact he’s scored hundreds in Test cricket.”He’s obviously seen as a tough competitor and that is what we’re looking for in our players now, and we want them to get out there now and have a fair crack at this and go forward with that. We don’t expect an immediate turnaround, but we’ve got a bit of faith in these guys now.”Squad David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

After losing all the Tests in a series they would have been hopeful of doing well in, Kane Williamson managed to retain some humour, but he knew his side was done in by a mix of difficult conditions for them, the quality of their opposition in those conditions, and their own lack of application at times. In packed schedules nowadays, you hardly get time to acclimatise, which means you don’t have too many second chances. The most disappointing aspect for New Zealand will be that when they got a surface in Indore that resembled classic Indian pitches, they couldn’t bat for long enough. It didn’t help that they never won a toss, and India always were in the ascendency.When asked about R Ashwin’s hold on him – the leading wicket-taker of the series took out Williamson all four times he batted – Williamson joked: “He didn’t get me out 27 times. He got a few other blokes out too.”On a serious note, Williamson did make a mention of the conditions. “He’s a good bowler,'” Williamson said of Ashwin. “We’re always learning playing internationals. I guess it’s a new thing, personally as well. Come over here with so much rough, which is nice to bowl into. I suppose I was a victim of it a few times. I guess, when you are put in that situation where you are dismissed in a similar situation, you are able to learn and try to improve from that. The conditions guys are exposed to, and the quality of bowling, in a backhanded way, we can be thankful for those experiences that help move your game forward.”Even before the season began, India had a good chance of going unbeaten through a long season of 13 home Tests. New Zealand, on paper, seemed the team likeliest to challenge India, which will now make India look invincible this season. Williamson, though, felt – and it did bring out some laughs – that the toss can be crucial in these conditions. The previous home season had a shift in the pitches India play on, and they have won all seven tosses since then.”Winning the toss would be helpful, I think,” Williamson said, when asked what advice he could give to the teams that are following him in India’s home season. “Which is a challenge in itself: South Africa lost every toss as well. Certainly have to be at your best. Whether you win the toss, lose the toss, India were far superior in this series. It depends on the surfaces. Every surface has been different in this series, they were different in the South Africa series. Whether it is a good one… it is important to spend time at the crease, creating pressure. Batting first would be nice. It would help, certainly, in being more competitive. This India side is a very good team, and they certainly know these conditions better than anyone.”Williamson said that while the conditions were more difficult when they batted in Indore, this was a pitch where they could have played more assured cricket. Speaking on finding the right balance between defence and attack, Williamson said: “It is a challenge, certainly on wickets very conducive to spin that make attacking tough as well. Sometimes, being positive when it is doing a little bit more is the way forward. It is up to the individual how they want to skin it, but in this Test, which was probably a little bit more like Test matches of old where it’s that war of attrition and you have to play long game like India showed, as opposed to Test matches prior, where 300 was a very good score, where you go out there and play positively and you get them before they get you, here was a little bit different.”They exploited conditions better than us. They played very patiently with the bat, and batting was not easy when it came our time. Not just because conditions had deteriorated, but the very good bowling attack they have. Important that we come away from here, although frustrated, having learnt a huge amount as a young group being exposed in these conditions.”Williamson didn’t shy away from giving India the credit and said he was disappointed his team couldn’t adapt quickly enough, but added that in conditions so challenging he felt the need to send players early for more experience.”The more you can play in these conditions, the better you’ll be,” Williamson said. “That has to be a given. The more experiences you get in any conditions, it is a good thing. People talk a lot about county cricket and then, when you go to England, you certainly are far more aware of what to expect. I suppose this is no different. If guys can have more experience in these conditions, it will certainly be helpful.”When asked if he felt his side had spent enough time here before the series, Williamson brought up the practical issue of the packed schedules. “I suppose there is always those discussions,” Williamson said. “Another tough point as well is that you are playing so much international cricket, it is tricky to get that extra preparation you would like. So, you are having to learn on the job a bit, which is the nature of the beast, but at the same time, it is an important thing. Whether it’s ‘A’ teams where guys are able to get extra time to come over, particularly in these conditions where you are playing more and more cricket. India’s home summer this year is 13 Test matches. So you are playing more and more in these conditions.”New Zealand now have the five-ODI series to look forward to, which will be played on flatter surfaces. Williamson hoped the team doesn’t carry the scars of losing the Tests into that series. “Disappointing to lose the Test series,” he said. “At the same time, the guys are looking forward to the change of format. It will be tough again. We know India are a very good side at that as well. It’s exciting. We know that wickets will more than likely be quite different again.”We have got to adapt. Go out and play with that freedom, knowing that when we do play with that freedom, we play our best cricket. There will be a little bit of scarring coming out of a three-nil Test defeat. Obviously winning is a lot better than losing. Unfortunately we have lost a few on the trot, but nice to have new personnel come in who are fresh and looking forward to the one-day series.”

Gareth Batty branded Surrey’s performance “unacceptable” and “embarrassing” as they slumped to an eight-wicket defeat with almost 20 overs left unused in the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s.Batty, Surrey’s captain, admitted his side had “not turned up” as they succumbed to their second Lord’s final defeat in successive years. Collapsing from 99 for 2 to 136 all out, they gave themselves little chance of defending such a meagre total against a Warwickshire team including players such as Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell.”To lose in this manner is a little bit embarrassing,” Batty said. “We have not really turned up today. We just got it wrong and it hurts like hell.”This was, not for the first time, a disappointing surface for a major match at Lord’s. There are mitigating factors: the redevelopment of the Warner Stand necessitated the use of pitches towards the bottom of the square at the start of the season – they usually start at the top end here – resulting in some overly safe pitches in early season and some unusually dry ones towards the end.Meanwhile, the decision to televise the Championship decider between Middlesex and Yorkshire from the ground next week has forced them to press another mid-square surface for that game. With the ground relentlessly busy and the square exhausted, the groundstaff were left struggling for options.This pitch, then, had already been used for an ODI this season and had been glued to ensure it did not break up. That is unusual at Lord’s and resulted in neither side knowing quite what might constitute a par score. The way Surrey started -with Jason Roy, in particular, unleashing some magnificent strokes – it appeared 280 might be on the cards but, as the pitch slowed and Warwickshire’s bowlers began to gain spin and seam assistance, the relatively inexperienced middle-order failed to adjust.It was not easy, though. Jeetan Patel, bowling noticeably quicker than either of Surrey’s England spinners, was markedly the best potent of the slow bowlers on display. Gaining sharp turn at times, he built pressure in a masterful spell that was well supported by Ateeq Javid’s own waspish spin and Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s control and variations. And, with Tim Ambrose taking a sharp stumping off a leg-side wide and Laurie Evans taking an outrageously good catch to end Roy’s dangerous innings, Surrey were allowed no release.Batty refused to blame the surface, though. “We’re not blaming the pitch, absolutely not,” he said. “We’ve no one to blame but ourselves.”It was obviously a tired surface, but it certainly wasn’t a 136 all out surface. We just didn’t adapt to what was put in front of us unfortunately and they bowled well in the conditions. We were around 90 odd for 2 so to be 136 all out was not acceptable.”This defeat will sting Surrey. But, trophy or not, they can console themselves with the knowledge that they are a club progressing nicely. Not only have they achieved a respectable finish in the upper half of the Championship table – a decent effort for a recently promoted side – but, by the time the ECB finish naming their squads for tours this winter, they will have contributed 10 players to various teams.Players such as Zafar Ansari are part of Surrey’s future•Getty Images

Their youth system also contributed nine (10 if you include Gareth Batty, who left Yorkshire for the club while still a teenager and say he considers himself “absolutely a product of Surrey”) players to the two sides here, with Evans and Rikki Clarke having started their careers at the club. Yes, they use their financial might at times. But they produce players, too.”The club have made progress,” Batty said. “We’re not the finished article but when we do become that, we’ll be the finished article for quite a long time because of the age of the squad and the quality we have in different positions in the squad.”We dropped off a cliff today, but we’ve played good consistent cricket in this competition. In the Championship we had a real purple patch in the middle when we played some excellent cricket and challenged the best teams in the country and some wonderful players. We didn’t start well and had we started better who knows where we would have been. In Twenty20 we missed out on qualifying for the quarter-finals by a point, so we’re not a million miles away.”We’ve played some very, very good cricket. When these young lads do get picked for England they’ll be ready to go.”There is a wider context, too. After defeating Somerset here in 2011 to win the CB40 final, the club went through a wretched period that saw the team shattered by the death of Tom Maynard. Life will never be quite the same for any of those that were at the club at the time but there is a bond between many of these young players that will not easily be broken. Certainly they have faced far greater setbacks than the loss of a cricket match.”Some of this group went through some horrible times a few years ago,” Batty said. “So you can be relatively philosophical at times. Sometimes it can be straightforward a bit more bat and ball, but it doesn’t feel like that right now. This group of players know they can be together for a very long time and they should be thinking that this is just the start of opportunities.”Sometimes you can lose with dignity. I hope we lost with dignity and we allowed Warwickshire to enjoy what was a very fine performance. Hopefully we become better people and men because of that.”Batty’s on-field persona is not to everyone’s taste. But, as he signed autographs – he gave his runners-up medal to one young fan – and apologised to supporters, it was a reminder that he has shepherded this club through some dark days with a calm head and a strong constitution. That the club – and its crop of young players – can now look forward to a bright future is, in no small part, thanks to him. Long after he has gone, they will owe him plenty.

Anusha Samaranayake, a Sri Lanka Cricket fast-bowling coach, has been cleared of the fixing allegations over which he had been suspended in February. SLC had launched an inquiry about Samaranayake’s role in the fixing-related approach of more than one Sri Lanka cricketer last year. However, the ICC has since informed SLC that there is no evidence Samaranayake has breached its Anti-Corruption Code.Despite this, Samaranayake’s role with SLC remains in hiatus, as he has more recently been found guilty of a separate disciplinary misdemeanour, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva said. This inquiry had related to Samaranayake’s entertaining of guests at SLC’s academy at Khettarama. Samaranayake’s contract with SLC runs until the end of December; although his position has not been terminated, SLC appears reluctant to having him resume his duties.Samaranayake has contributed to the development of several Sri Lanka fast bowlers, with bowlers including Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara citing his influence on their careers. SLC said a concrete decision on Samaranayake’s future will be made in the coming weeks.