The learning app takes over from mobile phones manufacturer Oppo and their contract will run through to March 2022

Nagraj Gollapudi25-Jul-2019In a surprise development, OPPO, the Chinese mobile manufacturing company that paid a record sum in 2017 to secure the sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team, has bailed out of their contract nearly three years before it ends. On Thursday, the BCCI said OPPO was being replaced by Byju’s, a learning app, which will now be the Indian team’s sponsor till March 2022.As part of the deal, the Byju’s logo will be on the shirts of the Indian players, both men and women, in all three formats starting with the series against South Africa in September.OPPO had originally paid INR 1079 crore (approx USD 162 million) for their five-year deal, which was double the base price of INR 538 crore (approx USD 81 million) set by BCCI in 2017. As per the deal OPPO would pay INR 4.61 crore (approx USD 693,000) per match for bilateral series and INR 1.51 crore (approx USD 227,000) per match for ICC sponsored tournaments.ESPNcricinfo understands OPPO has opted to assign the remainder of the sponsorship to Byju’s, which is allowed under the terms of the original contract. However, Byju’s would need to pay the BCCI an additional 5% over the balance amount as re-assignment fee.According to a board official, if it were to put out a tender to sell the sponsorship rights for the truncated period of 19 months, it might have received a smaller bid since the market is currently “soft”. With Byju’s picking up the contract from OPPO, the official said BCCI had actually managed to generate a profit.Byju Raveendran, Byju’s founder and chief executive officer, said the deal would have a positive impact for his company. “We are proud to be the Indian Cricket Team sponsor. Cricket is the heartbeat of all Indians and we are thrilled to be an integral part of our much loved team,” Raveendran said in a media release issued by BCCI. “As a learning company, BYJU’S has always recognised the critical role that sport plays in a child’s development. Just as cricket inspires a billion budding dreams across India, we too as a learning company hope to inspire the love of learning in every child’s heart.”

Senior fast bowler goes from “diminishing cricketer” to significant force once again after perfecting new approach

Alan Gardner17-Sep-2019Stuart Broad has described himself as a “reinvented cricketer with more to offer” after enjoying his most-successful Ashes with the ball. In the absence of the injured James Anderson, Broad led the line superbly for England, with his dominance over David Warner providing a snapshot of his summer renaissance.In all, Broad picked up 23 wickets during the five Tests, two shy of equalling his best series haul (against India in 2011). His proficiency at bowling round-the-wicket to left-handers was a notable feature – helping him to remove Warner seven times in 10 innings – and he also kept his pace high while pursuing a fuller, more attacking length.Having only played in half of England’s winter Tests, in Sri Lanka and West Indies, there had been a sense that Broad was no longer an automatic pick – despite sitting second only to Anderson on England’s wicket-taking list. However, bowling off a shortened run-up, worked on in consultation with Richard Hadlee, and with a focus on making batsmen play more, he has restated his worth.ALSO READ: ‘I’d swap Headingley drama for an Ashes win’ – Stokes“I’ve been very pleased with how it has gone this summer,” he said. “I’ve gone from being talked about as a diminishing cricketer being eased out to a reinvented cricketer with more to offer. At 33 years old that is a good place to be.”All the hard work has been worth it. Fate allowed me to have the time during the winter to work on things. In Sri Lanka I didn’t play too much and I was able to work on a new run up and stuff like my attacking intent, which has paid dividends. I’ve not been as attacking in my areas, and making batsmen play as much as I have for many years.”His method to Warner was the culmination of his early season with Nottinghamshire, where the coach, Peter Moores, and team analyst, Kunal Manek, passed on data about the “leave percentage” of batsmen facing Broad. Resolving that this was too high, he focused on attacking the stumps more – combined with his ability to move the ball away from left-handers, it left Warner caught betwixt and between, falling lbw or bowled four times, and caught behind or in the slips three.”I had an added responsibility to try and get their big players out and that’s why I did a lot of planning on David Warner and how I might get him out before the series started,” he said. “I had to go fuller at him, I had to try and hit his stumps and I had to try and forget about his outside edge.”The edges would come but only if I bowled in the right areas consistently rather than searching for the edge of his bat. I never dreamt that I would have the success against him that I’ve had.”Of course that is just in this series. If we put our numbers together over the course of our careers and how much we have played against each other I think they would be quite even. He has outdone me in many a series, but this time it went my way and I think it perhaps shows that sometimes planning does work.”Before the series, Broad had taken Warner’s wicket five times in 18 Tests; that figure now stands at 12, making the Australia opener the man he has dismissed most often.The numbers for Australia were stark. Warner finished the series with an average of 9.50, with the opening partnership averaging even less at 8.50. Marcus Harris was dismissed three times in six innings by Broad, while Cameron Bancroft also fell to him once before being dropped.”We talk about setting the tone with the new ball and I felt that this has been my best summer for a long time in terms of doing that with the new ball,” Broad said. “I felt a responsibility to lead that first 10 overs and I’ve had great energy running in. I felt like the mindset of trying to hit the stumps has really paid off.”I don’t think we could have dreamt of keeping Australia’s opening pairs quite so quiet throughout the series so we can class that as a good win for us. We do a lot of planning and preparation to go into these series and our new ball bowling has been a success.”Although Broad described himself as “distraught” at England’s failure to win a home Ashes series for the first time since 2001, he suggested that a draw was a fair result and a fitting way to end the summer. He praised Steven Smith for playing “out of his skin” in his first series since returning from a ball-tampering ban – likening his response to that of Ben Stokes, England’s man of the summer, who has used adversity to lift his own game to new levels.Stuart Broad wheels away in celebration after bowling David Warner•Getty Images

“It was really important we got a positive result in this game to make sure that Australia didn’t go home with a win,” he said. “A World Cup win and a drawn series in the Ashes is a memorable summer. I won’t say it is a totally successful summer because we would have really liked to win the series, but if we sit down in a week’s time without the emotion, it is probably the right result.”I think both teams are so similar in the way they go about their business. They had one batsman who has been a 15 out of 10 and we’ve not had that which has been a huge difference.”Of course I’m distraught not to be lifting the urn at the Oval and I can’t remember having a feeling like this before because usually at The Oval we are lifting a trophy. It is certainly the first Ashes series where I’ve not been spraying champagne at the end which is a weird feeling.”It is a fair result. Steve Smith has played out of his skin. It has taken 24 days to finally get him to tuck one round the corner to leg slip. [Chris] Woakes got him with a straight one that was hitting the middle of middle and that was just about the first on he’d missed. Why had he not missed one before? He’s been so good and everything has worked for him.”Stokesy has had a summer where all his hardship has paid him back and Steve Smith the same, all his hardship has paid him back.”

The 16-year-old is one of the most highly-rated young players in Australia. She showed why on the WBBL’s opening night

Andrew McGlashan19-Oct-2019The past, present and most definitely the future of the Australian cricket team was on display at North Sydney Oval on Friday.Alex Blackwell, who was capped 251 times by her country, padded up for another WBBL season and struck 56 off 38 balls. Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy, two stars of the current world-beating Australia side, did what they often do and sent the ball to all parts.And then there was a 16-year-old on debut who will, probably sooner rather than later, be part of that Australia team.Phoebe Litchfield only lasted 22 balls, but played out in front of a worldwide TV audience the innings went to reinforce why she has been talked about as one of the most talented players of the next generation.Earlier this year, a video posted on Twitter by New South Wales of Litchfield batting the nets went around the world. “I sort of didn’t know at the time,” Litchfield told ESPNcricinfo. “I thought they were just videoing our whole squad and then my friend was like ‘nice video’ and I was confused at the start, but it’s got a lot of views which puts on a bit of pressure on.”There was only a few days to get her head around a WBBL contract. “The nerves sort of climbed from there to the first ball,” she said.Pressure, and expectation, it appears are things Litchfield is able to take in her stride. On Friday, against a star-studded Sydney Sixers side, and walking in with her team 3 for 25, key internationals Rachel Priest and Rachael Haynes dismissed, she showed her range of strokes with a flick over midwicket followed by a deft scoop over fine leg. “I guess I go where there’s no fielders. It was on, so I went for it,” was her matter-of-fact response.It was an attempt at a repeat that saw her go lbw, but even the dismissal was significant as the wicket-taker was fellow 16-year-old Hayley Silver-Holmes.”To see such class from a 16-year-old is really impressive,” Alyssa Healy said. “That’s what’s so great about this competition, these young girls are getting opportunities.”Litchfield has already had plenty of representative honours, selected for a Governer’s General XI, touring with Australia U-19s, and a few weeks ago playing for a Cricket Australia XI against the Sri Lankans. Her WBBL debut, on a landmark night for the competition, was another milestone.”I aspired to be in the Big Bash and now I’m playing in it, so it’s a great experienced and I’m just happy to be here,” she said. “It was crazy and felt like a dream. It was a great experience, having [Alex Blackwell] out there made me a bit more calm which was nice. It’s a very good spot to watch, at the other end, Alex go at it.”There is both excitement and a degree of caution within the Thunder camp – not wanting to overwhelm Litchfield early in her career – but also an acknowledgement that her maturity stands her in good stead.There are more shots in the locker, too, with Litchfield having a 360-degree game with parts of hockey, the other sport she plays at representative level, playing a part.”I have to play hockey right-handed so it took me a while to get good at that. I didn’t do a reverse sweep today, but the reverse comes out and that’s sort of a hockey shot,” she said.She is part of the Australia Under-16 hockey side and at the moment is pleased to be able to split her focus between two sports. She knows a decision looms at some point in the future but it is not something that has been discussed yet and the Thunder coach Trevor Griffin sees it as strength that Litchfield has another focus in her life to retain a balance.”I like having the off-season to get my head off cricket, it’s a nice fitness booster and I think if played cricket all year I’d probably get sick of it, so it’s nice to switch over,” Litchfield said. “Most likely [I will have to choose] because the season is getting bigger and bigger and there’s lots of competitions around the world, but I’m not thinking about that soon. If cricket asks me to stop, I’ll stop, but for now I’ll keep playing both.”

They now have four victories in a row to start the season and are already well placed for a spot in the final

Andrew McGlashan at the SCG14-Nov-2019New South Wales surged to their fourth straight Sheffield Shield victory as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood did most of the damage on the final day to earn a crushing 223-run victory.They have given themselves significant breathing space at the top of the table as they prepare to lose their Australia players to international duty with two more rounds of matches before the competition breaks before Christmas for the BBL. It is the first time since 1997-98 that New South Wales have won for Shield matches in a row.”It was an interesting wicket, lucky we won the toss and batted first,” Starc said. “One of the slowest wickets I’ve played on in a few years. Never ideal when a game is dictated by the toss but we were fortunate to bat first. Four from four is a very strong position to be in.”With Australia having limited-overs commitments when the Shield resumes in February they are unlikely to see much more of their all-format Australia players in the competition. Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon are not part of Australia’s short form teams so could feature again later in the season.Western Australia were already three down overnight and it didn’t take long for New South Wales to make further inroads when Marcus Stoinis drove Starc to backward point.With the ball continuing to reverse significantly, Hazlewood then claimed two wickets in two balls as he burst through Ashton Turner’s defence with a beautiful delivery that took off stump then removed Cameron Green first ball as he paid the price for shoulder arms for the second time in the match. Hazlewood was a whisker away from a hat-trick as Josh Inglis also let his first ball go inches from off stump.At this point D’Arcy Short was the only batsman into double figures but his innings was halted when he was given lbw to Starc and did not look at all impressed with the decision.A swift finish appeared likely but Inglis and Ashton Agar resisted for 28 overs before Inglis fell in hugely unlucky fashion after lunch as he drove Steven Smith into the boot of silly point with the catch rebounding to short leg. Agar was then run out for 101-ball 14 before Hazlewood castled Liam Guthrie to close out the match.

Former West Indies feels David Warner should have been given a chance to break his Test record of 400 not-out

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2019Mental health has become a major talking point in cricket of late, with more and more prominent players opening up on the subject. Brian Lara, still the holder of the highest individual score in Test and first-class cricket, is among many to welcome the discussions on the subject, calling mental-health issues “real”, and a “part of all sport”, which “is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression”.Lara is one of the greats of the game, and his 400 not-out against England in a Test in 2004 and 501 not out in a County Championship game in 1994 remain the top batting efforts in the longer formats of the game. To most outsiders, he was as close to infallible as could be during that period, but Lara, speaking at a charity golf event in Mumbai on Friday, revealed that it was far from smooth sailing for him.”… From the beginning of my international career in 1989 to about 1995, it was on an upward spiral. I don’t think a lot of people will appreciate (but) from 1995-98, it was on a downward spiral,” he was quoted as saying by PTI. “I felt the pressures of being a double world-record holder, (it) played its part and the West Indies team was on its decline.”I remember on occasions where I lay in my room feeling the despair. It [mental health issue] is real, it is part of all sport and it is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression. Players are at least standing up and saying ‘I need to just remove myself, fight myself and come back again’.”Rachel Trenaman, the Sydney Thunder and New South Wales allrounder, became the latest to ask for time off from the game to focus on her mental health. In just the past few months, England’s Sarah Taylor has retired from the sport at just 30 years of age, and Australians Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson all took breaks to address their problems before returning to action.”… The kind of pressures the players are in now, may be before in the 70s and 80s, you played for the love of the game, you played for your country, you loved Test cricket,” Lara said. “With all franchise cricket going on around in the world, the intensity of the game, sometimes is a burden. Guys are playing for England and not playing county cricket, guys are playing for Australia and not playing Sheffield cricket (and) that just tells you how mentally draining it is.”[It’s] something that we should stand up and pay attention to.”Lara’s 400 not-out was under threat just the other day when David Warner hit 335 not-out in just 554 minutes in a Test against Pakistan in Adelaide. There was a lot of time left in the game but with the weather forecast being a bit iffy, Australia decided to declare at that point – Warner had just gone past the 334-run mark of Don Bradman and Mark Taylor – to press for victory. Tim Paine, the Australia captain, has had to answer questions about the declaration since, the argument being that there might have been time for Warner to chase Lara’s record and for Australia to win – victory was achieved well inside four days in the end.”I felt that David Warner should have been given an opportunity to go for it,” Lara said. “I happened to be in Adelaide and I thought it was kind of destiny being there. We do understand, obviously any team, who have forced themselves to a very good position would want to get (give) the opposition a chance (to bat) the second, evening.”I believe records are meant to be broken, even David Warner may have a next chance. He is an attacking player, who can put your team in a winning position.”

Australia coach calls flat pitches “a huge problem” for game in wake of MCG abandonment

Andrew McGlashan in Perth10-Dec-2019While maybe not the talk of the town, there is plenty of chatter about pitches in Australia. There was the abandonment of the Sheffield Shield game at the MCG and now the intrigue about what will be laid out for the second Test to be staged at the new Perth Stadium. For Australia coach Justin Langer, however, there is just one thing that matters: Test cricket can’t afford flat surfaces.The scenes at the MCG over the weekend were sparked by a pitch that started too soft when the groundsman, Matt Page, went too far after the ground’s recent problems with lifeless pitches. Langer sympathised with what they were trying to do because he believes the nature of surfaces are the biggest factor in the longer formats.ALSO READ: NZ brace for ‘most extreme’ Test in Perth“I see flat pitches as a huge problem for the health of cricket,” he said. “I’ve said this for 10, 15 or 20 years, for the health of Test cricket, first-class cricket and even one-day cricket you want to play on wickets where there’s a contest between bat and ball. It’s been very well documented what happened at the MCG this week, but I know they are trying to push it so they get a contest back because we don’t want to see cricket anywhere in the world, in my opinion, on flat wickets which are batsman-dominated, it’s just not spectacle.”The pink ball under lights is trying to keep some great life in Test cricket, but the most important thing for me is to get the wickets right so there’s a contest between bat and ball. Hopefully everyone around the world, whether it’s spin, seam, swing, pace and bounce, whatever it is, give the characteristic of giving the bowler some hope because we want spectacle in all cricket, it’s entertainment. We don’t want to see really flat wickets.”Although it does not give the full picture of Test surfaces, Australia comes out well this decade in terms of the percentage of drawn Tests in the country with the third lowest (16.98%) behind South Africa (12.76%) and England (14.49%) – excluding Zimbabwe and Ireland as host nations. The issues at the MCG aside, Langer does not believe there is a big problem with the pitches produced in Australia.”We’ve seen [problems] for a few years at the MCG but, I don’t know what the statistics are, but I imagine you get a higher proportion of results here in Australia. I think Australian wickets are going pretty well. There’s a lot of focus on the MCG at the moment because of the last few years of Test cricket, and that’s good that’s happening, because we want to see good wickets. But overall I think the wickets in Australia are excellent.”What we don’t want to do is go the other way where there’s no chance for a batsman. We’ve got to get the balance right. We don’t want to see wickets that are so green that the game is over in two days. That doesn’t make sense either. But when there’s wickets falling and the best batsmen score runs, that’s great Test cricket or great one-day cricket for me.”For the next few days, much of the attention will be on how the pitch in Perth plays. The surface made a promising start against India last year although was only rated ‘average’ by the ICC, probably on the basis of some uneven bounce that was on display, which generated a surprised reaction to many who had watched the Test match.This year the pitch will be baked in hot weather and there is a chance cracks could open up although Langer said they often look worse to the batsman than they really are. The cracks at the WACA became part of cricket folklore, from Tony Greig losing his keys down one to Curtly Ambrose being run out when his bat got stuck to the jagging delivery that bowled James Vince in the 2017-18 Ashes.”Last year against India, it’s exactly what we’re looking for in Test cricket,” Langer said. “There was a result, it was entertaining cricket. It was fast and bouncy. Obviously the conditions are going to be very hot. Traditionally in Perth when it gets hot you get cracks in the wicket. Having played here for a long time they are usually more psychological than having a physical impact on the game. I’m sure there will be cracks that open up and it’s usually part of the drama that is a contest here in WA. I think it’s going to be a very good wicket. Hopefully there is some pace and bounce, hopefully there is a contest because that’s what we need in Test cricket.”With Melbourne to come and then this series finishing in Sydney the talk about the 22 yards will not go away. The SCG has had issues of its own – some related to the other sports that use the stadium – and the pitches for the Sheffield Shield have not had much pace but spin, which the ground has historically been famous for assisting, has played a key role.”It’s pleasing to see we’ve got some unique characteristics to the SCG to an extent again,” New South Wales captain Peter Nevill said. “I thought our last wicket against Western Australia was a fantastic wicket. It’s good to see quality spin and people having to play quality spin. We get criticised enough when we go overseas to the subcontinent [saying] we can’t play spin.”Unless we’re preparing conditions in Australia that allow you to play two spinners, and this is the only venue around the country you can, people aren’t going to be exposed to that and they’re not going to get any better at playing it. I’d love to see the SCG continue to be a spinning wicket and I think the curator needs to be allowed to do so.”And it wasn’t just the view of the home captain. “I think that’d be a pretty good deck to roll out for the Test here,” Queensland skipper Usman Khawaja said. “You obviously want it to probably break up a little bit more, but I think that’s more to do with the weather than the wicket. It’s feeling more like the SCG of old, when I started playing.”

Australia’s coach sees no reason why Paine won’t remain Test captain until at least the end of this WTC cycle

Andrew McGlashan at the SCG01-Jan-2020Tim Paine has been backed to captain Australia until at least a possible World Test Championship final appearance in 2021 after leading the team from the fallout of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal to the brink of a clean sweep of this season’s Tests following the retention of the Ashes last year.Paine produced one of his most influence performances in Melbourne, scoring a momentum-seizing 79 in Australia’s first innings and then claiming eight dismissals in a faultless performance with the gloves including a superb stumping to remove Henry Nicholls.The Sydney Test which starts on Friday marks the last in which Steven Smith is not eligible to be Australia captain, with his leadership ban finishing at the end of March, although his has not been the only name associated with taking the armband when it does move on from Paine, with Pat Cummins’ credentials continuing to grow.Australia’s next Test assignment is a two-match series in Bangladesh in June before the 2020-21 season which includes the heavyweight four-match contest against India. Australia and India are currently strongly placed to be in the Test Championship final at Lord’s in mid-2021 with head coach Justin Langer seeing no reason why Paine – who he termed “almost our most important player” – can’t be the man in charge should that come to fruition.”Truthfully, I can’t see one reason why he wouldn’t,” Langer said. “His last game – you judge on his last performance – he was probably pushing to be Man of the Match. He had eight dismissals, 70-odd with the bat, and the way he played his innings was what was most exciting. The way he leads the group. I just literally can’t think of one reason at the moment, he’s so fit, as to why he wouldn’t keep playing for as long as he wants to or needs to.”Retaining the Ashes in England – something Australia had not done since 2001 – was a hugely significant achievement for a team that had been through huge turmoil in the preceding year. However, at the start of the home season, there was a sense of uncertainty about what would happen next year – partly due to Smith’s availability as captain from March 2020 and also a perception that Alex Carey is making a strong case to be part of the Test team – but any questions about the medium-term leadership now appear to have been put to bed.”The truth is there’s been conjecture from outside, there’s never been one millisecond of conjecture from within our team,” Langer said. “I said at the start of the summer, he’s almost our most important player, because he’s a very good leader, his captaincy is excellent, he’s the best wicketkeeper in the world, he’s as fit as anyone in the group and we knew that if he believed he could bat as well as we think we can then you’ll see results like we did in the last Test and at times during the Ashes.”There’s always a bit of conjecture, but certainly not within our camp. I hope he plays for as long as he possibly can because his leadership has been brilliant, working with the leadership group, I love working with him.”Tim Paine plants a kiss on the Ashes urn at The Oval•Getty Images

Langer acknowledged the stark contrast between where the team sits now and a year ago when they entered the Sydney Test against India under huge scrutiny following defeat in Melbourne, and they would go on to be taken for over 600 across the first two days of the Test and be made to follow on before rain forced a draw.”The feeling in the camp is unbelievable but the trick is to maintain it,” Langer said. “The Australian cricket team in the past has been able to do [that], hopefully I can be sitting here in 12 months’ time again with a smile on my face… continue building this great momentum that’s happening in Australian cricket at the moment. It didn’t feel like it 12 months ago.”The immediate aim for Paine and Langer is to secure victory at the SCG, which would give Australia their first sweep of a home summer since 2013-14. The selection decision to be made is whether to find a place for the uncapped legspinner Mitchell Swepson on a surface that is expected to take turn, but two days out the likelier route was for an unchanged team with some additional workload for Marnus Labuschagne.”It’s certainly an option,” Langer said. “That’s how we have to look at it – we’re talking about finding another allrounder in Australian cricket – well it might give us an opportunity to bowl Marnus and Travis Head a few overs, to find those extra overs we’re looking for.”Every time Marnus gets the ball in his hand, it’s pretty exciting. He’s working hard on getting his lines right, so he makes them play a bit more, but he’s an exciting prospect, the way he spins the ball, and the more he can bowl in games that’s important.”It will be hard to make changes, that said I think it’s really important that we wait because we’ve seen it in the Shield games and the groundsman is telling us he’s expecting it to spin, so we have to respect that. We’ll wait and see over the next two days what the wicket looks like.”Josh Hazlewood was back bowling in the nets on Wednesday as he recovers from the hamstring injury he sustained in Perth but is set to return to action through the BBL before the one-day tour of India.

Darren Bravo wins first recall since post-World Cup axing, Rovman Powell and Fabian Allen fit again

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2020Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis have been left out of West Indies’ ODI squad for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka after failing fitness tests.Lewis was the leading run-scorer in the side’s series against Ireland last month, with 208 runs in three innings, but both he and Hetmyer failed to “attain the new minimum standard fitness requirements in recent fitness assessments,” according to a Cricket West Indies (CWI) release.Darren Bravo, the experienced top-order batsman, has won a recall following an impressive domestic season in which he made 481 runs at an average of 96.20 in the Super50 Cup, while allrounder Rovman Powell also makes the cut following an impressive run of his own: in the same competition, he scored 412 runs at an imperious strike rate of 160.93 for Jamaica.Fabian Allen, who missed the India series with a knee injury, also finds a place in the squad, which will depart for a pre-series camp in Colombo on Saturday.”Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer missed out due to the fact that they came up short in the fitness test,” said Roger Harper, CWI’s lead selector. “They will be missed.”Lewis was the team’s best batsman in the recent series against Ireland where he batted with great composure and proved the bedrock for the team’s series win. Hetmyer appeared to be getting his act together and was an integral part of the team’s batting group.”I look forward to the team building on its recent performances against Afghanistan and India in the subcontinent and against Ireland at home – playing consistent, smart cricket to win the series. Sri Lanka are a very good team in their own conditions. I do not expect it to be easy but our team has shown that it is very capable.”West Indies squad to play Sri Lanka: Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Shai Hope (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicolas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Several clubs have cancelled their overseas trips though Northants remain in Singapore

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2020Derbyshire
Landed in Zimbabwe last Monday, March 9. Were scheduled to return to the UK on March 29, but club announced on Saturday – after winning the first game of the tour – that they would head home on Monday (March 16). A club statement said: “While no member of the touring group has shown any symptoms related to COVID-19, the health and safety of our players and staff remains of paramount importance and therefore the decision has been made to bring the group home at the earliest available opportunity.”Dave Houghton, head of cricket, said: “While the decision to return was not an easy one to make, it is the correct one for all players and everyone associated with the club currently in Zimbabwe.”Durham
Landed in Zimbabwe on Thursday, March 12. Initially scheduled to return to the UK on March 29 but confirmed on Sunday that they would be returning to the UK early. “It is regrettable that the county teams have been forced to cut short their Zimbabwe tour as a precautionary move,” said ZC’s acting managing director Givemore Makoni, “but it is totally understandable as the clubs are concerned, like all of us would be, about the worsening COVID-19 situation back in their country and elsewhere in the world.”Director of cricket Marcus North said: “The health and safety of our players coaches and staff is the main consideration in any decision we make. Due to the potential travel disruption and uncertainty around the ongoing situation it is in the best interest of everyone to bring the traveling party back to the UK at this time.”ALSO READ: England series in Sri Lanka postponedEssex
Flew out to Abu Dhabi on Monday, and will return home at weekend rather than the planned date of March 21. Chief exectuive Derek Bowden said: “We have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation for a while, and although the area we’re based in is currently one of the least affected regions, the health and wellbeing of our players and staff is our highest priority, as is the season ahead.”Therefore, the decision has been made for everybody to return early and to continue with pre-season preparations at Chelmsford. We’d like to thank and acknowledge the Members and fans who were planning on making the trip to support the team in both Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka.”Earlier, the Champion County fixture against MCC in Sri Lanka was cancelled, but the Abu Dhabi leg had been expected to continue as planned.Chris Cooke of Glamorgan bats against Gloucestershire•Getty Images

Glamorgan
Pre-season tour to La Manga in Spain cancelled. Mark Wallace, director of cricket, said: ‘While cancelling the tour is not ideal, the health of our players and staff is paramount to the club.”We have excellent facilities at the ground and our players and coaching staff will work hard to make sure the impact on our pre-season preparation is minimal.”Gloucestershire
Pre-season tour to La Manga cancelled. Chief executive Will Brown said: “The welfare of our employees and players is paramount to all at Gloucestershire Cricket. As such we think it is not advisable for our tour to go ahead to La Manga at this time.”We would like to thank the La Manga resort, the PCA and all of the coaching and playing squads for all of their support and understanding and we look forward to returning to La Manga next year.”Hampshire
Bowling group flew to La Manga on Wednesday. Rest of squad were due to join on Friday but have not travelled, and those in Spain will return today. “The health and wellbeing of our players and staff is our primary concern and after monitoring the situation related to COVID-19 closely, we have taken the decision to return from La Manga as a precautionary measure,” said director of cricket Giles White.”Following significant uncertainty around travel overseas and the further disruption this could cause, we will now continue our pre-season preparations at the Ageas Bowl, giving us the best opportunity to be prepared for the coming season.”Kent
Travelled to Potchefstroom, South Africa for a training camp earlier in the week, will return early this weekend. “This is the right decision for our players and support staff as the club exercises its duty of care over its staff,” said a statement.Lancashire
Scheduled trips to Dubai and South Africa cancelled. Head coach Glenn Chapple said: “South Africa isn’t one of the most affected areas, but [considering] the challenges faced by teams travelling together and being in hotels together, we have decided it would be better to stay at home and give everyone the best chance to stay fit and be ready to play.”You could end up with 25 of you quarantined abroad and then you might have to do the same when you get back. You’re then not ready to start the season because you’ve had four weeks of inactivity. That’s why we decided it was best avoided particularly with the start to the season so close now.”Leicestershire
Originally scheduled to travel to Desert Springs in Spain on March 17 for a five-day training camp. The club issued a statement on Monday saying that the trip had been cancelled. Paul Nixon, Leicestershire’s head coach, said: “The welfare of the players, coaches, staff and their families is absolute paramount in this situation. Based upon this, we do not think it would be wise for the squad to travel to Spain for their tour.”We would like to thank the resort, our travel partners, the ECB, the PCA and all of the coaching and playing squads for all of their support and understanding. We have already spoken about the possibility of returning next year.”Max Holden celebrates his century•Getty Images

Middlesex
Returned on Monday from a trip to Oman, having been scheduled to stay until March 19. A club statement said: “The players have returned early from their pre-season tour in Oman – returning to the UK this morning, several days earlier than planned. Whilst all medical advice we received was that remaining in Oman posed no additional threat to the club’s players or staff, we felt that the speed with which the situation is changing across the globe – often hourly, that the welfare of the players and staff in Oman would be better served by them returning early to the UK. They landed this morning at Heathrow and will spend some time with their families before returning to their pre-season training preparations at Merchant Taylors’ School.”Northamptonshire
Having flown to Singapore on March 9, Northants spent a week in the country before deciding to return home early due to concern about the situatuon in the UK. Chief executive, Ray Payne, said: “It’s important to understand that this isn’t a case of us wanting to get the first available flight out of Singapore. It’s about the worsening situation at home and people being concerned about their families and wanting to be with them. It’s a very safe environment here but it’s understandable, there’s a lot of players with young families in our squad and right now that’s what’s most important.”Having been due to fly back on Friday, that has now been brought forward. Under current UK government advice, returning travellers from Singapore should self-isolate for 14 days if they experience any symptoms of the virus, however mild. ESPNcricinfo understands that none of the players on the tour has experienced any health issues and that the mood in the squad is good.Nottinghamshire
Club announced cancellation of friendly against Northants, replacing it with a fixture against Lancashire. Were never scheduled to go overseas for pre-season.ALSO READ: West Indies Tests, T20 Blast in spotlight as UK moves to ‘delay’ phaseSomerset
Tour to Abu Dhabi cancelled. Director of cricket Andy Hurry said: “Obviously, the health and wellbeing of our players, support staff and their families are of the highest importance.”Although Abu Dhabi has appropriate protocols in place, the change of the national state from ‘Contain’ to ‘Delay’ coupled with the potential escalation of any isolation process for those returning to the UK have become key factors in the decision making process.”Any imposed period of inactivity due to isolation of our players and staff would certainly adversely impact our pre-season preparation and potentially some early season fixtures.”Surrey
Tour to Dubai cancelled. Director of cricket Alec Stewart said: “While it’s disappointing we won’t be able to return to Dubai this year, the health of our players and staff is paramount. The directive from Dubai Sports Council advising all venues to cancel or reschedule all international activities until the end of the month as a precautionary measure related to the spread of the COVID-19 means the ICC Academy are unable to host our training camp.”As well as this, current uncertainties around travel and potential quarantine periods, either abroad or in the UK, mean this trip would simply be too disruptive to our preparations for the 2020 season.” Sussex
Flew to South Africa on Monday, March 9 for two-week tour. Initially scheduled to return on March 21 but confirmed on March 16 that they would return to UK on next available flight. The club’s AGM has been postponed.Performance director Keith Greenfield said: “We have been monitoring the fast-moving situation regarding Coronavirus prior to and during the tour and, with travel restrictions increasing, we’ve made the decision to return to the UK at the earliest opportunity. This is obviously disappointing, but – as ever – the wellbeing of our players and staff is our number one priority.”Warwickshire
Bowling group flew to La Manga last Friday, rest of squad followed on Tuesday. Squad will return to Birmingham on Saturday. Paul Farbrace, the club’s sport director, said: “We have been closely monitoring the Coronavirus situation in Spain and have been working closely with our tour partners Sporta Group to get the latest local information.”Whilst the Murcia region of Spain is currently one of the least affected parts of the country, the health and wellbeing of our playing squad and management is our utmost priority and bringing them back to Edgbaston is the best outcome for everyone.”We will continue our pre-season preparations at Edgbaston next week ahead of the first friendly versus Leicestershire, which starts on March 26.”Worcestershire
Tour to Abu Dhabi cancelled. A club statement said: “Contingency plans at WCCC have been worked on since mid-February 2020 and we hope to be in a position to update members when these plans are concluded shortly.”Yorkshire
Arrived in Mumbai on Thursday, shortly before India confirmed suspension of foreign visas. Were due to return on March 23, but announced on Friday after that squad will come back to UK “at the earliest possible opportunity”.”Having monitored the situation regarding the Covid-19 virus, the club has taken the decision to bring all players and staff back immediately,” a statement read. “With England’s tour to Sri Lanka postponed earlier today, and the spread of the virus expected to continue, this was deemed as the only possible course of action. The health of the players, support staff and their families come first. The club will continue to monitor the situation surrounding the virus as plans for alternative preparations for the season are made.”

Fast-bowling depth to be tested if demanding international schedule goes ahead

Matt Roller13-May-2020England will consider handing international opportunities to fringe players and testing their fast-bowling depth to help them cope with a demanding revised summer schedule of behind-closed-doors cricket.The ECB have made extensive contingency plans in the hope of salvaging a home international season when it becomes safe to do so, with the current ambition of starting a Test series against West Indies on July 8. It is likely that as many as 30 players will be called up to any England squad in order to allow for intra-squad practice games, and the possibility of playing white-ball and red-ball series concurrently remains on the table.ALSO READ: ECB’s Test plans boosted by latest government strategyThat means that England’s depth will be put the test. Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director, has been in regular discussions with Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, and Ed Smith, the national selector, over the past two months, and told ESPNcricinfo that there may be chances for players on the fringes of the national team to allow them to get through a “pretty brutal” fixture list.”We’ve got quite a broad talent pool – some guys that have done really well in the winter on the Lions programme, and plenty of guys knocking on the door, so we may have the opportunity to provide quite a few guys with some international exposure as and when we get to it,” Bobat said.”I get quite excited by that. If it means we’re going to provide international exposure to a new group of players, which we may have to, then I think that’s great. It’s probably common knowledge that we may have to explore things like playing concurrent squads, and that means our depth will get challenged, but I see that as an opportunity.”England’s fast-bowling depth will come under particular strain. Seamers will return to individualised training sessions at county grounds within the next two weeks to allow them as much lead-in time as possible before the planned start of the West Indies series, but with back-to-back Tests likely and players starting from a low base, rotation will be an inevitable feature of the summer.”For some of our fast bowlers, we know we want to get loads through their bodies and their bones need hardening again,” Bobat said. “It’s important to remember what we’re preparing for: we’re preparing for Test cricket, and a schedule that will involve back-to-back Tests. It’s a pretty brutal schedule: it’s not just preparing them to play one Test or a one-day game. It’s incumbent on us to make sure we give the players the best chance of making sure their bodies are in the right place to deal with that tough schedule.”While England have used as many as eight frontline seamers in Test cricket in the last 12 months, there are complications. Both Mark Wood and Jofra Archer were undergoing rehabilitation programmes following injuries when the UK went into lockdown, while Stuart Broad and James Anderson have suggested that returning from the training they are currently doing to international cricket may be harder for them given their age.England’s fast-bowling stocks will be tested this summer•Getty Images

That means opportunities for the three seamers handed pace-bowling development contracts by the ECB in January – Olly Stone, Saqib Mahmood and Craig Overton – may be forthcoming, while Ollie Robinson and Brydon Carse, who impressed on the Lions’ tour of Australia, will come into the conversation.The week before the UK went into lockdown, Bobat and Raphael Brandon, the ECB’s head of science and medicine, held meetings with the three seamers’ counties to discuss the outlines of programmes for the season ahead, and while those plans have been thrown off, all three will be considered for squads this year.ALSO READ: Pace-bowling development contracts for Mahmood, Stone, Overton“We know that we want variety in our pace attack, and across that variety we then want depth. It’s as simple as that,” Bobat said. “You can look at those three guys and know that they might have the capability to perform slightly different roles, and they represent depth beneath the guys who are currently in the England team.”The biggest attraction is simply that we think they are three high-quality bowlers. They’re at different stages: Craig has had experience of actually bowling some volume, [so] his needs are going to be different to Olly who’s returning from a couple of injury setbacks. We’re trying to make sure that they get the right amount of cricket to develop skills – as well as their bodies – moving forward.”I don’t think anyone is going to turn down a battery of 90mph fast bowlers, but that one attribute hasn’t been the key driver. If you add those three guys to the many fast bowlers we used this winter, it strengthens our depth. We want to get to our competitive series, like the [2021-22] Ashes as an example, with as many options to pick from as possible.”The ECB had been due to appoint a bowling coach in the early months of this season, but the recruitment process has been paused on account of the pandemic. Instead, England will continue to use short-term consultant coaches, with Richard Dawson, Jon Lewis and Jeetan Patel among those likely to be involved. Patel, Shane Bond and Darren Gough were among those used last winter, with players giving positive feedback about their experience working with them.”We deliberately didn’t rush into [appointments] over the winter in a number of coaching roles that I’d have been looking to fill,” Bobat said. “In the short term, we might use consultants. We’ve got an array of high-quality coaches within the game, and particularly if we’re losing cricket and guys are itching to get involved, it would be good to be able to lean on our county workforce if we need to.”