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Sri Lanka want to wrap up Bangladesh early so they can avoid batting on an already deteriorating pitch in Colombo

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo18-Mar-2013Kumar Sangakkara has said Sri Lanka have tough work ahead of them on day four if they are to avoid an embarrassing score line on a Premadasa pitch that is becoming difficult to bat on. Bangladesh finished the third day 52 runs ahead with six wickets in hand, as the surface grew handier for the slow bowlers with each session.Sri Lanka had two opportunities to have the visitors at least five down at stumps, but shelled two catches late in the day to help keep Bangladesh in the match. Nuwan Kulasekara grassed a chance at mid-on when he parried an aerial stroke from Mominul Haque, before Angelo Mathews dropped a low catch off Mushfiqur Rahim at slip soon after. Both chances came off the bowling of Rangana Herath, who took three of the four wickets in the innings.”It would have been brilliant to have them five down,” Sangakkara said. “We had the opportunities, though a close decision also didn’t go our way towards the end. We’ve got ourselves to blame. One was quite an easy chance, and one not so easy. It’s important, because we want to go into a fourth or fifth day in the last innings with as little to chase as possible. Rangana Herath did a great job again, and the fast bowlers held their own – especially with the slightly older ball. I think they bowled quite good, but a lot of work [still needs] to be done, and chances to be held, if we want to really get on top tomorrow.”The pitch is not too bad for batting at the moment, but there’s a bit of inconsistent bounce and the wicket’s a bit two-paced, with the outfield quite sluggish. All of that makes run-scoring a bit difficult. Maybe the bowlers will fancy themselves a chance of tying a batsman down, and then building pressure to try and get him out.”Sangakkara said Sri Lanka’s spinners would be the key to knocking over the final six wickets cheaply, and singled out Herath as the man most likely to inflict damage. Bangladesh have one more recognised batsman in Nasir Hossain, who is yet to take guard, but Sohag Gazi at no. 8 and Abul Hasan at no. 9 are also capable of playing significant innings.”If there’s more turn tomorrow, I think both Dilshan and Rangana will be important for us,” he said. “You saw that even in the first innings when the wicket was supposed to be seaming around, it really wasn’t. It was Rangana that got us those five important wickets, so he’s always going to be an important bowler.”Sangakkara also gave credit to Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers, although they have taken only five wickets in the match among the three of them. On day three, the pace attack was largely disciplined, with only Shaminda Eranga threatening to take a wicket.”The fast bowlers I thought bowled well in partnerships, and as they keep playing – they’re quite an inexperienced attack – they’ll get a lot better. It’s about bowling in partnerships on this track. It’s not a wicket that you can come in and blast the opposition out. You have to bowl tight lines, set tight fields, and stop the batsman scoring.”Sangakkara was dismissed, somewhat controversially, in the morning, having made his third consecutive hundred in the series. The third-umpire referral took almost six minutes, as officials attempted to determine whether Sangakkara had edged a ball from Abul Hasan, before eventually giving him out. Sangakkara was philosophical about his demise, but said he was satisfied with his 139.”It was a strange five minutes, from the delivery to the referral, to [then] being given out. But that’s the way cricket goes. Some go your way, some don’t.”Every hundred I score is equally special. I really don’t judge if this was better or that was better. Whatever the situation the team is in, you [have to] go out there to score some runs. That’s the way to get the team out of a bad situation. My thinking pattern was just to go out there and bat. It was not a wicket or an outfield when you can go out there and play your strokes. All I thought was that I’m just going to wait and make sure the bowlers get tired, and that I’m still hanging around when they do.”

Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka have found a special player in Dinesh Chandimal after his third half-century of the series helped set up a record chase at Bellerive Oval

Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval24-Feb-2012Mahela Jayawardene believes Sri Lanka have found a special player in Dinesh Chandimal after his third half-century of the series helped set up a record chase at Bellerive Oval. Chandimal scored 80 and kept the chase on track after Jayawardene fell for 85, and although he was out to an ill-judged attempted paddle off Ryan Harris, he had done enough to allow the tail to finish the job.Chandimal now sits on top of the series run tally with 306 at 61.20, and since the World Cup only Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have made more ODI runs for Sri Lanka. Jayawardene said Chandimal had embraced the No.4 position and had all the hallmarks of a long-term international player.”[He’s] definitely something special,” Jayawardene said. “Even before the World Cup, he was very close to being in that 15 but we felt he didn’t have the experience to be a part of that. But we made a decision soon after the World Cup that he was definitely going to be in the side permanently.”It was just trying to find a position for him and I feel that No.4 is a good position for him to bat long periods, and he’s got the big shots if he wants to. He’s learning every day, which is great. He’s a guy who learns a lot, asks a lot of questions as well off the field, which is good for Sri Lanka. Hopefully he will be one of those guys who will take us through the next ten years.”Together, Chandimal and Jayawardene were largely responsible for keeping Sri Lanka in the hunt after Australia posted 6 for 280. Jayawardene said there were some nervous moments towards the end as wickets started to fall, but he was impressed by the way Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews helped to steer the side into a winning position.”These guys, a couple of them haven’t had much experience, but I thought they handled the situation very well,” he said. “They didn’t go for those big shots, they just kept it going, singles, singles, and dragged the game as far as they could. And then when they wanted to hit that big shot, we knew that Thisara can do that, Angelo can do that, so we set it up nicely. They’re learning, that’s the most important thing.”I saw the domestic matches and the Tassie (Tasmania) boys have chased some big totals. The wicket looked pretty good and it’s tough to defend on this ground because there’s big boundaries on one side and then the smaller one on the other. It was just about trying to get a couple of partnerships. That’s what we discussed in the break.”The three-wicket victory has pushed Sri Lanka to the top of the series table and both they and Australia are now one match clear of India. India need to win both their remaining matches to be a certainty for the finals. Sri Lanka take on India in Hobart on Tuesday and Australia at the MCG next Friday, and a win in either of those games will be enough to confirm their place in the finals, which would be a fine achievement after they lost their first two games of the series.”If we can control our destiny we should do that,” Jayawardene said. “I’m quite happy with the effort. We knew we were playing good cricket, we just had to execute a few things better, which we are doing. Today also I thought we were probably a bit flat on the field. In that middle period we probably gave away the game but we managed to drag it back in the last six or seven overs, to a decent score, and then batted really well to finish the game off.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

Shaun Tait believes Australia’s World Cup pace attack is the best in the world as they aim for a fourth title in a row

Andrew McGlashan in Hobart19-Jan-2011Shaun Tait believes Australia’s World Cup pace attack is the best in the world as they aim for a fourth title in a row. There is no lack of speed in the 15-man squad with Tait joined by Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger as the selectors take an aggressive route to the subcontinent.It is a major gamble because Tait, Lee and Johnson can all prove expensive but they also have the ability to make significant inroads. In the 2007 tournament, Tait was a success as a shock bowler with 23 wickets, but was able to feed off the pressure built up by Glenn McGrath and Nathan Bracken. “We’ve all had a fair bit of experience and if you put that pace attack up against any in the world and I think it comes out No. 1,” Tait said. “The selectors should be pretty happy with what they have.”Out of the four fast bowlers Tait will be used in the shortest, sharpest, spells mainly because his of his fragile body. He missed the first one-day international against England due to a back strain but he is unconcerned and is ready to take his place at Hobart on Friday in the best shape of his life.”I’m at full fitness apart from the back complaint a few days ago,” he said. “Obviously they will manage the fast bowlers through the rest of the series and probably the World Cup as well which is the done thing these days. It’s probably the fittest I’ve been. I worked hard during the three months I was injured. At the end of the day you can be as fit as you like, but it is performances out on the field that count.”Despite the strain on his body when bowling in excess of 150kph, Tait won’t be holding back against England or during the World Cup. “The reason I get selected is because of my pace and there’s no substitute for me. I’m not going to hold back and try and put the ball in the right areas,” he said. “I’m there to bowl fast and take wickets which is what I’ll try to do.”The subcontinent used to be a graveyard for fast bowlers but that has changed in recent years, especially in India, with some lively wickets being produced. Finding swing with the old ball will be a key weapon during the tournament and Tait is looking forward to the challenge.”In those conditions reverse swing will be a factor and all four of us can bowl that,” Tait said. “You never know, though, in India because some of the wickets they produce can go through pretty quickly. Fast bowling isn’t that bad over there, that’s for sure.”Australia remain the No. 1 one-day team in the world but are not favourites for this year’s tournament after a difficult year which has seen them lose to England, India and Sri Lanka in 50-over cricket. However, this current group of players are taking it as a major motivation to continue Australia’s World Cup domination without some of the great names of the past.”We had a team full of legends to be fair and it’s a little different this time,” Tait said. “When you lose so many great players over a couple of years it’s a big hole to fill. Australian cricket is slowly trying to do that, but there’s still plenty of experience there.”Form suggests that Australia will struggle to make it four in a row, but the squad they have selected means they aren’t going to let their title go quietly.

India have been dealt a jolt ahead of the one-day series with news that Zaheer Khan has been ruled out with a muscle pull

Cricinfo staff18-Feb-2010India have been dealt a jolt ahead of the one-day series with news that Zaheer Khan has been ruled out with a muscle strain in his leg. The Indian board named Sreesanth as his replacement.Zaheer, who did not take the field on day five of the Kolkata Test, pulled up with what appeared a painful right knee after bowling one over during the afternoon session on day four yesterday, and did not return to bowl on the final day as India attempted to square the series.Prior to walking off the field yesterday, Zaheer had stepped off on a couple of occasions for treatment.Zaheer, 31, made his international comeback for the Tests against Sri Lanka late last year having recovered from the injury he sustained during the 2009 IPL. He featured in the tri-series in Bangladesh last month as well as the two Tests there. Zaheer’s fitness will undoubtedly be monitored closely considering the third season of the IPL is a few weeks away.

The cricket “was borderline impossible to play at certain stages” with the pink ball under lights in the third Test, he says

Andrew McGlashan17-Jul-2025

Sam Konstas ended the series averaging 8.33•Associated Press

Australia coach Andrew McDonald believes it is difficult to draw too many long-term conclusions around the team’s batting from the West Indies tour given the often hazardous conditions they faced, particularly at Sabina Park which he termed at times “didn’t even look like cricket”.McDonald, who questioned the future of the pink Dukes ball in Test cricket, was confident Sam Konstas wouldn’t suffer negatively from the experience of the tour as he slips back into the pack of opening contenders ahead of the Ashes. He also does not expect Marnus Labuschagne to be out of the side for long having already seen encouraging signs during his training since being dropped in Barbados.”It’s really difficult to make accurate judgments on both batting units based upon the surfaces that we played on,” McDonald told on SEN Radio. “And you take that into the third Test, which is a pink-ball Dukes on that surface, that game just moved way too fast and at times, it didn’t even look like cricket.Related

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“…That cricket was borderline impossible to play at certain stages. Some of those deliveries from Mitchell Starc, the way that ball behaved under lights. So it’s a bigger question for what the pink Dukes looks like for Test match cricket, really.”He conceded, though, that the series had left questions rather than answering them. “It feels as though we’ll still be a little bit unsettled in terms of what our combinations look like at the top of the order with the way that the performances have gone here,” he said. “In saying that, there’s a lot of cricket still to come to be able to gather that information.”Konstas ended the series averaging 8.33 having only once made it past 20 and he cut a forlorn figure in the closing days of the series, dropping a couple of catches during West Indies’ 27 all out and misfielding to allow them to escape equaling the lowest Test total.There remains a chance he could still open against England in Perth when the Ashes starts in late November, but that will likely require a surge of runs in the early part of the Sheffield Shield season which shapes as a bat-off to open alongside Usman Khawaja, who retains the selectors’ backing for the home summer.It has been questioned whether Konstas’ series did him more harm than good, but McDonald did not buy into that perception.McDonald on Marnus Labuschagne: “We feel as though this wasn’t going to be a huge gap before he does return because of the quality, but the start of the Shield season will really shape that”•Getty Images

“I don’t think anyone’s damaged by being exposed to Test cricket because I think what it does do is it gives you a taste of what that level is like,” he said. “All the things that come around being a Test cricketer, not just purely going out there, marking centre and going about your business.”There’s no doubt he’s got some things to work on, like all our players do, and they continually work on. He’s clear on what they are. We feel as though across the journey, he’s a highly talented player, and I hate to use that word talent, but his skillsets over time, I think we’ll see the real Sam Konstas.”At the moment he’s juggling his aggressive nature, he’s juggling his technique and the way he really wants to go about playing it. But when you’ve got up-and-down seaming wickets, it can force you into those corners a lot quicker than some surfaces that potentially are batter friendly, which we were expecting to get here.”Konstas replaced Labuschagne at the top of the order after the latter had been given a chance to open in the World Test Championship final. Labuschagne was then dropped for the first time since 2019 but there is a sense the selectors are already looking at how they can get him back in the side.Opening would appear Labuschagne’s likely route to return given Cameron Green’s strong finish in the Caribbean at No. 3 although there is also a scenario where Green slips back to the middle order. McDonald reiterated that there wouldn’t be a need for Labuschagne to open for Queensland to be considered for the Test role.”I think towards the end there [before being left out], and Marnus won’t mind me saying this, that there was a little bit of going backward and forward on plans and at certain stages he wasn’t clear,” he said. “He’s got great clarity leaving here, which is a successful tour, albeit he hasn’t played a game…and [we] look forward to what he does coming into the early Shield rounds and then putting his hand up for selection for Perth.”But he’s a quality player. He averages 46 in Test match cricket. We feel as though this wasn’t going to be a huge gap before he does return because of the quality, but the start of the Shield season will really shape that.”Meanwhile, McDonald confirmed that Starc will join Pat Cummins in sitting out the white-ball matches against South Africa in the Top End during August.

Cricket to follow tennis lead and offer collective-bargaining opportunities for player deals

Matt Roller10-Jan-2024Cricket’s global union has followed the lead of its tennis counterpart, signing a commercial deal that aims to resolve the long-standing issues around players’ name, image and likeness rights which have lingered for more than two decades.The Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) announced on Wednesday a long-term partnership with Winners Alliance, which formed in 2022 as an affiliate of the Novak Djokovic-backed Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). Pat Cummins, Australia’s captain, described the deal as “an amazing opportunity” for men’s and women’s players.FICA instigated legal action against the ICC in 2020, alleging unauthorised use of players’ image rights by the ICC and its commercial partners, though the matter never reached court. The exploitation of commercial and intellectual property rights has been a long-running source of tension between players and administrators, briefly threatening India’s participation in the 2003 World Cup.Winners Alliance will negotiate commercial deals on behalf of cricketers who are members of FICA-affiliated players’ associations. “Most of the best players in the world are part of our global program which we have built with players, their associations and agents,” Tom Moffat, FICA’s CEO, told ESPNcricinfo.”The program is focused on opening up new global group licensing opportunities to enable players to optimise certain collective name image-likeness rights, and to add new value for the game and commercial partners through opportunities that have previously been almost impossible because of the fragmented rights landscape in cricket.”The deal will see Tim Cruickshank, who briefly played professionally for New South Wales, leave his role with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) and join Winners Alliance as their vice-president of commercial partnerships in the Asia-Pacific Region. “It’s a dream opportunity for me,” Cruickshank told ESPNcricinfo.Djokovic and Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil launched PTPA in 2020 and raised a reported $26 million to form Winners Alliance two years later. One source raised the possibility of cricketers being involved in cross-sport promotion opportunities as a result of the deal, featuring in advertisements alongside their tennis counterparts.”I hope this really simplifies everything for potential partners: we want to make this as easy as possible for companies wanting to invest in cricket,” Cruickshank said. “Cricket has been a complicated player-rights market but collectivising them creates additional opportunities and is best practice for all athletes across global sport. We want to solve the pain-point that cricket has had for quite some time.”Cruickshank used the example of video games, and the potential to sell collectivised name, image and likeness rights for the majority of international players. “If you want to be an officially licensed product, you’ll need to work with us,” he explained. “That obviously gives you great leverage in what is a pretty flooded market.”FICA will also receive direct funding from Winners Alliance, which Moffat said will help the organisation continue to support players “on issues like their right to form and join players’ associations, to move freely in pursuit of employment, non-payment issues and global scheduling.”The ICC are understood to be aware of the agreement, though declined to comment.

Regular wickets meant Sri Lanka never got close in their chase of 151

S Sudarshanan01-Oct-2022It was a welcome return for Jemimah Rodrigues to the national side as her T20I career best 76, including a 92-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, followed by a stifling show by the bowlers helped India begin their Women’s T20 Asia Cup campaign with a 41-run win over Sri Lanka at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.India were scoring at under a run-a-ball before Rodrigues and Harmanpreet got together and helped India add 83 in the ten overs after the powerplay. However, with Harmanpreet’s fall, India only managed to score 35 runs for the loss of four wickets, bringing back the theme that saw them narrowly miss the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.But India’s spinners kept the pressure on, especially on the face of an attacking start, to help the runners-up of the 2018 edition come up triumphs.Rodrigues, Harmanpreet steady the ship
Opting to field, Sri Lanka started with the left-arm-right-arm spin duo of Sugandika Kumari and Oshadi Ranasinghe, much like they did during the home series against India in June. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana’s attempt to break free did not bear fruit as both of them fell holing out inside four overs.Rodrigues and Harmanpreet took time to get their eye in, with Achini Kulasuriya’s first over – the penultimate of the powerplay – going for just one. But Rodrigues began the assault, driving Kumari for two fours in the final over of the fielding restrictions. She then meted out a similar treatment to Kulasuriya in her next before taking two more fours off offspinner Malsha Shehani.Spinners trigger steady fall
Soon, Rodrigues brought up her eighth half-century in the format following which the pair began shifting gears. However, with the temperature in Sylhet soaring, it got to Harmanpreet, who had to be tended to by the physio – and she was off the field during the chase with Mandhana calling the shots in the middle – and then was stumped off Ranasinghe a ball after she was dropped and parried over for six.Rodrigues then managed a few hits, including a switch hit off Inoka Ranaweera before a swipe across the line ended her stay in the middle. After that, India’s end fizzled away as they added only 16 off the last 14 balls.Samarawickrama’s fluent start
Chasing 151, Harshitha Samawickrama was off to a quick start, taking three fours off the opening over bowled by Renuka Singh, player of the match in India’s last ODI at Lord’s. She then used her feet well to belt Sneh Rana’s offspin back over her head.Even though Deepti Sharma had managed to work Chamari Athapaththu out and dismiss her, Samarawickrama found an ally in Shehani, who came out all guns blazing. Sri Lanka had raced to 39 for 1 in five overs.Two run-outs turn the tide
Shehani then tried to steal a quick single by playing the ball with soft hands towards the off side, only for Deepti to swoop in quickly from backward point and fire a direct hit at the bowler’s end to catch the batter short. A couple of overs later, Samarawickrama’s ball-watching led to a horrible mix-up and resulted in her dismissal.From 48 for 3, Sri Lanka were reduced to 61 for 5 with Pooja Vastrakar striking twice. Radha then trapped Anushka Sanjeewani lbw before Dayalan Hemalatha picked three quick wickets to hasten the end.

Over the past three years, Afghanistan have gone through a very public struggle to find the right man to lead them

Umar Farooq03-Jun-2021Rashid Khan has declined the Afghanistan T20I captaincy, stating that he believes he is more valuable as a player than as a leader.”I am very much clear in my mind that I am better off as a player,” the 22-year old legspinner told ESPNcricinfo. “I am good in the role as vice-captain and help the captain wherever I am needed. It’s better for me that I stay away from this position.”I want to do well for the team as a player and my performance is a bit more crucial for the team rather than me thinking about different things being a captain. Also, it takes time, and right now the most important thing is the World Cup which is quite near and I feel it is too much for me to have. I am afraid it might affect my performance for the team which is a key so I am very happy as a player and whatever the decision board and selection committee make I am fully behind it and will appreciate it.”If you have a year or two, you manage yourself and understand things only then it’s easier to deal with the role. I was the captain once and they[board] know my mindset and which is why they kept the spot empty looking for someone else while I stay as a vice-captain.”Over the past three years, Afghanistan have gone through a very public struggle to find the right man to lead them.Two months before the 2019 World Cup, their board wrested the captaincy from Asghar Afghan and split it between Khan (T20Is), Gulbadin Naib (ODIs) and Rahmat Shah (Tests).But, after Afghanistan ended the World Cup without a single win, Naib was stripped of the role and Khan was named captain across formats.In December 2019, Afghan was brought back, but 15 months into his stint, he was sacked again. Hashmatullah Shahidi, the senior middle-order batter, took over as the new ODI and Test captain but the man who will lead them in T20 cricket continues to remain a mystery even though a World Cup is coming in five months’ time.Khan isn’t too worried though. “Asghar did a wonderful job for the last four-five years for the team and it was like he was the best option and he did really well,” he said. “So when an experienced captain goes then you tend to struggle to bring the right captain in and that is what’s happening with us and we are trying our best to give a chance to a player who can give his best for the team, for the country, and lead the team in a right way.”As a team, it doesn’t really affect us a lot as we all know our roles. We know someone will be named captain at some time but at the same time we all know what our job is and what our responsibility is to the team. We never thought a lot about the captaincy because it’s all about us as a team and what we are putting in at the ground. The mindset is all about how to contribute and whoever comes in as captain, we as players will support him and make him comfortable so that he doesn’t have to take the kind of pressure that may affect his own performance. Eventually, it’s about togetherness.”Khan is presently in Abu Dhabi, set to play for the Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League, which resumes on June 9. Initially, when the tournament was supposed to take place in February-March, he only had a two-match deal, after which he would depart for international duty and then pop over to England to play the T20 Blast. Considering his contract with the Sussex county cricket club, he was never expected to be available for this second leg of the PSL, but things quickly changed.”It was tough to make this happen but the relationship I had developed with both Sussex and Lahore Qalandars made it easy to sort this out,” Khan said. “Sussex is like a family and we have a great understanding. I really appreciate them for allowing me to stay here and play the PSL and helping me to make this possible. They gave me tremendous support and the thing I love the most is them saying that, ‘we are going to support you whatever you do’. Their understanding, their love is what makes my job easier to decide where to go and where to play.”With Qalandars I feel the same. It all comes down to me in the end and it was my call to rejoin the Lahore Qalandars. All the fans I earned from just two games and the respect I got from the franchise is what made me come back.”

There are still ten months until the tournament in New Zealand, but it may yet be impacted by the fallout from the current pandemic

Andrew McGlashan15-Apr-2020Following the heady heights of the T20 World Cup triumph last month, Australia Women’s thoughts were set to shift to how to reclaim the 50-over title which escaped them in 2017 when they exited in the semi-final against India. But while the tournament in New Zealand is still ten months away, like the rest of the sporting world there are now a host of unknowns to deal with.With the global response to the coronavirus still in relatively early days, the timescale for a return to substantial international travel remains uncertain with the potential for borders to remain shut – or heavily restricted – for a considerable amount of time while there is also the question of when crowds could return to sports events.From Australia’s perspective, their end-of-season tour to South Africa was scrubbed last month and for the players, it is uncertain what their pre-season will look like once their current period of leave is over. While there remains some optimism within Cricket Australia that next season may be able to start largely as scheduled, significant doubts remain over the viability of international tours. The qualifying event for the women’s World Cup also looks highly likely to be affected with it currently scheduled for July in Sri Lanka.Next season in Australia would include the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) and WBBL on a domestic level while there are scheduled visits by New Zealand and India ahead of the World Cup.”It’s quite a way away, beginning of next year, so hopefully we can get some sort of season domestically and internationally as well,” Australia allrounder Nicola Carey said. “I’d imagine if we can’t get international teams out here at the back end of the season, the World Cup may be difficult to have but I’m not really sure what’s happening with all the travel restrictions. But it’s a fair way away, so hopefully things improve and we can get some games in before then.”We’d like to be playing as many games as we can leading into a tournament like a World Cup and this is no different but it’s a bit of the unknown, not really sure what will happen even when we go back for pre-season… but we also understand there are bigger things at play here and we’ll just have to wait and see.”The 2017 World Cup in England – which was won by the hosts – was a rare occasion of Australia not making a global final when they were turned over by Harmanpreet Kaur’s magnificent 171 at Derby. However, since that match Australia have lost just one ODI and over the last two years have strung together a world record 18 wins in a row. With the focus of the recent season very much on the T20 World Cup, the last ODIs were in early October, but the emphasis was due to change with an eye on next year.”Being a T20 World Cup year there was a lot of emphasis on the T20 stuff,” Carey said. “We still played 50-over cricket so when we were in 50-over mode we were really focused on that. Naturally, if we are going into a 50-over World Cup that becomes quite important and there will be a massive focus, especially in training camps when you do the scenario-based things, [but] what that looks like I’m not sure.”Carey played five of Australia’s six matches at the T20 World Cup and is signed up for the new Hundred tournament in England which now faces the prospect of being pushed back a year. But the last few weeks for her have been more about getting the new house in Tasmania sorted alongside housemates and Hobart Hurricanes team-mates Maisy Gibson and Belinda Vakarewa. The next few months, at least, look likely to consist of a much more independent pre-season that usual.”It’s really nice to have the leave period but by the end of it you are chomping at the bit to get back into training and playing games,” she said. “You missing being around the girls, you get sick of them on tour but when you are apart you miss them. No doubt everyone will be hoping the season can go ahead.”

Left-arm spinner has been fielded only thrice by Melbourne Stars in the ongoing BBL season

Alex Malcolm08-Feb-2019Former Australia Test spinner and Melbourne Stars veteran Michael Beer has announced his retirement from Big Bash League cricket.Beer, 34, played in all eight seasons of the BBL, turning out in 60 matches overall. He played the first three seasons with Perth Scorchers, where he was part of two final losses, and was also part of the team in the Champions League.He then moved home to Melbourne to join the Stars in the 2014-15 season. Beer played in a final with the Stars in 2016, and was very successful as a bowler in the Powerplays, not always an easy task for a spinner.Beer, however, only managed three games this season.”When I first came to the Stars I probably wasn’t enjoying my cricket as much, but the Stars made cricket fun for me again,” Beer said. “I’d really like to thank the players and coaches I’ve been fortunate to work with over the years at the Stars, as well as the club staff and the board for all the support and opportunities they’ve given me and my career both on and off the field.ALSO READ: Brendon McCullum calls time on his Big Bash career“I’d also like to thank the WACA [Western Australia Cricket Association], Perth Scorchers and Cricket Victoria for my time with them, I’ve been lucky to learn so much from each team I’ve played with.”I’m very excited about the next phase of my life, spending time with my family and putting more focus into my coaching. I still really enjoy being around the game and look forward to building on some of the coaching opportunities I’ve had this year.”Beer finished with 42 BBL wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.70 and strike rate of 29.50.Stars coach Stephen Fleming called Beer an integral part of the Stars set-up since moving over from the Scorchers.”Michael Beer has played a pivotal role at the Stars, contributing consistently with the ball and a key to our spin strategy for many years,” Fleming said. “We want to thank him, not just for the brilliant job he’s done on-field, but his all-round service to the club.”Over the past 12 months he has developed as a mentor for our younger players, and particularly our bowlers, in both the men’s and women’s teams and I can see great potential for him to continue with that in the future.”Beer has also played two Test matches for Australia, one against England during the 2010-11 Ashes and then in Port of Spain in 2012, for three wickets.