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Angelo Mathews is unsure whether he will be Sri Lanka’s captain at the 2019 World Cup, after leading his side to a second loss against Zimbabwe in the ongoing five-match series. The defeat, Mathews conceded, put his captaincy under significant pressure. His comments came after Zimbabwe chased down a revised target of 219 – deduced via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method – in the fourth ODI, after Sri Lanka had made 300.”There’s a lot of pressure on all of us, and as a captain there is a lot of pressure on me as well,” Mathews said after the loss in Hambantota. “In these games, where our batsmen have done well, our bowlers didn’t perform well – both in this match, and in the first one we lost. Our fielding also hasn’t been good at times. Against Zimbabwe, we need to play better than this. If we score 300 and still lose here, there is a big shortcoming.”Mathews’ record as ODI captain since the last World Cup isn’t exactly awful: the team has won 12 matches to the 15 they have lost under his watch. However, during that time, their only series wins under Mathews have been against West Indies at home, and Ireland, away. They have lost one away series apiece to England and New Zealand, and one home series to Australia and Pakistan each. Besides, there is now a risk of losing a home series to 11th-ranked Zimbabwe, who have tied the ongoing series 2-2.”I don’t know if I will be going to the 2019 World Cup as captain,” Mathews said. “Our batsmen are doing well, but sometimes there’s no consistency in our fielding – we don’t do well sometimes. But with the players that we have, we can win these matches. We lost these matches because our bowling wasn’t good. We have to solve this problem quickly.”If Sri Lanka perform poorly in the forthcoming ODIs against India (in August and September), there is also the chance of the team not being able to gain automatic entry for the 2019 World Cup. At present, Sri Lanka are on the eighth position, with 92 rating points. They must stay ahead of West Indies, who are currently on 78 rating points, in order to avoid going through a separate qualification procedure for the next World Cup.Considering this was the second instance in the series when Sri Lanka failed to defend 300 or more, Mathews was forthright in stating his discontent over the lack of sting in the performance of the bowlers.”After scoring 300, how many times can you lose a game?” You know, we had enough runs on the board. [It’s] unfortunate the rain had to intervene, but still, we had the bowling attack to defend it. The first ten overs we gave away a lot of runs, also the rain intervened and the last ten overs we didn’t bowl that well.”We actually didn’t know the rain might come in, but the wicket was extremely dry this morning. So we all thought it’s going to start slowing more and more once the day goes on. We saw in the last game also that the ball started turning after the first 20 overs, in the second half especially. So, I thought if we bat first and bat well, we have the spinners to defend it.”Mathews also made the point that Sri Lanka’s attack was a diminished one. Nuwan Pradeep, who has recently been the best bowler in the side, picked up a niggle in the third ODI, and is being rested in order to ensure he can be fit for the four Test matches over the next eight weeks. Suranga Lakmal was also made unavailable by illness.”In our bowling we are facing problems – Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal are injured,” Mathews said. “We have to manage our bowlers’ workloads as well. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up. We have to balance managing workloads and winning the matches in front of us.”

ScorecardWahab Riaz sees the lighter side after a misfield•AFP

A pair of wickets late in the day that broke an ominous fifth wicket partnership for Sui Northern Gas Piplelines Limited (SNGPL) meant the first day of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy final ended with honours just about even. Iftikhar Ahmed made an unbeaten 71 that he carries into day two, and the extent to which he can add to his overnight total may well go a long way to determining the destination of this year’s trophy.On Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) part, the day was defined by a mesmeric opening spell by Mohammad Asif, who swung and seamed the ball at will, bringing back memories of his heydays in a Pakistan shirt towards the end of the last decade. He was particularly miserly, too, going at less than one per over in his first spell. He accounted for Asad Shafiq, but deserved more considering he ended the day with figures of 20-8-35-1.WAPDA were well on top in the first two sessions, reducing a powerful SNGPL side to 94 for 4, with international stars Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali and Shafiq all sent back cheaply. But Iftikar and Mohammad Rizwan, both of whom have played only a handful of international games, stuck together to put on a crucial 89-run partnership and steer their side past choppy waters.Just as SNGPL seemed dominant, Wahab Riaz, who bowled with both accuracy and pace even towards the end of the day, broke through. With the old ball offering little help, he resorted to bouncers, an especially quick one rushing Rizwan into a pull shot he top edged. Khushdil Shah took a simple catch on the boundary and WAPDA were back in business. When the sixth wicket fell soon after, it looked like they might polish off the tail. But Yasir Shah hung around to provide capable support to Iftikhar, and when the day was called off six overs early for bad light, SNGPL had reached 215 for 6.

Ellyse Perry hit an unbeaten 78 and added a couple of wickets for good measure•Getty Images

Australian star Ellyse Perry hit an unbeaten 78 and took two wickets to take Loughborough Lightning to their first Kia Super League win of 2017 with an emphatic 50-run victory over Lancashire Thunder.It keeps alive the Lightning’s hopes of making Finals Day on September 1. It was a third successive defeat for the Thunder and eliminates them from the competition after another collapse when chasing left them well short of the required 141-run target.Their chase got off to a bad start, as Perry removed both opener Emma Lamb and the key wicket of England star Sarah Taylor, both for just four runs in her first two overs.The Thunder needed someone to play the Perry innings in their ranks and New Zealander Amy Satterthwaite looked like she could take on the role.But Satterthwaite was beaten by Lucy Higham and stumped by Abigail Freeborn for 21 and that triggered a major Thunder collapse for the second consecutive match.They lost six wickets in 33 balls for 27 runs to leave the score at 71 for 8 with another 70 runs needed from 31 balls.A late cameo of 18 from Ellie Threlkeld, only the third to make double figures, dragged the total up but two quick wickets ended the innings with Lancashire all out for 90 and the Lightning winning with 2.4 overs to spare.Beth Langston finished with the pick of the figures, taking 3 for 14 from her two overs.Perry at the crease after just five balls of the Loughborough innings when her international teammate Elyse Villani was dismissed by Kate Cross for six. She struck a boundary from her first ball and began to build a partnership with 18-year-old opener Sarah Glenn.Spin was to be Lancashire’s key weapon once again. Danielle Hazell finished with the pick of the figures with 2 for 16 from her four overs and she removed Glenn for 22 – a second catch for Lamb.Perry would find partners hard to come by. England international Georgia Elwiss came and went for 5 before Sonia Odedra was on her way for one from 10 balls, bowled by Ecclestone.That left Loughborough 81 for 4 in the 13th but Perry carried on relentlessly, bringing up her half-century from 41 balls with two boundaries off Cross.Lancashire would rue Sarah Taylor’s missed stumping of Perry in the 16th over as she went on to share an unbroken stand of 39 with Freeborn, hitting the last two balls of the innings from Sophie Ecclestone for four to post a total of 140 for 5 which was well out of reach of the Thunder.Loughborough face Surrey Stars at The Oval next Saturday.

Manish Pandey works Tabraiz Shamsi to deep fine leg for a single. “I’ve Got The Power” plays on the stadium’s PA system. Suresh Raina pushes the next ball straight to cover for a dot. “Here Comes The Hotstepper” blares out. Welcome to the new world of music after every ball in T20 cricket, assuming the paying public cares for it.Yes, songs have been played on a cricket ground in between overs and after boundaries for a while now. But Cricket South Africa is using the T20Is against India to trial the idea of playing music between deliveries. At the end of the series, the ticketholders will be asked to participate in an online survey and the decision to stop or keep going will be made based on the feedback.”Twenty20 is played in festive environment,” a CSA official said. “It is followed by families and kids. We wanted to see if our public wants more of the music and dance. We will of course listen to the people and see what the survey says. If they like it, we might even get a professional DJ at our grounds for T20.”The official said CSA was not taking the lead from what happened in the Trans-Tasman tri-series. Music between deliveries was tried during a game at Eden Park in Auckland last week and it received harsh criticism from the fans, including those on Twitter.As in South Africa, the cricket board in New Zealand is in charge of the music on game day. The negative response to the experiment brought immediate results: the music was reduced in the subsequent matches of the tri-series.”NZC is in charge of game day enhancements such as music, and they turned it down as soon as they were informed,” Eden Park tweeted in response to the complaints against the too-frequent music.

Karn Sharma finished with a match-haul of 8 for 120•BCCI

New Zealand A failed to learn from their mistakes in the first innings. Indecision in footwork against spin and relying on their pad as their first line of defense – against two quality spinners – resulted in a loss by an innings and 31 runs shortly after lunch on the third day of the first unofficial Test in Vijayawada.Karn Sharma, the legspinner, took four wickets to take his match tally to 8 for 120, thereby continuing his fine recent run that now includes two five-fors and two four-fors in his last three first-class matches. Shahbaz Nadeem also took four wickets with his loopy left-arm spin to finish with an eight-for in the match. Alarmingly for New Zealand A, their second-innings collapse from their overnight 64 for 2 to 142 all out had little to do with the pitch.Openers Jeet Raval and George Worker aside, none of the others topped 20. The only batsman who appeared to pick spin was Tim Seifert, the wicketkeeper, who was largely untroubled for 35 deliveries before perishing to a sharp Karn legbreak that beat his forward push to be lbw. Seifert also showed some spunk in the first innings to top score with 35. He was one of two positives – Ish Sodhi, who took a five-for, being the other – for the visitors.The procession started 15 minutes into play when Worker attempted an expansive sweep from outside off to a delivery that spun back in from the rough to deflect off his body and onto the stumps. Will Young was snuffed out at short leg and Tom Blundell, among those in the fray to replace Luke Ronchi as a frontline wicketkeeper in the national team, was lbw to an indipper from Shardul Thakur.With the cream of the batting line-up gone inside 11 overs to leave New Zealand A on 98 for 5, the lower order came out trying to slog the spinners out of the field. The execution, however, failed only to leave them with plenty of time to ponder and practice ahead of the second four-day game on September 30 at the same venue.

How do you celebrate skittling the opposition out for 62? If you’re Wellington’s Michael Papps and Luke Woodcock, you put on the biggest opening partnership in your country’s first-class history. The pair added 432 together, a record in New Zealand first-class cricket, and the second-highest stand for any wicket in the Plunket Shield. In the process, Papps, at 38 years 114 days, became the oldest player from New Zealand to score a triple-century.Following his marathon 316 (553 minutes, 435 balls, 51 fours and a six), Papps said forget records, he was just hoping to avoid bagging a duck – like five out of the top seven from Auckland did. “I was just hoping to get off the mark and anything else was a bonus, to be honest,” Papps said at stumps on day two, according to . “Our guys bowled really well yesterday, and, certainly, there were periods where their guys got it right and it was difficult.”It was kissing through, there was some good pace in it, particularly Lockie Ferguson, but it’s a good wicket. If you [bowlers] don’t get it right, it’s good for scoring.””I’m obviously pretty pleased, but pretty knackered now, to be honest. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I was in a pretty clear mind most of the innings. We got ourselves in a good position and I just wanted to keep pushing that on for the guys.”Batting with a familiar partner helped, Papps said. “Woody and I know each other pretty well. We’ve batted together a lot over the past couple of years. It’s always good to keep feeding off each other and keep the momentum going.”Wellington eventually declared on 553 for 3. Auckland did better in their second innings, closing the second day at 73 for 1, but the deficit still stood at 418.

International T20 should be the pinnacle of the format, not domestic leagues, according to Jos Buttler who does not endorse the view of England coach Trevor Bayliss that T20Is be restricted to a period around World T20 events. However, he added his voice to the growing calls that something needs to be done about the scheduling to ensure all three formats can co-exist at the top level.Two of his team-mates, Alex Hales and Adil Rashid, have recently halted their first-class careers to focus on the white ball and Buttler admitted the thought of similar had occasionally crossed his mind. For now he will keep his options open and sees a window to return to Championship cricket for Lancashire at the backend of the 2018 English season.In so many ways, Buttler is the template of the modern cricketer: forging his name in the white-ball formats, and spending months on the road even though he doesn’t feature in the Test team. He has been away since the end of October, starting in the Bangladesh Premier League, into the Big Bash and now England duty. He will have a couple of weeks at home before the IPL which runs until late May. The leagues are all his choice, so there may not be vast sympathy from some, but for in-demand players the schedule is unrelenting.Bayliss’ suggestion, put forward after the T20 tri-series where England failed to impress, was for the shortest format to be largely left to domestic structures but Buttler, who earlier this month told Sky Sports that he could see cricket being a one-format game in 20 years, remains a country over club man.”I wouldn’t be a fan of that. I don’t think that’s the right way to go,” he said. “I think T20 cricket is so strong, then surely the pinnacle – as it would be for guys wanting to play Test match cricket – should be playing for your international side.”I think for a professional cricketer, in any form of the game, your aspirations are always to represent your country.”Jos Buttler drills one down the ground•Getty Images

Endorsing the international T20 game further, Buttler added that the format deserves more than one-off matches tagged on to the start or end of a tour. The game is heading that way, with the recent tri-series attempting to bring more meaning to the games, while the number of three-match series are increasing.”Some tours where there have been three and three [T20s and ODIs] have been a really enjoyable split from the players’ point of view, it gives both formats relevance and competition. If you’re just going to play one T20 thrown on the end, it almost doesn’t seem like there’s much on it or much point to it.”Buttler said he still valued the five-match ODI series but did agree that something has to give if the game wants to stop players opting out of a format – although he suggested that the one to make way should not always have to be first-class or Test cricket. Earlier this week, Eoin Morgan said the only way Test cricket would survive would be if the money on offer matches that available in T20 leagues around the world.”There’s nothing wrong with people being Test match specialists either,” Buttler said. “There is no reason why a young player couldn’t say ‘I am going focus all my ambitions and efforts to be a Test match cricketer’.”I think it comes down a little bit to what you’re trying to get from the game and how you see yourself fitting into it. It may not be possible to do all three, but there’s no reason why people can’t specialise in red-ball cricket as well as white-ball.”For those that want to play all three formats, the game is already asking too much. “There aren’t many people around the world who are capable of doing it,” he said. “In England, we have three or four, but obviously, with all the cricket and scheduling, they don’t play every single game of every format, because it’s probably not quite possible. It’s not an easy thing to do, and that’s why the guys who do it are the best players.”On his own Test ambitions, which Buttler has repeatedly said remain intact albeit distant at the moment, he replied “maybe” when asked if not adding to his 18 caps would leave him unfulfilled but has reminded himself of the 18 matches he has played.”I don’t want to have too many regrets. I’m obviously very fortunate to have played Test cricket at all,” he said. “I was thinking about it the other day – that one thing you’d want to get out of a Test career would be winning an Ashes series in England.”Not that I performed very well. But I’m lucky enough to have that, and no one will ever take that away from me. You’re always desperate to do as well as you can, and fulfil your promise and potential as much as you can. But I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

Wicketkeeper BJ Watling is a doubt for New Zealand’s opening Test against West Indies due to a hip injury with the uncapped Tom Blundell in line for a debut if Watling is not available.The problem has forced Watling to sit out the last two rounds of Plunket Shield matches for Northern Districts. He will play as a batsman only against Auckland this week before what will effectively be a fitness test against Otago at the end of the month where he will have to keep wicket to be available for the first Test in Wellington on December 1.

New Zealand squads

Test squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling

New Zealand A
Martin Guptill (capt), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Neil Broom, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Jeet Raval, George Worker

If Watling can’t take his place at the Basin Reserve – it would be the first Test he has missed since Headingley against England in 2013 – it would likely mean a first cap for 27-year-old Blundell ahead of handing the gloves to one-day keeper Tom Latham. Blundell has previously played one T20I and has been included in the New Zealand A side to face West Indies in their warm-up match from November 25.The cloud over Watling was the only uncertainty in a settled 12-man New Zealand squad, resuming Test cricket for the first time since March, although one further player will be added to the party following the A side’s fixture. Colin de Grandhomme has retained his place as the seam-bowling allrounder while Matt Henry is the extra pace bowler behind the established trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner.West Indies could face a lively welcome to their tour with the New Zealand A side including three rapid pacemen in Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson and Scott Kuggeleijn. Ferguson recently took a career-best match haul of 12 for 78 against Otago.Martin Guptill will captain the A side which also includes incumbent Test opener Jeet Raval alongside Colin Munro after his successful limited-overs tour of India and legspinner Todd Astle who was forced home from that trip with a groin strain.”While the Blackcaps squad doesn’t have too many surprises, this NZ A team certainly shows that we have depth and quality players who are pushing for higher honours,” selector Gavin Larsen said.”Watching the three quickest bowlers in NZ operating together will certainly be exciting, and all three have plenty to play for. We are looking to develop Martin’s leadership capabilities and the NZ A match is another good opportunity.”

Australia’s spearhead Mitchell Starc will need to bowl at the touring team’s main training session on Tuesday to prove his fitness for the pivotal third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. He was a notable absentee from centre wicket net practice as Australia resumed preparations at Newlands following a week’s break.While Mitchell Marsh did bowl a couple of overs at half-pace as he continued his recovery from a groin strain, a calf complaint for Starc is a concern for Australia given that he has just had numerous days to shake off any residual niggles from the first two Tests of the series in Durban and Port Elizabeth.Typically Australia’s quicks bowl at two training sessions on resumption from a break before resting on match eve, meaning Starc is behind Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in his readiness for the start of the match on Thursday. The young speedster Jhye Richardson and the more seasoned seam and swing bowler Chadd Sayers are the two reserve pace bowling options on tour.”Sometimes the bowlers just work their way into the games a little bit differently, his preparation might be a little bit different going into this game,” Cameron Bancroft said of Starc. “I think in the past, he’s bowled a couple of days out and had that third day as a bit of a rest day. Hopefully he’ll bowl [on Tuesday], I’m sure he’ll be ok.”[Cummins and Hazlewood] bowled really well, they’re first-class campaigners and the beauty of being part of this team is you get opportunities to face in the nets a lot some of the best bowlers in the world and we have them. Today they were really good out there, had a few days off so they loosened up and got into things a bit slower, but by the first couple of balls they were back into full swing at full tilt.”Starc has a history of suffering injuries that prevent him from playing every Test of a series. During the recent Ashes bout, he suffered a heel problem that ruled him out of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne before he returned for the final match in Sydney. Before that, he played only two of four Tests in India, and in 2015-16 suffered foot and ankle problems that caused him to miss a home series against West Indies followed by a tour of New Zealand.The sight of Marsh bowling, albeit conservatively, was a more encouraging sight for Australia, after his bowling value was underlined by a pair of reverse-swing wickets at St George’s Park.”He’s had four really important days off as it has been for everyone,” Bancroft said, “especially our fast bowlers who’ve spent a lot of time bowling over the past six months for us. Mitch has been working through his stuff and had a bowl. I assume he’ll pick that up leading up to the game on Thursday and I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Sheldon Jackson (181) and Ravindra Jadeja (150 not out) shellacked centuries as Saurashtra racked up 428 for 4 on the opening day of their second-round match against Jammu & Kashmir in Rajkot. The two, who joined hands with the side precariously placed at 59 for 3 after electing to bat, added 281 for the fifth wicket.Jackson’s 14th first-class century consisted of 22 fours and seven sixes. His knock came off just 156 deliveries before Waseem Raza struck in the final session. Jadeja, in comparison, was more watchful, playing out 223 deliveries. By stumps, he had put on an unbroken 88 for the sixth wicket with Snell Patel, who was not out on 31. Robin Uthappa, promoted to open, made 37, while Cheteshwar Pujara, who continued to lead in Jaydev Shah’s absence, fell for 13.Legspinner Piyush Chawla picked up five wickets in his first appearance as a professional as Gujarat, the defending champions, wrested the initiative in their season opener in Nadiad. Kerala, who elected to bat, were bowled out for 208, with just one fifty-plus score that belonged to Sanju Samson. Chawla triggered the lower-order slide as Kerala lost their last six wickets for 38 runs. Jalaj Saxena was unbeaten on 30. Sachin Baby, the Kerala captain, was the second-highest scorer with 49. In reply, Gujarat lost Priyank Panchal, the previous season’s highest run-getter, and Bhargav Merai to finish on 60 for 2.Opener Amitkumar Gautam’s unbeaten century helped Rajasthan rally after a top-order wobble against Jharkhand in Jaipur. Gautam’s unbroken 131-run stand with Tarjinder Singh (66 not out) helped Rajasthan end the day at 250 for 4. Ashok Menaria contributed 50 before falling to Jaskaran Singh. Adding to concerns in the Rajasthan camp was the injury to wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik, who was forced to retire hurt. They can avail a substitute wicketkeeper if Yagnik isn’t fit to keep later in the match, under the new ICC guidelines which the BCCI has also implemented. Ashish Kumar, the fast bowler, picked up two wickets for Jharkhand.