Graham Clark hundred in vain as Scarborough plays host to four-wicket cliffhanger

ECB Reporters Network29-Jul-2021Gloucestershire 336 for 6 (Bracey 90, Charlesworth 87, Taylor 49*) beat Durham 335 for 4 (Clark 140, Lees 85, Worrall 4-58) by four wicketsJack Taylor performed heroics in the final over of Gloucestershire’s Royal London Cup clash against Durham at Scarborough, securing their first win in the competition of the 2021 campaign by four wickets.The visitors required 336 to beat Durham in the contest at North Marine Road after Graham Clark scored a brilliant 140 for the hosts.Two fine innings from Ben Charlesworth and James Bracey had manoevured Gloucestershire into a decent position. However, it looked to be in vain as late wickets appeared to have halted their charge. Taylor took on the mantle and turned the game in the final over, dispatching Chris Rushworth for three straight boundaries to deliver an unlikely victory to get them off the mark in Group A.Durham were inserted by Chris Dent, but made solid progress in the sunshine on the coast. Clark and Lees continued their impressive start to the competition at the top of the order, passing fifty in the 11th over. Clark pushed the accelerator to record his third fifty in a row, scoring three successive boundaries off Jared Warner.Gloucestershire could find no answer in their bid to make a breakthrough amid the controlled aggression of the hosts’. Lees compounded Durham’s position of strength, working his way to his 13th List A half-century from 58 deliveries with a gentle nudge. Clark worked the hosts’ past their next milestone of 150 with a blistering cover drive. The right-hander pressed on and notched his second century in a week, clipping Josh Shaw through mid-wicket to the fence for his 15th boundary.Clark and Lees brought up their second stand worth 200 in the competition, leaving Durham with a great platform to attack in the closing overs. Clark’s outstanding innings ended on 140 as he mistimed an on-drive as Dan Worrall and Taylor combined before the duo struck again to remove Lees for 85, offering Gloucestershire hope of holding Durham in check in the closing overs.However, Sean Dickson ensured that Durham posted a score over 320 with an unbeaten 46, and Ned Eckersley blasted two sixes off the final over to end the innings on 335.Gloucestershire made a bright start to their reply as Charlesworth found his range against Chris Rushworth and Jack Campbell. Chris Dent was given a life after being dropped on 10 by Clark, but Rushworth made the breakthrough to remove the Gloucestershire skipper for 20. Tom Lace and Charlesworth allowed the visitors to maintain their momentum, putting on a stand of 66 for the second wicket before Liam Trevaskis prised out Lace for 38.Charlesworth continued his impressive outing, recording his first List A half-century from 79 balls. Bracey worked his way into form by finding gaps in the field, and the left-hander soon reached fifty from 45 balls. The hosts’ bowlers were suffering from the same issues that plagued the Gloucestershire attack, failing to put the batsmen under pressure at the crease as runs flowed with ease during the middle overs.Bracey and Charlesworth brought up their hundred partnership at a rapid rate to bring the visitors within 100 runs of their target. Charlesworth’s attempt to up the ante resulted in his dismissal for a career-best 87. The wicket sparked a collapse in the order as Graeme van Buuren and the key man Bracey fell in quick succession to Trevaskis and Borthwick respectively.Gloucestershire were given a glimmer of hope courtesy of two George Scott sixes against Paul van Meekeren, but his third heave ended in the gloves of Cameron Bancroft. The visitors required 16 off the final over, and Taylor was up for the challenge. After opting against a run for the first ball he smashed Rushworth over the rope twice along with a boundary to power his team over the line.

Half-century from Gayle not enough as Udana holds his nerve

Aadam Patel26-Nov-2021It may have taken a week but finally, after five wins out of five, the winning streak of Team Abu Dhabi came to an end courtesy of the Bangla Tigers.That was despite a thrilling knock from none other than Chris Gayle, who – with an unbeaten 52 off 23 – threatened to pull off another remarkable chase for the Abu Dhabi outfit. But he ran out of partners as the Tigers continued their winning run to move to within two points of Team Abu Dhabi.With 18 needed off four and Gayle on strike, no one would have counted out Team Abu Dhabi. Not least after Gayle and Jamie Overton – with two sixes off the last two deliveries – plundered 18 off the final over from Dwayne Bravo on Wednesday evening to seal a stunning victory. This time however, there was no Overton to pull off some last-over heroics and instead Isuru Udana held his nerve to take the Tigers to a fourth consecutive win.Buoyed by a capacity crowd and after losing the toss, the Tigers’ batting order took on the attack from ball one as Johnson Charles dispatched a short delivery from Ahmed Daniyal for four, but he was gone the next ball hitting one straight to Marchant de Lange at long-off.Will Jacks, in fine form, began with two unconvincing scoops to the boundary, before remarakbly getting dropped twice by Muhammad Farooq off the bowling of de Lange in the same over. But there was nothing unconvincing about the way he dispatched Liam Livingstone for consecutive sixes in the next over.Many a batter has struggled with the England international throughout the recent T20 World Cup and at the Abu Dhabi T10, yet Jacks showed what he was all about, first slogging Livingstone over cow-corner and then dancing down the track to loft one back over the bowler’s head.Jacks ended with a blistering 43 off 17, and accompanied by Hazratullah Zazai with 41 off 20, set up the Tigers, before a late flourish from skipper Faf du Plessis with 22 off eight, enabled them to put up 130 for 5 off their ten overs.Team Abu Dhabi opened without the in-form Phil Salt who, coming off the back of two player-of-the match performances, injured himself after taking a hit to the knee in the field. And when James Faulkner removed Paul Stirling and Colin Ingram in successive deliveries, the Tigers were well and truly in the driving seat.Livingstone may have taken a beating with the ball in hand, but he ensured he would have his say with the bat. Luke Wood was smashed for three sixes in a row. The last one the pick of the bunch – majestically lofting a fuller delivery off long-off. Yet, with the following delivery, Wood took a little pace off and deceived the Team Abu Dhabi skipper. Livingstone swung and missed and saw his stumps go flying. Wood, was ecstatic, roaring past Livingstone in a mix of relief and jubilation.Despite losing regular wickets, the league leaders kept themselves in the chase with lusty blows from Gayle and a fighting Salt, who courageously came in at No. 6. Benny Howell was fantastic, bowling two overs for just 13 and dismissing Chris Benjamin and Salt. The latter bowled after looking to scoop.With 37 required from two overs and the self-proclaimed “Universe Boss” still at the crease, anything was possible. Mohammad Amir was clubbed for 18 off the penultimate over as Gayle effortlessly used his pace to send the ball to the boundary and the crowd were treated to yet another last-over finish with Team Abu Dhabi.Crucially, the 42-year-old was not on strike for the beginning of the last over and perhaps the two balls he didn’t get to face off Udana saved the Tigers. Gayle had earlier hit three boundaries in the Sri Lankan’s first over. This time, he could only manage one more maximum, which brought up a quite brilliant half-century in 22 deliveries, but it was ultimately not enough.For Tigers skipper Du Plessis, it was the first time he had reached double figures in the tournament and crucially, his two sixes in the last over proved to be the difference between winning and losing. “It’s a big step in the right direction for us, especially after losing the toss,” he said.Eight years ago to the day, he played one of the great match-saving Test knocks with 110* off 466 deliveries against Australia, at a strike rate of under 30. This time, du Plessis ended unbeaten with a strike rate of 275. If the Tigers are going to use this momentum to the Abu Dhabi T10 title, then they will need one of the most versatile multi-format cricketers of this generation to showcase more of his class with the bat.

Batter was rushed to a hospital after complaining of chest pain while playing a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match

Umar Farooq21-Dec-2021Abid Ali was taken to hospital after complaining of chest pain while playing for Central Punjab against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the ongoing last round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Karachi.According to a PCB statement, he was taken to a specialist hospital immediately, “where he was diagnosed as a case of Acute Coronary Syndrome” or ACS. “He is under the care of Consultant Cardiologist who is liaising with PCB medical team regarding further treatment. He is currently stable.”ACS is often used to describe a range of conditions resulting from a sudden, reduced blood flow to the heart.Abid returned to his domestic side, Central Punjab, following the recent Bangladesh tour, where he was Player of the Series for the Tests after scoring 263 runs at 87.66. He was playing his sixth first-class game this season and had scored 766 runs at an average of 51.89 with three hundreds. On the last day of the ongoing game at UBL Complex in Karachi, he had crossed a half-century when he complained of discomfort around his shoulder and chest area before he was rushed to the hospital.Abid has been the highest run-getter in Tests for Pakistan since his debut in 2019, and in 2021 he is fifth in the world with 695 runs in nine Tests at 48.87, including a double-hundred against Zimbabwe in Harare. He made his debut in Rawalpindi in 2019 after spending 12 years in domestic cricket for 7116 runs in 106 first-class games. He made his Test debut at the age of 31 and began with a century, and also became the only player in history to reach three figures on both Test and ODI debuts.Central Punjab are sitting in fourth place on the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy table at the moment and are out of the finals race, with Northern and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sitting in the top-two spots. They have drawn five games, won two and lost two so far this season.

Josh Philippe and Daniel Hughes scored half-centuries as Sixers made up for a slow start

AAP15-Jan-2022Veteran spinner Steve O’Keefe has enjoyed a triumphant BBL comeback while star batter Josh Philippe returned to form as Sydney Sixers scored a thumping 60-run win over Sydney Thunder.The result at the SCG on Saturday moved Sixers into second place on the ladder on net run rate above Thunder, who have played one more game and suffered back-to-back losses.Sixers made 5 for 197 with Philippe (57 off 35 balls), Daniel Hughes (66 off 48) and captain Moises Henriques kept (47 not out off 27) lifting the tempo massively after their side scored a competition low of just eight from their opening four-over powerplay.Thunder tallied 28 more in the powerplay than Sixers, but 37-year-old O’Keefe, back after missing two matches with a hand injury, triggered a massive collapse. He took two wickets in both his first and third overs as the Thunder lost 7 for 38 before a ninth-wicket stand of 56 salvaged some pride. Captain Chris Green scored his first BBL half-century, with the visitors finishing on 9 for 137.Alex Hales got the Thunder off to a rapid start, taking three fours off Sean Abbott in the second over. But O’Keefe bowled Hales with his first delivery and had Alex Ross caught behind three balls later to alter the momentum.O’Keefe struck twice more when he had the dangerous Daniel Sams caught at long-on and Oliver Davies stumped. Thunder slumped to 5 for 61 in the 10th over and 8 for 80 in the 13th.Earlier Sixers took 28 balls to notch their first boundary but made the most of their chances. Coming off a lean run of three ducks in four innings, Philippe was dropped on 9 and made Thunder pay.Returning to his strong early season form, Philippe smashed five fours and two sixes, pulling off some well executed ramp shots and big leg-side hits.Australian T20 and ODI representative Philippe and Hughes picked up the pace, adding 82 in just under 10 overs. Hughes, who scored just two runs off his first 11 balls, brought up a record fifth half-century in Sydney Smash matches, a fixture in which he has scored more runs than any other player.Hughes and Henriques kept the pressure on the Thunder’s bowlers, putting on 77 in seven overs.Thunder were guilty of sloppy fielding and pacemen Mohammed Hasnain and Sams were left visibly agitated with the former exchanging words with Henriques — when Sixers captain seemed to cheekily suggest the Pakistan quick was throwing.Sams and fellow paceman Nathan McAndrew each took two wickets but Hasnain, who was playing his last match before returning home, was clearly Thunder’s most economical bowler.

England allrounder, who retired from Tests last year, says coaching changes were inevitable after poor Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2022Chris Silverwood, the sacked England head coach, is a “good guy” who looked after his players’ best interests, Moeen Ali says.Speaking after Silverwood, his assistant Graham Thorpe, and head of men’s cricket Ashley Giles were removed from their posts in the aftermath of England’s 4-0 Ashes series defeat, Moeen acknowledged that changes were inevitable within the national team set-up following such a disappointing campaign in Australia.”One thing with Silverwood, he tries to look after the players and he’s a brilliant person, he’s a very good coach,” Moeen said. “It’s a shame he’s obviously not there anymore but he’s made lots of friends and he can go with a lot of respect because he was such a good guy.”It’s always sad when people leave, the guys are good guys and they’ve all done a great job, but at the end of the day everything is about results and we had a poor Ashes and these things happen. It’s not a job forever. They tried to do the best for the players but these things happen when you have a bad tour like Australia, which is big for England, people then always after that get sacked, so it’s very sad.”Related

• Giles' fatalism sealed his fate – England's Test revival will depend on tough calls

• England sack Chris Silverwood in wake of Ashes disaster

• Root to remain England Test captain as Thorpe becomes latest Ashes casualty

• Langer apologises for being 'too intense' in resignation letter

Silverwood and Thorpe followed Giles in paying the price last week for England’s dismal tour of Australia, which was beset not only by poor results on the field, but reports of an off-field drinking culture and poor fitness levels.Among the contenders to step in as interim coach for England’s three-Test tour of West Indies, which gets underway on February 24 with the first Test starting on March 8, are current assistant Paul Collingwood, who oversaw the recent white-ball tour there, and Richard Dawson, who guided the Young Lions to the Under-19 World Cup final, also in the Caribbean. Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, has expressed an interest in the post, while Justin Langer – who led Australia’s T20 World Cup and Ashes victories – has firmed as a contender for a permanent coaching position with England after his split from Cricket Australia.Moeen was absent from the Ashes tour, having announced his retirement from Test cricket in September. He continues to play white-ball cricket at the highest level, however, captaining England in the absence of an injured Eoin Morgan during their 3-2 T20I series defeat to West Indies which included two Player-of-the-Match performances. He is also active in franchise competitions around the world, playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 at the end of last year, and now with table-topping BPL side Comilla Victorians, who have won four of their six matches so far.Speaking in Sylhet, where his wife is originally from, Moeen said he was relishing the chance to hone his batting against spin as well as capitalise on the conditions with the ball.”Bangladesh is one of the hardest places to come, especially for batsmen, but you can learn so much,” Moeen said. “If you play well here, I feel you can play anywhere. That’s one of the reasons I came to Bangladesh, to try and improve and get used to conditions, so when I come with England, hopefully in the future, I know the conditions better and things like that.”It’s good for me because obviously I bowl spin. Batting, I want to still improve. I’m 34, still always trying to improve and we’re doing well as a team. We want to win, obviously I want to win trophies. [I have] maybe five, six years left and I want to win as many trophies all over the world as I can, so that’s my aim with Comilla Victorians, to win the competition.”Of the field, Moeen also revealed he was keen to learn more Sylheti.”It’s my first time in Sylhet,” he said. “My family’s from here. I know a few Sylheti words and that’s about it. I wish I could learn more actually, I will try and learn more now that I’m here because the guys in the hotel are speaking, Sylheti to me so I need to try and learn.”

After a rapid opening stand the home side’s chase fell away then collapsed after Nic Maddinson’s run out

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2022Sam Truloff enjoyed a memorable one-day debut as he top-scored for Queensland and produced a brilliant run out in a convincing 92-run victory over Victoria in the Marsh Cup.Truloff’s 80 helped lift Queensland from an uncertain 4 for 126 in the 28th over in a 102-run stand with captain Jimmy Peirson who struck three sixes in his 56 off 47 balls.Victoria raced out of the blocks in the chase as MacKenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk added 58 in less than nine overs but from there things fell away.Glenn Maxwell, playing his first game for Victoria since October 2019, was bowled by a superb delivery from Gurinder Sandhu which nipped back between bat and pad then he had Jonathan Merlo caught behind two balls later.The in-form Nic Maddinson became key to Victoria’s hopes and he added 55 in 10 overs alongside Sam Harper before a final collapse decided the game. It started when Maddinson was caught short by Truloff’s direct hit from backward point and three wickets would fall with the score on 157 before Sandhu went on to finish with four.The day had not started well for Queensland when Max Bryant was caught behind in the first over. Matt Renshaw, who is a standby player for the upcoming Pakistan tour, anchored the early part of the innings with 57 off 76 balls before he was caught behind off Henry Thornton.Truloff and Peirson initially took their time before accelerating. Truloff’s fifty came from 63 balls while Peirson skipped to his from 45. James Bazley’s rapid 28 helped add the finishing touches as the final ten overs brought 95 runs.

Thanks to Samson and Buttler, the Royals have been dismantling slow bowlers this season

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Apr-20222:14

Should Venkatesh Iyer bat lower? Who should be Royals’ death bowlers?

Big picture

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders. Two teams with six points each, two teams looking to bounce back from defeats in their most recent games, and two teams with certain broad similarities this season.Take death bowling, for instance: both teams have struggled at this aspect of the game. They have averaged just one wicket per innings in this phase, and their economy rates are near-identical, with KKR (12.97) faring marginally worse than Royals (12.78).On Monday, these attacks will come up against two of the most formidable death-overs ball-strikers in the competition: Shimron Hetmyer (262.00) has the best strike rate of any batter who has faced at least 20 balls in this phase this season, while Andre Russell (196.55) isn’t too far behind.These two teams also, perhaps, boast the best spin attacks in the competition. Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin have both enjoyed superb starts to the season. Sunil Narine has been at his miserly best – his economy rate of 5.00 is the best of any bowler to have sent down at least five overs this season. But Varun Chakravarthy has been quite a way off, meaning KKR’s middle-overs bowling has lacked its usual air of double-barreled suffocation.KKR will hope Chakravarthy can return to something like his best form on Monday, given that Royals (average of 73.66, scoring rate of 9.20) have collectively been the best batting team against spin this season. Two of the biggest reasons for that are Sanju Samson, who has the best strike rate against spin (223.33) of any batter (min 20 balls) this season, and Jos Buttler, who has also gone at a healthy 152.00 against that style of bowling.Opposition teams are always well-advised to dismiss these two as early as possible; for KKR, it might be doubly important to do so.1:18

Kohli’s cover drive or Rohit’s pull? We asked Shreyas Iyer to pick just one

In the news

A niggle kept Trent Boult out of Royals’ last match against Gujarat Titans, and while there is no official word on the left-arm quick, he was seen bowling in a team challenge video – bowl the ball through a tire and hit the stumps – put up on the franchise’s official Twitter account. Whether that means he is fit to play against KKR is yet to be seen.Sam Billings missed KKR’s last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad with an illness. He should have recovered by now, but the team management will face a difficult decision over whether to pick him or Aaron Finch, who has only played the one game so far for his new franchise.

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 James Neesham/Trent Boult, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Kuldeep Sen.Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Sheldon Jackson (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Aman Khan, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.8:32

IPL so far: Young Indian players >> retained names?

Strategy punt

Ashwin loves bowling to left-hand batters, but this isn’t always the case when he comes up against KKR. Narine (SR 225.71) and Nitish Rana (163.57) are two of the three quickest-scoring left-hand batters against offspin in IPL history and both have superb records against Ashwin.Narine has scored 60 runs off 22 balls (SR 272.72) against him while being dismissed once, while Rana has clattered 74 off 35 (211.42), without being dismissed.Expect KKR to promote Narine if the stage of the game allows it. Royals could also combat these match-ups by giving Ashwin the new ball and getting one or two of his overs out of the way early. This will also allow Ashwin to attack Venkatesh Iyer, who has a far more typical left-hander’s record against him: 14 runs off 15 balls, no dismissals. Ashwin also has a terrific record against Aaron Finch (22 runs conceded in 27 balls, no wickets).

Stats that matter

The Brabourne Stadium has been the quickest-scoring venue of IPL 2022, with seven matches at the ground producing an overall run rate of 9.43.Narine is KKR’s most-capped player. If he is picked on Sunday, he will be playing his 150th match for the team.Chakravarthy boasts a significantly better IPL record in the UAE (average 20.89, economy rate 6.35) than he does in India (37.08, 8.24)Samson is 49 runs away from the 5000 mark in T20 cricket.

Xavier Marshall, Vatsal Vaghela and Jessy Singh have been left out, while Rusty Theron and Cameron Stevenson make their comebacks

Peter Della Penna15-May-2022Legspin-bowling allrounder Yasir Mohammad, who impressed for USA on his T20I debut in a famous victory over Ireland in December, has parlayed that success into a call-up in USA’s 14-man ODI squad for the back-to-back home ODI tri-series as part of Cricket World Cup League Two starting on May 28 in Texas.Yasir, 19, was not initially part of the USA squad that was named for the two T20Is and three ODIs against Ireland, but was rushed into the T20I squad after a Covid-19 outbreak in the camp on the eve of the series. He made the most of his opportunity by bowling a nerveless, albeit wicketless, spell at the death to clinch a 26-run win for USA. Yasir, the New Jersey teenager, came back a day later to take 2 for 32 in a nine-run loss, and then impressed at an exhibition quadrangular series in April between a USA XI and a trio of Major League Cricket invitational squads at Prairie View, Texas.

USA 14-man ODI squad

Monank Patel (capt, wk), Rahul Jariwala (wk), Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jaskaran Malhotra, Sushant Modani, Yasir Mohammad, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nisarg Patel, Gajanand Singh, Cameron Stevenson, Steven Taylor, Rusty Theron

Yasir is one of several changes to USA’s squad that was picked for the three-match ODI series against Ireland, which was eventually cancelled before the first match could take place because of logistical issues arising out of the Covid-19 outbreak. California left-arm spinner Vatsal Vaghela, who made his T20I debut in the second T20I against Ireland and was in line for an ODI debut a few days later, has been left out to make room for the wristspin offered by Yasir, with two other left-arm spinners – Nisarg Patel and Nosthush Kenjige – being the incumbents.Right-arm medium pacer Jessy Singh has also been left out along with opening batter Xavier Marshall to make room for the return of the pace duo of Rusty Theron and Cameron Stevenson. The two have not played ODIs for USA since the winless tour of Nepal in February 2020, though Theron has remained a part of USA’s T20I squad through their recent undefeated run at the ICC Americas T20 World Cup Qualifier, played in Antigua in November. Stevenson, a dual citizen based in his native Victoria, made himself unavailable for USA because of work and personal commitments in Australia during the pandemic, but has been lured to Texas for this tour after being offered a short-term central contract, according to multiple sources.USA will host Scotland and the UAE in the first of the consecutive tri-series in Texas before welcoming Nepal and Oman for the latter half of fixtures, which run through to June 15. They will be held in the south Houston suburb of Pearland at Moosa Stadium, which will become the second ODI-accredited facility in America after Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.

Shakib also backs Mominul to continue as Test captain despite his woeful form

Mohammad Isam26-May-2022″We have to work on our mentality. I think there’s fear of failure among us”, Shakib Al Hasan said after Bangladesh slipped to 23 for 4 on the fourth evening, which seemed like a carbon copy of their collapse on the first morning, when they were 24 for 5.The collapse could be decisive, with Sri Lanka needing only six wickets on the final day to clinch the Test series. Although Bangladesh have Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das, the two first-innings heroes, at the crease, with Shakib due to bat, their plight remains exposed.Tamim Iqbal bagged the first pair of his Test career as the Bangladesh openers made it only the ninth occasion in Test history where the top-two batters got three ducks between them in a Test.Bangladesh have scored eight ducks in the match so far, for the second time in their history. The top four scored just 34 runs in the match, their second lowest in a match.Related

• Can Bangladesh's batters take a leaf out of their bowlers' book?

• Shakib Al Hasan back as Bangladesh Test captain

• Mominul Haque steps down as Bangladesh Test captain

• Domingo: 'You won't win Tests from 24 for 5 and 23 for 4 in both innings'

• Litton: 'It helps knowing that the team depends on me to play a big innings'

Shakib, who spoke at a press conference after a while, was repetitively asked for the cause of Bangladesh’s frequent collapses. He claimed that it was their mentality, not the lack of physical fitness, which bogged them down.”I think we are one of the fittest teams in the world,” Shakib said. “We spend most of our time fielding in matches. I think we fielded around 400 overs [408] in this series. We are definitely fit, look at Litton who kept for 400 overs but came out and scored 141. Mushfiq made 175 [in the first innings]. I think we are physically fit, but we are behind mentally. We have to work on our mentality. I think there’s [a] fear of failure among us. If we think otherwise, we might get better results.””We weren’t able to handle the pressure, and it has been happening like this recently. It happened when I was not in the team, and now it’s happening when I am in the team. We are failing in the second innings in the recent past. We had a chance to improve upon it, but we failed today as well. But we shouldn’t call it ‘the end’ before it ends.”Shakib said that Najmul Hossain Shanto’s run-out, created by an unnecessary mix-up, was a consequence of the batters not being calm.”It is disappointing for us,” Shakib said. “Run-outs, at this stage of the Test, is quite dangerous. One needs to be calm in these situations. There will be nervousness, people will have fear. But it is important to handle pressure in these moments. This is where Test cricket gets interesting.”Shakib said that one way out of it is to remember how the player was successful in similar conundrums, and apply those learnings to overcome them.”We have all faced similar problems in the past. We have seen both sides – success and failure. What is important is to remember what formula helped us become successful. Since we are not used to such a state of mind, it is vital that we keep it in our memory.Shakib said that the remaining Bangladesh batters can save the game on the fifth day. But only if they can survive the first session without losing more than one wicket.”I can help my team by batting for at least three hours,” he said. “If the overnight unbeaten batters can see off the first session, I can bat for another three hours, it will help the team [get to safety].”It is hard to get batters out when they are set in this wicket. Their pacers will bowl five or six-over spells. We have to manage their threat. When the ball gets old and the bowlers get tired, the batsmen are set.”Mominul Haque, has had low returns since becoming Bangladesh Test captain•AFP/Getty Images

Shakib, however, had a better day than most of his team-mates, as he got his 19th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. There was concern around his match fitness, ahead of the Test series, when he came into the Chattogram game two days after testing negative for Covid-19.Shakib shrugged off those concerns by saying that he doesn’t need a long fitness camp at this stage of his career to get back into shape.”I am usually very confident with my bowling,” Shakib said. “I think I lost confidence only once or twice, but it is rare that I have worried about my bowling. The four [DPL] matches were enough. After playing for so long, a player doesn’t need 10 or 15-day camps. He needs three to five sessions.””When I am not playing, I need five or six sessions. If you have fitness, you wouldn’t need anything more. Training isn’t important after playing for so long, but whether you are doing it purposefully or not [is].”Shakib also backed Mominul Haque, who was dismissed for a single-digit score for the seventh innings in a row, to continue as captain.Mominul averages 16.20 this year, and 31.44 as captain since 2019. Before being appointed captain, he used to average 41.47.”It is a tough time for a captain but it is important for us to support him,” Shakib said. “We don’t have a better option that Mominul given our current situation in Test cricket. It is a matter of one inning, which will change everything.”

Turner will stay at the club but has been sidelined by a shoulder injury

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2022Durham have brought in Andrew Tye, the Australian seamer, for the rest of the Vitality Blast after Ashton Turner, their new T20 captain, suffered a shoulder injury.Turner was forced to retire hurt during Durham’s defeat to Northamptonshire on Friday night, his second game as captain, after jarring his left shoulder while diving to make his ground.The club said in a statement that Turner has “begun a process of rehabilitation” with their medical staff and that he will be regularly assessed with the hope that he will be fit enough to play a part later in the group stages.Related

• Left is best for Surrey (and England) as Curran, Topley dismantle Gloucs

• Notts plummet to heaviest Blast loss after Jennings underpins Lancs

• Madsen steers Derbs past Yorks in rain-reduced thrash

• Pepper 75* seasons straightforward Essex win over Hants

• Drakes to join Yorkshire for four-game Blast stint

Tye, Turner’s Perth Scorchers team-mate, is by no means a like-for-like replacement but will bolster a bowling attack that has leaked 9.42 runs an over across the opening three games of the season. Matthew Potts, who will make his England Test debut on Thursday, has been a big miss.Tye is available to make his debut against Worcestershire on Wednesday night. “There are still lots of games to play and having lost Ashton Turner to injury we were keen to act quickly on a replacement,” Marcus North, Durham’s director of cricket, said.Tye played several seasons of club cricket for Chester-le-Street as a young player and also appeared for Durham’s second XI. He has previously appeared in the Blast for Gloucestershire, where he played in 2016, 2018 and 2019.Counties are allowed to have three overseas players registered simultaneously but can only pick two in a single game. Durham already have David Bedingham on their books, who may miss out if Turner and Tye are both available later in the group stages.Liam Trevaskis captained Durham on Sunday in their defeat to Birmingham Bears and is expected to continue in the role.