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Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford outlined Lasith Malinga’s value to the side not only as one of the world’s most intelligent limited-overs bowlers, but also as a leader to the rest of the attack

Daniel Brettig18-Feb-2017Injury robbed Lasith Malinga of the chance to contribute to Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 last year. A promising display on his return to the side for the first time in a year at the MCG marks the start of his effort to be a force at the Champions Trophy in England later this year.At the age of 33, Malinga is far nearer the end of his career than the beginning, and the knee problem that cruelled his World T20 campaign last year was doubly frustrating as a result. Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford outlined his value to the side not only as one of the world’s most destructive and intelligent limited-overs bowlers, but also as a leader in terms of keeping the rest of the attack focused on the principle aim in the latter overs of a T20 – keep the runs down.”I think the damage control was really good – it’s something they talk about a lot. Malinga is brilliant at leading that discussion as to just how important it is,” Ford said. “I think at the end he was not necessarily searching for wickets, he was searching to control the run-rate. We weren’t going to bowl them out but taking the wickets certainly slowed things down there.”[Malinga] is a very proud man. He has done a lot of great things for the country in terms of cricket. He has had unfortunately a long lay-off. When you miss the game for that long, you get hungry and you want to get out there and play and do the things you used to do.”That is exactly where he is at now. He is playing the 20-over format with a view to building up and hopefully being able to play in the Champions Trophy later in the year. We just hope everything goes well in terms of his body. He just makes such a difference at controlling the end overs.”Having bested South Africa away from home before arriving in Australia, Sri Lanka are building some decent momentum and confidence as a limited-overs combination, even if Upul Tharanga is their third T20 captain this year. Ford said that the growth of confidence and therefore performance had been noticeable with each successive match – underlined by Chamara Kapugedara’s nonchalant last-ball boundary to seal the MCG match.”We gave them a few in the field and that made the target a bit steeper than we’d hoped, but it was an excellent chase and the guys held their nerve nicely at the end,” Ford said. “Although we’re not a young team, it’s a fairly inexperienced one, so each time we get over the line I think it does a hell of a lot for their confidence and belief.”Some of our guys batted exceptionally well and played some unbelievable shots. That’s T20 cricket and you take your chances. But they’re worked hard on those options and they worked out.”

Western Australia’s Piepa Cleary has been suspended for six months by Cricket Australia for placing bets on the day-night Test in Adelaide last November

Daniel Brettig04-Feb-2016A second Australian women’s cricketer has been caught out betting on the game this summer, with Western Australia’s Piepa Cleary suspended for six months by Cricket Australia for placing bets on the day-night Test in Adelaide last November.Cleary, 19, placed six bets totalling $15.50 on various elements of the match between Australia and New Zealand, and like the previous transgressor, Angela Reakes, has been handed a suspended two-year ban.However, in this case, the CA head of integrity Iain Roy chose to activate the first six months of that ban due to several “aggravating circumstances” including the fact that Cleary had made the bets two months after being present at a face-to-face anti-corruption training session from CA head of security Sean Carroll.”We continue to remind all elite cricketers and officials that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited,” Roy said. “It is outlined in the anti-corruption education that we deliver annually, and is written into our anti-corruption code.”Piepa has heard this message many times through the anti-corruption education sessions that we deliver and accepts that in placing the bets she exercised poor judgement. Bets totalling $15.50 might seem small but it doesn’t matter.”We take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of gambling on cricket by players in order to protect the integrity of the game. It has been made very clear that if Piepa breaches the code in any way again, she will receive a significantly lengthier suspension.”Christina Matthews, chief executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA), expressed her disappointment at Cleary’s actions. “We are naturally disappointed that one of our players has been involved in an incident such as this,” she said. “Cricket in this country is held in high regard for its integrity and it is important for the future of the sport that remains the case. The WACA understands and supports the sanctions that have been handed down in this instance.”Piepa will have to work hard to regain some respect from this incident, but she remains an important member of WA cricket and has taken responsibility for her actions.”CA has 16 official betting partners, all of which have signed up to “assist CA in its ongoing management of the integrity of CA competitions, by agreeing to information sharing and other integrity requirements specified by CA”.Like Reakes, Cleary will now be compelled to form part of CA’s anti-corruption player education programmes in the future, as an example of how not to behave.

Talk of a possible whitewash has been calmly batted aside by England’s captain

George Dobell in Manchester31-Jul-2013Alastair Cook did not make his name with outrageous strokes or flamboyant innings, so it should be no surprise that his measured approach to batting is reflected in his captaincy.That is not to say that Cook’s approach is limited or lacking in ambition. Just that Cook, like Andy Flower, the coach in whose image this entire England team is moulded, is a pragmatist more than a dreamer. While others plan for the long term, Cook focuses on the present. He knows that his success has come, not through a flash of genius or a preposterous talent, but through hard work, application, discipline and determination. And he is not about to abandon those qualities now he is on the threshold of an achievement that may well define him as a captain.Rightly or wrongly, England and Australia players are still judged – disproportionately, really – by their own supporters on their success in Ashes series. So for Cook, aged only 28 and in his first summer as Test captain, to already have such a landmark achievement in sight is remarkable.Two-nil up with three to play, England need only a draw at Old Trafford to retain the Ashes. Bearing in mind Manchester’s reputation for rain – England’s practice session on the eve of the game had to take place inside due to a torrential downpour – that may prove pertinent.But while the media, in particular, are already starting to speculate on the possibility of a 5-0 whitewash, the England captain remains as calm and unruffled as ever: the one-ball-at-a-time mantra has served him well and he will not deviate from it. There is no talk in the England camp about whitewashes.It’s not hard to understand Cook’s caution. England have been on the crest of a wave before, only to crash dramatically. No sooner had they won the Ashes in 2005 than they were defeated by Pakistan, while the same team dragged them back to earth at the start of 2012 just after England had reached the No. 1 Test ranking.They have experience in Ashes encounters, too. In 2009, for example, England went to Leeds on the back of some good performances only to succumb to an innings-and-80-run defeat that gave Australia a lifeline in the series. Similarly, in 2010-11, they went to Perth on the back of a strong win in Adelaide, and were brushed aside by 267 runs.And then there was the entire 2006-07 series. Cook and several of his team experienced a thrashing in that series and the pain of it has instilled not just a fear of failure, but a fear of the complacency and hubris that often precede it. For Cook and Flower, complacency is an almost unimaginable indulgence.”That was a miserable time,” Cook said as he reflected on the 2006-07 Ashes. “They just showed the Brisbane Test on Sky Sports and it was a very tough introduction to Ashes cricket. But it has gone now and it was part of my learning experience as a player. You can’t keep looking back. We focus on today and today only.”At Headingley in 2009 we did start thinking too far ahead. I admit I do remember saying ‘If we win here, we win the Ashes’. There was that mentality and we forgot about the hard work. I can’t remember who won the toss, but we were suddenly bowled out for 150 and you don’t win many games from there.”Perth was different. I think you have to give credit to the way Australia played in that game. I don’t think it was anything to do with it being 1-0 in the series. It wasn’t a do-or-die game as such and they out-skilled us. Today we are very much focusing on that first day, that first thing that we have to do.”There has been a lot of talk about 5-0, but that has come from outside the dressing room. We are very much focused on this game and this game only. What happens after that we will re-evaluate before the next game at Durham and then the next game at The Oval. That is the only way. We know it works for us better than anything else. Anything else you end up taking your eye off the ball and do not play good cricket.”It is not, perhaps, the most exciting approach. But it is sensible, it is characteristic and it has served England and Cook well. They are the accountants of world cricket. While West Indies and Pakistan flirt with success and failure in a thrilling yet infuriating fashion, England play the percentages, accumulate the runs and sustain the ‘good areas’ with the ball. It may not make them a great side, but it has made them, arguably, as good as they can be. You cannot ask for more.The one man on either side who might be described as a genius is Kevin Pietersen. He is the only batsman in the England side, at least, who can transcend any conditions and any attack to shape a game in little more than a session.But, while Cook remains hopeful that Pietersen will have suffered no reaction to Wednesday’s fitness test, he also remained confident that England could win without him if necessary.”We’ve played some pretty good cricket without him in the side,” Cook said. “Clearly he is a world-class player, let’s make no mistake about that, and he is a player who can change games very quickly. There are not many like that around.”But I think this England squad, especially over the last few years, has developed enough that the players in the squad have also produced some fantastic cricket as well. Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott: they are world class batters as well, so we are not as reliant on Kev as we were once a few years ago.”A final decision on Pietersen’s inclusion will be made on the morning of the game and left, largely, to the individual.”At the end of the day it is pretty much the player’s responsibility,” Cook said. “You can have as much medical advice and technology as there is today but only the player deep down knows what he is thinking and that is pretty much it.”He has always been desperate to play for England. He has always worked incredibly hard at his game and over the past week he has worked incredibly hard behind the scenes at rehab, which is not the most fun thing to do, to get himself right for this game.”

Jade Dernbach, the England pace bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the NatWest Series against Australia with a side strain

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2012Jade Dernbach, the England pace bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the NatWest Series against Australia with a side strain.Dernbach had already been withdrawn from the squad for the third match at Edgbaston on Wednesday – along with Surrey team-mate Stuart Meaker – on compassionate grounds as he will be attending Tom Maynard’s funeral.He had been recalled to the one-day side to replace the injured James Anderson, on his homeground at The Oval, and sent down 10 wicketless overs for 59 although had two catches dropped in the deep off him by Eoin Morgan during the final overFollowing England’s win which gave them a 2-0 lead, Alastair Cook praised Dernbach’s effort. “Jade came in and did really well,” he said. “It was obviously disappointing for Jimmy not to play – but that’s the reason why we have squads, and our strength in depth in seam bowling is really encouraging. For Jade to come in and perform as well as he did, bowling a lot of Powerplay overs, is really good.”Chris Woakes had already been added to the squad for the third one-dayer although the ECB have said a decision on further replacements will be made after the Edgbaston match. Meaker was brought in after Anderson’s groin strain and there will be a chance he will be included for the final two matches if England want further cover.

Worcestershire registered their second Friends Life t20 victory of the week as they squeezed past local rivals Warwickshire by one wicket in near darkness at Edgbaston

17-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Worcestershire registered their second Friends Life t20 victory of the week as they squeezed past local rivals Warwickshire by one wicket in near darkness at Edgbaston.The Bears’ highest Twenty20 total of the season – an imposing 184 for 6 – still proved inadequate as the ever-dangerous Gareth Andrew led the Royals home with five balls to spare. The big-hitting all-rounder smashed an unbeaten 65 with four fours and four sixes from 32 deliveries as Worcestershire’s lower order successfully chased 51 from the last five overs.With steady drizzle falling at the start of the innings, Vikram Solanki kept them up with the Duckworth-Lewis rate with a rapid 33 but when Chris Woakes knocked out his leg stump, wickets fell at frequent intervals, three of them to Steffan Piolet.However, the medium pacer’s last over then cost 21 runs and Warwickshire fell apart under a withering assault from Andrew in his second Twenty20 half-century of the season. With four wanted from the last over, he finished the match by pulling Neil Carter for six.For the first time in seven matches Warwickshire batted first. William Porterfield got them under way with a brisk half-century and Tim Ambrose gave the innings a final flourish with an unbeaten 44 from 23 balls.Umpires Mark Benson and Peter Hartley kept the game going despite steady rain and it was Worcestershire’s bowlers who suffered first as they struggled with a wet ball.The pressure got to them at the death when Ambrose and Woakes (17 not out) stretched an unbroken partnership to 65 after plundering 36 from the last two overs by Jack Shantry and Andrew.Warwickshire lost two early wickets to full tosses and Porterfield’s destructive performance could have ended prematurely as a steepling shot off Chris Whelan only just cleared Shakib Al Hasan in front of the fence at midwicket.The Ireland captain was finally caught at deep point for 54 as Worcestershire adopted their regular formula by getting their spinners into play at an early stage but Shakib and Moeen Ali became a shade more expensive than usual.Their three wickets cost 57 in seven overs against a strong bating line-up. Rikki Clarke chipped in with a useful 22 and Ambrose scooted away at the end, scoring 33 runs from the last 12 balls he faced and reaching his highest Twenty20 score in four years.

Sean Ervine claimed four wickets for 12 runs as Hampshire skittled Gloucestershire for their lowest Twenty20 Cup score in a one-sided game at Bristol

19-Jun-2010

ScorecardSean Ervine claimed four wickets for 12 runs as Hampshire skittled Gloucestershire for their lowest Twenty20 Cup score in a one-sided game at Bristol.The Gladiators were shot out for just 68 in 17.5 overs after winning the toss, with only two players reaching double figures. Dominic Cork took 2 for 9 and Chris Wood 2 for 12.That total was never likely to prove a problem for the Royals, who skated to victory by seven wickets with a massive 12.3 overs to spare. James Vince top-scored with 26, while man-of-the-match Ervine finished unbeaten on 14.Hampshire had gone into the game bottom of the South Division, but their third win in the competition lifted them above their hapless opponents. Gloucestershire never recovered from being reduced to 11 for three as Will Porterfield sacrificed his wicket to a needless run out and Wood dismissed Hamish Marshall and James Franklin in the same over.Ervine then destroyed the middle order, sending back Chris Taylor, Alex Gidman, Steve Snell and Kadeer Ali for a combined total of 24 runs. Vince took two good boundary catches at midwicket as Hampshire backed up their bowlers with some sharp fielding.Jon Lewis top-scored with 19 and hit the only six of the innings in a rare moment of defiance. But Cork returned to polish off the tail and it was a sorry procession for the home side, who have now lost five of their seven Friends Provident t20 games.Hampshire openers Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams had no intention of hanging around and took 17 off the first two overs of the powerplay. It looked a pretty good batting pitch, which made Gloucestershire’s failings all the more inexcusable. But Kirby struck twice in the third over as Lumb pulled a catch to Vikram Banerjee at fine leg and Adams edged a catch to Porterfield at second slip.Home supporters had precious little else to cheer as Ervine and Vince continued to be positive in seeing Hampshire to a facile victory. They added 47 in less than five overs before Vince was bowled by Banerjee with the match already won.

RoI are still trailing Mumbai’s first-innings total of 537 by 248 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2024Abhimanyu Easwaran’s unbeaten 151 took Rest of India (RoI) to 289 for 4 at the end of day three of the Irani Cup in Lucknow. But with Mumbai posting 537 in their first innings, RoI still have a mountain to climb.In the morning, Mumbai could add only one to their overnight 536 for 9. In the third over of the day, Mukesh Kumar knocked out Mohammad Juned Khan’s off stump for his fifth wicket of the innings, leaving Sarfaraz Khan unbeaten on 222.RoI had a somewhat nervy start but with Shardul Thakur unwell, Mumbai were forced to bring spin as early as in the sixth over. Juned provided the breakthrough by having RoI captain Ruturaj Gaikwad caught at second slip. RoI had only 40 runs on the board at that point but Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan stabilised them with an 87-run stand for the second wicket.Sudharsan, though, failed to convert his start and was lbw for 32 off Tanush Kotian after lunch. Devdutt Padikkal didn’t last long either and was caught behind for 16 off the bowling of Mohit Avasthi. It was a similar story for Ishan Kishan. He scored 38 before edging Avasthi to the wicketkeeper.By contrast, Easwaran was looking comfortable. He eased to his hundred off just 117 balls, even though only 38 runs had come in boundaries. He slowed down a bit after his hundred but Dhruv Jurel kept the scoreboard moving with an unbeaten 30 off 41 balls.In the penultimate over of the day, Easwaran brought up his 150, which was followed by Jurel hitting Kotian for a four and a six off successive balls. By stumps, the two had added 61 in an unbroken stand for the fifth wicket.

Smith is brand ambassador for Washington Freedom, who have a high-performance partnership with New South Wales, his state team in Australia

Matt Roller12-Jul-2023Steven Smith could play Major League Cricket (MLC) for Washington Freedom after the 2024 T20 World Cup, having agreed a deal to become a brand ambassador for the franchise.New South Wales (NSW), Smith’s state team in Australia, have a high-performance partnership with Freedom, who are owned by the entrepreneur Sanjay Govil. Michael Klinger and Greg Shipperd, NSW’s head of male cricket and head coach respectively, hold parallel roles with Freedom.Smith, who turned 34 last month, has regularly spent time in New York City and proposed to his wife Dani there in 2017. He has previously floated the possibility of playing in MLC, telling the that finishing his career in the USA “would be pretty cool”.Related

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“As a New South Wales boy, the partnership the Freedom has with my home state means a lot to me,” Smith said in a promotional video. “Cricket in Australia has a rich history and I look forward to being part of taking cricket to the United States of America.”Australia don’t have any fixtures in their Future Tours Programme commitments during MLC’s July window next year, with an away T20I series against Afghanistan at the end of August their first scheduled tour after the men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA in June 2024.Smith declined to comment on his long-term career plans at the start of Australia’s ongoing tour of England, ahead of the World Test Championship final against India, but would be able to play in MLC while continuing to play for Australia as a centrally contracted all-format international.”Steve has a close relationship with New South Wales and Sydney Sixers,” Klinger told ESPNcricinfo. “He obviously had five fantastic games in the last BBL, and to have him on board as an ambassador to promote the team is great. He’s going to really lift the profile of the Washington Freedom.”Some of his best mates, the New South Wales guys, are playing in the team, like [captain] Moises Henriques, and to be able to promote the Freedom with someone of Steve’s stature is going to be great for us. We certainly hope it’s a long-term relationship and we’ll see how that goes down the track.”Henriques, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Philippe and Tanveer Sangha are the NSW players due to appear for Freedom in the inaugural season of MLC, which runs from July 13 to 30. A number of Australia’s most high-profile players are products of the NSW system and Klinger hopes to convince some of them to appear in MLC’s second season.”We’ve got a few very strong New South Wales players who we’d certainly be interested in chatting to,” Klinger said. “Some of the fast bowlers often want to take breaks, especially straight after a World Cup, but in saying that, they’ll be in the America and West Indies area, so hopefully they’ll be keen to come and play for us.”You’ve got [Mitchell] Starc, you’ve got [Pat] Cummins, you’ve got [Josh] Hazlewood. Sean Abbott is involved in that group now as well. We have some really good options next year plus our current high-profile overseas we’ve got this year – hopefully we can retain some of them as well.”Especially coming off the back of the World Cup when they’re already over here anyway, hopefully their schedule allows them to take seven to ten days off on holiday somewhere around this area and then they can join up and be involved next year.”Freedom are due to play their first MLC fixture on Friday night, against Seattle Orcas in Dallas.

He had been appointed in the Australia role under Justin Langer late last year ahead of the T20 World Cup

Alex Malcolm14-Apr-2022Jeff Vaughan has departed his role as Australia assistant coach to become the new full-time head coach of Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup competitions.The news comes just a day after Cricket Australia formally announced Andrew McDonald as the new Australia men’s head coach. Vaughan had been appointed as an Australia assistant coach under Justin Langer late last year ahead of the T20 World Cup. His main brief was to be in charge of the fielding unit and was part of Australia’s successful T20 World Cup, Ashes and Pakistan Test campaigns.Cricket Tasmania announced on Thursday that Vaughan, a former South Australia batter, would be returning to Tasmania to coach the men’s program. The move means McDonald has at least a couple of appointments to make in terms of his assistants, with the bowling and fielding coaching roles becoming vacant. Although the roles and the structure may look different under McDonald as he wants to spread the workload more evenly to avoid coach burnout.Vaughan made his name as a coach under Adam Griffith firstly as a batting coach where he played a significant part in getting Matthew Wade back into Australia’s Test side in 2019 as well as the development of Ben McDermott across all three formats.Cricket Tasmania then restructured their men’s coaching set-up under Griffith in 2019 with Vaughan taking charge of the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup teams while Griffith remained as director of coaching and head coach of the Hobart Hurricanes.After Vaughan’s departure to Australia’s setup in September 2020, Ali de Winter stepped in as interim head coach with Greg Shipperd coming in as a short-term consultant coach.Related

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Griffith resigned from his dual roles at Cricket Tasmania and the Hurricanes at the end of the BBL season. Vaughan will now take the reins full-time as Tasmania’s coach from May while the search continues for the new Hurricanes coach.”I feel very fortunate with how everything has worked out,” Vaughan said. “I have been connected to the program throughout and am confident that I have continued to develop my coaching and leadership skill set to assist the development of the Tigers’ program holistically and for the players as individuals.”I’m incredibly grateful to Cricket Australia for the opportunity, and to Cricket Tasmania for being so open-minded about my return, so I really can’t wait to just get stuck in and am looking forward to maintaining the direction of the program for an extended period of time.”Cricket Tasmania CEO Dominic Baker was delighted to have secured Vaughan after revealing that a previously chosen candidate had pulled out of the role after being offered it in December 2021.”We’re thrilled to have Jeff returning to the helm of our male Tigers program,” Baker said. “We clearly want the best available candidate for the role who also understands and fits with the culture of our organisation, and there’s no doubt that Jeff ticks both those boxes.”We’ve all watched the progress of the Australian men’s program over the summer, and there’s nothing more to be said about it other than it was a sparkling success, and Jeff was a part of that.”Ali has done a fantastic job under really difficult and often uncertain circumstances this year, but the fact that the transition from Jeff to Ali was so smooth was due to the fact that Jeff has such a solid vision in place that everyone was on board with.”We did have a candidate nearly ready to go back in December that unfortunately fell through, however, the timing of everything has been quite serendipitous, as with Jeff obviously knowing the program and the players so well, the transition now should be seamless.”

It’s a big series, especially for Kane Williamson’s side, when it comes to World Test Championship points

Sruthi Ravindranath02-Dec-2020

Big picture

It’s been exactly nine months since we last saw the New Zealand team in whites. In March earlier this year, Kane Williamson’s side lifted the trophy in Christchurch after beating the then No. 1 Indians 2-0 in the Test series. Now, in December, as the cricketing world adapts to the new normal, Test cricket is back in New Zealand after a round of T20Is last week, against West Indies.

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The format switch shouldn’t be too big a deal for either team playing tomorrow – only three of the players from the New Zealand T20 group are part of the Test squad, while only two West Indies players feature in both the T20I and Test sides.Just six Tests have been played – across two series, involving three teams – in the last eight months, and West Indies have been part of three of those. That’s relatively good prep in these circumstances, although several New Zealand players featured in four rounds of the domestic Plunket Shield recently and both New Zealand and West Indies have played two warm-up games on the sidelines of the T20I series. West Indies were exceptional with the bat in both games – there were three half-centuries, one century, and a double-century against the second-string New Zealand side.In July, West Indies went 1-0 up for the first time in England since 2000. In the last 25 years – since February 1995 – they haven’t won a Test match in New Zealand, losing eight and drawing four. The last time they toured New Zealand, it was Trent Boult and Neil Wagner wreaking havoc, and it might not be too different this time around, at least in terms of pace calling the shots. West Indies have their enforcers too – Shannon Gabriel, who bowled a match-winning spell in Southampton, and Kemar Roach, who toiled endlessly throughout the England series, as the main men. They also have all the preparation they could have asked for – more time in the middle than their opponents, in-form batsmen, and a well-rounded bowling attack.From the point of view of the World Test Championship, the series is a big one for New Zealand, who are currently fourth in terms of percentage points won. A series win could see them displace England at No. 3, while West Indies, who are currently third from bottom, could move up if the results go their way.

Form guide

New Zealand: WWLLL
West Indies: LLWWL

In the spotlight

Will Young, who has been the back-up batsman for a while in the New Zealand side, is all set for his Test debut. The 28-year-old was primed to be part of the Christchurch Test against Bangladesh last year in place of the injured Williamson, but the match was cancelled after the terror attack. He made 64 and 133 against the West Indies A side in the two warm-up matches in Queenstown before scoring a century in the last Plunket Shield round for Central Districts. It’s been quite a long wait for him and he would be looking to make the most of this opportunity.Will Young will make his Test debut in Hamilton•Getty Images

Internet searches for Jermaine Blackwood would have probably spiked after his 95 in the first Test against England in July. He returned to the West Indies side last year on the weight of his first-class performances, after falling out of favour in 2017, and might not have featured in the England series at all had Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo not opted out. Before the pandemic curtailed the West Indies domestic season, he was the tournament’s top scorer with 768 runs in 15 innings for Jamaica. After playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL, he switched to red-ball mode in no time, slamming a half-century in the second tour game in Queenstown.Kraigg Brathwaite has been unstoppable. Prior to the 246 and 47 he made in the two-warm up matches, he was good in the two Tests against England in June as well, hitting two fifties in four innings. That follows a good run of form in the past year, where he also made 468 runs in eight innings for Barbados in the domestic first-class season.

Team news

Williamson has confirmed that Young would be replacing the injured BJ Watling in the New Zealand line-up. He will open with Tom Latham, while Tom Blundell will take the wicketkeeping gloves and move down the order. Daryl Mitchell, who was named replacement for Colin de Grandhomme could also get a game here. To work around the pace-bowling quartet, New Zealand could bring in left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner – named cover for the injured Ajaz Patel – as head coach Gary Stead earlier said it would be “unusual not to play a spinner in Hamilton”.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent BoultThe return of Bravo and Hetmyer, who had opted out of the England tour, would add some solidity in the West Indies’ batting order. The absence of Shai Hope, who was omitted after a poor run in the format, could mean Blackwood could still be part of the side after displaying good form prior to this series.West Indies (possible): 1 John Campbell, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shamarh Brooks, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jermaine Blackwood/ Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and Conditions

The forecast is for a cloudy morning with occasional spells of rain in Hamilton tomorrow.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have a 4-0 win-loss record in their last six Tests in Hamilton: they have beaten Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh, and drawn against South Africa and England. Their last defeat here was in 2012, against South Africa.