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An increase in the hitting ability of the Sri Lanka women players should help them pose a greater threat in the upcoming Women’s World Cup, said their coach Hemantha Devapriya.”Since I took over six months ago, I’ve found out that our run-rate has not been that great and our batters’ strike-rate was not so efficient,” Devapriya said. “Other than Eshani Lokusuriyage and Chamari Atapattu who had strike-rates of a little over 60, others were below that, some under 40, which indicated that if Atapattu and Lokusuriyage scored we managed over 200 runs.”What they were lacking was creative shots and use of the feet. They were averaging only 41 singles per match. We worked on it and they improved it to 100 singles. We increased their shot range also, like using the pace of the ball. They were very negative on back-of-the-length balls and not creating a shot off that delivery. We practised with hard plastic balls on granite surfaces to overcome that issue. We also played a lot of practice games with Under-17 boys and in the last two games we managed to get over 200 runs.”It was also identified that improving skills alone will not be enough to stay competitive in the world of modern-day cricket. “Fitness was a big problem I had, especially with ageing players,” Devapriya said. “When you are not fit, it affects the fielding. Gradually, we increased their fitness workload coupled with fielding. At gym sessions, we introduced new exercises to develop the technique to generate power when batting. Overall, I had only six months and I never expected them to reach this standard. They developed very fast and their confidence has gone up.”Another thing in Sri Lanka’s favour is former captain Shashikala Siriwardene coming back from injury. “Her return has strengthened the team a lot,” Devapriya said. “She will make a big impact because she is an allrounder and she has the experience also. Her experience will be very useful in the middle.”Our aim is to try and finish in the top four [and] we have a fair chance of doing that. When you compare us with other teams, they are well ahead of us, but you never know in a tournament of this nature.”That left Sri Lanka’s traditional strength, their spin bowling. Devapriya was wary that conditions in England might not offer much turn, but given warm weather and a dry pitch, he backed his team to pull off a surprise or two.”At the moment, its cold 17 degrees hopefully if the Sun comes out it will be helpful. Those are things we can’t control. Our success will depend on getting a good score on the board and our key is spin. We select batters up to No. 6 and we have two spinners coming in Ama Kanchana and Shashikala,” said Devapriya.”You can swing the ball in the first 10 overs or so and once the swing goes our bowlers are not going to be that effective to get the batsmen out. We have two left-arm spinners as well and sometimes if the fast bowlers fail we may have to go with spin. We are going with a positive frame of mind to score runs and get wickets.”Sri Lanka will play three practice games against India, England and a county side before their first World Cup match against New Zealand on June 24.

Kuldeep Yadav has said bowling to MS Dhoni was challenging but he was not scared to be hit for a boundary

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-20171:20

‘Wasn’t afraid of bowling to Dhoni’ – Kuldeep

Kuldeep Yadav could feel the pressure of bowling to MS Dhoni on Wednesday evening. Despite being a spinner, Kuldeep was picked by Gautam Gambhir to bowl the 18th over of Rising Pune Supergiant’s innings with Dhoni and Steven Smith in a partnership of 35 runs from 21 balls. One batsman had regained his touch of smashing sixes in the end overs and the other has not gone out of form since landing in India for the Test series.”If you are a spinner there’s always pressure on you,” Kuldeep said after the match. “As a spinner, I believe that you can put the opposition under pressure by picking wickets. Like in the last over I took two wickets and they were under pressure. Bowling the 18th over is always tough; the captain needs to believe in you for that.”Kuldeep’s first ball to Dhoni in the match, in the 16th over, had been pulled for a flat six over midwicket. In the 18th over, Kuldeep deceived Dhoni with a googly. Dhoni stepped out to get to the pitch of the ball, but it turned away, beat his bat and was stumped.”Bowling to Dhoni is always challenging and I could feel the pressure,” Kuldeep recalled. “But I wasn’t scared that he would hit me for a six or a four. I flighted the ball and I was focused on getting him out.”Three balls later, Kuldeep had Manoj Tiwary on strike, Rising Pune’s best batsman this season in terms of strike rate (with at least five innings). Kuldeep had conceded only three runs in four balls until then in the over and he had Tiwary stumped even though the batsman did not step out to hit him. Kuldeep bowled another googly, Tiwary leaned forward to tuck the ball to the leg side with the spin but the ball went the other way and Tiwary’s back foot was outside the crease.Kuldeep, however, said the conventional legspinner was still his stock delivery as he used the wrong’un and the flipper mainly to get wickets.”It (googly) is only a variation and you can use it in T20s to confuse a batsman when he is attacking,” he said. “But I really believe in my chinaman bowling rather than the wrong’un and flipper. I back my stock ball more and I’m mainly a chinaman bowler; the wrong’un is a variation you use to pick wickets or stop the runs. But my main delivery is chinaman delivery. Obviously, the wrong’un gets you wickets and the batsmen keep wondering if the ball will come in or go out, they find it difficult to pick, especially the overseas batsmen. So if you dismiss Indian batsmen like that, it’s a big boost for confidence.”Kuldeep has so far gone wicketless in just one match this IPL and has collected eight wickets, joint with team-mates Nathan Coulter-Nile and Umesh Yadav, who have had the advantage of a pacer-friendly relaid pitch at Eden Gardens.Kuldeep has had an impressive run since the beginning of the domestic season. He was the highest wicket-taker and the leading run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy; he topped the wicket-takers charts in the Duleep Trophy too, with 17 wickets in three matches, and he shone on his Test debut with 4 for 68 against Australia in Dharamsala.”If you play the entire season and you’re highest run-getter or the highest wicket-taker, it becomes easier to play on the next level because of the momentum you are carrying,” Kuldeep said. “If you aren’t playing domestic cricket you might lack in some places. I’ve played Duleep Trophy, one-dayers, T20s, India A, so this season has been really helpful for me which is why I have a lot of confidence.”Knight Riders will play their next match against Delhi Daredevils on Friday.

Newcastle United will surely be looking to bolster their squad with talent ahead of their long-awaited return to Champions League football next season and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.

What's the latest on Newcastle's interest in Moussa Diaby?

According to French newspaper L'Equipe (via Sport Witness), Newcastle have been keen to make Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby the face of their project at St James' Park for a year.

As per the report, the Magpies remain keen on snapping up the services of the talented player this summer but will need to compete with Premier League club Arsenal who are now leading the race to complete a deal.

Who would Moussa Diaby replace in the Newcastle team?

There is no doubt that Eddie Howe will be thrilled with the rapid progress and quality his squad has shown over his first full season in charge at the North East club, however, there will be little room for sentiment when it comes to competing in the Champions League.

Indeed, the former Bournemouth boss already boasts some incredible talent with Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak making an instant impact on the performances, so now there is an opportunity to even further improve key positions on the pitch, especially in the wider attacking roles.

As a result, the signing of Diaby – who has a reported £65m price tag – would undoubtedly be a major coup for Newcastle, but could spell the end of an era for his compatriot Allan Saint-Maximin who could be even further pushed out of the team should Dan Ashworth seal a deal.

The Newcastle wide-man has struggled for consistency with injuries plaguing his tenure at St James' and recently spoke out in an Instagram post fuelling speculation about his future at the club next season.

When comparing the Leverkusen ace's output to Saint-Maximin's last season, it is clear that Diaby has outperformed his positional peer in a number of attributes including goal contributions (17 v 6), shots on target per 90 (1.13 v 0.88), pass completion (73.9% v 70.7%) and progressive carries (125 v 93), as per FBref.

It is clear that acquiring the services of Diaby – once hailed for his "electrifying pace" by journalist Aaron Stokes – could drastically improve the goal contributions from the wide positions in the final third which would be a great asset to Howe when competing in multiple competitions next season and could ultimately push them forward in their pursuit of trophies.

With that being said, if Newcastle can beat Arsenal to the signing of Diaby it could be a great opportunity to improve the attacking threat ahead of competing on the European stage next season, but could also be the final nail in the coffin for Saint-Maximin's future in the North East.

Tamim Iqbal has said Bangladesh have to shake off any satisfaction of having been competitive in Chittagong against England in order to focus on the second Test in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur26-Oct-2016Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has said the team has to shake off any satisfaction of having been competitive in the Chittagong Test against England in order to focus on the second Test in Mirpur. The buzz from the 22-run defeat was still present, however, as the team trained on Wednesday.”Everyone is saying that we played well but we have discussed as a team that we cannot be so happy with so little,” Tamim said. “We won’t be able to improve if we have that mentality. I know we were competitive but we should have won the game. We can take positives from the first Test, like we competed for five days. It would have been a different story had we won the game.”I know our Test record isn’t great but we will try our best in every way to win the next game, which is a belief that is held by every cricketer who plays for Bangladesh. We will try to do our job properly from the first to last ball.”The Chittagong Test was Bangladesh’s narrowest loss in terms of runs, the previous being the 77-run defeat to West Indies in 2012. Tamim, who made 78 in the first innings, said being competitive wasn’t enough anymore; Bangladesh have won only seven out of 94 Tests.Tamim said the team was less focused on the toss, the pitch, or DRS ahead of the second Test, and more on improving the batting and bowling.”I think the less I talk about the last game, the better,” he said. “It was a good Test match, but we lost in the end. Five years from now, it will read that we lost the game. We should stick to the processes and planning that we have. We are discussing more on what we can do with bat and ball, not on the wicket or the toss.”It is not easy to return to cricket after 14 months but I think the players adapted very well. The batsmen moved from T20s to ODIs to Test cricket. We have a number of Tests in the next six months, so we want to use the rhythm from the Chittagong Test for the future.”Tamim said Bangladesh should do better in favourable conditions and batsmen should look to score more runs after they were set. “The wicket in Chittagong was in our favour but we still lost the game. We have to reduce our mistakes and bowl according to the wicket.”Batting wasn’t easy on that wicket but we had our moments. I think we should have stretched those moments a bit. If the wicket remains the same in Dhaka, the batsman should score 20-25 runs more after they are settled.”The second Test against England begins in Mirpur on October 28.

The Tamil Nadu bowling coach expressed his concerns at the frequent ball changes seen in Nagpur. Within the first two sessions of the first day’s play, the SG Test ball was replaced three times

Arun Venugopal in Rajkot01-Jan-2017

Tamil Nadu bowling coach L Balaji has expressed surprise at the frequency with which the ball was changed on the first day of their semi-final against Mumbai. It was replaced three times inside the first two sessions, and Balaji said it disrupted the momentum of both batsmen and bowlers. Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit concurred with Balaji’s remarks and said it was an issue that needed to be taken seriously.”During the game, [teams] batting or bowling can lose the grip because of a sudden change [of the ball]. I think most of the coaches had discussed that in the last coaches and captains [conclave],” Pandit said.There have been previous instances of the SG Test ball, which is used in the Ranji Trophy, being replaced after losing its shape, but Balaji said he had never seen a ball being changed so often within a short period. He also felt the constant changing played on the minds of Tamil Nadu’s batsmen. “When the ball keeps changing, it is like you have to adapt to different balls,” Balaji said. “The ball makes a big difference in bowlers’ skills because in the recent past a lot of [ball-related] controversies have been going on.”I am sure the ball has some kind of ability to change the course of the game; I believe in that because softer balls are sometimes helpful on some wickets and heavier balls are sometimes helpful on different wickets. I have not seen anything like three-four balls being changed in the first session. I don’t know [if it is] because of the conditions or because of the balls’ quality. That is not in our control. That’s up to the match officials.”On his team’s batting, Balaji admitted the loss of four wickets inside 15 overs either side of tea altered the script. He was, however, hopeful that Vijay Shankar, batting on 41, and the tail could rally the team towards a competitive total on the second day. “We have a couple of tailenders who have bailed us out many times – Aswin Crist can bat, K Vignesh can bat and Aushik Srinivas can definitely bat,” he said.”We have a decent total now but there is no reason why we cannot push this total further. Even in the England game [first Test against India in Rajkot], the lower order contributed a huge amount as they reached 500-odd runs [537] with [Zafar] Ansari and Ben Stokes and other guys.”Balaji, however, conceded the surface posed little challenge for the batsmen. “It is pretty much like the bowlers have to bend their back and take all the chances and half-chances,” he said. “That is very crucial. Our bowling has been one of the strengths this season, so let’s see.”Shardul Thakur, who picked for two wickets for Mumbai, felt his team was in a good position despite some patchy bowling. “Sometimes it’s difficult to control the ball, so just taking the idea like how much it’s swinging, whether it’s swinging out or coming in more [is important],” he said. “It’s important how you come back, keep bowling in the channel and trouble the batsman.”Mumbai’s seamers – Thakur, Abhishek Nayar and Balwinder Sandhu – accounted for five of the six wickets to fall. Thakur said they had looked to exploit the reverse swing that was on offer in the afternoon. “A lot of times, batsmen tend to go hard at the bowlers on such pitches, so it is important to just keep in the channel and keep moving the ball in or out, whatever you are comfortable with,” he said.”My inswing is good, so I was bowling that. I was mixing it up later on. We knew that one wicket would get us back in the game. It was then all about bowling in the channel and trying to get the new batsman out.”

Pakistan have been fined for maintaining a slow over rate during their victory over England in the fourth Test at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2016Pakistan have been fined for maintaining a slow over rate during their victory over England in the fourth Test at The Oval.Misbah-ul-Haq’s side were found to be one over short, after time allowances were taken into consideration by the umpires and match referee. Misbah accepted the charge and was fined 20% of his match fee, while the Pakistan players were fined 10%.This was Misbah’s first over-rate offence within a 12-month period but the penalty will remain on his record and he could face suspension if Pakistan commit another breach.Pakistan’s win ensured they would share the series 2-2 with England and gives them a chance of being ranked the No. 1 Test side, depending on results in Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

Tymal Mills and Dawid Malan have been named in England’s T20 squad to face Sri Lanka next month while Jonny Bairstow has been included for both the ODIs and T20 but there is no place for Stuart Broad

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2016Tymal Mills, the Sussex left-arm fast bowler, and Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan have been named in England’s T20 squad to face Sri Lanka next month. Jonny Bairstow has been included for both the ODIs and T20 but there was no place for Stuart Broad.Alex Hales, Joe Root and Moeen Ali were rested for the T20, which takes place at the Ageas Bowl on July 5. There was no place in either squad for Jake Ball, who was part of the Test squad through the series against Sri Lanka.Mills, who was forced to retire from first-class cricket last year after being diagnosed with a congenital back condition, is limited to the four-over workloads of T20 cricket but has the ability to bowl above 90mph. Prior to his diagnosis he was already on England’s radar because of his extreme pace – he was used as a net bowler during the 2013-14 Ashes tour – and continued to be involved in the fast bowling programme during last winter.”The guy can bowl quickly. It’s a shame his back has robbed him of first-class cricket, but he seems to have thrown all his efforts into becoming a really skilful one-day bowler,” Alastair Cook, England’s Test captain, said. “He’s obviously worked on his skills: he can change-up from a 93mph thunderbolt to a slower ball. There’s no substitute for pace. I’ll be very excited to watch him bowl.”In a recent televised T20 Blast match against Somerset, Mills was clocked at 93mph when he gave Chris Gayle a working over before shattering his stumps, and also showed his variety of slower balls he often uses at the death. On Friday he claimed 3 for 15 from his four overs against Kent.Earlier this month he told ESPNcricinfo about his ambitions to be a T20 specialist for England. “In a perfect world I could make a career doing this for a long time. I’ve just got to stay fit,” he said. “Everything I do is aimed at being a top T20 player. I want to play for England even if it’s just in T20 cricket.”Malan was rewarded for impressive form against Pakistan A in the UAE, where he scored 253 runs at 50.60 and a strike rate of 131.77 in the five T20s, alongside 211 runs in four one-day games. He will likely open the innings alongside Jason Roy, with Hales given a brief break after the five-match ODI series. Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder who was part of the World T20 squad but did not make his debut, retained his place.”Tymal Mills has been one of the standout performers with the ball in the NatWest T20 Blast competition this season and deserves his chance,” James Whitaker, the national selector, said. “Dawid Malan has made great strides as an attacking batsman, both with Middlesex and the England Lions. We were particularly impressed with his three fifties during the winter tour of the UAE against Pakistan A.”The 14-man one-day squad had a familiar look except for the enforced absences of Ben Stokes (knee injury), Reece Topley (back injury) and James Taylor. Liam Plunkett, the Yorkshire fast bowler, retained his place with the other pace bowlers being David Willey, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes and Steven Finn. Moeen and Adil Rashid again offer the option of a twin-spin attack.”We have made good progress over the past 12 months in all white ball cricket, which has been very encouraging,” Whitaker said. “The six matches coming up against Sri Lanka will give the players a good test of their credentials. It is important for this group of players to make a mark this summer as we continue to improve ahead of hosting the ICC Champions Trophy tournament this time next year.”ODI squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Chris WoakesT20 squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey

All ten matches of the West Indies tri-series, featuring Australia and South Africa, will be played under lights

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2016

All ten matches of the tri-series in the Caribbean, featuring Australia, South Africa and West Indies, will be played under lights. It is the first time every match of a series in the Caribbean has been accorded day-night status.The series, due to begin on June 3, features nine group games – three each at Guyana National Stadium, Warner Park in St. Kitts and Kensington Oval in Barbados. Kensington Oval will also host the final on June 26. Each match will begin at 1 pm local time (1700 GMT).Roland Holder, WICB’s cricket operations manager, said the board wanted to cater to the fans better. “We looked at ways to enhance the appeal and the spectator experience and it is accepted that fans like the day/night matches. I’m sure we will have a win-win situation for players and fans and everyone will enjoy the afternoon start and the finish under lights.”

Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg has some 'news' for Tottenham Hotspur supporters on their links to former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Will Nagelsmann join Spurs?

Ever since his shock dismissal from Bayern Munich last week, with ex-Spurs manager candidate Thomas Tuchel coming in to replace him, there have been non-stop rumours of Nagelsmann potentially replacing Antonio Conte. The German and Bayern parted company with the former now up for grabs and a free agent, something which has seriously alerted Spurs and chairman Daniel Levy.

Nagelsmann is now readily-available and reports suggest that he is a prime contender for the Tottenham job this summer alongside the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique. In the meantime, Cristian Stellini has taken the reins and will be assisted by Ryan Mason in the dug out – all while Levy and sporting director Fabio Paratici scour for a replacement in the background.

It is believed that Nagelsmann could be open to taking the Spurs job, coming after claims that he was actually planning to join the club after they sacked Jose Mourinho in 2021. Levy eventually turned to Nuno Espirito Santo at the time after Nagelsmann opted for Bayern, but Sky journalist Plettenberg has shared an update which suggests they're set to target the German now.

According to the reporter's information, a behind-scenes move has been made for the ex-Leipzig head coach, with Plettenberg stating Spurs have lodged a 'casual request'. While there has been no concrete talks or negotiations, the Sky Germany correspondent goes on to add that Spurs are 'definitely interested' in appointing Nagelsmann.

He explained on Twitter:

"News #Nagelsmann: @SpursOfficial definitely interested! There has already been a casual request but no concrete talks or negotiations. Been told it’s unlikely that he will replace Conte immediately. He wants to take his time."

Is Nagelsmann perfect for Spurs?

The 35-year-old is arguably one of Europe's most exciting young coaches and his intense/high pressing philosophy certainly has the potential to excite Spurs supporters. He has also been called a 'sensational manager' by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, which is very high praise from one of the Premier League's most prestigious bosses.

Nagelsmann has got the better of Spurs before, thrashing then-Mourinho's side 4-0 on aggregate in their 2020 Champions League Last 16 tie. Leipzig put on an attacking masterclass, especially at the Red Bull Arena where they won 3-0, so Lilywhites know all about Nagelsmann's very eye-catching style.

Wolves’ January signing of Pablo Sarabia looks to have been a masterclass by Julen Lopetegui, as the Spaniard has quickly established himself as an important member of the squad at Molineux.

How has Pablo Sarabia performed at Wolves?

Wolves brought in the 30-year-old winger from PSG in a deal worth just £4.4m in January as he continued to struggle for game time with Les Parisiens, which is perhaps unsurprising when you consider the quality on offer in Christophe Galtier’s attack.

That said, he is still a highly-talented player with Thomas Tuchel singing his praises during the German’s time with the French giants.

He said: “He’s really impressive. He runs well, with and without a ball. His game without the ball is a great example. He plays with a lot of intensity and does not stop [working] defensively.”

Last season saw the Spain international spend time on loan with Sporting Lisbon where he was a huge success, notching a remarkable 21 goals and ten assists in just 45 appearances for Ruben Amorim’s side.

Given Wolves’ struggles in front of goal so far this season, which sees them ranked as the joint-lowest scorers in the division, adding quality in the final third was always going to be a priority for Lopetegui in the January window, and he appears to have done just that.

The former Sevilla man scored his first goal for the club in the 1-1 draw with Fulham last week, although he couldn’t follow that up, having “faded badly” and been “frustrating” – as per Steve Madeley – in the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool in midweek and was duly subbed at half time.

However, when considering the bigger picture, there is no doubt that he has made a big impact on Wolves’ threat in the final third, despite making just six appearances thus far. Indeed, no player at Molineux has created more than his seven chances since his league debut.

WhoScored further ranks him third for shots and joint-second for key passes per game in the Premier League out of anyone in Wolves’ squad, which emphasises just how profound an impact he has had in his limited time in England.

If Sarabia can play a big part in keeping Wolves in the Premier League, the £4.4m fee will certainly prove to be a bargain, but it already looked to be a masterclass when you consider the winger’s market value.

Transfermarkt still values the 30-year-old at €20m (£18m), so if he were to leave Molineux for any reason before his contract expires, it seems clear that the Old Gold will be able to make a profit on him.

Therefore, Lopetegui deserves a lot of credit for bringing in Sarabia for such a bargain fee, and if the 30-year-old can continue his fine start to life in the Midlands, then he will quickly establish himself as a great transfer from a footballing perspective as well as a financial one.