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He has stayed back in Perth to continue his recovery, leaving Australia with fewer chances to nail down their XI for the T20 World Cup

Alex Malcolm03-Oct-2022Allrounder Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against West Indies as he continues his recovery from a side strain he suffered in early September, leaving Australia’s selectors fewer chances to bed down their best side ahead of the World Cup.Stoinis has not travelled with Australia’s squad to the Gold Coast ahead of the first game of a two-match series against West Indies on Wednesday. He has instead remained in Perth where he will link up with the squad at the weekend.Following the second T20I against West Indies in Brisbane on Friday, Australia head to Perth for the first of three T20Is against England on Sunday as they continue their preparations for their opening T20 World Cup clash on October 22. They will play one more warm-up game against India before their tournament opener against New Zealand.Stoinis suffered the injury on September 8 during an ODI series against New Zealand in Cairns. He was ruled out of the third ODI of that series and also missed Australia’s whirlwind three-match T20I tour of India. He has continually suffered side strains on both sides of his body over the last three years after being significantly hampered with it during the 2019 ODI World Cup.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He flew home early from the ODI tour of Sri Lanka in June after suffering another minor strain but was able to recover in under three weeks to play in the Hundred in England before returning to Australia for the ODIs and Zimbabwe and New Zealand.His latest injury has come at a time when Australia have a significant selection squeeze in their top seven thanks to the performances of Cameron Green and Tim David during the tour of India.Related

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David seamlessly slotted in to the No. 6 role, vacated by Stoinis, on his Australia debut in India forming a composed partnership with Matthew Wade in a stunning run chase in Mohali before scoring a sensational 54 off 27 balls in Hyderabad to lift Australia to a highly competitive total after the top order collapsed.Stoinis has been a mainstay of Australia’s T20I middle order over the last three years and played two pivotal innings in last year’s World Cup triumph. But David’s form and experience playing the exact same role in franchise cricket means that Australia’s selectors already had a decision to make in terms of their first-choice middle order in the World Cup. Stoinis’ injury may alleviate some of the pressure on Steven Smith who was moved up to No. 3 for the India series. Mitchell Marsh is set to return to that position although his troublesome ankle, which he has had surgery on in the past, has severely hindered his bowling preparation for the World Cup after missing the India series.2:48

Hodge: Green might go on to become one of the best Australia has produced

Australia’s selectors have also been looking for any excuse to get Green into their 15-man World Cup squad following his staggering performances in India. Green was added as cover for the series against West Indies after previously being set to play Sheffield Shield cricket this week, given he is currently not in the World Cup squad. Australia can add Green to the squad if Stoinis, or another player, is ruled out of the tournament with injury.How Green fits into a starting XI against West Indies remains to be seen given his success in India came while opening the batting. David Warner has returned to the squad after being rested for the India series and it is highly unlikely Australia would move either Warner or captain Aaron Finch down the order given their success and experience as an opening duo.Green did show his middle order and finishing skills in the ODIs against New Zealand but has limited T20 experience in those roles, although that is unlikely to faze the selectors as he had no opening experience in professional cricket prior to the India tour. His bowling would also give Australia another option, given their preference for seven batters and only four specialist bowlers in their XI with the fifth bowler to be made up by allrounders with Marsh, Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell providing those options at last year’s World Cup.Australia still has some overall fitness concerns ahead of the World Cup with depth players Ashton Agar and Kane Richardson unavailable for the West Indies series due to minor side strains both men suffered in India.

Bangladesh bowlers fashioned a middle-order collapse for Sri Lanka, before an unbroken 87-run seventh-wicket stand steadied the hosts

Mohammad Isam30-Apr-2021Stumps Bangladesh had their best bowling day in Sri Lanka on the second day of the second Test in Pallekele, yet it wasn’t enough to sniff out the 87-run seventh wicket stand. Niroshan Dickwella and Ramesh Mendis led the recovery for the home side who finished at 469 for 6 at stumps, having batted quite sedately for the majority of the second day while also losing five wickets.Play was suspended twice in the post-tea session – first for about 20 minutes due to a light drizzle and then at 4.15pm due to bad light. But the day was later called off at 5.04pm with Dickwella unbeaten on a run-a-ball 64 with seven fours and his partner Mendis on 22.Bangladesh had a chance to break the partnership after the first break in play, but Najmul Hossain Shanto dropped Mendis at second slip. That was the second sitter he had dropped in this match. He had earlier put down Dimuth Karunaratne on the first day when the Sri Lanka captain was on 28, and he ended up making 118. Both dropped catches were off Taskin Ahmed, who could have improved his already impressive performance.Ahmed started Bangladesh’s revival with two accurate spells in the morning session, having Lahiru Thirimanne caught down the leg side on 140, who added just nine runs to his overnight score. Ahmed next got Angelo Mathews caught behind, with Liton Das diving well to his right to complete the catch. Mathews survived a caught-behind off his third ball – also off Ahmed – since none of the Bangladesh fielders heard the edge while replays later showed the spike.Ahmed hardly gave away anything, as he combined well with fellow seamers Shoriful Islam and Abu Jayed for 18 of the 26 overs in the first session, when Sri Lanka managed only 43 runs. When Dhananjaya de Silva fell to Taijul Islam shortly before lunch, Sri Lanka had lost three wickets for 15 runs inside eight overs.Oshada Fernando and Pathum Nissanka then added 54 for the fifth wicket before they fell within five balls after lunch. Nissanka, who was dropped on 10, fell to a sharp incoming delivery from Ahmed. Fernando made 81 off 221 balls with eight fours, before being caught down the leg side as wicketkeeper Das anticipated a predetermined lap-sweep off Mehidy Hasan Miraz to smartly move to his left and complete the catch.However, the rest of the day belonged to Dickwella, as he counterattacked Bangladesh with a combination of sweeps, cuts and drives. Mendis, though, was mostly defensive, though he did smash Shoriful Islam for a four down the ground.It was a welcome change of pace for Sri Lanka who looked to be following their first day mantra of a slow start, and then raising their run-rate in the second session. Ahmed and the rest of Bangladesh bowlers, however, didn’t allow them this comfort this time, picking wickets at regular intervals.

Key young players could shape the team’s destiny at next month’s tournament in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2020Harmanpreet Kaur will have a full-strength squad at her disposal when India play the Women’s T20 World Cup in February. Plenty of them are young players too. Shafali Verma is 15 and she is the team’s first-choice opener alongside the 23-year old vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. Jemimah Rodrigues, another key player in the top order, is only 19 and the selectors have also placed faith in the uncapped Richa Ghosh, with India looking to better their semi-final finish in the 2018 edition.ALSO READ: Shafali Verma, India’s 15-year old batting machineThe bowling wears a familiar look with as many as four spinners, led by Poonam Yadav. The 28-year old has picked up 51 wickets over the past two years and was named by the BCCI as India’s best female cricketer in 2018-19. Interestingly, for a tournament taking place in Australia, the selectors have picked only three seam bowling options: Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“If you talk about our team, our strength is spin,” Kaur told reporters on Sunday. “That’s the way we are looking to go. The only thing is how we are going to use them. I think they have always been good and have given us breakthroughs whenever we needed. Our strength is spin, so we have to stick to that. We are very positive that whenever we need them, they will definitely perform for us.”Veda Krishnamurthy, who was in and out of the side last year, has forced her way back on the weight of her recent performances. She was by far the best batter for India A in a disappointing 3-0 whitewash against Australia A. In the one-dayers prior to that, she made a match-winning century. Most recently, she made a crucial 29-ball 47 in a tense chase to take her team into the women’s challenger series final.ALSO READ: Poonam Yadav, India’s pint-size magianThe surprise omissions in an otherwise settled squad were allrounder Anuja Patil and Mansi Joshi, the right-arm seamer. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the left-arm spinner, was back into the mix after being left out of the tour of the Caribbean in November. Gayakwad’s eight wickets at an economy of 5.15 were considered much superior to Patil’s three wickets at an economy of 4.75 as they went head to head in the recently-concluded Challenger Series, which for the first time had two round-robin stages and a final to give players enough game time.Meanwhile, the inclusion of Ghosh is another sign of the selectors building a young core. Playing for India B, the finalists in the Challenger series, she strung a number of noteworthy performances under Mandhana including a match-winning 25 in a low-scoring game against India C. The 16-year old followed that up with a sparkling 25-ball 36 in a tough chase of 149 against the same opponents. While she could be considered a back-up middle order option currently, a number of good performances for India A in the Quadrangular series – also involving India B and women’s teams of Bangladesh and Thailand – in Patna could bring her into the first XI.India have won eight out of their 15 matches since the end of the last T20 World Cup in November 2018. This includes series wins over South Africa and West Indies away from home. However, their form is still a long way off tournament favourites Australia and England, who have won eight out of nine and 11 out of 13 matches respectively.All three teams will be playing each other in Australia in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. “It’s always good to go a bit early,” Kaur said. “Before the World Cup we are playing the tri-series and that’s the platform where we have to execute ourselves and if we are able to give our 100%, that would be very good for us.”In addition, Kaur, Mandhana and Krishnamurthy could also draw from the experience of playing in the Women’s Big Bash League. “That experience will definitely help,” Kaur said. “We know how the wickets are there, how the conditions are there and that will definitely give us extra boost.”

After seven losses in a row, Australia secured a hard-fought win as Marcus Stoinis took three wickets

The Report by Liam Brickhill09-Nov-2018Australia 231 (Carey 47, Lynn 44, Rabada 4-54, Pretorius 3-32) beat South Africa 9 for 224 (Miller 51, du Plessis 47, Stoinis 3-35)Australia secured a cathartic, series-levelling victory in the second ODI against South Africa in Adelaide, holding the visitors to 9 for 224 to win by seven runs. The bowling attacks slugged it out as batsmen on either side struggled to build on their starts, with four men reaching the 40s but none able to play the decisive innings. Australia were bowled out an over and a half shy of their 50 overs for 231, and South Africa fell short despite David Miller’s fifty.Cross-seamed deliveries and cutters brought the most profit for bowlers on both sides, Dwaine Pretorius picking up 3 for 32 in the afternoon and Marcus Stoinis making several crucial breakthroughs for a return of 3 for 35 that turned the match decisively. Kagiso Rabada’s extra bounce brought him 4 for 54, with three of those dismissals being caught behind, but South Africa’s efforts with the ball were ultimately bettered by Australia’s to keep the series alive heading into the third match in Hobart on Sunday.Marcus Stoinis is pumped•Getty Images

South Africa’s top order made a lot of the same errors in execution as Australia’s had earlier in the day, as well as coming up with a few of their own. Reeza Hendricks nicked an off-stump outswinger from Josh Hazlewood, but Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen fell to deliveries they should have scored off, de Kock flicking off his pads against Mitchell Starc straight to Adam Zampa at fine leg and Klaasen pulling a half tracker into Chris Lynn’s lap at midwicket. Even more reproachable was Aiden Markram’s dismissal, run out for 19 taking on Stoinis’ arm for an unlikely third to ruin what had been a mostly fluent start in the Powerplay despite the pace and swing of Starc with the new ball.The upshot was that South Africa were four down inside 15 overs in their chase, but with Miller and Faf du Plessis at the crease they steadied the chase. There was parity in the scoreline through the first 20 overs of both innings, though South Africa had lost more early wickets to be 4 for 95 to Australia’s 2 for 96.Du Plessis and Miller were doing a commendable job of absorbing the pressure placed upon them when – against the run of play – du Plessis chopped a short ball from Pat Cummins onto his own stumps to fall for 47.After 35 overs, the scorelines were still neck and neck, with South Africa having reached 5 for 162, and when Pretorius spliced a pull tamely to midwicket shortly before the match entered the final 10 overs, the set-up was virtually identical to what had transpired in Australia’s innings. Where Alex Carey had been their only set batsman at the death in the first innings, for South Africa that job fell to Miller.He brought up a 68-ball fifty in the 41st over – the first batsman of the series to reach the mark – but the pressure upon him increased significantly when Stoinis beat Dale Steyn with another cross-seamed delivery. South Africa were 7 for 184 with 48 still needed from 50 ballsThat soon became 8 for 187 when Stoinis trapped Miller in front for 51, a review overturning Umpire Michael Gough’s original not out decision. Australia finally pulled ahead of South Africa as the visitors’ tail briefly wagged but never really threatened to overturn their total as Aaron Finch expertly marshaled his bowling resources.Australia’s batsmen had crumbled in similar fashion to the sustained pressure of a South African attack that gave no quarter in the afternoon. Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Lynn and Carey all got in and then got out, and every time Australia built up a little momentum, South Africa found a breakthrough, repeatedly exhibiting their ability to prise set batsmen from the crease.Or rather, Australia’s batsmen repeatedly found ways to get out, with poor shot selection throughout the top order. Travis Head fell playing across his front pad early, Marsh wafted outside off stump to be caught behind for 22, and Finch dragged on against Pretorius for 41.Australia’s innings slowed as Imran Tahir tied Lynn and Carey down with a tight, wicket-to-wicket line, and with singles difficult to come by, Lynn banked on his boundary-hitting ability to keep the score ticking over. But the same attacking instincts lead to his dismissal for a run-a-ball 44 when he greeted Rabada’s return to the attack in the 27th over with 18 off the first four balls, and then gloved a bouncer off the fifth. Having been carted to all corners in the previous four deliveries, Rabada roared his celebration at the dismissal as he ran past the departing batsman – possibly putting himself in danger of a sanction from match referee Jeff Crowe.The procession continued as Glenn Maxwell flashed a cut off Pretorius through to de Kock, Stoinis heaved across the line to present Hendricks with a stinging chance at midwicket, and Cummins and Starc were both beaten for pace by Steyn.Following the pattern set by those ahead of him in the order, Carey battled his way to 47 and then misjudged the bounce on a length delivery from Rabada, guiding an edge through to de Kock for his fourth catch behind the stumps. Zampa gave the innings just a little oomph with a quickfire 22 and those runs, plus his fightback with the ball after an expensive five overs, would prove vital in the eventual outcome.