Nicola Browne, the New Zealand bowler, has decided to return to international cricket. The decision is a remarkable U-turn after retiring seven months ago

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2012Nicola Browne, the New Zealand bowler, has decided to return to international cricket despite announcing her retirement seven months ago. She discovered she was suffering with celiac disease, changed her diet and is now hungry to play for New Zealand once more.Browne, 28 from Waikato, felt “the flame inside her had been extinguished” when retiring in August 2011. The news came as something of a shock after rising to sixth on the world bowling rankings and being named Player of the Tournament at the 2010 Women’s World Twenty20.”I wasn’t tracking where I should have been,” Browne said. “I was plagued with health problems and just couldn’t get my energy levels right.” She thought her health problems stemmed from Temporomandibular joint disorder and reached a low point after the Christchurch earthquake of February 2011, prompting her departure from the game.But a joint disorder proved not to be the problem. Browne changed doctors and was found to be suffering with celiac disease – where gluten in the body damaged the lining of the small intestine causing fatigue.A simple change of diet did the trick. “I had more energy that I could ever remember having,” Browne said. “It was like I had been living my life at only 70%.” Pasta and pizza went off the menu as part of her new gluten-free regime that provided new-found energy and a reignited passion for cricket.Browne returned to action with seven wickets at 16.85 for Northern Districts and now has her sights on an international recall and becoming a professional. “I’ve found myself,” she said. “And I’ve found the energy to go and achieve beyond where I reached before, and bring others along for the journey.”

Tickets for this year’s World Twenty20 will be as cheap as $0.25 for group games and between $2.50 and $45 for the final

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2012Tickets for this year’s World Twenty20 will be as cheap as $0.25 for group games and between $2.50 and $45 for the final. The ICC has announced the global sale of tickets for the tournament, which will be held in Sri Lanka, from today. The tickets can be bought online from the ICC’s website. The low prices are in sync with those during the World Cup 2011, which drew large local audiences to the grounds.Eight percent of the tickets available to the public are on sale now, with the remaining ones becoming available on August 1 to ensure availability closer to the event. There is a limit of six tickets that any one person can purchase for the group stage matches, and four tickets from Super Eights onwards. The tournament kickstarts with hosts Sri Lanka taking on Zimbabwe on September 18.The attractive ticket pricing for the ICC event comes after Sri Lankan as well as visiting England supporters were angered by exorbitant prices for daily tickets during the ongoing England-Sri Lanka Test series.Attendance to the group games of the women’s World Twenty20 will be free of charge. The women’s semi-finals and finals are scheduled on the same day and ground as the men’s games and the tickets for the men’s games will be valid for both.Edited by Devashish Fuloria

A five-wicket haul from Derbyshire pace bowler Tony Palladino plunged Gloucestershire into trouble on a rain-interrupted second day at Derby.

03-May-2012
ScorecardA five-wicket haul from Derbyshire pace bowler Tony Palladino plunged Gloucestershire into trouble on a rain-interrupted second day.Palladino, the 28-year-old former Essex seamer who came to wider prominence as the whistleblower in the corruption case against former team-mate Mervyn Westfield, took 5 for 47 as the visitors collapsed to 172 for 9 before rain forced play to be abandoned for the day. Gloucestershire trail by 216 and still need another 67 to avoid the follow-on.It continues a remarkable few months for Palladino. Having gone through the drama of the court case against Westfield, he underwent a hernia operation in pre-season and then suffered a broken jaw on the club’s tour of Barbados. He made a remarkably swift recovery, however, and has now taken his season’s haul to 18 victims. Here he was well supported by Jon Clare’s 3 for 38, which followed a run-a-ball 48 out of Derbyshire’s first-innings 388.Gloucestershire lost Benny Howell to the third ball of their reply but then recovered well to reach 83 for 1 before the Derbyshire seamers put the home side firmly on top. They were backed up by keen fielding which was in marked contrast to Gloucestershire, who dropped two more catches before Derbyshire’s last wicket went down.Clare pulled Paul Muchall through the hands of Kane Williamson at deep midwicket for six and was dropped at long leg by Ian Saxelby off the next ball before he was bowled trying to bring up his fifty.Gloucestershire had to bat a lot better than they bowled to stay in the game and both Chris Dent and Williamson played positively before Clare defeated Williamson’s attempted drive just before lunch. Hamish Marshall had his off stump knocked out when Palladino beat his defensive push and Dent’s fine innings ended disappointingly when he edged to second slip for 55 in Palladino’s next over.When Ian Cockbain edged one that left him late from Tim Groenewald after a short rain break, Gloucestershire had lost 3 for 23 in eight overs and the slide continued with Richard Coughtrie edging Palladino down the leg side. The next ball bowled Ed Young to give him the sixth first-class five-wicket haul of his career and leave the visitors on the ropes at 159 for 7.Any chance of a fightback was ended by Clare, who removed Will Gidman for 21 with a ball that lifted sharply and then bowled James Fuller three balls later. Gloucestershire were spared further punishment by heavy rain, which ended play with 26 overs still to bowl but, even with more showers forecast, they face an uphill task to avoid defeat and deny Derbyshire a third victory of the season.

The preview of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit29-Jun-2012

Match facts

June 30-July 4, Colombo

Start time 1000 (0430 GMT)Younis Khan: Spinning? I’ll sweep ’em away•AFP

Big Picture

A team that has not won any of its previous eight Test series, following the retirement of its greatest bowler, against a team that has been unbeaten in its previous seven. No contest? Recent history suggested so but current form prevailed in the first Test. Like they had in the ODIs, Pakistan’s batsmen proved brittle again, against Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath, and against umpires Steve Davis and Ian Gould. Would Pakistan have imploded had Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen not been reprieved by the umpires in the first innings?What we do know is that Pakistan missed their captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was banned from the Galle Test because of an over-rate offence during the fifth ODI. Going into the first Test of an away series – already without a warm-up game – without your captain, can be disastrous. When that captain is Misbah, and when that side is Pakistan, the absence seems magnified.Not only have Pakistan won five, drawn two and lost zero series under Misbah, but he has also averaged 64.72 with the bat during that period. Reviled for his poor strike-rate, Misbah possesses what the thrill-a-minute dashers don’t – calmness. During Sri Lanka’s second innings in Galle, when another umpiring error denied Pakistan the wicket of Prasanna Jayawardene, Misbah’s reaction in the dressing room was telling. He put his index finger up in a mock ‘out’ signal and smiled broadly, managing to hide all the disappointment and anger within.Like a general who knows what makes his troops tick, Misbah goads Pakistan in the right direction, and keeps potential irritants at bay. He has squeezed consistency out of unpredictability. Such is his lot, though, that he gets brickbats from fans for taking the thrills of volatility away. Volatility was on display in Galle, and led to Pakistan’s heaviest defeat to Sri Lanka in terms of runs.The new ball was Pakistan’s problem in Galle, while bowling and batting. Their quicks could not get it to do much, and their batsmen could not survive when Kulasekara got it to move. There is much quality in both spin attacks, and both dominated in Galle.Sri Lanka did what winning sides usually do in the subcontinent, they batted big in the first innings, struck early with the new ball, and let the spinners take over. They will look to repeat the dose in Colombo.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLWLW (Most recent first)
Pakistan LWWWW

Watch out for…

Younis Khan batted 304 deliveries in the first Test. Pakistan collectively lasted 327 deliveries in the first innings there. He was dropped for the final ODI, but showed in Galle why he is easily Pakistan’s most important Test batsman. In a match dominated by spinners, Younis hardly looked like getting out to them, playing straight with bat firmly in front of pad and sweeping often. He fell to the umpires in the first innings and to the second new ball in the second.Much has been said about Nuwan Kulasekara‘s Test record against Pakistan, and it is worth repeating. In five Tests against them, he has taken 25 wickets at 16.40. His record against other teams – two wickets at 121.50 against India, three wickets at 50.00 against New Zealand and no wickets in two Tests against England. It is the swing and seam movement; can Pakistan find a way to deal with it?

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground is expected to be good for batting. That is like saying rain is expected during Wimbledon. Almost every third game at the ground has been drawn. Consider the previous two games played here. Last year, Australia made 316 and 488. Sri Lanka made 473. In 2010, Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 642 for 4 only to watch India pile on 707. If Pakistan crumble at the SSC, even Misbah might not be able to hide his anger.The weather has been warm and humid. There was a brief shower yesterday, and scattered thunderstorms are forecast on all five days of the Test.

Team news

Sri Lanka’s only headache is the choice of the new-ball partner for Kulasekara. Nuwan Pradeep was quick and sharp in Galle but is prone to breakdowns. The problem is that the possible replacement, Dilhara Fernando, is more prone to them. Will they go for the much slower allrounder, Thisara Perera, instead?Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Nuwan Pradeep/Dilhara Fernando.Misbah will return for Pakistan, meaning that Mohammad Ayub, who did not do badly at all in his debut Test in Galle, is most likely to sit out. Junaid Khan looked flat on his comeback from injury in the first innings in Galle before responding with an energetic burst in the second. Will Pakistan go with either of Aizaz Cheema or Mohammad Sami in place of Junaid?Pakistan (probable) 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Junaid Khan/Aizaz Cheema/Mohammad Sami

Stats and trivia

• Four of the previous six Tests at the SSC have been drawn.
• There have been three centuries by Pakistan batsmen at the SSC; two of them by Shoaib Malik.
• Pakistan have never lost to Sri Lanka at the SSC.

Quotes

“We let them score nearly 500 and that put pressure on us. It’s not just our batting, but we need to improve our bowling as well.”
“We are trying to develop a bowling attack that will hunt in a pack. We don’t yet have the experience of a Murali or a Vaas.”

The legspinner Tarun Nethula will have the chance to audition for a Test debut after he was named in the New Zealand side for their tour match against the WICB President’s XI, to begin in Antigua on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-2012The legspinner Tarun Nethula will have the chance to audition for a Test debut after he was named in the New Zealand side for their tour match against the WICB President’s XI, to begin in Antigua on Friday. New Zealand chose the dual spin options of Nethula and Daniel Vettori, while the fast bowler Neil Wagner will also be given an opportunity to press his case for a Test debut.BJ Watling and Trent Boult will not play due to quad strains and the fast men Doug Bracewell and Tim Southee have been left out. Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, said the three-day first-class game would provide players with a fine chance to prepare for the Test series and would also give the selectors a look at some of their options for the first Test, which begins next Wednesday.”It’s a good opportunity for the players to get out there and spend time on their feet and it’s not often you get to play a warm-up game on a ground where you will be playing the Test match,” Taylor said. “We’re still undecided on the balance of the side for the Test series. Tarun has come in and spin is going to be a big part of how we play this warm-up game and the Test match. Hopefully he goes well and makes our job a lot harder when we come to pick the Test team.””The few times I played against [Wagner] and saw him on TV he’s very aggressive. He’s a guy who’s been wanting to play for New Zealand for a while and has very good record. He gives us a slightly different option being a left-hander and I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes.”New Zealand XI Martin Guptill, Daniel Flynn, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor (capt), Kane Williamson, Dean Brownlie, Daniel Vettori, Kruger van Wyk (wk), Neil Wagner, Tarun Nethula, Chris Martin.

Glenn Maxwell has been a valuable impact player for Victoria over the past two years, and now he has a chance to prove himself at international level

Brydon Coverdale15-Aug-2012If you mention the name Glenn Maxwell to the casual Australian cricket fan you can expect one of two responses. Either they’ll think they’ve heard him commentating on the radio (no, that’s Glenn Mitchell and Jim Maxwell), or they won’t know the name at all. But the more dedicated followers of Australia’s domestic cricket are well aware of Maxwell, and have no doubt kept an eye on his progress since February 9 last year.That was the night when Maxwell rewrote the record books with a 19-ball half-century for Victoria against Tasmania, the fastest fifty ever scored in Australia’s domestic one-day history. He demolished a pretty good attack featuring Ben Hilfenhaus and James Faulkner, and most impressively set Victoria on the path to victory having come to the crease with 66 runs needed at more than ten an over. It was his sixth one-day game for Victoria. He had not yet made his first-class debut.Soon, Maxwell will have the chance to prove his talent at international level. He has been in Darwin over the past week, training with the Australia squad as they prepare to fly out for a one-day and Twenty20 series against Pakistan in the UAE, and he is also expected to be part of the squad for the World T20 in Sri Lanka next month. And don’t expect anything different from Maxwell when he walks out in the national colours.”I won’t change too much when I play for Australia,” Maxwell told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ll still keep my natural flair but also rein it in when I need to and really be that rock if it’s needed. I’m looking forward to getting some opportunities in the batting order and looking forward to doing what the team needs from me in the right situations, whether that be quick runs or saving our arses.”Sometimes, as the chase against Tasmania showed, the two are one and the same. Not that he has coasted solely on that performance since then. A month later he made his first Sheffield Shield hundred, an unbeaten 103 from 118 balls against South Australia, and as a T20 player he has earned contracts from the Delhi Daredevils and Hampshire. In his third county match this year, his 66 not out from 32 balls delivered a crushing victory over Kent.And yet, it is for his offspin and athletic fielding as much as his batting that Maxwell has earned a call-up from Australia. His presence in the T20 squad can be seen as a like-for-like swap for Steven Smith, who has had his chances at international level without quite grasping his opportunities. Both are impact players, thrilling to watch but at times unpredictable. Australia’s T20 captain, George Bailey, is excited by what Maxwell can offer in the World T20 in Sri Lanka.”Maxy is someone who in terms of the 15 for the World Cup just comes with a really specific skill set that we really like,” Bailey said. “He’s performed well in the IPL, he’s been over playing in England, he’s played a lot of cricket. He’s an outstanding fielder, an outstanding athlete.”When he strikes the ball he’s one of the best strikers going around. He can win a game off his own bat. He’s really destructive, which we love to see. He’s flexible – he can bat close to the top or in the lower order. And he’s a handy offspin bowler, and that was an area where we felt we needed a bit more cover.”Maxwell, 23, will be one of three spinners in Australia’s squad for the Pakistan one-dayers and T20s, along with Smith and Xavier Doherty for the ODIs and Doherty and Brad Hogg for the T20s. A useful man to bowl through the middle overs, Maxwell is looking forward to working in what he expects to be favourable conditions in the UAE.”The good thing with the UAE and the conditions we’ll get there is that I probably can be considered a frontline bowler and be a real go-to option to bowl eight to ten overs in a one-day game,” he said. “It will depend on team balance and what they need, if they want to play extra quicks, I’m not sure if the conditions will suit that. I think they’ll play a few spinners, so I reckon I’ll have a good chance of playing a few games over there.”And if he shows what he showed that night in Hobart, especially when Australia move on to World T20 in Sri Lanka, even the most casual Australian cricket fan will know the name Glenn Maxwell. Because his namesake, Jim, will have just shouted it.

ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth ODI between Sri Lanka and India in Pallekele

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria03-Aug-2012

Match facts

Saturday, August 4
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)Dinesh Chandimal has scored 47 runs in four matches•AFP

Big Picture

Sri Lanka handed over the series to India in Colombo with two failed attempts at defending the target but can end the series – this is also, surprisingly, their last ODI this year – on a positive note in Pallekele. They beat India in the second ODI in Hambantota and came close in the third ODI in Colombo, and if they get help from the cooler and cloudier climes of Pallekele, where India have never played, their medium pacers could be a handful.However, in conditions that haven’t favoured the bowlers, the difference between the two teams has been the batting. India have four batsmen among top five run-getters in the series to Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who is already out of the tournament with a finger injury. With Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene not firing, Sri Lanka’s young batting – especially Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne – has lacked leadership to take full advantage of India’s weakness in bowling. In the fourth ODI, India’s part-time bowlers returned with the figures of 22-2-112-5 – a glaring example of where Sri Lanka lost their way.Although India have already won the series, the problems that have plagued them in the past have surfaced again – Virender Sehwag remains erratic, Rohit Sharma’s form has not yet returned and Manoj Tiwary is India’s second most successful bowler in the series despite playing just one game. With a tough season looming, MS Dhoni would hope for some signs of improvement- and some clues to his best XI – along with a win in Pallekele.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLWLW (Completed games, most recent first)
India WWLWW

Watch out for…

Irfan Pathan came in as a replacement for Vinay Kumar in the series but has done well with both bat and ball. He scored a crucial 34 not out in a match-winning partnership in the third ODI, but more importantly, he has got the ball to swing. He has bowled with an economy of 5, which is the best among India’s seamers, and has picked up three wickets.Sri Lanka’s fielding has consistently been the best among the Asian teams, but in the current series the fielders have dropped a number of catches at critical moments and they have also given a lot of extra runs in overthrows. In the previous game itself, the team conceded two boundaries when the fielders failed to backup shies at stumps.

Team news

MS Dhoni had success with his seven batsmen formula in the previous match, and could continue with the same, which would mean another chance for Rohit. Ashok Dinda has played two games without creating much impact and could be replaced by Umesh Yadav.India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashok Dinda/Umesh YadavAngelo Mathews indicated in a press conference that fringe players might get a chance. It could mean a game for Chamara Kapugedara and offspinner Sachithra Senanayake, both of whom haven’t played in the first four matches.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Lahiru Thirimanne/Chamara Kapugedara, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Pradeep, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana Herath/Sachithra Senanayake

Stats and trivia

• India’s bowlers have had only three five-wicket hauls in the last five years in ODIs, worst among all Test playing countries. Sri Lanka have most in this period – 19.
• MS Dhoni is 17 runs away from becoming only the sixth batsman to score 2000 runs in India-Sri Lanka ODIs.

Quotes

“The numbers [Ashwin’s figures] have not been bad; the ball is coming out really well and whatever I’ve been working on has also come out very well.”
.”We’ve dropped quite a few catches in this series and I think that cost us the series. Especially, against the Indian batting line up, you can’t drop that many catches.”
.

A round-up of Group B matches of Women’s World Twenty20 played on September 28, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sri Lanka ran out four West Indies batsmen•ICC/Getty

West Indies imploded in spectacular fashion to lose to Sri Lanka by five runs in a rain-affected match in Galle. Chasing a modest D/L target of 48 runs in eight overs, West Indies appeared well on their way with Tremayne Smartt getting a boundary off the first ball and nine runs in the opening over. The first ball of the second over resulted in a run-out, but with previous match’s top-scorer Deandra Dottin opening her account with a boundary, the match was in West Indies’ control.Though Inoka Ranaweera’s double-strike in the third over injected some life into the game, West Indies continued to attack, taking 10 runs off the fourth over. Two overs and another run out later, West Indies needed 12 off 12 with six wickets in hand and were still ahead.However, the next six balls capsized the chase. The first was a dot ball and Chamani Seneviratna had Juliana Nero stumped off the second. Third ball saw the third run-out of the innings. A dot ball was then followed by a stumping, which was followed by another dot and the advantage was duly handed over to Sri Lanka. There were no more surprises in the last over, just a bonus run-out.West Indies had put Sri Lanka in to bat in a match reduced to 17-overs a side after wet outfield had delayed the start by an hour. Sri Lanka made a good start with 21 off three overs, but the loss of their openers in consecutive overs slowed them down. The rains came again and Sri Lanka’s innings was halted at 50 for 3 after 10.3 overs, with West Indies getting a revised D/L target of 48.West Indies’ loss meant that all four teams in the group are now tied on points.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Sophie Devine dazzled with bat and ball to help New Zealand overpower South Africa by 22 runs the first match of the day in Galle. Devine scored a well-paced 59 off 46 balls and then picked up two wickets during South Africa’s faltering chase.Teams have preferred to field first in the tournament so far and South Africa’s decision after winning the toss appeared correct as Susan Benade got rid of both New Zealand openers by the fourth over with only 24 runs on the board. Devine, along with Frances Mackay, played out the next few overs carefully as New Zealand made slow progress to reach 44 in nine overs. The batsmen, however, changed gears in the tenth over with the introduction of offspinner Sunette Loubser. Devine smashed the bowler for a six and a four off consecutive balls to take 13 runs off the over and hit two boundaries in the next. Mackay, after playing second fiddle to Devine for a while, also joined in with three consecutive boundaries off Dane van Niekerk.Devine brought up her first T20 fifty with a six off Loubser but was dismissed in the same over, the 16th of the innings, after sharing a 94-run stand with Mackay that came off 44 balls. Mackay continued to attack and her 49 helped New Zealand score 151 – the highest total in the tournament thus far.Benade led a counter-attack during the chase after South Africa lost the openers early to Erin Bermingham, but she became the first of Nicola Browne’s three wickets in three overs, effectively ending the contest. Van Niekerk resisted with an unbeaten 34 but she ran out of partners as South Africa finished 22 runs short.Devine, who was selected for the tournament after spending a year playing with New Zealand hockey team, was named the Player of the Match.”It has given me a lot of confidence now that I can perform again at the international stage. It has been a wee while. So it is really pleasing for me to get some runs and also a couple of wickets,” Devine said.

Callum Ferguson transcended a career defined by flattering starts by carving out a determined century as South Australia reached 5 for 256 against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2012
Scorecard
Callum Ferguson crafted perhaps the most measured of his eight first-class centuries•Getty Images

Callum Ferguson transcended a career so far defined by flattering starts by carving out a determined century as South Australia reached 5 for 256 against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Having won the toss and batted on a dry Adelaide surface, the Redbacks needed some kind of foundation to recover from two heavy defeats in their first two Shield fixtures, and Ferguson provided it with arguably the most measured of his eight first-class centuries against a Bulls attack that kept things tight all day.Ben Cutting and the visiting captain James Hopes shared four wickets between them while conceding fewer than three runs an over, while Nathan Hauritz and Cameron Boyce gained sharp turn at times to vindicate the inclusion of two spinners.Coming in at a precarious 2 for 29, Ferguson steadied the innings somewhat with the fit-again Michael Klinger, and added another 57 with the young left-hander Travis Head.The loss of Head and Christian either side of the tea break gave Queensland a glimpse of SA’s tail, but the wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman hung around to add an unbeaten 69 fort he sixth wicket and help Ferguson to his century.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has expressed frustration at the careless dismissals of his team’s batsmen

Mohammad Isam in Khulna25-Nov-2012The shot selection of Bangladesh’s batsmen contributed to their failure in the Test match. A lot has been said about on the subject in the past, and captain Mushfiqur Rahim brought it up again after the defeat, saying that while the batsmen should not alter natural approach too much, better judgement is required.”We should play natural cricket depending on the situation. Chanderpaul also plays the lofted shot but when he does that, there is little risk. The team, including myself, have to learn from these things, when to play low-risk and high-risk shots. We have to understand that the team comes first, and not individuals,” Mushfiqur said after the Khulna Test.They have banked on batting aggressively at most times and this Test was no different. But this approach isn’t working. They delivered two below par batting performances in Khulna, and one in the first Test in Mirpur. The first innings in the previous game, in which they scored 556, was an exceptional performance as they were playing this format for the first time in eleven months. But the same talent didn’t prove to be good enough to last four consecutive innings in this Test series.”All the wickets that fall in a Test match are not entirely down to the bowlers’ credit. Batsmen are at fault too. But in our case, the batsmen gift them the wickets regularly without the bowlers earning it, that’s the most terrible thing,” Mushfiqur said. “We have to work on avoiding soft dismissals. We have been doing it for a long period during which many of us have scored runs as well. Sometimes situations are such that a single dismissal turns the game away from us. Questions are justifiably raised and we are concerned about it.”The balance between the batsmen’s instincts and the demands of the situation hasn’t been achieved, seen in Mushfiqur’s dismissal in the second innings here; he had skipped down the track only to be beaten and bowled by spinner Veerasammy Permaul.”I don’t even know [if] I’ve got out like that before. I don’t remember getting out to a nothing shot like that. It was my fault. I wanted to play a long innings and forge a partnership with Shakib, but it didn’t happen,” Mushfiqur said.He was also upset with his team’s unspirited comeback from the first Test defeat. “It is quite frustrating because we played well in the first Test. In the first innings here, Abul [Hasan] played outstandingly or we could have been out of the Test very early. He kept us in the game and we scored almost 400.”We also missed some chances and it is important to hold on to them on such pitches, because it becomes difficult to get [batsmen] out. In the second innings, there wasn’t much help for the bowlers. As it happens most of the times, we played bad shots to get out. If that didn’t happen, you saw how Shakib and Nasir [Hossain] batted – there were no demons in the wicket.”Bangladesh play their next Test in Sri Lanka in February next year, in another two-Test series. Judging by the number of limited-overs matches they have scheduled at all levels in the interim, the repeat of these mistakes cannot be ruled out.