A draw then, for West Indies and Sri Lanka, and just the one wicket for Akila Dananjaya in West Indies’ second innings. Seam dominated the Test match, with Bishoo taking no wickets, and Dananjaya just one in each innings.
Dananjaya looked good at the beginning of his spell and got the wicked of Dowrich with an off-break that went straight on, but after that with the West Indies willing to play him defensively, he had no more luck. I’d say he deserves a run as Sri Lanka’s second spinner, but if Herath comes back for the third Test, he might struggle to get in the team.
Liam Dawson, as well as Hampshire, was the big winner spin wise in the second Royal London One Day Cup semi-final. He took 4 for 47 off his ten overs with his usual virtues of accuracy and a little guile. I still can’t believe he’s played Test cricket though.
Precious little other cricket though today, a few county Second XI games are all I see on Cricinfo, nothing of note from them.
Links
On to the links, and CricBuzz have a good little interview with Adam Zampa – currently playing for Brentwood in the Essex League Premier Division as he prepares for his stint at Essex – where he talked about Australia’s attitudes towards spinners. I always thought that Zampa flattered to deceive in Sheffield Shield cricket, but the pitches don’t give spinners much, so it’s encouraging to see that he’s still looking to play red ball cricket. He’s been harshly done by to be out of the ODI team though, I’m sure England would much rather face Ashton Agar than him.
Interesting news from South Africa, where Imran Tahir has been left out of the ODI squad to play Sri Lanka. It’s been played down as Tahir being rested, but Heinz Schenk writing for South Africa’s The Citizen believes that it might be the start of South Africa edging Tahir out before the 2019 World Cup. His form has gone downhill lately, but that would be a brave decision. Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj will go to Sri Lanka with the chance to stake their claims for a spot at the World Cup.
Quick hits
Murali turns down consultant role with Sri Lanka.
Adil Rashid’s England diary on SkySports.
Former India spinner and current Bangladesh spin consultant Sunil Joshi reckons the Indian spinners should arrive in England earlier before the upcoming tour.
Canterbury’s bowler of the year, off-spinner Tim Johnston, not offered a new contract.
Photograph via YouTube
Dip and Drift 