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Wicketkeeper-batsman Suresh Lokeshwar’s unbeaten 92 helped India hold on to a draw on the final day after collapsing to 61 for 6 in their chase of 238

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2017
Scorecard
File photo – Max Holden’s 170 led England to a big total in the first innings•Getty Images

An unbeaten 92 from wicketkeeper-batsman Suresh Lokeshwar helped India hang on to a draw against England in the first Youth Test of the two-match series.India were set 238 to win on the final day, and found themselves four down at the start of the sixth over. Subsequently, they were reduced to 61 for 6. Seamers Henry Brookes (3-56) and Aaron Beard (2-24) took the first five of those, before Arthur Godsal removed first-innings centurion Daryl Ferrario for 37. This left Lokeshwar about 34 overs to survive in the lower order’s company. He did so with a partnership of 39 for the seventh wicket with Sijomon Joseph that took 13.1 overs, followed by more attacking stands of 61 at 4.11 with Kanishk Seth and an unbroken 28 at 4.54 with Vineet Panwar. Lokeshwar hit 14 fours during his knock and struck at 73.60, but India’s early breakthroughs meant 189 for 8 was as far as they could get in the chase.The chase itself was set up with a six-wicket haul by offspinner Joseph, who inflicted a collapse on England that saw them fall from 151 for 4 to 167 all out on the final day. Right-handed batsman George Bartlett didn’t get to bat with Max Holden in the second innings, with whom he had put on a record 321 runs in the first innings, but was involved in England’s biggest partnership in the second innings too, putting on 73 for the fifth wicket with Ollie Pope (26) after the visitors were reduced to 78 for 4. He fell to Joseph for 68 and Pope followed shortly after, falling to Ferrario (2-17) and opening up an England collapse that spanned 11 overs.The second innings for both teams were in stark contrast to the first, where runs were more easily had. England skipper Holden had won the toss, chosen to bat, and gone on to score 170 after his record partnership for the second wicket ended with Bartlett’s stumping off Joseph for 179. Allrounder Delray Rawlins then scored an unbeaten 70 off 94 balls to lift England to 501 for 5. In response, India declared on 431 for 8, with sixties from Abhishek Goswami (66), Saurabh Singh (62) and Joseph (62*) complementing Ferrario’s 117.

Leicester City are looking for a new permanent manager following their relegation from the Premier League this season, and a former Liverpool legend is among the names of the shortlist.

The Foxes could begin their summer rebuild by appointing former Aston Villa and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, as per journalist Tom Collomosse.

Will Steven Gerrard become Leicester manager?

Gerrard has been without a club since he was sacked by Villa back in October after less than a year in charge.

The Liverpool native was dismissed after a poor run of form to start the season and was replaced by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery who later helped guide Villa to a place in next season’s Europa Conference League.

The former Reds captain had a successful stint in Scotland and helped guide Rangers to their Scottish title in ten years back in 2021 before his move to Villa Park.

Gerrard is one of a number of names on the shortlist to take over at the King Power Stadium, which includes current interim boss Dean Smith, former Fulham and AFC Bournemouth head coach Scott Parker and current Manchester City assistant coach Enzo Maresca.

Leicester could face competition from fellow-relegated side Leeds, who The Mail claim are also interested in offering Gerrard a role as head coach. Leeds are looking for a new manager following Sam Allardyce’s departure.

Would Steven Gerrard be a good Leicester City manager?

Although the former England midfielder had some success in his time in Glasgow, Leicester fans may be concerned at a lack of experience on the part of the manager could hinder their chances of promotion back to the Premier League.

Gerrard has only held two senior managerial posts.

The Liverpool legend managed the U18 and U19 teams at the club for which he made over 500 league appearances before landing the job at Ibrox.

But the 43-year-old's spell at Villa will be what concerns Leicester fans the most.

Jordan Campbell of The Athletic has described Gerrard’s managerial style as “repetitive' and that 'it leaves fans cold'. Campbell argues that even before his tenure at Rangers ended, there was a 'distinct feeling that things had gone stale.'

Former Premier League manager Neil Warnock told talkSPORT in October:

“I think it’s hard for him to relate to fans at times”.

“I just think sometimes you’ve got to get on board with the fans a little bit more and become almost one of them.”

Comments like these will worry Leicester fans ahead of a managerial appointment of huge significance as the club look to rebound immediately to England’s top division.

India have added legspinner Amit Mishra and offspinner Parvez Rasool to their squad for the three T20s against England, choosing to rest their first-choice spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2017

Updated India squad

KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Virat Kohli (capt), MS Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra
In: Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool
Out: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja

India have added legspinner Amit Mishra and offspinner Parvez Rasool to their squad for the three T20s against England, choosing to rest their first-choice spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series. Ashwin and Jadeja had been part of the initial 15-man squad for the series, which also includes legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal.The series begins on January 26 in Kanpur, rounding off England’s full tour of India.Mishra played two Tests against England in the recent home series and picked up five wickets. In the home ODIs against New Zealand before that, he was India’s top wicket-taker with 15 strikes at 14.33 and an economy rate of 4.79. He had played that series, too, in the absence of Ashwin and Jadeja, who were rested.In all, Mishra has played eight T20Is, and taken 14 wickets at 13.71 and an economy rate of 6.40. Only one of those eight T20Is have come in the last year; before playing West Indies in Florida last August, his previous T20I was in early 2014 at the World T20 in Bangladesh where he finished as India’s second-highest wicket-taker behind Ashwin.Rasool, who is handy with the bat down the order, has played just one international game till date – against Bangladesh in Dhaka in mid-2014. It is understood that the selectors felt this series was a good opportunity to blood someone like Rasool as there were no high-profile T20I tournaments in the near future.When Rasool was selected for India A to play England in a warm-up one-dayer in January 2013, during what was a stand-out Ranji season for him with bat and ball, he became the first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to be selected in an Indian team to play an international side.Leading up to the recently-concluded ODIs against England, once again Rasool was picked to play a tour game, and he claimed 3 for 38 including the wickets of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes. In the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy, he took 38 wickets at 23.86.In the IPL, Rasool has represented Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad and, most recently, Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 37 T20s, he has 27 wickets at 34.44 with an economy rate of 6.88.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPragyan Ojha suffered a blow to the head and had to be stretchered off the field•PTI

The match between India Blue and India Green laboured to a predictable draw in Greater Noida, as India Blue, who began the fourth and final day with a lead of 555, chose not to declare and batted on until they were bowled out an hour from the dinner break. India Green, left with a target of 769, raced to 179 for 4 courtesy half-centuries from M Vijay (73) and Robin Uthappa (66) before the players shook hands as the match entered its final hour.India Blue collected three points, by virtue of their 470-run first-innings lead, and set up a final date with India Red. India Green ended their campaign with a solitary point, having lost outright to India Red in the tournament opener.Outplayed from the time they were asked to bowl first, India Green’s day was made worse by a freak head injury to Pragyan Ojha. Ojha, fielding at mid-on, got down to stop Pankaj Singh’s thwack, but the ball bounced unexpectedly and struck him on the side of his head. Ojha lay motionless, clutching his head, before being stretchered off. He was taken to a nearby multispeciality hospital and a neurosurgeon was consulted. Later in the day, the BCCI revealed that Ojha was safe, tweeting a picture of him on his hospital bed, flashing a smile and a thumbs-up.At the time of Ojha’s injury, India Blue were nine down. The day had begun with overnight batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal completing half-centuries, while Cheteshwar Pujara struck a brisk 31. Sheldon Jackson and Dinesh Karthik then came together for a fifth-wicket stand of 46. After Karthik’s dismissal for 57, Jackson took centrestage, and the first-innings centurion once again gave India Green a hard time, tonking six fours and five sixes. When Pankaj Singh was cleaned up by Shreyas Gopal, Jackson was unbeaten 79 off 77 balls. Shreyas ended with figures of 4 for 53.India Green’s batsmen decided to have some fun and their innings made for entertaining viewing. M Vijay set the tone with an edged boundary over gully off the very first ball of the innings, and the batsmen frequently stepped out and hit over the top. Jalaj Saxena did not last long with that approach, however, flashing at one outside off to be caught at point. Thereafter, Uthappa and Vijay added 116 for the second wicket off just 134 balls.The two took a liking to legspinner Karn Sharma, who offered them generous flight. They stepped down the track and heaved him either side of the wicket, frequently targeting long-on and long-off.Green’s batsmen had their share of luck, too. Karn put down a tough chance when Vijay hammered one straight back at him on 31. He was offered another life when Jackson misjudged a catch at extra-cover off the same bowler with Vijay on 46. The reprieves did not alter the second-wicket pair’s approach, however. Uthappa raised his half-century by creaming Abhimanyu Mithun through extra cover in the 21st over, and Vijay joined him less than three overs later, lofting Karn for a boundary through the same region.Karn, however, continued flighting the ball. He began finding turn too, and had Uthappa holing out to cover point, while Vijay picked out long-off.Parthiv Patel’s brief stay was ended by Parvez Rasool who got one to drift in and trap him lbw. Shortly thereafter, Gambhir decided he had had enough, and the players shook hands with Saurabh Tiwary unbeaten on 20, and Shreyas giving him company on 3.

West Ham play their biggest game of their season so far when they take on AZ Alkmaar in a Europa Conference League semi-final this evening.

The Irons brutally lost to Eintracht Frankfurt at the same stage of the Europa League last year and will want to go one step further this time.

The Claret and Blues are yet to lose in the competition this term and emphatically dispatched Gent with a 5-2 aggregate triumph, which included a 4-1 demolition of the Belgian outfit in the second leg.

To maximise their chances of progression, David Moyes must start Said Benrahma, who has proved to be pivotal for the Hammers this campaign.

Why should Said Benrahma start?

The winger isn’t always Moyes’ preferred option, having only started 21 of the East Londoner's 35 Premier League games.

However, when he is on the pitch, the Algerian is often the driving force of the attacks. He has averaged 1.4 key passes per game, which is the second highest in the squad, as well as 1.4 dribbles, which is the biggest total in the team, as per WhoScored.

The 27-year-old is also one of the chief creative forces in the team – this is showcased by the fact that he has fashioned 59 chances in 45 appearances in all competitions, at a rate of 1.31 chances per 90, the best figure in the side.

The £55k-per-week man has also taken the most shots (67) in the team this term to display that he is constantly involved – an effervescent, lively, and dangerous asset who endlessly hugs the left flank, patiently waiting for his moment to spring into life.

Three-time Premier League winner Joe Cole has described the technician as "unplayable" and recently netted the only goal in a crucial 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the London Stadium.

From a wider perspective, the attacker also rates impressively compared to players outside his division. This is displayed by his rank in the top 12% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries per 90, as well as the highest 19% for successful take-ons, according to FBref.

Moyes must avoid the temptation of any experimentation and stick to his most reliable and dangerous line-up, which definitely involves Benrahma.

His pace, trickery, and dynamism will allow the Hammers to retain ascendency, and he could be the hero in a side looking to win their first European trophy since 1965.

While England are riding a wave of momentum after a thumping win, Sri Lanka’s woes are compounded as they are left sweating over the fitness of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan25-Jun-2016Match factsJune 26, 2016
Start time 1030 local (0930 GMT)Big PictureEoin Morgan demanded improvement from his England side after they escaped with a last-ball tie in the opening ODI of the series. He got it in no uncertain terms at Edgbaston. Accurate bowling, and a lively fielding display, was followed by a dominant, free-wheeling opening stand as Alex Hales and Jason Roy plundered the record books in a 10-wicket victory.The turnaround is now swift to the third match; a chance for England to carry their surge forward in Bristol, and an opportunity for Sri Lanka to quickly dust themselves off. But things are threatening to unravel for Angelo Mathews’ side after seeing a victory slip away and then his team dominated in all three departments.Too much in Sri Lanka’s batting is currently resting on the shoulders of Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal – to add to the problems that pair are also under an injury cloud having both suffered hamstring problems. Upul Tharanga’s breezy fifty at No. 7 at Edgbaston suggested he may be wasted down in the middle order.England, having shaken off the rust from the opening match, will be aiming to ram home their advantage and take an unbeatable lead in the series, although, let it not be forgotten, that the Super Series has already been secured.At the beginning of the series, the question of balance, in the absence of Ben Stokes, was a significant talking point, and at Trent Bridge, there were times when the lack of another main bowling option looked a problem. However, at Edgbaston, Joe Root’s three overs escaped with little punishment, while Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid conceded just 75 in 19 overs between them.Form guideEngland WTLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LTWWLIn the spotlight20-0-70-2: those are handy figures for Adil Rashid over the first two matches of the series. The legspinner has shown outstanding control when thrown the ball, bowling both his spells straight through to ensure Sri Lanka struggled to build much of a tempo to their innings. In both games, he has been helped by the early wickets nicked out by the pacemen, but the impressive factor in Rashid’s performances has been the lack of the really loose deliveries. There will still be days when it does not go so well for him, but he is a bowler increasingly capable of responding to the pressure.Upul Tharanga has played 156 of his 176 ODI innings as an opening batsman. He has 13 hundreds to his name – putting him fifth on Sri Lanka’s all-time list – albeit just one of them has come since a stellar 2011 in which he scored four. Sri Lanka have lost early wickets in both matches so far, and it would surely be worthwhile considering using Tharanga in the position he has forged for the majority of his career.Teams newsThere would appear to be little need for England to change anything after such a resounding victory, unless there is a desire to rotate anyone.England (probable) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Adil RashidChandimal followed Mathews in picking up a hamstring problem at Edgbaston and did not keep wicket in the second half of the match. Both players will undergo fitness tests on Sunday morning. Keeping options is one thing Sri Lanka are not short of, but they can ill-afford to lose Chandimal’s batting. Mathews did not move freely when batting and was unable to bowl.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Upul Tharanga, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 7 Suraj Randiv, 9 Farveez Maharoof, 10 Nuwan Pradeep, 11 Suranga LakmalPitch and conditionsThe most recent Royal London Cup match at this ground produced 694 runs in 100 overs. The forecast is not entirely promising, with rain due to move in during the afternoon after a bright start.Stats and trivia England have played in Bristol nine times. The most recent match, against India in 2014, was abandoned without a ball bowled. Overall, they have won three and lost five. Since the second ODI against Pakistan, in Abu Dhabi in November, 2015, Alex Hales has scored 681 runs at 75.67 in 10 innings. Liam Plunkett needs one wicket to reach 50 in ODIsQuotes”A lot of hard work goes into batting, and a lot of emotions. So once those runs came to me, it all came out. It will be interesting to see my celebration – because I don’t really know what happened.”
“We have to try to flush it out of the system and forget about this game as quickly as possible – because we’ve got only one day to come back and play pretty well.”

ScorecardFile photo – Jackson Bird returned career-best first-class figures of 7 for 45•Getty Images

A sturdy hundred by Kurtis Patterson helped New South Wales secure a first-innings lead over Tasmania before Trent Copeland and Doug Bollinger put the hosts under pressure, after two days of the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart.NSW had entered the day in trouble at 4 for 26 in pursuit of 242, but Patterson and Ben Rohrer were able to absorb the new ball before building a strong partnership that pulled the Blues back into the contest then allowed them to forge ahead.Rohrer, who made a stirring century to help NSW overcome South Australia in Coffs Harbour last week, was unable to go much past 50 this time, but the 120-run stand with Patterson pushed the game back towards the visitors.Ryan Carters then helped Patterson add another 74 before the young left-hander was out for an even century. Copeland and Bollinger added more useful runs as Tasmania found themselves batting with an unexpected deficit. Jackson Bird’s 7 for 45 was his best return in first-class cricket.They began badly, as Tim Paine, Ben Dunk and Alex Doolan were all dismissed within the first 10 overs of Tasmania’s reply. Beau Webster survived till stumps, but Tasmania have a task ahead to set NSW a target.

After being benched from Bermuda’s first two matches for disciplinary reasons, Kamau Leverock blasted 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur02-May-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsICC/Ian JacobsAfter being benched for Bermuda’s first two matches at the WCL Division Four for disciplinary reasons, star allrounder Kamau Leverock reminded Jersey of his talent with a devastating 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey at Kinrara Oval.Returning to the scene of Saturday’s training-session tirade that earned him a two-match ban, Leverock punished Jersey’s bowling attack after they had sent Bermuda in at the toss. Leverock, and his opening partner Okera Bascome, each hit a four and two sixes off Cornelis Bodenstein and Anthony Hawkins-Kay to take Bermuda to 32 for 0 in two overs. Leverock brought up a 28-ball fifty in the 10th over, off Charles Perchard.Leverock’s onslaught against Jersey’s bowlers was reminiscent of a similar shellacking two years ago, at the last Division Four in Los Angeles, when he smashed 137 off 111 balls.Elliot Miles eventually ended the opening stand at 52, but Leverock and captain Terryn Fray put on another 58 for the second wicket to take Bermuda to a commanding 110 for 1 in 15 overs.Bermuda’s scoring rate fell dramatically after Leverock’s dismissal, going at under four an over the rest of the way, until they were bowled out for 242 in the final over. The left-arm spin trio of Miles, Ben Stevens and Nat Watkins combined to take eight of the ten wickets.On what has been a good batting surface at the Kinrara Oval through the tournament, Jersey stuttered in reply, falling to 32 for 3 inside the Powerplay. Stevens once again provided a major contribution with the bat to give Jersey hope, top-scoring with 42 off 52 balls at No. 3. But Jersey were hurt by a number of batsmen failing to convert their starts in the middle and lower order.Offspinning allrounder Dion Stovell, who took the new ball and dismissed Peter Gough in the fourth over, came back to spin out the tail, finishing with 4 for 33 as Jersey were bowled out in the 43rd over for 184.

Now that the transfer window has closed and off-field theatrics have stalled, Aston Villa can focus on the season ahead under Unai Emery.

The Villans had a strong summer to build on their success from the 2022/23 campaign, in which the Spaniard arrived in the Midlands and led the side to a European finish, however, there remains plenty for the squad to build on.

With arrivals come exits, and as the days go by following the climax of deadline day, it looks almost certain that one star will bid farewell to Villa Park before the season progresses.

Philippe Coutinho’s time in claret and blue seems to be over, with Emery confirming that the Brazilian is “close to leaving” his squad for Qatari side Al-Duhail, just a year and a half after his arrival.

What is Coutinho’s salary at Aston Villa?

Signed on an initial half-season loan that was made permanent last summer, Coutinho took a significant wage drop to join the Premier League side, however remains one of the club’s biggest earners.

Picking up an alleged pay packet of £125k-per-week, the 31-year-old is Villa’s fourth-highest earner at present, earning more than the likes of Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz.

The former Liverpool sensation picks up a staggering £6.5m a year on his contract in the Midlands, which is an alarmingly high figure considering the lack of impact he’s had since arriving back in England.

Does Coutinho deserve to earn so much?

When revising the impact of Watkins and Luiz, who contributed to 33 goals between them in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, Coutinho’s weekly earnings are unjustified.

There’s no denying the player that Villa thought they could unlock, a talent that was purchased by Barcelona for £146m back in 2018 due to his level of performance in England whilst on Merseyside.

It simply hasn’t happened for the attacker at Villa Park, scoring just once in the league last season, making 20 appearances and battling injury and poor form in between.

Prior to Emery’s arrival, the Brazilian was slammed by club legend Gabriel Agbonlahor for his dreary displays, with the former striker dubbing him as “non-existent” under Steven Gerrard, via talkSPORT.

It’s a shame for both player and club that things didn’t work out as hoped, considering the midfielder's impeccable track record, in which he had a hand in 78 Premier League goals in 152 league appearances for the Reds.

Lauded as having “magical powers” by former Liverpool teammate Roberto Firmino, the calibre of player signed by Gerrard was never questioned, however, the issue remains that he has not translated his form in claret and blue.

£125k-per-week is an extortionate amount of money for an individual not contributing or performing to the level expected, particularly when those excelling at his level are earning considerably less.

Setting injury troubles aside, when in action, the 31-year-old has failed to produce the moments of magic typical of his style when at Anfield.

As per Sofascore, last season the Champions League winner averaged a match rating of 6.66 per game in the Premier League, communicating just how dull his performances have been when involved in the action.

With a departure imminent, Villa will soon be freed of the £125k-per-week expense to fund the Brazilian’s talent, with a chance to look back on the deal and hope to not replicate it in the future.

The Perth Scorchers captain hopes CA will make WBBL a standalone event as the women’s team is looking forward to the challenge of creating their own brand ahead of the World T20 in 2020

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide03-Feb-2018Perth Scorchers captain Elyse Villani has declared the Women’s Big Bash League is ready to be a standalone tournament, separate from the men’s edition, after Cricket Australia agreed it was now time to look beyond the established model that has the semis and final of the two competitions played as double-headers.Plenty of eyebrows were raised by the fact the first-ranked Sydney Sixers and second-placed Sydney Thunder had to play their semi-finals matches at the home grounds of the fourth and third Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers, a scheduling quirk that helped Villani’s team advance to a tournament final that is a replay of last year’s edition against the Sixers.Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, the partner of the Sixers’ wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, spoke for many when he tweeted: “Soooo finish first and have to play an away semi. Win semi and have to play an away final. Where might the advantage for being first or winning a semi be?” At the end of a week in which CA and the ICC launched dual men’s and women’s World Twenty20 events for 2020, Villani said the time had come for the world’s biggest women’s domestic T20 tournament to stand on its own feet.”I definitely do, heading towards the T20 World Cup in 2020, that’s a standalone competition,” Villani said. “So I think that’s a move Cricket Australia will make pretty soon and we’re definitely ready for it and looking forward to the challenge of continuing to create our own brand.”Her words echoed those of the BBL chief Kim McConnie, who said CA had noted the irritation of the higher-ranked teams in having to travel for their semi-finals. “I think we want to look at the final, and getting girls their own final,” McConnie told the . “The top teams, they should earn the right to play at their own venue. There’s a lot of complexity to work through, but it feels like something that we really need to start looking at.”Ellyse Perry, who will lead the Sixers to their third consecutive tournament final, said she wanted to see the competition continue to grow gradually. Much will depend on the shape of television rights negotiations this year, after the Ten Network responded to the cajoling of CA’s media rights chief Steph Beltrame to try broadcasting the WBBL, a tournament that did not exist when their BBL rights deal began in 2013.Elyse Villani set up the Perth Scorchers chase with an unbeaten 74•Getty Images

“I know they’ve got plans in the future to potentially make this competition as standalone competition and that would probably see the finals played similar to how the opening weekend’s played,” Perry said of the WBBL’s future. “But at the same time we want to make sure this is built on really strong foundations, that there’s a wonderful support and following for the game, people are interested and want to turn up and watch it.”We’ve shown that a number of times this year and same with the Ashes series, the amount of people who came out to that. The more we keep growing this, the more it’s going to turn into its own product. I think every year it gets better and better in terms of the standards, the quality and then the interest in the competition as well.”The opening weekend at North Sydney a few months ago was absolutely incredible, the people who came out, the standard of cricket that was played, the amount of runs scored, the amount of people who tuned in on Channel Ten as well over the course of the tournament has been bigger and better again this year. That sort of steady but solid progress has been absolutely wonderful and bodes really well for the future and where this competition’s heading.”Both the Scorchers and the Sixers prospered from their opponents cracking under the pressure of the occasion during the semi-finals, most notably Adelaide Strikers, who lost 6 for 3 at one point in pursuit of an eminently gettable Sixers target. “In this format, you’re always under a lot of pressure,” Villani said, “and no matter what format you’re playing, people make decisions under pressure.”Sometimes they’re good and sometimes they’re bad. That’s something you cop and hopefully learn from moving onto the next game. To be honest, the team that holds their nerve and executes their plan the best will probably come out winners.”Having lost to the Scorchers twice during the qualifying rounds this tournament, Perry said Sunday’s final would be a matter of key players stepping up at the right time, after they experienced the ups and downs of a gruelling 15 matches. “This comp is probably the toughest comp I’ve played in in terms of the rigours of it, how much you play and how often you play and the peaks and troughs that you go through,” Perry said.”The last couple of weeks have been challenging but if you look across every team, players form ebbs and flows. The best teams are the teams that have people contributing across the group at different times. Ash [Gardner] and Sarah Aley played a really important role for us. Last weekend, Alyssa Healy was absolutely outstanding and crucial in those wins. You kind of want everyone to contribute at the right time. Whoever turns up on the day and performs the crucial roles, you’ve just got to support them the best you can.”