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Bangladesh are famished for ODI success in 2014 and the new captain Mashrafe Mortaza hopes to use the momentum from the Test series to turn things around

Mohammad Isam20-Nov-2014Bangladesh are famished for ODI success in 2014 and the new captain Mashrafe Mortaza hopes to use the momentum from the Test series to turn things around. His side has been winless in 50-over cricket this year, losing 12 out of 13 with one game abandoned in June.”We played quite badly this year so I can’t say that we were in a so-so position,” Mashrafe said. “This is the time to comeback especially before the World Cup, so we are all focused. We won the Test series very well. This will definitely increase our confidence, especially for those who played well. This will also affect the whole team because we haven’t played any bad game in the series.The first match against Zimbabwe in Chittagong will kick off Mashrafe’s second stint as ODI captain after the first was ended by injury four years ago. Bangladesh have blanked Zimbabwe in a five-match series in 2006 and have won four out of the six such series played between the two sides. Their current form is also a positive, but Mashrafe was not keen on making predictions.”Captaincy is a challenge, but because the Test series has gone well that might help,” he said. “However, it doesn’t mean that we will win all the five games. We have to play well in the field, like we did in the Tests. Plans will be changed and now we have to execute them. If we can do that all then it will be good.”Firstly, people may have expected 3-0 [in Tests] but no one could say for sure that we would win this 3-0 until it actually happened. We played well that’s why 3-0 happened. Honestly speaking, I am not thinking of 5-0 because the first two matches are important. If we can do well here [in Chittagong], then we can go and confirm the series in Dhaka.”But before that we have to start well. We lost close games this year. I think it’s good to go with one game at a time. Once we win a game then everything will fall into place. So the first match is very important. I won’t talk about the 5-match series. One match is important and then the series.”Bangladesh’s composition might be adjusted to account for dew at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Mashrafe has first-hand knowledge of its effect from when he had stepped in as captain for two T20s against Sri Lanka in January and struggled with the amount of moisture on the outfield. Winter is approaching and temperatures are dropping every day as well, but Mashrafe doesn’t want to focus on external factors.”There is a lot of dew here, which might be a problem,” he said. “But then there are two teams who will have to adjust to the situation. We have to plan and go ahead. And I believe that we can do well. We don’t want to go into the negative side of it all. We have to believe that we have to bowl well in the dew.”We haven’t discussed [our comibnation] as yet. Nothing has been confirmed. Shakib, [Arafat] Sunny or Jubair [Hossain] are genuine spinners so they will face problems in the dew.”

A preview of the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab, in Delhi

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran22-Apr-2013Match factsTuesday, April 23
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Big PictureWhether it was the inspiration of meeting Sir Viv Richards, or the abysmal bowling from Mumbai Indians or Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene finally playing the way they are expected to, Delhi Daredevils finally ended their winless streak at eight (including the losses in the playoffs last season). Chances of reaching the playoffs still remain remote, but at least they have got their campaign off the ground.They made a big call ahead of the match against Mumbai on Sunday, dropping their best bowler from the previous season, Morne Morkel. His replacement Andre Russell, however, continues to leak runs at an alarming rate – his economy-rate of 9.95 is the third worst in the IPL, behind only the forgotten P Amarnath and his Daredevils team-mate Sehwag. Daredevils have struggled to settle on their four overseas players this season, and will have to tinker again against Kings XI Punjab.Their opponents may have pulled off the joint highest chase of the season against Pune Warriors on Sunday, but have some major team changes to make. Two of their regulars, Adam Gilchrist and Azhar Mahmood, have fared poorly in recent matches and both are on the brink of losing their places. They might get another shot, as coach Darren Lehmann has ruled out Shaun Marsh for the match. Marsh, who joined the squad recently, has not played any cricket after recovering from a surgery and Lehmann stated that he would be considered for selection only after he regained full fitness and participated in fielding drills.What will be a huge lift for Kings XI is that their team – generally regarded to have one of the most fragile batting line-ups in the tournament – managed to overhaul a stiff 185 against Warriors, even without needing the services of David Hussey. David Miller and Hussey have performed well for the side and the win against Warriors has lifted them to mid-table, above heavyweights like Mumbai and Kolkata Knight Riders.Form GuideDelhi Daredevils WLLLL (most recent first)
Kings XI Punjab WLWLLPlayers to watchOne of the most valuable performers for Kings XI last season, Azhar Mahmood has had a patchy IPL 2013. In five innings, he has scored just 35 runs at an average of 7 and was out for a duck in a big chase yesterday. His bowling has been inconsistent too. Although he is the leading wicket-taker for Kings XI, he has conceded runs at crucial stages, including the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. As a senior player in the side, Mahmood will need to contribute more.The match against Mumbai Indians was the first time David Warner had not opened in an IPL game. With Daredevils having a difficult time this season, he has been shifted out of his favourite spot at the top of the order. Jayawardene has said he wants Warner to become a finisher, “to play the role that Kevin [Pietersen] played last year”. Can Warner adapt to his new role?Stats and trivia Sehwag has scored 2028 runs in the IPL at a strike-rate of 165.41, the best strike-rate among batsmen who have scored at least 100 IPL runs David Hussey needs 55 more to become the third batsman to reach 5000 Twenty20 runsMiller had an outstanding season in England’s Friends Life t20 in 2012 – scoring at a strike-rate of 153 and an average of 48.75Quotes”I am definitely under scrutiny, I have not scored runs. The drop catch was a really bad let off and it could have cost us the game. Not good enough for me. When we sit down at the selection table, we will have to look at that and see what’s right.”
“He is a star for the future. He has a good mind, wants to do well and I am really happy for him.”

Lasith Malinga took the 22 yards out of the equation in low-scoring thriller, but New Zealand survived him to register their first win over Sri Lanka in four years

The Report by Sidharth Monga09-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan smiled the last smiles•AFPLasith Malinga took the 22 yards out of the equation in a low-scoring thriller, but New Zealand survived him to register their first win over Sri Lanka in four years. The pitch has hardly ever mattered less. It was flat, the sun was out, the ball was not swinging, but Malinga’s dipping slower full tosses had New Zealand batsmen hopping and hoping in what was expected to be an afternoon stroll. Nathan McCullum, first, and then Tim Southee batted with just the maturity New Zealand desperately needed to see them through with one wicket in hand.The chase swung dramatically. From coasting at 48 for 1 New Zealand stumbled to 49 for 4. From 70 for 4 they fell to 80 for 6, but then, crucially, they were allowed to get away with a relatively quieter phase when Malinga was taken off and brought back only after brothers McCullum had taken off 31 off the requirement. Malinga came back and seemed like he could strike with every ball, but Sri Lanka will be left asking themselves – especially because Malinga brought them so close – if they had kept Malinga’s four overs back for too long.DRS, or the way it was used by the sides, made its presence felt too. Kane Williamson wasted New Zealand’s review by asking for a replay when he was caught dead plumb by a thigh-high dipping full toss. Daniel Vettori later copped a rough one when he had hit another similar full toss into his pad. Sri Lanka had exhausted theirs early in the innings, and had to do with two not-outs towards the end that they could have got overturned on replay.Amid loud unending appeals almost every ball, it was supreme drama with the balls remaining taken out of the equation: New Zealand still won with 13.3 overs to spare and took a bigger net-run-rate boost than England did in their facile win over Australia.Going by how they went either side of the lunch break – their chase began early because they had bowled Sri Lanka out in 2 hours and 55 minutes – New Zealand should have finished it much earlier. It was all going swimmingly for them until Malinga got Williamson in the eighth over. In the next couple of overs, Rangana Herath and Shaminda Eranga – preferred to Sachithra Senanayake and Nuwan Kulasekara – struck. Herath trapped Ross Taylor with one that went on with the arm, and Eranga got one to bounce from short of a length outside off, taking the edge from Martin Guptill, who had raced away to 25 from 24.Still it should have been easy for New Zealand, but they fumbled further to spin. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Herath almost cut out all singles, and Dilshan got James Franklin with the right-arm spinner’s version of the earlier Taylor dismissal. Sri Lanka were now sensing room for a miracle here, and brought Malinga back for his sixth over. On cue he struck, but Vettori could not get the obvious howler overturned because his team-mate had earlier challenged a call he was merely not sure about.Strangely, though, Malinga was taken off immediately after he took Vettori’s wicket. When he was brought back, New Zealand had reached 111 for 6, needing only a further 28. Both Brendon McCullum and Nathan McCullum had been allowed to take the singles, and they did so. The period did involve a thin edge from N McCullum in the 28th over when the score read 100, but only the keeper heard it. Even the bowler Eranga hardly appealed. Did the excessive appealing leading up to that – Sri Lanka had been spoken to at the end of the 21st over – have any part to play in that decision? We will never know.It is credit to Malinga’s genius, though, that he came back and immediately took B McCullum out with another one of his loopy, alarmingly dipping full tosses. B McCullum played all across it, and the ball reached the off stump on a half-volley. New Zealand now needed 24 runs with three wickets in hand. Quite clearly, it was Malinga v New Zealand, and you wonder if it would have been different if it had been 44 runs to play with, and not 24.Malinga, however, kept producing the magic. In his next over, he took out the other McCullum, who had wizened up to the slower ball, with a quick inswinging yorker. New Zealand still had 17 to get, and Malinga had 2.4 overs to go. The next four balls were a slower yorker, a quick yorker, a slower length ball, and another slower yorker, all on target. This was insanely good bowling, and Tim Southee and Kyle Mills somehow survived. As they did the next over, from Herath.Malinga now had 12 balls to bowl, and 11 runs to defend. He began the 34th over with a quick inswinging length ball, which was only clipping leg, and the umpire Bruce Oxenford ruled not out. He had ruled N McCullum out on a similar delivery, and under DRS both decisions stand. However, the next one would have been changed by DRS. It hit Southee on the toe plumb in front, went to the third-man boundary for four, but Tucker called it runs. It was a huge moment in the game. Not only did New Zealand not lose Southee, the target was now down to eight.Much chatter went on. The players had to be separated at the end of the over. Southee was not losing his cool, though. The same couldn’t be said of Mills. Southee dug one out towards mid-on in the next over, and took the fielder on. Thisara Perera missed the stumps at the non-striker’s end narrowly, but he was lucky the ball went to hit the other set of stumps. Mills, though, was not desperate to make it, and was caught short. New Zealand still needed five, and Malinga had one over to go.For once, Malinga made a mistake. He began his final over with an attempted yorker that went down the leg side. Southee cautiously played out the rest of the over. Don’t bother about whether the No. 11 will be on strike for the next over. Just see Malinga off.Sri Lanka now made another interesting choice. Dilshan was given the ball. You could see why. Mitchell McClenaghan, a left-hand batsman, was on strike. He could get the lbw with the straighter one, or a bat-pad catch. But forget short leg for the inside edge, there was no man catching for Southee. And New Zealand needed only four. They were granted two easy singles, followed by a wide down the leg side, which also went for a bye. McLenaghan was nearly run out taking the second because they were not sure of the wide, but the end finally was a little insipid.There was nothing insipid about New Zealand’s effort in the field. Sri Lanka had gone with just three strike bowlers, but New Zealand replaced the injured allrounder, Gran Elliot, with a bowler, Vettori. You can imagine a few captains sitting back and allowing easy singles once the early wickets were taken, but there were no soft partnerships here. If you wanted to score runs, you either played exceptional shots or took risks. The risks brought New Zealand timely wickets.It all began when B McCullum went parallel to the ground at second slip to send back Kusal Perera with the first ball of the match. All other New Zealand signs were there. Mills struck his usual early blows, Vettori – the first spinner to bowl inside the mandatory Powerplay in this tournament – took a wicket in his first ODI over since the 2011 World Cup, and McClenaghan kept cutting partnerships short. McCullum chipped in too, there was a run-out, and Sri Lanka were bowled out in the 38th over.Kumar Sangakkara was one of three batsmen to reach double figures, but the only one to go past 20. He looked a cut above every other batsman on the day, but looking for quick runs he sliced an N McCullum offbreak to backward point. Sangakkara knew knocking around wouldn’t help, and had been taking risks for a while now. This one didn’t come off, though. As didn’t the move to bowl Dilshan without wicket-taking intent in what proved to be the final over of the match.

The two Barbados sides scheduled to participate in a T20 competition against six English counties have pulled out just hours before the event was due to start.

George Dobell16-Mar-2013The two Barbados sides scheduled to participate in a T20 competition against six English counties have pulled out just hours before the event was due to start.Six English counties – Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Northamptonshire – are currently in Barbados preparing for the new county season, but their preparations have been hit by the withdrawal of both local sides from what was to have been the showpiece event of the trip.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Barbados side made a late request for payment in the region of BBD 3,000 (just under GBP 1,000) and, after this was declined, refused to play. As a result it was decided that the other local side, the Combined Campuses and Colleges team, should also withdraw from the competition in order to allow the six county sides to contest between themselves.The location of the games has also been changed. Organisers originally claimed that the two-day competition, on March 16 and 17, would be played at the Kensington Oval but the first day has been rescheduled for the Three W’s Oval on the University of the West Indies, Barbados campus.The reputation of pre-season tours to Barbados was increased greatly by the subsequent success of the counties that travelled to the country in March 2012. Warwickshire, who went on to win the County Championship, Hampshire, who won the limited-overs double, and Derbyshire and Yorkshire, who both won promotion in the championship, were among the counties who attended.

It has been a long tour for Zimbabwe, beaten in all six matches against West Indies so far, but on the second day of the Roseau Test they fell under the wheel of Shivnarine Chanderpaul

The Report by Alan Gardner21-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDenesh Ramdin’s half-century was also instrumental in giving West Indies a firm grip on the Test•WICB Media Photo/Randy BrooksIt has been a long tour for Zimbabwe, beaten in all six matches against West Indies so far, but on the second day of the Roseau Test they were presented with a new experience, when they finally fell under the wheel of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. His 28th Test century took him to within one of Bradman – albeit from almost three times as many matches – and, coming after Chris Gayle’s more belligerent effort, left Zimbabwe facing a 206-run deficit and the prospect of another probing from the spin-quisition on Friday.Chanderpaul’s 173-run stand with Denesh Ramdin, who added his second half-century of the series, all but snuffed out Zimbabwean hopes of making a contest of the match. There were numerous half-chances and missed opportunities, and on 88 he was hit on the helmet, but it looked as if Chanderpaul would be there at the close, if not this time next week, until Sean Williams claimed a dubious catch in the covers off Prosper Utseya. Recourse to the third umpire would surely have seen Chanderpaul reprieved – but perhaps even the officials felt that he’d had a long enough go by then.Zimbabwe will have to put up a much stiffer display with the bat if they are going to make West Indies utilise their second innings, but if they absorbed anything other than sweat and dirt during Chanderpaul’s near six-hour stay at the crease then it would be the lessons of self-denial and discipline that are so important for success in Test cricket.Smart stats

Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s century is his 28th in Tests. Among West Indies batsmen, only Brian Lara (34 centuries) has more hundreds.

The century is Chanderpaul’s first against Zimbabwe. In eight Tests, he has scored 393 runs at an average of 35.72.

Among the 22 batsmen with 2000-plus runs after the age of 35, Chanderpaul has the highest average (64.46).

Gayle’s century is his 15th in Tests and second against Zimbabwe. He has scored 6836 runs at an average of 42.45.

Ramdin’s 86 is his fourth-highest score and highest against Zimbabwe. He has scored three centuries and ten fifties at an average of 26.30.

The 173-run stand between Chanderpaul and Ramdin is the second-highest fifth-wicket stand against Zimbabwe. It is also the highest partnership in Tests played in Dominica.

It is easy to caricature Chanderpaul as seemingly the only man alive still playing timeless Tests. Crabbing and shuffling around the crease, he sometimes appears to be shot-less but he is a master accumulator and his occasional glides through the covers and flicks to leg steadily wore the edge off the Zimbabwe bowling. He no longer plays limited-overs cricket and only made 26 in Barbados but here he set his mind to reaching a first Test hundred against Zimbabwe – he only needs Sri Lanka to complete the set – going back above Mahela Jayawardene on the leading run-scorers’ list in the process. Chanderpaul now lies eighth, with Steve Waugh in his ambit.He faced 284 balls for his 108 runs, twice escaping chances to leg slip off Graeme Cremer, who toiled long and hard for his 2 for 102. Zimbabwe’s application could not be faulted, the plodding run rate attesting to their dogged approach in the field, and four wickets fell in the final hour as Cremer and Utseya finally garnered some reward. The spin that had manifested itself so extravagantly on the first day was largely absent for the Zimbabwe bowlers but Shane Shillingford has already proved himself adept on this surface and he will have a chance to assess conditions at the wicket in the morning, should West Indies decide to continue batting.Zimbabwe had started the second day in the best possible fashion, with a wicket from the first delivery – inevitably, it could only go downhill from there. Gayle roused himself after an unusually tentative performance on the previous evening to record his 15th century in Tests – his first significant innings since making 150 and 64 on his comeback last year – but added only 40 to his overnight score before a brilliant catch from Kyle Jarvis removed him for 101.Having collapsed in a tangle of limbs against spin in their first innings, Zimbabwe needed early wickets to prevent the hosts careering away from them. With Gayle and Marlon Samuels at the crease, and a deficit of only 61, there was every prospect of West Indies cracking on but Tendai Chatara threw a sleeper under the train with his opening delivery, full and wickedly swinging from leg stump to hit off as Samuels played around the ball.The unexpected breakthrough ended a 79-run partnership and allowed the bowlers to create some pressure. Chatara, in particular, extracted seam movement from the pitch but after Gayle’s dismissal with the score on 181 – and the lead just 6 – the bowlers were to send down more than 50 wicketless overs in succession as the fourth-wicket pairing of Chanderpaul and Ramdin ground on, inch by unforgiving inch.Chanderpaul may be among the most difficult batsmen in Test cricket to dislodge but he required a bit of luck as he was starting out, edging Chatara short of the slips and nearly playing on to Jarvis. There was also a sharp chance to leg slip against Cremer but Hamilton Masakadza was unable to get his hands under the ball; a review was wasted when an Utseya delivery was shown to be pitching outside leg and missing off.After scoring a couple of early boundaries, Chanderpaul battened down the hatches. Gayle, too, seemed becalmed, as 44 came from the first 17 overs of the day. Even in Test cricket, Gayle is hard to tie down, however, and he moved from 81 to 100 in five deliveries, three of them swatted lazily over the ropes. One run after reaching his century, Gayle miscued taking the attack to Utseya again but it took a terrific catch from Jarvis, running in circles under a swirling ball at wide long-off, to remove him. Gayle had been sent to Room 101 and, late in the day, Sibanda failed to grasp a catch with Chanderpaul on the same score. It may not be difficult to work out which player the Zimbabweans would have chosen to consign for all eternity.

Opportunity for knocks for several members of England’s ODI squad in Sri Lanka, with plans to be finalised and places to be won ahead of the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2014Opportunity for knocks for several members of England’s ODI squad in Sri Lanka, with plans to be finalised and places to be won ahead of the World Cup. Harry Gurney only made his England debut on a damp day in Aberdeen six months ago but if he can continue to make a good impression over the next few weeks, his left-arm angle of attack could make him a useful option in Australia and New Zealand.There will be even more chances to impress for England’s seamers, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad both absent. Anderson is resting a knee problem and Broad had begun his recovery from surgery on the same joint, so Gurney will form part of an inexperienced attack led by Steven Finn.Harry Gurney has his eyes on a place in England’s World Cup squad•AFP”From a personal perspective, my aim here is to try to cement that spot and get on that plane to Australia,” Gurney said. “I’m very confident. I think I’ve got a lot to offer. I’m the only left-armer involved here … and I hope I can offer something a little bit different. So when the selectors sit down to pick that squad, I hope I get my place.”Gurney, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes have just 59 ODI caps between them and all have struggled to match promise with consistency so far. With two members of the squad likely to be replaced by Anderson and Broad for the World Cup – though not necessarily both seamers – all four will want to impress coach Peter Moores and captain Alastair Cook.”With Jimmy dropping out reasonably late on and not being replaced, it means all of the seamers in the squad are going to get more opportunity and more time in the limelight to show what we’ve got,” he said. “We’ve got some guys who’ve played a fair bit. Finny has and Woakesy has been around a little while now … we’ve got a good group, and we’re all putting our heads together and trying to come up with the best tactics.””I think we’ve got a group of bowlers that will adapt … and allow Mooresy and Cooky to select a well-balanced attack, given the conditions we’re presented with.”Sri Lanka A squad for England warm-ups

Sri Lanka Cricket have announced a 15-man squad for two 50-over tour matches against England. Sri Lanka A will be captained by Ashan Priyanjan, with the first match scheduled for the SSC in Colombo on Friday.
Sri Lanka A squad: Ashan Priyanjan (capt), Kaushal Silva, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dinesh Chandimal, Thilina Kandamby, Kithruwan Vithanage, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, S A Lakshan Randika Sandakan, Remits Rambukwella, Lahiru Gamage, Dushmantha Sameera, Vishva Fernando, Nisala Tharaka

Gurney’s capacity for offering something different has helped elevate him to England’s limited-overs set-up, mixing up left-arm seam with a variety of slower balls. For express pace and bounce, England will be looking to Finn, who is still feeling his way back into international cricket after a year out of the side working on his run-up.”He’s looking really good,” Gurney said. “He’s in fine shape – and any issues he might have had are well behind him now. That’s brilliant for English cricket.”While the conditions in Sri Lanka will differ from those in Australia and New Zealand, it is in England’s interests to build confidence and work on their skills in the 50-over format. How successful they are could come down to the weather, as much as the opposition, with evening rainfall a potential problem throughout the duration of the tour – despite reserve days being scheduled for five of the seven matches.”Being English, we’re all used to a bit of rain,” Gurney said. “So that doesn’t bother anyone really. Turning up and having slightly damp footholds is not something any of us are fazed by.”Most of the ODIs have reserve days, so I think we’ll probably get a conclusion in most of if not all the games. If there are shorter games, it gives us the opportunity to go out there and maybe approach it with a different tactic. You’re going to get presented with circumstances like that in World Cups. So why not be prepared for it?”

Tim Bresnan will be available for Yorkshire on Twenty20 Finals Day after the England management reversed their decision to make him unavailable

David Hopps at Cardiff24-Aug-2012Tim Bresnan will be available for Yorkshire on Twenty20 Finals Day in Cardiff on Saturday after the England management reversed their decision to make him unavailable because of concerns about his workload.Bresnan had an inactive day watching the rain that wrecked the opening ODI between England and South Africa at the Swalec Stadium and, with Finals Day scheduled for the same ground, a few miles to the hotel and back again were not about to risk travel exhaustion.Bresnan’s involvement if the FLt20 Finals Day stretches into Sunday’s reserve day – a forecast of sunshine and showers makes that a possible outcome – would not be determined by England until Saturday evening, as they insist that preparation for the next ODI, at West End on Tuesday, takes precedence.Fatigue should not be an issue for Bresnan. He missed the final Test at Lords and has bowled only 387 overs since the start of April. He would also only bowl a maximum of eight overs for Yorkshire on Finals Day.England’s initial refusal to make Bresnan available stunned Yorkshire, who had assumed that availability would not be an issue on a day that has become the highlight of the domestic season and that the availability of all international players would be treated equally.If Bresnan is withdrawn at any stage over the weekend on England’s orders, Rich Pyrah would be likely to deputise. All other England players involved in the ODI series would be automatically available if Finals Day extended into Sunday.The Cardiff washout, meanwhile, has led to Ravi Bopara being made available for Essex’s CB40 match against Middlesex on Monday. Bopara has been in need of match practice after time off for personal reasons and made a guest appearance for Gloucestershire against the South Africans on Wednesday.For the likes of Craig Kieswetter, considering an England ODI one minute, a domestic finals day the next, adjustment has to come almost instantly. While IPL surfs along on permanent hype, England’s T20 Finals Day is crammed into an England-dominated programme.”It’s probably not ideal,” Kieswetter said. “I think a lot of the counties would prefer to see Twenty20 in a block and then move on with the rest of the season. It is no hidden fact that our schedule is pretty hectic. It would probably the most ideal set-up to have it as a block and get it done and finished with.”Somerset have lost in the last three finals, but their achievement in getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League last year has helped to dispel the feeling of perennial bridesmaids.”I think it has gotten past the stage of being an issue for us,” Kieswetter said. “It is just another finals day. Hopefully we can get over that finals hurdle.”

Veteran offspinner Robert Croft took four wickets in the space of 23 balls as Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire by 26 runs

04-Aug-2012
ScorecardRobert Croft took eight wickets in the match to earn Glamorgan their second win of the season•PA PhotosVeteran offspinner Robert Croft took four wickets in the space of 23 balls as Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire by 26 runs on an enthralling final day of their Division Two match at Swansea.Glamorgan had set Gloucestershire a fairly generous 248 to win in a minimum of 81 overs and while the seventh wicket pair of Jack Taylor (63) and Ian Cockbain (55) were together a victory for the visitors still looked possible.But with Gloucestershire on 195 for 6, 42-year-old Croft, possibly playing his last Championship game at the ground, turned the match Glamorgan’s way removing the two dangermen and mopping up the tail. He followed up figures of 4 for 51 in the first with 4 for 53 in the second, giving Glamorgan 20 points from the match. Gloucestershire took just three.At the start of the innings spin also worked for Glamorgan. The introduction of Dean Cosker as early as the fifth over them a breakthrough with Chris Dent caught at short leg. Gloucestershire lost two wickets in the first over after lunch. Rob Nicol went third ball edging a catch low down to Stewart Walters at second slip off Jim Allenby, and Alex Gidman edged an Allenby out-swinger behind. It left Gloucestershire 27 for 3.The reintroduction of Cosker produced another wicket when Hamish Marshall recklessly holed out at deep mid-on to leave his side 48 for 4. But Glamorgan were frustrated for 19 overs while Dan Housego and Cockbain added 68 before Marcus North entered the attack with his off-breaks and had Housego well stumped by Mark Wallace.Gloucestershire went into tea requiring a further 138 to win from 38 overs but Glamorgan struggled to get another breakthrough in the overs immediately after the break. However, John Glover produced a fine catch at long-on to remove Benny Howell off North. It left Gloucestershire 141 for 6 – requiring a further 107 to win in 24 overs.The innings was given some impetus with 17 coming off an over from North, with Taylor striking him for a six and two fours. Taylor struck his maiden first-class half-century from only 31 balls with two sixes and six fours. However, the complexion of the match suddenly changed as Croft took three for six in 11 balls – two in the space of four balls.Cockbain guided a turning ball straight to Stewart Walters at leg slip and the veteran spinner struck again to claim the wicket of Richard Coughtrie, who was brilliantly caught at the second attempt by Rees. And in his next over Croft beat Jack Taylor to leave Gloucestershire 210 for 9. The final wicket came at 5.30pm when Ian Saxelby drove Croft straight to midwicket.

Guided by Gurkeerat Singh and Sandeep Sharma, Punjab overcame a torrid struggle to chase down a target of 135 and eventually beat Haryana by three wickets in Lahli

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo – Sandeep Sharma picked up 6 for 50 before scoring an unbeaten 37 to guide Punjab to victory•ESPNcricinfo LtdGuided by Gurkeerat Singh and Sandeep Sharma, Punjab overcame a torrid struggle to chase down a target of 135 and eventually beat Haryana by three wickets in Lahli.Having reduced Punjab to 46 for 6, Haryana had the match in the bag but Sandeep and Gurkeerat put together an assured 71-run stand. Where the other Punjab batsmen, including their top-order, were bogged down under the pressure of the chase, Gurkeerat, who had scored 51 in the first innings, and Sandeep focused on settling down and playing the ball on merit.Their stand promised to take Punjab to victory but was broken by Harshal Patel who had Gurkeerat caught behind for 37, a decision the batsman was unhappy with. Sandeep then took charge of the innings and hit the winning runs, a little more than four overs after Gurkeerat’s dismissal.Sandeep, promoted ahead of Gurkeerat in the batting order, said he was initially focused on supporting his partner. “I didn’t think I could do this on my own. I was initially focused on just staying at the wicket and supporting Gurkeerat. But I learnt from his innings,” Sandeep said.Earlier, Haryana’s plans of setting a challenging fourth-innings target were scuttled by VRV Singh and Sandeep. Sachin Rana and Amit Mishra pushed the score to 130 but Rana’s wicket, trapped lbw, was part of a slide in which Haryana lost their last five wickets for 25 runs. Sandeep picked up three wickets on the third morning to finish with 6 for 50, while VRV Singh took three wickets for 50 runs.

Aggressive and accurate bowling helped Tamil Nadu flatten Mumbai on the second day at the Wankhede Stadium after the visitors’ lower order had taken their total to 359

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Wankhede Stadium11-Jan-2012
ScorecardL Balaji took three wickets in six balls to rattle Mumbai•ESPNcricinfo LtdAggressive and accurate bowling helped Tamil Nadu flatten Mumbai on the second day at the Wankhede Stadium. Six of the hosts’ batsmen were back in the dressing-room before the total could cross the three-figure mark. This after Tamil Nadu’s lower order had added 220 runs for the last four wickets to frustrate Mumbai and take the visitors to 359 in their first innings. With two days to go Mumbai have only four wickets remaining and are still trailing by 238 runs.Tamil Nadu had watched closely the mistakes their opponents had committed in the field over the first four-and-a-quarter sessions, and learned from them. Their captain L Balaji set the tone by deploying attacking fields for Mumbai’s new opening pair of Kaustubh Pawar and Onkar Gurav. It was the seventh combination Mumbai had fielded this season due to injury and other constraints, and it did not work.Pawar was nicely set up by Balaji, who had three slips and a gully for him initially, and then also brought in a short leg. Pawar grew defensive and poked at an outswinger away from his body to edge and give Dinesh Karthik an easy catch behind the stumps. The wicket came off the last ball of Balaji’s third over. Off the first ball of his fourth, Balaji induced another edge, this time from Onkar Gurav, who was forced to play at a length ball that shaped away late and took the outside edge on its way to M Vijay at first slip.Balaji made full use of the new ball, making the batsman play at every delivery. Wasim Jaffer, the Mumbai captain, survived the hat-trick delivery but three balls later was a victim of umpire K Hariharan’s second poor lbw decision in two days. Jaffer moved in line with his off stump to defend a delivery that was fuller in length and straightened after pitching. An inside edge trickled onto the pad, just above the knee roll, and the ball went towards gully. Balaji appealed for an lbw but there were clearly two noises and the height was questionable too. What made the decision look even worse was the fact that K Vasudevadas, the gully fielder, who obviously knew there was an edge, had charged in and thrown himself forward in an attempt to take the catch. Jaffer was astonished and immediately showed his bat to the umpire, but the decision had been made and he was dismissed for a duck. Mumbai had lost three wickets in the space of six deliveries.Earlier in the season Abhishek Nayar and Suryakumar Yadav had shown the patience and ability to stabilise innings after the top order had faltered. Both had scored double-centuries during the league stages, so Mumbai would have been hopeful of a comeback. Nayar brought up Mumbai’s fifty with a push past point for four of J Kaushik, who shared the new ball with Balaji. In the next over, though, Nayar, who was returning after a two-match absence due to a finger injury, flirted with an unconventional stroke against the left-arm spin of Aushik Srinivas. Nayar tried to scoop Srinivas to the leg side but got a leading edge that went straight to Vasudevadas, who had moved from slip to leg slip before the delivery.Yadav, too, fell to a loose shot. Having marched to a confident half-century, his fifth of the season, he let himself get distracted by a change in angle from Yo Mahesh, Tamil Nadu’s third medium-pacer. Mahesh changed to bowling from over the wicket mid-over, and got the last ball of his over to move away off a length. Yadav tried to push hard without moving his feet and gave Karthik his second catch behind the stumps. Ankeet Chavan, who had scored his maiden first-class century in the quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh, lasted just 15 balls before edging to Vijay off Kaushik.Mumbai were in an embarrassing situation at 98 for 6, and they had no-one but themselves to blame. A combination of defensive fields, the failure of Mumbai’s bowlers to maintain probing lengths and bad luck allowed Tamil Nadu’s overnight pair of Ramaswamy Prasanna and Mahesh to extend their match-turning partnership to 152 runs. The stand, along with a couple more contributions from the tail, helped the visitors leap from the depths of 139 for 6 at one stage on the first day to 359.Prasanna started the day on 81 not out, and galloped to his third first-class century with four boundaries on the second morning. He was aided by Mumbai’s medium-pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Balwinder Sandhu who pitched on lengths that made it easy for him to score. What was baffling was Jaffer’s decision to spread the field within the first hour when he could have crowded the batsmen with a ring of fielders.The only saving grace for Mumbai was the performance of Kshemal Waingankar, their third medium-pacer, who bowled tireless spells of reverse-swing. Waingankar only picked up one wicket in the day but it was the pressure he exerted that finally broke the Prasanna-Mahesh partnership. Waingankar bowled his fourth delivery of the morning from close to the stumps. The ball started on middle and Prasanna, who thought the ball would swing into him, moved towards off. The ball, though, suddenly shaped away towards the shiny side, leaving Prasanna flummoxed.Waingankar swung the ball in, bowled short and had the centurion Prasanna rattled. In the next over, Prasanna was tentative against the part-time medium-pace of Nayar, was beaten by reverse-swing once again and lost his off stump.Mahesh added another 42 runs with Balaji for the eighth-wicket. He was the ninth batsman to be dismissed, giving Waingankar his first wicket when he was beaten by reverse and trapped lbw. It brought to an end a six-hour vigil at the wicket. Mumbai lost more than half their batting in half that time.