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'Mental work' and Kohli's advice – what helped Jermaine Blackwood on his comeback trail

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

West Indies’ top run-getter in their last two Test series believes he has a similar batting style to that of Rishabh Pant

Mohammad Isam27-Jan-2021Trust Jermaine Blackwood to know what it’s like to bat deep into the fourth innings. His match-winning 95 during the Southampton Test against England last year put him in a category of cricketers who can withstand a different type of pressure: to win an overseas Test by batting beautifully in the fourth innings.It hasn’t just been one innings for Blackwood recently though. He has been West Indies’ top run-getter in Test series in both England and New Zealand, having made 427 runs with a century and three fifties, averaging 42.70 in the combined five Tests. Not to forget, he is on the comeback trail.”I think I have been out of the West Indies team for almost three years,” he said on his routines while being away from the national team. “On the sidelines, I did some work on my mental space. I trained twice a day and hit the gym every day. I put in a lot of hard work to be as fit as possible. I tried to come back as strong as possible. You can see the results. I am better at my shot selection, I am starting to understand my game very well, [and] I want to continue to do the same going forward.”Related

  • Da Silva prepares for his time in the limelight

  • Roach draws up plans ahead of Bangladesh Tests

  • Simmons: West Indies 'need to play spin better'

In the only Test innings that he played during this long break – as a concussion sub for Darren Bravo against India in Kingston in 2019 – Blackwood picked the brains of India captain Virat Kohli, who advised him to focus on spending time at the crease, a dictum he has taken to heart.”I talked to Virat Kohli a few times as well on social media. The last time India toured the Caribbean, I had a chance to talk to him in Jamaica when I was there subbing,” he said, “So after the game, I just had a small conversation. I asked him about how I have a lot of half-centuries and [only] one century. He just said, ‘What will you do when you score a century? How many deliveries did you face?’ I said I faced 212 balls.”He said, ‘That’s it, once you can bat some balls, you’re going to score runs’. So I took a big thing from that. After that conversation, I tell myself that once I can bat over 200 or 300 balls, the way I bat, I can score runs regardless of who I am playing against or where I am playing.”Blackwood also believes he has a similar style to that of Rishabh Pant, and admitted to being impressed by his batting display during the Brisbane Test earlier this month.”I was following the series between India and Australia,” Blackwood said. “During the fourth innings with an hour left, I was saying to myself that once Rishabh Pant is there, you’re going to win. I think we have the same batting style. He looked to score and a player who puts bowlers under pressure. That’s the same way I bat. I was just rooting for him because I know he was under a little bit of pressure. He is a very cool guy.”But without disturbing his own method, he now has to make a whole new set of adjustments for the slow and low pitches in Bangladesh, where the West Indies ODI side were whitewashed 3-0. Blackwood believes that the adjustment has to happen mentally first.”These type of surfaces are very slow. So I have to [prepare] mentally, because technically I can’t do too much work right now,” he said about the Bangladesh pitches. “But mentally I know it is going to be very slow and it will spin. Once mentally I am ready, I am good. Then everything takes care of itself.”I am batting very good in the nets, so I am just looking forward to transfer that in the middle. I can’t really wait to just go out there and play some cricket. I have been in Bangladesh for a while now so I am just eager to go out and play some cricket.”

As it happened – India vs England, 3rd Test, Ahmedabad, 2nd day

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Updates, analysis and colour from the second day of the third Test

Andrew Miller25-Feb-2021*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local

7.55pm: All over!

Well, who would have thought? The result looked likely last night but the time frame? India run away with victory by 10 wickets late on the second day of this third Test to take a 2-1 series lead and a step closer to a berth in the WTC final, in the process ruining any chance of England featuring in that showcase against New Zealand at Lord’s. On a day when 17 wickets fell, India resumed on 99 for 3 but were bowled out for 145, a first-innings lead of just 33. But then England managed just 81 in their second innings, even worse than their paltry 112 from the first as Axar Patel claimed another five-for and 11 for the match and R Aswhin passed 400 Test wickets with his seventh for the match. That left the hosts needing just 49 runs in their second innings and they got there with ease, Rohit bringing up the winning runs with a six off Root.

7.30pm: Poor pitch would not cost India WTC points, say ICC

Nagraj Gollapudi is on the case for the race…In case the Ahmedabad pitch is rated poor by the ICC, it will not hurt India’s standing in the World Test Championship.Currently India are in the race for the second finalist spot in the WTC final, along with England and Australia. In 2019 the ICC had cautioned member boards from doctoring pitches to the home team’s advantage in the WTC, saying points could be at stake.However ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that India would not be docked any points even in the case of the Ahmedabad pitch were to be rated poor.The WTC playing conditions states: “If a match is abandoned and the pitch and/or outfield is ultimately rated as ‘Unfit’ under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, points for that match shall be distributed on the basis that the visiting team won the match and the home team lost the match. Any abandoned match will be classified as a drawn match for statistical purposes.”

6.53pm: A costly first foray for England, India need 38

A tricky two-over spell at the top of India’s innings before the dinner break, but they’ll be happy enough with their start. England hand the new ball to Jack Leach and Joe Root, unsurprisingly, but it’s James Anderson who makes the main mark by misfielding at point to gift Rohit two runs to get off the mark. Root then turns one down the leg side, and not even Foakes can intercept that. Eleven precious runs squandered in the blink of an eye.

6.35pm: Pitch battle in prospect as India are set 49 to win

R Ashwin punches in the air after bowling Ollie Pope, his 399th Test wicket•BCCI

Whatever happens from here, this Test is destined to be done and dusted in two days. And Nagraj Gollapudi isn’t entirely impressed, with the batting as much as the conditions.Three days before the pink ball Test Rohit Sharma said it was time to move away from the pitch debate that followed the first two matches of the England series, played in Chennai. However, another dry turner in Ahmedabad is now threatening to get over in two days. Two days, yes. And just two wickets have been taken so far by the fast bowlers of the 30 to fall overall.So, whether Rohit and India like it or not, the pitch debate is not going away. The ball has been turning from ball one, literally, with both of India’s primary spinners – R Ashwin and Axar Patel – taking a wicket off the first ball of England’s innings this Test. The first time in over 100 years such a feat has been achieved.On social media and elsewhere, especially outside India, the chatter is about whether the pitch in Ahmedabad is a poor one. The jury is not out yet. Primarily because the bounce at Motera has remained true on the red-soil pitch where cloud bursts of dust have been captured vividly on the TV. Stark images, yes, but the other key question that cricketing pundits have been discussing is the manner in which batsmen of both teams have poorly handled spin bowling.The backbone of playing spin has always been good defence which involves reading the length of the spinner, moving close to it to smother it or drive it, and committing to moving your feet so that you can play on the front as well as back. Barring Rohit to an extent, none of the other batsmen did that with any command so far this match.But the question will be asked: is the Ahmedabad pitch poor? It definitely is average to say the least, how can it not be if a five-day Test is done in two? For the second time this series, ICC match referee Javagal Srinath has to make that difficult call as he is the adjudicator. It is not an easy job, clearly. Whatever call Srinath will take is not going to be universally liked.The question of home match officials during the pandemic has been a difficult call for the ICC, but the global body might want to rethink appointing neutral match referees for such marquee series to remove any perception of bias.

6.30pm: Drop everything, right this minute

6.05pm: 400 for Ashwin! England are down and mostly out

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Another flurry from India’s master spinner. Pope plays round a straight one for the second time in the match, poking down the wrong line from round the wicket once again, then Archer unfurls the sweep to a ball that’s far too full for the shot. Nailed on the shin, and sent on his way. It’s down to Stuart Broad’s long handle and Ben Foakes’ understated nous to salvage this scenario … or should I say Jack Leach, who has just pounded only the second six of the match, clean over long-on. The other six was hit by … Ishant Sharma!

Axar Patel picked two early wickets•BCCI

5.47pm: Root and Stokes are gone, are England sunk?

Another flurry of massive moments in this match – how many more can we accommodate today? First, Joe Root survives a huge appeal for lbw on 16, as Axar thumps his pad with another slider, on the line of off stump. He’s pushing forward, bat and pad together, but seems to indicate to Stokes that he hasn’t hit it before reluctantly opting to review. Just as well he did, because the third umpire reckons there’s a small spike on Snicko, and a slight deviation of the ball into the pad before it strikes. It’s the sort of marginal call that tends to stay on-field, but who knows, perhaps Root’s grumping to the match referee last night has done the trick. Shamsudeen certainly assesses all the angles.Axar Patel celebrates a wicket with an excited Virat Kohli•BCCI

Minutes later, however, Stokes has no such recourse. He had just begun to up the ante, unfurling his range of sweeps, slogs and reverses to give England some precious momentum. But then, on 25, he’s done in by that man Ashwin again, pressing forward, trying to smother the spin, but stuffed as the ball skids on yet again. It’s his 11th dismissal to Ashwin, no-one’s been done in more. And a similar mode of dismissal pins Root to the crease too, on 19, as Axar’s slider finds his knee-roll to seal the first ten-wicket haul by an Indian spinner for five years. Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope have the challenge of piecing together a defendable lead. Their current advantage of 23 isn’t going to cut it.

5.15pm: This is the game, right here, right now

England have clawed their way to parity, but they’ve lost a third wicket in getting there. Dom Sibley had played within himself while the mayhem was taking place at the other end – assuming that’s not a tautology. But then, suddenly and without warning, he too planted that front dog for a massive wipe across the line at Ashwin. The shot was arguably the correct one – the ball was outside the line of off so lbw wasn’t on. Unfortunately, this was not one that skidded, it bit violently for Pant to cling onto a blinder behind the stumps. Sibley thought he hadn’t hit it, but there was a lot of grumbling on Snicko as the ball passed bat, and he has to walk. Which brings Ben Stokes out to join Joe Root. England’s two best batsmen, united in a bid to post something, anything, defendable. Don’t blink!

4.30pm: Just stop right now, this is nonsense!

Axar Patel with the hard, shiny new ball. Tight line, tight length, unplayable mind-games for England’s recently pumped-up cricketers. First ball, to Zak Crawley. Skitters through a back-foot block, smashing the top of middle as he pokes hopelessly along any old line, not knowing whether to cover the one that turns or the one that skids. And manages neither. One ball later, Jonny Bairstow, on a pair, plants the front dog for a monstrous slog sweep and misses everything. The finger is straight up, Axar has a Test hat-trick after his final wicket in the first innings! But no! Bairstow reviews, and somehow the ball is shown to be skimming over the bails. No matter… cos one ball later, Bairstow pokes feebly onto the front foot, this time covering the spin and losing his leg stump as the ball skids once more! Just for good measure, Joe Root is beaten by a ripper in the same over. This is unconscionable japes. Who has any idea where this one goes next…Sampath, meanwhile, has snuffled out a splendid factoid about poor old Bairstow.Most ducks for England vs India in Tests:
5 – Jonny Bairstow

4 – Stuart Broad, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff
Bairstow’s last 7 Test innings against India: 0, 0, 18, 0, 0, 6, 0

3.30pm: I can’t make sense of this, so I’ve called in the brains trust

Joe Root is stoked upon having Rishabh Pant caught behind•BCCI

Wild goings-on in the first session today, as India collapse from 98 for 2 last night to 145 all out, with Joe Root taking the first five-for by an England captain since Bob Willis in 1983. Here are our resident prognosticators, George and Karthik, to read the runes of a remarkable collapse.Andrew Miller: So gentlemen. What on earth are we witnessing, and what does it mean for all our first-day projections?George Dobell: A weekend off.Karthik Krishnaswamy Joe Root is doing a Michael Clarke at Mumbai hereAM: Indeed. When wickets offer excessive movement, seam or spin alike, they tend to reduce the gap between the best exponents and the rest. But can we ever have imagined this scenario after England’s first-day traumas?GD: Look, I don’t know what a match-defining first-innings lead would have been. 100 would have been. Maybe as few as 50. But 30-35? No way. The game – the series – is still alive.AM: Karthik, you mentioned the ball that didn’t turn as being the secret of Axar’s success, which it has been for Leach this morning. But Root, he’s served up two snorters. What’s going on?KK: Root bowled a few of these in Chennai too. I thought he underbowled himself in the second innings. I’m still trying to process everything, but it feels like the skiddiness of the surface (or, as Axar Patel suggested yesterday, the pink ball) is taking out a lot of shots, so scoring runs is as hard as staying in. It’s become a bit of a lottery as to whether the ball is going to turn or skid. It’s very much alive, especially with India batting last.GD: Batting last will, no doubt, be difficult. So India won’t want to be chasing even 150. Zak Crawley’s comments last night seem spot on. India struggling to get 200 was possible. But this is pretty extreme…KK: The range of what is a good length is wider on this pitch than in Chennai, where there was more bounce and consequently less risk of lbw/bowled.’You miss, I hit’: Rohit Sharma misses the sweep and is trapped lbw by Jack Leach as he goes low•BCCI

AM: Is that why we’ve seen fewer sweeps in this Test than the first two? It does seem batsmen are getting bogged down more (Crawley and Rohit aside)KK: Yeah, you can’t sweep from the line of the stumps here, as Rohit Sharma found out. Crawley and Rohit scored most of their runs against the quicker bowlers too.AM: So, what does a surface like this look in the fourth innings? What does this much-vaunted red soil do once it’s been pounded for a few days?KK: From what sketchy knowledge I have, red soil tends to crumble rather than crack.AM: Does that take the edge off the turn? Sounds like cracks would lend more to uneven bounce?KK: Depends on how evenly it crumbles, if that makes any sense. But at this ground, the deteriorating red soil has often tended to slow the pitch down.AM: So, all bets are off as to what happens from here. Sounds about right for a pink-ball Test!GD: It could be one innings defines things from here. And that one innings could be someone chancing their arm for an hour. It’s tough out there, for sure, but as tough as the scorecard shows? I’m not sure.KK: I think Ashwin using his feet a couple of times briefly unsettled the bowlers. Batsman can’t afford to keep getting stuck in their crease.And against Axar, I think Ben Foakes showed there’s a way to play by playing inside the line and assuming the ball will go on straight, and hope that if it turns, it beats you by a distance and misses the stumps too. Easier said than done, but it’s broadly what they’ll have to try to do.AM: Ben Stokes hasn’t used his feet for a few weeks. Maybe it will goad him into a response…GD: England have to bat better in their second innings. Can they do that?

3.16pm: Did I say England were flat…?

Autocorrect was clearly kicking in … because Joe Root has just bowled Washington Sundar for a duck with another utter snorter. Round the wicket, oodles of undercut from his round-arm action, pitching off, kicking and straightening, flicking the top of the stump. England are ecstatic, and suddenly India’s innings is taking on very similar proportions to England’s … 74 for 2 to 112 all out; 98 for 2 to 125 for 7 … MAKE THAT EIGHT! Because Axar Patel has just mashed his first delivery straight at short cover! Root has three without conceding a run. There’s pink-ball magic happening right here, right now!

3.11pm: Rootin’ tootin’! This has turned on a dime!

Extraordinary scenes in Ahmedabad. One comes Joe Root for his first bowl of the match, and he serves up an absolute snorter to the left-handed Rishabh Pant – a huge ripper out of the rough, that flicks the edge and nestles in Ben Foakes’ ninja-quick gloves. England have three wickets in the blink of an eye, and this lead isn’t looking quite so insurmountable now … what can Ashwin and Washington Sundar marshall from the rest of the innings? Even a 50-run lead could prove to be priceless.

3.04pm: Leach at the double and now it’s game on!

Well now things have got interesting… Rohit Sharma yawns into a sweep-shot, but is deceived once again by the ball that doesn’t bite. The ball skids under his bat, thumping him almost on the hip as he gets low into his stroke, and up goes the finger once more. He reviews, but to no avail… that’s smashing off stump, and though Ashwin scored a century in his last Test outing, England know they have a sniff now.Jack Leach has four wickets in the innings now•BCCI

2.53pm: Leach skids one through, Rahane goes!

There’s the moment that England so desperately needed. The persevering Jack Leach bags his third of the innings, and it’s a familiar mode of dismissal for the match so far – the one that doesn’t turn does the trick, as Rahane shapes to cut and is slammed on the knee-roll in front of off stump. Rishabh Pant arrives – never one to stand on ceremony, especially when Leach is in his sights. Buckle up!

2.45pm: India take the lead without alarm

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are into their day’s work, with the morning’s first objective chalked up without fuss. They’ve rumbled into the lead, with a brace of fours through the covers off James Anderson lifting Rohit into the sixties, while Rahane picked off Jack Leach with a sweep behind square – the sort of shot that England were unable to produce against Axar Patel’s more brisk offerings. It’s a hot afternoon, and England look pretty flat already. Ominous signs.

1.50pm: Can England claw their way back from here?

Morning/afternoon all. Welcome back to Ahmedabad where Zak Crawley, for one, insists England are still fighting for this title. But they’ve got to go to Motera and get something, which is going to be easier said than done after the debacle of a first day that they endured on Wednesday. India have all but over-run their first-innings total of 112, with seven wickets in hand and with Rohit Sharma looking ominously poised once more. Can they pull off a mini-blinder and keep the deficit to within 150 runs? Their hopes of making history may rest on it. Sit tight!One observer who isn’t anticipating any miracles, however, is our very own prophet of doom, George Dobell, who believes England have reaped what they have sown in their feckless display against spin bowling. As for winning the toss and getting rumbled inside 50 overs after batting first, that’s a rare achievement – although not so rare in England’s recent experience, as S Rajesh notes.

Narine absent but set for Test bow

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Sunil Narine was absent but West Indies were buoyed by Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo, who made half-centuries at Leicestershire

George Dobell at Grace Road02-Jun-2012
ScorecardDarren Bravo made his third half-century of the tour against Leicestershire•Getty Images

Sometimes a person’s absence is more notable than their attendance. So, just as Kate Middleton might have provoked even more column inches had she not shown up to her wedding, so Sunil Narine’s absence from the first day of the tour match at Grace Road was arguably more surprising than anything he might have achieved on the pitch.Narine, the 24-year-old spinner, was called up on Wednesday to replace the injured Kemar Roach in West Indies’ squad for the third Test at Edgbaston which begins on Thursday. But Narine, it turns out, has not even arrived in the UK yet. Instead he spent Friday playing club cricket in Trinidad – T20 club cricket at that – and is expected to arrive in England on Sunday. He will not, therefore, have the benefit of any match practice or even an extended period of acclimatisation before the Test. Ottis Gibson, West Indies’ coach, admitted that he did not know if Narine had ever played in England.But it appears that will not prevent Gibson selecting him on Thursday. Nor will the fact that Narine has only played six first-class games, or that the last of them was in February. Indeed, Gibson expressed the belief that Narine’s lack of exposure was a significant bonus for West Indies.”He’s just come back from playing a hell of a lot of cricket, so I’m sure he’s been bowling a lot,” Gibson said. “I think it’s his first time playing international cricket in England and there’s a disadvantage playing for the first time in these conditions but it’s an advantage because the opposition haven’t seen him yet.”If he were to play this two-day game then there would be some footage of him for them to go and have a look at. He isn’t playing and it means that if he plays [at Edgbaston] it will be something completely new to them so that could be a bit of an advantage for us.”It is an interesting replacement. He’s somebody we’ve identified from the shorter version of the game but the selectors also believe he can play the longer version and this is an opportunity to put that to the test.”The one major flaw in Gibson’s argument is that Narine has just finished playing in the IPL; the most high-profile domestic tournament in world cricket. Still, the spinner’s record is exceptional: his last three first-class games have brought 31 wickets at an average of 9.61, while he could also claim with some justification – he was the second-highest wicket-taker and had the second-best economy-rate – to have been the best bowler at this year’s IPL. Bearing in mind England’s recent struggles against high-quality ‘mystery’ spin and there is the possibility that Narine may prove something of a game-changer. It is, however, asking a great deal of a young man with so little experience to adapt to new conditions and a different format so quickly.Narine is also unlikely to solve West Indies’ problems with their top-order batting. There were, however, some welcome signs of improvement on the weather-shortened first day of the game against Leicestershire. With Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo both recording half-centuries and adding 111 for the third-wicket, two of West Indies’ top four will arrive at Edgbaston with renewed confidence and the benefit of having spent time in the middle.Both played very well. Barath, who has shown glimpses of his ability in the Test series, again left the ball well and demonstrated his pleasing cover drive without the moments of lost concentration that have dogged him of late. Bravo, having survived some loose shots early on, calmed down to play some delightful strokes including a six over long-on off rookie left-arm spinner, James Sykes.It was a less happy day for Kirk Edwards, despite being promoted to lead the side, and Kieran Powell. Powell – who has scored 47 in four Test innings on this tour – was drawn into an edge as he pushed at one he might have left before Edwards, with the footwork of a statue, was bamboozled by swing. Both wickets were claimed by Nadeem Malik who, aged 29 and nine years into his first-class career, will be out of contract at the end of the season.Edwards’ failure means he has scored just 20 runs in eight innings on this tour. While he can take comfort of sorts from the fact that this game against Leicestershire does not have first-class status, he will also know that his travails over the last month have left his international future in jeopardy. When he arrived in the UK he had a Test average in excess of 50, two Test centuries to his name and he had recently been elevated to the vice-captaincy.With English conditions – and English bowlers – exposing some obvious technical flaws, however, Edwards currently looks bereft of form and confidence. His third-ball duck here begged the question as to whether he was enduing the most miserable tour of England in history by a specialist batsman. The Maharaja of Porbandar – who scored only two first-class runs on the All-India side’s 1932 tour of England – has strong claims to that title but, as he was selected more due to his wealth and perceived social standing than any ability with the bat, it is probably unfair to consider him a specialist batsman. It may be relevant that West Indies also used this game as an opportunity for Assad Fudadin and Narsingh Deonarine to apply pressure on their under-performing top order.This Leicestershire attack is perfectly respectable. Robbie Joseph generated pace even on a sluggish surface, Malik bowled some dangerous deliveries and Sykes, while raw, could go a long way in the game. Suffice it to say, however, that whoever England select at Edgbaston will provide a substantially sterner test.

Mills spell leaves Glamorgan reeling

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Tymal Mills’ best first-class figures of 4 for 25 helped Essex to a first-innings lead of 72 over Glamorgan

Alex Winter at Cardiff04-May-2012
ScorecardTymal Mills took 4 for 25, his best first-class figures, as Glamorgan collapsed again•Getty Images

Glamorgan have suffered several batting collapses already this season and again their innings crumbled to leave them without a batting bonus point in four attempts. Losing six wickets for 29 after tea was the latest embarrassment. It left them 72 runs behind and in danger of losing a fourth match of five, having not been able to get on the field last week at Bristol.The collapse was brought about by Tymal Mills, a 19-year-old playing his first season as a professional who can operate around the 90mph mark. He terrorised the lower order and took career-best figures of 4 for 25. The wickets came in a 31-ball spell after tea where he claimed 4 for 4 – quite a turnaround, having sent down three over before lunch that were so wayward he did not bowl all afternoon.”The first spell I tried to bowl what wasn’t in my game plan,” Mills said. “I wasn’t running in as well. I tried to bowl a fuller length, which was the right thing to do for a lot of the bowlers but not for me. After tea I just tried to bowl as quick as I can and ended up getting my rewards.”There will be plenty more rewards if Mills continues to bowl as quickly as he can, particularly against batting so short of confidence as Glamorgan’s. He gained an unexpected place on an England Lions’ tour in the winter. There is much competition between talented bowlers in England but, as Steven Finn has demonstrated, pace can get you quickly up the pecking order.His second spell was hostile stuff from around the wicket, too quick for the lower order. He hit Moises Henriques on the helmet ducking into a bouncer, the ball rebounding on to his stumps: a second bout of pain for Henriques who picked up a side strain that will prevent him from bowling in the second innings. Thankfully for Glamorgan, Australia international Marcus North arrives tomorrow to take up the overseas role from his compatriot Henriques. He has a major job to shore up this batting line up; they have consistently frittered wickets away.But one could empathise with Henriques. It was not the light to be facing seriously quick bowling – light which caused four delays throughout the match and looked to be sending this game even further down the path to a draw. But Mills has given Essex a handy lead that they could use to put a fragile Glamorgan side under pressure tomorrow afternoon.After clattering Henriques, Mills forced Dean Cosker to fend to second slip. When the players returned at 6.15pm he completed his haul, having Will Owen caught behind.Mills’ spell began with a big error from Stuart Walters. Having hooked Mills to the midwicket fence he tried again and found Mark Pettini at deep square leg to depart for 69. Earlier, Walters had added 54 in partnership with Gareth Rees before Rees shouldered arms to Greg Smith and was bowled. Suddenly 115 for 2 became 187 all out.Mills also took a catch, running back from mid-on to hold Nick James’ mistimed pull as no-one bar Walters went on with their innings and Glamorgan were left chasing another match.

Queensland set 400 for victory

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Half-centuries from David Hussey and Aaron Finch kept Victoria on top on the third day at the MCG, where they set Queensland 400 for victory

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2011
ScorecardDavid Hussey added a second-innings 76 not out to his first innings of 130•Getty Images

Half-centuries from David Hussey and Aaron Finch kept Victoria on top on the third day at the MCG, where they set Queensland 400 for victory. By the close of play, the Bushrangers needed a further nine wickets to end the Bulls’ unbeaten streak, while Queensland at 1 for 35 required a further 366 runs, with Joe Burns at the crease on 27 and Wade Townsend on 4.Victoria will hope for more wickets from the captain Cameron White, whose legspin has hardly been seen in recent seasons. White collected 5 for 59, his first five-wicket haul in a Sheffield Shield match in nine seasons, as Queensland were bowled out for 295 on the third day.Chris Hartley (62) and Cameron Boyce (57) provided an especially useful 88-run partnership for the ninth wicket that forced Victoria to go for quick runs in their second innings to set a target. The first-innings centurion David Hussey made an unbeaten 76 and Aaron Finch scored 82, his first strong innings of the Shield campaign, as the Bushrangers declared at 3 for 196.Should the Bulls chase down their target, they will have six wins from six matches this season. “It’s a lot of runs,” White told reporters after play, “but it’s a fantastic batting wicket so it’s going to be hard work to try to dig out nine more wickets.”

Scotland secure seven-wicket win

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Scotland moved into second place in the Intercontinental Cup table with a seven-wicket victory although it wasn’t without a few nervous moments

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
ScorecardRichie Berrington and Majid Haq celebrate their match-winning stand•ICC

Scotland moved into second place in the Intercontinental Cup table with a seven-wicket victory against UAE in Sharjah although it wasn’t without a few nervous moments. Chasing 114 they slipped to 40 for 3 before an unbroken fourth-wicket stand between Majid Haq and Richie Berrington ensured no further problems.UAE had made Scotland work hard on the third day but late strikes boosted the visitors and the last three wickets could only add another 32 runs on the final morning. Safyaan Sharif claimed two of the scalps while Haq took the other to finish with 3 for 72 from 49.2 overs of hard work.The home side, though, didn’t give up as Scotland’s top three were removed with 40 on the board. However, the in-form Berrington, who hit 110 in the first innings, steadied the chase alongside the experienced Haq as the pair played positively.The result leaves Scotland 18 points behind Ireland while UAE are clumped in a tight mid-table where six points separate Netherlands in six and UAE in third.

India Women begin ODIs with huge win

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India’s bowlers had a modest total to defend but they bowled economically and incisively to dismiss West Indies Women in 46.5 overs

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2012India Women 179 for 7 (Raj 57, Sharma 51*, Mohammed 3-41) beat West Indies Women 103 (Bisht 3-18, Sultana 2-9) by 76 runs
ScorecardEkta Bisht was the most successful of India’s bowlers•West Indies Cricket Board

After losing the Twenty20 series, India Women began their one-day campaign in the Caribbean with a 76-run victory in St Kitts. India’s bowlers had a modest total to defend but they bowled economically and incisively to dismiss West Indies Women in 46.5 overs.Defending 180, Gouher Sultana conceded less one run per over to finish with figures of 9.5-3-9-2. Ekta Bisht was the most successful bowler, taking 3 for 18, and three others conceded less than three runs per over. Juliana Nero’s 23 was the best score for West Indies as they were all out for 103.It had seemed unlikely that India would get to their total of 179 for 7 after they had been reduced from 71 for 2 to 75 for 5. Their innings had been jolted by three wickets falling in the 27th over, two to Anisa Mohammed, who finished with 3 for 41, and one via a run-out. Mithali Raj and Amita Sharma restored stability, though, with a 74-run partnership. Raj made 57 and Sharma was unbeaten on 51 and they gave their bowlers a target that was eventually defended by a huge margin.

Gareth Delany, Colin Ackermann star in breathless Leicestershire run chase

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Adam Lyth’s 71 not enough as hosts gun down 189 target at Grace Road

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2020Leicestershire moved ahead of Yorkshire into third place in the North Group after a thrilling last-ball Vitality Blast victory at the Fischer County Ground.The home side started slowly in pursuit of 189 to win before half-centuries from Gareth Delany and Colin Ackermann swung the contest round to the extent that victory seemed a formality with 26 needed from the final three overs.A flurry of wickets – four in the space of three overs – then left the outcome in the balance with nine required from the last six deliveries, which looked to have been just too many for the Foxes until Ben Mike went for broke off the final ball, launching Adam Lyth over his head for six to win the contest.Lyth earlier had given the Vikings innings the platform for a substantial total with 71 off 46 balls with three sixes after he and skipper David Willey had added 70 in 41 deliveries for the second wicket. The innings lost some momentum in the middle overs but Jordan Thompson flung the bat and rode his luck with 44 off 19 balls, with four maximums as he and Jonny Tattersall added 64 off the final 31 balls of the innings. Seamer Will Davis and legspinner Delany claimed two wickets each.Having been asked to bat first when the Foxes won the toss, the Vikings had an excellent Powerplay, piling on 67 runs for the loss of only wicket, thanks largely to a 24-ball half-century from one-time England opener Lyth that included five fours and two enormous sixes behind square on the leg side. The only casualty was Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who chipped straight to extra cover.Davis was the successful bowler, striking with his first delivery, and it was the brisk right-arm seamer who made the second breakthrough in the 10th over as Willey fell for a useful 27 off 17 balls, chopping on to a slow yorker. Willey had survived a very difficult caught-and-bowled chance when he drove down the ground to Delany’s legspin, before Lyth picked up his third maximum, just clearing the fielder at deep midwicket. The Vikings were 98 for 2 at halfway.A couple of tight overs from spinners Callum Parkinson and Ackermann then put the brake on the scoring rate before Delany claimed the vital wicket of Lyth for 71, this time holing out to deep backward square. A smart piece of fielding by Ackermann then ran out Will Fraine at the non-striker’s end before the batsman had faced and after Delany claimed a second wicket with Harry Brook caught at long-on the Vikings were 126 for 5 after 15.But new batsman Thompson started the scoreboard moving again with consecutive sixes off Parkinson before repeating the trick off Davis. Tattersall also picked up his first maximum, the sixth-wicket pair giving the card a much better look for Yorkshire, adding 64 off 31 balls before Thompson skied the last delivery of the 20 overs, eventually caught by wicketkeeper Lewis Hill for 44 off 19 deliveries.The task facing the Foxes was to score at 9.45 runs per over. The requirement was up to 10.14 at the end of the Powerplay, despite Lilley laying into both Ben Coad – playing in his first domestic T20 for three years – and Matthew Fisher with the first sixes of the innings after Harry Dearden was caught at long-on.Delany clubbed six over long-on in Jack Shutt’s opening over as Willey turned to his spinners but the offspinner then had some good fortune when Lilley smacked a waist-high full toss straight to deep midwicket. But Delany was in the mood to take the initiative.An expansive swing brought him a second maximum as Thompson took over from Shutt, the ball bouncing on the roof of The Meet before he launched another huge straight hit over the indoor school as Shutt switched ends, the Irishman completing a 32-ball half-century with his fourth four. After another expensive over from Coad, the Foxes needed 75 from 48 balls, now ahead of the rate.Josh Poysden’s legspin briefly threatened to stall the home side’s progress but the batsmen compensated with a furious assault in Thompson’s next over, which went for 28 as Ackermann cleared the ropes twice with some colossal blows and Delany picked up his fourth six, bringing the target down to 42 off six overs.Willey brought himself back into the attack and was rewarded when Delany finally sent one soaring into the night sky for Tattersall to catch on the way down but the Irishman’s 64 off 41 balls looked like a match-winning innings. Willey conceded only three off the over, but the third wicket had added 89 and the Foxes remained favourites, Ackermann going to his fifty off 29 balls.Yet three wickets in the space of nine deliveries turned the pressure back on to Leicestershire as Tom Taylor, Lewis Hill and Harry Swindells departed in quick succession as Coad and Fisher suddenly turned the screw, leaving the Foxes needing 20 off 12 deliveries.Mike relieved the pressure with a substantial six over square leg, then the loss of Ackermann, leg before to Willey, giving the finish another twist. Willey trusted Lyth’s offspin for the final over, and it seemed to have paid off until, needing three off the last ball, Mike swung and connected perfectly, the ball still rising as it cleared the rope at long-on.

Jason Holder's career-best haul puts West Indies in control against England

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Despite entering series under an injury cloud, Windies captain claims 6 for 42 to roll England for 204

The Report by Matt Roller09-Jul-2020West Indies captain Jason Holder took a career-best haul of 6 for 42 to roll England for 204 at the Ageas Bowl, before their top order saw them through to the close one wicket down.Holder came into this series with an injury cloud over his head, having bowled only five overs across West Indies’ two intra-squad warm-up games while nursing an ankle complaint. He admitted that he felt “a little sore, a little stiff” after play on the second day, but that pain will be lessened thanks to the knowledge that he has put his team into the driving seat in this series.Holder had no hesitation in answering “discipline” when asked at the toss what he was looking for from his bowlers, and followed that message himself after Kemar Roach had set the tone. Shannon Gabriel was given license to attack, snaring another three wickets to add to that of Dom Sibley on the first day, and while Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Dom Bess offered some resistance with the bat, England’s total of 204 looked a little light after a dogged start from West Indies.While it would prove to be Holder’s day, it was Gabriel who made the early breakthroughs after Rory Burns and Joe Denly had come through the first half hour. Denly was the first to go, his stumps splattered as a vicious nip-backer burst through a hefty gap between bat and pad and crashed into the top of off. Then, after hanging the ball outside Burns’ off stump from round the wicket, Gabriel fired one in full at his pads, striking him in front of leg stump. Richard Kettleborough concluded it was missing leg stump, but Holder disagreed and was vindicated by a successful review.In his second spell of the day, Holder started by teasing Zak Crawley with a series of outswingers, nibbling away and probing on a length in the channel outside his off stump. After Crawley’s streaky boundary through the slips ruined a maiden from his eighth over, Holder decided the time was right to bring one in at the start of his ninth, finding a hint of seam movement from wide on the crease which Crawley played around. Again, Kettleborough said no; again, Holder was convinced, and was proved right. Ollie Pope started with a pair of boundaries off him, but was soon back in the hutch after fencing at an away-nibbler, which Shane Dowrich gobbled up behind the stumps.Buttler and Stokes led a counter-attack, putting on the only stand of 50 or more in the innings, but Stokes rode his luck. Before lunch he had miscued a hook shot to long leg, where Roach shelled a difficult chance after making his ground, and after looking to impose himself in the afternoon, Stokes chipped a low catch to Shamarh Brooks, who put down a sitter at short cover. Buttler looked a million dollars from the moment he arrived at the crease, with a back-foot punch through the covers the pick of his shots, but both fell in the space of two Holder overs.First, having sensed Stokes using his feet, Holder pushed the ball fuller, first beating the bat and then drawing a faint edge through to Dowrich. The pair’s battle had been built up before this Test, with Holder suggesting he might not have been given the credit he deserved; there can be little doubt that he will be today. Buttler feathered his own edge behind which Dowrich took sharply, before Jofra Archer was trapped on the pad for a third overturned lbw. Mark Wood provided Holder with his sixth, driving loosely and edging to gully, before James Anderson’s stumps were rattled by Gabriel after some late resistance from Bess for the 10th wicket.In reply, England bowled with good pace but failed to make as many breakthroughs as they would have hoped. Anderson was the most threatening bowler. Three times he wrapped John Campbell on the pad and had him given lbw; on the first two occasions, Richard Illingworth’s decision was overturned as the ball had pitched outside the leg stump, but on the third, the on-field call was upheld.Wood and Archer, playing alongside one another for the first time in Test cricket, both bowled with real pace. Wood regularly broke the 90mph/145kph barrier and even hit 95mph/153kph but drew few false shots, as Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope – batting at No. 3, having come in below Shamarh Brooks in the warm-up fixtures – managed to dig in until the close.It was easy to wonder whether Stuart Broad, tweeting his thoughts on the game from his hotel room balcony, might have made an impact in conditions that seemed perfectly suited to him.There was widespread frustration at another couple of stoppages for bad light, as the clouds rolled in and brought play to an early close for the second night in a row, but thankfully the forecast is set fair for the rest of the Test.

Key's hundred pronounces still much to offer

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Kent will start the third day of Glamorgan’s final home game of the season with a commanding lead of 358 runs thanks to an unbeaten century from Rob Key as he found late-season form to suggest his career is not yet spent

ECB/PA10-Sep-2015
ScorecardRob Key•PA Photos

Kent will start the third day of Glamorgan’s final home game of the season with a commanding lead of 358 runs thanks to an unbeaten century from Rob Key as the veteran batsman found the late-season form to suggest his career is not yet spent.Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly provided solid support with two fifties as Kent reached 256 for 1 at the SSE Swalec on Thursday.Glamorgan have only themselves to blame for a poor first-innings batting performance where they were all out for 207, a deficit of 102.Only Graham Wagg and Craig Meschede were able to counter a steady, but by no means lethal, Kent attack.The other Glamorgan batsmen contributed to their own downfall with some poor shot selection, and far more application will be needed in the second innings if they are to avoid a heavy defeat.Glamorgan had resumed their first innings on 65 for four, but they lost a wicket to the second ball of the morning when Andrew Salter (nought) had his off stump removed by Darren Stevens, who then bowled Aneurin Donald.When Chris Cooke was caught at the wicket off Matthew Hunn for 31, Glamorgan had slumped to 101 for 7, and required a further 59 runs to avoid the follow on.This was avoided as Wagg (58) and Meschede (33) counter-attacked effectively to share 57 runs for the eighth wicket.Only Jacques Rudolph has scored more LV= County Championship runs than Wagg for Glamorgan this season, and the all-rounder has now passed 800 runs for the first time in his career.Glamorgan’s bowlers were again ineffective at the start of Kent’s second innings as Key and Bell-Drummond set off at a rate of five runs an over.The 50 and 100-run partnerships were quickly passed, and the opening pair had added 114 in 27 overs before Bell-Drummond, who made 54, was caught at slip pushing forward to Salter’s arm ball.Key played every ball on its merit, and reached his century from 167 balls which included eight fours.Denly (66 not out) reached his fifty in the same over as Key (117no) and the second-wicket pair will be ready to resume on the third morning having already shared an unbroken partnership of 142.