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A round-up of the second day’s action from the fifth round of matches from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff04-Nov-2009

Group A

A collective bowling effort, led by Fahad Masood’s four-wicket haul, helped Habib Bank gain a 90-run first innings lead against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Marghzar Cricket Ground.
Resuming on 232 for 6, Habib Bank lost their last four wickets for 25 runs, as Kashif Daud finished with a haul of 6 for 94. ZTBL stumbled to 58 for 4 in their reply and failed to put together big partnerships to match Habib Bank’s total, the highest being 51 for the sixth wicket. Shahid Yousuf top scored with 49 before he was dismissed by Masood, who finished with 4 for 32. Habib Bank extended their lead to 122 at stumps but lost their openers.Opener Naeemuddin missed his century by seven runs but helped set up a first-innings lead of 87 for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in Rawalpindi.
Azhar Shafiq supported Naeemuddin with 45 but Misbah-ul-Haq, trying to work his way back into the Pakistan team, failed to make an impact scoring 12. He was dismissed by Jaffer Nazir, the right-arm seamer, who took 4 for 41. SNGPL had their last-wicket pair at the crease at stumps and will look to push the lead past the psychological barrier of 100.It was always going to be tough for Lahore Shalimar to come back after being bundled out for 114, but Mohammad Naved toiled manfully for 40 overs for a five-wicket haul against Pakistan Customs at Muridke.
Naved, the right-arm seamer, took 5 for 87 but it didn’t stop Customs from gaining a lead of 181, with one wicket in hand at stumps. Customs added 101 for the fourth wicket – led by Asad Baig’s 56 – lost their way a bit before Tahir Mughal and Mohammad Iftikhar scored forties to frustrate Lahore and stretch the lead.It was a day of domination for National Bank of Pakistan as Nasir Jamshed and Umar Amin scored centuries to make Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) toil in Faisalabad
. Amin and Jamshed added a massive 236 for the opening wicket and set the platform to mount an imposing first-innings lead with eight wickets still in hand. Jamshed made 108 with 13 fours before he was dismissed by Rizwan Ahmed. Amir was unbeaten on 139, with 16 fours and a six, to extend the lead to 92 at stumps.Five-wicket hauls by Sarfraz Ahmed, the left-arm seamer, and Azharullah helped Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) fight back on the second day at the Gaddafi Stadium
but it couldn’t prevent Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from gaining a first-innings lead of 55. Azharullah rocked the top order, including the wicket of in-form opener Khurram Manzoor, while Sarfraz chipped away at the middle order. Sarfraz even claimed the wicket of his namesake for 46, the top scorer of the innings. PIA were bowled out for 193 before the WAPDA openers made a refreshing start to their second innings, adding 65 till stumps with an overall lead of 10 going into the third day.

Group B

Ashar Zaidi and Naeem Anjum put in strong batting performances to prop Islamabad to 485 against Faisalabad at the Diamond Club Ground.
The pair were involved in a stand of 83 for the sixth wicket before Zaidi fell to Tauqeer Hussain for 129. Anjum continued to resist with a patient 88 off 223 balls and was supported by the lower order before he was bowled by Zulqarnain, who took four wickets. Faisalabad lost their opener Zeeshan Asif for 9 but they ended the day on a safe 63 for 1.Naved Yasin made an unbeaten 107 for Multan but Karachi Blues held the upper hand on the second day at the National Stadium.
The lower order resisted to push Karachi to 377 and Multan in reply were still way short of that score, ending on 220 for 8. Multan failed to close out Karachi when they resumed their overnight score of 291 for 8. Forties by Atif Maqbool and Azam Hussain pushed the score past 350. Zulfiqar Babar, the left-arm spinner, finished with 4 for 73. Multan were struggling at 20 for 3 when Tanvir Ahmed ran through the top order and that’s when Yasin stepped in to repair the damage. Kashif Naved added 71 with him for the fifth wicket but Mqabool and Hussain combined to strike and pull things back for Karachi. Multan ended the day faced with an imposing deficit of 157.Fifties by Shahid Qambrani and Mir Ali propped Hyderabad to 377 against Lahore Ravi at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground.
The overnight pair added 80 for the fifth wicket, the highest stand of the innings. Waqas Ahmed was the top wicket-taker with 4 for 117 off 32 overs. Kashif Siddiq led Lahore’s reply with an unbeaten 70.Riaz Afridi’s six-for sent Rawalpindi crashing to 81 at the National Ground
leading to a follow on against Peshawar. Afridi took 6 for 31 while Imran Khan and Nauman Habib chipped in with two wickets each to sink Peshawar, who lost their last five wickets for 18 runs. Faced with a deficit of 182, Rawalpindi out in a much better effort in their second innings, ending on 198 for 3. Usman Saeed led the way with 79 while Zahid Mansoor remained unbeaten on 57. They ended the day with a slender lead of 16 with seven wickets in hand.Kamran Younis’ unbeaten 147 gave Sialkot the upper hand against Quetta at the Jinnah Stadium.
Arun Lal’s three wickets helped Quetta gain the early advantage when they had Sialkot struggling at 104 for 5. But Ahmed Butt joined Younis and the pair added 175, remaining unbeaten till stumps. Butt scored seven boundaries in his 76 while Younis hit 20 fours. Sialkot ended the day with a lead of 66.

Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Kalea Moore restrict home side despite unbeaten fifty for Kathryn Bryce

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Jul-2025Surrey clinched their place at Finals Day in the inaugural Vitality Blast women’s competition by defending a meagre 132 for nine against The Blaze at Trent Bridge, restricting the home side to 122 for 5 to secure a 10-run victory.They pulled it off despite a bizarre start to The Blaze’s pursuit of their 133-run target in which Alice Monaghan had to be removed from the Surrey attack for bowling two full tosses above waist height and 27 were conceded in the opening two overs.Yet a brilliant comeback by Surrey’s slower bowlers meant that The Blaze – the only side to beat Surrey after winning at the Kia Oval earlier in the season – fell short despite Kathryn Bryce’s unbeaten 53 off 55 balls, with Ryana MacDonald-Gay taking 2 for 14 and Kalea Moore 2 for 17.Despite five dropped catches, The Blaze restricted Surrey to 132 for 9 from 20 overs, England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn finishing with 3 for 20 and Australia all-rounder Heather Graham 2 for 20, Surrey unable to build on 27 from 23 balls from Alice Davidson-Richards with Grace Harris their next-highest scorer on 26 from 19.Surrey’s experiment with Davidson-Richards at the top of the order paid off as she struck five fours in the powerplay, helping the visitors to 39 without loss from six after winning the toss, but when she went down the pitch to Kirstie Gordon in the seventh she was caught at long-on.Bryony Smith was caught at deep midwicket for 18 but The Blaze were unusually sloppy in the field, with Kira Chathli dropped three times before she was into double figures and Harris also put down on 4.The third-wicket pair added 39 from 29 balls before Harris top-edged a slog-sweep off Glenn, whose next over proved calamitous for Surrey as Emma Jones was bowled making room to cut, Chathli caught at mid-off and Monaghan run out.From 91 for 2, Surrey were 98 for 6, and though Phoebe Franklin picked up three boundaries, she was leg-before stepping across to Graham, who then bowled Moore for 2. Cassidy McCarthy dismissed Alexa Stonehouse and though another dropped catch off the last ball of the innings handed MacDonald-Gay two runs, 133 looked a target well within the home side’s compass.Surrey’s fortunes did not improve with the ball, giving The Blaze innings a 12-ball opening over. Started by Monaghan – ordered out of the attack after two full tosses over waist height in her first four deliveries, one of which was a wide – it was ended by Davidson-Richards, who conceded three wides of her own but had a catch put down when Kelly survived a chance on 4.After Stonehouse went for three boundaries, Blaze were 27 without loss from two overs, yet Surrey responded well by conceding only 14 more in the powerplay, picking up a wicket when Marie Kelly hit Moore’s off-spin straight to cover.The squeeze continued and after Georgia Elwiss had picked out Monaghan in the deep on the leg side, Blaze were behind the required rate at 59 for 2 from 10, needing another 74. The Bryce sisters eked out 43 at a run a ball before Sarah failed to clear wide long-on for 21, leaving 40 needed from the last five overs, but Moore conceded only two from the next.The 17th over was the first since the second of the innings in which Surrey had conceded more than eight but after Graham found long-on to go for 3, the Blaze needed 22 from 12 balls. Ella Claridge tried but failed to clear deep midwicket off MacDonald-Gay, after which Franklin had no trouble defending 19 off the last over to see out an extraordinary victory.

South Africa were struggling at 66 for 6 in a small chase before Stubbs and Coetzee turned the game around

Firdose Moonda10-Nov-20243:33

Takeaways – Varun, Stubbs, Coetzee show how good they can be

Tristan Stubbs’ coming-of-age season continued as he batted South Africa to a series-levelling win over India at St George’s Park. Stubbs rescued South Africa from 66 for 6 and shared in a 42-run stand off 20 balls with Gerald Coetzee to end India’s winning streak in T20Is, which extended back 11 matches. In the last month, Stubbs has scored his first Test and ODI centuries and though his 47* in Gqeberha will not go down as a milestone, it was an innings of maturity that turned things around for a struggling South African side.Since reaching the T20 World Cup final in June, South Africa had played six matches before today and won only one. They appeared to lack a certain structure to their game, which showed glimpses of returning when they put together a complete performance in the field and kept India to 124. The fast bowlers set the tone upfront before the spinners put on a squeeze and all but Keshav Maharaj were among the wickets. Importantly, they removed India’s top three early, and for a combined total of eight runs, and their middle-order had to play catch up. A 37-run stand between Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh for the seventh wicket was the only time India’s scoring rate went above six an over.Given the target, South Africa may have thought the win would come easily but they were made to work for it. Varun Chakravarthy’s first international five-for left them reeling while captain Aiden Markam’s poor form remains a concern. It has been 26 innings since he last scored a T20I half-century. South Africa were kept quiet by India’s spinners and as wickets fell, the required run-rate climbed to the point where they needed 40 off the last five overs. Stubbs held his nerve, Coetzee showed his batting prowess and South Africa got home with an over to spare.Gerald Coetzee – the batter Coetzee was put on a 12-week conditioning break to work on his bowling, but it seems as though he’s paid as much attention to his batting. After an 11-ball 23 at Kingsmead, with the game all but lost, Coetzee came in with everything at stake at St George’s Park. South Africa were 86 for 7 and needed 39 runs in 26 balls. He was off the mark with a single and that was all the sighting he needed. He dispatched the next ball he faced, a full delivery from Arshdeep Singh, over long-off to relieve the pressure. Stubbs ended the 17th over with a stunning drive through the covers which left South Africa needing 25 runs from 18 balls. Coetzee got that down to 17 off 16 balls with back-to-back boundaries off Avesh Khan, who erred in length. South Africa scored 12 runs off the 18th over and needed 13 off the last 12 balls to level the series.Varun confounds South Africa South Africa insist they have made progress in their batting against spin but then someone like Varun comes along and it doesn’t seem that way. He followed up a career-best in Durban with another in Gqeberha and made India’s modest total appear much bigger than it was. His second ball was a slow googly that Markram, struggling for form, did not pick. Markram slogged, missed and was bowled. The same delivery did Reeza Hendricks in in the next over. Hendricks had just hit Varun for four and was foxed by the wrong ‘un as he played for turn away and was bowled. Then, he changed ends and was equally dangerous from the other side. In his third over, Marco Jansen had no idea what to do against the googly but it was the final over where Varun all but ended South Africa’s hopes. Heinrich Klaasen tried to take him on and could only find long-off and with his next ball, Varun bowled David Miller to claim his five-for.Varun Chakravarthy removed Marco Jansen for 7 on his way to a five-for•AFP/Getty Images

South Africa’s sensational bowling start Cricket has its way of humbling humans and it did to Sanju Samson, who was bowled off the third ball of the innings for a duck, after back-to-back hundreds in his last two matches. The delivery was impressive as Jansen got the ball to seam and then swing but Samson moved too early to give himself room and may have been in a better place to keep it out if he had remained in line. Jansen’s first over was scoreless and South Africa had set the tone. Four balls later, Coetzee and umpire Lubabalo Gcume thought Abhishek Sharma gloved him down the leg side but an immediate review proved otherwise. Coetzee had the last laugh when Abhishek top-edged him to Jansen at short fine. But the moment of the powerplay came when Andile Simelane, who was wicketless on debut in Durban, seared in a yorker to Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav to get his first international wicket. Suryakumar tried to flick it away but was beaten for pace and hit on the pad and did not even bother to review. India were 15 for 3 after four overs and recovered to 34 for 3 after the powerplay. David Miller’s wonder catch Tilak Varma smashed Markram towards cover. The ball rocketed towards Miller who moved to his right, reached overhead and plucked it out of the Gqeberha. Tilak stood open-mouthed and stared at Miller in disbelief. At the stands, the spectators’ eyes were the size of saucers. The commentators struggled to get the words out.’Oh, my, word’, was the overall sentiment as India slumped to 45 for 4. South Africa stayed sharp in the field and legspinner Nqaba Peter reacted quickly when Hardik drove the ball to him at the end of his second over. Peter got a touch as the ball deflected onto the non-striker’s stumps and Axar Patel was run out. Hardik hits out Hardik scored 19 runs off the first 29 balls he faced and only found the boundary off the 28th as South Africa dried up India’s run-scoring opportunities. The middle overs were heavy going as India scored 24 runs in five overs and went 35 deliveries without scoring a boundary. Finally, in the 18th over, Hardik found his touch. Jansen was brought back on after his first two overs cost only five runs and Hardik immediately punched them through the covers for four. Two balls later, he got under a wider delivery and hit it over extra cover for six and then closed out the over with a ramp shot off a short ball for India’s most profitable over.

Game against Worcestershire in the balance heading into day two

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2024Ben Stokes top-scored with his first half-century of the season as 23 wickets fell on a day full of drama in the Vitality County Championship match between Durham and Worcestershire at Seat Unique Riverside.Stokes made 56 in a welcome return to form for the home side in their innings of 190, but Nathan Smith impressed for the visitors by claiming figures of 4 for 36, while Ben Allison and Matthew Waite notched three and two wickets apiece.Worcestershire looked to be making steady inroads in their reply at 71 for 2 but lost their final eight wickets for 41 runs as Matthew Potts claimed 4 for 29 to bolster his credentials for selection in the first Test of the summer.Durham entered their second innings with a 78-run lead, but lost three quick wickets, only extending their lead to 111 at the close.Worcestershire made the most out of advantageous conditions after winning the toss at a gloomy Chester-le-Street. Smith found his line and length immediately to pin Durham captain Scott Borthwick lbw with the fifth ball of the innings. Tom Taylor followed suit with a full length to find Colin Ackermann’s outside edge as Gareth Roderick claimed a fine diving catch in front of first slip.Division One’s form player David Bedingham responded with a flurry of crunching boundaries, highlighting his pristine touch at the crease. The South Africa international reached 21 before making a rare lapse of judgement, leaving a hooping Ben Allison delivery that crashed into his off-stump. Alex Lees took the attack to Matthew Waite’s first over, scoring two boundaries, but the bowler won the duel as the Durham opener became the fourth wicket of the session.Ollie Robinson and Stokes stemmed the tide of wickets with a stand worth 46. After being overlooked for the England Test squad, Robinson produced another classy innings, finding the off-side boundary with ease. He made his way to 35 and looked well set to add another score of fifty-plus to his tally, only to fall to a cracking inswinger from the returning Smith before lunch.Stokes upped the ante after lunch, chancing his arm with booming drives down the wicket. The England skipper did have the odd element of fortune, but still worked his way to a timely half-century from 73 balls ahead of the upcoming Test series against the West Indies. However, Allison returned with a short ball that Stokes’ gloved behind on an attempted hook to fall for 56.Durham’s innings unravelled after his departure courtesy of Smith and Allison to dismiss the hosts 10 shy of 200.Potts made early inroads into the Worcestershire line-up by removing Roderick for nine, but the visitors made quick runs against the new ball to put Durham’s bowlers under pressure.Borthwick turned to Stokes for inspiration and his introduction into the attack should have brought a wicket from his first ball, but Libby was dropped by Bas de Leede at point. Undeterred Stokes found Libby’s outside edge from the following delivery and Lees claimed a routine catch at third slip.Kashif Ali defied Stokes and Peter Siddle in difficult conditions as the bad light halted play for 30 minutes. The break favoured the home side as the Worcestershire batting ranks collapsed from 71 for 2 to 112 all out.Siddle started the rout by dismissing Rob Jones and Adam Hose before Ben Raine pinned Ethan Brookes lbw. Potts then took centre stage in his second spell, tearing through the lower order, including Taylor and Smith in successive deliveries.Amir Virdi survived the hat-trick ball and his resistance allowed Kashif Ali to bring up his fifty with six over the leg-side boundary before the he was final wicket to fall to Raine.Batting didn’t get any easier in the sunny twilight as Lees, Borthwick and Clark all fell for the hosts with Smith and Taylor amongst the wickets once more with the game very much in the balance heading into day two.

USA pulled off a stunning victory over Pakistan in a game that went into a Super Over

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-20241:19

Jaffer: Saurabh Netravalkar’s got a great story

0.1 Amir to Aaron Jones, FOUR runs Amir starts with the wide one but Jones is able to reach it. It was slow and into the pitch, slashed wide of third for four. Big advantage for USA!0.2 Amir to Aaron Jones, 2 runs Nails the on-pace yorker but Jones manages to skilfully drill the flick through midwicket. They scamper back for two as well0.3 Amir to Aaron Jones, 1 run
Pakistan, like they did at the death, go with the yorker plan. This is nailed. Pace-on again. Jones can’t do nothin with that. Jams it a foot or two in front but that allows a scampered single0.4 Amir to Harmeet Singh, 2 wide Amir misses his line (and length) and concedes a wide plus bye. Could have been worse but Harmeet missed the flick on the low full toss going down leg. Rizwan can’t collect cleanly, they run one0.4 Amir to Aaron Jones, 1 run Jones goes across to try and get inside the line. Gets a low full toss at the stumps, flicks it to deep square leg. Just a single0.5 Amir to Harmeet Singh, 2 wide Amir misses, Harmeet misses. Everyone’s disappointed but this is in USA’s favour. Low full toss swung down leg, went past the attempted flick. Another bye stolen0.5 Amir to Aaron Jones, 2 runs Into the pitch, wide too. Jones connects with the cut. Sweeper runs to the right, Amir yells as they return for the second on the throw (which was to the keeper’s end)0.6 Amir to Aaron Jones, 3 wide 5head leave from Jones. Buzzers too, USA are doing this with unforced errors. Jones cleared the front leg but saw the fullish ball, going away with the angle, to be outside the tramline and let it pass. The batters ran as Rizwan lobbed it high up, too far for Amir to collect but no one backing up either. They steal two byes!0.6 Amir to Aaron Jones, 1 run, OUT Amir looks for the yorker. It’s at the stumps and is clipped through square leg. Jones returns for the second, which is never on, and fails to make it. But he had to of course

****

0.1 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, no run Iftikhar gets across, and the bowler follows. Netravalkar goes fullish and angles it across, with the ball finishing wide of off. But Iftikhar was far too across as he attempted to loft, but missed. So wide not called0.2 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, FOUR runs Thumped between long-on and deep midwicket! Netravalkar bowled on a length on middle and off, but Iftikhar waited before pulling hard in the gap for four0.3 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, 1 wide This is a wide! This time Ifthikar doesn’t move much, and sees this yorker-length ball wide of off go past him. He leaves it alone, and it is given wide0.3 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, OUT Wow, superb catch! Sub fielder Milind Kumar takes a great catch! Placed at long-off, he took a few steps forward before going low and grabbing it barely above the ground. The final verdict will be given by the third umpire, though. He sees multiple replays, with the ball almost hinting to drop off his hands on impact. Now the TV umpire looks at it from a different angle. The ball is dipping and dying on to Milind, who uses both his hands to try and catch that. And after much ado, it is given out! This is what had happened earlier: Netravalkar had bowled a low full toss, which was angling across towards off, as Ifthikar launched down the ground. But the length seemed too full for him to fireIftikhar Ahmed c Kumar b Netravalkar 4 (3b 1×4 0x6)0.4 Netravalkar to Shadab, 1 wide And it is another wide. This is angled across, and lands on a yorker length wide of off. Shadab lets it go0.4 Netravalkar to Shadab, 4 leg byes Ohh, lucky four for Pakistan! Shadab got across the stumps to try and sweep this, but the ball dribbled off his toes between the keeper and short third0.5 Netravalkar to Shadab, 2 runs Ahh, well bowled! This is a nice yorker angling across towards middle and off, and Shadab is able to loft it only as far as between long-off and long-on. They pinch two0.6 Netravalkar to Shadab, 1 run USA win by five runs! The first upset of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The USA players make their presence feel by yelling their feelings out. Their dugout is up in celebration and ecstacy, even as the Pakistan dressing room is left wondering what would have been.

“It’s really tough,” Cummins says about losing Josh Hazlewood for the rest of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches

Andrew McGlashan18-Dec-20240:55

Cummins on Hazlewood: ‘Story of the last few summers’

Australia have insisted that Travis Head will be fit to take his place in the Boxing Day Test against India after he experienced some discomfort with a tight quad on the final day in Brisbane.Head appeared slightly restricted towards the backend of his second innings and did not take the field for India’s brief chase before rain halted the match for the final time. There was initial speculation that it was a groin problem, but that was emphatically denied by a Cricket Australia spokesperson”Trav, he’ll be fine, it’s a bit of a tight quad, he’ll be fine for Melbourne,” captain Pat Cummins said after the match.Related

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At the post-match presentation, Head said, “It’s been a big couple of weeks. But I’ll be fine.”Australia had already lost one key player during the Gabba Test, with Josh Hazlewood picking up a calf strain during warm-ups on the third day. Cummins confirmed Hazlewood would miss the remainder of the series. Scott Boland is expected to return at the MCG.Hazlewood’s latest injury came in his comeback match from the side strain that kept him out of the second Test in Adelaide and means, after a setback-free run from mid-2023 where he played ten consecutive Tests, he will miss more matches than he plays this season.”It’s really tough,” Cummins said. “It’s been the story, outside of last summer, of the last few summers. The extra layer to that [is] he’s probably one of the most disciplined, professional sportspeople you could meet [with] the way he trains and prepares. When he’s at home he’s in the gym every second day or every day, doing whatever it takes to try and minimise injuries. Think that’s an extra kind of blow, knowing how much he’s put into his body in the last few years to try and play as many Tests as he can.”It’s one of those [injuries] you can’t really predict, but we value him. Unfortunately, he’ll miss this series. I don’t know exactly when he’ll be right to go again but even in the little snippets we’ve seen this series it shows how much we rate him and how much of an impact he can have.”Travis Head hit his second century of the series in Brisbane, but ended the Test with “a tight quad”•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

However, Head, Australia’s most in-form batter, would have been an even bigger hole to fill so his positive prognosis is vital for the home side. He has made back-to-back destructive centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane, the first setting up victory and the second putting Australia in a dominant position.Cummins confirmed that there had been consideration to opening with Head on the final day after Australia had secured a lead of 185, following a defiant last-wicket stand between Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep which removed the option of the follow on.However, ultimately the decision was to stick with openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney in what became a strange second innings, where Mitchell Marsh was promoted to No. 4, in which they were 33 for 5 in 11 overs making it a little unclear what the objective was until Cummins flayed 22 off ten deliveries.”[We were] always trying to set up the game,” Cummins said. “[A] day-five wicket, it always felt like there were plenty of wickets on offer so just trying to get a bit of a total then try and then have enough overs to take those ten wickets. The number in your head always keeps changing as the weather does.”With Hazlewood limited to just six overs in the first innings, a significant bowling load fell on the shoulders of Cummins and Mitchell Starc, who sent down 46 of the 78.5 overs India faced in their first innings. Cummins acknowledged it had been tough work on the fourth day but that the regular rain breaks had meant they had not felt overburdened.Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc took on most of Australia’s bowling load in Josh Hazlewood’s absence•AFP/Getty Images

“We are feeling really good,” Cummins said of himself and Starc. “It was hot yesterday but we’d had about seven days off bowling after Adelaide so we were fresh, ready to go, and if anything the rain breaks helped us get little breaks yesterday.”Marsh, who effectively became Australia’s third seamer, only sent down two overs (having bowled just four in Adelaide) but Cummins said he would have been used more extensively if a fuller run chase had played out. Before the match, Marsh had reiterated he was able to bowl as much as the captain needed him following doubts over his fitness after Perth where he had pulled up sore following 17 overs in the opening Test.”We went in thinking we’d need a lot more from Mitchy Marsh but felt like we got enough breaks so he wasn’t needed as much,” Cummins said. “Also [had] a bit of an eye to the second innings so when we had a fresh new ball, it would have landed on Mitchy a lot to try and take those ten wickets. I suspect we’ll call on Mitch and some stage in the next couple of Tests to get us a breakthrough or two.”Australia’s selectors will meet over the next 24 hours and the squad is due to come back together in Melbourne on Monday ahead of the Boxing Day Test.

Jackson Bird took 7 for 46 as NSW took a 30-run first-innings lead with eight wickets in hand day one

AAP14-Nov-2024Jackson Bird has turned back the clock, claiming seven wickets as he ripped through South Australia, paving the way for New South Wales to secure a 30-run first-innings lead by stumps on day one of their Sheffield Shield match.Bird finished with figures of 7 for 46 at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval on Thursday, nagging away outside the off stump of South Australia’s batters as they were all out for 110.NSW went to stumps at 140 for 2, Nic Maddinson leading the way with 69 from 163 balls before being bowled by Lloyd Pope just before the close of play.Fellow opener Sam Konstas also looked solid for his 28, before falling lbw to Harry Conway, in his first game since missing out on Australian Test selection.But while Konstas is seen as the future of Australian cricket, Bird offered a nod to its past. The seamer will turn 38 next month, but he was at his consistent best on the opening day in Adelaide.Five batters fell edging him to the slips, while Conor McInerney also inside-edged a ball in the opening over to Konstas at short leg off the veteran.Bird’s return marked his first five-wicket haul in the Shield since March 2021, when he bagged 7 for 18 against the Blues while playing for Tasmania.”I felt reasonably good out there today,” Bird said. “But in between the wickets I got I didn’t feel like I bowled well in patches. It’s funny how cricket works.”It’s obviously nice to get some wickets, but it’s just one day. We’ve got to come back tomorrow and try and get a big lead and put some runs on the board.”Only Jake Lehmann (25), Henry Hunt (30) and Harry Nielsen (20) offered any real resistance for undefeated South Australia.But after the hosts were all out in 41.3 overs, the winless Blues looked far more composed at the crease. Konstas punched one boundary off the back foot outside off stump, and had one of the shots of the day when he drove Conway back down the ground for four.He hit four boundaries in his 28, before he was again out to a ball that nipped back into him slightly off a good length. Maddinson absorbed plenty of time at the crease before tea, and then took charge in the final session.He played two drives with flourish off Nathan McAndrew as he took 14 from one of the seamer’s overs, before smashing Conway through cover to bring up his 50.But it was a Pope ball that drifted, dripped and spun back between the left-hander’s bat and pad that bowled him, in a rare bright spot for South Australia.

The Mumbai captain credited his coach Omkar Salvi for creating a vision focussed on player fitness and freedom

Abhimanyu Bose14-Mar-2024Ending a wait that lasted eight years, Mumbai lifted their 42nd Ranji Trophy title in front of a jubilant home crowd at the Wankhede. Up against a stubborn Vidarbha team that refused to give in, Mumbai were eventually comfortable in defending 538 to win the final. Captain Ajinkya Rahane credited the triumph to the vision instilled in the team by head coach Omkar Salvi.”I think our journey started in June and it was all because of Omkar’s vision. We all had a vision as a team, but it came from Omkar,” Rahane said in the post-match press conference. “We focused on player fitness, creating a great culture in the team and giving freedom to all the players, not only on the field but off the field as well.”And you know, when someone is not doing well, you have to back that individual. It’s a team sport. Some players will do well in the team, few players won’t do well. But it’s all about backing all the players in the right time,” Rahane said. “So I think massive credit to Omkar. He has worked hard for this moment. Today I am really proud of him, really happy for him. His hard work has really paid off.”Related

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Rahane said that the title win, and the fact that there are several players from Mumbai representing India, bodes well for the team.”This victory means a lot. 42nd title, waiting seven-eight years. Last year we played really good cricket but unfortunately because of one run we couldn’t qualify for the playoffs. But this 42nd title means a lot. And as you mentioned, ten players representing Indian cricket, it’s massive.”He also underlined the importance of players turning up in domestic cricket.”I want to mention one thing about BCCI giving importance to domestic cricket which is a very good thing, telling players to play domestic cricket. Which is very important,” Rahane said.”From here on, for Mumbai cricket, it is important to keep growing, to keep thinking about how can we get better in all formats,” he said. “Winning the championship after eight years, we did this, but again, we want to repeat this in the coming years. Our focus will be on that.”But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Mumbai on the fifth day of the final as Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar and rookie Harsh Dubey played out a wicket-less morning session, sparking chatter about a potential upset of epic proportions. It wasn’t to be, but Rahane was the first to tip his hat to Vidarbha’s resilience.”The way they played cricket, the way they have fought in this match. When you concede a 120-run first-innings lead and are chasing 538, it’s easy to give up. But the sport teaches you that if you don’t give up and believe in your abilities, anything can happen,” Rahane said.”Chasing 538, the character which they have shown in the second innings was a great learning experience for all of us. The grit and determination with which they batted was very good.”The last 7-8 years they have been doing really good. They had a couple of championships and they won Irani Trophy once or twice. They are playing really good cricket.”Dhawal Kulkarni took the final wicket to seal Mumbai’s victory•PTI

Wadkar: ‘Never thought we were out of the game’

At stumps on the fourth day, Karun Nair had said that Vidarbha, 290 runs away with five wickets in hand, were faced with a “tough task” but also that they are a team that would not quit.Wadkar and Dubey exemplified that in their defiant partnership that saw Vidarbha go into lunch on the final day 85 runs closer to their target with no more damage to the wickets column. Wadkar scored his second century in Ranji Trophy finals, while Dubey brought up his second first-class fifty.”When we had our huddle, when we spoke in our team meeting, when we were speaking in our partnership, we didn’t think even 1% that we are out of the match,” Wadkar said.”We were just thinking that all the batters together, we’ll win the match. Because it’s the final and the last inning, so there was no scope of giving up or thinking negative. You have to go for the win, so we just believed that we will win.”Wadkar said that the Mumbai team kept having many discussions on their tactics since the fourth day, when he put on a 90-run stand with Nair and started his 130-run partnership with Dubey, but at no point did Rahane or his team look flustered, which meant that he knew Vidarbha still had a long way to go in the match.”[Mumbai] were having discussions since yesterday. When I was batting with Karun, when I was batting with Harsh. So they had discussions on field changes and bowling changes,” Wadkar said. “I was just observing their captain, Rahane, that what are his expressions? Is he talking a little harshly with the bowlers? Because then we would know that we are in the game.”But from his attitude, it looked like he was cool and calm. He didn’t let it show if he was getting frustrated or that we were getting close to the game.”So we also felt that we are quite far in the game and we have to go a long way. We did have a long way to go, of course, but from the attitude of the opponents, you get vibes about what they are thinking. But from his attitude, it didn’t look like [they were getting frustrated].”Akshay Wadkar scored his second century in a Ranji final•PTI

MCA increases prize money for Mumbai

While Mumbai were already receiving INR 5 crore from the BCCI for winning the Ranji Trophy, the Mumbai Cricket Association decided to double the prize money with a prize of INR 5 crore of their own.”MCA President Amol Kale and Apex Council has decided to double the Ranji Trophy prize money. The MCA will pay additional sum of Rs 5 crore to the winning Mumbai Ranji Trophy team,” the MCA said in a statement.Mumbai coach Salvi praised the board for the move, saying it would give the players more security.”I think nowadays there are very less institutions that provide jobs [to players]. I think BCCI taking that step and giving that money and along with that MCA putting that step forward to equal that amount is a great help for the players who don’t have jobs or other sources of earning,” Salvi said.”It also gives an inspiration. Definitely I feel [Inspiration] should be intrinsic but the monetary help will give them the security and it will stabilise them mentally and financially and they will give more to the game.”

Allrounder helped win T20 Blast in 2016 but was disappointed to lose captaincy last season

Matt Roller05-Jan-2024Josh Cobb has left Northamptonshire with a year remaining on his contract after he was removed as T20 captain without prior consultation by coach John Sadler last summer.Cobb said he was “blindsided” by Sadler’s decision to name David Willey captain two weeks before the start of the Blast season, after spending four years in charge. “I am both shocked and disappointed to be relieved of my captaincy duties so close to the Blast starting,” he wrote on social media at the time.His form suffered in the Blast, making 76 runs in seven innings and he was deemed surplus to requirements throughout the Royal London Cup and the second half of the County Championship season. His final first-team game of the summer came on June 9.Cobb, 33, intends to continue his professional career elsewhere in 2024. “Cobb has left the club by mutual agreement ahead of the final year of his existing contract, allowing him to pursue cricketing opportunities elsewhere,” Northamptonshire said in a club statement.The high point of Cobb’s nine seasons with Northants came in 2016, when he hit 80 off 48 balls against Durham in the final of the Blast to help them win the competition for the second time in four years. It was the second time in his career that he was named player of the match in the Blast final, after taking 4 for 22 in Leicestershire’s 2011 victory over SomersetNorthants signed Cobb ahead of the 2015 season as part of a data-driven recruitment strategy which underpinned their extraordinary T20 success during a period of financial adversity. He leaves as their second-highest run-scorer in the Blast’s history behind only Alex Wakely, his predecessor as T20 captain.”I have loved my time at the club,” Cobb said. “Winning the T20 Blast in 2016 is one of the highlights of my career so far and I hope the club can return to those glory days in the future. I’d like to thank the club, staff, my teammates and of course the fans for all their support over the years.””On behalf of everyone at the club I’d like to wish Josh all the best for the future,” Ray Payne, Northants’ chief executive, said. “We’re grateful for his service as both a player and a leader as our white-ball captain during his eight years at the club”.Visa pending, Northamptonshire are hopeful of securing the services of Rory Kleinveldt, the former South Africa seamer, as their bowling coach for the 2024 season. Kleinveldt, 40, played for the club for four seasons between 2015 and 2018, including the 2016 Blast final, and was recently part of South Africa’s limited-overs set-up.

He smacks an unbeaten 62 off just 28 balls to help Hurricanes hunt down 187

AAP05-Jan-2025A brutal unbeaten 62 from 28 balls from Tim David helped Hobart Hurricanes to a fourth straight win and the second-highest run-chase of the BBL 2024-25.David hit six sixes and three fours as Hurricanes chased down Adelaide Strikers’ 186 for 5 with eight deliveries to spare and five wickets in hand at the Bellerive Oval. He hit 40 runs during the power surge in the 14th and 15th overs when the game was on the line.Strikers’ Jamie Overton took most of the punishment and finished with 0 for 54 from three overs after also suffering heavy treatment from opener Mitchell Owen.Owen scored 37 from 16 deliveries, which included three sixes in a row off Overton – one landing on the roof of the members’ stand.David came to the crease at 101 for 4 in the 11th over after Strikers spinners Lloyd Pope and Cameron Boyce (2-23) slowed Hurricanes’ chase. David took some time to get going before notching his fastest BBL half-century.”I’m stoked. It was my turn to put my hand up when they needed me,” David said. “I was like two off eight. I was hitting it pretty badly, but thankfully it changed. We knew the pitch was good … just good cricket shots, hit the ball out of the middle of the bat.”Hurricanes, who are gunning for a maiden title, rose to third on the ladder while Strikers remain second last.It is the first time Hurricanes have won four in a row since 2019 and comes after an impressive 50-run victory over the ladder-leading Sydney Sixers.”We’re building towards a finals crack this year, we’re only halfway through, but we’re in a good spot so far,” David said. “Everyone has contributed so far in our batting order and that’s a great place to be.”Earlier, Chris Lynn top scored for the Strikers with 49 from 27 balls after he was struck on the helmet by a 140kmph bouncer from Riley Meredith in the first over.Lynn, who hit five fours and three sixes, was out in the ninth over, caught in the deep off Waqar Salamkheil trying to clear the rope, leaving the visitors 75 for 3.Skipper Alex Ross steadied the ship with Ollie Pope, before Overton inflicted damage late with an unbeaten 27 from 18.Meredith was the pick of the Hurricanes’ bowlers with 1 for 26 from four overs, including the scalp of Pope in the 16th over.