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Hockley stepped into the job last June following the sacking of Kevin Roberts

Andrew McGlashan31-May-2021Nick Hockley has been named the new permanent chief executive of Cricket Australia, having held the role in an interim capacity for almost a year.Hockley stepped into the job last June following the sacking of Kevin Roberts during the fallout to CA’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.”As Australia’s national sport, cricket is at the heart of our national and cultural identity. I am under no illusion about the importance of cricket to the lives of so many Australians, nor the magnitude and responsibility of this role,” Hockley said. “Leading Cricket Australia is the greatest privilege of my working life and I am committed to doing all I can to making a positive contribution to the game and the community.”It has been extremely rewarding to be part of CA, State and Territory Associations and the Australian Cricketers’ Association working together like never before over the past 12 months, to overcome the challenges presented by Covid-19 and deliver a summer for the ages. I look forward to building on this momentum and playing my role in deepening those relationships further, as well as playing a leading role in growing the game internationally alongside fellow ICC members.”Amid the pressure of funding cuts to states – which were eventually much lower than originally forecast – other than a battle with host broadcaster Channel Seven and the ongoing challenges of border closures, Hockley was able to steer the game through a turbulent 2020-21 season which enabled them to deliver a full professional programme. That included a tour by India, which involved tense negotiations almost until the final day, alongside two Big Bash tournaments and a full state professional summer.Related

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Despite having done an impressive job dealing with the impact of the pandemic, there have been questions raised as to whether Hockley has the broader vision to carry CA forward. But he now has the chance to make changes and decisions that were difficult while he still held the interim tag.”Nick’s contribution to Australian Cricket has been immense and on behalf of the board, I am most pleased to confirm his appointment as CEO, which was unanimously endorsed by the board,” Earl Eddings, the CA chairman, said. “From delivering the historic T20 Women’s World Cup to ensuring a safe and successful 2020-21 season, Nick has already proven himself to be in the very top echelon of sports administrators both in Australia and around the world.”Nick was named interim CEO at an incredibly challenging period for Australian sport, and society in general, and there were many instances where the once-in-a-generation obstacles in his path must have seemed overwhelming. But through his leadership, resolve, worth ethic and vision for the game, Australian Cricket emerged stronger than ever. For that, Nick deserves enormous credit.”Prior to his hasty elevation into the top CA role, Hockley had been chief executive of the 2020 T20 World Cup committee that had staged the record-breaking women’s tournament in Australia last year, and which concluded just days before the pandemic shut down global sport. Before that, he had worked on the 2015 men’s World Cup as well, having also previously been involved in the London Olympics.Confirmation of Hockley’s full-time job removes one of the leadership uncertainties around Australian cricket. Eddings is set to seek a second term as chairman at October’s elections, although there are significant divisions in the game over what would be a highly unusual move.On the playing front, the subject of who succeeds Tim Paine as Test captain potentially after next summer’s Ashes has not made much movement, while Justin Langer, the men’s head coach, is out of contract after the 2021-22 season amid rumblings of discontent in the dressing room.

Spending 179 and 159.2 overs on the field has led to them getting to a “breaking point”

Mohammad Isam01-May-2021The Bangladesh team reached a physical and mental “breaking point” on the third afternoon of the second Test in Pallekele, according to coach Russell Domingo. He was referring to the 179 and 159.2 overs they have been in the field over the two Tests against Sri Lanka with three rest days thrown in. Domingo however said that there were some soft dismissals as the visitors were bowled out for 251 – losing 7 for 37 – and ending the day behind by 259 runs.”The guys have spent so much time on the field in the last 4-5 days (over the two Tests),” Domingo said. “They are probably a little bit mentally fatigued after being in the field for 338 overs. It wears you down physically and mentally as a cricketer. It could be one of the reasons. Obviously, there were one or two soft dismissals.”All teams reach a breaking point. Our breaking point came this afternoon when we were batting. It has been a tough day for us. We have to try to be positive. There’s still a lot of cricket to be played. We have to make sure the guys are in a good frame of mind when we bowl tomorrow (Sunday).”Domingo also expects the less-experienced players in the line-up to make bigger contributions. And as part of that process, he wants to identify young players and back them. In return, he expects them to repay the faith to lessen the burden on the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim.”It is a batting unit that we need to support and identify roles for, and make sure get better,” he said. “There are six or seven batters who all need to contribute, and build partnerships. While Tamim has played really well, the focus shouldn’t be just on one particular player. We have some younger players who need to step up and put in big performances. We have to give them opportunities so that they can get to the levels of Tamim and Mushfiq in time to come.”The coach was also of the opinion that Iqbal should continue to bat aggressively upfront. The senior batter has scored four fifties in a row now, having shredded a slightly-conservative template.”In our particular line-up at the moment, we have four or five players who haven’t played ten Tests yet,” he observed. “There’s a lot of inexperience, so we need to encourage someone like Tamim to play positively, and take pressure off the younger players. Some of the younger players are not at east to express themselves, and play with that sort of intent.”Domingo also pointed towards Bangladesh’s previous Test series for inspiration, underlining how West Indies scaled their 395-run target in the fourth innings to win the Chattogram Test by three wickets.”We were part of an unbelievable Test match a few months ago, when West Indies chased down 387,” he said. “We know that we are way behind the game at the moment. We are under a lot of pressure. Sri Lanka are dominating at the moment. But if we can pick up early wickets, cause a little bit of jitters in the change room, you never know. Somebody comes out and plays a great innings. So we have to remain positive going into day four.”Did Bangladesh pick the best XI? Domingo certainly thinks so, despite the bowlers toiling away. “It is easy to say after three days of cricket that we picked the wrong team,” he said. “I don’t think we have (picked the wrong team). We have a balanced bowling attack, who we think can take 20 wickets. When we bowled on day one, there wasn’t much spin on offer. Obviously the wicket started to spin now, towards the end of day three. It was tricky for the batsmen.”

Series “strengthens Pakistan’s reputation as a safe and secure country but also a healthy one,” says PCB

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2020Multan will host international cricket after a gap of over 12 years when Pakistan’s three-ODI series against Zimbabwe is held there from October 30 to November 3. This will be followed by a series of three T20Is, all in Rawalpindi, before the visitors return home after a three-week stay in Pakistan, a tour that Zakir Khan, the PCB’s director of international cricket, said “strengthens Pakistan’s reputation as a safe and secure country but also a healthy one after having successfully overcome the Covid-19 pandemic”. All the matches will be played behind closed doors.Apart from signalling cricket’s resumption in Pakistan after the Covid-19-enforced hiatus, the series will mark the beginning of the World Cup Super League campaign – the pathway for direct qualification to the 2023 50-over World Cup – for both teams.

Series schedule

Oct 30 – 1st ODI, Multan
Nov 1 – 2nd ODI, Multan
Nov 3 – 3rd ODI, Multan
Nov 7 – 1st T20I, Rawalpindi
Nov 8 – 2nd T20I, Rawalpindi
Nov 10 – 3rd T20I, Rawalpindi

“The confirmation of the series schedule against Zimbabwe after having successfully hosted Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as Marylebone Cricket Club and HBL Pakistan Super League V, in the 2019-20 season not only strengthens Pakistan’s reputation as a safe and secure country but also a healthy one after having successfully overcome the Covid-19 pandemic,” Khan said in a PCB statement. “This series is critical to Pakistan as it aspires to qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and, as such, every point in the Super League will count.”Our last ODI series was against Sri Lanka, 12 months ago, so the boys will have to hit the ground running and try to pocket maximum points.”The choice of Multan, which has hosted five Tests and seven ODIs over the years but none since an ODI against Bangladesh in April 2008, is an interesting one.”We have strategically scheduled Zimbabwe’s matches in Multan and Rawalpindi, the venues which will be hosting the National T20 Cup from 30 September to 18 October,” Khan said. “By the time Zimbabwe arrives, we would have gained enough experience on bio-securing hotels, player transportation, the venues and the players’ dressing rooms as delivery of this series will be under strict Covid-19 protocols to ensure the health and safety of all participants.”According to the PCB statement, Zimbabwe will have a 32-member playing squad travelling to Pakistan, to take part in both the series as well as some intra-squad warm-up matches. They will reach on October 20.”The squad will undergo two Covid-19 tests within a space of 48 hours prior to their departure in Harare, while the second tests will be conducted as soon as they arrive in Islamabad,” the statement added. “Players and Player Support Personnel testing negative in Islamabad will be eligible to resume training at a venue, which the PCB will confirm in due course.”Players and player support personnel testing positive during the tour will have to observe a five-day self-isolation and will only be allowed to re-integrate with the side after two negative tests.”In 2015 Zimbabwe were the first team to visit Pakistan after the terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in 2009, paving the way over the next five years for a number of teams to return. Last year Pakistan hosted ints first Tests in the country since 2009 and earlier this year hosted the entire Pakistan Super League for the first time.

He believes Tests will continue to enjoy support in the playing community for longer than is being predicted

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2020Despite the discussion over reducing Test cricket from five days to four, Anil Kumble, former India captain and ICC cricket committee chairman, believes that the longest form of the game will continue to enjoy support in the playing community for lot longer than is being predicted.Kumble was talking about the demands of the T20 age and the shifting of player priorities at an event in Bengaluru to launch former India Test opener and women’s coach WV Raman’s book Talking about leadership on a panel with Raman and TVS executive vice- president P Madhavan, Kumble said he did not believe player priorities had shifted dramatically despite the success of T20 franchise cricket.”I don’t think so. I think everybody wants to play Test cricket, that’s very clear.” The generation of cricketers, Kumble said, “certainly want five-day cricket and that’s something very obvious… there is some challenge in keeping everyone focused and pushed towards playing domestic competition specially Ranji Trophy.” He commended players returning to first-class cricket to find their feet in the game again, a practice he said needed to be encouraged.A marked change in Indian cricket today he said was the palpable separation of the teams between formats, with very few being dead certainties across formats. In India, only captain Virat Kohli and in the recent past, opener Rohit Sharma and bowlers Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah have belonged to that list.”Very few players are common to formats and it’s getting lesser and lesser,” Kumble said. “But I don’t think there is any dearth of people wanting to play the longer format. I think everybody wants to, they realise that’s the biggest challenge and I’m sure that’s going to be the case for a long time.”Kumble’s advice to the Gen Z cricketer was simple: to be aware that they cannot let their guard down at any time. “You just need to be at it. There are a lot more opportunities for you to come back so that’s the one thing that is an advantage. To not look for anyone else to chart their careers out for them.”One thing I would tell any youngster is don’t look at somebody… Selectors are there to actually drop you, not pick you. Because you pick yourself. At the end of it, your performances count and then you certainly pick yourself. The selector or whoever is picking you is there to drop you not really to pick you… that I think one must be aware of.”Asked to name the single quality they look for in youngsters to judge whether they were in for the long haul, Raman said apart from talent itself, “a good indication is the pace at which a young player improves. Everything else is secondary.” To Kumble it was, “I’d like to look at how he bounces back after failure. How he comes back from a bad game, how he comes out of it.”Kumble accepted that the demand on the modern player in India was both in terms of tougher competition and more intense scrutiny. “One failure and heavens come down on you, that’s the part you need to be mature about handling. But you currently also have more opportunities to come back and show case your talent – in IPL or Ranji Trophy or any other format. It’s understanding what roles you play.” As for distractions Kumble said, while each era had its own share, dealing with it was the job of the player.”Yes there is social media now, but even when we were playing you had everyone else who was an expert- of what I should be bowling and how I should be bowling and when I should be bowling, and per se on whether India should bat first or bowl first or which bowlers should bowl at what time, those comments were always there.”Despite the 24X7 visibility of social media he said, the player’s response needed to be identical across generations, “Every generation just has to make sure that you stay away from all that and focus on all that you need to do, on that particular day and what your goal needs to be.”As for the heightened criticism from social media, Raman said players needed to adapt a “convenient memory.” The players’ job was “to try and be better than can, next time around. You don’t sulk or get absolutely overjoyed. It’s a case of having a convenient memory. Don’t moan keep going, that’s what happens in sport.”

Ashley Giles says scheduling will be looked at for 2021 with a view to shifting priorities

George Dobell01-Nov-2019A change of heart at the ECB could see the County Championship – rather than the One-Day Cup – played at the same time as the Hundred from 2021.Next summer the domestic one-day competition is scheduled to be played at the same time as the Hundred, meaning England’s best limited-overs players will not be available for 50-over cricket. But Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, has suggested that decision could be reviewed after the 2020 season.While he insisted the 50-over competition would provide an opportunity for “young guys to get exposure” in 2020, he did admit that, ahead of the 2023 World Cup in India, the ECB may look to ensure the domestic competition is of as high a standard as possible and not hit by absences.”It definitely will be 50-over alongside the Hundred next summer, but this will be consistently reviewed,” Giles told in an interview in their November edition. “You could then move your 50-over back to the start of the year.”Fifty-over cricket remains really important. But we have to prioritise slightly differently over the next few years. We have two T20 World Cups ahead of the 2023 50-over World Cup. We’ll still play 50-over.”Can I sit here and say it’s the most important thing when it’s being playing alongside the Hundred – no, I can’t. You’d laugh at me. It’s actually a really good competition for some young guys to get exposure. Then in 2021 we might have a look at the scheduling again.”One option likely to be discussed by the ECB cricket committee now chaired by Andrew Strauss is the possibility of staging Championship games – perhaps offering half the points of matches at other stages of the season when all players are available – during the window designed to accommodate the Hundred. That will not be a universally popular option and may lead to suggestions that the ECB is compromising the integrity of the first-class game and, as a consequence, the development of the Test side.But Giles feels the benefits, not least playing more first-class in the prime weeks of the summer when conditions should encourage spin bowling, are worth further consideration.”People will say the integrity of the Championship would be in question,” Giles said. “But you could view it slightly differently:
play with a points system, and have a healthy mix of senior players who are not in the Hundred, alongside some 19 and 20-years-olds.”You could have four rounds of Championship cricket at the height of summer, on good pitches that might spin. A lot of county members like seeing the young players, at outgrounds. That would be great.”

Reflecting on Australia’s semi-final defeat, the coach acknowledged that the likes of Maxwell and Stoinis would be disappointed with how their World Cups had gone

Daniel Brettig13-Jul-2019Australia’s coach Justin Langer believes the absence of Usman Khawaja was critical to the team’s failure to put up a defendable total in their World Cup semi-final hiding by England, pinpointing his return to fitness as vital to the Test team’s Ashes chances next month.A hamstring strain in the final qualifying match against South Africa pushed Khawaja out of the line-up at Edgbaston, forcing a batting shuffle that saw Steven Smith at No. 3, Peter Handscomb in from outside the squad at No. 4, and Alex Carey bumped up to five. That rejigged order was soon 14 for 3, a hole from which escape was always going to be difficult.While Smith and Carey did their bit in a restorative century stand to briefly give Australia a foothold, further wickets were to underline the value Khawaja’s top order runs have provided on friendly days for bowling. Langer said Khawaja had been chosen with those very scenarios in mind.”He was a big loss,” Langer said. “We picked him believe it or not specifically for days like today when it was hard, you lose an early wicket, you want that No. 3, your Test No. 3, to score hundreds.”We didn’t have him but that’s all part and parcel. We got beaten by a much better team. A few people were laughing about it but I’ve said from day one England are favourites to win the tournament, they should be. They’re a great cricket team and they were better than us today. We were disappointing but they were better than us. And that’s okay, you want to be winning all the time but we got beaten by a better team.”I think you took Jason Roy out of England’s side and it made a big impact. You take your best players out of any team, whether it’s cricket or AFL or rugby, it’s always hard when you lose your best players. There’s plenty of talent in Australian cricket, no doubt about that. We’re seeing that in the Australia A stuff at the moment, we’re going to play 24 guys in two Australian teams leading up to the Ashes, there’s plenty of talent there, we just didn’t play as well as we should have.”Khawaja’s value as a top-order player in challenging conditions was aptly demonstrated in Langer’s very first Test as coach, a last day fight to grind out a draw with Pakistan in Dubai last year, and he can be expected to be a similar bulwark on Ashes days where the Dukes ball seams and swings. Reflecting on Australia’s semi-final defeat, Langer tried to balance his obvious pain with re-focussing quickly on the Ashes.”It was just a really, really disappointing day for us but it’s been a really good campaign,” he said. “Don’t underestimate the injury to Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh in that first 10 overs against South Africa – we fell 10 runs short of South Africa without one of our premier batsmen, who’s been a really important part of the last six months and this World Cup. And Shaun, he broke his arm two days before so that put a bit of a dampener on our campaign. But overall it’s been really good hasn’t it. We were on top until the last game, fell 10 runs short and then had a really poor game today. So very disappointing.”I’ve had my heart set on July 14 for probably 12 months so we got to July 11, we fell a few days short. So it’s disappointing, we’d have liked to be there in three days’ time, I’d rather be in England’s dressing room now, it’s always more fun winning than losing, but we have to turn to it now.”We’ve known this was going to be an unprecedented time in Australian cricket, a World Cup and then Ashes, so we’ll dust ourselves off, recharge our batteries, probably six or seven guys who’ll be in the Ashes as well need to recharge and then start a whole new campaign. We’ll take some lessons out of this, so it’s another big campaign. The Ashes is huge for Australian cricket and English cricket so we’ll dust ourselves off and be ready.”In naming the efforts of Mitchell Starc, Alex Carey, the captaincy of Aaron Finch and the contributions of a reintegrated Smith and David Warner among the high points of Australia’s Cup, Langer agreed that Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis had cause to analyse underwhelming tournaments. However, he defended Handscomb after a brief and unsuccessful innings in Birmingham.”They’ll both be really disappointed with the whole World Cup won’t they,” Langer said of Maxwell and Stoinis. “They were working really hard, giving it their best shot, but sometimes when your confidence is down a bit and its not something you can just flick a switch and you’re back and firing.Getty Images

“They still contributed – I think they were three and four in the fielding rankings, they’ve had little moments where they’ve had an impact. They’ll be disappointed, there’s a few guys who’ll be a bit disappointed but there’s been a lot more positives than negatives I think.”Pete came in for one game, he came in for a World Cup semi-final. He helped us win an unbelievable series in India, he helped us win five-nil [against Pakistan in UAE], and then was really, really unlucky. Then to have to come into a World Cup having not played any of the games its a really tough ask on him and it would’ve been for any of our players.”As for England’s highly orchestrated four-year drive to the final, in marked contrast to Australia’s more chaotic path, Langer echoed Finch in saying that the work of Trevor Bayliss, Eoin Morgan and company would be closely assessed for any valuable lessons. After all, the cup will no longer be Australia’s to hold.”It’s a good question. The big turnabout in our fortunes over the last six months was we got really clear with what our plan was, the way we’re going to play into this World Cup,” Langer said. “I mentioned in the press conference the other day that David Willey told me, they almost set four years ago, this is the squad we’re going to stick with, they obviously made a few little changes along the way, but you build up for that.”We’ve got lots of other really good competitions and goals to achieve with white ball cricket, T20 cricket there’s a World Cup coming up, and obviously Test cricket. We’re coming from a certain level and we’re making some improvements but we’ve still got plenty of improvements to make.”

Carlos Brathwaite would make way in move to keep ODI squad together ahead of World Cup

George Dobell and Colin Benjamin28-Feb-2019Jason Holder looks set to be named as West Indies’ captain for the forthcoming T20I series against England.While Carlos Brathwaite is the regular West Indies T20 captain, selectors want to ensure the ODI squad spends more time together ahead of the World Cup. This, they feel, will help them fine tune various strategies, including who bowls in Powerplays and at the death.The decision, which would see the entire ODI squad retained for the three-match T20I series against England, is understood to have been agreed by the selectors, Holder, and interim head coach Richard Pybus, but is still subject to board approval. The team management and selectors are adamant it does not threaten Brathwaite’s long-term future as leader of the T20I side.While West Indies head to Ireland in May for a tri-series that also involves Bangladesh, there is some doubt as to how beneficial it will prove for their World Cup preparations, as up to eight members of the ODI squad could be unavailable due to a scheduling clash with the IPL, so the tournament may well see opportunities given to young players or those on the fringes of the first-choice squad.If confirmed, the plan would represent something of a change of policy from the selectors. In November, Courtney Browne, the chief selector, had suggested every T20I series from then would be used as preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia in late 2020. “With the T20 World Cup two years away, the process of rebuilding a squad to be a competitive unit for the tournament is critical at this stage,” he had said at the time.Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Obed McCoy and, perhaps, Sunil Narine (who said he wasn’t ready to be considered for selection for the ODI squad as he continues to work on his remodelled bowling action) could be among those who miss out as a result of the decision.With the likes of Andre Russell, Darren Bravo and Chris Gayle now back in contention in both limited-overs formats, however, there is a fair amount of crossover between the squads. There is also a growing belief from most involved that West Indies could surprise a few at the World Cup.

Eoin Morgan’s unbeaten 80 accounted for two-thirds of Peshawar Zalmi’s runs in a successful seven-wicket win over Karachi Kings with nine balls to spare

The Report by Danyal Rasool10-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellPeshawar Zalmi survived a spell of fierce new-ball fast bowling from Mohammad Amir as they beat Karachi Kings by seven wickets. It was England’s limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan who steered Peshawar to a modest chase of Karachi’s 118, which looked anything but when he came in after two overs with his side wobbling at 2 for 2.In the end, Kumar Sangakkara’s team could never quite recover from a horror start, falling to 12 for 4 inside five overs after being sent in at the toss. Mohammad Hafeez, who mystifyingly didn’t bowl on Thursday in Peshawar’s defeat to Islamabad, opened the attack and dismissed Shahzaib Hasan in the first over to place Karachi under immediate pressure.Babar Azam, Sangakarra and Gayle followed swiftly before veteran allrounders Shoaib Malik and Ravi Bopara helped Karachi regroup. However, that came at the cost of a run rate under six throughout the partnership, and the 118 Karachi mustered by the end didn’t look nearly enough. An exquisite opening spell from Amir temporarily delayed the inevitable and the Kings were ultimately powerless against a superb T20 knock by Morgan, who scored over two-thirds of Peshawar’s runs to end unbeaten on 80.Where the match was wonThis one is straightforward: the first five overs of the contest gave Peshawar an advantage that ultimately proved unassailable. Much has been made of Karachi’s high-profile batting lineup, but contests are not played on paper. With the Kings’ celebrated top four falling inside the first twelve runs, it was all they could do to ensure defeat didn’t turn into humiliation. The lower order did well to take the side past 100 and see to it that they batted their full allotment. But Peshawar, still licking their wounds from a contest one night earlier that they should probably have won, are too good a unit to let two games in a row go by. Once they had their foot on Karachi’s throats, they never quite let go.The men that won itMorgan dominated every aspect of Peshawar’s chase. After seeing off a menacing spell from Mohammad Amir in which the Karachi seamer repeatedly beat Morgan’s outside edge in the third over, the Irishman settled in. He was quick to dispatch any short balls and particularly sublime in cutting late through backward point. At the same time, he let his experience shine, not taking any risks while Imad Wasim and Abrar Ahmed bowled a tight line even as the run rate began to climb. Dawid Malan and later Haris Sohail were content to play second fiddle in a mature, clinical Peshawar batting performance.The double ducksWhile Morgan demonstrated his class – and, as he admitted afterward, a little bit of luck – to see off Amir with the new ball, it was more than Hafeez could manage. The Pakistan opener, who departed for a golden duck on Thursday against Islamabad, nearly befell the same fate as umpire Ahsan Raza turned down an extremely close lbw appeal on the innings’ first ball. Three deliveries later, Amir got another one to angle in to the right-hander and this time Raza had no hesitation determining that the ball would hit leg stump, sending Hafeez to the pavilion for his second duck in as many matches.In the second over, Kamran Akmal – who made an exhilarating 88 on Thursday – was caught off the bowling of Sohail Khan for a duck trying an ugly slog that went straight up. It completed a dismal day for the Akmals; his brother Umar also fell for nought in the afternoon game for Lahore Qalandars playing an equally ungainly shot that was snared by mid-off.The moment of the matchPeshawar Zalmi captain Darren Sammy doesn’t drop many, but in letting an edge from Dwayne Smith slip through his hands at first slip 24 hours earlier in the opener against Islamabad, the lanky West Indian probably cost his side the match. On Friday he made amends for that, diving to his right from first slip to hold on with one hand to a thick edge from Babar in an early contender for the catch of the tournament. If he had lost some goodwill with the Peshawar fans for dropping Smith on Thursday, his catch off Babar made up for it and then some.Where they standPeshawar Zalmi join Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators on two points, though Peshawar have played one more game than the other two. Karachi and Lahore keep each other company at the bottom of the table with both yet to register any points. The same two sides finished last year’s PSL fourth and fifth respectively and so far that hasn’t changed in 2017.

Ireland’s premier men’s domestic competition, the Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series, gets underway on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-2016Ireland’s premier men’s domestic competition, the Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series, gets underway on Monday, with Northern Knights hosting the defending champions, Leinster Lightning, at Stormont.The competition, now in its fourth year, involves three teams competing across all three formats, with the third of them, North-West Warriors, set to get their season underway against Leinster at Merrion on May 13.In light of Cricket Ireland’s newly launched strategic plan, which aims to build on a decade of achievement at international level to broaden the sport’s appeal domestically, this season’s Inter-Pros take on an added layer of significance.”The Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial series is the bridge between club and country and showcases the best of Irish cricket talent throughout the season,” said Dennis Cousins, the commercial director of Cricket Ireland.”Cricket Ireland are greatly appreciative of the support from Hanley Energy which enables us to make each series bigger, better and more competitive.”Leinster Lightning completed the clean sweep of three trophies in 2015, winning the Hanley Energy Championship, 50-over Cup & 20-over Trophy, but will face stiff competition from the Warriors and Knights across all three formats.Monday’s action at Stormont gets underway at 10.45am, and admission is free. The matches will be scored live on ESPNcricinfo.

Cheteshwar Pujara dipped into an imprint that has defined his standing as a Test batsman, and provided the critical nudge that advanced Saurashtra’s position in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Vadodara

Arun Venugopal in Vadodara14-Feb-2016
ScorecardCheteshwar Pujara hit 15 fours and a six in his unbeaten 116 to help Saurashtra nudge ahead•AFP

Cheteshwar Pujara dipped into an imprint that has defined his standing as a Test batsman, and provided the critical nudge that advanced Saurashtra’s position in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Vadodara, even if only slightly. Pujara’s unbeaten century, his 31st at the first-class level, that spanned over five hours and saw him rebuild, consolidate and drive the innings forward helped Saurashtra end Day 2 on 254 for 5, which amounted to a lead of 20.Pujara played central roles in two partnerships, the second of which was an unbroken 93-run alliance with Chirag Jani that helped Saurashtra set themselves up for a bigger lead. Pujara was also the recipient of some luck as he was dropped on 37 by wicketkeeper KB Arun Karthik off Krishna Das, after he got a thick inside edge.For Assam, the Das duo of Krishna and Arup produced long, tireless spells without any discernible drop in efficiency.It was Arup, the quicker of the two, who left the batsmen frazzled early on. Avi Barot, the slightly thick-set opener, counterpunched with some robust drives on the rise but his partner, Sagar Jogiyani, was clearly in trouble against Arup’s pace. The inevitable happened in the 13th over as a length delivery from Arup had Jogiyani moving gingerly, and his reticent poke was held by Gokul Sharma at first slip.Krishna, meanwhile, was testing the batsmen by bowling outside off stump to a 7-2 field with a straight-ish mid on to boot. He wasn’t averse to trying out different angles, which accounted for Barot, who was trapped lbw. This was followed by a relative lull in the proceedings as Pujara and Arpit Vasavada sought to establish order. At one stage, Krishna had bowled nearly 15 overs on the trot and conceded only 23 runs, but Pujara was willing to wait.It was Sheldon Jackson, though, who forced the pace as he drove the seamers for boundaries on either side. With Assam’s bowlers persisting with a shorter length, Pujara fancied the cut. But when they compensated for it by bowling straighter, Pujara brought his wristy flicks, propelled by a strong yet supple bottom hand, into play.As the day neared its end, he hiked his scoring rate, moving from 87 to 98 in one over. This time he brought out the whole range; the back cut, the flick and the on drive with a rapid, forceful downswing. Within no time his hundred was being cheered on by a small crowd.Assam, for their part, sought to extract the most out of their seam bowlers, their prime wicket-taking options, but in that ended up overworking them. It wasn’t until the 51st over that left-arm spinner J Syed Mohammad was employed, and he struck with his fifth ball as his quirky, round-arm finish accounted for Jackson, who was evidently thrown off rhythm.The batsman’s attempted drive off a wide delivery lobbed up to point. Similarly offspinner Swarupam Purkayastha was introduced only with a few overs left in the day. Arup later admitted that they could have bowled a lot fuller, especially with the older ball.Assam, however, had begun the morning with gusto as overnight batsman Amit Verma and Goswami galloped along to 41 runs in eight overs. At 234 for 7, they must have surely fancied at least 30 more runs, but it took Saurashtra and Jaydev Unadkat all of one over to snuff out Assam’s first innings.Goswami, who scored 22 off 34 balls, played one onto his stumps, and two balls later it was Krishna’s turn to walk back to the dressing room. Verma was the out the very next delivery two short of his hundred to give Unadkat his sixth wicket, his second five-for in as many matches.