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Imran Ali hat-trick gives SNGPL the edge

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Scorecard

What they said
  • Imran Ali, on bowling to Virender Sehwag: “I was confused when I first came to bowl but then I thought he (Sehwag) was just a normal player.
  • Imran, on seamer Asad Ali: “Together we won the domestic championships for our team in Pakistan. It is not possible (to perform well) if you don’t have a good partner.”
  • Virat Kohli, on Imran: “Imran was really very good today. He was getting right movements by hitting the right areas and maintaining the right length. He maintained that throughout.”

On a day when 16 wickets tumbled, the honours rested with Imran Ali, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited’s (SNGPL) right-arm seamer, who took a hat-trick to sink a star-studded Delhi to 134 under overcast conditions at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Imran finished with 6 for 52 , claiming the wickets of Puneet Bisht, Chetanya Nanda and Pradeep Sangwan to attain his feat, spread over two overs. However, SNGPL were in for a rude shock of their own as their top order too crumbled and ended with a slender advantage of nine runs with four wickets in hand.The newly-laid surface at the Kotla was expected to assist the seamers on the opening day, but curiously enough, the Delhi captain Virender Sehwag opted to bat. It was a decision he would regret straightaway as he chopped one onto his stumps off Imran in the second over of the morning. His opening partner Aakash Chopra, the leading run-scorer in the previous Ranji season, started off the new campaign inauspiciously, fetching an away swinger off Asad Ali.Virat Kohli and Mithun Manhas began the rescue act and did do in positive fashion. The pair weren’t intimidated by the early swing as they counter-attacked for around 40 minutes. Manhas was the more aggressive of the two, slamming nine fours in his 49. However, the introduction of spin got SNGPL the breakthrough as Manhas offered a return catch to Imran Khalid, the left-arm spinner.Rain forced the players off the field, and the overcast conditions played into SNGPL’s hands as Imran ran through the middle order. Asad started the slide after the interruption, dismissing Rajat Bhatia for 1, before handing over to Imran. Four wickets fell for the addition of no runs as the middle order looked clueless against Imran’s swing and accuracy.Imran took three wickets in the 31st over. Mayank Tehlan edged to Adnan Akmal, Bisht was trapped lbw to one that pitched on a length and cut back in sharply and Nanda lasted just one ball, bowled by one that went straight though. With the first delivery of his next over, Imran trapped Sangwan in front with a slower ball to claim his hat-trick. Imran had incidentally taken a hat-trick in SNGPL’s victory in the ABN AMRO Cup limited-overs tournament in April, making it two in a row for his side.Another interruption – this time due to bad light – curtailed play and the innings was wrapped up soon after the resumption. The Delhi batting card had a sorry look to it, littered with five ducks and only two double-digit scores.The Delhi seamers couldn’t extract the same bounce as their opponents, with the exception of Ashish Nehra. He struck early with the wicket of Yasir Arafat, but was another when Ishant Sharma dropped Umar Akmal early in his innings. He capitalised with a half-century and with Mohammad Hafeez for company, took control with a stand of 49.However, a steady fall of wickets helped Delhi claw back, much like the opponents did to them earlier. Both Umar and Misbah-ul-Haq were bowled by Nanda in similar fashion, playing back to deliveries that straightened. Adnan was trapped leg before by Nehra just before stumps to leave the game more evenly-poised.

Fitness and openers' form worry selectors

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Bangladesh selectors will be looking to find a partner for Tamim Iqbal at the top of the order © Getty Images
 

Bangladesh selectors will be looking to address concerns over player fitness and the opening batsmen when they pick the final squad for the three-match ODI series in Australia.”There are no major injuries but we don’t want to take any risks. We will take the decision about the final squad after watching Thursday’s practice match at Mirpur,” chief selector Rafiqul Alam told the on Tuesday. The fitness levels of Nazmul Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim, who returned home on Tuesday from the Bangladesh A team’s tour of England, along with Mashrafe Mortaza and Alok Kapali will be assessed at Thursday’s practice match at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.While Nazmul missed the last few games in England because of illness, wicketkeeper Rahim is nursing a shoulder injury. Mortaza, suffering from a long-standing knee injury, and Kapali, who injured his toe, are recovering slowly though and practised at the nets on Tuesday.”Darryl Lifson, the national team physio, believes Rahim’s injury, picked up during fielding against South Africa in the last three-day match, was minor,” Alam said. “Mortaza also seems to be getting better as he bowled six overs on Tuesday. The MRI reports have also suggested there was no reason to be worried with his injury.”He, however, was more concerned about finding the right opening pair. “Except Tamim [Iqbal], nobody scored runs in the opening slot, which is a big problem,” he said. “We tried a few players in the opening spot but none have impressed.”Bangladesh will play five one-day warm-up games ahead of the one-day series against Australia beginning August 30, 2008 at the Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin.

Younis special overpowers India

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Younis Khan made his fifth ODI century – and his third against India – to guide Pakistan’s chase © AFP
 

Pakistan – courtesy Younis Khan’s scintillating hundred – showed plenty of character to make easy work of a target of 309 against India and push their case for a berth in the final on Sunday. Pakistan’s openers set the platform with attacking cricket against India’s battle-weary seam attack, before masterful middle-order batting from Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq helped them gallop home with 27 balls to spare. The victory not only saved the home side from an early elimination, but also brought the lukewarm tournament to life as the hunt for Sri Lanka’s opposition in the final extended to another day, at least.Pakistan’s ruthless approach was similar to the defeat India inflicted on them last week. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision at the toss was a no-brainer as, on a typically benign pitch, Virender Sehwag began the run-glut with imperious hitting before Dhoni and Rohit Sharma crafted workmanlike half-centuries to arrest a sudden top-order jolt. India’s bowlers however wilted in unforgiving conditions and Pakistan – backed by a boisterous crowd – never let the initiative slip once the openers set the launch pad.The intimidation began with Salman Butt’s treatment of Praveen Kumar – he cut, drove and whipped anything either too short or wide and Nasir Jamshed found the bowler’s gentle swing and pace to his liking as well, stepping down the track to crash one back down the ground. The early hitting started to tell on the fielders as well – Ishant Sharma fumbled to concede a boundary at deep square leg and Praveen failed to sight a skier towards third man. Irfan Pathan, playing his first game of the tournament, then came under the hammer as Jamshed slammed one over his head. Irfan responded with two head-high bouncers but was duly dispatched with controlled hooks.The only blip in the opening stand was the running. Shortly after a shy at the striker’s end nearly claimed Jamshed, poor calling ended Butt’s innings. Butt took off for a second run but found himself yards short of his ground.Jamshed marched on to his fifty – in his first match against a world-class opposition – before cramps cut short his innings at 53. Younis began in his typically breezy fashion, flashing an upper cut, extra-cover drive and a reverse-sweep off Piyush Chawla to bring up his fifty and 5000 ODI runs. And though Chawla bowled Mohammad Yousuf round his legs to leave Pakistan at 168 for 2 in the 26th over, they were still on course for a win.Younis was particularly harsh on the spinners, making good use of the sweep. Chawla and Sehwag came in for some rough treatment as Younis opened his stance and peppered the on side with several singles, twos and the odd boundary. Misbah’s batting showed no signs of the pressures of captaincy as he complemented his partner’s urgency by scoring at over a run a ball. Misbah slog-swept Sehwag for the first six of the match; Younis took on Chawla and carted him over the roof, hitting against the turn.

Five stats
  • Misbah-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 70 is his second-best score in ODIs. His highest of 76 came in Sunday’s game against Sri Lanka.
  • During his 123, Younis Khan became the ninth Pakistan batsman to score 5000 ODI runs.
  • Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 76 is his highest score at No. 5. He hasn’t done too well in the position, averaging 34.36 from 13 innings, much lower than his career average of 47.72.
  • Sohail Tanvir conceded 87 runs in the match, the most for a Pakistan bowler against India. Only Naved-ul-Hasan has given away more runs in an innings among Pakistan bowlers. Tanvir’s economy-rate never exceeded 6.5 before this game.
  • India managed only 51 runs between overs 41 to 48. Debutant Saeed Ajmal gave away 21 in the four he bowled in that period, and picked up one wicket.

Dhoni brought the seamers back once the ball got older but there was hardly any reverse-swing to work with. Misbah had the audacity to walk across the stumps and fetch a boundary off Irfan with a delicate flick of the wrists, something Sehwag did with equal efficiency earlier. Younis punished anything short and wide outside the off stump as he brought up his fifth ODI century – also his third against India. Misbah continued his on-side bashing with swivelled pulls and aptly finished the game with a flick past wide mid-on.The story could have been different had Sehwag carried on. He looked set to tear Pakistan apart for the second time in as many matches with a breathtaking assault, upsetting the bowlers with his improvisation. Misbah bravely persisted with the Powerplays after India had blazed 86 in ten, and Pakistan turned the tide thanks to a double-strike by Abdur Rauf which pegged back at India 91 for 3. Yuvraj Singh’s brief stint at the crease was punctuated by elegant drives, before Iftikhar Anjum ended his cameo. At 129 for 4, the home side felt a surge of optimism and the crowd played along as well.However, Dhoni and Rohit ensured the run-rate never dipped below five an over throughout their 112-run stand. Both batsmen took their time to settle in, but neither played second fiddle. Rohit, who has been struggling for form since the IPL, grafted it out at the start, but displayed sound application and urgency to score at a faster rate than his captain. As the partnership mounted, so did the anxiety for Pakistan as the prospect of a challenging chase loomed. Both brought up their half-centuries off successive balls, in the process completing their century stand, which included 68 singles. The pair set up a seemingly defendable total, but ultimately India found themselves at least 30 runs short.A loss against Sri Lanka on Thursday will mean India will have to wait on the result of the Pakistan-Bangladesh match on Friday to know whether they progress to the final.

Pietersen lights up Lord's with century

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Kevin Pietersen was at the top of his game in his first Test against South Africa © Getty Images
 

Kevin Pietersen has been remarkably quiet in the build-up to this series, but he didn’t miss the opportunity to make the strongest of statements on the opening day at Lord’s. In his first Test against the country of his birth he struck a faultless century to put England in command, adding an unbeaten 192 with Ian Bell for the fourth wicket, following an opening stand of 114 by Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss.The early exchanges of this series had plenty to live up to after all the hype and there was more than enough to suggest that the contest can stand up to its billing. In between England’s two century stands there were three wickets in 13 balls as South Africa enjoyed their one period of dominance. But Michael Vaughan said he saw a “glint” in Pietersen’s eye in recent days and once he overcame a slightly shaky start he was in complete command.Pietersen has always responded best to pressure situations and England’s innings was at a tipping point when Pietersen and Bell joined forces, with eyes firmly fixed on both for different reasons. Pietersen had to keep his emotions in check, and a typically manic run to get off the mark showed the adrenalin was flowing. In the next over he was clanged on the head by Dale Steyn, but was down and up in one motion. His determination was clear from the outset and he played second fiddle to Bell until the tea interval.His first fifty took 73 balls, but the next required just 51 more deliveries. This was his 13th Test hundred and fourth at Lord’s, while he scored 91 between tea and the close. He took 10 off two balls from Paul Harris, twice coming down the pitch, but the clearest sign of his form was an effortless whip through midwicket off Jacques Kallis from outside off stump.For Bell, the challenge was to show he could perform when it really mattered after a poor series against New Zealand. Andrew Flintoff is getting closer to a return and someone will have to make way. He came into this match off the back of a double century for Warwickshire, but this was an occasion where substance was more important than style.In the end Bell managed to marry both in an authoritative innings. He was off to a flyer thanks to a series of half volleys from Steyn, then his innings went in the opposite direction to Pietersen. After 18 balls he had 30, but his fifty came off 89 deliveries. He concentrated hard to the close as the fourth-wicket stand became the highest partnership since Peter Moores became coach, surpassing Bell and Matt Prior’s 190 against West Indies at Lord’s last year.Graeme Smith’s day was a far cry from four years ago when South Africa skittled England for 173. His decision to bowl was swayed by the recent heavy rain, but the morning was bright. Lord’s is one of those grounds where it’s as important to look up at the toss as much as down.

Six stats
  • The 114-run stand between Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss is the second time openers have managed a century partnership after being put in at Lord’s, and the first for England since the 2005 Ashes.
  • Of the 103 runs scored off the bat in the opening stand, 58 (56%) were scored behind the wicket.
  • In the first 15 overs of the day, England’s openers didn’t play a shot at 41 deliveries (45.55%). Over the course of the entire day that percentage came down to 28.88.
  • Kevin Pietersen’s century was the 200th at Lord’s – his fourth at the ground. He presently averages over 80 at Lord’s.
  • Pietersen scored 86 of his 104 not out on the leg side. Ninety-one of his runs came after tea; in the same period Ian Bell scored 42.
  • Session-wise break-up of runs
    First: 71 (0s-140, 1s-16, 2s-3, 3s-1, 4s-10, Extras-6)
    Second: 92 (0s-116, 1s-21, 2s-5, 3s-4, 4s-11, Extras-5)
    Third: 146 (0s-153, 1s-40, 2s-9, 3s-3, 4s-15, 6s-1, Extras-13)

All the talk heading into this match has made it sound as though South Africa’s pace attack is the most ferocious to land on English shores since the West Indies of the 1980s. The outcome was far less dramatic and the bowling was poor apart from a brief period after lunch. Cook and Strauss had to play at very little in the first hour and a second century opening stand of the season arrived shortly after lunch.This was the first time that Steyn and Morne Morkel had bowled at Lord’s, plus rain hindered their preparation, and it showed as they struggled for rhythm. However, their post-lunch burst did hint at the potential on offer. Strauss was unlucky to be given out lbw to Morkel as replays showed the ball pitched outside leg, but it was the spark South Africa needed.Smith immediately recalled Steyn and history repeated itself. On his Test debut in 2004 at Port Elizabeth, Steyn produced a magical ball to rip out Vaughan’s off stump and found a near identical offering with his second delivery to the England captain. Morkel was extracting considerable lift out of a generally slow surface and claimed his second when Cook, after reaching fifty off 92 balls, got himself into a tangle. Trying to fend off a rising delivery, the ball took glove and shoulder of the bat, looping into the slips.The knives were being sharpened over another England collapse and South Africa had the bit between their teeth. However, one man was on a personal mission and when he’s in this mood Pietersen is irresistible. He may have been quiet before the series, but his actions have spoken louder than any words.

England deny Caribbean itinerary influenced by IPL

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Chris Gayle’s West Indians await England next February © Getty Images
 

The ECB has confirmed the itinerary for England’s 2009 tour of the West Indies, comprising of four Tests, one Twenty20 international and a five-match ODI series, but denied that the schedule had been agreed with one eye on the IPL.England will arrive in Barbados on Wednesday, January 21, where they will play two three-day warm up matches before moving to Jamaica for the first Test against West Indies at Sabina Park on Wednesday, February 4.The teams then move onto Antigua, where the second Test will take place at Sir Vivian Richards stadium in North Sound, starting on February 13, and a two-day tour match, the details of which have yet to be confirmed, will be fitted in before the third Test in Barbados, starting on February 26. The fourth and final Test (March 6-10) will be played at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, with the same venue hosting the Twenty20 match less than a week later.The tour concludes with the five-match ODI series, starting with two games in Guyana on March 20 and 22, closely followed by two more in Barbados, and the series finale in St Lucia on Friday, April 3.England’s recent tours of the Caribbean have generally started and finished five weeks later, which suggests that a window has been created to allow players from both squads to compete in the Indian Premier League.But this was vigorously denied by the ECB. “The dates for the tour to the Caribbean were agreed before the IPL was ever mooted,” a spokesman said. “Those dates have not changed. The tours this winter were scheduled to give players appropriate rest after the India series and the West Indies series so that they could prepare for a full and important domestic season that includes an Ashes series and the ICC World Twenty20 competition.”Click here for the full itinerary.

Bravo seals Mumbai's sixth straight win

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Dwayne Bravo signed off with a bang for the Mumbai Indians (file photo) © AFP
 

Mumbai Indians’ last meeting with the Deccan Chargers ended in a fourth straight defeat but the return game provided plenty of cheer, producing their sixth successive win, the best run in the tournament so far. Dwayne Bravo signed off from the IPL with a fine all-round effort, giving Mumbai a great chance of making the semi-finals.Mumbai relied on a combined performance rather than individual brilliance: Sanath Jayasuriya’s early blast set the tone before a counterattacking 54-run stand between Bravo and Abhishek Nayar boosted the total.Deccan didn’t have much of a chance at 20 for 3 and even Venugopal Rao’s valiant 57 couldn’t make much of a difference. With their ninth defeat [including all five at home], Deccan’s chances of making the semi-finals are over – even remote mathematical chances won’t be spoken of anymore.Like many of their earlier defeats, Deccan weren’t completely outclassed. Unlike the Bangalore Royal Challengers, they haven’t appeared listless but they haven’t managed to seize the big moments.Deccan’s decision to field appeared to have backfired when Jayasuriya thundered a 15-ball 36, including laying into his fellow countryman Nuwan Zoysa for 19 off his first over, but Shahid Afridi, full of energy and verve, gave them a chance.He’s had a relatively quiet tournament so far but was full of energy here: snapping up Sachin Tendulkar and Dominic Thornely and clinging on to a sensational catch, to dismiss Robin Uthappa, inches within the boundary line. But, with Mumbai wobbling at 96 for 4, the Deccan bowlers couldn’t put the foot down on the pedal.Lot of the credit must go to Nayar and Bravo, who showed the value of good footwork: Nayar regularly sashayed down the track to loft the spinners through the on side while Bravo simply shuffled across smartly before lifting the ball with quicksilver wrists. They finally broke the shackles against Afridi – whose first three overs cost just nine – spanking him for 14 in the 16th over, surging the run-rate to eight an over. Nayar took on Zoysa soon after and Mumbai were on their way to a competitive score.

The fifth-wicket partnership between Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo helped Mumbai Indians recover to post a match-winning total of 178 (click here for larger image) © Cricinfo Ltd
 

Mumbai’s bowling was characterised by canny medium-pace and outstanding catching. In Shaun Pollock’s absence, Bravo led the way with the ball too. Afridi’s fine day didn’t continue with the bat, though: he attempted to thump the first ball he faced over the covers for six but could only marvel at Thornely running back from point to snaffle a sharp catch.Adam Gilchrist struggled against a probing Ashish Nehra, who varied both his length and pace wonderfully, while getting the ball to move away off the track. He ended wicketless but played a big part in piling on the pressure. Dilhara Fernando was to reap the rewards soon: he surprised Gilchrist with a short one that was sliced to third man before Rohit Sharma missed a well-disguised slower one that rapped him plumb in front. With two wickets in two balls, he had pretty much sealed the match.Venugopal, who surprisingly picked up two wickets with his part-time offspin, continued his habit of coming up with a fighting knock in a lost cause. Like he’s done in the two previous games, he was like a boy on a burning deck, smashing three sixes and four fours against a mounting asking-rate. Ravi Teja partnered him in a 74-run stand but it would have required something miraculous for the duo to pull it off. Bravo dismissed both within three balls and rounded off a memorable game – four days before facing Australia in the first Test in Kingston.

Kerala register 158-run win over Goa at Kochi

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Kerala notched up the only result in three Plate group Ranji league matches on Friday, beating Goa by 158 runs in their encounter against Goa at Kochi and getting two points for their triumph.Resuming at 245 for four, Kerala declared at 272 for five, AN Kudva ending on an unbeaten 34 and SR Nair dismissed for 13. That set Goa a target in the fourth innings of 270, but on a turning last-day pitch, KN Ananthapadmanabhan seemed virtually unplayable for the tourists. Goa were bowled out for 111 in 48.1 overs, Ananthapadmanabhan taking five for 55 in 17.1 overs.At Nagpur, Vidarbha and Saurashtra drew their match, with the latter getting a point by virtue of first-innings lead. Vidarbha reached 218 all out from their precarious 148 for eight at the close of the third day’s play, with M Acharya making an unbeaten 43. Saurashtra, set a target of 207, reached an agonisingly close 200 for eight at stumps, with Rakesh Dhurv making an unbeaten 72 off 83 balls in the chase. For Vidarbha, Chandrasekhar Atram took four wickets.At the Palam ground in Delhi, Services picked up one point from their first-innings lead in a drawn match. Tripura, still on their first innings when the final day’s play began, reached 350 all out, with GH Banik making 56 off 120 balls and S Roy hitting 57 off 89. Sanjay Dhull ended with five for 110.In the Services second innings, first-innings double-centurion hit 67 off 62 balls, while centurion Jasvir Singh made 44 off 38, helping their side to 144 for two declared in 21 overs. That set Tripura a fairly competitive target of 286, but their batsmen decided to play it safe and settled for just 125 for three in 42 overs, with Ritesh Jaiswal making an unbeaten 59.

Harry Swindells reaches 171 not out as Leicestershire secure draw at Somerset

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Harry Swindells advanced his career-best first-class score to 171 not out as Leicestershire’s LV= Insurance County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton ended in a high-scoring draw.The 22-year-old wicketkeeper had batted for almost six and a half hours, facing 322 balls and striking 24 fours and a six, when heavy rain set in during the lunch interval on the final day, causing play to be abandoned.By then Swindells and Ed Barnes had taken their unbroken eighth-wicket stand to 203, with 23-year-old Barnes on 83, also a career-best, an innings spanning 165 balls and featuring 14 boundaries.It was a Leicestershire record partnership for the eighth-wicket, surpassing the 195 between Jigar Naik and James Taylor against Derbyshire in 2005.Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon described Swindells as “a streetfighter and a workaholic”.”He has been so proactive in trying to improve his game and relishes a battle,” Nixon said. “Ed has had a tough time. We left him out for a while and here he fought with his bowling action a bit in the breeze against some very good players before turning things around with the bat.”The pair batted through the morning session, interrupted for around 15 minutes by a shower, adding 85 to their team’s overnight first-innings score of 390 for 7.Their combined efforts gave Leicestershire a lead of 14 runs, but the match already seemed destined for a draw long before the heavens opened.Umpires Neil Mallender and James Middlebrook abandoned any prospect of further play just after 2.30pm, leaving Group Two leaders Somerset to take 15 points and Leicestershire 14.Somerset’s experienced seamers Marchant de Lange and Jack Brooks had one final opportunity to give their side a meaningful first-innings advantage when play began with the visitors 71 in arrears.But a benign pitch, which had frustrated a depleted home attack the previous day, proved equally true for batting and there were few alarms for the composed Swindells and Barnes.Unbeaten on 119 overnight, Swindells moved to 150 off 289 balls, playing and missing on occasion, as he had done throughout his innings, but also displaying the ability to punish anything loose to the full.Barnard matched his partner shot for shot as they took the score to 444 for 7 before a brief rain break.Debutant Kasey Aldridge again bowled without a modicum of fortune, failing to find an edge, despite some impressive deliveries from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End.Acting Somerset skipper James Hildreth introduced left-arm spinner Lewis Goldsworthy into the attack for the first time in the 134th over, but he was able to find no greater assistance from the pitch than the seamers.Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, bemoaned the loss of leading seamer Craig Overton to England duty as part of wholesale changes to the ODI squad to face Pakistan following a spate of positive Covid tests among the original squad and staff.”There is no doubt that if Craig Overton had been with us for the whole game, we would be looking at a different outcome,” Hurry said. “That’s frustrating, but we fully understand the rationale behind England calling him up and it is a great opportunity for him.”It also provided chance for young Kasey Aldridge, who bowled with absolutely no luck. We go into the final game top of the table, which is fantastic, and it promises to be a really exciting climax to the group stage as we take on Surrey next week.”Swindells and Barnes looked as if they could bat all day and the latter may feel he was robbed of a maiden century by the weather. Regardless, he and Swindells played with an assurance and level of concentration that bodes well for their futures.

Hamish Rutherford sets up Glamorgan before Michael Hogan, Joe Cooke knock Northants down

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Glamorgan 295 for 6 (Rutherford 86) beat Northamptonshire 236 (Taylor 65|) by 59 runsVeteran seame Michael Hogan and promising young all-rounder Joe Cooke took three wickets apiece to knock the stuffing out of a strong Northamptonshire line-up as Glamorgan claimed their second Royal London Cup victory by 59 runs.Hogan turned in a hostile opening spell to claim two early scalps while Cooke, 24, followed up three wickets on List A debut against Warwickshire on Thursday by removing Northamptonshire’s middle order and hit an unbeaten 33 with the bat.Earlier an assured 86 from New Zealand international Hamish Rutherford provided the bedrock for Glamorgan, before some brutal hitting from Cooke and Tom Cullen pushed them to an imposing 295 for 6.Despite 65 from Tom Taylor, the target proved beyond Northamptonshire’s reach in their opening game of the tournament.Rutherford shared a 68-run opening stand with Nick Selman who offered a simple caught and bowled chance to teenage debutant, left-arm wrist-spinner Freddie Heldreich. The youngster picked up a second when he got one through Steven Reingold’s forward defensive and hit the top of off-stump.Rutherford combined a mixture of sweetly timed sweeps and cuts with some crunching boundaries and found an ally in skipper Kiran Carlson. The pair took the attack to the spinners, before Ben Sanderson removed both in quick succession.First Carlson top edged a bouncer straight to Heldreich at fine leg. Then just when Rutherford looked set for a century, he chopped on to his stumps. When Billy Root hooked a short ball from Tom Taylor to a diving Charlie Thurston at deep square leg, Glamorgan had lost had lost three wickets for 23 runs in 5.2 overs.Cullen broke the shackles with three boundaries off Heldreich before Callum Taylor hit namesake Tom over his head for six. After a stand of 60 in 10 overs, Taylor had a big swing at Taylor and was bowled.Glamorgan needed a big finish and Cullen and Cooke obliged by taking the attack to experienced seamers Sanderson and Wayne Parnell.The pair pummelled Sanderson for 23 in one over as the last five yielded 66 runs. Cooke hit Sanderson for a huge straight six into the pavilion and Cullen hit another maximum over long-on before running three to bring up his half-century off just 40 balls.Hogan struck in the first over of the chase, drawing the edge from Emilio Gay and later bowling Rob Keogh. It was not all brute force from 40-year-old Hogan though who used conditions to beat the bat repeatedly.Lukas Carey claimed the third wicket after an early mauling at the hands of Ricardo Vasconcelos, before the Northamptonshire skipper edged behind to leave the hosts 49 for three.Curran and Saif Zaib looked to relieve the pressure, scoring three quick boundaries against rookie duo spinner Steven Reingold and seamer Andrew Gorvin, but the pair, with just one List A appearance behind them, started to exert control, backed up well in the field.Curran kept busy with a run-a-ball half-century, after starting his account with two straight boundaries. He and Zaib added 65 before Northamptonshire lost three wickets for 18 in four overs.Curran skied a delivery from Cooke which was comfortably caught by the keeper. Then Hogan returned to pick up Thurston who chipped to mid-on before Zaib pulled Cooke to square leg. Despite some aggression from Tom Taylor, a jubilant Cooke bowled Wayne Parnell to end hopes of a late recovery. Northamptonshire were eventually all out for 236 with 5.4 overs remaining.

Duminy was considering Test retirement – Prince

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South Africa batsman JP Duminy was considering retiring from Test cricket in January, when he was dropped for the New Year’s Test against England, before he was talked out of it by Ashwell Prince, who was a selector at the time. Duminy ended a run of patchy form by scoring 141 in the second innings to give South Africa a 300-plus lead over Australia in the ongoing Perth Test.”When he was dropped in January, he was considering retiring from Test cricket,” Prince told ESPNcricinfo in Perth. “He had the conversation with me because the convener of selectors was not at the Cape Town Test, so I had to go and take him the news that he won’t be playing.”At that time, he was at a real low point and he was being honest and giving his feelings. As a selector, and with him being an important player to South African cricket, you try and convince him to think about it. I’m sure when he thinks back about that conversation this afternoon or this evening, he will know how he was feeling then and with the feeling he is having now, he will be happy that he carried on.”Duminy admitted that at that time he lacked direction, especially in Tests. “There was indifferent feelings. I wasn’t sure where I was going in terms of my career but I am very grateful to get another opportunity.”He had gone 12 innings without a hundred when he was dropped, and in that time he had only passed fifty once. Like his team-mates, he struggled in India and with South African cricket itself on the wane, had several reasons to walk away. “It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was but he was out of form,” Prince said. “With the type of calendar that they have these days, he has got a young baby, a young family, all that might have played a role.”That was when Prince reminded Duminy, who had replaced him in the 2008 Perth Test and made a half-century in a famous victory, of the prestige of the longest format. “I was talking to him as a friend, rather than a selector. I was making him understand how important Test cricket is for a player. You can play hundreds of ODIs and T20 and make millions but when you are done playing, you always think about what you did in the Test-match arena,” Prince said. “You can play fifty ODIs quickly and not remember anything. These type of performances, that’s what the game is all about.”During the conversation, Prince said Duminy told him that he needed “a bit of a break,” and was going to take the New Year’s week off but then he decided to play in a franchise first-class match. He scored a career-best 260. “I don’t know what changed from him wanting a break and then playing in that match but he got 250 straight away and I think the next Test he was back in.”Faf du Plessis was dropped for the next game and Duminy returned but not with much success. He scored 19 and 29 against England at SuperSport Park and it was only when he struck 88 against New Zealand seven months later that it seemed he had found form again. Then, Duminy was able to realign his goals with his performances.”The change came for me just before the West Indies tour,” Duminy said. “I sat down and reassessed my goals. Test cricket has always been a big part of my goal setting and I knew I was at a crossroads in my Test career. I wanted to leave my Test career knowing that I’ve given it my all, and I committed to myself that I was going to give myself the best chance, so that was the difference. It was a personal thing. I didn’t necessarily speak to anyone about it. I just sat down, wrote a few things down, where I want to go, what I still want to achieve.”In that match, played without the injured AB de Villiers, Duminy was moved to No. 4, which is where he has batted in this Perth Test, and the change of position might have led to a change in fortune.”If you are at No. 6, 90% of the time, you are batting with the bowlers so you will always have to try and think how am I going to marshall my way through this innings,” Prince said. “Do I trust them? Are they looking good on the day or are they looking like it’s going to be a matter of time? You are taking everything into consideration, whether it’s spinning, whether they are getting in line behind the ball. Maybe upfront he is a lot more relaxed, he has a lot more time to bat, he doesn’t have to think should I attack more, should I defend more, or how the tail is lining up. He just has to bat.”For Duminy, the move to No. 4 refreshed his approach. “I was pleased with the opportunity. It is something I have always enjoyed in the first-class arena. To be given the nod to go ahead, especially with it being such a crucial position in the South African team, was a big positive for me and I knew I had to step up and fill some big boots. You had Kallis and AB de Villiers batting there before. Today [in Perth] was a step in the right direction.”But more than the change of position, Prince believed it was a mental shift that did the trick for Duminy. “I think its 100% mindset. I think maybe he has thought about and committed to wanting to do more in his Test career,” Prince said. “In the first innings [in Perth] he came out looking to play more positively and maybe once or twice was a little loose, in the second innings he came out positive again but a lot more selective. His shot selection and his stroke play has been sublime.”