All posts by h716a5.icu

Kent allrounder Adam Ball will lead an England Under-19 squad for the tour of Bangladesh in January

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2011Kent allrounder Adam Ball will lead an England Under-19 squad for the tour of Bangladesh in January. The tour features seven one-dayers, in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.The 15-member squad features eight players who featured in this year’s one-day series against South Africa. The team lost the seven-match one-day series 4-2 to the South Africans.The first match will be played in Chittagong on January 20.Squad: Adam Ball (capt), Muhammad Abid, Shozair Ali, Daniel Bell Drummond, Ben Foakes, Gavin Griffiths, Brett Hutton, Aneesh Kapil, Sam Kelsall, Jack Leaning, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Rammy Singh, Kishen Velani, Sam Wood

Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, has pulled out of the 2011-12 domestic Twenty20 campaign of the Dolphins, the Durban-based South African franchise, due to injury concerns to his bowling elbow

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2012Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, has pulled out of the 2011-12 domestic Twenty20 campaign of the Dolphins, the Durban-based South African franchise, due to injury concerns to his bowling elbow. The Dolphins said in a release that Tait’s condition required long-term remedial therapy, including rest, ruling him out of South Africa’s domestic T20 series starting next month.Tait, who retired from Tests and ODIs following Australia’s exit in the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup, had signed up with the franchise in August last year.”This is a significant disappointment to lose Shaun, but we understand his reasons,” Jesse Chellan, the chief executive of the franchise, said. “We wish him well with his recovery and hope that we are able to secure his services in the future. For now, our immediate concern is to try to find a replacement bowler to bolster our attack for the T20 competition.”The Dolphins topped the table in the league phase of the T20 competition last year but were beaten in the semi-final by the Warriors.Tait is currently playing in Australia’s Big Bash League for the Melbourne Renegades. He was forced to turn down a deal with Surrey last year due to another elbow injury sustained during the IPL.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has said he will complement the big-hitting batsmen at his new IPL franchise, the Delhi Daredevils, and will try to play the role of a finisher

Tariq Engineer05-Feb-2012Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has said he will complement the big-hitting batsmen at his new IPL franchise, the Delhi Daredevils, and will try to play the role of a finisher. Jayawardene was one of 16 players from the terminated Kochi IPL franchise up for auction yesterday in Bangalore, and was bought by the Daredevils for US$1.4 million, making him the second-most expensive player on the day after Ravindra Jadeja. He said he was looking forward to playing with the likes of Virender Sehwag, David Warner and the newly acquired Kevin Pietersen.”I will leave those guys to do the big hitting and do what I know best: control the innings and finish off games, if I can,” Jayawardene told ESPNcricinfo. “Wherever they want me to bat is fine. I will try and find a role in the team.”The Daredevils struggled to make runs consistently last season, missing out on the playoffs for the first time, but Jayawardene said he was pleased to be part of a franchise with a consistent record. “Obviously, after what happened with Kochi, you hope that someone will pick you up and you get to play in the IPL. Delhi has had four good seasons. It will be good to be part of that.”The scrapping of the Kochi team means the Daredevils will be Jayawardene’s third franchise in five years, but he said he was looking forward to the challenge of getting “used to how they do things and understand how they want to play”. Describing the IPL season as a “rollercoaster”, Jayawardene said the key to a successful season was getting everyone in the squad on the same page and chasing the same goals.”You have to have a very positive mind to go through these five or six weeks of cricket. It is very arduous. How you manage losing as a team is very important. How you come back and win two games to get the momentum back … it is a roller coaster. You have to enjoy it. There is no other way of doing it.”The demand for Jayawardene’s services is proof that it is not just the thumpers that earn the big bucks in Twenty20 cricket. It helps that he is one of only three batsmen – Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum are the other two – to have scored a hundred in Tests, ODIs, Twenty20 internationals and IPL games. According to him, the shortest version of the game requires both technical and mental adjustments. “You need to find what your strengths are and any areas in which you can improve. Everything happens so quickly. You have to adjust accordingly and make decisions with a clear mind. Everything you do is not going to be the right thing, but if you have a clear mind and make the adjustments you will do well.”One of the attributes of the IPL is that it gives players from different countries a chance to be on the same team and Jayawardene believes this has had a positive effect on international cricket. “We [the players] understand each other off the field, how we are as team-mates. You have that mutual respect for each other. It has definitely helped to have a better understanding of teams and individual players.”

A measured partnership between Arran Brindle and Jenny Gunn guided England Women to victory in the final Twenty20 against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2012England Women 110 for 5 (Nielsen 4-10) beat New Zealand Women 109 for 6 (Shrubsole 2-7) by five wickets
ScorecardA measured partnership between Arran Brindle and Jenny Gunn guided England Women to victory in the final Twenty20 against New Zealand to give the visitors the series 4-0 in Invercargill. The chase of 110 was wobbling on 61 for 5 before Brindle and Gunn added a matchwinning 49 in seven overs.At 50 for 1 in the eighth over England’s chase was well on track, but Sarah Taylor fell to Morna Nielsen, who claimed outstanding figures of 4 for 10, to spark a collapse of four wickets for 11 runs – all the scalps falling to Nielsen.However, England were in touch with the asking rate of under a run-a-ball which meant Brindle and Gunn didn’t need to be too adventurous. Once Nielsen had completed her four overs life became easier for the visitors.Their victory had been set up by another impressive spell from the in-form Anya Shrubsole who earned the Player-of-the-Match award for her 2 for 7 off four overs. She trapped Frances Mackay lbw with the third ball of the match and also removed Suzie Bates.Sara McGlashan top-scored for New Zealand with 29 – including two sixes – while Amy Satterthwaite and Liz Perry also chipped in with useful contributions but the home side still couldn’t find enough to overcome a confident England side.

Dwayne Smith hopes his success in his return to the West Indies Twenty20 side can help him force his way back into the ODI and Test outfits as well

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2012Dwayne Smith hopes his success in his return to the West Indies Twenty20 side can help him force his way back into the ODI and Test outfits as well. Smith was Man of the Match in West Indies’ 14-run win in the second Twenty20 against Australia in Barbados, where his 63 from 34 balls gave West Indies enough runs to defend in order to draw the series 1-1.It was Smith’s fourth match for West Indies in two years, and he has not been part of the ODI side since March 2010 or the Test team since March 2006. Smith said he hoped he could build on his work as a Twenty20 opener in the other formats.”I love opening the batting,” Smith said after the win. “I made the decision to move up the order and I know I had to make it happen. It is great to bat at the top in Twenty20 so you get use of 120 balls and you also face the ball when it is harder. I am focussing on Twenty20 at the moment and also trying to get back into the 50-over team. From there I would target a return to the longer version of the game.”Smith made 10 in the first match of the series and he said when he was in the middle in the second game his thoughts turned to his daughter’s cheeky remark before the game.”Before I came to the ground I called my daughter and she said, ‘Daddy if you don’t make runs don’t come home’,” Smith said. “When I was batting I was thinking about her and that conversation. She inspires me … guess I can go home now.”Although West Indies lost momentum when Smith departed, their 160 proved enough for their bowlers to defend despite the Kensington Oval being good for batting. Australia’s captain George Bailey said the inability of his batsmen to capitalise on their starts had hurt, especially given the way their bowlers had fought back to keep West Indies from a total closer to 200.”For a game that’s so reliant on momentum I thought we did a really good job to pull it back to 160,” Bailey said. “I thought we probably wrestled the momentum a couple of times with the bat. Davey [Warner] and I certainly had it, but then the opportunity to take that to a match-winning partnership like Huss and Watto did the other day, we didn’t take that.”Then Dave Huss and Wadey I thought were going along really nicely. Then a loss of composure there and not being able to get Dave Huss on strike, that was a momentum shift [and] you just don’t get a chance to give up the game three times, like we did.”

Alex Wakely and Niall O’Brien both hit half-centuries as Northamptonshire made a solid reply to Derbyshire’s first-innings 286

06-Apr-2012
ScorecardAlex Wakely stood in the way of Derbyshire’s bowlers for the second season in a row to keep Northamptonshire in their County Championship match at Derby. The 23-year-old scored two half centuries against Derbyshire at Chesterfield last summer and he frustrated them with another fifty on a hard-fought second day at the County Ground.Wakely scored 62 in four hours and with Niall O’Brien, who also made 62, rescued the visitors after they had slipped to 69 for 4 replying to Derbyshire’s 286. James Middlebrook continued the fightback with an unbeaten 40 before bad light forced an early close with Northants on 241 for 7, leaving the game in the balance.Northants had started another chilly day in a precarious position on 28 for 3, 258 behind, and Wakely and David Sales concentrated on blunting the Derbyshire seam attack, which tended to bowl too wide in the first hour.Sales was on 15 from 38 balls before he finally lost concentration and edged a drive at Ross Whiteley low to third slip where Dan Redfern took a fine catch. But that was the home side’s last success for 35 overs as Wakely and O’Brien dug in to add 78 in gloomy conditions that forced the umpires to call for the floodlights to be switched on.It was the brightest part of the game for much of the afternoon session although Wakely did loft Wes Durston’s offspin down the ground in a rare show of aggression to bring up his half century from 185 balls.His vigil was ended when he misjudged the length and was lbw playing back to David Wainwright, who then spilled a catch at deep midwicket when O’Brien top-edged a pull on 38. That proved costly in runs and overs as Northants accelerated after tea against the new ball, with Middlebrook pulling Mark Footitt for six and driving him through the covers for two fours.A top-edged pull over the slips gave O’Brien a fifty which came off 144 balls but after batting for 200 minutes, he was lbw playing across the line at Whiteley.David Willey stayed with Middlebrook for seven overs before he was lbw to a full-length delivery from Footitt but shortly afterwards the umpires decided that, even with the floodlights on, the light was not good enough to continue and play was abandoned seven overs early with Northants 45 runs behind.

Tom Maynard made an unbeaten 86 in Surrey’s 264 and the hosts then claimed five Sussex wickets late in the day

George Dobell at The Oval05-Apr-2012
ScorecardSurrey’s Tom Maynard was the pick of the batsmen at The Oval•Associated PressAmid the chaos comes opportunity. With England’s batsmen having struggled over the winter, a host of young pretenders will start this domestic season harbouring realistic aspirations of an international call.Among them is Tom Maynard. The 23-year-old, who endured only modest success on the Lions’ tour of Bangladesh, looked a class above every other batsman on display on the first day of the Championship season at The Oval. While players of both sides surrendered their wickets to a succession of loose strokes, Maynard plundered an unbeaten 86 studded with ferocious cuts and drives. Only his teammates’ profligacy denied him the century he deserved.Not that conditions bore much resemblance to those in Asia. On a day so cold that polar bears would have been forced to don scarves and gloves, just two overs of spin were delivered and it was only the illumination provided by the ground’s floodlights – on from start to finish – that ensured a brave coterie of spectators (the official gate was 1,445) saw the cricket their resilience deserved.By the close both sides would have felt they had missed an opportunity. Sussex, having inserted the hosts on a pitch that started just a little damp, would reflect that they had delivered too many four balls and failed to take advantage of the match situation when they batted, while Surrey would reflect that too many of their batsmen played a part in their own downfall.Batting was never completely straightforward. On a sluggish pitch providing some seam movement, neither side demonstrated the requisite patience to prosper. Jacques Rudolph, frustrated for 12 scoreless deliveries, set the tone when he chased a wide one without foot movement and edged to slip, before Chris Jordan, unconvincing as an opener, played on as he, too, pushed at one without much foot movement. Perhaps Mark Ramprakash, well forward to a delivery that swung back, and Rory Hamilton-Brown, caught down the leg side, were a little unfortunate with their dismissals, but generally the Surrey batting continued in a stand-and-deliver mode that may not prove wise on early season wickets.There were exceptions. Zander de Bruyn arrested Surrey’s early slide with a typically unfussy half-century, leaving the ball well and putting away the loose delivery efficiently.Some might find de Bruyn’s selection controversial. He is a 36-year-old Kolpak registration, after all, and has taken a position that could have been given to 21-year-old Jason Roy, an Englishman of some promise. But Surrey had good cause to be grateful for de Bruyn’s grit and, if the players of both sides can learn from his example and up their game, perhaps he could be considered to have played a role in the strengthening of English cricket. It is an emotive debate.De Bruyn tarnished his innings somewhat by the manner of his dismissal. Drawn into driving at a wide one, he edged to the keeper, before Rory Burns, who justified his selection ahead of Gary Wilson by helping Maynard add 82 for the sixth wicket, was drawn into poking at one outside off and Gareth Batty played on as he attempted a cut. Stuart Meaker, attempting to steer one to third man, was brilliantly caught by a diving Chris Nash at backward point and Jon Lewis was caught at slip attempting a footless waft.Maynard protected Jade Dernbach for a while as the pair added 29 for the last wicket, but when the latter fell to a remarkably ambitious stroke – down on one knee, driving at a wide one – Maynard was left 14 short of what would have been the fourth first-class century of his career.It had been a fine innings. Timing the ball particularly well off the back foot, Maynard was quick to latch onto to anything short – deliveries that tend to sit up and ask to be smacked on this surface – with some of his forcing shots through the off side bearing the hall mark of real class. Just as importantly, he also demonstrated a tight defensive technique against fuller balls that suggested he is developing into a well-rounded batsman. This was his first innings in the higher division, but he made the step up with some ease. He is certainly one worth watching.The chief beneficiary of the rest of Surrey’s poor batting was Amjad Khan. It now seems most unlikely that the 31-year-old will add to the single Test cap he earned in the Caribbean in 2009, but here he bowled with good pace – this Sussex attack certainly does not lack in that department – maintained a consistent off-stump line and generated a little movement both ways. This was the ninth five-wicket haul of a career that, but for injury, might have delivered far more.Surrey’s bowlers, maintaining a fuller length than the visitors, hit back in the evening session. With the ball having made indentations on the damp surface in the first hour (there is no heavy roller to iron out such imperfection these days, remember), the pitch is just a little two-paced. Lewis, showing that he requires neither a Tiflex ball or second division batting to look dangerous, nipped one back in his first over to trap Ed Joyce, before Luke Wells’ half-hearted forward prod and Murray Goodwin, back rather than forward, were beaten in a distinctly sharp spell from Dernbach.Perhaps Sussex, by now batting in deepening gloom, were unfortunate. But by the time that Nash offered a leading edge to mid-off and Michael Yardy followed one he could have left and guided a catch to slip, the hosts had their noses in front.Edited by Alan Gardner

Rob Newton may miss the FLt20 after fracturing a bone in his left arm and retiring hurt as Northamptonshire reached 244 for 4

16-May-2012
ScorecardRob Newton suffered a fractured bone just above his left wrist as Northamptonshire were made to fight hard to reach 244 for 4 against Kent at Canterbury. The injury overshadowed the first day for Northants, who now fear the 22-year-old batsman will also miss the start of the Friends Life t20 in early June.David Sales and James Middlebrook added an unbroken 157 for the fifth wicket to boost Northants after they had slipped from 69 for 1 to 87 for 4 in the first hour after lunch, with Sales reaching 104 not out by the close. Middlebrook was still there too on a battling 57, and in the end Kent’s bowling attack was made to toil on a slow surface.Newton’s fracture is expected to sideline him for between four and five weeks and he will play no further part in this game. He retired hurt on 23, after initially facing two more balls from Matt Coles, following the blow from a rising delivery from the England Lions fast bowler.He had needed five minutes of treatment on the field from the physio before deciding to bat on, but when he clipped the second ball after the resumption wide of mid-on for two runs he signalled to the dressing room that the pain in his arm was too great to continue.Northants were 46 without loss when Newton went off, having won the toss and decided to take first use of a slow but good-looking St Lawrence Ground pitch. Stephen Peters also batted well in that opening stand, but had lost Newton’s replacement at the crease, Kyle Coetzer, before lunch.Coetzer was bowled by Mark Davies, aiming to drive the former Durham seamer, and when Peters fell to the second ball after the lunch interval, lbw for 34, it triggered a mini-collapse which left Kent well on top. Charlie Shreck did the further damage, having Northants captain Andrew Hall well held at long leg by Davies as he skied an attempted pull and then bowling left-hander Niall O’Brien through the gate as he pushed defensively at a superb ball that swung back into him and clipped the top of the stumps.But that was the last Kent success of the day as Sales, with his first Championship century for almost two years, and Middlebrook built their partnership. Former Northants captain Sales reached his hundred from 196 balls and at stumps he had batted for almost four and a half hours.Middlebrook completed his fifty from 158 balls but he proved to be the perfect foil for Sales, who played some lovely early strokes against James Tredwell’s offspin and then took successive leg-side boundaries off Shreck, armed with the second new ball, to go swiftly into the 90s.

England’s ambitions to inflict a 3-0 whitewash upon West Indies were frustrated as rain washed out the first day of the third Test

The Report by David Hopps07-Jun-2012
ScorecardEngland and West Indies were forced to make do with net practice on a wet day in Birmingham•Getty ImagesEngland’s ambitions to inflict a 3-0 whitewash upon West Indies were frustrated by the weather as rain washed out the first day of the third Test at Edgbaston. It was the first time a full day’s play in a Test in England had been lost because of bad weather since the third day of the 2009 Ashes clash against Australia, also at Edgbaston.Rain is forecast on Friday as well, raising the possibility that the opening two days of a Test in England could be abandoned without play for the first time for nearly 50 years, since an Ashes clash at Lord’s in 1964.The toss and team announcements have yet to take place, leaving Stuart Broad to face another uncertain evening as he waits to see if he will be rested alongside his new-ball partner, James Anderson.If Broad plays, only one of Steven Finn and Graham Onions is certain of a fast-bowling spot. Finn’s reputation as one of the world’s most-promising young fast bowlers suggests that he is the likelier choice but Graham Onions has been in outstanding county form for Durham and his case could become more persuasive as rain takes chunks out of the game.For West Indies, Sunil Narine is favoured to replace his fellow spinner Shane Shillingford, who England dealt with comfortably at Trent Bridge, and either Tino Best or Fidel Edwards will partner Ravi Rampaul. Kirk Edwards is expected to lose his top-order batting place after an unproductive tour.Heavy overnight and early morning rain meant the square was fully covered when the captains should have been tossing up ahead of a scheduled 11am start. There was only a brief spell when the covers were removed before fresh rain arrived. At 3.35pm it was announced that play had been abandoned for the day.

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore has said his side has conceded the advantage they had coming into the third day of the Pallekele Test

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Pallekele10-Jul-2012Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore has said his side has conceded the advantage they had coming into the third day of the Pallekele Test. Sri Lanka began the day on 44 for 3, after Pakistan had made 226 in the first innings, and managed to bat out the first session without losing a wicket.They finished with a lead of 111, courtesy some dogged batting from Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera, an attacking innings from Thisara Perera and lapses in the field from Pakistan. The visitors ended the day at 27 for one, having lost opener Taufeeq Umar for four and still trailing by 84 runs on the lively Pallekele pitch.”The position we are now in, we [have] really got to fight very hard with the bat in the second innings,” Whatmore said. “I thought the first hour the pitch didn’t misbehave but it really gave some encouragement to the bowlers. Unfortunately we weren’t able to capitalise. It was disappointing not to pick up a wicket, particularly in that first hour. The first session was clearly Sri Lanka’s.”It’s a good wicket now, offering something for the bowlers and the [batsmen]. It’s not about just taking time out of the game, but scoring runs as well. It’s the old fashioned way – work hard, get a start and then maximise.”Whatmore defended captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision to set a defensive field once Sri Lanka’s batsmen has settled in. “In the heat of battle, when things are going their way, you just need to try and stop the runs as well as take wickets. It’s not an easy situation. It [the game] was really taken away from us in that last session.”Pakistan’s catching once again let them down, with three missed chances – two in the slips and a return catch. On all occasions, the bowler was Umar Gul.”They were tough catches later in the day, but it’s got to be taken,” Whatmore said. “The slip catches have been good, it [those drops] was a little bit of a surprise for me. Our slips cordon is pretty decent, but it wasn’t today.”Thisara Perera was the biggest beneficiary. He was dropped twice, by Gul off his own bowling on 11 and by Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip on 22. He made Pakistan pay; after arriving at the crease with the score on 204 for 6, he added 133 with the lower order and was the final batsman to fall.”[Thisara] is fairly new to international cricket. It will take time for teams to have a true appreciation of the damage he can do,” Whatmore said. “It will be harder for him in the second and third year. From what we’ve seen now, he is a real physical presence for the home team and a thorn for the visiting team. He’s a strong boy and thrives on brute strength.”For Pakistan, Junaid Khan was the biggest positive – he picked up his second five-for in the series. His ‘competitiveness’ made him special, Whatmore said. “Junaid has been a bit of a revelation for us. The first time I’ve seen him play and he has been a terrific competitor. He has that ingredient that all good players have, that real fierce competitiveness – you can feel that when you talk to him.”He has got some skill and he has got a big engine: he runs all day and he is fit, and he’ll only get better. He did a really good job under very difficult conditions at the SSC and he has carried on here.”Pakistan have been handicapped by a finger injury to their wicketkeeper, Adnan Akmal, who, Whatmore said, may have to come out and bat if required. Taufeeq Umar kept in Akmal’s absence, and did not have the best of days, allowing 16 byes. But how Taufeeq coped in a tough situation should be commended, Whatmore said.”Wicketkeeping is a specialised position and when you haven’t got that person in the team it’s unfortunate … But Taufeeq battled hard for us, although we gave away a lot of extras. Somebody had to put the gloves for us, so he did a pretty decent job.”