Hampshire opener Liam Dawson stood between Somerset and their first win of the season after a defiant century at the Rose Bowl

29-Apr-2011
ScorecardHampshire opener Liam Dawson stood between Somerset and their first win of the season after a defiant century at the Rose Bowl.Dawson, a 21-year-old England Lions player, was unbeaten at the end of the third day on 103 as Hampshire moved to within 16 of making the visitors bat again at 212 for 3, but his team faced the prospect of defeat after another day dominated by Marcus Trescothick.Trescothick, 193 not out overnight, went on to complete the fourth double century of a distinguished career as Somerset built a first-innings lead of 228 over Hampshire. Somerset resumed 120 ahead at 405 for 5 in their first innings and were eventually all out for 513.Trescothick went on to make 227 in a fraction over eight hours from 376 balls in an innings which included three sixes and 32 fours. Trescothick was sixth out at 493 when he drove tenacious left-arm spinner Danny Briggs to the covers where Dominic Cork completed the catch.Briggs made the most of his breakthrough by finishing off the Somerset tail, having Jos Buttler leg before, sweeping for an innings of 61 which included 12 fours. David Griffiths had Gemaal Hussain caught at the wicket at 503 and then Briggs finished it off either side of lunch by dismissing Steve Kirby and Charl Willoughby in quick succession.Briggs, the only Hampshire bowler to escape heavy punishment on an easy-paced wicket finished with figures of 5 for 79 from 38 overs. Hampshire faced a daunting task so far behind but Dawson and Jimmy Adams found batting just as easy as Somerset had done in a stand of 181 for the first wicket.Then Arul Suppiah made a double breakthrough to put Somerset back in command. Adams had made 73 when he nudged Suppiah to Alex Barrow at short leg and in the same over newcomer Johann Myburgh was leg before without scoring four balls later.Dawson reached the second century of his career off 183 balls but lost experienced Neil McKenzie to the penultimate ball of the day. McKenzie had scored 20 when he edged Barrow to Trescothick at slip off what proved to be the last ball of the day to leave Hampshire 212 for 3.McKenzie’s wicket was the first of Barrow’s first-class career and left Hampshire deep in trouble still 16 behind.

The 252nd Roses match – the first on this ground – is going Lancashire’s way so far after Yorkshire subsided to 141 all out

Jon Culley at Aigburth18-May-2011
Scorecard
Given the anxiety surrounding the future of Old Trafford as aggrieved neighbour Albert Gubay continues on his mission to scupper Lancashire’s critical redevelopment plans, there is the potential for this season to be one of considerable irony if what had looked like a team in transition can maintain its early-season form.The Court of Appeal’s decision to give Gubay’s Derwent Holdings another crack at forcing a judicial review into Lancashire’s plans imposes another delay before work can properly begin on the £32 million project, jeopardising their hopes of being ready for the 2013 Ashes. The consequences for their financial future of not being ready do not bear thinking about, according to the county, in which case Lancashire’s temporary exile from their traditional headquarters -caused by the rotation of the square – might in a worst case scenario become permanent.And while club grounds can be idyllic, particularly when the sun shines, they are not suited to the demands of modern professional cricket. Lancashire quite like the idea of visitors to Aigburth suffering a degree of culture shock when the confront the Victorian pavilion but even they might tire of it as a long-term home.On this occasion, moreover, it felt far from idyllic as a chill wind whipped across the Mersey estuary, blowing away some early morning rain but obliging spectators to swath themselves with several layers even when the clouds parted and the sun peeped through.Not that the Lancashire players noticed, you would imagine. The 252nd Roses match – the first on this ground – is going their way so far after Yorkshire subsided to 141 all out.Conditions favoured the bowlers but it was a pretty miserable effort from the white rose nonetheless, although in the absence of Anthony McGrath, Gerard Brophy, Richard Pyrah and Tim Bresnan, all injured, as well as Ajmal Shahzad and Jonny Bairstow, away with England Lions, there were mitigating circumstances.Indeed, they are so stretched that they have had to ask Simon Guy, who they released in 2009 and is playing currently for Marske in the North Yorks-South Durham League, to come back as emergency wicketkeeper. Guy, 32, last played a first-class match in July, 2007, although he is familiar with most of the faces he encountered on his return. Five of his Yorkshire team-mates – as well as four on the Lancashire side – played in the Second XI Trophy final at Scarborough in 2009 that marked his final Yorkshire appearance.Even so, Yorkshire should have done rather better, having been 95 for 2. The pitch was slow and difficult to score runs on and with the ball swinging for Jimmy Anderson and Glen Chapple, the loss of only two wickets in the first 48 overs was a good effort.But it was at that point that Joe Sayers was out to a brilliant, diving catch by Steven Croft at point, rewarding Anderson with his only wicket when he probably deserved more for a penetrating couple of spells.Sayers is no dasher in anyone’s book, sometimes taking the virtues of caution a little too far but his defiance of temptation was exactly what was called for this time. With the ball seaming and swinging, beating the bat often and at times keeping disconcertingly low, Sayers ground his way to 53 in a little over three hours but once he had gone Yorkshire’s collective resolve drained away.The last eight wickets fell for 46 runs as Yorkshire, who had been fortunate to lose only Adam Lyth and Joe Root before lunch. Lyth, having cracked the first ball of the match through the covers for four, perished leg before to the first ball of Chapple’s second over at the pavilion end, Root falling in similar fashion to the last ball of Farveez Maharoof’s first over at the river end.Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire captain, should have been stumped on two when he took a liberty with Gary Keedy and threatened to take advantage but the left-arm spinner, finding turn at the pavilion end on day one, ultimately bowled him round his legs. Keedy soon struck again when Gary Balance popped a catch to silly point.Guy was bowled by Maharoof, whose ambition to persuade the Sri Lankan selectors of his worth can only benefit Lancashire, before Keedy held a return catch driven by Adil Rashid. Two more for Maharoof and another for Keedy, both men ending with four wickets, wrapped things up quickly. Yorkshire’s scoring rate had been under two runs per over.Lancashire lost Stephen Moore in the fifth over of their reply but negotiated the remaining 11 without serious alarms, which perhaps indicated a slight easing of the conditions but also highlighted how well Lancashire had bowled as a unit, so well that Saj Mahmood and Simon Kerrigan, both left out – in the latter’s case despite a match-winning five for seven in his last appearance, against Warwickshire – were scarcely missed.

India finished third in the NatWest Women’s Quadrangular series after beating New Zealand by 32 runs in a low-scoring encounter at Aston Rowant

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2011
Scorecard
India finished third in the NatWest Women’s Quadrangular series after beating New Zealand by 32 runs in a low-scoring encounter at Aston Rowant. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and seamer Amita Sharma were the major architects of India’s win, taking three wickets apiece to run through New Zealand’s lower order, after captain Jhulan Goswami had made the initial incision, to defend India’s 150 all out by dismissing New Zealand for just 118.Batsmen on both sides struggled with the conditions and India were thankful for opener Poonam Raut’s patient 38, as well as contributions from Harmanpreet Kaur (21) and Veda Krishnamurthy (29). They had actually been reasonably placed at 127 for 4, before a late push for runs resulted in an avalanche of wickets instead, with several of New Zealand’s bowlers benefitting from a collapse of 6 for 23.New Zealand could not extend their advantage with the bat, however, as Goswami removed both openers cheaply before Gouher Sultana got rid of the dangerous Suzie Bates. Sara McGlashan’s wicket – bowled by Sharma for 22 – tipped the balance firmly in India’s favour, but New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins went down fighting with a 24-ball 32 that included two fours and a six. Once she fell, Bisht and Sharma made short work of the tail.

A round-up of the action from the third day of the first round of three-day matches in the Emerging Players Tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2011India Emerging Players had to settle for a draw against South Africa Emerging Players due to bad light ending play at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane when they were four runs away from victory with four wickets in hand. It was an anti-climactic end to a spirited chase as Ajinkya Rahane’s 109 off 122 balls and Ambati Rayudu’s unbeaten half-century led them to 278 for 6 in 55.1 overs, at which point the umpires decided light was too poor to carry on. Neither team was awarded points after the stalemate, though South Africa copped a penalty of five points for a poor over-rate that left them five overs short of the target, potentially costing India the game.That India had a shot at victory was down to a sporting declaration from the South Africans earlier in the day. Resuming at their overnight score of 122 for 1, South Africa piled on the runs thanks to opener Reeza Hendricks and captain Stiaan van Zyl, both of whom made tons. van Zyl was the more adventurous, making his runs at a strike-rate of 78.52. Hendricks remained unbeaten on 125 when the declaration came at 291 for 3, setting India 282 to win.Opener S Anirudha failed for the second time in the match, but captain Shikhar Dhawan stroked a quick 36 to launch the chase. The Tiwarys, Manoj and Saurabh, then supported Rahane as India made steady progress, before Rayudu opened up. Rahane and CM Gautam were dismissed off successive balls, but Iqbal Abdulla, in Rayudu’s company, ensured the chase remained on track, before light faded.The events at the Peter Burge Oval had a striking similarity to the ones that unfolded at the Allan Border Field. Light once again played spoilsport, with New Zealand A ten short of the target of 353 set by Australian Institute of Sport, with three wickets remaining.Resuming at 180 for 3, AIS motored along to add 208 runs in 32.5 overs on the final day. Alex Keath scored a century while Glenn Maxwell was dismissed ten short, before Tom Beaton struck 79 off only 58 balls to set up the declaration at 388 for 8. That meant New Zealand A needed 353, a target they pursued with purpose thanks to BJ Watling’s 139. While Watling took his time, his partners went after the bowling, with Daniel Flynn and Dean Brownlie making 38 and 41 respectively at better than run-a-ball. Luke Woodcock, coming in at No. 6, slammed 52 off 32 balls as New Zealand raised their scoring-rate, and even the loss of three quick wickets for the addition of 19 runs – including Watling and Woodcock – did not hamper the pace. However, the elements once again had the final say, and this time New Zealand A had only themselves to blame – they were slapped a penalty of two points for being two overs short.

Shane Watson is a back spasm away from the Australian captaincy

Daniel Brettig13-Jul-2011Shane Watson is a back spasm away from the Australian captaincy. This truth was underlined in Brisbane on the final day of the national team’s training camp, when Michael Clarke was forced to retire hurt following a recurrence of a chronic back problem while batting in a practice match against a Queensland XI.Watson led the Australians in the afternoon as Clarke reclined at the boundary’s edge, accompanied in repose by Ricky Ponting, who missed the fixture due to calf soreness. While neither are in any doubt for their Test and ODI tasks on the tour of Sri Lanka in August, their ailments provided a reminder that Clarke will face back problems for the remainder of his career, while at 36 Ponting is no longer a young man.Tim Nielsen, Australia’s coach, said Clarke and Ponting were being cautiously managed.”[Clarke] pulled up a little stiff which is why he retired and we’re just going to take the opportunity to get everybody out there,” Nielsen told . “[Ponting] has had a bit of a sore calf as well which we’re just being careful about. Really it’s a training day for us and, if these guys were like this at training, we wouldn’t expect them to train so we certainly won’t put them through the fielding.”Clarke has faced intermittent back problems through his career, most recently struggling during the final Sheffield Shield match before the first Ashes Test last year, in which he appeared restricted, though he denied it had been a problem. As for Watson, Nielsen said he was ready and able to assume the top job whenever Clarke was not feeling capable of fulfilling his duties.”Very much so. Selectors don’t just give people the vice-captaincy with the thought you deserve it because you played well,” Nielsen said. “It’s an idea that if something does happen to the captain, who is the person we feel can take over the reins and do a good job?”We can’t forget that we have people with the experience of [Brad] Haddin and Ponting still around the team and, I’m sure if Shane needs to, he will lean on them pretty strongly, and also Michael Hussey. While he’s the nominated one and probably giving him the opportunity is a longer-term view, he certainly won’t be on his own out there if he captains the side.”Most importantly he understands that he’s there as a support structure there for Michael. He does take on a bit more respect naturally just through the fact he’s a nominated leader now rather than being a senior player, but he’s always been one of those guys who is willing to put his point of view across to the team and work hard with the group. In the last 12 to 18 months he’s certainly taken on more and more respect in that area.”Australia’s batsmen fared well enough at Allan Border Field, with David Hussey (76) and his brother Michael (46) among the runs, along with Shaun Marsh (47). However, the Sri Lankan slow bowlers will warm to the sight of young Queensland spinner Jason Floros returning the figures of 4 for 25 against batsmen soon to be playing at venues including Kandy, Colombo and Galle.

Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, is likely to miss the series opener at Pallakele Stadium on Wednesday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq09-Aug-2011Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, was named in the 16-member squad for the first three One-Day Internationals against Australia but is likely to miss the series opener at Pallakele Stadium on Wednesday.Chairman of cricket selectors Duleep Mendis said that although Malinga has been named in the squad, he is has been advised to rest. “We have been advised by the team physio to rest Malinga for the first ODI,” Duleep said. “We will consider him for the remaining matches.”Malinga, who retired from Test cricket in April, missed the two Twenty20 Internationals against Australia due to a back injury. He has been under treatment since then but showed that he was on the road to recovery by bowling in the nets prior to being included in the one-day squad.Duleep stated that the selection panel would review the performance of the players in the first three games and if necessary make changes to the squad for the remaining two matches.

Pubudu Dassanayake, the former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman has succeeded another former Sri Lanka cricketer, Roy Dias, as head coach of the Nepal cricket team

Sa'adi Thawfeeq03-Oct-2011Pubudu Dassanayake, the former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman has succeeded another former Sri Lanka cricketer, Roy Dias, as head coach of the Nepal cricket team. Dassanayake, who has Level III coaching qualifications from Australia, began work with Nepal from October 1.”It was during the World Cup that the Cricket Association of Nepal and I exchanged a few mails,” Dassanayake said. “I had expressed my interest to take on the role of head coach.”I heard a lot good things about Nepali cricket through Rumesh Ratnayake, who is a development manager with the Asian Cricket Council [ACC], and from other Sri Lankan colleagues of mine. They said Nepali cricket has the scope to reach another level. Nepal has talented young players and they finished second in the Under-19 World Cup qualifier in August.”Dassanayake represented Sri Lanka in 11 Tests and 16 ODIs between 1993 and 1994, before moving to Canada in 2001. He represented Canada in the 2005 World Cup qualifier in Ireland, and the following year captained them in the Intercontinental Cup. He took on the post as head coach of the Canadian national side in 2007 and helped them secure a place in the 2011 World Cup, before deciding not to renew his contract with them.Dassanayake’s first assignment with Nepal will be the ACC Twenty20 Cup, which will be hosted by Nepal in December.

Mumbai Indians have refused to go away again

The Report by Sidharth Monga08-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSuryakumar Yadav was impressive on his return from injury•Associated Press

Mumbai Indians refuse to go away. Missing half their side, struggling to put an XI on the field, courting controversy every step of the way, they have still managed to win most of the big moments they have encountered to make it to the final of the Champions League.MI won all the decisive moments of the night. They ran away at the top through Aiden Blizzard’s 54 off 39. They scored 52 off their last five, after the middle overs slowed them down, through a 43-run stand off 22 between the unheralded R Sathish and Suryakumar Yadav. Lasith Malinga then took out Somerset’s two biggest batsmen of the tournament with devilish yorkers and changes of pace. And when Craig Kieswetter threatened to mastermind a cool chase, with the MI fielders blundering all around him, Malinga and James Franklin defended – just as coolly – 28 runs in the last three overs.MI chose a fine time to put up their best batting effort of the tournament. On a pitch that was slow but much better than the mud-wrestling arena it had been in the earlier stages of the tournament, Blizzard did what their opponents have been doing: capitalise with the hard new ball. He enjoyed the pace on it, and tried to make use of all quick length balls. Adam Dibble came on and took the pace off with his cutters, but Blizzard was quick to spot whenever he bowled quick. Off the 20 runs that Dibble conceded in his four overs, Blizzard took 10 in two hits, both off quick and full deliveries. One of his other sixes came off a free hit, but that was about all the luck he enjoyed.Somerset’s left-arm spinners, though, pulled things back with the wickets of both the threatening men, Blizzard and Franklin. Blizzard had in particular been frustrated, with only 20 coming off the last 18 balls he faced. With MI 92 for 4 in the 13th over, it seemed it was all about Pollard. It couldn’t have seemed more wrong. After Pollard flattered and deceived, Sathish and Yadav gave MI a target to bowl at.The two men don’t enjoy what can be termed a flattering history with the IPL side. It has often been said that Sathish wouldn’t even make the side but for the injuries. One of those “injured” players was Yadav, whose injury had allowed MI five overseas players but whose subsequent playing for other teams had brought MI embarrassment. Now back ahead of the unimpressive Andrew Symonds, he put together a busy partnership with Sathish. Yadav tried the adventurous shots behind the stumps, and Sathish was more orthodox trying to drive down the ground, but it somehow worked a treat for them.Whatever you say of the pitch, it doesn’t matter to Malinga. Somerset have usually won games by hitting the new ball hard, and Peter Trego and Roelof van der Merwe have been the main destroyers at the top. Both of them fell to the genius of Malinga before they could make a contribution. A late outswinging yorker at the base of the off stump accounted for Trego, and a bewitching slower full toss that dipped on van der Merwe reduced Somerset to 17 for 2 after three overs.Somerset refused to capitulate. Kieswetter played like a man who knew he would win the match if he took it deep. He was soon on that route, helped by the average fielding. He was missed on 31 and 50, and MI’s part-time keeper Ambati Rayudu seemed to miss more than he collected. Kieswetter began the acceleration even as his associate James Hildreth fell with 61 left to score off 39.Kieswetter knocked it around until it was 45 needed off four overs, two of which would be bowled by Malinga. He then took Abu Nechim Ahmed on and brought it down to 29 off three. Malinga now had to bowl two of the last three. No question of change of ends or plans if things went wrong. Perish the thought. Malinga responded with a seven-run over.The over of the devil in this tournament, the 19th, was the event of the match. First off, Harbhajan Singh gambled by not only giving the ball to Franklin ahead of himself and Pollard, but also risked potential criticism that he was not prepared to bowl the big over himself. Harbhajan went with brain over heart, and Franklin responded too. The first ball was drilled wide of long-on. Only Pollard could have kept it from going for four. He did. The next ball was a sure four until it hit Kieswetter flush on, giving him no time to react and get out of the way. Jos Buttler would have thought he deserved eight off those two balls; he got two. Frustrated, he played the blind slog. Bowled.Finally Kieswetter came back on strike to the fifth ball of the over. He had faced only six deliveries out of the last 27, batting with a man who went at a strike-rate of under 100. Now with 19 required off eight, six of which would be bowled by Malinga, Kieswetter had no choice. He went after this short-of-a-length ball, and top-edged. Game over.

R Ashwin, the India offspinner, has said he felt cheated by the lack of bounce on the Wankhede pitch in Mumbai as the West Indies batsmen batted out two days in succession to post 575 for 9

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2011R Ashwin, the India offspinner, has said he felt cheated by the lack of bounce on the Wankhede pitch in Mumbai as the West Indies batsmen batted out two days in succession to reach 575 for 9. West Indies made their highest score in the three-Test series, helped by Darren Bravo’s 166 and half-centuries by the rest of the specialist batsmen in the side.”You can’t expect the wicket to turn on the first day of a Test match. But you do expect some bounce,” Ashwin said. “This game, I was definitely expecting some bounce. So I felt cheated in that regard.”The Wankhede pitch is known to offer bounce, unlike other Test venues in India. However, the theory was proved wrong on the opening day as West Indies chose to bat and ended the day at 267 for 2. Ashwin broke the opening stand of 137 and also took the only other wicket to fall on the day. The rest of the bowlers struggled to penetrate the top order on a pitch that was unhelpful to seamers and spinners.Ashwin, playing in only his third Test, said he was baffled by the nature of the pitch, having come with bigger expectations.”This is my eighth game at Wankhede and this is the first time I am seeing a wicket like this. I am quite surprised. It is very much like the practice wicket to the left. I was praying it wouldn’t be like that but … It is [usually] one of the most sporting wickets in India. So it is disappointing to see it behave like this.”West Indies’ dominance on the second day was built around a stand of 160 between Kieran Powell and Darren Bravo. Pragyan Ojha broke the partnership when he dismissed Powell for 81, before the debutant Varun Aaron, who had a difficult opening day, went on to claim three wickets. Ashwin returned to add two more wickets to his tally, including that of Marlon Samuels, to end with 4 for 154 off 51 overs.”In first-class cricket, you turn up everywhere and you expect the tracks to be like this,” he said. “But there is a pattern to it as in if you bowl a good set of 40 overs from one side and not give away too many runs, you know you will end up with a few wickets at the end of the day.”He said his wickets came at a cost. “Yesterday I thought I went for much more as we had to go for wickets. If I hadn’t tried in that last spell we might have gone without a wicket on the day. Today it was more of a catch-up game. We had to restrict them at some point. Fortunately Varun bowled really well and got us those wickets in the middle of the innings. I thought Bravo did wonderfully, in partnership with Edwards and Powell.”With West Indies batting themselves into a position of safety, Ashwin said India’s task will be to make the most out of this surface, which hasn’t changed in nature. He joked that India will have to adopt the strategy often used in high-scoring domestic games.”Like Ranji Trophy cricket we have to get the first-innings lead, bat as long as possible and see what we can do on the fifth day.”

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson is banking on his pace bowlers to challenge India’s strong batting line-up during the three-Test series starting at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2011West Indies coach Ottis Gibson is banking on his pace bowlers to challenge India’s strong batting line-up during the three-Test series starting at Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday. West Indies arrived in the country following a short tour of Bangladesh, where they won the Test series 1-0.Gibson said the team is high on confidence after that win and are suitably warmed-up to subcontinental conditions.”Over the last six to 12 months our fast bowlers, Ravi Rampaul, Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach and Darren Sammy have done well and won us matches,” Gibson said. “We know that India obviously will be heavy on spin but we believe in the quality of our fast bowlers.”We have Fidel bowling quick at the moment and we hope we can cause some problems to the formidable Indian batting line-up. We believe that we have the quality to back ourselves. We know that the ball doesn’t swing very long. You need to have added skills and we pay a lot of attention to that. We are skilled enough to reverse it and get wickets as well.”India are playing their first Test series since their poor tour of England where they were whitewashed 4-0. The injury-ravaged team struggled against the fast bowlers, and as a result, lost their No.1 ranking in Tests. Gibson said India were still a formidable side despite their recent setback.”Against this Indian batting line-up, you probably need to play seven bowlers,” Gibson said. “We will look at that over the course of the next few days and work on our combination.”Edwards and legspinner Davendra Bishoo took five-wicket hauls in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur, which the visitors won comfortably by 229 runs. Gibson praised Bishoo’s performance in Bangladesh and was confident he would be a threat in India as well.”Bishoo is a talented bowler and has got 32 wickets in seven games. He never hesitates to ask questions and his capacity for learning is showing. Coming to India, he understands that he can really come into his game in these conditions.Commenting on India’s bowling combination Gibson said felt that India may not feel the absence of offspinner Harbhajan Singh, who was overlooked in favour of the rising R Ashwin.”Somebody like Harbhajan has taken a lot of wickets and you might look at that (his absence) as a negative but Ashwin has been outstanding in one-day cricket. When a player makes his debut, people tend to think ‘oh he may not be ready’ but obviously the selectors believe that he is ready and that makes him very dangerous.”