All posts by h716a5.icu

What threatened to be a terrible Lancashire debut for New Zealander Mitchell McClenaghan turned into a triumph as the Red Rose clinched a nine-run win in their opening Friends Life t20 match against Durham

28-Jun-2013
ScorecardStephen Moore struck 75 to help give Lancashire a winning total•Getty ImagesWhat threatened to be a terrible Lancashire debut for New Zealander MitchellMcClenaghan turned into a triumph as the Red Rose clinched a nine-run win intheir opening Friends Life t20 match against Durham at Chester-le-Street.McClenaghan began with a wide and conceded 21 in two overs as Durhamraced to 53 without loss in the sixth over in reply to 165 for 3. Then both openers fell in successive balls and the momentum vanished. But Ben Stokes picked it up again and when McClenaghan returned he drove the first ballover long-on for six.At that point Durham needed 41 off 23 balls but McClenaghan derailed them bypicking up three wickets, including that of Stokes after he made 34 off 26balls, and Durham finished on 156 for 8.After rain had fallen until mid-afternoon, Lancashire were put in and openerStephen Moore overcame a scratchy start to make 75 off 58 balls. He was run out with two balls left when Simon Katich declined a second run tolong-off but the Australian had also played a big part, hitting three leg-sidesixes in his unbeaten 43 off 25 balls.Durham included two young spinners in Ryan Pringle, the only bowler to take awicket as he picked up 2 for 24, and 20-year-old left-armer Max Morley, makinghis senior debut. The latter’s first two overs cost only 13 but then Katich got after him and hefinished with none for 41.Excellent death bowling by Stokes and Chris Rushworth restricted Lancashire to13 off the last two overs and they did not look to have enough as Mark Stonemanand Phil Mustard launched the reply.But Mustard then played the ball square on the off side and declined the run,only for Stoneman to fail to get back as Steven Croft hit the stumps. Mustard tried to turn Glen Chapple’s next ball to leg and gloved it towicketkeeper Gareth Cross.Paul Collingwood spent 22 balls making 19 before falling lbw when trying topull left-arm spinner Stephen Parry.Durham needed 72 off the last six overs and Stokes kept them on target, hittingthree sixes. But his departure left the rest with too much to do as McClenaghanfinished with three for 35.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the fourth day at Trent Bridge

Daniel Brettig at Trent Bridge13-Jul-2013With deed and then word, Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has ruled a line under the debate that surrounded Stuart Broad’s decision not to walk in the second innings of the Trent Bridge Ashes Test. Clarke himself declined to depart after none other than Broad procured a thin edge to Matt Prior behind the stumps as the tourists slid badly in their chase of 311 to win.Afterwards he said that while the Australians had been frustrated by failing to secure Broad’s wicket, there was little case for directing their anger towards the England No. 8. Clarke even referred to the concept of “getting away with” standing your ground and forcing an umpire to deliberate, something he has done several times himself in the past with varied results.”We would’ve liked him out for a lot less that’s for sure, but that’s the way the game goes,” Clarke said of Broad. “I’m not going to go back there. There’s no need, it’s the game of cricket. There’s ups and downs, good times, bad times. Sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don’t. That’s what I’ve seen through my career and that’s the way it goes.”Clarke also offered unabashed support to Broad on Sky TV. “I’ve always been a believer that umpires are there to take decisions,” he said. “If everybody walked, we wouldn’t need umpires. It is an individual decision but I don’t think any less of Stuart for what he did.”Regarding his own dismissal, Clarke said he had been unsure of whether he hit the ball or not, having also brushed bat with pad. His consultation with the non-striker Steven Smith better reflected the 21st century conventions of dismissals in the DRS era than much of the commentary surrounding the question of walking that has sprung up since Broad also stood his ground.”Obviously not – I referred it,” Clarke said. “Well, I knew I had hit my pad. I asked my partner up the other end and he certainly wasn’t convinced I hit it either so I referred it. Actually when we both looked at the big screen we couldn’t see anything, so we were pretty pumped that we made the right decision. Then I was given out and had another look when I came in the change room and there was a little spot there on Hot Spot. That’s the way it goes. That’s how the review system operates.”I’ve said to our team that if you feel you’re not out then back your judgement. And if the review doesn’t go your way we move on. I’m not going to go into the DRS at the moment. We’re using it. Both teams are using it. It’s the same for both teams. We have no excuses at the moment. I’m certainly not going to use DRS as one.”Clarke also offered an extraordinary endorsement of the 19-year-old debutant Ashton Agar. Clearly impressed after watching Agar’s treatment of Graeme Swann during his startling, world record 98 at No. 11 in the first innings, Clarke declared Agar to be among the best players of spin to enter the Australia dressing room in years.Clarke explained that he had batted Agar at No. 11 in the first innings to help ease a nervous debutant into the match. But it seems inconceivable now that Agar will ever do so again for any team. His poise was on display a second time as he hung on stubbornly in the company of Brad Haddin to reach stumps on day four, Australia still needing 137 runs on the final day.”He’s as good a player against spin as we’ve had in the Australian team for a long time, so I think he’ll certainly look forward to facing Swanny tomorrow,” Clarke said. “He is definitely not a No. 11 in any team in the world. I batted him there in the first innings only so that he could find his feet in Test match cricket and get into the game. He showed he was ready.”I thought it was the right thing to let him get into the game slowly, but he obviously proved me wrong there, he batted beautifully.”Apart from Agar, Phillip Hughes in the first innings and a composed opening stand by Shane Watson and Chris Rogers on the fourth afternoon, Australia’s batsmen have largely failed to cope with the pressure imposed by England in Nottingham, even if Alastair Cook’s side have not sustained it for anywhere near as long as Australia managed. Clarke said the falling of wickets in clusters could be attributed to conditions that England’s batsman Ian Bell spoke of in subcontinental terms.”I think that’s the conditions in the UK to be honest,” Clarke said. “Especially when you’ve got a wicket that is quite dry so you’ve got reverse swing and a lot of spin. I think it’s these sort of conditions where if you get in it’s about cashing in, going on to big scores, because it is a hard place to start.”We’ve spoken about it as a batting unit. It’s not from lack of work, the boys have been working extremely hand for the start of their innings and we’re as well prepared as we can be. I think we’ve put up a really good fight so far and I’m excited about tomorrow.”

His love for cricket ebbed when he was sacked by Surrey in June but now Chris Adams is looking for another opportunity to get stuck into cricket again

George Dobell05-Sep-2013A few months ago, Chris Adams cut a forlorn figure. Watching from his office at The Oval as Ryan Buckley, a teenage offspinner from Durham, spun his Surrey side to defeat, Adams looked drawn, exhausted and a little confused. Not defeated, but certainly wearied and chastened.Now, 10 weeks after he was sacked as director of cricket at Surrey, the “old” Adams has returned. He is refreshed and revived. He laughs. He is enjoying himself again and recovered a love for the game that had, if not died, ebbed for a while. More importantly he feels, after a period of introspection, that he is ready to re-enter the fray.Quite where that may be remains unclear. Had Hugh Morris stepped down from his position as managing director of England cricket 18 months ago, Adams may have been among the favourites to replace him. He might still be.But the intervening months did not go as planned. Tom Maynard’s death in June 2012 changed everything at The Oval and the attempt to add maturity to a grieving dressing room blocked opportunities for younger players. With the club management sensing a lack of progress and feeling a change was required – as much for Adams’s own good as anything – he was relieved of his position.History’s recall tends to be black and white. So, for many, memories of Adams’s time at Surrey will consist only of a side full of grieving or ageing players, struggling to win games. It’s a grossly unfair portrayal – Surrey won the Clydesdale Bank 40 and promotion in 2011 – and, after inheriting a sleeping giant at the start of 2009, he at least put them on the road to recovery. Right up until the accident, Surrey were playing – whether they won or lost – joyful cricket and appeared to have the players to benefit club and country for a generation.Now Adams admits he is “a man at a crossroads”. Each September tends to bring new opportunities in the world of county cricket and there are suggestions of changes or additions at three or four counties and Adams is likely to be considered for most of them. Whether the way things ended at Surrey counts against him remains to be seen, but it worth remembering that coaches as proficient as Duncan Fletcher, with England, and Bob Woolmer, with Warwickshire, also endured unhappy endings to coaching assignments. The man who played such a huge role in Sussex’s golden age and reviving Surrey, still has a great deal to offer English cricket.But before looking to the future, how does he reflect on the past. Does he feel the decision to sack him was a mistake?”Well, in the four years I was with Surrey, I’d overseen a complete restructure of the coaching and playing staff,” Adams told ESPNcricinfo. “We had won promotion and a Lord’s final. In the previous 24 months, Surrey had had more representatives in various England squads than at any time. All the key performance indicators were good.”Surrey were sixth in the Championship when Adams was sacked “We had lost two games. And the T20 hadn’t even started. I guess, in the end, players win games and coaches lose them. When we signed the big names – the likes of Graeme Smith – the expectations went up. Then he went home and the goal posts moved.

“I have had offers from outside the game and it may be that I look towards a spectrum of interests that include a bit of several different things but I still feel I have a huge amount to offer in cricket”

“It hurt to lose the Surrey job. Of course it did. But that’s in the past. I actually felt sorry for Richard Gould, the Surrey chief executive, when he told me the news. Because of the nature of the club, with people living all over the place, he had to contact me on the phone. There’s no ill-feeling. In fact, I look back at the four-and-a-half years there as a privilege.”He is, he says, “open minded” about the future. He had enjoyed a foray into commentary, where his candour has made a welcome change to the facile timidity of some, and is keen, in his words, to “retain his status within the game”.”I have had offers from outside the game,” he says, “and it may be that I look towards a spectrum of interests that include a bit of several different things. But I still feel I have a huge amount to offer in cricket. Whether it’s in a planning role as a director of cricket, or in a coaching role, maybe as a batting coach, I don’t mind. It’s been my life for 27 years and I consider myself incredibly fortunate.”But he does intend to learn from the last few years. The weeks following his sacking, he realised how completely he had allowed the Surrey job to take over his life and how he had neglected other areas.”I was completely immersed in the Surrey job,” he says. “That’s fine, up to a point. That’s why people employ me, because they know that I’ll throw myself into the job with everything I have. I still feel some affinity with the squad. I signed most of them. But I have a family, too. And maybe I had moved away from that side of my life a bit through working too hard. I need to get the work-life balance better in the future.”A couple of months ago I was running low on gas; much lower than I realised at the time. But I have my energy back now. I’m ready to return. I’m just looking for an opportunity to get stuck back in.”

Essex’s funny season produced one final baffling episode as they meekly surrendered their chance of promotion at the Ageas Bowl

Alex Winter at the Ageas Bowl25-Sep-2013
ScorecardMatt Coles was the beneficiary of some injudicious strokeplay from Essex’s batsmen•PA PhotosEssex’s funny season produced one final baffling episode as they meekly surrendered their chance of promotion at the Ageas Bowl. Their prospects of overhauling Northamptonshire were slim but their effort betrayed the opportunity.Far from mounting a convincing case for promotion, Essex were made to follow-on and it was evident that Hampshire were the more motivated of the two teams. Bowled out with only one batting bonus point, Essex failed to apply any pressure on Northamptonshire, easing the burden of their tricky task at New Road.Did Essex genuinely believe they could win promotion this week? In announcing a weakened XI for this match, the club website – a medium where the view of Dr Pangloss is always aired – stated: “Although promotion is still a mathematical possibility, the likelihood is that Northamptonshire will retain their current second position.” Far from eternal optimism.Owais Shah – who has announced his retirement from first-class cricket – and Ravi Bopara – whose contract expires at the end of the season – would surely have given Essex a better chance to obtain maximum batting points, which became a requirement after Northamptonshire claimed a batting point of their own against Worcestershire.David Masters and Reece Topley, with 99 wickets between them in the Championship this season, would also have been invaluable – particularly when James Foster chose to bowl first, hoping to extract the best out of a wicket with some grass left on it. Bowling first also denied Monty Panesar – and indeed Greg Smith who took 5 for 58 in Hampshire’s innings – the chance to bowl in the last innings, although they will now do so if Essex can erase the first-innings deficit of 249. They made a solid start following-on but should have lost Gautam Gambhir, badly dropped at second slip shortly before rain arrived to curtail the day.Essex’s head coach, Paul Grayson, insisted he had a side capable of winning the game, which was true, particularly given Hampshire’s poor record in the Championship this season. But a batting performance that lacked application did his comments no favours. They were bustled out by Matt Coles, whose 6 for 71 was the second five-wicket haul of his brief Hampshire loan spell.The extra bounce he generated proved a fierce weapon; Ben Foakes gloved a lifter to first slip, Foster couldn’t control a hook and was caught a deep square leg and debutant Kishen Velani failed to deal with a short ball and popped up a catch to cover on the stroke of tea.It was the performance of a man playing for a contract and rebuilding his reputation. He was quick and at times hostile. He hit the gloves of Michael Bates hard – Bates enjoying a rare Championship match having stepped aside for Adam Wheater when he joined from Essex at the start of the season.But further up the order, Essex were guilty of some loose strokes that were particularly irresponsible given their weakened line up. Jaik Mickleburgh played an overconfident straight drive and lost his middle stump; Gambhir flashed at a wide one to be caught behind and Smith totally lost patience with a probing James Tomlinson after lunch and pulled off the splice of the bat to mid-on.With those three dismissals – for a combined 45 runs – Essex’s chance of promotion disappeared and consigned them to a fourth consecutive year in Division Two. Is it the expected return from a season where they were bowled out for 20 in the Championship and booed off in a Twenty20 by their own fans? Or is it a disappointment from a campaign that included a trip to Friends Life t20 Finals Day and a strong run in the Yorkshire Bank 40? No county does chalk and cheese like Essex.No county also sees so many players leave the club and progress. They can be forgiven for losing Adam Wheater – Foster and Ben Foakes are two fine wicketkeepers – but his run-a-ball 122 would surely have brought pangs of disappointment that they could not have persuaded Wheater to remain at Chelmsford as a batsman.Indeed, Wheater’s future at Hampshire could be purely as a batsman. Although Wheater makes few mistakes behind the stumps, to not utilise Bates is a badly wasted resource. It may even free Wheater up. He has failed to turn a good season into a great one, disappointing in favourable conditions. But the potential for him to develop into a top-order batsman is there, such is his range of strokes and timing shown here in zipping from his overnight 82 in the first hour of play.

Queensland shot up to the top of the Ryobi Cup table after their bowlers handed a heavy 90-run defeat to South Australia, their fourth in five matches, in Sydney

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Ben Cutting had a good all-round outing in Sydney•Getty ImagesQueensland shot up to the top of the Ryobi Cup table after their bowlers handed a heavy 90-run defeat to South Australia, their fourth in five matches, in Sydney. The margin of the win could have been much bigger but for a late cameo by No 10 Adam Zampa, who scored a half-century and stretched the last-wicket stand for 6.1 overs in which 59 runs came. Zampa was finally dismissed for 66 that included four sixes in the 35th over.The damage had been done earlier though. Chasing 274, South Australia made a quick start to their innings, with Michael Klinger and Matt Weaver putting up 34 in first four overs; the two batsmen scored 16 off Ryan Harris’ second over. But it was Harris who made the first breakthrough when dismissed Klinger off the first ball of his third over. The chase went pear-shaped from that point.Eight wickets went down in the next 18 overs for the addition of 68 runs only. None of the batsmen were able to stick together for too long, with the 22-run stand for the fifth wicket between Alex Ross and Johan Botha being the highest. But once, Ross and Tim Ludeman were sent back off consecutive deliveries from Ben Cutting, the challenge was almost over although the tail delayed the inevitable for some time. Nathan Hauritz was the most successful bowler with three wickets from his 5.4 overs.Queensland had been put to bat and they had a strong start, with Usman Khawaja and Jimmy Peirson adding 71 for the first wicket. Although, they were slowed down in the middle after Botha’s triple strikes, they recovered well towards the end. James Hopes remained unbeaten on 49, but it was Cutting who led the final charge, scoring a quick 39 off 30 balls that included four sixes.

South Africa’s unbeaten run in Test series on the road will extend further after their victory in Dubai, which allowed them to share the spoils of this two-match rubber with Pakistan

The Report by Firdose Moonda in Dubai26-Oct-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMisbah threw his wicket away and fell 12 runs short of a century•Associated PressSouth Africa’s unbeaten run in Test series on the road will extend even further after their victory in Dubai, which allowed them to share the spoils of this two-match rubber with Pakistan. The last time South Africa lost a Test series abroad was in Sri Lanka in 2006. Since then, they have become the No. 1 ranked Test team and they will stay there, but their lead will be cut by four points by virtue of the drawn series.Pakistan have risen to No. 4, thanks to their victory in Abu Dhabi, but were unable to protect fortress UAE, losing in their adopted home for the first time since moving here in 2010. They went down fighting though, with Asad Shafiq notching up his highest score in Test cricket and sharing in a 197-run fifth wicket stand with Misbah-ul-Haq, which kept South Africa in the field for much longer than they would have anticipated.On the fourth evening, AB de Villiers said the team felt they were one wicket away from running through Pakistan. That dismissal came 20 minutes before tea as Misbah, who had treated South Africa’s attack with the caution of someone handling a shipment of crystal glasses, gifted Dean Elgar, the part-time spinner, his first Test wicket. In Elgar’s second over, Misbah attempted to slog him out of the park, but got a thick outside edge which Jacques Kallis collected at first slip.Smart stats

South Africa are now unbeaten over the last 12 Test series played away from home, with their last loss coming against Sri Lanka in 2006, by a margin of 2-0. Including this series, South Africa are undefeated in 13 consecutive Test series, which is the longest sequence for them. Click here for a list of the longest undefeated sequence by teams in Tests

Graeme Smith won the 11th Man-of-the-Match award of his career in this Test beating Imran Khan to claim the most awards as captain in Tests.

The fifth-wicket partnerships in this match added 535 runs – the second-highest ever in a Test. This is only the third time ever that 500 runs or more were added for the fifth wicket. The 563 runs added by West Indies and England for the fifth wicket in Port-of-Spain in 2009 is the highest.

This is only the second instance since South Africa’s return to international cricket that their spinners have taken ten or more wickets in a Test. The last such instance was against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2003.

Imran Tahir’s 8 for 130 in this Test is his career-best match-haul, just as his 5 for 32 in the first innings is his best return for an innings.

This was AB de Villiers’ second Man-of-the-Series award as a wicketkeeper equalling Andy Flower. Only Adam Gilchrist (3 awards) has won more

The 197-run partnership between Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq equalled Pakistan’s record for the fifth wicket in the second innings set by Javed Burki and Nasim-ul-Ghani against England at Lord’s, in 1962. The Misbah-Shafiq partnership was the seventh-highest for Pakistan in the second innings of a Test.

This was Asad Shafiq’s highest score in Tests beating the 111 he hit against South Africa at Cape Town earlier this year. Asad Shafiq has now hit four hundreds for Pakistan batting at No. 6, equalling Saleem Malik. Only Asif Iqbal has more centuries – six – for Pakistan in Tests at that position. Garry Sobers holds the overall record with eight centuries at No. 6.

Jacques Kallis had a poor all-round performance this tour, a very rare occurrence for him. Not since his debut against England in 1995, has he gone an entire series without managing a score in double digits or without taking a wicket.

Including the two Kallis took in this match, he has taken 198 catches in Tests, the second-highest by any fielder. He went ahead of Ricky Ponting who has 196. Rahul Dravid is on top of the list with 210 catches.

JP Duminy’s bowling figures of 3 for 67 in the second innings are his best in an innings in Tests and are also his best in a Test.

That ended a vigil in which Misbah had ushered Shafiq to his second century against this opposition, and the fourth of his career, and seen off the second new ball to put Pakistan in a position to frustrate South Africa even further. They had only one wicket-taking opportunity before Misbah’s lapse in concentration, when Shafiq was given out lbw in the fifth over to a Vernon Philander delivery that pitched on leg-stump and hit him on the front pad. He was on 36 at the time and reviewed with replays showing the ball would have missed leg stump.Shafiq survived and went on to play a balanced innings combining defence with attack, particularly against the spinners. His footwork against Imran Tahir and JP Duminy was excellent, typified by the shot of the day – a spank over midwicket off Tahir.Misbah was more stoic, nudging the ball into spaces and encouraging Shafiq to keep the scoreboard moving, but not too quickly. They both brought up half-centuries off 121 balls before slowing down as the second new ball came. Once comfortable against it, Shafiq pushed past his captain after lunch. He danced into the nineties with a boundary off Duminy and brought up his century with a square drive off a full and wide ball from the same bowler. Encouragingly for Pakistan, once the milestone had been reached, Shafiq kept going.Misbah will be furious that he did not do the same. Although South Africa’s attack did not lapse into the lazy short-ball showing they put on in Abu Dhabi, they seemed to be running out of ideas. After trying everything from having two short midwickets in against the spinners – between whom Shafiq threaded the ball through – to having two short covers in for the quicks, Smith turned to Elgar to buy time.Smith would probably not have imagined getting a wicket off the tactic, Elgar’s delivery was innocuous as well, but once Misbah ran out of patience, the result was a foregone conclusion. Pakistan’s tail proved pesky to remove even though they were without Zulfiqar Babar, who did not bat because of the torn webbing on his right hand.With a ball short of 10 overs remaining in the day, Shafiq, after resisting for seven hours, was stumped off JP Duminy, to give him the same number of wickets as Tahir in the innings – three.On this day in 1952 Pakistan won their first Test, beating India in Lucknow. They did not have reason to celebrate on their anniversary but they did enjoy some positive signs as they dragged the Test late into the fourth afternoon and pushed South Africa as much as they could given their first innings failing.

Regardless of how or why this series came to be, two teams are going to play cricket now, during retirement

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit05-Nov-2013Match factsWednesday-Sunday, November 6-10, 2013
Start time 0900 local (0330GMT)Sachin Tendulkar is retiring, but there is cricket to be played too•Associated PressBig Picture Darren Sammy and his men will take a look at the farewell euphoria in Kolkata and wonder if there’s some karmic connection between West Indies and Sachin Tendulkar. ‘When will he get his 100th international hundred?’ was the refrain the last time West Indies toured India in late 2011. Tendulkar came close twice in that three-Test series, making 76 in a successful chase in Delhi and falling six runs short of the mark to the disappointment of hometown Mumbai.That Wankhede match was only the second time a Test had been drawn with the scores level, India managing a single off the last ball of the game when two were needed. West Indies may have lost that 2011 series 0-2, but they had a 100-plus first-innings lead in Delhi which they blew, and were a wicket away from a win at the end in Mumbai.It is important to revisit all this to remind ourselves that two teams played cricket – exciting cricket – then, during that long clamour for landmark. And, regardless of how or why this series came to be, two teams are going to play cricket now, during retirement.West Indies may have one of the worst overseas records over the past decade or so, but they have batsmen such as Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo who have thrived in Indian conditions in the past. They have bowlers of extreme pace in Kemar Roach and Tino Best. They have capable spinners in Shane Shillingford and Veerasammy Permaul. And they have a captain who is as unassuming as some of the young Indian stars aren’t.MS Dhoni and his men haven’t played any Tests since sweeping Australia 4-0 at home in March. They are about to embark on a succession of overseas tours starting with South Africa next month. They have an opener who, for all his world-conquering limited-overs form, is only one Test innings old. The other one hasn’t been among the runs recently. Their No. 5 could likely become No. 4 after this series; they have been trying to find No. 6 since the end of 2008. Their fast-bowling unit is so unpredictable they are considering a debutant when they have someone who has played as many as 51 Tests. There is a lot to think about for Dhoni, even against West Indies and even as the goodbye carnival carries on.Form guideIndia WWWWD (last five games, most recent first)
West Indies WWWWWIn the spotlight If it hasn’t already been, 2013 may yet be declared the year of Shikhar Dhawan, for appearing out of the blue and producing one eye-catching performance after another. Four ODI hundreds to go with that pulverising 187 on Test debut against Australia in Mohali. Nearly eight months have passed since that innings, and Dhawan’s form has kept pace in limited-overs formats. What will he have for us in his second Test?In 2011, Darren Bravo made two big hundreds in Kolkata and Mumbai to tally over 400 runs for the series, by far the best West Indies batsman on that trip. He likes batting on the subcontinent; his other two Test hundreds have been scored in Bangladesh. He can be as soft with his hands in dealing with spin as he can be hard on fast bowlers.Team news The absence of Ravindra Jadeja, who has played all of five Tests, in a home series has disturbed the team combination so much that Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra are competing for one spot. If Dhoni goes for a fifth bowler, Mishra will play his first Test since August 2011. If Dhoni goes for the sixth batsman, Rohit may edge out Ajinkya Rahane with his part-time offspin. If that happens, he would have played 108 ODIs before finally making his Test debut, easily the record.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Rohit Sharma/Ajinkya Rahane/Amit Mishra, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav/Ishant Sharma/Mohammed ShamiEven without missing Jadeja, West Indies are facing a similar predicament. In 2011, they played three specialist bowlers – two quicks and one spinner. This time, Sammy says one needs two spinners in India, which could mean a toss-up between Narsingh Deonarine and Veerasammy Permaul.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine/Veerasammy Permaul, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Shane Shillingford, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Tino BestPitch and conditions Eden Gardens’ chief groundsman, Prabir Mukherjee, has promised “a good, firm, even-bouncing wicket” but a day before the game, Sammy said it already “looks like a fourth-day pitch”. While Mukherjee and Dhoni aren’t exactly friends, it is Sammy’s verdict that may excite the India captain, who has said in the past he wants Indian Test pitches to turn from day one. Peak temperature is expected to hover around 30 C. No rain is expected during the match, but the moisture previous downpours have left behind in the soil may slow down the pitch.Stats and trivia West Indies have won their last six Tests, two each against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and New Zealand West Indies last won an away Test against an opposition other than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe in 2007. Before that, in 2000 Sachin Tendulkar is 163 short of 16000 Test runs and five short of 50 Test wicketsQuotes”Last time we were bowling against Sehwag, Gambhir, Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Dhoni. And we bowled them out three [two] times with four bowlers. We are going to come confident and look to get 20 important wickets.”
“First and foremost, we need to focus on cricket and look to win the series. Once we’ve won the series, we can decide on who to dedicate it to.”

A power-packed double-act from New Zealand’s experienced duo of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor tormented West Indies’ bowlers in Dunedin after Darren Sammy, without hesitation, had chosen to field on a grassy pitch

The Report by Devashish Fuloria02-Dec-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

McGlashan: Perfect first day for New Zealand

Fast hands: Brendon McCullum took full toll off an ineffective bowling attack•AFPSmart stats

This was Brendon Mccullum’s first hundred in 26 Tests and 47 innings, and his seventh Test ton. The last time he hit a century in Tests was against India, in Hyderabad in November 2010, when he scored a double-hundred in the second innings.

This is only the sixth time four of the top-five New Zealand batsmen have made fifty-plus scores in an innings, and the first since 2001, against Pakistan in Hamilton.

New Zealand have scored 350 or more before the fall of their fourth wicket, for first time since the Chittagong Test against Bangladesh in 2004.

This was the fourth time New Zealand’s No. 4 and No. 5 both hit centuries in an innings. The last time it happened was against India in Napier in 2009, when Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder made three-figures.

Taylor’s hundred was his ninth in Tests, and his first against West Indies from five Tests.

A power-packed double-act from New Zealand’s experienced duo of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor tormented West Indies’ bowlers in Dunedin after Darren Sammy, without hesitation, had chosen to field on a grassy pitch. The two batsmen brought up their long-awaited centuries and added 182 runs at frenetic pace to start New Zealand’s summer in the best possible manner.The last time Taylor scored a century – in November 2012 – he was still the captain of New Zealand, but the search for a triple-digit score in McCullum’s Test stats takes one back by three years when he hit a double-century in India. That was 47 innings ago. In those three years, McCullum continued to feature in the New Zealand Test team, saw the captaincy move from Daniel Vettori to Taylor, then to himself, but despite the added responsibility, his batting form didn’t show any signs of revival. Until today.McCullum joined Taylor just before tea having seen three of New Zealand’s top-order batsmen waste good starts by throwing their wickets away. He brought the customary approach in the third session, attacking anything marginally full or short or, in some cases, perfectly good balls with utter disdain to help New Zealand ransack 173 runs in the 35-over long last session. At least a boundary was hit in 18 of those overs.Shane Shillingford, who underwent testing on his bowling action in Perth recently, was included in the XI by West Indies and he bore the brunt of McCullum’s assault, giving away 39 runs off 38 balls including two sixes and four fours. With no bowler being able to exert any pressure, McCullum raced away to his seventh century in 101 balls, his brutal pull over midwicket and a back foot punch over extra cover, both off Shanon Gabriel, being the two standout shots in his innings.Taylor maintained a good pace as well, reaching his ninth century in 150 balls, but it appeared as if he was just holding an end. His innings was laced with 13 fours, dominated by crisp drives and square cuts.Sammy had gleefully said it was the greenest pitch he had ever seen but his bowlers were not able to extract any help from it. As the day wore on, it became a true batting surface and both batsmen took full toll. It was only the third time in 51 Tests the two added more than 100 together, the current partnership by far their best. The stand ensured New Zealand took the driving position in the Test after they were 194 for 3 at tea.The top three batsmen also had starts, but they failed to cash in on the insipid bowling. The local boy, Rutherford, who hit 171 on debut here, had scored 62, but he fell to a brilliant one-handed catch by Narsingh Deonarine towards the boundary. Fulton had been patient during his stay 228-minute stay, bringing up his sixth fifty-plus score this year, but he was caught at slip while trying to push at a delivery away from his body. Aaron Redmond, the No.3 filling in for the injured Kane Williamson, was also caught off a leading edge early in the second session while trying to clip a short of length delivery. The bowlers did little of credit in the three dismissals.Not much went as per the script for West Indies. The opening bowlers – Tino Best and Gabriel – struggled to find the right length. Best worked up some pace but with a shorter length, the batsmen found it easy to either play it comfortably off the back foot or sway away from the line.Best dabbled with a fuller length briefly in his first spell, but Rutherford used those deliveries as a springboard to his innings. Best’s spell in the second session was a big improvement as he hurried the batsmen. He managed to get Redmond’s wicket and could have had Taylor early too as the batsman fended at a short delivery. The ball ballooned over the slip cordon and, to the bowler’s chagrin, rolled over to the boundary. He bowled tirelessly, but with shorter length and no movement, he was not going to trouble the batsmen.Gabriel, who was preferred over left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell, remained ineffective across sessions, bowling benign spells and giving away 98 runs in his 17 overs.Sammy, playing as the third seamer, found the movement that others didn’t. He stuck to one length, getting the ball to swing away slightly and managed to find the outside edge of Fulton’s bat, only to see it fly past third slip. It was Sammy who finally ended Fulton’s innings just after the batsman was switching to a higher gear.However, he too proved ineffective once Taylor and McCullum got going. The onslaught meant there was no respite in the southern hemisphere for West Indies after a month of battering in the subcontinent.

Craig McDermott expect Ryan Harris to be fit for the final Ashes Test and is equally adamant a rich next generation of pace bowlers must be raised with the expectation to play long Test series

Daniel Brettig30-Dec-2013Not only does Australia’s bowling coach Craig McDermott expect Ryan Harris to be fit for the final Ashes Test as part of an attack unchanged all series, he is equally adamant a rich next generation of pace bowlers must be raised with the expectation to do the same.Despite valid concerns about Harris’s creaking joints, there is a strong sense of pride among Australia’s Ashes winning team about going through the five Tests without requiring extra assistance.To lose one or two players from the final hurdle to a 5-0 sweep of England is not a possibility anyone wishes to countenance, even as a nod to the demanding South Africa tour that follows in February.Looking further into the future, McDermott wants the likes of James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to be schooled in the art of playing through pain. As Brett Lee once pointed out, bowling is seldom painless, and it takes some years of experience to differentiate between “good” pain and “bad”.Though he developed a somewhat unkind reputation for missing matches due to outlandish injuries in his own career, McDermott still pushed through no fewer than five series of five Tests or more over the course of 71 matches, also playing every Test of the Australian summer on six occasions. His view of preventative resting is dim.”It has been around a long time where players can actually play five Test matches in a row. That’s not a new thing,” McDermott said. “We have to work hard with our younger bowlers to make sure they can play full series as well when they get the chance. That’s something we need to be mindful of with our younger bowlers. I’m looking forward to the same three guys playing all three Tests in South Africa once this one’s done.”Sidds has done it before so it hasn’t been a problem for him through New Zealand and India series. Mitchell is as strong as an ox. Ryano was probably the only person who we had to try to manage. The medical staff have done a great job with managing Ryano, and Lyano is going to get through isn’t he?”It has been great to have all four bowlers involved and bowling in great partnerships, just like our batters. Sometimes Mitchell has got a lot of wickets but the other guys have created the pressure at the other end and picked up vital wickets.”The Australian selectors are open to the possibility of making up to three changes to the Melbourne team, with Alex Doolan, James Faulkner and Nathan Coulter-Nile all waiting in the wings. But McDermott was unperturbed by Harris’s chronic knee trouble nor Shane Watson’s groin strain, feeling both had pulled up well enough from the MCG match to carry on.”There’s a number of scenarios we can talk about,” McDermott said. “My first and foremost scenario is to have those three guys ready to go. I think Watto will be fine because his running between the wickets yesterday suggests so, he bowled in our second innings and although he wasn’t super quick, nor was Tim Bresnan.”I’m more concerned about our guys obviously, but I don’t think there’s going to be any dramas with Watto coming up whatsoever. Ryano’s a bit sore I suppose. But I don’t think anybody’s played too many Test matches as a fast bowler without pulling up sore at some stage. I’m confident they’ll all be involved in the next Test match.”

Here’s what the franchises did on the first day of the 2014 IPL auction in Bangalore, what their teams look like, and what they need on the second day

George Binoy12-Feb-2014.Mitchell Johnson was bought by Kings XI Punjab•Getty ImagesChennai Super KingsPlayers bought: Faf du Plessis (right to match card), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Mohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ben Hilfenhaus, Samuel Badree, Matt Henry, R Ashwin (retained), Suresh Raina (retained), Dwayne Bravo (retained), Ravindra Jadeja (retained), MS Dhoni (retained).Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 18.1 crore ($2.9m)/oneMinimum number of players still needed: Three.Purse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 2.9 crore ($0.46m)/zeroMost expensive buy: Faf du Plessis (INR 4.75 crore/ $0.76m)Bargain buy: West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree for INR 30 lakh ($48,318). He has a Twenty20 economy rate of 5.10.Players that got away: M Vijay, Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, Mitchell Johnson, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Jimmy Neesham, Jason Holder, Tim SoutheeWhat they need on day two: Indian batsmen, including someone who can open.Kings XI PunjabPlayers bought: Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Virender Sehwag, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha, Cheteshwar Pujara, L Balaji, Thisara Perera, Parvinder Awana (right to match card), David Miller (retained), Manan Vohra (retained)Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 29.3 crore ($4.7m)/oneMinimum number of players still needed: FourPurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 14.2 crore ($2.2m)/OneMost expensive buy: Mitchell Johnson (INR 6.5 crore/ $1.04m)Bargain buy: Virender Sehwag (INR 3.2 crore/ $0.5m)Players that got away: Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Amit Mishra, Dwayne Smith, Quinton de Kock, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammed Shami.What they need on day two: Spinners – Indian or foreign – another wicketkeeper and an allrounder.Kolkata Knight RidersPlayers bought: Jacques Kallis (right to match card), Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan (right to match card), Vinay Kumar, Morne Morkel, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine (retained), Gautam Gambhir (retained).Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 29 crore ($4.6m)/twoMinimum number of players still needed: SixPurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 14.2 crore ($2.2m)/zeroMost expensive buy: Jacques Kallis (INR 5.5 crore/ $0.8m)Bargain buy: Morne Morkel (INR 2.8 crore/ $0.4m)Players that got away: Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Rampaul, Saurabh Tiwary, Laxmi Ratan Shukla.What they need on day two: A wicketkeeper, more batsmen – Indian and foreign.Royal Challengers BangalorePlayers bought: Yuvraj Singh, Mitchell Starc, Albie Morkel, Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, Parthiv Patel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravi Rampaul, Nic Maddinson, AB de Villiers (retained), Virat Kohli (retained), Chris Gayle (retained).Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 28.7 crore ($4.6m)/zeroMinimum number of players still needed: FourPurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 1.8 crore ($0.2m)/oneMost expensive buy: Yuvraj Singh (INR 14 crore/ $2.2m)Bargain buy: Muttiah Muralitharan (INR 1 crore/ $0.1m)Players that got away: Darren Sammy, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, JP Duminy, Brad Hodge, Dwayne Smith, Thisara Perera, Ishant Sharma, Rahul Sharma, L Balaji, Venugopal Rao,What they need on day two: The Yuvraj buy destroyed RCB’s purse. They now need to find at least four players within a budget of INR 1.8 crore ($0.2m), which means an average price of INR 45 lakh ($72,477) per player. They need at least two more Indians to make up the seven needed for a XI. An Indian spinner and an Indian batsman would be ideal. They have a right to match card but cannot use it for players whose bids break their budget. Their batting line-up, though, is dripping with match-winning players.Corey Anderson will play for Mumbai Indians•Getty ImagesDelhi DaredevilsPlayers bought: Dinesh Karthik, Kevin Pietersen (right to match card), M Vijay, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mohammed Shami, Quinton de Kock, Manoj Tiwary, Jaydev Unadkat, JP Duminy, Rahul Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Jimmy Neesham, Saurabh Tiwary.Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 51.4 crores ($8.2m)/oneMinimum number of players still needed: ThreePurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 8.6 crores ($1.3m)/twoMost expensive buy: Dinesh Karthik (INR 12.5 crore/ $2m)Bargain buy: New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham (INR 1 crore/ $0.1m)Players that got away: Jacques Kallis, Mitchell Johnson, George Bailey, Darren Sammy, Faf du Plessis, Michael Hussey, Amit Mishra, Aaron Finch, Cheteshwar Pujara, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Smith, Albie Morkel, Shakib Al Hasan, Mitchell Starc, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, Glenn Maxwell, Corey Anderson, Mohit Sharma.What they need on day two: Another solid overseas player in addition to Pietersen, the other four in their present squad don’t have a similar aura. They are also missing a compelling allrounder and a second spinner. Not having retained players, Delhi began the auction with the full purse of INR 60 crore and went all out for three marquee players – Vijay, Pietersen and Karthik. However, they were conservative after that, bidding and losing on numerous players despite having the budget to push harder. Their squad at present is full of handy players, but only a few headliners.Rajasthan RoyalsPlayers bought: Steven Smith, Brad Hodge, Tim Southee, Abhishek Nayar, Kane Richardson, Ben Cutting, Shane Watson (retained), Stuart Binny (retained), Ajinkya Rahane (retained), James Faulkner (retained), Sanju Samson (retained).Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 10.4 crore ($1.6m)/zeroMinimum number of players still needed: FivePurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 12.1 crore ($1.9m)/oneMost expensive buy: Steven Smith (INR 4 crore/ $0.6m)Bargain buy: Brad Hodge (INR 2.4 crore/ $0.3m)Players that got away: Yuvraj Singh, Darren Sammy, Amit Mishra, Aaron Finch, Robin Uthappa, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha, Irfan Pathan, Morne Morkel, Glenn Maxwell, Corey Anderson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jaydev UnadkatWhat they need on day two: On the first day, Rajasthan Royals made a lot of initial bids for big-name players and then dropped out of the race. They were the smallest spenders, and among the six players they bought, Abhishek Nayar was the only Indian. They need at least three more to make up the minimum of seven Indians needed to form an XI. They do not have spinners and Indian fast bowlers.Mumbai IndiansPlayers bought: Michael Hussey, Corey Anderson, Pragyan Ojha (right to match card), Zaheer Khan, Josh Hazlewood, Lasith Malinga (retained), Rohit Sharma (retained), Kieron Pollard (retained), Harbhajan Singh (retained), Ambati Rayudu (retained).Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 15.85 crore ($2.5m)/oneMinimum number of players still needed: SixPurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 5.15 crore ($0.8m)/zeroMost expensive buy: Michael Hussey (INR 5 crore/ $0.8m)Bargain buy: Zaheer Khan (INR 2.6 crore/ $0.4m)Players that got away: M Vijay, Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Faf du Plessis, Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Morne Morkel, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Cutting.What they need on day two: Mumbai normally splash their cash and buy more than they need at IPL auctions but they bought only five players today, though they still picked up the flavour of the season in Corey Anderson. Mumbai need two more Indians to make up the minimum contingent of seven, and they need to be smart about spreading their budget for at least six players. They need a specialist wicketkeeper, and some Indian batsmen.Sunrisers HyderabadPlayers bought: David Warner, Amit Mishra (right to match card), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Aaron Finch, Darren Sammy (right to match card), Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Moises Henriques, Jason Holder, Venugopal Rao, Brendan Taylor, Shikhar Dhawan (retained), Dale Steyn (retained).Purse spent today/Right to Match cards used: INR 29.6 crore ($4.7m)/twoMinimum number of players still needed: ThreePurse remaining/Right to Match cards left: INR 8.4 crore ($1.3m)/zeroMost expensive buy: David Warner (INR 5.5 crore/ $0.8m)Bargain buy: Brendan Taylor (INR 30 lakh/ $48,318)Players that got away: M Vijay, Kevin Pietersen, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, JP Duminy, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Yusuf Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Corey Anderson, Abhishek Nayar, Varun Aaron, Parvinder Awana,What they need on day two: Sunrisers have bought some exceptional T20 players and have also managed their budget well. They need an Indian wicketkeeper to have the option of not playing Brendan Taylor, a second spinner and some more Indian batsmen.