Category Uncategorized

Craig Kieswetter continued his superb form with a hard-hitting 103 as Somerset moved off the bottom of Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B with an eight-wicket victory over Durham at Taunton

22-Jul-2012
ScorecardCraig Kieswetter made it two hundreds in two days•Getty Images

Craig Kieswetter continued his superb form with a hard-hitting 103 as Somerset moved off the bottom of Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B with an eight-wicket victory over Durham at Taunton.Fresh from his match-winning 152 in the LV= County Championship success over Warwickshire on Saturday, Kieswetter plundered nine fours and six sixes in his 61-ball innings as Somerset overcame Durham’s 147 with almost half their 40 overs to spare.Gareth Breese top-scored for Durham with 31 not out, while Peter Trego removed three of the top four to finish as Somerset’s most successful bowler with 3 for 26 in six overs.More good news for Somerset was the return to action of former England batsman Marcus Trescothick, three months after he ruptured ankle ligaments while fielding against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Trescothick made 15 from 17 deliveries before being bowled by Chris Rushworth and, having proved his fitness, now looks set to lead Somerset in Tuesday’s Friends Life t20 quarter-final against Essex at Taunton.Durham, with three wins from their previous six CB40 games, were always struggling once Trego had ripped through the top order. He had Phil Mustard caught behind off the last ball of the first over and Johann Myburgh taken at cover by Jos Buttler in his next.Then, after Craig Meschede had Paul Collingwood caught at cover by Max Waller, Trego struck again when he held a return catch to dismiss Mark Stoneman, which made it 34 for 4. A fifth-wicket partnership of 33 between Ben Stokes and Gordon Muchall transpired to be Durham’s best of the innings, but it came to an end when Stokes was caught on the mid-wicket boundary by James Hildreth off leg-spinner Waller.Waller claimed his second wicket, when Muchall chipped to Trescothick at short mid-wicket, and then provided the direct hit which ran out Dale Benkenstein to make it 96 for seven. Alfonso Thomas had Scott Borthwick lbw for a duck and the veteran seamer went on to finish with a very economical return of 1 for 12 in seven overs.Mitchell Claydon made an aggressive 18 before being caught behind down the leg-side off Lewis Gregory. Breese played well for his unbeaten 31, but Durham’s innings ended when Rushworth was bowled by Gregory and a total of 147 never looked likely to trouble Somerset’s formidable batting line-up.Trescothick hit a couple of boundaries – a late cut off Myburgh and a back-foot force off Rushworth – before he was bowled by a slower delivery from the latter. It turned into the Kieswetter show after that as the England one-day international wicketkeeper peppered the boundary boards.Kieswetter hit two sixes off Claydon in the seventh over, the first deposited over extra cover and the second over mid-wicket. He brought up his half-century from 38 balls and required only 20 more to register his hundred.His four remaining sixes were all struck down the ground. The first came off Borthwick’s leg-spin, the next off Collingwood and then the last two were taken from successive Claydon deliveries.Kieswetter’s remarkable innings ended in the 18th over when he holed out to Borthwick on the long-on boundary off Rushworth, which left Nick Compton and Hildreth to complete a comfortable victory.

Kochi’s IPL debut will be against a Bangalore outfit that is virtually unrecognisable from last year, barring Virat Kohli

The Preview by Nitin Sundar08-Apr-2011

Match facts

Barring Virat Kohli, the Bangalore side is unrecognisable from last year•AFP

Saturday, April 9
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Surprise, surprise! After being in the news for all the wrong reasons for the best part of a year, Kochi is finally going to play a game of cricket. It all started off with a seemingly harmless tweet from Lalit Modi. From there, the Kochi controversy morphed into an unstoppable avalanche that knocked Shashi Tharoor out of the Indian cabinet of ministers, and Modi off his pedestal as the IPL commissioner. If the franchise’s off-field giant-slaying abilities are anything to go by, their on-field opponents better watch out.The Kochi consortium might be tangled in an unintelligible ownership mess, much like a batsman who can’t read Muttiah Muralitharan’s doosra, but the team is filled with players known to take ownership of the sides they play for. Captain Mahela Jayawardene and Murali will still be smarting from Sri Lanka’s loss in the World Cup final. Brad Hodge will have a point to prove to the selectors of the Australian team. VVS Laxman will have a point to prove to himself, that he can flourish in Twenty20 with the finesse he brings to the purest form of the game. And then, there is Sreesanth who, when he sets his mind to it, can produce deliveries that force batsmen of Jacques Kallis’ calibre into performing back flips at the crease.Kochi’s IPL debut will be against a Bangalore outfit that is virtually unrecognisable from last year, barring Virat Kohli. Among the new names is Tillakaratne Dilshan, who gave Kohli the most vociferous of send-offs after dismissing him in the World Cup final. The team also brings Daniel Vettori and AB de Villiers together, just over a week after they confronted each other in a charged-up World Cup quarter-final. Dale Steyn has been lost in the auction, but Zaheer Khan and Dirk Nannes have come in. Bangalore have picked a strong bunch of foreign players, but seem a trifle short on quality local batsmen. After two very good seasons that ended in heartbreak, will Bangalore finally find a path to IPL glory?

Team talk

Barring fitness concerns, Bangalore’s overseas picks are automatic selections. Captain Vettori will surely play the in-form Dilshan and de Villiers, while Nannes should relish sharing the new ball with Zaheer. There is a question mark over who Dilshan’s opening partner will be, and the toss-up could be between Mayank Agarwal and Jonathan Vandiar, though the latter’s inclusion would mean having to leave one of the other foreign players on the bench. Abhimanyu Mithun and Mohammad Kaif are likely to get a game.Brendon McCullum and Jayawardene should form an interesting contrast at the top for Kochi. Murali, if fit, should walk into the XI, while Thisara Perera could get a game in the lower-middle order, giving the side a distinct Sri Lankan flavour. RP Singh and Ramesh Powar are expected to complete the bowling line-up.

In the spotlight

Saurabh Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara represent two sides of the same coin. Tiwary stands back in the crease and thumps the ball with fierce arms, looking for midwicket with the assiduity of a left-handed MS Dhoni. Pujara, on the other hand, invokes Rahul Dravid in his temperament and technique, keeping his drives down, and finishing with his leading elbow high and showing the full face of the bat. Both met with success in the previous IPL, for different teams, and earned call-ups to the senior team, in different formats. This year, they could form crucial additions to the middle order of the top-heavy Bangalore line-up.Ravindra Jadeja has it all to do, once again. He was branded a ‘superstar’ by Shane Warne at the end of IPL 2008, and went on to earn a permanent spot in the Indian one-day line-up. Things have fallen apart for him since, starting with being banned for the 2010 IPL season after trying to negotiate a contract by himself. He has fallen out of the radar of the India selectors now, and a solid performance here will go a long way in re-establishing his oft-questioned credentials as an allrounder.

Prime numbers

Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Atharva Ankolekar and Suryansh Shedge return for their last league game of the season

Vishal Dikshit28-Jan-2025India internationals Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer are going to miss the next round of the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai in the lead up to the England ODI series that follows early next month. While the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will feature in the next round starting January 30, the Mumbai trio had already played the previous round, which Kohli and Rahul didn’t, and Iyer played almost the entire domestic season, that included two white-ball tournaments too. The ODI series against England starts on February 6 in Nagpur, four days after the scheduled end of the last Ranji Trophy round.Rohit and Jaiswal – who also open together in Tests – opened for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) when they returned to domestic cricket for the previous round after the BCCI’s new guidelines mandated playing domestic cricket. The board’s directive had come after India’s consecutive series losses against New Zealand and Australia that cost the team a World Test Championship final berth, especially with India’s batting unit failing to put up substantial scores. Rohit, especially, has been among the poorest of the lot, scoring just 164 runs from his last 15 Test innings to average a dismal 10.93 this season. His fortunes didn’t change when he batted for Mumbai, scoring just 3 and 28 against J&K.Related

• Rahane lauds J&K seamers, admits he misread the conditions

• Accuracy in, pressure off: How J&K took down mighty Mumbai

• Virat Kohli to train with Delhi squad from Tuesday

Jaiswal too registered low scores of 4 and 26 although he had a much better Test season, scoring two half-centuries and a century in Australia after four fifties at home.Iyer, on the other hand, has been Mumbai’s top-scorer this Ranji season. He made two centuries to tally 480 runs from seven innings and average 68.57. He also struck two unbeaten centuries in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy recently. He also struck at 188.52 for his 345 runs in the victorious 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Mumbai will also be without allrounder Shivam Dube who joined the India T20I squad soon after Mumbai’s game against J&K ended.The squad for the final league game against Meghalaya sees the return of batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi and allrounders Atharva Ankolekar and Suryansh Shedge, who was the Player of the Match in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Mumbai are likely go to back to the young opening combination of Raghuvanshi and 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who has kicked off his maiden domestic season with a stellar record of four centuries and two half-centuries in 18 innings across first-class and List A formats so far.Mumbai are the defending champions and are in a tough spot to make the Ranji knockouts, placed third in the Group A table behind J&K and Baroda. Their last game against Meghalaya is a must win.

Mumbai squad

Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Amogh Bhatkal, Siddhesh Lad, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D’Souza, Royston Dias, Shreyas Gurav, Atharva Ankolekar

Australia raced to their third-highest total in ODIs, and defended it with ease

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2023Australia 392 for 8 (Labuschagne 124, Warner 106, Head 64, Inglis 50, Shamsi 4-61) beat South Africa 269 (Klaasen 49, Miller 49, Zampa 4-48) by 123 runs Australia scored their third highest total in ODIs, and second-highest against South Africa, and though their biggest – 434 – was successfully chased 16 years ago, there was no repeat as South Africa slipped to a fifth successive defeat. After being blanked in the T20I series, South Africa now face three consecutive must-win games if they are to win the series.David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne put on 151 for the second wicket and scored their 20th and second ODI centuries respectively; both were significant for different reasons. Warner equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI century record against South Africa – 5 – and went past Tendulkar to sit on top of the pile for most centuries as an opener across the three international formats: 46.Labuschagne’s only three-figure scores in the format have come against his former home country, South Africa. His first, in March 2020, came in Potchefstroom, the international ground closest to his hometown of Klerksdorp. Now, his second, has come in Bloemfontein, the second-closest ground, where he took a picture with Shaun Pollock as a four-year-old. Labuschagne’s runs have also given Australia’s selectors a headache they did not expect to have. They left him out of Australia’s World Cup squad but with the form he is in, may have to rethink their decision ahead of the September 28 deadline.South Africa have more serious concerns. Their first-choice seamers looked both hapless and careless and Anrich Nortje left the field with lower-back spasms after bowling only five overs, though he returned to bat. The spinners had a decent outing – Aiden Markram and Tabraiz Shamsi conceded less than seven an over between them while completing their respective quotas – but the batters were unable to keep pace with a demanding chase.Nathan Ellis was outstanding in maintaining his line on or just outside off stump and finished with 2 for 32 at an economy rate of exactly four an over, while Adam Zampa did the bulk of the damage, bagging 4 for 48. No South African scored a half-century but there were four scores in the 40s and no partnership was bigger than the opening stand of 81.David Warner scored a record 46th international hundred as an opener•AFP/Getty Images

Australia’s intent was obvious from the get-go. They took advantage of the width offered by Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada upfront and brought up 50 inside seven overs. Nortje threatened to pull things back with an opening over that cost three but then completely lost his lengths and conceded 36 runs off his next two overs. Australia racked up their third-highest powerplay in the format, of 102 without loss, with Travis Head the aggressor of the early exchanges. He brought up fifty off 26 balls when he sent Nortje over midwicket for his second six.Tabraiz Shamsi had Head caught by David Miller, running back from mid-on, and then removed Mitchell Marsh first ball on review. The Australian captain missed a reverse-sweep first ball and ball-tracking showed the ball crashing into middle stump.Warner reached 50 off 52 balls and then took only 33 more to get to hundred. It was his second-fastest century in the format and included all his usual back-foot power hits as well as a down-on-one-knee loft over long-on off a Phehlukwayo slower ball, and a massive launch over long-on when Jansen took pace off. The century came with a pull off a Shamsi long-hop and was followed by a signature leaping celebration.At the other end, Labuschagne had one nervy moment when he bottom-edged Andile Phehlukwayo, but de Kock, who was standing up to the stumps, could not hold on to a difficult chance. Labuschagne was severe against spin and showed off exquisite footwork. He took 66 runs off the 45 balls bowled he faced from Markram and Shamsi. He got to 50 off 54 balls and then, like Warner, accelerated. His next 50 runs took just 26 balls. Together, Warner and Labuschagne put on the second highest third-wicket partnership for South Africa against Australia, and it seemed that would not be separated.It took a delivery from Phehlukwayo – who has not played an ODI since October last year and was only drafted into the squads on the morning of the game – that stayed low to beat Warner’s pull and bowl him. Warner left the field with a smile and to a standing ovation.Adam Zampa’s dismissal of Temba Bavuma set South Africa back after a strong start•Gallo Images/Getty Images

With 17.2 overs still to be bowled, Josh Inglis, in his 5th ODI, had a licence to play freely and raced to a 36-ball fifty. He holed out off the very next ball, which allowed South Africa to mount a small fightback. Starting with the Inglis dismissal, they took five wickets in 27 balls, including Labuschagne’s, and gave away only 26 runs, which ensured that Australia were kept to under 400. Shamsi finished with the second four-fer of his ODI career.South Africa’s chase started brightly as Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma put on 81 in the first nine overs, but their time together was not without chances. De Kock was on 24 when a back-of-a-length Ellis delivery hit the stumps but the bail did not fall off, and had yet to add to his score when he miscued Sean Abbott into vacant space. His luck ran out when he drove Ellis down the pitch and the bowler pulled off a stunning reaction catch to dent South Africa in the last over of the powerplay.Bavuma showed good intent but when Zampa was brought on and runs dried up, tried to lap him, missed and was out lbw. In the next over, Aiden Markram hit Zampa down the ground to Abbott and three overs after that Rassie van der Dussen dragged Aaron Hardie onto his stumps. At 119 for 4 in the 18th over, South Africa had already lost too many wickets to mount a serious challenge.Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller looked threatening and shared 58 runs for the fifth wicket but when Klaasen went back to hit a Zampa legbreak and was bowled, the writing was on the wall. Miller was left to marshal what looked a longer-than-usual tail. He was beaten for pace by Ellis and hit on the pad and Australia reviewed successfully. South Africa lost 5 for 28 to crash to their second-biggest defeat to Australia.

Matt Renshaw earlier converted into a century while all the Australia A middle order chipped in

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2023Wes Agar and Spencer Johnson made early inroads for Australia A on the second day in Lincoln before the New Zealand A middle order fought back.The visitors had declared at tea on 370 for 6 which included a hundred from Matt Renshaw alongside half-centuries for Tim Ward and captain Nathan McSweeney.Related

• Spencer Johnson on Ashes radar after being named in Australia A squad

• Renshaw pushes Ashes claims by dominating opening day against New Zealand A

It did not take long for Agar, who played two ODIs in 2021, to strike with the new ball when he found the outside edge of both openers, Sean Solia and Henry Cooper, during his opening spell.Johnson, the left-arm quick who has had a rapid rise this season after breakout performances for Brisbane Heat and South Australia, was more wayward – he sent down a bouncer that went for five wides in his first over and twice left wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson unable to prevent four byes – but when he returned for a second spell he had Dean Foxcroft caught on the leg side.That left New Zealand A in trouble on 47 for 3, but captain Tom Bruce and Cole McConchie stitched together an unbroken stand of 62 until bad light brought an early close.Mitchell Swepson’s seven-over spell was his first bowl in first-class cricket since early December since when he played the BBL and was then an unused member of the Test squad in India.Australia A had resumed on 155 for 1 and Renshaw converted his 92 into a second consecutive hundred for the A side after the one he made against West Indies in Canberra, playing under the Prime Minister’s XI name.He eventually fell for 112, trapped lbw from round the wicket by Scott Kuggeleijn, and when Ward might have had visions of joining him with a hundred he lost his off stump shouldering arms to Solia.All of the middle order chipped in as Australia A scored at a decent rate during the afternoon – the 60-run stand between Peirson and Campbell Kellaway coming in under 12 overs.

The spin duo took seven wickets between them to dismiss West Indies for 176, and Rohit Sharma’s fifty helped ace the chase in 28 overs

Sidharth Monga06-Feb-20221:19

Chopra: Chahal cast a web around the West Indies batters

Led by the spinners’ seven wickets between them, India cruised to a six-wicket in the series opener that lasted just 71.5 overs on a pitch offering turn and variable pace. This was the first time since January 2019 that India’s spinners took more than five wickets in an ODI, but India will be equally impressed that their fast bowlers too created an impact to help restrict West Indies to 176.The returning Washington Sundar started the damage, Yuzvendra Chahal broke the back of the batting with four wickets, but either side were hostile spells from Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. The 46 dot balls that India bowled in the powerplay were the highest by them since the 2019 World Cup, thanks largely to Siraj’s opening spell of 5-2-13-1. Krishna took a wicket apiece in his later spells.Related

• Snub no deterrent for crafty Yuzvendra Chahal

• Jason Holder, the batter, sets the benchmark for West Indies

• Washington Sundar shows he can do more than dry up runs on India return

• Pollard wants WI to bat entire 50 overs during the India series

• Rohit on Kuldeep and Chahal: 'Want to get them back together'

India went into their 1000th ODI with a new-look attack. Take out the Sri Lanka tour with a second-string side, and this was the first time India went into an ODI with neither Bhuvneshwar Kumar nor Deepak Chahar in the XI since December 2020. Instead India picked bowlers who hit the deck hard, something England have done to create a point of difference in limited-overs cricket. Outside the spinners cashing on a helpful surface, Siraj and Krishna delivered just what India would have hoped.This wasn’t the only change in approach. Albeit chasing a small target, new captain Rohit Sharma scored 46 runs in the first 10 overs, the highest he has done in ODIs. One of India’s issues in ODIs of late has been that their top order is too conservative, which makes it imperative they bat a majority of the innings otherwise it leaves too much to do for the middle order. With a host of their opening batters missing, it was going to be interesting to see how Ishan Kishan goes in this small window, but it was Rohit who took the initiative early on, giving India such a head start that a hiccup in the middle wasn’t enough to bother them.The day began with Siraj bowling hard lengths at good pace. After a tight start, Shai Hope drove him for successive boundaries in the third over, the only times he had pitched up. The third ball was similar length but delivered with the wobble seam, nipping in upon pitching and taking the inside edge onto the stumps.After three overs of Krishna, Rohit went to Washington, who is quite used to bowling with the field up in T20 cricket. The first ball he bowled to Darren Bravo, the initial line suggested angle into the pads, Bravo accordingly closed the face for a single, but was beaten by turn so big that there was no lbw appeal as the ball would have missed the off stump.Once there was turn in the pitch, Washington’s accuracy was going to be difficult to negotiate for West Indies. Bravo faced the first 13 balls from him, somehow surviving, but the right-hand opener, Brandon King, fell to the first he faced. Closing the face early, he got a leading edge to short midwicket. In the same over, Bravo fell lbw to one that didn’t turn, often the delivery that does the damage on turning pitches.India didn’t turn greedy. They never bowled the spinners in tandem. After Washington’s spell of 6-1-21-2, Chahal came on with even more devastating results. The first ball Nicholas Pooran faced from Chahal he looked to sweep, the ball fell short of his reach and he was trapped in front. Chahal then teased Pollard with a loopy slow delivery first up, drawing a big drive and going through the gate with the wrong’un. He got the inside edge from Holder on the hat-trick ball, but it fell short of short leg.Soon, Chahal bowled the perfect legbreak to take a scratch off the defensive bat of Shamarh Brooks. At the other end, Krishna kept the pressure on with the variable bounce he drew from the middle of the pitch. In the 23rd over, one short ball stayed low to nearly trap Akeal Hosein lbw, but the next one stood up with tennis-ball bounce, taking the edge through to Rishabh Pant.Jason Holder and Fabian Allen, though, rescued the innings somewhat with a 78-run partnership, but Washington came back to draw a return catch from Allen in the 38th over. A final bit of satisfaction for India would be that Krishna came back to take Holder out with that hard length he has been kept in the side to bowl.West Indies didn’t have much to work with, but it was also clear they didn’t bowl with the discipline of Siraj and Krishna. Roach strayed into the pads, Holder overpitched, and Rohit got into his work. Soon he began to manhandle Roach, skipping down, chipping, pulling.It was Alzarri Joseph who stemmed the flow with a nipbacker to trap Rohit lbw for 60 off 51. In the same over, an unusually chancy Virat Kohli top-edged to long leg after hitting two boundaries. Kishan found a deep fielder looking to hit a six, and Rishabh Pant was run out by a Suryakumar Yadav straight drive. Yet, despite losing four wickets for 32 runs, India were in control thanks to that quick start from Rohit.With no asking-rate pressure, Suryakumar and Deepak Hooda saw India through with 22 overs to spare.

The allrounder said captain MS Dhoni advised him on how to bowl after he leaked 17 runs in his first over

Sidharth Monga in Delhi27-Mar-20192:56

Dhoni wanted me to bowl straighter, not slower balls – Bravo

Add this to the legend of MS Dhoni. If Dwayne Bravo is to be believed, there are no team meetings at Chennai Super Kings. They don’t plan beforehand; they just rock up and rely on their experience to devise plans on the go.A good example of it was how Bravo recovered from a poor start with the ball. He was brought on in the 14th over of Delhi Capitals’ innings, which meant the unenviable task of bowling overs 14, 16, 18 and 20. It leaves no room for error, but Bravo made errors in his first over. The first ball was a slower one. Edged for four. Next one a wide down the leg side. Fourth ball was slower, and put away again, followed by a missed yorker that went for another four. Seventeen runs in the over.Dhoni, though, persisted with Bravo, who ended up with the wickets of Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan and Colin Ingram. A chat between overs helped Bravo. “Seventeen runs in the first over,” Bravo said. “The first one was an edge. The second one was a low full toss. It was just a matter of poor execution on my part. I learnt from my previous over. The conditions were helping me in terms of not to use much variations but try to bowl a lot more seam-up. So, that was the game-plan and MS definitely wanted me to bowl a lot straighter with no slower balls. Just straight, on to the wicket, with good pace – and that’s what I did in the second over.”If you look at it today, I bowled a lot more effort balls than in other games. Normally I bowl slower balls, a lot of variations, yorkers. But today the wicket wasn’t suitable for those type of deliveries. Again, MS knew exactly what is required, and he also knew he can count on me any time to deliver for him.”Surely batting with Dhoni, who is unlike other batsmen and takes games deeper than others, requires different planning for batsmen? “We don’t plan,” Bravo said, without any discernible hint of mirth. “We don’t have team meetings. We don’t plan. We just turn up, go with the flow on any given day. So yeah we just watch the situation and adjust and adapt quickly. That’s where the experience comes in.”That experience wasn’t spoken of kindly last year by many, but now everybody is crediting that experience for their wins. For example, Super Kings just knew they had to cause the damage with the new ball when they were batting because this was a slow pitch. Shane Watson carried out that damage and broke the back of the chase within the Powerplay.”We proved last season, you know, age is just a number,” Bravo said. “Whenever people talked about the CSK team, they brought in the age factor. We are not 60 years old, yeah. We are 35, 30, 32… We are still young; we look after ourselves, we look after our body, and we have a lot of experience, and don’t matter what, you can’t beat experience in any sport, in any tournament. In anything you just cannot beat experience.”We know we are not the fastest team on the field. We play within our strengths, we know our weaknesses. We play smart. That is the most important thing. And we are well led by the best captain in the world, and he keeps reminding us that we’re not the fastest team, but we can be the smartest team.”

Joe Denly and Adil Rashid shared seven wickets as England closed out victory in their final white-ball encounter of the tour

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo27-Oct-20181:39

Social Story: Denly’s back!

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJason Roy – dropped three times – thwacked 69 off 36, Moeen Ali smote 27 off 11 while the lower-middle order rallied, and England lurched in fits and starts to 187 for 8, which would prove 30 too many for Sri Lanka.The target was imposing enough by itself, with only one greater total having been successfully chased at Khettarama. But when Joe Denly, playing in his first England international in almost nine years, removed both Sri Lanka openers with his virtually non-turning legspin, Sri Lanka’s pursuit was seriously imperilled. England’s other legspinner – the main one – Adil Rashid then claimed three wickets through the middle overs to essentially seal victory for his team.Between them, Rashid and Denly accounted for Sri Lanka’s top five, and had them well behind the asking rate. Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera slammed his way to 57 off 31 balls for the remainder of the innings, but his team had lost too much ground to make even that innings meaningful. The hosts limped, eventually, to 157 all out by the end of 20 overs, Denly claiming career-best figures of 4 for 19.England, and Roy in particular, made their intentions felt in the very first over. Running down the pitch to Lasith Malinga, Roy thumped him over long-off for six second ball, before glancing the fourth ball to the fine leg boundary for four. Sri Lanka tried to target Roy with the left-arm spin of Amila Aponso, perhaps working off the theory that he was susceptible to that form of bowling early in his innings. It didn’t work – Roy thrashed two fours off Aponso’s first two balls.The spinner would have more luck at the other end, in his second over, however, dismissing Roy’s opening partner Jos Buttler, and Alex Hales in the space of four balls. That prompted a brief respite from Roy’s onslaught – a period of about four overs when he did not hit a boundary. The big hits would resume soon enough, though.The ninth over, bowled by Lakshan Sandakan, was the most eventful over of the innings, and perhaps the definitive one of the game. Batting at the time on 34 off 25 balls, Roy top edged the second ball, and sent a miscued slog-sweep high to deep midwicket. But the substitute fielder, Sadeera Samarawickrama, spilled the straightforward chance, after which Roy nailed a slog-sweep into the western stand. Fourth ball, another top edge, this one to Dasun Shanaka at long-off. That was also grassed. Last ball, Sandakan should have had Ben Stokes lbw as well, only for the umpire to deny him, and his team-mates to refuse the review.Adil Rashid made important inroads•Getty Images

Roy, who was dropped again in the next over, clobbered 34 runs off 11 balls after his first reprieve. Stokes made 24 off his next 21. Between these two innings and that of Moeen, who struck three sixes and a four off his first 10 balls despite having arrived in the 12th over with four wickets already down, England were powered to their daunting total.Denly, who produced a useful 20 off 17 with the bat as well, might not have been the kind of bowler that worried Sri Lanka before this match, but he nevertheless was the first to push them off course, before Rashid truly toppled them later on. He slipped a ball under Kusal Mendis’ ambitious slog-sweep with the last ball of his first over – Kusal making a return to single-figure limited-overs scores, after hitting a half-century in the last ODI. Niroshan Dickwella, who is perhaps the form batsman of this top order, was out in almost identical fashion in Denly’s next over.Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva threatened to rebuild – even if Sri Lanka were already struggling in terms of run rate – but Rashid’s arrival at the bowling crease the moment the Powerplay ended, swung the match decisively for England. He had Chandimal caught attempting a reverse-slog in his first over, then dismissed Kamindu Mendis and de Silva in the space of three deliveries in his third, conceding only 11 runs – no boundaries – right through his four-over spell.Aside from Thisara’s late fifty, debutant Kamindu’s all-round performance might have been the only real positive for the hosts. Not only did he deliver both left-arm orthodox and right-arm offbreaks for the first time in an international match since 1996 (Sri Lanka’s Hashan Tillakaratne had been the last to do it), his batting was also full of promise. In 14 balls at the crease, he struck three fours and a six, before eventually holing out attempting a slog-sweep. For now, his batting appears his foremost cricketing talent, even if the uniqueness of his bowling will command more headlines.

For a few moments, West Indies looked in danger of losing to Papua New Guinea, chasing a target of 201. But their captain Jason Holder took charge to lead the team across the line

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2018
ScorecardCarlos Brathwaite is beside himself with joy•IDI via Getty Images

For a few moments, West Indies looked in danger of losing to Papua New Guinea, chasing a target of 201.Chris Gayle was not playing. Their other firebrand opener, Evin Lewis, fell in the second over. They slumped to 58 for 4 to spur the possibility of a spectacular upset. But the captain Jason Holder came out and took charge, scoring an unbeaten 99 off 101 deliveries to seal his team’s second win in as many matches.Prior to the start of the Qualifier, West Indies coach Stuart Law had expected low-scoring scraps. “It is not going to be making 300-plus and then bowling teams out. It is going to be working out how to get to 180 to 220 and then deciding how to get the 10 wickets. We have to lower that target just to make sure we are safe to play better cricket or make better decisions out in the middle and get the job done.”Although they were the ones chasing against Papua New Guinea on Thursday, the same principles applied. Shai Hope came in to bat in the second over and played a Test-match innings, scoring 49 off 115 balls while his captain took care of the big-hitting at the other end. Holder began with back-to-back fours. He cruised to his fifty off 65 balls, then leapt from 70 to 93 in the space of two overs and was eyeing a maiden ODI century as the game reached its climax. He was 98 not out. West Indies needed one run to win. Holder was content taking the single and walking off with the win.As a result, PNG were knocked out of the tournament. Their captain Assad Vala had top-scored with 57 off 89 balls, but was one of only four batsmen who managed double-figures. Carlos Brathwaite was the reason for such a state of affairs, picking up his first five-for in ODIs and instigating a collapse which pinned PNG down from 151 for 4 to 169 for 9.

Michael Klinger once again led from the front as Gloucestershire kept alive their hopes of a place in the Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-finals

18-Aug-2013
ScorecardMichael Klinger’s outstanding form was again central to Gloucestershire’s success•Getty Images

Michael Klinger once again led from the front as Gloucestershire kept alive their hopes of a place in the Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-finals with a thrilling two-wicket Group C win over Glamorgan at Bristol.The captain took his run tally in the competition to 662 at an average of 94.57 by scoring 87 to help the hosts to their target of 248 with just one ball to spare. Hamish Marshall contributed 55, while Dean Cosker claimed 2 for 28 from his eight overs.Gareth Rees had scored 83 off 110 balls to provide the backbone to Glamorgan’s 247 for 7 after winning the toss, with Murray Goodwin also making a brisk 49 and Tom Smith returning two for 43.Rees might have been run out in the opening over of the game as Mark Wallace sent him back attempting a single to backward point. Ian Cockbain’s shy at the stumps missed when he could have given wicket-keeper Gareth Roderick time to get to the stumps.The Glamorgan openers went on to build a half-century stand before Wallace departed for 18, caught at deep square as he pulled a ball from David Payne. Gloucestershire introduced the left-arm spin of Smith for the 16th over and the loan recruit from Middlesex had Chris Cooke caught behind cutting for 19 with the total on 83.It was 95 for 3 when Marcus North fell cheaply to Smith. Rees reached fifty off 62 balls, with five fours, and survived a stumping chance off Smith when on 63.After Jim Allenby lifted a catch to deep midwicket off Benny Howell, Goodwin supplied the necessary acceleration with six fours in his 32-ball innings, helping the score to 199 when he gave a catch to backward point.Graham Wagg hit a straight six in making 19 before being yorked by Craig Miles and Rees took successive boundaries off the penultimate over, bowled by Payne before being caught at mid-off to give Miles a second wicket.Gloucestershire made a confident start in reply as Klinger and Marshall put together a century opening stand, the latter hitting six fours in his 43-ball innings before offering a return catch to Cosker.Klinger continued his love affair with the competition, striking nine fours in facing 99 deliveries before getting an inside edge on to his stumps off Simon Jones with 49 runs still needed.There were nerves in the home dressing room when Alex Gidman followed for 28, but Howell played a key role with a six and a four off Jones in the 38th over, which cost the seamer 17, followed by another six off Wagg.Wagg responded with two wickets in the same over, but the home side began the final one from Michael Hogan needing only five. He removed Smith caught and bowled, but James Fuller hit the winning boundary.The result puts Gloucestershire level on points with group leaders Somerset, with the two arch-rivals facing each other at Bristol in the final group match tomorrow week. Glamorgan are two points adrift, but have two games remaining, at home to Leicestershire next Sunday and away to Yorkshire 24 hours later.