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A round-up of matches from the fifth match-day of the One Day National Cup Division Two 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2011

Group B

Pakistan Television prevailed over Abbottabad Falcons by 11 runs at the Gohati Cricket Stadium in Swabi. Opener Umair Khan starred with an unbeaten 124 and held one end together as he lost partners at the other. The Falcons had managed to limit Pakistan Television to 124 for 6 but Umair found good support from No.8 batsman Yasim Murtaza who scored a quickfire half-century in a stand of 118. Pakistan Television managed to post a competitive 255 for 7, a score they were ultimately able to defend. The Falcons reply began in encouraging fashion with an opening stand of 47 but Zahoor Khan, with his medium pace, helped restrict them to 103 for 5. The sixth-wicket pair of Khalid Usman and Abid Khan revived the chase with a 107-run stand but Zahoor struck two more blows down the order to limit Falcons to 244 for 8. Pakistan Television, however, could not qualify for the semi-final as their net run-rate, despite the win, was lower than Lahore Eagles.Khan Research Laboratories continued their unbeaten run in this tournament, trouncing Peshawar Panthers by nine wickets at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. The Panthers, after opting to bat, could only muster 195 despite their batsmen getting starts. Among the seven batsmen who reached double-figures, the highest was 49 from Nasir Shah. The pace-bowling pair of Yasir Shah and Shakeel-ur-Rehman shared seven wickets to restrict the Panthers. In response, the KRL openers led the charge with a stand of 124 – Saeed Anwar jnr remained unbeaten on 75 while Ali Khan smashed seven fours and three sixes in his 78. The target was scaled down with more than 13 overs to spare and the Panthers finished at the bottom of the Group B table.

Group A

Karachi Zebras sealed their place in the semi-finals with a seven-run win over Hyderabad Hawks at the National Stadium in Karachi. The Zebras had been tottering at 76 for 4 but Wajihuddin and Akbar-ur-Rehman struck half-centuries to help their team recover with a 128-run stand. But the Zebras folded for 227, courtesy a haul of 6 for 35 by left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti. However, his effort was to be in vain. Mohammad Sami starred for the Zebras with a five-wicket haul to squeeze out a close victory. He removed the openers before Aqeel Anjum, dismissed just one short of a century, and Rizwan Ahmed resurrected the innings with a 122-run stand. But Sami struck again and the Hawks lost their way, slipping to 169 for 6. Though Anjum fought hard, the lower order was not able to challenge the Zebras enough to scrape the past their total. The Zebras will take on Khan Research Laboratories in the second semi-final in Hyderabad.State Bank of Pakistan made it four in four with a 152-run humbling of Lahore Lions at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi. No SBP batsman managed a half-century but there was consistency throughout the batting line-up as the top eight chipped in with useful thirties and forties, and built useful partnerships to stretch the score to 297. The Lions were hapless in their reply, having to rely on their last pair to take them past 100. Seamer Mohammad Naved took 4 for 63 and was backed up superbly by the remaining bowlers.

Lalit Modi has reacted to security concerns over the IPL by insisting that the tournament will stay in India, and that he is not concerned by the possibility of a boycott by international players

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010Lalit Modi has insisted that the IPL will not be moved out of India, despite security concerns raised in an independent report commissioned by the players’ unions in England, Australia and South Africa that led to talk of shifting the event to another country.”We are going to have the tournament in India. I can’t see any reason why we should move it at this point in time. The media is reacting to every fringe group saying security is a problem,” Modi told in reaction to the concerns.The Australian reported the security discussions caused a split between high profile freelance players and Ricky Ponting when the situation was outlined at an Australian Cricketers’ Association meeting in Sydney on Tuesday. The paper said Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, who have supported each IPL tournament, clashed with Ricky Ponting over the way forward.Cricket Australia-contracted players want to follow the ACA’s advice while Warne and Hayden, a Cricket Australia board member, have said they want to go. If players pull out of the tournament they could be banned from future IPL editions, a decision which would cost some of them millions of dollars.The report, written by the England team’s security advisor Reg Dickason, said there was a credible threat to the tournament from terrorist groups, raising questions over player safety apart from talk of a boycott by international cricketers. The Australian Cricketers’ Association has decided to formulate a list of security demands for IPL organisers, following a meeting attended by most Australian players slated to play in the tournament.”The process from here is for all players associated to meet with their player groups and for all of us to feed back the concerns raised from these meetings to the IPL,” Paul Marsh, the ACA’s chief executive said. “This will be coordinated through our peak body the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations. From here we will await a response from the IPL.”Heath Mills, the New Zealand Players’ Association chief, also outlined security concerns. “It’s one thing to have a security management plan, it’s a much different thing to see it delivered and delivered well. It’s quite complex when you consider the IPL is played across 12 cities, 12 police jurisdictions throughout India. There are some real concerns around that aspect,” Mills said.Modi, however, underplayed their concerns. “Nobody in the world can safeguard the safety of the players in any tournament. All we have to do is ensure we are putting on the best security,” Modi said. “Safety is paramount to us and we are working with the national and state governments to ensure we have good security in place.”At the end of the day we have to ensure the safety plans we put in place and the way we conduct them are absolutely top-notch.”Modi also said that he was not overly concerned by the possibility of overseas players withdrawing from the event. “The heavens aren’t going to fall if that happens. This is an Indian tournament; we have the key Indian players and only a few international players.””We have no worries at all. You have to understand that the market for us is India.
“The tournament is a huge success – we have a huge credibility, we have the top 200 players in the world. It’s not only dependent on foreign players, although they are part of it, Modi said.

Hosts left nine down overnight, still 33 runs from the victory they need to avoid relegation

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Sep-2025Hampshire 248 and 148 for 9 (Orr 48, Chahar 7-45) need a further 33 runs to beat Surrey 147 and 281 (Albert 63, Abbott 5-72)Hampshire sat on the brink of Rothesay County Championship relegation after Surrey leg-spinner Rahul Chahar ploughed through them at Utilita Bowl.India international Chahar, in his first Championship appearance, made the most of a turning pitch to take 7 for 45 and see Hampshire collapse from 61 without loss to 148 for 9. The south coast county need to avoid defeat to stay in Division One next season, but in their chase of 181 they struggled to 148 for 9.Bad light stopped play at 4.35pm, to leave them on tenterhooks overnight, with 33 runs still needed – and statisticians CricViz offering a 14% chance of Hampshire managing it.Surrey began the day with four wickets in hand, but Hampshire bumbled their way through the morning – setting up a wretched day – taking 23 overs to finish the innings and giving up 55 runs in the process.It began fine, when Ali Orr pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch over his shoulder to see off Tom Lawes in the fifth over of the day. The wicket also handed Kyle Abbott his fourth five-wicket haul of the season, and took his tally to 56 scalps, beating last season’s tally of 55.Ralphie Albert reached 63 before hooking to long leg, but Matt Fisher scrapped and frustrated the hosts with Chahar and James Taylor.Fisher safely batted for almost an hour and a half for 22 not out, with Chahar hanging around for half an hour before swiping to the leg-side boundary rider. Taylor then blocked for 45 balls before James Fuller finally found an outside edge.Hampshire had been a bowler light, after Washington Sundar split the webbing in his hand fielding a ball off his own bowling the previous evening, and were facing a tough chase. The previous highest successful chase at Utilita Bowl this season had been the 148 they chased five down against Yorkshire in the opening fixture.A tricky over before lunch, which saw Fisher get so close to Orr’s outside edge that he thought it had been tickled through to Ben Foakes, was negotiated.Orr rode his luck when he was put down at short cover, but largely he and Fletcha Middleton appeared comfortable as they ticked off the runs. The first 50 runs flowed in 12 overs, with Orr especially fluent, and fears of the drop eased. But then they stuttered, the ball started to rag and the grey clouds of relegation gathered.From 61 without loss, Hampshire lost eight wickets for 59 runs – with Dan Lawrence and Chahar running amok on a pitch now turning. Middleton inexplicably missed a straight full toss, before Nick Gubbins was lbw to a Lawrence delivery that spun sharply and didn’t bounce.Chahar turned a ball from straight into the top of off stump to dislodge Toby Albert before Ben Brown was lbw to Lawrence and Orr missed a googly to depart for 48.Liam Dawson chased a wide ball from Chahar but drilled straight to short cover before Washington edged a half-volley to slip and Abbott’s under-edged to the keeper after tea as the malaise continued.Fuller had provided some resistance but now had to shepherd No. 11 Brad Wheal, often turning down runs as Wheal blocked 22 deliveries to keep Hampshire alive.The tension was extended overnight as gloomy conditions got too bad even for spin from both ends, meaning Hampshire need 33 runs in the morning or – depending on Durham’s fortunes up in Leeds – likely drop into Division Two.

Broadcaster begins three-year term as he returns to his roots at Cardiff

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2024Alan Wilkins, the veteran broadcaster, has been appointed as the new president of Glamorgan on a three-year term.As a left-arm seamer, Wilkins claimed 243 first-class wickets in eight seasons with Glamorgan from 1976 to 1983, and a further 130 in List A games, during which time he helped the club reach their first one-day final, against Middlesex in the Gillette Cup in 1977.After retirement, Wilkins embarked on a broadcasting career, first in South Africa and then as the face and voice of BBC Wales’ sports coverage, primarily of rugby, football and cricket. He now works for Star Sports India.Born in Cardiff, Wilkins said he had come “full circle back to where my cricketing journey began”, as he prepares to succeed Gerard Elias, who is stepping down at the end of a four-year term.”Firstly I am thrilled, and honoured to have been considered for the role of President, knowing who has held the position in the past,” Wilkins said. “I have travelled a lot through my work as a broadcaster, and that journey has brought me home.”I want to make a difference, both on and off the field for Glamorgan,” he added. “We have some fresh faces coming in, myself included. I know our new Head Coach (Grant Bradburn) well from my travels with Pakistan, and I cannot wait to see his brand of cricket out on the hallowed turf of Sophia Gardens.”I honestly feel good things are coming here, I still get goosebumps and butterflies looking out onto that field, and wish I could still play!”Glamorgan CCC Chair, Mark Rhydderch-Roberts, said: “I am delighted that Alan has accepted the Board’s invitation and I know he will add huge value as we move forward into a period of potential change.”Not only will Alan add cricket expertise, gathered from his years of playing and commentating, but he is so well known and respected throughout world cricket that he will be well placed to support the club as we create a new Glamorgan future.”

Coach Russell Domingo says the team is targeting a place in the semi-finals in India next year

Mohammad Isam30-Nov-2022Bangladesh’s qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup has caught Tamim Iqbal by surprise ahead of the three-match home series against India that begins on Sunday. Bangladesh were one of seven teams to secure direct qualification for the World Cup after the second ODI between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan ended in a no-result in Pallekele.”I was taken by surprise when I saw that we had completed qualification,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “I thought we would need to win one out of the last six games, but because of the other teams’ results, it came early. It gives a bit of breather, but it is not the ultimate goal. We have to finish in the top four if possible.”Bangladesh have won five of their last six ODI series under Tamim’s leadership, with the highlight being their maiden series victory in South Africa in March this year. Tamim’s win percentage of 59.25 is currently the best for a Bangladesh captain in ODIs”I think the way we qualified is a great achievement,” Tamim said. ” I felt that when this qualification thing came up, we took it up very seriously. We knew we had some away series too. We didn’t want to wait till the very end to qualify. Going into the 2023 World Cup, we definitely want to do really well. If we qualify as one of the top three or four teams, it makes sense talking about wanting to play in the semi-finals or finals. If you go in as say the No. 4 team, it means you have done well over 20-23 games. For a team like us, it would give us some confidence.”Related

• Bangladesh in 2022: big milestones, but miles to go in all formats

• Star-studded India must be cautious against Bangladesh in their favourite format

• Bangladesh reaping rewards of Taskin and Litton's changed mindsets in ODIs

• Sriram to coach Bangladesh T20I side; Domingo happy with 'nice focus' on Tests and ODIs

• Bangladesh's fast bowlers: from invisibles to match-winners

Tamim’s partnership with coach Russell Domingo is a significant factor in Bangladesh’s recent success. Domingo had been under pressure after Bangladesh’s twin series defeats in Zimbabwe, following which the BCB brought in S Sriram as a technical consultant – effectively the head coach – for the Asia Cup (in the T20 format) and the T20 World Cup.Tamim, who had retired from T20I cricket earlier this year, has reunited with Domingo and the rest of the squad for key ODI and Test series in the coming months. Despite “some rocky times” earlier, Domingo said he and Tamim were on the same page now.”We have a good understanding,” Domingo said. “We have had some rocky times. Our relationship is good at the moment. We understand each other’s roles. We understand what we want from our team. The next couple of months are important for the 50-over side. We really want to qualify for the semi-finals [of the World Cup]. We have a team capable of doing that.”That’s the sort of language that we are speaking in the last year and a half. We are not just going there to compete, we want to try to win the competition. In those conditions with our players, I think we have a chance. We need to share this belief because belief in Bangladesh cricket is not where it needs to be. There’s going to be some speed bumps, we will lose games, but the end goal is to get to the World Cup semi-final.”Domingo returned to Bangladesh earlier this month after being on a break during the T20 World Cup. He put Bangladesh’s ODI success down to their understanding of roles.”We started well by winning against West Indies and Sri Lanka at home last year,” he said. “We lost in New Zealand but we got close in one game, which gave us confidence. It is a format that the guys are good at playing. They have won big series before, so they are confident in this particular format.”Russell Domingo: “There’s going to be some speed bumps, we will lose games, but the end goal is to get to the World Cup semi-final.”•Gareth Copley-ICC/Getty Images

Bangladesh then beat South Africa 2-1 in an away series, which Domingo considers as one of his best achievements as a coach.”If we had lost in South Africa, we would have been in a different situation today with only six games in hand,” Domingo said. “We would have had to win three or four games against England at home and Ireland, who are a serious team in their home conditions. South Africa was a big challenge at that time. We had never won a game in South Africa in our history. We never even competed there, so the way everyone contributed, especially the bowlers, was a great series win.”Bangladesh also beat West Indies 3-0 and lost 2-1 to Zimbabwe shortly afterwards, but both those series were not part of the ODI Super League. They then turned their focus to T20s ahead of the World Cup in Australia and Tamim is mindful of the lack of ODI game time in the lead-up to the series against India.”The only worrying part is that we haven’t played ODI cricket in the last three-four months,” Tamim said. “We have played a lot of T20s due to the World Cup. These two are very different formats. To get into the ODI mindset is very important. You have to be mentally ready to play against a top side like India.”Domingo isn’t as concerned about the transition from T20Is to ODIs largely because the core of the batting group – Tamim, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim – wasn’t part of the T20 World Cup.”We know who our best 17-18 players are in this format,” Domingo said. “It is time to get it down to 15 for the World Cup. Everyone understands their role. But there’s one or two positions that you are looking for, so this series is good to fill in those spots.Tamim also warned Bangladesh against complacency and said their ultimate goal was to make the knockouts of the ODI World Cup next year.”Teams that have won trophies know exactly what needs to be done on a bigger stage,” Tamim said. “But teams like us who haven’t a trophy, we are confused sometimes how to go about it. We will be playing some really good teams like India and England before the World Cup, which will give us an opportunity to see where we are at.”We can’t relax just because we have qualified. That’s not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to do well in the World Cup, and for that we have to do well in these series. If we are not doing well, we can find out where we have to improve.”

The two countries meet for the first time in the shortest format with a global event looming not far off

Firdose Moonda18-Jul-2021

Big Picture

After a first last week – when Ireland beat South Africa in an ODI for the first time – there’s another coming this week. The two teams will face off in the shortest format for the first time. Both are entering the final stages of preparation for the T20 World Cup later this year, with South Africa gearing up for a group that includes England, Australia and West Indies, and Ireland needing to go through a qualifier against Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia.The hosts have the more difficult task, having last played T20I cricket over a year ago, in March, against Afghanistan. Since then, they have had series against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan cancelled but will play at least eight matches (three against South Africa and five against Zimbabwe) in the lead-up to the global event in October.South Africa have fewer matches, just six (three against Ireland and three against Sri Lanka, after a series against India has had to be postponed again because of the IPL) and plenty of questions remain over their strategy. Despite beating West Indies 3-2 earlier this month, they have yet to settle on combinations but aim to use the Ireland matches to solidify their plans. Coach Mark Boucher indicated there is a level of fatigue in the camp, made worse by news of unrest at home, but with just a week left on the road, they have promised to give it their all.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland TLLLW
South Africa WLWWL

In the spotlight

Ireland’s headliner Kevin O’Brien will be back to try and find form as he prepares for the T20 World Cup. O’Brien has played five international matches this year – all ODIs – and managed just 27 runs, with three scores in single-figures and a duck. He has also had a tough time in the Irish inter-provincial T20 tournament, with 47 runs in six matches and a top score of 16. His last international milestone came almost two years ago, a century in a T20I against Hong Kong. It is Ireland’s only hundred in the format and they will want him to summon the spirit of that knock tomorrow.Tabraiz Shamsi has been a strong influence on South Africa’s limited-overs cricket recently•Getty Images

The world’s top-ranked T20I bowler, Tabraiz Shamsi , has been vocal on social media on topics including the challenges of life in bio-bubbles but has also seen the lighter side of having limited contact with others and will want to combine his frankness and good humour to end the tour on a high note. Shamsi was outstanding in the West Indies, where he was South Africa’s joint-leading wicket-taker and maintained the lowest economy rate for any bowler on either side (4.00) and will challenge both the Irish defence and run-scoring ability.

Team news

O’Brien has retired from ODIs but remains available in the shortest format, and is expected to open the batting alongside Paul Stirling. A middle-order of Harry Tector and George Dockrell, who were successful in the ODIs, will precede the power-hitting Shane Getkate and ODI centurion Simi Singh. Ireland are likely to have four seamers at their disposal in Getkate. Barry McCarthy, Josh Little and Craig Young.Ireland: (possible) 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Kevin O’Brien, 3 Andy Balbirnie (capt), 4 Harry Tector, 5 George Dockrell, 6 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 7 Shane Getkate, 8 Simi Singh, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Josh Little, 11 Craig YoungSouth Africa seem to have settled on Temba Bavuma to partner Quinton de Kock at the top in T20Is with Aiden Markram likely to feature at No.3. David Miller was rested for the final ODI but could make a return in the middle order, which may also include both a seam-bowling (Wiaan Mulder) and spin-bowling (George Linde) allrounder. With bowling a big focus for South Africa, expect them to play their first-choice attack.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Heinrich Klaasen/David Miller, 6 Wiaan Mulder, 7 George Linde, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lung Ngidi 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pitch and conditions

The third ODI on Friday showed that big runs are possible in Malahide and we can expect more of the same in the opening T20I which may bolster the ground’s average first-innings score of 152. There have only been three scores over 200 in 13 T20Is played at this ground, all achieved by the teams batting first, and all successfully defended. The highest successful chase at this venue is 182. Monday’s weather is set to be fine and warm, with no rain.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland and South Africa have never met in a T20I
• Andy Balbirnie needs 55 more to become the fifth Irish player to reach 1,000 T20I runs
• South Africa have won two out of their last eight T20I series dating back to March 2019

Quotes

Some of the things is making sure we are confident in our death bowling. We have clear plans, it’s a matter of executing that over a long period of time. And also by the end of the Sri Lankan tour, that we can trust the formula we have been working on over the last couple of months.

“Mushfiqur will not be playing as we want to see one of the youngsters in this game”

Mohammad Isam04-Mar-2020Mushfiqur Rahim, the only Bangladesh player to have opted against travelling to Pakistan, will not be considered for the third, and final, ODI against Zimbabwe on Friday as the team wants to prepare for the one-off ODI against Pakistan in Karachi early next month, chief selector Minhajul Abedin has said.”Mushfiqur will not be playing as we want to see one of the youngsters in this game, before they are picked for the Pakistan ODI next month. We don’t want to hand them a debut there,” Minhajul said, confirming that there wouldn’t be any changes to the existing squad for the last game of the series.The senior wicketkeeper-batsman, who didn’t make the journey for the first two legs of the three-part tour stressed last week that he would not change his mind on the matter despite BCB president Nazmul Hassan’s tough stance against him, where he said that Mushfiqur was “contract-bound” to tour with the rest of the team.Minhajul said that the BCB had met Mushfiqur over the weekend for discussions and that Mushfiqur hadn’t budged.”We saw in separate newspapers that he may go and then he may not go. So we asked him to tell us directly, and he has let us know,” Minhajul said.Hassan, who had stated before announcing the tour dates in January that every player had the right to choose whether he wanted to tour Pakistan or not, made a U-turn after Bangladesh’s win over Zimbabwe in the one-off Test match – where Mushfiqur scored an unbeaten 203 – expressing his dismay at Mushfiqur’s decision.”We are expecting that he would go. Not only him, but every contracted player should go,” he had said. “Players have to think about the country, and not just themselves. This is what I personally feel. The country comes before everything else.”Everyone should keep it in mind. We will remind them that the contracted players must play as they are told, when selected. It never occurred to me that one has to tell them this, too.”

ICC announces penalty half an hour after Shoaib Malik comes out to the toss for Pakistan in Johannesburg

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2019Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been suspended for four matches after he admitted to making a racist comment at South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo during the Durban ODI.Sarfraz will be forced to miss the final two ODIs against South Africa, and then two of the three T20s that follow. The PCB said he will not play the third T20 either, but return home “immediately”. Shoaib Malik will captain in his absence.The ICC release said that Sarfraz will also have to attend “an education programme to promote the understanding and awareness of issues directly relevant to the offence that he has committed”.Remarkably that ICC release was made public half an hour after the world realised that Sarfraz wasn’t playing in the fourth ODI at the Wanderers because Malik turned up for the toss in his place.”We wanted him [Sarfraz], but the incident… we all know what has happened,” Malik said. “I don’t want to comment about it. But they’ve given me this opportunity, and I want to do my best.”Malik later said he only found out he would be captaining the team on the morning of the match. “When we got to the ground, that’s when I came to know I’m captaining the side. It’s a great honour to represent your country as a captain or a player, and whenever the opportunity comes to you should give your best shot. And that’s what I did.”It was actually South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who first indicated that Sarfraz had been handed a four-match ban. “We’ve heard that he’s out for four games,” he said during his toss interview.In Durban, during the second ODI, during Phehlukwayo’s innings, as he got South Africa’s wobbling chase back on track, Sarfraz was heard on the broadcast stump mics saying in Urdu: Translated literally that is: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”Since then, Sarfraz has apologised twice, the first an apology in the general direction of nobody, but then backed up by a personal one to Phehlukwayo. The day after the match, Sarfraz tweeted that his comments were “not directed towards anyone in particular”. Then, two days ago, Sarfraz tweeted a picture of himself shaking hands with Phehlukwayo, with this caption: “This morning I apologised to Andile Phehlukwayo and he was gracious enough to accept my apology and I hope the people of South Africa also accept my apology.”The punishment came five days after the incident, allowing Sarfraz to play the third ODI in Cape Town. Ahead of that game, du Plessis said his team had forgiven Sarfraz for the comments.ICC CEO David Richardson said Sarfraz’s apology was taken into account when deciding on his penalty. “The ICC has a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct of this nature,” he said. “Sarfraz has promptly admitted the offence, was regretful of his actions and has issued a public apology, so these factors were taken into account when determining an appropriate sanction.”Pakistan do not have a back-up wicketkeeper in their T20 squad, so Mohammad Rizwan, who took the gloves in Johannesburg, will stay on for the T20s.