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CSA is invoking both the WTC and the FTP agreement terms in search of points on the table, as well as financial compensation from CA

Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2021Cricket South Africa (CSA) has lodged a formal complaint with the ICC over Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to indefinitely postpone next month’s three-Test series. Last week, CSA wrote to both the ICC and CA expressing its dissatisfaction at the tour being pushed back, also asking for means of redress after CA cited an “unacceptable” level of Covid-19 risk in South Africa as the reason for not travelling. But now, CSA has escalated the matter and asked for it to be heard at the ICC’s dispute-resolution council.In a letter sent by acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki, seen by ESPNcricinfo, CSA is invoking both the World Test Championship (WTC) and the FTP agreement terms in search of points on the WTC table, as well as financial compensation from CA. It has asked the ICC to look into whether CA’s cancellation amounts to acceptable or unacceptable non-compliance as per the WTC terms, bearing in mind that the series cannot be rescheduled before the end of the WTC window, which is April 30, 2021. It also wants the ICC to obtain a report on the health situation in South Africa to determine if Australia breached the terms by not travelling.Related

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According to the ICC’s FTP agreement, which has been in place since 2004, member countries are obliged to fulfil their fixtures unless there are circumstances which prevent them from doing so, including government instruction. In 2007, when the Australian government instructed their men’s team not to tour Zimbabwe on political grounds, the ICC adjudged that decision to be acceptable non-compliance. Similarly, in 2008, the ICC found that India’s decision not to tour Pakistan on government advice constituted acceptable non-compliance. Neither Australia nor India faced sanctions at that time.CA has maintained that its decision not to travel to South Africa on this occasion was made on “overwhelming” medical advice.Moseki cited a clause from WTC competition terms that calls for independent experts to determine whether the health risks are severe enough to prevent Australia from touring, and asked for those experts to come from within South Africa. “It would seem inappropriate to appoint a health and safety consultant outside of South Africa given that such an expert consultant would be unlikely to properly and accurately comprehend the Covid-19 related risks within South Africa and how they may be adequately managed,” Moseki wrote. “Given the nature of the pandemic, it will inevitably require location-specific advice.”South Africa has passed the second-wave peak of the coronavirus pandemic, and although the country remains on level-3 lockdown (with level-5 being the most strict) restrictions were eased on February 1, the day before Australia announced their decision to pull out. South Africa’s infection rate is falling, although it is still recording more than 1,000 positive cases of Covid-19 each day in the last few days compared to Australia, which is registering cases in single digits daily.

In excellent conditions for batting, South Africa’s captain felt his team had finished “about 10 runs short”

Firdose Moonda14-Apr-2021He may not have wanted it but Heinrich Klaasen can recognise he had a front-row seat to one of the smoothest T20I innings the game has seen, as Babar Azam notched up his first century in the format, and added 197 for the first wicket with Mohammad Rizwan, to ease Pakistan through their highest successful chase.”It was something [to see] from behind [the stumps],” Klaasen said. “We tried a lot of things. We tried to go death [bowling] early to them because they were hitting the ball nicely. They made a lot of good balls that were well-executed look bad by very good placement and strokeplay.”Klaasen introduced Lizaad Williams, whom he has previously identified as one of his end-of-innings bowlers, in the fifth over, and with some success. Williams conceded just four runs after the new-ball pair of George Linde and Beuran Hendricks had given away 42 in the first four overs. That blazing start included what may be the classiest shot Azam has played on this tour so far, off Hendricks, when he opened the face of the bat at the last millisecond to run the ball wide of short third man.Despite that, Hendricks was given another over which began with Azam breaking his bat off the same ball he hit for six, and ended up costing 18 runs, in an early sign that South Africa would run out of ideas. “It was difficult from a captaincy point of view to try a lot of things because on a wicket like that you don’t want to try too many things,” Klaasen said.One of the things South Africa didn’t try was using another of their death-bowling specialists, Andile Phehlukwayo, who has only bowled two overs in the series to date. “His confidence is a little bit low but he is picking it up and I had no need for him,” Klaasen said. “We’ve got specialist guys in the positions.”But the specialist guys were not able to pull off their specialities, such as Tabraiz Shamsi, whose task is to take wickets in the middle overs. Though he didn’t concede a boundary in his first over, Shamsi did not threaten at all, and by his third, Azam was ready to take him on. He pulled a long-hop for six before driving a tossed-up ball through the covers to bring up a century off 49 balls. “Babar has a special manner,” Klaasen said. “When a guy like that comes off, it’s very difficult to defend on this ground.”Aiden Markram scored his third successive fifty of the series•AFP/Getty Images

Maybe the best method of defence was attack and the only way for South Africa to win the game was to dent Pakistan’s chase with dismissals but, as Klaasen put it, “the question is how do you take wickets on pitches like this? There’s no turn, the wicket is skidding on, the slower balls are not gripping, and the ball travels [through the air] at the Highveld. It’s difficult to strike. So the way you get your wickets is to be defensive and make sure they can’t bat easily at 10 an over like they did tonight.”Or to get the batsman to make a mistake in reaching for a wide delivery, like Hendricks did against Mohammad Rizwan, who did not get enough bat on it and sent a chance to Pite van Biljon at backward point. Van Biljon put it down. “We have were very poor in the field as well tonight,” Klaasen acknowledged.Overall, South Africa have been no worse than Pakistan, who dropped five catches in the ODIs and four in the T20Is so far. South Africa have spilled four in each format, but as an outfit that prides itself on this discipline, that simply isn’t good enough. “We try not to be so bad in the field and at training we are brilliant. It’s guys maybe trying too hard and not being calm enough in the field,” Klaasen said. “It’s been a trend that we have to get rid of.”So is their record in defending big totals. Three of the four highest successful T20 chases have come against South Africa, while Pakistan have reached the highest and second-highest T20I targets in this series. Although Klaasen has not played in all of those matches, he was part of the team that England chased 223 against at the same venue last year. The conditions may have something to do with why South Africa have struggled even when they put big totals on the board, but Klaasen was careful not to blame the surfaces and rather pointed the finger at the South African line-up. “We were about 10 runs short,” he said, perhaps a conservative estimate since Pakistan won with two overs to spare. “It’s a very good wicket and we had both openers going past 50. We are guilty in that not one of the guys over the last three games, the guys that scored runs went on to be there at the back end like the Pakistani batters.”Aiden Markram racked up his third successive fifty in this format, Janneman Malan recorded a career-best 55, and the pair shared an opening stand of 108, but were both dismissed in the third quarter of South Africa’s innings. In the end, their milestones will lurk in the shadows of a much bigger achievement: Azam’s first T20I ton and Pakistan ensuring they have one hand on the trophy. As Klaasen put it: “Tonight it was just a case of some brilliant batting from their side.”

Middlesex have announced that Neil Dexter will temporarily step down as captain of the Championship side to concentrate on regaining form with the bat

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2012Middlesex have announced that Neil Dexter will temporarily step down as captain of the Championship side to concentrate on regaining form with the bat. He will be replaced by Chris Rogers, though Dexter will continue to lead Middlesex in one-day cricket and the situation will be “kept under regular review”, the club have said.Middlesex have won one and lost one after their first two games back in Division One of the Championship. Dexter, who led the team to promotion from Division Two last season, has scored 15 runs in four innings, though he did take three wickets as his side secured a dramatic victory over London rivals Surrey in their second match.It is understood that South Africa-born Dexter did not have much opportunity for pre-season net practice after the death of his brother around Christmas time led to an extended return home, and has asked for his responsibilities to be reduced in the short term.Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said: “Once again I applaud Neil for his selfless and honest behaviour. I selected Neil as Middlesex CCC captain in 2010 because of the standards and values he holds, and he never lets you down. Neil’s captaincy during the thrilling three-run victory over Surrey was outstanding. It played a major role in turning potential sorrow in to delight.”He is, however, not happy with his current form with the bat and believes extra time spent concentrating on this part of his game will help return him to his best quickest, which is what we all want. Once Neil’s form returns, as it inevitably will, and he is happy with where he is at the captaincy will return to him.”A batting allrounder who has also played for Kent and Essex, Dexter was appointed Middlesex’s captain after the resignation of Shaun Udal in June 2010. He scored 907 Championship runs at 47.73 that season, but in 2011 he managed just 470 at 26.11 as Middlesex secured the Division Two title.Middlesex’s next Championship fixture, against Durham at Lord’s, is due to start tomorrow, with Dexter expected to retain his place in the middle order. Rogers, who played one Test for Australia in 2008, was previously captain at Derbyshire before moving to Middlesex as their overseas player for the start of the 2011 season.Edited by Alan Gardner

India pulled off a heart-stopping one-wicket victory over Pakistan in Townsville, to seal their place in the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville20-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHarmeet Singh held his nerve to help India edge out Pakistan•ICC/Getty

Harmeet Singh and Sandeep Sharma, India’s Nos. 8 and 11, batted with incredible composure for seven overs to score the ten runs they needed to drag a misfiring batting line-up to a one-wicket victory against Pakistan in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup. India were cruising one minute, at 120 for 5 needing 17 more, and were sinking the next, at 127 for 9. Harmeet and Sharma, however, saw to it that their consistent excellence with the ball in this tournament – they dismissed Pakistan so cheaply – was not in vain.It so nearly was, though. Needing only 137 to secure a place in Thursday’s semi-final, India slipped to 8 for 3 in the chase. They needed one batsman to drop anchor and stay the course and their No. 3, Baba Aparajith, did that. He had a partnership of 68 for the fourth wicket with Vijay Zol that put India on course. Aparajith went on to score 51 and, with him batting so fluently, India moved slowly but surely towards their target. The required rate was never an issue; wickets were, but five were in hand.Then Aparajith drove one in the air and was caught at cover, with India 17 short. In no time at all Smit Patel edged Ehsan Adil to the wicketkeeper and Azizullah dismissed two more batsmen in the 41st over. Only one more Indian wicket stood between Pakistan and victory.Harmeet, who missed India’s last two league games because of an illness but replaced Vikas Mishra today, took charge. Sharma batted cautiously, blocking out an entire over from the spinner Zafar Gohar. Harmeet, the more competent batsman, was astute enough to see off Azizullah’s final over, which meant Babar Azam had no more seam options to call on.Runs came at Chinese water-torture pace, but the batsmen were unruffled. Harmeet and Sandeep blocked and blocked, and occasionally they dabbed for a single or two. Every ball survived was cheered by a small but vocal group of Indian supporters. Even when the target was within the reach of one lofted blow and all the fielders were in the circle, Sandeep did not do anything rash. He left it to Harmeet, who eventually chipped over square leg, ran the second run and then ran into 13 team-mates sprinting towards him.As Sharma joined in the celebrations, he could have scarcely believed that it had come to this, especially after the hammer blow he had hit Pakistan with early in the morning. Most teams have preferred to bowl first at Tony Ireland Stadium but Pakistan chose to bat on an overcast and drizzly day in Townsville – a brave approach considering it was their first game here and batting has been hardest in the morning. Their decision backfired.Sharma, who has swung the new ball both ways prodigiously in every game, struck with the first delivery of the match. He bowled a good length and pitched on legstump, drawing the left-hand opener Sami Aslam into the front-foot defence. Sharma got the ball to swing sharply just outside off and hit the edge, giving Aparajith a regulation catch at second slip. Four balls later, the same thing happened to Imam-ul-Haq, another left-hand batsman. Pakistan were 0 for 2.Barely five minutes had passed since the start, so Pakistan’s No. 4 Umar Waheed wasn’t fully padded up. He and the other opener, the captain Babar Azam, had a monumental repair job to do and they began it with composure. But Sharma and India’s other new-ball bowler, Kamal Passi, were there and thereabouts all the time, and Pakistan were 27 for 2 after ten overs.Harmeet came on in the 15th over and caused a stir immediately. His first ball hit Umar Waheed on the pad and the lbw appeal was turned down, after which Waheed could have been run out had Smit Patel hit the stumps. Waheed appeared shaken and Azam went up to him to have a word. The next ball from Harmeet was lofted towards the midwicket boundary.Ravikant had a patchy first four overs, bowling several wides, but began to wreck Pakistan’s innings in his fifth. He got Waheed to edge behind, and in his next over he bowled Saad Ali and had Salman Afridi caught behind as well. Harmeet had Mohammad Nawaz caught at slip soon after. Pakistan had lost 4 for 7 to slip to 62 for 6.Through all this, Azam had batted with concentration, holding his end up as wickets tumbled at the other. He was dropped on 36, though, by Harmeet, soon after a rain interruption. Aparajith ensured that error didn’t cost India too many, having Azam caught at midwicket soon after his half-century. The batsman was distraught, having been dismissed to a tame chip after battling through tougher times.Pakistan were 99 for 8 after a second rain break and Adil hit four sixes to lift them to 136. Two of those were massive blows, clearing the longest boundary at midwicket and then the sight screen. India’s seamers, however, came back to finish the innings off, Sharma picking up the tenth wicket with the first ball of the 46th over.A couple of hours later, Sharma was in the middle again, striving to prevent India’s tenth wicket from falling. The gut-wrenching end was the third such finish between India and Pakistan’s Under-19 teams this year. In an Asia Cup league game, Pakistan had won by one run. The final of that tournament was tied. The third time, it was India that scraped through by the narrowest of margins.

Mahela Jayawardene doesn’t think a lack of training sessions in Mirpur or a chance to assess the conditions earlier than the day of the game affected his team; they were in control but gave the match away because of a few critical mistakes, he says

Siddarth Ravindran at the Shere Bangla National Stadium14-Mar-2012Few things highlight the relentlessness of the current international schedule like Sri Lanka’s itinerary over the past few months. A difficult and challenging tour of South Africa was almost immediately followed by a gruelling Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, five days after which they were playing their first match in the Asia Cup.The short gap between tournaments and a massive political rally in Dhaka on Monday meant the first time the Sri Lankans came to the Shere Bangla stadium since they landed in Bangladesh was for their opening match against India. Even Virat Kohli, Man of the Match on Tuesday and a batsman in the form of his life, acknowledged the difficulties in adapting from the bouncier pitches in Australia to the ones in the subcontinent.Mahela Jayawardene, though, didn’t think a lack of training sessions in Mirpur or a chance to assess the conditions and tailor game-plans earlier than the day of the game affected his team. “No not really, I thought we needed a few days off,” Jayawardene said. “We played five games in ten days in Australia, including travelling, and then had a 24-hour trip to Bangladesh, so we needed two days off, and because of the situation yesterday [Monday], we were forced to rest and I think the boys were quite happy with that. We had a good practice for about an hour and a half before the game, no complaints.”The manner in which Sri Lanka’s top order set about dismantling India’s bowling early in the chase didn’t suggest any difficulty in having had to switch continents. Jayawardene’s drives, cuts, dabs and pick-up shots towards deep-backward square leg in an hour of controlled aggression had India scrambling to limit the damage.Mahela Jayawardene: “My bad shot and two wickets in the first over of the Powerplay – that probably cost us the match.”•Associated Press

A combination of a pitch that was getting easier to bat on and a speedy outfield also helped Sri Lanka believe they weren’t out of it, though India had put on a big score. “Three-hundred, I thought, was gettable on this wicket,” Jayawardene said. “We batted really well but we made quite a few mistakes [too], and that has probably cost us the game.”One of the mistakes he was referring to was the shot that led to his downfall. Sri Lanka were flying at 124 for 1 in the 19th over when his attempt to run a wide ball very fine to the third-man boundary, ended up being too fine and a catch for MS Dhoni. The fielding, too, was a bit lax – a dropped catch, several close run-out chances missed and some fumbles. In the absence of the rested Lasith Malinga, they also had the problem most teams in world cricket seem to be currently facing: plugging the runs at the end of the innings. Dhoni and Suresh Raina plundered 95 in the final ten as Sri Lanka’s bowlers sent down full toss after full toss, many of them heading for the pads.”There are a lot of ifs and buts, I should not have played the shot I played, we were cruising at that time. As a team I think we gave away 15 runs on the field, we are a much better fielding side. Our last ten overs of the bowling wasn’t disciplined enough, its crucial we don’t make mistakes like this against a good opposition.”Despite those lapses, Sri Lanka were still in the game when the batting Powerplay was taken in the 36th over of the chase, with both Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne having settled in. R Ashwin sent both back in an over, as, sweeping, Sangakkara didn’t connect well enough, and Thirimanne didn’t connect at all. “I thought we were in control of the game for quite some time,” Jayawardene said. “Except for my bad shot and two wickets in the first over of the Powerplay – that probably cost us the match.”What also scuttled Sri Lanka was the absence of their two allrounders, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera. Mathews has shown himself to be adept at closing out matches, while Perera’s powerful strikes would have helped the chase. More importantly, Jayawardene would have had more bowling options – he had to resort to using Chamara Kapugedera at one point in the double-century stand between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.”It is tough to get a combination going, both Thisara and Angelo are injured, we are trying to see what is the best combination we can come up with. Given the wicket, we thought we should play the extra batsman and chase.”Edited by Nikita Bastian

Afghanistan allrounder hits 46* off 20 to push Dambulla into top spot

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Dec-2020How the match played outGalle Gladiators had their moments in this one. In fact, perhaps they will wonder how they managed to lose it from such positions of strength. Thanks to a rollicking 31 off 18 from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and the by-now habitual excellence from Danushka Gunathilaka, the Gladiators were 73 for 1 at the end of their Powerplay. But then the game slipped.At one stage, the Gladiators seemed headed for 190, before Viiking’s spinners Ramesh Mendis and Samit Patel tied them down. Mendis took two vital wickets – those of opposition captain Rajapaksa, whom he had caught at cover, and the dangerous Azam Khan, whom he trapped lbw next ball.The Viiking’s captain Dasun Shanaka also soon made his presence felt with the ball, having Gladiators’ best batsman Gunathilaka caught behind for 46 off 31 in the 10th over. From there, the Viiking clawed themselves back into the game, taking regular wickets and allowing only 34 runs off the last four overs, which were bowled by Shanaka and Kasun Rajitha, who claimed his team’s best figures of 2 for 31.Danushka Gunathilaka tries the scoop•SLC

Although they made only 168 for 7, the Gladiators seemed to be in control during much of the chase, too. The Viiking lost two wickets inside the first four overs, and were marginally under the required run rate at the end of the Powerplay. By the end of the 13th over, the required rate had crept up to almost 11.3, and the Viiking seemed in real trouble. All the Gladiators needed to do was close out the game.But they couldn’t. They let catches from Samiullah Shinwari – who played the definitive innings of the match – slip through their fingers at least twice. Shinwari would punish these errors, swinging from the hip with virtually no foot movement to plunder 46 not out off 20 balls, hitting two sixes and six fours. The Viiking tied the game with three balls to spare, and Shinwari won it with a six over deep square leg off the last ball, which had been a full toss.Stars of the dayGunathilaka is a stare almost every time he appears in this tournament, and this innings was no exception. His 46 off 31 included eight fours, and he continues to be the LPL’s most productive batsman by a distance.Angelo Perera laid the groundwork for the Viiking’s win with 45 off 31, before Shinwari finished fast. The Gladiators’ bowling was led by Dhananjaya Lakshan, who took the vital wickets of Niroshan Dickwella, who was batting well, and Shanaka, who has been the Viiking’s most prolific batsman in the league.Turning pointWhen Shinwari arrived at the crease, the Viiking neeeded 65 off 33 balls. He went on to bash two sixes and six fours, during an innings in which he struck at 230. Two fairly straightforward catches went down off his bowling, and he took the match to the last ball even though he could have settled it earlier. But before this late burst, the Gladiators seemed headed for victory.Where does this leave the teams?The Viiking leap ahead of Jaffna Stallions to become league leaders, with 11 points. The narrowness of the Gladiators’ loss, meanwhile, means that Thursday’s match against Kandy Tuskers will effectively be a quarter-final. As their net run-rate remains higher than that of the the Tuskers, the Gladiators will likely go through to the semi-finals if they win.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell put on a stand of 132 to see England to victory at Lord’s

The Report by David Hopps21-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook took control of England’s chase with a solid half century before being dismissed two runs short of the target•PA Photos

West Indies had commanded respect and, for a fleeting moment, they even invited hope among their long-suffering supporters but at the end of the Lord’s Test it was a familiar tale of defeat. Two early wickets briefly raised West Indies’ expectations that a startling victory might be in their grasp but they were summarily dashed as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell swept England to a comfortable five-wicket victory.From 57 for 4, still 134 short of victory, Cook and Bell should have been under pressure, but they gambolled along at roughly four runs an over in a stand of 132. It ended with England two short of victory when Cook chopped Darren Sammy to gully. Ian Bell, who is already beginning to look like his old self again after a torrid winter, flicked Marlon Samuels through mid-on for the winning boundary in the next over.The sun that is now finally promised after a raggy-arsed spring will have been a relief for West Indies, but it shone upon on an England victory that has put them 1-0 up in the series with two to play.West Indies have now won just two of their 31 Tests since they dismissed England for 51 in Jamaica in 2009. They have only a few days to reassess before the second Test begins in Nottingham on Friday. All manner of theories will be bandied around about which absent players might have made them better, but the debate should not be about absent individuals, it should be about the reason most of them are absent – and that debate is about how the financial lure of IPL is threatening Test cricket, and Caribbean cricket in particular. There must be a window, a compromise, a solution. Instead what we have is a short-sighted flexing of muscles.Apart from Kemar Roach, no West Indies bowler was able to build much pressure. England will feel stronger for having to answer a few questions and Tim Bresnan, who does not much look like a lucky mascot, which tend to be cuddlier and fluffier, now has 12 Test wins in 12. Mascot or not, it is about the identity of their third seamer at Trent Bridge that England’s own debate will most centre.There were no 4am queues as there had been at Lord’s for the final day against India a year earlier but expectancy was high and there were officially 7,000 in the ground for a final day that many had assumed would not happen. West Indies had given England a fiery four overs on the fourth evening but they needed early wickets to stir the imagination a second time.

Smart stats

• England’s five-wicket win is their sixth in their last seven Tests at Lord’s, and their 14th in 25 Tests here since 2000. Their win-loss ratio of 4.66 is among their best in home venues during this period.

• For West Indies, the Lord’s defeat is their 43rd in their last 58 Tests in overseas or neutral venues (excluding Tests in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). They have only won two of those matches.

• The 132-run partnership between Alastair Cook and Ian Bell is the second-highest fifth-wicket stand for England in the fourth innings of a Test.

• Kemar Roach’s match haul of six wickets is his highest in an overseas Test. Only twice has he taken more wickets in a Test match.

• Cook’s 79 is his fifth 50-plus score in 23 fourth-innings efforts. For Bell, it’s his sixth half-century in 19 innings.

They got them too: Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen removed with the new ball still hard. On each occasion, a West Indies fast bowler responded to a boundary by delivering something better.Roach, West Indies’ main hope, set things moving in his third over of the morning. Trott steered him deliberately through the slips for four, and had a similar outcome in mind from the next ball, but this time it gripped up the hill and Darren Sammy took a good catch to his left at second slip.Pietersen had fulsome strokeplay in mind to get England out of a tight corner. He had memories of a big hundred in Colombo to sustain him, and the adulation of IPL. It was not long before he was met by a debutant, Shannon Gabriel, and the temptation to break his nerve immediately must have been high.Gabriel, a 24-year-old Trinidadian, dragged his third ball down short and wide and Pietersen pulled it haughtily to the midwicket boundary for four. The next ball was also short, but straighter, and Pietersen was cramped as he again sought out midwicket’s open spaces and succeeded only in bottom-edging to the wicketkeeper.At 57 for 4, even though one of the wickets was the nightwatchman Anderson, England were under the cosh. But the wicket was still sound and England accepted opportunities to press ahead quickly. Cook kept England’s innings moving forward with several controlled drives and West Indies turned to Samuels’ off spin. It was delivered at a saunter with no suggestion that a Test was in the balance and Bell’s late cut in his first over brought up the 50 stand in only 12 overs.Roach apart, West Indies’ attack offered little. Edwards was out of sorts, Gabriel’s accuracy wavered and Sammy lacked menace. Cook’s pull shot against Sammy, followed up by a crisp late cut against Samuels to bring up his fifty, smacked of restored England authority. England rustled up 121 runs in 28 overs in an enterprising morning’s batting with Cook, still to score at start of play, reaching his half-century in the penultimate over before the break.Quite why Samuels was still bowling after lunch was a mystery. The idea that in the absence of Shane Shillingford, who took 10 wickets in his last Test, Samuels might spin them to victory was a Caribbean fairy story.To turn to Roach was more appropriate but his threat had diminished. It was eight overs into the afternoon before Ian Bell advanced to drive Samuels for the first boundary of the session, but England had picked off 28 runs of the further 60 they needed in the meantime. Bell gloved a bouncer from Roach to fine leg for another boundary as victory became inevitable, Roach limped from the field at the end of a stout-hearted effort and it was not long before his team mates followed.

Alex Doolan gave Tasmania a solid platform on the first day against New South Wales in Canberra, but a pair of late wickets to Josh Hazlewood gave the Blues a slight edge at stumps

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2011
ScorecardAlex Doolan top scored with 82•Getty Images

Alex Doolan gave Tasmania a solid platform on the first day against New South Wales in Canberra, but a pair of late wickets to Josh Hazlewood gave the Blues a slight edge at stumps. At the close, the Tigers were 6 for 267 having chosen to bat, with Matt Johnston on 15 and Tom Triffitt on 7.Late in the afternoon, Hazlewood trapped James Faulkner lbw for 44 and soon afterwards had Doolan lbw for 82, which was the key breakthrough. Doolan and Faulkner had put together a 97-run partnership after several members of the Tasmanian top order made starts but failed to go on.Ed Cowan had struck 11 boundaries in his 65 before he was lbw to Josh Lalor, the New South Wales left-arm fast bowler playing his second first-class game. Lalor finished the day with 3 for 62 from 23 overs, a fine collection that also included George Bailey for 18 and Mark Cosgrove for 10.