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Spirited Leicestershire fall short despite best efforts of Ackermann, Amin, Scriven and Cox

ECB Reporters Network13-Sep-2023Indian left-armer Jaydev Unadkat took six wickets on his home debut as Sussex revived their promotion challenge by wearing down Leicestershire’s spirited resistance to claim only their second win of the season in the LV= Insurance County Championship.Undakat defied the discomfort of a sore ankle to take an outstanding 6 for 94 from 32.4 overs including the last four wickets in 31 balls as they bowled out the Foxes for 483 at Hove to squeeze home by 15 runs.Sussex visit Derbyshire next week before finishing the season at home to Gloucestershire but second-placed Worcestershire, who currently have a 18-point advantage over Sussex, are still favourites for the other promotion place. They play Durham at New Road next week before finishing at Headingley.Leicestershire, for whom Colin Ackermann made 136, Umar Amin 94 and Tom Scriven 78, aren’t completely out of the running to join Durham in Division One next season but have a tough run-in, facing Yorkshire at home before finishing at Durham.After Ackermann and Amin put on 180 for the fourth wicket, Scriven and Ben Cox added 130 for the seventh to take Leicestershire to within 46 runs of victory when Undakat produced an inspired spell down the slope.He found some bounce and seam movement on a benign surface to defeat both established batters. Having made his career-best, Scriven was drawn half-forward and edged behind and Cox taken at head height at slip by Tom Alsop before Scott Currie nibbled at a full-length delivery to bag a second-ball duck.That left Chris Wright, who joins Sussex next season, and last man Matt Salisbury needing 43 and Salisbury batting with a runner because of a hamstring injury. Wright had famously guided Leicestershire to a target of 389 against Yorkshire earlier in the season and when he slapped Fynn Hudson-Prentice for two sixes to help get the target down to 16 Sussex nerves were jangling again, only for Unadkat to produce a brilliant leg-stump yorker that was too good for Wright.Leicestershire had the consolation of making the highest fourth-innings total in their history and there were plenty of periods during a fluctuating day when they looked favourites.Ackermann and Amin added 67 runs in the first hour with few alarms but with the new ball an over away, off-spinner Jack Carson removed both batters in the space of four deliveries. Ackermann, who’d hit 21 fours, was bowled making room to cut and Amin played for turn which wasn’t there and was struck on the back pad six short of his hundred, having hit 17 boundaries.Rehman Ahmed threatened to make the most of being dropped at short leg by Alsop with a single to his name, moving quickly to 29. Sussex had delayed taking the new ball for ten overs but in his third over with it Unadkat persuaded Ahmed to drive at a ball well outside off stump and Carter took a good catch diving to his right.However, with the pitch showing little sign of deterioration Scriven and Cox settled in, saw off the threat of the new ball and after lunch began to tick off the runs with few alarms.Umpires Ben Debenham and Paul Baldwin had to speak to both Carson and captain Cheteshwar Pujara as Sussex’s frustrations threatened to boil over, before Undakat changed the mood completely and the hosts could celebrate winning more than one game in a Championship season for the first time since 2019.

England Test captain beefs up his pleas to protect players’ wellbeing upon his ODI retirement

Vithushan Ehantharajah19-Jul-2022Ben Stokes has urged the authorities to stop considering players as “cars” and hopes his ODI retirement will be a wake-up call.The allrounder was speaking ahead of his 105th and final ODI after taking the decision to retire from the format. In a statement detailing his decision, he spoke of a desire to lighten his loads, citing playing all three international codes was “unsustainable for me now”.Having taken on the Test captaincy at the start of the summer, Stokes will continue to give “everything I have” to the longest format, as well as Twenty20. As it happens, the 31-year-old Stokes missed the T20 series against India to rest after Test matches against New Zealand and India, and will not play in the T20s against South Africa that follow the ODI series, or The Hundred ahead of the three Tests with the Proteas.Speaking to the media ahead of Tuesday’s match, he went firmer on his comments the previous day of an unsustainable schedule and believes the on-field product will suffer if nothing changes.”We are not cars,” he stated to Test Match Special. “You can’t just fill us up and we’ll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again. We had a Test series and then the one-day team had a series going on at the same time – that was a bit silly.”I just feel like there is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats now. It is a lot harder than it used to be. I look back to when I used to do all three and it didn’t feel like it was as jam-packed and all that. Obviously you want to play as much cricket as you possibly can but when it is making you feel tired, sore and you’ve got to look towards five or six months down the road for what you’re doing in the here and now it is probably not the best thing.”The more cricket that is played, the better for the sport, but you want a product that is of the highest quality. You want the best players to be playing as much as you possibly can, all the time, and it isn’t just me or us. You see it all around the world now where teams are having to rest some players in a certain series so they feel like they are getting a break.”Related

• If 50-over cricket is dying, maybe it needs to be put on a pedestal

• Jonny Bairstow vows to play all three formats 'as long as possible', in wake of Ben Stokes' ODI retirement

• Nortje hoping for 'more Test cricket' as Covid restrictions are relaxed

• Ben Stokes rested from South Africa T20Is, Hundred

• Ben Stokes to retire from ODI cricket after Chester-le-Street farewell

Stokes also referenced the examples of James Anderson and Stuart Broad for what he hopes will be a prolonged career in the remaining two formats. Anderson and Broad last played white-ball cricket for England in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and are still vital cogs in the Test attack in 2022. Stokes even spoke to Broad about how the 36-year-old found the lighter workload and was left convinced he had made the right decision, especially if he is to replicate Anderson and Broad’s tally of over 150 appearances in Tests.”I asked Stuart if he felt that not playing white-ball cricket was a reason he is still playing now, 160 Tests. He said without a shadow of a doubt, yes. I want to play 140-150 Tests for England.”It’s come a lot earlier than I would have liked at 31 years old, giving one of the formats up. T20 bowl, 2-3 overs here and there. Longevity I have thought about. Hopefully when I’m 35, 36, still playing Test cricket, I can look back on this decision and say I’m very happy with it.”Stokes also revealed he had come upon the decision after the first ODI against India at the Oval on Tuesday, July 12. As he consulted others, one told him “if there’s any doubt, there’s no doubt” that he should step away from 50-over cricket. He then spoke to Jos Buttler, the limited-overs captain, about his thoughts, which centred initially on not being able to bowl his full complement of 10 overs. That inability to play a full, all-round part in matches was ultimately the deciding factor.”After that one-day game it hit me in the face. A quick chat with Jos after the game, I said that if the game was in a different position I’d have bowled more for him. We had five minutes together, he said you don’t owe the team anything and that I had a lot of cricket coming up. That was nice to hear.”I went away and had five minutes to myself, I told him I almost felt a bit useless that I can’t do that. It’s not a nice feeling, knowing I have to look after myself, the captain is trying to look after me, the medical team and the coach as well. It’s international cricket you can’t be doing that.”

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

• Quinton de Kock to return to competitive cricket with Titans vs Lions game this week

• 'Time is right to walk into a new chapter' – Faf du Plessis retires from Test cricket

• Relations between CSA and CA 'strained', admits Graeme Smith

• Ireland to host South Africa for ODI, T20I series in July

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.

16-year old Naseem Shah charged in without reward after he had Warner caught behind off a no-ball

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane22-Nov-2019Naseem Shah was denied a first Test wicket by the calling of a no ball after the fact, but he had consolation in a generous assessment by David Warner, who made the most of the second chance to bat through day two of the Gabba Test for Australia.”He’s quite skiddy, got a nice fluent action, but he won’t get a harder Test debut than out there and bowl at the Gabba,” Warner said of 16-year-old Naseem. “To keep coming back in, having to back up the overs, that heat. You ask any Test fast bowler who’s played here and had to keep coming back, it’s very challenging out there, and our job as batsmen is to try and keep them coming back. I think he kept his speed up quite a lot throughout the whole day. The back end he cramped up a little bit, but that’s obviously going to happen.”He charged in, and there’s a superstar there. Like when Mohammad Amir came on the scene, the first time, he was rapid and had us all in a pickle. He was a world class bowler, and if you add him to the Test lineup as well, their depth is ridiculous, and having these other young guys like Musa and Hasnain as well, who I faced in the T20s. If Waqar Younis can get a hold of them and get their lines and lengths and their engines going, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.”Naseem Shah sends down his first delivery in international cricket•Getty Images

Those words of encouragement were as good as it got for Pakistan on an otherwise barren day, as Warner, Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne were so supreme as to prevent the Ashes dominating Steven Smith from even getting a bat. Yasir Shah, who continued his own personal battle to try to find the right way to bowl in Australia, was blunt in assessing how the pace bowlers had used the new ball in the absence of Mohammad Abbas.”The wicket played very differently to the way it did on day one. The kind of moisture we saw wasn’t there,” he said. “We bowled badly with the new-ball. We didn’t use it well. That allowed them to get set and they played well.”We’ll have to see how tomorrow goes. There was a little bit of help later on. I didn’t get too many breakthroughs but there was quite a bit of bounce on offer. Our bowlers have used the second new-ball well. So I hope that we come back tomorrow and bowl well.”Yasir, who may have been close to losing his place for the match, explained how he had tried to experiment with pace and line to find a way past Warner. “I changed and mixed my pace around quite a bit today,” he said. “I bowled slow and also at times a bit fast. You have to do that on these pitches. Your ball can skid with the faster one and bring you a wicket. I tried my best to bowl at one spot, which I’ve done in the past and they played me well.”Today I did the same, but also with some variations and they played me well again. There wasn’t much support from the wicket. It’s just the second day of the Test. You just need to find the right spot from where you can get the ball to jump and get you wickets at short-leg and at close-in positions. And if the ball breaks even a bit off the pitch, there’s a chance of getting an edge to slip.”That’s what I tried but without much success since there wasn’t much turn off the wicket. But I’ll try to do the same tomorrow morning and hopefully it’ll work out.”

The full text of Angelo Mathews’ letter to SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, following his removal as captain

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2018Dear CEO,I write to you pursuant to the meeting held on Friday the 21st of September 2018 at SLC premises, which was attended by all the selectors along with the National Cricket Coach Mr. Chandika Hathurusinghe. At this meeting the selection committee and the coach informed me to step down as Sri Lanka’s captain of the ODI and T20 team. Though I was initially surprised, it was immediately felt that I have been made the scapegoat in this entire saga of Sri Lanka’s dismal performances against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. I’m willing to take part of the blame but at the same time, feel betrayed and let down if the blame is solely put on me. As you know all decisions are taken through a mutual understanding with the Selectors and the Head Coach. And though I do not agree with the reasoning that the losses should be accrued single handed to the Captaincy, I however eagerly and wholeheartedly respect the request of the selection committee and the head coach in asking me to step down and do so with immediate effect.You would recall that I relinquished my captaincy in all formats in July 2017, pursuant to captaining Sri Lanka continuously for a period of 5 years in all formats. During this tenure under my captaincy series wins were recorded against England, we whitewashed Australia 3-0 and winning the Asia Cup in 2014 were some memorable occasions. However in the team’s best interest having felt that the time had come for new leadership I voluntarily resigned as Captain from all formats of the game in July 2017.Thereafter, pursuant to Sri Lanka suffering heavy defeats in all formats and having several appointed Captains, namely Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera, Chamara Kapugedara, Lasith Malinga and Dinesh Chandimal during the tenure between July 2017 and December 2017 in the ODI and T20 formats, Mr Chandika Hathurusinghe immediately having been appointed as Head coach met with me in person, requested me to reconsider taking up the Captaincy until the World Cup in 2019. Though myself, my family and close friends discouraged me in taking up the mantle, being confident in Hathurusinghe and his plans to elevate the performances of the Sri Lankan team and in the best interest of my country I agreed to do so until the World Cup.I wish to put it on record that though Sri Lanka suffered these heavy defeats in the Asia Cup, which is shocking to say the least, especially in the backdrop where we had a reasonable series against South Africa, I had no intention to quitting and running way from the issues at hand especially owing to the World Cup being only a dozen games away. Furthermore as an obligation of a player I will keep working hard in all aspects of the game and will be available to represent Sri Lanka at any given time with my fullest. I also believe that if the selectors and coach are of the view that I am unfit to play ODI and T20 cricket and thus not entitled for my place in the team, I would also consider retiring from the ODI and T20 formats as I never want to be a burden to the team. I have played the game true to my conscience and have given my best at all times and have felt that I am fit enough to play the formats and also have performed adequately over a period of time to hold my place in the team. You will know that I was also the overall highest run scorer in the South Africa series from both teams.In the given circumstances I thus resign as the Captain of the Sri Lankan ODI and T20 team with immediate effect in considering the request of the selection committee and the coach to resign. I thank the selectors and the National Coach for speaking to me in person and conveying your thoughts in respect of the Asia Cup and giving me the opportunity to step down in this manner.I wish all the successes to our National Cricket team and all of you.Best wishes,Angelo Mathews

Watch: The moments of play that made the Kingston ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2017Jadhav’s tricks claim Mohammed
How difficult is it to hit Kedar Jadhav? Ask Jason Mohammed. He bowls offbreaks, but they don’t turn; they slide away a touch, if at all. He bowls them slow, so there is no pace to work. In this match he bowled with an arm lower than Lasith Malinga’s, with the knee bending further to make his release even lower. Mohammed realised he couldn’t expose the stumps, he had to impart all the power himself, and there was the dilemma of “will it turn or not”. In the 31st over, Mohammed was beaten first by one slid away, then had to keep out one that kept low. Then his partner Shai Hope had a chat with him. Next ball he tried to force it away, but all he managed was a return catch. Jadhav even went for a double-play, removing the bails at the non-striker’s end to let Hope know he was out of his crease.India’s misses
Though India restricted West Indies to 205 for 9, their fielding was not at its best. There were misfields in the outfield, a few fumbles, and some chances – some really difficult ones, some not quite so – missed.Dhawan’s downward slide
After his two fifties in Trinidad, Shikhar Dhawan has struggled to adjust to the slowness of the pitches. In the third ODI, he ramped, but because of the lack of pace, the ball settled with third man. In the fourth, he drove on the up and found mid-on. He repeated the mistake in Jamaica, driving on the up, ending up playing in front of his body, and giving cover a catch.Kohli handles the short ball
In the previous matches, Virat Kohli’s eagerness to score off the bouncer – a dominating-batsman’s ego if you will – had got the better of him, but here he was prepared to wait it out. He kept ducking, weaving and leaving bouncers before he finally hooked in the ninth over, at least the eighth bouncer bowled at him. This was smoked clean in front of square for four with the wrists managing to keep it down.

Sri Lanka’s new high performance manager Simon Willis, has said he aims to bridge the gap in standards between Sri Lanka’s domestic system and the international game.

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jun-2016Sri Lanka’s new high performance manager Simon Willis, has said he aims to bridge the gap in standards between Sri Lanka’s domestic system and the international game.High-profile players and some administrators have repeatedly drawn attention to the ailing health of Sri Lanka’s first-class system. Though an overhaul of the Premier League tournaments is beyond Willis’ purview, he has outlined a vision to create a well-defined “player pathway” from grassroots cricket to the international level, and to create more cohesion within the system.”We’ve got to work together so that when players get picked, it doesn’t get two or three years to get established in international level,” Willis said. “We have to ensure that everything we do underneath – whether that’s A team, Under-23 or Under-19 – is preparing them for transition to an international environment.”That might not be just cricket skills. It might be travelling overseas. People might struggle being away from home for a long period of time. We need to prepare them for that. It might be playing in different conditions – like what we’ve seen in England with a swinging ball.”Sri Lanka have struggled in all formats over the past 18 months, making little impact in major limited-overs tournaments, and having lost 10 of their 14 Tests since December 2014. Much of that has been put down to difficulty in replacing retiring stars.”The first thing is to provide an oversupply,” Willis said. “We need more players than just one or two. We need to create competition. We want players banging down the door to get into international teams – both men and women.”But they should be capable of winning matches on consistent basis. Not just once a week or in two or three years. We see two of the greats who recently finished their careers – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene – they were capable of winning matches in all formats, consistently. That’s the challenge we’ve got in our player pathway.”Willis said he would also aim to link Sri Lanka’s national team management more effectively with the domestic system. A breakdown in the relationship between the board, selectors and the team had led to the overnight sacking of a selection committee in March, on the eve of the team’s departure for the World T20.”From my understanding, there’s been a small disconnect between the national team and what’s going on underneath,” Willis said. “I see myself as the glue that links those things two together.”Graham Ford – the head coach of the national team – will tell us his needs, as well as Angelo Mathews, who is the present captain. Us as a team will be trying to identify players and develop them in certain ways and provide them with opportunity overseas or in this country, to develop international players that the national team requires.”Willis – who has a Level 3 certificate for coach education – has also been hired to up-skill Sri Lanka’s coaches. He said he hoped to work with local coaches to put in place a central database containing in-depth information on key players, and he also spoke about tapping into knowledge already contained in the system.”For me, it’s really important all Sri Lankan coaches are seen on the grounds. Whether that’ll be a provincial game or in a club game, we need to be out there watching players and communicating with coaches further down the chain. This is a part in the education process. It’s a two-way process. Not just top-down, we need to learn from those people who are specialising down the grass root level, because we can learn lessons along the way.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth ODI between England and New Zealand

The Preview by Alex Winter16-Jun-2015

Match facts

June 17, 2015
Start time 1400 local (1300GMT)

Big Picture

Exciting new England got a bit too excited at the Ageas Bowl. Batting first with a morning start and then continuing to swing for all money with wickets tumbling – and then wasting 28 balls of their innings – were both symptoms of a side perhaps trying too hard to instill the characteristics of a new regime. It has been fun to watch them in the three matches so far, but this series has, in the ultimate analysis, only yielded them one win. But that doesn’t matter, we are led to believe, at this stage of England’s development. And that can be held to be true – another near-capacity crowd is expected at Trent Bridge and they will not have paid for England to go all pragmatic in pursuit of victory.Batting with gay abandon certainly entertains and it is England’s bowling attack that needs to be shored up if this team is to win more matches – something that has perhaps been overlooked in the series so far; concerns blown away by record totals with the bat. England have Steven Finn back performing well. Finn was very defensive about his World Cup record – he was England’s leading wicket-taker – and has come back strongly with the second-best economy rate of anyone in the series to have played two or more matches. David Willey swung the new ball at the Ageas Bowl and Mark Wood was very impressive in the same match and should have got England back into the match but for dropped catches. England seem to have different options to turn to and for the final two matches could call on a pair of twins from Devon to provide an extra edge to their attack.New Zealand already have a pair of siblings in their XI and both have helped their side to a series lead and the chance to clinch the rubber at Trent Bridge. Key to their success has been the form of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who shared big stands in both matches New Zealand have won at The Oval and Ageas Bowl. Taylor’s return to form is perhaps the best story of the tour, playing with renewed fluency and back to the run-scoring he showed against India at the start of 2014, when he also made back-to-back centuries. He followed them up with another ODI hundred in his next game at the back end of the year and matching that feat at Trent Bridge could help New Zealand continue their superb ODI form: they have only lost two of their last nine series stretching back to November 2013.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England LLWWL
New Zealand WWLLW

In the spotlight

Jason Roy has been sounded out for some time as an uninhibited hitter from county cricket that could fit well with an England ODI side looking for revolution but his three innings this series have yet to show that potential. His best innings this season – 140 and 143 – have come in the County Championship; instead returning four single-figure scores against the white ball in four T20s for Surrey.On New Zealand’s last tour in 2013, Mitchell McClenaghan was playing just his second series and blew England away with eight wickets at 17.25, going for just 4.89 runs an over. He has maintained an impressive ODI record and earned an IPL contract this season but in this series has struggled. Even accounting for the flat wickets, four strikes at 55.25, leaking over eight runs per over has been a disappointment.

Teams news

England have the headline-grabbing option of selecting twins for the first time after Somerset fast bowler Jamie Overton was called-up to the squad to join his brother Craig. But both David Willey and Mark Wood impressed at the Ageas Bowl so England are likely to field an unchanged side with no further injury worries.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Sam Billings, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 David Willey, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Steven FinnNew Zealand are also likely to be unchanged with the only option to bring Nathan McCullum back into their XI as another slow option – but he conceded 152 runs at 9.50 an over in the opening two matches before being left out at the Ageas Bowl. He could replace Mitchell McClenaghan who has only been slightly less expensive.New Zealand (possible) 1 Brendon McCullum (capt), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Ben Wheeler, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

This series has benefitted from superb batting wickets at all three venues and Trent Bridge is likely to provide another to keep the runs flowing. The forecast suggests a shower is possible late in the afternoon but otherwise warm with sunny spells.

Stats and trivia

• Seven members of the England side that played the last ODI against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, back in 2013, are not in the squad for this series. England comfortably defended 287 in that match
• New Zealand have played six ODIs at Trent Bridge but only two of those matches have been against England. They beat Sri Lanka in 1979 and India in 1999 but lost the other four fixtures, including an 80-run reversal in 1975, which was also a World Cup match
• England’s record at Trent Bridge is exactly 50% with 13 wins and losses. They also tied against Australia in 1989 with two late run-outs and conceding a scrambled bye off the final ball

Quotes

“It looks like we’ve won our fanbase back in one-day cricket.”
Alex Hales sums up the benefit of England’s attitude in the opening matches of the series.
“If this side were at the World Cup, I think they’d certainly scare a few teams.”

Rest of India’s batsmen picked off some of the easiest runs they would have scored to pummel Rajasthan on the second day of the Irani Cup

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore22-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
M Vijay was almost entirely untroubled during his unbeaten 151, and a double-century is his for the taking on the third day•Fotocorp

Rest of India’s batsmen picked off some of the easiest runs they would have scored to pummel Rajasthan on the second day of the Irani Cup, as the large gulf in quality between the two sides was exposed at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.M Vijay, India’s preferred back-up opener little more than a year ago, began the season with the big runs he will need to consistently score to return to the thoughts of the national selectors. Ajinkya Rahane reached the milestone of 5000 first-class runs, but missed out on an on-the-platter century, and Cheteshwar Pujara feasted on some listless bowling.Such was the dominance of Rest of India that in the two-and-a-half hour morning session, there were only three moments of minor discomfort for the opening batsmen: an edge in the early overs that bounced through to slip, an lbw appeal that was more out of formality than any real conviction, and an inside-edge that rolled towards mid-on. Otherwise, Vijay and Rahane middled virtually every ball they played before lunch to demoralise the Ranji champions. The highlight of the morning was the off-driving by both batsmen, who confidently played on-the-up and consistently dispatched the ball through covers.Rajasthan, without their two most potent bowlers of the previous season, were toothless on a track that didn’t encourage the bowlers too much. Their three quick bowlers all averaged around 115kph, and though Deepak Chahar got the ball to jag around a little, there was nothing for the batsmen to be alarmed about. The spinners too found little purchase; they dropped it too short too often and were easily dealt with. By the final session, both left-arm spinner Gajendra Singh and offspinner Madhur Khatri were bowling defensive lines on the pads, looking purely at containment. It didn’t help that Chahar had to leave the field with a knee injury just before tea.Rajasthan tried various strategies early on to ruffle the batsmen, putting eight men on the off side, and later putting square leg midway to the boundary and a deep backward square leg before trying to bounce the batsmen. Nothing worked.The wicket, when it finally arrived midway through the day’s play, was inevitably through a run-out, a fortuitous one at that. Rahane was serenely progressing towards his first first-class century since last year’s Irani Cup when he firmly on-drove a delivery from Gajendra. He immediately set off for a single, but the ball struck Vijay’s bat and knocked it out of the non-striker’s hand. The slightly shaken Vijay signalled for Rahane to turn back, but it was too late as the ball had dribbled to the mid-on fielder, and Rahane didn’t even try getting back.Both Pujara and Vijay were also almost run-out – Pujara when Gajendra palmed a Vijay straight drive onto the stumps, and Vijay when he was sauntering a single to long-on not realising that the throw was coming towards his end.Vijay grew more adventurous as the day progressed. While in the morning his scoring was mainly through along-the-ground drives and carves behind point, he started to step out and launch the spinners over their heads later in the day. He was almost entirely untroubled during his unbeaten 151, and a double-century is his for the taking on Sunday.Pujara looked the most loose of the top three. As he and Vijay went about dismantling Rajasthan after tea, there was a troublesome phase when Pujara was nearly dismissed three times in close succession – first a catch turfed at second slip by Vineet Saxena, then a close lbw call followed by a loud caught-behind appeal. There was a missed stumping chance as well later on, when he was on 64. In between, he was ruthless against the generous dose of short balls, repeatedly carving the ball through cover or pulling to the square-leg boundary.Rajasthan had something to cheer about late in the day, when left-arm quick Choudhary had Pujara nicking through to the keeper on the second delivery after the new ball was taken. That, though, did little to alter the balance of the game, which remains firmly in Rest of India’s favour.

Twenty20 Finals Day was introduced to its first One-over Eliminator as a mad-cap semi-final swung one way and the other before settling in Leicestershire’s favour as Will Jefferson clubbed 15 runs of four balls in a dramatic finish

The Report by Sahil Dutta at Edgbaston27-Aug-2011 (D/L method)
One-over Eliminator
ScorecardWill Jefferson booked a spot in the final for Leicestershire by smashing three boundaries in the Super Over•Getty Images

Twenty20 Finals Day was introduced to its first one-over Eliminator as a mad-cap semi-final swung one way and the other before settling in Leicestershire’s favour as Will Jefferson clubbed 15 runs off four balls in a dramatic finish. The victory booked Leicestershire both a place in the final and a spot in the Champions League qualifier next month, but for now their thoughts will be on the Birmingham finale.After rain had twice curtailed the game to leave Lancashire needing 80 from 11 overs, Gareth Cross clubbed a six off the final delivery to leave the scores level and set up the Eliminator. Stephen Moore had been Lancashire’s highest scorer in the tournament and was given the responsibility of setting the target with Steven Croft. Moore started with a six down the ground and added a four as the fielder at deep-square leg misjudged on the boundary. Claude Henderson, however, finished with two dot balls.Leicestershire had to chase 14 in their over and Jefferson made it look easy. Earlier he had seemed in good order during a 15-ball 23 but found better range against Gary Keedy. The first delivery was clattered through midwicket for four and the second down the ground. With four needed from the last two balls, Jefferson mowed a huge six deep into the stands over midwicket, sparking wild celebrations from both the Edgbaston crowd and the Leicestershire players.Though it ultimately made for a thrilling finish, the clouds that stalked the ground all day twice delivered downpours to interrupt the game. The first, in Leicestershire’s innings, lopped the match down to 18 overs a side but the second – after eight overs and one ball of the chase proved more decisive.Lancashire had skipped out of the blocks to take 38 from the five Powerplay overs but were bogged down by Henderson’s left-arm spin to be 53 for 1 when the rain arrived. With three games to squeeze into the day the chase was curtailed by the delay to leave Lancashire needing 27 from 17 more balls.Their response was to hack wildly. Batsmen walked in and off a procession as five wickets fell. Joshua Cobb, whose contribution had been limited to a diamond duck, was given the penultimate six balls and delivered a fearless over of offspin that gave away just six runs and brought two wickets. Wayne White’s final over had been superb until the last delivery – a low full toss – was dispatched by Cross over long-on to tie the scores. The crowd had started the day quietly but became ever more gripped by the wildly fluctuating match and were in raptures by the time the six set up an eliminator.Up until that Super Over, the first semi of Finals Day had proved a tale of two matches. Batsmen profiting against seamers and hamstrung against spin. Through the match 18 overs from the quicker men went for 157 while the spinners shared five wickets for 44 in 11. Hampshire’s trio of twirlers would have eyed each rasping turner with giddy anticipation.While the wicket may have raised eyebrows it was not unexpected. Peter Moores, the Lancashire coach, said afterwards he had no complaints. “The wicket played pretty much what we thought,” he said. “Edgbaston is pretty consistent, it sticks in the pitch a bit, mix your pace, it turns a bit. And it’ll turn a bit more probably as the day goes on. But its nothing different. Normally 150 will be a good score, and that’ll hold sway throughout the day.”That Leicestershire ended up victorious was all the more unlikely after they lost their way batting first against Keedy and Stephen Parry’s left-arm spinners. With the ball gripping violently they were reduced to 82 for 5 by the 12th over. But, after a slow start Abdul Razzaq launched three sixes and two fours – sharing a crucial 40-run stand with Paul Nixon to haul them up 132. It proved enough, just, to extend Nixon’s career that little bit more.