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Essex eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire in their bottom of the table Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Chelmsford.

05-Aug-2012
ScorecardEssex eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire in their bottom of the table Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Chelmsford. In a match reduced to 25 overs each because of rain, the hosts surpassed Leicestershire’s 151 for 7 with nine deliveries to spare.Owais Shah led the way for Essex with an unbeaten 45 from 46 deliveries, which included three fours and a six.The foundation had been laid by openers Mark Pettini and Tom Westley who shared in a stand of 62 in nine overs before both fell to medium-pacer Wayne White. Westley fell lbw to the last ball of his first over for 27, while with the first delivery of White’s next over, Pettini put up a simple catch to Robbie Joseph at short extra cover.Greg Smith made 20 while helping Shah carry the total to 102 in the 19th over, at which point he was superbly taken low down by Rob Taylor at deep square leg.Essex arrived at the final five overs still requiring 42 but Shah then stepped up a couple of gears to help see them home. He took successive fours off medium-pacer Michael Thornely before despatching Nathan Buck for an on-driven six. Then Ryan ten Doeschate maintained the tempo, sealing victory with three successive boundaries at the expense of Buck.Although White emerged as the visitors most successful bowler with two wickets for 17 runs from four overs, it was left-arm spinner James Sykes who impressed the most – the 20-year-old’s five overs cost only 15.Leicestershire’s innings owed much to Thornely. Fresh from his century in the County Championship battle between the two counties, he again batted with a confident assurance that brought him 55 from 53 balls. The pick of his shots was a towering six over long-on off the bowling of left-arm spinner Tim Phillips.Thornely had also laced his innings with four fours until he was brilliantly caught on the long-on boundary – Graham Napier racing 20 yards and diving to cling on to the ball inches off the ground.Of the other batsmen, only Matthew Boyce topped 20, before he drove Napier into the hands of extra cover in the final over when on 24.Essex, who put their opponents into bat, used seven bowlers, the most successful of whom was off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who took 3 for 29 from five overs and among his victims was opener Ramnaresh Sarwan, who needed 22 deliveries to gather 14 runs until he holed out to Phillips on the midwicket boundary.Greg Smith was another top-order batsman who failed to out his foot on the accelerator, requiring 28 balls to make 18. Smith was also caught on the midwicket boundary, this time by Harbhajan, when he decided to open his shoulders against ten Doeschate.

A round-up of the ninth-place play-off quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup on August 19

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2012An unbeaten century from Papua New Guinea captain Christopher Kent went in vain as Afghanistan’s lower middle order held their nerve to chase down 240 in the ninth-place play-off quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup. PNG chose to bat and were in some trouble at 138 for 5 in 35 overs, before Nigel Boge joined Kent at the crease. The pair added 101 runs in the final 15, finishing unbeaten on 105 (Kent) and 55 (Boge). In the chase, PNG struck with regularity to leave Afghanistan 59 for 3 and then 159 for 6 in the 40th. If PNG sniffed a win, Nos. 7 and 8, Mohibullah Paak and Afsar Khan comprehensively denied them; they knocked off the remaining 81 runs briskly – with five sixes between them – to carry Afghanistan home with four wickets and an over to spare.A team performance from Scotland helped them past Zimbabwe in their ninth-place play-off quarter-final in Brisbane. Zimbabwe asked Scotland to bat, and all but one of their players who got the chance to bat got into double figures. No. 4 Nicholas Farrar, with 58, was the top scorer, as Scotland finished with 241 for 7. Their bowlers then put in a similar shared effort, in bowling out Zimbabwe out for 200. Zimbabwe too, had only one half-century in the innings – Ryan Burl’s 52 – but, unlike Scotland, several of their top order failed, being dismissed in single digits as they fell to a 41-run defeat.The results mean Afghanistan and Scotland progress to the semi-finals of the ninth-place play-off, where they will take on the winners of Monday’s Ireland-Namibia and Nepal-Sri Lanka games. PNG and Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will now be in contention for 13th place.

Shane Watson has said that Australia are likely to include Brad Hogg for the second T20I in Dubai on a wicket that is expected to aid slow bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2012Australia are likely to include Brad Hogg for the second T20I in Dubai on a wicket that is expected to aid slow bowlers, Shane Watson has said. Australia lost the first Twenty20 to Pakistan by seven wickets on Wednesday after their side collapsed to their second-lowest total in Twenty20 matches.Hogg, 41, made a comeback to Australia’s Twenty20 side in a match against India in February this year and since then has played in the IPL and the SLPL. “There is a good chance Brad Hogg will play,” Watson said. “He’s a wicket-taking bowler as he showed throughout his whole career and in his comeback as well.””There’s no doubt that the wicket is only going to turn more, there’s only one wicket out there so I pretty much consider that we’re going to be playing on that wicket for the next couple of games as well.”Australia, who batted first, lost regular wickets and were all out for 89. The batsmen not only struggled against the spin trio of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Raza Hasan – who shared six wickets – but also against seamers Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir. Only three batsmen in the line-up managed double-digit scores, with David Warner’s 22 being the highest.”You’ve got to take some positives I suppose, batting there weren’t positives there at all, but in the end, we just have to play a lot better, we’ve to bat a lot better to be able to put Pakistan’s batting under pressure,” Watson said.”I think their bowling in general was pretty difficult to handle. Umar Gul bowled beautifully at the start as well as Sohail Tanvir, before the spinners. So they’ve got a well-balanced bowling unit, Hafeez has high quality spinners as well, but I think they’ve got a good balance.”

The Bangladesh Premier League continues to face issues, with the players’ auction on Thursday happening with only a verbal agreement in place for the tournament

Mohammad Isam20-Dec-2012The Bangladesh Premier League continues to face issues, with the players’ auction on Thursday happening with only a verbal agreement in place for the tournament, rather than any proper paperwork; there is still no official agreement signed between the BPL, Game On Sports (the event management firm) and the franchises. Apart from this, the players’ salaries issue hung dimly above the auction floor as the seven franchises acquired the overseas and local cricketers of their choice.On the eve of the auction, BPL chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha said: “We haven’t had enough time to sign an official agreement with the franchisees as yet. We’re going into the auction based on a verbal agreement with the franchisees.”The agreement, which, when finalised, will be for a period of six years, will contain details on the working of the tournament, TV rights and key financial issues, among other things.”I am hopeful that we’ll have the deals struck by the end of this month and I am confident that the problems that occurred last year will not be repeated,” Sinha said. “As of now, we have to keep the ball rolling.”BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick told reporters on Thursday that they have set the franchises a deadline: “We have completed the Memorandum of Understanding with the franchises and sent them the drafts of the contracts. We have given them the deadline of December 22 to complete all formalities.”Towards the end of the auction, some of the team owners took turns to speak to the media. Things turned sour when Salim Chowdhury, the owner of Dhaka Gladiators, was faced with a volley of questions regarding the player payments issue. “I don’t understand why the question of money keeps coming up,” he said. “If a team has spent Tk10 crore (approx USD1.25ml) and is charged with not paying Tk50 lakh (approx USD60,000), why are we facing questions? Moreover, we are also participating in the auction and the tournament, so our intention is to play cricket.”We read a lot of news about undue player payments but we have never spoken about the money we have not been paid by our sponsors.”Player payments are not the only monetary issue for Dhaka Gladiators, as a PR agency had recently sued them over unpaid payments.Another issue on the day was the rumour going around that there was a prearrangement between the franchises regarding who would buy whom at the auction. The organisers said such an arrangement wasn’t possible. “We’ve also heard the rumour that there has been an arrangement [among the franchises], but going by the auctions and the prices, I am certain it didn’t take place,” Mallick said.

A round-up of the third day of the sixth round of Ranji Trophy Group C matches

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2012
ScorecardSeventeen wickets fell on the third day at Malappuram and at the end of it Jammu & Kashmir had beaten Kerala by 74 runs. It was the first time J&K had won a second Ranji Trophy match in a season since 2000-01.The day had begun with J&K on 68 for 3 in their second innings, leading by 120. They were dismissed for 151. Padmanabhan Prasanth took 5 for 16 in 14.4 overs, while KR Sreejith claimed 3 for 56.Chasing a target of 204, Kerala had reached 44 for 0 before they began to collapse. They lost five wickets for 21 runs, and their last four wickets for 15. Apart from the openers, no one else got past 20 and Kerala were dismissed for 129. Parvez Rasool took 5 for 43 in 18 overs and Manik Gupta claimed 5 for 26 in 9.4
ScorecardNo play was possible in the first session of day three in Guwahati because of bad light, and Assam had the better of the next two. They took four wickets in 45 overs and conceded only 96 runs.Himachal Pradesh resumed their first innings on 62 for 0 and ended the day on 158 for 4, trailing Assam by 196 runs with six wickets in hand. Aakash Chopra scored 55 off 193 balls and was out stumped. Amit Kumar remained not out on 20 off 81 balls. Assam’s new-ball bowlers Abu Nechim and Arup Das bowled a total of 53 overs and conceded only 83 runs for two wickets.
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Ravikant Shukla, and Swapnil and Rohit Asnodkar, helped Goa score 248 runs for the loss of four wickets on the third day in Porvorim, giving them a fair chance of overtaking Services’ first-innings score of 473. They need 161 more to take the lead.Goa began the third day on 64 for 1, and Swapnil Asnodkar converted his overnight 17 into 74. The other top-order batsmen also got starts but did not convert them, and Goa slipped from 122 for 1 to 193 for 5. Avishek Sinha and Yashpal Singh took two wickets each for Services. Shukla and Rohit Asnodkar then repaired Goa’s innings with an unbeaten 112-run stand for the sixth wicket and they ended the day on 312.

Jesse Ryder has ruled out a return to international cricket in the immediate future and is unlikely to play for New Zealand during England’s tour

Jarrod Kimber27-Jan-2013Jesse Ryder has ruled out a return to international cricket in the immediate future and is unlikely to play for New Zealand when England arrive for their tour next month, but he will be spending time with the team. Ryder had said earlier this month that he was leaving a door open for the England series but his agent confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Ryder felt he “needed more time” before he could make an international comeback.”Jesse has decided that he is not ready to return to the Blackcaps yet,” Aaron Klee, Ryder’s agent, said in an email. “He wants to stick to the plan he started last year, where he set out to achieve some personal goals and play a full season of domestic cricket.”He made a decision in June last year to take 12 months out of international cricket to achieve some of his goals. It has only been seven months since he made that decision. Whilst he has been back playing well, and starting to rediscover his enjoyment of the game, he feels that he needs more time before committing fully to playing international cricket.”Ryder was dropped after an incident during the one-day series against South Africa last year. He then decided to take a break to work on various issues, and struck form upon returning to domestic cricket. Ryder has played six matches for Wellington in the Plunket Shied, the first-class competition, scoring 580 runs at 58 with three hundreds, and was the leading run-getter in the HRV Cup, making 584 in 12 matches at 58.40.”Jesse is committed to seeing through the plan that has so far been successful,” Klee said. “He has been making very good decisions – we need to respect his decision-making in this instance as well. He still has goals he wants to achieve and achieving these would be difficult whilst playing international cricket – especially given the schedule the Blackcaps have in the coming months.”Klee said New Zealand Cricket was supportive of Ryder’s decision and was welcoming about him wanting to be involved with the team during the England series. However, he said “Jesse wants to keep to his original plan and the decision to take 12 months out of international cricket. That decision was made last June, so it is unlikely that he will deviate from his plan.”Ryder, Klee added, would play the IPL if he was selected, given it was a “domestic competition” and he would be on a “short-term contract”. Klee, though, said there wasn’t a set timeline for Ryder’s international return. “It would not be appropriate to try and put a date on a return to the Blackcaps. Many factors would have to align, including selection in the team.”Ryder is due to meet the New Zealand coach, Mike Hesson, on January 29. “The meeting was never about selection or availability – that isn’t even on the agenda for Tuesday,” Klee said. “It is a continuation of the regular discussions so Jesse wanted to dismiss any speculation before the meeting.”

Sohail Tanvir has re-signed with the Lions franchise for South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition, which starts on Friday. Tanvir is one of four internationals who have been confirmed for the tournament so far

Firdose Moonda14-Feb-2013Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan left-arm seamer, has re-signed with the Lions franchise for South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition, which starts on Friday. Tanvir is one of four internationals who have been confirmed for the tournament so far. Owais Shah and Azhar Mahmood will represent the Cape Cobras, while Ravi Bopara will turn out for the Dolphins.Tanvir was part of the Lions squad that reached the final of last summer’s event and played in the Champions League T20, where they also ended runners-up. Although he was not among the leading bowlers in the domestic competition, with just three wickets from seven matches, he formed an imposing new-ball pairing with Dirk Nannes.Nannes is not returning to the Lions because he has signed with the IPL team Chennai Super Kings, so the responsibility will fall on Tanvir to lead the attack. He was credited with mentoring the younger quicks like Chris Morris and Ethan O’Reilly, who were the top two-wicket-takers for the Lions.”Sohail has fitted into our setup excellently and has complemented the existing pool of talent that we have in our younger and more experienced players. He brings a wealth of experience and we are looking forward to the contribution he can make to the side,” Geoffrey Toyana, Lions coach said. “It has been a great season for us thus far and there is no doubt in our minds that we want to end the season on the highest note possible.”In Toyana’s first season in charge, the Lions shared the domestic one-day cup trophy with the Cobras after the final was rained out twice and finished second in the first-class championship. They have not won silverware since the 2006-7 season when they lifted the T20 cup and Tanvir hopes he can be part of helping them repeat that. “There would be nothing greater than to be able to contribute to the side and ultimately raise the trophy with teammates,” Tanvir said.

Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim batted like they were unfazed by Sri Lanka’s record in Galle, smashing big centuries and breaking records

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran10-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim – 261 runs and counting•Associated PressGalle has traditionally been a stronghold for Sri Lanka, with their spinners known for running through sides and wrapping up Tests well inside five days. Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim, however, batted like they were unfazed by that intimidating record, digging in for big centuries and breaking country records over a single day. Their unbeaten partnership of 261 was the highest in Bangladesh’s 13-year history as a Test nation and Ashraful went past his own record for the highest individual score by a Bangladesh batsman.A common criticism of Bangladesh has been the inability of their batsmen to occupy the crease long enough and thus post totals in excess of 400 consistently. It had affected their ability to stretch Tests into the fifth day. On this occasion, Ashraful played the longest innings by a Bangladesh batsman in terms of balls faced (381) and the team passed the 400 mark with only four wickets down, well on track to beat their highest of 556 against West Indies last November. They lost only two wickets on the third day – both in the first hour – before Ashraful and Mushfiqur remained un-separated till stumps.Two wicketless sessions marked a forgettable day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers. The seamers got no swing, and Rangana Herath failed to get enough turn and bounce. Ajantha Mendis was ineffective in his comeback Test, failing to pitch on the desired length and dishing out the odd full toss. Part-timers were called upon but all changes were in vain.Smart stats

Mohammad Ashraful’s 189 not out is his highest Test score, surpassing his previous best of 158 against India in 2004. It is also the highest by a Bangladesh batsman.

Ashraful’s 189 is the seventh-highest score by a visiting batsman in Tests in Sri Lanka and the third-highest by a visiting batsman in Galle, after Chris Gayle’s 333 and Virender Sehwag’s 201.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s 152 is the third-highest score by a Bangladesh batsman and the highest by a Bangladesh captain. It is also only six runs short of the record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper against Sri Lanka (Kamran Akmal’s 158).

The 261-run stand between Ashraful and Rahim is the highest partnership for Bangladesh in Tests, surpassing the previous highest of 200 between Junaid Siddique and Tamim Iqbal in Dhaka in 2010.

The 261-run partnership is now the third-highest for a visiting team in Tests (highest in Galle) in Sri Lanka. The highest is 287 between Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali at the SSC in 2012.

The number of overs faced by Bangladesh (136) is the sixth-highest (second-highest in away matches) for them in a Test innings. The highest is 153.3 against India in Dhaka in 2000.

The number of wickets lost by Bangladesh (four) is the fewest for an innings in which they have faced 100 or more overs.

For the third time in Tests in Sri Lanka, five or more centuries have been scored in the first two innings of a match. The previous occasion was against India at the SSC in 2010.

The pitch was a batsman’s dream but that wasn’t taking any credit away from Bangladesh. The absence of two mainstays in the line-up was talked about as Bangladesh’s biggest challenge ahead of this game, but Ashraful allayed fears of a meltdown with a mature innings. Ashraful has fancied the Sri Lankan bowling since his debut, with five of his six Test centuries coming against them. His presence provided stability after Sri Lanka had struck in the first hour – Mominul Haque edging to slip for 55, and Mahmudullah waltzing down the track to Herath before getting off the mark.Ashraful eased the pressure by remaining positive, punishing the fuller deliveries outside off for fours and forcing the Sri Lankan captain to push cover back. Mushfiqur’s calm presence helped Ashraful as he neared his first Test century in more than four years. He found his timing with a couple of sweetly timed punches past cover in one over from Nuwan Kulasekara.Ashraful entered the 90s with a forceful drive past cover point, but his nerves were apparent. He spent a fidgety 35 deliveries in the 90s before driving Mendis past cover to bring up his century. The relief was palpable as he roared and stretched his arms towards the dressing room, temporarily putting to rest the criticism he is so accustomed to.Sri Lanka took the new ball after lunch but it didn’t change their fortunes. Mushfiqur whipped Kulasekara off the pads in the first over before Ashraful thrashed Angelo Mathews past cover for consecutive boundaries. A Mushfiqur cover drive brought up the century stand, the second of the innings.The stand was highlighted by several such confident drives through the off side, and Mushfiqur also used his feet to Herath regularly, chipping down the track and smashing over the off side. Mendis wasn’t used as much as the senior Herath, but he too couldn’t maintain control, bowling a full toss to Mushfiqur that was clubbed over midwicket. Mushfiqur also entered the 90s with a boundary to third man just before tea. After playing out a full session the batsmen shook hands, acknowledging a job well done.Sri Lanka did have a chance to break the stand. Mushfiqur, on 103, went down the pitch to Tillakaratne Dilshan, who failed to hang on to a return catch. He then charged the same bowler and launched him over long-on to go past the follow-on mark. When Ashraful pushed a single to long-on in the final session, he went past his previous best of 158, against India, to break a Bangladesh record. This was also the second double-century partnership in Bangladesh’s Test history for all wickets, beating the 200 set by Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique against India in Dhaka in 2010.The bowlers tried varying their lengths on a slow pitch, but it appeared as though they were waiting for the batsmen to get out to tired shots. They rarely played weary shots, though. A straight-driven four by Mushfiqur helped Bangladesh beat their best overseas total of 416, against West Indies in St Lucia in 2004.They were still 132 adrift of matching Sri Lanka’s score, and while the chances of a result looked dim, getting this far was a sign of progress for Bangladesh. They had left the hosts searching for answers in their own fortress.

Sussex have lost Australian John Hastings, from the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because of an ankle operation.

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2013Sussex have lost John Hastings, the Australian overseas player signed for the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because he is about to undergo surgery on an ankle injury.Hastings will undergo surgery in Melbourne next week to remove bone spurs on his left ankle. He will now focus on rehabilitation ahead of the 2013-14 season with the Victoria.A quality replacement will be difficult to find for Sussex – although the difficulty of attracting high-class players could be even more difficult next season when the counties revert to T20 on Friday nights for much of the summer.”There’s never a good time to get it done, but it’s pretty disappointing,” Hastings said. “I was in quite a bit of pain during the last three months of the season and it wasn’t allowing me to deliver my skillset like I would like.”Hastings was determined to see out the season, having missed the 2011/12 Victoria season because of shoulder surgery – and that has cost Sussex dear.He seemed an astute Sussex signing as he took 27 wickets at 24.51 including career-best figures of 5-30 and 7-87 against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield this season, as well as scoring useful runs in the lower middle-order. He also finished third on the RYOBI One-Day Cup wicket-takers’ list with 15 at 25.46 and averaged 44 with the bat.Mark Robinson, Sussex’s professional cricket manager, said: “Obviously the news is really disappointing and it is a shame that Sussex supporters will not get to see John in action this season. We wish him a speedy recovery from his surgery and our attention now turns to finding a suitable replacement.”

Keith Bradshaw, the South Australian Cricket Association chief executive, has suffered a recurrence of the cancer he battled during his former role as CEO of the MCC in London

Daniel Brettig08-May-2013Keith Bradshaw, the South Australian Cricket Association chief executive, has suffered a recurrence of the cancer he battled during his former role as CEO of the MCC in London.Currently off work due to an unrelated medical complaint, Bradshaw is set to undergo a fresh round of treatment for multiple myolema, a form of bone marrow cancer.”I am touched by the very generous comments made by so many colleagues here in Australia and overseas,” Bradshaw said. “I see this as part of the ongoing process of living with myeloma. And assisted by modern medicine, and with the love and support of my family and friends, just like last time I expect to be back bowling 20 overs uphill into the wind again in no time.”Widely respected for his capable stewardship of Lord’s and now the SACA, Bradshaw was first afflicted in 2008 and 2009 during his time at the MCC. He kept working during most of the term of his treatment, and intends to do so again this time around.Having undergone chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant Bradshaw told the London in April 2009 that the cancer had gone into remission, with the proviso that “it could come back in two months or 20 years”.Bradshaw left Lord’s in 2011 and took up the job at SACA, where he has helped oversee Adelaide Oval’s redevelopment as an AFL stadium with drop-in pitches, which will host their first Test match during the Ashes series against England in December.Friends of Bradshaw have set-up an appeal fund to aid the costs of his medical treatment. Donations can be made to the Keith Bradshaw Appeal, Wellington Hospital, Wellington Place, London NW8 9LE.