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An impressive innings of 70 from Rob Taylor on his County Championship
debut was not enough to prevent a youthful Leicestershire side crumbling to 167
all out against Surrey at Grace Road

23-Aug-2011
ScorecardAn impressive innings of 70 from Rob Taylor on his County Championship
debut was not enough to prevent a youthful Leicestershire side crumbling to 167
all out against Surrey at Grace Road.The 21-year-old all-rounder, who hit an unbeaten century for Loughborough
University against Leicestershire earlier in the season, was the only batsman to
offer any resistance and by the end of the first day Surrey had taken control of
the game. The visitors closed on 122 for 2 – trailing by just 45 runs.Leicestershire’s performance illustrated why they have won only one
Championship game all season and are 49 points adrift at the bottom of Division
Two. The next highest scorer after Taylor was opener Will Jefferson with 14,
while the extras column added 24 runs to the home side’s meagre total. With James Taylor on England one-day international duty and Andrew McDonald, Josh Cobb and Wayne White all rested ahead of Saturday’s T20 semi-final against Lancashire at Edgbaston, Leicestershire also gave a debut to 22-year-old Ned Eckersley and brought in 17-year-old Shiv Thakor for his second Championship game.Surrey also included a debutant with India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha named
in the side after signing as a second overseas player 24 hours earlier. In overcast conditions, Leicestershire batted after winning the toss but lost five wickets before lunch as Surrey’s seam bowlers ripped through their top order.Tim Linley picked up the first three wickets with Matt Boyce (one) caught
behind, Jefferson bowled off an inside edge and Greg Smith (nine) caught at
third slip. Thakor (10) was next to go, also edging to slip off a good delivery from Zander
de Bruyn. That brought together the two debutants, Eckersley and Taylor, and
they shared a promising stand of 39. But shortly before lunch Eckersley (11)
top-edged a short-pitch delivery from the pacy Stuart Meaker and was caught at
deep mid-wicket.After that it became a one-man show for Leicestershire as the left-handed
Taylor showed his quality and potential with some good-looking attacking shots
and solid defence. An on drive to the ropes off De Bruyn brought up his fifty off 79 balls but
before long he provided Ojha with his first Championship wicket, skying a catch
to De Bruyn as he tried to sweep having made 70 off 130 balls with eight fours.Ojha then had Nathan Buck caught off bat and pad for nine to finish with 2
for 19, while Linley claimed 3 for 22. Rory Hamilton-Brown showed Surrey’s intent in response, hitting a six in Buck’s first over before edging the same bowler to wicketkeeper Paul Dixey for 17.Steve Davies and Mark Ramprakash, dealing mainly in boundaries, shared a stand
of 60 that was brought to an end when Thakor had Ramprakash lbw for 22 to claim
his maiden first-class wicket. Davies reached his fifty off 75 balls with nine fours and was still there at the close on 54 alongside De Bruyn (19 not out) with Surrey 122 for two – 82 of
the runs having come from boundaries.

Despite the dank, damp September that has arrived spin could secure Lancashire a vital victory in the Championship race

Andrew McGlashan at Liverpool08-Sep-2011
ScorecardGary Keedy’s three wickets help keep Lancashire in control•Getty Images

Despite the dank, damp September that has arrived spin could secure Lancashire a vital victory in the Championship race. A surface that started green began to offer significant help to the spinners as the home side thought it would when they selected Simon Kerrigan alongside Gary Keedy. Hampshire, who closed on 229 for 5, will have to bat last and remain a long way from first-innings parity.And Lancashire also struck lucky with the weather as showers skirted Liverpool before the afternoon brightened. However, they found Hampshire hard work to crack initially – they are fighting for their Division One life – as Jimmy Adams and Liam Dawson added 103 for the first wicket. Then, though, the inroads arrived as four wickets fell for 40 either side of tea but Hampshire battled hard to stay in the contest. Worcestershire’s problems against Sussex mean they still have a glimmer of hope.This a pitch where persistence is required because wickets can fall in clusters. For 37 overs Lancashire were frustrated as Adams and Dawson suggested Hampshire were setting a platform to challenge the hosts’ 388. Dawson reached a hard-working fifty from 107 deliveries before trying to cut Kerrigan (“one that didn’t turn” he said with a smile) and losing his off stump. Lancashire earned another breakthrough on the stroke of tea when Michael Carberry was bowled round his legs by one that spun from Keedy. It was the last ball of an additional over because Lancashire’s over-rate was good and they bowled an extra eight for the day.Watching the two left-arm spinners, Keedy and Kerrigan, in tandem – a period which lasted 48 overs – gave a glimpse at the past, present and future of Lancashire’s spin bowling. Keedy, the senior pro, is being widely linked with a move to Warwickshire next season because they are willing to offer him a longer contract. Lancashire, for their part, are over-loaded with left-arm spinners – they also have Stephen Parry – and don’t want to make Kerrigan, who is playing just his third Championship game of the season, uncomfortable about his future by Keedy blocking his development. On the evidence of this match Kerrigan can develop into a fine replacement. The England selectors have taken note, too, with an England Lions call-up.For now, Kerrigan is enjoying the partnership with Keedy which, he admitted, took time to settle. “We did it a little bit last year when Keeds came back from injury but we didn’t quite click because we were trying to outdo each other,” he said. “We had a talk about and said if he could just build pressure then they feel it and there’s no outlet.”After tea the wickets came again. Adams, who scored 207 against Somerset last week, had reached fifty from 132 balls but didn’t go much further when he was well caught at slip by Paul Horton who dived almost behind the keeper to hold a fine edge. That catch, however, was nothing in comparison to the one Horton took next to remove James Vince as he dived low to his left to claim an outstanding grab.Neil McKenzie and Sean Ervine withstood the attack for 18 overs but the scoreboard didn’t move very quickly as the spinners maintained pressure. Keedy, from the River End, made the breakthrough when McKenzie lunged forward and edged to Gareth Cross. Another wicket before the close would have left Lancashire well placed for a handsome lead – and that prospect is still there for the morning – but Ervine and Michael Bates played well to see out the day.Ervine used his long reach to try and get to the pitch, twice lofting Kerrigan over the leg side, but was given a life on 47 when Cross couldn’t gather an edge. He reached his fifty from 79 balls and he remains Hampshire’s best chance of closing the gap. It was exclusively spin throughout the last session with only three overs of Steven Croft breaking the monopoly of the left-armers.
“We knew the pitch had been used and would spin. Now it’s down to me and Keeds to turn it on,” Kerrigan said. “We just need to be patient.”Earlier, Lancashire had fallen 12 runs short of maximum batting points but to post 388 from being 125 for 5 on the first afternoon was a wonderful performance. Glen Chapple and Kyle Hogg carried their eighth wicket stand to 116 – a new Lancashire record against Hampshire – before Hogg was trapped lbw by Dimitri Mascarenhas.Chapple’s innings was a boundary-studded affair, but in the 90s he moved into single mode and kept losing the strike to Kerrigan. Then Chapple tried to reach three figures for the first time since 2004 with a lofted shot down the ground but could only pick out deep mid-on. Keedy and Kerrigan added another 19 as the 400-mark loomed and although they fell short their most important role for the day was still to come.

Virat Kohli has said India have been playing good cricket from the one-day series in England and were confident ahead of the ODI in Hyderabad

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2011India’s 126-run win against England in Hyderabad was a dramatic turnaround after they had been battered by the same opposition all summer, but Virat Kohli said they had been playing good cricket from the one-day series in England. Rather than any drastic change in approach, Kohli said it was the fact that the team had continued to stay positive through the 0-3 loss in the ODIs in England that allowed them to win the game.”I think we played really well in the ODIs in England,” Kohli said. “It was just a matter of crossing the line which we couldn’t do there. Unfortunately, a few times we had rain and Duckworth/Lewis coming in at the wrong time, though we can’t really blame that. We fought hard through that series and kept our heads high; and that probably made the difference in this first game here.”India were also helped by home conditions in Hyderabad and Kohli said the spinners would be the key through the series. The second ODI, on Monday, is at Kohli’s home ground – the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, where the pitch had been quite inconsistent during the IPL in April-May.”This pitch has always been on the slower side and there isn’t much bounce,” Kohli said. “Apparently it’s improved from before. You might not see too much bounce but it should be better than before.”In Hyderabad, it was slow and it spun, and the spinners did well. That’s our strength and we would like to exploit it as much as we can. The spinners know the conditions in India really well; it’s about them expressing their skills and if they get it right it’s very difficult to tackle them on Indian wickets.”England lost six wickets to the spinners in Hyderabad, and though they had more than a week in India to prepare for the series, Jade Dernbach says they are still adjusting to conditions. “Conditions here are very different from what we experience back home,” he said. “We have just got to adapt; we can’t use the different pitches as an excuse. We know what to expect and have had good preparation for ten days.”The pitch does play a part in how quickly I bowl, and how much pace I take off the ball for the slower ones. If the pitch is very slow, then obviously you get a lot more pace taken off if you bowl a slower ball, so it gives the batsman a bit more time to see it. Those are the things you have to adapt to in terms of deciding what variations to use, and you also have to consider boundary sizes and other things.”After the first one-dayer, MS Dhoni had said that while the pitches would help the spinners, the possibility of dew could play a big role in the series, as that would affect the spinners’ ability to grip the ball. “There will be some dew here in the winter,” Kohli said. “The team batting second will also have an advantage as the wicket will settle down. This is my home ground but I have played just two games here this year so I’ll have to see what happens in the match tomorrow.”England’s coach Andy Flower admitted his side had been out-fielded by India in the first ODI, something he said did not happen often. India have a young squad for the one-day series with several senior players missing, and Kohli said there had been a concerted effort to raise the standard of fielding.”We have started to warm-up for practice sessions with fielding now. It’s a daily routine though it’s left up to the individuals how much time they want to spend on fielding practice. Whenever you have time before nets or after practice, you go and put some time in on fielding.”All of us are trying to improve as a fielding unit because it makes a huge difference if you can save 10-15 runs in the first ten overs. It sends the opposition a message and from then on they are wary of taking you on for an extra run. It’s enjoyable fielding at home because you have 60,000 people backing you. If you are feeling a bit off one day the crowd lifts you. You can’t really teach someone to enjoy fielding as it comes from within.”

S Aga23-Nov-2011You know the dice are loaded in favour of batsmen when a bowler that’s taken four wickets in the innings speaks of feeling ‘cheated’ at the lack of bounce on offer. That said, few expected a West Indies batting line-up missing its only experienced campaigner – Shivnarine Chanderpaul – to make India toil more than six sessions to dismiss them. But with Darren Bravo crafting a marvellous 166 and sterling support from Kirk Edwards, Kieran Powell and Marlon Samuels, the hosts were left to play catch-up all day.Bravo was reprieved on the first evening when he had 33 – a low chance to Rahul Dravid’s left at slip – and India were given ample time to regret that lapse as he continued his stupendous form on this tour of the subcontinent. In Kolkata, his 136 had been about saving face. Here, having come in after the openers gave the team a tremendous start, he could set the tempo. “Once he’s set, he can be an ominous batsman to bowl to,” said R Ashwin, who spent much of the press conference speaking about the “disheartening” nature of a pitch that he once thought of as the “most sporting in India”.Having fallen for 195 in Bangladesh, it appeared as though a double-century was on the cards for Bravo when he had a swipe at a Varun Aaron delivery that angled across him. “I became a little tired,” he said. “I’ve had a bit of flu and that took its toll on me.”Till then, though, he had seldom been troubled, unveiling some lovely drives and whiplash cuts when the opportunity presented itself. Ashwin kept offering the bait outside off stump, but he was seldom tempted. When the ball pitched in line, he made sure the bat was well in front of pad.Once they survived the second new ball, he and Edwards piled on the agony, one all left-handed elegance and the other a muscular right-hander with a no-nonsense style that reminded some of Clive Lloyd.Powell was no less impressive, announcing his intent with an audacious loft down to the sightscreen. At one point, he had 28 from 28 balls and it needed a superb afternoon spell from Aaron to drag the hosts back into the game.”Kirk’s finding his feet in the international game,” said Bravo. “He and I have a good understanding when we bat together.” Their cause was undoubtedly helped by a sizeable opening partnership. “We just had to continue where they left off,” said Bravo.Having lost two Tests as a result of poor shot selection and losing wickets in clusters, West Indies will look at this scorecard with great satisfaction. Bravo stole the headlines, prompting more Brian Lara comparisons, but over six sessions, five others also stood tall and ensured that they were counted.Bravo and West Indies now find themselves in a position from where they can dictate terms. “We’ll go out there with high energy and see what our fast bowlers can do,” he said, looking ahead to the prospect of an all-too-rare victory away from home. “It’s a decent batting wicket, but there’s a bit of turn. It played much better today. If you apply yourself, there are runs to be had.”Bravo illustrated that, with a fluency and swagger that suggested we should see a lot more of him in the years to come.

The Central Districts v Auckland HRV Cup match in New Plymouth was abandoned without a ball being bowled

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2011The Central Districts v Auckland HRV Cup match in New Plymouth was abandoned without a ball being bowled. This was the second day running that rain ruined the cricket. The wash-out has prevented either side from claiming bragging rights – Auckland and Central Districts sit at the top of the points table at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.

A positive start by Michael Clarke and a late surge by Tom Cooper helped Adelaide Strikers beat Brisbane Heat by 31 runs at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A positive start by Michael Klinger and a late surge by Tom Cooper helped Adelaide Strikers beat Brisbane Heat by 31 runs at the Gabba. The win took the Strikers to second place while Heat are languishing at the bottom. Captain Klinger led the way with an unbeaten 53, building useful stands with opener Daniel Harris followed by Callum Ferguson. He batted steadily, striking seven fours in his 53. He fell in the 13th over with the score on 91, and Cameron Borgas followed in the 16th over with the score on 124. Cooper, though, gave the innings more impetus at the death, in the company of Johan Botha. The pair added an unbeaten 42 in 25 balls to take the Strikers to 166.Matthew Hayden got the chase going with a couple of early boundaries but the Heat chase never really threatened, as the Strikers picked up wickets at regular intervals. Seamer Kane Richardson dismissed the openers, going for just two runs in his two overs, while Brendan Drew and James Muirhead also took two wickets each. The highest score in the innings was 35, and that came from No.8 Steve Paulsen. It took 18 overs for Strikers to bowl out their opponents.

The picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala has been approved by the ICC to host international one-dayers and Twenty20 matches

Tariq Engineer20-Jan-2012The picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala has been approved by the ICC to host international one-dayers and Twenty20 matches. The venue was inspected by ICC match referee and former Australia batsman David Boon last month and the approval was conveyed to the association yesterday morning, according to Mohit Sood, the HPCA’s press secretary.”It is a very important decision [for us],” Sood told ESPNcricinfo. “We don’t have any other ground in the state that can host ICC-approved international matches. This is the first ground in Himachal Pradesh.”At an altitude of 1317 metres above sea level and with the snow-capped Dauladhar hill-range rising in the background, the stadium is arguably India’s most beautiful. It has hosted a number of IPL matches over the past couple of years, serving as the second home for the Kings XI Punjab franchise. It was the IPL experience that convinced the association that they were capable of hosting international games. “After that we approached the BCCI to take the case forward [with the ICC],” Sood said.The process began two years ago and this was the second inspection of the stadium, which has a capacity of 23,000 and is located 250 km from the state capital, Shimla. The first time around, the HPCA were told that their security arrangements and the infrastructure for the players were not adequate. Since Dharamsala does not have hotels of the standard required by the ICC, Sood said that they built their own in the form of a residential academy to house the players and improved security to the point where their procedures passed muster.He expects the opportunity to see live international games to motivate more people in the state to take up the game and, thereby, improve the overall quality of their cricket. “As it is, with the creation of infrastructure, our team is doing well at the domestic level. In the near future, we will have players from the state representing India.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening Twenty20 between Pakistan and England at the start of a three-match series

The Preview by David Hopps22-Feb-2012

Match facts

Thursday February 23, Dubai
Start time 2000 (1600 GMT)Jos Buttler will hope for more chances in the Twenty20 series after his duck on ODI debut•Getty Images

Big Picture

It would be a mistake to dismiss the three-match Twenty20 series at the end of this unpredictable tour involving Pakistan and England as inconsequential. It is nothing of the sort. Twenty20 might be anathema to some but the size of its audience is undeniable. There is a World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September to plan for and these matches will be vital preparation for both sides.There has been little logic in what we have seen so far in the other two formats. England, ranked as the No. 1 Test side in the world, were trounced 3-0 in the Test series; with little reputation in the 50-over game they responded by returning the favour with a whitewash in the ODIs. Add the fact that T20, if not the lottery many claim, is more unpredictable to call, and only a fool would be confident of the outcome.England turn to their third captain of the tour with Stuart Broad stepping up for T20. It is testimony to their unity that they can make the transition between captains with no sense of discord. Pakistan will soon be considering a replacement for Misbah-ul-Haq and a young T20 captain would be one way to begin their rebuilding process, but the captaincy triumvirate might be one English export that never takes hold.

Form guide (most recent first)

Pakistan: WWWWL
England: WLWWL

Players to watch …

Awais Zia, a dashing left-hander, gets an opportunity as Younis Khan and Azhar Ali return home. Zia, 25, from Chakwal in the Punjab, has even been called “the new Boom Boom.” No pressure there then.The player the English media wants to watch is Alastair Cook, whose flowering as an ODI batsman has been followed by his addition to the T20 squad. “Injury cover only,” insist England nervously, whether because they are frightened of undermining Broad, have no intention of playing Cook, or are being strangely playful, who can tell?

Team news

Team news is patchy. Broad admitted that England had injuries and then refused to say what injuries they were, encouraging more Cook Fever. Ravi Bopara’s bad back may rule him out although he trained on Wednesday. Pakistan will play Awais Zia but the presence of Hammad Azam, overlooked for the ODIs, ahead of Imran Farhat is less certain especially as Misbah has expressed the wish for those who failed in the one-day series to make amends.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Hammad Azam, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Umar Akmal (wk), 5 Awais Zia, 6 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Shoaib Malik, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz CheemaEngland (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk) 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Samit Patel 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 10 Steven Finn

Pitch and conditions

Pitches in Dubai have offered enough pace to encourage strokeplay so the odds are on a high-scoring match.

Stats and trivia

• Temperatures in parts of the UAE fell as low as 9C in mountainous areas, 12C on the coast, on Tuesday with storm-force winds, sandstorms and rough seas.
• Awais Zia is uncapped and the only new face in Pakistan’s T20 squad.
• Broad has missed three of the six Twenty20 matches since he was named captain due to injury.
• Mushtaq Mohammad, the former Pakistan captain, has called for Pakistan’s one-day side to be dismantled.

Quotes

“No reassurances needed to be given. We’ve worked closely as three captains, as we have done for nearly a year now, and that doesn’t change overnight.”
“Sometime you feel home sickness. It is not that I’m giving an excuse on this matter but it happens when you are not playing at home.”
Edited by Andrew McGlashan

A round-up of Friday’s matches in the MiWAY T20 Challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2012Some manic, late hitting from Chris Morris almost gave Lions a remarkable comeback win, but Cape Cobras hung on to win by just one run at Newlands. The contest seemed over when Lions were left needing 44 runs off three overs, with four wickets in hand, to overhaul Cobras’ 180. Morris hit two fours, and Thami Tsolekile one, to take 17 runs off Justin Kemp in the 18th over, but only seven came off the next, bowled by Brad Hogg, leaving Lions 20 to win off the last. Morris hit Charl Langeveldt’s second ball over backward point, his fourth through midwicket and fifth over extra cover, all for fours, and Lions needed four off the last ball. Morris could only manage to drive the ball to long-on and Lions fell one run short.It should never have got that close for Cobras, who put up an impressive total and then took quick wickets to peg Lions back after Jonathan Vandiar’s 59 off 38 balls had got the chase off to a brisk start.Cobras reached 180 thanks to Owais Shah’s 79 not out off 44 balls. Shah came in after Cobras had lost their openers early and was watchful initially, before breaking free with two leg-side boundaries in the eighth over. He worked the ones and twos in the middle overs, and then exploded in the end. He smashed Dirk Nannes for three consecutive fours in the 16th over, hit two fours and a six in the next one, bowled by Morris, and collected two more boundaries off Sohail Tanvir in the 20th. Shah was assisted by Dane Vilas, who scored 49 not out off 31 balls, including three big sixes.

Jandre Coetzee’s remarkable bowling performance helped Knights win a low-scoring match against Warriors, in Port Elizabeth, by 13 runs, and move to second in the table. Coetzee, the left-arm medium-pacer, took three wickets and conceded just seven runs in his four overs, which included a maiden, as Knights defended 127. Coetzee struck with the first ball of the second innings, getting rid of the dangerous JJ Smuts. He was taken out of the attack after just one over, and Warriors got their chase on track through Colin Ingram’s boundary-filled 53. Two wickets fell in the tenth over, bowled by offspinner Werner Coetsee – Ingram was run out and Johan Botha out caught – but Warriors were still favourites at 84 for 4 in 12 oversCoetzee then came back and took two wickets in three balls to derail the chase. He was held back again, and when he came on to bowl the 17th over, delivered a maiden, which causes the required-rate to rise from 7.00 to 9.33. His next over, the 19th, went for just four runs, and sealed the win.Knights had started off briskly in their innings but the boundaries become harder to find in the middle overs and then completely disappeared in the last five. Obus Pienaar’s 39 off 34 balls had given Knights a solid base, but their middle and lower order could not build on it, and only 26 runs came off the last five overs to keep the total to 127. They needed a good bowling performance to win, and they got one.

Titans and Dolphins shared the points after their match at SuperSport Park was abandoned after 10.3 overs. The match was delayed after 2.2 overs due to lightning. The players came back out but could only play a few more overs before the rain came and washed the game out.

USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty and other incumbent members of the board are favoured to win re-election today in the USACA general elections

Peter Della Penna14-Apr-2012USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty and other incumbent members of the board are favoured to win re-election today in the USACA general elections. A lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction for the elections to be delayed was dismissed in the District Court in California on Friday.It means that 32 out of 47 USACA member leagues who had their voting privileges stripped by the USACA board in February will remain unable to take part in the election. The majority of the 15 eligible leagues are supporters of Dainty. Consequently, they are also highly likely to favor treasurer John Thickett and vice presidents Michael Gale and Rafey Syed who have all reportedly sided with Dainty in recent board decisions.The other position up for a vote today is executive secretary. John Aaron, who resigned from his position on November 30 in protest at the board’s stalling tactics to overstay their three-year term, is running against Kenwyn Williams. Due to the fact that the majority of the board voted to uphold Dainty’s suspension of Aaron last year, it is believed the pro-Dainty leagues will vote against Aaron. Williams has vowed on his campaign’s Facebook page to enforce a “gag order” on all USACA players, team officials and administrators from speaking with the media if he is elected executive secretary.Votes will be presented and tabulated at the USACA annual general meeting which takes place today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.Candidates
Gladstone Dainty (incumbent), Mahammad Qureshi, Ram Varadarajan, Kenwyn Williams
Michael Gale (incumbent), Shahid Ahmed, Ahmed Jeddy, Krish Prasad, Mahammad Qureshi
Rafey Syed (incumbent), Hemant Buch, Ahmed Jeddy, Charles Peterson, Mahammad Qureshi
John Aaron, Kenwyn Williams
John Thickett (incumbent), Gangaram Singh