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After watching India bat through 160 overs, England were plunged into huge trouble in the closing stages of the second day as they lost three late wickets to close on 41 for 3 in reply to the hosts’ imposing 521 for 8 dec

The Report by David Hopps16-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball by ball detailsFile photo: On day two in Ahmedabad, Cheteshwar Pujara made his first Test double hundred (ESPNcricinfo is not carrying live pictures due to curbs on the media)•Associated Press

After the certainty of Cheteshwar Pujara’s unbeaten double century for India, England’s fallibility against spin bowling was even more painful for them to bear. India have plotted turning pitches, they opened the bowling with a spinner and in 18 overs of gathering mayhem struck three times in the closing phase of the second day. Initial evidence at least suggests that England’s Asian nightmare is about to continue.One of those three wickets was a nightwatchman – Jimmy Anderson, who prodded the left-arm spinner, Pragyan Ojha to short leg – but that was small consolation for England. Nick Compton batted reasonably securely on debut until R Ashwin, who had opened the bowling, found sharp turn to bowl him through the gate. Jonathan Trott also fell to Ashwin for a fourth-ball duck, a cast-iron push forward and another catch at short leg off bat and pad.What a contrast this was with what had passed earlier. England knew little of Pujara before the series: a bit of a recce in a warm-up match, a few shots watched on a laptop, a provisional theory or two about how best to get him out and a worried expression or two from statisticians unable to deliver megabytes of data.England know lots more about Pujara now. When India declared, to leave England 18 overs before the close of the second day, Pujara had batted in accomplished fashion for more eight-and-a-half hours. But they still do not have much idea how to get him out. Not on low, ponderous surfaces like this, at any rate.When Jimmy Anderson took the first wicket by an England seamer, in the 158th over, there was an emotional argument for throwing the laptops in the skip, but England’s management stared into them with the staunch, glassy-eyed futility of a touring party under enormous pressure.The scorecard showed them that Graeme Swann, valiantly bearing an onerous responsibility as England’s only specialist spinner, had maintained an immaculate line, bowling in traditional offspinner’s style, to finish with 5 for 144. Swann added one more wicket on the second day, bowling MS Dhoni behind his legs, a deflection off a glove as he tried to sweep.Pujara’s progress will have had the connoisseurs purring. He played in stately and composed manner, producing a masterpiece of strategic thinking. Rahul Dravid has retired to England’s relief and they have walked straight into another India batsman with an insatiable appetite for batting. It is understandable how to an Indian eye he might occasionally resemble VVS Laxman, but his mindset is pure Dravid. He bats more elegantly but, like Dravid, has no need for flourish or frippery. The man himself, looking on from the commentary box, could not fail to be mightily impressed.

Smart stats

• Cheteshwar Pujara’s 206 is his highest Test score surpassing the 159 he made against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2012. It is also the first double-century for India against England since Rahul Dravid’s 217 at The Oval in 2002.

• India’s total of 521 is their tenth 500-plus total against England overall and their fourth against England in home Tests. The previous 500-plus total at home came in Mumbai in 1993.

• The 130-run stand between Pujara and Yuvraj Singh is the fifth-highest fifth-wicket stand in Tests in Ahmedabad.

• R Ashwin is now the joint fourth-fastest bowler to reach the 50-wicket mark in Tests (nine Tests) and the fastest Indian bowler to reach the mark going past Anil Kumble (ten Tests).

• Graeme Swann’s five-wicket haul is his fifth in the subcontinent. His tally of 58 wickets in ten Tests is the second-highest for an England spinner in the subcontinent.

Swann apart, for England there was no encouragement. The ball refused to deviate, in the air or off the ground, for a hard-pressed seam attack as India’s first innings moved inexorably forward. After the Sehwag-fuelled start on the first day, India ground on, their rate slowing. By the declaration, they had added a further 198 at 2.82 runs per over. It was a day in which India’s domination was not expressed noisily but seeped into England’s consciousness.Pujara had rounded off the first day by driving Jimmy Anderson crisply through mid-off for four, a satisfying finale, but one which left him on 98 not out. England sensed an opportunity.Stuart Broad allowed him a comfortable leg-side single to move to 99, and hammed up a vociferous lbw appeal for a ball pitching outside leg; Swann bowled an intelligent maiden. But he picked off another single in Broad’s next over to reach his second Test hundred and celebrated with a quiet air of contentment. When he later reached 200 by steering Anderson past gully, the crowd were ecstatic at the success of one of Gujurat’s own, but Pujara struck you as the sort of level-headed man who does not dance easily in company.His innings, characterised by subtle placement and a sober mind, was a model of restraint and orthodoxy. How England must regret Anderson’s inexplicable misjudgement when Pujara was 8, dashing forward too far at mid-on as he misjudged the flight of Pujara’s leading edge against Tim Bresnan. The decline in England’s fielding has been marked for some time and, as Anderson showed again, it is afflicting both the best and the worst.The most romantic story of all failed to materialise. Yuvraj Singh made a successful return to Test cricket after treatment for cancer, but there was no comeback century, that hope ending when he was unhinged by a groin-high full toss which he whacked obligingly down to long on in the fourth over of the afternoon. Patel had the good grace to look sheepish.Yuvraj entertained, though. His skip down the pitch to strike Swann straight for six was the shot of the morning and was followed by a sweep that fell short of six by inches. Fifteen came from the over; if India broke Swann, England really were in trouble. They never did, but Yuvraj, as a left-hander, had an appetite for Patel, an inconsequential second spinner. His place at No. 6 is justified by his adroitness against spin but, in this Test, his own left-arm slows look slightly round-arm and unthreatening.

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.”

Rest of India continued to dominate against Mumbai, dismissing them for 274 to take a huge first-innings lead

The Bulletin by Abhishek Purohit03-Oct-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Wasim Jaffer was the only Mumbai batsman to offer some resistance•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rest of India continued to dominate against Mumbai, dismissing them for 274, but chose not to enforce the follow-on and extended their lead to 439 at stumps on the third day in Jaipur. Jaidev Unadkat and Piyush Chawla picked up seven wickets between them, as only Wasim Jaffer resisted for Mumbai with a half-century. There were only two partnerships of any substance for the Ranji Trophy champions – one between Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane for the second wicket, and another one for the ninth wicket between Iqbal Abdulla and Dhawal Kulkarni.Yuvraj Singh came in ahead of S Badrinath at the fall of Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket in the second innings, and survived a few close calls to remain unbeaten on 10.The difference between the two seam attacks was obvious in the morning when Unadkat, Abhimanyu Mithun and a largely erratic Umesh Yadav – all of whom were much quicker than Kulkarni and Usman Malvi – made the Mumbai batsmen hurry their shots.One pacy short delivery from Unadkat made Sushant Marathe top-edge a pull to mid wicket in the fourth over of the day, to provide the initial breakthrough. That brought Rahane – who had made an unbeaten century against the Australians in the tour game in Chandigarh a week ago – to the middle. He dominated the 75-run stand with Jaffer, driving and punching through the off side for boundaries at will. At 103 for 1, and both batsmen going strong, Mumbai looked like they, too, would prosper in good batting conditions. But Rahane, on 41, hit R Ashwin straight to midwicket where Badrinath pulled of a brilliant diving catch.Three overs later, Chawla foxed Abhishek Nayar – who came in ahead of Rohit Sharma – with a googly to claim a simple caught-and-bowled off the leading edge. Four overs later, he bowled Rohit with a delivery that pitched on leg, turned across the face of the bat, and took the off bail. From 103 for 1, Mumbai had slumped to 124 for 4.Jaffer was left to wage a lone battle, getting behind the line and playing late, but driving and lofting when the opportunity presented itself. He scored most of his runs through midwicket and mid-on, but also drove elegantly through extra cover. However, once he was caught at first slip off Chawla after lunch for 71, trying to guide a full delivery to third man, Mumbai were staring at a follow-on situation.Though Abdulla and Kulkarni resisted briefly with a 70-run partnership after Mumbai had collapsed to 200 for 8, Unadkat returned to run through the tail, finishing with 4 for 41. He used the quick short delivery to good effect, getting three of his four wickets through catches off top-edged pulls. Chawla had earlier displayed his entire repertoire, flighting the ball, getting it to turn and bounce, and making judicious use of the googly.Despite the 394-run cushion, Yuvraj chose to bat again and Rest of India raced to 45 off 10.1 overs for the loss of Dhawan, who was out early to a short ball from Kulkarni.

A round-up of the second day’s action from the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy Super League

Cricinfo staff16-Dec-2009

Group A

Rohit Sharma sent the national selectors a strong message•K Sivaraman

Scorecard
Mumbai’s bats have continued to make headlines this season, but none more sensational than Rohit Sharma. “There are several batsmen who score a hundred on a given day in Ranji cricket. I need to continue and score and a really big knock to stand out,” Rohit told the after he batted himself to 145 on day one at the Brabourne Stadium. A day later Rohit walked the talk with the first triple-century of his career, an unbeaten 309 from 322 deliveries, that formed the fulcrum of a massive first-innings total, leaving a weary Gujarat facing a mountain to climb.Rohit was a hulk on the second day on a flat track, extending his overnight stand with Sushant Marathe (144) to 342. Marathe’s dismissal was followed by two wickets, but Vinayak Samant chipped in with an unbeaten 50 to further torment Gujarat in Rohit’s company. Rohit, whose previous best was 205, outdid that by some distance, hitting 36 fours and four sixes. Four of seven bowlers carried the burden of the bowling attack against an enormous innings, and it was legspinner Salil Yadav who leaked the most runs: 201 in 50 overs for one wicket. The bowlers even resorted to a negative line but Rohit was batting on a whole different level.”After hitting the first ball for four I felt like I could continue to bat like yesterday,” he told reporters after the day’s play. “The track was good and I knew it would be more easy for me once Gujarat opts for the new ball. I just wanted to take it ball by ball. I was prepared to play my natural game even if I get out. But after crossing 200 I didn’t want to take a chance.”
Scorecard
Hyderabad’s chances of avoiding relegation to the Plate League next season took a beating on day two against Tamil Nadu at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. They pressed on from 269 for 4 to 347, with Anoop Pai scoring 51, but a mute performance with the ball let them down majorly. Tamil Nadu’s openers Srikanth Anirudha (70) and Abhinav Mukund (66*) put on 96 after which Arun Karthik came out and made an unbeaten 49 to help Mukund get the score to 189 for 1. If Hyderabad get three points via a first-innings lead, they could equal Himachal Pradesh but the latter have one outright victory. It’s not looking too bright for Hyderabad.
Scorecard
A brisk 144 from Orissa’s Halhadar Das gave the visitors a 191 first-innings lead over Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala, which was reduced to 144 by stumps. Resuming day two on 55 for 2, Orissa were boosted by Halhadar’s 155-ball effort and 53 from Niranjan Behera to put up 316. Halhadar tucked into the attack with gusto, adding 90 with Behera, and hit 20 fours and three sixes. Mohinder Sharma, with 5 for 102, carried Himachal Pradesh’s attack with determination. They then reached 47 for 2 at the close with defeat looming large.
Scorecard
Two wickets before stumps on day two at the Karnail Singh Stadium denied Punjab the day’s honours. Railways had been boosted from 191 for 6 to 276 thanks to Karan Sharma’s unbeaten 59 from the No. 8 spot, against a six-wicket haul from young Rahul Sharma. Punjab then made a good start after an early wicket, through Mayank Sharma (54) and Sunny Sohal (30), but Railways pegged them back. Murali Kartik, Railways’ captain, snapped up Sohal, after which Sidhana and Uday Kaul put together 86. From 123 for 2, however, Punjab lost Sidhana and Pankaj Dharmani for 0 in the space of three overs in the last hour of play.

Group B

ScorecardA second day of bat-powered domination allowed Bengal to tighten their grip over Delhi at the Jadavpur University Ground. Delhi’s hopes of running into the lower order and aiding their chances of claiming the needed first-innings lead
were given a boost when Pradeep Sangwan dismissed Wriddhiman Saha for 120 to snap a 249-run stand, but in walked Bengal’s captain, Laxmi Shukla. Shukla eased himself in alongside Sourav Ganguly, and by the time the former India captain went for 150, followed by Saurashis Lahiri for 0, Shukla was firm. Ashok Dinda, back after making his first India appearance, made 41 and with Shukla carried Bengal close to 500. Shukla was last out for 132 from 137 balls. Bengal were further lifted by veteran workhorse Ranadeb Bose, who took out Delhi’s openers in his first 19 deliveries. Aditya Jain and Mithun Manhas put on 50 before stumps, leaving Delhi with much to do on day three.
Scorecard
A pair of centuries from two experienced players helped Baroda claim the second day’s honours in Pune. Baroda batted the entire day, moving from a 277-run deficit into a small lead and with it vital points, thanks to Connor Williams’ 18th ton and Shatrunjay Gaekwad’s maiden ton. Williams, in his 115th game, hit 129 and Gaekwad, son of former India opener Anshuman, made a patient 103. They put on 214 for the third wicket. Baroda lost two wickets in relative succession following Williams’ exit and will look to a vigilant Gaekwad for more.
Scorecard
Ganesh Satish’s second first-class century rallied Karnataka to a strong total on day two in Rajkot. From 45 from 41 balls overnight, Satish pressed on to 120, adding 125 for the fourth wicket with Amit Verma (68). Satish’s dismissal at 250 for 5 was followed by a century stand between Manish Pandey (55) and his captain Robin Uthappa (62 from 56 balls)as Karnataka put up 384. For Saurashtra, spinner Vishal Joshi picked up 4 for 77 and was supported by Kamlesh Makvana’s 3 for 82. The home side was given a good opening stand in the 16 overs remaining in the day, with Chirag Pathak dominating, but Saurashtra face a tough third day.

Henry and Nathan Smith dismantled Zimbabwe before Conway and Young completed a perfect day for the visitors

Firdose Moonda30-Jul-2025New Zealand 92 for 0 (Conway 51*, Young 41*) trail Zimbabwe 149 (Ervine 39, Henry 6-39, Smith 3-20) by 57 runsMatt Henry’s 6 for 39 scythed through Zimbabwe, who were bowled out for their lowest total in seven innings and second-lowest in 2025, and their lead has already been reduced to just 57 runs by the end of the first day. New Zealand wiped off 92 of the 149 runs in the 26 overs they faced and hold the advantage in all departments. Their batting was solid and bowling was incisive where Zimbabwe’s has not been throughout their last few home Tests.Henry took wickets with the new and old ball, with full and short deliveries, and followed up perfectly from finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the T20I tri-series. He was well supported by Nathan Smith, who picked up 3 for 20 in his third Test. Those figures do justice to bowlers that had the batters completely confounded with subtle changes in line and length.Related

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According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, Zimbabwe edged 22 deliveries in total, and had a control percentage of just 68.8%. Only two Zimbabwe batters, Craig Ervine and Tafadzwa Tsiga, got past 30 and both were dropped before they had reached 20. They also shared in Zimbabwe’s best partnership: a sixth-wicket stand of 54. New Zealand have already surpassed that with their opening pair.New Zealand’s threat was apparent from the outset as they found the edge six times in the first three overs, which ended with the opening wicket. Brian Bennett – who inside-edged the first ball of the match, then edged one just out of the reach from short leg and then got four as another edge went between gully and the cordon – stayed back to a slightly fuller ball from Henry and this time, the edge flew to Will Young at third slip. Ben Curran, his opening partner, went the same way but only after Henry had changed angles to go around the wicket in his fourth over.Sean Williams was fortunate not to run out Nick Welch when he got off the mark with a single that chanced Mitchell Santner’s arm, but could not find any fortune against Smith. He tried to steer past third and inside-edged onto his stumps to leave Zimbabwe in a mess at 31 for 3 after the first hour.Nathan Smith took three wickets and offered good support to Matt Henry•Zimbabwe Cricket

Welch and captain Craig Ervine used up deliveries and time but did not get many runs for most of the second hour. It took Ervine 23 balls to get off the mark, and he did it with a push past mid-off off Will O’Rourke.Santner, captaining in place of the injured Tom Latham, brought himself on in the 20th over and the introduction of spin allowed Welch to get comfortable. He swept both Santner and Michael Bracewell, who he also reverse-swept for three boundaries in nine balls to get Zimbabwe over 50. But his fun only lasted until Henry was brought back. Welch edged the second ball of the fast bowler’s second spell to second slip to send Zimbabwe to lunch on 67 for 4.Henry completed his over after the break with the wicket of Sikandar Raza, who tried to take on the short ball but gloved it high for Tom Blundell to take a simple catch. Henry could have had Tsiga in his next over but the edge fell short. Tsiga got his own back when he flicked Henry off his pads for four and then drove Smith down the ground to show his range.Ervine was on 18 when he offered Smith a return catch but it hit him on the boot. Nine overs later, Tsiga could have been O’Rourke’s first of the match when he cut him to gully but Devon Conway put it down. Ervine brought up the 50-run stand with a well-timed punch down the ground for four.The pair looked like taking Zimbabwe to tea without further damage but it was not to be. Ervine was given out lbw when he missed a flick off Smith, though the ball seemed to be sliding down leg. With no DRS in place, he could not review. Tsiga was also out lbw, when he was beaten on the inside edge and hit on the back leg in what seemed a better decision. At tea, Zimbabwe were 138 for 7.Devon Conway and Will Young gave Zimbabwe a solid start•Zimbabwe Cricket

Henry took his fifth with a snorter, short and aimed at Newman Nyamhuri’s head. He ducked and the ball took the shoulder of his bat and was caught, again, by Young. Vincent Masekesa was run out after his partner Blessing Muzarabani did not respond to his call for a single and he had to make his way back to the striker’s end. Muzarabani only lasted into the next over, when he got a leading edge off Henry and was caught by Santner at cover to give Henry his sixth. Zimbabwe were bowled out inside 61 overs.If they gave the impression run-scoring was difficult, New Zealand swiftly dispelled the notion. They raced to 40 without loss in the first ten overs when Young hit a short, wide Muzarabani ball for four and Conway took three boundaries off Tanaka Chivanga’s fourth over: a cut, a drive and a pull.Zimbabwe had their best chance when Nyamhuri, in his second over, appealed for lbw against Young when he hit him on the boot with a yorker but it was given not out.New Zealand brought up their 50 off Nyamhuri when Conway cut him for four in the 14th over. Nyamhuri continued to cause problems for New Zealand and hit Conway on the knee – too high for lbw, but enough to cause some pain. Conway continued and reached his half-century off 83 balls with a single of Raza in the penultimate over of the day. Young is nine runs away from his and with the pitch showing few signs of bother and Zimbabwe already using the spinners, both will eye going bigger on the second day.

Australia allrounder will arrive in late May and be available throughout Blast group stage

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2024Surrey have signed Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie for a two-month spell that will encompass the Vitality Blast group stage and three rounds of the County Championship.Hardie, who had a short stint with Surrey in 2022, will arrive ahead of the Championship fixture against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl from May 24. Surrey will also play Hampshire in their Blast opener on May 30, with the group stage running until late July either side of a break for back-to-back Championship games against Worcestershire and Essex.”It’s great to have Aaron back at the Kia Oval as his character and all round skills in both red and white ball cricket will be an excellent addition to our squad,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said. “He already knows our dressing room from his time with us in 2022 and I’m very confident he will show everyone why he is so highly regarded in Australia.”Related

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Hardie, 25, has been capped four times in ODIs and six times in T20Is and was the third-highest run-scorer in the recently concluded Big Bash League. He was called up as cover for Australia’s ongoing T20I series West Indies and Surrey will hope that he remains off the radar ahead of the T20 World Cup, which takes place in the Caribbean and USA in June.Although Hardie only made four appearances for Surrey in 2022, he played a role in their Championship success, hitting the winning runs against Yorkshire after a match-turning 81-run stand in the fourth innings at Scarborough.Hardie said: “I’m stoked to come back to Surrey this summer. I loved my time at the Club in 2022 and got a real sense of what it means to wear the Three Feathers. I’m ready to chip in and support the team with bat or ball and do my bit in trying to bring more success to south London.”His arrival will come at the back end of Kemar Roach’s spell, with the West Indies quick having signed for the first seven rounds of the Championship season.

Australia’s Test captain said the structure of contracts and how players are managed will need to change in the future

Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-20222:48

Hodge: Green might go on to become one of the best Australia has produced

Pat Cummins previously presented Cricket Australia one of their most important balancing acts in managing a young player and now the Test captain has a front row seat to another as Cameron Green’s elevation into the higher echelons of the world’s stars continues.The flying visit to India for three T20Is last week may yet transpire to have been one of the most significant periods in Green’s career as he stamped his mark as an opening batter which has likely put huge dollar figures next to his name for the IPL.The carefully managed early stages of Green’s career due to his history of back injuries is now entering a critical phase as he emerges as a three-format player at time when Australia have a huge amount of major series and tournaments on the horizon, and now with the likelihood of franchises coming calling.While Green is not, yet at least, part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, his upcoming international schedule is packed: five home Tests against West Indies and South Africa, four Tests in India, the Ashes in England (plus a potential World Test Championship final) and then the ODI World Cup this time next year before another home summer. That list does not include other bilateral white-ball commitments, plus domestic cricket for Western Australia and Perth Scorchers, with Green having recently signed for the latter.Related

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There remains caution around Green’s bowling workload – he was eased back into bowling on the Sri Lanka tour after a break and was rested against New Zealand recently after suffering cramp – and while in Tests he is now largely unrestricted, Cummins admitted it is something never far from his mind.”It’s one my first thoughts whenever I bowl him is we don’t want to burn him,” he said at an event to announce NRMA Insurance as new CA sponsor. “Think it’s been a huge win from the medical side of things to have him play as much cricket as he has over the last couple of years, fortunately he can fall back on his batting even if he’s not bowling.”Now he’s in and around three formats it becomes even more important. He someone who loves playing, even when he goes back to WA we have to manage that as well. There’s 15 Tests in the next few months plus a World Cup, lots of cricket.”And then there’s the call on his services from other teams. “You can’t really blame anyone for going in [the IPL],” Cummins said. “He’s going to have huge demand on him wherever he plays. Decisions will be made, there’s a lot of cricket around.”Cameron Green has quickly shown his skills across all three formats•BCCI

More broadly, Cummins cautioned CA to be aware of the rapidly changing landscape in the game despite international cricket, particularly Tests, remaining a strong format in Australia. The recently reported that Cummins had turned down a big-money offered from a city-based T20 league in India. It’s likely to be a topic discussed during the next MoU negotiations.”[They] have to be proactive, the world’s changing, almost every month now there’s new leagues and opportunities popping up around the world,” he said. “We are lucky in Australia that for all of us players and the fans, Test cricket is No. 1. Whenever there’s a Test tour on, that’s where all of us players want to be.”But we can’t take it for granted that will always be the case. Maybe [it’s] the way we structure contracts, manage different players because unfortunately, or fortunately, it’s the reality of the world.”In the short-term, Green offers Australia a ready-made replacement should they have to make an injury-enforced change ahead of the T20 World Cup. For all the clamour about finding him a place in the squad that is the only way he will break in for this tournament, although more substantial scores against West Indies next week will keep the topic front and centre of the build-up, particular if others are short of runs.”Think we are starting to just not get surprised whenever he takes another step up, he just looks at home straightaway,” Cummins said. “[It was] a new role opening the batting and to take on, play with bravery, that’s what you want to see from any young player. It’s a tight squad to get into at the moment.”And Josh Hazlewood revealed that even Green’s own team-mates have felt the full force of his batting “It was a bit scary, actually, the first net session in India, felt like you needed a helmet almost bowling to Cam Green,” he said. “He’s so imposing, such a big guy, full face of the bat back towards you, it’s pretty scary.”Australia’s T20 squad comes back together next week to begin their final lead-in to the World Cup with two games against West Indies on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane before three matches against England in Perth and Canberra. They then have one more warm-up match against India before facing New Zealand at the SCG on October 22.

RCB is owned by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, a subsidiary of Diageo India

PTI01-Jul-2021The Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday announced the appointment of Prathmesh Mishra, a senior executive of Diageo – a British multinational alcohol company – as the franchise’s new chairman. Mishra is currently the chief commercial officer of Diageo India and has taken on the RCB role additionally.RCB is owned by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, a subsidiary of Diageo India. Mishra takes over the role of RCB chairman from Anand Kripalu, who ended his tenure as managing director and chief executive officer of Diageo India on June 30.Commenting on his expanded role, Mishra said, “Royal Challengers Bangalore is an integral part of Diageo India, and all of us share a profound passion for the team.”Mishra leads the commercial functions at Diageo India and is part of its executive committee. He joined Diageo India in 2014 as the chief operations officer responsible for the western region.

Banned Pakistan batsman handed sentence at Manchester Crown Court after December’s guilty plea

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2020Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan batsman, has been sentenced to 17 months in prison at Manchester Crown Court, after pleading guilty in December to a conspiracy to bribe fellow cricketers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).Jamshed, 33, was given a ten-year ban by the PCB in August 2018, and had been anticipating a custodial sentence after changing his plea on the opening day of his trial.That followed the admission of his two co-defendants, Yousef Anwar, 36, and Mohammed Ijaz, 34, that they had offered financial inducements to PSL players with a view to them under-performing during matches in the tournament. Anwar was sentenced to 40 months in prison and Ijaz 30 months.In December, the case for the prosecution had told how an undercover police officer had infiltrated the trio’s spot-fixing network by posing as a member of a corrupt betting syndicate. That investigation identified an attempted fix during the Bangladesh Premier League in 2016 and an actual fix in the PSL fixture between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai on February 9.Jamshed, acting as the go-between for the PSL game, persuaded Sharjeel Khan to play out two made-to-order dot-balls off the first two balls of Islamabad’s second over. Sharjeel was later banned for five years by the PCB, as was Khalid Latif, another player whom Jamshed had recruited for a subsequent fix.The court also heard how Jamshed himself had been the intended fixer during the BPL contests, when he and Sharjeel were both playing for Rangpur Riders.However, the first attempt was called off when Jamshed did not give all the pre-arranged signals – which included the use of certain coloured batting grips. And a second attempt against Barisal Bulls was cancelled after he was dropped for what was the final match of the season.In a statement issued after the sentence was handed down, Jamshed’s wife, Samara Afzal, told of the “pain and humiliation” that her husband’s actions had caused to their family, and warned other cricketers not to be tempted by corruption in a sport where, she wrote, an international player can earn more than she does as a doctor.”Nasir could have had a bright future had he worked hard and been committed to the sport than gave him so much, but he took a short cut and lost everything, his career, status, respect and freedom,” she wrote. “He would have got UK nationality and played county cricket, and he threw his chance away.”He would do anything to turn the clock back and not lose everything, especially his daughter who he is very close to, but it’s too late for him. I hope all cricketers look at his example as a deterrent against corruption.”

The fast bowler also singled out the difference Australia’s lower order made in the second Test

Melinda Farrell19-Dec-20183:55

‘We play our best cricket when we put emotion aside’ – Paine

Mitchell Starc expects the MCG pitch to be “a surprise” for both teams in the Boxing Day Test a year after it earned a “poor” rating from the ICC. During the Ashes the iconic Test of the summer subsided into a dreary draw on a surface that offered little assistance to bowlers.During the early rounds of the Sheffield Shield, head curator Matt Page has attempted to inject more life into the drop-in wicket by putting a layer of sand between the concrete base and the pitch trays and leaving more grass on the pitch, methods expected to be repeated for the Test. But while the drop-in block is due to be replaced in March, Starc admitted that, for now, conditions remain a mystery.”I don’t know what to expect,” Starc said. “I didn’t play last year. I had to watch from the side and it didn’t do a thing for five days so hopefully they’ve sorted it out. It sounds like they’ve been trying a few things with the Shield cricket there in the first few rounds.”I think it may be a surprise, what they actually dish out next week, but I think we’ll just sort of review this week and enjoy a moment of reflecting on the hard work we’ve had to do this week and then we’ll focus on Melbourne when we get there.”The hard work shouldered by Australia’s bowlers included their efforts with the bat and the respective depths of the two sides batting line-ups has been a significant factor in the series, keeping them in the contest in Adelaide and then helping set up a winning total in Perth.ALSO READ: MCG drop-in pitch to be upgraded to Perth standard
“It’s an interesting one,” Starc said. “It’s something that we all work really hard at and we have done for a long time. Pat’s obviously fantastic at eight. He plays a bit more like a batter than the other three of us he can bat for long periods of time.”I think it just showed in Adelaide how many balls he can face and really he looks comfortable at the crease. He may not at times feel that way but he looks very comfortable and, when he’s batting with someone like Painey or other batsmen, it’s just fantastic. Those partnerships make India bowl a lot more overs and then the other three of us we just try and hang around a bit and score a few runs and face a few balls.”It’s something that I think our tail takes a lot of pride in. And then with the ball we’re trying to do the exact opposite for them and try to get them out really quickly.”To illustrate the importance of the tale of the tails, Australia’s Nos. 8-11 have made 227 runs off 520 balls in the opening two Tests, while India’s equivalents have made 51 off 228 deliveries. India’s decision to replace the injured R Ashwin with fast bowler Umesh Yadav lengthened their tail and put more onus on the top order to fire.”They had a longer tail this week,” Starc said. “Obviously bringing in an extra fast bowler, I guess someone like a Bhuvneshwar or a Jadeja who probably bat a bit better than perhaps maybe Umesh did this week, could have made things interesting – or another spinner.”But I think we probably over attacked a little bit in Adelaide and so I think we learned from that in the second innings in Adelaide and then this week. It was obviously a different wicket, we bowled a little bit differently to the tail this week.”We probably repaid a few favours which they did to us in the third innings so it’ll be a different story again next week I guess in Melbourne depending on what the wicket is.”