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After three competitive days, Ireland were overturned on the final day in Belfast as Moises Henriques’ four wickets bowled Australia A to a 93-run victory

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2013
ScorecardMoises Henriques took 4 for 22 in the second innings•Getty ImagesAfter three competitive days, Ireland were overturned on the final day in Belfast as Moises Henriques’ four wickets bowled Australia A to a 93-run victory.The margin of victory threatened to be much wider as Ireland slipped to 112 for 7 chasing 301 to win but Stuart Poynter made 63 at No. 9 to give the scoreboard respectability, which Ireland had earned with a good account of themselves.Poynter, in-form after 172 for MCC Young Cricketers earlier this month, played with a maturity and confidence which belied his 22 years. He struck nine boundaries in a 79-ball stay and, with his former Ireland Under-19 world cup colleague Stuart Thompson, made the Australians work for the final wickets.Poynter and Thompson shared an eighth wicket stand of 70 in 17 overs before Thompson became the third of three wickets for offspinner Nathan Lyon when he was trapped lbw for 23.Lyon had made the initial breakthrough on day four, after the morning session was lost to rain, having Andrew White well caught by Nic Maddinson at short leg off bat and pad.James Shannon followed in identical fashion just eight runs later, and when Henriques removed John Mooney for a duck and Kevin O’Brien for 10 in quick succession, Ireland had lost four wickets for just 20 runs. But Poynter and Thompson ensured Ireland were not embarrassed.They might have hoped to get closer to the target but their chase was hampered on the third evening when they slipped to 38 for 3. Shannon and White managed to take the total to 98 for 3 but the introduction of Lyon put paid to their hopes.Lyon’s potential rival for an Ashes spot, legspinner Fawad Ahmed, took his first wicket in Australian colours when Trent Johnston was lbw for 5 and the match was wrapped up when Poynter’s cameo ended when he gave wicketkeeper Brad Haddin his fifth catch of the innings – Peter Siddle finally getting the reward that his display deserved.

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.”

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.

Test cricket’s two leading wicket-takers, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, will face off in the Big Bash League season opener

Brydon Coverdale06-Dec-2012

Muttiah Muralitharan could be forgiven for being a little vexed this Friday night. The Big Bash League begins with a cross-town battle between the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars. Muralitharan will make his BBL debut for the Renegades, having been lured there by Brad Hodge and Andrew McDonald, whom he got to know during the IPL. Last summer, McDonald was captain of the Renegades and Hodge their star batsman. This season, neither is there anymore.McDonald signed with the Adelaide Strikers, and in any case has now suffered a hamstring injury that will rule him out of the whole tournament. Hodge is playing in the BBL. In fact, he’s playing in Friday’s season opener. It just happens to be for the Stars. A philosophical Muralitharan said he wouldn’t be seeking revenge when the teams meet, because he was happy to have been convinced to be part of the tournament.”When I was playing for Royal Challengers [Bangalore], Hodge and McDonald convinced me to come and play,” Muralitharan said in Melbourne on Thursday. “At the time they were in the Renegades and unfortunately now they’re not there. Still, we have a good side. Thanks to them, because of them I am here.”[Hodge] convinced me to come and play. After that he went to the Stars. I called him [to find out why he left], just a friendly call, that’s all. No revenge as such. We want to play a good game.”The Hodge-Muralitharan battle will be just one of the sub-plots in the Melbourne derby. There is also the much more significant attraction of seeing Test cricket’s two leading wicket-takers on opposing sides, which might not happen again after this tournament. Warne is the captain of the Stars and the BBL is his only playing commitment nowadays, while Muralitharan has suggested this might be his last year of Twenty20.Stars still dream of Bolt

The Melbourne Stars didn’t end up signing Usain Bolt for the BBL this year but the team’s president Eddie McGuire believes there is a very good chance Bolt will join the side next season, after his commitments at the 2013 Athletics World Championships.
“Hopefully next summer he’ll come out here and with a bit of luck we’ll get him to run with Athletics Australia, at a big athletics meet we’re hoping to put together at the new athletics centre in South Melbourne,” McGuire said. “At the same time, with a bit of luck we might get him to roll the arm over or do a little bit of fielding for us with the Stars.”

A week away from the Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka, who play for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, the men for whom the prize is named were reflecting on their careers as they prepared for one more contest. Muralitharan joked that given the large Sri Lankan population in Melbourne he might even be more popular in the city than Shane Warne, but he said he had the ultimate respect for what Warne had achieved during his career.”His art is very difficult,” Muralitharan said. “Legspin, I have tried it when I was young, and it was very hard to do. If you can land the ball like him, it’s very hard. Not many people can do it. Once in a hundred years you get a bowler like him. I have a lot of respect for him [now] and in our playing days as well.”Warne said Muralitharan, or “the whirly-twirly man” as he referred to him, would bring a lot to the BBL in his first appearance in the tournament. Warne remembered seeing Muralitharan for the first time on Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in 1992, when he played for the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in a tour match, and although the only batsman he dismissed was Tony Dodemaide, he baffled the Australians with his unusual style.”It was a tour game in Kandy when we first saw Murali in ’92,” Warne said. “Allan Border said to Murali ‘what are you bowling?’ He’d played for legspin.”He’s bamboozled batsmen for the best part of 20 years the way he goes about it. Facing Murali is very tough, he does some wonderful things with the ball. For what Murali has done for the game, what he has done for Sri Lanka … and to be still playing and bowling extremely well, it’s fantastic.”Muralitharan won’t be the only Sri Lankan playing in Friday night’s game, with Lasith Malinga set to line up for the Stars. Another Sri Lankan, allrounder Thisara Perera, will also be part of the BBL after joining the Brisbane Heat as a last-minute inclusion following their loss of Dale Steyn and Daniel Vettori.

Players’ associations have insisted on pre-emptive measures to ensure cricketers playing in the Sri Lanka Premier League are paid on time, FICA chief executive Tim May has revealed

Andrew Fernando04-Aug-2012Players’ associations have insisted on pre-emptive measures to ensure cricketers playing in the Sri Lanka Premier League are paid on time, Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) chief executive Tim May has revealed.The Sri Lankan Cricketers’ Association and FICA were successful in pushing for the inclusion of new clauses in player contracts, drawn up specifically for the tournament. Under these clauses, players must be paid 25% of their tournament salary upon arrival in the SLPL, another 25% upon completion of their team’s first match, and the remaining 50% after the team’s last match.A bank guarantee for the players’ full salaries has also been included in the contracts as a safety net, and outstanding pay will be automatically drawn down seven days after any defaulted pay day. 

”If anything goes terribly amiss and the bank guarantee is not available, then the player’s got every right to say, ‘Sorry, you haven’t kept your end of the deal; I’m not keeping mine’,” May said.According to May, the measures had been taken in light of a worsening trend of players going unpaid, or receiving only part of their pay from domestic T20 competitions, and the SLPL being a new tournament with no positive payment history to show. “We’ve learnt now from start-up tournaments that we need to change the contracts to protect the players better, so we’ve then gone down the next line of introducing greater protection for the players.”This won’t be confined to the SLPL. For other start-ups like competitions in the USA next year, and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) where we’re experiencing problems as we speak, we’ll be insisting on these bank guarantees to cover the full amount of player payment.”FICA has been involved in the discussion on the outstanding player salaries from the inaugural BPL which concluded in February. In July, May said that $600,000 was still owed to overseas players alone, but the BPL has said this figure is $70,000. FICA had advised players taking part in the BPL to request at least 25% of their pay before the tournament started, though this had not been part of the contract agreements.Several members of the Royal Challengers Bangalore 2012 side, including captain Daniel Vettori, are also yet to receive the first installment of their IPL pay. Players who took part in a separate All Star Twenty20 event in Toronto also complained about going unpaid following the match.The SLPL will run from August 10 to August 31, with all the matches being played in two venues in Colombo and Kandy. Overseas players set to play include Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal.

The preview of the first ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran06-Jun-2012Match FactsThursday, June 7
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)Misbah-ul-Haq and Mahela Jayawardene with the trophy their teams are playing for•AFPThe Big PictureThe drawn Twenty20 series in Hambantota, in which there was little to separate the teams, has set up the five-ODI contest nicely. The pattern of both T20s was the same: the batsmen made just enough runs and the bowlers used the swing and seam available in the evenings to defend modest targets.Sri Lanka will hope to improve the recent head-to-head record, having lost five of their last six ODIs to Pakistan. Four of those defeats were in the UAE in 2011, a tour in which Pakistan were superior across formats. Sri Lanka’s batting had depended heavily on Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and the rest were unable to build on their sound foundations. Sri Lanka found stability late into their tour of South Africa, where they won two dead rubbers, and made the finals of the CB Series in Australia, at India’s expense.A big reason for Sri Lanka’s revival was contributions from players like Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, who took the burden off the senior batsmen. The support cast grew in confidence and the allrounders provided good balance in foreign conditions. However, Sri Lanka ran out of steam during the third final of the CB series and arrived in Bangladesh for the Asia Cup looking jaded and lost all three games. Despite the heartening performance in Australia, Sri Lanka have a lot of catching up to do, having won only eight of their last 24 games. Their key players, who were part of the IPL, will also have to make the adjustment from Twenty20 cricket to the 50-over format.Pakistan’s recent form has been more impressive. After suffering a 4-0 loss against England in the UAE, they won the Asia Cup in a close final against Bangladesh. The ODI squad led by Misbah-ul-Haq is stronger than their experimental Twenty20 team as well, and it has been strengthened by Sohail Tanvir’s retention. Tanvir impressed during his Twenty20 comeback and was chosen as a replacement once opening batsman Nasir Jamshed was injured. Pakistan are a batsman short, though, and could be stretched if Misbah and younis Khan fail. It will be up to the unpredictable Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi to step up.Form guide (Most recent first)
Pakistan WLWWL
Sri Lanka LLLLWWatch out for…Umar Gul had a poor opening Twenty20 in Hambantota, conceding 43 in four overs. He allowed Sri Lanka the crucial 30-odd runs at the end, when they were struggling to post a decent score. Gul was dropped for the second Twenty20 but Pakistan are unlikely to bench him for too long.Thisara Perera kickstarted Sri Lanka’s turnaround in South Africa with an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls in Kimberley to help chase 300. Perera has since formed a healthy partnership with fellow allrounder Angelo Mathews, giving Sri Lanka a balanced team. Jayawardene rates him highly for his ability to clear the boundary, and Perera showcased his skills in the first match Hambantota, striking 32 off 16 ballsTeam newsWith Jamshed not in the squad, Pakistan have Imran Farhat to partner Mohammad Hafeez at the top. Azhar Ali is another option for opener; he scored 58, against England, in his only innings in that position. Pakistan will have to decide if they want to pack their team with specialist bowlers, or go with an extra batsman in the middle order.Pakistan (likely) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Farhat/Azhar Ali, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Umar Gul, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Sohail Tanvir/Mohammad Sami, 11 Aizaz CheemaFor Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath returns to the squad after a long rest but they may use him sparingly in the ODIs, given his heavy workload in the Tests. Jayawardene didn’t rule out opening the innings with Dilshan.Sri Lanka (likely) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath/Sachitra Senanayake, 11 Lasith MalingaStats and trivia Pakistan are the only team to have an even ODI record against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. They have played 28 matches, won 13 and lost 13.Pakistan have played two ODIs at Pallekele, losing their first and winning the next. Among current batsmen, Mahela Jayawardene has the most runs (1563) against Pakistan.Quotes”That kind of record builds your confidence a little bit but it’s a new series and different conditions. You have to perform again from the start.”
“Pakistan’s record against us speaks for itself; they have played much better cricket than us during the Asia Cup and even in the UAE. It’s up to us to lift our game individually as well as a group.”