Leicestershire’s bowlers held their nerve to deny Gloucestershire victory on a thrilling final day

21-Jul-2012
ScorecardLeicestershire’s bowlers held their nerve to deny Gloucestershire victory on a thrilling final day. Set 222 to win in 53 overs, the hosts faltered badly at the death, finishing 13 runs short of their target.Gloucestershire looked to be favourites after half-centuries from skipper Alex Gidman and Dan Housego but, needing 47 off the final 10 overs, they lost four quick wickets before putting up the shutters and settling for the draw. Leicestershire were indebted to veteran South African spinner Claude Henderson, who bowled unchanged from the Chapel End after tea to return figures of 4 for 80 and undermine the chase.Gloucestershire were well and truly in the hunt after Gidman smashed 62 from 55 balls in a stand of 94 in 18 overs with Housego, who made exactly 50. Gidman was brilliantly caught by Ned Eckersley at short midwicket off Henderson and Housego followed him back to the pavilion soon afterwards, caught at the wicket fending at a rising delivery from Robbie Joseph, who claimed 3 for 36.Joseph then removed Hamish Marshall and Ian Cockbain in quick succession, while the wily Henderson accounted for Ed Young and Ian Saxelby to halt Gloucestershire in their tracks. Rather than risk defeat, the ninth-wicket pair of James Fuller and David Payne played out the last three overs with a minimum of risk.Resuming their second innings on 142 for 5 – just 75 ahead – bottom-of-the-table Leicestershire were under pressure from the outset on a two-paced pitch that was offering assistance to spin. But any thoughts Gloucestershire might have had of achieving a quick and decisive victory were dispelled by Ramnaresh Sarwan and Matt Boyce, who staged a restorative stand of 83 for the sixth wicket.Gloucestershire were becoming frustrated when they were gifted a much-needed breakthrough in unexpected fashion, Boyce being run out for 23 by Benny Howell’s throw from deep midwicket following a farcical mix-up.Sarwan still stood between the home side and a third Championship win of the summer and Gidman, Gloucestershire’s captain, played his trump card in a bid to remove the former West Indies batsman, throwing the ball to occasional bowler Howell. The ploy paid almost instantaneous dividends, Howell’s medium pace inducing Sarwan to offer a catch to Housego at extra cover via a leading edge.When Paul Dixey was pinned on the front foot by paceman Fuller in the last over before lunch, Leicestershire were 240 for 8 and Gloucestershire were clearly fancying their chances.Wayne White and Henderson offered up further defiance in a gritty ninth-wicket partnership of 48 but the new ball did for them both. Saxelby located White’s outside edge and Cockbain held on at second slip, while Liam Norwell wrapped up proceedings in the very next over, clean bowling Henderson with a ball that jagged back. But, by then, they had done enough.

The Melbourne Renegades have lost their captain Andrew McDonald to the Adelaide Strikers and the national T20 skipper George Bailey has moved from the Melbourne Stars to the Hobart Hurricanes

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2012The Melbourne Renegades have lost their captain Andrew McDonald to the Adelaide Strikers and the national T20 skipper George Bailey has moved from the Melbourne Stars to the Hobart Hurricanes. The eight Big Bash League teams have until this Friday to sign the majority of their players and most sides were active on Monday, when Phillip Hughes and Nathan Rimmington also changed teams.Rimmington has moved from the Perth Scorchers to the Renegades, while Hughes has not surprisingly switched from the Sydney Thunder to the Strikers, after he signed with South Australia in the longer formats. He will be joined in Adelaide by the allrounder McDonald, who said he was excited to be working with the Strikers coach Darren Berry.”While it was a big decision to leave the Renegades, I think the structure and plans that Chuck Berry has for the Strikers this summer are really impressive, and I’m really excited about coming over,” McDonald said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing at Adelaide Oval, and I know a lot of the guys in the team, so this was an opportunity I wanted to commit to.”Bailey has also departed from Melbourne, leaving the MCG-based stars to play for the Hurricanes, an understandable manoeuvre given his status as captain of Tasmania. “I really like the way the Hurricanes line-up is coming together and I hope the team can go a step further than last season’s semi-final,” Bailey said.In other deals on Monday, Michael Klinger re-signed with the Strikers, Ben Laughlin with the Hurricanes and the fast bowler Ben Edmondson joined the Scorchers. The Perth side also signed Joe Mennie, Tim Armstrong, Jason Behrendorff and Ashton Agar.The Thunder named their first players for this season, with Sean Abbott, Scott Coyte, his brother Adam Coyte, Luke Doran and Gurinder Sandhu all signing up.

Malcolm Lake rates his century against India Under-19s in Townsville as among his best knocks as his 118 brought Zimbabwe back into the match but couldn’t prevent defeat

George Binoy in Townsville14-Aug-2012For a brief period in Townsville, India had a fright in a game they had to win to avoid being sent to the Plate Championship of the Under-19 World Cup. From the boondocks of 30 for 4, Zimbabwe’s Malcolm Lake resurrected the chase of 262. He singlehandedly dragged his team along with his clean, long-handled hitting but cricket isn’t supposed to be played by one man against 11. Lake was the last man out in the 45th over, having scored 118 out of 198, with the next highest contribution being 29.Lake, only just 18, is a tall allrounder from Harare who bowls right-arm medium pace but bats left-handed, like other illustrious Zimbabwe allrounders Neil Johnson, Sean Ervine and Andy Blignaut did.After making a duck against Papua New Guinea, he chose the grandest stage of his career so far to play his best innings.”It’s definitely my highest score,” Lake said. “It’s up there with the best I’ve batted for my team, just sad we couldn’t get over the line [in] the end.”He had an 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Luke Jongwe, which revived the chase, and it ended with a run-out that left Lake sitting on his haunches and shaking his head in disappointment as his partner walked back. His remaining partners did not stay as long.”In the beginning with Luke, [we wanted to] just knock it around, get ourselves into a position from where we can expand later, from where we can hit and get the big shots away,” Lake said. “Near the end I just wanted a partner. I was excited about the hundred but just sad we didn’t get over the line.”And he did play some big shots. The boundaries at Tony Ireland Stadium are of considerable size, although one side was shorter than the other today because the pitch closest to the pavilion was used. Lake picked out gaps in the off-side field for his fours but preferred the long-on and midwicket region when attempting sixes. He cleared it four times.His coach Chris Harris called it a “magnificent innings.” “It was one of those innings, when looking from the sidelines, you felt as though you had a chance, how well he was striking the ball,” Harris said.This century, however, was a dramatic turnaround in form for Lake, who had been struggling for runs even before his duck against Papua New Guinea. “He’s probably been in the worst nick of his life leading up to this tournament,” Harris said. “He’ll be the first to admit it. But he’s a tremendous striker of the ball and he is very much a confidence player, and we’d like to think he picked up a lot of confidence today. I’ve always seen him as a match-winner.”Some of Lake’s confidence with the bat would have come from his bowling performance, an economical seven-over spell that prevented India from getting 300. Harris reckoned Lake could have been faster than he was, and Lake also said he had told himself “not worry about the pace, get it in the right areas.”Those right areas were short of a length and straight. Kyle Bowie, Curthbert Musoko and Jongwe, however, bowled a fair number of full balls but were primarily guilty of giving India’s batsmen width to free their arms. India were 122 for 0 when Lake began his spell in the 23rd over.”During practice, we had been through a few plans [for the Indian batsmen],” Lake said. “The main plan was definitely to bring the length back and put them on the back foot. Campbell [Light] and I bowled very well to that plan.”Lake broke through in the third of his seven consecutive overs, giving Zimbabwe their first wicket, and denied the batsmen scoring opportunities. And though he had three overs remaining, he was not used anymore after the 35th over and ended on 1 for 19.That wasn’t the last questionable bowling decision the Zimbabwe captain Matthew Bentley would make. Light had been introduced only in the 42nd over and he had figures of 3 for 14 in three overs before conceding eight in the 48th over. Bentley replaced Light with Musoko for the 50th and watched Kamal Passi plunder 24 runs, propelling India from 237.”To be fair [to Bentley], part of the reason Curthbert has been picked is to bowl at the death, he’s been practising it,” said Harris. “From Matthew’s point of view, he thought Curthbert was the specialist bowler picked to do it. Today he had an off day.”Zimbabwe now need to beat West Indies and also get their net run-rate higher than that of India, who will probably beat Papua New Guinea. If they can’t do that, they will compete for the Plate Championship, after which several players will hope to secure places in Zimbabwe’s domestic franchise system.Harris had said that several of the Under-19 cricketers had come through the age-group system and it was vital their talent wasn’t lost after this World Cup because Zimbabwe Cricket had invested heavily in them. Lake is one such investment. He hasn’t played first-class cricket yet and he hopes his performance has caught the attention of the franchises.”I’ve come through all the age groups of Zimbabwe Cricket,” he said. “The standard of school cricket in Zimbabwe is what’s brought me through, many coaches at school and national level have brought me to this point. I’m still to see where cricket takes me, and where I’m going in my life.”With the right breaks, Lake could begin to follow the path Johnson, Ervine and Blignaut took.

Bangladesh Women held their nerves in a low-scoring contest against South Africa Women to win the first ODI by two wickets at the Shere Bangla Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2012
ScorecardBangladesh Women held their nerves in a low-scoring contest against South Africa Women to win the first ODI by two wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. South Africa, who chose to bat, lost their top-three batsmen with only five runs on the board. Captain Mignon du Preez, 24 off 35, led a mini recovery as she added 37 runs for the fourth wicket along with Marizanne Kapp. However, the introduction of spinners blew the visitors aways as they lost their last seven wickets for only 33 runs. The damage was done by offspinner Khadija Tul Kubra, who returned with economical figures of 8-3-8-3, in partnership with Rumana Ahmed, who took three wickets.However, Bangladesh made heavy weather of a small target as their batting followed a similar pattern to South Africa’s. Whereas South Africa had struggled against spin, Bangladesh were cornered by the seamers. Opening bowlers Shabnim Ismail and Kapp ended up with combined figures of 20-8-21-4 and had it not been for a patient knock by Lata Mondal (31 off 54) and a late retort by Ritu Moni (12*), the match could have had a different result.

The tournament’s organisers hope it will ride the support spilling over from the World Twenty20

Firdose Moonda03-Oct-2012On Sunday the World T20, an event that lasted three and a half weeks, will end. On Tuesday the Champions League T20, a tournament that will go on for two and half weeks, will start. The 48 hours in between may offer a chance for some perspective.If Sundar Raman, IPL chief executive who is also a member of the CLT20 technical committee, is correct, that time enough will create a “continuum,” of the format. Many fear the opposite: that it will be a time when overload is reached.Since September 8, the only international cricket that has been played is T20 cricket. South Africa and England played three matches, India and New Zealand played two (one was abandoned), teams warmed up for the World T20, played a group stage, a Super Eight round and a knockout stage. A total of 43 T20 matches will have been played by Sunday and by the end of October, that number will sit at 72 over seven weeks.But Raman does not fear spectator fatigue and is confident the tournament has a place in the calendar despite the challenges it faces. “This was the window of time that was available currently. All the countries have their international seasons after this and there was an opportunity that was available here,” he said in Johannesburg. “We hope the World T20 has created enough of an appetite. The timing of the broadcasts are also pretty good and the schedules are done in a manner that will provide the opportunity for every country to watch their teams.”Reaching out to fans in different countries is what the CLT20 claims to be about. They hope that process will start in South Africa, which is the reason Raman gave for moving the event here from India. “We thought it is only fair to come back to South Africa; to reach out to new markets,” he said. The tournament was last previously hosted in South Africa in 2010 and crowd turnout was better than at both events held in India.More of the same is expected by Jacques Faul, CSA acting CEO. He said even though the CLT20 clashes with South Africa’s domestic rugby competition, the Currie Cup, he expects seats to be occupied. “Rugby is a serious contender when it comes to crowds,” Faul said. “We did take it into account but we did as much as we could to make sure we will have crowds.”The thinking may well be that the cricket and rugby market are different and in some ways, they are. The CLT20 has also brought in spectators who may not attend other forms of the game, or sport at all, and Faul hopes those types of people will grow in number. So far, it does not look like it. There are a maximum of 380,000 tickets available for sale and only 18% have been bought – around 70,000.Nassei Appiah, the tournament director who is also CSA CFO, said the numbers should pick up this week. “We know that most of the tickets will be sold a few days before the event or when people know the actual teams playing,” he said, referring to the three-day qualifying event which will take place before the tournament proper. “But 30% of tickets for the final have already been sold.”The sales figures did not dampen Raman’s confidence in South Africa delivering an event that meets expectations. “It’s a great country with a sport loving public,” he said. “All the infrastructure is here, 14 teams can be put up in a city like Johannesburg and the stadium atmosphere is also good. The stadium sizes are also smaller than places like India or Australia.”Australia are the third shareholders of the CLT20 and have not yet hosted the competition. Raman said it is unlikely they will be do so in the near future, primarily because their time-zone is unsuitable. “Obviously that is a problem,” he said. He did leave the door open to other countries to host the event, saying anyone from England to Sri Lanka to Bangladesh could come into contention in the future.”As a tournament we are evolving,” Raman said. “In 2008, we had an eight-team format. We’ve evolved from there to be able to accommodate more teams and now we have 14 teams from around the world.”Despite that, the 2012 edition will take place without representatives from either Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, both of whom hold their own domestic twenty-over tournaments. That too, could be revised looked at in future. “As we go forward to future editions, we will try and be as inclusive as we can,” Raman said.It may mean an even longer qualifying phase since only the shareholders’ teams gain automatic entry. India, as the largest shareholder, has four teams while South Africa and Australia have two each. This unbalanced nature of the tournament has also caused it to be criticised. England have indicated they will not take part in next year’s event because of the large impact CLT20 has on their domestic season which is cut three weeks short even though the teams that qualify for the qualifiers could end up playing only two matches.Raman is bullish that issues like those do not detract from the CLT20’s success and the standing it has among participating countries. “There is a significant interest because people are looking forward to playing in another tournament because of their domestic success,” Raman said. “CLT20 has re-energised domestic twenty-over cricket. Players like Sunil Narine have come through CLT20. It gives players the confidence and the ability to believe in themselves and that for me is very heartening. “

Marcus Trescothick has expressed a desire to continue playing for Somerset into his forties

Alan Gardner08-Nov-2012Marcus Trescothick may have suffered a premature end to his England career but he is determined to continue giving back to Somerset, the county where he has spent almost 20 years, expressing a desire to continue playing into his forties. Should he get there, then the life-enriching properties of sausages will have to be reappraised.The county circuit lost two old-stagers into their fifth decades in 2012, with the retirements of Mark Ramprakash and Robert Croft – both 42 when age finally caught up with them. Trescothick, who played the last of his 76 Tests and 123 one-day internationals in 2006 before a stress-related illness prompted him to put club above country, will be 37 in December and missed a large chunk of last season with an ankle injury. However, successful surgery on the problem has provided encouragement that he has a few more years of brutalising county attacks left in him.The loss of their captain for three months of the season was representative of Somerset’s campaign, as 24 different players were used in the Championship – joint most with Surrey. Such disruption made their second-place finish, 24 points behind champions Warwickshire, all the more commendable and Trescothick – who passed 1,000 runs in five consecutive seasons between 2007 and 2011 – hopes to have several shots left at ending Somerset’s long wait for a first Championship pennant.”My target is to get to 40 and reassess things then,” he said. “If my ankle and the rest of my body holds up, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t still be playing then and beyond. There’s no more swelling now and there is an opportunity through the winter to strengthen it further.”I know there will be niggles along the way and I may need the odd injection. But I am adapting my training programme to manage things and don’t foresee any serious problems. I don’t see much changing over the next three or four years and it is certainly my intention to go on playing for as long as possible.”Professional sportsmen in the modern era might be expected to go on longer than their predecessors, aided by advancements in training, dietary awareness and fitness regimes, but few cricketers contemplate playing the first-class game into their fifties, as WG Grace and Jack Hobbs once did.The likes of John Emburey, Graham Gooch and Alec Stewart have, more recently, continued playing Test cricket into their forties, however, and Graeme Hick (who retired at 42) and Paul Nixon (40) continued to give good service to their counties until an age when it was once said life truly begins. Murray Goodwin, who was this year discarded by Sussex at the end of a season when the reactions appeared to have slowed irretrievably, was signed up by Glamorgan, two months before his 40th birthday.In attempting to reach the landmark, Trescothick may have to steel himself for more heartache: in the last three years, Somerset have lost five limited-overs finals, as well as twice finishing runners-up in the Championship. Alongside the chance to end that rum run, there are personal records to contemplate. With 13,641 runs for the county, he is unlikely to overhaul Harold Gimblett (21,142) but Peter Wight’s 16,965 is possibly within his reach. If form and fitness hold, he could become the first man to score 50 first-class hundreds for Somerset.He would surely prefer to end the county’s Championship hoodoo, though the sight of him carving cut shots across the Taunton outfield in four seasons’ time would be satisfaction enough for many in that part of the world. A permanent place on the Sky Sports sofa, where Trescothick makes an engaging pundit, surely beckons but he won’t be getting comfy just yet.

The Wankhede Test had a tryst with minor controversy when Jonny Bairstow was given out caught at silly point even though the ball had hit Gautam Gambhir’s helmet before he completed the catch

Sidharth Monga25-Nov-2012The Wankhede Test had a tryst with minor controversy when Jonny Bairstow was given out caught at silly point even though the ball had hit Gautam Gambhir’s helmet before he completed the catch.The dismissal came in what turned out to be the last ball before lunch, and everybody – the batsmen and the umpires – walked off satisfied with the dismissal. According to England sources, their director of cricket, Andy Flower, approached the match referee, Roshan Mahanama, to ask for the decision to be reversed. Mahanama informed him that as Bairstow had left the field of play, the decision could only be withdrawn if India’s captain, MS Dhoni, withdrew his appeal on the umpires’ request. Dhoni, with the support of his coach, Duncan Fletcher, chose not to do so.The only replays shown before the break were inconclusive, and more importantly unsuspecting. No one had explored the possibility of an unfair catch going into the break. Thirty-five minutes later, replays in the live transmission confirmed the ball had indeed hit the helmet. Law 32 is clear that a catch is not considered fair if the ball hits a fielder’s external protective equipment before the catch is completed.The Law, 32.3 (e), says: “A fielder catches the ball after it has touched an umpire, another fielder or the other batsman. However, it is not a fair catch if the ball has previously touched a protective helmet worn by a fielder. The ball will then remain in play.”Jonny Bairstow fell for 9 but the legitimacy of his dismissal was called into question•Getty Images

At the end of the day’s play, Gambhir said he knew the ball had hit the grille before he completed the catch, but he was not completely aware of the Law. “It happened in such a quick time, that by the time I realised it…” he said. “I personally felt when we went into lunch that once it hits your body and then the grille, that’s out. Just didn’t come straight off the grille. It just happened so quickly that later on I got to know. I haven’t had a word with MS that whether we wanted to call him back or not.”This would not have been a big issue but because the new batsman had not yet walked in and there was a 40-minute break in action, there was scope for the officials and captains to get together and correct the decision. However, after lunch, Samit Patel, the new batsman, walked out with Kevin Pietersen. The scenes were reminiscent of Trent Bridge in 2011 when Ian Bell was reinstated during the tea break after being run out, but the outcome here was different.India do have recent history of calling batsmen back. At Trent Bridge, Bell seemed to have wrongly assumed the last ball before tea had gone for four, and had started to walk off for tea when India ran him out. The umpires ruled Bell out, but England asked India to reconsider their appeal during the tea break. Twenty minutes later, India walked out to the crowd’s jeers, which turned into cheers when they realised Bell had been recalled.In an ODI in Brisbane in February this year, R Ashwin mankaded Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Lahiru Thirimanne after having warned him previously, but when the umpires asked India if they wanted to continue with the appeal, the stand-in captain Virender Sehwag withdrew it. Sehwag later said, “It’s soft, but that’s the way we are.”

Shane Warne has clarified his comments regarding a Test comeback, declaring that he is “not even considering” such a move in the lead-up to next year’s Ashes

Brydon Coverdale06-Dec-2012Shane Warne has clarified his comments regarding a Test comeback, declaring that he is “not even considering” such a move in the lead-up to next year’s Ashes. Earlier this week, Warne said he had been frustrated with the way Australia’s bowlers had let down their captain Michael Clarke during the loss to South Africa in Perth, and if Clarke asked him to make a comeback he was confident he would be able to play to Test standard.Warne, 43, would have to make such a return through club cricket for St Kilda and Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria, but he said on Thursday that was not on his radar. Warne, the captain of the Melbourne Stars, was promoting Friday night’s Big Bash League season opener between the Stars and the Melbourne Renegades, and he said he had spoken to Clarke during the week to clear up any confusion.”I spoke to Pup on a few different matters. That’s all been pretty cleared up about all that sort of stuff,” Warne said. “I’m not asking Michael Clarke. My quotes were all about if you ask me could I do it, I have no doubt that I could. But it’s a big commitment. There’s grade cricket, there’s state cricket, you have to go through that process and hopefully get selected.”For me it’s nothing that I’m even considering. I’m bowling as good as I possibly have for the last five or six years. At this stage right now if you ask me do I want to make a comeback? No. I’m concentrating on the Big Bash.”Warne also dismissed the idea that he could consider playing club or state cricket after the BBL, and said that his commentary duties would keep him busy. “At this stage with my calendar I’ve got the first Test of Australia vs India for ESPN in India [in February],” Warne said. “So at this stage there’ll be no grade cricket.”

Chris Gayle will join the Jamaica squad in the ongoing Caribbean T20 as a replacement for the injured Andre McCarthy

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Jan-2013Chris Gayle will join the Jamaica squad in the ongoing Caribbean T20 as a replacement for the injured Andre McCarthy. Expected to fly in to St Lucia immediately, Gayle is likely to be available for selection for Jamaica’s final league match against the Combined Campuses and Colleges on Friday.Gayle’s inclusion is bound to inject confidence into the Jamaicans, who are currently lying second behind table-toppers and defending champions Trinidad & Tobago, on 13 points. But their batsmen have failed to dominate, with not a single player scoring a fifty.Gayle would also expect to set his own record for Jamaica straight: in the eight Twenty20 matches he has played for Jamaica, he has managed just 136 runs.The explosive opener, who topped the run charts in the last two editions of the IPL with powerful batting performances, has been low on form after his below-par performances for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. Thunder were the poorest team in the tournament, failing to notch a single win in eight matches. Gayle just got one fifty, departing the tournament with 137 runs from seven matches.Still, an aggressive 65, including a 25-ball half-century, in the final match would have boosted his morale and that of Jamaica now.Last month, the Jamaican selectors were forced to omit Gayle from the final squad after the batsman said he would be available in the event Thunder failed to qualify for the knockouts. According to the tournament rules, the only way Gayle could be included in the squad was a replacement for an injured player.Currently second on the points table, Jamaica are favourites to qualify for the play-off stage when they play on Saturday.

England bowler Tim Bresnan will travel to the USA shortly for a second operation on his troublesome elbow, which ruled him out of the tour to New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013Tim Bresnan, the England bowler, will travel to the USA shortly for a second operation on his troublesome elbow, which ruled him out of the tour to New Zealand.When he was left out of the squads for New Zealand, the national selector, Geoff Miller, said that further surgery might be required. Bresnan underwent his first operation late in 2011 and has struggled to regain top form since, finishing 2012 with two wicketless Tests in India following a lean series against South Africa, and has often appeared down on pace.Andrew Gale, Bresnan’s captain at Yorkshire, confirmed the latest development: “He’s going out to America in the next week or so, and he’ll be there for a week or two to have an operation and then some rehab on his elbow,” he told the .Bresnan’s most recent appearance for England was successful, when he took 4 for 45 in the final ODI against India, and Gale was hopeful he would be back to full fitness early in the season. There is an outside chance of him featuring on Yorkshire’s pre-season tour of Barbados.Bresnan will have his eyes set on being available for the New Zealand series at home, which starts in late May, but a more realistic aim could be the Champions Trophy where England are keen for him to take the No. 7 slot in the one-day side to enable them to play five frontline bowlers in home conditions.In his absence, Chris Woakes has a chance to establish his credentials in New Zealand. Woakes is part of all three squads for the tour, but will have to move ahead of Stuart Broad and Graham Onions to earn a Test place.