Umar Akmal has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for ignoring both on-field umpires while going for a change in gloves

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2012Umar Akmal has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for ignoring both on-field umpires while going for a change in gloves during Pakistan’s semi-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo. There was no hearing as Akmal pleaded guilty and accepted the sanction to the charge laid by umpires Simon Taufel and Rod Tucker.Jeff Crowe, the match referee, said: “In this incident, Umar showed blatant disregard to both the umpires’ requests, which was offensive and unacceptable from an international cricketer and contrary to our unique spirit, hence a level two charge was laid.””Respect for the umpires is integral and is something which we always emphasise and encourage,” Crowe said. “Umar, when pleading guilty, apologised and regretted his action.”The incident happened in the 17th over of Pakistan’s chase when Akmal was at the non-striker’s end. Akmal remained unbeaten on 29 as Pakistan fell short by 16 runs.

India have retained 15 players from the squad that lost to England in Mumbai for the third Test at Eden Gardens, beginning in Kolkata on December 5

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2012India have retained 15 players from the squad that lost to England in Mumbai for the third Test at Eden Gardens, beginning in Kolkata on December 5. Fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who did not play the second Test because of a back injury, was not fit and hence left out.The BCCI had on Monday said the selectors would pick the squad for the two remaining Tests and the two Twenty20 internationals that follow, but today’s release said the selection for the fourth Test, in Nagpur, and the Twenty20 games will be made later.Yadav, the most effective of India’s pace bowlers in the series-opener in Ahmedabad, was advised “at least 10 days’ rest” by a specialist in Mumbai, and was not expected to recover in time despite the lengthy break ahead of the Test. “The injury is more serious than it was thought to be, so the team will have to make do without him for at least another Test,” a source told ESPNcricinfo.The India squad will assemble in Kolkata on December 2, after a few days’ break, while England will remain in Mumbai before leaving for Kolkata on November 30.Squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Zaheer Khan.

Peter Siddle expects he will be fit for the Perth Test, but won’t know for sure until he bowls and fields at training on Thursday

Brydon Coverdale in Perth28-Nov-2012Peter Siddle expects he will be fit for the Perth Test, but won’t know for sure until he bowls and fields at training on Thursday. Siddle’s extreme workload during the Adelaide Test – he felt “a little bit delirious” by the time he sent down the last over of the match – was one of the reasons the Australia selectors named six fast bowlers in the squad for the third Test at the WACA, where a four-man pace attack is a strong possibility.Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus shouldered heavy burdens at Adelaide Oval due to James Pattinson breaking down in South Africa’s first innings, and while Hilfenhaus bowled 53.3 overs, it was Siddle’s 63.5 overs that drew the most attention. It was not surprising that Siddle was squatting on his haunches between overs as the fifth day drew to a close, for he delivered more overs than any other Australia fast bowler has in a Test in the past 13 years.The last to send down that many was Glenn McGrath, who bowled a remarkable 77 overs in Barbados in 1999 and backed it up with 63.1 when the Antigua Test started only three days later. But McGrath was freakishly indefatigable. The only other Australian quick to bowl as many in a Test as Siddle in the past 20 years was Craig McDermott, who sent down 68 overs in Adelaide in 1995 and strained his back in the next Test, although he returned later in the match and bowled Australia to victory.Knowing the expectations that were placed on him and Hilfenhaus when Pattinson was injured, Siddle said he would not want to enter the Perth Test with any queries over his fitness. He will do some bowling at training on Thursday, the day before the match, but will work more on fielding and running and will discuss his readiness with the captain, Michael Clarke and the coach, Mickey Arthur, after that.”I’ll have to wait until tomorrow but at the moment I’m feeling good,” Siddle said in Perth on Wednesday. “You never want to [pull out] but you’ve still got to think of the end result as well. Obviously I don’t want to miss any Test matches but in the end if I’m struggling through tomorrow or If I don’t feel 100% I’ve got to talk to the captain, the selectors and work out what’s the best.”You see the hard work we went through in the last match with someone breaking down after nine overs and the efforts Hilfy and myself had to go through to bowl those massive amount of overs. You don’t want that happening again here, where it’s such a big game and so much riding on the line of it. You want everyone to be right. So I just have to wait and see how I’m feeling and make a judgment after training tomorrow.”Should Australia decide not to risk Siddle, they have plenty of options in the squad. Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson provide left-arm variety and Josh Hazlewood and John Hastings will also come into consideration as steady right-armers. Australia must also see how Hilfenhaus recovers after Adelaide, although Siddle was the bigger worry after he fought through exhaustion on Monday evening to give Australia everything he could to deliver victory.”It was a weird frame of mind. I was a little bit delirious,” Siddle said of his last few overs. “I knew I just had to get back to the mark and charge in, bowl as fast as I could and try and get something out of it. That’s what I knew I had to keep doing. I didn’t really think about it too much, I just got back to the mark and kept going. It was a weird sort of feeling. Very tired and draining after the game, that’s for sure.”That’s probably the most I’ve felt it out on the field. The heat was a lot warmer than we probably thought, out in the middle. It was very dry and very hard to get your breath in and very hot. It did take a lot out of us. Short, sharp spells and only having the two quicks that we had to bowl continually from one end, it did make it hard.”At least Siddle’s enormous effort showed that his switch to a vegetarian diet hasn’t affected his endurance. He might occasionally cop some grief from his team-mates for his new lifestyle but Siddle firmly believes his body has thanked him over the past couple of days.”I’ve actually recovered a lot better than I thought I would,” he said. “Everything’s moving a lot better and I’m feeling a lot healthier. That’s probably a massive part, being vegetarian is playing a big part and no alcohol has topped that off nicely. It’s all working well at the moment and hopefully I can keep performing well and keep the body fit and strong.”

The preview of the only Twenty20 between Bangladesh and West Indies in Mirpur

The Preview by Mohammad Isam09-Dec-2012

Match facts

December 10, 2012
Start time 1800 local (1200 GMT)

Big Picture

Kieron Pollard came good only in the final ODI•AFP

Had West Indies beaten Bangladesh as they were expected to in the ODIs, the one-off Twenty20 international would have been more of an exhibition. Now, because Bangladesh won the one-dayers 3-2, the fixture will have added significance for the visitors. Their captain Darren Sammy said the T20 was West Indies’ chance to finish this tour on a high.Bangladesh will also want to end the year on a positive note. The ODI series triumph will have given them confidence, but they face a difficult task because they have struggled in the shortest format. And West Indies are the world champions in T20 cricket. Bangladesh had prepared extensively ahead of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, playing tournaments in several countries between June and September just to get a hang of the gameWest Indies will be favourites once again, but they were favourites to win the ODIs too. They won’t take Bangladesh lightly.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LLLWL (Most recent first)West Indies: WWWLW

Watch out for

Kieron Pollard, after his 74-ball knock of 85 in the final ODI. The innings included eight sixes, and some of them were mishits that landed well beyond the rope.Ziaur Rahman, who is regarded as the only specialist big-hitter in the Bangladesh team. He is likely to be picked at the expense of one of the regular batsmen, or a spinner, and will be asked to do half the job of a Pollard.

Team News

There are doubts over Mashrafe Mortaza’s fitness, but he could be picked despite his thigh strain. He may last a 20-over game, but Mushfiqur has spoken about the risks involved.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Jahurul Islam/Ziaur Rahman, 4 Nasir Hossain, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Mominul Haque, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Shafiul Islam/Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Elias Sunny.West Indies could include all four allrounders but they would have to leave out one of the spinners, and that could be Veerasammy Permaul.West Indies (possible): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell/Lendl Simmons, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Sammy (capt), 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Veerasammy Permaul, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Kemar Roach.

Quotes

“We are T20 champions and we have to play like that on Monday.”
“The expectations are now higher but through success in the ODIs, I want this team to do well in formats like Twenty20s and Tests.”

India came close, but when Ishant Sharma was left to hit Jade Dernbach’s last two balls for six to tie the match, they probably knew in their hearts that the game was up.

The Report by David Hopps11-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSamit Patel’s unbeaten 44 off 20 got England to 325•BCCI

India had never chased more than 325 to win an ODI on home soil and, if the old India might have regarded England as ripe for the taking, this present side lacks the same formidable presence. They came close, but when Ishant Sharma was left to hit Jade Dernbach’s last two balls for six to win the match, India probably knew in their hearts that the game was up.England had lost 16 of their last 18 ODIs in India and two defeats in their warm-up matches did not auger well, but they served up a victory for their new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, at the first time of asking and will now face the rest of the five-match series in the belief that they are in an even series.The first international at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium lavished favours upon the batsmen. The pitch was amenable and the outfield glassy and there were many times when India’s chase looked bound for success, not least when Yuvraj Singh struck a 38-ball fifty or MS Dhoni, furious that the water carriers did not seem to be living his dream, cleared the ropes four times in three overs.But James Tredwell, with international-best figures of 4 for 44, stood firm. An understudy to Graeme Swann in England’s ODI side, he now has a chance to assert himself with Swann resting out of the series, although “assert himself” is probably the wrong phrase because he is a mild-mannered unassuming chap, very much the introvert to Swann’s extrovert.This was only his 10th ODI, and the first time India had seen him. To their cost, four top batsmen now know a little bit more. Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir had prospered against England’s quick bowlers, but Tredwell dismissed them in successive overs, tossing one high to have Rahane caught at long-off and then deceiving Gambhir in the flight to have him caught at short midwicket.None of England’s thumpings came any worse than the 158-run defeat at Rajkot’s old Madhavrao Scindia ground five years ago when Yuvraj, with 138, set about them. At a new stadium – immediately distinctive because of its Lord’s-style media box – Yuvraj threatened to work his old magic, until he back-drove Tredwell to Jade Dernbach at short fine leg.Briefly, it seemed as if the match might hinge on a reprieve for Suresh Raina, on 46, when he drove at Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan claimed a catch at third man, fairly enough, but there was just enough of a possibility on the TV replay that the ball had brushed the ground for the third umpire, Vineet Kulkarni, to rule “not out.” India still needed 95 from 10 overs at that point, but Tredwell soon straightened one on a placid surface and held Raina’s soft return catch. Swann would have looked ready to burst into song at that; Tredwell merely smiled in surprise.

Smart stats

• England’s total of 325 is their third-highest in ODIs in India, but it’s their highest winning total. They’d tied (v India) and lost (v Ireland) on the two instances when they’d scored more.

• India have scored 300 or more 71 times in ODIs – more than any other side – but their win-loss ratio in those matches is 4.38 (57 wins, 13 losses, one tie). Australia have the best win-loss ratio, winning 61 out of 66.

• This is only the second time in England’s ODI history that five of their top six batsmen scored 40 or more in a match.

• The opening partnership of 158 between Alastair Cook and Ian Bell is England’s fourth-highest for any wicket in India, and their second-highest for the first wicket. Bell has been involved in three of those four stands.

• Ishant Sharma’s economy rate of 8.60 is the poorest for any bowler who has bowled two or more maiden overs in an ODI. Only twice have Indian bowlers bowled ten-over spells and gone for more runs.

• James Tredwell’s 4 for 44 are his best figures in ODIs, and his second four-wicket haul in ten matches.

The crowd were stirred, nevertheless, chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni” gaining in intensity after an outrageous one-handed six off Samit Patel. But Dernbach, whose line to the left-handers had been so awry that it demanded a scribbled reminder to do better if he could find space on those powerful, tattooed forearms, removed Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over, Dhoni failing to muscle a slower ball over long-off.As serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, in an opening stand of 158 in 27.4 overs, England’s most destructive batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, were restricted to a brace of 40s. An uninhibited final fling by Patel, who made 44 not out from 20 balls, as 38 came from the last two overs, was a necessary flourish. Ishant, who always seemed to be bowling at the wrong time, conceded 20 in the penultimate over and leaked 86 in all.Bell again looked so comfortable at the top of England’s order in 50-over cricket that it is now hard to believe it took him so long to settle there. There was nothing outlandish in his strokeplay, just an exercise in technique and timing. His form has been a boon to Giles, their productive relationship at Warwickshire restated at international level.Bell, on 15, edged Bhuvneshwar Kumar between MS Dhoni and R Ashwin, who was virtually stood at second slip, with both fielders motionless. It was apparent in the Test series that Dhoni’s captaincy responsibilities sometimes submerge his keeping and he remained rooted. But these moments soon became distant regrets as Bell crept up the pitch surreptitiously in search of elegant drives.Cook was not quite as mellifluous, but his resourcefulness is beyond doubt. Whatever he puts his mind to at the moment, he achieves and he is minded to lead England to a one-day series win in India. That would not be one of his most important prizes, but it would be one of his most remarkable.Bell was run out by Rahane, who hit direct as the batsman tried to steal a single to short fine leg and chose not to dive for the crease; Rahane also had a hand in Cook’s dismissal, although on this occasion he had no need to exert himself in the same position as Cook top-edged a sweep off Raina.Raina sneaked in five overs for 18 as England’s innings slowed; Joe Root, on debut, was to do the same for England later. Others had less cause for pleasure: Ashwin’s tactic of stalling in his delivery stride, a method first employed by Robert Croft for England, was over-used and disturbed his own rhythm more than the batsmen’s.To see Pietersen and Morgan joining forces at 172 for 2 in the 32nd over was unnerving for India, but both began tentatively as Morgan, after some whip-crack flat-batting, fell to a return catch by Ashok Dinda, who fumbled and cradled the rebound. Pietersen lofted Dinda to long-on. Just when it seemed that England’s innings was losing impetus, Patel proved otherwise.

Holly Ferling, a gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, found out she was playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai08-Feb-2013A gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, finds out she’s playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit. “Instant nerves” result, but in a low-scoring game, she pounds in, a bow holding her flying long hair together, and strikes with her first delivery. She strikes again in the first over of a comeback spell, removing the game’s top-scorer. She ends with 10-0-35-3 in only her second international match. Not exactly a normal Friday for your average teenager.But Australia’s Holly Ferling is no normal teenager. And it is not the first time she’s made an immediate impact after replacing an injured player. She took a hat-trick with her first three balls in men’s grade cricket in her hometown of Kingaroy in Queensland. She was 14 then. She is the first female to be declared the Queensland Junior Cricketer of the Year and has reportedly impressed Jeff Thomson, the former Australia fast bowler. Today, she tested England with the bounce she generated at speeds in the late 110kphs, striking for someone so young.Her obvious talent cannot mask her age, and when she walked into the media room at Brabourne Stadium, she looked every bit the awkward teenager feeling overwhelmed, with spotlights trained on her and people waiting to ask questions. Just like she was able to overcome her nerves on the field, though, she answered without inhibition, flashing the radiant smile of a young girl thrilled beyond measure to have done what she did.With her inspiration Ellyse Perry ruled out with a stomach bug, Ferling found out she was going to play about an hour before the start. “I was like, ‘oh my God, I am playing England’. It was an unreal feeling,” Ferling said. “I was just excited to get another game.”Perry had a few words of advice for Ferling, whose international debut had come only a week ago against Pakistan. “She just wished me luck and told me to hit the deck. My goal was just to come in and bowl fast.”Brought back for her third spell in the 41st over of England’s chase, Ferling felt tense again. “I was so nervous. I was trying to keep things simple which is something I have struggled with in the past, and tried to do too much. Hopefully they’d make the mistakes.” Lydia Greenway, on 49, hit the final ball of that Ferling over to short extra cover.Ferling felt she had come a long way in the past year, with support from Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia. She then forgot the name of the place she trains at. “Centre of Excellence,” the team’s media manager helpfully reminded her.Ferling’s voice was laced with emotion when she revealed what Perry, who has represented Australia in World Cup football as well, meant to her. “I have always looked up to her. To do what she has done at such a young age is an incredible feat and I don’t think it will ever be done again. To play alongside her against Pakistan and then to train alongside her and to be in the team environment with her is just an incredible feeling.”Didn’t she feel she would be inevitably compared with her idol? The 17-year old laughed as she pointed out the differences. “I wear a bow and my hair is curly.”

Round-up of the Ram Slam T20 matches played on March 8, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCameron Delport smashed an unbeaten 58-ball 103 to lead Dolphins to their first win of the tournament in six games. Delport hit nine fours and five sixes for his maiden T20 hundred, taking Dolphins to 179. After the early loss of Divan van Wyk, Delport was accompanied by Ravi Bopara in an 83-run stand. David Miller then joined Delport and produced an unbeaten 23-ball 39 to add 80 runs in less than eight overs with Delport.Knights’ reply was led by Rilee Rossouw who made 44 off 28 but did not get much support during his stay. Loots Bosman and Dean Elgar were dismissed in the first six overs and once Rossouw departed in the 11th over, Obus Pienaar tried to keep the Knights in the hunt but his 32 off 21 also went in vain. Yusuf Abdulla was the most successful Dolphins bowler with 2 for 17 which kept Knights to 165 for 6.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLions continued their stay at the top of the table when they chased Cape Cobras’ total of 117 with five wickets left. After Cobras were asked to bat, Richard Levi was dismissed for a duck. Dane Vilas steered the innings with a knock of 30. Once he was bowled in the 14th over, the middle order could not convert the start into a big score. Sohail Tanvir took two wickets in an over to limit Cobras to 117 for 6.Lions opener Quinton de Kock also got out for a duck and Gulam Bodi departed for 10 in the fifth over. Alviro Petersen’s 36-ball 46 put Lions back on track along with Tanvir who made 28 off 24. Both Petersen and Tanvir fell in the same over to Beuran Hendricks but their 49-run stand had taken them close to victory. Jean Symes and Dwaine Pretorius made sure they won with 10 balls to spare.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA fifty from Christiaan Jonker and a four-wicket haul from Wayne Parnell got Warriors their fourth win in six matches to take them to second position in the points table. After scoring 150 for 9 when put in to bat, Warriors restricted Titans to 140 for a 12-run win.Jonker and Ashwell Prince put on 75 upfront in 9.4 overs, of which Jonker made 50 off 33, hitting ten boundaries. But both were dismissed within seven balls and Samit Patel was dismissed four balls later by Roelof van der Merwe. Before JJ Smuts and Adrian McLaren could convert their starts, they were bowled for 19 and 28 respectively. Alfonso Thomas then took three wickets, including two in the last over, to keep Warriors to 152.Wayne Parnell removed Henry Davids first ball and struck again to dismiss van der Merwe. in his second over. Jacques Rudolph made a 36-ball 32 and Titans were scoring at under six runs per over which kept the pressure mounting. Scott Styris tried to keep them in the game, with three sixes and two fours, but Parnell took two more wickets, including that of big-hitting Albie Morkel, and Titans could not go beyond 140.

A round-up of the Ford Trophy matches on March 6

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2013
Scorecard
Jamie How hit the first double-century in the history of domestic List A cricket in New Zealand•AFP

Records tumbled in a high-scoring clash between Central Districts and Northern Districts at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Jamie How became the first batsman from New Zealand to smash a double-century in a List A game, blasting 222 in 138 balls, including 27 fours and eight sixes. The effort, the joint-second highest List A individual score – Ali Brown’s 268 leads the list while How shares the second place with Graeme Pollock – was ultimately match-winning, though Northern Districts fought hard in a mammoth chase.How shared a record opening stand of 321 with fellow Stags opener Jeet Raval, who made 115 at better than a run a ball; their stand was the highest for any wicket in List A cricket in New Zealand. The pair set the stage for another record, enabling Central Districts to reach the highest score in List A cricket in New Zealand, 417. The previous highest was 410.Northern Districts gave a tough fight, with as many as five batsmen scoring half-centuries, and kept the contest on despite losing wickets steadily. At 182 for 5 in the 25th over, the challenge had grown significantly more difficult for the Northern Districts, but Brad Wilson and Jono Boult added 91 in just over ten overs. Both fell in the 36th over to make it 274 for 7, and at 293 for 8 it seemed the game was virtually over. But the ninth-wicket pair of Graeme Aldridge and Anurag Verma added 102 in just 58 balls. Both struck half-centuries, took the score to 395 for 8, brought down the equation to 22 needed off 12, but fell in the penultimate over bowled by Bevan Small. Northern Districts were all out for 398, raising the match aggregate to 815, the fourth-highest in List A cricket and the highest in New Zealand List A cricket.How was pleased with his effort. “It was nice to get a hundred, then you kind of keep on going until you expect to get out,” How said. “You get a bit of a feel for it and then if you’re starting to see it well you try and put a bit of pressure on. I got a few lucky ones away then decided to keep on trying to see how far it’d go,” he said, adding that he didn’t think much about his record-breaking knock until late in the innings.
Auckland 356 (Munro 151, De Grandhomme 115, Henry 6-45) beat Canterbury 343 (Cachopa 126, Nicholls 51, Stewart 51, Martin 3-59) by 13 runs
Scorecard
Auckland hung on by 13 runs against Canterbury in another encounter where both teams scored 300-plus. Auckland were struggling at 50 for 4 but Colin Munro and Colin de Grandhomme smashed centuries to propel their team towards 356. The pair counterattacked with a stand of 229 in just 29.4 overs. Munro hit 151 off 107, an innings that included 11 sixes and 10 fours. Grandhomme’s 115 came off 85 balls, with nine fours and five sixes. For all the punishment bowlers around New Zealand suffered today, seamer Matt Henry was an exception, taking 6 for 45 in 10 overs.Opener Bradley Cachopa led the way for Canterbury in their chase, making 126. There was support from Henry Nicholls and Shanan Stewart, each of whom made 51, but at 274 for 8 in the 42nd over, Canterbury needed a miracle. Numbers 9 and 10, Logan van Beek and Henry made Auckland sweat with a 62-run stand in 44 balls, leaving their side to get 21 from the last nine deliveries. But van Beek fell in the penultimate over and Henry lost No.11 Ryan McCone to a run out in the final over for the game to end with his team 13 short.
Scorecard
Although the game was reduced to 39 overs a side in Invercargill, a score of 300 still remained well within reach. Wellington batted first, made 309 and went on to defend it successfully by 22 runs against Otago. Jesse Ryder, Michael Papps, and Josh Brodies each got half-centuries at the top of the order to set up Wellington’s score. Ryder was especially dominant, making 72 off just 39 balls, hitting six fours and five sixes. For Otago in their chase, there were steady contributions from their top and middle orders, with each of their top seven getting starts, but only two batsmen reached half-centuries. Opener Sam Wells made 57 and captain and wicketkeeper Derek de Boorder made 68 off 40 at No. 7. But wickets fell fairly regularly and Otago struggled to keep up with the required-rate, eventually falling short. Mark Gillespie conceded 71 runs in his eight overs, but picked up five wickets.After four rounds, Northern Districts retain their place at the top of the table with 13 points, Auckland are next with 12. Canterbury are third with 10 points while Wellington and Central Districts are joint fourth with eight. Otago have been winless so far and are at the bottom.

Laughing all the way to the win was Ravindra Jadeja, who mixed educated edges and meaty blows superbly to take Chennai home with 38 off 20

The Report by Sidharth Monga13-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The name’s Jadeja, Ravindra Jadeja: another day, another win•BCCI

The last time Royal Challengers Bangalore went to Chennai, Virat Kohli lost a won match when he bowled one over. The captain this time, Kohli lost a won game by handing over the ball to RP Singh, who conceded 16 in the last over, including a huge no-ball, which was caught at third man and would have won them the match had RP not overstepped – it was meant to be the final ball of the game. Laughing all the way to the win was Ravindra Jadeja, who mixed educated edges and meaty blows superbly to take Chennai Super Kings home with 38 off 20.After Ravi Rampaul and R Vinay Kumar removed the openers to reduce Super Kings to 10 for 2 in four overs, it was all uphill for the home side. Suresh Raina and S Badrinath rebuilt but when they fell Super Kings still needed 88 off 46. Vinay brought it to 65 off 30, conceding only six in the 15th over. Dhoni and Jadeja kept on hitting the odd boundary, one of them right out of the stadium, but the asking rate kept going up.With 29 required off the last two overs, Rampaul seemed to have sealed the deal with the wickets of Dhoni – for 33 off 23 – and Bravo – for 8 off 3 – in the 19th over. However, Kohli had a situation on his hands. Vinay had bowled out, and he had to choose between Daniel Christian and RP because the left-arm spinners would have turned or angled the ball into Jadeja’s natural swing. Christian had gone for just 13 in two overs, but has had a forgettable record bowling the final over in IPL games.So RP it was, and RP it was who bowled two length balls at the top of the over. Jadeja edged the first over short third man, but absolutely smoked the next one over long-on. The pressure was squarely on Royal Challengers now. Wearing the orange cap, reclaimed through an anchoring fifty earlier in the innings, Kohli misfielded the fourth ball at long-on, allowing the second. He had done so earlier too.Chris Morris, who had taken three wickets including the big one of Chris Gayle and two during the slog overs to keep Royal Challengers down to 165, accepted that couple and followed it with a single to make it two required off the last ball. Surreal scenes followed. RP bowled a bouncer, Jadeja ramped it straight to third man, Kohli thought he could yet end up on the right side of it until he saw the outstretched arm of the umpire and the celebrating Jadeja, who seems to be unable to do any wrong this season even if he tries.Replays showed this wasn’t just any ordinary no-ball, RP had overstepped by a foot. Kohli backed RP in the public, but there might be words spoken behind closed doors. Royal Challengers will also look at the last over when they batted, when Arun Karthik kept heaving and wasting deliveries as opposed to bringing to strike AB de Villiers, who scored a manic 64 off 32, full of sweeps against fast bowlers.

With a sprint finish to a marathon, Durham claimed a victory that speaks volumes for their character, their determination and their team spirit.

George Dobell at Trent Bridge02-May-2013
ScorecardMark Stoneman, with an innings of 69 from 38 balls, put Durham on the road to victory•Getty Images

With a sprint finish to a marathon, Durham claimed a victory that speaks volumes for their character, their determination and their team spirit. A game that had appeared to be drifting to a draw was invigorated by Durham’s failure to accept anything other than victory and a late run-chase that defied the pedestrian nature of the game that preceded it.In years to come, people will look at the scorecard, see a six-wicket margin and presume this was a straightforward victory. It was not so. To put Durham’s fourth-innings target, 183 in 23 overs, in perspective, they have only surpassed such a score four times in their T20 history and on those occasions they were helped by fielding restrictions, bowling restrictions and tighter regulations over wides. This should have proved immensely challenging.Yet they made it look easy. With Mark Stoneman – who reached his 50 in 24 balls – and Phil Mustard – who reached his in 30 – putting them on course with an opening stand of 125 in 11 overs, they cruised to victory with 16 deliveries to spare and only needed to strike six boundaries in the final 9.2 overs. It is their second win of the season.There were some alarm bells along the way. Durham were forced out of their hotel at 2am by sustained fire alarms (the second for an actual fire) and, after a couple of hours waiting in the streets, were finally moved to a different hotel just before 5am.But despite the imperfect preparation, Durham won this game not just because, in Will Smith, they had a batsmen with the determination to play the innings the conditions demanded, and not just because, in Mark Wood, they had a bowler capable of belying a lifeless pitch, but because they wanted to win it more than Nottinghamshire. While Nottinghamshire’s batsmen squandered their wickets with loose strokes, Durham sold theirs dearly and, during a labour-sapping third innings, never gave up on victory despite 116 overs in the field. Graham Onions later called it “the best win I’ve been involved in.”The aggression of the Durham openers appeared to leave Nottinghamshire shell-shocked. Stuart Broad, captain of England’s T20 side, persisted in bowling short in conditions where it was inappropriate, Luke Fletcher, hampered by a sore ankle, bowled too full and Ajmal Shahzad, after placing four fielders on the leg side boundary, delivered a half volley a foot outside off stump. After his one over cost 19, he was not trusted again.While Graeme Swann and Samit Patel applied some brakes, the damage had been done. A team stuffed with internationals – including two bowlers who played in England’s winning World T20 side in 2010 – had shown a remarkable lack of composure under pressure and been punished for it.”They didn’t bowl particularly well,” Mustard, the one man to sleep through the fire alarms, agreed. “Broad didn’t set the tone very well by bowling short and I think they were a bit shocked by the way we came at them. I thought they were just out of reach when we started, so to win like that is an amazing achievement.”But Durham’s work started much earlier than that. On a desperately slow wicket – it was dubbed “ridiculous” by Mustard – it proved hard to bowl Nottinghamshire out and, by the time they extended their second innings to 4.05pm, it appeared the draw was assured. By then Michael Lumb had scored his first century since July and it seemed a chance he offered on 83 – a top-edged pull off Scott Borthwick that fell gently to ground between two fielders – might have been crucial.But though Borthwick delivered the odd poor ball, he did gain turn and remained a threat despite the slowness of the pitch. He eventually had Fletcher and Chris Read caught off the inside edge as they prodded forward to leg breaks and Broad taken at silly point. Lumb fell to a leading edge and, each time it seemed Nottinghamshire were on the verge of safety, Durham claimed a wicket to sustain their interest.For that reason, this loss will smart Nottinghamshire for some time. They seemed to have done the hard work on the final day, with their final pair of Swann and Shazad resisting for 22.3 overs to add 75 runs and apparently make the game safe. Swann’s leg before dismissal, which he clearly felt was unjust, was a crucial moment.Swann will feel the pain of this defeat more than most. Not only did he produce his highest Championship score for five years, but he also produced his best Championship bowling figures since his Test debut in December 2008. Yet he finished on the losing side, black and blue after sustaining blows to the head, arm and foot in a sharp new ball spell from Onions and hauled in front of the umpires for showing dissent when he was given out. A points penalty is probable. It cannot have left him in the best frame of mind to attend his first benefit function in the evening, where he was due to speak and sing.Nottinghamshire’s fourth innings bowling may gain the most attention – and it really was far from clever – but they put themselves in trouble much earlier in the match. For the top-order to slip to 98 for 4 in the first innings and 94 for 4 in the second on this surface was unacceptable. Their leading batsmen played some sloppy cricket and were embarrassed by the excellence of the Durham lower order and Smith who, had there been a Man of the Match award, would surely have won it.”It’s not rocket science,” Mick Newell, their director of cricket, said. “They have to start scoring some runs. “They need to show concentration and determination. Maybe they play too much limited-overs cricket.”I’m not that worried by the last hour-and-a-half as, in the T20 age, defending a total like that can be hard. I’m more concerned that we kept digging holes for ourselves throughout the game. We were just about at the stage where we thought we had made it safe, but we didn’t get it quite right.”That was not a pitch that suited our style and we’ll need more in it for our quick bowlers in future. But yes, there was a self-inflicted element to that defeat.”It is the first time since 1998 Nottinghamshire have lost their first two home games in the Championship. While relegation should not be an issue, they do have some issues to address as regards application and concentration. Put simply, they have to try harder.They could learn much from Durham. They may not be Championship contenders just yet but, under Paul Collingwood’s captaincy and boasting some precocious talents, they are surely the most improved side in domestic cricket over the last 12 months.