Category Uncategorized

Williams leaves Zimbabwe on the edge; Bavuma, Galiem hit fifties

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Lizaad Williams’ second three-wicket haul in two days left Zimbabweans reeling with a measly lead of 29 in their only warm-up fixture ahead of the inaugural four-day Test

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2017
ScorecardAFP

Lizaad Williams’ second three-wicket haul in two days left Zimbabweans reeling at 120 for 7 in their second dig against CSA Invitation XI at Paarl, with a measly lead of 29. The hosts were earlier lifted to 287 in their first innings, courtesy half-centuries from Temba Bavuma and Dayyaan Galiem.Having snared a 91-run lead, Williams led CSA Invitation XI’s charge, bowling the visitors’ first-innings top-scorer, Hamilton Masakadza, off the second delivery of the innings. A 49-run second-wicket stand between Solomon Mire (20) and Craig Ervine (34) steadied Zimbabweans after the early wobble, but Ervine’s dismissal – via Williams – in the 13th over led to the tourists subsiding from 50 for 1 to 107 for 7. Ryan Burl (17*) and Chamu Chibhaba (48) kept vigil at stumps on second day even as Shaun von Berg and Michael Cohen finished with two wickets apiece.Earlier, CSA Invitation XI’s resumption on 55 for 3 on second day featured a collapse of its own – 5 wickets for 61 runs – which was bookended by fifty stands. While Bavuma anchored the first, in Tladi Bokako’s (41) company, with his 70-run knock, Galiem’s 54-ball 57 steered the second, with von Berg (24), helping the side scramble past 250 even in the face of a four-for from Graeme Cremer.

Guptill left out for Pakistan Tests; Raval, Todd Astle picked

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Jeet Raval could take Martin Guptill’s place at the top of the order while Todd Astle is set to fill in for the injured Mitchell Santner

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2016Opening batsman Martin Guptill has been left out of New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan. Uncapped Auckland batsman Jeet Raval and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme have been picked, while allrounder Todd Astle, who played his only Test in November 2012, has been recalled.Raval, who was in the squad for New Zealand’s Test tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier this year, is set to take Guptill’s place at the top of the order. The 28-year-old left-handed batsman averaged 55.71 in last season’s Plunket Shield and in three matches this season has scored 244 runs at an average of 40.66.Guptill’s form in Tests this year has been a worry for the side. In nine matches, the batsman scored 393 runs at an average of 24.56 with two fifties, struggling for runs in the home series against Australia and on the tours of South Africa and India. Four other players who were part of the India tour – Doug Bracewell, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi and Ish Sodhi – missed out. Among the excluded players who toured India, Ronchi had the best performance, ending as the highest run-getter for New Zealand with 200 runs in six Test innings. Patel and Sodhi picked up six and three wickets respectively, while Bracewell did not get a game.”Jeet has been in the picture for a while now and he benefitted from spending time in the environment during the tour of Africa,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “His form in recent seasons has been excellent and the opportunity for Jeet to begin his international career in familiar conditions will be important.”Luke, Martin, Doug miss out this series, but we know that they and the others who miss out will continue to work hard on their game and get the chance to continue staking a claim in the domestic competition.”Astle and de Grandhomme were rewarded for their consistent performances in domestic cricket, with Astle’s legspin set to cover for the absence of allrounder Mitchell Santner, who fractured his wrist recently. Astle is the only specialist spinner in the squad.Astle has taken 116 wickets in the last three Plunket Shield seasons, and 14 in this edition of the tournament. He has also contributed with the bat for Canterbury, scoring 267 runs, including a career-best 195 against Northern Districts in the first round.De Grandhomme, who has played an ODI and four T20Is for New Zealand, has been picked as an all-round option. He has scored 216 runs in three Plunket Shield matches so far, including one century, and has taken five wickets for Auckland as a seamer. The century, an unbeaten 144, came in tight two-wicket win against Otago, in a run chase of 373.”Todd’s been incredibly consistent at the domestic level, having been one of the top four wicket-takers in the Plunket Shield for the past threes seasons,” Larsen said. “His bowling has continued to improve and he’s also shown impressive form with the bat, so Todd provides a similar skill set to Mitchell Santner in his absence.”Since Colin returned from injury last season, he’s made a number of key contributions with bat and ball. He’s made an impressive start to the current Plunket Shield season and he provides us with another strong allrounder option.”Six players were not considered due to injury: Santner, Mark Craig, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and George Worker. Corey Anderson, too, was not considered, as he continues to work on building up his bowling workload, after recovering from a back injury. Anderson had been picked as a specialist batsman in the ODI series against India, but bowled four overs in the fifth match.The first Test will be played in Christchurch from November 17, while the second Test starts from November 25. Astle and de Grandhomme have been withdrawn from the New Zealand A squad for the tour match against the Pakistanis, with Kyle Jamieson and Luke Woodcock taking their place.New Zealand squad Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, Jeet Raval, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling

Samarth, Nair tons see off draw against Vidarbha

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group A matches on October 18, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo: Karun Nair struck 15 fours for his unbeaten 101 and put up an unbroken 176-run stand with R Samarth•K Sivaraman

J Suchith had made it clear at the end of the third day that Karnataka were not going to push for an outright win on Sunday. “We are looking to bat and bat and bat,” he said. R Samarth and Karun Nair lived up to the talk, and helped themselves to their fourth and seventh first-class hundreds respectively, as Karnataka declared their second innings on 331 for 3.During the course of collecting their milestones, they also put on an unbroken stand of 176. Once Nair got to his hundred, captain Vinay Kumar called them in and the tea interval was advanced by four minutes.Set an improbable target of 372 in a minimum of 22 overs, Vidarbha batted for another half an hour before both the captains agreed to settle for a draw at the start of the mandatory overs, with no prospect of an outright win for either team.In the morning, Vidarbha must have had a tiny ray of hope after seamer Swapnil Bandiwar’s full-length delivery knocked KL Rahul’s off stump out of its groove in the third ball of the day. It turned out to be a false dawn, as the visitors managed only one more wicket, of Manish Pandey, all day. Samarth and Nair then went about gathering runs patiently even as Vidarbha’s shoulders drooped.Later, Wagh was fined 60% of his match fee by the match referee for his outburst against the umpires on Saturday. Wagh had slammed the umpiring, accusing them of favoring the home side. Wagh had also questioned the integrity of Karnataka wicketkeeper CM Gautam, accusing him off claiming bump balls. Vidarbha captain S Badrinath refused to comment on Wagh’s accusations against the umpires and Gautam, but said his team “was on the unlucky side.”
ScorecardBengal walked away with first-innings honours from a clash against Rajasthan that was severely interrupted by rain in Kolkata. Manoj Tiwary, who rescued Bengal with a century against defending champions Karnataka in their season opener, top-scored with 83, while Abhimanyu Easwaran and Pankaj Shaw contributed 53 and 52 respectively.Behind by 84, Rajasthan were struggling at 15 for 3, with Ashok Dinda, the pace spearhead, accounting for the openers. But Ashok Menaria absorbed the pressure and faced 174 balls for his unbeaten 69 to take Rajasthan to 146 for 5 in 57 overs before the umpires called for stumps. The result left both teams in the bottom half of the group, with Bengal having a game in hand after playing just two matches as compared to Rajasthan’s three.Delhi v Haryana – Shreyas Iyer wins Delhi tough chase

Sehwag dropped for remaining Tests

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Virender Sehwag has been dropped from India’s Test side for the first time since he made an emphatic comeback to the long format with a century in Adelaide in 2008-09

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2013Virender Sehwag has been dropped from India’s Test side for the first time since he made an emphatic comeback to the long format with a century in Adelaide in 2007-08. That, incidentally, remains his last century outside Asia. No replacement has been named for Sehwag for the remaining two Tests of the series against Australia, which makes Shikhar Dhawan a favourite to open in the Mohali Test starting on March 14.The two remaining Tests of the current series, which India lead 2-0, are the last ones they are scheduled to play before they go on four continuous overseas tours beginning with South Africa later this year.In his first reaction, Sehwag – who had been dropped from the ODI side for the series against England in January – tweeted: “Will continue to work hard for my place in the team. I trust my game and am confident that, ‘I’ll be back.’ Best wishes to the team.”Since his comeback, Sehwag’s performance outside Asia might have been questionable, but he kept his place in the side with typically dazzling match-winning knocks on the lower and slower tracks. Outside Asia, since Adelaide, Sehwag has scored just 523 runs in 12 Tests, at an average of 22.73 with a highest of 67. In Asia, though, over the same period he has amassed 3622 runs at 57.49, at a game-changing strike rate of 94.1.However, over the last two years, the big innings began to dry up even in Asia. After his 173 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in November 2010, he had to wait more than two years for another Test century. In November 2012, Sehwag earned another lease of life with a typical century against England again in Ahmedabad but, between then and being dropped, he has had scores of 25, 30, 9, 23, 49, 0, 2, 19 and 6.This is a big fall for India’s most prolific opening combination in Tests: Gautam Gambhir was dropped before the start of the Australia after three years without a Test century. Now India are possibly looking at a raw opening combination going into South Africa.Not even naming a replacement opener is a big statement made by selectors who don’t seem to have other options available but have still gone ahead and omitted him. Dhawan, his Delhi team-mate, is now a front-runner for Mohali, but Ajinkya Rahane can’t be ruled out either. Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, did say before the start of the England series that Rahane was picked as a middle-order batsman, but the Indian team management has been flexible and doesn’t always stick to statements made in the press.India squad: MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), M Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Cheteshwar Pujara.

Wade sets up 65-run win for Australia

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Australia’s mix of youth and experience worked to great effect at the MCG, where the debutant Matthew Wade scored an impressive half-century to set up a 65-run victory over India

The Report by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG05-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDavid Hussey made a valuable 61 not out from 30 balls•Getty Images

Australia’s mix of youth and experience worked to great effect at the MCG, where the debutant Matthew Wade scored an impressive half-century to set up a 65-run victory over India. The selectors had consciously chosen a squad that blended fresh faces with veterans and while Wade top-scored, David Hussey’s brisk fifty, a fast 45 from Michael Hussey and a pair of blinding catches from Ricky Ponting were key factors in the win.The rain-affected clash was reduced to 32 overs a side. Australia pushed their score up to 5 for 216 after a shaky start and the total remained unchanged under Duckworth-Lewis, but it was the sort of target India should have felt was achievable. But two early wickets to Mitchell Starc, followed by a pair of strikes in Clint McKay’s first over left India expecting too much of MS Dhoni and the lower order.In the end, India were dismissed for 151 in the 30th over in the first match of the Commonwealth Bank Series. The last wicket came when Praveen Kumar pulled to long-on to give McKay figures of 4 for 20 after he also had Ravindra Jadeja caught in the deep. Xavier Doherty had picked up Rahul Sharma and Dhoni, who holed out to long-off for 29.But the highlight in the late stages was Daniel Christian’s run-out of R Ashwin, his sliding work in the deep followed by a well-directed throw as the batsmen attempted a third. It was an indication of they way Australia outfielded India, who gave away overthrows and lacked the sharpness they displayed in Friday’s T20. It also continued a good debut for Christian, who had also had Suresh Raina caught for 4.Things didn’t start well for India, who had rested Virender Sehwag. In the second over of the chase Sachin Tendulkar, on 2, chased a ball angled across him from Starc and drove in the direction of point, where Ponting dived low and to his right to take a wonderful catch. Starc added a second wicket in his next over when Gautam Gambhir, surprised by extra bounce, edged behind for 5.Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma combined for a 51-run stand that featured some classy shots, including a drive from Rohit off Ryan Harris that nearly cleared the cover boundary. But McKay’s twin strikes ended any realistic hope India had. He had Kohli for 31, another super catch from Ponting at point as a fierce cut flew straight towards his face, and Rohit (21) edged behind two balls later.From there, it was all Australia. It didn’t look like being that way when they trudged off in the rain at 2 for 35 after 11 overs, having been sent in by Dhoni. Despite a few false starts from the groundstaff trying to remove the covers it turned into a long delay as the showers kept returning. And the rain came at the wrong time for Australia, after Wade had just launched Praveen over long-on for six and then cut him for four more.Although it took Wade a little while to get set again after the resumption, he soon found his touch and showed he is comfortable at this level. Brad Haddin has been rested for the first three games but it would take a brave selection panel to dump Wade later in the series. He brought up his half-century with a short single dropped into the leg side off his 55th delivery and eventually played on when he tried to pull Rahul’s quicker legspinner.His 67 left him sixth on the list of highest scores by an Australian ODI debutant, behind Phil Jaques, Shaun Marsh, Kepler Wessels, Mark Cosgrove and Michael Slater. And his 73-run stand with Michael Hussey came at better than eight an over, the latter the aggressor having been promoted to No.5. Michael Hussey was in fine touch, sweeping boundaries both square and fine, and he raced to 45 from 32 balls before he pulled Vinay Kumar to deep square leg.Fortunately for Australia, David Hussey scored even quicker than his brother, a pulled six off R Ashwin and a searing drive through extra cover for four off Vinay among his highlights. He also helped Australia take 19 off the final over as confusion spread on the field; the rain delay meant only two bowlers could bowl seven overs, and Rahul began the over without the umpires realising that he would be the third.He was allowed to bowl two balls before the mistake was noticed, and Jadeja continued the over to poor effect for India. David Hussey brought up his half-century from his 28th delivery with a six over midwicket off Jadeja, and struck another six from the final ball, a free-hit thanks to Jadeja’s no-ball from the previous delivery. David Hussey finished on 61 from 30 balls and Christian was on 17.It was a strong finish from Australia after their shaky start. A day after he was bought for $1 million by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL auction, Vinay showed his limited-overs talent by getting rid of David Warner and Ponting early. Warner had been tied down and he tried to thump Vinay out of the ground, but the angle from around the wicket allowed the ball to sneak in through the gate to bowl Warner for 6 from 14 balls.Vinay followed up with Ponting who was caught at cover trying to crunch a drive through the gap for 2 from 12 deliveries. After the rain delay the Australians soon lost Michael Clarke, who skied a catch to deep midwicket off the bowling of Rohit for 10 from 21, and at that stage India were in charge with Australia at 3 for 49.But through their mix of youth – Wade, Christian, Starc – and experience – the Hussey brothers and Ponting – Australia regained control. John Inverarity’s panel could hardly have hoped for better.

'We may have got lazy' – Waqar

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has said his side may have found it hard to motivate themselves for the sixth ODI against New Zealand having already won the series

Andrew Fernando at Eden Park05-Feb-2011Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has said his side may have found it hard to motivate themselves for the sixth ODI against New Zealand, having already won the series. Pakistan lost Saturday’s match in Auckland by 57 runs, but the series ended 3-2 in their favour.”We tried our best today [Saturday], but it didn’t really happen,” Waqar said. “When you win the series, it’s hard to be motivated sometimes. Maybe you get a little lazy at times, but overall I’m happy with the way the boys played today.”Pakistan had won the toss and put New Zealand in to bat, hoping the Eden Park surface would offer something for the fast bowlers, but the pitch proved to be an absolute belter, as batsmen on both sides hit through the line without fear and to great effect; and Waqar admitted they had misread the conditions. “I think we were expecting the ball to move a little bit more. But here in Auckland it’s a very deceptive pitch. Even when we used to play here a few years ago, it looks damp but it does nothing.”New Zealand’s batsmen dominated the Pakistan attack on Saturday. Jesse Ryder made 107 from 93 balls, before Scott Styris and Nathan McCullum galloped to half-centuries towards the end of the innings to lift New Zealand’s total to 310. Pakistan lost three wickets inside twelve overs in their run chase and Waqar said it was the regular loss of wickets that left them unable to threaten New Zealand’s total.”We gave it a good run, but every time we got momentum we lost a wicket at the wrong time. They played better than us when we were bowling, so they deserved to win.”Pakistan cricket has had a controversy-ridden last 12 months, but Waqar said the latest news that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were facing charges from the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK did not have any effect on Pakistan’s performance on the field in the final ODI, as the team were largely unaware of the charges. “I knew it because I read it in the paper, but I don’t think anybody else knew it. I don’t think the boys had any talk about it. It didn’t really bother us.”Pakistan’s loss at Eden Park followed a series-deciding victory in Hamilton, which gave Pakistan their first one-day series win since 2008. They had ended a four-year Test series drought, with a 1-0 win over New Zealand earlier in the tour, and Waqar said the results were encouraging ahead of the World Cup. “It’s been a while since Pakistan won anything. The most satisfying thing is the fitness is pretty good. The guys look good in the field, which has never happened before. They’re all geared up and hopefully the same momentum goes into the World Cup.”With the amount of controversy in the last 8 to 9 months, we needed something like this. We needed to develop our team again, and the only way we could do it is if we started playing well.”Misbah-ul-Haq and Wahab Riaz were rested for the final ODI, giving Sohail Tanvir and Asad Shafiq some valuable match practice before the World Cup. Tanvir was expensive, leaking 78 runs in eight overs, but Shafiq impressed during his stay, rebuilding smartly alongside Kamran Akmal after Pakistan had lost three early wickets. Waqar said Pakistan hadn’t yet finalised their XI for the World Cup. “We’ve given most of our guys a game. Asad Shafiq played really well today. It’s unfortunate he got run out because he was looking really good. We don’t really know the XI at the moment because there are a few warm-up games before the World Cup, but we’ve got a good unit.”

Tamim breaks the stereotype

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Tamim Iqbal’s brilliant 151 on the second day in Mirpur revealed a lot about his character – his aggressive streak as well as his efforts to temper it with patience

Sriram Veera in Mirpur26-Jan-2010Until very recently, if Tamim Iqbal had to be described by a punctuation mark, you would have picked a nice big bold exclamation mark. You would have also been tempted to colour it red. It wasn’t a difficult stereotype to arrive at. His batting was a scream of adrenalin and his life zoomed on the fast lane given that he races around in a BMW. The crimson ‘!’ was the easiest symbol to settle upon. Things are changing, though. Maturity hasn’t moved in yet but it is a frequent visitor these days.Today, all the typical Tamim strokes – the audacious slog-sweeps, the thrilling hits over mid-on, and the numerous sweep shots – were there, but what symbolised this knock was the uncharacteristic military snap with which he shouldered arms to a series of balls, well outside off stump from Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag. It was aimed at his past reputation, at the Tamim stereotype. One could understand the bowlers’ plan – surely, Tamim will go after them and throw his wicket away? But it didn’t work, as he kept leaving those deliveries. Ball after ball, over after over. It has to be a landmark event in Tamim’s brief batting career.There was a solitary moment of intrusion from the old Tamim which reminded us that no hasty conclusion can be drawn yet, that Tamim’s battle is still on but the journey to self-awareness has started. He lunged across, fetched a ball from outside off and top-edged a slog sweep but it fell clear of a desperate Sachin Tendulkar at mid-on. It wasn’t a brain freeze. It was just a relapse to his older self. The way he looked at that incident at the end of the day said much about him. “I knew Sehwag would try to bowl outside off to trap me and make me play a stupid shot. And I did it once. Just once.”A lovely smile lit up his face. There was no seriousness involved; just the naughty smile of a youngster talking about petty misdemeanours committed in adolescence. It conveyed that batting will essentially remain an activity of fun for Tamim and that he will continue to express himself; just that he is trying hard to add a slice of wisdom to it.Tamim’s new-found resolve could possibly be the influence of his coach and the youngster acknowledged his role. “Jamie Siddons was throwing his cap away in the dressing room! I knew my mistake and after that I played really well.” More smiles all around. “Siddons has been the best coach we have ever had. He has really worked hard with me.”There was another thing that Tamim said, and did, that epitomised his spirit perfectly. During the tea-break, when he was still 21 runs short of hundred, he was involved in an earnest conversation with Siddons, just beyond the boundary. “He said ‘no need to rush, just play your game and play as straight as possible’,” Tamim explained. As it transpired, he moved to his ton in just 14 balls post tea. He looted 14 runs – a charged four, a lashed boundary, and a slog-swept six – from three consecutive Pragyan Ojha deliveries, didn’t connect with couple of pulls and even charged out at a Zaheer Khan delivery. It was the very definition of rush. What was he thinking? “Oh it wasn’t like that. I thought the ball was there to be hit, so I hit it.” It brought laughter all around and confirmed his essential thirst for adventure.Barring Zaheer, nearly all the Indian bowlers bowled at that characteristic attribute of Tamim. However he didn’t oblige today. Only Zaheer, especially with the old ball which he got to reverse, attacked him with a sense of purpose. He got the ball to move in, took it out, and punctuated his spell with bouncers. This is where Tamim really sparkled. He picked the trajectory of nearly every ball; only once was he squared-up, by a beauty that left him. A screeching yorker was muffled out, the front foot was carefully taken out of the way of late inswingers, a purposeful forward stride met ones that left him and importantly, he played the moving ball late. It showed the innings wasn’t just a matter of tempering his attitude but a show of skill as well.There was another piece of evidence that showcased his desire for improvement. He scored 66 runs in the arc from fine-leg to midwicket, a majority of it coming from sweep shots. It is something that he has been working hard on in the recent times with Mohammad Salahuddin, former assistant coach of the national team. “For hours and hours, he bowled at me and helped me practice the sweep shot. I wasn’t that comfortable against spin before. Even during this series, I have been working with him.” Last evening, there was an SMS from Salahuddin: “If the ball turns just a little, sweep.” And Tamim did exactly that.There was a poignant moment when Tamim shared a lovely little story. “I dedicate this hundred to my father (Iqbal Khan); he did everything possible for me to play cricket and it was his dream that I should play for Bangladesh.” Tamim’s elder brother Nafees has also played for Bangladesh and hit a Test hundred, a match-saving effort against Zimbabwe. Iqbal Khan died before his sons made their debuts. This son has not only played for the country, scoring the fastest hundred by a Bangladeshi in the process, but also promises to play for a long time. “So far, this is my best knock but there are many more to come. I am very new to Test cricket but I am beginning to understand myself better now.”The journey towards maturity has started. From reining in his aggression with the bat, to sending his BMW back to Chittagong for fears that it might get damaged on Dhaka’s roads, the 20-year old Tamim is threatening to grow up quickly. And it can’t hurt Bangladesh. In the here and now, it has given Bangladesh a rare hope, which looked unlikely as of last evening, of getting out safe, and perhaps even getting something beyond mere safety, from this Test.

Haseeb century drives Nottinghamshire reply at Trent Bridge

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Abbas, Pennington claim three wickets each as Somerset are bowled out for 438

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025 Nottinghamshire 189 for 2 trail Somerset 438 (Rew 166, Abell 156, Abbas 3-60) by 249 runs Captain Haseeb Hameed’s third century of the season helped title-chasing Nottinghamshire build a solid foundation in reply to Somerset’s 438 on day two of their Rothesay County Championship clash at Trent Bridge.Hameed, who struck 15 fours and two sixes, also passed 1,000 first-class runs for the season with the same shot that completed his hundred. He had earlier shared a stand of 101 for the second wicket with Freddie McCann (48).At 189 for two, though, Nottinghamshire, who began this round one point behind Division One leaders and defending champions Surrey, still have much work to do, trailing by 249 runs even after third-placed Somerset lost their last seven wickets for 100, Mohammad Abbas (three for 60) and Dillon Pennington (three for 71) sharing the bowling honours for the home side.Somerset’s 438 all out – while a total not to be sniffed at after being asked to bat first – perversely still felt like fewer than Somerset probably should have accumulated on a pitch with little in it for the bowling side, given that they had been 338 for three before Tom Abell’s demise shortly before Tuesday’s close,Abbas excepted, Nottinghamshire had not been at their best with the ball on the opening day. They looked better for a night’s reflection, yet most of the damage suffered by Somerset was to some degree self-inflicted.Of the four wickets to fall in adding 58 before lunch, nightwatchman Jack Leach cut the first ball of the day straight to backward point, after which James Rew fell into a trap set on the leg side as his impressive 166 ended with him athletically caught behind pulling.Tom Banton, chasing a wide one, and Archie Vaughan, nibbling outside off stump, gave Joe Clarke two much easier catches in his latest tour of duty keeping wicket, this time because Kyle Verreynne is back home in South Africa for an awards ceremony. Migael Pretorius popped back a tame return catch for Calvin Harrison soon after lunch.Craig Overton’s 31 not out was the third highest score in an innings dominated by Rew’s 313-run fourth-wicket stand with Abell (156). Jake Ball, the former Nottinghamshire quick, made 24 against his old mates before chipping back a catch to Liam Patterson-White after 41 were added for the last wicketOpening a Nottinghamshire innings for the 100th time together – matching the feats of Chris Broad and Tim Robinson, and Darren Bicknell and Jason Gallian as the only opening pairs to reach that milestone for the county since 1960 – Haseeb and Ben Slater were quickly parted, Slater falling to the eighth ball of the innings, shouldering arms to a ball from Craig Overton that clipped his off stump.Yet it took another 28 overs for the Somerset attack to make a second incision. McCann was looking to match Hameed, who had just completed an 87-ball half-century, when Ball offered him a delivery wide of off stump. It was a boundary for the taking to the short side of the square but he flashed at the ball and it took the edge, Rew having no problem taking the catch.If this represented a potential opening for Somerset, though, it was not one that offered any more than a glimpse of light, as Hameed and Clarke negotiated a safe passage through the 25 overs that remained.Hameed survived a chance on 91, albeit a difficult one, when he drove a ball back hard at Pretorius, who instinctively flung out a hand but could only prevent runs. The Nottinghamshire skipper celebrated his reprieve by lofting Vaughan’s off spin down the ground, not cleanly but with enough power to beat the fielder and the boundary for his second six, then patiently waiting on 99 to drive the same bowler to the long-on boundary for his 15th four and his 18th first-class century.

Ball-by-ball: Shamar Joseph rips through Australia at the Gabba

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Fast, furious and relentless through an unbroken spell of 11.5 overs despite a toe injury, Shamar bowled West Indies to a famous win in just his second Test

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-202430.5: Shamar Joseph to Green, OUT
Bowled him! Through the gate off the elbow! This leapt from a length, gets through the gate, hit the back elbow and dropped onto the stumps! Extra bounce from nowhere. What a delivery. Wobble seam as well and some nip in. Ball tracking says it bounced 12cm more than the average length in this game Australia 113/330.6: Shamar Joseph to Head, OUT
King pair! 141kph yorker thunders into the base of off! What a yorker! Around the wicket, 141kph, missile at the base of off, Head couldn’t get his bat down and West Indies are alive thanks to the wonderkid! Australia 113/4
34.3: Shamar Joseph to Marsh, OUT
Edged and taken! Shamar Joseph gets Mitch Marsh! That’s a peach of a delivery. Dug in back of length on a fourth-stump line at 144kph, the ball straightens. Marsh has to play at that. He looks to defend and the extra bounce means it comes off high on the bat and straight to Athanaze at second slip who can’t hold on. The ball pops out to third slip where Greaves holds on to complete the catch Australia 132/536.2: Shamar Joseph to Carey, OUT
Knocks him over! He nails the yorker again and Australia go six down! Alright, this wasn’t quite on yorker length, but it was fired in full at 145kph. Goes off the pad and knocks the off stump back. Australia 136/640.5: Shamar Joseph to Starc, OUT
In the air again and this time, Starc is gone! Shamar Joseph has two five-wicket hauls in two Tests! What a spell this is. Coming back after that toe injury yesterday. And he gets his revenge on Starc as well. Starc again swings at a back of length delivery going across him. Comes off the toe end and goes high in the air and Sinclair has to just move a little to his left from backward point to grab it. Shamar Joseph kneels with his head on the ground in celebration. This match is very much alive! Australia 171/742.3: Shamar Joseph to Cummins, OUT
Edged to the keeper and Shamar wheels away in celebration! Length ball outside off at 141.6kph kicks up and takes the outside edge. Goes wide of the keeper and Da Silva throws himself at it for a diving catch. Shamar Joseph is kicking up a storm here! Australia 175/850.5: Shamar Joseph to Hazlewood, OUT
West Indies win! Shamar Joseph flattens off stump! They charge off in celebration. Shamar Joseph takes seven! The West Indies huddle together. Brian Lara is nearly in tears in the commentary box! Perfect length, angled into middle and off, it straightens past the edge and flattens off! That is so good. Australia 207/10

Newly-minted T20 champions England gear up for Australia ODIs

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The series may look inconsequential but it kick-starts preparations for the ODI World Cup, which is less than 12 months away

Tristan Lavalette16-Nov-2022

Big picture

Underlining the increasingly congested cricket calendar, newly-minted T20 World Cup champions England have had to snap out of revelry and attempt to somehow focus on a seemingly inconsequential three-match ODI series against Australia.Around 72 hours after partying into the wee hours of Monday, a slew of England’s title-winning heroes will be back on the field for the series opener on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval.Related

  • Vince searches for purpose in a series shrouded in futility

  • Maxwell out for extended period after breaking leg in 'freak accident'

While it might be difficult for England to be particularly motivated, Australia should be fresh and determined to rebound after their disappointing title defence at the T20 World Cup. Australia have selected an almost full-strength squad to start a new ODI era under the reins of Pat Cummins, who has taken over the captaincy from the retired Aaron Finch.On paper, the series feels rather trivial and lacking context as it is not part of the World Cup Super League. Crowd numbers for the games in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne are expected to reflect the lack of mainstream interest. Only 18,000 fans attended Australia’s must-win T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan in Adelaide earlier in the month – a figure you feel Cricket Australia would gladly take for the first ODI.It might be something of an afterthought – and you could certainly understand if England are feeling sluggish – but the series still holds some importance. It effectively kick-starts preparations for the 50-over World Cup in India, which is less than 12 months away, and provides an opportunity for the last two World Cup champions to experiment and tinker with their line-ups.Australia had ODI series victories against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Queensland in August-September, while England’s form was patchy during their home summer.

Form guide

Australia WWWLW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLLWL

In the spotlight

After being contentiously left out of Australia’s aforementioned match against Afghanistan, having struggled at the T20 World Cup where he was sometimes held back from his customary new ball role, Mitchell Starc will be determined for a bounce back in the ODI series. The new ball was taken away from him after he conceded 14 runs in Australia’s opening over of the tournament against New Zealand in a huge defeat, which ultimately proved fatal for their title defence. As evidenced by his omission against Afghanistan, Starc’s future in Australia’s T20I line-up is uncertain but he remains a core in their ODI bowling attack, and a return to opening the bowling might prove the tonic he needs.Jason Roy was left out of England’s T20 World Cup squad because of his poor form•AFP/Getty Images

While many of England’s players might be struggling to get up for the contest, Jason Roy has a point to prove after being overlooked for the T20 World Cup as his replacement Alex Hales enjoyed a stirring comeback. But Roy has been backed in as the preferred 50-over opener and will be looking to repay the faith after a breather. He will have to contend with a fired-up Australia pace attack looking to find form ahead of the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies starting later in the month.

Team news

Australia have selected a near full-strength line-up although batting allrounder Glenn Maxwell will miss the series after breaking his left leg during a freak accident at a friend’s birthday party. Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green are set to comprise the middle order, while Travis Head gets the first crack to replace Finch as an opener in front of his home faithful.Marnus Labuschagne and wicketkeeper Alex Carey return to the line-up, while Steven Smith will bat at No. 3 – after mostly being on the outer at the T20 World Cup. Cummins has recovered from a bout of gastro in time to lead the ODI team for the first time.Australia (probable): 1 Travis Head, 2 David Warner, 3 Steve Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaWhile they will be without Ben Stokes, who remains retired from ODI cricket, England will rely on several players who weren’t part of the T20 World Cup squad to provide a spark. Roy, James Vince and Sam Billings will be aiming to do just that, while fast bowler Olly Stone is in line to play his first ODI in four years.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Phil Salt, 3 James Vince, 4 Sam Billings 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Olly Stone

Pitch and conditions

Sunny conditions are forecast in Adelaide with a maximum temperature of 23 degrees, which is set to aid the normally batting-friendly pitch at a ground marked by short square boundaries. Bowlers generally aim for a fuller length to force batters to hit to the longer straight boundaries, while turn is usually evident.

Stats and trivia

  • Australia have won 84 of the 152 ODIs between the countries, but England have claimed 12 of 16 matches since 2016.
  • Australia’s only victory in their 4-1 ODI series defeat to England in 2017-18 was a three-wicket win in Adelaide.
  • Roy needs 46 runs to become the 12th England batter to reach 4000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“I don’t think you will see too much change from what Finchy brought to the squad around his captaincy. I hope I can provide an environment where the players can all go out and express themselves.”
“There’s no point hiding away that it will be a challenge for us, having had such a high a few days ago… [but] once you get over the line and you’re playing against Australia, I’m sure those competitive juices will get going”