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ScorecardLuke Butterworth’s counterattacking 86 helped Tasmania post a strong total against Queensland on the second day•Getty Images

Over a seven-year career for Tasmania, in which he has consistently shown himself to be an apt performer on the big occasions, Luke Butterworth’s most notable reward has been a solitary Australia A tour to Zimbabwe in 2011. As he compiled 86 on day two of the Sheffield Shield final against Queensland, his third major score in four competition deciders, it was difficult not to wonder whether Butterworth deserved better.Until Butterworth walked to the wicket at the fall of the seventh wicket for a mere 269, Tasmania’s first innings was marked more by the inert than the expansive. His fluent counterattack, in the company of James Faulkner, gave the Tigers a healthy total, and enough time before the close for Ben Hilfenhaus to surge through Greg Moller’s crooked defence with the first ball of the Bulls’ innings.Jordan Silk had reached a stolid 108 in the morning, and George Bailey managed 42, but it was not until Butterworth joined Faulkner that the Tigers were able to wriggle free of a Queensland attack that maintained a disciplined line throughout. Butterworth has enjoyed the most fruitful bowling season of his career, and his languid batting has always seemed to find traction at key moments for the Tigers. Anything short of a berth on the Australia A tour to England that precedes the Ashes this year would be an injustice.Ponting and Silk resumed with intent to press on from the funereal progress that had typified the first day. However Ponting’s contribution was to extend no further than a couple more crisp strokes, as James Hopes’ stumps-seeking swinger had the 38-year-old Tasmanian overbalancing and lbw.Silk punched and prodded to his century, a 341-ball triumph of application over adventure that maintained a decidedly promising start to his first-class career. There was to be some irony to Silk’s exit eight runs later, for he perished caught in the deep to a top-edged pull shot. Both the aggression and the error on his most reliable source of runs, were uncharacteristic of his innings.Bailey was playing neatly in search of only his second half-century in a personally dire Shield season, but he was to lose another two partners soon after lunch. Jon Wells could do little with an outswinger from the persevering Harris, touching it through for Chris Hartley to claim a low catch. In the bowler’s next over Tim Paine did less well, as a ball angled back and skidded through, with umpire Simon Fry judging it would have hit leg stump.These wobbles became more pronounced when Bailey himself departed, pinned in front by Cameron Gannon’s inswing for another lbw. Faulkner and Butterworth were thus charged with sustaining an innings that was in serious danger of petering out in mediocre fashion.So well did they take to this task that the stand reaped 125 in good time, tiring Queensland’s bowlers, and lifting Tasmania’s total into territory more commensurate with the time that its accumulation had occupied. Usually a more extroverted batsman, Faulkner played within himself, leaving Butterworth the stage on which to demonstrate his now commonplace ease in a final.Demonstrating a vast array of shots and an elegant approach, Butterworth lit up the afternoon. There were drives, cuts, pull shots and glances, while he had no qualms about advancing to strike Nathan Hauritz boldly down the ground. A century beckoned, but Faulkner was undone by a Hopes delivery that stayed low. Butterworth then touched a ball angled across him to caught behind by Hartley.Hopes claimed a fourth for the innings when Hilfenhaus was ruled lbw, but the wickets succeeded mainly in leaving the Bulls an awkward session up to stumps that was to prove almost as damaging as Butterworth’s batting had been.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNeil Wagner struck twice in his first over and finished with figures of 4 for 42•Getty Images

New Zealand took advantage of one of the most bungling England batting displays of recent vintage to take a firm hold of the first Test in Dunedin. New Zealand’s bowlers were disciplined and willing, but they will have been realistic enough to know that England made a dreadful mess of it, dismissed in 55 overs and never summoning the resolve to counter a sluggish pitch.The essential docility of the surface was then amplified when New Zealand’s openers, Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford, the former given a Test comeback he might have imagined was beyond him, the latter on Test debut and still fresh enough to dream of untold glory, closed within 36 runs of England’s meagre total to complete a thoroughly one-sided day.Rutherford, although reprieved on 52 when Stuart Broad dropped a return catch and missed again off Broad on 64 when Kevin Pietersen failed to lock onto a chance at point, was much more expansive, whereas Fulton clung on grittily in a manner which England had failed to do earlier in the day.A triumphant start to his home Test debut by the left-arm quick Neil Wagner, who found himself on a hat-trick in his first over, was the catalyst in an extended morning session which saw England lose five wickets. Then Bruce Martin, a left-arm spinner given a Test debut at 32, was showered by celebratory gifts with three wickets in as many overs.In a week where two better-known New Zealand spinners, Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel, had attracted official opprobrium for a drinking session in Queenstown, Martin must have imagined his first excursion in Test cricket would amount to an occasional spell or two, little more than a mild libation. Instead, he must have felt himself just as intoxicated. He spent much of the day fitting and refitting his New Zealand cap on his head as if he could barely believe it.Wagner and Martin finished with four wickets apiece, with England reliant upon a ninth-wicket stand of 47 in 11 overs between James Anderson and Steve Finn to reach an entirely inadequate total.Wagner, who won his place ahead of Mark Gillespie and the injured Doug Bracewell, had managed five wickets at 68.80 in three Tests overseas, but home soil immediately proved more to his liking as he persuaded Alastair Cook to slap a back-of-a-length delivery to point and then with his next ball found a modicum of inswing to have Pietersen lbw first ball to a cagey defensive probe.

Smart stats

• England’s total of 167 is their lowest in the first innings of a Test match since August 2009, when they were dismissed for 102 at Headingley against Australia. It’s their third-lowest since the beginning of 2005.

• It’s only the sixth time since 2005 that there’s been no half-century for England in the first innings of a Test. The last time this happened was in Johannesburg in January 2010.

• Bruce Martin’s figures of 4 for 43 are the eighth-best on Test debut for New Zealand. The last bowler to do better was Doug Bracewell, who took 5 for 85 against Zimbabwe in 2011.

• Hamish Rutherford’s unbeaten 77 is currently the 12th-best on debut for New Zealand, but the fourth-highest by a New Zealand opener on debut.

• The 131-run stand between Rutherford and Peter Fulton is New Zealand’s first century partnership for the opening wicket in Tests against a team other than Zimbabwe in more than two years. Their last one was 120 against Pakistan in Wellington in January 2011.

• The last time New Zealand had a partnership of more than 131 for the first wicket in a Test was way back in June 2004, when Stephen Fleming and Mark Richardson added 163 against England at Trent Bridge.

Pietersen had been rested from England’s T20 and ODI series and, although such official absences are an inevitable part of England’s unrelenting schedule, he pushed forward as if he was not sure what side of the equator he was on. It is easy to jump to conclusions, however – he has always been a bad starter. Wagner produced just the sort of delivery, first up, which habitually troubles Pietersen early in his innings.That was the two England batsmen who had conquered India before Christmas removed at a stroke. Only Jonathan Trott organised prolonged resistance, with 45 in nearly three hours, but even he departed in what, for England, was maddening fashion as he top-edged a sweep at Martin and holed out at short fine leg.There is often something distinctly unsettling for a batting side when a Test starts on the second morning. The anticipation and energy that is part of the build-up to a first morning is difficult to recapture. The natural rhythms of the game have been disturbed and an underlying sense of dissatisfaction lingers like stale cigarettes in a smoker’s room.But England’s habit of beginning a Test series slowly is now ingrained. The Dunedin pitch was as brown as cigarette tar and England coughed and spluttered as if on 60 a day. Any fears of excessive swing or seam did not materialise, but a holding surface was problem enough.Nick Compton must have been more heartened than anybody by the warnings from Andy Flower, England’s director of cricket, that Joe Root’s emergence must not be over-hyped. Root stayed down at No. 6 as Flower ignored calls for him to open the innings in preparation for the Ashes with Compton, whose England career has to date come with less drooling, retained at the top of the order.Both were dismissed by lunch. Compton made a four-ball duck and fell in the third over, playing on to Tim Southee as he pushed hesitantly at a fullish ball and saw it spin back onto his off stump.It was the sluggish surface that did for Cook. He was dropped on nine by Martin in front of square, reaching for a leg-side clip off Trent Boult. When he tried to carve Wagner over the off side, and mistimed the shot again, Rutherford proved more reliable.Ian Bell, on 19, survived a New Zealand review when he got a big inside edge against Southee. The only batsman to show much form ahead of the Test series, Bell displayed his usual moments of batting purity, only to descend to batting naivety when Wagner returned shortly before lunch, switched around the wicket and had him caught at short extra-cover.Neither was there any joy for Root, who played reluctantly at a back-of-a-length delivery from Boult, and dabbed to third slip, another poor shot on a dreadful England morning.It got no better after lunch. Matt Prior struck five off-side boundaries in two overs then hunted another square cut against Martin and miscued to point; Trott top-edged a sweep in the spinner’s next over; and Broad, who would have fallen lbw to Martin second ball if the bowler had dared to ask for a review, yanked a long hop to deep square.At 119 for 8, England took solace in some tail-end resistance from Anderson and Finn, but Finn also picked out deep square and when Anderson swung himself off his feet, and sliced Martin to point, it summed up England’s debacle.

Match facts

April 30, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Pune Warriors have already proved to be a stumbling block for Chennai Super Kings this season•BCCI

Big Picture

Pune Warriors are at the bottom of the points table. Chennai Super Kings are at the top after nine games. Warriors have lost their last four matches, Super Kings have five wins in a row. On current form, this is possibly the biggest mismatch in the IPL. But then, the previous time Super Kings lost in this tournament was when they played Warriors. That upset came at Chepauk, and the game wasn’t even close, Warriors winning by 24 runs.Since then, Super Kings have been unstoppable. They have won even when it seemed like they wouldn’t; their strategy of accelerating a chase late has often appeared a folly, only for someone to deliver and take them over the line. At Eden Gardens it was Ravindra Jadeja; against Rajasthan Royals, Dwayne Bravo got a six away with 10 needed off 4; and then there was an MS Dhoni special against Sunrisers Hyderabad.For Warriors, it has been just the opposite. Time and again they’ve looked to be in control of the game, only to end up losing. Chasing 120 against Sunrisers, they went from 101 for 4 to 108 all out; they were not able to defend 185 against Kings XI Punjab, and on Sunday they just could not get the big hits away against Daredevils, finishing 15 short in a chase of 165 despite being only four down. They have four points from nine games, and while the permutations are not firmed up as yet, it seems likely that Warriors will have to win all their remaining seven games and hope for other results to go in their favour to progress to the playoffs.

Form guide

Pune Warriors LLLLW (most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings WWWWW

In the spotlight

For Chennai Super Kings, the fourth overseas player slot has been like a game of musical chairs. Dirk Nannes, Ben Laughlin, Jason Holder and Albie Morkel have all come in, gone out and then, in some cases, come right back in again. It appears Super Kings, in sticking to type, would prefer to play allrounder Ablie but he has been having fitness issues. Which of the overseas quicks will play in Pune? That’s anyone’s guess. Once Faf du Plessis is fit, provided the team doesn’t run into a bad patch of form, they might also be tempted to allow Michael Hussey a bit of a rest and give themselves the extra overseas batting option, should they need it going into the business end of the tournament.Pune Warriors’ death bowling has been the worst among all teams in the tournament. Their economy rate at the death (overs 16 to 20) so far this season is 11.17, almost two runs more expensive than the second team on the list, Kolkata Knight Riders. Death bowling has been something Warriors have been focusing on improving. After the IPL auction in February coach Allan Donald had said they aggressively pursued Australian quick Kane Richardson and paid big bucks for him – he was the third most expensive buy at US$700,000 – specifically because of his “exciting death-bowling skills”. Richardson played his first game against Delhi Daredevils on Sunday and, after conceding 17 runs in three overs, produced length balls in the 19th to be dispatched for three sixes. Might have just been the nerves of an IPL debut, but given Warriors position on the points table are they out of time to find a viable solution?

Stats and Trivia

• Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch have four half-century opening stands in seven innings this season, the most by any pair
• During his innings against Knight Riders, Suresh Raina became only the second player to tally 100 sixes in the IPL, behind Chris Gayle

Quotes

“The way he has played against different teams has been quite dynamic. I cannot speak more highly of Hussey, on the influence he has and the way he conducts himself. He leads by example, not only the runs he scores but the way he trains and conducts himself.”
“Cricket is a funny game, especially T20, where even a single over can change the game. So we’ve learnt that until it’s over, don’t raise your hopes.”

Ian Wardlaw, the Yorkshire seamer, has been invited to train with Scotland and could be earn an immediate call-up for the World Cricket League fixtures against Afghanistan in March.Wardlaw, 27, has only played 19 matches for Yorkshire after making his debut in July 2011. He admitted it was a shock to asked to train with Scotland in Edinburgh over the next two weekends. He qualifies through his Scottish father and has a path to a career in international cricket.”I can impress enough to force my way into the squad,” Wardlaw said. “Afghanistan are going good. No team will take them lightly and they have real quality with their bowlers who can bowl at pace and they have some good batters that are very strong in one-day cricket”Scotland and Afghanistan continue their World Cup qualifying campaign with four World Cricket League Championship matches in Sharjah at the start of March before an Intercontinental Cup fixture in Abu Dhabi.”There will be a lot of pressure on the matches,” Wardlaw said. “Only the top two from the group get automatic qualification to the World Cup. Even though Scotland are currently in second spot, we cannot afford to slip up and Afghanistan could be one of those teams that could embarrass you if you’re not prepared and focused.”If Wardlaw impresses he could find himself lining up against Pakistan and Australia over the summer, along with Neil Carter, who ended his Warwickshire career at the end of last season but declared his intention to play for Scotland.

Simon Taufel, the recently retired Australian umpire, will give the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture this year. He will be the first umpire to do so.Taufel became the most respected umpire in the world after standing in his first Test match aged 29 in 2000. He was named umpire of the year five successive times from 2004 to 2008 and stood in 74 Tests, 174 ODIs and 34 international Twenty20s – the last of which being the World T20 final in October.He will be the third Australian to deliver the lecture, this year on July 24, following Richie Benaud in 2001 and Adam Gilchrist in 2009, and the third non-international cricketer after Christopher Martin-Jenkins in 2007 and Desmond Tutu in 2008.”Simon Taufel has been one of the most respected umpires in world cricket for over a decade,” MCC president, Mike Griffith, said. “I am delighted that he has accepted the club’s invitation to give the thirteenth lecture.”He will offer a unique insight into how the spirit of cricket preamble practically translates within the modern game. As a member of the MCC laws sub-committee, the club already benefits from his vast knowledge and experience to help tackle the key issues surrounding the game’s laws. I am very much looking forward to listening to him address the current areas of contention in the sport.”Taufel said he was initially shocked to be asked: “I am delighted, honoured and humbled to be able to participate in such an important cricket event – I look forward to representing umpiring in this fine tradition and all that Lord Cowdrey stood for.”The spirit of cricket Cowdrey lecture began in 2001 in memory of the late Lord Cowdrey, a past president of MCC, who, together with another former president, Ted Dexter, was the driving force in having the spirit of cricket included as the preamble to the laws of the game.Previous lectures have been delivered by Kumar Sangakkara, who, in 2011, was the youngest person to do so, former England captain Geoffrey Boycott and West Indian great Clive Lloyd.

Mominul Haque, a left-hand batsman, has been brought into Bangladesh’s squad for the first two ODIs against West Indies as a replacement for the injured Shakib Al Hasan. The Bangladesh board announced their decision after the completion of the warm-up match between BCB XI and the West Indians in Khulna, where Mominul made 43.Shakib was ruled out of the first two ODIs because of a stress reaction in his right tibia that caused a shin injury. He has another scan scheduled for December 1 and that will determine the length of his layoff.”The team management had asked for a batsman to replace Shakib for the first two ODIs, so we picked Mominul,” Bangladesh’s chief selector Akram Khan said. “He has been batting well for the last one and a half years but I feel it will be wise not to have too many expectations of him because he is new. We will only want him to do things that a batsman does.”We picked him from among the form batsman. He has been consistent for the A team, scoring runs in West Indies, and also has runs in first-class cricket at home.”Mominul is a middle-order batsman who has been a regular in the Bangladesh A team over the last two years after he graduated through age-group tournaments and spent a year at the National Cricket Academy. He made a pair of forties in the two practice matches for BCB XI against Bangladesh and the West Indians. He scored two centuries for Chittagong in this season’s National Cricket League.