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Scotland’s second highest 40-over total proved nowhere near enough to test Durham in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Chester-le-Street

27-May-2012
ScorecardScotland’s second highest 40-over total proved nowhere near enough to test Durham in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Chester-le-Street. A century by South African left-hander Jean Symes propelled the Saltires to 258 for 4 after being put in, but under cloudless skies on a run-laden pitch Durham cruised to an eight-wicket victory with 6.3 overs to spare.Mark Stoneman made his maiden one-day hundred, remaining unbeaten on 136 off 117 balls, and Phil Mustard contributed 91 to an opening stand of 207. Stoneman survived a very sharp return chance to Matthew Parker on 2 and Mustard was dropped at deep midwicket by Preston Mommsen off Symes on 55.Otherwise they scored runs almost at will against a modest attack, in which all-rounder Mommsen conceded 20 runs in one over.Scotland’s total was second only to the 267 for 4 they made at Edgbaston two years ago, with Symes accumulating strongly through the leg side. He survived two very difficult chances to Mitch Claydon at deep backward square-leg, the first with his score on 3 when he pulled Liam Plunkett’s first ball for six via Claydon’s fingertips.A slightly less difficult chance went down on 43 off Durham’s acting captain Paul Collingwood, who had to bowl eight overs himself because Plunkett, Scott Borthwick and Jamie Harrison all proved expensive.Symes reached his 91-ball century by hitting the first two balls of the final over for four then lifted Plunkett for his third six over long-on. Two other batsmen born in South Africa, who have both been on trial with Leicestershire this season, also made useful contributions, Richie Berrington making 29 and Mommsen an unbeaten 31.After kicking his heels with the England squad for the previous week, Graham Onions bowled well for Durham. He ended a fluent opening stand of 33 by having Josh Davey caught at mid-off by Stoneman off a leading edge and conceded only 27 runs in his eight overs.Symes and Calum Macleod put on 86 in 15 overs before the opener fell for 48 when he edged the second ball of Claydon’s second spell and wicketkeeper Mustard leapt to his right to hold a brilliant one-handed catch. Collingwood had Berrington caught at deep midwicket by Gordon Muchall, who had to go in with 14 needed after Ben Stokes holed out at long-off for 9.

Australia’s cricketers will fly out for a one-day tour of England and Ireland on Thursday knowing that time is running out for a new pay deal to be signed

Brydon Coverdale14-Jun-2012Australia’s cricketers will fly out for a one-day tour of England and Ireland on Thursday knowing that time is running out for a new pay deal to be signed. Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) were due to resume negotiations on Thursday as they aim to find common ground on a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the existing agreement to expire on June 30.If a new MoU is not completed by then, Australia’s players will need to decide whether to play on – they will have four ODIs remaining against England in early July – or call a strike. Australia’s Twenty20 captain and one-day batsman George Bailey, who is also a member of the ACA executive committee, said the players remained hopeful that they would not be put in such a difficult position.”The players still have full faith that the ACA and CA will be able to sort out the differences they have at the moment and come to a conclusion,” Bailey said. “Whenever there’s talk of a strike I think that’s very much a last, last resort. It would be a disaster if both the ACA and CA got to the stage where that had to occur. I’ve still got full faith that both parties will be able to rectify that in the next few days.”It is not just the national players who could be affected by the ongoing failure to reach a deal. State cricketers have been left in limbo, not knowing whether they will have a contract for next season and unable to negotiate a move interstate, as Cricket Australia has banned any player movements until a new MoU is agreed.That has left a number of domestic players with no choice but to train with their existing state in the knowledge that they might not be part of the squad next summer. Bailey, the captain of Tasmania, said it was a difficult situation for some players, particularly those on the fringes of the state system who did not know what their immediate future would hold.”There’s players who are in a position where they aren’t sure whether they should be training because the reality is they might not be playing for Tassie in a few months,” he said. “It’s that balance of should they be looking for work or should they be talking to other states, who actually aren’t allowed to talk to them at the moment. It’s a bit of a challenge for those guys.”They’re probably the guys you feel for most, the guys at the domestic level who are in limbo, not knowing where they’re going to be playing, who they’re going to be playing for, and the state associations are looking at who they’re going to recruit, who they’re going to contract. At that level you can understand the state associations are starting to get pretty frustrated and players would be wanting to know what’s going on. It’s probably less so at the national level.”The Australians begin their tour with a one-off ODI against Ireland in Belfast on June 23, before a five-match series against England from June 29 to July 10. The squad features several men who are returning after spending time out of the national side, including the fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Johnson, neither of whom have played for Australia since the tour of South Africa last November due to injuries.The allrounder Steven Smith is also back in the mix, having been overlooked since the one-day portion of the South African tour in October. The bowlers will be under the guidance of Ali de Winter, the Tasmania assistant coach, who has been seconded to the squad as temporary bowling coach.

The preview of the second Test between West Indies and New Zealand in Jamaica

The Preview by George Binoy01-Aug-2012Match factsAugust 2-6
Start time 1000 (1500 GMT)Chris Gayle last played a Test at Sabina Park in 2009. He made 104 against England.•AFPBig PictureKieran Powell was 19 when West Indies last won a Test series against opponents other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. He celebrated his birthday on the first day of the Trinidad Test against England, which ended with West Indies’ Nos. 7 and 10 clinging on for dear life to secure a scrappy 1-0 victory in a five-match series. He was 13 when West Indies won before that. Powell, now 22, is one of a generation of young cricketers who have grown up watching West Indies struggle to win series. At Sabina Park, he will have the opportunity to be part of a rare triumph if West Indies draw or win to protect their 1-0 lead.Kane Williamson was 15 when New Zealand last beat a Test side other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh – a 2-0 win against West Indies in 2006. He was 11 when New Zealand last won such a series away from home – in West Indies in 2002. New Zealand cannot win this series, but a victory in Kingston will secure a draw and build on their relatively satisfactory recent performances – a drawn series in Australia, a 0-1 defeat against South Africa.Like they did in Hobart so memorably, New Zealand will have to win without Daniel Vettori, who’s out with a groin injury. Vettori’s 2012 hasn’t been productive – he’s taken only one wicket in each of his last five Tests. What he does provide New Zealand unfailingly, however, is economy and, with it, a measure of control. Vettori conceded less than two and a half per over in four of those five Tests. His poorest return was 2.81. He reined in Chris Gayle after the batsman had raced to a half-century in the first innings in Antigua. Someone else will have to do that job in Jamaica.New Zealand’s challenge will be to control the pace of the game. Their inexperienced bowling attack needs to slow West Indies down at the start in order to allow Ross Taylor to keep wicket-taking fields. Their batsmen need to find a way not to stagnate against Narine and the rest in high-pressure scenarios like they did on the final morning of the first Test.West Indies, on the other hand, won in Antigua with no contribution from their most reliable player – Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Chris Gayle made a huge splash in his comeback Test, while Narine and Roach took turns to run through New Zealand in each innings. There were useful contributions from several others, too, and Chanderpaul hailed the “fantastic team effort.” A similar performance, beginning tomorrow, will make it extremely hard for New Zealand to force a win.Form guideWest Indies WDLLL (Completed games, most recent first)
New Zealand LDLDWWatch out for…New Zealand’s mongrel. For a country that earned a reputation by felling stronger sides, New Zealand showed little fight in Antigua. They dropped catches, their fielding was sloppy, and their batsmen’s ultra-cautious approach to saving the Test did not last long enough to be successful. Neil Wagner, who is one-Test old, promised New Zealand would come out fighting on Thursday. He spoke of being ruthless and giving West Indies nothing. Without Vettori, that will be a little harder.Sunil Narine was Man of the Match in his first home Test, taking eight wickets in the match. He had to toil through 85 overs for them, though, and called his performance a “big achievement” because of the conditions he had to bowl in. Martin Guptill, who made 97 and 67, said the New Zealand batsman had begun to play Narine better now that they’d seen a bit of him. The threat posed by Narine could be significantly enhanced if the Sabina Park pitch is to his liking.Pitch and conditionsIt’s hot and humid in Kingston and the forecast is for a chance of thunderstorms over the next few days.The pitch at Sabina Park is expected to have more pace and bounce than the one Antigua. “It’s a typical Jamaica wicket,” Darren Sammy said. “Plenty of runs in it andhopefully something in it for the bowlers. The wicket here has some early moisture,[but] most pitches in the Caribbean are good for batting. Sides come here, win tossand bat first.”Ross Taylor said: “It’s a welcome change. We struggled to maintain pressure on the West Indies batsmen and I’m sure the bowlers are looking forward to having some bounce and putting pressure on the West Indies batsmen.”Team newsWest Indies brought Fidel Edwards into the squad because Ravi Rampaul sustained a groin strain. However, with Tino Best, who sat out in the first Test, already in the squad, Edwards might have to watch from the sidelines.West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Assad Fudadin, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best, 11 Kemar Roach.New Zealand have to fill Vettori’s spot and the only other specialist spinner in the squad is the legspinner Tarun Nethula, who could be in line for a Test debut. They must also find a new opening combination after Daniel Flynn was ruled out due to a groin injury. BJ Watling is the only back-up batsman in the squad and could slot straight in to open alongside Martin Guptill, or could slot in down the order to allow Brendon McCullum to open.”Daniel has been carrying the grade one injury [a right adductor muscle strain] since the last day of the first Test but had responded positively to treatment,” Paul Close, the New Zealand physio, said. “We felt there was a reasonable chance he would be fit to play but his progress over the past 24 hours plateaued. He was still experiencing pain during the team training session today with a subsequent fitness test ruling him out. We are confident he will be fully fit in time for the upcoming tour of India.”New Zealand: (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tarun Nethula, 11 Chris MartinStats and triviaSince 2004, Gayle averages 65.25 against the top eight teams in wins (excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), and 31.10 in losses against them.West Indies’ total of 522 in Antigua was their highest in a result game against one of the top sides since February 1995, when they scored 660 for 5 declared against New Zealand in Wellington. New Zealand haven’t won any of their last 15 series against the top sides – they’ve lost 11 and drawn four (dating back to April 2006). During this period they’ve won four Tests and lost 22.Quotes”We’re pumped up. We did a great job in Antigua and we celebrated our achievements. It has been a while since West Indies won a Test Series at home, so this will be a chance to do it in front our fans.”
“We’re a young unit, very inexperienced in some ways. The boys learned a hell of a lot in the previous Test. It’s not an easy place to come and play … We will always come out fighting.”

Steven Croft and Karl Brown put on a magnificent unbroken century stand to lead Lancashire to an eight-wicket victory at Chelmsford, which earned the Group A winners a home semi-final

23-Aug-2012
ScorecardSteven Croft and Karl Brown put on a magnificent unbroken century stand for the third wicket to lead Lancashire to an eight-wicket victory at Chelmsford, which earned the Group A winners a home semi-final.The visitors, who had already won the group, passed their opponents’ 186 all out with 21 deliveries to spare. Croft made 66 and Brown 87 as they put on 160 in 30 overs to make sure the earlier efforts of Oliver Newby with the ball were rewarded.Newby emerged with figures of 5 for 35, his limited-overs best, before his team-mates saw Lancashire to 187 for 2. Essex had looked set for a much more formidable total as openers Tom Westley and Mark Pettini moved to 47 in the 10th over without looking in any trouble.However, Newby snared both in his first two overs and then put the home side firmly on the back foot at 70 for 3 when he also removed Greg Smith. He later returned to shift Adam Wheater and Maurice Chambers as Essex’s batsmen failed to make the most of decent starts.Five were dismissed in the 20s, among them Owais Shah who was the victim of a brilliant piece of work in the field by Brown whose direct hit from deep extra-cover proved the highlight of fine fielding throughout the innings. Paul Horton pulled off three catches, one a superb effort to get rid of Wheater, while the athleticism of his colleagues cut off many strokes that looked destined for the boundary.When they responded the visitors did not begin well, losing openers Stephen Moore and Ashwell Prince cheaply. But Croft and Brown regained the initiative with a dominant third-wicket partnership full of controlled aggression. James Foster juggled his attack to no avail in his attempts to make a breakthrough.Croft and Brown scored freely against both pace and spin while putting together Lancashire’s highest third-wicket stand in limited-overs cricket against Essex, beating the 114 between Clive Lloyd and Neil Fairbrother in 1986.Brown’s effort was his season’s highest in all forms. It contained eight fours plus three sixes and spanned 97 balls. Croft’s innings occupied 98 deliveries and he struck five fours to leave Essex reflecting on their fifth defeat of the season in the competition, while their opponents completed their sixth win in as many CB40 games.

Tom Westley and Owais Shah both hit centuries as Essex declared on 520 for 9 in reply to Glamorgan’s 438 all out on the third day at Colchester.

17-Aug-2012
ScorecardOwais Shah, seen here for his old county Middlesex, made his highest score since joining Essex•PA PhotosTom Westley and Owais Shah both hit centuries as Essex declared on 520 for 9 in reply to Glamorgan’s 438 all out on the third day at Colchester. Faced with six overs before the close and a deficit of 82 runs, the visitors steered clear of trouble to reach 16 without loss.Westley made 185 and Shah 138 after Essex, who resumed on 165 without loss, warmed to their task against a toiling and innocuous attack. Jaik Mickleburgh added only two runs to his overnight score before he was caught behind by Mark Wallace off Huw Waters. His dismissal on 74 ended an opening stand of 178 and came immediately after Westley completed his century with three boundaries. It arrived from 149 balls and contained 20 fours.The arrival of Shah hardly brought an increase in tempo. He needed 31 deliveries to open his account but then found his touch to complete a half-century from 98 balls. On a pitch that gave the bowlers no help, the third wicket pair were to put together a partnership of 191 in 56 overs. The longer it went on, the more subdued Westley became and he scored only 35 runs in 29 overs after lunch before his marathon effort, during which he surpassed his previous best of 132, finally ended on the stroke of tea when he fell lbw trying to sweep offspinner Robert Croft. His innings lasted 402 minutes and 334 balls, and in it, he gathered 28 fours.By then Shah had completed his first century of the season, moving into three figures by advancing down the pitch and despatching a huge six over mid-wicket against Croft. It had arrived from 158 balls and contained 13 fours in addition to two maximums.At tea, Essex still required 24 runs from three overs to move to 400 and pick up maximum bonus batting points. It was a mission they accomplished with just one ball to spare thanks to a flourish from Shah that included an on-side six against Jim Allenby but not before Mark Pettini was caught on the long-on boundary attacking Croft.Shah’s fine innings came to an end shortly afterwards when he drove Graham Wagg into the hands of Allenby at mid-off. He laced his 198 ball innings with four sixes and 17 fours.The remaining batsmen came and went in rapid succession with Croft the main beneficiary as he took 5 for 135 in 30.5 overs although the home side were able to record their highest total of the summer.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Super Eights game between India and South Africa in Colombo

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya01-Oct-2012Match factsOctober 2, 2012
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)Rohit Sharma has played an important role in knocking South Africa out of the World T20 before•Getty ImagesBig Picture
The Group 2 matches on Sunday had big billings, but turned out to be far from closely fought. Australia are now the team to beat, and India, with all their selection headaches ahead of the game against Pakistan, ultimately eased to victory. That success will give India’s line-up some stability for their final game against South Africa. Their opponents, on the other hand, after a comprehensive defeat against Australia, desperately need to rebound, and rebound strongly, though even that may not be enough. The requirements for each team will be clearly laid out upon conclusion of the Australia-Pakistan game in the afternoon.Should Pakistan beat Australia, South Africa will bow out and they’ll be playing for pride against India. That would leave India needing to beat South Africa by a margin large enough to overtake either Pakistan or Australia’s net run-rate, depending on which of those teams is second in the table. Should Australia beat Pakistan, a win over South Africa will see India through. A win for South Africa, in the same situation, will bring it down to net run-rates between three teams – India, South Africa and Pakistan.India will be relieved, though concerns over Yuvraj Singh’s fitness, despite his impressive show against Pakistan, will remain. Their fifth bowler – the combination of Yuvraj and Virat Kohli – picked up three wickets, though it remains to be seen if they bring in an extra spinner against South Africa.South Africa’s problems against Xavier Doherty will prompt questions over how their batting will cope against India’s slow bowlers. Their fielding was off the mark and the pressure created by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in their early spells proved unsustainable, as the rest of the bowling didn’t deliver. The concerns are multiple, as AB de Villiers has admitted, and the slide in form in the Super Eights has threatened to push them out of another ICC tournament. The right results and the right numbers, though, may yet rescue them.Form guide(completed matches, most recent first)
India: WLWWL
South Africa: LLWWL
Watch out for Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel bowled with pace, hit the right lengths, beat the bat and tested Australia’s opening pair in Colombo. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir can counterattack with equal ferocity, but their approach will be interesting to watch.Rohit Sharma, who’s been under pressure, has had a good outing in Sri Lanka so far and has also had his captain’s backing. He’ll look back on a crucial half-century he scored against South Africa in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, when an Indian win knocked the hosts out of the tournament.Team news Faf du Plessis was the South African to pad up and bat in the nets on the eve of the game, and he could well be picked in place of the struggling opener Richard Levi.South Africa (possible): 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 JP Duminy, 5 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Robin Peterson, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel.South Africa have had issues against spin, and India could be tempted to play an extra specialist spinner. This could mean the impressive L Balaji may have to sit out.India (possible): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Zaheer Khan.Pitch and conditionsThere was some early morning rain in Colombo on the eve of the match, but practice was unaffected. The forecast is for partly cloudy weather during the day, but clear skies at night.Stats and trivia India have beaten South Africa in four of the six Twenty20 internationals between the teams, including twice in World Twenty20s. JP Duminy is 64 runs away from becoming the first South African to reach 1000 runs in T20 internationals. Quotes “The first match starts at 3:30 so we can watch on television if the ball is turning or not, since all teams have good spinners. That too has an impact on deciding the playing XI.”
“We haven’t played well enough in the key moments. We should have won the Pakistan game. It is disappointing that we have had opportunities to close out games and we haven’t done it.”

A preview of the first South Africa-New Zealand Twenty20 in Durban

The Preview by Firdose Moonda20-Dec-2012Match facts December 21, 2012
Start time 1800 (1600 GMT)New captain Brendon McCullum will have the dual responsibility of firing with the bat and taking the team forward from the Ross Taylor episode•Getty ImagesBig Picture The aim of this Twenty20 series was to provide a different festive spirit, if Cricket South Africa (CSA) are to be believed. They doused the flames of the furore they caused when they cancelled the traditional Boxing Day Test and promised that three T20s in a week would provide more entertainment given the opposition. (Don’t tell anyone but they were also hoping for more money, which is unlikely now that the national broadcaster has made CSA settle for a significantly smaller fee).If ever there was an insult against New Zealand, this was it. South Africa apparently do not consider them worthy enough of a Test series in the Christmas week, although they have given them the privilege of a New Year’s match.A full-strength New Zealand could have objected to that notion, challenging like they did in March: then, they took South Africa down to the last over in the T20 series before Marchant de Lange won it for the visitors. Without their heavyweights, though, whether New Zealand will be able to repeat or better that showing is questionable. Missing in action are Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder, and New Zealand have five uncapped players in their squad; Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson say they are looking forward to blooding new talent.They can take comfort in the knowledge that South Africa are in a similar position. Four rookies have been included in the 15-man squad and even the rest are not overly experienced. Of the group, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have played the most number of T20s for the country but both will be rested during the series.Stand-in captain Faf du Plessis has only just established himself as a regular member of the playing XI while none of the top-order, middle-order or bowling combinations are settled. This is all to New Zealand’s advantage and they will want to shock South Africa as the hosts look to build for the future.Form guide South Africa LLLWW (Completed games, most recent first)
New Zealand TLTLWIn the spotlight The much-hyped, recently turned 20-year-old Quinton de Kock will get the opportunity to live up to expectation. De Kock played for South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup this year and has been touted as the long-term wicketkeeping option. He has been inconsistent for Lions but flashes of brilliance have seen him get the nod. In the recently completed domestic one-day cup, de Kock scored one century but none of his other innings yielded more than 41 runs. His talent is not in doubt though.With New Zealand hoping for their young players to step up, they may have forgotten about the importance of the senior men’s contributions. Brendon McCullum will carry the heaviest burden as he looks to unite a seemingly fractured unit, move them past the Ross Taylor episode and ensure they compete against tough opposition. On top of that, he will also have to hold the batting line-up together and will be expected to be his usual explosive self at the crease.Team news South Africa could play all four of their new faces in the first match of the series. Quinton de Kock has been confirmed as the wicketkeeper in AB de Villiers’ absence. Henry Davids is certain to open the batting with Richard Levi. Although Faf du Plessis would like to bat up the order, his experience will be needed in the middle. Chris Morris will contend for the allrounder’s spot with Ryan McLaren while the bowling attack will comprise of two spinners, with left-armer Aaron Phangiso likely to debut, and Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Rory Kleinveldt vying for a place. Dale Steyn will feature in the first match but may be rested thereafter.South Africa: (likely) 1 Richard Levi, 2 Henry Davids, 3 Quinton de Kock, 4 Faf du Plessis, 5 Farhaan Behardien, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris/Ryan McLaren, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 Aaron Phangiso, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe/Rory KleinveldtNew Zealand have indicated they will not field a similar XI to that which played in the practice match because they will have their experienced players coming in. Martin Guptill is likely to open the batting with Rob Nicol. The main competition for places is among the bowlers: Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell will contend with Michael Bates, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell McClenaghan for spots. Colin Munro, who top-scored in the practice match, is likely to debut along with Corey Anderson and McClenaghan.New Zealand: (likely) 1 Rob Nicol, 2 Peter Fulton/Martin Guptill, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 James Franklin, 5 Colin Munro, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Jimmy Neesham/Trent Boult, 9 Michael Bates/Doug Bracewell, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Ronnie HiraStats and Trivia Brendon McCullum is the leading run-scorer in T20 international cricket with 1656 runs from 54 matches. He is also the only batsman to have scored two T20I centuries. South Africa do not have any of their top nine leading run-scorers in T20 cricket in the current squad. Graeme Smith, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Herschelle Gibbs, Loots Bosman, Hashim Amla and Mark Boucher are not part of the set-up for various reasons. Richard Levi is at No. 10 with 231 runs. Nathan McCullum is New Zealand’s most successful T20 bowler with 40 scalps at an average of 17.52. Morne Morkel is South Africa’s leader with 39 wickets at 17.84.Quotes “I think the pitch might have changed in nature. Maybe it is not as quick and bouncy as we are used to, maybe it’s a little bit slower and the spinners seem to play more of a role. It has also been quite hot, so maybe it will be a little bit drier as well.”
“The psychological advantage is not really there in this format so whoever plays the best cricket is going to win. It’s the perfect opportunity to put a young player under pressure and see how they stand up against a Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the Ranji Trophy quarter-final tie between Services and UP

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit05-Jan-2013Match facts January 6-10, 2012
Start time 0930 (0400 GMT)Mohammad Kaif is one of the three players with international experience in the UP squad•Sivaraman Kitta Big PictureMen in uniform do not like to leave anything to chance but Wing Commander Deepak Bhaskar, the Services manager, knows his side needs all the luck it can get. Services are up against a team so formidable it can afford to go without the services of several India players, for it still has another three of them, and a bunch of other solid performers. Punjab, with all their early-season dominance, may have grabbed the headlines, but Uttar Pradesh also racked up four outright wins in the group stage, the same as Punjab. UP are also one of only two unbeaten sides among the quarter-finalists, Mumbai being the other.Services have toiled their way up from Group C with five draws and wins over Jammu & Kashmir and Assam but have a look at the kind of opposition UP have tamed. A Delhi side that had Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand, Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra. Batting powerhouses Tamil Nadu managed 179 and 225 against UP, at home in Chennai.But men in uniform do not care about reputation and history. “What is a star player?” said Soumik Chatterjee, the 24-year old Services captain from Howrah, who can easily pass off as a student from a Kolkata college. “If you perform on a given day, you are a star then. If you cannot perform, how are you a star?” Chatterjee said, when asked about the big players in the UP team.UP are definitely ahead on quality of players and big-match experience but facing up to adversity is second nature for Services, not only as part of their jobs in the Army, Navy and Air Force but also in cricketing terms. They can’t afford the range of facilities and support staff the state associations can with BCCI money, though the pitch and outfield at their home ground at Palam in Delhi have recently been upgraded with support from the board.Here’s another example of the ways in which the departmental sides Services and Railways operate. The visiting England team are playing India A at Palam in a practice one-dayer on Sunday, and the Services coach is at the ground helping to organise the match. He is expected to reach Indore well after the start of the quarter-final, but Bhaskar made sure Services were not lacking, keeping a close eye on their nets and helping out with slip catching practice. Despite Bhaskar’s efforts, though, it will be an achievement for Services to take this quarter-final into fifth day.In the spotlightThis is the only neutral venue for the quarter-finals, the match having been shifted from Palam to Indore because of the England practice game. The Indore pitch has steadily acquired a reputation of being one of the most sporting ones in the country. While most of its bite used to last a day, that is no longer the case, according to locals. Samunder Singh Chouhan, the man behind the belters on which ODI cricket’s two double-centuries were scored, is a curator who loves grass when it comes to first-class cricket.The Duleep Trophy final here in February 2012 lasted two-and-a-half days and Mohammad Kaif, leading UP in Suresh Raina’s absence, recalled how there had been help for the bowlers throughout that game. Two of this Ranji season’s three games at the Holkar Stadium yielded results, and Madhya Pradesh barely avoided losing the third. One had to squint to be able to make out the pitch this morning from the rest of the green square before the crease markings were made. It being a neutral venue – though UP do belong to the same zone as MP – Chouhan is under no pressure to shave off the grass.The Services batsmen will be up against the Uttar Pradesh fast bowlers, who will be led by the strongly-built Imtiaz Ahmed, who has had a breakthrough season with 34 wickets. Services’ veteran Yashpal Singh and young Rajat Paliwal, with 724 and 629 runs in the season, will be looked upon to deliver again.SquadsUttar Pradesh: Tanmay Srivastava, Mukul Dagar, Mohammad Kaif (capt), Parvinder Singh, Prashant Gupta, Arish Alam, Amir Khan (wk), Ali Murtaza, Umang Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot, Imtiaz Ahmed, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Gupta, Amit Singh, Eklavya Dwivedi, Piyush ChawlaServices: Soumik Chatterjee (capt), Pratik Desai, Anshul Gupta, Yashpal Singh, Soumya Swain, Rajat Paliwal, Sarabjit Singh (wk), Penta Rao, Suraj Yadav, Nishan Singh, Shadab Nazar, Muzzaffaruddin Khalid, Avishek Sinha, Shakti Malviya, Nakul VermaStats and triviaThe only time Uttar Pradesh came up against Services in the Ranji Trophy was in 2005-06. They went on to win their maiden title while the latter were sent back to the Plate League.The last occasion the two-time Ranji finalists Services progressed beyond the league stage, they lost the Plate final to Haryana in 2004-05.Mohammad Kaif needs 27 more to reach 9000 first-class runsQuotes “It is a good decision by the board. Five days make a huge difference. If one team does not play well in the first innings, it has the chance to come back in the second innings. In a four-day game on a flat track, once you get the first-innings lead, the last day-and-a-half is very boring, for spectators and for us.””We wanted to reach this stage when we started preparing for the season in May and we have done so.”

A collective batting performance and a 12-wicket haul by legspinner Imran Tahir propelled Lions to a 252-run win over Dolphins

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2013A collective batting performance and a 12-wicket haul by legspinner Imran Tahir propelled Lions to a 252-run win over Dolphins in Durban. Chasing 416, Dolphins were bowled out for 163 in the morning session on the final day, as Tahir ran through their middle and lower order. Besides Tahir, middle-order batsman Neil McKenzie starred in Lions’ win, scoring a century in the second innings to help cement their dominance in the contest.The seeds of the win were sown by a 93-run lead in the first innings. After scoring 248, a total built around half-centuries from Zander de Bruyn and Brett Pelser, Lions bowled Dolphins out for 155, as seamer Ethan O’Reilly and Tahir took eight wickets between them. Tahir claimed 5 for 42.Lions consolidated their advantage by scoring 322 for 4 before declaring their second innings on the third day. Besides McKenzie, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and de Bruyn also played productive knocks. Dolphins were already five wickets down by the end of the third day.Tahir, who had already taken three wickets, struck with the second ball of the final day, dismissing Cody Chetty for a duck. After a slow 42-run stand between Daryn Smit and Khaya Zondo, Tahir took his fifth wicket, trapping Smit lbw to leave Dolphins struggling at 160 for 7. Khayelihle Zondo, who scored 34, was then removed by de Bruyn before Tahir cleaned up the tail to lead his team to the win.The result left Lions in third position in the points table, with Dolphins behind them.

A round-up of Logan Cup matches that ended on February 22, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2013
ScorecardTuskers, helped by a defiant century by Bilal Shafayat, held Mountaineers for a draw after following on at Mutare Sports Club. Trailing by 134 runs at the start of the fourth day, Tuskers faced a tough task of saving the match with seven wickets in hand. They lost overnight batsman off the fifth over of the morning, but Shafayat and Sean Williams forged a 143-run partnership that helped the Tuskers clear the deficit. Shafayat carried on after the fall of William’s wicket and completed his second century in as many matches. By the time he was out, he had helped Tuskers use almost the entire quota of the day.Mountaineers had chosen to bat in a bid to get close to Tuskers in the points table and declared their innings after scoring 475 on the second day at a healthy rate of 3.50. Greg Lamb and Timcyen Maruma scored centuries while Kevin Kasuza and Kudzai Sauramba chipped in with half-centuries.It was Shafayat who held together Tuskers in the first innings too with a half-century, but Mountaineers bowlers struck regularly and had reduced Tuskers to 223 for 9. Some late resistance by No. 11 Jason Nyumbu, who scored 65, helped Tuskers to get close to 300. Shingi Masakadza and Maruma shared four wickets each.Tuskers maintained their unbeaten record in the competition and are placed at the top with 35 points, six ahead of Mountaineers.
ScorecardMashonaland Eagles scored over 300 runs on the last day of their match against Southern Rocks, but it was the Rocks who took one point form the drawn match because of their first-innings lead.Once the Eagles chose to bat, opener Keith Kondo anchored the innings, after they lost two quick wickets, with 98. He was accompanied by Stuart Matsikenyeri who made 76. Scores in forties from Sikandar Raza and Forster Mutizwa from the middle order took them past 350 after Tawanda Mupariwa took four wickets.Rocks had a similar innings when they were struggling at 26 for 3 and were steered to safety by opener Matthew Pardoe. After he also got out in the nineties, Richmond Mumtumbami (76), Prince Masvaure (94) and Trevor Garwe (75) made sure they got a first innings lead of 75 runs.With more than a day to spare, Rocks would have fancied a chance of dismissing the Eagles again but six out of their top seven batsmen contributed with useful scores which ended the match in a draw. The Rocks are second from the bottom with 15 points while the Eagles are at the bottom with only one point.