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It was tale of two centuries at the National Stadium in Karachi with Karachi Whites opener Shahzaib Hasan’s 171 trumping Islamabad opener Shan Masood’s 136

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Shahzaib Hasan drilled 18 fours and seven sixes during his 171 off 117 balls•PCB

It was tale of two centuries at the National Stadium in Karachi with Karachi Whites opener Shahzaib Hasan’s 171 trumping Islamabad opener Shan Masood’s 136. In a 680-run match, Anwar Ali, who last played for Pakistan in March 2016, also made an impact, sealing Karachi Whites’ place in the final with career-best List A returns of 5 for 49.After being sent in, Karachi Whites lost Arsalan Bashir to seamer
Shehzad Azam in the third over, but Shahzaib and captain Akbar-ur-Rehman lifted their side with a 162-run stand in 27.1 overs. By the time Akbar departed in the 31st over, Shazaib was into the 120s. He pressed onto his 150 off 106 balls, then fell in the 40th over for 171 off 117 balls, including 18 fours and seven sixes.Saad Ali (61), Anwar Ali (45), and Tariq Harron (31*) followed up with late blows as Karachi Whites got their total up to 375.Anwar then sparkled with the ball, slicing through Islamabad’s middle and lower order. At 235 for 3 in the 36th over, Islamabad were in the hunt, but they lost their last seven wickets for just 70 runs. The collapse came after Masood was the architect of a pair of strong stands with Abid Ali and Faizan Riaz, 99 and 91 respectively. Masood went onto hit 136 off 116 balls before he was the fifth Islamabad batsman to be dismissed.

The 21-year-old batsman was picked for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy on the basis of his performance in the Quadrangular A team series last year, one of the most glaring examples of Australian fast-tracking in recent times

Brydon Coverdale31-Jan-2017Six months ago, Sam Heazlett was yet to make his one-day debut. Indeed, he is still yet to make his one-day debut for Queensland, having missed this summer’s Matador Cup due to injury. But in Auckland on Monday, Heazlett leap-frogged state cricket to become the 220th ODI cricketer to represent Australia, a late addition to the XI after stand-in captain Matthew Wade was ruled out due to a back injury.Heazlett struggled to have any impact against New Zealand, scoring 4 before he was caught behind off the bowling of Lockie Ferguson. His chances of playing again in the second ODI on Thursday will likely depend on whether Wade is passed fit. But for the time being, he finds himself in the unusual situation of having playing List A cricket only for Australia and for the National Performance Squad in a winter A series last year.It was that series that won Heazlett his surprise national call-up. On his List A debut in Townsville in August, he struck 101 off 87 balls against South Africa A, and he followed up later in the series with 60 against India A and 73 against South Africa A. Since then, Heazlett’s only innings of note were a couple of brisk BBL contributions for the Brisbane Heat, and two Sheffield Shield fifties.Heazlett’s ODI call-up was thus one of the most glaring examples of Australian fast-tracking in recent times, although other inclusions this summer – fast bowler Billy Stanlake was also rushed into the ODI team with only four List A games to his name, and none this summer – have also raised eyebrows. Heazlett is studying to be a physiotherapist, but his selection has rubbed a few people the wrong way.”When his name got read out, it was a bit like, you need to go to the Cricinfo site and have a quick look around to work out who he was,” former Australia fast bowler Stuart Clark said on the radio show on Tuesday. “I don’t know, they’ve obviously seen some potential in this guy … the next thing you know he’s in the one-day international team.”I don’t know how you come up with that selection. Personally I don’t like that sort of selection. You’ve got a lot of guys running around playing first-class cricket and you go, ‘Hang on, why are they not getting an opportunity?’ But the selectors have obviously seen someone and thought, ‘Well this guy’s a player of the future, let’s get him into the series’. But I’m a bit uncomfortable with that.”Heazlett, 21, was a late inclusion in Australia’s Chappell-Hadlee squad after Steven Smith was ruled out due to injury. He was picked ahead of prolific Matador Cup run-scorers from this summer, including Cameron White (457 runs at 76.16), Moises Henriques (414 at 69.00), Daniel Hughes (386 at 64.33) and Player of the Tournament Marnus Labuschagne (271 at 45.16).Although Heazlett was told on the day before the Auckland ODI that he would not be in the side, things changed when Wade was ruled out on the morning of the match. Heazlett said coach Darren Lehmann had told him to play his natural game.”I was a little bit nervous but no more than any other cricket game. I’m usually pretty nervous before any cricket game,” Heazlett said. “Darren had a chat and just said bat the way you have been, back yourself. It’s good to have that backing from the captain and the coach.”It was a bit annoying not to score a few more with the bat, but that’s the way it goes in cricket. Hopefully next time I can take the opportunity and contribute to a win for the team. We’ll see what happens for the rest of the series. If I get another go, then great. But we’ll see if Wadey comes back, what happens, and take it from there.”

Matthew Breetzke has been named the replacement

Firdose Moonda28-Nov-2024Wiaan Mulder has been ruled out from the rest of the Sri Lanka series after fracturing his right middle finger while batting in the first innings of the first Test. Matthew Breetzke has been added to the squad as a replacement.Mulder suffered the injury on the first ball of the 27th over, which was the fifth ball he faced. Lahiru Kumara got one to nip back into Mulder and his fingers appeared to jam into the bat handle as he defended. He received treatment on-field in what became a 10-minute over, and faced two more balls before retiring hurt. He kept the first one, a yorker, out and left the last ball of that over before he decided he would not continue. He came out to bat when South Africa lost the ninth wicket – of Temba Bavuma – and faced five more balls to finish on 9 not out. That included a dance down the track to hit Dhananjaya de Silva for six.Mulder was taken for an x-ray at the lunch interval and it confirmed the fracture. Ryan Rickelton was the substitute fielding in his place. Mulder’s absence means South Africa’s plans for a four-seam, one spinner attack have been affected. In Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, they have three seamers with Keshav Maharaj as the only specialist spinner. Aiden Markram is available to bowl offspin if needed.

For upcoming Tests in SL, Babar wants mistakes from previous WTC cycle to not be repeated

Umar Farooq06-Jul-2023Talking about the October 15 ODI World Cup fixture against India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said that the tournament doesn’t revolve around only one game, and all nine fixtures will be important. Babar addressed the media in Karachi, where the team is undergoing a preparatory camp before the Sri Lanka Test series.”We are going to play World Cup and not just going to play against India only,” Babar said. “There are eight other teams and it’s not only India and only if we beat them then we will make it into the final. We are not focused on only one team, we are focused on all other teams in the tournament. Our plan is that we have to play well against all of them and win against them.”Pakistan are scheduled to play their nine league matches in five cities, their first stop being Hyderabad. There they play Netherlands and Sri Lanka – the two qualifiers from Zimbabwe – on October 6 and 12 respectively. Their next fixture is the big one, travelling west to Ahmedabad for the India game on October 15. They then go down south to Bengaluru to play Australia on October 20, and onward to Chennai, where Afghanistan await on October 23 and South Africa too on October 27. Pakistan then shuttle between Kolkata (v Bangladesh) and Bengaluru (v New Zealand) on October 31 and November 4 respectively, before finishing their league-stage fixtures against England in Kolkata.”In our thought, wherever the cricket will be played, wherever the matches are, we are going to play there. Because as professionals that is what we do, you have to be ready for everything. You prepare yourself for different conditions and in every environment and that is what we call a challenge and you take it to live up to it. Me, as a player and captain, I aspire to score runs in every country, dominate and win Pakistan games. So this is all we have in mind and not only that we’re going to play against one team.”Pakistan’s league stage matches at the 2023 ODI World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan’s participation is subject to the government approval, though there is a tentative approval which will be reviewed closer to the event. There will be the usual security reconnaissance before the team flies out, but there is no other hindrance at this stage.There was a letter sent out to the government by the PCB seeking advice on whether the Pakistan team is allowed to travel to India, and if so, if there are any reservations about any of the five venues for the Pakistan games, and if the Pakistani government wants to send a security delegation.

Babar wants faster runs from Test batters

Most Pakistan players are currently in Karachi, attending a conditioning camp before their two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. The series starts July 16 in Galle, with Pakistan playing their first Test after a gap of six months. The second Test is in Colombo from July 24.In the last ICC World Test Championship cycle, Pakistan were derailed in their home series with scorelines of 0-1 against Australia, 0-3 against England, and a drawn series against New Zealand. The Sri Lanka Test series is the first away series for Pakistan in the 2023-2025 cycle, and also have away tours of Australia (three Tests) and South Africa (two) lined up. They will host England (three), West Indies (two), and Bangladesh (two) at home.Honours were shared in SL when Pakistan last toured in 2022•AFP/Getty Images

“When you reflect back on the championship, you look out for all the positives and mainly what we were lacking in,” Babar said. “We did look back and plucked a few points. We’ll try to start this cycle in a positive way and up our game by 5-10 percent. We talked about taking our partnerships longer and with the ball, we have to take wickets. With the bat, if we were going with 3.5 [run rate], so now we have to change our game to try and go with 4.”On a question about taking a leaf out of the book on how England and Australia play Test cricket, Babar insisted that his side has its own way of playing.”As a captain, the approach is to win matches and always look to have a result,” he said. “Every team has a mindset and they play in their way. We try to play our best game and apply ourselves. For example, we went on to chase 360 [342] in Galle last year with our game. It happens when you have to score at the rate of three or four but sometimes you have to be defensive so it’s the need of the hour that dictates how you going to go into the situation. You learn every day and try to add new things to the system.”

Batting for Change, a cause put together by the Sydney Sixers’ Ryan Carters and the LBW Trust, is an effort to further the cause of education for women and has grown with the BBL over the last four seasons

Daniel Brettig20-Dec-2016While many of the BBL’s watchers this season draw interest from online betting shenanigans, there is also a way of spending money on the tournament that will go in a rather different direction.Season six of the tournament is also season four of Batting for Change, a cause put together by the Sydney Sixers’ Ryan Carters and the LBW Trust in an effort to further the cause of education for women around the world. Put simply, BBL watchers have the chance to pledge money to the charity via its website, with a set amount pledged for every ball struck over the rope by the Sixers.As the BBL has grown, so too has Carters’ enterprise, from raising $30,000 to fund the building of classrooms in Nepal in 2013-14 to a far loftier target this year – $150,000 to support projects in India, Sri Lanka and, for the first time, Kenya. This year Carters has been joined by a bevy of other ambassadors – Moises Henriques, Steve O’Keefe, Nic Maddinson, Alyssa Healy, Kurtis Patterson and Ed Cowan.”It’s interesting, they’ve both grown together,” Carters said of the two ventures. “There’s a reason the BBL has become so popular in Australia and it’s because Cricket Australia and Ten have done a wonderful job designing and managing the tournament. The standard of cricket itself is going up every year and the spectators love to see high quality clashes played out in the T20 format.”The WBBL has added a new dimension and expanded the fanbase again, and from Batting for Change’s point of view we offer a fun way to engage with the BBL, and as more people are watching matches live and on their TV screens, more people are signing up to become a donor, follow along and enjoy the thrill of seeing a six smashed out of the stadium and also knowing that’s another $1-2,000 that’s going to women’s education.”The Kenyan project marks a particular progression for Carters, as it not only supports education but branches further into social activism – namely the fight against female genital mutilation and child marriage in Kenya. “It is a really amazing story,” Carters said. “A woman called Kekenya Ntaiya, who grew up in a Maasai village called Enoosaen in Kenya. She was set to follow the traditional path, engaged to be married at the age of five.”But she struck up this horrible bargain with her father where she agreed to undergo female genital mutilation as long as she could stay in school until the end of high school. That was very unusual for girls to attain even that much education, but her father kept his word, she was allowed to finish high school, and then she was allowed to go on and complete university and ended up going all the way to a PhD in the US. With her newfound knowledge and networks she started her own foundation to educate girls from her own village.”Where we come in is that Batting for Change and the LBW Trust are providing the first ever tertiary education scholarships for women from this village. So for the girls who’ve gone through Kekenya’s school for girls and now completed high school, the first of them are ready to start university in 2018 at the University of Nairobi, so we’re excited about launching that.”Carters, who has pursued interests far more diverse than cricket throughout his life, hopes that this latest project can lead to others of a similar, transformational nature. “There are tricky decisions like geographically what do you want to support,” he said, “because there are worthy projects all around the cricket world and we’ve looked at a number of them.”But Kekenya really stood out because it’s such a moving story from the founder, and we know that as well as supporting women’s education, by doing so we’re also preventing female genital mutilation and child marriage. It’s about education but also preventing a harmful and oppressive practice. I think we do stand for social progress, above all with the focus on women’s education, which is a huge step forward in many parts of the cricket-playing world.”In that sense it’s already a very progressive vision for change to encourage women’s education. With Kekenya, the policy for girls to go to her school is that the parents must agree that the child will not be genitally mutilated or married before they finish high school. That further helps extend the social progress and the search for women to have the same rights as men.”When the Sixers meet the Sydney Thunder in the BBL opener on Tuesday night, they will compete to hoist the Batting for Change Cup. In doing so they will hope the symbolism can lead to further progress, via the pledges of the many thousands watching at home or in the stands.

George Bailey does not gain attention for Australa’s Test side these days but he did little wrong on a delightful summer’s day in Manchester

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford19-Jun-2017
ScorecardGeorge Bailey has not played a Test match for over three years and there were times during this broiling Mancunian afternoon when it was rather tricky to see why this is so.One accepts at once that it is difficult to compare Lancashire v Hampshire on a steamy Monday at Emirates Old Trafford with the quite different heats produced by five-day cricket at the MCG or Mumbai; one acknowledges likewise that Bailey came into this game having scored 83 runs in five championship innings for Hampshire this season.All the same, as Bailey adjusted his guard and got forward as often as possible to counteract the swinging deliveries bowled by a pace-dominated Lancashire attack in mid-afternoon one was entitled to wonder why a batsman capable of making 127 and batting with such technical proficiency and good sense appears permanently excluded from his country’s Test team. It is not as if the last three years have been a green and gold age.Critics may observe that Bailey’s batting merely appeared good when compared to the errors committed around him and it is certainly true that the shots played by Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry in the morning session at Old Trafford are unlikely to make the Rose Bowl’s choicest blooms package in September. Adams tried to play Kyle Jarvis to leg but only gave a catch to Rob Jones at cover off the leading edge; Carberry’s flat-footed slash merely nicked the ball to Alex Davies.Those dismissals sandwiched the departure of Rille Rossouw, who was deceived by Jarvis’s slower ball and gave a return catch to the bowler. They left Hampshire on 38 for 3 after winning the toss and opting to bat on a morning borrowed from Tennessee Williams’ more sultry dramas. Suddenly this summer, we had a batting morning and Hampshire were wasting their skipper’s correct call.Bailey, though, clearly recognised the opportunity with which his side had been presented and he revealed this in his assured driving and deft glances as much as in his vigilant defence. For a while it looked as though James Vince would partner his captain towards abundance but he was given out leg before to Luke Procter for 22 half an hour after lunch and a couple of deliveries after Lancashire had secured the second of their two ball changes.Indeed it was a day on which Bailey had only to drive a boundary to the pavilion for the home bowlers to scrutinise the seemingly tattered object returned for their use and toss it to the umpires. When it comes to cricket balls bowlers can be as choosy as Year 11 pupils selecting their prom outfits and very nearly as prone to tantrums and sulks.George Bailey’s hundred rejuvenated Hampshire•Getty Images

Ultimately Bailey’s resistance proved contagious as was proved by the three fifty-plus partnerships he shared with Lewis McManus, Gareth Berg and most notably Kyle Abbott, whose unbeaten 76 in the evening session was replete with uncomplicated shots played against an attack enervated by heat and devoid of the discipline it had displayed for most of the afternoon.Yet Abbott’s selective aggression – he has whacked a dozen boundaries and is only five runs short of a career-best score – was only possible because Bailey had battled away for just over five hours and had found another partner of equal resolve and comparable proficiency. That colleague was Lewis McManus, a wicketkeeper batsman who never gives his wicket away and who joins John Simpson as one of those fine county glovemen who seem destined not to get a sniff of representative cricket. Perhaps it might help if they changed the first letter of their surnames to a “B”.McManus put on 52 with Bailey and he did so at a stage in the day when the ball was swinging all over the shop and under the counter. It took a good ball to remove him too, Jordan Clark getting a little extra bounce and inducing an edged catch to James Anderson. McManus was replaced by Gareth Berg and another 53 were added to the total before Parry became the sixth Lancashire bowler to take a wicket when Berg missed a sweep and was leg before.For the next 18 overs or so Bailey’s good judgement and self-denial was vindicated by Abbott’s many justified freedoms. Having reached his century off 145 balls he was eventually dismissed when he played on to Anderson, whose beard may have been an attempt to disguise himself and suggest to Bailey that he was not the bowler he had milked for 28 runs at Perth in December 2013.No matter. Abbott was 57 when Bailey was out and he was given sensible company by Brad Tylor until the close. Hampshire have the edge in this game and they do so because their captain understood the needs of his side and met them. This is still a very good pitch and it now looks like a good toss to have won. “Bat!” said the sun as it rose over the rich Lancashire plain at around five o’clock this morning and George Bailey was only too happy to obey its injunction.

Rizwan’s unbeaten fifty in vain as UAE fall short by 32 runs

Mohammad Isam27-Sep-2022Bangladesh predictably claimed the hastily arranged two-match T20I series against the UAE, beating the home side by 32 runs in the second game in Dubai. The visitors would be relieved with the two wins under their belt in a season of slim pickings, but UAE, too, will be heartened by their performances in these matches.Running well behind the eight-ball, Basil Hameed and captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan added 90 runs, a T20I record for the fifth wicket in the UAE, after they had slipped to 29 for 4 in the seventh over. Hameed made 42 off 40 balls with four boundaries, while Rizwan struck his maiden fifty in the format, hitting some crisp shots among his four boundaries that included two sixes.For Bangladesh, Mosaddek Hossain took two wickets while Taskin Ahmed built a fantastic spell of 1 for 22, including 12 dot balls.During their innings, Mehidy Hasan Miraz top-scored with 46 but none of the other batters could really push on after making starts.Aggressive batters fall softlyBangladesh were generally a little more forceful during this innings as opposed to their timid start in the first game. But still, the batters’ intent didn’t translate to good starts. Sabbir Rahman struck a four and a six before being given out lbw, playing a lap sweep in the fourth over. Litton Das, on the comeback trail after missing the Asia Cup, looked in good touch hitting four boundaries in his first 19 balls, but then his uppish square-cut looped to point.Afif Hossain, who made a career-best unbeaten 77 in the last game, also took a similar route. He dinked one towards square-leg, playing a half-shot to an Aayan Azal Khan full-toss. Karthik Meiyappan took a great catch diving forward, but it looked like a huge waste of a wicket for Afif.Miraz keeping the faithGood news for Bangladesh is how Mehidy has taken to opening the batting. His 46 off 37 balls contained five fours, but his pacing of the innings should be encouraging for the team management. After allowing Sabbir, Litton and Afif to dominate, he took on the mantle when Mosaddek took a bit of time to get settled.Mehidy has also developed a few shots that is helping him score regularly during and after the powerplay overs. He plays the cut and the pull freely in the air, but when the field is spread, he plays the percentage shots quite well.UAE claw backKeeping Bangladesh down to 43 runs in the last five overs would be something that captain Rizwan and coach Robin Singh can take heart from. Zahoor Khan, who replaced Junaid Siddique for this game, gave away 30 runs in three of those overs, but more importantly foxed Nurul Hasan and Yasir Ali several times with his change of pace.Zawar Farid and Meiyappan too bowled well during the end of the innings, ensuring they preyed on Bangladesh’s lack of intent. The visitors finished on just two sixes and a four in the last 30 balls, even though they looked well set on 126 for 4 after 15 overs.Bangladesh take four earlyChirag Suri, top-scorer for the UAE in the first game, couldn’t connect properly for two overs, before eventually skying one towards cover. The bowler, Nasum Ahmed, completed the easy catch, as the UAE began to stutter. After hitting two sixes off Nasum, Muhammad Waseem was trapped lbw by Taskin in the sixth over, before things got worse for the home side.Mosaddek removed Aryan Lakra and Vritya Aravind off successive balls in his first over, to reduce the UAE to 29 for 4 in the seventh over. Lakra holed out to Mohammad Saifuddin at cover, while Aravind missed a delivery that spun back on to his stumps as he went back to cut the ball.Rizwan, Hameed dig deepBangladesh could have shut up shop but allowed the game to meander. It meant Hameed and Rizwan rebuild the UAE innings, adding 90 runs in the following 11.5 overs. Yasir Ali helped them along the way by dropping Rizwan on 13 at the deep square-leg boundary.But the pair scampered hard for ones and twos, while peppering the scoring with a number of boundaries. Hameed’s four boundaries included a risky ramp shot off the stumps against Saifuddin. Rizwan reached his fifty with a rasping cover drive in the penultimate over, but he was left with too much to do by himself.

Since last year, Mumbai Indians have won only four out of nine matches at the Wankhede Stadium

The Preview by Ankur Dhawan09-Apr-20196:41

Will Punjab beat Mumbai for the second time this season?

Big picture

Kings XI Punjab return to a venue where KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya brought the jersey swapping ritual to a cricket field. Before that game, Kings XI were in control of their own fate, but defeat that night meant they fell into the proverbial lottery of the IPL, having to depend on other teams to ensure progress into the playoffs.The Wankhede Stadium itself can be quite a lottery, exemplified by Mumbai Indians’ inconsistent record here. Since last year, they have won only four out of nine matches in Mumbai.

Question mark over Rohit’s fitness

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma had an injury scare ahead of the match against Kings XI Punjab. While training on the match eve, at the Wankhede Stadium, Rohit fell on the ground near the square boundary because of what looked like a hamstring or thigh issue with his right leg. He was immediately tended to by the team physio Nitin Patel, before he got up and gingerly walked back to the pavilion with Patel. The injury did not look very serious though; Rohit walked up the stairs to the dressing room without any support.

Both teams beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous fixtures, but where Mumbai wrought a comeback out of thin air, Kings XI nearly did the opposite, before Rahul held his nerve to take his team home.After battling form for most of last year in India colours and losing his place in the Test and ODI set-ups, Rahul has emerged as King’s XI’s highest run-getter this season. Furthermore, he averages an incredible 94.5 against Mumbai playing for Kings XI.4:09

‘Alzarri Joseph bowling better than he did at U-19 WC’ – Ishan Kishan

But while the visitors can celebrate the form of their top order, a largely untested middle order will be a worry. Their other concern at a high scoring venue where the fingerspin of R Ashwin – their highest wicket-taker so far – might be nullified by the conditions, is the lack of a sixth bowling option. David Miller loyalists since 2012, will Kings XI leave him out for Moises Henriques to attain the desirable balance for the venue?Conversely, Mumbai are so well balanced that they are often accused of not utilising some of their players. So far, their middle order has come to the fore, as has their bowling. The openers are yet to fire, but perhaps it’s an ominous sign for oppositions that Mumbai are healthily placed in the table without a major contribution from Rohit Sharma or Quinton de Kock.

In the news

Lasith Malinga continues to live two lives. Having led his side Galle to a win in the Super Four Provincial Limited Over Tournament three days back, Malinga was back training at the Wankhede on the eve of the match. A little snag: his replacement Alzarri Joseph produced the best bowling figures in IPL history on debut in the last match. As a result, Malinga’s mere availability is unlikely to guarantee him a place in the XI.KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya have a chat after the game•BCCI

Previous meeting

Mumbai faltered with the bat towards the end in Mohali, managing just 56 runs in the last seven overs, despite wickets in hand. On a flat pitch, their eventual total of 176 was gunned down by a strong top-order performance which included forties from Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal – the player of the match – and an unbeaten 71 from KL Rahul.

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, Jasprit Bumrah, Jason BehrendorffKings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller/Moises Henriques, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahaman, Ankit Rajpoot

Strategy punt

• R Ashwin has been flexible with his own introduction into the attack. During the last match at home, he came on once the field was spread. But he faces a curious dilemma in Mumbai, where dew could play a part. If it does, he may want to get some tight overs out of the way with the new ball, a move also merited by the presence of the left-handed de Kock. But if they stick with Mujeeb ur Rahman in the XI, then the Afghan can get the Powerplay out of the way, and Ashwin can target coming on during the middle overs, in particular to have a crack at Kieron Pollard, whom he has dismissed four times in 39 balls, going at a little more than seven an over.
• Contrary to conventional wisdom, Mumbai Indians have a far better record defending totals at home in the last two years, than chasing them. They have won five of the eight times they have batted first at the Wankhede in the last two years, as opposed to suffering five losses in the nine matches they have chased in this period. Will they stick to their strength or let the reputation of the venue for being a tough defending ground, dictate terms?

Stats that matter

• Of all the bowlers to have bowled 90 or more balls to Rohit Sharma in T20s, Ashwin (and Piyush Chawla) has dismissed him the least number of times: one. While he has taken Chawla for 146 in the 113 balls he has faced from the leggie, against Ashwin, Rohit has been watchful, explained by a strike-rate well under a hundred. In fact, among all bowlers to have bowled 50 or more balls to Rohit, Ashwin has the best economy rate of 5.12, having conceded just 82 from 96 balls.
• Even though both Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga have kept Chris Gayle tied down, they have collectively dismissed him only thrice in 147 balls. Curiously, Ben Cutting has dismissed Gayle four times, the most for any Mumbai bowler. Cutting, however, has been taken for 63 in 37 balls as well.
• Before losing by three runs to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede last year, Kings XI had won three on the trot at the venue, having batted first on each of those occasions. On two of those occasions, Kings XI posted scores in excess of 220 – 226 against Chennai Super Kings in the 2014 playoffs, and 230 against Mumbai Indians in 2017.

Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin took nine wickets between them as India bowled New Zealand out for 262 before building a commanding lead by stumps on day three

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Sep-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:11

Agarkar: Ashwin showed he is a quick learner

A roughly even contest through its first six completed sessions, the Green Park Test swung emphatically India’s way after lunch on day three, as Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin ran through New Zealand to earn India a 56-run first-innings lead. By stumps, they had swelled this to 215 thanks to unbeaten half-centuries from M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, who put on their second century stand of the match.India, well ahead at tea, pulled away rapidly thereafter. With Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig serving up a feast of short balls, Vijay and Pujara hit seven fours in the first three overs of the final session. Then, after four relatively quiet overs, Vijay played two of the shots of the match, off Mitchell Santner, an inside-out drive to the left of extra-cover and a late cut with bat meeting ball inches in front of off stump.By the end of the day, India’s run-rate had slowed to normal Test-match proportions, but the economy rates of Craig (4.36) and Sodhi (4.14) told a story. On a pitch where Ashwin and Jadeja were causing all kinds of problems, India’s batsmen had shone an unforgiving light on the inadequacies of New Zealand’s spinners.New Zealand’s only wicket came in the last over before tea, when KL Rahul late-cut Sodhi straight into slip’s hands. As he had done in the first innings, Rahul had shown plenty of attacking enterprise – in this instance using sweeps, reverse-sweeps and lofted drives to move along at a 70-plus strike rate – before falling in the 30s.Wickets often fall in clusters in India. One brings many. There were two such clusters in New Zealand’s innings. First, they lost three wickets in 23 balls at the start of the morning session. After lunch, even more damagingly, they lost their last five in the space of 29 balls, for the addition of only seven runs. In the process, Jadeja picked up his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests, and Ashwin swelled his Test wicket count from 193 to 197.The two teams’ first innings almost mirrored each other. India had gone from 154 for 1 to 318 all out. New Zealand had lost their second wicket with their score 159. The magnitude of India’s lead was probably down to lower-order contributions: Jadeja had scored an unbeaten 42, and added 41 for the last wicket with Umesh Yadav. Not for the first time in home Tests on turning pitches, he had played a vital role with both ball and bat.New Zealand went to lunch 238 for 5, and had moved to 255 for 5 when Ashwin came back into the attack to bowl the seventh over of the session. From over the wicket, his first ball was a well-flighted offbreak that brought Mitchell Santner on to the front foot and turned just enough to take a thin edge through to Wriddhiman Saha.Santner, out for 32 off 107 balls, had defended resolutely till that point, and featured in partnerships of 49 with Luke Ronchi and 36 with BJ Watling.Three overs later, New Zealand felt the full force of Jadeja. He had Craig and Sodhi lbw off successive balls, both caught shuffling across the crease rather than going forward or back, though the ball that dismissed Sodhi may have been sliding down leg. Trent Boult survived two balls, and then, defending his third onto his boot, was caught brilliantly by Rohit Sharma diving forward from silly point.The innings ended in the very next over, Watling looking to drive a teasing Ashwin offbreak down the ground and ending up offering a return catch.The day began much like day two had prematurely ended, with Ashwin and Jadeja causing plenty of discomfort with their turn and bounce. They beat the outside edge four times in the first five overs before Ashwin struck the first blow. He got the ball to drift into the left-handed Tom Latham, causing him to play down the wrong line as he pressed forward to defend. By the time he realised this, it was too late, and ball straightened to hit front pad right in front.Four balls later, 159 for 2 became 160 for 3. Ross Taylor’s bat tends to come down from gully towards wide mid-on while he defends, and such a technique can leave a batsman vulnerable against a left-arm spinner as relentlessly stump-to-stump as Jadeja. The ball went with the arm, and Richard Kettleborough did not hesitate to uphold Jadeja’s lbw appeal. Replays suggested it was a tight call on whether the ball would have carried on to hit or miss leg stump.For most of day two, Kane Williamson had been able to trust the slowness of the Green Park pitch and play comfortably back to good-length balls. But in the half-hour or so before tea, the ball had begun spitting and hissing with greater frequency. On one occasion, an Ashwin offbreak hurried into him when he sat on the back foot and produced a loud lbw shout.In the ninth over of the morning, he went back again to Ashwin, possibly shaping to cut or punch through the off side, and this time the ball turned extravagantly, like one of Muttiah Muralitharan’s specials, zipping in to breach the gap between bat and body and clip the top of the stumps. It had perhaps needed a special delivery to get Williamson out in the form he was in, and Ashwin had produced just that.New Zealand were 170 for 4 at that point, 148 adrift and rocking unsteadily. They repelled India for the next 23.3 overs, with Luke Ronchi and Santner putting on 49 and bringing a measure of calm to proceedings before Jadeja struck again, six overs before lunch.Ronchi was the batsman dismissed, and India would have been relieved to see him walk back. Showing excellent footwork, particularly while going on the back foot, he had cut and driven Jadeja and Ashwin for four fours in the arc between point and extra-cover while moving to 38. Then, looking to sweep Jadeja, he misread the trajectory of a dipping delivery that hit him on the back leg. Rod Tucker gave him out, but replays suggested that the ball, bowled from left-arm over and spinning sharply, would probably have missed off stump.Tucker, though, did not see any replays; what he saw was a batsman sweeping from the stumps, a ball pitching fairly close to the batsman, and dust flying everywhere. At first glance, there was even the suggestion – dispelled by later viewings – that the ball may have hit Ronchi’s front pad. It was one of those errors that slow-motion replays tend to magnify. Likewise with the Taylor and Sodhi decisions. Unfortunately for New Zealand, all three went against them.

The USA Cricket Association’s status as a suspended Associate member is expected to be upheld but without going to the next step of expulsion at the upcoming ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh

Peter Della Penna10-Jun-2016The USA Cricket Association’s status as a suspended Associate member is expected to be upheld but without going to the next step of expulsion at the upcoming ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo during his recent meetings held in the USA, the ICC head of global development Tim Anderson stated that USACA needs to be given a fair chance to meet reinstatement conditions that were laid out to them last year before a final determination is given.”USACA cannot be expelled at this year’s annual conference,” Anderson told ESPNcricinfo in Colorado Springs where the ICC are in the process of shifting their Americas office from Toronto. “I think that is an important point to make that a suspended member is still a member. There will be an update to our board at our annual conference meeting at the end of June. I know the community at large is very interested in this topic. USACA as our current member needs to be given sufficient opportunity to meet those reinstatement conditions.””Some of the conditions have changed over the last 12 months including the requirement to develop a new constitution for US cricket which is now sitting with the US cricket advisory committee to consider that. Things have changed over the course of time so we need to appreciate that because we’ve changed things, USACA needs to be given appropriate time to assess that.”According to the ICC’s Articles of Association, article 2.6 section B states that expulsion or cessation of membership following a period of suspension can only occur “upon the requisite resolution being passed at [Annual] Conference following a proposal notified in writing to the Chief Executive prior to 31st December in any year for consideration at Conference in the immediately following year, such proposal being made and seconded by Full Members.”No such resolution was put forward to the ICC board by the end of 2015. Anderson sent out an email to the US cricket community on Thursday informing them that USACA has until December 15 to meet reinstatement conditions, chief among them to ratify a new constitution. If USACA does not, it would leave 16 days for a board resolution to be proposed, setting up USACA for potentially being expelled from membership in June 2017.On the topic of the constitution, Anderson held a meeting with the 10-person Sustainable Foundation US advisory group last weekend in Colorado Springs in which members of the US Olympic Committee were also in attendance. Developing a constitution that fits in with USOC guidelines is something Anderson said is a priority for the Sustainable Foundation group going forward.”We’re all aware of the disjointed nature of the community at this point in time,” Anderson said. “Having a constitution that is able to secure the future of US cricket and bring all parties together is absolutely fundamental to the game’s successful future here. So as part of the reinstatement conditions as they currently stand, we’ve put together an advisory group representative of a broad spectrum of US cricket and other experts that over this weekend were considering what a unifying constitution might look like and what principles and fundamentals should be included to bring US cricket together.”One of the elements of that was whether cricket should be a member of the USOC. The USOC has a number of mandatory requirements for its members to have in their constitution. Rick Adams, one of the senior executives of the USOC, attended that meeting and gave some background on what the USOC is about, what benefits it can offer sports in America and how being part of the USOC has some obligations not just in terms of constitution but other things as well. The general view of the group is that it’s right for cricket to be a part of the USOC and therefore the mainstream American sports family.”Among the constitutional guidelines required to meet USOC statutes are athlete representation on the USACA board as well as independent directors. Those were included in a series of recommendations produced by TSE Consulting in a governance review in 2013, but were eventually rejected for inclusion in a proposed new constitution at that year’s USACA Annual General Meeting.As for a timeframe for when a new constitution might be presented to USACA for ratification or rejection, Anderson hopes that it can be accomplished within the next one to two months. Anderson said though that although ratifying a new constitution is the number one condition for reinstatement, it would not be the sole determining factor in USACA’s suspension potentially being lifted and that the other 38 terms and conditions must be met as well.”USACA will be requested to consider the adoption of a proposed constitution in order to meet that reinstatement condition,” Anderson said. “But at this point the [ICC] board’s position is that USACA needs to meet all the reinstatement conditions in order to be reinstated as an ICC member. It doesn’t meet all those reinstatement conditions right now. It continues to be suspended but it has more time to work on those things.”