All posts by n8rngtd.top

After leading from the front and then falling away dramatically in their bid for promotion last season, perhaps Northamptonshire are simply running a canny race this time

Jon Culley at Northampton12-Aug-2012
ScorecardStephen Peters added a half-century to his productive match•Getty Images

After leading from the front and then falling away dramatically in their bid for promotion last season, perhaps Northamptonshire are simply running a canny race this time. Pegging back Derbyshire looks beyond them but a win here will put them right on the shoulders of the group chasing second place in Division Two, poised to strike in the closing laps.With a lead of 311 going into the final day, they have a decent chance, too, provided they time their declaration prudently and the weather does not wreck their calculations. Should everything go according to plan, 22 points will move them up only one place but put them on 118 points, two behind second-placed Hampshire and Yorkshire, one adrift of Kent.A fixture list that presents them with only one remaining home match – against Derbyshire – might be said to be disadvantageous. But they take on Hampshire at West End starting on Wednesday, where a win would clearly have added value, and complete their programme against Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, both currently in the bottom three.First, of course, they have to complete the job in hand, which may require an outstanding performance from their bowlers if Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Thakor can reproduce the capacity to resist that they showed, for the most part, in the first Leicestershire innings. Until the disastrous run-out at the close of the second day, Sarwan looked in commanding form and Thakor’s recovery from that mishap was arguably the most impressive feature of the third day.At the start of the week in which he will learn his A-level results Thakor, the 18-year-old all-rounder, who has been studying latterly at Uppingham School – an institution with a rich cricket tradition – gave no hint of any distractions in a mature, measured performance that effectively denied Northamptonshire the chance to enforce the follow-on. Unfazed by the loss of a seventh Leicestershire wicket in the fifth over of the morning, he set himself to give nothing away, completed his second half-century in four Championship innings and made scarcely a mistake until a ball from James Middlebrook, the offspinner, drew him into a drive that was always too much of a stretch and resulted in a simple catch for extra cover.By then, into the afternoon session, he and Claude Henderson, who scored an enterprising unbeaten 56, had put on 80 in 23 overs and the follow-on mark had been passed. Northamptonshire’s bowling was less threatening than it had been on Saturday but it was a solid, respectable response nonetheless, although Leicestershire still conceded a lead of 100 exactly. Middlebrook took 3 for 36 from 29 overs, more than half of which were maidens.It was a lead Northamptonshire built on rather too easily for those with an interest in seeing Leicestershire not finish the season in last place. Stephen Peters and Niall O’Brien gave them another terrific start with their second century opening stand of the match, Peters allowing himself the liberty of a couple of sixes in his 56 off 110 balls, O’Brien collecting 10 boundaries in his 96-ball 79. Leicestershire’s bowling too often offered too much width.The exception among them was Will Jones, an Australian-born Cardiff University student who bowls legspin. This is his second Championship match and the first in which he has bowled but his introduction by skipper Josh Cobb in the 34th over brought wickets with his fifth and seventh balls as Peters knocked back a straightforward return catch and O’Brien holed out to deep midwicket, where Robbie Joseph needed a bit of juggling to bring the ball under control but did finally hold on.Jones then held a catch of his own as David Sales sent up a steepler off Henderson. The ball is now in Northamptonshire’s court.

After their first T20I win against Pakistan, the hosts now chase their first-ever bilateral series win in the format

Danyal Rasool24-Apr-2021

Big picture

It was about time the chickens would come home to roost on Pakistan’s middle order, but the manner of that reckoning was so grave even those predicting it were taken aback. A first-ever T20I loss to Zimbabwe, and the fourth-lowest total defended against a Full Member saw Pakistan bowled out for 99 in a chase of 119, losing their last seven wickets for just 21 runs. The confidence shot it gives Zimbabwe cannot be overstated as, against all odds, they go into the third and final T20I with a real chance of springing upon Pakistan a chastening series defeat.There is, of course, room for improvement for both sides, especially with the bat. Zimbabwe restricted Pakistan thanks to a combination of a near-flawless performance with the ball, in the field and the total capitulation of the visitors. While stand-in captain Brendan Taylor will want a repeat performance in that respect from his side, Pakistan are unlikely to be that listless two games in a row. To counter that, Zimbabwe could work on the way they paced their own innings with the bat, putting little pressure on Pakistan, almost content to canter along to a sub-120 total.With Craig Ervine ruled out of the series and Sean Williams nursing a hand issue in for the last game, Zimbabwe lost plenty of experience, so the return of the latter might not be a surprise. Taylor did mention after the match that his side might have to approach the powerplay with a touch more positivity, setting the tempo for the remainder of the innings. The pitches here in Harare appear to have plenty in them for bowlers, with both captains agreeing totals around 140-150 were challenging. With Zimbabwe having felt they left runs out there, they go into the decider on equal terms.Pakistan, meanwhile, appear to be on that precipice from which they could lurch either to brilliance or chaos, with no way of predicting which it will be. They were given a nudge towards the latter after the second T20I with Shoaib Malik taking to Twitter to lambast “unacquainted decision makers”. What should have been a series to try out new players and fine-tune certain aspects of their game for the T20 World Cup has instead thrown up a decider of extreme pressure, giving this series a higher profile than most would have accorded it a few days ago.

Form guide

Zimbabwe WLLLL(last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWWL

In the spotlight

Wesley Madhevere was by far the brightest spark of Zimbabwe’s tour of Pakistan a few months ago, but he hasn’t quite lit up this series just yet, particularly with the bat. There have been glimpses of his ability in these two games, but justice to his talent is yet to be done. His dismissal in the previous game was especially disappointing when he attempted a low-percentage reverse sweep and gave away his wicket while Zimbabwe desperately needed him to bat deep. His contribution with the ball, though, has been surprisingly impactful, conceding just 27 runs in five overs and taking two wickets across the two games.Mohammad Hafeez was believed to be a panacea of sorts for the middle order; unlike the rest, he was in excellent form in the lead up to Pakistan’s tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe. He missed South Africa’s T20I series in Pakistan because he was playing the T10 League in the UAE, where he excelled, and went on to distinguish himself with his performances in the PSL. However, that form has not turned into output at the international level in a beleaguered middle order, further amplifying Pakistan’s woes. He had a phenomenally successful 2020, barging his way back into Pakistan’s T20 World Cup plans, but if this barren run continues, he could find himself frozen out in double-quick time.

Team news

If Williams returns, he will add experience to the batting line-up, but it’s unlikely Zimbabwe will wish to make too many changes to the side that helped them win the second T20I.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, 2 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 3 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 4 Wesley Madhevere, 5 Regis Chakabva, 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Tarisai Musakanda, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Richard NgaravaPakistan rested Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali for the last two games, but with the series on the line, it would not be a surprise to see them make an appearance.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman 4 Sharjeel Khan/Asif Ali 5 Danish Aziz 6 Mohammad Hafeez 7 Faheem Ashraf 8 Hasan Ali 9 Mohammad Hasnain/Haris Rauf 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 11 Usman Qadir

Pitch and conditions

The weather is clear again, and with the boundaries as big as they are, a target around 150 should put the side batting first in a decent position. Both sides have fielded first upon winning the toss, but have ended up failing to chase down targets.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have never won a bilateral T20I series (they did win a one-off T20I against West Indies in 2010).
• Williams is 64 away from 1000 runs in T20Is. Taylor is 86 short of the same milestone. For Zimbabwe, only Hamilton Masakadza (1662) has more T20I runs.

Jason Holder slips from the perch, concedes top spot among allrounders to Ravindra Jadeja

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2021Quinton de Kock’s 96 in the first innings of the second Test, after he scored 141* in the first, against West Indies has put him back in the top ten – at No. 10 – in the Test rankings for batters. He was last in the top ten back in December 2019, but after top-scoring with 237 runs in the two-Test series, which South Africa won 2-0, he has moved above Babar Azam and Dimuth Karunaratne.Related

• Woakes reaches career-high third spot among ODI bowlers

• Dean Elgar banks on 'we' guy captaincy mantra to lift South Africa to greater Test heights

• Simmons dissects West Indies' batting failure after South Africa loss

• Boucher hopes success is the spark to reignite SA's Test cricket

• Maharaj's 'worst ball' gives him a hat-trick moment to savour

Rassie van der Dussen was a distant second to de Kock in the run-scorers’ list, with 125 runs, while Jermaine Blackwood was third with 88 and Dean Elgar fourth, with 87, and the three of them made gains on the table too: Elgar was up one spot to No. 19, van der Dussen up 31 spots to No. 43, and Blackwood one place behind him at No. 44, a rise of 12 positions.Jason Holder started the series as the top-ranked allrounder in Tests but average returns – 34 runs in four innings and six wickets (four of them in the first, which was before the period used in the latest rankings) – have pushed him down to second place behind Ravindra Jadeja, who is currently playing the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton.Kagiso Rabada was the player of the match in the second Test for his haul of five wickets, and moved up one place to sixth as a result, while Keshav Maharaj’s seven wickets, including a hat-trick, helped him go three places up to 28th. Lungi Ngidi also picked up three wickets in the game, and went up three places to No. 41.Kemar Roach was by far the best West Indies bowler on show, returning 3 for 45 and 4 for 52, and that took him close to the top ten for bowlers, as he finished at 12th place.

Neil Dexter’s century saw Lancashire’s hopes of survival slipping away on the first day at Lords’

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's04-Sep-2012
ScorecardNeil Dexter struck 16 fours in his unbeaten innings•PA Photos

Neil Dexter continued his good end-of-season form, finishing the day unbeaten on 123 – his second century of the summer – as Lancashire failed to capitalise on a promising start.It was not the most fluent of knocks but at times Dexter’s strokes offered a glimpse into how different Middlesex’s season would have been had he found this streak earlier on. He drove and cut well, and was able to forget the wild slashes that surfaced during Lancashire’s rare moments of sustained pressure. His score today sees his season come around full circle.”The last time we played Lancashire, back in May, I only managed 47 and got dropped,” Dexter said. “And rightly so – I wasn’t playing well and I wasn’t in a particularly good place, so it’s nice to come back into the first team in good nick, and score a hundred today, against the side I failed to perform against.”It could have all been so different had Lancashire taken one of their two chances off Dexter – two catches of varying difficult, that could ultimately cost them their place in Division One. The first, a sharp diving effort to the left of Steven Croft at second slip, when Dexter had only 11 on the board, was as tough as slip catches come. The second was bordering on the rudimentary, as Dexter had seemingly picked out Ajmal Shahzad, diving in at mid-off, only for the ball to pop out of his grasp. He even took himself to three figures with a cut-shot that perfectly bisected wicketkeeper and first slip and went for four.”I was a bit fortunate today – a couple of chances went to hand, but things are going my way. As a batsman, you have to capitalise when that happens, and I’m glad I did. These are the types of knocks that you need to remember when you’re feeling down about your form; the times when you battle through an innings and make it count for yourself and your team.”Not ideal for Lancashire, who won the toss and put Middlesex in to bat, sensing the pitch and a 10.30am start had something to offer their bowlers. The first two wickets to fall owed little to the track itself – Glenn Chapple trapping Chris Rogers in front for 0 before strangling Joe Denly down the leg-side for 4. However, after Dawid Malan left an Shahzad delivery that clattered into his off-stump, it seemed there may well be enough in the pitch to suggest Middlesex – who had lost their 13th toss in 16 championship games – were up against it.A solid partnership between Dexter and opener Sam Robson partially allayed those fears, as the pair put on 63 for the fourth wicket, before Simon Kerrigan trapped Robson lbw in the penultimate over of the morning session, one run away from what was probably a deserved half-century. Dexter carried on the good work into the afternoon session as he forged another useful partnership, worth 62 with John Simpson, before he was joined by Gareth Berg, with whom he put on 158.The pair scored quickly, as Berg swept the relatively disappointing Kerrigan with ease. Kerrigan has enjoyed an impressive season, but he lacked the control that has seen him take 42 wickets prior to this match. At times he was too short, and it did not take long for Berg to pick him apart.But it would be wrong to blame the loss of initiative on the Kerrigan alone. Shahzad let his frustration get the better of him, persisting on a barrage of short-balls that troubled wicketkeeper Cross more than it did the batsmen, while Kyle Hogg and Tom Smith lacked the control of Chapple, despite Hogg removing Simpson, albeit with another leg-side catch through to the keeper.Any thoughts that the tea interval would help Lancashire reassess their tactics and stop Middlesex’s flow were cast aside, as Dexter and Berg continued about their business, with Berg passing fifty two overs into the evening session. He accelerated as Lancashire toiled without much luck, but fell for a season’s best 83, attempting to pull a short ball, wide of off-stump, and instead feathering through to Cross.The pitch looked to have flattened out as the day went on, which bodes well for Lancashire’s reply, but their immediate concern tomorrow will be limiting Middlesex to 450. At times in the evening session, they played like a team that had already meekly accepted relegation to Division Two. How else could you explain the way they handed Steven Crook the 45 runs he found himself unbeaten on at stumps?

Rajasthan Royals have done several things right in this IPL, but one area where they’ve messed up so far is in utilising the services of Brad Hodge

S Rajesh21-Apr-2012Rajasthan Royals have done several things right in this IPL, but one area where they’ve messed up so far is in utilising the services of Brad Hodge. Quite apart from the fact that Hodge is one of their key overseas players, Hodge is also one of the best batsmen in the Twenty20 format. In 146 Twenty20 innings, Hodge has scored 4355 runs at an average of 36.59 and a strike-rate of 128.15; only David Hussey has scored more runs in this format. Also, Hodge has struck 453 fours in Twenty20 cricket, which is easily the highest – Brendon McCullum, in second place, only has 355. Hodge is also one of only three players – David Hussey and Albie Morkel are the others – to play 150 or more Twenty20 matches (Saturday’s game against Chennai Super Kings was his 150th).His experience and his overall record are compelling enough reasons for Hodge to be regarded as one of the key players for Royals, but perhaps an even more compelling reason is his form in IPL 2012: he has faced 82 balls in six innings, scored 129 runs, and been dismissed just twice, for an average of 64.50 and a strike rate of 157.31. Among batsmen who’ve faced at least 60 deliveries in this IPL, Hodge’s strike-rate is third-best, fractionally behind Kevin Pietersen (158.16) and Chris Gayle (157.69). He has already played two top-class innings in the tournament so far – 44 off 29 against Kolkata Knight Riders, and an unbeaten 48 off 21 against Deccan Chargers in a successful run-chase of 197. Both efforts won him the Man-of-the-Match awards.And yet, Royals’ think-tank, in all their immense wisdom, have decided that Hodge shouldn’t generally be batting in the top four – only twice in six innings has Hodge batted at No.4. Instead, the responsibility of batting in the top four has been thrust upon Ashok Menaria, a 21-year-old with some potential, but with little of the Twenty20 batting skills or track record that Hodge possesses: in 20 Twenty20 innings so far, Menaria has scored 385 runs at an average of 20.26 and a strike-rate of 117.02. In six innings of IPL 2012, Menaria’s returns have been very similar – an average of 19.83 at a strike-rate of 110.18. Despite these modest numbers, Menaria has continued to bat in the top four – he has batted at three or four in five out of six innings – and has considerably slowed down Royals’ momentum in the middle overs. In the match against Chargers, for example, Menaria came in at No.3 and scored 22 off 20 when the asking-rate was around ten an over; Hodge came in at No.5 in the same match and slammed 48 off 21.Perhaps Royals view Hodge as a finisher only, who should come in to bat when the situation gets desperate. Perhaps they want to give ample opportunity to a young Indian player, given that this is, after all, the Premier League. Either way, this strategy defies logic. Of the 146 innings that Hodge has played in Twenty20 cricket, 115 have been in the top three, where he has scored 28 fifties and two hundreds, and has a strike-rate of 128.86. And in a format as condensed as 20-over cricket, there’s no such thing as a batting line-up being too top heavy: the best batsmen to get as many deliveries as possible.The team got away with it a couple of times, but paid the price against Super Kings, when Menaria took 34 deliveries to score 36 and considerably dampened the momentum in the middle overs. When he finally got out and Hodge came in, only seven deliveries remained in the innings. Royals still managed to make Super Kings sweat despite scoring only 146, but perhaps it’s a good thing they lost – the result should hopefully force them to make the key change in their batting line-up. If Hodge does move up the order, Royals will have two of the three highest run-getters in this format in their top four – Owais Shah, with 3825 runs, has the third-highest aggregate in Twenty20 cricket.

Captain says they’ll use the series “as a way to gather a lot of info leading up to that T20 World Cup”

Daniel Brettig08-Feb-2021Australia’s T20I captain Aaron Finch freely admits that the squad currently in New Zealand will be enormously different for the World Cup meant to be played in India later this year, meaning the tour lengthened considerably by a two-week quarantine period will be largely about fact-finding on fringe players and his own recovery from a dreadful Big Bash League.Finch did his best to completely avoid cricket during a 10-day sabbatical following the Melbourne Renegades’ second underwhelming BBL campaign in succession, the difference this time being that his own returns also dropped away alarmingly, tallying just 179 runs at 13.76 across 13 increasingly harried innings.Having crossed the Tasman on Sunday, the squad helmed by Australia’s senior assistant coach Andrew McDonald will provide an opportunity for Finch and the touring selector George Bailey to get a closer look at their options while the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are still at home.”The top three will be [Matt] Wade, [Josh] Philippe and myself,” Finch said. “Maxi [Maxwell] and Stoin [Stoinis], four and five, around that area. It’s pretty simple I’d imagine. When you look at the squad list, Josh Philippe has been in great nick and it’s great to see him playing well. Matty Wade, we know how dynamic he is along with Maxi. We’re going to be flexible with that top order as well. If that means Wadey or myself or Josh, whoever bats at three, it’ll be a great opportunity.”We’ll use this as a way to gather a lot of info leading up to that T20 World Cup, which means there might be a little bit of shuffling. But we’ll try to stick closely to the guys playing their roles that they’re accustomed to or where we’ll see them in the future playing. The result is not the be all and end all. I think building up and finding information, finding different ways our team can structure up is almost more important.”That sort of attitude will undoubtedly help Finch emerge from his BBL fog also. “Literally didn’t touch a bat during the 10 days I think I had off,” he said. “I’m feeling a lot better about my game – the one thing about when you’re out of nick or not getting any runs, you’re not quite sure where to turn, so putting the bat down for a while, just looking at some footage and assessing where you think your game was at and being realistic about it was as much as I needed to do.”I know I can still play, so it’s just about making sure when I turn up for these isolations training sessions I’m working on specific things and not just training for the sake of it. I feel pretty good to be honest, and that might sound pretty stupid coming off the back of not many runs. But it’s international cricket and I’m ready to go.”Finch on Josh Philippe: “When his head is still, he’s playing beautifully, and his wicketkeeping has been really good as well”•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Philippe and the prodigiously talented young wristspinner Tanveer Sangha are two players Finch is particularly eager to get a closer look at. Assessing Philippe, Finch reckoned he was witnessing a future staple of the Australian top order at a key time in which he was learning how to balance good days and bad.”He’s someone who has obviously got all the shots but he’s starting to get to that point of his career, and I think a lot of that was on the back of having a couple of months of IPL where he spent a lot of time with AB [de Villers] and Virat [Kohli], talking about batting with myself,” Finch said. “He’s taken his game to a new level because he’s just getting past that period when he’s not hitting them well. When he’s playing well, it’s lights out, it’s brilliant.”But just those days when he’s not feeling 100%, he’s getting through that little danger period and still having a big impact on the game which I think is so important in T20. It’s such an up-and-down game, you’re not going to be consistent all the time but you can still contribute and he’s doing a brilliant job, he played fantastically well. When his head is still, he’s playing beautifully, and his wicketkeeping has been really good as well. That’s a great position for him to be in, coming here with a huge amount of confidence off the back of another Big Bash title.”As for the vacant Renegades coaching role, likely to be bid for by a wide array of candidates including Trevor Bayliss, David Saker and Simon Helmot, Finch did not hide his wish that there was more than one McDonald available, the better to play a key role for both club and country.”I would love Andrew back coaching the Renegades but I also think there’s a job for him to do with the Australian team and that’s the most important,” Finch said. “He’s doing a brilliant job around the group and with the bowlers as well, so yes and no is the answer. I’d love him back but what he’s doing at the moment is outstanding, he’s head coach of this tour, he’s as good as you get. I can understand if he’s not coach of the Renegades, but yeah.”The five-match T20I series will start on February 22 in Christchurch.

Islam picked three wickets while Hassan struck 125 to anchor the chase

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2021Saif Hassan played a captain’s innings to power Bangladesh Emerging Team to a six-wicket win against Ireland Wolves in the third one-dayer in Chattogram.Hassan struck 120 off 125 balls, hitting eleven fours and five sixes, as he first played the enforcer and then anchored the 261-run chase.Saif added 52 for the second wicket with Mahmudul Hasan, before putting on 68 for the fourth wicket with Towhid Hridoy.Hridoy later added 69 for the unbroken fifth wicket stand with Shamim Hossain. Hridoy was unbeaten on 43 off 44 balls while Shamim, hero for the home side in the second game, blasted 44 off 25 balls, with seven fours and a six.Gareth Delany took two wickets while Peter Chase and Ruhan Pretorius took one each.Earlier, Ireland posted 260 for 7 in 50 overs with Lorcan Tucker making an unbeaten 82 off 52 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, Curtis Campher and James McCollum got out in their forties.Paceman Mukidul Islam took 3 for 53 while Sumon Khan and Hridoy took one wicket each.The match started at 11:00am, two hours after the schedule start, after a covid test on one of the local members of the visiting team’s support staff, tested positive for covid-19.According to the BCB, the support staff had tested positive on Monday, after which further tests were conducted on the suspected person and close contacts.However, the test results of all those individuals returned negative on Tuesday morning. Both teams had agreed to delay the match based on the results of those tests.

Jason Holder, the 20-year-old quick who opened the bowling for West Indies A in the recently-concluded unofficial Test series against India A, has said he is keen on tightening up his bowling

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2012Jason Holder, the 20-year-old quick who opened the bowling for West Indies A in the recently-concluded unofficial Test series against India A, has said he is keen on tightening up his bowling.Holder had claimed a five-for in India’s chase in the first unofficial Test, helping reduce the visitors to 115 for 8, before they recovered to an unlikely win. In the Twenty20s that followed, he returned figures of 3 for 19 in West Indies three-wicket win on June 23. Now, he will play the three-match ODIs series.”I have been bowling reasonably well, but I still have areas where I could improve upon – the extras and ‘boundary balls’ are the main areas I need to eliminate,” Holder said on eve of the first unofficial one-dayer.In limited-overs cricket, he enjoys bowling at the death, he said. “I am always keen on finishing the innings [while bowling], as it’s one of the most exciting parts of the game. It’s a really good feeling when you bowl a good last over.”Holder, at 6ft.7, towers over several team-mates, and is often compared with former West Indies quick Joel Garner. He has learnt a lot from Garner, Holder said, but he does not try to imitate him. “I have a great deal of respect for him [Garner] and his knowledge. I try to speak to him as often as I can and he always offers great advice. I see him as someone who has done it all and can help me along the way. I don’t try to be a carbon-copy of him.”My ultimate ambition is to play for West Indies. That is still some way off and I know there is a lot of work to do… I need to keep growing. There are some bowlers and allrounders ahead of me, but I’m prepared to put in the [required] work.”

All the buzz from the IPL game between the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad on ESPNcricinfo’s blog

Debayan Sen02-Oct-2020