Sri Lanka may have lost three of the four most prolific batsmen in their side on the second evening, but Rangana Herath says Sri Lanka will give little thought to avoiding the follow on

Andrew Fernando at the P Sara26-Nov-2012Sri Lanka may have lost three of the four most prolific batsmen in their side on the second evening at the P Sara, but Rangana Herath says Sri Lanka will give little thought to avoiding the follow on. New Zealand made 412 in their first innings, with Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson both making hundreds, but Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene could only manage nine among the three of them.Dilshan played around a straight ball that clattered into middle and off from Tim Southee, before Sangakkara failed to control a hook on zero, finding the only leg-side fielder in the deep. Mahela Jayawardene then flirted outside off stump repeatedly before edging a cover drive to gully off Trent Boult, who angled the ball across him.The loss of three wickets means Sri Lanka have to rebuild in the first session tomorrow to earn parity with their opponents, but Angelo Mathews batted positively towards the end of play for an unbeaten 20, giving Sri Lanka hope of salvaging a good first-innings score. Opener Tharanga Paranavitana remained unbeaten on nine alongside him.”We’re not looking at the follow-on target, because we know the capability of our batsmen and if we bat well, we can go past 400 and past their score,” Herath said. “We trust our batsmen to be able to do that. The first hour of tomorrow is very important for us. We have to make sure that we don’t give away a wicket in that period and score as many runs as we can.Mathews had contributed to a first-innings rescue in Galle, where Sri Lanka recovered from 50 for 5 to take a lead. Sri Lanka finished at a comparatively more comfortable 43 for 3 at the P Sara, but have a much steeper New Zealand total to overhaul than the visitors’ 221 of the first Test.”I think we can do it, like we did in Galle. This is a similar situation and Angelo and Para are batting really well for us.”Herath said that although Sri Lanka could have been more circumspect, New Zealand’s fast men bowled well with the new ball. “I think we should have been little more cautious in batting than we were today, but mistakes can be there in any match. The most important thing is not really what happened, but how we are going to recover from this situation.”The hosts are unlikely to be without Thilan Samaraweera in the first innings, despite a split webbing on his hand that required stitches. Samaraweera sustained the injury at slip, when he spilt a difficult chance off Daniel Flynn, and Mathews was sent out to bat to allow him time to recover.Herath also completed his third consecutive five-wicket haul on day two, taking 6 for 103 in the first innings. He became the highest wicket-taker in 2012 when he bagged 11 scalps in the first Test, but now trails Graeme Swann by one wicket after Swann took eight wickets against India. With Monty Panesar and Pragyan Ojha also taking five-wicket hauls in the Test in Mumbai, Herath said it had been a special few days for left-arm spinners.”I think patience plays a crucial role for spinners. I played first-class cricket for more than 15 years and that taught me patience. This is my 42nd Test match but I think I have played more than 170 first-class matches.”

The England Performance Programme (EPP) bowlers shared around the success on the opening day of their latest match against Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2012
ScorecardThe England Performance Programme (EPP) bowlers shared around the success on the opening day of their latest match against Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. The home side closed on 219 for 7 with Vinit Indulkar unbeaten on 69 to ensure the EPP side had to spend a full day in the field.James Harris and Ben Stokes took two wickets apiece, both bowlers striking in consecutive deliveries, as the hosts fell to 116 for 5. The opening partnership between Shrideep Mangela and Bhavin Thakkar spanned 20 overs before Harris struck twice. Mangela progressed to 55 before he fell to Chris Wright.Stokes, the Durham allrounder, who has tasted full international cricket, then found two edges that were taken by Craig Kieswetter, the captain of the EPP side.Unlike the first match the EPP side played, where Scott Borthwick and Simon Kerrigan were among the wickets, there was less success for the spinners this time. With the squad being rotated, Danny Briggs, who is part of England’s Twenty20 squad, and Yorkshire’s Azeem Rafiq were given their chance and Rafiq claimed the one wicket for spin in the day.The EPP will have had visions of batting towards the end of the day but Indulkar, who faced 199 balls and hit eight fours, added 58 for the seventh wicket with Sufiyan Rehmani.

The DY Patil stadium has excellent facilities but it is yet to become a regular venue for big matches. The crucial Ranji match could just be the tonic the organisers need

Amol Karhadkar28-Dec-2012The Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium in Navi Mumbai was involved in a controversy last month for hosting England Lions for a fortnight without the requisite clearances from the BCCI and Mumbai Cricket Association. It led to the stadium being stripped off two Women’s World Cup matches it was scheduled to host in February 2013.But on Friday, as Mumbai and Gujarat practised on either side of the main stadium on the eve of their crucial Ranji Trophy Group A match, parity was restored for the hardworking staff and volunteers (read students of the DY Patil university).While the wandering students in the campus could catch a glimpse of Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar – two of the biggest names in Mumbai cricket – they missed out getting photographed with Parthiv Patel, who still comes across as a wonder boy a decade after making his international debut as a teenager. Not because Parthiv didn’t turn up for the training but because his team was preparing in the nets that were not as accessible as the Mumbai ones.Similar to their Ranji campaign, in which they have silently marched to the second spot, the Gujarat players went about their practice unnoticed. But they were focused as they have been all along the season. Under the watchful eyes of coach Mukund Parmar, Parthiv’s men had a prolonged net session. And with most of the squad members being under-25, they didn’t mind putting in the extra yards.”It was a conscious decision at the beginning of the season to build a team of youngsters,” Parthiv said of his team’s excellent campaign so far. “And it wasn’t as if we were not expecting ourselves to do well. We believed in our abilities and the results are there for everyone to see.”The game changer for Gujarat has been left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv, who was imported from adjoining Saurashtra as a professional. And Dhurv has justified the faith put in by the Gujarat selectors by emerging as the most successful spinner this Ranji season with a tally of 35 wickets at 23.57 apiece. “We lacked a quality spinner, so it was decided to bring on Rakesh and he has delivered by taking all those wickets. That has made a big impact.”Mumbai, the home side, is pleased this time to see a green-top after having been given two disappointing pitches at the Wankhede and Agarkar, the Mumbai captain, is happy that the team’s chances are in their control.”That [the scenario] is something that augurs well for us,” Agarkar said. “We know that our future depends on what we do. If we win, we are through. We don’t have to wait for some other results to go our way.”The match is set up nicely. Both teams are coming into the game with wins under their belt – Gujarat having surprised table-toppers Punjab and Mumbai clinching a thriller against Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat has 21 points to Mumbai’s 20 and even if the match doesn’t see a result, the side that pockets three first-innings-lead points is assured of a spot in the quarter-finals. An intense battle awaits and it’s just the tonic the organisers at the stadium needed.

Brendon McCullum termed New Zealand’s series victory against South Africa “phenomenal” after their 27-run win in Kimberley and hoped it would send “a bit of love” to the supporters.

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Brendon McCullum termed New Zealand’s series victory against South Africa “phenomenal” after their 27-run win in Kimberley and hoped it would send “a bit of love” to the supporters.After two Test matches that produced a combined total of seven days play and two innings defeats there were low expectations of New Zealand coming into the one-day games, but they clinched a one-wicket win in Paarl and caused South Africa to implode during their run chase in the second match with five run-outs. The hosts had raced to 167 for 1 in the 31st over when Graeme Smith’s run-out ended a century partnership with Colin Ingram and proved to be the turning point of the game. McCullum admitted New Zealand had been under pressure till that point, but hadn’t given up hope.”There was a period there when we were definitely behind the game,” McCullum said after the match. “What we kept saying to each other out there was that we had a good score on the board, courtesy Kane’s [Williamson] innings and Grant [Elliott] and Kane’s partnership. We just looked to hang in there, show the characteristics we want to be known for as a team and just keep fighting as hard as we possibly could.”If we got one or two wickets, then we could try and exert some pressure on them. As it happened we got a couple through run outs, managed to get some momentum and I thought after that we just kept applying the pressure and in the end it came pretty good for us.”It also clinched New Zealand’s first series win in any format in South Africa. “It’s a phenomenal win, the ninth-ranked team in the world against the top team,” McCullum said at the post-match presentation. “It’ll go down as one of our biggest wins in the limited-overs games.”Coming after the severe defeats in the two Tests, McCullum spoke of how proud he was with the way his side had fought back, in the absence of several key players. “The enormity of the task had sunk in before we undertook the series. We knew how big this series was. They beat us very comfortably in the Tests. We knew we had to play out of our skins to get the victories. I think the characteristics we showed in the first game really flowed on to this game as well. Very proud at the moment of each individual within our group, support staff and players alike. Also pleased to be able to show some love for the fans back home who have stuck by us through a pretty tough time.”It is important to acknowledge that we have missed Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Dan Vettori, Tim Southee, Adam Milne. What that has done is it has given other guys an opportunity to stand up. To see guys stand up from domestic cricket to international cricket and also some of the newish guys stand up and take a more leading role in the group was fantastic. It will only make us stronger when those other guys come back into the mix.”The victory was set up by a magnificent innings from Williamson who struck an unbeaten 145 to lead New Zealand to a competitive, but far from overwhelming, 279 for 8. It had been a difficult tour for Williamson, who struggled against pace in the Tests, but he controlled his innings superbly especially through a middle-order wobble.”Williamson’s innings was as good as we’ve seen from a New Zealander,” McCullum said, before giving a mention to his brother. “Nathan McCullum was phenomenal in that spell of bowling and the fielding was probably as good as we have shown. I’m very pleased.”Williamson, who suffered cramp in the later stages of his innings which had started in the third over, said: “It was nice to contribute like that in such an important game. It’s been tough playing the No. 1 team in the world. I cramped up a little bit but the guys at the other end helped us get a good total… I got regular drinks, took a few tablets and it seemed to ease off a little bit. During the break, it was a key time to hydrate and get back on the park.”[This win] would be right up there. The one against South Africa at the World Cup would be right up there as well. Every win we get has been hard to come by of late, especially against such quality opposition. It is great to take the series.”

Clare Connor, the former England Women’s captain, has blamed the BCCI for India’s poor showing at the Women’s world cup.

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2013Clare Connor, the ICC women’s committee chairman and former England Women’s captain, has blamed the BCCI for India’s poor showing at the Women’s World Cup.India finished in seventh place after failing to qualify for the Super Six stage with just one victory from the group phase. Connor has said the team did not receive the support they deserved from their board.Connor is now head of women’s cricket at the ECB who have made the England Women’s team the best-resourced in the world but says standards have slipped in India and the BCCI are at fault.”Generally India have been strong but other teams, Sri Lanka and West Indies who have accelerated so much in the past four years, are overtaking them,” Connor said in an interview. “The Indian players and the support staff will look to the BCCI for more support.””There is such passion for cricket in this country. It probably asks the question whether the women have had the support they deserve because their standards have slipped. While that is partly the responsibility of the players I don’t think they had as much support going into this tournament as they would need. That is a shame because they were the hosts and we wanted to bring the World Cup to India because of the passion for the game. It is a shame they didn’t make it further in the tournament.”If there is more support from the BCCI, then standards will rise. The passion is there for the game, people just need to know more about women’s cricket probably, and hopefully that support will grow.”Connor said the world cup was a “huge achievement” for the women’s game but it was disappointing that the BCCI didn’t put as much weight into the tournament as it has done for men’s competitions. The Wankhede Stadium was dropped at a late hour to host the final of the Ranji Trophy.”For me personally the disappointment is that the BCCI has not pulled its way as much as it could have done for the Indian women’s team and to support the profile and exposure of this tournament.”The market for women’s cricket in India is massive. It is why we wanted a successful tournament here. We wanted to engage this cricket-mad nation and we wanted people to support the Indian women’s team more. We want to grow the game. We want there to be role models and the aspiration to play towards the highest level. Hopefully on television that message would have got across a little bit.”India is really important for the women’s cricket. It has so much passion for the game that has not necessarily flowed into the women’s game. Over time I hope that will happen with more high-quality cricket being played. It has huge finance in terms of backing the game. I hope this tournament has gone towards opening up some minds that were closed towards women’s cricket in the past.”

South Africa stand on the cusp of their most successful period under Graeme Smith, who was keen to finish the summer on a winning note

Firdose Moonda in Centurion21-Feb-2013The last time Graeme Smith captained South Africa in a dead rubber, the team had just won a series in Australia. Little else mattered but Smith batted with a broken hand to try to stave off defeat in the third Test even though it had no bearing on the bigger picture.One of the most marked differences between the current South African side and the one of 2008-9 is that closing the deal at the earliest opportunity is more important to this lot. “We’ve been through some growth periods. Certain things didn’t work then as they are now,” Smith said. “Systems in the team are running a lot better and some processes are a lot more professional. We’ve taken that step that we were searching for.”The focus on being more clinical has paid off. South Africa stand on the cusp of their most successful period under Smith. Never before under Smith’s captaincy have South Africa won all the Test matches in a home summer as they could with victory in Centurion. Never before have they won five in a row as they have now and never before have they been as determined to keep the intensity up.”Being mentally sharp is going to the challenge but I think we will be,” Smith said. “The energy at training was good and we would love to finish our summer of Test cricket on a positive note.”A whitewash will be nothing more than a show of dominance but it is important in establishing themselves as ruthless, especially since South Africa disappear from the Test circuit after this match. Attention will fall on India’s series against Australia and the Ashes and the No.1 ranked side in the world will have to wait until October before they play again.The break in the schedule may rob South Africa of the chance to play at their peak but that is something no-one can control. They would have featured sooner had the July-August tour to Sri Lanka not been turned into a limited-overs only affair and Smith did not show too much disappointment at that. “We would love to have carried on the momentum we’ve started and to keep playing and playing well but when you’ve played for a long time you deal with things as they come.”Smith was even able to spot a positive in the long break before facing Pakistan in UAE in October. South Africa will use the Centurion Test to study their opposition closely in preparation for their return clash. “When we start playing again later in the year there won’t be any time to find our feet again. Hopefully the confidence will be as strong as it is now. The squad is performing well as a group. We’ve got some highly skilled players. Hopefully we can pick up from that.”Growing that legacy is the immediate goal and winning in Centurion will go some way to realising that. It is also the chance for Smith to notch up another achievement. Should South Africa emerge victorious, Smith will have his 50th victory as Test captain, something no other leader has achieved. At Newlands he overtook Allan Border as the captain with the most Test victories and at the Wanderers, he became the only person to captain a team 100 times in Test cricket.The accolades are so regular, Smith doesn’t have the words to describe what they mean to him anymore, except to say he wants to keep going. “I’m running out of things to say. I am looking forward to that number growing even more. It’s a great achievement for me and the guys that I have played with.Hopefully when I reflect back on this one day I can say that as a team we did ourselves proud and not that we left ourselves short. I will be extremely proud to saying I could take South Africa to No.1 in the world and that we could stay there.”

Durham stumbled to 92 for 8 – a lead of 210 – in their second innings after Chris Rushworth’s best figures had helped blow Somerset away

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street11-Apr-2013
ScorecardAlfonso Thomas took three cheap wickets in Durham’s second innings as Somerset fought back with the ball•PA Photos

This was the kind of day that gives county cricket a good name. Strokeplay might have been in short supply, but almost every one of the 18 wickets to fall was the result of excellent seam bowling and fielding; only one player could be said to have given his wicket away and the battle between ball and bat was engrossing. Durham’s collapse to 92 for 8 – still a lead of 210 – in the latter half of day loosened their grip on proceedings but Somerset had already been undermined by then.Somerset finished their first innings 118 runs behind but Durham’s second knock was similarly afflicted, as controlled, lively seam bowling accounted for the top four batsmen for 20 runs by the 12th over. The role Graham Onions had played in the morning was replicated in the afternoon by Peter Trego. The allrounder bowled Keaton Jennings and Will Smith, and had Mark Stoneman caught behind before Alfonso Thomas wheedled out three of Durham’s middle order, including the dangerous Ben Stokes and Paul Collingwood on either side of tea.That Durham are still just about in control of the match is down to their first innings, which gained lustre overnight. They were all out off the last ball of the first day and might now reflect that 250 was not too bad a first-innings score on the opening day of the season.The inroads into the Somerset order on Thursday morning were made by Graham Onions, the leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket last summer. He last played in a Test match in June – and suffered on England’s tour of New Zealand – so will have been pleased to take the first three wickets of Durham’s season with selector James Whittaker looking on. He bowled with pace, accuracy and some hostility, and his wickets included the crucial one of Marcus Trescothick, in his third over. The majority of his peers consider Trescothick to be the best player in county cricket, and there was much jubilation when he was out.Onions’ new-ball partner was Chris Rushworth, who was wicketless in his first spell but returned before lunch and soon had Craig Kieswetter caught at first slip. He went on to take five further wickets in the afternoon session including top-scorer Jos Buttler, who, one ball after smacking a six over midwicket, played all around a straight one. Rushworth finished with career-best figures of 6 for 58 to leave Somerset 132 all out. The accuracy with which Onions and Rushworth exploited helpful conditions was indicated by six slip catches, an lbw, and a bowled.Rushworth’s career has been a curious one, the sporting equivalent of snakes and ladders. A modest ascent occurred early on when, after impressing in minor counties cricket for Northumberland, he was given a one-day debut by Durham at the age of 19. He spent the next five years back playing league cricket for his home town club in Sunderland, and in Australia during the winter. Durham kept an eye on him, though, and by 2010 had seen enough to offer him an extended opportunity at first-class level. His most significant climb came in the 2012 season, by the end of which he had taken 38 wickets and established himself as first choice to partner Onions at the start of the innings. He climbed another ladder here.

Jim Allenby completed an impressive all-round performance to help Glamorgan to a comfortable 10-wicket victory at Cardiff

20-Apr-2013
ScorecardJim Allenby enjoyed an impressive all-round match•Getty Images

Jim Allenby completed an impressive all-round performance to help Glamorgan to a comfortable 10-wicket victory on the final morning of their Division Two clash with Worcestershire at Cardiff.The victory was Glamorgan’s first over Worcestershire at their Cardiff headquarters for 42 years. Allenby followed up his top score of 78 in Glamorgan’s first innings to claim figures of 4 for 27 in 20 overs in the Worcestershire second innings.He helped himself to three wickets on the final morning as the Welsh county claimed the final five wickets for only 22 runs after Worcestershire resumed on 185 for 5 to leave 36 for victory.In reply to Worcestershire’s 207 all out opener Ben Wright led the way in with 30 of the runs required as Glamorgan won 35 minutes before lunch. Glamorgan took 21 points from the contest to Worcestershire’s three.The visitors did not make the start they required when Thilan Samaraweera was caught and bowled by Michael Hogan for 79 in the fifth over of the day. And in the next over wicketkeeper Michael Johnson was caught by Marcus North off the potent bowling of Allenby.It left Worcestershire in trouble at 195 for 7, a lead of only 23. Bowling with the second new ball Allenby was on target again, breaking through twice in the same over. First he bowled David Lucas to uproot his off stump before trapping Chris Russell leg before. Hogan claimed the last wicket to fall by having Gareth Andrew caught by North at mid-off.

Karunaratne’s unbeaten 109 ensured SLC Combined XI won by seven wickets over Sri Lanka A in Pallekele

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-May-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Dimuth Karunartne’s century helped SLC Combined XI to a comfortable seven-wicket victory•Manoj Ridimahaliyadda

A faltering Sri Lanka A were beaten comprehensively by SLC Combined XI, in the third match of the List A tri-series in Pallekele. SLC Combined captain Dimuth Karunaratne hit an unbeaten hundred as his side ran down Sri Lanka A’s 211 with seven wickets in hand and more than nine overs to spare. Both teams have been beaten once by the Rest of Sri Lanka side so far in the tournament.Offspinning allrounder Sachithra Serasinghe also contributed significantly to the win, first removing three top-order batsmen in a long first spell, then returning with the bat to help secure smooth passage towards victory. He bowled Niroshan Dickwella, who, upon promotion to the top order, had built a 45-run stand with Udara Jayasundera after the early loss of Dilshan Munaweera. Serasinghe then had captain Angelo Perera lbw not long after, before dismissing Jayasundera in the 23rd over. Serasinghe conceded just 34 in 8.4 overs.A half-century from Ashan Priyanjan helped Sri Lanka A post an acceptable total after having been 79 for 5, but his rebuilding efforts were repeatedly thwarted by regular wickets at the other end. Coming in at No. 6, he largely had to make do with tailenders for company. Priyanjan was dismissed in the 45th over by Malinga Bandara, and his side was bowled out in the 49th.In response, Karunaratne forged an 80-run opening partnership with Mahela Udawatte that became the foundation of SLC Combined’s innings, which was never put into strife. Suranga Lakmal and Vimukthi Perera – the bowlers who had wreaked havoc on the Rest of Sri Lanka’s top order on Tuesday – were expensive in this match, giving away runs at more than six and seven runs an over respectively. The spin bowlers fared better, but were unable to add more than two wickets to the scalp Lakmal earned.Serasinghe joined Karunaratne with 68 runs to get, and the pair breezed through the rest of the chase, hitting their target in ten overs, as Karunaratne crossed 100 with a six off Lakmal. His 109 not out came in 125 deliveries, and featured 12 fours and a six.Sri Lanka A will play their third match in three days against Rest of Sri Lanka on Thursday.

The BCCI’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) has stepped up its education programme for young players in the country about the dangers of spot-fixing and corruption in cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2013The BCCI’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) has stepped up its education programme for young players in the country about the dangers of spot-fixing and corruption in cricket. Players from various age groups will attend sessions with officers from the ACSU during the ongoing National Cricket Academy camps and the programme will be extended to other cities from next month.”The anti-corruption unit of the BCCI has recently begun the education course for cricketers during the national camp for the Under-19 and U-15 players, held in Bangalore and Mysore. Ravi Sawani, director of anti-corruption unit, has planned the educational course. From July onwards these courses will start in every state association along with anti-doping procedures,” BCCI game development manager Ratnakar Shetty told the .The development follows the recent spot-fixing scandal during the IPL where three cricketers – Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – and 11 bookies were arrested and charged with fraud, cheating and criminal conspiracy. Sreesanth and Chavan have since been released on bail.Sethu Madhavan, a senior investigation officer with the ACSU who held a session at the Mysore camp, said an ACSU officer will accompany each team during the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. He instructed the players not to discuss team combinations or disclose any information before the match starts, even to family members.Madhavan has told players they could be punished for agreeing to fix even if not proceeding to do so, as well as failing to report an approach by a bookie. Players have been told to either inform the ACSU or the team manager when they receive a call from unknown people. The issue of failing to report approaches by bookies was highlighted with the news of Siddharth Trivedi, another Royals player, facing possible suspension for the same offence, even though he has said he did not pay heed to their demands and will be a witness for the Delhi police.