All posts by csb10.top

Ireland 109 for 4 (K O’Brien 30*) beat Kenya 107 (Mishra 34, Dockrell 3-15) by six wickets
ScorecardIreland marked their inclusion in the Twenty20 international rankings table with a comprehensive six-wicket victory against Kenya in Mombasa at the start of a three-match series. George Dockrell, the left-arm spinner, starred with 3 for 15 before Kevin O’Brien eased Ireland across the line with more than four overs to spare.This was Ireland’s eighth Twenty20 international since August 2009 which meant they had qualified for a ranking position and they went straight in above Zimbabwe at 10th place. A whitewash in this series will see them climb another spot, above Afghanistan, into ninth ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers which take place in the UAE next month.These matches form a crucial part of Ireland’s preparation for that qualifying tournament. With just two teams out of 16 progressing to the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka there will be tight competition for the coveted top slots.Dockrell will have a key role to play in Ireland’s campaign and he put his team on course for this victory after taking two wickets with the new ball as Kenya slipped to 11 for 3 in the fourth over. The one substantial partnership came between Tanmay Mishra and Ragheb Aga, as they added 48 for the fourth wicket, but from there Kenya lost their last six wickets for 24 runs.Ireland’s chase began in jittery and slightly unusual fashion. The first ball from Shem Ngoche went for five wides, then he conceded another wide before William Porterfield was run out off the first legitimate delivery to leave Ireland 7 for 1 after one ball.They moved briskly to 34, then lost Paul Stirling and Alex Cusack in quick succession to open the prospect of a Kenya fightback. However, as he had in the Intercontinental Cup and 50-over matches, Ed Joyce used his experience to make a calm 24 before giving legspinner Collins Oboya a return catch. Unlike Kenya, there was no collapse from Ireland as O’Brien and John Mooney knocked off the last 36 runs in three overs.

Sachin Tendulkar has said his 100th international hundred “was the toughest of them all”, after achieving the milestone against Bangladesh, in Mirpur, during the Asia Cup. Tendulkar went 33 innings without a century between India’s group match against South Africa in the World Cup and Friday’s game in Mirpur, and admitted it had been a “tough phase”. He said he had not really started thinking about the 100th hundred until the media began to talk about it, but it had started to play on his mind after a while.”Yes, I have to be honest. I am human and I have emotions so I was frustrated. It does play on your mind,” Tendulkar said at the post-match press conference.During the mid-innings break, he had explained to television commentator Ramiz Raja how he had not been able to get away from talk about his 100th hundred. “It’s been a tough phase for me. I started off the season batting reasonably well. I was luckless. I am not playing only for my 100th hundred. It doesn’t matter how many hundreds you score, you still put your head down, grind it out and do the job for the team.”I was not thinking about the milestone, the media started all this; wherever I went, the restaurant, room service, everyone was talking about the 100th hundred. Nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. It became mentally tough for me because nobody talked about my 99 hundreds.”Despite the struggle to get to his 100th hundred and the pressure that that had built up around it, Tendulkar was able to joke about having finally achieved it, saying he had shed “50 kilos” with the 114 he made on Friday.Tendulkar took 36 balls to go from 80 to 100 in Mirpur, but insisted he was not playing for the record. “The hundred was not the only thing on my mind. I was thinking about getting a good total for the team. When I looked at the scoreboard, I was looking at the run-rate and what we needed to do; I was avoiding looking at my personal score.”The wait for the milestone, Tendulkar said, had made him realise the value of an international century, while the varying opinions on whether or not he should continue his pursuit had not affected him. “After scoring 99 tons you are made to realise the value of a hundred. It’s not easy, it was a testing period, but there were many people who helped me.”There are opinions, some for some against. I don’t read them, I have a job to do. Ups and downs are a part of life, there is no person who has not experienced it, and they teach you a lot in life.”I am glad about the journey. It has tested my patience, my character. So many people have had questions, I don’t read any of them. Somebody who has not gone through this will have only questions, not answers.”When asked about what lay ahead, Tendulkar was firm that he was not yet considering retirement, in fact mentioning that he was glad the milestone was “out of the way, so I can focus on the matches now”.”When I consider retirement, don’t worry, I will not hide it from anyone. I will play as long as I am enjoying it and as long as I can contribute to the team. I don’t play for milestones; that is a perception created by a few members of the media. I play cricket because I enjoy it.”In the mid-innings break, when Ramiz asked Tendulkar what message he wanted to send to youngsters who witnessed him make history, Tendulkar said it was important to never give up on chasing your dreams. “Enjoy the game and chase your dreams,” he said. “Dreams do come true. I had to wait for 22 years for India to win the World Cup.”Edited by Tariq Engineer and Dustin Silgardo

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Faf du Plessis built the platform from which Albie Morkel launched his match-winning assault•AFP

Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced – the 19th over – to pull off an incredible heist for Chennai Super Kings, the second highest successful chase in the IPL. Pursuing 206, Super Kings needed 43 off 12 balls and Royal Challengers Bangalore would have thought the match safe, only for Morkel to shatter the notion by savaging Virat Kohli’s over.Morkel launched three sixes, two fours and ran a two, to leave Super Kings with 15 to get in the last over. Although he was caught on the boundary, and Super Kings needed 14 off four balls, Dwayne Bravo was on hand to finish it off, helped by a no-ball and a full toss from Vinay Kumar. It was a compelling finish to an innings that had its platform laid by aggression from Faf du Plessis and innovation from MS Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 4, but until that rocket-fueled thrust from Morkel, Super Kings had been behind for 38 overs.In hindsight Royal Challengers were left to rue a late collapse in their innings, when five wickets fell in six balls and they scored only 11 runs off the final ten deliveries. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had done enough to ensure they were the first side to make more than 200 in this IPL, but they were set for more than 205 at one stage.While Royal Challengers swelled in the middle of their innings, scoring 21 off the ninth over, Super Kings waited for the end to lash out after a solid start. Du Plessis took control of the innings early on and scored risk-free boundaries off short balls. He dominated the first seven overs, while M Vijay batted in his shadow.Vijay became the first of Muttiah Muralitharan’s three scalps when he offered the Sri Lankan a return catch. Murali had to dive to his right and defy his age to complete it and he did. Murali broke the next two partnerships as well to prevent Super Kings from gaining too much ground. Suresh Raina and du Plessis both holed out as they fought a climbing asking rate.With more than 15 an over required off the last five, Super Kings needed a sustained attack. It did not come. Dhoni perished in the cause, attempting the helicopter shot to be caught at long-off, which proved a blessing in disguise as it brought Morkel to the crease.Kohli was given the responsibility of the 19th over because Vettori had exhausted the quotas of his experienced bowlers and Gayle was off the field with what seemed to be a groin niggle. Morkel got underway with an inside edge for four and then blasted the next delivery over long-on for six. An outside edge off the third ball flew towards third man for four and Morkel clobbered the fourth and sixth deliveries for six as well.When Morkel was dismissed, the advantage was back with a shell-shocked Royal Challengers but Vinay Kumar let it slip again. He bowled a high no-ball that Bravo pulled for four and the next delivery was a full toss, which got slapped for six. Vinay Kumar followed up with two boundary-less balls leaving Super Kings with two to win off the last ball. Ravindra Jadeja swung hard at the final delivery and outside-edged to the third-man boundary, sparking off delirious celebrations in the Super Kings dugout. Royal Challengers explosive efforts with the bat were a distant memory.During Royal Challengers’ innings, Mayank Agarwal had performed a similar role to Du Plessis, attacking at the start. He initially eclipsed Gayle, peppering the off side with powerful shots, lofting the ball over mid-off and timing it sweetly through covers. Agarwal ushered Royal Challengers to the first half-century score inside five overs this season.Unlike du Plessis, however, Agarwal did not build on his platform and top-edged a slower bouncer from Morkel to mid-on. He had done enough though for Gayle and Kohli to build a skyscraper on. Both scored half-centuries in contrasting styles. Gayle gathered runs with power while Kohli did it with placement and timing. Their partnership grew to the highest of this IPL but neither of them survived until the end of the innings, from where they may have been able to launch the kind of onslaught Morkel did, and break the game.

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, is unlikely to be considered for a central contract or selected for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, according to David White, New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive. White said that Ryder needs to prove his “commitment to the game” before he could be considered for national selection once again.”No, I don’t think so,” White told , responding to a question on whether Ryder’s IPL form puts him into contention for the summer’s tour to the Caribbean. “It is great that he is playing cricket again but he is a fair way from being considered for New Zealand.”He needs to prove to the selectors and New Zealand Cricket his commitment to the game, and that means on and off the field. He needs to do a lot of work on a lot of things like fitness, attitude … and be exemplary off the park.”Ryder has scored 217 runs in seven games for Pune Warriors so far, with two half-centuries. He had travelled to India for the IPL with a support structure consisting of his manager and clinical psychologist in place, coming off an ‘indefinite break’ from cricket that he had announced in March. That announcement came after Ryder was dropped from the New Zealand squad for the third ODI against South Africa for breaking team protocol and then left out of the Test series as well.When Ryder had announced his participation in the IPL, White had extended his support. “It’s really positive that Jesse has reached the point where here is ready to play competitive cricket again,” he had said. “He has clear expectations from NZC in terms of what is required from him to make a return to international cricket and playing in the IPL is a good first step. We are proud of the progress he has made and we will continue to support him through what has been a tough time.”Ryder has had a history of disciplinary issues, prompting questions about his commitment to New Zealand cricket. Previously, in August 2010, he was fined for “intoxicated and rowdy” behaviour at a hotel during an indoor cricket tournament and he said he had feared for his career while NZC was investigating the incident. The most serious of Ryder’s indiscretions was in 2008, when he put his right hand through a glass window during a late-night session at a Christchurch bar. In January 2009, NZC said Ryder had given up alcohol after another incident, which resulted in him missing an ODI against West Indies.

David Wainwright spun Derbyshire to their third win of the season•Getty Images

Derbyshire’s impressive start to the season continued as they crushed Glamorgan by eight wickets with a day to spare in the Derby. Glamorgan’s fragile batting failed again with only Will Bragg offering any resistance with 78 as they collapsed to 188 all out in their second innings against the spin of David Wainwright, who took 5 for 51, and Wes Durston 3 for 43.That left Derbyshire needing only 70 and they took less than 13 overs to seal a 23-point victory which leaves them on top of Division Two and Glamorgan rooted to the bottom. The visitors’ chances of making a fight of it looked good when they wiped out Derbyshire’s lead of 119 with only three wickets down but they crumbled on a pitch taking turn and lost their last seven wickets for only 65 runs.Derbyshire had also lost cheap wickets in the morning when the pace of Hugh Waters and Simon Jones ran through the tail leaving skipper Wayne Madsen stranded on 130 not out. The home side were already 99 in front but they lost the last five wickets for 19 in nine overs to set the tone for a day of bowling domination.Jones got some lift to remove Wainwright in the second over of the day and Waters belatedly got his reward for a wholehearted performance by quickly removing Jon Clare and Tom Poynton. Waters knocked over the injured Mark Footitt, who batted with a runner, to finish with 3 for 78 but Glamorgan were soon in trouble when both openers went before lunch.Tim Groenewald struck twice in his third over by pinning Gareth Rees in front and knocking out Nick James’s off stump when he offered no shot to reduce the visitors to 6 for 2 and Durston struck a big blow when Marcus North edged a drive to slip when on 21. However, Bragg and Ben Wright appeared to be putting their team back in the game when they added 66 in 18 overs but when Wainwright and Durston removed them in successive overs, Derbyshire scented victory.Mark Wallace made 29 before he edged a drive at Wainwright, who took four of the last five wickets, the final one thanks to a stunning one-handed catch at cover by Madsen. The only question was whether Derbyshire could wrap up victory before the close but Martin Guptill with 30 from 23 balls and an unbeaten 21 from Paul Borrington ensured the home dressing room was celebrating a third Championship win before 6pm.

Match facts

June 30-July 4, Colombo
Start time 1000 (0430 GMT)Younis Khan: Spinning? I’ll sweep ’em away•AFP

Big Picture

A team that has not won any of its previous eight Test series, following the retirement of its greatest bowler, against a team that has been unbeaten in its previous seven. No contest? Recent history suggested so but current form prevailed in the first Test. Like they had in the ODIs, Pakistan’s batsmen proved brittle again, against Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath, and against umpires Steve Davis and Ian Gould. Would Pakistan have imploded had Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen not been reprieved by the umpires in the first innings?What we do know is that Pakistan missed their captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was banned from the Galle Test because of an over-rate offence during the fifth ODI. Going into the first Test of an away series – already without a warm-up game – without your captain, can be disastrous. When that captain is Misbah, and when that side is Pakistan, the absence seems magnified.Not only have Pakistan won five, drawn two and lost zero series under Misbah, but he has also averaged 64.72 with the bat during that period. Reviled for his poor strike-rate, Misbah possesses what the thrill-a-minute dashers don’t – calmness. During Sri Lanka’s second innings in Galle, when another umpiring error denied Pakistan the wicket of Prasanna Jayawardene, Misbah’s reaction in the dressing room was telling. He put his index finger up in a mock ‘out’ signal and smiled broadly, managing to hide all the disappointment and anger within.Like a general who knows what makes his troops tick, Misbah goads Pakistan in the right direction, and keeps potential irritants at bay. He has squeezed consistency out of unpredictability. Such is his lot, though, that he gets brickbats from fans for taking the thrills of volatility away. Volatility was on display in Galle, and led to Pakistan’s heaviest defeat to Sri Lanka in terms of runs.The new ball was Pakistan’s problem in Galle, while bowling and batting. Their quicks could not get it to do much, and their batsmen could not survive when Kulasekara got it to move. There is much quality in both spin attacks, and both dominated in Galle.Sri Lanka did what winning sides usually do in the subcontinent, they batted big in the first innings, struck early with the new ball, and let the spinners take over. They will look to repeat the dose in Colombo.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLWLW (Most recent first)
Pakistan LWWWW

Watch out for…

Younis Khan batted 304 deliveries in the first Test. Pakistan collectively lasted 327 deliveries in the first innings there. He was dropped for the final ODI, but showed in Galle why he is easily Pakistan’s most important Test batsman. In a match dominated by spinners, Younis hardly looked like getting out to them, playing straight with bat firmly in front of pad and sweeping often. He fell to the umpires in the first innings and to the second new ball in the second.Much has been said about Nuwan Kulasekara‘s Test record against Pakistan, and it is worth repeating. In five Tests against them, he has taken 25 wickets at 16.40. His record against other teams – two wickets at 121.50 against India, three wickets at 50.00 against New Zealand and no wickets in two Tests against England. It is the swing and seam movement; can Pakistan find a way to deal with it?

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground is expected to be good for batting. That is like saying rain is expected during Wimbledon. Almost every third game at the ground has been drawn. Consider the previous two games played here. Last year, Australia made 316 and 488. Sri Lanka made 473. In 2010, Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 642 for 4 only to watch India pile on 707. If Pakistan crumble at the SSC, even Misbah might not be able to hide his anger.The weather has been warm and humid. There was a brief shower yesterday, and scattered thunderstorms are forecast on all five days of the Test.

Team news

Sri Lanka’s only headache is the choice of the new-ball partner for Kulasekara. Nuwan Pradeep was quick and sharp in Galle but is prone to breakdowns. The problem is that the possible replacement, Dilhara Fernando, is more prone to them. Will they go for the much slower allrounder, Thisara Perera, instead?Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Nuwan Pradeep/Dilhara Fernando.Misbah will return for Pakistan, meaning that Mohammad Ayub, who did not do badly at all in his debut Test in Galle, is most likely to sit out. Junaid Khan looked flat on his comeback from injury in the first innings in Galle before responding with an energetic burst in the second. Will Pakistan go with either of Aizaz Cheema or Mohammad Sami in place of Junaid?Pakistan (probable) 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Junaid Khan/Aizaz Cheema/Mohammad Sami

Stats and trivia

• Four of the previous six Tests at the SSC have been drawn.
• There have been three centuries by Pakistan batsmen at the SSC; two of them by Shoaib Malik.
• Pakistan have never lost to Sri Lanka at the SSC.

Quotes

“We let them score nearly 500 and that put pressure on us. It’s not just our batting, but we need to improve our bowling as well.”
“We are trying to develop a bowling attack that will hunt in a pack. We don’t yet have the experience of a Murali or a Vaas.”

ScorecardMark Pettini laid the foundations for Essex’s victory with 111•Getty Images

A tremendous run-a-ball century by Mark Pettini helped Essex power to a 25-run victory over Worcestershire in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A match at New Road.The opener smacked 111, containing three sixes and seven fours, as his side piled up an impressive 269 for 4 after being put into bat. Worcestershire were then restricted to 244 for 8, despite a battling 68 from Phil Hughes.It enabled Essex to register their second Group A victory of the season and gain revenge for a seven-wicket defeat against the Royals at Chelmsford in May.Pettini was in dazzling form and was solidly backed up by 62 from Tom Westley and a stunning unbeaten 50 off 24 balls from Ryan ten Doeschate, who punched four sixes and three fours.Essex, despite Westley offering a couple of difficult chances to James Cameron, made an excellent start to their free-scoring innings. He and Pettini completed a half -century stand in nine overs before Westley went on to register his 50 off 47 balls with one six and seven fours.His fine efforts, coupled with Pettini’s eyecatching progress, enabled Essex to confidently move past the three-figure mark in the 19th over. Pettini went on to notch his 50, containing one six and two fours off 62 balls, before Westley was run out to a direct throw by Brett D’Oliveira from gully for 62.He hit one six and seven fours off 60 balls and put on 113 in 20.3 overs with Pettini, who had a lucky let-off when he was dropped on the boundary by substitute fielder Matt Pardoe. Pardoe only succeeded in pushing to ball over the rope for six to enable grateful Pettini to move into the seventies.He went on to add 65 in 11 overs with Owais Shah, whose dismissal for 28 paved the way for Ten Doeschate to set about some grim Worcestershire bowling. Captain Pettini eventually fell to a catch by Daryl Mitchell at wide mid-off off David Lucas to leave Ten Doeschate to continue his 33-minute assault.Worcestershire tried hard to get to grips with their formidable run chase, but in the end tumbled to their fourth CB40 defeat on the trot. Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali had both been removed before the hosts reached the halfway mark in their innings on 100 for two with Hughes and Cameron both fighting to keep in touch with the target.Their 52-run stand ended when Cameron was run out going for a hesitant single. After Mitchell and Neil Pinner had been removed, Hughes and Gareth Andrew did their best to gather momentum.But once Andrew was ousted, the writing was on the wall for Worcestershire – despite Hughes’ knock which contained one six and four fours off 75 balls.

ScorecardAustralia Under-19s came back from mediocre performances in the first two one-dayers to register a commanding eight-wicket win and salvage some pride against Pakistan Under-19s in the final match in Gold Coast. Australia’s bowlers ripped through Pakistan’s top-order, reducing them to 8 for 3 , and then kept a stranglehold on the innings before Cameron Bancroft and Kurtis Patterson guided the chase with half-centuries.Pakistan, who had chosen to bowl in the other matches, batted first but fell into a hole early on. Imam-ul-Haq, 77, and Umar Waheed, 52, struck a 128-run partnership for the fourth wicket but the last five wickets fell for 20 runs, three of them to offspinner Ashton Turner. Seamer Mark Stekeete supported Turner well, conceding 14 runs in his 7.5 overs and claiming a wicket.Cameron Bancroft, with a solid 76, increased his runs tally to 143 for the series and was named player of the series. Kurtis Patterson, who struck 83 in the opening one-dayer, remained unbeaten on 52.Stuart Law, Australia’s coach, said that bowling first helped. “I think today’s result is probably indicative of the other two games and we fought back today to gain some respect and put some pride back into our performance. I think winning the toss and bowling first was a major asset for those first two games and we had to come out today and bowl well, and we did.””The first two losses made us sit up and work out a plan against this kind of attack – most teams are going to have this sort of attack, and our boys went about rectifying their earlier mistakes,” he said.Australia travel to Brisbane on Saturday to play warm-up matches against West Indies U-19s on August 7 and Scotland U-19s on August 8. The Under-19 World Cup starts on August 11.